Everything had changed so much. Time comes and time goes, time changes and so does people. It was hard to comprehend sometimes, how things happen this way. People drift apart, friends become acquaintances and bullies lose interest. Well, sometimes they do. Sometimes it gets worse. It's hard to believe how fast people change when they reach high school. Everything changes when you reach high school, and nothing from middle school matters. Nothing you did transitions over, and new things are created, new rumors to ruin your life. And there are new stories that come to light, some real and some fake. Everyone falls victim to these lies or painful truths at one point in their high school experience, but you always think that they will blow over in a week or two like they did in middle school. Well, try years. For Eddward Marion Vincent, those rumors have yet to go away, even after years of hanging around Ed and Eddy, and being bullied throughout his young adult life, nothing could have prepared him for what high school would bring.
Freshman year was fine. The trio came in, all fresh faced and wide eyed, ready to prove wrong the stereotypes that all friends lose touch after the struggles of the higher grades. Yes, freshman year was easy, but then freshman year ended. Then came sophomore, and junior, and senior, but sophomore year is when everything gets messy. Old friends turn into new enemies and some hold it their mission in life to make sure that you pay for just being alive. Bullies become worse in high school. The word "dork" is no longer an insult, no, there are much worse things than being called dork. Edd had heard all of the insults created in the world by all of the vicious teenagers whose whole purpose is to hurt you, whether physically or mentally.
It was his sophomore year when things began to go downhill for Edd. He was in all honors and AP classes and was going to be president of the Math Club by the end of sophomore year. But then things began to change for him, changes that he didn't quite understand, but it wasn't that bad. Well, he thought it wasn't that bad, but then the news was let out. Then things really got bad. Everyone turned on him, all of his friend and everyone at Peach Creek turned their back on him and started picking on him, even the loveable oath Ed had followed Eddy's lead and turned against him. Yes, even Ed. Believe it or not, Ed changed quite a bit, just like everyone else at Peach Creek.
Ed had grown up quite a bit in the years to Senior year. He had begun to take his school work more seriously and he matured greatly. He was pretty smart too, once he went to Edd for tutoring in their sophomore year. After that, he was able to catch onto everything and actually be able to comprehend and apply what he learned about. Edd was proud of him, glad he was finally able to grow up and know stuff about other things than his comic books. Now that he didn't scare people, he was pretty popular.
Eddy gave up on his scams, realizing they would never work, and he grew into a popular boy very quickly. For some reason, many begun to befriend him, trusting him now that he wasn't always trying to scam them. He changed a lot too, but not for the better. He ditched Edd and Ed in their sophomore year for his new friends and drugs. Yes, drugs and alcohol. Edd tried to advise Eddy that they would control his life and he needed to worry more about school and what he would do with the rest of his life, but he wouldn't listen. That was when he ditched the other two and he begun to become the bully he always hated. He had nearly failed out of school, only barely passing from stealing the school work of all of the nerds- Edd included.
Kevin had changed quite a bit as well. He and Nazz never started dating, as all had assumed they would, but they had always remained friends. They were both still popular and they had befriended Nat Goldberg, another popular kid with bright teal hair. The three were inseparable. Kevin was a little better at his school work, since he wanted to go to a good college. He also had replaced his bike for a motorcycle. He didn't bully as much as he used to either, Eddy did enough of that for him.
Sarah and Jimmy were still friends, but they never started dating either. Jimmy got his headgear taken off and his teeth were perfect. He was quite attractive too and he wasn't as whimpy. Sarah wasn't as mean either and she was beautiful.
Rolf was planning on leaving after senior year to go back to his country to tend to his grandfather's farm. He tended to hang to himself, but he was still pretty popular, compared to Edd.
Johnny ditched Plank when he entered high school, realizing that it was making him unpopular. He was a bit of a bully himself too, after years of being bullied, he caught onto a few of the tricks. He was popular, but not as popular as Eddy.
And then there comes Edd. Even he had changed a lot. Even if he was still quite nerdy, he wasn't the same dork he used to be. That mostly changed in his sophomore year when everyone turned against him. He begun to care less about getting dressed in his cardigans and ties, and he simply wore plain shirts (mostly black) and skinny jeans-though he still wore his black beanie. He also sported hoodies quite a bit, to cover up bruises mostly. The bullies in high school were much worse than they were in junior high. He nearly broke his arm at one point, and his pale skin was constantly covered in bruises. There was the physical abuse as well as the mental, which honestly might have been worse.
And that was what led him to that point, he supposed. All of the abuse just broke him. He was an empty shell of the person he used to be. His arms were coated in scars- some he made and some others gave. He stood atop of the roof of the school (how he managed to get up there without anyone noticing, he would never explain). He stared over the edge, watching the students who were running late run into the school, panicked that they would be late. This was it, maybe. Once everyone left… He could so easily jump, just end it all. He couldn't handle the abuse, he couldn't handle having no one. He couldn't handle everyone turning on him after they learned his secret. It made no sense. If the secret was anyone else's, no one would care. But it was because it was the nerd, the freak, the sockheaded dork. That was simply the only reason, and it stung. The words stung, everything stung. And he hated it. His parents were always away, working in the hospital got busy. He barely talked to them anymore, all they did was pay the bills for the house and let him do everything else. He was a senior, he would soon be doing everything on his own anyway. He already had universities throwing themselves at him, wanting him to come to their college, but he didn't exactly care about college, to be honest. He didn't know what he would do after high school, he didn't want to imagine what would happen. He didn't want anything to happen. He wanted to die.
But some things never change throughout the years, and Edd was the same coward he always was. And he couldn't do it. He just stared down as the last kid came running. It was Nathan Goldberg, probably the only kid in the whole town who would talk to him, mostly because he was flirting with him-but Nat flirted with everyone. His signature teal hair bounced in the air as he ran, but he suddenly stopped and looked up at the roof. Edd quickly jumped down from the ledge and ran off to the stairs, hoping that the teal-haired boy didn't notice him, and he went back into the school. Half of the class period was over, so he decided that he would just hang in the boys bathroom until the next hour. There was an old bathroom that didn't even work, so most didn't go in. It was dark and dirty, since if it didn't work, there was no need for the janitors to clean it. Edd sat down on the ground next to the line of sinks, a spot that he hand begun to call his own. He tossed his backpack on the ground and pulled his legs to his chest. Today was just another day...