Hello everyone! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! (Yay! 8!)
Sorry if there are some grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm really tired and I just got back home after spending the weekend at my sisters' college. It was really fun but now I'm completely drained...I really don't want to go to school tomorrow.
I hope everyone loves this chapter!
"See you guys later." Jean said as he waved good bye to his friends.
"See ya!"
Jean turned around and began walking down Maes' drive way. His world had been turned upside-down earlier today and his head was reeling with all of the knowledge that had been recently put into it.
How could Roy know this for years and not tell anyone about his? How could he stand by and watch his friend get abused?! It's not right!
"What have I gotten myself into?" Jean asked himself out loud as he kicked a nearby can. "What am I supposed to do about it?"
I can't understand how Roy was able to stand this! I've known for two hours and it's already driving me crazy! I have to tell someone!
"No." Jean told himself. "This could most possibly be the biggest secret that you have ever known. You will not go and have it spread around like some little high school rumor."
But there has to be someone I can talk to…Wait! Winry!
Jean quickly turned onto the next street and began running towards her home.
Twenty minutes later, Jean found himself standing on Winry's front porch, knocking on her door. After a moment of waiting, the door opened revealing Winry's miniature grandmother as she always looked: small, wrinkling, and with a pipe in her mouth.
"Oh! Hello Ms. Rockbell."
"Hello Jean. And what do you need at this early hour?"
"Um, is Winry up? I kind of need to talk to her."
"I'll go get her. I think I heard some noises coming from her room a little while ago."
"Thank you."
"Would you like to come inside or stay loitering on my front porch?" Pinako asked as she took the pipe out of her mouth.
"Um yes. Thank you." Jean said as he moved inside and sat down on one of the couches in the living room.
As Jean waited for Winry to arrive downstairs, he pulled out a cigarette, popped it into his mouth, and lit it. Jean didn't worry about what Pinakowould say, she always told stories about how she had smoked before she could even drive. Moments later, Winry appeared on the stairs, along with her grandma.
"Jean, what have I told you about smoking in my house?" Winry asked in an exasperated tone.
"I don't see what the problem is? Your grandma smokes almost as much as I do!"
"So what?" Pinako asked. "When I started, I didn't know how bad it was and I've been addicted like this for decades. You on the other hand, have smoking warnings thrown all in your face. You should know better."
Jean rolled his eyes as he put his cigarette out in a nearby ashtray.
"So what did you need Jean?" Winry asked, remember the reason for coming downstairs.
"Uh, I need to talk to you."
"Okay." Winry said, slightly taken back by the usually care-free teen's serious expression. "Let's go up to my room."
Jean followed Winry up the stars and into her room. Winry made her way across the room and over to the sliding door that lead to her balcony. The two teens sat down onto the old musty couch that their friends had rescued from a front lawn and carried throughout the town only two summers ago. (1)
"So what did you need to talk to me about?"
"Well…it's about something that Roy told me."
"Which is?"
"Uh…I guess I'll just come out and say it," Jean took a deep breath before he continued. "You know about Ed, right? I mean about his home and…Kimblee?"
Winry's facial expression quickly changed from worry to shock to sadness. She sat there quietly for a moment before she spoke in a soft and sad voice that Jean had not heard in years.
"How did…when did you…Roy told you?" Winry stuttered as she struggled for the right words.
"Yeah. Last night-or well I guess this morning actually."
"How'd you find out? I mean, how did he tell you?"
"He…he told me a story about how Kimblee got pissed off at you and Ed and how he hurt you guys."
Winry, subconsciously it seemed, grabbed onto her wrist and rubbed it gently. Her eyes seemed to fog slightly as her mind drifted back to that day summers ago.
"I was wondering when Roy would spill it." Winry said quietly with a small smile. "He lasted longer than I expected him to."
"So how long have you known?"
Winry stared in Jeans' eyes. The pain that was held in her eyes made Jean want to go straight to Ed's house and beat the life out of Kimblee.
"I've know since he got his automail." She answered quietly. "Since he was about 11."
"Alright but there is one thing that I just cannot understand."
"What is it?"
"Even though Ed and Roy fight like they want to kill each other most of the time, I still know that Roy cares about Ed. And I know how much you fucking love that kid Winry. But what I can't even begin to understand is how in the world do you manage to keep this secret? How can you see your friend every day and not think about what he's going through?!"
"Jean-." Winry began.
"Here I thought you were a great, caring person but now, I really think that I have to reconsider my views on you, Roy too. Don't you care at all how Ed feels?!"
"Jean-!"
"Let me finish Winry! I want to know what you think when you walk home with him every day and see that house! I want to know what you think when you see Ed…limping! Or has a black eye! Or has something wrong with him because of that man!"
"JEAN HAVOC!" Winry shouted as she stood up.
Jean had been too busy ranting to notice what he was doing to his friend. Tears were running down her face and she was shaking, but not with sadness: She was shaking with pure rage. Jean knew, at that moment, that he had crossed a line that was never meant to be crossed.
"You think that I don't care about Edward?" Winry asked in a deadly whisper. "You think I want Edward to live in that Hell-hole? You think that when I first found out about this, I wasn't shocked or furious at all?"
"Win I-I didn't mean to…" Jean muttered as he coward in Winry's wake.
"You honestly think that when Roy saw what had happened to Ed and me, he didn't come rushing over to my house and beg me to tell someone? That he didn't care that one of his best friends had to go home every night to a house that only held hate and fear for him?"
"Winry-."
"Shut up Jean! You wanted to make all of these damn accusations about me, so I'm going to go ahead and correct them! You dare think that when I walk him home, I don't even think about what he has to go through?! You're insane! I'll let you know what I do and have done every day since I found out."
Winry bent down and placed her hands on either side of Jean's head. If someone was to walk in through the door, they would think something totally different was going on. Winry glared into Jean's blue eyes for a moment before she spoke.
"Every damn day, I practically beg Ed to come and move in to this house with me. Everyday. And the only reason I didn't go to the police was because Edward pleaded with me to not go to the police or tell anyone else. You have no idea how upset he was, being unable to stop the man that hurt me. And that's the thing! He doesn't give a damn about himself. All he cares about are his friends and those poor foster children that he has to take care of and protect. So don't you dare think that I don't care about him or that I don't have my reasons for not going and telling someone."
"S-S-Sorry. I-I didn't realize-."
"Damn straight you didn't realize." Winry growled before she collapsed onto the couch next to Jean and attempted to stop the new flow of tears that were now running down her face.
"I'm sorry…"
"I-It's alright." Winry sniffed. "I understand. You're reaction proved to me that you really care about Ed and that you have a heart."
"Right…but I have another question."
"What is it?"
"How did Roy tell you that he knew? I mean, he seems like the kind of person who would just go straight to the police after finding out."
"Well he actually kept quiet for a little while. About a week after that day, he came to me and asked me how I had hurt my wrist exactly."
"Oh. Well do you think…do you think Ed will ever do anything about everything that he's gong through?"
"Oh, I'm sure he will. He's probably just waiting for the right time."
"Probably."
Jean left Winry's house and hour later after they had finished talking about Ed while slowing sipping sodas that Winry had produced. Once she had shown Jean the door, Winry collapsed onto her bed, exhausted.
"Edward…" Winry muttered with a sigh. "What in the world am I going to do with you?"
"Hello?" Roy asked as he answered his phone, hours later.
"Uh…hey Roy."
"Ed? What's up little biddy?"
"Stop calling me that! I'm hardly any shorter than you are!"
"Alright, sorry. But what's up?"
"Um, I kinda…need your help with something."
"What kind of something?" Roy asked after a short pause. After all that Roy had talked about today, he couldn't really suppress the hope that was slowly rising in his stomach.
"Well I kind of need a ride somewhere."
"What kind of somewhere?"
"Can you stop with the twenty questions? Now can I bum a ride off of you or not?"
"Yeah, of course you can."
"And I also need another favor if you don't mind doing this for me."
"Well it all depends on what kind of favor it is."
"You remember the time you had to break the lock on your front door after you came home after curfew?"
"Of course I do. So it's safe to assume you need me to break into some place."
"I sure am glad I don't have to beat around the bush with you."
"Well then where should I pick you up from?"
"I'm at the park."
"Alright. See you in ten."
"Right, bye."
"Bye."
Roy closed his phone before shoving it in his pocket. What was Ed up to? And why was he asking for his help? Roy pushed these questions out of his mind before getting up off of his bed and walking out of his bedroom.
(1)A few years ago when I was like, 12, me and four of my other friends found a couch on someones lawn and we took it. Then for a few hours we just walked around the town carrying a couch while slowly picking up more and more garbage(which included a small table/stool thing and two car tires). Eventually we got to our friends house and we set up the couch and all of the other things up on his front porch. I was totally pissed off when I heard that they had to get rid of it a few days later. I mean, it was only blocking one door, it's no that much of a fire hazard.
I wonder what Ed needs Roy for. Hmm...Well you're all just going to have to wait until the next chapter to find out, but I already have about 85% of chapter 8 ready so I might update it a little earlier.
-FSK