I stare at Nathan, hardly believing he's here. My vision's all blurry from crying, and for a second, I wonder if I'm imagining him.

But then he's moving towards me, and before I know it, I'm on the ground, and his arms are around me. He's real. He's here.

I bury my face in his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of his laundry detergent and the body spray he always uses too much of. Fresh tears soak his t-shirt, but he doesn't seem to mind.

"I'm sorry," I mumble into his chest. "I'm so sorry, Nate."

He pulls back a little, looking down at me with a frown. "Hey, none of that," he says firmly. "You've got nothing to be sorry for."

I shake my head, wiping at my eyes. "But I ignored you. I pushed you away. I—"

"Beth," Nathan cuts me off, his voice gentle but firm. "Shut up."

That startles a laugh out of me, watery and weak, but a laugh all the same.

Nathan grins, looking pleased with himself. "There's my girl," he says softly. Then he nods towards the tree trunk. "Come on. My butt's got a date with that tree."

I climb back up, making room for him. We are side by side, just like we have been a hundred times before. For a moment, we're quiet, the only sound being the rustle of leaves in the breeze.

"So," Nathan says finally. "Rough day?"

I let out a bitter laugh. "You could say that."

He doesn't push; he just waits for me to continue. That's one of the things I love about him—he always knows when to talk and when to just listen.

"It was awful," I admit. "Everyone was staring, whispering. Acting like I'm already dead."

Nathan's hand finds mine, squeezing it. "I'm sorry," he says. "People can be real idiots sometimes."

I nod, fresh tears pricking at my eyes. "I just... I don't know how to do this, Nate. How to be the girl with cancer. The girl who's dying."

The words hang in the air between us, heavy and final. Nathan's quiet for a long moment, his thumb tracing circles on the back of my hand.

"Beth," he says finally, his voice rough. "Is there... is there any chance? Any at all that you could..."

He trails off, but I know what he's asking. Is there any chance I could be saved?

I look at him and don't even have to say anything. He sees the answer in my eyes.

"Fuck," he breathes, closing his eyes like he's in pain.

"Yeah," I agree. "Fuck."

We sit in silence for a while, both lost in our thoughts. Then Nathan turns to me.

"Listen to me, Beth," he says. "You're not alone in this, okay? I'm here. I'm not going anymore."

I want to believe him—God, I want to believe him so badly—but a part of me is scared to let him in, to depend on him.

"But what if—" I start, but he cuts me off.

"No what ifs. I'm here. End of story."

And then he's pulling me into another hug, and I let myself melt into it. For the first time in weeks, I feel safe. Protected.

"I'm scared, Nate," I whisper into his shoulder.

His arms tighten around me. "I know," he says. "I am, too. But we're going to be okay, alright?"

I nod.

We stay like that for a long time, just holding each other. The sun starts to set, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange.

"Hey," Nathan says suddenly. "Remember when we used to come here to study for exams?"

I smile at the memory. "You mean when you'd spend the whole time trying to distract me by throwing acorns at my head?"

He laughs, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Hey, it worked, didn't it? You always did better when you weren't stressing so much."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumble, but I'm smiling.

We fall into reminiscing, sharing memories of all the times we've spent in this spot: the day we found it back in year 9, the time Nathan fell out of the tree trying to impress Jenny Parker, the night we snuck out here after prom, still in our fancy clothes, and watched the sunrise.

It feels good to remember the happy times.

As we sit there, watching the sky turn from orange to deep blue, Nathan suddenly turns to me with a mischievous glint.

"I've got an idea," he says, a grin spreading across his face.

I raise an eyebrow, both curious and a little worried. Nathan's ideas can be unpredictable. "What kind of idea?"

He hops off the tree trunk, turning to face me. "I want you to do something."

"Okay..." I say slowly, not sure where this is going. "What is it?"

"Scream."

I blink at him, sure I've misheard. "What?"

"You heard me," he insists, grinning wider. "Scream. Right now."

I stare at him, wondering if he's lost his mind. "Scream? What do you mean, scream?"

"Scream, Beth. Close your eyes and just... let it all out. All that anger, all the fear. Just scream it into the sky."

I shake my head, feeling silly. "Nate, that's ridiculous. I can't just—"

"Sure you can," he interrupts. "Look, I'll go first."

Before I can stop him, Nathan throws his head back and lets out a loud, primal scream. It echoes through the woods, startling a few birds from nearby trees. He screams until he's out of breath, his face red from the effort.

When he finishes, he turns to me, panting slightly but grinning. "See? Easy peasy. Your turn."

I can't help but laugh. He looks so... alive. So ridiculous and wonderful and perfectly Nathan. "You're insane, you know that?"

He shrugs. "Maybe. But admit it, you love me anyway."

I roll my eyes, but I'm smiling. "Yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head."

"Come on, Beth," he urges. "Trust me on this. It feels good to just... let it all out."

I take a deep breath, feeling a bit silly. But then I think about everything that's happened — the diagnosis, the fear, the pity in everyone's eyes. And suddenly, I want to scream. I need to scream.

So I do.

I close my eyes and scream until my lungs burn and my throat feels raw. And Nathan was right — it does feel good. It feels like I'm releasing all the fear, anger, and frustration that's been building up inside me.

When I stop, I'm breathing hard, but I feel lighter somehow. I feel free.

Nathan's grinning at me. "See? Told you."

I laugh, the sound bubbling up from deep inside me. "Yeah, yeah. You were right."

"Want to go again?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

I nod, surprising myself. "Yeah, I think I do."

We scream together this time. I'm pretty sure anyone nearby must think we're crazy. But I don't care.

As our screams die down, I take another deep breath and shout, "Fuck cancer!"

Nathan looks at me, startled momentarily, then breaks into a wide grin. "Yeah!" he yells. "Fuck cancer!"

We collapse against each other, laughing and breathing hard. I feel more alive than I have in weeks, maybe months.

"Thanks, Nate," I say when I catch my breath. "I needed that."

He bumps his shoulder against mine. "Anytime. That's what I'm here for."

We sit back down on our tree, shoulders touching.

After a while, Nathan says, "You know, we should make this a regular thing."

I turn to look at him. "What, coming out here to scream our heads off?"

He nods, looking completely serious. "Yeah, why not? Whenever things get too much, whenever you need to let it out... we come here and scream until we feel better."

I consider it for a moment. It's a crazy idea, but then again, so is Nathan. And if I'm honest, I do feel better.

"Okay," I agree. "But if we get arrested for disturbing the peace, I blame you."

Nathan holds out his hand. "Deal. Screaming buddies?"

I roll my eyes but take his hand anyway. "Screaming buddies."

We sit in comfortable silence, watching the first stars appear in the darkening sky. It's peaceful here, away from the worried looks and whispered conversations. I can finally breathe.

"Should probably head back," he says reluctantly. "Also, don't worry. I already texted your parents when I was on my way here."

Of course, he did.

We climb down from our tree, gathering our things. As we start to make our way out of the woods, Nathan reaches out and takes my hand. I squeeze it.

As we walk home, the cool night air nips at my skin. I'm glad Nathan's holding my hand — it's warm. We're quiet for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. But then he breaks the silence.

"Hey, Beth?" he says.

I look up at him. "Yeah?"

He's got that look on his face, the one he gets on his face when he's about to say something important. "Have you thought about writing a bucket list?"

I blink at him. "A bucket list? Why?"

He shrugs, but I can tell he's been thinking about this. "It's things to do before you no longer have the chance to. I read a book about it a while ago."

I bite my lip, thinking. "I haven't thought about it, if I'm honest."

Nathan nods like he expected that. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to try."

I consider for a moment. "No," I say slowly, "no, it wouldn't."

He grins, looking excited now. "If you're stuck doing one, I could help you on Saturday. I could pick you up and go somewhere for the day."

The idea of spending a whole day with Nathan, away from everything else, sounds perfect. "I'd love that," I say, smiling.

"Great. I'll pick you up early then."

I roll my eyes, but I'm still smiling. "Hopefully, not too early."

He laughs. "What can I say? I'm an early bird."

We keep walking, our joined hands swinging between us. I'm thinking about what Nathan said — a bucket list. It's a bit weird, but maybe it's not such a bad idea. Perhaps it'll help me focus on the good things, the things I want to do, instead of... well, the other stuff.

"So," I say after a bit, "do you have any ideas for this bucket list?"

Nathan's face lights up. "Oh, loads! We could go skydiving, or bungee jumping, or—"

I laugh, cutting him off. "Whoa there. "Maybe we start with something a bit less... death-defying?"

He grins sheepishly. "Yeah, alright. How about... oh! We could go to a drive-in movie theatre?"

That sounds pretty good. "Ooh, yeah. I've wanted to go to one of those for a while."

"Great!" Nathan says, looking chuffed. "We'll add that to the list. What else?"

We spend the rest of the walk brainstorming ideas. Some are silly — like trying to eat a whole pizza in one sitting — and some are simple — like swimming in the sea, which I've never done. By the time we reach my house, we've got quite a list going.

We stop at the end of my driveway. The lights are on inside, and I can see my mum's shadow moving around in the kitchen. I sigh, not wanting to go in yet.

Nathan must sense my reluctance because he pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around him, burying my face in his chest.

"Hey," he says softly, his chin resting on my head. "It's gonna be okay, Beth."

I nod against his chest, not wanting to speak in case I cry again. We stay like that for a long moment, just holding each other.

Finally, Nathan pulls back a bit but keeps his hands on my shoulders. "I'll see you on Saturday. And remember, no ignoring my calls or texts."

I wince, feeling a pang of guilt. I know I worried him when I went radio silent after my diagnosis. "I won't," I promise. "I'm sorry about that."

He smiles, and it's so warm and full of forgiveness that I feel my heart swell. "It's okay. Just don't do it again, alright?"

I nod, managing a small smile. "Alright."

Nathan gives my shoulder one last squeeze before letting go. "Right then," he says, taking a step back. "I'd better get home before my mum sends out a search party."

"Yeah, you probably should."

I watch Nathan walk away, hands in his pocket, whistling that tune, he always does when he's happy. As he turns the corner and disappears, I can't help but smile.

Because Nathan... he's just Nathan. My best friend. The one person who can make me laugh even on my worst days. The one who's not afraid to be silly with me, push me out of my comfort zone and just be there when I need him.

As I stood there, I realised something. With everything that's happened, with all the changes and scary stuff going on in my life, Nathan is the one beautiful constant in my world of upheaval. He's my rock, my safe space, my... well, my Nathan.

I don't know what I did to deserve someone like him, but I'm glad I have him. Whatever happens next, at least I know I won't be facing it alone.

With that thought warming me from the inside out, I turn towards my front door. I'm already looking forward to whatever adventure Saturday might bring. Because with Nathan by my side, even the scariest things seem less frightening.

And that's worth more than any bucket list could ever be.