There were very few people out so early in the morning, though, most carried umbrellas while others ran for cover from the pitter-patter that rapidly picked up speed. It soon began to sound like a million angry bees buzzing around.

The raven haired teen got the first splatter of rain when he was only ten minutes into his morning run, but the now heavily falling rain did nothing to stop him from his current task. It was half past five in the morning and once again he had had barely an hour of sleep. The nightmares seemingly hitting him much more ruthless as the days counted down until the new school year began. He was terribly afraid of the images in his dreams coming true and that the voices that laughed and mocked him being right about everything all along.

Every morning he ran this same route through the west side of town, passing through a bridge where there was a beautiful view of the Peach Creek lake. He came to a stop to admire the view unfazed by the rain, as it only served to calm him. His piano fingers gingerly touched the railing sending a chill down his spine.

Nearly half a year ago he had been ready to end it all. It was his second attempt, yet a certain ginger boy had once again foiled his plans for the second time. Was it destiny for Kevin Barr to intervene every time he tried at suicide? Perhaps his fate laid somewhere else in this life…least that's what he thought now that a certain boy made him believe so.

It had been a strange change for the raven haired swimmer, more so since he was twelve nothing had seemed to change in his life. There had been absolutely nothing to motivate him and for him to strive for something else. Since his childhood, he had been told he was to be great and nothing less, but he never knew what for.

He gripped the railing tightly only feeling the cool metal under his touch and compared it to the touch from the freckled skin that only radiated warmth. Not even the summer heat could compare to that boy's kind warmth. Since they had left the cabin he desperately craved for more late nights when the both of them would fall asleep on the couch and he'd feel nothing but comfort as he fell deeply in peaceful slumber.

What he didn't seem to understand was the desperation he felt…the certain feeling of wanting to hold onto someone so strongly. This feeling was new to him and honestly speaking it made him afraid. This longing was a sign of weakness, a sign that any of his rivals easily could snatch if noticed and use against him. It was a weakness that gave even the small freckled teen the upper hand and the satisfaction of breaking Eddward if he wished to do so.

This emotion was dangerous that much he knew, and because of this, he had promised himself to overpower it and keep it at bay. He had reassured Ed he wouldn't get attached, he had engraved it into his chest again and again. To his unfortunate luck, each passing day at the cabin had been a defeat for Eddward James Vincent. The freckled teen continued to worm his way into his heart and share the warmth Eddward lacked. After their last night at the cabin, Eddward knew he could no longer win against this emotion…

So what was he supposed to do now?

Expressing it wasn't allowed for the fear of the many possible consequences it could bring. Denying it was impossible and at this point exhausting especially when he couldn't pin point what IT was. It was frustrating at times and only more so as it latched deep in his chest every single time he made the smaller teen smile and laugh. Was it that he was just genuinely happy?

No, Eddward had experienced happiness before. He knew what being happy was having memories of that particular feeling from his childhood. This emotion was different from being happy, this emotional reduced him to desperation and longing though it wasn't a bad feeling… it was just…damn frustrating.

If he had to compare this feeling to something, the closest he could muster was definitely the joy he had felt with his friend Blaine. Though, it was difficult to compare because he had been so young and had paid no attention to these kinds of things. They had sat together many afternoons on a grassy field with a little river skipping rocks and splashing each other. It was the sheer joy of innocence. There was definitely a painful heartbreak upon hearing of his friend's death nearly two years after Blain's move.

It was at that point that Eddward came back to reality and noticed the rain had calmed down to lightly hitting his skin. He looked up at the sky watching the clouds quickly move in unison in one direction. Lazily forcing his feet to take a couple of steps forward he decided to not contemplate the feeling any longer.

It wasn't long before he heard quick footsteps behind him catching his attention. In the mere second, he turned around someone had crashed into him sending both of them tumbling down to the ground. A loud oof was puffed out by the person with a head full of ginger hair. The teen's small hands steadied themselves on his chest lifting him up for Eddward to see their smiling face.

Kevin…of course it had to be Kevin Barr. "Way to make an appearance Barr"

"Sorry I slipped" The freckled teen giggled not making any efforts to get off the other.

"Be careful" Eddward sighed but returned the smile nonetheless feeling the emotion begin to climb up his rib bones. "What are you doing out here so early in the morning?"

"Same thing as you, duh" Kevin sat up straight pointing to his sporty outfit easy to run in "came out to find you..." he finally lifted himself off the other and helped Eddward up.

"What for?" the swimmer asked taking the freckled hand to help him stand.

He could see the other slightly flush at the question "I don't know…kind of missed running with you" he shrugged pulling up the hood of his hoodie over his head looking to the side "besides barely anyone is awake at this hour so…it's ok right?" Kevin looked up at the other biting his lip.

Eddward gave out a happy sigh with a smirk "Of course"

"Hey…you're soaking wet" Kevin reached out to lightly pull on the other's tank top that stuck to the boy's skin, only now realizing hadn't taken cover from the rain. The wet shirt only seemed to redefine the taller teen's chest with clear strong muscles. Eddward's beanie protecting the raven locks but those that escapes dripped with water and curved on his face beautifully "Aren't you cold?" he questioned looking down knowing he had been staring a too long and placed his hands in his pocket.

"On the contrary, I feel refreshed pumpkin" Eddward heard the other laugh nervously at the nickname and truthfully he had to admit that using it made him giddy. It made him happy that the smaller teen made no complain about it, clearly liking the name just as much as he did.

Pulling on the strings of his hoodie was the only thing Kevin would think of to distract himself feeling his face become hot once again from the nickname "O-of course you would be" he smiled awkwardly.

With that, the swimmer placed a hand on the other's head and gently rubbed "Come on let's go"

Kevin bashfully smiled "kay"

…

Before the teens knew it they had made it through mid-august. The summer weather slowly cooled down with each passing day and back to school commercials and ads were all that appeared on every channel and on every wall of down town. Kevin and Eddward had gotten into to rhythm of certain days in which they could easily meet up. Mornings for example, it wasn't on a daily basis but three times a week they'd meet by the bridge and ran together. Twice a week they would meet up during the evening and continue their self-defense training in Eddward's backyard and used the punching bag in the garage. On other days Kevin would pop into the antiques shop meeting a cheerful Ms. Adams and now happily surprised Eddward as well. The ginger teen would help around the store though there wasn't much to do. He like cleaning the best because he was able to comfortably talk with the taller teen maybe even steal a couple glances in his direction.

The young teen was merely admiring the boy as he often did in secret. Every time he looked over the soft smile on the other's face Kevin couldn't help but feel proud of the way Eddward had managed to open up. It had clearly served as a positive change because even he could see the more open the raven haired teen was with Ms. Adams. The boy sunk into her hugs and though he frowned it was clear as day Eddward enjoyed having her presence around. The two may not have as many long conversations as Kevin had with the woman but they shared a silent communication through every touch and smile. The sight of a happy Eddward was bliss for Kevin.

The bully that was Eddward Vincent was nearly forgotten.

The image of the bully was a mask…had been a mask this entire time because this sweet, kind heart person had been there all along simply too afraid to show. That person was entrancing the freckled teen every moment they spent together.

Nearly forgotten however

There was still a stinging fear in the depth of everything that made believe this was all temporary. The smaller teen feared all of this would be reduced to a faint memory that might be blown away as soon as the fall wind passed through the town. He tried not to think about it for too long or let it get his attention, for the moment Kevin focused on the now. The now that was Eddward Vincent, the guy who had understood and known exactly what to do to cheer him up and had taught him to breathe again. Kevin could breathe comfortably and profoundly enough gaining self-control and a peaceful mind.

Every time he woke up in the middle of a nightmare he would remember Eddward's calm voice and quickly closed his eyes and clear his mind relieving him of panic and anxiety. He'd turn to his side looking out his window wondering what Eddward did to relieve his own nightmares. What did he think about to calm down and go back to sleep? It worried Kevin sometimes noticing the dark circles under the other's exhausted eyes that had reappeared after their trip. What had changed? Was it that he was alone in that big house? Perhaps, so Kevin had gone over to stay the night at Eddward's place a few times hoping that might be the case but in the mornings it would seem nothing had changed. Eddward would look just as tired as usual…this made him wonder what was the cause of his nightmares, what fears were keeping the raven haired teen up at night.

One particular night Kevin had decided to stay awake hoping to find the answer to this. As he lay awake in the guest room trying to hear something from the swimmer's room. He didn't necessarily find any answers that night. Around two in the morning, he heard Eddward step out of the bedroom and walk down stairs. The ginger teen had waited a couple of minutes waiting to hear any more movement but the other didn't seem to have any plans in returning to his room. So, Kevin got up and stepped out as well finding the swimmer sitting on the couch leaning forward with his face in his hands.

The freckled teen frowned at the sight and carefully approached taking a seat next to the unsettled Eddward. The raven haired teen made no motion of surprise when Kevin sat down instead lazily looked up locking his sad eyes with the other's emerald ones. He felt a tight grip in his chest making him want to whimper as he stared at those ocean eyes. Kevin leaned forward settling his head on the swimmer's shoulder, his forehead lightly touching Eddward's cheek. He wasn't sure what to say to comfort the other but he hoped this contact might help as it always seemed to do the trick for him.

To his amazement. it seemed to be the exact thing Eddward had needed as forty minutes later of leaning against each other he had fallen asleep leaving a smiling Kevin to quietly stare. It was until the morning that he realized they had both slept on the couch, Eddward's head peacefully resting on his lap. His raven hair messily lay out in beautiful waves exposing his forehead and the elegant scar. Kevin lightly touch the ends of Eddward's hair feeling the smoothness of it, gently he ran his fingers through his scalp enjoying the feel of it. Until the raven haired teen let out a small purr then Kevin stilled his movement afraid of waking the other, though kept his hand where it was. His face flushed at the sound thinking it was beyond unexpected of the king of sharks yet undeniably adorable.

Kevin had tested out this method the next time he had stayed over getting the raven haired teen to agree to a marathon of kid's movies, such as El Dorado (in which they had watched in Spanish for Kevin's learning purposes), and Brother Bear. Surely enough after the second film Eddward began to doze off and mid-way through the third movie his head hung low deep in sleep lightly snoring making Kevin giggle. He had gotten up to grab a blanket from Eddward's room to cover the swimmer and himself. Kevin had finished watching the rest of the film before turning off the computer and snuggling close to the other. When he woke up first this morning he was pleased to see that this had truly done the trick once again. Eddward had laid down on the couch and somehow managed to pull the ginger teen along. Kevin lay on top of the swimmer's chest, their legs and arms in a tangled mess. Kevin felt beyond embarrassed waking up like this…well it wasn't the first time but definitely the most embarrassed he has ever felt by the situation. He tried to quietly untangle himself from the other but was unable to remove the arm that wrapped around his shoulders pressing him close to Eddward. So with a mortified whimper he rested his head on the others chest and waited trying his best not to be hyper aware. His eyes roamed over the fit chest watching it rise and fall steadily reminding him of previous times he had done this.

Well, at least Eddward was actually sleeping…

…

Nazz's arrival had Kevin feeling more at unease than he thought to be. Having the girl around only put her in danger and the realization finally hit that they only had two weeks before their junior year began. Everyone who had left was rapidly beginning to return to town and fill the streets again with familiar faces. It was around this time when the J's would begin their torment once again picking up the 'weak' and bullying them. They could never catch him. Before they knew it Kevin had sped past them in his repainted motorcycle. Mr. Barr had painted the bike a darker shade of red as well as given her a fix and had gotten a new helmet as his birthday gift. That very same night he had gone out on a drive around town until he came up a hill that overlooked the entire town of Peach Creek. Placing his bike in perfect view he took a picture and sent it to his friends.

At the very least at the moment Kevin was untouchable on his bike. The speed of his bike allowed him to easily out race any cars, it also helped that Eddward alerted him beforehand. He wasn't going to allow the J's to have their way with him this time around, nor was he going to allow absolutely nothing harm his best friend.

The blond girl had expressed her clear disapproval of his friendship with Eddward no matter how many times the ginger teen tried to explain the other's change of heart. He couldn't blame her for not trusting him though; Kevin understood why she didn't accept him. Perhaps if Eddward been his bully for more years he might not have given him a chance at all, much like he was doing with the J's. Eddward's behavior had always been different compared to Jimmy and Johnny's attitude towards mistreatment. Eddward never seemed to be too involved in the beatings and harassment only joined in for a few moments before leaving, usually only keeping watch over his goons. More importantly, however, Eddward never had the same look of enjoyment the other did. While the J's gain pure satisfaction from the beatings Eddward only seemed to become more unfulfilled and angered. Something Kevin at the time could not understand why…

It was unfortunate Nazz refused to comprehend the ex-bully the same way he had. Surely, she would forgive him. This in turn only served for his friendship with Ed to strengthen. Having no one to speak about Eddward with, it pleased Kevin to have the support of the giant brunette. It also delighted him to hear Ed and Eddward talking more frequently. Once the three of them were able to hang out in this old forgotten playground close to Eddward's house. Though, Eddward argued with the other the entire time the smaller teen was content that the swimmer didn't look like he was about to punch Ed in the face at anymore.

The two Ed's had taken seats on the swings while Kevin sat crisscrossed on the ground talking for a good half hour. The two Ed's had some kind of stare war between them this going unnoticed by the freckled teen before the tall brunette had decided to grab Kevin and sat him down on his lap secretly sending a mischievous grin towards the raven haired teen who only looked peeved. Laughing, Ed swung them both fast on the swing getting a loud yelp from the smaller teen who clung to the chains tightly feeling like he was going to fall any second.

The evening ended with them skipping rocks by a nearby small river in silence. Kevin was sitting between the two Ed's but leaned closer to the swimmer finding comfort in the proximity. He would sneak glances up to the two boys wondering what was going through their minds. Eddward had a melancholy look in his eyes as he stared down at the water seeing something past their reflection. Ed had his emotionless eyes stuck down at his hands as he quietly played with a pebble. Kevin pulled his legs closer to his chest staring at the reflection of the shimmering blue eyes. A small frown formed on his freckled face as he pondered what the taller teen was remembering. There was still so much they didn't know about each other, but that was to be expected.

…

Kevin's mother Lizzy had been visiting every weekend asked by Kevin himself as a means to get to know the woman better. It had been quite awkward at first, mostly one-sided conversations in which the woman tried to get Kevin to talk but he had difficulty to speak to her. Yet, he remembered the talk he had had with Eddward and how supportive he had been that night. After that, he began to speak more with his mother. She would bring over old photos and told him stories some in which he found out his father had changed a tad bit to make him look good. His father's expression was hilarious to Kevin easing up the awkwardness.

Twice he had found his parents speaking quietly in the kitchen. The first time things were silent and tensed though the second time they smiled and laughed. It made Kevin happy to see his father receive some kind of closure and release those bottled emotions he had been holding onto for 16 years.

Sometime after that, she had a sit down with Kevin and she began to tell her story after leaving the Barr men. She had been emotionally and mentally unstable due to problems with her family causing her unbearable stress. She confessed she had had a mental breakdown while she was seven months pregnant and once again months after Kevin was born and had said terrible things to Kevin's father. The weight of her problems had only increased with Kevin's arrival and the bills piling up. In all honesty, she had been weak, not even Kevin's father could have saved her at that point. In desperation from her suffocating prison she had left leaving behind a distraught Tomas with one-year-old Kevin.

Lizzy and Kevin sat on the couch quietly as her freckled hand wrapped around his proceeding to tell the rest of her story up until the point she had found courage to face the partner and child she had abandoned. When she had finished they shared a long silence to digest what had been said, Kevin asked her some questions and she willingly responded. Eventually, she encouraged Kevin to tell her about him, and so he did. He told her about every Quiz Bowl and Robotics competition his team had won (showing her trophies and his favorite quiz bowl cap) and the time his dad took him out riding on a motorcycle for the first time and completely falling in love. He told her almost everything…excluding the bullying of course.

Neither of his parents needed to know about that.

…

During their last week of summer break, Kevin couldn't manage to sit still, his old friend anxiety kicking in. It was late in the afternoon when he decided to grab his bike and go out for a drive around town hoping to calm it down. On his way through town, he saw Johnny hanging around a skate park with three other mean looking guys. Seeing their faces didn't help him what's so ever, the fear of being in their clutches again only crept in more so. Johnny had given him an evil smirk in his direction seeing the familiar bike ride past but made no attempt to go after him. Least he was safe for now.

Within a couple of minutes, he once again had managed to come up to the swimmers drive way. Turning off the ignition she noticed a single light in the living room turned on, Kevin leaned forward on his bike taking off the helmet and letting it hang on the handle. He sighed looking up to the big house thinking back on an old conversation they had on the back porch of the house. It had been possibly the first time Eddward had opened up to him so honestly and told him something personal. "Kevin?" he heard the confused voice of the taller teen who stood at his door step watching Kevin curiously.

The freckled teen's eyes brightened with joy as he noticed what Eddward was wearing. "Is that the shirt I got you?" he laughed in amusement "Didn't think you'd actually ever wear it"

Embarrassed Eddward looked down realizing indeed he had been wearing the black shirt that said I Don't Believe In Humans written in big letters. He grabbed at the shirt looking to the side as if trying to hide the letters "Whatever…it's comfortable" he murmured pouting.

Kevin leaned his cheek on his hand feeling somehow relieved by the sight "In fact, I thought you might have thrown it away…" he smirked lopsidedly "glad you didn't"

The taller teen flushed at the comment his olive skin turning cherry in seconds it made Kevin chuckle. Eddward cleared his throat leaning more against "Are you coming inside?"

"Actually" Kevin lifted himself up right a leg still keeping him steady "I just remembered we owe each other something"

Raising an eyebrow the swimmer's curiosity increased "and what would that be?" he asked trying to think.

Smirking Kevin patted the seat behind him "You promised to come on a drive with me, and I promised I'd show you a perfect spot remember?"

Eddward lifted a hand to scratch at the back of his neck pulling some strands from under his beanie looking away from Kevin. "No I don't remember…" he lied.

The smaller teen chuckled "Liar" he stuck his tongue out playfully "come on, please?" Kevin pleaded.

"Y-You don't have another helmet, it's dangerous—"

"Wrong" Kevin jumped off his bike and opened a small compartment where he kept his second helmet just in case "See?" he held the other helmet for the other to view.

"B-But— " Once again he was interrupted by a very eager Kevin.

"No Buts" the smaller teen chuckled at that as he made his way to the door "I'll go slowly 'kay?"

Eddward internally groaned at the adorable puppy eyes the smaller teen displayed. After a moment of fighting in his mind, he decided he wasn't going to win this and sighed with defeat "I'll be right back…"

Kevin giggled watching Eddward enter the living room to grab a hoodie and pull it on "Don't look so upset Eddward it'll be fun I promise"

With that, Eddward slipped on his shoes, turned off the light and closed the door. He slowly turned to the death vehicle at stood mocking him. Kevin tugged at the Eddward's sleeve offering an encouraging smile and handing the helmet it over "come on" he softly spoke pulling the raven haired teen along.

Kevin mounted his bike sitting a little bit forward to make room and pulled on his helmet. He watched as the other painstakingly slow put the helmet on then eyed the freckled teen unsure about what was to happen. However this only made Kevin giggle more "I'm a good driver, you'll see" he patted the seat once again.

With a small groan Eddward mounted the dreaded bike as well, frown still prominent. "Hold on tight and lean with me when I turn" Kevin turned to send the other a playful wink before turning on the motorcycle with a wide smile. The freckled teen felt the slender hands hesitantly place around his side, and with an eye roll he grabbed both of Eddward's hands and pulled them tightly around his waist forcing the taller teen to press against his back.

Kevin then took off with a smirk as he felt the arms tighten their hold on him. He definitely was keeping the speed slower than what he was used to, but it was still fast enough that he knew he was going to get a big lecture from the raven haired teen when this was over. It only made him smile more.

It took them about 20 minutes to read to their destination. Kevin had taken them to the top of the cliff that overlooked the entire town lights starting to shine as the sun rapidly hid under the horizon. The beauty of the scenery did not however stop the raven haired teen from sending a frown towards Kevin's direction making Kevin burst with a roaring laugh at the childish expression.

They placed their helmets on the bike and walked closer to the edge of the cliff. They were just in time to catch the last few seconds of the setting sun. "So? What do you think?" Kevin smiled up at other. Eddward had been quietly smiling as he stared at the scene in front of them.

The raven haired teen ripped his stare to look down at the freckled boy with a smirk. His features beautifully illuminated by the sunlight and loose strands of raven hair danced in the breeze "It's gorgeous"

Kevin breathed out happily returning his stare now to the lights shining all over town with slightly flushed skin. He was feeling the little bit of anxiety again…he was scared of what the new school year would bring…he was scared that his friendship with Eddward might end…He was scared of losing this wonderful person who always knew what to say and do to comfort him. He was scared of forgetting these magnificent memories and moments.

As if sensing his unsettled mind, Eddward slid his fingers into Kevin's freckled one. Slightly jumping from the sudden contact Kevin looked up observing Eddward continuing to look forward as if completely engulfed by the setting. The smaller boy interlocked their hands together finding warmth and comfort in them.

Kevin softly smiled feeling his fear melting away as he continued to stare at the other's handsome face "Look over here for a second" the smaller teen demanded and was pleased to see the other obey. Kevin reached up with his free hand and laced his small fingered with the dark hair underneath the hat. "May I?" he asked this time. With wide eyes, Eddward slowly nodded giving the other permission. Kevin held his breath and gently pulled the black striped beanie off releasing the beautiful wavy hair and revealing the scar. "...perfect" he whispered out.

It was going to be alright this time around…

…

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what your favorite part was and what you are looking forward to haha

Please leave a review, I enjoy reading them very much and helps me stay motivated! :3

Let me know if you have any thoughts, predictions, and any feels!

Look forward to the next time I update! and let's see what happens next.

I hope you have a lovely Day/Night XOXO