Dancing in the Rain

Chapter Four

Edward's "house" turned out to be nothing but an old run down apartment. As they stepped inside, she found the place extremely messy, there was garbage and clothes spread throughout the one-level apartment. He wadded his way through the mess, and brought her to a living room.

"Just... give me a second to find the phone." He said, before letting go of her wrist and disappearing into the mess. Winry glanced around uneasily, before taking a seat on an old couch that was next to a rather beige wall. She looked around, and realized there wasn't much around.

There were coffee tables here and there, an old Tv that Winry was sure didn't work, and a few pictures atop an old fireplace that looked as though it had never been used. Her curiosity drawn, she got to her feet and walked over to the mantel, carefully studying the pictures.

She found the edges of two of them burnt, the corners all but dissolved. One picture of a tall brown-haired woman and a blonde man was nearly burnt to a crisp, she had a hard time seeing it. There were others. A picture of two boys around the age of eight or nine, holding up a fish that they had caught seemed vaguely unharmed. She noted that one of the blonde boys looked very much like Edward. She guessed the other was his brother that he had mentioned before.

There were two other pictures, each seemed like it had been placed in front of a candle too long. She wondered why they were like that, but merely brushed it aside.

"I found it!" Edward said, as he stumbled into the room, holding the phone. He headed over to her, his eyes diverted momentarily by the pictures, and a sort of sad look came over his face.

"Are these you're parents?" she asked, referring to the badly burnt picture.

A dark look flickered over Edward's eyes. It seemed so menacing Winry almost gasped. "They were." He replied, before setting the picture face down. "Now are you going to call or do I have to look up your number?" He asked, handing her the phone.

With that, he turned from the room. Winry stared at his back. Were? Did that mean he didn't have parents? Did he live here himself with his brother? There must be someone looking after him. She was about to chase after him, when something brushed against her leg. She glanced down, finding an orange and white cat weaving it's way in and out of her legs. It had a pretty bad bald spot on his tail, and an ear that seemed to have fallen off. It looked up at her, and mewed as cutely as possible.

Winry smiled, bending down to pet the small cat. She glanced up at where Edward had disappeared to, then down at the phone. With a click of a button, she started dialing.

---

She found Edward sitting at the kitchen table. He seemed to be staring down at his gloves, lost in some other world when the orange cat suddenly jumped up on the table, and diverted his attention. He smiled slightly, petting the cat.

"I didn't know you had a cat," Winry said, taking a seat across from him.

Edward didn't even look at her. "It's my... brother's." he said, still petting the insanely purring cat. "He brought him home one night when it was raining and begged my mother to keep him, my mother said 'only if you have a name for him'." He trailed off, his eyes glazed over with a certain sadness. "So my brother said 'My Glorious kitten!'. My mom laughed."

Winry looked at him, a certain pity in her eyes. "Where's your mom now?"

"Gone," was his reply.

"Where?" she asked, a certain hatred flaring up inside her. How could a mother just abandon her child like that? Then again, she was probably overreacting again, but she didn't care.

"Are you're parents coming?" he asked, shooing the cat off the table.

Winry nodded. "In about twenty minutes."

Edward suddenly frowned. "What were you doing out here so late? Don't you know there are some pretty nasty thugs out here at this time of night?"

"I was looking for a mechanic store." she admitted.

He shot her an odd look.

"I got lost!" she cried. Annoyed at his silent accusations.

It got silent after that, as it usually did. The two sat, unsure of what to say.

"So, where's your brother. You admitted you have one, so where is he?" Winry asked. She couldn't help it! It was that damned curiosity again.

Instantly, a guarded look came over his face. "What is with all the questions! Whenever I see you you're asking me about my life or who I am! Who are you? Let's start with that!" he snapped.

"Fine then!" she yelled back, before taking a calming breath. "My name is Winry Rockbell, my parents work as doctors. We moved from the countryside because my dad lost his job and we couldn't afford to stay. I don't have any siblings, my grandmother works as an prosthetic engineer, and still lives out in the country. I have a dog named Den and I..." she trailed off, wondering what more she could tell him.

"All right," Edward said. "Don't hurt yourself."

Winry frowned. "Now I want some answers."

Edward wrinkled his nose. "I don't have any parents, my brother is not here, and I wear these gloves because I want to. I don't do schoolwork because I don't. I live this way because I do. I don't have any friends because I don't. And they call me cursed because of the accident." As soon as the words left his mouth, he bit his tongue. Great. Now she was just going to be more curious, and ask more questions. The boy mentally groaned.

Winry cocked her head to the side. "Accident?" she asked in a mischievous tone. "Tell me more."

Edward frowned. "No. You've heard too much," he said, getting to his feet. He turned on his heel, heading towards the hallway.

"Tell me what happened!" Winry said in a commanding tone, as she got to her feet and started following him.

"No!"

"Yes!"

The boy headed down the hallway, heading for the room at the end of the hall. "I'm not telling you anything!"

"If you just tell me then maybe I can-" the door suddenly slammed closed as Edward disappeared into his room. "-help." she mumbled. She tried to open the door, before finding it locked. "Jerk!" she yelled, pounding her fist on the door. She then turned her back to the door, letting her legs give out beneath her. She slid down towards the ground, bringing her knees to her chest. Her eyes shone with tears, before they started pouring down her face. "You're nothing but a jerk..." she whispered, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.

Edward sunk to the floor in the room. His back against the door. He felt slightly guilty, but she deserved it. He didn't move, for the twenty minute wait, listening to Winry cry.

---

By the time her mother had come for her, Winry had dried her tears, and looked more confident then ever. She told Edward she was leaving, but only got a muffled reply. She headed back towards the door, stopping momentarily to get one last look at the pictures, before stepping back outside.

Her father had fussed over the fact that she had been at a boy's house, and said something about wringing his neck before her mother tried to calm him down. Winry didn't listen, she merely ran upstairs, and headed straight for bed. She hadn't told her parents she had almost been mugged. They would freak.

She buried her head in her pillows, taking in the warmth of them. What had happened to Edward? The curiosity was getting to her. What was the accident that got him labeled cursed? Perhaps it was some stupid mishap, although her mind wanted to believe it was so much more.

The more she thought about it the more it bugged her, although her thoughts trailed off as she slipped into unconsciousness.

She awoke to her mother telling her to get out of bed. Her father had apparently dislocated his shoulder while moving boxes, and they had to take him to the hospital. It was nothing big, but it would be good to have it wrapped up so it could heal, and her mother said the supplies were locked in a box god knows where so she couldn't do it herself.

Winry didn't believe her one bit. She figured her mother probably just wanted to apply for a job, but she merely brushed it aside, grabbed a bandana and followed her mother out to the car.

Once they got there, a man went to go look at her father, while her mother trailed off, trying to find someone that could help her apply for a job. Winry sighed, being stuck with her father all afternoon while he moaned as his shoulder was being popped back in place wasn't her idea of fun. So instead, she decided to wander around, although she was sure there wouldn't be much to look at.

"They could've just left me at home..." Winry mumbled. "It's nothing serious." She sighed, taking a seat on a chair that had been left in the hall. She placed her head in her hands, wondering if there was some bus she could take to get home so she could enjoy the rest of her sunday.

"Here you are Mr. Elric."

"Geez, I've been here how many years? You'd think they could give me my own key."

"I'm sorry, it's strict hospital regulations."

"Yeah. I've heard it before."

Winry snapped up, and glanced down the hall. She instantly paled. She just managed to see Edward slipping inside a room followed by a nurse. She felt like screaming! Was he stalking her or something! Everywhere she went he was somehow there! First the Shop class partners, then the downtown mugging thing, and now this! Although now she was interested. Edward said something about being in the hospital for a number of years. What could he be doing?

"Only one way to find out.." she purred, getting to her feet, she headed down the hall. She should keep out of Edward's personal life, but hey, she was going to be stuck down here for another hour or so, so she might as well find some way to entertain herself.

As she came up to the door, she glanced in through the window, spotting Edward talking to someone who was lying unconscious in the hospital bed. He had blonde hair, not as golden as Edward's, but still pretty bright. His eyes were closed in a peaceful slumber, and he was hooked up to many machines. Instantly, Winry realized he looked exactly like the other boy in the picture she saw on Edward's fireplace. Was he Ed's younger brother?

"Excuse me," Winry flipped around at the voice, coming face-to-face with a young nurse. "This room is restricted only to family members. Do you have authorization to be here?"

"Um..." she tried to think. "I'm a friend of Edward Elric's. I was just waiting for him."

The woman's face softened slightly. "It's good to see that that boy's finally softened up enough to make friends." The woman said, glancing in through the window. "He's been so uptight, ever since the accident."

Winry raised an eyebrow. "About that, I've heard about an accident, but I don't know what actually happened. Could you tell me?" she asked.

The woman shook her head. "It's not my place to say. But don't worry, if he trusts you, Edward will tell you. He's a very good boy."

Winry nodded. "Thank you."

The woman smiled and moved on towards her next patient.

Winry's lips twisted up into a mischievous smile. Things were getting interesting. It was about time she learned what was going on with Edward Elric. Who was he? What was this accident? And why did people hate him because of it?

Slowly, she turned and started heading back towards her father's room.

No more playing around. Winry wanted answers. And oh, there wasn't a force on this entire Earth that was going to keep her from getting them.

A/N: Here it is! Chapter Four! I bet your all itching to find out what happened to Edward eh? Well don't worry, I'll tell you soon enough.