Morning light shone in through the window, seemingly brighter than it had ever been in Kevin's whole life. Kevin was surprised by how quickly the night had passed, filled with dreams of the times he and Eddward had played together. A sudden rapping on the window behind the head of his bed pulled him back to reality. He hoisted himself up on his elbows and twisted his body around to peer out. Eddward's eyes stared back at him while he stood outside, towering over Kevin like a shadow on the wall. Edd nodded over his shoulder, gesturing for Kevin to come outside then turned around and trudged off towards the sidewalk. Kevin shifted underneath his covers and dragged himself out of bed, there was a lot to talk about, no doubt. Another part of him was aching to apologize as well but was still trying to figure out a way to do so. Everything felt a bit awkward as he dressed himself, how would he even go about apologizing? A simple, "I'm sorry I forgot we were pretty much best friends at one point," seemed a little bit... Uncaring. Kevin pulled on his favorite pair of sneakers, broken in for years until they formed perfectly to his foot and trudged down the stairs.
He found his found his mother peering through the curtains in the living room, then she'd let them fall back into place, pace anxiously around the sofa and tentatively pull the curtains back to gaze outside again. Kevin cleared his throat loudly and watched as his mother jerked away from the curtains in surprise. "Kevin!" She exclaimed, turning around with a guilty looking expression on her face. "Th-there's a boy outside! He's standing in front of our house. Do you know him? He looks a bit... Intimidating." She pulled the curtains back one more time and stole another glance at Eddward. His mother's reaction threw Kevin off for a bit, there was a slight relief that came with knowing his mother hadn't recognized Eddward either. Granted, from her perspective, which was most likely just Eddward's back, she probably wouldn't have been able to tell without seeing his face. Kevin thought about how he might explain yesterday to his mom, he didn't know how his mother might react knowing Eddward was back in the neighborhood, or how upset she might be to learn he'd been harassing Kevin the entire time. For the time being he decided to dance around the subject a bit Eddward was already waiting and this just wasn't the time to explain everything.
"Yeah. I know him. It's okay." He decided this was the safest and most vague answer he could give without raising his mother's suspicions.
"Oh, well, so long as he's one of your friends..." She let go of the curtains and let them drift back into place as she walked over to Kevin and pinched his cheek. "Be safe, sweetie. I love you."
"I love you too, Mom." Kevin replied, a slight blush creeping along his face. Any doubt that he was anything less than a momma's boy was squelched away as he rubbed his cheated in an overexaggerated manner. He headed for the door and waved over his shoulder to her as he stepped outside, the warm rays of the sun immediately soaking into his clothes and warming his body. He drew in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Well, here goes nothing, I guess..." he mumbled encouragingly to himself and made his way to Eddward.
Eddward turned to face Kevin as soon as he heard the front close and footsteps approaching, scrapping on the pavement as Kevin had a bad habit of dragging his feet when he was nervous or upset. It was the little quirks like that Eddward probably remembered the most. He offered a small wave as Kevin got a little closer, but his face still lacked any real type of expression so Kevin couldn't gauge what kind of mood Eddward might be in. "A wonderful morning. Wouldn't you agree, Pumpkin?" Edd offered as upbeatly as he could manage, but the words felt too forced and an awkward tension filled the air as a result.
"...uhh... Yeah..." Kevin offered in response, diverting his gaze to the ground. Another sigh escaped his lips and he clenched his fists tightly. "I just-"
"Perhaps we should go somewhere more private." Eddward's suggestion cut Kevin off abruptly causing him to swallow his courage once more. A door slammed in the distance and the Kevin realized this would probably look rather odd to anyone in the neighborhood, given how the two of them interacted at school. He also imagined his mother was most likely creeping right through the living rook curtains again to try and gauge what type of relationship Kevin had with the intimidating boy at the end of their driveway. Kevin could only imagine what type of gang related activity his mom was surely thinking he was involved in now. Edd was right, it was too awkward and exposing to even try to talk with each other here.
"Good idea," Kevin nodded. The two of them quickly scanned the surrounding area and then tried to walk as casually and unsuspiciously as they could towards Eddward's house. After one last survey of the area to make sure no one had seen them they crept into the woods out back and disappeared into the underbrush. Familiar nostalgia washed over Kevin as he recalled the long evenings spent in the woods with Edd, listening to him gab over every type of insect he found. For a brief moment, Kevin wondered if Eddward felt anything trudging through these woods as well, or if he'd simply chosen this path because the other neighborhood kids didn't go into the woods. Soon the faint sound of rushing water made Kevin realize there was no way Eddward had taken this path by mistake, Kevin was sure it was most likely the same path they had always taken before as well. The little creek where they first met soon came into view and a pang of guilt pulsed through Kevin's heart once again. Kevin let his mind wander back to the idea that Eddward had to have felt something walking through the woods again, but his face didn't betray an such emotions. His eyes were calculating, but he didn't seem sure what of and his body remained stiff while he tried to decide.
Eddward sighed loudly, he was trying to figure out what to say and unless he knew exactly what he wasn't going to be able to say anything. There was a certain dialogue, something to dress up an otherwise simple statement, but it wasn't coming to him. Instead his head was spinning, only two words came to mind, and he couldn't decide if these were the only words he could offer. This seemed like as good a time as any to apologize, and Kevin deserved to hear it after all the senesless torture Edd had put him through, and for what? He swallowed hard, mustered up his courage and opened his mouth;
"I'm sorry!" Both boys blurted out, nearly simultaneously. They stared at each other, sharing an astonished look of disbelief before Kevin snorted and the two of them burst into laughter. After a short while the two of them settled down a bit and Eddward cleared his throat matter-of-factly. He glanced down at Kevin, briefly wondering when his perspective had changed from looking up to him to gazing down at him. It was like a surreal reminder of how time can change just about everything, even people.
"But seriously..." Kevin interrupted Edd's train of thought, and Edd focused his attentions back on reality. Kevin kicked lightly at the air, his lips pursed as he contemplated what to say next. "I am sorry... I'm a terrible excuse for a friend." He hung his head guiltily and trudged over to the river, standing at the edge of the shallow waters that had once seemed so deep. He wondered if the water, which used to come up to nearly his hip, would even make it up half if calf now. His body felt heavy, and he allowed gravity to pull him down, sinking down to sit in front of the river. "Well... ex-friend, I guess..." He sighed, disheartened.
Eddward strode to Kevin's side and stared blankly ahead. He remained standing while Kevin sat down and pulled up little blades of grass to toss into the water. Silence filled up all the empty space. Kevin decided to steal a glance up at Eddward, and realized fully for the first time in a while just how different the two of them had become. In their childhood Kevin had been able to read Edd like a book, every sideways glance that meant so much more, everyone hitch in his breath as he remembered his own parents when Kevin's mom took care of them, and even the tiny sniffles he thought he'd surpressed when he'd spend the night at Kevin's house. Now Edd had an almost impenetrable mask on, a mask that he'd acquired since the day he returned home, anxiously awaiting Kevin's excitement and amaze, only to be blown off for his replacements. When had Eddward learned to hide his emotions so well? And why had he deemed it necessary to do so? Kevin's thoughts wandered away with him again as he continued to think of Edd's former self, a little bit of a crybaby who was easily embarrassed and constantly attempting to find the right, simpler words for Kevin. Kevin had secretly admired Eddward's vast vocabulary in their childhood, though his pride would never allow him to admit it after teasing him so relentlessly the first day they had met. Then Kevin recalled how much he had enjoyed the more open and positive Edd, despite the unfair circumstances he had been set with as a child he remained bright. Kevin had felt a little guilty for his own bitterness at times, he may not have had the best father in the world, but when Edd was around he was able to leave all of that behind him. He felt even more grateful for his mother, as she was able to fill a whole left in all of them, but overall Edd seemed to have saved Kevin from a dark road that he appeared to have wandered down himself instead. What bothered Kevin the most was that whatever Edd was going through was probably so much worse than anything Kevin had experienced, something so dramatic that it could have changed his chipper upbeat friend into the sullen emotionless statue he was now. Wasn't there anything Kevin could do for him in return?
Eddward huffed loudly, causing Kevin to snap back from his reminiscing. He wondered how much time had passed while he was thinking and glanced at the watch on his wrist. Apparently the two of them had been sitting in silence for almost an hour already and Eddward was still gazing out into the distance, waiting patiently for some type of interaction. Although Kevin couldn't be too sure, he had the feeling the look on Eddward's face leaned more towards his usual angry but calculating glare. The corners of his mouth were pulled down into a scowl and his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Despite all this he was still standing quietly, the water from the river reflecting back in his blue-green eyes. Kevin quickly tried to backtrack to anything Eddward might have mentioned that Kevin missed which could have cause his irritation now but he had been too distracted. If Eddward had said anything Kevin definitely missed it. "Edd, I'm sorry-" He started before Eddward cut in.
"Well," Eddward finally spat out. "I suppose there was no helping it. I made my departure quite suddenly. It was also considerably obvious that we had been drifting apart as companions for some time." The emphasis Eddward put into his words made Kevin feel uneasy. Everything he was saying definitely had a bite to it, and it was definitely phrased in a very accusing way. Kevin hadn't really entertained the thought, but he realized Edd may have started to feel left behind long before he returned home.
"Wait, Double D!" He tried to intervene, to defend himself, to make sure Edd knew that Kevin had never had any intentions of making Eddward feel secluded or forgotten. Once again however, his words fell short.
"Do not call me by so childish a nickname." Eddward snapped, forcing Kevin to swallow his words. Eddward pulled his hat down over his eyes and drew in a deep breath. For a split second Kevin could swear he saw his lips quivered before before his jaw clenched tightly and his angry scowl returned. "Regardless of what happened in the past between us, I feel I've received significant closure from our little talk. Opposed to where we once stood before, I can see clearly now on where she stand now. I can only blame myself, really, it was too much to assume we could possibly patch the distance that has grown between the two of us. Perhaps this is for the best, as now I'm able to accept the undeniable fact that we have drifted apart." Words were spilling from Edd's mouth at a mile a minute and Kevin had difficulty keeping up but for this brief moment, he could feel the old Edd seeping back out. Talking as quickly as he could to skimp over whatever it was he was truly feeling, which Kevin could only assume his eyes were portraying as hurt which is why Edd covered them.
"Edd, please hold on!" He reached for Eddward's hand, but Edd pulled it back so quickly that he nearly lost his balance.
"I'll take my leave now," Eddward blurted out and readjusted his hat. He bolted past Kevin as his long legs pushed him back into the woods where they had come from before. In no time at all he was gone, like a shadow consumed by the darkness. Kevin stared in disbelief as he watched Eddward's back disappear into the foliage and trees. 'Was that a threat? That totally sounded like a threat... And what the hell for? He went off the deep end so quickly! What could I have done?' Kevin leaned over and gripped his head, pushing his thumbs into his temples to try and ease his mind. He wracked his brain for any sort of explanation as to what had just happened but his brain was having trouble linking his once gentle nerdy friend to this short fused new version. There seemed to be only one explanation he kept returning to. 'I guess... This is just the way it is. We've become different people now.' A tugging sensation inside his chest kept him from competely trusting what his head kept telling him. The memory of his old friend disappearing overwhelmed him in a whole new respect. Suddenly, after years of coping with Eddward having moved away, Kevin truly felt like he'd lost his friend. He stood and picked up a rock, angrily tossing it into the river before turning around and heading back to his own home. Frustration wracked his joints causing him to move sluggishly. When he returned home, he faintly recalled his mother greeting him, but he pulled himself up the stairs and collapsed into his bed instead. He slept so deeply he even missed his mother's gentle knock when dinner was ready.