Just as he left Double D's house, Kevin trotted across the street towards Eddy's. Eddy lived right next door to Kevin, which probably explained why they were sick of each-other more than anybody else in the cul de sac.

That, and Eddy had a real loud mouth.

As he passed his own house, Kevin got a fresh look at the un-mowed front lawn and felt a shot of anxiety. Whatever he had to say to Eddy, he had to say it fast and get back to work. There was no telling what his dad might do if it wasn't finished before he got home.

Kevin reached Eddy's front door and gave it three solid, somewhat angry knocks. He waited. No response.

He hammered a few more knocks out, then listened through the door. Nobody stirred. Either dork-face was hiding, or he wasn't home.

He looked around the cul de sac and found no sign of Eddy. He was kind of hard to miss. That meant, Kevin decided, that Eddy must be at one of his weird hangouts that the Eds usually skulked around at. That meant the construction site, the junkyard, the back-alley, maybe even the trailer park. Kevin doubted the trailer park, because nobody in their right minds went anywhere near the Kanker sisters on purpose. But the back-alley lead to a small lane that happened to go through all of the other places Eddy might be.

Man, he did NOT have time for this.

Kevin ran full-out to his own garage next door and swung the door open. The sudden sunlight gleamed across the frame of his prized bike. Freshly tuned, freshly washed, and freshly awesome. His bike was, without question, the fastest way to check out the lane; in fact, the bike was the reason knew the lane so well. It was the only place that Kevin could really let loose on the thing, because he didn't have to worry about traffic or intersections. It was a straight shot.

He wheeled his bike out into the driveway and gave a final glance at the yard. This was it, he thought. The more time he put the yardwork off, the more likely his dad would come home with some choice words, maybe worse. This stuff with the Eds wasn't even really his business, was it? Maybe it would work itself out, he thought.

No. He had to help Double D. He had to find Eddy.

He peeled off down the street, around the corner, and cut into the familiar alley. He was hoping to come across somebody who might've seen the dork, but no such luck. The alley was eerily empty, which was usually how Kevin liked it, but definitely not now. On the right, the picket fence that walled off the corner playground whizzed by. He would never see the Ed's somewhere as normal as the playground, he decided. These guys hung around in weird places like the sewers. He kept going. He looked to his left and saw the rooftops of his own house, then Eddy's house.

He stood on his bike seat while it was still cruising, a neat trick he had taught himself in the beginning of summer, to try to catch a peek over Eddy's fence. Sure enough, the dork wasn't there.

The construction site popped up on his right, but there was no wall or fence around it, so he could pretty much see the whole place. He didn't see anybody, of course.

The lane began to curve to the left as he approached the trailer park, which was thankfully completely covered by trees. He still didn't like getting this close to those crazy girls. On the left was Ed's backyard, lumpy, they called him. He glanced through that yard as well. Nothing. If he couldn't find Eddy, Kevin considered, he could try knocking on Ed's door on the way back. Those dorks were always hanging out.

That pretty much left the junkyard. It made sense, and even Kevin liked to hang out there. It was quiet, remote, and there was always a new pile of cool stuff to check out.

He pedaled as hard as he could. The lane was getting rough, as they never paved the path this far out. Mud splashed up on his ankles as he hopped over some potholes and whipped the bike into a hard-right turn through the junkyard entrance.

Ed and Eddy were standing on top of a rusty fridge, throwing rocks at wrecked car windows.

Kevin swung his bike to a skid, then dismounted before the bike fully stopped. Without losing momentum, he stomped toward the Eds through the mud, his anger welling back up.

Eddy looked back and dropped his rock.

"Uh… woah, Kevin—"

"Can it," Kevin barked. "I don't got a lot of time here, man. We gotta talk."

Eddy hopped off the fridge and seemed to shrink a little. Ed kept a blank, neutral face. Kevin figured he was probably thinking about chickens or something.

"What's this about? What's your problem?" Eddy demanded.

"I think my problem is pretty much your problem, dork-face. It's Double D. He told me you met him out in front of my house and gave him an earful."

"Y—yeah? So? What are you, his bodyguard?"

"Somethin' like that," Kevin replied ominously.

Eddy clenched his fist, his fear seeming to turn into stubborn resolve.

"I don't wanna have to fight you, Kev," Eddy warned. "But I will if I gotta."

"I ain't here to beat you up, man," he said. "I'm just here to tell you what it is. You're outta your mind, and it's really messin' up our friend—"

"It's messin' me up too!" Eddy's voice cracked, surprising Kevin into silence. "You don't think I feel bad about what he thinks of me? You don't think I hate gettin' called an idiot, totally bailed on? I miss my FRIEND, Kevin, and you ain't gonna change that, no matter how much you wanna beat me up!"

"I already told you, I ain't here to beat you up!" Kevin said, exasperated. "Look. I don't like you, I never have, I dunno if I ever will. But the Double-Dork still wants to hang out with you for some reason. He feels bad, Eddy. I don't want him to feel that way. I think you guys can patch things up, but you both gotta accept some changes."

"Like what?!" demanded Eddy. "He doesn't wanna run scams anymore—"

"Stop callin' 'em scams, you—" Kevin bit off the insult just in time, and collected himself. "You… just gotta stop callin' 'em that. Double D doesn't want to scam people, yeah, but he still wants to do stuff LIKE that. Just better. He just wants you to let him do his best."

Eddy thought about it for a moment, which made Kevin a little antsy. This was already taking way too much time. Was that a car he heard in the distance?

"Listen," Eddy said. "You're kinda a meathead, but… I hear ya. I get what you're tryin' to do."

"I just want this to stop bugging Double D," Kevin explained.

"I know," he agreed. "You really care about Sockhead. I can tell. I gotta think about all this, but if it doesn't work out…"

Eddy looked at the muddy ground and scratched his arm.

"Look, I just think you'll be a good friend for him," he finally said.

Kevin didn't really know why he liked hearing that so much, but it practically melted him. Despite his best judgement, he took a few cautious steps forward and hugged Eddy.

"Thanks, man," he said. "And thanks for hearing me out. I gotta split."

"Sure," Eddy replied.

Kevin glanced at Ed, who was still on top of the fridge, probably thinking about chickens. He stepped back to his bike, which was on its side in the mud. He'd have to wash that. He pulled the bike out of the mud, swept a leg across the seat and peeled out, back down the lane.

He was filthy. Since when did he start ditching his bike in the mud? He was always careful to use the kickstand, and he only just washed the thing. And now, he realized, his shoes were ruined too. What is this Dork doing to me, he thought? He really hoped beyond all hope that he fixed what was bothering Edd. He almost felt sure that he did.

The familiar neighborhood whizzed by as he left the ally and rounded the corner back home. He felt a giant weight lifted, all of his anger completely gone, and he didn't even have to pound anybody.

He reached his driveway and stopped dead in his tracks. His dad's car was there.

This is gonna be bad, he thought with dread.