Chapter Text
It was starting to become too much again.
Cooper ran a hand through his hair, eyeing the to-do list he'd scratched up when keeping track in his head started to make him dizzy.
Soccer practice. Baseball practice. A math test, a big science assignment, and almost certainly a pop quiz in history. Logan wanted to hang out, and so did Mateo - but they were all supposed to meet at the Night Bureau, too, so he might be able to get away with combining those into that. Unless Mr. Oz kept him busy repairing old gadgets. Or if he wanted to get a headstart on their Dream Crafting training. Which… that was tonight, wasn't it?
The paper tore slightly. Cooper blinked, forcing his muscles to relax. He couldn't get worked up so early in the morning, not when he had all of this to do.
He sighed, tossing it and letting it glide silently across his desk. It settled gently into the corner, its purpose fulfilled for now.
Cooper stared at it a moment longer before shaking his head out, his hair falling just above his eyes. He had to get a grip.
There was literally nothing he could do about this anymore.
Not that, technically, there ever had been. But - he grabbed his schoolbooks, stuffing them in his bag a little too forcefully - he'd been able to try.
He'd run away. Maybe he hadn't gotten very far, and maybe it had only lasted a couple of weeks, but he'd tasted freedom. He'd still had a lot to do, of course; it wasn't like it had been easy.
But everything he'd done had been for him. Lately… he wasn't sure that anything was.
Cooper grabbed his cleats, snatching a wistful look out the window as he passed. It wasn't worth thinking about anymore. It was absolutely impossible for him to ever run away again, even if it was just for a bit. Even if he just wanted a break.
His mom would totally be on his case, for one. When the school told her he wanted to run away, even when it wasn't true that time, she'd barricaded the door. Not to mention how she basically knew his entire schedule, and how he was an awful liar. He was lucky he could explain away going to the Night Bureau with "hanging out with his friends". It was technically true, but it did make him a little nervous to say it. He tried not to. He knew she could tell.
But that wasn't even the real problem. That was his friends.
Not because he'd feel guilty ditching them - although he probably would. They'd just… they'd track him down so easily, in the Dream World, and with Mr. Oz around, they'd never let him stay away from home for long. They would rat him out. At the very least, Mr. Oz would. He was his teacher, of course he would.
Cooper bit his cheek, sending a cursory glance around his room to make sure he didn't miss anything. He grabbed the to-do list off his desk, stuffing it into his nearly full backpack. The sight of it was enough to make his head start spinning again.
Leaving was impossible. He had to stop thinking about it.
"Mornin', Coop!" Logan yelled across the street. He saw everyone else turn from the food truck to look at him, waving good morning.
Cooper kept walking, but internally, he was hesitant. He didn't have time for this today, and he didn't really want to talk to his friends. He didn't really want breakfast, either, but if he skipped that, he'd only feel worse later.
"Hey." He forced out when he was closer, ignoring the way Mateo looked at him.
He brushed past the other three to order, avoiding direct eye contact with Mrs. Castillo as he mentally ran through his list again. He could probably do some last minute studying on the way to school, if he could get his notes out of his backpack. He'd put them on the bottom, because of course he had.
"You… alright, Coop?" Mateo spoke, pretty close to his head. Cooper startled, stumbling back to look at him.
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Cooper adjusted his backpack. "Just busy."
"Hah!" Logan snickered, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. "What else is new."
Cooper ignored him, reaching up to get his food from Mrs. Castillo.
"Thank you." He gave her a short smile, pulling his backpack off to shove it on top of the rest of his stuff. He didn't have time to eat this, actually. He ignored Zoey's gaze burning into his back from the food truck.
"I gotta get to school early, sorry." He glanced around at the others, not really looking at them. "I'm supposed to-"
His heart stalled. "Oh, crap!"
"Cooper?" Mateo tried tentatively, but Cooper barely registered it, already hurrying off in the opposite direction of the school.
His brothers wanted him to join the tennis team at school - he was practically in everything else already - but he'd left the forms at one of their houses, he wasn't even sure if he knew which one- he was supposed to hand that in today, it was already so late for signups, Coach Jeffries would never let him in if he put it off another day, he was already on such thin ice with the soccer team…
Cooper took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair until it hurt. Okay. He had to remember where he was even going if he didn't want to be late for everything.
He stopped walking abruptly at a street corner, squeezing his eyes shut. Okay. He'd been practicing football yesterday, and they'd… they'd gone back home to all have dinner together, hadn't they?
Cooper bit his tongue hard. Obviously. His mom had to sign the forms. Why would he have-
Cooper shook his head, whipping back around to go home. At this rate, he was going to be late for school. And his mom would wonder why he wasn't almost there yet. He was supposed to give Coach the forms before class - when was he supposed to do it now?
Cooper slammed the door open harder than he'd intended, but he was in a rush, so he didn't dwell on it.
"Sorry, mom, forgot the forms." He hurried by to grab them off the counter (remembering the mental note he'd made last night to remember that he'd left them here. Helpful).
"Cooper, shouldn't you be at school already?" His mom turned from where she was making a coffee, eyebrow raised.
Cooper was already halfway out the door. "Yes, I just forgot these!"
The door was closed and he was speedwalking down the street before she could respond.
Okay. Not the greatest start to the day, but he could salvage this. If he was really fast, he could maybe make it to school on time. If not, hopefully he wouldn't be too late. He didn't usually need the full time for the test, anyway. He could give the forms to Coach at lunch, probably. The others could do without him for a few minutes.
Cooper breathed deeply, trying to calm down despite his walking speed making his heart race through his chest. It was fine. He'd be fine.
"Cooper, you're late." Ms. Putnam frowned at him, voice quiet. They'd already started the test.
Cooper bit his tongue, ignoring the metallic taste. "Sorry, Ms. Putnam." He whispered, quickly stepping to her desk, and uncomfortably aware that he sounded like he'd just run eight marathons.
Ms. Putnam was still frowning at him, and he smiled apologetically at her. The clock was ticking loudly behind him, and he could practically hear his heart still ramming in his chest.
"Hmm. This isn't like you, Cooper." Ms. Putnam eyed him, with concern or disappointment or something, before pulling a paper off her pile of tests. "I'm afraid I can't give you any extra time, but here you are. Go get started, now."
"Thank you, Ms. Putnam." Cooper breathed, letting relief fill his smile. He hurried over to his empty desk, trying to get out his pencil from his bag as quietly as possible.
Logan and Mateo were looking at him, but he ignored both of them. He had a lot of catching up to do.
Cooper hadn't failed a lot of tests in his life. But it seemed like his mind was anywhere but math calculations, and his body just wouldn't relax enough to let him focus for the entirety of the test. He was still full of adrenaline, actually, as if he was in the middle of a football tie game and everyone on the field was chasing him for the ball.
Or as if he'd just failed his math test.
He'd definitely just failed his math test.
It was hard to work on his science assignment with that reverberating around his mind. It didn't help that Mr. Oz knew him so well, either - he'd felt a concerned gaze on him the moment he'd entered the classroom, and it was almost as distracting as the fact that he'd just failed his math test. He wished he'd leave him alone.
But he wished Logan would leave him alone, too, and that seemed just about out of his reach.
"I can't help you right now, dude." Cooper grit his teeth. "I'm so behind. Can't you ask Mateo?"
"What's Teo know about science?" Logan scoffed. "Everyone knows you're the smart one. I'm sure you can handle it!"
Cooper wasn't sure he could handle anything right now, but he relented, turning to look at what Logan had so far. The sooner he helped him out, the sooner he could focus on his own.
Well. Logan's assignment was done, at least.
It was fine. He could finish his own… sometime. He would find time. He would make time, he would worry about it later, he just had to get through the rest of his checklist for today.
Which, unfortunately, had correctly listed a pop quiz in history. Cooper wasn't sure he could even process the questions, right at the moment, but he wasn't about to fail two times in the same morning. And on the bright side, Coach taught this class, and it was right before lunch. He could catch him here and give him the forms.
Cooper took a deep breath, staring down at his quiz, forcing his eyes to focus. This was where his day would turn around. He was sure of it.
"Hey, uh, Coach." Cooper hung back until the other kids were gone, ignoring the burning sensation at the back of his eyes.
He rummaged through his bag until the tennis forms resurfaced. "I brought these. I, uh, hope that's okay."
Coach Jeffries leaned over the desk to take them, scanning over each side briefly. He frowned slightly, looking back over at Cooper.
"I'm sorry, Cooper, but these were due yesterday." He handed them back, looking apologetic. "I can't take 'em. But maybe next year, eh?"
Cooper felt like he'd swallowed a rock. "A-are you sure? If it's only a day late, I-"
"Sorry, Coop. That wouldn't be fair to the others." Coach's voice was firmer this time.
Cooper's mouth felt dry.
"But," Coach's eyes softened. "I didn't think you needed to join, anyway. You're in enough teams as it is, don'tcha think?"
"I-I guess." Cooper felt lost. What was he supposed to tell his brothers now?
But Coach Jeffries seemed firm in his decision, and he was already packing up to leave. "Now go on, go get some lunch, kid."
Cooper didn't think he could eat right now, but he nodded numbly, heading to the cafeteria. He was late to see his friends now. They were going to ask about that. He really hoped they wouldn't.
"Cooper!" Izzie spoke up immediately, before he'd even sat down. She rose to a half-stand, slamming her hands down on the table. "What's up with you today?"
Cooper didn't know how to respond to that. "What?"
"You were so off this morning!" Izzie sat back down, frowning at him. "And all I've been hearing from these two since we got here is 'Ohhh, Cooper looks so sad today' and 'Oh, man, what happened to Cooper?'. And then you didn't show up!"
"I'm here now." Cooper met her gaze. But it was ten times more concerned-looking than her tone had let on, so he broke away quickly, kind of wishing he'd gotten food now. Just to pretend like he was gonna have some, at least.
"I'm fine."
"Dude, come on." Logan nudged him, eyebrow raised. "You really think we're that dumb?"
Cooper didn't look at him.
"Coop, you can talk to us." Mateo's voice was laced in worry, way moreso than the others. "Is something-"
"Everything's fine!" Cooper snapped, glaring at the table, ignoring the burning in his eyes and the hardness in his stomach.
His friends went silent, even Izzie and Logan.
Good going, Cooper. He gnawed at his cheek, not really caring when it started to hurt.
"Cooper, I don't think everything's fine." Izzie finally spoke up, gently, and Cooper shook his head out before the dizziness came back.
"I've gotta go." He stood up, not bothering to make up an excuse. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, leaving before anyone could protest.
Sure, he'd inevitably have to confront them again after school, at the Night Bureau. But that gave him time to collect himself. The day would have to turn around at some point. Right?
Cooper stood at the doors of the Night Bureau, fighting off the urge to turn around and go home. Incidentally, he was also fighting off the urge to cry.
It wasn't like he really wanted to go home, either. Then he'd have to tell his mom he'd messed up with the tennis team, and he'd probably end up buckling and telling her he'd failed a test, and a quiz, and skipped out on soccer practice. And then, after all that, he'd end up spending the time he would've spent here catching up on his science assignment.
But he didn't want to face his friends. Not like this. And not after he'd snapped at them earlier.
They'd definitely have told Mr. Oz by now, too. He was showing up admittedly pretty late - on purpose, this time. But maybe that was a mistake. They'd all be filled in on how he was all worked up today, and Logan would tell them he'd skipped, and if they reacted the way he was assuming they would, their schedule would be all messed up now. Would they still be able to do Dream Craft training if he couldn't even walk in and see them? Everybody knew he was the only one that really needed it. Mateo and Izzie were naturals, and Logan couldn't do it at all, so it was pretty obvious Mr. Oz had only set this up for him.
And now he was letting him down, too.
Cooper looked down at his shoes. If he was going to be a disappointment, the least he could do was show up and own up to it.
Everyone's eyes were on him instantly.
Cooper shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to own up to it, actually.
"Uh, hey, guys." Cooper smiled, probably not very convincingly, and closed the door behind him. "Sorry I'm late, I got-"
"Where were you today, bro?" Logan frowned at him, hands on his hips. "You weren't at practice, and then you didn't show up here!"
Cooper felt a pang, but he brushed it off. "I-"
"And what was that at lunch?" Mateo was frowning, too, his arms crossed.
Cooper stalled. "Um-"
"Guys, guys!" Izzie turned around to chide them. "You're freaking him out again!"
She turned back around, cheerfully contrasting everyone else's faces. "Now, why don't we just let Cooper explain?"
Cooper stared back at them, mouth open slightly. Logan and Mateo looked expectant, and Mr. Oz was eyeing him scrutinizingly. He hadn't even noticed Zoey was here, but she was watching him closely. Even Izzie was too intense to look at, when he knew how she actually felt.
What was he even supposed to explain?
"I-I, uh…" Cooper shrank back slightly, quickly analyzing his options here. He could just run, if he really wanted. But he'd done that at lunch, and look where that had gotten him. This was way more intimidating than their mini interrogation would have been, and he'd inevitably have to see them again in the Dream World, where it would be even worse.
…He wasn't sure what other options he had, though.
"I don't know." He settled for, lamely, looking at the floor so he wouldn't have to see their faces.
Nobody said anything for a minute. Cooper bit down on his tongue. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be at home, either.
“Don’t know what?” Logan spoke, loudly breaking the silence.
Cooper stayed silent, though, even when murmuring filled the room. If he spoke, he thought he might cry. And who knows what they'd all do if he started crying.
"Cooper, can I speak with you for a moment?" Mr. Oz's voice rose above the low pool of muttering. "Alone?"
There was an edge to his voice, and while Cooper figured it was probably directed at everybody else, he still felt his entire body freeze up.
And while he didn't respond at all, he still felt the others shuffle past him and out the door, muttering amongst themselves. Even Logan and Zoey left without complaint. Cooper shrunk in on himself even further.
"Cooper." Mr. Oz cleared his throat, his voice much gentler than it had been a moment ago. He sounded a bit unsure. Nervous, maybe. Cooper stared firmly at the floor.
"Is everything okay?"
Cooper forced himself to breathe.
"Y-yes."
"Cooper, come on." His teacher's voice was even softer. Pity? "We can all tell somethin's up."
Cooper just shook his head. He'd done enough damage for one day. He should've just gone home.
Silence again. Cooper shuffled a foot, worried the only sounds in the room were the out of sync old clock on the wall and his own breathing. He hoped his teacher couldn't hear that.
"Here." Mr. Oz spoke again suddenly, standing directly in front of him.
Cooper startled, backing up so fast he nearly fell. He looked him in the face again, finally, and only saw concern.
Mr. Oz nudged something into his hands, and he looked down, confused.
It was just a little blaster gun. Mr. Oz had all sorts of these things laying around here - most of them broken, of course.
"It's just a little somethin' I found the other day." Mr. Oz rubbed the back of his neck. "Supposed to put you to sleep right away, something like that. I just, ah, figured you might like to work on it sometime. See what you can do."
Cooper blinked slowly, turning around the little thing in his hands. That did… sound interesting. There weren't instructions, maybe, but he'd poked around with similar looking stuff in here before. And it had been… pretty fun, when it wasn't stressful.
And this didn't look too stressful.
He nodded absently, still looking down at the gadget, trying to determine how it might work in his head. He barely noticed Mr. Oz guiding him over to sit in the corner, the quiet one where they weren't supposed to touch anything. He didn't notice the others come back in until one of them was crushed under one of Mr. Oz's precarious stacks of files.
And when he did finally look up, watching Logan dig his way out of an ocean of binders, he noticed his head didn't feel so dizzy anymore.
"How's it coming along, Cooper?" Mr. Oz had turned to him, eyeing the gadget in his hands.
Cooper blinked at him. "O-oh, uh, almost there, I think."
He squinted down at it, returning to his tinkering. "Just need a few more adjustments…"
They left him alone while he messed with it, which almost felt strange. Not that his friends never left him alone, but… he wasn't sure the last moment he'd had to himself in general. Doing something for himself, anyway.
Well. Technically this was for Mr. Oz, but it was probably as close as he was gonna get.
It was almost bittersweet when he figured he'd gotten it working again. He'd gotten it fixed - without instructions! But if he was done, he had to return to the real world again. His mostly complete, almost entirely failed to-do list weighed back down on his mind.
He didn't want to yell across the room, so he pushed himself up, ignoring the way he swayed slightly on his feet.
"It's finished." He nodded to the gun in his hands as he walked over to the group, holding onto it securely - he didn't really want to knock anybody out right now.
"Oh, excellent!" Mr. Oz strode over to take it from him, holding it a little less securely as he looked it over from every angle. "Excellent work, Cooper, thank you."
Cooper nodded, already thinking about what he was going to say to his mom when he got home.
Mr. Oz tore his gaze away from the little gun, instead frowning down at Cooper.
"I should probably get home." Cooper scuffed his foot on the carpet. When he spoke again, he tried to kill the bleakness in his voice.
"I'm sorry I didn't help out today."
"Oh, but you did, Cooper." Mr. Oz tapped the gun, as if it was some big service he'd done them.
Cooper just shrugged. He seriously doubted they were going to need that anytime soon. It wasn't like the Rememborator, or the portable defuser ray. It was just a distraction.
Mr. Oz sighed, shoulders deflating. "Is there anything I can do for you, Cooper?"
Cooper stared at him. "What?"
"Obviously somethin's up, and you don't want to share." Oz tapped his foot. "But we still want to support you best we can. Right, gang?"
A series of agreements, ranging from subdued muttering to enthusiastic cheering, rang out. Cooper glanced around, startled.
"So is there anything you need, Coop?" Mr. Oz set the gun down on his desk, turning his full attention to Cooper. "Just name it."
Cooper stared at him blankly. What did he need…?
"I don't…" Cooper ran a hand through his hair. "...think I need anything?"
Mr. Oz frowned again. Okay, maybe that was the wrong answer.
"He's not done your science thing!" Logan yelled from where he was rapidly spinning a globe around. Cooper glared at him.
"Yeah, no thanks to you!" He snapped, looking away hotly.
But Mr. Oz seemed to brighten. "The assignment? Oh, you know I can give you an extension on that, no problem."
Cooper snapped his head back to look at him. "What?"
He didn't want an extension! That was just something else to factor into next week that wasn't there before, and he'd have to juggle everything else he was already supposed to do, not to mention he'd never asked for an extension in his life, he wasn't going to start now, especially when he didn't actually need one.
"No, no, I don't need-"
"It's due tomorrow." Oz cut him off, gently, and Cooper shook his head out, running his hand through his hair repeatedly.
Fine. That was fine. There was no way Dream Crafting training was getting done tonight, so he just wouldn't sleep. Plenty of new time.
"I-I'll get it done." Cooper insisted, snatching his backpack off the floor.
"It really isn't any trouble." Mr. Oz mostly looked confused now. "Mateo got an extension just this morning."
Mateo stuffed his hands in his pockets, flustered. "Uh, yeah."
He offered an awkward smile. "It's really not a big deal, Coop."
"Not to you, maybe." Cooper muttered, heading towards the door. It's not like Mateo actually cared; he spent every class drawing. His dad wouldn't flip if he had a bad grade. He just had different expectations.
"Cooper-"
But he was already out the door. A part of him wished he had it in him to never come back.
What an awful thing to think.
Cooper sighed, cracks forming as he started his walk home. He hated lashing out like that. Especially when they were just trying to help him.
He shook his head out, attempting to reseal his fractured thoughts. It wasn't their fault. He'd been snapping at them all day, for nothing.
That thought reverberated around his mind the rest of the way home. It didn't exactly make him feel better, but at least he wasn't mad at the others anymore. They weren't the ones who deserved it.
“Hi, ma.” Cooper called as he stepped inside, kicking his shoes off. “I'm back.”
“Cooper, hon.” His mom’s voice rang out from the living room. “Could I talk to you for a minute?”
Cooper's heart dropped like a rock. As if he needed more fuel to add to the fire.
Still, he only barely hesitated before dragging himself to the living room and sitting down right across from his mom. The walk had let him numb himself slightly. Not much could possibly make this day worse, after all.
“I heard you failed your math test this morning.”
Cooper instantly felt sick, numbness vanishing as if he hadn't been given enough anesthetic. Okay. It was getting worse.
“That isn't like you, Cooper.” His mom's voice was gentle, but not in a sympathetic sort of way. “Have you been keeping up with your studying?”
No. Cooper wanted to laugh. No, he hadn't. He'd been saving the world and spending time with his friends and getting the worst sleep of his life. But of course he couldn't say that.
“I've, um,” Cooper shifted uncomfortably. “I've been trying.” It wasn't even a lie.
“Cooper, honey.” His mom frowned. “You've been acting so strange lately.”
Cooper stiffened.
“Is it those friends of yours?” Her frown deepened, and she fixed him with a look. “Sports prodigy or not, I always thought that Logan boy was a bad influence.”
“He's not a bad influence!” Cooper snapped. “His grades have nothing to do with mine!”
“Then how do you explain today?” She gave him a checkmate look, as if he couldn't possibly explain his way out of this one.
And he couldn't. Not well, anyway. Not without exposing their whole secret dream operation. Like she'd even believe that.
“I just had a bad day!” Cooper glared at a crack in the wall. “Can I not just have a bad day?”
His mom made a noncommittal humming noise. Cooper glared at his socks instead.
“Maybe your brothers can tutor you.” She tapped her leg, thinking, as if what she said wasn't already being cemented. “Until your grades are back to where they should be.”
Cooper stifled a sigh. Fine. That was annoying, but not the biggest deal ever.
“Alright, mom.” He stood up. “I have to go finish an assignment, so.”
“Of course, hon.” She looked up at him, leaning back in the chair. “I'm afraid I'm going to have to ground you, too. But I'm sure you knew that was coming.”
Cooper hissed under his breath. He did, yeah, but that was inconvenient.
“For the next week. Alright?” She gave him a look. “No running off with your friends. You can catch up on your studying.”
“Mm. Okay.” Cooper shifted his backpack straps. Not the worst. Not the best, either.
Neither of them spoke for a moment, so he took that as his cue to escape. He wanted to slam his bedroom door, but he didn't. There was no point in making a scene.
It wasn't until he was mostly done the assignment, well into the night, that he realized he hadn't eaten anything the entire day.
There was still a burrito in his bag. He put it in the fridge for morning, before he finally went to bed.
Surprisingly, the Landing was empty when he arrived. Maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise, though. It was easily two or three in the morning, and the others would've gone to sleep ages ago. What was the point hanging around for him?
With a pang, he realized they probably weren't doing training, either, if they'd gone into one of the dream realms. That was real confirmation that it had only been set up for him from the start. He was slowing them all down.
Cooper stood stiffly from his bed. If he was a burden here, he wasn't going to go looking just to drag them down. The worst part was, if he did, they'd probably still try to train. For his sake more than anything else, no matter how they might try to play it off.
That is, if they weren't mad at him for not showing up in time, or for treating them awfully the entire day. Cooper grit his teeth as he forced himself to walk across the Landing, finding that, maybe, he would prefer the anger.
It didn't matter, though. He wasn't going to look for them.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there beneath their tree, stewing over whether to tinker with his dream car, before the others showed up. They came in through one of the portal gates, laughing and chattering about something he couldn't quite make out.
They looked so happy. Even Zoey seemed more relaxed ever since they'd taken care of the Nightmare King. Cooper considered waking up right then and there, before they noticed him. Before he could bring down the mood again.
Unfortunately, he was wearing a bright red racing suit in a wide open stretch of grass.
“Yo, Coop!” Logan shouted as their eyes caught. Cooper forced himself to smile as he ran over. “You finally made it!”
“Yeah.” Cooper's eyes wandered to the rest of the group. “Hey, dude.”
“Where were you, huh?” Logan dipped back into his field of vision. “I thought you still had a bedtime or whatever.”
Cooper glared at him, pushing him lightly out of the way. “I was busy, man, lay off.”
“Well, I hope it wasn't with that assignment.” Mr. Oz spoke up as the others approached. “It's not worth losin’ sleep over, Cooper, really.”
Cooper didn't say anything. He knew it was just a confirmation.
“You shouldn't do that, you know.” Zoey piped up suddenly, cutting off whatever Oz was about to say. Cooper could only assume the bite in her voice stemmed from concern, but it still made him flinch.
“You'll pay for it later.” She crossed her arms. “Trust me.”
“You think I don't know that?” Cooper snapped back. “I've stayed up late before. Obviously.”
Zoey didn't say anything, and Cooper didn't look at her, because he knew whatever expression she was making would be an unspoken punch to the gut.
“I'm grounded, by the way.” He said again, quieter, when no one else spoke. He stared at the grass. “So don't expect me anywhere but school.”
“Grounded?!” Logan spoke loudly, shattering some of the tension. “What? What for?”
“For how long?” Cooper could hear the frown in Mateo’s voice. “What about our meetings at the Night Bureau?”
“For failing the math test.” This was exactly what he hadn't wanted. “And it's only a week, Teo. Everything's been fine in the Dream World for ages. You won't need me there.”
“Well, that's no fair.” Izzie huffed. “You pass, like, every test! I'm sure you tried your best.”
He didn't want to talk about this. He didn't try his best. There was so much more he could have done.
“No, no, she's right.” Cooper vehemently shook his head, finally looking up. “I need to catch up, guys. I, I haven't been studying as much as I should, my grades have just been getting worse. I can't just hang out all the time. I have responsibilities, y'know?”
“You study every day!” Logan threw his hands up. “That's, like, the most amount of studying ever.”
“I need more study hours per day, Logan.” Cooper gave him a look. Logan didn't study at all, he wouldn't get it.
“How many do you usually study?” Mateo probed. He looked perplexed, for some reason.
Cooper wilted slightly. “Two.” He muttered, looking away again. “One if I stay out too late with you guys.”
It was quiet for a moment, and Cooper was embarrassed enough that he almost wished he'd inflated the numbers a little.
“That's very studious of you, Cooper.” Oz began, carefully, and Cooper flicked his eyes to him. “But I don't think many of my students study quite that extensively.”
Cooper blinked. “I didn't think so.”
“What I'm trying to say,” Oz rubbed the back of his neck. “Is, ah-”
“That that's quite excessive, young man.” Albert interrupted. “You really think you need to study fourteen hours a week for the seventh grade?”
“I mean?” Cooper turned to him, pretending he hadn't been startled by his presence. “Yes?”
“Quit playing dumb.” Zoey cut in again, and this time he wasn't so sure about the concern thing. “That's a ridiculous amount of time and you know it.”
Cooper stared at her. He didn't think any of his friends studied all that much - they had different expectations, after all. But he didn't think it was all that crazy, either. Maybe she'd understand if she met his brothers.
“But you hang out with us all the time.” Mateo looked more confused. “When are you even doing that?”
“And don't you have soccer practice, like, every day?” Logan looked just as confused as Mateo. “How's that even work?”
“Uh.” Cooper wasn't sure what he was even supposed to say. “Scheduling?”
“Dang, you must have a crazy schedule, Coop.” Izzie whistled. “Where do you fit in all your free time?”
Cooper bit his tongue, because that wasn't a question and they both knew it.
“Guys. The point is, I'm grounded.” Cooper glanced at each of them. “And, uh…”
“And?” Mateo tipped his head.
“I, um, I don't really think my mom wants me hanging out with you guys anymore.” Cooper mumbled. “She didn't say that, but, um. You know.”
“I'm still going to, obviously!” He cut in again when he saw the looks on their faces. “Just, I dunno. A little more subtly?”
“Your mom's so lame.” Logan huffed, arms crossed tight across his chest. “Lucky we're stealthy secret agents.”
Zoey cut in before Cooper could refute that. “Why don't you just lie? It's not like she knows you're spending all your time with us in a rundown observatory with your science teacher.” She squinted at him. “I assume.”
Cooper shook his head. “I'm not a great liar.” And he'd definitely be interrogated if he kept up leaving for so long every day.
“No kidding.” Mateo muttered. But then he raised his voice, as if nobody had heard that part. “Well, we've got a whole week to figure it out, right? And it's not like anyone can stop us from hanging out in our sleep.”
“Yeah. I guess not.” Cooper fiddled with his shoelace.
“Or at school.” Logan smirked. “Y'know, unless someone rats us out.”
Mateo and Izzie glared at him, and he put his hands up in defense. “What?”
“Guys.” Cooper shook his head before an argument could ensue. “I'm sure school is fine. Obviously, here is fine. I'll just…” He squinted, staring into the gaps between his friends. “If anybody needs tech stuff, I'll just work on it at home, instead of the Night Bureau.”
And if hanging out was limited to at school and after bed, he'd have a lot more time to do schoolwork, his grades would recover, his family would stop being suspicious, and everything would be fine.
The others didn't look so satisfied, unfortunately.
“What, for forever?” Logan glanced at the others, startled.
“But we'd miss you!” Izzie frowned.
“Cooper, I, ah, think you're missing the point a little there.” Mr. Oz spoke up as if he was stumbling over the finish line. “I'm not sure anyone was concerned over the ‘tech stuff’.”
Cooper grit his teeth. “Well, maybe you should be.” He bit his tongue for a moment, considering.
“Look, can you guys just leave me alone for a bit?” He glanced between their faces, hopefully coming off more worn out than annoyed. “It's just… it's been a long day.”
Wary gazes lingered on him for the millionth time that day, but he kept his mouth shut. There was no sense in snapping this close to the finish line.
“Alright, Coop.” Mateo spoke up reluctantly, leaning forward to put a hand on his shoulder. “But if you need anything…”
“I know.” Cooper mustered up a tired, fed up sort of smile. “Thanks.”
After another final moment of hesitation, the others dispersed, throwing back occasional looks of concern as they settled down around the landing. Fortunately, it didn't take anybody long to distract themselves with light conversation and messing around with extra sand.
Turning away to face the open expanse of the dream world, Cooper tried to force himself to relax. This was it. The day was finally over, if the others weren't mad at him, and if nobody stopped by to harass him again.
But sleep was hardly an escape anymore, when he could dwell on his thoughts just as easily as he did in the waking world. Today would bleed into tomorrow. Not to mention the mess of everything he’d managed to make. Somebody had to clean that up.
Cooper rested his face on his knees with a sigh. It was hard not to think of leaving again when everything was in such a rut. It wasn't like he didn't have a plan. It wasn't like it wouldn't be a huge favour for everyone.
Again, he ran through each excuse. It was just unrealistic to even consider leaving, really.
He tried to ignore the holes that wore into every thought.