* Yoo I’m back! @purple-striped-shirt it’s been a little while, so I’m super glad to write again!

Anyway, here’s the Eddsworld ask you sent me in DMs! I’m super excited to write it- hope you enjoy! :D

—————————————————————————

It was a pretty average day on the Red Army grounds, Paul and Patryck were eating lunch and discussing their day. It had been pretty relaxed, no attacks or enemies really interfering- which was the only reason they were getting breaks now. It was a nice difference for the two, seeing as they were some of the highest ranked guards on base.

“You know, as much as I enjoy the month we’ve been having, I kind of miss the action.” Paul began, biting into a sandwich.

“Really? I could stay like this forever,” Pat replied, half-joking.

“It’s kind of boring without him, ” Paul had meant to say ‘it’ and didn’t realize his mistake.

Though, Pat agreed with both meanings.

“Yeah,”

They sat like that for a moment, silently eating. That was until a man in uniform ran up to them, papers in hand.

“Sirs, we’ve received report that one of the world’s most elite assassins has sights set on us!” the man stressed, out of breath from rushing to them.

Paul coughed, nearly choking on his food.

“What? Who is the assassin?” Pat questioned.

The man looked down at the papers for a second, before answering simply…

——————

Tord sat on the couch of his apartment, tired. He wouldn’t admit it, but he really missed his friends and greatly regretted his actions. He was grateful you didn’t tell the guys what he’d done- though he didn’t know if you did once he moved out. (2. 2 anxious thoughts, ah ah ah)

He shook it off and grabbed the remote, switching through the channels in attempt to find something actually interesting. His phone began to ring.

He took it from his pocket, seeing Patrycks work number, a little caught off guard, but immediately answering.

“Hey,” he greeted, still flipping through channels.

“Tord, do you have any place other than your own you would be able to stay at?” he questioned frantically.

Tord tried to sound calm, though was freaking tf out on the inside based on that sentence alone.

“Wh- what?” he turned off the TV to pay more attention.

“Look, we’ll explain later, you need to get out of the house.” Patryck stressed.

“Okay, dad.” Tord joked, trying to make light of whatever was happening.

“I have… I think I have somewhere I can go. Can you two pick me up?” Tord thought hesitantly, hoping desperately you hadn’t told the guys, or if you had that they’d forgive him. Excluding Tom, probably.

“We’re already on our way. Pack- and be quick.”

Patryck hung up before Tord could say anything else. He sat there for a moment, before shoving his phone back into his pocket and speeding to his room.

A few minutes passed before Patryck and Paul arrived, not bothering to knock on the door.

“Tord, come on, we have to hurry!” Paul called.

“I’m coming, hold on!” Tord shouted back.

Patryck sighed heavily, heading into his room. While they had no clue what the assassin was doing nor when he would take charge, they assumed he wasn’t going to take his time because most people don’t.

He entered Tords room, startling him.

“Hey- sorry I don’t mean to take too long,” Tord frantically shoved clothes and other items into a suitcase.

Patryck didn’t reply, helping Tord and zipping the suitcase shut. He rushed back out, Tord following, and entered the car.

Paul closed the door and followed, getting into the passenger seat. Tord sat in the back and Pat quickly began driving, not waiting for the others to buckle.

“Where are we going,” Pat questioned, looking at Tord through the rear view mirror.

“…Edds house,” he responded, quietly.

Pat paused.

“You cannot be serious. We’re going to stay with previous targets?” he inquired, a little frustrated.

Him and Paul didn’t have strong feelings about the three Tord used to be friends with, but assumed that as his previous friends, they wouldn’t forgive him for something that bad.

“If this doesn’t work, we’re leaving you at the assassins house,” Paul joked.

“Why don’t we just go to the base?” Tord asked.

“Well, one, the higher ups don’t want you there anymore. And two, the assassin will take out anyone in his way.” Pat replied.

“Wh-?? Who is the asassin, Patryck?”

There was a moment of silence. Hesitation. This scared the shit out of Tord, since the two in front of him were pretty straight forward most of the time. Seeing as hesitation was probably not the best course of action when you could possibly be killed.

“Paul?” Tord leaned forward, glancing between the two.

As the pulled up to Edds house, Patryck took a deep breath.

“Red eyes.”

The color fell from Tords face. Panic set low in his stomach, nearly making him feel sick. Red eyes was responsible for many deaths of high ranking officials world wide, not just the Red Army. He’d seen the guy in action before, and it wasn’t pretty.

“Might as well put a target on my back now that I’m no longer leading an army,” Tord said, sarcastically.

Patryck seemed lost in thought for a moment.

“You alright?” Paul questioned.

Pat slammed the car into break, quickly opening the door and slamming it behind him, walking up to the house they were now in front of.

“What happened?” Tord rubbed his nape.

“Red eyes killed his girlfriend,” Paul responded, simply.

He followed Patryck.

Tord slumped back in his seat for a second, running his hands through his hair. This could not be happening.

He got up and joined Paul and Patryck. Paul rang the door bell, anxiously hoping they would let them in.

After a moment, Edd opened the door, a Cola in hand. He looked a the two, confused, though when he met Tords gaze, he paused. His mouth opened to speak, though he quickly changed his mind, his eyes speaking more than he needed to.

Tord wanted to apologize, but was quickly interrupted.

“Hello,” Patryck greeted.

“There is a lot to unpack, but in short one of the worlds most elite assassins has sights on us and we need a place to stay. We assume he won’t look here and assume we left town if we aren’t at our base, so..” he held his hands behind his back, hiding the nervous fidgeting.

There wasn’t much they could do if this didn’t work.

Edd held his breath, thinking. After a moment, he glanced between the three and let out, “Sure.”

It looked forced, but it was good enough. He moved to the side, allowing room for the three to walk through. They did as such, quietly. Matt and Tom were sat on the couch. They looked at the three, quickly reacting. Tom looked almost offended that Edd would let them in, and Matt was a lot more focused on who the two in uniform were.

“Edd!” Tom exclaimed.

“Hm?”

“What is he doing here??” he motioned to Paul, Pat, and Tord.

Paul didn’t let him respond.

“We’ll explain.” he took a seat on the red recliner.

Tom was extremely skeptical of the three, especially Tord, obviously.

Patryck and Tord sat on the couch, Tom moved closer to Matt so he wasn’t next to Tord.

“Oh, wait.” Edd stopped Paul, walked up the stairs to grab someone. In his room he found you, scrolling on your phone.

“Uh, hey, you might wanna come down stairs.” he began.

“What’s going on?” you looked up at him.

He was pretty chill as usual, but there definitely anxiety and repressed anger in the mix, and you could see it.

“Just- come on,” he walked back down, not letting you respond.

You didn’t think much, turning off your phone and following.

There you saw Tord, Paul, and Patryck. The two looked up and waved at the familiar face, though Tord didn’t see you since you were behind the couch. While you weren’t upset to see those two, you couldn’t help but assume that Tord was with them.

You walked around and stood in between the recliner and couch with Edd.

Tord avoided your eyes.

“Hi..” you raised a brow, wondering why they were here.

“Why am I the only person upset about this?” Tom suddenly piped up.

Tord inhaled sharply.

“He tried to kill us!” Tords heart dropped.

“And we forgive him,” Edd added, in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Why? Why do you forgive him for that?” Tom stood, looking back at you and Edd.

“Because he’s our friend!” Matt joined in.

“Yeah, because friends try to kill each other.” Tom remarked, sarcasitcally.

“TAKE,” Paul began, frustrated. The three stopped speaking.

“A seat.” he continued.

Tom bit his tongue, knowing he’d be shut right back down and honestly didn’t really want to fight right now. He sat back down.

“So, what’s happening?” you turned to Paul.

“Basically, one of the worlds most elite assassins has us in his sights.” he explained.

“Assassin doesn’t even sound like a word anymore,” Pat mumbled.

“What??” you placed your hand on the couch cushion, using it like a stress ball.

“We’re taking refuge here because this isn’t somewhere we think he’ll look,” Paul continued.

“You think he won’t? You aren’t sure?”

“Look-”

“See! I’m not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea! Tord led a hit man to our house!”

“No I didn’t!” Tord shot back. “I didn’t even know about this until they told me, get mad at them,” he pointed at Paul and Patryck.

“We’re gonna die!” Matt cried out.

“I feel like I’m babysitting children right now,” Patryck began.

“Nothing is going to happen, okay? He has no reason to look here, he doesn’t even know of you four, you’ll be fine.” he said.

“Just treat this like a usual day with a few guests.”

“Even if this was a normal day with a few guests,” Tom spoke up. “It isn’t normal with him around.”

Tord rolled his eyes, getting defensive despite his guilt.

“Tom, please,” you moved your hand to his shoulder.

“You knew about what he did months before you told us! I should be pissed at you, shouldn’t I?” Tom exclaimed, a little blinded by anger.

“Tom this is not the most important issue right now!” you fired back.

“Do you hate him enough to wish his death??”

He paused, merely slumping back into the couch and grunting.

You sighed. “You guys will have to take the couches, hope that’s alright,”

“We’ll take what we can get, don’t worry,” Paul replied.

You turned to Matt who was nearly shaking.

“We’re gonna be fine,” you reassured, giving him a smile.

Sure you weren’t positive, but the last thing you needed was a panicked Matt.

A bit of time had passed. Paul, Pat, and Tord were watching TV, Matt was in his room, Edd was mowing the lawn, and Tom was hanging out with you up in your room.

“I can’t believe you guys are letting him stay here,” Tom let out quietly.

“Tom, I know what he did was unforgivable. Hell, I’m a little surprised the guys forgave him,” you stated.

Maybe excluding Matt, but Tom probably knew that.

“I mean did you see how quiet he was? I bet he feels bad,” you were definitely lying- well about knowing.

You didn’t know what he was thinking and just wanted to calm Tom down, but you did hope Tord regretted what he’d done.

“No he doesn’t,” Tom mumbled.

“You know what, I’ll go talk to him. I’ll prove it,” you really didn’t need to do that, but you really wanted to lighten up the mood.

Even if only a little bit. So, once Tom was done with the sarcastic remarks you stood and left the room, walking downstairs.

“Tord?” you began, leaning over the couch.

“Hm?” he looked up at you.

“Can I talk to you for a second,” you motioned to the back door. “Uh- privately,”

He paused, wondering what you’d need to speak to him about if not being upset at him. Though, he didn’t question you, getting up and following you outside.

“What is it?” he inquired.

“Look, I’m a quarter positive I know the answer but I’m going to ask anyway. Do you…” you hesitated strongly.

Tord gave you a confused expression, but under it was worry. You pondered if you should be straight forward or sugarcoat the question. You let out a quiet sigh before continuing.

“Do you feel bad?” you asked.

His demeaner faltered. He didn’t say anything for a second. He just stared at you, a look in his eyes that you couldn’t describe if you tried. He looked so… perplexed. By what you weren’t sure. Though your thoughts became clouded with concern when you noticed the tears welling up in his eyes.

“I…” he thought about how he’d phrase the words.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more guilty,” he wanted to avoid your glance, but it was strangely difficult.

You didn’t respond, wanting him to keep going.

“I just…” Tord couldn’t bring himself to speak.

There was so much he wanted to say, but so little good ways to explain it. He wanted to apologize, to sulk in the sadness and guilt he was clouded with, but he just couldn’t do it.

But you could see it. In his eyes, in his stance, hell in the way he was trying to look away from you, worried you were judging him. Even you couldn’t think of how to respond. He’d apologized before and meant it, but this was more than that. It was something hard to even process.

“Tord,” you started, taking a deep breath.

“I do forgive you, and so do the guys- well other than Tom,” you chuckled lightly.

His breath hitched. It was pretty clear that he’d been forgiven, considering the fact that he was even let into the house. But, hearing it. Being told directly- it felt so different. Now he really couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

And you didn’t need him to. You stepped closer to him and pulled him into a hug. He didn’t react at first. You’d hugged him before, but it still was foreign. He never really had people there to comfort him and he didn’t know what to do in this kind of situation.

His breath became unstable as he tried desperately not to let tears fall. His arms weakly slithered around your back, and he buried his face into your shoulder. You two stood there like that for a moment.

“I’m-” he sniffled. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

You could hear the sob he was choking back, and it hurt. You couldn’t imagine how he felt.

“I’m so fucking sorry,” Tord continued.

He mumbled a few more 'I’m sorry’s before sighing and pulling back. He wiped his eyes and few times before he looked back at you. His red face was enough to bring tears to your own eyes.

“It’s okay, Tord,” you told him.

It wasn’t, truthfully. What he did wasn’t forgivable, but those actions alone weren’t what you were forgiving him for. You were forgiving him for making a mistake that he came to regret. Him planning ultimately to kill his friends and experiment on Tom would never be okay. But his realization and apology for even having those thoughts to begin with were. And he knew that. He knew what he did was never going to be considered acceptable, but he didn’t care. He just wanted his friends back.

“I…” voiced Edd.

Oh shit. You’d forgotten that he was out here. He’d finished mowing before you two had come outside, but he was sitting on a lawn chair which neither of you had seen.

You and Tord glanced over at him. He stood and joined you, paying more mind to Tord. Edd didn’t say anything, giving him a quick hug and a smile.

There wasn’t much dialogue after that, just a moment of comfortable silence.

“(Reader)?” called Tom from his room.

His window peered over the backyard, though he didn’t realize you guys were out there until the conversation had ended.

“Are you done, yet?” he questioned.

You chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” you turned back to Tord and Edd.

“Thank you, Tord. For apologizing,” you added before reentering the house.

You trailed up the stairs, greeting Tom again.

“How’d that go?” he asked, sarcastically.

“He said he was sorry, Tom,” you began, catching his attention.

“A few times, actually.”

“So?”

“'So?’? He cried onto my shoulder for like five minutes, Thomas,” you continued.

He didn’t say anything, the shock on his face being a little humerus to you.

“I know you didn’t really ever like Tord, but you gotta give him a break, man,”

Tom wanted to comment on how they were who needed a break after all that happened, but he didn’t. He merely looked at you. An expression you couldn’t really read because of the lack of eyes.

“You don’t have to forgive him. I understand if you don’t want to, really, I do. But don’t be an asshole about it,”

He looked down, nodding simply.

You gave an unsure smile and pat his shoulder.

“At least he won’t try to attack us again,” you joked.

He chuckled. “Yeah,”

—————————————————————————

YOO! I’m super glad I finally got this out lol. I have like six requests to work on so pardon the wait– but this was fun to write! Obv this is part one of probably two or three. I just wanted to get this out already because I was very excited to write it, hope you enjoyed! I’ll try to get the other part(s) out soon :DD (also this wasn’t proof read so apologizes if there were mistakes

* Yo @purple-striped-shirt !! The second part is here!! I hope you like it :D Let me know if I missed anything you specified or if I can change anything ^^

* “Edd, we need to talk,” he glanced back at you,

“Okay,”

You dragged him back inside and sat him on the couch.

“Tom!” You called out.

Thankfully Matt and Tord were already in the living room, but you needed to let everybody know about this.

He came down the stairs a minute or so later and plopped onto the couch.

“What’s up?” he questioned.

You sighed.

“This is going to sound really dumb,” you prefaced. 

“But Edd is- well..” you thought about a good way to say it.

“Matt, that little bottle you found at the store. It was a love potion,” you finally said.

Tord stared at you for a moment before chuckling. 

“Wait are you serious?” Tom inquired.

“Look- I know it’s stupid-” you were quickly interrupted by Tom bursting out into laughter.

You face palmed, not really having expected a different response, but it certainly wasn’t the one you wanted. 

“Dude, just listen. Edd was flirting with Eduardo just a second ago. He wouldn’t even do that as a joke!” you exclaimed, causing Tom to pause.

Edd smiled at the thought of said man.

“Oh my god- that’s what that was??” Tord piped up.

“See, I have a witness,” you chuckled under your breath.

“I-” Tom inhaled deeply.

“I’m gonna go back to my room,” he stood, but you quickly pushed him back onto the couch.

“No, you’re not.” You glanced over at Edd for a second.

He was staring out of the window, paying you and the guys no mind. You wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t been listening at all to what you just said. You followed his gaze and realized one of the windows peered straight at the neighbors house. 

“Hey, Edd, can you look for my charger? I think it’s somewhere upstairs,” you asked, waving your hand in front of his face.

“Oh, sure,” he trailed up the stairs.

Truthfully, your charger was plugged in in the kitchen, but part of this you didn’t want Edd to hear.

“Okay, I dabble a bit in magic, so I’m going to try and find or make a cure to this because- well if I don’t soon,” you glanced out the window.

“Edd’s actions will,, escalate.” You hesitated.

“Why don’t you three fix that while I go to the store, eh? Who wants ice cream?” Tord spoke up.

“Nope. You’re helping,” he groaned.

“Why wrap us into this? Just fix Edd yourself,” Tom added.

“Trust me, you don’t want that. Plus, if I’m able to make a cure it’ll probably take at least twenty-four hours.” you glanced over at Matt who was only half paying attention.

“Matt, Tord,” they perked up. “You two will be my assistants,” Tord threw his head back and groaned again, really rubbing in how much he just wanted to go about his day like any other.

“Tom, keep Edd away from the neighbor’s house,” If he had eyes, he’d had rolled them, you were sure.

“I’ll talk to Mark and Jon in a bit. I just need to make sure I have everything I need first. Come on,” you gestured for them to follow you. 

“Hey, Edd, I found it. You can come back down, sorry,” you lied. 

But there wasn’t a response.

You entered his room which you two shared. He was staring out of his window which- of fucking course looked into Eduardos room. This wasn’t going to get any easier, was it.

“Okay, that’s enough of that.” you peeled Edd away from the window and turned to face Tom.

“Why don’t you two go to the arcade,” you suggested, pushing Edd toward the blue hooded anger ball. He sighed and grabbed Edd’s arm, taking him out.

You shook your head and closed the curtains.

“Alright,” you kneeled down and stuck your hands under the bed, fishing around for something. 

Once you felt it, you pulled forward a chest. You pulled a small key out of your bun and unlocked it. (lol this is silly but I wanted to add it) It was filled to the brim with very illegal magic stuff. Matt and Tord were taken aback, Tord more focused on the law breaking, but Matt was intrigued by the magic.

“Woah!! That’s so cool!” he exclaimed.

“Hehe, thanks,” you reached under again for a small cauldron. 

“I’m holding back everything in me to call you a witch right now,” Tord joked. 

You shared a chuckle before looking through the items filling the chest. You pulled out a few components you’d need for the counteracting potion and set them aside, closing, locking, and pushing back the chest.

“Okay, I’m gonna go speak to the neighbors. If Tom and Edd come back keep him away from the windows,” you cringed at your own sentence. 

You stood and left the room, headed straight to Mark, Jon, and Eduardo. You knocked on the door. After a few moments, Eduardo opened the door.

“Uh- hey,” he glanced around you, searching for Edd, happy to see he wasn’t with you. 

“Can I talk to you three for a second?” you questioned, peering behind him. 

“Sure,” he moved to the side.

You weren’t necessarily friends with them, but you weren’t enemies either. Well, you and Jon were friends but that was also because he hung out with Matt a lot and you and Matt are pretty close. In short, you and the neighbors are cool.

“Hi, (Reader)!” Jon greeted kindly, waving. 

“Hey,” you returned his smile. 

“What’s up?” Eduardo began.

“Okay, this is going to sound stupid,” you repeated.

“But to explain earlier-” Eduardo perked up.

“Matt found some weird potion at the shops, and I knocked it over onto Edd’s toast. He is under the effects of a love potion,” you awaited their reactions.

Mark chuckled. 

“I thought potions were only in movies,” Jon spoke.

“Yeah,” Eduardo was clearly stifling a laugh.

“If this is some elaborate prank, it’s not funny,” he continued. “Well, at least not how you’re intending,” 

“I’m not joking,” you sighed. 

Eduardo couldn’t help but laugh, Mark joining. Jon was more confused than convinced, but part of him believed you.

Suddenly, you heard a thud. You turned to see Edd, his face and hands smooshed against the window. Once Eduardos gaze met his, he waved excitedly, his face a bit red.

“Jesus,” Mark let out, no longer laughing.

“Uh, why is Edd on the window?” Jon asked. 

“(Reader), you can tell him to stop, I know you guys are joking,” Eduardo wasn’t laughing either.

“Do you really think I would have Edd do this? Do you think he would do this?? Not unless he was under some kind of potion,” you emphasized potion, hoping Eduardo would believe you. 

“Look, Eddo, whether you believe me or not, you need to stay away from Edd. He will stop at nothing,” you said, shortening his name. You’d only heard Mark call him that, but you thought it was kind of funny.

“Mark, Jon, don’t answer the door if it’s him.” you added. 

They nodded. 

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna do that,” Eduardo jogged up the stairs.

You turned back to wave at Mark and Jon before exiting their house.

“Edd, come on. You can get arrested for this kinda shit,” you didn’t want to be mean, but there was no nice way to tell your friend not to stalk the neighbors. 

You grabbed him and began walking toward your house until you realized Tom wasn’t with you.

“What the,” you looked around. He was no where in sight.

“Edd where’s Tom?” you inquired.

“The arcade,” he smiled, staring dreamily at Eduardos house.

You sighed and pushed him inside.

“Tord, Matt, please keep him inside and close the curtains,” you turned before they could reply and headed to the arcade. 

There you found Tom playing some shooting game. 

“Dude!” you lightly punched his arm.

“Huh? Oh, hey, (Reader),” he paid you little to no mind.

“You were supposed to be watching Edd,” you glanced between him and the game, referring to your love-sick friend like a child being babysat.

Tom merely shrugged. You snatched the plastic gun from him and shot at all the wrong angles, making him lose quickly. 

“Hey!” he exclaimed angrily. 

“What was that for?” he realized Edd wasn’t next to him and looked around. 

“Where’d he go?” he muttered under his breath.

“The neighbors window,” you said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Tom stared at you for a moment before face-palming. 

“I got distracted,” 

You groaned quietly.

“Come on,” 

You two went back to the house where you made sure all the windows were closed and covered and began making a counteracting potion. Which was actually easier than you’d expected, but still difficult. Specifically, because of how long it would take. Some mixed ingredients would need to sit for multiple hours, for example. It was going to be a long process. But in the end it’d be worth it. After an hour or so of mixing up different components and making mistakes, you decided you’d take a break. You trudged down the stairs.

“Where’s Tord and Tom?” You questioned Matt who was in the kitchen, getting a snack.

“Tom is in his room and I think Tord is showering,” he replied, fetching a can of cola from the fridge.

“Oh, okay.” you turned before noticing the lack of Edd.

“Where is,” you inhaled sharply, trying not to raise your voice. “Where is Edd?” you turned back to Matt.

“He said he needed something from the store,” Matt closed the fridge and took a bite from the sandwich he’d just made.

“You never learn,” you muttered.

“Huh?” you shook your head and walked outside.

Sure enough, Edd was- ohmyfuckinggod. He was looking through Eduardos bedroom window, again. The curtains were closed but there was just a big enough sliver for him to see inside. From what you could tell, Eduardo was changing his shirt. Jfc, this is hard to look at.

“Edd Gould!!” you shouted, similar to an angry parent.

He jumped and glanced back at you.

“Hi!” he waved, acting like he hadn’t been doing anything.

“What is wrong with you? Get over here,” you demanded, but he didn’t budge.

“But it’s nice out, isn’t it? Why not enjoy the fresh air?” he scratched his nape.

You glared at him. He wanted to oblige but the look on your face told him he should probably listen.

——————————————–

It’s around 4PM now. Edd was sleeping on the couch, Tord next to him scrolling through channels on the TV. You and Matt were up in your room. You’d taken the potion back out of the trash since there was still a little left in it. You needed it to study what was in it and how it entered the victims mind, yk. There was a lot you’d need to know in order to make a potion to fight it. Matt was currently holding onto it while you were adding to the cauldron.

“Hey, do you guys-” Matt jumped at the suddenness of Tom entering your room. 

The corkscrew wasn’t in the bottle so just enough liquid managed to splash out and into… oh my god. Into Tom’s mouth. Today could not get any worse. Is what you would say if you’d even been looking at the two, which you were not. You were paying close attention to your work as not to mess it up, so you didn’t even manage to notice Tom coughing at the disgusting taste. 

“Aw- gross!” Tom looked down at Matts hand to see what he’d just swallowed. 

Of course, to his horror, he was about to fall in love with whoever he looked at when it took effect. He fought the urge to swing at Matt, closing his eyes and- just for good measure- covering them with his hands.

“Matt, hand me the-” you turned, seeing Tom.

“Oh, hey. What’s up?” you questioned.

Habit and muscle memory fucked Tom over as he looked up at you. The potion took effect soon after.

“Your uh- your hair looks nice today,” he complimented, shyly.

Tom wasn’t one to be straight forward or, hell- even say anything if he had feelings for someone. So it would be pretty easy to tell. But you, of course, didn’t. I mean friends compliment each other, right? Though you were a little surprised, seeing as it came from Tom of all people.

“Oh- uh, thanks,” you smiled.

“Is that all or did you need something?” you questioned, putting down the small bottle you’d been holding and standing up, walking up to the two.

“Matt, could you,,” you held your hand out.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” he gave you the nearly empty teardrop shaped bottle.

“Wait,” you held it close to your eye.

It had definitely lost some of the liquid, and it was dripping on the side.

You looked back up to see Tom’s cheeks were lightly dusted in pink as he stared you down awkwardly. You looked back at Matt who was a little nervous.

“Again??” you glared at Matt before walking back to the cauldron and placing the bottle next to it.

“I’m taking a break,” you pushed past the two.

“Matt is driving me up the wall,” you mumbled, half joking, as you sat between Edd and Tord.

“Hm?” Tord turned to you.

“He spilled the potion on Tom,” you leaned your head back, running your fingers through your hair.

Tord snorted. “Seriously? Who’d he fall for?” he stifled a laugh as he awaited your response.

“Me,” you said, too quiet for Tord to hear.

“What was that?”

“Me!” you shot back up, looking at him.

He burst into laughter, both feeling bad and finding it absolutely hilarious.

“Hey,” Tom entered the living room. Tord paused.

You scooted closer to Tord, father from Tom.

Tom gave Tord a dirty look. Oh no.

“Wanna hang out?” he questioned you.

You glanced at Tord. 

“Uh,” you inhaled sharply.

“I’m a little busy,” 

Tom, being Tom, dirtied the expression he sent Tord. There’s no way he thinks that, does he?

“Back off,” he hissed.

Oh, Jesus Christ. Tord continued laughing, hardly able to contain himself.

“There’s no way!” Tord exclaimed through his giggles, finding nothing but humor in this whole situation.

The laughter woke Edd, who looked around confused.

“What’s going on?” he asked, tiredly.

“Tom, please go back upstairs,” you said.

“Ohhh, no.” he rolled up his sleeves, walking closer to Tord.

You stood, grabbing the Norskis arm and quickly leaving the house to let Tom cool off and hopefully not attack Tord. You two stood outside, waiting for him to calm down from the laugh attack he’d been hit by.

“This is the funniest shit ever,” he added once he’d finally caught his breath.

“Love’s in the air today,” you joked,

“No kidding,” 

“Forget the break I need to finish this potion now,” you reentered the house, Tord following. 

You grabbed a broom from beside the door as Tom stepped up to you.

You held out the broom, keeping yourself a good distance from him. Tord, of course, couldn’t help but giggle. Edd did the same when he saw.

“Back-” you chuckled. “Back up, dude,” 

“Wh- I just wanna hang out,” Tom looked a little hurt.

“Yeah, but, I’m pretty busy right now,” Once you made it to the stairs, you dropped the broom and ran.

The second you entered your room, you locked the door.

“What happened? I could hear you guys from up here,” Matt began.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” you sat next to him.

——————————————

It was about 7:30 when you finished the counteracting potion. Well, the first version, at least. God knows it could take far more to get it right. You snuck downstairs, tiptoeing behind the couch to avoid the three watching TV in the living room. You grabbed a few glasses and prepared some hot cocoa. Once it was done, you mixed one of them with the teal-colored liquid you’d made. Thankfully the color didn’t change. You leaned over the couch, hesitantly.

“Made some hot cocoa,” you spoke quietly, half hoping they wouldn’t hear you.

Tom turned.

“Oh, thank you!” he gave you a smile and took the cup.

You stood there for a moment, watching him blow on it before taking a sip.

“Well, are you gonna get us any?” Tord asked, glancing back at you.

You held up your index finger at him instead of saying to wait a minute.

Something in Tom’s demeanor changed as he relaxed into the couch, similar to how he usually sat. More slumping than anything.

“Hey, Tom,” you spoke.

He looked back at you.

“Hm?”

“How do I-” you paused, cringing before you could even finish the sentence. “How do I look today?” 

Tom eyed you, wondering if you’d done anything different or if you were testing him for some reason. He didn’t see anything out of the norm.

“Uh, normal? I don’t know, what do you want me to say,” he questioned, caught off guard by the question. To be fair, today had been very strange.

“Oh, thank God,” you let out quietly. 

Though, while paying full attention to Tom, you hadn’t noticed Edd stand and leave the house. As soon as you noticed your breath hitched.

“This doesn’t get any easier does it,” you rushed back into the kitchen and mixed your potion with his cocoa and sped out the door.

You looked around, seeing him nowhere. Though, you did notice the door of the neighbor’s house was cracked open… with a paper clip sticking out of the doorknob. You nearly dropped the glass in your hand, running inside.

“Mark?” you called. “Jon? Edd???” 

You placed the glass on the coffee table and looked through the house, not finding anybody. 

“Please!” you heard. “I’ll only be a minute!” It was Edd, upstairs.

“No, back off, dude! Eduardo doesn’t want to see you,” Mark replied. 

You rushed upstairs, seeing them and Jon standing outside Eduardos bedroom.

“Leave me alone!” you heard him shout from inside.

Edd noticed you. 

“You are literally stalking him! You broke into our house for Christs sake!” Mark exclaimed, blocking the door.

“Edd!” you grabbed his arm.

“This had gone too far, come here!” he tried to pull away from your grip, but couldn’t.

You rushed back down, Edd nearly falling as he raced to keep up. You took the now cold cocoa off the table and held it out to him.

“Drink it,” you demanded.

He stared at you for a second.

“Edd Gould!” you, again, shouted like an angry parent.

“Okay, okay!” he took it and gulped down most of it.

After a moment he looked around the house, confused.

“What th- why are we in here?” 

You exhaled deeply in relief, your head falling to his chest as you pulled him into a hug.

“I’m gonna beat your ass if this ever happens again,” you let out,

He awkwardly pat your back.

“Is he normal?” Mark questioned, trailing down the stairs with Jon.

“Yeah,” you pulled back.

“What??” Edd turned to face them.

“Eduardo! He’s back to normal!” he called.

You heard the door open and Eduardo peeked out from the hallway.

“Eduardo,” Edd growled like usual.

Eduardo rushed down and punched him in the face.

“Dude!!” Edd looked down at Eduardo.

“Get out of my house,” Eduardo was tired of this shit lmao

“Please,” he added when nothing happened.

You turned and pulled the paper clip out of the doorknob and waited for Edd to join you. You two walked back to the house. You told Edd about everything he missed- you’d never seen him so appalled and apologetic. It was a little funny.

The end

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* YOOO THIS WAS SO FUN TO WRITE!! I HOPE YOU LIKED IT :D