The wind whipped against my stinging cheeks as the salty water rushed down my face in a waterfall. I swung my legs in the air on the cliff overlooking the entire city. The lights danced along as I swept my eyes across every little thing, the tears blurring my vision. I fumbled with a small rock that I had picked up from nearby, singing softly to myself. I liked it here, before I knew. Before I knew what my future held before me, before I knew about the cancer functioning throughout my body.

I had less than two months, is what Dr. Winters had said just a few days ago. My phone buzzed through the silence of the night, telling me to pick it up because I'm just causing people to worry. It would be the same three people to call; Mom, Dad or Jake. Oh, Jake. I had stopped singing softly and just distracted myself by picking grass and tearing it as I gazed at the city. Jake is my best friend, has been since first grade. My parents adore him, they have the thought that he would be my one and only, before I had diagnosed. Now it's impossible.

I'm coming closer and closer to the end of the tracks, the only direction I'm heading to is a dead end. I took my jacket sleeve and wiped my wet cheeks with it then took one more look over the city before I stood up. I loved it up here, before and after Dr. Winters had told me of what the future held ahead of me.

Snatching my phone, I looked at my glowing screen, 12 missed calls and 31 missed messages within an hour, a new record for myself. The cliff was just 15 minutes walking distance from the house and Jake's house, who lived just a few houses away from me. Slowly, I started to walk back to the house, kicking pebbles that were near my feet. My phone buzzed in my hand and I rose it to look at the screen; Jake's name and picture of the two of us at an amusement park a couple of years ago shone brightly in the darkness.

My thumb wavered over the screen before accepting the call. "Oh thank goodness!" He sounded relieved to get ahold of me after all the attempts. Almost all the missed calls over the hour was from him anyways. "Ashely, please tell me you didn't go to the woods, its dark and-" "I'm not, I promise," I interrupted him then paused before I continued, "I'm heading back from the cliff, that's all."

"That's what I figured, I was just about to head over there, I'm at your parents house, they're worried, Ash." I smiled when he spoke my nickname. When Jake had first met me, he had spoke confidently, after we exchanged names, " I'm just going to call you Ash, it fits you." Jake had nodded to himself and then that began the long friendship that goes on till this very moment. The only thing that will stop our friendship is the cancer that's going to make me slam into the end of the tracks.

I snapped out of my thoughts and kicked a stone, making it fly down the pavement. "I know." I hadn't sped up, in fact, I seemed to have been walking even slower than I had been before. "I've got a surprise for you." The single sentence seemed to have brightened the mood, he has a natural skill to brighten peoples moods. It's impressive really.

"Really?" I looked down at my feet as I walked, surprise lacing my voice, "What is it?" I heard him chuckle. "What's the meaning of a surprise if I just told you?" I huffed, shaking my head. "Well, I don't know, I think I would still be surprised if you told me what it is." I could practically hear him smile through the phone.

"No, silly, you're going to have to come here yourself and find out!" He exclaimed as if it couldn't get any simpler. I laughed, " Of course, I should be there in about 15 minutes." I sped my speed up a few notches. "Good, because I can't bear to keep this surprise to myself any longer, Ash, see you in 15," Jake said with excitement. "See you then." I removed the phone from my ear and disconnected the call, a smile visible on my face. One rule we made since we were told about my cancer was to never say bye, never. It's just a random but meaningful rule to us that we follow.

Around 15 minutes later, I was bursting through the door and running to the living room, the smile never leaving my face, till I say Jake with my worried looking parents. Jake scratched his head and smiled apologetically, knowing that I didn't like when my parents had started to treat me like a five year old since we were told. I'm still the same me as before, I just have some missing hair that I hide, bags under my eyes that are covered with light makeup and have cancer. That's the only difference, or that's what I keep telling myself anyways.

I didn't realize that my parents were talking to me, until I snapped out of my thoughts. "-And you keep going out without any of us knowing!" My mothers voice was full of worry and sadness. Then it was dads turn to continue there protectiveness they had over me since I had cancer. "You're worrying us every time you leave without any notice, at least tell us before going out. You worry your mother to the point where she's running around the house looking for clues to where you are." She's a cop, except she's been taking some vacation days lately to spend time at home with me, when most of the time I'm out or just in my room. 

It had been a second before the frowning had stopped, now my parents were smiling widely. "Jake, being the lovely boy he is, has a surprise for you!" It worried me how they change their emotions so quickly, it has lately. "He told me on the phone-" I could see the looks on their faces that another discussion would come up, Jake noticed quickly enough and ran over. "Alright, Mrs. and Mr. Reed, we will be in the back." Mom smiled widely, looking excited. Curious, I followed Jake to the backyard then to the two tire swings that dangled from the large tree in back of our yard.

I sat on my usual swing, as he did on the other. I swung lightly, spinning a little bit, a smile spread out across my lips. "So?" I urged him to speak after a moment of silent. Jake had been looking down at the grass, but after I had spoken, he looked up and smiled brightly at me. "We are going to go do everything you have ever wanted to do before the end comes, Ash."