Ya'll remember the scam Eddy originally planned on Jimmy back in chapter 3? Well…

Chapter 21

So this is pain

"Kevin!" He had yelled the moment he spotted the ginger, standing in the middle of the locker room, standing in the middle of all of those open lockers. This is bad…! His voice had caught in his throat, not allowing him to speak anymore, whereas Kevin appeared to be chocked to have been caught in the act and thus forced to silence as well. Getting him out of there without getting caught had been the first thing on his mind; making sure there weren't any obvious evidence on the crime scene had been the second.

Just as he's about to take action he can hear sounds coming from outside; the football team is done training for the day. Panicking, Eddward runs up and slams the locker doors shut, just before he grabs a frightened Kevin and hurries to one of the restroom stalls. Choosing the one for handicaps, Eddward hurries Kevin inside first before closing the door after them as silently as he can – they're entering the locker room right now. Dragging them both up to the toilet seat, he maneuvers so that Kevin is partially sitting in his lap with his head leaning into his chest before reaching for his phone to text a friend.

"Wait a minute!" A voice calls out in the locker room. "My locker is opened! I swear I locked it before!"

"Wha- really?" Another voice says, and Eddward can feel Kevin start to tremble in his arms. He's scared. With a frown on his face, Eddward hurries to send a text to Nathan, knowing that he's in there with the rest of his team.

Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Nathan immediately picks it up, hoping to see Eddward coming with an update that he found Kevin. 'We're in the handicaps – Don't find us!' Welp… Putting his phone down, he looks up as more of his teammates notice that there are more lockers that appear to have been picked open during their practice. Without saying a word to them he hurries to see which of the handicap stalls they're hiding in, running up to the shower one only to find it empty. Biting hard, he hurries up to the one for the restroom stalls. Opening the door, he finds them. Standing on the seat, they're trying their best not to accidentally give themselves away. One look and nod from Eddward and Nathan knows what to do. Closing the door harshly whilst letting out a frustrated 'Dang it!' he draws the attention of his teammates. "Check the stalls! There's still a chance that there's someone hiding in here!" He tells them.

"Oh, so that's what you were doing." One of them says before helping him out to search the rest of the restroom stalls.

"Yeah, I checked the handicaps first cuz' no one really goes in there." He says as he pretends to search with his companion, keeping an eye on him as they go. "No luck though."

"Well, it was a smart move though – I think I'm gonna try that if it happens again."

Duly noted, Eddward thinks as he tries his best to sit still with Kevin still clinging onto him like a small child. It's getting harder to not shake and keep his balance on this small area they have to crouch on, despite the assisting balance point Kevin makes. Listening intently to what's going on out there, he can feel his pulse slow down to a normal level as they move further and further away from their stall. Here's to hoping that Nathan will be able to keep them all away from here after. A brief moment pass before Jimmy's voice can be heard echoing in the locker room.

"What is going on in here?!" He demands – as the typical high standard uptight person that he is. Eddward can to some extent understand why Eddy doesn't like him and thus sees him as a target to terrorize. What he doesn't understand is why he felt the need to get Kevin involved like this.

"Someone's broke into some of the lockers." Nathan answers. "We've searched all of the stalls with no luck and are just checking every dark corner to see if there's someone here at this point."

"Idiot. Do you really think they'd still be in here if they knew there'd be a whole football team coming to look for them?" Jimmy says and heads over to his own locker. Nathan would be lying if he said he didn't partially enjoy seeing the look on his face when he realizes that his locker was one of the targeted lockers. "What the-?! My locker!"

"Well, you see, as I said earlier-" Nathan says with a slightly smug grin on his face.

"Shut it you idiot!" Jimmy growls and storms off to search the locker room after the criminal. The sounds of stalls being kicked open are getting closer, causing Katelyn to hold on tighter to Eddward as her fear rises. He tries not to flinch from the pain. Just as Jimmy's about to kick down the stall next to theirs Nathan grabs him and pulls him back. "Let go of me!" Jimmy roars.

"I said that we've already checked there!" Nathan says, remaining calm and collected like the team captain that he is.

"You obviously didn't check enough, idiot!"

"Lay it off man! He's our team captain, after all." Another voice from the team speaks. "He's the one who had us search the place in the first place."

"And as he just said; we found nothing." A second voice says.

"Meaning they're not here anymore." Nathan says. "So what we should do for now is talk to the pri-"

"EDDY! It has to be that Eddy!" Jimmy gasps. He hurries back to his locker to get his stuff ready before ditching everyone in the locker room, beginning the hunt of the scammer that they all know and hate.

As the door close behind him, the rest of the team get their stuff ready to go home for the day. Some of them mutter how there's something wrong with Jimmy, with how he acts and behaves towards their captain. Now this is something that Nathan would normally join in and talk about, but not now – now he's busy with something else.

Being forced to lean into Eddward's chest for an uncertain amount of time is not something that she would like to call fun – something that none of his fan girls may ever understand nor agree to. The only thing she'd been able to think about was the fact that he had caught her in the act, and now they're stuck in this situation because of her… wait… no! This part of the situation is not because of her! Eddward's the one who caused this! Why the- she was done! She was about to leave! But then he busted his way in here and now; look where they are!

Growing just the slightest bitter at that thought she tries her best to give him an angry glare – trust me, she tries. It's just really hard to pull off when his entire focus is locked on the stall door in front of them, not to mention the commotion that's going on behind it. She really should be worried about that, and she is – she's just more upset with Eddward for the moment to remember that.

As more loud voices claim their spotlight she eventually snaps out of her anger, for now. It had been a tense moment when Jimmy had been kicking down stall doors to see if there's anyone on the other side, and she had been scared to the point where she must've hurt Eddward by how much she tightened her grip. She'll feel sorry later. He had then held her a little tighter himself, forcing her head to get closer to his chest than before – she could now hear his heartbeat. It slowed down once Nathan most likely stopped Jimmy from proceeding kicking doors down. It would take a fool not to understand that he was worried about them getting caught. After a few moments Jimmy yelled out Eddy's name and left the room, soon followed by his calmer team mates. It had been quiet for a little while before Nathan's voice had called out to them that the coast is clear.

Her stiff legs ache as she forces them to reshape and move her out of the awkward position. One glance at Eddward tells her that he's experiencing the same pain as well. He opens the door carefully and peaks out before he opens it enough to leave the stall. Katelyn however remains where she's standing for a little longer. Picking at the corner of her cap, she forces her feet to move and peak around the corner to see where they're standing, talking to each other. Are they mad at her? Nathan seems to be much more down to earth as he talks to Eddward, however as soon as he spots her, his whole demeanor change into the Nathan she's gotten to know.

"Handsomino~!"He calls out and runs up to her, wraps his arms around her and pulls her into a big hug. "I've been worried sick about you! Why- what have you gotten yourself into with that lousy Eddy?!"

His grip around her is to tight to allow her to breathe, let alone speak. "Gh-gruh!" Sounds is all she's capable of. Thankfully enough Eddward is soon there to be of some sort of assistance for her.

"Calm down, Nathan." He says, and with a gentle yet strong enough grip of Nathan's shoulder, Eddward manages to make him release her. "We wouldn't want him to pass out from lack of oxygen, now would we?"

"You're right, you're right."

It had been a long moment of awkward silence after that. Nathan had been looking at her with an expression of someone who's very worried about you, almost like a sibling who just found out their older sibling is not as nice as they used to be, whereas Eddward had been more focused on their surroundings, possibly standing guard and seeing if there was any trouble lurking on and about.

After a long moment of waiting for something to happen, Eddward declared that it was time for them all to leave as to not worry any of their families about their whereabouts. With a nod from Katelyn and a sigh from Nathan, he had led the way out from the locker room, out in the hallways. Checking to see if there's anyone there waiting for them, he deemed it safe enough for them to leave the building as well. With Nathan having his bike close by he gave them both a quick hug goodbye before walking away from them and getting ready to head home.

Watching him drive away and leave them there with a wave as he drives by, Katelyn can't help the small sigh that escapes her as she realize what she's been through, what she's just been caught doing by both of her friends. The knowledge of it leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, something she could do very well without. With a gentle nudge on her shoulder from Eddward, they start walking home in silence. She can tell that Eddward wants to say something to her, but in the end he remains silent. If it's because he has no idea what to say or because he doesn't know how to say it, she doesn't know. She herself doesn't know what to say either. The only thing she can do right now is focusing her gaze forward, trying her best not to look at him or in his direction; avoid eye contact with him.

Minutes pass as they walk and they soon find themselves standing at the road leading to the cul-de-sac. The wind is cold and knows when the right time to appear is. Her cheeks are screaming from the cold, but she cannot find herself to say anything about it, or do anything about it. Eddward is suffering through the same cold wind and he isn't complaining about it, so why should she? As another moment pass between them she can feel how the tension is growing tighter, and it's getting harder to breathe. She sniffs due to the cold, looks down on the ground and wrecks her brain for something to do or say, but she keeps ending up empty handed… there's nothing to do or say about this, is there?

A moving motion in the corner of her eye catches her attention and she soon finds herself being pulled into a hug. Eddward still remains silent as a mouse, but his actions speak loud and clear. If only she could understand it…

"Kevin…" He says, his voice quiet. "…I… I know…" Falling silent again, he gives her room to think about what he's trying to tell her. He knows…? He knows that she has her hands tied behind her back and isn't able to do anything about it? He knows that Eddy is the one who found the opportunity to tie her hands in the first place? Moving away from her so that he can look at her, she can tell by the look of his eyes that there's something he wants to tell her so bad, but there's something holding him back. "I know… what it's like…" He says. "But you can't allow Eddy to control you. The more he forces you to do the more power he will have over you in the long run. Whatever he may have on you is not worth becoming his puppet for, I promise you."

She looks down, still not doing anything that will further the hug he's pulled her into. Her arms remain by her side; she makes no effort to either push away or lean closer. The bitter taste in her mouth returns as she hears what he says, knowing that he couldn't possibly understand what she's going through – though of course, that doesn't necessarily mean he's not trying his best to.

"Take it from someone who knows." He says. "There is a reason why I hate him as much as I do, after all."

"He tried to make you do what I just did…" She says. She doesn't know why she said it, but it's the first time she's spoken since she was caught, so what the heck.

Eddward nods. "It's not the first time he's come to me offering to pay me something in return for doing some of his little errands, as he likes to call them. But nor is it the first time I've turned him down." He grows silent for a moment, thinking. "He's an idiot for returning to me over and over again, thinking he can convince me to do his bidding even when I've made myself clear that I want nothing to do with him… and it can be quite annoying at times."

"Great." She mutters.

"So I know for a fact that standing up to him will be hard, I know that he will not give up that easily as he has yet to give up on me, but it's not impossible…" He says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "…Pumpkin." It draws her attention for a moment, but only for a moment. She looks down on the ground soon enough. "You need to stand up to him, and I will help you with it. I assure you; no matter what he may have on you to blackmail you into his bidding, it will not be enough to make neither me nor Nathan think ill of you."

She remains silent, thinking about his words. If only she could believe him… actually… does she believe him? As his hand remains on her shoulder she can't help but feel like maybe – just maybe – it wouldn't do as much damage as she originally thought it would… maybe it will get easier for them to understand after all of this? No… that's just wishful thinking.

"Maybe…" She says, keeping her voice low and barely heard.

"Come now." He says, allowing his hand to lie across her shoulder as he walks her home. "Let's go home before they come looking for us."

"Actually… can we go home to you?" She asks, feeling bold and awkward at the same time. "I really don't want to go home right now…"

"Of course, Pumpkin. Of course."

A few hours has passed since he arrived home, yet the bruises the old man left of him still ache. Sitting in the bathtub in now cold water, Jimmy reaches out to fill it up again with fresh warm water, doing his best to help his sore body recover from the old man's anger. It had all been good when he arrived home – his old man was still out of country and he was home alone in pure peace and quiet… or so he had thought. As it turns out, the old man's boss had finally had enough with him and fired him, which allowed him to come home much earlier than originally planned. What a lovely surprise that hadn't been. The first thing he had done to announce his presence was to take out his frustration on his unsuspecting son who was still trying to figure out what Eddy could've possibly wanted to do to make his life worse. He soon found out.

As per the old man's usual routine, he had gone through Jimmy's school bag, just to "check" and see that his son didn't do anything stupid while at school – not to mention when he was away for so long. It hadn't taken him long to find the two forsaken objects in his bag's partially secret pocket that he knows didn't belong to him, though it would be a fool's errand to try and explain that to the old man. Instinct had kicked in when he realized that the old man was getting worked up, and he had merely hung his head and prepared himself for the inevitable punishment. It was a harsh reminder of what he had been allowed to rest from while he had been away, out of their lives. If only it had been for good.

Now sitting in slightly warmer water, Jimmy can't help but think deeply about the whole ordeal. Of course Eddy is the true culprit behind this whole situation, but that doesn't make the puppet any less guilty for breaking into his locker and planting the "evidence" for his old man to find. No… Eddy will get the more harsh punishment for this, of course, but the little errand boy should not think that he is fine. As soon as Jimmy knows who he is he will make sure that they get what they deserve as well for daring to break into his locker and tamper with his belongings. Heck, he might even allow his old man to have a go at them, though he knows that would never happen. The old man may be stupid enough to beat up his son and wife, but he's not stupid enough to do so in front of other people, nor to other people. It's a shame, really.

His mother's voice can be heard from the downstairs, speaking softly and quietly in the big house that hides the dark secret of this family. She must be on the phone, cuz' there's no way that old man will be willing to have a conversation with anyone after this. It must be someone from her work as she doesn't have any other friends in this godforsaken town.

Draining the bathtub, he gets out of the water and wraps a towel around his waist. His body is still in pain and will need a couple of days to heal before he's fully ready to visit Eddy and give him the most deserving reward for his actions today. And who knows, maybe he'll be willing to tell him who the errand boy is that planted the stuff in his bag? Everyone knows that Eddy is pretty much ready to sell his future children to the devil himself for the right price, so it shouldn't be too hard to fool the idiot into giving that information up.

Pain shots through his bruises as he walks out of the bathroom and to his room. It's gonna take a while, a couple of days or so, but he will eventually get that slimy idiotic scammer back for what he's done today – and for everything he's done to Jimmy White for a loooong time. Falling face first into his bed, he buries himself under the cover as he hears his dad yell something at his mother who immediately stops talking to the person on the phone. He does everything he can to block out the sobbing and begging for him to stop. It doesn't help much.

Every time I finish a chapter I look back on it and just wonders… is this really worth waiting a whole month for?

I'm not sure it is.