Hey everybody, how's it going? I hope you're glad to see this chapter as I am.
It's a little shorter than normal, but since we're in an intermission that (mostly) doesn't have too much plot, I'm giving myself some flexibility. There are story hints for what's coming after, but that's really it.
I also have something to ask you guys at the end of the chapter. Nothing serious, but just wanting to know.
Either way, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you later!
The road trip had been an easy-going affair. Bloodgood had seen them off with a smile, the girls taking the bus while the Ed's made sure to get any extra stuff delivered with their van. It wasn't the most eventful drive, to be sure, but it weirdly set the Ed's at ease getting on the road again, even if it was for a brief time.
It didn't take long to get there, even if a few wrong turns were taken at the most inopportune times. The Ed's suspected magic was involved in order to make the trip shorter for anyone looking for it.
When the Ed's and the girls finally stopped near the sandy shores of Gloom Beach, they stepped out and took in the sights.
Eddy was the first to remark on their surroundings, letting out a low whistle. "Nice place. Foggy as all hell, but nice place."
"Well, it does need to be a little darker for some of us. Remember, Draculaura is allergic to sunlight." Cleo gave a bag to one of her attendants, waving them away to take it to their cabins. "They do have to accommodate to our needs if they want people to stay here."
"That is true, Eddy. Certain monsters wouldn't be able to go to a beach otherwise." Double D looked over to see the rest of the girls filing out. "Speaking of which, Draculaura, are you sure that the fog will be enough?"
"I put a lot of sunscreen in the bus." Everyone could tell, seeing as how it there was enough to stand out from her naturally pale skin. "I probably should've asked for help. I don't think I spread this evenly enough."
"I'll help out." Clawd threw the suggestion out there quickly. "Well, after we all change first. Just need to know what SPF you use."
"Ah, thank you!" Draculaura grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the group. "I'll have to shower, though. I think I used one that was too low."
The group watched them leave, some with raised eyebrows, others with suspicion. Raven leaned over to Clawdeen, one of the former as she innocently raised a brow. "Are they interested in each other? I don't exactly have a lot of experience in this."
"They better not be." The werewolf was the latter, narrowing her eyes at their retreating forms. "I've had to deal with this once and I'm not letting it happen again. Seriously, does that boy ever learn?"
"You're being paranoid." Cerise patted her friend on the back, doing her best to ease her fears. "Like I said before, it's none of our business. Besides, they'd tell you first if they were doing anything."
"Plus, this is a time for relaxation. Let's leave any relationship drama at the door, okay?" Ghoulia lugged her own bag, posture relaxed. Her eyes washed over the land with a serene smile. "We'll deal with whatever it is when we get home. At the very least, you'll have an educated guess what that's all about when we get home."
"Yeah, let's just have some fun!" Maddie practically flipped to the front of the group. "There's no Royal, Rebels, Monsters, or Legends here! We're just some teenagers trying to have some fun, with as little adult supervision as possible. Let's act like it!"
"Uh, guys." Frankie piped up. She looked over the group with alarm. "Where's Ed?"
As if summoning an elder god from below the surface from the earth, Ed kicked open the back of the van. He was wearing his swimsuit, smiling as he jumped out and ran straight towards the shore.
"Olly-olly-oxen free!" He yelled out, beating feet ahead of them before they could react.
"Ed!" The two other Ed boys followed closely behind, with Eddy telling the lummox to wait up and Double D telling him to wait until they checked in. The Monsters and Legends simply watched them go, not sure if they should try and help.
"Well," Deuce grabbed his and Cleo's bags, moving towards the site. "I'm going to put some stuff away and join the fun. Looks like those three know how to party."
The group mumbled in agreement with him, gathering their own luggage and following. Looks like the Ed's kicked things off once again.
Checking in with the woman in charge of the cheer camp didn't take long and it was by a miracle Ed didn't already jump in the water. Well, if you call Double D catching him with his octo legs a miracle, then it counts.
After that, well, it was just summer fun.
Ed was playing volleyball with Clawd, Deuce, and Gil, Lagoona's boyfriend. It was debatable which side was winning since they were using their abilities as much as they could. Ed was apparently doing just fine, though, considering he and Clawd were winning.
Double D was helping Clawdeen prepare the food, letting Cerise take over the grilling of the meat. She was practically drooling as it cooked, though the two were able to hold her back. Maddie was providing the drinks from somewhere in her hat, which nobody knew where she was keeping it.
Most of the others were simply having fun in or near the lake. Raven had to take a crash course on swimming, but it was smoothed over with the help of Lagoona and anyone else willing to give it a shot. Anyone that wasn't directly in the water were playing a volleyball game of their own.
Eddy, Cleo, and Apple on the other hand were simply relaxing. Well, mostly.
"Any reason why you aren't going out there, Princess?" Eddy sipped on some soda he was able to find, lazily watching everything go by. The sunglasses on his face weren't exactly needed, but it was for style. "Thought you'd be the type to go and do all you can."
"I am!" Apple piped up. She looked around the beach, though, not making a move. "I just feel like relaxing right now. Plus, it's dangerous to be out in the sun too long."
"Apple, we're all either magical, undead, or some variant of inhuman. Skin conditions are the least of our problems." Cleo sipped her own soda, not even getting up from her laid down position. She didn't know why she decided to hang out with these two, but they were the only ones that decided to relax. "You haven't even gone near the water. I even took a dip before coming over her."
"I just don't want to, alright. I'd prefer to stay right here for now." Despite the declaration, Apple shrunk into herself even more. "Maybe this is how I have fun?"
"Please, I've heard about how you keep yourself busy at Ever After. I'd say that you need a break like this." Cleo huffed, putting her arms behind her head to properly soak in the sun. "Back in my day, princesses actually knew how to relax."
"Back in your day? Really showing your age there, Queenie." Eddy dissipated the soda thrown his way into a vapor with a snap of his fingers. He poked at Apple's side, causing the blonde to jump. "Seriously, what's up? You're not like this and trust me when I say that I know what you're usually like."
Eddy wasn't sure if he really cared, but he figured he might as well throw her a bone. Despite pestering Raven about their destiny every other day, she'd proven to be okay. Peppy, but okay. Might as well try and be her friend.
Apple thought about what he said for a few seconds, looking over the length of the beach once again. "I'm not a fan of water."
"Huh?" Eddy tilted his head to the side.
"She said she doesn't like water." Cleo said it casually, taking another sip of her soda, but she was paying very close attention. "Are you sure I'm the one showing my age? It sounds like you'll need hearing aids soon."
"With the amount of explosion I hear every day, I just might." Eddy turned his attention back to the princess. "Sorry, mind continuing?"
Apple shrugged. "I just don't like being near water. Or at least water I can get submerged in." The blonde pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. "It's because of something that happened when I was a kid. I don't really want to talk about it, but it's something that stayed. It's silly, I know."
The other two remained quiet, not saying anything for a few moments. Cleo eventually stopped sipping her soda, putting it down before speaking again.
"I don't like being in pure darkness." The admission pained her to admit, but since they were being vulnerable, she might as well throw it out there. Ghoulia did say to play nice. "After being inside a tomb for as long as I have, you grow to hate it. Especially when you have to go inside a sarcophagus in hopes that within the next hundred years or so, somebody breaks through and wake you up."
"That's understandable in your case, though. I didn't even drown or get hurt in my case." Apple looked to Eddy. "What about you?"
The boy thought twice about actually telling the girl any of his fears but decided to bite the bullet. Like Cleo, he figured he might as well if they were being vulnerable.
"Time." Eddy shrugged at the confused expression. "Look, it ain't exactly physical like either of you, but it's something I'm scared of. Maybe not as much now, but it does scare me."
"What brought that on?" Cleo lowered her sunglasses, raising an eyebrow at him. "You don't seem the type to be philosophical."
"Because it ain't It started because of a nightmare when I was a kid." Eddy leaned back, thinking back to his childhood again. "I was eleven when I dreamed about being an old man. Everyone around me had grown old, had children, and were practically wrinkled all to heck. My childhood was long behind me and it was over an in instant. That kind of thing stuck with me for a long time."
"Jumping from child to senior citizen does sound off putting. I certainly don't want things to change for now." Apple did feel a bit better about sharing this. And also learning something about her friends too. "I guess our fears aren't so silly after all."
"I expected you to be afraid of something a little more embarrassing than that." Cleo shrugged at Eddy's admission. "You couldn't be afraid of hamsters? Bugs maybe? Snakes?"
"I have a hatred for birds that borders on the insane." Eddy pointed at her, narrowing his eyes. "I'm pretty sure its mutual too. Freaking seagulls around here have been watching me all day."
"And this took a turn for the weird." Apple laughed, even if Eddy seemed serious. "Want to talk about it?"
"Please don't." Cleo interjected, putting her sunglasses back on her face.
God, she picked weird people to hang out with.
Double D was glad that today had been mostly uneventful. Other than normal teenage things, it had been a relaxing first day. As long Saturday and Sunday went over fairly well, he was sure everyone would feel positively recharged by the end of it. Who knows what he'd invent in his lab after all of this is over.
"Lunch was pretty good. I'm pretty sure I've got room for seconds at dinner." Cerise had pretty much gotten over her embarrassment at this point and was keeping a steady stroll with him and Maddie. "Might even challenge Clawd to an eating contest. I'm pretty confident I could win."
"I'm pretty sure a werewolf has an advantage there, but that's your funeral I suppose." Double D chuckled, imagining how exactly that would go down. "Though I suppose you could beat him with some effort thrown in. Is messing with werewolves a genetic disposition, or are you just fond of messing with your destiny?"
"Sounds like a bit of both to me." Maddie skipped along, humming to herself after a day well spent. "Always the daring one, you are. Then again, you are supposed to go into the forest just to deliver something to your grandmother. Maybe you won't need Hunter to help complete your story."
"God, I hope so. He's a good guy, but he really takes the damsel in distress thing too seriously." Cerise scoffed, shrugging as if to say whatever to it. "Hopefully, Ramona will let me off easy when the time comes. The Big Bad Wolf of the story doesn't do that whole eating grandma thing anymore, so it should be fine."
"How is Ramona, anyway? I haven't seen her around lately and Raven said she isn't in any of her villain classes." Maddie looked to Cerise curiously. "You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?"
"I wasn't even aware Mr. Badwolf had children. Of course, if he wanted to continue the story he would, but I don't think I've ever seen her either." Double D thought back onto the teacher, not honestly recollecting much outside of his teachings. "He does seem to be a very private man, so that probably shouldn't be a surprise."
"Ramona's getting out of reform school sometime after the weekend's over." Cerise notably hesitated after putting out that information after getting two questioning looks. She hurriedly changed gears. "So, where were the fearleaders meeting up again? I forgot."
"Over here!"
The group looked over to see Clawdeen waving at them, pom pom in hand. She looked a bit worn out, but otherwise just fine.
"Cleo working you girls to the bone again?" Maddie, again, pulled her hat out from nowhere and pulled a water bottle out of it. The werewolf didn't bother to question it before guzzling it down. "I thought she'd let you off a bit since we got here."
"She is. We're just practicing the one we're doing Sunday one last time." Clawdeen wiped off some sweat, breathing deeply. "This honestly is a lot more relaxing than the usual stuff she puts us through, so I can't even complain."
"Good, because I was ready for a good vacation." Cerise stretched, bones cracking at the effort. "She must be pretty confident about winning."
"Should we expect something amazing on Sunday?" Double D raised an eyebrow, shifting from one foot to the other. "Seems like it'll be hard to top the one that got you guys here."
"Probably because they got in by the skin of their teeth."
Clawdeen's ears twitched at the sound, groaning before turning towards the voice. "Seriously, Toralei? You're here too?"
"I do have my own cheer team. They're also pretty good at what they do to." Toralei saw the others, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, you invited the Legends and that one unknown guy. Interesting choice. Would've invited my boyfriend if he didn't have that family trip."
"While we're sorry to hear that," Double D tentatively threw out, trying to keep things friendly. "The fearleaders figured we needed a break due to stuff at Ever After. Nothing really like what you're describing."
"Hello there!" Maddie waved at the werecat happily, practically bouncing in place. "I'm Maddie Hatter. I've heard a lot of awful things about you."
"Don't you mean you've heard an awful lot about here?" Cerise questioned, raising an eyebrow at the hatter.
"No!" Maddie didn't even remotely change tone before looking at the hooded girl with a wide smile. "Since when have I ever minced my own words?"
"…Okay, I'll give you that one. That was pretty clever." Toralei looked like she wanted to fight more on that, but let it slide. "I wouldn't get to comfortable with getting the trophy, though. There's a lot of good cheer teams around here. I mean, my teams better, but can't really discredit any of them."
"If you're trying to psych me out, it's not going to work. We did our best to get here and we're going to make it into the top three, no question." Clawdeen jerked a thumb behind her. "And we both know Cleo isn't going to settle for anything lower than first anyway."
"Definitely the type to bring a plague on all your houses if you try and mess with her." Cerise laughed. Kitty Cheshire was a more terrifying person than Toralei was, so it was funny to just watch her get angrier. "You sure you want to mess with that? Besides, isn't your team three people?"
"That's not to mention there's more riding on this than a trophy. Winning this is supposed to be help the school by united them under school spirit." Double D scratched his chin in thought. "I suppose if you did win, it would have the same effect as us. Then again, I have a feeling you wouldn't care about that."
"Who cares about some vampires and werewolves getting all angry over old stuff?" The werecat shrugged, rolling her eyes as she turned away. "Whatever. The rest of the ghouls will wish they joined us when they still could."
The werecat strutted away from the others. None of them were exactly intimidated, but they made sure she was gone before they started speaking again.
"Ominous warning aside," Maddie moved towards the mess hall where they could get their food. "I'm going to get something to eat. I hear they have sloppy joes!"
"Oh man, I haven't had those in a while." Despite the amount of meat she had earlier, Cerise looked excited as she followed behind. She shouted at the other two as she caught up with Maddie. "Better hurry up before I get seconds!"
The two watched them leave for a couple of seconds before looking at each other. Double D looked pensive.
"You've known Ms. Stripe longer than I have." He started carefully, looking back at where the werecat disappeared to. "How likely is it she'd try to sabotage us just to get a chance to win?"
"Pretty high, but this isn't Monster High either." Clawdeen picked up her gym bag, putting the pom poms away. "I wouldn't worry about it. If she gets caught, she'd get banned instantly, so she wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything."
She left to head to the mess hall herself, leaving Double D behind. He took one last look to where Toralei went off too, not entirely reassured by his friend's words.
He knew how reckless ambition and spite mixed. And he was sure he saw that in the werecats face.
Ed, due to being exposed to Double D for most of his life, knew how to operate a telescope. He's helped him set up plenty during nights where none of them wanted to be home, so it was a familiar ritual.
Turns out helping Ghoulia set up her own was a whole different situation, but one that had some transferable skills, nonetheless.
"I probably should've left some of these parts at home, but it's rare to find a place with little light pollution." Ghoulia made some final adjustments to her monstrosity of a telescope, the digital screen lighting up. "Hopefully, we can catch something on here worth finding. It's been a while since I've seen a comet."
"I don't think I've ever asked if aliens exist. Do they?" Ed asked, putting some of the materials away carefully. He watched the screen shift change as the telescope moved, catching the stars, and expanding the planets. "If that's a secret, okay, but I think it would be neat to know."
"There are, but only a handful have ever come to Earth. Very unfortunate, considering there'd certainly be a lot of interest in the technology they use." Ghoulia sighed wistfully. "Space travel is so close, yet so far. Of course, we don't need any more UFO sightings than we can get away with."
"Awesome." Ed made sure to note that for later, maybe plan an actual siege on Area 51 while he was at it. He wasn't sure yet, he was still young. "Pretty sure that's a win in my book. Double D is going to freak out over that."
"Don't blow his mind too much. I think we'll need it when we get back home." Ghoulia was glad to set up the beanbags on the flat roof. Plopping down into one of them was instantly satisfying. "I'm surprised you wanted to help me out. Figured you'd want to hang out with the guys or something."
"I can do that anytime. Actually getting to see stuff like this doesn't always happen, though, so I figured being here would be cool." Ed grabbed the sketchbook from a pocket in his coat. "Haven't had a lot of time to just sketch some things either. Figured space would be a good place to get some inspiration."
"I wasn't aware that you knew how to draw." The zombie tried to find a planet to observe, politely looking over at the worn book Ed grasped in his hands. "You think you're any good at it?"
"I've been messing around with it for years, so maybe?" Ed chuckled, messing with the one pencil he brought with him. "Eddy and Double D helped. If they wanted a blueprint, they got me to draw it."
"Impressive. That takes some skill." She looked over the condition of the book in his hands, noticing how far in he was going for a new page. "Looks like you'll be finishing up that one soon. Haven't had time to get another."
"I've been looking, but I just want to finish this one first." He waved it slightly, smile turning bitter. "I got this from my mom. Might as well use it before it's gone."
The change in threw Ghoulia off a bit. "I'm guessing things between you and your mother are strained?"
Ed's face twisted at the question, making her want to back off and change topic. He eventually answered though, his next words coming out slowly. "You could say that. It's complicated."
"How so?" Ghoulia wasn't sure if she should push any of this, but this was a rare opportunity. Ed never really talked about himself all that much without significant prompting. "I'm guessing you didn't leave on good terms?"
"According to Bloodgood, it took a bit for them to realize I left." He shrugged. "I wouldn't call us close. We had a lot of things going on while I lived there, can't really say we had the time."
"At least they gave you that sketchbook." Ed's expression shifted again, making her rethink that. "I'm guessing they didn't actually give you that."
"It was part of my mom's old art supplies. She wanted to go to an art college before meeting my dad." Ed shrugged. His pencil remained on the empty page he had flipped too, and the screen connected to the telescope hadn't moved an inch. "You know the story. Girl meets boy, they get together, things go wrong, and the girl ends up pregnant. They end up in a suburb with two kids with the boy working a nine to five after being forced to drop out."
The entire thing came out in one breath, leaving Ed winded. Ghoulia looked put off, but she didn't say anything just in case he wanted to talk more.
Ed blinked after catching his breath, straightening up and putting a blank smile on his face. "But that's the past. I'm just focusing on the future right now."
"…Right." Ghoulia wanted to talk more about whatever that was, but she recognized the look and knew that he wouldn't. "Let's just find- wait, are Toralei's friends down there?"
The two got up, looking over the roof to see Purrsephone and Meowlody moving around in the dark. The two were pretty confident despite that, moving around the cabins with unnerving speed.
"What are they doing out here so late? It should be lights out by now." Ghoulia could see they were holding something but couldn't tell what. "I don't want to assume, but when it involved Toralei, usually something bad follows."
"Wait, let me get my iCoffin." Ed fished his phone out of his pocket, moving to the railing as fast as he could. It was too late, though, the werecats taking a turn before he could get the picture. "…I really hope they weren't doing anything."
"Ditto."
Saturday hadn't started off any more eventful than yesterday, which was a relief. However, the combined reports of Clawdeen and Ghoulia set everyone a little on edge.
"I know she's up to something. Of course she wouldn't just sit on by and let us win." Cleo squeezed the stress ball hard, taking slow breaths as she searched for the werecat among the other patrons. The cheer competition had started for today and that meant watching their competitors. "That's just how she is. Practically a copy of Nefera, I just know it."
"Babe, I'm sure she isn't going to try anything. Scary Murphy wouldn't let it happen." Deuce's eyes wandered over to the judge and runner of the camp warily. "I think she'd be too scared to try."
"I wouldn't count on it. Some people are way too dumb for their own good." Eddy ignored the betrayed look from the gorgon. "Hey, some people are just too ambitious for their own good. I know when to dial it down a bit at least."
"I'm inclined to believe you, but that sounds very… strange compared to your earlier statements." Apple saw some orange fur in the distance, taking a seat on the opposite side of the stadium. "She's right across if you're wondering. Doesn't seem to have done anything."
Eddy squinted at the werecat. "I wouldn't say that. She looks like the cat that ate the canary." At the chorus of groans, he threw up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Hey, people rarely even say that anymore. You should applaud me for my creativity here."
"I think I'll pass." Deuce laughed all the same, but it was an involuntary one. He looked down as one of the first groups went up to bat. "The Amityville Horrors? That's kinda morbid."
"Why? That sounds like a clever team name to me." As the others stared at her, Apple grew confused. "I'm going to guess I'm missing something here."
"Yes, but I don't think I want to explain it to you." Cleo went back to squeezing her stress ball as the routine started.
Things went quiet as they watched it go on, though something was off about it. Eddy wasn't sure why, but he couldn't help but feel like something was familiar about the Horrors routine.
"Babe," Deuce cautiously started, eyes narrowing. Apparently he was feeling that creeping sense of familiarity too. "That looks a lot like your teams routine."
A loud pop went off, causing the others to jump. They looked to see Cleo eyes narrowed, the remains of the stress ball still gripped by her manicured nails.
"Cleo, is everything alright?" Apple's eyes drifted between the mummy and the fearleaders below still doing their routine. "You look ready to commit murder right now and I can't tell why."
"That's because, Apple," Cleo glared at Toralei with a good amount of hatred behind it. "That is my team's routine. And I think I know who gave it to them."
Eddy's own eyes switched over to the tabby, raising an eyebrow. Toralei eventually noticed the glare she was receiving from Cleo, giving a smirk as she waved at them smugly.
"She does realize," Eddy narrowed his own eyes, feeling mischievous at being challenged so blatantly. "That this means war."
He was going to teach her how a real scam artist does things.
Like I said, shorter than usual. Hopefully you all liked it just the same, though!
Alright, I wanted to ask you guys to weigh in on something I've been considering. After the two fics I'm currently working on are over (which probably won't for a long time) I'm wondering what I could do next. I figured I might as well ask you guys since you seem to like my stuff!
I'll be talking about my ideas on my Tumblr, so check it out for the post. It'll most likely be at the top, right after the one advertising this chapter of the fic. Weigh in the reviews/comments which one of the ideas you'd think would be interesting or your own below. I have a lot to use, so feel free to check them out.
Linke Here: blog/the-helpless-lemon
Either way, I'll see you all next chapter!