Riley’s POV 

On the drive to school, I had called everyone to tell them the news, BUT halfway there I realized that I couldn’t do it anymore. My palms were sweaty and I could feel that my heart rate had sped up after we pulled into the school. As we walked to our usual spot, I saw them walking towards us with concerned looks on their faces.

Mason looked at me with tired eyes and sarcastically asked, “What was so important that we all had to be here so early?” Lex hit his stomach in a ‘how dare of you to say that’ sort of way.

Geez, I know you’re not an early riser and that you actually do care, but hurtful! Agh... I don’t need to feel like an idiot more than I already do! My face began to turn red with embarrassment, I had to tell them something, so... the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Good morning! I just wanted to tell everyone that it’s not raining today." I gulped seeing their confused facial expressions. "And my throat is dry, so now I’m gonna go drink some water. Bye, see you guys at lunch!”

I ran down the hallway without looking back, but I could hear someone following me as soon as I escaped. My legs were beginning to feel like jello before making it to the nearest water fountain, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. Ugh, I felt sick enough that my hyperventilation was about to kick in. The water felt cool as I began to take in huge gulps, enough to give me my daily 8 cups but not like it matters anymore... I turned around and was nearly given a heart attack, the last gulp of water spat out of my mouth like a sprinkler all over Mark.

He didn’t look happy as he tried to wipe down the water off his shirt, jacket and face. He was trying his best not to judge me, I could see it on his face. I couldn’t help but laugh at the incident. Great, just great. He hates me, cowards, and now water… “What was that?!” He asked, or practically yelled at me with his arm gesturing to the direction I ran from, wiping the water off of him.

I turned away with my face hiding behind my hair, unable to look him in the eye, “I chickened out, okay! Halfway to school, I realized that I couldn’t do it anymore." I started to pace. "They were all standing there waiting for my important news and I just... froze," My breathing speed up, "there was way too much pressure...”

He placed his hands on my shoulders and stopped me from pacing, then pulled me into a hug. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, it’s okay." His hand lightly rubbed my back. "Take a deep breath, and relax. You don’t need an asthma attack right now.”
“I’m hyperventilating ok, there’s a difference.” I tried my best to calm down, then all of a sudden it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Mark dropped whatever he had in his hands and quickly took my books and backpack from me, tossing them on the ground, some of the books spilled onto the floor. My vision was becoming blurry and I could feel myself falling. I was expecting to feel myself hitting the ground really hard, but it never came. Next thing I knew, I felt slim arms wrapped around me and the familiar scent of lavender perfume. I managed to open my eyes and what I saw took my breath away. Holding me in her arms was Cam, the girl I’ve been in love with ever since I could remember. I could feel my cheeks becoming red as she rubbed my back and my hair, trying to get me to calm down. After a few minutes, my breathing slowed back down to its original pace and that’s when I got a good look at everyone’s face. It was easy to see that they were all very worried and scared by what happened, which made me feel really guilty. I quickly tried to break out of Cam’s hold and stand up by myself, but Cam was faster and she gently pulled me back to her. “Let me help you stand, you almost passed out.”

At this point, everyone was so concerned that I couldn’t say no… With her help, I was able to stand up and Aria stepped forward, hesitating before touching my face with the back of her hand, checking my temperature. I smiled and lightly pushed her hand away, “Aria, I’m okay.”

She recoiled a bit when I touched her, which was understandable considering she has Asperger's syndrome and she doesn’t react well to touch, but she didn’t back off, “No, you’re not. You’ve been acting weird for the past two weeks and today you almost pass out, we should take you to the nurse’s office.”

“That’s not necessary, I know what this is and it won’t be treated by a visit to the nurse’s office." I turned to Mark and pointed at him. "And you! Why did you throw my stuff on the floor?! Pick it up now!” I said, a bit taken aback at how aggressive my tone was.

Mark jumped a bit and scrambled to get the books. As he hands everything back to me, he said, “Maybe, now is a good time to tell them...” I looked at the group cautiously.

“Tell us what..?” Mason asked bluntly like he always does.

I started to answer him when Mark cut me off and says “What she was supposed to tell you this morning.”

I looked at him with a blank expression, and as the words rolled off my tongue I heard myself say it for the first time “I have cancer.” I felt numb throughout my whole body.

My mind went blank until I saw that smirk on Mason’s face and heard him say “This is a joke right? You’re just doing this to be funny...”

Lex looked at him with wide eyes and yelled, “Who the would find this funny, Mason! I can’t believe you...” She looked at him with disgust and rage.

He shrugged his shoulders and couldn’t help but look away.

“Don’t be mad at him, he’s just trying to use humor to cover up his emotions, a lot of people do it,” I said, loud enough for them to hear me. “It’s genetic, my brother had it too.”

Matt who has always been the quiet one, softly asked “But there’s a cure, right? Like, you’ll get better if you get treatment?”

I rolled my eyes annoyed because I had to explain all of this again. “I have Acute lymphocytic leukemia or ALL for short. I do have some medications that I have to take, but the main treatment for this is chemotherapy. The only real cure I could get would be a bone marrow transplant, but it takes forever to find a donor match and my body could still reject the bone marrow as it’s not mine.”

He looked at me with pity, something that I didn’t want from anyone. “Don’t look at me like that, I don’t need your pity!”

I advanced on Mark, I knew they wouldn’t understand. “This is your fault! I told you this would happen!”

Matt stepped between me and Mark, his hands up in defense. “Don’t be mad that’s not what I meant. I’m giving you my sympathy, not pity; we all are.”

I hadn’t noticed I was holding my breath for a second and eased my stance a bit.

“Oh alright, well now that you all know… What now? Are we going to pretend like nothing’s going on or..”

Lex placed her hands on my shoulders as a supporting gesture “We are not going to pretend, we are going to help you get through this. You’re not alone. We will be there for, you every step of the way, to your thera-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn’t say I wanted all of you to come to my therapy sessions with me, and make this sound like  an infomercial.”

Lex smiled and said “Well we’ll be waiting outside for you. Whether you like it or not Missy.”

I sighed and quietly said “Okay... fine. But you better have pizza waiting out there for me too.”

“Deal!” Lex said excitedly.

I shifted my eyes to Mark, then to Cam and said “Well let’s get to class, or we’ll all be late and have to bow down to the dungeon master in detention. ”

Mark put his arm around my shoulder as we walked in front of the group and whispered, “You should make your move soon, and fast.”

I hit his stomach with my elbow “You know I can’t, not with Mister Perfect around.”

He gave me a shifty grin and calmly said “According to what I heard, he and Cam are in a rocky turf right now. So it’s now or never”

I sneaked a glance at her, “But what if she’s only with me for pity... Then what?” He kissed me on the top of my head “You’ll never know until you try hun.”

3rd Person POV

Unknown to the circle of friends, Mark failed to pick up one very important book of Riley’s and it was found by none other than the co-captain of the Football team, Brandon Davis.

Davis and his friends were eavesdropping from the top of the staircase and immediately went to grab the book that had slid underneath the lockers. He opened it and looked over a few pages before an evil smile formed on his face. He tossed it to one of his friends and said, “Well, look what we have here, it looks like Riley’s got a dirty little secret. Open it to page 7 and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

The rest of his friends all huddled around the journal to see what the hype was all about. Throughout the hallway, all you could hear was laughter. “Oh man, we gotta tell Shane about this!”

The wheels in Davis’s head were already turning and he snatched it out of his friend’s hand. “Oh no, forget Shane, we’re taking this to the next level. I’m talking’ facebook live and over the loudspeaker, we can do it during lunch! We’re getting the whole football team involved with this and Riley will finally be put on blast. The whole school will see her for what she really is, a fraud.”

Riley's POV

Mark and I sat down in the courtyard with the rest of our crew while Cam and her boyfriend Shane sat across from us. She gave a small wave and smiled in our direction before returning her attention to Shane. Just as she gave Shane her attention I tried to do the same with our friends, but I couldn't help shooting glances in her direction. She always looked beautiful but there was something about the way the sunlight hit her face today that made her absolutely radiant. What wouldn't I give to be the one there sitting with her, talking with her, hugging her, kissing her, but alas such is my fate. God, I’ve been studying Shakespeare way too much, I’m starting to talk like him.

Aria noticed where my line of sight was and pulled me back to reality. In a low voice, she said, "If you don't want anyone to notice that you like her as more than a friend, don't make it blatantly obvious."

I sighed and turned my attention back to the group, "You know what's worse than falling in love with your best friend?"

They all pretended to be hurt. "Wait, I thought we were your best friends?"

I rolled my eyes at them, but then became serious once again. "You are, but not the one I'm talking about."

We all busted out laughing, "Sorry couldn't resist. You were saying?"

I sighed again and my gaze slowly shifted toward Cam. "The worst part is when you’re in love with someone who wouldn’t love you back.”

Lex took my hand and squeezed it gently. "Don't sell yourself short. I think you're worth twice more than Anderson over there.”

I let out a dark chuckle. “Thanks for trying, but luck is never on my side.

All of a sudden, we could hear the crackling of the school’s intercom and everyone was thoroughly confused. Then a familiar voice was shouting out, it sounded like Brandon Davis. I rolled my eyes and sighed, “Well this should be rich, the is talking…”

“Attention students of George Washington High School, we have an announcement to make. It appears that we have a student hiding in the closet, with a dirty little secret. And in case you were wondering, her name is RILEY KIM!”

My face started to heat up as everyone in the courtyard turned to stare at me. I could feel another panic attack coming on if this went any farther.

Mark took hold of my hand under the table, squeezing it gently, “You have nothing to worry about, they’re bluffing.”

Davis’s voice came back over the loudspeaker. “This morning we found Riley’s precious little journal, under the lockers in the hallway. Being the curious person that I am, I took a peek inside and boy, it was a doozy to read. Most of her journal entries involved another student by the name of Cam Rodriguez and I think you all should hear it for yourselves." He cleared his throat." June 23rd, 2017// Dear Journal, Today Alexa, Aria, Cam and I went on a nature hike near the lake while the boys went fishing and it was the most fun I’ve had in a long while. Besides the fact that I fell and scraped my knee, but it was okay because Cam helped me up and stayed next to my side the entire time. I tried my best not to make it so obvious that I like her, but I feel like sometimes she can see right through me… May 20th, 2017// Dear Journal, Today and Cam and I went to the humane society and played with all the cats in their kitty room. I love it when I get to see her soft side every once in a while. Playing with those cats brought out her inner child and I’m so glad I asked her to come with me because I thought this was going to be really lame. May 7th… April 18th… March…”

I could feel my heartbeat becoming irregular and I started to hyperventilate again. I tried to look over at Cam to see her reaction, but couldn't manage to do it. The football team looked in my direction and started shouting curse words and terrible names at me. I could hear other kids around us trying to stick up for me, but it was only making things worse. Mark, Mason, and Matt were ready to get up and knock some heads together, but I stopped them, getting them to sit back down and stay calm. The noise became louder and unbearable to a point where it was too hard for me to concentrate on which voices to listen to. I felt like my life was crashing down on me., I needed a way to drown out all the noise. Then I did what any person would do, I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to get out. As tears poured down on my face I made a run for it with my friends following behind. Slowing down I stopped to catch my breath as I got closer to the exit near the parking lot but as my friends caught up and gathered around me all I could hear was my uncontrollable sobbing. However, here they were, ready to help me face my challenges together, just like Lex said. Well, all but one…

Cam’s POV

The first day of school usually is very brutal, but not like today. All morning, all I thought about was Riley. The whole having cancer part got me thinking about how in a couple of months or years, she could be dead without the treatment she needed. I slammed my locker on the way to lunch in anger. Of all people, why did it have to be Riley?! She’s smart, kind, funny… dare I say beautiful. And she would die without knowing how I really feel; I thought to myself. God, if I could turn back time, I would talk my younger self into taking a chance and ask her out, but it was too late now, I had Shane, the first boyfriend I’ve ever had... and I don’t know, I think she and Mark are together… Ugh, I’m just going to stop overthinking this and meet Shane for lunch.

I had hoped it wasn’t sloppy joe's or chili today.Which by the way, it was actually hamburger patty with gravy and a side of fruits and pudding.

Naturally, I took the seat next to Shane, across from my group of friends. But it worked in my favor because I could see Riley perfectly from where I was. The highlight of my day is seeing Riley, not Shane… hmm… Should I just go for it and break it off with him? Ahh, I don’t even know if she likes me. How would I even recover from a rejection like that?  I chuckled softly at my thought and decided that maybe I should, I’m only overthinking it and who knows maybe she’ll say yes. And besides, the facts are, one, the girl I lo...- really like, could die without knowing how I feel and I’ve wasted so much time already. Two, it's not fair to Shane. He needs to be let down easy. Maybe now would be a good time, better late than never right? Right. I cleared my throat and gently pulled my hand away from his,  “Shane, I think we should talk about us…”

He sighed bitterly, “Well, nothing good ever comes from those words, but go ahead... Talk”

I smiled a little attempting to lighten the mood. “Well, I..think..-”

Just then I was interrupted by the loudspeaker, when I heard the voice, I instantly knew it was Davis. He’s always sounding so cocky when it came to anything competitive with Shane. And the fact that he creeps me out, watching my every move, looking me up and down, ugh uncalled for and he’s nothing but a disgusting lowlife pig. What the hell was he doing on the loudspeaker, how did he get into the office without anyone noticing? Anyway, I wasn’t going to pay him much attention, but then Riley’s name came up, then my name, and that she wrote about us in her journal. It wasn’t until he started reading the journal entries out loud that I understood what was happening. She felt the same way about me this entire time and I failed to realize it! The shock of her actually reciprocating my feelings made me zone out a bit, but not for long. Once I snapped back to reality all I could see was red. This read her journal to the whole school and outed her to everyone and the football team must’ve been in on it the whole thing because… And then it occurred to me that the entire time that was going on, the rest of the team was here, making her life hell…

With no fear, I walked up to their table and started shouting at them with everything I had. At this point, I was so mad that I was even shouting at them in Spanish. “What the hell is wrong with you PUTO (ing) es?! She is a human being with feelings, tu PENDEJOS deberia avergonzarse de ustedes mismoso! (You should be ashamed of yourselves you s!)  Mi Dios! (My god!)  Are you guys streaming this on facebook?! Turn the camera off now before I take your cell phone and throw it against that wall! Mi amiga es herido por ti!” (My friend is hurt because of you.)

In my rage, I hadn't noticed Shane come up behind me. He pulled me away from his team, making me face him and when I turned around, Riley wasn’t there anymore, she disappeared. I had to follow after her and let her know that I had no part in this and that if she would still have me, then I’d be hers. I tried to move past Shane, but he wouldn’t let me. “Shane, get out of my way before I make you move.”

He refused to move, “No, there is no point in going after her. She probably doesn't even want to speak to your right now.”

I tried to get out of his grip, “But that doesn't mean I shouldn’t try! Now let go!”

He shook his head, “No, not until you apologize to my boys for what you said to them. I know what they did wasn’t right, but what you said wasn’t either.”

I scoffed and finally got out of his grip trying to push past him,  “Apologize for what exactly? For sticking up for my friend after what they did? They were clearly in the wrong and you shouldn’t be defending them! They took something that wasn’t theirs and they ruined her! Was this your idea, were you behind this too?!”

He blocked me, the palm of his hand on my chest. “I had no idea they were going to do that, but it was just a joke. Besides, why do you care so much, you’re MY girlfriend.”

That got me even more upset because this went farther than a joke, “Just a joke, are you kidding me? This was not just a joke this was a personal attack on someone. You and your team may have destroyed her entire life, yet you just say it’s a joke and laugh about it? If this is so funny to you then this should be hilarious, I’m breaking up with you! I was going to break up with you before all this happened, you know why? Because all this time, it’s always been, Riley." The whole schoolyard gasped at my sudden confession and then cheered me on" So I’ll say it again, move or be moved!”

He didn’t budge, so I tried walking past him again, but this time he pushed me backward and I staggered a bit but was still able to stand my ground, “So that’s it? You’re breaking up with me because of her! That isn’t worth anything! She’s a useless ing that no one car…-” I didn’t even let him finish his sentence, I punched him so hard that I knocked him out and broke his nose, which should be good for several stitches. As I ran to out of the courtyard, cheers erupted all around me, even from some of the teachers, but that didn’t matter to me the only thing that mattered was finding Riley.

Riley’s POV

Once I got close enough to the doors near the parking lot I fell to my knees and let out the sobs I had desperately tried to hold in. My friends caught up to me quick enough, but I noticed that Cam wasn't there. It hurt but didn’t surprise me, considering she was also humiliated. The more I thought about it, the more tears came flowing down my cheeks. At this point, everyone was sitting on the ground with me but the only ones with their arms around me were Mark and Alexa. They were trying their best to comfort me while Aria, was trying to convince Matt and Mason that while it would be a grand gesture, using violence against s like them, would mean that we’re stooping down to their level of idiocy. And no one wants that.

I heard quick footsteps approaching and we all stood up ready to make a getaway, but that was when I heard Cam’s voice, “Riley?! Riley?!”

I froze, completely shocked that she even came looking for me. Before I could even stop myself the words were already out of my mouth, “What are you doing here? I thought you were with Shane?”

“Riley…” When I saw her face as she turned around the corner, the first thing I did was burst into tears. All I kept thinking was, she probably hates me now, all I want to do is wish this had never happened…

She rushed over and tried to hug me, but I pushed her away “No, don’t hug me.., don’t touch me.” I didn’t deserve her kindness, not after what my journal put her through.

I cleared my throat and tried to stand a little straighter to make myself look tougher than I felt. “You didn’t have to come looking for me you know." I looked down. "I’ll be fine, my life is just a big practical joke, that’s all…-," I laughed bitterly. "You don’t have to pretend to be my friend if you don’t want to be, I can take it without you. Besides, you probably hate me now, so…”

She placed both her hands on my cheeks and lifted my head so that our eyes connected. “This wasn’t your fault. I came here to apologize because what they did was wrong. And even if I had no part in it, I feel responsible because I didn’t stand up for you when I should’ve. I should’ve done more than break Shane’s nose.”

For Cam, showing weakness was hard and she’d never let you see her like that if she could avoid it. Yet it shocked me to see that she was actually trying to be vulnerable right now, with me.

Her words were filled with so much sincerity that it was hurting me, each word felt like a bullet. I stepped back, getting out of her reach and shook my head as she mentioned Shane, “No, you shouldn't have. I’m not worthy of getting into that much trouble for...Wait you broke his nose for me?”

Cam gave a weak chuckle, “You bet I did! I think he deserves every bit of  pain that comes with it.”

She reached out for my hand but I pulled it away before she touched me, desperately trying to fight the urge of reaching out and allowing her to hold my hand. Looking at her face, I could tell that my actions had hurt her, but she just cleared and kept going, “I think at this point the teachers would’ve given me money if I did worse to those jerks. I mean it Riley, if they ever cross you again, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll…”

I instantly cut her off and tried to say this as nice as I could,  “Cam, I don’t want you to say it and I don’t want you to mean it.”

I turned around and grabbed my stuff, swinging it over my shoulder. Looks like I’m running… again... “Now, I think we’re done here so…-”

Just as I was a turned toward the exit she shouted, “Riley, would you just stop and listen to me?!”

Her tone of voice is what froze me to where I stood, why was she yelling at me? None of this was making sense anymore, I turned my body so it was half facing her, “No, because I don’t think even you know how you feel! First, you were trying to be vulnerable with me and now you want to pick a fight? Which is it, either you like me or you don’t?”

I was overcome with emotion and the words slipped out before I could take them back. Stupid, why did I say it like that? I’ve just single-handedly ruined our friendship forever...

Her face went blank once she took in what I said. In a quiet, but firm voice she answered my question. “I like you." I took a deep breath. "I like you the same way you like me. I never told you because I thought..- Well... that doesn’t matter now, the point is that it’s always been you, Riley. If you’ll still have me, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

My heart was pounding and I was sure that everyone could hear it. At first, I was really happy because my feelings were being returned, but the happiness was short lived. She’s probably doing this out of pity or guilt and that’s not what I want. “I don’t believe you” I whispered.

The tears were coming down my face again, but this time on a smaller scale. “I’ve always dreamt of hearing you say that, but no. You don’t need to feel obligated to do this. You don’t have to do this to make me feel better. I’m giving you an out, take it.”

She looked a little offended, but brushed it off quickly, “After today’s events, I understand why you’d think my confession isn’t genuine, but it is. Maybe we could go somewhere and talk about this, just the two of us? Lunch isn’t over yet…”

Your words were starting to sway me, but I knew better than to believe them. I turned my body back to the door and started walking, “Cam, I’m done talking about this.”

“Fine, we don’t have to talk.” Before I could get my hand on the doorknob, I was pulled backward and spun slightly, my lips colliding with Cam’s.  At first, I tried to fight back, but I lost myself within the kiss. One of her arms was wrapped around me and the other was holding the back of my head so I wouldn’t budge, and trust me I tried. But for the first time today, I felt safe. My arms found themselves around her neck and I couldn’t feel, see or touch anything that wasn’t Cam. What pulled me back to reality were our friends, cheering for us in the background. As we slowly pulled apart we couldn’t help but mouth out the word, “Wow...”, stunned at how our first kiss played out.

Suddenly, we felt something falling on us from the ceiling. It was Mason throwing bread crumbs at us, which didn’t surprise anyone that he’d sneak out of the Cafeteria with an extra side dish. “Mazel Tov! All I can say is, we better be invited to the wedding!”

Alexa laughed and wrapped her arms around him, pecking his cheek, “You can be so embarrassing, why am I with you again?” She teased.

He turned his gaze toward her and pecked her lips, “Because even though I’m a pain in the you still love me.”

She lightly hit his chest, “Oh, whatever.”

Cam smiled, “Give him a break, after all," She looked at me. "this is something to celebrate.”

I blushed at her words and then did something so unlike me, I initiated another kiss. It wasn’t as long as hers was, but the passion was still there. Before completely pulling away, I whispered into her ear, “Are you still up for going somewhere alone?”

She nodded, her cheeks turning red. She took hold of my hand and kissed it, before leading me to the big tree outside. We bid our friends goodbye, as we walked together hand in hand, with smiles plastered onto our faces.

~AUTHOR'S NOTE ~: Here is the massive update I promised you guys! Hope you like it. The chapter was inspired by A Cinderella Story and 'Stolen Kisses' episode 3x10 from Pretty Little Liars. Please write your comments/concerns down below! My co-author and I love to hear from you guys and it keeps up going! Til next time :D