Edward Elric threw a stone in the water, teeth clenched. He watched the ripples spread across the surface, distorting reflections of the park. With his knees hugged to his chest, the teenager could've easily been mistaken as a young boy.
Like he cared right now. He was pissed. His head pounded, he couldn't breath through his nose, and to top it all off, he had absolutely no focus on anything.
Except the fight.
He couldn't shake it from his mind, much to his dismay. He didn't even remember what the fight was about, only that Al was pissed at him, and he had stormed off for once. And now, the last thing he wanted was to go back and have to apologize. So he had decided not to.
Sighing, Ed held his automail to his forehead. The coolness felt good; Even though his coat was laying on the grass next to him, and the night breeze was coming in, he was steaming hot. It annoyed him more than anything that he couldn't cool down, and he considered dunking his head into the pond a number of times.
Thunder rumbled off in the distance. Ed frowned and rubbed his temples briefly before standing up. After picking up his coat, he began to walk back to the hotel, then froze. No... It would be murder to go back (Especially since he was fully aware that it wouldn't take much effort for his brother to actually murder him). That, and hotels were always hot and stuffy.
He could always sleep on a bench for the night... It wasn't that bad, to be honest. But, he'd have to find a place soon, or he would end up wandering around in the dark. Which wouldn't have been hard, if it weren't for the throbbing in his head growing worse by the minute.
A rain drop landed on his head. He laughed dryly. Could his luck get any worse? Ed trudged over to a bench and sat down, wrapping his coat around him. It had suddenly gotten cold. Must've been the storm coming in.
His vision swarmed, causing him to shake his head. Cringing at the sudden pain, Ed forced his eyes closed until the feeling passed.
Caught in a storm and sick. Great. Another raindrop fell, and another. He stood and lurched forward, landing with his nose inches from the ground. How could he be so off balance? Cursing, he pushed himself to his feet.
He had to find shelter before the storm got worse.
Still light headed, Ed searched for shelter. It soon became apparant this wasn't going to be a light shower; The rain was picking up, and he figured he had five minutes before it got bad.
He miscalculated.
Before he had even left the park, his coat was soaked through, and his bangs clung to his cheeks. Shit, this was bad. Actually, this night was turning into a disaster. Extremely quickly.
Lighting lit up the sky, thunder rolling behind. Grimly, he realized just how dangerous it was for him to be out here.
Alone.
In a thunderstorm.
He was a sick, walking electricity magnet. And only getting sicker.
Ed bit his lip and looked around. The rain continued to pour, further soaking him. This wasn't good. It ran down his forehead and off his nose. He was having trouble seeing infront of him (Though that could have been from his hazy vision) and what he could see ahead was only worse.
Shit.
Ed took off at a blind run, thinking that maybe, if he ran enough, he could pass the storm. He slipped on the wet stone and fell face first to the ground. Shit, that hurt. A lot. Standing shakily, he was only dimly aware of the blood on his forehead. All he could tell was that his head hurt even worse, it was getting hard and harder to see, and he felt like collapsing where he was.
But he forced himself to trek on. He didn't want to stay in the rain, and he was convinced he could find somewhere that was still open. What he didn't notice was that he had wandered into a part of Central that he was unfamiliar with—He was lost.
Thunder boomed again. He cackled. "You think you're gonna beat me?! You think a little storm can take me down? Ha!" At this, he broke off laughing, the eerie, detached laughs of a maniac. Or, in this case, a sick teenager.
His boots sprayed water with each step, and twice more he had slipped, but managed to catch himself. The second time, his hand gave under the weight and he felt something overstretch painfully. So much for writing that letter to Winry—He doubted he would still be able to use his automail for writing after so many years.
Somehow, even in the pounding rain, he kept going. At least, until the entire world began to spin around him. He swayed momentarily before collapsing against a building, a weak laugh escaping his lips. Eyelids drooping closed, Ed didn't make an effort to look up when he heard a familiar voice calling him.
"Fullmetal? Fullmetal, are you okay?"
I'm a sucker for cutting things off at times like this. To sort of, explain some things, this is partially inspired by something that happened to me recently. I ended up walking home from school in the rain, with tornado sirens going off. Granted, I didn't get sick because it's not a long walk, but I did wonder what would happen if I were sick. I really... had to get this chapter done. It was bothering me for so long, and I have a research paper draft due on Monday, and only just wrote part of the intro today. So, I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter up... I also apologize for any glaring mistakes, it's late at night, and I have a headache from reading at my desk. P Reviews are welcome, hope you enjoyed it so far!