They went to the same school, same grade, mutual classes and friends, hell, they even lived in the same damn neighbourhood since they were kids… So why was this so difficult?

Why was it so difficult for him to get close to the dweeb?

Kevin looked down at his desk and huffed in exasperation. He had been trying to get close to Double D for the past 5 months, but to no avail, or minimal avail. It was as if whenever he came around and tried even saying hello to the sockhead, his brain and mouth would just lose all links and he'd end up making a fool of himself…On the plus side, at least he'd get the other boy to laugh…

Sure, they had had their differences when they were kids, but they weren't kids anymore. They were mature, young adults now…almost. Kevin wasn't sure if 16 qualified for "young adult" just yet, partially because it also made him feel old.

He hadn't bullied Double D for a long time now - except he still called him "dork" and "dweeb" and "double dork/dweeb" - so he thought that'd help his case in trying to befriend him. However, the issue of his current friends was still present…or rather, 1/2 of them was an issue. Eddy still wouldn't burry the hatchet after all those years and just shut the fuck up for once. It was impossible for Kevin not to get annoyed by that little pest. 'I can't believe Double Dork is still friends with him…I'd be WAY better company than Skipper over there.'

Yet he was rarely ever said company. Those 3 were a package deal; buy 1 get 2 free. And that was not a deal Kevin was interested in; he just wanted one. The one.

Riiiiiiiiing

Well shit. Yet another History class spent wallowing over the dork just a seat away from him diagonally instead of actually doing his work…which he didn't do much even without the wallowing.

'Ugh! That's it! I'm gonna ask him to hang today and that's final!'

He quickly shoved his pencil into his hoodie's pocket, grabbed his notebook and textbook, and made his way over to Double D's desk before he left.

Double D hadn't even noticed him standing next to his desk and he calmly put his pen back into his pencil case and closed his notebook. 'Damn, even his writing is nice and cute…N-NO. KEVIN. CONCENTRATE. ASK. ASK. ASK.'

The redhead cleared his throat, which made the beanie-clad boy slightly jump in place. He turned to face him and offered a small, gentle smile.
"Oh, hello Kevin, can I assist you with something?"

'Yeah, you may assist me with a date!' "Oh n-not really…uhm…hey, Double Dork, are you busy after school?"

Double D placed his messenger bag on his lap and put his things back inside as he thought of what his day's schedule would look like, "Hmm…my homework is nearly done and I do not have any club activities on Wednesdays…so yes I suppose I am. Why?"

'SWEET!' "Coo, coo…so like, would you like to…like, hang out? Or something?" He asked, trying to keep his voice as steady and nonchalant as possible, but began to rub the back of his neck; a nervous habit of his when flustered that easily gave him away to people who were aware of it.

"Y-you wish to hang out? With me?"

"Yeah."

"Today?"

"Yes dork, that's kinda why I asked if you were free after school."

"I see…"

'You see? You see?!' "Well? You wanna or not?" Kevin's short patience and nerves got the best of him and his emotions seeped out through his words.

"Y-yes!"

"Yes?

"Yes"

'YES.' A grin quickly made it's way to Kevin's lips, "Choice! I'll meet you by the bike rack at the front okay?"

"Very well Kevin; I'll see you later!"

And with that he got up and quickly left for next period. Kevin's smile grew wider as he calmly exited the classroom too, basking in his victory.

This was only the first of what he hoped would be many victories with Edd. But first, he had to get through his last period, and time could not be going any slower if it actually tried. The last 15 minutes of school were always eternal; might as well be 15 hours instead.

Tick-tock-tick…tock….tick…..tock…..tick….Riiiiiiiiiiing

And that was the only glorious sound Kevin needed to book it out of there, bolting from his desk, past a confused Nazz and Rolf, and off to the bike racks where he agreed to meet up with the object of his affection.

He speed-walked through the halls and down the stairs, to his locker where he quickly grabbed his backpack, and slowed down once he got closer to the doors, not wanting to show up too quickly. He didn't wanna look too excited or anything. Of course not. So before stepping outside, he fixed his hat, took a deep breath, put one hand in his pocket and pushed the door open.

And there he was, standing there with his messenger bag, his black ski hat, and that cardigan that looked way too cute on him. 'C'mon Kevin, now's not the time to oggle. you can do plenty of that later!'

"Hey Dork, ready to go?"

"Indeed!…however…where are we going?"

"Wanna go get some ice-cream? My treat."

"Oh Kevin don't be silly; I am perfectly capable of paying for my own!"

"Don't sweat it dork, really, I want to." Kevin offered Edd a gentle smile, causing the lightest of blushes to color Edd's cheeks. 'So cute.'

"A-alright. Well, shall we go th-"

"HEY SOCK HEAD! WHERE YA GOIN'?"

'You have GOT to be kidding me.' Kevin groaned quietly as he heard Eddy's voice from the distance.

"Greetings fellas, I was just on my way to get some ice cream with Kevin actu-"

"KEVIN? Why are you hanging out with shovel chin?" Eddy cocked his hip and pointed his thumb at Kevin's general direction, as if the boy wasn't even there.

"What's it to ya skipper? If Edd wants to hang out with me that's his call."

"Shut it boxhead. Double D c'mon, you can't be serious; he's the enemy!"

"Oh for crying out loud Eddy! We are sixteen years old! Can't we just let bygones be bygones? I bet even Ed has no issues with Kevin by now! Right Ed?"

"Kevin hasn't hurt any of us in a long time Eddy! Can't we all just get along like buttered toast and gravy in Ed's stomach?"

"See? Even Ed doesn't have a problem with me!" Kevin crossed his arms accross his chest and smiled triumphantly down at Eddy, who only scoffed, but then suddenly returned Kevin's smile with his own triumphant one. 'Oh god, what scheme did he think of this time?…'

"Alright Double D, you're right. Maybe It is time for all of us to just come together peacefully and just forget all the silly stuff that happened when we were kids."

"That's very mature of you Eddy!"

"Yeah I know. So…Kevin…Whaddaya say? Pals?" Eddy extended his hand out to Kevin and waited for the jock to take the bait.

Kevin glanced at Edd, then back at Eddy, taking his hand and shaking it once "Pals."

"Cool…Theeeeennn, guess you wouldn't mind us coming along then!"

"What?!"

"That sounds like a splendid idea! O-oh, pardon my manners, unless Kevin minds?" He turned to face Kevin, who was standing next to him and gave him an innocent questioning look.

Kevin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose 'Buy 1 get 2 free…' "Fine. You guys can come if you really want to. Whatever"

"Awesome! C'mon Ed let's go!"

The walk to the nearest ice-cream store was nothing short of disappointing to Kevin. All he wanted was to finally spend some alone time with the dork outside of school. They spoke whenever they saw each other, and after some time the little chats turned to full on conversations, and Kevin was happy about this…but, he wanted more. He wanted to talk to Double D outside the classroom, away from their lockers, on their own time like any good friends would. Instead he was walking awkwardly behind the trio down the sidewalk. Man this was awkward; he felt like he was the intruder who was tagging along, 'Dorky and Dorkier are the intruders, not me, god damnit!'

Finally they enter the little shop and stop by the back wall, looking up at the big menu posted on top of the main counter. Kevin passed Ed and Eddy and stationed himself right next to Double D, leaning down a bit as he asked "So, what are you getting?"

"Hmm…so many of these sound delicious…but…I think I will go with a strawberry sorbet. Refreshing and a healthier option!" He answered brightly.

"I'm going for…Chocolate chip cookie dough with brownie pieces!"

"Kevin that's so unhealthy! You play sports, shouldn't you be more careful as to what goes into your mouth?"

'I can think of something else I'd like going into my mouth…shitSHITSHIT. NO. KEVIN NOT HERE. SHIT. TIHNK ABOUT GRANDMA, KEVIN. THINK ABOUT NANA BARR, YOU SICKO.' "Whatever, it tastes amazing! and don't worry about what goes into my mouth dude; I have a super good metabolism and abs of steel to reject whatever fat might get into my system!

"Yeah, yeah, c'mon iron boy, we gotta order."

"OH, OH, ED FIRST! I wannntttt…A scoop of red velvet, one chocolate, and one birthday cake please!"

"I'll get…Mint chocolate chip"

"Strawberry sorbet for me please!"

"And I'll have the chocolate chip cookie dough, with brownie toppings."

Edd was about to take out his wallet so he could pay when Kevin noticed and quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him, "Hey, hey, remember I said it was my treat?

"Oh, right, forgive me Kevin."

"Kevin's treating? SWEET. thanks ol' buddy ol' pal! You just save me $3.50"

"Thank you Kevin!" Said Ed as he threw one arm around Kevin's neck and side-hugged him; Ed was a bit taller than Kevin, so it was rather easy for Ed to do so.

"Indeed, thank you Kevin! How kind of you."

'SON OF A BITCH.' "Sure, no problem, that's just me, kind Kevin…"

Kevin reluctantly paid for all 4 ice-creams and once everyone got their own treat, they went over to a nearby booth and sat down. Edd went in first and sat next to the window, but before Kevin could take his chance and sit next to him, Eddy swooped in from behind and scooted into the booth next to Double D, leaving an irritated Kevin seating across from them next to Ed.

Eddy kept telling stories about his day or something he had seen or T.V. or some bullshit about new scam ideas or something he learned form his stupid older brother. Laughing his ass off at his own jokes and messing around with Ed and Edd. Kevin kept mostly quiet, burning a hole through Eddy's arm as the shorter boy wrapped it around Edd's shoulders, pulling him closerto him as he said yet another lame joke. 'That should be my arm and my lame joke…So much for some quality time with Edd…'

Eventually everyone finished their ice-cream and it essentially meant the hang-out was over and it was time to go home. The redhead had admitted defeat and barely cared his time with the dork was up; he hadn't even been able to talk much with him. Maybe next time he'd succeed - and he would make sure Ed and Eddy are NOWHERE near them when he asks again.

They exited the ice-cream store and headed back to the cul-de-sack in the same formation with Kevin awkwardly at the back. He took out his cellphone to check the time, '4:48 p.m…Wow…I do not know how to feel about that.'

Kevin could now see his house from where they were walking, and then he looked over at Edd who was simply laughing and talking to the other two, 'I might as well not even be here…fucking fantastic.' He sighed in frustration, but it didn't go unnoticed.

The 4 boys stopped in the middle of the cul-de-sac to say their goodbyes, and Edd, ever-the-polite-one, spoke first, "Well, I certainly had fun today, and the ice-cream was delicious; thank you Kevin!"

"Yeah, no prob."

"I'll see you gentlemen tomorrow at school then. Have a good evening!"

"Bye Kevin, bye Double D!"

"See ya nerds"

"Guess, I'll talk to you later Double Dork." Kevin offered Edd his best smile before turning around to walk home, when Double D grabbed his sleeve.

"Actually, Kevin, may I speak with you for a minute?"

"Uh…yeah okay. Sure" Kevin stared questioningly at the dork, but followed him back to his place. "Your parents okay with me just showing up?"

"Well they aren't home so I guess that means you're fine." He answered with a soft chuckle as he unlocked his front door. "Please remove your shoes at the entrance and put on the guest slippers!" He said as he went inside.

Kevin followed orders, although he did find the slippers a tad odd. Edd sat down on his couch and called for Kevin to join him. The redhead plopped down next to him and asked, "So…what did you wanna talk about?"

"I just wanted to apologize for Ed and Eddy's sudden addition to our outing. I know you aren't exactly fond of Eddy since our earlier days in the cul-de-sac."

"It's fine dude; not your fault. They just self-invited themselves…or rather, Eddy self-invited himself and Ed."

"Yes well it was still last minute and I apologize. I could tell you weren't having much fun."

"What?…r-really?"

"Well of course. You were quiet on our way to the store, quiet while we ate, and quiet while we walked back. Not to mention the look you were giving Eddy at one point while we were eating our desserts. If looks could kill Eddy would've been a gonner back then!"

"Oh..you noticed?"

"Yes, I did. But, frankly Kevin, although I do apologize for my friends' behaviour I can't help but also scold you for your own."

"Wait, what?" 'Hold the fuck up. What did I do?!'

"I asked you if you were okay with Ed and Eddy joining us; you could've simply said no. You had originally asked me to accompany you, and as you said, Eddy invited himself and Ed, so I would've understood had you told them 'no'."

"Hey I was just trying to be nice to your dorky friends too!"

"Please refrain from insulting them in my presence!"

"Well exfuckingcuse me double-DORK"

"LANGUAGE!"

"You're fucking 16, who cares?!"

"I do! I do not enjoy using profanity so often in my speech nor do I particularly enjoy hearing it!"

"Oh my GOD, I was just trying to be nice! Why do you have to scold me for trynna be nice to the shrimp and dorkzilla?! What's the big fucking deal?!"

"You didn't seem to want them there, that's the deal!"

"WELL OF COURSE I DIDN'T, I WAS TRYING TO SPEND ALONE TIME WITH YOU!"

"WELL PERHAPS I WANTED THAT TOO."

Kevin's mouth shut closed and his eyes widened at the comment; had he heard right? did Double D really just say he wanted to hang alone with him too? "Wait….what?"

"I…erm…P-perhaps I also hoped to just hang out in your company… without my usual Ed or Eddy." He folded his hands on his lap and looked down, but then glanced up at Kevin after a moment. "Why did you want to hang out though?"

"I…I don't know. I just wanted to spend time with you…get to know you more…get you to know me more…and I was really happy you had said yes, but then freaking Skipper comes along and somehow manages to once again ruin things for me by dragging his stupid ass, and Ed's, along with us to the damn ice-cream place; and I bet you it was all on fucking purpose too! And then he just swoops past me and sits next to you and just throws his arm around you and has you so damn close all the fucking time and it was annoying!"

"Why was it annoying?"

"BECAUSE…Because…" Kevin could feel his cheeks slowly starting to burn up and he had to look down and away from Edd's gaze, "because…" 'Damnit Kevin just say it! Take the chance and say it! It's been 5 months you wimp, just say it and you'll feel better! Put yourself out of this emotional missery! It's easier to move on once you've been rejected!'

"Ke-mmph!" Before either boy knew what was going on, Kevin turned his head, held onto Edd's shoulder with one of his hands and kissed him. It was a gentle peck, short and sweet, but..Kevin waned more.

"K-kevin!"

"I like you dork..I have for a while now actually…And to answer your question it annoyed me because it felt like he was just flaunting how close you 2 are to me. How comfortable you are around each other even with physical contact! I felt like a total outsider the whole time, even though I was the one who suggested the damn outing in the first place! I was just trying to get closer to you and finally get to just chill with you and talk to you outside of school. But then those 2 came along and just…I mean your trio is impenetrable!…I just…I don't know… I just wanted to be part of your world for a little while you know?…"

Double D stared silently into Kevin's forrest green eyes, which showed nothing but sincerity in them, and disappointment too…and the longer Edd stared the clearer he could see himself reflected in those green irises. Kevin stared back at Edd's own bright green eyes, full of questions and shock, but also understanding. He pressed his foreheads together and sighed, calming himself down.

"Ed and Eddy have been my best friends since we were children Kevin, so of course we would be comfortable with each other, like I sure you are with Rolf, and Nazz, and your teammates and such…And so I highly doubt Eddy was trying to flaunt anything to you. Besides Kevin…y-you're already part of my world…We've become better friends in the past year or so, and it also makes me happy, and I never would've thought that you…that you would like me…

"Neither did I," He answered with a chuckle, "You can't choose who you fall for, but you can choose what to do about it, and I chose to try, because you were worth it."

This time it was Edd who leaned in and closed the short distance between him and Kevin, gently pressing his lips against the redhead's slightly chapped ones. The kiss was soft, but intoxicating. Kevin placed his hand by Edd's neck, holding him closer as he kissed him again and again. When the kisses stopped due to an inconvenient need for oxygen, Double D looked into Kevin's eyes once again, and saw nothing but genuine affection and happiness, and he saw himself in there too, with those emotions, and it made him happy.

Kevin pulled him in close to him and hugged him tightly, burying his face against the ravenet's neck,"Hey…Double D…"

"Mmhm?"

"Guess it's my turn to flaunt you to Eddy."