A/N: Well, well! A varied reaction and guessing! Very interesting! Well, I’d hate to keep you in suspense for much longer, and I’ve got the time, so I’m gonna come out with the next chappie! Aren’t you guys lucky?

Chapter 8: Reaction

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Once again, Edd found himself sighing in satisfaction. Who says no one could cook using only one arm? It may have taken him a bit longer than usual, but that’s why he had begun early. It paid off to plan ahead.

For one rare evening, his parents were seated across the table, polishing off the rest of the spaghetti on their dishes. To Edd, there was no better way to compliment his cooking than with an empty plate.

With the meal finished, Edd sat up, ready to convey his feelings. “Mother… Father… there’s something I need to talk to you about,” he started simply and delicately. “I know it’s late and my bedtime’s approaching, but… hear me out. That’s all I ask.”

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“So, yeah… my brother and Double D… seems weird, doesn’t it?”

“Strange, perhaps, but charming in its own right. Good for them for being so open with their emotions!”

“Right. Just… don’t let it get around yet, okay?”

“My lips are sealed, Sarah!”

“Thanks, Jimmy. I’ll call you back tomorrow.”

At the sound of the washing machine below, beeping after its finished cycle, Sarah hung up the phone, descended the staircase, and opened the door to the basement. Looking down, she saw Ed halfway inside the dryer, pulling various things out that didn’t belong as he bopped to an out-of-tune ditty he was humming.

“One rattle… one missing sock… and…hmm…” Ed held up the family camcorder, scratching his head. “…Why do we keep a camera in the dryer…?”

“ED!”

Her brother leaped a few inches off the ground, tossing the camera aside and flashing her a helpless grin. He cringed briefly when it landed with a crash. “…Y-yes, baby sister?”

“What the heck are you doing?”

Ed stared blankly at the household appliance, wondering what it had against him. “…Cleaning out the dryer.”

“To do what?”

“…Laundry.”

Sarah was properly surprised for a second, then regained her intimidating demeanor with an accusing glare. “Since when have you ever done your own laundry?”

But she was thrown off again when Ed pulled out a confident retort. “Since I promised Double D I would!” he huffed, crawling back into the dryer.

Sarah had no answer to that, for once defeated in an argument against her brother. Quietly, she climbed down the stairs and sat on the dryer as Ed pulled out the last of the junk within.

“So… you’re really serious about him… huh, Ed?”

“Of course!” he replied strongly, tossing the mess into a corner that was to be cleaned up later. “Every time we’re close together, I’m happy and so is he! That proves it!”

“…I guess…”

Ed was not oblivious to her suddenly hushed, dejected tone of voice. He paused in his work to look upon her subtly sad appearance as she stared at the floor, kicking her feet softly.

“Sarah… you like him too, don’t you?”

“What? Don’t be stupid, I do not!”

“Don’t lie, Sarah! Or else… um… or else I’ll tell Mom!” Ed stood back proudly, having used her own ammo against her and feeling smart for thinking of it.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Sarah growled.

“I would!”

“So prove it!”

…well, she got him there. Ed didn’t move for a second, then grumbled as he turned around and threw open the washer’s cover.

Sarah grinned smugly. “I knew it. You’re limper than a wet noodle.”

Ed threw her a low scowl. “…Liar,” he mumbled, fishing in for wet clothes.

That word snapped Sarah back to the original topic at hand, and her ego deflated. Pouting, she crossed her arms tensely. “Okay, fine, I liked him a little…”

Ed glanced up at her, and his hard look softened. “…Aww, shucks, Sarah… I’m sorry.”

She snapped back to find his hand resting gently on hers in an understanding way, the first thoughtful, brotherly gesture he had done in a while, and a rare moment of calmness wrapped around the siblings.

Finally, Sarah pulled away, trying to save face with a huff. “Don’t bother, I’ll live. There’re other fish in the sea, right?”

“There sure are!” Ed delightfully replied, throwing the pile of damp clothes into the dryer. “And you’ve got the juiciest bait, Ishmael!”

His merriment ended when Sarah grabbed the collar of his shirt, holding up a threatening fist. “What’s that supposed to mean, wise guy?”

“I-it was a compliment, Sarah, honest!”

Sarah glowered, then released her grip. “Hmmp. A lame compliment is what it is.” She turned away in mock haughtiness. “Loser.”

Ed stuck his tongue out at her back, when a flash of lightening and a roar of thunder of thunder brought their attention to the small, ground-level window of the laundry room, sealed tight to prevent the rain from getting in. The glass nearly shook from the beating it was receiving from the downpour outside.

“Holy mackerel!” Sarah exclaimed. “It’s really coming down hard, isn’t it?”

“Sure is. Double D said it would. He could tell by looking at the clouds.” Ed stuffed the last few socks in. “Where’s the fabric softener, Sarah?”

“In that cabinet, I think.”

“Gotcha.” He pulled out the box and lifted a single sheet. “There you are! Make my clothes smell fresh and clean!” With this proclamation, he tossed it in, set the dryer, and sat down to watch his clothes spin round and round.

Sarah sat down next to her giggling sibling, wondering how the spin cycle could possibly be so entertaining to her dork of a brother. “…Mom and Dad took the news pretty well, I think.”

“They sure did,” Ed responded, eyes glued to the dryer window.

“Dad supports this new cleanliness deal of yours…”

“…and Mom’s just glad I found someone to make me happy,” Ed finished, his grin growing.

“Yeah…” A thought occurred to her. “Hey, how do you think Double D’s parents will react? I’m kinda… worried, I guess…”

“Nah, they’ll be fine,” Ed waved it off. “Eddy said they’re not around that often to care too much anyway.”

Sarah scoffed, then grumbled. “Ooh… that blockhead needs to learn how to keep his big mouth shut!”

“Bur Sarah, it’s true,” Ed muttered softly, turning away from the dryer with a frown. “Double D’s parents are never home. They’re always too busy with work. All those sticky notes in his house? That’s the only way he gets to talk to them because they’re never there.”

Sarah gaped slightly. “…Really? W-what about their family trip?”

Ed shook his head. “That was for them to be together. Double D just followed and took pictures.”

All Sarah could do was gawk, letting this new information sink in. “…Geez. I had no idea… Poor Double D…”

Ed held his knees to his chest timidly. “…it’s really sad to think about, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… imagine if our parents were…”

A smirk broke over Ed’s face like a wave. “Then you wouldn’t have a Mom to tattle to.”

“Oh, yeah?? Well, NGH!” Sarah stuck her tongue out mockingly, and Ed replied by doing the same. A battle of discolored tongues commenced, ending abruptly when Ed touched his to his feet.

“Ugh! Gross!”

“I win!” Ed proclaimed triumphantly, bopping his feet together. “What’s my prize?”

“A knuckle sandwich, you big…!”

A shrilling call halted their quarrel, Sarah’s fist an inch away from socking Ed in the nose. She pouted at the demand from their mother, getting off her pinned brother.

“Bedtime… You got off lucky, mister!”

Ed grinned. “I know.”

Sarah snorted, then ascended the stairs to go get ready for bed. Ed chuckled to himself, throwing his clothes into the laundry basket and leaving on his underwear and white shirt for the night.

At another crack of lightening and thunder, however, his smile faltered, as the dreary weather reminded him of his dear friend, and under the surface, he couldn’t help but be a little worried as well.

Double D would be okay on his own… right?

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Amongst a sea of raindrops, a fist pounded upon a front door, clenching tighter and trembling in frustration. The youth leaned against it hopelessly, with more than just rain running rivers down his face.

“M… mo… f-fa-fa…” he moaned incoherently, in his heavily distressed state, trying the doorknob again, even though he knew it was locked. Sure enough, it didn’t budge, and he jiggled it desperately, falling to his knees and pounding the door once more.

“M-Mother, Father, please!” he begged in agony, sobbing and trembling violently. “Don’t do this, I’m begging you! I’m soaking wet out here, please let me back in! Please! P-please…! Pl… p…”

His pleas trailed off when he realized they were falling on deaf ears, and his head thumped upon the wooden barrier miserably.

He knew he must’ve looked simply pathetic; collapsed on his own doorstep, weeping in the down-pouring rain, sopping wet, clutching the doorknob in futile hopes of it becoming unlocked. But he was too deep in his sorrow to care about appearances at this point. His heart was broken in two after his parents’ fierce reaction, the rest of him torn by the harsh words they had spouted in their anger. Such disgust they expressed… such regret… such hate. It was too much for him to bear.

Finally, in all desperation, he threw his head towards the heavens and screamed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t turn out to be perfect!” he cried out, burying his face in his only hand. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

He remained sobbing in that spot for goodness knows how long, when reality started to kick in. Shakily, he got to his feet, turning away from his unwelcoming door and wearily stepping onto the sidewalk, his distraught mind racing at 100 mph.

He just got kicked to the curb. There was no returning home tonight. He needed to find a place to stay, preferably somewhere dry. Perhaps under a bench, or a rock, or maybe even the trashed van at the junkyard…

…no. He wouldn’t make it there. The rain was so heavy he couldn’t even see the next house over.

Then he spotted a cluster of lights in the distance, from a household not yet asleep just down the block, at the other end of the cul-de-sac. Somehow, he recognized the window pattern, mentally drawing a picture of that house and realizing who it belonged to. There lived the one person that would grant him asylum, the one soul he could trust in his time of need.

“Ed…” The name lingered on his quivering breath.

A crack of thunder and lightening startled him, as if urging him to get moving. His heart racing, he clutched his sole arm and ran down the sidewalk, driven by fear and the sheer will to feel that warmth again.

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A/N: BAM! NONE of you were expecting THAT, were you? HA! Plot twist, baby! Sarah might be a little OOC, but to me, when a character acts differently from what is expected from them, they seem more real to me. And I got sick and tired of reading fics where she beats up on Ed for being gay. She’s not THAT heartless, for crying out loud; that’s too 2D. I also really liked writing their conversation, because it gave me a chance to make them seem like actual siblings.

So yeah… big twist, huh? Don’t get upset, PLEASE. Have faith in me; I know what I’m doing, I swear! XD Review, please!