Author's Note: Warning: This chapter contains sexual content. See end of the chapter under "Post-Author's Note" for author stuff and news.

My treat: Holy crap, it's seven thousand words long! Cheers!

Chapter 5: Eye of the Storm

Exiting the classroom, Edd found himself tracing through his thoughts. Kevin wanted them to hang out again, which wasn't weird; but he still had his doubts. Kevin was popular, likable, and… he was Kevin. The popular boy that always seemed to say the right things, or give the perfect looks to make almost anyone melt for him.

Shaking his head, Edd looked up to see Jimmy and Sarah talking to Kevin at their lockers. He hadn't really seen them that often, well, at least not at school. The most he knew was that Sarah was on the student council and that she was practically married to her work.

"Yeah, well. At least Fluffy is finally taking Drama again…" Kevin teased as he ran his hand through Jimmy's white hair, causing him to fidget and push him away.

He glared before looking to Edd behind and back to Kevin. "Honestly, Kevin? Stop calling me that!" Jimmy demanded, stamping his foot down.

Grinning, Kevin simply pat him on the head. "I prefer Fluffy. Your hair is really fluffy, man."

Closing her locker, Sarah finished applying her lip liner before pushing her curly bleached blonde hair back. "Kevin, really just stop. You don't know how long it took me to convince him not to dye or cut it- again." She glared before pushing his hand away.

Shrugging, Kevin turned his head to see Edd, clutching his hands around his chest. Frowning slightly, Kevin turned and extended his arm to him. "Hey, come 'ere. It's not like you don't know them, Dee."

Sighing, Edd walked closer, clutching his arms tightly. "Maybe so, but they're your friends, Kevin. And, I'd prefer if you didn't treat me like a lost puppy." He smirked as Kevin immediately moved to defend his words before holding up his hand. "I'm joking, Kevin."

Smirking, Jimmy shrugged. "Sarah is." To this, he received a slap on the back from Sarah. "Geeze! Kidding!" He yelped turning to her.

Giving an innocent smile, Sarah gleefully turned to Kevin. "We need to talk about something; Jimmy, you and Edd hang out for a moment." She nudged her head towards the corner of the hall for Kevin to follow.

Slumping his shoulders, Kevin obliged but not before gently punching Edd's shoulder and walking beside Sarah. Turning to Jimmy, Edd felt his hair stand. "Well then." He crossed his arms once more. "Remind me not to follow Kevin out of the room, he leaves anyway." Edd gave a slight smile that made Jimmy laugh.

"Sarah's not any better. Ever since we became freshmen she's always busy."

Nodding to a bench in the hall, Jimmy followed and sat next to Edd.

"I must say, Jimmy; you look very nice with your new braces!" Edd motioned to his missing headwear.

Grinning, Jimmy shrugged. "Thank you, Edd. Personally, I'm happy to get them. So much easier to talk to people when they aren't focused on the metal wiring around your head."

Nodding, Edd sat back casually. "And easier to perform without?" He asked.

"Yes, actually." He covered his mouth has he let out a light laugh. "I'm happy though. It feels good to get back into it."

Nearly two years ago, Jimmy joined the Drama department of the school as one of their thespians, however; due to his headgear he had gotten himself into a prank of Eddy's that left his miserable for months. Eddy thought it'd be funny to connect a sandbag to Jimmy's headgear from the back before he auditioned. Upon dropping the bag, it tore the metal bindings off and even pried three of his brace points out of place. After several orthodontic visits and thousands of dollars later, he was able to get his braces put back but skipped the headgear out of fear. It took Jimmy weeks to trust anyone after that. And… Edd had felt bad for not stopping Eddy, but what could he do?

It was different now. Jimmy seemed happy, wearing brightly coloured clothing, keeping his hair fluffed instead of trying to straighten it, and even better… he seemed to be following his dreams. Even today, he was wearing a bright blue shirt with a checkered scarf, red vans, and a tan skinny jeans. How Edd honestly wished he was brave enough to dress. Though… probably not in those colours…

"Edd, are you okay?" A voice came from behind.

Collecting himself from his thoughts, Edd turned to see Kevin and Sarah behind him, arms crossed and brows raised.

"Yes, I'm quite alright." Edd smiled to them before looking to Jimmy. "I think we should get to class. I'm right next to mine, but Kevin," Kevin quickly balanced his weight to one leg before uncrossing his arms. "...has practice, Drama is on the other side of the school, and Sarah, don't you have colour-guard practice?" Edd questioned, getting a simple nod from her.

"Yeah, I guess. Jimmy we better hurry." She motioned him to follow her.

Nodding, JImmy stood up before waving to Edd. "Alright, Sarah. It was nice catching up, Edd! Kevin, you guys should come to the party tomorrow!" Jimmy shouted before rushing after his friend.

Blushing bright red, Kevin scratched the back of his head. "Dammit…" He muttered before he knoticed that Edd was in front of him.

"Party?" He looked behind him then back to Kevin.

"I… eh…" He looked around before coughing to clear his throat. "Yeah… I was gonna invite you after lunch…" His smirked mischievously. "Wanted to… you know; let you enjoy yourself a little instead of just sitting at home." Kevin said honestly.

Smiling to himself, Edd jumped as the bell rang to get to class. "Oh Kevin! I'm so sorry, I've made you late to class!"

The sudden approach from Mrs. Daniels made Kevin jolt and turn quickly. Raising her hands in surrender, she caused Kevin to attempt containing his laughter by puckering his lips and covering his mouth. "Kevin, here…" She extended a slip to him. "... I'd prefer you don't start getting tardies." She gave a wink to Edd. "And you, come back to class as soon as he's off! I need my start student to help me teach the AP students." She gave a hearty laugh before going into her room and placing a trashcan between the door and the doorframe to keep it from locking.

Smiling bashfully, Edd balanced on his toes and crossed his arms behind his back. "That was nice of her… you can tell she cares a great deal for your future, Kevin."

Shrugging, he glanced over the slip. "Yeah, well… I made a damn good entrance."

Covering Kevin's mouth, Edd shook his head. "Language, Kevin. You should…" He moved his hand away. "Get to class. We'll talk at lunch, yes?"

Smiling, Kevin brushed back Edd's stray hair back under his beanie. "Think about it, alright?" Kevin asked him, before turning to look down the hall. Clear.

Thinking for a moment, Edd nodded. "Alright, but I won't make any promises."

Nodding to him, Kevin rushed off down the hall towards the field for practice. Edd watched until he was out of sight, and a bit after, before turning and going into the classroom once more.

And hour had gone by, and rather quickly at that. The majority of his time was staring at the board and back to his paper, but still… Kevin had no idea what his teacher was talking about. He kept his phone hidden in his lap, texting anyone he could. Monte was in music, so clearly he couldn't return any reply… no room for your phone when you're playing a Piano. Edd was in Calculus, and he never really looked at his phone in school. He couldn't say with Stella, though he guessed she was in Orchestra or even Band. Possibly even Choir. And, well… Eric was in ballet for two separate classes. He'd text Marie, but… he didn't even get her number. Sighing in defeat, Kevin gazed up at the board.

"Now, if you were to take E and times it by nine, you would get 66.50." His teacher said in a monotone voice.

Kevin couldn't hide his boredom, and tried his best not to groan. To no avail, of course.

"Mr. Barr, sit up and answer the next question." His teacher shouted.

Comply, Kevin sat up but slouched over on his wrist before glaring at the problem.

"Well?"

Kevin shrugged. "There's no way in hell I can answer that…" Kevin thought to himself but remained contained. "How am I supposed to do this in my head? Is this even english to anyone who isn't paying student loans from college?"

The class let out a low laugh, causing their instructor to glare. "Kevin Barr. If you had paid attention, instead of playing around on your phone- which I will be taking..." The short man approached and held out his hand. Kevin snorted before handing his phone over. This teacher always irked him off. He always wore a plaid suit and even better- he constantly asked questions that Kevin had no way of understanding and embarrassing him. "... Thank you."

"Like I have a choice…" Kevin muttered under his breath.

"As to your question…" The teacher approached the front of the room and pushed up his glasses before turning to Kevin. "It is quite simple. E times thirty squared divided by eight."

Glaring, Kevin groaned again. "Dude, there's no way that is 'easy'. No normal human being does this!"

Stifling his laughter, the teacher glared across the room. "The answer is 305.8. And I suppose you are right, your homework proved you haven't been paying attention."

Jumping to his feet, Kevin slammed his hand down on his desk. "Cram it! You have no right…"

"Oh, but I do. I grade your homework, to which you rarely turn in. And, if you are not going to pay attention, how do you expect to say in sports?" He asked. "You're sitting on a seventy flat average in my class after only a few days! And more so, you don't participate unless I force you." His teacher looked to the clock before sighing. "At any rate, we have a few more moments before the bell. Pack up, and come back tomorrow with a better attitude, or you can kiss any and all sports good-bye." He waved Kevin away before sitting at his desk and turning to his montier.

Slack-jawed and infuriated, Kevin held in his urge to scream before he gripped his bag and slung it over his shoulder and jamming his hands into his pockets. He wanted to spit, throw his things… just lose it. The only thing that kept him from this was that his phone buzzed on his teacher's desk.

"Hey, who sent me a text?" Kevin shouted running towards the dimly lit device.

His teacher glared before snatching the phone away. "Does it matter?" He questioned.

"Duh, that's why I asked! Look, just tell me who the name is so I can tell them why I didn't send a text back."

Sighing, his teacher nodded. "Eh, Merry Monte?"

Blushing slightly, Kevin gave a weak laugh. "Eh… that's just a joke between us. You know Jared Monte? Or the Reverend?" Kevin asked.

Raising his brow, the teacher shook his head. "Just get to your next class, the bell rings in a few moments."

Glaring in reply, Kevin exited the room as quickly as he could. Rushing down the bustling halls, dodging the seemingly faceless students, and slipping between any and every gap he could find to wistfully avoid and breakthrough the crowd. It was only when he saw the back of Monte's head then he remembered… it was lunch time. That there was no reason to rush. Smacking himself in his forehead, Kevin reached out and grabbed Monte's shoulder pulling him back and along a wall of lockers.

Seemingly cross-eyed for a moment, Monte shook his head and smiled once his eyes fell onto Kevin's smirk. "Oh, hey Kev." He flashed his pretty smile. "You know, you could've just sat with me at lunch." He stifled his laugh when Kevin pouted at him. "Oh no, you want something. Don't you?" He teased.

"Well…" Kevin shifted uncomfortably. "I… need your keys?"

Blinking for a moment, Monte arched a brow. "You need Brandy? Why?"

Trying not to laugh, Kevin smirked at him. "Yes, I need… Brandy. I just wanted to use the backseat with a… friend."

Glaring, Monte ran his index finger between his shirt collar and cleared his throat. "Galatians 5:19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery…"

"Whoa- Monte, no!" Kevin rose one hand shook his head in protest. "I meant for lunch not for…"

"Kevin Barr, do not finished that sentence!" Monte held a finger up. "Dude, you really should have just said you wanted to eat with Edd, or just said that you wanted to eat with a friend."

Kevin's eyes widened. "How did you…"

"Know about you and Edd? I'm not blind, Kevin. It's cool that you like protecting people, and I'm proud that you decided to change your's and Edd's relationship… you were pretty antagonistic towards him…" Monte shrugged. "Plus, you really think no one notices what goes on in the cul-de-sac?" He asked.

Shrugging, Kevin slumped his shoulders forward. "Well… I don't know…"

"You know, you just try to ignore everyone's opinions. People talk Kevin, I've already heard rumors about myself and Eric and it's been like barely three hours since we met."

"Monte… you both stared into eachother's eyes for like a full two minutes…" Kevin protested.

He simply smiled. "Hard not to. You know, I actually thought about writing a poem about it."

Groaning, Kevin glared at him. "I swear to god if you say anything about his eyes being like chocolate, I'm gonna lock you both in separate rooms…"

"What do you have against chocolate?" Monte questioned.

"Monte, you wrote Jennifer a poem like that a year ago. Something about her hair being like wheat and eyes being chocolate?" He crossed his arms.

Monte shrugged. "Yeah, well, she did have thick blonde hair and brown eyes…"

"No, she didn't. Jennifer Caswell had honey tinted hair with red streaks and her eyes were blue in the center with a light brown around the iris." Kevin tilted his head. "And she was in a relationship with Derek!"

"Yeah, well. Derek was a bad guy. You have a pretty good memory too, Kev." Monte said trying to protect himself.

"Oh really? How so?" He leaned back casually. "Oh, and thanks I guess." Kevin smirked.

He cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Derek cheated on her with her best friend. Like, what? Three months ago?"

Kevin thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah… where is Jennifer anyway?"

"She's taking law classes with Mrs. Monroe."

"Oh… well, Derek is going to get sued, isn't he?" Kevin tried not to laugh.

Monte gave a quirky smile. "That, or she's planning a murder and is going to pin it on Kendra and represent her to get her thrown in prison on purpose…" He grinned a bit too wide.

"Well, good for Jen." Kevin almost started to walk away before his eyes widened and he jumped back in front of Monte. "Hey!" Monte raised both his hands in surrender. "So, can I have your keys or not? I'd prefer that Edd doesn't think I'm skipping out on him."

Begrudgingly, Monte compiled by shoving his right hand in his back pants pocket and fishing our his key with a Invader Zim key chain on it and handed it to Kevin.

"Oh sweet, you got your mom to buy that? Your dad would flip!" Kevin playfully squished the head of the gummy Gir.

"Yeah, well. Mom's always wanted to do stuff with me. She got me that because of my computer's search history. My luck, she thought it was cute." Monte smiled somberly for a moment.

Trying not to blush, Kevin let out a cringy laugh. "Yeah… isn't search history the best?"

"Kevin…" Monte was prepared to lecture him but didn't. "...you know what, I'm not even going to ask." He grinned as Kevin mouthed him a 'thank you.' "Why don't you just text Edd, anyway?"

Twiddling his thumbs together, Kevin glared at the floor. "Dr. Asshat took my phone for not knowing the right math stuff."

"Kevin, you're not stupid. The material is there for a reason. It sucks, but trust me, it's better than Catholic school. All you hear about is anti-abortion, the bible, and the best way to get rid of gays." Monte shrugged. "Just ask Edd for help, he did tutor Nazz, the Kanker sisters, and he is apparently already Mrs. Daniels favorite this year."

Nodding, Kevin complied. 'I'll try and bring it up. Thanks, man. I owe you one!" Kevin jingled the key in his hand.

"Think of it as my way of thanking you for introducing me to Eric." Monte shrugged bashfully. "Just, eat lunch and nothing else. Got it?"

Glaring at his freinds smile, Kevin rushed off down the hall.

"Where is he?" Edd looked around the stairwell that exited to the parking lot before he checked his phone. 'Honestly, Kevin. I know this thing is a part of you…' He glared for a moment before sighing. Looking up, Edd's eyes widened as he watched what seemed like a calm day, turning into a blizzard nearly instantly. Snow blew around in flurries as ice fell like a waterfall. Edd wrapped his arms around himself as he felt the chill begin to takeover the room he stood in… stairwells are nothing if not the worst area's to wait. They're always either too hot or too cold. Well… atleast there was no elevator music, Edd mused. He honestly was happy for the moment of peace. Working with Mrs. Daniels for the first few morning classes however, there is little time to process one's thoughts.

Watching the snow fall, Edd leaned against the doorframe and allowed himself to think.

"A party. Honestly, he thought I'd want to go to a party?" Edd questioned in his mind. "Though… I could hardly argue with spending a bit of time with him." He turned to look at the door, but still nothing. Back to the snow. Back to thoughts that give questions and no answers.

He could hear the wind pick up as the snow began to blow towards the door. The window fogged around its sides leaving only the middle with a clear view. He watched closely as Edd thought he could see someone walking out of the parking lot. "In this weather you choose to leave school?" Edd questioned out loud.

The sudden feeling of fingers on his shoulder caused Edd to jump and turn. "Oh god!" He felt everything in his body seize and tighten in fear.

It was only a moment after he was able to peel open his eyes to see forest green eyes above his and a smirk that made him wish to scream.

"Kevin!" He smacked the jock across his shoulder. "Why on Earth are you sneaking up on me!?"

Snickering, Kevin restrained Edd's arms with his hands. "Dee, I didn't. You were focused on whatever you were watching. I came in strolling, dude." He was able to smirk wider as Edd began to blush.

"Well, I…" He sighed for a moment. "I'm sorry…" Edd rubbed his hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I… was distracted."

Kevin could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks as he traced Edd's hand movements. "It's alright… uh…" Kevin reached into his pockets to pull out Monte's key and held it up to Edd. "So, are you ready to eh," He made a short quiet snicker. "...ready to brave the storm?" He asked humorously.

Looking over to the staircase, Edd's things were setting in a neat organized pile. An Einstein Lunchbox catching Kevin's eye before he glanced back to Edd.

"Kevin, I'm not sure that this is such a good idea anymore. The weather clearly isn't getting better and I'm not sure that a car is the best place to eat…" The sudden feeling of fingers clutching around his shoulders made Edd jump.

"I'll carry your things, c'mon. It's just ice, dude." Kevin shrugged, releasing Edd and grabbing this things from the staircase and turning to the door. "Just, bundle up." He flashed his impish smile at Edd.

Shrugging off his fears, Edd obliged. Zipping up his jacket he followed Kevin out the door. The feeling of cold air nipped at his skin, caressing the pair as they walked through exit. Looking around, he could see that everything was glazed in white ice. The trees and grass that were once green were now darkened grey by the storm of snow. The pavement and road were drenched from the snow that first fell and melted though even it began to gain a thin layer too. Windshields were completely buried in amassing snow, the world even seemed more grey with the sky looking as if it had been invaded by clouds of ash.

He gazed to Kevin, who seemed hardly affected by the cold he braved. His ginger hair was frosted over, the hood of his thin sweaters trim was, as too were the tops of his sock sleeves. His skin gained visible bumps as his small hairs grasped at the snowflakes that fell, even his eyelashes were tipped by them. His cheeks were a light shade of pink as his knuckles whitened in response to his grip and the air around them. As Edd followed, he realized they were already halfway through the parking lot, and approaching a lone van at the end. It was a light shade of blue, a dent on its drivers side that went at least a inch deep. It's rims were different colours, or rather one was black and the rest were silver-ish. It's paint was chipped around the handles of the front doors from years of use as well. It was then that Kevin reached into his pockets to pull out the small keychain adorned by Gir waving in his green puppy suit holding a taco which made Edd grin slightly.

With one push, the headlight lit up as the door unlocked.

"Go ahead and sit in the back. Monte's car has a seat warmer, so I'm gonna start it before joining you." Kevin smiled as Edd looked up to almost immediately have his vision clouded.

Wiping his eyes with his sleeves, Edd kept his vision to the ground. "Okay! My apologies, the snow is erratic." He walked around the car, quickly sliding into the back seat and closing the door. He was met with detestment as the frozen seats and dim cold air that enveloped him were amplified as the front door opened and Kevin slipped inside, leaving the door open.

Pushing the key into the ignition, Kevin gazed upward to see Edd shivering in the rearview mirror. He smiled slightly before turning the key and pushing his foot down onto the break to get it to start. To them, it seemed as if the car roared to life as both jumped slightly. Kevin switched on the heat turning it up to it's max and pushing down the seat-heater button before jumping back out into the cold, slamming the front door shut and switching to the back. He tossed the their bags into the floor just before he slid into the backseat next to Edd who just shivered, rubbing his arms for warmth.

Still a bit timid, Kevin reached out to Edd, wrapping his arm around the boys shoulders and pulling him close- eliciting a small yelp from him.

"K- Kevin!" Edd looked up to him. "You realise you are just as cold with the snow lacing your sweater, yes?" His sarcasm was leaking through.

Smirking, Kevin let go of him for a moment.

"Thank you." Edd fixed his turtleneck.

Almost immediately, Kevin pulled his sweater off, revealing nothing but a tank-top underneath. With one quick motion he wrapped his arm bag around Edd and pulled him close.

With a grunt, Edd glared without looking up. "Really?" Was all he got out before he actually started to feel the heat radiating.

Looking down, Kevin shrugged. "Fine, I'll let you freeze before the car finally warms up." He loosened his grip to feel Edd's fingers tighten around his wrist. "Edd?" He glanced down.

Rolling his eyes, Edd kept his sight to the back of the driver's seat. "I…" He sighed. "You're warm." He said before he felt Kevin begin to laugh and his fingers gently rubbed between the fine red hair that decorated the jocks arm, nearly incapacitated by their softness.

Feeling his face heat up, Kevin peered into the mirror to see himself blushing as he traced the movement of Edd's fingers in his mind before he looked down and smiled. "Feel a bit better?" Kevin asked.

Nodding, Edd waited for a few moments before he felt the combination of the vents, the seat, and Kevin- the first two convecting and Kevin conducting: which made him raise up. "Okay… now it's too hot."

Kevin snickered at him. "Told you it was better to eat here. Stairwell is probably freezing right now."

"Yes, well… they were made to walk through not stay in." Edd said in a "matter of fact" tone.

After a few minutes had passed, the pair reached down into their bags and pulled out their lunches. Edd had his own lunchbox which was decorated with various chemistry vials, and it contained individually wrapped foods. Grapes, carrots, a turkey and swiss sandwich, and small canister of yogurt. Kevin on the other hand had a crumpled brown paper bag which only had a water bottle and a hastily wrapped half-eaten cheeseburger.

Raising a brow, Edd glanced over to Kevin. "You…" Kevin glanced up at him from his food in confusion. "You… only have…" He swallowed hard as Kevin made a tired face before placing his food on the bag. "Kevin, that's hardly enough food for you, not to mention it isn't healthy…" He tried to sound more considerate, but couldn't help it.

Glaring for a moment, Kevin shrugged before lazily looking to Edd. "Yeah, well… it's all I had. Besides, my dad's girlfriend is coming over to our house later today— and let me tell you, " Kevin smiled to Edd before making an exhilarated face, allowing energy to seemingly flow into his forest green eyes. "...she is an amazing cook. Like, two weeks ago she made a pan of lasagna that had like ten pounds of warm melted cheese and a delicious sauce that just oozed out of it!" Kevin motioned his hands near one another. "It was like this freaking thick:" He placed one hand just below his chin up to his temples. "Just like, massive, dude. It took me and my dad like four days to finish it."

Thinking a moment, Edd allowed himself into giving an enthusiastic smile to compliment Kevin's new-found energy. "Girlfriend?" He questioned in his mind before shaking it out of his mind. "She sounds nice… though I don't think ten pounds of cheese is good for you."

Falling back into the seat, Kevin shrugged before gripping his burger in one and taking a bite before turning to Edd— still chewing. "Yeah well," He swallowed. "Better than just a cheeseburger, right?"

"Half of one, yes." Edd teased. "What's her name?"

Kevin arched his brow before smiling again. "Oh, he name's Frankie Grant. She actually owns the bistro downtown... and I think her son went to our school, though I've never met him."

"Her son? She was married?" Edd questioned.

Leaning up, Kevin shook his head. "No, her boyfriend left her 16 years ago when he found out about her. I can't imagine why… she just seems like a nicest person alive."

Rolling his eyes and looking to the floor, Edd slumped his shoulders. "Often… it's the nice people who are taken advantage of." He said quietly.

Kevin's gaze turned worrying before he reached over to Edd with his free hand. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.

Peering up, Edd could feel himself tearing up. "I, uh…" He shook his head. "I'm not on the best of terms with my parents. I just…" He shook his head again. "I usually feel really isolated… and alone when I'm at home. I only see them every now and again…" He shrugged before looking to Kevin. "So… being left is just a soft spot for me." He smiled to Kevin as best he could.

Shaking his head, Kevin tilted it a bit before leaning forward and holding Edd's shoulder. "Wait… how long has it been?"

Thinking a moment, Edd grimaced. "Uh… about a month, now. They were supposed to visit a few days ago… but cancelled for work reasons."

Kevin allowed his jaw to drop. "A fucking month!?" He shouted, dropping his food and reaching with both of his hands to Edd. "How the hell do they cancel on seeing their kid?" He asked, trying to keep Edd's eyes on his own.

He only retracted his eyes to Kevin's shirt, as if trying to count the lines in the fabric. "It's just how it is, Kevin. It's not like they are the most welcoming people." He shrugged. "Besides, until I started getting good grades, my father barely looked me in the eye."

"That's not normal, though!" Kevin tightened his grip.

Pushing Kevin's arms down, Edd looked him in the eye. "And it's behind me, Kevin. I'm almost eighteen, I don't care anymore. If they don't want to hear from me, they won't." Edd bit his lower lip at the astonished look on Kevin's face. "You honestly think that someone who is as academically qualified as myself wouldn't notice how abnormal they are?" He asked.

Conceding, Kevin furrowed his brow. "You don't care?"

"Kevin, it's been years since I've felt at home in my own home. The only thing that's kept me going is my friends. People like you that give me hope." He watched as Kevin smiled weakly at the compliment.

"Like me?" He asked in a humorous tone.

"People that can change. Kevin, you and I used to do nothing more than acknowledge each other's existence after Eddy made you blind with rage."

Smiling to himself, Kevin found himself blushing at Edd's words more so than he expected that he would. Double-Dee seemed so different than the kid that he grew up with. After so many years, he became distant to almost everyone, the other Ed's, the kid's in the cul-de-sac, even his own parents… though he could understand how they were most likely at fault for that. He only really ever met Edd's mother, but… Adelaide was less than thrilled to speak to anyone when she was home from her work… always the workaholic, never the sociable neighbor. Gazing up towards Edd, Kevin felt his heart melt as he reflected on how his lips pursed, his eyes had a weak light that was barely there… but it was there.

Kevin turned his head to meet Edd's eyes, who simply smiled at him as he received Kevin's reassuring look.

"Well… I'm happy that you see something in me." Kevin shrugged as Edd allowed his poster to slightly slouch. "You know, I never really had anything against you, Edd. I just… I never quite understood you."

Arching a brow, Edd leaned on his arm after placing his elbow on the head of his seat and resting his cheek in his palm. "How do you mean?" He asked.

Kevin leaned forward slightly. "Well… you were always the smart one. I honestly thought you'd be better off hanging with the rest of us. Eddy was a scammer and… well… Ed kind of just followed Eddy blindly. But… you had a brain." Kevin dropped his eyes to the seat a took a deep breath before looked back up to Edd. "I… also liked working with you when you helped me with Eddy."

Edd watched as Kevin's cheeks began to burn red and allowed his jaw to unhinge enough to display his front teeth. "Kevin?" He said in a barely audible voice.

Squinting his eyes, Kevin contorted his hands into fists before leaning forward slowly. It was then that he peeled his eyes open enough to look Edd in the eye who was frozen in place as he watched the jock moving toward him. Kevin pursed his lips, and stopped just an inch away from Edd's lips. They both caught each other's eyes, halted in the moment. Edd could feel Kevin's heated moist breath as he drew in slowly and exhaled, and his heart thumped away as if it was at rave! He could feel Kevin's eyes and before he knew it he wondered what his lips felt like. If they were rugged like the jock was when he didn't shave, or smooth like the fine hairs on his forearms, or possible dry from the cold? Could he claim that kissing Kevin was for science? Or… for himself?

"Dee?" He heard his name and was immediately pulled back to reality. Or only what he could thought could be reality… it was oh so hard to tell. "Edd? Did you hear me?" The voice was low… raspy, even. His pupils dilated as he finally focused intently in on Kevin's own. Straining sounds from the seats under their weight were overshadowed by the wind that seemed to be clawing at the car's exterior. The hunger in Kevin's eyes was nearly beaten back by the intensity of his suspected confusion.

Edd cleared his throat before swallowing hard. "Y… yes. I mean, I–" He blinked hard. " mean, no. I'm… I do apologized, I am… was– in my own head." He tried to smile, but couldn't manage it.

His eyes traced over Edd's features. His gap tooth, his shivered as he unraveled before the jock… even the tone of his voice stood out more this close. "I… I want…" He shook his head. "Can I kiss you?" He asked.

His eyes widened at the question… jaw completely unhinged and dropped as He felt Kevin's fingers at the back of his head, gently thumbing around through his hair. The feeling of sweat developing his brow gave him little pause… the heat mixing between their breathing made him quiver. "Okay…" Edd let out… he couldn't process his words; it would just have to do.

Smiling slightly, Kevin inched closer, then paused slightly as their upper lips met and gazed into Edd's eyes once more. His finger outstretched into the smaller boys hair and pushed gently to gain their complete connection. Their lips enveloped one another, skin melding around in sloppy, unruly patterns. The sudden feeling of moist saliva gave them pause for a slight second before Kevin became slightly more forceful. He leaned Edd backwards slightly as his arm fell to his side and pinned him against the door to which when his head met the glass he gave a slight whimper to the jock. He pressed on, going in deeper, pushing his fingers underneath his beanie and running them through the loose strands. It was when Edd pushed back towards him that he found the strength to smile and part his lips enough to feel the inside of Edd's lips.

However, Edd's mind raced. What was he doing? This was… barbaric… another boy was on top of him, his tongue was sliding inward and he could taste the subtle tang of iron on the jock. But that feeling… the softness of the skin around what he supposed was a crack on his lower lip from the cold, the rugged untamed stubble that returned from the morning shave… and the musky smell of Kevin's deodorant that reminded him of a strong wine more than anything else... he couldn't push back. He did not want to.

And Kevin's mind was no more clear. As he was sure of his feelings at this point… the sounds of Edd's whimpering and his slowly murmurs, the gently smacking of their lips pulling apart from the saliva that glazed over… and the boys smile. His eyes too… just the feeling, the goosebumps on their skin, the mixture of their body heat on the burning seats… it was almost too much. He wanted to go further… but restrained himself. Not yet… just not yet.

It was when he pushed upward of Edd's beanie that he felt a hand on the center of his chest pushing him upward. He tried to ignore it but when a second appeared and the murmurs turned into resistance, Kevin quickly pulled back and moved away from Edd who jumped up, clutching his hat.

"E- Edd! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" He held his hands up and shielded his eyes. "God I'm an idiot…" He groaned.

Readjusting himself, Edd looked to Kevin… thought still slightly shaken, he felt… alive. "Kevin… what you did…" He started.

"I know, I'm sorry…" He pouted, feeling tears building up before… another feeling. But this once encircled his wrist. He moved his hands away and turned his sight to Edd… who was holding him.

"You didn't do anything…" He said quietly. "I actually… I quite enjoyed that." He gave a weak laugh.

"But you… you pushed back, I thought…"

"Well," He cut him off. "...you thought wrong. I only pushed you away because you were pulling at him beanie." He shrugged for a moment. "I… I'm not ready to go that far. But… the feeling I had when you were holding me…"

Astonished, Kevin sat up straight. "Wait… so you aren't like… mad or anything?"

He shook his head. "No, not in the least. I… actually feel better than I have in awhile."

Kevin smiled before wrapping his hands in Edd's. "So… what did you feel?"

Thinking for a moment, Edd massaged Kevin's knuckles with his fingers. "I felt your skin… at first the heat was unbearable, but after a moment it felt… amazing. Then the arduous stubble around your jawline… and then… it was a blurr. But… there was so much life too…" Edd blushed slightly before he traced along Kevin's lips with his eyes and back to Kevin's. "Kevin… what you said before…"

"I meant it, Edd." Kevin shook his head and smiled. "I really like you, like a crazy amount. But I could never find the right time or place to tell you… you well… kiss you."

Edd felt his heart flutter about, and almost instinctively leaned forward. Kevin followed and began to mimic him. Within moments they could feel each other's breath again… the goosebumps returned and...

Tap tap tap.

The irritating but quick succession of taps on the front window caused the boys to pull back and look to where the sound was coming from.

"Who is that?" Edd asked, looking unrattled to Kevin.

Kevin gazed through the glass as best he could, but could only make out blue jeans and a auburn leather jacket… Kevin smacked his head. Reaching forward, he pushed the button to unlock the car.

The door swung open as Monte poked his head into the car.

"Geeze, you two are deaf! It's freezing out here!" He jumped into the front seat and slammed the door shut. Rubbing his hands together, he let out an audible sigh of relief as he felt the heat from both the seat and the heaters. His hands were a raw red from the cold. He turned around after getting comfortable and pried his jacket off before looking at Kevin and Edd and arching a brow at them. "Why do you two look so guilty? You didn't get anything in the seat or something, did you?" He ran his fingers through his hair, messing the gel that held it in a singular position and allowing his locks to fall to both sides of his face with the perfect division of his roots down the middle.

"Monte…" Kevin held his head in his head.

He shook his head. "What? You're the ones who ate lunch in here!" He looked over to Edd. "Oh… dude, your hair is kinda messed up; it's poking out at a weird angle. The wind is crazy out here!" He managed to make Edd perk up slightly and let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh… right…" Kevin smiled. "Wait, why are you out here? Class starts back in like ten minutes."

Monte laughed at him for a moment. "Kev, it's a blizzard out here. Apparently the news was only half-right this morning. School let us out, so I'm going to drive Eric home if you two want a ride…?"

Looking over to Edd, Kevin smiled causing him to smile back. "Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks, man." He said.

"No thanks required. You thought I'd make you guys wait hours for the bus?" He pushed the transmission to drive. "You guys buckle up, I don't need a ticket. Dad would kill me."

Nodding to him, Edd and Kevin complied. When the car started moving, Kevin leaned over to Edd and whispered. "We will talk when we get home. I'll sneak over." Which caused Edd to blush, but nodded to him.

"Any song requests?" Monte asked cheerfully as he held the aux cord up with his right hand.

Post Author's Note: Whew, it's been awhile since I've made one of these! Hey guys! So, the reason I went M.I.A. is as follows: As of June second, I am officially a 2017 graduate from high school! And as such, I was extremely busy with a large array of things. One of which is that I am setting up a either a Twitter or Facebook account for my writing, and if you guys are interested I will be using it to not only keep up something that will notify you when I am doing something worthy of your time (I hope at any rate) but it will also be a way for me to communicate with you guys outside of these little notes. I may even to Q & A's in little vlogs, if you guys are interested in that.

So, onto other new's related things. I'm starting the groundwork for three new fictions: one for Dishonored (post Dishonored 2), Mass Effect Andromeda (post and heavily changed), and even re-booting my Dragonage fiction, Era of Peace.

What dose this mean? It means that I will be much more active, just on a large array of different things. I know you guys on this fiction follow my stories for KevEdd, but I'm hoping I can peak your interest in other fields as well!

I'm currently looking for employment, so if I go blank for like a week I'm getting my bearings at a new place.

So, in short. I'm going to be opening up a new page on social media (Twitter or Facebook) and no, I'm not asking for money or anything. I simply want to be able to talk to you guys when I'm not actively posting stuff, since you aren't told when I update my profile on here (which by the way, will still be updated). I'm adding new fics to my list, if you're curious, and I'm also working on a long list of treats for my KevEdd followers. Mind that on the new page, I'll also be posting my artwork and even possibly videos of me talking (so exiting, right!? /wrist).

So if you have any questions... you know the lingo.

I do hope you enjoyed the chapter- if you did don't forget to leave a favorite, and be sure to give me your opinion on the chapter as well in a review- it helps a ton!

That's going to be it for me, so... as always...

See you in the next one-

Buh-Bye!

~Nightingaledoxic