Eddward,

As you know, your Father's company has been flourishing immensely, allowing him to climb the corporate ladder rather rapidly. That being said; an opportunity has turned up that requires temporary relocation overseas. Your Father and I have accepted this rare offer and have decided that you are to continue your schooling in the states, as your education is terribly important. We have left you with access to our bank account, with hope that you'll use enough for only your absolute necessities. We are due to return in fourteen months on January 30th; the bills for the house and utilities have been taken care of by your Father. We trust you'll take care of our home and belongings as well as yourself. Your Father and myself will try to keep in contact as often as possible (time permitting.) Take care, son. We love you very much.

Love,

Mom & Dad

It had been a year to the date since Edd had found his Mother's handwritten letter facedown on the living room's coffee table. Amongst the letter the young man's parents had left what appeared to be the newest model of some sort of smartphone, programmed and ready for his immediate use. Next to that lay a sleek looking debit card. Just like they had promised.

Edd didn't cry when the fact that his parents would be gone for such an extended period of time sunk in. He had long grown out of the crybaby phase that he had clung to during his early childhood and adolescence. However, the nagging annoyance of this parents leaving yet another note as a form of communication for a situation so serious deeply bothered the young teen. It wasn't the fact that they had left without a word prior to the letter; it wasn't that he wouldn't see either of them for fourteen months. Hell, it wasn't even the matter of the fact that nearly every time they skipped town on their teenaged son they eased their own guilt by buying him some sort of gadget or leaving him with a large sum of money. It was the raw FACT that his own Mother and Father had forgotten his birthday for the third year in a row.

"Four years, and counting." The raven haired teen sighed to himself just as his digital clock that was perched atop his immaculate night stand swapped the hour that now read '12:00 am.' Swiveling back and forth in his computer chair he neatly folded the dog-eared letter in half, the tiny loops of his Mothers elegant cursive was beginning to hurt his eyes, and his prescription reading glasses were nowhere to be found.

The boy set the letter down on his desk and lifted a slender hand to rub the inner corner of his eyes with his thumb and index finger. Yawning, Eddward stretched his long legs out before him. Despite his childhood frame being petite, he had gained quite a bit of height during his less than pleasant journey throughout puberty. The same couldn't be said for his distinct inability to gain much weight; the teen had grown to a great six feet, two inches. Yet, he couldn't gain an ounce over one hundred and thirty-seven pounds.

A faint rhythmic buzzing sound caught the teen's attention from across the room. Edd lifted himself from his chair hastily, fingers crossed that his phone would show an un-read message from his parents wishing him a 'Happy Birthday.' He couldn't count on it, but he could sure as Hell hope.

Edd unlocked his now illuminated screen, to show an un-read text message from Eddy. With a grunt of disappointment, he opened the message from one of his closest friends.

"Yo sockhead u should let us in. I can c ur bedroom light on."

'What could those two possibly need from me at this hour?' He asked himself, whilst slipping on his house slippers. As Eddward padded down the hallway that lead from his bedroom to the top of the staircase, he could hear Eddy's piercing voice scolding Ed for being. Well, Ed.

Taking two steps at a time, the teen descended the stairs in time to open the door to witness an unmistakable towering body sporting shaggy copper colored hair, and his signature olive green jacket- bringing a much smaller boy with thick dark hair, donning his own trademark attire- into a chokehold. Giggling madly, the largest of the Ed's eyes fell on Eddward's figure standing in the doorway.

"Double-D!" The enormous teen exclaimed. "Happy Birthday!" Ed's voice resonated in the scrawny teens ears, as his lovable oaf of a friend dropped the smaller boy and enveloped Double-D in a tight hug.

"Good to see you too, Ed." Double-D managed to choke out from under Ed's constricting embrace. Ed laughed goofily as he released his slender chum and then turned his attention to Eddy, who looked to be more than a bit agitated by Ed's strength and significant lack of self-control.

Eddy shot his six foot, six inch friend a glare, yet managed not to cause a scene, he the focused his attention on Double-D.

"Look, Sock-head… we know you get all bent out of shape about your birthday and shit…" Eddy ran a nervous hand through his short dark hair. "'Cause, well… you know… BUT, Lumpy and I are gonna give you somethin' special!" Eddy perked up and gave his lanky friend his best shit-eating grin.

"And what may THAT be?" Double-D half groaned at the thought of yet another one of Eddy's childish scams going awry.

A party, Double-D!" Ed bellowed into his face, nearly knocking the lanky teen over.

"Yeah! Listen, Sock-head, I KNOW it sounds crazy, and I just KNOW you're gonna bellyache over it…" Eddy sighed and threw his arm over the taller boy's shoulders. "But, Big-Ed and I got everythin' covered. We got all the Cul-De-Sac kids comin' over for your Birthday. PLUS, we all agree that you need to lighten up. You only turn eighteen once, and you're always so wound up, just let us do this ONE thing for you. PLEASE?!" The smaller of the Ed's grinned from ear to ear, giving Edd his finest puppy-dog eyes.

"Whaddaya say, Double-D, huh?" Eddy pleaded.

Edd stammered nervously, not knowing what to take of the situation being presented to him. He could see many a thing going wrong with his friends' screwy little plan. On the other hand, Eddy was right. Double-D had always been a wet-blanket to countless functions; Birthday parties, barbecues, school dances, you name it. He was always on the other side dampening the fun for just about anybody involved. Taking a moment to mull over his position, he gave a sigh of defeat.

"Very well, Eddy. You win. I'll partake in your shenanigans, however, I must know WHERE you're planning on hosting this party." Double-D jeered at the last word, raising his eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"At your place, of course. No better place to have a shindig than at the Birthday-boy's house, right?!" The short teenager declared. Taking his arm from around Edd's shoulders, he snapped his fingers at the biggest Ed, who was now vigorously picking at his nose, and flicking the remains from his fingers. Before Double-D had a chance to protest, Eddy demanded both the other boys to follow back to Ed's parked truck in the driveway.

"Ed! You get the speakers from the back, and don't you fuckin' drop 'em. Those things are expensive." The shortest Ed barked the commanded to his friend just before Ed lifted Eddy's two large home speakers from his truck-bed, tucking one under each arm as he merrily wobbled up the walkway and through Edd's front door.

"Eddy, you can't be serious.." The thin teen protested as Eddy shoved two heavy grocery bags into his hands. Double-D's weak arms nearly giving out from the sudden weight put upon them. "What on God's green earth is in these bags, Eddy?!" he cried out to his dear buddy who seemed to have taken the lighter of the loads and was now strolling through Edd's open front door.

After struggling to carry the hefty bags and having the circulation to his hands being temporarily obstructed, Edd clumsily tossed the bags onto his kitchen table. The sound of clanking glass within caught the teen's attention. Reaching into one of the opaque sacks, he grasped the thin neck of a large glass bottle. Double-D removed said bottle and inspected it's label; 'Bacardi – Superior.' Eddward's sudden realization crashed down upon him like a pile of bricks. It was that kind of party.

A wave of panic began to invade Edd's senses. He had never experienced a get together of that sort of nature. Sure, he had indulged in a light beer or two whenever Ed's monster movie marathons were premiering on T.V., but they never did much for him. Double-D's heart pounded uncomfortably against his ribcage as a surging feeling of uneasiness came over his brain. The lanky teen couldn't put his finger on the source of his growing nervousness; he just knew that this hare-brained plan was NOT a good idea.

"E-Eddy.. Honestly, is all this n-necessary?" Double-D stammered. "I mean- I'm sure we would be able to have an enjoyable time without the consumption of alcoholic beverages." Edd cracked a tense smile in hopes that his friend would somehow take his suggestion into consideration.

"No WAY, Double-D!" Eddy screeched. "I shelled out a fuck-load 'a cash on this shit! I ain't wastin' it just 'cause you wanna wuss out on me! NO WAY." The shortest boy reached into the grocery sac he held in the crease of his elbow. Yanking out a package of red solo cups, he began ripping the protective plastic from around the stack of cups. "I'll make 'ya a drink, 'ya won't even taste the booze!"

"Eddy…" Double-D began to object, but was nearly immediately interrupted by his best friend.

"Look, Sock-head, Ed's setting up the music and the kids are 'bout to start showin' up.." Eddy twisted the lid off of a bottle of coconut rum and proceeded to pour a fair amount into a cup. "And I don't mean to sound like a dick, or anythin'. But you REALLY should tone down the goody two shoes act." Reaching into a second bag, Eddy pulled out a container of cranberry juice, unscrewed the lid and filled the cup the rest of the way. "So, for just tonight, will 'ya try to have a little bit of fun?" The rest of Eddy's agitation seemed to diminish while he handed Double-D the full cup.

The skinny boy hesitated with the drink in his hand, battling his inner guilt of defying what his parents had drilled into his head from an early age. 'Alcoholic beverages are reserved for adults, Eddward. You don't HAVE to do everything you assume your peers are doing.' His Mother's words reverberated in his head, but he couldn't help but nit-pick the technicality in her words. Alcoholic beverages were reserved for ADULTS. If Double-D remembered correctly, the legal age of becoming an adult was eighteen. It was about eight past twelve in the morning, thereby branding him as an adult. With a stroke of confidence, Double-D lifted the drink to his lips and took a generous gulp. The thought of his parents witnessing his blatant disregard of everything they had warned him about, and not being able to do a goddamned thing about it tasted sweeter than the imitation coconut flavor on his tongue.