All We Are

by Ariela246

Eddward frankly was a very mysterious guy. There were people in school who respected him, most, however, feared his intimidating presence. Little Kevin had no idea how Eddward had gotten so much power in his possession, but he hoped someone would step up and give him a piece of his own medicine. [REV!KEVEDD] SLOW BURN(Warning: Graphic Violence & Self Harm! Please read with caution)

47. Chapter 47

Sorry for the SUPER long wait but you all have to know this chapter is SUPER long too over 17K! haha I'm going to say it is the 2 chapters I promised a while back hehehe... anyways I finally finished writing after some real life problems that left me a bit blue.

Enjoy!

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The boys had waited until Kevin had calmed down and Jimmy was not heard yelling throughout the school. Eddward had then lead them out of the building and walked hand in hand with Kevin for two blocks where his car was parked. There, Nazz had been waiting anxiously for them to show up. When she stopped them she gasped in happiness and ran as fast as she could enveloping Kevin in a tight hug and gave the other a look that the ginger boy could only interpret as a silent thanks.

Eddward had driven Nazz home first and Kevin had insisted on staying over at Eddward's place. The ride back to Eddward's was quiet yet perfectly calming for both. Once arriving, Eddward had made sure to get Kevin comfortable before heading off to work at the shop. He had brought the down the chocolate brown fuzzy blanket he secretly knew Kevin liked best, and set a bowl of fruit on the coffee table. The raven haired teen had asked if Kevin wanted him to call Ed for company but the smaller teen had rejected the offer deciding to enjoy the silence for a while to gather his thoughts.

"We'll talk after I get back… alright?" Eddward asked cautiously looking over the other making sure Kevin was truly fine. When Kevin smiled and nodded he returned the smile and reached over to run his fingers over the gingers short hair…well it wasn't that short anymore. Eddward noticed how the teen's hair evened out his three long strips of hair on falling down on his forehead nearly covering his eyes. His a gentle swipe of his finger he brushed the hair to the side finding the emerald eyes shine brighter as they stared back at him in silent curiosity. "I'll be back soon" he let his hand fall and stood up grabbing the keys from the table. "Take a nap in the meantime, I'll bring dinner" He turned not looking at the ginger as he waved goodbye stepping out the door.

As Kevin waited in the cold house he picked up the bowl Eddward had left out for him and began munching on the fruit though he wasn't that hungry. He had called his dad to let him know that he would spend the night at Eddward's.

After some time talking to his dad on the phone he pulled out his homework deciding it was best not to procrastinate. Having something to focus on helped him to distract him from the day's events and what was to come throughout the year. Kevin had gotten up in search of a small stapler he knew Eddward kept in one of the kitchen cabinets. He had peeked inside some and gotten to one where he saw an unopened pack of cigarettes. After a long moment of staring at the pack he realized it was the very same pack he had seen so long ago. He picked it up and turned it over sensing curiosity to try it…

"Helps me think more clearly" Eddward had said back then, perhaps it would help him to? Kevin opened the box slowly and pulled out one of the cigarettes. He grabbed the lighter that was in the cabinet as well heading out to the back yard. It was then he noted that he hadn't seen Eddward smoke or even smell of nicotine in a really long time. Kevin wondered if the teen had quit or if it was a very rare thing for him to do.

The idea or act of smoking was never appealing to him, but he did wonder why and how it helped Eddward. He had said it helped clear his mind, but how had he gotten into the habit, why was it so appealing above literally anything else? In this moment Kevin wanted a taste of Eddward's bad habit.

He raised the lighter and lit it watching the fire dance with the movement of the soft cold breeze. Lifting the cigarette to the fire he saw a soft glow of orange from within illuminate. He examined as the white tendrils of burning toxins filled the air. The familiar burnt smell invaded his nostrils, and ignited with a force. It reminded Kevin of …Eddward before he came to befriend him. He closed his eyes breathing in the scent remembering how the same smell would asphyxiate him whenever Eddward had gotten too close back then. He pressed the cigarette to his chapped lips hugging it tightly. Slowly he inhaled the chemicals quickly filling his lungs in a harsh invading manner. This made him go into a fit of coughing unable to take the strong substance. "Gross" he wheezed out looking back down at the cigarette in hand.

Instead, he decided to sit down on the step and just watched the fire burn the cigarette down in silence. Once the cigar had gotten about half way down Kevin let it drop and stomped on it. He sat there in peace for what seemed like forever not necessarily thinking about anything in particular. He let his mind wonder to memories of their summer days in this very back yard. Kevin had helped Eddward out and they had played like little kids splashing each other with the hose and even just laid down in silence. That made him smile.

The wind was cool and had made his heavily freckled cheeks flush. Kevin looked around entranced by the variety of warm colors that enveloped Eddward's yard. The leaves had fallen and made the place look messy and it was upsetting to Kevin that Eddward wasn't being as high maintenance as he usually was. Normally the taller teen would never let the place get too disorganized but now it seemed like it had been a while since he last looked after the back yard. This meant that the teen was too preoccupied or too tired. That worried Kevin.

His eyes fell down to the ground with a frown. He wondered how long he would have continued to live ignorant of the criminal underworld of Peach Creek had he never reached out to Eddward. Everything just seemed to suddenly spiral out of control overnight and he didn't know how worse everything was going to get. He didn't know if he was strong enough to face whatever was going to come…Sam, Sam was manipulative and was a constant mental hazard for him. How the hell did Eddward survive through all of this bullshit?

Eventually, Kevin wondered back inside throwing away the remains of the cigarette and went to lie on the couch feeling a headache developing and he fell asleep. He hadn't realized when or for how long he had fallen asleep. It had felt like simply passing out the instant he hit the couch but sometime after he heard a soft growl of an engine.

"…Kevin" he heard the familiar tender voice from the raven haired teen call out to him. He forced his eyes to flicker open catching sight of Eddward looking down at him with a small smile as he sat beside him.

"Welcome back" Kevin smiled back rubbing at his eyes as he sat up.

He noticed Eddward suddenly leaning closer to him making him freeze as the swimmer's features came alarmingly near to his. Kevin gulped when finally Eddward stopped and the feather light touch of their noses kept him frozen on the spot. "W-what is it?" Kevin questioned nervously and extremely confused making his face heat up.

With a scowl Eddward leaned back giving the other a stern look "I smell nicotine…" he grumbled out.

Kevin smirked looking away and letting out a small nervous laugh "S-sorry, I kind of found your unopened pack…well I guess they're open now huh?" he mumbled out hastily knowing there was no denying it "b-but I only tried it once and that was it…promise" he quickly added seeing the disapproving look from Eddward.

"I thought you hated it?" Eddward asked frowning but quietly.

"I…do? But I remembered you said once that it help you think clearly so…" Kevin gestured out with his hands "You know…I thought it might help" he ended lamely looking down.

"You don't need it" Eddward smiled sadly leaning a bit closer.

Kevin looked up "I know, it's really gross anyways…sorry for opening them"

"No harm done" Eddward ruffled the ginger hair softly.

Kevin loved the feeling of Eddward's long fingers running through his head softly. It almost lulled him back to sleep but curiosity kept him awake. "You haven't smoked in a really long time huh?"

At the question Eddward raised his eyebrow and dropped his hand "Yeah…I quit months ago…"

"Why?" Kevin asked happy at the confession but still curious.

The smaller teen wasn't sure if he was imagining it but he swore he could see a hint of red spread throughout the other's caramel cheeks. "No real reason" Eddward bit his lower lip in thought as his right hand scratched at the back of his head where long strands of hair escaped under the beanie. "Just found I didn't need it anymore"

Kevin silently observed the other's flushed expression "I'm glad" he smiled.

With that Eddward returned the smile "Come on, I brought dinner" the teen stood up reaching a hand out to help the other stand up. Kevin took it gladly and followed Eddward into the kitchen where teriyaki take out sat on the table.

At the beautiful sight and smell of the food Kevin's stomach growled "Thanks Eddward" he giggled out placing a hand on his stomach.

They spent some time eating as they fell back into their comfortable routine between them. They talked lowly about anything that didn't have to do with Sam, the J's or the gang. It was a truly pleasant change for the both of them to finally get their minds off of bigger problems and focus on normal things that students should be worrying about.

Before they knew it they had cleaned up and gotten ready for bed. Eddward had taken a shower first as Kevin finished up some homework in the swimmers room. The freckled teen took this time to lean back against the wall and look around the room reading off some of the labels. He wondered for a moment why only Eddward's room had labels. He made a mental note to ask the teen. Once Eddward finished up Kevin wondered off to the bathroom with Eddward's clothes in hand.

Eddward found it beyond endearing every single time he witnessed the freckled teen wearing his clothing fitting him baggy. Though, he found that the clothing wasn't as loose as it used to be months prior. "You've grown a lot" he smiled putting aside Kevin's homework he had been looking over and laid on his side looking at the other close the door behind him.

"You're talking like my old man" Kevin chuckled taking a seat next to Eddward "I don't think I have" He said looking down at his noodle arms, though now they had gained more muscle with working out, they weren't anything compared to the swimmers.

"You have" Eddward poked Kevin on his shoulder "You used to be up to my shoulders in height at the beginning of sophomore year" he gestured with a hand "Now you're just above my chin"

Kevin raised an eyebrow with a smirk "You've been keeping taps on my height growth?"

Eddward pushed his lips together "Well, not necessarily…I just happened to notice… I suppose" Kevin noticed the flush return.

At this Kevin giggled turning to face the other "Then, how much you want to bet I'll be just as tall as you by the end of graduation?" Kevin smirked playfully.

Eddward let out a small laugh turning his face into the pillow "It's going to be difficult for you to catch up because I'm still growing too you know?"

With a dramatic gasp Kevin lifted a hand to his chest. "Do you have little faith in me Eddward Vincent?"

Meeting the ginger's eye Eddward smirked "That you'll be as tall as me in about a year and a half? Yes, Barr I do"

"Rude" Kevin pouted lying down on his side to face Eddward.

"In you…I have a lot of faith" The swimmer murmured softly locking eyes with shy emerald ones.

Kevin looked down to the sheets of the bed feeling very embarrassed at the compliment, but nonetheless couldn't surpass a soft smile and a familiar heat flooding his face. "We'll see then" he murmured back referring back to the bet. "So…" He decided to finally begin the conversation Eddward had promised earlier.

With a sigh Eddward closed his eyes and paused taking a moment to think in silence. Kevin waited patiently just looking over the other's still damp hair. Eddward's hair fell down his face parting where the scar was, giving Kevin a clear view of it. He tried to hold back the urge of touching the scar and silently wondered if he was ever going to hear the story behind it.

"Kevin…" Eddward began slowly openly his eyes once again though only half way as he looked down. "I believe I have told you how Sam was the one to reach out to me after Blaine's passing…"

Kevin nodded and waited quietly for Eddward to continue "Well, I had a vague awareness about the gang at the time and…Eddy was the one who wanted to join." He paused unable to look up "It was after Ed and Eddy…left that I spiraled down into rock bottom…" the swimmer closed his eyes breathing in slowly. Kevin leaned in closer hearing the others voice lower "…I had absolutely no one after them…8th grade was the first year I had absolutely no communication with my parents…they could have been anywhere in the world and I had no clue…I was still haunted by Blaine's death …Marie moved away" Eddward paused seemingly thinking back on the girl. "Ed's and Eddy's…betrayal was the last straw"

Kevin wanted to ask about the girl but decided he would do that another time thinking it was better to let Eddward speak freely. "I…" he stopped pushing his lips together. Kevin leaned closer pressing his forehead against Eddward's and reached out to take a hold of the teen's hand to give him comfort and support. Eddward looked up meeting Kevin eyes for a moment then looked back down "I had an incident…" he held onto the others hand tightly. The swimmer really didn't want to say any details on his first suicidal attempt. It was something far too personal and the memories of what he was feeling that night still hurt. Eddward was pleased that Kevin wasn't pushing him to talk and just listened "After, I had no idea what to do with my life. So when I started high school…I tried to live normal again but it didn't take long for me to realize that beside the fact that I was doing what normal students do…I felt dead inside. I was still so numb and that made me angry. I envied everyone who was happy, normal and only had small childish problems to worry about" he took a deep breath in pressing closer to the freckled teen's warmth. "Another reason why I targeted you" he mumbled out quickly glancing up.

Kevin offered a sad smile and a small squeeze to his hand keeping silent as a form of encouragement "I reached a point that I didn't care what happened to me once more…That's when Sam offered me to join the gang, I willingly said yes. When he asked me go after people I said yes. When he asked me to do cage fighting I said yes. He asked me to deal… he asked me to go after smaller gangs…he asked me to become Eddward Vincent the one everyone feared…the one who did all the dirty jobs...his loyal dog" He paused with his eyes shut tightly afraid to look at the other's reaction.

Kevin had slightly sat up now looking down at Eddward with wide troubled eyes, but continued to hold onto the teen's hand ever so tightly. He couldn't dare to speak now because he knew if he did Eddward would stop. But Eddward's confession had him horrified…cage fighting…dealing…if found out the guy would easily be put in jail for who knows how long. Eddward wasn't a bad person…ever in all honesty, and now more than ever he understood Eddward was simply doing what he had do. Sure, what he did was terrible and absolutely wrong but the only one at fault in this tragic story were Eddward's parents for abandoning their child and left to easily follow a criminal life. It was them who had wounded Eddward leaving him to bleed out. Now he understood why the teen had so little self-worth, everyone had left. This made the ginger teen's chest to fill with rage…the damage caused was something that could never be forgiven. Kevin couldn't wait until he was old enough to take Eddward far far away from this town. He squeezed the hand tightly feeling tears begin to fill his eyes, but he would not cry.

Finally after a long pause Eddward continued "I didn't care…I didn't give a damn about the consequences. I knew Sam was using me as a puppet and I let him because at least I was living in some way" he breathed in opening his eyes finally making eye contact with the Kevin's shaky wide eyes "…I don't regret anything that I did under Sam's demand because I've only ever tried to survive Kevin…I wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't joined"

Kevin made a small noise in the back of his throat knowing what Eddward meant by those last words. Had he not found a sense of belonging, Eddward would have most likely jumped from the bridge long before that afternoon Kevin found him. Perhaps then, Kevin wouldn't have found him like he had to stop him…He felt his chest tighten from anger at that last comment, but he understood Eddward's words and feelings behind them more clearly now. "I moved almost every single thing from my mother and fathers possessions up into the cabin or donated them and because of what I was paid to do I was able to make this place feel like my home to some extent. I managed to save up to buy the car from one of Sam's older step-brothers. My father…barely deposit's enough for me to manage through the year. Had I not joined I would have struggled to continue with school and I would have most likely dropped out. Honestly, I don't even know why the man still sends money even though I haven't properly seen or spoken to him in so long." He muttered out with a frown.

Continuing his previous comment Eddward let himself relax "…Sam had a way of making me feel worthwhile even though I knew the life I was living perhaps wasn't the most acceptable…I was surviving on my own with a sense of support for the first time." He came to a stop waiting for Kevin's response.

"…" Kevin laid back down silently thinking over everything Eddward had told him. "You've been living like this this entire time?" he quietly asked.

"I…I stopped doing most jobs mid sophomore year...I was beginning to feel alright with myself and didn't require so much money anymore, so I only focused on being Sam's debt collector" Eddward responded.

"Why?"

"Ms. Adams…after she gave me a job at the shop I thought, perhaps I could redeem myself even a little. But God knows…no matter what I do, I can't ever be purely justified" Eddward pulled the freckled hand to his chest "…Sometimes, I still feel like I would rather…end this and hopefully be reborn once more, perhaps then I can make a better start with my life. Perhaps I won't be a mistake in that life" he confessed in a whisper lowering his gaze to the freckled hand he was holding.

Kevin let tears fall at his last words. He had thought he had managed to stop those thoughts from floating in Eddward's head. He knew what he meant…It broke his heart to hear those words after everything Kevin had tried to convince Eddward of his value. "Don't say that" Kevin cried out leaning down to press against the other's shoulder. Eddward…still didn't value his life.

"…I'm sorry" Eddward leaned his cheek against the boy's head and reached up to soothingly run his fingers through the ginger hair.

"Your parents are the ones not justified for what they did…they left their only child behind and for what possible reason?" Kevin gripped Eddward's wrist tightly. "They left you to break"

Eddward gulped leaning close onto the other "…they…they had their reasons"

Kevin shook his head in disbelief silently crying against the swimmer's bare shoulder and letting a finger run against the faint scar on the teen's wrists. He thought that they had gone passed this…but boy was he wrong. He should have known better…he should have been aware that Eddward still had his moments. Eddward wasn't living a normal life, he had far too many scars in his heart to easily remind him of all the shit he had managed to live through. He lived in an empty home that was a constant reminder that he was basically orphaned. He wondered why the teen kept that photograph of his mother downstairs when it obviously would bring him painful memories. Then, Kevin had to go and add on to his pain by doubting him and going against everything he had said that summer.

Kevin thought he could fix Eddward's broken self but Eddward was right… Kevin had only managed to build around the broken pieces. Eddward was the only one aware of the inside where his demons continued to haunt him. Kevin should have known better…the kid still had nightmares for crying out loud and he feared those nightmares would linger forever. He remembered seeing the absolute horror in the teen's ocean eyes. "Why?" Kevin cried softly questioning life's choices. Why was Eddward the one to suffer through all this? Why was life so cruel to specific people and so kind many who don't deserve it.

Eddward smiled pulling the teen closer cradling him gently "…don't cry Pumpkin" he cooed into the ginger hair.

"I'm s-so sorry you had to go through all of this a-alone" Kevin wrapped an arm tightly around the swimmer's shoulder "I don't care if I have to walk through hell with you. You won't be alone…not ever again. I'm so sorry"

"You're so kind…" Eddward smiled down making eye contact with the tear filled ones under him "Don't make such big promises Kevin"

Kevin pouted "Just watch me"

"Even after everything I just told you? You don't think I'm a horrible person?" Eddward questioned seeking out the answer.

Kevin shook his head "How could I? I understand why you did what you did…I hate the fact that you're doing it again but…I understand it's not easy and I'm glad that Sam isn't getting in your head like before. I know…I know why you're doing it all again…so…Thank you for taking such a risk. I don't know what that risk is or how it will affect you but I trust you" The smaller teen could see something bright in the others expression. "I can't imagine how terrible everything has been for you and…I hate myself for letting Sam get to me. I should have known better" Kevin closed his eyes feeling ashamed "…maybe I'm no better than everyone else" he frowned sinking on to the other further.

Eddward expression softened with a smiled looking over the other's form "Not at all… You're a whole lot better than most people I've met" he soothingly continued to run his fingers through Kevin's hair. Eddward leaned down raising Kevin head to press his forehead against him once more. "Come on, stop crying pumpkin I didn't mean it" he chuckled out.

"You do, that's why I'm crying" Kevin pouted wiping his eyes and breathed in "I'm sorry…I'm so stupid"

"You're not… it just the way Sam is. He's manipulative" Eddward reached a hand to the other's eyes to wipe away tears.

Kevin took hold of Eddward free hand and raised it up to look at the scars. He ran his thumb against one and frowned "Have you…done it again?" he quietly asked.

"No, not since the night you punched me" he chuckled remembering the blurry images from the night.

"hm…" Kevin hummed as he continued to stare at the scar starting to feel sleepy. "So we're ok…?"

"I hope so…" Eddward made eye contact with Kevin "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…I just…" Kevin breathed in looking down at their intertwined hands "When I see you…doing all that, I'm reminded of the bully you were. I was so scared of you back then…" he looked up "you know…I've also thought about it before" he looked up staring at those beautiful blue eyes.

Raising an eyebrow Eddward questioned "thought about what?"

The smaller teen pressed his lips together looking down at the pillow "…ending it…" he paused a moment meeting Eddward's wide eyes quickly turning dejected once more "I'm not going to lie…you and the J's drove me over the edge sometimes…and it's hard to forget about it when I see you still doing the same things as before even though I know you're doing it for a different reason." His freckled hand squeezed the other's hand tightly.

"Kevin…" Eddward murmured absolutely distraught by the teen's words.

"But, I think I was strong enough to resist because I had Nazz and Rolf…and I had my dad. Unlike you, I had people to remind me that everything was going to be fine. That despite the hard times, we still have people who care about us and love us unconditionally." He brought the athlete's hands closer to him "If there is one thing I have learned since getting to know you is that you are not a monster and you are most defiantly not a mistake Eddward Vincent… you are so strong Eddward" Kevin placed Eddward's right hand on to his own cheek and Eddward slowly ran it down to the smaller teen's freckled neck gently. "…I meant everything I said back at the cabin, Eddward"

"I won't abandon you so long as you don't abandon me" Eddward recited the words back to the smaller teen whose grin grew but with a sense of sadness to it.

Kevin nodded letting out a small breath "I want to be that person to push you to be better, and to remind you that despite everything you will always have me to stand beside you" Kevin whispered out leaning close to Eddward's gentle touch. "I know what you're capable of, and you are an incredible person Eddward. Extraordinary even…I want to see that person grow and become great, whatever that may mean to you. I just want to see you happy…I really do care about you…more than you know. And if I have to say it every day to get it through your head that your worth it then I will" He closed his eyes taking a moment to calm down with the shared silence "I think we just…need time to mend for now…together"

"You have been that person Kevin…I wouldn't be trying to find ways to change for the better if it wasn't for you" Eddward continued to caress the smaller teen's freckled cheek "Thank you for staying after everything and being my friend" he smiled down.

Kevin returned his smile with find look "Thank you for trusting me and being my friend" the smaller teen closed his eyes enjoying the long silence and the simple soothing touches from the other. He felt sleep finally take him and Eddward's voice murmur something he didn't catch. For the first time in a while Kevin slept in absolute bliss.

…

Through school events and exams the group managed to talk things over about the little information but Ed and Eddward had managed to gather from the gang. Eddward had managed to get information of where the Halloween party was to take place. Jimmy's family owned a cabin about an hour north from Peach Creek. The swimmer knew where the cabin was having been forced to attend a handful of parties that the platinum blonde had thrown. He had also received gossip from Johnny that they were going to try and gather some targeted kids from both Peach Creek and Lemon Brook to mess around with. With this knowledge Eddward was on high alert keeping Kevin and Nazz out of trouble and out of sight from the J's and Sam. He had a feeling Sam had placed them on at the top of their list.

Ed had talked with club leader over at Lemon Brook to warn them to stay safe and out of harm's way. They couldn't tell any authorities knowing that if the police arrived at the party, Sam would suspect Eddward of betrayal. The party was member exclusive and only they would know the location of the cabin. Ed knew of the location as well from being dragged to them with Eddy, and he would be suspected as well. If either were found out they were going to face the consequences.

The tall brunette had been in a frantic since they had discussed the information. His anxiousness caused him to constantly check up on both Nazz and Kevin throughout the day until he was sure they were home safe. Eddward however was glad for this because it left him at ease whenever he had to leave campus for business. He was well assured that the both of them were in good hands.

Kevin had put in effort to be around the swimmer as often as possible. He resumed to meet Eddward after his swim practice and would enjoy watching the other swim laps. They would work on projects together and every so often Eddward would go over to Kevin's having more awkward run in's with the Barr man. Thankfully it seemed that Kevin's father was very happy with Eddward and would try to get the teen to stay over for dinner but the swimmer always politely excused himself.

After their talk, Kevin had seemed to want to be close to Eddward and would seek out his hand whenever there was an opportunity. During one of their meets ups with Nazz and Ed, they were discussing the problematic increase in targets over in Lemon Brook High when his lungs began to feel heavy making it slightly harder to breathe. He thought he was going to have a panic attack because everything seemed to become dizzy and frightening. So, he quickly reached out to hold the athlete's hand leaning against him closing his eyes for a moment. He had felt Eddward give his hand a squeeze and let the small teen hide behind him as he calmed down. Thankfully, Kevin had just needed a minute to relax his mind again and Eddward's reassuring grip and warmth was exactly what the boy focused on. When he peeked around Eddward he noticed Nazz giving them a look as she stared intensely at their held hands. He had looked away pretending not to have noticed and after a bit he let go feeling embarrassed and instead focused on the heated conversation between the two Ed's.

Through the two weeks that followed after Jimmy's attack, the blonde had continued to try and target Kevin. Kevin was always able to get away easily since most of the time the bully only ambushed him during school hours. After school he was always with either Ed or Eddward. This didn't mean that the J's had only focused on him as a target but their frustration was released on other poor students instead. Kevin and Ed would help some of them escape but they couldn't save everyone. Kevin frowned upon the school officials…they had to have known about all of this, just how stupid and corrupted could they be?

Kevin continued to scowl whenever he saw Eddward walk off to do a job or heard nasty rumors about the athlete from the high school students. Most of the time he wanted to punch their faces, angered by the disgusting giggling and whispering of things he knew where flat out lies. If anything the teen was very selfless. However, he couldn't help but wonder if Sam had started them in an attempt to get to him again. This time it wasn't going to work, Kevin was done listening to the evil puppeteer. He was confident enough about Eddward to whole heartily trust him.

At one instance Johnny had caught Nazz walking back to class after she had stepped out to use the restroom and thankfully the girl had bumped into Eddward. The swimmer had grabbed and hid her in the natatorium locker rooms being the closest hiding spot, until he checked for the area to be cleared. Nazz had crossed her arms and refused to make conversation but once Eddward walked her to her classroom she gave him yet another look of thanks. Kevin was happy that the two of them were slowly progressing in making amends. He knew it wasn't something easy for Nazz to do…Eddward and the J's had been bullying her since their middle school days even if it was only teasing back then. He knew it would be harder for her to trust, but there was progress and that was all he asked for.

The four of them had decided that on Halloween night Kevin and Nazz would spend the day at Ed's. The event would fall on a Saturday night, and Ed had made sure his team was to spend the day together as well while Kevin made sure to inform his robotic club. They could only hope that the odds were in their favor and no one from their school would be targeted. Eddward had some day time business to attend to that day and would attend the party to eye on things in the evening. This made Kevin anxious but he knew the teen could handle himself.

Kevin knew he wasn't going to be able to see the raven haired teen until that Sunday, so after school he waited for Eddward to finish practice. He had left Nazz with Ed and headed over to the natatorium catching most of the team leave the room. When he entered he saw Eddward talking to a dark skinned kid who looked younger than them. The kid looked excited about whatever it was they were talking about when he gave the taller teen a high five and rushed off into the locker rooms.

The ginger teen loved seeing the proud expression on Eddward's face. The grin the other wore made his stomach flutter. Eddward wore an unzipped hoodie framing his marvelous swimmer's chest and as he approached he noticed the teen wearing a skinned toned rubber that looked like gloves. "Is that a brace?" Kevin asked grabbing one of Eddward's hands.

"Oh… yeah" Eddward answered taken by surprise.

"Why are you wearing them?" Kevin looked up concerned the teen had injured himself.

"Don't worry pumpkin, I only wear them when I'm practicing with the team or competing" Eddward chuckled pulled his hands out of the other's grasp only to hold Kevin's hands in his own.

"But why" Kevin asked staring down at the braces again with suspicion.

Eddward with a smile pulled back the sleeve of the hoodie with a chuckle "Well, to cover a certain something" he paused lowered down to whisper "But don't tell my coach that, he thinks it's for medical purposes I had a doctor's note and everything" he smiled raising a finger to poke the frown on Kevin's lips.

"Oh" Kevin lamely responded "I don't think I've seen you wear them before though"

"That's because you haven't seen me in practice, and I usually always take them off after it's done" Eddward began to take one of the braces off. Kevin reached for the one that he had just taken off to examine it finding the material to be very stretchy despite being thin and smooth. "From afar it is hard to tell I'm wearing them because the color is fairly close to my skin tone." He placed the brace next to Kevin's hand comparing the skin colors.

Kevin grimaced looking down at the comparison "Ok am I really that pale?" he wiggled his fingers in Eddward's hold.

This made Eddward laugh "Your skin color is perfectly lovely" he commented as he took off the other brace, the hoodie and the black swim cap he wore.

The freckled teen blushed at the statement and reached to grab Eddward's possessions looking up at that the other in awe as his wavy hair stunningly framed his face, Kevin took notice that it had grown longer. He slowly walked around the edge of the pool watching Eddward dive in and sink for a good minute before coming back up and staring his routinely laps. Kevin took a seat at the edge of the pool watching the movements of the other as he swam beautifully in the pool. He crossed his legs and folded the hoodie placing it down and the braces on top. Kevin still was surprised he hadn't ever noticed them before…he supposed the teen was just good at hiding them.

Kevin rolled up his jeans and took off his shoes and socks wanting to place his feet in the water. He breathed in and closed his eyes listening to every splash of water made from the swimmer. After a long moment he heard silence and he guessed Eddward had finished his laps though it had seemed short. Until he felt a pair of hands on his legs causing him to opened his eyes and look straight down at curious blue ones. "Hey" he mumbled out with a blush on his cheeks.

"Hey yourself" Eddward chuckled out softly "…you alright?" he asked leaning closer to the other.

"Yeah"

"Are you sure?" Eddward pressed resting his chin on Kevin's freckled knee.

The smaller teen sighed "Yeah…?" he smiled "I guess I'm a little worried about tomorrow…I don't like the idea of you going to the party alone"

"I'll be alright pumpkin, I can handle myself" he gently massaged the teen's leg with a hand keeping eye contact.

Kevin had noticed that ever since their talk Eddward had been very touchy, but he didn't mind because Kevin had been as well. The feeling of making some sort of physical contact was a reassurance and security for both. The tender menstruations made the ginger want to melt into the touch. "Yeah I know…but still" he mumbled.

"The night will be over before you know it" he gave Kevin a soft smile "If you want I'll treat you to breakfast Sunday?"

"You're too good to me" Kevin let out a small laugh "…you really shouldn't spoil me too much you know"

"Why not?" Eddward stopped his ministrations and just stared up with a smirk.

"I'll get too selfish with you" Kevin chuckled looking down at the water instead feeling heat rise to his face from the teasing stare of the swimmer.

"That's fine with me" Eddward smirked "You deserve to be little selfish"

"…So do you" Kevin muttered out placing a hand on his freckled cheek wanting to hide the redness in his face he knew was there.

"Oh?" Eddward playfully smirked trying to regain eye contact with Kevin "Can I?" When Kevin nodded Eddward looked to the side in thought and at this the smaller teen became curious. "Well then, how about you spend all of Sunday with me?"

Kevin smiled back leaning forward a bit "That's perfect" Kevin reached down to move a strand of hair that covered the scar "You know, it's been a while since we went out to see the sunset" he breathed out feeling an sense of tranquility at the thought "How about we go to the cliff?"

"Only if I drive" Eddward stared at him seriously.

Kevin let out a bark of laughter "Come on! My motorcycle isn't that bad!" When he saw the other wasn't going to budge he giggled leaning forward to bump his forehead with Eddward's noticing a slight redness to the other's cheeks. "Ok, you drive"

"We have a deal then" Eddward closed his eyes pressing closer onto Kevin who only let out small giggles.

The smaller teen felt himself hold a breath at the closeness "Let's go out on a run too. Early in the morning" Kevin patted the teen's shoulder leaning back breaking their contact beginning to feel embarrassed "Well, only if you're not too hungover"

"I'm not planning on getting hammered Kevin" Eddward frowned

"Doesn't mean you won't" The freckled teen giggled "Peer pressure my dude"

Eddward pushed off the edge rolling his eyes "I won't" he called out sinking into the water once more.

The young freckled teen felt a sense of warmth and yet nervousness as he watched the teen submerge himself. The nervousness was a good one, well, it was more like excitement. He pressed a hand to his chest peeking down into the water to see the figure of the swimmer moving gracefully around like mermaid.

It was nearly impossible for Kevin to hold back his smile.

…

Nazz had stepped out into the late afternoon quietness of the town. It was around 6 in the afternoon and she knew most kids were at home playing video games, working on homework or having dinner. Only a handful of skater teens, and trouble making kids were hanging around the park. She rode her bicycle through the west side of town where the nearest grocery store was because her mother needed a couple of ingredients for tomorrow's dinner. Her parents, Kevin's father, and even Ed's mother were all to go spend Halloween with a couple of friends doing whatever middle aged adults did for fun. Due to this, they happily allowed them to spend the day together.

She peacefully listened to music with her headphone in eyeing every street fully on her guard in case she bumped into any of the bullies. The Ed's had decided to share phone numbers among the four of them just in case they were alone and something happened. She knew that if something were to actually happen she would have to call the closest person to her…that was Eddward.

The blonde girl held the grip on the retro bike's handle thinking back on how close and comfortable Kevin was getting with the athlete. She didn't like it but…there was something developing that she knew she couldn't break. The thought scared her…terrified her but she had to trust Kevin. Trust that he knew what he was doing and trust that Eddward wouldn't hurt him. At the moment, trusting the one person she absolutely hated for years was hard, laughable even but she didn't have much of a choice.

Nazz could see that Eddward was making an effort on his part this time around. The guy seemed less tense and weirdly enough…happy? Eddward had even saved her a handful of times from the J's. So she knew that if she were to get into trouble he would come.

She felt a rain drop and looked up watching the dark clouds begin to come together. She looked down at her outfit. She was wearing jeans and an oversized cardigan over a t-shirt and let out a small groan knowing she was going to get completely soaked by the rain and the feeling of wet jeans was possibly the worst sensation ever. To took a breath in as she arrived to the store and locked her bike to the metal bars.

She hurried inside but not before noticing the lovely winter jasmine's baskets hanging on each side of the store their wonderful fragrance enveloping the entrance. Nazz grabbed a basket and headed down to the fruits. Her mother had always been a creative person and love making cute things with food during holidays. She went around picking things she knew would be colorful and fit the theme.

As she was paying she noticed the down pour of rain happening out side. She huffed out disappointed she had not been able to make it back before it came down. She grabbed the two grocery bags thanking the only employee attending to a cash register and headed out. She grabbed her cardigan and placed it on top of her head holding the bags close to her chest as she made a run for her bike. She quickly opened the bike's basket to place the bags inside finding a rain jacket inside…

She paused taking it out and inspecting it. It definitely wasn't hers, and it seems too small to be her mother's… nonetheless she slipped it on with a shrug suspecting it could have been Kevin's and found that there was a small box also inside the basket as well. Now this caught her curiosity. Through the heavy rain there was no time to see what was inside so she pushed down her curiosity until she arrived home. She stuffed the bags inside and took one quick look around the nearly empty parking lot of the store. Feeling a sense of insecurity she hurriedly unlocked her bike from the bar and hopped on pulling the hood of the rain jacket up and riding off back home.

Once she arrived home she grabbed the bags and the box tightly in hand. She dropped the bags in the kitchen where her mother was preparing dinner "Is that rain jacket yours? I didn't see you leave with it?" her mother asked.

"No, I think Kevin left it on accident" she called out turning to run upstairs to her room.

"Fortunately, you would have arrived completely soaked" her mother giggled "Oh, Dinner will be ready in half an hour honey!" she poked her head to see the girl already upstairs.

"Ok, let me finish a bit of homework first and I'll help set the table!" Nazz called out shutting the door and rushing to sit on her bed. She took off the jacket and grabbed her phone to send a message to Kevin. [Hey, did you leave your rain jacket at my place?]

As she waited for a replay she opened the lid of the box and found clothing neatly wrapped in paper and a light turquoise wig… she gasped feeling the vibration of her phone in her hand.

[No I haven't? why?] Kevin had texted

The girl frowned at the text feeling a bit anxious. She knew the jacket couldn't have been Ed's and the contents in the box were mysterious. She pulled out the wig inspecting it in her hand as she turned it around and ran her fingers through the long strands of hair. It was beautiful and Nazz was certain the wig was expensive, she could tell by the fact of how well made the hair was and beautifully stylized to be wavy.

She then set it down on her bed and picked up the wrapped clothing. As she took them out she found beautiful black leggings with the design of scales, as well as a blue mermaid themed bra covered in fake pearls and gorgeous designs of silver swirls. "What?" she picked up the top and stared at it. Sure it was stunning but this outfit was completely out of her comfort zone. Second of all, what!? Where the hell had this costume come from and who had left it inside the basket of her bike. Underneath the wig were a pair of iridescent heels as well.

She picked up her phone staring down at Kevin message for a minute before she responded [Don't worry about it, I think its Ed's]

Nazz was a thousand percent sure that before she had left the house that there was no box and no jacket. She hadn't felt any weight as she rode down to the store. At least she knew that whoever dropped off the box was also the same person who left the jacket after she had entered the store. She decided to message her group of friends asking if perhaps they had dropped off the box and maybe she was just imagining things.

They quickly responded that the group had indeed decided to dress up as mermaids but none of them had sent her the box having the impression that she was going to spend the day with Kevin and Ed. [Since, you have the costume, might as well hang out with us for bit!] one of them messaged in the chat [Yeah! Come on Nazz live a little. You'll look great!] another sent. [One of us! One of us! One of us!] another chanted.

[Maybe, I don't know girls] Nazz looked at the costume. First of all, although it appeared fishy she had to also see that whoever sent it meant well… they had left the jacket for her. She looked back inside the box and noticed a slip of paper on the edge of it and picked it up.

Make sure you wear this tomorrow, and have fun

What? The girl was so confused and she didn't even recognize the handwriting at all either. She bit her lip looking at the group chat pressuring her to hang out with them to trick or treat for a bit. She sighed looked back to the note…[Maybe…it not that bad of an idea…] she messaged back still uncertain. It had been a while since she had been able to properly hang out with her girls. She had been busy with Quiz Bowl and the whole gang thing. [Ok, I'll go out with you guys for an hour or so] she stated immediately flooded with cheerful spams.

"…Only one hour… what could go wrong, right?" she picked up the top staring at it thinking maybe it had been her mother...But what about the rain jacket? "…Mom would freak if she saw me wearing this" she mumbled out.

…

Saturday morning came and Kevin woke up with having little to no sleep that night. He could probably estimate he had gotten four to three hours of sleep? He wasn't sure and as he looked in the mirror he saw how sickly he looked. Far more pale and dark eye bags…he groaned walking over to the bathroom in his oversized shirt and boxers.

The coolness of the shower splashing his skin refreshed him and most definitely woke him up. He had been anxious all night about the fact that Eddward was going to go to the gang's party alone. Sure, it wasn't the guy's first time but this time it was different. Sam knew and Jimmy was dangerous…. He'd wish there was something he could do to guarantee that the night would go smoothly.

He breathed slowly stepping back into his room after the shower looking at the time on his phone. It was still early and his father had for once actually taken a day off. Kevin decided to quickly dress and headed down stairs taking it upon himself to make breakfast for his father.

He wasn't the best cook there was, but little Kevin defiantly knew out to cook great scrambled eggs and bacon. As soon as the bacon started sizzling on the pan his father came out clearly right out of bed. The man was going through a phase that Kevin found hilarious, kind of like a midlife crisis but instead he was embracing his oldness by growing out a beard and taking advantage of dad jokes. Though his father's beard was a stubble at the moment.

"Morning dad" Kevin called out taking out two plates and placing the eggs and bacon.

"Morning Kiddo" Tom rubbed at his sleepy face with a smile as Kevin placed his plate in front of him "Thanks" he watched Kevin return to our coffee into a mug.

"Its fine, you worked late last night to get today off didn't you?" the small teen chuckled placing the coffee on the table too.

"Yeah…I'm beat" The Barr man took a drink of his coffee and hummed in pleasure "Great stuff"

Kevin picked up his own cup of coffee as well "I think I'm in love"

Kevin's father let out a heartfelt laugh and when he calmed down he raised an eyebrow side eyeing the teen "Speaking of which…"

Kevin looked up stopping in the middle of taking a bite from his eggs. Oh No… he knew that look "Daaaad, no please don't start" Kevin whined slumping down in his chair dramatically.

"What?" Tom let out another laugh "Can't a father be interested in their only child's life…love life to be specific" The big man gave a small nudge to his son's shoulder "You spend too much time locked up in that head of yours kid. It's great that you're taking school seriously and all but you need to live a little buddy. Going out on a date or two won't hurt you"

Kevin took another sip of his coffee not able to look up "Maybe I'm fine being single dad"

The Barr man tried to regain eye contact with Kevin "Look Kevin, if…if it's a boy you like-"

"PFFFFT WOAH!" Kevin spit the beverage out interrupting his father words. "NO!" the image of raven hair and intense blue eyes popped into his head for a split second before he shoved them down.

Another roar of laughter from Kevin's father filled their small dinning space. The man handed Kevin a napkin "As I was trying to say, if it's a boy you like I want you to know I'm fine with it. I just want you to be happy Kevin"

With a cherry red face Kevin stuttered out "I don't l-like any b-boys or girls, I'm perfectly fine being single and hanging out with my friends" Kevin looked up to his father's tired face "…and I am happy dad"

Tom gave a warm smile "If you say so Kiddo" he picked up the fork and began eating "I'm just saying if your mind is always in a narrow focus you might miss finding the right one for you"

The freckled teen took a bite of the bacon "I'll think about it…" he muttered out.

…

Eddward was beyond sore in the morning having had countless fights the previous night in the arena. Sam had gone ruthless for some peculiar reason that night. He had let Eddward be the only fighter that night against big guys from Walnut Creek and Lemon Brook. Eddward out of spite and determination to be ready for the following night persevered through each fight trying his best to strategize a game plan to avoid getting big hits. By the last three fights the athlete was beyond exhausted and although he won all of the fights, he left the arena with a soaring headache, a bloodied nose and bruises all over his back.

Thankfully Ed had met up with him on his bike half way through town. Eddward had slumped over the other's back and taken off his hat to let the cool hair calm his headache. The tall brunette teen had carried the other inside on his back strong enough to easily hold him up with one arm while the other hand opened the door. Ed had provided help with the first aid, but Eddward needed rest above all else if he was to be fully on guard the next day.

The taller teen had spent some of the night in Eddward's home waiting for the time to head out to pick him up and ordered some food. So when Eddward had stepped out of the shower he had been delighted to see the table full of take out and gladly wolfed it all down. Ed had spent the night in the guest bedroom and in the morning they had spent their breakfast going over who was going to be at the party and what would happen if there were any targets held. If there were any targets involved their plan was to have Ed would head down and meet the kids after Eddward would secretly free them. If there were any troublesome complications Kevin would call the cops and hopefully Eddward would leave way before the police would show up at the cabin.

It was after their breakfast that the two Ed's parted. Ed had gone off to pick Kevin up and would later in the day pick up Nazz from her home. Eddward had gone off to take care of some business Sam had assigned him close to Walnut Creek. He groaned had he headed onto the highway clutching at his side that was still aching despite having taken pain medication.

He had called Ms. Adams to excuse himself for his shift lying he had woken up ill and the poor woman had gladly given him the day off saying she was planning on closing early anyways. He felt bad lying to the woman but he really didn't have the mental capacity to go into work that day being still exhausted from the fights.

When he was headed back to Peach Creek in the afternoon he had decided to call Kevin to have something other than the aching pain of his sore body and the party. Kevin blissfully unaware of his injuries talked to give about the board games Ed was setting out for the three of them to play and the list of movies they planned to watch. It was beyond endearing to hear some excitement in the ginger's voice though Eddward could detect some nervousness in his words. He would make sure everything would go smoothly.

Once he arrived home Eddward decided to take a nap in the four hours he had before getting ready to go. Thankfully he didn't dream instead warmth consumed him as he fell asleep from memories of the freckled teen having slept next to him days before. The sensation of the other's close presence still lingered in his mind well after that night and had helped him sleep.

…

Nazz had told Kevin and Ed she would be out for hour with her friends and although they were worried about it he convinced them they would fine in a group. Her parents had long since left leaving her alone as she stood in front of her bedroom mirror looking at the costume with an anxious expression. The outfit was beyond too revealing for what she was comfortable in although it was beyond gorgeous. She tied her hair back and placed on the wig cap carefully placing the wig on next and securing it with some bobby pins. The beautiful wavy turquoise hair was long enough to flow down her back and make her feel a bit more comfortable. When he looked back in the mirror she gasp feeling like a completely different person, now she was sure no one would recognize her from her usual cardigans and long skirts nerdy look.

Feeling a bit more confident in herself she went off into the bathroom to do some makeup. She had placed some light natural orange eyeshadow to make her blue eyes pop and placed on a blue lip color as well as a fake golden moon on her forehead and various gold and silver ones on her arms. It had taken a long time to get ready but once she looked at her final product she was more than happy and comfortable with the overall look. She didn't need to sorry tonight because no one in town would recognize her and t the though she giggled. She couldn't wait to show Kevin.

Nazz grabbed a black cardigan nonetheless just in case the night got too cold and her phone. She rode her bike to her friend's home nearby where she met up with her girls who were in similar outfits though in all honesty weren't as pretty decorated as the one she was wearing. She secretly thanked the mystery person for giving her such a pretty costume. She would have to find out who it was after this, but for now she enjoyed the hour she had with her friends as she went around the neighborhood collecting candy and being hit on by some guys.

The night had gone pleasantly well, and the girl was having a lot of fun but once her hour was up she apologized to her friends. Although they wanted her to stay longer she knew it wasn't safe for her. It was 8 in the evening and she knew she should definitely be headed back to Ed's. She grabbed her bike and called Ed to tell him she was on her way and not to worry about picking her up.

As the girl rode through middle of town between the west and the east she heard a rumble of a car close behind her. She huffed moving out of the street and onto the sidewalk but the car stayed close to her. Ok…she was starting to get an anxious feeling.

Gaining speed she tried to lose the car but this seemed to only provoke the driver as they finally decided to stop right in front of her knocking over a trash can and nearly running her over. Her bike hit the side of the car causing her to fall over onto the ground dropping. She immediately stood up trying to make a run for it but running in the heels was hard since she wasn't used to wearing such high heels. She felt an harsh hand grab her by the arm forcibly bringing her back. "Make sure it's actually her" a voice she recognized so well asked walked towards the teen who held her captive.

Jimmy was wearing a black suit and covered in skeleton makeup with his hair slicked back. At the realization she stepped hard on the guy's foot letting her go from the pain of the heel. She heard Jimmy close behind her yelling threats as she turned a corner desperately wanted to get to a public area to hide. Jimmy however was way too fast for her and she was easily caught once again. The blonde picked her up covering her mouth with a white rag and at the first smell Nazz knew what was about to happen.

She prayed Kevin and Ed would find her before anything horrible happened…then she lost consciousness.

…

It had been thirty minutes from the time Nazz had called and she still hadn't arrived to Ed's. It was then that Kevin felt a bad feeling in his gut as he looked outside Ed's living room window. "She should have been here already… I'm going to call her" Kevin picked up his phone worriedly. Ed sat on the couch with his big ginger cat in lap. He pet and cooed at her waiting patiently as Kevin made his call.

"…she didn't pick up" Kevin announced feeling his chest tighten. He called again and waited with a fingernail caught in between his teeth. When the girl didn't pick up again he shoved his phone into his pocket "I'm going to go look for her, she's not answering her phone" he rapidly said putting on his shoes and grabbing his sweater.

"Wait I'll go to" Ed quickly put his own shoes and jacket on and rushing to grab his bike. Kevin sat behind feeling unable to breathe. He had a feeling something was going to happen, but he figured that if something was going to happen it was towards Eddward.

They headed towards the direction that Kevin knew Nazz's friends lived hoping to bump into her. In the meantime Kevin continued to call with no luck of the girl answering. The arrived at Nazz's neighborhood where they found the girls friends and asked them if Nazz was perhaps still with them. Worryingly so they shook their heads with a frown and told them the direction she had head.

Ed and Kevin rode off once more hoping that the worst wasn't happening. Passing through the middle of town as Kevin was calling again they heard it…Nazz's ring tone sounded loud and clear and Kevin immediately turned jumping off the bike and running towards the sound. He stopped horrified to find his best friend's bike down on the ground, and her cardigan as well as her phone spilled from the basket. "NAZZ!" Kevin yelled with his heart in his throat. He knew he should have picked her up himself. He knew they shouldn't have let her out of their sight. "NAZZ!" he screamed out again running around the area hoping to hear her voice or have her jump out from a hiding spot but she never did.

Ed was right behind phone in hand as he stopped Kevin from running away further. He placed a hand onto the smaller teen's shoulder and gave him a firm look "Eddward! Are you still home?" he asked with a harsh voice. "Something happened to Nazz, me and Kevin are heading over to your place right now"

Kevin felt like he was about to hyperventilate but he gathered his shit together by taking a deep breath and clutching his hands into fists. They both ran back to the spot Nazz's bike lied and Kevin picked up her phone and cardigan carefully placing them back in the basket and rode the bike beside Ed to Eddward's.

The moment they arrived, Kevin rushed inside the house to find a half dressed Eddward. "I'm going with you" he announced resolutely to the confused shirtless athlete.

"Wait, what happened? I was under the impression Nazz was with the both of you" Eddward asked then looked behind Kevin too see Ed closing the door "Ed, you were supposed pick them up"

"He was, but Nazz decided to go out with her friends for a little bit" Kevin stepped back in front of Eddward to get his attention "We told her it was fine because she was with a group and apparently she was wearing a wig so we didn't think she would be recognized or harmed in a group. But when she was heading to Ed's I'm guessing she must have been jumped" Kevin was starting to feel that sense of panic hit him once again.

Eddward moved closer placing a hand of the Kevin's arm and gave him a light squeeze "…I'll go get her back alright"

"I'm going with you!" Kevin fists tighten "I'm not going to stay here waiting to hear what happened to my best friend"

"No, Kevin. You can't come with me. In fact neither of you can. I'll go alone just as planned and bring her back" Eddward firmly held onto Kevin arm.

"NO!" Kevin yelled out angrily "What if something terrible happens to her because I was stupid enough to let her be alone. She's my best friend I can't leave her alone!"

"…You are not going. It's too dangerous for either of you. That is my final say Kevin" Eddward lowered his eyebrows angrily down with a frown. "She'll still be fine by the time I get there. I'll bring her safely back to you. Just stay put here until I get back"

Kevin shoved the Eddward's hand away and walked out to the back yard angrily. Eddward turned sadly to Ed "I better finish dressing" he headed up stairs to grab a black dress shirt and tie to go with his black jeans and a black suit jacket. For some reason Sam had decided certain people close to him would wear semi-formal wear. The raven haired teen supposed it was a way to show their status among the other ranks in the gang. The teen had slicked his hair to the side as another awful requirement of Sam. He grabbed his beanie and started at it for a moment…Sam had told him to leave it behind but he felt uncomfortable even though he would take it off during fights. He decided to take it and leave it in the car and reached to pick up a masquerade mask with a pretty gold design on one side and shoved it into his pocket heading down stairs.

When he stepped into the living room he saw Kevin with crossed arms and a frown by the front door though when the boy looked up he swore he saw a sudden rush of red flood the other's face but Eddward didn't stop and stare. Instead he looked over to Ed who was beside him "I'll call you if anything happens…look after him"

Ed gave a pat to his arm and smiled nodding. "I'll watch him like a hawk"

As Eddward grabbed his keys and phone before heading to the front door though he stopped in front of Kevin "Everything will be alright…ok?"

Kevin uncrossed his arm and instead of glaring at him like he did 15 minutes ago, he looked up with a frown and worried expression "Be careful" the small teen reached out to envelop him in a huge burying his freckled face on his chest "please bring her back"

"I'll make sure of it" Eddward smiled wrapping an arm around the teen's shoulder and with his other hand he reassuringly caressed Kevin's arm. After a short lived moment he pulled the teen away "I'll see the two of you later"

"Good Luck Double D" Ed called out and gave then a look from where he had been silently observing.

Eddward ignored it patting Kevin head and quickly stepping out and leaving them alone. As he started the car he frowned once more with irritation…oh was the princess going to get lectured the moment he saw her.

…

The raven haired teen parked his car some distance away from the cabin wanting not to be spotted when he left with Nazz. The woods were colder than the town, and the sky had officially darkened leaving the night in the quiet sounds among the trees and bushes. From the distance he was at he could still hear the music loudly, and let out a groan knowing he would get a headache from the loudness. He slipped on the masquerade mask leaving behind his hat. Eddward really did hate having to go out without it, but he couldn't disobey Sam's fashion orders. Shoving his hand in his jeans pockets he made his way through the woods hearing laughter and yelling as he approached closer.

When he arrived, he saw the cabin completely packed with gang members. A lot of the members were outside playing games with red plastic cups while other drank directly from bottles. As he slipped inside he was greeted with flashing red and blue lights, Jason Derulo blasting on the speakers and sweaty bodies grinding against each other. Most of the girls were in skin tight outfits leaving little to the imagination and guys in various ridiculous costumes. Eddward maneuvered through the crowd wondering where they had taken the girl. He knew she had to be there somewhere he just had to figure it out. The basement was his first instinct but as he approached he bumped into Jimmy guarding the door with a drink in hand. "Captain!" the blonde smirked lifting his drink "Glad to see you here, have a drink" Jimmy grabbed a can of beer and handed it to Eddward.

"Where's Sam?" Eddward asked not wanting to be suspicious trying to force his way into the basement.

Jimmy moved to clearly block the door better and scanned the room "Not sure, last I saw him he was headed that way" He pointed in a general area on his right "That was ten minutes ago, he could be anywhere by now" he chuckled out placing the cup to his lips and shrugged. "Don't worry about business stuff, drink and enjoy Captain. I have a special game planned for later tonight" he smirked devilishly.

"What game?" Eddward raised an eyebrow.

"Secret, But it'll be fun for everyone here" Jimmy leaned back against the door crossing his arms.

Alright, Eddward was sure the girl was downstairs for sure and any other target they may have captured as well. He would have to either wait for the teen to be distracted or sneak inside another way. Without another word Eddward headed in the direction Jimmy had pointed him towards then made his way back outside. He followed the crowd pretending to observe the teens playing flip cup but he scanned the cabin for any windows or doors and found a basement door locked with a chain. He let out a growl annoyed that Jimmy was smart enough to be cautious with not letting the targets get away.

Eddward made his way back inside standing near the stairs that lead to the second floor trying to come up with a way to distract Jimmy. Some tipsy girl in a fairy outfit bumped into him and started giggling followed by a handful of other girls all dressed as either black cats or in outrageous rave outfits. Great…now he had to deal with these demons.

…

Nazz opened her eyes slowly looking around the dimly lit space she was in. As she quickly remembered being ambushed by Jimmy she gasped sitting up in fear and on guard. She found herself locked inside a cage…she looked to her left where another two other cages containing two other targets each. In one were two boys and in another where two girls both with terrified expression as they watched her. She didn't recognize any of them but frowned. She heard a loud remix of sexy back playing upstairs and through the small crack in the door saw flashing lights. How long had she been knocked out? Hours? She tried to look for any indication of what time it was but found no window.

She looked onto the other teen and crawled the little space to get closer the cage next to hers "Are you guys ok?" she asked worryingly.

The two boys nodded "Are you?" one of them asked "When they carried you down here you were completely passed out"

"Yeah, don't worry about me" she breathed in looking around "My friends will be here for us soon, so stay calm until then ok?"

"You're friends?" one of the girls whimpered out

She nodded with a warm smile "They'll rescue us" she really hoped she could do something about the situation but being locked inside a cage limited her. She looked around the room hoping she could somehow push her way around to find something to attempt picking at the lock. Sadly she saw nothing small and sharp making her frustrated. She knew Eddward would be here, but she wondered if he was aware of that. Maybe it was he who placed the outfit for her… she growled thinking on the thought. Damn it she had been stupid to put it on, though it seemed so harmless at the time. Why would they leave the outfit for sabotage and the jacket for her protection from simple rain?

About an hour after she had woken up she noticed that there seemed to be bunch of boxes on the other side of the room. She decided to start kicking at the cage in hope it would fall over and she could roll but as she was about to make the cage fall someone opened the door and she held her breath looking up. It was someone tall but she didn't get too see the face until the guy took off their beautifully golden metallic masquerade mask.

Sam…of course it was Sam. She growled kicking hard at the cage. "Such a ruckus…at least your finally awake princess" Sam crouched down looking her in the eyes for a moment "Will you be good?"

"Like hell I will!" Nazz snarled backing away as far as the small space would let her.

"A true siren I see" Sam chuckled "Looks like I picked the right costume for you…you look absolutely stunning" he cooed looking her up and down.

With a wide mouth she covered their chest with her crossed arms "Y-Y-YOU!" She yelped out with a cherry red face "You set me up! You're the reason why I'm here!" she spat out kicking at the cage harshly hoping her heel would stab the bastard.

"Actually quite the opposite my dear" Sam reached into a pocket of his suit "I left you this costume so you wouldn't be here…obviously that was a failure because Jimmy recognized you somehow" he wiggled keys in his hand.

"…what?" Nazz asked confused looking straight at the dark eyes. "Why?"

Sam smirked with a shrug. He opened the cage and stretched a hand to her "I seem to be rather fond of you…despite the fact that you're against me. I blame your exquisite attractiveness" he chuckled out grabbing her wrists and pulling her out.

She yelped out at the force and immediately tried to pull away from his hold "Bullshit!" she scowled.

The tall blonde smirked down "Have you never had another male fancy you?"

"T-That's not important!" she pulled once more her eyes wide not believing what she was hearing "I hate you!"

"No matter" Sam continued to grin "Now listen to me carefully if you want to get out of here safely"

Nazz stayed silent conflicted if she should trust. It had probably been hours since she was brought here and no sign of any of the boys. She was beginning to feel a sense of anger towards Eddward who was probably upstairs enjoying his night. "I will gather everyone from the back and grab their attention. See that door over there" he pointed towards a basement door slightly above "I just opened it, everyone still thinks it's closed. Just pull at the chain and you're out. Run through the straight you'll eventually make it out"

"Wait a minute. I won't leave without them" Nazz pointed out to the kids looking at them confused.

Sam shook his head slowly with a smirk "I can't do that sweet heart" he chuckled out "These brats are targets who tried to defy me"

"So am I!" Nazz yelped out "Let them out now! I'm not leaving without them"

"Princess…don't make me regret being merciful with you" Sam scowled pushing the girl aside and opening the two cages. "You brats are lucky tonight. I'll go after you if anyone of you dare say anything about tonight. HEAR ME?" Sam yelled out intimidating the kids who only quickly nodded horrified. He turned to look at Nazz with a stern look "Don't push it love" he pointed a finger in her direction and headed up stairs.

With a triumphant smile she nodded over to the others who gather all close to the basement door waiting to hear silence.

…

It had been over an hour now and he had yet to distract Jimmy. The damn brat was persistent on staying in place no matter what chick he sent to bait him. He had tried to send Johnny to fetch Jimmy too but Johnny was completely drunk off his ass. Damn it, a fight was not something he wanted to start again, but he needed a big commotion to grab Jimmy's full attention. Eddward walked around the room looking for a specific person who was always the start of every commotion at Sam's parties.

There, a short leather jacket guy with slicked back dark hair dressed to be Elvis Presley was trying to flirt with a tall red head dressed in a leopard one piece. Eddward groaned rolling his eyes…he really hated having to see or even interact with the idiot but he had no other choice.

"Hey baby, I lost my number can I borrow yours?" the short teen wrapped an arm around the girls waist pulling her in the girl simply pushed away irritated.

Eddward just knew what he had to do to provide the teen, it was far too easy. Smoothly he took a sip from his cup and walked past pretending to completely ignore them bumping into the short teen who stumbled forward ungracefully. "HEY, watch it buddy!" The shorter teen yelped out turning around to see Eddward.

Eddward continued to ignore him heading towards the center of the room. "HEY!" he heard the teen yell out angrily "Mother fucking Double D! I'm talking to you fucking bastard!" there, he had gotten his attention easily.

The raven haired turned around and looked past pretending not to see the smaller teen "…I thought I heard something" he murmured turning back around.

"Don't you fucking look down on me asshole!" The teen grabbed at Eddward's suit jacket and pulled him down.

"Oh… technically I have to, Eddy" Eddward smirked eyes going cold once meeting the other's dark eyes.

"Mother fucker! Think you can come here and fucking ruin my night!" Eddy spat out drunk trying to land a punch.

"Then perhaps, you should leave before I ruin it further" Eddward chuckled out as the girl Eddy had been with pushed the short teen away and huddled closer to him. The raven haired wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder who swooned at the touch.

"I was here first dipshit!" Eddy growled pulling away the girl "Your ass doesn't even like g—" Eddward punched Eddy in the face before he could finish his sentence.

Ah, now he had everyone's attention…"FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" Began the chanting from the crowd. Eddy jumped right up trying to punch at Eddward with all his force but the taller teen easily avoided all the teen's hits.

"Damn it Eddy! When the fuck are you gonna learn you don't stand a chance against our captain!" he heard Jimmy's voice yell out from the crowd. "Give it rest!" Great, Eddward grinned out at his success, but as he tried to disappear among the crowd Eddy grabbed his jacket and harshly shoved him back into the small circle they had formed.

"Want me to remind you why daddy gave you that fucking scar!" Eddy muttered out angrily shoving his finger straight at Eddward scar.

The athlete felt rage bubble in his stomach and he stood up launching himself on Eddy. The teen just had a way of getting on his nerves. Eddy knew to too much about him and the bastard always found ways of using it against him. Oh, but did he have another thing coming. By the time Jimmy decided to finally full Eddward away he had left Eddy with a painful swollen cheek and a bloodied nose and mouth. "Don't you ever forget I'm above you in ranks, your nothing but a little bitch" Eddward spat out with rage, his head pounding from the anger.

When he saw Jimmy taking away Eddy outside he remembered about the unguarded door and immediately turned to a make a run for it. He ran down the steps only to find emptied cages… he scanned the door and found the back door to be opened now and he swore under his breath. Eddward ran out of back door seeing Sam talking to a group at the front of the cabin. As he was turning he felt his phone vibrate and he pulled it out seeing Ed's number pop up. "What is it?" he asked in a rush scanning the area for any signs of where Nazz had run off to.

"Double D, you need to get out of there fast! The police are on their way" Ed frantically yelled out.

"What! I told you guys it was our last option!" Eddward hissed still looking around.

"It wasn't us! But I saw them driving towards your direction! You need to get out of there" Ed anxiously yelled out as Kevin tried to ask about Nazz in the background.

"I can't Ed! I haven't found Nazz yet. She ran off somewhere" Eddward frowned clutching his fists.

"If you don't find her the police will, come back before they get you Double D" Ed pleaded

"I can't…I can't just leave her behind, I can't show up without Nazz!" Eddward yelled out hanging up the phone and turning to hear Jimmy angrily come beside Sam and whisper something in his ear. Sam nodded and Jimmy gathered everyone's attention.

"I meant for this to be later tonight but five little sheep have escaped from their cages" Jimmy began his announcement "I have a game for you all to participate if you wish to" he chuckled out "Anyone who finds the escaped sheep and bring them back to us will be graciously rewarded by Sam!" Jimmy yelled out "They are running around somewhere in the area, shouldn't be too hard to find them. Good luck!" Jimmy pulled out a starting pistol out and shooting up to the sky.

As soon as the pistol was fired mouth almost everyone in the cabin spread throughout the area, most running into the woods. Eddward did the same following the crowd and hoping he wouldn't be spotted by either Sam or Jimmy. Right when he entered the woods, Eddward separated from the group and ran as fast of possible praying to find Nazz before anyone else.

…

At one point one of the targeted boys grabbed one of the girls and ran off on their separate direction. As annoying as the act had been to Nazz she believed they had been a couple and now only hoped they would get out safely. The other two followed her close behind, but it wasn't until they heard a pistol and loud roar from a crowd that the three of them felt chills run down their spines.

The boy ended up running ahead of them with a panic, leaving her with the girl. Nazz kept her close and not only 5 minutes after the shot they heard they began to hear others running around the woods and close yelling calling out them. Nazz could tell the girl was terrified so she grabbed her wrist pulling her towards a denser part of the forest.

The night was colder now and walking through the forest was beginning to become daunting. A few feet after they heard a group get neat and Nazz took the initiative to hide behind the thick trees trying to be as silent as they possibly could. Nazz held her breath only focusing on the footsteps from multiple people. The twigs on the ground would crack from their steps and as they got closer the group divided itself leaving two guys. Nazz spotted one of them walk close to the tree the other was hiding behind and she signaled her to hide around as the guy walked pasted it. She as well moved around the tree as the two of them lit the area with their phones walking past.

As Nazz watched the two walked past her she tripped and fell back hitting something hard. She felt an arm grab her arm turning her around and seeing some built guy with a triumphant smile on his face. Nazz heard the girl scream and run off being chased by another. Quickly she pulled the hand that grabbed her and bit the guy so hard she felt blood slip into her mouth.

The bulky guy yelped shoving her away and Nazz took this opportunity to sprint at full force. After a couple of minutes of running she heard faint yelling from behind her. She looked back seeing if there was anyone following close behind but she fell to miss the drop that was in front of her. Her heel caught against a rock making her trip and roll down. She rolled on to her side groaning out in pain with eyes shut tight. Slowly she sat up looking up to see the distance that she had fell from, the drop hadn't been as bad but she knew she would not be able to climb it alone.

Nazz pulled off the wig along with the cap that was completely a mess and dirtied. She undid her hair feeling a sense of freedom from the release and lay down for a moment catching her breath. Just how deep was this forest? She whimpered trying to move her right foot, realizing it was sprained.

Jumping at the sound of footsteps she tried to place herself close to the dirt hoping the person wouldn't spot her, because if they did she wouldn't be able to run anymore. She looked up seeing a black clothed figure looking around the area. They bend down picking up the heel that had made trip and looked over the edge seemingly in concern ""Nazz!" the familiar voice of Eddward Vincent called out.

Nazz's eyes went wide as she slowly lifted herself up to get a better look at the figure above. When her eyes adjusted onto the person she recognized Eddward right away…although he wasn't wearing his famous black striped beanie. In a moment of conflict she wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or terrified but she trusted Kevin enough to out to the other "Vincent! I'm down here" a sob caught in her throat.

Eddward released a breath of relief hearing the girl's voice respond a hand ran through his hair as he looked around the area. "I'm coming down to get you, hold on" Eddward held the heel tightly in his hand as he lowered himself and cautiously slid down the drop. When he made it all the way down he could see the girl on the ground with a frightened expression. The poor girl was a complete mess, her mouth covered in some blood, face and outfit covered in mud and scrapes all over her exposed arms. Eddward took off the mask and gingerly moved towards the frightened girl with hands up "I'm here to help you" he whispered out softly.

Nazz finally leaned closer letting out a sob "Damn it…I could just hug you right now" her tears finally fell down her dirtied cheeks. She pressed her face to Eddward's shoulder letting her tears freely escape as she held onto his jacket.

Eddward awkwardly wrapped an arm around the girl and with the other held on of her arms giving her a small squeeze. "…" he let her cry for a few more moments before lightly pushing her away to make eye contact with her "Nazz…We need to go now"

The girl nodded wiping away her tears and let the raven haired teen pull her up to her feet. "There were four other kids with me"

"Where are they?" Eddward asked looking over her for any major injuries.

"I…I don't know they all ran off somewhere in the woods" She hissed when trying to take a step forward.

Eddward sighed shaking his head "There's nothing I can do to help them. Right now I need to get you out of here"

"But we can't just leave them" Nazz looked up feeling a sense of guilt at the thought.

"We have to" Eddward firmly stated "The police are on their way here as we speak. They'll be the ones to rescue them. Now, can you walk?"

Nazz shook her head "I think I sprained my ankle when I fell. It hurts a lot"

"It's no wonder, what are you even wearing?" Eddward held her shoulders pushing her back to look at her outfit and raised the heel he held in his hand.

"Don't look!" Nazz wrapped her arms around her chest cherry faced "Doesn't matter what I'm wearing"

Rolling his eyes Eddward took his jacket off and handed it to Nazz as well as the other heel. She took them hesitantly and pulled them on. "Alright time to go, I'll carry you" Eddward turned around pulling the girl onto his back hoisting her up.

"WOAH" Nazz yelped holding on tightly. She couldn't believe Eddward had actually come to her rescue. Maybe…just maybe Kevin was right. She looked up to see a small pale scar on the teen's forehead coming up into his hairline…"ouch" she mumbled feeling an ache on her entire leg.

"I didn't take you as someone who liked to wear such revealing outfits, Van Bartonschmeer" Eddward teased trying to get the girl distracted from the pain of her ankle. At the same time he was searching for a way to quickly get to his car.

"Ugh" Nazz rolled her eyes thinking back at what Sam had confessed to her once more feeling embarrassed "…it was my friends who told me to, ok?"

"Oh? Which reminds me, what were you thinking running off and completely ignoring my demand of staying safely indoors?" Eddward spat out in irritation.

"I wanted to go out with my friends! Is that a crime? I was wearing makeup and a wig for crying out loud I never thought someone would recognize me!" Nazz retaliated in her defense.

"Yeah? Well look where you are now because of that little mishap of yours. Someone did recognize you"

"I left you this costume so you wouldn't be here…obviously that was a failure because Jimmy recognized you somehow"

"It must have been my bike…I think jimmy saw it driving by" Nazz slouched frowning "…Everything was fine"

"Well, I hope you've learned from your mistake. Something worse could have happened to you tonight" Eddward lowered himself when hearing faint voices.

"Have you learned?" The blonde girl held on tighter with a frown.

"I'm here now, am I not?"

"Careful Vincent, you'll lead me to think you actually care" she chuckled out shaking her head.

After a moment of silence Eddward finally responded "Kevin would kill me if something happened to you…he…really loves you" he spoke in a low voice.

"…" Nazz stayed silent listening to the low tone the teen had answered her. "We basically grew up together… our parents were high school friends" she shrugged "Guess we've been through a lot, and even though we didn't become best friends until high school…we've always had a sense of being siblings so, yeah we love each other a hell of a lot"

"…It's good the both of you are so overprotective of each other" Eddward ended the conversation.

After a long pause Nazz felt uncomfortable by the silence and decided to start another one curious about the scar on the teen's forehead. "So…is that little scar the reason why you wear your hat on 24/7? What a disappointing reveal"

Eddward growled out "Drop it"

"…ok" she slouched against his back once more deciding to look around them in hopes to find the area clear, but she could definitely hear voices yelling out.

After about 20 minutes later they finally made it to where Eddward's car had been. The raven haired teen left Nazz in the passenger seat as he made his way around the drivers. Before he got on he spotted a note on his…flat tire? Eddward ripped the note off where disgustingly messy handwriting scribbled out.

My revenge Double DonkeyDick

-Eddy

Eddward stared between the note and the tire…then looked at the other front tire that was also flat "You got to be shitting me" he hissed out kicking at the tire and throwing away the irritating note. He angrily pulled his phone out and called Ed.

"Double D!" Ed called out in relief "Are you ok? Did you find Nazz?"

"Yes, Ed, we're both fine…" Eddward ran a hand through his hair "Ed…can you guys find a way to get here? Fucking Eddy screwed with my car"

"Eddy…" Ed sadly repeated the teen's name "Yeah no problem… Kevin says we can convince he's dad to let us borrow his truck"

"Alright, we'll meet you half way" Eddward hung up taking a moment to breathe before he heard police sirens not too far off. "Shit"

He went round the car and pulled Nazz out carrying her in his arms instead this time "My car's not functional, we're going meet up with Ed and Kevin instead"

The girl nodded holding onto the raven haired teen once more turning her head to the sounds of sirens "It's the police" she whispered out horrified knowing if they were caught they were most likely to also be considered as participating members.

"We need to get out of here fast" he hoisted her up holding her tight and started running.

"What about your car? If there is anything back at the cabin the police will find you" Nazz asked with some worry.

"I'll deal with it later" Eddward muttered out angrily thinking about the consequences that were to come if anyone else found his car. He would have to come back for it immediately.

The girl looked back with a frown seeing the black car disappear. "fine"

After nearly thirty minutes of walking they found the exit of the woods where the rocky road curved leading into a highway further down. Eddward placed Nazz on the ground and called Ed taking a seat on the ground as well. Thankfully Kevin had managed to convince his dad to lend them the truck without being seen by Nazz's parents. Tom had given them a look but just shook his head giving them the keys with a smirk.

Another twenty minutes of waiting and finally the run down truck came into view. "Oh, thank god" Nazz sighed out being lifted to her feet by Eddward. Nazz turned to the raven haired teen with a conflicted look "Vincent…" she awkwardly started "…t-thank you…for helping me out tonight" the girl quickly looked away crossing her arms.

Eddward smirked letting out a breath with a slight shake of his head as he saw Ed poke his head out through the window waving at them. Nazz waved back with less energy but nonetheless spared a huge grin on her face.

As soon as they stopped in front of them, Kevin jumped out and gathered the girl into a hug slightly picking her up until he saw she was in pain. "What are you wearing?" Kevin looked at her top underneath Eddward's jacket making Nazz blush covering herself up more and muttered out angrily.

Ed embraced Eddward as well, actually picking him up and swung the teen around "Ed!" Eddward called out firmly yet in a whine as the other continued to hug him.

"You did great Double D" Ed smiled finally letting the other down and looking over to Kevin and Nazz who were laughing next to the truck.

Eddward shrugged giving a pat on Ed's shoulder "Come on, let's go home"

Ed helped Nazz get inside the truck and it was then Kevin turned to Eddward with a soft smile on his face "Thank you" The raven haired teen only smiled. He really didn't feel the need to be thanked, he owed it to everyone. Then Kevin stepped closer pulling Eddward down and wrapping his small arms around the others shoulder tightly "I'm so glad you're ok too" he whispered out in relief placing a quick peck on Eddward's temple before letting go and stepping back. "I'll help you with the tires ok?"

Eddward simply nodded feeling a nervousness consume his chest. He, Nazz and Kevin got inside the truck while Ed rode in the back. They rode back to Eddward's home in silence but pleasantly so. Nazz fell asleep on Kevin's shoulder as the raven haired teen carried red cheeks the entire time looking out the window.

Once they had arrived at Eddward's home, Ed helped Nazz clean up and fix up her foot with the directions of Eddward. Kevin helped Eddward carry the spare tires that the athlete stored in the garage onto the truck as well as various tools. After they had made sure Nazz would be alright they went off to fix the car hoping the police hadn't found it yet. Kevin frowned looking over to the raven haired teen with a frown. The teen looked utterly exhausted and stressed, and it made him question what would happen if Eddward was caught in all of this. With that though in mind, he drove faster back to the north woods.

When they had arrived there were no signs of anyone else finding the car thankfully, however the police sirens were still around the area. Kevin and Eddward tried working quickly to replace the tires with no exchange of conversation as they were too focused. The night was colder and windy now in the late hours of the night. Kevin could notice the other begin to get a runny nose because he wasn't wearing a jacket and at one point he wanted to lend him his sweater but Eddward refused. When they replaced the second tire they both sighed in relief falling back on the ground and giving each other a high five. With that little rest they stood off and placed the tools and tires in Eddward's car. In his father's truck Kevin followed Eddward out of the woods and into the highway leading to Peach Creek.

Upon entering the west side of town Kevin and Eddward split up. Kevin went to drop off the truck at the party where the adults were still preoccupied with chatter. Picking up Ed's bike that they had left waiting there he rode back to Eddward's. Eddward closed the garage door with Ed and Nazz still inside drinking the athlete's famous drink. The raven haired teen decided to sit on the steps outside waiting for the ginger teen to come down the neighborhood street…he wouldn't be relaxed until he saw Kevin within arm's length.

About thirty minutes later, Kevin harshly turned into the neighborhood making Eddward stand up, but slightly calmed when he saw the kid's grin on his face. "I'm back!" Kevin called out as he jumped off the bike on Eddward's drive way.

"Good" Eddward smiled down placing a hand of the smaller teen's shoulder.

Kevin placed a hand on top of Eddward's and smiled back then jumped in realization "I can't believe you're out here in the cold! You're going to get sick Eddward! You could have just waited inside damn it"

Eddward laughed as he was dragged inside his home. Kevin's hand on his hadn't felt warmer than it did that night, the raven haired teen could feel the warmth spread through his stomach and up his chest. Beside everything that had happened that night, and the possible consequences of that night Eddward was content to see Kevin laughing along with his best friend as Ed lightened the mood with silly games. He crossed his arms leaning back against on the wall with a soft smile as Kevin turned to look at him with a grateful expression.

Somehow, he just couldn't rip his eyes away from that radiant freckled face that night.

…

---

I bet there are A LOT of errors in this chapter but I have reached a limit that I just don't care anymore :P I'm so tired of looking at this chapter it's too long for me to go through several times lolol

NONETHELESS, I hope you enjoyed! I love developing the relationships among characters and Eddward's and Nazz's is one I've been looking forward to write for so long.

So much happened in this chapter I am looking forward to reading your thoughts, and don't worry Eddy is going to appear more often now that he has been given a part. Eddy's character is another I've been excited to include, why you think Eddy and Eddward hate each other soo much? :D

ALSO I wanted to note you are very soon going to see another character be introduced and I'm a little scared to finally add them in for reasons you shall see. Can you take a guess?

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

Feel free to message me on Tumblr and Twitter: Arielagam (I squeal with joy every time I get such a sweet message hahaha I'm just really happy you all have been following this story for so long and those who binge read in a matter of days or hours! WOW so flattered! I hope this story won't disappoint.)

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