The Birthday Cake from Hell
Crossover: FMA+YGO by: Waterfall Tears
Pairing: Ed+Ryou
The clock ticked by slowly. The teacher's voice droned on and on and on… it was like the guy was running on energizer batteries. Tick, tick, tick. The minutes felt like hours, and the hours felt like eternity. Tick, tick, tick. The clock kept ticking. Buzz, buzz, buzz.
A pesky fly was buzzing around a blonde student's head. Tick, tick. Buzz, buzz. Rumble, rumble, rumble went the blonde's stomach. He clutched it, moaning in hunger. 'Oh! I've got to get something to eat!' The boy shifted in his seat. He just couldn't get comfortable in these metal death traps they called "desks". He sighed. He constantly had to pull his hair behind his ears. They had taken away his hair band because he'd flung it at the teacher's head, and he couldn't keep his hair in its usual braid. He blew his bangs straight up, only to have them flop back down over his eyes. His hair had grown longer, more in the front than in back.
He surveyed the room, looking for something, anything to concentrate on other than History class. He caught a few stares from girls in his homeroom: Sasha, Ichigo, and Talia. Sasha was a child prodigy, with the highest grades in his school. She'd never failed any class from sixth to ninth grade. She was little Ms. Perfect. She had cerulean eyes, short brown hair, and an athletic build. She was taller than him by an inch and she wouldn't let him forget it! Ichigo was a cheerleader, too girlish and perky for him. She always wore a short dark blue miniskirt with a blue collared shirt and loafers. Her hair was platinum blond and hung to her waist. Her eyes were a smoky blue and lips as read as strawberries.
Then there was Talia. She was gorgeous. She had a slim body, long legs, and silvery blue eyes. Her midnight blue hair was always in two braids, tied back by two white silk ribbons, and she had a smile that could melt ice. She was a bookworm, always having her nose in a book, or is caught writing stories that she only shared with her best friend. She always wore black, and even though she seemed pretty happy, he suspected she was Emo. But there was one tiny little problem: lately, he doubted whether he was straight or not. He had Colonel Mustang to thank for that; with all his suggestive smiles and comments, making the blonde blush. He certainly felt twinges of jealousy every time he asked Liza Hawkeye out on a date. It wasn't like he liked him or something; in fact, he despised the guy. But it just made him feel even more confused and gave him more to think about. Now that he'd spent a year away from Al, Winry and the others, he sort of missed them; especially Al and Winry. 'Ah… Winry.' He knew Al. His younger brother would have no problem with him being gay. He'd still respect and accept him. But Winry… she might not take it so well. She thought he didn't notice her sorrow every time he and Al went away. In truth, at first he'd been totally oblivious to why she got so angry every time they left, besides the fact that her and the old lady got lonely. But now he knew the true reason behind her anger. He sighed heavily. He was bored out of his mind, and his teacher prattling on about Shakespeare wasn't helping him any. He finally couldn't take it anymore and yawned loudly, nearly falling off his seat. Sasha and Ichigo giggled. Talia just stared, with those same soulless eyes he'd seen for the past year. It almost seemed like there was no life in them, although her smile depicted no sadness. And she rarely ever spoke. And when she did, he voice was hollow, and somehow seemed elegant and mesmerizing at the same time.
"Mr. Elric! If you find my class so boring you must yawn, perhaps you would like after school lessons," the teacher, Mr. Hawkins said, with a warning glare sent directly towards Edward Elric. Ed's eye twitched. "That's ok, Mr. Hawkins." He put on a false smile. Mr. Hawkins glared stonily and turned back to the board. Every few minutes, Ed's patience was slowly slipping away. Tick, tick, tick. 'Why is that damn clock so loud?' he wondered in annoyance, gripping the edges of the desk. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. 'Must she tap her pencil so loudly?' He sent a glare towards Sasha, who did likewise. She only tapped louder. He turned around and glanced back: Tommy was scribbling notes to other kids in class, Sasha was kicking the back of his seat, Ichigo was reapplying her lip gloss with her compact mirror, Rei was throwing paper balls at random, and Talia was just staring down at her notebook with those dead, sad-looking silver blue eyes of hers, silently taking notes. He didn't like her, wasn't even attracted to her, but there was something about her that pulled on his heart strings. Like she had some tragic past and some deep dark secret well hidden beneath her mask of happiness. Her smile seemed to be the only lively part of her. She walked as if still asleep; slow but graceful movements, as if she were reluctant to move at all. She moved as if she were dead. When she talked to someone, her eyes did not see the person, but looked right through them, as if they weren't really there.
He sighed and yawned again, earning an "ahem!" from the teacher. Ed stuck his tongue out at the back of Mr. Hawkins head. Mr. Hawkins spun around, eyes sparking with anger. Maybe he shouldn't have blown a raspberry. His eyes dared Ed to say one more thing. Ed gulped. He may have been a boring, bald-headed History teacher, but you did not want him to get pissed off at you. He turned back to the board again. The minutes continued to tick by very slowly. For Kame's sake, was the frickin' clock trying to piss him off? He looked up towards the big clock that hung over the door. Its presence was annoying him. Tick, tick, tick. The sound reverberated through his head. Tick, tock, tick, tock. The agony was unbearable. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tick, tick, tock. 'Aargh! Well, tick-tock to you too, Mr. Clock!' he thought, by this point about to crack form the pressure. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, went Sasha's pencil. Buzz, buzz, buzz. 'That frickin' fly again!' Thump, thump, thump. Along with her foot making contact with his now sore bottom, Sasha continued to tap her pencil, loudly, and kick his chair. He was going to lose it soon! Tick-tock, tap-tap, thump, thump, smack, smack, smack. The sound of Ichigo's lips while she reapplied her lip gloss over and over. He was nearing his breaking point and could do nothing to stop it. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Was it his imagination, or did the clock just smirk at him? He leered up at the clock, looming just above the doorway. It mocked him, as it ticked away, the sound getting louder and louder, as if the clock had a volume dial and it was turning it by its self. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tap-tap, tap-tap, thump-thump, smack-smack, scribble-scribble, scribble-scribble.
New sounds, irritating ones, added to his growing frustration. Tick-tock, tap-tap, thump-thump, smack-smack, scribble-scribble, whoosh-pop, whoosh-pop. Ed whipped around, glaring at Ichigo. She was no longer applying her strawberry lip gloss to her overly glossed lips, but now she was blowing bubbles with bubble gum and smacking her lips. Ed turned around. He groaned inwardly, 'Why me?' Tick-tock, tap-tap, tap-tap, thump-thump, thump-thump, buzz, buzz, buzz, 'That frickin' fly is still here!' Smack, smack, smack, whoosh-pop, whoosh-pop, whoosh-pop! His patience had long since abandoned him, and all that was keeping him from screaming was sheer will power, and even that was about to fail him. He had about 10 seconds left of sanity before he completely cracked. 10… tap, tap, smack-smack. 9… smack, smack, whoosh-pop. 8… tap-tap, tick-tock, thump-thump, buzz, buzz, buzz. 7… his sanity was gone. 6… thump-thump, smack-smack, tap, tap, tap. 5… 'I'm going to kill that frickin' fly' 4… only escape is the door. 3… tap, tap, tick-tock, smack-smack, whoosh-pop. 2… 'Will you all just stop!' 1… tap, tap, smack-smack, thump, thump, tick-tock, whoosh-pop… that's it, patience done! He finally lost it! "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" He screeched at the top of his lungs. "You people are driving me nuts! And that damn clock is taunting me!" He yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the clock. Talia stared blankly at Ed. She knew he'd been crazy before, but yelling at inanimate objects was kind of over the top. For once, she smiled a real smile and giggled. Ed didn't even notice, the giggle was so quiet. Without saying a word, Ed snatched his bag off the floor, shrugged it on his shoulders, and stormed out of the classroom, then the school. No one dared stop him, not even the principal. He was the only alchemist and he could seriously injure someone.
Ed continued running, over hills, through gardens, parks, street, just kept going. He had no idea where he was going, or even how he'd get there, but he knew he couldn't stay here. He refused to. He didn't even have any remorse over how angry Colonel Mustang would be when he found out Ed had run away, after the money he'd spent to send him to the school in the first place. All he cared about was getting as far away from this place as possible. After walking about aimlessly for what seemed like hours, the blonde alchemist finally found what he'd been looking for: a train station! Right then, he found his way out of this place. He'd just take a train to America. It seemed like the best choice. He'd heard of Domino City and something called Duel Monsters, and it sounded like fun. He'd worry about Al, Winry and Mustang later. He happily jumped on the train, tears of joy streaming out from hi eyes. As soon as his head hit the pillow on the seat, his eyes closed and he instantly fell asleep. Two seats behind him, silver blue eyes watched silently.