Chapter 1: Ed Hath Arrived

A/N: This is my first fanfiction, so it has a really crappy ending. I welcome constructive criticism, advice, but no flames. Also, please tell me if the characters seem too OOC.

You can follow me on tumblr at i-love-schadenfreude

It's been a while since the kids in Peach Creek had finally agreed to get along, and life was going quite well. The only thing that changed was one person. Jonny had announced that he was moving to New York, leaving his house vacant. It wasn't until a year later that someone new finally joined the cul-de-sac.

"A chilly Wednesday in the middle of October," Cari thought to herself. "A perfect day to move to some weird place practically no one knows about. Seriously! What kind of name is Peach Creek?" Cari picked up the last moving box and carried it into her new home. Her parents hadn't told her much about the neighborhood, but they mentioned that the public high school had a high population. "Great. Let's start freshman year with good ol' fashioned bullying."

After she set down the box, Cari's parents had suggested that she make friends.

"There are some kids playing outside now, Car-Car. Maybe you could go talk to them."

"Dad, they look perfectly fine without my presence, and don't call me that." That nickname often made Cari cringe.

"Go on, Cari. It won't be that bad."

Giving into her parent's requests, Cari headed outside to greet the kids of the cul-de-sac. She often didn't enjoy meeting new people because of her appearance. She was on the short side, but not a midget. Her slightly unruly wheat-colored hair was pulled tightly into a poof while she had fringe hang in front of her left eye. Cari often wore dark baggy shirts and various plaid shorts with her black sneakers. This contrasted perfectly with her blindingly pale, freckled skin. The real eyesore was her mouth. The first thing you saw when she opened her mouth was her braces. She's also socially awkward, so any public communication was discouraged.

Instead of joyfully making friends as expected, Cari sat on the curb, watching from afar as the strange collection of kids hang about. There was this weird gut with farm animals screeching, a ginger girl and feminine boy playing with dolls, and there was also a boy with fiery red hair riding around on a bike that was almost as bright as his hair. Finally, there were three more boys by themselves. They were an odd group. A kid shorter than her seemed to be the leader, with an absent-minded giant next to him, with a very meek, thin boy with a black-white striped beanie hanging ever-so-slightly behind. Just the collection of kids scared Cari. She became even more terrified when she saw the strange group of three head towards her.

"This girl looks like a real sucker. I can definitely scam her," Eddy boasted to the other Eds as he sauntered over in the new girl's direction.

"Perhaps she just wants to be left alone," Edd aka Double D suggested.

"Hey you!" Eddy had completely ignored Edd's suggestion. The girl looked up in complete shock and terror, but Double D seemed to be the only one that noticed.

"I hope she has gravy!" the dimwitted Ed randomly hoped.

"I doubt it, Ed," Double D diffused his hopes as they neared their new neighbor.

Cari was absolutely terrified. Why had the boys called her out? No one was supposed to know about her! When the guys had finally approached her, the short one had a strange look on his face.

"How would you like to be the first customer of our new product?" Cari wasn't too sure how to respond and she didn't want to release the beast that was her orthodontia, so she kept her mouth shut.

"She may be mute, Eddy." Double D tried to give the poor girl relief, but Cari didn't catch on.

"I'm not mute." Cari then covered her mouth with her hands, realizing what she had just done.

"Oh, geez! Someone call a conductor because the train is off the tracks!" Eddy joked, the proceeded to walk away with the other two Eds. With her self-esteem completely destroyed, Cari drowns in hidden tears, regretting her decision to come outside.