Fic: The Shortest Distance Between Two Points Pt. II
See Part I for summary, art link, and acknowledgments.
Part II: Cook
I’m gonna get free/I’m gonna get free/I’m gonna get free, ride into the sun/She never loved me/she never loved me/she never loved me, why should anyone?
It was raining outside of course. Fucking appropriate, that. Cook shivered inside his worn polo as he struggled to keep a fag lit. He finally threw the thing to the ground in frustration, slumping against the brick wall of the alley.
It had been easy to ignore that Effy had picked Freddie over him when she had disappeared. Neither of them had ended up with the girl, no harm, no foul. But now she was back, and of course Freddie was all over her, fucking rubbing it in Cook’s face. He wanted to hate Freddie, but he couldn’t. All he could do was sit there and torture himself, watching everything he wanted snatched away again…or he could get the fuck out.
He turned to go, but as he passed near the entrance he heard Thomas yelling something about more friends from the doorway, and he saw his favourite lesbians and Katie heading into the party. His brow furrowed at the thought of Katie seeing Effy for the first time since she left her bleeding in the woods. Maybe it would be worth sticking around for.
*-*-*
Katie hadn’t even wanted to come to the stupid fucking party.
Emily had been badgering her for weeks about getting out of the house, so she saw this as the perfect opportunity.
“For one, Thomas is throwing the party, so we get in free and probably get some free drinks. For another thing, it’s the first party of the term so everyone cool is going to be there. Fuck’s sake Katie, I’ll let you borrow that top you wanted, just please stop watching repeats of Desperate Housewives with mum for one fucking night.”
“Fine, I’ll fucking go, but you’d better lend Naomi some decent clothes too. I really can’t be seen with you two if she can’t manage to bring her wardrobe out of the seventies dustbin.”
“We’ll all look the pinnacle of fashion, Kay, promise,” Emily said, with an epic eye-roll.
Katie should have known something was wrong when Panda actually stopped talking when they walked up to the door. But Thomas had smiled and waved them in and she went and got a few shots in her before she started scanning the dance floor for fit boys. Her sister and Naomi were already feeling each other up in a corner so she had to find some way to entertain herself. If she was lucky she could get some free drinks and a few compliments yelled over the pounding music.
She was wandering through the party when she heard someone say her name in a shocked tone of voice. Freddie was standing behind her…with Effy.
*-*-*
“Well, well, look who decided to show her face in Bristol again.”
Effy flinched a bit at the malice in Katie’s voice. It seemed like all her mistakes were coming back to haunt her tonight, but she managed to match Katie’s fake half-smile before she replied.
“Nice to see you again too Katie.”
“You’ve got a strange definition of nice. Mind if I check your bag for rocks before we continue this conversation?”
Effy turned her tiny clutch upside-down, dropping her lipgloss, a couple quid, and a bag of pills to the floor.
“Satisfied?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Katie’s voice cracked as she quickly replied, “Not until you give me my fucking life back.”
Effy dropped her eyes, and bent to pick up her things. She sighed as she rose, and grabbed Freddie’s hand.
“I can’t give back something I didn’t steal. I… let’s go Freddie.”
She turned away from Katie’s eyes, but they kept boring holes in her back until she and Freddie were a few streets away, his arm wrapped tight around her shuddering shoulders.
*-*-*
Cook pushed away from the wall where he had been leaning as he watched Effy and Freddie leave. It was less of a confrontation than he had expected, like something was different than last year. He wasn’t sure who had changed, Effy or Katie. Maybe they all had. Even he found he couldn’t just leave Katie like that, alone back at the bar. He ambled towards her, but she didn’t seem to notice his approach.
“Hey Katie, shame you didn’t get into one o’them sexy catfights.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Still not fucking you,” Katie said, not looking up for her drink.
“Harsh, girl. Why not?”
“Um, because I know where you’ve been?”
“I could say the same, but I promise I won’t hold Freddie against you if you let me get a look at your tits,” Cook said with a grin.
Katie laughed sharply, “Good one.”
“So, is it a goer then?”
“No, but keep trying. Sadly, it’s been the most fun I’ve had all week.” Katie got up from the bar and pounded back the rest of her drink. “Tell Emily I’m going home, will you?”
“Isn’t that what your bloody mobile’s for?” Cook said, and then quickly dodged a smack aimed at his shoulder. “Jesus, calm down Katiekins. I was going to offer to walk you home.”
The shock in her eyes was totally worth it. Cook offered her an arm as they made their way out of the sweaty club. She took it, avoiding his eyes and complaining about her heels killing her feet. They walked in silence to Katie’s door.
She turned to him and cleared her throat, brushing her hand lightly down his arm. “You know, you’re not so bad. You might want to shower before your next pathetic attempt at putting the moves on me though.”
She looked so cute, dropping her eyes and almost smiling, that she was inside before he could think of a clever response.
*-*-*
Katie stood for a moment, her back to the door. She couldn’t believe she had actually almost fallen for that ‘I don’t give a fuck’ smarm, that she had actually been tempted to kiss Cook. There was something desperately wrong with her.
It had to be Effy’s fault. Ever since she had introduced herself on the first day of college Effy had been mocking her with that mysterious smile. Every second she spent around Effy eroded her confidence, made her feel fat and bitchy and stupid. Effy had taken everything from her, but worst of all her pride, and she wouldn’t even give Katie the satisfaction of a fair fight over it. Katie slid to the floor, trying to rub her eyes before tears welled up.
*-*-*
The docks were freezing, the sky still spitting rain. Cook couldn’t seem to think unless he was walking and smoking though, so he kept going. Katie had almost smiled at him, and she told him to keep flirting with her. He thought that could only mean one of two things: either she was really fucking desperate or his charm was finally starting to work its magic on her. Maybe if he got with Katiekins, Freddie would finally know what it felt like to have someone take what used to be his. The only problem was that would be a shitty way of using Katie, and if there was one thing he knew right then, it was that she might be the only one who understood. She knew exactly what it was like to stepped on by ‘true love’.
Cook stripped off his soaked shirt as soon as he got back to his room. He threw himself down on the bed and pulled the covers up, trying to get warm again, or at least somewhere close. He regretted a lot of things about what had happened with Effy now, but most of all he wished he knew what it felt like to spend the entire night in a bed with her. To not run off in the middle of the night, to actually hold her instead of shag in a club and let her walk home alone.
He pulled out his mobile, going through old pictures he had taken when they were running from club to club in the shitty little towns between Bristol and his dad, catching their scant hours of sleep in garbage heaps. She was sweaty, her eyes were glazed and unfocused, but he had always thought she looked happy then. But he had never really been able to figure out what was going on in her head. The whole time she had been trying to get Freddie to come rescue her... from him.
He was just a piece of shit, really. He had tried far too late to let her know he actually gave a fuck, and now she was gone.
*-*-*
Cook didn’t spend much time in classes that week. It seemed like everywhere he went, he saw them together: holding hands, kissing, staring at each other. When he couldn’t stand it anymore he just cut outside and smoked until he could almost feel his lungs blackening.
“….Cook. Cook. COOK!”
He turned to find Naomi leaning against the wall next to him, waving a hand in his face. She snatched the cigarette from his hand.
“That’s the fifth fag I’ve watched you smoke in the last fifteen minutes,” she commented, taking a drag.
“That’s why they call it addiction, babe.”
“God, don’t call me babe,” She shook her head and smiled. “I’m starting to get really fucking worried about you, you know? You’ve got to get over this Effy shit.”
“Tried that. It’s not going well for me, Naoms. I mean, could you just get over Emilio if she decided she liked some other bird better?”
“Well…”
“And what if that bird was your best mate?” he cut in. “Nah, it’s not so easy as just ‘get over it.’”
He stole the fag back from her as she stared at him.
“You really love her, don’t you?”
“I dunno if I know what the fuck love means, I just know I’ve never felt like this before. Like someone stomps on my fuckin’ heart every time I see them together.”
Naomi didn’t say anything else, just threw an arm over his shoulder and leaned her head against him as they finished sharing his cigarette.
*-*-*
Effy put her psychology books away and slammed her locker shut. She was about to go meet Freddie in the lounge when she noticed Cook staring at her through the doorway at the other end of the hall. It wasn’t the first or the fifth time it had happened that week. She turned away slowly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. It had been building since that night in the woods, the feeling that she was slowly killing him. It wasn’t what she had expected when they had been casually fucking and he didn’t seem to care about anyone in particular except Freddie and JJ. She didn’t enjoy causing those injured stares, but she wasn’t sure what she could do to fix it apart from what she had already done. She wasn’t fucking them around anymore, but it still wasn’t enough. She looked back at him and waved tentatively, then hurried away to the safety of Freddie’s unquestioning arms.
*-*-*
Freddie hadn’t spoken to Cook in a week or more. They had been avoiding each other out of some sort of mutual cowardice, and Freddie knew he couldn’t be the first one to break the silence. He had already asked Cook to just be okay with him and Effy being together, and if Cook couldn’t do that then what the fuck could he say? “Sorry about that whole ‘best-mates-for-life’ thing, but well, I’m sort of shagging the girl of my dreams now, so you’ll just have to get over her”? He felt like such a prick, but he couldn’t help being happy for himself. Time was supposed to heal all wounds right? Cook always calmed down eventually, he just had to wait it out.
Of course the first time Cook actually sought Freddie out it was because Cook had come to college drunk. He weaved his way to Freddie’s locker, leaning next to it and letting his head fall back against the wall.
“Jesus, Cook, you fucking reek of vodka.”
“Thanks for the fucking update, mate. So where’s our little princess? Not attached to your hip for once?” Cook asked, his eyes closed against the fluorescent glare of the hallway.
“Cook, I…she’s around here somewhere. Look, I don’t want to fight about this, okay? Can’t you just be cool with us?”
“Nah, sorry mate. I’m not fucking leaving.” He rolled his head to stare at Freddie with a disturbingly lucid gaze. “See, it’s just me and a bottle of booze lately. Cookie’s got no one, so I’m just not going away. I’m not gonna fucking give up on her an’ lie down like a fucking dog.”
“It’s not like that Cook, I…”
Cooks eyes focused on something over Freddie’s shoulder, and he broke into a manic grin.
“Peachy!” He pushed past Freddie as Effy approached. “Long time no talk, how’ve you been, babe?”
Cook twirled one of her curls around his finger, using his other hand to steady himself against the lockers. Effy furrowed her brow and backed away from him.
“Hi Cook…” she said staring pointedly at Freddie.
Sighing Freddie grabbed Cook’s arm, “Look mate, just back off okay?”
“What’s the fuckin’ problem? We’re just talking, right Eff? Old friends catching up?” Cook said, slapping Freddie’s hand down.
“Cook, please don’t…” Effy started.
“Don’t what? Don’t touch you, don’t look at you, don’t care? I thought you fuckin’ loved the attention.” Cook inched closer to her.
The bells rang and students began to file into the hallways.
“Fucking stop, Cook, this isn’t a fucking game,” Freddie snapped, placing himself between Effy and Cook.
It was all going tits up, just as he had feared.
“It’s all a fucking game, Freddie boy, you, me, her. You won one round, now it’s time for round two.”
*-*-*
Katie yawned as she left Politics. She had had to pick incessantly at her cuticles to try and keep from falling asleep. If Naomi could shut up about the Tories and the Lib Dems for one bloody minute and let the teacher lecture, maybe she would actually learn enough to keep from failing her fucking A-levels. As she made her way to her locker she ran into a wall of bodies.
“The fuck is it this time, my sister lezzing it up in public again?” she muttered.
She elbowed her way through the crowd, thanking Christ for stilettos. If there was one thing high heels were good for, it was getting idiots out of her way. Suddenly, she recognised Effy’s voice over the noise.
“Freddie, just leave it!”
Cook and Freddie were staring each other down in the centre of the human circle. She rolled her eyes and went towards her locker anyway just as the fight began in earnest.
It happened in the blink of an eye. The boys circled each other and Cook shoved Freddie, then punched him in the jaw. Effy cried out, her hands flying up to her mouth. Katie spun round from her locker at the noise, just as Freddie flew back, stunned. He fell into Katie, knocking her head into the metal doors.
*-*-*
Cook started to laugh, until Freddie pulled himself up and he noticed Katie wasn’t moving. She had slumped to the floor, her eyes closed. As his laughter trailed off, Effy closed the gap between them in two quick steps and slapped him full force.
The crowd dispersed as the teachers arrived, demanding to know what was going on. Katie blinked her eyes open, her hand instinctively reaching for the back of her head. Doug and Freddie were standing over her, and she let Doug help her up as they both worriedly asked if she was all right.
“Ugh, I’m fine as long as someone gets me some bloody paracetamol,” she said, wincing.
“Jesus, Katie, I’m so fucking sorry…” Freddie started.
Katie pushed passed both of them with a grimace, “On second thought, I’ll get it myself. I know where the fucking nurse’s office is.”
Freddie chased after her, still apologising, as she stalked away.
*-*-*
Effy watched Cook hold his cheek in shock as Katie and Freddie left. She closed her eyes and tried to remember a time when this whole situation with Cook and Freddie hadn’t been utterly fucked up. There had been one moment, on the boat when Cook sat in between her and Freddie as they sailed away, where she had felt at peace. Everything had gone to shit again, though, it always did.
“I hope you’re finally fucking satisfied,” she said to Cook, low and dangerous, before leaving in the opposite direction.
*-*-*
Cook stumbled back to his room in a daze. He must have passed out, because the next thing he knew it was dark out. He felt around the bed for his half-empty vodka bottle, unscrewed the cap and dropped it to the floor somewhere, his hands shaking. He swore, but it didn’t matter, because the bottle was empty in a matter of minutes. He stared at it briefly before hurling it against the wall. He dropped his head in his hands, wondering mutely when he would ever stop trying to prove to himself what a massive fuck-up he was.
He sighed and stood, digging a packet of fags from his pocket. He tried to light one, pacing. He managed one drag before he dropped the cigarette from senseless fingers, still sore from punching Freddie. It took him several seconds to realise one of the filthy, beer-soaked shirts strewn across his floor had caught on fire.
“Shit. Shit! Fuck!” he swore, stomping at the smoldering polyester.
He managed to get the flames only partially extinguished before he kicked the shirt into the trickle of vodka leaking from the broken remnants of the bottle. In seconds the flames were licking up the wall.
Cook followed his first instinct. He grabbed a bag of his shit from the floor and ran, having just enough clarity of thought to remember to pull the fire alarm as he left the building.
*-*-*
“Hi mum,” Cook slurred into the phone, shocked she had picked up. “How are you? Lovely as ever I’m sure.”
“No, you little shit, I’m not loaning you any money.”
“I’m really fucking hurt, y’know, that you would think that’s the only reason I ring you…actually I was wondering if I could sleep on the couch for a few …"
The line was dead before he could finish.
*-*-*
He climbed in JJ’s window, finding him working on a model plane in his pyjamas.
“Gay J! Mind if I kip here for a night or two? The rooms are fuckin’ under renovations or something.”
“I don’t think that would be wise, Cook. My mum is highly put out with you ever since she found out I went with you to the clinic because you had a venereal infection.”
“J, why in fuck’s name would you tell your mum about that?”
“I didn’t mean to, it just sort of…slipped!”
Cook stared up at the ceiling for a moment before shoving the window open in frustration.
“Fine, I see what a friend in need is worth round here,” he muttered, hopping to the ground.
*-*-*
Naomi opened her door the barest crack and stuck her head out, just as Cook was about to try pounding on the door again. Her hair was in a state and she didn’t exactly look pleased to see him, but Cook forged ahead.
“Naomio! You said your mum was out of town, right? Do you think I could crash here for a couple days, I just…”
“Cook, this isn’t the best time, okay?”
“Why the fuck not, Naoms? I’m a desperate man here, I…” He paused, noticing her messy hair and lack of clothes for the first time. “Shit Naomi, now you have to let me in! Where’s our little Emily?” He grinned from ear to ear.
“Cook, there’s no way in bloody hell I’m letting you watch. Now fuck off.”
She slammed the door in his face.
*-*-*
It was a last resort, really. He snuck into Freddie’s garden well after 2am and passed out in the shed.
Part III
Part II: Cook
I’m gonna get free/I’m gonna get free/I’m gonna get free, ride into the sun/She never loved me/she never loved me/she never loved me, why should anyone?
It was raining outside of course. Fucking appropriate, that. Cook shivered inside his worn polo as he struggled to keep a fag lit. He finally threw the thing to the ground in frustration, slumping against the brick wall of the alley.
It had been easy to ignore that Effy had picked Freddie over him when she had disappeared. Neither of them had ended up with the girl, no harm, no foul. But now she was back, and of course Freddie was all over her, fucking rubbing it in Cook’s face. He wanted to hate Freddie, but he couldn’t. All he could do was sit there and torture himself, watching everything he wanted snatched away again…or he could get the fuck out.
He turned to go, but as he passed near the entrance he heard Thomas yelling something about more friends from the doorway, and he saw his favourite lesbians and Katie heading into the party. His brow furrowed at the thought of Katie seeing Effy for the first time since she left her bleeding in the woods. Maybe it would be worth sticking around for.
*-*-*
Katie hadn’t even wanted to come to the stupid fucking party.
Emily had been badgering her for weeks about getting out of the house, so she saw this as the perfect opportunity.
“For one, Thomas is throwing the party, so we get in free and probably get some free drinks. For another thing, it’s the first party of the term so everyone cool is going to be there. Fuck’s sake Katie, I’ll let you borrow that top you wanted, just please stop watching repeats of Desperate Housewives with mum for one fucking night.”
“Fine, I’ll fucking go, but you’d better lend Naomi some decent clothes too. I really can’t be seen with you two if she can’t manage to bring her wardrobe out of the seventies dustbin.”
“We’ll all look the pinnacle of fashion, Kay, promise,” Emily said, with an epic eye-roll.
Katie should have known something was wrong when Panda actually stopped talking when they walked up to the door. But Thomas had smiled and waved them in and she went and got a few shots in her before she started scanning the dance floor for fit boys. Her sister and Naomi were already feeling each other up in a corner so she had to find some way to entertain herself. If she was lucky she could get some free drinks and a few compliments yelled over the pounding music.
She was wandering through the party when she heard someone say her name in a shocked tone of voice. Freddie was standing behind her…with Effy.
*-*-*
“Well, well, look who decided to show her face in Bristol again.”
Effy flinched a bit at the malice in Katie’s voice. It seemed like all her mistakes were coming back to haunt her tonight, but she managed to match Katie’s fake half-smile before she replied.
“Nice to see you again too Katie.”
“You’ve got a strange definition of nice. Mind if I check your bag for rocks before we continue this conversation?”
Effy turned her tiny clutch upside-down, dropping her lipgloss, a couple quid, and a bag of pills to the floor.
“Satisfied?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Katie’s voice cracked as she quickly replied, “Not until you give me my fucking life back.”
Effy dropped her eyes, and bent to pick up her things. She sighed as she rose, and grabbed Freddie’s hand.
“I can’t give back something I didn’t steal. I… let’s go Freddie.”
She turned away from Katie’s eyes, but they kept boring holes in her back until she and Freddie were a few streets away, his arm wrapped tight around her shuddering shoulders.
*-*-*
Cook pushed away from the wall where he had been leaning as he watched Effy and Freddie leave. It was less of a confrontation than he had expected, like something was different than last year. He wasn’t sure who had changed, Effy or Katie. Maybe they all had. Even he found he couldn’t just leave Katie like that, alone back at the bar. He ambled towards her, but she didn’t seem to notice his approach.
“Hey Katie, shame you didn’t get into one o’them sexy catfights.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Still not fucking you,” Katie said, not looking up for her drink.
“Harsh, girl. Why not?”
“Um, because I know where you’ve been?”
“I could say the same, but I promise I won’t hold Freddie against you if you let me get a look at your tits,” Cook said with a grin.
Katie laughed sharply, “Good one.”
“So, is it a goer then?”
“No, but keep trying. Sadly, it’s been the most fun I’ve had all week.” Katie got up from the bar and pounded back the rest of her drink. “Tell Emily I’m going home, will you?”
“Isn’t that what your bloody mobile’s for?” Cook said, and then quickly dodged a smack aimed at his shoulder. “Jesus, calm down Katiekins. I was going to offer to walk you home.”
The shock in her eyes was totally worth it. Cook offered her an arm as they made their way out of the sweaty club. She took it, avoiding his eyes and complaining about her heels killing her feet. They walked in silence to Katie’s door.
She turned to him and cleared her throat, brushing her hand lightly down his arm. “You know, you’re not so bad. You might want to shower before your next pathetic attempt at putting the moves on me though.”
She looked so cute, dropping her eyes and almost smiling, that she was inside before he could think of a clever response.
*-*-*
Katie stood for a moment, her back to the door. She couldn’t believe she had actually almost fallen for that ‘I don’t give a fuck’ smarm, that she had actually been tempted to kiss Cook. There was something desperately wrong with her.
It had to be Effy’s fault. Ever since she had introduced herself on the first day of college Effy had been mocking her with that mysterious smile. Every second she spent around Effy eroded her confidence, made her feel fat and bitchy and stupid. Effy had taken everything from her, but worst of all her pride, and she wouldn’t even give Katie the satisfaction of a fair fight over it. Katie slid to the floor, trying to rub her eyes before tears welled up.
*-*-*
The docks were freezing, the sky still spitting rain. Cook couldn’t seem to think unless he was walking and smoking though, so he kept going. Katie had almost smiled at him, and she told him to keep flirting with her. He thought that could only mean one of two things: either she was really fucking desperate or his charm was finally starting to work its magic on her. Maybe if he got with Katiekins, Freddie would finally know what it felt like to have someone take what used to be his. The only problem was that would be a shitty way of using Katie, and if there was one thing he knew right then, it was that she might be the only one who understood. She knew exactly what it was like to stepped on by ‘true love’.
Cook stripped off his soaked shirt as soon as he got back to his room. He threw himself down on the bed and pulled the covers up, trying to get warm again, or at least somewhere close. He regretted a lot of things about what had happened with Effy now, but most of all he wished he knew what it felt like to spend the entire night in a bed with her. To not run off in the middle of the night, to actually hold her instead of shag in a club and let her walk home alone.
He pulled out his mobile, going through old pictures he had taken when they were running from club to club in the shitty little towns between Bristol and his dad, catching their scant hours of sleep in garbage heaps. She was sweaty, her eyes were glazed and unfocused, but he had always thought she looked happy then. But he had never really been able to figure out what was going on in her head. The whole time she had been trying to get Freddie to come rescue her... from him.
He was just a piece of shit, really. He had tried far too late to let her know he actually gave a fuck, and now she was gone.
*-*-*
Cook didn’t spend much time in classes that week. It seemed like everywhere he went, he saw them together: holding hands, kissing, staring at each other. When he couldn’t stand it anymore he just cut outside and smoked until he could almost feel his lungs blackening.
“….Cook. Cook. COOK!”
He turned to find Naomi leaning against the wall next to him, waving a hand in his face. She snatched the cigarette from his hand.
“That’s the fifth fag I’ve watched you smoke in the last fifteen minutes,” she commented, taking a drag.
“That’s why they call it addiction, babe.”
“God, don’t call me babe,” She shook her head and smiled. “I’m starting to get really fucking worried about you, you know? You’ve got to get over this Effy shit.”
“Tried that. It’s not going well for me, Naoms. I mean, could you just get over Emilio if she decided she liked some other bird better?”
“Well…”
“And what if that bird was your best mate?” he cut in. “Nah, it’s not so easy as just ‘get over it.’”
He stole the fag back from her as she stared at him.
“You really love her, don’t you?”
“I dunno if I know what the fuck love means, I just know I’ve never felt like this before. Like someone stomps on my fuckin’ heart every time I see them together.”
Naomi didn’t say anything else, just threw an arm over his shoulder and leaned her head against him as they finished sharing his cigarette.
*-*-*
Effy put her psychology books away and slammed her locker shut. She was about to go meet Freddie in the lounge when she noticed Cook staring at her through the doorway at the other end of the hall. It wasn’t the first or the fifth time it had happened that week. She turned away slowly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. It had been building since that night in the woods, the feeling that she was slowly killing him. It wasn’t what she had expected when they had been casually fucking and he didn’t seem to care about anyone in particular except Freddie and JJ. She didn’t enjoy causing those injured stares, but she wasn’t sure what she could do to fix it apart from what she had already done. She wasn’t fucking them around anymore, but it still wasn’t enough. She looked back at him and waved tentatively, then hurried away to the safety of Freddie’s unquestioning arms.
*-*-*
Freddie hadn’t spoken to Cook in a week or more. They had been avoiding each other out of some sort of mutual cowardice, and Freddie knew he couldn’t be the first one to break the silence. He had already asked Cook to just be okay with him and Effy being together, and if Cook couldn’t do that then what the fuck could he say? “Sorry about that whole ‘best-mates-for-life’ thing, but well, I’m sort of shagging the girl of my dreams now, so you’ll just have to get over her”? He felt like such a prick, but he couldn’t help being happy for himself. Time was supposed to heal all wounds right? Cook always calmed down eventually, he just had to wait it out.
Of course the first time Cook actually sought Freddie out it was because Cook had come to college drunk. He weaved his way to Freddie’s locker, leaning next to it and letting his head fall back against the wall.
“Jesus, Cook, you fucking reek of vodka.”
“Thanks for the fucking update, mate. So where’s our little princess? Not attached to your hip for once?” Cook asked, his eyes closed against the fluorescent glare of the hallway.
“Cook, I…she’s around here somewhere. Look, I don’t want to fight about this, okay? Can’t you just be cool with us?”
“Nah, sorry mate. I’m not fucking leaving.” He rolled his head to stare at Freddie with a disturbingly lucid gaze. “See, it’s just me and a bottle of booze lately. Cookie’s got no one, so I’m just not going away. I’m not gonna fucking give up on her an’ lie down like a fucking dog.”
“It’s not like that Cook, I…”
Cooks eyes focused on something over Freddie’s shoulder, and he broke into a manic grin.
“Peachy!” He pushed past Freddie as Effy approached. “Long time no talk, how’ve you been, babe?”
Cook twirled one of her curls around his finger, using his other hand to steady himself against the lockers. Effy furrowed her brow and backed away from him.
“Hi Cook…” she said staring pointedly at Freddie.
Sighing Freddie grabbed Cook’s arm, “Look mate, just back off okay?”
“What’s the fuckin’ problem? We’re just talking, right Eff? Old friends catching up?” Cook said, slapping Freddie’s hand down.
“Cook, please don’t…” Effy started.
“Don’t what? Don’t touch you, don’t look at you, don’t care? I thought you fuckin’ loved the attention.” Cook inched closer to her.
The bells rang and students began to file into the hallways.
“Fucking stop, Cook, this isn’t a fucking game,” Freddie snapped, placing himself between Effy and Cook.
It was all going tits up, just as he had feared.
“It’s all a fucking game, Freddie boy, you, me, her. You won one round, now it’s time for round two.”
*-*-*
Katie yawned as she left Politics. She had had to pick incessantly at her cuticles to try and keep from falling asleep. If Naomi could shut up about the Tories and the Lib Dems for one bloody minute and let the teacher lecture, maybe she would actually learn enough to keep from failing her fucking A-levels. As she made her way to her locker she ran into a wall of bodies.
“The fuck is it this time, my sister lezzing it up in public again?” she muttered.
She elbowed her way through the crowd, thanking Christ for stilettos. If there was one thing high heels were good for, it was getting idiots out of her way. Suddenly, she recognised Effy’s voice over the noise.
“Freddie, just leave it!”
Cook and Freddie were staring each other down in the centre of the human circle. She rolled her eyes and went towards her locker anyway just as the fight began in earnest.
It happened in the blink of an eye. The boys circled each other and Cook shoved Freddie, then punched him in the jaw. Effy cried out, her hands flying up to her mouth. Katie spun round from her locker at the noise, just as Freddie flew back, stunned. He fell into Katie, knocking her head into the metal doors.
*-*-*
Cook started to laugh, until Freddie pulled himself up and he noticed Katie wasn’t moving. She had slumped to the floor, her eyes closed. As his laughter trailed off, Effy closed the gap between them in two quick steps and slapped him full force.
The crowd dispersed as the teachers arrived, demanding to know what was going on. Katie blinked her eyes open, her hand instinctively reaching for the back of her head. Doug and Freddie were standing over her, and she let Doug help her up as they both worriedly asked if she was all right.
“Ugh, I’m fine as long as someone gets me some bloody paracetamol,” she said, wincing.
“Jesus, Katie, I’m so fucking sorry…” Freddie started.
Katie pushed passed both of them with a grimace, “On second thought, I’ll get it myself. I know where the fucking nurse’s office is.”
Freddie chased after her, still apologising, as she stalked away.
*-*-*
Effy watched Cook hold his cheek in shock as Katie and Freddie left. She closed her eyes and tried to remember a time when this whole situation with Cook and Freddie hadn’t been utterly fucked up. There had been one moment, on the boat when Cook sat in between her and Freddie as they sailed away, where she had felt at peace. Everything had gone to shit again, though, it always did.
“I hope you’re finally fucking satisfied,” she said to Cook, low and dangerous, before leaving in the opposite direction.
*-*-*
Cook stumbled back to his room in a daze. He must have passed out, because the next thing he knew it was dark out. He felt around the bed for his half-empty vodka bottle, unscrewed the cap and dropped it to the floor somewhere, his hands shaking. He swore, but it didn’t matter, because the bottle was empty in a matter of minutes. He stared at it briefly before hurling it against the wall. He dropped his head in his hands, wondering mutely when he would ever stop trying to prove to himself what a massive fuck-up he was.
He sighed and stood, digging a packet of fags from his pocket. He tried to light one, pacing. He managed one drag before he dropped the cigarette from senseless fingers, still sore from punching Freddie. It took him several seconds to realise one of the filthy, beer-soaked shirts strewn across his floor had caught on fire.
“Shit. Shit! Fuck!” he swore, stomping at the smoldering polyester.
He managed to get the flames only partially extinguished before he kicked the shirt into the trickle of vodka leaking from the broken remnants of the bottle. In seconds the flames were licking up the wall.
Cook followed his first instinct. He grabbed a bag of his shit from the floor and ran, having just enough clarity of thought to remember to pull the fire alarm as he left the building.
*-*-*
“Hi mum,” Cook slurred into the phone, shocked she had picked up. “How are you? Lovely as ever I’m sure.”
“No, you little shit, I’m not loaning you any money.”
“I’m really fucking hurt, y’know, that you would think that’s the only reason I ring you…actually I was wondering if I could sleep on the couch for a few …"
The line was dead before he could finish.
*-*-*
He climbed in JJ’s window, finding him working on a model plane in his pyjamas.
“Gay J! Mind if I kip here for a night or two? The rooms are fuckin’ under renovations or something.”
“I don’t think that would be wise, Cook. My mum is highly put out with you ever since she found out I went with you to the clinic because you had a venereal infection.”
“J, why in fuck’s name would you tell your mum about that?”
“I didn’t mean to, it just sort of…slipped!”
Cook stared up at the ceiling for a moment before shoving the window open in frustration.
“Fine, I see what a friend in need is worth round here,” he muttered, hopping to the ground.
*-*-*
Naomi opened her door the barest crack and stuck her head out, just as Cook was about to try pounding on the door again. Her hair was in a state and she didn’t exactly look pleased to see him, but Cook forged ahead.
“Naomio! You said your mum was out of town, right? Do you think I could crash here for a couple days, I just…”
“Cook, this isn’t the best time, okay?”
“Why the fuck not, Naoms? I’m a desperate man here, I…” He paused, noticing her messy hair and lack of clothes for the first time. “Shit Naomi, now you have to let me in! Where’s our little Emily?” He grinned from ear to ear.
“Cook, there’s no way in bloody hell I’m letting you watch. Now fuck off.”
She slammed the door in his face.
*-*-*
It was a last resort, really. He snuck into Freddie’s garden well after 2am and passed out in the shed.
Part III