K and E: First Month

"Eddy-kuuuuun!"

"Eeeeeddy! Time to wake up!"

I groaned in anguish and sat up. Both my Mom and Kenny were standing at the foot of my bed with cheshire cat grins plastered on their faces.

Not this again. All week! Why! I just want to sleep... I fell back against my bed and covered my face with one of my pillows.

"Come on, Eddy-kun! Up!" Kenny said this as he walked around my bed while my Mom tore my blanket off. Kenny then proceeded to open the curtains of the nearby window, allowing the insidious rays of light to invade my room and thoroughly vanquish any possibility of my prolonging sleep.

I sighed and removed the pillow from my face. "Alright, I'm up." I sat up and got out of bed. Through a yawn I said, "Get out so I can get dressed."

They both high fived as they left me to my wardrobe. I grabbed a pair of jeans and my favorite Meat Loaf t-shirt. I eyed the door as I got dressed, in case they tried to pull something again.

Honestly, Mom, taking the nightshift so you can harass your own son in the mornings... If she wasn't here, Kenny would probably still be acting like a spritely newly-wed.

...Wait. That didn't sound quite right...

I shook away the distracting thoughts. I have to get dressed.

oXo

"Ne, Eddy-kun." Kenny said as we rounded the corner on the way to school.

"Nn?" I looked at him and caught his eye. He brushed some hair out of his eye and looked forward again before he continued. Actually, it looked like was trying to phrase what he had to say. I continued to eat my home-made breakfast as I waited for his response.

After a few moments of silence and various aborted sentences, he sighed and just spit it out.

"Have you heard the rumors about us?" He sounded a bit excited when he asked.

Ah, those. Suppose it was only a matter of time before this came up. It has been a whole month since they started. "Yeah, I've heard some of them." I answered before returning to my bagel sandwich. The rumors... Apparently everyone thinks we are dating because we are constantly together, when really we aren't. We just get along.

Kenny looked down at the pavement as we continued walking through the nippy morning air. "What do you think we should do?" He wistfully wondered aloud.

I shrugged. I swallowed the rest of my still warm breakfast. "Honestly, we should probably just ignore it. It's what I usually do when rumors about me start to spread." Then I added, "It's not like they're true or anything."

"Ah." Kenny replied in a subdued manner. He almost sounded disappointed. But why? He didn't expect some elaborate plan, did he?

I looked at him and lowered my head. "Something wrong?" I tried using a gentle tone and expression. I don't know if it helped.

Kenny smiled at me. "No. I think it's a good plan." Kenny heaved a deep sigh. "I'm just... Relieved?" He turned to me. [Relieved?] I nodded. Still smiling, he turned away and continued. "Yeah, that's it, I'm relieved that I have you to help me."

We continued walking in silence until we finally reached Student Station.

oXo

Lunchtime. Kenny and I both left homeroom and traveled to our respective lockers to get our lunches.

"That's him, right there."

I walked back to homeroom after retrieving my bag lunch from my locker.

"Have you heard?"

It was a short walk, as always. But it wasn't quite the same as my usual trek. Mostly because of the whispering and watching by the others who were doing whatever it was they did to get ready for lunch.

"Yeah, I did. Who would have guessed?"

When I arrived at homeroom, everyone who was eating all glanced at me before turning back to their lunch circles.

"I heard he broke a guy's jaw into pieces with just a back-handed slap."

I made my way to my usual seat. As always, Kenny was sitting right in front of me, with a handmade lunch.

"And he managed to net a hottie like her?"

Kenny turned around and smiled at me, a little wider than his default smile, and then resumed his usual demeanor, just like he always does.

"I know it's crazy, I mean just look at him. Look at her!"

He looked at my lunch, and then his face dropped in disappointment. He brightened up after I revealed that I only brought drinks for us.

I wasn't very comfortable, sitting there with Kenny while everyone just watched. It must have been obvious, because he picked up on it.

"Are you okay?" Kenny whispered to me.

"Yeah, I guess." I lied. Kenny could tell I was lying.

He furrowed his brow, and even looked like he was going to offer a rebuttal, when his body suddenly seized up. "Ah, I almost forgot." He said as he lowered his lunch. He stood up and said, "I'll be right back, Eddy-kun. I just, ah... Forgot something." He began backing away from me slowly before saying, "I'll be right back!" while he turned and ran out of the classroom, leaving me stranded.

"Did you see that?"

"She just ran away from him."

"What do you think he did?"

"Why did she run?"

Come back, Kenny...

"Hey Eddy!" Katie yelled in my ear from behind me, making me start. I turned around in my seat and found Katie, Kelly, and Stacey standing there holding their lunches while they smiled. Katie nodded to Kelly, who was standing to her right, and they all began assembling the nearby desks into a four part table, with me sitting in the lower right portion. After making sure it was perfectly aligned, Katie, Kelly, and Stacey all sat down in turn. They placed their lunches on the table and quickly unpacked a couple boxes worth of unappetizing leftovers with fluid, deft motions. All synchronized.

I just sat there as all of this happened, dumbfounded. The most I could do was grab Kenny's lunch and place it on my desk before lord knows what happened to it. I was "pounced" by the Blond Brigade. I've seen it happen before; it must mean that these rumors are not only really interesting, but also important to much of the student body.

Needless to say, under different circumstances, this has happened to me before.

I took a deep breath through my nose and released it through my mouth I prepared myself for the impending wall of questions they were going to crush me with. I also took note that as whenever someone was pounced, the entire room fell to a hushed silence.

"So who's Kenichi?"

"How do you now her?"

"Where did you meet?"

"What have you two done yet?"

"Are you really a couple?"

"Did she come here just to meet you?"

"Who is Momo?"

"Is it true that you two spend weekends together?"

"And you walk to school together?"

"And you both walk home together?"

"Does she really come to your house everyday?"

"Did you teach her English?"

"How come?"

"Did she ask you to?"

"Or did you ask her if you could?"

"When did you confess?"

"Did she confess?"

"Who confessed?"

"When was the confession?"

"Was there a confession?"

"How long have you been dating?"

"Are you going to go steady?"

"How much do you love her?"

"Do you love her?"

"Does she love you?"

"Have you done anything naughty with her?"

"Did you ask to do it?"

"Did she ask you to do it?"

"What do you do together?"

"Do you have fun?"

"How much do you hang out?"

"When do you hang out?"

"Are you going to go stea-"

I inhaled and exhaled again, trying in vain to calm myself. This is more than I expected. I expected a slower pace, like the times when they would ask about me. But this was crazy; they were running there mouths faster than I could keep up, they were rushing and slurring questions together, and once or twice, they even asked two or even three different questions at once. What made it worse was the only pauses between their speaking was provided by another butting in, or for breathing.

And they expected answers to each and every one of those interrogatory statements.

I honestly think I would faint of oxygen deficiency if I tried speaking as fast as they could, which I half wished I could, just so they would leave me alone.

I felt something on my shoulder. I slowly looked up to see Dexter glaring down at me. He blinked before mechanically turning his gaze to the Blond Brigade. They were now mute in his presence. How Dexter can always do that to them, I'll never know. "If you would be so kind," He rasped before correcting his slipping glasses, "We would like to partake in a luncheon with Mr. McCarthy now."

What do you mean we? As the Blond Brigade packed up their respective things - while mumbling and groaning - I tried to see behind Dexter, who for some reason saw fit to save me from the torture of my interrogation. Behind him were Ms. Class Rep and Kenny, the former of which was holding two paper bags, while both were smiling.

After the Blond Brigade had finished up (and promised to speak with me again), Kenny took the seat next to mine, while Ms. Class Rep sat across from him, and Dexter sat across from me.

"Sorry, about that, Eddy-kun." Kenny said as he grabbed his lunch. "I just remembered I forgot my cellphone in my locker, and I forgot to call Father about something um... [concerning?]

"Concerning." I offered.

"Right!" Kenny giggled. "I just forgot to tell Father about something consawning dinner tonight." "But on my way back," Kenny continued, "I met these two." He gestured to our present company, who was busy differentiating her lunch from his without letting him "just check," as he kept insisting. "They asked if we could eat lunch together." He explained.

Then he looked at me with a sort of worried expression. "I-I hope you don't mind." He stuttered, as if just now realizing that doing something without my consent might prove inconvenient for me.

You left me to suffer like that, and then you bring back these two? And you wonder if I mind? I raised my hand up high into the air. Kenny clenched his eyes shut, Ms. Class Rep gasped, and Dexter was finally enjoying his egg salad. I held my hand there for a moment and brought it down with a grunt. Kenny flinched when I connected with a soft chop. [Dummy.]

Kenny opened one eye a crack before looking up at me in confusion. I just gave him one of my rare smiles. "Of course I don't mind. I thought you would know me better than that by now." I turned back to my lunch and began gnawing away at my apple.

Kenny giggled and returned to his lunch as well, and we all ate in silence. For five seconds.

"So, how have things been?" Ms. Class Rep asked between bites of her salad. She looked through her glasses between me and Kenny as she chewed.

"Uh... Good? I guess?" Who was that question directed to?

"Good, good." Kenny replied to her question as well. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine, thanks." Ms. Class Rep replied with a wave of her hand. Then she looked at me with a touch more intent. "You are enjoying the way things are going? Hanging out together alone and all?"

I gulped. So that's what she's after. Typical teenaged girl after all. Better play it safe anyway, wouldn't want her getting the wrong idea. So I tentatively asked, "What are you implying?"

She smirked, knowing full well what I meant. "I was just wondering how well you and Kenichi are getting along." She elaborated in an innocent tone. "I know how this school can be, with all of the talking and whispering. I just wanted to get answers straight from the source, rather than relying on mere speculation." She then delivered a sweet smile which served to both convince me of her innocence as well as make me even more suspicious.

I grunted and looked off to the side. I sipped my soda. This is insane. I really don't want to put up with this. I was about to tell her off when she said,

"We'll make everyone stop the rumors."

I snapped my head up and turned my attention to her. She smiled, the light shining off of her glasses to give her a menacing appearance.

"What did you say?" I asked, now fully alert.

Ms. Class Rep leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "We'll make it all stop. Just have a little chat with us."

"How can you do that?" I quietly barked.

"Eddy-kun," Kenny interrupted, sounding anxious as he tugged on my sleeve. "Maybe we should let her help. Instead of getting angry."

I sighed and then nodded. "Fine." Then I looked Ms. Class Rep straight in the eye and said, "But tell me how you would be able to do stop all of the rumors first."

"We started them." Dexter murmured. The robotic voice he uses and the poker face he wears almost kept me from understanding what he said. But I did.

I swear to this day, I was so angry then that I was seeing red.

I don't know whether it was the indifferent way Dexter delivered the response, or if it was because I finally met the source of some of the rumors that seemed to be controlling my life, or what else. All I remember thinking was a primal thought: "These two had the... The balls to do this? This? These two?" Or something like that. I think the thought ran through about twenty times, though.

Thankfully, my smaller, more feminine friend was more accepting than I. "Eddy-kun." He called to me from wherever I was. When I heard his soft voice, I came back to reality.

When I came back, Kenny had placed his hand on my arm and was staring right at me with those bright black eyes of his. [They are our friends.] He began in a pleading tone. [They really want to make everything better.]

I blushed in embarrassment. I tried fumbling around for an excuse for almost losing my cool, but all I could manage to produce was a weak sounding, [Alright, but I mean, listen-]

[No, Eddy-kun, you listen.] Kenny interrupted me. He now wore a stern face as he continued to speak to me in a demanding voice. [They're both sorry for what they did, and they want to make things right.] He glanced at them, then at me. With a smile and another little rub, he added, [But they need our help to do that.]

I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. [For you, I'll try.]

With that said, the rest of our lunch was pretty uneventful. Almost anti-climactic. Kenny and I explained to Ms Class Rep and Dexter the specifics of our non-romantic relationship. We even answered any questions that the two had on matters that were unknown by others but may turn up.

Then those two took our information with them when lunch ended and promised that by that time next week, everything would be back to normal.

Sort of. Uh... The recent 'Kenny Normal' normal. Life would return to that state. At least that's what they said.

oXo

The sun was setting, creating a serene environment out of the normally hum-drum cityscape below. Kenny and I sat against the tree on the hill that afternoon, talking about this and that. Well, Kenny was talking, but it's pretty much the same thing. I was just sitting there with my hands in my pockets, basking in the autumn air.

"And then Momo said, [You can't just jump on the roof like that. People will think you're crazy.] and I said, [It's my roof, I can climb up there if I want.] and she just said I was crazy."

Kenny smiled at me. "Momo's always telling me that."

"Yeah, I know." I said with my eyes closed, enjoying the... Well, not quiet, but absence of annoying sounds.

So for the moment, things were back to normal. Or it felt like it, with us both relaxing like we usually do. Any thoughts of relationships, rumors, or treacherous class reps vanished as soon as I sat down at this tree.

"So, Eddy-kun."

"Yeah?" I said through a breath, as I steadily approached snoozing territory.

"You know how everyone was talking about us being together?" Kenny inquired.

"What about it?" I replied.

"What was your first reaction to it?" He blurted out in an urgent tone.

I remembered back to the time I overheard someone mentioning my name and the word sweetheart in the same sentence. "I thought it was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard."

"Oh..." Kenny slowly released.

"Why?" I opened my eye just a crack to find Kenny sitting next to me, just instead of watching the sunset, he was fiddling with the grass that was clinging to his shorts.

"Nothing. I just had a different... Reaction." From my perspective, it looked like Kenny nodded. Or maybe he gulped. I closed my eye again, and sighed as I tried to catch up with Mr. Sandman.

A different reaction from thinking it was stupid, huh. "Like what?" I asked out of morbid curiosity.

"Like this." After those words left his lips, I suddenly felt a surplus of weight on my lap, followed by steady bursts of warm air in my face.

My eyes shot open. It was Kenny. He was straddling me. His breath was ragged, and he had donned flushed cheeks, nervous eyes and a quivering lip.

"Huh?" I tried laughing it off, but he didn't change. It wasn't a joke. "Kenny, what are you doing?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate.

He gulped, grimacing as he did so, as if he was swallowing something very unpleasant. "Th...Th...Th..." Kenny stopped and moaned. As he tenderly placed his hands under my chin, he said, [This is what I thought of the first time I heard those rumors. This very moment.] Without saying another word, Kenny closed his eyes. While holding my head steady, he leaned forward, inch by agonizing inch until he reached his goal.

His soft lips embraced mine in such a way that was new to me. Kissing him was something I'd never felt before. The warmth of his hands on my face, his supple but firm lips, his light frame sitting on my lap as he enjoyed my (and quite possibly his) first kiss. I have never felt anything like that. It was all completely new, and I had no idea how to react.

It didn't last for very long. When Kenny sat back on my now upright knees, he had a look of pure bliss. The kind of look one gets once, maybe twice in their life. He just stared off into space for a few seconds, before slightly shaking his head and looking back down at me.

When he saw my look of utter confusion and dismay, I believe it totally shattered his newly acquired personal Nirvana. The slow transition from bliss to torturous regret was gut-wrenching to watch. It reminded me of that time a month ago when I asked him about his gender. It made me feel like there was a pit in my stomach, only worse.

In silence, he looked at me with melancholy in his eyes. I returned the favor, but I believe I was displaying anxiety more than depression. He bit his trembling lip and looked off to the side. After a pause, he dismounted me with a careful precision, and went back to his previous seat.

The very air around us seemed to tighten and constrict, turning from somewhat awkward to throat parchingly tense in record speed. We both sat next to each other in quiet. To my knowledge, we were both feeling dejected, and I suppose to some painful extent, Kenny might have felt rejected.

"Kenny," I tried saying in a comforting tone, "I'm sorry-"

But he interrupted me. "I'm sorry, Eddy-kun." Kenny said in a cracking, strained voice. "I don't know where that came from." The words came out loud and high, like the cacophonous notes of a ruined violin.

Before I had a chance to say anything else, he pulled his knees up to his chin and hugged his legs. For just a moment, I noticed that his face was almost glowing red before his hair fell to block it. "I'm sorry." He sobbed one last time.

Everything was silent after that. Aside from the unsettling sniffles and moans from my present company, that is.

I tried to comfort him somehow, but he was already beyond my reach. I knew what deep despair looked like, and my best friend was up to his neck in it. What made things worse was that I was the one who threw him in it. If I was a weaker man, that would be enough to break me, too.

I looked up to the stars and the pale moon. It was going to be a beautiful night. I tried concentrating on that, but I just ended up realizing I might have ruined such a nice night. I gave up on trying to ignore what was happening and just sat there for a few more minutes.

I couldn't help but think that nothing made sense anymore.

That one thought haunted me for the rest of the day, and well into my dreams that night.