R!Kevedd: Satisfaction

Chapter 24: Snow

Double D's eyes opened and slowly adjusted themselves to the brightness of the morning sun. He placed a soft kiss on Kevin's forehead before rolling out of bed and disappearing down the stairs.
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"Eddward?"

Kevin peeked outside and scanned the backyard for the raven haired boy.
"He couldn't have gone far, his beanie is still upstairs."
He pulled out his phone and called one of only two people that would have any idea as to where his boyfriend could have disappeared.
"Mh...hello?"
"Er- good morning Eddy, Eddward wouldn't happen to be with you is he?"
"Um...no? He's not at home?"
"No, he's been missing since I woke up."
Eddy grew strangely quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"Call Ed and ask him if he's seen him. Come get me if he's not back in a few hours."
"Erm... Alright, I'll call him right now."

He sighed and scanned the kitchen one more time in the hopes that he could find any answers as to where the swimmer had disappeared to.
"Eddward..."

The phone rang in his ear as he walked into the living room and sprawled onto the couch.
"Hello Kevin!"
He smiled at the cheery voice on the other end.
"Good morning Ed, have you seen Eddward today?"
Ed gave the same unsettling pause before he spoke. The cheerfulness suddenly seemed forced.
"No, only me and Sarah. Have you checked under the tree?"
"Haha, we don't have a tree Ed, but I'll check around the house again to make sure he isn't hiding."
"Okay, Kevin! Good luck! Let me know if you can't find him."
His last sentence sent a chill down Kevin's spine. Something seemed...off.
"A-alright. Thank you Ed."

He tried Double D's phone again before setting out into the snow.
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The ginger shook the snow off of himself as he walked up to the doors of the pool. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside.
"Eddward?"

The room was quiet and the water still. It looked as if nothing had been touched since winter break began. He closed the door and braced himself for the snowstorm that awaited him outside.
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Eddy opened his door and was greeted with a red faced Kevin.
"Eddy..."
Kevin collapsed onto Eddy's shoulders.
"Hey, Kev, calm down buddy. Talk to me."
"I-I can't find him Eddy. I'm so worried!"
Eddy pulled him into the warmth of his house and sat him down. He tried to hide the worried expression from the crying boy.
"Just sit here and try to get warm. I'll call Ed over, then we can all go out and look for him."
Kevin took in deep breaths. Normally he wouldn't worry so much but his gut told him something was wrong; Ed and Eddy's reactions to his phone calls, the lack of a note, the fact that Double D had ventured out without his beloved hat, and the crumpled note that lay in the drawer.... Something was wrong and he could sense it.

Ed barreled into Eddy's living room a few minutes later. His smile seemed to be a bit off, almost as if it was being forced. Eddy handed Kevin a cup of hot chocolate and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Did he say anything to you before he left?"
Kevin sniffed and tried his best to hold back his tears. He debated whether to tell them everything that happened the night before.
"No... He...he mentioned feeling inferior and worthless last night. I-I...I just have the feeling that wherever he is, he's not okay."
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't talk like that Kev. You know Sockhead better than any of us. He's probably out looking at bugs or something."

Kevin paused before finally saying what was on his mind.
"Do you two know anything about his grandmother? I believe she may have passed away around this time. Maybe he's at her gravesite."
The room was silent. Kevin looked at Eddy. The short boy's face showed a mixture of worry, concern and a bit of...knowing? He looked over at Ed and the tall boy's downcast eyes held the same hint of knowledge. The ginger's tears began to fall again.
"Do you both know?"
Eddy sighed and glanced at Ed.
"He usually goes missing around this time every year but we've never been able to find him."
He looked Kevin straight in the eye.
"I've never thought to check there."
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"Eddy! Kevin! Hurry up!"

The two boys struggled to move their short legs through the snow. They looked up at Ed who was frantically waving far ahead of them. They glanced at each other before trying their best to dart through the snow. The wind howled and almost knocked them over as large flurries of snow pelted their faces.

They finally reached Ed and looked around.
"What was the big rush Lumpy? There's nothing he-"
"Eddward!"
"Huh?"
Eddy's eyes followed Kevin as he dashed towards a half buried gravestone. He dropped to his knees and began shoveling away the heavy snow. His confusion grew as he watched Ed run over to help.

It wasn't until he saw a flash of red that he realized what they were digging out. He pushed his short legs through the snow as fast as he could.
"What the hell?! Hey Sockhead! What're ya doing out here?!"
His gloved hands wrapped around one of Double D's bare arms while Kevin and Ed dug him out from beneath the blanket of ice.

"Eddward?! Eddward, can you hear me? Please say something!"
Double D's head slowly rolled to one side as he let out a pitiful groan. His skin was ghostly white save for a dash of red across his cheeks. White clumps of ice decorated his long black hair. All three boys gasped as the rest of his body was exposed.

He was clad in only a red tank top and a pair of black shorts. His body was surrounded by bottles of alcohol. He groaned again before falling still.

"Hey Sockhead, pull it together! Come on, get up."
Eddy struggled to lift the boy onto his shoulders but only managed to topple over. Kevin crawled over and tried to shake the unconscious boy awake.
"Eddward? Eddward, please say something."
He took off his glove and felt for a pulse.

His face went white as he looked up at the two boys.

"His heartbeat..."