A Different Kind of Monster- Eddsworld AU

Chapter 6

-Tord-

Doors are sort of awful to stare at for long periods. Sure, at first it was nice to trace the elaborate designs with your mind, but after a while, the patterns repeat themselves. Tord had been staring at this door for nearly ten minutes by the time he realized he'd have to go in eventually.

Tord tried very hard to swallow. The entire drive (well, three-fourths drive and one fourth flying in a two-man plane) was spent fidgeting in the passenger seat about this. He hadn't seen Edd in nearly nine months, all of which he hadn't thought much about him. In a way, Tord felt guilty for only now feeling terrible for leaving his friend with no clue or sign if he was dead or where he was going.

He'd almost knocked three times before making the last-minute decision to not do that because then he'd have to deal with a probably screaming friend for all the wrong reasons. Tord stands there for another minute contemplating what to say to him or how to at least not get punched when the door swings open and hits him right in the face.

While holding his nose, Tord looks up to a rather tall ginger with a strangely square chin in a purple sweatshirt. For a second there is a smile drawn across his face that quickly vanishes when he realizes he just hit someone in the face with a wooden door.

"I just hit you in the face with a door!" Tall Dumb Ginger exclaims as if he needed to clarify. He scrambles to take Tord's head in his hands to study it. "I hope I didn't break your nose..." The man drags him inside still holding his head, passing Edd's cat Ringo sleeping peacefully on the floor.

It's nice to see the living room hasn't changed. There's a bright red sofa in the middle of the room behind a heavily stained coffee table. The TV in the front of the room is set on a new mantle, though that's because Tord had kicked the last one a few times throughout his stay here. And the kitchen is still the kitchen; makeshift and mostly empty. For a moment Tord is nearly nostalgic when it dawns on him Edd is not here and he is being led across the room by his face by a complete stranger.

Tord takes his head out of Tall Dumb Ginger's hands and attempts to make a run for the door. Either ignoring his obvious discomfort or not noticing it altogether, the man takes Tord's shoulders and sits him down on the sofa.

"Sorry about that," he says with a grin, "I usually don't hit people with doors. Now that I think about it, I don't have random people standing outside my door either..." Seeming to be genuinely puzzled by this, Tall Dumb Ginger stands next to the couch trying to figure out what just happened.

Tord sits uncomfortably on the old couch while being reminded of all the times he used to sit on this couch with Edd. A frown makes its way onto his face before he takes a deep breath and turns back to Tall Dumb Ginger. "Does Edd Gold still live here?"

Tall Dumb Ginger thinks about it for a moment, then nods. "Yeah, he's my flatmate."

Tord blinks. "Is he here right now?"

"Nope," Tall Dumb Ginger shakes his head.

Clearly, this is going to take a little while. "Where is he then?" asks Tord, losing his patience.

"I think... he's at... work." The sentence comes out painfully slow, followed by a flicker of realization on his face. Tall Dumb Ginger shoots across the room like a bullet. "Shoot! I have to work too!" Somehow, in nearly five seconds Tall Dumb Ginger is at the door wearing a large green overcoat. "Don't leave- Edd'll be here soon." And with that, Tall Dumb Ginger is gone and Tord is left in an almost-stranger's house.

He would say this isn't how he expected his day to have gone, but this was one of the better ways this day could have played out. Definitely unexpected, but not unideal.