Dancing in the Rain
Chapter Five
The first thing Winry did when she got back to school on Monday was ask Riza what she knew about this whole "accident". Riza had said she didn't know the details, but she was certain it had been pretty horrible. She then asked Maes and Roy and they repeated the same thing. Winry was annoyed at the setback, but was determined to find out exactly what was going on.
She asked many kids around the school, and she got several different stories. One kid said that Edward was really a mass murderer, and killed small children at night. Winry crossed that theory off her list. She then talked to another kid who said that him and his brother got into a fight one night, and he clonked him over the head with a bat and gave him a concussion. Winry doubted Edward could be that coldhearted, and crossed that suggestion off the list as well.
It was starting to get frustrating after the thirty-third theory about Edward's "cursed" title, and she felt as though she could pretty much give up. The only thing that seemed consistent through the stories, was that it was not only horrid, but it had something to do with Edward's family.
As soon as Winry got home from school, she fell into her large comfy bed with a sigh of relief. With all the bogus stuff about Edward, she wasn't sure what to believe. She needed a solid source to get the information from. Somewhere where she knew no one would lie to her. She tried to think, desperately trying to think, and yet she came up empty handed.
Where could she go to find out what had happened to the Elric family? Her eyes suddenly opened in realization, as she bounded to her feet.
If what happened to the Elric's was really that bad, then it should be posted on the internet, right?
Her feet pounded on each stair, when she finally reached the bottom, she glanced around, trying to find the computer. Had her parents set it up yet? "Mom!" she cried, tearing into the family room. "Where's the computer?" her mother looked at her oddly.
"Probably still in the boxes." she answered.
Winry cursed, she turned and tore through the kitchen. She arrived at the front door, pulled on her shoes and grabbed her jacket. She was out the door and down the street before her mother could even complain.
---
Finally arriving at the library, she took a breath. She felt like she hadn't breathed all the way over. She looked around at the few people looking at books. She quickly crossed the room, and took her seat at a nearby computer.
With lightening fast fingers, she typed in a newspaper website she knew would have the answers she needed. She clicked on the search bar, wondering exactly what to type in. Finally, she typed in "Elric" and clicked enter.
" 'Michael Elric won first place in..' no... not what I need..." she scrolled down, looking through all the useless junk before her eyes caught 'Edward' in an article. Upon reading it, her heart sank. It was an obituary.
"Trisha Elric. Hohenheim Elric. Must be his parents..." she mumbled, her eyes scanning the words on the screen. "Both died two years ago... leaving to mourn their two sons; Alphonse Elric and Edward Elric." She frowned. So that's what Edward meant when he said his parents were gone. Her heart was filled with a certain dread. She felt so bad now, she felt like apologizing to Edward for no good reason. "Damnit!" she suddenly hissed. "It doesn't say how they died!"
She got to her feet, exiting out of the website, before she started heading towards the door. So his parents were dead, and his brother was in a coma, or something like that. But still, Winry wanted to know more. Why were they like this? How did his parents die and his brother wind up in the hospital? She remembered Edward saying something about coming to the hospital for a number of years, and his parents had been dead for two. Meaning, that what happened to his brother, was probably connected to what happened to his parents.
Damn. The more she picked at the information, the more she wanted to know. She doubted there would be any more information on the computer. Her eyes started to trail towards the ground, as she started gnawing on the inside of her lip. It would be risky, but she might as well try it.
She tore through the door and out into the streets, trying to find the closest train station. She knew one thing; hospital records always contained detailed information on the patient's illnesses or injuries, how they got them, and their families. So, all she would need to do would be slip into Alphonse's room, get the information she needed, and slip out. Simple, right?
---
It wasn't as simple as she thought. First, she forgot the door was locked. She needed some sort of key to get in, then again, Winry was great at picking locks, so she decided that it would be easy to get in. Second, there were nurses everywhere. She would never have time to pick the damned lock! Winry leaned against the wall, thinking. She needed a way too distract those nurses! She needed the information! She had to know! It was eating away inside of her. Being so close to the answers, but so very far away.
As if someone had heard her mental pleas, an alarm went off, and all the nurses in the area started rushing towards a certain room. She knew that alarm well. If the patient was dying, they would rip the nurse button out of the wall, and a code red would go off, calling every doctor in the tri-state area to the room. Winry smirked to herself. She couldn't ask for a better distraction.
She quickly moved up to the room, and pulled out her lock picking machine. Well, it was actually a bobby pin with the ends cut off, but there was no lock she hadn't been able to pick with it. When finally the lock clicked, she silently celebrated as she slipped inside.
She felt instantly guilty, and was hit with a painful blow of doubt. What was she doing? She was supposed to be a good kid. Winry Rockbell was a good kid! And all because of this blonde boy, she was breaking into hospital rooms and prying into people's personal lives. She thought about leaving, just dropping everything and walking out the door. She honestly did. But then she spotted the information she needed hanging on the end of Alphonse's bed, and let the door shut behind her.
She crossed the room in two strides, and grabbed the clipboard. She glanced momentarily up at Alphonse, who was lying blissfully unaware in the hospital bed, and she was hit with a blow of guilt again, she merely brushed it aside, and looked down at the clipboard.
The first thing attached was his health charts. She saw that it seemed relatively even, aside from the occasional drop, or spike. It didn't look too good though. She could see, even though it mostly looked even, over the long run, it was dropping. Slowly but surely. She glanced up at Alphonse with a shaky look, then back down at the clipboard.
"Do you have authorization to be in here?"
She squeaked in shock, and nearly dropped the clipboard. She flipped around, coming face-to-face with a nurse that seemed in her late thirties. It wasn't over yet. All she had to do was act confident. Make it seem like she was supposed to be in here. "Yes," she said rather confident, surprising herself. "Alphonse Elric is my cousin. I'm visiting him. Do you have a problem with that?"
The nurse faltered. "I uh... just, not used to seeing you around here, that's all."
Winry felt like jumping up and down. It worked!
"Julie?" came a shockingly familiar voice. "Is something wrong?"
As Edward Elric stepped into the room, Winry felt like dying. He turned his golden eyes over to her, holding a cup of hot liquid in his hands. His eyes seemed unfazed by her appearance.
"Nothing, Edward dear," the woman apparently named Julie replied. "I was just checking up with your cousin."
Edward turned to her, giving her a knowing smile. "Yes. I heard my cousin would be coming to visit," he said, stepping into the room and setting the cup down on a nearby table. "Julie, could you leave us alone for a while? I'd like to talk to her alone."
Julie nodded. "I'll be back later with dinner."
"Thank you." he said, before she stepped out.
It was silent for a while. She was expecting him to call security. Didn't she just break into his brother's hospital room? Oh, that did not sound good. Not even in her head.
"You must be pretty desperate." He said, his eyes trailing over to his unconscious brother. "Most people give up trying to find out my story. No one's ever gone this far."
"Edward. I'm sorry!" Winry chocked out. "I'm really sorry! I don't know what came over me I just..." Winry trailed of, not having an answer that seemed valid.
"Don't worry about it," he said, turning back to his drink. "You weren't out to kill him or anything."
It got silent after that, as Edward almost downed the liquid all in one gulp.
"Do you really want to know about me that badly?" he asked, setting the near-empty cup down on the counter.
She glanced up at him, wondering where he was going with this. She simply nodded in response.
"Fine then," he said. "If you really want to know, then I guess you've earned it." Edward sighed, crossing his arms. "Sit down. This might take a while."
A/N: This chapter was shorter then the others, I know, and I apologize. It wasn't a very exciting one either, but next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for! Dun dun dun! Edward's past! I bet most of you are thinking "Finally!" And "How could she leave a cliffhanger like that!111!oneoneone2!11!one!two!" Yes, I know you're all thinking it. And I promise my next chapter won't come for a long, long, LONG, time. I'm kidding.. please don't throw things at me!