Disclaimer: It pleases the court to know that Maria Ales Carvell does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Chapter Six—Lust
—xx—
"It's been two weeks, and I haven't heard anything about loverboy," Envy leaned over Edward's shoulder and whispered harshly in his ear, "did you guys break up?"
Edward clenched his teeth and seethed to Russell, "Why the hell did you tell him?"
"I didn't!" Russell responded, putting two hands up in defense, "I swear, it was Winry who told him!"
"And who told Winry, hm?" Edward growled before leaning forward even farther to escape from Envy.
"It actually has been a while, Ed," Russell commented in class, "Are you really going to keep up with this?"
"Yes," Ed said flatly, "especially after what I've been hearing lately. Someone told me he actually has a girlfriend."
Wide eyed, Russell asked incredulously, "For real?"
"What a bastard," Envy said dryly behind him, "you picked a good one, shrimp."
"Yeah," Edward breathed, ignoring the boy behind him, "I don't know who it is because I haven't seen him in a while, but that's what people are saying."
"That sucks," Russell replied, "he really came off as a nice guy from what I've seen, but I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."
"I know what you mean…" he trailed off as he stared out the window.
"Are you okay, Ed?" Russell tugged on his friend's shoulder, bringing him back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled, "I'm thirsty." His hand shot in the air and soon he was on his way out of the classroom
In all actuality, he really wasn't that thirsty. He really wanted to get from the classroom and, deep down, he wanted to find Mustang. He wanted to smack him in the face and asked him who the hell he was trying to prove. He wanted to smack some fucking sense into him. Instead, he headed for a soda machine; a drink would soothe his angry nerves.
He heard giggling from a few feet away and let a small smile curve his lips as he remembered two weeks ago. But, when he realized what he was doing, he shook his head and fished in his pocket for a dollar. "The stupid bastard," he mumbled, "why am I even thinking about it?"
The giggles came again, constantly being shushed by their partner. What nerve, making out in the middle of the hallway! He sighed, "Maybe coming out here wasn't such a good idea." He bent over and grabbed his drink and popped it open, chugging half of it."
"Shh," the second voiced shushed again, "quiet down a little, you don't want to get caught."
The can slipped from his hands, he knew that voice. He slipped around the corner and sure enough, Roy had some girl pushed up against a locker, his lips locked with hers and his hands pulling her as close as physically possible. He remained silent for a while, almost not surprised at what Roy was doing, but also to keep him from noticing him.
But then he saw the girl's face.
Ales.
Ales.
Ales?
Before he could control himself he had flung the closest thing near him, the can that had fallen on the ground, and screamed, "YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE! I hate you, you bastard!" And turned around, dashing down the hallway.
Ales looked dazed, "Who the hell was that?"
Roy stared off at him, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to fight down the urge to run after him, and instead struggled out, "no one," and went back to the girl in his arms.
Ales? He was with Ales? His girlfriend was Ales? That couldn't be right, he hated her! Roy had told him that he couldn't stand her, and yet, there he was, locking lips with her in the hallway. He could feel his heart ripping. Did this mean that… that what they did was no big deal? That he was just another floozy? His heart pounded in his chest as he finally stopped running and flung himself up against a wall. Falling to the floor, he could feel tears trying to come up through his eyes, but he blinked them away and brought his knees up to his chest. I hate him, Edward thought bitterly, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! Edward felt himself losing control. He opened his mouth to say the words, trying to convince himself that it was true, but nothing could come out. All he could say was, "I love him."
He buried his head in his hands, but refused to cry.
—xx—
"That took a while," Russell commented when Ed finally sat back down next to him, "Where did you go…?" He looked at Edward's face and, for a second, lost his train of thought. "Ed… are you okay?"
The blonde shook his head, bouncing his braid as he woke himself from his daze to look at his friend. "Yeah," he rubbed his red-rimmed eyes, removing the glazed look if only a bit. "I'm fine."
Russell raised an eyebrow, "Really? Sure doesn't sound like it."
"I-I'm fine, Russ."
The taller of the two frowned in disapproval, "Well, I can definitely tell that's a lie, but I'll ask you about it later, since you're set on denying it now." He looked away from him and back up to the board, and for a while there was silence.
"…I saw his girlfriend with him… and… I know who it is," Edward mumbled towards the table, "…he told me he hated her before…"
Russell had turned to him by now and had a sympathetic look on his face. "Ed, I'm sorry."
"Whatever. I'm fine." He slouched in his chair and looked around the room.
Someone smiled at him.
Someone he didn't know.
Someone with amazing blue eyes and blonde hair from the back of the room.
He rubbed his eyes and the boy cocked his head, the warm smile only fading but a bit. Why didn't he know this boy? He turned back to Russell.
"Hey Russ, who's that kid in the back? I've never seen him before."
Russell turned to him and said, "Oh, while you were gone, he came in. He's a new student, transferred from Europe."
Ed blinked. Europe? "Really? That's… interesting…."
He turned back around to finally return the smile back to him. This kid was interesting, that was for sure. Very interesting.
Before he could think about it anymore, the bell interrupted his thoughts, and in an instant, a crowd of people blocked his view and he was forced to stand up and leave behind the boy in the back of the room. "So," Russell said, "What are you doing after school? I was thinking you could come over for dinner. My mom's been dying to see you again since school started."
Edward shrugged, obviously indifferent to the suggestion. "Sounds cool, I could take a look at your stupid plant, and decide if it's really worth all the trouble."
His friend groaned and slouched over, "Don't remind me of that thing…" he shuddered. "Hey, I'll be right back, I need my book. Save my seat, okay? I don't want to be stuck next to Envy…" and he then he disappeared into the vast crowd of people.
Edward made his way down the hall and into his next class, still trying desperately to force the images of Roy and Ales from his mind. It was just not good. He sat down in his seat and, as promised, set his bag in the one next to him. "Just one more period till lunch," he breathed, "…one…more…"
He looked around the room to find the clock and then, he saw him again. There he was again, smiling just as big, and he couldn't help himself. He jerked his head backwards in a gesture that read, "Come over here." He mouthed the words, just in case, and he seemed to understand as he stood up from his seat and walked over.
"Oh, hi." Ed bit his lip, he had a slight English accent and it was killing him.
"Wanna sit here?" Edward suggested, gesturing towards the seat.
The boy tilted his head, "Isn't your friend going to sit there? Or is he not in this class?"
Edward smiled and shrugged, "Oh, he won't mind." He removed the book bag, and sure enough, the boy shrugged and took what was no longer Russell's seat. "So, you're new, huh? What's your name?"
"Ah, I'm Alfons Heiderich, moved here last week from London. You?"
"I'm Edward Elric, born and raised here in L.A. So boring."
"Nah," Alfons smiled, "It'd be nice to have one hometown, instead of ten. I was born in New York and I lived there for a few years. Then my dad took me in because my mom got sick and I moved with him to Germany since he's in the military and lived there until I was seven. Then we were traveling all over Europe until we settled in London three years ago. He asked me if I wanted to stop going to school again to travel with a tutor, and this time I turned him down to move in with my sister here in the city." He laughed a few times after, "I'm sorry; I must be boring you with my life story."
"Not at all," Ed smiled, "your story is crazy, I love it." At that moment, Russell walked in the door with his book in hand and stopped right at his desk.
"Um, Ed…?" He looked over at Alfons, then back at Ed, who was looking at the taller blonde with pleading eyes. His mouth dropped into a smile, "I'll just sit with Envy today." He scowled and dropped his books next to the grinning green-haired teen. "Oh, joy," he breathed.
"So, you said your name was Alfons?" Ed said, leaning back into the conversation. "I have a younger brother named Alphonse. You look like him, just a little." He smiled. "He doesn't have blonde hair, though, and certainly not eyes as blue as yours." Oh, god, what am I doing! Am I… hitting on him…? Edward bit his lip, but then another voice butted into his mind. Well, he is pretty good looking.
Ed shook his subconscious. Alfons seemed to not notice and smiled. "Ah, I'm nothing special. Your eyes are quite amazing; I've never seen that color in anyone's eyes before." He looked in them, and Ed felt a bit of triumph in his chest—nothing like the flutter in his chest he felt when Roy's obsidian eyes dug deep into his golden orbs. No, this was a feeling of pure, unadulterated lust, not love, like he felt for the older senior.
So a blush didn't creep across his cheeks when he took the compliment, replying, "Thanks." Instead, he felt the taste of revenge and a want for Alfons, and, now he knew, he was going to do anything to be with him…fast. "How old are you?"
"Nearly fifteen. I was held back a year in school, otherwise I'd be younger."
Edward's smirk deepened as he leaned in closer, hardly noticing the bell ringing in some other part of the world. "So, you have a girlfriend? I'm sure the girls are all over you."
"Nah, never been too interested in girls…" he gave a suggestive smile, "…if you know what I mean. What about you? I saw you with that pretty blonde."
Edward blinked and then let out a low chuckle, "…Winry?" He raised his eyebrows to amazing heights, "Yeah… right…"
"So, I'll take that as a 'you're single.'" He smiled, "That's too bad."
"It could be," God! I'm really reaching for this! "Not in this case."
A nervous chuckle escaped from his lips, and then a cough. He covered his mouth. "Excuse me."
"You okay?" Edward tilted his head to the side in a sort of 'I'm worried' gesture.
"Yeah," he coughed once more before removing his hand, "It happens all the time. Just a slight defect, doctors have told me it's nothing."
"Well," Ed turned his head the right way, "That's good."
"So…" Alfons said, bringing the conversation back up, "What lunch do you have? I have first."
"Really? Me too!" He clenched his teeth; he had sounded a little too overexcited. But, by the look on the other's face, he seemed just as excited as he. He let out a small breath of relief, "Well, we should sit together. Meet me by the south doors, we'll find a nice quiet spot."
Alfons only smiled as he turned his head back to the front of the room.
—xx—
He had managed to dodge Envy and Russell as he sped through the classroom and straight to the lunchroom. There was no need to waste time on putting his books away and lose what could be precious time. He held the bagged lunch in his hand and waited near-patiently outside the doors, looking for the blue-eyed blonde. He nearly jumped when the door opened behind him and he managed to grab two great breaths to calm himself before facing Alfons.
It wasn't Alfons.
"Edward." The two black eyes bore holes into his as Roy glared daggers at him.
"W-what the hell do you want!" He threw his head back and forth, hoping that Alfons wasn't coming just yet.
"What the hell was that display in the hallway? It was just ridiculous." Roy's voice remained cool and calm, as it had always been.
"I could ask you the same question!" He wanted to scream 'Why the hell are you with Ales?' but couldn't bring himself to. "Look, I'm meeting someone, so why don't you get to your," he growled, "girlfriend? I'm sure she misses you."
The black-haired senior continued to glare for a few moments and then shrugged, "Your loss," before half stomping off to the picnic tables to the right.
Ed let out a soft sigh. Wait—what! My 'loss?' What the hell does—
"Hey, Ed, ready for lunch…?" He gave his friend a thoughtful look, "are you alright, Edward?"
"Uh…yeah. Why?"
"Er… you're blushing…" he tilted his head nervously.
Edward blinked before flushing even deeper in embarrassment. "I'm fine, let's go eat."
Alfons merely shrugged and followed the shorter blonde, having not seen the scene beforehand. Ed huffed his way through the courtyard where there were people sitting at picnic tables until he made it away from there and out onto the grass.
"Where are we going, Edward?" Alfons asked from behind him. Ed was walking at such a quick, angry speed that he couldn't keep up. He half expected him to snap around with a glare on his face.
Instead, he stopped and waited for him, "It's just over there, under that tree." He lifted a finger to point to where he spoke of.
Alfons let out a tiny breath of relief. He had been sure that Edward was mad at him for something unknown.
The shorter of the two took a seat under a shady willow tree, and smiled at the other as he took a seat right next to him. He dropped the brown bag from his hand. "So, what have you got for lunch today?"
"I've had a lot of extra time in the mornings lately since I haven't been staying up late so I've improved on lunch. It's nothing real special," he dumped out the contents, "sandwich, soup, apple, water. Nothing too exciting."
"Tell me about it," Alfons said, taking a bite from his apple, "same thing, every day."
"Feels kind of nice though," Ed noted aloud, "having a schedule, a certain order."
Alfons tilted his head, "I guess."
Edward flushed, "Did I say that out loud?"
The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Yes…?"
"Uh… nevermind that…" Edward said, looking off in the other direction.
"…alright…?" Alfons tilted his head before taking the last bite from the apple and placing it on the ground. For a few moments there was silence, the two eating silently, Edward scolding himself over and over for saying such an utterly stupid thing; Alfons was clearly lost and decided to just focus on his sandwich.
"How old did you say you were, Ed?" Alfons said finally, hoping that Edward would talk with him again.
"Uh, fourteen, why?" Edward said, puzzled.
"No real reason," Alfons said, breathing out in relief on the inside, "I just want to learn more about you."
This is so weird, Edward thought, gazing into the two beautiful watery blue eyes before him, I should love this kid… he's so incredible. Nice, good looking, outgoing… everything that Roy is not, yet here I am, only drooling over him because he looks good, not because I feel for him… because right now I'm thinking of Roy!
"That's nice," Edward finally responded, "my birthday is in the winter, when it gets really cold."
But maybe I just need to move on. If I can just forget about any feelings I had for him, I can find someone new, or maybe feel something for Alfons. Alfons was talking, but Ed was only watching his lips. He seems interested in me. Why am I so worried about doing anything! It's not like I'm cheating! Look at what Roy was doing in the hallway… with Ales! At least I don't hate him!
And at that last thought of Roy, Edward grabbed the collar on Alfons' shirt and pulled him towards him, kissing him on the lips, not knowing that there was someone watching him from across the lawn.
—xx—
A/U: Woo! I finished! I've had SO MUCH STUFF to do so far (I joined soo much shit in HS…) We have two (yes two) band competitions on Saturday… that's FIFTEEN HOURS of band… so I'll basically be gone all day. Friday I have a halftime show to play and (maybe?) a rave to go to…
…YES I SAID RAVE. –technodance-
SO.
Please wish me luck for the competitions; I'm really hoping we take something home!
ALSO. Sunday is my birfdae. I'm gonna be 15, w00t. So you should all… review… for my birthday.
Lotsa reviews are a great present.
Because the super nice people will wish me happy birfdae.
And… you know… if you REALLY like me… you should… write me an AU fic… or… a bathtub fic… (RoyEd of course)
I'll give RoyEd cupcakes! (Ha, I actually had a RoyEd cake I made last year… took two hours).
Happy Birfdae to me if I don't update anything before then.
Thaaanks.
ALES.
