Chapter 7

It was a brand-new morning in the great city of Los Angeles, and the Eds, Noodle, and 2D only had one thing on their mind: shopping spree!

The night before, after dismissing the topic of what Murdoc was going to do in response to the "El Manana" incident, the gang decided that despite everything, it was still Spring Break, and they were going to make the best of it.

And since the Eds now had five hundred dollars to their name, along with two rock stars, there was no issue with money. At least…none that Eddy could see.

And that's how the group found themselves at the nearest mall, with endless possibilities.

Of course, at the moment, Eddy didn't exactly have as many possibilities as the others.

Ed and 2D were ecstatic when they found out they had a mutual taste for anything horror movie-related, and had run off to the nearest classic movie store to satisfy their needs.

Double D, who was deemed the most responsible for handling the money, had gone off to the nearest "nerd section," as Eddy had so delicately put it.

Which left Eddy and Noodle by themselves to spend their money. Or, maybe…it was Noodle who was going to spend all the money, since she was holding onto it.

That was Double D's doing, too. He had assigned the most responsible person in each group to hold onto their share of the money. It was unanimously decided that Double D could look after his own money, but it was a difficult decision when it came to 2D and Ed. It was finally decided that 2D would hold onto the money…and Ed would remind 2D that he was holding onto the money.

However, Eddy thought Double D was at fault for having Noodle hold onto the money in his group. Just because he had a few mishaps involving money in the past, that made him unfit to hold onto a few hundred dollars?

And even worse…Noodle wanted to shop for clothes.

Now, normally, Eddy wouldn't have been so upset; he liked shopping for clothes to a certain extent. But even though she wasn't like most of them…Noodle was still a girl. If Eddy had learned anything from his brother, it was this: girls would take forever shopping. Especially for clothes.

"I just want to try on a few outfits," Noodle told Eddy. "I promise you, I won't take forever."

That was another warning sign Eddy had learned, courtesy of his brother.

This was going to be interesting.

But hey, Noodle was still Eddy's friend, and she was someone interesting to talk to. It couldn't be that bad, right?

Right?

As Eddy sat, waiting for Noodle, he supposed the current situation could be worse; there were a lot of nice-looking clothes for boys in the store. And he figured that if he were ever going to find someone of the opposite sex that was interested in him, he'd have to have some attractive-looking attire.

Maybe Noodle could help him…

"Eddy?"

Eddy snapped to attention in the chair he was sitting in; he was currently waiting outside the dressing room while Noodle was trying on outfits.

"Wh-what?" he muttered.

"I said, does this outfit look good on me?" Noodle asked.

"Oh, uh…sorry…" Eddy muttered, rubbing his eyes. But when he opened them again, he suddenly snapped to attention.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Noodle was wearing a pair of what could be considered the perfect jeans for her, along with a dark purple tank top covered by a white denim jacket. For some reason, the entire outfit seemed to accentuate a natural beauty of Noodle's that Eddy hadn't noticed before.

She looked…well, nice.

Eddy literally almost said, "Who are you, and what did you do with Noodle?"

But instead, he struggled to find his voice, and was finally able to choke out, "It's…it's perfect."

Noodle smiled. "You always seem to know what to say, Eddy," she said. "You're much more fun to shop with than the rest of the band. They don't know anything about clothes." She turned to walk back into the dressing room, when she turned her head back to Eddy. "I'm sorry; did you want to look for something?"

Eddy, still trying to snap out of his daze, nodded numbly.

"Okay," Noodle replied. "You can go on ahead, then; I'll try to maintain a low profile." (This was also Double D's doing: he thought it was wise for Noodle and 2D to not draw attention to themselves).

"Uh…yeah…" Eddy finally stood up and began walking away from the dressing room. He began to walk over to the men's shirts, his mind racing. One minute, he was just hanging out with Noodle like he would with Double D or Ed; it wasn't a big deal. Now, his whole body felt hot, and he couldn't get the image of the guitarist out of his head.

What was going on?

--

Eddy still felt funny when he and Noodle were finally done clothes shopping. They were supposed to meet the others around noon near the food court. But that was the last thing on Eddy's mind at the moment; he was racking his brain, trying to find any sort of explanation as to why he suddenly had these feelings for Noodle.

Suffice to say, he couldn't find one.

When Eddy and Noodle finally found Double D, Ed, and 2D, Ed seemed to notice his friend's discomfort.

"Eddy, you don't look so good," said the eyebrow-clad boy. "Do you have to go to the bathroom?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on Eddy.

Eddy looked around. "Uh…yeah!" he suddenly blurted out. "I guess all the excitement caught up to me. I'll be right back." He turned toward the restrooms near the food court.

"Eddy, would you like us to get something for you?" Double D called to him.

"No, that's okay," Eddy called back. With that, he continued toward the bathroom.

As soon as he was alone, he immediately went to the sink and splashed cold water onto his face. He had never experienced feelings like this before; not even with a beauty like Nazz back in Peach Creek, and especially not with a girl like one of the Kanker sisters. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. He needed an expert opinion.

When they got back to the hotel, he would be calling his brother.

--

Later that day, as the sun was beginning to set, everyone was back at the hotel, playing with their new toys. Ed had traveled over to 2D's room so they could watch the new movies they got (Ed was also interested in an item of 2D's called a cricket bat). Noodle was putting all her new clothes in her room.

Meanwhile, Eddy and Double D were in their room, not doing anything in particular. Double D was deciding which one of his new books he would read first. Meanwhile, Eddy had obtained something from the trunk of Hoon: it was a notebook his brother had suggested he bring in case anything "interesting" happened on the trip. He wasn't exactly looking at the notebook as he was scribbling on it; his mind was still stuck on Noodle.

However, when he finally looked at the notebook page, he was shocked at what he found: he had unintentionally written Noodle's name repeatedly all over the page.

Starting, Eddy quietly growled in frustration, ripped the page out, crumpled it up, and aimed for the trashcan. However, unbeknownst to him, the wadded-up paper didn't make it into the trashcan, but landed on the floor near it…

The sudden noise caused Double D to look up and at his friend. "Is something wrong, Eddy?" he asked.

Eddy looked up, too. "Uh…of course not," he said. "I…just remembered, I forgot something in Hoon."

Luckily, the room the Eds were staying in had a door that led to outside. Eddy made a beeline for that door, pulling out his cell phone. Now was the time to call his brother.

However, just as Eddy was exiting the building, two other individuals were entering it. And they had come from a slightly marred Winnebago…

--

Meanwhile, Ed and 2D were getting comfortable in 2D's hotel room, so they could watch their movie.

"Let's see…" 2D looked around the room. "TV, pillows, perfect viewing distance…we forgettin' anyfing, mate?"

Ed was staring at the TV, when a dim bulb suddenly lit up in his head. "SNACKS, PLEASE!" he blurted out.

"Oh, yeah!" said 2D. "Can't have a zombie movie without snacks, right? Maybe they got some in the lobby."

2D then headed toward the door, followed by Ed. They really wanted those snacks. The whole movie would be ruined if they didn't!

However, when they got to the lobby, they got a different surprise. They were just about to find their snacks, when…

"What do you mean I can't bring my own beer into the hotel?" a gravelly British voice barked near the front desk.

"I'm s-sorry, sir," the hotel clerk was stammering. "It-it's just not permitted…"

"Come on, man," a deeper voice rumbled. "We don't want to make a scene here."

2D froze.

"What's wrong, zombie guy?" asked Ed.

"I know those voices…" 2D mumbled. He then ran toward the front desk.

"So…does that mean you want the salty popcorn?" asked Ed, running after 2D.

2D and Ed stopped at the front desk. And 2D couldn't believe who was there.

"Russel?" 2D asked between gasps. "Murdoc?"

The African-American man and dirty-looking British man turned their attention away from the clerk manning the front desk and stared back at 2D and Ed.

"Hey, it's those other guys!" said Ed, pointing at Murdoc and Russel. "Uh…where did I see them again?"

Murdoc broke the ice by causing a lazy, yet malicious smirk to appear on his face, his mismatched eyes locked on 2D.

"Hey, faceache. You miss me?"