Just a quick one shot spin off of "The All New Double D". Be warned that if you are a fan of the original story, then you may not like this one, as I deconstruct it pretty heavily. Also, it does not take place during any part (or arc as the author calls them) of that story, just in the general "verse"
Also I would heartily recommend you read the story "Not the Hero" by Alara Rogers. It is the main inspiration behind this story.
The smell of his unwashed pillow was a scent Eddy had grown rather accustomed to. It wasn't his idea of Heaven to be sure, but it was the only thing that gave him comfort these days. He never left the house anymore, everybody hated him now and he didn't even know why. Well, that was a lie, he kind of did know. But that was a lie also, since he really didn't know! He pulled the pillow tighter over his face and groaned loudly. This is what his life had been like for the past month or so now and he had shredded his brain trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Every time he had started to build a possible foundation for his answers, it was always torn down the next day when something else unexpected happened.
This process had been repeating itself for four years now, ever since he and his friends had been "redeemed" after meeting his brother. However, it seemed like things had been getting worse ever since...he had returned. He grit his teeth as soon as his mind halted on that subject. He felt angry, no that was too kind. He was absolutely livid whenever he thought of him. To think he once called that tool his best friend, and now he was all athletic and cool now! Stupid piece of shit, all he was good for was constructing his scams and that-
It had taken everything within him, but Eddy managed to smack himself out of that line of thought. For a while, he just sat there gasping like he had just surfaced from the bottom of the ocean, sweat pouring down his face.
There it was.
The itch.
He had felt it every single time he was around him. Heck, it was at the point where even talking about or thinking about the guy set him off. Every time he felt it, he lost control. Not just in the sense of his anger, but in the sense of everything else. He could not explain it, but it was like his body and mouth went on auto-pilot whenever he was around everyone else. He yelled when he wanted to laugh, he insulted when he wanted to compliment, etc. Heck, it wasn't just limited to him anymore. If anyone associated with that guy even spoke to him, he would treat them like dirt.
With another groan, he jumped off his bed and went toward his mirror. His reflection was what he expected it to be, he had dark bags under his eyes, his face was pale and his skin had a greasy sheen to it from all his sweat. He chuckled, it wasn't enough that his personal life suffered, the itch always made him avoid showering and any sort of hygiene improving activity, only letting him do so once a month. And that wasn't even the worst part.
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes laying upon an object resting on his bedside table. A pack of cigarettes. He hated smoking, but the itch made him do it anyway. He couldn't even remember when he started smoking, let alone bought a brand new pack. He would have to dump them somewhere again, this time closing his eyes so he at least had a harder time finding them when the itch takes over. His stomach let out a roar, surprising him so much that he jumped away from his desk.
Great, he was hungry. Even better, he had run out of his emergency supplies just yesterday. It was the only thing keeping him from going outside and forging for food, seeing as how his parents were out of town for some reason and he had finished off all the food in the fridge three weeks ago. It honestly didn't seem like his parents were coming back, something he knew he should have been more sad about. However, as with all things he did now, the itch dictated that he do otherwise.
After inhaling a gallons worth of air, he slowly opened his door and reluctantly stepped into the outside world.
If Eddy was honest, it hadn't felt like a month since he had last laid eyes on the Cul-de-Sac. But boy, had things changed. For starters, there were even more houses around than last time, basketball goals were set up in pretty much everyone's yard and there were way more cars parked in the streets than before. Sure, things had been vastly different before he shut himself in, what with the new kids moving in, but it was still odd how things had progressed this much in a month.
He had been so distracted by these changes that he didn't even see the person in front of him until it was too late. Apparently, they didn't see him either, leading to them both falling onto the pavement. Luckily he managed to recover before completely falling, landing on his bum instead of his back, but the person opposite of him was not as lucky. As he rose to his feet, he felt it, and he couldn't stop what came out of his mouth.
"Watch where you're going, dumb ass!" He yelled. No, it yelled. Although his vision had been forced to turn red, he saw that the person opposite of him was none other than Nazz, who returned his anger in kind.
"Well excuse me, you little hermit," She said sardonically, standing up and looking down at him venomously "Finally decided to crawl out of your hole, did you?" Her words stung him in his core, but what hurt him more was that he couldn't even apologize for everything he was about to say.
Eddy just wanted to run, to get out of this conversation before things got worse. But of course, it never turned out that way.
"Shut the fuck up and get out of my way, bitch." It said again, making him cringe with each swear that came out of his mouth. While Eddy wasn't averse to swearing, he would never say these things to Nazz of all people. Sarah maybe, but not Nazz. She scoffed and stepped out of his way, his legs moving him on their own past her.
"Just get out of here before I call Edd to humiliate you again." She said, punctuating it with a laugh as she walked away. He tightened his fist and growled to himself. Stupid bitch, she was just another suck up to that know it all loser. He may have had everyone fooled, but Eddy knew that dweeb better than anyone and he would come around to his offer eventually. It was just in Edd's nature to be under him.
After this thought finally ended, Eddy collapsed against a light pole, his face caked in sweat and his breathing even more erratic than last time.
It was getting stronger.
It took a few minutes to recover, but he eventually gained the strength to continue walking. As much as his conscious begged him to go back home, his stomach urged him to continue on regardless of what might happen next. Heck, even if he did go back home, the itch would overpower him eventually and make him leave. Better to get it out of the way while he was still sane.
Somewhat.
The Spicy Peach never was one of his go to places to eat, but he didn't see anyone he knew inside so it was better than nothing. As he went inside, he felt around his pocket and was relieved when he pulled out a ten dollar bill. Guess him being forced into scamming again paid off, at the very least. Thankfully, the staff didn't really care if he wasn't adult, so long as he had the cash, they wouldn't kick him out.
After placing his order for the "spicy peach glazed pork chops" and a glass of water, he picked a window seat and simply observed the rain kissed streets of Peach Creek. He took a peek at the clock hanging over the door, seeing that it was almost three. This sight made his chest tighten up in anxiety and his eyes widen.
"Oh shit." He mumbled shakily. The final bell was about to ring at school and, of course, he was just two blocks away from it. He cupped his face and sighed loudly, his bouncing legs begging him to run again. But just as he thought about it, a familiar face walked by the window. As with all familiar faces, good or bad, he felt every ounce of awareness pulled from his mental grasp and replaced by anger when he saw them.
"Tyler." He said through grit teeth. The blonde, blue eyed teen must have either heard him or sensed his anger somehow, because he immediately stopped and looked at him, a faux friendly smile overcoming his face. Eddy didn't even need the itch to be mad at Tyler, but his already natural hate for the rich boy was multiplied by ten whenever he wasn't himself. The boy casually walked into the restaurant, hands in his pocket and whistling as he made his over to Eddy's table.
"Hey short stack, been a while hasn't it?" He said, sitting across from the fuming con artist.
"What do you want, Tyler?" It said, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously. The boy feigned shock and widened his eyes.
"Is there anything wrong with wanting to greet a friend he hasn't seen for a whole month?" He asked, his face donning a smirk this time as he kicked Eddy's shin underneath the table. Eddy winced in pain but kept eye contact with the bully "Did I mention that said friend is a pussy who owes me more money than his pathetic life is worth?"
"Fuck you, Tyler. I don't need this shit right now." It said, forcing him to get up and try to walk away. Suddenly, he felt his feet sweep out from under him and he fell to the floor. Before he could react, he was flipped on his back by Tyler's foot and was picked up by his collar, coming face to face with the blonde boy's infuriated face.
"And I don't need your fucking attitude, bitch! Give me my money or I'll beat it out of you!" He yelled, causing the other customers in the restaurant to turn around in surprise. The itch was commanding him to back down, to apologize to the boy and give him what he wanted. That, or come up with a devious plan that would be at the expense of Edd. The war within him was raging stronger than before, almost to the point where he blacked out from the stress of trying to fight off it off. Then, it just stopped. With his chest heaving, Eddy swung his body back to gain momentum and slammed his feet straight into Tyler's face! The blonde boy, surprised out of his mind, dropped the shorter teen to grasp his face.
Seeing this advantage, Eddy stormed out of the restaurant, with a furious Tyler not too far behind.
"Get back here you little shit!" He yelled, still rubbing his shoe print covered face.
"See ya, bitch!" Eddy yelled, laughing like a maniac as he rounded the corner and bolted into an alley. A feeling of euphoria washed over him, tears of joy nipping at his eyelids as a somewhat unfamiliar type of thought floated through the bleak cavern of his mind: Could he beat the itch? He had done it three times now today so maybe not all hope was lost! Sure, two of those victories were after the fact but the fact still stood on its foundations, however fragile and cracked they may be.
Tyler wasn't even a worry for him anymore, that guy could beat him within an inch of his life and take all his money right now for all he cared right now. Still, he needed to have all of his limbs working if he wanted a shot at his next plan. One look over his shoulder and his smile grew wider when he saw that he had lost his spoiled pursuer. With a break, he took the time to collapse against a dumpster and let his happy tears flow free as he planned his next move.
He couldn't believe he was doing this. This had to be the stupidest thing he had ever attempted, even beating out his hat size scam. He could chalk both that and his current plan up to insanity fused with desperation, but he refused to head his very panicked sounding voice of reason at the moment. If one month of isolation could let him beat the itch three times, once even overpowering it, then who is to say that he could not conquer it every single time after that?
However, as he sat in a bush that lay adjacent to the crosswalk close to his target's house, he could not fight his ever growing fear and doubt. With a deep breath, he pushed these thoughts to the wayside. What was the worst that could happen, the itch comes back and he gets called an idiot again? That would be a unique experience, that's for sure. Even with that thought, his fear never left him as he listened for his footsteps.
"Alright, see you tomorrow Edd! Catch us at the court tomorrow and we can make up for that terrible game this morning!" He heard a familiar voice yell, followed by another voice that made his skin crawl with each word.
"Sure Kendall, make sure you bring your A game next time." Edd replied, chuckling as he waved at his two new best friends. With quiet, ragged breaths, Eddy managed to fight off the itch again as it ordered him to jump out and pummel Edd's face into the concrete. It felt as if it was as hard as ever to fight off, but it seemed like it was getting easier.
It still made Eddy's throat swell with sadness when he remembered how easily he had been replaced by two guys Edd had only known for about a month now. He knew he had been a terrible friend, he knew it had been wrong to try to be a jerk to be cool and Edd had showed him his the error of his ways when they met his brother. He figured Edd would at least appreciate all the years they spent together, goofing off around town, watching some of Ed's weird movies, messing up constantly and always starting anew the next day. He closed his eyes and sighed. No, he could see exactly why he had been replaced. At least he still let Ed hang out with him, he could take comfort in that at least. Edd may have changed to the point of being unrecognizable, but at least he remembered one of the little guys.
He heard the approaching footsteps of Edd, making him halt his breathing and freeze until the skull cap wearing boy had passed. Not a moment later, he rallied his courage and slowly stepped out of the bush. Keeping his back to the still unaware teen, he slowly walked backwards toward him. Even though he had reacquired his confidence when it came to fighting the itch, he still did not want to take any chances looking at him in case it came back and made him do something worse than what he thought of seconds ago. He just hoped hearing Edd's voice didn't send him spiraling deeper into his insanity.
"Hey, Double D!" Eddy called out, biting his tongue far harder than it wanted him to. He heard a long, drawn out weary sigh.
"What do you want now, Eddy?" Edd asked, his voice making clear his impatience. He turned around, raising an eyebrow when he found himself facing the three haired schemers back "And why are you turned around?"
"Listen, I need to tell you something. Something really important, okay?" He said, sweating bullets at this point. It was working, he was fighting it off!
"Really? Is it about how you want me to be your slave again? Do you want me to make some stupid invention for one of your idiotic scams?" He said, crossing his arms and narrowing his brows. The itch told him to be silent but Eddy spoke again, his words feeling like they were being puked out this time.
"No, just listen okay?!" He growled, taking yet another deep breath "I just want to tell you that you're...you're..." He trailed off, his vision getting blurry and his legs getting shaky. No, he couldn't give in now, he was so close!
"Spit it out already, Ed's waiting for me and I don't want to make him wait any longer than he has to."
Just run, all he had to do was run and he could come back tomorrow right? No, he couldn't. He felt as if this was his only shot at fighting this thing, whatever the heck it was. If he was going to go down, he was going down fighting. What was about to come out of his mouth was going to be the most cliche thing he had ever said, but if it wasn't the truth, then he deserved to be shot.
"You're still my best friend, man. Even when I was at my lowest point, even though I was the biggest dick around you and Ed were always there for me. I know it felt like I took you guys for granted, and I don't blame you for thinking I did, but even when I was red in the face from yelling at Ed or from screaming at you, I never thought less of you guys. Hell, if it wasn't for you two then I never would have realized how much of a petty ass I was being. So, you know, thank you. You guys gave me the second chance I didn't deserve, I just hope I can crawl out of this fucking pit I'm in and make it up to you."
That's what he wanted to say.
Before everything went black, that is.
Edd's eyebrow was still high in the sky as he listened to the teen a few feet away from him stammer like an idiot. He looked down at his watch and rolled his eyes, annoyed at how much time he had wasted.
"What?" He asked, tapping his foot in frustration. All of the sudden, Eddy turned around and sneered at him.
"What the hell are you doing here, hot shot? Why don't you go play with your friend's balls or something?" Eddy said, laughing out loud as walked across the street toward his house. Edd rolled his eyes and continued walking. Even though he could easily chalk that up to Eddy being as dumb as always, something about the way he had been acting earlier rubbed him the wrong way.
With a shrug, he dismissed these thoughts and stuck his hands in his pockets.
He had more important things to worry about, like Ed helping him fix up his sweet ride.