Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, events or ideas used in Skins. Wish I did.
Freddie had been gone for days. Effy thought that he would've come back by then, but he must have been really scared. She was worried. She also hadn't spoken to Cook since he'd saved her from the oncoming van, when she had kissed him. She knew she was with Freddie, yet she couldn't stop herself. Cook had looked so hopeful and it killed her a bit to say to him 'you're my friend'. Now, on top of everything, her boyfriend was missing and it was all her fault. It was his birthday and she showed up at the shed. She gazed around at all the things that reminded her of her Freddie, wishing for his safe and quick return. She felt at home here, where she and her friends had hung out and she had felt so happy. She smiled sadly. Effy froze in shock at the shed door opened to reveal a shirtless and puffed out Cook. They both stood rooted to the spot. Not now, Effy thought, why does he have to do this now?
Neither knew what to do. 'You fuck everything up again?' She said, more a statement than a question. Cook's simple reply of 'yeah' spread that familiar sadness through her once more. Despite everything that existed between them it was almost awkward to talk to him while standing there.
As he strode across the room she said 'it's his birthday today.'
'Yeah,' was his reply. 'You think he'd mind?' He asked her as he borrowed one of Freddie's shirts. She smiled her confirmation. 'Freds probably got scared. I'm pretty scary.'
'Yep.' Cook bit back a laugh.
'I can't not know,' Effy said. 'If he couldn't bear it, I can handle it. I think I can handle it.' She was the reason all of this had happened and she had to know that he was okay; she had to know why. She had fucked with Freddie's head for too long. She had to put an end to it.
This was one of the hardest things Cook had ever had to do. Harder than giving her up to his best friend. He forced himself to pull the note book from his pocket. He handed it to the girl he loved. He proved to her that Freddie loved her best.
The next day Cook showed up at Effy's house still wearing Freddie's shirt and slightly covered in dried blood. He knocked on the door with fervour and when Anthea answered he just dashed past her, up the stairs. He didn't even bother to knock before entering Effy's room. She was lying in a ball on her bed and hugging her giraffe, still wearing yesterday's clothes from Freddie's birthday party at the shed. She looked over to see Cook and was shocked by his appearance. He had blood on his nose, a bruised eye, Freddie's shirt was torn and bloodied, and he limped slightly. Cook didn't say anything. He just kicked off his shoes, walked over to the bed, and lay next to Effy. She turned around to face him and said 'what the fuck happened to you, Cook?'
Cook couldn't respond. He buried his face into her hair and they lay hugging each other. Effy had a horrible sense of foreboding. They lay like that for at least half an hour. She had almost fallen asleep in his arms when Cook whispered 'Foster killed Freddie.' Effy thought she dreamt it. She wished she had.
Later in the day Cook arrived at the police station to hand himself in for his involvement in Sophia's death and for beating John Foster to a pulp. He also told the officer at the front desk that Foster had killed Freddie McClair. Such a serious allegation was immediately looked into. That day was the last time Cook saw Effy for months.
Effy sunk back into depression and psychosis when she learned of Freddie's death because she knew he died for her and that she couldn't even give him her heart. She ached when she found out from Karen that Cook had beaten Foster for her despite the ramifications for his sentence time. She ached to know that Cook had been the one to discover that his best friend- the boy who loved her- was dead. She ached that Cook was going away from her for a very long time.
A/N So far just some back story to set up what is to come in the next chapter. How do you like it? Please leave me a review & tell me if you think it's worth continuing or not. I know at least 100 of you have read this so far, yet no reviews! So please do, it'll make my day! :)