The buzzer sounded multiple times as Eddward made his way downstairs. As he reached the front door he took a moment to look into the mirror and compose himself. He felt horrible and his reflection confirmed that he didn't look any better. He had dark circles under his eyes, no doubt caused by his nightmare and therefore lack of sleep. He was dressed in his usual attire and had the hood up on his jacket. The buzzer sounded again and Eddward opened the door to peer at the cause of the noise.

"Normal people will generally ring a doorbell once and then wait," he chided grumpily.

"Had to make sure your ass actually got out of bed," came her quick response as she reached up and pressed her finger between his eyes. "Ding dong."

Eddward grabbed her hand and pushed it away from his face, it was too early for her childish antics. "You're hysterical, Marie."

Marie Kanker and Eddward Vincent had a weird relationship. In the past she had a very obvious crush on him and even tried to force him into marriage as a child. Along with her sisters, they always had a scheme to capture the Eds' hearts. She was none too shy of her feelings for him then and even now. She had been the one to find him on the day of the incident and she stayed in the hospital with him until he was well enough to go home. Since then they developed a friendship which Eddward was quite fond of. Besides Eddy and Ed, she was his best friend. The years had treated her well. She was still very slim and wore cargo pants with a band t-shirt. Her hair was shoulder length and a deep shade of blue which faded into purple tips.

"So, I'm thinking we should go get some breakfast. Your treat of course," Marie said as she smiled up at him.

Eddward arched an eyebrow as he glared down at her, "I don't remember asking you to come here in the first place. Why would I purchase your breakfast?" He asked as his lips twisted into a smirk.

She met his challenge with a glare of her own and crossed her arms as she pressed her weight to one side.

"You woke me up, so you're buying me breakfast."

Eddward rolled his eyes as he accepted defeat. He reached back to close the door behind him.

"Come on," she urged him as she uncrossed her arms and grabbed his hand so she could practically drag him to her car.

Across the street in a second story window an unknown bystander had noticed the girl waiting outside Edd's house and decided to watch the two interact once Eddward answered the door. Kevin was fascinated by them for reasons he wasn't entirely sure of himself. Over the years he had watched the dork grow up from a nerd to a handsome... decent looking guy. There was something about Eddward that captured Kevin's eye, but no matter how hard he tried to reason with himself, he just couldn't figure out the awkward attraction. Kevin Barr was most certainly not gay, not that there was anything wrong with people who were gay, but that just wasn't who he was and yet here he was gaping at Eddward.

Eddward wasn't like other guys. Even though he now presented a tough exterior there was still a lingering softness about him. He didn't have facial hair, his skin was smooth and blemish free. He had toned out, but not in an overly muscular way. He had immaculate hygiene and there was just something about him. Maybe it was the mystery behind it all. One day Eddward had been Double Dee and then just like that he disappeared off the face of the cul-de-sac for a few months until school started back up. When he returned to school he was Eddward or Dee as many referred to him now. Kevin wasn't entirely sure about the details of what happened to Eddward that night. He knew he was beaten pretty badly and the guys responsible were arrested, but that was it.

He too had given the dork along with the other Eds a fair share of beatings, but nothing worthy enough to be detained for. That was a whole other level of violence he didn't believe in. Kevin was actually friends with Jensen Reese. They were on the baseball team together, but once Jensen and his friends started picking on other kids and borderline hazing them Kevin quit the team and joined the football team instead.

He watched as Eddward opened the door for Marie and she flashed him a dazzling smile as she got in the car. Then Edd circled around to the driver side and the two were off. Kevin rolled his eyes at their interaction. Marie's relationship with Eddward was one he was confused to no end over. At one point he thought they were possibly together. He'd seen them hug on a number of occasions, the hugs always originated from Marie, but they never held hands or kissed. He almost gagged when he thought of Marie's lips on Edd's. He shook his head at the thought. He had sometimes wondered what Eddward's lips felt like. What was wrong with him? He and Eddward weren't even friends really and here he was disgusted at the possibly that Eddward was straight. Well Kevin was straight too. He always thought he was at least.

Kevin was hoping whatever Edd and Marie went to do wouldn't take long. He was looking forward to going to the gym with him later. Over their high school careers they didn't really keep in contact. It was always a coincidence when they met at the gym. Kevin was glad he had walked Nazz over to Eddy's house the previous night. It gave him a chance to ask Eddward if he were going and even though it was a little cold outside Kevin was sure the dork was blushing. He hoped he had been at least. He sighed as he sat down on his bed. It was sad that his life had come to this. Kevin was hung up on one of the Eds. His phone buzzed and he grabbed it, noticing he had a message from Nazz.

'Come over at 12?'

'k'

Kevin spent the rest of his morning working on his bike in the garage. He and his father had gotten it from an add online at the beginning of summer. It was old and beaten up, but Kevin planned on restoring it to its former glory. Having a real bike beat his childhood bike any day. He had the garage door open so he could peer across the street periodically to see when a certain dork would arrive home. Kevin looked down at his phone and noticed it was nearing noon. He was covered with grease and he wanted to shower before he went over to Nazz's house. He grabbed a hand towel from his back pocket and wiped some of the grease off his face when he finally saw Marie's car pull up into the driveway at Eddward's house. Marie got out of the car and then Eddward.

They both walked up to Eddward's door and waited as he rummaged around in his pocket for his keys. Once he had the door open he turned to Marie and seemed to say something, but Kevin was too far away to hear. Marie stood directly behind Eddward as he went to step inside. She put her arms around him and buried her face into his back.

Eddward seemed to stiffen at the gesture before he relaxed and turned so she could properly embrace him. Marie was shaking slightly and Eddward gave her a reassuring squeeze in return. Eddward smiled down at her and mumbled something and Marie looked up to catch his gaze. Marie stood up on her toes and kissed Eddward on the cheek and his face drained of color. Kevin couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched them. His chest felt tight and a sense of envy washed over him. He felt his fist clench on its own accord.

He didn't know when it happened, but at some point Eddward had seen him and they locked eyes. Marie was still hugging Edd tightly, but his attention was solely focused on Kevin now. He dropped the gaze when the hug finally ended and Marie retreated back to her car and left. Eddward stood in his doorway until she was gone and then his eyes met Kevin's once again. Kevin wasn't sure what he saw looking back at him in Eddward's eyes and even though he wanted to go talk to him he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead he broke the gaze and shut his garage door cutting off Eddward's view.

Kevin opted on skipping his shower as he left his house and made his way over to Nazz's. By that time Eddward had already locked himself back away inside his home. Kevin still couldn't get Eddward's eyes out of his mind though. He looked so broken and upset and for some reason nothing Marie did changed that. The girl had tried desperately to break through to Eddward and instead Eddward looked to him. Was that supposed to mean something? Kevin shook the thoughts from his head as he walked up to Nazz's front door and knocked.

"It's open!" He heard her yell from inside.

He swiftly opened the door and shut it behind himself as he walked into her kitchen. Nazz was seated at the table and Eddy was sitting across from her. There were various papers scattered across the table between them. Kevin scowled as he walked up and took the seat directly beside Nazz earning him a glare from Eddy. Kevin smirked as he sat back in his chair and draped his arm on the back of Nazz's chair.

"So, is there a reason you didn't tell me dorko was gunna be here too?" Kevin asked.

"Watch it Shovelchin," Eddy replied.

"Guys come on," Nazz cut in and then turned her attention to Kevin, "would you have come if you knew he was here?"

Kevin readjusted his hat as he gave his single word response, "nope." He noticed grease on his hand and he rubbed it on the side of his pants.

"Was working a shower too hard for your small brain to handle?" Eddy asked flatly.

"Nazz doesn't seem to mind," Kevin quipped as he flashed Eddy a smile while leaning closer to Nazz. He moved his arm from around her chair to tighten it around her waist.

Eddy's eyes turned to slits as he opened his mouth to say something back, but was cut off by Nazz.

"Seriously can you both just try to get along," she said as she went back to arranging the papers on her table. She turned and narrowed her eyes at Kevin, "move your arm."

"Whatever," Kevin answered as he retracted his arm. He looked at the papers again, "what is all this?" He asked as he motioned with one hand to the table.

"College packets and brochures. My mom wanted me to get an early start on my future and that got me thinking. This is the last summer before high school is over." She straightened all the papers in a nice pile and then pushed them aside. "So I want to throw an end of summer party."

"And next summer before college? What about that summer? Besides, you throw parties all the time. What's going to make this one any different?" Eddy asked from across the table. He had his elbows propped up and was resting his face on his hands.

Nazz shot him a look before continuing, "this summer is different. It's the last one before we need to stat focusing on our futures. If I keep my grades up I have a real shot at getting early admission. I won't really have a summer next year before I leave for university. It'll be just us from the cul-de-sac, the original gang. And... I was kind of planning on telling everyone about us," she admitted.

Eddy turned his face from her and wouldn't meet her gaze, "fine," he said in a low voice.

His phone beeped that he had a new message and he quickly read it before standing, "Dee's home, I need to go talk to him." He said as he rounded the table and kissed Nazz on the cheek. "I'll call you later," he said as he made his way to the front door.

"Aren't you gunna say bye to me too?" Kevin yelled as he tipped his chair back.

Eddy turned to meet his gaze and smiled, "later asshole," then turned back to open the door.

"Little prick," Kevin mumbled under his breath which earned him a smack across the chest from Nazz, "Ow," he said as he rubbed the spot she hit.

"So, anyway. I called you over here for a different reason," she said as she looked back toward the table and began to twirl a piece of her hair absentmindedly.

"Okay, so what's up?" Kevin asked as he arched an eyebrow.

Nazz had always been easy to read. She was like an open book. He knew all her quirks and right now something was off about her. Nazz was honest and blunt. She wasn't one to hold her feelings back.

"Okay so last night after you guys all left, Eddy and I stayed up talking. There was something- off about him I guess. When I finally got him to talk he said he was worried about Edd. When I tried to pry more out of him he just shut up and acted like nothing was wrong anymore. It's like I hit a nerve or something," she finally lifted her head so their eyes could meet and Kevin was shocked at how upset she was," Kev, this is Eddy, the guy who never gets upset. The one who's always looking for the next big scheme. Something's going on with Edd and it's really upsetting him. I'm worried."

Kevin took a moment to digest the information and he could almost picture Eddward in his mind from earlier. The hard stare they shared was filled with more than just jealousy and envy on Kevin's part. There was pain and despair lurking behind Edd's cold blue eyes. Kevin felt a twinge of some emotion pierce his heart. Was something wrong with the dork?

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" he asked sounding like more of an ass than he meant to.

"You and Edd lift weights, right? Can you talk to him and maybe see if you can find out what's going on?"

Kevin felt a red tint pinch his cheeks and he averted his eyes. "I don't know if I can do that. We're not that close. We're not even friends really." Saying that out loud hurt and Kevin wished he could take the words back.

"Please, Kev?"

He gulped before he could bring himself to answer her, "I'll try."

She smiled and pressed herself into his side, "thank you," she said and then pushed away. "God you reek. Please, shower before you talk to him."

A short while later Kevin left Nazz's house with a crumpled up piece of paper in his hand. Nazz had been planning this and knew Kevin wouldn't deny her request. Once Eddy had fallen asleep the previous night she went through his phone to get Eddward's number. Now Kevin held it in his hands and he was terrified to call it. It was ridiculous really. He should be ashamed of himself for feeling this way. He was afraid to call that gap tooth faced dork. But why? He knew why, rejection. He was afraid of rejection. With girls his charm easily washed over them and he could take anyone he picked to bed with him, but this was different. Kevin was infatuated with Eddward and he wasn't sure if his feelings would be reciprocated.

It wasn't even like he was calling him for a date. They were supposed to go to the gym. Guys did that all the time. There was nothing gay about it. Kevin opened the paper and entered the numbers into his phone and then pressed save. He tried to press the call button, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Instead he scrolled to another number and called it instead. Nazz promptly answered.

"There's no way you already found out what happened," came her quick voice.

Kevin sighed and laid on his bed. The lights were off and he had pulled the shades shut masking his room in darkness. His nerves were eating at him and his skin prickled with anticipation. He was about to open up to his best friend and he had never been so scared in his whole life.

"Nazz, if I- if I tell you something do you promise nothin'll change and we'll be okay?" he asked.

There was a pause at the other end of the line followed by, "Kev, what's going on?"

Well it was now or never, "Nazz have you ever like looked at someone and had feelings you know you shouldn't have and it's just for that one person cuz no one else can make you feel like that."

"You do know I'm dating Eddy, right?" she asked jokingly trying to lighten the mood.

Kevin gave a fake laugh for her amusement. Leave it to Nazz to try and make him feel better when all he wanted to do was rewind the day and stop himself from feeling the way he did for a certain dork. He briefly wondered if he should go through with telling her. What if she resented him or worse, what if she ended their friendship? No, Nazz wasn't like that. He swallowed before he went on, "I-I think I like Edd." There, he had said it. It was the first time he had let those words escape his mouth and it sounded right coming off of his tongue.

Silence echoed back to him on the other end of the line as he waited for a response. After a moment a girlish shriek penetrated his ear and his eyes shot open.

"Kevin! That's adorable!" she yelled.

"Fuck Nazz. Did you have to scream like that?" he said as he put his arm over his eyes. Even though she couldn't see him it still gave him the sense of hiding. His cheeks were burning.

"Oh my God! You and Edd! Are you gunna tell him?"

"Nazz I'm a guy. It doesn't work like that. Or I don't think so at least. I don't even know."

"Kevin, you have his number now. Talk to him. Or better yet go next door."

Everything sounded so easy coming from Nazz, but that's just the type of girl she was. She acted on impulse and didn't hold back. Kevin wished for a moment he could steal some of her courage and bottle it up to keep with him. The last thing he wanted to do was admit his feelings to Eddward.

"I can't, what if he- what if he's dating Marie?" Her name rolled off his tongue and left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I don't think they're together Kev, but you'll never know unless you talk to him."

Kevin had a lot to think about. If he went down this path… if he chose to be with Eddward, then what? Even if Edd chose him too how would they even begin to make a relationship possible? This was high school and they would be judged by everyone. Not only that but after high school Eddward was probably going to leave for university. Kevin would probably never see him again. No, there wasn't a point if it would end like that.

"Thanks for hearing me out Nazz. I'll talk to you later," he said and swiftly ended the call.

He got up from his bed and went to his window. He pulled the shades back just in time to see Eddward leaving his house with Eddy already standing on the porch. They chatted for a few moments and then Eddy turned and left while Edd locked his door, and then he started jogging down the street. Kevin watched him until he was out of sight.

"Damn, you just had to fall for Double Dee, didn't you." he said to himself.

-LunaMaye