Another chapter! This one ends a little more abruptly then the others, mostly because I couldn't find a way to. However, I'm still satisfied with the progress made here. It seems a little meandering at first, but it does bring up important story elements as well.

Also, a word of warning to those familiar with the first gen Monster High story, I'm sort of mashing Volumes 1 and 2 together to match up the stories of both it and Ever After better. Plus, while some stuff happens in Volume 1, there really isn't a serialized story that I can work with until Volume 2. Ever After's story should remain mostly untouched.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and have a nice day!

Ed and Double D found it hard to say what exactly a normal day at Monster High equated to. The same could be said for Double D and Eddy's days at Ever After High, but that was a different brand of chaos.

Ever After High was filled with the chaos of a changing dynamic and people working with or against each other. Things were suitably tense and almost boiling up into a fight. Monster High had a strange problem with things going wrong simultaneously, the disturbing conflicts a background to it all. Everything was fine one minute, then several problems pushed into each other till it turned into an utter mess.

Double D made note of that, along with the fact that Ed had far too much patience when dealing with stuff like this.

Cleo had started another mini fiasco apparently, trying to get Clawdeen to embarrass herself during a talent show. Of course, it took a lot to actually embarrass the girl, so when things backfired, she got very ticked off.

Frankie, wanting to join the fearleading squad, was a target of that and the mummy was trying to bar her from doing so.

Clawdeen and Ghoulia were doing their best to get Cleo to change her mind about that.

It was not an easy endeavor.

"For crying out loud, just because you lost the stupid talent show doesn't mean you can just keep her out of fearleading." Clawdeen was doing her best not to growl, which Double D appreciated and felt respect for it. "She's amazing at it. She'd be awesome for the team. It's you that's the problem."

"Plus, you did promise Ed that you would stop being angry over her perceived transgressions. It is your job to honor that." Ghoulia looked only slightly irritated, obviously more used to this. "It isn't exactly very royal of you to do otherwise."

"It wouldn't be royal of me to bring her out onto the field either." Cleo didn't seem to care for the conversation, actively glaring at her iCoffin. "Despite the fact she has to stitch on her own limbs every morning, they always seem to fall off every single day. What if went into a routine with something like that happening? Someone could actually get injured."

"Okay, true." Ed was doing his best to remain neutral, but he did view Frankie as a friend. "That doesn't mean she can't do anything about it. Maybe she can try and tie herself up a little more each day?"

Cleo didn't look convinced, as far as Double D could tell. He remained mostly silent throughout all of this, checking on his other responsibilities through his iCoffin and MirrorPhone. Though the conflict between vampires and werewolves was still ongoing, it was being soothed for now by the punishments Bloodgood gave to certain members and Ed's own attempts.

He couldn't help but feel proud of Ed. Even though he was still immature at times, he seemed to have a decent amount of control of the situation. And keeping up with his schoolwork. Maybe they should try big scams like this more often to keep him and Eddy motivated?

One step at a time, Eddward.

"Yes, but you'd think she would've learned to do that by now." Cleo rolled her eyes. She looked over her latest text and fumed silently. "If she wants to actually join, she should grow up a little before doing so. Might serve her best in the long run."

"She's barely a month old!" Clawdeen looked ready to rip the mummy a new one, eyes glowing a bright yellow in her anger. "All of her teen advice is coming from magazines! She won't learn anything until we let her!"

"It is concerning how she reads those magazines like gospel. Working her out of the habit is next to impossible." Ghoulia was freely talking in zombie now, with Ed and Double D catching most of it by now due to practice. "She's practicing some common sense, but it hasn't been easy for her."

"I happen to agree with them, if that matters." Double D started, catching everyone's attention. "If anything, you're actively harming her development by doing so. Having an activity with a consistent peer group would be good for her."

"You haven't even met her!" Cleo pointed at him accusingly. "Why do you even care? You spend more time at the other school then here, anyway."

"Which I am trying to correct." The smart Ed boy knew the best way to deal with people like her. He'd dealt with somebody like her for nearly his entire life. "I do believe that you're letting you're grudge stand in the way of what could be a good opportunity here."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, looking at him with an unbelieving expression. "And what would that be?"

"Frankie's popular." Ed piped up, moving to stand next to Double D. "And I mean really popular. A lot of guys and girls either want to date her or be her friend. She's really nice too, which is cool."

"She does have a following already. It's almost creepy, honestly." The werewolf of the group shrugged, faintly wondering about the new girl. "It's not like it's a bad thing, but I don't know how she's actually doing it."

"It is a strange phenomenon, but they do have a point, Cleo. She could boost the fearleading team's popularity, so losing her as an asset would be a grave error." The zombie moaned. "I would suggest seriously considering her for the team."

Double D watched the queen bee's face carefully. She didn't seem happy about it, but it made some sense for her. It looked like she would need one final push to get her to agree, however.

"What is it that you've been fuming about?" Double D questioned, looking down at her iCoffin. "You've been looking at that on and off the entire time we've been talking. Maybe we can help out."

"Deuce got sent to the Headmistresses office today. A substitute tried taking off his sunglasses because of a dress code." Ed supplied, much to Cleo's continued irritation. "They're waiting to get him out of stone before seeing if he should get punished."

"Does the substitute also ask people in wheelchairs to stand up too?" The smart Ed boy couldn't help but snark, earning a startled laugh from Clawdeen. He turned back to Cleo. "I'm assuming if he gets punished, it'll mess with some plans you have with him."

"We have a date planned, along with several other things that we want to do throughout the week." It pained her to admit it. It was plain on her face. "Turning someone to stone could land him in a good amount of time if he isn't careful."

There was silence for a moment, the implications of what they were talking about clear. The two boys and the ghoul stared each other down for a second, trying to read each other. Cleo was the first to break, though, sighing deeply.

"I really feel like I'm losing to you two and that nutjob at Ever After too much." She leaned back in her chair, looking at the boys, resigned. "Get him out of there and she can get into the fearleading squad. Preferably with as light a sentence as possible."

"Consider it done." Double D got up, feeling pleased at the turn of events. "Expect him to be off the hook within the hour."

"We'll be back to check on everything!" Ed followed his friend, waving behind him eagerly.

The room was silent for a second before Cleo sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "Those boys are a nightmare. I swear."

"I'm certainly not complaining if they're ticking you off." Clawdeen smiled smugly.

She dodged a random piece of lipstick that was thrown in her direction.

"I still don't get why we have to get permission from Grimm. I'm pretty sure that stick in the mud's going to say no." Eddy grumbled, hands twitching and ready to light up if need be. He was aware of passing glances everybody gave to him but didn't care. He had a job to do.

"It's not like we have much of a choice. We can probably go to Baba Yaga, but she'll have to run it through him first." Dexter hesitantly replied. Cupid walked next to him, giving him the occasional glance.

Eddy wasn't sure what to make of either of them. He admittedly figured that Dexter was a heck of a lot better than his brother but needed a confidence boost bad. Cupid seemed nice and was behind whatever plan they were cooking up, but the fact she had magic that could trick them into outing themselves scared him.

If she figured anything out, maybe he could use her attraction to Dexter to throw her off their trail. It was obvious she thought he was attractive now and he had a feeling he could use that later.

"Is the headmaster really going to stop us? I don't see why he would." A fluttering of wings could be heard from Cupid's direction, though Eddy didn't see them. "I'd think that since he let me attend his school, he'd allow some cooperation between it and Monster High."

"The headmaster is… complicated." Dexter stated carefully, keeping an eye out as if Grimm could hear him.

"He's a jerk that seems to love going back on promises." Eddy stated bluntly, moving past one of the Billy Goats Gruff kids. It was weird seeing anthropomorphic animals, but at this point, it was par for the course. "We can probably swing it by him quick enough, so he doesn't think about it. If we can get him distracted long enough."

The two nodded hesitantly, which was enough for him. They were reaching Baba Yaga's office and he figured they could get the paperwork there and see if they could speed up the process. Maybe she could clear things up for them after all.

That thought process took a swift downturn when he opened the door to find six people in there.

Arguing.

Why couldn't things just go smoothly for once?

Eddy snapped his fingers, increasing the sound with magic. The sound went through the room quick, causing the ruckus to die down quickly. He recognized most of the faces, he realized. Apple, Raven, Maddie, Briar, Grimm, and Baba Yaga stood around awkwardly, obviously mid-argument. The girl with the heart over her eye was new, though, looking mildly irritated at his interruption.

"I'd ask if I'm interrupting something if I actually cared. But since I'm curious, will somebody explain what's going on?" Eddy moved himself towards Baba Yaga's desk, putting a form on it. "I'd love to hear this one."

"Headmaster Grimm's trying to get Raven to start acting like the Evil Queen. Not sure why he brought me here." Briar said, apathetic. She adjusted a sleep onto her face, laying in her chair. She received a small glare from Apple.

"Considering how it possibly concerns the entirety of Ever After, I would think you would have a stake in all of this." Grimm huffed, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Shouldn't a teacher not take sides here?" Dexter stated, uncomfortable with the tension in the room.

"Thank you!" Raven startled everyone, throwing her hands up in the air in relief. "That's the sanest thing I've heard all day! Maybe if some more people around thought like that, we wouldn't need Eddy to be a mediator here."

"How is that going, by the way?" Apple asked, turning towards the boy with a curious look. "I've heard some things, but no fights have broken out so far. I'm assuming you've been on top of that."

"Yes, I've heard about some of your more… creative methods." Baba Yaga floated in place, looking over the boy critically. "Especially that one involving the 'cheese bomb' that you used yesterday."

"Some guy was planning on pranking some Royals with some weird stuff he found in the forest. So, I filled his locker full of melted cheese." Eddy smirked, moving the paper towards her. "I'd say that was good way to stop him."

"The cheese came to life and ate his homework!" Grimm hit the desk with an exasperated expression. "I don't even know you did that!"

"I had Ed cook it." Eddy shrugged. He still didn't know how Ed managed to mess that up, especially since he was supposed to only melt the cheese, but it honestly made things funnier. "Maybe you should learn from that. Kinda looks bad when a teacher is supposedly taking one students' side."

Grimm sputtered at that, pointing an accusing finger at the boy before putting his head into his hands. Baba Yaga quickly signed the form with a smile, handing it over to Eddy without question while the headmaster wasn't looking.

Maddie handed a piece of paper over to the stunned Cupid, smiling. "If you want to know more about all of this, feel free to call me. We can be pink buddies!"

"Uh," Cupid looked around at all the crazy stuff happening around her, confusion clear on her face. "I'd honestly like that."

Eddy wordlessly grabbed the form. Moving to head out of the room. He stopped for a second before moving towards the girl with a heart over her eye, staring her down for a few seconds.

"Queen of hearts?" He asked, though he was pretty sure what she was already. He didn't necessarily care, but he figured he should get his facts straight.

The girl wordlessly pulled out a card, holding it in front of her with a glare. Holding up a finger with her other hand, she quickly sliced at with her nail. The card was cut in half seconds later.

Eddy rolled his eyes and moved up, making his exit out of the room. "Could've just said yes." He mumbled. He bumped his shoulder into Raven's pointing at the headmaster. "Don't be afraid to ask for some backup. He wouldn't be the first teacher I've pranked into quitting."

"I'll think on it." She said, fist bumping him quickly. She was staring down Grimm with a death glare clear on her face. "I'll see you in class later."

He didn't say anything, following Dexter and Cupid outside. He was already formulating a small prank to pull on Grimm, chuckling to himself as a few popped into his head. Maybe a tiny version of the El Mondo stink bomb would work…

"Should we be concerned about what he's laughing about?" Cupid whispered to Dexter, fearfully scooching away from the demented Eddy. He was beginning to chuckle in a way that sent some fear down her spine.

"Unless you're Headmaster Grimm, you probably won't need to worry about it." Dexter sent a look Eddy's way before gulping. "But I'd be on the lookout just in case."

That honestly did not comfort her in the slightest.

"…So really, Deuce did warn the guy. He did exactly what he said, and he ended up becoming a statue. Doesn't seem like the teacher was doing his job." Ed shrugged, sitting in the seat casually. He side-eyed the recently de-petrified teacher and shrugged. "I don't get what he's all mad about."

"He didn't say what they were for!" The admittedly ugly teacher spouted, pointing at the boy, seething. "If he'd given a little forewarning, I would have stopped! Don't try to defend him just because he's your buddy or something."

"I think I've heard enough, Mr. Wakeman." Bloodgood honestly looked more irritated then anything, rubbing her temples. "While Deuce could have given you some warning about his condition, it is one that is common among gorgons. I would think this as a lapse of judgement, but I've heard about similar incidents from other Monster schools. I hired you at the behest of a friend, but that was clearly a mistake."

This got the substitute to stop suddenly, shaking a little. "But- But you can't fire me! I haven't finished my work for today!"

"Then consider it a day off." She said finally, gathering her papers and stacking them up. "Mr. Gorgon, you're free to go. I'll give you a pass for any classes you may have missed due to this."

"Thank you, headmistress." He nodded, moving quickly out of the room, giving Ed a thankful look and a nod. He was followed by the despondent substitute, slowly due to the crushing defeat he just received.

Double D slipped in, closing the door behind him with smile. He sent a message to Cleo to confirm their success. "I'm glad we were able to sort that out. I almost wonder if I would have to get in here to set things straight."

"I would've found a way to have Mr. Gorgon avoid punishment, but the testimony to his innocence did help in the matter." The headmistress put away the paperwork related to the incident, along with some things to make firing Mr. Wakeman official. "I'm actually glad that you two are here today. I would've asked for Eddy as well, but he seems to be busy at the moment."

"As we all seem to be." Double D sat in the familiar office chairs, head tilting to the side. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing bad, per say. It seems like your plans are going smoothly now. I just figured that I was putting off something that would be pertinent to talk about." Bloodgood settled into her own chair, looking over the two boys critically. "You two and your friend disappearing from Peach Creek."

The boy's mood shifted from open and positive to defensive in under a second. It was an involuntary reaction and she exactly what she was looking for. A pit in her stomach formed since that reaction was not one she was hoping to see.

"There's nothing to it, honestly." Ed shifted in his chair in a nervous fit, looking outside her window. "We just left in our van and decided to drive around the country. Kids like us do stuff like that all the time."

"Admittedly, we didn't exactly take much." Double D added. He was otherwise calm, but he didn't look at her directly. "It was probably unwise, but you know we can take care of ourselves during some pretty tight situations."

"Yes, but considering I had to find you three peddling trinkets for money, you can see why I'd be concerned." She flipped open another file she had, this one on her wards. "And most people would've informed their own parents before heading on out, preferably to avoid being reported missing."

Looking up, Bloodgood figured they weren't going to talk first about it. She started to read the details out loud. "Ed, your parents reported you missing after your sister had notably complained about your departure. An investigation by the police uncovered that your room was a mess prior to your leaving, plus prior incidents where police were called to your household. They compared it to living in a waste dump in their initial reports."

Ed didn't even bother saying anything, still looking out the window with a blank look. The fact he was outright ignoring her made Bloodgood feel all the more concerned about it. She looked towards Double D, whose look was surprisingly defiant.

"In your case, Eddward, your parents took a little bit longer to report you missing. Apparently, it took them longer because some chores of yours were left to the wayside." She looked over his parent's testimonies carefully. "You took a lot of things out of your own room but left surprisingly quickly. Something tells me you three were planning on going on your trip a long time before you said you were."

"I'm surprised they said anything at all." Double D scoffed, which stopped her. He looked despondent, though he did seem to have some surprise. It was quickly replaced with a neutral expression when he saw hers. "You know how Eddy is. It pays to be prepared when his whims are liable to change."

"Yes, I've uncovered quite a deal about him as well." Bloodgood leaned forward, staring the impassive boy down. "His family was the first to respond to Eddy's disappearance, a day after they last saw him. While nothing can be said about his parents or Eddy himself, I did uncover quite a bit about someone else. His brother. There's a lot of concerning things when it comes to him."

She could see a flash of something in Ed's expression. It was gone as soon it was there, but she couldn't help but feel like she just saw something very ugly and angry in there despite everything. It was particularly uncharacteristic of him if she was honest.

The silence stretched on for a couple of moments. Neither of the boys said anything to her, despite the fact she was looking for some form of reaction. She eventually sighed and moved back into her seat.

"I'm not here to interrogate you. I'm only asking this as not only your administrator, but as a concerned adult." Bloodgood didn't feel happy that she had to plead to them, but she needed them to listen. "You were states away from home, obviously living out of your vehicle, and none of you seemed to have any long-term plans. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in my position."

"We don't want to talk about it." It was the first time Ed spoke since this started and it would've been relieving if it didn't look like he was still trying to stay out of the conversation. "We're going to work through it."

"Ed is correct in that matter. It isn't something we can really afford to focus on too." Double D shrugged, though the fact one hand was picking at a sleeve showed his anxiety. "We appreciate your concern, but we need to keep things running. The progress we've made for both schools is something we need to continue at this time."

Bloodgood stared into Double D's eyes a bit longer before relenting. She wasn't going to win this fight today, no matter how much she tried to help things out.

"Fine. The offer to talk is still on the table when you need it, though." Ed seemingly snapped back into the conversation at her words. It was nothing ever happened. "I'm assuming Eddy is working towards his part on getting Cupid's show off the ground?"

"Yeah, he's getting the paperwork signed. Don't know how he's going to get it past Grimm though." Ed heard a ding from his iCoffin, causing him to look at it with a smile. "Looks like he got it finished! Great timing, right?"

"Indeed." Double D stood up suddenly, moving towards the door. "We'll be working with the fearleaders for now. It might help to get some pep in the school after the science lab incident."

"Sounds like a plan." Bloodgood felt exhaustion enter her system as the two exited with faint goodbyes, like they were doing their darndest to avoid talking to her further. Her eyes strayed to a photo on her desk that she still didn't understand why she kept up.

"I really picked some problem children to help out, didn't I?" She muttered, moving the picture down with a sigh. Looking down on the files of the boys, she couldn't help but feel something crawl up her spine to where it would've connected to her neck.

"Guess we'll all have to make do."

Eddy may or may not have burst out laughing after Raven showed him the picture of what looked like the grumpiest chicken he'd ever seen. It may have helped that the chicken was apparently Headmaster Grimm after he ticked off Raven off to set off her magic.

"Man, I should've stayed longer! His face was probably priceless." He almost started wheezing at the thought of that grump actually getting what was coming to him. "You at least kept him like that, right?"

"No, Baba Yaga made me change him back." Raven didn't look put out by it, though she rolled her eyes at Eddy's glee. "You really shouldn't laugh, though. Even if it is pretty funny."

"Emphasis on it being funny." Cerise picked at some of her food, keeping an eye on a few tables away. "Still kinda ticked off that Apple would help him pull that off, though. I know it's her 'happy ending' on the line, but still…"

"I'm not surprised." Eddy made sure to save the photo onto his phone before getting back into the conversation. "I don't know how much experience you have dealing with rich people, but one thing you can count on is that they have no concept of the word no."

"Why do I have a feeling that there's a story behind that?" Raven put down her drink. "Or are you just throwing out wisdom for the sake of sounding smart?"

"You wound me, Ray. You wound me." He dramatically put his hand over his heart. "At least Red here understands me."

"I don't think anyone understands you." Cerise rolled her eyes at the offended gasp coming from Eddy's direction. "Any reason why you're sitting here today rather than Apple's table."

"Since I'm a mediator now, I should probably rotate where I sit so people don't think I'm picking favorites." The boy shrugged, biting into his sandwich. "Plus, Princess is being annoying today. I think the meeting set her off. Remember, I did say rich people have a hard time understanding what no means."

"Then lay it on us, oh great wise master." Raven stated sarcastically, waving her fingers to get him going. "How did you learn that particular piece of wisdom?"

"Knowing you, it probably involves exploding someone's house or something." The hooded girl laughed, still chopping at her food with vigor. "I'd like to hear it too, if you don't mind."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Red, but nobody's house got blown up." Eddy may have muttered something along the lines of 'but I wish I did,' but neither of the girls were able to confirm. "It was while me and the guys were out on the road. I don't really know what town we were in at the time, but it was one of those more conservative places. One of those were old money usually came out to play and we figured we might as well run a scam while we were there."

"And Double D didn't try to stop you?" Cerise couldn't believe that, especially since he seemed like the upstanding type.

"It was either that or go hungry for a couple of days." He waved off the concerned looks from the two. "Don't worry about it, we didn't do anything too bad. Just started selling a knockoff moisturizer claiming that it would clear up their skin. Nothing too crazy, but enough to be believable. Debatably, it even worked since Sockhead made it to have some 'rejuvenating' properties."

"How long did it take for them to realize that it wouldn't work?" Raven tapped on the table, looking at Cerise with a questioning look. Why would they be going hungry if they didn't do anything?

"They didn't figure out. This is where the moral of the story comes in." Eddy's face drifted from nostalgic to annoyed. "This one lady- let's call her Karen- was interested in our product and wanted to try it out. Karen said that she wanted a sample bottle, something we didn't actually have. We had to tell her no and everything because we only had a limited supply and that would only hurt us in the future."

"Let me guess," Cerise had worked retail before and knew exactly what was coming up next. "She complained."

"She complained loudly. It was freaking ridiculous." He moved his arms around, looking particularly ticked off about all of this. "I mean, we were selling it out of a van, what kind of experience was she expecting. No matter how many times we told her no, Karen just started complaining louder. We eventually decided to move shop just to get away from her and hope she wouldn't call the police. Had to sell the rest of our stock for half price after that in the next town over."

Raven winced at that. She'd seen a few people like that herself whenever she went out to get some stuff for her father. It wasn't pleasant. "I wouldn't exactly call Apple a 'Karen,' but I guess you have a point. She isn't bothering me that much to call her that."

"Getting the headmaster to try and change your mind definitely sounds close to getting someone's manager." Cerise rolled her eyes. She did soften up and sigh a little, taking a quick look towards Apple's table. "Maybe we can convince her to stop at some point. I'd imagine that the rules of the destiny aren't exactly as airtight as people think they are."

"I may not have been there for your speech on different interpretations of stories, but it isn't like you don't have a good point." The sorceress played with her food, face pensive. "As long goes through, everything should be fine. Maybe if we find a replacement for me, it could fix things for a little bit."

"I guess that'll depend on how Princess takes it." Eddy rolled the thought over in his head. "I have feeling you're going to be waiting a while before that happens. I don't think anyone really wants the baggage your title brings to the table."

As Raven wilted, he decided to backtrack. "It's not like everyone wouldn't want to try it out. But we should probably work on Apple getting over the initial stuff and hope for the best. I don't know why, but I have a feeling she'll go pretty far if she decided to seize her destiny in more ways than one."

And he truly believed that too. He didn't know Apple for too long now, but he did figure that maybe he was only half wrong when it came to his first impression. She wasn't necessarily planning against everyone, but she was willing to go far for a goal if there was something in her way. Maybe she didn't think what she was doing was going to be wrong, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be willing to put a lot of effort of making that obstacle non-existent.

And Raven was a large obstacle in the way of her happy ending.

He looked over the at the blonde, who was happily chatting away with her friends. Eddy almost felt sorry for her. This was her Happily Ever After being put into danger and he didn't doubt that she was going to put everything into keeping it.

She was about to figure out some obstacles can't be moved aside.

And he was going to teach her that lesson.

Double D felt the incoming headache, something he knew was going to come about at some point. It had been a stressful day sorting things out and that talk with Bloodgood didn't make things any better. Entering the gym, where the ever present sweat and overwhelming perfume from the fearleaders only made it worse.

She had a point, but he really didn't need to deal with this now. He had gotten too used to dealing with the problems here to remember that she knew a good deal about why they weren't in Peach Creek anymore, so maybe it was his fault for not thinking about it. Especially in letting her get the drop on them like this.

The hatted boy looked over to Ed, trying to figure out what exactly he was thinking. He'd already moved over towards Ghoulia and started chatting with her about some random topic. He was actually listening to her talk in zombie speak as well, having been the first to fully understand it for reasons none of them could figure out. Just another mystery about him.

It didn't look like Ed was thinking about it. Or even bothered to acknowledge it.

That was worrying.

Double D stopped thinking about it when he noticed Clawd waved and started jogging up to him. He put on a fake smile that he hoped was convincing, nodding in his direction. "Hello. You're Clawd, correct? I don't believe we've had a proper introduction."

"Uh, yeah. I guess my sister told you about me?" The werewolf laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "She's told me a lot about you, honestly. Just wanted to thank you for stopping that fight a couple days ago. And getting Deuce out of detention too."

"Not a problem. Setting a few people straight and getting a bad teacher out of the school is a pleasure." Double D did feel some satisfaction over it. Clawdeen had said a lot about her brother and was thankful he wasn't the overprotective type. "Don't be afraid to call if something like that happens again."

"I won't be." Clawd didn't exactly seem too nervous, but he was clearly trying to get something out into the open. "You guys honestly have made a pretty big reputation for yourselves, honestly. I mean, you and that Ed guy seem friendly, but I've heard some stories."

"I wouldn't believe all of them. I'm not even sure how half of them got started, honestly." That was something to look out for. Double D didn't exactly want to have a 'reputation,' but maybe he could cultivate from it somehow. "I'm sure what your sister has said about me and my friends is the most accurate."

"I hope so." Clawd seemed to relax a bit at that, actually moving closer to him without hesitation. "It seems like you've had a good time adjusting though. Even with all of the trouble."

"It's taken some effort, but I think we're doing just fine." Double D couldn't help but notice that something was going on with the fearleading practice not that far away. It looked like Cleo was arguing with one of her subordinates. "Any idea what's going on over there?"

The werewolf looked over and frowned. "I don't know. Cleo is usually pretty strict during practice, so maybe it's something involving some routine." He narrowed his eyes, trying to pick out something. "Looks like she's arguing with Toralei again. I don't know what she's doing, but-"

He stopped after the werecat (Toralei, Double D assumed) had two other fearleaders started to do some form of routine. It was decent, as far as the two boys could tell, but something about it seemed off.

They got their answer after the two other werecats involved with the routine pulled out a sign saying that they quit the team.

"…Looks like you got your work cut out for you, huh?"

"It appears so." The smart Ed boy said, feeling a bitter taste on his tongue. Of course, something like this happens. Of course.

Double D's headache was going to become a migraine before the day ended.

A note for anyone; I do like Apple, but she is going to go through some serious character development. She does a lot of stuff in canon, so she's going to go through it either way and Eddy isn't going to stand for anything she pulls.

Also, if the chapter mentioning some things going on with the Ed's backstory isn't clear, it isn't a great one. I will be put up trigger warnings in later parts of the fic when it starts to come up more explicitly.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you again soon!