Author's Note: Hey, guys! I'm not dead! I've just been very busy with other things: work, school, life, you know the drill. Anyways, since this is my first breath of air for a long time, let me explain. I want to do a YouTube show bringing back Ed Edd 'n Eddy in their early 20s as a sort of live action bit. However, I needed to think of a "coming to Jesus" moment for the members of the cul-de-sac to have in order for them to change in the way that I wanted the main story line of the series to be, and this was the best way I could figure out how. If anyone wants to pick up the project and have me write it out what I was thinking about, please talk to me, I would love to discuss it! Anyways, this is supposed to be a flashback as the events of the story in my mind takes place roughly a year afterwards, but I still wanted some feedback on it. As I say every time, I REALLY am trying to get back into writing because it's good for me, but I've been trying to do a lot of stuff that, dare I say, is not fanfiction, but rather my own original work. However, a lot more goes into those than I fanfic, you need to make up relate-able characters and all that. Will I continue writing this story and just have it on here instead of YouTube? I don't know, that depends on how this gets reviewed. Also, let me know if you see an improvement in my writing, it would be very assuring knowing that I've improved over what...two and a half years!?Yeesh, sorry, guys. (Also thank you to musicscarecrow for pointing out there were no breaks line breaks. I promise they were there when I first wrote it, fanfiction just refused to format it like how I wanted it.) Anyways, without further ado, enjoy my brain spawn: Good Intentions.
Ding Dong
The doorbell almost couldn't be heard over the sound of the music, but Eddy rushed upstairs and opened the front door to reveal Naz and Kevin standing in the doorway, Kevin instinctively had his arm around Naz's waist.
"It's about time you showed up," Eddy said as he gestured for them to come in. "We were taking bets on if you were gonna make it."
"It's not like we live on the other side of town or anything, we still live in the same cul-de-sac," Kevin said as he and Naz stepped in.
"Yeah, for now," Eddy closed the door behind him. "But remember Rolf is heading out soon."
"Not for a few more weeks," Naz said. "We still have time."
"Famous last words," Eddy said. "Anyways, the guys are downstairs doing their thing, Ed's parents are away, and Johnny is already baked in a corner."
"Yeah, figures," Kevin said as the three of them headed downstairs to the basement, which Ed had cleared away his belongings to make a party room. Half of the room was bright with a very ameture-looking turntable in the corner emitting the booming sounds controlled by Double D. Chips, pizza, and other party favors were displayed on two long tables along the far wall. The other half was dimmed with a giant projector screen, ready of the ball to drop and bean bags thrown all around. Johnny was in one of the dimmed corners of the room, lazy lying with Plank and smoking a joint. Rolf and Ed were talking next to the snackbar. It was Double D who had noticed them first.
"Gentlemen," he said in a low, fake announcer voice "Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have finally graced us with their presence."
"Nice to see you too, Double D," Naz said. Double D nodded and turned his ballcap backwards.
Kevin and Naz walked over to Ed and Rolf, Naz clutched her purse. "Hey, Ed, where's Sarah?"
"She's over at Jimmy's," Ed said. "they're spending New Year's together."
"Oh, good," Kevin said, nodding to Naz. She pulled out two bottles from her purse. Rolf smiled and Ed put his hands up. Double D stopped the music.
"Ah, we didn't agree to that, Kevin," Double D said.
"Come on, guys, it's the first time you're allowed to drink on New Years," Kevin said, taking a bottle from Naz.
"And I would be honored, to mix our first round as a group," Naz said, holding up the other bottle.
Double D and Ed instinctively looked at Eddy. "Look, we would love to," Eddy said "but Ed's parents-"
"Wouldn't mind at all if their 21-year-old and his friends who are all of age and are not driving anywhere tonight get a little hammered." Kevin finished. "After all, they let you invite Johnny."
"Johnny kind of invited himself," Ed corrected. "And he's too high to move safely now."
"Yeah, you'd have a better chance having a conversation with Plank," Double D said.
"If Rolf could intervene," Rolf said, "Should the Ed boys wish, Rolf has a collection of the strong drinks back at his house."
"Go get them, now!" Kevin said. "If the virgins don't want any, more for us, and I can run home, too. You'd better believe there's more where this came from."
"Kevin and Rolf shall go before the stroke of midnight to harvest the fermented fruits of our labor!" Rolf said as he and Kevin headed up the stairs.
"But you just got here," Eddy said, but they were already out the door.
"Don't worry, guys, it's nothing big," Naz said.
"Says the woman who got married in Vegas and doesn't remember most of it," Double D mumbled.
Naz rolled her eyes. "Kevin and I knew what we were doing," she retorted. "Now, just eat some and for every drink, drink some water. Don't do anything too strong right out of the gate, either, I'll mix you all something light. Have none of you drank at all before?"
"We have," Eddy said "when we all turned 21, but we just bought a few wine coolers."
"Well, you'll get a little bit of a stronger drink tonight," Naz said. She grabbed a pizza and put it near the turntable. "This is probably the best for you. Just eat and follow my lead."
"That retainer was always so painful," Jimmy said as he and Sarah looked through old photo albums.
"Right, sorry my brother put you through all that," Sarah said. She and Jimmy were on the bed eating a bag of chips and drinking soda.
"He wasn't the full responsibility," Jimmy said, "besides, we were kids. It's our job to get banged up every so often."
"I guess you're right, but we were pretty rambunctious, even for kids," Sarah said, turning the page.
"Well, I can't believe the Eds have their own company now after all of those years of scamming," Jimmy said.
"Me either, I mean, it's just now getting off the ground, but they're pretty good DJs," Sarah said. "I'd love for them to do my 18th birthday party next year."
"I'm sure Ed and Double D will be all for it, Eddy on the other hand…"Jimmy said.
"Eddy probably won't show up, which is fine by me," Sarah said.
"Still don't like him?" Jimmy asked.
"I mean, he's matured," Sarah said. "I guess all of them have, now being business owners as well as holding down a full-time job, but I just can't believe he won't turn back to their old ways eventually, you know?
"Na, they're pretty good about upholding the law, I don't think they would chance it,"Jimmy said.
"Well, with Lee as the full-time patrol cop, who would?" Sarah asked. Jimmy shrugged.
"Sorry my parents are hogging the TV," Jimmy said. "I would have loved to watch the ball drop."
"It's fine," Sarah said, then looked up at Jimmy "because we're going to."
Jimmy looked at her bewildered. "How?"
Sarah sat on her legs and leaned in closer to Jimmy, enough for him to smell her hair. "Ed and I have the run of the house all week," she said. "As soon as your parents are asleep, we book it to my place."
Jimmy knew his parents would kill him, but he also knew they would be out like a light very soon, and Sarah's eyes had hypnotized him enough that he couldn't possibly say no.
"Alright, so this is vodka, see how you like that," Naz said, pouring each of the Eds a shot. Kevin and Rolf had came back and set up a bar full of assorted liquors and wine coolers.
Each of the Eds through back their shots with a look of disgust on their face.
"Chaser, dudes, come on!" Kevin said. He had already gone for a mixed drink with Rolf.
The Eds drank some soda and returned to their neutral face.
"So, how did you like that?" Naz asked.
"The alcohol, eh," Double D said.
"Well, the mixed drink won't be straight up like that," Naz said, grabbing the bottle of vodka, but I think I know what you guys will like." She went off to mix the drinks.
Eddy was staring at a bottle that Rolf was pouring from when Rolf caught his gaze. "Oh, this is not for you, Ed boy. Rolf has had much experience in home country with the strong drink that you will not possess."
"Dude, that stuff will knock you on your ass," Kevin said. "Build up your tolerance first and then you can drink with the big boys."
Naz came back balancing three drinks. "Let's see how they do here, Kev," she said, handing them their drinks. "Svedka with some soda and a shot of strawberry vodka. Keep that down and in a little bit we'll try some fireball shots."
The Eds smelled their drinks and took a sip. They all looked at each other and Ed nodded. "It's...actually good."
"Thanks, now go slowly and you'll know when you start to feel a buzz," Naz said. It didn't take long before everyone was tipsilly recounting their childhood antics.
"Rolf will miss all friends here when back in home land," Rolf said.
"Yeah, but you'll still visit, right?" Double D asked.
"HE FUCKING BETTER!" Johnny screamed, making everyone jump. It was the first sound they heard out of him all night. Johnny slowly got up and started stumbling to the snack table, Plank in hand and bloodshot eyes. Suddenly, the basement door burst open.
"We're home!" Sarah came walking down the stairs, Jimmy at her heals.
Ed stumbled to his feet. "Sarah, what are you doing here? I thought you said you'd be at Jimmys all night."
"We were but his parents won't let us watch the ball drop," Sarah explained.
"Well, you can't stay here," Eddy said.
"Can it," Sarah said, "in case you're forgetting it's my house, too, and…" that was when she noticed the alcohol and grin spread across her face. She grabbed Jimmy by the wrist and made a beeline for the table until Kevin got in her way and Naz dove to hide the alcohol.
"No way, pipsqueaks, I'm not having that on my record," Kevin said.
Sarah put her hands on her hips. "Not much you can do, hotshot. My parents wouldn't say a damn thing about it and this is MY house."
"She's right," Ed mumbled under his breath.
Eddy snatched a clear bottle of vodka from Naz and dashed upstairs. "You're only seventeen, you shouldn't even be here," Kevin said.
Sarah stamped her foot, "I'm about to be an adult! I will not be treated like a baby in my own house!"
"It's not your house you little brat!" Kevin said, as Eddy came back downstairs with the bottle and a marker.
Sarah was about ready to blow her top when Eddy chimed in. "You know what, Sarah, you're right," he said. Double D and Ed were about to protest, when Eddy gestured for them to calm down. "You and Jimmy are both practically adults. It's time we stopped treating you both like you were still playing with dolls." Eddy held up the bottle that he had swiped from Naz, who was now hiding the rest of the drinks with the help of Ed was gesturing towards.
Sarah puffed out her chest and nodded, looking around at anyone who dared disagree with Eddy. "You know what, Eddy? I'm starting to like you as a fellow adult," she said.
"Same to you, kiddo," he said. "Sorry, that name just stuck. Anyways, I have this great vodka for you that I know you and Jimmy will just love. I'd love to tell you, but Kevin is really the expert here."
All of the adults looked at Eddy like he was crazy. Kevin was just about to object when Eddy whispered to him, "It's water and vinegar." Kevin slowly nodded, grabbed the bottle, and turned back to Sarah and Jimmy.
"Yeah, Eddy is absolutely right. Two adults deserve an adult drink and I can't think of a better first one. In fact, I'll write your name on it so none of us accidentally take it and you can have it all for yourself," Kevin said as he grabbed the marker from Eddy and wrote "Sarah + Jimmy" on the bottle. "In fact, allow me to do the honors of mixing your first drink."
Sarah smiled and crossed her arms. "Now that's more like it."
Kevin and Eddy turned to the snack table and grabbed some soda where the other adults met them.
"You guys can't be-" Naz started to say when Kevin shoved the bottle under her nose. She pulled away and looked back to make sure Sarah and Jimmy didn't notice. "Vinegar and water neither smells nor tastes anything like alcohol," she whispered.
"Yeah, but they don't know that," Eddy said.
"We should actually encourage them to drink it," Double D said. "As long as it's not a lot, it could be good for them."
Eddy nodded, "I only put enough in to give it a smell," he said.
Kevin shook his head as he mixed it with some soda for Sarah and Jimmy and wrote their names on the cups. "Old habits die hard, huh?"
"At least it's being used for good," Eddy said.
"With great power-" Ed started.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kevin said, finishing off the drinks and turning around and handing it to the kids.
"Everyone, grab your drinks," Kevin said. Everyone obeyed and he raised his glass in the air. "I propose a toast as we go into 2016. To us all finding our place in the so-called real world!" Everyone raised their glass and drank. Jimmy looked at Sarah uncertainty. She nodded in encouragement and they both took a long swig. The both hitched their breath for a second, but continued to swig it down.
"It's...it's kind of strong," Sarah said.
"And it burns a little," Jimmy said.
"That would be the alcohol," Naz said. "You better get used to it." The kids looked at each other, when Sarah shrugged and continued to down the rest of her drink, along with Jimmy. The adults shared a nod of knowledge. The second Sarah and Jimmy finished their drink, Kevin handed the bottle to them and they stumbled their way toward the couch, already acting drunk.
"Placebo effect, good job, Eddy," Double D said.
Naz motioned for everyone to come together in a huddle. "Alright," she whispered "all of the drinks are in the closet under the basement stairs."
"Sarah never looks in that closet," Ed explained "just make sure to keep them in there." The group nodded.
"Well, now that we dodged the fuzz, me and Plank are gonna let you know when the ball drops," Johnny murmured.
Double D looked at his watch. "Ah, Johnny, it's only ten," he said, but Johnny was already going to park himself back into his corner.
"Next up in Ed's rehab center is Johnny," Eddy said.
"Sarah, I don't feel too well," Jimmy said after having his third drink.
"Jimmy, don't worry," Sarah said as she was pouring about her fifth drink; they had both lost count. "It's just the alcohol, soon you'll feel a buzz."
"I don't understand how people can drink if it makes you feel so horrible," Jimmy said.
"Just for a little while," Sarah ensured, "but soon you'll feel like you can do anything!"
"R-really?" Jimmy said excitingly.
Sarah nodded and took a sip. "If you feel, though, you may want to drink some water."
"Y-yeah, alright," Jimmy said as he shakily stood up.
"Get me one, too, will ya, and some snacks? We haven't eaten yet and that could be it, too. Oh, wait." She said as she grabbed Jimmy's cup from him. Their hands touched and Jimmy felt his heart skip a beat as Sarah poured him another glass. "One for the road. Now, be careful," she said with a smile. Jimmy smiled goofily back and turned to the snack table, his heart pounding. He was breathing deeply trying to calm himself down as he staggered past the group of adults, who were playing something called the Green Glass Door.
"Alright, Eddy and Double D can go through the Green Glass Door, but Ed can't," Kevin said.
"Why can't I?" Ed said.
"Because Edward can't go through the Green Glass Door?" Double D asked.
"I knew you'd figure it out pretty quickly," Kevin said. Naz noticed Jimmy staggering to the snack table and decided to follow him.
"Hey, Jimmy, having fun?" She asked. Jimmy jumped a little hearing her voice.
"Uh, yeah, lots of fun," he said as he filled up a plate with pizza and chips.
Naz looked at him concerned. "What's the matter?" she asked "is Sarah pressuring you to drink?"
"N-no," Jimmy said "well, yes, but it is what it is."
Naz shook her head, "Jimmy, if you don't want to drink, you don't have-" she said, when Jimmy turned to her and cut her off.
"I want to kiss Sarah at midnight," he whispered.
Naz stopped in her tracks, mouth open. "Uh…" she stammered, "that's...that's great, dude!" She slapped him on the back, causing him to spill a little of the chips.
"But-but I don't think I can do it, Naz," Jimmy whispered. "I'm scared."
Naz put a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "You have no reason to be, you've been best friends forever," she comforted.
"I know, that's what I'm worried about," Jimmy said as he grabbed a bottle of water, "what if this ruins our friendship?"
"It won't, trust me on this one, Jimmy, I'm a woman," Naz said. Jimmy still looked uncertain. "Well, drink up, they call alcohol liquid courage for a reason; you feel bullet proof."
"That's what Sarah said," Jimmy said.
Naz nodded. "She's right, and I look forward to seeing it." Jimmy smiled and made his way back to Sarah while Naz went back to the group.
"Guys, Jimmy has the hots for Sarah," she said. The group looked at her.
"What gave you the first clue?" Eddy asked.
"No, I mean, he wants to kiss her at midnight," Naz said.
"Aww, my little sister is going to have her first kiss and I get to see it!" Ed said.
"Every younger sibling's dream come true," Eddy murmured.
"Sorry, I didn't know you still wanted some more," Sarah slurred, holding up the empty bottle.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better now," Jimmy said. "You were right, all I needed was some water."
"Go ask one of them to get you some more," Sarah said, gesturing toward the group of adults "and if they give you a hard time, just yell for me."
Jimmy nodded and stood up hesitantly. He knew he shouldn't, but he still didn't feel confident at all and from what Naz was saying, something stronger would do the trick. He started making his way toward the group of adults when Johnny stumbled into him.
"Hey, Jimmy, having fun getting hammered for the first time?" Johnny said.
"Uh, yeah," Jimmy said. "Say Johnny, where can I get some more alcohol? Sarah drank the last of our bottle."
"Oh, it's over here," Johnny said "follow me." Johnny stumbled to the cabinet under the stairs and pulled out a clear bottle. "Whatchya lookin' for, mate?"
"Ah, something that will give me a lot of confidence in the next hour," Jimmy said.
"Well, anyone of these will do that to ya," Johnny said as he poured himself a glass. "This is Fireball right here and it's pretty strong, and some stuff that Rolf bought, I think he has White Lightning in here." Johnny was still talking as he stumbled to the snack table, leaving Jimmy alone to look at the assorted beverages. He picked up two of them and inspected them
"Jose Cuervo and Jack Daniels," he said to himself, pouring a little of each into his glass "they seem tough, and this Fireball and White Lightning I've heard of before." Soon, Jimmy had filled his entire glass with a little bit of every beverage. "Sarah will kill me if I come back to her with this, and she's already had enough to drink," he said to himself, and took a big swig of his concoction. It burned on the way down and almost made him gag. It was nothing like what he and Sarah were drinking earlier, but he figured it was a lot stronger and it would make him more confident faster, which was what he needed. He downed the whole thing, but felt like he was going to throw up. He poured some Fireball into his glass like Johnny and followed him.
Johnny poured some soda into his glass and Johnny did the same, but he did not feel well at all. His stomach felt like it was in knots as he chugged his drink with Johnny.
"Johnny, I really don't feel too well," Jimmy said.
"You just aren't used to it," Johnny said. "Drinking more builds up your tolerance. You go lay down and I'll mix you another drink."
Jimmy nodded and stumbled toward the corner Johnny was staying in. Along the way, he passed Sarah.
"Hey, did you get some more?" Sarah asked.
"Y-Yeah, but I'm cutting you off, missy," Jimmy said. His head felt like he was in a daze and he was struggling to get his words out. "You drank most of the bottle."
Sarah giggled and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, I'll eat something."
Jimmy nodded, the room was spinning, "You do that, I'll be with Johnny."
"Alright, be back here by midnight!" Sarah said. Jimmy nodded and went to lay down in the corner with Plank.
"Plank, I don't know if this is worth it," Jimmy whispered. Plank stared at him in comfort. "You're right, it will be in the end."
Johnny stumbled back with two drinks. "Here you go, I made some Jungle Juice for you," he said, handing Jimmy a glass.
"What's in it?" Jimmy asked, his vision was getting fuzzy.
"Don't worry about that, just drink it," Johnny said. Jimmy obeyed. It tasted a lot better than the drink Jimmy made by himself, but it was still really strong.
"Johnny, I don't know, I feel…" Jimmy started.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Johnny said, putting a straw in each of their drinks. "Just lay down and drink, you'll be fine," he said. Johnny reluctantly obeyed and started sipping his drink. "And if you like that, there's plenty where that came from."
"Never have I ever...drank my own piss," Eddy said, eyeing his two best friends. Double D and Ed took a drink.
"Are you kidding?" Kevin said, laughing.
"It was a dare," Double D said, blushing. "Eddy made me do it."
"Ed? What were you thinking?" Sarah said. She got tired of waiting for Jimmy and went to join the adults.
"I was curious," Ed said, shrugging.
"How did it taste?" Naz asked.
"Like steaming salt and bad decisions," Double D mumbled.
"My turn!" Ed said. "Never have I ever been bisexual."
"Low blow, Ed," Eddy said as he took a drink along with Double D, who was blushing even harder.
"I wouldn't know, but Double D might," Ed said and Double D choked on his drink.
The others tried to contain their laughter as Eddy tried to hide his blushing. "No, he wouldn't…" he mumbled.
"Double D?" Ed said.
"N-" Double D stammered "never have I ever walked in on my friends-"
"Double D!" Eddy cut him off, turning more red. Double D went silent and covered his face.
Ed laughed along with the rest of the group and took a drink. "I'll gladly drink to that."
"Suddenly drinking your piss doesn't sound too bad, huh?" Eddy mumbled to Double D.
"When can they all go home?" Double D asked.
"Soon, it's almost midnight," Naz said.
"Oh, goody! Rolf will top everyone off before the cow drops! Care to partake?" Rolf said, standing up and collecting everyone's drink.
"I'll go with you, man," Kevin said, standing up, "not sure I trust you with everyone's drink." They made their way to the snack table to grab some soda and then to the closet.
"I should probably go get Jimmy, he's been with Johnny for a while," Sarah said.
"Yeah, you should," Naz said, smiling. Sarah looked at him bewildered when Kevin popped his head back into the room.
"Ah, who drank that much alcohol?" Kevin said. "There's barely any in there and I know we didn't drink all of that."
"It must have been Johnny," Sarah said "he was going back and forth a lot with drinks for him and Jimmy."
The adults all shared a terrified look as the realization that Sarah was the only sober one in the group and none of them had paid any attention to the boys all night. They sobered up pretty quickly and bolted across the room to Johnny, leaving Sarah sitting confused.
When they got to him, Johnny looked up. He was smoking a joint and Jimmy laying on the floor behind him. "Hey, guys, whats-" he started when Kevin grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and moved him out of the way. Jimmy was laying unconscious on his back. Kevin dove toward Jimmy, but recoiled at the stench.
"Oh God, no," he heard Double D murmur. Kevin looked behind him and saw Double D with a hand over his mouth and the other two Eds with mouth open in shock. Naz looked scared out of her mind and disgusted and Rolf was down on his knees with Kevin. That's when Sarah walked up and knelt beside Jimmy.
"Jimmy, why didn't you tell anyone you puked?" she said, shaking his shoulder slightly. "I knew you weren't feeling well, maybe it was good you didn't eat anything."
Naz gasped and Eddy put his face in his hands.
"Yeah, little tike was having trouble holding his booze," Johnny broke in. "But I just had him lay down-"
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Kevin snapped, tackling Johnny and punching him.
"Kev, babe, don't-" Naz said, grabbing Kevin by the shoulders.
He shrugged her off, Johnny had a bloody nose and tears in his eyes. "Naz, do you understand-"
"Of course, I do! I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks I am!" Naz screamed, her eyes stinging.
"What?" Sarah asked softly. Everyone looked at her, she was still softly shaking Jimmy. "Jimmy? It's almost midnight," she said. "Don't you want to see it? Are you really that tired?"
Rolf crawled over to Jimmy and put his ear to his chest. Sarah looked at Kevin, her heart suddenly pounding. "Kevin, why is Jimmy…?"
Before she could even form a sentence, Rolf started doing CPR on Jimmy while the tears started flowing.
"Hey, Lee, it's Ed," they heard Ed say over his cell phone. Double D was looking at the ceiling, shifting his weight back and forth trying to stay calm while Eddy looked completely scared and defeated. "We're all at my house. It's Jimmy; we need an ambulance."
"Jimmy?" Sarah said, watching Rolf give mouth-to-mouth on Jimmy. She turned to the Eds, the pleading look in her eyes made the trio lose their composure. "What happened? Why won't he wake up."
Ed wiped away the tears before saying over the phone, "Hurry, I just can't explain it to Sarah." That's when the cheers broke out from the projector. It was now 2016.
"It's called asphyxiation, Sarah," Lee told the defeated girl. The EMTs were carrying the body on a stretcher covered up. "He passed out and choked on his own vomit. It obstructed his airway and he couldn't breathe. Do you understand?"
Sarah nodded in a daze. She couldn't believe what was happening. Earlier that day, she and Jimmy were recounting their days as children, playing together without a care in the world, and now he was gone. "I'm really sorry, Sarah," Lee said, still trying to remain professional, but also comforting. "Jimmy was a really good kid." Sarah didn't say anything, just stared blankly at the corner that he was last seen in. "I'll leave you alone, you know where to find me if you need me, alright?" Sarah nodded slightly and Lee walked over to the Eds. Lee made all of the others go home after hearing all of their accounts, but the Eds had already planned to spend the night there. Eddy was pacing back and forth, Ed was sitting with his head in his hands, and Double D was sitting on the floor, knees tucked into his chest and tears in his eyes.
"Lee, honestly, we didn't-" Eddy started when Lee held up a hand. He was the only one who wasn't afraid to look at her.
"I know you didn't do anything," Lee said. "All of the others blamed themselves and didn't put any of it on you. Kevin even admitted to bringing the alcohol against your wishes."
"H-he did?" Eddy said. Though they have gotten along better over the years, Eddy was sure the others would have thrown them under the bus to save their own skin.
Lee nodded. "I don't think any of you really did anything wrong, consciously, anyways."
"We had good intentions," Double D said softly.
"Yes, you did, they were just given very bad directions," Lee explained. The Eds went quiet. "Quite honestly, it's Jimmy's fault."
"Blaming the dead boy, huh?" Ed said bluntly.
Everyone winced at the word. Ed was the first one that had the courage to say it. "I know it sounds horrible, but he was underage and he did it all by himself."
"Because we convinced him and Sarah that Vodka was nothing because we handing him a bottle of water!" Eddy interjected.
"Yes, but he could have stopped with that, but he didn't," Lee said. "And it wasn't your idea to have it here in the first place."
"We could have been more aggressive," Double D said "we could have paid more attention, we could have-"
"Double D, just...stop," Lee said, her air of professionalism breaking. "I've known you three for a long time and I know you'd never do anything to intentionally hurt someone. Please don't blame yourselves." The Eds all looked at her, not saying a word. "Do you all have somewhere you can go tonight?"
"We were all going to stay here, but…" Ed said.
Double D shook his head. "You all can come to my house. My parents won't be doing a random check until February."
"I think that would be best," Lee said.
Ed got up and walked over to Sarah. She was still in a daze, pale and eyes bloodshot. "Hey, sis, we're all going over to Double D's house to spend the night," he told her "do you want to come with us?"
Sarah just stared. She felt numb. "You can come stay at my place," Lee said "but I still need to inform his parents…"
"She can stay at my place," Eddy spoke up. Everyone looked at Eddy. He walked over to her with his key ring, holding up one key. "Go in through the outside door. My parents won't be home tonight and if they come home tomorrow, tell them to call me," he said. Sarah looked at him, slightly less dazed. "There's clean sheets and blankets in the hallway closet and food in the fridge. Help yourself," he said. Sarah stared at him for a while before reaching out and taking his keys.
"Call me in the morning, regardless, alright Sarah?" Ed said. Sarah nodded and stood up.
"I'll walk you over there," Lee said, taking Sarah by the shoulder and leading her to the stairs.
Once the girls had left, the Eds cleaned the room the best that they could at the time and gathered up their stuff.
"This sucks," Ed mumbled.
"Tell me about it," Eddy muttered.
Double D was very distant the entire time cleaning up and all the way to his house. He put the keys in the door and unlocked it, with Eddy and Ed filing in behind him. They put their things down in Double D's room, not even bothering to to turn on the light as they made their way into bed. None of them talked and they were all exhausted, but all three of them afraid to fall asleep.
"Let's make a pact right now," Double D said, breaking the silence after what felt like hours. He didn't even bother asking if his friends were asleep, because he knew they wouldn't be.
"Of what?" Ed said, sounding defeated.
"If we're going to do this DJ thing…" Double D started.
"We're gonna be playing at a lot of bars and clubs," Eddy finished.
"Right…" Ed said.
"So, when we do, one of us has to stay sober at all times," Eddy said.
"Sounds good," Double D said "one of us has to pay attention and we can switch off."
"All go first," Ed said. "I don't want another drink for a while."
"I hear ya," Eddy said.
"So, we're in agreement," Double D said. "When one of us wants to drink again, just speak up."
Ed and Eddy murmured in agreement. That was the last sound any of them made. They dozed off a few times, but were afraid at the flashback they saw, so they mostly just stared silently at the ceiling until the the warm glow of dawn permeated the room.