It was the summer of 2010.
Pandora and Thomas left for college. They were together, happy and all of that. Wonder how long they would last, cause nothing good ever lasts. Katie started yet ANOTHER business with her mother, and Emily and Naomi left on vacation. Even JJ was off to university while living with Lara and her child.
Happy endings were around for all of Effy's friends. Freddie was still nowhere to be found though. And Cook stayed at Naomi's, even though she left. And Effy was at dead end. That practically described her life, and she was practically a zombie, rarely moving from her room. Initially, she seemed to be finally getting better from her depression. But you see, Freddie was this girl's last bit of hope, a bit of light in a dark, dark world. And he was gone. Her mother half-heartedly took care of her, suffering from her own depression. Once she was at top, admired by all, but she lost a sense of identity, and reality. She didn't know what was real anymore, everything was a blur. Nothing mattered to her anymore, and she even lacked the energy to attempt suicide, because in a way, she was already dead. She lost contact with her friends, her father, and Tony, who were too busy enjoying their own lives to even think about her. Because her brain felt dead.
Cook was at dead end, just like Effy was. After tying up Foster, he tried to run, but only ended up caught by the cops searching for Freddie's death. They initially thought Cook killed him, but evidence proved that it was Foster in the end, who was sentenced to prison. But since Cook was on runaway, he was still sentenced for two months.
His term at prison was finally over. One thing all of the people there had in common was that there was no hope left for them. His life had never been good, but never had it been a mess. But that wasn't a surprise, and even Freddie and JJ left him in the end. Everyone. He had literally no one. No family, friends, future, anything. And he was dying inside, and Freddie's death was the last straw for him.
But Cook terribly missed Effy. More than that, he realized that she still didn't know about Freddie's death. He was more worried about her than anything. For the past few months, her mental state was at a complete low, and after Freddie's death(which she still didn't know about), it could only get worse. And Cook still loved her, and he's done literally everything to get over it. He wanted to run away from his past, but he wasn't a pussy, he had to confront his problems, and tell Effy about Freddie.
He went to Effy's house and rang the doorbell. She looked extremely unkempt, but to him she was still beautiful. She was silent, and let him in. He hurriedly explained Freddie's death to her, it had to be done.
Effy was in disbelief. No. That couldn't happen. She wasn't a hopeful person, but she still kept on to a hope that Freddie was going to come back, cause Freddie was hope.
No. No. No. No. I'm just dreaming. Make it stop. This can't be happening. No. He's messing with my head. But it can't be. NO. Don't believe it! The voices, they were just messing with me! No. It can't be! No. No. What's happening to me!
Effy couldn't take the war within her head anymore, everything was coming back to her, everything about him she wanted to forget, and she just screamed. On and on and on, and went on to destroy the room, only for Cook to stop her. And she screamed even more, for him to get off her. He wasn't real, he was messing with her head! Nothing is real! Why am I feeling, why is everything coming back to me? She had to face reality, and it was like a bullet to her head. She screamed then "I DON'T CARE!" repeatedly, just to make herself believe it. But the voices were chasing her, feeding her memories of everything that happened with Freddie. And then she was just numb for the rest of the night. She didn't move, speak, and barely made eye contact with Cook.
Cook was no longer himself, just a broken form of him. Everything was gone for him, he was useless with nobody. He felt pain everyday to hide with drugs. But still he was better off than Effy, and seeing the one girl he loves becoming destroyed was the most pain he'd ever felt since Freddie's death. He had to help her, he knew that, she needed him. But how was he able to do that when he couldn't even help himself?
He thought that entire night what to do. The pain of watching her practically lifeless was unbearable, but he can't run away from his problems. And finally, he decided to call the one person who could actually help her. Tony, that shit brother that left her, but maybe they did have a connection…
The next morning, Effy was using some pills she found for her depression, and took six of them. Because no matter how hard she tried to numb herself, nothing was working anymore. And she wanted to forget, she's trying to forget just like Foster…Foster, she can't trust him anymore. Nobody could be trusted, everybody leaves her, why is she even letting Cook stay, she needs to be alone, but what if he's the last person she'll see…she was so scared to be alone, yet she wanted to be alone. She decided to just let Cook stay, she didn't have the energy to kick him out.
That morning, Anthea also came home from wherever she was, so Cook just hid in Effy's closet, just like old times. Times that neither of them wanted to confront, or even think about. Anthea gave Effy's lifeless body a bath. She was practically numb, but her mother was back, and soothed her, and made her feel like a little girl all over again, in a way. Effy felt her eyes water, a sense she didn't feel in months.
Cook then got a hold of Tony's number from Effy's cell phone, and called him. He somehow answered his phone..
Tony- Hi, it's been a few months. Well how are you?
Cook- This isn't Effy.
Tony- Where is she then?
Cook- she's dying. And some fucking brother you are to not realize it.
Tony was in utter shock, not knowing what to do or say.
Tony- Is she sick?
Cook- No. But she's been lifeless.
Tony- Give me answers. What's up with my sister. What did you do to her, you twat?
Cook- You want answers? Well she's been depressed, and it's getting worse each day. She fucking needed you. You did this to her.
Tony hung up, and went right back home. Screw uni, his sister needed him. She was always there for him, and he couldn't live with himself unless he fixed her, just like how she fixed him after his accident.
Then, Cook then tried to give her some food, she seemed as if she was trying to starve herself. But at the same time she became lifeless over that summer, she barely even moved, forget eat unless she was fed. She just picked up an apple and ate it silently.
And then Tony came.
And Effy spoke more than she ever had in the past few months. Seeing him caused her to pour out everything she had to. The precious words she never spoke just flowed, because everything stopped. She liked the feeling of control she had once she saw him. No Freddie or Cook was in control of her mind, and the voices shut up for once.
And toxic spewed from her lips in angry, broken screams and sobs.
You're a twat, Tony stonem! You said you didn't fool me? Well you're wrong! You think you know me? Well then you're fucking wrong. I needed you! How do you not see that! I get it, you don't want me, nobody does, but it's like you don't even know who I am! I don't even know who I am! You completed me, and then you just left me! Michelle was right, you're just there only to fuck everyone up, right! I had a gap where my family was, just open for the voices to come, they've taken over me, just like how we took over each other when we needed each other! But I needed you, and you were off screwing some uni teacher, while I was dying every day. So NOW you wanted to know how I am, now that my life is NOTHING, now that I'm practically dead, that this is the most I've said in months, that when you didn't come to fix me, everyone else left me, leaving me with just the creatures to destroy me? Well I'll give you answers-I'm dead, and I've completely gone mad, and I can't even care anymore, and you don't notice or seem to care. Are you happy now?
Effy couldn't believe herself as she screamed. But everything was true. And she couldn't take reality, which was why her thoughts ended up consuming her.
Tony only felt guiltier, who was he anymore? The guilt was eating him alive, and consuming him, and he knew that he could NEVER live with himself if he didn't fix Effy-it was his job, and this was all his fault, because EVERYTHING she said was right, and it scared him from day one how she always seemed to be right.
Tony then wrapped Effy in his arms, and she slept for what was the first time in days. He then sang to her "Fix You", because that was what he had to do. He won't give up on her, she was the strongest person he knew, and she could get through this. Cook then angrily told him what happened to Effy, how she got depressed, and how Foster killed Freddie.
Effy needed help. But after hearing what happened with Foster and Freddie, he was reluctant about it. While Foster was in jail, some other twat could fuck up Effy's life only more. And while Tony was always smart, he didn't know HOW he was going to help Effy, he only knew that he's going to do whatever it took to help her.
Tony then remembered that for a few months, he did actually have therapy for a few months to relearn everything and deal with post-traumatic stress disorder after getting hit by the bus. He remembered that it was pretty helpful, and would work better than confining Effy in a mental hospital where the psychotherapist is crazier than the patients. And that way, Effy would still be at home, and not alone, she could snap back to reality by being in it. Effy's life wasn't nothing, it was worth so much, and she was going to make something of herself one day, and he would do anything to see her smile.
One Year Later:
And slowly, Effy did get better. Tony did still go to uni in the fall, but lived with Effy, and took care of her even though the university was a two-hour train ride from Bristol, as seeing that occasional smile of hers was worth it. Effy was going to therapy daily, and now weekly, and counseling with the right person helped her slowly drive her voices away from her, and she was snapping back to reality. She was still grieving over Freddie, but was on her way to accepting it. She took an online course to repeat her final year of college as she wanted to begin taking her education more seriously. She still didn't drink, do drugs, or party, but occasionally went outside to see fresh air. She finally made contact with Pandora over phone call recently, along with Naomi. And Cook was also there to help her on her way.
Speaking of Cook, he was also on a slow road to recovery. He actually was able to get a job. A terrible one in a shitty bar, but still gave him enough to live on his own, no longer running away from anything. He kept a close friendship with Effy, as they helped each other on their roads to recovery. He was also able to find someone of his own:
One day, he was working another long day at the bar. Loud men came soon, some resembling his dead-end father. But then, a bunch of hot lads came, and then he remembered why he agreed to this job in the first place. He instantly recognized one of them. She was wearing a pink suit, but the skirt was a bit short. She had dark, long red hair and her infamous smirk. It could only be Katie Fitch. Since Cook's day shift ended, they were able to catch on. They were never fond of each other, but neither of them saw the group for a year, it was time to catch up. They did argue quite a bit, just like during college, but were both surprised to how they actually did get along as a whole. Katie's business was failing until a month ago, when it began to look up. She still hasn't found someone, and misses the whole group. He told her about Freddie and Effy, which was a shock to her. He let her grieve for a while, but then they both realized that he needed to have a funeral held, where everyone could reunite. It was surprising how on one lonely night, two people could open up to each other…
Both despite and because of their differences, they ended up in some sort of relationship after a few weeks.
One Month Later:
News of Freddie's death spread to the whole group. Everyone was visibly shocked and hurt, but it was JJ that it affected the most. Even though his life was stable and successful, the news really hit home for him-until recently, Freddie was the main source of stability in JJ's life.
The funeral is a casual affair between the group and Freddie's family. Though, Tony came to thank this Freddie guy for taking care of Effy when he should have instead, for dying for her. Everyone shed tears and grieved, and in a way, rejoiced over the memories they had with him, his presence never forgotten.
The next day, the group is still reunited, catching up on everything, just like during college. When people are close to each other, time can't break the bonds they have. Though, they still promise to be mates until death.
Tony was also able to "fix" Effy, who was on her way to uni now, starting a new life.
Everyone had a good road ahead of them, and there's hope out there for all of us as well.
Author's note-sorry if the end is a bit choppy…I could write a sequel if any of you guys wanted, but this was mainly a one-off to show how Effy and Cook are after Freddie's death, and how they move on. And I had to bring Tony back, I don't understand how she could really be recovered without him. And I ship Cook and Katie okay, they would make a good pairing, they're both lonely and need each othernot to mention that they would be super hot together.And I wanted to bring hope to Effy and the readers. Also this from around half a year ago but I forgot about it for awhile, so that's why it's nothing like Skins Fire or Rise.