Eddy awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. He sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he got out of his bed. The knocking intensified as he made his way to the door, he knew it was his dad who was knocking, he knocked similar to Eddy. Eddy opened the door, expecting his dad to start lecturing him again. He blinked in surprise when he didn't see his dad.
"Dad?" Eddy glanced around, his eyes eventually landing on a small brown box that was on the floor, a metre away from him. Hands shaking slightly Eddy picked it up and placed it in the middle of his bed. It wasn't heavy and there was no note on it. Eddy forced the box open and pulled out its contents, a small brown envelope and a large white note. Eddy wiped the sweat off of his forehead, then picked up the note. All the answers he was looking for should be on it.
Eddy,
By the time you get this I'll be out of Peach Creek. My parents have decided that I need help dealing with my... issues. They're sending me somewhere to help me get better. I can't disagree with them, that boomerang was the last push I needed to do what I did. I'm sorry for what I did last Halloween. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I need you to move on. To get rid of the guilt that you have, as far as I'm concerned you've done enough fixing. I still can't believe you offered to share the blame with me, hard to imagine the old Eddy doing something like that. I'm glad that you weren't punished for what happened, make sure you thank the others later. You, Ed and Double D deserve to be with them, you've earned it. So keep your chin up okay? Don't think that you need to right any more wrongs from the past. Go have fun.
I've written my own apologies to the others. Aside from Double D I don't expect anyone else to open my letters. Not that I can blame them. I'm always going to be know as the guy who ruined a Halloween get together. My parents made that clear to me before they decided to help me.
So, this is goodbye. Maybe in the future we'll cross paths again. My parents still talk to your parents so I'll leave it to you Eddy.
Finally, the envelope isn't from me. I'd tell you who sent it, but it's probably better if you just open it and see for yourself.
Jonny.
"So that's that," Eddy softly murmured to himself. "I'm, in the clear. Just, one last thing to do now." He stared at the brown envelope, his name was on it in blue ink, in familiar handwriting. Eddy picked up the envelope and with trembling hands slowly opened it.
Only a single picture was in it, his breathing became more rapid when he saw who was in the picture.
It was his brother. He was standing near the shark ticket booth of Mondo A-Go Go, his hands in his pockets trying to hold back tears. On the bottom right corner of the picture was his signature, a phone number and beneath the number were the words Forgive me? Call me if you need me.
It takes him a moment, but when it finally sinks in Eddy lets out a laugh of relief. He turned to leave his room, to go meet up with everyone. He paused, and stared into his mirror, only now realising that he had been crying since he'd read his brother's message.
"Eddy you old sap you," he wiped the tears away and left his room. Everyone was going to be at the candy store, that's what Edd said to him last night. He opened his door and froze.
His two best friends stood before him. Ed had his hand raised, as if he was about to ring the doorbell. Edd stood beside him carrying a letter, Jonny's letter, in his right hand.
"Eddy? Are you alright?"
"Yeah? Why are you asking Sockhead?" Eddy flinched when he saw Edd point at his face, specifically his right cheek. Eddy ran his hand over it, eventually landing on a solitary tear. After wiping it away Eddy took a deep breath and decided to tell everything to his friends. He told them about Jonny's letter, about the message he'd received from his brother, his relief that he wasn't in trouble. Ed had repeatedly opened his mouth to say something, only to stop when Edd gestured at him to be quiet.
Eddy scratched his neck and let out a weary sigh. "That just about covers it, I was on my way to the store until I bumped into you guys."
"Are you going to be okay Eddy?" Edd asked in a concerned tone. "This is a lot to take in."
Eddy frowned. "I guess? I was already surprised to get something from Jonny, but the picture my brother sent me, it all feels like a dream Double D. I don't know what else to say." Eddy groaned softly and took a step towards his friends. "How do you think I should handle this guys?"
"Don't push yourself too much Eddy." All eyes fell on Ed who had a rare serious expression on his face. "Take it one day at a time. Worry about the future later, if something or someone tries to harm you your bestest of friends will be there for you!" Ed declared.
"Ed..." Eddy stared in shock at Ed as he absorbed his friend's words, his jaw would have hit the floor if he had the energy to. Several seconds passed before he eventually found the energy to speak. "Thank you."
"You are my friend Eddy!" Ed said happily. "As is Double D!" Ed suddenly turned towards Eddy's lawn. "Caterpillar!" he yelled before running towards it.
Edd let out a happy chuckle. "Typical Ed. But he is right about one thing Eddy. Regardless as to what trials and tribulations awaits us in the future we have each other. We Ed's have each other and the neighbourhood kids." Edd placed his hand on Eddy's shoulder and smiled at him. "Don't forget that."
Eddy smiled back at him. "I won't. Thanks Double D."
"We should get going, the others are waiting for us."
The trio began walking in the direction of the candy store. When they arrived they saw Kevin, Nazz, Rolf, Sarah and Jimmy loitering around the front of the store, they all waved politely when they saw the Eds. Ed sprinted towards Sarah and Jimmy, both of them hugging him once he'd reached them. Edd was next to arrive, shaking hands with the kids before turning around and beckoning at Eddy. Eddy approached the group but paused when he saw a dollar bill fly by him and disappear into a nearby alleyway.
"Wait there! I'll be back!" Eddy said before running into the alleyway.
He thought he heard someone saying "some things don't change" as he rounded the corner. The dollar had landed right beside a small puddle of water, the wind nearly blew it into the water but Eddy managed to grab it in time.
"Score!" Eddy shoved the dollar into his pocket and began making his way back to the others. He flinched when he heard three girls giggling.
Eddy slowly turned around. Standing in the distance were three girls, the one in the middle had red hair, the one on her right had blonde hair and the one on the left had blue hair. Eddy gritted his teeth and prepared to face them. To his surprise, the girls didn't come near him. They were content to wink at him before walking away, the girl with red hair blowing a kiss at him as she left. Eddy waited until they were gone before he made his way back to his friends.
Upon exiting the alleyway he heard several people calling for him. Eddy took a deep breath and approached the candy store. The kids, Ed and Double D were waiting for him, all of them carrying a jawbreaker. In front of them was another Jawbreaker, this one was for him.
Eddy smiled as he approached them. He was told that he should go have fun. To move on. That's exactly what he was going to do right now.
