I can't stay in this town.
I go upstairs to the bathroom and strip myself down. I step in the shower and let the warm water flow over my body as I let my mind wander. No matter how much I confront the terrible parts of this town, my mind always wanders back to Edward.
Just the sight of his golden eyes is enough to make me go mad.
I chuckle to myself; I've only just met him, and I'm already falling for him.
I turn off the water and dry off my hair so it's nice and soft. I then slip on a black tank-top and black shorts and I look at myself in the mirror. I can see a few of the scars that I received in that place. I open the bathroom door and open the widow in my room. It's as dark as night now; Edward and Al shouldn't travel back to the State at this time of night.
I walk down the stairs to see that the two brothers are cleaning all the blood off the floors and walls in the main room.
"You know you don't have to do that." I say quietly, looking down at the floor.
"We know." Al says simply and I hear sympathy in his voice.
"It's late; you two are welcome to stay here for the night. It wouldn't be good to travel during the night time." I lean against the wall, and I find myself staring at Edward. He looks up and catches my gaze; I quickly look away, but look at him from the corner of my eyes. From the warmth on my cheeks, I'm sure I'm blushing again.
"Thanks Jade, that's very kind of you." Edward says and I can hear a smile in his voice.
"It's no problem, the least I can do for you. You can go wherever you need to in the morning. "They nod and I go upstairs to prepare sleeping places for them. I hope to find a way so I don't have to stay here.
Edward's P.O.V.
Al and I are cleaning up some of the blood stains when Jade walks down the stairs. She looks so beautiful, I notice, as the lights in the house show her radiant skin. Wait, am I thinking about her skin?! What the hell?!
When she speaks, her voice is so angelic. What am I feeling? Why does she make me feel this way?
I look up from my work, but she quickly looks away. Does she dislike me? Did I do something wrong? I wonder, but then I see her blush.
"Thanks Jade, that's very kind of you." I say, smiling softly at her.
"It's no problem," she says and I get lost in her beautiful eyes, not hearing the rest of her sentence. I just nod and she goes back upstairs.
"Brother…Brother!"
"Wha-What?!" I turn to all and he just stares at me. "Why were you calling me?" I ask, slightly angry for no reason.
"You were staring." He says simply and I feel my cheeks getting hot.
"I was not." I go back to scrubbing the floor, knowing Al was right. I was staring at her?
"We're going back to Central after this, right Brother?" Al asks and I nod. "Are… Are we taking Jade with us?"
I freeze; I don't know the answer to that.
"I mean, what does she have left here? And her uncle is Mustang, so, I thought we could take her back with us. She could live with the State Alchemists, and maybe she could take the exam, after more training of course. I'm sure Mustang would like to see her." I cut Al off before he continues to rant.
"She's an alchemist?"
Al nods enthusiastically and pints to the ice-encased man who shot me. "Yeah, she did that out of nowhere after you were… you know, shot. She was really mad, Brother. She drew the transmutation circle in a few seconds flat, and it was perfect. You should've seen it!"
I'm surprised, but a small smile creeps onto my face. "Al, if she wants to come with us to Central, we'll take her." I can hear the smile in his voice when he answers me.
"Thanks Brother!"
I give him a sly grin. "Do I sense a crush going on here?" I swear, if Al could blush through his armor, he would.
"N-n-no Brother! Y-y-you g-got it a-all wrong!" I just laugh at his embarrassment.
"I was just kidding Al." He sighs in relief and I notice Jade walk down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Thought you boys might want to eat before you go to bed." She calls from the other room. Al and I share a glance.
"I'm not hungry, but thanks." Al says; I know he's upset again.
I give him a sad glance as Jade continues. "What about you, Edward? You want anything?"
"Nah, I'm fine." I hear my stomach growl and I blush. Come to think of it, I haven't eaten since this morning on the train.
"I'll heat something for you, Edward." Jade chuckles from the kitchen.
"Thanks Jade." I smile to her. "And you can call me Ed." I see her nod in the kitchen as she heats something on the stove.
"I hope you like homemade chicken soup Ed. Made it myself, with a few tips from…mom…" Jade starts off happily until she comes to the subject of her dead foster parents.
"It smells delicious!" I say in a cheery tone, to lighten the mood. It's true though, the soup smells wonderful.
"Thanks, I hope you like it." She says, smiling again.
After a while, she ladles the soup into two bowls and places one in front of me. I take a spoonful and raise my eyebrows in surprise.
"It's amazing Jade." I tell her, and I see her relax, breathing a sigh of relief.
"You sure you don't want anything Al? You can have anything you want." I look down at the bowl of soup sadly. She seems to understand we don't want to talk about it, so she changes the subject. "So, what's it like being a State Alchemist? Or just a trained alchemist in general."
"It's good." I say simply. "As long as people use alchemy in a helpful way."
"Oh." Is all she says. After a long, awkward pause, Jade sighs. "Man, I can't do this." She stands and rinses out her empty bowl in the sink. "Your room is upstairs, to the right, third door on your left." And with that she walks past Al and heads up the stairs.
I notice I'm watching her until she disappears to the second floor. I sigh and clean my bowl before Al and I follow her directions to a fairly empty room. I slump down on the bed on the left and sigh as I close my eyes.
Tomorrow, we're going back to Central.