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A party at Cooper Bradford’s house, just what Oliver needed after a drawn-out, boring week. Or at least, that's what Gina thought.
He and Gina had not gotten past the ‘situationship’ phase before Oliver started realizing that she wasn't the thing that was going to fill the empty feeling inside of him.
So, they talked and decided that they would be better off as friends while Oliver figured things out.
She now insisted on dragging Oliver to this party to ‘live a little’. Oliver would have been much happier with a nap, but here he was, sitting on a couch that was probably worth more money than he would ever make in his life, inside a literal mansion while a party raged on around him.
Cooper was, of course, in the middle of the action.
Such an attention seeker, Oliver thought as he watched Cooper talk with everyone around him and flash that 'million dollars in Daddy's money' smile.
Oliver couldn't stand that stupid smile. He physically rolled his eyes and moved his attention to his shoes. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to act like he somewhat gave a shit about this party.
Right now, the only thing saving him from looking like he didn't belong there was the red Solo cup in his hand, half full with some alcohol–probably stupidly expensive stuff–that he hadn't bothered to remember the name of.
He went to take a drink out of the cup, but caught something out of the corner of his eye that made him sigh heavily.
“What do you want, Cooper?” he asked, not looking at the boy behind him, because he already knew what he looked like; punchable.
“Wasn't expecting to see you at a party, like, ever. Especially not one at my house.” Cooper stated, not really answering Oliver's question. “So I just had to come over here. Mostly because I could feel you staring at me from across the room.”
Oliver scoffed at this, but still didn't attempt to look at Cooper. “Y’know, there's better ways to get me to take my shirt off than trying to burn a hole in it with your eyes. We could take this up to my room and-” Oliver cut him off with a laugh, now turning a bit to look at him.
“Are you being serious right now?” Oliver asked.
He had to be joking, right? But he got an eyebrow raised at him in response. “In your dreams, Bradford.” Cooper pouted, but it quickly turned into a smirk.
“Only the good ones.”
“Fuck off.”
“We can do that upstairs, too.” Oliver took a deep breath before continuing this banter.
“I seriously suggest you leave.”
“My house, Ollie.”
“Don't call me that.”
“Okay, cutie.”
“Nope.”
“Darling?”
“No.”
“Loosen up, sweetheart,” Cooper said, placing a hand on Oliver's shoulder.
“No.” Oliver’s cheeks were embarrassingly flushed after his mind blanked for a second, but he decided to blame it on the alcohol. “Can't you go bother someone else with your annoying ass voice?”
“You don't like my voice? Such a shame, since I adore yours. Also, no can do, compadre. I'm way too invested in why you would even show up to this party, and I will be staying here until I feel like leaving, thank you very much.”
Cooper hopped over the back of the couch to sit next to Oliver. “First things first, sweetheart.” Cooper reiterates the pet name that had gotten a reaction from Oliver before, but continues like he never did. “There is absolutely no way that you came here voluntarily, so who dragged you here?” Cooper looks at him expectantly.
Oliver feels…weird having a ‘normal’ conversation with him.
“It’s actually none of your business, but Gina brought me,” Oliver answers, gesturing his cup towards Gina’s figure in the room in front of them.
“You came to a party with your ex?” Cooper almost laughs.
“For the record, we were never together. But even if we were, why wouldn’t we still be friends?” Oliver inquires, still mostly talking to his shoes.
“I don’t know. She’s not the type that I would willingly hang out with. Although she does have good taste in men.” Oliver can hear the smirk in Cooper’s sentence more than the music blasting in the background, and it makes him sick.
“Would it kill you to not hit on me anymore?”
“Probably.” Oliver is about to give up on the conversation and the party as a whole, when two boys who he recognized from school, but couldn't quite remember their names, walked over.
“Cooper, are you making this poor guy uncomfortable?” Oliver looked up to make eye contact with one of the guys and then looked over at Cooper, who looked a little bit uncomfortable at the moment.
Finally, someone will put this brat in his place.
“What? Got nothing to say, buddy?” The other guy pokes, elbowing his friend in the side playfully. Oliver doesn't say anything, waiting to see how this plays out.
“C'mon, we can all see you making puppy dog eyes at-” The guy stops to point at Oliver, waiting for him to introduce himself.
“Oliver.”
“At Oliver. And now here you are, probably trying to get him alone and force yourself on him.”
“That's not what was happening,” Cooper says, his voice sounding almost pinched in his throat.
“Sure it wasn't. I'll just ask Oliver himself then.” He turns his attention to Oliver and continues. “Right then, Oliver. Was Cooper trying to get in your pants?”
“I wouldn't go that far, but-” Oliver gets cut off by the guy who started this whole interaction.
“Look, Cooper's made this kid so scared that he practically brainwashed him into defending him.” Oliver has to bite his tongue to not say anything stupid, like actually defending Cooper.
Why? Cooper’s not his friend. But alas, the idiot guy keeps talking.
“I always wondered why your parents are never home, but it's no wonder they want to be as far away from you as possible.”
Uh oh, Oliver does not think this is going to end well.
“You're an absolute faggot.”
Welp. There goes the biting the tongue approach.
Oliver stood up, taking the momentum of his legs to get force behind a hard punch that caused the guy to collapse onto the floor.
It caught everyone–including Oliver–off guard, and it felt like time stopped for a second before the second guy yelled out.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!” Oliver thought he was going to apologize, but when his mouth opened, he was yelling back.
“What's wrong with me? You just called Cooper a fag, and you want to know what's wrong with me?! I hope you actually don't have a brain and aren't just acting like it because if not, this is really gonna hurt.”
Oliver swears he didn't have control of his body when his left hand came up to punch the side of his jaw, and then pushed him into the wall beside him to start landing punches on his body and face.
He thought he could hear Cooper's voice yelling his name, but he couldn't get himself to stop hitting the guy.
After a few solid connections, Oliver felt a hand on his shoulder trying to pull him back.
He almost threw his elbow back to catch the person in the face before he recognized the touch as Cooper's.
Oliver slumped back off from the guy, who had now slid down the wall and was attempting to cover his head and body at the same time.
Oliver looked around and saw the other guy curled up on the rug in front of the couch that he was just sitting on.
Then he realized that he had gathered a crowd around him, the music was no longer playing, and when he looked to his other side, Cooper had tears accumulating in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks.
“I-, I don't know what happened.” His body was trembling, and he stared at Cooper, not knowing what else to do.
Cooper offered a small smile and then looked around the room to find one of the several security guards.
He spotted one and gave him a nod before returning his attention to Oliver. Oliver had been so worked up that he hadn't noticed Cooper's hand on top of his.
Now, instead of pulling his hand away, he gave in to it and intertwined their fingers.
While he tried to calm himself down, he heard the people around him clear out.
“Do you want me to find Gina for you?” Cooper asked, squeezing Oliver's hand.
Oliver thought for a second, focused on his breathing.
“I don't want to go home.” His voice shook as he spoke. He looked at Cooper, his own eyes starting to water. “I just want to go to bed.”
“I can call you a cab, pay for a hotel room for the night so you can sleep this off.” Cooper offered. But Oliver didn't want that. Oliver didn't understand why he didn't want that.
He heard his voice before he even knew he was talking, “Can I stay here?” A smile tugged at the corner of Cooper's mouth.
“Sure”
––––
Cooper led Oliver up the stairs and into one of the many guest rooms in the mansion.
“Look good to you?” He asked when they entered the room.
“Looks amazing." Oliver moved to sit on the bed and started taking his shoes off.
“Um, my room is uh- two doors to the left, if you need anything.” Oliver finished taking off his sneakers and looked at Cooper standing in the doorway.
“Okay. Thanks again.”
“Goodnight, Oliver.”
“Goodnight, Cooper.”
Cooper shut the door, leaving Oliver to acknowledge the fact that he was staying the night at the house of a person whom he hated.
Being alone in the dark always got Oliver thinking. He replayed the events that happened less than half an hour ago multiple times.
He tried to make sense of why he got so outraged, after all, he hated Cooper…right?
Cooper annoyed Oliver like it was his life's purpose.
Cooper hit on Oliver every chance he got.
Cooper was honestly a really attractive person, and now that he thinks about it, Oliver’s not sure why he started hating him in the first place.
What am I thinking? I'm not attracted to Cooper. In fact, I'm not even gay!
He thought back again to seeing Cooper crying beside him.
He wished he could have helped him more. Instead, he was emotionally unstable and told Cooper he wanted to crash at his place.
What if he's crying again right now? The thought made Oliver wince and roll over to his right side to look at the door.
A soft glow filtered through the bottom of the door, inviting Oliver to step out of the room.
He turned again to lie on his back and look at the ceiling. He didn't need to cause any more issues for Cooper tonight.
He tried to ignore his heart thumping in his chest.
This would be the stupidest thing to have a panic attack about.
Oliver sighed and sat up, breathing deep to try to calm his nerves.
He looked at his feet and flexed his hands in and out on top of the mattress covers.
He’s fine, he doesn't need help. I’m fine, I don't need to go see him.
‘My room is two doors to the left if you need anything.’ Oliver heard Cooper's voice in his head.
God damnit.
Oliver stood up from the bed and hesitated before opening the door. He carefully walked down the hall, making sure to go to the left.
When he got to the door, he stopped. He stared at the door handle and chewed the inside of his cheek slightly.
Just open the damn door.
And so he did.
The light from the hallway spilled into the dark bedroom, illuminating a path over the hardwood floor.
Before he could even contemplate turning back to his room, he heard sheets rustling, and then Cooper was standing in the doorway.
“What's up, Oliver? Is something wrong?” Cooper was wearing pinstripe pajama pants, and his hair was ruffled a good amount. He rubbed his eyes before making eye contact with him, but Oliver couldn't tell if it was from tiredness or crying.
“Oh, um, I just- I couldn't sleep,” Oliver said sheepishly
“Oh. Do you need one of the maids to make accommodations for you?” Cooper's eyes were squinted in the brighter light of the hallway.
“No, no. I- uh, I was wondering if I could sleep in here?”Oliver had no idea what he was doing.
Surely this wasn't what Cooper wanted right now.
“I don't see why not, but I don't have a couch in here.” Oliver was now even more confused with himself.
What was I thinking? Where am I going to sleep?
“I could sleep on the floor.” Oliver was in too deep now; he had to make this work.
“No, I can't let you sleep on the floor, you're my guest!” Cooper looked backwards toward what Oliver assumed was his bed. “This is going to sound weird, but my bed is a California king, so there's more than enough room for both of us.”
“Perfect.” Oliver was now not only confused with himself, but surprised.
What has gotten into me?
This loss of control definitely had nothing to do with the shirtless boy in front of him.
“After you, Ollie.” At this point, both boys were tired enough that neither acknowledged the nickname that had previously resulted in a small argument between the two.
Oliver stepped past Cooper and stopped a couple of feet away from the door to wait for him. He couldn’t see anything once the door was shut and his heart started thumping against his ribs again.
Oliver wasn’t afraid of the dark, but he had never seen Cooper’s room in the light, so he had no idea where anything was.
After blinking a few times, Oliver could just make out Cooper’s silhouette. He followed him to the bed, where they both stopped.
“Do you want the inside or the outside?” Cooper asked.
Oliver figured that something solid like a wall might help him calm down about not knowing anything about this room.
“I’ll take the inside,” Oliver answered, sitting on the bed and scooting back, waiting to find a wall.
Cooper wasn’t lying when he said the bed was big, because Oliver felt like he had gone the length of three of his own beds and still wasn’t at the edge.
But, just as he thought this, his left hand went backward and didn’t land on a blanket this time.
He fell back and hit the floor with a groan.
“Are you okay?” He heard Cooper ask.
“Yeah, just wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me neither. I thought that the bed was big enough that you wouldn't fall off, but you never fail to surprise me.”
“Ha, ha. Aren’t you funny? I meant I wasn’t expecting you not to have a wall over here.” There was silence in the air for a few seconds.
“Why would I have a wall there?” Cooper sounded baffled at the question.
“I don’t know! Every bedroom I’ve been in has a wall on one of the sides of the bed.” Oliver retorted, beginning to stand up from the ground.
“Huh. Must be a middle-class thing.” Oliver was going to snap at him, but Cooper sounded like he genuinely learned something, and not that he was making fun of him.
“Must be.” Oliver agreed, getting back into bed.
He lay on his back the same way he did in the guest room, staring at the ceiling. He was about to start thinking again, but Cooper interrupted him.
“Do middle-class people not sleep under their blankets?” He whispered, causing Oliver to turn on his side to face him.
“What?” He whispered back.
“Well, you’re not getting under the blanket, so I was wondering if it’s normal for you to sleep without one.” Again, Cooper sounded genuinely curious, so Oliver didn’t get mad at him.
“I-” Oliver didn’t know how to respond to that. He only ever slept under the covers in his own bed because he never felt comfortable enough anywhere else to put himself in what he saw as a ‘vulnerable’ position, under a blanket.
Maybe this is Cooper’s way of asking to be comforted.
"Do you want me under the blanket?” A beat of silence followed before Cooper responded.
“Only if you’re comfortable with it.” Oliver didn’t know if he was comfortable with it, but he did tell himself earlier that he wished he could have helped Cooper more.
Oliver could feel his heartbeat in the tips of his fingers as he felt for the edge of the blanket. Once he found it, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pulling it back.
He was sitting up now and moved his legs back to slide under the blanket.
Once he was in up to his knees, he stopped to take another breath before getting under all the way.
“This feels a lot better,” Oliver states, almost laughing. He couldn't believe he had deprived himself of this for so long.
Cooper's bed was soft and way more comfortable than his own.
“I'm glad you're comfortable.” Now that Oliver had been in the dark for a while, he could see Cooper's smile.
Not even two feet away from him was an attractive, shirtless boy, who wanted him in the bed with him.
“How did I ever hate you?” Oliver thought, and apparently also said, because Cooper answered him.
“I don't know. Probably had something to do with the fact that I’ve very openly had a crush on you for like, a year.”
Wait, what?
“I thought you just hit on me to make me mad.”
“Not really, but you are quite cute when you're slightly ticked off.” Oliver rolled his eyes, but still faced towards Cooper. “Did you not know I liked you?”
Oliver tried to think of an answer. He never thought that Cooper liked him, but he also convinced himself he hated the guy from the moment he met him.
In front of him, Cooper waited. His face was clearer now. Oliver didn't know for certain how long he had been in the room, or how much time passed before he answered.
Cooper waited the whole time, his hair falling into his eyes after what was either two minutes or thirty (Oliver lost track), and that slight movement is what triggered Oliver’s response.
He didn’t hesitate, reaching out to push Cooper’s hair back into place.
“I-” Oliver set his hand in the small space between them, fidgeting with the sheets. “I don’t…know?” He chanced a glance at Cooper, still just lying there, listening. “Well, like- I guess I did? Like way, way back in my brain. Somewhere back there, I definitely knew that it wasn’t fully a joke. But I thought I hated you, so I didn’t acknowledge it. But I knew, you know?”
He flushed when he realized what he was doing. “Sorry.” He apologized sheepishly, focusing more on the sheet between his fingers.
He flinched as Cooper shifted his shoulders and took his hands out from under the covers.
“Why are you sorry?” Oliver chewed the inside of his cheek again.
“I was rambling,” Oliver mumbled.
“Hey, it’s alright, man.” He nudged his hand a little. “Y’know, I wasn’t lying about liking your voice before.” Oliver scoffed, with a smile on his face that he really hoped Cooper could see.
“Wow, still flirting with me at ungodly hours of the night. I’m flattered that I get to be in your presence at such an hour.” He laughed as soon as he finished the sentence, not being able to take himself seriously.
He kicked his legs a little, finding Cooper’s in the process.
Instead of jerking his legs back like he usually would, he laughed even harder. Through his squinted eyes, he could see Cooper smiling at him again.
After all of the shit I did tonight, he still likes me.
Oliver took a couple of deep breaths after he stopped laughing and let his legs stay rested against Cooper's.
Both boys were quiet for a couple of minutes, but then Oliver felt compelled to do something.
He looked down at his hand, an inch of sheet separated him and Cooper.
He was tired and happy. Those two things hadn't been felt together for a long time.
Maybe Cooper wasn't so bad after all.
Oliver reached his pinky out to touch his hand.
Cooper didn't move or say anything. Oliver didn't know if this was because of emotions or if the boy had fallen asleep.
Either way, he continued to reach the rest of his fingers out until his hand was covering Cooper's.
Oliver hadn't held someone's hand since he was a child. He never thought he would miss it, but now he felt like Cooper was the only thing keeping him warm, and if he let go, he wasn't sure what would happen.
“G’night.” He whispered sleepily, not expecting a response.
He started to drift off, and right before he fully relaxed, he heard Cooper say
“Goodnight, Oliver.” Oliver was too tired to do anything but squeeze Cooper's hand before falling asleep.