It was a warm day in mid April. The cul-de-sac was abuzz with the excited youth all planning out how to spend the rest of the Spring break, and with only half a week left, Kevin and his friends decided staying around the neighborhood and maybe going down to the lake a couple times would be fun. Kevin burnt so easily though, he couldn't help but dread it a little at the same time. 'With my luck I'll go back to school looking redder than a cherry.. Jimmy would have a field day with that one.' He thought to himself, then laughed a little while he imagined the prude boy's taunts.
"Oh! It's bad enough that you have that atrocity of a hat on everyday, but now you've got the skin color to match it!" Kevin mimed aloud in front of his mirror and burst out laughing again. His chuckles quieted into small giggles before he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Good thing mom is out grocery shopping.." He sighed.
Then he heard the knock at the door. Kevin jumped and glanced at his watch, "It's not time for Adrian and the others to be here..." Another knock, this one louder and quicker."'Maybe mom tried to carry all the groceries in at once again..." He rushed down the stairs, ready to tease his mom with a broad grin on his face and threw the door open. Kevin's smile quickly faded as his brain processed the figure in front of him, definitely not his petite mother. Instead there was a strange boy standing a good foot and a half taller than him. 'Jeez.. This guy is almost as tall as Rolf.. er.. Raph.' Kevin looked over the new boy and took mental note of his style. New guy wore a strange black beanie, despite the radiating heat from the sun, and a hoodie and leather jacket combo as well. Kevin wondered how the boy wasn't sweltering where he stood, but he didn't gleam with even a trace of sweat. He also sported a red T-shirt underneath his jacket and considerably tight pair black pants, a chain hanging from his pocket where Kevin assumed his wallet was tucked. Last but not least the boy wore an off-grey pair of boots that reached about one third of the way up his calf. His clothing alone spelled trouble, but then Kevin noticed the gap in his teeth. Not quite wide enough to signify a missing tooth, nor in the right spot, just an ordinary gap. Though based off the quality of his clothes it looked like he definitely came from a family who could afford a set of braces.
"Greetings, my fellow community member." The boy had an oddly expectant smile on his face. Kevin smiled back as naturally as he could manage.
"H-hello.." Kevin laughed nervously, he wasn't the best at meeting new people, especially all of a sudden like this. "You must be.. From that new family, that moved into that old house?" The taller boy stared down at him, running his eyes up and down Kevin's body. Kevin shifted, slightly uncomfortable under the new boy's penetrating glance and kicked at the air.
"...yes." The strange boy finally responded. "My name is Eddward. That is, E-D-D-W-A-R-D. With two D's, you see," Kevin nodded, noticing his friends coming up his driveway.
"I'll keep that in mind." Kevin replied, waving to Nazz who was excitedly flailing her arms in the back. The new boy looked uneasy, mildly frustrated even. "Do you mean to tell me you truly do not-"
"KEVIN!" Nazz's excited shout cut Eddward's question off. She ran up the rest of the driveway and threw her arms around her friend in a tight embrace. A shiver went through Kevin's body, starting at his toes, and he couldn't help the blush that crept on to his face. Nazz had a way of making his legs turn to jelly. When he glanced back up a was shocked to see Eddward glaring down at them with disapproval. Kevin cleared his throat, gently unlatching Nazz's arms from around him and gestured to the punked up looking boy. "Uhm.. Nazz.." He muttered much more nervously than he had hoped. "This is Eddward. His family is the one that just moved in at the end of the road."
"Oh!" Nazz beamed excitedly. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you! I just got back from vacation and I was so excited to see Kevin again." Her cheerful chattering did nothing to change Eddward's now hostile looking disposition.
"I see.." Eddward responded, running his eyes over Nazz the same way he'd done to Kevin earlier. His gaze shifted back to the awkward looking boy. "Charmed, I'm sure." He finished. Nazz held her hand out towards Eddward, and the boy glared down at it until she awkwardly pulled her arm back. "So... Uh... Where are you from..?" Nazz asked.
Eddward ran his hand over his face. "You'll have to excuse me. The incessant noise that is continuously flowing out of that gaping hole in your face is giving me quite the persistent migraine. I believe I'll take my leave, I've so many people to introduce myself to still."
Kevin's jaw dropped as the taller boy turned his back to him and his friend and began walking back towards the street, shouldering his way past a confused looking Adrian and Raphael. He lingered at the end of Kevin's driveway for a short while as Kevin's friends reached him.
"Something the matter?" Adrian asked, feeling the tension between Kevin, Nazz and Eddward.
"I... I don't..." Kevin stuttered, still processing Eddward's hostility. Luckily for him, Nazz was prone to sudden outbursts so he didn't have to try and explain.
"I don't even know!" She exclaimed. "I was just trying to introduce myself and he says I'm incessant and noisy!" She finished with a huff. Adrian grinned slightly, amused. He had once mentioned that Nazz's temper tantrums were about as intimidating as a fluffy kitten, or a pink teddy bear. Kevin realized it wasn't far from the truth, and he couldn't help grinning as well.
Eddward snorted behind them but kept his back turned. "I just wanted to formally warn you that you should take great measures to protect yourself at school from now on." The more friendly smile the boy had given Kevin earlier was gone, and a new malicious one had taken its place as Eddward glanced over his shoulder toward Kevin. Kevin swallowed hard, wondering what he have done to irritate his new neighbor so quickly. Perhaps he hadn't provided him his complete undivided attention, but Kevin felt there probably wasn't much more to say outside of their introductions anyway. Not to mention it wasn't like he'd exactly been prepared for Eddward to be at his doorway, but he had been expecting his friends. However, contrary to Edd's previous statement when he had cut Nazz off before, instead of going around to the other houses, Kevin and his friends watched as Eddward skulked back to his own house and slammed the door so fiercely the crash rang throughout the neighborhood.
"What was THAT all about?!" Nazz huffed, turning her attention back to Kevin.
"...I... I really have no idea.." He responded, staring at the house Eddward had stormed into. "But I have a really bad feeling about him."