Author's Note: Well folks, here it is! Chapter 5 of Leap of Faith! I've been getting busier as my summer semester progresses, and I've also been having to deal with some emotional personal stuff, so inspiration and time didn't come very easily...BUT I DID IT. I DID THE THING
Thank you so much for your reviews and likes / follows! :') I'm happy to know you guys have been enjoying this fic. Also, yes I'm aware there's been a bit of a sudden boom with the NatxEddxKevin situation, but I still don't know the end result of my own fic, so it might be what's expected, it might not be what's expected, only time can tell hehe. Plus I enjoy a little one sided NatxEdd, it's tragically beautiful XD
ENJOY THE THING. IT IS NATXEDD THING.
My Tumblr: little - laughssassin . tumblr . com
Nat is c2ndy2c1d's OC!
Ch. 5: Childish Games
The next morning Edd woke up feeling rather comfortable and warm. 'My, my, I seem to have found quite the miraculous spot in bed last night', he thought to himself as a tired smile crept up the corners of his lips. A yawn escaped his mouth and with it his body began to stretch; he then noticed there was something heavy hanging over his stomach, 'Guess I fell asleep reading…wait a minute…wasn't I with K-'
Something tightened around his stomach and it broke his murky train of thought. Double D's eyes shot wide open and he looked down towards where the constricting feeling was coming from.
That's when he saw it, an arm covered by a green sleeve curled around his body, keeping him settled in place. The young boy started to get even more nervous with every inch his eyes began to move upward, following the trail of green fabric. An elbow, then a shoulder, then a neck, a chin, and finally a face. And what a face it was.
Edd had to quickly put a hand over his mouth to stifle the inhumane noise that was threatening to escape his system. He could feel his body temperature rising up ridiculously and his body became completely paralyzed. 'DEAR LORD! WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?'
Kevin's face rested just inches away from him on the pillow they apparently had ended up sharing. Double D could see the freckles again; every feature of Kevin's face was right there in front of him, and so close to his reach. Double D felt a sudden urge to do so, to reach up and at least slightly touch the redhead's cheek.
His right hand was slowly moving up, and he was just about to make contact when the other boy mumbled something in his sleep and his body begin to shift – and much to Double D's terror, if you could even call it that – pulling him closer.
'I-I CAN'T JUST STAY LIKE THIS. I NEED TO LEAVE. OH DEAR, OH DEAR WHAT DO I DO?' Edd panicked internally as his eyes darted all over the room, trying to think of a way to escape the sleeping boy's grip.
Just then, his golden opportunity came. Kevin yawned and rolled over to his other side, taking his arm off of Double D. The beanie wearing boy let out a breath of air he didn't even realize he had been holding in and slowly, carefully, got out of the bed; quietly opening Kevin's door and stepping out.
Double D stood against Kevin's door trying to stabilize himself. He was so terribly flustered.
"I really hope he didn't realize we ended up like that…I wonder what he would think…M-maybe since we seem to be on friendlier terms he'd forgive it…or would he be angry…oh my." He slid his hat further onto his head, partially covering his eyes as he shut them tight; the ghost of a blush lightly coloring his cheeks. Finally he huffed, and took his first step away from the door and towards his own room downstairs.
The rest of the days until class started went by in a flash, and Double D's two-faced excitement began to kick in; he was restless to see what his first college lecture would be like, but he also felt a little nervous over the fact that he would no longer only have 30 classmates, but up to 230! And developing a relationship with the professor would be a lot harder. But of course, being Double D, he was determined.
Alas that fateful Monday came. The alarm clock blared from Edd's nightstand and it made the boy's body shoot up from bed. 'Today's the day Eddward! Today you are officially-officially a college student! Oh how exciting!'
The little dork jumped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom to prepare himself for the day ahead; he had 2 lectures on Monday – Philosophy and Biology – and another 2 Wednesday and Thursday – English and Chemistry. After a quick shower, other mundane morning stuff, and getting dressed, Edd went to his little kitchen and got himself some cereal with milk, and an apple for the road.
As Edd made his way to his first lecture hall, he wondered what his friends were doing; what class did they have, would they be on time, would they like it, would they do well. He had to admit he worried a bit about Ed and Eddy, but from their phone call last night they had seemed to be doing just fine. Ed was taking English as well (The course was studying Science Fiction novels) and Eddy had a basic math class (He hated math, but he liked business, so he really had no choice).
Then naturally, his mind wondered over to the redhead and greenhead. What class would Kevin have today, would Nat be there too, what about their baseball practices?
Edd had been so unfocused by his thoughts that he didn't realize he had arrived to the front doors of the hall. He took a deep breath, and stepped inside, blending in with the stream of students who were also entering. Once inside, Double D looked around the room; some of the students looked way too young to be there (but for all he knew, they could've been way older than him), there were a few adults too, and some other students who looked quite mature, and almost intimidating.
He was making his way down the steps towards the front of the room to find a seat when he felt a hand firmly grasp his wrist. He turned around in shock, but once he saw who the other person was, he calmed down and smiled.
"Double Dude! It IS you!" Nathan's smile flashed brighter as he looked at the beanie-clad teen.
"Nathan! It is quite the relief to know I'll have someone familiar for class." Said Double D with a warm smile.
"Yeah! Sweet, I get to sit next to ya again! Just like in good ol' high school eh?"
"Indeed!" Giggled Edd.
Nat didn't want to sit at the front, but Edd didn't want to go to the back either, so the two boys began to playfully bicker was to which middle row was perfectly in the actual middle so that both their desires could be compromised on.
Being the first day, lecture went by quickly because it was mostly an intro to the class. Nat didn't even bothered paying attention for that hour, but Double D made sure to note down any information he deemed important, like the professor's office hours and such.
Lecture got dismissed and the students bolted out of their seats and out the doors, creating a human traffic jam; but Nat and Double D walked out calmly.
Nat glanced down at his friend as they walked and swallowed all the nerves he had inside of him, "Hey Double Dude, wanna hang out later?"
"Y-you want to hang out with me?"
"Yeap!"
"Oh, well, I-"
"Pleeaaaasssseeeeeee, with a cherry on top?"
Double D laughed when he saw Nat make a mock poutty face. "Alright Nathan, alright! Are you sure though? Don't you have baseball practice?"
"Nah, those don't start until Wednesday; so I got time for ya!"
"Very well then, where do you wish to go?"
"Hmm…I don't really know haha…How about we just hang around here? I saw a few good grub spots by the city, and it's a nice walk too"
"Alright, but I have another class in an hour or so."
"No worries Double Dude, so do I. I'll just meet you somewhere else; how about the coffee shop by the school library?"
"Sounds good. Will you be informing Kevin about our outing?" Edd didn't really mean anything by his question, he was just curious and thought that since Nat and Kevin were friends and he wasn't a usual hang-out-buddy for the teal-haired boy, that Nat might want to bring the other along as a sort of comfort-zone or middle-ground between them. But then the memory of the movie night, or more specifically, the morning that followed, that stopped his innocent train of thought and made it closer to a train wreck, and his cheeks suffered the heat of the accident.
Nat noticed the shift in color on Double D's face, and something inside him did not like it one bit, but he let it slide. He sighed and spoke, "Do you want me to? I was intending the hang out to be just between us two, haha."
"O-oh! No, no, there's no need! Just us two is fine." Said Edd, a tad embarrassed over the realization of how his question might've sounded to the other boy.
Nat grinned, "Awesome! I'll meet you at the coffee shop at…let's say…2?"
Edd nodded, "Okay, I'll be there. Uhm…should I give you my phone number just in case?"
'Score! I'm getting his digits!...Although I guess I could've simply asked him before…waaaayyy before…Still, ain't got nothin' to complain about!' His thoughts chimed in his head and he couldn't help but let his grin widen a bit more, "Y-yeah! That'd be a good idea! Wouldn't wanna be there waiting for you for hours only to realize I've been ditched."
"I-I would never do that!"
Nat giggled and patted Edd's head, "I'm just messin with ya, cutie."
After exchanging their cellphone numbers, the two friends parted ways and Edd made his trek to Biology while Nat went on to Economics.
Biology went along the same as his previous Philosophy lecture, although they actually started going over part of chapter 1, 'Why am I not surprised that a science course would get right to the point; still I'm rather enjoying myself. Nothing like an interesting chapter on bacteria to get you going for Biology!"
Notes were given and notes were taken, but alas, it was time to go. Edd was having a good day so far; he had woken up feeling well-rested, both lectures flew by without too many notes to be taken, and now he'd get to spend some time with Nat in the hopes of better befriending him.
Edd made his way to the coffee shop and stood by it to wait. By 2:05 Double D's tardy-pet peeve started to make itself known. If Nat had decided he didn't, or couldn't hang out with him anymore, surely he'd had the decency to call?
2:10 came and still no sign of his friend, so Double D took out his cellphone and searched through his contacts until he located who he was looking for.
To Nathan G.: Hello Nathan! Just to let you know I'm already here
Just a few moments later, his phone buzzed with an answer
To Double Cutie: Shit man I'm sorry! Prof wouldn't shut up and then I had to make a mad dash for the washroom. I'll be there ASAP so don't you dare move your cute little tooshy from the coffee shop!"
Double D rose his eyebrows at the text, 'Cute little whatnow?!' he asked himself. He puffed his cheeks at his phone and closed it.
He didn't have to wait for much longer after that. Nat showed up lightly panting to regain his breath and made his way to where Edd stood.
"Sorry about that bro! But at least I'm here now, so the fun can finally start! Ya hungry?"
"Yes actually; where would you like to go for lunch?"
"Well, I saw this froyo place on the way to the uni's neighbourhood area. Looked pretty yummy."
"Frozen yogurt for lunch?"
"Yeah! You got a sweet tooth don't cha?"
"O-oh well, yes I suppose I do." Edd said with a shy giggle, but then stopped to look up at Nat, "but how did you-"
"You and your buddies would constantly bust your asses for a jawbreaker. It earned you guys quite the reputation."
"Oh, of course." Answered Edd with a grumble as they began to walk. Gone were the days where he would help Eddy in nearly all of his idiotic scams to cheat the neighbourhood kids out of money, and things had gotten somewhat better for the 3 of them, especially after the incident with Eddy's older, neanderthal of a brother, who helped put everyone in the same victim-level.
Nat glanced down and smirked, "Don't sweat it Double Dude! Not like you're doing any of that shit now! You're pretty cool."
"I don't know if I could completely agree with me being "cool"…but thank you anyway Nathan." Answered the beanie-wearing boy with a gentle smile.
They reached the yogurt shop and wandered inside. There were so many flavors to choose from, but after some careful consideration, Double D went for vanilla, blueberry, and condensed milk and blueberries on top. Nat on the other hand, got salted caramel, vanilla, chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles, caramel, and walnuts. Double D took one look at Nat's creation, and then his own, and laughed to himself.
Nat got called up to the cashier first, and right when Edd was about to step towards the other cashier, Nat grabbed him by the collar of his cardigan.
"Woah, woah, woah; where do you think you're going?"
"T-to pay?"
"Don't sweat it bro; I got this." Said Nat with a smile. After both yogurts were weighed and priced, he took out a 20 paid for the both of them.
"Thank you very much for paying for me Nathan, but it really wasn't necessary!"
"Like I said earlier, don't sweat it, okay?" He took a spoonful of his froyo and hummed in pleasure, "You like it?"
Double D took as spoonful of his own cup of froyo, closing his eyes as he prepared to take the spoon into his mouth, only to be cut off on the last second, by Nat swooping into his personal space and taking the spoon into his own mouth"
"Nathan!"
"Whaaaat? You could always try and taste it from here too." He wiggled his eyebrows at the little genius, opening his mouth to show the mound of frozen yogurt resting on top of his tongue.
"Good lord!" Double D placed his hand under Nat's chin to close the boy's mouth, but he could feel the corners of his mouth tugging upwards into a smile, showing that he did somewhat appreciate his friend's silliness, "Manners please! And I think I'll stick to tasting my froyo directly from my cup, thank you."
"Suit yourself; but the offer still stands, for future reference."
"I'll keep that in mind." Joked Edd, as he took yet another spoonful from the cup, and this time – without closing his eyes – placed the spoon into his mouth. He contently hummed as he tasted the smooth, cold, sweet desert spread on his tongue.
"Told ya they'd be yummy! Hey, since it's so nice outside why don't we walk around?"
"Alright."
The duo exited the little shop and headed over towards the neighbourhood area of the campus. They had really nice apartments, and even an elementary school; the shopping area where the froyo shop was located also offered a good-sized supermarket, hair salon, restaurants, and other convenient locals, perfect for accommodating the various families, professors, and other young adults going to school PCU.
Because it was late summer, it was still warm outside, but every now and then a cool breeze would blow by and remind them of the change to come; but Double D enjoyed it, he loved the sunny, warm weather with a hint of coolness. It was perfect.
"It's perfect weather don't you think?"
Double D turned to look at Nat, who was busy smiling at the sky above them, "Yes, I was just thinking that actually. Still bright but not overdoing it."
"Yeah, there's no risk of dying from a heat stroke!" Laughed the taller male. They found a bench in the quaint park area and decided to sit down to finish their treat. They talked some more, and joked with each other – with each passing joke their laughs only grew in vigor.
They talked about what they hoped their philosophy course would and wouldn't be like, what they thought of their university so far, the dorms, people around them; nearly anything and everything was discussed by the two. The conversation shifted to their childhood, the cul-de-sac, and all their old friends.
"There was also this one time when Eddy thought it'd be a brilliant idea to sell butts! Made of soccer balls, or basketballs, or whatever circular figure we could get our hands on! Simply tying them onto our backs."
Nat's laughter boomed out of him, and he used a finger to remove a solitary tear that formed in the corner of one eye, "Oh my god seriously?! I guess Kevin forgot to mention that one! Hey didn't you guys also use the same prank setting like 5 times in a row?"
"Yes! Good lord that must've been one of the lamest scams ever! Of course I went along with it at the time, and every time we thought we finally succeeded, Johnny would pipe up, proclaiming we were harming whatever creature Ed was pretending to be, as if it were real!"
"Oh man! Yeah those scams were shitty and all, but I gotta give it to ya Double D, you 3 could get pretty fucking creative!"
"I must agree with you there Nathan. I'll give credit where credit is due, and although our scams were indeed preposterous, Eddy did manage to get quite inventive. There were times when I truthfully believe the plans would work."
"Yeah I bet." Said Nat with a giggle and a soft sight, "I'm having a good time with you dude."
Double D smiled, a faint blush grazing his cheeks, and looked down to his knees, "Thank you Nathan; I'm enjoying today as well. You're comfortable to be around."
"Yeah? That's good to hear." His expression then turned serious and he looked off into the distance as he spoke, avoiding all eye contact with the dork. "Double D, you do know that I'm pan right?"
"Pan-sexual you mean? Yes I believe you told me sometime around our junior year of high school."
"Yeah, but…I do prefer guys a bit more... I think?"
"This information does not bother me at all Nathan, if that's where you're trying to get at. You're my friend; you could be attracted to only females, only males, or no one at all and I'd still care for you." Edd put a reassuring hand on top of Nat's shoulder and offered a friendly smile once the teal-haired boy finally faced him.
A chord strung inside Nat's heart, "Really? That's great! It really is, thanks man. If you don't mind me snoopin around…what about you?" The reason why Nat made a shift in topic was because it was only now hitting him, now that he was enjoying some alone time with his crush, that he had never confirmed Edd's sexuality. He had been crushing on the smart Ed since their senior year; blindingly letting his emotions take over every time it concerned Edd. He didn't often think about how the other male would feel if confessed to.
"My own preference you mean? Well…" Double D bit the bottom of his lip and thought about it for a moment, "Well…I guess you could say I'm straight."
'Of course…' thought Nat.
"But…"
'But? There's a but?'
"I guess I might be just…a little curious in regards to my own gender." The blush on Edd's cheek darkened; this was the first time admitting – out loud, to someone else – that he might actually be a little bi-curious. He felt so comfortable around Nat though, and seeing as he himself was bisexual did help.
'YES. THANK. OK.' "Oh, I see, well Double Dude, I ain't judging ya one single bit! I care for you too…no matter what."
"Thank you Nathan."
There it was, the gap-toothed smile that Nathan loved so dearly; a sign of true happiness from the little dork. A second string pulled.
Nathan found himself lost in a sea of vivid green as he stared into Double D's eyes; neither of them saying a word as eye contact was held.
"Nathan? Are you…alright?" Asked Edd, scooting a little closer to his friend.
Nat blinked back into the present and cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry you're pretty little head."
Edd giggled, "Okay. Hmm…what do you wish to do now?"
"Well…we were talking about our childhood not too long ago. So let's stroll back down memory lane and do something childish!"
"Like what?"
"Truth or dare!"
"S-seriously?"
"Yeah why not? It'll be fun! I'll go first! Truth or dare?"
"I…uhh…truth?"
"Hmm…have you ever had a crush on a teacher?"
"What?! I-I…I…yes."
"OH MY GOD. WHO?"
"Remember Ms. Chen from cooking class in our sophomore year?"
"Oh yeaaahh, she was great!...and a total babe! Nice choice, tiger."
"Oh shush!" Laughed Edd, "my turn then, truth or dare?"
"Dare me baby." Said Nat with a sly grin.
"I dare you to…go lick that tree."
"Psshhh, child's play." Nat calmly went over to the chosen tree, and gave it a swift, little lick; his nose cringing from the old, barky aftertaste once the deed was done. They continued their game for another 4 turns and it was time for Nat to ask , "Truth or dare?"
"Dare!"
"Ooh, aren't you the brave little soldier? Very well, I dare you to… I dare you to…close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close your eyes please."
"Uhm...Ok?"
"And don't open them until I tell you to."
"Nathan that hardly sounds like a dare protocol…"
"Just…just trust me ok?"
Double D sighed through his nose and closed his eyes, "Okay, now what?"
Nat stared at the slim boy in front of him, studied him, how nice he looked that day, how peaceful he looked with closed eyes, like he was sleeping. The third chord was struck, and with it all of Nat's being at that very moment.
"This."
In a split second Double D felt his lips being crushed against by another pair. He could feel extra heat radiating from in front of him, and a gentle hand cupping his right cheek. His eyes shot open and he was paralyzed, he didn't know what to do, but his body was somehow reacting on its own. Nat moved his lips 3 more times, each time getting more of a response from the Ed, and then as quickly as it begun, the kiss was broken.
Nat didn't move away completely, just enough so that he could meet Edd's eyes with his own, and Edd could still feel his hot breath on his skin, sending delayed shivers down his spine, and a new wave of heat all throughout his body, making even his neck red in embarrassment and shock.
Nat gulped, but then let out a soft "Heh," before saying, "I dare you to tell me what you thought of that."