I was just able to get this chapter up to meet my deadline. I was on a trip for about a week, so I couldn't get as much writing done either because I was tired or didn't have enough time. Would have come sooner, but I don't regret the trip. Enjoy!
The main hall of the community center was packed and noisy, much more than Apple expected. For such a small looking building, it was much more spacious on the inside. The floors and walls were a bright white and almost seemed clinically clean. It must have been cleaned recently as she couldn't help but notice the smell of antiseptic wash over her. She couldn't help but think of how different this was to home again.
"Wow, this place is huge. I wonder what else they do around here." Raven commented, striding forward confidently. Apple had to stifle a spike of envy at how well Raven accepted everything here without question. Raven always seemed to be the braver out of the two no matter the circumstances. Raven turned around and looked at Apple, questioning. "Hey, do you think this place has a music room or has concerts here? I kind of want to see what kind of music this place has to offer."
Maddie almost literally jumped into the conversation. "I actually got to hear some the music our 'taxi' driver was listening to! I like how they played the guitar, but the singer was screaming a lot for some reason." Maddie stopped, a pensive look on her face. "I hope the singers okay, that really can't be good for his voice."
Apple and Raven couldn't help but stare at Maddie for a second, but decided to let it go. Raven would probably look it up later on her MirrorPhone, if they could connect to this worlds Wi-Fi. "Anyway," Apple said, interrupting the conversation before it started going in a different direction, "This world seems interesting so far. When do you think we should explore other parts of the city?"
Raven seemed to pause at that. It took her a second to respond. "We should probably wait a few more visits until we get used the community center. Maybe make some friends at therapy that actually know this place better than we do."
Apple nodded at that. Making friends here was one of the main goals, so getting someone that knows the area and to get them acquainted with this alien world was of high priority. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if they decided to go in completely blind.
The journey here was extremely strange, despite how short it was. After they had stepped out of the Gate, they were greeted by weird looking guards who checked their passports again. She wondered why they didn't wear any armor like the ones at home did. The only reason the girls knew they were guards was because they were all wearing blue uniforms. Apple wondered how they protected themselves with those small guns they had at their sides. They had guns in her world, but they were usually slow and ineffective compared to magic. Everyone focused on magic tools and weapons because of that. Shouldn't the police at least have spears? She remembered the guards on their side being able to use some electricity for safely taking down a target.
There was also the matter of traveling to the community center. It would have taken them to long by foot, so they had to call a 'taxi.' She was thankful for the fact she had the idea to convert some Ever After currency to 'American' currency before they left, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to get here. She really was weirded out on how these 'cars' supposedly ran. Apple remembered her mother talking about them with such a strong amount of curiosity before, wanting get one for herself, but they were stranger than what she imagined.
She wondered how a hunk of metal could even move so fast without the use of horses. Though it was somehow much louder than any horse drawn carriage could be. How did this world manage to do that?
Despite her amazement, she didn't like how fast it went. They were moving and turning so fast, Raven and she thought that they were going to fly off the road for sure. The had gripped the armrests so hard that Apple was sure they had left dents on it. Of course, Maddie just laughed the entire time, treating it like it was a roller coaster.
"Hey Apple, we're going to head to the front desk to ask where the group is meeting up. You coming?" Raven asked, snapping Apple out of her train of thought. "Um, sure. I'll be coming right up." Apple said, hurrying over to her friends, who had started heading to the desk in the middle of the atrium.
As she walked with her friends, she couldn't help but realize they were receiving a few stares. She brushed it off though, she was used to being stared at.
What kind of princess isn't?
"Why the heck was that girl wearing a ball gown?"
Edd couldn't help but roll his eyes at Eddy's question. "Eddy, please stop stalling, we have to get to the room. If we keep on occupying our time with more distractions, we'll never get there on time." He was looking at the room number scrawled on the piece of paper the receptionist gave him. "This handwriting is difficult to read, and I need to concentrate."
"I'm not tryin' to stall Sockhead, I seriously saw someone wearing a ballgown like she was going to some kinda 'debutantee' ball." Eddy said, looking around for the girl in that dress again. He seriously saw someone straight out of a fantasy novel walking around. Was she a part of some weird dance class?
"Eddy, even if there was someone dressed like that here, we don't have the time. We are going to be late." Double D grabbed the hem of Eddy's jacket, pulling him lightly to the stairs. "From the looks of it, the meeting place is on the second floor. If we hurry, we can make it there about fifteen minutes before the meeting time…"
Eddy jerked out of his friend's grip, dusting himself off. "Alright, alright, you don't have to drag me. I said I was already coming. Can't we just slow down a sec? We don't need to be there that early, we just need to show up."
Edd sighed once more, stopping to turn around to face Eddy. "Well, I like being early. Besides, it will give us the chance to meet the other members, so I want you on your best behavior when we do." Eddy had to roll his eyes again at that, which had to be the hundredth time today. "You're starting to sound like my parents again Sockhead. And what do you mean act on my 'best behavior?' I'm completely charming." Eddy struck a pose after saying that, pointing finger guns at a random girl and winking.
He didn't seem to be bothered when the girl scoffed and turned her head up in a huff.
"Yeah, I see that." Double D deadpanned at the display. "That reminds me, we need to set up ground rules when we get there." Eddy slouched a bit at that. He knew what was coming before Double D opened his mouth.
"One; we will not attempt to scam or trick anyone at the session to either give us money or services." Eddy nodded at that. He might as well try not to burn some bridges while he was there just yet.
"Two; we will tell the truth in there at all times. To get help, you must be truthful with everyone there, otherwise it will not work." Eddy hesitated before nodding again. While he wasn't planning to participate that much, he still wasn't that comfortable telling stranger's things that could be used against him.
"Three; we shall treat everyone there with the utmost respect. No insulting anyone because of something you may see as funny or confusing. They're there to get help, not be attacked." "Well duh." Eddy thought to himself. He was a loudmouth, he wasn't that friggin' insensitive.
"Fourth and final rule; no flirting." Okay, that couldn't help but set Eddy off. "Wait, seriously?! Why is that a rule? I mean, I get the other ones, but how is flirting a problem?" Edd stood his ground despite the outpouring of questions. "Eddy, it may sound like a ludicrous stipulation, but there is a reason for it. You have to admit that whenever you try to romance someone it tends to go pretty awry."
"First of all, Double D, no one says 'awry' in a real conversation. Have you heard another human being use that word in a real sentence? And second, flirting isn't one of those 'problems' you keep saying I have, so why give it up?" "Well, excuse me for trying to bolster my vocabulary." Double D muttered to himself, but spoke up to let Eddy hear him. "That may be so, but we can't distract ourselves and the other people in the group. This is to help us, this isn't a normal social convention like a school dance."
Eddy grumbled a bit, but decided to agree just to end the argument. "Fine, I get it. This isn't a fun trip this is all business. Way to be a killjoy…" Eddy said, trailing off at the end. Edd depressed at that last declaration. He walked over to his shorter friend, patting his back. "Eddy, self-improvement is rarely a fun venture. We must take this seriously, otherwise I simply don't see things getting better. You can't say that fighting like this is good for us."
Eddy sighed at that. He knew he and Sockhead were fighting a little more lately, the last few weeks especially. It wasn't like they never fought before, but it was steadily getting worse. Despite how different they both were and how they did things, he didn't want to lose Double D as a friend. He almost did because of a horrible prank once and that was the scariest moment in his life.
"…Okay. I'll behave as best as I can, but no promises if someone else starts something. If it makes sure the three of us don't split up, then I'll deal with it for a while." Eddy said to Double D finally after a moment of silence. Double D seemed relieved at the agreement, visibly relaxing.
Eddy blinked a couple of times, looking like he just remembered something. "Hey, speaking of "the three of us," have you seen Ed anywhere?" Double D paused at that, before they both started to look around themselves. Both couldn't help but pale a bit when they noticed that they were missing their third member. "Oh dear." Double D whispered to himself, eyes wide.
"ED?!"
Clawdeen was happy she had the idea to memorize the room number before they got here so they wouldn't have to waste time at the front desk. Now, if only the room was easier to find.
Seriously, why was this place such a maze?! If the doors weren't numbered at all, she could of swore that she walked down this hallway before. Monster High was just as big, but it had at least some distinguishing features, like a hallway would have some non-living gargoyles, some decorative cobwebs, or at least some kind of splash of color. She may be more focused on clothing, but some interior design would be good for this place.
"Clawdeen, as much as I'd hate to interrupt you while you're thinking, do you know where we're going?" Asked a particularly peeved Cleo, who was inspecting her nails with an impatient expression. They'd been walking around for a bit now and so far, they hadn't made any noticeable progress.
"We'll find it Cleo. We just need to be patient for a little bit longer." Ghoulia said to Cleo, trying to reassure her friend before she started to really complain. She knew Cleo well enough to see that her patience was beginning to run low. The bland, hospital like surroundings didn't exactly help things. Cleo had a thing against hospitals, for reasons she never explained.
"Don't worry girls, it's nearby. Just got to go through some more hallways. Would appreciate a sign or something though…" Clawdeen said to reassuringly, mumbling the last part to herself. "You'd think it'd be easier to find considering how many advertisements were placed, but apparently they want to hide it from us."
"Yes, well, we aren't getting any younger here." The werewolf really couldn't help but be annoyed by this, but bit back a retort. As much as she liked to debate with Cleo, she just wasn't in the mood for it. She was extremely tired because of having to babysit her siblings over the past week or so. Her mom was still recovering after having the latest addition to the family a couple of days ago and her dad rarely left her side whenever she gave birth. Didn't help that she had fearleading practice every day this week and had to bail Frankie and the other girls out of whatever misadventure they got themselves into. If Clawdia hadn't come down to help, she would've probably burnt out by now.
"I'm sure we'll find it soon. We just have to keep moving forward." Ghoulia said, doing her best to keep up the groups morale. It was increasingly hard to do since one of the three didn't want to be here and the other was getting more frustrated each second. Ghoulia sighed to herself. Being the mediator was a tough, unrewarding job, but at least her friends were happy.
The monsters walked for a few minutes more before they seemed to come to an intersection of hallways. The area had chairs for people to sit in, an end table with outdated magazines, and an empty vending machine. There was also, thankfully, a map hanging on the walls.
"Finally, we can get some directions through this horrid place! Come on Clawdeen." Ordered Cleo, walking towards the map hurriedly. Clawdeen rolled her eyes at her friend's impatience, but went along, also happy to finally find a map of the place. Ghoulia just stood there awkwardly, looking at the magazines on the table to find something to read. It wasn't looking promising before she noticed another addition to the waiting area.
There was an aquarium, not big enough to hold that many fish. However, it still looked very colorful and pretty compared to the rest of the surroundings, so it caught her eyes instantly. She moved towards it, mentally cataloguing the fish she could currently see, before noticing somebody was already standing close to it. It was an extremely tall guy who wore a brown trench coat. He was facing towards the tank, so she couldn't see his face.
Ghoulia decided to keep moving towards the tank, despite the guy being there. She moved a bit slower than she normally did already, but made it to the tank right, standing next to the stranger. There was a lot more fish in the tank than she expected. She couldn't help but fawn over the varieties of fish she saw in there. She thought about how Lagoona would talk fondly about the creatures of the sea and how she missed her home sometimes. Ghoulia was always fascinated to hear what was in the deepest parts of the ocean and all the creatures that lived there. She looked briefly at her the guy standing next to her, wondering if he was thinking something similar.
She could actually see his face now. He was obviously a Normie, albeit a tall and strange looking one, having short orange hair and brown eyes. For such an imposing looking guy, he had a look of childish wonder on his face. He almost had his face against the glass, looking at each fish that crossed his vision very carefully. He had a big, dopey smile on his face while he did it. For some reason, this prompted Ghoulia to speak up.
"Hey, did you know that there are almost 250,000 species of fish in the sea?" Ghoulia said, before standing up ramrod straight, realizing what she just did. She looked at the fish tank, thanking the fact that she couldn't really blush thanks to her undead status. "Why the heck did I do that?" she asked herself, panicking ever so slightly. She didn't know why she just openly talked to a Normie that probably couldn't understand a word she just said. She always tended to forget that not everyone understood her since she was a zombie. And who in their right mind started a conversation like that!? She really hoped he wouldn't-
"Really? That's so cool! How many do you think are in this tank?"
-somehow completely understand every word she just said. Ghoulia had to look back at the Normie, who was still looking into the fish tank. "I think about twenty-four different kinds. Not that I'm… Not to insult you or anything, but did you actually understand what I said?" she couldn't help but say back. This was new. A human that could understand zombie without a translator was a rare thing and she'd personally never met one that put in the effort to understand her.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" the guy in the trench coat said, turning to her this time. He didn't look offended, thankfully, just a bit confused. She noticed his eyes widen a second, before getting an excited look on his face. "Wait, are you a zombie? Awesome, I've never met a monster before!" She could have sworn he was bouncing on the balls of his feet before he extended an arm. "Hi, I'm Ed! I'm from Peach Creek, who are you?" Ed said, looking surprisingly happy for a Normie that just met a monster.
Ghoulia hesitantly extended hers, head tilted to the side in confusion. That was not the reaction she expected to get, but she guessed it was better to not look a gift nightmare in the mouth. She moved her hand to reach his, saying "It's nice to meet you Ed. I'm Ghoulia Yelps from New Salem." She almost regretted it as he apparently liked to shake hands hard.
"Great to meet you! I actually came here with some friends of mine, but I kinda got lost. I decided to stay over here and read some comic books." Ed said, waving a comic book, which was called The Curse of Evil Tim. She couldn't help but smile a bit at that, adjusting her glasses after the energetic handshake. She never heard of that one before. "Me and my friends are in the same boat. Thought I could find something to read here." She showed her Deadfast comic. "Ever heard of this one? It's about a zombie that can run at supersonic speeds."
Ed smile seemed to get even wider, if that was possible. "Never heard of it, but sounds cool. Mines about this one guy that…"
Ed and Ghoulia walked to a couple of seats near the aquarium, talking about their comic books in detail. Meanwhile, Cleo and Clawdeen were still trying to figure out where to go next.
"Are we even on the right floor? This doesn't even look remotely like the way we came." Groaned Clawdeen, exasperated by the "simple" directions. "We should have brought Manny Taur here, he's always been frightfully good with those maze puzzles." Cleo said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "How can Normies complain about how monster architecture is complicated when they make every hallway nearly identical in every way." Cleo complained some more to herself, before turning to her friend once more. "Maybe this is a sign that we shouldn't have come here. If we can't even make it there on time, why show up at all?"
"Oh no, you are not getting out of this. I've come too far to get you here, I'm not giving up now." Clawdeen said with an authoritative voice. She rubbed her eyes a bit, doing her best to look at the map. Her vision was blurry, she had to squint as she couldn't see the map all that well. Cleo noticed, a look of concern crossing her face. "Are you sure you're all right? I know that your mothers been in the hospital with the baby, but are you sure you don't want to rest?"
Clawdeen rolled her eyes again, putting on a tired smile. "I'll rest when we get this over with, okay? I just need to get this done first." Cleo didn't really believe that, but she couldn't really say anything else. Clawdeen was always the stubborn one in the group. Cleo sighed, deciding to relent. "Alright, we should see how Ghoulia feels then." She turned around, looking for her fellow undead friend. "Ghoulia, we were about to- wait a minute."
Clawdeen heard the interruption, turning around quickly to make sure some new disaster didn't happen on her watch. "God knows she wanted something else to happen," she thought to herself sarcastically.
…Wait a minute. Nothing's happening. Something seems to be going right for once, actually.
All she saw was Ghoulia talking to a Normie. She looked like she was enjoying herself too, not just trying to make awkward small talk. She could see them pointing at a comic book, having a good time too. She couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride for her friend. The shyest person in the group somehow made a friend before the others.
Cleo looked back at Clawdeen, apparently extremely bewildered by this. Clawdeen just shrugged, communicating one thing.
Don't ever underestimate Ghoulia.
Clawdeen decided to walk over and check on how things were going. As she walked over, she couldn't help but overhear part of the conversation between the two.
"So, they just rebooted this series again? That doesn't sound good. A few of the comics I've read have been rebooted three times over the past five years and now nothing looks the same anymore." "Yeah, it came out of nowhere! The sorcerers were about to defeat Evil Tim, but then he did the 'reboot' spell and now it's totally different. The arts cool, but everything else got worse." "Yeah, they did something similar with Deadfast. He and some other superheroes just had their comics rebooted and now a lot of important characters are gone. They've been trying to get gritty too, but it really isn't working, it all just sounds whiny."
...Yeah, she was going to just assume it was going well. "Hey Ghoulia, me and Cleo are still trying to find out where were going. We're out of ideas. Wanted to ask who your new friend was."
Ghoulia jumped a bit at Clawdeens sudden appearance. She hadn't noticed her walk over since she was talking to Ed. She smiled, embarrassed, but spoke up. "Oh, uh, hey. I was just talking about comics with Ed here." Ed looked up and smiled largely at Clawdeen, who waved at her excitedly. "Hi! It's nice to meet you." He grabbed Clawdeens hand and gave her a handshake, which almost launched her off her feet at how strong it was. He kept on shaking her hand while he talked. "Are you a werewolf? Didn't think I'd get to meet two monsters in one night. What's it like in New Salem? I heard there was a school full of monsters. What's it like going to a school full of monsters?" "Ni-nice to m-meet you t-two big guy." Clawdeen struggled to saw, who was struggling with dealing with Ed's strength. She was starting to wish her arm would come off like Frankie's does, it would be useful right about now.
Ed thankfully stopped, leaving Clawdeen disheveled afterword. After taking a minute to catch her breath, she quickly straightened out her look. She quickly decided to get control of the conversation before he started again. "So, uh, it's nice to meet you Ed! Glad to see you've made friends with Ghoulia." She said quickly, making sure to stem the flow of question that seemed to pour out of the guys mouth. "Yeah, she's really cool! Not a lot of people want to talk about my comic books." He said honestly, still having a dopey look on his face.
Clawdeen nodded a bit, happy to hear that. Surprisingly nice to hear a Normie talk to monsters like it wasn't that big of a deal. "Yeah, really sorry to interrupt you two on that, but we have this thing we're going to be late for. Is it all right we get her back for a little bit, so we can find out where to go?" She asked nicely. Ed nodded, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sure. Uh, I'm actually just as lost as you are. I was going to some group thing with a couple of friends of mine, but I kinda lost them and don't know the room number. Maybe I could help?" he asked, ironically giving the werewolf puppy dog eyes as he asked.
Clawdeen just chuckled a bit. She figured it wouldn't hurt to have some help, even if this guy seemed to be a bit absentminded. He reminded her of her little brothers in a weird way too. "Why not? We're making no progress right now. You know where room B413 is? We haven't found zilch."
"Oh yeah, I walked past it over there." He said, pointing down a hallway that they hadn't traveled down yet. "Had to take a left somewhere. Would it be all right if I helped you there?" Clawdeen was beyond relieved to hear that, relaxing a bit. "We'd appreciate it. You have no idea how happy you just made me."
"Glad to help!" Ed said, beginning to practically skip down the hallway. The werewolf decided to move into third gear, but not before turning to Cleo smirking. "How's that for a sign?" She caught up to Ed, grabbing Ghoulia with her and continuing to talk with Ed. "Before I forget, I'm Clawdeen. The mummy gaping like a fish is Cleo."
Cleo just stood there, still a bit surprised and honestly a bit peeved. She stared in the direction her friends had gone before finally speaking up since she saw the human talking to her best ghoulfriend.
"Is no one questioning how a Normie can speak zombie except me?"
Double D shivered a bit, but didn't understand why. All he knew that somehow, somewhere, Ed just did something that couldn't be explained.
"Ed, where are you?! Seriously man this ain't funny! If you don't show I'm hiding all your comic books again like Double D did during our midterms. Don't think I won't do it Lumpy!" Eddy shouted, looking every which way for his giant of a friend. Double D and Eddy had been looking for him for about ten minutes now and frankly, Double D was at his wits end. How could someone Eds size somehow just disappear?
"Ed, please come on, please show up! We need to get going! Curses, if only we could afford cell phones." Double D said, saying the last part under his breath. "Why does he always run off like this like he's in his own little world. Eddy, do you have any idea where he could have gone?" "If I had any idea, do you think we would be standing here right about now?" Eddy snapped at him. This annoyed him just as much, he just wanted to get this over with. Ed running was really slowing them down. Eddy looked around him some more, sighing in irritation. "Look, maybe we should split up, we'll cover more ground. We'll meet here in five minutes if we can't find him."
Double D wasn't so sure about that. "Splitting up is not the best option here Eddy. If we both get lost, then we'll all miss the group function. This would be a total loss." "Not a loss to me." Eddy whispered under his breath. "What was that Eddy?" Double D asked, putting his hands on his hips. "Nothing." Defensively said the shortest Ed, looking like a child who talked back to their parents. "I'm just saying that standing here and shouting for Ed isn't going to help anything. We should go out and look for him and hope we get to him faster." Double D sighed, crossing his arms. He still didn't like it, but Eddy made a logical point, which was rare within itself. "Alright, but you better appear here in five minutes." "I swear on my honor as an Urban Ranger." Eddy said, giving the L-shaped salute. "Eddy, you never were an Urban Ranger, remember." Double D said, exasperated. "Hey, we would have made it in if Rolf wasn't such a spoilsport." Double D raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Alright, I promise. I said I'd give this a shot already, so I wouldn't just leave. Jeez." Eddy said, throwing up his arms and turning around so he could go find Ed.
The smartest Ed boy sighed again, but decided to take that as confirmation. It seemed only nagging Eddy half to death was the only way to strongarm Eddy to do something willingly. He turned around as well to head in the opposite direction, looking at his watch. He might as well count how long it would take for things to get even worse.
Three seconds later, he heard a thump, Eddy's loud yelp, and shout of surprise from a girl. That had to world record if he had to say. Double D turned around almost lightning fast, already preparing apologies and excuses to make for Eddy, and hoping against hope that he wouldn't have to do extensive damage control.
Thankfully, it didn't look like a huge problem. Eddy just ran into a blonde girl (looks like he wasn't stalling earlier about the ballgown girl) and both were sitting on the floor, rubbing their heads. He already knew the pattern and what was going to happen next, he'd seen it a million times before. Eddy will run into someone, that person is dazed from the impact. They'll both get up slightly dazed, Eddy stumbling around. He would stand up, shake his head back and forth. He'd get that angry look on his face, scrunched up and with a deadly glare. He opens his mouth, saying "Hey, would ya watch where your goi-."
"Eddy, remember your temper." Double D said, coming in when he knew he was needed. He knew Eddy like book and it made it easier to avoid unneeded conflict. Eddy jumped a bit at the sudden intrusion, but got quiet when he noticed when it was Edd. He could already feel the lecture coming on.
"We don't need to make anymore enemies here. Apologize now." Ordered Edd, leaving little room for argument. Eddy wasn't good at noticing hints like that, however. "Why should I apologize?! I didn't do anything." "I'm not saying you did anything wrong, all I'm saying that apologizing is more polite than creating confrontation where there is none." Sternly replied Eddward. Eddy growled at him, but decided not to argue. He was tired of arguing today and they had places to be.
"Fine, fine." Eddy relented, deciding to drop it. He turned back to the girl he had run into, giving her a once over before putting out his hand. She seemed okay so this probably wouldn't take long. "Sorry, or whatever, for funning into ya. Was kinda in a hurry. You okay?" Eddy said, trying to be brief about this. She seemed dazed, but she responded quickly. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." She took his hand daintily, surprisingly polite for someone who had the wind knocked out of her. Eddy pulled her up quickly, causing her to yelp at the sudden roughness. When she was on her feet, Eddy took his hand back from her, trying to end this as soon as possible. "Good, now if you'll excuse us-"
"Hey Apple, are you okay?" A raven-haired girl inquired, rushing bit to blonde with a pink haired girl (he couldn't make this up if he tried) in tow. Eddy groaned to himself. Great, she brought her friends. He had a feeling he wasn't getting out of this anytime soon.
"Oh, I'm all right Raven. I just had a bit of a collision." 'Apple' said to what he guessed was her friend. "Seriously, who named their kid Apple?" Eddy asked Double D in a whisper, weirded out by this revelation. All he got was an elbow in the stomach and a quiet shush as a response. Raven stopped when she got to Apple, still checking over a friend in worry. "Looked like a pretty bad spill, and trust me, I've seen plenty of those." The pink haired girl said, throwing her two cents in. Something within Eddy told him that was a pun, but he didn't know why.
Thankfully, Eddward found this a good time to speak up. "We do apologize about the collision, my colleague here was trying to find a friend of ours. Unfortunately, he seemed to find yours instead." Double D apologized, being as polite as he possibly could. Eddy had to groan to himself. Here Sockhead goes again, being as nerdy as possible while barely trying to hide it.
Raven and the pink haired girl seemed to finally notice them after Double D spoke up. "It's okay, if Apple says she's fine, then everything's good." She replied, waving her hand as if to brush off what happened. "Sorry for interrupting your search," Apple interjected, "We're not from around here, so we were wandering around to get our bearings. I hope your friend is all right. Do you need help looking for them?" The red princess figured helping these two find their friend would be a step in the right direction in getting to know people on this side of the Gate. She felt guilty for running into them anyway.
"Yeah, he's about yay big, orange hair, probably doing something weird that draws attention to himself." Eddy said, standing on the tips of his toes, reaching his hand up high show how tall Ed was. "Sorry, haven't seen someone like that." Raven said, shaking her head. The pink hair and Apple sook their head no too. Eddy groaned again. This was a waste of time, they should just get going. "Come on Sockhead, we should go. If we don't find him soon, we're going to miss that group thing." Eddy said, turning around, and starting to walk away from this insanity before getting stopped again.
"Group thing? You wouldn't happen to be going to room B413 right?" Apple inquired. "Yes, actually. We were heading there when our friend disappeared on us. Why do you ask?" Double D said in surprise. "That's where we're going." Raven said, waving around a pamphlet she had gotten from the front desk. "Glad to see we aren't the only ones going. Do you need help getting there? I was able to grab a map and it looks like you guys are lost. Maybe your friend is already at the room." Eddy was about to refuse out of pride, but Double D seemed to beat him to the punch.
"Stranger things have happened. That sound wonderful. May I ask for your names, since we'll all be working together soon? We'd be glad to show you around if need be." Double D asked, who was relieved to find someone that knew where to go. The pink girl jumped forward, grabbing Double D and Eddy's hands, and shaking them energetically. "Good to meet you then! I'm Maddie, this is Raven, my best friend. And I believe that you've already met Apple." Eddy blushed in embarrassment at that last part. He was never going to live that down, would he? Double D, finally wrestling his hand away from the girl's grip, said "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Eddward, but everyone calls me Double D. And my friend here is called Eddy." Eddy waved hello to them lazily when Eddward brought him up. He wasn't sure to feel about these three. They said they weren't from around here, but where the heck could they possibly come from?
"It's nice to meet you both. I hope this will be the start of an excellent friendship." Apple said cheerfully. She wasn't entirely sure how to feel about these two just yet, honestly. The one wearing red seemed friendly enough, but she had her misgivings about his companion. He looked like he didn't want to be here at all, much less talking to them. Hopefully she would get along with him, but she had the feeling it wouldn't be so easy.
"We should probably get going, we don't want to be late." Raven said, heading towards a flight of stairs. This spurred the group to actually start moving. Maddie skipped by Ravens side, Apple catching up to them as quickly as she could. When they were far enough away, Apple whispered something in Ravens ear.
"Are you sure we should be bringing them with us? We just met them and don't know what they're like." Raven rolled her eyes at her friend's paranoia. "Apple, I'm sure they're okay. I mean, the short guy seems like he needs an attitude adjustment, but Double D seemed polite. Besides, I have magic. If they try anything weird, giving a little demonstration will scare them off." Apple still didn't look too sure, but decided to go along with it. She had to trust her friend on this one, Raven did tend to be a excellent judge of character.
Eddy and Eddward stood in the same spot for a few minutes, before they decided to follow the three girls. Eddy still tried to complain one last time though. "Are we seriously going to follow people who decide to dress up for group therapy like they're going to a ball? That really isn't normal. Makes me feel a little underdressed, honestly." Eddy griped, smoothing out his clothes, feeling a bit insecure. "Not all of us can be made by Mattel, Eddy. Besides, who are we to talk about normality." Double D said, speeding up to join the girls. Eddy rolled his eyes, but smiled as he did the same.
It wasn't like Double D didn't have a point.
I feel like I rushed it at the end, but I'm overall glad with this so far. First session is next chapter, I'm just starting it off slow before getting to the full meat of the story. I hope you all like it so far and hope you continue reading in the future.