Eddwarda huffed as Eddy left her room. "Oh of all the no-good…over dramatic…. Oh, how…immature, how… downright childish…"
And while she was very much angry, and very much upset, she couldn't help but think it was a /tiny/ bit her fault. After all, if she were in Eddy's position…she would have felt a fraction of the same.
But it was her life! She was entitled to her own, personal feelings.
But Eddy… he left so suddenly and he reacted in such a brash way…
And they way he found out? Well, even if they were nothing more than friends, it must have hurt to have her thinking about someone else while she was kissing him.
She clenched her fists at her sides, trying to calm down…but this felt like such a disaster. She was upset at the way that Eddy reacted, she was upset that Eddy found out about her feelings in general, even the way he found out…
She was angry at Kevin for ignoring her, she was angry at her whole persona change, she was angry at the gentlemen who hollered at her at lunch, she was upset at the girls who started this whole mess in the first place.
As more and more thoughts started to enter her mind, more and more tears started to fall down her face. In retrospect, Eddy finding out about her feelings shouldn't have been that big of a deal, and he was bound to find out eventually…but it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back; the ignition that sparked the fire above the large, discarded pile of newspapers that was her life; it was the last and final straw.
So she allowed herself to finally let her frustrations out with the tears that she's been holding back for weeks. She flopped on her bed, grabbing her sweet little cactus in the process for emotional support, and started to cry.
When did her life start to turn sour? Everything was going wonderfully before those girls painted a large target onto her back. What was their game? Were they after Kevin? Surely they knew as well as she did that her former self had absolutely no chance with the cute jock. Why antagonize her further? Or were they simply asserting their dominance by subjecting her to psychological torment? Whatever their angle was, it's succeeded.
"Congratulations, Amber…" she muttered to herself.
She cried for a few more minutes, releasing all of her pent-up emotions that have built up over the past few weeks. She should have done this days ago, she thought. She feels so much better after she cries.
She was taken by surprise when she heard her mobile device buzz on her nightstand. She wasn't expecting a call, but held out hope that it was Eddy calling her to apologize. Eddy? Actually apologize? Oh, that was rich! She grabbed her phone to see who it was, and… the caller ID said it was Kevin! Oh, goodness! It was Kevin! She hurriedly wiped her tears away (as if that would somehow help her to disguise her crying over the phone?) and took a few deep, steadying breaths. Once she decided that she was calm enough, she answered her phone.
"G-Greetings," Oh, her voice was so nasally! Her nose was in dire need of being blown and she sounded so much like a…a dork! Cringing, she continued. "Um, this is Double D speaking."
"Oh, hey, Dara…" Kevin croaked nervously. Thank heavens, it seemed like he didn't notice her voice. "Listen…I wanted to, uh…'pologize, for uh…y-you know? Not really, uh… payin' attention to you an' all. Um…Nat, like… talked to me…and kinda like, talked some sense in to me… haha I was being like, really stupid an' junk…you know? I'm sorry."
Eddwarda grinned. This was a mood lifter. "Oh, apology accepted Kevin," she giggled slightly. "It's much appreciated. If I may ask, what did Nathan tell you?"
"…Were you crying?" Kevin asked.
Curses! "I-irrelevant!" She cried. "I, um…I simply have…allergies! Furthermore, it's rude to answer a question with a question. I believe I asked you first."
"You developed allergies in the span of like, four hours?"
She huffed. "…It happens, I assure you! We are getting off-topic, my allergies are none of your concern. Now, about Nathan—"
"Ugh, come on, Dara…I saw Eddy leave all mad and stuff. Haha, his face was all scrunched up and he was stomping all over the place!" He started laughing, but quickly stopped. "Anyway, I'm coming over."
"P-pardon me?!" she cried. She was a complete mess after her crying spell, she was in no place to entertain her crush. Absolutely not. "That is unnecessary! I am completely fine."
"No you're not, I hear it in your voice. You need some quality Kevin time to make you feel better."
She had to laugh at that one, because he sounded so much like Eddy. "Oh, Kevin," She gigged. "While I—"
"See?" he interrupted. "You're already feeling better and I'm not even there yet. I'll see you in a few minutes!" Click.
She took a sharp intake of breath. She had four, maybe five? minutes before Kevin would be over at her house, and she was a complete disaster! She hurried to her bathroom down the hall, grabbing her makeup in the process. She first blew her nose, cleaned her face, and then started to go through the motions of putting her makeup on—nose to cheek, nose to cheek; eyelid and flip, eyelid and flip—and she had to admit that she was getting better and better at this makeup business.
The nerve of Kevin to invite himself over to her home, though. She was a tad annoyed, but overall she was excited to see him outside of school. Still, she didn't want to reveal that she was crying. She didn't want to answer his inevitable "what happened?" because she didn't have a good answer besides the truth. And honestly, the truth didn't seem so great. "Well, Eddy found out that I had a crush on you! You see, we were making out, and I accidentally moaned your name! Quite hilarious, is it not? Well, he found out that I am in love with you and yes, he angrily stormed out because apparently, a relationship between the both of us is unfathomable. Can you believe that?"
Her phone buzzed again, snapping her out of her thoughts, this time indicating that there was a new text message. She unlocked her phone and opened the new message.
[Nathan: He hasn't shut up about you since lunch! ;) ]
Her eyes widened. She was happy that she was Kevin's topic of conversation for an extended amount of time, but she was worried about what Nathan had told him.
[Eddwarda: What did you talk to him about?]
[Nathan: ;) ]
[Eddwarda: Nathan?]
[Nathan: B-) ]
She sighed; she knew she wasn't going to get much out of him. Eddwarda then realized that she needed to hurry up and get ready because Kevin could be arriving any minute. She looked down at her clothes; should she change them? They were a bit wrinkled and gross from a day at school, so she decided to select a new outfit.
She barely settled upon a new outfit before the doorbell rang. She started to change quickly and in a few seconds she was in a floral crop top and some high-waisted denim shorts. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she raced down the stairs.
Oh, Kevin was here! Kevin was here, at her house, trying to make her feel better! She allowed herself a big smile, and then managed to calm herself down before she opened the door. She didn't want to seem too excited to see him.
"H-hello, Kevin! I appreciate the gesture but as I told you, I was not upset so I am afraid your concern is unjustified." She smiled. "But you're welcome to come join me anyhow." She moved out of the door frame and beckoned Kevin to join her.
"Haha yeah, okay Dara, whatever helps you sleep at night. I know Eddy left here all mad, and when he's mad, you're usually mad too, but whatever, I'll play along for your sake." He winked at her and shot her a smile that went straight through her heart.
Eddwarda pouted and put her hands on her hips. "I told you I wasn't crying." She said. "Also, shoes off, please. Thank you."
"You weren't crying, yeah? Then why is your voice hella raspy?" Kevin replied as he took his shoes off.
"R-raspy?" She repeated. "I beg your pardon!"
"Yeah, raspy, and your eyes are all red, and you just put fresh makeup on. Plus you were all nasally on the phone."
"Oh ho ho! Fantastic deducing, Sherlock."
Kevin shrugged. "Been watching a lot of crime dramas, you know how it goes."
"Sadly," Eddwarda returned the shrug. "It's inaccurate, as every single one of your observations can also be attributed towards my own reasoning; which is that I have allergies."
Kevin crossed his arms, thinking for a minute. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…I guess. Or, you know, you coulda been tokin' up in there."
"Kevin! How dare you!"
"Ahahaha! I'm just kidding, Dara, I swear!"
"So why did Eddy run off in a huff?" Kevin asked. After a few minutes in the living room, they moved up to Eddwarda's room. Double D was sitting at the head of the bed, finishing up her homework, and Kevin was playing on her gaming system at the foot of her bed.
"E-Eddy?" She stuttered. "O-oh, well… we… just got into a heated argument, is all. We have…differing views…when it comes to…certain subjects, if you will." She nodded. "I mean, you know how hot-headed Eddy can be." She chuckled. "You of all people should know as well as I do, how hot-headed he can be."
"Hahaha! Yeah." Kevin laughed and returned to his game. That reason seemed to satisfy him, and Eddwarda breathed a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, Kevin spoke up again. "I don't like how he made you cry, though." Kevin flopped down on the bed so his head was right next to her lap. Oh, she was so glad that her parents weren't home. She looked over to him and scoffed.
"Eddy did not make me cry, we have been over this."
"Come on, Dara. Humor me."
"Humor you?" she laughed. "All right. Providing that I was crying, what made you think that Eddy had anything to do with it?"
"Uhh… because he left all mad and shit?" he threw his arms up. "Come on, Dara. Who else would have upset you?"
"Well, you know how adolescence goes. It's a very complex and troubling time for us. Something as simple as the wrong look or gesture could make us go off."
"So did Eddy look at you with hungry eyes or somethin'?"
"Hungry eyes? Oh heavens, no! He just…didn't like how I… perceived… a certain issue."
"So he did make you cry?"
"Goodness!" Eddwarda exclaimed. "Alright, if it will get you off my case, then yes, I will admit that I cried, just a little. You are ruthless."
"I knew it!" He cried, pumping his fist in the air. "That's the whole reason I wanted to come over, Dara. I can't comfort you if I don't know what's going on. Oh…" he looked over at her. "Are you okay, then? You're not still upset are you?" His eyes widened in worry.
"Oh, um, no…I'm perfectly fine now, thank you." She smiled. "Thank you for your concern. While I don't think Eddy and I are on great terms right now, I feel that he will soon realize the errors of his ways and we can be friends again." She sighed. "I don't like when we're angry at each other."
"Haha, Eddy? Realizing the error of his ways? On his own? Haha you funny, Dara." Eddwarda playfully smacked him and he went back to his game.
They stayed like that for an hour or two, just hanging out and making jokes, and Eddwarda had to admit that she felt so much better about the whole fiasco. It was so nice to spend some time with Kevin, alone. She loved her friends, she loved being at school, but being alone with him was an entirely different, entirely wonderful experience. She hoped that it could have lasted forever.
Unfortunately, her bliss was interrupted when she heard loud, erratic knocks on her door.
"Double D!" she heard a familiar voice yell. "Open up!"
Not now, Eddy! Ohh… They were having such a nice time.
"It's Eddy. " She said to Kevin.
"I figured. Dork has a pretty unique voice. "
Eddwarda shot him a look. "I really wish you would stop calling him a dork." She got up from her bed and started to walk down the hall.
"What? It's affectionate." Kevin replied, following her.
"You've given Eddy an affectionate nickname?" She giggled. "Does he know?" She started to walk down the stairs.
Kevin looked surprised. "N-nah! I mean, its affectionate when I call you a dork. "
"So… You've given me an affectionate nickname, then?" Before Kevin could answer her, he was interrupted by another set of knocks (or, pounds, rather) and Eddwarda scurried to open the door.
"Please be patient, Eddy, as my door should not be the target for your aggressions!" she cried as she opened the door to reveal none other than Eddy. "Now, may I help you?" she asked.
Eddy cleared his throat. "Yeah, uh, I just wanted to, uh, you know, talk, and stuff. "
Kevin emerged behind Eddwarda as he was some type of protective entity. "Beat it, shorty." he said. "She's got plans with me."
Eddy looked up at Kevin and scoffed. "What the heck is Kevin doing here? Oh, I see how it is! Out with the old in with the new, eh? You couldn't wait to get rid of me so you could just hop right on to shovelchin! Real classy, sockhead."
"Eddy!" She cried. "There's no reason to be so rude."
"Yeah, watch it." Kevin said behind her.
"For your own information, Kevin came over on his own accord. He actually apologized for his behavior towards me, Eddy." She crossed her arms.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Scram, boxhead. Double D and I have business to discuss." Eddy crossed his own arms and glared at the taller boy.
"Business? What kind of business? Dude, you left her alone to cry."
Eddwarda's eyes widened and Eddy looked at her with a confused expression. "Cry? What the fuck, sockhead?"
"Kevin!" She replied sharply. "Oh, how embarrassing…" she covered her face with her hands, wishing she had her beanie on so she could hide within its fabric walls.
"Oh, sorry, Dara…" Kevin cringed. "Thought he knew that you…you did that…"
"Why do you call her that? Quit giving her stupid nicknames." Eddy snapped. "Anyway, I was serious. Double D and I have stuff to talk about and I don't want you here!"
"I'm staying, dude. You upset her last time, I don't want her to be upset again 'cause of you."
"Gentlemen, please! There's no need to argue. Kevin, while I am grateful for your concern… I do need to discuss this matter with Eddy… privately."
Kevin sighed, but understood. "Yeah, alright, if you say so." He shrugged and moved past Eddwarda. "S-see you tomorrow."
Double D embraced Kevin. "Thank you for all your help. I am very appreciative." They pulled away, and Eddy made a gagging noise.
"Take a hike!"
"Make me!" Kevin jogged across the street to his own house, waving to Eddwarda once he got to his front door.
"Finally, the third wheel is gone. Let's go inside so we can talk and stuff." Eddy entered the house and took off his shoes and plopped down on the couch.
"What did you need to discuss with me, Eddy?"
Eddy sighed. "I'm not sorry or anything! I just…felt bad about everything, you know? I couldn't stop thinking about the whole thing. I ain't sorry, though! You having a crush on… shovelchin… is weird and it grosses me out. Plus, Kevin hated us when we were younger! How can you just forget about all that?!"
"He was never that bad to me. Besides, people change. You never give people a second chance, Eddy. You initiate most of the disagreements, anyway."
Eddy scoffed. "Whatever. Why did you call him, anyway? Call him and cry about how I'm such a bad friend and whatever?"
Eddwarda gasped. "I never called him! He called me to apologize for his earlier behavior and he decided to come over when he could tell I was upset. I denied that I was crying, but he saw right through me. Oh, I already told you this! Please listen when I am talking to you!"
Eddy grumbled, he wasn't getting anywhere with this. "I don't know, Dee…I just don't know why you did all this," he gestured to her being. "for… that guy. You're better than that."
"Eddy, I've told you before. I did this for myself, not Kevin."
He snorted. "I don't believe you. Why else would you do it if you didn't do it for him?"
"I was tired of the way I dressed, and I already told you, some… girls… didn't really like the way I dressed either. I didn't do this for Kevin."
"You totally did!"
"Eddy! I assure you I did no such thing! This whole ordeal has nothing to do with Kevin!"
"Oh yeah, then what is it? You want more attention from those football scumbags?"
"Never! Eddy, why can't you just believe me?"
"Because this ain't right! This ain't like you, sockhead! I don't know what happened to my best friend!"
Eddwarda gave another deep sigh. She supposed that she should tell Eddy exactly why she went through this whole makeover, and to assure him that no, she did not do it to impress Kevin. None of this was really fair to Eddy or Ed. Best friends don't keep these sorts of secrets from each other.
"I suppose I should tell you the real reason for this whole ordeal, then."
She began at the very start, with the girls making fun of her clothing, then the P.E incident, the altercation in chemistry and at the library and everything in-between. Eddy was a surprisingly patient listener, occasionally butting in his two cents before she continued the story.
Once she was done telling her story, Eddy felt a little better. Now he understood a bit of why Eddwarda did the entire change up. The anger he had come to her house with had dissolved into more of an annoyance.
"I'm still mad that you have a crush on that loser," he said anyway.
"Excuse me?" Eddwarda asked. "Why did you even come over in the first place if you insist upon being irrationally unapologetic?"
Eddy got up from the couch. "Ugh, you just…don't understand, Double D! Whatever, I'll see you later." he said as he walked out the door.
Eddwarda was left sitting there alone, gaping at the door where Eddy had practically stormed out of. Seriously. The nerve of Eddy! First he comes over, yelling his head off until Eddwarda answered the door, completely ruining the actual good time she was having with Kevin, but she explains everything to him because they are best friends and Eddy deserved to know the truth. But even after her story, Eddy still decides to be a jerk and run out? That was so childish and Eddwarda crossed her arms as she shook her head.
"I cannot believe him!" With that, she headed up to her room and slammed the door behind her.
She started on her homework, hoping it would get her mind off... well, everything! And it did to a certain extent when she got caught up in solving a few problems for her math homework, but when her phone buzzed to announce a text message, Eddwarda's concentration was immediately cut off. She reached over and grabbed her phone off her pillow.
A message from Eddy.
[Eddy: Do you still want me to give you a ride to school tomorrow?]
Eddwarda rolled her eyes but typed in a reply.
[Eddwarda: It was you that offered, Eddy.]
[Yes or no?!]
Even in text form Eddy was the loudest person ever. Double D sighed and replied with: Yes.
On the car ride to school, everything was quiet between the Eds. Ed attempted to make conversation, but Eddy would only mumble a response and Eddwarda would look out the window and wish she was anywhere else but there. Her only relief was knowing that their school was not such a long drive from home. She would be out of that car in no time. At least when they walked through the halls together, they wouldn't be completely alone in their silence.
As Eddy found a parking spot, Eddwarda grabbed her things, ready to just jump out of the car. The moment Eddy parked, Eddwarda did just that. She immediately spotted Nat and Kevin getting out of Nat's car. She swallowed hard, hoping it would get rid of the nerves building up inside her.
Nat noticed her and waved at her with his usual grin. That caught Kevin's attention and he looked over at her as well. Eddwarda was mid waving back at to Nat when she saw Kevin looking at her, and she smiled at him as confidently as she could manage. Kevin returned the smile, his definitely looking much more meaningful and adorable than hers.
Eddy locked his car and looked up to see the redhead nodding at Eddwarda. Eddy groaned silently and rolled his eyes.
"Gross," he said under his breath.
The three of them headed towards the entrance, slightly behind Nat and Kevin, and Eddy couldn't help but notice how Eddwarda was just watching them.
"Jeez, way to be creepy," Eddy told her.
"What are you talking about?" Double D asked him, genuinely confused.
"You staring at them."
"I was not staring, Eddy. I was merely watching where I was going," she kept on walking while looking at Eddy and didn't realize that Nat and Kevin had stopped right in front of them. When Double D turned around, she gasped when she almost ran right into them. "Oh, dear." She slapped Nat's arm, and Nat frowned. "You really shouldn't do that."
"Says the one who was just talking about watching where she was going," Nat told her as he crossed his arms. "Guess you weren't really watching, then." He winked and she slapped his arm again.
Kevin laughed at that and Double D's eyes widened when she remembered that he was there too.
"Good morning, Kevin," Double D smiled at him. "This is a much more proper greeting than the one I gave you a few minutes ago."
Kevin raised an eyebrow, but smiled. "Yeah, I can agree with that." He even added a wink that made Double D look away because she could feel the blush coming in.
Eddy stared at Kevin with squinted eyes as Ed just smiled and greeted Kevin and Nat. Double D bit down on her lower lip nervously as she looked at Eddy's face expression. Someone certainly didn't seem too happy.
"Eddy-" she began, but Eddy stopped her.
"Oh, what?" Eddy furrowed his eyebrows. "If you got something to do with these two, then don't let Ed and I stop you from... uh..." he stuttered a bit, not really sure where he was going with this. He looked to Ed for help, but then sighed because Ed wasn't even paying attention to him. "Well, don't let... us be in your way... because! Ed and I got stuff to do, too... without you."
Double D blinked. "Eddy, what on earth are you talking about? I have nothing to-"
Nat wrapped his arm around her and said, "Yeah, yeah. Just go off, little one. We'll take care of her."
"Take care?" Double D crossed her arms. "What do you mean-"
"So don't worry," Nat told Eddy.
Eddy glared at Nat, but then looked to Double D for an answer. "Whatever," he shrugged, "because like I said, monobrow and I have something to do without-"
"Yes, I heard you, Eddy," Double D said softly. "You and Ed have something to do... something to do without me."
"And I bet you do, too, so we'll get out of your hair!" Eddy grabbed Ed and they started heading towards the school's entrance.
Double D frowned as she watched them go. She knew it would be weird for Eddy to see her around Kevin, especially now that he knew. She knew this only made Eddy more annoyed at Kevin, but she really wished he wouldn't just walk away from her like that. It wasn't as if she has been planning to leave him and Ed for Nat and Kevin, but now here they were. And Nat still had his arm around her.
Double D took his arm off her and sighed. "Nathan..."
"Hmm?" Nat asked, looking at her like she was something dreamy that Kevin couldn't help but slap him behind the head to get him to stop. Nat cringed and mumbled "Ow," under his breath.
Double D hadn't seen what happened, since she had turned her back to them to start walking, so she went on to ask, "What did you mean when you said you two would 'take care' of me?"
Nat turned to Kevin.
Kevin looked at Nat and raised his eyebrows. "You're the loser who said it, so you answer."
"We meant nothing bad," Nat said as he gently grabbed Double D and squeezed her between him and Kevin as they headed inside the building.
Double D looked at Kevin and felt heat rise to her cheeks when he made eye contact with her. Double D forced herself to look forward instead. Kevin just smiled to himself, before gently shoving her in a playful gesture. Double D fought back a laugh, and instead, she did the same to him. Kevin snickered and looked at Nat when Nat began talking.
"We just," Nat tapped his chin as he tried thinking of an answer. Really, he just wanted to help Double D get more time with Kevin... "We just..." he shrugged. "Yeah, I don't even know what I meant."
Kevin saw a few guys looking in their direction and he immediately knew they were staring at Eddwarda. He glared at them, his nose wrinkled as he narrowed his eyes at them, and they looked away.
"We just want to make sure guys know to back off," Kevin mumbled, almost not wanting anyone to hear him.
Eddwarda and Nat heard him, though, and they looked at him.
Kevin scratched the back of his neck and laughed when he noticed them. "I mean, we're just walking you to class. Don't worry." He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him as he smiled at her.
Eddwarda couldn't help but return the smile, though it was big, and probably cheesy looking, but she couldn't help it when Kevin was acting this way with her.
"That's okay, right?" Kevin asked.
Eddwarda blinked. "W-what?" What exactly was okay? His arm around her? Yes, of course! Or the fact that they were walking her to class? Definitely okay. So she nodded. "Yes, it is."
So Kevin continued to smile as he looked forward.
The three of them continued to walk together, with Nat beginning to tell some story about something that apparently happened to him. Ed and Eddy saw them, since they weren't so far away and practically walking in the same direction.
Eddy huffed. "Look at them!" He gestured towards them. "Sockhead belongs with us! Not them."
Ed blinked a few times and thought about it. "Then why did we walk away from her, Eddy?"
Eddy's expression softened. He didn't know why. He just got annoyed with seeing Kevin and Nat talking to her and ignoring him and Ed.
"I don't know," he shrugged a shoulder, "Double D's all... well she... she acting weird."
Ed looked over at where Double D was walking and shook his head. "I think she's the same," he told Eddy, "she just dresses funny now."
Eddy rolled his eyes. "I meant-" but he stopped himself, because he wasn't sure if Double D wanted Ed to know about her crush on Kevin. And Eddy was sure she didn't even want Eddy to know, but it happened anyway.
Ed smiled at Eddy. "I don't think we should be ditching our friend, Eddy, or she will get tired of us."
And those words sparked an idea to Eddy. Ed was right. Was it worth losing a friend over being annoyed at who she had a crush on? No.
Eddy would still be annoyed, no doubt, but he was also going to make sure to take her back, and keep her away from Kevin and Nat. They apparently wanted to "take care" of Eddwarda. Well, Eddy was going to "take care" of Eddwarda, too. He didn't trust Kevin, and he definitely did not trust him with Eddwarda's feelings.
