Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the song 'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi.
A/N: I'm sorry this took so long, but I've been busy. Also, my updates might start taking longer like this one. These last few weeks have been busy. But now my updates might take longer because I got a summer job.
It's My Life
I'm going to be going back and forth between German and Japanese. When I switch languages German will be in bold and Japanese will be in italics, for at least the first line of the change.
"Talking"
Thinking
Chapter 5
Edward sat at a table by himself with his lunch in front of him. He pushed the food around with a fork as he stared idly around the cafeteria. Gym had just ended and he had to run out of there so he could keep living. The students looked ready to kill him because of how hard he was pitching. He had even knocked one of the students out by hitting him in the head with the ball. He felt horrible about that. He would have to apologize the next time he saw him.
Which would be now.
Kain Fuery was sitting with his friends a few tables away. He was holding an ice pack to his head that he most likely got from the nurse. Ed winced when he saw the big bruising bump on Fuery's head. Scar had said that it would make him stronger in the end. Sadly, Ed had to disagree. Fuery didn't really look like a strong kid.
Ed kept watching the group until Fuery got up to throw his food away.
Sighing, Ed pushed himself away from the table and walked towards the garbage cans. He dumped his tray in the garbage and turned to Fuery, who was walking away but stopped when Ed grabbed his arm. "Fuery."
Fuery stopped and looked back at him. "Elric."
"Look, I'm….." Ed paused. He was not one to apologize. It was really hard for him to do. "I'm s..sorry about hitting you in the head."
Fuery gave a small smile. "It's alright. I know you didn't mean to hit me in the head. You didn't, did you?"
"Hell no. I have no grudge against you….yet." Ed replied.
"Yet?" Fuery groaned.
Ed shrugged. "Don't call me short and stay out of my way and we'll have no problem, Fuery."
"Easy enough, done." Fuery said.
Nodding his head, Ed walked back to his isolated table and sat down. He threw his feet onto the table, leaned back on his chair so two legs were in the air, and stared at the ceiling.
"What was that about?" Jean asked when Kain sat back down.
"He was apologizing for hitting me." Kain explained.
Riza smiled. "He seems like a good kid."
"If you even suggest that we try to make friends with him….." Jean growled.
Gracia frowned. "Come on, he's new here and doesn't know anyone."
"In case you haven't noticed, he's not exactly trying to make friends." Heymans pointed out, jerking his head in Ed's direction. "He's been pushing people who have been trying to talk to him away all day. And when he does talk to someone he barely says anything."
"The Homunculi." Maes hissed.
"What?" Roy growled.
The Homunculi were the bad kids of the school. They were the biggest bullies ever. They picked on everyone. No one was safe from them. Anyone that tried to stick up to them ended up getting sent to the hospital. Worse yet was that no one could prove it was them so they never got in trouble. Not only were they bullies but they were the rival martial arts team to the martial arts team that Roy and his friends were on, the Alchemists.
Roy looked around to see Envy, his sister Lust and brother Greed, Archer, Kimberly, Martel, and Roa approaching Elric. "Shit. I know we don't like him, but we can't just sit around and watch."
Jean grabbed Roy's arm. "Think for a moment, will you? What do you think you can do?"
"What I always do with them? Punch them in the face." Roy said, pulling his arm free.
"And get suspended? Curtis-sensei will kill you if that happens again." Maes said, grabbing his friend's arm. "And possibly kick you off the team. She said that she would if you got in any more trouble."
"So you're content with letting them hurt someone else?" Roy hissed.
Maes frowned. "Of course not. Someone needs to push them down a few steps. They think they rule this school, but you've…..we've been trying for years. The only thing they haven't got is being president of the student council. Olivier has that this year."
"Hopefully I can become the president for next year." Roy said.
CLANG!
Everyone looked over at the Homunculi and Ed. The chair Ed was sitting on lay knocked over on the ground and Ed was standing with clenched fists, eyes boring into Envy's.
"Oh, it's seems I made that pipsqueak mad." Envy sneered.
Ed's eye twitched. Remember the threat, remember it.
"What? Are you all bark and no bite?" Envy said.
"Damn it. The only reason you are still standing is because I promised my dad I would stay out of trouble here. I can't be getting in anymore trouble." Ed growled. "So I would count your lucky stars if I were you." He stomped angrily away.
"Count my lucky stars? Yeah right, like someone as small as him could be a threat to me." Envy sneered.
The new student paused for a moment when he heard Envy. Not only did the bastard call him small, but he was saying he was weak. But he had to remember that he couldn't get in trouble so he left the cafeteria before Envy could make him angrier.
"What do you think about that, Roy?" Riza asked.
"He's not afraid of them, but that might be because he hasn't seen what they do. He really has no idea of what he is dealing with." Roy said.
"Should I explain it to him so he has a head up of what this school is like?" Riza asked, already getting ready to stand up.
Roy shook his head. "Not yet."
Ed stomped angrily down the hallway to his next class which was Chemistry with Curtis-sensei. He was going to be ten minutes early, but he didn't care. Just as long as Envy wasn't in his class he would be fine.
Izumi looked up when her classroom door was slammed open. "Elric, what are you doing here?"
"This is my next class." Ed growled.
"Class doesn't start for ten minutes." Izumi said as she pushed herself away from her desk and moved over to Ed. "Is something wrong?"
The elder Elric brother looked up at her with narrowed eyes, trying to decided whether he wanted to talk to her or not. He wasn't one to talk about his life or his problems to people. But he needed to rant. He hasn't been able to let his temper loose all day.
"Envy! He kept calling me short and insulting me in the lunchroom with the rest of his little gang of friends throwing in their own insults." Ed growled. "And I couldn't do a damn thing about it because my dad said if I got in trouble here he would take my phone away then move from there for punishments. So I can't fight here or let my anger out in any way possible and it is irritating me. I just want to punch him." Edward seethed.
"That sounds about right." Izumi said.
Ed looked up at her with confused eyes. "What does?"
"Envy and his friends insulting you. They are the big bullies here." Izumi replied, moving over to her desk and began straightening her papers. "And I don't recommend fighting them. They are part of a martial arts group at this school called the Homunculi. Their master is merciless. She isn't someone you want to meet."
Ed scoffed. "Please, I've been trained in martial arts since I was six."
Izumi raised a brow. "Is that so?"
"Yeah." Ed said, a little unnerved by the smirk that Izumi was giving him.
"There is a second martial arts group at this school called the Alchemists. I'm the teacher in charge of that group. The two groups have a tournament three times a school year. The team that wins the most tournaments gets to go to the national martial arts tournament for groups from all schools around the region." Izumi explained.
Ed's brows knitted together. "O-kay. I don't really get why you are telling me this."
"You want to fight Envy without repercussions, don't you?" Izumi asked.
"You're saying that if I join the Alchemists I can beat Envy's ass into the ground?" Ed asked.
Izumi smirked. "I'm saying you get to fight him. Never said anything about you beating him. If you're interested in joining us there is a training session after school today at my dojo." She wrote an address down for him. "That's the address if you want to come."
Ed slipped the paper in his pocket.
"Afternoon Curtis-sensei!" Maes said as he threw the classroom door opened. He and his friends paused when they noticed Ed in the room with her.
"Is there ever a time when you aren't cheerful, Mr. Hughes?" Izumi asked annoyed.
Maes grinned. "When I'm taking one of your tests, ma'am."
"Then I can't wait for tomorrow." Izumi replied.
Maes grimaced before turning to Edward. "Hey Elric, you shouldn't let Ouroboros get to you like that. He just wants a reaction and you gave him a pretty good one. He's going to keep pushing your buttons because we can all tell that you are holding back your anger."
"Him? Get to me? As if!" Ed growled as he stomped over to a desk and sat down.
"That's what he means, pipsqueak." Roy said, taking the seat next to Ed.
That was the final straw for Ed. He turned to Roy with a glare. "WHO THE HELL IS SO MINISCULE THAT AN ELECTRON COULD CRUSH HIM?"
Roy sat dazed for a moment. "Wow….you have a strong set of lungs. I think you may have actually burst my eardrums…..damn it, kid. I wanted to hear when I was old, you know."
"Don't yell in my class, Elric." Izumi snapped.
Sneering, Ed grabbed his bag and moved to an empty seat next to Riza.
"Hello Elric." Riza greeted, not looking up from her book.
"Hawkeye." Ed replied, pulling his books out of his bag and dropping them on the desk. "What are you doing?"
Riza looked up from her book with a sigh. "Curtis-sensei asks us questions at the beginning of class every Monday to make sure that we are learning. The questions are for a grade. It's a class grade. The quiz is basically something we are all taking together. If you get a question wrong the others will be mad at you since it affects all of our grades so everyone tries to study as much as possible so they don't get any questions wrong."
"Great." Ed muttered.
"Okay, class, we are going to start with our quiz today." Izumi said as soon as the bell rang. She obviously wasted no time in starting class. "Let's start with Mr. Havoc."
Jean quietly groaned. If he did it loud enough for Izumi to hear she would just ask him two or three questions instead of one. He stood up. "Yes Curtis-sensei?"
"What is a net ionic equation?" Izumi asked as she started walking around the classroom.
Jean bit his lip as he thought about the answer. A few students narrowed their eyes at him, just waiting for him to mess up their grade. "A net ionic equation is….an equation that….show only the reactants that change state in the equation. The spectator ions are left out of it."
"Correct." Izumi looked over the students. "Ms. Ross."
Maria stood up quickly. "Ma'am."
"What is the symbol, atomic number, atomic mass, and classification of Barium?" Izumi asked.
"Um…..The symbol is Ba, atomic number is…..56. The atomic mass is….137.327 and it is an Alkaline Earth metal." Maria answered hesitantly.
"That is correct. Hmm, Ms. Cran."
Martel stood up quickly.
"What is the modern periodic law of the elements?"
Martel frowned. "Um…the physical and chemical properties of elements are….p..periodic functions of their….atomic….masses."
Izumi sighed. "Wrong."
Many of the students groaned and glared at Martel, who just shrugged uncaringly and sat down.
"The periodic law of the elements is the physical and chemical properties of elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers." Izumi said as she walked down the aisle between two rows of the desks. "Mr. Kimberly."
Solf stood up.
"What is the Law of Conservation of Mass?" Izumi asked.
"The Law of Conservation of Mass states that mass cannot be created or destroyed. In other words, in any chemical reaction, the mass of the product must equal the mass of the reactants." Solf replied.
"Correct. Ms. Hawkeye."
Riza stood up quickly. "Ma'am."
"Give me the definition of the double displacement reaction." Izumi said.
"The double displacement reaction is a reaction that has two compounds. The two compounds react to form two new compounds. A molecular compound, a gas, or a precipitate usually drives these reactions." Riza replied confidentially.
Izumi nodded her head. "Mr. Elric."
The class immediately groaned causing Ed and Izumi to frown. "Is there a problem?"
"He's new here. It's his first day. He isn't going to know anything. His school and this one are probably at different levels." Roy explained.
"For that and the groaning, Mr. Elric will be asked the last five questions." Izumi said with a smirk.
"I don't see how that is fair since I wasn't the one who groaned." Ed grumbled as he stood up.
"It's a class quiz, that's how it is fair." Izumi snapped. "What are compounds?"
"Compounds are pure substances made of atoms of two or more elements chemically compound in fixed ratios." Edward replied immediately.
Izumi nodded her head. "What is the symbol, atomic number, atomic mass, and classification of silver?"
"Symbol- Ag. Atomic number- 47. Atomic mass- 107.8682. Classification- Transition metal." Ed replied.
"What always forms in a combustion reaction?"
"Carbon dioxide and water are always the products of a combustion reaction." Ed replied.
"What is amphiprotic and give an example of it?"
"Amphiprotic describes a substance that can act as either an acid or a base. That means it can gain or lose a proton. An example would be water. It can form either a hydroxide ion or a hydronium ion." Edward replied.
Izumi stopped in front of Ed and looked down at him. She smirked at him. "What is the complete composition of the human body, Elric?"
Ed raised a brow in surprise as the rest of class stared in shock at her. What the hell was she thinking?
"Well, Elric?"
"Water: 35 liters. Carbon: 20kg. Ammonia: 4 liters. Lime: 1.5kg. Phosphorus: 800g. Salt: 250 g. Saltpeter: 100g. Sulfur: 80g. Fluorine: 7.5g. Iron: 5g. Silicon: 3g. And a trace amount of fifteen other elements." Edward replied.
Izumi raised a brow. "That is correct. You really are a prodigy."
Ed gave her a cocky grin.
"That or you just got lucky." Izumi said as she walked away. "Now we will continue where we left off on Friday…."
At the end of class, Izumi held them all back. "Remember, there is a test in here tomorrow. And Mr. Elric?"
"Yeah?" Ed asked bored.
"You will be taking it. I don't care if this is your first day at this school." Izumi said with a steely glint in her eyes. "I think you've already proven yourself ready to take it."
"Right." Ed mumbled as he left the class.
Ed stared at the address that Izumi gave him before Chemistry earlier that day. He sat in the driver's seat of his car. School ended ten minutes ago and he still hasn't left. First he waited until everyone else left before he got to his car. He didn't really feel like people seeing him with a car like this yet. It would just cause him more attention. And if he wanted to keep his phone, he would have to stay out of the spotlight.
From the tour of the city that Winry gave him and Al over the weekend Ed knew he could find this dojo easily. He would have time to go there and check it out since Al and Winry had some meeting after school today. He looked back at the note.
The Alchemists Dojo- 587 Dublith Street, Central City. Meeting at 3:20 pm.
Ed put the note in a cup holder and turned his car on. He guessed he could go check the dojo out. The idea of a martial arts group and a rival one did interest him. He loved fighting and this group would give him a chance to fight without getting in trouble. But he never did do well with working on a team. The only person he could work with is his brother. He was rather independent, otherwise.
His car came to a stop in front of the Alchemists Dojo ten minutes later. A few cars were parked on the side of the road, probably the members of the team cars. Ed looked at the note from Izumi again. He turned the note over in his fingers as he thought over his options with the Alchemists.
Joining a club would be good for him and it might help him make friends. But there was also the problem that he didn't do well with teams. Growing up with very few loyal friends made it hard for him. He always had to do things on his own so it just became natural to him.
This ain't a song for the brokenhearted. No silent prayer for the faith departed. And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd.
Sighing, Ed pulled his phone out of his pocket, flipped it open, and looked at the caller ID before answering the call. "What is it, Al?"
"The meeting is over, brother. It was cut short today because Laran-sensei had an emergency." Al replied.
Ed took one last look at the dojo before turning his car on. "I'll be there in fifteen. Can you two stay out of trouble for that long?"
"Brother, we aren't you. We're not troublemakers." Al replied amused.
"No wonder you two are so boring." Ed retorted with a big smile. He was glad that his brother wasn't messed up like him and was a good boy who could actually get loyal friends. "So what type of club meeting was it that Winry forcibly dragged you to?"
"I didn't forcibly drag him to it. I asked him this morning when he texted me if he would want to come with me." Winry shouted through the phone.
Ed pulled the phone away from his ear and hit his brakes so he wouldn't swerve into the other lane or on the sidewalk while he got over the yelling. "Please don't yell, Winry. I'm trying to drive."
"Brother, how many times has dad told you not to talk on your phone and drive at the same time? You know it is dangerous." Al said disapprovingly.
Ed laughed. "Don't worry, Al. You know I always do this and besides you were the one who called me so you only have yourself to blame for me doing this. So, what club was this?"
"Art club. We can draw, paint, build sculptures, or in some cases work on mechanics. That's what Winry and Paninya are always working on at the meetings. It was really fun." Al said excitedly.
"Did you make any friends?" Ed asked, a small smile forming.
The grin Al was wearing could practically be heard through the phone. "Yeah. There's Winry and Paninya. I also met a pair of twins that are their friends, Noah and Rose. They are really nice."
"Al, please tell me you made some friends that are boys." Ed pleaded.
"What's wrong with having all girl friends?" Al asked.
Ed sighed. "Because hanging with all girls might make other people think you are gay." [1]
"Well, I did make some guy friends. There is Fletcher Tringham. He's the younger brother of that boy, Russell that you always beat up in Germany. Apparently their parents got divorced and he came here with his mom. Then there is Wrath Douglas. They are both really cool." Al said.
"Douglas? You should ask him if he knows some named Juliet Douglas." Ed replied.
"Why?" Al asked.
She's the secretary at my school." Ed explained.
"Yeah, so about the club. I'm thinking about joining it officially. I had a lot of fun at it today." Al said.
Ed smiled. "Well, go ahead. It's good to be involved in things at school."
"Did you make any friends, Ed?" Winry asked.
"Um…."
Al frowned. "Don't tell me you got into a fight already?"
"No, I haven't." Ed said offended. "Well, I almost did, but I didn't start it. They were the instigators. Besides that, I didn't make any friends. It was a pretty boring day."
"What did you do?" Al asked.
"Nothing."
"Brother."
"I may have knocked a kid out in gym with a baseball, but I did apologize when he woke up." Ed replied.
Al sighed. "That sounds like you. You can't even go one day without hurting someone."
Ed scoffed. "I'm five minutes away from the school so I'm hanging up."
"Okay. Bye brother."
That night Al and Ed sat with their father in the dining room for dinner. Hohenheim sat at the head of the table. Ed and Al each sat on different sides of the table across from each other. Fifteen empty chairs filled the rest of the table with empty plates in front of them. In a sense it was kind of lonely.
"How was your first day of school boys?" Hohenheim asked.
Al grinned. "My day was great. I made a whole bunch of friends. There's obviously Winry, then there is Fletcher, Paninya, Noah, Rose, and Wrath. I also joined the art club. I might also be joining another club and the swimming team. Wrath, Rose, and Winry are on the swimming team. Fletcher and Paninya play soccer and Noah is in dance and also drama club. All my teachers are really nice. There is a history test tomorrow but my teacher, Mr. Lane, is letting me out of taking it because I'm new. My homeroom class even had a welcoming party for me."
"Sounds like you had fun. Just be careful you don't overexert yourself if you do join swimming. Did you get a welcoming party, Ed?" Hohenheim amused at the happy face Al was making that was a complete contrast to Ed's.
"Well, Curtis-sensei seems a little scary and is making me take the Chemistry test tomorrow despite the fact that I haven't been here. I knocked a student out in gym…on accident." He added when he saw his father beginning to frown. "Mustang kept calling me short today. Envy and his little gang were picking on me and insulting me. I wanted to punch him so bad but didn't because of your threat."
"What about friends and clubs?" Hohenheim asked. "Or did you only make enemies?"
Ed sullenly pushed his food around. "You know I have a hard time making loyal friends who won't hurt me in the end. I'm not like Al who everyone likes. All my friends end up hurting me somehow."
"That's not true." Al cried. "What about Alfons Heiderich and Russell Tringham? Sure, Russell and you were rivals but you were sort of friends….very deep down. And Alfons hasn't hurt you in anyway."
"I don't really consider Russell a friend. And Alfons…I can't be sure about him." Ed said.
"That's your problem. You are always pushing everyone away." Al said.
Ed shrugged. "So no friends, just enemies. Curtis-sensei did ask me to join the martial arts group."
"No." Hohenheim said immediately.
"What? Why?" Ed asked angrily.
Hohenheim frowned at his son. "You are much too focused on fighting, Edward. I know you like sparring. I allowed you to learn as a way to protect yourself but you need to focus on school now. You only have two years of high school left then you are off to college. No more extra activities. Just focus on school. You can go far in life, I know it, Ed."
"But Dad, I can't just focus on school. That's so boring. I have a life outside of academics." Ed said irritated. His father always did this. He always pushed academics on him, but Al always got to do what he wanted, join whatever he wanted. Did his dad think that Al wouldn't get far in life because of his 'illness'? "Dad, I like fighting. It's an enjoyable pastime. I want to join. I was going to go to a meeting today but Al called me before I could meet them."
Al looked at his brother sheepishly and a little guilty. He noticed his dad's attitude to his brother as well. Don't get them wrong. They both loved their dad greatly, but he was being unfair. Ever since Ed skipped a grade he has slowly been taking away rights and freedoms from him, saying that he needed to focus on his studies more. He wanted Ed to be a chemist like him. That's why he was pushing more chemistry lessons on his brother than on him. Ed hated it. All those extra lessons were taking away his social life. Hopefully with this new job, their father would be too busy to take what Ed had left of his social life.
"No Edward Van Elric. You don't have time to be going to those training sessions. Those training sessions would take too much time away from your study time. You will fall behind in your classes." Hohenheim said.
"So you are saying no clubs at all?" Ed hissed.
Hohenheim shook his head. "You can join clubs that will look good on a college application like the student council or SADD. You don't have time for sports."
"This isn't fair." Ed slammed a hand on the table.
"I am you father and you will do as I say." Hohenheim said.
"But Dad…."
"No is no."
The rest of the dinner went by in an awkward, uncomfortable silence.
As soon as he finished eating, Ed excused himself and went up to his room. He passed a few servants and maids who greeted him but he ignored all them. He barely registered stomping up the stairs, turning left, and entering his room. His room was really big. A big bed, oak dresser with a mirror, oak desk, closet, and book case were in the room. His bookcase was full of books from head to foot. At the end of his bed was a big chest that had extra blankets in it. On his dresser were hair ties, a brush, a comb, an antique watch, his clock, his cell phone, his keys attached to a white cloth keychain necklace, a family picture that was taken before his mom died, and his black wallet. His desk was covered in pens, pencils, paper, and books. His messenger bag was hanging off his desk chair.
Along with all that, he also had a black leather couch, black leather recliner, a coffee table, a silver-grey flat screen t.v., and a DVD player on the other half of his room. The TV stand had movies lying all around it. A bowl of candy and more movies lay on his coffee table. A bathroom with a shower was connected to his room. The door to it was on the wall that the head of his bed hit. The carpet of his room was silver-grey and his walls were blood red. His bed had black covers with pillows with silver-grey pillowcases. His father let him do what he wanted to his room. It was one of the things his dad let him do.
Ed sat at his desk and pulled his math book out to finish his math homework. He only got through one problem when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in."
"Brother."
Smiling, Ed turned around to see his little brother. "Hi Al."
Al stood nervously in the doorway.
"Come on in. No need to be so nervous, Al." Ed said with a grin.
Al sat on his brother's bed. He looked down and played with the sheets. "I'm sorry about Dad, brother. It's not fair that I can join the sport I want and you can't."
"It's alright, Al. It's not your fault." Ed said weakly.
"You're mad. I know you are." Al replied.
"No, no I'm not, Al."
"Yes, you are. Stop lying!" Al screamed.
Frowning, Ed moved over to his bed. "Al, I need you to calm down. If you don't, your body is going to give again."
"You're mad." Al shouted.
"Yes, I'm mad, but not at you. I could never be mad at you, Al." Ed said soothingly. "I need you to calm down, Al. I'm not mad at you. I love you. You're my little brother. I might get mad at you sometimes, but I will always love you. This isn't your fault."
"Promise?" Al asked.
Ed nodded his head. "Course, Al."
Al took a calming breath and looked up at his brother. "So what will you do?"
"About joining the Alchemists? That's the martial arts group I want to join." Ed explained.
Al nodded his head.
"I'll try to convince Dad to change his mind." Ed said with a grin.
"I'm sorry that he's been taking so many of your freedoms away." Al said.
Ed frowned. "I am too. But with this new job of his he should be busier than he was in Germany so I should be able to get them back."
"Hopefully, but his leash on you has been getting stronger." Al said.
Ed groaned. "Don't remind me. Look, Al, I don't want to talk about this."
Al nodded his head. "What were you doing before I came in?"
"I was working on my homework." Ed replied.
"Oh, sorry I interrupted." Al said.
Ed shrugged. "It's alright."
Al looked around. "Do you mind if I hang around in here for a while?"
"Go ahead, but I'm going to go back to my homework, kay?" Ed said.
Al nodded his head and moved to the other half of the room. He looked at his brother's movie collection and picked one and put it in the DVD player and settled himself on the couch.
Hours later Ed looked up from his finished homework. He walked to the other half of his room. A movie was playing on his t.v. and Al was lying asleep on his couch. Smiling, Ed pulled an extra blanket out of the chest in his room and laid it over Al, who immediately snuggled into it, and turned the movie off.
Ed moved around in the darkness until he got to his bathroom to brush his teeth and changed into a pair of blue sleep pants. He finished in the bathroom and walked through his dark room to his bed. Before he fell asleep, he found himself staring at his clock that read twelve o'clock and thinking about what tomorrow would bring for him.
A/N: [1] No lie about that. I have a guy friend and everyone in our little group is girls except him and people are constantly asking if he is or thinking he is gay.
Please Review!