"Today stunk," I mutter under my breath as I kick at a piece of snowy sludge on the sidewalk. "Life sucks."
"Ha!" Ed says triumphantly from my side. "Come to the dark side!" I scowl at him and jam my hands in my pocket before realizing that I don't want the pockets to bulge and quickly pull them out again. At least I have gloves to keep my hands warm.
"Stop it, Brother," Al scolds from my left side. "Can't you see she's had a rotten day? what she needs is comfort, not stupid remarks like that." Al then turns to me and pats my shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay. Hey, at least you only have one more day of school until winter break, right?"
"Yeah, I guess," I mutter under my breath, but still feel a warm blossom in my chest at the fact that Al actually cares for me. I heft my backpack so it rests more evenly on my shoulders and continue on my walk home.
"Why do you wear that, anyway?" Ed asks as he looks over my outfit. "Are you trying to look like me or something?"
"No," I sniff, my nose getting runny from the cold winter air.
"Sure looks like it to me," Ed continues. "A long red coat with a hood? And that's really red, too. I mean, come on."
"It's not like your outfit," I protest. "Your coat is a lot longer than mine. And you have white gloves. Mine are red. And I hat a red scarf and hat. I don't think I can ever remember you wearing a hat or a scarf."
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't happen," Ed counters quickly. "If it was cold then I'd wear a scarf."
"And what about a hat?" I ask with a slight laugh. "Or are you too afraid that you'll mess up your precious hair?" Ed blushes slightly at the comment and crosses his arms angrily across his chest. But I know that he knows I'm right.
"Why are you walking home anyway?" Al asks as I hurry across an intersection. "It's the middle of December. Aren't you cold?"
"No," I answer quickly. "My coat is warm enough. And I told you before; I don't want to take the bus home because I don't want to talk to people. I feel anti-social today."
"So we don't count as people?" Ed asks as I walk carefully across a large patch of ice. I nod with a smile, making Ed scowl again for a second before he laughs slightly. Al laughs with him, and for the first time that day, I begin to feel my spirits pick up a little.
"But what about your friends?" Al asks after he and Ed stop laughing. "Won't they want to see you?" I shrug as I grab a tree for support, my feet sliding on the inch of ice beneath me.
"I'll see them tomorrow," I say disinterestedly as I continue making my way down the sidewalk. "It's not like the world will end because I'm not there. And besides," I pause and look down at my watch. "I'm making record time. I've never gotten this far in twenty minutes."
"Whoopee," Ed says weakly. "If you had taken the bus, then we would have all been home by now."
"Well, you could have taken the bus if you wanted," I say with a grin as the ice finally stops and gives way to clean sidewalk. "I certainly wouldn't have stopped you."
"You know perfectly well we couldn't have done that," Al says firmly from my side. "We're not about to leave you on your own."
"Yahoo," I say sarcastically. Noticing that Al looks slightly hurt at the comment, I quickly add, "I'm just kidding Al! I love FMA too much to be upset at you guys!"
"But we do annoy you sometimes," Ed says simply, knowing that it's true.
"Well, you could have shut up during that math test last hour," I snap back, remembering the incident all too well. "I didn't need your help."
"Sure you did!" Ed replies quickly. "First you didn't remember any of the formulas and then you were doing that math induction problem completely wrong! If you had just-"
"I know!" I snap back. "I know! I was an idiot by not studying! A stupid, cocky, idiot just like Mustang, okay?" Ed pauses for a minute before he breaks out laughing. I can feel Al relax on my left side, glad that Ed and I have stopped fighting. I reach my driveway and the three of us begin walking down it in silence, just glad to have one another's presence.
"What happened to you?" My little brother asks, popping out of the front door as soon as I reach for the handle. I sigh and hoist my backpack again.
"I walked home," I grumble under my breath.
"Why?" my little brother persists. He usually doesn't walk home unless he's forced to since it's such a long walk. Of course, his walk from the elementary school is a bit longer than my walk home from the high school.
"I wanted to talk to some friends, okay?" I sigh exasperatedly. "Jeez. Just leave me alone."
"Which friends?" he persists. Man, is he annoying.
"Just some friends, okay?" I mutter before glancing quickly at my sides. My little brother can't see it, but Ed and Al are both laughing like hyenas.
One question: should I make this into a whole story or leave it at a oneshot like I originally intended?