A/N: Hey everyone! Well, I was not planning on posting this until after I was completely done with Words Speak Loud, but I felt inspired and confident about this one, so here's the first chapter.
Keep in mind that this will have both Kevedd and Natedd.
Nat belongs to c2ndy2c1d.
Nathan rested lazily on his back next to his best friend, Kevin, his arms sprawled over his head. Beneath them, the dark green grass of Kevin's lawn was moist from having had the sprinklers on earlier. The hot summer sun beamed on their faces.
"Alright, I'm getting sweaty now," Kevin said, sitting up. The redhead yawned and stretched. "Come on, Goldberg. Let's go inside."
"Kevin, relax," Nat said. "I'm not done tanning yet." He gave his friend a cheesy grin in which Kevin rolled his eyes at.
"Whatever you say, grasshead. I'm going to get something to drink. You want anything?"
Nat thought about for it second and nodded. "Yeah, lemonade if you got any."
Kevin walked into his house to retrieve the refreshments while Nat remained on the grass, his eyes shut as he enjoyed the warmth of the sun. He sighed loudly.
A soft giggle startled him. The green-haired teen opened his eyes wide and looked up to find Eddward standing on the sidewalk, covering his mouth to prevent himself from laughing any more.
"E-Edd," Nat stuttered as he jumped up on his feet. "Hey, man. H-h-how's it going?" The teen scratched the back of his head, wiping off some pieces of grass as he did so. He grinned nervously at the smaller teen wearing a black beanie, khaki shorts, a short-sleeve light blue collar shirt with a green and dark blue plaid vest over it. Nat looked down at his own outfit. He was just wearing a white tank top with navy blue basketball shorts.
"Salutations, Nathan," Edd greeted with a smile. "I hope I didn't interrupt you."
"Nah, I'm fine." Nat brushed off the back of his tank top and smiled gently, gaining his confidence in front of the sockhead.
"Well, I'm heading off to Ed's house now," Double D said, "I will see you tomorrow at school." He waved goodbye to Nat before continuing his walk.
Nat waved back and pouted a little.
"Man, why are you friends with one of the dorks?" Kevin's voice appeared from behind.
Nathan turned around to face his friend and took the glass of cold lemonade from his hand. The green-haired teen shrugged and said, "He's pretty cool for a dork. You should give him a chance, Kev."
Kevin chuckled and shook his head. "No thanks. I wouldn't wanna be friends with someone who's a hundred times smarter than me. He'd just end up annoying me."
"Not really. He's pretty funny and comes in handy if you need help with something." Nat took a sip of his lemonade and licked his lips. "He's mainly the only reason I even passed Algebra two with a B."
Kevin took Nat's words into consideration. He held the cup up to his lips, but stopped when he saw the three Eds walking out of Ed's house. Double D seemed awfully disgusted with something Ed was holding. Kevin smiled slightly and looked at Nat. "I guess."
The two of them spent the rest of their last day of summer vacation watching movies with their other friends in the cul-de-sac: Nazz, Rolf, Jonny, Sarah, and Jimmy. The Eds weren't invited, as usual, even though none of them really had a problem with them anymore. It was still a little weird hanging around those three when they were completely different from all of them. Besides, the Eds had other plans. They always did.
The gang watched around five movies from romantic to comedy to horror. Nat and Rolf were the only ones to not jump at any scary scenes. Kevin would annoyingly punch Nat's shoulder for not reacting, and Nat would just laugh. Once the ending credits to the last movie played, the green-haired teen rose and yawned loudly.
"I'mma get going, guys," he announced.
Nazz stood up and embraced him tightly. "See you tomorrow, Nat." She smiled and let go of him.
Nat nodded and said his goodbyes to everyone else. He made his way out of Kevin's house. The summer night air was fresh against his bare arms and face. He stuffed his hand into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out his car keys. Making his way towards his car, he looked up and saw a figure walking towards the house across Kevin's. Nat squinted his eyes to adjust his vision to the darkness and realized it was Edd.
A wide grin spread across his face. "Hey, Edd!" He called out.
Double D gasped at the sound of his name. He looked over and sighed in relief. "Oh, Nathan. You frightened me." The sockhead made his to Nat and smiled once he reached him.
Nat leaned against his car and crossed his arms. "Sorry for scaring you."
"All is forgiven. Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"For school?" Nat scrunched up his nose. "Pfft, nope!"
Edd laughed softly, revealing the gap between his teeth. Nat felt a sort of tingle feeling inside his stomach, but he ignored it and just smiled at Double D.
"I bet you've been ready since before sophomore year even ended," he teased. Edd furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes, giving Nat his turn to laugh.
"I'm just kidding, Edd!" But Nat continued to laugh.
"Yes, yes, charming," Double D answered.
The green-haired teen stopped laughing at once and cleared his throat. The awkward silence between wasn't something Nat was used to. He could always have a conversation with anyone without any of the awkwardness he was experiencing now with Edd.
"So..." he spoke, "Got any plans for the school year? Like clubs or stuff..."
"I assume you're going to be on the football team this year again, correct?" Edd asked. Nat grinned proudly as he nodded. Double D smiled and began to answer Nat's question. Nathan was listening... at first. The street light Edd was standing under gave his blue eyes a more luminous glow that made them sparkle. Nat found himself staring into them, lost in thought about how mesmerizing they were. A dreamy smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Double D continued to speak, going on and on about a new club he heard rumors about, but once he finished, he looked at Nat in confusion. The green-haired teen was just staring at him with a sort of dazed expression.
"Um... Nathan?" Edd leaned forward and gently shook the other by the shoulder.
Nat blinked a few times and jumped back, laughing nervously. "Heh heh, sorry about that, man. I guess I dozed off, thinking about this girl." He winked at the smaller teen.
Edd smiled and nodded. "That's quite all right, Nathan." Nat hated being called 'Nathan', but he had made an exception for Edd, because well... he was Edd, and there was just something about the way Double D said 'Nathan' that made it tolerable.
"I will excuse myself now," Edd said. "Goodnight." With a simple pat on Nat's shoulder, Double D turned and headed up to his front door.
"Night Edd," Nat softly said back.
Edd glanced over his shoulder and waved with a smile before entering his home and closing the door behind him, leaving Nat alone in the darkness of the cul-de-sac. The green-haired teen sighed and got into his car.
"Alright," Kevin said to Nat as the two made their way into the school building of Peach Creek High. "I have English 3 with Caesar, second period Earth Science with Johnson, third period cooking with Rogers-"
Edd looked up from his own schedule and turned to see Kevin loudly announcing his classes to his best friend. Double D smiled and sauntered over to them.
"Why Kevin," he spoke. Kevin and Nat turned their attention to the shorter teen. Nat tried hiding his smile by covering his mouth with hand. "It seems we have third period together," Edd finished.
The redhead groaned silently as he turned so his back would be facing Edd. "Great," he mumbled to Nat.
Nat narrowed his eyes at Kevin, and then smiled at Edd. "What other classes do you have?"
Double D handed over his schedule and Nat took it. His heart raced with excitement as he started reading over it, but frowned once he was done.
"Oh, man," he said in almost a whisper, "I guess we don't have any classes together." Nat didn't want to make it obvious that he was upset, but it did bum him out a little. He was hoping to get another class with the sockhead so they could have another reason to hangout and get to know each other better. He simply shrugged and handed the piece of paper back to Edd.
"Well, that won't stop us from communicating, will it?" Double D asked with a sly smile.
Nat scratched the back of his head as he grinned nervously. He shook his head and said, "Nah, man. We can still talk and chill if you want." His eyes shifted over to the redhead standing next to him.
Kevin wasn't even paying any attention. He was too busy texting back someone. Nat peeked over his shoulder and Kevin jumped back.
"Dude, really?" The redhead rolled his eyes playfully. This made Nat loosen up a little. His grin was now more cocky than nervous.
He wrapped an around Kevin's neck and said, "I see you and Nazz are getting flirty." Nat winked at his best friend, but Kevin just pushed him off and laughed.
Edd also laughed, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. The redhead took notice of this and smiled. Double D cleared his throat when he stopped laughing and returned Kevin's smile. Nat looked at them both smiling at each other and frowned. Why was he feeling jealous? Kevin wasn't gay, and even if he did like guys, Nat knew Kevin wouldn't go for one of the Eds. But then again, why wouldn't he go for Edd? The lanky teen was a complete intelligent sweetheart with a side of sass.
Nat shook his head. He was looking too much into a simple exchange of smiles. Kevin was now staring at him with bewildered eyes and Nat couldn't think of anything to say or do but smirk. Usually, he was smooth and confident with everything, but that little sockhead had a way of making him flustered with just his presence.
It's just a stupid crush, it'll go away, he reminded himself and it honestly made him feel more relaxed. He sighed in relief and smiled at Kevin.
"You okay, man?" The redhead asked.
"Am I okay?" Nat scoffed and popped his collar. "I'm fine." He looked at Edd and winked at him, making the sockhead blush a bit.
"That wasn't necessary, Nathan," Double D told him, his cheeks still a light shade of pink.
"Nothing I do is necessary, sweet cheeks, but I still do it anyway."
"Can't disagree with that," Kevin added.
The bell rung and students began slowly making their way to class. Some freshmen stood in awe of everyone, not sure where to even go.
"You know what," Kevin said. "I think I'll be nice for once and help these little kids." He smirked and walked over to two certain freshmen. "Hey, Sarah and Jimmy. Need help?" The two fourteen year olds from the cul-de-sac smiled at him and began showing him their schedule.
"That's very nice of Kevin to help out Sarah and Jimmy," Edd commented.
Nat scrunched up his nose, annoyed to feel the same ping of jealousy from earlier return. "Not really. He just did it because he knows them."
Double D blinked hard and faced Nat. "It's still a nice gesture."
The green-haired teen nodded and smirked at him. "Come on, Double dude." He casually put his arm around Edd's neck. "Let me walk you to class."