Escalation
This is a short series of short sections that make up a short story. –Eggy
Chapter 1: The Dinner
"Night out on the town, huh?" Eddy hummed as he tightened his apron around his waist, looking down at the 'Kiss the Cook' logo on the front as the smell of peppers spiced up the kitchen around him. In front of him was the sparkling clean stove, now home to a pan full of sizzling green and red peppers and onions.
"For the umpteenth time this week, yes." Double Dee sounded irked. His usually fond and respectful attitude towards his parents now replaced with annoyance at the mention of their disappearance. They had been gone all week, only visiting for minutes at a time each day, relishing in fine dining and fancy hotels uptown. "Father had gotten a promotion, bless his soul, so it's only natural for the two of them to celebrate but-"
"So what're you gettin' out of it?" Eddy asked, skillfully popping the skillet with his wrist to make the peppers and onions flip in the air a few times.
Double Dee went silent for a few moments. The only way Eddy knew he hadn't gotten depressed was when his friend opened up the fridge and grabbed another ingredient that he needed, taking a deep breath to sigh and then another to explain. "Well, they've been talking about getting me a cell phone."
"A phone?" For once, Eddy looked at his friend, apparently confused. "What're ya gonna use a cell phone for? It's not like we have tons of friends or nothin'."
"Precisely!" Edd let the fridge door shut with a loud thud, looking at Eddy as if he were relieved to be understood. "My friends live right across the street! The only logical explanation to why Father would insist that I have a cell phone is because he and Mother have always had their own... I suppose I could disassemble the casing at some point to explore the inner mechanics."
"Yeah sure, you do that." Eddy shook his head, refusing to even attempt to imagine his friend taking apart an expensive cell phone for fun. He carefully shimmied the fried tortilla out of the pan and onto a plate, handing Edd's dinner to him before fixing his own. After the flick of a switch and the turn of a knob, the two made their way to the dining area.
As Double Dee sat down, he looked at the folded tortilla inquisitively, seeing the red pepper and cheeses spilling out of the sides made him nervous. He knew that Eddy used a tad too much oil during the frying process, but to let the food get cold would be an insult. Picking up a knife and fork, he started carving into the same thing that Eddy had started eating with his hands. "Thank you for making dinner. When I called I only expected your company, Eddy."
"Nah, s'nothin." Eddy said through a mouthful before taking a swig of the energy drink he'd brought over. Every Wednesday night was quesadilla night. Visiting a friend was no exeption. "But you're supposed to eat it with your hands!"
Edd gulped, his knife pausing mid-saw. "But I was just cleaning the bathroom before you arrived… I'd rather not."
A small, barely noticeable smile appeared on Eddy's face as one boy watched the other finish eating with his fork, taking his time. The house around them seemed to get so quiet without the sounds of cooking or talking. It had gotten quiet outside as well; no kids playing and no birds chirping this late in the evening. Realizing he was being stared at, Edd paused in his chewing and met Eddy's stare with his own, only continuing to chew in order to swallow and ask: "What?"
"Nothin'."
Double Dee raised an eyebrow but looked away, fixating his gaze on something other than Eddy, who continued to rudely watch him eat. He took another bite, this time chewing a little more harshly than usual, and suddenly choked up as he felt something kick his foot. As he turned to the side and coughed, politely covering his mouth as he hacked, whatever it was that had been touching his foot started to stroke along the sides of the sock. It only took seconds for Edd to realize that they felt like toes on the other end, flexing and rubbing all over the top of his smaller foot, and then a couple more seconds to think of them as Eddy's toes.
Brow twitching in nervousness, Edd swallowed what he could and cleared his throat, apologized for the coughing, and took a sip of water to soothe the burn of the peppers that was starting to linger. He wasn't sure if it was just him or if Eddy's smile had gotten a little bigger. As if to answer his question, Eddy asked; "Spicy, huh?"
"Y-yes!" Edd suddenly jumped a little in his seat as one of Eddy's toes stroked along the bottom of his foot, rubbing against a rather sensitive area. He ended up blinking a few times, the last being a little longer than he had intended before forcing himself to grasp at the fork once more. "But it is, well," Double Dee admitted, pulling his foot away and tucking it behind the chair, "Very delicious."