Fragile

(Jade's POV)

Over the course of the next couple of days, Chester and I had gone back and forth from our house to Melody's to move my things in. She was ecstatic for me and so was her mom, because we really weren't that far and she could come over whenever she wanted to. I had gone over to Shae's to help her pick out ideas for a nursery and colors for the new baby's room. I still hadn't gotten the call from the doctor's I had been dreading so I was hoping that it would be a good sign that it's taken so long to call back. I held up some cute pink stuffed elephants to see what she thought, I was never good being girly so this was a real challenge. She grinned, taking them in her hands. "These are so adorable! I love them!" She then set them atop a small white dresser with black roses painted on it. Brad had come and helped us bring in some of the smaller pieces of furniture while Chester and Mike had been sent out on a paint run. We had decided with white walls with black and pink flowers to match the dresser. Shae said she was going to put up some Linkin Park posters throughout the entire room so the baby could know that she was from a strong family of brothers. I always have admired how much she truly cared for each of them. "So how was your first night living with Ches?" She asked as she wiggled her eyebrows. I sighed, trying to hide the smile that was tugging at the corners of my lips. "It was great."

She pressed her lips together with a slight pout before nudging me in the side. "Jay come on! I want more than just a flat answer. Does it feel weird? Do you feel more independent? Talk to me, girl!" I laughed now, sitting down beside her at the small child's table. "It's different, honestly. We made dinner together and organized his closet, the bathroom, and the bedroom so I have my own spot for everything now. We watched T.V, made love, and went to bed. But that was just the first night, I'm getting more used to it now." She laughed loudly with a snort, making me blush a bright shade of red. "I'm not trying to make fun of you I promise, it's cute, you two sound like you're married already." Again my cheeks turned incredibly red as I looked away, covering my face with my hands. "Are you embarrassing my woman?" I suddenly hear Chester's voice come from behind. I instantly rush to his side, placing a kiss on his cheek. Shae laughs, shaking her head. "I only asked how the move in is going." He looked down at me with a cheeky smile. "It's perfect, just like I knew it would be." And cue to the annoying awww's and dramatic that's so cute! phrases. Someone just kill me.

"So did you two get everything we needed?" Shae asked after she stopped laughing long enough, looking at the items in Mike and Chester's hands. Mike nodded, listing off everything the two of them bought at the hardware store. "Three buckets of solid paint, four buckets of colored paints, four brushes, plastic covering, four rollers and....a bag of Cheetos." He grinned at the last part, giving Chester a high five as they dug into the large bag of chips. I swear these two are the biggest children I've ever met. "Didn't know they sold chips at the hardware store." Mike shrugged, taking in another handful and tossing them in his mouth. "They don't, we stopped at the 7/11 on the way home for some." Shae then proceeded to throw a pillow at him, hitting him right in the head. "Ow! What was that for?" He groaned as he tossed it over to Chester who sat it back on top of the small dresser. I put a hand to my forehead, shaking my head. Never trust two man children alone with a shopping list. "Hey, Jay. Are you alright? You look kind of pale hun." Mike then pointed out as I suddenly felt myself get a bit woozy. I nodded, feeling Chester grip onto my arm tight to help keep me steady. "I'm just-feeling a little dizzy. I think I need some air." I freed myself from his hold before rushing out to the back yard and immediately sitting down on a lone bench. These last few days have felt worse, but I honestly tried to just ignore whatever feelings were there at the time.

"Are you trying to tell me something, God? Cause if you are, this isn't really a nice way to do it." I mumbled under my breath, feeling the hot tears start to swell up in my eyes. I didn't want to say anything to Chester or anyone else about me not feeling too great because I didn't want them to worry and I knew Shae already had a lot on her plate to deal with now that she was pregnant, but sometimes I truly felt scared like the end was coming closer and closer. "You're seriously not looking too good." Suddenly hearing Brad's soft voice from beside me. I was honestly expecting Chester, so this was quite the surprise seeing as we never really spoke too much to each other. I nodded my head sadly, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. "I haven't been feeling too good, to be truthful with you. I haven't said anything because I don't want anyone to worry. You all have enough to worry about with your sister being pregnant. The last thing you need is to worry about me, I'm nothing special." He sighed, putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked over at it, I had never seen this side of him before. "You're just as important, Jade. When Chester introduced us to you, I knew you were something great. Something different. So that makes you apart of this family whether you think so or not. Especially since Shae loves you so much, how could we not? I honestly think you need to at least tell Chester, but I won't force you into anything." I leaned over now and hugged him as tight as I possibly could before the tears started to fall again. "I know and I will, eventually. More than likely once I found out what's really causing me to be sick." He just nodded before giving me another hug.

"Thank you, Brad. It really means a lot to me that you're here." He smiled a genuinely happy smile before getting up and heading back inside the house with the others. I looked up at the sky, seeing the rays of the sun peeking through the clouds some. I could never imagine not being able to see the beautiful sights like this ever again. I couldn't imagine not waking up to see the sunrise and the sunset ever again. I honestly couldn't imagine not being in Chester's arms, kissing him and telling him how much I loved him. I fought off more tears as the sobs came next but this time no one was there to comfort me. Or so I thought at least. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my body and pull me close to them. I looked up briefly this time, seeing it was Chester holding me. I rested my head against his stomach as I continued to cry. The look that was clearly on his face was mixed with many emotions. He looked worried, he looked confused, he looked sad. "Baby, what's going on? Are you okay? You're really worrying me." I hugged onto him tighter. If only he knew, but I can't do it, I can't break any news to him yet. "I've just been really emotional lately, that's all. I promise nothing else is wrong." I sniffled now as I tried to reassure him the best I could. But it wasn't working, he knew me too damn well to fall for that again. "Jade, are you upset because of what Shae said?" I violently shook my head no. He let out a defeated sigh before sitting beside me and looking away.

"Is it me? Are we moving things too fast again?" I shook my head again, it wasn't him at all. I loved him, he was what made me better. "It's me, Chester. I'm what's wrong, I am. It's not you or anyone else. It's my own self." He looked back to me now, his eyes showing a look of disbelief. "What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" I broke down once more until I finally just spit it all out like wildfire. I couldn't deal with this anymore, Brad was right, he needed to know. "A couple months before graduation, I noticed I started losing a lot of weight, having bad periods and feeling more tired. Melody's mom made me go to the doctors and they did a lot of tests. They found a small mass in my stomach but they weren't sure if it was cancerous or not, so they needed to do more tests to be sure. They removed it a month before you got back and were going to do an exam to determine what exactly it was. They said they would keep in touch but it's been a month and I haven't felt any better. I didn't want to tell you because I just wanted to pretend it wasn't there, like it would just all go away. I was so happy to see you at graduation, I was so happy to feel you hug me and kiss me, because to be honest with you, Chester, I didn't think I was ever going to again. I thought I was going to die without being able to see you once more, without being able to say goodbye to you."

(Chester's POV)

My entire body went numb and limp as I watched those words escape from passed her lips. It all started to fade to black as I processed it all at once. She couldn't be sick, she couldn't be dying, she was fine a few months ago. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her when I had left, there was nothing wrong with her when I met her. She seemed so happy, so carefree. Why now? Why all of a sudden after I just make things right with her? Why after we decided to take things to the next step did this all have to come crashing down on us? I just don't understand at all, nothing makes sense. I could feel the tears start to run down my face as I looked at her with a blank expression. I couldn't make words come out, not even a simple sound. I just sat there and cried as I looked at her fully this time. Sure I noticed she was a little slimmer and tired but I had just assumed it was because of all the stress and pressure from her finishing school. Other than that, she looked exactly like how she did when I had first met her. Beautiful, strong, charismatic, breathtaking. "I love you, Jade." I finally managed to get out after staying silent for what felt like forever. She latched onto me tight and cried hard into my shoulder while I held her close against me. I cried and cried, unable to even breathe.

"I love you, Chester. So goddamn much, you're my everything. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I wouldn't have even made it as long as I did. You're the reason I keep fighting and keep living each day to the fullest. I want to be here for as long as possible, I want to see Shae give birth to my niece, I want to see them get married, I want to see the band travel the globe and become incredibly successful like you already are. I want to be there to see you marry me, because I know that's what I want. I want to be with you forever, Chester Charles Bennington. I don't want this to be where the road ends. I barely turned 18, I have my entire life just barely starting. Don't let it end this way, baby. Let's just live it to the fullest while we can, together. I want to just keep going and not let anything stop us. I want to do things with you we've never thought of, I just want to do whatever makes the two of us happy. I don't care if I feel bad or if I say that I don't want to, because I do. We can't tell anyone, either. I just want us to keep going on like nothing is ever wrong. Please babe, just do this one for me. Keep this one secret just this once, please."

When I took a minute to answer, she looked away sadly. I instantly took her face in my hands and made her look at me even though she tried to fight me off. "Hey, look at me. I'm going to do whatever you want, okay? I love you so much Jade. I want to do whatever you think is best for us. If you don't want to tell anyone, then we won't. It'll be our secret." She finally leaned down and kissed me hard on the lips and I did the same back, but the tears never once stopped flowing.