I feel so guilty about not updating in so long, let's say things have been extremely rough lately. On the plus side I got a laptop –nudge nudge- so I'm expecting to dish out more chapters. Moving onward! This should be a double posting one today and if I get the ball rolling one more tomorrow. Keep in mind this is an intro to what's to come I've been trying to get some trouble into the plot, well here she is.

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He had barely understood what the young woman said over the howling of the wind and pounding of the rain. She was drenched from head to toe as she stood at his apartment door with a backpack slung over her shoulder. The other occupant of the house came to the door draping one arm enthusiastically around Alphonse and reaching his other out towards the girl to shake. "This is our new roommate Al." he beamed when she accepted his hand and shook it.

It had been two months since the girl had moved in with him and Bryan. Everyday so far was the same they would eat a bowl of cereal around the table and, Bryan would attempt to flirt with the girl, before winking and scurrying out to his class. This always left Al and the girl sitting uncomfortably until Al cleared his throat nodded and made his way back to his room. Today of all days was a little different, today 'the girl' as Alphonse called her was staring at her food not bothering to eat it. She pushed it towards him and told him to eat it.

Al had to stop and blink for a while; those two words were the only words she had said to him since she moved in. Al had to call his brother immediately and clarify that 'the girl' had a three letter vocabulary at the least and to top off this shocking moment, she didn't ask for him to eat it, she had told him to, demanded it of him. Like hell he was going to disobey. He slowing began eating the now soggy cereal, it tasted horrible and she was watching him intensely through her emerald green orbs. He would feel bad for not eating the cereal now that he started, so he proceeded, attempting to make small talk to take his mind off of the toxic waste in his mouth.

"So, where you from?" he asked while spooning the cereal into his mouth, hoping the taste wouldn't last long if he was quick about eating the crap she offered him. He frowned, this is disgusting he thought.

"Xing." She replied bluntly.

"How'd you end up here then?" The question was simple but the girl seemed to contemplate on what to tell him.

"My mother is from Xing and my father is from Amestris. It was a chance meeting you can say."

"Are your parents both living here?" he continued cramming the food down as fast as he could, he was becoming quite uncomfortable.

"Mom is dead and I never met my dad."

"Sorry." He said sympathetically, she ignored his apology and exited the kitchen. "Rude." He muttered under his breath.

The weeks that followed that conversation went on quietly or as quietly as Al forced himself to believe. He knew his roommates had relationships with people Joey had her boyfriend Steven and Bryan had, well Bryan had an army of women. Alphonse didn't understand Bryan or Joey. Al knew Joey was a smart girl but she wasted a lot of time on a man who she knew as good as anyone else was using her for sex. It made him wonder; just what will a person do in order to feel loved. If it was waking up to a different face or two like Bryan was doing they could keep it.

It was the beginning of spring the snow was finally beginning to melt in Central. The campus was coated with patches of snow and the mounds of snow on the side of the road were just beginning to melt gleaming in the sunlight. Al had been away for spring break visiting Ed and Winry who we're upset Al had left two days ahead of time, but he was elated for some odd reason he was finally going to see his roommates, oddly enough he missed them. Upon reaching the door leading into his apartment Al searched around his pockets for his keys, he had nearly forgotten them on the train earlier and that would have been a disaster. He'd probably have to wait two days before anyone returned home, he was sure he would be the first one back to greet everyone. Apparently he was wrong as Steven bumped him on the shoulder rushing down the stairs of the apartment building, he didn't turn to apologize as he bustled down the street ignoring Al's 'hey man'. He ignored the rudeness and made his was to apartment 2b, if he had dwelled on it he probably would have raced down the block to teach him common courtesy.

"Did you forget something?" Al barely heard Joey whisper as he pushed open the door. Her eyes were glued to her feet through her glass of water in her trembling hands. She was cute Al had to admit, he rarely got to admire the full length of her wavy brown hair that fell down to the middle of her back. She wore a loose fitting t-shirt and spandex Capri shorts, she never left her room dressed that comfortably in the six months she had been living there, it surprised Al that she even had clothes like that.

Her emerald green eyes never looked up to see if it was in fact Steven at the door, they stayed focused on either her feet or the wooden floor boards beneath her. "Steven has a key?" he paused and examined her face as she looked up wide eyes and in shock. There was a swelling forming on her right cheek and black blue and purplish bruising around the same side of her face and the middle of her lip was ripped, red and swelling. She looked a wreck. "What the…? Was he hitting you?" her hands shook violently now and the glass of water slipped from her hands and shattered at her feet. "Don't move." Al muttered, dropping his bags at the door. Joey was in tears as Al made his way over to her. "You have glass shards all over your feet, you could have been cut…" he trailed off as he picked her up to take her to the living room to sit.

"Joey." He spoke gently but sternly at the same time, while pulling a chair in front of her and taking a seat. "What happened?"

The weeks had passed and Joey was opening up to Al, she talked with him for longer periods of time and she smiled. God was Alphonse happy when she smiled at him the first time. That smile was intoxicating he'd do damned near anything for her if she smiled for him, and what made him happier that smile was only for him, she had reserved it just for him. Especially for him. After she had broken things off with Steven it seemed as if she was finally relaxing, and allowing herself to be happy. There were nights when Al knew she felt lonely because she would crawl up next to him during the night and sleep there until morning. In the beginning the visits were innocent but later on Al started slipping up and 'playing' with her. Al's carelessness led to a passionate night where he lost his virginity and he had finally admitted to himself and her that he thought he loved her. Apparently this did not make Joey happy; maybe he had triggered a bad memory which caused Joey to retreat back into her shell. Al felt like shit and it showed in his mood, how could something that was looking up turn out so damn bad? Was all that went through his head for a while. Until that call came in.

Al could still hear the blaring of his phone next to his ear. He looked at his alarm clock that said 12:54 p.m. He has missed class for the second time this week, he groaned as he yanked the phone off the hook.

"Hello, Alphonse Elric speaking." He said dryly into the mouth of the phone. He was in one of his funks today, probably why Bryan didn't wake him up. It was hard dealing with an agitated Alphonse, he was kind and loving but he seemed to be changing for the worse in his roommates opinion.

"Hey Al, buddy ol pal." I deep smug voice said from over the phone.

"Who is this?" Al was in no mood to play around and this persons attitude was not making that better.

"It's Steven man! You don't remember your best friends voice?"

"Best friend?" The last Al had checked he had fought the urge to knock the man flat on his ass. "Are you looking for Joey? Why don't you call her phone, the number is…" Al was cut off.

"Naw man I called for you," Al heard the man chuckle from over the phone and knew the man was picking a fight. "I'm calling to let you know me and Joey are getting back together." He paused. "Awesome right?" he said cooly, Al could see his cocky face mocking him from over the phone.

"Are you done?" Alphonse asked, pretending to not be interested in the least.

"Yeah I'll talk to you later man…maybe at the wedding." His laughter roared over the phone and Al not being able to take it anymore slammed the phone on the receiver.

"Fucking ass hole." Al swore. "Ugh." He groaned. "Mom forgive me for cursing so much lately, I'll stop I promise."

Two months had passed since him and Joey had a real conversation and well at the moment he didn't understand himself. He couldn't understand why he still cared about Joey enough to let her board with him and his family until they fixed the damage done to their apartment and college. Shit he could have let her go with Steven. Instead he had found himself stuck on this train with her. He couldn't understand how after two months of staying out of each other's way they had been reunited on an old smelly train filled with sweaty middle aged men. He wasn't that desperate was he? She knew all his secrets and he knew hers, which was probably why he clung to her so dearly she at least tried to understand how he is and how he was.

The train had arrived in Resembool ten minutes late and Ed was already eager to see his little brother, so his patience was wearing thin. When the train finally did arrive and he found his brother on the platform he could already see something in his little brothers eyes that he didn't like and he could tell he wasn't the only one from the way Winry was staring at him. He and his wife didn't notice his companion until Al introduced her as Joey, his roommate. The walk home was mostly silent and Ed was beginning to notice things about this Joey character, one is that she looked exhausted, two she was sweating a lot, was she that nervous he thought? And lastly she smelled like vomit and apples. A horrible combination by all standards of horrible.

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Hopefully this doesn't bore you guys to much, I just didn't want you guys to be like whoa where is this person from? So I gave you a simple (not so simple) introduction to her. I'll try to update tomorrow, in the mean time reviews please? Hehehe when I see them I feel spoiled and I'm thinking about re-doing chapter one and two a little what do you guys think?