Eddward hid himself away in a part of the campus where no one came around. He was ashamed of his powers, really. It caused him strife and heartache in his past. Quietly, he hugged his knees to his chest and rest his chin on them, eyes welling up with tears. How long was he going to be able to handle this? This place was technically the safest place for him but he couldn't-

"You know this part of campus is off limits, right?" Rufus reached his hand out and gently pat the other's head. This time, it seemed that Edd wasn't startled by him. "Perhaps you should hide away in another location? You could just go to the Headmaster's office. No one goes there without a reason." He shrugged when Eddward looked up at him, brow furrowed as if he were trying to make sense of things. "I'm being honest."

"How did you find me?"

"It's very easy for me," he said, "and Viggo knew where you were."

"How?" he asked, wiping away tears. "How is this possible?"

"Viggo's… unique," he said gently. He held a hand out to him. "How about you come back with me and out of this place?'

"Everyone saw."

"Yes. Everyone saw you freeze Barr in mid-air. I think you'll be fine." Rufus shrugged gently. "After all, I do reverse gravity. Chalk it up to the same thing." He kept his hand out for him, waiting for him to take it, face set in a serious tone.

"But it iisn't/i the same thing!" Eddward snapped, standing up and slapping that hand away. Rufus watched the things in the room shift and start to rise as Edd's anger rose. "It's never the same thing! What I do isn't what you do! My powers are not special or fun or anything wonderful! I iheard/i him." He grasped his head, eyes shiny with tears. "I always hear them. The things they saw, the way they feel! It burns and echos-"

"And that's why you're here." Rufus held a hand out and forced the heaviest of things down onto the ground before sitting on it. "To learn to control it and learned to not hate it. To understand that it's a part of your whether you like it or not." Rufus flexed his hands and looked towards Eddward once more. "To know that whatever horrible things you were forced to do in your past because of these powers isn't your fault and no one here will care." Edd flinched a bit. "You're here, Vincent, because you have a safe place where you belong, and no one will think any less of you." He slid off his seat and pat his hands together. "Now… are you ready to come back and meet your classmates or are you gonna stay here and mope until someone else finds you?"

"Double DEE!" Ed cried when he and Rufus appeared from the distance of campus. He threw himself on the tall skinny boy and hugged him tight. Edd gasped for air, literally. Rufus watched with a grin.

"Uh, Ed?" he said, chuckling. "He can't breathe. Maybe you should… let him go. Remember, when you hug, you hug really tight." Ed's bright eyes opened wide and he immediately let go when he realized what exactly he was doing. Eddward gasped and clutched his legs, coughing a bit as he inhaled sharply.

"Oh… sorry, Double Dee… hehe, my bad," he carefully pat the others back gently. Sometimes the big lug forgot his own strength. Once he was sure Edd was okay he went in for another hug and was very careful this time. "Where did you go? Are you okay? I didn't mean to throw Kevin at you!"

"I-It's alright, Ed," Edd said softly, sighing. He was glad none of his bones were broken, but that was close. "You're very strong. And I'm not upset, I promise… I've just-" he paused "-have some things I still have to work through." He fidgeted with this hands a bit and averted his gaze. Ed looked to Rufus who returned a look of curiosity with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me. Thank you again, Rufus, for coming to find me." He stepped away then and hurried away towards the dorm rooms.

Rufus sighed and leaned back a bit on his heels before nudging Ed. "Hey," he said, eyes half-lidded, "wanna hang out for a bit?" Ed perked up and grinned. Spending time with Rufus was his most favorite thing ever, next to spending time with Eddy and his newest best friend. Though he had yet to realize what it meant (Rufus was letting him figure it out on his own), he never missed a chance to spend time with him. "I'll even let you pick the movie."

"CAN WE WATCH REVENGE OF THE MUTANT ZOMBIES?" Ed exclaimed, clasping his hands together and hugging Rufus tight. "OH CAN WE, CAN WE, CAN WE?"

"S-Sure," wheezed Rufus, "whatever you say Ed… n-now let me breathe."

"Oh. Sorry, Rufus," Ed laughed.

Kevin didn't realize that the kid he'd almost fallen on top of today was his roommate. When Rufus took off to find him, Kevin made his way back to his small group of friends to kill Eddy. By the time he'd arrived, both Ed's had taken off to go and locate the new guy. He'd learned, while making his way back to his room, that the new guys name was also Edd. Only with two D's. He rubbed his head. Three Ed's… why?

And then he walked into his room and confronted what little the other actually had. As he explored his roommate's side, he came to the conclusion that Eddward either had nothing or was very secretive. As he picked up a few fallens books to place on the others desk, the dorm room door opened and in came the new guy. He paused in the doorway, frozen in mild fear. Then, he quickly turned to leave.

Kevin stopped him, grabbing him by the wrist and stopping him. "No no, wait!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I'm… I'm Kevin. I nearly fell on you earlier today." Smooth, Barr. Very smooth. What the hell? Eddward glanced down between them and Kevin let him go. "Sorry for that too. Please come back in, and… let's meet and talk or something?" What the shit, Barr!

Eddward's bright blues drifted to the floor and he rubbed his arms thoughtfully. He stepped in, closed the door behind him and pressed his lips together. "I'm Eddward. Eddward Vincent. It's a pleasure to meet you Kevin." He smiled, sadly, at him and Kevin felt his heart skip a beat. Edd had a gap in his teeth. He was so cute, so charming and so hurt. The redhead wanted to make things better, wanted to white-knight this guy but.

"You-you-you-" He shook his head. "You like to read, right? I saw that. Or rather, your books- I wasn't trying to be nosey I swear-"

Edd chuckled and took the book being offered to him. "Thank you. Yes. I do enjoy reading. Quite a bit, actually. Do you?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I don't read for fun, so no?"

"You're missing out. I hope you don't mind that I made myself at home?"

"Mind?" Kevin shook his head. "Why would I mind? We're roomies, right? Maybe we can get to know each other?"

"Ahh… maybe," he said and came to sit on his bed. He pet the cover of his book. "I'm afraid I was a bit of a snoop myself."

"Huh?"

"The picture… your mother is very beautiful."

"Oh," he said, "thanks. She's one of my biggest supporters. How about you? What are your parents like?"

"I don't know," Eddward said. "I've never met them."

"Oh man, I'm sorry… I didn't know."

"No and you wouldn't have before now. There is no need to apologize for something you had no knowledge of before." He shrugged. "Ever since I was a small child, I have lived in Foster Care. I aged out just recently." Kevin made a face.

"Foster kids with powers just automatically get sent here though."

Edd's eyes shifted away. "So you control fire?" Subject change. That was a sensitive topic.

"Uh yeah. I learned when I was real little what I could do. I accidentally caught the house cat on fire." Edd whipped his head at him in surprise and Kevin laughed, shaking his hands. "Oh man your face. Listen, the cat survived, it's okay. I mean, I did burn the house down but my folks were pretty cool with it. They helped me learn to control it, and then when I was old enough I came here. So yeah. I can use fire, make it from thin air, control it, etc. etc. I can't fly though, unless I'm either thrown or caught in mid-toss. Course, Rufus usually lets me hit the ground. Never had anyone catch me like that." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It was weird though. That… wasn't like Rufus's. I can feel the push with Rufus' power. He reversed the gravity beneath you, so it pushes you up. Yours was… as if you literally grabbed me in the air and held me." He scrunched his nose. "Also, I felt a prick in the back of my mind-" Kevin stopped talking when he caught Edd's panicked look. "Ah no it's okay! I thought it was cool!" Shit. "Hey… you're… you're really cool."

"Thank you," Eddward said. "I don't think so, but thank you. If. If you'll excuse me, I need to find something to eat. I'll see you later, Kevin." He set his book aside and left the room, stopping to lean against the door and take in a few deep breaths.

This was going to be much harder than he thought.