Chapter Text
Why did he have to do it? Why couldn't he stop himself? He knew he had ruined everything between them. And all it took was a simple little peck on the lips. She hadn't talked to him since the incident the day before. He had tried calling her house all day, but he got no response. How could their friendship be destroyed so easily? They had been friends since they were little. They had done everything together. They had played with dolls and action figures, played pretend together, slept over each others houses every other day, and they had even enjoyed picking on the Eds together on occasion. But that was all in the past now, all thanks to his lack of self-control. It was over. He knew she'd never be able to look at him the same again. He should've just kept his feelings to himself. He should've just pretended that he just wanted to be friends with her and that was all.
He should've, should've, should've, but he didn't listen to himself. Instead, he showed her everything he had been holding back, all the love for her, all the want for them to be more than friends in a single kiss. And that kiss was like an electric shock to their life-long friendship. It fried everything that had been to a crisp until all that was left was the smoking ashes of what once was. His head hung low as his feet dangled off the side of his bed. He felt dead. He and her never left each others side, save for when she wanted to hang out with Nazz or when he had Urban Rangers duty. Other than that, they were inseparable. Only on one other occasion had Sarah ever willingly left Jimmy's side, and that was...
"Double D," Jimmy whispered to himself as his eyes widened. That was it. He had been so blind. That was why Sarah rejected him. That had to be why. She still liked Edd. After four years, she still was harboring feelings for the sock-hatted Ed. It made Jimmy's blood boil. Jimmy had always been there for Sarah, always been by her side, and had always been there whenever she needed help with anything. Yet she was still hooked on the delusion that she and Edd were meant to be. Couldn't she see that Edd didn't like her, maybe even hated her, and that Jimmy was the one that she was meant to be with? Jimmy's fist balled up as an image of Edd's face swirled in Jimmy's mind, seeming to taunt him. It was all his fault. Jimmy had always tried to be nice to Edd. After all, he was the most likable of the Eds, at least to Jimmy. But now all that kindness and goodwill was replaced by a single thought: Edd will pay for keeping Sarah from being his.
Jonny sat in the middle of his backyard staring at Plank, who was propped up against a rock facing him. Jonny had promised himself that he would take a break from Plank; hell, he had even told Nazz that he was. But he couldn't resist going to see his best friend right after the conversation. Despite Nazz's comforting and soothing words, Eddy had instilled doubt in Jonny about Plank's friendship. Eddy accused Plank of lying about seeing him with the Kankers. Did Plank lie to Jonny? Why would he do that?
"He's the one who's lying, Jonny," Plank said to him as Jonny stared at him. Jonny perked up at Plank's words.
"How do you know, huh?" Jonny asked, wanting to hear an explanation for Plank's accusation.
"Come on, don't let that short little freak pull the wool over your eyes! He's just trying to mess up our friendship. Besides, I know what I saw. He was with the Kankers. And they weren't 'birdwatching' neither," Plank explained to Jonny who nodded, taking in every word as truth.
"But if they weren't birdwatching, then what were they..." Jonny trailed off as he felt his throat tighten a little. Jonny was a very innocent person; he tended to see the bright side of everything and paint over the bad parts of life. But he knew what Plank was talking about. Jonny started to get angry. "No, you're lying!"
"Why would I lie to you, Jonny? I'm your friend," Plank assured him, prompting Jonny to nod slowly.
"But... but why would Eddy do that? Doesn't he hate them?" Jonny asked, wanting Plank to explain everything to him.
"Who the hell cares why he did it? All I know is that we finally have some dirt on that stupid troll. Dirt that could be very useful in the future..." Plank suggested as he grinned at Jonny. Jonny's former anger returned; Plank was starting to piss him off. Jonny was a very good-natured guy, and he wasn't about to let Plank seduce him with the thoughts of having something to blackmail Eddy with.
"I refuse to do that to Eddy, Plank. You're acting like more of an asshole than Eddy did, you know that?" Jonny accused as he stood up and looked down at Plank. Plank was starting to become uncomfortable.
"An asshole? Is that what I am to you? I've helped you survive the people in this cul-de-sac all these years, and you dare to call me an asshole? All I'm doing out is looking out for us!" Plank yelled at Jonny angrily.
"Looking out for us? The only one you're looking out for is yourself!" Jonny shot back angrily.
"What? How dare you! All the work, all the blood and sweat, and all the advice I've put in to you to make sure that we could be where we are today, and you have the gall to say I'm only looking out for myself?" Plank seethed as he stared at Jonny angrily. Jonny had had enough of this. He gritted his teeth in rage as he looked at Plank's smug expression. He couldn't stand that little smile on Plank's face, or the way his eyes seem to bore into his soul. He flipped.
"I don't want to see your stupid face anymore Plank! Take you and your bad vibes somewhere else!" Jonny screamed before running forward and punting Plank across the yard. Plank flew throught he air, hit Jonny's fence with a plonk, and then landed with a light thud at the end of Jonny's yard. Jonny began to pant heavily, letting the anger and fury slowly drain out of him and into the surrounding air. That was that. He and Plank were no longer friends. Jonny stopped panting and stared at the little wooden board that laid at the end of his yard. Plank looked small, harmless, and weak from where Jonny stood. Something was coming over Jonny. It was a feeling that was foreign to him. Jonny suddenly realized what the feeling was: freedom.
Ed and Edd stood panting in the middle of the cul-de-sac, sweat running down their faces and pattering on the black of the street. Edd had his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, while Ed scanned around them to make sure that the Kankers had continued the pursuit. "Double D... we left Eddy behind!" Ed exclaimed, suddenly realizing that the shortest of the Eds was missing. Edd gulped vast amounts of air, trying to recover his stamina so that he could speak.
"Ed... I... I'm sorry... we should have... waited... I guess..." Edd eked out between each gasp for air.
"They're probably sucking the life force out of Eddy as we speak!" Ed shouted fearfully as he pictured Eddy being drained of his soul and shriveling up into a prune-like version of himself. Edd, finally recovering from he and Ed's trek from the woods to the cul-de-sac, quickly stood up and faced Ed, who still had a panicked and worried expression on his face.
"I hate to say it, Ed... I really do... but... well I think we have no choice but to wait for Eddy and hope he escaped from the Kankers," Edd said as he laid his hand on Ed's shoulder. "You shouldn't worry about it, Ed. If I know Eddy, he'll find a way out of the situation he's in and be back here in the cul-de-sac in no time," Edd assured him. Ed looked down at Edd and slowly nodded. Edd was happy that Ed believed that Eddy would be alright, because he sure didn't. Despite what he had just told Ed, Edd knew in the back of his mind that Eddy had probably been caught. After all, without he and Ed to chase, May and Marie had probably joined Lee in the hunt for Eddy. Edd thought back to when Eddy had told him how he escaped from the Kankers. He hoped that Eddy could repeat that luck and escape again. But he knew better. After all, the Kankers, despite their appearance as a group of brutish bullies, were relatively smart and clever. Or at least Marie and Lee were. Nevertheless, he knew that the Kankers would learn from their mistake and make sure Eddy couldn't escape this time. He found himself squeezing Ed's shoulder roughly as images flashed through his head of what the Kankers might do to Eddy when they caught him. Luckily, Ed grabbed Edd by the shoulders and shook him, causing the images to be yanked out of his mind.
"Oh no, did they take your soul too? Not you too, Double D!" Ed lamented as he fell to his knees dramatically.
"No, Ed, no one took my soul. I was just thinking about something... listen, we should probably head back to my house and-" Edd suddenly stopped when he spotted a red faced girl approaching from the entrance of the cul-de-sac. "Oh lord... why now..." Edd whispered to himself as Sarah stomped toward the two Eds, who had been caught out in the open. "Ed, run!" Edd yelled, causing Ed to look up at Edd with an expression of confusion.
"From what?" Ed asked. His question was soon answered when a pair of small but powerful hands wrapped around his neck and yanked him away from Edd and to the ground. He found himself staring up at Sarah, who looked pissed beyond belief.
"Ed," Sarah began, her tone a little uneven as she tried to control her voice, which threatened to break out into violent screaming at any moment. "I always say that you're going to be in so much trouble every time I catch you doing some dumb crap. But this time... this time you have no idea how much trouble you're in. Not only am I gonna tell mom, I'm also going to smack you in your face until you go numb!" Sarah yelled, letting the fury pour out before smacking Ed in the face as hard as she could, leaving a big red mark on his cheek.
"No, please don't!" Ed protested before crawling over to Edd and hiding behind him. Edd gulped as Sarah marched up to Edd and looked up at him, her face looking like a ripe tomato as she eyed him violently.
"If you know what's good for you, Double D, you'll move out of my way so that Ed can get his punishment for running away!" Sarah warned Edd as she unclenched her fists, ready to grab Edd and toss him out of her way if he resisted.
"Sarah, please! Just let Ed go free just this once!" Edd pleaded as Ed shook fearfully behind him. Ed wasn't only afraid of himself; he was afraid for Edd and what Sarah might do to him if he failed to convince Sarah to let him go. "You have to understand, Sarah, I'm not one to go against the wishes of another person's parents, even Ed's, but Eddy and I needed Ed to be out and about with us for reasons of our own," Edd explained. He was surprised when he saw Sarah start to cool down. Sarah sighed, her entire posture going into one of relaxation. Edd was bewildered; he was sure he was going to get pummeled along with Ed, but it seemed his begging had actually worked.
"Fine... I guess just this once that idiot can go free," Sarah relented as she crossed her arms. "But, he better stay away from me or I'll make sure the both of you get the beating of a lifetime," Sarah threatened as Ed and Edd both nodded.
"Thank you so much, Sarah," Edd responded to Sarah's sudden burst of kindness, hoping that it would seal the deal.
"Yeah, yeah, just scram before I change my mind," Sarah warned. Ed and Edd nodded again and quickly backed away before running off toward Edd's house. Sarah couldn't help but smile a little. She had originally wanted to nab Ed and send him back to his room and beat Edd and Eddy senselessly, but she now saw a new plan unfolding in her mind; she thought back to the deal she and Kevin had made as well as what Edd had just said to her: But Eddy and I needed Ed to be out and about for reasons of our own. Edd had inadvertently let Sarah on to the fact that the three of them were indeed up to something. Sarah still didn't know what it was, but she didn't care. If she let the Eds stay together, then she might be able to actually find out what they were up to. She knew she had to inform Kevin of this incident so that the two of them could make plans on how to find out what it was the Eds were planning as well as how to stop it.
Jonny had never felt so good in his life. He no longer had to listen. He no longer had to obey. He finally tasted freedom and it tasted sweet. Jonny walked merrily down the lane, feeling energized and alive. It was good to be rid of Plank. Plank had lied to Jonny for so long, had mislead Jonny for so many years, and had had a grip on Jonny's soul his whole life. But now Plank was gone and had been replaced by Jonny's new friend: freedom. He felt good. He didn't have to listen to the bullshit Plank espoused to him all the time. Jonny wasn't sure what he wanted to do first with his new found freedom, but he knew he would do whatever it was he couldn't do when he was friends with Plank. The first thing that came to his mind was food; Plank had always made Jonny eat healthy and green while he himself had all the fattening foods he wanted. Jonny was a very peace-loving and down to Earth person, but he wasn't a vegan by choice; Plank had told Jonny to be one and had beaten it into his big head that eating meat was evil. Jonny could see how much of a hypocrite Plank was now; while Plank forced him to eat broccoli, yogurt, and tofu, Plank would eat hamburgers, steaks, and fish like no tomorrow.
Jonny skipped merrily toward the woods; while food choice was definitely one of the first things he wanted to start deciding for himself, he decided that nice walk in the woods would be even better. Sure, he walked through the woods plenty of time with Plank, but he had never walked through the woods without hearing Plank's annoying little voice droning on as he would be able to now. He thought about what Plank had been trying to accuse Eddy of. It made him want to laugh. It was funny to think that he had almost found himself once again believing Plank's lies. Eddy was probably never even at the trailer park, let alone with the Kankers. It was just another one of Plank's horrible deceptions that would've inevitably led to unnecessary suffering for Eddy. Sure, Eddy could be a jerk, but even he didn't deserve to be lied about like that.
As Jonny entered the woods, he slowed his pace to a slow stroll, wanting to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the woods. It seemed so much better without Plank. It was a strange feeling. And Jonny loved it. He quickly grappled a tree trunk and began to worm his way up it, feeling the rough bark cutting the palms of his hands and scratching at his baggy clothing. Jonny quickly grabbed hold of the lowest branch when he reached it and pulled himself up onto it. He sat down on the branch and began to swing his legs back and forth happily. He began to look around at all the trees. Big, twisted, old masses of wood and bark stretched up into the sky above him, their leaves forming a natural blanket over his head that let in selective amounts of light. Jonny stared up at the green of the leaves, relishing the shade they gave him from the sun.
The peace and tranquility of the scene was suddenly interrupted when Jonny heard a faint sound. It sounded like someone was out here in the woods with him. Jonny quickly hopped down off of the branch and onto the ground, landing gracefully. He began to move closer to the sound. He moved through some nearby foliage, pushing his way through bush after bush as he continued to near the sounds. He noticed that there was more than one voice. Whoever it was, they were trying to keep their voices low. As Jonny continued to near the sounds, he realized they sounded less like voices and more like grunts and moans. Jonny's body began to tense up and his heart began to beat faster and faster. He reached the end of a log line of bushes, trees, and vines and peeked his head out of the bush. He looked out into a small clearing which had small streams of light pouring in from the canopy above it. Jonny felt his throat tighten like a vice and his eyes almost pop out of his head at what he beheld when he looked over near a small grouping of trees.
A few articles of clothing were strewn around, namely a yellow bowling shirt, a black tank top, a white shirt, a few pairs of pants, and some undergarments. He first saw the two naked girls. He instantly recognized them and began to blush. But when he saw who was with them, he almost wanted to cry out in sorrow and pain. He didn't want to accept what he was seeing. It wasn't real. But there it was right in front of him. Just like Plank had said. He hadn't been lying. He had been telling the truth the whole time. But Jonny refused to listen. Plank hadn't betrayed him; he had betrayed Plank. He should've known better than to trust Eddy over Plank. Jonny slowly crept back into the bushes, hoping that the noises the three of them were making would mask his escape. As soon as Jonny thought he was out of hearing distance, he began to run at break-neck speed back to the cul-de-sac. He didn't feel the tears running down his cheeks. He had to find Plank. He had to say sorry to his best friend. He had to tell him that he didn't mean what he had said. He had to tell him that Eddy was the scum bag that Plank made him out to be. Plank was all that was on his mind. And so was the image of May, Marie, and Eddy having sex in the middle of the woods.
Rolf looked proudly over his work in the front yard of his house. He admired the carefully cut lawn, which he had spent six hours trimming with a small pair of shears. He admired the bushes that lined the side of his yard, which he had also trimmed very carefully. Rolf suddenly spotted someone walking by his house: Jimmy. It had been a while since the last Urban Rangers meeting, so Rolf hadn't spoken to Jimmy in a while. That's why the fact that Jimmy looked so depressed was so strange to Rolf. He wondered to himself what was troubling Jimmy before walking to the end of his lawn to greet him. "Hello, Jimmy," Rolf greeted, causing Jimmy to look up at the towering young man.
"Hey," Jimmy said weakly. It was obvious that he was in no mood to talk, but Rolf, being the talkative foreigner he was, decided to press on and see if he could find out what was troubling the preteen.
"Is something weighing heavily on your mind?" Rolf asked. Only Jimmy and Sarah knew about what had happened over at his house, and he definitely wasn't planning on sharing it with Rolf, the same going for his plans to get revenge on Edd.
"Oh, it's nothing, Rolf. I just... well, I miss Sarah. She ran off to go do something and now I can't find her anywhere," Jimmy lied, although it was quite a believable one considering that everyone knew how attached to Sarah he was.
"Ah, Jimmy is missing the sibling of the Ed-boy. Rolf sympathizes with your plight, as he too misses a great many people: those from his old country that Rolf may never see again," Rolf began, much to Jimmy's dismay. He knew that whenever Rolf got to talking about his 'old country', he could go on for quite some time. Even now, no one knew what country Rolf really came from; they were sure it was somewhere in Europe or maybe even the Middle East, but the actual country in particular was still a mystery. "It pains Rolf to think back to the many jovial moments he shared with the people from his old village. Like the elderly cabbage lady who always used to milk Rolf's cows for free while he rode into town on the back of his half-wit goa-"
"I'm sorry for interrupting, Rolf, but I think I remembered where Sarah was going. See you later," Jimmy said, cutting off Rolf mid-sentence before walking away. Rolf was a bit angry that Jimmy had seen it fit to interrupt him before he could finish his story, but, like every other rude thing that the other kids did toward him, he just shrugged it off. Rolf usually didn't mind the rest of the kids treating him a bit unfairly, as he usually would just chalk it up to some sort of cultural difference. Of course, there were exceptions that Rolf would truly take offense to, such as insulting his families honor, but, other than those sort of extreme circumstances, Rolf usually just laughed off anything that bothered him. It was probably the strongest part of him; sure, he was strong physically and was quite smart for someone from his old country, but it was his ability to adapt more quickly to the differences between the cultures of the rest of Peach Creek and his that truly made him stand apart from the rest of his family, who were much less open to Western influences. Rolf sighed before turning around and heading to his back yard, where he knew more work was waiting for him to complete.
Jimmy walked slowly away from Rolf's house, knowing that he didn't really know where Sarah was; he didn't care either. He would have to worry about mending their broken friendship later. For now, he was more focused on thinking about how he was going to get back at Edd. Jimmy was quite the clever little boy, even outwitting Edd himself on several occasions. He slowly went down a checklist of ideas. But all of them seemed so childish. So petty. Jimmy wanted to get Edd back for real, and not through some child-like prank that would only hurt Edd for a while. He needed to send a clear message to stay away from Sarah. He knew just who to go to.
"Plank?" Jonny called out as he entered his back yard. He had to find Plank and beg him to come back to him. He had to find the little board and tell him how wrong he was. He had to. For his sake and for Plank's as well. Jonny ran across the yard to where he had kicked Plank and gasped: he wasn't there. There was a small indentation in the grass where Plank had been laying, but it was missing one thing: the board that had made it. Jonny fell down on his knees. He couldn't believe it. Plank was gone. He had left. It was as if Jonny's world was crashing down around him. The friend that had only been trying to protect Jonny was now gone. How could Plank do this to him? How could he leave Jonny out to dry like this? Didn't he see that he had left Jonny when he needed him most?
Jonny's fists suddenly balled up and the muscles in his arms tensed up. Eddy. It was Eddy who did this. If it wasn't for Eddy, he never would've fought with Plank. Eddy had driven a wedge between him and Plank, and now Plank was gone. Jonny was seething with a brooding, dark anger. He was going to make Eddy pay for ruining the relationship between Jonny and the only person he had ever called a friend.
Kevin sat on the sidewalk of the adjacent cul-de-sac, which had formerly been known by the kids as the construction site. Of course, the cul-de-sac had finished construction about a year ago, but the kids still called it the construction site as more of an endearing term than one that actually described what it was. A few people had moved into some of the houses, but they were all either too old for the kids to care about or their kids were too young to really want to get to know. He had searched high and low for Nazz, but he couldn't find her; it was odd how little the suburbs of Peach Creek were yet how hard it was to find who were you looking for. Kevin looked to his side and spotted a familiar face: Sarah. Kevin quickly stood up, knowing that if Sarah had something to tell him it was probably about the Eds. "I'm guessing you're not here just to chat, right?" Kevin asked Sarah as she stopped a few feet away from him.
"It's about the Eds," Sarah began as she leaned in a little, wanting to keep their conversation more private. "But we don't want to talk about it here... they might be listening or something. Come on, let's go head to the lane and talk about it," Sarah whispered, Kevin nodding quickly. The two of them took off toward the lane. Little did they know, someone had seen them whispering to each other from afar, and was now following them to their destination. Kevin and Sarah found a good spot between two dumpsters to have their little Ed-meeting, so Sarah motioned for him to move in closer.
"Alright, what is it? Did you find out what those dorks were up to?" Kevin asked, eager to hear of what the Eds were planning.
"No... but I did find Ed and Double D in the middle of the cul-de-sac earlier. What happened doesn't really matter, but Double D said something pretty interesting..." Sarah trailed off before leaning over to Kevin's ear and repeating what Edd had said earlier. Kevin donned a little grin.
"Ha, I knew those dorks were up to something. And now that we got confirmation right out of the horse's mouth, we can start to plan on how we're gonna react to their stupid little plan," Kevin answered.
"Well, we don't even know what they're planning, so how are we gonna 'plan' on reacting to it?" Sarah asked. Kevin and Sarah didn't notice how loud they were talking, and failed to realize that anybody could be listening in on them.
"Good point... we just need some way to find out what they're planning..." Kevin trailed off as he rubbed his chin in thought. The Eds were quite elusive; after all, it took Sarah half the day just to find out where Ed and Edd were, so finding the Eds would be half the battle. Not only that, but it's not like the Eds would just willingly tell the kids what they were planning. No, they would have to find an alternate tactic.
"I may have a solution," a voice suddenly rung out from behind one of the dumpsters.
"Shit, someone was listening!" Kevin exclaimed, fearful that it was one of the Eds. The person stepped out from behind the dumpster; it was Jimmy. On seeing Jimmy, Sarah was quite surprised; after all, Jimmy had been cooped up in his house since the little incident between them, and seeing him outside was a little weird. Not only that, but she didn't know what to say to him; after all, what could she say? Jimmy didn't seem to care about that little indiscretion at this second anyway. He seemed much more interested in the conversation Kevin and Sarah just had. "What do you want, fluffy?"
"It's not what I want that matters, it's what you want. You want to know what the Eds are planning? Fine. I know exactly how to find out," Jimmy informed Kevin and Sarah, who suddenly took an interest in what he had to say.
"But... why would you want to help us? The Eds didn't even do anything to you..." Sarah commented, finding the courage to speak up to her once best friend.
"Look, it doesn't matter what I have to gain or lose... I just want to see the Eds suffer. That's all that should matter to you two," Jimmy said. He seemed like a changed person; sure, Jimmy was devious before, but he always had an air of happiness and playfulness about him. Now... now Jimmy seemed like a cold, methodical person devoid of any sort of emotion. Sarah hoped that it wasn't because of what had happened between him and her. She didn't want it to be her fault.
"Well..." Kevin began as he looked over to Sarah. Sarah nodded, and then he returned his gaze to Jimmy. "Fine... but there's two ground rules I want to lay down first. Number one, you can't breath a word of this to anyone. Number two, Sarah and I make all of the decisions when it comes to the Eds. I don't want you doing anything stupid to blow our cover. You got it?" Kevin asked Jimmy, who nodded slowly in understanding. "Now that we got all the formalities out of the way, I just want to know something... were you following us the whole time?" Kevin asked.
"No. I was walking down the lane when I heard you two talking and decided to eavesdrop," Jimmy explained. Kevin furrowed his brow.
"Then who was..." Kevin trailed off as he thought back to when he and Sarah had just meant at the construction site.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, curious as to what was troubling Kevin.
"Nothing... I just... well I thought I saw someone watching us earlier at the construction site. I guess it was just my imagina-" Kevin was cut off when Jonny hopped the fence across from them and landed lightly in front of the three of them. "Damn, how many people were listening in on us?" Kevin complained, realizing that Jonny was probably the one who was spying on them. Sarah, Jimmy, and Kevin all noticed that Plank was nowhere to be seen, which was extremely odd.
"You better not tell anyone what you heard, fat head, or-" Sarah began furiously, only to be interrupted by Jonny.
"Wait... I want in on this too," Jonny said.
"What? You too? What the hell did the Eds do to you?" Kevin asked, surprised at the amount of support this group was getting.
"Eddy... he..." Jonny contemplated telling the three what he had seen Eddy doing in the woods, but he decided against it. "... he ruined the friendship between me and Plank. Now I just want him to pay for driving me and my best friend apart," Jonny explained, causing Kevin and Sarah to grin evilly.
"Damn, it looks like we got us a little Anti-Ed support group going on here. Well this is good, the more people we have on board with this the easier we can find out what the hell the Eds are up to, put a stop to it, and get a little revenge along the way too," Kevin proclaimed as Sarah, Jimmy, and Jonny listened intently, the three of them nodding in agreement. Sarah turned to Jimmy.
"Jimmy... you said you knew how to get the Eds to talk?" Sarah asked. Jimmy nodded before clearing his throat.
"The Eds are afraid of you two-" Jimmy motioned toward Kevin and Sarah "-there's no denying that... but even then, you guys probably wouldn't be able to beat or scare out of them what they're planning. But I know just the three who could..." Jimmy suggested as he motioned for Kevin, Sarah, and Jonny to move in closer so he could further explain his devious plan.
The door slid shut behind Eddy as he stumbled weakly into his room. He fell down onto his bed and stuffed his face into his pillows. He didn't want the world to see his face anymore. He had once again been forced to give himself over to the Kankers, and he had never felt so violated, dirty, or so traitorous before. He couldn't keep up the charade much longer. He couldn't lie to himself, he liked it. He liked doing whatever he wanted with the Kankers, but, even when he had finally found the will to say no, the Kankers once again had the upper hand. Now they had him. He couldn't do anything about the Kankers. If he ever tried to resist again, he knew that they would blow the lid on the relationship Eddy had with them. Eddy had always thought that this sort of relationship was possible; 'Friends with Benefits' was what a lot of people called it. Well, Eddy had made one minor mistake when attempting to form such a relationship: he had taken out the part about friends and replaced it with enemies. The Kankers knew that Eddy hated them, and now they were making him suffer more than ever; he would be forced to go to the ones he hated whenever they wanted.
Eddy didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to do about a lot of things in his life. He didn't know what to do about Kevin. He didn't know what to do about Sarah. But those two problems seemed so minor compared to the huge, looming, life-draining problem that was the Kankers. It would be an understatement to say that the Kankers were the worst thing that ever happened to him. Even worse than his brother. But his brother wasn't here right now, and the Kankers were. He wished they would do just like his brother and move so far away that he didn't have to see them ever again. But he knew that as long as he drew breath, the Kankers would be right there waiting to take it away from him every chance they got.
Eddy lifted his head from his pillow at the sudden ringing of his telephone. He knew who it was. And he dreaded the lies he'd have to make up. Eddy lifted himself off of his bed, his body still weak from his earlier exertions. He started to walk to the phone. His body felt so weak. Maybe it was because he was doing something he regretted. Or maybe it was because Marie and May were so damn rough with him. He didn't know which. Eddy reached the phone and quickly snatched it up.
"Hello," Eddy said into the telephone.
"Eddy, oh thank God! I thought for sure the Kankers had caught you," Edd cried into the telephone, sounding very relieved that Eddy was okay. Eddy sighed. He could lie to Edd and say he escaped. But he thought about it, and decided that a half truth was better than no truth.
"I didn't... those fuckers got me," Eddy admitted into the telephone. He heard the line go silent for a second. Edd was probably letting the news sink in.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Eddy... Ed and I... we had to run... we-"
"It's okay," Eddy answered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "They didn't do much, they just kissed me and... grabbed me a little," Eddy lied, knowing the Edd would probably buy whatever he said.
"I'm sorry, Eddy... I can't say it enough. We should've stayed with... we should've been there for you instead running off like cowards," Edd lamented.
"No, you shouldn't have. It was good what you did. It's better that one of us suffers instead of all of us," Eddy said into the telephone.
"Thank you, Eddy. I just... I don't think Ed and I could've handled the situation so well..." Edd admitted. "But... are you sure you're okay? Your voice is shaking very badly..." Eddy's eyes widened. He hadn't noticed how badly his voice was shaking. He noticed the hand that held the telephone to his ear was shaking too.
"Yeah... it's just... well I'm just so fucking pissed at those Kankers," Eddy said. That part wasn't a lie. "I just... I'm just fucking tired of their asses."
"I know, I know, Eddy, and I think it's about time we started to try to fix that problem as well," Edd said, causing Eddy's throat to tighten.
"No!" Eddy yelled into the telephone. He couldn't let Ed and Edd get involved with the Kankers. He knew one of two things would probably happen if they did. Either the Kankers would tell Ed and Edd what Eddy had done, or they'd try to pull the same shit on Ed and Edd too. Eddy knew he couldn't bare the thought of either of those possibilities. He hated the thought of Ed and Edd knowing about his shame and hating him for it, and he hated the thought of Ed and Edd having to suffer through the Kankers' rapes even more. Because that's what they were. Eddy may have given in willingly the first two times, but the third time... that was rape. There was no getting around it. As the realization that he had been raped fell upon Eddy, he went silent. He had always imagined liking sex. But no. He hated it. Because he had chosen the three worse people possible to do it with. And now he had been raped.
"Eddy?" Edd asked into the line, concerned about Eddy's sudden silence. Eddy tried to hold back tears as the thoughts swirled around in his head. The memories of Ed and Edd and all the good times were suddenly replaced by horrid images of Marie on top of him, of May's mouth on him, of Lee... no, he couldn't bare the memories. He tried to push them out of his head, but it was like they had been branded into his mind. They were there permanently. There was no burning the pictures, no shoving them away into some dark corner of his mind. They were his new friends and they were here to stay.
"Double D..." Eddy moaned into the line as tears slid down his cheeks. He couldn't hold them in anymore. He knew what he had to do. "We... we can't be friends anymore." He heard Edd gasp on the other end of the line.
"What... what are you talking about Eddy?" Edd asked. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Eddy not be friends with him? That wasn't possible. He must have misheard Eddy. There's no way Eddy had just spoken those five words.
"I... I made a mistake Double D. And now I have to pay the price. You and Ed need to stay away from me. For... for your own good," Eddy said tearfully into the line. He could hear his voice shaking now. He could feel the pain that each word brought upon him as he spoke them. And he knew Edd felt the same pain that he did.
"But... but... why?" Edd asked. He could tell that Edd was tearing up on the other end of the line. He so badly wanted to tell Edd why. He didn't want Edd to not understand. If he told Edd, he knew he'd understand. He always did. But he couldn't. Where he found the strength to tell Edd that they couldn't be friends anymore, he couldn't find the strength to tell him about the Kankers. And he was ashamed of that. It was proof to him that the was doing the right thing by cutting off his friendship with Ed and Edd.
"It doesn't matter... all you need to know is that you need to stay the hell away from me. If I catch you two trying to get anywhere near me, I'll punch your lights out!" Eddy screamed into the phone before slamming it down hard on the base. He was panting heavily. He felt like steam was trapped inside his clothes and was trying to escape from his collar. He felt the tears of anguish and regret pouring down his face. He felt horrible. He knew that Edd probably felt the same way. But he had done it for the good of Ed and Edd. He knew he had to hurt them in order to protect them from being hurt.
"I'm having second thoughts about this, guys..." Sarah whispered to Kevin, Jimmy, and Jonny as they stood at the entrance of the trailer park. At Jimmy's suggestion of going to the Kankers, Sarah, Kevin, and Jonny couldn't help but start shaking with fear; after all, Sarah and Jonny were scared senseless of the Kankers, and Kevin had just had several bad experiences in a row with them that he didn't want to repeat any time soon.
"If you want to find out what the Eds are doing, then this is the way to do it," Jimmy explained as he turned to Sarah. He had a blank and empty look on his face; the same look he had had the whole walk to the trailer park. Jimmy knew that the Kankers were reliable when it came to the Eds, as he had made many deals with them in the past; whenever the Eds were the prize, the Kankers were always there to claim it.
"You better know what you're talking about, Jimmy, or we're all gonna be Kanker-bait," Kevin warned as he, Sarah, and Jonny began to follow Jimmy into the trailer park. Jimmy walked quickly but methodically, and the others found it hard to keep up; half because he was walking so fast, and half because they were fearful of what was going to happen when they disturbed the Kankers. Jimmy froze at the corner of one of the trailers, and motioned for the others to stop. Jimmy peaked around the corner of the trailer and spotted the Kankers, who, unlike usual, were not in the middle of doing chores, but were simply hanging out outside of their trailer; May was talking enthusiastically about something Jimmy couldn't hear, while Marie and Lee leaned up against the trailer and listened to her blathering, both of them looking quite bored. Jimmy turned back toward the others, a slightly fearful expression on his face. Jimmy was in a very dark and brooding mood, but even the sight of the Kankers could break him out of that very quickly.
"Well?" Jonny asked, feeling like he was going to wet himself; he was scared senseless; his want for revenge on Eddy was great, but he too wanted to tuck his tail between his legs and run.
"They're outside of their trailer. Now's as good a time as any," Jimmy said quietly, his voice a little high pitched. It was obvious he was very scared; but then, Sarah, Kevin, and Jonny were all obviously scared too, so they were all in the same boat. Jimmy sighed and straightened himself up before motioning for the others to follow him. They walked out from behind the trailer and began to slowly creep toward the Kankers. Marie looked over and spotted them, and then her mouth, which was a bored frown before, quickly twisted into a grin.
"Look girls, we got company," Marie said before shoving her hand into May's mouth to shut her up. Jimmy and the others froze; Kevin, Jonny, and Sarah all looked to Jimmy for direction; he was the one who brought them out here and he was going to be the one who did all the talking. May pulled Marie's hand away from her mouth and shot her an angry look before turning to the kids too. Jimmy just stood there staring at them for a second, losing his train of thought; not only were the others putting all the pressure on him, he was staring face to face with three girls that terrorized him and the others just about everyday.
"I'm guessing you guys didn't come all the way out here to stare at us like idiots, so what tell me what the hell you're doing in our trailer park or our feet will be escorting you out by your asses," Lee threatened said as she smirked at the four dumbstruck kids.
"No need for that," Jimmy choked out nervously, hoping to avoid any trouble, "we're just here to make a... um... proposition." All three of the Kankers perked up at the word; after all, whenever there were deals to be made, the Kankers always got what they wanted.
"A 'proposition', huh? Well you came to the right place, kid," Marie answered as she and her sisters approached Jimmy, who felt like he was going to collapse with fear.
"So what do you runts need, huh?" Lee asked.
"Well... we need you three to do a little rough housing for us," Jimmy responded. "You see, we believe the Eds are planning something big, and we know that that if we confront them they probably won't tell us. But if you three were to go after them, then that would be a different story," Jimmy explained.
"Uh oh, looks like the Eds have a dirty little secret," May teased as Marie and Lee giggled.
"Alright, squirt, that sounds easy enough... but what's in it for us?" Lee asked as she crossed her arms. Jimmy looked back to the others, unsure of what to offer in return.
"Uh... okay... well..." Jimmy started as he turned back to the Kankers. Jimmy honestly had no idea what to say; after all, he was only twelve, what could he possibly offer that the Kankers would want?
"How about you three do it for free?" Kevin asked as he stepped forward, suddenly finding a hidden reserve of courage. "After all, you three did wreck my bike, and got me grounded! You three owe me!" Lee stepped forward and looked Kevin straight in the eyes.
"We don't owe you nothing, asshole. You made a bet, you lost, and that's that," Lee answered firmly. Kevin gritted his teeth in anger.
"God, I can't believe you're still butt hurt over us whipping your ass in that race. Ever heard of taking it like a man?" Marie interjected before Lee turned back to Jimmy.
"Tell you what: how about you just let us beat this fucker's ass-" Lee pointed to Kevin, "-and that will be all the payment we need." Kevin's expression turned from anger to fear.
"Wait, hold on, I didn't mean it-"
"Wait!" Jimmy exclaimed before getting in between Kevin and the angry Kankers. "Kevin, just let go of it, okay?" Jimmy suggested as he looked back at Kevin and gave him a pleading look. Kevin let out a small sigh before nodding slowly. "Good," Jimmy said before turning back to the Kankers, who were starting to cool off. "As for your payment, I assumed you three would've just liked an excuse to go see the Eds anyway..." Jimmy said.
"Hey, you shouldn't assume shit, kid, cause when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me," Marie quipped, causing Jimmy to start to panic; after all, if the Kankers wouldn't settle for a visit to the Eds, what could he and the others possibly give the Kankers that was of value to them? "But..." Marie started as she looked over to her sisters, "... you assumed right in this case. Of course we'll do it for free." Jimmy and the others sighed with relief.
"Alright, girls, let's move out," Lee commanded as May and Marie began to follow her toward the cul-de-sac.
"Wait, shouldn't we agree on a meeting place?" Jimmy asked, causing Lee to stop and turn.
"Don't worry your little puffy head about that, we'll come and find you four when we're done with the Eds," Lee answered, putting bad images of what the Kankers had in store for the Eds in Kevin, Sarah, Jonny, and Jimmy's heads. Of course, these bad images were good images to them; after all, if the Kankers made the Eds suffer, that's all that mattered. With that, the Kankers walked off, leaving the kids standing around by themselves in front of the their trailer.
"Damn that was scary," Sarah let out when the Kankers were gone. All four of them had relieved expressions on their faces, like a one ton weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
"Hell yeah it was, but at least we're gonna finally find out what they're planning," Kevin said before turning to Jimmy. "Good work, Jimmy, I knew letting you in our little group was a good idea," Kevin said as punched Jimmy lightly on the arm.
"Sure... I just hope the Kankers find out something good we can use against the Eds," Jimmy said; although he really just wanted to get at Edd, making him and his friends suffer was even better. Jonny felt a little like he was betraying the group after Jimmy's statement; it reminded him of the dark secret he was hiding for Eddy. He didn't understand why he was hiding it. After all, he wanted to get back at Eddy for ruining the friendship between he and Plank. Something was stopping him, however; maybe it was his conscious, although the thought seemed odd to him, since he didn't stop the others from sending the Kankers, of all people, after the Eds. It had to be his conscious. It was his conscious that was telling him that he would utterly destroy Eddy's life if he told the others. Who knows what they would do to Eddy or who else they would tell?
"I guess that's that, then. We shouldn't get back together until after we get the information from the Kankers; after all, we'll look kind of suspicious if we hang around each other. Whoever the Kankers go to to tell everything they found out has to come and get all of us. Once we know what they know, then we can make our move and end whatever those dorks are up to. Got it?" Kevin explained; the others nodded their heads, and then the four of them broke off into separate directions. Sarah watched as Jimmy went a different direction than her; normally the two of them would go off together. But not anymore. Whatever there was between them was gone, and that saddened Sarah to no end. She hoped making the Eds suffer would make her feel better. It always did.