Dancing in the Rain

Chapter Seven

Every night from then on at six o'clock, Winry would arrive at Edward's house, make him dinner, and clean up a bit more of his mess of a house. She didn't mind. Although some times his sarcastic remarks made her want to throw a dish cloth at him. And occasionally she did. None the less, they both enjoyed the daily routine and Edward often found himself waiting for her arrival.

The thing that Winry seemed to like most about the arrangement, was that it got her close to Edward. It made her feel like she was doing something for him, and she was happy to be helpful. It seemed to do good for Edward as well, as the more time he spent with her, the more he smiled. He seemed to open up, little by little, and by the end of two weeks, she could see a definite change in him.

At school of course, he still refused to eat lunch with them, but she didn't mind. She knew that she would simply wait, and one day, he would agree to her proposal.

Everything seemed picture perfect. Well, almost.

As Winry arrived at Edward's apartment, she eagerly stepped up and wrung the doorbell. After several minutes with no answer, she wrung it again. Still no answer. That was weird. Edward knew she was coming. Was he ignoring her? She knocked on the door rather loudly. "Edward?" she called, wondering if he was home.

Still no answer, and the worry was starting to build up inside of her. She opened the door, not surprised to find it unlocked, and stepped inside. She glanced around as she stepped deeper into the house. "Edward?" she called again, very unsure he of herself. When she came into the kitchen, she spotted him seated at the table, one gloved hand entangled in his bangs, covering his eyes, the other tightly clutching a piece of paper. His teeth were ground together in anger and he made no effort to move as she entered.

"Edward?" she called again, slightly softer then before. "Are you all right?"

"No." he chocked out, as he rose from the table. She was starting to worry.

"What happened?" Her mind started to wonder when he didn't answer. Everything that could go wrong ran through her mind.

"Here," he said, tossing the crumpled piece of paper towards her. "Read it." Casting him a glance, she grabbed the paper and started to smooth out the wrinkles. "It's a permission form," Edward said before she could read it. "They want permission to cut off Alphonse's life support."

Winry couldn't stop the gasp before it had escaped from her mouth. She dropped the paper and it landed on the ground with a soft thunk. She turned her wide eyes over to him. "They can't!" she cried. "They can't do it! You can't sign this!"

Edward's gaze faltered, and he turned it towards the ground. "It doesn't matter if I sign it or not." He said. "He's going to die anyway."

"How could you say that!" Winry cried. "Everyone has a chance! You never know! He could wake up in a day or-"

"That's not what I meant." Edward snapped, as he turned his sharp eyes over to her. "He has no parents, and he has no foster parents, therefore, he is a child of the state. He belongs to the government. If I don't sign it, then the bastards will just send a letter to parliament and it's no doubt those idiots will let them kill my brother." He fisted his hand and ground his teeth at the thought.

Winry looked on helpless. What could she do? She could try to comfort him. She could lie and say that everything was going to be okay. But she knew Edward would never believe her. She took a step forward, then another one. Edward didn't seem to notice. She then wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

Edward was a little stunned. He hadn't been hugged for years. He had never been so close to someone. He wasn't sure what to do at first, but, his body switched to automatic as he wrapped his arms around her, then held her tightly.

When he went to release her, she clutched him tighter. "Edward...?" she whispered, afraid if she spoke any louder that the entire atmosphere that had been created would shatter. "Could we... stay this way a moment longer?"

Edward had no reply for her. Instead, he merely held her close, and buried himself in her scent.

---

Everyone was pleased when the bell rang. It was thursday afternoon, and the day had seemed to drag on for endless hours. Winry gave a sigh of relief when she heard that annoying monotone and the clatter of books and the squeaks of chairs. She stood, and headed towards the door, wanting to get home and burry herself in warm blankets and forget all about schoolwork.

It had only been yesterday when she and Edward had shared a hug. It was still fresh in her mind. Everything about him seemed so intoxicating. His hair, his smell, his eyes...

"Hello? Winry? Are you alive in there?" came Riza's voice. Winry shook herself out of the trance and looked over at her.

"Oh, hello Riza." she said with a smile.

The blonde in front of her blinked. "Got something on your mind there?" she asked. "You seemed pretty out of it."

"Oh," Winry said, trying to hold back a smirk as the two headed down the crowded hallways towards their lockers. 'I was just thinking about something..."

The girl next to her smiled. "Oh. I know all about that kind of thinking." she said as she cast her friend and glance, before frowning. "Oh great, look who's coming."

Winry glanced in the direction Riza was looking, and spotted Edward dodging traffic to get over to them. She couldn't help but smile slightly. "Hey Winry," he said as he came to stand next to them, not even acknowledging Riza's presence. "Can I walk you home? I need to talk to you."

"No you can not walk her home!" Riza said in a rather annoyed tone. Not only was she being ignored but he was talking to one of her friends. The girl was appalled. "Who do you think you are?"

"Sure. Although, I take the bus, so there won't be that much walking in the process." She answered, ignoring her friend completely.

Edward nodded. "Sure. That's fine." he said, before turning and walking away.

Riza was slightly annoyed that she had been ignored by both parties, but more annoyed that she accepted his invitation. "Did you fall don and bump your head?" she asked, as soon as he was gone.

Winry smiled knowingly. "I don't know what you're talking about. Edward Elric is a respectable young man, and if you have a problem with the fact that he's walking me home," she paused. "Take it up with Roy."

With that, she turned on her heel and headed for her locker.

---

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

The hot days of summer were quickly dying, and the crispness of autumn had already set itself in place. The leaves were turning golden and already dropping from the trees. In Winry's opinion, autumn was beautiful. The two walked quickly down the street, and were already far enough away from school. They had gotten a few odd looks when they had emerged from school, walking side by side. Some people had started whispering, but Edward scowled at them.

"It's about last night." He said, as he placed his hand in his pockets.

Winry smiled, her face turning a dim shade of pink. "What of it?" she asked sweetly, as the two turned to cross the street.

"Well," he said with a sigh, unsure how to word this. "You see I... and this thing and..." he stopped and looked down at the ground, trying to mentally straighten out his words.

Winry stopped a little ahead of him, smiling. She waited patently for him to finish his sentence. She knew not to rush him. "Yes?" she said in a sweet, all knowing way.

"It's this..." he paused, turning to look up at her, before his eyes sharpened. "Car!" he cried, as he quickly grabbed her, shielding her with himself and jumping to the side of the road. Winry wasn't sure what was going on. She heard the squealing of car tires, and felt the impact of the hard cement below them.

When she opened her eyes, she found those golden orbs of his staring down at her. "Are you all right"? he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She then glanced over at a red car parked awkwardly in the road, skid marks behind it. Two women got out of the car, hurrying over to them.

"Oh my goodness!" One of them shrieked. "Are you okay!"

"I'm so sorry!" the other one yelled. "I didn't see and I- I'm so sorry!"

Edward released her from his hold, and held out his hand to help her up. She smiled and accepted it. "No need to worry," she said. "I'm fi- ouch." She winced, as she stepped down on her right ankle, and quickly lifted it off the ground. "Oh no... I think I sprained it."

The women started panicking. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" One cried.

"Let us take you to the hospital! It's the least we can do!" The other said, clamping her hands together.

"It's alright." Winry said with a smile. 'My parents are doctors they can take care of it when I-"

"Winry," Edward said, cutting her off. "Let them take you to the hospital."

"But-"

"You're parents may be doctors, but you'll never make it home on that ankle." Winry had to admit the blonde had a point. So, she reluctantly agreed. Momentarily, she had to wonder what was up with him. He suddenly seemed very angry. He didn't blame himself, did he?

---

"There you go Ms. Rockbell. It's all fixed up for you." The doctor said with a smile. Winry looked down at her bandaged ankle and smiled.

"Thank you very much." she said.

"Now stay off it for a few days. Don't apply any unnecessary pressure. I'll have the nurse send some crutches down so you can get home." He said.

"Thank you." Winry said as the man stepped out.

The air then got very tense, for reasons Winry couldn't figure out. Edward was seated in a chair, where he had been for the whole time. His hands were welled up into tight fists, and his eyes remained in a stony expression.

Sighing, Winry decided to break the eerie silence. "Edward... are you hungry? I know you probably want anything but hospital food but we could go out for ice-cream or-"

"Winry," he said in an end of sentence tone, as he got to his feet. "There's something I want to tell you."

She silenced immediately, looking at him in anticipation. She wasn't even sure what he was going to say anymore. Before, she thought she knew, but now, she just wasn't sure.

"Listen," he turned his cold golden eyes on her. "I want to apologize in advance."

"If it's about the accident don't. It wasn't your fault. They were just being careless. And I was the one who stopped in the middle of the road. I mean, how stupid is that?" Winry asked with a laugh, trying to lighten his seemingly dark aura.

He seemed unfazed by her interruption. "Winry. I don't think we should be friends anymore."

She nearly fell off the bed. "Wh-what are you saying?' she asked, thinking, hoping, she had heard wrong.

"I killed my parents, I put my brother in a coma, and it was all because of my carelessness." He said, casting a momentary glance at his gloved hands. "I don't want to make the same mistake twice."

She forced a smile. "Of course you won't make the same mistake twice. I mean, it was an-"

"You nearly got hit by a car!" he yelled, before calming himself. "They call me cursed for a reason. And I don't want you getting involved."

"That's just some-"

"Stop making up excuses!" Edward cried. "This friendship is over. Don't ever come to my house. Don't talk to me either." He narrowed his eyes in a piercing glare. "I don't ever want to see you again."

Winry jumped down from the bed, wincing slightly at her ankle. "Edward!" she pleaded, feeling herself panicking. "What are you saying! You can't mean that! I've stuck with you this far! I want to see you to the end! I want to help you!"

"I don't want your help!" he snapped, causing her to pull back in shock. "I don't need you or your pity." He turned towards the door, pulling it open before sending her another glare. "Stay out of my life." With that, he slammed the door shut, leaving a stunned Winry standing in the hospital room.

Her knees buckled under her own sadness. She felt her heart shredding. Never had she felt so low in her life. Her hands snapped up to her eyes. She didn't even want to stop herself.

When her parents found her, she was sobbing her eyes out on the hospital room floor.

A/N: (Dodges multiple objects being thrown at her) Ah! I'm so sorry! You see, I had this pre-written, so I was ready to put it up like, two weeks after chapter six when up, but my internet went down and I'm so sorry! I could get no computer, I couldn't transfer it or anything! I swear I was really gonna update. I'll invite all my stalkers into my house and I can show you, right there written on my calendar "Dancing in the rain update May 10th" but I couldn't because it was down for over a month. It literally just got put up five minutes ago.

(Dodges a Piano) People are yelling at me everywhere for this. (sigh) Also, I would like to apologize for Edward's bitchy behaviour. I think he's acting a little OOC is he ever was IC to begin with. Anyway, I'm sorry this took so long, I hoped you enjoyed it.