A/N: I support EddxMarie. Let me get that out right now. I mean, every pairing from the show I support. There is not one that I dislike. I just prefer EddxMarie over them all. I think the Eds and the Kankers would get along very well if the Eds weren't so scared of girls, especially EdxMay, and if the Kankers weren't so stalker-ish.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All the credit goes to Mr. Danny Antonucci and AKA Cartoons.
I'm sorry for this chapter being so late~! Please, forgive me!
~EEnE~EEnE~EEnE~EEnE~
Masks
Chapter 3: Breaking the Shovel
Eddy McGee decides at this moment that he is definitely having a very bad day. He loses one of his two best friends and his other best friends is really mad at him. All under five minutes.
Right now, he probably doesn't have any friends at all. Not to mention, the only one who's in the same boat as himself is named Lee Kanker. A Kanker.
Yep. A very, very bad day.
Now, Eddy's stalking through the halls, hoping that he'll run into one of his friends along the way. When he sees Ed...well, Ed'll be easy. When he sees Double D...
Well, Double D's gonna be the hard part.
He's mad at both Ed and Eddy. He also went all dark on them, but Eddy just can't believe that:
A) Double D's parents really do hate him and Ed. After all Eddy's done for their son, do all they really focus on is the bad stuff?
And B) Because of that, his friend's parents are really making him choose. His parents or his best friends?
Who's given birth to him?
His parents.
Who's never around and only communicates through dumb sticky notes?
His parents.
Who makes Edd believe he's not wanted, that he was never planned?
His parents.
Whose orders does Double D follow, despite their lack of acknowledgement of his very existence most of the time?
His parents.
Worst of all, who's never realized Double D's full potential: as an inventor, as a straight A student, as just an overall certified freakin' genius?
His freakin' parents.
Who's–?
Okay, okay, you get the point.
But who's always been there for him?
His friends.
Who keeps him company when his parents aren't around?
His friends.
Who's constantly acknowledged his status as a brilliant kid, as the obvious brains of the group?
His friends.
Who freakin' makes him realize that he is wanted and that he does have a purpose in his life?
His freakin' friends.
But who's never treated Ed fairly, or ever acknowledges his existence or his feelings?
His family.
Who has?
His friends.
Who's always treated Eddy like a baby, and thinks he can never defend himself?
His family.
Who doesn't?
His friends.
Ed, Edd, and Eddy are more than friends.
They are best friends. They are brothers. And whoever splits them up will never get away with it. Not even if it's their own parents.
And this gives Eddy the determination to keep going.
He sees Ed now. He's right there. All he has to do his reach out, grab Ed's arm, and pull him off to the side.
And that's exactly what he does.
"Eddy? Please don't hurt me! Ed did not do anything wrong?!" Ed cowers under Eddy's neutral stare. He's shaking, thinking Eddy's mad at him too.
"Lumpy, relax, okay?" Eddy calmly says, and Ed does so. "I'm not gonna hurt you. What I need to say is...oh, crud..." He doesn't know how to say it, but when he remembers Edd's dilemma, he finally gets over it and says it. "I'm sorry, Ed." He's a little stiff when he says it, quite reluctantly, as if afraid of someone catching him apologizing, but his determination to save Double D from all of this overruns his pride.
Ed is surprised at his smaller friend's words. "What?"
"I said I'm sorry, Ed. About everything. I never should have dragged you into this. Double D was just so...he was being so secretive, and I wanted to know what he was hiding so bad, and I just...pulled you into it, and I got us both in trouble."
"You need not say sorry to me, Eddy," is Ed's reply. Eddy looks at him, mildly shocked. "But to Double D. We made him mad, so I am as guilty as you."
"Will you help me fix things, Ed?"
"Fix, like branches?"
"No, Ed. We can't let Sockhead's parents split up the three Eds. Double D could choose wrong, and then it will just be you and me, Lumpy. We can't let that happen, or we're gonna loose Double D for good. You with me?"
"All the way, Eddy. I will not let the friend-stealers break up the Eds. Ever. Give me gravy, or give me buttered toast!"
"How about both?"
"YAY!"
~E~D~E~D~D~N~E~D~D~Y~~A~N~D~~M~A~Y~M~A~R~I~E~N~L~E~E~
Lee Kanker actually follows her sister to Ed's locker, where they stay put and turn to each other, blabbing on and on, scared out of their dumb minds.
"What do we do, big Ed?"
"I don't know, May. We can't let anyone take our gravy!"
"Or toast," May adds. "But what are we gonna do? Marie's mad at me and Lee, and Double D's mad at both you and Eddy. I know we fight, but we're sisters. I can always count on blood connections to bring us back together. But this time...I don't know if Marie's coming back."
May has a point. All siblings fight, but they are still sisters. They will always be a trio. Without Marie, the trio isn't complete. It feels all wrong.
They've been mean to each other in the past, but they were no biggies. This time really took the cake.
"Double D..." Ed begins to cry, tears littering his eyes. "I miss my Double D, May!" He hugs her around her middle, and she gives him a nice pat on the back.
"There, there, Ed."
"He's always been there for me, May...I don't know what to do anymore!"
May hugs him back, and they merely stand there, sobbing into each other's shoulders.
Lee, touched by their tears and hug, reluctantly moves forward and taps May on the shoulder. May turns to her big sister.
"May, I need to talk to you."
And May allows herself to be pulled off the side, as Ed is dragged away in the same manner.
"I'm...sorry, May. I should never let myself play favorites. I was just so mad at Marie the night before, and I swore to get my revenge the next day, and I did by ignoring her. I just never realized how my neglecting her would make her feel. She's our sister, May. We can't let her walk alone."
"You mean," May sniffs, "like fix things?"
"Yes, May. You in?"
"Yes, I am, Lee." They both pause. "But, uh...how are we to do that? I can't think of anything."
"I can, but we need at least two more people," Lee replies.
"How about we get Ed and Eddy over there to help us?" May suggests. "Maybe we can fix both situations, like killing two birds with one stone."
"I like your thinking, May. Hey, Eds!"
The two Eds turn to who is speaking to them, and they immediately shake and cower.
"Relax. We need your help," Lee says, she and May pulling the two over to where the sisters are standing. "And in the process, we'll help you fix things with Double D."
Eddy's ears perk up. "Really? You can? Tell us everything."
After Lee explains the plan, Eddy scratches his head.
"I like the part with the trapeze," May comments. Ed nods.
But Eddy replies with, "Sure, but I don't really see where the sour cream comes in. Or the ladder. Or the popcorn. Or the pillows."
"Okay," Lee says. "Maybe I wasn't in my right mind when I devised this plan. It is kinda stupid."
"Yeah," Eddy agrees. "Even though it is what I usually come up with..."
May taps their shoulders.
"What is it, May?" Lee asks. May points to the nurse's office door, which is beginning to open.
Their eyes pop out of their heads, and Eddy moves them behind some nearby trash cans.
It's as if May is a psychic.
Marie and Edd exit the nurse's office, which a bandage visibly covering Double D's hand.
Marie closes the door gently behind her as she asks, "You okay, Double D? Those were some deep cuts."
"I am alright." He can't stop staring at his injured hand, Lee notes. "The only issue is the rage. Sam Hill, anger certainly is an unpleasant feeling."
"Especially when you're angry at your own friends?"
Edd says nothing, something Lee takes into consideration. Does he feel guilty about yelling at Ed and Eddy?
"Double D, are you mad at them?"
He appears to snap. "Of course, I am! I asked them to leave me to my business, not to get themselves caught up in it!"
"Well, your 'business' involved them from the very start. Keep that in mind. They had the right to know from the beginning," Marie cuts in.
"Marie, I tried to leave them out of this for their own good. I didn't want my choice to be chosen for me. Keep in mind. I am thirteen and a teenager. Some people just cannot see that. I suppose they still see me as a child."
"You mean your parents?" Edd says nothing. "Double D, do you hate them?"
"No. I could never hate my parents, but-"
"I meant, do you hate Ed and Eddy?"
Edd finally calms his voice down, his dark beginning to get under lock and key once more. "No. Sometimes, I believe I do, but all I am is just mad at them for some reason or another. This is just another one of those times."
"Which means, you still consider them as friends?" Marie asks.
"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Edd replies. "More like friends not speaking to one another. For an indefinite period of time..."
"So if they just give you time, you'll forgive them?" Marie wants to confirm this. She somehow knows of the four people hiding behind the trash cans. She's known it from the very moment they left the nurse's office.
"Probably not right away. But by the time I move out of Peach Creek and finally get settled in, to the point where I can no longer be in contact with them, I will."
Marie says nothing, only giving the trash cans a knowing look. "Come on. Double D. Let's go back to class." Edd says nothing, only nodding in confirmation.
~E~D~E~D~D~N~E~D~D~Y~~A~N~D~~M~A~Y~M~A~R~I~E~N~L~E~E~
It's after school now, and Edd and Marie are walking home together. They aren't headed towards the trailer park, so Lee, Eddy, May, and Ed can only assume they're going to the cul-de-sac, to Edd's house.
Anyways, Edd and Marie are walking. Ed and May are tailing them. And Eddy and Lee are just in the back, talking, while keeping an eye on Dumb-o and Dumb-a, and Edd and Marie of course.
"You know, I'd never confess this to anyone," Eddy cuts in. "But I'm more of an action type of guy."
"Me too," Lee adds. "But I also feel like the leader. I mean, I'm the oldest, but I'm also the beautiful-est one."
"It's most beautiful, actually," Eddy corrects automatically, and Lee gives him a blank stare. "Oh my God," Eddy places his hands on his head. "I'm turning into Double D!"
Lee chuckles. "But you also feel like the leader. I can tell."
"I don't think I'm the leader. I am the leader," Eddy interrupts. "I'm the one who comes up with the scams. I direct them on where to go, but without Ed or Double D, I could never pull anything off."
"Same here, only it's with May and Marie. We sisters are a team, a trio of dynamic awesomeness."
"Yeah, and we are the Eds, un-split-able brother-like friends, ready to face the everyday challenges of life and growing up."
Eddy is quiet after this. He just confessed something never would confess to anybody, not even Ed and Double D.
He blushes when Lee gives him a kiss on his forehead.
"You go, little man. Keep the family together. That is the official job of a leader," she whispers to him, before turning to May, who just tapped their shoulders again, and Lee speaks normally. "What is it, May?"
All four of them stop, and Ed points to a new scene in front of them.
Marie and Edd have stopped, the latter's blue house in the distance. His parents are home, and he seems to be shaking with fear. What he's so afraid of, only he and Marie know. But Marie pats his back and keeps whispering things in his ear.
Then, Edd straightens up and walks forward, but Marie stays behind, watching as her man walks forward, meeting his parents outside the house, on the front porch.
Lee and May slowly amble forward, afraid of Marie yelling at them more. Well, May is afraid of the yelling. Lee just doesn't want to get another bloody nose.
"Marie?" May reluctantly asks.
Instead of yelling and shouting, Marie grabs both of her sisters and pulls them into a side hug.
"Hey, gals," Marie exclaims quietly. "Sorry about earlier. I was just really, really ticked off. I forgive you for your wrongdoings, but only if we're still-"
"A trio of dynamic awesomeness?" Lee asks. "Of course, we are."
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Lee," Marie comments. "Good." She tightens the hug, but not lethally. "I feel so much better now." As she releases the hug, she motions toward Edd. "All I'm worried about right now is Double D. Jeez, who do his parents think they are, making him go through this?"
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Eddy repeats. "Come on, they've never been there for him! But Ed and I have!"
"Eddy," Ed taps his friend's shoulder.
"What?"
"Look." Ed points to the scene in front of them.
It's the same scene as before, Edd talking to his parents, but this time, it has a very different feel to it.
Double D appears to be standing his ground. Yet, so do his parents. The five in the distance can't hear a word, but it seems like Double D is nearly yelling at them, as his parents seem a bit surprised.
But this is where it all turns sour.
His parents yell back, angry at what their son is telling them. But their son yells back, giving them hand gestures. Nothing provocative or inappropriate, but rather that which indicates what he's feeling.
But his parents yell at him next, louder than he's ever heard them, and Double D is shaking again, but not with fear this time. It seems to be more like anger or sorrow.
But he doesn't say anything else. It doesn't look like it. Instead, Double D runs off, back into the woods, tears littering his eyes.
As soon as Eddy sees those tears, he begins to get angry, frustrated at the ones who made his friend cry. Without thinking that maybe Edd's parents were watching or maybe they weren't (he didn't care at this point), Ed and Eddy run after their grief-stricken friend, hoping to be able to cheer him up.
Neither of them can help but be worried sick.
~EEnE~EEnE~EEnE~EEnE~
A/N: There we go. Chapter Three is now up. At least, one more chapter awaits, dedicated to all three pairings, but also giving us an ending to the Ed, Edd, and Eddy plot in this story. And I'm sorry if the characters seem a little out of whack.
Review, please!