Chapter Text
A few weeks after the first project they had to do together, they had another project that had to be done in pairs.
Edgar and Fang had already gotten to be pretty good friends, so Fang went directly to Edgar to ask him to be his partner
— God, dude, of course. Id choose you over Colette any day, she barely does anything
Edgar chuckled, making space so Fang could sit next to him. Fang isn't quite sure why, but Edgar saying he'd choose Colette over him made his stomach turn and his face heat up a bit.
Fang sat down and leaned back, legs spread out. Edgar had his arms crossed over the table, with his head resting on them. He had stopped looking ahead at the teacher when Fang had come over, so he was still looking over to Fang.
The day was a bit cloudy, with darker clouds looming over, threatening to give the storm of a century.
The teacher started speaking and so everyone got quiet.
— Children, the project will be about…
And Edgar stopped listening. He was too focused on other things, like the fact that when Fang asked him to be his partner, Edgar felt his face warm up and his stomach felt weird. And that surely was not normal, maybe he had a fever? And now, he was staring at Fang, who was looking straight at the Teacher.
This strange thing of heartwarming moments and easily smiling was not what Edgar was used to, but it's not like he gave it much thought. He just enjoyed the moments, and that was it. His alone-anxious-self could overthink that later. He just really enjoyed spending time with his friend, and that's all that there is to it.
It was kind of nice, actually. He could talk to Fang about a lot of things, and he didn't look at him like he was crazy or and he listened, and that was the best part. He also liked listening to Fang talk, because he always did so many mannerisms and spoke with such confidence, it was like they completed each other like soulmates. Platonic. Platonic soulmates, of course.
Fang had even given him a nickname, and that surely was a first for him. It was nice to hear, but it was also… weird. Because surely if he heard Colette call him that, he would've looked at her like she was absolutely insane. And even with that, it's not like it was an insane nickname, Fang just called him-
— Ed. Edgar. Ed! Did you hear?
He stopped dissociating, Fang smiling and waving his hand in front of him. He blinked and instinctively nodded and said yes, while backing up and leaning on his chair, even though no, he didn't hear anything at all
— Do you want to do the project at my house again? There's no one to bother us that way
He offered, his house was also closer to school, and since he had stopped taking the bus last week and they had to walk, it was also way better. But then, Edgar remembered a little detail.
— We do have to go buy something to eat, i have nothing at home
Nothing Fang didn't know about, Edgar usually had barely enough to eat by himself at lunch, so it was no surprise he didn't have enough for two people.
— Yeah, let's go! I hope it doesn't rain too much, i didn't bring an umbrella
Fang said, stretching over Edgar to look through the window.
— Yeah- get off of me! I didn't bring an umbrella either
Edgar replied, pushing Fang back to his chair and looking out the window himself. It did look like it was about to really pour down, but he didn't really mind the rain.
He also could race Fang over to his house, which was pretty fun.
— Well, then we'll go over to the supermarket on the way, buy whatever, and go to my house
— Woohoo! Yeah!
And so the school day went by pretty fast. By the time they had to leave, it was raining so hard that they couldn't see even a couple meters in front of them.
— Dude…
— We are so fucked
They both said, starting to laugh at how straight up insane the rain looked. Edgar's scarf put itself on top of both their heads, and Fang smiled at Edgar.
— Well, that's a bit better… On the count to three?
— Let's do it
And so they both counted to 3, and so they both started running as fast as they could. So they wouldn't get too far away from each other and the scarf stopped covering them both, Edgar grabbed Fang's arm, still running.
— This is insane!
Fang looked over at Edgar, holding onto his arm, and smiled a bit. Edgar usually didn't even like the slightest physical contact, so let's just say Fang was pretty happy.
They kept running, both laughing loudly, the back of their shoes and their pants getting wet, just like the scarf.
After a little bit more running, they finally got to the supermarket, panting and still laughing.
— And we still have to go to your house…
— At least we aren't that wet… my scarf though…
Edgar had taken his scarf off, both its ends completely soaked and dripping wet. That wouldn't help much any more. Seeing Edgar without his scarf on, to Fang, was the equivalent of seeing Jesus coming back to life on the third day. So he stared a bit, yeah, nothing wrong with that. He was just shocked.
— Well, let's go buy some food.
Edgar interrupted Fang's staring, and started walking over to the inside of the supermarket. Fang hurried up his pace and got next to Edgar, walking by his side.
—Yup. Yeah let's go
They went and grabbed a shopping cart, and explored around the supermarket. At first, they were just walking alongside each other, but at one point, Edgar sat down at the end of the shopping cart. As Fang now pushed the empty cart with Edgar sitting on it, kicking his feet, he had an amazing idea.
So he started running quickly, with Edgar barely holding onto the cart. And to say that Edgar didn't like it is an understatement. He suddenly grabbed both sides of the cart and quickly looked back at Fang, switching from looking forward and back over and over again.
— Dude! FANG! What the fuck, stop!
Edgar screamed, holding onto the cart with all his strength. Fang just laughed, and propped himself up so the cart would just keep on going without him pushing it.
— I will actually kill you! Stop!
Edgar kept screaming while Fang just woo-hoo'd and smiled at him. As the cart stopped, Edgar breathed heavily and got off, fixed his hair, and walked up to Fang. They stared at each other, Fang smirking and raising an eyebrow at why Edgar was staring, and then Edgar realized he didn't have his scarf on. So he hit Fang's arm with his fist instead.
— Ow, that hurt!
Fang shrieked, rubbing where Edgar hit him.
— You almost gave me a heart attack!
They both glared at each other and Fang stuck his tongue out, and then they both chuckled. Edgar rolled his eyes and sat at the end of the cart again, with his legs crossed, and Fang started pushing it at a normal pace.
— What do you want to eat?
Edgar asked, and Fang hummed as he thought.
— I don't know, uh… instant noodles?
Edgar looked back at Fang with an indescribable face, and Fang shrugged
— Instant noodles it is then…
Edgar smiled and Fang celebrated, and they walked over all the aisles looking for wherever the instant noodles could be. After a while of walking, they saw them at the first aisle they looked at, and sighed.
— No way we walked that much-
— We? You were sitting there like a princess while I walked!
Fang complained, but Edgar just rolled his eyes and smiled
— Ok. No way you walked that much and they were here all this time!
Fang just tried to contain his smile and look angry, but failed, while he looked at the different flavors there were. Edgar looked too, but he just instinctively grabbed the meat one, while Fang grabbed the chicken one. They put them in the cart and Edgar went and sat down again.
— Well, lets go pay up
And so Fang started walking and pushing Edgar and the cart again. Fang, using the opportunity, stared at Edgar.
These past few weeks have been weird, not only because he had started being friends with Edgar, but also because Edgar seemed so… nice to him.
Before they became friends Colette had told him that Edgar was cold and insensitive, and that he only really showed emotion when he was comfortable. And Edgar showed emotion all the time around Fang.
Fang really enjoyed spending time with Edgar, but it wasn't like when he spent time with Buster or Maisie, Edgar was just… different. Everytime he made Edgar laugh he felt a smile of his own creep on his face, and his face got warm.
He always thought Edgar was an asshole, but turns out he's more of a hedgehog. He has spikes all over him and unless you get to truly meet him, he just looks aggressive and pricks you.
And he had to admit it, Edgar was pretty. Fang knew how much time it took him to get ready everyday, because they had talked about it, and it truly just amazed Fang how much effort he put into it. Especially because he didn't really think Edgar needed any of it to be pretty.
Once they got near the cashiers, Edgar got off, and Fang stopped dissociating.
— Ok, I've got… 10 dollars! I'll pay for both
Fang said, giving both instant noodles to the cashier, but Edgar started looking for his money as quickly as he could. He took out 5 dollars and gave them to Fang.
— No, don't. Here.
And Fang ignored him, giving the cashier the money and taking the noodles. He smiled at Edgar and pushed the money back to him, but Edgar insisted.
— Hey, take it! I'm not owing you anything!
— I'm not asking you to repay me
Fang replied, getting his backpack off and putting the instant noodles inside. Edgar scoffed, looking away. He put his money back in his pocket, and murmured a thank you.
Fang bought him random stuff at school too, usually giving him just random candy, lollipops or gum, and Edgar accepted them because Fang told him he wouldn't eat it.
After Fang put the noodles in his backpack, they both went up to the door of the supermarket, and the rain was even worse. And now they couldn't cover themselves with anything, so…
— Well…
Edgar started, tying his scarf on his backpack and adjusting it, turning to look at Fang
— Race you to my house!
And Edgar started running, without looking back. Fang, taken aback, started running too, trying to catch up.
— That's cheating! I wasn't ready!
Edgar started laughing, and Fang followed. They were both already soaking wet and they could feel the rain running down their backs, but they couldn't care less.
Edgar's hair had already lost all shape it had, and both their shoes were full of water too.
They laughed loudly, screaming at each other to hurry up and to run faster, not caring about anything else. People inside their houses and shops stared at them as if they were absolutely insane.
Maybe they were