Edd's alarm began chirping, pulling him out of sleep, and he groaned. For the first time in his life, he found himself dreading school. The thought had occurred to him just as he was about to fall asleep and had kept him up for hours afterward as he fretted, and now it invaded his thoughts again: what about at school? He was torn. On the one hand, he desperately hoped that Kevin would take his hand, walk proudly through the hallways with him, but that was ridiculous. We've only just begun to try at a relationship. I have no claim over him...yet. On the other hand, he knew perfectly well that Kevin had an image to keep up. He sincerely doubted he would fit into that image, even if he were a girl. He prepared for school absent-mindedly and rushed outside to greet his friends.
"Double D!" Ed shouted. "Your head is on backwards! Did you get abducted by aliens last night?"
"M-My head...?" Edd brought his hands up to straighten his hat. "What's wrong with my head?"
"Your shirt's on backwards," Eddy said. "What's wrong with you this morning?"
"Nothing, Eddy." Edd pulled his arms into his shirt and rotated it to its proper position. "I suppose I'm just nervous."
"For what?"
"I, ah...I have a test," he said lamely.
"Whatever, dude. Let's go."
Halfway to the school building, a familiar voice called out to them. "Hi, Eds!"
Nazz waved from the back of Kevin's bike as they rode past. She mouthed a "thank you" to Edd and winked at Eddy. Eyes hopeful, Edd turned his gaze to Kevin. The redhead gave a nod that was nearly imperceptible, barely even glancing over.
"See you at school!" Nazz yelled over her shoulder as they disappeared into the distance.
Well, Edd thought bitterly. I suppose that answers that question. His mood took a sudden dive, and he walked the rest of the way in a stony silence that quickly crushed any attempts at conversation. By the time they reached the school, Eddy and Ed looked entirely uncomfortable. Eddy pulled at his collar as he said farewell, avoiding eye contact. Ed turned Edd to face away from him before pulling him up into a tentative hug. The pair hurried away without looking back. Edd felt a twinge of guilt for frightening his friends, but it went as quickly as it came. Content to spend the day moping, he deposited his lunch in his locker and grabbed his books for first period. He slid into his desk and spent the class period taking notes with a vengeance. The students around him edged away discreetly. When Mr. Smith called on him to answer a question, he glanced up sharply and the teacher nearly dropped his book in fright. When the bell rang, he dropped his head to his desk, groaning. Pull yourself together, Eddward. He stood and apologized to Mr. Smith as he left for his next class.
The rest of the day was spent focused wholeheartedly on his work. Only once did he see Kevin, sitting in the cafeteria, purposely avoiding Edd's gaze. The rejection stung a bit, but Edd allowed the flow of new knowledge and learning to drown out any emotional response. It had always fascinated him, this ability he had to remove emotion from his life. He couldn't sustain it-he mostly used it for quick bursts in moments when his emotions might get in the way-but he seemed to be progressing, building endurance. He held out until the very end of school.
Shoving books back into his locker after the final bell, Edd glanced around, searching the crowd. Had anyone asked, he would have told them that he was looking for his two friends; if he were to be honest with himself, he would admit that he was looking for a very specific baseball cap. He took as long as he could without looking suspicious, even going so far as to drop a book on his foot so he could lean against the lockers and rub the feeling back into it. His efforts were in vain. With a defeated sigh, he turned to close his locker and leave for home. A flash of white caught his eye, but too late; the locker door slammed shut before he could stop himself. Grumbling, he reentered the combination and whipped the door open. Taped to the inside-how did he do that?-was a folded sheet of paper with the word "dork" written on the front. He unfolded it, eager to read it, but the page was filled with words and he didn't have the time. His friends were waiting. He slid it into his front pocket where he could feel it poking his thigh, demanding to be read.
