Disclaimer: Well, I still only own the story, Nura, Granny, Tina, and any other Oc's in this story. Any mention to anything else belongs to those people. Like the FMA characters.
The Scientist
Chapter Two: Tell You I'm Sorry
Nura stared forward with a dazed expression. In front of her was her Granny and Eric devouring the baked goods she had brought and mocking magazines together. Had they not just been trying to kill each other ten minutes ago? How do you go from homicidal to buddy buddy so quickly? Is this what they meant by frenimies?
Glancing sideways to see if Al was as shocked as her, she was disappointed to see that he was munching on his own food nonchalantly. Alrighty then, she was obviously the only one affected by this. Apparently reality had decided to turn over a new leaf in the last twenty-four hours. That was cool. She could deal with that. Right?
"So what exactly does she do?" She heard Eric ask her Granny.
"She's a model. She s'ands there and looks pre'y. Suppose ta make women want ta buy the prodec's they're advertising," Nura looked back over in time to watch her Gran roll her eyes and give a huff.
"Pretty? She looks like she's never eaten a decent meal in her life to me," Eric said disbelievingly, looking over to the older woman. "Why the hell would anyone want to buy anything she's selling?"
Granny looked to the scowling man. Waving her arms in the air and 'whispering' in a conspiring manner, she said, "Probably hasn'. Ea's a low calorie die' and bunny food probably." Then she threw her hands up angrily and hissed," Socie'y has girls thinking they have ta be pencil thin to be attra'ive. Back in my day we had some mea' on our bones! I's jus' wrong!"
A horrified look passed Eric's face. "No carbohydrates or meat? Why would anyone want to look like a walking skeleton?"
"None, and hell if I know."
"Its a miracle they're even alive!"
Nura sighed. Leave it to her Grandma to over-exaggerate, and leave it to a male not to know anything going on in the minds of females. Personally, she would never be able to do it. She liked food way to much to ever give it up.
"Granny, stop mentally scaring people. Not all models are that skinny. There are the average and plus sized models too. I'm sure that models eat more then vegetables and fruit. Also, not everyone wants to look like the woman in that picture," Nura said, placing her hands on her hips.
Her Grandma gave a defeated look. "Of course ya righ' dear." She smiled up at Nura and Nura lips twitched upwards also. Until she saw the mischievous look in the woman's eyes. "Some of them would rather look like hobos."
A furious blush crossed Nura's face. "Its not my fault! This is the first time in a week I've been home! Besides, you didn't tell me there would be people here!" she exclaimed indignantly. She just received another tooth filled smile in return. Crazy old lady.
Nura turned over to see if Al was still alright to see him muffling laughter. Just when she thought her face couldn't become any more red she thought miserably. He waved his hands around as though trying to shoo away any of her self depreciating thoughts.
"Don't worry, I'm not laughing at you in particular, I'm laughing at all three of you. Well, how you're acting to be specific."
"What the hell did I do?" Eric muttered sourly.
Alec continued to chuckle and replied, "You looked so horrified by the thought of someone not eating something. I found that really ironic seeing as you won't even drink your milk!"
A deep scowl found its way onto Eric's face. "Its the life elixir of the devil Al. How the hell do you expect me to drink that?"
Al rolled his eyes. "Its milk, Brother. It comes from a cow. You'd probably would be taller if you drank it once in awhile."
"I am not short! And there is no way I'm drinking something that looks like glue!"
"You're being unreasonable!"
"So," Nura quickly interrupted what she assumed was going to escalade into another fight. "If it isn't to personal, may I ask what happened to your legs?" Both men stopped. Eric was suddenly looking at his brother with a very pointed look, and Al had a furious blush on his face looking anywhere that didn't have eyes gazing at him.
"Its was nothing really. Just a little accident." Al nervously said. A grunt escaped Eric who was now staring daggers at his brother.
"Al here got into a little bit of car accident, didn't you Al?" Eric growled out while continuing to give his younger brother a pointed look.
"Brother." Al whimpered.
Nura had a feeling she shouldn't have brought this up. If that wasn't stating the obvious she grunted to herself. She glanced nervously over to her Granny to see the woman completely unaffected. Right. No help there. She turned back to the brothers when she heard Eric begin speaking again.
"Al decided jumping in front of a moving vehicle was a good idea, didn't you Al." If looks could melt, Al would be a puddle of despair Nura thought.
"Brother." Al whined pitifully, trying to squirm away from the look his brother was sending him.
"Why, you may ask, did Al jump in front of a moving vehicle?" "The Look", Nura had decided to dub it, had done what was thought impossible and became even more intense. "For a cat. He jumped in front of a moving vehicle for a cat, didn't you Al."
"I couldn't just let it get hit by a car!" the whimpering man responded weakly.
"Goddamn it Al! You aren't an indestructible suit of armor! You got hit by a fucking Minivan! The fact that you only broke two of your legs and got a couple scratches is a miracle!" Eric roared out, his temper finally snapping.
"But the kitty and I both made it right Brother? That's all that matters now," Al weakly stated, giving his brother a pitiful look. Eric just stared at him with his mouth twitching, trying to regain control of himself. Big sad eyes continued to look up at him. "I'm sorry Big Brother."
Eric seemed to deflate a little at that, but not completely. He was obviously still angry beyond belief, but he managed not to yell for his little brother's sake.
"Ya boys done with ya little therapy session now?" her Gran finally spoke up. Eric grunted with a glare and Alec looked at her with sad eyes and gave a little nod. "Good. We have enough vaginas in this room, hell if we ge' tw' more."
"Grandma!" Nura hissed out in embarrassment. This woman was going to be her undoing, she was sure of it.
"Its fine," Eric grunted. "She's right anyway, worrying and bitching about things that have already happened won't make things better." How he got that from what her Grandmother said she didn't know. Maybe they were speaking in their own psychotic language she couldn't understand. "Shorch" maybe. The language of short tempered people. She nodded to herself. That was probably it.
"I'm always righ'," Granny responded with a smirk.
"Of course you are hag." Erik responded with an eye roll.
"Show some respec' ta the lady wh's finding ya a place ta stay!" the old woman growled, picking up her cane and trying to smack Eric with it.
The male snorted and dodged out of the woman's reach. "You've been saying that for three days now and I'm still sleeping on those shitty chairs," Eric said, motioning over to two chairs squished together and covered in hospital pillows. Looking closer Nura could see a suitcase laying against them.
"Well, now ya have somewhere ta stay, don' he Nura?" she said pointedly looking at her grandchild.
Standing there quietly, Nura tried to process what her Granny said. What did she have to do with- Oh. Oh. "Grandmother!" she shrieked staring at the crazy bat in front of her.
"Don' ya 'Grandmother' me! I brough' ya in this world, the leas' ya could do is a little favor!" the woman responded with a smirk.
Nura glared at the woman. "You didn't bring me into this world, my Mo-"
"I brough' ya Dad inta this world, wh' had unprotec'ed sex with ya Momma, wh' then brough' ya inta this world. Withou' me, ya wouldn't be here. And are ya really gonna le' the poor boy sleep on those chairs? He's gonna end up in his own room here if he keeps it up! Who's conscience is tha' gonna res' on, hmm?" Granny asked with a brow lifted, giving Nura an accusing look.
"But I don't even kno-" Nura tried to reason with the obviously insane woman. Had the woman always been this crazy? Looking back through her life she could only settle with a yes. She really wished her Poppy was still alive to tone it down a bit.
"His name's Eric Ballard, he is nine'een. He and his little brother where passin' through here, when Alec go' hi' savin' a kitty. Now he has nowhere ta stay. There. Now ya know," was the stubborn reply.
"Grandma! You know th-" The desperate young woman tried to interrupt.
"I've spean' a week with the kid. I think I'd know if somethin' was wrong with him. Besides, no one with a brother as swee' as Al could do ya any harm. It would be easier for the poor boy. If he stayed with ya, ya could bring him ta visit Al when ya come ta visit me. Ya ac'ing just like ya Daddy. Always having ta -" prattled on the woman with an irritated huff.
"Alright already! I'll take him home with me, but if I end up in some kind of Jame Gumb situation, its your fault!"
"Tha's my girl. Besides, I'm sure everthin' will be fine." Her Grandma said proudly with a smug smirk.
"Yeah, yeah. The moment he starts trying to get me to lotion up my skin, I'm calling the cops." Nura grumbled out in despair.
"I highly doub' ya have ta worry abou' tha' with Eric." Granny responded in amusement.
She shifted to look over at the two men with a frown. Al was trying to hide his amusement behind his hand, and Eric just had a dead look on his face.
"Lotion?" Al asked from behind his hand, trying to hide his smile. It was all in vain though because his eyes where obviously alight with laughter.
"Its better you don't know," Nura glumly responded, eyeballing Eric. Eric gave her a flat look and then rolled his eyes. Obviously he thought she was just as insane as she thought he was. Good. Maybe it would keep his inner psycho away.
She looked over to the clock to see that it was almost five thirty in the evening. Glancing over at Eric she asked, "If we leave now we can walk to my house before dark." The man frowned and glanced at the clock and then out the window. Nodding he walked over to rearrange the seats and to grab his suitcase. Then Eric walked over to say his goodbyes to Alec.
"See you soon you crazy old bat," Nura whispered into her Granny's ear with a slight grin. Pissed as she was at the situation, she could never truly be angry at the woman.
"Ya tw' ya little hobo." Her Grandma whispered back. "Don' worry yaself to much. Besides, he's more likely ta be a Hannibal then a Gumb. Ya should be safe," cackled the old lady. Nura pulled away and glared at the woman and turned her attention to the two brothers who were watching them.
"It was nice meeting you Nura, and thank you so much for taking in Brother," Al said with a beaming smile.
Unable to resist giving a small smile back Nura responded, "It was nice meeting you too Al, and you're welcome." She turned to Eric. "Are you ready to head out?"
"Yeah, let's go," he responded. "See you, hag." he said with a half hearted wave as he headed towards the door.
"See ya short stuff," came the goading reply.
Rolling her eyes Nura started walked after him. Sadly, she didn't get out fast enough not to hear her Granny's exclamation of "Claaaarrrriiiiiceee!" and the cackling that followed. She shuddered and looked at the broad back of the man walking before her. Whoever said grandmothers were docile and sweet creatures was obviously full of something.
Luckily the two managed to catch the elevator open at the end of the hall and hopped in. She blinked in surprise to see the German lady from earlier in the day standing inside with them, once again yelling things she couldn't understand. Small world.
She gazed over to Eric to see him staring at the door with a closed off expression. Nura shifted uneasily. Should she try speaking to him or would that just make the situation more awkward? She was terrible at small talk with strangers, especially when one on one.
Thankfully, it wasn't terribly long till the reached the main floor. She walked out quickly, followed by Eric. The two made their way toward the main exit when they were stopped by Tina, who was still sitting at the main lobby booth.
"Nura!" the woman squealed as she leaned on the desk with one hand, frantically waving with the other.
"Yes, Tina?" she asked with a sigh looking at the woman who seemed like she was going to explode with excitement.
"What do you think of my new colors? Think this will convince them to change the rules?" she said motioning to her now yellow and pink stripped lips.
"This hospital is going to be the end of me," she patted on the other woman's shoulder and turned to leave the hell hole. A silent Eric followed her.
Finally, after fifteen minutes of walking in uncomfortable silence, she was home. She turned to Eric and motioned to the soft blue split-level home in front of her. "This is it," she said with a relieved sigh.
Eric looked to her and back to the house. "This is yours?" he asked with a slightly doubtful look on his face.
"Well," Nura said with a sigh. "It was actually my Granny, Poppy, and father's. Since none of them are around to take care of it anymore, I've been living here." She looked over to see the man staring at her. She flushed and looked away. "Granny and my father split the bill to keep the place, and I just have to pay for my necessities. I would keep her here, but I can't offer her the help she needs."
She sighed in relief when the front door finally popped open. Home at last she thought in relief as she entered and flipped on the lights. Nura shimmied out of her hoodie threw it and "The Smuggler" into a the closet by the door and twisted around to face the guy behind her.
"You can put your jacket, gloves, and shoes in here if you'd like," she said as she took off her own shoes and threw them into the closet also. She watched him nod and take off his boots and place them carefully inside. Then he took off his gloves. Nura was startled to see on his right hand was still covered in a beige cloth. She was further surprised to see that the cloth covered his entire arm also after he took of his jacket to reveal a red short sleeved T-shirt.
Nura noticed Eric looking carefully at her. She tilted her head to the side and stated, "You really aren't helping the Gumb idea." Puffing out her cheeks she turned to face the main floor. "This," she motioned, "is the main living area. The kitchen/dining room, living room, and half bathroom are all on this floor."
She walked forward and motioned to each section. The living area was a soft green with a milk chocolate brown hardwood floor. It had a fire place and a fluffy brown couch and a matching chair. There was a standing lamp with cream shade and a coffee table.
The kitchen/dining area had a warm golden beige hue to it. The cabinets, floor, table, and chairs were a dark brown wood. The appliances, a fridge, oven, suspended microwave, and washing machine, were a white.
Further back Nura showed him a doorway that held a small red bathroom. By the bathroom, were two staircases. One leading downstairs, one leading up.
"The downstairs contains the entertainment and laundry room. It also has an office and another half bath. You can go down there anytime you want and use whatever you want. The electronics are in the entertainment room, obviously, and we have books in the office if you want to read any."
Leading him upstairs into the hallway Nura informed him, "There are four bedrooms up here. Three of them used to be in use, but now only one is. That one is mine." She motioned to the one on the right closest to the stairs. "The one in the back left corner is my father's. You can choose either one of these," she pointed to the two extra rooms. "Though I would suggest the one next to mine. Its basically another master bedroom. It has its own bathroom. You wouldn't have to share with me," she said motioning to the open door where a full bath could be seen. "My room and the room across from it were supposed to share it," she finished with a shrug.
Eric nodded and mumbled a thanks. "No problem. Do you want me to order some food? I don't have anything here," she clumsily asked. She noticed him scrunch his face up uncertainly and quickly added, "I'm starving, how does a pepperoni pizza and bread sticks sound?"
"Fine," he responded with a sigh.
"Great. I'll go order and you can go set up your room," Nura said nodding to herself.
She watched him turn around and push open the door to his room. Eric paused before completely entering. "Thanks,"he said before quietly shutting the door behind him.
Well, Nura thought to herself with a small smile while dialing on the phone, maybe this won't be so bad after all.
Second chapter done. Aren't Grannies the darnest thing? :) I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Thanks,
WAIDTA
