Merry Halloween! Sort of. It's 2:38 in the morning and I'm playing that song from The Nightmare Before Christmas on repeat, so yeah, it's Halloween. Hey, you can't say we aren't dedicated.
Bits of homophobia and racism in this chapter. Always a fun warning to see. At least it's less horrifying than our tags!
Names:
Allirea- Nyo Hutt
Gunner- Denmark
Harry- Atlantium (OC)
As for Laura, is she Belgium? Is she nyo Luxembourg? Who knows.
Eduard had read nearly every book in the Coopers' house by the time he was ten.
He pored over Logan's big encyclopedias of wildlife for hours, either reading with him or to him or borrowing them, if Logan let him. A distant aunt bought him a few Michael Morpurgo books at Christmas, figuring he'd like the animals, but Logan let Ed have every last one of them. He wasn't much of a reader himself.
Once he'd worked his way through all of Logan's, Mr and Mrs Cooper started lending him some of their books. They were older, both in terms of when they were written and who they were for, but he ate them right up. Mr Cooper had a few history ones, as well as musician autobiographies and books on various cultures, including the Aboriginal cultures that made up the Cooper family, whilst Layla had battered old novels and romances he wasn't allowed to read. They didn't have all that many, and some of them were a bit boring even for Eduard, but after a few years, he had gotten through all the books he wanted to. Before long, it was assumed that he didn't even have to ask - the Coopers' books were his books. By then, he wasn't so nervous about his English skills, though it still preyed on his mind that his accent made him sound wrong. He spoke softly, so people wouldn't notice so much.
Once he'd worked his way through their fiction, he found himself eyeing their cookbooks. Whenever she could, Layla would cook for him. She also made sure to keep a variety of snacks in the cupboard for when he came over, both the homemade and shop-bought variety. Even though the boy insisted she didn't have to 'have a chat' with his parents again, and even though her attempts at getting the authorities involved were, for the most part, fruitless, she didn't like how thin he was. As far as she was concerned, a plump child was a happy, cared-for child. Metses lost weight easily, it seemed - everyone on his father's side, as well as his mother, was somewhat stick-insect-like in build, but that only made Layla more inclined to feed him.
"Mrs Cooper," he would tell her, "I have to go home."
Layla always put her hands on her hips, a wooden spoon sticking out of the pocket of her apron. "Are your parents home?"
"I don't know."
"Then you eat first."
"But Mrs-"
"Uh-uh. You eat. First."
Every time he stayed, without fail, she made sure he ate three servings and dessert before she let him go, but sometimes it was unavoidable that he cooked for himself. He knew how to make food better than most kids his age - he had mastered sandwiches, and pasta (after getting over the scalding incident), and most kinds of eggs, and beans, plus there was a TV show where kids cooked, which he copied meticulously - but those books, lined up in their messy rows on the shelf in their kitchen, bookmarked and batter-stained, got the gears in his mind whirring. Those were the ones Layla cooked from! If he read those, he could be as good a cook as her! When he asked to borrow one of his books, she gave him a stern reminder about health and safety - she was particularly adamant about that after seeing the scar on his arm - but gladly let him borrow the book.
The next time Eduard had to make his own dinner, he used Layla's cookbook. He spent his pocket money on all the spices he needed, refusing to cut any corners. He followed every instruction to a T, and by the end had enough curry to feed Logan's whole family. He took a bowl of it and a slice of bread he cut himself, and ate alone, doing his homework. The rest, he put in the fridge. When Eliisabet and Anton came home from their trip, they threw it away.
That didn't deter him. He borrowed other cookbooks from her after that. He cooked whenever he could- curries, stews, pies, soups. The leftovers rarely lasted, but he liked the process regardless. His parents never tried anything he made.
It wasn't until he borrowed her baking book that he got the idea. He and Logan had helped Layla bake a few times, but he'd never done it on his own before. He flicked through, trying to decide on something, until he remembered something she'd said. The three of them were out sitting on the grass in the back garden, picnicking on still-warm ginger cake, when she had told them it was her favourite. Her mother used to make it. It had to be that one.
He painstakingly measured every last ingredient, refusing to add even a gram too much or too little. He cracked eggs and stirred batter, reading and rereading every instruction. It had to be perfect. He was making it for Layla.
He was pouring the batter into the tin when his parents walked in. He froze in his tracks like they'd caught him red-handed at a crime scene. The big mixing bowl fell onto the kitchen tiles and broke into pieces.
"Eduard, what is this mess?" Eliisabet's voice had a way of cutting into you. She didn't shout, barely raised her voice at all, just made you feel like the smallest thing on earth with a carefully-placed intonation, a look that dissected you and pulled you apart, a dismissive wave of the hand.
"Ginger cake," he mumbled.
"Speak up," his father snapped.
His voice was shrill with anxiety. "I was making a ginger cake."
"No, you were making a mess."
Eduard just looked at the floor. His beautiful batter was everywhere, all over the floor and full of dirt and pieces of bowl. He'd have to start all over now.
Anton sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Clean this rubbish up and do some work for once. Stop playing around with cakes."
"Yes, dad." He didn't mean for his voice to crack, he really didn't. He wasn't supposed to cry.
"Don't look so upset about it."
He nodded. "I'm sorry."
"There's no use having a meltdown. You're always so oversensitive, it's exhausting. Clean this up."
They shared an exasperated look and left the kitchen. He still had to make her that cake, he knew he did. It was important. Or maybe it wasn't. Who was to say? But he wasn't allowed to visit the next day, or the one after. He was in a lot of trouble. He had to stay home and do his work and stop wasting his time with the Coopers. Nothing could feel like more of a waste of time than not getting to see his family.
Inevitably, he got his free afternoon to try again when they left him alone for another weekend. He used the other bowl, the plastic one, and did everything exactly the same, just as carefully. He cleaned everything up until it was spotless between checking on it every few minutes while it was baking and made frosting while it was cooling. They didn't have piping bags but he spread it on as neatly as he could, just like Layla showed him, with red food colouring, because she said it was her favourite colour. He had to make it perfect.
Once it was finished, he put the cake in a tin and carefully carried it all the way to Logan's. It was a bit of a walk, but he was careful to hold the cake properly, making sure the icing didn't get smooshed. He rang the doorbell and waited patiently. She came to the door and a smile immediately spread across her face, just like every time she saw him.
"Eduard! Hello, lovely! Where've you been? I'm afraid Logan's out at the moment."
"Had work to do, Mrs Cooper." He didn't always tell her the whole truth about his parents. It was nice to be cared for, but he kept some things to himself. Sometimes it was overwhelming, especially when they did something really awful. She'd make a big fuss. Eduard knew she meant well, but he was insistent that he didn't need it. "It's okay, though, I'm not here to see Logan." He held out the tin. "It's for you."
She gasped, the brightest grin in the world on her face. "For me?"
He nodded.
"Come inside and show me, sweetheart, I'll make some tea."
He sat in his usual spot at the dining table and put down his cake. When she came back with two cups of tea, he took off the lid with a proud flourish and a grin on his face.
"It's to say thank you for the cookbooks," he explained, "Because, uh, I really like cooking from them. And it's ginger flavour!"
He'd not expected Layla to start crying, and panicked. Had he done something wrong? Course he had. He'd probably made the cake wrong. Or her favourite colour wasn't actually red. Or she'd suddenly decided to go on a diet and assumed he was here to make fun of her. He felt like the worms he'd had to stop Jem from eating.
"Oh. Sorry. Is it- is it okay? I can make a different one if you don't like it."
"It's beautiful, darling!" She hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much. Would you like a slice?"
"I made it for you!"
"So it's my cake?"
He nodded.
"Then I say you can have some." Her eyes sparkled as she cut them each a slice. "The icing on this is beautiful. Did you do all this yourself?"
"Mhm. It's a second attempt. Mum and dad caught me the first time and said I shouldn't make cakes 'cause it's a waste but I did it anyway."
"Well, I think your mum and dad don't know what they're missing. I find making cakes helps me destress, and I get to eat a cake after." She took a bite. "Mmm, this is amazing! You're the best baker I know, Eddie dear!"
Then she ruffled Eduard's hair, and they ate their slices of cake. He decided it had absolutely been worth all the trouble, just to hear her say that.
Logan and Eduard were inseparable now, like brothers.
When he could drag Eduard away from his studies, Logan took him to the park, where they could play all day if they wanted. Eduard loved trying bigger, taller, more twisted slides, and Logan could climb any playground equipment or tree. They explored the new worlds the fields and tree became, from the deepest jungles to alien planets. They rode Logan's bike and pushed themselves down the hill in a cart, and Logan broke his arm breaking Eduard's fall. Eduard wouldn't stop apologising all through the trip to the hospital, but Logan said it was okay, and he liked spending the night in hospital. And by that he meant exploring and getting on the nurses' nerves sneaking out of bed.
Because their frogs hadn't been terrorised enough by Logan and Jem, the Coopers decided to get a dog too. A big, hairy, stupid one that terrified Eduard at first, but he soon grew to love it too. And Stevo provided him with more affection in five minutes than his parents had ever done. He also tended to sleep in Logan and Eduard's bed, as if it wasn't crowded enough.
At school, Logan helped Eduard make more friends, though he was content with just the two of them and never really got close to anybody, and Eduard in turn helped him keep up with schoolwork. Science lessons were particularly fun: Logan was great at experiments and actually following the method, and Eduard made sure every observation was noted down, thanks to his habit developed by looking at bugs.
He didn't think Logan was stupid, and at times he felt like the only person in the school to think so. Logan was intelligent, about things that interested him, and didn't involve reading or writing. He seemed to know everything about animals, and thanks to Eduard he knew a fair bit about space too.
One Christmas, the Coopers took Eduard into Hyde Park, London, to a Christmas market. The three children had been thrilled at all the different rides, and Eduard had even tried ice skating - none of the Australians wanted to go near the ice; it was cold enough, thank you very much. Still, Eduard could add being beaten up by flat ice to his list of life experiences, as well as comforting a crying Jem after Logan sneaked them all into a haunted house. He got in trouble for that, but they were still allowed to try hot, fresh churros from one of the food stalls. Jem made it a mission to get as much chocolate on her face as she possibly could, which made Eduard laugh until she ran out and started using his.
Mr and Mrs Cooper, on the other hand, were most excited about a stall they saw selling burgers with unusual meats - including kangaroo. Eduard hadn't known it was possible to eat kangaroo, but Mrs Cooper explained it was actually pretty popular in Australia, and they really missed it. He wondered if he could ever find kangaroo meat in England again, and if so, cook something special for Mr and Mrs Cooper, as a 'thank you' for all they'd done for him.
Mr and Mrs Cooper also drank a lot of mulled wine, and kissed under the mistletoe, causing both Logan and Jem to protest loudly. Mr Cooper wrapped his arms around his wife's waist just to annoy them further, and Mrs Cooper giggled.
That was another way the Coopers were different from Eduard's parents: he'd never seen his parents kiss. He didn't know if they'd ever, or if that was something grown-ups even did outside of films, until he saw Mr Cooper kissing his wife goodbye. Logan and Jem made retching noises, but Eduard thought it was quite sweet, that they did it every time one of them left the house, like it was painful to be apart for any amount of time.
Mr Cooper started teaching him how to play the keyboard properly, too. And it appeared to be the one thing his parents also agreed on, because his father bought him a piano to play on at home and paid for him to get lessons. Of course, he could only touch it after completing all his homework, and play the music his teacher told him to instead of dad-rock, and he suspected he was only allowed because it would look good to universities, but it was a hobby Eduard didn't have to keep secret.
A teacher finally took notice of Logan's reading struggles, and at 11 he was diagnosed with dyslexia. It made going into high school a lot less scary for him, knowing he wasn't stupid or illiterate, and he would actually be getting the help he needed. Things seemed a little clearer. He kept noticing little things he did, things the doctor said were common in dyslexic people. It wasn't just the reading, he had said, it was remembering sequences and pronouncing words. That evening, Logan forgot the order of the days of the week, and realised why he kept doing that. The fact that he wasn't just stupid made him smile.
At 12, Logan started getting thoughts. He'd always thought kissing was disgusting, both when his parents did it and when the boring couples on the telly fell into each other's arms to kiss passionately. But one day he found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss Eduard.
He was sleeping over again, both boys tucked into Logan's exhausted bed, now on the brink of collapse from being jumped on for most of the past decade. Their faces were inches from each other. Eduard was fast asleep, looking so peaceful without his mind working away as it always did, and so much softer with his glasses on the bedside table, like he had nothing to hide behind. He wondered what it would be like to just… kiss him goodnight. Touch his lips to his, just gently. Make him smile.
The thought turned into a collection of feelings he couldn't quite comprehend and wouldn't go away. He wasn't sure he wanted them to.
When the feelings persisted for days that dragged into weeks, he decided the only option was to go to his mother.
Both Eduard and Logan were taller than Layla by now, but they were still her little boys. When she saw him come into the kitchen in tears, she put down her new baby - little Allirea, wrapped up in a baby sleeping bag - back in her moses basket, the same one that had held Logan and Jem.
"Loggie, what's wrong?" asked Layla, sitting him down on the sofa. He sobbed into her arms as he told her about his confusing, but growing, feelings.
"I think- I mean- is it okay to like boys?" He played with his hands nervously, "like how other boys like girls?"
She blinked. "Course. You can like whoever you want to like, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Do you like a boy?"
Logan blanched. "No! Of course not! I was just thinking… about something I saw… on a telly…"
"A gay person on the telly?" Layla smiled at that.
"Gay? Yeah." Logan bit his lip. "That's when a boy likes a boy?" Layla nodded. "What about when a boy likes boys and girls?"
"I'm sure there's a word for it," Layla kissed his forehead. "Want me to look it up with you?" Logan nodded, and may have started crying again at that point. As Layla booted up their massive, grey computer and then they were forced to wait whilst Mr Cooper finished his phone call to connect to the internet, his maybe-crying turned into definite-crying. Whilst they waited for the internet to dial up, Layla hugged him tight.
"It's okay, son," she cooed, "you're so brave and amazing. How long have you been keeping this to yourself?"
Logan shrugged. "A few days, I guess. But I guess it's been longer, I just didn't know, like when I watched Hercules with Jem and thought Meg was cute, but also Hercules. It took me ages to realise, though."
Layla smiled at him. "So there isn't any boy you like?"
"There's nobeddie- I mean nobody!" He looked scared, and Layla pretended to not know what he was talking about, for his sake. "I don't like anyone! And all the boys at school make jokes, anyway. About gay bashing. I couldn't ask him- err, anyone out. He might get hurt."
Layla nodded solemnly. "I don't know what to tell you. People can be horrible." She did - briefly - entertain the idea of Logan and Eduard falling in love, and being happy together. Marriage wouldn't be possible, though, which was a shame, because then Eduard would be her son for real. She just wanted her boys to be safe, though. "Whatever happens, you know you deserve to be happy, right? And Eddie. And my girls. I just want you all to be safe and happy."
"Thanks, mum." Could he and Eduard ever be happy together? He'd never actually pictured Eduard liking him back for real, but what if he did? What if they went on a date together, like a couple in a film. They could go to an ice cream bar, or the arcade. Logan could win him something!
Then they'd be seen by someone from school and probably beaten up. He didn't care what happened to him, much, and after all he could hold his own in a fight. He'd proved that once when someone tried to push Jem off the seesaw, and again when someone called Eduard a geek and tried to make him give him his lunch. Okay, maybe that wasn't the only fight he'd got into regarding Eduard. But the idea of him being hurt, maybe even killed, made his stomach lurch. He'd seen the articles. His imagination always had tended to run away with him. He imagined Eduard in hospital, clinging to life, beaten, stabbed, not pulling through, because he was so thin and fragile as it is. He didn't think he could ever handle Eduard's funeral.
"Huh, there's bisexual," said Layla, once the internet finally loaded. Logan welcomed the distraction. "or pansexual."
He grinned. "There's a word! Two words!" Layla tried to explain the difference, but Logan didn't get it.
"It's okay, Loggie," Layla kissed his forehead, "you have your whole life to figure yourself out."
And if he wanted to have a whole life to look forward to, it was best to keep his figuring out to himself.
Eduard rarely went out with his parents. They all preferred it that way - they didn't care to go and do things with him and he didn't care to be forced to be near them longer than he had to be. Still, sometimes it was unavoidable - it would be questionable for a 12-year-old to buy school shoes on his own, after all. He sat a seat in front of them on the bus, thinking his thoughts, when two young men boarded together, one's arm linked in the other's. They stood at the front, reluctantly letting go of each other to hang onto the rails. One said something, and the other laughed, pecking him quickly on the lips. The hands that weren't grasping the poles found each other - one squeezed the other's hand.
For some reason, Eduard thought about Logan. He imagined holding his hand like that, Logan laughing at him and kissing him on the lips. How you were supposed to kiss, he had no idea. He'd read in one of Mrs Cooper's romance novels (which he'd read without her knowledge - it had a lot of naughty bits) that sometimes the tongues touched each other. He had wondered, first of all how tongues tasted, and second of all what direction they were meant to go in. Clockwise? Anticlockwise? Forward and backward, perhaps? Maybe there weren't any rules. That sounded more complicated than he wanted to deal with, though. He imagined he would find a way to mess it up.
"Do they have to do that out here?" he heard his mother hiss to her husband in Estonian, "I mean, honestly, I'm an accepting person, but there are children on this bus."
"It's perverted," he agreed, "In public like that."
Eduard watched the man lean on his boyfriend's shoulder. He wasn't perverted, was he? Maybe he shouldn't be thinking about his friend like that after all.
Logan decided not to tell Eduard his feelings, but that didn't make them go away. Maybe it helped just a little that Eduard and him had stopped sharing a bed - it was getting too small for the two of them, and puberty made it weird. Either Eduard slept on a rollout mattress, or (more and more frequently, it seemed) he didn't come over at all. He always had something to do these days - homework, piano practice, revision, tutoring he didn't need - and after all, he was 13 now. He didn't need Layla's mothering quite so much anymore, or so he claimed. He certainly didn't miss her or anything.
At school, Logan had more and more friends, while Eduard only had him. He wasn't lonely , of course, and it certainly didn't make his heart ache a little when Logan was laughing in a huge crowd of friends he could never hope to be a part of, and it didn't kill him at all when Logan got his first girlfriend. Or his second. Or his fifth. He was perfectly content hunched over a textbook in the school library every lunchtime. Of course he was.
His parents seemed glad he was focusing on work instead of his friends, at least, though he suspected they'd rather he dropped Logan altogether. He was still his best friend, but with the little distance between them growing bit by bit, that seemed more and more likely. Logan was growing up and he was leaving Eduard behind.
Eduard got sat next to Gunner Densen for English. Everyone knew Gunner, and most people liked him too. It wasn't even in that popular asshole jock way - though he was an excellent footballer - it was just that he was a genuinely likeable guy, and made an effort to know just about everybody. He could be cocky and loud, but as the GCSE years began, everyone welcomed the entertainment. Even the sternest teachers couldn't help but laugh at some of his jokes.
On the first English lesson of Year 10, he tilted back his chair, grinning widely at Eduard.
"Eddie, right?"
Eduard, for the most part, wanted to get his work done, but it would be rude to ignore him. "Yeah, you're Gunner."
"I sure hope so, or somebody really fucked up."
Eduard smiled. "Wouldn't put it past Mrs Hodson, honestly." He glanced to the front, keeping his voice low. "Keeps using "who's" instead of "whose" - it drives me nuts."
"She's nice!" he laughed, "And she loves you. All the teachers do, right? Like, you're a fucking prodigy or whatever."
"She is. I'm just pedantic. I wouldn't say I'm a prodigy. I just read a lot. And code."
He raised his eyebrows. "Code? How long you been doing that?"
"About ten years."
"And I take it you, like me, are 14. So you've been doing it since you were, like, a baby."
"My parents made me learn it."
"But you learnt it. Are you any good?"
"Kind of. I do online uni work sometimes, but again, my parents make me."
Gunner spread his hands, an "I told you so" grin on his face. "See?"
"Not that big a prodigy."
"Yeah, by your standards, 'cause you're a prodigy."
He couldn't help beaming at that, though, and he bit his lip. He didn't want to seem too proud. "Maybe so. Come on. Work."
Logan was almost 16, sitting on the couch at some guy's party with a plastic cup of vodka and Fanta. Eduard hated parties - if he wanted him to come along, he had to tempt him with free food. After figuring out that free food generally meant alcohol and mini sausage rolls (one of which he'd willingly take, the other less so), even that didn't work. Still. Logan could have fun without him.
A girl fell onto his lap, blonde hair flying all over the place. She spilt wine all over his t shirt.
"Oh fuck, sorry!" she cried, giggling.
"It's okay," Logan brushed her hair out of her face, then poured his own drink over her head. There was about a thimble left in it, but Laura still squealed.
"Hey, mine was an accident!" She didn't seem to mind, not really. "You're Logan right?"
"And you're hot. How have I not hit on you before? Or, you know, seen you?"
"I go to the Catholic school across town. My cousin told me all about you, though: Slutty Logan. It's his party, actually."
He nodded. "Sounds about right. I'm not that much of a slut." He was still a virgin, even if Eduard was the only person who knew that. He was perfectly happy for everyone else to think otherwise, though.
"I'm Laura, by the way."
"Laura? Pretty name. Goes nicely with your face."
Maybe it was best that Eduard didn't go to parties, because seeing Logan and Laura snog on the sofa then disappear into one of the bedrooms would have not only broken his heart but his soul too. Not that he didn't have to listen to Logan tell him all about it the next day.
"I'm an idiot," Logan mumbled into Eduard's pillow.
"Yes you are," said Eduard, not looking up from his revision guide, "what did you do now?"
Logan hugged the pillow to his stomach, doubled up in the fetal position. "You know Laura?"
"Catholic school Laura? With the…" Eduard gestured vaguely at his chest area.
"Huge badonkas?" he supplied.
"I wasn't going to put it that way."
"No, you were just going to gesture like a coward. Actually, I think that's slightly worse. Anyway, she has them."
Eduard didn't like this conversation very much. "What's this about? She seemed pretty into you." He hadn't seen much of her, but she always seemed to be at Logan's house, acting as if she was permanently attached to him.
"Well, we've been dating for a bit, right?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat before replying. "Yeah?"
"Well, we, um… I might have..." he twiddled his thumbs, "she's pregnant."
Eduard dropped his revision guide. "What?"
"She took a test yesterday. She's gonna go to a doctor next week and get a scan."
Eduard didn't know why he was shaking. "Do mum and dad know?"
"Not yet. They're gonna be so disappointed in me. Eddie, I'm scared. You're smart. You wear glasses. What do I do here?"
He thought for a moment. He may have been panicking, but he was nothing if not a problem solver. "I mean… it kind of looks like it's her decision. She's the one carrying a whole fetus. What does she want to do with it?"
"She goes to Catholic school; of course she's keeping it. I don't think she has a choice." He hugged his knees. "Her dad's gonna find out and kill me."
"Is Laura the one with the racist dad? I can't keep track."
"Yeah. He's gonna flip his shit."
"I'll come to your funeral."
He hit him with the pillow. "This isn't funny!"
"You're right. Sorry. I'll make sure they don't have those shitty sausage rolls there, though. And make sure it's Shrek-themed."
"Eduard!"
"Right. Matter at hand." He nibbled his lip. "Is there anything you can do?"
"Literally nothing. I'm trapped here."
"Then wait for him to kill you. Or move to Mexico and change your name. I don't know."
Logan gave a whine. "No, I wanna stay and help." He didn't look too sure, but nodded to himself. "I gotta be a dad, I guess? I'm not gonna leave Laura to deal with this on her own."
"Good man. But what if it's twins? Or triplets?"
"Don't get me thinking about that! I guess… I guess we look after them anyway? I don't know."
"What if they mess with your A-levels?"
"That's what you're thinking about?"
"They're important."
"Doesn't matter. I'm 16. We can get married, legally, right? And I can drop out and get a job and we can live somewhere and look after our kids. Our kid . Probably our kid. Singular. I hope. I hate counting things; please be one baby."
Eduard made a face. Maybe he was just too ambitious himself, but that wasn't the life he strived for, and he didn't think Logan did either. "That sounds unsatisfying."
"It's what I've got, mate. You don't need A-levels to work."
"What are you gonna be, a bin man?"
"I don't know!"
"You'd make a good bin man."
"Ed!"
"Sorry. Sorry. Also, are you sure you want to marry her? After dating less than two months?" Not that he was jealous.
"I could… yeah. I like her."
Eduard knew what he was like. He'd seen the things Logan kept under his bed and in his bedside drawer. Which apparently he was far from adept at using. "Like her or like her tits?"
"Shut up! Really. I could do it. Maybe. Probably. If her dad doesn't have too much of an issue."
As it turns out, Laura's dad did have an issue with Logan, and certainly wasn't going to think of him as a future son-in-law anytime soon. He also didn't seem to care about his grandchild growing up without a father, as he told Laura just what he was going to do to Logan.
After finding out where Logan lived, he came round to shout and scream at the front house, threatening to kill the boy, and after he was ignored, the whole family. Laura had phoned ahead to warn them, so Logan had time to hide in the sitting room, holding his sisters close whilst his parents went to sort it all out, and he came to the grim realisation that he'd have to do things this terrifying for his own kid in future and maybe stop being a coward.
Mr and Mrs Cooper tried the civil approach, briefly, before telling Laura's dad he needed to leave, and fast. He didn't listen, and a fight broke out. The last time Layla had beaten up someone else's parent, Eduard was tucked in upstairs, with a mug of hot milk.
Things probably would've gone a lot smoother if Logan had had the foresight to tell his parents Laura was pregnant. Maybe, just maybe, that would've been useful to know, going into a fight with their son's girlfriend's father.
Logan was banned from seeing Laura again, by her dad. And Logan was more than happy to avoid going over to visit. Laura, however, did take any opportunity she could to sneak over, to see Logan and get to know his parents, and give all the Coopers updates on the pregnancy.
Once Logan Sr and Layla got over the initial shock of just how stupid their son was, they agreed to support him, and after Eduard told them of Logan's plans to drop out, made him promise to stay in school to finish his A-levels. Logan had insisted he needed to drop out and get a job, they didn't agree at all. They would work out how he could balance sixth form and raising a child together, and if he wanted, he could get a weekend job to help provide for the child.
Logan asked Layla for her mother's wedding ring to propose. He showed the simple band to Eduard when he stayed over, and he wondered if he should try to convince him to not do something so stupid and reckless, but the words wouldn't come out. Would Logan get mad at him for trying to interfere? Would his voice crack at having to think - nevermind talk - about Logan marrying someone else? Would he see right through it, figure out he was jealous? What then? Would he look at him like his parents looked at those men on the bus, call him a pervert? Would he think this whole friendship was a ruse to get into his pants? Maybe it was. Maybe he was a pervert after all.
He barely slept that night from overthinking.
"She said 'no'," Logan pushed past Eduard to flop dramatically on the sofa.
"Well, g'day to you too." Eduard blinked, closed the front door and went to sit with his friend. "I hate to say this, but mate, what did you expect?"
"Well, not that she'd get weirded out and dump me." He groaned and buried his face in one of Eliisabet's boring cushions. "She called me a dopey twat when I got the ring out."
Eduard hated how relieved he felt. How secretly gleeful, like a weight off his shoulders, like he could convince himself there was a chance when there really wasn't. Logan was straight. He was also hurting and Eduard needed to be there for him and not think about his stupid feelings.
"Sorry to hear that," he sat next to Logan and rubbed his back. "But it's not exactly something one expects from a high school boyfriend. I mean, it's 2003, not 1953."
"I guess. Still, I had this whole plan in my head and now…" He shrugged. "I dunno, I kinda liked the idea of us being a family and raising a kid together."
"Logan, it was a stupid plan and you were going to end up throwing your life away."
Logan knew Eduard was right, but still glared at him sullenly.
"You know it was."
Logan nodded, defeated. "I guess. And yeah, I admit it, I don't love her. We don't have a lot in common, besides this alien-looking fetus we made together."
"You'll find someone. A step-mum for Baby Cooper."
"She wanted to give the baby up for adoption too," he sighed, "and I know it's probably for the best, but I asked if I could raise her instead and Laura said it was cool, since she didn't want to be with me anymore. I'm being dumb, I get it, but… I don't think I could go about knowing my kid was out there with no family."
Eduard nodded. "I'm sure you'll make a good dad. You raised all the frogs. And you're like Stevo's dad, kind of. And you have good parents to show you how to be good parent, right?"
Logan nodded.
He rubbed his back. "The world could do with more good dads."
"And you reckon I can be one?"
"I know you can." He paused. "Wait, 'her'? You're having a girl?"
"Yeah, we found out a while back," he grinned, "I'm gonna have a daughter!"
Laura went into labour in early November.
Her parents didn't show up, but Logan and his mum stayed with her the whole night, and in the early hours of the morning, she gave birth to a tiny, screaming baby.
Laura, just glad that her long, difficult pregnancy was over, paid very little interest in her daughter, and didn't even name the child before leaving her and Logan at the hospital the next day. She told the Coopers she just wanted to put everything behind her, and move on with her life. She was already planning to change schools to avoid the bullying from her classmates, and though she might be up to staying friends with Logan in future, for the time being, it was unlikely they'd meet again.
With a final hug, Logan watched Laura go, driven home by Mr Cooper.
The baby had to stay in hospital for a few days longer. She'd been born too early and needed help with breathing. Logan stayed with her, next to her big, terrifying incubator, stroking her through a little hole, singing to her and talking about anything he could. Whenever Eduard came to visit him, he had dark grey bags under his eyes, and wouldn't let him touch the baby until he was certain his hands had been thoroughly washed.
"Be careful with her," he warned, for the fifteenth time.
"Logan, I'm more hand sanitiser than skin and I'm patting her back through a hole in an incubator. What harm could I possibly do?"
He shook his head. "You're right. Sorry. Daddy instincts."
Eduard took his hand out of the incubator. "I was premature too."
"You were?"
"Apparently. Though somehow I doubt my dad got daddy instincts. Two days old and she's already got better parents than me. Lucky kid." He tried not to sound bitter. Tried. "I think she's gonna be alright, with you and mum and dad looking out for her. Speaking of, is everything sorted with Laura?"
"Yeah, she cleared off about as soon as she recovered. Don't blame her."
"I don't know if this is the neglected kid in me talking, but she can't be that great if she left her with you that quickly."
Logan waved him off. "Ah, it's not her fault. Not like baby here would be better off with her family than mine. Fucking asshole of a grandpa."
"That bit I get, but she didn't even want to visit."
"Yeah, well, she's 16, she's got her whole life ahead of her." Logan watched as the baby drank milk from a tube in her mouth, and winced.
"So are you."
"I think mum's gonna end up doing most of the work anyway. I'm not dumping her on her or anything, but you know what she's like - she loves kids. And she doesn't have school to go to."
"Well, that's good. I'm here too, if you need an extra hand." Some stupid bit of him imagined them being her dads, but he pushed the thought down before it surpassed some bizarre image of him walking arm in arm with Logan and pushing a fancy stroller in the park like some 19th century pair of newlyweds.
"I'll be sure to take you up on that."
After a week or so in hospital, Logan took his little, premature baby home in bumblebee pyjamas worn by Jem and Allirea, and didn't leave her side for days. He moved Allirea's old cot into his room, next to his bed so he could look at her while he slept. For a grand total of 3 hours a night, by the look of him. Not only was she constantly hungry, but she pooped more than Stevo.
"Does she have a name yet?" asked Eduard, watching Logan, curled up on the sofa and holding his daughter. It had taken an hour, but she'd finally stopped crying, and Eduard was a mess of frayed nerves. And he'd not been the one feeding, burping, changing and carrying her around the room.
"Harriet. Harriet Layla Cooper. Harry for short, though. She's an Aussie, after all. Gotta have a nickname."
Harry yawned, looking slightly cross. She was wrapped up in a blanket Layla had knitted for her, wearing the thickest, softest onesie she had. Logan kissed her head, where a few tufts of pale hair were already growing. He was always kissing the baby, or stroking her, or holding her close.
Stevo climbed onto the sofa and sniffed at the baby. Then he tried to lick her.
"No, you great stupid twat!" cried Logan, shoving him onto the floor roughly. "You can play with Harry when she's not tiny and has an immune system!"
For the first few months, Logan would only let his mother hold Harry. No one else was allowed until she got bigger and stronger and vaccinated. And even then, Logan would hover over the person in question, fussing and driving everyone insane.
By the time Eduard mustered up the confidence to try holding her, Harry had been passed around the family like a blunt. Even Allirea had had a go at holding her, though the 4-year-old seemed more keen on dressing her up, and even once attempting to do her makeup. Logan had been horrified at the terrifying clown-baby he'd been handed back, and told his sister to go do that to her dolls, not her real, living baby niece. Mrs Cooper had made sure to get photos, though, just like she'd taken photos of everything her first granddaughter did, from smiling to blowing snot bubbles.
Logan picked up the habit if photographing Harry's every move, which was why Eduard found himself trying to forget Harry's very own paparazzi were focused on him as he held the baby for the first time.
Harriet had her father's eyes: round and greeny-brown and curious. She stared at everything with intense wonder, like an archaeologist finding ancient gold for the first time.
Eduard was terrified. He was holding one entire baby in his arms and so afraid he'd drop her. Or she'd take one look at him and start crying. Or poop. Or throw up like she'd done on Mr Cooper.
Instead, though, she reached up to attempt a gentle tap on his face, then settled down to sleep, and Logan gave him a silent thumbs-up.
"So this is it, huh? We're officially done with school." Logan picked up the cuddly toy Harry had launched from her pushchair and handed it back to her. The baby took one look at him and launched it back out.
Eduard, sat on the park bench next to him, laughed.
"We still have our exams," he reminded him, "but yeah, no more lessons."
By now, the rest of their year would be trying to order drinks at the pub, as was the annual tradition. It was the one day bar staff tended to not ask questions, even when students came in still wearing what was clearly a scribble-covered uniform.
Logan and Eduard's school shirts were also covered in ink, from good luck messages to the huge cock and balls drawn on Logan's back, that he then copied onto Eduard's so they could match. His parents would probably evaporate in rage, but he didn't care to think of that right now. Logan's was covered in messages from friends and the silly string they'd been playing with. Eduard's was mostly just names and "good luck!"s from forgettable strangers - the only ones of note were from Logan and Gunner. Plus someone had thrown an egg at him - he suspected it was meant to be mean, but he was mostly just happy to be included in the mess. For a joke, since everyone knew he was a father, Logan had stuffed a football up his shirt to pretend he was pregnant.
Eduard was never one for loud gatherings, and he wasn't too heartbroken about never seeing some of his classmates again, and Logan decided to take him and Harry to the park instead of the pub. The same place they went to as children.
Eduard laughed and lifted Harry out of her pushchair whilst Logan gathered up her toys.
"You're such a strong girl already," he cooed, kissing her face, "you threw them so far!" Logan pretended to scowl at them both.
Harry stared at him blankly. "Ah."
"You're gonna be a big sports lady, aren't you? You gonna play rugby like your daddy?"
She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish. Logan grinned and took her off Eduard, kissing her nose. "Let's get you back down, sweetheart." He put her back down in the pushchair and strapped her in. "Good girl."
"Looking forward to sixth form?" asked Eduard, once Logan had sat down again. He wrinkled his nose.
"Fucks sake, just let me get my GCSEs out the way before we start thinking about that!"
"I think it'll be nice to have a bit of change. Fingers crossed, we'll be in the same place."
"Oh, come on, you'll get in wherever you want," Logan scoffed, "Mr Predicted-Straight-A*s."
"Plus if I get a distinction on my piano exam, I've got that too."
"Doesn't that count if you pass at all?"
"You think my parents'll let me off with a pass?"
"Thought they weren't keen on piano."
"They aren't, but Cambridge isn't going to take in anyone without their extracurriculars ." He imitated his dad's voice perfectly - Anton sounded like him with a stronger accent.
Logan smiled sadly. "Weren't even allowed to pick between that and Oxford?"
"That's dad for you." He grimaced. "Got to admit, he really does stick to a plan once he makes it."
"Okay, but we gotta make time for each other too. Like, whenever studying gets too much, just come over and we'll drink some cider and forget stupid work for a few hours, right?"
"Yeah, sure thing."
"Nah bitch," Logan held out his little finger, "pinky promise."
Eduard scoffed, then looked at Logan's face, sighed, and hooked their fingers together. "Pinky promise. If my parents let me."
"If they don't, come anyway. Mum'll fight them off."
Eduard wanted to say that no, that would be dangerous, they would kill him if he missed out on his studying, but in the interest of keeping things light-hearted, he just nodded. "Alright. Studying won't get too much for me, though. Further Maths won't beat me."
"You're taking further maths ?" Logan said the words with the same tone that Eduard's mother used for 'homosexuals' and people who took GCSE fine art.
"Yeah, plus maths, physics, and computer science."
"Mate, you're suicidal."
"I'm taking four heavily academic subjects, I probably will be by the end of the year."
"Very dark of you to say."
"It's one of my many talents."
"You'd make a horrific comedian."
"I'd make an amazing comedian. Guess that's the same thing, isn't it?"
"It is with your sense of humour."
"Like you're any better."
Logan grinned. "You know you love me."
Eduard looked down at his knees. "Yeah. Guess I do."
Getting egged on the last day of school and just being glad to be involved is absolutely not based on true experience. Shut up.