Chapter 40: Before I Forget

At the table of the crew, they are just now basically spending their time consuming some lunch. Although... something isn't quite correct. Marie realizes that Lee is missing, and she is 110% certain as to why that is the case. But before she can go looking for him, she has to talk to Double D first. Lucky for her, she had already finished her lunch, and so did Double D for that matter.

"Hey." Marie whispered in his ear.

Double D turns to her and says, "Yes Marie?"

"We need to talk about something. In private." Marie explains in a low voice so that the others don't hear them.

"Okay." Double D told her before saying, "One second gentlemen, I must handle some private business."

All the lads simply responded with a variation of "Alright then."

And so, Double D and Marie go to an area where they take a seat or lay down near a tree. Hmm... where have I seen this before? Anyways, putting aside any deja vu, they begin to speak with one another.

"So Marie, what is the occasion for this?" A curious Double D asked Marie.

Marie begins to explain, saying, "I'm not looking forward to seeing Lee's reaction to the performance."

Double D didn't realize why until it hit him: Eddy's stunt.

"I presume you are referring to the stunt that Eddy did? Marie, while Eddy has been known to... charm the ladies, as he would put it, it is very much not set in stone as to if Eddy will take the lady he got the number of into a relationship." Double D told Marie. "Besides, something tells me Eddy isn't going to have it easy just because of the performance."

"What do you mean?" Marie asked.

Double D looks at her and says, "Please keep this as a secret from him, but Eddy has me slightly worried with his overconfident attitude about the performance. From what I've seen, he believes that everything will be easy from now. While I do understand why he would think this, it isn't a mindset that bodes well."

"You're telling me." Marie responded. "If he can make it work, I'll be surprised, but I'll root for him. I guess. But Lee is very much unlikely to."

Double D then says, "Marie, as much as it may seem like Lee has a say in the matter, she does not. It is mainly a thing born of jealousy."

"You don't get it!" Marie fired back, surprising Double D. "She and him are basically equals, wouldn't you say? Plus, she is not gonna let this go easy at all. What then when that occurs?"

Double D only thought about Marie said. I mean, it IS true, Lee and Eddy are basically equals in their respective crews. Loud, brash, blunt, direct, don't think a lot, need I go on? Either way you roll the dice lad, Double D said this, "I suppose you have a point Marie. Although, Eddy did have some plans for Lee originally, but because of the incident that occurred a few days ago, he decided to cancel them."

"What were the plans?" Marie asked.

"As far as they were planned, Eddy had me make a certain potion, which was supposed to make him more relaxed. We tested it on Chris, and he seemed to have no major effects. The only thing I might've noticed was that he was seemingly less interested in certain activities. I say that, as, the day that we tested the potion one hundred percent was... unfortunately the day of the large incident. The main takeaway is that, he decided to go away with Skylar, and I'm presuming that it's due to the potion. The plan never advanced further, as we, or should I say Eddy, cancelled everything, and changed our ideas into the performance." Double D explained to her.

Marie was actually surprised.to hear this, as all she has witnessed, from the start, is the two of them (Eddy and Lee) being at literal opposites end of the table on what seems to be everything in this universe. Okay, maybe not literally, but you get the idea. Regardless, Marie then says to Double D, "Wow. Now what's his plan?"

"Not too sure sadly." Double D stated. "But, something tells me that Eddy is unlikely to pay her any attention. And Lee will share the same mindset."

Marie laughed at what Double D said. "Double D, I don't think she'll let this go without issues."

"And as I've mentioned before, it's not in her hands to decide for Eddy." Double D reminded her.

Marie was getting slightly frustrated, because she felt like Double D was failing to understand the point. At that point, she decided to drop the topic, as to avoid any possible conflict with her boyfriend. "I suppose you're correct Double D. I hope you are."

"I'm sure it will only be an issue of her accepting this as it is." Double D calmly stated.

Marie then asks him, "Oh yeah, anymore performances planned?"

Double D laughs before he says. "No. Not for right now Marie. We have to practice another song before we even grasp the idea of performing once more. I won't turn that opportunity down of course, experience counts. Although, I will request of the fellows that we give ourselves more time, because two days or so is a rather ineffective period of time. I'm extremely surprised that we even did our performance well enough."

"Come on!" Marie states. "You did really well! And so did the rest of your friends too. I'm sure everyone would agree. Plus, did you see all the fans you got?"

Double D chuckles at the word "fans". "I suppose so, but everything has room for improvement."

Marie then gets an idea for something. So. she tells him. "I think you're due for something."

"What might that be Marie? Is some-"

Is it really THAT hard to guess that, Marie kissed Double D on the lips? Not only that, she gets directly on top of him, which catches Double D off guard. He is thanking everything is literally no one is nearby to see them doing... that. Not to worry though, it didn't escalate beyond some "normal" making out however, and even then, it's unlikely that SCHOOL of all places is the best environment to do that stuff. But, what can ya do? Anyways, after like 10 minutes or so, our two lovebirds decided to go back to the crew, who, surprisingly enough, everyone was still there. Once they both sit down, Marie gets asked by Skylar...

"So, where were you guys?"

"We were just talking about some... things." Marie responded.

Skylar gets curious, and says, "Like what? If you wanna share."

"Not here. And, okay... if I'm to tell you, you better kept your mouth shut never tell anyone. Got that?" Marie whispered to Skylar, the latter of which was slightly surprised.

"Don't worry. I'll keep it a secret. I promise." Skylar responded.

As for the boys, Eddy is currently boasting (unsurprisingly) about the fact that he, basically has a date with that girl that he brought up to the stage to dance with. Chris responded to him, saying, "Relax you dimwit. Just because we did that doesn't mean she's gonna be all over you and want you to be with her."

"But come on! You can't tell me that was smooth!" Eddy exclaimed.

Chris laughed at that statement, before saying, "You can't be serious. That isn't smooth to me at all. But hey, I don't exactly know myself, but again, it just doesn't seem that way to me."

"You're just jealous that you aren't going to be able to get an opportunity like this!" Eddy fired back.

"Oh, really?" Chris said, feeling a little bit provoked. "Okay, let's make a bet then. Since you're so ridiculously overconfident in your ability to... I guess get this girl with you, here's a bet for ya. You must ask her to be with you. If she says yes, I owe you fifteen dollars. If she says no, you owe me fifteen."

Eddy laughs in a comically evil tone. "You asked for it. Deal!"

Chris and Eddy shake hands, officially making a bet secured. The entire table starts laughing at Eddy though, and he says, "What is so funny?"

"Eddy, oh my goodness... hey! Ed, Double D, Marie, May and Skylar, can I speak for you five?"

They all say yes, and Chris turns to Eddy, saying, "Eddy, they are laughing at you not because it's funny. situation. They're laughing, because it's ridiculous, how you think because you just casually have a girlfriend thanks to that performance."

"Honestly?" Skylar said, jumping in. "That's very unrealistic. She is going to want to know you Eddy. Not just get with you for the performances."

Double D then throws his two cents in, "She is right Eddy. Do not misinterpret what we are saying however, we all fully support you in succeeding with this, but you must not let yourself get over your head."

Well, isn't that a lot to take in? Haha! Eddy feels like a deer caught in headlights because, holy moly was this something to take in. Eddy responds to everyone, saying, "Alright, everybody calm down! I'll keep it cool, I promise. By the end of it, you'll eat your words."

"Sure... punk." Chris said in a sarcastic manner.

Marie throws her two cents in, saying, "I'll do another bet for ya. If you don't kiss her before she leaves, you owe me fifteen too! If you do kiss, I owe you. But, it only counts if she approves. No forcing it, got that?"

Eddy also accepts that bet, thinking he's gonna get a free 30 dollars. Oh, isn't this just the same old song, over and over. Does it ever change? That's the question we need to know. Anyways, moving along, the crew spent the rest of lunch generally having fun with one another, until, ding ding! Time for classes!

To summarize the next 2 classes for you, the lads that performed got many compliments and attention from everyone. And, surprise, they also got some numbers inbetween classes. Of course, all four were divided in terms of reactions. If you're Ed, you most likely thought you had more friends. If you're Double D, you took the numbers sure, but ultimately, you didn't want to take it much further than possible, because you are already dedicated to a certain blue-haired lady. If you're Eddy, your ego got fed more and more. If you're Chris, you take them, sure, but you didn't plan to do anything as, you already have your mind set to a certain someone.

Regardless, it's now time for everyone to go home sweet home! In-between the end of class and walking out the door, Eddy found Violet, and they both settled on 4:30 PM as the date time tonight. So, everything seems to be quite well, right?

"Don't tell me Lee skipped school..." Marie said, slightly concerned, because Lee was in literally none of the last two classes.

"Perhaps she has gone home? Because it's unlikely she's gone anywhere else." Double D told Marie.

Marie nods her head to say yes, and she and Double D share a hug and a kiss. Eddy then tells his other two lads, "Well, we got some work to do, right?"

Ed, carrying the drums with very little effort, says, "Roger that Eddy!"

Chris was about to respond to Eddy, until he notices Skylar, somewhat distant. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I gotta go. Bye." Skylar responded, ever so briefly.

"This is... concerning... what could possibly be making her act this way..." Chris, in deep thought, said to himself.

Meanwhile, May tells Ed. "Are you sure you can carry that Ed?"

Ed, in a silly tone, says, "Ed can carry it, miss May. No worries are required."

May laughs at Ed's random word usage, and tells him, "Well, I gotta go, take care Ed!"

"You too!" Ed yells out.

And so, the two groups split up to go to their homes. Everyone is in different thoughts currently. Eddy, speaking for everyone, says, "So? Whatcha guys think? We did good right?"

"While yes, our performance does the work quite well if I say so myself, we have a set of issues to deal with." Double D responded. "For example, it seems you have a date with this, 'Violet', lady. If so, shouldn't we logically get you prepared and all set up?"

Eddy tells Double D, "I guess."

Eddy then turns to Chris and asks him, "Your input."

Chris doesn't respond, as he is still stuck in his thoughts, and he hasn't even listened to anything the lads have been saying. Eddy then snaps his finger in front of him, saying, "Hey! You there man?"

"What?" Chris said, snapped back to reality. "I'm just thinking about something right now. Sorry. My bad."

"It's cool. But I'm gonna ask for some help with this date. Can you help me with this?" Eddy asked.

"Well..." Chris said, slightly unsure. "Alright, sure. But we can't do everything! Keep this in mind!"

Eddy notices that Chris is noticeably more... maybe a little bit more upfront and aggressive than he usually is. Perhaps once the date is over, he'll talk to him and see what's up, because to Eddy, something is clearly bothering Chris, and he wants to help. But, one thing at a time my friends, one thing at a time.

This feels more bittersweet. Ew.