Chapter 14.
Kevin needed some air. Excusing himself with a polite smile, he made his way to the door and grasped the handle. The laughter continued in the distance behind him and he could feel Edd's eyes boring into, concern on that face. With a tight clenched jaw, Kevin pulled his coat on and stepped outside. As soon as the door closed behind him, he felt instant relief.
But why? He knew there was no reason to feel the way he did, yet here it was… bubbling angrily inside his chest, demanding he notice it. He pulled the collar of his coat up and thrust his hands into his pockets. How cruel life was to do such things to him. And how would he explain what he felt to Edd? The other was going to ask, Kevin already knew it in the pit of his stomach.
The crunch of feet in the snow coming up to him, followed by a throaty laugh of someone who smoked too much caught his attention and he flicked his green eyes upward. There before him stood none other than his arch-nemesis when it came to love. He grimaced and scowled at her while she kept that shit-eating grin plastered on her face.
"Carrot-dick."
"Kanker," he growled. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What me? Psht," she scoffed, waving a hand at him. Marie Kanker looked better than he expected, though years of smoking had taken its toll on what could've been a very pretty face. Her voice was husky, and she had developed quite the smokers cough. Her boots tapped against the stairs, but she made no move to climb them. "I always come to Christmas at this house. I'm just fashionably late as usually~ Didn't expect to ever see your ugly mug around here again. What happened to Mr. Hot-Shot-Football-Player?"
"What," he sneered, "you didn't hear about it from your dump of a house?"
She grinned at him, unaffected by his insults. Quietly, she lit another cigarette and let it linger on her lips. From inside, the festivities continued. Her eyes flickered to the windows where she could see the curtain move a bit, spying on the duo. She licked her lips and ashed. "Come on, Red," she breathed, "let's go for a walk, shall we?"
"And why in the hell would I want to go on a walk with you?"
"Because out of all the people in that house, I'm the one who understands the most of what you're going through." Her smile fell, her eyes deadpanned. Kevin's green ones widened a bit in surprised. He hadn't expected her to see right through him. He turned his head to the door and then stepped off the steps and into the snow, talking a small walk with her down the sidewalk.
Marie remained still a moment longer, watching the window before stepping away to join Kevin on their walk. She'd seen Eddward watching them, a worried look on his face. Upon sight of Marie, he nodded and pulled away. She could handle this. There'd been many a times that whatever Kevin was feeling, Marie felt too. And many a time where she and Eddward needed to have a heart-to-heart. Love wasn't easy.
"Heard about your dad," she said.
"Yeah, and I heard you and Double Dee were related."
"Through marriage. Favorite cousin," she stated, "on mom's side." She thrust her hands in her pockets as they walked, playing with the cigarette box in her hand. Kevin could hear the crunch of the plastic around the box. "That was quite a surprise." She took a turn, heading in a direction Kevin rarely went and the two wound up crossing the street, trying to avoid salty snow, and made their way into a local Bar. Christmas music played above them and Kevin raised an eyebrow at her.
"The bar? On Christmas Day? At-" he checked his watch. "-11:30 in the morning?"
"Hey, not everyone has someone to spend the holiday's with," she stated, heading up to the bar. She leaned over the counter and grinned at the bartender. "Hey Frank~ Hook me up with a couple of beers, will ya?"
"Sure thing, Marie. I'll put it on your tab." Frank was a gruff looking man that Kevin could only describe as your typical Biker-Bartender. Marie had batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously before heading to the table Kevin had picked for them. She slid a beer at him and took a sip from the long necked bottle on her hand.
"Don't look so sour," she said. He was picking at the label, shooting her a dirty look. "This is the first the we've ever hung out." She smirked at him, warranting another dirty look. "Alright. I'll stop picking on you. Since you can't handle just a bit of teasing, I'll assume your sense of humor died as well."
He bit his tongue for a moment, composing his thoughts. Then, he spoke. "What the hell do you want, Marie? You and I - we don't get along. Never have and never will. So why now? Why ask me out?"
"I already told you why. I'm the only one who understands. It ain't a lie, Barr. I lost him too, and then I lost her. You never had the pleasure-" he sneered and she pinched him. "-and you never will. You lost him, I lost him… We're the same, so suck it up, Buttercup." She took a swig. "The sooner you realize this, the easier it'll be to get him back." Kevin's brow furrowed. "What? I can't get him back. He's married to my blood and I've got a code."
"Yeah but since when do you care to help me out? When we were younger, you tried to kill me to keep Edd to yourself." He wasn't stupid. He remembered the fights, even after he and Edd had started dating. The abuse between Kevin and Marie was frequent. Double Dee got good at patching them up. "You came at me with a knife once."
"So I was crazy, whatever. I had my reasons. My life wasn't easy, and I know that's not an excuse but it wears a person down." She lit up a cigarette. "And after you left, he was depressed. I wanted to take my chance, but shit was happening at home. With my sister's leaving, and me being left alone, what the hell was I supposed to do?" She rolled her eyes and flicked the ash into an ashtray. "Like I said, it's not excuse. I'm sorry I came at you with an knife, insulted you and everything that happened in the past. It ain't the important thing right now is it?
"You want Double Dee back in your life, and to do so, you gotta stop being such a petty dick."
"Petty?" Kevin hissed. "I'm not being pet-"
"Right. Because hearing the name 'Julia' doesn't send you into a fitful rage." She watched him tense, took a long drag and exhaled through her nose. "Julia. Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia-"
"Alright I got it, fuck!" he snapped, slamming his hand on the table.
"Hey! Don't slam your hands on my tables!" Frank shouted.
Marie grinned as Kevin dejectedly sat back. "Fuck you, Marie Kanker."
"The only thing that's changed about you is your temper. It's gotten hella worse." She snuffed the cigarette. "Why does it make you so mad?"
"Because it was what I wanted," he said, "only I realized it too late and I missed my chance."
"You didn't," she said, "you're just late to the party. Juls loved Edd, and Edd loved Juls, but that doesn't mean that you've missed out. People who've lost their loved ones can love again, you idiot. You just have to approach it gracefully. She's been gone for only seven months. Think about it. Put yourself in his shoes. If you were married to someone you loved deeply and they died, left you alone to be a single parent of a small child - you'd have a helluva time too." Kevin's green eyes flickered away for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about it. "And you can talk to him about why you're so jealous. He'll listen to you. You guys dated for a long time. He really hasn't changed." She cocked her head. "Though he's gotten better at arguing, and I blame that on Juls. Careful now, he'll insult your intelligence. He can be kinda mean."
"What?" Kevin looked at her. "Double Dee? Mean?"
"Oooh yeah. Real mean," she laughed.
The next few hours went by a bit more unexpectedly. Kevin quietly opened up to Marie and Marie in turn did the same. She understood Kevin's feelings of jealousy and regret. She understood that he truly felt sorrow for Edd, but he was impatient to be the center of Edd's attention. She made him understand that he'd have to just wait and learn to cope with it. If they dealt with the pain and loss together, things would work out for the best.
Kevin learned that Marie had to do the same thing and she was much happier now. She and Edd had become good friends because she took the advice she was giving Kevin. He also learned that Frank was a bit jealous himself because he and Marie had dated on and off for the past few years. Oh, and that Eddy actually worked at this bar.
"Think you can handle the rest of Christmas?" she asked him, getting up to put on her coat.
"I think so. I've missed quite a bit of it."
"Eh, you'll live and they'll live. What you do now is go and spend some time with Edd and I. I still gotta give Tommy his presents."
"You call him Tommy too?"
"Thomas is too formal," she grinned. "Merry Christmas, Barr."
"Merry Christmas, Kanker."