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Soft moans and the sound of sloppy kisses filled up the car that was safely parked in the garage of someone Lucas didn't really care about. But before he could do anything further to the girl he puked all over her half-naked boobs.

That was the most normal thing Lucas Andrews could remember from his not-so-normal life.

At that moment he thought it was glamorous. Although now thinking about losing his virginity to a girl he barely knew in a car that was not his was not an ideal situation to be in.

But it was as normal as things could be for an awkward angsty teenager to get a quick splash of experience.

Unfortunately for him, what he thought would be a quick and fun experience turned out to be life-scarring not because he puked on a girl's half-naked body but because soon after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

More specifically, his pancreas was a breeding ground for some cancerous mass to make its home and kinda kill him in the process.

In the beginning, his diagnosis wasn't a problem for him. Or well, he thought he would make it and get better even though cancer treatment was pretty hellish. What he didn't expect was for it to have the power to change his entire life.

Most people when they get to know that they probably will not live much longer, they freak out. Some people cry, some people lash out; some people vow to explore all the inches of the world until their last dying breath.

When Lucas got the news, he didn't know how he should have felt.

Lucas was nothing more than an average teenager. He was on the soccer team, but he wasn't passionate enough to be on the starting lineup. His grades were not great. It was good enough to barely get him into a mediocre college.

He was not someone extraordinary or someone worth looking at and thinking, wow, I really wanna figure you out. He was just there. Not in the shadows but also not in the spotlight.

He could be explained as the book on the shelf somebody would pass by because the cover wasn't interesting, or someone would flip through the pages and decide it wasn't worth the time.

But when he got the news, in those moments it was like all pages were being ripped and stomped on mercilessly. It was like he was rusted and no one wanted to put him back on the shelf because he wasn't meant to be there.

Lucas wanted to come to terms with his situation. Although it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.

He lost all his 'friends' because they were all repulsed as his treatments started showing signs. He couldn't play soccer because, as much as he wanted to, his whole body would jetlag, leaving him bedridden. Energy was hard to come by, and he wasn't needed or good enough to have a spot saved for him. So, he quit that too.

And his grades fell so bad, that he nearly flunked senior year. His aunt had to work something out with the school so he could at least graduate, and even though he did manage to get by, it wasn't like he had a future and his high school degree would help him in any way.

Lucas couldn't remember what being normal felt like. All he knew now were four bland walls, the rhythmic drop of an IV, the reclining chair with the vomit bucket, and the juice carton that honestly mocked him. If only a juice box could mock a person.

As if his situation couldn't get any worse, it somehow did. It was like a cruel joke fate played on him.

The cancerous mass in his pancreas had spread more and there was no cure for him to get better.

His entire life was set up like a slow burn. Not the romantic kind of slow-burn where the main characters are awfully quirky and fall in love but the type where little by little his body would shut down and when it got to the final stage— Death.

Fast-forwarding a bit, he is twenty-one now, and the doctors predicted he would have a good six months left if the disease decided to be kind to him.

With that, Lucas learned that maybe normalcy wasn't for him— he maybe didn't deserve that.

"So you enrolled me into a daycare?" Lucas slammed the car door shut behind him making sure it was loud enough for his aunt to get how incredibly mad he was. "What am I, five?"

He watched his aunt Laura skeptically as she walked around the car to join his side, the two of them heading towards the hospital. "It's not a daycare. God, why are you being so judgmental?" Laura rolled her eyes at him, locked her car, and gestured at him to follow her.

"Because this is stupid! You are literally putting me in daycare!" Lucas retorted, having to jog a little to match his aunt's pace, which she noticed and slowed down.

"Stop calling it a daycare Luc." She sighed, squinting at him through her half moon shaped glasses that honestly made her look way older than she really is but Lucas convinced her they looked flattering just not to upset her. "It's a support group for patients around your age."

"Just say you hate me staying in your office and go. I'm a big boy, Laura! I am capable enough to be at home alone!"

"I know you are but I think you could use your time for something more productive than wasting all of it in your bed," She reasoned with a slight shrug, her heels constantly clicking against the pavement making Lucas more annoyed.

"I'm not wasting away anything in my bed," Lucas frowned, watching her wave at other doctors and workers who passed by as they approached the front of the hospital.

"Plus you agreed I shouldn't do college. It's a waste of money and my time." He added, purposefully making his voice all nasally to mimic her voice and piss her off— which worked in his favor.

"I didn't say that. I said it'd be an unfulfilled investment because you'd die before you get the degree," Laura shot back, her hand reaching to tug at the sleeve of Lucas's jean jacket as the security held the door open for them.

"Like college, this daycare is also useless!" Lucas whined, only to earn a nasty glare from his aunt as the two walked into the hallway.

"Lucas," She whispered, tugging his sleeve again. "I can't deal with your attitude right now."

"Woahh, Woahh. You can't bear me for another six months?" He rolled his eyes, following her to the elevators leading up to her floor.

"Well even if I can, I'm still putting you in this group program. I can't entertain you when I have patients to evaluate," She said after pushing the doors close behind them.

Right. Other than being Lucas's supportive aunt and the last of his family, Laura Andrews was the chief of surgery at one of the most prestigious hospital.

Lucas admitted she was pretty good at what she did, but he didn't quite understand what she did since his education was limited to high school biology.

She was chill and cool, Lucas supposed, though often very busy. But Laura always made up for it, even if her schedule required her to work crazy hours. She was all he had left, so he couldn't complain when she put effort into being there for him after he entered her small normal life unexpectedly. After all, it was the most he could do.

"You don't even have to talk," Laura tried to convince him, leaning against the wall adjacent to him as Lucas watched the levels slowly go up. "Just sit there and listen. It's meant to make you less lonely."

"I'm not lonely," Lucas tried to argue though he fell a bit short. She had him there. He had zero friends, no romantic life, or like, any life at all. 

Laura knew it, judging by the lopsided smirk on her lips. "Sure. Anyway, it's a new thing we're starting. You know Dr. Jake Jones, right?"

"That young dude from psych yard that has all the nurses' head over heels for him?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. Laura nodded, her smirk switching into a small gentle smile.

"Yeah, that psychiatrist. He was willing to put some time aside in his day to host a little group for an hour every Sunday and Wednesday. He's a good guy. I think you'd love him."

"Oh yeah?" He sarcastically said, following her out of the elevator when the doors slid open. She merely hummed, ignoring the bite in his tone.

"He's creative, too. The guy wanted to create this program." He kept trailing by her side, wondering where they were heading because when he looked around, Lucas was quick to realize they weren't heading to her office.

"Laura... Where are you taking me?" He asked carefully, scanning the walls of the hall around them for anything familiar but unfortunately, he got nothing.

"It was a good idea when he proposed it to me," She continued ignoring him, "It's low cost and I think it'll boost the morale of the young patients who live here either full-time or those who constantly come back for treatments!"

"Still not interested."

"You can find friends, Luc!"

"I don't need friends."

"Well too bad."

"Okay if I'm going into this against my will, what is this program even called?" He mumbled, "Freaking daycare? Watch sick guys mumble and groan and probably die?"

"It's called 'Circle of Solace'," Laura corrected softly, leading him down another hallway.

But before he could make fun of it, she cut him off, "And I ensured there were some specific requirements for patients to join. Most of them will be recovering or are well enough to socialize."

"It's also for terminal patients like you, Luc, who need a friend to spend the last few months of their lives together because they've spent all their time at a hospital."

"So basically they're all gonna die?"

He didn't like the idea of this despite how excited Laura was. It wasn't that he hated socializing, but the fact this felt like a pity friend, and from the time he spent at hospitals constantly, pity was the last thing he needed.

Especially when they came from other adults, who couldn't keep their eyes to themselves and very unsubtly whispered about how unfortunate his life was, or cooed about how he was so young and treated him as if he was some lost cause.

It was stupid— the pity, the false sympathy, the wandering eye, the pained expression, and the unforgettable 'I'm sorry for you for what is happening to you' that came with a free shoulder squeeze. Lucas was fine knowing he had to die on his own. It hurt less, and he had the time to prepare himself.

However, the idea of watching someone else die just didn't sit well with him. It soiled Lucas's mood coming here, and during their walk, his mouth ran dry, bitterness staining his tongue.

Laura led him from hallway to hallway, unknowingly making him feel more stupid and useless than he already felt.

When they finally arrived at the door to the support group, he stood in front of her, arms crossed over his chest as he met her sharp gaze, trying to show her how uninterested he was.

He didn't want to do this; he tried to tell her telepathically. Nobody cared so why should he?

But since it was Laura, she never listened anyway.

"I want you to at least try," She breathed out, reaching over and grabbing the side of his arm and running her thumb up and down through his arm.

"They're all in the same boat as you. When I'm telling you these are the few people that understand, Luc, they do," She whispered softly. "I made sure there were patients your age. They're all a sweet bunch. I operated on a few of them. Dr. Jake even invited his patients."

"Alright, fine," Lucas gave in, his shoulders sagging as Laura's lips curled upward. "I'll do it for a week or two. If they're boring, I'm out. If they're scary, I'm out."

"Fine," She nodded, "As long as you try, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," He rolled his eyes, trying not to hide the irritation in his tone as his aunt backed up, giving him one last hopeful grin as she headed toward the direction of the elevator.

"You promise me?" She called after him.

"I promise."

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