Double D's front door was unlocked, so Kevin let himself in and walked upstairs to his room. He knocked three times.

"Come in," Edd said quietly.

As Kevin opened the door, he was surprised to find all the lights off and the blinds closed. What little light passed through the windows and doorway showed a very messy room, by Edd's standards. His eyes scanned from wall to wall, finally landing on his blanket-covered silhouette on the bed.

He pulled a chair up to the bed, spun it backwards, and sat down next to his friend.

"Yo, man. I didn't have time to make soup, but I got these cookies I made a few days ago," Kevin said, pulling the cookies out of his bag.

"You make cookies?" Double D asked with a tiny voice as he peeked out from his covers.

"Yeah."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?" Kevin asked.

"Nothing," replied Edd dismissively. "Thank you for the cookies. They smell excellent."

Kevin shrugged and set the bag down. He folded his arms over the top of the chair and rested his chin on them. The two of them were silent for a while.

"So, what's eatin' you?" Kevin finally asked.

Edd shifted under the blankets and took a while to respond.

"Eddy confronted me again just after I left your house," he said. "In your front yard, in fact."

Kevin jerked up at that. "I'll POUND that little—"

"Don't!" Double D interjected. "He had some valid points. It was scary, but I'm okay. At least, I think I'm okay."

"Well what did he have to say?"

Edd shifted again, taking his time to think about his answer. "He reminded me what my position was. I was so excited about my ability to put the VR project in motion by myself, but I failed to realize that it wasn't even my idea in the first place. I don't have ideas, Kevin. I can solve problems, but I'm not capable of starting things myself. I think I lack the imagination."

"That's garbage, man!" Kevin shouted. "You're the smartest kid I know, and that thing we did together was awesome. Eddy could never see anything through like you did!"

"Regardless of what I contributed," Edd insisted, "it was still Eddy's idea. His plan. And the only reason I never make his plans as good as they can be is because I've always felt rushed. But I never told him that. I just let myself get angry in silent obedience. I blew up on him, Kevin, and it surprised him. Shocked him. He didn't deserve that."

Double D removed the blanket from his face and looked Kevin, with tears in his eyes.

"And now," he continued, "I'll never make anything like that again. Eddy's gone, and it's my fault."

Kevin paused to think. Double D was being so unfair to himself, and he never thought he'd see the Dork crying. He hated it.

"You miss him, huh?" Kevin offered as softly as he could manage.

"I do."

Kevin looked down at the floor, then scooted his chair closer.

"You know, man," he began, "I think Eddy's just jealous that he's not a genius. I think he needs you, and you know it. And I think that's a really dangerous situation for you. I think you care a lot about him when you really shouldn't, but I don't think you can control that. You gotta tell him what you aren't gonna put up with, otherwise he's gonna keep hurting you. If he keeps hurting you, I'm not gonna like that. You know?

Double D contemplated for a moment.

"What would you say to him, if you could talk to him one more time?" Kevin asked.

"I suppose," Edd said after a while, "that I respect his ideas. I don't think he respects what I can do with them. I'd tell him that I regret not being more communicative and letting it build up until I couldn't take it anymore."

"Huh," Kevin said. "I mean, that all sounds pretty fair to me."

"But as I said," Edd dismissed, "that moment is gone. You should have seen him, Kevin. It was all in his eyes. He's never looked at me like that. Like he'll never look at me again."

Kevin looked around Edd's dark room. Even though he couldn't understand why Eddy was so important, he could definitely see the impact it was having on Double D's life. Just after one day.

Something had to be done.

"Well, Double Dork," he said as he rose from his chair. "I'm gonna leave these cookies on your nightstand. I gotta finish mowing the front lawn before my dad does somethin' drastic."

"Oh, my, Kevin. I didn't mean for you to shirk your responsibilities. Thank you so much for coming to try to cheer me up. I'll be better soon enough."

No, you won't, Kevin thought.

He walked closer to Edd's bed and gave him a long look. Edd gazed back at him through now-drying tears. There was an unspoken comfort, looking at eachother like this. Kevin bent down and gave him a small kiss on the forehead, thankful for the darkness that hid his blushing, embarrassed face.

"Hang in there, Dork," he said. He patted Double D on the head, then headed out of the room, down the stairs, and out to the street.

It was time to find Eddy and settle this.