My god, I feel horrible... I can't believe I procrastinated for so long on this chapter . Please, forgive me for taking so long to finish this chapter. I could go on the rant of excuses like 'homework', 'busy schedule', etc but nope, it was me just being a lazy bastard -_- Anyways, I'm very, very sorry for taking so long and for the parts I got lazy at :/ BUT I do hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or it's characters, I only own the plot and my OC's.
The cool December air, mixed with the cold wind blowing off of the lake beside us, blows my short dark hair into my face, my bangs blocking my view before blowing in a different direction. I breathe the fresh air in, spreading my arms out to my sides as I soak up the Winter sun. Although you couldn't feel the comforting warmth of it's rays, it's nicer then the never ending snow we've been getting lately. The waves from the lake lap up against the cliff side, creating a soothing sound that made me enjoy this bit of nature all the more, and I close my eyes to bask in it for a few moments. Because I'm a bit of a photographer, and since I had to grow up with my sister-the-artist, I've come to appreciate the little things of mother nature. Even when I was younger, you'd be able to find me just sitting in the big old maple tree in my front yard, staring out at Sylvia.
Opening my eyes again, I stare out across the lake, spotting some houses dotting the other side. Today is December 22nd...three days before Christmas, and because of this, Melina, Nicoule, Edward, Alphonse, and I all came to the nearby city of Nielsen. Nielsen, although quite large, is practically a city sitting on the mountain side and has a lot of hills. It also has a river, which we're standing beside right now, sitting in the valley, seperating Nielsen into two halves. The other half you have to cross a bridge to get to. Well, that or take a boat ride, if you have one. If you don't want to do either, well then, I guess you're swimming. Anyways, to get back on track, because it's almost Christmas, Melina and Nicoule came to my house this morning to wake the Elric brothers and myself up, then take us to Nielsen. It was a huge shock, to say the least. Especially since they decided to come at 8:30 in the morning. Let's just say, Edward and I were not very happy people.
None the less, here we are now, standing in front of Nielsen's mall to go Christmas shopping. Out of all the surrounding nearby cities, it's understandable why Melina and Nicoule chose Nielsen to come shopping. Not only does it have a mall, but it also has an entire street filled with unique stores, restaurants, and some of the cutest little bakeries. And, because of how many bakeries lining the street, we've called it Baker Street for as long as I can remember. I don't even know the real name of the street since it's always just been Baker Street to me.
Oh, you're probably curious as to how the five of us got to Nielsen in the first place, correct? Well, Melina got her liscence before Nicoule and I, so she usually has to drive us around places if we either a) want to go there, or b) need to get there somehow.
"Hey, space caddet, ya coming?" Nicoule calls out to me.
I look at them over my shoulder, before jogging up to them from my place on the edge of the cliff, "Ima coming, Ima coming!"
"Yeah, well, hurry up, 'cause I'm cold," Mel shivers to exagerate her point and we all make our way toward the mall.
Once we enter the mall, we find it to be decorated from top to bottom to match the Christmas season. Crowds of people littered it's halls and shops, trying to get their Christmas lists completed before the holiday finally arrives. And although there are quite a few people, it isn't as much as I originally thought there'd be. This is good news, because now we won't have a chance of getting trampled by a mob of frenzied Christmas shoppers. Bonus!
"Where first?" Mel asks as we walk in a little further, examining the decorations they set up for this year.
"Book store!" I anounce, jabbing my finger in the air.
"You always go there first," Nicoule says, rolling her eyes.
"I'm a book worm, so what? Besides, there's a book there that I know my sister will like," I shrug. I look over at the brothers, smiling in amusement when I see their amazed expressions, "Hey, you two, stick close, okay? We don't want to lose you."
The two of them nod and we make our way toward Coles, this mall's bookstore. There, we end up splitting up to go on other ends of the store. Melina and Nicoule head to the childrens side to try to find something for their younger siblings, and end up dragging Alphonse with them, claiming that he is going to help them. Ed sticks with me and together the two of us search through the different sections of books as I try to find the book I need. Although the blonde tends to usually be out-spoken by either complaining or arguing his point, or some other way, he's unusually quiet, and follows me with out a word, appearing deep in thought. I shrug it off; but it still lingers in the back of my mind, subconsciously asking myself what's bugging him.
I sigh, sliding my finger over the sides of books. I've admitted to myself that I'm falling in love with Ed, and believe me, just knowing how I feel about him is a bit of a relief, but now it's kind of hard. For one, he doesn't like me in that way, and then there's the fact that he might end up going back to his world. Don't get me wrong, I want them to return to their world, but I know it's going to hurt a lot when they do leave. Just thinking about it makes my insides twist and turn and my hands shake - they always have when ever I get nervous or anxious.
However, the feelings I get when I'm around him are just...up lifting, and I love them. When ever I hear his voice or see him smile, my mood is just suddenly happier, and my heart seems to speed up. Or when we accidentally touch, a spark runs through me and a shiver runs up my spine. It's nice, and I can't seem to get enough of it, so I usually end up purposely causing 'accidental' touches of our hands. I can't help it, and I really don't know what to do. There's the option of just telling Ed and hoping he returns my feelings - and the chances of that are very low -, or just pretending there isn't a worry in the world and continue to act like my usual self.
So far, the latter is the winning choice.
"What are you looking for, anyways?" Ed asks, breaking the tense silence between us.
"A book that I want to get my sister for Christmas. She's wanted it for a while now, but hasn't been able to get it," I reply, "So, what do you think about all of this so far? Christmas, I mean."
"Well, I don't really know what to think. At first I thought it was a waste of time and money, but I also realized that it brings families together," He states.
I stop walking, rereading a title of a book. Smiling, I snatch it off of the shelf and gaze at it's cover. "I think Christmas is a bit of a waste, too. At the same time, though, I love it because it always used to bring my family closer when we might be fighting about something and it helps us show how much we care about each other in little ways. I'm not really one to show how much I care for someone, so Christmas helps me out with that. Unfortunately, I end up paying a fortune for some of the gifts," I grin wryly, flipping the book over to check the price. Huh, not as bad as I originally thought it would be.
We meet up with the other three at the till and it turns out Melina found something for her younger brother, which means that she just completed her Christmas shopping. Now all she can do is help Nicoule and I finish ours, or the brothers if they decide that they're going to participate in exchanging gifts too.
Well, the next few hours of shopping went by quite uneventfully. Mel and I helped Nicoule find gifts for her family, and that turned out to be easy. Her family isn't really picky and they appreciate whatever they get from each other. The brothers even threw in their opinions now and then towards her gift shopping, or asked about something in the stores that they didn't know about. Usually it was just something that had to do with the Christmas tradition or electronics. To sum it up, everything went by smoothly with out any real big decision making or bad happenings.
Right now the five of us are sitting in the food court, munching down on fries and talking about old Christmas' from our pasts. Some of the things are really nice and make you smile. While others make you choke on your fries because you're laughing so hard. Like I had a few minutes ago.
"How long have the three of you known each other?" Al asks.
Mel, Nicoule and I look at each other, "How long have we known each other?"
"Well, I think we met around sometime in Grade 2 but we didn't start hanging out until Grade 3," Nicoule says thoughtfully, waving her fry around in my face. I slap her hand away, glaring at her. "To think you used to be so nice and innocent."
Mel bursts out laughing, "Are you kidding me!? She was insane! I mean, yeah, she was shy at first, but then she was completely crazy."
"Not to mention stubborn. When we were at the river, I told her to 'wait' as I crossed over to the other side. Next thing I know, she's getting taken down stream. Good news, she managed to grab onto the shore. Bad news, I had to go get her," Nicoule sighs, flicking her fry into the air so she can catch it in her mouth. I snatch it in the air, stuffing it in my mouth as she glares at me.
"You weren't any better," I tell her.
Ed and Al even share some of their childhood stories with Winry, and a lot of them turn out really funny and cute. I love to reminisce about mine or somebody else's past. Sometimes it does make me a bit nostalgic, but I still enjoy remembering something amusing, stupid, nice, or just a simple memory. It always brings a smile to my face, unless the memory isn't a great one. Anyways, the point is that sitting here, talking like this, is nice and fun.
Until he decided to appear.
When we see him waving at us, I sink down in my seat, trying to be invisible while the others glare at him. Why? Why did he have to show up? Especially on such a fun day like today? It was supposed to be just us, hanging out, shopping, having fun...Why does he have to ruin the good things in my life?
"Here comes the jackass train, woo woo!" Nicoule remarks as Chris makes his way over to our table as non-chalantly as he possibly can. I bite my lip in an attempt to hold back a laugh.
Melina rolls her eyes, gathering her stuff together quickly so the five of us could leave as soon as possible. It wouldn't really be such a big deal, but Melina, Nicoule and I all practically hate his guts now so we really do want to get away as fast as we possibly can. From the looks of it, Ed and Al do too. So when he got to our table, we all stood, ready to get on with our shopping; and probably get as far away as possible. Chris looks practically crest fallen when we're about to turn and leave, and I sigh.
"What do you want?" I ask and Mel looks at me in complete shock. She must have expected that I would walk away with out looking back. I guess I'm not as cold hearted as I originally thought I was. I do tend to be a bit of a bitch sometimes.
"Well, I..." He pauses for a brief moment, double checking if we were actually paying attention to him. He sighs, "I wanted to apologize."
"I think that's a little late," Mel scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
I ignore her. "Why?"
He scuffs his shoe nervously, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I realized that I was a huge asshole before my family moved. And, well, I felt bad when I did realize, but when we moved back to Sylvia, I couldn't work up the guts to go find you. But when I saw you at the grocery store...the look you gave me made me feel worse. So I'm sorry Katrina, and I understand if you don't forgive me," He explains.
I honestly don't know how to react to this right now. Here he is apologizing to me for putting me through all that, and I can't even decide on what I should say or feel. There's too many emotions to choose from for this particular situation; happiness, sad, angry, forgiving...I have no idea.
"I...really don't know what to say..." I respond slowly, shifting my weight nervously. I swallow hard and avert my gaze to the floor. Obviously, I'm struggling with this situation. There are a lot of hints explaining this.
So Mel decided to step in. Imagine my joy...
"What are you expecting if she says she forgives you?" She questions, staring at him with suspicious eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, that depends if she's willing to try again..." He replies. You can actually see the light bulb above her head.
"But she has a boyfriend," She smirks.
"She does?"
"I do?" Mel gives me 'the look' and I realize what she's trying to get at. "I mean, I do!"
Although his disappointed look did make me feel a bit bad, I try to ignore it. I'm relieved to know that he feels bad about what he did and is appologizing for it, but I don't trust him anymore. I'm not willing to try again if he's only going to do the same thing he did a few years ago. Oh, and if your wondering, Melina's 'look' is extremely bone chilling and scary as hell. It can probably make the biggest and burliest of men quiver in fear.
"Who is he? Is he in the class?" Chris asks.
"He's right here!" Melina grins, shoving Edward towards me. He bumps into me and the two of us look at Mel in surprise, a blush covering the both of our cheeks. She gives us 'the look' again and Ed shudders.
Proof of how scary that thing really is.
"What's your name?"
Ed looks back at Chris, clearing his throat, "Uh...Edward."
Whoa, wait, he's actually going along with it? I mean, he could be afraid of Mel's wrath; but knowing him, he probably would've just ignored that. Well, maybe, depending on the fact that he's had to deal with a lot of women's wrath before. Or maybe - this is a big maybe - he cares about me enough to help and participate in this act. And, if that's the case, I'm really touched. However, something inside me just doesn't want to believe that reason may be the truth.
Chris smiles a bit, "I guess it's nice to meet you, but I should probably go..." He trails off and he appears to have a bit of an inner debate with himself before speaking his last words and turning to leave. "Take care of her for me."
"I plan to."
The sincerity in both of their voices is something I didn't expect to hear from either of them. I never expected Chris to apologize, for him to realize how wrong he was, or to see him again and find how regretfull he is now. Nor did I expect to have Ed pretend to be something he probably never will be, or to hear such a promising tone when he spoke those words. It just...wasn't like him. Something tells me, though, I'm going to get a lot more surprises.
This is definitely going to be one hell of a Christmas holiday.
I pull my jacket around me tighter, shivering violently as Nicoule and I make our way down Baker Street together. On our way up here, the brothers anounced that they would get us something since we all planned on getting them something. So once we reached our destination, we split into two groups; Melina, Ed and Al as one and Nicoule and I as another. After a half an hour, we would meet up again at a certain bakery, then split up again into two new and different groups. After that we all should be done and then we'll head back to Sylvia.
"Fuuuucck..." I drawl, rubbing my arms to try and provide some warmth as my hair whipped around in my face.
"Shut up, ya pussy," Nicoule rolls her eyes and I glare at her. She shrugs it off. "What are you going to get Mel?"
"I don't know," I reply honestly, "I'll know when and if I see something."
"Using your gut instinct, eh?" She wonders and I nod. She smiles, "Doing the same thing for Ed and Al, then?"
"Mmm...Probably."
"What do you think Mel got us?"
"Knowing her, it'll definitely be surprising."
"Yep...."
We laugh a little before she drags me off into one of the stores, squeeing about something she saw in it's window. I roll my eyes again, but a faint smile is still evident on my lips. I'm pretty used to this because of Nicoule and my family. I'm not exactly saying Nicoule is a shop-a-holic, but she can be when she see's something she really wants or something that looks cool. My sister and mom, though, are another story. It used to drive me insane when we'd have to go shopping because how much my sister and mom do love shopping. We'd spend hours shopping and they'd have 5 or more different bags once we finished. I'm only like that if I actually like the things in the store or off by myself. Other than that, I'm usually bored out of my mind.
There I go, off in my nostalgic world again. I really need to stop that...
"Oooooh, that's cool looking!" Nicoule chirps, dragging me off.
"Please let me still be alive by the end of this day...." I sigh.
*Mel's POV*
"You really are no help," I state, dully staring at Ed.
The three of us - Ed, Al, and myself - are standing in one of the stores I thought might help them find something for Katrina and Nicoule. Well, Al's looking for a present for Nicoule since those two are now friends, Ed and her just keep getting into little fights. Ed is actually more intent on finding a present suitable enough for Katrina, which shocks and amuses me. He's really so serious about this that what ever I suggest he usually says no and goes back to searching.
He shrugs, "What can I do? I don't know her too well."
"Ah, but I do; and yet you say no to everything I suggest," I point out.
"Well, I want to find something that she'll actually really appreciate. I want to repay here for letting Al and I stay with her and helping us in our studies," He responds.
Raising an eyebrow, I question, "That's alllll?"
"Yeah..." He replies slowly. Al and I give him disbelieving looks. "What?"
"Wow, I think you're dumber than Kat," I sigh, throwing my arms up in defeat. Before he can open his mouth to rant, I grab his wrist. "Come on, idiot, I think I know what she'll like."
This is going to be a long day....
*Kat's POV*
Nicoule and I sit down at one of the tables in the bakery we agreed to meet at called 'Simple Pleasures' (1), holding our own drinks. The two of us finished our shopping early and then decided just to come here and wait for the others to be finished. The bakery we agreed to meet at is extremely good at what they do. All of their food and drinks are organically made, a perfect place for people who might be allergic to wheat or milk. Paintings and photo's of some of the coolest and prettiest stuff line their walls and there are elegant looking chairs set up at each table. The prices there are even affordable, a great relief for me. Ever since we began shopping together like this, that bakery would be our break spot and we'd sit there eating and talking about what ever's going on at the time.
I bring my tea's cup up to my face, breathing in the relaxing scent before taking a sip. This is one of my reasons why I love tea so much; it's relaxing. When ever I'm stressed out or pissed off about something that happened during the day, you'd find me having a cup of tea. I especially needed one after the event at the mall when Chris showed up. I'm freaking out about why Ed decided to go along with that act. My heart is screaming 'Yes, he likes you' while my mind is disagreeing, pushing forth as much evidence as it can. It's driving me nuts.
"Hey, space caddet, coming back to Earth anytime soon," Nicoule calls, knocking me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry," I mutter, setting down my mug.
"It's fine. What were you thinking about?" She wonders.
"Uh...nothing you need to worry about," I answer hesitantly. Her face immediately settles into a threatening glare. "It's none of your business, okay?"
"Oh? Really? If it isn't any of my business, it really must be something important," She smirks slyly, "What? You and Ed screwing each other?"
"W-WHAT!?" I squeek, jumping up. After receiving a few odd stares, I sit back down with an embarassed blush. I glare at Nicoule, "No! Why would you think that!?" I hiss.
"Oh, I see the looks you give him. You've really fallen deep, haven't you?" She stares at me and I don't see any sign of her joking around anymore. She's utterly honest and curious right now.
I sigh, "Am I that obvious?"
"So I'm right. And yes, yes you are. It's kind of funny to see you blushing when ever he's near you."
"Shut up..."
"...You have no idea what to do, huh?"
"None at all."
She chuckles a bit, leaning back in her chair and sipping at her drink. Nicoule is a pranking bitch, yes, but she's also the friend you can count on when you need something. She's pretty good at advice and knows a little about everything, even things you probably won't expect. When Melina isn't available for advice, or it's something I can't talk to her about (only God knows what that is), I go to Nicoule. She's helped me out of a lot of ruts before and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have her as my friend.
"My advice right now would probably be just to tell him. If he likes you back, score. If he doesn't, well, you can rest well knowing you tried," Nicoule tells me.
"Thanks, but I don't know if I can work up the nerve to do that," I sigh.
"Trust me, when the time comes, you might find the courage you never even knew you had."
*Mel's POV*
"Jewelry? Isn't that a little cliche?" Ed scoffs, standing with Al and I in a store called 'Vikki's'.
Vikki's is full of knick knacks and jewelry and most of it is really nice. I've gotten a lot of recent Christmas/Birthday presents here, especially for Katrina. Katrina loves jewelry, maybe a bit more than she should. She adores necklaces, especially ones that have keys, locks, crowns, wings, or lockets. I don't really know why. Maybe they signify something, maybe she just likes them, or maybe they remind her of something. I don't know. However, this isn't why I chose to come to this store.
Dragging Ed behind me again, I head towards the back of the store. Al stays behind to look through the jewelry, saying that he's going to try and find his present for Kat. When I spot the thing I'm searching for, I stop and smile, relieved that it's still here. Something that Kat loves more than jewelry is what holds it, a jewelry box. The jewelry box in front of us is a midnight blue with elegant corners and drawers. The top that lifts to open had a glass centre on it with a black rose on it, Katrina's favorite flower. Once the top opens, it also plays a soft tune, one that Katrina has actually hummed quite a bit. The tune is elegant yet it could be classified as almost suspenseful and emotional. However, I'm clueless as to why she loves this thing so much.
"She's had her eye on this thing for a long time but nobodies ever gotten it for her. I don't know why, though. She loves this thing and I'm pretty sure she'll be extremely happy to get it from you," I say.
"Are you sure you want to spend so much?" He asks skeptically.
Ah, I believe I found the answer as to why nobody got this thing. It cost quite a bit of money.
I shrug, "Who cares? I luckily have been doing more baby-sitting jobs than anyone can imagine. I have enough."
"Thanks, Mel."
"It's no biggy. Now let's hurry up and pay for this thing so we can get this shopping day finished."
1 - I'm making up the names as I go so sorry if they're lame
Sooo I hope you enjoyed it. If not, well, damn.
Okay, so I don't know when I'll get the next chapter out. Soon, hopefully, but who knows. Well, I'll probably get out soon if Smeakr beats my ass for taking so long to get these chapters out . I also don't know how much longer the story will last until I finish it, YAY! I DO know that there will be a sequel and that the chapters coming up are going to be few, at least under 10 or so. I hope my readers have enough patience to stay with me TT^TT