Fun Fact: IT'S THE DANCE CHAPTER! YAY! AND IT'S A LONG ONE! DOUBLE YAY! NOW YOU KNOW WHY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A WHILE! DON'T WORRY, THIS CHAPTER IS NOT THE LAST ONE, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ONE. ALSO! IF YOU WANT TO SEE REFERENCES OF THE DRESSES THAT THE GIRL'S ARE WEARING CHECK OUT THE LINKS ON MY PROFILE! AND I HAVE OTHER STORIES PLANNED THAT ARE PART OF THIS TIMELINE/AU/THING? I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M STILL SHOUTING!

Anyways...

Enjoy!

The Spring Fling was finally here. It was the end of May and it was the last dance before the school's senior prom. The school took this dance very seriously, that meant that anyone who is anyone would be there. Even all the cul-de-sac were going to be there. Of course, Marie and Edd and Kevin and Nazz were going as couples, but Rolf had actually found a date. It was friend of Nazz, on the cheer-leading squad who had liked him despite his constant talk of farm-life. Everyone was shocked when they found out. Johnny couldn't find a date, so he decided on bringing Plank, which everyone was not surprised to hear.

Marie, Lee, and May were currently in Nazz's room getting ready. Lee and Marie were putting on their make up while Nazz was helping May with her hair, curling iron and hairspray in each of her hands.

"Wow, May, you weren't kidding. Your hair will not curl."

"I told you," May snorted, "My hair is so flat." She let out a sad sigh.

"Well," Nazz said with a smile, trying to cheer her up, "Let me try this cool up-do that I saw. My hair is too short for it anyways."

May looked up and gave Nazz an appreciative smile.

"So, I know Marie is, but are you and Lee excited to see the Eds tonight?"

May's smile faded, "I'm happy to see Ed, but, I've thought about it and," She let out a sigh, "I just wanna be friends with him."

The three other girls looked at her with wide eyes.

May saw this and quickly spoke, "I still like him, but," She looked at Marie, "I think that it might be better to get to know him and take it slow. If he doesn't like me like that, I don't have to waste my time, but I know that I can still at least be his friend."

Lee was the first one to speak, ""Wow, May, that was...very smart of ya."

The other two nodded in agreement. Nazz looked at Lee with a smirk, "What about you, dude? You excited to see Eddy?"

The red headed girl snorted, "That shortie?" She thought for a moment, "Yeah, I guess I'm excited. Maybe I can getta dance out of him. I love seein' him get all flustered, ya know?"

After that, there was pleasant conversation here and there, but mostly the girls were focused on their tasks at hand.

Marie looked in the mirror, examining her work. She went with a subtler look tonight. Her eyeliner was not as heavy, only on the top of her eyelid, and she still had her blue eye-shadow, but it was blended in with some white. Her lips were coated with a light pink color that didn't take too much attention away from her eyes. She didn't do anything really to her hair, only ruffling it only slightly to give it more volume. Being the first one done with hair and makeup, she grabbed her dress and changed in the bathroom connected with Nazz's room. When she came out, she was wearing a short, black, sleeveless dress that stopped above her knees. It had a halter-styled collar and there was a sheer material that was above her chest and around her waist. Marie liked that part of the dress the best because then you could see her lotus tattoo through the fabric.

All of the Kanker's dresses were found at the thrift store in Lemon Brook. Lee's dress was a navy blue vintage dress that made her red hair stand out even more. It was covered in lace and buttons went along the front of it, stopping at the waist. May's dress was a pretty, light pink one. It was short as well, but flared out, like a ballgown, with tulle all around it. Lace covered the top of the dress, above the chest, as well as the small sleeves.

Nazz's dress on the other hand was a two toned, high-low completely sleeveless dress. It was a pastel pink top and the skirt was a mint green color. The back of the dress had four square cutouts that showed off the skin.

When Marie exited the bathroom, Nazz saw her first, "Ohmygosh, Dude. Double D is gonna flip when he sees you."

She tried to hide the blush creeping onto her face and tried to play it cool, "Yeah, my goal is to really make his head spin." She plopped herself onto Nazz's bed, watching the others get ready. As she looked at them, her cool demeanor faded. Her voice went uncharacteristically quiet as she looked down at the soft green comforter, "Do ya really think Double D will like it?"

All three girls turned their heads to look at her. Nazz was the first one to speak up, "You really think he won't?"

"I donno," Marie shrugged, avoiding everyone's stares, "I really like the guy and what if...what if he doesn't like me as much as I like him," She threw her head up in frustration, looking anywhere but their eyes, "I mean, he like likes me now but what if one day, not anytime soon, I don't think, I tell him that I love him, and he just goes for the hills?"

Nazz gave a look to Lee and May before walking over to her bed and sitting next to the blue haired girl. After a moment, she opened her mouth, "You know, Kevin was the first one to say, 'I love you' and I didn't say it back."

Marie looked up at Nazz who now had her own head down.

"You didn't?"

Nazz shook her head, looked at her and smiled, "Nope. I didn't," She shrugged, "He told me, and I knew that I liked him, but I also knew that I didn't love him yet. But, Marie, just because I didn't say 'I love you' right after he did, didn't mean that we broke up because of it. He understood that I needed a little more time and he was there for me and I think that Double D is smart enough to do the same."

Marie gave her a weak smile. She then looked at her sisters, "Thanks guys."

May, her hair still only half done up, beamed at her and Lee smirked, "Come on, Ladies. We have ta finish gettin' ready."

At Ed's house, the Eds, Kevin, and Jimmy were sitting around the living room.

"Man, what's taking them so long? They were supposed to be here like ten minutes ago," Eddy moaned, throwing his head back against the back of the chair.

"Pfft, girls, man. They take forever," Kevin sat on the armrest of the couch, shaking his head.

"I say you and I just get a different ride, Ed. Lee's not even my date, so why bother waiting?"

"Eddy," Edd said in a parental sort of tone, "While you and Ed don't have dates, you both agreed that it would be an exciting night if we were to form a group."

Eddy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, mistakes were made."

Jimmy sat the farthest away from the rest of the guys. While the others were waiting for the girls to get there, he was waiting for Sarah to come downstairs. Once she came down, it was show time. He thought back to how Sarah had explained her revenge plan in detail at lunch those weeks ago...

"So," She started, "Like I said before, you are going to be my 'date'." He hated the way she put air quotes around that word, but he nodded to go on. "I think what we should do is convince Double D to take all of us to the dance, that way we can meet up and I can make my grand entrance. When I could down this is when you start acting like I am the most amazing thing ever and you have to tell me how beautiful I look..."

Cutting him from his thoughts, the front door rang. A 'finally' was heard from Eddy while Ed got up to answer the door.

"Wow," Edd stood up and stared at his girlfriend, "Marie, you...you look absolutely ravishing."

Marie smiled at him, everyone around them greeting and chatting, "You don't look half bad yourself."

He walked the couple steps up to her and reached out to intertwine his fingers with hers. He smiled as he leaned down, kissed her temple and whispered against her skin, "Thank you for accompanying me this evening."

She was thankful that her blush couldn't be seen by the others due to the fact that her face was hidden by his shoulder. When her heart was able to go back to a more normal pace, she looked up and smiled at his face. Her grin turned into a sly one as she reached to straighten his purple tie, "Well, Cutie, thank you for..." She looked up at him and shrugged with a smile, "For everything."

It was a couple minutes later, and Sarah still hadn't come down. Ed had tried to go up and see how she was doing, but he quickly learned not to after he dodged a hair brush flying towards him.

"You two can go," Edd said to Nazz and Kevin, "You have your own ride and we wouldn't want to keep you."

"You sure Double D?" Nazz asked.

After Edd nodded with a smile, Kevin got up from the couch and headed for the door, "Alright guys, we'll see ya there."

Nazz smiled at everyone and there was a chorus of 'bye's and 'see-you-later's.

"Aw, hey babe, can we take your car? I don't wanna mess up my hair on the bike."

Nazz rolled her eyes, "Sure, Kev." And with that, they left.

"Hey Lumpy! Why don't you get your stupid sister out of her room? I don't care if she is ready or not, the dance will be over by the time we get there at this rate."

"Hey! Who are you calling stupid, stupid!"

Everyone turned around at the shout from the top of the stairs. Sarah had finally emerged from her room and was wearing a light blue, very tight-fitting dress. It had a halter top with sequins going along the sides of it. The back of the dress was almost not existent, only having the straps from the halter wrap around her shoulder blades in an 'X' pattern. Her hair had grown out down pasted her shoulders over the years and she had chosen to wear it down, curling it into slight waves. Sarah knew that her dress was a little too sexy for a high school dance, but she also knew that it would be one that would make anyone's head turn. Especially Edd's. When she started walking down the stairs in her cream colored high heels, her eye's meet Edd's and she felt bold enough to wink.

Time to put my plan into action. She thought as she turned away from her crush and looked at Jimmy.

Jimmy saw her give him their secret look and he knew that he had to go through with the plan. When Sarah came down, he pushed aside all his doubts and grabbed her hand, "Sarah, you look beautiful."

And then he kissed her.

Everyone stared at the two with wide eyes and Ed looked like he was going to have a heart attack, first with seeing his sister dressed up like that and second witnessing her first kiss. Sarah was just as shocked, her eyes stayed as wide as dinner plates, even after the broke apart. For a second she didn't know what to do, but she recovered by pulling him in for a hug.

"That wasn't part of the plan," She whispered into his ear.

"I'm improvising. It makes it look more real, silly." He stepped back and smiled at her, showing off his pearly whites.

"Um...ew," Eddy said, "Can we just go now?"

"Uh, yes." Edd looked around at everyone with a smile, recovering from the shock of what he just saw, "Let us get going then."

The eight of them piled into Edd's van and made their way to the high school's gymnasium where the dance was held.

Once they got there, Edd stopped Jimmy before he walked through the front doors. Marie and everyone else were already walking, not realizing that the two were behind.

"Jimmy, I just wanted wish you a 'congratulations.' I am happy for yours and Sarah's new romantic relationship. I didn't realize you two had entered one." Edd smiled down at the boy. Jimmy on the other hand, tried to swallow his guilt and tried his best to smile back.

"Y-yeah. Thanks. It just sort of...happened." Jimmy looked at everywhere but Edd, hoping that this would end.

Edd started to walk over to Marie, who had turned back and was heading over to them, Sarah was standing behind, closer to the door, "Well, have fun at the dance."

Jimmy's fake smile faded when Edd turned his back and he whispered, almost to himself than to Edd, "You too." He thought back to the rest of Sarah's plan...

"So, after we get to the dance, we are going to a really sell it on the whole couple thing. That will really make Double D jealous. We will dance as close to them as possible and when they see us, I am going to get in-between them. That's when you go up to that witch and distract her. You just have to keep her away, but don't go too far because when she sees me get close and kiss Double D, she will get all mad and then finally break up with him..."

"Jimmy! Come on!" The boy shook his head and saw Sarah up ahead. He let out a sigh and made his way to her.

The gym was crowded with too many sweaty, jumping teenagers. The music was loud enough that the vibrations from the bass could be felt through their feet. Ed, Eddy, May, and Lee had already set claim on one of the round tables when Edd and Marie came through the doors. Ed saw them first and waved them over with his arms flailing around. The couple made their way over to the rest of the group. Eddy and Lee were already sitting down, but May and Ed were standing behind their chairs.

"Ed and me wanna go dance, do you wanna come, Marie," May asked, jumping on the balls of her feet in excitement. Ed stood next to her with a grin on his face.

Marie rolled her eyes, but smiled. She turned to her boyfriend, "Wanna go and cut a rug, Cutie?"

Edd chuckled and grabbed her hand, "I suppose we can."

Eddy and Lee watched as they went on to the dance floor. "You don't wanna dance, Hot Stuff?" Lee looked over at Eddy who was playing with the table's center piece.

He stopped what he was doing and sat back, crossing his arms, "Nah. I'm okay right now." He looked at her and his breath caught in his throat.

"Whadya lookin' at?"

"Um..." Eddy didn't know what came over him. He cleared his throat, "Sorry, I was just, um, thinking about how pretty you looked just then."

Lee smirked and shook her head, "Yeah, right."

"No, seriously. I meant it." He looked at her with the most serious expression he could muster.

She looked back at him, "Really?"

He gave her a small nod and leaned in closer, not sure what his body was doing. Their lips met, and Lee couldn't believe it. She kissed him back but after a moment, she broke it.

"Eddy, listen. I'm not really looking for a relationship, ya know? I'm tryin' ta finish school and I still have to work all these jobs."

The loud-mouth sat back, nodding slowly, still tasting her on his lips, "Then...then how 'bout we just have 'fun'?"

She looked at him skeptically, "'Fun?'"

He sat up and coughed again, "Yeah, ya know, we will still be friends and hang out and stuff, but there won't be any pressure or labels."

"Why do ya even want ta? And with me?"

Eddy shrugged, not really sure himself, "I kinda just wanna try it out," He chuckled thinking about it, "And no other girl is coming up to me anytime soon."

Lee stared at him for a moment, "Huh, well I like the idea of no labels. Eh, what the hell, I could use some fun," She held out her hand, "You've got yourself a deal, Short Stuff."

Eddy smirked and shook her hand, "Deal." He pulled her hand towards him, pulling her body forward, and kissed her again quickly. When he pulled back, he saw her smirk and he couldn't help but return it.

On the dance floor, Marie and Edd were moving along with the beat. Marie moved in fluid motions, but Edd found himself not really knowing what to do with his limbs most of the time. Marie saw this and grabbed his hands.

"Just go along with me, Double D."

He instantly relaxed as she pulled him closer to her. He placed his hands on her waist and she loosely wrapped her arms around his neck. Edd could feel his face get hot with a blush and he assumed that their peers and even the chaperones were giving them odd looks, but with Marie, he felt like he could just let go and have fun. He leaned in and placed his forehead against hers, breathing in her sent. He felt her fingers playing with the strands peeking out of his hat. Should he tell her? He was about to whisper in her ear to ask if she wanted to exit the gym when he felt someone tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, Double D. You mind if I get a dance?" His eyes met Sarah's who was staring at him sweetly. Marie let go of Edd, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Move on, kid. Can't you see he's busy?"

Sarah rolled her eyes at Marie, but her main focus was on Edd, "Come on, Double D, I can't get one dance from you?"

"Well, Sarah, I am dancing with Marie at the moment."

"Marie?"

The three of them looked over at Jimmy who seemed like he just appeared out of nowhere. He smiled at the couple, "Wanna get a drink with me, Marie?"

Marie looked at Edd and shrugged in a 'why-not' kind of way, then she turned and glared at Sarah. Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned close to her, "I don't know what you're doing, but it better stop." With that, she walked away with Jimmy to where the drinks were.

Once Jimmy and Marie made it to the refreshment table, she turned around and saw that Edd and Sarah were talking, with Sarah being a little too close for Marie's liking.

"Okay, Pipsqueak, what is she getting at?"

Jimmy sighed, "Look, you might hate me, but Sarah roped me into her 'revenge plan' to get you and Double D to break up."

"I knew it," Marie exclaimed and slapped Jimmy on the arm, who flinched in return, "I thought you were goin' ta get her to not plan anything? So that kiss at Ed's was all part of it? You guys are tryin' ta make Double D jealous so that he will leave me for her!"

The boy held up his hands to get her to stop, "Let me explain-"

"Oh you've explained enough, buddy. I'm goin' ta give her a piece of my mind."

Marie turned to make her way back to her boyfriend, who was currently trying to keep his distance from the girl who was now touching his arm and getting too close for comfort. Jimmy moved quickly and put his hands on her shoulders, using all his force to make her stop.

"Please listen to me, Marie. I want to tell you everything, even my plan."

His words made her stop and she calmed down a bit. She crossed her arms, "I'm listening."

Jimmy sighed and began his tell his tale, "So, Sarah has this plan of wanting you to be put in a bad light and that you will break up with him..."

Back on the dance floor, Edd was lost at what he could do. Sarah was getting increasingly closer and no matter how many times he tried to shrug her off, her hands found her way back on him.

"Um...Sarah," He cleared his throat, "Are you having a good time tonight?"

"I would be if a certain someone would dance with me."

"Oh, my apologies, Jimmy has not asked you, yet?"

Sarah rolled her eyes, "No, silly. I want to dance with you." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, effectively trapping him where he stood.

Edd kept his hands to his sides, looking anywhere but at her face. Wasn't her crush on him over? Didn't that kiss with Jimmy back at the house signify their relationship, thus, ending her want for Edd? He thought for a second and connected the dots.

They weren't dating at all.

This was a way to get closer to him.

"So she wants to make herself seem like an angel and me look like a bitch? Then if I see her and Double D kiss, that will make me want to break up with him," Marie stared at Jimmy who nodded along with her clarification, "Weak plan. But wait, what's your plan?"

"Well, that kiss at the house? That wasn't part of it. I thought that maybe if I really try to act romantic, she would see that I really mean it and that she wouldn't waste her time with Double D."

Marie nodded slowly, "So now what? Looks like your girl over there doesn't seem to be dropping her game anytime soon."

Jimmy turned back and looked at Sarah and Edd, "Well," He started and turned back to Marie, "That's where you come in."

"Listen, Sarah. You are a great and smart girl," Edd was still trying to move away from her, "But I have no sort of romantic feelings towards you. I am dating Marie and I do not intend on ending our relationship anytime soon."

Sarah didn't listen, her grip around his neck got slightly tighter and her face was so close to his. She could feel his shallow breath on her face, "Please Double D, I really like you."

"Hey! Get off my boyfriend."

Sarah finally let go of Edd, who gladly put a couple steps in-between them, and turned around with a smirk of disbelief, "And what are you going to do to make me?"

Marie stood there with Jimmy behind her, "I know your little game, Sarah." Jimmy looked down when Sarah's eyes flicked to him. Marie's voice brought her back up to look at her, "You can try all you want, but my relationship with Double D is here to stay. I like him and he likes me back. He makes me a better person and if I wasn't dating him, I might have no care and beat you up right here and now."

A small audience formed around them, May and Ed watched along too. Marie looked at Edd, "But I now have someone who wants only the best for me. He means the world to me and I'd like to think that I mean the world to him," She looked back at Sarah, walked a couple steps closer to her, eyes narrowed, "So you better back off now. If you keep tryin' ta come back, I'll come back harder. I am not giving up on him that easily. So you better move along and realize the good that you don't even know you have."

Sarah knew deep down that she lost. She knew that Marie's threats were not empty, but she couldn't let her see that it got to her. So Sarah scowled and stormed off.

Marie watched her leave, almost feeling bad for crushing her chances. She looked back at Edd who gave her a shy smile. She didn't feel bad anymore. Jimmy walked up next to Marie and she turned to him with a smirk, "Go get her, kid."

Jimmy smiled as a silent thank you and walked in the direction Sarah went in.

"You know, you have turned me into a better functioning person as well."

Marie smiled up at Edd who gladly smiled back. She blushed, "Shut up."

His smile didn't move as he grabbed her hand, "Marie? Would you like to step outside for a moment?"

When Jimmy found her, Sarah was sitting in the hallway with her back against the lockers. There were tears in her eyes, close to falling out at any moment.

"Is this spot taken?" Jimmy pointed to the ground next to her and when she shrugged, he took it as a sign to sit down next to her.

"So you told her?"

Jimmy sighed and looked down at the polished floor, "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

Sarah threw her hands up in frustration, "How could you do that to me Jimmy? I thought we were friends? How come you care about their relationship more than me? I just don't-"

Her words were cut off by his lips on hers. This kiss was a little more forceful than their last one, but he wanted to make her know how much she meant to him. Sarah didn't know what to do. Her tears started flowing freely but she shut her eyes and grabbed the base of his neck pulling him closer. There mouths moved in sync, hungry for more. Jimmy wanted to keep going, this was all he dreamed about, but not like this. He broke the kiss and leaned back against the lockers, looked up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I...I like you," He turned to look at her, "I've always liked you. Ever since I could remember. I thought that if I sabotaged your plan tonight then maybe I could have gotten you to see that. It was stupid and now I've made it worse my kissing you just now, but I needed to make you see my feelings."

Sarah was quiet. Her mouth buzzed from the feeling of his lips on her own. After a moment, she spoke, "Jimmy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't see how you were feeling. I was just being so stupid with Double D that I didn't see how much that hurt you," She looked at her friend and reached out to turn his face to meet hers, "Jimmy, thank you. Thank you being there for me and thank you for your feelings."

His face was crestfallen, "You don't feel the same way I do, do you?"

Sarah's hand fell and she turned back to face the other side of the hall. She shrugged, "I...I think I've always have. I just haven't thought about it until now. But, can we have some time before we so anything? I...I just need some time."

Jimmy nodded, knowing that she wasn't even looking at him, so he said, "Take all the time you need. I'm right here." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek and Sarah blushed.

Edd and Marie were sitting outside of the gym on the steps leading out to the path for the football field out back. Their hands were intertwined and Edd was rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of her hand.

"Marie?"

She looked up from their hands and looked into Edd's eyes. His face was serious and he also looked a little nervous, "What's wrong Double D?"

Edd looked away, trying to see across the dark field.

"Edd?"

He took a nervous breath and reached up for his ever-present beanie. When he took it off, he expected a gasp or scream of horror from his girlfriend. But one never came.

Marie just stared at his head. The scar running from the top of his head to his soft spot was surrounded by hair, but still had exposed skin around the raised, pink tissue. Her other hand carefully reached up and touched his head, only very lightly touching the scar.

"What happened?"

Edd sighed, "It happened just before my parents and I resided in Peach Creak. I was three and remember playing in the daycare that my parents enrolled me in. I wanted to get this ball across the room. I was running but I assume that I slipped on another toy. My parents told me that I fell and hit my head on one of the corners of those indoor sandboxes. The corner was too sharp and wasn't padded, so that resulted in this scar," He shook his head slightly, Marie's fingers still gingerly on his scar, "So, that is the reason why I cover it up. Everyone thinks it looks outlandish or think that I am a freak."

The blue-haired girl removed her fingers, trailing them across his face before bringing her hand back to her side, "You are not a freak, Edd. Thank you for telling me."

Edd weakly smiled and removed his hand from her's to put his hat back on, "Thank you, Marie. Referring to what you said back on the dance floor, you mean the world to me too, and you have made me a better person as well."

Marie smiled, leaned into him and whispered, "Kiss me."

"With pleasure."

Welp! That is the end of the chapter (not the story, just the chapter). Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I'll see you guys real soon!