melting together again (tordedd)

13

Immediately after Tord fell from the bridge I jumped down in the river to rescue him. The water was freezing cold and the strong tides made it hard for me to swim. When I couldn't see Tord I took a deep breath and dove underwater.

As soon as I saw him I tried to reach him. It was easier said than done.

I grabbed Tord by the wrists and swam up to the surface again. Then I dragged him to the riverside. My damp hair fell into my face while a breeze cooled me even more down. I started shaking. Taking deep breaths I attempted to calm myself down which didn't really work. After all, Tord was still laying there, unconscious. He didn't move at all and that made me even more panicky than I was before.

I crawled over to him. Once I was right next to him I bent over, my head now laying on his chest to check for a pulse. My mind almost shut down when I heard nothing. The implications behind that made the feeling of dread looming over my head worse. Together with his lack of breathing it was not hard to conclude that he was dead. My eyes widened at that thought.

No. Tord couldn't be dead. I refused to accept that. I had to do something, anything to get him back again. That's when I remembered what I had learned back in high school. CPR. While I pushed his chest up and down I heard mumblings. Without looking I knew that a crowd of people had to watch me. If it weren't for the dire situation I'd shout at them to go away. I hated people who just watched when anything happened.

Thankfully I heard familiar voices screaming at them to leave. Since I was too focused on getting Tord back to life I didn't know if the people really went away.

"Don't you dare to die on me", I murmured under my breath, "You hear me Tord?"

Quite suddenly his eyes shot open. In an instant he sat up and coughed up the water that had been in his lungs. It took him a while but as soon as he stopped I hugged him tightly. I could feel tears prickle in the corner of my eyes.

Before he could return the hug however I retreated. Then it happened. My hand slipped and before I knew it, I had slapped Tord. He stared at me unbelievingly. "You stupid idiot! Don't pull that shit ever on me again!" My voice cracked more than once though I paid no attention to that.

And then I hugged him again. "I'm sorry." Tord whispered just loud enough for me to catch it. He lifted his arms and returned the hug. Unbeknownst to me I had started crying. I was just so happy. Tord is alive. Tord is here.

After a while I let go of him. Now I sat in front of him, our faces only inches apart. I felt my face heating up. Unlike all the other times I didn't move away from Tord. Instead I looked into his bright gray orbs that reminded me of storms. Those eyes that could pierce my soul just by looking at me. For a moment it appeared like time stopped. At least for me. At the same time I heard nothing but the rapid beating of my heart.

That was it. I'm gonna tell Tord that I love him.

"Tord?" He hummed in response. "I-I have to t-tell you something." Tord tilted his head as if he's asking me "What?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I wanted to say it, but no word left my mouth. They all died on my tongue.

Not knowing what to do now, I simply stared at him. Oh God. Just say it. How hard can it be to say these three words? From what it seems, very hard. Get your act together Edd. Just say the words you wanted to say. Do something!

Instead of saying something though, I acted on my last thought. I cupped Tord's cheeks and closed the distance between us. At first I felt how Tord hesitated. But in the fraction of a second he kissed back. This made my heart skip a beat or two. His chapped lips pushed ever so softly against mine. I felt like I was in heaven. High as a kite. Cloud nine or whatever.

Feeling the need to breath I pulled away. I opened my eyes to see Tord's flushed face. He stared at me with wide eyes. The look in his eyes told me so much but so little at the same time. Tord seemed to still be surprised. I couldn't blame him. I'd react that way too if I were in his situation.

"E-Edd? D-Did you j-just-" I nodded before he had the chance to finish the question. He brought one of his hands up to his face, covering his mouth. At this point his face was as red as a cherry. It made me think of the teenage romance flicks Matt had always told me about. Where the girl gets her first kiss from her crush. Another thought quickly rushed through my head, replacing the older one.

Was this Tord's first kiss? It couldn't be. He had been way too popular with girls in high school.

"Tord. You may have realized this by now, but, uhm, I like you. A lot." I hoped to break the silence that had descended over us. He looked at me with an expression I couldn't identify. Then I saw tears trailing down his pale cheeks. Before I could react he once again hugged me tightly. "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say this." Now it was my turn to be surprised. Tord had waited for that? "Does that mean-"

He let go of me and wiped his tears away which didn't really work since he couldn't stop crying. "I loved you ever since we met back in middle school. Everything about you was and still is so perfect. From your infectious smile and laughter to your stupid puns to your positivity about everything in life. I love every bit.

I wanted to tell you so badly, but I was way too insecure to do that. And I thought that the whole school would make fun of me for being gay if it told you about my feelings. That's why I turned into such a jerk, flirting with girl to try and forget my feelings. But no matter how hard I tried, my love for you only got stronger.

When I left you, it almost tore me apart. And when I came back and destroyed everything I thought you'd never want me in your life again. But then you found me and forgave me, accepting me back in your life. Oh god. I was so broken and shattered inside, I thought nothing could fix me. I thought you haven't really forgiven me and just did it out of pity."

At this point Tord was a sobbing mess and it took a lot of attention to decipher the stuff he said. Nonetheless I listened to him. It was the first time that Tord let out all his feelings. Sure, he had talked with me about his self-hatred, his doubts in himself and the inner voice that told him he was worthless. This time though he let everything out.

"But you kept on trying to get to me. You didn't give up on me. You listened when I talked, and you were there when I needed you. After I woke up in the hospital with you by my side, that's when I realized it."

Tord paused. He looked me in the eyes, tears still streaming down his face. Then he closed his eyes and smiled at me.

"You are everything I need to be whole again."

I didn't know what to say. Silence descended over the two of us. That was, until I heard someone clapping. I turned my head to see Matt and Tom standing a few feet away from us. "Oh God, finally!" Tom said while Matt cried and bawled like a small child. "That was so beautiful, I can't help but cry."

"How long have you two been here?" "Long enough." I rolled my eyes at Tom's answer. What else did I expect from him?

The silence was cut short when Tord sneezed. I turned back to him. He shivered and trembled like crazy. I punched myself internally. I had been so distracted by the situation that I didn't even realize that both of us were still soaking wet. If we stayed out here we'd catch a cold. I reached for Tord's hand and pulled him up with me. "Now, we should head home before we get sick." Tord nodded and together with Matt and Tom we made our way home.

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Well, that's it for now. Don't worry about future chapters. Some extras will come, that's for sure.

-Their meeting in middle school,

-the moment Tord decides to drown his feelings in flirting with girls,

-Tord's thoughts of "the end"

-His life after that incident until Edd found him

-Proposal and marriage

-Their future with their kids (that's maybe a few chapters)

Okay. See you sometime later.

Beast