Author's Note: It amuses me how every chapter I write keeps getting longer and longer LOL. I don't know if maybe some of you really like this fact? Since there's more to read? Ehehehehe….

Once again thank you for any reviews or comments and for all those likes and follows! It makes me happy to know that my first little KevEdd fic seems to be doing well so I am definitely motivated to continue until the very end *determined fist*

I hope those of you who have continued reading are pretty content with my ability to post updates in such a short time xD because...well...that'll come to an end pretty soon. I know where I want to get to in this fic, but I just need some time to really figure out the "meat" haha. Plus my lectures are starting to get a liiiittle complicated, and midterms are coming...anyway, ENJOY THE KEVEDD FLUFF M'DEARS.

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NAT belongs to c2ndy2c1d !

Ch. 4: Safety Blanket

The rest of the day went by rather uneventful. They managed to find a mall nearby, nothing big, but with enough things to get them distracted and do some shopping if need be. They also found a few cafés in the area and Double D thought they would be perfect for studying in the evening after classes; he could get tea and a snack while reviewing!

Nat was a presence everywhere he went, gaining stares from girls – and a few boys – at every corner. Unsurprising to Kevin he even got a girl's number without even trying when they went into a fucking Foot Locker. Nat of course, being the flirtatious gentleman he is, humbly accepted her digits and completely enchanted her before leaving.

"It would appear you are a natural with women, Nathan." Edd said with a soft giggle.

Nat looked at him and then back to the small slip of paper with the girl's phone number and stuffed it in his jean pocket, "I have natural charm. I'm totally irresistible!" he turned his body to the shorter male and lifted his chin as he spoke.

Green and golden-brown met as Double D looked at Nat's face as his was being held. He laughed and turned to face forward again, "Oh of course Nathan! What a smooth Casanova you are."

"Ya know it!" Nat popped his collar and flashed a bright, proud smile, "But there's one person I don't think I've been able to sweep off their feet yet."

Upon hearing this even Kevin had to turn and look at his boisterous friend to see if he was serious or not. He seemed like it, which took Kevin by surprise because he wasn't aware that Nat even had a serious crush.

"Really now? Well, I'm sure you will succeed in your romantic endeavors Nathan" Said Double D with a friendly smile, "you're hard not to like! I will admit that your humor does take some getting used to, but you're a good person."

It took everything Nat had in him not to hug Edd, 'He's such a sweetheart!'; even if the other boy didn't see him in the same light, his words meant that he did have a chance right? Double D thought he was nice. Double D liked him.

Nat perked up once again and merrily joked around with Double D as they continued walking around the mall. Kevin lingered behind a bit, watching the two laugh and get along so well. He knew Nat never had a problem with Double D, but he didn't know they would warm up to each other so quickly. Nat's eyes were bright as he looked onto the beanie-clad teen, and Edd's own eyes were joyful as well when he spoke to Nat. 'Guess I should be pretty happy my best friend and childhood dork are getting along…but I wonder if…What if Nat…nah it couldn't possible be like that! He's totally not Nat's type.'

"Kevin? Are you alright?"

"Wha? Yeah, yeah I'm fine dork. Let's just keep movin'." He gave Edd a small smile and Edd nodded, giving him a smile of his own. 'I like it when he smiles at me.' He thought to himself as he walked faster to catch up with his friends.

A car ride later the boys made it back to their dormitories. It was only about 5:30 p.m. and they still had some time before it became dark. Nat and Kevin had no problem with staying out until very late, but they both knew Double D was another story.

Right as they got out of Nat's car, his phone played the song of its people, chanting "Ch-ch-ch-cherries on top man B-butterscocth jam P-put me some nuts in the cups That's what's up man That's my ice cream" gloriously into the late summer day. Nat quickly took his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Yyyyyello…Ah, hey boss…yeah….ok…o-oh wait what?...now?!...alright…yes, I understand…I'll be there as soon as I can Mr. Cullen…yes, goodbye." He ended the call and slumped against his car's hood, "aawwww maaaannnnnn! I gotta take the stupid night shift at work! The idiot who was supposed to be working it apparently got smashed last night and he's still hungover as fuck."

"How irresponsible of him!"

"I know!" exclaimed the teal-haired boy, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"Oh please Nat, don't play saint. Like you haven't gotten completely wasted before." Laughed Kevin, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Ey, I never denied it. I do however refrain from drinking my brain away when I know I have work the next day! Still need the Benjamin's to have some fun ya know?" Nat sighed and stood up form the hood, walking over to the driver's seat once more. "Anyway, guess I'll see you guys later. Bye Double Cutie!" Nat patted Edd's head before getting into the car, then in just a few moments he was gone, leaving Edd and Kevin alone in the empty parking lot.

"Well, I guess I'll be going back th-"

"You wanna watch a movie or something?" Asked Kevin without even turning to look at Double D.

"O-oh, well, if it's not problematic with you then it is quite alright with me."

"Choice. I got some movies in my laptop we could watch; I think even you will be able to find something you'd like."

"Even me? What's that supposed to mean?"

It was then that Kevin looked down at the boy to make eye contact; he laughed and continued, "well no offense Double Dweeb but I meant it in the way that I know you're all about educational videos and documentaries and shit, so I-"

"That does not mean I do not appreciate a good movie when I see one Kevin. In fact, Ed, Eddy and I used to have movie marathons at Ed's place every Sunday, and not once did we watch something of the educational sort. Zombies and Aliens made up most of our list I'll have you know!" The ravenette cocked his hip to the left and crossed his arms over his chest. He might've been labeled as the nerd all his life but that didn't mean he never got his nose out of a book!

Kevin raised an eyebrow, "Zombies and aliens eh? Huh, didn't know you had it in you to go through movies like those." He said, amused at Double D's sudden sassiness.

"Oh I am more than capable of controlling my fears when it comes to cinema! I know that they are merely movies and productions of the imagination and even folklore or literature. I may not be as big as you or Nathan but I am no delicate flower either."

Kevin laughed, it wasn't a mocking laugh, but a genuinely amused laugh, which made Double D put his defenses down again. Kevin put a hand on Double D's shoulder and continued, "okay macho man, let's watch a scary movie then! I downloaded a few new ones I haven't seen yet. You pick."

"Very well then! Just try not to shriek like a little girl." Said Double D teasingly as they started to walk towards their building.

"Only if you promise not to cling onto my arm to protect you fwom the scawy ghosties." Joked Kevin.

"Ha! surely I will be the one to end up comforting you my friend."

Once they got up to the 5th floor, they reached Kevin's dorm room and went inside, his room was identical to Edd's, only facing the other way. Kevin went over to his desk and turned on his laptop; as he waited for everything to finish loading and setting up he looked back to an awkwardly standing Edd by the door.

"You can sit down you know?"

"Oh, thank you…uhm…where should I sit though?" Besides the bed and desk chair, the only other seat was a small, purple bean bag in one corner of the room. Edd was about to start walking towards the bean bag when Kevin spoke up.

"My bed. Duh. How else would we be able to comfortably watch the movie?" Kevin's desk was parallel to his bed, so if the two boys where to sit with their backs against the wall, they'd be able to enjoy the laptop as a small TV.

"Alright…" Double D gingerly approached the bed and sat at the edge.

A few moments later Kevin double clicked on a folder labeled Movies, then an inner folder labeled #2Spooky, and moved out of the way so that his companion could see the wide selection.

"These are all the scary/thriller movies I have so far, and these 4 are the newest ones."

Double D stood up and got closer to the desk, "hmm…" He bit his lower lip as he pondered which movie to choose, 'Chucky? Oh god no, even Ed didn't like it…Saw, The Grudge…The Ring…hmm…the new ones…oh!'. He pointed a slim finger at the screen, "This one!"

"Fragile? Oki dokes." Kevin double clicked the movie and hit the pause button to let it load some more and to give him time to take out any snacks.

"Let's see…I got…some skittles…chips…oh rad! I do have some popcorn!... annnnd…chexmix."

Double D preferred healthier snacks, but he had always had that damned sweet tooth of his that always managed to get him and his best friends into trouble. 'oh the things we did for a simple jawbreaker'.

"They all sound alright to me. Do you have any water perchance?"

Kevin went over to the little fridge to check, "Yeup." He promptly took out a water bottle for Edd and a can of pepsi for himself.

The dorm rooms were a good size, and because they entered the college under scholarships, they were able to get into the newest, single dorms. They could be rather expensive otherwise, so Double D was more than grateful for the privacy and convenience they also gave, like their own, small, individual bathrooms and tiny kitchen to the side.

Eventually everything was set up; a bowl full of chexmix sat next to Double D on the bed while he held to the bag of skittles, he lowered his room's lights and also got out a big blanket for extra comfort against the hard, cold wall, and finally he pressed play on the movie, taking his spot next to Double D. Only the snacks separated them now.

The movie was turning out to be more unnerving than Edd expected; the psychological toying was only making it worse and it just kept getting darker. Before he knew it he had covered himself with the blanket, clutching on to its sides as it hung over him like a cloak.

Kevin wasn't doing any better than his friend; he was trying so hard not to show how on edge he really was from the movie. No way was he making a fool out of himself in front of his little brother. He had also taken hold of the other end of the blanket, mimicking Edd and placing the comforting cloth above his own head protectively. He shifted his eyes to where Edd sat, and noticed him playing with a crunchy pretzel in his hand. "Guess he's not as brave as he thought huh? Hehe."

A loud crash from the movie made them both jump in place, and Edd let out a nervous giggle once he recovered (more or less.)

"This has proven to be quite a good selection, don't you think?"

"Y-yeah, it's a good one dork. Getting scared yet?"

"N-no, of course not! Don't tell me you're already frightened Kevin?"

"Hell no! I can handle this. Like you said it's just a moJESUS FUCK WHAT IS THAT?!"

Double D turned his head back to the laptop on the desk so quickly that he thought it was a miracle he didn't snap anything. A deformed presence was making it's appearance on-screen, now that there were only about 45 minutes left to the movie, things were reaching every climax possible, along with some clarification to the storyline.

"I-I DON'T KNOW."

A shriek was heard from the dead creature, a woman it seemed. The two boys began to quiver under the blanket, holding on to their ends for dear life. A chase commenced throughout the crumbling hospital, and of course the heroine thought she was safe once she lost sight of the horrid woman. But as scary movies come to show, that is rarely ever the case and sooner or later, in a situation like that, some shit's gonna go down.

Double D bit his lip in anticipation of what was surely to come.

Soon

Any second now…

"AAAAGGGHHH!"

"NOPE."

The girl turned and came face to face with the ghost, who screamed and neared her as she fell down on the floor. The two boys screamed as well, their brave front came down in one quick second and they covered themselves more with the fluffy, blue blanket of safety.

Double D shut his eyes tight as he flinched back into the safety of the blanket, but it felt warmer than before, and…sturdier? 'that's preposterous…sheets of fabric cannot feel solid, not like this…'

Kevin had also shut his eyes as he cocooned himself, burying his face against soft wool…but…it didn't feel quite the same…

Double D looked up to see what he was leaning against, and Kevin moved back a bit to check the foreign surface against his cheek.

Eyes widened, and cheeks blared red, once the jock and the dork realized that they had unknowingly practically cuddled against each other under the blanket. The room was dim, but some light was still able to come through into the blanket as it only covered down to their chins.

Double D was paralyzed at the sudden proximity with his former bully and current friend, and all Kevin could do was swallow a heavy gulp as he looked directly at those lively green eyes.

'The dweeb looks…really cute right now with all that blushing…oh fuck what am I saying…again.'

'I never realized how many freckles actually covered Kevin's cheeks and nose…oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear, I'm so close to him!'

Neither of them moved a single inch, but the world around them kept on going; the movie temporarily forgotten due to shock. The thoughts swarming the redhead's mind were having a war amongst themselves, all the way from "Damnit I'm missing the movie!" to "Kiss him. Now. Do it."

It was that last one that tied his stomach into an impossible knot.

A honking car from outside is what brought them out of their trances, and they quickly turned away from each other, utterly embarrassed for their reactions, or rather, lack thereof.

Double D tried to control his breathing, which had turned short and shallow, and he could still feel his whole face being warm. Kevin had to gently slap one of his cheeks a little to make sure he was still alive, because he felt like his heart would've given out any moment.

Double D cleared his throat, trying to avoid as much awkward silence as possible and to move on from the experience.

"O-h no, it w-would seem that we missed some of the uh…good stuff" He reached up to his hat and pretended to fix it further onto his head, just to have a bit of a distraction.

"I uh… yeah guess so…uhm…I should…I should rewind it." In a flash Kevin stood up from the bed and walked over to his laptop. 'Get a hold of yourself man. It's just Double Dweeb. Just an old buddy. And a little bro. nothing else. Calm down…WHY DID I WANT TO KISS MY BROTHER?!'

Soon enough the movie ended, and the two boys sat in complete silence as the credits started to scroll up the screen.

"Told you I'd pick a good one." Said Double D, giving Kevin a small smile; but his eyes quickly shifted back to his hands on his legs when Kevin looked down at him.

"Heh, yeah; guess you did, dork." He gave his own nervous smile and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. He looked over to his alarm clock, which indicated it was now 7:45 pm. 'Hmm…still kinda early…what now…'

"Uhm…It's still early…d-do you wanna leave now or do you wanna watch another movie?" Asked Kevin sheepishly

Double D blinked hard as he thought it over, 'I do not wish to leave yet…however that little moment under the blanket was just terribly embarrassing!...W-would it be awkward now?...he did ask though…so he seems to be ok now...'

"I can stay for another movie. If you want me to that is."

The jock chuckled, "Hence why I even asked ya in the first place…hmm… I think we've had enough horror for the evening; how about something more…happy?"

Double D smiled and nodded, "Agreed. What are the choices this time?"

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours, and although Double D had agreed to stay only for one more movie, they had ended up watching 3. After Fragile, they watched G.I. Joe – Kevin loved all the action, and was amused to discover Edd actually really liked Snake Eyes – then they watched Ted – which the smaller boy deemed completely inappropriate at first, but even he couldn't help but laugh out loud in the end – and finally they decided to go with a cartoon, agreeing on Finding Nemo.

It was completely dark outside now, coupled with the dimly lit room, the comfy bed, and the warm blanket, and Double D was now barely able to keep his eyes open. He liked to sleep early so that he could secure the necessary 8 hours of sleep for the day ahead; and the more the merrier if it meant having a fresh, rested mind for his classes. Even during vacation, it was a habit that was very hard to break after so many years of following.

Some time between Dori and Marlin bouncing on the jellyfishes and them meeting Crash, Kevin felt a weigh come upon his left shoulder. He looked down, casting his eyes upon his friend's famous black hat. He could feel a light blush starting to creep up the bridge of his nose. He turned back to the alarm clock, and it was now 12:35 a.m.

Kevin usually fell asleep sometime around 1, so he himself was beginning to feel his eyelids grow heavy. 'I wonder how long he's actually been asleep.' Kevin smiled to himself as he looked over Edd's face. His soft, rounded nose, clear skin – which for a boy, was a bit surprising to Kevin – and his peaceful expression as he slumbered against him; his head positioned comfortingly against the crook of his neck.

Kevin was beginning to feel really tired, and really comfortable by now. He licked his lips and gently bit the bottom one as he ever so cautiously lowered his chin and cheek to rest on top of the other boy's head. 'Huh…this feels…kinda nice actually.'

He yawned.

Closed his eyes.

And quickly fell asleep, with his own peaceful smile, feeling the extra warmth of the body next to him, with both of them wrapped up in a blanket, and Nemo keeping them company from his laptop.