ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴍʏ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ | ᴀɴ ᴇᴅᴅsᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ғᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ (ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇᴅ!)

【25】

Edd sighed and tapped his foot repeatedly. He hummed as he thought about what they were going to do with Tom. Clearly, he was brainwashed. Stripped of his memories and everything that made him, him. Taking that into mind, Edd tried to think of a way he could change Tom back. Or at least have it so that he wasn't too hellbent on that “Red Leader” crap. He could tell that softly talking to him was most likely the way because of how he got through to him. He could tell Tom was staring to believe him. Speaking of which, he was being awfully quiet. Edd walked back over to what he called the living room to see that Tom was gone. He blinked. "Matt!" he exclaimed, "Tom's gone!" "I'm right here." Edd jumped and turned around to see Tom standing right behind him. "Sorry." Tom apologized. Edd paused. Where did this attitude come from? He was much softer and kinder than before. "It's okay..?" Edd replied, though it came out more like a question. "I was hungry and Matt let me out. Is it okay if I get something?" Tom asked. Edd nodded slowly. Tom turned and walked to the small kitchen. Edd placed a hand on his heart. Something seemed off. After two small talks and some memories, how was Tom already different? How was he already convinced? That's what scared Edd the most. Luckily for him, he hid Tom's gun and tried to destroy his walkie-talkie.

"Call off the search. He is not coming back." Tord ordered. Patryk nodded and pressed a button on his walkie-talkie. "Rød Leder beordrer at søket skal stoppe. Gå tilbake til basen umiddelbart." he spoke. Tord sighed as he looked through some files. "Patryk." he called. "Yes sir Red Leader sir." Patryk answered.
"Head down to the medbay and get some more pills for me."
"Yes sir Red Leader sir."
Tord held up his pill bottle. "Take this with you." he added. Patryk walked over and took the pill bottle from him. He saluted and left the room. Tord sighed in dissapointment. He could tell Patryk was nervous. He didn't like that. He missed Tom. Just like the day he left. Just like the day he was kicked out. The day he lied. Tord held his head. "Dammit Tord.." he muttered, "Kjærlighet gjør deg svak.." he couldn't stop thinking about what Paul had told him the day before. Did Tom really mean that? If so, it made Tord regret his decision even more. He didn't even understand why Tom loved him. Tord took him for granted. He sighed again. He didn't know what he was going to do. Especially after he had just demoted Paul. Paul was supposed to be his right hand man. Even if he was left-handed. Maybe this whole thing was pointless. Maybe he did this for no reason. He never hated Edd. He never hated Matt. It all changed on that day. Back in 2016. When Tom shot him. Tord paused. He understood it now. He changed as soon as that harpoon landed in his robot. His robot. Tord sat up in his office chair. He was on to something. But did he really have to give up everything he worked on? Everything he's achieved? Tord knew he was better than that. They were getting to his head. Just like the last five or ten weeks. Tord exhaled deeply. He shrugged off his overcoat and stared at his apparel. Nothing special, just a red hoodie and black pants. He remembered those colour coded hoodies Edd got them for Christmas. Told them it was something to remember them by. Tord opened his desk drawer and pulled out another old photo. It was of him and Edd. He blinked back tears. Edd was always the happiest one. He always told people to smile. Tord let out a small breath. Remembering whst he did to Edd in the cell made him feel..bad. He didn't care about anyone else. He didn't even know them. But Edd, he knew Edd. He should've felt bad. Why didn't he feel bad? Tord shook the thought out of his head and stuffed the picture back in his drawer. He wiped his eyes on his hoodie sleeve and thought to himself some more. Maybe Edd was right. He did need friends. What about his army? What about his base? Tord groaned and rubbed his temple. He had them, but then he lost them. So what was he to do now?

Edd hummed as he studied all of Tom's actions carefully. He analyzed the way that he walked, the way that he talked, the looks he gave people and things, and his overall mood. Tom was, surprisingly normal. Edd guessed he was a pretty good talker. Speaking of, he started to wonder where Matt was. Edd left Tom in the living room and walked into Matt's little room. He was in there, but he wasn't his usual self. He sat on his bed. In the corner closest to the wall. He sat balled up with his knees to his chest. He turned to Edd as soon as he walked in. He stayed silent and didn't say anything. Everyone was just off. Edd sighed quietly and walked over to Matt. He placed his hand on his shoulder and Matt jumped. He quickly turned to Edd. "Matt?" Edd called. Matt nodded. "Yeah?" he answered.
"You okay? You seem..troubled."
"..Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."
"That was a lie."
Matt huffed. He balled up even closer. "They're talking." he said, pointing to his head, "I'm listening to what they're saying." Edd blinked. "What did they do to you in there?" he asked. "Huh?" Matt replied.
"What did they do to you? Back in the lab."
"O-Oh.. Some things I don't remember. But things...things like that, you can't just forget. Believe me, I've tried."
Edd let out a small breath. Matt chuckled. "They called me insane. They said I was...unstable." he mumbled, sniffling. Edd felt his heart break as a tear rolled down Matt's cheek. He sighed. He cupped Matt's face and turned his head so that they faced each other. "Matt.." he started, trailing off. Matt shook his head. "I don't think I'm insane.." he cried, "I mean, I have voices in my head. They get louder. And louder, and louder." Edd sighed. "I don't think you're insane either." he replied. Matt grabbed Edd's wrists and put them back down at his sides. "You should go." he said, "I..I wanna be alone now. Please." Edd nodded and stood up. He walked to the door and glanced at Matt one more time before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Tom looked around the old garage in awe. Did he really used to live like that? He was impressed with the structure. Tom snapped out of his thoughts when Edd walked in with a heavy sigh. He looked dissapointed. Tom hesitated, wondering whether he should interfere or not. "What happened?" he asked, giving in to his curiosity. Edd sighed sadly. "It's Matt." he answered, "I'm worried about him." Tom studied Edd's facial expression and structure. He hummed. "Can I tell you something?" he asked. Edd nodded. "I know that look." Tom spoke, "I..I remember it." Edd blinked. What look? What was he talking about? "You're conflicted..yet, you're in love." Tom finished. Edd blushed and looked away. "I'm not." he denied. Tom nodded. He walked over to Edd and looked straight at him.
"The other day, when you kissed me, I saw that look on your face."
"Sorry about that by the way."
"No, it's okay."
Edd huffed. He really was worried about Matt. Was it even necessary to be giving out love advice? Tom smiled softly. "You care about Matt. Deeply." he said, "Listen, I don't know what we had in the past, but from what I've learned, you should tell him..before it's too late." Edd let out a small breath. He then let out a long sigh and his voice wavered. He could feel that lump in his throat as he sniffled. He turned and looked away from Tom. "I shouldn't have said anything.." he mumbled under his breath, "Ojalá supiera qué decir.." "Take some time to think about it." Tom said quietly. Edd nodded. He looked back at Tom before heading back to his room.