I scratched off another day on my calendar. I was almost 16... Almost dead... My mom said I was too depressed about my situation and should try to be more optimistic. I just shrugged and smiled. I had a weak heart but my mom and I were the only ones that knew. I hadn't even told my best friend, Kollyn.
"Eryx, honey, are you sure you want to go to school today? What if your heart starts hurting or something bad happens?" My mom asked, worried as usual.
"I'll be fine, mom. Thanks for worrying about me though." I smiled slightly.
She drove me to school and I met up with Kollyn. "Hey. What's goin' on man?" he asked with his usual chipper tone.
"Not much." I shrugged and smiled. His personality always seemed to brighten my day to some degree.
He grabbed a slip of paper from my hand that my mom told me to give to the nurse so I wouldn't have to do gym. "Heart problems? What's your mom talkin' about?" He frowned and looked at me.
"Oh... That's nothin' to worry about..." I took the paper back and stuffed it in my pocket.
"Tell me." He said.
"I..." The bell rang. "We have to go to class..." I said and walked to my class, leaving him confused.
After class, he met up with me. "What heart problems?" He asked again.
"Kollyn... Please just drop it..." I sighed.
"No. As your best friend, since we were 5, I have a right to know." He crossed his arms.
"Fine... I've had a problem with my heart since I was born. The doctors tell me that I'm going to die when I'm 16... I think it’s just a load of crap..." I said softly.
"Eryx..." He stopped in his tracks. "Why didn't you tell me?" He sounded like he was about to cry.
"Because I didn't want one more person worrying about me..."
He looked so heart-broken as he went to class.

Kollyn came over after school so we could talk.
"I'm sorry for not telling you Kollyn. Are you upset with me?" I asked.
"Well... A little... But I want to make every day for you a great one. So I can't be upset with you anymore." He smiled slightly.
"You don't have to-"
"Yes I do. You're my best friend so it’s my job, naturally," He said. "Now, first things first." He gently took my chin and kissed me softly. He tasted like chocolate and mint. "I like you." He blushed slightly.
I touched my lips. "Y... You like me?"
"Yep. I have for a while now. Since we were both 12." he held my hand.
"Oh..." I smiled too. His hand was so warm.
"Now is it ok for me to make every day your best?" he asked.
"Um... I guess..." I nodded.
"Thanks." He was almost completely back to normal but I could tell that he was still sad for me.

Every day, I had a new surprise from him. One day, it was flowers. Another day, it was the most romantic picnic ever. It was never the same thing twice. While we were on our romantic date in the park, I felt my chest starting to hurt a little but I ignored it. It started to get worse and worse until I finally gasped and fell to my knees.
“K-Kollyn…” I panted, clutching my chest and panting.
“Hold on Eryx!” Kollyn called an ambulance and held my hand as we rode to the hospital.
My mom was already there and in tears when we got there. I held on to Kollyn. “I… I love you… Kollyn…” I breathed and pulled him into a kiss.
“I love you too…” He cried.
“Thank you for making my last days so wonderful…” I smiled weakly. “I love you, mom…”
“I love you too, sweetie…” My mom cried.
“I’m so tired…” I cringed as another wave of pain went through me.
“You need to rest now, Eryx… The pain will go away once you fall asleep…” He whispered.
“Thank you…” I smiled and started drifting off. Once my eyes were closed, the pain went away like Kollyn had promised.