A/N: Heylo~ It's me again. I noticed my mistakes in the last chapter, and I thank everyone for your reviews! They're so helpful ^_^ Oh, and by the way; just so that everyone's aware, Edward is now sixteen, since he had that birthday in the anime. He's also TALLER. And MANLIER.
Sorry about all of a sudden starting a new story and then leaving it with but one chappie for so long! I understand if you hate me for it. I'M SORRY
Please don't kill me. Anyway, on with the story!
-Comet
Not What I Expected part 2~
Ed sighed. What kind of test was that? It was so easy Ed figured a toddler could do it. He got it done in what was apparently a record time of ten minutes, the headmaster surprised to the fullest at his speed. As he walked out of the office the headmaster told him that he could explore the school if he wanted, since classes were over and everyone was participating in their designated clubs or had gone home for the day. What he didn't seem to realize however was that Edward had no idea where he was going.
Going straight seemed like as good a decision as any, and he briskly walked in the chosen direction, soon finding himself at the bottom of a long staircase, a group of girls making themselves quite apparent behind him as they headed in the same direction. Edward stopped and stepped to the side in an effort to let them pass, the idea of following them instead of wandering around aimlessly safely in his head, but the girls stopped as soon as they laid eyes on him.
There were three of them; one with long chestnut brown hair with little bun-like things on either side of her head, another with black curly hair, and the last one with short brown hair above her shoulders. They seemed to be staring at him, and Edward briefly glanced behind him to see if they were seeing some strange being standing behind him, but there was none.
Deciding it was best to casually walk away from the group of entranced young women, Edward slowly turned away from the girls and made his way up the stairs, aware of the three pairs of eyes on his back as he left them.
Well that was nothing short of weird… Edward thought to himself inwardly. He turned right as he got to the top of the stairs and walked briskly away, stealing a glance at the trio of females he had left at the bottom of the stairs who hadn't moved at all. When they were out of sight however, Edward quickly dismissed them from his mind and focused on not getting lost in the maze of hallways before him. The weird girls he had just left behind were his only current source of NOT GETTING LOST, but he was on his own. At the next crossroad, Edward took another random turn, then another at the next one, finally figuring he'd get lost either way in the huge school anyway. After a few more confusing and already forgotten turn-making, Edward found himself at an abandoned music room.
Well, I guess this isn't so bad. I hope it has a window; I don't care how high I am, I'm jumpin' outa here if I have to.
He took hold of the handle of the elegant door, then turned it and pushed the rather heavy door inward, slipping in and closing it quietly behind him. As he turned around however, the sight before him was definitely not what he expected.
Tables were spread neatly across the room with two or three girls at each, some of them accompanied by a single or pair of boys. The smell of tea and cake came to Ed's nostrils immediately, and at the sound of him closing the door everyone's eyes were on him.
Edward smiled sheepishly. "Uh sorry, wrong room," he called over his shoulder as he quickly turned around to head back out the door he came from.
"Not so fast." Edward froze at the sudden intimidating phrase, his polite demeanor almost crumbling, but he chose to keep his composure, instead turning to the person who had said it.
Ed found himself staring back at a boy his age with jet black hair like Mustang's and glasses, holding a notebook in one hand and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with the other.
"Please tell me your name, stranger. You don't have a uniform on; are you supposed to be here?"
Edward looked down at his apparel in response. He had only thrown on his usual black pants and a baggy black tank top that morning, not bothering to look good for such a highly regarded academy. His hair was pulled back clumsily in a pony tail, his bangs hanging loosely and framing his face. Thankfully, Hohenheim had given him a skin colored sleeve to put over his arm, so he didn't have to worry about covering it up while he was in this strange new world.
"Uh, well, I am. I just took the entrance exam; I'll be transfer student. The headmaster said I could take a look around, but I got lost, and I saw that the sign on this room said it was abandoned so…"
The boy blinked in confusion, his previous presentation of hostility a little softer. "Forgive me, but if you were lost, why would you come here?"
"Well, I was looking for a window actually…"
Before the boy could question him any further however, Haruhi came up from behind the boy.
"Edward? I thought I just dropped you off at the office, like, twenty minutes ago…"
Ed shrugged. "Yeah, you did. Thanks for showing me the way. As you can see, my sense of direction is next to nothing."
"But, didn't you say you took the entrance exam? How long have you been wandering the halls?"
"About ten minutes."
"So it took you ten minutes to finish the exam?" Haruhi asked incredulously.
"Uh, yeah."
The girls who were listening in on the conversation between Haruhi and the newcomer squealed in awe, sparkles of admiration in their eyes.
"Well, I gotta go. Do you mind if I use that window over there? There's no way I'll be able to find my way back."
Haruhi and the boy beside her blinked. "Uh sure, but what on earth for?"
Ed shrugged, then casually weaved through the maze of tables to the other side of the room, opened the window, and hopped on the ledge.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again Haruhi. Bye now." With a little wave, Edward jumped down from the third floor window out of sight, all the inhabitants of the room running to the windows to watch what this mysterious boy did next. He was already gone however when they got there, and the girls proceeded to swooning over him as they made their way back to their seats.
A tall blond boy stood up from his elaborate chair across the room from where he was observing the scene before him, walking over to the black haired boy and Haruhi, a mischievous smile spread across his face.
"Kyoya, Haruhi; I think we've found ourselves a new host."
After that nicely thought out jump from the third story window, Edward was definitely feeling it. In fact, every step he made towards the Lieutenant's car there was an unhealthy clickcoming from his left knee, a jolt of pain also accompanying every one. Riza was quick to notice Ed's discomfort, for as he slid into the seat next to her an expression of pain flashed through Edward's features, hastily hidden behind a mask of boredom.
"Well, that was way too easy. They call that a test? To be honest with you Lieutenant, I-"
"Call me Mom, Edward."
Ed grimaced at the thought, then continued on with his rant. "Sorry, Mom, but seriously; that 'test' was a piece of cake."
Riza sighed at her "son's" impolite manner, but she had to admit, she was used to it. Even though Edward was sixteen now, he still had his quirks. She started the car and pulled away from the Academy, Ed mumbling about something being stupid as usual. But her motherly instinct got the best of her.
"Now Ed," she began, gesturing toward his left leg as she started up the car. "What happened to your leg?"
"Huh? Uh, nothing," Edward replied, looking away. "It's just a little sore I guess. It might rain tonight."
Seeing as the clouds showed no sign of dropping any moisture on them at the moment, Riza knew immediately that Edward was hiding something, but decided it best not to push him any further.
"Well, here we are," she said with cheerfulness that seemed to come out of no where, and Ed looked to his left and saw a magnificent white house standing behind a well-kept lawn with a cherry tree in front of a glorious rose garden. Ed's jaw fell to the floor of the car, while Riza simply turned off the engine of the vehicle and got out without a care in the world, secretly amused at Edward's reaction to their temporary home. As Ed finally found his words, he clumsily got out of the car and gawked at the brilliant place.
"We're staying here?" He managed out, the awe still in his eyes.
"Yes, we are." Riza stated a-matter-of-factly. As Ed regained his composure, Riza slapped him gently on the shoulder and smiled at him reassuringly, amusement hidden expertly behind her burgundy eyes. She nudged him forward, and the two of them walked up the cobblestone pathway that led to their new elaborate home.
Jeez, Edward thought to himself as they walked through the doorway into the living room. If only Al could see this.
The living room was empty for now, but that only added to the obviousness to its size. Ed figured he could fit twenty of his apartments into it, but his thoughts were soon interrupted as Mustang walked into the room from the bedroom next door, a stack of empty boxes in his arms as he navigated around the corner and down the hallway to the front door. Ed had to admit that the sight was quite comical; being the husband of Riza, he assumed that his "wife" was doing her part quite well. In other words, Riza was wearing the pants in the relationship.
"Nice work Dad," Ed snickered. Roy didn't hesitate to throw a glare over his shoulder at his "son", but didn't stop walking as he disappeared through the doorway to set the empty boxes next to the dumpster for the garbage man to pick up. Ed noted that it seemed Roy had done his homework on learning all the technologies of this world. Then again, he was the Fuhrer, after all.
Riza smiled at Ed, then pointed to the staircase on the other side of the room.
"Your room's upstairs. There are three bedrooms in the house, and the Fuhrer offered to sleep in the guestroom down here. Your room is at the end of the hallway up there, alright? Bring your suitcase up and then help us unpack the rest."
Edward nodded reluctantly, then ran back outside to find his suitcase lazily set next to the dumpster. Ed sighed annoyed and shot a glare at Mustang's back as he disappeared back through the doorway of the house, a new box to unload in his arms.
Edward awoke to the sound of rain pattering against the window above his bed. Holy crap, it actually rained,Ed thought with a snicker. Looking at his amazingly digital alarm clock on the night stand next to his bed, Edward saw that it was 6:30 am; in other words, time to get up. He remembered that he had to go to that Academy today, and classes started at 8:00. Just enough time to work out, grab a shower and eat some breakfast. Edward began with his normal pushups and sit ups, but decided to give his body a break and quit at two hundred each, hopping up from the floor in front of where his bed stood and stretching with a long yawn. Apparently the exercise hadn't woken up his body that much, but he was going to just have to get by with one day at a normal school, right?
Scratch that; a seriously overly-rich and…pink…academy packed to the brim with stupid rich kids.
Ugggggh.
Walking across the room to the archway that led to his own personal bathroom, Ed tore off his sticky pajamas and stepped into the cold water of the shower; He had always preferred a cold shower after a decent workout. Being sweaty and sticky, cold water seemed to be the only kind that would do the trick of cooling his body down. Al and Winry thought he was crazy, but he'd stuck to his beliefs for years. Even now, as a sixteen year old young man, he still took cold showers.
It didn't take him long, for within ten minutes he was out and slipping into his new purple,yes purple, uniform, figuring that Riza should have gotten a call from the school by now about him passing and whatnot with that overconfident vibe of his.
After another ten minutes of glaring at his reflection in the mirror and of trying to figure out how to knot his tie correctly, Edward finally gave up and trudged down the stairs to the kitchen, sitting at the marble-topped island on one of the stools set around it. Riza turned away from the stove with a pan of sizzling bacon in one hand, a plate that came out of no where in the other, and before he knew it, Ed had a hot plate of delicious bacon and eggs in front of him. The smell that emanated from it was enough to make Ed's mouth water, and without a second thought he dug in mercilessly, mumbling a thank you in between bites. Riza watched the rather comical scene with a peaceful smile on her face, then grabbed the coffee pot and poured out three cups of the hot dark liquid and set one in front of Ed as well, taking a seat across from him and sipping her coffee gingerly. Edward's meal was finished by then, and he was sitting back with a satisfied grin on his face also sipping at his coffee.
"The school called," Riza began, taking another sip of her coffee without a care in the world. "You got in."
Edward smiled halfheartedly and nodded. "Ok then. It's a good thing I got this stupid uniform on. Which reminds me; do you by any chance know how to tie a tie?"
"You don't I take it?" Riza asked amusedly, a smirk on her face. "I'm afraid I don't either. I may be in the military Edward, but me being female doesn't call for ties. You could always ask your father though. I'm sure he'd be happy to help."
"No way in-"
The sound of shuffling footsteps interrupted his retort, and Edward turned to a groggy Mustang stumbling into the room. He found his way to a stool next to Ed, and Riza slid the last hot cup of coffee over to him. She then got up to make him some breakfast.
"Morning," Roy managed between a yawn. "So how'd you sleep?"
Ed scoffed. "Fine I guess. I see that you didn't sleep very well at all."
Roy sighed loudly. "Yeah, I guess I have to get used to that bed. It's too…"
"Gushy?" Edward finished.
"Soft?" Riza supplied smartly from the stove.
"…yeah."
Riza laughed, and Ed stood up with his empty coffee cup and plate in his hands.
"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and head on over to school. See you guys later,"
"Ed, what about your tie—"
"Screw the tie. I'll figure it out at school. Bye now."
Ed dropped his dishes off in the sink and headed out the door with a wave, then proceeded down the sidewalk with the clicking noise still in his knee. The rain had stopped by now, and the sidewalks and streets were almost completely dry. And the sharp pain in his knee persisted.
"Damn rich people," he muttered to himself as he came upon the school, wincing at every step. "If only Winry were here…this knee is being a real pain in the ass. Or… pain in the knee? Gah, whatever."
As he passed the iron gates of the entrance to the school, the thought finally occurred to him that he had no idea what class he would be transferring into. Deciding it was best to stop by the office again to ask, Edward turned a quick right as he went through the grand double doors and headed toward the main office, ignoring all the weird looks he was getting at his sudden arrival.
Even the short distance to the office seemed arduous; Ed could feel every females' eyes on him, and him alone. Why? He had absolutely no friggin' idea. The girls at this school had already displayed themselves to be completely and utterly weird, with the cross-dressing one, the three that creeped him out at the bottom of the stair case the day before, and then all the girls gathered in the abandoned music room upstairs. Just what the hell was he going to have to put up with for the next year?
That, Edward soon learned, was something far worse than he had ever imagined.
"Oh I'm sorry, I could have sworn I gave your mother your class…It must have slipped my mind. I do apologize Mr. Mustang."
Edward shrugged at the middle-aged man's words. "No biggie. So it's…1-A you said?"
"Yes, that's right. Do you need anything else my boy?"
"Nope, that should be good…except one thing; where is it?"
The principle laughed, patting Edward on his shoulder. "I'll call for someone from the class to escort you there. Wait here for a moment if you please,"
Edward sat down in one of the guest chairs lined up against wall across from the main secretary's desk as the principle went to his own desk to call the teacher of his class. Ten minutes later, a knock on the door was heard.
The secretary lady yelled a polite "Come in!" to the newcomer, and Edward found himself face-to-face with Haruhi Fujioka.
"Oh, Haruhi. Nice to see ya this morning."
Haruhi bowed in greeting to her new classmate with a smile on her face, nodding to the office lady as she straightened up, then turning to leave with Edward close behind her.
"I had a feeling you'd make it in." Haruhi shot over her shoulder as they walked casually down the long hallway Edward was in just a day before. "I was doubtful at first to be honest, what with how fast you took that exam. It seemed almost impossible to me. But I guess your confidence changed my mind; and here you are now."
Ed walked a little faster for a moment so that he was walking beside her. "Yep, that's me; the over-confident idiot. At least, that's what Winry always calls me."
"Winry?"
Ed smiled a little as he turned his head to look ahead of them. "She's my childhood friend back home I guess you could say, but she'll always be my favorite mechanic er—pal."
Haruhi smiled back at him as they made it to the staircase, Edward taking it two steps at a time. Haruhi struggled to keep up, but as Ed continued to his left when he got to the top, she made it just in the nick of time to grab his arm and drag him the other way.
"Wrong way Ed," she informed him, a smirk on her face.
A few more lefts and rights that Ed didn't bother to remember and they were at the classroon marked "1-A".
"You stay here Edward," Haruhi ordered as she slid the door open. "The teacher will call you in as soon as she's announced you to the rest of the class. Then you come in and introduce yourself."
"Ah great…"
Haruhi laughed and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about it; it'll all be over soon."
Somehow that piece of advice wasn't very comforting to Edward.
…hm. I guess I'm ending it there. I do hope you like it, and sorry for the ridiculous delay. It was super fun to write though! XDDD Thank you guys for all your reviews and tips; they help me so much. Thank you thank you thank you! =w=
-Comet