Author's Note: How am I doing? Good? Bad? Give me reviews guys! Follows and faves too! Please? I"ll love you forever! Anyway, feedback is welcome guys even flames okay? This is kind of a sensitive chapter too. I know I feed you guys lots of feels. If you guys ever need someone to talk to about anything (if your bullied, hated for gender or sexuality, anything) shoot me a PM. I'll listen. Here's Chapter 6!

Chapter 6

When Edd woke up, the room was dark, except for the moonlight pouring in through the window. He looked at the digital clock; it was a little past midnight. Smiling at the red-haired bundle curled up at his side, he slowly lifted himself out of the bed. He softly kissed Kevin's forehead, then left the room. Edd showered, then trudged downstairs for a glass of water.

While in the kitchen, he suddenly heard pounding at the door. It was urgent and angry, not a welcoming sound in the middle of the night.

"Who the fuck could that be?" Edd muttered to himself, grabbing a steak knife just in case the person in question sought to hurt him or Kevin.

He went to the door, slowly opening it to reveal Aaron standing there with his arms crossed. Edd hid the knife behind his back.

"So did Kevin learn his lesson?" Aaron asked arrogantly. "Heard you got him out of the hospital today."

"If the lesson is that you're a prick, then yeah, we learned it," Edd snarled. "Why the fuck would you show up here? You got a deathwish or something?"

"On the contrary," he said. "I'm here to take care of you. Tired of you faggots running around. Time there's one less of you."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

His question was answered when Aaron reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handgun. Edd's eyes went wide and he pulled out his knife. A shot fired and shook the house.

Kevin jolted awake when he heard the gunshot. Edd wasn't beside him or in the room. That wasn't a very good sign, Kevin decided as he started to panic. Quickly, he got up and put his underwear back on. He could smell blood and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He reached the living room, what he saw shocked him.

Aaron was on the floor, a steak knife protruding from his chest, a gun next to his hand where he was laying on the floor. There was a line of blood smeared in the carpet from Edd having dragged him inside, and a gunshot in the floor next to the couch.

Kevin found Edd leaning against the wall next to the doorway, eyes wide as he stared at the bloody scene before him. Could this have been another accident like when he nearly killed Aaron the first time?

"WHAT HAPPENED!" Kevin screamed.

Edd jumped, and looked up at Kevin. "Aaron showed up and pulled a gun on me. I had to...or he would've...I could've died...just protecting myself...I KILLED HIM KEVIN I KILLED HIM!"

As he shakily yelled out the last sentence, Edd flung himself into Kevin's awaiting arms. The nerd held tightly to his love, feeling his shuddering sobs. Kevin began to cry as well, realizing he almost lost the one person in his life that made him whole.

"We need to call 911," Kevin muttered.

Edd gaped. "BUT THEY'LL PUT ME AWAY FOR MURDER!"

"It was self-defense," the redhead cooed, rubbing the swimmer's back to calm him down. "We can explain it to the police. Sit down on the couch. I'll call 911, then go make some herbal tea, okay?"

Edd nodded, and kissed Kevin before obeying him. The latter went to the landline and dialed 911. After giving the appropriate information to the dispatcher, he set about leafing through Edd's cabinets, looking for the herbal tea that his boyfriend used as a relaxer. He found them, and found a mug, filling it with water and popping it into the microwave to heat up.

As he waited, he watched the boy sitting on the couch. He had his head buried in his hands, breathing raggedly. Sighing, he heard the microwave go off, and cautiously took the hot water out of the microwave, careful not to spill any of it on his skin. He dipped a tea bag in the water until it was mixed in, then added mint creamer the way Edd liked it.

He returned to the living room, sitting next to the distressed swimmer. Kevin urged him to sit up, then handed him the mug of tea, watching as Edd timidly sipped the liquid. He calmed slightly, praising the redhead for preparing his tea just the way he liked it. Kevin offered a small smile in return, and wrapped his arms around Edd's waist, leaning his head against his shoulder.

The police burst inside then, followed by paramedics with a stretcher.

The officers approached the boys.

"What happened here?" one asked.

Edd swallowed the lump in his throat, and began to tell his story. "I woke up a little after midnight, took a shower, and went downstairs to get a glass of water. Kevin here was still asleep. Anyway, I heard banging at the door; loud, angry banging. I went to answer it armed with a steak knife just in case someone wanted to harm me. Aaron, the boy on the floor...well he showed up to gloat about how he'd hurt Kevin. You see, he's been tormenting us because we're...gay. He nearly killed Kevin, he and his friends. He just got checked out of the hospital today.

"I'm getting off topic. Sorry. So he was gloating about how he'd hurt Kevin, and then he said he was here to take care of me. That there needed to be one less of us 'faggots'. I asked what he meant by that, and then he pulled out a gun. Just as he was about to shoot me, I panicked and sprang forward with the knife. I blacked out a little, and when I realized what was happening, there was a gunshot in the floor," He pointed to the hole in the carpet. "and a knife sticking out of Aaron's chest. I dragged him inside my house in case any neighbors came outside, then tried to think of what to do. Kevin came downstairs and called 911."

The officer nodded. "So it was self-defense. You said he beat Kevin severely?"

Kevin removed his shirt, showing the bandages. "They carved the word 'fag' into many places on my body."

"They?" the second officer asked.

"Yeah," Kevin mumbled. "There was a group."

"Can you give me the names of those involved?" the first asked.

Kevin closed his eyes tight. "I can't remember that. My subconscious has been repressing my memories of it."

Edd jumped in. "I saw them leave the school right before I found Kevin. There was Aaron, Dalton Jameson, Oliver Michaels, and Eric Emery. They're all on the swim team with me."

The second officer took out his scratch pad and jotted the names down. "Are there adults around we can talk to?"

"My parents are out of town," Edd said.

"My dad is an incompetent alcoholic," Kevin added.

"Can I get your names and numbers to contact you by?" the first asked.

The boys gave the officers their information, then walked them to the door. They told Kevin to get Edd up to bed and that they'd be back with a forensics team.

Kevin took Edd's hand and led him up to his room. The two laid down in his bed, Edd curling up on Kevin's chest, seeking comfort and solace from he damage he'd done.

"I'm a monster," Edd murmured. "A horrible, sick monster."

"No," Kevin cooed. "You were just protecting yourself."

"It's no excuse!" Edd said, locking his arms around Kevin's thin waist. "I killed him. He didn't deserve to die."

"Yes he did. He was about to kill you. You have the right to defend yourself."

"I'm a horrible person. Why are you even still here?"

"Because I love you. Nothing will stop me from loving you; you can't chase me away. I'm here and I'm not leaving. Deal with it."

Grateful for his words, Edd sobbed sloppily into Kevin's chest. The redhead smiled down at him, letting him crying and holding tightly to him. Kevin couldn't protect him physically, but emotionally, he'd be his rock.