W-What...?

"Ivan?" I think, desperately trying to remember. "No, it doesn't."

"I see," he averted his sad gaze. "He was my best friend. I met him in the hospital, he had just transferred."

Transferred...

My eyes open wide with shock. "Like the guy in my dream."

"Yea, like your dream..." His eyelids flutter as realization hits him. "You said he had violet eyes, what color hair did he have?"

"I don't know," I say apologetically. "The whole time I knew him, I'm pretty sure his whole body was covered in bandages."

"Oh my god, it is you!"

"Huh?"

"When I met Ivan, I asked him what happened. He told me that he saved a girl around his age from dying in a fire."

As he talks, I feel a sharp pain in my head. "Ahh!"

"W-What?!" He grasps my trembling shoulders.

"(Name)! Ivan! It's time for your check ups!" The nurse called.

"Coming!" We both replied, giggling at our unison answer.

I gazed at the nurse and my friend as she examined him. "Ivan, your burns aren't getting any better," she said worriedly.

"I know, miss," he calmly replied.

Whenever we had our check ups, Ivan always failed to be marked 'recovery in progress'. His burns were too deep, and his skin was charred and scarred. His lungs weren't doing any better, either; one night, his mask fell off and he almost suffocated.

Ivan suddenly looked to me, then back to the nurse. "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Anything," she smiled. He got close to her ear and whispered something. I watched as the nurses eyebrows furrowed into a sad expression and she glanced at me. "Oh, Ivan. I'll talk to the doctor."

"Thank you," he smiled.

"(Name)!"

Huh?

"What's wrong?!"

"What?" I open my eyes and find Emil staring at me, fear and worry clearly displayed on his pale face. "Don't just fall into my arms and stay completely silent ever again!" He scowled.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I looked at his angered gaze. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

I was interrupted by a tight squeeze. Emil pulled me to his chest and buried his head into my hair. "I thought I lost you."

"H-How long w-was I out?!" I stutter.

"Ten minutes," he replied. I hesitantly wrap my arms around his back.

Why does my heart hurt...?

"Emil," I grab his attention as I pull away. "Do you... happen to have any pictures of Ivan?"

"Yes."

"I need to see them!" I plead.

"O-Ok! Ok!" He waved his hands in defeat and we walked inside. He ran to his room and retrieved a photo album. "This is where I put all of our photos," he said as he sorrowfully gazed at the book.

"Thank you," I grasp the book as he hands it to me an slowly opened the pages. On the first page, I see a picture of a young Emil with an older Lukas.

As he points at the page, he says, "That's the first day i was admitted into the hospital. I was diagnosed with cancer, and Lukas wouldn't leave my side."

"Y-You had cancer?"

"Yes," he replied. "But I'm all better now, don't worry."

"O-Ok," I decide not to press, and I turn the page. It had a picture of Emil and another boy, smiling and hugging.

I read the words at the bottom of the picture. "Emil and Ivan, best friends."

Emil swallows hard, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes. "Y-Yea, that's us."

I stare at the boy called 'Ivan', and see the same, gentle eyes I remember from all those years ago. I gently brush my fingertips over his face, a wave of emotion crashing into me. "It's him..."

"Keep going," Emil quietly encouraged me. I turned the page again and find a picture of Emil sitting next to Ivan's bed. Ivan's arms were extended as if he was telling a story as Emil watched in awe. "What's this one...?"

"He was telling me about you," he smiled sadly as a single tear slid down his face. I put the book down, and placed my hands gently on his cheeks.

"Emil..." I wipe his tear away, but my gesture only made him cry more. He wrapped his arms around my waist and sharply pulled me towards him. He sobbed as he tightly held me. "Stop being so kind to me!"

"What...?" I ask in surprise.

"Don't be like Ivan," he whispered. "I beg of you..."

"What do you mean?" I press.

He slowly released me and he sorrowfully gazed into my eyes. "Do you know why he transferred, (Name)?"

"From my hospital?" I ask, an he slightly nods his head. "No, I don't"

"He... He knew that he wasn't going to get better," tear after tear fell down his cheeks as he spoke. "He knew he was going to die."