It was Saturday and Eddward had just finished the last of his chores for the day. School does not start for another week and Ed and Eddy do not return until Monday and Thursday respectively. Eddward had spent the majority of the winter break inside his house taking care of any odds and ends he could find in order to keep himself busy . He had eventually run out of things to clean and organize and had begun thinking of learning something new but could not decide on what to devote his time to.

With his indecision about what to study, Eddward instead made his way across the street to visit with Elizabeth. He hadn't had a chance to visit with her since winter vacation started. Eddward felt today would be a good chance since he had seen Kevin leave earlier. His friend Nathan and a man, who Eddward assumed was Nathan's father had picked him up. He knew that Nicholas was still home but did not think Elizabeth would mind. When Eddward got to the front door he shuffled the three small boxes he had brought with him in his arms so he could ring the bell.

Kevin's dad answered the door and had a slightly surprised look on his face. He covered it quickly and opened the door just a bit wider before speaking.

" Eddward, how can I help you today? Kevin already left, I'm sorry if your looking for him. "

"Yes I know Mr. Barr, I saw him leave. I am actually here to see Mrs. Barr. Since tomorrow is a holiday, I decided to come over today for our usual Sunday routine. Is that ok Mr Barr? "

Sunday routine? What Sunday routine?

Not knowing what else to do Nicholas opens the door completely to allow the youth inside. He follows the slender boy into the living room where his wife is sitting . He watches her face light up as she greets their young neighbor ,and doesn't know what to think. Kevin's father observes as the two exchange pleasantries for a couple of minutes before inturupting so he can get some answers. He decides to start with something small and remembers the boxes young Eddward had been carrying.

"Eddward, may I ask what you've brought over? "

The large man gestures to the three little boxes in Edwards lap and Eddward looks down and his face breaks into a enormous grin showing the gap in his front teeth.

Goodness this kid is cute. Kevin hasn't been cute like this since the fifth grade... I miss that,damn why did Kevin have to grow up so fast?

"Oh,yes well ,I brought over some belated Christmas presents for the three of you. I have already given everyone else in the cul-de-sac their presents but I haven't had a chance until today to bring yours."

"Eddward, you didn't have to get us anything. "

"I know, but I wanted to. It is not anything big, just some baked goods like I gave to everyone else."

Eddward handed each adult a box with their name on it and watched as the opened them. He enjoyed the looks on their face as they saw what he had made. Elizabeth was ecstatic when she saw that he had gifted her with some home made lemon tarts. And Nicholas,who later in the day told Eddward to call him Nick instead of ,looked as if the pecan brownies he received were not going to last the weekend. As soon as he started to dig into the baked goods the big man decided he didn't care if his sickly wife was friends with the young neighbor ,not as long as the boy continued to bring snacks when he visited.

The three ended up chatting and enjoying the day while Elizabeth and Edd explained how Eddward had shown up one day with a basket full of baked goods and teas,and how it led to the friendship between the ailing woman and young genius . Eddward had come over to offer his condolences and saw that Elizabeth was having some trouble standing. He immediately guided her to a chair and finished cleaning the counter she had been scrubbing. He asked if there was anything else she need help with while he was there she had said no . The two had began talking about school and Eddward offered to make dinner for the Barr family so she could stay off her feet. From there it seemed that every Sunday Eddward would come over and Elizabeth and he would spend the day taking and cooking or play board games or what ever the two decided for the day. The slender boy mentioned how he enjoyed being able to help Elizabeth since she always showed how thankful she was.

The day went on an Nick ended up leaving the other two in the kitchen to go spend time in the garage. Eddward helped Elizabeth get the house clean and dinner ready before saying his goodbyes. As the ravenete was headed to the door it suddenly opened with a loud bang.

"Mom, dad! I'm ho-what are you doing here dork? "

" Oh, salutations Kevin! I merely dropped by to give your family some belated Christmas presents. Yours is on the table, you mother and father already opened theirs."

What the hell. I've been trying to ignore you and you show up at my house! Dammit I'm gonna to have to get mean ain't I.

He took a shakey breath and forced himself to put a glare on his face. The ginger was feeling guilty for what he was going to do, but he knew it was the only way to make Double D want to stay away from him. The only way to convince himself that he was normal. Kevin was just about to reply that he didn't need anything from the dork and that Eddward wasn't welcome in his house when he was interrupted by his mother.

"Kevin honey, please close the door . Did you have fun with Nat?"

Tonight is new years eve , the begining of a new year the beginning of... of... of something. Eddward really didn't know. He was upset, he was confused, and he was angry. The slender boy didn't know what had happened but whatever it was he knew was going to change everything. He sat at his kitchen table sipping on green tea and thinking about everything that had happened yesterday.

How nice it was to spend time with Elizabeth and even Nicholas who still seemed a bit confused by the friendship between his wife and young neighbor. How fulfilling it is every time he helps Elizabeth with anything. How he doesn't feel pressured to be perfect because they like him for himself and not who they want him to be.

About how Kevin had come home while he was still spending time with Elizabeth. About how Kevin refused to look him in the eyes and glared at him every time he thought Eddward couldn't see him. He also thought about the look on kevin's face when Eddward gave him the cookies he baked and the tone of Kevin's voice when he thanked the slender boy for them. It reminded Eddwardof when try were younger and Kevin hated the Ed's, like Kevin did not want to be friends anymore. Like he wanted Eddward to just go back to being the little nerd he only spoke to when he needed help with homework.

The worst part of all was that Eddward could still clearly hear the words Kevin had spoken to him as he was leaving. They kept repeating over and over in his head. The quiet and spacious house doing nothing to distract him, Eddward heard Kevin's weird yet again. His heart clenching in pain a he remembers how he felt as the shorter boy spoke.

*'I'm glad you finally decided to leave. I want to spend time with my family you know like normal people. Just go count your ants or something dweeb, it's not like you have anything else to do anyway.'

Eddward stood on the porch speechless as Kevin closed the door in his face. The preteen had no clue what had just happened . After gathering his thoughts the slender boy walked across the street and into his own home . He cleaned the carpets even though they did not need it, to a long shower and went to bed early hoping to forget how his day had ended. *

Eddward was still sitting in his kitchen,the boy was unable to gather the enthusiasm to do anything really. He was lonely, and slightly depressed. He had no one to talk to, since he refused to bother Ed or Eddy while they were out of town.

Why would he say that, I thought we were getting along. I thought that after the incident with Eddy's brother and what happened at the creek we were friends...

As he sat there letting his tea get cold he decided that he wasn't going to let Kevin matter. If Kevin wanted to end their tenuous friendship then so be it. He will be the bigger man and continue to be polite but he was going to stop pressing for more than tolerance from the short tempered boy. Kevin's words still hurt and Eddward wasn't going to forget them anytime soon, but he would not let them put him in this depressed state again.

Decision made and confidence up ,Eddward went upstairs and fit on his computer. He started looking up online courses for different subjects. The ravenete wanted a new hobby maybe something outside of acedemics.

Kevin felt terrible. He could still remember the look on Edd's face when he closed the door last night. He knew what he said would hurt the boy, heck that's why he said it. He just didn't know how it would make him feel. He continued to spend most of the day moping about, finally stopping around three and just accepting that he had put his own comfort above Edd's and that he had most likely list his friendship with the other boy.

I'm a ass...