Chapter 7.

She was having the worst day imaginable, and really it had started with earlier that week. After catching her boyfriend of three years sleeping with her roommate, and now ex-best friend, she'd been on the hunt for a new apartment. She was leaving an appointment at a large apartment complex, trying to get out of the large revolving doors, when her coat became stuck and she literally dropped everything in her hands. Papers, files, some books, her purse; everything hit the ground in between the doors. She scrambled to get them with people pushing her out and into the street. Cars honked angrily and a city breeze picked up and began to blow everything away. "No!" she shouted, trying to grab her things. Drat! A bit of her paperwork escaped her, only to be caught by a young man wearing a black beanie. She wanted to cry, just give in the towel when this young man came to her aid.

"Oh goodness," he exclaimed. She caught his face, taking in the details of his expression. Blue eyes, appeared young, gap in the upper teeth, black beanie and very handsome. "Are you alright? Here, let me help you." Who was this young man? A stranger in the city helping another stranger during a time of personal crisis was not unheard of, but it was also not something one witnessed so often. He quickly collected what he could, hands brushing hers as they diligently worked to carry everything. He apologized for the inappropriate touch, to which she shook her head. He turned his back to her to quickly catch another paper that tried to fly away and when he held the collection to her, he was startled to see her crying. "Oh dear, Miss, are you sure you're alright? You're not hurt are you? Oh goodness, oh goodness-!"

"N-No," she cried loudly. "Thank you so much! You're so kind to me!" Edd stammered another quick apology, unsure of why he was doing it. The books and papers in his hands dropped as she threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. He was terribly confused by the entire ordeal and she quickly collected his things along with her own and returned them to proper hands. He started to laugh, having never been in a situation quite like this. He thanked her, his smile quite contagious and before she knew what she was doing, the words fell out of her mouth. "Would you like to go for coffee?"

"I-oh," he almost dropped his things again. They'd managed to move out of the revolving doors way, standing close to it. City sounds echoed loudly around them, and he looked terribly nervous. She shook her head and took his hand, pulling a pen from her bushy head of hair and quickly scribbled her name, phone number and where she'd meet him if he wanted too. He flushed a bit and she thanked him again. He quickly divulged in formalities before she had to excuse herself.

Four o'clock at the Cafe on Second. Eddward had only been in the city that day to go gather information from the local library. It was twice as big as the one back home, and the reference material's he needed for his own personal studies could only be located here. He was running behind and nearly missed bus. Eddy and Ed met him at the station and he greeted them with a gap-toothed smile. Eddy cocked his head to the side and pointed at him.

"Who'd you meet today?" he asked, which made Edd stumble down the steps. Ed caught him carefully with a single laugh and set the skinny genius down on his feet. "Spill it. Something happened today, and you met someone. Who was it?"

"E-Eddy, I don't think this is highly appropriate conversation, especially here in such a public place!" Edd exclaimed. Ed was now interested in the conversation and Double Dee was cornered. "Okay f-fine! I will tell you but not here." Eddy gave him a deadpan stare, but the Ed's would drag him back to Eddy's apartment. "O-ow, not so rough!" Into the house he was forced and onto the couch he was made to sit. Eddy sat near him to get a good look at him while Ed sat next to him with a goofy grin. "I'm being interrogated! Eddy, is this truly necessary?"

"Yes. So spill it."

"It was just a girl," he said, feeling rather embarrassed. "I had noticed her coming out of a large building with a revolving door, and her coat became lodged in the mechanism. She dropped everything, and I was the only one to stop and help." Eddy's eyes narrowed. "S-she asked me out for coffee. She even went as far as to transcribe her name and phone number on my arm- Ah, Eddy! What are you doing?"

"What time do you gotta meet her?"

"F-Four o'clock."

"So half an hour." He was pushing Edd towards the door and picked up a foot and kicked him out the house. "I'll be back later, Lumpy!"

"Okay, Eddy!" said the tallest of the Eds.

"B-But, Eddy-!" Edd exclaimed as he was dragged back onto the bus and the two headed towards the city. It was nearly four when the two arrived at the cafe. Edd looked terrified, his knees shaking a bit, but Eddy refused to leave until this girl showed up. They wouldn't have to wait long, thankfully, and Julia arrived moments later. She looked concerned, afraid she'd perhaps offended someone. Edd couldn't say anything, he was far too nervous.

"So you're Julia?" Eddy asked, staring at the girl with a scowl. Julia noted it was the look of someone who was very protective of their loved one. "So what'd I expect you to be doing with Sockhead here?"

"Sockhead-oh! Oh I get it, oh my God," she laughed, covering her mouth. "No, no. I won't hurt him, and I won't bite him, I swear. Cross my heart." Eddy stared at her, eyeing her up. She held out her hand and he took it with a shake. "Nice to meet you, I'm Julia."

"Eddy," he said. He seemed pretty satisfied with who she was, pat Edd harshly on the back and then left.

"So you have a friend named 'Eddy' and your name is Eddward with two d's?" She grinned, getting them a table and taking a seat. She could see him struggling with inner turmoil. This must be new for him. Going on a date with a random stranger he'd met during a random act of kindness? She watched him stare at the table, blue eyes wide. He looked like he was trying to shrink in on himself, to hide from this awkward situation. She felt terrible and had to find a way to distract him. She snapped her fingers and grabbed the spoon by her coffee. After one slow breath, she carefully balanced the spoon on her nose, which immediately drew the attention of the boy she was on a date with. She laughed as he stared at her, puzzled. "Sorry, but it got you to stop, didn't it?"

The spoon slipped off her nose and clattered against her cup and towards the floor. Her cup spilled and she gasped, trying to escape the spill, and went for the spoon on the floor the exact time that Eddward did. They knocked heads. "Ouch," she hissed, rubbing her head. He mimicked her motion. "Oh dear!" he announced, his hands reaching out for her. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, are you alright?"

She laughed at his worry. "Me? Are you ok? I've always been told I had a hard head." She reached and grasped his head, brushing loose hair back to look at the red bump forming. His hat had shifted and his breath halted. She stopped when she noticed he tensed. "Oh. Sorry. I really need to learn about personal space-"

"N-No, it's... well yes it is that but it's my hat."

"Your hat?" She smiled and pulled it back down just a bit. "Is that better?"

"Yes, th-thank you."

Her smile only grew and cleaned up the mess. "You're welcome, Edd." She brushed her hair back behind her ear and settled in her chair again, setting the dirty spoon down beside her. Edd, having halted after the incident to realize that his heart skipped a beat. "Edd? You alright down there?"

"O-oh yes, excuse me," he said, getting up and sitting at the table. He picked up his coffee and watched her a bit more while she cleaned up the spill on her saucer. She had a freckle under her left eye. He noticed it the first time she laughed, and again just now. Now that she was distracted and not making him anxious, he was able to notice her features. Curly, dark brown hair that framed her face just so. A part of her hair stuck up from the center of her forehead like a cowlick. She had a small mole on her upper lip, and her eyes were dark brown like chocolate. She also had a lot of freckles. He really liked her freckles.

"Okay, so I'm really grateful for you helping me out. See, I've been having a really bad week, and it was only getting worse. I was looking for a new apartment when I got stuck. You're obviously not from the city. City folk tend to not be friendly in the slightest." She was waving her hands then, something she did a lot, Edd noticed. "You really made my day. So what are you doing in the city anyway?"

"I was going to the library. I needed to find some new reference materials for something I'm working on. It's a personal study, you see. Something I just like to dabble in. I'm afraid it's a bit complex to just explain-"

"I probs wouldn't understand anyway," she said with a smile. "Sorry. I mean, if you want to continue, please do so. I just won't understand."

"Ah, at least you're honest," he said, chuckling gently. "I'm afraid my friends usually just let me continue and then insult my intelligence." He made a face. "It seems I let them get away with this quite often."

She snorted a bit. "No, that sounds like friends," she said. "Your best friends tend to insult you more than the ones who pretend to be your friends. That's how they show they love you... until you catch them sleeping with your boyfriend of three years." She puffed out a cheek as Edd choked on his tea. Such intimate information to reveal on a first date! "Oh sorry... You ok? I didn't mean to make you choke. Hang on." She gave him a napkin with a smile to help him. "I've... I've been holding that in for a while. Way too personal. Eesh, I wouldn't blame you for running."

"I wouldn't leave you, no. I may not understand quite a bit of what you went through, however, I can understand the pain of a broken relationship." He nodded slowly.

"Whaaaat? You? I doubt that. You're way too nice." He flushed and she poked his nose with a grin. "I like to read. A lot." He perked up. "I mean, it's mostly fiction, but it's still fun. I used to tell stories to all of my toys when I was little, see? And my mother told me I should grow up to either write books, or be a fairy." She laughed. "I know you can't grow up to be a fairy, but it was her way of telling me to never stop dreaming. And I never really have, and I still tell stories. I write them down now, because all of the good ones I have I want to tell my kids some day. Original stories from mom are usually the best. Funny, charming, sad, scary - who cares so long as they make my kids happy you know?" She really had a lot to say, didn't she? Edd found himself just wanting to keep listening. "I mean, I learned this funny story from a movie my mom used to watch. It was her favorite. So the story goes, 'did you hear the one about the lake up by Charlottestown?'" Edd shook his head then. "Well, it's gone now, but a long time ago, there was this massive lake that was usually home for all of these ducks. Well, one evening, a bunch of ducks landed in the water to rest and suddenly the temperature dropped so fast, that the water froze solid! The ducks were in such a panic, that together they flew to the sky and took the lake with them!" She started to laugh. "I mean, it's not told exactly like that, but it's close enough." Charming. Very, charming. "Oh man, you just let me keep talking. I'm sorry. I talk waaay too much, and I've been told this quite a bit."

"Oh no, I-I... I quite like hearing your stories. I've never heard such fantastic tales. You seem to lead a very interesting life." He smiled. "Is there something you enjoy doing?"

"Dancing," she said gently. "I love dancing. I actually want to go to Juilliard in New York. I've been dancing since I was a little girl, and I'm pretty good at it." He didn't correct her. He couldn't correct her. "So I'm hoping that Julliard will accept me." She scrunched her nose a bit at him. "Stop letting me talk, what about you?"

"You've heard that many times in your life, haven't you?" Her smile fell as he quietly stared at the cup in his hands. "I can understand your anxiety of thinking you never stop talking, the horrible way you feel when someone you admire tells you to 'shut up'." He sighed. "But, I don't think that about you at all. We are complete strangers, and while you've shed light on the adventurous parts of your life, you've stopped when it comes to the true things that make you humble. I want to learn more about you, Ms. Julia.

"And in turn, I will tell you about me." He looked up at her, smiling brightly. She noted the gap in his teeth again. "I've never been the most confident of people, and in fact, I was bullied quite a bit for my intellect and small stature. I've led a simple life with interesting turns and some amusing stories about scams and an old lover." He didn't notice her listening in on every word he said. "But... oh dear, where was I going with this?" He caught her staring. What compelled him to open his mouth and ask her, he never understood. "Ms. Julia? Would you accompany me to dinner tonight?"

She smiled. "I would love to."

Dinner would be at eight, at a small place that Edd knew rather well. His friends helped him get ready for the evening, and Julia met Ed that night. She pointed a finger at each of them. "Ed, Edd and Eddy, huh? You guys sound like a cartoon television show." She laughed. "How often does that happen? Making friends with people of the same name?" Ed stared at her with a big doopy look before point at her and looking at Eddy.

"I like her, Eddy."

"Me too, Lumpy. Take care of our Double Dee."

"Oh I like that nickname. It's cute for someone so smart."

"Yes well," Edd cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed. "Shall we?" It was a nice evening. A bit romantic really. Julia made the night entertaining with her stories and she coaxed many of them out of Edd, who reluctantly informed her of his childhood and the scams he and the other Ed's used to pull. She found them rather hysterical and asked him for more. She learned that night just how much he was picked on as a child, and how he seemed to falter when he mentioned a boy named Kevin. She wasn't stupid, but she wouldn't let him know that.

He took her home, the two chatting a bit more. She had carefully pushed him to talk a bit more about Kevin, concluding in her mind that they had been in a relationship before. She'd invite him in, and he took the offer, looking around her home. She offered him a glass of wine and he took it. This was such a nice evening, he didn't want it to end. One glass, two glasses... three glasses. She took the glass from him. "Okay, I think you've had too much."

"Certainly not," he said, shaking his head a bit sloppily. "I am more than capable of holding my own, and three glasses of wine will do nothing to affect my actions. They do seem to have made me a bit braver in wanting to ask you something."

"What's that?" she asked, sitting next to him.

"May I kiss you?"

She smiled. "If you want too." His kiss was a bit messy, and a bit nervous too, but with some coaxing he managed to hold her close, deepening their kiss. Their kiss grew, then led into quite a bit more, with clothes discarded including the hat, and a young couple letting flames of passion take over. It would be hours later that Edd would realize what he'd done and feel terribly guilty about it. She'd collected his hat as he sat up in her bed, dreading what he'd done. He hadn't even realized his hat was missing. Julia carefully turned his head up and kissed him, pulling his hat on once more. He flushed and she smiled.

"Stay the night," she said, climbing onto his lap and hugging him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed their noses together. "And then tomorrow, we can have breakfast."