I'm enjoying the way this is turning out so far. Any of you who read my other stuff, you'll know I love twists.

Chapter 2

When it came to logic, I was usually pretty quick to catch on, but with Kendra's logic, I'm left in the dust. Her reasoning: We had the best chance for success because of our appearances. We were diverse. Dana sported a slender librarian look. Charis was a petite blond who wore dresses covered in flowers. I was tall and curvy while Kendra had a 'success' appeal coupled with a gymnast body.

All of those traits spread out over the four of us, Kendra felt we covered all the bases. "One of us is bound to get him." I quoted her into the mirror.

"That's the plan. Oooo," Charis brightened up, "What if he's my first?"

I calmed her down, "Don't bank on it, this is just for fun."

"But he's so cute," she beamed, "I have to try!"

"You'll get him...provided you don't chicken out again." I coaxed, sarcastically.

"Come on Genie! You don't have to say it like that," she pouted. We had set her up on a date with a young gentleman from back home, but she didn't have the nerve to get undressed in front of him. And she had come so close too. "I think if it were Mr. Elric I wouldn't mind." She blushed and rubbed her cheeks, "I bet he'd be really sweet to me."

That day after class that day she stayed behind to talk to him, yet made no attempt at flirting. "What happened?" I had waited outside the door for her.

She came out with a disappointed look on her face. "I didn't pass in the final page of my report, it stuck to the back of my book. That's all he wanted." She sighed, "Every time I look at him I get scared. I was going flirt with him that time too! I swear!"

"There's always next time." I smiled, little did I know I had an eyebrow raised. I quickly noticed and lowered it before she looked to me again.

"What do I do?" she placed a loose book in her bag.

I shrugged, "There's the option of finding a real boyfriend."

"No," she said with a clenched, determined fist, "I have to try."

The next time we all shared the class, Charis stayed behind again to talk with him. She sat in a front seat as the professor straightened some things on his desk. "What's on your mind?" he asked casually. He had such a charming demeanor.

Charis brought her knees together tightly and held tightly. "I wanted to thank you for the lesson today," and she proceeded to mention her favourite points. "Its only been a few months, but I feel I've taken so much from hearing your lectures." Her own brand of flattery. Covered in butter.

"I'm glad to hear it. I've studied alchemy since I was five, it just feels natural talking about it. I like how it helps my students connect to the material easier." He stood casually against the front of his desk.

"Since you were five?" she said with surprise and sat forward, those hands still firmly planted on her knees, not wanting her dress to show anything prematurely, "What made you want to start so early?"

"I had some of my father's alchemy books, he left them behind in our old house. My start was right there. I guess it was my way of wanting to get to know him. Or at least, know how he worked."

"Your dad? Did he leave?" She asked a personal question.

He gave her a look of curiosity, "Why do you want to know?"

Charis shrug with adorable tilt of her head, "I wanted to know more about you." Figuring her sweet countenance would earn points, she tried to dig deeper. It earned her nothing in the end.

He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he brushed by her, "I'm your teacher. You aren't suppose to know me on a personal level. Lets say, the old man left to follow his passion," to which Mr. Elric looked at his watch, "much like myself. I have a meeting to get to, can you lock up here when you're done?" He departed.

My poor little friend, she looked like someone had kicked her puppy. She came back into the lunch room and lined up with me for food. "What happened?"

And so, she proceeded to tell me the story. "Why was that a personal level? What did he mean? Maybe I moved too quickly. Some boys get nervous when you appear to be coming on too strong." She took a glass from a nearby stand and held it over to counter to order some juice. The clerk filled it and handed it back.

"That's true...but he's not a boy...he's a grown man."

She sipped the juice sadly but brightened up quickly, "That's right!" Charis whipped around and handed her newly ordered juice to me, apple juice I think, "I didn't come on strong enough! I'll be back, don't drink that." She pointed at the cup then peeled off out of the lunch room for destinations unknown.

Before I could get a word out, she was too far to even yell to. I was left there holding my food and her drink, "...oh well." I drank her juice. She forgot about it for a week, then called me out on it. Later on in the evening Charis got me to meet her downtown on a relitvely busy street. It was a part of town that was kept up rather well, not a scrap of garbage anywhere.

I had been wondering where Charis went off to, but as soon as I saw her, I needn't wonder any longer. Charis had gone shopping. "What's all this now?" I commented on her new attire.

"I realized something," she said, flattening the sides of her newly acquired skirt. "I dress like a little girl, because of that he didn't take me seriously. So I bought this stuff," she said with glee and gave a twirl. Charis had moved up from pink and flowery to striped and classy. Her shirt was a series of thin horizontal stripes, ranging from pastel green, yellow and light brown. Her belt was thick, black and shiny and held her navy pleated skirt in place. She topped it all off with a barret. The girl knew her fashion well, she looked very sharp.

I tapped my chin, deep in thought,"I like it, it's classy. But you shouldn't be changing yourself to fit someone else's standards."

She waved her hand, "Don't worry, I'm not. This is only temporary." Charis straightened the white collar of her undershirt and took off the barre, it was brown, matching the brown lines in the shirt. A nice touch. She revealed fluffy blond curls, newly cut.

My eyes widened, "You cut it off?" I was kind of mad, "Why would you cut it for this. You said you were growing it out again." She wanted me to do it all in braids, we were just waiting until it was long enough.

"I did, but then I passed by this hat, then came along a salon with a cute style," she referenced the light loose curls that covered halfway down the back of her neck. She twirled her hat around the tip of her finger on its brim. "I couldn't resist! See over there?" She pointed.

With slight relief I looked over her head to see what she was looking at (she was that short or I was that tall). Charis got me to meet her at a cafe turned pub. "We can't get in here, the line is huge." It was a popular spot every day of the week. Being a resturant and bar all in one, how couldn't it be? We were nineteen at the time, so we could get in, that wasn't a problem. Though from where we stood, it looked like a week before we'd see a table or drink. "He's here isn't he?"

She got a smirk that I best described as 'cat like'. "Ya-huh. I made a plan." She pulled me along the line to the door where we butted in front of a soon-to-be patron. He protested, "My dad runs this place. Shut it!" she snapped and whisked me through the front door. Obviously her father didn't own the place. "Quick thinking on your part." I complimented.

"Thanks," and we looked around to see the bouncer. A lumbering giant of a man, black hair and steely light blue eyes.

"Did you factor him in?" I said with a nervous breath, through a nervous smile. What could I do? He was massive. I'd seen smaller cola machines.

She nodded and stepped up to the man and got him to lean down. After whispering something in his ear, he nodded. "ID first." Charis nodded excitedly and we both showed him our cards and he walked over and locked the front door. "Alright, lets see em'"

I was confused, "We already showed-" Charis cut me off.

She tugged at the tucked in portion of my shirt, "It's a small price to pay for love Genie."

I could feel my face grow red hot, "No, no-I didn't aggre-" I was no flasher.

"Please?" Her eyes got glossy, how could I say no? She was too cute sometimes.

"You're buying." Reluctantly I untucked my shirt and did as instructed. Charis was usually quite reserved. I figured out where she got the new persona at, it was in a bottle. When I got a bit closer to her, I took note of the scent of liquid courage. For someone so demure, the girl sure did like her rum. She had drank before she even left the house apparently. "Sometimes I don't think I know you," I said as we entered the main hall. I was joking. As embarrassing as it was, I was sure it would make for an interesting story.

"And you never will, haha...Hmmm," she said as her eyes scanned the room.

"That's the last time I listen to you when you say" my voice grew an octave in pitch, "'Wear something light'. Huh?" And before I knew it I was being pulled to the bar. I ordered dark cola, vodka and lime. Charis went for the tried and true, rum on the rocks. I got her to try the lime in her drink. She ended up liking it and until this day, she orders a slice with her drink.

"There he is...who's that he's sitting with?" she asked and picked up her head to stretch her neck out. He was sitting next to another man who looked strikingly similar, just with shorter hair.

I peeked in their general direction, the crowd made it difficult, "...I think that may be his brother."

"He's cute too."

"Focus."

"Right." She corrected herself. "Are we ready?" she asked as if I knew what was going on. I might as well have left my feet at home, Charis was pulling me all over the place that night. In fact, she pulled me up to the table of my professor and a complete stranger. I was nowhere near drunk enough to do these sorts of things. I wasn't even through my first drink. "Look who it is! What were the chances of this?" she said, feigning 'utter surprise'. She was obviously drunk, I assumed they thought so as well. I didn't get the feeling they knew she was lying, they thought she was just wasted. I later found out she had stalked him to find out where he was going that night (Don't worry, I had a chat with her about it).

"Charis," Professor Elric said with surprise, "What brings you to this kind of place in the middle of the week. Don't you have class tomorrow?" He playfully scolded her.

"I don't have class till the afternoon tomorrow," she leaned over the table, "What are you doing here on a school night?" she playfully inquired.

"This is my brother, Alphonse. He's visiting from Resembool." They shook hands, I followed suit.

"What brings you to Central?" she fired up the conversation as she took a seat.

Alphonse smiled, "My wife and I are here on business." Thus the small talk ensued.

Ed and Al were quite gracious and bought a few drinks for us. Several times I suggested 'last one' to which Charis replied 'one more'. This happened a few times. I also noticed a flask in her purse, which I took as soon as I noticed. "I told you, class don't start till the noon time for me Wednesday. I'll be fine." She waved a floppy hand at me. I noticed her words were slipping too.

"Tomorrow's Tuesday," Alphonse corrected her.

"Yeah," Ed backed him up.

"Really?" she looked at either of them in sheer amazement. "My first one is at eight then." It was now ten-thirty at night, prospects fortold of a rough morning.

"Think you'll make it?" Edward snickered and commented that he had been in the same boat when he was in school.

She gave him a 'Hoo-yeash' and that was all she could muster. They got up and left shortly after that. Possibly leading by example. "Soooo...," she slumped her head over and held out a scrap of paper, "I got his number."

I finished my drink and shook my head with derision, "He said to call if you needed study help."

"Aaaand you know what that means," she giggled suggestively, "Little study here, little drinky there, then he slips me a little sumthin-sunthin," she pinched my arm playfully and laughed out loud. She was acting like a fool.

The next day, shortly after eight, I dropped off a bag of ice to Charis. "Was it worth it?" I asked with a smirk.

Taking the cold pack and placing against her head she groaned, "Totally not. I don't remembering a thing from halfway through the evening," Charis sat and waited for the lesson to begin; the teacher was running late, she got lucky. Last night, before I said my goodbye's to Charis at her front door, I took the number from her and didn't tell her she had received it. Stalking was a serious offense, I need not exasserbate it. "Daaaaaanaa...copy notes for me?" she said and laid her head down on the ice.

Dana looked over her book from the back isle, "Got it."

Kendra came in from the back door seconds later, she was probably looking for me. We shared a class that morning. She had a look of annoyance on her face. Granted Kendra always looked like something was annoying her, but knowing her for so long, I notice slight shifts in her mood. "What's wrong?"

She held up half a sandwich, "I say no cheese, and I get cheese. I just spent ten minutes dissecting my food." The kiosk in particular she got the sandwich from used grated cheese. She loved cheese, but was unfortunately afflicted with being lactose intolerant.

"Maybe if you ask for extra, they won't put any on," Charis said weakly. She was a trooper.

"You'll have to test that. We've got to go now." Kendra and myself. I looked to Dana, "We're still heading to the library after last class, right?" Which was Professor Elric's class. Last

Dana nodded, "Yes," she said. We were working on some writing project for our mid-semester mark.

At the end of the day we met up in the reference section of the library. I was well lit and not a speck of dust could be found. Normally the reference section was the unloved section of the library, but not at this school. The students were adamant about their studies, the majority of them were aspiring alchemists. That in mind, the books had a better chance of falling apart than they did of decomposing. Let alone have time to collect dust.

That day wasn't busy at all, we were the only ones in the library. Save for the receptionist, who couldn't think of anything better to do than chew gum then stretch and twirl it around her finger. I came into the aisle only to see Dana with her fingers gripping her book in a death hold. It looked like she was near the end. I gathered it was an intense scene. What with the intense expression.

I stood in silence, for I knew better than to interrupt her. A lesson I learned long ago. She shut the book and let out a sigh. "I knew it." She wiped a tear from beneath her glasses the corner of her eye. A long sleeve dried the drop. "Such beautiful writing, I shed a tear." She held up the single dark dot on her cuff. "See."

I smiled, "I'll have to give it a read someday." I wasn't really one for novels, I was a research kind of gal.

"I doubt you'd enjoy it," she handed it to me, "Read the back."

"Vampires," I said as it was the first word I automatically took note of. Maybe I was expecting the word subconsciously, so it jumped off the page. I flipped the book to the cover again, "Oh well. I'm not for romance anyway," and handed it back her.

"I have one for you back home. I'll grab it for you on Saturday." We heard the door open and shut. Someone entered the library. We ignored it. "Where did we leave off?" she said and we got started right away.

Only a few seconds in and Mr. Elric appeared in our aisle. "I thought I heard you say you'd be here." He walked up to Dana and handed her a small stack of papers. "I loved your imagery in the chapter with the forest."

'He proof read her book?' I thought. Dana said she was writing a novel of her own and wanted to get his opinion on it. Bravo.

"I only gave it to you this morning." She took it back, and seemed surprised.

He held one arm up in a shrug, "I'm quick at reading. But your writing is tiny. I had to wear my glasses to see it."

"Oh sorry, I'll use a typewriter next time...you wear glasses? I never see you with them on."

He referenced the marks on the bridge of his nose. "They pinch, so I don't wear them often." We all talked for a bit and he took his leave. "Did you hear him?" Dana's expression looked intense again.

I sat far back in my chair as Dana leaned right over the table. "Yes, he was standing right in front of me." A ditzy observation. But remember, she had known me a long time and I usually when I responded like that, it was because I required and elaboration of context. A funny quirk when it's timed right. A good example was when we went to see a move last week and I said I hated it. Charis asked me, word for word, 'How could you hate that movie?' My response, not missing a beat, 'Trust me, it was very easy.'

"He said he wore glasses," Dana looked as though she struck gold.

"Yeah, oh...right." Dana had a thing for guys in glasses.

"I have to see them." Now this was a look I knew as well. It was the expression that screamed 'I need to write'. I would have put any money on her handing me a novel beginning within the next few days. She wrote what she knew, then she threw a vampire edge to it. She wrote wearwolf one once on request. She had plans for a big novel that included many creepy crawlers of the night. Chances are, Mr. Elric was going to inspire the hero in the new book.

I shrugged. "Not you too." I had hoped Dana was going to follow my lead and fawn over him from afar. I was wrong. I zoned out as she prattled on, wondering what they looked like. "Thick frames? Thin ones? Round? Square? Rectangle? Maybe they're elliptical like mine!" She jumped up from her chair. "You have to help me." She pointed a finger at me.

I hated it when she got manic like this, she tended to get pushy. 'Insistent' as she called it. "Why?" I asked with grief.

"You helped Charis." And damn, I did. I told her about the number, so she knew I was helpful.

I damned myself for being helpful. "Fine."

I'm having fun with this one.