Disclaimer – I still own nothing…

A/N – Ok folks, so it's now 6am, I'm sitting here reading all your reviews and coz they are so very nice I've decided to start on my next chapter – ain't I nice to you eh? Lol. So before I give in to temptation and crawl back into bed, here is chapter 9! Enjoy!

Dedication – I'm back with my dedications again folks! This time I'm dedicating a chapter to ChibiMizu for her astounding fanart that she has made for this fic on fanart central. Once I have posted this I shall be creating a link to it from my profile page. So this is for you with all my love!


Closeted Secrets

Eddy was there – right in front of him. He was so close, so very close. Eddy held out a hand and waited for his friend to take it, but in the seconds it took for him to deliberate whether or not to return the gesture, the image of the short blonde began to fade into the distance – swallowed by the shadows that surrounded them both. The look of peace that had previously graced Eddy's features had now been replaced with blind panic, frantic fear, as he tried desperately to reach out to the boy facing him. Fraught wails and screams surrounded the boy as he watched his best friend sink into the darkness. He wanted to help him, yet something held him back, he could not understand exactly what it was that prevented him from reaching out to Eddy, but whatever this force was, it was strong and no matter how much he tried to fight against it, this overwhelming mystery emotion still won over. Eddy let out one final cry before being completely drawn into the blackness. Suddenly, he found he was able to control this feeling that had been haunting him, but now it was too late. Eddy was gone. He allowed his body to fall to the ground, releasing deep sobs that echoed through the world around him.

Double D's eyes flew open as he tried to identify the sound that had woken him. Images of his dream cleared from his vision, and were replaced with Ed's beaming face as the larger boy stood over him shouting "Cock-a-doodle-doo… I am a rooster… Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Double D blinked in an attempt to clear his thoughts enough to be able to understand Ed's random sayings. They confused him at the best of times, but seconds after just waking up was too much for even his brain to handle.

He looked up to his friend again and watched as his expression of joy turned to confused concern as he noticed the tears streaming down Double D's cheeks, which were slightly flushed as a result of the dreams that haunted his sleep.
"Are you ok Double D?" Double D sat silently, trying to contemplate what to do. Should he tell Ed what was going on? He wasn't even sure whether Ed would understand what he was trying to explain, and even if he did, how could Double D do such a thing? Ed had complete and unreserved trust in his two best friends. He relied on them both and, to him, neither of them could do no wrong. How could Double D take that faith away from him? His gaze drifted to the ground in an attempt to escape the scrutiny he was receiving from his best friend.
"Yeah – I'm fine Ed… Just a bit tired… you know?" He could feel the tremor in his voice that threatened to give away his distress to the larger boy who stood over him, and desperately hoped that his act of contentment would be adequate in satisfying him. Ed watched as Double D attempted a small smile – eyes still cast to the ground – and draped a heavy arm over the slight boy's shoulders as he finally gave in to the tears he had been so urgently fighting. Double D had always been emotional – ever since he was young – and Ed had always known how easily his flighty companion's resilient airs and graces could be worn down when he was faced with overriding guilt or shame. However, this was new to him. He had never seen Double D look so sad, so tearful, so scared.

He rubbed his hand over Double D's back with a circular motion in an attempt to comfort him as the boy's slender shoulders shook with the resounding sobs that escaped him. This really was unlike anything Ed had ever seen. But what could have caused his friend such pain? Is it something he had done? No, he knew Double D well enough to know that if Ed had been the cause of his distress then Double D would not be here with him. Retreat had always been Double Ds best form of defence, and if Ed had been the problem then he could expect to receive nothing but deathly silence from his pernickety friend. He truly was a master when it came to dishing out guilt. So if it wasn't Ed – who? Kevin? No – Kevin had not been paying much attention to either of the Ed's recently – although Ed had noticed that he would occasionally give what seemed like warning glares in Eddy's direction, but thought nothing of it, as long as Kevin stayed his distance Ed was happy. Sarah? Ed desperately tried to think back to try and remember if he and his friends had upset Sarah recently, but could not think of any such incident. Nazz? Johnny? The Kankers? Ed could not believe anyone in the cul-de-sac had such power over his friend to make him react this way. Maybe he had fallen out with his parents? Ed seriously doubted this though. Double D worked so hard to please his parents; he would not tarnish their feelings for him by means of confrontation. So who?

"Double D…" Ed began in an attempt to prompt his friend to give him an explanation for his tears, but when he received no reply he reached out to take his friend's chin and lift his head so that he could look directly into Double D's emerald eyes.
"What is wrong?" he asked softly, not wanting to sound too harsh and risk upsetting the boy further. Double D was silent for a while, trying to find the best words to explain the situation to the larger boy without giving too much away, and certainly without revealing that it was Eddy who was behind all of his pain.
"Ed… If someone you knew did something really bad… I mean really bad… would you forgive them?" Double D stopped suddenly – as if he had only just realised what he had said. Was he really contemplating forgiving Eddy for everything that had happened? No. He couldn't… could he? Could Eddy really be allowed to simply get away with all of the pain, all of the tears, all of the feelings of betrayal he had caused? But why - if he could never forgive him - did Double D still love his best friend?

Ed looked deeply into Double D's eyes – almost as if he expected to be able to find the answers to the questions his friend asked hidden in their depths, amongst the pain and the torment that lay there. Finally, after some thought he hesitantly answered
"I guess it would depend on what they did" Ed greatly hoped that he had given his friend the correct answer. Things were never easy to understand when it came to Double D, and the intricate speech that he used certainly did Ed no favours as he tried so frantically to follow his trail of thought. Add to that the fact that, despite Double D's apparent predictability, he was incredibly sensitive, and so whenever Ed didn't quite understand what was being asked of him and accidentally gave the wrong response, he often found himself making the situation so much worse. Ed was so much more comfortable with Eddy when he was in a bad mood, because, although the short boy could be very erratic and his moods could change like the winds, eventually everything would all boil down leaving Eddy drowning in his default emotion – anger. Ed could understand anger. He had had to deal with it so many times and so now it was nothing unfamiliar to him. But Double D's quiet reserve on the other hand….

"I can't tell you. At least not yet. But let's just say it was particularly awful" Double D interrupted Ed's thoughts and watched his larger friend, waiting patiently for an answer. Sure, Ed was not particularly bright, and he was often drifting off in his own dream world, but this allowed him to be led by his emotions, unlike Double D himself, whose intellect meant that he was controlled by his head, and so when it came to matters of the heart there was no better place to turn than to his caring best friend.
"I don't know Double D… I'm sorry…" Ed began apologising, but knew from the look of understanding that graced Double D's features that it was not needed "
Who was it?" Double D winced at this question. He knew he couldn't lie to his friend, but he still needed to protect him for as long as he could.

"That doesn't really matter right now… I guess I just need some time to think things through. Id better be heading home." It was only at this point that Double D realised that he was no longer in Ed's living room but was instead sat in his bedroom amongst the sheets of Ed's bed, and that the light surrounding them was not from the lamp above their heads, but was daylight that streamed through the window and cast radiance around the room. How long had he been here? He must have fallen asleep while curled up on Ed's lap last night and then, instead of having to wake him, Ed must have carried him downstairs and offered him his own bed. Double D cast his eyes to the floor where he saw a sleeping bag lying close by. The thought of this simple, yet heartfelt gesture was enough to bring tears back to his eyes, but he fought them back to accept one final hug from his best friend before saying his goodbyes and leaving the room. He made a quick detour to Sarah's bedroom – once he had made sure that she was steadily occupied with the colourful show flashing across the television screen in the living room – and rummaged though her draw until finding a pencil of thick black eyeliner, which he gracefully swept around his eyes. He felt guilty about invading her privacy, but this was an emergency. As he was about to leave he spotted one of the elastic bands that Sarah used to tie up her hair and deftly pulled his hair back into a loose ponytail. If he couldn't hide the hair that he so inexplicably loathed, he might as well try to disguise it as well as possible.

Taking one last, lingering look at Ed's home – a place where he felt so loved and safe – he made his way slowly back down the street to his own house, making sure not to cast his glance over Eddy's house as he passed by. He needed no reminders of the events of the night before. He became lost in thought and was startled when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He turned to face the person who had just beckoned him
"Hey Double D? Are you all right? You look a bit shaken." When the pale boy gave no response aside from to cast his eyes to the ground, the person before him spoke again
"Tell you what. Why don't we go somewhere private we can talk? You can tell me what is wrong." Double D nodded numbly and followed his companion as he led the way through the cul-de-sac, a satisfied smile playing upon his features.


There we have it! Another chapter for the collection… I'm quite impressed I managed to get it done by 8:19 am… wow… Again, I should probably admit to not liking this chapter either, but I guess I'm just paranoid so pls tell me what you think and review! As always – thank you for all of the reviews I have received so far for this fic, and thank you also to the reviews I have received for 'Tourniquet' – which I really was a tad hesitant about writing – and if anyone REALLY has to know who I was writing about in that fic then visit my profile and go to the homepage link and it should all be explained there Toodles for now!