Guilt weighed heavily on Edd's conscious. Trying to hide the evidence was his knee-jerk reaction to the current situation. It was ironic that after so many years of patronizing both Ed and Eddy to be more truthful even in dire situations, he was now doing everything he could to cover up what happened. During his shower, he scrubbed every inch of his body in a futile effort to remove any microscopic evidence that he let himself be defiled. After a while, he was just scrubbing his skin red.
He caught his reflection in the mirror after he had gotten out of the shower. Scrubbing may get rid of any trace of saliva and semen from his body, but it didn't hide the dark hickey upon the skin in the region of where his trapezius was located. He ran his index finger across it, remembering how much he actually enjoyed receiving it. He could only hope that it would be covered by a shirt.
After washing his mouth out, he quickly changed into his pajama set and his shoes before tossing his dirty clothes into the hamper. Matthew had already gotten dressed before Edd had gotten into the shower. Edd could care less about what Matthew was doing at that point as long as the man was not harming any of the neighbors.
He really needed to check up on Ed and Eddy. However, there was still one more task he needed to complete before he could walk over to the junkyard. He stripped Eddy's bedding and carried it to the washer to start a load. Edd let out a sigh of relief. Eddy probably would not suspect a thing. Edd could pretend that everything was normal for another day.
The night air caressed his face when he stepped outside. He might look a bit eccentric for walking out of the house in his pajamas, but he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was heading to the junkyard to find Ed and Eddy. The junkyard was only a six minute walk from Eddy's house. He found Eddy's van parked at the end of the lane.
When he reached the junkyard, the smell of burning trash was strong in the air. As he followed the smell, the obvious smell of marijuana accompanied the first smell. He had to be getting close to them. He finally found them in the middle of the junkyard surrounding a makeshift fire pit. Johnny was smoking off of the bowl while Eddy watched Ed was sprawled out on the ground, kicking his feet around like an infant.
"I think I'm turning into a turtle, Eddy. Turn me over! I'm lying on my shell." Ed laughed nonsensically. Ed extended his hand towards Eddy.
"You're not turning into a turtle, Monobrow! You're just stoned and have the brain of one." Eddy quipped, "Ed, you don't need help lifting yourself back up!"
"But Eddy, my butt is falling asleep!"
"Your head's asleep," Eddy retorted.
"C'mon Eddy! Please!" Ed pleaded.
"No, you're a big boy, Ed. Lift yourself up!" Eddy turned when he heard Edd chuckle, "it's about time you showed up. Ed almost ate Jonny's bowl I don't know how many times now."
"I came to make sure you, Ed, or Jonny didn't get arrested," Edd replied, taking a seat next to Eddy.
"You wish. The cops in Peach Creek are so brain dead, Ed could do their jobs better than they can," Eddy rolled his eyes, "did you just get out of the shower? Not that I really care, but didn't Dad scold you over using the shower more than once a day?"
"Yes, well, I'm sorry I went against your father's wishes, but I was feeling under the weather and didn't want to be spread bacteria around," Edd hoped that it was a convincing lie.
"Eh, whatever," Eddy patted his stomach, "Fuck I'm starving. I'm craving some potato chips or maybe even a nice greasy cheese pizza."
"You didn't bring snacks? Plank and I have the munchies," Jonny chimed in. He disposed of the ash and put the bowl back in his jean pocket. "It's getting late, guys. Plank and I need to get something to eat before we hit the sack."
"Yeah, we should probably be going," Eddy agreed, putting the bag containing the rest of the marijuana into his pocket. "Get up Lumpy or Double D and I will scrub you down with soap and water."
Ed quickly shot up from the ground and screamed, "No soap for Ed!"
"Goodness Ed. Your lack of hygiene does have its benefits sometimes," Edd marveled at how quickly Ed got up after hearing the word "soap."
Edd became the designated driver as soon as the four teen boys reached the van after putting out the bonfire. No other people were walking or driving on the lane, so they were in the clear to drive without any issues. Eddy sat in the passenger's seat while Jonny and Ed sat on the waterbed in the back. The lane was large enough to have one vehicle drive down the pathway without colliding into anything. However, there was not enough room to turn the van around. Edd drove the van backwards out of the lane, watching the rear-view mirror as he drove. Once he gotten out of the lane, he dropped Ed home first. Edd could only hope that Sarah was asleep. If the redhead wasn't, Edd hated to think how much trouble Ed would've gotten into.
Jonny was next person to get dropped off. After bidding Jonny goodbye, they watched Jonny walk into his house. Even though they lived in a quiet suburban neighborhood, it will still better to make sure that their acquaintance made it inside safely. Before Jonny made it inside, he remarked to Plank how there was never a dull moment in the cul-de-sac with "those three goofballs" around.
When they got home, Edd got out of the car and gazed at the nighttime sky. Edd began tracing what constellations he could make out from the nighttime sky, playing connect-the-dots with the stars. Eddy got out after him and patted his own stomach, "If I don't get something to eat soon, I'll consider eating the junk underneath Ed's bed."
"We wouldn't want that to happen," Edd replied, half paying attention to what Eddy was saying. He continued to trace the constellation of Draco with his finger.
"Earth to Sockhead!" Eddy yelled, getting Edd's attention, "what's so fascinating about the stupid sky?"
Edd growled in annoyance, "I was looking at the constellations, Eddy! Can't I observe one thing in peace before I head inside?"
"Great, stars . . ." Eddy replied unenthusiastically, "I'm going inside. Are you coming?"
"Yes, I'm coming." Edd followed Eddy inside only to witness Eddy making the unhealthiest meal that he had ever witnessed. He watched from the kitchen table as Eddy made his concoction. The end result appeared to be a bacon cheeseburger with fries, mozzarella sticks, a fried egg, and topped with four different condiments; ranch dressing, mustard, ketchup, and mayo – a lot of it. It was something that he could easily Ed eating during one of his sleepwalking binges – or awake, that guy could consume anything.
"So how was the junkyard bonfire with Ed and Jonny?" Edd asked, genuinely curious about what he missed out on.
"Not much. Jonny and Ed, well, acted like themselves and we smoked weed by the fire. You didn't miss much other than Ed trying to eat Jonny's bowl." Eddy answered after taking a bite of his sandwich, "what did you do while I was gone?"
Edd was a bit taken aback by the question, "I was resting. I was feeling under the weather and had to rest for a while." He hoped that his lie was convincing enough to fool Eddy. He hated lying in general, but telling Eddy the truth was out of the question. "Why do you ask?"
"I was only curious," Eddy replied.
"Eddy," Edd hesitated. Asking the question on his mind was going to be extremely difficult without him phrasing it in an awkward or vague way, "D-do you think I have changed at all?"
"Uh no," Eddy looked at him funny, finishing what was left of his sandwich, "You're still the uptight pain-in-the-ass that you've always been."
"Thanks for the backhanded compliment," Edd muttered, "You really haven't grown at all."
"You know what they say, you can't fix what isn't broken," Eddy responded with a shrug, a self-assured grin plastered across his face.
"Right," Edd shook his head, "Shall we head to bed, then?"
"Sure, Double D." Edd got up from the table and headed towards Eddy's bedroom. He jolted when he felt a hand on the small of his back. Could Eddy's brother really be that inconsiderate to hit on him in front of Eddy? When he turned around, he was shocked to find out that Matthew was not the one caressing him; it was Eddy. Edd shrugged it off as an accidental touch until Eddy begins softly caressing his back. "Eddy, what are you doing?" His tone was more curious than it was furious at Eddy's actions.
"Eh, nothing." Eddy rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.
Edd continued walking towards the room. Even though Eddy was acting a bit strangely, Edd did not feel uncomfortable around him. Once Edd had reached the room, Edd sat on the bed and relaxed with his hands in his lap. He had a long day. Between helping Eddy with the girls and dealing with Matthew, he was emotionally and physically exhausted.
"What happened to my blankets?" Eddy squawked indignantly as he entered the room.
"Your bedding needed to be washed, so I taken the liberty of taking them to the laundry." That answer seemed like a logical enough explanation without delving into too many details of why his bedding needed to be washed.
"And you were so worried about changing into a different person?" Eddy exclaimed, "You couldn't wait until morning? How are we supposed to sleep on a bare mattress?"
"Calm down, Eddy," Edd sighed, "We can use our sleeping bags for tonight. There's no need to panic." Edd made the bed using the sleeping bags to cover the mattress up for them to sleep. Edd sat back down on the bed after it was made.
"I still can't believe that you washed the bedding before bed," Eddy mumbled, flopping down next to Edd.
"You're just going to have to get used to it," Edd said.
Eddy leaned into the crook of his friend's neck and breathed a sigh. Edd patted his friend on the shoulder. Eddy yawned and lowered his head into Edd's lap. Eddy only let him and Ed see what was behind the tough façade of his on rare moments, but the display before him was something new. Eddy was vulnerable at the moment. The skinnier teen ran his fingers through Eddy's gelled hair. "Hey, don't mess up the hair!" Eddy fussed.
"It's probably time that we should be heading to bed soon." As much as Edd wouldn't mind Eddy sleeping in his lap, he would much prefer to sleep on his side of the bed. Edd got up and lay down on top of the sleeping bag on his side of the bed. Eddy had lain on the bed after he did. He opened his eyes when he felt Eddy scoot closer to him. Eddy's bloodshot eyes were focused in on his lips.
A second later, he felt Eddy's lips upon his. Edd let out a moan in shock, but did not push his friend away. His heart fluttered when he felt one of Eddy's hands on his back. The experience felt awkward, but pleasant. Edd kissed him with as much fervor. As they were kissing, Eddy slipped his tongue inside to explore the wet cavern inside. Edd moaned into Eddy's mouth and kissed him back.
After a while of making out with Eddy, Edd's own guilty conscious came into play. Eddy was still intoxicated from the weed he smoked earlier with Ed and Jonny. Edd could smell the weed on Eddy's clothes. There was a good chance Eddy wouldn't remember this in the morning. He had performed fellatio on Matthew just a few hours before. Everything about situation didn't feel right. He felt like he was taking advantage of Eddy in his current state.
Edd withdrew from the kiss and felt Eddy suckle on the skin just below the mandible on the opposite side from where Matthew gave him a hickey earlier. He hoped that he did not end up with another hickey on his body. "Eddy? Eddy!"
Eddy removed his mouth from his friend's neck, "yeah, Double D?"
"Eddy, I don't want to take advantage of you in your intoxicated state. Please, I beg of you. Let's just go to bed for the night." Edd explained.
Eddy groaned, not pleased with the words he had just heard, scooting back to his side of the bed. "Fine Sockhead."
"Thank you Eddy," Edd thanked him gratefully. "Goodnight." Edd turned over to try to get some sleep for the night.