Note - This is actually sort of a an auto-biography I guess? I love this fandom and I felt it therapeutic to write about what happens in my life. Might as well let other people know the story anonymously. It's a story of love, friendship, and lessons in your twenties. I hope you enjoy.

Marlboro Nights

Part I

There are times in your life when something alters your life completely, and about eighty percent the time you have no idea its even happening.

Living in a small town you usually have the same routine—get up, go to work, come home to your significant other, and go to bed. This is a constant routine if you are trying to avoid the past especially when most of them live within five miles of you. I had worked the same shit kind of jobs for years and had been stuck in my the same relationship since I was sixteen. I was just about to turn the ripe age of twenty-two.

Relationships tend to enter into that same fault of routine, and I was completely aware of this as I was brushing my teeth next to my fiancee. He droned on and on about something he was dealing with at work, a broken tractor or something of the like. He had also been working the same shit job for over a year now as a landscaper.

"I'm telling you, babe, I'm going to be fixing that damn tractor all day."

I made an agreeing noise before spitting the minty fresh froth from my mouth. He sort of grunted as he mimicked the same action, and then tossed his brush into the cup. It flipped over the cup and spilled everything all around with a bunch of clatter. However he just went on backwards to our bedroom to get dressed. I sighed heavily, and began cleaning up after his mess—like I always did.

Pitt Foster was a guy that I had met in passing when I was sixteen, it was one of the quick moments that changes your life. He had just graduated high school, and was working in the city as a construction worker, but he wasn't from here. He had happened to drop a pile of tools in front of me, well right into me as I was heading to a job interview. In order to fix his mistake he had taken me out to dinner, and then he moved in with my grandmother and I two months later.

First mistake.

He had been sweet and charming with his jet black hair and azure eyes, he was the first guy in a million years to treat me right. He was my perfect match, or so I thought up until this past year when I started feeling anxious. Most men were all talk, but once they locked you down they really showed their true colors. That fades with men though, and they finally let you see who they really are.

He was unemployed, crass, and a straight up jackass after we moved in together. I had lost countless friends, family, and jobs because of this man. I picked up two jobs after he got fired for dropping the tools the very night we met, and I worked my ass off for him. I almost didn't graduate High School because of this guy, but I had to keep telling myself it was because I loved him. But I had been doubting myself that for a bit now every time I looked into his cold eyes.

I persevered when I was young and after High School I had finally got to money and courage to leave my grandmother, and get our own place in the suburbs. I hated the city, I had lived in the country as a child and longed to retreat back to the quiet. Now we rented an apartment in the shady part of town, and it had drastically changed the view on our relationship. The schedules of our lives were so different, I worked as an emergency medical technician at night and he labored on people's lawns at dawn. I had an inkling that our lives would be a constant battle of me getting us out of the hole he dug, but for now—I loved him. And I didn't know why.

"Pitt, don't forget to get gas in your car."

"I know, babe."

"I'm heading to bed," Oh yeah, I was a third shifter so when he would go to work, I would relish in the moment of silence. I heard the door slam, and didn't even hear a goodbye. It kind of pinged my heart, but it passed like it usually does.

My phone started going crazy ringing in the other room, and I for one second thought maybe it was him calling to see his tiny, tiny mistake. However caller I.D. was a bitch as I realized it was a distant friend, Riza ringing me. I was quite surprised she was even calling me, I mean we hadn't spoken in a year almost.

"Hola," I chimed into the receiver as I plopped on my old couch. I swear I could hear it squeak in pain.

"Win! I know it's early, but I have something to ask you."

"Shoot, girl."

"So, I know you hate the city, but there is this huge party for a beer fest. I figured since you know, we haven't hung out in awhile you would be interested in going." I sighed, I already knew my answer.

"Don't tell me you're going to say no! I have the hotel room already paid for and I know you're off this weekend."

"Riza, I just got off a double shift at the hospital and I was thinking I could spend the whole weekend with Pitt." I groaned as I wiped a hand tiredly across my face.

"Bring him with you! It will be a blast. C'mon, I want you to meet some people." She chimed happily, I could hear her tiny dog yapping in the back.

"Well, who is all going?"

"Roy, you remember him from the store, my friends Garcia and Breda. Please, Win, I miss you! I need crazy, drunk Winry again! You work so hard sometimes, and I think you need to get out." Riza begged me, I could hear the sadness in her voice. We had been close at one point. We met when I was twenty and she was five years older than me. I knew all these people were significantly older than me especially Roy, he had to be in his late thirties. He was a good friend though, a complete sweetheart—not to mention head over heels for Riza.

"Riza, I don't know, I'd have to speak with Pitt."

"Will you still come if he doesn't want to go?"

"He's not a huge drinker and neither am I anymore-"

"Winry!"

I growled lowly under my breath, and I could already feel the regret bubbling within me. "Fine, I'll go, you loser."

"Awesome! We leave for the city at five!"

"Riza, I have to sleep still and Pitt has to get to work. We will drive separate, and meet y'all down there. What hotel so I know where to park?"

"The Central Abode, just have them call me down when you get there."

"Alrighty, see you later, Riza." I hung up the phone, and tossed it on the coffee table in front of me. For a spilt second I felt excitement, I hadn't gone out in almost three years. I was kind of ready to break my habit.

. . .

After arguing with Pitt for about an hour and finally getting him to compromise on this trip as long as I paid for it, we were on the road. He was driving, which was rare, but I was jamming out to my favorite tunes and enjoying the open road. I hadn't traveled in so long, and it was something I thrived on. I moved a lot with my grandmother after my parents died, and we were always on the road. I loved the smell of asphalt, the roar of an engine, and slim jim's—they were kind of a guilty pleasure.

"So, who is going to be there?"

I knew this question came from a deep stemming fear of meeting my friends and social events. Pitt was kind of a loner, thrived off being in a relationship and "being in charge". I had dated him for five years now, been engaged for a year still waiting to get married. I wasn't even sure if we were really engaged, he had suggested we get married then gave me a cheap ring from the supermarket. Not that I minded the cheap ring, I just thought it would be a little different when I was asked the most important question in a woman's life.

"Uh, just Riza and a gaggle of friends however free hotel room and booze. We might as well enjoy ourselves." I cheekily said as I touched his thigh. He returned the smile lazily, and turned back to the road. I could see the road signs that we were closer to Central City, and I couldn't be more excited now. I was actually going to be out on the weekend, with my man albeit his poor attitude.

After a much angering parking situation and fifty bucks out the window we had arrived at the hotel. A nice man had taken our bags upstairs, and I was currently on the corner with Pitt as he was smoking a cigarette. I watched the smoke slowly drip from his nostrils, and all I wanted was to snatch that cigarette out of his hand. I had been a smoker since I was twelve, but when I got this medical job last year it forced me to quit. I had begged Pitt to quit with me, but he only lasted a day before I found the pack stashed in the kitchen and smelled it on his beard. He stubbed the cigarette out and threw it into a the street. Suddenly I heard the rambunctious voices of Riza and a few others. They were strutting down the street, and once Riza saw me she broke into a sprint.

"Winry! You made it!" She squealed as she stopped right in front of me. She knew I wasn't a hugging person so she made up for it with a high five. She nodded towards my fiancee, and he returned the quiet hello. She knew he wasn't much of a talker, and honestly she fucking hated him from what I knew. I could see it in her eyes, but I chose to ignore it.

She introduced me to Garcia and Breda who I had never met before, but apparently they all had been friends since High School. Garcia was a quiet wisp of a girl, but she had a cute, innocent charm to her. She had a short blondish cut with these vibrant green eyes. I was slightly taller than her, and she actually made me feel like a knock out since I had a bit more curve to my shape. Breda was a big bear of a man with his fiery hair and a stupid smile plastered on his face. He and Pitt got along immediately, and had already starting making small conversation in the back. Roy was a bystander in the corner, and he smiled meekly at me then went back to hanging on Riza's every last word.

Riza and I had worked a chop shop together, I was a mechanic and she was the front desk girl. Roy was a man who came in frequently to complain about a knocking noise in his sedan that I could never find, but he always spent his time speaking with Riza. I knew he was smitten, but she just didn't see it. She never would probably.

"So I actually have one more friend coming, all the way from Creta. He should be here any minute," She announced to the whole group, and then glanced to me knowingly. "Winry, you'll love him he drives a very nice motorcycle."

I raised an eyebrow in question and heard Pitt clear his throat behind me, but it was drowned out by the roar of the chopper. It zoomed past us, and Riza waved excitedly with a large smile on her face. The driver pulled in to the parking lot that we had dumped Pitt's car for the weekend. After a bit more chit chat I noticed that someone was heading straight for our group.

"Edward! Over here!' Riza called out, and pulled a man into our circle. The first thing I noticed about Edward was appalling in my mind because I hadn't thought this way about another man in years, but he was gorgeous. He had a chiseled chin with a thin blonde beard that was well groomed, and had a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He had a few crooked teeth, but he seemed to keep them clean. He inhaled on his cigarette and set his bag down.

His eyes, hidden behind glasses, darted across the group, and I immediately sensed his unease. Riza whispered something in his ear, and he looked down at her with a small smile. I could see the glint in his eye, and a deep pain in my heart. I knew he would never get what he wanted from Riza, she was a different kind of woman, a harsh woman. In my years I had never seen her with a man or spoken with her about a guy. This may have been "the special one" though because she was making moon eyes right back at him.

"Hey, everyone again, I'm Edward. You must be Winry and Pitt, I've heard a lot about you guys." He grinned with a small chuckle. I was kind of brought out of my daze by Pitt grabbing my hand, and leading me upstairs with the rest of the group.

We had all gotten know each other that evening, and I actually was quite surprised with the quality of people here. I felt kind of intimidated by some of these people when I barely had any schooling, if I felt small then Pitt especially did.

Garcia was studying science and hoping to be a doctor some day, she was due to finally graduate with her masters this Winter and continue on for her doctorates. She had clearly had a small thing for Breda since they hung on each other all night and sipped from each other's drinks. Breda was comfortable and easy going with his college life. He worked as a bouncer in the only club in our suburbia back home and he loved it.

Riza sold technology at the local tech store, and she had done this for two years since we both left the chop shop. I could see it eating away at her, and I knew all she wanted to do was become a police officer in the canine department, she loved dogs and justice-it was perfect for her. However that was a dream shelved for another day when she would get over her anxiety issues and the force would accept her.

Edward, barely spoke about himself, but I knew he worked at the moment as a motorcycle mechanic. We bonded slightly over our love of cars and good whiskey, he had brought an aged bottle with him that I was slightly sipping on. I hadn't had a drink in about two years so I was trying very much not to down the drink since I was already fucking angry at Pitt.

He had excused himself the moment we started playing poker, and made his way to sleep on the blow up mattress we brought. He made no effort to speak to anyone except Breda and didn't even want to have some pizza with us. I tried to get him to come back out with us but he droned on and on about being tired from work. Mostly excuses because Friday was bar night with his buddies, but he couldn't spend the time with me.

I was comfortable and simmering down listening to everyone chit chat until I noticed Edward glancing at me. "So, Win, what do you do? These guys have been gabbing all night." He looked me directly in the eyes, and sort of gave me a half smile.

"Uh, I'm actually an EMT, you know, the guys who ride around in the ambulances? I used to be a mechanic like you, but I've done all kinds of odd jobs." I muttered uncomfortably. I really didn't like talking about my job because most people wanted me to immediately diagnose them or tell them gruesome stories.

Edward nodded as he sipped his whiskey, and then he announced he was going down for a smoke. I was surrounded by smokers I realized, I was the odd man out, well except Riza who only had one when she was drunk. Everyone disagreed to having one, but I just couldn't stand it anymore and neither could my sore lip from all the biting.

"I'll go down with you." I shrugged. I could see Riza glance at me in worry and she shook a finger at me. "One is fine, girl, as long as I don't have three in a day and it's out of my system by Sunday."

I followed Edward down the stairs, and out the main entrance buttoning my jacket in the mean time. I could feel Pitt's anger even while he slept, and I was out here with another guy. He was overly protective, and that's honestly why I had lost so many friends. I grew up around males and all of them had been great friends until Pitt came into my life. He had chased them with flaming torches and territorial issues, and I knew he would probably do the same to this group at some point.

Edward held out a cigarette towards me, and I grinned as I took it. I put the tiny cylinder between my lips, and realized, shit, I didn't have a lighter. However I heard the click of a Zippo, and suddenly my smoke was lit. Jesus, how I missed smoking.

"So, how long have you and Pitt been dating?" He questioned out of the blue as he leaned up against the brick wall.

"We've been dating for five years, engaged for a year, so six in total." I stated nonchalantly. He hummed in understanding, and took another sip of his drink.

"He seems like a simple man. He doesn't have a care in the world, it must be refreshing. Marriage though, so young-y'all must really be in love."

That was the thing, Pitt didn't care about anything. He was a husk of no emotion all the time. I looked over to Edward, and flicked my cigarette into the street. I just wanted to sleep now, his comment had set me in a bad mood. I turned to leave without a word, but I felt Edward grab my hand.

"Hey, kid, where you going? You basically wasted a whole cigarette. I slaved over rolling that smoke." He laughed softly.

"I'm sorry, Edward, I just got really tired." I lied. He picked up on it immediately.

"Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I was rude."

"Don't worry about it. It really doesn't concern anyone, just some thoughts I've been having." Why was I confiding in this stranger? Was it his warm eyes? Or finally someone actually asking me how I was feeling and giving me attention?

"Alright, kid, just if you need to talk let me know. I know we just met, but I'm pretty easy to talk to or so I've heard." He reassuringly told me as he patted my hand, and let me go on my way. I climbed the carpeted stairs slowly. I could hear the rambunctious people in our hotel room, and I knew I was going to have trouble sleeping. I always had trouble sleeping.

I walked into the room, and everyone was already very drunk. I set my basically full glass down, and snatched my bag off the floor.

"Win! Where are you going? Come drink some more!" Riza exclaimed at me. I just shook my head at her, and she understood as I entered the master bedroom. I could hear Pitt snoring obnoxiously from the floor, and I just shook my head in annoyance. After freshening up and getting into some suitable clothing for sleeping around friends I reluctantly climbed into bed with Pitt.

Sleep didn't come easy, but I was kind of comforted by the sound of my friends having a good time.

. . .

Saturday night was completely different from the prior night, we had spent the whole day drinking beer and tasting wine but now it was big leagues. I had gotten into a few spats with Pitt, one in front of everyone—it wasn't pretty. So I was ready to drink heavily tonight and get the fuck away from my obnoxious fiancee.

We had already started at the bar, after my friends had pulled me away from the couch and Pitt. I was sipping a Long Island ice tea and was laughing very hard at one of Breda's jokes. Edward brought us another round of drinks, and I thanked him quietly as he went over to Riza and slightly rubbed her shoulder daringly.

The night went longer and we got drunker. I was currently hanging off of one of Edward's arms and Riza on the other as we saddled up to the hotel. We had been singing some old classic rock song at the tops of our lungs with smoke pouring out of our noses. I knew I was fucked because I had my fourth cigarette in my mouth and a daze in my eyes. The daze was a very angry fiancee standing outside. I growled quietly, and strutted up to him. He looked wild, which was rare.

"Pitt, hey, we missed you at the bar, man." Edward was the first of all of us to open up their mouth. Pitt didn't even care to humor him, but grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest. He kissed my cheek, but then got close to my ear.

"What the fuck, Win? You can't be doing this, c'mon let's go to bed." He whispered, and then pulled back.

"Pitt, I want to have a day just to let loose. I'm going to stay up a bit longer with my friends."

He fumed for a second, and fiercely blew air out of his nose. "Fine, I'm going to bed though. We have a two hour drive tomorrow that I don't want to be tired for." He stated.

Everyone watched him walk away angry, everyone knew there was something wrong. I just wasn't ready to accept that maybe, this whole thing might be over soon. I sighed, and made my way back to the group.

"He seems pissed, girl. What's up?" Riza questioned. I just threw a hand up and ignored her comment as we decided to head upstairs as well. Poker cards littered the room and it stunk of alcohol. I snatched the bottle of whiskey off the counter, and poured myself a very big drink. Edward's eyes widen as I sucked down the alcohol as Breda and Garcia disappeared into the back bedroom. Fuck them, they can fuck with Pitt in the room, maybe they will teach him a trick or two.

"Hey, kid, maybe you should slow down."

"Can you stop calling me kid? I fucking hate being called a child." I ground out back at him as I took another swig. He sort of shrugged, and grabbed the bottle.

"If you can't beat them, join them. Hey, you got a marlboro on you? I could use another smoke." He licked his lips as he spoke, and I tossed a cigarette at him.

"Let's go smoke, old man."