"Why can't I have my friends over?" Ed lay on the floor and sobbed. "It is not fair!"

Out his window, he could hear Sarah yelling about something. Jimmy must be over – so why did Sarah have to ruin Ed's fun by getting their mom to take away his sock puppet and toy monster?

He sniffled. He'd even had to clean up all the wonderful slime on his floor because of her. Eddy would be so disappointed.

Oh well, they could try Ed's House of Mutant Slime again some other time. Wiping his eyes, he looked around his room, wondering what to do now. Maybe he could work on his NC-Series C1701 model spacecraft – it only needed another coat or two of paint before it'd be ready to –

No, he couldn't work on his model, he remembered now. Sarah had smashed it to bits after he'd tried to rescue it from becoming a car for her teddy bears.

Maybe he'd catch up on his reading; the latest edition of 'Tin Foil Man' had arrived just the other day and Ed couldn't wait to see how he would rescue the universe THIS time - would his giant Ball of Shiny Justice save the day once again? Would THIS be the issue where they finally revealed the secret of the Dark Side of the Foil? Well, only one way to find out! He ran over to his closet and looked around.

The unexpected emptiness was so shocking that he jerked his head back and banged it against the door jam. Not even the stars now twinkling before his vision were enough to cheer him up, however, as he remembered the fate of his comic. Why couldn't Sarah have found something else to make confetti out of?

Well, maybe he could go add more tasty ingredients to the batch of Bathtub Soup he was currently whipping up...but of course he couldn't do that, either, since Sarah had pulled the plug on that this morning, sending his beautiful creation swirling down the drain.

In fact, now that he noticed it…Ed blinked in surprise…Sarah had actually managed to have every single thing he owned taken from his room, piece by piece. Not even the posters on the walls remained – she'd gotten it all.

Well, all except his headset, of course. He smacked his lips as he remembered what a tasty treat that had been. But that didn't help him now – what was he supposed to do with nothing to play with?

An idea hit him almost instantly. No problem, he could always sing a song! In fact, he'd learned a new one just the other week while watching old reruns on TV! "Believe it or not, I'm walking on air!" Not even Sarah could take his voice away! "Who ever thought I could feel so – "

"ED!" His sister's voice crashed down to his room. "Knock off that stupid racket or I'm tellin' Mom!"

After spending a few moments hiding under the spot where his bed usually was, Ed climbed cautiously back to his feet. He hazarded a single, quiet scrap of song: " – free..."

"ED!!!"

Sniffling, Ed flopped down onto the ground. Sarah was his sister and all, so he had to love her – and he did, of course, he was a good big brother – it was just that...sometimes...he almost, sort of, wished he was an only child, like Double-D – then he'd never have to worry about Sarah...

*****

Sarah critically studied their handiwork. "Do you think he needs more eyeshadow, Jimmy?"

Jimmy looked up from where he was applying a final coat of nail polish. "Why, that would be a splendid idea, Sarah! I think ... " He squinted in concentration, then nodded professionally and turned to pluck a small container from the open chest behind him. "Yes, he's definitely a Spring. Try this one, it's got more violet tones."

"Good choice, Jimmy! Close your eyes, Double-D, you don't want to get this stuff in 'em." She gleefully flourished the makeup brush. "Although if you do, maybe me and Jimmy can operate again, wouldn't that be SO super neat-o??"

Edd shivered and shut his eyes tightly, but said nothing. His initial struggles had succeeded only in getting him bound hand-and-foot to the chair he was in, and he certainly knew better than to risk upsetting Sarah when he couldn't even try to make a break for it.

Moments later, Sarah and Jimmy stepped back to examine their handiwork. Sarah was delighted. "This is our best job ever!"

Jimmy clapped his hands together. "Doesn't that mascara I picked out make his eyes pop? Why don't you get a mirror so he can see for himself?"

"Hey, yeah! Stay right there, Double-D!" Giggling, Sarah ran out of the room.

Edd sighed. It had been a long morning. On the bright side, however, Sarah and Jimmy seemed to be finished with their makeover efforts; perhaps his ordeal was nearly at an end.

"Having fun, Double-D?" Jimmy's high-pitched voice reminded Edd of an upset bunny. A pink upset bunny, at that. Nonetheless, the resentment was definitely there. What was that about reaching an end to this ordeal?

"W-well, actually, Jimmy, I must admit this isn't exactly my cup of tea, so to speak. If you would be so kind as to release me perhaps I could – "

"'What, 'perhaps' you could steal my Sarah from me again?" Jimmy flapped his hands and gave an indignant little 'hmpf.' "I don't think so, Mister!"

Ah, of course that's what this was all about. Edd supposed he'd known all along, but the thought was so unsettling that he hadn't allowed himself to consider it.

He tried for an appeasing smile. "Jimmy, I wouldn't dream of doing anything to harm the special bond you share with Sarah! Quite frankly I couldn't be less drawn to – ah, that is to say…I don't feel I'm even ready for a relationship of a romantic nature quite yet…"

"Oh yeah?" Jimmy's eyes narrowed. "Then why did you butt in on our tea party, huh?"

"That wasn't by choice, Jimmy, surely you must realize that! I mean, haven't you ever noticed that Sarah can be a bit - well…" He trailed off, hoping Jimmy would get the idea.

Jimmy looked at him suspiciously. "A bit what?"

"Well…" Edd hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "Surely you're aware that Sarah has a rather…ah…domineering personality…?"

Jimmy furrowed his brow in confusion.

Edd sighed. So much for tact. "Sarah's a bit of a bully, Jimmy, wouldn't you agree? I never intended to join your party but the consequences of declining her invitation were too dire to consider."

Jimmy looked as though he'd just discovered he was wearing brown shoes with a black belt. "Don't you say that about Sarah!" He hopped up and down in shrill little spasms of fury – again, Edd couldn't help but think of a peeved bunny. "Sarah's my best friend! She is NOT a bully! Just you wait till she gets back, she'll – "

"Okay, I'm back!" Sarah skipped into the room, toting a small hand mirror. She brandished it in Edd's face, but he was too intent on Jimmy to even notice.

Like the proverbial Jekyll and Hyde, Jimmy's anger had vanished the second Sarah had returned. No sign of his former rage now showing, he once again cooed and fawned over how well they had done with their makeover 'patient'. Under different circumstances it would have been fascinating to observe.

But then Jimmy cocked his head to the side and tapped a finger to his chin. "Hmm…" He made a show of staring thoughtfully at Edd. "Double-D looks a lot better now, Sarah, but can't we do something about his hair?" As Sarah turned to look, Jimmy shot him an evil-bunny leer. "I bet he'd be really pretty with a perm!"

Eddy was right; Jimmy really was good. Edd hunched down as low as he could. "That's ... kind of you to offer, but you know I prefer not to take off – "

Sarah jumped at the idea. "You're right, Jimmy! That stupid hat ruins everything!" She reached out eagerly. "Come on, Double-D, you can trust us! We won't tell anyone!"

"NO!" Edd jerked away and inadvertently sent his chair crashing to the ground. As Sarah and Jimmy stepped back in surprise, he saw his chance. Using only his fingers, he managed to drag himself and the chair out of the room.

It was amazing how fast you could go if you had the proper incentive. Moments later, he looked up to find he was nearly at the front door already. This presented a problem, however, as he could see no way he'd be able to open it.

"Double-D, you get back here this minute!" He could hear feet pounding down the stairs. Shrugging, he moved forward as quickly as he could. After all those screen doors of his that Ed had broken over the years, surely he could be forgiven this one front door in an emergency.

He crashed through but heard Sarah close behind. Just as he was sure his escape efforts were about to be cut abruptly short, however, Sarah's giggling stopped. He heard another voice, a very disapproving voice, coming from the kitchen.

"But Mom!" Now Sarah's voice had a distinctly wheedling quality to it. "No, it wasn't me! I don't know how your good dishes got outsi – no, it must've been Ed, I swear I wasn't even – " She gasped. "GROUNDED??? But Mommmm!"

Saved by parental intervention. Edd sighed gratefully.

For a moment, he considered going back to apologize to Sarah and Ed's mother for damaging their front door – she always went out of her way to be so nice to him when she was around, asking him how his day was or sneaking him the occasional tin of fresh-baked cookies to take home, and he hated to be repaying her kindness with inadvertent vandalism…He remembered what he looked like at the moment, however, and decided that perhaps his first priority should be a long shower and a change of clothes. Trying to ignore the cramps forming in his hands, he dragged himself off towards his house.