"I'm not being replaced, am I?" Francis asks suspiciously as he watches Harry sit at our table for lunch. "Because I won't stand for it. I'm the best friend, not this guy," he adds. I raise an eyebrow at him, knowing full well that he's trying to put on a show.

"I-I'm not trying to steal her away," Harry says nervously as he nervously takes a large bite from his apple. "I'm just trying to be her friend, that's all."

"Uh huh, sure," Francis says as he leans forward to give him a 'suspicious' look. "Listen here buddy, if you break her heart in any way, you're answering to me."

"Francis, that's enough," I say seriously as I elbow his side. "Stop trying to scare off a potential new friend."

"I'm not looking to break her heart, promise," Harry says as he holds up hid hand in surrender. His eyes flicker over to meet mine and he sends me a shy smile. "I um, what do you two usually talk about?" he asks in an effort to change the subject.

"Right now it's mostly been about colleges," I say as I take a bite from my slice of cold pizza. "I'm applying to Stanford and Berkeley for medicine."

"Stanford's been looking at me," Harry comments. "They want me to be on their soccer team."

"You're that good?" Francis asks as he shoves several fries into his mouth. "Fuck, Meg, maybe we should actually go to a game," he says.

"You haven't been to one?" Harry asks, both surprised and mildly offended.

"No, not really," I say, shrugging. "I went to a game once, but my leg started to fall off and some of the other students around me noticed. They tried to take it, and they probably would have, had my dad not been there."

"Who did that?" Harry asks immediately, his eyes flashing with anger. 

"It doesn't matter," Francis says hastily. "We haven't been to one since, but now that we're friends with you, I think we're obligated to go to the rest of the games for this year."

"You don't have to," Harry says. "My friends don't go, so I wouldn't expect you two to go," he adds sheepishly. I can't help but frown at his words. His friends don't go to his games?

"Well now we've got to go," Francis groans. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't show up to your games?"

"Shitty ones," I answer for Harry. "There's a game on Friday, right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah there is," Harry says shyly. He seems amazed that we're actually planning on going. "But you really don't have to. I don't want you to have to worry about someone harassing you."

"We'll just sit at the top of the bleachers. People don't usually sit up there," I reply. "Though, I do want to actually to see what's happening..." I muse quietly.

"You could always sit with my mum and sister," Harry offers. "They always sit at the front and they're both intimidating enough to scare people away." Francis and I glance at each other before nodding. For the rest of lunch, we continue talking and I feel myself getting more impressed with how Harry's handling himself. I know he really only meant to be my friend, but since Francis is always around, he also has to be friends with him.

I know that he can be a handful sometimes and I really like that Harry's making such a big effort. It shows that he really does care and isn't trying to do this because he feels obligated to. It's weird becoming friends with Harry but I welcome the unfamiliar feeling. It feels nice to have another friend at this school, even if I had made it in the last couple months that I'd be here. It's anyone's guess to whether or not we would keep in touch after high school, even if we both went to Stanford. I know that I'll always be friends with Francis, but with Harry, I'm a little unsure.

The next few days go by rather quickly, and there's still been no call from the hospital. My blood results should be coming in soon and I'll admit that I'm getting more anxious. Even though I'm still convinced that my cancer's back, it would feel better to hear that it hasn't. It would be better for everyone if it didn't. Mom and Dad are also getting anxious and they're showing it by continually treating me to take out food. Monday night was Thai, Tuesday was Indian and last night had been Chinese. I'm not complaining but it feels weird to know that they've pretty much given up hope. They're thinking the same thing that I am, even if they won't tell me.

Harry and I have been getting surprisingly closer in the past few days as well. We're spending our free period together in the library and we usually just talk. More recently though, we've been studying for some exams. He has even come over to my place a few times with Francis. This nearly gave my dad a heart attack because I had finally brought over a boy that wasn't Francis. He tried snooping while the three of us were studying in the living room but he ended up liking Harry and talked with him a lot.

Mom was immediately smitten, and I could see it in her eyes that she was happy that I had made a new friend. I think she's also hoping that I'm finally moving on from Reed. She's afraid that I'm going to spend the rest of my life alone because of what happened with him. After everything, I've become determined not to get attached, and to not let people get attached to me because they could lose me at any second.

People around school have noticed that both Francis and I have become good friends with Harry because I've been getting a lot more stares. Emilia hasn't dared come near me after the last time we interacted but I know she's not done with me. The problem has really only been put on hold and I'm fairly sure that soon, the situation is going to explode. People don't really harass me like they used to and it's both annoying and interesting to know that all it took for everyone to back off was Harry. I didn't really think that he had this much influence over the school, but I guess I was wrong.

Sitting through biology today was made a little more bearable when Jason Matthews asked his long time girlfriend, Bella Rice to prom. It was really quite sweet and it actually made me excited to go to the dance. Francis and I agreed to go as each other's dates. Senior prom is the only dance we'll have gone to in the four years that we've been doing to this school and that's really only because our parents would have thrown a hissy fit if we didn't go. For all of the other dances, we were usually just holed up in one of our rooms and were stuffing our faces with ice cream and popcorn while watching old Disney Channel movies.

"Alright, how are we dressing for prom?" Francis asks as we walk down the hallway. "Are you going to wear a suit or dress?"

"I kind of feel like wearing a dress," I say after a few moments of thought. "It would make my mother really happy."

"But would it make you happy?" he presses.

"Yeah I think so," I say. "I don't normally wear them, and I kind of feel like being girly for one night."

"Alright," he says with a small smile. "Prom is going to be lit this year."

"First off, never say lit again," I begin. "Second, I've got to go, I'm supposed to meet Harry in the library."

"Have fun," Francis says, smirking.

"It's not like that you ass," I say as I punch his shoulder. He merely chuckles in response and we part ways. When I get to the library, I see that Harry is at the table we've been sitting at for the past few days. He looks up and smiles at me and I shyly return it. The next hour and a half is relatively silent as we do our math homework. Every so often, I'll look up and see that Harry's looking at me; he always looks away when he's been caught and I don't miss how his cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

"So, your game is tomorrow, right?" I ask him when it's five minutes before the bell. Harry nods and bites his lip as he looks at me for a few moments.

"Yeah, it is," he says as he hastily begins to pack up his things. "I've been meaning to ask if you wanted to come to a party with me on Saturday. It'll be a celebration of our win," he continues as he watches my reaction carefully.

"What if you lose?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Then it'll be a party where we wallow in self pity," he replies. "You don't have to come, but I thought I'd mention it. It'll be at my place, and Francis is invited too."

"Won't your parents get mad at you for having a party?"

"They don't care as long as there's no property damage and the place is spotless when they come back. When I have parties, they usually go treat themselves to a day spa somewhere," Harry shrugs. "So what do you say?"

"I'm interested," I say. "But if I go, I'd prefer if we stayed together for as long as possible. I don't really trust drunk people around me," I add.

"Of course," Harry says with a wide smile, seemingly relieved that I said yes. "I'll stay by your side the whole night."

"Perfect," I say. As we leave the library, Harry asks me several times if I'm sure that I want to go. I assure him that I want to, and he goes off to soccer practice while I walk home with Francis. I bring up the party to him and he immediately begins to laugh.

"I'm not going," he says.

"What, why?" I ask as I stare at him with wide eyes. We go to sit on the swinging bench on his porch.

"Meg, he asked you to come, not me. I was an after thought," he says, chuckling. "I'm not about to be the third wheel."

"You're making it sound like it's going to be a date," I say with a slight frown.

"Fucking hell, Meg," Francis says as he rolls his eyes at me. "That boy clearly likes you."

"We've only been friends for four days."

"But he's known you for almost four years," he counters. "I've seen the way he looks at you, even before we all started hanging out. Why else did you think I've brought up him breaking your heart a thousand times?"

"You're being insufferable," I grumble as I shake my head at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Meg," Francis says, amused. I wave at him before going next door to my house. I change into different clothes before getting on the bus to go to the hospital. I spend the next couple of hours reading to them even though I'm feeling unusually exhausted. The nurses smile at me and the doctors tell me that they should get the results for the blood tests this weekend.

When I get home again, I tell Mom and Dad that ,and they immediately order a large pizza from Dominos. I can practically see their anxiety rolling off them in waves and I can't take it anymore. I decide to confront them about how they're dealing with the possibility of my cancer coming back. As I had expected, they burst into tears and they start explaining how scared they are. I spend the greater part of the night comforting them, telling them that everything is going to be okay. I don't dare tell them about my declining health because it'll only make them worried more.

If the results come back normal then the things I've been feeling will most likely have been due to stress. If the results come back abnormal then my suspicions will have been right. I had finally decided to tell Francis what I had been feeling recently and he freaked out on me. He told me that I needed to tell the doctors or my parents and got upset with me when I refused to do so. After that, he had basically just stayed by my side and didn't leave it unless it was
completely necessary. He's been watching me like a hawk.

🌼 🌼 🌼 🌼

"I fucking hate people," Francis grumbles as he pushes his way through the crowds to get to our spot on the bleachers.

"You didn't have to--"

"Shut up, yes I did," he groans. "I'd be a shitty friend if I didn't show up. We need to support Harry as much as possible because his other friends won't do it."

"I think those are his mom and sister," I say as I see a dark haired woman and a girl with purple hair.

"Don't you mean his mum and sister?" he snickers.

"Don't make fun of his accent," I say as I pinch his side. "It's cute."

"Well of course you'd think that it's cute," he says. "You think that that everything about him is cute," he continues, pretending to sound disgusted. I pinch his side again before we reach who I assume are Harry's mother and sister. They turn to look at us and almost immediately their faces brighten.

"You must be Margaret and Francis," the older woman says. "I'm Anne," she adds as she hugs the both of us.

"I'm Gemma, the better looking Styles child," the purple haired girl says as she sticks her hand out. She smiles at the both of us and I go to stand beside her while Francis goes to stand beside Anne.

"Harry talks a lot about you," Gemma says as we watch the cheerleaders doing their pre show dance. "He seems to really like you," she adds.

"Oh," I say awkwardly. "I like him too. He's really kind." Gemma and I continue to talk for a few minutes before the pep band begins to play, signaling that the soccer team is about to come on. Gemma and Anne begin to cheer loudly as the players come onto the field. Francis and I glance at each other before hastily joining in. We cheer loudly when Harry comes running on to the field. I see his head turn in our direction and wave before turning his attention back to the game.

"That was definitely for you," Gemma and Anne say at the same time.

"He so wants you," Francis says with a wide grin. The other two nod eagerly and I feel my cheeks grow warm from embarrassment.

"First this one gives me flack, now you two?" I say as I hide my face from them. Gemma and Francis begin to hoot and holler at my embarrassment while Anne merely chuckles.

"Sorry love, it's just that it's been so long since Harry's shown any interest in a girl the way he has with you," she says, giving me a kind smile.

"I--he doesn't--okay," I sigh, accepting the fact that I won't be able to convince them that he isn't interested in me. Part of me feels thrilled that someone like Harry could be interested in me, but then I remember that I can't allow a relationship to form. It's still too early and I don't know if I'm going to be around for much longer.

The crowd cheering loudly pulls me from my sad thoughts and I look up to see that Harry's team--our team---has scored a goal. I watch him raise his arms in happiness and he runs up and jumps on the back of whoever scored the goal. I can't help but smile at his obvious glee and the rest of the game goes well. The other team scores one but they lose 3-1. Anne and Gemma are beside themselves with excitement and they force Francis and I to go onto the field.

I awkwardly stand by my friend's side as Harry runs over and hugs his mother and sister. I expect him to go around and celebrate with his teammates but instead, he comes over to where we are. I let out a gasp of surprise when he wraps his arms around me and actually spins me around. Francis cackles behind me and I feel my cheeks grow warm from embarrassment again.

"Sorry about that," Harry says sheepishly as he sets me down before scratching the back of his neck. "I uh, I was just...I got carried away," he adds.

"I don't mind," I assure him. "I was merely surprised."

"Don't I get a hug too?" Francis asks teasingly.

"Oh right," Harry says before going over to hug my friend. "Thank you for coming today. It really means a lot."

"Of course, Harry," I say with a wide smile. "We promised that we'd come, and I had a lot of fun watching you play." He seems to blush at my words and he spends a few more minutes before having to go and and change out of his sports jersey. Francis and I bid Anne and Gemma goodbye after promising to have dinner with them one night.

The walk home is relatively silent but of course it's broken when Francis begins to tease me about Harry. He gets more worked up when I keep denying that anything is happening between Harry and I. After saying goodbye, I go to my room and plop onto my bed. I can't stop smiling and very time I think about how Harry had hugged me, I feel incredibly happy. My phone buzzing pulls me from my thoughts and I see who messaged me. I see a bunch of messages, one from Francis and a lot from from Harry.

Francis 🤓: I swear, if you keep refusing to believe that Harry isn't interested, I'm going to disown you.

Harry 🤤: thank you so much for coming to the game. It was really nice to see you and I'm so glad that you had fun. My Mum and Gemma absolutely adored you and they're bugging me about when you (and Francis) are going to come over for dinner. Anyways, I can't wait to see you tomorrow and I hope you have a good night 😘

Harry 🤤: wait, that emoji wasn't supposed to send

Harry 🤤: I meant to send this one 😍

Harry 🤤: fucking shit, this is why I don't use emojis

Harry 🤤: good night, Meg 😴

Harry🤤: I finally got it right!!

I go to bed that night, smiling.