Somewhere in her smile she knows,

Something in her style that shows me,


Chapter 34

Something #2

What was that?! What in the world was that?! What is wrong with him?! What is he doing?! Poor Nazz didn't deserve that, did she?!

…did she?

He stops in his tracks, the sound echoing in the hallway he's in. Did she? No, of course she didn't, you moron. Shaking his head and scoffing in frustration over his own self, he keeps walking down this endless hallway he finds himself in. Has he already been here before, earlier during his aimless walk? He's no idea, and honestly, he doesn't really have the energy to care right now. He just keeps walking, walking and walking, all the while his mind refuses to leave him alone. Thoughts of his "conversation" with Nazz repeat themselves over and over, his conscience judging him for what he did and said to her at that very moment. He knows deep down that she probably only meant well, but the way she and Kevin acted just made it all seem so suspicious to him, the way she acted when she talked to him just felt like she tried to mislead him to get what she wanted out of him, like she's had developed a habit of doing, being popular as she is… or maybe he's just overthinking everything? He sighs, hoping that it will help clear his mind, his thoughts somewhat. It does, but only for a short moment. There's nothing he can do about that right now, other than apologize, is there? Is that really so hard for you to do? And you're supposed to be a pacifist.

Having walked for a while with nothing else to do than be judged by his own conscience, he soon recognizes where he is; right by the hallway where his locker is. Might as well get his stuff ready for the next period, even if it's a bit early for that still. He's got nothing better to do with himself right now, anyway.

He rounds the corner, gaze focused on the ground before him, something he tends to do when he's not feeling super duper happy. A small habit of his, something he's about to wish he didn't do subconsciously anymore. A snickering noise catches his attention, though not so much that he wishes to lift his gaze just yet, getting just a few more steps closer to something he's not had to deal with for a while. Sadly, for him, that ends today, and he's too upset with himself to see it coming. A loud bang, something hitting against a locker door, finally picks his gaze back up from the dusty floor, introducing him to the situation before him, something he thought was over, faces he wished to never see again…

"Well, well, well," the hideous voice of the jock whose name he's forgotten speaks, "would you look at that? Why if it isn't the little Nerdy McNerd himself." His friends laugh loudly, but another proof that their lack of intelligence is affecting their taste in humor. Edd sighs, but doesn't allow his face to grow a frightened expression for them to see. Actually, he doesn't feel frightened right now, odd as it may seem. "What's the matter nerd? Why the dead face?" His voice is edgy as ever, something Edd much rather keep forgotten forever, but here they are. They walk towards him, snickering back and forth between them, making jokes about him as they get closer. He takes a deep breath, readying himself for what's about to happen. Running is not going to do him any favors, nor is talking to them or attempting to fight back. He doesn't have what it takes to deal with them, and he'd much rather just get it over with so that he can go to the nurse and then maybe home after that. Probably not though. His attendance record has suffered long enough already. One day he might actually find himself not caring to uphold its perfection anymore – he can't have that! Can he?

A hand suddenly grabs the front of his shirt and jacket, yanking him forward towards the very unwanted familiar face. The face in question eyes him up and down, a grim smile taking form on its lips. "What's with the outfit, dork? Ain't it a little early for Halloween?" His friends laugh with him again.

"He looks like he was told to dress like an emo from memory only, and that's the best he could come up with," one of the friends say. Don't roll your eyes, don't roll your eyes, don't roll your eyes…

"What a sad attempt! He looks like a joke!"

He refuses to say anything, knowing it won't do any good, so he just allows them to spew their words of attempted threats and humiliations all over him. Does he believe their words? Does he take them all to heart and allow them to ruin his view of himself for the rest of his life? They don't need to know that, do they? No. Allow them to believe whatever they want to believe, as long as they never learn the truth – allow them to make themselves into fools. Another loud bang soon echoes down the empty hallway. The jock whose name he's forgotten lost his patience, not getting the reaction from his little victim that he wanted. He ended up pulling the one and only move he seems to be good at, not that it will do him any good in the long round. He pulled Edd closer and then slammed him into the wall of lockers as hard as he could, attempting to cause as much harm and pain as possible. The previous debate of their concerning leaving bruises or not didn't seem to be present in this moment. Maybe he forgot?

Having closed his eyes from the impact, Edd opens them after the echoing sound fade. The jock stares at him, eyes wide, waiting for the little nerdy victim to try and do something to get out of the situation he's in. Edd gives him nothing. He doesn't deserve it, after all.

His breathing soon picks up. "I don't think the little nerd heard us the first time, or what do you think, guys?" He turns his face away from Edd, looking back at his friends over his shoulder. Edd follow his gaze, only to find expressions that spell the beginning of a moment from hell. Mel is not going to be happy when he gets home, is she? God… what is she going to do about it this time? "Well, if he enjoys dark blue so much, why don't we fix him up a bit? Something tells me he'd look good in it." And with that, he's dragged away, away from his locker, away from the familiar hallway and to the side of the school that's meant for the older students, hallways he's not that familiar with. They drag him into a room filled with shelves, tools of different types meant for cleaning or maintenance. Oh yeah, this is the janitors' closet, isn't it? Just what are they planning to do to him in here?

"Alright guys," the jock says, "anyone got some ideas? I have some things I want to try out for the little nerd. We want him to look good now, don't we?" They snicker at his words. "That's right. Gotta send him home looking good for his sister dearest. Now, what would do the trick?" He leaves Edd in the hands of the other jocks as he snoops around the closet, looking for something that will help in their desire to ruin his day, if not life. "Ah! Perfect starter tool!" He rushes towards Edd in a quick motion, the jocks holding the little nerd in place as they know their leader's plan. Five, no, six punches at the very least are thrown at his stomach, finally causing some sort of reaction to come of out him. That's all they wanted. That's all they needed… to keep going on.

At first, they held him still by his shoulders, then they held him still by his head, allowing each other to land punches across his face as well. They soon get creative with some of the tool – not the ones that can actually kill you, don't be ridiculous – they just want him to feel like he's about to die, not actually kill him. A wooden hammer does a decent job forcing the nerd to the ground, arms wrapped around his stomach, giving them access to his back, and they take every chance they get. Kicking, stomping, punching and let's not forget about the hammer, they don't care about the sounds of pain and how the air is knocked out of him. It's to the point where even Edd doesn't know why they suddenly stopped for a split second, only for them to pull him back up and grab him by his hat again, laughing manically as they hit his head into the wall face first. His ears ring, his nose aches and feels very warm inside, his forehead feels like it's about to break, a ringing in his head starting. He's bleeding, he knows that much, other than that, he's no idea if something is broken or not. Sounds of something ripping, fabric maybe, reaches his ears. His brand-new clothes, maybe? Oh… Mel is going to be pissed over that, isn't she?

"Hey guys! Look at this!" The torment suddenly stops, but he doesn't know why. His mind is in a haze, his ears unable to hear everything clearly. His vision is blurry and he can feel his eyes drifting on their own. He's about to pass out, isn't he? "What a nice little tool we have here."

"What the…" one of the jocks almost sound worried. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Relax, I'm not gonna kill him, just gonna help him."

"With a freaking awl?!"

"Yeah."

"Dude," another jock sound unsure about their leader's decision, "what are you planning on?"

"Well, the little is dressing like a sad emo-wannabe, so I just thought I would help him out some with the looks, you know." Footsteps approach Edd, but he's not sure where they are at the moment. "You know how all those sad morons wear black clothes, black make-up and black earrings. I just thought that with this tool, we could help the little future emo nerd get the look just right."

It's silent in the room, Edd can feel it despite drifting back and forth between being conscious and not. Something's bad is about to happen, isn't it?

Hands grab his fragile form and hold him down on the floor. Not putting him down on the floor, holding him down to the floor, preventing him from escaping. Whatever's about to happen it's going to hurt, isn't it?

"Well, well, well," the voice snickers in the back of his mind, a weight making its way upon his form. It's getting hard to move, to breathe under it. "Let's see how well you look with a little hole in your ear, shall we?"

His mind suddenly clears, pulse beating faster as he feels something sharp pointed at his throat, then cheek and slowly making its way across his face to the side, dragging across his skin till it reaches his left ear. What is that thing? Are they actually trying to kill him?! He forces his eyes to stay open, tries to demand them to focus on what's going on around him. It's all a blurry mess, nothing he can understand, nothing he can stop. The sharp point starts to push into the soft part of his ear. It hurts. He knows how girls keep telling each other how piercing the ears doesn't hurt because there's no nerves in that part of the body. Lies, all lies. He's never believed that it doesn't hurt, that you don't feel any amount of pain when doing it. The pressure grows. Too much… too much! As the awl is forced through his ear, pain surging through his head, body and mind, blood spilling onto the hands of the guilty ones, dripping down to the floor, a sad and desperate wail escapes his throat. The sound echoes in the room and is just strong enough to reach the outside world, drawing attention their way.

"Dude! Stop!" The awl is pulled out of the grip of their leader, one of the followers finally having enough. It's pulled out of the ear with haste and no carefulness. It hurts. It bleeds. Beaten and broken, Edd lies on the floor beneath them with blood running down his ear, his nose and split lip. Bruises have already formed in his face where they punched him, black eyes forming as they stare at him in silence.

The jock with the awl now in his hands look at his leader, shock written in his eyes. "Dude, what did you do?"

"Hello?" A new voice sound from outside the room, catching them all off guard. Without any words of planning or checking in on anyone or anything, the jocks rush out of the room, leaving Edd to deal with himself in the state he's in. "What in the- hey! What are you doing?!" The voice seem upset watching the jocks rush out of the janitors' closet. Their footsteps are soon long gone, a sense of safety finally reaching him. It's over. He lived. But soon another set of footsteps make their way towards the closet, and his heart starts beating faster again. He needs to get up – now! "Bunch of troublemakers, the lot of them. I swear, if they messed anything up in here I'll-whoah!" The new voice reaches him. It seems to annoyed but suddenly shocked at the scene in the closet he's in. Looking up, Edd finds the person, a man in a janitor's work attire, stand in front of the thrown open door, looking down at him with big, wide eyes. "What in the Christ-?! Are you okay, son?!"

The man makes his way up to Edd, being careful as to not hurt the kid any more than he's already been. Noting the blood on his face and on the floor, the janitor picks him up and carries him to the nurse's office, running there with him in his arms. It doesn't take long before they're there. The janitor kicks on the door, hands busy keeping Edd safe from even more harm. When the nurse opens the door she first looks disappointed and displeased, knowing that someone kicked on the door instead of knocking, but as soon as she spots Edd it goes away, replaced with a look of horror and concern. They talk to him, but he's unable to give any proper answer, let alone hear what they have to say. He picks up on some words here and there before they grow more distant. It takes a while for him to understand that they've put him down on a bed and are now talking to each other in the other room about what's happened and how to deal with it. The bed is soft. He knows this bed. It's soft. Ever so soft. Hopefully he won't ruin it with his bleeding ear and nose. A soft hand soon lands on his cheek and he's jolted awake, eyes wide but dizzy.

"Sorry dear," the nurse speaks to him, "but I need to have a look on your injuries. You might need to go to the hospital."

THE HOSPITAL?! No, no, no, no! "No… I'm okay," he tries to tell her but she shuts him down.

"I'll be the judge of that," she tells him. "Now please, try and hold still."

He does his best, allowing the nurse to take a look at him, patching him up here and there, his ear and nose getting the attention that they need. It takes a while, but at the time she's done Edd's mind has cleared enough for him to feel like his old self again… almost. With a bit of acting however, he does manage to persuade the nurse into not sending him to the hospital – but she does send him home immediately, after calling all of his teachers and his sister to inform them of the situation.

"You sister will be here soon. She'll take you home and keep an eye on you. Your teacher's have been informed of the situation as well, so you don't need to worry about your schoolwork." The way she tells him all of that with a smile on her lips… he knows he should be grateful for what both she and the janitor did for him, but why does she insist on him ruining his attendance record like that? Hasn't it suffered enough already? *Sigh*… oh well…

Mel was obviously very upset when she found her brother in the nurse's office again, so soon after the last time, and it didn't help with all of the bruises and swellings that formed on his face already. She thanked the nurse for helping and for notifying her, and then she helped her brother off of the bed and helped him out of the room. By the time they reached the school's entrance Ed and Eddy had already caught up with them. Eddy made threats to those who weren't there to hear him while Ed simply looked defeated at the state of his friend and the fact that someone did that to him. It took a while for them part… actually they didn't. No matter how hard both Edd and Mel tried to convince them to stay at school, Eddy and Ed remained by their sides until they made it all the way home. Only then did the duo decide that it was better to go back to school and not home where they would be yelled at if they were found out.

Once at home, the front door closed and all being quiet and calm again, Edd took a look at his sister, knowing fully well that she has something on her mind. Finding her gaze isn't hard when it's aimed right at you. He sighs as she stares at him, arms crossed and an unhappy expression on her face. She's not judging him, no, she's judging the situation in it's whole, trying to figure out what happened and why.

"What happened?" She eventually says, eyes analyzing all of the details/injuries on his body. The ear didn't go unnoticed at the nurse's office, in fact it almost started a war right there and then.

Edd sighs. "Honestly, I'm not sure," he says, hoping it will be enough. It's never enough. He should know that by now, shouldn't he?

"That's not what I asked," Mel tells him, tone unchanged. "What happened? Who did this?"

Shaking his head, he scoffs. "Why? Are you going to beat them up again?"

Eyebrow promptly raised; she's confused. "Again?"

"You really don't remember?" Edd asks her, raising an eyebrow back. When she doesn't respond he sighs. "It was the same guys as before."

"…oh! Them! The moron group! Man, I completely forgot about them. What were their names again?"

"I don't know, but yes. Them. So, I guess you're going to go after them and break all of their bones like last time." He starts walking away from her, walking towards the stairs to go to his room and get some well-deserved lone time.

"No."

He stops in his tracks. Looking over his shoulder, he glances back at his sister. "What did you say?" Did he hear her right?

"I'm not going to beat them up again."

He just looks at her, shock and surprise written all over his face. Has she- has she finally decided to- has she finally turned a new leaf and decided to not answer with violence whenever she feels like it?! Has she finally – after all this time – decided to become more of a pacifist and not hurt people anymore?! Feeling so elated at this new phenomenon, he fails to note how she's standing still, hand on chin in a deep-thinking-pose. "A-are you-? You mean-?" He tries to ask her but fails at it. Hopefully she understands how happy he is over this still! "I-I don't know what to- what to say! I-"

"You're going to beat them up."


Song: Something – The Beatles

I honestly don't remember if I named the jocks that bullied Edd at the start of the story. I tried to look it up, but I didn't have the time so, they remain nameless for now.