The night before my first chemotherapy treatment, I almost skipped prom because I couldn’t bear the thought of facing everyone’s pity. Then my date walked onto the stage, shaved his head in front of the entire school, and set in motion something I never saw coming.<\/p>\n
I went from obsessing over silver heels for prom to staring at clumps of my own hair in a brush in less than two weeks.<\/p>\n
No exaggeration.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, my biggest crisis was finding the perfect shoes to match the emerald green dress hanging on my closet door.<\/p>\n
I had screenshots saved, makeup tutorials bookmarked, and an entire Pinterest board dedicated to my senior prom.<\/p>\n
Now, that dress looked like a cruel joke.<\/p>\n
Instead of worrying about photos and corsages, I was trying to process the words “Stage 3.”<\/p>\n
Those words had been echoing in my head nonstop since the doctor said them.<\/p>\n
Stage 3.<\/p>\n
Aggressive.<\/p>\n
Immediate treatment.<\/p>\n
Chemotherapy starts Friday morning.<\/p>\n
Friday morning happened to be the morning after prom.<\/p>\n
The timing felt almost insulting.<\/p>\n
I was 17 years old.<\/p>\n
I was supposed to be worried about graduation, college applications, and whether my crush would ask me to dance.<\/p>\n
Instead, I was learning about treatment plans, side effects, and survival rates.<\/p>\n
The worst part was that I already looked sick.<\/p>\n
My hair had started falling out much faster than anyone expected.<\/p>\n
Every time I brushed it, more strands came loose.<\/p>\n
Every shower felt like a horror movie.<\/p>\n
I couldn’t stop crying.<\/p>\n
My mom tried to be positive.<\/p>\n
My dad tried to be strong.<\/p>\n
Neither of them could hide how scared they were.<\/p>\n
And if they were scared, how was I supposed to feel?<\/p>\n
By Wednesday night, I had made my decision.<\/p>\n
I wasn’t going to prom.<\/p>\n
Simple.<\/p>\n
Problem solved.<\/p>\n
No stares.<\/p>\n
No whispers.<\/p>\n
No pity.<\/p>\n
No pretending.<\/p>\n
I texted Leo.<\/p>\n
“You’re officially free from prom obligations.”<\/p>\n
Three dots appeared immediately.<\/p>\n
Then disappeared.<\/p>\n
Then appeared again.<\/p>\n
Finally, he called me.<\/p>\n
I almost didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
“Elena?” he said softly.<\/p>\n
“Yeah.”<\/p>\n
“What does that text mean?”<\/p>\n
“It means I’m not going.”<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then he sighed.<\/p>\n
“That’s not happening.”<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
“Leo, I look terrible.”<\/p>\n
“No, you don’t.”<\/p>\n
“You’re lying.”<\/p>\n
“I’m not.”<\/p>\n
I stared at my bedroom wall.<\/p>\n
“People are going to stare.”<\/p>\n
“Let them.”<\/p>\n
“They’ll feel sorry for me.”<\/p>\n
“Maybe.”<\/p>\n
“That’s exactly what I don’t want.”<\/p>\n
His voice became firmer.<\/p>\n
“You deserve your night, Elena.”<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
“Not anymore.”<\/p>\n
“Especially now.”<\/p>\n
I didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
“Elena,” he continued. “Just trust me.”<\/p>\n
Trust him.<\/p>\n
That was easy to do.<\/p>\n
Leo had somehow become my favorite person during the worst month of my life.<\/p>\n
We’d known each other for years.<\/p>\n
He was one of those people everyone liked.<\/p>\n
Athletic without being arrogant.<\/p>\n
Popular without being cruel.<\/p>\n
Handsome without acting like he knew it.<\/p>\n
The kind of guy who remembered birthdays and helped teachers carry supplies.<\/p>\n
When he asked me to prom months earlier, I thought I was hallucinating.<\/p>\n
Now, he was still here.<\/p>\n
Still calling.<\/p>\n
Still refusing to leave.<\/p>\n
“Please,” he said quietly. “Come with me.”<\/p>\n
I finally whispered, “Okay.”<\/p>\n
The relief in his voice was immediate.<\/p>\n
“Good.”<\/p>\n
“You’re annoyingly stubborn,” I told him.<\/p>\n
“I know.”<\/p>\n
“And if this is horrible, I’m blaming you.”<\/p>\n
He laughed.<\/p>\n
“I’ll take that risk.”<\/p>\n
The next evening, I stood in front of my bedroom mirror.<\/p>\n
The emerald dress still fit perfectly.<\/p>\n
That almost made me cry.<\/p>\n
I wrapped a pale silk scarf around my head and adjusted it five different times.<\/p>\n
Nothing looked right.<\/p>\n
Nothing felt right.<\/p>\n
I looked like someone pretending to be herself.<\/p>\n
When the doorbell rang, my stomach twisted.<\/p>\n
Mom squeezed my shoulder.<\/p>\n
“You look beautiful.”<\/p>\n
I wasn’t convinced.<\/p>\n
But I nodded anyway.<\/p>\n
When I opened the front door, Leo was standing there holding a small corsage.<\/p>\n
For a second, he just stared.<\/p>\n
His eyes softened.<\/p>\n
“Wow.”<\/p>\n
I laughed nervously.<\/p>\n
“That’s usually what people say when they’re trying not to hurt someone’s feelings.”<\/p>\n
“I’m serious.”<\/p>\n
He held out the corsage.<\/p>\n
“You look amazing.”<\/p>\n
I looked down quickly before he could see my eyes filling with tears.<\/p>\n
“Thank you.”<\/p>\n
The drive to prom felt strangely normal.<\/p>\n
We talked about teachers.<\/p>\n
Graduation.<\/p>\n
Friends.<\/p>\n
Movies.<\/p>\n
About why he was wearing a hat to prom.<\/p>\n
Anything except cancer.<\/p>\n
For twenty minutes, I almost felt like a regular teenager again.<\/p>\n
Then, we pulled into the school parking lot.<\/p>\n
Reality came rushing back.<\/p>\n
The gymnasium was glowing with lights.<\/p>\n
Music drifted through the entrance.<\/p>\n
Students in formal clothes laughed and posed for photos.<\/p>\n
Healthy students.<\/p>\n
Normal students.<\/p>\n
I suddenly couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n
“Leo.”<\/p>\n
He turned to face me.<\/p>\n
“I can’t do this.”<\/p>\n
“Yes, you can.”<\/p>\n
“No, I really don’t think I can.”<\/p>\n
My trembling hand was already reaching for the door handle.<\/p>\n
He gently took my hand.<\/p>\n
“Look at me.”<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
“You don’t have to impress anyone tonight.”<\/p>\n
His voice was calm.<\/p>\n
“You don’t have to perform.”<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
“You just have to walk in.”<\/p>\n
“What if they stare?”<\/p>\n
“Then they stare.”<\/p>\n
“What if they pity me?”<\/p>\n
“Then that’s their problem.”<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
“You don’t understand.”<\/p>\n
His expression softened.<\/p>\n
“I think I do.”<\/p>\n
I looked away, but he wouldn’t budge.<\/p>\n
He squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n
“You are still Elena.”<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
“Nothing about this disease changes who you are.”<\/p>\n
I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n
After a moment, he smiled.<\/p>\n
“Come on.”<\/p>\n
Against every instinct screaming inside me, I followed him.<\/p>\n
The moment we entered the gym, I regretted it.<\/p>\n
The room felt quieter.<\/p>\n
Not completely silent.<\/p>\n
Just quieter.<\/p>\n
Heads turned.<\/p>\n
Conversations paused.<\/p>\n
People noticed.<\/p>\n
Of course they noticed.<\/p>\n
Some looked sad.<\/p>\n
Some looked shocked.<\/p>\n
Some quickly looked away when they realized I’d caught them staring.<\/p>\n
My face burned.<\/p>\n
I wanted to disappear.<\/p>\n
I wanted to run straight back to the parking lot.<\/p>\n
The pity was worse than I imagined.<\/p>\n
I felt exposed.<\/p>\n
Fragile.<\/p>\n
Broken.<\/p>\n
A few friends came over to hug me.<\/p>\n
They meant well.<\/p>\n
I knew they meant well.<\/p>\n
That somehow made it harder.<\/p>\n
Every hug felt like goodbye.<\/p>\n
Every sympathetic smile made me feel smaller.<\/p>\n
I was seconds away from leaving.<\/p>\n
Then, Leo squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n
Hard.<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
Something about his expression seemed different.<\/p>\n
Focused.<\/p>\n
Determined.<\/p>\n
Like he was waiting for something.<\/p>\n
Before I could even think about what was happening, the emcee invited everyone to the center to dance.<\/p>\n
“Can I have this dance?” Leo asked me, slowly bowing as he held out his hand.<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath and nodded.<\/p>\n
I wasn’t going to let cancer take away this night.<\/p>\n
Especially not now.<\/p>\n
For a few monents, it was as if everything else surrounding us disappeared.<\/p>\n
All I could see was Leo. His dimples, and his beautiful brown eyes staring straight at me.<\/p>\n
“Thank you for going to the prom with me,” he said, embracing me right before the song ended.<\/p>\n
My heart skipped a beat.<\/p>\n
Before I could reply, he started walking toward the stage right when the music stopped.<\/p>\n
“Leo?” I asked.<\/p>\n
He didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
He simply kept walking.<\/p>\n
People began noticing.<\/p>\n
Conversations faded.<\/p>\n
The music stopped.<\/p>\n
I followed him, confused.<\/p>\n
The spotlight near the stage suddenly illuminated him.<\/p>\n
The room grew quiet.<\/p>\n
Everyone was watching.<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
What was happening?<\/p>\n
Leo stepped onto the stage.<\/p>\n
I stood frozen below it.<\/p>\n
The entire gymnasium seemed to be holding its breath.<\/p>\n
Then, he reached up and removed his hat.<\/p>\n
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.<\/p>\n
My eyes widened.<\/p>\n
His head was completely shaved.<\/p>\n
Every strand of his dark hair was gone.<\/p>\n
For a second, I couldn’t process what I was seeing.<\/p>\n
Then, emotion slammed into me all at once.<\/p>\n
He had done it for me.<\/p>\n
He had shaved his head for me.<\/p>\n
Tears instantly filled my eyes.<\/p>\n
Several students began crying.<\/p>\n
Teachers looked stunned.<\/p>\n
Even the principal appeared emotional.<\/p>\n
Leo looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
The room blurred through my tears.<\/p>\n
I thought I understood everything in that moment.<\/p>\n
I thought this was the grand gesture.<\/p>\n
The romantic surprise.<\/p>\n
The beautiful act of solidarity.<\/p>\n
I thought he had shaved his head so I wouldn’t feel alone.<\/p>\n
Then, I noticed something strange.<\/p>\n
Leo wasn’t looking relieved.<\/p>\n
He wasn’t looking emotional.<\/p>\n
He was looking toward the gym entrance.<\/p>\n
Waiting.<\/p>\n
Almost like he was watching a clock.<\/p>\n
A second later, I heard the doors burst open.<\/p>\n
Every head in the room turned.<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
Leo’s mother was marching down the center aisle.<\/p>\n
And she wasn’t alone.<\/p>\n
In her hand was a sealed official envelope.<\/p>\n
She walked with purpose straight toward the stage.<\/p>\n
Straight toward us.<\/p>\n
That was when I saw the look in his eyes.<\/p>\n
And suddenly realized his shaved head wasn’t just a gesture of support.<\/p>\n
It was a distraction.<\/p>\n
A carefully planned distraction.<\/p>\n
Something had been happening behind my back.<\/p>\n
Something involving Leo.<\/p>\n
His mother.<\/p>\n
And that envelope.<\/p>\n
Whatever was inside was about to change everything.<\/p>\n
My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear anything.<\/p>\n
The entire gym had gone silent.<\/p>\n
Every student, every teacher, every parent was staring at Leo’s mother as she marched toward the stage with the envelope clutched tightly in her hand.<\/p>\n
I looked up at Leo.<\/p>\n
He was still watching her approach.<\/p>\n
Not surprised.<\/p>\n
Not confused.<\/p>\n
Waiting.<\/p>\n
That was when I knew.<\/p>\n
Whatever was happening, he had known about it all along.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
“Leo,” I tried calling out.<\/p>\n
He glanced at me.<\/p>\n
There was something in his eyes I hadn’t seen before.<\/p>\n
Hope.<\/p>\n
Real hope.<\/p>\n
The kind I hadn’t felt since before my diagnosis.<\/p>\n
A moment later, his mother reached the stage.<\/p>\n
The principal hurried over.<\/p>\n
“What is going on?” he asked.<\/p>\n
Leo’s mother smiled nervously.<\/p>\n
“Please. Just give me two minutes.”<\/p>\n
The principal looked confused, but something in her expression must have convinced him.<\/p>\n
He handed her the microphone.<\/p>\n
The gym remained completely silent.<\/p>\n
Leo stepped down from the stage and stood beside me.<\/p>\n
His hand immediately found mine.<\/p>\n
I squeezed it.<\/p>\n
Hard.<\/p>\n
“What is this?” I whispered.<\/p>\n
He smiled softly.<\/p>\n
“Just listen.”<\/p>\n
His mother took a shaky breath.<\/p>\n
“My name is Diane.”<\/p>\n
A few people nodded politely.<\/p>\n
Many already knew who she was.<\/p>\n
She looked out across the crowd.<\/p>\n
Then her eyes found me.<\/p>\n
“Elena, I’m sorry for interrupting prom.”<\/p>\n
The room chuckled lightly.<\/p>\n
“I promise there’s a good reason.”<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
“Many years ago, I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer.”<\/p>\n
The room became quiet again.<\/p>\n
I felt my pulse quicken.<\/p>\n
“I was told my options were limited.”<\/p>\n
Her voice trembled slightly.<\/p>\n
“I was terrified.”<\/p>\n
She glanced at Leo.<\/p>\n
“Especially because my son was still young.”<\/p>\n
Leo lowered his head.<\/p>\n
Then Diane continued.<\/p>\n
“At that time, I was fortunate enough to get an appointment with one of the best oncology specialists in the country.”<\/p>\n
The gym listened attentively.<\/p>\n
“That doctor changed my life.”<\/p>\n
I could feel Leo’s grip tightening around my hand.<\/p>\n
“The treatments he recommended gave me years I wasn’t sure I would have.”<\/p>\n
A few teachers exchanged looks.<\/p>\n
Parents leaned forward.<\/p>\n
Nobody seemed to understand where this was going.<\/p>\n
I certainly didn’t.<\/p>\n
Then Diane smiled.<\/p>\n
“A few weeks ago, Leo came home after learning about Elena’s diagnosis.”<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
“He was devastated.”<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
He refused to meet my eyes.<\/p>\n
“He asked me if there was anything we could do.”<\/p>\n
Her voice softened.<\/p>\n
“Anything at all.”<\/p>\n
Tears were already forming in my eyes.<\/p>\n
Diane continued.<\/p>\n
“That night, we started making phone calls.”<\/p>\n
The gym fell completely still.<\/p>\n
“We contacted former patients.”<\/p>\n
She pointed toward several adults seated near the back.<\/p>\n
“They helped.”<\/p>\n
She pointed toward the principal.<\/p>\n
“The school helped.”<\/p>\n
The principal looked surprised to be included.<\/p>\n
“We gathered medical records.”<\/p>\n
She pointed toward several teachers.<\/p>\n
“People wrote letters.”<\/p>\n
I saw my English teacher wiping her eyes.<\/p>\n
“Local business owners made calls.”<\/p>\n
Several adults nodded.<\/p>\n
“Church members reached out to professional contacts.”<\/p>\n
I looked around the room in disbelief.<\/p>\n
Everywhere I looked, people seemed emotional.<\/p>\n
As if they had all been carrying a secret.<\/p>\n
A secret I knew nothing about.<\/p>\n
Diane looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
“For the last two weeks, an entire community has been working very hard.”<\/p>\n
The tears spilled down my cheeks.<\/p>\n
I couldn’t stop them.<\/p>\n
Then she held up the envelope.<\/p>\n
My breathing stopped.<\/p>\n
“This arrived this afternoon.”<\/p>\n
The room collectively held its breath.<\/p>\n
Diane carefully opened the seal.<\/p>\n
I could hear the paper unfolding.<\/p>\n
Every second felt endless.<\/p>\n
Then she smiled softly, before tears streamed down her face.<\/p>\n
The gym immediately erupted into nervous murmurs.<\/p>\n
Diane laughed through her tears.<\/p>\n
“Sorry.”<\/p>\n
She wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n
Then looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
“Elena, this is a confirmed emergency appointment.”<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
Unable to move.<\/p>\n
Unable to speak.<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
“The specialist personally reviewed your records.”<\/p>\n
The room went silent again.<\/p>\n
“He wants to see you immediately.”<\/p>\n
My knees nearly gave out.<\/p>\n
Leo wrapped an arm around me.<\/p>\n
Not next year.<\/p>\n
Not six months from now.<\/p>\n
Immediately.<\/p>\n
The word echoed through my head.<\/p>\n
Immediately.<\/p>\n
Diane’s voice shook.<\/p>\n
“The doctor believes you may qualify for an advanced treatment protocol that could significantly improve your chances.”<\/p>\n
The world blurred.<\/p>\n
For weeks, every conversation had felt like a countdown.<\/p>\n
Every appointment.<\/p>\n
Every test.<\/p>\n
Every discussion.<\/p>\n
All of it felt like people preparing me for bad news.<\/p>\n
For loss.<\/p>\n
For uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Now, for the first time, someone was talking about possibilities.<\/p>\n
About chances.<\/p>\n
About a future.<\/p>\n
I burst into tears.<\/p>\n
Not graceful tears.<\/p>\n
Not movie tears.<\/p>\n
Ugly, uncontrollable sobs.<\/p>\n
My mom rushed forward from the crowd.<\/p>\n
She wrapped her arms around me.<\/p>\n
She was crying too.<\/p>\n
My dad followed.<\/p>\n
I had never seen him cry before.<\/p>\n
That night changed that.<\/p>\n
The entire gymnasium rose to its feet.<\/p>\n
Students were crying.<\/p>\n
Teachers were crying.<\/p>\n
Parents were crying.<\/p>\n
People were clapping.<\/p>\n
The applause seemed endless.<\/p>\n
I could barely process any of it.<\/p>\n
I kept staring at the envelope.<\/p>\n
At the piece of paper that suddenly made tomorrow look different.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the crowd settled.<\/p>\n
Diane handed the documents to my parents.<\/p>\n
Then she stepped back.<\/p>\n
For a moment, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Finally, I turned toward Leo.<\/p>\n
My voice was barely a whisper.<\/p>\n
“You did this?”<\/p>\n
He immediately shook his head.<\/p>\n
“We did this.”<\/p>\n
“No.”<\/p>\n
Fresh tears filled my eyes.<\/p>\n
“You started this.”<\/p>\n
He looked embarrassed.<\/p>\n
Which somehow made me love him even more.<\/p>\n
“Why?” I asked.<\/p>\n
The gym had gone quiet again.<\/p>\n
Everyone was listening.<\/p>\n
Leo swallowed.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
And for the first time all night, he seemed nervous.<\/p>\n
“Because I wasn’t ready to lose you. I never will be ready to lose you.”<\/p>\n
The room became completely still.<\/p>\n
Even breathing seemed loud.<\/p>\n
My heart felt like it stopped.<\/p>\n
Leo looked down briefly before continuing.<\/p>\n
“Before any of this happened, I already knew I wanted to ask you out.”<\/p>\n
A few students smiled knowingly.<\/p>\n
His face turned slightly red.<\/p>\n
“I’d liked you for a long time.”<\/p>\n
The room responded with soft laughter.<\/p>\n
Apparently everyone knew except me.<\/p>\n
“I had this whole plan for prom.”<\/p>\n
He laughed awkwardly.<\/p>\n
“It was much less dramatic than this.”<\/p>\n
The crowd laughed again.<\/p>\n
Then his expression grew serious.<\/p>\n
“But then you got sick.”<\/p>\n
His voice cracked.<\/p>\n
And suddenly there was nothing funny about any of it.<\/p>\n
“I couldn’t promise I could fix it.”<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
“I couldn’t promise you’d beat cancer.”<\/p>\n
A tear slid down his cheek.<\/p>\n
“But I could promise you wouldn’t fight it alone.”<\/p>\n
That completely broke me.<\/p>\n
I threw my arms around him.<\/p>\n
The gym erupted into applause again.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, neither of us let go.<\/p>\n
Later that evening, after most people had returned to dancing, we slipped outside.<\/p>\n
The night air felt cool against my face.<\/p>\n
We sat together on a bench near the entrance.<\/p>\n
For a while, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
I still felt overwhelmed.<\/p>\n
Everything had changed so quickly.<\/p>\n
Finally, I looked at him.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”<\/p>\n
“Neither do I,” he admitted.<\/p>\n
I stared at the stars above us.<\/p>\n
“For the first time in weeks, I’m not scared of tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
Leo smiled.<\/p>\n
“Good.”<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
“Why?”<\/p>\n
His smile widened.<\/p>\n
“Because I plan on being there for a lot of your tomorrows.”<\/p>\n
Fresh tears filled my eyes.<\/p>\n
This time, they weren’t from fear.<\/p>\n
The next several months weren’t easy.<\/p>\n
Not even close.<\/p>\n
The treatments were difficult.<\/p>\n
There were setbacks.<\/p>\n
There were days when I felt exhausted.<\/p>\n
Days when I felt discouraged.<\/p>\n
Days when I wanted to quit.<\/p>\n
But every single time, Leo was there.<\/p>\n
He came to appointments whenever he could.<\/p>\n
He brought homework when I missed class.<\/p>\n
He sat beside me during treatments.<\/p>\n
He watched terrible reality shows with me when I was too tired to do anything else.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, he never treated me like I was broken.<\/p>\n
He treated me like Elena.<\/p>\n
Just Elena.<\/p>\n
The girl he’d always known.<\/p>\n
The girl he’d fought so hard for.<\/p>\n
Six months later, new scans showed something nobody had expected when this journey started.<\/p>\n
The treatment was working.<\/p>\n
My doctors were thrilled.<\/p>\n
My parents cried again.<\/p>\n
Honestly, by then, crying had become something of a family hobby.<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, I walked across the graduation stage.<\/p>\n
The crowd cheered.<\/p>\n
My parents stood.<\/p>\n
My mom was waving both arms.<\/p>\n
My dad was yelling loud enough to embarrass me.<\/p>\n
Then I heard another voice.<\/p>\n
Even louder.<\/p>\n
I looked into the crowd.<\/p>\n
Leo was standing there.<\/p>\n
Cheering harder than anyone.<\/p>\n
His hair had started growing back.<\/p>\n
Mine had too.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I thought about prom night.<\/p>\n
The shaved head.<\/p>\n
The envelope.<\/p>\n
The applause.<\/p>\n
The hope.<\/p>\n
The night I thought I was saying goodbye to my future.<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
Because it turned out that night wasn’t the end of anything.<\/p>\n
It was the beginning.<\/p>\n
The doctors gave me a fighting chance.<\/p>\n
My community gave me hope.<\/p>\n
But when I look back on that night, the thing I remember most is that while everyone was trying to save my future, Leo never once let me face it alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The night before my first chemotherapy treatment, I almost skipped prom because I couldn’t bear the thought of facing everyone’s pity. Then my date walked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4782,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4780\/revisions\/4782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebspaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}