The final bell for the school day rang throughout the building. Instead of the sweet relief of another school day come to a close, Kevin's mind was processing the ringing with a fire drill or a tornado siren. 'Run! Go home! Get out!' His mind kept shouting, but his feet continued through the emptying hallway. As Kevin inched down the hall he tried to stop the pounding of his heart within his chest, drawing in long slow breaths and exhaling loudly.

'Is this the end? Will I need to have plastic surgery just to look human again? Why am I even worried about how I look? Is there a surgery to take away all of your pain receptors? Can I just remove that piece of my brain...' His frantic thoughts went silent in his own head as he looked up at the double doors in front of him. "POOL" was written on a small plate in red above the doors that felt overwhelming in their size suddenly. Kevin's knees shook involuntarily as he reached a hesitant hand forward, a thousand scenes of Eddward beating him into oblivion running through his mind. There were so many things he wanted to do still. He knew he'd told his mother he loved her this morning, but now that his life would be coming to an end he wanted to make sure. He slowly pulled his hand back and reached into his pocket for his cell phone.

Without warning the large black doors flew open, and Eddward glared out of them, his face crossed between anger and disappointment. Kevin's jaw dropped and he stood there frozen like a deer in headlights. Much to his surprise though, Edd's expression seemed to soften when he saw him standing there.

"You actually came." Eddward grinned, but it was a playful grin. Not menacing or daunting like usual.

"Y-yeah..." Kevin choked. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and let it fall to his side. "Well... It's not like you gave me much of a choice. I'm not going to let you hurt my freinds anymore! If you have a problem with me than you can settle it with me once and for all, because I'm fed up with your harassment..." His confidence fizzled out with everyone new word that came from his mouth. He'd wanted to sound tough and brave, but he knew his words were about as intimidating as a kitten's mewl. However Eddward just stood there, not a trace of emotion on his face while he analyzed Kevin, like usual. Cold and calculated, it seemed like those were the only to constants to Eddward.

"Well were you just planning on loitering outside the door all evening or were you actually going to come in? If I recall correctly, my invitation was to the locker room, not the hallway." Edd finally declared through the silence. Kevin nodded, taking a hesitent step towards the doors. Eddward moved to the side allowing Kevin to make it through the entrance. The door slammed hard behind them and Kevin flinched instinctively as the sound echoed through the empty pool hall.

"This way." Edd directed, pointing past Kevin to the locker room door for the boys. He made his way over ahead of Kevin, and Kevin just watched his back as he followed.

'He doesn't seem.. Angry...' Kevin thought, gratefully. 'In fact, he doesn't even seem irritated. He almost seems...' Eddward was holding the door open again and ushered Kevin inside the locker room before closing the door behind him, a tiny click signifying its task was complete. Kevin glanced around the room, it seemed rather ordinary maybe even cleaner than the other locker rooms the school had. He noticed strange labels placed on almost every surface distinguishing what each and every object was, as if it wasn't already obvious. The blue seats in front of the lockers read "BENCH" and all the curtained stalls were labeled "SHOWER." Each blue-gray locker that was currently in use had the name of its respective owner christened onto them in large capital font, all others simply read "LOCKER." Eddward's fell in the middle of them all, the two surrounding lockers remained empty. 'Even his locker seems like a lone wolf...' Kevin thought, 'Surrounding itself with similar structures just to blend in.'

"Why is everything in here labeled?" Kevin finally asked after taking in the room.

Eddward pursed his lips briefly, "Because I like to keep things orderly." He finally admitted. Kevin hadn't noticed that Eddward was carefully placing his belongings into a medium-sized gym bag. Even that had been carefully labeled, and all the articles inside placed in or under their respective tag. Kevin just nodded, for once it seemed Eddward had done something that actually wasn't hurting anybody, so he didn't feel the need to push or inquire futher.

Eddward finished with his bag and zipped it closed then leaned his back against a row of empty lockers and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Only Eddward's lips were visible from underneath his hat, and they had fallen into their trademark thoughtful scowl, making the rest of his expression unreadable. Kevin remained by the door, standing awkwardly and twirling his thumbs around one another, waiting. Silence overwhelmed everything and Eddward had become so still Kevin was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep. He cleared his throat in an attempt to break the quiet.

"Kevin," Eddward blurted out suddenly in response. He pulled his hat back, wearing an expression Kevin couldn't quite place anymore. Edd didn't look angry, nor happy, nor playful, he didn't even look intimidating and not particularly sad. The closest thing Kevin could relate it to was...desperate? Perhaps even frantic.

"Edd..." Kevin responded, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. Everything felt a little bit too casual. It wasn't like Eddward to simply call Kevin by name. There was always something else, some taunting nickname. Eddward sighed and slammed his fists against the lockers behind him, causing Kevin to jump back. "No!" Edd burst out. "I'm tired of waiting, I wish you could remember. It is unbearably agitating that you can go about every day without any recollection of me in the first place, but have you truly forgotten everything? My face, my voice even the name you gave me yourself?"

Kevin stared at him, confused. "...you don't want me to call you Edd?"

"No," Edd huffed back as he crossed his arms over his chest and pulled back his chin. 'Is he... SULKING?' Kevin thought, bemused. 'I can't believe Eddward is sulking because I called him Edd.. Lots of people do though, and he never snaps at them..' Kevin shook his head. "Well.. What should I call you? Eddward?" He offered.

"No." Edd replied.

"Then what?" Kevin sighed. "Am I supposed to come up with a stupid nickname for you are something?" He was getting a little frustrated now. This was nearly as aggravating as being harassed.

"Perhaps." Edd responded nonchalantly. Kevin rolled his eyes. 'What's his deal? He's been treating me like crap since we first met, he threatened me and my friends, intimidated me into coming here where he could easily beat me up and now he wants me to NICKNAME him?' "This is ridiculous." Kevin blurted before he realized he had said the last part out loud. His stomach felt like it had dropped into his feet. Eddward was sure to get angry now that Kevin had basically insulted him. All of his muscles tightened reflexively in preparation to deflect any sudden hits. Oddly, nothing happened, Kevin allowed his body to relax enough for him to cautiously open one eye. Eddward had just kept sulking, staring intently at the ground as if he were having a contest with it.

"Tch." The tiny noise was the only response Eddward gave Kevin, which irritated him for some reason.

"Are you just gonna sit there pouting like a 5-year-old all day or are you going to give me a real answer?" Kevin was surprised by how empowered he felt with Edd's current demeanor. If all Eddward was capable of was sulking right now, Kevin felt like he could say anything and probably not get pounded for it.

"Five..." Edd finally looked up from the floor. "No... It was around 8..." Hope shimmered in his eyes as he gazed over at Kevin expectantly. This only served to make Kevin all the more confused. "Kevin," Eddward called out to him again and stood up from against the lockers. Quickly, Edd crossed the length of the locker room until he was right in front of Kevin, towering over him like usual. "I implore you..." Kevin felt anxious. The desperation was back in Edd's voice, he stared down at Kevin so intensely it felt invasive. Kevin briefly wondered if you really could burn a hole through someone with a gaze. 'What could Eddward want so desperately he'd reduce himself to begging?' As if he'd heard Kevin's thoughts, Edd held up his hand and curled his fingers in until only his pinky was out. Kevin stared at Edd's hand in a confused daze. Suddenly his eyes went wide as he remembered his dream.

'There's no way...' Kevin thought. He refused to associate any cherished childhood memories with Eddward. He quickly shook the idea out of his head. "What is this? Some kind of joke? We're not little kids." Kevin spat out and pushed Eddward's hand away.

"Please." That was all Eddward said in response, moving his hand back to Kevin.

"No!" Kevin retorted, moving Eddward's hand again. Edd didn't take kindly to this a second time. Now his expression shifted, his eyes went cold and he grabbed Kevin's shoulders and pushed his back against the lockers.

"I am no longer asking you politely, Pumpkin." He growled, squeezing Kevin's shoulders. "It's absurd. You can't seriously have no memory, I refuse to believe it. I've stood by, going along with your amnesiac ploy for long enough. I'll force you to remember if I have to."

"I said I don't know what you're talking about! Leave me alone, Double D!" To Kevin's surprise, Eddward relinquished his grip on Kevin and pulled away, covering his hand with his face. Kevin relaxed, his shoulders slumping down as he watched a wide grin creep across Eddward's face. An almost manically laughter followed soon after. It was a strange sight, surely reflective of some horror movie. A maniac bursting into fit of psychotic giggles before he makes a kill. Even though Kevin felt he should probably be worried somehow, the laughter itself sounded somehow familiar; felt familiar.

"Finally.." Edd breathed, his hands fell to his side as his laughter quieted down into a long sigh. He looked back at Kevin with an actual smile, the same expectant-looking smile he had given Kevin when he first knocked on his door back in Spring, last year.

"Double D..?" Kevin repeated. The nickname flowed off of his tongue, like a word from a foreign language he'd forgotten he knew.

"Perhaps you don't recall everything. But it is certainly a start. Now I know, without a doubt, that you can remember. You will." Kevin couldn't quite tell whether he preferred Edd's menacing smile to this new expectant one but for the moment, he wasn't getting hit, so he would deal with it. He titled his head to the side, watching Eddward excitedly pace back and forth in thought. "I just need to find out what exactly triggered it..." His mumbles became incoherent. Kevin shrugged, "Look... It's getting kind of late... I think we should both call it a night." He suggested. Eddward nodded without saying a word, slung his bag over his should and rushed past Kevin out the door, continuing to mumble to himself under his breath.

It was getting dark when Kevin was able to make it back to his house. His mother was sitting in the living room nervously biting her nail. She jumped up as soon as the door opened and rushed into the hall, "Kevin you had me so worried!" she exclaimed. "Another couple hours and I would have called the police. Why didn't you tell me you were going to be late? None of your friends knew where you were. Have you eaten yet?" Question after question came in a barrage. Kevin's mind couldn't keep up with all of them but luckily his stomach saved him the trouble. A loud rumbled gurgled out and stopped his mother's interrogation. "Of course you haven't eaten. I'll reheat the dinner now, but don't think you're off the hook! It's going to be dinner, homework and BED for you tonight!" Kevin huffed, but he obliged. It was true he'd forgotten to contact his mother, so it made sense that she would be worried.

Meanwhile, at the end of the street, in a mostly dark house, a single light shone through the back bedroom window. Eddward sat in his room, only a tabletop lamp illuminating his textbooks. There was a small yellow sticky note next to his arm with a single sentence scrawled in messy cursive.

"Working late.

-Mom"

The scratching noises of Edd's pencil scraping across the paper was the only noise in the room until Eddward gently closed his book and made his way to his bathroom to complete his usual pre-bed routine. Teeth brushed for two minutes exactly, then rinse with mouth wash, thirty second on the left and right. Wash his hands and face and dry gently. Then Eddward made his way to his bed, stopping by his desk to turn off his lamp. He pulled his blankets up to his chin before letting his head roll to the side and closing his eyes. It was easy to fall asleep when your house was as quiet as a grave and Eddward's slow quiet breaths proved this.