Close your eyes

Close your eyes.

"Hey Double Dee, want to come play?"

Kevin woke up in a cold sweat. For the third time this week he had had this strange recurring dream. Kevin was always playing in the street as a 2nd grader. Double Dee would start walking home and he would invite him to play. Then it would end.

Was it a dream or a memory? Kevin tried to remember. He spent so much time troubling over this recurring dream he was late to school, but what would you do if you had the same dream three times a week?

He got to school just in time to invoke the wrath of his teacher. He had to sit through a great lecture about tardiness and then was given detention. Shit. That was the last thing he needed.

Later, at lunch...

Kevin was waiting in line for lunch. Crap. The line was fuckin long and he was hungry. This was the last thing he needed today. He was going to steal it from the jerk next to him when he saw the dork that got him into this mess. The Eds were standing there talking. They had their lunches. He strode over to his target. "Hey, Double Dweeb! This is what you get for messing with my dreams this morning!" He took the food and laughed at them. Double Dee turned red.

Suddenly Kevin realized how bad his statement sounded to someone who didn't understand what had happened. He ate his food in the bathroom to hide from the embarrassment.

"Do you want to play Double Dee?"

"I don't know I have homework and I don't want to rush anything."

Kevin was dreaming. It seemed so distant but so real. Had it really happened?

"Come on please?" A younger Kevin asked.

"Who would I be?" He asked back.

He knew what was going to happen next. He regretted it with all his heart.

"We are playing castle! You can be the princess!"

The second grade Kevin had no clue that Double Dee was a guy, that was a mistake.

The child ran home crying his eyes out.

Kevin woke up in a cold sweat.

He knew he was late. He decided to stay home, one of the kids that lived near him would bring his homework to him. That was how it worked. Besides, Kevin needed to think (something he didn't like to do all that often). Eventually he just fell back asleep.

No one but Double Dee noticed that Kevin was gone. He had conflicting thoughts on the matter. It was simple really. Eddward had always liked him a little but the cyan eyed boy thought nothing more of the teen who seemed to have a temper more fiery than his hair. But things had changed.

Kevin had dreams about him! Nightmares or not this was stunning news to the beanie bound brain of the bashful boy. Maybe things would finally change! Little did he know that he would find out tomorrow.

The next day Kevin was back at school, the fact that Kevin hadn't been somehow mortally wounded appealed to Double Dee. Of course he dismissed this idea instantly as it would be both cheesy and unnecessarily heartbreaking to have this happen. He questioned why this thought had even passed through his mind in the first place.

As Edd was walking into the school some senior thugs were yelling at him. "Hey! Double douche!" They called," where's your boyfriend?! Oh right, a gay fag like you can't even get one! I bet you tried hugging your cactus last night to get over how lonely you are! Go shove a cactus needle up your ass you gay wad!" The other boys around were joining in. They seemed to be greatly enjoying this. All except Kevin that is. He was hiding behind the lockers trying to decide what to do. He should do something! I mean, sure Edd was a dork but he never deserved this treatment. Kevin was about to act when he realized that the center of this group was gone. Sure enough, the target of their ridicule had walked by, trying to act like he Hadn't heard them. Kevin's only clue to his feelings was in the trailing tears left on the floor.

By lunch time everything had settled down. The Eds were laughing and joking like always, this was good in Kevin's opinion.

That was until they showed up. Those idiots from earlier showed up. Kevin was about to confront them when he realized he knew these idiots. They were on all the sports teams, they were the populars. He couldn't confront them without risking everything. Besides. Double Dee had handled it fine when it happened last time, right? It would he fine. He left not knowing how bad it would he on the poor boy. The next time Kevin heard from Eddward was in the bathroom, all he could hear was a sniveling noise mixed with crying behind the stall door.

School was out. Kevin had survived yet annother day in this wreck of a place. Everyone was leaving the school when Edd's tormenters returned. They began carrying on in their usual derogatory banter. No, this time it was worse. They surrounded him, shoving him around. No one was certain who threw the first punch, but Edd was reduced to a crumpled pile before long.

Kevin had had enough of this. He couldn't let this happen anymore. He had to do something, but what?

He ran. He ran as fast as his legs could go. He got to Double Dee as fast as he could, scooping him up without stopping. He ran and ran until he got to his house.

By the time they finally got home they were laughing "That was fun! We should do this again!"

Kevin, on the other hand was exhausted.

"Yeah," he gasped, " we should, just minus the injuries. Let's play a game."

"So you'll be the prince?" Edd asked.

"Sure" was Kevin's reply.

"Then I have no problem being your princess."

This night's dream was great, mostly because the love of his life was cuddling with him, but the dream was great.

He dreamed that he and Edd were sitting in a field .

And if you close your eyes

Soon the younger Kevin and Edd joined him.

Does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all, and if you close your eyes.

They sat hand in hand as they watched the kids play in the field.

Does it almost feel like you've been here before.

Kevin decided he had never slept better in his life.

And if you close your eyes...