My friend Kevin - 1. Chapter 1

Hello.

The story I am about to tell you isn't about me. It is a story dear to my heart. It is a story that I am proud but scared to tell. From the depths of my memories I will share this life with you. It is not a story of love as much as it is a shattering piece of reality.

This is the story of Kevin McCloud.

Kevin was the kind of friend many people dream of having. A supporting pillar, a warm pillow and a shoulder to cry on. A sweet word when it was as most needed. A cool breeze in the heat of the desert, an oasis of advice and smiles.

If only I had told him how much he meant to me.

What he.. Truly meant to me.

"Timmy, good morning darling! I was just about to call you." Kevin greeted me in the lockerroom of our school as I walked in, shaking the snow off my clothes. I smiled back, he was just as cheerful as ever. His dyed, light blue hair was wet from the snow, no matter how many times I told him to, he never wore hats, even when it was way below freezing.

"The snow got the better of the bus. We slid down a hill, not once, but twice." I chuckled lowly as I fiddled with the keys to my locker, my hans were red and trembling from the intense cold outside. It'd take a while to warm them up. Suddenly my hands were pulled away from their assignment as Kevin took my hands into his, rubbing them while he began talking again.

"It's incredible how they always forget that yes, the snow comes, this year as well." He blew hot air into my hands and I chuckled, pulling them away from him.

"Thanks, mom. I think they'll be okay." Kevin gave me a disapproving look before smiling that wonderful smile of his again, taking my keys and unlocking my locker for me, starting to organise the chaos inside. Kevin was a bit of a perfectionist, but I didn't mind. Kevin just had that generous spirit, always helping people with everything from getting books or pencils they had forgotten somewhere to offering advice to girls suspicious of their boyfriends.

And he always saw the best in people.

"Come on now slowpoke, we're going to be late for English!" Kevin had in record time organised my locker beyond recognition, and he looked like the proudest person ever when he shoved my books and pencilcase into my arms before grabbing me and pulling me along to English class.

Now, don't misunderstand anything. Kevin may call me darling, but that's only because.. Well he calls pretty much everyone darling, and those who don't want to be called darling, he calls cupcake or ferret or something else cute. Kevin did have a huge thing for petnames. Not in acreepy way, he just enjoyed giving people petnames. I think it's to some degree because he has trouble remebering names.

As usual, Kevin strolled through the classroom, being waved in by people who needed to borrow pencils or erasers. Generous spirit, yep. But he did have an impressive collection of pencils, pens, markers, erasers, rulers and pencil sharpeners. It was good to know that people always gave them back to him afterwards though. One time, some guy raided his bag and took almost all of his pens, and that led to Kevin not lending out anything to anyone. Eventually me and the rest of our classmates took our time to figure out who had done it, and after discovering who it was, Kevin got all of them back. Why steal from someone so generous? If the guy had asked, Kevin would most likely have given him pencils to keep.

That guy by the way, Eric, is now frowned upon by the entire class. Talk about digging his own grave. You did not mess with Kevin, because Kevin, was loved by all.

Of course Kevin wasn't very happy about this and kept trying to include Eric in most conversations, but to be honest.. Some people are just not friend-material. And Eric was one of those.

"Good morning class." I looked up as mr Wither entered the classroom and hastily opened my notebook while grabbing a pencil, and then the class started.

Mr Wither makes English entertaining and interesting, so time flew by. I was sitting by my bench, gathering up everthing as Kevin walked over to me, sitting down in my lap like it was the most normal thing ever.

"What're you having for lunch today?" He said it with the sweetest, innocent voice ever, like he was asking where I kept a box full of puppies.

"I don't know." I leaned my chin on his shoulder, showing off a quick drawing of a sheep which was climbing a building and fending off airplanes with what could be Kevin on its head. We both laughed and reminisced about the time we had spent several hours re-telling King-Kong as Sheep-Shong.

"But, but, darling." He lowered my book with a gentle hand and gave me a disappointed look.

"Oh I WILL eat, I'll go get something from the gas station, it isn't far from here."

"Nutritious meal right there." I rolled my eyes at his comment and pushed him off me, getting up to leave the classroom with him.

"At least it's something."

Kevin always worried about my eating habits, although to be honest, his were probably far worse than mine. He had an incredible sweet tooth, he'd devour anything in the way of candy, pastry and other sweet things that he could get his hands on, usually ruining his apetite for anything else. He was way skinnier than me though. Taller too. Pale. Malnutrition, I guess. It happens if you live on sweets and noodles.

After much pestering from Kevin I eventually decided against the gas station to try the school food. The food wasn't bad here, we had our own chef, but I guess it was the school cafeteria feeling I didn't care much for. In the summer we could at least go outside and eat, but now the door that led outside from the cafeteria wouldn't even open due to the masses of snow.

"Mashed potatoes and meatballs, you can't complain about that darling." He almost chirped happily as he spoke with that infectious smile of his while we stood in line to be fed. I was shifting the plate from one hand to another.

"God it's so hot..! What's the deal with putting scolding hot plates out for students to burn themselves on?"

"I don't know sweetie. I can hold it? I don't have lady fingers." He giggled as he held out a hand but I stubbornly held the plate to myself, sticking out my tongue at him.

"I so do not have lady fingers!"

"You so do, darling."

While the people in our class accepted us as the strange friends we were, the same didn't go for the rest of the school. Kevin was always at the recieving end of cold glancesand glares, mainly because of his behaviour, which many would describe as..

Flamboyant.

Kevin was gay. It wasn't as much as he was showing it off, but his lack of fear to be his wonderfully caring, giving and humorous self made him look all the more gay. If you just looked at him, he didn't look gay. Sure, he had his dyed blue hair which on a windy day looked like blue cotton candy, but I knew many girls who had fallen for him. He was good looking, despite his lack of muscle. Almond shaped deeply brown eyes, pale skin free of any blemishes, soft facial features just begging to be touched. And he was tall. Girls almost always fell for the tall guy. He knew how to hug someone properly, not those lame guy-hugs that most people of the male gender practised. He knew how to listen. He knew how to give. And there aren't a lot of guys nowadays that do.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I could hear the concern in his voice as he looked at me with those deep,brown eyes.

"I'm not hungry.."

"Sure you are! At least one meatball, okay?" I sighed with faked frustration before shoving a meatball into my mouth, teasingly glaring intently at him while chewing it. He just laughed and patted my head.

"Good boy."

"What am I, a puppy?" I chuckled lowly and continued eating, eating one meatball had sort of gotten my apetite going, and it felt like this was the real start of a very good week.

"You will always be my puppy, Timothy."