Hi, my dears! I'm elated to announce that I'm finished with my finals. My grades look good so far, so I'm extremely proud of myself. I'm getting a lot better at being calm and confident, and it shows in my school work.

I'm having surgery in a little over a week, and I'll be out of commission for about two weeks afterward. I'll try to have a chapter ready to post the night before to hold you over while I'm lazing about and feeling sorry for myself. I should be able to write some while I'm recovering as well. Wish me luck with that!

I am including c2ndy2c1d's character Nat in this fic, though I anticipate him having a pretty small role. There will probably be a few other non-canon characters as well, just so it doesn't feel like they're in the vacuum they were in in the show. I'll do my best to maintain the spirit of Ed Edd n' Eddy despite the strangers who will pop up here and there.

Have a good day. 3

Chapter 5

The weather was solemnly hopeful, glowing a milky yellow blotted with grayish clouds. The faculty was having a meeting day and school was cancelled. "Why not just have no school on Friday too? You know none of us are gonna be paying attention," Eddy had asked his homeroom teacher the day before. His teacher told him that, if he'd like, he could stay afterward and spend a detention helping the principal rearrange the calendar. Eddy had crossed his arms and sunk back into his seat, muttering under his breath.

Kevin sat on one of the low balance-beams, staring at the sunlight glinting off the spokes of his bike wheels. Nazz was across from him, kicking herself in half-circles on the merry-go-round. The breeze ruffled her hair, ever in its carefree bob. "Anyway, my aunt was super-pissed. I guess she actually threatened to kick my cousin out."

"Man," Kevin mumbled, staring at his bike, "that sucks."

"Dude, if there's something on your mind, just say it."

"Yeah." The redhead looked up. "Huh?"

The blonde gave a small smile, her head cocked to the side. "You know I can read you like a book. What's up?"

"Nothing. School stuff. Just worried about my grades, y'know?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Since I guess you didn't hear me, I'll tell you again. I can read you like a book." The quarterback rolled his eyes and looked away, and she pressed him. "Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying, Nazz. I'm just kind of out of it lately."

"You are beating the bush like Mama disciplining the youngsters, Kevin," Rolf chimed in. He was on one of the rusty swings that had stood on the playground since they were small.

"Stay out of it, man. Nothin's going on."

Rolf exchanged a glance with the boy beside him, a teal-haired kid who moved to Peach Creek in high school. Nat shrugged and turned his focus back to swinging enthusiastically.

"I haven't seen you get that look since ninth grade," Nazz continued, voice hushed as Rolf and Nat resumed their chatter. "Wait … are you into someone?"

"No, Nazz."

"You look possessed, dude."

Defeated, the redhead turned back to his companion. She had been eerily perceptive since they'd become close years before. It would seem strange to anyone who didn't know them - he had finally charmed her, courted her, and gotten her in his bed. And as they lay there, arms around one another and lips meshing, the realization had hit them both.

They were simply not right for each other.

In the wake of the strange absence of physical chemistry, they had parted ways for a few weeks, but their closeness was too natural, too much a facet of everyday life, and they were soon spending time together just as they had before dating. Nazz was a sister he didn't have; a pair of eyes that saw everything, whether Kevin yet saw it himself.

And sometimes it was really fucking annoying.

"You're turning red, dude."

"No, Nazz, I'm not."

"In Rolf's homeland, a grueling obstacle course is the solution for the overwhelming testosterone."

"I'm not doing an obstacle course, man."

"It would be good for the tension in your thighs, broad-jaw Kevin."

"You're gettin' weird, Rolf."

Nat blinked, silently looking from the jock to the foreigner. Nazz shot Rolf an unamused look.

"Nothing's going on, Nazz. I'm just wrapped up in studying."

"Yeah," the blonde replied as Kevin's gaze returned to his bike. "Right."

-x-

"You're a Nigerian!"

"…the placement of the outer ring here should effectively emphasize the … what?"

"You're a Nigerian, aren'tcha?"

Double Dee stared at Eddy, unable to keep the bored look off his face. "I'm just going to wait and hope you start explaining why you said that."

The boy in the tank top and the ridiculous jacket covered in dollar signs cocked an eyebrow. "Those are the ones that do church on Wednesdays, right? And believe in aliens?"

"Those are Christians and Scientologists, respectively."

"Right. So which one are ya?"

"While I am intrigued by recent metaphysical discoveries that reinforce the theory of intelligent design, I have yet to commit to a specific religion, Eddy."

"Oh." The shortest of the Eds looked back down at his scribble-covered paper. "Then what're you doing on Wednesdays?"

"I simply needed to dedicate an afternoon to studying in order to give myself more structure." The black-capped boy stared at the colored pencils lined up neatly to his right, willing his face to stay cool in the wake of his shameless lie. His fingertips danced over the dollop of his mother's concealer on his neck and he wondered idly how badly it was clogging his pores.

"Some support beams will help you with that, Double Dee," Ed chimed in. He was pacing to and fro, his hands folded behind his back and a pencil tucked behind his ear. While he had yet to contribute any ideas, the look of severe concentration on his face made Eddward smile silently.

"Yeah, right. Like he doesn't have enough structure already." Eddy frowned at the discarded blueprints scattered across the table. "How 'bout instead of structuring your boring life, you structure us up some irresistibly eye-catching designs for our club brochures?"

"It would help if you knew what kind of club you were establishing, Eddy," the sock-headed boy suggested.

"Ed's Excellence in Education," Eddy bellowed on cue, slinging an arm around Double Dee and waving the other hand across the air as if to call the vision to life before their eyes. For a minimal membership fee, our fellow students will learn study skills that will help through the rest of their lives!"

"And haunt them after death, no doubt," Eddward muttered. "And just how do you plan to get the principal to approve your club's founding when your GPA is a C average at best?"

"That's where you come in." Eddy grinned, poking his best friend in the chest. Double Dee reached to smooth out his shirt immediately. "You're gonna be the official president, while I operate behind the scenes. I'm the shogun and you're the emperor."

The scholar threw his hands up in frustration. "How can you know that but think that Nigeria is a religion?!"

"Oatmeal and gravy is no way to live, Double Dee."

Eddy and Eddward turned to their friend. "You're gonna pull something, Ed," the shorter of the pair finally uttered. Blinking thoughtfully, the tallest of the three paced over and sat down on the floor, peering over the edge of the table and poking at the protractor sitting next to Eddy's stack of erasers. Double Dee patted him on the head affectionately.

"If you're so upset about my usage of spare time, we can set a day aside to spend time together. Saturdays, perhaps."

"Saturday fun time!" Ed crowed in agreement. Double Dee petted his short hair again, chuckling softly.

"Uh, Saturday ain't gonna work for me."

The genius and the absentminded boy peered at Eddy, surprised. "Saturday fun time," Ed protested.

"I got stuff to do on Saturday." The short male turned to his doodles, adding a few squiggles and attempting to make a face of concentration. Ed peeked at Double Dee before returning his stare back to Eddy.

"Stuff, Eddy?" The genius's tone was jovial. "You?"

"Yeah. I got chores and cleaning and stuff." His brows drew together, his mouth a small line as he made overlapping loops.

"Well, I support your sudden decision to fulfill your familial duties. Just as I require time for myself, you need yours."

Eddy glanced at him without turning his head, and Eddward's stomach knotted at the distinct feeling that his friend had heard through his lie. He realized he was still scratching Ed's head when the large boy's foot began tapping on the floor.

"Yeah, whatever. Hey Lumpy, can ya get us some more snacks? I think there's a bag of Cheetos on the microwave."

"I'll get it," said the petite one before Ed could get up. He hopped off of his stool, anxious for a moment to calm his frayed nerves. Taking a detour to the bathroom first to wash his hands, Eddward scrubbed especially thoroughly under the nails of the hand he'd been petting Ed with.

His reflection looked tired, but there was a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

Swallowing thickly, Double Dee dried his hands and headed for the kitchen.