So. Once again I am delaying "Swim Away" for Fanfics I never intended on writing or, in this unusual case, continuing. But I started playing around with a few plots and due to request and oh so lovely and HEART SHATTERING curiosity in this story, I'll be continuing. Not sure for how long but here is the next chapter. Please don't die. I'm only 15, I don't want this kind of blood on my hands I already killed poor Edd for crying out loud ;-; haha enjoy guys! Leave a favorite and review! I love seeing feedback and tips from fans and fellow writers X3 (Keep an eye out for Swim Away, I'll be working on it soon, possibly an excerpt or brief summary at the end of this chapter...) this chapter has some gore, not too heavy but just be warned.

It was a lot warmer than Kevin remembered. Wasn't it the middle of Winter? Or was it the start of Summer... He couldn't remember. Actually, he couldn't really remember anything, his mind was overall very fuzzy. He woke up on a very familiar couch, alone. His legs propped up on the coffee table and his arms sprawled out on the couch behind him. A small voice in his head told him he was doing something wrong, so he took his feet down from the table and wiped the slight drool from his chin. He would have definitely heard Double Dee scolding him if he was caught in such a manner. Kevin was about to roll his eyes before his heart dropped.

'Double Dee...? That's right.. He's my... So why do I feel so... Afraid?' He shook his head, ignoring the sense of dread that overcame him when the name grazed the top of his mind.

The smell of sizzling eggs, crispy oven made bacon, and frying pancakes filled his nose. The room was filled with the warm aroma. It felt like a Sunday morning at Edd's house whenever he slept over. But this wasn't Edd's house.. Not even his. It's wasn't Nazz's or Rolf's or anywhere he could remember being... He couldn't recall where they were or how they had gotten there, but he could care less at the moment, he just wanted to find his dork. He stretched, cracking his elbows and knees out of their stiff positions, and stood. Light cream curtains hung over the warm light emanating from the windows. There was a light brown coffee table in front of him and a second tan sofa. There was a staircase beside the door that lead to the second floor of this mysterious house. A small white door under the stairs, and a door on the wall beside it seemed to stand out compared to the light yellow walls. He huffed in annoyance from his memory loss and continued on, maybe Edd could give him some answers. His fluffy pumpkin colored hair bounced over his cap strap as he walked out of the living room and into what he assumed would be the kitchen. Immediately he was greeted with a rather large stack of pancakes on the yellow kitchen table. Blue placemats were lined perfectly, as if someone had actually taken a ruler and placed them as such.

'Jesus Edd, I swear you get worse everyday.' He chuckled. His eyes then glanced over to the boy said. He wore a white apron and his trademark beanie, it seemed lower than usual. It covered the entirety of his neck's backside and leaving no space for Kevin to greet him with morning kisses, bummer. He slowly stepped towards him, careful not to disturb his... Oh what did he call it? His "creative cooking flow"? He smiled and sighed a long breath of cool air as he placed his hands lovingly on Edd's hips. The ginger's chin rested on his shoulder as he leaned against him.

"Morning, Sunshine." Another pang in Kevin's heart struck him like a hammer. What was going on? He focused on Double Dee beside him, seemingly not acknowledging his presence. Something was very wrong. "Uh... Dork?" He questioned, hoping for an answer or even a turn of the head, something! Kevin winced at the smell of burning pancakes below him. He stared at Edd's hand, which simply gripped a spatula and poked slightly at the blackening rock. "Double Dee...?" It was then that Kevin got a glimpse of his hands. They weren't their usual pale, soft fingers that he had laced his own hands within many times, but instead took on a sickly pale blue shade. Kevin's heart sunk to the floor at this point, beating rapidly. His arms wrapped around Edd's middle in attempt to bring him back, wake him up from his unusual and rather alarming daze, but that's when he felt liquid oozing onto his arms. It was warm, unusually warm. Kevin gasped and yanked his arms back, now covered in a very dark red liquid. Kevin yelped and grabbed Edd's shoulder, turning him around suddenly.

The horror that swept over Kevin in an instant was purely indescribable.

Edd's skin was that of a chalk white with a tint of a dying blue. His eyes were blank, empty of the lively cyan that always seems to give Kevin goosebumps at the sight. He felt them prick at his skin of course, but not the pleasure filled ones he got when he stared at the REAL Edd. These were overflowing with fear and pure terror as they crawled and etched into his skin, now draining of color as he looked down to Edd's middle. A deep, dark slash across hs middle. Three of them. No wider than a centimeter or two, but very deep. It bled rapidly, draining Edd of all life as he stood there, gazing at nothing with his blank eyes. Time seemed to freeze around them except for the slowly fading house they stood in. The wallpaper peeled off the wall and the wooden cupboards split and groaned, their rusting hinges separating. Kevin stepped back in horror, bumping into the now cracking table full of pancakes. He glanced back to see what he had hit and noticed the fluffy food had grown green and rotten, covered in white fuzzy mold. He grimaced in disgust and shot his head back up to Edd who was now coughing up blood and regaining his usual look. Color returned to his skin and eyes as he painfully glared at Kevin. They narrowed, showing all of his agony without words or sound. Tears swelled in both of their eyes as the body shaking in agony started to fall. Kevin shot off foreward, moving the table with his force of movement as he leapt towards him. In one swift movement he kneeled down and caught the frail teen in his arms as he fell forward and collapsed. His breath hitched and gagged, choking on his own blood. He coughed small globs of it onto the once white tile of the kitchen floor and onto Kevin's orange sweater. His body was cold and light, lighter than he remembered...

'Remember... I... I remember...' He winced in pain as a sudden flash of memory struck his mind. Screaming, a body fell rapidly, a hand tearing through the air, desperate to make contact with something, anything before...

"K-Keh... Keh... Vihn..." Edd gasped and heaved below him, struggling to even breath at this point. He was in so much pain. Kevin remembered so clearly. The accident...

Kevin winced and dropped "Edd". It wasn't him. He knew, it couldn't have been him. Otherwise he wouldn't have woken up alone, he would have woken up with a corpse in his arms. Edd wouldn't have been standing in the kitchen making breakfast, he could barely move on his own for the past two days. And he wouldn't be here dying in his arms, because Kevin was sure he was already...

"WAKE UP!" He shrieked. His voice rose and fell with each plea, cracking painfully for his throat was dry and raw. Still he shouted to himself, beginning to end this nightmare. Only to wake to a very real one…

There are five stages of grief. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.

Kevin woke with a start, jerking away as he nearly dropped the boy on his lap. Sweat clung to his neck and temples as he gasped for air. It was a nightmare... He looked around, trying desperately not to look down at... Him.

He winced at the sudden scenarios of what he must have looked like now that were flooding his shattering mind, and not yet wanting to move. His legs were sore and his body still ached from the days previous. Nearly two days of running and no sleep had not done the jock well, especially while he carried such an important package. But now the mission failed, and the 'package' he carried for days was never to be delivered, but abandoned halfway. He was so close.. If he just ignored the dork and kept going through the night he might have...

No. Who was he trying to fool, he wasn't going to make it either way, regardless if he had been injured or not. It simply wasn't meant to end like that.

His stomach dropped as his mind turned back to the still body on his lap. Oh god how he wished that he was, if not even here with him, then at least alive and healthy somewhere, still finding the strength, the nerve to smile, his gapped teeth showing proudly.

Finally, he found the ability to tilt his head downwards. What only took a short moment seemed like years to the ginger, his eyes falling short, not yet wanting to see...

His emerald irises fell upon his eternally sleeping lover. Edd's skin was chalk white, his once blush dusted cheeks now held a dull and no longer lively appearance. His hair hung in greasy strings but still looked so soft. It accompanied his frame and body structure well, which held the delicacy of a butterfly's wing. He looked so peaceful, not having to worry anymore, not having to go on and act as if it was all going to be absolutely fine just for Kevin's sake. He sighed.

"You're home now dork.. You don't gotta worry about me, everything is gonna be fine, you'll see. I told you... I'll be able to handle myself, and I will. Just gotta keep moving forward, Right?" His words caught in his throat. There was so much to say, so many words and feelings he needed to express, but upon looking at the painfully hard truth below him, it was just too much to take. He sucked in a sharp breath before lifting his arms below the boys shoulders and knee joint to move him. His legs trembled terribly, so very weak and tired. He lay Double Dee down on the couch, placing him face up. He zipped up his jacket, covering the wound and bloody wrapping underneath, and placed his cold hands over the blood stain in his middle. He then brushed the raven hair away from his peaceful face and kissed his forehead. What was he going to do? He couldn't take him with him... But... How was he supposed to leave him here? He couldn't, not him, he was too important. and he knew he wouldn't have the strength to bury him. A couch wasn't exactly the best place to leave him either, he would be consumed by maggots and exposed to other harmful things. He knew he may have been gone, but he didn't want him to be disrespected like that. Kevin lifted his hat and raked his trembling fingers through his orange hair. How could this be happening? Just a few weeks ago the dork was tutoring Kevin on junk he would never use in life, especially not now. Then Kevin would always hush him somehow on one if his rants on how it was important to educate himself to be able to make it in life and find a job, in which Kevin would tease him saying "Nah, I'll be fine. Especially when I got such a great husband to come home to everyday!" Edd would blush and almost always hide behind a book or tug his beanie down. But that was all before... This. The outbreak, the accident, the fall...

#

"Kevin! I implore you! Pay attention, our test is tomorrow!" Edd pleaded. Kevin simply rolled his eyes and groaned in annoyance. He really had no patience left, from yet another hectic day, to put up with this at all. The only reason he even agreed to come over that night was because he really did need help, and he knew that, but really it was more the excuse to just spend time with Edd, the only stress reliever he had next to Nazz and sports. He rubbed his temples and groaned. It had to be just past nine, shouldn't the dork be getting ready for bed? As for Kevin, he knew he wouldn't be asleep for at least another two hours. He always seemed to have the worst test anxiety, whether he was prepared for it with Edd's help, or not.

He huffed in annoyance and looked over to his rather sleepy looking boyfriend. He gripped a pencil in his hand as he hunched over and tapped on his textbook impatiently, frowning. Kevin mimicked his expression before he smirked and sat up, taking the pencil from his hand, and grabbing his wrist. He pulled him forward and tugged at his leg, silently begging him to come closer. Edd rolled his eyes, shifting at Kevin's request and sat on his lap. His legs spread over his thighs and he wrapped his arms around his neck, pouting.

#

Cold winter mornings were never his favorite, Kevin always preferred Summer afternoons and Autumn nights. Kevin preferred the pulsing warmth over death like cold. Before now he could have listed a million reasons as to why he would rather the bright light than the silver sun, hidden somewhere within the clouds. It was baseball season, he could spend summer days outside working on his bike or hanging with old friends, or simply spend a Stormy night with a certain sockhead nuzzled into his neck and breathing slowly against him as they fell asleep together. It was living without the fear that you would never feel the warmth of that sunlight in all its glory again when it sunk behind grey clouds containing the cold Winter. It was Edd. Summer was Edd, it was Kevin's sunlight, his happiness, his hope. Never in his life would he think a world without such a fragile boy would be so cold. Why of all people did it have to be him? The brainiac from across the street? The Einstein Ed-boy? Why did such a precious soul, such a lonely boy have to be the one he had to fall for, and forever lose?

#

"Kevin we really must..."

"Don't worry about it dork, I can just cram it all tomorrow morning, no big deal." He waved it off, his tone of voice warning him not to ruin the moment and push it any farther.

"But.." He was interrupted by lips connecting with his. He froze, slightly offended and annoyed with such a sudden and unnecessary interruption. In the end, Kevin won as usual, pulling the dork closer to him. His lips molded and moved with Edd's perfectly, aligning as if they were made for each other. Edd raised himself to get a higher elevation than Kevin, kissing him feverishly. His eyes closed and squinted slightly, his body getting warmer as they continued. Kevin slid his hands up Edd's thighs, over his waist, and under his shirt. He shuddered at the sudden contact of his cold hands on his skin. Edd frowned, a seed of fear growing in him before he shook his head. He pulled away and sighed, looking at Kevin with ice blue irises. They froze there for a second, green looking curiously into sky blue that made chills crawl up his spine. Blue stared lovingly into forest green, sending a wave of bliss and comfort wash over his constantly racing mind when he was near this boy. He rested his forehead against Kevin's and exhaled.

#

Kevin fell to his knees, a hard thud coming from the frozen ground below him as he impacted it with all his body weight. His thin sweater rippled against his shivering body like a flag. It wasn't from the cold. He looked around the desolate yard, blanketed in a dying light and frozen ice. The world was dead, everyone in it was dead, Edd was dead.

"You left me." He whispered to no one. No one at all. His head lowered as he breathed in icy air with shaking inhales. "I'm alone... And it's all your fault." He cursed to the frozen dirt. "Your fault... Do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME EDD? ITS YOUR FAULT ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He lashed out to the wind and sky. He punched the solid gravel below him and raged on. He was sure he had lost everything at this point, that there really was no point in surviving in this empty world. What was he to do?

Kevin spotted a shed a few yards away. It was small and pale rusted blue, and it's doors were cracked open. A shed containing tools no doubt. Kevin slowly rose to his feet and stormed over, anger and determination to end this bubbling inside him. He yanked open the surprisingly unlocked door and found dusty cobwebs decorated the empty shelves. A rusty shovel was propped up against the wall and a dull hammer on the ground was all that was to be seen. Kevin growled, cursing under his breath before sighing, glassy and dark eyes looking to the shovel.

#

"That's quite enough for tonight..." He said, his face contorting into something close to worry. Always with the worrying... Kevin slid his hands out from below his risen shirt and to his chin. Edd sat with his legs crossed beneath him beside Kevin's waist, his face lifted by Kevin's gentle hands. He pecked his soft lips and pulled away from him.

"Alright... Not tonight." He painfully said, respecting his wish. It was always so hard getting Edd to agree to what Kevin so desperately yearned for, but he knew better than to rush things.

They spent the rest of the night closing the textbook and switching on Edd's TV, though they didn't pay attention much. Kevin's back rested against the backside of the couch as his legs tangled with Edd's, who lay beside him, snuggled into his chest. Kevin's arm wrapped over his boyfriend's small form protectively as they lay there, slowly drifting away. Edd was in a light sleep and Kevin was nearly gone as well when they heard it. A sudden boom like thunder that shook the world around them slightly. A tremor like vibration rocketed through the ground below them, disturbing the peace of the silent night. Edd woke suddenly and frowned.

"I don't remember a storm being mentioned on the news..." He stated. They both shook it off, but no more thunder came, no lightning, no rain, all fell silent save for a few sirens in the distance, but they hardly noticed. About ten minutes later, Edd was wrapped in Kevin's hold and dozing off once more, his boyfriend sat up slightly and watched whatever nonsense was on TV. Kevin blinked tiredly as the channel suddenly went black. He stared at it, rather confused before it came back and automatically switched to a late night news report. Kevin narrowed his eyes and shifted his arm up, propping himself up on his elbow. His eyes suddenly widened in realization and sickening horror. Kevin tapped Edd's shoulder, gaining his attention and gestured to the screen. They both sat up simultaneously and watched as fire blazed dangerously in the screen.

#

Nearly six hours later, Kevin scraped whatever frozen dirt he could and filled the fresh crater in the ground, now holding a precious treasure that had now made it's way home. Kevin's eyes were dark and lowered, staring blankly at the rippled dirt, wanting desperately to forget who was under it. He dropped to his knees and brought his red cap forward, covering his eyes with the lid. Kevin clenched his teeth and bit down all the wails, all the screams that he would be damned if he let the empty world hear. His fingers dug into the earth as he trembled terribly and silently let tears slip down his face and into the earth.

#

An explosion.. In the city just outside of Peach Creek. They both gripped each other for support as they watched it go on. Minutes passed as they continued to watch in horror. It was a research facility, with a terrible amount of counted casualties and missing people reports so far. Edd buried his face in the crook of Kevin's neck, who kept his head towards the screen. People burning alive were sprinting out, groaning and screaming like a pig being slaughtered. Oh god then they started attacking, those THINGS. They came rushing out of the fire as if they were born in it. Then it started spreading, then they all started screaming. So much screaming...

#

Kevin gripped the dirt and few dead blades of grass beneath his fingers, choking on tears and remembering the last time he saw him alive, remembering his soft voice, so different from the one he used when scolding him or joking with him or simply telling him that he... He loved him.

"I'll find ya Edd... I'll find you someday... I'll always come back to you... I love you...

...My sunshine."

It kills me to keep going but I guess the show must go on...

For now, Kevin is alone. His never to be eternal lover is now... Home... And now I will work on telling you guys what happened to Edd in the first place... Oh boy.. But as someone once said "Death ends lives, not relationships."

But hey thanks for reading guys! I hope I'm not boring or depressing you too much, next chapter I'll start on actual plot and explanation. Please leave a review! And as I said before, here's an excerpt for "Swim Away", the R!KevEdd fanfiction I should be working on. Just skip to the next chapter (if it's up) if you're not interested. And I will see you all soon! Feel free to contact me or pm me anytime guys! Bye!

SWIM AWAY:

Summary: Eddward Vincent, a wanted man with a terrible secret, finds himself injured while on his escape from hunters. Kevin, a nerdy boy with not much good in his life, finds this wounded stranger by the creek and helps him. But these innocent actions have consequences when a shark suddenly drags Kevin into deeper waters, involving him in a game Edd knew would drown Kevin one way or another before he got out of it. If he was lucky enough. (Monster!AU)

Excerpt from Chapter 1

There had to be at least a dozen men on his heels. Thier damned dogs barked menacingly as their jaws clashed against the other over and over with each bark. They drew dangerously close, and Edd knew they would catch up to him soon, it was simply inevitable. His feet, burning with the need for a moment of rest, dug and kicked into the dirt. His heels were numb and dull pain was beginning to subside as exhaustion kicked in. A thick fog of dust rose to the sky and mixed with his visable breaths of warm swirling clouds of air with the cold around him. His breathing was cut short and sharp as he inhaled the autumn wind that blasted through his clothes like bullets. The fugitive heaved, small cries broke through his lungs as they ached to breath properly. His long legs fumbled through the thick foliage and his hands were covered in scrapes and small cuts as a result of tearing through the bushes and shrubbery around him. Shouts and commands rung through the night sky and intertwined within the trees as his pursuers closed the distance between them. He felt like he was drowning, the fear of death yanking at his thoughts and the desperation to climb back to the surface, to pull through and dart away into safer, calmer waters. Of course, moments like that didn't happen often to a shark, but even then it was the one, stomach clenching thought that struck a rod of fear through him the most.

A barking hound sprinted beside him, hideously large and coming too close with those clashing canines for Edd's comfort. The beast compressed and stretched his body like an accordion, getting the longest distance and building up his strength to make the strongest kicks to the ground in order to keep up with it's prey. The shark grimaced, knowing he would now have to make an even stronger effort and more of his dwindling energy to lose the canine hell bent on retrieving it's kill for his master. Edd kicked the ground with immense force and made a hard right, shifting his body weight to the side in one sharp movement of his upper torso. His lower body had a moment of trouble keeping up with his forced movement, causing Edd to suddenly feel the force of gravity take him under.

The world seemed to slow as it finally hit the shark that he was falling to the moist, cold ground, to his capture if he didn't act fast. His heart sunk and his blood ran cold at the thought. He shot his piercing cyan irises away from the dirt below him and to the path ahead of him. One chance, he would either catch himself now and break away, or fall to his demise. His hands shot out if their clenched position and towards the ground, hoping on everything he had in him that he would be able to beat gravity. His soft fingertips crunched into the dirt and sunk in deep as he struggled to push his muscles to their limit once more and lift his body weight in only a second. His shoulders hunched and his back muscles compressed as he shook in fear and exhaustion. One chance. Everything seemed to stop, every barking dog braking to a halt, every sprinting hunter slowing to a sudden stop. He could have sworn his jacket just grazed the soil beneath him. His legs fell behind clumsily as he leaned forward, balance hopelessly failing. His knee slammed and sunk into the dirt as he momentarily fell to a start position. One chance. Finally, bringing his leg forward, he groaned in determination and frustration as he pushed every muscle, every ounce of strength he had in him and launched off in a new direction.