Bella was tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep. She was too excited, thinking about the party and playing with her new friends. She groaned, opening her eyes squinting them in the darkness of her room. She reached over to her dresser, putting on her hearing aid. Her night light illuminated in the farthest corner of the room, creating eerie shadows from her stuffed animals and various objects around the bedroom. Bella clenched her blanket in her hands, trying to calm down. It's just shadows. They're not real. They can't hurt you. Suddenly, there was a loud thump in the walls. Bella jumped up, sitting up from her bed, startled.
"Probably just a mouse. Nothing to worry about." She mumbled nervously. Then loud malicious giggling can be heard from within the walls in a taunting tone. Bella's eyes widened. A picture frame squeaked as it slowly opened. Something shot out and smashed the night light, completely shattering it. Bella began to tremble and shiver, gripping her blanket tighter in her hands as she saw three shadows coming out of the wall. Slowly, the three figures started to advance closer to her. Bella screamed.
"Daddy! Andy!" She pulled the blanket over head, hiding underneath it and shut her eyes tightly. A light quickly flashed on. Andy and Bella's father was standing by the door wearing his red and black striped flannel pajamas and bunny slippers, holding a baseball bat in his hand.
"Bella!?" He saw her shaking underneath her blanket on her bed. Bella pulled the covers off of her head with tears streaming from her face. He sighed and lowered the bat and walked over to the bed setting down next to her. "It was just a nightmare, sweetheart. Go back to sleep."
"It wasn't!" Bella shouted. The two heard Andy groan, seeing her standing by the door to the bedroom. Her hair was a mess, eyes bloodshot and there was some dried drool stuck on the side of her cheek.
"It's two in the morning. What's going on?" Andy asked, rubbing her eyes, tiredly. She glanced down, seeing the shattered glass, from the night light, scattered all over the floor. "Looks like the bulb blew up."
"No! It was ghosts! All three of them!" Bella exclaimed.
"It's probably just the house settling in. You'll get used to it." Andy and Bella's father spoke.
"Can you stay with me for the night?" Bella asked.
"You're old enough to sleep by yourself, Bella."
"Just until a fall asleep. I promise I'll go right to bed!" Bella insisted.
"I'll stay with her, dad." Andy spoke. Their father smiled and stood up. Andy walked over and Bella slid over, making room. Andy crawled into the bed with her, pulling the covers over them. Their father walked over to the glass, carefully picking it up and headed to the door.
"Get some rest. We're all going to need it tomorrow." He told the two.
Double D hummed as he brushed his teeth, looking into the mirror of his reflection. He tidied up his tie, making sure that it was straight. Adjusting his collar of his dress suit and beanie then pulling up his stockings and tied his shoelaces. Perfect! He grinned. Everything neat and orderly. Double D placed the toothpaste back in the mirror shelf and his toothbrush back into it's holder. Double D's eyes widen as he heard the bathroom door quickly slammed open, creating a hole in the wall as Eddy kicked it. Ed was standing next to him. The two were wearing a tie, their hair combed back.
"Hurry up, sock head! We need to get to the party, now!" He shouted with a panic look on his face.
"What's the rush, Eddy?" Double D asked. Eddy didn't answer and quickly grabbed Double D. "EDDY!?" Then he grabbed Ed and dragged the two as he ran towards Andy's house, stopping by the door. It had finally been fixed, looking more pristine. Eddy dropped Double D and Ed on the ground, harshly, wildly looking around. Double D groaned as he stood up while Ed still laying face first on the ground. The sound of the other kids from the cul-de-sac could be heard from the backyard.
"What's gotten into you!?" Double D demanded.
"Eddy's embarrassed because he doesn't want Andy to see his parents!" Ed shouted, smiling. Eddy quickly snatched Ed's lips, locking them tight.
"Shut it, lumpy!" Eddy growled. Double D blinked.
"Is that all? Eddy, I'm sure Andy will understand." He spoke, trying to reassure Eddy.
"You know my parents, Double D. I'll be a laughingstock." He shook his head, covering his face. "I can't let her see them!"
The two heard the doorbell ring, looking over to see Ed had pressed it and continuously began to ring it. "Ding dong! Ding dong!" Eddy tensed up. The door opened and the three saw Andy and Bella's father, standing in front of them.
"Hello! You must be the friends of Andy that Bella talked about." He smiled. Double D brushed himself off and walked over to him, holding out his hand, nervously.
"Hello, Andy's father! I'm Double D! This is Eddy and Ed. Unfortunately, my parents couldn't attend, so I am here instead."
"It's okay. Nice to have you here." He smiled, gently, shaking Double D's hand. Eddy glanced over his shoulder and froze seeing his dad and mom coming out his house. "Great! Let's get this party started!" Eddy shouted. He quickly pushed Ed and Double D inside Andy's house. Andy and Bella's father quickly moved to the side, avoiding getting trampled over the three Ed boys. Eddy dragged the two past the other parents in the living room, heading to the kitchen backdoor, running outside with the other kids from the cul-de-sac.
"Somebody's certainly eager." Andy and Bella's father chuckled.
"Hey, did our little Eddy run through here?" He heard a woman's voice ask and turned to see Eddy's mother and father, Jessica and Jack, standing by the door.
"Yes, he did. He with his other two friends." He told them. Eddy's father shook his head.
"That boy. What am I going to do with him." He grumbled under his breath. Andy's father stepped to the side to let them in and the three joined with the other parents from the cul-de-sac.
There was a blond haired woman, her hair in a bob, wearing an red spotted dress and apron and a diamond ring and pearl bracelet on her wrist. Next to her was a tall man with thinning short red hair, going bald at the top. He was wearing a dark green shirt tan shorts and sandals. Sarah and Ed's parents, Martha and Tim. Next was a bulky man with short blue hair, a mono brow, and blue beard, hairy arms, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. The woman next to him had brunette hair tied up in a braided ponytail, wearing an brown dress and white apron. Rolf's parents, Beniamin "Ben" and Greta. A man and woman with pale skin, curly white hair.
The woman was wearing a pale light blue dress, pearl necklace. Her husband was wearing a dark blue vest with brown outlines and collar and blue jeans. Jimmy's parents, Lucy and Martin. Next to them was a woman with long wavy red hair, wearing a black jacket and white shirt underneath and dark dress pants. Her husband with short auburn hair, wearing a light green polo vest and white pants. Kevin's parents, Jessica and Dennis. A woman with short blond hair with curls at the ends was talking to them, along with her husband. She had a figure that was like a model, wearing a white dress and apron. Her husband had wavy blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark blue and white sports jockey and black jeans. Nazz's parents, Mary ann and Martin. And last a woman with short black hair, wearing a striped sweater and blue jeans. Her husband had thinning black hair, going bald at the top, a mustache, wearing a grey turtleneck sweater and white pants and sandals. Jonny's parents, Susan and Tommy.
"Great! We're all here!" Mary ann smiled.
"Well, most of us." Martha replied, snobbishly. She turned back to Andy's father. "So, what brings you and your wife here to the cul-de sac?" She asked. Andy's father chuckled.
"It's just me and my kids. We are going through a rough divorce at the moment." He replied.
"All of them can't be winners!" Tim laughed. Martha stepped on Tim's foot, shushing him.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Mary ann spoke. Everyone chimed in as well.
"How are the kids handle it?" Susan asked him.
"Bella is too young to know what's going on. Andy's a trooper." He smiled.
"Bella? Is that the little one with the hearing problems our Nazz told us about?" Martin asked.
"Yes. Even though, she can't hear. Bella's smart as a tack. I'm glad that she is making friends." Andy's father smiled.
"So is she going to public school or home school?" Martha asked.
"Public. It'll be good for her to be around other people. Even though she has a disability, she's not different from anyone else." Andy and Bella's father spoke. Some of the other parents nodded while Martha had a strained smile on her face.
"I think it's a wonderful idea." Jessica replied.
"If you were throwing a party, you could've just said so, dude?" Nazz laughed as she was talking to Andy. Bella was standing next to her.
"I didn't. It was dad's idea." Andy' grumbled.
The three Ed boys looked around the backyard seeing the rest of the cul-de sac kids, eating some food, playing with water balloons, talking with each other. Bella spotted them, waving at them.
"Great. It's the dorks." Kevin muttered under his breath. Andy smiled, seeing them.
"Look at what the cat dragged in. I was starting to think that you three weren't going to show up!" She shouted. Loud music began blaring on the boombox. Ed ran over and grabbed Jimmy and started to wildly spin him around. "Shake down to boogie town!" He shouted.
"Ed! Put Jimmy down! Or I'll tell mom!" Sarah hissed at him. Ed immediately stopped. "Don't tell mom!" He dropped Jimmy like a sack of potatoes. Jimmy fell hard on the ground.
"So double dweeb, did your parents actually showed up for once?" Kevin asked.
"No-"
"Of course. Like always they didn't bother to show." Kevin laughed.
"Mother and father did want to attend but their work comes first." Double D frowned.
"Hey, lay off him, shovel face." Andy hissed. Eddy giggled. Ed laughed along with him as well. Kevin narrowed his eyes at her.
"What did you call me?"
"Shovel face." Andy repeated. Kevin growled, clenching his fist. "Oh, you're going to hit me? Come on, then! Give me a good one, right here!" Andy smirked, pointing to her cheek. Kevin dropped his fist.
"Whatever, loser." He walked away, joining Rolf.
"What? Too scared to hit a girl?" Andy joked. Eddy and Ed were crying with laughter while Double D watched Kevin leave. Double D's eyes widen as he saw three heads appear over the fence. A girl with messy curly red hair, covering her eyes, wearing a red polka dotted shirt and blue jeans, a girl with short blue hair, freckles on her cheeks, wearing a black tank top and green jeans, and another girl with long straight blond hair, freckles on her cheeks as well and buck teeth, wearing a white shirt and red shorts. The rest of the cul-de-sac kids froze in terror, except for Ed and Eddy who were still laughing. Andy frowned, looking at the girls, while Bella hid behind her.
"Ed! E-Eddy!" Double D shouted, fearfully, backing away slowly as the three girls hopped down from the fence. Ed stopped laughing when he noticed Double D backing away and froze seeing the girls. He grabbed Eddy, nearly squeezing the life out of him.
"Hey! What gives!?" Eddy growled. He turned his head to where everyone was looking at, seeing the three girls.
"K-Kankers!" Double D sputtered.
"Who invited you?!" Eddy shouted. The three girls let out a devious laugh.
"We invited ourselves." Lee spoke.
"We heard that some new neighbors moved into our old hideout." Marie smirked. Bella gripped Andy's shirt tighter.
"Andy, it's the ghosts!" She whispered. May noticed the two girls, looking at Bella.
"Hey, it's the cry baby!" She laughed.
"So, it was you three who harassed my sister last night?" Andy asked them.
"What's it to ya?" Lee smirked. Marie and May giggled along with her.
"I'm asking you to leave." Andy told them.
"What are you going to do to make us?" Marie taunted. Andy looked down to Bella.
"Go and get my bat." She whispered to her. Bella's eyes widened before she smiled and quickly nodded her head. She quickly ran over to the stairs to the back door and picked up the bat the was laying against the house then ran back.
"Here you go, Andy!" She handed the bat over to her sister. The smug grins from the three girls' faces were quickly wiped away as they saw Andy, tapping the bat with her hand.
"Leave now or you'll be leaving in three body bags." She smirked.
"This chick's crazy! Let's get out of here, girls!" Lee shouted. The three quickly scrambled as they tried to run away, kicking each other in the faces as they climbed over the fence as they left.
"What's with all the ruckus out here?" Andy heard her father call out. She along with everyone else turned their head to see their parents. Eddy's eyes widen.
"Oh no."
Andy's eyes widen as well. Bella stepped out behind her sister, looking at Eddy's parents.
"He's huge!" She shouted.
"Bella!" Andy and her father scolded her. He turned to them.
"I'm sorry, for my daughter. She's a curious one."
"It's alright." Jack said then looked back at the kids, looking at Andy when he noticed the bat in her hand.
"You play baseball?"
"Yeah, it's my favorite sport." Andy replied.
"That's great!" His mom smiled. "You don't know how hard it is to get our little Eddy to do any!" Eddy was grabbing his hair, almost pulling it out. His face was beet red with embarrassment when she said his nickname out loud in front of the other kids.
"Maybe, you can motivate him. Help him be better than his older brother." Jack said. Andy blinked at him before turning to Eddy. "You have an older brother?"
"See Eddy! Your parents love her!" Ed grinned, hugging him. Eddy pushed Ed off of him.
"Don't touch me." He growled.
The parents went back into the house and the rest of the kids went back to the party and playing games.
"See, Eddy, it wasn't that bad." Double D spoke.
"Your parents seem kind of cool." Andy replied.
"Nah, they're lame. The only coolest one in my family is my old bro!" Eddy brushed her off.
"Then where is he?" Andy asked. Eddy tensed up.
"He moved out on his own! He got his own house and job! I'm going to be just like him when I get older!" He smiled.
"That's...great?" Andy blinked.
She couldn't help but think that Eddy was hiding something about his brother.