Cook~3

She stumbled outside, the cold air smacking her awake. She lit a cigarette with shaking hands, each drag pulling her a little further from the blur inside.

As she blew out a cloud of smoke, she noticed movement nearby- two, actually. Naomi and Emily. They were standing by the water, their voices low but clearly filled with tension. Tess couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, intriguing her more. It ended quickly—Naomi walked off one way, Emily hesitating for a second before heading in the opposite direction. Tess watched, confused, unsure of what had just unfolded

"You alright, love?"

She flinched slightly. Cook was beside her, hands in pockets, that same familiar smirk on his face.

"What are you doing out here?" she muttered.

"Waiting for Uncle Keith. Need more gear so I can hook up with Kayleigh."

Her face twisted. "You serious?"

"Dead."

"Uh gross! It's her engagement party. And Johnny White's daughter." She scowled, "Fucks sake you don't know when to stop do you?"

He chuckled, plucking the cigarette straight from her fingers and taking a drag. "Relax, Tess. Everything's peachy."

"Peachy?" She scoffed, "That's how your'd describe today?" She scoffed. 

Cook only grinned wider. "Yup. Top dollar." 

She folded her arms,"Well lets hope you have that much optimism when Johnny White's going after your ass."

Cook tilted his head, incredulous."Mate, you know what I'd do to Johnny White?" 

"No and I have no interest in knowing it."  

"Fine but that mans a fuckin' pussy. No doubt. Wouldn't last five minutes with the lady." 

She stared at him, disgust deepening. Snatching her cigarette back, she took a drag.

"Why'd you shag Effy?" she asked suddenly. "You knew Freddie liked her. JJ too. He's your mate, Cook."

He didn't answer right away. Then, with a careless shrug: "Because I can."

Tess scoffed. "That's a shit reason."

His grin faltered—just slightly. "Why do you care?"

She hesitated. She didn't know how to explain it. Didn't want to admit the real reason. That it had unsettled her. That he'd unsettled her.

"Forget it." she muttered, dropping the cigarette and grinding it under her boot.

He met her gaze, grin fading, "You got all weird and stormed off in there. What's up?"

"I don't know, Just needed to get out of there."

A motorcycle rumbled in the distance.Tess stepped back, feeling the abrupt shift Uncle Keith pulled up, shattering whatever weird moment had just passed.

Cook gave her a wink before walking off toward him.

Fucking tosser.

----

After that strange exchange with Cook outside, Tess stepped back inside the boat, the heat and noise swallowed her again, the bass line like a heartbeat too fast. She blinked, eyes adjusting to the blur of sequins and fake tans. Everything felt just slightly too sharp now — the high losing its grip, replaced by a dull headache pressing at her temples.

"TESS-AHHH!" Katie's voice cut through the crowd like a blade.

Tess didn't have time to move before Katie grabbed her hand and spun her around clumsily, nearly knocking into a server with a tray of champagne.

"Jesus christ," Tess muttered, laughing despite herself, swaying on her feet as Katie beamed at her.

"There you are! I thought maybe you'd fallen overboard or something." Katie leaned in, eyes wild, clearly still riding whatever she'd taken hours ago. "Where'd you go, huh?"

"Just had a smoke outside. With Cook."

"Ooooo," Katie cooed immediately, dragging out the syllable like a warning. She wiggled her eyebrows. "Didn't know you were into that kinda thing."

Tess rolled her eyes and cut her off. "No way."

Katie threw her hands up, mock innocent. "I'm just teasing. I know you'd never stoop that low."

Tess raised a brow. "You think he's that bad?"

Katie snorted. "Cook? Please. Hasn't got a thought in his head that isn't either sex or violence." She tilted her head, examining Tess. "You don't fancy him, do you?"

"No!" Tess said defensively, avoiding the question. "He's a dick."

Katie stared at her for a second like Tess had just claimed the earth was flat, then laughed and spun away.

Before Tess could answer properly, another pair stumbled into them — Effy and Pandora, both wobbling slightly. Effy was laughing about something that didn't make sense, eyeliner smudged under her eyes, hair falling in her face. Pandora looked like she was walking underwater, eyes wide and glossy, a dazed smile stuck on her lips.

Katie leaned in, watching them with a curious squint. "This her first time?"

Effy gave a vague shrug, not even looking.

Katie let out a whistle. "Fucking hell. Can't believe she swallowed that shit. Literally just popped it like a Tic Tac."

She looked at Pandora again — the way she was half-holding onto Effy's arm, half-floating — and laughed. "Crazy bitch."

Pandora swayed slightly where she stood, blinking slow and strange like she wasn't really seeing anything. Her lips were parted, her skin too pale now — the soft pink of earlier drained to a grey-green. Tess watched the wobble in her knees and felt it coming before anyone else did.

"Um," Pandora mumbled, then clutched her stomach. "I feel... funny."

"Shit," Tess muttered, stepping forward as Pandora leaned sideways like a collapsing tent.

"She gonna puke?" Katie asked, barely moving, more fascinated than concerned.

Effy just giggled, unbothered as she twirled a piece of Pandora's hair like it was ribbon. "She's fine."

"No, she's not." Tess was already steadying her, one arm behind her back, trying to keep her upright. "Does anyone have a bag or something—?"

Blank stares. No help.

Of course not.

Tess exhaled sharply, already scanning the hallway. "Right. I'll find something."

She left them huddled there, half-laughing, half-useless, as she pushed her way down the narrow corridor. The music thumped dimly through the walls. She passed a couple snogging violently in a doorway and sidestepped an abandoned tray of sushi before she spotted Kayleigh walking down the hall in her glitter dress. Kayleigh clocked Tess with a sharp, questioning glare, one eyebrow perfectly arched.

Tess gave her a fake smile that barely touched her eyes — the best she could muster — and Kayleigh returned it with a smirk full of judgement before flicking her hair and continuing down the corridor like royalty.

Tess rolled her eyes and yanked open the next door she came to, hoping for a bathroom, or even a cupboard. Anything with a bin.

It was some kind of storage closet — half-empty boxes stacked up, coats on hooks, leftover party stuff shoved against the walls. She bent down, rummaging around for something, anything.

"I can see your knickers, you know," a voice drawled behind her.

Tess jumped, knocking into a crate.

She turned sharply, heart thudding. "Fuck, Cook—"

He was sitting on the other side of the closet, arms folded, that same shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

She narrowed her eyes. "You're a fucking pig."

"Yeah, but a charming one."

Tess scoffed, returning to the pile of things she was looking through until she heard the rustle of a plastic bag — and she turned just in time to see him tilt his head back and swallow something.

No — all of it.

A full bag of powder. Gone in one breath.

Tess blinked, stunned. "What the fuck did you just do?!"

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned wider. "You'll see, princess. You'll see."

He just winked, already turning toward the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked, bewildered.

He didn't answer right away. Just reached for her wrist and tugged her toward the corridor.

"Come on," he said, that manic spark already dancing in his eyes. "You won't wanna miss this."

And just like that, Tess was being dragged back toward the chaos — part of her wanting to resist, another part too curious not to follow.

-----

He let go just as they reached the edge of the crowd. Tess stumbled to a halt, breath caught in her throat, watching in horror as he strode forward, climbing the small makeshift stage like he belonged there. He was up to something.

The crowd fell into a confused silence.

"What's he doing now?" Effy's voice floated over Tess's shoulder, thick with amusement.

Katie leaned forward, squinting like she was trying to make sense of a mirage. "Is he gonna sing?"

Freddie, perched on a barstool nearby, shook his head, exasperated. "Oh shit. This is gonna end badly"

But there he was. Cook, standing centre-stage, bathed in too-bright disco lights, his shirt half-unbuttoned and a glint in his eye.

He brought the mic to his lips, voice booming, almost theatrically: "Ladies and gentlemen... I'd like to dedicate this next one to a very, very special lady—"

"Oh, please someone record this," Tess said, half-laughing but already bracing for impact.

And then he started singing.

And somehow—somehow—he didn't suck.

Actually... his voice was good. A little slurred, but there was something real in it.

A ripple went through the crowd. Confused murmurs shifted to surprise, and then to reluctant cheers.

Even Tess felt her stomach twist. Not just from secondhand embarrassment like she expected — but from the way he looked so sure. He wasn't just taking the piss. He was enjoying himself.

Cook started working the crowd, weaving through tables like he was on a catwalk, grabbing the hands of startled old ladies and twirling them like ballroom partners, making them burst into laughter. At one point, he leapt off the stage entirely, strutting through the room like he owned it before then circling toward Kayleigh with a devilish grin.

He locked eyes with Tess mid-chorus — just for a second — and her breath caught in her throat.

She didn't know what the look meant. If he was trying to make her jealous, trying to prove something, or if this was just the drugs talking. Maybe it was all of it.

Still, she couldn't look away.

"I write the songs that make the whole world sing," he belted out, his gaze sweeping over the room but always returning to Tess.

But Tess's attention snapped away as her eyes caught something else.

Across the room, Johnny White stood completely still, arms crossed, face unreadable — except for his eyes. Cold. Calculating. Fixed on Cook like a sniper lining up a shot.

Tess's stomach dropped. She leaned toward Katie. "This isn't gonna end well."

Katie was still watching the stage, tipsy and only half-focused. "Mmhmm."

And then — just as Cook belted out the final chorus, stretching it into a full-on dramatic finish — it happened.

The bottle smashed across the back of his head, glass shattering mid-note. Cook's body lurched forward with the force of it, mic slipping from his fingers.

Cook staggered, dazed — then two of Johnny's guys were on him before he could fall, grabbing his arms and dragging him toward a side door like he was nothing but rubbish being cleared from the stage.

----

It had been a while since Cook's performance — and still, no sign of him. Or Freddie, for that matter, who'd gone off muttering something about sorting it out before someone got properly hurt.

Tess kept glancing toward the stage, chewing the inside of her cheek. A tension had sunk into her bones that she couldn't shake.

"Should we... go find them?" JJ whispered.

"Don't be dramatic," Katie muttered, eyes still on the stage.

But then—

CRASH.

A wet, squelchy thud echoed through the venue. Heads turned. A collective gasp rippled through the room.

And just like that — Cook came flying from the balcony above the stage and landed face-first in the massive, overly decorated cake.

The entire dessert exploded like a grenade.

"MY FUCKING DRESS!" Kayleigh screeched, her scream piercing over the music as bright pink frosting splattered across the front of her yellow dress.

Cook didn't move. He just sat up in the wreckage, bits of sponge falling from his shoulders.

But worse — far worse — was the sight of the fiancé's family, seated just below the cake, now covered in icing and bits of fondant.

One of them stood, furious, brushing cake off his neon green Adidas tracksuit. "Look at my tracksuit, you wheezy little prick!" he shouted up toward the stage.

Tess felt her eyes widen. Katie's jaw dropped.

"What'd you say?" came the slow, venomous voice of Johnny White, standing up near the balcony railing.

The guy stepped forward, grinning now. "I said you're a wheezy cunting prick... and we've all fucked your daughter, haven't we lads!?"

Behind him, all the blokes nodded and raised their drinks in agreement.

Tess burst out laughing at the same time as Katie. It was too surreal.

"What you fucking saying!?" Johnny White roared — and then, without hesitation, he launched himself off the same balcony Cook had just fallen from, arms swinging as he barrelled into the group of men.

That's when everything exploded.

Tables flipped. Plates flew. Someone hurled a bottle of Prosecco that shattered against the DJ booth. Cake was airborne. Champagne sprayed like a fire hose.

Tess ducked instinctively as a slab of icing-covered sponge whizzed past her ear.

"Shit!" Katie shrieked, grabbing her arm. "We need to go!"

JJ squealed and Effy tried to shield Pandora, who was barely making it towards the door.

"Fucking hell," Tess muttered, grabbing at her skirt. Her legs were sticking to the floor with every step. That's when she turned back — scanning the wreckage — and realised Cook was still on the stage, laughing like a lunatic.

"COOK!" she shouted over the madness, elbowing her way toward him. "What the fuck are you doing?"

He was now sitting up on the stage, laughing like a maniac, like he was proud of the mess he'd caused.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" she yelled, yanking him by the wrist.

He didn't resist. Just laughed harder as he let her drag him off the stage and out of the madness.

They ran. Past shrieking guests, dodging flung profiteroles and toppling chairs. At one point, Cook swiped a bottle off a table and chucked it behind them just for fun.

Tess couldn't breathe — half from running, half from laughing.

"Slow down!" she gasped as they rounded the corner into a tunnel behind the venue. "There's fucking cake all over me!"

Cook glanced down at her, grinning. Her top was streaked with frosting, her cheek dotted with pink. "I think it looks good on you," he said, swiping some off her shoulder and licking his finger. "Mmm. Lemon. Not bad."

"You're disgusting."

He just laughed and kept pulling her forward. And for a moment — just a moment — she felt the chaos melt. It was just him, and her, and the thud of their footsteps echoing in the piss-scented tunnel.

They caught up with the rest of the group at the end of the tunnel — Effy leaning against the wall, JJ hyperventilating, Freddie pacing. Everyone looked wrecked.

"Cool party," Effy finally said.

"Cheers," Cook replied, panting.

Freddie, red-faced and furious, stepped forward. "You're fucking unbelievable."

Cook just shrugged, still smiling. "I needed to get laid, man."

"You're always fucking trying to get laid!" Freddie shot back.

"I try. I succeed. Right?" Cook turned to the girls, eyes dancing. "Speaking of which, any of you girls fancy it?"

Katie scrunched her nose. "No, thanks! You're repulsive."

"Weird girl?" he asked, lighting a cigarette.

Pandora blushed. "You're beautiful, but no. My tuppence feels all funny."

Cook's gaze landed on Tess. "How about it then, Peachy?"

And for a split second — her heart did something stupid. She thought about the tunnel, his hand in hers, that mad sparkle in his eye.

And then she remembered who he was.

"Fuck off," she muttered, swaying in Katie's arms.

"Looks like it's just me and you then, Eff," Cook said breezily.

Effy gave Freddie a subtle look and said flatly, "Come on, Amy Winehouse. Home."

"See ya!" Katie waved with a grin. "Let's go, Tess — before he breaks into another musical number."

Tess didn't say anything. Her heart was still hammering, her head still spinning. She kept walking, frosting stuck to her shoes, the chaos (and Freddie and Cooks fighting) behind her fading into echo.

----

As Tess and Katie walked home, the cold night air stung their cheeks, but the buzz of chaos still clung to them.

"Well, that turned out alright," Tess said with a small laugh, wiping icing off her sleeve.

"Alright?" Katie snorted. "It was fucking legendary. I got the whole thing—Cook singing, the cake, Johnny White losing his shit."

"Send it to me," Tess said, smiling for a second before her face twisted, maybe even with jealousy. "Honestly, though, that Kayleigh girl winds me up."

"She's such a brain-dead cow," Katie spat. "And her dad? Absolute psycho. Thinks he's a gangster, looks like a boiled ham."

Tess kicked a loose stone down the pavement. "And Cook... I can't believe he was actually trying it on with her. At her engagement party. Like—how desperate can you be?"

"She's not even fit," Katie said, almost offended. "And she's shagged half her fiancé's family. Literally. His uncle, his brother—wasn't his dad one of them?"

Tess wrinkled her nose. "It's gross. And Cook just jumps in like it's a challenge. Pathetic"

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Well, he is a walking hard-on. You act surprised."

"All he cares about is getting laid, and he doesn't even notice how messed up things are around him. It's like he's blind to everything except his own ego." Tess ranted

Katie laughed, nudging her. "And yet here you are, still talking about him."

"Shut up," Tess muttered, swatting her arm.

Katie suddenly froze. "Wait. Where's Ems?"

"She went home early. I was outside for a smoke and saw her and Naomi arguing. Like, full-on bickering."

Katie's expression darkened. "She didn't go off with her, did she?"

"No, no—they walked off in opposite directions," Tess assured her. "But would it be that bad if she did?"

Katie gave her a sharp look. "I don't want my sister around that bitch. She'll probably try and turn her or something."

Tess bit back a reply. She hated when Katie said stuff like that, but she was too tired—and too caked in frosting—to start that argument.

They got to Tess's house and slipped in quietly, hoping to avoid anyone still up. No such luck.

Michelle sat on the edge of the couch, Tony sprawled out next to her. "Jesus, what happened to you two?"

Tony glanced over from where he was sprawled across the sofa. "Evening, Tess. Tess's mate."

"Hi, Tony," Tess said dryly.

Michelle gave them a once-over. "You've got cake in your hair. What kind of party did this Cook have?"

"Was Effy there?" Tony questioned

"No!" Katie said, exchanging a quick glance with Tess before they both burst into giggles.

"There was a food fight," Tess muttered, pulling off her shoes. "We got caught in the crossfire. Cook literally caused a riot over a girl who probably shagged her cousin."

"You two are a mess," Michelle said, laughing as she turned back to her wine.

As they climbed the stairs, Katie nudged Tess. "Tony's totally hung, Isn't he?"

"Ugh ew Katie." Tess groaned. "He's so weird."

"Yeah, but like, a hot weirdo!" Katie grinned, her eyes sparkling as they reached the top.

They disappeared into Tess's room, still giddy from the madness of the night, the smell of cake and chaos trailing behind them.