Over the next few days I try calling Cooper several times but he doesn't answer once. The more time that passes, the more worried I get. I'm curled up on my bed leaving another voice mail when Hunter appears in the doorway. I finish my message before speaking to him, "Hey, Coop. It's Bas, are you mad at me or something? I haven't heard fro you in days and I'm starting to get worried. Well, call me back, I guess."

Hunter sits down beside me, "Is everything alright?"

I flop my head on his lap, "Honestly, I don't really know. I've been trying to get a hold of Cooper for days and I haven't heard back from him. I don't know if he's mad at me or what."

He pets my hair, "He could be. Honestly I wouldn't sweat it too much. I think you might want to start accepting the idea that he doesn't want to be in your life anymore, though."

I frown, "What makes you say that?"

He sighs, "Well, I just mean maybe he's given up on you. This guy's never really wanted to be just your friend. He's probably realized that he doesn't have a chance with you so he's just cutting things off altogether."

"I guess that would make sense," I mutter sadly, "I would think he would have said goodbye or something to me, though. It just seems kind of sudden, you know?"

He nods, "Yeah. But sometimes it's easier to not say goodbye. I can't really blame him for that. It can be really hard, you know?"

"Yeah." I say quietly, heavyhearted.

He pulls me up into his arms a little bit, "Try and keep your head up, babe. I get that it can be hard to lose a friend, but he never really wanted to be your friend, anyway. Besides, you still have Thad and Jeff, me of course, all your others friends that I don't know all that well."

I sigh sadly, "I guess that's true."

He pecks me on the lips, "I love you, babe. It'll all be alright, I promise."

I sit up, "Thanks."

Despite that I feel a little bit better after what Hunter said, I still don't feel at ease about Cooper. The next day after I get out of class I head down to the studio where he's been filming his latest project. I'm not sure what time he gets out so I figure it will easier if I just head down there earlier in the day rather than going to his apartment when he may or may not be home.

I walk into the building and do my best to navigate to where I think he might be. After getting hopelessly lost, I give up on finding him and head back to the front area. I approach the secretary at the desk, "Hi, um, I was just wondering if there was any chance if you knew where I could find Cooper Anderson."

She looks at me in disbelief for a moment, "Who are you?"

"Um, my name's Sebastian, I'm a friend of his."

She sighs, "Is this some kind of joke? Cause it's not funny in the slightest."

I shake my head, "No, of course not. It's just that I've been trying to reach him on his phone for days and he hasn't called me back or anything. I'm starting to get worried about him, you know."

The expression on her face goes from frustrated to sympathetic, "Well, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Sebastian, but Cooper Anderson is no longer with us."

"Wait, what do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"I mean he's dead." She says quietly, "He was found murdered in his apartment the day before yesterday."

I feel my stomach twisting itself in knots, "No, you can't be serious."

She frowns, "I'm really sorry."

I nod, holding back tears, "Right, thank you."

I rush out of the building, already sobbing. Everything hurts right now, I don't understand anything, I just wanted to say goodbye to him. I break down in an alleyway, bawling uncontrollably. He can't be dead. He just can't be. And in the worst way possible. I didn't know all that much about Cooper, but I never would have dreamed that anyone might want him dead. I can't seem to cope with the idea, nightmarish thoughts flooding my mind. I lose track of time in the alleyway, crying for maybe hours, I'm not even sure. Even when my tears start to finally subside, I can barely find the strength to even get back on my feet.

Through some miracle I get up and go home, shivering and sniffling the whole way. I walk quietly into the apartment and into my bedroom. I collapse onto the bed, beginning to weep again. Jeff walks in, hearing me crying. He sits down on the bed, putting a cautious hand on my back. He pauses, unsure what to say at first, "Hey, Bas, what's going on?"

I look over at him through watery eyes, "It's just, my friend, he, he's..." I can barely bring myself to say it, it just makes it all that much more real to hear it from my own mouth, "He's dead, Jeff."

I know he has no clue who or what I'm talking about, but he tries to console me anyway, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

He doesn't say much else, just stays by my side while I continue to wail. He stays with me until I finally calm down. He pets my back as I sit up, trying to normalize breathing, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head, "No, thank you, though. I don't think I'm ready to think about it."

Hunter and Thad both come home shortly afterwards, but I spend the rest of the night in bed. Hunter walks into the room after speaking to Jeff in the kitchen. He strokes along my spine, taking a seat next to me, "Hey, sweetie. I'm so sorry about your friend. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really..." I mutter painfully, "There's nothing anyone can do now."

He sighs, climbing in bed beside me, "Well, I'll be here if you need me."

I take his arm and wrap it around my waist, "Thank you."

I spend the next week mourning and trying to piece together what could have really happened to him. I don't leave the apartment at all, skipping out on all my classes and anything else I should have been doing that week. The guys are all really nice and caring towards me, but nothing eases the pain. I'm relying on Hunter more than ever now, but he seems more than happy to take care of me. I eventually drag myself out of bed to see when and where his funeral will be, desperate for some kind of closure or goodbye.