The walk over to the Kanker's trailer was silent, something that I wasn't expecting. Well, silent was a bit of an exaggeration. Marie was blushing then entire walk back and would cough to turn away from me whenever I glanced at her. This caused Lee to chuckle before going back to whistling whatever tune she liked. May, on the other hand, was giggling the entire trip back due to possibly winning Ed's attention. Well, it was either that or from having a boy willingly go back home with them, but that was unlikely. She was interested in Ed and Ed only, so her liking the fact that I was going back to their trailer was so low on the probability scale that it was much more likely to be hit by a toilet from an air plane flying in the sky.

When we got to their trailer, Marie hurried into their home with speed that he only saw Kevin produce when riding his bicycle. Just what was so important that she could out race Kevin for it? May skipped to their home, leaving me with Lee outside to take in the sight of their home. The blue paint faded to a shadow of what it once was, which, oddly enough, matched the lavender color of the door and curtains. The wheels to the trailer were still filled, and the trailer itself was properly placed upon several concrete blocks. Glancing around the property around the trailer, it would be quite possible for the girls to grow their own crops if they wanted to. Lord knows that, after me and the other Eds were under their trailer more times than they would have liked, the worms that lived under there would properly enrich the soil to help the crops grow.

"Somethin wrong with our home punk?" Lee's words caused me to casually turn to her. Too quick of a turn and she'd more likely assume that I was thinking negatively; however, a slow turn would lead to the assumption that I was "caught" and were thinking of some sort of reply that would save my hide from violence. Something casual would be taken with a bit more salt to hear me out. At least, that was what I hoped would occur.

"No," I started off, "but I was considering what exactly you'd like to do with the soil someday."

"The soil?" Though it was very hard to see behind her hair, I noticed that Lee's brow raised by a few centimeters. I doubted that she knew that the curls around her eyes moved whenever she made a facial reaction. It was something that was documented some time ago, but when it started I'd have to look back at a later time.

"I don't think that the trailer looks bad." I lowered myself to cup a bit of soil into my hands. It was soft, a nice shade of black, and even had a larva of some kind wiggling. She, if she wanted to of course, could grow a nice selection of flowers or even bushes to decorate the area a bit. "But some bright, stunning color wouldn't hurt. Some flowers here, or even some leaves with unique patterns would really make the trailer stand out."

"Maybe, but then people might think we have money and would steal from us." That response shut down my argument in a way I never considered. Most people didn't live in a trailer park unless they were poor, which meant that the area was already seedy in a way no green thumb could salvage. Heh, lame pun aside, this was something to consider for later evaluation.

"Were you girls robbed before?"

"Once." Lee's quick reply made me think that she either didn't want to talk about it, or was something that still angered her to this day. Surprisingly, she chuckled a moment later. "Some punk took Marie's bicycle, which had May's favorite horn and pigtails on it. Now, Marie didn't care for the bike since she found it at the junkyard, but May wouldn't shut her yap about the little accessories. Now, it wasn't as if Marie took the accessories from her or anything, but those two worked on fixing the bike."

"A project?" I questioned. It was more to myself than to Lee, but she nodded anyway and moved on.

"Those two were so proud of that bike that ma took a picture of it. It's in an album somewhere. But anyway, some kid stole the bike one day and I had to find it. It wasn't too hard since it rained the day before, so mud was everywhere, and he led me straight to his trailer ten minutes from here. When I saw that he tore off the pigtails and horn so he could change the bike, well... Lets just say that his shoelaces were tied to a fence and he was close to falling down into the nasty swamp round the back of the trailer park for a few hours. When I took the bike back to my sisters it was surprisingly Marie who was the most hurt. May only wanted the bike for Marie, and was happy to have her accessories back. She still has them kept in her special box to this day."

"NU-UH!" The two of them turned back to the door to see May, who had a bright red purse, shaking her head. "I don't have those things in the special box! They're in my lucky jar beside the-EEP!" Lee and I laughed at her reactions, causing the blonde to shake her head and blush. Marie walked out as soon as May was out of the way, but in her hands was no purse, but a large, slightly dirty fish tank that looked quite heavy for someone like myself to carry. It had to be a fifty-five gallon at the very least, but where she kept it in such a small trailer was confusing to think about.

"What do you think Double D?" Marie asked in a prideful tone. Not that she didn't have anything to not be proud of. Most people couldn't afford to have such a nice size tank, and there didn't seem to be any cracks to worry about either. A nod was given to her.

"I'm impressed." Marie smiled at that response. Happiness aside, she would have to put it back inside before we left for the local bookstore for May. I could still do something first though before she put the tank back though. "Do you have any accessories for the tank?" When she looked at me with confusion, I decided to clarify a but further. "You know, such as the water filters for the pump, an air machine to put oxygen into the tank, fake plants, gravel, or decorations?"

"No..." Marie looked down at her feet. She didn't have any reason to feel ashamed for not having that stuff. Heck, she should be happy to have such a beautiful tank to play around with!

"Now now," I surprised myself by walking over to her and rubbed her back. I felt her shock when her body shook for a moment at the unexpected reaction I delivered. "You should be happy for having such a great tank! We can find you the necessary stuff after we take care of May, okay?" I decided to do something unexpected and helped her put the tank back inside, which was a benefit since it allowed me to see where she placed the tank. When I saw that she put it on a wooden frame that she must have built herself, I shook my head. That would have to be taken cared of first and foremost before we properly set up the tank.

"Are we ready to go girls?" Lee shouted from outside. This was most likely done since she thought Marie wouldn't be able to hear her behind the walls of their home. Marie shook her head while muttering something I couldn't hear, and walked out of their home. She locked it with a key after I left, and I took one last look at their home before we left. Despite it being small, dirty, and rather bland looking on the outside, inside had a nice, lively feeling that reminded him of home.


Despite there being a store that sold gigantic jawbreakers, there wasn't a "proper" bookstore in town. So, in order for Ed to get his comic books, he normally went to one of two locations. The first location was the grocery store, which was a big NO for the group to show up at, or to Galactic Greg's Resale Shop, which was known as the king of nerdy goods in the area. Non-bookworms like, well, most average boys would go there for either the comics, the action figures, or for the card games that were becoming more and more popular here in the states. Older kids came here too, but they played board games such as Dungeons and Dragons, and participated in discussions about the more specific scenes in cartoons and comic books.

Luckily for me, I wasn't here to buy anything for myself. Not that I would of course. The only thing I'd be interested in would be the card games due to the strategies I could come up with, but that was besides the point... Anyway, it was time to show May the shop so she could find some comics that Ed liked, which left the other sisters to do whatever they pleased. It was a blessing in disguise that Greg, the store owner, wasn't in the shop today, or else he would not only talk to me, but would tell Ed and Eddy about seeing me here with the Kankers. The last thing he needed was for Eddy to overreact about what he was doing and cause the whole neighborhood to rain upon him with questions and ridicule.

"So where do we find the comics Double D?" May asked in a very happy tone. Looking back at her, it was easy to see that she was a little scared of the shop. Not that anyone could blame her when you recall that the outside of the shop is bright brown, but the inside is practically black due to all of the geeky decor that covered ever inch of the walls. Before a reply could be given, a small squeal made the leader of the group turn to see Marie and Lee looking at the display case near the far left of the store.

"An original Iron Man number one figure like ma's!" The two sisters shouted. Despite the sudden interest at new information, I grabbed May's hand and guided her to the comics, which was on the opposite side of the store. I heard another "eep" from the blonde, but for the life of me I couldn't think of why she would make such a sound. Her footsteps were fine, which meant I wasn't dragging her and causing discomfort in her feet, and my hold around her hand was soft so our skin wouldn't rub aggressively against one another, so why? When I finally reached our destination, I let go of her hand and presented all of the different comics in a patient, respectable manner.

There were obvious choices, such as Superman, Batman, Iron Man, and other classics that I introduced to her. Moving past those allowed me to present the foreign comics, such as Mega Man, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Pokemon. This led to an discussion on the difference between these comics and manga books, which the shop had as well, but were much different than the thin, flimsy American comics that the shop had. Then, last but not least, were the "special" comics. Comics that were so unique, so strange and abnormal that the owner put a one of a kind sign above the area these comics were placed.

Ed's Selection.

"So these are what Ed reads all the time?" Sadly that was the truth. These comics were either discontinued or were indie projects the owner got his hands on to sell. Fortunately for the owner, Ed loved these kind of comics for some reason, which got the man to buy more of these oddities just for the lovable oaf to buy off him. Comics like It Came from the Back Side, De-Vamped Vampire, and I Never Knew It Was A Planet were some of his favorite series to buy from here.

"Yep!" I said with a small smile. If it wasn't for the fact that these comics were mostly disgusting horror genre, then I'd POSSIBLY give them a try; and yet, this trip wasn't for my curiosity. No, this trip was for May and May alone. "Now I know that some of these might be, ahem, strange. Very strange in fact, but please try to give them a chance. For Ed's sake...Huh?" May had, while I was talking, grabbed various fist issues from the shelf and moved on to the other sections to do the very same thing. I rubbed my eyes just to ensure that what I was seeing was in fact real, and I wasn't let down in the slightest.

She may possibly really love Ed. It was something that was borderline surreal to consider, considering she is a Kanker. But here it was. Proof that she saw Ed for more than just a boy. This was the very first step of trying to understand your potential love interest and to interact with their hobbies to see if you could stomach them or not. This was maturity. Maturity that he hadn't seen from anyone in the little world that was the Cul-De-Sac.

"Hey Double D!" I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts that had me mentally bound, and hurried to the counter. There was May pointing at some of the various packs that were nicely displayed behind the person at the register. The brightness that shown in May's eyes made me smile. For what reason I don't know, but it certainly felt natural. "Do you think I should buy some packs so I can get ahead on understanding Ed by playing the games he likes?" I couldn't help but to chuckle at her enthusiasm at learning everything there was named Ed.

"Let me find out which games he likes first okay?" She didn't seem rejected at the slightest as she paid for her comics. Where she got the king of money to buy a seven inch stack of comics, I didn't know; and yet, it didn't seem as if she was the only big spender of the family.

"What took you two so long sockhead?" Lee was sitting at one of the tables with a boxed Hulk figure that looked angry at the world. In other words, its normal, everyday expression. Marie, on the other hand, was sporting a new Iron Man hoodie that she wore with a big smile that showed her teeth to the world. The red and gold color of the hoodie didn't match her blue hair, but the new look was certainly interesting.

"I'd say that I was sorry ladies, but it looks like the wait rewarded you two with some finds of your own." Marie and Lee grinned at him with a clever look in their (or at least Marie's) eyes.

"Look at this smart mouth telling us that the wait was worth it. I think I'll have to condition him some time don't you think Lee?" The oldest sister laughed as she got out of her chair.

"I think you'll have quite the trouble getting sockhead to respect you like a proper lady Marie. Lets get out of here before he decides to lose us in the store, ha!" With that joke said, the two sisters left the store first, leaving me and May a few steps behind them. Right before we reached the doors, May surprised me by hugging me out of nowhere. Her head rubbed against my chest, breaching my personal space with warmth I never felt before, and it alarmed me in more ways than I'd ever expected in the past.

"Thanks for doing this for me Double D!" She said with a big smile upon her face. It really looked nice on her. "This really means a lot to me!" With that the door opened, allowing her to catch up to her sisters, and left me dumbfounded right where I stood.

Just what was that?