Chapter 1 - I Shall Assist You All I Can

"Eddward? May I speak to you a moment?" Mrs. Travers asked as the teenagers of her Calculus class gathered up their books and things after the bell had rung.

Edd looked up from his messenger bag, where he was neatly stowing his class material, and nodded. He stood up, looping the strap over his shoulder and approached the teacher's desk. Curious, not worried, as he was one of the more brilliant students in the school. Unless it was about Eddy's latest shenanigans.

"Yes, Mrs. Travers?" he asked in his still high-pitched and raspy voice. Puberty had deepened it slightly, but he still mostly sounded like a kid, in spite of being almost 18.

Mrs. Travers smiled at him. "I need your help, Eddward," she said. "I have a student in my Geometry class who is struggling with the work. He's a good kid, and is trying hard, but just can't seem to grasp our current unit. He came to me and asked if I knew of anyone who could help him. I was hoping you wouldn't mind some after school tutoring?"

Mrs. Travers was Edd's favorite teacher, as math and science were his favorite subjects. He had tutored before, so he wasn't surprised that he was asked. He grinned, "Yes, Mrs. Travers, I would enjoy helping anyone with their math. Who shall it be that I will tutor?"

"Kevin Barr," she informed him. "I thought it was an ideal situation, because I believe that Kevin lives near you?" She said this last with a questioning tone, tilting her head slightly.

Edd's grin faded, "Kevin?"

Mrs. Travers looked surprised. "Yes, Kevin," she replied, narrowing her eyes. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Edd cleared his throat, his mind working rapidly. "No…no, I guess not. He…he kind of bullied me when we were younger," Edd admitted. "I mean, he has not displayed such behavior since then, but I do not think he likes me very much."

His teacher frowned. "Oh dear. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in tutoring anyone. I knew you lived close to each other, so I thought it would be perfect. Kevin didn't mention anything like that when I spoke to him about you."

"You have already told Kevin you wanted me to tutor him?"

She nodded. "Well, yes, and he seemed pleased about it."

Edd thought about that for a moment. He supposed that it wouldn't be too bad to tutor his old enemy. He was truthful when he said that Kevin hadn't bullied him in years, because the truth was Kevin had rarely acknowledged him in the five years since they had all entered junior high. They lived across the street from each other, but hardly ever interacted. Kevin had his own interests and friends, and the Eds had long ago given up scamming the other cul-de-sac kids, much to Double D's relief. He had never liked being involved in all of Eddy's harebrained schemes, but he loved his friend, so he generally went along with the ideas.

"I suppose I can tutor him," he said slowly, his reluctance obvious.

"Eddward, I honestly didn't realize you boys didn't get along. I'm sorry about that. If, at any time, you feel uncomfortable, please let me know. I can arrange something else."

Edd nodded, and his smile returned. "I should be alright, Mrs. Travers," he said before the door opened. He turned his head and saw Kevin come into the room.

Kevin had not changed much since their younger days. Taller – nearly half a foot taller than Edd, slightly more muscular from playing baseball, but not overly so. He was dressed in loose-fitting jeans and a sweatshirt that looked too big for him, and still had his backwards red cap on his head. Edd eyed him apprehensively, unsure of how to approach the situation.

Mrs. Travers, however, took control. "Hello Kevin," she said, and continued after Kevin murmured a greeting to her. "Eddward has agreed to help you with your Geometry. As I told you, Eddward is our top student, especially in math, so I'm confident you will be up to speed quickly with his help."

Kevin looked at Edd and grinned, a pleasant and friendly gesture that, in fact, confused Edd, who was more used to sneers from the taller boy. To be fair, that was five years ago. He supposed that people could grow up and change.

"There's two weeks until our next major exam," Mrs. Travers said. "Kevin did not do badly on his last exam, Eddward, but he came to me for help on the unit we're currently studying. So please go over that and we'll see how well Kevin does then." She smiled again at the two boys. "You two can work out a schedule that suits you both. And thank you again, Eddward, for helping."

Edd mumbled something like it was his pleasure, then he followed Kevin out of the classroom. It was the end of the school day and the halls had cleared of students who had gone home. Edd was already late for his yearbook meeting, and he wanted to get to that as quickly as possible, then go home. He had chores to do, dinner to make, and homework. However, now he had this other matter to attend to.

Before he could say anything, Kevin smiled a half-smile at him. "Thanks for helping me, Double D," he said, "I can't thank you enough. I was fine until she started us on this unit, and I'm just stumped. I can't seem to understand what I'm supposed to do," he admitted. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "I know I'm not the smartest guy in school, but I don't like feeling this dumb."

Edd blinked a few times. Double D? He actually used his nickname? Not one of Kevin's nicknames? Double Dweeb, Double Dork, etc. The courtesy and gratitude completely threw Edd off. He didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this affable kindness from someone he always thought hated him.

"It is…It is n-n-no problem, Kevin," Edd stammered out, annoyed with himself for sounding like an idiot. He steadied his voice with an effort and said. "It really is my pleasure, and I like to help. I shall assist you all I can," he promised. "When do you want to work together?"

Kevin shrugged, "I can anytime. Now, if you want. If you're free, that is."

Edd mentally rearranged his schedule quickly in his head. "Yes, I think that can be arranged. However, I have to attend a yearbook meeting, but that should be over in an hour or so. Would you like to meet at the library after I am finished?"

"I can just come over to your house after you're done," Kevin suggested. "You can text me when you get home."

Edd thought a moment, worried that his immaculate house might have become messy in the time since he left it this morning. "Um, sure Kevin. That would be fine. Can you give me your number, please?"

Kevin held out his hand, "Yeah, give me your phone."

Edd unlocked it, called up the contacts, and gave it to Kevin, who in turn quickly typed in his info. "There you go, Double D. That works for me. I'll see you in a little bit," he said as he handed the phone back to Edd, then turned to head to his own locker, throwing another 'thanks' over his shoulder as they parted ways.

Edd sighed, moving down the hall to the yearbook meeting, his pace fast. "I must make sure the kitchen is spotless," he said to himself. "It would never do to have a guest in a messy house."

Kevin waited impatiently on his couch, letting his mind wander as he sort-of watched one of the shows on ESPN, his favorite network. He had turned the TV on to have some kind of noise in the otherwise quiet house. He kept looking at his phone as he waited for the dork across the street to text. He winced, then, at the descriptive he had thought. When would he ever grow up? So what if Edd was a brainiac? Was that a bad thing, really? And the kid was helping him out. Kevin had honestly expected Edd to say no to tutoring him, once Mrs. Travers had brought it up. He wouldn't have blamed Edd if he had. Their history wasn't that great, though he had never really hated Edd, or even the big, dumb Ed. It was Eddy who drove him crazy.

Distancing himself from Eddy in junior high had benefited Kevin greatly. Discipline on the baseball field and basketball court, and guidance from excellent coaches, had helped him learn to control his temper and focus on important things, like becoming a better person. He knew he still had a way to go, but he was happy with who he had become. The population of junior high and high school seemed to be happy with him as well. He was popular with both students and teachers, and was the captain of the baseball team. He applied his newfound focus to school as well, and while he was only an average student, he found himself proud of that because he worked hard for it.

He thought about the Eds while he waited, more than he had thought about them in five years. Of course, he had seen them around – you couldn't help but do that when you lived in the same neighborhood – but he hadn't paid any attention to them. It had seemed that Edd had finally gotten it through to Eddy that his moneymaking schemes were stupid, so those had stopped. He would see the Eds running to and from each other's houses and still doing sort-of childish things around the neighborhood together, but Kevin and the other kids had sort of drifted away from that as they had grown older.

Kevin knew that Edd was the smartest kid in the school, and especially excelled at math and science, so he was thrilled that Edd was going to tutor him. Kevin wasn't necessarily ashamed that he couldn't understand it, but he was annoyed with himself. Math didn't come easy to him. He had to work hard to get it, but he normally would with time. This unit had him stumped, and he just needed it explained to him in a way he could understand.

He reached up to rub his face in annoyance. If an hour or two after school with Edd would help him, he would do it. Kevin liked a challenge, so if he looked at it that way, he knew he would succeed. 'Just stop thinking of him as a dork,' he thought to himself. 'That's not fair or nice.'

The text alert on his phone finally went off. "I am home, Kevin. Please come over." Kevin laughed at the formality of the text, grabbed his jacket, Geometry book, and notebook, and left his empty house to cross the street.

Edd opened the door in response to his knock and stepped back, inviting him in. "Shoes please, Kevin," Edd requested in a quiet voice.

"Oh, ok, sorry," Kevin mumbled, kicking off his shoes, which were covered in snow. Looking around the living room, he understood the request. He had never seen such a spotless room. Nothing seemed out of place, there wasn't a trace of dust or dirt or clutter anywhere. It was so different from his own home – almost sterile. While his mother kept their house clean, this house looked as if no one lived in it.

"I thought we could work in the kitchen," Edd was saying, bringing Kevin's attention back to him. "There is a small table in there that will do nicely."

"Yeah, sure Double D. Whatever you think is best," Kevin responded, wondering at Edd's surprised look. Edd was surprised once again at hearing his preferred nickname from Kevin.

Kevin followed Edd into the kitchen, which was bright and large, but also as sterile as the living room had been. Trying to think of something to say, Kevin commented, "Your house is nice. It's so…clean."

Edd grimaced, knowing how his place must have looked to someone who didn't really know him. Wait, Kevin should know this about him; it's not as if they didn't know each other at all. "Do you remember that I like things neat and clean?" Edd asked.

Kevin nodded, "I guess. I just didn't realize you liked it this neat and clean," he joked, grinning at the smaller teen.

Edd just shrugged and gestured toward the table, where his own homework already lay. Kevin put his books down and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair before he sat down.

"May I offer you a beverage?" Edd asked, "Or perhaps something to eat?"

Surprised at the formality, Kevin stared up at Edd from his seat. "Uh, no thanks. I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure, Kevin? Even nothing to drink?"

It seemed important to Edd, so Kevin nodded. "Uh, sure. Water's fine."

Edd hastened over to draw a glass of water for Kevin and carefully carried it over to the table, sitting it down on a coaster he had grabbed. "There you go."

"Thanks," Kevin said, amused.

Edd sat down at the square table, perpendicular to Kevin, so that he could easily see what Kevin was working on. "First, I guess, you should tell me exactly what unit you are working on in Geometry, and where the difficulty lies. What you do understand about it and what you do not understand. Once I know where you are, I can then plan out how to approach your tutoring."

Edd's formal tone and the fact that he just dived into the tutoring session without so much as a bit of small talk completely threw Kevin off. It took him a moment before he pulled his Geometry book closer to him to flip it open to his class' current unit. He turned the book enough so that Edd could see it better and explained to the genius what his trouble was. He noticed how Edd bit his lower lip in concentration as he listened and Kevin saw that the same gap in his front teeth was still there. In fact, Edd looked almost exactly the same as he did five years ago, apart from being slightly taller. He even wore that ridiculous hat still. For some reason, that made Kevin feel better about this whole tutoring thing.

"Alright, Kevin, I think I know what we can do," Edd said, once Kevin had finished. For the next hour, Edd patiently explained the unit – answering Kevin's questions, demonstrating the process, and finding ways to help Kevin understand. Kevin was amazed that the way Edd described the process made complete sense to him, as it hadn't before. While he still didn't completely understand it, he was able to work through some of the simpler problems on his own by the time they were done.

"Wow, Double D," Kevin said, letting out a long breath as he sat back in his chair. "I sort of get this now. I can't believe it."

"You have done very well today, Kevin," Edd praised him. "You have picked this up much faster than anyone else I have tutored."

"It's all because of you," Kevin said. "No one has been able to explain it in a way I understood. Thanks for that."

The praise made Edd blush a little, then he smiled his gap-toothed smile. "You are welcome. I am glad to help."

"Can we maybe do this again tomorrow?" Kevin asked hopefully. "I mean, if you have the time. I don't want to be a pain. I just want to make sure after tomorrow's lesson that I still sort of understand it."

Edd looked away, thinking for a moment, then looked back. "Sure. Tomorrow after school should be all right. I do not have anything planned."

"Nothing with the other Eds?"

Edd shook his head. "No. Eddy works after school, and Ed is on the wrestling team. I do not usually see them until after dinner, or the weekends."

"Alright, Double D. Tomorrow it is, then," Kevin said as he pulled his school things together and stood up, shouldering himself into his jacket. Edd walked with him to the door and opened it for him. "Thanks again!" Kevin said as he slipped on his shoes and left to go back home.