A Penny For Your Thoughts

Chapter Nine~ Fishier than Nemo

It's been two whole weeks after the weekend to the Connolly's beach house. During that trip Luke had kissed Michelle, both equally liking each other, but after the kiss something else happened. For the rest of that week when driving her home, he seemed off distant. Like he didn't want anyone to know that he liked her or she liked him. Which in every way was impossible to their closest friends. Everyone could tell they had chemistry together.

"What does it mean when a guy kisses you, then completely just ignores you for the rest of the week?" Michelle asked over the phone. "What are you talking about?" Cassidy asked while twirling her hair over the other line. "Well...its just that- um..." Michelle stumbled. "Listen if it's about Luke I'm not gonna tell Melanie or Tiffany okay?" Cassidy said plainly. She gulped, "How did you know it was about Luke?" "Because it's obvious! You're a genius at everything except for Luke. Even with guys you're genius! Every one of them except for Luke," Melanie laughed. "Oh okay... well then yeah it's about Luke," Michelle said. "Duh keep going," Cassidy pressed. "And well we went to the beach over the weekend and he kinda kissed me," Michelle spilled smiling secretively. She was still walking on air that she was lucky enough to catch Luke LaVale's attention in the first place. Then again- she knew that she attracted him for what she had that

other girls lacked- sense.

"So what?" She said on the other side. "What do you mean 'so what?'" Michelle questioned. Cassidy barely laughed, "You've got to be kidding!" Michelle was confused. "Oh you're not kidding,"Cassidy concluded after a few awkward seconds of silence, "Well in that case you're stupid. You're acting as if Luke kissing you meant something. Well wake up! He kisses every other girl he likes. You just so happen to be one of the fifty girls on his lists of girlfriends." "I'm not his girlfriend," Michelle hissed after the hurtful words Cassidy just spat. "Yeah? Well you will be in a few weeks just watch. You'll ignore this conversation and look at me as a bitter ex girlfriend that couldn't get what she wanted. Well guess what? Me and forty other girls have been in your shoes and we've all felt how you felt. The fact that he kissed you isn't really that big of a deal okay?" Cassidy said bluntly. Michelle was pretty hurt. What had she done to offend her?

"Listen I don't mean to be mean to you or anything. It's great to feel special by some boy treating you that way. And it's nice to have someone tell you they love you- just know who's lying and who's not," and with that Cassidy hung up.

She sat on her bed a while thinking about what Cassidy had said. It was a little crude but the truth- forty other girls had been in her place! Luke probably had reeled them in all the same ways he did with her. Maybe it was better to end it before anything else happened.

|| Luke's part || <doctors office>

"Test results came back," the doctor said slapping a piece of paper onto his desk. Luke's hands were sweaty and his heart pace was racing. Finally the news he'd been waiting to know for the past two weeks was about to be revealed to him.

"They came back positive."

That was it. That was the answer. After two years of being cleared of the sickness that'd been eating him up- it'd come back with a bite. This time with nothing he could do.

"I'm very sorry," the doctor- who'd seen him grow up- said. The pit of his stomach dropped and his mind went blank. This was it.

"Is there anything we could possibly do?" Luke stuttered. The doctor shrugged, "Unless we can find a blood transfusion with type A- and B- then yes. But if not then there's nothing we can do." "Alright thanks," Luke said slowly getting up. "Again I'm very sorry," the doctor said. "It's God's will. Nothing we can do," Luke simply said and left.

After leaving the doctors office Luke stood against his car. Thinking about what he just heard. He began crying and eventually buried his head in his hands weeping. This is it- he was dying.