Skins FanFic
Chapter 7: Stuck in the Middle
Cook was sitting on the marble floor in front of the massive brick fireplace, tending the flames as they danced in the hearth. I walked over, trying to act as naturally as possible, knowing fully well that this conversation could go south very quickly. Cook and I had built a lot of trust with each other, he told me things that he didnât tell anyone else. He was comfortable being vulnerable with me and I didnât want him to think that I was violating his trust.
On second thought, maybe delving into a touchy subject with Cook near an open flame with a bunch of sharp objects around wasnât the best idea. I noticed that no one was out back on the dock and decided it would be a better place for us to talk.
âHey, Cook,â I said nonchalantly. âWant to keep me company on the dock for a bit?â
âAnything for you, Princess.â He said turning from the fire, grabbing a jacket and following me outside.
We walked in awkward silence the whole stroll to the dock. I was thankful that it wasnât raining today, I knew it rained a lot here, but I wasnât expecting nearly this much. When we reached the dock, we stood at the edge, looking out into the distance.
âSo, I know youâre not pregnant, because we never had sex, so whatâs so serious that you had to bring me outside to talk about?â He joked, finally breaking the silence.
âWhat? Why would you think that I needed to talk about something serious? Canât I just spend some time with my friend?â I found myself tripping over my words. I was never very good at confrontation, and this time definitely wasnât going to be easy.
âZye, youâre cute⌠and completely transparent. Are you going to tell me whatâs going on? Or am I going to have to throw you in the lake?â He teased, moving closer to me.
I sighed and turned to face him. âSo, Jack and I were talking on the ride upâŚâ
Cook cursed under his breath and crossed his arms, turning ever so slightly away from me. âI can already tell that Iâm not going to like where this is goingâŚâ
âJust hear me out, Cook. Please?â
He sighed. I took it as a sign to continue.
âSo, Jack and I were talking, and I asked him about Eden⌠He seems really nice to me and I couldnât picture him stealing anyoneâs girlfriendâŚâ
âZye, I love you, but this doesnât concern you. If you want to be friends with Jack, then thatâs up to you, but leave me out of it.â Cook snapped, turning to leave.
âCook, wait!â I reached out to grab his arm instinctively. âPlease, I just want to make everything right⌠can we just talk about this?â
âThereâs nothinâ to talk about! I canât believe that Jack would send you to do his dirty work, stupid wank.â
âI didnât send her, Cook, but sheâs right, we do need to talk.â We heard from behind us. I hadnât even heard Jack follow us, but I would be lying if I said that I wasnât relieved to see him.
âI donât want to talk to you, Jack. And to be honest, I donât really want to talk to you much either right now, Zye.â Cook spat, snatching his arm from my grip.
âDonât talk to her like that, sheâs just trying to help.â Jack snapped, shoving Cook in his chest.
Cook stumbled for a split second. I could see his eyes glowing red.
âCook, just breathe.â I said, timidly.
But it was too late. Cook was already deep in a rage. I had heard of what happened when Cook âwhet off the railsâ, but I had been fortunate enough to not have seen it myself⌠until now. Cook lunged at Jack with animal force, knocking him off of the dock and into the lake. Before I knew what was happening the two were thrashing in the water trying to land blows on each other. I managed to unfreeze myself, attempting and failing to make them stop.
âStop! Youâre going to hurt each other!â I screamed.
âHe should have thought of that before he slept with my girlfriend!â Cook said, head-butting Jack at the bridge of the nose.
âI told you, I didnât touch her!â Jack yelled, managing to throw Cook off of him.
The two were now circling each other like two animals on National Geographic. I was tripping over myself, struggling not to fall off the dock myself. Jackâs face was bloody and badly beaten: his left eye was swollen; his lip was going to need stitches. His nose was most definitely broken. He was in rough shape. Cook, however, barely had a scratch on him.
âHow many times do I have to tell you that I didnât sleep with her Cook! I wouldnât do that to you!â
âBollocks!â
âYou were my best friend, like another brother to me! Why would I throw all of that away for a girl?!â
âI donât fuckinâ know!â Cook yelled, diving at Jack again. Jack dodge, Cook missing him by a hair. Jackâs fist caught Cook in the jaw. Cook sputtered and spat out blood.
âJames fucking Cook. You are the most stubborn man Iâve ever met.â Jack chuckled, wiping the blood from his nose.
To my surprise, Cook softened.
âEden wouldnât have slept with you,â Cook said, in a completely different tone. âLook at you, youâre a pansy! You canât even throw a proper punch!â
The two erupted into boisterous laughter.
âWant to get dried off and have a drink?â Cook asked, extending a hand to Jack.
Jack took it, clapping Cook on the back and the two began to pull themselves out of the lake and onto the grass. They began to laugh as if nothing had happened.
âSo thatâs it then?!â I yelled, more than mildly annoyed with the two of them.
âWhat did you expect Princess?â
âDid you want us to talk it out and sing Kumbaya?â
âI was going to say braid each otherâs hair!â Jack and Cook high fived and headed back to the cabin.
To be honest, I wasnât entirely sure what had just happened, but I was just glad to see them speaking to each other again. That was when I realized that I was standing alone, in the dark on a dock in the wilderness. I quickly ran back to the house, calling after the boys as I went.
---
Everyone slowly made their way into the living room as the evening progressed. We were all strewn about here and there, some chatting, some on their phones, others simply enjoying the warmth of the fire. Behind me, I heard the front door open and then slam shut.
âWell, this is fine and dandy and all, but I was told this was a party.â I turned to see my cousin, standing in the entryway wearing a full lace bodysuit, a bold red lipstick and thigh-high suede boots. I looked down at my sweatpants and old t-shirt, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
âWell, I guess, thatâs our cue!â Finn said jumping off of the couch. âJack? Speakers! Fredds, sound system!â
As if on cue, everyone began to run around, most of the guys started setting up sounds systems and lighting, mixing drinks and hiding breakables. All of the girls took off upstairs to primp and pull themselves into versions of ourselves we wouldnât mind having captured on camera.
I came back downstairs about an hour later to see that the main floor had been turned into a nightclub. There was blaring music, strobe lights, Cook at the DJ helm. I had in my hand the bag of leftover skittles. I tossed it nonchalantly to Finn and headed towards Maxxie at the âbarâ.
âMy, my. You clean up pretty well cuz.â She said eyeing me from head to toe. I did a quick playful shimmy to show off my black mini dress Ă la Posh Spice. I decided to skip the heels tonight and donned my cosiest pair of black flats. Iâd just be sure that any pictures of me were of the ankle up.
Maxxie handed me a drink that consisted of 90% rum, 5% coke and 5% regret. I downed it much too quickly. I saw Finnâs hand materialize beside me holding an assortment of skittles. I closed my eyes, grabbed one, and popped it into my mouth. I laughed grabbing Maxxieâs hand and dragging her onto what had become the makeshift dance floor. I could feel the now familiar buzz of the skittle in the back of my brain. I began to shimmy and flail my arms with reckless abandon, enjoying every crescendo and bass drop in the music.
Soon everyone was in the middle of the living room, dancing together in a mosh pit of bodies, become one with each other through the music. For what felt like hours we stayed there, laughing, dancing and enjoying each otherâs company. A faint rumbling in my stomach reminded me that I hadnât eaten anything since I left my house, so I slipped out of the crowd and into the kitchen.
There in the dim light of the kitchen stood Freddie, chugging a bottle of what I hoped was water. I hesitated, then proceeded to walk into the kitchen and over to the snack cupboard. We stayed there in silence, as I rummaged around in the dark, grabbing what felt like a bag of chips.
âCare to share?â He asked as I retrieved the bag.
I opened the bag, extending it towards him. He took a few then returned the bag to me. I began to leave with it, my hand already digging into its contents.
âWhat did I do that was so horrible that you canât even bring yourself to eat in the same room as me?â Freddie teased.
I froze.
âZye,â I felt his hand on my shoulder, his voice now more sincere. âI have been racking my brain for the past few weeks trying to figure out what I did to offend you so much that you wonât even look me in the eye anymore.â
I turned to face him. âYou really donât know, do you?â
âNo! I have no idea! I thought it was because I made the mistake of choosing Effie over you â which might I emphasize was a mistake â but I broke up with her that same night and you still wonât look at me. Did I come on too strong that night we were dancing? Did I misread a signal of some kind? Please, just tell me so I can fix this.â
He raised a hand and rested it on my cheek. To my surprise, no alarms rang out through me, no waves of repulsion. I felt myself being drawn to him, to his sincerity. I cautiously rested my hand over his, taking a step closer to him. He pulled me into his chest and I closed my eyes, breathing him in. I felt so safe there in the kitchen, enveloped in his arms. I found myself hugging him back, turning my head so that I could hear his heartbeat. Whether it was the drugs or a genuine connection, whatever I felt in this moment with Freddie was just as magnetic as that night in the club. I felt as if reality was melting away and all that remained was Freddie and me. His thumb gently stroked the small of my back and I felt a shiver run through my spine.
And then as if on cue, Maxxieâs tear-streaked face floated into my conscious and brought me back out of the clouds. I could see her before me telling me about what he had done to her. It didnât make any sense to me, how could someone so gentle do something so awful? I felt myself become rigid against him. I began to push away.
âNo, please. Donât do this Zye.â He held on tighter.
âFreddie, please donât make this any harder for me.â
âZye, pleaseâŚâ His voice caught in his throat.
âNo! You must be some sort of grade A psychopath if you think that Iâd ever even consider being with you after what you did to Maxxie!â I snarled at him. I turned to leave the kitchen, glancing back over my shoulder to see Freddie leaning against the counter. His face was in his hands, his breathing was rapid and shallow. I forced back tears as I ran out of the house and onto the back deck.
Maxxie was out behind me in an instant with a blanket for me to wrap myself in.
âWhat did he do to you Zye?â She asked tenderly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
âNothing,â I said wiping away tears. I didnât want to make this situation any worse than it already was.
âI saw you leave the kitchen and then Freddie. I thought I told you to stay away from him. Did he hurt you too?â She looked deeply concerned. âIf he did, you can tell me. We can get you out of here. I have my car.â
âNo, honestly Maxxie, Iâm fine. He didnât hurt me.â
âDid he try to pressure you into anything?â
âNo!â
âThen what happened?â
âHeâŚhe just hugged me. That was all.â
âUgh, that sicko! He couldnât be satisfied with just me, so now heâs trying to groom you or something. Disgusting!â
âI donât think it was like that Maxx. He seemed genuinely confused as to why I wouldnât be anywhere near him.â
âHeâs playing you Zye. He knows that youâre kind and a bit naĂŻve so heâs preying on your weaknesses.â
âFirst of all,â I began turning to face her. âSince when is kindness a weakness? Secondly â â
âItâs like you donât even understand how the world works!â Maxxie interrupted me. âHeâs a sexual predator!â
Maxxie pulled a cigarette from one of her boots and struggled to find her lighter in the other. I had only known Maxxie to smoke in three situations in her life: when she was drinking heavily, when she was trying to impress a boy, or when she was stressed about keeping a secret...
From about 10 feet away, I saw a lighter flicker. Effie stepped into the glow of the light coming from the living room. I hadnât even known she was there before. She took a long drag from her cigarette, narrowing her eyes and offering the lighter to Maxxie. Maxxie shivered, accepting the lighter from her and lighting her own cigarette.
âWhat whatâs all this I hear about Freddie hurting people, Maxxie?â Effie asked, cocking her head to the side and raising a knowing eyebrow.















