Hello, and welcome back to Mental Edness! I was a bit unhappy with this chapter, which is probably why it feels so short. Please let me know what you think! Special thanks for reviewing Chapter 6 goes to: sergeant peace, BartWLewis, Buffnerd98, and an unnamed guest! Thank you! You guys rock! Anyways, onwards!

Mental Edness

Chapter 7

The gap-toothed teen was outside of the Kanker's door, yet again, for the second day in a row. Though the previous day was amazing, he was still anxious about walking into the lion's den, so to speak. 'I'm not sure I'll ever be used to this.' Edd thought as he knocked softly exactly three times. The door opened, revealing a very annoyed looking Lee Kanker standing there with her arms crossed.

"Whadd'ya want?" She asked in a flat tone.

Double D tried to put on a smile as he looked up at her, even though the redhead terrified him the most. "G-good morning, Lee! I apologize for the intrusion, but I would like to ask your sister to accompany me to the cafeteria for breakfast."

Lee stood quiet for a second, and Edd didn't look away for once. He appeared to be getting braver. "Well, look who finally got some stones!" she said as she smiled towards the skinny boy.

"Thanks...? Does this mean I can see Marie now?"

"No."

The boy's puzzled face said it all. "Why not?"

Lee leaned down close enough that the hat-wearing boy leaned back a little reflexively. "Let me tell you a secret about women. They don't just wake up looking this good." She gestured to herself as she continued, "So Marie's getting ready. Feel free to wait in the hall." And with that, the door was slammed in front of him.

A short while later, his ears perked up at the sound of the door opening. He jumped to his feet from his prone position in the floor of the hallway. Edd's eyes traveled up the new figure who stepped out, and a grin formed on his face automatically as he took in the sight of his girlfriend. 'My girlfriend!' he giddily thought to himself. She stood with her back against the door, blue hair cascading over her bad eye, and her freckled face had a lazy grin on it. Her skinny, pale arms were crossed over each other, and one foot was resting against the door.

"Hey Dreamboat." Her warm voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hello Marie! I must say you look lovely this morning!" he beamed as he approached her.

"Thanks, baby." She said as she grabbed him and roughly pulled him in for a kiss. The magical moment was over much too quickly for the genius boy, and he was left wanting more as she pulled back. "Now, Lee was saying you wanted to ask me something?"

Double D shook his head, to get him out of the daze he was left in. "Oh, umm, yes. Of course. I was wanting to inquire as to whether you'd let me escort you to breakfast?"

"Of course, Muffin!" The Bluenette intertwined hands with her boyfriend, and they took off down the hallway hand-in-hand, as a couple.

Maybe he could get used to this after all.

Kevin was the star of the evening, (and by extension Nazz was too) as the residents had had a small going-away party for him in the rec room at Double D's thoughtful input. No one could remember anyone actually leaving the institution! People were eager to meet and send off the teen. Eddy would have wanted to do something for his oldest friend, but was still bitter about things and lost in his own troubles. Ed had been the messenger for everyone, happy to run around with an important mission to do.

Kevin was watching the people filing in to congratulate him, and leaned towards his girlfriend. "Babe, check it out. Double Dork actually got a date for this party!"

The blonde looked up from her conversation with the "Son of a shepherd" and felt her smile deflate a little when she saw the two walk in. Instead of slowly walking in together, it seemed that poor Double D was struggling to keep up with his new beau. Both teens looked to be happy though.

The Red Hat Wearing Boy studied the new couple, as they approached.

"Greetings Kevin! Nazz!"

The blonde girl was the first to speak. "Aww Double D! Good for you!" She said as she gave him a quick hug.

Double D was a bit puzzled at her choice of words, but smiled anyways. "Thank you! I'm sure you know Marie." He said as he gestured to his girlfriend.

Truth be told, Nazz had never interacted with any of the Kanker sisters before. She had seen the bullying and torment they had inflicted on others in the institution, with no punishment enacted. They had always seemed like trailer trash, to be perfectly frank. She pushed her thoughts aside, and stuck out a hand in greeting. "Uhh... yeah!"

Marie had caught on to the blonde's subtle insult, and had noticed the look in her eyes when she spoke. Like she wasn't worth the time of day. Clasping Nazz's hand, the Bluenette cranked down hard as she pulled the girl into a hug. Marie had a grip like a vise. Tears sprang into her eyes as they closed the distance. "You got a problem with me, Blondie?" Marie whispered in Nazz's ear. She looked over to see her boyfriend mutter out "Nice!" give Edd a high-five. It felt like all of her fingers were breaking. As soon as it had started, the moment was over. Marie was back clutching onto her boyfriend, still smiling. Though her hand was throbbing, she forced a smile on her face.

"Why Nazz, are you alright?" Edd asked with concern for his friend.

"I'm... I'm fine. I'm just so... happy. You have a lovely girlfriend." She choked out.

"Why thank you! She is quite special!" he beamed.

Eddy had pretended he didn't see his best friend, and instead hung around Kevin, Nazz, and Ed mainly. After most of the farewells had been said, most people returned to their regularly scheduled lives. Nazz had already walked out, leaving her boyfriend and the shorter boy to converse.

"So you're really out of here, man?" Eddy asked the teen.

"You know it! Me and Nazz are going to make up for lost time!" Kevin replied.

"Well, if I ever get out of here, it'd be nice to hang out with the both of you again without being in this looney bin! Speaking of which, how hard was it to get the Doc to release you?"

"Harder than you would think, bro. He kept talking about me needing to take my medicine here, under "Professional Supervision", he added air quotes, then continued. "It wasn't until Nazz started threatening to call her dad that he finally caved." Eddy knew Nazz's dad, he was a highly paid lawyer who flew all across the country. The Van Bartonschmeer Law Firm was not to be trifled with. That was a very real threat.

"That's messed up, I mean, you're okay now! Why would you still need dumb pills?"

"I don't know, Eddy. Hey, I gotta jet. Nazz is already waiting in the car with her mom. If you ever need anything, get ahold of me."

"Haha, I might take you up on that someday, Shovel-Chin!"

"See you around, Dorky."

Eddy watched the boy with the red hat go out of the large double doors of the entrance, and then turned around. Everyone was already back to their normal lives (well, as normal as their lives could be) He looked over at Double D, hanging on to Marie as if she were a lifeline. She giggled at something he said, and she reached up and whispered in his ear something that caused his face to turn redder than a tomato. Eddy wanted to retch. 'Bleh. They're disgusting.' Although, he'd never admit it out loud, maybe he was just the tiniest bit jealous that his friend was happy, and he was still miserable.

Ed had been mulling over Double D's advice, and had come to a conclusion. If Double D was happy, then maybe he could be too! He was helping clean up and straighten the rec room, when he heard a familiar giggle. Turning around, he saw the youngest Kanker sister had just walked in. She stalked towards him slowly, just like her sister's had taught her to do.

May suddenly broke into a sprint and ran towards Ed as usual, but instead of freaking out (and subsequently running away), he stretched his arms out and caught her in a hug. "Hiya May!" He yelled out with a big grin. The buck-toothed girl was at a loss. Big Ed never acted happy to see her, or even ever called her by her name. Her cheeks flooded with color suddenly. Looking up towards him, she noticed not a vacant stare as was his norm. No, he was actually looking right down at her. Smiling! Suddenly, she felt a bit self-conscious at his gaze, and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, as well as closing her lips over her teeth.

Big Ed leaned in closer to her, and brushed his lips against her ear, and whispered "You know, you're prettier when you smile." If May's cheeks were red before, now it felt like her entire face and ears were on fire. A grin spread upon her face unintentionally. "Ed...?" She squeaked out, her voice unsteady. "Yes, my turtle-dove?" "Are you okay?" "Never better, I love cheddar!" Ed might not have been stupid, but he was still Ed after all.

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