Sorry I was so late with the update guys, a lot of shit was happening over the last while that was just so overbearing that I really didn't have the energy to update.

First off, Dave moved out on his own after a long three months. Finally, on the day he gets his new apartment and gets his stuff moved in...we get a call saying that our friend Mike DeMone had died.

Yeah...it was true, Mike, Bucky as he preferred to be called, passed away at the young age of 20 due to a blood clot in his brain on April 12th. He's got a movie on facebook in memorial...he was younger than me...it really scared me...but alas, as depressing as it was, I need to keep going.

So, here it is, finally, the next chapter. Enjoy. (Sorry for being so depressing. DX)

Chapter 12 – So it Begins

"You have to pick Al up from the party at 12, go get him before you come get us." Trisha spoke through the front window of their SUV. "Come here right afterwards."

"Sure, 12 o'clock." Ed buckled himself in.

"I'm drinking tonight, so you can drive late." Von waved at his son in the front seat.

"Drunken after-party, got ya'." Ed nodded. He knew that his father never drank in between performances, except for the night after, or, in this case, right afterwards. "Good luck." He waved at his folks. With that said, he pulled out of the driveway leading up to the enormous theater and headed back home to where he knew Al was waiting.

After a short drive, he pulled up in front of his own house where Al stood impatiently. "How come you took so long?"

"I came right back." He squinted at Alphonse.

"Whatever." He hopped in the vehicle. "Just do it faster next time. Let's go, come on."

"Ok, simmer. If you don't like my driving, you can walk." Ed said as he pulled away.

"Sorry, geez. Why are you so touchy?" He smirked at Ed. "Is it 'cause I was invited and you weren't? Jealousy doesn't look good on you brother."

Ed solemnly shook his head. "No, I could really care less. I just don't think it's a very good idea to drink at this party."

Al gave him a death glare. "You better not rat on me or-"

"Or what?" Ed glared right back at him out of his preferiral vision. It wasn't direct, but it was still intimidating, not a hint of fear in him either.

Knowing all too well his position with Ed, he backed right down. "Or else you'll look like a jerk for breaking your word."

"Ughh." He groaned in frustration and continued to drive down the street in the balmy Autumn evening. "Here." He said as he pulled up along side of Claus's house. "I won't tell mom or dad, but if you get caught, you're on your own."

"Thank you." Alphonse nodded as he exited the vhecial.

"Don't go overboard." He warned.

"I'm sure I won't." He shut the door to the large SUV and walked off down the path in the front yard, hearing Ed pulling away softly, he sighed in relief. Fearing Ed was going to squeal the tires, he wasn't looking forward to explaining to his friends why he didn't have his own license yet and needed to have his brother drive him places.

"Do you think it was a good idea?" Aria asked as she shifted her weight in the arm chair.

"Of course not." Ed laid on top of the covers on his bed. "I made sure he knew that." Edward had a decent size room, a small arm chair was even managed to fit amongst his desk, small entertainment centre and bed. He hated playing his games while sitting on the edge of his bed, it warped the matterase, so he invested in a small but comfortable gaming chair, bright red in color.

"Sometimes it best to let people learn these things on their own." Russell said as he mashed the fire button. "He'll get it, don't worry about it. YES!" He exclaimed right after giving his words of comfort. "Fuck your damn A.T.A.T.'s"

"Dammit." Leo laid his controller on the floor and laid back on the carpet, staring at Ed up side down. "I'll go with you to pick him up, so if he's unbearable, I'll hold him down and you can wail on em'."

Ed smirked. "Don't worry, I can take Al, especially in a lower state of conciseness."

"About that." Russell fixed his chin length green hair behind one of his ears, revealing one of his brown eyes. "Remember the first day of school, at the end of the day? Al said that if he needed you to be beaten up, he'd do it himself. You said 'like you could'; then he backed down...what's up with that?"

"Oh, that. Al can't fight for beans." He smiled.

"And you can?" Paniniya was skeptical.

"Yeah, actually I can. Right after I got my contacts, I convinced my parents I needed to defend myself. I got picked on because I wasn't as popular as Al, due to my blatant lack of involvement with sports. So, I took up Ju-Jitsu." The group turned their full attention toward Edward.

"Ju-Jitsu? Isn't that dangerous?" Paninya raised both her eyebrows.

"Nah. It's mostly self defense. There's lots of throws and pins, really useful if you need to subdue someone without hurting them...unless you want to, then you can just pin and twist, like, an arm or a leg."

"I still don't see it." Bunny shrugged. "You don't come across to me as the fighting type, you're kind of skinny." She said as she examined him.

"I'm not skinny, I'm lean." Ed retorted.

"Yeah? So's chicken." She smirked. Everyone, Ed included, all got a kick out of Bunny's speak your mind nature, it was quite amusing.

The hours passed and 'game night' went on without incident. Edward had proposed game night be held at his house, not because Aria's new furniture in the basement was uncomfortable, rather because he needed to pick Al up and drag him straight back home. It was a better way to keep an eye on him, if need be, without having to ditch out early.

Al had been left off at the party at six, and the story was going to go, 'He felt the party was boring, so he left early, around nine.' Of course, it would really be eleven, giving them an hour to get him home and in bed. No one would be the wiser.

Roughly around ten, the phone rang; grabbing it and pushing the talk button, Ed raised it to his ear. "Hello."

"Ed? Y-you have to c-come and get me...now...l-l-like n-now." Al's voice sounded over the receiver.

"You're studdering, what's wrong?" Ed leaned forward and tried to listen to him over the booming music in the background.

"I'm c-cold. J-just come and get m-me. Hurry, o-ok?" He repeated himself, still studdering a great deal.

"Ok, breath. I'll be there in a few. Wait for me on the front step." With that said, he hung up the phone. "Well...he sounds like he's pretty wasted."

"He didn't sound drunk, per-say." Bunny said. She was sitting next to him on the bed so she could make out the bulk of the conversation.

"Really?" Ed stood up at the bedside. "Whatever the case, I have to drag him home." Glancing down to Leo, who was saving his progress in the game, he looked hopeful that he wouldn't have to drag his brother home alone. "You in?"

"Totally. I don't want to miss this." He stood up and straightened out the front of his cloths. "He's unbearable enough sober, so this is going to be interesting." Leo smirked wide. "Let's go."

Al sat on the front step, staring intently at the ground, his concentration flowing from one point to another. He pulled his legs up to the step right beneath him and he waited. His body was heavy and didn't want to move, but for an odd reason, light and airy when he did move. His mind whipped from one thought to another with ease and with no segway between any sort of coherent thought that came to mind.

"Alphonse?" Ed's voice seemed to be lost in translation.

"Huh?" Al looked up to him. "When did you get here? What time is it?"

Edward checked his phone. "Ten thirty...and...we just pulled up, weren't you paying attention?" He examined his brother's expression, he looked to be off in a haze of confusion. "How much did you drink?"

Al let the question process for a few seconds. "Only one."

Skeptical, he folded his arms. "I'm so sure." He sighed and looked back to Leo, then glared at Al again. "Can you walk?"

With a shake of his head, he supported himself with his hands firmly planted on the step at either of his sides. "I d-don't think my legs are going to work." He looked over his shoulder. "I-I gotta get out of here before Clause sees me. She's been bugging me all night."

Leo stepped to the front of Ed and reached out to Al. "Come on, give me your arm." He tugged the intoxicated youth to his feet and wobbled a bit, but successfully managed to get off the steps without landing on his face. "Only one right? What was in it?" He asked as he watched Ed support him from the other side.

"I don't know. Just get me the hell o-out of h-here." Al managed to get out, looking straight forward, no intention of going back.

"Hey Ed...you feel that?" Leo placed his hand on Al's bicep to carry him, and he managed to feel his pulse through his shirt. "His heart's racing like he's been running around."

Ed checked his siblings pulse as well. "You're right...what the hell did you get into?" He scolded Alphonse.

"Seriously, don't yell." Al completely evaded the question.

"Just get in the back seat and keep quiet." Ed opened the door and with his free hand and then slammed Al in the upper portion of his back, sending him careening into the cushioned backseat. Slamming the door, he crammed Al into the vhecial.

"Maybe you should be more careful with him; he seems to be in a delicate state." Leo looked at Al trying his hardest to figure out what just happened.

"He can take it." Ed said as he hopped into the front seat.

"Do you think they'll be back with Al soon?" Aria said through mashing the 'X' button.

"Leo and Ed had their turns, what does it matter?" Bunny inquired, doing her best to dodge Aria's onslaught of lasers.

"I was just wondering if Al's ok." She continued to jam the designated fire button.

Bunny panicked and smashed her ship into an oncoming space station. "He broke Nilla's leg, what do you care?" She laid the controller down and saw that Aria was blushing a little. "Oh-my-various-gods, you have a crush on him." She pushed Aria on the shoulder.

"What?!" She blushed even deeper. "No! He's cute, but I don't 'like him', like him." She brought her attention back to the TV screen where her ship was battling through the empire's forces.

"Sure Aria...so...do you always go for the bad boy? You did that before and you landed yourself in the hospital. Had you have listened to me, you'd be fine." Bunny said, a smirk on her face.

"I'm not going for him, I'm not interested in dating for a good long while." She dodged a few of Paninya's attacks. "If I listened to you, huh? If 'you' listened to me, you would know that I like boys. I don't like girls like that."

She scowled. "You didn't even give me a chance. I think you would like girls if you tried." She then smiled wide.

"I think you should try...right now." Russell joined Paninya in smiling widely. "Go for it, I won't mind." He said as he readied his camera phone to catch anyting of any interest.

Aria sighed. "You're just as bad as she is, if not worse."

Paninya rolled her eyes. "I doubt he is. Hmm?" The sound of the front door opening broke the teen's conversation.

"-and a stupid, miserable, dumb fuck. I'll never cover your ass again." Ed's voice resonated from downstairs.

"I do believe they're home." Russell looked out the bedroom door and saw Ed reach the top of the stairs with Al on his back. Ed let him down.

"Don't drown in the sink, brush your teeth and then get the fuck to bed." Ed briskly shut the bathroom door, sealing Al inside. "I have to go and get mom and dad in an hour, so make sure you're asleep." He left the bathroom door alone and headed back into his own room. Leaning against the door frame, he took a deep breath and looked up to the ceiling. "He puked in the back seat. And now mom and dad are going to know I was covering for him." He put his head forward a little and then let it bump against the door frame. "Scheiße."

"Was it really bad?" Aria questioned with worry.

Ed shook his head. "Not really, it was just on the floor. It's the smell I'm worried about." He sighed. "I know I said if he got caught he'd be on his own, ehhh...he was smart enough to come home early...fuck." Normally he did his best to avoid swearing so much, but he was rather upset and his mom wasn't there to bust his chops over it.

"Vinegar!" Aria blurted. "Vinegar is a great cleaner. It's also great for removing bad smells from surfaces."

Edward began to look hopeful again. "Leo's hosing out the back seat...do you think that'll work better?"

"Can't hurt...got vinegar?" With that in mind, she headed downstairs with Ed.

Paninya nodded, a devious smirk adorn her lips. Russell backed up slightly. "What's with that look?" He questioned.

She nodded again as she peered through the empty door. "I could totally make her gay."

Russell rolled his eyes. "I doubt you could make her toast."

Flustered, Bunny raised her hands up in the air in front of her, above her head, and let them slap against her thighs. "The one time I light jell-o on fire and I never hear the end of it!"

"You had it in the fucking microwave when it happened! My faith in your ability to take something and make it into something completely different, needless to say, doesn't exist." Russ retorted. Powder sugar to fire didn't sit well with him.

"...shut up..." She sat down next to him on the bed, smiling all the way. "Couldn't hurt to try, I might get it."

He nodded. "Maybe, but maybe you'll just light that which you're trying to change on fire. Then you'll just get burned...get it?" He saw Paininya's hopeful expression soon faded. Russell gave her a firm pat on the shoulder. "We're all friends...why not just keep it that way? It's just so much simpler and there are so many more girls out there." He stood up. "Besides, we're still young. That's why I choose not to date. It gives me more time to be myself."

Paninya sighed. "...what's it like to not need someone?" She seemed discouraged.

Russ smiled. "It's freeing...come on, let's go see if Al needs help." He left Ed's room, leaving Paninya alone.

"Must be nice." She the stood up and followed close behind.

Leave a review if you feel like it...and try not to feel too bad for me, I have some really great friends by my side...and a pint of vodka in my freezer, so I'm set.