Chapter 1

Edd groaned as he held his hand over his side, against his bruised ribs. He knew better than to refuse Mark. Any time he thought to, he regretted it instantly. He limped home slowly, knowing that he wouldn't have to hide his condition. Everyone was at the last football game of the season. His parents weren't home tonight, not that they ever were. Once he was inside of his abode, he quickly closed and locked the door. He removed his shoes, placed his backpack at the bottom of the stairs, and made sure that the windows were locked as well. He limped into his kitchen, noticing new sticky notes next to the phone. He sighs, knowing that his parents had come and gone, leaving him nothing more than a stack of chores. He tried to look past their short comings, but it was quite difficult most times. He looked over the sticky notes. He had to have the house spotless when Mother and Father returned in three weeks. That was assuming he overcame his phobia of germs in that time frame and decided to stop cleaning. He was on his way upstairs with his school back when the doorbell rang. He froze, sat his bag down, and made his way back downstairs. When he peeked through the peep hole, he was relieved to see Ed, Eddy, and Ray. He allowed them entry into his home, promptly locking the door as soon as they were all fully in the house.

Ed scowls at Edd. Eddy turns red at the face, most likely angry. Ray stays silent, but he knows that he wants to break the silence. Edd speaks up, "Greetings, gentlemen. If you feel that you must say something, or require an explanation, do follow me up to my private quarters before proceeding to do so."

They silently follow him up to his room. He attempts to pick up his back pack when he reaches it at the stairs, but Ed snatches it first. Edd sighs, but continues onward, limping his way up. Once he is in his room, he allows the others to enter, and locks the door. "Speak if you must, so that we may move on," Edd instructs as he takes a seat on his queen sized bed, wincing when he bumps his leg against it.

Ed starts. "Double D, you can't keep letting him do this to you. He is going to seriously hurt you," he says, his voice surprisingly quiet.

Ray picks up where Ed left off, stating, "Ed's right dude. Seriously, you need to break this off. You're going to get hospitalized. Again." His voice is full of anger, yet Edd knows it is not directed at himself.

Eddy stands up, out of his chair, and walks over to Edd. For once, he isn't a loud-mouthed, hot-headed know-it-all. He points to Edd's eye, then to his chin, his side, and finally his leg. He speaks up quietly, "Tell me, Eddward, what you did to make him do that to you?"

The other boys glare at Eddy, and start to yell at him, but Edd speaks up first, "I…I told him no."

The others fall silent. Eddy whispers, "No to what, Eddward?"

Edd takes a deep breath and mumbles incoherently. Eddy prompts him to speak up. Edd whispers, "He wanted me t-to let his friends…he wanted me to allow them to take turns." The others fall into a shocked silence as Edd stumbles over those words.

Eddy responds after a moment, "Has he asked you to do this before?" At a subtle nod, Eddy continues, "And this time you said no?"

Edd opens and closes his mouth. No sound comes out for a few moments. "One of them is HIV positive. Mark…he was rubbing it in my face. I refused. I tried to run away, but he caught up to me. He said that I k-killed his buzz. And this was the result." Edd gestures to himself. "He only stopped beating me because he heard other people approaching. He told me to get lost…and that next time I reject him I will wish I was in this condition."

Eddy stays silent for a few more moments. "Why do you put up with this shit?"

Edd swallows, hard, "His father is Mother's boss. He told me that if I refused to be with him, his father would make Mother regret it. I cannot allow that to happen. She is very fragile, and Father even more so. I cannot ask them to be hurt over this."

Eddy simply stares at Edd for a long time. He reaches over and embraces him and whispers, "It is not your responsibility to cover for other people Double D. Especially when you're being forced to do things you don't want to do. I know you're smart, and have a big brain in that big head o' yours, but you're still a kid dude. You're only sixteen. You shouldn't have to deal with this shit."

Edd scowls, "Language, Eddy."

Eddy shakes his head at him and mutters, "That would be what you're most concerned about right now. Seriously, Double D. You need to end this. You need to tell someone. Do your parents know what's going on?"

Edd vigorously shakes his head and replies, "Mother and Father do not know of my sexual orientation at all."

Eddy sighs and replies, "Well we're all staying over tonight Double D. That way if he tries to come over you'll have backup." Edd smiles at them and mumbles his thanks.

After everyone gets settled in, Edd prepares and cooks a delicious dinner that consists of chicken alfredo, fruit salad, Brussels sprouts, and homemade pound cake for desert, drizzled with homemade icing and a cherry on top. Edd did not eat the pound cake because it was too sugary, but he knew his small group of friends loved his cooking, especially his homemade treats, so he made it for them. After dinner, sleeping places are decided on, and everyone goes to bed. Everyone except for Edd, that is. He waits for everyone to go to sleep, and goes into the bathroom, gets in the shower, and finds solace in the hot water, and the knowledge that tomorrow, he would talk to Mark and his whole ordeal would finally be over. He looked forward to it.