Disclaimer: I own Ash, Travis, Colt, and this idea, nothing else!
Author's Note: I haven't gotten a single review since I posted chapter 9, did everyone hate it or something. I know it wasn't what ya'll expected, but Ed will explain himself in this chapter. Also, you'll find out more about your dad and Travis, the strange little boy who showed up with Al for no reason.
So please review! Oh also, usually when I'm this far in the story, I tell the readers how many chapters are going to be in the story, but I don't know yet. Probably somewhere between 13 and 19, but I'll tell you when I get an exact number.
Lessons in Alchemy
Chapter 10: Explanation
Ed pulled away and looked up, because he heard someone yell "no." He saw Ash, on her hands and knees on the ground, tears falling down her cheeks. He knew that she never cried; it took a lot of hell to make her cry.
"Ash…" he whispered, taking an insecure step towards her. She looked up and saw him walking slowly towards her, so she jumped up from the ground and glared at him, her amber eyes full of heart ache.
"Get away from me!" she said, quietly, but she knew he heard her because he froze. "You lied to me, you broke my heart. Just leave me the hell alone!"
And she turned around and calmly walked away, not glancing back. She couldn't. She had doubted Ed before, when the time was wrong, but…this time, this time he went too far. It's not like he officially asked her to be his girlfriend or anything, but he said he had never had a girlfriend, that he loved Ash, and he kissed her.
It was too much for her to take in all at once, so she just started walking, not sure where she was headed, just walking…
X
Winry walked over to Ed's side. "Edward, what was that about? Was that Ash?" she asked, her aquamarine eyes staring at the spot where you once stood.
Ed nodded, but didn't say a word.
"Well what was that about, you said that she wasn't your girlfriend didn't you?" Winry took a step towards the place you had been hiding.
Ed couldn't look at the spot though, instead he turned away. "No, she isn't my girlfriend Winry, but I love her. I'm sorry Winry, but you are only a friend."
"You…love her?" Winry whispered, her eyes drooping a little. "Well I can see why, she's such a nice girl, and pretty too. I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to ruin your relationship-well chance with her."
X
Lust disconnected all the wires from Arkilus, after filing all the read-outs from the lab, and put him in a cage.
"So that's why everyone is after Ashton, because of her father? What would Colt say to this? Where is Colt anyway?"
Lust walked back into the main room, watching Gluttony busily watch television. "You lazy bum, get to work! We have a job to do!"
X
Al looked at the piece of paper with the address on it, thinking about Arkilus. "I should go save him, but what about Travis?" he asked himself, watching the little boy sleep on his bed, now dressed in some of Ed's old clothes, and dirt-less.
He sighed, sitting down on the end of Ed's bed. "I have to save Arkilus… but how?" He turned around and looked at Travis.
But suddenly Ed burst in the doorway, followed closely by Winry. "Is Ash here?" Ed asked, practically out of breath.
"No but you need to find her 'cause we have an emergency!" said Al.
"Hello Al, what's the emergency? And who's the kid?" asked Winry looking towards the bed. Al smiled, "Hello Winry. He's a homeless boy I found, and I cleaned him up."
Al turned back to Ed. "Listen Ed, Arkilus has been kidnapped; I have the address for where he is, but I can't leave Travis here alone. Go find Ash and get him back!"
Ed looked to Winry for help, because Al didn't know about Ed and Ash's fight. Winry smiled and whispered, "Go, if you go find Ash you can explain everything to her. I'll stay here with Al."
Ed nodded, "Ok Al, you be careful and take care of Winry!"
X
Ash lied on her bed, tears swelling up in her now silver eyes. "I thought he loved me…" she thought, laying her head down on the pillow. She suddenly realized Arkilus wasn't there, but she knew Al was taking good care of him, and she would bring him home tomorrow. She just needed to think.
That's when she heard knocking at the door, so she wiped her eyes and opened her door quickly. The girl jumped back when she saw Ed standing there.
"Hello Ed, what's up?" she asked, looking at the two-faced boy in front of her.
Ed rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to talk to you."
Ash let him in, "Welcome to my humble abode," she said sarcastically. You made space for him on your bed, and he sat down.
"Ash, I wanted to apologize for what happened with Winry. Will you let me explain what happened?"
She thought for a minute, wondering if what he told her would even be the truth, after what she saw today. She started to doubt him again…
But after everything they had been through, she felt she could trust him, so she nodded.
"Listen, I told you I have never had a girlfriend, and that is true. Yes Winry and I went out, when we were both very young. You see, her grandmother told me how Winry really liked me and how she was moping a lot because she knew I didn't like her. So her grandma asked me to fake go out with her, to cheer her up. So I did, but we broke up not much later. Then she started having a crush on Al. But I guess she still likes me."
He paused for a second, to make sure the girl was still paying attention, and once he saw she was, he continued.
"Anyway, Winry never knew that it was all fake, and I never really counted it as us going out, that's why I told you that I'd never had a girlfriend-"
"But what about that kiss?" Ash interrupted, and he sighed.
Ed looked down to his lap, "I didn't plan on kissing her, and I didn't like it. It was just one of those kisses between friends. I didn't want her to know I faked liking her, because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I…"
He paused, seeing tears prick her eyes again. "And you can tell the difference between a passionate kiss and a kiss like that." He said, cupping her face in his hands. He then kissed her tenderly, a very passionate kiss full of spark. She wrapped her hands around his neck and returned the kiss.
"That kiss was full of spark, while the one I gave Winry had no feeling at all-only disgust. Don't get me wrong, Winry's a great friend, but I don't feel for her like I do you." He explained after breaking the kiss.
"And I'm really sorry I never told you about Winry…"
Ash thought back to it all. "I guess we're even, I never told you about my "shack"."
Ed smiled, "It's fine. Am I forgiven?" He put on these puppy dog eyes.
She smiled. "Yes," and hugged him.
"Good, cause we have a situation…"
X
She stared at the piece of paper, "Yup, this is the place," she said, after Ed doubted that they were going the right way for so long.
"So who was it that stole Arkilus?" she asked, really pissed off.
Ed shrugged, "Not sure. Listen, be careful in there okay?" he said, turning to look at her with concerned eyes.
"Don't worry; I'll do whatever it takes to get Arkilus back!"
She looked over the house, surprised at how beautiful it was. It was two stories, with large oak doors and beautiful windows. She pushed open one of the large doors, surprised when it didn't make a sound.
"Let me go in first, and give me my jacket. Those people will be looking for red; if you're wearing it they might mistake you for me if they're far away."
Ash nodded and slipped off his jacket, which he slips on quickly. "Let me go in and look, and I'll give you the signal," he said, starting to walk into the big house, but she grabbed his sleeve. "I'll go with you…"
So she followed Ed into the big, dark house, looking for any trace of Arkilus. "Oh my god! It's his collar!" she whispered, picking up the neon blue collar, the license chiming a bit.
"Well he's obviously here. Don't worry though, we'll find him." Said Ed, and they walked further into the house.
She turned suddenly after hearing the sound of snickering behind you. "Hello Ashton," said the girl that kidnapped Arkilus.
"What did you call me?" Ash asked, hoping that the girl would come out of the shadows so she could see her face.
"Ashton McNill, we meet again," snickered the girl, and Ash noticed that her voice sounded familiar.
"Who are you?" she asked, but then the girl stepped out of the shadows.
Ash gasped when she saw the girl's face. "Colt…Colton? What the hell are you doing here?" the amber orbed girl asked, watching Colt walk farther out of the shadows and over to her.
"Who is she?" asked Ed, leaning over to his friend's ear, his eyes never leaving Colt.
Ash glared at the woman in front of you, "My big sister Colton…"
X
Cliffie! Not sure if this is considered a major cliffie, because many of you guys already guessed that Colt (Colton) was Ash's sister, but now you know! Why would Ash's sister want her chimera? And what's the deal with their father? Find out soon!
Fox Kitsune