Missing

Freddie's missing, and when his blood is found at John Foster's place, the gang are forced to deal with his death. But then a mystery guest turns up at Freddie's birthday celebration at the shed..

DISCLAIMER:
I don't own Skins- I'm just a little obsessed with it.

Cook

This was just getting too fucked up for words now. A week. It's been a whole fucking week. Completely agonizing.

I don't have a clue why Freds would wanna run away. He had everything; everything I wanted but I couldn't fucking have it. If he had it all, then why did he go? He left me. JJ. Effy. The rest of the gang. Freddie doesn't just do that. He doesn't run away from things. He stands up to his problems, like a real fucking man. That's what I always loved about him. I always thought that he had balls.

I sighed and Karen's voice scattered my thoughts.

"You best fucking find him Cook! It's all your fucking fault that he's gone!" She spat, rage dancing in her eyes as she looked right at me.

I looked down at the floor, shaking my head. "I've tried, Karen. He's done a runner. That's all."

A tear flitted down Karen's cheek, and she sniffed miserably as all her anger evaporated. "But.. why? Why would he do that? Freddie doesn't do things without reason. He's not like that. I should fucking well know, I am his sister!"

I shrugged. "He had everything," I said quietly, repeating my thoughts. "He had Effy, JJ.. he had everything he ever fucking wanted. I didn't. Cook gets fuck all. Oh, apart from a fucking prison sentence."

She looked at me for a few more moments, and her eyes began to well up again. "The police are thinking about closing the investigation," she almost whispered. "There's too much evidence that suggests he ran away. The bag in his room, his shoes.." Her voice was cut off by a small sob. "But I know he wouldn't do that, Cook. There's something up, I'm fucking telling you." Tears spilled frantically down her cheeks, so I pulled her to my chest and hugged her tightly.

"It's alright, Karen. We'll find him. No matter what."

"I hope so," she squeaked back, her voice muffled, as she buried her face in my chest and sobbed quietly. It was obvious that she missed him. Although I did too, I didn't show it; it just wasn't the way I rolled. If you lay out your emotions for every fucker to see, then you're just gonna get hurt more ain't you?

After a few more minutes, we decided to go back to Naomi's place, where the gang were hanging out for the summer, like we'd promised eachother. One last time.

I opened the door and walked into the hallway, pulling Karen in by the hand. JJ was sitting on the stairs, feeding his girlfriend Lara's little baby. He was cooing to it, and it made me smile. Freddie didn't know what he was missing. We were all back at Naomi Campbell's place.. smoking weed, and drinking vodka until the shop couldn't sell us any more. Getting laid and just chilling out. Now college was over, we were all supposed to hang out for the summer, just enjoy the freedom before we all go our seperate ways. Just one last summer, all together, all happy.

I greeted JJ, as did Karen, and we walked into the living room. Naomi was sitting on one of the sofas, opposite Emily. It was a pity they still hadn't made up. I thought they were a cracking couple. Same goes for Pandora and Thomas. Yeah, I feel guilty for stealing his bird and boning her all the time, but we patched things up a bit. At least we tolerate eachother. But apparently Thomas was cheating on her, so they split aswell.. he pissed on poor Panda Pops.

Things were so different compared to last year. When we first got to Roundview, everything was fucking amazing. Partying, picking fights with gangsters. It was fucking mint. But then we all got into some serious shit, especially me, Freds and Eff. I wish I'd just left it. I know it was hurting Freds, but I was hurting too. I need some love aswell, you know? Cos like I said, I've got fucking nothing. My fucking parents don't want me; my own fucking dad tried to steal Effy off me (when I had her at least.) What a fucking cunt. And my mum; fuck her, she's a slag. She only cares about herself and her stupid artwork. I feel sorry for my brother, Paddy. As soon as he's old enough, and when the police give up chasing me, we'll find a place to live, just me and him. I think that'd be nice for both of us. Hopefully we'd find Freddie, too. Hopefully the whole gang would still be together. No, now I was fucking hoping too much.

I collapsed on a sofa next to Naomi; the poor bird looked shattered. She just kept on looking at Emily. Emily just stared out of the window. I sighed, and JJ walked in, still nursing the baby.

"Guys," he piped up nervously, as he rocked the baby. "I think.. I think that we should go to Freddie's shed."

Emily broke her gaze away from the window to look at JJ incredulously. "What? Why there?" she questioned quietly.

JJ looked around at the gang. "At the end of last year, we said that we'd all be together. For one last summer before university or whatever. Well, we are all together, almost anyway. But nobody's happy. Everyone's so fucking depressed! So if Freddie doesn't want to be with us, then we'll be with him- almost."

JJ's words darted around my mind. I stood up, and smiled. "You know what? You're right, J-kins. Absolutely fucking right. Freddie's obviously happy, wherever he is now, but if we can't be happy without him, then at least we'll be in his shed. So come on, rave on, people! We'll have a party. I think Freddie'd love it. Who's in?" I shouted, trying to raise the spirit a little.

"Whizzer. I think you're right, Cookie; I'm deffo in!" Pandora agreed with a smile. Thomas nodded also, and he turned to look at Pandora longingly. Apparently, he was no way near forgiven yet.

"Yeah, sounds good," Naomi said, forcing a smile.

Emily and Katie nodded, Katie more enthusiastic than the constantly depressed Emily. "Why not, I think it'd be great," Katie added, smiling broadly.

I looked at Karen; I thought that she would have been the one who would be harder to convince, but surprisingly she smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah. I like it."

"Sorted!" I yelled happily. "Right, so let's all meet at Fred's shed at about.. say, seven tonight. Bring your vodka, bring your weed, and we'll have a fucking good time!"

The others all nodded back at me, and a smile crept upon my lips as Karen's phone started to ring. She looked at the caller ID, and then back at me. "It's my dad.." she started quietly. She got up to exit the room, answering her phone on her way out.

I sat down on the sofa next to Naomi anxiously; though it was none of my business, I wanted to see what Leo Mclair wanted. I wanted to know if he knew anything about my fucking friend, if he'd been in touch. It was about five minutes before Karen came back into the room, her cheeks tear-stained with salt and mascara. She was bawling uncontrollably, holding onto the door handle for support. We all looked at her, alarmed; this wasn't fucking good.

"Karen, what's wrong? Tell me what's fucking wrong?" I shouted. I felt scared, anxious. I wanted to hear what this was about, but a part of me told me to pipe down and hold my hands over my ears. My heart thumped loudly, and I'm pretty sure the whole fucking room could hear it pounding off the walls. "Karen?" I bellowed frantically, shaking with fear.

"I-i-it's.. F-f-f-fred.." She stopped mid-sentence, and I ran over to her, my head feeling numb. I sat her down at a sofa, and looked worriedly around at the rest of the gang. Pandora looked like she was going to puke. Thomas looked concerned. Emily looked concerned also, but her expression wasn't as vivid. Katie had clapped her hand to her mouth, her eyes welling up. Naomi willed Karen to go on, and tell them what had happened. JJ sat down next to me, looking like he was about to cry.

"Karen," he said in a hushed tone. "What is going on?"

Karen stopped sobbing for a moment, though she was still shaking. "Dad said that the police have just been to the house. They've.. found some blood. At John Foster's house." She started to cry again, before almost screaming: "And it was Freddie's."

My heart plummeted, and I felt my thoughts fade away. And everything went black.

"Cook! Cook! COOK!"

My name was being shouted by at least seven different voices. Fuck; my head. It fucking killed. I groaned as my eyelids slowly flickered open, and I saw JJ's, Naomi's and Karen's faces looking down at me, their expressions evoking concern and worry.

"Are you alright?" JJ asked, as he held out a hand to help me up from the floor. I nodded my head, and it felt like my brain was bashing against my fucking skull. I winced as I stood up, and got my balance.

My heart stopped again as I remembered why I'd passed out in the first place. Freddie. I felt several emotions pass through my body, making me feel giddy again. Sadness. Anger. Shock. I felt sick aswell; my best friend, his fucking blood found in the house of Effy's psychiatrist. What the fuck was going on..

"I'm gonna fucking kill that Foster cunt," I growled, anger dominating my emotions. I paced around the living room, ignoring the pain from my throbbing head. "I'm gonna fucking kill him!" I yelled, making everybody jump.

"Cook, calm down," Naomi murmured, trying to soothe me. She sat me down on the sofa next to her. "The police will sort it out," she insisted. "Besides, you don't want another prison sentence. You're supposed to be inside now. You'll be in there for life for manslaughter."

"But he's my fucking mate Naomi," I said, sighing in defeat. "He's my fucking mate, I can't just sit here and do nothing."

Naomi looked at me sympathetically. "I know. It's hard for all of us. But.. we should still go to the shed. Celebrate Freddie," she said, smiling warmly.

I nodded, however not as enthusiastic as before. I could hardly enjoy myself when my best friend might be fucking well dead. I couldn't even bear to think about it. This sounded like it was going to be a fucking memorial service, not the celebration of what should of been my best friend's fucking birthday.

I got up from the sofa, ready to go upstairs to the room that Naomi had kindly let me have for my stay, just until the fuzz gave up looking for me. "Right then," I said. "I'll see all yous later, at seven. At Freddie's shed. See you in a bit."

I pulled on a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans morosely, as I prepared myself for the mini shindig at Freddie's shed. Despite Naomi calling it a 'celebration' I felt like I was on my way to a fucking funeral. I sighed as I slipped my feet into my shoes, and I ran a bit of styling shit through my hair. Usually, I'd be interested in getting fucked, possibly getting my dick wet. All I wanted at the moment though, was my two best mates, JJ and the Fredster, to be with me. I could hardly get fucked when Foster was still alive. He was still alive, and Freddie wasn't.. it made me shudder with anger to think about his fuck ugly face, distorted with evil as he murdered my best fucking mate.. I found myself morbidly thinking, how did he do it? Did he shoot him? Fucking stab him? The pain of imagining Fred's death was too much, so I picked up a bottle of vodka and a packet of powder and made my way out. Emily had already left with Katie earlier, and I'd heard nothing about Effy. She'd hadn't even shown her fucking face, she wasn't even there when Karen told us about him.. and she should've been. It made me angry to think of her aswell, fucking up my best mate's life, as well as mine and JJ's.. She'd fucking ruined everything, man. All of this was because of her, I mean, it was her fucking psychiatrist, weren't it? I shook my head, attempting to get rid of the negative thoughts. I walked down Freddie's street, and the only light came from the few dim streetlights that there was. Darkness fucking engulfed the place. Cookie was barely ever scared, but for some reason the howling wind send a chill down my spine.

As soon as I was standing in front of Freddie's house, guilt and regret washed over me. How I wished that I'd came here more often, how I wished that I'd been there for my best mate when he needed me.. I sighed and walked down the side of the house to the garden. The shed was illuminated with light, coming from the tiny windows and the cracks of the old, painted wooden door.

I let myself in quickly, not even bothering to put on my bad man facade for a change. I already noticed that everyone else was there; Karen, Emily, Naomi, Thomas, Panda, Katie, JJ and fuck me. Even Effy. Eff looked up at me, sadness in her crystal blue eyes. I smiled wanly, and plonked myself down on the ragged sofa next to JJ.

After helping me consume my bottle of vodka and the tiny packet of MDMA, everybody got into a lighter mood, taking shots and playing truth games. I looked over at Naomi, who had suddenly stood up, and she was looking at Emily. My ears were ringing as I tried to stop myself from crying, as Naomi admitted her true feelings to Emily, right there and then, in front of us all. I couldn't hear what she was saying properly, as she was crying really hard, but Emily must've made something of it for she pulled her into a giant hug, and couldn't stop kissing her. Despite the lesbian jibes, I knew that there was something more to Emilio and Naoms. They were special. As the night went on, it also didn't go unnoticed that Thomas and Panda were in a corner together, smiling at eachother. Panda's hand was linked with Thomas's, and I kinda felt guilty for making her cheat on him. They were special too; they were a lovely couple, and they deserved each other. I smiled; everything seemed to be coming together at last. Emily and Naomi were jetting off to Goa after the summer, just like they'd always wanted. Naoms had pulled out a pair of tickets during her make-up with Emily. But what shocked me was that Panda's been taking some A-levels without telling the rest of us- sneaky, innit? But she's happy, and that's life. Thomas was going to Harvard, to do running and shit, and Panda wanted to do History. Katie wasn't properly sure what she was going to do, but she said ambitions restrict her, so she ain't too bothered. The only people that weren't sure of the future were me and Eff. Everything had screwed up for us. I was a fugitive and she was a loon.

All of a sudden, there was a big bang and the lights went out in the shed. I jumped a mile, and so did everyone else by the sound of it. The shed door had swung open, and a silhouette of a man, by the looks of it, was standing in the doorframe. For a moment or two I thought it was Leo. Apologies started running riot through my head. Leo, we're sorry, we're just celebrating the life of your dead son.. Leo, come in mate, you must feel awful.. We didn't mean any harm Mr. McClair, we're just celebrating Freddie's birthday..

The silhouette walked into the shed, looking very much in pain; they couldn't walk properly, and they were holding their head. Their other hand flicked the lights back on and closed the door behind them swiftly after.

"Somebody pass me a fucking spliff," he croaked.

The atmosphere was suddenly tense; we all gasped and I swear I heard Katie clap her hands over her mouth. Panda started crying and Effy screamed "OH MY GOD!"

"FREDDIE?" I could feel it again; the darkness creeping up on me, threatening to black me out like I had done at Naomi's. Freddie was alive..? We'd all assumed he was dead, so had the police..

"What the fuck happened to you, man?" I stood up to help him walk over to the sofa. His usually messy hair was matted against his forehead, caked in blood, sweat and tears by the looks of it. He had one hell of a fucking gash on the left side of his forehead, and the rest of him was a fucking canvas of blood, cuts, bruises and gashes. I felt sick just looking at him, and I felt angry that somebody did this to him.

"Who did this to you?" Effy spoke, her voice so low it was almost a whisper. Fear and recognition at the same time dripped from her tone. Of course she fucking knew who it was..

"Foster," Freddie mouthed, currently too weak to say anything at all.

I fucking knew it. I fucking well knew it! While anger dominated my emotions, my arms automatically snaked around Freddie's shoulders, and pulled him to my chest protectively. "Don't you worry Freds.. Foster'll have what's coming to him.. the police have got him now." I must've reassured him, because within seconds he was asleep, snoring lightly. Nobody had spoken at all; all eyes lay on Freddie, and the only person that moved was Karen. She was sobbing softly, and she sat next to him on the sofa so that she could cuddle him. Foster would have what's coming to him. Once I called the police, Foster would be banged up, in their for fucking life, for almost taking one. One that ment a lot more to all of us than we could've ever fucking imagined. Fucking Freddie McClair. My best mate, for fucking life.