My shadow tilts its head at me…
Chapter 22
Hometown
It was awkward. Just, so incredibly awkward. Sitting at the table, a plate of potatoes and some homemade biff with sauce and vegetables; a scene that in itself isn't odd. However, when you add the fact that he's not sitting in his own kitchen, in his own home, with his own family, then… then it still doesn't sound so bad actually. But! However, when you add the fact that he is in the home of someone he's frequently bullied growing up, sitting by this kid's kitchen table, eating the food that said kid has helped prepare, with said kid sitting at the same table as well as this kid's older sister… yeah, now you get it. Awkward! Or… maybe it's just him thinking that?
Lifting his gaze from his plate where he's fixated it, he takes a moment to look at the two people sitting by the table with him. Double-Dork is to his right, sitting with his own plate and sharing some words with Mel who appears to be listening, though she only responds to his words with soft sounds of understanding and approval. She must be thinking of other things, like what to do with the extra kid she needs to take care of. Maybe this was a mistake after all?
Dinner is over soon – thank god – and Mel sends Double-D up to help Kevin bring his stuff up to the guestroom while she takes care of the dishes and puts the leftovers away. He hadn't complained, though Kevin could tell there was a small hint of hesitation to his step as he started to lead him up the stairs. Walking up the stairs in silence, Kevin can tell how uncomfortable the dork is, and you know what – he doesn't blame him. He can only imagine what it must feel like, being in a situation where you need to help and be nice to the one person who's never been nice to you. Glancing over to look at the dork – I mean Double-D – as he's walking in front of him up the stairs, he tries to see any signs of anything that can tell him something more about… well… about Edd. He can't help but think back to the moment he and Mel were at the junkyard, looking for them, and Mel yelling out in frustration all the things that had happened to Double-D just before. She said they had left bruises on his body… is that what he's looking for? Bruises on Double-D's body? Shaking his head he focuses his gaze up ahead. There isn't much left of the staircase now.
Turning right at the top of the stairs, Double-D guides him to the guestroom Mel prepared for him. Though he didn't bring that much stuff it does feel somewhat freeing to put it away rather than having to carry it around. And then, they stare at each other. Now what? They've done the thing that Mel told them to do, and now…?
"Hrm-hm…" Double-D clears his throat, breaking the silence between them and drawing the other's attention. "Pardon my curiosity Kevin, though I would really appreciate it if you gave me an honest answer to my question, however I do not wish for you to answer if you do not feel comfortable with it…"
Kevin looks at him. "What?" Why so many words?
"Oh, um…" Double-D lowers his gaze, obviously trying to find another way to phrase what he wishes to say in a more simple way. "May I ask you a question? You do not need to answer it."
"Sure." Kevin shrugs. "What is it?"
"Well, you seem rather… how do I put this? Not quite like yourself, I guess. Is… is everything alright?"
Again, Kevin merely looks at him, stares at him with an expression on his face that is rather hard to read, though Double-D somewhat gets the feeling that his question caught the ginger off guard. "What do you mean?" He asks back, his voice a bit more sharp like it usually is whenever he talks to either of the Eds.
Holding his hands up as a sign of him surrendering the matter, Double-D makes sure to keep his nerves in check as he speaks. "As I said Kevin; you do not need to answer." Kevin frowns at him, but he doesn't let it get to him. "Just know that I can see it and-"
"See what?" Kevin's gaze darkens and he moves closer to the nerd, forcing him into a corner. Old habits die hard. But to his surprise the dork stands his ground. Expression remaining the same as before, Double-D merely looks back at Kevin, meeting his gaze with one that is filled with something Kevin's never seen in the dork before. The look of terror that's he's used to see in those ice blue eyes as they're desperately looking for a way out is nowhere to be found. Within seconds, Kevin's act of aggression fades away, a look of confused chock replacing it for the dork to see as he moves away from him. Edd was hurt. The thoughts slowly whisper in his mind as Mel's outburst replays in his memories. They hurt him. His frown changes, his brows still knitted tightly together, but this time not in anger. "What did they do to you?" He whispers.
It's Edd's time to look surprised. Kevin clearly whispered that question to himself rather than for Edd to hear it and give him an answer, but that does little to change the subject, or his reaction. "Pardon?" He asks, though not as aggressive as Kevin, the question remains the same.
Kevin remains silent for a few seconds, searching for more hints and clues in the dork's eyes, in his facial expression. Blinking a couple of times as he analyzes what he sees, he eventually looks at Edd, meeting his gaze properly. "Well, dork." He says. "You don't need to answer either. Just know that I can see it too."
The question in Double-D's face grows deeper, though there's something there that's telling Kevin that he understands what he's talking about. A knocking disrupts their conversation – if you can even call it that – and they turn to see Mel leaning in from behind the doorframe.
"How's it going?" She asks, having just finished her chores in the kitchen, putting the dishes and leftovers away. The boys merely shrug and give her some confirming noises to tell her that they've just finished to. "Right. Well, I just wanted to check on you. It got kind of quiet up here?" She raises an eyebrow at the last sentence, addressed as if it was a statement and a question at the same time, and she can tell from their postures that they're somewhat uncomfortable about that. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you Kevin that just because you'll spend the night here it doesn't mean you're nor forced to spend the whole day with us. If you want to go and hang out with your friends, feel free. And the same goes for you, bro." She says with a smile that means well on her face.
Kevin looks at her, surprise written on his face. He's never been to a sleepover where they tell him that it's okay if he wants to leave and hang out with other people. Then again, this isn't exactly how a normal sleepover usually goes, is it? "You sure?" He asks, feeling a little awkward with the idea of just leaving and then coming back to crash at their place.
"Yeah." She says, smiling still. "I mean, I want you to feel like you're home and how often do you not leave your home to spend time with your friends?"
True. "True… but-"
"No buts, just nuts." She says, a snicker following suit as she reaches out and messes with his cap. "It'll be good for you. Both of you." Looking over at her brother, she reaches out to mess with his hat as well, but he manages to dodge and evade her. "Just make sure to be back at 7ich. I'm gonna try and have supper prepared by then. Unless you want to eat elsewhere."
"No, no! 7pm – I'll be here!" He smiles.
"Alright." She stands up straight and begins to walk away from them. "I need to make a phone call real quick. Just shout to let me know you leave or so." Raising a hand to wave at them from behind, she makes her way down the stairs, hoping that she's making the right decisions in life. She can hear the footsteps of two younger kids following her down the stairs. They don't sound too eager to get moving, though something tells her that it will still be good for them to go and be with their friends. She doesn't want either of them to feel like they're trapped against their will.
"We're heading out then!" Kevin shouts as he heads out the door.
"We'll be back at 7!" Edd calls out.
She waves at them both, phone already in hand and numbers being pressed to call the one she needs to talk to. Watching the door close behind the two of them, seeing them walk down the front yard next to each other only to then separate and head off in two different directions… she almost doesn't hear the person answer the phone.
"Hellow?" Amanda speaks, knowing that she sometimes has to snap Mel out of it before she's able to speak. "Someone called this number and yet there's not a sound to be heard? How weird and bizarre – I hope I'm not about to get murdered! Oh, no! The Axman is here!"
"What the- what are you talking about?" Mel asks once she finally hears Amanda on the other side of the line.
"Oh my goodness, there's someone there! Hooray!" Amanda cheers. She always cheers. Why does she always cheer? "Seriously though – you've never heard about the Axman?"
Leaning back against the wooden fence of the farm, Kevin switches from watching his friend do his chores before he can hang out, to watching the clouds move above them, changing their forms to tell weird and macabre stories for him to see. He can hear Rolf shout things to his family in their native language, sounding incredibly angry at one another even though he's been told many a times by said shepherd's son that there's nothing to worry about – that's just how they speak in that language.
Closing his eyes, he can see the shapes and silhouettes of the clouds as his eyelids seal, putting the outside world away. Putting his hands behind his head, leaning back some more, he tries to focus on the world he can't see – listening in on the little sounds that echo around him. How the grass hisses as the wind disrupts its peace, the small birds that sing small messages to each other, the sheep that sound their disapproval of Rolf shaving them. All these little sounds tell him so many different things, things that he very often forgets about – as soon as he opens his eyes. He knows that as soon as he opens his eyes they will all go away from the spotlight and return to become nothing but background noises, something that's right there in plain sight, and yet you don't notice it.
A frown grows on his face, thinking about it. Why does that remind him of the dork and his sister? Something that's always there, but you don't notice it – until something is removed from your vision. Then, they will be all that you see and pay attention to. Like how he didn't bother thinking about how the dork is doing until his usual happy attitude went away, how he didn't bother thinking and worrying about the dorks until their daily scams came to a halt. How Mel didn't seem to be going through stuff herself until her control over herself faded and she… hurt herself whilst breaking things.
Frown still intact, Kevin opens his eyes and looks at the sky. The clouds seem to have gotten slightly darker, but that can't be right. The weather prognosis said it wouldn't rain the whole week, though he supposes they could be wrong. Or maybe it's just his mind trying to tell him something? Blinking a few times, he tries to figure out what it could be that the darker clouds could be trying to tell him. He did notice the slightly darker look in the dork's eyes earlier – something that's clearly new to him and something he's going to have to talk with Nazz about, as soon as she comes back home again – but that's also not all he noticed. He can't quite place it, but there is something about Mel… the way she can just look straight ahead, lock her gaze in one place, and then she's stuck there. It happened when they were eating dinner, though he must admit that it did seem like she was fighting it, but he could still see it. It's like… like a thin layer in her gaze that filters out all emotions from her eyes, like she's long gone somewhere else, yet trying so hard to return to them.
"Casanova-Kevin!" Rolf suddenly shouts at him, snapping him out of his train of thoughts.
Kevin sits back up, cracks his back before he stands up and walks towards his friend. "Hey man, what are you shouting for?"
Rolf only looks at him, a clear question mark shining in his face. "Rolf has been trying to call his friend for longer than it takes nana to get out of her baths. What has gotten you to seek the wisdom of the clouds?"
"What has- what?" Kevin asks, feeling more confused at Rolf's wording that he did with the dork.
"Ay, Kevin. One does not simply look up to the sky to see the clouds tell their messages if there is no message to be seen." Rolf says; smile wide as ever as he's more than certain that his ginger friend is able to understand what he's saying. "Please, do tell the son of a shepherd what is troubling your mind."
"Tch… I'm not even sure if you'd understand me." He says, trying to get the other to drop the subject. He just wants to hang out.
Noting the nervous tick that his ginger friend has, scratching the back of his head whilst evading eye contact, focusing his gaze downwards. "Ay, Kevin. It is a heavy subject, no?"
"You could say that."
"Then one must be ready before speaking." Rolf says whilst he picks up the tools he used to trim the sheep, putting them away. "Many bad things can happen if you speak about the pain too soon. But that does not mean you must never speak about it! Just like nana always says; it must be spoken about, but not too soon!" He throws a pointing finger at Kevin, a gesture he recognizes as him telling him something important and that he's waiting for confirmation that his message has been heard.
"Yeah… got it." He says and Rolf immediately lowers his hand. Watching has the son of a shepherd carries his tools, putting them back in their rightful place, he can't help but appreciate his friend. Even though the language and cultural barrier makes it rather difficult for them to understand each other, Rolf does genuinely care for his friends and does try to help as much as he is able to. Letting out a sigh, Kevin looks down on the ground he's standing on, noting all of the small details he usually misses. "Got it." He whispers.
Song: Hometown – Twenty One Pilots (Slowed)
I looked up Shepherd, Shepard and Sheppard on Google.
I'm confused.
