A.N: So, I might be wrapping things up soon, I'll have to see what I can do, but there should still be many more chapters to come and maybe a sequel if you guys want one. In other news, Gravity Falls has ended, so once this story is done, I'll be posting that story. Anyways, this is the new chapter, and hopefully I'll be writing more soon!
I awoke with a feeling of dread, and after a few seconds of lying on my bed with my eyes slightly open, I realized what it was after a minute of sitting there. As much as I would have loved this Friday to be one where I wouldn't have to think too hard on things as the weekend was here, I had to worry about conflict mediation with Eddy. I despised the idea of having to talk to him about how he betrayed me, and of our whole past. Normally I'm a forgiving person, and I probably should have forgiven Eddy, but I didn't feel like forgiving. Something inside me wouldn't let me feel like he deserved an apology. I don't know what it was, but it wouldn't let me.
I got ready for the day and headed off to school. When I got there, Marie greeted me and we talked for a while, but we danced our way around the topic of conflict mediation. Eventually, she spoke up a couple minutes before we were supposed to head off to class.
"So, they're gonna call you to talk with Eddy sometime during class, I don't know when though. I think it's either second, fourth, or fifth period." She told me when our conversation got quiet.
"How many times have you gone there?" I asked with a laugh.
"About five times. The other times I just got suspended for fighting them," she answered with a small chuckle. I chuckled with her, knowing that that would be the case. "Are you nervous about it?" She asked, sounding a little nervous, but managing to not sound too worried.
"To be honest, I kind of am. I don't know what'll happen, or if I should forgive him. Do you think I should forgive him?" I asked Marie. My inner conflict from this morning had carried itself all the way to school with me, and I wanted someone else's opinion.
"I mean, it's all up to you, but I think you should forgive him. It's your call, I don't know how bad he hurt you, but I can tell you, it'll probably be better if you forgive him." She replied. I wasn't sure if I actually would forgive him, even if it would have been the best choice.
"Thanks Marie." I said just as the bell rang. Marie hugged me just like yesterday and said, "Please don't do anything stupid, just do what you feel is best." She said before releasing me. I stood there for a second, and hugged her back. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." I told Marie. We parted and walked our separate ways. I thought for a moment that it was weird, me hugging Marie. If my past self had known this was something I willingly did, I would have flipped out. But I couldn't think on that for long, I had to worry about school, amongst other things…
First period was normal, except for the fact that everything was faded, and my mind was in a whole other world. To be more specific, one without Eddy. I thought back to Marie's words about how I should take her word and forgive him. That's when I had a really clear thought. Everyone else forgave me after I left them without a goodbye, even Marie. It was then that I decided to forgive Eddy, but I wanted to hear what he had to say first.
It was second period when over the intercom I heard the call for me to go to a room. I was surprised that it wasn't the principal's office, but an actual classroom. Nevertheless, I walked off to the conflict mediation room, with a different mindset from yesterday. I got to the classroom, and found that Eddy was already there. He looked like a puppy that had just been scolded, sitting in his seat dejectedly. He glanced up at me, but immediately shot his eyes down to the floor once we made eye contact. I sat down on the chair across from him, and the other people around us, who I assumed were students, looked at us.
"So, we're here to help you guys resolve whatever is going on between you two." The guy on my right started. "If you're having trouble resolving things, we can help you guys fix it." He said.
"Nah, I just think we should talk it out." I said. Then I turned to Eddy. "I'm sorry about yesterday, I should have heard you out, I was just mad."
"No, I get it." Eddy spoke with a slightly hoarse voice. "Listen, I'm sorry too, about everything." Eddy raised his face up. "I shouldn't have blamed you like that, I was too much of a greedy ass to see that I was fucking up so much." Eddy said as he lowered his face again to hide the tears that were coming out of his eyes. "I'm such a fucking idiot." He said quietly.
"Eddy, I mean yeah you did something wrong, but it's fine, I forgive you." I tried to console him, but his face came back up, small streams of tears trailing down his cheek.
"No, you don't understand. When I heard you came back, so many memories came back and I knew for sure what happened to you. When you left, I thought you just went on a vacation with your family, so I had to blame things on Ed, and then it all backfired. It wasn't until a week after that that I started to worry about you along with everyone else. Then…" Eddy started to really tear up at this point, and his voice became extremely choked. "Then this rumor went around that you...that...you died...and…" He was sobbing at this point, "and I thought that it was my fault...I...thought that I did this to one of my best friends, that he...he...k...died…" It was a few minutes before he could compose himself enough to talk again. "I saw what everyone else was going through, and once we knew you weren't coming back… I felt so guilty and I...I just felt that if I didn't do that everything would have been so much better, and I just...I thought that...it was all my fault." He ended while looking down at the floor. I was gonna say something, but then he spoke up again. "I tried to get my mind off of it all, so I went back to scamming people. Then I heard you came back, and everything just...just came back. I felt like I had to see you. I couldn't go without telling you sorry. I just...I had to." The tears were still streaming down his face when he ended. I had never expected to see Eddy cry like this, especially over the mistake that he made. There was a silence for a minute, but I broke it.
"I forgive you. I know that you made a stupid mistake, and I left everyone in the dark when I left, and they forgave me. So why wouldn't I forgive you?"
"Yeah, but if I hadn't blamed you you wouldn't have left like that. I made the first mistake, it's all my fault." Eddy told me.
"You can't blame yourself for everything, alright? I forgive you, but if you make a mistake like that again, that'll be the last mistake you make with me, alright?" I asked. Eddy sniffled and nodded, looking down at the ground. We stayed in silence for another minute, the conflict mediation people keeping quiet too. I could tell some of them were shocked and confused at what just happened, and the whole conversation that had just transpired. For them, this conversation was as confusing as walking in on a movie right at the end. I stood up and looked down at Eddy, waiting for him to look up at me. After a few seconds, he raised his head, and looked at me. I held my hand out at him, waiting for him to grasp it, and, once he did, I pulled him up, and into an embrace. He seemed shocked by it, but eventually accepted it and hugged me back.
"Remember that if you do that again, you're really gonna be paying for it." I spoke, He sniffled and I felt him nod. I let go, and looked him in the eye. "We're like brothers, Eddy. Even after all this time and everything that's happened, we're still gonna be brothers to each other. Now I should probably get back to class." I said. It was going to take some getting used to, and some repair to have Eddy back around. I still felt wary about him, and I wasn't sure if he would betray me again. I went back to class, and I replayed everything Eddy had said. I felt bad for him, but those choices that he made were ultimately his. I hoped that things were going to get back to normal soon. The rest of the day I felt sick, I couldn't focus on anything, and I knew it was going to stay the entire day. I sat alone at lunch, in the place I spent my time at lunch at the start of this quarter. Blasting my music, I was left to the solitude where I could think about what had happened and what I should do now. I decided that I should try my best to become friends with Eddy again, it would be what was best. The rest of school went by normally as I had expected, and I walked home, but that feeling wouldn't go away. It felt like someone had poured a dark sap over my mind, I wasn't able to see the outside or focus, and everything was dark. My thoughts were slowed. It was a strange feeling, and the best way I can describe it is when you wake up in a bad mood with your head clogged up.
When I got home I decided to sit down and take a small nap. Unfortunately for me, someone knocked on my door, just as I was about to fall asleep. I awoke, unsure if I had heard an actual knock or if it was my mind pulling me out of my slumber. I decided to check, considering I was already awake. When I got to the door and opened it up, I saw Marie standing there, looking a little worried.
"Hey," she said with a nervous smile. Me, still being the groggy person I was, motioned her to come in without a spoken word. We walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, on opposite ends. I waited for her to say something, but we had to sit through some silence. "So...how did it go?" Marie asked me.
"I don't know." I replied after a short silence. Marie gave me a confused look. "I mean, I forgave him, but, why don't I feel right?" I asked, more towards me than her. She looked down, still a little confused, but she tried to make more sense out of it.
"Well that's good you forgave him, but I still don't know why you feel bad. Maybe it's just you trying to get over the past. After all the shit you went through, it makes sense." What she said made sense, and I felt like that was probably what was going on. I wasn't sure, but I hoped that it would be something I could get over quickly.
"Thanks Marie." I said, my mind still cloudy.
"No problem." She stated simply. A few minutes of silence hung in the air, and I felt a slight tension in the air. I looked over at Marie, and she was looking at me. We stared at each other for a few moments, until I smirked.
"What?" I asked her, momentarily forgetting everything with Eddy.
"What? I can't look at you without you judging what I'm doing?" She asked, a similar smirk forming on her face. A smile formed on my face at this point.
"I'm not judging you, I'm just wondering what you're thinking about doing to me." I said. Her smirk disappeared and she turned her face, but not before I saw a small tinge of red appear on her face. "Oh, god, what were you thinking of over there?" I laughed, and I could see her laughing too. I laughed honestly for the first time that day, and it felt like that veil had been taken away from my mind. While Marie was still faced the other way, I slid over to her, nudged her knee with my foot, and slid back to where I was laying down. I saw Marie, still laughing, but she looked back at me, slowly, with a grin on her face. Oh shit, I thought jokingly, and there was a moment of staring the other down, before I tried to get up and run around the house before Marie could get me back. I knew it was childish, but it was something fun and it took my mind off of the confusion of the day. As I turned the corner into the hallway of my house, I knew that I made a big mistake. I had already trapped myself. I ran, trying to find someplace to outsmart her, as she was right behind me. I took too long trying to decide where to go, and as I slowed down, Marie tagged me with her foot. When she did that, she tripped me, and took herself out in the process. As I landed on my side, she fell and landed right behind me, almost on top of me. We both were laughing to the point we couldn't talk, but eventually it died down and I turned onto my back, lying on Marie's arm. Both still laughing, we turned our faces toward each other, inches apart. I looked into her blue sapphire eyes, or, at least the one not covered in short, messy blue hair. I felt my heart, and felt that it was beating fast, and not all just because I was running from Marie. She grinned at me, still chuckling, but I realized that both of our laughs were slowly dying out. I got lost looking at her face, and we lied next to each other for some time, not talking, but just looking at each other. I could feel Marie's breaths, and the more I looked at her, the more I thought she looked...cute? Wait hold up! I thought as I sat up, confused as to what just happened. She sat up a second after I sat up, and she looked at me as I looked at the ground.
"What?" She asked me in a worried tone. "Did I do something?"
"No, I'm just...I…" I trailed off, tilting my head to the side like a curious dog, not knowing what to say. Marie looked confused, but still sat by me with her knees drawn to her chest.
"Should I leave you?" She asked quietly and somewhat sadly.
"No, no, I'm just confused by what I felt. That was weird, but...I liked it…" I trailed off once again. Something that felt like a small smile formed on my face.
"What did you feel?" Marie asked, a little happier.
"I don't know, I can't tell." I said, still confused. Marie feigned a gasp.
"What?! The all-knowing Edd doesn't know what is going on?" She said with a chuckle.
"Shut up," I said jokingly as I elbowed her. I got up and helped Marie back up, and we both walked back to the living room. We sat back down on the couch, but we sat closer this time, as I sat next to the arm of the couch and Marie sat right next to me. We talked about random things, asking each other questions about the other, and just enjoying each other's company. Marie started to lean on me during our conversation, and I just let her. After an hour of talking, Marie decided to leave, and she gave me a hug before she left. The rest of the day I was no longer followed by that black cloud of worry and doubt, and I was actually happy. It wasn't until I got into bed that I thought over everything that happened that day clearly. My first thought was Eddy, and his whole story. On one hand, I'm glad that I forgave him, it means that we could start again. Hearing what he went through really made me feel sorry for him, even if he was the one who caused it all. After all, he was a brother to me, so how could I just not forgive him? On the other hand, though, I didn't want him to betray me. I didn't want to go through that whole situation again, it would be like welcoming a robber into your house for the second time. I decided that I would take things as they come, but I hoped for the best.
Then my mind drifted to Marie, and what happened just a few hours ago. I thought about how she seemed worried about me, and how she managed to take away that cloud that followed me around that entire day. I also thought how it was her that made me laugh for the first time that day. That feeling came back to me when I replayed that whole scene of Marie and I in the hallway. I envisioned her face, her eyes. I thought how she made me feel so much better after the shit day that I had, and how we managed to keep a good conversation going for hours. I remembered her laugh, and how I thought she looked cute. Then it hit me, like a revelation that there was a god. ...fuck… I thought, as I realized just what kind of predicament I was in.
A.N: So, now the plot thickens! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I should post more regularly, as spring break is now here. Be sure to review what you thought of this chapter, and if you haven't already, follow and favorite this story! As always, if I happened to leave behind any mistakes like spelling, grammar, or story-line issues, notify me PLEASE! I want to make this story the best it can be. Have a lovely day, and I'll see you in the next chapter!