Green-Eyed Ed
Summary: Eddy struggles to cope with the news that Double Dee is dating Kevin.
x x x
Double Dee sat alone in his room, racked with guilt. A scene from earlier that day kept looping in his head in a never-ending cycle. Looking back on the incident, he supposed his friends' reactions weren't all that unexpected, but he sincerely wished it had gone over a lot better than it had.
Today was the day Double Dee had informed his friends of the start of a romantic relationship with Kevin.
He'd intended to keep it under wraps for at least a few more days, but Ed's knack for reading his ardent emotions coupled with Eddy's eye for information meant he'd been compelled to make his confession. Ed was beyond pleased, of course, falling all over himself to congratulate his dear friend. Eddy, although being on far better terms with Kevin ever since a particular incident two summers ago, wasn't exactly thrilled. The trio had always been so close-knit – heck they were practically their own little family, Eddy had said, in the midst of a heated verbal flurry. He had taken this as an unforgivable betrayal and stormed off, calling Kevin a homewrecker as he went.
Of course, the redhead had overheard, and figured the little loudmouth would come around eventually. Deep known, Double Dee knew that he was right, but hearing Eddy's harsh words swirling around in his head, it wouldn't be for a very long time, if ever at all.
Restless concern overtook him and he knew he could no longer sit still. Amends had to be made and friendships had to be salvaged, regardless of whether Eddy's temper had been given a chance to properly cool off by now. He put on a light jacket to ward off the chilly autumn air and set off to hunt down one of his nearest and dearest friends.
The unease mounted as Double Dee found himself unable to locate Eddy. He was not at home, or visiting with any of their friends, and finding Ed amiss from his own home as well suggested the pair had run off together. He hoped they hadn't decided to skip town – again.
As he began a trek to the nearby garbage lot (a familiar retreat indeed!), a peculiar sight caught his attention. Good ol' Club Ed, long since abandoned by the Kanker Sisters, seemed to be full of life. It was easy for him to see the torchlight in the windows, strangely resembling a lighthouse surrounded by empty fields and worn-out overhead power lines. Seeing the old childhood haunt in use again was uplifting.
Double Dee approached the careworn clubhouse and began his ascent.
x x x
Inside the ramshackle shanty, Eddy lay on a shredded old couch he'd had Ed drag up from the dump. The irrepressible need to brood didn't mean he should have to sacrifice comfort, after all. He knew Double Dee would have a conniption if he saw the putrid thing and demand Eddy get rid of it at once, then proceed to thoroughly disinfect the entire space and everyone in it. Eddy snorted – he'd flipped the cushions to hide the worst stains, and at the end of the day it smelt no worse than Ed did on a hot day in July. Beyond that, he didn't see any glaring problems with it.
How ironic that he'd come to this unusual place to escape from Double Dee and his predictable behavior, yet still he was all Eddy could think about. He growled in frustration and squeezed his head to repress the unwanted thoughts.
"Intruder alert! Set loose the lifeboats, man the party canons, fire the poopdeck!" Ed suddenly bellowed as he leapt forward. Wearing a rusty old bucket as a helmet and various spare parts for armor, he fired a few small pebbles with a bright red slingshot he'd recently acquired.
"Ed, stop! It's me, Double Dee!" he appeared through the entry hole using one arm to shield himself from the onslaught.
"B-4, you sunk my battleship," Ed stopped and scratched his butt peacefully, smiling at the 'intruder'.
"Ed, you idiot!" snapped Eddy, who then sat up and folded his arms at Double Dee.
"What do YOU want?"
"I come in peace, Eddy," his attempts to smile promptly withered as he saw – and smelt – the sordid sofa on which Eddy was seated. He covered his mouth to stymie his gag reflex and took a few generous sidesteps. "Good Lord," he moaned weakly.
"Psh, whatta drama queen," Eddy turned away, facing one of the dirty cabin walls. "Why don't'cha just go home if you can't handle a little dirt."
Despite every fiber of his body protesting against the abhorrently unsanitary conditions, Double Dee was determined to settle the issue. He swallowed heavily to assuage both his reluctance and his dinner.
"It's been a while since I've seen you use your slingshot, Ed. Is it new?" Double Dee inquired, hoping to strike up a conversation with Ed to get the ball rolling.
"Yup! Got it from the mail-order offer from my comic book, Double Dee – Mutant Kiwis From Australia. Did you know that rocks are a great way to defeat mutant fruit monsters from down under?"
"Er, yes, that's quite useful Ed, I'm sure," Double Dee replied distractedly, drumming his fingers together and glancing at Eddy from the corner of his eye.
"I can't believe you're still obsessed with those stupid things," snorted Eddy. Success!
"I had to replace it, Eddy! I lost my old one."
"Sure you didn't just sit on it?" he countered as he turned to face the others.
Amidst the light argument, Double Dee's eyes scanned the tree house, noticing the worn-out lantern on a nearby table casting a sickly pallor on his friends' faces. He squinted at a notice splashed onto the wall in brilliant red paint: NO HATS ALLOWED. It was a tad difficult to make out in the dim lighting.
"I've never noticed this before," Double Dee spoke, intrigued. At least it was spelt correctly, he noticed as he stepped closer.
"Really? 's been there forever," Eddy said flippantly. From the corner of his eye, Double Dee noticed Eddy flail his arms, saw Ed start, then heard the scraping of metal on wood, both he and Eddy pretending not to notice.
Double Dee bit his lip as he furtively wiped the fresh paint from his index finger onto a tissue he produced from his jacket.
"We certainly had some good times here, didn't we, fellows?" Double Dee forced a crooked smile. "Before being subjugated by the Kankers, that is. When we were young," a more wistful smile crossed his face before he caught sight of Eddy's scowl.
"Yeah, times were better then," Eddy responded idly, suddenly choosing to examine his nails. "Just us Eds against the world."
Double Dee's face fell, realizing that it would be far more difficult than he'd originally planned for Eddy to allow Kevin into their 'little family'. As he advanced and moved to place a hand on Eddy's shoulder, he found his voice to be less compassionate than he thought it would.
"We're in high school now, Eddy. It's time to grow up."
Eddy shrunk back from his friend's touch. "No," he spat petulantly. "Not if it means having people like Kevin –"
"Yo, Double Dee!" a new voice emerged, and the trio recognized Kevin's voice at once.
"He can't come up here," sneered Eddy.
"Eddy," Double Dee admonished as his hands found his hips.
"No, I mean, like, he really can't come up here. The floorboards're creakin' already, and with all've us up here, it's prolly gonna cave any time," he stated matter-of-factly. Double Dee, in spite of himself, knew Eddy was right.
Ed, who'd been stuffing pebbles in his mouth to occupy himself, slowly put down the one he'd been holding to avoid weighing himself down any further. Heights made his armpits sweat, and the threat of falling from them did nothing to ease his anxiety.
"We'll talk again," Double Dee uttered softly as he made his exit.
Once he was out of earshot, Eddy resumed his lying folded-arms position on the sofa. "I'm not jealous," he pouted silently.
Ed blissfully balanced a load of rocks on his light blue tongue, lost in his own little world once again.
x x x
Meanwhile, on the ground, the newfound pair began making their way back to the cul-de-sac.
"However did you know where to find me?' asked Double Dee, thoroughly impressed.
"Didn't. I saw the light in the tree house and heard you guys talkin'. Plus you c'n smell that couch a mile away. You reek, dude!" Kevin pinched his nose and fanned the air around him with an impish grin.
"Please don't bring it up, Kevin, or else I'll bring it up!" he giggled in spite of the nausea overtaking him once again. Double Dee felt much calmer as they slowly walked down the lane, though the thought of that germ-infested sofa made him walk a little bit faster toward a highly appealing hot shower.
FIN