"RUN!"

Edd took off at the sound of Eddy's muffled order to run, but the thundering of footsteps behind him let him know that whoever was chasing him was just as fast he.

He couldn't think of who would be able to match his speed as he couldn't think with the hot, heavy costume he was wearing restricting his movements.

"Got ya!"

Edd only barely recognized the voice that reached his ears just as he hit the ground. And just as quickly as he was knocked down, he was brought to his feet as more thundering feet reached his ears.

He recoiled inside the tight carrot costume as he said, "Please don't hurt me."

"Hurt you? Wha?"

He opened his eyes and as they focused as best they could through the screen that gave him some visibility to the outside world, he saw Kevin looking at him in confusion.

"Why would I…?"

But Kevin turned as his name was called by Eddy.

"Hey, Kevin! You got him!," the shortest Ed said with glee and Edd's suddenly furious.

"EDDY!"

Kevin jumped back as Edd turned around as best he could in the costume and marched over to where his best friend was standing.

"What is the meaning of these shenanigans?!," Edd yelled and Eddy rolled his eyes.

"It's just a little Easter game, no big," he shrugged as Nazz leaned wearily over his shoulder.

"Good job, Kev!," she grinned and Kevin groaned.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?!," Edd pleaded from inside the costume.

Kevin caught Nazz's shit eating grin and his heart sank.

"Just thought Kevin would like a nice Easter treat is all," she shrugged.

"Wait, I thought you said that if a Easter Bunny caught a Carrot, Double D would tell us where he hid all the Easter Eggs?," Ed asked and Eddy nodded.

Edd looked around him as best he could, and saw that Ed was wearing a costume similar to his own, except it came in two pieces as he was taller than Edd by six inches and the taller costumes adjusted for height with a hat head. But he was holding the hat under his arm as he questioned the popular cul-de-sac girl who was wearing a bunny ears headband as did Kevin, but his was placed over his ever present snapback.

Jimmy and Sarah had trotted up to their group at this point and were both dressed as Easter Bunnies. Johnny was quickly on their heels with a bunny ears headband on his head as well, but Plank had on what Edd could only assume was a baby's onsie carrot suit.

Rolf had come to stand next to Kevin in a homemade carrot suit and he was as confused as anyone about what Nazz had just said.

Eddy was the only one not in some sort of costume, but the smiling carrot on his white tshirt indicated what team he was on.

"I'm not telling anyone anything," Edd retorted from inside the costume. "You're gonna have to find them yourselves as planned."

Kevin snorted as his body twisted from side to side as he shook off his friends and neighbors complaining about his hard Easter Egg Hunts.

"And no one is getting any nice treats just because Kevin caught me!," he exclaimed. "The rules were that we divide off into teams of bunny's vs carrots and whichever team finds the most eggs wins jawbreakers. Not this chase and catch me nonsense!"

"But Nazz said –," Ed tried to retort but Kevin cut him off.

"Nazz conned ya, Dude," Kevin sighed as he eyeballed his best friend who gave him her own stink eyed stare.

"She WHAT?!," Eddy exclaimed as he shook his long time crush off his shoulder and she went beet red at his actions as Kevin's words sank into their collective group conscience.

"Well, I learned from the best," she grinned sheepishly as she flipped a bit of her short hair, but Eddy looked downright hurt.

"Dude, we all said no more cons," he whispered and everyone nodded.

"I'm just trying to help out my friend!," she retorted.

"HOW!?," Edd screeched from inside his costume. "I'm going to be black and blue from your help, young lady!"

"Oh, my God," Kevin breathed as he came to stand in front of the smartest Ed and their resident organizer. "I'm sorry, Double D. I didn't mean to hurt ya. Are you ok?!"

"I will be. I think," Edd sighed as he tried to shake the costume off and Kevin jumped behind him to unzip him from his vegetable prison.

"Thank you," Edd sighed as the cool spring breeze hit his flushed, sweaty skin.

"Yeah, no problem," Kevin said softly as he tried not to stare at his crush.

Something about how Edd looked after a hard work out made his heart race.

Edd looked like he was going to drop any second, but after a semester and a half of being on the school's freshman swim and track teams, his stamina was up.

But that didn't mean his skin didn't glow after a run or a dip in the pool.

Or that the way his eyes sparkled when he met the finish line didn't remind Kevin of the damn stars.

Or how his satisfied grin that showed off the gap between his two front teeth when he aced yet another test didn't leave Kevin in a silly state of awe.

"Ok, look," he said as he let loose a deep breath that regulated his breathing again, "the kids will be here any minute. No more chasing. We're here to help them find the eggs and nothing more. Got it?"

Everyone nodded, but Nazz looked disappointed and Kevin looked relieved but also mildly disappointed himself.

But Edd couldn't dwell on Nazz's shenanigans or the odd look in Kevin's brilliant green eyes because he had an Easter Egg Hunt to run.

After the hunt was over and the bunnies all went home with jawbreakers, the cul-de-sac friends and neighbors cleaned up from the day's festivities at the park in their backyards and headed back home.

"Why'd you get that costume, D?," Kevin asked as Edd carried the costume he had worn for the past three hours.

"It was the only one in my size," he sighed. "They didn't even have one for Eddy."

"For once being shrimpy pays off, huh?," Kevin snickered and Eddy stuck his nose in the air as he replied, "Hell yeah!"

Edd rolled his eyes as he adjusted the costume in his arms, and Kevin caught a glimpse of a purple bruise on his side when his shirt lifted a bit.

"Sorry about tackling ya," he said as he gave his shoulder a soft squeeze.

"All is forgiven, Kevin," Edd said with a bright smile. "You couldn't have known what she was up to."

Nazz groaned but ducked her head away from her friends and neighbors' side eyed glances.

After it was confirmed that Kevin and the other Eds had indeed been conned by the pretty girl, she spent the rest of the day trying to pay penance but everyone wasn't quite ready to forgive her yet.

The rule of no more cons came hard and fast after their throw down with Eddy's older brother.

As did Kevin's crush on Edd.

Seeing him stand up to the brute was a bit awe inspiring.

Becoming his friend was easy.

He couldn't pinpoint exactly when his crush began, but he knew he couldn't shake it.

Telling Nazz was even harder and it shook their own friendship for a bit as even she was beginning to think that they were going to become an item and he didn't like the idea of hurting her with the truth that he didn't see her as more than a friend.

But once she saw that he was being honest with her, she thought she'd help him be honest with Edd.

However, because she wasn't honest with him or Edd's friends, her help backfired in her face and Edd had the bruises to prove it.

"Actually," he sighed, "I kinda think I do."

Edd whipped his head around to gape at him and Kevin ducked his blushing face in embarrassment.

"What do you mean you kinda think you do?!," Eddy asked accusingly and Kevin went even redder.

"Because she knows that I did want a nice Easter treat today," he sighed as he whipped his headband off in frustration and so much embarrassment.

"Well, ya won a jawbreaker," Ed pointed out but Kevin shook his head.

"That's not it," he said softly.

"Then what is it?," Edd asked.

Kevin squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but spoke faster than the breath coming out of him.

"SheknowsIlikeyou."

"Wait, wha?," Edd asked as he peered at him when Kevin cracked a green eye to see Edd's reaction to his words.

He let out a groan of frustration as he ran his hands down his face before he spoke again, albeit a bit more slowly and clearly this time.

"She knows I like you, Dork, and prolly figured that if she put you up for a chase or something, you'd…I dunno…go out with me I guess. I don't know what she was thinking, but yeah."

Edd stared at him as everyone around them exploded with their own questions.

Kevin LIKES Edd?

Kevin's gay?

Does Edd LIKE Kevin?

Is Edd gay?

Are they gonna be dating now?

"WAIT A MINUTE!," Eddy roared and everyone snapped their mouths shut as the short Ed stormed over to where Nazz as standing next to Kevin. "You told me that if I let him chase my best damn friend, we'd get the hiding places out of him and you'd have your team split the jawbreakers with us Eds."

"Yeah, I did," she retorted. "But you didn't tell D here that!"

"Because you told me to tell him that if anyone chased him to just run!"

"Which you DID NOT tell me," Edd said as he turned on Eddy and the look on his face made Eddy drop his head in embarrassment.

"I didn't have time," the short Ed tried to retort, but Edd shaking his head at him made him snap his mouth shut.

"Be that as it may," he said, directing his attention to Eddy and Nazz, "it's not your duty to meddle in Kevin's personal affairs like this! If he wants to talk to me, he can. On his own. You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves over this. Your actions literally hurt me and embarrassed Kevin in front of all his friends. Maybe the next time someone confides their trust in you about their feelings for someone, you will consider keeping the information to yourself so people don't get hurt!"

Nazz and Eddy looked like remorseful children after a lecture from their parents about their misbehavior as they muttered their apologies to their friends. While it wasn't enough for Edd, as he was still hurting from their actions and just as embarrassed as Kevin as to how and why he got hurt in the first place, it would have to do, as the best apology was changed behavior and he trusted them to actually change their behavior as past actions of changed behavior brought them the results of their collective friendship today.

"And Kevin," he began and when the redhead turned his pensive gaze on him, he started to stutter. "Umm…if…i-if you want to talk about this later, just text or call me, ok?"

Kevin eagerly nodded and it made Edd giggle a bit.

"Excellent," he smiled before turning on all his friends and saying, "And with that I bid you all adieu and a Happy Easter."

"Where ya headed?," Ed asked as he walked away.

"Home," Edd called over his shoulder. "I need a shower."

And Kevin went pink before scampering home himself, the jawbreaker in his pocket knocking against his phone reminding him that he had a phone call to make later.

*Ring, Ring*

"Yes, Kevin?"

Edd's voice sounded a bit breathless and Kevin wondered what in the world he could be doing home alone that would have left him breathless, but Edd's voice calling out to him as he stared at his phone brought him back to reality.

"Uh, yeah. I was…umm…wondering if you were free to talk about what happened today?"

"Oh. Yes, yes I am," Edd said firmly. "Would you like to come over or-"

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Kevin said breathlessly before ending the call, locking the device and shoving it in his pocket as he grabbed his snapback, keys, and ran out the door as his mother called to him that dinner would be in an hour.

The pensive blue eyes that peeked from behind Edd's front door made his heart crack.

He hadn't planned on Edd finding out about his crush the way he had and he knew that his chances of Edd believing him were slim, especially after what happened before the Easter Egg Hunt, but he had to talk to him and now was just as a good time as any.

If Jesus' resurrection meant the freshest start ever for humanity, maybe knocking Edd down and picking him up would be their chance at a fresh start.

Maybe…

"So…"

They were sitting on the couch and Edd had bowl of jelly beans and sodas for each of them set out as refreshments for this visit.

"Um, yeah," Kevin said as he took off his cap and set it next to his soda and then rubbed his hands together before taking a deep breath and going into his spiel.

Edd listened intently as he spoke and poured his heart out.

He told him about how he came to like him and while he wasn't too sure about how he felt about girls anymore, he knew that in general, he didn't like most of them like he liked Edd. And while there were some guys he thought were nice to look at, he didn't want to be with them like he did with Edd.

"And I get it if you don't like me the same or whatever, but yeah, that's how I feel and stuff."

Edd let out a bit of a sigh as he finished speaking before looking down at his hands.

"But why didn't you tell me before?"

Kevin shrugged his shoulders as he answered.

"Fear of rejection?"

Edd had to give him that. Despite being friends now, past actions were hard to ignore.

But he couldn't deny that having the tough boy's affections was a nice feeling.

If there was something that Edd understood, it was feelings.

He loved his friends and the feeling he'd get from hanging out with them.

He was really liking the feelings he had been dealing with for the past couple of years of being treated as a friend and equal when it came to his interactions with his neighbors.

He was not liking how he felt when it came to his conflicted feelings over how to interact with people he wanted more of an intimate connection with.

He understood intimate connections as he had seen them with his parents growing up and been inundated with how Marie felt about him all through middle school.

But now that he was in high school and had so many more people to interact with than those from his small elementary and middle schools, it was difficult to reconcile his feelings for all the new girls and boys he was surrounded by.

He understood the feeling of rejection well as well.

Not just from growing up an Ed in the cul-de-sac, but from being turned down to hang out or study with a new acquaintance, or being blown off for someone cooler.

He just figured that dating was out of the question for him at this point.

He and Marie's history was too fraught with drama to even consider dating and when they got to high school, they both wanted to put their pasts behind them and move on.

He suspected it was to hide her crazy from the guys who were starting to be crazy about her, but did like the reprieve that their truce gave him.

Feelings should be mutual.

They were with his friends.

They were with his neighbors.

He had to admit that a small part of himself had mutual feelings for Kevin.

But where they went from here was anyone's guess…

"I have dinner with my parents in forty five minutes," Edd said. "But maybe tomorrow, we can have lunch together?"

"Yeah," Kevin grinned. "I'd like that.

The next Easter, no one was chased.

Edd donned bunny ears and Kevin tied a carrot to the top of his snapback for the cul-de-sac's annual Easter Egg Hunt.

The bunnies won the jawbreakers again, but Edd shared his with Kevin in the most intimate way he could think of.

And it was so sweet.

The nicest treat of all was living in their fresh start every day.