I'm back! Finally! I'm sooo sorry it took so long! I'm a bad, bad authoress! And yes, (to a reviewer), Ed has been a pansy in this fic! But no more! He's finally growing up… -kicks him-
Ed: Fuck ow…. It's not my fault I couldn't fight! Read this chapter! It explains it!
Me: You're still a baby…
Disclaimer: It's not mine yet… Grrrr
Warnings: Homophobia, mild violence, drug usage, Ed getting high.
Chapter 11: It All Hits the Fan
(Ed's POV)
Almost a week had passed since the incident with Roy. The teen had stayed away from me, afraid to bring Envy's wrath upon him again. But that didn't stop the hateful glares and vicious pranks. I could never prove it was Roy, but I was sure it was… After all, who else would fill my locker with mud or shred me gym uniform? I simply ignored all the pranks, until one day, it got really bad…
Unfortunately for me, my wild-haired boyfriend had decided to play hooky today. Figuring I could take care of myself, I headed to my locker, ready to have a normal day at school. Though it was turning out to be anything but normal.
When I turned down the hallway to my locker, a large crowd caught my eye. They seemed to be gathered around my locker… Frowning, I quickened my pace and when the kids noticed me, they quickly backed away. Now, the object of their attention glared back at me in bright red, hateful lettering.
DIE FAGGOTThe words were painted down my locker, pronouncing its silent hate cry. Slowly, I went to my locker and opened it, shoving my bag inside. After slamming the door shut, I rounded on the students. Now, I have a terrible temper, but no one in this school has seen it before. Until now.
"Who the hell did this?!" I shouted, grabbing the nearest kid, who happened to be a poor, scared freshman. He whimpered and pointed down the hall. Tearing my gaze away from him and following the finger, I spotted Roy, standing with his arms crossed and laughing his ass off. Dropping the kid, I stormed down the hall. My hand found its way into my pocket and my fingers curled around the cold metal of Envy's switchblade.
"For protection. I'll let you borrow it."
My boyfriend's words rang through my head as I pulled back my free hand and sent it flying at Roy. He caught my smaller fist, crushing it slightly.
"Did you honestly think you could fight me?" Smirking, Roy twisted my arm and knocked my feet out from under me. As I fell to the ground, a snarl escaped my throat. Oh course that's what I thought. What did he take me for, an idiot?
Scooting back, I jumped up and swung my leg at Roy. My thick-heeled boots connected with Roy's side, causing the older teen to double over in pain. With a smirk, I hopped back, only to collide into the school's principal, Mr. Alvarado. (1) Damn, he just had to get offered the job here…
The man frowned disapprovingly at me. "Mr. Elric… I thought your brother had finally gotten through to you… You've had a clean record so far this year…" I let out a small groan. This was not happening…
Back in my freshman and sophomore years, I got into a lot of fights. Now, not to be smug, but I am pretty damn good, though my citizenship record (2) was terrible. Finally Al convinced me to stop fighting. He'd take away dinner if I did… That was incentive enough. And sometimes, when I had really hurt someone, Al would turn on me. Let's just say I've never won a fight with him before… I have the scars to prove it.
"But he started it!" I pouted, pointing at Mustang and trying to defend myself.
Mr. Alvarado groaned. He was used to me always throwing the blame on others. "Edward, please. Must we go through this again?"
Snarling, I turned and pointed at my locker. "Look at what he did to it!" My eyes narrowed in anger, then I turned and stormed off. When I drew level with Roy, I threw caution to the wind and sent my curled fist into his gut. The teen doubled over and I laughed softly, before running down the hall. Mr. Alvarado's shouts soon faded away until the school was silent.
Shit… I thought as I ran out of the school. I'm screwed.
To say I was simply screwed was an understatement. I hid out at home, waiting with a feeling of dread. I'd worked myself up, jumping at every small noise. So, when the tell tale rattle of Al's key in the lock could be heard, I grabbed a pillow and shielded my face.
Which turned out to be a good thing. No more than a second after the door opened, a book bag came crashing into me. This was followed by an angry shout, sounding very much like my name…
Before I had time to scramble away, Al had grabbed my braid and used it to pull my face close to his. "Edward! Why?! You've been doing so good, you idiot!"
I couldn't help but wince. Al only called me by my name when he was upset or very pissed. It was obvious it was the latter.
"Al… I didn't mean too! But you should have seen what he painted on my locker!" Biting back the mix of anger and hurt, I tried to get my hair away from Al. Who knew if he'd snap and pull it all out?
"What did he write?" Al's eyes were still hard, but he released his death grip on my hair. Pulling the braid close for safety, I sighed and sat down on the couch. "He… He painted Die Faggot…" Just then, Al's kitten jumped onto my lap. I'd forgotten all about that damn thing until now….
"What did you name her?" I asked softly, trying to change the subject.
"Alice." Al's voice got soft and he sighed. "Why would he do that? There's nothing wrong with being…gay…" The teen still wasn't very comfortable saying that aloud…
"Al, just say it. Gay. Gay gay gay gay! It's not like it's a disease!" Standing and dropping Alice to the floor, I stormed off before Al could see the hurt on my face.
What is the big deal? Are…are Envy and I… freaks? Why don't people seem comfortable with what we were?
Slamming my bedroom door, I went over to my bed and flopped onto it. "Dammit!" I yelled at no one.
Half an hour later, I was still moping. Until the phone rang. Snatching up the extension in my room, I jammed the receiver to my ear. "Hello." The greeting came out more of a command then the start of a pleasurable conversation.
"Hey Edo," a voice purred into my ear. "Heard you got into a fight today. To bad I missed it, eh?"
"Envy…" I breathed, and then frowned. "Yeah, well I'm in trouble, so it's not a good thing. But did you hear what Roy did?! He painted Die Faggot on my locker!"
The line went quiet for a moment before I heard a low growl and the slamming of a receiver. Soon, the soft buzzing of the dial tone filled my ears. That noise had not sounded like one of joy… What on earth was Envy going to do?
Ten minutes later, I found myself lost in the city. I hadn't told Al where I was going. In fact, we hadn't talked since I'd blown up at him…
"Fuck… L.A. is just too damn big…" With a sigh, I ducked into an alley and sat against the wall. Losing myself in my thoughts, I didn't notice the sound of footsteps until two boots stopped in front of me.
Looking up, I met the blue gaze of a little girl. She couldn't be more than thirteen, yet here she was, out on the streets. I could tell she was homeless just by looking at her. The boots were worn and breaking and her clothes were tattered and filthy. She was deathly thin, with her ribs protruding from under her shirt. With a glance to my right, I saw a large, cardboard box, which looked like her "home."
"Who are you and why are you in my yard?" The girl questioned as he squatted in front of me.
"Your… yard?" Figuring she meant the alley, I just shrugged. "I'm lost and tired so I thought I'd rest here. I'll be gone soon."
The girl eyed me cautiously, then asked, "Got any money? I need food and in return, I can give you a high that's better than anything."
I blinked, then fished into my pocket and pulled out a twenty. "Is this enough?" The girl nodded and took it.
"I'll be right back." Standing she ran across the street to the 7 Eleven, leaving me to think.
Do I really want the drugs she's offering? I don't even know what it is and who knows what it'll do to me… I've only taken drugs from Envy and he knows what he's doing…
With a sigh, I figured I'd take whatever she was going to offer.
I mean really, a street rat can't get their hands on anything deadly, right?
After a few minutes, the girl came back, her arms laden with food. "Thank you so much. Now I always keep a promise." Setting the bags inside her box, she crawled in, rummaged through her few possessions, then came back.
"Here. I'm going to give the injection right into the muscle. The effect lasts longer that way." The girl winked and produced a thin needle filled with a brownish looking liquid. "There won't be much pain. Just a tiny prick, okay?"
Giving her a small nod, I relaxed as she rolled up my sleeve and expertly pinched my bicep. She could've been a nurse… Looking away from the needle, I waited for the prick. After I felt the needle go in then come out, the effects were almost instantaneous.
A feeling of joy overwhelmed me. I couldn't believe this stuff was so easily obtainable that this child could acquire it… Soon, my rational mind left me and I reveled in the feeling. I even forgot why I was out here as I watched the girl shoot up as well. That's when the trouble began…
Since I'm a cruel bastard, I'm stopping there. I'm sick and under so much pressure, I had a little nervous breakdown on Thanksgiving. So, I had a shitty holiday. And I keep having more breakdowns. Plus, there might be grammar mistakes… Oh well, I don't have a beta… But enjoy this for now and I will try and write chapter twelve soon. Much love to all my darling reviewers.
(1): Alvarado is the sur name of a friend of mine. I love him to death so I used his name.
(2): My school has a citizenship record. I don't know if other schools do, but I used it in this fiction.