𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒

~"I don't trust him"~

B L A K E
*After Cooper and Felicity left*

Xavier pulled his phone out, calling Zeke to invite him around. Zeke was our closest friend, he was a real chill dude. He was the best on our football team and he was popular like us.

Carlos and James were having two of their friends over; Carter and Matthew, or Matt for short. They were going to be over soon, Xavier just got off the phone and said that Zeke was on his way.

We started getting snacks together, we got some soft drinks out of the fridge in the garage. We turned the tv on, setting up the video games we were going to play.

After about five minutes, Carter, Matt and Zeke showed up. They walked straight in, knowing they could. I walked over to Zeke, giving him a bro hug. "Sup man, it's been a while aye." I said as I stepped back, letting Xavier move forward. "It has indeed hasn't it. Yo where is your dad at?"

"He's away on a business trip." James said, moving into the kitchen. He answered a call on his phone, his eyebrows scrunching as he listened to whoever was speaking.

I made my way into the living room with Xavier and Zeke. We set up one of our games and began to play. "Yo, did you guys see that new girl? I'd smash that any day!" Zeke said as we played, James was back in the living room so we exchanged a look. "Yeah I saw her, I wouldn't smash that though, she doesn't seem worth the time." Xavier said, if Cooper had of heard that...

"Nah man, she's pretty perked up in the ass. If it weren't for her hanging out with that lame ass, I would've knocked her up by now." Zeke said with a smirk, I looked over at James to see him frowning at Zeke. He stood up and left the room, leaving Carlos, Carter and Matt shocked.

I continued to play, brushing off what Zeke had said, he couldn't have meant Cooper right? Zeke isn't like that, Zeke is chill and laid back. Sure, girls fall for him but that's just what happens when you're that popular... plus, it's not his fault they get attached.

After a few minutes, James came back, but he didn't say a word to anyone. Not Carter or Matt, not even Carlos.

After a few hours, Zeke, Carter and Matt left. Once they were all gone, we turned to James who was sitting on the couch. "What is your deal man?" Carlos asked, going and sitting beside his twin. James was looking at his phone, he didn't once glance at Carlos.

Xavier and I walked over, sitting down on the other couch. "I don't like him." James sputtered out, causing us all to look at him. "Who? Cooper?" Xavier asked, causing James to glare at him. "No dumbass, Zeke. I don't trust him." James said, he turned back to his phone.

"How can I tell if someone is depressed" James read out, catching the attention of all of us. "Usually, someone will loose interest in things that they once enjoyed doing. They can also have difficulty sleeping and their eating habits can change. A person can easily become angry or irritated, they can express negative thoughts like "Why bother? Nothing will change." Or "There's no point, it won't make a difference." They can also express suicidal ideas such as "I don't care if I live or die" or in a more distinct way such as, "Sometimes I feel like stepping in front of that moving bus" or "Sometimes I feel like driving the car off of the road." They can also lose confidence in themselves, feeling like they cannot do something with or without a reason."

We all sat in silence, wondering why James had read that to us. "Cooper barely does anything, as though he has no interests. And the only interest he has is music, even then he seems to be displeased with it. I'm not sure about his sleeping but remember the first night, he refused to eat. And from time to time, he will eat barely anything or big quantities of food. I haven't really heard him say anything really negative-"

"Last well I saw him in art class with that girl, I walked over and he was drawing some guy with his head in his hands. I asked him what it was, he told me just to fuck off. "Don't want to ruin your reputation by hanging out with me, right?" And so I walked away." I interrupted James, causing everyone to turn to me before turning back to James. "Exactly, again, I've not heard him say anything suicidal... but I've noticed he barely does anything productive, just sits around doing nothing..."

"You guys don't think..." James trailed off, looking each of us in the eyes.

Is Cooper depressed?

"He'd tell us... right?" I asked, hoping that my reasoning was logical. "He's always so giddy and excitable when his cousins were here..." Xavier trailed off. "He's probably just being a drama queen."

Let's hope that's all it is...

~~

*The next day*

We were all sat in front of the tv, watching a movie when the front door flew open. Cooper came stomping in, his eyes were red and puffy. He had damp clothes and matted hair, a light brown liquid covered him.

He ran over to the wall near the stairs, letting out a cry of rage as he punched a hole straight through it. He groaned as his back hit the wall, He slowly slid down it, putting his head in his hands.

"Cooper..." We turned our heads to see Felicity walk through the door, placing two bags down before walking over to Cooper. "Go home Felicity. Just go." Cooper muttered, I could hear him crying. "No Cooper, I'm staying here." She said, she sat down in front of him, not moving as he looked at her through his hands. "Just leave Felicity, there's no point okay?"

"Don't say that, I'm staying right here-"

"JUST FUCKING LEAVE!!" Cooper shouted at Felicity, shocking us. Yet Felicity didn't move, she sat there as Cooper broke into sobs. "You know... I really like chocolate milkshakes..." Felicity said, Cooper looked up at her. "What?"

"I said, I really like chocolate milkshakes..."

"Why are you telling me this?" Cooper asked, an empty look on his face. "Why tell me something that doesn't even remotely have to do with the issue... why?"

"Because now my two favourite things are sitting in front of me, so you better get comfy because I will not move from this spot if you are staying here." Felicity said simply, a small smirk crossed over Cooper's face as he moved his hands from his head, showing off his entire face now. "So I'm your favourite thing next to Chocolate milkshakes?" Cooper asked, Felicity giggled, a sly smirk crossed over her face.

"No, the wall behind you is."

"That's it!" Cooper lunged forward, meaning to grab Felicity but she jumped back, a giggle escaping her lips. They both stood up, staring at each other like they were in some Mexican showdown. I turned back to my brothers, they were all watching Felicity and Cooper. James had a small smile while Xavier had a scowl. Carlos and I remained neutral as we watched the scene.

"So... you like chocolate milkshakes so much?"

"...Yes?"