Chapter Text
The sound of a TV newscasts announcing the weather filled the room comfortingly. Edd couldn’t stand silence…that kind of silence, the one we’re your thoughts started to eat you alive.
He was sitting on the couch, his legs spread out, holding loosely at can of cola in one of his hands. Surprisingly, he hadn’t had more than two sips, which was unbelievable. With how long it had been open, it was probably flat now.
The brunette was staring into nothing in complete silence, which was odd considering he was the second most talkative of the group, right after the redhead.
The adventure they’d had today had been…strange to say the least, although it was confusing at first…afterwards it had was fun. Especially the part where they had to fix everything the redhead had messed up in the future just to then return the machine to Tom and Matt from the future.
Things had gone well and luckily nothing had changed—at least not visibly. But after the euphoria wore off, the thoughts crept in. Like that saying “After a sunny day games the storm”. What seemed strange about the Eddventure was something he couldn’t ignore. In the future they saw that…Tord wasn’t there. They had only seen Matt, Tom and himself. But not Tord.
Maybe he just didn’t wanted to join the edddventure? Who was he kidding. Tord probably wasn’t part of his life anymore. Not in the future. And that thought…that truth made Edd feel deeply, unbearably sad.
Tord had left a few months ago, without any explanation beyond a simple “I have to follow my dream, and make it in the big city.” But what dreams? Weren’t their dreams about doing things together?…going on adventures, being side by side…Apparently, the Norwegian changed his mind…and left without looking back.
That hurt Edd more than he wanted to admit.
Tord had- was his best friend, the person who made him the happiest, the person he wanted to smile at every morning, to tell every dumb joke he could think of, no matter how bad they were. he was the person he cared about the most…and he was no longer here.
Tord promised he’d write to Edd and the others, but in the two months that passed, not one letter arrived, not one email, no sign of life.
“Maybe he’s just busy” Edd thought for the first weeks, and that’s what he kept telling himself, clinging to that excuse like a life raft.
But Edd did wrote to Tord. He sent e-mails, letters…every one filled with drawings, silly stories, updates of their little “Eddventures” or how they decided to call their adventures, his thoughts, his jokes…anything just to stay connected.
But not a single reply ever came.
Edd didn’t want to be sad. After all, Tord deserved to be happy. And as his best friend, he should be happy that Tord was chasing whatever his dreams were, even if he wasn’t doing it with Edd by his side.
Edd lifted his head to look at his two other best friends.
Matt was fixing his hair in the mirror for what had to be the seventeenth time. It wasn’t even out of place, he was just that much of a perfectionist.
Tom on the other side was leaning against the doorway, he was watching Matt…or maybe at his bottle of vodka, with Tom it was always hard to tell.
“I don’t get how you can drink that so early in the morning.” Matt said, not taking his eyes off of his reflection.
“Its a good fuel for tolerating you more than two minutes.” Tom replied dryly, though without the usual bite of his tone.
Matt rolled his eyes and pouted slightly. Honestly, Edd had no idea how Matt hadn’t gotten used to Tom’s insults and personality by now, he practically aimed the redhead on a daily basis.
Tom ignored Matt and turned his head to look at Edd.
“And what’s wrong with you?” Tom asked, taking a sip from his drink.
Ever since Tord left, Edd had been tempted more than once to ask Tom for a bottle of his own.
“Nothing.” Edd replied flatly, like his cola…it was an automatic answer, like one he’d rehearsed in his head a hundred times before. The tone, the expression…all perfectly practiced.
“Edd, I’m an alcoholic…not an idiot.” Tom replied, frowning slightly. He knew Edd better than anyone else, they’d known each other the longest in the group.
Matt watched their interaction through the mirror, his pointed ears twitching subtly.
“Why do you even care, Tom? I said I’m fine, so I’m fine!” Edd eyes flared with a strange yet subtle green glow, and for a second, both Tom and Matt were taken aback.
His best friends exchanged a quick glance, one of those silent conversation only people who know each other too well could have. Tom sighed and looked down. Matt stepped away from the mirror and turned around to face them.
“Alright, maybe it’s better if we leave and let you alone for a little bit, hm? Just remember we’re here for you…literally.” Matt added with a soft smile at the end. Matt was a good friend, he didn’t liked leaving others alone, but he also knew that sometimes…people just needed space. “Let’s go Tom.” Tom rolled his eyes but followed him without protest.
Before Edd even realised, it was two in the morning.
He was used to staying up late, he was a workaholic, always drawing, planning, creating something. But this time it was different. This time he wasn’t doing anything. He was just…thinking again, letting the same thoughts eat his brain like they always did lately.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to do something.
Getting up quietly, he slipped out of his room. He needed air, needed to clear his mind somehow. He wandered through the house slowly to not wake anyone.
Every corner held a memory of Tord
The subtle scorch marks on the kitchen wall from the time Tord tried to cook his own bacon. The ashtray sitting in the middle of the table…Edd hadn’t dared to throw it away, it still held the last few cigarettes butts Tord had ever smoked there.
Edd’s feet carried him, almost without thinking to the place where Tord’s presence still lingered the most.
His room.
Tord’s room has always been sacred, untouchable. No one was allowed in. Only a lucky few ever crossed that threshold. Edd was one of them. Sometimes Matt, but never Tom.
Edd remembered the nights he’s fallen asleep in there, tucked under those familiar red sheets. Good memories. Ones he missed more than he could say.
He sighed and reached for the doorknob. The gold metal felt cold from disuse. No one had entered that room since Tord left.
Until now.
Straightening up and taking a deep breath, Edd stepped inside. Darkness welcomed him like a heavy blanket. He reached for the switch, and with a flick, the lights revealed a room that was frozen in time…familiar and untouched.
Dust hung in the air like suspended memories.
Everything was still there: The bed was unmade, the red sheets wrinkled and pulled to one side. Postres were still tacked to the wall above the headboard. His desk, right beside the bed, still held his anime figurines, perfectly arranged…except for an empty spot where Tord’s computer used to be. The laundry basket, for once, was empty. Nothing cluttered the floor like Edd was used to seeing. His plant by the window was halfway wilted. And the small sofa near the corner was missing the usual pile of empty bottles, though the mini fridge beside it still hummed quietly in the silence.
Tord’s room has always been cool. Just like Tord.
Edd smiled sadly and sat down on the edge of his bed.
He laid down for a while, just staring up, taking it all in. So many memories…
After a few minutes, Edd got up and started to inspect room more closely. As he was examining one of the walls, his eyes landed on a spider.
“Ah! Spider!” He yelped, throwing the first thing he could grab at it.
The spider fell dead to the floor…but along with the spider, a framed photo of Tord fell as well, it was a photo that was ruined with paint by Tom a long time ago.
“Crap…” Edd muttered, realizing the unintended collateral damage.
He stepped closer and picked up the frame. As he was about to hang it back up, he noticed something odd. Behind the picture that fell, there was another frame…and behind that…a lever.
Edd raised an eyebrow, curiosity instantly taking over, and carefully removed the frame, revealing the mysterious lever embedded in the wall.
Curiosity was eating away at him…but maybe he shouldn’t go in. After all, it was Tord’s privacy, and if it was hidden that well, there had to be a reason. Buuut…on the other hand…Tord wasn’t there anymore, was he?
Edd hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and pulled the lever.
Suddenly, the wall in front of him creaked and lifted, revealing…a laboratory?
Tord had…a secret lab in the house? And he had never told Edd about it?
They were supposed to have no secrets between them.
Wearing his green hoodie and with a conflicted look, Edd stepped cautiously into the hidden room. It looked exactly like something out a sci-fi movie. There were piles of papers, notebooks, blueprints, tools, screens, a half-built machine, random scientific equipment…and…weapons?
That last part felt…off.
He took a few cautious steps towards one of the worktables and picked up one of the notebooks. On the cover, it said: Tord’s 1. Edd opened it and smiled softly when he saw sketches inside. Tord used to love drawing…it used to fascinate him…but over time, he had stopped, even though he still showed interest in Edd’s art.
He finished looking at the notebook with a small yet powerful wave of nostalgia, Edd eagerly began looking for more, like a child hunting for Easter eggs. His eyes soon landed on a more hidden folder, this one didn’t had a name on the cover.
He opened it and his eyes widened.
Blueprints. For weapons…unimaginable things. A giant robot? A cube that turned into a sofa? A toilet mech? An explosive gnome like a rocket?
Wow…
Everything was absurdly creative. Some of the numbers and calculations made Edd’s head hurt by just looking at them.
He was about to close it when he saw one page.
“Time Travel Prototype — V.3”
Signed by Tord
A Time Machine…or rather, a prototype of a Time Machine?
Edd stared, baffled. He knew Tord liked science and robotics…but wasn’t this beyond the limits of normal science? This was something out of a real sci-fi movie. Edd had no idea how any of this worked, he was more of a letters and arts kind of guy.
“What the hell…?” He muttered, squinting at the blueprint.
It looked like…some kind of machine shaped like an old radio? Could something like that even work?
A thousand of thoughts flooded on Edd’s mind all at once. But only one truly took over everything else.
If this machine worked…could he change things?
Could he bring Tord back?
Despite the uncertainty that settled deep in his stomach…a feeling of hope washed over it, dimming everything else. Without thinking twice, he grabbed the folder and left pulling the lever back up, watching as the hidden lab disappeared behind the wall once more.
And just like that, with a new determination burning in his chest, Edd returned to his room.