Eddy waited impatiently in Edd's garage for the invention that would, of course, solve all of his problems.

"Careful…just a few more turns…" Edd mumbled to himself as he made some last-minute adjustments to his latest creation.  "And…we're finished!"  He stepped back proudly.  "The Neuro-Somatic Analyzer is ready for operation!"

"Took you long enough," Eddy groused.

"I don't think you grasp just how difficult it is to construct such high-precision equipment out of cardboard boxes and discarded household items, Eddy."  Edd lovingly polished what looked to be a highly modified cheese-grater sticking out of the top of the device.  "But I suppose there's no sense in splitting hairs now, is there?  Please be seated and we'll begin!"

Eddy watched uncertainly as a spark of electricity arced between a pair of hockey sticks.  "What am I, your guinea pig?  This hair's way too valuable to split – try it on Ed first!"

"'Try it on Ed'?"  Edd was nonplussed.  "But Eddy, this device was built for the express purpose of evaluating your reaction to various stimuli so we can pinpoint exactly what about Nazz's presence triggers your extreme adverse reaction!"

Eddy's lips moved as he tried to puzzle through Edd's protest, but then he dismissed it with an irritated head shake.  "Forget it, Sock-head, I ain't going near that thing until I see it work on someone else!"

Edd let out an exasperated sigh.  "Oh, very well Eddy, if you insist on being your usual stubbornly irrational self!"

"Oh, I insist!"

"So, so ungrateful," Edd muttered as he turned to Ed.  "Oh, Ed?  Would you mind assisting us for a moment, please?

"With hot-sauce on my toes, Double-D!"  Ed bounded over, only missing Edd's contraption by inches.  "And how can I complicate matters today, little mister?"

"I need your assistance in demonstrating my Neuro-Somatic Analyzer to Eddy – so please put this sensor on, if you would," he held out what looked to be half a hollowed-out bowling ball, "and we'll begin."

Ed eyed the 'sensor' and edged away uneasily.  "I don't know, Double-D, it sort of looks like the egg of a Razor-Backed Throw Pillow from Planet Ottoman!  What if it tears out my brains and uses them for stuffing?"

"It'd be the flattest pillow on the whole stupid planet," Eddy grumbled.

Edd pointedly ignored Eddy.  "I assure you, Ed, it's perfectly harmless!  We'll simply place this atop your head – " as he approached, Ed backed farther away.  "Ed, you'll need to stand still so I can outfit you with the sensor."  Ed continued to dodge him.  "Ed, would you please remain where you are?"

"Razor-Backed Throw Pillow, Double-D!"

"Oh, for crying out loud, don't either of you trust me?"  Edd put his hands on his hips and glared at his friends.  Ed looked away guiltily, while Eddy met his gaze with an unabashed grin.  "Very well, if I must prove my competency to the two of you yet again…"  He sat down and donned the 'sensor,' adjusting attached dials as well as he could while it was perched atop his own head.  He grumbled to himself and scowled at his friends, but suddenly paused mid-mutter as an idea came to him.  Brain-sucking pillows, indeed...

"Gracious!"  Trying hard not to giggle, he put on his best 'alarmed' face and clutched the sensor in both hands.  "It is sucking my brains out!!  Oh, help, Ed!"  Ed wasn't listening, his attention no doubt captured yet again by one of his typical flights of fancy.  Edd cleared his throat and tried once more.  "Ed, help!  My brains are being devoured by the dreaded Razor-Backed Throw Pillow!"

"Eddy, do you think pianos are ticklish?  I want one that laughs in C-Minor!"

"Ed!"  Edd indignantly waved his hands as Ed finally looked at him.  "Aren't you listening to me?  I said this device is sucking my brains out!"

Ed smiled sagely.  "Sometimes life gives you Brussels-sprouts, Double-D!"

"'Sometimes' – " Edd clucked his tongue in exasperation.  "Ed, don't you even care?!?  This is so out-of-character!"  Ed just chuckled.  "It'd be far more like you to launch yourself at the horrible brain-sucker in a spectacularly over-the-top attempt to save your dear companion – like, like this!"  He ripped the sensor off his head and bashed it against the wall, frowning at the complete lack of impact that had.  "Or perhaps more like this," grunting at the effort, he picked it up and threw it down as hard as he could, but once again made nary a dent.  "Okay, now I'm really getting vexed!"  Taking a deep breath, he snatched the sensor and flew into a frenzy of action, bashing it against the wall, the floor, the ceiling, anything he could hit.

When the dust cleared, the Neuro-Somatic Analyzer was still in perfect condition, not a scratch or dent to be seen.  Beside it Edd stood sweating and gasping for air, staring forlornly at the traitorous contraption.

"There, there, Double-D, we cannot all be spectacularly over-the-top!"  Ed went to pat Edd on the shoulder, but at his touch Edd, utterly worn out from his exertion, suddenly disintegrated into a disorderly pile of squiggles.  Ed gasped and hid his hands behind his back.  "I didn't do that, Eddy!"

For a moment there was silence, then from the pile of Double-D debris came his voice:  "Well…that was particularly ill-advised…"

"Gee, really?  I never would've guessed, Professor Obvious."  Eddy rolled his eyes, even as he got a broom and dustpan to scoop his friend up.  "I guess that means it's your turn, Ed."

"One for the penny, and two for the show!  And three for who knows what!"  Ed replied as he galloped out of the room.

****

"You are going to love this, guys!  Do not peek until I say so, okay?"

"Like we could if we wanted to, Ed!"  Eddy tried again to shove himself away from Ed, but the larger boy held tight with one arm wrapped around his eyes.  "Are we there yet?"

"Almost, Eddy!"  With one arm wrapped around Eddy's eyes, and the other around Edd's, Ed had to use his head to butt in the door to his room.  He led his friends inside and let go.  "Okay, we are here where we are!"

Edd waved away the lingering stench of moldy cheese and looked around.  "And just why are we in your room, Ed?"

"To cure Eddy, Double-D!  Look, I brought a surprise guest-star!"  Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out Jonny, who was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Boy, Plank, that was even scarier than that time we got chased by those carpenter ants, huh Buddy!"  He beamed at Ed.  "Plank says you've got the market cornered on Pocket Landfills, Ed!"

Eddy interrupted before Ed could thank Plank.  "Ed, what the heck's Jonny doing here?  You guys are supposed to be helpin' me – uh – " he frowned at Jonny.  " – iss-kay azz-Nay – not hosting a babbling idiots convention!"

"Been there, done that, Eddy!"  Ed picked Eddy up and plopped him down in his tattered easy-chair.  "Now listen good so Jonny can fix you!"

"Forget it, Ed, I don't need help from Beebo the Wonder Dweeb and some floorboard reject!"

"Oh, but Eddy, Jonny helped me so good when I was scared of him, remember?"  Seeing his friends' blank expressions, Ed elaborated.  "I was in my happy place until Sarah told on me, only she told Jonny instead of Mom because he was dressed up like my mom so he could take away my mouth and send me to the Kanker Pit!"  He shuddered in remembered horror.  "Then I woke up and you were mad 'coz I could not win you a tippy-toes ribbon so Double-D had Jonny sit down and talk with me until he screamed and woke up from his nightmare and I was all better!"

Eddy stared wordlessly, then elbowed Double-D in the ribs.  "Ain't this about the time when you're supposed to explain what's going on to me?"

"Would that I could, Eddy…"  Edd looked equally baffled as he peered at Ed.  "But I suppose it is up to me to make some semblance of sense out of this…"  He took out his notebook so he could try to keep track.  "So, Ed, are you telling us you had a nightmare about Jonny?"

"Get with the Cheetos, Double-D, it was Jonny who had the dream!"  Ed rolled his eyes.  "I was just a Fig Newton of his imagination!"

"I…see…"  Edd glanced at Jonny.  "And did you indeed have this so-called dream, Jonny?"  Jonny nodded cheerfully.  "So then afterwards you went to Ed for counseling about it?"  He looked slightly put-out.  "I must admit, he doesn't seem like the obvious choice if you ask – "

"No way, Double-D, me and Plank don't tell our dreams to anyone, do we Buddy?"  Jonny grinned at Plank.  "We don't want people thinking we're weird or anything!"

Edd blinked.  "But if you didn't tell him, then how did he know…?"

Ed shook his head and chuckled.  What a silly little fellow his friend could be sometimes!  "Duh, Double-D, I was there!  And so were you and Eddy and Nazz and Kevin and Sarah and Jimmy and Plank and a gymbag competition!"

Edd shut his eyes and rubbed his temples.  "Let me get this straight."  Gathering his reserves, he tried again.  "Jonny, you recently had a nightmare of fairly major severity."

"Yep!"

"And Ed, you're fully aware of the contents of this nightmare."

"That is correct, sir!"

"Despite the fact that Jonny never told you about it."

"Do not stop the rocking, Double-D!"

"And the reason you know about it, so you claim, is that you were in this dream yourself."

"Right as rabbits!"

Edd mulled this over.  "But that…that doesn't make any sense!"  He looked around at everyone, his eyes ringing up at the sheer illogic of it all.  "Doesn't anybody see??"  Ed and Jonny simply smiled, while Eddy tapped his foot impatiently.  "Ed, you can't possibly know about someone's dream just because you were in it, that simply cannot happen!  I mean, consider the implications if that were true, why, we'd all be privy to the innermost thoughts and subconscious emotions of our every friend and acquaintance!  Not to mention the – "

"Aaarrgh!!"  Eddy shoved Edd aside and glared around.  "I don't CARE how Ed knows Jonny's stupid dreams – WHAT does this have to do with ME?!"  Ed smiled blankly back at him.  "WELL?!?"

Ed put a hand up to his mouth and thought for a moment, then returned his gaze to Eddy.  "Your call cannot go through as dialed, please deposit fifty cents!"  He looked at Jonny.  "Hey, look guys, it is Jonny!  Hello Jonny!"

"Hiya, Ed!"  Jonny returned Ed's wave.  Edd and Eddy stared, Edd twitching slightly while Eddy began turning an unhealthy shade of red.

Jonny beamed at them.  "Boy, Plank, you're right!  Double-D and Eddy really do need to learn to relax and go with the flow!"

"I'll give you flow," Eddy grumbled.  But Double-D took Plank's advice to heart.

"Relax!  Of course!"  He put a hand to his forehead and shook his head.  "How foolish of me not to have thought of this sooner!"  Suddenly reenergized with the spark of a new idea, he trotted towards the door, his notebook out and ready for his newest plans.  "Let's go, fellas, I'm going to need some candles, a well-padded mat, and some chamomile tea!"

Eddy slouched after him, sparing one final glare for Jonny.  "Thanks a lot, Melon-head, you just had to get him going again, didn't you?"

"Bye Jonny!"  Ed bounced up the stairs, taking Eddy with him.  "Come back and play with us again!"

"Will do, Ed!"  Jonny waved.  "Boy, Plank, those guys sure are a handful, huh?  What's that?"  He listened.  "Hey, yeah, I bet there are some really neat sewer pixies hiding down here!"  He laughed wildly as he ran for Ed's closet.  "First one to spot one gets to make the wish, right?  Okay, okay, you get the wish!  Boy, Plank…"  His voice faded as he ran deeper into Ed's closet.

*****

"I still say this is a waste of time," Eddy grumbled.  "We'd could be outside scamming the shirt offa someone, but nooo – Little Mary Sunshine says I gotta learn to 'relax'."

"Relaxation is the key to social confidence, Eddy," Edd replied absently as he lit the last of the scented candles.  "You'll thank me when we're through."

"I ain't thankin' no-one, Sock-head."  Eddy sat on his bed with his arms crossed.  "And I don't need you telling me about 'social confidence' – I'm only doing this to keep Ed happy!"

"And happy I am!" Ed looked pleased indeed as he crammed another candle into his mouth.  "Look, Double-D, I am Wax-Lips, scourge of the Wax Museum!"

"That's nice, Ed."  Double-D was not to be shaken this time.  "But please remember to extinguish the flame before you ingest any more of my votives, all right?  No antacid in the world was designed to deal with heartburn that severe."  His giggle at his little joke turned into a sigh as a metallic clang rang out behind him.  "Ed, what did I say about chewing on those windchimes?  Why don't you hand them over before you chip a tooth?"  He took the windchimes from his disappointed friend and bent them back into shape, listening carefully to the silvery tinkling they gave off as he tapped them.  "Perfect!"

"Oh, come on, what is this?"  Eddy jammed his fists in his ears.  "The candles are sissy enough, I ain't listening to no stupid yoga noise!"

"But Eddy, proper relaxation requires an atmosphere conducive to tranquil meditation!  Granted, there's scant hard data to support the use of these admittedly clichéd accoutrements, but anecdotal evidence suggests that many people find it soothing – give it a chance, I guarantee it'll help you achieve your lofty goal of kissing Nazz by getting you past that phobia of yours!"

"Hey-hey-hey, I ain't afraid of kissing Nazz!  It was – it was the heat, yeah, that's it!"  He nodded to himself.  "It was way too hot out there, that's all it was!"

"Oh, come on, Eddy, I can't help you if you won't face up to your fear!  I'll admit we haven't yet established that it's a genuine phobia per se, but that seems a reasonable working hypothesis, don't you think?"

"No, it ain't a working anything!"  He glared defensively at Edd.  "And if anyone has a stupid phobia around here it's you, Dodgeball Boy!"  Grinning at Edd's stunned expression, Eddy widened his eyes and raised his voice to a well-practiced high and nasal pitch.  "Oh dear, gym class is so threatening!  Don't throw the ball at me, you might bruise my brain!"

"Now you leave my neuroses out of this!" Edd snapped, his face reddening and his hands clasping nervously before he could regain his composure.  "I was only trying to help, Eddy, but if you feel you can handle this on your own," he crossed his arms and turned his back, "then by all means, please be my guest!"

"Fine, I will!"  Eddy jumped off the bed and stomped towards the door.  "Who needs you anyway?  Come on, Ed, let's go show those dinks who the real Man of the Cul-De-Sac is!"

"Okay, Eddy, but I think Victor is really a girl…"

Edd remained where he was, his back still to his friends as he rolled his eyes.  "Oh no you don't, Mister, you're not ensnaring me with your shamelessly blatant guilt trip – not this time!  I am not moving from this spot until you apologize for your thoughtless dismissal of all my hard work – Eddy, are you listening to me?"  He glanced over his shoulder, his indignant attitude faltering as he realized his friends were leaving.  "Eddy?  Eddy, wait, you're not ready!  Oh, he's so pig-headed…"  Picking up a pillow lest Eddy faint to the ground yet again, Edd hurried after his friends, muttering all the way.