A/N: A lot happens in this chapter.
So, prepare for a lot of words again. ;~;
Reviews, reactions, comments – all are appreciated!
It motivates me to write more. :p
Enjoy!

Iridescent
Chapter Four

"Hiya, Kevin!" Ed greeted, hugging the jock as if he was their old-time friend.

Kevin's face nearly turned blue from being locked up in such strong arms. "Y-yes, hi, hello," he choked. "Now get inside before it rains."

"Okay!" Ed shouted, releasing his embrace and running inside. "To the gravy!"

Eddy looked at Kevin with indifference and popped his collar. "Kevin."

"Dork."

Eddy walked inside, trying to look as cool as possible. Double D still stood frozen like a statue on the doorstep, holding his hat in place so that it wouldn't fly off his head.

Kevin stood tall in the doorway, wearing his usual red hat along with a black jacket, dark jeans and a band T-shirt. The shirt was white with a pink splatter, a teal smear, little black arrows and black, curved lines forming a smiley face with X's for eyes. It was a band Double D actually recognized.

"You comin' in?" Kevin asked, holding the door open for him.

"Blink-182," Double D pointed out.

It took a moment for Kevin to realize that Edd was talking about his shirt. "You like them, too?"

Edd nodded. "Why, yes, I enjoy their expository lyrics."

Kevin smiled. "I'm glad you came over tonight."

A faint blush tinted Edd's cheeks and he felt a dull, foreign ache bubble up deep inside him. Before he could even comprehend it, it suddenly started to downpour. The rain soaked them both to the skin.

"Here, man, I gotcha," Kevin said, dragging Edd inside quickly.

The air conditioner hit them like a ton of bricks. Shivering, Double D tried desperately to warm himself up with what little dry patches were left on his sweater. Kevin took off his hat and shook his head, casting off multiple drops of water and wetting Double D further more.

Instead of sulking, though, Edd let out a lighthearted laugh. 'What is he, a Golden Retriever?'

"Do you guys need a towel?" Nazz asked.

"That would be awesome, actually," Kevin said with an embarrassed smile.

"I'll be right back, then!"

She left the kitchen and headed upstairs. Double D took a glance around the room. Everyone was there. Jonny was sitting in front of the television with Plank in hand, watching the monster truck marathon a bit too closely. Jimmy and Sarah were on the couch, wrapped up in a single blanket. Rolf was in the kitchen, grilling various meats on Kevin's indoor grill with full concentration in his eyes. Ed was by Rolf's side, sucking on a gravy ladle and eyeing the meats as they cooked, and Eddy was at the kitchen counter, sitting on a barstool and sipping some punch from the spiked punch bowl.

It's been years since Double D had spent time with these people. They've all grown so much, from height to weight to facial hair to breast development. Rolf and Jonny had dark fuzz on their upper lips. Sarah had feminized more over the years. She wore a pink dress and matching lipstick on her luscious lips, along with a large bow perched in her silky, hair-sprayed orange hair. Even Ed and Eddy had developed exceptionally well, although, Eddy remained the shortest male. The only one who didn't change much was Jimmy. Besides obvious physical growth, the only extreme difference was that his retainer was finally gone.

Needless to say, every single one of them passed puberty with flying colors.

A weird notion came over Double D as he stood there next to Kevin, dripping with rainwater. This was a whole new chapter with these people. A clean slate. It's been years since they've all been together like this, and perhaps now was the time to build true, everlasting friendships. Or start over anew with them, at the very least.

Nazz gave Kevin two towels and he tossed one onto Double D's head. "Here you go."

Double D gave a friendly smile. "Thank you very much."

Hours had passed.

The music was blaring, booming, causing some of the frames on the wall to fall off. It surprised everyone that they haven't gotten any complaints from the neighbors until they realized that they are the neighbors of the cul-de-sac.

The rain still poured outside in the moonlight. Pillows and snack wrappers were scattered across the living room floor. The trashcan in the kitchen overflowed with dirty napkins, ketchup-stained paper plates and the remains of eaten hotdogs and hamburgers. Empty bottles and cans of various alcoholic beverages littered the counters and tables. The monster truck marathon was muted and long forgotten in the background of the party's uproar.

Flushed, half-alert faces were all around the room, laughing together as Eddy attempted to sing along with the music playing on Kevin's extra large stereo system. They were more like slurred words with a tone.

"Tonight's the night!" Eddy sang into a hairbrush.
"Let's live it up!
I got my money! Let's NOT spend it up!"

The others joined in. "Get out and smash it!
Like oh my God!"

Ed shouted from the bottom of his lungs. "Jump off the sofa!" He sprung off the couch and crash-landed in the middle of the living room, crushing Jimmy.

Eddy laughed hysterically and continued to sing with the others.
"Let's get get, off!"

Nazz joined Eddy with a hairbrush in her hand as well.
"I know that we'll have a ball~ if we get down and go out, and just lose it all~"

Eddy's face turned beet-red as Nazz happily sang the duet with him.

"I feel stressed out, I wanna let it go.
Let's go way out, spaced out, and loosing all control!"

Eddy held out his plastic cup of booze. "Fill up my cup!"

The whole room shouted "Mozoltov!"

Eddy pointed at Nazz. "Look at her dancing!'
Just take it…"

Everyone shouted, "Off!"

"Let's paint the town!
We'll shut it down!"

Ed jumped in again, proclaiming the next line of the song with an open-mouthed smile and a blowtorch in his hands. "Let's burn the roof!"

"Gracious!" Double D shouted.

Ed turned on the blowtorch and was about to set the curtains on fire before Double D tackled him to the ground, removing the dangerous power tool.

Edd wiped sweat off his brow while everyone sang, "And then we'll do it again!"

They danced sloppily and happily, enjoying the night as the house nearly fell apart. Double D had lost track of time. Still possessing a sober mind, he felt lost in the ocean of music, silliness and drunken activities. He scanned the room for Kevin, but he was nowhere to be found.

He left the noisy room, still wrapped up in the towel Kevin had given him earlier. He didn't want to intrude in any personal spaces or impose any more than he already was, but his desire to find Kevin exceeded his rational thinking.

He went upstairs and saw no one in the rooms with open doors. He went back downstairs and looked around one more time, then he noticed Kevin's red cap on the other side of the back porch's sliding glass door, perched on a table.

'He's outside in this miserable weather?'

Double D quietly slid the door open. It was only drizzling outside now. When the door was shut, the sound of the music inside became nothing but a faint hum. He was about to go retrieve Kevin, but to his surprise, Kevin was sitting on a couch, playing an acoustic guitar, perfectly dry under the roof of the quiet, screened-in porch.

The tune he was playing was calm, but not simple. Each strum was as precise and fast as the last, producing a lovely semi-upbeat melody.

Double D listened to Kevin play.

After absorbing the beat of the song, Kevin sang in a voice that was low and quiet, yet astonishingly sublime.

"Odd one, you're never alone.
I'm here and I will reflect you.
Both of us basically unattached to anything, or anyone, unless we're pretending.
You live your life in your head.
Some call it imagination.
I'd rather focus instead on anything except…"

His voice grew louder and more spirited, as did his guitar playing.

"What I'm feeling… What I'm feeling, Odd One…
Hey… it's gonna be okay.
Hey… we're gonna laugh at this one day."

His playing slowed down again, to the way it was before the first verse. Edd wanted to say something, but he was too busy listening. He was mesmerized.

"Odd one, I wish I was you.
You're never concerned with acceptance.
We are all desperately seeking out, and fitting in with anyone who will accept us.
But not you, Odd One…"

Again, spirit fueled his voice and playing. But before he repeated the chorus, he looked over at the fascinated Double D, standing there with his mouth open in shock.

Kevin smiled. "You can pick up your jaw now, Double Dork."

Edd quickly shut his mouth, covering it shyly with his hands. "My apologies, Kevin!"

"It's cool." He set his guitar aside and patted the couch cushion next to him. "Come here, will ya?"

Double D shyly obeyed, sitting down next to him. "You're not drinking?"

"Nah, I have a game tomorrow. Playing football with a hangover ain't fun, trust me."

Edd eyed the musical instrument that was previously in Kevin's lap. "I didn't know you played guitar."

"It's an old hobby of mine. I took some lessons back in eighth grade and freshman year. Didn't really stick to them, though. Just learned what I needed to learn and then self-taught myself to play certain songs that are frequently on the radio."

"You were very good," Edd said. "That was 'Odd One' by Sick Puppies, wasn't it?"

"Damn straight," Kevin said with a smirk, "I nailed it, didn't I? I've been practicing it for the past couple of days."

"Why's that?"

Kevin sat back, listening to the sound of the soft raindrops pelting the roof overhead. "It kinda reminded me of you. That's all."

Double D's cheeks turned pink. "Me?"

"Yeah. You're definitely an odd one."

Edd looked down. "Oh…"

"I mean that in a good way," Kevin explained. "You've always been the odd one out in my group of friends and your own group of friends, too. Yet, you always seem content with yourself, almost confident."

Edd then turned away. "I'm afraid looks can be deceiving, Kevin. I'm not nearly as confident as I may seem."

"I know that. But, you're nothing like Eddy, who always tries too hard to fit in and be accepted by others. You just do your own thing, without overly concerning yourself with what others think. You're passionate about what you do and you never stop doing it, even though others bully you and call you a nerd or a-"

"Dork?"

Kevin scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Yeah…"

"Well, I suppose you are correct about all that," Double D said, "But you've got me defeated when it comes to confidence. I don't think I've ever witnessed you showing any sign of insecurity other than the time you were afraid of needles."

Kevin frowned. "Don't speak of that dark time."

Double D softly laughed. "You really are the most confident, outgoing person I know. You don't seem to have a problem with yourself at all."

The rainfall became heavy again, making the peaceful sound of raindrops grow back into the loud, unpleasant storm.

"Nah, I have plenty of problems with myself," Kevin admitted. "Problems I don't dare show to others. But you're always true to yourself, no matter what situation you're thrown into."

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're attempting to elaborate," Double D said. "If you want to be true to yourself and your own feelings, you have more than the potential it takes to do so."

"You really think that?"

"Of course!"

Kevin chuckled. "Yeah, but even now, I'm hiding myself. Yet, I can see that you're not."

"And how do you know that?"

He poked one of Double D's burning hot cheeks. "You're blushing an awful lot. You should've seen how red your face got when I complimented you."

All of the sudden, Double D had no words. Instead, he stared at Kevin with a bashful look in his cyan-colored eyes, feeling the heat on his own face grow even hotter.

"See? You're doing it again, Dorky."

"Y-yeah, well, from the way you're talking about me, I'd say you secretly admire me, or something," Double D said jokingly, right before flushing an even deeper shade of red. 'Did I really just say that?'

Kevin smirked. "You want me to be true to my feelings, huh?"

"Y-yes," Edd stuttered, noticing Kevin was starting to close in on him.

"Then, I will."

He leaned in closer, enjoying the reactions he received from the shy and innocent Double D, who had brought his hands up to his face, trying desperately to hide.

With one hand, Kevin grabbed both of Edd's wrists and moved them aside. His other large hand caressed the side of Double D's face with long, slender fingers that barely touched his sensitive skin.

Kevin was so close now, closer than anyone has ever been to him, in this manner.

Double D's eyes fluttered shut as he let out a shaky exhale and sucked it back in with a tiny gasp. His heartbeat was skyrocketing, so hard that it hurt. He felt Kevin's thumb slowly brush his bottom lip before he felt the heat of Kevin's breath against his mouth, their noses touching and their lips barely grazing each other as he spoke.

"You're so damn cute when you're flustered like this," Kevin whispered, right before he finally closed the space between their mouths.

Double D tensed up. Every vital organ in his body seemed to have stopped working for a moment. He hardly knew how to react, but Kevin took control of the kiss and eventually, Edd's lips relaxed and moved against his, parting under the gentle pressure and following his lead.

The rain fell down harder and a flash of lightning lit up the porch.

Soon, Double D's head grew fuzzy. All of his thoughts clustered into a giant mess, and then vanished. The kiss grew more intense. He felt his body growing weaker and leaning back a bit as Kevin leaned forward some more, holding Edd tightly.

Kevin caught Edd's lip in his teeth, biting gently and provoking a submissive moan out of the fragile boy beneath him. He quietly groaned in response, swiping his tongue across Edd's lip afterwards and smirking into the kiss as they continued.

Double D's back was brought down to the couch, and Kevin's body hovered over him. He snaked his hand under the fabric of Edd's damp sweater, feeling how soft his skin is. Kevin felt his heart beating against his ribcage, like an animal wanting to escape captivity, almost like something else…

Then, breathlessly, Double D said his name. "Kevin…" He placed his hand on Kevin's chest, grasping some of the material of his shirt. "W-wait…"

Kevin smiled against his lips and pulled away. "You're shivering," he murmured. "Are you cold?"

Double D stared up at him, eyes half-glazed, and his lungs out of breath. His face was so overheated and pink that it practically glowed in the dark. "N-no… quite the opposite, actually…"

Kevin laughed and sat up. "Would you like to borrow one of my shirts anyway? Your sweater is still wet from earlier."

"I g-guess that would be helpful…"

Edd sat up, nearly falling over from the dizziness. He could still feel Kevin's warm, moist lips on his, molding perfectly against the curves and crevice of his mouth as they-

"Oh! I forgot your jersey at my house!" Double D recalled. "Would it be all right if I went over to obtain it?"

"Surely," Kevin said, standing up. "C'mon, we can take the back way."

Double D didn't recall asking Kevin to join him, but he didn't complain or protest. Although, there was one thing that bothered him. "Do you have an umbrell-"

Before he could finish his question, Kevin held a black umbrella over his head.

He then put on his red cap. "Let's go."

They stepped into Double D's dark, empty house, shaking the umbrella off outside before closing the door and removing their wet, squeaky shoes.

"You can take a seat on the couch, if you'd like," Edd offered.

Kevin flipped on the light switch and plopped down on the living room couch. "Man, I hope it doesn't rain like this tomorrow."

"It won't," Double D said as he opened the door to the basement. "I checked the weather this morning. It'll be clear and cold tomorrow. This rainfall is just a cold front."

"That's good," Kevin said, scratching his chin. "But my lips might crack off."

Edd returned to the living room with the clean jersey draped over his arm. "Not if you properly supply them with chapstick, Kevin!"

Kevin smiled, and then a thought sparked into his mind. It wasn't the first time he thought of it, but after that kiss…

"Hey, Double D?"

"Yes?"

'Don't pussy out, man,' Kevin thought to himself. "Do you, um… Want to watch me play tomorrow?"

'Smooth move.'

Double D pondered the idea. He honestly had forgotten about their school's football game on Sunday. Ever since his studies grew more serious, sports were the last thing on his mind. Ed was still the team's mascot, though, and Nazz and Sarah were still cheerleading. Double D was a bit behind on supporting his friends and exploiting school spirit. He decided that it would be a splendid idea to get out of the house again and breathe in some fresh air under the gentle autumn sun. Vitamin D is good for your mental health, after all, which was something well needed for studying.

"Okay, I'll gladly go to the football game tomorrow!" Edd said. "Who're we against?"

"Macintosh High."

"Sounds intriguing!"

Kevin smirked. "All right then, it's a date."

Double D's skin became pink all over. "I b-beg your pardon?"

"Date. You and me. Tomorrow, after the game. Where would you like to go?"

Edd's legs shook violently, barely able to stand. "I guess.. s-somewhere to eat?"

Kevin stood up and placed his forefinger under Edd's chin, lifting it up. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed him again with a soft touch of the lips.

"Sounds intriguing," he mimicked. "And you can keep that jersey for now. I want you to wear it tomorrow."

-To be continued.