Adam Demers' last words to Nick Tselepis on Friday characterized the chemical engineering freshman's lightheartedness to a T.

"He said, 'That's just the breaks,'" Tselepis said. "I told him it was so unfair that he was dying, and he just said, 'That's the breaks.'"

Demers, 19, died Saturday morning after a four-month battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymphatic system.

Tselepis, a medieval and early modern studies freshman at the University of Michigan, had been friends with Demers since the second grade, Tselepis said.

"We sat next to each other," he said. "We were both kind of shy kids at the time, and the friendship lasted ever since."

The two played baseball together in middle school, but only Demers went on to participate in high school, where he also played golf. Demers was "an amazing Halo player," Tselepis added. He said Demers worked two jobs at a golf course and Kohl's to save money for college this past summer.

Once Tselepis learned of Demers' December diagnosis, he recognized Demers' strength.

"He was so upbeat about how he was going to make it," he said. "He never mentioned he had cancer. He always just pretended everything was fine."

And everything was fine until last week, Tselepis said. The cancer was in remission until April 16, when a blood test revealed Demers had cancerous cells.

Doctors gave him three months to live, Tselepis said.

On Tuesday, Demers collapsed and was transported to a hospital, where doctors found that the cancer had spread, Tselepis said.

More than 30 friends flooded Demers' Ann Arbor hospital room Friday, Tselepis said. Demers died Saturday morning.

His family could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Demers was "full of optimism and happiness," said Shivani Patel, an interdisciplinary studies in social science freshman.

The two were acquaintances at H.H. Dow High School in Midland.

Patel said she has known Demers since seventh grade, but didn't hang out with his circle of friends.

"From what I hear, Adam never complained about any of the treatments he had to undergo," Patel wrote in an e-mail. "This alone shows the compassion and strength that this boy, or rather man, had."

No-preference freshman Aaron Brinklow met Demers in high school band class. He said they were both trumpeters.

"He was best known for his smile and his laugh, and he had great, big dimples and a great smile," Brinklow said. "He had these huge chipmunk cheeks that were really friendly.

"You always had a great time with him."

Laura Misjak can be reached at misjakla@msu.edu.