Chapter 2. Appetite

That night found Edd at his desk in his room, thinking over his very long and eventful day, contemplating on what the rest of the year would be like. Blake had already volunteered to cook the first meal in the house, dinner, and that's exactly what he was doing downstairs at that moment.

Pulling himself up from the lump he'd become in the chair, Edd left his room and slowly descended the stairs, letting the wonderful smells from the kitchen waft around him. Oh wow, that smells quite glorious... Double D thought to himself.

Stepping off the stairs and walking towards the kitchen, he also picked up on the light humming that told him where Blake was. "Blake?"

"Eddward?"

Edd cringed at the birth name. No one, at least none of his friends, ever called him Eddward. "Yes, It's me." He smiled and stepped into the kitchen.

"Oh, good." Blake smiled charmingly at Edd before he looked back at his pots. "Come to give me a hand? No need, I've almost finished, but you could go and tell Kevin as much."

"Oh, sure thing, I'll be right back." Edd smiled, glad to have something to do, and just a tad awed by Blake's correct assumption. He hurried back up the stairs, almost managing to trip up the stairs as he went. But he made it to Kevin's door unscathed, and so knocked upon it gently.

"Yeah, come in," came the gruff reply.

He hadn't been planning on going inside. But Edd softly opened the door and took a single step inside. Truth be told, Kevin scared him just a little.

Kevin was sitting cross-legged on his bed, which was covered by navy blue sheets, reading some book or magazine- Edd wasn't sure exactly what the reading material was; the lighting was too dim to really see. Which made Edd worry for Kevin's eyes, which would have to strain pretty hard to read in this light. But then he realised he was getting lost in his thoughts again and he looked back into an almost startled face.

"Double D?" Kevin looked surprised that it was Edd, which confused Edd. Had he been expecting someone else?

"Kevin. Blake told me to let you know that dinner is almost ready. It should be ready in a few minutes or so, I imagine." Edd outwardly ignored the use of his nickname, but inwardly he blinked as if flicked on the forehead.

"Oh." Kevin's gaze had dropped back to his reading material the minute he heard Blake's name. "I'm not hungry. Thanks," he added.

Edd frowned slightly. Kevin hadn't eaten any lunch earlier, either. "Is there something wrong? I assure you, Blake's cooking is supposed to be absolutely impeccable, and so it really should be an enjoyable meal."

Shaking his head, Kevin glanced back up at Edd again. "I'm sure it's stupendous but I'm just not hungry."

Frowning full force now, Edd shook his head also. "You didn't eat any lunch today, so you've got to be hungry. Please come and eat something? I don't want my room-mate fainting because they haven't been eating..." It was Edd's nature to be kind and to think about others, even with someone like Kevin.

There was a moment's silence, and Edd started to think that Kevin would laugh at him or something but then Kevin sighed loudly and stood up, discarding his book onto his bed carelessly and walked towards Edd and the door.

"Fine," was all he said before he swept past Edd and started down the stairs.

It wasn't exactly clear to Edd why, after being so stubborn, Kevin had suddenly agreed to Edd's wishes like he had. Was it because he asked? Or because he said please? Or maybe he just realised just how hungry he really was.

Going with the latter, Edd cheerfully closed Kevin's door behind him and followed after his tall room-mate.

Dinner, of course, was delicious, everything Blake had foretold it to be. But it had also been silent. Silent with a whole heap of tension practically pushing at them with almost physical force.

Edd, of course, couldn't handle it. "So...what classes have you both enrolled in this year?"

Blake perked up from his food and smiled lightly. "Well, I personally am enrolled in law this year," he said casually.

"Really? Law? So you're an aspiring lawyer then?" Edd asked, trying to keep the scrap of a conversation going. He glanced at Kevin to find him slouched over his food, eating and not paying them any attention.

"Maybe. I haven't really decided yet." Blake paused to chew thoughtfully before talking again. " I'd have to go to a different school for it but there's always a doctor."

Kevin made a sound that seemed to be a mix of disgust and humour in the back of his throat, scrunching his face up, but still not looking at either Edd nor Blake.

"Say something, Kevin?" Blake asked politely, beating Edd, who was going to ask if he was okay.

"Nope, did you?" Kevin asked casually, receiving a befuddled blink from Blake in return before Kevin smirked and stood up, dropping his fork noisily, and walking off. "I'm finished. 'Night."

Edd watched Blake and Kevin in renewed silence before looking down at Kevin's food, which he realised the redhead hadn't even touched. With a sigh, Edd stood up as well.

Blake stood up when Edd did, as if Edd was a girl and it was just polite manners to do so. "You haven't finished your food," he pointed out.

"I think I've lost my appetite... I ate a large lunch anyway..." Edd smiled reassuringly as he pushed his chair back in after himself.

"I apologise about Kevin and myself just now, I just find his attitude to be completely obnoxious."

Edd shook his head. "Its fine, it really has nothing to do with me anyway." With another small smile and nod for Blake, Edd walked to his room, wanting nothing more than a good nights sleep.

-~X~-

The next couple of weeks moved quickly. It was rather uneventful, and even though they'd been living together for a while now, Edd felt like he knew Kevin just as much as he did the very first day that he'd moved in. It was almost like Kevin avoided his room-mates.

But he and Blake were quite the opposite. They'd become quick friends. They studied together, hung out together, and Edd was exceptionally happy.

Sure, it would have been even nicer if he could have been friends with Kevin, too, but the redhead had already made it quite clear that he preferred his privacy.

But, sometimes, Edd got the feeling that Blake was trying to seduce him- which, he knew, was utterly absurd. But he still couldn't help but wonder.

"I'm glad you accepted to accompany me on my walk, Eddward." Blake grinned. Indeed they were on a walk together, through the park that was situated near the school and the dorm houses. The sky was verging on dark and the lights were starting to come on.

"Of course. I enjoy getting fresh air as much as any other." Edd smiled.

There was a comfortable silence before Blake looked down at him and made an amused face. "You know, I don't believe that I've ever seen you without your hat on before." He began reaching for Edd's baggy, black sock-hat.

Without even thinking, Edd grasped his hat firmly against his head. "T-that would be because I never take it off." He offered a small smile, but it wasn't genuine. He didn't know why he didn't feel comfortable enough to take his hat off for Blake, but the thought of being hat-less just didn't bode well with him.

After a moment of pausing, Blake smiled again and withdrew his hand. "Of course."

Blake's hand "accidentally" bumped into Edd's and the blond gasped lightly. "Eddward, your hands are freezing!" he scolded before he took the same hand between his and rubbed it vigorously.

Edd's hands were always cold and he was used to it by now and didn't even notice. "Oh, yes, I believe that's just the result of poor blood circulation." He watched Blake's hands, feeling a faint blush creep up his cheeks.

"That's no excuse," Blake said softly, taking Edd's free hand and rubbing that one too. "You should keep them in your pockets if they're prone to the cold." He almost whispered the last part.

They'd stopped walking now, and Edd stood in front of Blake, hands raised and clasped between the blond's, his face close enough to their joined hands for Edd to feel the other boy's hot breath on the skin of his knuckles.

He took this moment to ponder on his sexuality. Because if he were to be homosexual or even bisexual, now would be the time to realise it. He thought about his attraction towards the opposite sex. More importantly, towards the one in front of him right now, holding his hands. But his emotions were too scattered at the moment for him to come to any conclusions.

It was then that an image flashed by in his mind, one that made him jump and blush at the same time, but he shook the image away. If he really could love another guy, then he guessed Blake would be the ideal one for the job. He was handsome, rich, sweet, and very gentleman-like. And he knew that the blond liked him. So much wasn't easy to miss, he supposed, no matter how ridiculous.

He soon figured out that this was far too complicated for him to just decide whether he was gay or not in the middle of a park; it wasn't so easy. He'd probably have to kiss a guy and see what it's like. Not a comforting thought. But, it seemed that Edd wouldn't have to worry about kissing a guy, for Blake took it into his own hands to lean down and across to bring their lips together.

Shit! Was Edd's first thought as he experienced the entirely unfamiliar kiss, which was completely out of character for him. Okay, okay, calm down, this is what you wanted, remember? Now kiss him back and remember to observe on what it feels like.

So Edd feebly kissed Blake back, relaxing ever so slightly after he got over the initial shock of it all. Focusing on the feel of it, Ed tried hard to categorise it, but found he couldn't. The touch of male lips didn't repulse him though, which he took as a sign. A small sign, but a sign nonetheless

Some of these chapters are short, but should come quickly.

The next chapter is called, Roses are Red.

Teaser: "You're not here to confess your undying love for me, are you?" Kevin asked with a smirk.