"Kevin?"
The sound of his mother's voice snapped Kevin out of his trance. He turned around and searched for Double D. The tall shadow had become little more than a vague outline as it disappeared into the night.
"What's wrong Kevin?"
He looked down at the box in his hands. He noticed small, dark brown dots decorating the top of the box. His mother's concerned face appeared in front of him.
"Why are you crying?"
"Crying? I've been crying?"
He loaded the box onto the truck and turned back around to face his mother.
"It's nothing Mom."
****************************************
Double D's fists slammed into the ground as he watched the truck drive away with his sanity. The inhuman cries turned into pained gasps for air as he tried to catch his breath.
"Hah...hah...ha..."
His vision became blurry as the tears fell from his eyes. His body began to shake furiously.
"Calm down Eddward."
He took in deep ragged breaths. He tried to pull himself to his feet but fell back into the snow. The sound of his pounding heart filled his ears. A splitting headache made the trees around him slowly spin. He fought the darkness closing in around him.
"Ha...hah...haa..."
Gentle pressure appeared on his back. He ignored it and continued to try to control his breathing. Visions of Kevin flashed through his mind. Familiar khaki pants appeared in front of him. He grasped his head and let out another cry.
"Calm down...breathe..."
He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly began to count.
"Nine...ten."
He slowly opened his eyes. The pants had disappeared. He tried to stand up again but his legs failed to work. He tried to drag himself towards the direction of his home. The pressure appeared on his back again. His pounding heartbeat coupled with the headache made his vision begin to pulse.
"Ngh...ah..."
"Calm down Eddward."
The sound of the voice made him freeze.
"It's not real."
He continued to pull himself past the trees and towards his home.
"Eddward..."
The pants appeared in front of him again. He felt himself being pulled up to his knees. Pale blue eyes stared up at emerald ones.
"It's okay."
Kevin knelt in the snow and wiped away Double D's tears.
"It's okay..."
He wrapped an arm around the crying boy while using the other to wipe away the rest of the tears. Small clouds appeared from the swimmer's shaking breath.
"Shh."
He leaned in close and captured the raven's lips with his. His tongue was immediately granted access inside of the warm, shaking mouth. His body was pulled into a tight embrace as he kissed away the boy's pain.
He broke the kiss and held Double D in his arms.
"Come on."
He wrapped one of the boy's arms around his neck and pulled him to his feet.
The short journey home seemed to take hours. The darkness around Double D began to close in. He fought to stay awake as they walked closer to his house. He tried to keep his legs moving as he fished out his keys.
Kevin took the keys and unlocked the door. He placed the shaking boy on the couch and went to get him a glass of water. He held the cup to the quivering lips.
"It's okay."
"Why..."
"Shh. I'll explain later. Just try to calm down."
He knelt next to Double D and pushed him onto his back.
"Pills..."
"Where are they?"
"Nightstand..."
Kevin ran upstairs and returned seconds later with Double D's medicine. He placed two small pills on his tongue and held the water to his lips. The swimmer weakly took a few sips and swallowed before letting his head fall back against the couch.
"Just sleep. It'll be okay."