Chapter Text
One day after the kiss, Edd got a brilliant idea. His face had an exaggerated smile and he was squealing softly. Tom turned his head, already dreading what it was going to be, “Oh no, I know that face…”
Edd popped up in front of Tom, “Tom! I have a brilliant idea!”
“No th—“
Tom got cut off by Matt and Tord, “Let’s hear it!”
Everyone held their breath as Edd was about to say his idea, “We’re going on vacation!”
Everyone exhaled.
“But I don’t know where.”
Everyone inhaled.
“But I’m thinking of the beach.”
Everyone exhaled.
Tom was getting annoyed at the constant suspense. “Can you PLEASE tell us where you’re taking us?”
Edd chuckled, “Oh, Tom! We’re going to the beach!”
Everyone attempted to exhale but remembered that they already did that, so they cheered.
“I also rented a house we could stay at!”
Tom abruptly turned his head to Edd, “Oh that’s n—WHAT?!”
“Aren’t you all happy?”
“…What did you use to pay for that?”
“Oh! Your credit card!”
Tom grumbled. This was going to be the most chaotic vacation ever.
One day later, the group arrived to the beach. Tord strutted down the sand dramatically like an actor in a teen drama show. However, he got hit in the head by a stray-not so stray volleyball by the Neighbors, “Agh! What the—“
Edd turned his head and scowled as he heard the impact, “Eduardo…”
Indeed, it was the Neighbors themselves. Eduardo, Mark, and Todd. Eduardo smirked at Edd, “What are you doing in OUR vacation?”
Edd narrowed his eyes, “What are you doing in OUR vacation?”
The tension was thick in the air. So thick that Matt could cut through it, “Um, I’m not so sure if this is normal…” he whispered, looking at the piece of air he just cut out.
Meanwhile, Tord stood up after getting hit by that ball, “You leave my friend alone!”
Eduardo scoffed, “Or else what?”
Tord powered up his robot arm, “Or else this…” he prepared to shoot a blast of energy towards Eduardo.
Eduardo backed away, “Okay okay! I’m so—“ Eduardo choked on his words dramatically. After a few attempts (and the crew looking at him judgmentally), Eduardo managed to spit out the words, “I’m sorry for throwing a ball at your friend! Are you happy now?!”
Tord slowly lowered his arm, “Very. Come on, Edd.” Tord took Edd’s hand to get him away from Eduardo.
“…Stupid neighbors…” Eduardo muttered under his breath.
After the encounter, everyone decided to just hang out at the house for a few hours. Matt looked around the house with the curiosity of a child, “Wow! Our house doesn’t have jets in the bathtub!”
Tord however was looking at his scars, worried that people would only see him for what he had been instead of what he is now.
Matt noticed his friend’s struggle and offered to help him, “Hey, Tord! What do you think of a makeover by your’s truly?”
Tom rolled his eyes. “Matt, you are not giving him a makeover. He is good just the way his is.” He truly didn’t want Tord to have a makeover because he truly didn’t get used to change well. One time, Matt painted the walls of the house green and Tom locked himself in his room for a day until Edd told him it was okay to come out.
Matt’s expression went annoyed, “Why? Do you not trust me?”
“Well—“
Matt took Tom by the collar and shook him dramatically, “Are you saying you do not trust your closest friend?!”
Tom was dizzy from the shaking, “No no, carry on…”
Matt squealed in excitement, “Great! Then it’s settled!”
Matt brought Tord to the bathroom for the makeover, “Alright, Tord! Here’s your free makeover!”
Tord blinked, “Are you sure I need a makeover?”
Matt scoffed playfully, “Of course you do! You know how shallow everyone is! You need people to look at you on the outside before they do on the inside! First impressions count in this society!”
Tord rolled his eyes, knowing Matt was right. “Okay. Go ahead.” He squinted his eyes, “But if you mess this up…” The threat was empty and more of a joke than anything as he tried to joke about his pain.
Matt chuckled, “No promises!” He then got started on the makeover.
A few minutes later, Tord exited out of the bathroom wearing exaggerated eyeliner, lipstick, and a tropical outfit. He glared over to Matt, “Tell me why I’m wearing this…”
Matt flipped his hair dramatically, “Well as the fashion expert, I always know what’s in style!”
Tord looked at himself embarrassed, “I-I used to be a feared army leader, AND YOU PUT ME IN THIS?”
Meanwhile, Tom looked at Tord’s new makeover, but he didn’t run off to his room like other times with drastic change. He actually felt… warm?
Tord noticed Tom looking at him. He turned his head away, blushing in embarrassment. “Don’t look at me, Jehovah!”
Tom didn’t stop staring, even though he should’ve. “The eyeliner really accents your face…”
The former army leader jumped back at the unexpected compliment, “Um… thanks!” He cleared his throat, getting ready for a voiceover, “I never felt this connected to someone since Edd. Especially not to my enemy…”
“Hey, Tord!” Edd unexpectedly cut Tord off.
“Agh!” Tord screamed in surprise, heart beating rapidly. His head was pounding before he turned his head to see his friend, “Edd!”
“Why are you talking to yourself?”
“It’s… complicated, Edd.”
Edd shrugged, “Whatever…”
Tord realized something. He had a crush on both Edd and Tom. He thought about it for a few seconds before realizing that it wouldn’t matter too much in the long run, so he shrugged it off.
Unfortunately, the Neighbors also caught a glimpse at Tord’s struggle. Eduardo smirked, “Well well well…”
Mark pinched the bridge of his nose, “What’s your ‘genius plan’ today?”
“If those stupid neighbors win because of their friendship… then we DESTROY their friendship!”
“…How?”
“With a love triangle!”
Todd cheered, “You can do it, Eduardo!”
“Don’t patronize me.”
Within seconds of planning, Eduardo, Mark, and Todd began planting notes everywhere in the crew’s beach house. The notes had fabricated confessions written on them to make it look like they were from Tom and Edd. Tord walked in, prompting the Neighbors to hide behind a counter. He picked up one of the notes and looked at it confusedly. He took it to Edd. “Hey, Edd. Did you write this?”
Edd looked up from his cola and shook his head.
“Alright!” Tord crumpled the paper into a ball and threw away the note, unintentionally throwing it towards Eduardo.
Mark smirked at Eduardo, knowing the plan wasn’t going to go well, “Sooo… can we go back now?”
Eduardo scowled, “No, Mark! We have to ruin their lives to make us look better!” He said through his clenched teeth. “There’s still one more n—“ he heard Tord grab the note.
Tord read through the note and went up to Tom, “Did you write this?”
Tom scoffed, “Of course not. This is probably just a plan from Matt.”
Matt heard his name and instinctively entered the room dramatically, “You called?”
“I was just telling Tord how you wrote these fake notes to bring us together.”
Matt was confused but tried to play it off as his ego grew. “I did? I mean, I did!”
Eduardo facepalmed and accidentally went out into the open, “No, no, no! That wasn’t supposed to happen!” He pointed at Tord, “You were supposed to choose one person to date!” He pointed to Tom and Edd, “You guys were supposed to fight over each other!” He pointed to Matt, “And you? You weren’t part of the plan!”
Everyone looked at Eduardo confusedly before Tom narrowed his eyes, “You know you just completely exposed yourself in front of us.”
Eduardo looked around and realized he had said his entire plan out loud. He grabbed Mark and Todd from behind the counter.
Matt blinked before turning on the TV. “Hey, guys! Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Yes!” Edd replied. “And then we can go to the bar outside!”
“And Tord, you get to show everyone who you are on the outside!”
Tom crossed his arms, “Just don’t expect it to turn into a date.”
Tord grinned slyly, “Who has to say it had to be?”
“You’re impossible.”
After the movie ended, the group walked to the bar together. Eduardo and his gang followed them to the bar, in a very unsubtle way. Mark pinched the bridge of his nose, wearing a very girly outfit that undermined his masculinity, “Eduardo… how is this going to work?”
Eduardo laughed softly, “Mark… if you try to hit on Tord as a girl, then whoever defends him first will the be one he chooses. Questions?
Mark raised his hand.
“Yes, Mark?”
“What if they both defended him—“
“NO MORE QUESTIONS!”
The three arrived at the bar where Tom, Matt, Edd, and Tord were hanging out. Eduardo pushed Mark in front of Tord. “You know your lines! Go!”
Mark stumbled as he went up to Tord, disguised as a girl. He cleared his throat, “Hello, insert name here. I’m a girl and I want to ask you if I can date—“
Not according to Eduardo’s plan, Edd, Tom, and Matt went up to defend Tord. Edd slapped Mark’s face. “He’s not interested!”
Matt ran up to Mark next, “What Edd said! But I’m glad that you think Tord looks pretty!”
Tom went up to Mark next and splashed a drink on him. This caused Mark to drop the falsetto, accidentally revealing his identity, “Agh, what the! Why would you do that?! This dress took hours to make and my makeup was stunning!”
Tom crossed his arm, “Did Eduardo send you?”
Mark sighed, “Yes…”
Eduardo facepalmed, “Todd! Why didn’t you edit the premade script?”
Todd shrugged, “I thought it was a cute nickname!”
Eduardo groaned, “I hate you all…”
After the bar incident, the crew decided to walk back to their house. Matt sighed, “You know… love triangles can be fun, but I don’t think it’s right for us.”
Tom raised an eyebrow, “What are you saying?”
“Why do relationships have to be two people? Why can’t it be more?”
“That’s called a polyamory, Matt!” Edd replied.
“A polyamory…” Matt thought about it for a moment before smiling, “That’s a great idea!”
“But we have to let everyone else decide if this is good.”
Tom nodded reluctantly but couldn’t shake off the feeling that it would be better for all of them while Tord smiled warmly, crying happy tears. “Yes!”
“Then it’s settled! We are now a poly!” Edd yelled out. However, everyone around them dismissed it with empty approval as they couldn’t care less.
Back at the bar, Eduardo was fuming. “How could you let them get closer?!”
Mark scoffed, “Your plan was flawed! Admit it.”
Eduardo was even more offended. “Me? Flawed? I’m numero uno! I’m never flawed!”
“And when have your plans ever worked?”
Eduardo stopped to think about it. None of his plans ever worked. However, he was still furious. “I just wanted—“
“I thought your plans were smart!” Todd chimed in. Eduardo then punched him in the eye in blind rage. “Ow! That wasn’t nice!”
Eduardo growled, “Shut up, Todd…”
The Neighbors found out that no matter what they did to break up the group, they would return stronger than ever.