A year later

Beep! Beep! Jana's alarm clock went off, and she groggily shut it off. It was Monday morning, and she had been partying the night before. Jana was now attending the same college as JC and two of their friends, Joey and Stacie.

She was a freshman at Yale and she was enjoying it. She and Stacie were majoring in law. That morning, Jana didn't feel like getting up at all. She felt like just lying in bed. But she knew she had to attend her class. She had studied all Saturday afternoon, and had spent Saturday and Sunday night going out.

Suddenly, she felt a hand whack her face. "Oww!" Jana shrieked, rubbing her sore spot. She turned to her left and saw JC lying there, still asleep. She glared him and removed his arm from her face. "Oh my God!" she suddenly cried, sitting up in bed. She had totally forgotten.

Finals were that day. Oh my God, I am in deep shit right now! Jana thought, panicked. She pulled the sheets with her, leaving JC moaning. Jana got out of bed, feeling worried. JC was just lying there, fast asleep. She had to wake him up.

"Hey, hey!" JC cried, reaching for the sheets. "Man, where are the sheets? I'm freezing here!"

"Get up!" Jana answered, giggling. "JC, we have finals today!" She bent over to pick up her clothes, which were on the floor.

"Aww man," JC groaned as he sat up holding a pillow. Jana rushed back to the bed and laughed. "Let's not take the finals?" JC begged as Jana snuggled up next to him.

She and JC had slept together the night before. It had been their first time. But they had forgotten about their finals that day, and they were too lazy to get dressed. "You're not even supposed to be here," Jana reminded him in a motherly tone. She shared a dorm with Stacie, but she hadn't returned to their room the night before. So she had taken JC in instead, and they had slept together.

JC started kissing Jana's neck. "Come on, don't you want to stay in bed?" he asked in suggestively, pulling her body closer to his.

"You know we can't," Jana returned with a sigh, feeling his bricks. "But," she added with a sexy grin, "you know I would." She toyed with his brown hair.

JC moaned in pleasure and Jana kissed JC as they lay down again together, the sheets over their bodies. "Can we just screw the finals just for a little while longer? Please?" JC begged desperately as he pulled Jana on top of him.

Jana responded by kissing him passionately. "Who in their right mind would choose finals over this?" she joked as she bent her head down to kiss him again.

"Hey, beautiful." Justin entered the room where Gina was lying in the hospital bed. Gina was lying there, and Justin thought she looked just as beautiful as she did when he first met her. He knew Gina was ashamed to have lost her hair, but he didn't care. He loved her, and that was all that mattered.

Justin presented her with a teddy bear and white roses. "For the most beautiful, most sweetest girl I've ever known," he announced with a warm smile.

Gina smiled at him weakly as she woke up. "Thank you, Justin," she said as she coughed. She had had chemotherapy a few times, and was now battling cancer. But Justin had been there for her, coaching her through the fight. He held her hand and talked to her. He made her feel valuable, and always told her she was the most beautiful girl he had laid eyes on, inside and out. Gina felt like the luckiest girl in the entire world.

"How are you feeling?" Justin asked, planting a kiss on Gina's forehead. He gave her the teddy bear, which she thanked him for. "I need to get a vase for you flowers."

Gina laughed. "I'm feeling better, I guess." She sighed. "I'm still scared though. I'm dying, Justin. What will happen after I'm gone?"

Justin's mellowness turned to sadness. Guilt and sadness washed over him. "Gina, don't talk like that," he begged, setting the bouquet of roses aside on the counter. He held her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Promise me you won't talk about that again."

"But it's the truth. We have to face it," Gina argued. She squeezed his hand back. She wasn't ready to leave Justin forever. But she was dying, and she had to face it. "I love you, okay?"

"I love you more," Justin told her, kissing her on the lips. "Let's talk about something else okay?"

"Actually, I'm feeling sort of drowsy," Gina admitted, placing her hand over her forehead. "I think I will sleep now. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is," Justin answered. "I'll be waiting down in the hallway if you need me," he added, winking. He kissed her one last time on the lips. Little did he know that she would die later on that day.

Marie's eyes filled with sadness and trauma as Joey repeated the words to her face. "I didn't want it to end this way," Joey lamented remorsefully, "but I don't love you anymore."

Marie felt sick to her stomach. Her boyfriend of two years was ending their relationship. "There's someone else, isn't there?" Marie demanded, starting to cry. She didn't want to cry in front of Joey, but she was starting not to care. Where did I go wrong? she asked herself. Eight months apart had separated them temporarily, but here Joey was, tell her that he wanted to break up with her. Joey had appeared at her dorm to break the devastating news to her. When she had seen him, she had instinctively hugged him and kissed him. Then he pulled her away, telling her that he had something to say to her. Now she buried her face in her hands and cried.

"No, no one else," Joey said quietly, feeling guilt wash over him. It wasn't that he wanted to break up with Marie, it was just that he didn't love her in that way anymore. Eight months apart made Joey realize that he needed a break from his girlfriend. He wanted to flirt around like old times, not having to worry about having a girlfriend. He wanted to hang out with his friends and check out the pretty college ladies. He didn't want to be tied up to Marie. Sure, he loved her with all his heart, but he couldn't make the commitment anymore.

"Please don't cry," he replied softly, reaching out to brush her tears away. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew that she deserved to know the truth. Cheating on her would be the wrong way to end their relationship.

"Why, Joey?" Marie asked, shaking her head. "Why?"

"I-I just need time," Joey confessed. "I can't stay committed to you, Marie. I'm being honest with you. You deserve to know the truth. I really can't do this."

"But we've…we've been together for almost two years!" Marie protested, choking on her words. It wasn't fair to her. She loved Joey so much. This was breaking her heart. "Please, Joey. I…I love you so much, it's not fair for me. My heart is crumbling right now…"

The old Joey would have kissed her to wash her grief away. But this time Joey stood there and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Marie." He stroked her hair tenderly. "I don't want to hurt you, but you need to know the truth. Hurting you is the last thing I could ever dream of doing."

"Don't hold me like this," Marie responded, pulling away from him. She wiped her eyes, but felt new tears well up. "It'll only hurt more."

"Can we still be friends?" Joey asked with a saddened look on his face. He hated to see Marie cry. It hurt him, and he felt like scum. But he knew he couldn't commit to her any longer. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to hurt her in the wrong way. "If we could still be friends, I would like that a lot."

Marie hung her head numbly. She didn't know how to answer the question. Right now, everything in the world seemed like a blur. It seemed like a horrible dream. It didn't seem real. She just wanted to wake up from her sleep and find out that it wasn't real. But she knew it was real, and it was happening to her.

"Joey…I…I love you," she declared with heartache. She looked up into his warm brown eyes, which were filled with anguish as well. "I don't know what else I can say. I can't lose you. I just can't."

"Marie, please accept this," Joey pleaded. "Can we please still be friends?"

"I need time to cope with his," Marie responded quietly. "Joey, it's going to take a while for me to get over you. I thought we were going to be together for a long time."

Chris waited anxiously at the Seattle International Airport. Stacie was supposedly taking Flight 188, and she hadn't shown up yet. Please let her be here, Chris prayed. He wanted to see his girlfriend. Stacie and him had planned for her to fly over to Seattle during their spring break. He missed Stacie terribly, but they had kept in touch via telephone and e-mail. He couldn't wait to see her beautiful face and hold her. He had brought her a bouquet of roses and baby's breath for her. He couldn't wait to surprise her.

He saw people emerging from the arrival area. He craned his neck to look for Stacie. She wasn't there. He felt discouraged. More and more people rushed out, but there was no sign of Stacie. "She said Flight one-eighty-eight, Gate twenty-four," Chris mumbled, looking for his girlfriend.

Ten more people came out, but none of them were Stacie. Don't get worried, Chris, Chris told himself. Suddenly, someone covered his eyes. Chris was startled.

"Guess who?" Stacie's familiar voice sang in his voice. Chris smiled and she released her hands.

Chris whirled around. "Stacie!" he shouted joyfully, facing his girlfriend. She was standing there, grinning at him. He impulsively embraced her in a tight bear hug. Stacie smiled. "Stacie, I missed you so much," Chris replied, swaying side to side with Stacie. He kissed her on the lips lightly.

"Chris, I missed you a lot too," Stacie responded to her boyfriend. She was finally with Chris now. Then she pulled away from him. "Now, Chris, what are you doing in Gate twenty-four?"

"What do you mean?"

"Chris!" Stacie glared at him jokingly. "I said Gate twenty-two, not four!" She slapped her forehead and lightly hit the side of his forehead. "You bozo!"

Chris grinned sheepishly. "Oops, I'm so sorry," he apologized meaningfully. "Well, let's forget about that little mix up, and can you just kiss me cause I really, really missed you."

Stacie shook her head and laughed. Then she kissed Chris again as he had pleaded for. "How have you been?" she asked him.

"I've been great." Chris presented Stacie with the bouquet. "These are for you," he said wholehearted. "I hope you like this."

"Thank you so much," Stacie said, smelling the scent. "It smells wonderful. Thank you for thinking of me." She hugged him.

"Here, let me help you with your baggage," Chris offered, carrying her duffel bag. "Do you want to get something to eat? You must be exhausted. And you have static hair!" he added with a chuckle.

Stacie stuck out her tongue at Chris. "I'm exhausted, but the plane ride was pretty smooth. No air pockets or anything. I got five hours of sleep, and I was sitting next to this amazing guy…" She ended the last part, waiting for Chris' reaction.

Chris seemed a bit envious. "What guy?" he questioned curiously. "Stacie, you didn't flirt with him, did you?"

Stacie giggled. "Chris, he was over fifty," she answered. "When I said amazing, I meant he was really smart and we talked about politics."

"Eww, eww, eww!" Chris made a face. "I can't stand all of that politics stuff." He knew Stacie loved talking about politics, and could sometimes get engrossed in conversations involving them. "So do you want to get something to eat?"

Stacie nodded vigorously. "Please!" she pleaded. "Airplane food still sucks until this day."

"Ha, ha." Chris wrapped his arm around Stacie's waist. "So, where to? Where do you want to eat?"

"I have a craving for…" She thought for a second. "Chinese food. Chris, take me to Panda Express or something."

"Since when did you start liking Chinese food?" Chris exclaimed in surprise. "Are you pregnant? You better not be!"

"Chris, you are such a nut," Stacie replied, sighing. But that was what she loved about Chris. He was silly. "You drive me crazy sometimes," she kidded.

"Yes, yes, I know," Chris joked back. "You just can't get enough of my sex appeal, can you?"

Stacie rolled her eyes.

Britney waited nervously in the small room. Any minute now, Dr. Morrison would enter the room with either good news or bad news. He would tell Britney if she was diagnosed. Britney was scared to death. She was afraid that she was positive with A.I.D.s. She prayed continuously that she didn't have A.I.D.s, but she was still worried.

Finally, Dr. Morrison entered the room with a grave expression on his face. Britney, who was frightened, mouthed, "Do I have A.I.D.s?"

"I'm so sorry, Britney," Dr. Morrision answered with sadness in his voice. "I'm so sorry. You're positive with A.I.D.s." Oh no! Oh my God…Fuck! Britney thought, scared, as her doctor announced that she had A.I.D.s. The world was crashing down on her. She didn't believe what her ears heard. "A.I.D.s?" she repeated in a squeaky voice. She felt like disappearing from where she was. There was no way she could have A.I.D.s. She was going to die.

One night had cost her A.I.D.s. Heck, she had slept with tons of college guys. She had enjoyed it too. But her stupidity had cost her a sexually transmitted disease. It had taken her all this time to realize that she was a slut.

"Dr. Morrison, are you serious?" Britney wailed, jumping up from her seat. "I can't have A.I.D.s! I just can't. Please tell me you're not positive."

"I'm positive, Britney," Dr. Morrison said sadly. "Do you know who possibly had the disease?"

"Uh, no." How could she? She had slept with over fifteen guys the past year. All of them had told her that they were clean. Ha. She had idiotically believed them. All she wanted was to feel accepted and loved. All her life, her parents had treated her like she meant nothing.

She was scarred when she remembered her Dad physically attacking her Mom. Then he had attacked her. Mr. Spears had apologized numerous times. Britney realized that she hated her home, so she found school as an escape. She craved her popularity, and she got it. But it wasn't the kind of popularity she wanted. It had been all an act. A stupid act had cost her her life. She couldn't bear it.

She started to break down in front of Dr. Morrison. "No!" she cried hysterically. "No, I won't accept that as the truth!" she sobbed angrily. "It's a stupid lie!"

"I'm sorry Britney, but you have to accept the truth," Dr. Morrison said as she bent down to comfort the eighteen-year-old. "I'm so sorry. We'll have to hospitalize you right away."

"I have A.I.D.s!" Britney yelled in Dr. Morrison's face. She clung onto him desperately. "I have fucking A.I.D.s! All because of my stupidity!"

"I'm sure you used protection, right?" Dr. Morrison asked hopefully. "I'm so sorry, but maybe you should have thought of the risks you were taking."

Britney cried even louder. She felt like dying at that moment. She buried her face in her hands. There was no way she had A.I.D.s. She regretted everything she had done in the past. She couldn't make up for her mistakes. It was too late.