I Can’t Have You.

“Lots of things happen that shouldn’t,” Cora responded softly, seeing him open one of his textbooks. She opened her notebook and started writing knowing she had a paper due in English the next day and she was almost finished with it. Ryan had really surprised her, Cora didn’t know too much about him. She knew he was popular and that he was on the football team, but other than that she had no idea.

---

Cooper nodded as he listened to her speak. He still felt a little bit of guilt. Seeing her shiver a little, Cooper unzipped his hoodie and moved to wrap it around her shoulders carefully. “That should help a little,” Cooper said as he moved back to his spot. He really didn’t need it, most of the time he ended up leaving it in his locker after his second class.

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

"But that doesn't mean that I can't try to fix things." Ryan pointed out as he flipped through his textbook, finding the page he needed before getting to work on the problems he needed to finish. He wouldn't mind talking to her more, but it looked to him like she had work she needed to work on, so he remained silent so that he could work on his problems. He hoped that he could become a sort of friend to her, if she wouldn't mind.

---

Finley tensed as he moved over and placed his jacket around her shoulders, blinking a little in surprise before she relaxed a bit as she warmed up, tugging it around her tighter as she glanced over at him. "Thank you..." She murmured with a little blush, looking over at him nervously. "But.. But won't you get cold?"

Cora took a moment to look up from her notebook, “I mean, you’d want to take it upon yourself to fix it?” She questioned. She could wrap her head around the idea of him wanting to fix it even though he hadn’t been the cause of it. “That’s very, nice of you,” Cora didn’t know what else to say. Of course she appreciated him not wanting her to be bullied anymore, but she just couldn’t get why.

---

Cooper noticed her flinch when he wrapped his hoodie around her. “You’re welcome,” he told her. Hearing her question if he would get cold, Cooper shook his head, “I’ll be fine, I’m usually pretty warm so I don’t really need it.”

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan looked up at her when she asked if he'd take it upon herself to fix it, shrugging a little as he nodded. "I mean, I can't promise I can get everyone to leave you alone.. But I know I could at least get some of my friends to back off, and that's better than nothing I guess." He shrugged again, smiling a little when she said it was nice of him to do it. "I don't think it's nice.. it's must the right thing to do."

---

"Oh.." she murmured when he said he'd be fine without it, fiddling a bit with the sleeves as she tugged it around her, happy to have it to keep her warm. She sat in silence for a while, fussing with the sweatshirt a bit, before tensing again when she heard voices headed toward them, quickly taking off the sweatshirt and giving it back to Cooper before standing to leave with her bag, although she was stopped when Nick and a few of Cooper's other friends rounded the corner.

"There you are, Cooper, we were looking for you. What are you doing out here with this freak? Giving her a hard time without us?" Nick laughed, grabbing her backpack out of her arms despite her quiet protests, tossing it onto the ground before shoving Finley into a mud puddle when she went to go pick it up. "What a weirdo. Get the hell out of here, freak." He yelled as she grabbed her bag and took off running, the poor girl trying to keep from freaking out due to being covered in mud.

“Even if it’s the right thing to do, it’s still nice of you,” Cora said, smiling softly. Cora had to admit, Ryan was nice to be around and to talk to. Going back to writing in her notebook, she was fidgeting with the end of her sleeve on her shirt as she read through what she wrote. Her eyes widened slightly and her head shot up as she heard the library doors open and the commotion coming towards them.

“Ryan!” His friend, Jake called out as the group approached the table, “What the hell man?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked at his friend. He turned his attention to Cora, seeing her notebook he quickly ripped it out of her hands. Jake laughed, hearing her protest quietly, “Oh, is this yours?” He grinned as he ripped the notebook and tossed it on the ground causing Cora to grab the rest of her things and run from the library.

---

Cooper jumped up when Nick started going after Finley again, “Nick, knock it off.” It was useless to say anything because Nick wasn’t going to stop. Seeing Finley take off after Nick pushed her into the puddle, Cooper got in his face, “What was that? Do you feel good doing shit like that?” He shook his head as he started walking away, “You seriously need to grow up.” Cooper kept walking, looking around to see if he could find where Finley ran off to.

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan stood as Jake grabbed her notebook, grabbing it before he could rip it up anymore. "Knock it off, Jake. You've had your fun, just leave her alone." He doubted his friend would listen, but he could at least try to stand up for her and get him to stop. Grabbing his things he headed out of the library before there was a bigger commotion and they all got in trouble, looking for Cora as he went.

---

Finley had had enough of school for today and had decided to simply go home, and was walking as quickly as she could toward her locker to get her things before she left. She looked up when she saw Cooper coming and began to panic, turning and hurrying toward the front door to leave. She hated being filthy, and thought that she might vomit if she wasn't careful, so the sooner she got home the better.

Cora had made it to her locker to gather her things, she was going home. Today had been one of the worst days she had in awhile and she couldn’t handle being at school. She shut her locker and started walking toward the front door of the school.

---

Seeing Finley going toward the door, Cooper followed, “Can I at least carry your bag for you?” He felt horrible and he knew when he ran into Nick again it was going to be bad. Cooper walked with Finley as they left the school. The thought of his next encounter with Nick in the back of his mind, “I’m working on getting him to back off.”

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan caught up to her quickly, frowning as he watched her hurry to put her things away. "I'm sorry about him, he's an ass. I grabbed your notebook, though." He held it out to her, hoping she'd see that he wasn't like them. He knew the next time he saw them they'd probably say something about him defending her, but he didn't care, she didn't deserve to be treated the way they were all treating her.

---

Finley was clearly on the verge of tears as she looked up at him, nodding hesitantly before passing her bag to him, not wanting to get it dirty anyway. She shook her head a little as he said he was going to try to get them to stop, walking as quickly as she could to get back to her house, desperately wanting to get cleaned up. "No.. I-If you do that then they'll just be mean to you too.. it's better if you just let it happen.."

“Thank you,” Cora said quietly as she took her notebook back and shoved it into her backpack. She shut her locker and looked at him, “I’m going home. Today has just been too much, thank you for being so nice.” Cora smiled softly before turning and walking to the front doors of the school and walking out.

---

Cooper quickly took her bag as they continued to walk. “I can deal with them if they turn against me,” Cooper assured her, keeping up with her as she continued walking. He wasn’t going to let Nick and the others keep harassing her.

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan frowned a little as she said she was heading home, hesitating for a minute before hurrying after her. "Hey, do you want me to drive you home? I don't feel like dealing with Jake again, and I doubt I'd be able to focus anyway." He offered as he followed her, looking at her worriedly. "I could get you some ice cream or something to cheer you up? And I'll buy you a new notebook, no worries."

---

Finley fidgeted with her fingers anxiously as he spoke, shaking her head a little in disagreement, although she was too focused on not having a panic attack to respond. Soon enough they got to her house and she unlocked the door, stepping inside and after slipping off her shoes so as to not track mud inside, turning to look at him. "I-I can take my bag now... Thank you for walking with me.. You can come inside if you want, make yourself lunch or something, but I have to go shower.." she said before taking off upstairs, unable to stand being dirty any longer.

Cora looked at him for a moment before hesitantly agreeing to ride with him. “It’ll be better than walking all the way home,” she admitted, following Ryan out to his car. Hearing him mention ice cream, she smiled slightly, “Uh, ice cream would be nice and I’d appreciate the new notebook.” Cora was glad that Ryan was sort of acting like a friend to her.

---

Cooper handed her bag back to her and waited a moment before stepping into her house. “I’ll uh, wait down here for you,” he said, taking his shoes off and looking around as she walked up the stairs.

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan smiled as she agreed, leading her to his car. Once they were both in be drove into town, parking the car before getting out. "Ok, so there's the bookstore where they sell notebooks and journals and stuff, and then down there is the ice cream place. We can grab the notebook first and then the ice cream, and then I'll bring you home?" He hoped that she was feeling better after what had happened, even if ice cream couldn't fix everything.

---

Finley spent over half an hour in the shower, scrubbing her skin raw to get all the dirt and grime off, making sure to start the washing machine for her clothes. Once finally out of the shower and dressed in a clean shirt and pair of leggings she came back downstairs, carefully braiding her hair to keep it out of her eyes while it dried. "Sorry if I took too long.. Didn't feel clean enough.." she explained, glad that she'd picked a long sleeved shirt so he wouldn't see how red and raw her skin was from her scrubbing. "Um.. Do you want something? I don't have a lot, but you can take whatever, I don't mind.." she spoke awkwardly, clearly not used to having visitors over at her house.

Cora got out of the car after him, “That works.” She followed him into the bookstore and went straight to the notebooks. After looking through the piles, Cora found one that was almost identical to the purple one she had before. Finding Ryan, she smiled slightly, “Ready for ice cream?”

---

Cooper was sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone when Finley came down the stairs. “It’s fine, really,” he assured her. Hearing her ask if he wanted something, Cooper shook his head, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He stood up and smiled at her, “I didn’t want to just leave.”

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan wandered around the store while he waited for Cora to find the notebook she wanted, smiling when she made her selection. Once the notebook was paid for he passed the bag to her before heading outside, nodding as he led her toward the ice cream shop. "We can get it to go if you want, that way you can get home faster." He offered as he held the door open for her, just wanting her to be comfortable.

---

Finley frowned a bit as he spoke, shaking her head when he said he wanted to make sure she was alright. "I'm fine. See? I'm clean now." She said, gesturing to her hair and shirt to show that she was no longer covered in mud. "You didn't have to stay, I'm used to being alone."

Cora followed Ryan quickly as he left the store and headed towards the ice cream shop. “That would be good, I should probably get home soon since I have to re write my entire English essay,” she told him. Once they were inside, Cora went to the counter and got hers.

---

Looking her over, Cooper nodded, “Yeah, I see.” He smiled slightly, thinking she was pretty sweet. He sighed softly, “If you’re sure that you’re okay, I guess I can head home.” Cooper really didn’t like the idea of leaving Finley all by herself. He walked over and put his shoes back on, “If you need anything, call me. Even if you’re just bored or lonely, I’ll talk to you or I’ll come back and hangout, okay?”

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan got his ice cream and paid for them both before leading her back out to his car, taking a minute to eat some of his so that it didn't melt too much before looking at her. "Ok, need to stop anywhere else?" He asked, before driving to her house after she gave him her address.

---

Finley tilted her head in confusion when he said to call him if she needed anything, watching as he put his shoes back on. "But.. why? Would I be bothering you if I called?" She asked. Her parents were never around, and constantly reminded her that she was a burden to them whenever they were around, so she didn't understand why he would want her to bother him like that.

Once they reached her house, Cora thanked him, “I really appreciate all of this.” She never really had anyone be as nice as Ryan. It really made a difference to Cora, it gave her a little hope that maybe there were more people like him. Grabbing her bag, Cora opened the door and got out, “Thanks again.” Cora walked up the sidewalk to her front door.

---

“You wouldn’t be bothering me at all,” Cooper told her, he didn’t like the fact that she seemed to consider herself a burden. He turned to look at her, “Where are your parents?” Cooper didn’t want to be too curious, but he didn’t like the idea of her being alone all the time.

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Ryan nodded, offering her a smile as he finished up his ice cream cone, doing his best to avoid making a mess in his car. "No problem, Cora. Just text me or call if you need anything, or when you figure out what you want to do for our project." He smiled and waved as she got out of the car, waiting and watching to make sure she got in her house alright. The last thing he'd want was for something bad to happen when he could have been around to stop it.

---

Finley frowned when he asked about her parents, fidgeting with her fingers anxiously as she avoided his gaze. "Parents..? Oh, they.. they live in another house, somewhere else, with their kids.. I live in this one." Her father was some famous politician, and she was the result of an affair he had with his secretary. Instead of owning up to it he'd paid the secretary off and promised to raise the kid, but in reality had just dumped her off in another state for nannies to raise until she was able to cook for herself, her step mother only stopping by every few months to yell at her for something and to leave a few hundred dollars for food or clothes.

Cora smiled slightly as she walked up the sidewalk, reaching the front door. As she unlocked it, she glanced back at Ryan and waved before stepping inside. Cora turned to lock the door, hearing it click once, she did it two more times before walking up to her bedroom to work on ideas for her project with Ryan.

---

Hearing her answer, Cooper frowned, “They live in another house? So you’re here by yourself?” He felt bad for her, he couldn’t imagine living in a house alone. Not only was she alone at school, but she came home to an empty house. Cooper looked at her, “I’m serious Finley, if you get bored or anything call me and we can talk or I can stop over.” He really didn’t like the idea of her being all by herself.

@ katahdin

@ foREVerYours.

Once Cora was inside Ryan drove himself home, texting his coach to let him know that he wouldn't be at practice today, and then texting his mom to let her know that he'd be home early. Once home he made himself a sandwich for lunch before going upstairs to work on their project while he ate, coming up with a list of things that they could possibly include in their project, planning on sending Cora a text or email later in the afternoon to share his thoughts with her.

---

Finley nodded a little in confirmation when Cooper asked if she was here by herself, glancing up at him nervously, shaking her head a little when he told her that she could call him whenever she wanted. "It's fine, really... I don't mind being alone, I'm used to it. Besides, I'm sure you're busy with sports stuff and homework and whatever else, I don't want to distract you and take your time away from the things that you like."