Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, 'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi, or 'Getting Away With Murder' by Papa Roach.

It's My Life

Thanks for the reviews!

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

Texting

Chapter 6

Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness
I need to calculate
What creates my own madness
And I'm addicted to your punishments
And you're the master
And I am waiting for disaster

Groaning, Ed rolled over in his bed to look at his clock. It read six in the morning. Even though school didn't start until eight he had to get up early. He had to take a shower, eat breakfast, make sure he had all his stuff, and make sure that Al took his shower and got ready. Their father either slept in late or left early in the morning. On the mornings he didn't have to be in early he tried to get up early to see his sons. The maids and servants didn't really take care of them. They just made sure to make the meals and keep the mansion clean. Besides getting ready for school, he also had to leave early to get to Winry's and pick her up then get to the Junior High School to drop them off and get to his school. His mornings were going to be really busy this year.

I feel irrational
So confrontational
To tell the truth I am,
Getting away with murder

"Brother, turn your alarm off. It's too loud." Al's voice yelled over the song.

It is impossible
To never tell the truth
But the reality is,
I'm getting away with murder

Ed looked at his CD player/alarm/clock on his dresser. To turn it off he would have to get out of his comfy, warm bed and he didn't want to do that. He was cold enough because of the automail. The cold air would just make it worse.

(whisper)
Getting away
Getting away
Getting away
Sighing in annoyance, Ed threw his comforter off himself and rolled off his bed. His feet hit the soft, plush carpet, too bad only one of his feet could feel it. He turned his alarm off before going over to the couch to rip the blanket off Al.

"If I have to get up so do you." Ed said.

Al gave his brother puppy-dog eyes.

"No. Get up and go take a shower." Ed yelled over his shoulder as he walked to his bathroom. Along the way he grabbed a pair of boxers, black pants, socks, a black long sleeve shirt, and his gloves.

"Wear something besides black." Al shouted as he left the room in a huff.

When the brothers finally made it downstairs to the dining room they saw their dad sitting at the table waiting for them. Breakfast sat untouched on the table.

"Good morning sons." Hohenheim greeted.

"Morning Dad." Two voices chorused.

"How did you two sleep?" Hohenheim asked.

"Comfortable." Ed replied stiffly. His father was being all formal which meant the conversation from last night was still weighing on his mind. "So, Dad, about that ma…."

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to ask." Ed said angrily.

Hohenheim put his silverware down and looked at his son evenly. "You were going to ask to join that martial arts group. I've already told you no, Edward, so stop asking. You don't have time for that foolishness."

Ed glared at his breakfast. "It's not foolishness."

"All you do is beat each other up." Hohenheim said stubbornly.

"It's a sport and great defense. It's a way for me to make friends." Ed retorted.

The father shook his head and went back to eating. "Edward, think of your mother."

Al almost groaned as he buried his face in his hands. Pulling out the mother card already, was he? It was always the same. His dad and brother would fight about something Ed wants to do. Ed tries for days to convince his dad. Their dad eventually gets so annoyed that he pulls out the mom card to get Ed to obey him.

"Your mother would want you to focus on your studies. She knew you could go far in life. She would want you to study to be a great chemist. Martial arts is just holding you back from having a great future. Your mother wanted you to stop martial arts because she saw it was holding you back in your academics. If it wasn't for martial arts you could be in your last year of high school or in you first year of college by now." Hohenheim said calmly, staring his son in the eye with even eyes. "Your mother always knew best."

Al frowned at his dad. Mom wouldn't want Ed to be in college right now is what Al wanted to say. She would want Ed to be happy and have the chance to act his age.

Ed bowed his head in submission.

Al wanted to scream at his brother for giving up so easily. It wasn't fair. His dad knew that Ed would do anything for their mother. It was all he could do now that she was dead. Their dad was controlling Ed's life.

"I don't think it's true." Al said when they were in the car on the way to Winry's.

"What?" Ed asked stiffly.

"What dad said about Mom wanting you to give up martial arts. You're too blind because of your loyalty to mom to realize it but mom has always just wanted us to be happy. If martial arts makes you happy, mom would want you to pursue it. She wants you to do what you love, not what Dad wants." Al said.

Ed stared at the road in front of him with a frown.

"Brother?" Al asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Al." Ed said quietly.

The elder Elric brother watched his little brother and Winry as they walked into their school with their friends that were waiting for them. They were all smiling and laughing. For a moment Ed felt immensely jealous of his brother. But just for a moment before he was beating himself up inside. His brother was so nice and innocent. He shouldn't feel hatred or jealously at him just because their dad was being a jerk and taking more of his social life away. But watching Al converse with his friends made his heart clench. Why couldn't he make friends like Al?

His eyes moved to his clock to see that it was seven fifty-three. He only had seven minutes to class started. Damn it, he spent too much time arguing with his dad and watching his brother and his friends. Swearing under his breath, Ed threw his car into drive. He would not be late on his second day of school.

As soon as he saw the student parking lot, Ed slammed on his brakes-he was going really fast to get to school on time- and turned sharply into the parking lot. He parked in the closest empty spot and grabbed his phone, keys, wallet, and messenger bag before getting out of the car. As he was crossing the road he was checking his phone for the time, seven fifty-eight, and he had to get to the third floor. This was not his day. He shoved his phone, keys, and wallet in his bag as he walked out of the parking lot.

As soon as he was on school ground he took off running. If he was late and his dad found out, he was in for a big scolding about how he doesn't care about his education…..because HE WAS LATE TO ONE CLASS!

The halls were pretty much empty since the ball was going to ring in a minute. A few stragglers here and there were entering their classes. If they were going in then he really was running out of time.

Ed skidded to a stop in front of his homeroom, slightly out of breath and faint pink was shining on his face from his run. Just as he opened the classroom door and stepped into the class, the bell rang.

At her desk, Izumi looked up. An amused, rare smile graced her face. "You are very nearly late, Mr. Elric." She said to the amusement of the class.

"But I wasn't." Ed grumbled as he made his way to his isolated corner.

"Elric, come here." Izumi said just as he got settled down in his corner.

Seriously? You couldn't have said so before I sat down. Ed thought angrily as he kicked his chair back and marched back to the front of the classroom.

"Yes Curtis-sensei?"

Izumi didn't reply. She just made a follow me gesture and walked into the hallway.

"Yes Curtis-sensei?" Ed asked once more when he closed the classroom door.

"Where were you yesterday?" Izumi asked.

Ed blinked in confusion. "What?"

Izumi sighed. "I asked you to join the Alchemists because I thought it would interest you. You are new here and an easy way to make friends is to join a group. I saw that you were pretty much alone yesterday. And you do like fighting so I thought this would help. You did look very interested about it yesterday." She crossed her arms and glared down at Ed. "So where were you? I expected you to be at the dojo yesterday."

Ed winced. His teacher was trying to help him and he disappointed her. "I'm sorry, Curtis-sensei. I can't join the Alchemists."

"And why not?" Izumi growled. "I need a really good reason."

The young teenager bowed his head. "Curtis-sensei, before I can answer, I need to ask something. Does a mother want what is best for her child or what makes the child happy?"

Izumi stared at Ed for a minute in silent shock and confusion. "Well….it's a complicated answer and I guess it depends on the mother. Me, I would want my child to have both, but if I could only choose one, I would want my child to be happy. If the child had what was best but wasn't happy they probably wouldn't want to live that life."

"So the child would leave and make his own life so he was happy." Ed said.

Izumi nodded her head. "Or end it. As I said it all depends on the person. Does any of this have to do with why you won't join the Alchemists?"

Ed lifted his head to look at Izumi. His eyes showed that he was thinking and thinking hard. He gnawed on his bottom lip before saying, "No. It doesn't. It's just something I was curious about."

"So I answered your question, now you answer mine." Izumi replied.

"Fighting is stupid. I don't care about it anymore. It's just a way to hurt someone. It is pointless." Edward replied harshly, looking away from his teacher as he said it. He couldn't face her when he was lying about something he really loved.

Izumi raised a brow. "Do you really think that, Elric?"

Ed paused for a moment before nodding.

"You shouldn't let others influence your opinions." Izumi said calmly, walking past Ed towards her classroom door.

"I'm not." Ed growled.

Izumi sighed. She paused in front of her door, but didn't turn around to face Ed. "Don't lie to me like that. I know when someone is lying. You said you liked fighting yesterday and now less than a day later you are saying you hate it and think it is stupid. You are letting someone influence your opinions. Think for yourself, Elric. What do you want?"

What do I want? I know I want to be a member of the Alchemists. But dad won't let me and what if he said about mom is true? Would she want me to give up martial arts? But Curtis-sensei just said I should make my own decisions. I am sixteen. I should stop falling for the mom card. It will rule my life forever at this rate. Ed looked out the window in the hallway at the brought blue sky. What should he do?

"I've done all I can for you, Mr. Elric. Deciding what to do now is up to you. It is your life, do what you want with it." Izumi said before walking back into the class. "Decide what you want to do. There is another training session today after school at three twenty."

"Yes sensei. Thank you, sensei." Ed replied quietly.

Ed sat back at his desk and stared out the window. Why did his father have to interfere all the

time? It was like Izumi said. It was his life. He should get to make decisions in his life.

*It's*My*Life*

"Sit down and shut up." Izumi barked as soon as the bell rang for class to start. "Your tests are on your desks. Begin."

There was the sound of papers being rustled as everyone turned their tests over. Ed twirled his pencil in his hand as he looked at the test. It was all essay questions and ten converting problems at the end. He looked at the first question and smirked. This was going to be too easy. He should thank his father for those years of chemistry lessons, even if he hated them.

Half way through the class Ed looked up from his finished test. He looked at his classmates. Jean was frowning and chewing on his pencil. Roy was writing fiercely. Riza was looking at her paper thoughtfully and writing slowly as if she was still thinking about her answer. Maes was tapping his pencil against the side of his desk as he stared at his test. The other students were scribbling away or staring at their test with a lost look. Sighing, Ed looked back at his test and flipped through it to check his answers for the rest of the class.

*It's*My*Life*

As Ed walked out of school with his phone in his hand that day he saw a group of people surrounding his car. He noticed that they were some of the students from his classes.

Hey Al, do you have a meeting after school today? Ed texted before approaching the people around his car.

"This is an awesome car. What student can afford a car like this?" Jean was saying as he ran a hand over the shiny car.

"I have never seen this car here before." Heymans said. "Someone must have just gotten it."

"That doesn't answer the question of what student could afford this." Roy said.

"Hands off my car, Havoc." Ed growled, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the blond boy.

Jean and his friends looked at Ed in shock. "This is your car? Yeah right." Jean sneered. "As if you could afford this car."

Ed waved his keys in the air. "What do you think these keys go to?"

My heart is like an open highway. Like Frankie said, "I did it my way". I just wanna live while I'm alive 'Cause it's my life.

Ignoring his classmates for a second, Ed flipped his phone open.

No we don't have a meeting. Why?

Tell you after I pick you up and drop Winry off. I'm going to need your help.

"Now move. I have things I need to do." Ed growled as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Whatever. We have a meeting to get to anyway." Roy muttered.

*It's*My*Life*

"See ya tomorrow, Winry!" Al yelled to her back as she was walking up her driveway.

Winry turned around and waved. "Bye Al, Ed!"

"So what do you need my help with?" Al asked as his brother drove away from Winry's.

"Al, can you keep a secret from dad?" Ed asked, looking in his rearview mirror at Al.

Al looked away from the window to look at his brother. "Oh no, what did you do now?"

"Nothing yet." Ed replied. "I'm going to join the Alchemists, Al. I'm going to need your help in covering for me with dad."

"You know when I told you that mom would want you to be happy this morning I didn't mean I wanted to be dragged into this." Al grumbled. "How exactly do you plan to work this?"

Ed frowned in thought. "Well, there is a meeting today. I want to…..well, my teacher will give me another lecture about not showing up to it. We'll figure out a plan later for dealing with this. For now I'm just going to take you home, tell dad I have to go back to school for a meeting, and go to the meeting. I just need you to cover for me if he gets suspicious. I'm not sure how long the training session will take."

Ed ran inside with his brother. He ran upstairs to his room and dropped his messenger bag off on his bed then ran back downstairs. "Clarice!"

The maid that was walking up the stairs stopped and looked back at Ed. "Yes Master Edward?"

"Where is dad?" Ed said.

Clarice smiled sadly. "He is at the lab. He is going to be working late tonight."

"How late?" Ed asked.

"I'm not sure but I think he said he would be back around seven thirty since he has asked me to serve you and your brother dinner at six thirty." Clarice replied.

Ed nodded his head. "I have things to do but I will try to be back in time for dinner."

Clarice nodded her head. "Have a nice time with whatever you are doing."

As Clarice walked away, Al rounded the bottom of the stairs and looked up at his brother who was still on the stairs. "That was a lucky break, brother. Now you don't have to lie to dad."

"Yeah." Ed looked at his phone and paled. "But the meeting started at three twenty. It is now three thirty. Damn."

Al smiled. "Have fun."

Grumbling, Ed left his house, ruffling his brother's hair as he walked passed him. His teacher was going to be mad at him.

Fifteen minutes later Ed parked his car on the side of the road across from the Alchemists dojo. He was twenty-five minutes late for the meeting but that is what happens when one has a little brother and friend to take care of. It was his responsibility to look out for them.

Just as he walked through the dojo doors he had to drop to his knees to avoid getting hit by the flying body of one of the martial artist being thrown. He looked over his shoulder to see Maes picking himself up from the ground, pain etched on his face.

Before Ed could even think of anything to say he felt someone grab his arm and flip him, slamming him onto the ground and pinning him. "You should always pay attention to your surroundings."

"I get it. Now get off me." Ed grumbled.

"You're late." The woman said as she got off him.

Ed pushed himself up and glared at Izumi. "Yeah, well I have other responsibilities I have to attend to."

"Sensei, why is Elric here?" Roy asked.

Izumi looked at Ed with a raised a brow. "So, what is your answer?"

"Yes." Ed said after some hesitance.

Izumi clapped her hands. "Good." She turned to the group of students. Only Maes and Roy were standing since they were sparring. The others were sitting along the walls watching the fight. Each of them was wearing sweat pants and a loose shirt for training. Ed recognized Riza, Jean, Vato, Heymans, Alex, Olivier, and Miles.

"From this day forward, Edward is a part of the Alchemists." Izumi announced.

"Him?" Jean asked, pointing a finger at Ed in shock.

"Yes."

Jean frowned at Ed.

"Something wrong, Havoc?" Ed asked.

"You're supposed to be a nerd." Jean muttered.

Ed narrowed his eyes. "What? Because I'm smart I can't be strong?"

"Yes!" Jean shouted.

"Havoc, Elric, sparring ring now." Izumi said.

Roy and Maes moved out of the ring and sat down against the wall as Jean got up and moved to the ring. Ed looked down at his arm before joining Jean. Whenever he sparred with his brother he took it easy on him because of his automail. He would have to do that here as well so he wouldn't hurt Jean.

"Ready?" Izumi called. She stood between the two so neither would start before she said they could. "Set? Fi-"

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. You're gonna hear my voice when I sh-

"Oh, come on." Edward cried in annoyance. He pulled his phone out and flipped it open. "I've only been gone for twenty minutes, Al. What could you possibly need?...oh, Clarice. Um…why do you have Al's phone?"

"Elric." Izumi barked.

Ed shot her an apologetic look but didn't reply as he was listening to Clarice. "What type of emergency?...well, how the hell did that happen?...You don't know?...Forget it. I'll ask Al what happened later. Did you call our dad?...Of course he didn't answer. He's always too busy with his job to answer when we actually need his help…just keep Al calm, kay? If he gets too worked up over this he'll just make his condition worse…..yeah, I'll be there in about fifteen."

"Is something wrong?" Izumi asked.

"Just an emergency. Sorry I have to go take care of this." Edward said quickly before running out of the dojo.

Jean rolled his eyes at his friends. "Probably just an excuse so he didn't have to spar."

"Or maybe there really is something wrong." Olivier snapped.

"As if. He just so happens to get a phone call right before our fight begins?" Jean scoffed.

"How do you plan something to be that precise?" Riza retorted.

Jean rolled his eyes. "He's a genius, Riza. He could do it."

"Why do you hate him so much?" Maes asked.

"I don't hate him. I dislike him. He hasn't given me a reason to like him. He acts so calm and cool and walks around like he owns the place. It's so annoying." Jean growled.

Sighing, Izumi hit Jean in the head. "Did you ever think that it could just be a front? He's putting an act on because he's new and doesn't know anyone. You can't judge him without knowing him. Back in the sparring ring, Havoc. Miles, in the ring as well."

Edward Elric

Ed slid the forms back across the front desk to the receptionist when he finished filling them out. "Is Al already with the doctor?"

"Yes. That woman that came with him, Clarice, said you would be here soon to sign all the forms. With how much blood he was losing the doctor took him in right away. The bleeding needed to stop." The receptionist replied. "The waiting room is down the hall and to the left."

"Thank you." Ed replied.

"Clarice."

Clarice looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Master Edward."

Ed sat down and stretched his arms in front of him. "Clarice, where exactly did the knife hit him?"

"Oh, it just sliced the upper part of his arm. He's probably just going to get stitches." Clarice explained.

"And you don't know how it happened?" Ed asked.

Clarice shook her head. "I wasn't in the kitchen when it happened."

Sighing, Ed leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. His arms crossed over his chest and he kicked his legs forward, crossing them at the ankle.

A voice being cleared woke Ed up from his little nap. "Mister Elric?"

Ed stood up. He looked at the doctor. His name tag said Doctor Young. "Yes?"

"I finished stitching up your brother's arm. I gave him some pain medication for it." Doctor Young explained, flipping through some papers on his clipboard. "He can go home now. Bring him back in about a week and half for me to check his wound."

"Thank you Doctor Young." Ed said.

"As for the payment, your insurance will cover most it. I just need a down payment." Doctor Young said, scribbling on a piece of paper. He handed the paper to Ed.

Ed looked at it. "Thanks." He turned to Clarice and handed the bill and two thousand two yen to her. "Take this to the receptionist. I'll go get Al."

Clarice nodded her head and took the bill and money from him.

Ed followed the doctor to his brother's room. His hands shoved in his pockets as he looked at the ceiling. What should he do? He would take his brother home, no doubt about that. But he would have to tell his father that his brother got hurt and that he wasn't home when it happened. He was going to be mad. It was his job to watch Al. And he just walked out of a training session for the Alchemists on his first day being there. He was going to be in a lot of trouble with these people.

"Brother!"

The elder Elric brother grinned at his little brother. "Hi Al."

Al's smile faltered. "I'm sorry about getting hurt and interrupting your meeting."

"Forget about it Al." Ed replied, ruffling Al's hair. "Let's just get you home and you can tell me how this happened." His eyes moved to the stitches in Al's right arm.

Al jumped off the bed. "I was in the kitchen to get food cause I was hungry. I was digging through a cupboard and one of the chefs dropped his knife while I was ruffling through it. It was a complete accident."

"Of course it was." Ed said as he led Al out of the room with his hands on Al's shoulders.

"Sorry about dragging you away from your training. I know that you really wanted to be there." Al said.

Ed shrugged. "I just want to get home now and figure out a way to explain this to dad."

Al winced. "I'm sorry brother."

That night after Ed explained how Al hurt his arm, Hohenheim looked at Ed with narrowed eyes. Al stood next to his brother with angry eyes directed at his father. Edward had his head bowed. His bangs were shielding his face.

"You are the older brother, Edward. You are supposed to watch over Alphonse to keep him from getting hurt. What were you doing that kept you from watching Al? There are maids and servants around but it isn't their job to watch your brother." Hohenheim said angrily.

Ed glanced at his brother then at his father. "I was….studying."

"Studying doesn't give you justification for not watching Al more closely. You should be able to do both." Hohenheim said.

Al frowned. "Now wait just a moment. I don't need brother to watch me every single moment. I can watch out for myself. It was just an accident. Even if brother was watching me he couldn't have stopped it. It could have turned out worst if he was watching me. It was just an accident. Brother can't be blamed for this. I am thirteen. I don't need brother to babysit me. There is no one to blame." He looked at his brother with a small smile. Loyalty went a long way between the brothers.

Hohenheim sighed. "Al, with your 'illness'….."

"Dad, stop." Ed said sadly.

Sighing, the older man ran a hand over his face tiredly. "Edward, just keep a closer eye on your brother next time. We were lucky this time, but next time we might not be so lucky. My hours at the lab are going to be longer so I won't be able to be here much. I can't use my phone in the lab. It might interfere with some of our experiments. So basically, Ed you'll be in charge while I'm away so you are to watch Al. Don't slack on your studies though." Hohenheim said warningly.

Growling, Ed nodded his head. His dad just kept pushing more responsibility on him. Watch the house, watch Al, do you studies, take Al and Winry to school and pick them up, sign all the hospital forms. All these responsibilities were just going to take his social life away which is probably what his dad wanted. It would mean he wouldn't be able to hang with his friends if he ever got any. Basically his social life was being diminished more and more. His dad wanted to teach him responsibility. This was just a way for him to resent it all.

"I'll go study now." Ed said through gritted teeth.

"Don't give me that attitude." Hohenheim growled.

"Yes sir." Ed said as calmly as he could get himself before spinning on his heels and leaving his father's study.

Al looked at his brother's retreating back then back at his father. "Excuse me dad." He ran out of the study after his brother.

"Brother, I'm sorry about dad."

"Al, don't worry about it. You need to stop apologizing so much." Ed replied as he climbed the stairs to his room. "I'm just tired of dad trying to end my social life so I will only focus on my studies. I already skipped one year and now he's trying to force more studying down my throat. I don't want to lose anymore of my life before I do become an adult. I want to have some fun."

"First step brother is to make some friends." Al said.

Ed sighed. "I can't, Al. I said before I don't know how to make them. I'm not you. Not everyone likes me."

"That's because you can be really mean and cold." Al chirped.

Rolling his eyes, Ed thumped his brother on the head. "I'm glad you can be so happy about this."

Al shot his brother a grin before taking off down the hall to his room to escape his brother's next attack on his head. He heard Ed shout at his back to come back but he didn't listen. He ran into his room and slammed his door shut with a feral grin. These moments with his brother were fun. He loved having them with him. It was a time for them to act like kids without having to worry about their studies.

As he heard his brother pounding on his bedroom door Al let out a laugh. His dad may be trying to control his brother's life by making him study all the time and not letting him do what he wants but that didn't stop Ed from playing cat and mouse with him.

A/N: Two thousand two yen = $25

I start work tomorrow. So sad, it means less time for writing. I want to cry. I like writing!

Please Review!