1A Pash Amongst Peaches
"A night so clear and splendid,
In the suburb of Peach Creek;
One soul sought for another:
A romantic evening he did seek."
The night was one of a calming air, the full moon overhead. Within the small suburban area of Peach Creek, two individuals still stirred at that late hour, the young lad leading his female friend alongside him.
"Oh, I just know that you'll like this." he said aloud, happy at the thought of what he did, as well as nervous by her eventual reaction.
"We're walking through a dump in the middle of the night, Double D," she responded, noting her surroundings as they traveled, "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not all that keen to places like this."
"Well, yes, I can understand that," he replied, "but this is what I wanted to show you."
With the finish of those words, they arrived at his destination: an old van in the middle of the dump. It was purple with a red flame going across the sides and, despite its bad shape, looked as though it had been cleaned up recently.
"You brought me here to look at some old rust bucket? Oh yeah, I'm jumping for joy already."
"No Mandy, not the van...well, not exactly the outside, I mean. It's the inside that counts this time around."
He opened the back of the van and pulled the curtains to the side, revealing the spread within. It was a nice setup that Edd had made, two plates sitting on the shag carpeting within, each with a glass resting to the side. Beyond the carpeting was a bed area, a sheet covering the inside and pillows on all four corners. Mandy, amazed by all of this, stepped up into the van, Double D closing the doors behind them.
"I wanted to share a nice and peaceful evening with you," Edd started, blushing as he spoke, "in celebration of all that we've been through. It took a lot of cleaning, though, what with the garbage and debris everywhere."
"Not bad," Mandy remarked, "but I still don't see why you did all of this at a dump."
"Privacy," he responded, "Both Ed and Eddy have been known to show up at my home during all hours of the day and night, despite my requests for prior notification. Plus, I didn't want to disturb mother and father."
"Uh huh," she said, walking over to the bed area, "And what's your explanation behind this little number?"
"Oh, well, on one of our earlier ventures this week, Ed and Eddy punctured the water bed while having a bouncing contest. I wasn't able to refill it tonight, so I thought I'd make it somewhat presentable with the sheets and pillows that I brought from home. It is sanitarily sound, in case you wanted to lie down."
She stood on the carpet and looked around the van again. In truth, she was a bit amazed by the effort that Double D made in setting all of this up. She walked over to where their plates were set and sat down.
"So, what is it that we're having anyway?"
"A little something that I cooked up shortly before bringing you here," Double D started, taking a seat in front of her by his own plate, "Pasta Alfredo with a side of rice and broccoli, a glass of ice cold apple juice serving as our beverage...in case we need to quench our thirsts."
Mandy raised an eye to him then, that last comment being said in an unusually debonair tone for Double D.
"Riiiiight...so, is there anything else, or can we begin?"
"Oh, go right ahead Mandy. Help yourself."
Without further hesitation, Mandy picked up her plate and began her meal. Double D looked on, sweat starting to fall from his forehead as he wondered about what would happen next. He wanted to do all he could to make this a nice evening for her, yet both of them were silent so far. After taking a few bites from his own plate, he started up a bit of conversation.
"So, Mandy...how are things in Endsville?"
"Typical and monotonous," she responded, taking a sip from her glass, "Billy's still an idiot, Grim's still in my control, and there are still the occasional happenings of near apocalyptic instances that I have to help prevent."
"Oh...well...that sounds...assiduous."
"Not so much, actually. Those fools often do this stuff even when I'm not around."
"Yes, well, I know that feeling all too well."
It was silent again, Double D not knowing what more to say at this point. They quietly ate their meal, Mandy finishing first and downing the last bit of her apple juice.
"Thanks for the meal," she said, standing up and walking to the front of the van. Double D could do nothing more than watch her go, not expecting her to finish so soon. He placed his head in his hand then, feeling as though the night didn't go that well. He stirred at his food, taking little bites here and there, until he heard Mandy call out to him from the front of the van.
"This may have been a dump of a place that you've picked, Edd, but the view isn't all that bad."
Double D rose from his place on the carpet and walked over to the front of the van. In the passenger seat, Mandy lied back with her feet propped up on the dashboard, looking up at the night sky.
"It may not be the most cleanly of places," he responded, sitting on the driver's side of the van, "but it does give a nice view of Peach Creek at night."
"Yeah, you have a nice little town here...and you're one of the few living here that I can actually stand to be around."
"Umm...thank you...I think."
"Don't mention it," she said, cutting her eyes at him as she continued, "Seriously, never mention this to anyone. If people knew that there was actually a boy I did like, I'd never hear the end of it."
Double D's eyes widened as his face turned red from blush. A smile crept across his face as sat back in his chair, so petrified by the moment that he felt any change of him could change the mood.
"Y...you really 'like' me, Mandy? I mean, there are so many definitive properties of liking someone, and I don't know as to the level of admiration that you now admit..."
"If you shut up now I MIGHT consider you to be boyfriend material."
At that instant, Double D sat quietly in his chair, nervous yet excited by such a declaration. He continued to smile as he looked up to the sky, noting that the night looked even more beautiful than it did earlier.
Mandy looked over at him, noting the content that Double D had. She gave one of her rare grins as she leaned back and looked up at the sky.
"You're alright Double D. Thanks for the evening."
"You're welcome, my dear Mandy."
"You start talking like Irwin and you'll be leaving through the windshield."
"Sorry."
And so, after a small meal and a bit of night time observation, two content souls stared up at the sky that night, taking in the splendor of all that surround them.
"Two souls sat side by side,
Each other's company a joy;
Indeed, the evening was romantic,
And shared by this girl and boy."
