A/N Hello everyone, and welcome to the first chapter of "When Life Gives You Ed." As you can see, I am new to writing fanfics for this fandom, but I hope I can have a good time with this. It has been a while since I watched "Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy" but the idea for this fic would not go away, so I've been catching up and hoping to please. I truly hope you all enjoy. Also, I of course want to remind everyone that I do not own "Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy" or its affiliates. They are the property of Danny Antonucci and Cartoon Network. Alright, that's enough chattering, let's get started.

It was a brisk, yet beautiful morning in the small town of Peach Creek, Minnesota. The sun was rising, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, yet there was still probably a good two feet of snow on the ground. Not just on the ground, but on the tree branches, the houses, and just about anywhere it could land. With it being early January in this mid-western town, it was likely the snow was going to be there for a while, but it never stopped the people there from going on with their lives. Besides, it seemed to be the perfect backdrop for what was to come, at least for one individual.

It was on this morning that a young man of about sixteen was stepping out of his house, waving goodbye to his parents as he went. That young man was Eddward Marion Vincent, a resident of Peach Creek since he was six, and today was his first day of his second semester of tenth grade. As he closed the door behind him, he took a moment to zip up the heavy jacket he was wearing and ensure that the black ski hat he always had on his head was secure. He then took a moment to survey his surroundings, finding this morning in particular to be somewhat more breathtakingly beautiful than most.

Now Eddward, who was commonly known as Double D to his friends, was an honor student throughout his school life, so one might consider it natural that he would be so eager to get a school day started. And they would be right. However, he was feeling an excitement today that almost seemed illogical, especially given the man of logic that he was known to be. He was a self-described man of science, so it was not common for him to feel a certain way without some sort of explanation behind it. Today, though, he did not have the greatest explanation for what he was currently feeling, other than that it felt like everything was about to go right in the world. Of course, there were many instances in his life where it seemed like the opposite was true, but more than ever, the thought of that seemed to be purged from his mind.

Regardless, after admiring his surroundings, he took a deep breath and contently marched toward the used sedan his parents gifted him for earning his driver's license. After unlocking the door, he gingerly placed his backpack in the passenger's seat across from him, readied himself in the driver's seat, and started the car. Then after a few moments to let the vehicle warm up, and to admire the scenery a bit more, he was off.

It was about a fifteen-minute drive from Edd's house to Peach Creek High School, and even that time period seemed to fly by this morning. His emotions only heightened as he drove into the parking lot seeing other students on the parking lot making their way into the school. He was surprised to find an empty parking spot right in front of the building as well, so taking the opportunity he parked there. It already seemed to him that the good feeling he felt this morning was about to be justified, and more than ever, he was ready to start the day. Stepping out of the car he looked around, this time searching for his two best friends with whom he shared a first name, and again, he didn't have to look long.

"Over here, Sock Head!"

"Hiya, Double D!"

He turned to his left and immediately saw his two cohorts making their way towards him: Ed Hill, with his thick green jacket wrapped around his tall frame, and Eddy Taylor, wearing a letterman jacket on top of his usual polo. Edd couldn't help but smirk as he saw them moving so briskly with grins on their faces. Seems he wasn't the only one with a good feeling about today. He adjusted his coat and quickly stepped over to meet them.

"Greetings, gentlemen!" He warmly welcomed. "Quite a lovely morning, isn't it?"

"Whoa! Someone's mighty chipper today," said Eddy cockily. "Did ya really miss school that much? Or maybe…did you find a lucky lady over the break?"

He scoffed, "And once again, I find you with your head in the gutter, Eddy."

"I got stuck in the gutter last week, Double D," said Ed, clearly not paying attention.

The other two chuckled, not only at their friend's ineptness, but also remembering the incident he was describing.

"Yes, as I recall," Edd continued through his laughter. "But to answer your question, Eddy, I truly have no idea why I'm so 'chipper' as you put it. I just woke up this morning in an immensely good mood, without any real explanation."

"Ha! I know the feeling. Just means you gotta make it last, though, right?"

"Oh, I hope it does, my friend." He looked up, thoughtfully. "I hope it does."

Eddy patted him on the back with a confident smirk. The shortest of the Eds was never one to ruin a good mood…well at least not anymore. He made himself out as a bit of a con artist from a young age, and there was many a good mood ruined because of that. However, one fateful scam he pulled when he was twelve, which lead to a confrontation with his similarly minded brother, changed things for him. He realized at that point that there was a rock bottom, and boy, did he hit it.

Needless to say, having learned his lesson from the ordeal, he gave up on the ridiculous scams he tried to pull, and in doing so, began to look on life with a different perspective. That wasn't to say he was a glowing picture of morality, but he did start acting more appreciative of the people around him. Not just his fellow Eds, but everyone he had in his life now, even those he had wronged back in the cul-de-sac he called home. Speaking of which…

"Wassup, Double D!"

Walking up to them now were two more residents of the Peach Creek cul-de-sac: the resident star athlete, Kevin, and his on-and-off again girlfriend, Nazz. Aside from the obvious growth spurts and changes in physic, not much had changed with these two. They were indeed two of the most popular kids in school at this point, though. Not only because of the good looks they were gifted with in puberty, but also their tumultuous relationship. They seemed to be on good terms now, though, as they marched toward the Eds with their arms interlocked and smiles on their faces. Though, Kevin's smile seemed to be more of a smirk.

"Good morning, you two!" Double D responded. "I must say, I am shocked to see all of you here this early!"

"Honestly, me too," said Nazz with a chuckle. "Eddy was late picking us up this morning. Said he overslept, but we got here by some miracle."

"Ha! To say the least, babe!" Kevin snorted. "Lead-foot over here had my life flashing before my eyes!"

"Aw, shut up," Eddy playfully retorted. "Like she said, we got here, so quit complaining, Shovelhead."

"Says the king of complainers himself," he replied. "Don't try to deny it, Dork."

He then trapped Eddy in a loose headlock until they jokingly pushed each other away. When they were younger, the two of them were constantly at each other's throats, but after the incident with Eddy's brother, they came to gradually understand each other better, and became fast friends as well. However, the spirit of rivalry was still strong between them in many cases, which led to moments like this.

"Alright, break it up you two," Nazz interjected, ever the mediator. "If you guys keep on, we really are going to be late."

"She's right Eddy," Double D conferred. "It's already twenty minutes until the bell. Surely you can have it out later."

Eddy scoffed, but he started walking. "Buzzkill. Alright, we better get going. Come on, Lumpy!"

"Right behind you, Eddy!" Ed exclaimed, rushing to keep up.

As the group made their way toward the entrance, Eddward couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one in good spirits today. Maybe he could consider that this good feeling he had was warranted.

"HEY, WAIT FOR MEEE!"

The group stopped dead in their tracks when they heard that, and when they did, the tallest and dullest of the Eds was the first to spin around. More than anyone there, he knew that excitable voice. And once his eyes focused, it was confirmed. There, running towards the group across the heavy snow at full speed, was none other than May Kanker. She was the youngest of a group of half-sisters that made life a nightmare for the kids in the Peach Creek cul-de-sac. The Eds had especially suffered the most under them, having been harassed constantly with overly romantic and aggressive advances.

Standing there today, time seemed to move slow for Ed as he watched this girl sprinting towards him, a buck-toothed smile plastering her face and dirty blonde hair flowing in the wind. In his younger years, the mere sight of this would have been enough to send him running for the hills, but now…

"MAY!" he yelled gleefully with a big grin on his face. That's when he began to run toward her, his arms extended, showing just as much excitement as she was.

"YOU MADE IT BACK OKAY!" he called as he ran.

"YOU KNOW I DID!" she responded, still running. "I MISSED YA, BIG FELLA—WOAH!"

Her eyes having only been on him, she misjudged the drop from the sidewalk to the pavement, and her foot hit the ground at an awkward angle. She flailed about for a second or two, trying to prevent herself from falling, but just as she finally lost her balance, the tall 16-year-old finally reached her and caught her before her face hit the blacktop.

"Upsy-daisy!" He said as he lifted her up to his face level and finally planted a big kiss right on her lips, which she gladly returned. After a few seconds, they finally broke, giggling to themselves in satisfaction.

"Wow, nice save!" May squeaked out through her giggles.

"I wouldn't want you to get hurt, my little chipmunk!" Ed replied.

They continued laughing as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, spinning her around. Most that knew these two when they were younger would have thought pigs would fly before they saw this, and yet there they were, simply enjoying being in each other's presence. The two of them had been officially dating for six months at this point, and it was clear they weren't about to break up any time soon. Given the history between them and the Kankers, most of the kids from the cul-de-sac were not exactly quick to accept this relationship, Eddy being chief among them. However, when they saw things build up between the pair, over time, they began to feel happy for them, and seeing the display from them this morning, which had grown to be something of a regular occurrence, they were laughing right along with the pair.

"I must say, those two definitely know how to make an entrance," said Double D, wiping a tear from his eye due to the laughter.

"No kiddin'" Eddy concurred, barely keeping his composure, if at all.

Before long, Ed finally set May down, and they made their way toward the group, hands intertwined. As they came, Nazz briskly stepped forward to meet them.

"You are okay, right May?" She asked the young blonde.

"Never better!" she replied. "I've survived worse falls then that."

"Good, because I'd really hate for you to miss the first cheer practice of the season."

May chuckled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Nice. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip from over the break."

"Me too!" Ed concurred as they began walking back toward the school.

May giggled again as the memories came back. "Gotta say, my fosters outdid themselves this time," she teased.

As the three of them rejoined the group, Double D's smile remained. Seeing all of this, he had a real hope for the semester ahead. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he was ready to face whatever was going to be thrown his way.

After they got into the school, the first order of business was to stop by the main office to see which home room they would be assigned to that semester. Soon after getting the slips with their information, Kevin and Nazz said their goodbyes and went out to find their homerooms. Ed and May came out next, and May was, to say the least, a bit hesitant to read her slip. Ed had just told her which homeroom he was in, and she was praying hard that she would be in the same one.

"Please let us be in the same one," she chanted quickly. "Please let us be in the same one. Please, please, please with a cherry on top—YES!"

Clearly satisfied with the result after finally looking, she wrapped her arms around Ed's neck again. He laughed with her again as he spun her around, this time so she would be sitting piggyback behind him.

"Then onward we must go!" he yelled.

"Yes, onward!" she confirmed.

Holding onto her legs, he ran off through the hallway, ignoring the reprimand from a passing hall monitor. The other two Eds, who were exiting the office at this time, just managed to spot their friend and his girlfriend as they disappeared among the crowd of students. Double D gave yet another amused chuckle as he watched them, while Eddy just shook his head with a smirk.

"Geez, six months and those two are still in the honeymoon phase," he muttered. "What a couple of saps."

"Oh, let them have their fun, Eddy," the smartest of the Eds rebutted. "I for one would like to see you treat one of your lady friends with half the enthusiasm he does May."

Eddy had become something of a lady killer since starting high school, and perhaps a little while he was in middle school. While he did seem to have fun with just about every girl he came across, none of the relationships ever lasted. Perhaps that was one reason why he felt the need to make jokes about his friends' romantic relationships.

"Yeah, yeah," he breathed, trying to brush his friend off. "I just don't get why they always have to make a big deal out of it."

Double D sighed. "Well, I can't speak for Ed, but I think May at least deserves some genuine affection after what she and her sisters have gone through in the last few years."

This was indeed a hard statement to argue with for anyone that knew the situation. Though things had changed for the Eds after the incident with Eddy's brother, the Kankers had still been relentless in their aggressive affections towards them. That was, until about six months after said incident when their mother got arrested. As it turns out, Miss Kanker had come to be seen as a menace among the adults in Peach Creek just as her daughters had to the children. Not long after they moved there, she became known for short temper and love of alcohol, which lead to many a conflict between here and many other residents of this small Minnesota town.

Eventually, however, it was Eddy's mother that had somehow gotten wind that she might be abusing her daughters, and before long, the police made their way to her doorstep. Soon after, other assault charges were brought against the Kanker matriarch, and at the end of it all, she would have to serve six years in jail. As for the girls, their fathers were completely absent, and they had no other family members that were willing to take them in, so they were ultimately placed in foster care. Needless to say, that family was not in a great place at the moment.

"Eh, can't argue with that," Eddy said as he shrugged, thinking back on this. "Gotta admit, May's not so bad when you get to know her.

Edd laughed with a nod. "I concur…I wish it could have been the same with Lee, though."

Eddy groaned at the mention of the oldest (and meanest) of the sisters.

"I'm telling you, Double D, that girl's beyond hope. She nearly tore a guy's arm off last semester for just barely grazing her hair."

"Good gracious! Oh well, with any luck, we may be able to somewhat avoid her."

"Yeah, hopefully."

Double D himself was reflecting on the situation himself throughout the conversation. He had brought it up after all, but a thought seemed to be nagging at the back of his mind. They hadn't yet mentioned the middle child of the Kanker household. After a few seconds he spoke again.

"I'm not sure about you, but it seems as though I've not heard much about Marie after all this time. Have you heard anything about her?"

Eddy shrugged. "I don't know man. Seems like she just dropped off the face of the earth since that whole thing started. I'm not even sure if she's been going here anymore." He then turned to his friend suspiciously. "…Why?"

Being the logical person he was, Double D usually had a detailed and reasonable answer for every question he was asked, but for this one…well he was struggling. It did seem that Marie had eyes for him all those years ago, what with the aggressive kissing and all that, but the feeling was decidedly not mutual. So why, when the topic of his and his friends' tormenters is brought up again all these years later, was his mind turning mainly to her? Especially given the fact that he had hardly seen her in the three years that followed her mother's arrest. Even he could not understand it.

"…No idea," he finally said. "It's been so long, I know, but I just…couldn't shake the thought."

Eddy raised an eyebrow. It was not like his most studious friend to be stuck in his own head like he seemed to be today. But he decided to let it go.

"Well, all I can say is, knowing that family, it's probably better you don't find out."

Edd shrugged, "…Perhaps you're right Eddy."

"Right…but anyway, back to business. Who's your homeroom?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." He frantically pulled out his slip. "Um…Mr. Williams."

Eddy stamped his foot. "Crap…Well, hopefully we get some classes together later."

Edd nodded. "Fingers crossed." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "Oh dear, look at the time!"

"Yep. We better get going. Catch ya later, Double D."

"Very well. Have a good day, Eddy!"

The friends finally went their separate ways, and Eddward walked with a purpose. Though it seemed his head was slightly foggy this morning, he was not about to lose his perfect attendance record. Luckily, he had Mr. Williams in a few classes before, so he knew where he was going, which would help him immensely. After a few moments he reached the stairwell and was just about to head up when…

"Brainy Ed-boy! Rolf requires your assistance!"

He turned around fast and quickly found himself face to face with the cul-de-sac's resident son-of-a-shepherd, frantically jogging towards him.

"Oh! Hello, Rolf!" he responded. "What seems to be the trouble."

Rolf finally came to a stop, stroking the beginnings of the beard that was forming on his face to calm himself.

"Rolf needs assistance in finding the location of his homeroom teacher," he blurted out. "Do you know where the classroom of 'Mr. Williams' is?"

"Oh, I was just heading up there myself!" came Edd's reply. "I am also in his homeroom. I can lead you there if you would like."

"Ah, bless you, Ed-boy!" the young foreign boy sighed in relief.

"No trouble at all!"

And with that, they both made their way up the stairs, conversing along the way about their plans for the rest of the school year. For his part, Double D mentioned that he would still mainly be focusing on keeping his grades up, but he was willing to begin tutoring as well so long as he had no big projects due. As for Rolf, his main concern was maintaining his miniature farm on his grandmother's property in the cul-de-sac. Despite the small quarters he did maintain it well, but he was concerned about meeting the demand of green onions, as they had been popular among the neighborhood for the past few years.

"Ah, that's right!" said Double D when he mentioned this, "Mother wanted me to ask you about when the green onions would be available. She's been dying to include them in some of her meals."

The young farmer sighed. "It is hardly even time to plant the onions, Ed-boy!" he breathed in frustration. "There are too many factors that Rolf must take into consideration before he can begin to tell you. The onions will be ready when they are ready!"

"Alright, alright! I just thought I'd ask," Edd stammered, trying to de-escalate the situation. "—Ah! Here we are!"

They finally arrived at room 212, Mr. Williams' classroom. Their final destination. The two young men stood in front of the door for a moment.

"After you, Rolf," Edd offered.

"Thank you again, Ed-boy," Rolf replied, "and good fortune on you today!"

"You as well."

As he let his acquaintance walk in, Eddward stayed outside a moment to take a deep breath and refocus himself. He may have been thinking a little out of his own head this morning, but that was not going to damper his spirit today. It was the start of a new period of learning, so he needed to go in with that mindset, and with such a good set of peers around, things could only get better. This was going to be a brilliant semester. He could feel it. Once his mind was straight, he took a confident step forward…

Bump!

…only to walk into another student. It hadn't fully hit him as to what happened until he heard the other individual's textbook hit the floor with a loud thud! Slightly panicking, he made his way to assist with the mess.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I—"

"Hey, buddy! Watch where you're—"

As they both crouched down, their eyes met…and got wide. They stopped in the middle of their sentences. Eddward saw that the student he just bumped into was a girl…and not just any girl. One good look at her and he could tell. The black shirt. The freckles. Those green eyes. And of course, that short blue hair. Oh, no. How could he possibly forget? It seemed his question as to what happened to the middle Kanker child was now answered.

"What in…M-Marie?" he stuttered, his pulse skyrocketing.

It was clear by the look on her face that she remembered him too.

"Wha…Double D?" she squeaked out, just as shocked.

Oh, this was going to be an interesting semester indeed.

A/N I hate to end things on a meet-cute, but we have to do something to build up suspense, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I've seen a lot of these fics already with the show's characters in high school, and I definitely felt I should take a stab at it myself. Living and growing up in a small town like Peach Creek seems to be, I'm taking some inspiration from what I've lived and seen. That's not to say that I have personally experienced everything I'm putting into this fic, but there is a certain point of view that people living in a rural community can take to situations like these. I really hope I can convey that to all of you. Anyway, if you liked this chapter, please feel free to follow and leave a review if you can. Updates may be sporadic as I have a lot going on right now, but please bear with me. I hope it with be worth it. Thank you, and I'll see you next time!