Millie went to wake up Kat for breakfast, and was surprised and worried at discovering that he had a fever. She immediately resolved to take care of him all day, while Coop resolved to make sure to stay out of the house and away from Kat until he recovered. He saw Kat's inventions and weapons in the shed, and decided to throw them off a cliff.
Coop was standing near the edge of a cliff, having finished getting rid of Kat's inventions, when Phoebe snuck up behind him. " Hi, Coop! " She gave him a hug after he screamed and turned towards her, and he pushed her away from him, accidentally making her fall over the edge of the cliff. He screamed and watched helplessly as she fell off the cliff, disappearing underneath the leaf cover of the forest below, where her blood-curdling screams immediately stopped. Coop freaked out, believing that he had killed her.
Phoebe landed in a huge spider web, which acted like a circus net to catch her and slow down her falling speed to nothing. As soon as she landed on the web, she lost consciousness from the shock of falling so far. The web dipped to reach the ground, at which point it snapped off from the tree branches high above it, and fell to the ground two inches below. A boy with tan skin, longer than normal brown hair and a dark purple shirt with black shorts, who had seen the whole thing, came over to Phoebe, and waited in concern for her to wake up.
When she finally regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was lying on the ground of a forest, and there was an unfamiliar boy kneeled down at her side and holding the back of her head, worried about her. She groaned and mumbled, " Where am I? " while staring up at him. The boy sighed in relief and said, " Oh, good, I thought you'd never wake up! You were falling out of the sky and this spider web broke your fall! Are you okay?! "
She was still really tired and disoriented, and she didn't feel like moving. Wanting to just go to sleep, Phoebe said in a daze, " Yeah, I think so... I'm not in any pain, just dizzy... " " What's your name? " She answered, " Phoebe. " The boy asked frantically, " What happened to you?! " as he helped her sit up. " I fell off a cliff, " Phoebe replied, not wanting to give any details. She knew Coop didn't mean to push her off the cliff, but if she told anyone what happened, they'd jump to the conclusion that he was trying to kill her. Seeing how tired and dizzy Phoebe was, the boy said while panicking, " You look like you're about to pass out again! Is there anything I can do to help?! " He put his arm around her back to keep her from falling backwards, and was surprised when Phoebe said quickly, " No, I'm fine, you can let go now, " and looked nervous as he helped her stand up.
" B-But Phoebe, you can hardly stand! You're so dizzy, are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?! " the boy asked desperately. " I just don't want you to have your arm around me, okay?!
I don't know you. " After a few seconds, he let go of her, feeling a mixture of disappointment, confusion and annoyance, and showing only annoyance.
" Excuse me for trying to help! What, do you have a boyfriend? " He glared at her with his arms crossed, and she suddenly felt ashamed. " No, " Phoebe answered with downcast eyes, feeling unwanted and alone. " I just don't want a stranger to be that close to me! I-I do love someone, but, uh... He doesn't feel the same... He just hates it when I try to show him any kind of love or kindness! He has this crippling fear of intimacy! I really feel sorry for him! " she said unhappily, trying to hide what her situation really was out of shame.
The boy said angrily, " And I feel sorry for you! I can't believe anyone would treat you that way! As if a beautiful girl wanting to show him affection is the most horrible thing in the world! " Now it was obvious why he was so concerned about her. " Beautiful? " she said in confusion. " Yeah... " he said in embarrassment, and scratched his neck without making eye contact. " A-Anyways, you're treating me exactly the same way he's treating you, " he said resentfully. " It's different! You're a total stranger! I don't know you! Anyways, I'm not dizzy anymore, so, I don't need your help! Just leave me alone!... I wanna be alone... "
At first he was offended that she acted that way, only to see that she was clearly feeling miserable and didn't want anyone to catch her out of shame. Phoebe had turned away from him to wipe away tears, having been reminded of how much she believed Coop hated her. Seeing his chance, he said with concern, " Are you sure? You seem really upset, " and put his hand on her shoulder.
There were a few seconds of complete silence, and then the boy wondered whether she was silently giving him permission to comfort her, or was just preparing to yell at him for being too close again. " Are you okay? " After another brief silence, he said resentfully, " It's because of that jerk, isn't it?... I can't believe he'd treat you like that! He's lucky you don't punch him in the face! I don't know what you see in him, Phoebe, because you could do better! "
" No I couldn't, " she said, and wiped away tears. She finally turned towards him, no longer looking like there was any signs that she had been crying, and said, " I could never do any better than him! He's my hero! He does an unimaginable amount of good for the world and never gets anything in return, and he keeps doing it anyways! I'm lucky I have the privilege of even living across the street from someone as brave and courageous as him! Sure he's mean to me, but what difference does that make?! He's not given enough respect! I'm the only admirer he's got! So I'm going to admire him for as long as I live, whether you like it or not! "
After looking shocked and disappointed, he rolled his eyes and remarked, " Whatever. If you're the kind of girl who will continue to ' love and admire ' someone who treats you like the scum of the earth, then there's nothing I can do to help you. You don't need a boyfriend. You need a therapist. I'd be good to you, and that's why I don't have a chance, " and then walked away resentfully, making Phoebe feel awful again. She covered it up by saying angrily, " Fine! Leave! " and sat down on the ground. She sighed sadly, shaking her head at herself, and said quietly, " I guess I should go home and tell Coop I'm okay. "
Phoebe had walked through the woods for several minutes when she finally ran into Coop, who saw her when he pushed apart the bushes in his way. He exclaimed, " Phoebe! You're alive! " Then, to her complete surprise, he gave her a hug, so overwhelmed with relief that he didn't kill her that he lost all inhibition. After what felt like the best hug of her life, Phoebe stared at Coop in shock when he pulled away and said to her, " I'm so sorry! I didn't know you'd fall off the cliff! I didn't mean to make that happen! You wouldn't believe how freaked out I was, I thought I had- "
" I know, Coop, " Phoebe interrupted with a small smile, wanting to calm him down. " How did you survive that fall?! " She said, " I fell in this huge spider web and it slowed down my fall so that I didn't get hurt! And don't worry! I'm not upset with you! I know it was just an accident, so I won't hold this against you! And I won't tell anyone about this. I promise. " Coop said, " Phew! That's a relief! Thanks, Phoebe... Come on, let's go home, " and she followed behind him, happy that he was actually walking her home, albeit without noticing it.
After Phoebe got home, she went inside, opened the door when the doorbell rang, and yelped in surprise at seeing the boy from the woods. She exclaimed, " What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?! " He admitted sadly, " I followed you here. " " Why?! " she exclaimed, half annoyed and half bewildered. " Because I couldn't bring myself not to, " he confessed as he walked inside her house.
He sighed, came into her living room, and said sadly, " Phoebe... I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the way I acted. It's just that, when I first saw you, I thought it was a sign that I had found my true love, and when I found out that you had feelings for someone else, something in me just snapped, and
I took it out on you! And it was made all the worst by the way that he treated you! It felt so unfair! It was just misdirected anger! It always is!... W-What I came to say is, I'm sorry about the way I insulted you. I'm sorry I blew up on you like that! I thought that I could just walk away from you and leave you to your problems, but I couldn't. I really want to help you, Phoebe, in whatever way I can! If there's anything I can do, I'll do it... Can I help you? "
Phoebe couldn't help but felt guilty. She knew how he felt. She was acting like Coop, which made her feel like a total hypocrite. She didn't want to make the same mistakes that she thought Coop made, deciding to stay as far away from a loyal admirer as possible instead of trying out a friendship. But she also didn't want to be friends with a boy who hated Coop, no matter how much he said he cared about her. The boy said sadly, " Well... you haven't said anything for a full minute, so... I guess I'll show myself out... "
" What's your name, anyway? " Phoebe asked. " Chad, " he answered, and looked at her in confusion. " Right, Chad. Uh... listen... " There was a brief silence as Phoebe awkwardly tried to get out what she wanted to say.
" I... don't really know how to say this... I'm sorry. I don't want anyone to think we're dating, and while I do need a friend more than ever because life is getting pretty stressful for me, I'm... still not really sure if I'd want a friendship with someone who hates Coop! The boy that's done so much good and been treated like a troublemaker for it! The boy who I'm more loyal to than anyone else in the world! He doesn't deserve to be treated like he is the bad guy! He gets that enough! So I don't think- "
" Okay, okay, I get it! You'll never see me again! I... I just can't believe you put up with Coop treating you like that! I don't care how much you insist that he's a hero, because he doesn't treat you the way a real hero would! So go ahead! Spend your life obsessing over someone who will never love you, whittling away at your sanity as you hope and dream that somehow things will change, when through all that time, you could've found someone else who did love you and given him a chance and had a happy life! But that's never gonna happen because you don't know when to give up! You're the type of person who'd rather delude herself and live in a fantasy world than face reality! When you're 75 living all alone in a house surrounded by cats, I hope you look back on this day and know that you missed your one chance at a happy life, which you won't, because you'll still be stalking him and thinking that jerk isgonnawake up one day and love you!" With that, he slammed the door shut, and stormed away from the house in frustration.
As he was walking away from Phoebe's front door, he heard a boy across the street say, " This skateboard is so much better than my old one! " and start talking about skateboarding with his black-haired friend. Chad hid behind the fence in front of Phoebe's house to watch as Coop and Dennis walked to the skate park with their new skateboards, and quietly followed behind them. He knew that one of them lived across the street from Phoebe, and all he had left to do was find out which one of them was Coop.
After several minutes of following behind them silently, he heard the boy with black hair say,
" This is gonna be great, Coop! " which told him what he needed to know. He jumped out from behind a tree and shouted, " Ah-ha! " startling Coop and Dennis. " I found him! " " Huh?! " Coop exclaimed and flinched, attracting the attention of Lorne and Harley. " Found who?! " Dennis asked, wanting to know what was going on. " I'll tell you who! The jerk who's been abusing the girl I love! " Shocked and confused at the way this random kid was acting, Coop backed away from him as he kept walking towards him with his fists clenched, and said, " What girl?! "
" ...You made her miserable! " he said slowly while enraged, backing Coop up against a tree with his fists clenched. Coop broke out in a cold sweat from fear. " Absolutely miserable! What makes you think you can get away with doing that to her?! Treating her like scum, making her feel worthless byavoiding her like the plague, when all she tries to do is be nice to you?! " Coop said,
" What girl? " noticing that Lorne and Harley were glaring at him. " Don't you play dumb with me! It's not gonna work! I'm not gonna let you get away with the way you permanently ruined the self-esteem of the girl I love! " " What girl?! " Coop exclaimed, clearly getting annoyed. He said,
" What girl do you think I'm talking about, you self-absorbed jerk?! Phoebe! " Everyone was confused. " Wait, Phoebe?... That's what this is all about? " Dennis said in confusion. It was clear that Lorne and Harley were no longer on the boy's side.
" ARRGH! This is exactly what I'm talking about! Her feelings are worthless to you, and she still won't stop crushing on you! Well, mark my words, Coop, I'm gonna make you pay for the way you broke her! " Still confused, and unintentionally missing the point, Coop said, " Wait, wait, hold on, you like Phoebe?! "
" Yeah! " the boy said, glaring at him with his arms crossed. There was a long silence. Everyone in the skate park stared at him for a few seconds before asking simultaneously, " Why? " He couldn't believe it. " Why not? " After another silence where Coop looked extremely confused, Coop said,
" Well, anyways, if this is some sort of jealousy thing, you can relax, because I don't like Phoebe. You can have her! I want you to be her boyfriend, because I don't want her! If this is a competition, I'm dropping out of it! I want you to win! I'm 100% on your side! Please, take her! "
" You don't get it, do you? It's not just a jealousy thing! I just can't believe Phoebe's got such a huge crush on a total jerk who avoids her like the plague and hates her and doesn't appreciate her at all, and when someone comes along who does, she doesn't even wanna be friends with me because I hate the way you act! It's not fair! I'm the one person who stands up for her! And she doesn't even appreciate it! "
Getting annoyed, Coop said angrily, " Hey! How am I the bad guy?! Phoebe's the one who has no sense of personal space! I have every reason to wanna avoid her! She's creepy! If she doesn't like the way I avoid her, then maybe she shouldn't give me a reason to avoid her! I'm not gonna feel sorry for her if she can't learn from her own mistakes! The only way she'll be allowed to hang out with me all the time is if she stops making me uncomfortable and says she's sorry and settles for us being just friends! And if she keeps getting upset 'cause she refuses to swallow her pride and apologize to someoneshesupposedly cares about, she's in the wrong, not me! Let's just get that straight, kid! I don't ' hate ' her and I'm not ' abusing ' her! I wouldn't be treating her the way I do if she apologized, but she won't, and as long as she doesn't, nothing will change. I'm not the one you should be trying to talk some sense into! It's her! "
There was a stunned silence, with everyone being surprised and impressed that Coop stood up for himself. The boy that Coop stood up to had to force himself not to admit that he did have a point.
Coop continued with his arms crossed, " And since when does anybody like Phoebe, anyways? Oh, wait, let me guess, she bribed you to come over here and tell me off for her! Tell her if she has a problem with me, she should say it to my face! "
The boy said, " No, she didn't tell me to stand up for her!... In fact, if she found out I even talked to you, she'd be furious with me... But th-that's besides the point! Don't make me out to be some kind of villain, when all I'm doing is standing up for someone too afraid to stand up for herself! "
He walked away from him with his fists still clenched, hearing Dennis say, " What does he want you to do, be nice to Phoebe? Then he'd be angry that you were competing with him for her affection! You can't win! " Coop said in frustration, " I'm not trying to win! I just want him to leave me alone. Whoever he is. Hey, kid! What's your name?! " The boy turned around and called back,
" Chad! " Lorne and Harley looked at each other, said, " Chad?! " and burst out laughing mockingly. " Dumbest name ever, Lorne! " " Yeah, Harley! " Chad stormed away with his fists clenched as the two boys laughed at his name and Coop glared at him with his arms crossed.
" I can't believe it, " Chad muttered angrily as he walked along the sidewalk. " I'm standing up to a bully and I am the bad guy? That's rich, " he muttered. Then, he saw Phoebe's house, and suddenly felt guilty. He remembered how angry he had gotten at the girl he had a crush on, when she said he couldn't even be friends with her because he didn't approve of her crush on Coop. He finally came to the realization that he could've hurt her feelings, and felt awful. " I've gotta learn to control my temper, or she's gonna hate me forever! " he said to himself, filled with shame. " I've gotta go back there... Maybe she'll forgive me if I admit I was wrong, " he thought, and rushed to her door.
He noticed red roses growing in Phoebe's front yard, plucked them out of the ground, and rang her doorbell. When she opened the door, it became clear that she wasn't in a good mood. She glared at him with her arms crossed in contempt. " Where do you get the nerve to show your face around me again? What do you want from me? " She sounded sadder than angry. It was very clear that she had just been crying, and it made him feel terrible.
Still wanting to go through with it, he apologized sincerely, " I'm SO sorry I yelled at you! It was just some misdirected anger! I was mad at Coop and the circumstances, not you! I made a horrible first impression, and I really regret it! That's not who I am. I'm not the kind of person who just, blows up at people for no reason! I made a huge mistake, the biggest mistake of my life! I promise I won't ever insult you again! You're sweet and loyal and beautiful, and I never want to make you feel that way again!... I wanna make it up to you. I wanna show you, that I care about you! Let's start over. Let's spend some quality time together! Here's some roses... as a peace offering."
Phoebe stared at the roses for a few seconds in quiet contempt, and then said calmly, " You just plucked them from my front yard. " She tried to sound calm, but it sounded more like tranquil fury. She still had her arms crossed. After a few seconds, he said in embarrassment, " Uh... yeah... It was an impulse! " She asked calmly, " You know my mom's not gonna be happy when she sees those flowers missing from her garden, right? " Feeling embarrassed, Chad said, " Sorry... It's the thought that counts, right? " and smiled at her nervously.
Phoebe growled at him with her arms crossed, and he said while looking devastated, " I take back everything I said! I didn't mean it! I was just exaggerating because I was frustrated! It's not you, it's me! It's just this whole situation, I've been so unlucky, and, I just didn't know how to react to it! I'm sorry, Phoebe! Things will be different from now on! I'll never insult you like that again! I'm so sorry... I wanna start over. And the only way I can start over and show you that I'm a decent person, is for you to find it in your heart to forgive me. " He tried to offer her the roses again, with a nervous but still love-struck smile. There was another silence. " Do you forgive me? " He gave her a warm smile.
Phoebe growled loudly and yanked the roses out of his hands, and threw them over his shoulder, startling him and making him flinch. " NO! How could you treat me like that? How could you say those things to me?! I know Coop's not perfect and he's made me upset a lot but you, you're a million times worse! You say that you like me but you just keep yelling at me! And you expect me to let my guard down enough to trust you? It doesn't matter why you said it, it still hurt me! At least Coop tries to be polite! At least he's never yelled at me like the way you did, and told me I'm some sort of lunatic that's gonna die alone!How do you think that made me feel?! The way Coop treats me hurts, but that's nothing compared to you!... I can't be friends with someone who thinks it's ever okay to treat me like that! I don't care that it's misdirected anger, I'm not putting up with it again! " Feeling horrible, Chad said, " I know, you're right! I'm sorry! " Sounding far more saddened than angry, Phoebe again rejected his apology.
" Sorry's not good enough!... My life's miserable enough without you trying to push me over the edge! There's only one person in the world that I would put up with that kind of mistreatment from, and it'll never be you! "
There was a silence as Chad stared at her in shocked disappointment. After a few seconds, she sighed, calmed down, and said very sadly, " I thought you would be a good friend, and I was thinking about getting to know you, and trust you, despite the fact that you don't like Coop... But now that I know what a jerk you can be, I never wanna see you again. "
She slammed the door in his face. He sighed heavily, hating himself, and sadly picked up the roses Phoebe had taken and just thrown at him. He grasped the stems in his hands and stared at the roses, heartbroken, and it was clear that the petals were falling off. He was devastated that the girl he had fallen in love with would hate him for as long as he lived.
When he looked back up, he was surprised to see Coop standing on the sidewalk in front of him. It was clear from the expression on his face that he had seen everything. Chad walked up to him and said sadly, " You saw all of that, huh? " " Yeah, " Coop said nervously. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. If he had made Fiona that upset with him, he'd be miserable, too.
" I messed everything up... She's gonna hate me for the rest of her life. " Coop said, " That's too bad... " in astonished disappointment. Chad sighed, and swallowed his pride. " I'm sorry, Coop... " he apologized, and walked away.
Coop looked up at Phoebe's house, and briefly saw her nervously looking out the window from the second floor. She quickly closed the curtains, and he wondered if she knew he was just apologized to.
" Maybe he's right... Did I really make Phoebe miserable? Did I really hurt her that much and ruin her self-esteem by avoiding her? Did I really BREAK her?... Maybe I should go talk to her... Nah. She probably wants to be alone, and besides, I don't want her to try to kiss me up there! She'll be fine, " Coop thought, and walked back to the skate park after shrugging.