Wait

Chen An kept their meeting that night a secret. In fact, she wondered if it had even happened or was just a cruel part of her imagination. But, when Monday morning came, and Chen An pulled on her uniform jacket, she found a grape candy tucked in the pocket.

Though she now knew Li Jun Jie was alive and was not indeed abducted by aliens, she could not hide her surprise when he sauntered into the classroom before the opening bell.

Lu Xi Xi too was shocked, needing a hand to close her agape mouth. "Where have you been, Li Jun Jie?" she asked finally.

"Just around." A devilish smirk pulled nearly unnoticeably at the corners of his mouth. "I got the feeling that someone was concerned about me and thought it was about time to come back."

Chen An nearly choked, hiding her reaction with an awkward cough. She turned away from him, unconsciously raising a hand to her face as if to pretend she didn't know him.

Her eyes found Lu Xi Xi, who smiled at Li Jun Jie shyly. The apples of her cheeks began to redden, and she diverted her gaze to the book in front of her, though her eyes did not seem to be all that interested in the words on the page.

Mr. Wen arrived and brightened at the sight of Li Jun Jie. "Li Jun Jie, good to have you back with the class."

Li Jun Jie returned a reserved smile.

"Alright class," Mr. Wen began, "today, we will be sharing the four-line poems you wrote for homework over the weekend. Who would like to start?"

One by one, the students stood at the front of the room, copying their poems on the chalkboard before reciting them aloud. Mr. Wen's face molded like clay to the students' poems, giving each a unique expression and urging the class to applaud them after they finished.

"Next, Li Jun Jie." Mr. Wen looked at him with concern. "Were you able to prepare a poem for class today?"

Li Jun Jie nodded and stood up, steadying himself against his desk before striding to the chalkboard.

He began to write with bold strokes, his neat handwriting printing each character meticulously. As he reached the last line, he stopped suddenly and staggered a small step back from the chalkboard. The chalk between his fingers crumbled with his tight grip, his knuckles turning white.

"Are you okay, Li Jun Jie?" Mr. Wen called to him, but Li Jun Jie seemed to be unable to hear him.

He stumbled backward, his clouded eyes finding Chen An's blurry outline desperately in the front row. He stretched a hand out to her but collapsed on the floor before he could reach her.

Lu Xi Xi screamed and rushed to Li Jun Jie's unconscious body, shaking his leaden limbs.

Chen An crouched by his other side, feeling his searing hot skin. She looked up toward her teacher. "Mr. Wen, I'll bring Li Jun Jie to the infirmary."

Mr. Wen nodded and helped prop the boy up on Chen An's shoulder. Chen An struggled to stand, but Lu Xi Xi took his other arm, and the two hurried as fast as they could manage to the school's infirmary.

The two girls waited at the entrance of the infirmary as the nurse treated Li Jun Jie. Lu Xi Xi chewed nervously at her lip, while Chen An stood dazed beside her.

The door swung open, and Lu Xi Xi looked hopelessly at the nurse that emerged. The nurse guided the girls inside to the bed where Li Jun Jie lay. Lu Xi Xi ran to his side, her eyes darting around his body.

Chen An approached the nurse, and the nurse explained, "He is still unconscious, but his condition is stable. A little bit of rest should do him well, and I'll pass a note on to his parents about what happened today."

"My family is close to his. I can bring the message to his mother," Chen An offered, to which the nurse handed her a slip of paper before leaving the room.

Chen An walked slowly to his bedside, afraid to look at his ailing body. Li Jun Jie's finger twitched, and he reached his hand out toward her.

Lu Xi Xi clutched his pawing hand, squeezing it tight between two of her own. "It's okay, Li Jun Jie. I'm here for you."

Turning away stiffly, Chen An headed to the door. "I'll go grab some water for when Li Jun Jie wakes up."

Lu Xi Xi's attention did not sway for a second away from Li Jun Jie, and Chen An stepped clumsily out into the hallway.

At the vending machine, she took in a deep breath, her accelerating heart laced with adrenaline finally beginning to calm. Sticking the coins in mindlessly, she collected the bottle that fell out, condensation forming on the cold plastic around her burning hot fingers.

When she returned to the infirmary, Li Jun Jie was awake, and Lu Xi Xi dabbed at the beading sweat on his forehead with a towel. The closeness of the two made Chen An's chest tighten uncomfortably.

"I'll just... leave this here." Chen An set the water bottle on the table beside Li Jun Jie's bed and turned to leave the room.

"Wait," Li Jun Jie called out to her weakly, almost a whisper just between them. Chen An halted her swift steps at his voice, and his eyes roamed around looking for something to say. "Can you help bring me home?"

Chen An did not know, however, how bad of an idea that really was. With Li Jun Jie's weight on her back, the two hobbled down the street toward his apartment building.

When they got inside, Chen An tossed Li Jun Jie like a sack of much too heavy potatoes onto the couch, bracing her body against her knees to catch her breath. The hair that fell from her ponytail was plastered to her sweaty face.

Li Jun Jie feigned pain. "How could you treat an injured patient so roughly?"

She could only raise her head to glare at him in her exhausted state.

"I guess I shouldn't complain," Li Jun Jie continued to tease her, an amused smile finally breaking through the stony expression he held at school. "It's surprising you even care for me at all."

"It seems like you're all better now." Chen An threw a packet of pills and the slip of paper at his chest. "Take your medicine, and give this note to Mrs. Li."

Before she could march away, Li Jun Jie interjected, "Wait, An An. What if I faint again? What will I do all alone here?"

Just when did this cold boy suddenly become so exasperating? Chen An could have walked out just then; she had no real reason to stay. But, feeling partially responsible for Li Jun Jie coming to school when he was unwell, she sighed resignedly and went to sit on the opposite end of the couch. "I'll wait here in case you get sick again before your parents get home. But, don't bother me. I need to finish the work from today since I had to leave early to drag you here," she warned.

Li Jun Jie nodded and rest his head against his hand to watch her work.

With an accomplished huff, Chen An shut her workbook, finally finished with her assignments for the day. The digital clock on the oven read 17:05, and the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon through the gauzy curtain, bathing the living room in muted vermillion.

She turned to look at Li Jun Jie, who was sound asleep on the other end of the couch. A strand of his straight black hair fell in front of his face, and his usually furrowed brow was relaxed; he looked like the young boy Chen An once knew.

Shaking away the smile that had crept onto her face, Chen An stood and walked gently toward his bedroom, looking for a blanket to cover him.

Opening the door, a trashed mess met her on the other side. Fragments of ripped drawings lay strewn across the ground; painted canvases were knocked over, smudging the vibrant colors to a muddy brown. Charcoal and pencils were snapped, splinters of wood decorating Li Jun Jie's desk.

Only a crisp white packet of papers lay untouched. Chen An picked up the sheets gingerly, her quickening heartbeat pounding in her ears as her eyes scanned the pages, her brain trying to catch up to their blinding pace.

The pages cascaded like feathers from her hands, and she stood there paralyzed.

Li Jun Jie had been diagnosed with lymphoma.