Be The Last To Kiss My Lips (COMPLETE)

Another chance at life

Ruby kept her word, she visited me everyday, even when I told her not to. To be honest, I had hoped she'd be stubborn and visit me at the hospital because it got quite lonely sometimes.

I made new friends, some of the other patients and I got along pretty well. But it wasn't the same as a familiar face.

The treatment took longer than expected but I was officially well in a matter of four months. After chemotherapy and close monitoring, I was good to go.

We celebrated my discharge and I knew for a fact that my parents were throwing a small party to celebrate "my return" as other people would be thinking but really my "victory", I beat cancer, again.

~

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I looked okay. I didn't look sick no more. My head wasn't bald anymore. My skin had some color to it. There were no more dark circles under my eyes. I looked fine.

I smiled a true smile.

One last look in the mirror, I left my room. Downstairs, the party was in full swing. And it wasn't small, at all. A lot of my neighbors came. The Kontys came of course. Mr. and Mrs. Konty walked in through the main door, together with Tyler. Ruby was already here, she came with my parents to pick me up from the hospital.

Mrs. Konty hugged me, "welcome back Clay." She beamed.

"Thank you Mrs. Kay." I pulled out and shook hands with Mr. Konty, it was one of these old handshakes he used to do with his buddies back in the day, he taught me about it years back. We only ever do it when we're both really happy.

They both disappeared to the kitchen, leaving me with Tyler.

"Hey man." I didn't know if I was supposed to go for a handshake or a hug. I wanted to go for a hug. Tyler was in my top three of people I missed. But I didn't want to be weird or anything. We were hugging the last time we saw each other but that was months ago, things could've changed right now.

He spread his arms, a huge grin on his face, "come here." And we were hugging. I was laughing out of joy of seeing him after a long time.

"Four months have never felt so long." He said.

For some reason my heart was beating in my throat. "Yeah," I agreed.

"New haircut?" He smiled, running his hand through my buzz cut.

I shut my eyes tight, "yeah." I lied.

"You lied." He accused, we were walking to the kitchen where our families were.

I gave him a blank look.

"You said you'd be back in a month," he explained.

"I thought so." I shrugged.

He turn to me, an eyebrow raised, "someone hol' you up?" Then with a stupid grin he asked, "did you meet someone?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

I laughed.

Tyler and everybody else thought I was out of the country on a scholarship, that's the lie I necessarily made up.

I thought about all the cancer patients I met, befriended. "There was someone." I said.

Tyler's eyes glowed.

"Her name was Tina." I said reminiscing. Tina was a patient in the oncology branch, like me. She had lung cancer and has been in the hospital for as long as she's lived.

We were good friends. We could've been more given the chance, but I wasn't sure I wanted to rewrite the faults in our stars. I thought she was pretty. She was funny too, it was impossible not to smile when she was around. Even when everyday was a literal blessing to her, she wasn't gloomy about this whole dying thing. She was just a cheerful teen that I'm sure deserved more than what life provided.

"I'm jealous." Tyler said and my heart went mad.

~

Tyler, Ruby, I and some of our peers had ditched the party downstairs and were in my room playing games. We were playing seven minutes in heaven, where in this case, heaven was my bathroom.

The game was going so well, we were having fun. So much fun. I really needed this in my life.

Cheers uproar when it was time for me and Ruby to go into the bathroom. For some reason I glanced at Tyler, maybe I just wanted to see his reaction since they're siblings and brothers tend to be overprotective of their sisters. He didn't seem to be on board, but a game is a game.

Ruby and I were locked in my bathroom, we'd obviously just wait out the seven minutes.

I was sitting on the tiled floor, Ruby was standing at the door, she was a bit tipsy so she was doing a lot of giggling.

I threw her a small smile.

Something flickered in her eyes, something I couldn't decipher. She took slow steps towards me. I could clearly see the nervousness on her face as she knelt in front of me.

I shifted uncomfortably. "You okay?" I asked.

"You know I love you, right?"

"I do."

"You don't say it back." She accused.

I chuckled, "what are you talking about? I say it all the time." I pointed out.

"Not the way you're supposed to." She said.

"How am I supposed to say it then?"

She didn't respond, instead she looked at my lips and... Kissed me. Once, twice, three times. As she was going for the fourth I stopped her, backing off.

"Rue you're..." I sighed, "you're drunk." I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and index finger.

After an eternity of just staring at the wall, she spoke, "I'm sorry." That said, she walked out of the bathroom.

Four minutes.