Chapter 11

"What're your plans for this weekend?" Wilhelmina said as she sat down for lecture.

Edd looked at her curiously. "I don't have any. Why?"

She smiled. "I thought you and you know who might like to go to a party. You know, Halloween?"

"We're not going out in public together yet. People still can't know."

She nodded with a smile. "I know but hear me out. Halloween," she said the word slowly. "Costumes. And a party with the artists, who won't even know who either of you are, is a perfect idea. And if you're really that worried about it, I'll do your make up, both of you, so that neither of your mothers would even recognize you."

"They might not even if you didn't," Edd murmured to himself. He cleared his throat and sat up a little bit. "Alright, I'll ask. After class if you really want. We usually get lunch anyway."

She smiled brightly. "Good. I'll come with you. My studio time was moved today because of that stupid presentation in the art building."

After what felt like an exceedingly short lecture, Edd and Wilhelmina walked back to the dorm. They sat on Edd's bed, waiting for Kevin to return. Edd hadn't slept in his own bed since he and Kevin had returned from Peach Creek, but he didn't say anything. The bed was always neatly made, comfortable and clean, but it hadn't been slept in. Wilhelmina pulled out her phone, tapping at apps and links while she talked.

Kevin walked in the room, dropped his bag and turned to Edd's desk. When his eyes landed on Wilhelmina, the look of disappointment was hard to disguise. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Wilhelmina smirked. "I wanted to invite you both to a party this weekend. For Halloween."

Kevin looked nervous. "I don't know…"

"Dear god you two are similar. It's a Halloween party. Costumes and make up. And it's with a bunch of artists who don't give two shits about the sports at this school. So they'll have no idea who you are. And they won't care whether you like boys, girls, or goats."

Edd raised his eyebrows at her.

"Alright they'd care about goats, but seriously, they won't even know who you are or if you're gay. And even if they did, they're gossips but no one listens to them. They know everything on this campus but no one bothers to pay attention. They probably actually guessed already. Or could guess if they cared."

"Still I don't know about going to a party as a couple—"

"I promised Edd already, I'll make sure that neither of you are recognizable. Please come?"

Kevin glanced at Edd. He shrugged to his boyfriend. Kevin nodded. "Alright. But unrecognizable. Even you wouldn't recognize us."

She squealed and hugged him. "I promise. I'll get some prosthetics going for costumes and no one will ever know. Okay, now I don't know about you but I'm starving. Time for lunch?"

"Prosthetics?" Kevin asked, confusion plain in his voice. Edd didn't blame him, he couldn't imagine what she meant either.

"You know…false noses? Bigger ears or fake facial hair? My friend in the theater department makes them. With a bit of persuasion on my part, you'll be entirely new men." She put a hand on each of them and steered them out the door. "The real question is what you want to go as. I'm partial to gore, but that's just me."

"What's the theme?" Kevin asked.

"No theme for this one. Surprising but I guess they decided not to deal with the hassle this year."

Edd thought on ideas while he selected his lunch. Back at the table they debated back and forth while they ate. Kevin didn't want anything too nerdy, Edd didn't want anything too gruesome, and they both rejected all of Wilhelmina's suggestions that had one or both of them going in drag. "It would be so much fun," she argued to no avail. Finally they settled on a slightly stereotypic plan of Batman and Robin. Wilhelmina immediately pulled out a sketch pad and began to draw costume ideas.

"Wilhelmina, what about me has ever suggested that I would be comfortable in a midriff bearing shirt?" Edd asked dryly. "Or short shorts?"

Kevin leaned over to growl in his ear, "I don't know. I think it'd be kind of sexy."

Edd felt the blood rise in his cheeks and shook his head. "Absolutely not. Not in public anyway."

Wilhelmina looked up from the drawing with an eyebrow cocked, having missed Kevin's whisper. She grinned but drew over the risqué costuming with longer pants and a fully covered shirt. The design for Kevin's Batman costume seemed much more detailed, but she explained that since it was his reputation they were most concerned with protecting, his costume should naturally invite the eye to explore everything but his face. By the end of lunch she had their costumes planned and an idea on how to make them cheaply. She picked up her things and left with a promise of amazing costumes.

As Kevin and Edd walked back to their room, Kevin asked if Edd wanted to work on his swim lessons. Edd agreed and they found themselves back in the pool. He was getting better. He no longer feared the deeper water as he could float and tread now. They were working on a free style stroke, as Kevin called it. He still had trouble coordinating the movements, but he was getting more graceful in the water. The most difficult part, they found, was focusing on the lesson. The nearness of the other, compounded with their swim attire, made the entire endeavor rather difficult. Kevin's hands, correcting strokes or balancing him unnecessarily while he floated, caused heat to shoot through his body. It took a constant conscious effort to control the effects, though he occasionally noticed Kevin seemed to have the same problem.

"Okay, let's just try floating again."

Double D rolled his eyes. "You just want an excuse to touch me again." He flipped onto his back to do as Kevin suggested anyway.

"So what if I do?" Kevin immediately placed his hands under Edd's back, thumbs rubbing the muscles around his spine. Edd ached for them to inch lower.

"Double Dork," Kevin murmured to him after about forty-five minutes of the teasing game their lessons had become.

"Yes, Kevin?" he hissed through his teeth.

"What do you say we get out of here before I press you against the wall of the pool and have my way with you?"

Edd smirked. "Alright then."

When they arrived back in their room, Kevin pulled Edd against him. He was late to history class again.

Wilhelmina adjusted Kevin's costume and stepped back. He wore a full length body suit, lined perfectly with padding to look like the musculature he needed. Slung low on his hips hung a neutral "utility" belt with a pocket for his phone and other accoutrements. She had stuck on a fake grappling hook, a couple of foam bat-shaped cut outs that he supposed were similar to ninja stars, and a set of impressively durable handcuffs that Kevin wondered how long he could keep.

"Do you have boots you wear when you ride your bike?"

"What? Like these?" He pulled a pair of tall boots from under the bed.

"Put them on."

He pulled the boots on, zipping them up his calves.

She attached a cape to the back of his shoulders and stepped back to view her handy work. "What do you think, Edd?"

He looked up from his desk to survey his boyfriend. "Boxer-briefs would be better suited to the lycra material. Or something that will bunch less than his current choice of undergarment would do as well. But otherwise you did an exceptional job creating the costume and its desired effect. What about a mask though?"

"You would notice his underwear first; the one thing I didn't make on this entire ensemble. But thanks for reminding me about the mask." She reached into her bag and pulled out a silver mask that appeared to be made of duct tape. "I need to go over it in black, but try it on for size. I wanted to make sure it was big enough first. And I just have to finish with the armor aspect on the suit and it'll be all set."

Kevin slipped it on. It fit fairly well throughout, and was left open at his chin and jaw line, where he had been worried that it would be too tight or uncomfortable. The eyes were a bit low but Wilhelmina adjusted them quickly.

Edd nodded. "That's very nice. You must have spent hours working on this."

She shrugged. "My midterms are done so I didn't have much else to be doing."

That was a lie and they all knew it but he ignored it. She had been having troubles with a boy she'd been seeing and needed the distraction he suspected.

"Your turn, Edd." She pulled out a similar lycra body suit and he began to protest but the withering look she gave in return had him trying the costume on quickly enough, while Kevin slipped back into normal clothes. When he turned around to look at Edd being fitted he was surprised how dark the costuming was. Wilhelmina noticed him looking. "Is it bad?" she asked and bit her lip.

"No. The coloring just isn't what I expected."

She smiled. "Oh I figured that the Dark Knight era was a bit more relevant than the original, and I wanted you two to match. Plus the bright colors were a bit more ummm…well gay than I thought either of you would be comfortable with." She fit the cape around his shoulders and made a mark in chalk around the abdominals.

Edd looked at the suit and smiled. "I like it. Do I get a mask as well?"

She nodded and fit it around his head. "You'll have to lose the hat for the night. And I'm not sure what we're doing with your shoes yet. Ideally we could find another pair like Kevin's. I'll see what I can come up with. Okay, off with them so I can do final touches. I'll have them back Saturday night. Or would you rather come over and change in my room? Elle will be going home for the weekend."

Kevin nodded, watching Edd slip out of the bodysuit out the corner of his eye. "That'd be great."

Wilhelmina folded the costumes carefully, deposited them in her bag, and turned toward the door. "I'll see you later. Have fun, boys." She caught Kevin's eye on the way out and winked.

"What'd she mean by—"

Kevin pulled Edd closer. "I've only got an hour until practice. Any ideas to pass the time?" His voice was low and husky.

"I—I'm afraid I actually do have work I must be doing."

"Double D," Kevin whined, rolling his body toward Edd's. "Can't it wait until after I leave for practice?"

Edd disentangled himself slowly and kissed Kevin lightly. "Unfortunately, it can't. The assignment is due at eight o'clock and I must finish it. But, if we both were to work on our given assignments now, it is possible that there will be time after your practice."

Kevin sighed but nodded. "Alright. I guess I could work on my paper for English," he grumbled. He put headphones in and began to type out the introduction to an argument on the pros and cons of stem cell research. He hated introductions; like with people he thought the introduction was forgettable and tedious, but somehow necessary to understand the content later on. He tried to remember the first time he met Edd. He strained his memory back as far as he could but as much as he tried to remember, it seemed they had always just lived across the street from each other, their presence in the other's life a constant like the pavement of the cul-de-sac. He looked up from the half a paragraph staring at him from his computer screen and pulled out one of his ear buds. "Hey, Edd?"

Edd didn't look up. "Yes, Kevin?"

"Do you remember how we met?"

Edd turned in his chair to look at the boy. "Of course."

Kevin turned a little pink and pulled out the other headphone. "Could you tell me? I can't remember for the life of me. Seems like you were always just there."

Edd shook his head. "Our mothers were friends for a time. They used to bring us together for play dates when we were mere toddlers."

"What happened to that?"

"They had some sort of falling out. Quite an impressive one if I remember correctly. I never learned of the details but it was enough to sever the friendship. Anyway, after that you and I didn't get to play together anymore. I played with Ed and Eddy more and you chose to spend your time with Rolf, Nazz, and the others. You truly don't recollect any of this?"

Kevin shook his head. His memories from early childhood were fuzzy, mostly wandering the house, watching his parents dance in the kitchen, or riding his tricycle with his father.

"I always presumed you did."

"Why's that?"

Edd blushed. "When we had matured some—well, when we didn't get along anymore—you were always much harsher to Ed and Eddy than to me. I just assumed that you remembered our early camaraderie."

Kevin shook his head and laughed a little. "Maybe I but I don't think so. I just didn't find you as annoying as Eddy."

"And Ed?"

"Ed just seemed to take it better. You were kind of pathetic to beat up."

Edd puffed up his chest, indignation flashing in his eyes. "I most certainly was not pathetic. I bore it just as well as Eddy and Ed."

"It wasn't the during I was talking about. Your nerves showed so bad that it was like kicking a puppy."

He sagged a little.

"It's how I can tell when you're nervous now." He pushed off his chair and walked over to his boyfriend. "But now it's a lot less pathetic and more…what's the word?"

"Endearing?" Edd tried to supply.

Kevin shook his head. "Sexy." He leaned down to kiss the boy. He felt his boyfriend lean into the kiss and pulled back shaking his head. "You need to be working on your assignment and I have to get ready for practice." He rummaged under his bed for his soccer equipment and began to dress.

"You find it sexy when I'm nervous?"

He shook his head as he pulled on a jersey. "That came out wrong."

"What did you mean then?"

He pulled on shin guards. "Just that when you aren't sure of yourself—well it doesn't happen that often, you know? You're always so sure of everything. It's kind of sexy to see you out of your element. Not because you're nervous, but because you're more—human, I guess. Sometimes when you're so sure of everything it's intimidating. When you're a little unsure, I feel like I can almost be what you deserve."

Edd looked contemplative and turned back to his computer.

Kevin suspected he'd somehow offended the boy. His cleats clicked across the tile floor as he made his way over. He pressed a kiss into his temple. "I'm terrible with words, I—"

Edd turned quickly and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Go to practice. I'm not angry. I'll see you after."

"Are you sure?"

"You're going to be late."

"I'll skip it if you want me to."

Edd shook his head. "There's no need." He kissed him again. "Go, your team needs you. And I need to finish this. When you get back, you'll have me all to yourself, all night. Alright?"

With a final kiss, Kevin nodded and left for practice. Just as he reached the door, Edd called out, "Kevin?"

He turned back to stare at the slight boy.

"You're exactly what I want and deserve."