Chapter 5. More than Just a Bad Hangover

"W-what's going on? This is- this isn't the bath…room?" Edd stumbled over his words, still confused in his drunken state.

"That it isn't," Felix chuckled darkly. A hand was fumbling with Edd's belt, and it was then that his mind caught up just a little.

"Lemme go, Felix," he whined, wriggling. "I want to...to go home."

Felix didn't respond to that, and merely undid Edd's buckle and zip.

"Nooo…" Edd frowned deeply, still blinking and trying to see what was going on, trying to grasp the situation at hand. "What are…? St-stop. Lemme go!"

-~X~-

"Felix!" A loud voice interrupted Felix's undressing and fuelled Edd's weak struggles.

Kevin stood in the doorway, beer in hand and an undeniably pissed off look on his face. "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"What do you want? Fuck off, Kevin," Felix snapped, pinning Edd down with both hands as he glared at the redhead. He didn't appear be set back by Kevin's sudden appearance.

"How did I know this would happen?" Kevin spat, ignoring Felix's words. "Get off him right now!"

"Screw you! I'm busy here!" Felix let go of Edd so he could face Kevin, his eerily handsome features twisted into a scowl.

"Not any more," Kevin growled before he dropped his beer and lunged for Felix before it hit the ground.

Edd merely rolled into a ball the minute he was released and sobbed, scared out of his wits, completely confused and totally disoriented.

The fight was over in a few minutes, resulting in Felix fleeing with a bloody, broken nose and water-filled eyes.

Kevin, sporting no visible injuries, walked over to Edd and slowly knelt down on the bed next to him. "Hey, Eddward, you okay?" He used what he apparently thought to be Edd's preferred name.

There was a pause before Edd blinked through tears and looked up at the redhead. "K-Kevin…?"

Nodding, Kevin placed a hand on Edd's shoulder. "Yeah. It's okay now, Eddward," he reassured.

Edd sobbed and threw himself weakly at Kevin, wrapping his arms around the taller teenager. "Don't call me-" he paused to hiccup, "-Eddward. I hate that," he complained offhandedly.

"Err, okay. What do you want me to call you, then?" Kevin asked, patting Edd's head awkwardly.

"Double D," Edd said softly, his sobs slightly quieter now. He pushed himself against Kevin's chest and towards that safe feeling radiating from the redhead.

Kevin paused, apparently a little surprised, before his pats slowly turned into calming strokes. He sat like that and just comforted the distraught Edd, despite his legs which must have started to become numb.

"Kevin?" Edd suddenly asked after a good amount of time had gone by.

"Yeah?"

"Can we go home?"

"…Yeah, of course." The redhead stood and eyed Edd as he followed, but the shorter male didn't manage more than two steps before he became unsteady on his feet.

Sighing, Kevin picked Edd up like one would a child and made his way out of the room. He walked quickly through the still-loud house but once outside he slowed down to a normal pace.

Edd hiccuped again, this time against the skin of Kevin's neck, making the redhead shudder. "Where am I?" he asked drowsily.

"I'm taking you home," Kevin responded levelly, his thumb rubbing unconscious circles in Edd's shoulder. "We're not far."

"It's dark. And cold," Edd said bluntly, nuzzling into Kevin's shoulder, seeking warmth. "And I can't feel my...my toes. Are they alright?"

Kevin couldn't help but smile in amusement at Edd's drunken rambles. "They're fine. You're perfectly fine."

"I'm just fine?" Edd asked curiously, his heavy eyelids keeping his eyes closed. He linked his fingers together so he was holding onto Kevin's neck better.

Smirking, Kevin shook his head lightly. "No, I suppose not, you're a lot more than just fine."

"Good." Edd smiled before the internal struggle won and he slipped into the velvety folds of sleep.

-~X~-

Awakening to your stomach heaving isn't the best way to wake up on a Saturday morning, as Edd found out the very next day. He slapped a hand over his mouth, scrambled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom where he chucked up noisily inside the toilet bowl.

"Ugh…" he moaned, slipping down to sit before the toilet and rest his head on the unsanitary seat. "What the hell happened to me…?"

"What indeed?" Kevin announced his presence from the doorway where he stood, arms crossed.

"Kevin?" Edd asked, using his fist to rub at his sleep-filled eyes. "What happened last night?"

"You got drunk," Kevin said, and Edd couldn't help but think he was about to be scolded for it.

"I did? How out of character of me…" Edd murmured.

"Is it also out of character of you to almost get fucking date raped?" Kevin asked seriously, his expression pissed off and stony.

"W-what?" Edd peeped, his eyes widened and his face paled even more than before.

"If I hadn't of been there last night, you'd be waking up with more than just a bad hangover," Kevin said, not moving from his position by the door. "I told you not to go."

Dumbfounded, Edd just stared at the redhead. "I almost got…raped? But…how did you…"

"Felix hasn't got a very good reputation. He takes what he wants, when he wants, however he wants," Kevin explained. "There was a reason why he invited you."

Looking back down at the toilet bowl as another wave of nausea washed over him, Edd blinked back tears. Parts of last night were rushing back to him, and it made him tremble. "Oh God…"

Expression suddenly softening, Kevin walked over to Edd and knelt down next to him. "You're okay, right? I got there in enough time, right?" he asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Y-Yes…I can't re-remember very much but…yes." He quickly rubbed at his eyes to force the tears away before they had a chance to fall. "Th-thank you, for saving me."

Kevin, who had been reaching a hand out to Edd, quickly withdrew it when Edd looked at him. "Don't mention it." He made to stand, but Edd grasped the sleeve of his shirt.

"Please, sit with me? I feel horrible," Edd pleaded with the redhead, his eyes large and watery. "Could you tell me more of what happened?"

Hesitating only for a moment, Kevin sighed and sat down next to Edd. "Felix got you absolutely blitzed, then tried to…have his way with you. I arrived just in time, broke his nose and took you home," he said matter-of-factly with a shrug.

Edd gasped. "You broke his nose?!"

Laughing at Edd for mentioning the nose-breaking in favour of the other stuff, Kevin nodded. "I'm pretty sure he'll have some pretty bruises today, too."
"Oh my!"

"He cried like a girl," Kevin noted with a smile.

Edd smiled weakly at that. "Thank you, for looking out for me. I should have listened to you in the first place and stayed home."

"Yes, you should've," Kevin agreed firmly

"Sorry." Edd smiled sheepishly, still looking a little dopey. "I will from now on."

Kevin smiled as he gazed at Edd clinging to the toilet bowl for dear life, his black sock hat slipping from its tight hold atop the Dork's head.

"Eddward?" Blake's sophisticated-sounding voice broke the almost serene vibe in the bathroom. "Kevin? What's going on?"

"Double D needed to hurl," Kevin said, moving to sit casually on the rim of the bathtub. He crossed his arms and gave Blake a blank stare that boarded on cold. "You need something, Lover-Boy?"

Blake ignored Kevin and instead moved to Edd's side and looked down at him. "Oh dear, are you alright?" he asked.

"Greetings, Blake, and yes, I'm perfectly alright." Edd smiled weakly, not moving from his position at all. "I just feel a little sick."

Kevin rolled his eyes but was quiet. Blake, on the other hand, frowned.

"Well I hope you feel better by Monday, Eddward." Blake patted Edd's shoulder in what he must have supposed was a comforting gesture. "My extra lessons start soon, but I'll cancel my plans to attend them if you wish for me to stay home."

"No, no, there's no need for that." Edd shook his head. For some reason, the thought of having Blake there all day looking after him wasn't an entirely pleasing one.

Blake seemed to hesitate, but luckily enough, Kevin interrupted.

"Dude, just go to your classes. He's just feeling a little sick, he ain't going to die or nothing," Kevin said wearily. "And I'll be here all day today anyway."

"Oh yes, because I feel so much better with you saying that," Blake scoffed, but without venom. He pursed his lips momentarily before he smiled lightly at Edd and bent down to place a kiss on the shorter boy's head. Or hat, rather. "I'll see you later, then, Eddward."

His cheeks reddening, Edd nodded silently and didn't watch as Blake left the room. He then risked a glance at Kevin.

His face holding a grimace, Kevin dramatised a shudder. "How do you stand that?" he demanded, sounding both grossed out and curious.

Edd didn't answer but instead gripped the toilet tighter and emptied the last remaining contents of his stomach into it.

Kevin smirked at that. "Ah, that's how."

Wiping his mouth with a towel, Edd sighed miserably. "I'm not entirely sure, myself, actually," he said quietly and without looking away from the toilet as he pushed the flush button.

"Eh?" Kevin looked confused.

"…Never mind." Edd shook his head and stood up shakily, walking over to the sink. He ran the cold water and cupped his hand underneath it before using the gathered water to wash his mouth out. He also began pulling out his toothbrush and toothpaste; all he could taste was bile.

"No way, now you've got me interested," Kevin said. He stood up from the bath and followed the raven-haired boy to the sink. He could see Edd's tired face in the mirror, but Edd refused to make eye contact, even through the reflection. "You don't like Lover-Boy's attentions?"

"It's not that…entirely…I just…" Edd turned to frown deeply at Kevin, toothbrush in hand. "Why are you interested now? I wanted to talk to you about it before, but you got mad and kicked me out of your room."

There was a pause before Kevin dropped his gaze a little. "Sorry, I can get carried away sometimes."

Edd's expression softened and he slowly put his toothbrush in his mouth. Kevin watched him silently as the boy thoroughly brushed his teeth, then got out some floss and started using that.

"You know, I've never really cared about what people think of me," Kevin said plainly, still watching Edd calmly. "I don't care if people like me or hate me…feel threatened by me, or think they're better than me."

Keeping silent as he listened, Edd just continued to floss, letting Kevin tell him something about himself.

"But you…"

Edd disposed of his floss and looked up at Kevin curiously. "Me?"

Looking thoughtful, Kevin nodded slightly. "There's so many things I'd like for you to think of me. And that's confusing, because…I'm not supposed to care."

It took Edd a moment to really understand what Kevin was talking about, but when he did, or at least think he did, he smiled. "Maybe deep down you think of me as a friend?" he suggested eagerly.

Kevin shifted to lean against the wall, frowning and still looking at Edd unabashedly. "I'm not sure. I have friends, or at least people I call friends. But I don't really care about them."

"You don't care about your friends?" Edd asked, looking a little confused himself.

"Well, it's not like I don't care whether they live or die or anything, but…" Kevin tried to explain. "But it wouldn't faze me if they didn't want to be friends with me tomorrow, for example."

Edd unscrewed his mouthwash, still with his frown in place. "You mustn't have very good friends, then, Kevin," he assumed before spilling some mouthwash past his lips.

"There's nothing wrong with them." Kevin shrugged, adverting his eyes from Edd for the first time since Blake left. "There's just also nothing special about them, I suppose."

The raven-haired boy's eyes widened slightly before he spat the contents of his mouth into the sink. "You think I'm special?" he gasped, astonished.

Kevin laughed at Edd. "Sure, why not. Does that embarrass you?"

"E-embarrass? Well…" Edd quickly screwed the lid back onto his mouthwash and stored it away before continuing. "Why do you think I'm special?"

"I have no idea," Kevin said thoughtfully, staring at Edd again in curiosity. "I should just think of you as a wimpy, pasty little nerd who washes his hands too often."

Edd paused with his hands under the running tap and blushed lightly. He placed the soap back onto the soap rack and quickly dried his hands on the towel before placing the item in the hamper.

"But, I don't," Kevin said with a shrug.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Edd asked.

"Well, I thought I owed it to you," Kevin answered. "Plus, I thought talking to you about it might help make sense of it."

"Did it work?"
"Not really," Kevin smirked. "So, now I've told you something personal about me, are you going to tell me about what's going on with you and Lover-Boy?"

Edd wrung his hands nervously. "Well, If you were to make me some breakfast I might be more inclined." He smiled.

Kevin chuckled and headed for the door. "Alright, but just remember that you asked for it."

The next chapter is called, Lover-Boy.

Shameless Teaser: "Sorry," said Kevin, withdrawing his hand and pursing his lips a little. "Guess that was stepping a bit far."

A/N: I would just like to add that this is all old stuff, written years ago. I hope the transition from old to new won't be too noticeable. Thanks for the reviews! J-DOL.