A/N: Okay… here's the dealio. The reason I've been gone for so long is that my compy gave us the blue screen of doom. And that's all I gotta say. So to deal with my loss of computer, I began writing some EEnE fic ideas stored in my brain. And here they come at ya! I know I have other stuff to catch up on, but you know what? I'm the author, and I decide what I put up. So there. Nyah! (is bricked)
Okay, so, onto this fic! Yes, yes, I've heard of an EEnE movie in production. Yes, I'm very excited. At this point, I wished I was on the writer's board for that, 'cause I've got so many different ideas… this being one of them. And I've gotta get it up before the movie comes out! AHHHH(goes crazy) Ahem… Notes? Well, I suppose this comes before my fic "Expos-ED," a prequel, if you will. The events of that one-shot will be strategically placed in here somewhere. I haven't even gotten to that point in the writing yet. X) I'm so far behind… Oh well. Let's get this gravy train rolling!
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So Close, Yet So Ed
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Chapter 1: Early Summer Mentality
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Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The audible sound of the classroom class ticking the seconds away was the only noise that registered fully through Eddy's thick head, which he didn't bother to put to proper use at the moment. The teacher's voice went in one ear and out the other. All he heard was that infuriating clock, which he believed was going as slow as possible on purpose, just to annoy the heck out of him.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
As the last few minutes of his imprisonment passed by, Eddy grew bored with staring at nothing and began to look around the classroom aimlessly, with most of his face still planted atop his desk like a deflated balloon.
To his immediate right sat his chum Edd, who was taking notes with a giddy desire to learn that only he could maintain. His eyes snapped erratically, like a squirrel's, between the teacher and his piece of paper, his pencil scribbling furiously with a series of hollow, clocking sounds as it struck the wood underneath. The scribbling joined the clock on the list of sounds that were beginning to work on Eddy's last nerve.
Tick, tock, scribble, scribble. Tick, tock. Scribble.
Eddy turned to his left to find his other buddy, oafish Ed, exercising a rare moment of self-control. His attention, however, was not front and center, but to his own left, out the window and on an ideal scene of early summer. The grass was its greenest, the flowers in season were in full bloom, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There was the most pathetic, longing pout on poor Ed's face, like a puppy trapped indoors, and Eddy was half-expecting the dope to lose it and leap out the window. At this point, however, he was feeling the same way.
At first, Ed wasn't making any noises to add on to the fuel lighting Eddy's short fuse. At least, until he began a soft, impatient rock in his chair, causing it to creak repeatedly.
Tick, tock, scribble, scribble, creak. Tick, tock, scribble, scribble, creak, creak.
Eddy was being driven to near madness. It took every bit of his limited self-control to keep him from screaming at the whole world to just shut up. Freedom was moments away, and he was nearly foaming at the mouth as every second he waited was more unbearable than the last. Finally, when he felt like he was going to explode…
RIIIIIIIIIIING!
"Oh!" Edd piped up, punctuating his interjection with a closing slap of his book. "Three 'o clock bell! Another end to another enriching school day!"
"YES!" Breaking out of his temperamental constipation, Eddy leaped out of his chair, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "Sweet freedom!"
"Goody, goody!" Ed broke the foundations of his desk for about the hundredth time this school year in his happy bound, grabbing his two friends by the neck and darting out into the hallways.
"ED!" Edd protested, snatching every paper that flew out of his grasp.
"Whoa! Who put the quarter in you, Lumpy?"
"Outside! Grass! Roll! I gotta!" Ed exclaimed incoherently as he rocketed down the hall, knocked down several children.
"You gotta what?"
Ed then burst through Peach Creek Junior High's front doors, dropping his buddies carelessly and outstretching his arms as if reuniting with an old friend. In absolute glee, he pounced onto the grass, rolling around in it with his trademark laugh.
"Hehe, look at 'em, Double D," Eddy snickered. "He's like a little puppy. 'Cept you don't have to clean up after him."
Brushing himself off, Edd shook his head in disagreement. "Three words, Eddy: early summer mentality. Not a wise condition to be in when there's still six weeks of school left."
"Killjoy."
"You hear me, Ed?" Edd lifted his pal up by the grass-stained collar of his jacket.
"Not a word, Double D!"
Edd frowned, ignoring Eddy's suppressed chuckle. "I expected no less from you, Ed. Come on, let's go home."
"Home is where the gravy ferments!" Ed delightfully noted as the trio began their stroll back to the cul-de-sac.
"That's nice, Ed."
"Aw, come on, loosen up, Sockhead," Eddy bickered. "School's practically over anyway."
"Oh, contraire, my dear friend!" Edd's voice grew light and bubbly. "Six weeks is a long time! Who knows what changes will come about and how much we can grow from them within that time period?"
Eddy replied with a weird look. "Man, Double D, you need, like, professional help or something."
Edd sulked, but decided to mentally brush that comment off. "Let's not forget about the final exam."
"Final exam?" Eddy paused in his march. "What final exam?"
Edd rolled his eyes, exasperated. "The test the teacher has been talking about for a month? The one we need to pass in order to move on to high school? Any of this ringing a bell, Eddy?"
"Ring-a-ding-ding!" Ed chorused, bumping into Edd and irritating him further.
"Do you mind, Ed?"
"Not at all, Double D!"
"So what you're saying is…" Eddy interrupted, having thought this through during their quarrel. "… that if we don't pass this test, we don't get to graduate junior high?"
Edd nodded, glad to be getting somewhere. "Precisely."
"No going to high school?"
"Not for another year of repeating eighth grade."
Eddy bit his lip. His brother had told him plenty of wild adventures from his high school years, which succeeded in piquing his interest and brewing a desire to reach those years as quickly as possible. He longed to leave the juvenile halls of junior high and enter a new world with a clean slate, build up his rep, and maybe even score a few chicks. That was a big maybe, though, as their teenage years had only just begun. Still, it was a nice thought.
Reaching a conclusion, Eddy yanked Edd down to his height by the shirt in desperation. "Double D! You gotta help me pass that test!"
Edd grinned widely at his change of heart. "Well, I could tutor you from now until then if you would like."
"Yeah, sure, whatever!"
"That's the spirit!" Edd replied enthusiastically, pausing as he faced Ed. "…I assume you'll be needing assistance as well, Ed?"
"With lots of mustard!"
"Of course."
"Well? Shake a leg, ladies! Your house, Double D!"
"Right behind you, Eddy!"
Summer was so close the boys could almost smell it. But fate had yet to drop its full load just yet.
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A/N: Have I mentioned before how fun it is to write their dialogue? Well, it is. XD Anyways, review, you lovely readers, you!