If there was one thing I didn't miss around the holidays, it was getting up early to go to school. Or having to put on clothes that weren't my Christmas themed pajamas.

However, checkup appointments were necessary, and that meant I had to get up earlier than I usually would during school break, and leave the comfy pajamas at home. Not giving much thought about my looks today, I wore my denim overalls with a basic, white and long sleeved t-shirt underneath and chose to go with a makeup free face.

Sometimes, you just gotta allow your skin to breathe. And sometimes, you just don't feel like spending a good extra fifteen minutes hiding your imperfections. Which was the case today.

I was minding my own business in the waiting room, scrolling through my phone while I patiently waited for my name to be called so I could go inside the doctor's office.

My name was called, alright, just not by the person I was expecting.

"Zoey Moore, the best female swimmer of Davidson High!" I recognized that voice right away. Turning my head in the person's direction, I found Noah standing with a beaming grin.

"What are the chances?"

"Dr. King's appointments are usually scheduled for Wednsdays." I deadpanned before stating in an obvious tone. "The chances were pretty high."

Not actually intending to sound too cold as opposed to Noah's constant warm approaches towards me, I showed him a faint smile. That seemed to do the trick, and he widened his smile.

Being a pediatric waiting room, the room was filled with mostly toddlers and their parents. From where I was sitting - in a chair, in the corner of the large room -, I could see a couple of teens that were probably my age, sitting next to the Christmas tree that the hospital staff had so kindly put up, and decorated with some of the children's favorite cartoons.

"Is that seat taken?" Noah asked while hooking one of the stems of his sunglasses on the hem of his black t-shirt's collar.

I hesitated for a second. My first thought was to say yes and to push him away from me, like I would usually do. But I was quickly reminded of how much I enjoyed spending time with Noah, and ended up fighting my instincts and going with the truth.

"Nope."

Happy with my answer, he sat next to me and tossed one leg on top of the other, resting his right ankle on his left knee, looking relaxed and breezy, as always.

"What time's your appointment?"

"At ten." I responded, locking my phone and putting it away, inside my purse.

I noticed his brown eyes searching for the funny clock that hung on the wall. Upon the look of the time - 9:42 P.M. -, he let out a disappointed sound.

"Mine's at eleven." He turned his head in my direction. "You wanna wait an hour and grab something to eat at the cafeteria with me when I'm done?"

"Sure, I can find a way to keep myself busy." I fished my pocket for the earphones and dangled them in his direction.

"Wow, won't you look at that." Noah seemed happy, proud of me even, and I couldn't help but feel the same about myself.

"Yeah..." I started, before admitting to him, "I've been listening to a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers, reliving the show in my head, you know?"

"I believe you've got something called post-concert depression." I chuckled at his words and he turned to face me with a serious expression. "Oh, it's a real thing, I'm telling you."

"Oh yeah?" Noah nodded and I went with the flow of the ongoing joke. "And what does the doctor suggest I do now?"

"Well, you're already doing the right thing, which is to listen to the songs." I laughed. "But the best thing you can do right now is go to another show. And in your specific case, you should just go see another band."

"Do you have any recommendations?"

"Me and guys," He cut himself off briefly. "and Chloé, are going to a bunch of summer festivals. They're really cool 'cause you get to see a lot of different bands at the same place."

I hummed and nodded silently before he added, "You're more than welcome to join us, if you want to."

"Thanks." Was all I said for now, not taking him up on the offer just yet. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear before asking, "And Harper?"

With a wide smile, he responded without hesitation. "The more the merrier!"

Despite liking a lot where this conversation was going, it was cut short when the doctor's assistant came out into the waiting room, and my name was called.

I pointed in the direction of the doctor's office, signaling to Noah where I was going and, with nothing but silence between us, as if we didn't need words to communicate, he nodded.

* * *

I chose to wait the remaining hour outside of the building, in one of the chairs that wasn't occupied with little kids and their parents, by the small pond of fish right outside of the pediatric premises.

Not too long after eleven o'clock, Noah texted me, letting me know he was done with the appointment, and ready to meet me at the cafeteria. I paused the song I was listening to and, after removing my earphones, I marched my way back inside the building.

Standing at the entrance of the cafeteria, I searched the room and in less than a minute I spotted Noah right away, putting his phone and wallet on a table that was only meant for two.

"So, what did the doctor tell you?" I asked after sitting down on the chair across from Noah's.

"All good news. My labs are great, my scar looks good too, and he said my motor skills made a full recovery."

"If Doctor King had been at the competition last week, he didn't need to see you today to tell you that."

"Look at you being nice." He said, with a hint of sarcasm that didn't go by unnoticed.

"I can be a delight sometimes." I threw back, putting my phone face down, on the table. "So, what do you wanna get?"

"Just a coffee. You?"

"A latte will be fine." I got up, but Noah stopped me straight away.

"This was my offer, it's my treat." He put his hand on my shoulder, gently pushing me down back on my seat. "You can pay next time."

Next time.

Noah walked away and made a beeline to the counter, as if what he'd just implied wasn't that big of a deal. The fact that he thought about a possible future encounter between us consumed my thoughts while he was getting us our drinks. However, as soon as he came back, I had to force those thoughts away.

He returned to the table with our drinks, a couple of donuts and one of those contagious smiles of his. I thanked him in a low mumble.

"What about you?" He sat back down on the chair. "What'd the doctor tell you?"

I sighed and played with the plastic lid of the coffee cup. "My body responded really well to the antibiotics the last time I was in here, which is good." I shrugged. "But my immune system is always low and always will be, so..."

"So, what's the plan?"

Doctor King had some important things to tell me today. There was a clinical trial that I would apparently be perfect for. I met all the criteria, with the exception of one big little detail: I need to prove that my biological parents were indeed HIV positive.

A team of scientists researched the impact of AIDS on the pregnancy's development and the children's health. They concluded that it did, in fact, had a major toll on the young adult's health, mainly on their immune system.

Upon that conclusion, they were developing a treatment that would impact immune cells, with the goal of enhancing them and therefore providing a stronger immune system.

So, Doctor King wanted to give me the opportunity to think about this chance I was being given. Every clinical trial has its risks, that goes without saying, but on the other hand, the advantages were also really good, if it all worked out like they were expecting it to. The rest of the details were on the flyers the doctor had given me and that I quickly tucked inside my purse.

The clinical trial is suitable for people from eleven to eighteen years old, whose parents were HIV positive since before the pregnancy. Which means that for me to grant my spot at the trail, I would need to confirm that my biological parents were HIV positive. And that would require me opening up a Pandora box that I did not feel like opening.

I thought a lot about sharing with Noah the bombshell the doctor had just dropped on me. But I was too indecisive about it, and I knew that if I told him, he would just tell me to do it without thinking twice, and this was a decision I needed to make on my own.

So, I kept the news to myself.

"Regular check ups, being overly careful, vitamins, you know the drill..." I shrugged before redirecting this conversation topic away from me and onto the guy sitting across from me.

"How long have you been a patient of Doctor King's?"

"For a long time." He smiled after taking a sip of his black coffee. "I've injured myself a lot in the past, mostly as a little kid. But as I started doing professional swimming competitions, I started getting more injured. Broken bones, disjointed knees, you name it..."

The sound of a notification coming in on my phone interrupted Noah, and I quickly turned the device face up, and checked the incoming message.

Chloé: What are you doing for New Years? I'm having a party at my place, you and Harper are invited and she already said yes!

"Um, do you know about Chloé's party?" I asked Noah before showing him the text message.

"Oh yeah, we're all going." He flashed me a smile. "And it seems like your cousin is going, too. Are you?"

"I..." I closed my mouth and pursed my lips into a thin line. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

"What is there to think about? It's gonna be so much fun!"

I had no doubt that it was going to be fun. But give me some space and time to think about it, will ya, Willy?

"Do you always come to doctor's appointments on your own?" I asked, finding myself changing the subject once again and taking a small piece of the glazed donut to my mouth.

"Sometimes. But my mom was busy today, so... Here I am." He opened up his arms, extending them to the side. "I'm not on my own, though. I have a great companion with me today."

I showed him a puzzled expression and he shot me a daring one, as if asking "Really? You don't know?". I lowered my head, managing to hide my blushing cheeks but not my smile.

"You need to start learning how to take compliments, Zoey." Despite the classic boyish grin, the way he said it, he sounded like he genuinely meant it.

"And you need to start learning that you can't change me." Unlike him, I said those words, but I didn't mean them. Because he has changed me. And for the better. But I wasn't ready to own up to that yet, much less around him.

"And we're back to sour." He chuckled before finishing his coffee and popping another question. "Where are your dads?"

"They're at work."

We stayed for a while longer while I finished my latte, before he had to leave.

"I'm really sorry I need to go." An apologetic look in his eyes while he got up from his seat, the empty carton cup in his hand. I followed suit. "I got work. But, uh... see you on December 31st?"

"Yeah, sure." Without realizing it right away, I agreed to attend a New Years party I wasn't completely sure I wanted to go to.

He winked at me with a smile before turning in heels and walking away. And I stood still, rethinking about the whole thing, as if my feet had grown roots in the white floors of the hospital cafeteria.

I was a whirlwind of emotions, internally battling my own demons, myself being the biggest one of them. And admitting that was a tough pill to swallow. 

 * * *

author's note: hi lovelies!! how are u?  <3 and what did you think about this? any predictions for the upcoming chapter(s)?  let me know! 

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xoxo, mars