Hello! I'm happy to see I have a few people following. Sorry I haven't been able to update as often as I thought I would, work and family have me pretty busy! I'm still going to try to update as often as I can, and I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for reading.
Edd woke up early in the morning, and made sure he had ample time to do all the things he needed. He had a large breakfast, added some finishing touches to an essay, and did some of the chores his parents had left him on a sticky note before finally deciding to head off to school. He met Ed and Eddy out in the middle out of the cul-de-sac, where they began the walk to school.
The day went by quickly, as they always did. Edd loved school, and he loved all his classes. He was in advanced classes, and only had to deal with people at his level. He didn't have much drama for that reason. Outside of classes, however, school was a nightmare. He was mocked in the halls, jocks always ran into him or pushed him over. It made him so upset, and he never ate lunch at school. He always ate at a small diner not far off the school grounds with Ed and Eddy, and it cut down the bullying immensely compared to when he ate at school. He never knew why he was such a target, other nerds like himself never reported such bullying. It was one of the many things he struggled with every day, and it was something he knew was inescapable. He had grown used to it, and had learned how to take quite the beating.
The opposite was true for Kevin. He struggled in most classes, but thrived socially at school. He was funny, attractive, a star athlete, and he was always collected. He was someone who always had friends, someone who never needed to worry about eating alone or being picked on, and nobody dared to confront him, because he was at the top of the high school hierarchy and could destroy anyone's reputation he wanted.
Kevin and Edd shared the same last hour, biology II, although Edd was the teacher's assistant. Kevin was the only jock he knew who took any advanced classes. He was different from his teammates in that he didn't want to just ride on his athleticism for his future. He kept his grades up to the best of his ability, maintaining a B average. He struggled, and he never let anybody know that he kept his grades up. He didn't understand why, but it just wasn't the cool thing to do, and the last thing he wanted to lose was his reputation.
As the last bell of the day rang, Kevin quickly got out of his seat and headed out the door. He was the tallest in the class, with the exception of Edd who stood at his height, and definitely the most muscular, so it was easy for him to push his way out first. Kevin avoided Edd, because he hoped to have a little longer to study by himself.
A few of Kevin's football teammates confronted him. "So, since there's no practice tonight, what do you say we go to my house and party?" a blonde boy mentioned. "The whole team's gonna be there." Kevin looked at them and gave them a sympathetic look. "Look, guys, I can't." He huffed. He never really like his football teammates. They were rude, loud, and a bit too rowdy for his liking. He always preferred the baseball team, but they never really spent time together outside of the baseball season. "Ahha, real funny, QB. " They laughed, one of them slapping him on his shoulder. He glared back, and pulled his hat off to stuff it in his backpack. " I told you, I can't go. That's that. You guys can party without me, you know." He said, sighing. His teammates gave a look of disappointment. "Come on, Kev. Why can't you?" Kevin stiffened up, not sure how to answer. He didn't want them to know that he was getting tutored. "I, uh, I have a date, with a girl from Pear Valley. Her name's.. uh, Amber." He chuckled, giving the group of boys his signature grin.
A few of the guys grinned back. "Dude, isn't that like, your first girlfriend?" Kevin shook his head. "Just a date! Nothing more, guys. I don't go steady. It's not my thing." He answered, finally shutting his locker. "Maybe i'll catch the party after i'm done." He said, walking towards the exit of the school. The boys always admired him for never getting into a serious relationship. They were probably jealous of his ability to sleep with whoever he wanted and not have to commit. Kevin chuckled, climbing onto his motorcycle and revving it up. It was strange, having people jealous of his inability to commit himself to anyone. His mind flashed back to Nazz. As bad as he felt, and as much as he loved her, he couldn't imagine himself with her. He couldn't imagine himself with anyone, really. Ever since he was a child, he never imagined his future with a significant other.
Kevin's thoughts were cut off when he noticed the 3 Eds walking home. He had always hated Eddy, and bared with Ed and Edd. As they got into highschool, the Ed's slowly dropped off his radar. He hadn't spoken to any of them since freshman year, when the entire cul-de-sac ( with the exception of Sarah and Jimmy, who were still in middle school) decided to attend the prom in a big group. Eddy had become quite the charmer, and had a pretty large amount of money saved away from when his "scams" started becoming successful. Ed was the same as always, skimming by in his classes. He had a job at a toy store and was able to collect whatever superhero memorabilia he wished to have. Edd had really blossomed in high school. He was the top of his class, he had gotten a student of the month award for volunteering every single month of his high school career. Edd took a few of his classes at the local community college in the morning, and returned to school for a music composition class and then finally being a teacher's assistant in Kevin's class.
Kevin would never admit it, but he really admired Edd. Edd could be who he wanted to be and not be afraid of what others thought of him. He slowed his motorcycle down as he approached them, coming to a halt right in front of them. He put his foot down on the ground and leaned to his right. "Hey, Eds." He looked each one of them up and down. "Don't any of you drive? I don't get why you walk every day." He said, giving them a quizzical look. Eddy scoffed. "I don't think we need to answer to people like you, shovelchin." The comment unfazed Kevin, which came to a surprise to the trio. Edd spoke up, clearing his throat before he did so. "Um, I drive, as do Ed and Eddy, but we prefer to walk because we don't often have the chance to be in one another's company. With Eddy's entrepreneurship, Ed working, and me keeping up on all of my college work and volunteering, we can't really hang out like we did as children." Edd played with his hands, one scraping away at the cuticles on his other hand.
Kevin looked each of them up and down again, before letting out a "Hmmp." and revving his motorcycle up and driving away.
The Eds all glanced at each other. "What the hell was that about!?" Eddy roared, his already pink skin red with anger. "I bet he just wanted some gravy, Eddy!" Ed shouted, taking the other two into a big embrace. They had all gotten used to Ed's hugs by now, and they knew not to struggle out of them, for fear of being held even tighter. Ed let them down, and they began bickering about Kevin's intentions on the way home, Eddy automatically assuming they were malicious, and Edd disagreeing. "Sockhead, He never even says anything to us! Why would he stop and talk to us if he wasn't planning anything!" Eddy shouted, being met with a rather angry gaze from his intellectual friend. "Eddy, He simply saw us on his way home and asked us why we don't drive. I would wonder too, if I wasn't one of us. Most other high schoolers do drive to school." Edd retorted, with enough energy behind his voice to shut Eddy up. The rest of the walk home was quiet, except for Ed telling them about his day and how work was recently, which always made Edd smile. When they got to the cul-de-sac, they all went their separate ways.
Edd entered his house and quickly took off his shoes, placing them neatly in the shoe rack next to the door. He stepped into his kitchen and pulled out his cell phone, leaning back on the kitchen counter.
[ To KEVIN: Hello, Kevin. I am now home, and you are welcome to come over at any time tonight.]
Kevin heard his phone buzz, and finished the notes he had been taking before going to grab it. "Looks like I'm going over there now.." He huffed, obviously nervous. He pulled his hat off his head, and stared at it for a while before he set in on his bed. 'Our deal, or whatever... I wonder if he'll really follow through with it..' he thought, stuffing his notes and textbook in his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and trotted confidently out the door. The chill stopped him in his tracks, and he glanced up to the sky, watching as the patchy clouds glided through the sky. He took a deep breath of the cool fall air, and walked on towards Edd's house.
Kevin stopped at the foot of his neighbor's door. Memories flowed in from their childhood, and a sense of nostalgia filled him. All the times he came here to borrow tools when his had broken, all the pranks, all the pranks and scams and times they had as children. A small chuckle escaped him, and he knocked on the door gently. It surprised him when Edd opened the door so quickly. ,Edd was now changed out of his school clothes and into a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and his black hair draped down his neck and touched his shoulders.
He hadn't forgotten.