It had been a rough couple of days for Edd, more commonly known as Double D. A few days ago had been an event, an anniversary, that had left the poor eighteen year old lost and more than a little confused.
It had been two years since he had last seen or heard from his parents.
His parents left shortly before his sixteenth birthday on 'business trips' after telling him that they'd only be gone for a few weeks, two months at most. It wasn't until last week when he turned eighteen that he finally decided they weren't coming back and decided to look up where they had been.
Turns out his parents got a divorce a few days after they left him. His father now lived in Canada with his new wife; they were expecting their first kid. His mother had moved to Italy, for unknown reasons.
They sent him money every week and had done for a long time which was how he survived, living in his parents' house all alone.
Double D had changed the most out of everyone in the col-de-sac over the past six years. Gone were the days of his social awkwardness. His days of hiding behind his intelligence and gentlemanly behaviour because he was too shy to be himself were now long gone. It also helped that he was given some very strong medication to help with his severe OCD.
Double D still wore his black ski hat but it was pretty common knowledge what was underneath it now, a long luxurious mop of jet black hair that met his shoulders. Edd was a metal head, always had been but his parents never accepted it. His hair was the only way he could express his love for the musical genre but he always had to keep it hidden lest his parents discover it.
He now stood over 6 foot 2 making him the second tallest person in the cul-de-sac, after Ed who stood just under 6 foot 5. Edd always liked the colour red so he kept wearing it all through school. He wore a black long sleeved undershirt beneath an unbuttoned red short sleeved shirt. He also wore baggy black jeans and converse with black sweatbands over both wrists.
He was still gangly and skinny but he now carried himself with a new confidence. He didn't silently glide around anymore, now he had an almost relaxed strut.
It was early in the morning, he was preparing for school which would end soon. Edd no longer knew what he was going to do after school ended. His parents had great expectations of him but now he didn't know if he wanted to make them proud or maybe do what he wanted to do.
He had showered and eaten breakfast. It was 7:30 now and school started at 8:00. He knew that any second now his two best friends would arrive at his door asking for a lift to school like they did every morning as Edd was the only one who could drive.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Double D recognised the sound of Ed's head banging against his front door. Double D once tried to explain to him the concept of 'head banging' after he revealed his obsession with heavy metal music, sufficed to say that Ed completely misunderstood and now bangs his head on doors instead of knocking on them…
Double D opened his front door to reveal his two best friends. He greeted them with a smile that Eddy could see was a bit forced.
Eddy hadn't changed much over the years, physically anyway. He was still short for his age but he no longer cared as much. He still wore a yellow shirt but now had a faded leather jacket that he wore with it.
Ed on the other hand… he was taller and now had wire rimmed glasses… apart from that he was exactly the same.
"Good morning gentlemen." Double D greeted warmly.
Eddy cocked an eyebrow at his friend's fake good mood, he and Ed were the only people in the world that knew about Double D's family issues. "Hey Sock Head, don't suppose me and Monobrow could scrounge a lift to school?"
"Hey Double D!" Ed shouted merrily. "We need to be quick because we have to ask Double D for a lift." He added.
Edd and Eddy just looked at him confusedly; no one ever did get use to Ed but they all loved him for it.
"You boys never have to ask, you know that." Double D responded kindly as he walked past them after he locked his front door and headed over towards his car. It was a red Honda Civic, it was pretty plain but it was all the Ed's needed.
Eddy climbed into the passenger seat after Double D had unlocked the car. Ed very 'gracefully' got into the back and sat in the middle.
As soon as Edd turned the key in the ignition the car stereo came to life with 'Stricken' by Disturbed playing.
Eddy groaned as soon as it started. "Come on Sock Head, how about something a little more crowd pleasing for a change?" He moaned in annoyance.
Edd smirked deviously. "My car my rules." He replied as he made his way towards school.
"I remember when you used to be a push over." Eddy whined defeated.
Edd subtly winced at the statement, remembering why it was that he had to change (his parents leaving). Eddy caught the wince but didn't say anything about it; he wanted nothing more than for his best friend's life to start looking up at some point.
ED, EDD 'N' EDDY
A short while later the three Ed's arrived at school. The cul-de-sac kids were lounging about in the car park, all surrounding Kevin's new Ferrari. Double D groaned in distress as he saw them.
Eddy and Ed were now great friends with cul-de-sac kids and often spent time with them, Double D on the other hand would get relentlessly bullied.
Kevin didn't like Double D because Nazz, his girlfriend, had a very slight crush on the brainy Ed boy. As Kevin's teasing got worse it didn't take long for everyone else to join in.
"It's alright Double D." Eddy said as he stepped out of Edd's car after he parked it. "We can go find something else to do."
Double D knew he had to decline; it was obvious that Ed and Eddy wanted to go play football with the other kids.
So Double D slowly shook his head after he slung his satchel over his shoulder. "Don't worry about me Eddy, I'll just go to the Library instead."
"Are you sure man?" Eddy asked honestly.
Double D nodded. " I'm sure." He said before he turned and walked away, his lanky frame remained in his concerned friend's eyes up until he disappeared through the schools front gates.
Edd sighed grumpily as he passed through the school. He was in his final year making him one of the oldest there, being as tall as he was more than made up for his lack of physical strength and often deterred many potential bullies so he was more or less safe from bullies.
However that didn't stop others from being bullied. Peach Creek High was not exactly a brilliant place to be. The average grades were low and the students pretty much ran the place. Double D made his way to his locker, when he arrived at it he began turning the rusty combination lock to input his code. Just as he had opened his locker door it was slammed shut by a tall kid in a football jersey. The kid was Double D's age and wore a red cap.
"Morning Double Dork." Kevin greeted maliciously.
"Kevin… what a pleasant surprise…" Double D drawled with a roll of his eyes. After everything that had happened to him he was in no mood for any of Kevin's shit. He may have made himself seem fine in front of the Ed's but he was broken inside, he was on the verge of a very catastrophic meltdown if pushed too far.
"It appears I left my wallet at home today, I don't suppose you could spot me some cash?" Kevin asked with an evil grin. "We wouldn't want our star quarter back to go into the game tonight malnourished now would we?"
Double D felt a vein swell in his forehead but tried to keep his cool. "We wouldn't that would we?" Double D answered sarcastically. "But what are the chances? I've forgotten my wallet as well." Double D lied obviously.
A few second later Edd found himself being pushed up against the lockers with a resounding bang catching the attention of all the other students in the hallway. Even though Kevin was quite a bit shorter than him Double D usually felt intimidated by the quarter back.
"Listen here Double Dweeb." Kevin growled, his fists were clenched around the collar of Double D's open shirt. "Perhaps you didn't understand what I meant?"
"Get. Off." Double D growled. Some of his hair had fallen from the confines of his hat and now fell in front of his face shadowing his eyes.
"What was that?" Kevin growled lowly, bringing his face closer to Double D's.
"I said; GET! OFF! You prick!" Double D finally lost it capturing the attention of even more students, only one of whom would jump to his aid but double D had no idea that particular student was even there. "I have had enough of your bullshit Kevin! Don't get pissed at me just because you're not enough for your own girlfriend!"
Silence.
Silence was all that could be heard. Even Kevin stood flabbergasted. But his shock didn't last long.
Double D didn't register Kevin's fist until it had struck him across his face splitting his lip. The second punch connected with his left eye and the third with his nose.
Double D saw the enraged Kevin pull back his fist for a fourth hit but instead of feeling pain he heard the sound of skin hitting skin.
His vision refocused. Instead of seeing Kevin bringing his fist back for another strike he saw his attacker on the floor holding his bloody nose. The only other thing he saw was a mop of unruly blue hair.
Marie Kanker.
The blue haired girl was growling at Kevin like a tiger ready to pounce on his prey.
"Beat it." Marie ordered. Not even Kevin would mess with a Kanker, he quickly stood up and dashed out of the hallway. Marie looked around at all of the startled students who had witnessed the event. "I said beat it!" She yelled again. "Fuck off!"
The other students began to move as fast as they could but at the end of the hallway Marie spotted Kevin again glaring at Double D.
"Hey Double Dork!" He shouted spitefully. "I can see why your parents ditched you! I don't blame them!" Kevin quickly disappeared around the corner after that.
"Jackass." Marie grumbled before turning around to face Double D. It was obvious he had a broken nose, and that he would have a nice black eye to go with his split lip. But the thing that got her was that he looked shocked and emotionally hurt. 'Did Kevin's last comment mean something more?' Marie thought to herself before levelling Double D with a stern stare.
Marie was the only one of three Kanker sisters to have changed over the past six years. She still dressed in a punk style. She wore a form fitting black singlet and baggy green trousers, essentially she dressed the same as she always did only that her top was now basically skin tight showcasing the more than desirable cleavage from her large breasts. Her hair was still blue and covered her right eye but now reached down to her upper back.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Marie admonished. "He would have killed you."
Double D was still coming back to his senses. "Thank you Marie." Was all he could groan out. He began putting his books back into his locker. "I'm going home." He said in a quiet voice before shutting his locker and moving towards the schools front doors just as the bell rang above their heads.
Marie frowned. "Oh no, you're not driving anywhere until you go to the nurse." She commanded. She took Double D by the hand and led him towards the nurse's office.
Marie was no longer the bully she had been when she was younger, she was still feared but mostly through association with her sisters who were now even worse than they used to be. This being the case Marie no longer chased Double D around trying to kiss him into submission, even if her feelings for him had become even more intense over the past few years.
"I'm fine Marie." Double D whined, trying to sound as grateful as he was but his nasally voice, a result of his currently broken nose, betrayed his condition.
Marie continued to lead Edd through the school by his hand, her grasp was firm but gentle and Double D couldn't help but notice how soft her pail skin was.
A few moments later Marie walked into the nurses office with Double D by her side, albeit reluctantly.
The nurse saw him and gasped, all the teachers liked Double D as he was one of the only students who actually tried. She looked at Marie and frowned, no one liked the Kankers; even if Marie was pretty much reformed and doing well.
"Did you do this?" She accused Marie as she began to examine Double D.
Marie looked ready to defend herself but Double D was quick to intervene. "No. She saved me from the one who was doing this." Edd answered with a slight chuckle.
ED, EDD 'N' EDDY
It was the lunch break and still no one had seen Double D, Ed and Eddy were now sufficiently worried about their friend who pretty much never missed classes. The nurse had forbade Edd from driving as his broken nose was too swollen for him to see past but the Ed's didn't know that yet.
They were sitting at their usual lunch table waiting for their friend. About ten minutes into their lunch break they were approached by someone they did not expect.
"Kanker?" Eddy asked suddenly. It wasn't in an accusing tone like it used to be, now it was out of confusion; they hadn't been hassled by the Kankers in a long time even though it was clear to most that Marie still had a thing for Edd.
"Double D's at the nurse's office." Marie informed Eddy who quickly perked up.
"What happened?" Eddy quickly demanded, even Ed stood up defensively at this point.
"Kevin tried starting fight with him this morning and Double D was willing to give it to him." Marie informed.
"Double D gave Kevin that shiner?" Eddy asked in shock referring to Kevin's black eye.
Marie chuckled awkwardly and blushed slightly. "Actually that was me." Marie stated. She went into a detailed explanation about what had transpired that morning.
After Marie had explained the story to the Ed's she felt a hand on her shoulder. She had to look down to see the serious look in Eddy's face. "Thank you." Eddy said seriously. "Sock Head always said you were alright." He said before he and Ed rushed out of the cafeteria and towards the nurse's office leaving a blushing Marie behind.
ED, EDD 'N' EDDY
When Ed and Eddy arrived at the nurse's office they were met by Double D who was just leaving the office after finally being dismissed. He had been given the green light to go home.
"Double D…" Eddy breathed in awe as he looked at his friend. He was the nicest guy in the world, that's what Eddy believed anyway but now… he looked broken. Not just because of his injuries, his eyes lacked their usual spark.
Edd attempted to grin but his split lip just hurt when he tried so he settled for a dry chuckle.
"They won't give me a mirror, how do I look" Edd tried to joke.
"Hell Double D you were never exactly 'pretty'." Eddy answered trying to joke with his best friend.
"Double D!" Ed cried before engulfing Edd in a bear hug, he was crying in that overly exaggerated way that only he could.
"I'm ok Ed, really." Edd tried to reassure his friend.
"Yeah, thanks to Marie." Eddy clarified grumpily. "What would you have done if she wasn't there?"
Double D grinned. "You should have seen it Eddy, I had Kevin on the ropes." He joked again.
Eddy just huffed in amusement but shook his head anyway. "Has the nurse said you can go home yet?" Double D nodded so Eddy continued. "Me and Ed are coming with you, we're gonna have a chat about this." Eddy left no room for argument before he started making his way towards the front doors of the school.
Double D sighed exasperatedly. He knew Eddy and Ed would always be there to look out for him just as he would always look out for them but he really wasn't in the mood for this.
"Double D?"
The worried and sad sounding voice of Ed broke Double D from his thoughts almost instantly. "Yes Ed?"
"Please. We don't want to see you hurt." Ed implored.
Double D sighed with a small smile on his face. "Lead the way Ed."
Ed perked up instantly. "Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!" He cheered as he grabbed Edd's hand and dragged him out to his car where Eddy was already waiting for them.
ED, EDD 'N' EDDY
I hope you liked it!
I'm Australian and don't really understand the American education system so if I got anything drastically wrong please let me know!
Reviews please!
Rat Rocket