A/N- New update.
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Thanks so much for the 200 reads!🥰

                                                        
"I come bearing gifts and an apology." I heard a voice say in my room. I rubbed my eyes groggily as the sleep cleared slowly from my eyes. It seems I fell asleep crying as I recounted my experience two months ago when I was told I had brain cancer. I saw that it was Mason and let me tell you I am really surprised.

"What are you doing here?" I asked looking really puzzled. I mean he's supposed to be mad at me and all after the whole drama I pulled after school. I'll be mad if it were me.

Mason sighed, "I wanted to apologize for today. I'm sorry for pushing to be my partner when you clearly didn't want to. I don't want this to cause a rift between us and if it'll make you feel better, I'll request for a change of partner tomorrow. When Mrs Levinson see we both don't want to be partners, maybe she'll consider and..."  I interrupted him by throwing my hands around his back, thereby pulling him into a tight hug.

Mason's body became rigid when I hugged him, but he soon relaxed. I think he was really surprised about the hug. "If I had known that'll make you happy as you are right now, I would have come as soon as I came back from school. Rather than waiting till ten p.m"
I shook my head vehemently, "That's not why I'm happy. I'm just so glad to see you here. I thought you'll be mad at me for what I said this afternoon, I'm super sorry for being such a fool and saying what I said to you. I totally didn't mean it." I sniffed, as I tried to keep the tears at bay.

While I was asleep, I don't know if what I had was a dream or a flashback. In that dream or whatever it was, I was having a conversation with Mrs Levinson but rather than the one I had in her office, we were in a hospital. I was on the bed with lots of plugs connected to me, and it seemed that Mrs Levinson came to visit. 'Now you're leaving this world, I'll like to ask you a question. What's your greatest regret Hailey?'

With tears in my eyes, I responded sadly 'Pushing Mason away and not doing the project with him.' Mrs Levinson shook her head sadly and turned to leave, "I told you you'll regret it. You had a chance at life and you blew it. The one person who would have been there for you, hell be damned, yet what did you do? You pushed him away. I asked you that day if you were truly happy? Well, now I can see the answer. You're here alone in the hospital, except your grieving family outside and me, do you see anyone here with you? Of course not. You can't see anyone here 'cause you pushed everyone away.' She said, smiling menacingly.

This wasn't the Mrs Levinson I knew. The Mrs Levinson I knew would be sympathetic and not this mean to me. 'Get out of my room! Get out! I don't want to see your face.' I yelled with tears streaming down my cheeks, the machines were whirring signifying that right now I was stressing myself so much.

Mrs Levinson smirked, "You're throwing me out?" She gasped as she laughed maniacally, "I don't think you are in a position to to do that. I mean you are dying and yet you don't have a single friend here. I've you looked around the hospital, you are the only one who's without a friend to mourn them. Even people on the streets have their fellow street people to mourn them. But who do you have?  No one. I'm the only one who isn't your family that's here, so I don't think you should be throwing me out. But I'll go, after all I've overstayed my welcome. You are pushing me out pretty much like how you pushed everyone out of your life." She started walking to the door, then she stopped and turned back, "Do you want to know what living a long life actually is? It's not how many years you spend on earth, it's actually how well you spent your time on earth. So I ask you, Did you live your life well?" With that question, she left the room.

I can remember how I felt like turning the hands of time in that dream or whatever it was 'cause I knew I had a lot of regrets. So because of that dream, I decided I didn't want my greatest regret to be what if? Maybe if I did?

I made the sole promise that if I'm going to be regretting anything, it wouldn't be anything about the project or Mason. Sure, I'm not going to up and tell Mason, 'Hey, I have brain cancer and I can die anytime soon.' that'll be bloody stupidity and I'm not stupid. Not one bit. But, I've decided that though I won't tell Mason, if he finds out when my symptoms start to show, I won't hide it. I think Mason would take it better than the rest of my friends and if I tell him I don't want them to know, he'll protect my secret till the very end. I know he'll do that 'cause he's Mason. He's been there for me without even knowing it. It's just how Mason is.

"It's fine Hailey. It's you and I'm totally used to your tantrums, I mean you pushed me off the stairs when we were twelve! So, it's totally cool." He rubbed my back soothingly.
That made me finally burst into tears as I withdrew from the hug a bit to look at his face. Mason looked so shocked at my tears.

"Don't cry Hailey, please don't cry. I don't know what I said but I'm sorry if it made you cry." Mason said in full panicky mood as he placed my head back on his shoulder and rubbed my back soothingly.
I sniffed, "It's-It's-It's not what you said. How can you forgive me so easily after all I said to you? I supposed to apologize to you, not you coming to apologize to me. I'm so sorry Mason, I'll be honoured to be your partner." I said. Call me selfish, but after that dream I realized that having Mason in my life is better than not having him at all. I needed that closure I usually get from him whenever I'm sad. No one makes me feel more normal than Mason.

"I forgive you Hailey 'cause you'll always be my homegirl no matter how many stairs you push me off. You can't get rid of me easily." He laughed when he said the stairs thing.
I withdrew from the hug and pushed his shoulder lightly, "Stop being corny. Besides, I already apologized for the stairs thing so many times!" I laughed.

He chuckled and shook his head, "It still feels like it just happened yesterday and not five years ago. So you'll keep apologizing until it feels like it happened five years ago. Besides, you are the offender and I'm the offended, so I think our role is switched here. I'm supposed to be the one complaining the apology is too much and not you." He concluded using a sensei voice for the last part.
I laughed so hard and elbowed his stomach lightly.

"You're a clown."
"And you are too violent woman! I'll need to get a restraining order against you." He groaned and rubbed the place I elbowed him.
"You'll be begging my amazing self as soon as you get the restraining order 'cause you can't just stay away from amazing moi."

"True. That's only why I haven't gotten one." He said without missing a beat.
I didn't say anything, I only smiled.
"Now clean up your face Hailey. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you aren't a sexy crier at all. Ensure that in future, your fiance puts a ring on your finger before you cry, else he may change his mind." He joked, trying his best to keep a straight face.

"Shut up dipshit. You are always mean to me." I said walking towards the bathroom to wash my face, not before elbowing him for the second time that day.
He grunted, "Ouch! Must you always be so violent?"
"Must you always be so mean? We can't always get what we want, only in an alternate universe." I shrugged, my words having double meaning. If we can always get what we want, then I most certainly wouldn't have chosen cancer.
I was about to close the bathroom door when Mason yelled, "I'll get a restraining order."
"You'll miss my amazing self. You'll only get that restraining order in an alternate universe." I yelled back and shut the door.

Okay, so Mason was actually right about something. I'm a terrible crier, I look absolutely horrible. How come no one has ever told me this? I washed my face, and dried my face and hands with the towel before I strolled casually into the room.

"Come over Hailey, I brought chocolatey." Mason called me over.
My eyes shine in excitement as I hurried and sat down beside Mason as I faced the plate of goodies. Now, let me give you a brief history of chocolatey.
When we were fourteen, one hot afternoon during summer we were seeing a show in Mason's house called 'Why I can't cook?' So, apparently Mason was blasting them, saying these can never be legit reasons why someone can never cook and the show was rigged. He was really bitter about it, that I couldn't help it but to turn to him and ask, "Can you do better?"

"Sure! I can do better than these excuse of horrible cooks." He grunted.
"Really? Okay, you have no excuse not to try. There's a kitchen here, there are ingredients here. Let's see if you are as good as you say you are."

"I never said I was good, what I said was I can't be that bad. Since we are obviously doing nothing, let's try out a new recipe I have tried so many times in my head. If it doesn't come out alright, I'm sorry. I just know I won't be that bad." He said as we advanced to the kitchen.
After two hours of culinary display with me acting as a sous chef, I finally tasted what he baked and trust me when I say it wasn't bad at all. Far from it.

"Oh my gosh, this cookie is beyond amazing. The texture is really good and it's chocolatey. Anytime I'm mad at you, trust me this is the way to my heart." I moaned in delight as the cookie melted in my mouth. I was actually kidding about Mason making me the cookies anytime I'm angry, but Mason took it literally and started doing it. So it became our tradition, and since it's already been established that I shouldn't be let into the kitchen unsupervised, I can't always return the favor. So I always stick to making my signature sandwich that Mason cherishes.

I moaned in delight as Mason's cookies dissolved in my mouth. It never gets old, trust me.
"You should have said that when you came in." I scolded him as I licked my fingers in delight. Mason is one person that I can be myself around, without he judging me.
"I actually said it. I said I come 'bearing gifts', that's what I meant."
"Ohh... Okay. I didn't hear that part. But, just know that so far as you know how to make this cookie and you keep giving them to me,  I will love and cherish you for as long as I live." I joked.
Mason scoffed, "Glad to know your love for me is conditional."

I fluffed his hair and he gave me a stink eye. Mason hates whenever I mess with his hair, but I think we already established that I do whatever Mason hates.
"Awww Masey, are you sad? At least you are getting some love from me, no matter if it's conditional." I joked again.
Mason didn't say anything. I think he was tired of arguing with me.
We kept eating the cookies until Mason broke the silence.
"You know you don't have to be my partner if you don't want to. I respect your decision and..." Mason was saying when I cut him off, "I told you Mason, I'll really love to be your partner. That's what I really want." I smiled as I said this.
Mason smiled back. The thing is Mason has sacrificed so much as my friend and honestly I've seen that being my partner means so much him, plus I don't want my greatest regret to be that I didn't spend enough time with him before I die.

"So partner, how do you suggest we go about this project?" He asked.
I scrunched my brows in thought, "I don't really know. I mean we've known each other for five years, so we know almost everything about each other."
"Think no more 'cause your knight in shining armor has an idea."
"And what might that be dear knight?" I asked really curious.
"Let's have some crazy adventures, I mean we've never really done spontaneous stuffs together. This a really good opportunity to do stuffs. Then after three months, we combine the best of our adventures then burn as a CD, then submit. What do you think?" Mason asked me looking really hopeful that'll say yes.

I placed my hand on my chin in thought, "Hmmm... That's suprisingly a good idea."
"So is that a yes?"
"I think it's safe to say that's a yes." I smiled.

"Yes! I promise I'll never push you to do or to tell me what you don't want to during this project." He said and hugged me tightly.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it." I smiled sincerely.

I really want to do this with Mason but I don't want him to ever find out about my disease. I want him to know me as I always have been till the day I die. I just don't want my regret to be not spending enough time with him.
"Okay... Okay. Can we stop hugging right now? You're being really clingy." I joked as I patted his back akwardly. I said it like I didn't like hugging him. Whenever I hug Mason, I feel really safe and like I'm not truly dying. I feel like me without the cancer.
"So are you ready to take my hand as we have the most amazing time together?" He asked after we withdrew from the hug.
"Ermmm... I think I am." I smiled.
"Then grab my hands as we set to conquer the world." He said dramatically.
I groaned, "Can you stop being cheesy Mason? It's just a project work, not finding a cure for cancer."

Mason laughed and I couldn't help but to join him. While we were laughing, I looked at Mason with so much emotion. I'm glad that I have him in my life, to help me smile despite how shitty life is right now.

I definitely agree with people who say that some friends are made and sent by heaven for a person. They're like angels in disguise.

Mason is that type of friend and I couldn't be more lucky to have him.

A/N- Do have that type of friend or those type of friends? The type that you feel you are lucky to have?

I know I definitely do.😊

Till the next update, I hope you all remain safe.
Bye🚶