WARNING: Lots of angst in this first part. Read at your own risk.

Everyone has that one deep, dark secret. The one they keep hidden deep inside, away from prying, judgmental eyes. Chains lock it in place. Walls go up around it, guarding it, imprisoning it. Kevin had only a second to register that Eddy was in his room, uninvited and sitting on his floor amidst a mess of Kevin's things, before his gaze was drawn to the magazine clutched in the unwanted teen's hands—and just like that, with no prior warning, carefully constructed walls came crashing down. The chains severed. All color drained from Kevin's face as his heart thudded painfully against his ribs, beating out an unsteady rhythm of no. From between Eddy's fingers, glimpses of a scantily clad raven-haired man were visible.

Kevin wanted to run, to escape, but he couldn't. This was something he couldn't run away from, as much as he'd like to. This was reality; truth in its harshest form. He waited for the realization to dawn in Eddy's eyes, for the connection to be made, only it didn't come. The shock in Eddy's face faded and his expression transformed, a wicked smile appearing on his lips. Chills ran down Kevin's back at the new glint in Eddy's eyes. He was trapped and Eddy knew it, could see it in his panicked eyes and pale, rigid face, and Kevin knew Eddy intended to capitalize on it. He had a childhood of bullying to get revenge for and he had just found the perfect ammunition to do it.

And just like that, Eddy's revenge began.

Kevin was forced to do everything Eddy told him, unable to refuse with the ever present threat of telling looming over him, threatening to crush him. He had tried vainly to threaten Eddy into silence, but Eddy quickly pointed out that Kevin could beat him up, but the second he got the chance he'd tell the whole school that the star athlete, the popular guy, the guy nearly every girl in school wanted, had a gay porno magazine under his bed. A stab of relief came with this realization however because it was then that Kevin became certain Eddy didn't actually know his secret, the real reason why he happened to have a gay magazine featuring a slender, black-haired man with a slight gap between his two front teeth. The magazine had been a test—a test to find out if he was attracted to other guys or if it was just Edd. Turned out it was just Edd.

Still, Kevin wasn't about to correct Eddy. He'd rather him think it was all guys then one of his own best friends. And, since Kevin really didn't want the whole school knowing he had a gay porno, regardless of the reasons, he did everything Eddy told him to. Kevin was forced to clean Eddy's entire house, do his laundry, mow his lawn, wait on him hand and foot, do a variety of demeaning tasks, and anything else Eddy could think of off the top of his head. Kevin was in the middle of raking Eddy's lawn when his patience finally snapped.

"Enough!" Kevin growled through clenched teeth, throwing the rake to the ground. "I did everything you said so you better not tell anyone, got it dork?!"

"There's just one more thing you have to do," Eddy told him, a smirk appearing on his face.

"What?"

"Remember that time you used my middle name to blackmail me? All those things you had me do?" Eddy asked. Before Kevin could respond, the sound of a door opening across the street earned their attention and they both turned to watched Edd walk out of his house. "Perfect timing."

A horrible, sinking feeling filled Kevin as realization dawned on him. He began shaking his head, but Eddy's smirk was unrelenting.

"No—"

"Yes."

"You can't be serious!" Kevin hissed, panic racing through him now. This couldn't be happening. His mind moved fast, trying to figure out how to talk Eddy out of this. "The whole point of this is so that nobody finds out! I can't just kiss a guy in the middle of the street!"

"Then you better hurry up and do it before anyone see's," Eddy told him coolly, clearly enjoying Kevin's panic.

Kevin opened his mouth, but no words came. There was no choice. It was either kiss Edd or have the whole school know about the magazine—which would include Edd and somehow Edd knowing about the magazine seemed even more horrific than the idea of kissing him right now. Kevin swallowed hard as he reached his resolve. He took a deep breath before he crossed the street to where Edd was checking his mail, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

Edd heard him coming and he turned to look at him. A smile appeared on his face in greeting and Kevin nearly turned right back around. Summoning all his courage, Kevin reached out and grabbed Edd's shirt, pulling him forward. Edd was so startled, his mail fell from his hands, fluttering to the ground. Edd just barely caught a whisper of, "Sorry, Double Dork," and then, Kevin's lips were on his. At the touch of Kevin's lips against his, a cascade of feelings crashed through Edd, hitting him like a tidal wave of emotions: bewilderment, shock, wonder, and lastly and most importantly—joy.

All those hours, days, weeks, years spent dreaming about this and it was finally happening. Kevin was kissing him. The very thought was enough to render Edd breathless with happiness, filling him with a surge of hope he had never dreamed to have before, the possibility that all those feelings he had kept bottled up inside for so long might just not be one-sided after all.

As their lips met, warmth overrode the desperate horror in Kevin, because although he was being forced to do this now, he had spent countless hours dreaming of this moment. Edd's lips were soft and warm and fit perfectly against his, as if that was where they were meant to be. The feelings that rushed through Kevin were beyond anything that Kevin could've imagined—and that almost made it worse.

Loud, raucous laughter brought both of them crashing back to reality and Kevin abruptly released his hold on Edd, pushing him away with more force than intended. As Edd stumbled back, Kevin rounded on Eddy, suddenly furious. This was all Eddy's fault.

"If you ever say anything to anyone dork, I swear—" Kevin began, voice shaking with anger, but Eddy just brushed him off, not at all fazed.

"Calm down," Eddy said lazily. He strolled over to Edd who was watching this exchange with complete and utter bewilderment, every inch of his face flushed scarlet. Eddy slipped an arm around Edd's shoulders, snickering, and Kevin's heart stopped in his chest.

"What are you doing?" Kevin asked, taking a step towards him, but Eddy stepped back, pulling Edd with him, and then, with a devilish grin, Eddy leaned towards Edd's ear and whispered Kevin's 'secret'. Kevin could do nothing, but watch his nightmare unfurl. It took only seconds for Kevin's world to unravel and Eddy to pull away from Edd, smug with satisfaction.

Edd stared at Kevin, eyes wide as Eddy's words swirled through his head, his mind groping to understand them, and then, it clicked. It all clicked and just like that crushing, overwhelming disappointment and hurt crashed through Edd, knocking the breath out of him. That shred of hope that had appeared shriveled up and died inside him. Another emotion coursed through Edd and it was that one he focused on.

"I'm going to kill you!" Kevin snarled, stepping towards Eddy who was laughing his head off, but before Kevin could do anything, Edd rounded on Eddy, face burning and eyes dark, narrowed slits of anger.

"This is not a laughing matter!" Edd exploded, and instantly, Eddy's laughter stopped, all humor wiped away. Edd had two different types of mad: the first, which was usually just vented through sarcasm and exasperation, the kind of mad that was more cute than intimidating, and then the second, the one Ed had labeled his "evil dark side"—the one that only appeared when Eddy had done something really wrong. This was the second and Eddy knew at once that he had messed up, bad.

"Of all the small-minded, pigheaded things you've done this is by far the worst!" Edd continued, his voice shaking with anger and more that neither Eddy nor Kevin could define. "I can't believe you'd stoop so low as to use someone's sexuality as a threat, as if it's something to be ashamed of! There's nothing wrong with being who you are! And if you believe otherwise, I don't think we can be friends anymore!"

Edd released a long, ragged breath as his rant came to an end, his heart hammering in his chest. He got a glimpse of Eddy's expression, shocked and guilty and pained, before he turned away, away from Eddy, away from Kevin, and bolted. Eddy and Kevin watched him go, both of them stunned speechless.

Edd slammed his door closed behind him and locked it before he finally collapsed against it, tears burning in his eyes. He slid down the door until he was sitting on the floor, knees drawn to his chest and hot, burning tears streaming down his face. For one stupid moment he had actually believe Kevin had feelings for him. Pain filled Edd's chest, suffocating him as he gasped for air between sobs, crying more now than he had in years. In one day—nearly one minute—he had managed to have his hopes raised and crushed, his heartbroken, and lose one of his best friends.

Don't say I didn't warn you. Sorry about all the angst guys, but really can't help it X( It's my favorite emotion to write. BUT I promise this has a happy ending! This will only be a two part story, so only one more chapter/part after this one. For updates/new story infor check out my tumblr: xXWrittenSinsXx.