1 Prologue

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Quinn woke up, coughing her lungs out. She ran to the nearby bathroom and wretched into the toilet. Nothing came out, but she could taste salty blood at the back of her tongue. She tried her best to swallow it back down. Her eyes were teary, either from the pain of wretching or from the eternal regret and sadness she held inside her.

She quickly wiped her tears and rinsed her mouth. She had to continue the day like normal. SHe hopped into the shower and turned on the water.

The hot water hit her body and slowly, the room filled with steam. Her face had turned slightly red, as had her body from the steam and the water but it felt good. Quinn continued, lathering the soap in her hands and spreading it across her body.

She washed it all off. Suddenly, she had the urge to cough and vomit her entire dinner from last night. Not that she got to eat anything other than soup. She held her mouth as she turned off the water and ran to the toilet, still wet and warm.

All Quinn could see was red and black as she closed her eyes to avoid the view. She was spilling red blood into the water and a little soup here and there. She couldn't help but cry. Her mouth was dry despite the constant flow of liquid in it. She felt the food back down a little, giving her time to breathe.

'Oh, god, I pray I was silent!' Quinn begged as she washed her mouth and dried herself. 'I don't want to worry Mary Anne any more than she already is,'

Mary Anne was her nurse. Quinn's father was always working abroad and practically never had time for her. He was a cold, emotionless man. Her mother, on the other hand, passed away when Quinn was young and so, Quinn's father placed a babysitter for her. A babysitter.

And she's stayed the same for the past 11 years. Mary Anne and Quinn were close, but never like a mom and her daughter.

Quinn quickly exited the bathroom and changed into her school uniform. She still had to go to school despite how sick she was. And she was really sick. Nobody knew why or how. They couldn't cure her. But she had to push through and be careful.

No physical exercise, no running, no cold things, no hot things, no overly exerting activities. She always had to wear a mask, too. Quinn carefully pulled on her black and green mask.

She wore her uniform shoes and picked up her bag. She quickly started to jog down the stairs, down to where Mary Anne was waiting with her particularly boring breakfast. As quinn ate her squashed apples of a meal, she heard the door knock which seemed to raise her spirits.

The door was opened to reveal none other than Ari. The Ari. This made Quinn happy to no end.

"Ari~" She happily as she picked up he bag and waved goodbye to Mary Anne. "good morning,"

"Good morning," Ari said with a small smile. As Quinn approached, he held the door open for her. They both walked out and only when the door close did Quinn reach up.

She pulled down her mask and she stood on the tips of her toes, closing her eyes, and Ari reached down to give her a gentle kiss. As the separated, Quinn smiled widely at him. He put his hand around her shoulder as the two walked, peacefully, towards their school. Quinn pulled her mask back onto her face.

Ari had deep brown hair which he always liked to spike up. It was so long that it came into his eyes. To deal with the upcoming summer heat, Ari had an undercut which Quinn adored. That made Ari happy. And that made Quinn happy.

The two walked happily to school and anybody would tell they were a happy couple. Quinn was happy but Ari was worried. She looked paler and weaker than usual. He knew her sickness was taking a toll on her. He knew she was probably in pain but it didn't matter to Quinn because she wanted everybody else to be happy.

"Quinn, how were you today morning?" Ari asked her, worried that she had a rough morning.

"Well, I got squashed apples for breakfast and I'm pretty sure I'm getting squashed carrots for lunch," Quinn stated. "I'd not say good,"

"I'm being serious,"

"And so am I!" Quinn argued back.

"But how about your sick- sickness?" Ari asks, struggling to get the words out of his mouth.

"Um, well, it was o-okay?" Quinn tried to sound confident but it came out as more of a question.

"Did you puke today?"

"Um, yeah," Quinn said, down. "It's becoming worse, Ari. I was spitting blood,"

"Blood?! What the hell? Does Mary Anne know?" Ari started freaking out and he wasn't trying to hide it.

"N-no," Quinn sighs. "Ari, you can't let anybody know! Please!"

"Quinn, I want you to get better,"

"I will, but if they smother me with old soups and medicines, I won't," Quinn protests. "I'm already feeling drowsy because of the painkillers, I don't want any more,"

"I hear you, but please be careful and follow their rules,"

"No physical exercise, no running, no cold things, no hot things, no overly exerting activities," Quinn recites from her memory. "I know"

"Good,"

"Good,"

"Alright then,"

"Okay," Quinn and Ari look at each other and let out small chuckles.

"I love you," Quinn says, looking softly at Ari. They were nearing the school.

"I love you too," Ari says, bending down to her level. He gave her a small peck on the nose. "You know that, right?"

"Yes, of course I do," Quinn huffs, crossing her arms. She looks away, blushing slightly. "Everybody loves me,"

"Okay," Ari says, rolling his eyes playfully and pulls her close. The two make their way to their classroom.

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~chapter completed~

unedited

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