Still smiling, I rolled my eyes and said, "Not this again." I had said it out loud, so Ariana heard me.

"Huh? Not what again, Daniel? Are you already tired of seeing me?"

"Me? Tired of you? Never. Why, every time that I see you, my day becomes extra special."

Her cheeks changed to a shade of red, and she gave me a playful slap on the arm. "Oh, Daniel. You are the ideal gentleman."

I should bring up that Ariana had been insecure about herself ever since the diagnosis. She was petrified that her cancer would cause her to lose those who were close to her, including her sister and "friends." I hardly knew anything about her sister, Laila, and her so-called "friends" had brains the size of walnuts.

Ariana deserved better, and besides, the medicine and treatment, I was the cure.

Whenever I was not in school, I was in the hospital and sitting by Ariana. Heck, I sometimes would skip school if I really wanted to see her. I would bring her treats, such as flowers and chocolate, and stay by her side until visiting hours were over.

Now, you might be saying, "Why would you skip school, Daniel? You do not sound like the kid that would do no wrong."

First of all, I am not perfect. No one is. Second of all, all of my teachers were more than okay with me skipping their classes. I was way ahead of my peers and accepted into more than one college. But yes, you can say that I am the kid who does no wrong.

I am not like other teenagers. I do not play on my cellphone all day or fail my assignments. I have parents who raised me right and are proud of what and how I pushed myself through. They trust me so much that they do not mind me going to the movies on a school night.

Sadly, I never do, and you want to know why? It is because I did not have any friends.

Before I met Ariana, I had no friends or a girlfriend. Well, that were alive. Ariana's cancer only drew us closer and closer, and we soon decided to be a couple. I bet that you can imagine how I felt when she had a desire to be with me and only me.

Now, I would be lying if I did not mention him. Derek Clarkson. He is my first friend, and we have been friends for a long time. As a matter of fact, he came with me to the hospital. It is too bad that Ariana or anyone else could not see him.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" I told Ariana. "I have to make a quick errand. It will not take long at all. I promise."

"Oh. Sure, Daniel."

"Here. Let me take you to my parents' car. You can wait in there."

I led her to the car. It was a red Prius and the only car that Mom and Dad owned. It was a pretty sweet ride.

I opened the car door to the passenger seat, and she thanked me and climbed in. I carefully shut the door and moved far away from the car so that Ariana would not see me. Us. Me! She could not see Derek.

In case that you did not realize it, my best friend Derek was a ghost. Thankfully, he is a good ghost and gives me plenty of advice. I would go as far to say that he is a main factor in me and Ariana forming a healthy relationship.

I was the only person to see him, and do not ask me why. Even he does not know. He resembles a human and has colors. His skin was pale, and his hair was short and black. He had on a black, short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and black shoes.

At first glance, you would think that he was either goth or a bad boy. But no. Black is just his favorite color, and he is on his best behavior...most of the time.

Whenever we spot an abandoned house, Derek would always insist that we go in and explore. As you might have guessed, that never happened because it was considered trespassing.

"We could get into trouble," I said.

"No. You could get into trouble," he pointed out. "No other humans can see me."

So we had never explored an abandoned house. Not until that very day...

"Derek, how many times do I have to tell you to keep quiet?" I said. "You do not want to make me look like a delusional person in front of Ariana, do you?"

"Of course not," Derek replied. "You are my best friend. It is just..."

"Just what?"

"...look, Daniel. I am aware how much you love Ariana...but she is not my type."

"Good. She can see me, not you."

"What I am trying to get at is that now that the two of you are starting to date, what am I supposed to do?"

"You can stay in my room and play some video games."

"Yeah. And then your parents film me ten minutes later. Then I view the video on the web and wet my shorts. That would stink because I only have one pair of shorts!"

"Or you can come with me and Ariana," I suggested.

"Seriously? What is there for me to do? I cannot talk because your girlfriend Ariana will hear me. I cannot do anything because people will whip out their cellphones or cameras and take pictures or videotape me. Do you know how annoying that is? What the heck happened to ghost lives matter?"

I shrugged. "Curious people."

"Curious? 'Cause taking photos or a video of a poor ghost who accidentally fell down the stairs before he died is being curious."

I thought for a moment and snapped my fingers. "Derek, I have an idea."