Hello! Sorry for the long absence. Here's a chapter!
On the car ride home from the hospital, Edd shifted back and forth nervously. "My mom is coming home. I had to call her to get the updated insurance info. I haven't seen her in a few weeks and I'm really nervous. I'm sure she'll be all worried and frantic." Kevin sighed. "Well, she won't be home for a few hours then, I imagine? You have all that time to relax until then." "Yeah, probably not until around noon tomorrow." The car pulled to a red light and Kevin reached over to grab Edd's hand. "Wanna stay up tonight with me? It's chilly, but we could have a fire in my backyard. I just think, maybe you shouldn't be alone tonight?" With his free hand, Edd pulled off his hat and sat back in his seat. He rubbed his eyes, breathing in deeply. "Yeah. That sounds nice. Let me stop home and get into some comfortable clothes first." It was hard for Kevin to contain his smile for the rest of the drive back to their neighborhood. He dropped Edd of in front of his driveway and then drove into his own driveway, quickly making his way into his backyard to start a fire. Not exactly the romantic night he had planned, but still quality time with the only important part of the night. Who knows, maybe he'd learn even more about Edd? After the fire started, Kevin ran inside to make a pot of coffee and change into some warmer clothes himself. His heart was beating faster than he had ever felt it beat before.
Edd walked into the backyard, a blanket draped over his shoulders. Not long after, Kevin ran outside himself, two mugs of coffee in hand. "Do you take it black?" the redhead asked, handing the mug over to Edd. The cup was warm on his hands like the fire was on his face. He sat down in a chair, wrapping himself with the blanket, and Kevin sat in his own chair, close enough for him to wrap an arm around Edd's back. "Yeah, black is fine. The fire is nice. Really warm. Being close to you is pretty warm too." "How's the nose?" "Still broken. I can't think of a way to explain it to my mom. A fall or something?" The air was cold enough to color his breath as he sighed. "Well, why do you have to lie? Can't you tell her the truth?" "No. My parents wouldn't react like normal. They're… different. It wouldn't do me any good to tell them the truth."
The redhead ran his hands through the other's hair. "What's your mom like, anyway? Could I meet her?" Edd laughed softly. "That's funny. That we've lived here our whole lives and you've never even met my parents. It doesn't surprise me at all, but it is funny." Snuggling further into Kevin, Edd grinned. "She's a business woman first, mother second. Uh, hot headed. Very formal. She's Puerto Rican. I can't really say I know her well. I'm a lot closer with my dad, but even then that's not saying much. You, uh, want to meet her? I think Eddy's only met her a handful of times and he's my best friend, and Ed's never met her." "Does she like Eddy?" "Absolutely not! She thinks he's trouble." Edd sat up and readjusted himself. ""If you really want to, you can. I like you a lot, so if you're on your best behavior, I'm sure she'll like you. Maybe. She still really hates Eddy and he's my best friend." The chill in the air brought the two even closer, and the fire started to die down, prompting Kevin to throw another log on. Just thinking about meeting Edd's mom made him nervous, but it'd be fine if he was on his best behavior, wouldn't it? He wasn't exactly much better than Eddy in regards to manners. Realizing the thought that just ran through his mind, Kevin grimaced. Of course he was better than Eddy, and he had to prove that to Edd!
Pulling the blanket off of himself, Edd stood up into the cold night air. The stars were magnificent, clear and bright. He dug around in the pocket of his oversized sweatpants and pulled out a small box. "That's the same brand my dad buys. You smoke?" Kevin asked, eyes wide with curiosity. "That doesn't seem like you." Edd raised an eyebrow while he lit his cigarette. "Sometimes, yeah. I'm not cutting, am I?" He exhaled. "The smell of the fire kind of covers the smell. I thought this would be a good place to smoke one. If it bothers you I can finish it out front." The breeze in the air blew the smoke away before it could bother Kevin at all. "No, I think that it's kind of hot actually. A little bit. Just like, goody two shoes Double Dork smokes. I really didn't expect that." "What? I'm 18. It's legal." Cigarette in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other, Edd sighed. "To think I was finally going to go to a dance. So much for that, I guess." An overwhelming feeling of sadness clouded his thoughts, tonight had been such a bad night. The redhead threw another log on. "I'll stay home with you, if you want. I'd rather be with you than anyone at the dance, and I'm not King this year so I have no obligation to go, really. We can spend the whole day together." Taking another drag of his cigarette, Edd laughed. "Let's dance in my kitchen, then." He shook his head. "No, you should go to the dance. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'll be disappointed if you don't go. You do have a date, don't you?"
Kevin shook his head. "Not that she'll want to go with me now, anyway. Can I have one of those?" The redhead pointed to the now stump of a cigarette between Edd's fingers. "Ah, yeah. Go ahead. I suppose you need one just as much as I do." He ran a hand through his hair, gripping it at the base of his neck. "On second thought, I'm pretty tired. I think I'll probably head home, get to bed." He stubbed out his cigarette on the cement. "Wait! Why don't you, uh, spend the night over here? My dad is at his girlfriend's for the night. He usually doesn't get back until the afternoon, so we could sleep in the bed together, if you wanted?" Edd raised an eyebrow. "Mm. Alright." The two waited for the fire to die down and then made their way inside, up to Kevin's room.
Edd put a hand on Kevin's comforter, and climbed into the bed. "Isn't it weird?" Edd asked, watching at Kevin stripped down to his boxers. "Would you have thought we'd be here two weeks ago? Everything happened so fast. I just can't… believe it." "Why, is it that hard to believe?" "Yes! It is! You were my first crush when I came here to Peach Creek. If you would have told me a month ago that I had even an inkling of a chance with you, I wouldn't have believed it for a single second. You are so out of my league, I don't even think we're playing the same sport." Kevin chuckled. "Right, because I'm playing the game and you're probably off studying or something." Edd flashed a grin and shoved the redhead lightly.
Kevin climbed into the bed next to Edd. "Hey, I've got a secret, something that I didn't tell anybody about." "What's that?" "There was a recruiter at the game tonight, and from the conversation we had, I'm guessing I'll probably get some good offers." Edd sat up in the bed. "Whoa, really? Kevin, that's awesome. College football is really something. Do you plan on trying to go pro? Do you have any schools in mind?"
The redhead ran a land through Edd's hair and kissed him on the head lightly. "Wherever you go, I think I'd like to go there too."
Edd grabbed his legs. "You don't need to plan your future around me, Kevin. What if I go to a school that doesn't have that great of a team? You should be looking out for your future, not mine." The redhead flashed a grin. "Don't worry about me. Do what you want to do. If I decide to follow you, that's on me. Besides, I'm sure I have more options with football than you have with… pre-med?"
"How'd you know? I haven't even told anyone the schools I've applied to."
"I saw a letter from one of those big med schools when I was in your room. Congrats, kid." He laughed, pulling Edd into a big hug. "Nothing but acceptance letters. I'm impressed." Edd pulled Kevin down under the covers. "Stop talking about college. I don't even want to talk about it." Red eyebrows furrowed. "What? I thought you loved talking about education and getting out of this place. I know I would." "My mother will be here in just a few hours. Do you want to waste our time talking about this now, or wait a few hours for this exact conversation and make out now instead?" Kevin bit his lip. "That's a hard offer to turn down."
As he moved in for a kiss, Edd's phone chimed loudly. "Sorry," He huffed out as he scrambled to check the text. Without words, he jumped out of the bed quickly. "My mom caught an early flight. We have to go." "We?" "Well, you did want to meet my mom, right?" Edd huffed. "I'm gonna smoke a cigarette first. Can you head over to my house quick, just make sure there's nothing lying on the floor or something? I really need a smoke." He looked the other up and down quickly. "Put your football sweats on. I want her to know you're not just another loser like Eddy and I. Wear a tight shirt too. Those muscles are one of your few selling points. It'd be a shame to not show them off."
"At least you can see my selling points!" Kevin shouted, pulling some clothes out from his drawer. "Hey. How'd you know I have football sweatpants, anyway?" Edd grinned. "We may have started dating recently, but I've got years of checking you out behind me. I'm an expert. My favorite is your track leggings." Edd remarked, exiting the room with a box of cigarettes in hand.
Kevin changed quickly and ran over to Edd's house. He opened the front door to see a pair of heels at his feet and a big purse on the the table in the living room. "Oh shit." He mumbled under his breath, sneaking back outside quietly. Luckily, Edd's mother had been upstairs and hadn't seen him walk in. He ran back to his backyard, catching Edd in the process of lighting up a third cigarette. "Your mom is here now. Right now. She's in the house." Right on cue, Edd's phone began to ring. He hesitated a bit before answering. "Hello? Oh, you're here already? My apologies, mother, one of my good friends invited me over for a bonfire tonight. Yeah. Most of the other people left, so I'd be happy to bring him over. Yeah, he's a neighbor. Kevin? Yeah, the redhead. Ok. Thank you, mother. I will be right home." Edd hung up the call and glanced over to Kevin. Not a word before he took another drag. "Fuck this. Let's go. I don't care if I smell like smoke."
"How long have you smoked?" Kevin asked, following Edd on their slow walk back to his house. "I usually don't. Not like this." He shook his head. "A few years? Three probably? It's a good stress reliever. Nice on cold nights. Nice with whiskey." Kevin's eyes widened. "Do the Eds know? You would have fit in better at my parties than I thought." "Eddy knows. We smoked our first one together. We've never mentioned it to Ed, though. He doesn't have much impulse control. I'm sure if he got the idea from us he would try himself, and I'm sure he wouldn't watch how much he smoked."
Kevin grabbed Edd's hand as they walked. Edd ashed his cigarette at the front door, hiding it under a rock lining the walkway. "I'll pick it up later," He mumbled, almost reading Kevin's mind. For a kid who went so far to follow the rules, he was more of a rebel than Kevin had ever imagined. He took a big breath before putting his hand on the door handle. "I haven't told my parents i'm doing pre med. They want me to go to law school like they did. This won't be pretty, so uh. Thanks for being here."
He opened the door quickly, making sure to take off his shoes immediately. "Mother, I'm home."