Staring at the enormous building in front of him, Edward let out a sigh as he grabbed his little brother's hand and walked toward the stairs into that high school. The Longlake institute was the best public high school in that district, recognized for the goals their students accomplished and the best library in the entire continent of Canada. Edward couldn't help to feel unsure, worried if he could get used to this new way of life and feeling envy of Alphonse's relaxed smile.

"How come you're smiling?" Ed asked as they walked through the hallways of that foreign high school.

"It's exciting," Alphonse said, his cheeks beginning to hurt. "I'm not sure I can stop smiling! I can't wait to see what kind of classes we're going to have!"

"I can't wait to have a crack at that library," Edward said with a small laugh. "Do you think we have time before class? I'm just itching to open one of those books..." He rubbed his hands together, but Alphonse grabbed his elbow.

"Come on, Ed, we have to find our classes. You can look at the library later." Edward cried out in disappointment as Alphonse pulled him towards the main office.

Alphonse opened the main office's door and pulled his brother inside with him. The secretary looked right toward them and Edward knew this was his time to act like the real responsible older brother he was.

"Good morning, we're Edward and Alphonse Elric…," he started as he asked for their schedules. The secretary was nice and smiled at the two new students as she gave them all the information they needed. Edward gave his younger brother his schedule and sighed as he read his own. "Looks like we're not going to share classes like we did in our hometown."

"Maybe they have some kind of rule about it," Alphonse said as he thanked the secretary and they left. "My homeroom is rooms away from yours. We're not too far apart."

"Yeah, we aren't," Edward said with a grin. "Well, I'm off to Algebra B. I'll see you after school today, okay bro?" He pulled Alphonse into a one-armed hug.

"Good luck on your first day, Ed! Stay out of trouble." Alphonse gave his brother a stern look, poking his chest sharply. Edward made a promise not to get into any fights on his first day. With a final farewell to his younger sibling, Edward and Alphonse separated to their homerooms. Edward took a deep, calming breath to slow the heart pounding in his chest before opening the door and entering the classroom. Immediately, all eyes were on him.

The whispers began and Edward could feel his cheeks as he began looking for a free seat to take that first class. Sitting beside the window, he took his new notebook and pencil and placed it over his desk, traveling his finger tips on the cover as he tried to ignore everyone's eyes still over him.

"So he's the new student? Isn't he cute?" a girl said a few desks away.

"I heard his name is Edward, I've never seen him before…"

"Maybe his family just moved in."

"Awww, I hope he's single!"

Of course I'm single, he thought miserably. He was the only gay guy in the school, minus Envy of course. But instead of just playing the shy type, Edward acted on the advantage of having all the cute girls in the class looking at him. He caught eyes with a group of three girls and winked, smiling proudly as they giggled and turned away from him.

Two guys turned towards him and glared. Edward turned away, looking towards his desk with a large grin. He had made his place in the classroom, but that was going to change when they found out how big of a nerd he was. After all, he was taking advanced courses and looked to be the youngest one in the class.

The door opened and a blonde woman, who looked at her mid thirties, walked through the classroom and right toward her desk. Everybody went silent and Edward cleared his throat silently after he saw the teacher writing his name on the blackboard.

"We have a new student in our classroom." She started looking at each of her students until she find him. "Edward H. Elric?"

"Y-yes?" he gulped a bit nervously. That teacher looked quite strict and rude.

"I'm your teacher Riza Hawkeye, would you mind to introduce yourself to the class?"

Edward felt himself go pale as all of the students turned around and looked at him. He slid down in his seat, trying to make himself disappear. "Uh, hi," he muttered and regretted it when the girls squealed. He cleared his throat. Riza looked at him with an annoyed stare.

"Okay, well, now that we have that out of the way, take out your text books and your homework; we're going to go over it." She walked over to her desk. "Edward, I'll have to get you a text book soon; we've run out and I'll have to borrow some from the Mr. Falman. Remind me after class to get one from him."

Riza pulled out a small book and opened it up. Red writing was mixed in with the black print of the pages.

As the class continued, Edward kept trying to focus his attention on what his teacher was explaining, feeling a bit uneasy with the stares the others students gave him at his back. The topic from that class was something he already knew and that helped Ed to get a bit relaxed. When the bell rang, Edward stood up as quickly as he could and left the classroom looking for Alphonse; he wanted to see a familiar face at least.

"What's so interesting with being the new guy?" he complained walking through the halls full of students.

As Edward was looking around, he bumped into someone, grunting as he nearly fell backwards. He looked up to see a large, intimidating student turn towards him. The person was well-built, with dark hair and the same violet eyes as Envy. Edward felt his heart jump into his throat before he realized that this person wasn't Envy.

"Excuse me," he muttered sheepishly, ducking around the taller boy's side and quickly sprinting down the hallway. He found Alphonse opening his new locker and dashed to him. He was out of breath when he got to his little brother.

"Are you okay, Ed?" Alphonse asked worriedly.

"I hate this high school." Edward complained as he looked how the tall boy was looking at his way but he left, minding his own business, and the short blond couldn't help but sigh in relief. "I feel like if they don't get new students regularly because they keep staring at us!"

Alphonse looked at the people in the hall and shook his head. "Brother, don't blame them for being curious. Just relax and enjoy the day the best way you can."

"I'm trying, Al, I'm trying," Edward said with an exhausted sigh. He gave his brother an encouraging nod before heading off to his next class, which was upstairs. The teacher wasn't in the room when he arrived either, and he received stares once again.

"Yo! Ed!" Edward looked up from his feet. Envy was sitting near the back of the class, grinning and waving at him. Edward felt relieved to recognize at least one friendly face. He quickly moved to the back and grabbed an empty desk beside Envy. "Sweet! We have a class together. My luck seems to be getting better this year." Envy winked again.

Edward chuckled lightly as he placed his things on his desk and scratched the back of his neck with relief. "Same with me, I hated my first class," he let him know as everyone else in the room began taking their places. "It's so freaking bothersome to feel everyone staring at your face."

"Oh, don't be like that." Envy smirked wildly. "Enjoy being the main topic today; everyone's attention is placed on you. Use this power wisely and you might love it later."

Edward gave him a confused look and was about to say something when the door closed and the teacher walked in, rubbing bristles on his chin between his fingers. He smirked as his eyes landed on Edward. "Ah! There he is!" The teacher stalked over.

"Run for your life!" Envy hissed. But it was too late. The teacher came up beside Edward and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"So, this is our new student!" he announced, making the entire class turn towards him. "It's nice to see you've already found a friend. My name is Hughes. I'll be your teacher for History." He reached into his pocket and pulled something small and papery out of it. "Here! Have you seen my daughter? Her name is Elicia, and she's almost three years old! Isn't she just adorable in this sun dress?"

Edward glared over at Envy as he started snickering.

"She's… she's cute" Edward said as Hughes forced him to contemplate at the picture he brought. "I guess…"

"You guess?" Hughes chuckled as he patted Ed's head with his big hand. "Well, if you are a good boy, I might let you visit my home to meet her and make sure she's the prettiest, brightest and best girl in the entire world. Too bad you're too old for her."

"If only he knew your preferences…," Envy whispered, looking away from Ed as he smirked.

"Silence in the back," Edward growled as Hughes turned away from him and went to his lesson at the front of the class. Envy held his hands up in front of him, a guilty smile painting his face. He turned towards the board as Hughes went on explaining something to another student. Envy opened a binder and pulled out a few pages.

"We had to do a research paper," he explained to Edward's asking gaze. "You'll probably have to make it up for the grade. Or stand an hour of his doting." He passed his papers up to the person in front of him. "Hughes's class is actually kind of easy. And his tests are just memorization. You should be able to get past it if I can."

"Really?" Edward grinned. "I should be able to catch up in no time. I have no life outside of school, so I have plenty of time to do all this work." Envy stuck his bottom lip out in a fake pout.

"Well then, it looks like we'll have to change than soon."

Edward stared at Envy for a few seconds and then his eyebrows rose at the same time. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously, but then a shy and also small smile crossed his lips. "If you try to make me socialize, I can assure you it will be very hard to accomplish."

There were no eyes on them; no one noticed Edward was starting to feel attracted for Envy. He got a bit closer to the green haired teen at his side. "I think I told you yesterday…"

Edward smirked and Envy leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head as to show off how the sweater he was wearing tightly wrapped around his muscled arms. He shot Edward a smirk as the younger teen's face flushed slightly at the sight. Edward turned quickly away from Envy, making him frown at the sudden loss of attention.

"Stop trying to look sexy," Edward grumbled low in his voice.

"So does that mean you think I'm sexy?"

"No." Edward answered quickly but then bit his lower lip and felt his cheeks getting hotter. "Well... maybe just a bit, but stop it," he added shyly.

Edward turned slowly toward Envy but his eyes never met; he managed to clear his throat.

Envy closed his eyes triumphantly and chuckled. "I can't stop it. It's not my fault you can't stand me."

"It's not my fault you're flirting with me," Edward answered quickly finally with his eyes on Envy.

"Well, is it working?" Envy asked smirking.

Yes, Edward thought, oh Gods, yes, it's working. But his mouth said otherwise, "No, it's not. You look like a damn fool." Envy pouted a little bit at his harsh remark, and then turned towards the board as Hughes raised his voice. Edward did likewise, not wanting to get into trouble on his first day. He averted his eyes as Hughes went on about a Revolutionary war.

Edward cast a quick glance at Envy. He wasn't even paying attention to Hughes's lesson; he was doodling in his notebook like the teacher wasn't even standing there.

Edward sighed and his hand went up to his cheek to his ear, brushing his golden bangs on the way. How could Envy get distracted with doodles in such an interesting class like this? Maybe he will never understand Envy or get anyone to understand his love of learning.

Getting all his attention on what Hughes was explaining, that class ended as quick as it started and Edward felt the urge to continue reading his history book as soon as he get back home.

He stood from his seat, at the same time as half of the students and looked down at Envy wondering where he was going to have lunch.

"Ah, finally! I thought it would never end," he said with a yawn. Hughes cleared his throat. Envy grinned sheepishly. "You know I love your class, Mr. Hughes." Hughes nodded and Envy quickly gathered his books together. He noticed Edward waiting on him. "What? Do you need to find a class?"

"Ah, well, yes and no," Edward said. "Um, I was wondering where you were going to have lunch? So far, you're the only person I know besides my brother. I feel it might be best to stick with people I know." At this, Envy smiled broadly.

"Oh, who do you have next?" Envy grabbed his schedule. "You have lunch with me; how pleasant. This year seems to be getting better and better!"

Edward felt pleased to find Envy so eager to be with him and, for that, Ed gave him a bright smile in return.

"I hope the food in the cafeteria is eatable, I'm starving to death," he admitted as he walked out the classroom with Envy by his side, guiding him toward the cafeteria.

"The food is ok, it could be better but at least it doesn't taste like plastic." Envy replied and then smirked sexily at Ed. "Besides, if you don't like it, you could eat me instead."

Edward stopped dead in his tracks at Envy's reply, face in a furious blush. Envy started laughing, taking Edward by the elbow and leading him into the cafeteria. It was a large room with at least twenty tables and students crowding around the line for food. Envy pulled him over to a table near the back and set his books underneath it.

"Greed's going to sit with us," he said. "You can meet him! He's kinda big and annoying, but you'll get used to him." Edward guessed that the larger boy he ran into in the hallway earlier in the day was Greed as Envy led him to the line.

"Yeah, I… um… I will," Edward replied as they got their food after a couple of minutes in the line. "Alphonse will join us too, I bet he'll be here in no time." He said looking around in the cafeteria and looking for his little brother to appear.

"Hmm?" Envy looked for Alphonse too but, without a warning, a bigger man wrapped his arms around him and hugged him so tightly that he could barely breathe.

"My little brother!" Greed greeted him while he laughed, enjoying the surprised look of Envy's face. "I bet you missed me, little bastard!"

"Damn you!" Envy growled. "Thanks for breaking what ribs I had left. Now they're all ground into powder." Envy rubbed his side as Greed plopped down beside him and helped himself to Envy's plate. Envy glared.

"Oh, hey. You're the kid that ran into me today. Thanks for that," he said blatantly. Envy gave Edward a look as the blonde boy stammered to catch himself.

"S-Sorry." He ducked his head. "I, uh, didn't mean to."

"You looked quite distracted," Greed replied as he stole a fried potato from Envy's food and he cleared his throat to continue talking. "I bet you had something interesting in mind you wanted to share with us."

"I-It's none of your business!" Edward replied as he kept blushing madly. "I mean…! Um… where are we going to sit?"

"Brother!" Alphonse voice echoed and Edward quickly looked back at him.

'Thank you, Alphonse!' he screamed in his head as his little brother took a seat at a table beside him. The group placed their plates on it and took the table.

"Oh, hey Envy!" the younger Elric greeted with a large smile. "Nice to see you again!" Envy waved.

"This big lummox is my older brother, Greed, by the way. If you feel your IQ slowly descend, feel free to step away." The two Elrics laughed as Greed pulled Envy into a headlock and Envy bit him.

"That's really funny," Greed said sarcastically as he and Envy kept battling in front of the Elric brothers. "Now now, you palm tree, you are as lazy as I am so shut up."

"Heh, I might be lazy but at least I finish my homework!"

"Um… guys, could we just… eat our food now?" Alphonse asked with a nervous smile. "Everyone's staring…"

Envy gave Alphonse a smirk. "Why blend in?" he asked. "Don't you just love the attention? People actually acknowledge your existence when you stand out." Greed rolled his eyes.

"Don't listen to him. He's just an attention-whore," he teased. Envy glared as Edward started laughing. Just as he thought, everyone was looking towards their table, whispering to each other. There was a small sense of satisfaction of having everyone be aware of his presence.

Edward looked back at Envy and smiled at the green haired man. He didn't mind if everyone was staring at them; he suddenly just wanted to look at Envy's eyes for a bit longer.

"Right, brother?" Alphonse said and Edward blinked two times and looked back at Alphonse.

"W-what did you said, Al?" Edward asked as he blushed for being distracted.

Alphonse sighed. "I was just telling them that we are not used to this kind of attention."

"O-Oh, yeah. We're actually kind of not." He quickly looked to his food as Envy cocked an eyebrow at him. "We usually try to get the least amount of attention we can."

"Aw, that's a bummer." Envy slid his hand over and took Edward's as Greed's friends called him to another table. "You should try standing out more often."

Edward felt Envy's hand holding his and his heart's beat increased it speed. He placed his golden eyes on Envy's and squeezed his hand in reply while he nodded. "Maybe…," he said and Envy showed him a seductive grin. "Maybe we should try but… I'm OK if I got yours on me."

Alphonse looked right toward his brother and noticed that look on his face; he knew what that mean and sighed silently with a smile.