Chapter 6. Lover-Boy

Kevin pushed the slightly burnt toast onto Edd's plate. "Bon appetite."

"Thank you, Kevin."

Smiling politely, Edd proceeded to cut his toast. In all honestly, he didn't mind if it was a little burnt. Just the fact that Kevin had spent the time to prepare him breakfast outweighed the fact that it wasn't a very tasty breakfast.

"Cooking has never been my strong point," Kevin commented as he bit into his own slice of butter-smothered toast. "As you might've noticed."

It was true, Kevin's meals were certainly not the best and Edd had always had a sneaking suspicion that the redhead had brought take-out a few times and claimed it as his own creation.

"It's alright," Edd reassured, taking a bite to emphasise his words.

"Well then," Kevin started as he moved to sit on a bar stool next to Edd, dragging his plate with him. "I believe you owe me a story now?"

"A story?" Edd shook his head and took another bite before his stomach protested and he put the cooked bread down. "There isn't a story…"

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Just tell me why you said what you did in the bathroom already."

Expelling a sigh, Edd decided that he might as well spill. "You mean why I shy away from Blake?" He shrugged. "I'm not too certain of it myself."

There was a brief silence and Kevin looked thoughtful. "But…well I thought you two were getting it on." He sounded even more confused than he looked.

Edd coughed on a piece of toast he'd tried to force himself to eat. "What?" he strained to demand. "No! I- well…no." He frowned.

"So…you're not gay with Lover-Boy?" Kevin was looking straight at Edd, completely composed despite the boy's deep blush. "What about that rose on Valentines Day?"

"I…I don't know." Edd stumbled over his words helplessly, refusing to look at Kevin again and, finding his half-eaten toast nauseating to look at, just stared down at his lap. He took a deep breath and tried to piece together a proper answer, not only for Kevin, but for himself too.

"Blake…wishes to establish a relationship. But I have yet to accept or deny his… offer."

"Why?"

Spluttering, Edd finally looked up at Kevin, knowing his face probably betrayed his own confusion and embarrassment. "Because I'm not sure whether I like him like that or not…" he finally blurted.

Kevin looked at him thoughtfully, only a small flicker of shock evident on his face. "I thought for sure he'd gotten his hooks into you," he stated offhandedly. "But really, you're still not even sure of your sexuality, are you?"

Choosing to remain silent, Edd pushed his toast around a bit, feeling rather defeated. Talking to Kevin about his problems wasn't as enjoyable as he thought it would be, and he questioned why he ever thought so. It wasn't so much the talking to Kevin he disliked, but the topic. It was awkward and embarrassing, especially because Edd himself had tried to put these thoughts and problems far away in a file in the back of his mind.

"Well heck, I can help you there," Kevin said casually.

Furrowing his brow at Kevin, Edd fought the urge to cross his arms. "Oh? How so?" he asked, sure that Kevin wouldn't be able to help him with his sexuality problem.

With a 'you asked for it' shrug, Kevin quickly caught the back of Edd's head and pulled him forward to meet his waiting lips. The kiss was devastating. Devastating in the sense that Edd, who had began to actually think he was normal and straight, knew at once he was no such thing. The poor boy was also shocked almost into a coma.

It wasn't as gentle as Blake's was, yet it certainly wasn't rough. There was just so much feeling behind Kevin's lips, so much energy flowing through. Edd struggled to make sense of it all, struggled to think of what to do.

But it didn't last all that long and Kevin pulled away to find Edd's eyes wide open, having never shut them in the first place. Edd's raw shock and befuddlement sent Kevin into peels of laughter.

"K-Kevin!" Edd's hand flew up to his lips and his cheeks flushed darkly. "What did you-? Why-?"

Grinning like nothing had happened, Kevin patted Edd on the shoulder. "Just a little lesson in sexuality, Dork," he said. "So what do you think? Did you like it?"

If at all possible, Edd blushed more. "You can't kiss men- what about your homophobia?" he stage-whispered. Why he was whispering, he didn't know. Maybe it was because he respected Kevin's privacy.

"Homophobia?" Kevin raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head as he leaned back. "I'm not homophobic; I know a lot of gay people."

"But…" Edd sat up straighter and gave Kevin a funny look."What about those times you looked like you were going to be sick when Blake…"

"Touched you or kissed you or whatever?" Kevin scowled lightly. "That's because Lover-Boy makes me sick. He thinks he can just say a few pretty words and flash a few smiles and get whatever he wants, including you. I don't care whether people are gay or not, Double D, but I do care if they're so far up their own ass they can wear themselves as a hat."

Edd was silent and wide-eyed for a moment or two, just blinking at Kevin. Then, he chuckled, hiding it behind his hand.

His expression softening, Kevin reached out a hand and slid it under Edd's hat. Edd paused, feeling fleeting panic at having something between his hat and his hair, a hand, no less. But he trusted Kevin- to a certain degree.

"Your hair is so soft," Kevin noted. His brows were drawn together slightly, yet his face looked serene. "Why do you wear a hat all the time?"

"I don't like my hair," Edd answered immediately, still trusting Kevin, now also with this information. "My hat is like my security blanket." He felt Kevin's fingertips run through his hair, leaving his scalp tingling. It felt so foreign and nice.

"May I?" Kevin asked, obviously asking if he could remove the garment.

Edd tensed up, slowly raising his hands to both pry Kevin's out from under his hat and to hold onto the black material. "N-no…"

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

"I think you already achieved that with the kiss…" Edd murmured as he made sure his hat was fastened tightly upon his head.

Kevin smiled again, this time a little smugly. "No need to thank me for helping you realise you're gay," he said.

Edd thought about protesting. He even opened his mouth ready to do so, but he snapped it shut again with another blush and a frown. Kevin was right, he had helped him realise something, and it wasn't that he was straight.

The redhead chuckled at Edd's lack of response and stood from his seat. "But you know, you helped me realise something, too."

"Really? What?" Edd asked, eager for the topic change.

Kevin smiled rather softly at Edd for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think you could handle that right now. But I will give you some advice, and that is to refuse Lover-Boy's offer."

"What?" Edd blinked. "Why?"

"Because, you don't love him, you don't even like him like that." Kevin gave Edd's shoulder a good, firm pat as he walked past. "You shouldn't give yourself to the first smooth-talker that pays you any attention."

Edd watched Kevin disappear around the corner, most likely headed for his room. He thought about it. Logic told him that if Kevin could show him what he did with only one kiss, then it was true. Edd's hesitation with Blake wasn't due to him being a guy (entirely).

Blake didn't do anything for him, not because he was a guy, but because he was Blake. And Edd just didn't like Blake like that.

A/N: Sorry for the (shorty short short) shortness, but it just worked out like that. *shrugs. Oh, hey, readers, guess what? There's a confrontation in the next chapter... :0 ! Stay tuned! Review so I update sooner!

The next chapter is called, Drastic Times Call.

Teaser: One noticed the hunched-over boy and pointed to him. "Hey, look! A hobo!"