She came a bit late.
By 'a bit,' I mean 17 minutes late. Seventeen long, still minutes, where the clamminess of his hand in mine didn't seem to matter.
When a firm, single knock rang at the door, I jumped, and felt Eddward's hand slip from mine without hesitation. He stood, taking a deep breath, composing himself. His walk to the door was ceremonious, yet cautious.
The lock was clicked open, and the door was opened to reveal a tall, elegant woman, with crystalline eyes and strawberry blonde hair.
I guess what really struck me first was her eyes. Not the color, just...how familiar they were. I'd seen those eyes glaring coldly at me enough that the gentleness in them was off-putting. There was a subtle smile on her face, reminiscent of her son, hiding just enough that it seemed real. It was odd I noticed that, but I didn't think much of it at the time.
Confident shoulders and a comfortable, navy blue long-sleeved shirt went nicely with the floral skirt she wore. Black pointed dress shoes and a watch completed the motherly look to her, but something about the latter drew my eye. It was the same as Eddward's. My gaze turned back to him.
The most quiet of smiles creeped over his cheeks, "Mother..."
The lady smiled widely, remorse in her brows, "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I didn't think to check if the car would start before I was ready to leave, and wouldn't you know it, the battery was dead. It took me a while to drag one of the nurses out to help me jump-start the thing. I'm so sorry-oh, who is this, Edd?"
I felt the metaphorical spotlight shine on me, and Eddward eyed me warily.
I gulped, "Kevin, umm, Eddward's friend."
"Eddward?" Confusion mounted in her tone, and her gaze turned back to Eddward.
He looked away, the smile falling from his lips. His mother smiled apologetically.
"Alright, well, 'Eddward,' I know I'm late, but are you still up for some late lunch?"
He nodded, meeting her eyes once more. I caught his mom looking my away again, flashing a secretive smile that only reached her eyes, and she beckoned with a single hand.
"Is your little boy friend coming?"
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, despite the obvious pause between the words.
Eddward managed to keep his poise, however, nodding in return, "If he so desires. He was merely keeping me company, and I can ask no further of him-"
"Sure, I'll come."
The double-blink he did was almost unnoticeable, but it made me smirk. It wasn't often I caught him off-guard like that.
"Great! Alright Edd, are you and your little friend ready to go then?"
I nodded, but Eddward replied, "Certainly."
I heard a long sigh escape the woman, "Oh, Edd..." She turned and walked back towards her car, faded orange and in all ways unremarkable. I fell in step beside Eddward, looking his way to gauge how things were going on his end.
He seemed relieved, honestly. Any weight that had been on his shoulders earlier had been lifted, and he walked with a renewed vigor in his step. I smiled at that, but looked away when he caught my eye.
He mumbled quietly, "What is so amusing, Little Red?"
I chuckled, "I dunno, maybe it's how flustered you look, Edd."
In reality, he didn't look it in the slightest up until that point, but the reaction I got from him was definitely worth it. A rare few strands of hair purposefully fell between me and his cheek, obscuring whatever possible reaction he had after that. I just smiled wider.
"Alright, who's getting the front seat with me? Any takers?"
She seemed to be pleading with her eyes, but Eddward didn't respond. I could see her shoulders crumbling, and I immediately answered, "Sure, I'll take it." Eddward seemed baffled by this, but I merely walked past him, awkwardly slipping into the passenger's side seat of his mother's car.
It smelled musty and damp, the chill of the morning more prevalent as the faux-leather seat stole my warmth. I buckled in, hearing Eddward take a seat directly behind his mom. I looked back at him, and he shot me a curious look. I just smiled back at him, and he looked away, out the window.
"Alright, so where are we heading?" She inquired, her eyes on the rear view mirror.
"The usual location." His answer was stiff. She smiled.
"Of course, sweetheart."
As the car started and we started pulling away from the curve, I took a quick look back at Eddward. His eyes were fixated out the window, but I could tell he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
As we approached the first stop sign, his mother spoke up, "Oh, forgive me, I never did introduce myself, did I?," her voice was buttery as she continued, "My name is Marianne, but please, just call me Mary, despite the looks my son gives you." I looked back and saw Eddward roll his eyes, "As you may have already been aware, I am Edd's mother. It really is a pleasure to meet you, Kevin. I wasn't aware that my son had made any more friends."
"Yeah, I wasn't either," I responded casually, before mentally slapping myself for being so honest about it. I bit my life, hoping she didn't take it offensively.
Her response was a hearty laugh, smoothly filling the car, "My, Edd, you sure know how to pick them, don't you?"
A measured reply came from the back, "I suppose."
I looked in Marianne's direction to catch her smiling widely. I was starting to feel a blush forming from what I'd said, but was glad she wouldn't be able to see.
"Now, don't be embarrassed, sweetheart," she said, eyes still firmly on the road, "no one can fault your honesty. Perhaps it was what drew my son to you in the first place?" The statement was almost rhetorical, but I could tell she was curious.
"Perhaps." That was all that Eddward replied.
An unsatisfied sigh escaped his mother, "Well, if you won't tell me, I suppose I'll have to ask your dear friend here. Surely he knows why you're friends, hmm?"
The question actually caught me a bit off-guard. Surely I knew why Eddward and I were friends, how could we be otherwise? I mean, surely there had to be a reason...but my reassurances didn't give me the slightest hinting towards an answer.
"Uhh..." Was my brilliant reply.
"...Hmm." Her lips formed into a tight line, fingers tapping against the steering wheel. A minute passed as I slowly shrank back into the seat, the silence reinforcing how completely foolish I felt, how awkward this situation was.
She slapped her hand against the steering wheel, "I see! I think I get it."
I raised my eyebrows. I figured Eddward was doing the same thing, but when I looked back at him, he was staring out the window, eyes downcast in thought.
"Tell me, Kevin, how you two first met. And no, I don't mean simply 'acknowledged' one another, I mean spoke to each other, got to know each other. I feel like that's the missing ingredient here, something in the past."
I looked at her, baffled, my words flowing before I could think, "Why the hell would you think that?"
She smirked playfully, "I'm fairly good at reading people, if I do say so myself." I still gave her an odd look, and she must have noticed it, because she continued, "If you didn't know, then it must have been something that came about on its own, and not a typical friendship in the slightest. And Edd...you're terrible at hiding where your mind wanders from me, you know that, dear. I see you in the mirror."
I turned to see Eddward blushing, not looking forward.
"That's...weird," I responded.
Marianne giggled slightly, "So it is, but it's my weirdness that brought little Edd into this world, and I don't regret it for a moment."
"What do you mean?" I looked in her direction with questioning eyes.
"You're avoiding my question...but very well, I won't forget to ask later. Edd, sweetheart, are you alright with me talking about this?"
He replied softly, "It is about a different man. I cannot find fault in your regaling of it."
She sighed again, shaking her head, "Very well. Kevin, dear, before I start, have you met Harrison yet? Edd's father, that is."
I shook my head, "Just heard of him is all."
Her smile fell a little, "I suppose that's for the best. He's...not quite the man I fell in love with. Or he's hidden that self too deep for me to reach..."
I didn't respond, listening attentively.
"When I first met Harrison, I never spoke to him; no one did, really. He kept to his studies and his habits, and like clockwork, you'd know where he'd be at any given time. Not to say I was stalking him, far from it, he was just...hard to ignore."
"How so?" I inquired.
"His presence. It's something my son has, even. A way to dominate a room by posture, but Harrison was a master at it. I dare-say he even frightened the staff," her chuckle was sweet, "I thought nothing of it, though. That is, until his parents showed up.
"I was sitting at a table in a joined dining-study area, reading a novel, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught two interesting figured stride towards this frightening man I'd never met. It was actually a bit strange, seeing as no one ever approached him, so I kept my eye on his table and the exchange. The words I heard were...unpleasant.
"I determined them to be his parents, with how 'kindly' they judged him. Criticisms about his performance, his goals, and eventually, his lack of social advents. I was appalled by how much they expected of one person, and I could see him shrinking noticeably, despite his attempts to respond. I hated seeing anyone be treated like that, and thought for a moment as to what to do.
"So, with my books in hand, I walked up to this man I'd never known outside of stolen glances in public places, and smiled. He was completely befuddled. So I said to him, 'Hey, sorry I'm late for our study session. I didn't want to intrude on your time with your parents...' I was very fortunate that, despite the flash of confusion in his eyes, he quickly perked up and accepted my presence. In turn, I introduced myself to his parents, who afterwards informed me of his name without realizing.
"It was actually a rather amusing farce. I managed to spare him from their ire, and they left earlier than they had planned to allow us to 'study.' Immediately after I left, all of Harrison's confidence faded, and he inquired what I was doing. So I told him. He couldn't believe it.
"From their, our strange friendship blossomed. I could read him like a book, and did my best to 'reform' him into someone people wanted to be around. He wasn't always aware of the presence he exuded, so I helped him correct it. I learned more and more about him, and found him absolutely fascinating. And, in turn, he grew fond of me as well..."
Her eyes seemed to lose their light as she continued, "But I suppose the damage was already done. His parents' poisonous influence seeped back into him as we raised our son, and in time, he resembled them far too much for me to bare..."
"And he became a cruel, heartless man, whose company no one prefers," Eddward cut her off to say.
She responded with a slight hum of approval, but no more was said. The silence became a bit much for me.
"So what you're saying is, he wasn't always a douche?"
A sharp chuckle escaped Marianne, "No, no Kevin, he was not. Nor was my son, I can assure you."
A sharp voice cut in, "Mother!"
She grinned, and I smirked as she said, "I still speak with your friend Marie, and I'm quite aware of your attitude, mister. Would you prefer we discuss it right here, right now?"
A muffled grunt was the response.
And she smiled, warmly.
I liked this woman.
I've had this planned for a while, it's just a bit draining for me to write dialogue of several characters at once, so it's been delayed. I decided to cut this up so you guys at least get this much.
No one is born a jerk, but they can be raised to be one.