Kevin was not happy. Not one bit.
He had too much work to do this weekend if he wanted to stay on top of things. He's had a migraine for the past few hours that refuses to go away. And for some asinine reason, he allowed Nazz to convince him to go with her to the swim meet, where it's loud and crowded and there are so many bright lights, all of which isn't helping the migraine. Kevin looks behind him at all the other students and a few parents crowding into the bleachers.
Why, oh why, did I say I'd go!?
He removed his glasses and tried cleaning them on his shirt once again, out of habit, even though he knows it will not help the strain on his eyes caused by the migraine.
"The meet hasn't even started yet and people are already cheering! WHY!?" Kevin complained to Nazz.
"It's THE meet, Kev. The last one before the finals. We only made it this far twenty years ago, and then last year after Eddward joined the team. We've never been so close to winning it all before!" Nazz then looks over at Kevin. "Dude you're squinting pretty hard for someone who has corrective lenses."
"It's this stupid migraine," Kevin grumbles.
Nazz dug through her purse and handed him a small bottle of Excedrine. "Here. Hopefully it kicks in before the swim meet."
Kevin takes two pills and eyes the clock. Not likely to kick in within ten minutes, but here's hoping.
After a few minutes, the crowd erupted into a loud applause. Nazz nudged Kevin and pointed to the far side of the pool. There was a line of swimmers emerging from the locker room. They made their way around the long side of the pool, occasionally waving at the stands. Kevin watched each swimmer as they passed, until one stops dead in front of him, cocking his head to the side.
"Is there a problem?"
Kevin startles. "Um… who, me?"
The swimmer rolls his eyes. "Yes, you. You are the one glaring at all of us." He gestures to the rest of the swimmers walking by.
"He didn't mean anything by it, Eddward. He just has a migraine," Nazz piped in.
"Uh-huh…" Eddward gave Kevin a once-over before walking away.
Kevin watches him walk away, conscious of his face attempting to form a scowl due to his current pain. "Do you know him?"
"Kinda. We're lab partners in biology."
"Ah… I think he was about to murder me. He just looked so pissed!"
Nazz laughed. "He just looks tough, but he's actually not that bad."
"Next you're gonna tell me he's a hopeless romantic with a sweet side."
"Actually-"
"Don't you dare."
Nazz only laughs in response.
By the time the first race was done, Kevin realized he was starting to feel better. The headache faded and it no longer hurt to use his eyes, meaning he could better appreciate their view of Eddward.
I mean the view of the swim meet. THE VIEW. OF THE. SWIM MEET. Get ahold of yourself, Kevin!
Before the final race, Kevin found himself standing and cheering at times, albeit a bit more shyly than Nazz next to him.
When they announced the final match of the day, the one that will make or break Peach Creek's chances of going to finals, Kevin stood and cheered as the PCHS students took their positions. He abruptly stopped and lowered his Quiz Bowl hat over his face, after locking eyes with Eddward. Why does he have my nerves rattled so much?
Kevin watched the last race intently, gripping the edge of the bleacher, leaning dangerously over. He stood and clapped before Nazz could even react when Eddward touched the wall. He saw Eddward remove his swim cap, wet tresses of raven hair falling around his face. When Eddward looks up to the side of the pool, Kevin follows his gaze.
"What's that mean?" Kevin asked, nudging Nazz.
Nazz looked at the board and said, "Oh snap! He missed breaking his personal record by less than two seconds!"
"He did?"
Nazz explained what each line meant on the board. By the time she was done, and Kevin looked back at Eddward, he was already out of the pool and out of sight.
Kevin felt a bit disappointed but tried to suppress any rationale as to why he felt that way.
Kevin watched all the post-meet awards, commending the winners of each race and anyone who beat a personal record. He noted the way Eddward scoffed when they announced how close he was to beating his record. Why is he scowling so much? He was so close! And he's the reason why they're going to the finals next! He should at least take satisfaction in that.
Eddward scans the room, eventually passing his eyes over Kevin. Kevin gives him a small smile and decides to believe that twitch he saw in Eddward's face was a smile.
After all the announcements and awards, the crowd was free to move, meaning many people were beginning to swarm the area around the pool. Kevin saw a perfect opening to the side door and darted for it. However, he was quickly pulled back.
"What the?" Kevin looked behind him to see Nazz dragging him straight towards the PCHS swimmers, all huddled together and celebrating. "Nazz, Why!?"
"It'll be good for you!"
Kevin half-heartedly follows her, but catches Eddward's eyes, prompting him to glare. "How is death good for me?"
"Huh? Death? What are you… Oh! Eddward! There you are! Congrats, man. That was awesome."
"If missing your goal by mere seconds is considered 'awesome,' then certainly."
"Dude it was just a few seconds, and you won the race." Kevin realized he didn't help the conversation at all when Eddward closed the distance between them, scowling the whole time. Kevin looks towards Nazz to help save him again, but finds her several feet away, talking animatedly to another swimmer.
"Are you mocking me?"
"No, I meant it as a… a compliment?"
"You don't sound too sure of that."
"I mean… like… statistically speaking, people don't get that close to their personal best repeatedly, especially when the stakes are so high. And you managed to do that, while winning the final race to send us to finals… so that right there is more than enough reason to celebrate!" Kevin gives him a grin he hopes is convincing.
"I'm not sure that's correct." Eddward then starts raking his fingers through his hair, trying to slick it back out of his face. Kevin stood there mesmerized as Eddward continued to argue with Kevin. "…so I'm not sure where you got those supposed statistics from, but I guess for someone like you, that is a good attempt at comforting someone who didn't exceed all their goals."
"Huh… what?"
"First the glaring, and now you're staring and not paying attention. What exactly is your deal?"
"No, no, no! It's nothing like that! Like Nazz said earlier, I just had a migraine. I didn't mean to glare. And I didn't realize I was staring. I'm sorry. Just got distracted by your hair. Not that it's bad! I actually like it. A lot. Thus the distraction. But I didn't mean to not pay attention. I just… I'll just stop talking now."
Kevin felt himself blush furiously and he looked back over towards Nazz, just to see that she had run off again and was no longer talking to that other swimmer.
Did she leave me here to die via embarrassment?
Kevin jerked his head back over when he heard giggling. He stared, mouth agape, as Eddward laughed.
That gap-tooth is kinda cute…
Eddward slapped a hand across his stomach, the sound of skin-on-skin contact made louder by the pool-water dampness. Kevin's eyes darted down, and he gulped at the sight of Edd's bare torso, fresh from the pool.
Shoot. Swimmer's abs. Definitely a direct hit to my HP.
He willed himself to look back up at Eddward's face instead of allowing his eyes to trail further down. He felt like he nearly escaped death when Eddward quickly caught his breath and looked back at Kevin.
"You are quite the character… um… I don't believe I caught your name…"
"K-kevin."
Eddward grinned and extended his hand out for a handshake. Kevin took it, willing himself not to blush harder.
"Eddward. But I will allow you to call me 'Edd.' That's with two Ds."
"Edd. Two Ds. Got it." Kevin said, releasing Edd's hand.
"So, Kevin, got any plans for tonight?"
"Not particularly."
"Wrong. You're coming to the after party."
"What? No! No after party!"
"Certainly! You must! I insist!"
"I-I-I can't! I promised… I promised Nazz I would hang out with her. So, I can't possibly go to something without her."
"I see." Eddward slight grin fades into a cold stare. He looks around, then he quickly brushes past Kevin. Kevin stands there a bit flabbergasted before spinning around to see Eddward march right up to Nazz.
Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.
Kevin rushes after him, careful not to slip on the water on the floor. He watches as Edd taps Nazz on the shoulder, prompting Nazz to spin around.
CRAP! NO!
"I told Kevin about the after party. I want him there, but he refuses to go without you. So, I would like to invite you and to propose a compromise where-"
Kevin approaches right as Nazz cuts Eddward off with a loud squeal. "I'll be there! And so will Kev! I'll make sure of it!"
Edd turns and gives Kevin a wicked smile.
"I… I guess I'm going then," Kevin said while trying to get Nazz to stop bouncing up and down on the slippery floor.
"Glad to hear it." Edd nods at them both before walking away towards his teammates.
"We're both going to the swim meet after party!"
"I guess so. But what's the big deal?"
"What's the big deal!? It's not like the football game after parties where anyone and everyone just shows up and all there is is bad drinks and loud music. First off, this is invite only. So it's like elitist or whatever. Then there's…"
Kevin tried to listen to Nazz, but a group of swimmers were walking by, including Edd who now had his hair in a small ponytail. Oh geez. It's just hair. Why am I acting like this?
He strains to listen to them over Nazz, until two of the boys start to jog away towards the locker room.
One boy turns back and shouts, "See you next week!"
"You'll actually be seeing me at the party tonight…" Eddward replied back loudly.
The boy stops in his tracks and pads back closer to Eddward. Kevin noted how several other swimmers had also stopped what they were doing and were watching curiously. "Dude! You're gonna come to the party?"
"Indeed."
"Sweet. But, um… but what made you finally change your mind?"
"Oh… I just found something that piqued my interest…"