I might not know him well, but from what I’ve been able to see, he’s a good guy who’s just been dealt a shitty hand.
No one deserves to be bullied, and I plan on making sure no one messes with him again.
Chapter 6
Blake
Closing the front door, I lean against it, mind reeling from what just went down.
Everything was going fine. I’m not a crowd person, but Tabitha was nice enough to sit outside with me, away from the crazy. She was fun to talk to, not too chatty, but not quiet enough to make you feel awkward and ignored.
Then Cooper came, and I got to talk to him, an actual conversation this time. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to see that Cooper isn’t like the typical jocks I grew up around.
He cares more about being there for his friends than what people think of him.
What he did for me upstairs solidified it for me. He didn’t have to defend me; I’m no one to him. I just met him the day before, and I’ve hung out with his friends once, but he did anyway. He didn’t think twice about pulling Mickey off me.
I went upstairs to use the bathroom, and as soon as I was out, the asshole ambushed me, spewing his normal bullshit, and trying to intimidate me into helping him. When that didn’t work, he resorted to threats and bodily harm. I was ready to take the hit, to let him get his cheap shots in, knowing I wasn’t going to cave.
Before the first blow could hit me, Cooper came out of nowhere and tackled the guy to the ground.
The way he handled it wasn’t what I expected. I thought they would get into a full-blown brawl, two jocks beating their chests for power.
I was wrong.
Cooper held his cool. He was composed and ready to walk away without hitting the asshole. Even though he deserved it and a lot more.
That was, until Mickey opened his big, stupid mouth and made a homophobic comment. Not going to lie, I felt a jolt of satisfaction watching Cooper punch Mickey for that in his dumb face.
If Cooper defending me wasn’t enough of a mind fuck, the way he took care of me after sure as hell was.
He was sweet, calm, and gentle, and got me an ice pack. Then he offered to leave the party, the party that was meant to celebrate his team's win, just to take me home.
I stare down at the slightly melted ice pack and think, why?
Why me? Why did he go through all of that for me?
I’m just... me? No one’s ever stood up for me before, and I don’t know how to handle it.
I’m waiting for some kind of punchline because my brain can’t process the fact that someone would actually be this nice to me.
Not just Cooper, but his whole friend group, too.
Nina thinks the reason I never had many friends growing up was because I was a shy, awkward kid and preferred to keep to myself.
That's not the case, though. The fact is that when I tried to make friends, people would brush me off as the weird, geeky kid with big glasses, braces, and bad acne. It was the same when I got older, even though my skin cleared, I got new glasses, and the braces came off. It was too late by then, I was already a social pariah. Add in the fact that I was bullied every day and beaten up almost weekly, and I stopped trying. It was safer to be on my own, away from everyone else.
Eventually, I grew into a distrusting, paranoid, overthinking adult. People have tried to befriend me in the last few years ofcollege, but I shut it down and sent them running, because it was easier to reject their friendship than to allow myself to be vulnerable.
That was until Val came into my life, like a bulldozer, and refused to take no for an answer.
My grumpy demeanor didn’t do anything to dissuade her. She outshined my gloom.
Cooper seems to be doing the same thing.
Swallowing hard, I wince as pain spikes my throat. The asshole managed to choke me hard enough to make me gasp for air before Cooper intervened.
I brush my hand over the spot, then place the still-cold ice pack over my tender skin.
