Eddy wasn't sure what his mother said to the state agent, but some great time later there was a knock on the door, and his mom peeked into the room. Her expression was tight and the rims of her eyes were pink, but her smile was hopeful.

"You boys doing alright in here?"

She opened the door the rest of the way. He noticed she was still in her scrubs, and might've felt more guilty hauling her right back out the door when she had come home if the situation hadn't been what it was.

Double-D beside him cleared his throat thickly. "Yes. Thank you..." He scratched lightly against the painted wood of the table.

"Good. Let's get you both home. We've been here long enough."

He met his mother's eyes. She was smiling still, but the corners of her mouth seemed a little tighter, and she was watching Double-D. The other boy continued picking at the table as though he hadn't heard her, but nodded to show he was paying attention.

Like ducklings, they followed Mrs. Sullivan out of the building and to the car. The ride back to his house was quiet, his mother worrying at the thread along the leather steering wheel as she drove. She never turned on the radio, and neither boy asked her to.

Upon arriving home, his dad practically threw open the door as they got to the front step. The man was still wearing the same clothes from earlier instead of sweatpants, and his shirt was (mostly) clear of condiment sauces. His mother ushered them all indoors, away from the prying eyes of busy-body neighbors, and asked him in clipped tones if he could get a bed set up in his room. He looked between his parents, noting the tight smile and nodded, leading a silent Double-D up towards his room. There was no point in getting any bedding out. Usually the pair crashed in a pile on the couch downstairs or, if they were playing video games before bedtime, Eddy's bed was wide enough to fit two comfortably. Even if it hadn't been, they had known each other long enough to belay any awkwardness sharing a bed could typically cause.

There was a mountain forming atop his already full laundry basket, so when he dug into his dresser for sleepwear he was unsurprised to find only a few t-shirts and a pair of loose basketball shorts. He contemplated the bottoms - Double-D was a bit of a prude and probably wouldn't feel as comfortable only in boxer shorts like he would be, but the drawstring was also stubbornly knotted towards the end of its tether. It was likely they wouldn't stay up on the smaller frame.

"Um..." Eddy jerked and looked up at his friend, realizing he had been holding the shorts up and staring like an idiot. Double-D gave him a small smile, but his eyes were sad. "I'll be fine with just one of your shirts, Eddy. They'll likely cover anything important, anyway. And..." the shorter teen looked away, biting his lip. "It's just you. I..." Trust you? "Never mind. I'll be right back."

Eddy handed him the shirt and watched the other male leave the room to go change, before shucking his own clothes. Somehow they felt stiff, like the day had been much longer than its fourteen hours. He tossed them towards the laundry basket, adding to the pile which teetered before settling back against the wall.

Double-D returned moments later, and Eddy took his place in the restroom to brush his teeth before bed. He wondered for a moment if he should have offered the other teen a spare. Nah, he eventually decided. Double-D was always prepared and kept an extra in his backpack, which he noticed was laying half unzipped beside the shower.

The lights were turned off when he got back to his room, save for the flickering glow of the television set, volume down low. It was only nearing eight o'clock, but without the usual sixty-watts the window blinds against the wall looked black with the night pouring in. Only the floor in front of the TV was illuminated, the rest of the room tucked into shadows in varying shades of gray-scale.

Just barely visible was a distinctive form on the bed, blanket pulled up and facing away from the door.

Eddy paused in the doorway. It was still early, and it wasn't the coolthing to fall asleep practically moments after walking through the door. Yet... He thought of Eddward's tired blue-green eyes from earlier (when the other teen had been determinedly avoiding his own). He couldn't blame the guy for feeling wiped.

The bed creaked when he sat down, and he almost winced before remembering that it was his bed, dammit.

"So..." For one inexplicable moment, he had no words. It happened to other people, but definitely not him. He hadn't pushed the issue in front of his parents earlier because the other boy had looked worn-out and depressed since leaving the agency, and he didn't want his parents to yell at him for being rude. Then, when they were alone, the Sock-head had continued to look lonely and pathetic...

But he was over it. Whether or not Double-D's sadness was pulling on his nonexistent heartstrings, he wanted to know what was going on, and no one else was going to tell him.

"What was that earlier, Sock-head? Why'd they haul you off?"

He easily could have started with the big guns. Double-D's parents were definitely out of the picture for some reason, be he obviously couldn't just say it outright. He had sometact. And this was his best friend, after all.

At first he didn't think Double-D was going to respond, but then the blonde boy heaved a sigh, curling up tighter than before. "My parents are gone, Eddy."

He already knew that. "Yeah, I get that. You've been mooching here, haven't you? Where'd they go?"

"I don't know..."

"Why'd they go?" He thought of his own parents, and how it wasn't possible that there could be anything that could make his mother leave him alone for weeks on end. "What kind of parents just up and abandon their kid like that?"

"The illegal kind, evidently."

Double-D's voice wasn't particularly loud or sharp, and Eddy couldn't see his face in the feeble glow of the television, but he could see how long fingers clenched in the bed sheets. Shoulders were trembling. His own hand was reaching before he realized what he was doing, and only just managed to pat that shoulder firmly instead of petting the soft head.

"I-uh... I'm gonna go downstairs for a bit. Get some grub, you know."

The other boy said nothing, and for that Eddy was grateful. There wasn't a lot he could say to the other teen, anyway, and he felt useless as he quietly shut the door and went downstairs to spend time with his family that loved him.

The next week passed by in a blur of calls between friends and school officials, and frequent visits from Lisa. She seemed concerned that he wasn't in hysterics about his predicament, as though tears would help his situation any. According to her, he was shutting himself off from the grieving process.

He couldn't see what he was supposed to be grieving.

Whenever she decided to "drop by" for a friendly visit, Eddy's father (who had taken the week off work to handle a "family emergency") would suddenly remember some obscure tool that he needed to fetch in the middle of his TV program, and the two would sit down in the cozy living room to talk about his feelings. By Thursday, he was quick to inform her that he was more concerned with how his lack of attendance would affect his grades than what would happen to him now. He was surprised at himself. Normally he would never be so quick to snap at an adult, but he was starting to feel weary of the whole situation.

It wasn't right for the Sullivans to have to put everything aside to take him in during this time. It wasn't right that Eddy had to share his room with him - even if they were best friends, surely the other male wanted some alone time every once in a while, right? Their friendship was already becoming strained, arguments popping up with increasing frequency over the most insignificant of things.

He couldn't expect them to keep him, but he wanted it so bad...

Then on Friday afternoon, everything came to a head.

"There's no way you just won!" Eddy snapped, fingers tightening around the hard plastic of the video game controller. "You must have cheated!"

"Cheat? How does one cheat at a fighting game, Eddy? All I am doing is pressing the buttons in a haphazard fashion with my one fully functioning arm, as you refused to tell me how to do it the right way. And you weren't even watching your television screen! I understand that our situation is an awkward one, but as my friend I don't appreciate your pity."

Eddy tossed the controller to the side, it bouncing harmlessly on the carpet as the other teen pushed himself to his feet. "I don't pity you, you idiot! Whatever, you just got lucky... This is boring. Let's go watch TV or something."

Eddward let himself follow Eddy downstairs to the living room, trying to convince his heart to slow its palpitations. The other teen had probably had a long, boring day at school. He was tired. Eddy was easily agitated when he was tired, so he decided not to take Eddy's accusation to heart.

He didn't want to fight with Eddy. He just wasn't sure how notto.

So it wasn't a surprise when an hour later, Eddy was starting in on him for his preferred choice in television programming.

"Documentaries are stupid. I'm not going to sit here in my own house watching some crap about an old dead guy who invented something people don't even use."

Eddward reached across them for the remote, which Eddy had yanked out of his hands. "They are educational! Don't complain when you handed me the remote in the first place!" He reached over more, until Eddy grunted and shoved him off the couch.

"Yeah, well it's my TV, and I'm not watching any of your crap."

Feeling hurt and not in the mood to fight anymore, Eddward stomped up the stairs towards the other boy's room. Eddy followed hot on his heels, face turning red.

"Where're you going?"

"Away from you!" Eddward reached to open the door, but was stopped by the larger hand that slammed against the wood beside him, holding it shut. "Hey!"

Eddy wasn't looking at him, but was was uncomfortably close, voice noticeably strained. "Double-D, look, let's just... Come back downstairs and—"

Feeling crowded and bullied, Eddward shoved Eddy out of his personal space. "Get away from me, you jerk!"

But the push sent Eddy back into the hallway wall, knocking several picture frames to the ground and shattering them. Mr. Sullivan - who had obviously heard the fight and intended to put a stop to it - came barreling around the corner at the base of the stairs at the sound of breaking glass.

"The hell's going on here?"

Both boys leapt apart. The large man thundered up the stairs, slowing as he reached the top to avoid stepping on the shards of glass littering the floor. Eddy leaned back against the wall across the hall again, looking equal parts chastised and frustrated, as well as some slant in his frown that might have been disappointment. It took all of Eddward's remaining energy to keep his legs from buckling.

Mr. Sullivan checked first to make sure neither of them were injured or had stepped on any of the broken glass before setting them to cleaning their mess. The other boy made all the typical teenage grunts and eyerolls during the process. Eddward stayed silent.

Only once everything was clean and no one was in risk of getting glass in their feet did the older man steer the boys into separate rooms to go cool down. The missus would be home within the next half-hour or so, he said, and they could talk about whatever was going on then; he may have been the man of the house, but she definitely seemed to run the joint.

Eddy's older brother's room had been refurbished into a guest room a few years back, when he had made it clear that eclectic though his lifestyle may be, he was sticking with it and not moving back home. It had been painted over in a shade of pastel blue that reminded Eddward of nurseries and baby clothing, with a newer pine dresser and desk, and darker blue bedspread. There were other amenities added here and there - smiling family pictures on the walls, a small television set, and an out of place-looking green chair set off in a corner - but under the circumstances he didn't feel comfortable sitting on the bed to wait, much less snoop through the room. Not that he would have otherwise.

He felt awful for breaking the picture frames in the hallway. He knew it wasn't entirely his fault, and expected the frames could be replaced on the cheap, but that wasn't the point. The point was that they had gotten so unruly and boorish that they had become moderately destructive.

Their own son they would be able to understand. Eddy had genetics and familial relationships on his side. Eddward on the otherhand was a veritable outsider, a stranger to their home and customs and punishment systems.

He wouldn't blame them for wanting to get rid of him.

About thirty minutes after the accident, he could hear the sound of the front door opening, followed by the comparative silence of hushed whispers. Soon after came soft footsteps up the stairs, and Mrs. Sullivan's soft voice asking Eddy what had happened before the door muffled whatever response he would have given. When the door in the hallway opened again nearly ten minutes afterwards, Eddward froze. He wasn't ready. What could he say in his defence? Could he even defend himself?

"Eddward, dear, can I come in for a moment?"

He stood up sharply and smoothed a hand across the comforter. "U-um, yes ma'am."

She was still in her scrubs of course, and her bangs were mussed like she had recently ran her hands through them. This was no doubt not a situation she would have appreciated upon coming home after a long work day.

"So I guess you and Eddy had a bit of a disagreement?" She asked softly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to him. He turned to face her.

He flinched slightly, remembering the damage they had inadvertently caused. "I apologize for the damage, Mrs. Sullivan. It's all my fault... He just kept following me and he wouldn't stop... I should not have pushed him, however, and I know that. 'Violence is not the answer,' I always say. I'm such a hypocrite..." He squeezed his eyes shut, fisting the material of his jeans.

She was going to kick him out. Send him to an orphanage or a foster home, surely. No one would want a violent ruffian living in their home. She had Eddy to raise, after all.

But to his immense surprise, she laughed, soft and not scornful in the least. "You're a teenager, dear. And a teenage boy, at that. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a little push-and-shove every once in a while." Her eyes seemed to linger on a photograph on the desk opposite, one of Eddy and his brother. "But being around each other so much isn't healthy for either of you at this point. We can't handle any more fights. This just isn't working..."

Eddward sat stunned and silent. He had expected... But to hear it was like a punch to the gut, his heart dunked in ice water. Where would the state send him now? His only relatives were grandparents living on the East Coast, thousands of miles away. They were far too elderly to be saddled with another teenager to provide for. But if not them, would he be forced into the Foster System?

Would he ever see his friends again?

"U-um..." He pressed his fingers into his knuckles, hard. There were so many things he wanted to say. He wanted to cry and beg and plead for them to reconsider. He knew, though, that he had already inconvenienced their family enough. He blinked past the sudden blurring of his vision. "O-oh. I understand... Do... Do you know what they will do with me now?"

"Do with you? What do you mean, Eddward?"

"I don't... I don't have any relatives in-state. When you send me back—"

Suddenly she looked alarmed for some reason, turning towards him and placing her hand on his knee. "Send you back? Eddward, why would you think that we would send you back there? We love having you, Hun."

He felt strictly uncomfortable with her touching him, even in such an innocent and caring way, but he was too shocked to remove it. "But you said..."

"No! No... We're not sending you back, dear... It's only the rooming situation that isn't working. Oh, Eddward..." She reached forward and grasped his hands in hers. Her eyes were watery and his were watering in response. "We were thinking it might be a good idea to have you stay here for now. We're not using this room anymore, and I'm sure you both would like some privacy every once in a while, right? I didn't mean to make you think we didn't want you here..."

He wanted to thank her, maybe hug her or at least squeeze the hand holding his, but everything outside himself felt a mile away, distanced by his pounding heart and intense relief. He couldn't even force himself to meet her eyes as he nodded quietly, biting his lip.

"Eddward," she started quietly, and when he looked up her eyebrows were furrowed and uneasy. "I spoke with the social worker a bit. I know you've been meeting with her every few days?" A nod, numbly. "She told me that she's... concerned. Are you not talking with her anymore? She only wants to help, you know. We all do."

It hurt, if only slightly, that they were talking about him behind his back. He understood. Realistically he was aware that Lisa wasn't a doctor and thus wasn't confined to the same doctor-patient confidentiality laws, and she probably thought Mrs. Sullivan would be a better route to get information from since he knew her better. That realization didn't lessen the sting by much, however.

"So I want to be honest with you, because you deserve to know what's going on. She asked me to try to talk to you a bit about your parents... She's worried that maybe you aren't completely happy at home, or that it's not a healthy place for you to be right now."

He felt a pang of irrational anger and frustration towards the wonderful woman before him, Lisa, his parents... His situation wasn't a new one, only a changed one, in that he had another place to stay. This may have been the longest they had ever been away, but it certainly wasn't the first time his needs had been overlooked. Why were they only reacting now that he was finally happy?

"I... am also worried. I know that it probably feels like too little too late, but we really do care about you. You're a great kid. If you want to talk about it, I can promise that if I don't think Lisa needs to hear about it, anything you say can stay between you and me, okay, Eddward?"

She smiled weakly at him and he tried to smile back, but the ability to pull his facial muscles up past a grimace was lost behind the storm of hurt and anger sweeping low in his system. It did feel too late. Too late and now he felt too pressured — though it was of no fault of his own, he hadn't been able to have heart-to-hearts with his own mother in years. He had managed just fine on his own.

Noticing his obvious discomfort, she squeezed his hands lightly before releasing them. "Alright, Eddward. If you ever want to talk — about anything — you can always come to either of us. Any of us." She patted his knee, then walked to the door. "I'll let you go ahead and read or watch some TV until dinner. Feel free to browse around. We cleaned it out as best we could, but there are probably some interesting surprises hiding here and there still. Kids, yeesh. Let us know if you need anything." She shut the door softly behind herself, and then all was silent.

ALRIGHT!I've been taking six advanced math and science courses this semester in preparation for my MCATs next year, so I apologize for the delay. I can't guarantee the next chapter will come soon, but I can say that I won't forget about it again. Let me know how you feel about this chapter, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think is happening with Double-D's parents.

Thanks to the lovely obsidian flight, who beta-read this chapter and gave me some great suggestions to make this as readable as it is now.