Shameless ≫ jeremiah fisher

06

CHAPTER SIX

BEING DRUNK INSTEAD OF high was new to cooper. he wasn't entirely sure which one he preferred at that moment, but he'd probably know in the morning. he was four vodka and lemonades, plus six or seven shots in and he was feeling it. he was sat on the couch, taking a break from drinking (he also couldn't stand up without falling over) and found himself staring at the ceiling, humming a song that had been stuck in his head for days.

"how ya doing, champ?" conrad chuckled, sitting next to the boy.

cooper tilted his head to look at his best friend and smiled a drunken grin. "i'm great." he licked his dry lips. "i have to pee though and i'm afraid to get up because i don't know if i'll fall over."

conrad couldn't hide the smile on his face. "would you like some assistance?"

"yes, please." cooper mumbled and conrad helped the boy to his feet. he wrapped an arm around cooper's waist and led him to the bathroom. surprisingly, it was empty and conrad said he'd wait outside the door. "shout if you fall in." conrad smirked.

"i've got the wall to lean against." cooper slurred. "i'll be fine." he had no problem using the bathroom, but as he leaned forward to flush the toilet he stumbled and fell, smacking his elbow on the corner of the counter. "ow." he whined, curling up on the floor with his elbow in his hand. there was a knock at the door and cooper whined again. "conrad, i need help." when the door opened he looked to see jeremiah standing there and he rolled his eyes. "oh, it's you." he huffed, "where did conrad go?"

"belly called for him." jeremiah shut the door and knelt down in front of the older boy. "how trashed are you?"

"i'm completely sober." cooper slurred.

"and i'm high." jeremiah scoffed.

cooper furrowed his eyebrows, "really? i didn't think you liked that stuff. isn't that why you hate me?"

the younger boy rolled his eyes. "i'm not high, cooper, and you're not sober." he reached for cooper's arms, "let me help you up."

cooper flinched away, "don't touch me."

"i'm not gonna do anything to you, dude." jeremiah's strong grip helped bring cooper into a sitting position and cooper leaned against the counter. "are you okay? did you hit your elbow?" he was referring to the fact that cooper was still holding his elbow.

"why do you care?"

jeremiah shook his head. "i don't."

cooper eyed the younger boy. "i made conrad happy. why can't you be okay with that?"

"he cannot be happy from getting high all the time." jeremiah shook his head. "i don't understand how you can be either."

cooper licked his lips. "well, i haven't smoked today, so it's not all the time."

the younger boy only chuckled, "let's get you off the floor." he helped cooper stand and the older boy leaned against the counter for a moment before he looked at himself in the mirror. he looked like an absolute trainwreck. jeremiah took notice to the sadness that appeared on his face. "what's wrong?"

cooper shook his head and looked down, "nothing."

"cooper, i know i'm not really a big fan of you, but you can talk to me." jeremiah searched the boy's face, looking for any sort of reaction and cooper was sure to give him one.

his features turned angry and he shook his head. "no, jere, i can't talk to you. you're right: you're not a big fan of me, but i'm not a fan of you either. i don't like your attitude and i hate having to look at your stupid perfect face all the time. your existence irritates me."