Jack Carrigan

@jackcarrigan

Cooper stared at him as he listened for a moment, let the information sink in before nodding with a soft, “Hm,” of approval to their situation.

To be honest, he was glad that Jack wasn’t banging on at him about how bad it was. He knew that. He wasn’t being told anything new. At least he could acknowledge when he was doing something completely stupid.

“I need to get high again is what I need,” he told him before taking a soft sigh and lying back in bed with a small smirk on his face. It quickly faded when he returned back to some logical thoughts. “I’m seein’ Rob later on because he’s on a day-shift today. I’ve never dated someone who works, El- she worked from home so she was around. These long hours are tough to deal with.” 

The younger looked over at Jack, “I can’t let him know I got high, not yet. I need to get high so I’m good for the rest of the night. That’s all I need right now.”

Jack reached over and he gave his hand a squeeze “I’m going to be here all day today. I don’t have any plans, or anything to do to leave the apartment. You know you can stay here all you want. I’m happy you’re here. And if you need to get high, you can do that. You will tell Robbie when you’re ready.” he agreed with a nod. He smiled as he looked at Penny and tickled her head “It’s odd, waiting for someone to get back home from work.” he agreed when Cooper mentioned the long hours of waiting for a shift to be over for Robbie to be back. “Do you want someone to eat? I can make something quickly or we can order.” he offered as he smiled at him. He was just happy Cooper was trusting him and felt safe to stay with him. He wanted to be a good friend and be there for him.

Cooper wiped the dry bit of dog slobber from the side of his forehead then glanced around. “Hey,” he croaked softly before smiling when Penny licked his cheeks. “I missed you too,” he uttered as he pulled her close for a hug.

Placing his hand on his head, he sighed heavily. “I got high,” he told him honestly. He did his best to be honest with those he loved, even if he knew they didn’t approve of what he did. “I needed it, I’m still… in and out of it,” he uttered as his body was a little unbalanced as he sat up and swayed slightly. “I need to get high again though, so- so then it won’t happen,” he murmured regarding the withdrawal. “I can’t do that again,” he said honestly. “It’s nice to be numb.”

Jack let Mars hope off the bed and wander off and he listened to Cooper as he explained. He reached over to him to rub his arm as he gave him a small smile and a nod. "Coop i'm not going to shout at you or judge or tell you what you should and shouldn't be doing." he shook his head slightly. "I know there's nothing worse than dealing with the withdrawal. And that numbness makes everything better and easier. If we'd be talking about this a couple of months ago, i'd be telling you all the reasons why you shouldn't get high again. But after going back to the meds..." he trailed off as he thought about it "Knowing that i will wake up, pop a pill and have control of my head and feeling numb to things that would give me a panic attack? I don't even mind the side effects. It's worth it. So... so i won't tell you what to do, Coop. I think you should do what you need to do right now and if later you want to stop, i'm going to be right here if you want me to be, to help you through it." he gave his arm a small squeeze “I don’t think it’s good for you and i do think that you shouldn’t get high, but i also think you know better than me or anyone what you can and can’t deal with right now and what you do and don’t need. I’m with you either way, Coop. Anything you need, i’m here.” he offered. 

“I think so too,” he said softly, sighing as he was pulled closer and he wrapped his arms more securely around Jack’s middle. He turned his head after Jack kissed it, looking up at him slightly before returning the peck with a grin. “I can’t wait either.”

Jack rubbed his back, as he smiled at him and rested his forehead against his when Blaine looked up at him. He closed his eyes for a moment, just holding him before slowly letting go “I’ll let you go be with Caspar. But text me later?” he smiled.

Cooper ran his hand through his hair before nodding, “Sure,” he added. Walking into the bedroom as he had done many times before, he dropped back on the bed and cuddled Penny when she jumped up to snuggle close to him.

“Thanks,” he uttered and chugged back some of the water. Setting the half-empty bottle on the side before leaning his head back on the pillow. It didn’t take long and he was out like a light. Head lulled to the side as Penny snuggled in next to his head to make sure it was kept straight, ensuring he wouldn’t choke in his sleep. Cooper didn’t wake up for another half an hour, sitting up, more than confused on his whereabouts until he spied the plush teddies on the floor.

Jack watched Penny smiling as she snuggled up next to Cooper’s head. He gave her ear a tickle before picking up Mars. He nuzzled him for a second as he got in bed next to Cooper. He was happy to have Cooper there. He’d missed him so much and was so happy he could be a good friend and look after him. He let the puppy rest his head on his chest, petting him and playing with his ears as he watched Cooper. He checked his messages and played a game on his phone while Cooper slept, making sure to keep an eye on him. Smiling when he saw him move, he sat up a bit. “Hey.” he whispered.

Blaine nodded at each item on the list, making mental notes to double check the important things and work towards making a couple of them, like the keys, wallet and phone easier to remember. “Simple enough, I can handle that.” 

He smiled softly at the kiss on his head. “No, I know,” he replied quietly. “I know that you’re not actually comparing us and that you wouldn’t. It’s just that annoying little voice in my head that’s telling me that you are and that I would never be able to compare to him for you,” he said with a sad smile and a small shrug. “It’s a fleeting insecurity that I’m sure will go away. I’m where I want to be, and I do feel safe about talking to you about this. We’ll work on it together,” he echoed reassuringly. “Besides, it’s not as if I have that much experience in relationships either. Parker was my first serious relationship and we hardly spoke for most of it, which, honestly probably means that I’m not very good at them either. But I can promise to try too. To try my best to be honest and open.”

His smile widened as he nodded. “I’m excited too. I get a picnic and I get to spend time with you. Sounds perfect to me.” 

Jack couldn’t tell him how much comfort it brought him to hear him say that. It wasn’t something he was too comfortable talking about. So Blaine reacting to it as something simple and normal meant a lot to him.

“We will make it work. I think that... if we talk about everything and find what works for us, i think we’re going to be great.” he pulled him close in his arms and he kissed the side of his head as he held him “I’m happy we’re talking about this.” he whispered as he felt so relieved to be able to talk with Blaine about everything that was on his mind and figure things out together.

He grinned at his response and pecked a quick kiss to his lips “I can’t wait then!”

Cooper glanced at him as he walked to the elevator. “Mars? Oh yeah, the puppy,” he uttered softly before ruffling his hair up. “Will they be okay?” he said a little concerned as he’d only ever had Penny around Frankie. 

He walked over to his door quietly, and opened it to let Penny out. Walking back down to Jack’s apartment he sighed softly and dropped back into Jack’s bed. “Can I have a bottle of water?” he asked quietly. “Then I’ll be quiet.”

“Yeah Mars is very quiet. He doesn’t approach anyone first. He will just watch her unless Penny decides to go over to him.” Jack smiled as he wanted to reassure him. It was exactly why he was comfortable with Mars. He’d never had a puppy before but he made it easy. He always gave Jack his space unless Jack called him over. He reached down to ruffle Penny’s ears, smiling and he got back down to his apartment with Cooper “Anything you need Coop.” he patted his arm and went to get him the bottle from the fridge. He watched as Mars looked up from his bed, watching the curiously but staying put. “Here you go.” he smiled giving Coop the bottle and got in the bed next to him.