Mr. Sandman ~ bring me a dream
I'm sorry for the delay. My mind is currently malfunctioning. I do hope this chapter will suffice.
Chapter 23
Mr. Sandman
Nighttime approached at a steady pace, albeit a bit quicker than most would've cared for. Eddy had been quite unpleased – to say the least – to hear that Kevin, of all people, is spending the night at Edd's place, but Edd had still managed to convince his friend to let him return home for the night. Though it was quite the challenge, he's not going to lie. Returning home at around 8:30 pm, he finds to his surprise that Kevin is in his kitchen, helping cleaning the dishes from the supper Mel prepared for them. It would seem that Eddy had still managed to keep Edd longer than he had originally planned (maybe he should've left out the detail about Kevin spending the night at his and Mel's residence?) He apologizes profusely to Mel for having missed her supper, to which she merely messed with his beanie and said it was okay, as long as he wasn't going to bed hungry. Their interaction leave him… confused.
Sitting at his desk, pen in hand and diary in front of him, he listens to the sounds of his home being quiet, preparing for the night. Kevin has already made his way to bed and Mel as well. She closed her bedroom door not too long ago, after having knocked on his and Kevin's doors to say 'Goodnight'. Now he's left with his thoughts. Thoughts that doesn't make sense, that confuse him to no end. Writing them down, word for word, at a very choppy and uneven pace, he eventually manages to fill the page for today. With a sigh he closes the small book and puts his pen away. Leaning back in his chair he tries to think of a reason, a logical one, that would explain all of the emotions he's been feeling since Mel saved them from the Kankers… or rather; the lack of emotions.
Rubbing his eyes in frustration and exhaustion, he drags his hands across his face, down and then up to pull through his hair, removing his beanie in the process. He can hear a few of the hairpins fall to the floor but could not care any less about it for the moment. He's far too focused on thinking, or rather trying to think back on to a time where he's had a crush on someone else, something he can remember and compare to whatever he's going through right now, but with no luck. For as long as he can remember, he's never really, actually, had a legitimate crush on someone – which naturally means he doesn't know what it feels like to have one. However, from what he's been able to observe; having gone through being someone's crush a few times, he's fairly certain that a lot of emotions are involved. And since that's the exact opposite of what he's feeling and going through with whatever this is with Mel, by the process of elimination; that would mean that he doesn't have a crush on his sister – which is wonderful. But if that's the case, then what was that warm feeling in his belly when Mel carried him out of that horrible house? What caused him to feel it to begin with and what happened to it? Was it really just a worry knot that let go? He's had several before in his life, and while it always felt pleasant to feel them melt away, it never felt that warm or welcomed before. Can they really feel like that? Obviously this would all resolve if he just went to Mel and talked to her about this – but to start such a conversation!?
Tossing his beanie to his bed, he lets his hair fall freely as he reaches out for his diary once again and starts writing down his confusion, now that he somewhat know how to describe it. Writing another page to his daily journaling, he fights the heavy feeling in his head, his eyelids slowly making their way to close on their own. In the middle of a sentence he decides to just rest for a small moment, closes his eyes and lets his head rest against the desk, his diary, journal – whatever I've called it before in this story, I don't remember – wide open for anyone to see if they were in the room with him. Soon enough, he's sound asleep.
Lying in a comfortable bed, he feels at peace and out of place at the same time. It's a very confusing and slightly annoying feeling… especially when you're feeling it in the middle of the night, when you're trying to sleep.
With a deep sigh he rolls to lie on his back, opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling above him. The ceiling is different, he doesn't recognize it. The sounds are new and unfamiliar, keeping him alert. Nothing new under the sun when it comes to sleeping at someone else's place, I'm afraid. He sighs and sits up; wrapping his arms around his legs and just waits. Waits for what? His body to pass out of exhaustion, I guess. Have you never done that before? Staying awake all night, hoping your body is just going to go out like a light, only to realize that the light coming from the window is not the sun setting, but the sun rising? Yeah… me neither.
After a few moments of sitting still in the bed, it suddenly dawns on him why he's able to hear all of those little weird noises throughout this house; it's quiet. His eyes widen at the realization, as he slowly begins to understand what all those little noises are. The soft ticking sound coming from the little clock in the guestroom, the wind ever so often swirling around outside… the light footsteps of Mel as she walked to her bedroom after she told them 'Goodnight'. He blinks. The thought of Mel bringing back memories from the junkyard, the words she cried out; she might not even have remembered that Kevin was there at the moment, only realizing it when he called out to her. Then there's this whole weird interaction he had with the dork himself that left a nasty taste in his mouth. Double-Dork has never stood his ground like that before. Sure, he's been sassy to Eddy before, and some might even have second thoughts about him being a pacifist at times. That moment however – that moment was different. Whoever he was talking to it sure was not Double-Dork. 'Edd was hurt.' His mind keeps reciting what she told him. 'They went after him again!' 'Many bad things can happen if you speak about the pain too soon. But that does not mean you must never speak about it!' Sighing in frustration he gets out of bed.
Carefully opening the door, he keeps being surprised by the silence of this house, wondering if there's someone listening to it as intently as he is. Is there someone watching him? He shakes his head, ridding himself of the thought, telling himself that he can't be a coward at a time like this. His mind goes blank. At a time like what? Closing the door behind him, he soon realizes that he has no idea what he's doing or why he decided to leave the guestroom to begin with. Should he… should he go use the toilet? At least that would be a logical reason to be out and about at this hour. Nodding to himself he starts to walk towards the bathroom, walking as carefully and quietly as he possibly can. It doesn't take him long to freeze in place.
There's a light, coming from the dork's bedroom door. He's awake? Looking back and forth between the door to the bathroom and the door to the dork's bedroom, Kevin steers his legs in a new direction. He doesn't need to use the toilet anyway, so he might as well try and talk to the dork some more. After all, like Rolf's nana said; 'it must be spoken about, but not too soon!' He slowly makes his way up to the door and very carefully, almost inaudible, he knocks on the door and waits.
"Hey dork?" He says, trying to be as quiet as possible. "You up?" All he can hear is silence, though the lights remain on. Did the dork really fall asleep with the lights on? "Hey dork. You-uh… you left the lights on." Still nothing. Starting to feel slightly annoyed and agitated, he decides to step inside – just to be safe. "I'm coming in."
Twisting the doorknob gently the door softly pops open, bleeding more light into the dark hallway. Making sure to only open it as much as he needs to, Kevin silently enters the well lit room, feeling his eyes burn. It takes them a small moment to adjust and he soon finds the dork – sitting by his desk, head lying in an open book and a pen still in hand. Shaking his head in disbelief, Kevin slowly makes his way closer and is soon able to see that Edd did in fact fall asleep with the light on as well. Man, the dork sure is a… a dork. Letting out a sigh, he walks all the way up to the dork to help get him in bed at least, knowing what sleeping at an odd angle like that – maybe not exactly like that – will do to you in the morning.
"Alright dweeb." He says, preparing the bed before he turns to the dork. "It's bedtime. Put that homework away." Edd's soft breathing is the only thing that can be heard in the room… or at least it was. As Kevin steps closer he thinks for a moment before he carefully places his arm around the dork's front, moving him away from the desk. He throws a quick glance at the book, making sure it's not coming with them. Dang, whatever the dork is working on, he sure has a lot to write about it. Once the dork is somewhat stabilized, he then moves his arm to support the dork's back and gently hoists him up in his arms, holding him in an awkward bridal style. Placing the dork onto the bed as gently as he can, he then sees that he carried the dork the wrong way – his head is where his feet should be while his feet are resting on his pillow. "C'mon…!" He groans, frustrated. Alright, enough's enough. "Hey dork, you need to move a bit." He says, not really caring to keep his voice down. Nothing happens. Is he really that much of a heavy sleeper? "Hey dork!" He says again, this time shaking his shoulder a bit. "Wake up. You need to turn around." That does the trick; the dork is sniffing loudly as he's shaken awake.
Looking bewildered at his surroundings, Edd's gaze eventually land on the figure leaning over him. Frowning in confusion, his tired mind speaks volume for him. "Bh-wha-Kevin?" Loud and clear.
"No, it's the Sandman." Kevin answers, an eyebrow raised in amusement. He's never seen the dork like this before – awake, yet still asleep. "You need to turn around a little."
"Mmmmm…why…?" Edd yawns and begins to nestle into his bed. "Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy."
Kevin fights the snickers. "Because your pillow is over there, not over here."
"Donmm… need pillow…" And just like that, he's falling straight back to sleep, ignoring Kevin. "Sleepy, sleepy…"
He's not gonna lie; he's feeling ever so slightly annoyed about that one. True that he could just stand up and walk away, leave the dork like that and all, but there's something that's making him feel like he just wants to win this fight – even if it actually isn't a fight. He just wants to win this one! "Your head is where your feet go."
"Mmm!" The respond is immediate at that one; the dork is emerging from the little nest he's made for himself, holding himself up with his arms, a very tired deep-in-thought frown plastered on his face as his sleeping mind processes what the ginger just told him. "Mmm…dear…" He mutters silently before he starts the process of crawling around on his bed, turning himself around to let his feet go where they're meant to go, so that his head can finally rest on his pillow. Falling onto the pillow, the bed creaks even under the weight of that tiny dork, much to Kevin's surprise. "Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy…"
Seeing the dork finally – correctly – in bed, a proud smile shines on Kevin's face. With the victory in his pocket he stands up from the bed, offering the dork the final helping hand of moving the blanket over him. He's just gonna ignore telling him how his feet were on his pillow just before, and the fact that he's not in his pajamas. He's a smart dork; he can figure that part out by himself in the morning, can't he? Yes, yes he can. Besides, it will be funnier that way too. Can't forget about that!
Snickering to himself at the thought he turns around to leave the bedroom, only to spot the book on the dork's desk once again. He stares at the book for a long moment; the sound of Edd's soft breathing suggesting he's fast asleep already. Now, we all know that the dork is a purebred genius who plans everything perfectly beforehand no matter what it is, but especially if it's about homework. With that knowledge at hand, the amount of writing he can see in that book – writing that the dork himself has written down carefully, word for word… it scares him. Just what kind of messed up test is the teachers' hiding from them if that's the amount of writing and studying the dork needs to do to prepare for it?! Or have they already told the class about it and he just forgot about it? That could also be it – he has trouble paying attention in class ever so often after all, but he still tries his best for his mom, and although he does know what she thinks about cheating for tests and so… surely just a glance wouldn't be the worst thing, right? It's not like he's going to copy everything, even if he could!
Glancing back and forth between the dork and the book, Kevin silently apologizes to his mom as he reaches for the book and hurriedly leaves the room as quietly as possible. Taking the time to even turn the lights off for the dork, he navigates the lightless hallway to the best of his ability, finding himself to be suddenly blind all over again.
Jumping at every sound in the darkness, his footsteps are much louder this time than they were when he left the guestroom. After what feels like forever he finally reaches the door and lets himself in. The moment the door closes behind him he feels safe again, gasping for air as he apparently held his breath the whole time. Siding down the door, he softly falls to the floor, his head paying him back for not giving it the thing it needs the most. Filling his lungs with much needed air again he manages to get rid of all the different shapes his eyes are portraying for him, the darkness playing tricks on his mind at a low oxygen level. Once his head stops hurting he tries to make his way to the bed again, walking on shaky legs, still slightly lightheaded. The comfort of a bed rarely felt this welcoming and with the book still in his hands he lies down for a moment. Reaching out for his phone to turn on its flashlight, he has no idea of what he's about to discover about the dork.
Flashlight on, it fights off the darkness just enough for him to see the perfectly written words on the pages. Starting off from where the dork had left it wide open at the desk, Kevin decides to turn back a couple of pages to see where the subject started.
"I still don't know what to think or how to feel about everything that's happened. It's almost as if we're back at square one where I believed she was dangerous, only this time I no longer think – I know!"
Huh? A confused frown adorns his face as he rereads the first part a couple of times. Is this some sort of story? Where they meant to write a short story for homework? Still very confused, he continues to read whatever the dork has written down.
"She has been very quiet as well ever since the attack, but then again so have I. On that one I guess I cannot blame her. She keeps going on and on about how she wants to protect me, and she even gave me a speech about how 'love' supposedly can turn you evil if you feel someone you care about is in danger. To this very moment I still remain clueless as to what is going on in her head. It's almost as if she is deliberately making herself into one of the greatest mysteries I've ever seen in my life.
She did however say something interesting during her speech about love affecting people in different ways. Something about how love can evolve into something else, something that reminds of it but is apparently far worse – dangerous even. An emotion that will make you forget about the mutuality for the feelings you have for someone; make you unable to care whether the person of your interest feels the same about you or not. She even suggested that this certain feeling or emotion could render you to use violence to "convince" your special someone to feel the same about you. Whether she meant that you would use violence upon the person you're interested in or something else I'm not sure. I'm also not sure what emotion that would be, or how something like that could even be possible, however, I know better than to question it – especially after the attack I was made to witness."
Eyes growing wide he drops the book onto his lap, realization washing over him, hitting him in the face like a baseball bat hits a perfect homerun. This is not homework; it's the dork's diary! This is what happened! Breathing heavily, mind running at a thousand miles per hour – what do he do?! This is – this is everything that he and Nazz have been talking about, everything they've been wondering over! This is the answer to all of their questions! But – but… what do he do? Is he allowed to read this? Well, no – he's reading a diary; of course he's not allowed to read this. But if he doesn't… then… then… he will remain as clueless as he was before! Surely if it's for the sake of someone else's wellbeing, this sort of thing would be okay, right?
A sigh escapes him. He has got no idea what he should do in a situation like this… but he sure knows what he IS going to do in a situation like this! Shaking his head to clear his mind, trying to make as much room for this brand new information as possible, he picks the book up again and continues to read the rest of the page.
"Now that I think about it, it almost sounds like whatever the Kanker sisters might be "feeling" towards Ed, Eddy and I. I might have to do some more research to find out just what this certain feeling is and just what it means to have someone feel that way about you. If what Mel did was because of love, then I certainly do not wish to know whatever level of violence this other emotion can cause someone to aim for just for the sake of getting the one they claim to "love", if that's even how this other emotion work."
A snort escapes him. Pretty sure the Kanker sister doesn't act upon any logical feelings. Good luck with your research, dork.
Song: Mr. Sandman – SYML
This song puts me to sleep when my mind is in pieces.
