The One You Once Loved

past.

Katie told me a million times that she and Sean were just friends, like brother and sister. She had reassured me countless times, but jealousy was always present in me when he was around. Ever since Katie officially moved to Phoenix, we had all seen much more of Sean. It was weird, because none of us were used to seeing him so much. Only Tim, Eric, and I knew that it was because he knew his time with Katie was limited, and everyone else assumed it was because he was so close with her.

It had been a month since she moved down here and she still hadn't told anyone else about her condition. The few of us that knew respected her decision, but we all felt terrible for our friends who were growing close with the girl.

I knew it was extremely hard on Sean. It was clear to me in his eyes. Whenever Katie felt sick or pained, it was obvious that he was terrified. When he said that Katie was his world, he wasn't lying. He loved her more than anything. If there was only one thing in this world that I knew for sure, it was that.

Katie told me to stay away from her countless times, claiming she was a ticking time bomb, about to explode. I knew she was right, but I didn't care. I just wanted to be with her, and I wanted to help her. I wanted her to allow me to help her, but she was so stubborn.

We were sitting at Kennedy's house, about ten of us, when she finally let her guard down around me. She pulled me to the side, after finally getting Sean to let go of her for more than two minutes. We walked into the kitchen, and as soon as we were in there, she pushed her lips to mine. Her arms flung around my neck and she pushed her body flush against mine. I wasted no time in kissing her back. The last time she allowed me to kiss her was the night we first met. Of course there was a little more than nothing that we did. We often found excuses to touch the other, or brush against one another.

I dug my hips into hers, pushing her hard against the counter and I moved my lips to her neck. "Okay, okay," she murmured, pushing me back after a couple minutes. I shook my head, pressing our lips together again. She giggled, then pulled away. "John."

"Katarina," I replied. She smirked at me. "What was that for?"

She shrugged softly. "I just... You aren't going to stop pursuing me... Despite the fact that I'm going to die-"

"That is correct," I interrupted.

"-and I've been wanting to kiss you again for the past month, so I just... I just did," she finished.

With a smile, I kissed her again. She kissed me back, then pushed me off of her. I watched as she waltzed back into the living room, then, with a smile, I followed her.

She sat down at the piano that Kennedy had off to the side in the living room. It was my piano, but I didn't have room for it, so Kennedy kindly took it for me. Katie hadn't noticed that we all were watching her, since none of us had ever seen her at a piano before. Sean and Eric, however, sat with goofy smiles on their faces.

I sat next to Sean, and he continued to grin at me. "You're about to be shocked, man," he murmured.

Katie began moving her fingers along the keys, and Sean was right. I was completely shocked. Watching her play the piano was beautiful. Her eyes were closed and it was like she was feeling the music. She was feeling everything and putting all of herself into the song she was playing.

After a few moments, she licked her lips, then parted them. She began to sing shortly after.

"There is a house built out of stone. Wooden floors, walls and window sills. Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust. This is a place where I don't feel alone. This is a place where I feel at home."

Her fingers paused and then began to move quicker as the pace of the song sped up. Her eyes were still closed and all of us in the room were in awe. "And I built a home for you, for me. Until it disappeared from me, from you. And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust........"

I was mind blown at her singing and playing. She was completely wonderful. I felt something inside of me as she sang, and it was the greatest feeling I had ever known. "Out in the garden where we planted the seeds, there is a tree as old as me. Branches were sewn by the color of green. Ground had arose and passed its knees. By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top. I climbed the tree to see the world. When the gusts came around to blow me down. Held on as tightly as you held onto me. Held on as tightly as you held onto me......"

Katie finally opened her eyes and she stared straight at me, not noticing anyone else. It was like we were the only ones in the room.

"And I built a home for you, for me. Until it disappeared from me, from you. And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust........"

When she finished, it was as if she snapped out of a trance. She shook her head and glanced around the room. I looked over at Sean, who was grinning like a madman. He began to clap slowly, which made everyone else join in. She covered her face with her hands and laughed.

Eric stood and walked over to her, grabbing her shoulders. "Damn, I forgot how well you can sing," he said.

"Katie... That was amazing," Kennedy murmured.

She shrugged and then closed the cover for the keys. "I just... I know I don't share a lot about myself to you all and I have wanted to share this with you," she explained.

After she stood from the piano, everyone praised her in their own way. It was sweet to watch her with all of our friends, but it still broke my heart to know that these people had no idea she would be dead soon. It was obvious that Sean and Eric felt the same way as I did.

"It's not fair to them," Sean murmured to the two of us.

Eric shrugged. "It's her decision. It's something she has control over."

We all settled back down and continued to drink. Katie wasn't drinking anymore though, which concerned Sean. He put his hands on her face, looking straight into her eyes. She pushed at his hands, annoyance written on her face.

"Just stop it, Sean!" she finally shouted. Silence fell over the room as we all turned to watch. "You need to stop treating me like I'm an infant! God damn it, I'm not as fragile as you think I am."

He glared at her. "Except you are, Katarina. And I don't care what you say, if something were to happen-" he cut himself off, his voice giving out as the sadness overwhelmed him.

Katie signed and stepped closer to Sean. Her hands rested flat on his chest and he let out a shaky breath. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm not going anywhere Sean."

He placed his hands over hers and the sadness transferred over to me, then to Eric and Tim. We all had deep frowns settling on our foreheads. Everyone else was confused. None of them knew what was going on, but I also knew that none of them would ask.

"I love you forever, big brother," she told him.

Kissing her head, Sean nodded. "I love you forever also, little sis." He glanced up at me, then smiled. Everyone else went back to their own thing, which made the noise pick back up in the room, but I strained my ears to hear what Sean was saying. "You should be with him, Katie. He would be good for you. John has a huge heart and so much of it is empty."

I smiled to myself, happy that I had the approval of Sean. He was one of the few people that truly knew a lot of the stupid shit I had done. He had seen me at my lowest of lows and my highest of highs. He was like a brother to me, but I knew that he would pick Katarina over me in a heart beat.

With a smile, Sean nodded at me, knowing that I heard him. I smiled back and mouthed a 'thank you' to him. I knew one way or another that I had to make Katie be mine.
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The song is To Build A Home by Cinematic Orchestra and it's phenomenal. Comment please and thank you!