Disconnect

Chapter three

Edd stared determinedly at the text message that had sparked his phone into life just moments beforehand, trying desperately to keep the blush he could feel creeping up his neck at bay. It was quickly found to be an effort in vain though as the word stared back at him from the screen, bringing with its presence a renewed tingle in his lips from where they had touched upon the smooth, clean-shaven cheek of the red-head he had just enjoyed putting off doing homework for.

He tugged his lower lip between his teeth as he watched the screen of his phone begin to blackout, touching it gently to set it alight again and feeling a flutter somewhere inside of him as he continued to stare at the text. He knew that this was just a little more than foolish, getting so flustered over one little word, because he had thought that he was at least slightly above such schoolgirl type antics. But as he continued to stand there it was becoming apparent that not even he was exempt from the much clichéd thoughts, actions and feelings that came with one's first crush.

That was the thought that finally gave Edd the motivation to put the phone down in his desk drawer where he usually kept it while he did his homework so that it would be out of sight and mind. He sat down on his desk chair once the drawer slid home and took to then staring out the window to where he knew Kevin's house was across the street.

Yes, it was no real surprise that he had a crush on the other teen – as he had known it for some time – because even he could admit that Kevin had been gifted with looks that rose above average, but after tonight, after finding out that those nice features were actually backed up by some sort of substance, he knew that those feelings had begun to deepen in a way he didn't exactly know if he approved of yet. Because it was complicated; the boy who had spent a good deal of their younger years together making sure to almost go out of his way to pick on him and his friends, and who he had begun to avoid at all costs as they'd grown was now the same boy who he had just spent hours with, talking and laughing as if their past was nothing but a dream, imagined and easily forgotten though an afterimage would always be there burning in the back of your mind.

It wasn't the case though, Edd knew that. What had happened between them, all the things Kevin had done over the years hadn't just gone away because of this. They never would go away, but Edd had grown and he had forgiven the teen somewhere along the line… Maybe that was what made this all a little bit easier, knowing that he didn't carry a grudge for all the bad that had been done to him. Knowing he wasn't like Eddy…

He chuckled under his breath. Yes, regardless that Eddy was his friend he still liked to think himself better than him, maturity wise. After all, he wasn't the one that constantly refused to cease in this strange feud with Kevin that had seemed to have been going on since the beginning of time.

So no, he wasn't like Eddy. He had forgiven Kevin sometime ago when the teasing had stopped and the teen didn't go out of his way to make his life miserable. And although he knew that he should perhaps be feeling some sort of unhappiness with the way Kevin treated his friend, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything but exasperation, toward Eddy, because there had been many a moment when the opportunity had arisen to make some sort of truce between them.

Edd shook his head, forcing himself to look away from the window and this line of thought as he came to the conclusion that yes, he liked Kevin, and yes, it was okay to like him, regardless of their past, as the red-head seemed genuinely interested in making up for those mistakes. And he left it at that as he retrieved his backpack and spread his various assignments and books out before him, deciding that he'd spent enough time distracting himself.

The next two hours were well spent, and when he finally tucked his last book into his bag, Edd stretched and yawned with a small, sleepy smile on his face and a feeling of accomplishment flourishing in his chest as it always did after he successfully finished his work. His next twenty minutes were spent taking a shower and then getting ready for bed.

When he returned to his room he opened up his desk drawer to retrieve his phone and saw that he had missed a call from Eddy, though he deemed it unimportant enough from the voicemail he'd been left and so didn't return the call. He'd see him in the morning anyway.

At that, Edd looked back up to his window, staring out to see a single light still on in the upper rooms of Kevin's home, but only letting his gaze linger for a moment before he looked back down at his phone to open the text he'd gotten from the teen hours before. Curiosity began to well in his chest while he sank underneath the covers of his bed, eyes glued to the single word that now seemed to stare back at him tauntingly.

He would see Kevin tomorrow, though whether in the morning on his way to school or roaming the halls of the establishment itself Edd couldn't say, but he knew it would happen, that they would end up running into each other at some point. They did share a few classes together after all. So what would it be like between them now? Surely Kevin wouldn't act like nothing had happened, but it also wasn't like one evening spent getting to know one another meant that much of anything had changed between them, regardless of the kiss he'd given him.

A sigh escaped him, his thoughts running in circles. He reached up and turned out the lamp on his bedside table, deciding that now was no longer the time to worry about this. Yes, he was curious as to how they would now act around one another, but it was something that could wait and be addressed in the morning. So he plugged his phone in to charge before turning over on his side and closing his eyes…

Before quickly turning over and grabbing for his phone again, typing out a quick, simple message and sending it without much more thought.

Good night, Kevin.

He found himself feeling a little more at ease once it was confirmed that the text had been sent and he set his phone down again, this time not bothering to turn over as he let his eyes slip closed, falling to sleep relatively quickly afterward, his dreams occupied by a certain red-headed jock.

XxX

Edd found himself staring at his phone again the next morning once he had dressed, checked over his homework and had breakfast, though now he had abandoned staring at the message Kevin had sent him the night before so that he could watch the indicator blink relentlessly in the blank white text space. He still hadn't decided if sending another text was a wise idea when his one from last night had gone unanswered.

The decision was taken out of his hands though when he heard a violent knocking on the front door followed by the ringing of the doorbell as it was pushed an innumerable amount of times. Edd knew who it was immediately, and also knew that the incessant noise wouldn't stop until he appeared, so he slipped his phone into his pocket as he moved to meet his friends on the porch.

"Good morning, gentlemen," he greeted quietly, pulling his backpack on and then locking the door behind him as Eddy jumped right in.

"What the hell, Double D! Where d'you disappear to yesterday? Didn't'cha remember that we were supposed to be goin' over plans for my next prank? It's gonna be amazin', and I needed your help with fixing a few little…hey!" Eddy shouted as they walked, jumping quickly in front of Double D and moving to walk backwards in front of him. "Are you even listening to me?"

Truthfully he wasn't, but from every conversation like this that he'd sat through before, Edd knew where it was all heading. So he chose to keep his silence on the matter as he was sure Eddy would let it pass and continue his ramblings momentarily; in times like this Edd was really rather grateful for the bigger teen's short attention span when it came to anything other than his schemes and pranks.

And, for the most part, Eddy didn't disappoint, letting go of the fact that Edd happened to not be listening to him, though seeming a little too intent on finding out what had kept his friend the day before and so asked again, "So what did happen to you yesterday, Sockhead?"

Edd pulled a slight face at the name as he answered, "You must realize, Eddy, that I do have a right to make plans for myself, correct?"

"Oooh, so am I to take that as you found yourself a nice piece of ass then? Geez, man, finally!"

Ed, who had been pleasantly quiet on the walk so far, decided to perk up at that moment, a smile stretching his features, "Double D, Double D! Did you make a special friend?"

Edd was about halfway to answering the tall, looming figure of his childlike friend when his eyes caught sight of someone across the street. He found himself staring for only a moment at the form he now recognized as Kevin, who was pushing his bike along beside him while he finished off the last of a slice of toast before stopping to swing his leg over his bike.

"Yo!" Eddy shouted, waving his hand abruptly in front of Edd's face and causing him to break his gaze away from the sight before him, "You're lookin' a little lost there, Double D… What's goin'…wait…" Eddy stopped himself and turned to glance in the direction he kept seeing Edd's eyes dart toward, the slighter of the three having slowly started to shift his focus back to the muscular jock who was hitching his backpack up over his shoulders.

"Hey! Fuckface—"

"Eddy!" Double D immediately admonished, "I don't see any reason why such unflattering language is necessary!"

But Eddy wasn't listening, only shouting more explicit and derogatory remarks across the street over the din of Edd's reprimands. Kevin though was just about as unfazed as ever, only raising his middle finger in a more mild-mannered approach to get his point and feelings across. His gaze flitted for a moment to Edd though, at least that was what Edd had thought as he sent a small, apologetic small Kevin's way, but whatever he thought he had witnessed was gone just as quickly as Kevin pressed a foot to one of his bicycle pedals and began riding away.

Thankfully, the departure seemed to calm Eddy as they began again on their way, though Edd could still hear him muttering beneath his breath things that he was sure he wouldn't approve of, especially not now after what had transpired between him and the red-head the evening before.

He decided to keep his silence on the matter though and they walked in relative silence the rest of the way to school, only Eddy's increasingly quieting mutterings and the hum of some strange tune by Ed keeping the sound of their feet scuffing the ground company until the raucous screams and shouts rose up from the building that now loomed before them.

"I shall see you later, gentlemen," Edd proclaimed as they walked toward the doors of the school. He took his leave of his two friends just as something caught Eddy's attention from the other side of the yard, something he couldn't see and didn't want to see, but was almost positive would end up being a factor in some type of disorder caused by the rowdy troublemaker. It suited Edd just find though; anything that kept Eddy from becoming enthralled with the details of his personal life again was close enough to a Godsend in his eyes.

But as he pushed open the heavy glass door that led into the school he knew that he had another reason for getting away, one he didn't yet know if he was proud to admit as he scanned the foyer before him, eyes taking in the sea of roaming students before him but never finding what they wanted. He just wanted to talk to Kevin.

Even if it was only for a moment or even only another glance, one filled with acknowledgment that he couldn't have imagined from across a street with his eyes straining to see, at the moment, he would take just about anything. Right now he just needed the fulfillment of knowing that everything that had happened the afternoon before hadn't been something spun entirely from his imagination.

As he walked through the halls his hopes began to fall though, knowing that each step he took further into the heart of this wonderful place of learning was just another moment that he went on unknowingly.

Edd hated not knowing things.

He sighed and brought his hand up to rub against his eyes as he made his way to the very end of a crowded corridor, thinking for a moment that if it came to it, if he were desperate enough, he could reach—"Oof!" His body hit something solid and his eyes snapped open immediately, searching the ground as he heard a book drop and kneeling to pick it up along with some scattered papers that had flown out of it.

"Oh my! Oh, goodness, I apologize for my inattentiveness! I—"

"Don't worry about it, Dork."

Edd fingers froze midway through stacking the last sheet of paper on top of the book cradled in his arms. His gaze fixated then on the shoes in front of him and slowly traveled up until he came to see the face that voice still echoing through his mind belonged to.

"K-Kevin!"

An eyebrow raised at the squeak and Edd's eyes hit the ground again while he pushed himself up, heart beating a strange new tattoo against his ribs that spoke of only one thing: Kevin.

It was what he had wanted though, and his brain processed that thought after a moment of standing there. This was exactly what he had wanted, just a moment of Kevin's time so that he could inquire about…about…what?

Edd sucked in a slow breath, his lower lip making its way between his teeth as he did, finding himself unable to speak past that initial squeak. Because what was he supposed to say? Yes, this was what he had wanted…or at least what he had thought he had wanted, but it was beginning to become quite apparent to him that perhaps not knowing, perhaps not ever having his illusion shattered was what was more important to him now.

But he found himself looking back up and opening his mouth, to say what exactly he didn't know, but just something, anything—

"Kevin! Dude!"

A flush spread over Edd's pale cheeks when he saw Nazz come to a stop next to Kevin, her eyes sweeping over him once but deeming him unimportant as she continued, "Dude, how the hell did you get away from me so quick!"

"Sorry, Nazz, but maybe you shouldn't be—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, dude," Nazz interrupted, waving a hand dismissively at Kevin, who grinned at the girl. "Like you never do it," she mumbled before adding, more loudly, "Anyway, are we going?"

Kevin nodded, "Yeah, just let me grab my book." He reached forward to take it and at that moment Edd realized that he was the one Kevin was taking it from so he quickly thrust his arms out, nearly shoving the book and papers into Kevin's hands. Nazz quirked a brow but Edd didn't notice, his eyes trained a little unsteadily on Kevin's.

"Alright, dude, you got it, let's go," Nazz set off thinking Kevin would be following in her step. But the red-head stood stock-still in front of Double D, regarding him for a moment and giving Edd enough time to finally muster his courage so that he could say, "K-Kevin, I would appreciate it if—"

"Not now, Dweeb," Kevin cut in coolly before sidestepping him and walking in the direction Nazz had gone, leaving Edd alone in the now empty hallway as the bell rang overhead. He stood for a moment, eyes staring at air before him where Kevin had been not a moment before, and then turned slowly to stare down the hall that was now empty save for him.

Kevin's last words stuck with him as he spun back around slowly and gravitated toward the classroom to his left.

Not now. Edd frowned, and no matter how badly he wanted to tell himself that obviously they hadn't had time to talk with only moments before the bell, he couldn't. And it hurt.