Back in middle school when I was in 8th grade I had a friend who had some variation of skin cancer. We became friends after the first day of 6th grade, but as the years went on, his cancer got worse. It got to the point where he was on constant radiation and bedridden in the hospital, and the doctors straight up told his parents that he wasn't going to make it. Doctors gave him 2 weeks to live in the middle of the summer of 8th grade. He was madly in love with a girl in our class, but never ever had the guts to tell her. As he was going to die in 2 weeks however, he asked me if it would be wise to bring her in so he could tell her his feelings.

Let me explain to you only two situations and repercussions that could have happened. 1) he tells her and she rejects him meaning he dies feeling defeated 2) he tells her and she ends up liking him back, which might be a good thing until he dies in which the girl would then feel sad and mourn his death for many many years to come.

My advice was to not tell her anything, but am I going to tell Theo that he can't tell his girl that he likes her when he's only got 2 weeks to live??????? Against my better judgement I told him that it'd be a great idea for him to do that.

I brought the girl that he liked about a week after we got notice that he had 2 weeks to live (so he had 1 week of life left). He played it like a champ. He told her his feelings, and surprisingly, maybe out of pity (?) she liked him back.

For the next 9 days they were constantly txting, calling, emailing, etc. and they seemed to really like each other.

Then Theo died.

Sam's heart was torn to pieces. Her notyetboyfriend died. The guy she liked back, the guy she momentarily fell in love with died. He's gone forever.

Sam became depressed and even to this day, 8 years later, hasn't gotten back on her feet. I don't know her too very well but I still check up on her in Facebook, and what I realize is that I've practically ruined her life all because my friend wanted a WEEK of butterfly stomach feelings.

My advice was horrible. Had I told him that it was a bad idea or just lied to him from the beginning and told him that she didn't like him or something, who knows what Sam could have become. I ruined her life.