"Of course, mother… I'm so excited to see you and father! Have a safe trip… Love you, too..." Edd hangs up the phone and his cheery expression drops. He plops down on the bench next to him and sighs heavily. He was not excited to see his parents.
Sure, he missed them since starting college, enough to cry a few times from homesickness, but he understood that he lived too far from home now, and they were hardly ever at home anyways because of work. He knew that they would worry, so regarding all their questions about his college life, he gave them answers he thought they wanted to hear. They weren't all lies. He was doing well in all his classes, eating right, getting enough sleep, and including a little bit of yoga and exercising into his weekly routine. The only part he may have stretched the truth with was the social aspect. He said he a few close friends and they hung out regularly. Enough to establish an acquaintanceship but not enough to interfere with his studies. So, what if he didn't actually hang out with anyone until over a month after he said this, and it was only Nathan and Kevin, two guys in his introductory psychology class. They went to a local book store because Nathan wouldn't stop bugging him about it. Since then, they've gotten coffee a few times and went back to the bookstore twice. More recently, Nathan has regularly taken all of them grocery shopping since he's the only one with a car between the three of them. Edd was still not sure why these two jocks would want to spend so much time with him, but he's now glad they made a presence in his life, albeit a little pushy at times. That was mainly Nathan though. Kevin was always calmer about things. Actually… Kevin is partly to blame for my predicament…, Edd thought.
. . . . . . . . . .
Earlier, Edd received a phone call from his mother saying their plans were cancelled and they're headed to his college for Parents' Weekend. Right now. At this very moment. And will be there in about one hour. They were going to surprise him, but his mother was just far too excited and called him en route. He was overjoyed at first, but then his mother had to ask that blasted question.
"Is there anyone you want us to meet while we're there? Maybe those friends you were talking about… or maybe a boyfriend…?"
"Mother, I-I don't…"
"Oh, come now, Eddward! As fondly as you talked about that Nathan and that Kevin, I wouldn't be surprised if you started developing feelings towards one of them… or was dating one of them and was too busy making out to tell us."
"Mother. It's not like-"
"Both of them!?"
"Mother!"
"I'm just teasing Eddward, but you do know you can tell us anything… So, is there a special someone right now?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." What am I saying? "And for your information, I didn't say anything earlier because it's quite the recent development, and not because of-of…" And why am I thinking about Kevin while lying to her about this?
"I'm so happy for you! Who's the lucky man? Wait, no, don't tell me! We'll just meet your boyfriend when we get there." Edd could hear some sort of commotion in the background, namely his father's voice. "Oh, no. I need to go Eddward. It seems your father has overheard me, and now demanding to know who this person is," his mother giggled. "But you will introduce us to him?"
"Of course, mother..."
. . . . . . . . . .
So, there's the real reason Edd was not excited to see his parents. He had told a flat out lie about dating someone and was about to be caught in said lie in roughly one hour. What are you going to do, Eddward? There is no time to fix this. Should I just call back and come clean? But she sounded so happy! Maybe I could just say we broke up between now and when they arrive. Oh, no, then she'll go into doting mother mode. I'm not sure I can handle that right now, especially when I don't deserve it. This guilt is unbearable. Oh, and why did I have to think of Kevin at a time like that? Actually… Kevin is partly to blame for my predicament… Wait, I shouldn't blame him. It's not his fault I lied. Sure, he's quite handsome and sweet, and I think dating him may be a fun experience. Would he even be interested in something like that? Focus, Eddward! The task at hand! How to fix this lie and-
"You need to do something. Soon." I know that voice… Nathan? Edd looked behind him to see Nathan and Kevin walking across the quad towards his bench. "You got until Saturday at midnight."
"I know, I know… it's just-" Kevin sighed heavily "I wanted to kinda go all out, you know that… but my bike! I didn't think the repairs would be so much! And now anything I do is just going to be lame."
"Dude, I'll double it if you just do it, then you'll have enough to-oof!"
Kevin cut him off with a sharp jab to the gut, while staring wide-eyed at Edd. Nat doubled over, holding his stomach.
"What was that for?" He peaked up and saw that Kevin was staring at something to their left. And blushing? Nathan turned his head and made eye contact with Edd. A giant grin spread across his face and he sprinted towards the bench.
Kevin stood there frozen for a few seconds before he chased after him, shouting, "Nat! No, no, no! I swear if you do anything stupid, I'll-"
Nat leaped over the bench and plopped down next to Eddward. "Double Delightful! Haven't seen you in a while! How about we turn our once-in-a-blue-moon hangouts into a weekly thing? Starting right now."
"Actually, I'm kinda busy. I have a bit of an issue I need to work out…"
"Oh, sounds interesting."
"…and I think we can both help each other out, Kevin," Edd says glancing up at Kevin who was standing in front of them now, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh, sounds really interesting," Nat said, scooting towards the edge of his seat.
"W-what?" Kevin breathed out, looking confused.
"I'm sorry, Kevin, I couldn't help but overhear that you needed money for something. And I need a favor, and I'll be willing to pay you for it."
"Edd, I'll help ya if I can, but I don't feel right taking money from ya."
"But I insist! It's only fair, especially with the… the nature of my request…"
"Which is…?"
"Oh. Um… I don't know how to say this… Maybe we should just forget it!"
"Hold up!" Nat interjected. "You've peaked my interest, but you haven't said anything about this issue you're in or what the favor is."
"Oh, well," Edd looked around them at all the people in the quad, "I don't think this is the place to discuss that."
Nat sighed dramatically. "I wanted answers but all I get are teasers!" He then suddenly stands from the bench while pulling Edd upward. "Let's go to mine and Kevin's dorm room and discuss this mystery problem and the mystery favor there. Sounds good?"
Edd nodded and they made their way to their dorm.