Peach Creek has changed so much after five years, yet everything remained the same as before. A confusing and contradictory statement, but there was so much truth in this.

No one's moved away from the cul-de-sac, no new-comers have moved into the cul-de-sac. The parents are always away at work, or if they stay home, they hardly ever come out. The neighborhood is still teeming with kids—or more appropriately, teenagers. The forest, the junkyard, the trailer park: nothing has changed about any of them.

However, some of the most drastic changes have occurred in those unchanged areas.

Johnny ditched Plank suddenly one day, throwing him in one of the many piles of garbage in the junkyard. Plank is still viewable when one passes through, though his crayon-drawn face has been smeared by the elements and his wooden body is swollen with water damage. No one knew why he stopped talking to the piece of wood, but then again, no one really questioned it. It was just one of those things you couldn't really ask about.

Jimmy's voice changed, and it is deeper than the annoying girlish voice he had when he was younger. He finally had his braces removed when he turned thirteen. Sarah threw him a big party, the snack table filled with caramel treats, taffy, crunchy tortilla chips and everything else he had craved but couldn't eat with that god-awful metal in his mouth.

Then a month later Sarah found out that she would need braces. When her parents told her the news, everyone in the cul-de-sac heard her wails. Unfortunately, she'd need just as much headgear as Jimmy had had. She sat on the curb in front of her house crying from the embarrassment that the offending metal surrounding her head caused. Nazz and Jimmy comforted her while Kevin and Eddy teased. Ed, being the protective big brother, yelled furiously at them and actually intimidated the two boys. Thankfully at fifteen, she got them off and she and Jimmy walk around school smiling with their perfect teeth.

Kevin, the star quarterback, had finally worked up the nerve to ask Nazz to be his girlfriend when he was fifteen. There was a dance at the end of their freshman year in high school. He remembered the disastrous middle school dance and regretted not taking the chance to ask her. Now in high school he faced more competition from other boys over Nazz so he decided that it was now or never. He asked her to dance, then went for a walk with her in the cool night air. It was there that he asked her to go out with him. Now, at seventeen, they are still together. A perfectly matched football-player and cheerleader.

Rolf's English has improved greatly since he was a child, although he still uses phrases from his homeland that don't translate well and provoke odd looks from others when he uses them. In sophomore year, an exchange student moved to the other side of town to live with an American family. Rolf spotted her sitting alone at a table, and went over to her. It turned out that she was from a neighboring country of his homeland, and they immediately hit it off. Sadly, their teenage romance was short-lived as she had to leave after sophomore year. They still keep in touch and she comes over every summer to visit him.

While Sarah had to have her teeth corrected, Ed had to correct his vision. He began wearing glasses at sixteen, no doubt from sitting too close to the television during monster movie marathons and reading comic books in dim lighting. He had also developed better hygiene, much to everyone's relief. He began caring about his appearance once he got over his phobia of 'girl germs' and became attracted to them instead.

Eddy had a growth spurt, to his enjoyment. Now he's even taller and more muscular than Kevin. The scams just weren't working for Eddy, and he quickly tired of them. They caused way too much trouble and they hardly ever benefitted him. He worked in a popular clothing store located at the mall, which turned out to be a more promising way to make money than conning everyone.

Edd finally got rid of his black and white beanie and replaced it with a dark gray one. Ironically, there really wasn't any big secret about what was under his hat; it was just a normal mop of black hair. He grew it out long and it now reached the middle of his back. However it didn't make him look like a girl, because his features changed as well. His face lost its feminine softness and his jaw is now defined and square. Although his features aren't exactly chiseled, he isn't the little boy he used to be.

Lee Kanker surprised everyone when she showed up to school the first day of freshman year. Over the summer she had let her hair grow out and it now reached just past her shoulders. The bangs were clipped from her eyes, showing that she actually had a nice face; she just hadn't given anyone the opportunity to notice before. Her voice became more feminine and pleasant-sounding, so it didn't intimidate people like it used to.

May Kanker had also undergone a makeover that revealed just how nice she could look. With much begging of her mother, her buckteeth were fixed. Her speech became clearer as it was her teeth that caused her to have a lisp. Feeling confident now that her smile was in check, she wore makeup, styled her hair to add volume and bounce, and became the typical popular blonde girl. Not as popular as Nazz, but she's up there. The blonde also decided to try out for cheerleading, and is now on the squad with Nazz, Sarah, and Jimmy.

Marie Kanker has possibly changed the least of all. Her blue hair is still kept at a short length, and her makeup consists of the same blue eye shadow, although heavy black eyeliner surrounds her eyes. Her lip is now pierced and she wears a gray hoodie at all times except, of course, when it gets hot. These small differences went pretty much unnoticed by her peers.

However, there is one major change that occurred to the Kanker sisters during the summer between eighth and ninth grade: they matured. Much to the Eds' relief, they had stopped being attacked by the Kankers. Once in a while Lee would subtly flirt with Eddy or May would smile at Ed in the hall, but that was it. They could now feel comfortable around one another since there was no threat of being smothered in kisses. In fact, Marie and Edd had become friends once they started volunteering in the school library together.

Edd had seen Marie in the library during the middle of freshman year reading a book that he loved. He was apprehensive at first to talk to her, due to the past incidents that had occurred between them, but summoned his courage after realizing that it seemed she had no romantic interest in him anymore. He sat across from her and asked her what she thought of the book so far. From there, he learned that she was an avid reader and they discussed literature nearly every time they saw each other. It was in sophomore year that the school made it mandatory to do at least ten hours of community service per school year, and when Edd applied to volunteer at the library, he asked Marie to sign up with him.

Now everyday at lunch the two juniors eat together quickly and make their way to the library to operate the checkout counter, reshelf books, and run any errands the librarian needs help with. If the day was slow, Edd and Marie would pick out some books and sit together on a couch reading until the bell rang. Through this, they had become friends, although they never visited or talked outside of school. They read together but could hardly be seen as close. The library is their only meeting place, and literature is the only thing they ever talk of to one another. Still, it's a big step from how they originally acted around each other, and both were grateful to have a healthy relationship now instead of Marie forcing herself on Edd.

xxxx

Edd looked around the lunch room holding onto his tray, wondering where Marie was. Usually by now she'd be sitting in a corner table, waiting for him to join her. Giving up, he sat at their regular table and ate alone. Ed and Eddy didn't have the same lunch period as he did, so he was forced to spend his lunch in silence. Checking his watch, he quickly threw his trash away and headed for the library.

"Double D!" Marie came running down the hallway out of breath.

He stopped and turned around, smiling at her. As she caught up with him, she slumped against the wall, panting. "Sorry, I had a doctor's appointment," she explained while catching her breath.

"It's quite alright, Marie," he assured her. "Shall we go now?"

She nodded and they walked together to the library where the librarian greeted them and immediately began giving them things to do. Looks like there won't be any time for reading today, Marie thought as she was directed to a cart packed full with books to be put away. A long line of students stood in front of the checkout counter that Edd was assigned to. Marie sighed and began her volunteer work. They'd better give us a freaking medal or something; this is too much work for just an hour of lunch.

Finally the rush died down, and there were twenty more minutes of lunch to spare. Edd came over to Marie. "Need some help?"

"Yes please," she replied wearily. The tiny numbers on the spine of the book were hard for her to read, and she hadn't brought her contacts or glasses with her. He smiled softly at her and began picking up books from the cart to find their respective places. Marie's heart ached whenever she looked at him; she loved him. She was afraid to push him away by insinuating any kind of romantic attraction for him, it would ruin their friendship. And that's something she just couldn't afford to lose.

Nazz suddenly opened the door into the library with Kevin in tow. She whispered something to him, and he threw himself on the couch that Marie and Edd usually sat together on. Marie narrowed her eyes at him when he put his dirty shoes up on the cushion, but didn't say anything.

Nazz didn't spend a long time looking; she knew right away which section to go to so she could find whichever book she was searching for. Edd looked up and saw that she was standing at the checkout counter waiting for someone to stamp her books. Quickly putting the book he was holding back onto the cart, he rushed up to the counter. "Hello, Nazz," he greeted and took her books from her to scan them.

"Hey, Double D," she replied cheerfully. "It's so good of you to help out the librarian, dude. It seems like she really needs all the help she can get," Nazz praised him, subtly commenting on the old age of the librarian.

Marie saw Kevin suddenly bolt up from his laying position upon hearing Nazz's voice. He looked over the couch to see her talking to Double D, whom she had a small crush on for his intelligence. Everyone knew about this crush and how it definitely was not serious. Except for Kevin. Overly protective of Nazz, he hated for any guy to talk to her. Every guy was a potential threat to their relationship in his eyes. He grunted and made his way over to the checkout counter. "Are you almost done, babe?" He asked Nazz, glaring at Edd.

"Yeah, Double D's just stamping my books for me," she smiled lovingly at her boyfriend, completely oblivious of his jealousy.

"That'd better be all he's doing," Kevin gave Edd another dangerous look, causing the latter to gulp. He quickly pushed the books toward Nazz and uttered a quiet "Here you go."

The cheerleader-football player duo exited the library, and Edd returned to Marie who pretended not to have seen anything, sparing him the embarrassment. They finally finished putting away the large amount of books that had been stacked on the cart and high-five each other. "Thanks so much," Marie said gratefully. "It's too bad we didn't have enough time to read today."

"Well, it's a Monday. Certainly it won't be as full tomorrow," Edd replied, hoping to be able to read with Marie soon. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that Marie probably had no feelings for him anymore, he couldn't help but like her. For a while, Nazz was the only girl he ever thought about, but then Marie came along and showed her true colors. She was smart, polite, and nice; nothing he would have ever expected from the girl that used to smother him in kisses. She just had some growing up to do back then, and now she was the girl of his dreams. He enjoyed her company greatly and saw her as a unique, intelligent individual whom he could really get to know better…

The bell snapped Edd out of his thoughts and he handed Marie her backpack. "Thanks again, I'll see you tomorrow!" Marie called and she walked the opposite direction of Edd where her class was located.

"Yeah…goodbye," Edd replied disappointedly, missing her already.

So how was that?

It's a start, it'll get more complicated from here. This is just sort of a prologue kind of thing. There will be...drama! D:

Please review and tell me what you think! :D