Author's Note: And so it begins. *ominous music in the background*
Chapter 37
Another year, another party at Nazz's house. This one was even louder than the last one; Edd shuddered to think how chaotic their senior party would be. Teenagers seemed to spawn from the very walls. Surely having this many people in one house was a fire hazard. They must be breaking some sort of room capacity law, in addition to the underage drinking and noise curfew violations. None of the neighbors reported the party. In a town as small as Peach Creek, most adults were glad to have the kids in a house and off the streets. No one saw a problem in letting the rare party slide beneath the radar. Edd resented this.
Holding tightly to a bottle of water, the thin boy sat in a corner of the only properly-lit room in the house: the kitchen. Teenagers came and went quickly. They were there for snacks and drinks, not to socialize. They had the rest of the house for slurred conversations and sloppy make outs. Eddy leaned against the kitchen table and sipped from a plastic cup, his third drink of the night. Edd could see his friend's cheeks reddening and watched with mild amusement as his attempts to hit on girls got progressively worse. Finally, Eddy slammed the cup down on the table and glared at Edd.
"Would you lighten the fuck up?"
Edd blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you're drinking water at a party, Sockhead. And sitting on a chair. You could be dancing and talking to chicks—er, or dudes. Whatever. You're boring. Where the hell is Ed?"
"I believe he is in the living room, Eddy. He seems to be quite the popular dance partner, although I would hardly call what he does dancing."
Eddy rolled his eyes. "Right, because you could do better."
Edd opened his mouth with a comeback, but Kevin chose that moment to fall into his lap. "Hello, Kevin. Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Hell yes." Kevin rubbed his face on Edd's thigh before straightening up and leaning against the wall. "Are you?"
"No, he's fucking not," Eddy interjected. "He won't drink anything, and he's just been sitting on this damn chair since we got here."
Kevin frowned. "Edd."
"Oh, don't you take that tone with me, mister." Edd waggled a finger at him. It didn't have the effect he wanted it to, so he put it away again. "We are not of legal age, and I will not be participating."
"Fair enough," Kevin nodded. "But why aren't you out there having fun?"
"I wouldn't call any of that fun, Kevin."
Kevin gave him a look. He stood up and took Eddy's arm, drawing him aside. Edd watched, curious and annoyed, as they exchanged quick words. Kevin caught Edd staring and threw an arm around Eddy's shoulders to turn him away. A few seconds later, they parted with a fist bump. Kevin waved as he disappeared into the living room again and Eddy took his place at the table.
"What was that about?" Edd demanded.
"What was what about?" Eddy glanced over at him with a smirk and took a sip from his cup. Edd folded his arms and huffed. Eddy slurped down the rest of his drink. "I'm getting a refill. Want me to get you another water?"
Edd looked down at his bottle. It was practically empty. "Yes, thank you."
After Eddy walked away, Edd hopped off of the stool and inched his way along the wall to peer into the dark living room. He spotted Ed easily. Even surrounded by jocks, he stood nearly a head taller than anyone else. Edd shook his head, smiling. His eyes searched the room for a familiar shock of red hair and found it easily. Kevin stood in the middle of a large group of people, Mr. Popularity to the core. Edd frowned to see one of the cheerleaders hanging on his shoulder, a frown that deepened when Kevin made no move to brush her off. He went back to his stool and sat heavily, feeling a sudden desire to go home.
"Here."
A cup was pressed into his hand. The contents were brown. "Eddy, this isn't water."
"They were out of water bottles. It's just root beer, chill." Eddy took a large gulp of his own drink.
Hesitantly, Edd sipped at the liquid. His nose wrinkled up. "Eddy, this tastes funny. Are you certain it is just root beer?"
"Yeah, it's that nasty generic shit. No big deal. Just drink it, Double D."
Eddy tipped the cup up. Rather than allow the sticky liquid to spill onto his shirt, he opened his mouth and swallowed quickly. He made a noise of complaint, but Eddy didn't relent. Soon the cup was empty and Edd was left gasping for breath.
"Eddy! Was that really necessary?" He wiped his mouth.
"Yep. You should be feeling the buzz any time now."
Edd's eyes widened in horror. "E-Eddy?!"
The short boy laughed and grabbed Edd's wrist. He pulled him into the living room and shoved him forward. The crowd closed behind him, leaving him stranded in a sea of sweaty strangers. He made a strangled noise and tried to avoid touching anyone. Thankfully, the music had been turned off. Someone at the front of the living room seemed to be announcing something, but Edd spun around to find Eddy.
"Hey, Sockhead!"
Edd quickly located the source of the voice. "Eddy! What is the meaning of this?"
"Raise your hand!"
"What?"
"Raise your hand!"
Hesitantly, Edd put his hand into the air. "I don't see what this is supposed to accom—"
"Looks like we have a volunteer!"
Suddenly, hands were all over him pushing him forward and slapping him on the back. He was lifted up onto the coffee table and handed a microphone. In the back of the room, Eddy and Kevin were falling over each other laughing. He looked back and forth between them and the microphone, mouth hanging open in confusion. When music began blaring out of the speakers behind him, he jumped and the crowd around him laughed. He recognized the song; it was one that he knew from long and unfortunate afternoons listening to Kevin's music, but… Something was different. No one was singing. He glanced down at the microphone in his hand and felt his face grow red.
"Oh, no! No, no, no! I will not!" He held the microphone out, begging for someone to take it. "Eddy, I will murder you! They will never find your body!"
"You can do it, Edd!" Kevin shouted.
The crowd took his lead and began to chant Edd's name. The boy blushed, waving his hands around. Kevin nodded to the guy at the karaoke machine. He restarted the song. Edd held the microphone close to his body with both hands. He stumbled over his cue, voice shaking, but the reaction from the group was encouraging. His head felt light all of a sudden, and he took a deep breath. When he let it out, his singing was steady. A few kids cheered him on. By the second chorus, he let his body relax, swaying his hips to the beat. He struggled to remember the lyrics late in the song, but the teenagers around him picked up where he left off. At the end of the song, the house shook with the cheers. Edd handed the microphone off to an unsteady-looking girl and stepped off the table. As he walked toward the back of the living room, he was met with a barrage of claps on the back. He coughed a few times when he reached Kevin.
"Don't think you're just going to get away with this," he threatened.
Kevin laughed and grabbed him up in a side hug. "Understood."
"Hey, Kev! He's your tutor, right?" One of Kevin's team members held out his fist. Edd looked at it hesitantly before meeting it with his own fist. The guy laughed. "Dude, he's hilarious! That was awesome! Later, dork!" He gave Edd a broad smile and walked away.
Edd wasn't given a single moment of peace for the rest of the night. He was dragged from one group to another as people fought for his attention. He accepted a few drinks, and when they left, Kevin had to practically carry him up the stairs and into his room, not even bothering to leave their shoes in the hall.
"Kevin, that was amazing! I never knew that social interaction could be so…fun!" Edd giggled, squirming away as Kevin tried to undress him.
"Edd, hold the fuck still! You don't want to sleep in your jeans, do you?"
"Oh. No, I don't. Sorry." He pressed a hand over his mouth for a moment, but an overwhelming urge overtook him. He leaned forward and kissed his boyfriend before burping suddenly. "Whoops."
Kevin laughed. "Gross, dude. Come on, let's just go to bed."