How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life
by Kesina Snowpaw

Disclaimer: I do not own Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy or any of the characters involved therein. This fiction contains m/m sexual relations between characters, violence, alcohol use, and other acts readers may find unacceptable. All characters are assumed to be 18 in the context of this story. You have been warned.

Chapter 1

It was another bright, beautiful summers day on the small cul-de-sac that, for some, made up the entirety of their world. It was the summer before the Eds' final year in high school, and while Edd was planning to leave for college the following year, Ed and Eddy were most likely going to remain and train the next generation of con artists while keeping their own various schemes rolling.

It was one of these schemes that Edd found himself helplessly assisting in. He was still thin, still had that gap in his front teeth, although now it made him "cute" according Ed's younger sister. His mental acuity had grown too, and he was currently working on a batch of stainless strawberries as Ed and Eddy came clamoring into his garage/lab. He looked up and smiled at the big, toned sportster that Ed had become, "Ed, Eddy! What brings you to my humble laboratory? Another hairbrained scheme?"

"Not quite, sockhead!" Eddy replied, voice still grating as always, "I've got a plan to get the kids around here to feed us money for decades to come!"

"Oh? What is it?"

"All you need to do..." Eddy muttered as he searched his pockets. Finally removing a crumpled piece of paper, he handed it to Edd, "Is cook this."

Edd looked down the list, "Dextromethorphan... Methanol... This is a recipe for Methamphetamine!"

"Crystal meth, actually."

"Shiny crystals," Ed piped in.

"I'm not making this! It's... It's dangerous, illegal. It's a terrible drug!"

"Shut it, Sockhead! You want the whole cul-de-sac to hear!?" Eddy whispered harshly, inches from Edd's face, "Just shut your mouth, and make it, or you'll be sorry."

Eddy had surpassed Edd in height, and his more active nature had made him stronger, the force of his words and his physical stature intimidated Edd enough.

"A-Alright, Eddy... I'll do it... You'll have it tomorrow..." Edd sighed and turned away. He was reaching for a testube when Eddy again spun him around.

"I swear," He was nose to nose with the geek now, "If you turn me in, don't make it, or do ANYTHING to jeopardize this... You'll regret it."

"I-I-I... I," Edd swallowed hard, "I understand."

Ed, watching from the side, looked dissappointed by Eddy's intimidation of their friend. He spoke up, "C'mon Eddy, Double-D'll do it. Leave him alone, man."

Eddy growled and spun on Ed, hitting the bigger boy in the face. Ed swayed slightly but stood, putting a hand to his face as Eddy stormed from the garage. Ed pulled away a hand with blood on it and sat on a stool, "Eddy... Why'd Eddy hit me, Double-D?"

Edd already had the first aid kit open and had put on gloves, "Oh, Ed... He's just... Misguided and angry. His parents are never around like ours are, his brother is in jail. He's just having a hard time. Here, let me see..."

Edd caringly cleaned the blood off his big friend's face and hand, and then put some cream on the fast forming bruise on his face. He took great care and then gave Ed a hug, something he'd gotten comfortable with doing a few months ago when Ed finally learned how to shower twice a day, "Well, Ed... You better go home. I have to get started."

As Edd turned away, Ed noticed something fall from his smart buddy's face, "Double-D? Are you crying?"

"No, I'm fine. Run along, Ed. I'll be here if you need anything." Eddward said, never turning around. He simply sat in his rolling lab chair and began gathering the necessary materials. Ed stood, and slowly left, rubbing his cheek where Eddy had hit him.

Ed walked. He walked for a long time. The sun set and the moon rose and he kept walking. Finally, after he finally realized he didn't know where he was, he looked up. The garage door on his right was closed, but it was definitely Edd's garage. He had walked in a long circle to get back here.

Tentatively, he lifted the door slowly and looked inside. There was a pan of something white sitting to one side, and many dirty testubes and beakers in the sink. The door to the house was open, casting some light into a corner, where he saw a figure sitting, surrounded by empty bottles, "Double-D?"

The figure started and a bottle came flying from the darkness. Ed ducked and the bottle shattered out in the driveway, "Who'sh dere?"

"It's Ed. Don't throw any more bottles... Are you okay?"

Eddward stood, shakily, and wobbled in place before slumping back against the wall and sliding down, "No... I don't *hic* everrr shink I'llbe oka 'gin..." he started sobbing, "I jusht made one o' th'orst drugsh a no... an' den... I jusht star*hic* drinkin..."

Ed looked on, morose. He walked over and picked up the lighter scientist and carried him inside, making sure to close the door behind him. He carried the drunk up to the spotless and organized bedroom that Edd called home and set him on the bed, then sat next to him, "Double-D... I'll stay with you tonight. I don't want you to die."

"I ssshould *sobhic* die fer wha*sob* I jusht did..."

"No, Double-D... I know you. You did whatever you could to make sure that that stuff you made won't hurt anyone."

"B-but I shtill made i'..."

"Just be quiet. I'll stay here, make sure you're okay."

"Y..*sob* You're a good friend, Ed... I... I love you..."

"You...what?"

Edd sobbed and rolled over, looking through tear and booze glazed eyes at his friend, "I love you... I've loved you since... since I realized I could..."

"Double-D... I... don't know what to say..." Ed's face turned red.

The drunken young man reached out his hand and took his greatest friend's hand in his own, "Just... don't leave me tonight..."

"I won't, I already said that..."

Sobbing slightly, Eddward gripped Ed's hand until he finally passed out. Ed squeezed back, reassuringly, and stayed faithfully by his friend's side until he was sure the other boy would be alright. Then he pulled the covers over the sleeping one and turned off the light, leaving the one in the hall on as he walked around the bed and lay next to his friend, eventually drifting off to sleep.

Ed awoke the next morning, alone in the bed. Slightly disoriented, he looked around bleary-eyed until he realized he was over at Edd's house. The memory of the previous night finally coming back to him, he looked around. No Edd in the bed next to him. No Edd on the floor. He stood and flung open the door and ran down the hallway. No Edd in the bathroom. He heard a crash from the garage and a distinct grating voice. Ed ran to the garage and stood in the open door.

Eddy was standing over Edd with a beaker ready to swing. He looked at the big guy and then back at the fetal nerd below him, "So, sockhead, you bagged yourself an idiot! Get out of here, Ed! Sockhead and I have some unfinished business."

"No, Eddy! Double-D is our friend!"

"Shut up! This isn't about friendship anymore!" Eddy hurled the beaker at Ed. It shattered against the door and Ed stood stunned for a minute. He looked down at the person who had just expressed love for him and then up at the mad-eyed assailant who used to be the leader of their little group.

"Eddy, get away from Double-D, now."

Eddy looked up at a surprisingly serious Ed. Gone was the good humour and sweet-natured movie buff. In it's place stood 230 pounds of muscle-bound fury. Eddy looked into those cold eyes and horror overtook, "Hey, easy big guy! We were just... joking around!"

Edd had managed to crawl away a bit and was still cowering in a fetal position. Ed looked at his friend again and his eyes softened slightly, "Leave, Eddy. Leave, and never show your face here again."

Eddy backpedaled slightly, but, seeing Ed's attention was taken by the stricken weakling, he grabbed another beaker and turned to throw it. Before he could find his target, he was blown backwards by a shoulder charge. He hadn't seen the motion, too busy picking out another weapon. He flew into the driveway and the garage door crashed shut in front of him. Woozy, the con-man stood and wandered away, leaving the beaker rolling into the grass.

Ed locked the garage door to the floor with the nearby padlock and walked over to Edd. He picked up the first-aid kit on the way and kneeled down next to his friend, "Are you okay, Double-D?"

"I... I will be..." he unfurled from the fetal position. Ed was shocked to see the damage Eddy had done. One of Edd's eyes was completely swollen shut, the other had a cut over the eyebrow that bleeding into the eye itself. His nose and mouth were bleeding and swollen and he was clutching his chest.

"What... What happened?" Ed asked, rummaging through the kit for supplies. Helplessly, he slid it into reach of Edd and then helped the other teen sit up.

"I told Eddy," Edd winced as he put some astringant in the wound above his eye, "that he couldn't have the meth. I lied and said that the recipe didn't work and that the product would be fatal," He put a bandage on the cut and began cleaning up the blood on his face and hands, "He didn't believe me.

"I tried to make him listen. I tried to tell him I wasn't going to do it again, then he threw a test tube at me, giving me the cut above my eye. Thankfully he threw one of the ones fresh out of the sterilizer," He began wrapping his ribs with Ed's help and continued, "Then he just starting hitting me. He bruised a few ribs, but nothing's broken. I'll be fine in a week or so..."

"Double-D... What did he mean when he said you'd bagged an idiot?"

Edd laughed weakly and winced, then activated an insta-cold compress and put it on the bruise over his eye and face, "I told him I loved you, and that I wouldn't let you be involved in any of his schemes anymore."

"I thought you just said that because you were drunk," Ed helped Double-D stand, and they went inside, up to the scientist's room again.

"I may have been drunk, but that's how I really felt... I love you, Ed... I have since... Well, since middle school. I just... couldn't tell you until now..."

"I.. I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything. I know you probably can't love me back... It's just... If it weren't for you, I would probably be dead. More times than just these last two. So many times I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything, Double-D... And... I... Well, I love you too..."

"Oh, Ed... You don't have to say that."

"I mean it, Double-D. Just, lay down, get some rest, you're probably hung over from last night, and these new wounds aren't helping that at all. I'll go get you some painkillers, if you want?"

"No... bad idea... I still have too much booze in my system. I'll be alright."

Ed helped Edd lay down, then lay down next to him, "I'll stick around, if you need anything... Get some more sleep."

"Okay, Ed. I will..."

Ed lay next to his friend, and the love of his life, as they both mulled over the recent events. Eventually, they both drifted off to sleep. This time, they would sleep well.