ASC: Chapter 4

Twenty minutes passed by in Peach Creek. After the three Eds and Alice met Jade and Reese, they walked to the candy store, which did not take that long to arrive at.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" Ed cheered as he saw the store in the distance. He began to run faster than before to reach the store's entrance.

Reese was close behind him, also becoming excited to arrive at the store. Their four friends were close behind them as well, but a bit further away.

"So, what kind of candy do you guys usually get at this candy store?" Alice asked, "I usually get any candy that has a pink lemonade flavor to it."

"My usual pick is a blueberry-flavored jawbreaker," Double D replied with a smile, "Ed also goes for the grape-flavored jawbreakers."

"Yeah, I always get a jawbreaker; green apple flavored!" Eddy replied, "The jawbreakers here are the best in town!"

Alice laughed at that, "I see now, it's no wonder why your tongues are so colorful. Must be from all the candy you eat."

Double D widened his eyes, "You noticed that about us?"

"Yeah, it's kind of hard not to notice," Alice replied with a teasing tone, "Good to know the local candy here is that good! Can't wait to try it."

Eddy looked at Jade, who was walking a bit behind him to his left, "What about you, Jade? What kinda candy do you usually get?" he asked.

Jade stared at him before realizing he was talking to her, "Huh? Me?"

"Yeah!"

Jade glanced away a little, "Umm, I-I like orange-flavored candies… a-and gummy snacks that are a bit softer to chew on. I haven't tried their jawbreakers yet…"

"Whoa, really?" Eddy questioned in surprise, "Why not? They have orange-flavored jawbreakers too."

"Well, umm… I'm not sure how to eat a piece of candy that big," Jade replied, she sounded a little embarrassed when she explained why.

That was when Eddy made a hearty laugh, much to everyone's surprise, "Is that why?! Man, that's rich," he said before looking back to Jade, walking backward down the sidewalk to get her attention, "Jawbreakers are not that hard to eat! You should try one someday!" he then puffed out his chest, jamming his right thumb into it, "And, whenever you do, you can count on me to teach you how to enjoy it!"

Double D looked at them with a bit of surprise and confusion, 'Is Eddy trying to help her come out of her shell? Reese did say Jade was very shy, but I didn't expect him to interact with her like this.'

Jade looked at Eddy in shock before making a small, but nervous smile, "M-Maybe I can try one."

Eddy made a big smile, "Sweet!" he replied before doing a heel turn to walk forward again instead of backward, "We're here now!"

Alice looked at the candy store they stood in front of. It was a small store with a few other miscellaneous stores around and close by it, including a comic book and trading card store, a jewelry store, a small arcade, and a locally owned pizza place! There was also a McDonald's a bit further ahead and a gas station at one of the corners of a four-way street even further ahead. She could also see a few buildings even further beyond the four-way street, some of them were kind of big and important-looking; like they were the local government buildings for both city hall and the local police department. She could also see a sign close by that pointed in the direction of the local hospital, saying it was further down the road from the police station.

"Huh, there's a lot more here around downtown Peach Creek than I expected," Alice stated with a bit of awe.

Double D could see that both Ed and Reese were already inside the store, grabbing what they would usually get, "Seems like they did not want to wait for us," he chuckled.

The four teens entered the small building to shop for what they wanted there, not noticing someone was closely watching them from inside his car. It was Evan, he had decided to keep a closer eye on his little brother and Alice; at least as much as he could without rousing any suspicion. He was also on the lookout for any suspicious figures related to the Corvin Family, especially Mr. Fierro, who was Evan's 'higher up and boss'. Evan took a deep breath as he got out of his car from where he was parked, which was the parking lot of the local pizza place.

Meanwhile, back inside the candy store, we could see the six teens grabbing what they wanted before walking over to the counter. As he was about to go purchase his jawbreaker, Double D noticed Eddy's brother coming out of his car from across the street, he began to walk away from the pizza place. He widened his eyes slightly before looking away, trying to not freak out at the sudden appearance of the man.

'W-Why is Eddy's brother here again?!' Double D thought before remembering what the man said to Alice earlier, 'I certainly hope it's just him eating at the pizzeria, but I don't think he is. He's walking away from it…' he narrowed his eyes a little, 'Maybe I should try to inquire him if what he said earlier was true; that he is a police officer.'

Eventually, everyone was done with getting what they wanted from the candy store, exiting the store as they did.

"… Say fellows, I need to walk away for a moment," Double D started to say to his friends.

Ed and Eddy looked at their hat-wearing friend, "Uh, why? Where're you going?" Ed asked.

"I just remembered I need to make a phone call to my parents," Double D replied, "You guys can go back to the Cul-De-Sac without me."

Before his friends could say anything back, Double D dashed off in the direction of the crosswalk that leads to the pizzeria across the street.

"… That's a little weird," Eddy stated before shrugging his shoulders, "I wouldn't worry about him. Let's go!"

The group of five teens began to walk back home. As they were about to arrive at the start of the neighborhoods near the town, Alice came to a sudden halt, which caught everyone else's attention, "What is it, Alice?" Reese asked.

Alice kept glancing behind her before she turned to her brother, "Sorry, I'm gonna go back to town for a second. There's something I wanted to see but I forgot to walk over to it."

Eddy looked at his sister in confusion, "Huh? But…"

"I can call you if I need anything. Go on back home," Alice stated to him before turning around as she dashed off back to town, "Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

"Hey!" Eddy yelped to her, but she had already run further ahead.

Meanwhile, back with Double D, we could see him jogging down the sidewalk in the direction he saw Eddy's brother walk off to. He had to stop near a bench nearby to sit down, exhausted from his sudden jog; Double D was not the most physically fit teenager in the world, always lacking the stamina for this kind of activity.

Evan, in the meantime, had noticed Double D saw him earlier, so he tried to get him off his trail. He was now standing in an alleyway close by, hoping his little brother's friend would eventually run by him without knowing he was there. But now he saw the teen boy sitting close by on a bench, he looked exhausted from the little bit of running he did.

'Geez, this is annoying,' Evan thought to himself, 'I gotta wait for him to go away before I can leave.'

"Double D!"

Both Double D and Evan widened their eyes at the voice.

"A-Alice?" Double D questioned as he saw her run up to him, "Why did you follow me? I was going to come back to the Cul-De-Sac later…"

"I know, but I noticed you seemed stressed about something. You were lying when you said you were going to call your parents," Alice stated to him, "My dad was pretty good at reading people; to see who was lying or telling the truth. That was his job."

Double D stared at her for a second before sighing, "I guess I'm not a good liar, huh…" he could see Alice sit down next to him on the bench.

"Yeah, you're terrible at it," Alice chuckled before making a serious face, "Can you tell me what's bothering you? You're my brother's friend, I gotta look out for everyone, including you!"

Double D looked at Alice in surprise, "A-Alright, I'll tell you."

There was a small pause before Double D began to explain, "I saw that you were fighting that older girl earlier, but I didn't approach you until later because I saw a man come by to stop the fight."

Evan widened his eyes, 'Oh shit, he was somewhere around there too?'

"Oh, you mean that shady 'off-duty' police officer from before?" Alice asked.

Double D nodded his head, "Yes, I saw him a moment ago across the street when we were checking out at the candy store."

Evan made a little grumble, "Wow, so much for staying undercover," he stated before walking out from his hiding place, "You kids are pretty smart, you know."

The two teens gasped at the sudden voice, noticing the man from before coming out of the alleyway to their left, "Y-You!" Alice yelped as she hopped off the bench to get in a position to defend herself or to attack the man, "I knew you seemed fishy! Off-duty cop? Yeah right!"

Double D could feel himself tremble slightly at the sudden appearance of the man before he went over to Alice's side to stand in front of her slightly, despite how much his legs were shaking, "W-What do you w-want with A-Alice?!" he asked.

"Geez, you two need to calm down," Evan stated to them, glancing around a little, "Did Pipsqueak and your other friends go back home?"

"Why should we tell you?" Alice asked before making a glare at him, "Are you with the Corvin Family?!"

"… That's a bit complicated to explain right now," Evan replied, "But no, I'm not with those murderers."

Alice seemed to become less tense now, but Double D was still on guard while his knees were shaking, "So, you are a genuine police officer?" Alice asked.

Evan nodded his head, "Yeah, I am," he then pulled out his wallet, showing his police badge that he had within a hidden compartment, "The name's Evan McGee. Your dad used to take care of me sometimes when I was younger, Alice. I even babysat you and my brother from time to time when I got older until you moved away."

"Huh…?" both Double D and Alice gasped at him, having several different realizations all at once, "You're Eddy's older brother?" Alice asked in disbelief, "That means y-you're also—"

"P-Pardon my intrusion for a moment, please," Double D interjected, "Are you truly a police officer? I thought you worked at the fairgrounds in Sunflower Shoal! That's where we found you before you sent us home with so many bruises last year! T-This doesn't make any sense!"

"Wait, h-he beat you up? Seriously?!" Alice gasped as she looked back at Evan, "Why would he do that?!"

Evan made an irritated sigh at them, "I can explain everything, okay? But not out here in the open."

He glanced back to the place he parked his car at earlier, "Come on, I can tell you two about it in my car, where no one can hear us. I'll protect you two."

Both Alice and Double D glanced at each other before they began to follow Evan, a bit reluctantly as they did. They decided to hear him out, only to help them solve what the heck was going on with him and for him to answer some of their questions.

Author's Note (March 6th, 2024): Oooo!

That's it, just me going Oooo! Stay tuned!