AN: So...thank you all to who reviewed the last chapter -feels loved- Happy American Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, Merry Christmas, and Blessed Yule, as well as HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yay~! So sorry I haven't updated in a while my panic attacks have really been bad lately. Thank you to those who asked if I'm doing okay sorry to say I'm still a work in progress but I'm doing okay ;)
So in the end, Edd had ended up staying home from school for about a week or so.
Puttering about the household while cleaning and rearranging things every so often for Rosemary, much to her surprise at first, was a barter for room and board. It was least he was allowed to do.
Cooking dinner once every few days even for her and her son became a most welcoming routine.
Though even with these tasks to distract him from his boredom, it never ceased to bother him.
Being excused from school was a huge relief, but much to his displeasure, his education was still a major priority. Being as gifted as he was, it came with loads of homework and notes taken by and delivered from Marie every single day.
Oh but how he'd grown to hate school work, it was so boring! He already knew all the material after all, it was tedious and dull, but put up with it anyway.
Not wishing to complete his senior year of high school ahead of his other peers, Edd kept quiet about it and simply ignored the rantings and ravings of the teachers telling him to just skip out and go straight to any college of his choosing.
Oh how little did they know...
College...
That word in itself was both scary and wondrous.
It meant breaking away from the familiarness of his home town, the people he grew up with, and a type of freedom, his freedom, though very limited. His career choices having been decided and taken away from him since the beginning of his high school career by his father.
And his college of choice followed suit, being dictated by his mother as well.
On a lighter note, it turned out everyone was now off from school anyway for Thanksgiving break.
Though surely in his opinion, one could find a better reason for a day off from school rather than this one. Not that he was complaining mind you!
Then again most people didn't seem to remember or understand the true meaning behind the pilgrims befriending the natives or what had happened after all the said merry making, sharing, and caring.
Perhaps it was just him being a tad pessimistic, negative, and bitter all at once, seeing as he'd never actually celebrated the holiday himself before.
Ever since he could remember his parents had always been busy, or abroad at the time of this festive holiday of sharing and thankfulness
So when he awoke to the lovely smell of pumpkin and apple pies cooling, the tell tale scent of a turkey cooking in the oven downstairs, and the playful bantering bicker that was the bond of mother and son on this last Thursday of November, he was more than a bit taken aback.
Sitting up in bed while blinking owlishly, he sniffed the air experimentally as if making sure his nose was not lying to his brain and conjuring up the fanciful lovely smelling day dreams.
Clambering off the bed and shuffling his feet as he towed on his signature white bunny slippers, Edd made his way down the stairs hopping down step by step very slowly.
"Ma, I think you made enough freakin' pancakes already. Not even I can eat this much." Voiced Kevin from across the table still very much pajama clad as his mother.
"Besides we're all gonna bust a gut later at dinner anyways with all this food! We could'a just ordered Chinese food or somethin' you know?"
Rosemary simply wagged a finger at him and planted more pancakes onto a plate and instantly went back to the skillet to cook up some more hot cakes. "Nonsense! You two boys are young and growing. Poor Eddward is as skinny as a rail. He needs some fattening up! Besides as much as you'd like to think the answer to every meal is take out, it is most certainly not young man."
Her son shook his head and snorted as he surveyed all the breakfast foods stacked high on the table before him, "He's gonna throw up if you make him eat all this."
Rosemary made a muffled noise and glared,"Oh he will not!"
"Will so."
"Nuh Uh."
"Ma did you just nuh uh me?" He snickered into his hand.
She stuck her tongue out at him in response, all the while grinning.
Silence then unexpectedly rang through the kitchen as the mood changed; their laughter evened out only leaving the crackle of bacon in the skillet for them to hear.
"You really should try making up with him you know." Rosemary mused out softly as she tucked back a wild red ringlet from her face.
Her son stiffened nearly choking on a mouthful of pancakes and syrup as he coughed and hit his chest for a moment, "...Gods why do you keep doing that?"
She batted her eyelashes and whistled a moment then smirked before speaking, "Keep doing what, sweetie?"
He flailed his arms frustratedly and pointed at her, "That, exactly that! I didn't do a goddamn thing! Stop making it out like I started a new world war or caused world hunger yah know...?"
His green eyes stared down at his flap jacks dully mulling over the sudden change in atmosphere and topic.
Sighing softly she put her hands on her hips standing in a motherly pose of sternness, "Maybe, just maybe if you apologized for once in your life, it would help?"
"I didn't do anything...ughhhh! You don't even know what happened, Ma." He stabbed viciously at his pancakes making syrup and butter ooze out the sides nearly off his plate in the process.
She turned off the pilot of the burner and set down the spatula, "Ooooh hoooo so the mighty Kev admits that something did happened! And no I may not know what happened, but I bet it has a lot to do with why the poor boy won't even look you in the eye, barely eats dinner with us, and makes clumsy excuses to leave the room whenever you're near by."
Kevin sputtered and grimaced in defeat while he rubbed his face with his right hand, his fork clanking to his plate forgotten.
Odd it was silent now in the kitchen.
He frowned and bit his bottom lip anxiously, had they sensed his presence and not wished for it?
Hitting the last step of the stairwell he sighed and decided he had prolonged his decent long enough and took a brave, deep breath before walking into the kitchen.
He was greeted with warmth and lovely scents, but also an awkward silence before Rosemary looked to him and beamed.
"Ooooh! Eddward! Good Morning sweetheart, here have a seat next to Kevin. I made pancakes and bacon." She said with more cheer than any person had any right to having at this time of morning.
She ushered him, much to his displeasure, into the chair directly next to her son.
Loading up a plate with more pancakes than he could ever possibly hope to consume in one sitting, she presented him with the butter, maple syrup, and a knife and fork.
"Did you want any bacon, hun?" She smiled at him endearingly making his insides all warm and jittery.
He was at a lost, not being used to the lovey parental attention thrown his way, it always caught him off guard even now with a week after staying with them.
"Urmm...I think the pancakes are enough thank you very much, Rosemary." He responded in kind as he eyed the food before him dubious of how he was going to manage to eat even a portion of it.
Kevin leaned over and whispered to him, his spicy cinnamon musky scent wafting into his nose, "Calm down dweeb, just eat what you can, no one's forcing yah to clean your plate.
A pink tinge heated his cheeks like a hot iron, "O-Of course, thank you K-Kevin..." He mumbled out keeping his eyes fixed on the table.
The jock frowned a bit but blinked as he noticed the rosy blush coating the nerd's cheeks.
Why was the dork blushing for? He hadn't done anything...
Flustering himself he rubbed the back of his neck and coughed before sipping some orange juice.
"Soooo Eddward are you excited about spending Thanksgiving with us?" Pipped up Rosemary cheerily as she too sat down with a heaping helping of food.
Cyan eyes widen a bit in shock and wonder, "I- so I am invited...?"
Kevin snorted into his food, "Duh, you're living with us ain't 'cha? It'd be kinda rude not to invite someone who's already here dweeb."
"Manners, Kev! Of course you're invited silly head! Why wouldn't you be?" The auburn haired woman smiled at the smaller teen.
A deeper shade of red coated the raven's cheeks at this, "W-well I've never really...celebrated Thanksgiving before is all...I didn't want to impose on family tradition with my being here."
It was Kevin's turn to be wide eyed, "Dude like never? You seriously never celebrated at all? Damn...that's depressing..." he muttered trailing off.
Edd shifted on his chair in clear utter embarrassment.
Rosemary glared at her son and kicked his shin under the table.
"Ow! I mean...well there's always a first for everything I guess...yeah?" He glared back at her.
Smiling a bit Edd lets out a soft giggle, "The interaction between you two is wonderful to watch."
"Ehhhhh?" Voiced both mother and son in unison.
Hesitantly he looked up and smiled a very small smile, "It's nice to see family actually getting along together is all. I've never really experienced family banter, it's quite lovely to experience it, even if it is second hand..." He trailed off and taking a small bite of his pancakes.
Both sets of emerald eyes soften.
"Well sweetheart while you're here you're family too." Rosemary responds softly, "Even when you leave, you'll always have a spot at our table."
Tears welled up in Edd's eyes momentarily before quickly blinking them back. Flustered while giving a rare sincere gap toothed smile he nodded slowly, "Th-Thank you...it means a lot more than you could ever possibly comprehend."
"No prob dork, now stop with the chick flick moments and eat will yah?" Kevin muttered out awkwardly.
Smiling a bit forced this time Eddward nodded back to the ex bully.
"Ohhh maybe we should invite Marie!" Voiced Rosemary as an excited after thought.
"She doesn't seem to have much family besides her sisters does she?"
Edd's eyes widen happily, "No she and her sisters are by themselves, but I know for a fact she'll be alone since both her sisters go out to eat for Thanksgiving with their boyfriends."
Rosemary tapped her chin thoughtfully before she winked, "Well the more the merrier then. Give her a call sweetie."
"Ma...seriously?" Kevin whined.
"Shush Kevin."
"Ughhh, way to ruin a holiday."
"Stop over exaggerating. Marie is such a lovely girl!"
"Dude. Have you met her properly, Ma?"
"Of course I have silly, we had tacos together remember? She has my stamp of approval!"
Edd had already left the table, his pancakes only half finished not really having any other reason to finish them, seeing as he wasn't very hungry.
He was ready to call his best friend as soon as possible, perhaps she could take away some of the awkwardness surrounding Kevin and himself if she were present.
Hours later Marie trudged up the icy walk way of the Barr household and up the creaky overly salted steps of the front porch.
Edd quickly ushered her inside with a small sincere smile arching his lips.
As soon as they were in the room he'd been given, Marie pounced on him giving him a bear hug of all sorts with a dash of clinginess.
They both settled on the bed after she'd taken off her boots and coat. Smirking Marie stared down at him.
"I'm just gonna put this out there because it's soooo fuckin' obvious that I shouldn't even have to ask but, you like him right? Like totally head over heels. Goo goo eyes. Imma have his baby. 'I can't live without him', like right?" Voiced Marie as she inched closer to him grinning.
She bumped her shoulder lightly against his in an affectionate manner and a Cheshire cat grin that lit up her face.
He pulled his knees against his chest and snorted mildly letting a soft laugh escape his still healing and cracked lips, "Was I really that obvious?"
She groaned and rolled her eyes and hugged his pillow against her chest.
She snorted heavily, "You only oogled his ass in his football jersey and tight football pants as he pranced out across the field with the other jocks like a bajillion times D. Besides, that ginormous hickey was anything, BUT subtle."
Flustering, he hesitantly rubbed his neck where the said blemish had resided, "It was most certainly not that large! Honestly Marie..."
Marie rolled her eyes and grinned more, "Are we seriously just gonna sit here and talk about your hickey all night? Or are we gonna talk about the important part? Like how it got there, cause I for one know that Barr is the biggest closet case I've ever fuckin' seen and dunno how the hell you got him to give you a hickey without you giving him a lap dance in a maid outfit."
Edd's face simply light up bright red after that.
Her eyes went extremely wide, "Oh no fuckin' way! Well did you give him one then?" she waggled her eyebrows at him.
Hiding behind his hands he groaned, "Not in the context you are thinking in no, and there was no maid outfit involved that is for sure!"
"Awwww such a pity! Next time there will so be a maids outfit provided from yours truly and I will be taping the whole damn thing."
Edd squeaked like a surprised mouse, "You most certainly will not!"
"So there will be a next time then?" She snickered.
His eyes darken and his smile fades, "No...probably not."
Frowning she tilts her head to the side, "Why not? Do I have to kick Barr's ass? Cause I can K.O. his ass into next Tuesday if I need ta."
Murmuring softly he recounts the whole events of that night that nearly started everything but ended it all instead.
By the time he'd finished Marie looked down right murderous.
"Oh he's gonna be black and blue by the time I'm done with him and not in a good way might you!"
"No!" He shouted out.
"Please...please...Marie...don't hurt him." He looked at the bed spread and picked at the fibers with his fingers.
"He's allowed to not feel the same you know, I can't force him to feel what he obviously does not."
Rubbing her face she let out a major calming but frustrated sigh/noise of exasperation, "He wants to fuck you into his mattress D."
Going bright red again he sputtered, "No...no he's disgusted and ..."
"He's in fucking denial that's what he is and I'm gonna smack him out of it!"
Getting off the bed she stood looking completely determined.
"No one makes you cry and gets away with it."
"No one."