Another Way To Love (LGBT)

III

I've never really understood Cooper's desire to collect every little thing; he kind of reminded me of a crow, even if I was the one with the raven locks and him the bright blonde hair. And I mean, sure, I collected a lot of stuff, but my stuff was sentimental, Cooper just liked shiny things.

And of course, my sleeping bag was lying in its usual place on the ground by his bed. It was pretty old, the blue color a bit faded; I'd need to replace it soon.

"I ordered us a pizza. Half is delicious and amazing, that's my half, and your half is the yucky side with the ham and pineapple," Cooper told me cheerfully as he collapsed on his bed, knocking some of the animal plushies off of it.

I ignored his comment about my pizza preferences. "Nina's having a bake sale on Monday."

"Ooooh, scary." Cooper teased. "So, what's the plan? Are we buying her out or...?"

"I have twenty bucks, but this is assuming I can get over myself and actually speak to her," I admitted as I came over and collapsed on the bed next to him. Cooper scooted over to give me more room.

Cooper made a pshh noise with his mouth. "You'll be fine. Nina's like the sweetest person alive. You could literally drop a thing of coffee over her head and she'd still ask if you're okay."

He wasn't wrong. That's why I fell for Nina in the first place.

I'll never forget the first time I really noticed her. It was back in fourth grade, and everyone in class had to present poems, so—

A loud door slam cut off my train of thought. Cooper and I looked at each other, alarmed for a moment, before Cooper sat up and took a glance out his window.

Then he groaned. "It's just mom. You can wait here. I just need to help her real quick," he explained dismissively, as he always did.

And like always, I ignored his insistence and followed him downstairs. He didn't try to stop me.

Sat down in front of the door, sprawled out in a daze, was Mrs. Watson. Her purse hung loosely off her arm and her heels were already taken off and tossed across the entryway.

"Mom, can you stand?" Cooper asked her politely, kneeling down to her level as he shook her by her shoulder.

I could already tell by the glazed look in Mrs. Watson's eyes that she probably didn't even know where she was.

"Mmmm... wassat? Thanks, you too..." she trailed off uselessly.

I heard Cooper let out a heavy sigh, before reluctantly turning to me with a pinch between his brows and a wavering smile. He never liked showing his angry side, but I've known him long enough to tell this was it.

"Gary, can you grab some water and meds? You know where they are," he told me offhandedly as he grabbed Mrs. Watson's arm and swung it over his shoulders before beginning to help her stand.

I decided to make myself useful and did as told without complaint. But it was hard not to look at the state of Cooper's house.

Beer bottles lied about everywhere you looked, and there were multiple old vomit stains on the carpet. The place was pretty much always in a state of filth.

When I first started coming over, Cooper tried to cover up the mess as best he could, but as we grew closer, he stopped bothering.

I was glad. In a weird way, it made me feel closer to him, like he was letting me see a deeper, hidden part of himself. Maybe it was selfish, but I liked to think there wasn't a part of Cooper I didn't know.

I grabbed the cup of water before digging around in the kitchen drawer for some meds, only to pause briefly at something else lying there.

College brochures.