Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.
Within two hours, Shela and I arrived at North City, striding into town.
I shed my thick, outer coat, keeping on a thick sweater that I wore underneath, carrying my jacket along with my suitcase. Shela trotted along beside me, covered up in her little coat to hide her wings.
I put on my scarf to cover my electric blue hair, which would most definitely attract attention, the thing that I wanted least right now.
I walked along, careful to avoid alleyways and empty streets as I headed toward the train station, map of North City in hand. My bandaged hand was wrapped securely around my suitcase, and my hand had luckily stopped bleeding, because I had pricked my hand to be able to draw the blood to write the letter. I mean, I didn't have ink, so blood was the next best thing, but because of that, I had to make my letter short…
I must've freaked them out, I grinned to myself, attracting some weird looks from passerbys.
I was thinking deeply about what I was going to do now. Now that I had taken a step back and actually looked at my situation, I was neither the strong, tough Cold Blood Alchemist that got permission to enter the military and fell in love with the stubborn Fullmetal Alchemist, nor the playful, cunning Major Mary, who successfully infiltrated Briggs fortress and escaped without getting caught. I was the smartass, aloof, romance-hating thirteen-year-old Lynette, a girl who had grown up normally, and was going to live normally until she eventually died of old age. That's the Lynette I was. It's about time I had snapped to my senses.
All of a sudden, being alone in the city made me nervous. It's as if I had never used to travel by myself, and I felt extreme worry and paranoia as I walked along, cautiously watching each person who passed by Shela and I.
I guess I had forgotten about Shela, not noticing her still trotting alongside me.
After making sure I was on the right route multiple times, I finally arrived at the bustling train station a short while later.
The sun had already started to set, but even so, the train station was still crowded.
Looking over the train schedules, I sighed. No stops at Baschool. Figures, since Baschool is an abandoned mining town, after all. I looked over a giant map of Amestris that had been conveniently posted by the ticket booth, trying to find towns close to Baschool, close enough that I could walk to Baschool.
I felt Shela crawl up and into my hood, slightly peeking out to observe the map. I jumped, but calmed, remembering she was with me.
"Hm… How about Mirana?" Shela asked, "It's relatively close to Baschool… Besides, the train is leaving in fifteen minutes." My eyebrows furrowed as I quickly thought it over before agreeing with Shela, rushing over to the ticket booth, which had a surprisingly short line of two people, so it only took a minute or two until I got to the ticket booth.
Shela hid in my hood, making sure not to be seen since pets weren't allowed in the train station. I stood in front of the glassless window, facing the young woman who ran the booth. She looked up at me, and I smiled unsurely.
"A five o'clock ticket to Mirana, please." I said, and the woman nodded, ringing up the price. I emptied out my pockets and handed her the money I had on me.
Sadly, I was only missing one hundred cens to buy the train ticket. I looked at the woman sheepishly, reluctant to take out my state alchemist watch.
"The train tickets are so high… Can't you lower the price just a little?" I bargained, but the woman shook her head, chuckling.
"That's what they all say…" She rolled her eyes, "I don't make the rules here, kid. The train is leaving in a few minutes, so if you don't have the money, don't bother." I felt insulted, being called a kid. I was a responsible adolescent! But man, I was screwed this time…
"Here." A low, sexy voice said. I saw a hand reach out from behind me and hand the woman a hundred cens coin, which she accepted instantly, staring at the person behind me with a dreamy look in her eyes. Before I could protest, a ticket was shoved in my face, which I had no choice but to accept since the woman had already taken my money.
"Thank you," I said, turning around to face the person. After those two words, my voice caught in my throat as I stared at the unfamiliar person.
It was a guy with looks that easily rivaled Ed's. He was tall, a maybe half a foot taller than me, with short, blackish brown hair and captivating dark eyes. He seemed like a handsome, mature man, but I could tell he was still young, probably early twenties. My heart skipped a beat, but I quickly got a hold of myself and snapped out of it, smiling at the man.
"Thank you." I repeated, gratefully bowing my head, "I don't know how I can repay you…" The man sighed good-naturedly and took hold of my wrist, pulling me along.
"We're going to be late for the train if we don't hurry," The man said, his attractive, low voice sending chills down my spine. Why does he have to be an adult? I thought sadly, following the man as we approached the train.
And, as I thought, the man and I were on the same train. We both boarded only to find the train packed full of people, leaving only one vacant seat at the end of the car.
The man and I headed toward that seat, awkwardly sitting next to each other, with me sitting by the window while the man sat on the other end of the seat. Our seat faced the end of the train, so no one sat across from us.
I set my luggage down, and I felt Shela squirm out of my hood to snuggle into my jacket I had been carrying, making sure not to be seen. But, that didn't mean I hadn't seen her glance suspiciously at the man as she hid herself in my jacket.
And so, the train started off, our train car buzzing with quiet conversations.
Even though the man next to me was undeniably attractive, I still felt extremely uncomfortable. Why? Because he was a guy, and even more because he was an adult, the two things my parents had always urged me to avoid while I was alone. But this man seemed nice, and I still owed him for saving me from having to take out my state alchemist watch.
I turned to him shyly, attracting his attention.
"Thanks a lot for helping me back there." I said. The man laughed, his low voice making me blush.
"No problem." He smiled slightly, making me smile back. Despite my past disastrous attempts at starting conversations with strangers, I decided to take a shot at it.
"So," I said, "Where are you headed?"
"I'm visiting a friend in Mirana. What about you?" He asked, interested.
"I'm going to meet a few people in Mirana." I answered vaguely, deeming that it would seem strange for a young girl to say she was headed to Baschool to find a wanted murderer. So I took a different approach, and from what I said, I wasn't exactly lying.
The man nodded, and stuck out a hand.
"I'm Enrique," He introduced. Getting a surge of confidence, I shook his hand, our eyes meeting.
"I'm Lynette." I said plainly, and from Enrique's reaction, I could tell that he didn't recognize me as a state alchemist, and he didn't even seem to notice my scar, even though I'm sure all my makeup had washed away with the snow. That put me in a good mood, making me feel a bit more comfortable with the man.
"You look young." Enrique said, looking me up and down, "How old are you?"
"You know, asking my age like that, if I was an older woman, I would be insulted right now," I joked, "But I'm thirteen." Enrique seemed surprised.
"Really? What about your parents? Why are you here alone? North City isn't very safe." Enrique said, making me snort. I think I know how dangerous it is more than you do, I thought in amusement. Time to bring out the lies.
"Well, long story short, they're dead, and I can't get caught by the military since I have business to attend to in Mirana." I said in a completely blunt and cold tone. Enrique gave me another curious look.
"For a thirteen year old, you have a lot on your plate there." He sighed sympathetically, making me wince. What can I say, unneeded sympathy made me feel pathetic, so I changed the subject.
"How old are you?" I shot back, smiling innocently at Enrique, who grinned back at my instant reply.
"How old do I look?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I stared at him, analyzing his face until I came to a conclusion.
"Early twenties….?" I said hesitantly, making Enrique laugh. Confused, I gave him a weird look until he turned back to me, quieting down his deep-voiced chuckles.
"I'm almost eighteen." He stated, and my eyes widened.
"No way! Really?" I asked, surprised. A corner of his lips tilted up in a playful smirk as he nodded smugly. "Wahh~ So young~ You look so mature though~"
"I thought you were much older the first time I saw you." He replied, "But we're both minors! That's surprising."
"So you're into older women, huh," I sweat dropped. He shook his head frantically.
"No! What gave you that idea?" He denied my statement immediately. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.
"You helped me, didn't you? Because you thought I was an adult! And, if you thought I was a young adult woman, you thought you could win me over with charms or something like that, so you helped me! Aren't I right?" I accused, and I could see Enrique holding in laughter. Still, it was really hard to get used to this extremely handsome man acting like a regular teenager. But I guess all the hot ones are immature *Sigh*
"With that scarf over your head, I thought you were an old woman! I couldn't stand to see an old woman helplessly fretting over a train ticket." He explained, and I looked at him in surprise. Oh, well maybe I did underestimate him… He is mature… But…
"Just who are you calling an old lady?" I said in mock insult.
"No, it's just that scarf you're wearing makes you look like one. You can take it off, it's not that cold in here anyway." Enrique said, and bit my lip.
"If I take it off, everyone's going to stare." I stated, making Enrique all the more curious.
"Why?"
"Let's just say I had an accident, and…"
"It's fine; a lot of people have weird hair anyway."
"Well, attracting attention isn't my style, so…" I said nervously, making Enrique sigh in defeat. But he was so drool-worthy, I was having second thoughts... Besides, I'm the great Lynette! The girl who doesn't care what other people think! I can do this!
"Fine…" I muttered, and my hands moved up to remove the scarf, but Enrique stopped me.
"May I?" He asked with a grin that made my heart pound hard in my chest. I mentally cursed. Damn, why do I have such a soft spot for attractive guys? I sighed, and nodded.
Unwinding the scarf, he took it off to reveal my electric blue hair.
"Wow…" He gasped, making me blush in embarrassment. I attracted some stares from the middle-aged women in the booth across the aisle from us, who I had noticed gossiping like they do. I laughed lightly.
"See? It looks weird…" I mumbled, but Enrique shook his head.
"No… It's perfect." He said, tucking a lock of hair out of my face, which lit up red in bright contrast with my blue hair. "You're so cute," He chuckled, making me roll my eyes.
"Uh huh, says the one who doesn't know me that well." I said.
And so, for about two hours we held a steady conversation as the train sped along, a slow, slightly bumpy rhythm that started to make me feel sleepy.
I yawned, still trying to keep my eyes open. Our conversation had died off a while ago, leaving us in a comfortable silence, since I had gotten to know Enrique a lot more, I didn't feel as uneasy around him. It was in my nature to trust people easily, you know.
Suddenly I felt a hand gently pull my head over to lie on Enrique's shoulder. I glanced up at him, but he just smiled at me and gestured for me to sleep. So, closing my eyes, I snuck off to dream land, a slight smile remaining on my face.
Little did I know that soon…
I would be running for my life.
Hey guys! AUTHOR LADY IS AMAZING FOR UPDATING SO QUICKLY~
And, before complaints are shoved in my comment section, I will say, I know this was a OCxOC ish chapter. I apologize to supporters of LynetteXEd (Which I'm sure you all are, since you're reading this) But this part was extremely necessary for later chapters. Why? Because this is going to be EPIC! I knew I got a little carried away with the flirtation, but you will find out why this part is crucial later! Again, I apologize if you found this boring and/or upsetting!
But no lie, Enrique, as you will soon find out, is someone you probably should pay attention to. I have a plan, which will most surely be dramatic, action-packed, and EPIC!
Okay, I made Mirana up. Okay, a here's a little geography lesson for those of you who are not very knowledgeable about Amestris (I'm not good either I just looked it up). Baschool, the abandoned mining town, is located east of North City, so it should be slightly warmer there, since you know, the desert separating Amestris from Xing is eastward. But it's still snowy, so… yeah. LESSON OVER!
Anyway, right now, Lynette is on the run from the military. Why? Obviously because she knew her façade was found out, and she's hiding from the homunculus.
Why is she searching for Scar? What will happen in Mirana? Will Lynette be able to get to Baschool? And who is Enrique really?
Find out in future chapters!
My lovely readers, please review~
Thanks!