❛in which one boy is done with life and the other isn't.❜
Maven Sullivan didn't want this. He didn't want any of this, really, but that didn't matter. Because it was already done. He had already got what he didn't want: a chance at a longer life. A...
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"the best view comes after the hardest climb."
- - -
MAVEN ENTERED HIS ENGLISH classroom two minutes late. The moment he entered, the whole class went silent. As he walked towards the teachers front desk to apologize for being late, he could feel the eyes of the whole class following him.
"Mrs. Jones, sorry I'm-"
"It's alright, Maven," she said. The teacher gestured towards the tables in front of her, "Just take a seat."
Maven could see the pity in her eyes. In everyone's eyes, actually. There wasn't one person not staring at him and whispering to their friends. As he walked towards his usual seat next to his fellow track star Luke Galloghan, he saw that his seat was taken.
Sighing, he looked around the room. It was mostly full, apart from one seat at the back of the room. He wasn't taking that seat. He wasn't sitting next to him. He looked back towards Luke and the girl beside him, silently begging with his eyes for her to move. But she looked towards her work, trying to look busy.
So Maven made his way towards the back of the room and threw his bag down beside the desk. As soon as he sat down, Mrs. Jones began to teach the class. Maven tried to pay attention, but his thoughts were running wild. He was angry. He was so angry at the world; at everyone around him, for pitying him. At Aria, for trying to make him discuss his cancer. At Emmett Cullen, for repeatdetly tapping that damn pencil on the desk.
"Will you stop that?" Maven snapped, turning towards the brutish boy beside him. Emmett's eyes widened and he nodded, setting the pencil down. Not even a minute later, his leg began to bounce. Up and down, up and down, Maven swore he could feel the movement. He sighed loudly, resting his face down onto his arms and trying to block out the world.
Stupid Emmett.
He wished that he hadn't saved him that day. He wished he had just been left on the road to die. Maybe then he would cause everyone a little less grief, a little less pity. His mother wouldn't have to pay hospital bills, his brother wouldn't have to pretend that his brother isn't dying because he would already be dead. That aching feeling in his body would go away and he would float in nothingness, numb to the world.
That was always how he imagined heaven. His mother had always been Catholic; he had grown up attending church on Sundays with his mother and his grandma, praying in the pews and getting awfully bored. But on one Sunday, his grandma never arrived to pick them up for church. She died the previous night, dying peacefully in her sleep.
His mother had told him that she went to heaven to be with his grandpa and live happily ever after. Heaven was described to him as everything you could ever want, high above in the clouds with the angels. He had believed that for a while, but as he grew older, he imagined it differently. Now, he saw it as ice. Numbing your body and your mind until all of your pain disappeared and you were left with nothing but peace and tranquility.
That was what Maven wanted. No pain. He wanted to feel numb to the world.
Alas, that was not the case. Emmett was now tapping his fingers on the desk. The sound drilled into his head and his head shot up, arms falling down and slapping onto the hard wooden surface.
Giving him the most angry, annoyed glare he could muster, he lowly warned him to please just stop. Emmett seemed to have gotten the point that if looks could kill, he would be six feet under. He finally stopped, and Maven turned to face the front of the room with an annoyed look.
"Alright, that concludes my little lecture," Mrs. Jones said, her voice a little too peppy for this hour of the morning, "You all can leave early. Get a head start to your next class, alright? Don't cause any ruckus, the other classes are still in session. Have a good day!"
He stood up to leave, already dreading his Biology class.
- - -
Heading into the cafeteria with take out in one hand and a tray full of pop in the other, Maven made his way to where he knew Aria was sitting. He could feel eyes and whispers following him as he walked; he fought the urge to scream at them to just mind their own business.
Setting the bag and pop in front of Aria, he plopped down across from her with a groan. He reached behind him, placing a hand on his lower back. It was quite sore.
"You alright?" Aria asked, already shoving a fry in her mouth.
Maven nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Aria hummed in response, an odd look in her eyes. Not pity, but something else. Something he had seen in his mother's gaze. He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to not talk. Eventually, it would just spew out, and he would rather just she know than everyone in the school.
"Alright. What do you wanna know?"
"Everything." Her response was short and quick.
Maven began his explanation. "Stage four pancreatic cancer spread to the liver, if I remember correctly. It's incurable, so treatments aim to extend and improve the quality of life. My symptoms are pain in the upper abdomen and back. Possibly weight loss and loss of appetite, except I just had a burger so I doubt that. I have an appointment this week to discuss treatment. I now have to see a therapist, which seems unnecessary apart from having a mental breakdown on the side of the road. Overall, it's fine."
Aria's face was deathly pale, her hands shaking as they gripped her burger. Even though he had made sure to be sarcastic and light about it, she was still scared. Maven rolled his eyes, "It's going to be just fine. Don't worry about it, Aria."
He stood up, grabbing the garbage on the table and making his way towards the trash to throw it out. He hadn't even taken a few steps when two arms wrapped around him from behind. He spun around to find Aria hugging him. Small sniffles escaped her, and he knew that she was crying. Slowly hugging her back, he glared at the staring kids watching them. Luke's new girlfriend, Jessica Stanley, even the Cullens were staring.
She pulled away after a while, wiping her eyes and pulling him back towards the table they were sitting at. He sighed, figuring that he would just throw out his trash later.
They sat down beside each other, Aria resting her head on his shoulder and playing with the ring on his index finger. They sat there in silence for the rest of lunch. He was sure that she just needed time to comprehend what she had just been told. After all, he had basically just said that it was incurable and he was going to die. That was true. Sometime, it would happen.
Maven liked to think he was prepared for that moment.
WORDS: 1268
STATUS: edited
NOTES: once again, this is not going to be 100% accurate medical information. i am not a doctor, do not self diagnose yourself please! if you are concerned, visit a doctor. thank you.
