The Cul de sac was in an uproar. The kids of the cul de sac (though one could hardly say they were kids anymore as freshman year at Peach Creek high had just started for most of them) stood in a crowd, murmuring to one another from where they stood in Kevin's front yard. Everyone except the Eds, that is.
"It's like been years since someone moved in" Nazz commented from her place next to Kevin, her weight resting on one foot and a hand on her hip. Johnny bobbed his head in agreement, before turning his attention to his cell phone which had a small replica of his childhood friend, Plank, hanging off of it as a charm.
"Plank says the last one to move here was Double D" he had stopped carrying the 2 by 4 piece of wood around long ago – or rather his mother made him, but as childish as it was, he still kept the memory of his imaginary friend alive. It had become a habit of his to refer to Plank over himself, but the fellow cul de sac kids had long accepted the habit and chose to ignore his habit of speaking – it was Johnny's way of speaking his mind when he normally lacked the courage too.
Sarah walked up to the crowd of older kids at the mention of Double D, Jimmy trailing behind her. Though her feelings for Double D had simmered down some from when they were children, she still held a deep respect for him – he was after all, smart, cute, and anyone that kept her annoying older brother in check was great in her book. She couldn't help the flush that bloomed on her cheeks at the thought of him, "Where is Double D anyway?"
Jimmy scowled at the mention of his rival – not that Edd knew it – before huffing something unintelligible and turning his attention to Kevin who started speaking, "Who cares about Double Dweeb right now – I wanna know who's moving in across from me"
The kids didn't really have a good view though, as the large moving truck obscured their line of vision and the faceless men in grey suits moving in and out of the truck were clearly hired workers.
"I'm gonna go see what's up" he finally muttered, before slipping his hands out of his pockets and jogging diagonally across the street in the direction of Rolf's house. The new neighbor would be moving into the vacated house between Double D and Rolf (the one directly across from Kevin's own) and the cap wearing teen absently wondered if the new residents knew that their neighbor had farm animals in their backyard. He snickered at the thought.
He forewent the front door and instead looped around to where Rolf would no doubt be working – probably sowing seeds or grooming Victor or whatever it was his odd friend did with his free time.
"Yo Rolf" he called once he spotted the teen, who – if his sweat soaked wife beater and mud stained jeans were anything to go by – had just finished some hard manual labor. Rolf shot up from his bent over position and waved enthusiastically at the other boy, "Casanova Kevin! What are you doing visiting the son of a shepherd during the hour of bread and wine?"
"Uh… yeah. Look man, I just wanted to see if you know what's up with the new neighbors?"
Rolf visibly brightened, "Ah – you were right to come seeking knowledge from Rolf as he has all the answers no clue Kevin wants. There is a man and a woman, much like one would expect from your marital customs and a peculiar boy, yes. They have yet to make merriment with Rolf and do not seem to honor the customs of the great Yeshmiyek as they did not first douse their newfound home with the essence of-"
"Yeah, yeah I get it" Kevin cut Rolf off, his eyes drifting to the house on the other side of Rolf's fence, "They got a kid you said?"
"Yes, Rolf saw him and his mop of spring grass colored hair – I think he is our age, yes?"
Kevin hmmed in thought, when he caught the glimpse of someone pass by an upstairs window – the figure paused before the frame was suddenly wrenched up and open and the kid Rolf had mentioned earlier stuck his head out, "Sup!" he called and Kevin raised a hand in greeting. The boy offered a peace sign in reply and opened his mouth to say something before a disembodied voice from inside the house stole his attention away. Kevin watched as the green haired teen scowled at the owner of the voice before turning back to window and offering a wave and then slamming the window shut.
Kevin smiled to himself – grateful that the kid seemed to be normal and wasn't going to be a pest like Eddy. He offered Rolf a farewell before heading back to his house where the other kids were eagerly awaiting his return.
On the other end of the Cul de sac, in the lane behind Ed's house were the missing Eds.
"Now you listen here mister – you know what happened the last time you plucked a turtle from his natural habitat. I must insist you place him back in his pond this instant!"
"But Double D – I was saving him from the foul beast Zarganon who had been trying to eat his brains like he was a bucket of mashed potatoes".
"No Ed," Double D corrected, "He was simply burrowing in the mud to escape your clutches. Why-"
"Oh can it sockhead" Eddy cut in, "Forget the turtle for a minute and listen to what I go to say".
Double D sighed heavily, clearly annoyed with being cut off, but dutifully turned his full attention to the shortest Ed.
"Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Do tell why you chose to drag us out here in this – this" he scanned his surroundings – taking in the occasional piece of garbage strewn about the area, "germ infested alley!"
Eddy ignored him though, in favor of pulling his two companions close to him into a sort of huddle (turtle included) and chose to instead spill the news he overheard from his mom, "Get this! Y'know how my mom's got that job as a realtor? Yeah well, she apparently just sold a house here in the cul de sac!"
Double D perked at the news, intrigued by this new information – two of the three vacated lots in the neighborhood are located across from and next to his own home. In short, there was a chance he would have a new neighbor.
"I say Eddy, this is magnificent news! Oh just think- " Double D paused mid-sentence in favor of peering up at the turtle perched atop his companion's head as it munched, seemingly content, on Ed's ear, "Uhm Ed… the turtle is currently masticating on the lobe of your ear".
Ed only laughed, "It tickles Double D!"
"I hardly see how that can be anything other than unpleasant – not only that but just think of the bacteria riddled throughout the turtle's saliva!"
Eddy growled in annoyance, frustrated with his friend's lack of attention before he socked Ed in the side and roughly grabbed Double D's chin and swiveled his head back towards him, "Forget gravy brain for a sec and listen will ya?! Apparently, the family moving in next ta ya is named Goldberg! Goldberg! I bet they are swimming in cash! Just think of all the sweet scams we can pull and-" at this point Double D tuned his eccentric friend out. He should have known this had something to do with a scam – Edd feared it was a terrible habit Eddy would never grow out of. But more importantly, Double D was focused on the aspect that his aforementioned assumption was correct and he was getting a new neighbor. He was, quite frankly, giddy with excitement. As a long-time resident in the neighborhood he felt it his duty to make the Goldberg family feel as welcome as possible – which meant cooking! Oh how he loved cooking! With a large smile, Double D broke free from the huddle and snatched Ed's sleeve.
"If you'll excuse me Eddy, but I am going to take Ed here to the creek where he can return this poor creature to his natural habitat and then I am heading home as there are many preparations to be made to welcome the cul de sac's new guests" and then he was swiftly turning on his heel, dragging Ed away with him before Eddy could get a word in edge wise.
Double D hummed happily to himself as he placed the homemade peach cobbler into one of his mother's many hand-crocheted bowl cozies. He slipped the oven mitts off his hands and hung them in their proper place, before ensuring the oven was off for the third time since he cooked the cobbler. He took one last look at the spotless kitchen, before giving a nod of approval and picking up the still warm (but not too hot) cobbler and heading outside.
It was well after seven o'clock, which Double D considered to be ample time for his new neighbors to settle in, and he felt confident that he had chosen the prime time to drop off his peace offering. It took a bit of maneuvering but he was able to knock – three quick raps – on the door with little trouble and waited with a smile for it to be answered.
A few seconds passed before the door was wrenched open to reveal a smiling teenager, who, had he not been standing a step higher than Double D, would probably be about eye level with the cobbler toting teen.
"Hey" he greeted, smiling down at Double D – his eyes sparkling with a mix of excitement and mischief.
"Salutations! My name is Double D and I am your new neighbor. I thought it would a wonderful welcome to the neighborhood gift if I brought you this homemade peach cobbler" and then as an afterthought, "Oh! Though I do hope you or your family does not have any fruit or flour allergens. If so, I can easily remedy this by bringing you something else… tomorrow… night…" Double D trailed off when he noticed the other teen was trying and failing to muffle his chuckles into his hand. Edd's lips twisted into a frown at the realization he was being laughed at.
"S-sorry" the teen giggled as if sensing Double D's discomfort, "But you're just too adorable. Thanks for the cobbler man. Wanna come in and share it?"
Double D only shook his head frantically, his face burning from the other boy's words, "That is quite alright uhm…"
"Nat" the other supplied.
"Yes thank you. However, I must politely decline your offer… Nat." the name, clearly a nickname of sorts, felt odd on his tongue – though he really shouldn't judge as he had introduced himself with his own nickname as well. He gently pushed the cobbler into Nat's hands and took a step backwards.
"I do hope you enjoy the cobbler and may your time here in the cul de sac be pleasant" he offered a gap-tooth smile and then quickly jogged back to his house, stumbling over himself slightly when Nat called after him, "See ya later sweet cheeks!"
Once in the confines of his home, Edd began ranting aloud as he slipped off his shoes, "Sweet cheeks?! What a deplorable name! Hardly appropriate for someone you've just met! What on Earth could have possessed him to call me such a thing? "Determined to forget the embarrassment he felt, Double D trudged to the bathroom – intent on engaging in a nice warm shower to rid himself of the day's grime he had surely concocted.
It was as he flicked the bathroom light switch on and caught sight of his reflection that Double D found the answer to his earlier question. Horrified, he practically ran up to the bathroom sink and carefully examined his face. The red flush from earlier was back full force as he spotted a smudge of off-white pie batter staining his cheek.
"God lord!" Double D cried. To think, he had shown up on the Goldberg's doorstep looking like this! How could he miss such a thing? Nat probably thought he was a slob! How unsanitary! He'd never been so embarrassed!
Next door, Nat stood in his half-unpacked kitchen, leaning against the counter as he shoveled a bite of the best peach cobbler he had ever tasted into his mouth, "That kid was too cute".