Here's your next piece lovelies! I want to give a shout out to Rez The Eigth. Your review as actually what gave me the push to write this chapter today. I had been struggling with finding the energy to write so thank you for that. I do need to put in a trigger warning for self injury does happen in this chapter. Please read at your own risk. Well anyways I'll quit babbling so you guys can read. Laters!
Tanned hands ran through ginger hair for the millionth time that day. Edd's tour was finally over and he was supposed to be home by the end of the night. Meanwhile Kevin was sitting in his last class of the day trying to keep from staring at the clock. The giggle next to him made him roll his eyes before he turned to look at the blonde who emitted the sound. "What Nazz?" Mischief danced in her green eyes. "How do you think Dee would feel about a welcome home party?" "I dunno. He's not much for having people in his house. And we haven't seen each other in a month. It'll probably be better if we didn't," Nazz's face fell but she nodded her understanding. "True. Maybe I'll just ask him about doing one this weekend instead of the night he comes home. I'm sure you guys need some alone time," the blonde giggled again at the groan Kevin gave her. She had taken to terrorizing him about his boyfriend the entire time the nerd had been gone. The jock muttered something about women making Nazz laugh once more. The bell finally rang and Kevin had never dreaded practice the way he did at the moment. They were almost done with football season and the ginger was grateful because it meant some free time to spend with his nerd.
He sat and waited as the other students left the classroom, procrastinating as much as he could to kill time. With exactly fifteen minutes left until he had to be on the field he made his way to the locker room. His teammates had kept true to their word about not caring that he was dating the genius. In fact most of them had taken an interest in their relationship now that Edd was becoming famous. Nazz had actually been complaining pretty frequently about it because the other cheerleaders bugged her about it. Everyone seemed to want some juicy info on their relationship and or sex life. Thankfully the blonde zipped her lips and always told people she didn't know anything and if they wanted to know so bad they could ask Kevin. Which of course no one did since Kevin was like an alpha wolf without a mate. In other words he was full of pent up sexual frustration that had begun to manifest as aggression. The guy needed laid, and badly, if you were to ask any of his teammates. Kevin shoved over the locker room and stomped inside. Heads snapped in his direction, attempting to assess his present mood. A fight or flight instinct kicking in amongst his friends.
"Dude you alright?" Kevin turned to the player, who was some junior varsity freshman. The kid had talent for the sport and it wasn't like the ginger had problems with him, but right now everything grated on his nerves. "I'll be just fine," "Oh yeah that's right. Your man comes home tonight don't he?" Another player teased. Rather than bite back Kevin just quickly changed into his gear. The sooner this was over the better and even though he'd been the last to arrive he was the first on the field. His team joined him a few minutes later and their coach started their drills. The man held nothing back considering if they won their next game they'd be headed to the playoffs.
At last coach called for the team to hit the showers. Everyone moved at a snail's pace from how tired they were. He'd ran them into the ground for three hours and they were all beat. Kevin passed on showering though and just changed into his street clothes so he could head home. The jock had plans he needed to get in motion. He wanted to make the genius an amazing dinner and them just have a night in. He said his goodbyes as he walked out the door to his motorcycle. Kevin felt his phone buzz in his pocket. The text message lighting up his screen puzzled him but when he looked up he stopped right in his tracks. Leaning against his baby was Edd. The nerd was in his usual black skinny jeans, a red V-neck shirt with a black hoodie and combat boots. Of course the beanie was placed perfectly atop his jet black hair. Studded bracelets encircled each wrist while a studded belt hung tauntingly low on his hips. The wicked grin on his boyfriend's face made Kevin realize that Edd was really there and before he knew it he was sprinting towards him.
Lean arms wrapped around Kevin's muscled frame in a tight embrace when he collided into the other. Kevin could feel the smile against his shoulder as he pulled away. "I thought you weren't going to be home until tonight?" "Well I may or may not have told our driver that if he got us home for me to be here and surprise you that I'd buy him some stuff," The snicker Edd gave melted Kevin's heart. He definitely loved the guy before him. Without another word chapped lips crashed against smooth ones. Their mouths molded perfectly together and both audibly groaned at the feeling. Hands clutched to Kevin's back, kicking his libido into over drive. "Okay so home and then dinner?" Kevin breathed when they parted. Edd just nodded and they both climbed on the motorcycle to head home.
As the teens dismounted from the bike Edd couldn't help but to notice that the i8 was still in his driveway. "Have you not driven it since I left?" he asked nodding to the vehicle. "Not to school. I've taken her for drives pretty often though," Kevin said not missing a beat as he hung the helmets on his bike. Eddward walked up to his house with the ginger in tow and quickly unlocked the door. The second they were inside, both boys were all over each other. Tongues battled while fingers grappled to pull off the clothing between them. They never even made it to the bedroom, opting for the couch instead. Naturally it didn't last long given they'd both practically abstained for the entire month. Eddward lay atop Kevin with his head on his chest, drifting in and out of consciousness as the ginger played with his hair. "Have you talked to Ed or Eddy lately?" the jock asked twisting a few strands of silky hair between his fingers. "No I haven't. You were really the only thing on my mind the entire time I was absent," Edd's voice vibrated against Kevin making him shiver. "Have you?" Kevin scoffed, "You're kidding right? Like I would talk to shorty. Ed can be alright but I can't stand Eddy. Still haven't really forgiven him for the stunts he's pulled to be honest," They both fell silent with that.
After a few more minutes of cuddles, they decided to get up and Kevin was going to cook dinner. Both were just in their boxers, deciding why not considering they were completely alone. Edd was seated at the table watching his ginger lover intently as the guy bustled around putting together their meal. "So what are you making exactly?" Edd asked from behind his hands, the grin evident in his voice. "Salisbury steak and potatoes with peas," Kevin said glancing over his shoulder. He had felt the ravenette staring holes in him the entire time he'd been cooking. "Sounds delicious," Edd murmured. "It will be. So how did the tour go?" "Well as expected I presume. Marcus was satisfied with the turn out for it. We think Bo is gonna start dating one of the reporters. He's been texting the guy a lot. We released some new songs so now it's back to recording I guess," Kevin nodded along as the other talked. He was genuinely happy that things had gone so smoothly and he was definitely proud of the nerd for taking the leap. The jock finished up dinner and dished their plates while Edd poured their drinks. "What about James? How's he been?" "Eh good like always. Asked about you a lot though. Said to tell you he said hi and that you need to see him," Kevin laughed at the embarrassed expression on the dork's face.
"And what about school?" "Well you're a legend now. The dork turned bad boy turned rock star and all that. Team has come around to us dating a lot more than I thought they would. Other than that it's the same old same old," The boys continued to chat as they scarfed down their food. Neither had really ate a home cooked meal since Edd left for his tour. "Speaking of school Edd, did you think anymore about what I said?" The words had been cautious and Kevin looked braced for a fight. The raven gently laid his fork down on the table and looked at him, his blue eyes unreadable. "I did. I know you want to be a mechanic, so, you tell me where you want to go for school and we'll get you there. But I probably will do online courses since the band is picking up speed," Kevin's face fell with the response. He had been hoping that Edd would agree to some time off or something. The jock knew his request wasn't exactly fair, but he wasn't sure he could handle being constantly apart. "Edd I...this whole you being gone thing, it's tough...I felt lost without you. I'm not sure I can deal with you leaving all the time," The ginger stared at his now empty plate as he spoke. He wasn't brave enough to meet the sapphire eyes that he knew to be staring him down. "Pumpkin I know it's not easy, but this is what I want. I need you in my life too. It's a new dynamic to the relationship we share. It'll just take some adjusting," Edd's voice was low and Kevin knew he was trying to hide the hurt he had to be feeling.
Uneasy silence stretched between them, making both boys fidget in their seats. They weren't even out of high school yet and had already had to face some of the biggest hurdles in their lives. Finding love, being brutally attacked, breaking up, death of loved ones, and now being separated. "Corbeau you know I love you but I need some time to think about this. I don't want to make you give up something you enjoy. I can't be that person but I'm not sure I can be the one always waiting for their other half to come home either," Kevin rose to his feet and cleared their dishes, but Edd didn't move. His mind was racing a mile a minute with countless questions. How he could make it work, what choice he should make, why Kevin doubted the strength of their relationship. His brain wouldn't slow down and it was nauseating for him. "I think I'm gonna go Edd, I need to clear my head," The jock gave him a kiss to his cheek. His flesh felt seared at the touch, agony quickly making its way through his system. It wasn't until he heard his door close that he let himself feel anything. Which was a mistake on his part, since everything came rushing at him all at once. His anxiety flooded his entire being, and his lungs felt as if they were closing. The ravenette was feeling all of his emotions simultaneously but he just felt numb. Eddward slowly stood and climbed the stairs of his empty home to his bathroom. His silver friend had been tucked away there for a long while and now it was as if the object were calling to him. Kevin was talking about them ending, and if that happened Edd would have no one. He'd be alone. The thought was almost to painful to endure, but the bite his friend gave wasn't.
James poked his head from the kitchen at the sound of his front door closing. Kevin stood in the entryway, his face blank but his body language said it all. Something had happened. "What's up kiddo?" "Dad I don't know what to do," the ginger's voice was strained, as if he were holding back tears. Not used to seeing his son in such a state, James quickly approached him. "What do you mean Kev?" "I don't think I can take being apart from Edd all the time with his whole band thing. But I know it's wrong to ask him to quit something he loves to do," James tugged Kevin into the living room and made the teen sit down so they could talk. "So you think eventually you guys will break up because of the distance? Is that it?" Kevin nodded, his face solemn. "Kevin I know I didn't raise you to be a quitter. I taught you that anything in this life worth having takes work," "I know dad, but I don't think I'm strong enough for this. I'm not even eighteen yet," The ginger sounded defeated and it tugged at his father's heart strings. "Kev, did I ever tell you about how your mum almost dumped me?" "Wait what?" James sighed, he hated talking about his wife. It was tough and hurt, but he knew his son needed to hear the story.
"Yeah, you're mum nearly dumped me right before she got pregnant with you. We'd been engaged for a while but I started to get cold feet about the wedding. I didn't think I could be the man she deserved. Your mum was something else. That woman had some serious fire and spunk. She knew what she wanted and she fought for it with every fiber of her being. You got that from her by the way. She was passionate about nearly everything. I had never seen someone pour themselves into even the tiniest thing. It didn't matter if it was learning to cook or painting your nursery. She lived her life with enthusiasm. That woman never gave up on anything unless she was told no for a legitimate reason," James paused his eyes tearing up at what Kevin guessed were the memories James had of his mother. "Kev your mum made me promise that I would raise you to fight for who and what you love. She almost dumped me because I was second guessing everything. I wasn't trusting that things would work out in the end. I didn't have faith in myself or my own choices. Your mum lay dying right after you were born and the stubborn woman made me promise to not let you become me," Chuckles sounded from both irish men. "I know you're scared kiddo but I also know you love that boy with every fiber of your being. You guys can make it, and I honestly believe that. So give yourself some credit and give it everything you got. You only fail when you give up," Kevin stared at his father, the wise words turning gears in his head. "Now get your ass over there and love your boyfriend," James said with a soft punch to his son's arm. "Thanks dad," Kevin said as he ran out the door.
The jock was Edd's door within seconds but the nerd didn't answer his knock. He couldn't say as he blamed him. Kevin had literally just told him not even a couple hours ago that he wasn't sure what he wanted. He cursed himself for being so stupid as to say those things and just up and leave. He pulled out his phone and tried calling Edd but the dork didn't answer that either. Finally Kevin decided that he'd just see if the door was unlocked. Worst case scenario the raven would toss him out anyway. He turned the knob and the door opened but the house was deathly quiet. Save for a few choked sobs coming from upstairs. Kevin mentally slapped himself, he really was a piece of work. Edd had just come back from tour and the ginger ambushed him with something like that. The ginger quietly crept up to the top floor and saw the bathroom light on. He padded over to it and gently knocked on the door. "Edd are you in there?" Sniffles were his response. When he tried to open the door though it didn't budge. The ravenette had locked it. "Look you don't have to talk Edd but please just listen. I'm a moron and I know it. I'm just scared that one day you'll decide I'm not good enough. You're going to be famous and all I want to do is work on cars," Kevin knelt down in front of the door, his hand placed on it. "I've never been great at putting my feelings into words. You know that of course. I'm gonna fuck up, probably a lot too. But I'll never stop loving you," More sniffles taunted from the other side of the door. "Please let me in Dee," "You're gonna be mad," came the hoarse voice from the other. His words made the ginger panic though. "Why would I be mad Edd?" Silence. "Edd answer me dammit. Why would I be mad?!" More silence. "For Fuck sakes if you don't open this door so help m-"
Light filled the hallway, broken only by the teen's shadow. Edd's arms were bloody from delving back into a habit the ginger thought he had beat. Sure they were shallow, just enough to make blood bead on the surface but still. Kevin's heart broke at the sight. He had done this. He had been such a coward and now the boy who held his heart, was injured because of it. Just like before. His arms grabbed the nerd and held him close not even minding the droplets of crimson staining his clothes.