Eddward looked at himself in the mirror in his pristine bathroom. His face was bruised and his body was sore from an attack by Peter Dilley. Twenty minutes ago he had just been on his way home from work when Peter and his gang appeared out of nowhere.

"Where are you going Pretty Boy? Don't you have some fag's dick to suck?" Peter's sneering struck a nerve with Edd. He was done with Peter's bullshit.

Edd's hand moved on its own accord, rocketing out to his bully's face; only to be stopped by one of his compatriots.

"Ooooooh. Faggot's gotta temper. We better teach him some manners." That's when the gang pounced. Minutes felt like hours as they kicked and punched Edd, unrelenting agony berating his body. The group left once they felt the teen had learned his "lesson".

Edd groaned as he sat up. He checked to see if anything had been broken. Thankfully, everything seemed to be in place. Picking himself up, Edd checked his unbroken watch. The attack had only lasted ten minutes, which meant he was gonna get it Monday.

"Why can't they be civilised?" said to himself, the only reason for the attack was for his sexual orientation. Edd was accustomed to the glaring eyes and whispers. But they still made his blood boil.

Edd cleaned himself up as well as he could. He cleaned the scrapes and small cuts the assailants' boots left. As he exited the bathroom Edd stumbled over one of the five kids in the foster home. Andrea Hill was only six years old but had the wit of a wizened grandmother.

"Eddward, are you okay? You were in the bathroom for a long time."

"I'm alright Sweet Pea. Did you have a good day a school?" The girl nodded and skipped away to her room that she shared with her twin sister, Julia Hill. Julia spoke to no one except for her sister. None of the kids knew why, but their foster parents knew. He stopped by his shared room to say hello to David and Sam. David was lying in bed, his history textbook open to the Egyptians. David Pflum was your typical angsty child in middle school, but was level headed; a surprise for most people who meet him. Sitting at the desk was the final "child", Samuel White. Samuel was in high school with Edd, but whereas Edd was a bookworm in his freshman year, Sam was a popular jock in his senior year. Sam would be leaving after graduation, to go to the military.

Edd made his way downstairs to the sight of his foster parents, Scott and Angie Ray. They were extremely religious and did not tolerate much in their home, even attempting to destroy Harry Potter books from the schools. Scott was sitting in his chair playing World of Warcraft as Angie watched Rachael Ray from the couch, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Eddward. Dinner. Now." Angie snipped from her seat. She didn't look at Edd, she was upset with him. Mainly because Edd was gay and it clashed with her beliefs. Edd glared at the back of her head as he walked to the kitchen.

Pulling out ground beef for Taco Hamburger Helper, Edd started on dinner. Within half an hour, everyone was seated around the table. As they bowed their heads in prayer, Edd wondered on how long he was going to trapped here. Dinner was quiet. No one wanted to bring up the bruises and cuts on Edd's face.

"So, uh, how'd you get those on your face Eddward?" Scott asked.

"I was attacked by some kids from school after work."

"You probably deserved it." Angie muttered.

Edd gave her a dark look. He knew what was coming.

"If you didn't choose to be gay, then you wouldn't have anyone attacking you." Angie stated.

"Being gay isn't a choice Angie. It's who I am."

Angie sighed and looked at him. "I'm not doing this tonight Eddward. Please, just finish your dinner and go to your room." And Edd did just that.

Edd put in his music as he started on his biology homework. It was mid October and he had managed to get behind on his homework.

He finished his backlogged work and checked the time. It was only half past 7. Too early to call it a night. Edd sighed, remembering the times he had with Ed and Eddy. He only saw them at school since his parents meltdown.

His parents had always been workaholics. They were always working on one thing or another. Eventually their lifestyle caught up with them. Both of them had severe mental breakdowns at work. They were bad enough that they were required to go to the psychiatric ward of the hospital. His parents were only supposed to be there for six months, their breakdowns happening in late February. They were currently months overdue, and Edd was getting restless. He was ready to get back to his simple lifestyle back in the cul de sac. Back with friends. Back to his home.

There was a knock at the door that interrupted Edd's reverie. Scott and Angie stepped into the room and sat across from Edd.

"We have some news on your parent's Eddward." Scott said, "But it's not good."

Edd looked at them, his heart pounding in his chest. "What-what happened?"

The foster parents looked at each other. "The psychiatric ward, at the hospital, erupted in flames a few hours ago. None of the patients survived."

Edd's world crumbled. He had no parents. He was stuck. Stuck with these abominable people. He didn't know whether to cry or rage. Scott and Angie rose. "We'll give you time to process. We are deeply sorry for your loss." And they left. No hug or rubbed shoulder. No physical affection ever. Edd went to the bathroom and took some of his sleeping pills, then went to bed. To dreamless sleep. So he didn't have to dream about his parents. Or their deaths.