"Dammit Eddy you dick, stop fucking spawn killing me that's cheating!" Ed exploded, chucking the controller in his hand at Eddy's solid head and reeling it back on its cord, ducking to avoid the empty can of soda that sailed toward him in retaliation.
"Get better Lumpy, no mercy in my fucking dojo." Eddy laughed back, killing Ed again and dissolving back into giggles at Ed's outraged cry.
"Will the both of you kindly cease throwing objects in my room please?" Edd piped up from his spot, curled up against the wall at the head of his bed with his homework spread in front of him. "If you break my ant farm again I'm making you both finance its replacement."
"Yeah yeah Sockhead we know about the ants." Eddy cackled again as Ed settled for a dirty glare instead of the shoe he had just removed from his foot. "Chill with the shoes Ed before Double D grounds us."
Satisfied that his two friends wouldn't destroy his possessions, Edd turned back to his homework, easily going through his physics equations and letting Ed and Eddys banter fade into a soothing background soundtrack. It was comforting for Edd, they did this nearly every day, granted one of them wasn't grounded or the rare occasions Edd's parents were home.
It was warm in Edd's room, too nearly too warm for him with the late afternoon August sun rays streaming down into his window. His back itched with sweat and he tugged at the sleeves of his cardigan, the cuts from earlier today stinging fresh and angry on his skin.
He let his pencil pause, looking up as his two best friends sat with their game paused, locked in a heated argument about Eddy's playing strategies and sighed quietly. He hadn't mentioned his panic attack that had hit him during calculus before lunch that day, as after he had managed to still his breathing he had smiled through lunch and survived the rest of the day without worrying them. His stomach twisted with a pang of guilt at the thought of hiding it from them when he knew they only had his best interests at heart, but even Edd grew tired of himself on multiple occasion, he could only imagine how they felt. They both often checked on the state of his arms, and Eddy made it a habit to text him when the shorter boy going to sleep, around three in the morning, in case Edd was having trouble sleeping. They were the best friends he could ask for and worrying them wasn't something he enjoyed. He hadn't had a particularly bad episode since Kevin's fathers funeral about a month ago, and his friends had been quite angry about the state of his arms the day after, and he'd rather not repeat the experience so soon anyways. A bit of guilt wasn't anything he was a stranger to.
Turning his head away from his homework, he stared out at the cul-de-sac where he grew up, his gaze falling on the house across the street at the memory of the funeral. He hadn't seen much of Kevin in the last month, not altogether surprising given how different their social circles were, but he hadn't seen him around the neighborhood either. It wasn't an uncommon sight when he was younger to see the redhead posted outside of his house, tinkering with his bike, or more recently, the motorcycle he had received when he turned seventeen. He had meant to ask him how he had been feeling after the recent loss of his father. Edd felt bad that so long had gone by since he had the chance to do so.
As though on cue, the loud roar of what could only be a motorcycle engine was suddenly audible over Ed and Eddy's squabbling and a long shadow entered Edd's field of vision, the black bike pulling up in front of Kevin's house with two people astride it, their heads obscured by bulky helmets. He watched as Kevin and Naz pulled off their helmets and disappear into Kevin's house and he felt the same twinge of slight annoyance that had always plagued him at the sight. Edd kept to himself and never messed with politics at the top of the food chain, but he didn't they made a good couple, something was just off about them.
Edd frowned at himself, his gaze fixed on the black bike as his thoughts chased each other around his head, how Naz and Kevin had always been a thing, kinda, throughout the years. he wasn't sure when it started to annoy him at the thought of them together. But that wasn't any of his business.
He shook the intrusive thoughts out of his head and turned back to his homework, pleasantly surprised to see that he had already completed his homework without his own realizing it and he began to lovingly reorganize his school things back into his backpack, sharpening each of his pencils back to perfection before sliding them back into their case. He had nearly finished when he was startled by a shoe that sailed past his face and bounced off the wall behind him.
"Gentlemen?!" Edd exclaimed in alarm, turning to glare at his friends, Eddy who was dying of laughter and Ed who was looking livid. "Must I repeat the 'No Throwing Things In Edd's Room' rule EVERY time we are in here!"
"Lumpy was talking shit!-" "Eddy threw the shoe!" They both yelled their argument at the same time and Edd rolled his eyes and threw the shoe back Ed, who caught it and shoved it back on his foot.
"May I suggest a movie Gentlemen, since neither of you are mature enough to handle the xbox?" Edd asked witout leaving much room for argument and ignoring Ed and Eddy's groans as he switched off the game system.
"Soooooo...now are you gonna tell me what was so important you didn't go back to study hall? Cause this whole ' I'll tell you later ' noise is getting kinda old Kev." Naz pouted as soon as they were inside his house. Kevin rolled his eyes, dropping his helmet next to her son the couch before falling onto it himself. Naz perched herself daintily on the table in front of him and raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Kevin sighed and ran his hand down his face, not sure where to start. "Long story short I might not go to college."
"What?" Naz blinked in confusion. "Everyone can go to college, it's ridiculously easy to get into at least the Community College, your dad left like, a shit ton of inheritance, there should be no issue! What's your GPA?"
"At the moment, C minus." Kevin ground out, his irritation climbing by the minute.
"A C minus?!" Jesus Christ Kevin what have you been doing, even I have a higher GPA than tha-" Naz trailed off at Kevin's glare, grinning guiltily. "Sorry, but that's insane Kev, what gives?"
Kevin dropped his eyes to the rug under Naz's feet, not wanting to meet her eyes. "We weren't planning on him dying Naz, remember? I was never even supposed to go to college, why even bother? A C minus keeps me on the team and kept him from getting calls from the school ya know? Like what did I care?" The knot in Kevin's stomach twisted further, a lump of molten lead sitting on his chest.
Naz sat down next to him, her hand resting on his knee. "Did they say there was anything but you could do? Like, I dunno, tutoring or something? You still have a year left to fix things, right?"
Running a hand through his sweaty hair and finally shoving his hat back onto his head, Kevin swallowed, refusing to let the panic set in. "The lady that told me said that if I keep my grades at an A, then I can graduate with a B minus."
"Hey that's good!" Naz bounced slightly on the couch and clapped in a childish way that hurt Kevin's head. "You can make it all better!"
"Yeah there's a problem with that." Kevin could have laughed at how quickly she deflated if he were in the mood for it. "I'm not smart, like, at all. I've slept through more class than I remember, like, I'm so royally fucked, Naz, that I could do porn." Kevin dropped his head into his hands, rolling his shoulders with tension.
Naz sat silently next to him, Kevin hearing her breathing and then flinching when she suddenly launched herself off the couch, jumping to her feet and bouncing up and down in front of him.
"KEVIN! Oh my god oh my god oh my god I have a BRILLIANT beyond brilliant idea!" She squeaked, running in place and stomping her feet. "Like in all seriousness, I'm a total freaking genius!"
"Can I remind you that the last time you described a plan as 'brilliant beyond brilliant' we got Rolf grounded for a month and we both ended up in the hospital?" Kevin spoke into his hands, not looking up to watch the face she pulled as she remembered the summer of freshman year.
"Yeah, but this isn't like the time we tried to sneak out by jumping from one house to the other." She leaned forward and pried his fingers off his eyes. "And this one takes care of two much overdue birds with one genius ass stone." Her face is stretched in a shit eating grin and nerves attack Kevin once again.
"What is it Blondie." He finally acquiesced, cringing as he watched her giggle before answering.
"You ask Double D for tutoring!" She said, looking extremely proud of herself as she beamed at him. "Edd's hella smart, your grades go up AND you can finally talk to the object of your obsession which I KNOW you haven't done yet and then Kevin graduates with good grades and lives happily ever after." She finished with a flourish, her arms wide and her face comically bright.
Kevin didn't let his face change, keeping it flat as he could despite the fact that his stomach just dropped sixteen feet at the mention of Edd's name and he could feel the tips of his ears burn with a blush. The petty side of him laughed silently as how Naz's grin faltered more the longer he stared at her without moving.
Naz however, knew his game. She dropped her arms and folded them across her chest, her smile falling into a glare. "Alright you dick that's my idea, now actually say something."
Kevin's actually chuckled that time, moving over on the couch and letting Naz plop next to him. "As fun as that sounds Naz, wouldn't it kinda seem like that's all I'm using him for? Plus physics doesn't exactly get my motor going." Kevin sighed. It wasn't like the thought of asking the skinny nerd for help hadn't crossed his mind, but he had axed the idea nearly as soon as it had formed. The last thing he wanted was Edd to think he had o let been using him, he knew other people had done the same thing, and he couldn't imagine it felt very good.
Plus, though he'd never admit it out loud if you paid him, the thought of approaching Edd to ask such a thing awakened every nervous bone in Kevin's body, and he wasn't a shy person, but fuck he couldn't even imagine what he would say in that given moment, let alone trying to flirt.
"For fucks sake Kevin, you choose now to be a gentleman?" Naz ground out in annoyance, running a hand through her hair and making her short bangs stand up on end. "Last year you told everyone Amanda Beckett had no nipples because she gave your number to May Kanker."
Kevin let out a bark of laughter at that. Yeah it was fucked up but it was still funny. "I'm not a monster Naz. Plus remember what May Kanker did with my number?"
"That's so not the point of the conversation Kevin." Naz tried to keep a straight face and huffed.
"The point is-" Kevin dropped his head into her shoulder. "I'm not a monster, and Double D's a twitchy kid as it is, the last thing I need is him thinking I'm using him."
Naz sighed heavily and dropped her head onto his. "It's been six years Kev." She spoke softly, Kevin could feel her words vibrating in his hair. "You've been in love with this kid for six fucking years. And the universe has finally lined up and you have a perfect excuse to talk to him and you're being a little bitch about it."
Kevin slumped further on the couch, his energy suddenly drained and he couldn't find the fight to say anything to her about calling him out. "I know."
"I mean plus, how else are you gonna get your grades up you know?" Naz sounded like her smile was back. "You kind of have to."
Kevin's insides suddenly felt like the inside of a blender as he realized she was right.
He was gonna have to do it.
