A/N: Three cheers for my first year! Yeah, I know I'm a few days late, but I eventually got it up here.
Well here it is ^_^ Enjoy!
Note: this is an Amestris version of my life for the past five years.
She nervously gnawed on the key charm hanging from a chain on her neck as she waited for the train to arrive.
Come on little buddy, you can move faster than that. She sighed as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. After a few minutes, the train pulled into the East City station and she made a beeline for the back car. She knew that there wouldn't be anyone in the back, giving her a calm quiet to sleep in.
-(a little more than two hours later)-
Oh crap! Am I at the right stop!? the girl appropriately nick-named "Hopeless" thought as she shot up from the hard train bench. She frantically looked out the window. A wave of relief washed over her as she saw the sign that read "Resembull Train Station".
The brunette furrowed her eyebrows as she hopped off the train. An irritated scowl touched her thin, pink lips as she glared at the fingerprints on the lenses of her red framed glasses.
"Grr. Confound it," she swore to herself as she wiped away the smudges on her sweater. If it wasn't for her these stupid things wouldn't be so jacked up now.
After checking them in the light, she slid them back on her face.
The "her" she was thinking of was her blonde friend, Brooke, back in East City. While the two had only known each other for less than a year, she was closer to her than her cousin.
Upon remembering her relatives, she sighed. I wish I could've spent my spring break weekend with Alexis. I did last year, so it could've been fine...
Hopeless squirmed slightly as a gust of wind blew across her neck. Then she sighed. It was always weird to see her cousin. The two looked nothing alike. Winry had blonde hair, pretty sky blue eyes, and was significantly taller by several inches. Hopeless was short and sported a large bust that didn't suit her short stature at all. In addition to all this she had brown hair with natural blonde bits here and there. To complete her appearance, behind the red glasses were squinty blue-occasionally-green eyes that, despite their coloring, had been the cause of many "You look like you're from Xing" comments.
Hopeless stuffed her hands into the pockets of her dark blue hooded sweater while she walked down the dirt road, stray thoughts coming from every direction. I wonder if Granny's making stew for dinner, she thought as she kicked a rock. Sleeping for long's made me pretty hungry.
The automail shop her grandmother owned sat at the top of the hill at the far edge of town. Memories drifted through her already stray thoughts as she remembered what life was like when she lived here so many years ago.
She smiled as she pushed her glasses back up her nose. It's been about five years since the divorce and the move. Both my parents moved over to to East City, but in different areas. It's so weird being back. Hard to believe I used to live here. I wonder if the neighbors are still the same...
As she neared the hill, she could hear barks coming from above. Lips still up in a smile, she picked up her pace slightly until she was at the top of the hill.
"Hey there Den," she cooed as the black and white dog wagged his tail. She stopped to pet him, allowing teeth to show in her smile. As she scratched his neck, he collapsed on the ground in a way that let you know he wanted a belly rub.
"Were you guys expecting someone!?" Hopeless heard a familiar voice from inside the house say. Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she prepared herself for the door to open.
Wait for it... wait for it... Go!
The door opened wide, and the moment she caught sight of his blonde hair she ran at top speed towards her old friend.
"Edwaaaaard!" she cried out as she jumped for him. Hopeless wrapped her arms around his shoulders and the two crashed to the ground with her on top of him.
"S-Sarah?" Ed stammered, face tinted pink from her sudden embrace. "What are you doing here?"
Sarah grinned as she pulled back to face him easier. She wasn't going to get off of him yet. "I came to visit my family for spring break."
He blinked as he remembered the ridiculous brunette that was crushing him. "Oh yeah," he said. "You go to East City High now, right?"
She nodded, causing hair to bounce up and down. "Yup. Ya know, if you weren't with the military you could've gone with me," she said.
"You of all people know that I've got things I need to do," the blonde said, his gold eyes meeting with her now yellow-green ones. "I can't be bothered with school anymore." With a sigh, Ed rubbed the back of his head with his right hand to comfort the bump that was surely there from when his head met with the ground.
Without the gloves he usually wore, the dull gray metal stuck out like a sore thumb. Sarah stared at his automail before letting out a sigh. I'm never going to get used to seeing him like this. Winry explained everything, and I told Ed that I knew last year. A lot has changed since I last saw him. Other than his height of course. Not that I'm one to talk, though...
"Ed!" Sarah heard her cousin call from upstairs, followed by footsteps coming down. "What was that!? If you break your automail again, I swear...!"
"Hi Winry!" Sarah said in a cheerful tone.
The blonde mechanic blinked at the sight in front of her before raising an eyebrow. "You're here early," she commented. "And do I want to know what happened?"
The lone brunette just kept smiling. "Let's just say there was a bit of a... crash landing."
Winry sweat-dropped at the sight of her slightly-mental cousin straddling their childhood friend. "Good grief."
Ignoring her, Sarah looked around before getting off of Ed. "So where's Alphonse?" she asked him as he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"He went out to visit Mom's grave," Ed answered. He stood up and smoothed out his clothes.
Sarah looked up at him, eyes now blue, before turning away, not quite sure how to react to his saying this. Both her parents were alive and well, and with the divorce arrangements she was able see both of them almost equally. She couldn't imagine the pain her close friends and family went through. Ed and Al losing their mom, and Winry without either of her parents... Part of her hated feeling so useless, rather than the usual hopeless.
"Don't do that," Ed commanded, catching her off guard. Sarah cursed him for his noticing what was going through her head, even though they'd known each other for too long for him not recognize her various faces. She went stiff as he continued speaking. "Just be happy with what you've got right now and don't let the past get to you," he said. "Now get up."
She looked back up at him and saw the rare smile on his face that so few people ever had the chance to see. It made her breath catch in her chest to see him like this. Taking his words to heart, she nodded and wrapped her fingers around the cool automail hand he was holding out to her, all the while feeling pride in how she was one of the few he would be so close to.
Sarah gripped his hand tightly as she got back on her feet. "Thanks Ed," she said, allowing her lips to turn upwards ever so slightly.
He nodded at her, still smiling, before turning to argue with Winry. Her smile back on her face, Sarah felt a little less like Hopeless and a little more like Hopeful.
Don't dwell on the past. Go with what you've got right now and keep moving forward. Words to live by right there. She smirked to herself as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. If it weren't for Winry, it might be possible for me to get him in the future.
She snorted a laugh to herself. Hah! Who am I kidding? Hugging him like that is probably the closest we'll ever get.
Even as she thought this, there was still a twinge of jealousy in her heart towards the close relationship Ed and her cousin had.
A/N: This past year has to have been one of the best/worst years of my life. When I first got here I was a dorky 8th grader that got picked on by her classmates and my only friends were at different schools.
So this is going to be so mushy, but I need to say thanks to my friends. First to TSSA's 52 followers! There's too many of you for me to list, but thanks! You and your reviews are the reason why I'm still sane. Next, all of my awesome breakfast and lunch table friends. And as for Nick-sempai? Thanks for being the inspiration behind my scene with Ed. Attack-hugging you every day makes me so happy. Madi-neesan? I just wanna huggle you :3
Last but not least, Alexis. You're my other half, I love you like a sister, we've been friends for about three years now, and all of this has brought us closer. I look up to you for so much and I can honestly say that you're what started this all. I may have found Fullmetal, but you were the one that told me to watch Soul Eater. Without that my life would be so majorly sucky it'd be ridiculous. I can't imagine a life without the fangirl crushes, the excitement over average Japanese things, or without the knowledge you're always here for me (and vise versa... can't spell...). I warned you about the mush, now fucking suck it up ;3
To the other readers, sorry about the lengthy A/N...
Here's to you guys! Here's to anime! And here's to the Hopeless-ness of it all! This year certainly won't be my last, so I'll see ya 'round! Keep calm and stay soft!
Love, Hopeless (also called Sarah)