Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Inside the bathroom of the Burtonburgers' house, we see a autumn chestnut haired boy named Coop Burtonburger, he was staring at his own reflection in the mirror and he looked tired like he hasn't slept in ages. 

Well, he hadn't slept all night because of lack of sleep from fighting Mr. Kat last night, he couldn't sleep tonight and he is already starting to get affected by the recent events from his town. 

At that moment, Coop couldn't help but feel a sharp like feeling on his wrist the moment he thought about self-harm and ending his own life. At 11 years old, he already had enough of life and society treating him like a ghost.

Coop couldn't do anything about it, all he can do is just suck it up and move on, he opened the drawer to find a sharp razor blade that was lose from the equipment and he began giving himself some cuts on his wrist.

Details cannot be described by this witnessing of such child doing something that teenagers do whenever they are down, Coop had to keep his tears hidden and the feeling of pain on his wrist was an addiction. 

He kept on going until he finished cleaning up, he put the blade back and clean his wrist with some warm water. He just wanted to do this everyday, he will do it everyday and he will never stop. 

Coop slowly went back to his bedroom and slammed the door shut, crawling to his bed and went to sleep. He never thought this was the best choice of his life.

Chapter Text

After that night, Coop Burtonburger kept what he had done to himself as he went downstairs to the kitchen. He went into the kitchen to have some breakfast where he saw his sister and his father having a good conversation with each other and he just shrugged it off.

He began walking to the fridge, hoping to find something to eat since he tried eating less because of Lorne and Harley's harsh words mocking the Burtonburger boy. He just began eating an apple.

Burt Burtonburger, Coop's father who raised him and his sister Millie Burtonburger all by himself, noticed his son eating an apple, thinking that it was healthier. He said, "You're doing great, son. Keeping up that wonderful diet of yours that you brought up to me. How are you feeling?"

Coop made eye contact with his father, looking at him with a frown, and said, "Just fine, just minding my own business and eating healthier. If we only had salad to fill me up." Burt couldn't think about that and said, "Sure, but you have 30 minutes until the bus gets here, so finish your apple and get dressed."

Coop got annoyed all of a sudden, threw the apple he had only taken three bites from, and began making his way to his bedroom to get dressed. Coop couldn't believe this; his breakfast was ruined for the remainder of 30 minutes, and he was pissed.

Coop made his way to his bedroom and began dressing up. He put on his shirt and jeans, lifted up his shirt to show that he had lost a few pounds, and smiled. He began getting ready and went downstairs to see Millie Burtonburger, his sister, petting Mr. Kat.

Coop looked away from Mr. Kat. He made his way out of the house and went to school as if nothing had happened. He stayed quiet throughout the whole bus ride, which confused the kids. Coop was usually the loud one, but on this day, he wasn't. He was mainly quiet and alone. Where was Dennis Chan in this situation?

Dennis was sitting by himself that day. He wasn't sure about Coop's hidden habits of self-harm and sobriety. He wasn't aware of it, and if he had been, he would've comforted him about his own wrongs.

Once the kids reached Bootsville Elementary School, everyone got off and went to their classes. Coop was wearing his hoodie to hide the scars that he had made yesterday. He was surprised that his father hadn't noticed them.

Once everyone was in class, Coop spent the rest of class not communicating with others and only speaking to Miss Brannigan, as she teaches math for the whole class. Coop was trying to concentrate, but Mr. Kat snuck up into the school and got him detention. He was there for an hour and then went out.

His mood became bad now. He wanted to throw a fit, but it wasn't worth it. He didn't want to cause more trouble or disruptions for the entire school. Coop went to lunch, sat by himself, and ate a small amount. He only took a small sandwich and an apple.

Coop noticed Mr. Kat throwing another kid's food at him. He dodged, and it hit Dennis's head. Coop couldn't believe what happened, and now Dennis might think he is such a bully, which he didn't want.

After lunch ended, Coop ignored everyone's words around him and made his way to his locker to grab some stuff. He then headed to class.

Once the school day ended, he went home and ignored his sister's happiness around him. He hated happiness now and wanted it gone. The day was okay, but detention wasn't a good idea, and he hated it.

Coop went on with his day, eating a small dinner and shaming himself for being like this. At night, he would sob into his pillow and mutter some words to express his anger in a way that is appropriate for his age.

Kat, hearing everything, knew that his plan was going well and wanted more of that kid's misery. He wanted more, and he needed it now.