Chapter 1 - Once Upon An Ed

"Hey, sockhead! You got that doohickey done yet?!" said a voice. It was a familiar one.

"Double D! Watch out for the mutated, liver-eating, flying mole rats of the seventh star of the planet Thorax! Oh, Eddy wants to know if you are done!" shouted another. Another afternoon of retrospect was here for Edd as he sat there alone in his room.

"Yes, Ed... Yes, Eddy... I'm done," he said to himself out loud. Edd placed both of his elbows on the hard, wood surface of his desk and propped his head on his hands. He stared at the wall for a couple of seconds before looking down on the desk to see a simple, small, blue label that said, "Desk." He let out a sigh. He reached towards the label with his right hand and gently peeled it off. "I remember the first day I came to this apartment. I was thrilled and mortified all at once."

It was true. Edd had moved away from his beloved Peach Creek almost three years ago. He was thirteen then and had all the time in the world to experience countless adventures with his two best friends. He often thought of them everyday and would smile and even laugh at the things they did back then. Eddy would come up with a "brilliant" scheme to scam the other children for money and Ed, that lovable oaf, would go right along with their greedy friend. He, himself, would assist them as well even if he warned them ahead of time. The plans would often go awry and put them in a lot of trouble. All of that had changed one day when Edd returned home and to his room only to find a suitcase neatly placed on his bed with a single sticky note upon it that would change his life. He could still remember...

"What?!" shouted a frantic Edd. He picked up the sticky note one more time and read it very carefully once more. Sweat began to build up underneath his hat. His eyes were wide with shock. The sticky note read, "Dear Eddward, please pack all of your belongings in the suitcase we left you. We have decided to move to a different place now that your father has found a new job. We're leaving tomorrow. -Love, Mom." His heart skipped a beat. His parents were moving away and taking him as well. He was so stricken with grief that he would not stop shaking. Hot tears began to well up in his eyes as he let the yellow sheet of paper slip out of his hands and fall onto the ground gently. He fell back onto his behind and began to shout for his parents. "Mother! Father! Where are you?! Please tell me why we have to move to another location when we were quite fine here in Peach Creek! Please answer me!" he cried. He held his hands to his face and sobbed. After a failed scheme from Eddy and a couple of shoes and fists to the face he came home to find this?! Why?!

"Yo, sockhead!" shouted a voice from behind his door. There were loud knocks that shook the door on its frame. "What's with the yelling?! We gotta prepare for another scam!"

"Jawbreaker good for Ed, Double D!" shouted Ed. He crashed through the door with Eddy on his shoulders. Ed was about to carelessly run through Edd's room and make a mess but he stopped the moment he saw Edd in his miserable state. He blinked at Edd for a few moments and Eddy was a bit embarrassed. There was a moment of silence for a few more moments before Eddy decided to speak.

"Hey! Get up! What's with the tears?!" he said, irritated. He jumped off of Ed's head and landed on the ground next to Edd. He was actually a bit tense now that he was watching Edd cry. Edd did not look up. Instead he pointed down towards the ground at the sticky note. Eddy looked down towards it and then back at Edd. "So what?! You're crying like a wuss just 'cause your mom and dad are makin' you do stuff? What a load of-"

"Read it!" shouted Edd. Eddy was caught off guard and took a step back. He had never heard Edd shout at him with such anger and sadness. He tilted his head down towards the carpet and looked at the note. It was upside down and illegible from where he stood. He bent down, picked it up, and began to read it. Slowly his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Double D...? You're... You're moving away...?" he asked in a hushed tone. Ed overheard and gasped in a panic.

"No, Double D! You can't move away!" shouted the big lug. He reached out for Edd and pulled him into a big bear hug and would not let go. Tears began to stream down Ed's face as he began to squeeze Edd like a rag doll. "Please don't go! You can stay in Ed's room! I'll even share some buttered toast with you! Honest!"

Edd looked up at Ed with puffed up eyes. He was still crying and Ed's words were of no comfort. He began to sob again.

"Ed, don't you understand? I have to move with my parents! I can't live here without them and I doubt any of your parents would want to take care of another child!" said a distraught Edd. Ed began to cry louder and squeeze Edd even harder. Eddy was still recovering from the shock. Their best friend...

"Double D, tell me this is some kind of sick joke. You can't leave!" said Eddy. He crumpled up the sticky note and threw it at the wall with all of his might. It merely bounced off the wall and landed on the floor. Eddy was angry now. "What the heck is wrong with your parents?!" he shouted. Edd turned to Eddy, still in Ed's arms.

"It isn't a joke, Eddy... We're leaving tomorrow... Tomorrow..." said Edd. Eddy's bottom lip was shaking as he tried to hold back tears. That was it. He jumped at Ed who opened his arms to allow Edd to breathe but also to allow Eddy to join the group. He quickly embraced the two.

"Double D! No!" said Ed. He sat down on his behind and would not let the other two go. Eddy began to cry hard and balled his hands into fists. Edd saw how the two of them reacted and had a hard time thinking straight. He had to think logically but through such an emotional time? That would be unfair to the Ed and Eddy. He couldn't bear to see his two best friends cry anymore. He took a deep breath and looked at the two of them.

"Ed... Eddy... I don't have... Any other choice. Don't you see?" he asked them. Ed loosened his hold and Edd managed to pry himself out and stood before them. He was a shattered soul but he had to pick up the pieces of his spirit and accept it. He was moving away...

"So that's it?" asked Eddy. "You're going to just go?! Tell 'em no, Double D!" Edd shook his head. He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to hold back the ones that were beginning to well up. Ed and Eddy stood up.

"I know it... It's hard. I can't stop them. After all they are my parents, Eddy. They... They know what's best for me," said Edd. He couldn't help but have his sentences come out broken with pauses. He walked towards them and led them towards the front door of his house. He had to... He couldn't burden the two of them like this...

"What are you doing, sockhead?!" cried Eddy. He tried to resist but he couldn't. Edd already pushed them out to his doorstep. He couldn't even respond anymore at this point. Ed was frantic.

"Double D! Please don't! Who will build all of Eddy's thing-in-a-ma-bobs?! Who will remind me when the next episode of Brain-leeching Robot Squids of Neptune is?!" asked Ed. Ed's innocent and child-like requests were too much for Edd. Eddy put both of his hands in his pockets and lowered his head as he looked at the ground. His gritted his teeth and had an angry look in his eyes. Edd had to... He just had to...

"Ed... Eddy... I just have... One last favor for you," he whispered. Ed stopped bawling for a moment and Eddy only moved his eyes onto Edd. With a heavy heart, Edd began to speak again. "You have to promise... That you won't forget me, alright?" he asked. Ed began to cry.

"Double D! I promise I won't forget! Just stay here!" shouted Ed. Eddy punched Ed in his arm and shouted at him.

"You idiot! Double D can't stay here anymore! He has to move, don't you get it?!" shouted an angry Eddy. Before they could continue, Edd got the attention of the both of them again. He looked down at his doorstep. The doormat was labeled beneath their feet. That doormat would no longer be there anymore and neither would that label. He looked up towards them one last time.

"This is it... Ed and Eddy..." he began. His grip on the doorknob with his right hand tightened. "Good-bye!" he cried as he closed the door. He slammed it and locked it. Ed was shocked and began to pound on the door.

"No, Double D! No!" he screamed. There was a sound of another punch. Eddy most likely hit Ed again.

"Stop it, you lummox! Double D wants to leave. Don't you see that?!" said Eddy. Edd couldn't bear it anymore. He retreated back to his room as quickly as possible and closed the door. He locked it as well. He had his back against the door as he slumped down onto the ground. It was silent again for a few more moments until he looked up at his suitcase.

"... I should... Start packing," said Edd, quietly.

That was the horrible memory Edd has had pop up in his mind countless times as he lived his life three years away from his two unforgettable and irreplaceable companions. He looked at the label stuck on his index finger before throwing it away in his trash bin to his right.

"... I hate labels."

End Of Chapter 1