Chapter 2: Regret and shame ,and the big bad bullies of the nasty neighbourhood
So, in order to keep my friends, my friends, so that I would not be subjected to the same abuse, I was subjected to while Eddy's brother was around (for if I was never bullied like that again, it would be too soon) and so that I would keep my respect and good image around the neighbourhood (yes, I know it was selfish, but if you had the amount of respect I had, you would want to keep it as well) I had no choice but to leave the Eds in pain and misery, for Kevin had announced to every one of my friends, and myself, that anyone caught talking, socializing or paying attention to the Eds for a reason other than bullying them, would be kicked out of the friend circle, and punished by a merciless thrashing.
So to protect myself, because the memories of my previous encounter with such a beating had still left me permanently afraid, I had to do as Kevin said because I feared that if I didn't, he would come for me as well, and surely by now you realize how badly that previous beating messed me up, you would not blame me for trying to avoid another one like that, thus I had no choice but to stay in line like everyone else, to say nothing to the Eds, not to trust them, to exclude them from our social events such as partying, and to give to them nothing but pain and humiliation, for Kevin had imposed a law upon us, that the Ed's must be treated as outcasts at all costs.
It put me under a lot of stress, and unbeknownst to the others in my neighbours, the smile I wear each day, that smile I show to them, is a ruse, for, the second I'm out of sight of them, the ban that checks my tears fades, and I let the flood of tears that builds up each day rain bitterly down my cheeks, as I bury my face into my pillow and let the feelings all out.
"Nazz!, help us, Kevin, Rolf and Johnny are beating us up, they're taking our money, why are you letting them do this?" yell the Eds as I pass by a street, and see them once again being brutally pounded by the three boys, I sit next to in class and lunch each day. I stand there from a distance, the expression on my face a mask of horror and shock, as I watch my three classmates, colleagues and companions, continue to inflict pain on the three Eds, deaf to the yowls of pain and cries for mercy the Eds are doing their best to scream out. Kevin brings his fists again and again onto the face of Eddy, smashing it so that blood welled out from the broken nose, covering the ground in a carpet of red.
Rolf kicks Edd (or double dee) repeatedly in the shin causing his victim to cry out in terrible pain and misery and to roll around on the ground, clutching his shin, doing his best to shield himself from the blows of the merciless, sadistic torturer known as Rolf, while Johnny, innocent and gullible as he seems, and the youngest of the three, is being no less savage and barbaric, as he brings his 2x4 plank which he carries around daily with him, onto the skull of Ed with strong, determined swings.
It was as if a demented windmill was constantly bashing into Ed's skull, for Ed's face was incredibly mangled by now, he was clutching his head as if he had suffered severe concussion, and yet Johnny refused to give it up, repeatedly yelling "I hate you, you wood hater" to his victim, as he continued despite the fact he could see that Ed was badly hurt, to thump at the injured Ed with the two by four wooden plank he was wielding as a weapon.
"Save us Nazz" pleaded Eddy in desperation, in between howls of agony, as Kevin continued to smash his face in "please save us, please, PLEASE!". "He can't do this to us" reasoned Edd, in between gasps for air as Rolf punched at his stomach with his fist, and kicked at his shin with his foot "Nazz… tell him he can't do this to us, tell them to stop, please… Nazz, tell them to leave us alone, Nazz… please" Edd continued to beg as Rolf slashed at one of Edd's eyes, leaving a large, bloody scar on his tear sodden cheeks "Please Nazz, d, don't d, do this, d, don't fall to peer p, pressure"
"My head hurts" complained Ed, as Johnny continued to thump at his skull, again and again, even though by now Ed was clutching his injured skull, the expression on his face a testimony to the fear, confusion and indecision he felt alongside the pain of his smashed up skull "Pain, s,so much pain, I,I can't stand it any more, I j, just cant, make it stop, make it stop" and yet his words were for naught, for if anything, it only caused Johnny to strengthen his blows further, and to beat at Ed more furiously than ever.
Tears blurred my vision, and I bit my lip so hard it bled, as I covered my mouth and continued to watch this shocking scene of graphic, gory, violence, it was like a scene from some twisted war film, one which would leave you with nightmares for weeks on end after you saw it, except that this time, it was for real. I stood there, unable to move a muscle unable to speak as I realized, with dread, that were I to charge in there, fists flailing, that I would not manage to land a single blow before I too would be subjected to a remorseless and ruthless smashing, before my bleeding and bruised body was thrown next to the Eds, and I joined them, lying wounded on the pavement.
I waved to the Eds, trying my best to smile, trying to comfort them, but this only seemed to have the adverse effect, for it caused the three victims to plead, more desperate than ever for help and escape from their painful situation, the expressions on their faces a testament to the sheer amount of terror and fear of the bullies which were pummelling them with neither remorse nor sympathy.
I longed to yell "Let them go!, they haven't done you any harm, why can't we all just get along?" and yet I dismissed the thought as it came into my head, knowing full well it was a ridiculous idea, for as much influence I knew I held over the three antagonists who were now harassing the eds without mercy, I knew it would not be enough to break the fight up, and if anything, it would cause problems between me and them in the future, for as Kevin had put it "Helping the Ed dorks, showing kindness to the Ed dorks in any way is tantamount to treason, and you know very well Nazz, how we deal with traitor dorks who get in our way" and indeed I did know very well. I knew all too well, oh trust me, I knew… I saw what happened to the last "traitor dorks", I saw what they did to "Frank" and "Eustis"
And so, with tears in my eyes, I turned around and ran as quickly as I could, ignoring the pain in my legs as I ran, never turning back, trying to put it all behind me.
"N, no" came Eddy's sorrowful, pleading voice from behind me as I ran "Don't leave us here with these bullies, they'll murder us, please Nazz, don't be like them, be better than them, please!" before I heard a hellish scream and cry of agony followed by the sound of Kevin yelling "Shut up dorks!" as he cut off Eddy's wind, while I struggled to my room, clutching my incredibly sore legs, made sore by the fact I went against my doctor's advice that I should never try to push my already very fragile leg muscles into going any quicker than walking pace.
When the pain in my legs had subsided, it was only replaced by an even greater pain, not in my legs, but in my heart. I felt a sharp, indescribable pain in my chest as I cursed myself for being such a selfish, uncaring, jerk.
Why didn't I help them?, why? And as I continued to boil in my anger and self-hatred which I held against myself for ignoring such a desperate plea for help, that anger turned to sorrow as I buried my face into the pillow on my bed, it was at least an hour before I had finally calmed down enough to stop the tears from falling, and even then it took an extreme effort for me to cry no more.
Another time, I saw the Eds on their way home, holding a jarful of nickels which they had made after a long hard day of "their latest scam", selling lemonade to the other kids, and once again, they got no customers, despite the fact that this was no "scam", this was no "death-trap" designed to injure others, no sir this was a good, honest lemonade stand selling good, tasty lemonade at a good reasonable price (only a nickel for a glass). I knew, for, when I was out of sight of "Killer Kevin", "Raging Rolf" and the other kids, I snuck over and bought myself a glass. Contrary to how Kevin said it would taste, it tasted good, it tasted great, it tasted refreshing and like the sweetest nectar. As I chugged down this blessed beverage, I felt as if, I was in the highest cloud in heaven, I felt my stress and sadness dissolve into nothingness, and I felt a sweet sensation that I wanted badly, I felt as if the Eds had done me a great favor, for nothing I had drunk or eaten in my whole life, as far I was concerned, not even a jawbreaker, could even begin to rival the taste of such a beverage.
And in that moment, I realized that Kevin had the Eds all wrong, they were not troublemakers, they were not frauds, nope, they were good, honest, somewhat eccentric entrepreneurs who wished to offer good, helpful services to their companions for a modest price. They just wanted some money for some sweets which they could never have, because of the unfair treatment and life seemed to hurl at them relentlessly.
Needless to say, the Eds were shocked to see me as a customer, probably I was the last person they expected to see, and so, other than a very stuttered and shy "hey there dear, and much valued customer, would you like a lemonade?" they said nothing as I brought a glass and chugged it down, savouring every second of the sheer bliss as I did. They simply blushed at me, speechless, unable to say a word, sweat dripping down their foreheads, and yet that silence said more than words could ever say.
It said "what was such a perfect, popular girl like Nazz doing here with us, a bunch of weird, unpopular and friendless outcasts, and why was she handing us money, and not demanding a refund or telling us how bad our service was?". One of the things I just loved so much about those three, was the way they always blushed like that when I came here, seeing the saintly expression on their faces, while they said no words, was an expression I always loved seeing, it not only made my day, but showed how genuinely they wished to be friends with me, and how much they valued my company and presence like no one else did.
When I had finished my glass, I could not simply just leave, the beverage was far too tasty to drink as just one glass, and I realized that if I left now, I might never have the chance to feel that sweet sensation as that cool, refined, secret ingredient lemonade tickled my taste buds and banished all feeling of ache and pain from my injured and tired body and mind, even if it was for but a second.
Without further ado, I got out every nickel I happened to have left on me and managed, with a struggle to say "Please, give me ten more glasses of that lovely lemonade, I am so thirsty and your first glass tasted so good, I really liked it". "Coming up" said Eddy in a tone happier than he had sounded in a long time as he quickly rushed to serve my order. "Thanks" I said, as I chugged down the greatest beverages I had enjoyed in my life. I wished I could have said something to them, something like "I like you" or "You're awesome" yet I could not, my stressed and depressed mind and my vocal chords would not cooperate, and so I finished the lemonade in silence and without another word, I turned to beat a hasty retreat, for if Kevin and the others found me here, I would be dead meat.
I wanted to give them a chance they had never been given, to do one good thing in my selfish life of evil, and so buying the extra lemonades, was a sort of charity, I wanted them to finally get a jawbreaker when they went to the sweet shops the next time and not to just stand outside, gnashing their empty teeth, sobbing their hearts out.
Anyhow, later that day, as I was walking home like I usually do, from a surprisingly uneventful day of absolute and sheer normality, still licking my lips as I remembered just how good the lemonade I had drank earlier had tasted and hoping it would be back on sale soon, that was when I saw, leaping out of the bushes near Eddy's house, just as the Eds were about to go in, a trio of girls who I knew at first glance to be "the Kanker sisters" a trio of rude, demeaning and nasty sisters who lived in the trailer park not far from "the cul de sac" where the rest of us lived. And as I saw them, my heart sank, I knew this was not going to end well for my three friends and companions (for though I could never say it, I always liked the Eds, for they had never done a single bad thing to me).
My grim prediction was right, and once again, I strained to stop the tears from falling as the three sisters ambushed the Eds, nicking their hard earned cash before giggling evilly as they tied the three boys up and dragged them away, presumably back to their trailer. I thought about following them, but I had seen before what those three demons had done to the Eds. And I knew, I knew that when the poor Eds were dragged into their trailer, the Eds would be subjected to another merciless, dehumanising and cruel, undeserved torture session, which would leave them in tears, and with everlasting trauma and nightmares…
And yet, though I both knew and cared, I did nothing to stop it, I could do nothing, I chose to do nothing, and could but scold myself later for being such a self-centred piece of crap who cared only about saving my own skin.
This fanfiction is now finished, please comment to speed up production of sequel (for details of sequel see last chapter) any comments would be greatly appreciated, and you would be an epic person. Thank you in advance.