Best Friends and True Love 8

Best Friends and True Love

Preparations

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Finally, I'm back! Ha! I'm so sorry I was unable to update sooner. It was because of my computer. This story is almost over anyway. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I'm so happy. Unfortunately, my spell checker is messed up, so I hope there aren't any mistakes! Here's the chapter.

o0o0o0o0o0

I woke up that morning to a familiar feeling. I was warm, comfortable, and most of all, I knew I was safe. As I heard a heart beating beneath my ear, I realized that I definitely wasn't in my bed.

I felt arms wrapped around me and I remembered that I'd fallen asleep while Edward was holding me. I opened my eyes and I saw that Ed was still asleep. Had he slept as good as I did? I couldn't help but wondering that.

After I'd fallen asleep, he must've laid down and taken me with him. He'd stayed there with me the whole night, making sure that I was okay. Ed wasn't perfect, nobody is, but I knew that he was the perfect person for me.

He looked so peaceful, so carefree, like I probably did when I was asleep. But he was the only person I knew who could make me feel that way when I was awake, especially during the times I felt so horrible.

I smiled as I continued to look at him and then I remembered the ring around my finger. It was so beautiful as the sunlight hit it. He'd always known Easter was my favorite holiday and this ring was perfect for me. Sure, my best girl friend, Sheska, had given me jewelry for birthdays and Christmas before, but this ring was different.

Ed had never given me anything like this before. So that ring was more special to me at that moment than anything anybody had given me in my life. I kissed the ring and smiled even more. I settled back against him and closed my eyes once more.

I expected to drift back off to sleep, to spend even longer being held in his arms. But what I hadn't expected was what Ed did.

"Winry," he whispered so softly that I could barely hear it. He said it in a whimsical, gentle way, as if at that moment, it was the only name in the world.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was still asleep. Was he dreaming about me? I got shivers just thinking about the way he said my name. Nobody had ever said it like that before. It wasn't just whimsical or gentle; it brought many more descriptions to mind.

I guess that the only way to describe it all put together was just one word: beautiful. He said my name in a beautiful way, as if my name was beautiful, and that made me feel beautiful.

Raising my hand, I reached towards his sleeping face, bringing it down over his cheek. It was warm, just like the rest of him, and soft.

He raised his own hand and caught mine, holding his over it and cradling his cheek. He opened his eyes and looked at me with his amazing golden eyes, the eyes that I always had loved. They were more golden and bright than the sun itself sometimes. I loved that. I loved him.

"Hey there," he said, looking straight into my eyes, gold meeting blue.

"Good morning," I said, my heart suddenly beating faster for some reason.

I hadn't really wanted him to wake up. Him waking up meant that I would have to get up and I was very reluctant to leave the warmth of his embrace.

He yawned and wiped his eyes before blinking a couple of times and looking at me again. He smiled that brilliant smile of his and brought my hand to his lips before kissing it gently.

"Do you feel better?" he asked me, concern in his eyes, written on his face.

I smiled back weakly. It wasn't week because of my previous upset or because he'd brought it back up. Nope, it was weak because he kissed my hand. The feelings that overwhelmed me from that sensational kiss was what made me weak. I was weak in the knees, too, and I was sure I'd be falling to the ground right now if I were standing.

It was at that moment that I wondered if his lips would feel just as warm and soft if they were on my own lips instead of my hand.

"Yeah, I do feel better. Thank you…You could've been home with your family but you stayed here with me…and then you slept with me on this lumpy couch all night.…"

"Well, what are best friends for, after all? Besides, I think you'd do the same for me," he said faintly, as if there was something else he wanted to say but was holding back.

Friends….Best friends…that's all we were. I wished with all of my heart that we were more than that, more than just friends. And he was right. I'd do the same thing for him in a heartbeat.

I raised my hand and looked at the ring yet again. The little jewel in the middle of the cracked egg caught the sunlight and shone bright.

I smiled at him again. I felt so warm, fuzzy, comfortable, and safe all at the same time. If I could wake up to this every morning, wake up with him every morning…I'd be truly happy.

If only I had enough nerve to kiss him. Now would be the perfect opportunity, too. But I just didn't have it in me to do it. After all, I was afraid of rejection. And more than that, I was afraid that rejection would ruin our friendship.

"What time is it?" I asked quietly as I looked away from his golden orbs.

He raised his wrist and looked at his watch. "Almost ten thirty," he replied. "I guess I should get home. My mom will want to know where I was all night and my dad probably has some disturbing ideas in his head…"

"Wait, what disturbing ideas?" I asked curiously.

He blushed and looked away. "Nothing, nothing. Just…stuff. Anyway, I have to go. But I'll be back later, so you should be ready by then."

I stifled a yawn before I asked him, "Read for what?"

He smiled. "You honestly forgot about what's going on down by the pier? They're having games and a party, not to mention food and fireworks when it gets dark. You were so excited about it last week that you wouldn't shut up about it."

My eyes widened as I remembered. I had talked nonstop about how he just had to take me and about how fun it would be.

"Yay!" I said happily. "That is today, isn't it?"

He released me from his embrace and sat up on the couch. I stood up and stretched before watching him do the same thing. I didn't want him to go. I wanted him to stay there with me and hold me a little longer. But I knew that if he did hold me longer I'd be even more reluctant to see him go.

Besides, the sooner he left, the sooner he'd come back and take me to that party, right?

I'd almost forgotten all about it. In fact, I had made plans to go to the mall with Sheska and Rose so that I could look for a good dress to wear to it.

As a matter of fact, I should have been getting ready to meet up with them right now! I didn't want to hurry Ed out the door, but…

"Okay you should go then!" I said as I rushed him to the door. "Bye now!"

I closed the door in his face and hurried up to my room to go take a shower and get dressed.

I looked out of my window and saw Ed making the short journey to his house. It was going to be a great night, I just knew it. Ed was taking me to a party. It was kind of like a date…I blushed at that thought.

By the time I was done getting ready Sheska had pulled up in the car and Rose was already with her.

"Hey," I said as I opened the door and climbed into the back seat before closing it behind myself. "Right on time."

As we drove by Ed's house, I saw him standing on the front porch saying something to Al. They both waved at me and I waved back, of course. Whatever they were talking about seemed to be pretty important since Ed was slightly nibbling on his bottom like he normally did whenever he was really thinking about something.

"Ed's a great guy," Rose said from her seat as she peered out the window. "You're really lucky to have him."

I smiled.

"I guess I am. I don't know what I'd do without him. He's always there for me, no matter what…" I trailed off and thought about how much Ed had done for me. He was my rock, I guess, something I could always lean on.

They both exchanged meaningful looks that I didn't understand. It was like they knew something that I didn't but as if they were unwilling to tell me.

I shrugged before looking out the window and watching the world quickly go by. My parents were doctors. They had to work a lot, but they'd always managed to find time for me. But it seemed these days that they grew more and more distant.

They'd take trips often, yet not together and when they weren't gone on a trip, they were working. And that left me home alone, unless of course, I decided to go over to the Elric's house and bother them.

Sometimes it felt to me as if Trisha and Hohenheim were more like a mother and father to me than my own parents were.

I sighed. I'd spent all of my teenage years so far with Ed and Al, growing up with them. They'd been like brothers to me. But somewhere along the line, Ed became something much more.

I thought back to the way he said my name, to the way he kissed my hand, to the way he held me in his arms even after I fell asleep. And the way he looked at me with those brilliant golden eyes…How did Edward feel about me?

He couldn't love me back, could he? I shook my head. I didn't dare to dream something so wonderful.

We arrived at the mall quickly and we began to shop. I had to find the perfect dress. I wanted to look my best. I wanted to make an impression on Ed. I wanted to look the same way hearing my name floating from his lips made me feel: beautiful.

"Come on Winry," Sheska said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a store behind her.

I didn't find anything I liked there. It was the same when we went to the next store.

"Here," I said as I handed Rose a simple, yet beautiful white dress. "This will look great on you!"

"You think so?" she asked as she pulled it up in front of herself and looked into the nearby mirror.

Sheska had found an outfit for herself and was heading to the dressing rooms.

"Just give it a try. You know, Alphonse always has liked seeing white on girls…" I said with a wink.

She blushed before she nodded and hurried to the dressing rooms, too.

Rose really liked Al. I thought they'd make a cute couple so I was silently cheering her on.

The problem was that Al had a crush on Noah, which I was deeply opposed to. Al deserved better. That was my opinion and I was sticking to it.

I grabbed a few random dresses and followed them to the dressing rooms. I closed the door behind me and I quickly undressed.

I picked up the first dress and put it on. It was an orange dress. It showed way too much cleavage and it was really short. Plus, I looked just like a basketball in it.

The next on was pale pink. T was pretty and I liked it, but the sleeves were too big and it was a bit too long.

The last one was a purple so I immediately rejected that one. The other two hadn't turned out so well so I didn't really plan on giving this one a try. Add that to the fact that I'd look like a big grape if I walked around in that dress and you have yourself a good example of fashion disaster.

I sighed out of frustration as I left the dressing room. I saw Sheska and Rose paying for their clothes and that was when I saw it.

On display behind the glass of the store right across from us was the perfect dress!

I pulled out of the garage and drove the short distance to Winry's driveway. The flutter of her curtains drew my attention, but I didn't see her. I merely shrugged before going to the door. It wasn't locked so I let myself in.

"Hey Win," I called as I closed the door. "Are you ready yet?"

It took her a minute to answer me. "Almost."

I leaned against the back of the door, my arms crossed over my chest. I wasn't in a hurry so I just waited for a while. I got thirsty and I was about to go to the kitchen and get a soda when she came walking down the stairs.

It was so shocked that my mouth was wide open. It was a good thing I didn't get that soda because however much of it would've been in my mouth would now have been on the floor in front of my feet and probably even down the front of my shirt.

"Wow" was the only word that came to mind.

She was wearing a red dress, my favorite color, that barely reached her knees. The straps of the dress were thin and cradled her slender shoulders. It hugged her body for the most part, yet it fluffed out towards the bottom.

Like I said, it was red, but different shades. The top of it started out a bright red and it ended up very dark by the time it reached the bottom.

Se was wearing red hoop earrings and her hair was loose and wavy. She was even wearing red heels and I noticed she'd even painted her finger nails and toe nails. And if that wasn't enough, she was even wearing a little makeup.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at me in a confused way, as if she had no idea why I was looking at her the way I was.

"Ed, are you okay?" she asked as she put her hand under my chin and closed my mouth for me since I seemed to be incapable of doing it my self.

"Yeah…" I said faintly. "I'm okay…I'm better than okay…"

She smiled shyly.

"So…how do I look?" she asked as she spun around quickly.

"G…great," I chocked out. "Great!"

Great? Great? Now I sounded like Tony the Frosted Flakes tiger. Great…why did I say that when I knew she looked much better than great?

She smiled at me again and I smiled back weakly.

"Shall we?"

I offered her my arm and she took it gladly before we hurried out of the house.

Best Friends and True Love 7

Best Friends and True Love

The One Who Cares

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Oh come on," I said as I read the note on the counter. "I leave the house for a couple of hours and they decide to run off for a week?"

I was pretty disappointed since my parents had been gone more and more lately. And they usually were gone to different places. It was like they didn't care where they were just as long as they weren't near each other.

"I guess that means I'll be alone for Easter," I said to myself as I walked to the refrigerator.

I realized I wasn't really hungry so I left the room, heading to the living room instead.

After grabbing the remote I sat on the couch and turned on the television. My favorite soap opera was on, and I saw Brenda confessing her love to Ben.

"Ben, we've been best friends for so long," Brenda said. "You know me better than anybody and you complete me. Ed, I love you!"

"Oh, she finally went for it! Wait, did she just call him Ed?"

Before I knew it, Ben turned into Ed and Brenda turned into me!

"Winry," Ed said. "You're my best friend and I care about you, but Noah is the one I love."

Just then, Noah appearance next to Ed and took his arm.

I grabbed the pillow next to me and hit the TV. When I looked, Ben was Ben again and Brenda was Brenda. Ben finally admitted that he loved Brenda, too.

I heard a knock at the door, so I put the pillow back and went to see who was there.

"Ed," I said as I opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

He came inside and went to the kitchen.

"I came her to help you dye some eggs since it's Easter," he said as he sat half a dozen of eggs on the table. "Besides, who'll help you if I don't?"

I smiled. He was right. Easter was my favorite holiday, yet my parents didn't seem to care.

"But you hate eggs," I said as I watched him take some food coloring out of a cabinet.

"I do," he said to me before turning around, "but you don't."

He was selfless. He always did things for me, even if it was something he didn't like. Like when I was fourteen. It was our second summer knowing each other. I was trying to hone my mechanical skills and he actually let me experiment on his brand new bike.

Of course I put it back together perfectly, but for all he knew, I could have really messed it up! He believed in me and my abilities like nobody else ever had.

That was one of the things that made him Ed and it was also one of the things that made me love him.

@!@!@!@

How could her parents abandon her on her favorite holiday?

She loved Easter. I never understood why she loved it so much since I think there are far better holidays out there. But since it meant so much to her, I loved Easter, too.

Besides, it always was funny to see her go up to her room and come running back down the stairs wearing a pair of pink bunny ears on top of her head.

She kept to the tradition and I laughed as she came down the stairs with the ears. That I expected. What I didn't expect, however, was the fact that she put them on my head instead.

"What the…!" I said as she stepped back and raised the camera she had been hiding behind her back.

Before I knew it, I saw the camera flash and I heard her laugh.

"Very funny," I said sarcastically as I reached for the camera.

She switched the camera to her other hand and held it out of my reach.

"Oh come on Ed," she said as she took another picture. "It was a cute picture. You look so cute with bunny ears!"

I reached for the camera again. "Cute? I'm not trying to be cute!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Ed, you don't have to try to be cute. You just are.

I blushed. Did she just call me cute…again?! I didn't give up on the camera. I grabbed one of her arms to make her hold still, but she stuck it in her back pocket.

"Give up now," she said confidently. "We both know you won't reach into my back pocket to get it."

I growled out of frustration. She was right, and after that dream I had before, I wasn't going anywhere near it. I sighed in defeat.

She just looked so happy about it. I didn't want to do anything that would make her feel otherwise. So even if I had to wear those damn bunny ears, I'd do it to see that smile on her face.

As far as I was concerned, it was worth it.

@!@!@!@!

"Done," I said as I took the last egg out of its cup.

It was a nice shade of red, his favorite color. It had been so much fun playing around with Ed and dying the eggs. it helped me to take my mind off of my parents.

I saw Ed's nose twitching slightly before he narrowed his eyes. It was weird, but he always did that when he saw something he didn't like. In fact, that was the way he always looked whenever he saw Russell Tringham. And it was also the way he was looking at that egg. I just didn't understand why he didn't like eggs.

The bunny ears were on my head. Though they'd looked a thousand times better on Ed, I took mercy on him and let him take them off.

I did, however, keep my camera safe and sound since he might try to destroy it the first chance he could get.

I grabbed me a soda and went to the living room before sitting on the couch and turning on the TV. He sat down next to me and I saw him stick a piece of candy into his mouth out of the corner of my eyes.

"Hey!" I said as I forced his mouth open to survey the piece of chocolate. "You're holding out on me! You have candy, don't you?"

He grinned mischievously before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handful of chocolates and jelly beans!

"The chocolate's mine," he told me teasingly.

I frowned. He knew that I hated jelly beans. "Oh, come on Ed, just give me some chocolate!"

"Nope," he told me quickly as he stuck out his tongue, which had turned brown from the delicious chocolate he was eating.

"Pretty please?"

He shook his head. I glared at him.

"I'll be your best friend!" I tried again, reaching for the chocolate which he held right under my nose before pulling away.

"Ha! You already are my best friend. Nice try," he told me as he put more chocolate into his mouth and looked as if he were really enjoying it.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked straight into his eyes. I had found the opening that I needed. "Okay Ed, if I really were your best friend, if you were my best friend, too, then you would give me some chocolate, right? That's what real friends do…"

His eyes widened in shock! He had just been defeated and he knew it. Then he laughed and dumped some chocolate into my hand.

"Yay!" I said as I unwrapped a piece and stuck it in my mouth. It was creamy and had peanut butter, too. "Yum!"

"You are so easily pleased," he said as he took the remote and changed the channel.

I reached for the remote, but he held it out of my reach.

"Hey!" I said as I tried to get it again.

"Come on now Winry. You got chocolate and I got the remote. Equivalent exchange, right?"

"Forget equality!" I said as I grabbed the remote finally. "Besides, it's my house!"

I was about to change the channel when I realized what was on. It was my favorite movie.

"Oh," I said as I dropped the remote and turned to look at him. And that was when I realized that the soda I'd brought back with me from the kitchen was now in his hands and going down his throat!

"Hey!" I said as I snatched the soda away. "This is mine! Get your own!"

"Nope," he said as he grabbed my hand and forced the soda to his lips again. "I don't think that I will.

"Bad Edward, bad!" I said as I treated him as if he were a dog who had been caught drinking out of the toilet.

"I'm not a dog, you know," he said as he released my hand.

I took a drink of the soda and sat it down on the coffee table. "In your opinion. I beg to differ, however…"

It was a romantic movie, yet also very tragic. Two young people met and fell in love on a ship that was fated to end up at the bottom of the ocean. If you haven't figured it out already, the movie was Titanic.

I always cried whenever Jack died. Ed, the cold and heartless guy, always laughed at me for it. And then at then very end I always cried tears of joy as the two lovers were reunited.

As the ending credits began and the beautiful song at the end started, I began to cry even harder than before.

"Oh come on!" Ed said with a laugh. "It's just a movie Winry. Calm down."

"You jerk!" I said as I hit his shoulder. "It may be a movie, but it was so sad. Why did he have to die? Why did they end up being torn apart?"

"Because," he said as he closed his eyes. "That's just how it was meant to be."

"Really?" I said as I began to wipe my eyes. "What would you do if you fell deeply in love with some woman and then you lost her?"

He didn't answer me as he took the remote again and found something else to watch.

I was deeply in love myself. I was in love with Ed. And if I ever lost him, then what would my life be like after that?

I didn't want to think about it. I shook my head quickly before laying it on his shoulder.

He'd found a nice, safe comedy that was guaranteed not to make me break out into tears.

Of course I did end up crying, but that was only because I'd been laughing so hard.

When the movie ended, I stood up and stretched before going to the kitchen and cracking one of the eggs before grabbing the salt and pepper.

I was really hungry, after all.

Ed sent me a disapproving look before he grabbed the phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he began to dial a number.

"What does it look like? I'm ordering a pizza," he told me before he began to talk to the person on the other line.

I shrugged before finishing the egg and going to my room to my computer. I had wanted to check my email.

I loved computers, or rather, I loved taking them apart. It was all pretty fascinating to me how I could completely dismantle such a complex piece of machinery and then be able to put it back together perfectly.

I logged off of my account and went to my window. I saw a car pull up to the house and a man go to the door carrying a pizza.

My stomach growled and I was glad Ed didn't hear it. He'd probably have a great time teasing me over it. He always did, after all.

We had just got done eating our pizza when the phone rang. I went to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Winry," I heard my mother say. "Look, I was asked to do a surgery in Central and your father's still in Dublith. We'll be back in about two weeks. You'll be alright until then."

"But…Two weeks?! That's so long," I said.

"It can't be helped. We're doctors. Things like this happen."

"But…" I began.

"No buts about it. I have to go now. I'll call you in a couple of days."

"But…" I tried again. I was too late. She'd already hung up.

"But…" I said quietly, the dial tone my only answer. "Today's my birthday…"

I turned off the phone and leaned against the wall, my tears beginning to fall.

It was my birthday. That was yet another reason I loved Easter so much. While so many people, myself included, were eating candy and decorating eggs and celebrating the holiday, I was being celebrated, too.

Yet right now I felt as if there was nothing worth celebrating. My parents had been gone a whole month before that. In fact, they'd only been home for a few weeks before they hurried off again.

The only reason I'd had to sneak back into my house before was because they were actually there for once.

Last year they had almost forgotten my birthday completely and this year they had finally succeeded.

"What's wrong?" Ed said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. We stood there for a while until I finally calmed down and told him what was wrong.

"Am I really not important?" I asked him as we went back to the living room. "I don't care if I get cake or presents or anything else. Material things don't really matter as long as somebody is there caring about me."

"You're the one who told me not to get you a cake today," he said. "But that didn't stop me from getting this."

He pulled something else out of his pocket, the same pocket he'd had the candy in. It was a plastic egg.

"What?" I said, confused.

"Open it," he told me as he placed it in my hand.

As I opened it up, I saw a beautiful gold ring. It had a large, but very pretty Easter egg which was cracked. Coming out of the center of the egg was a beautiful white gem.

"Wow…" I said as I looked at the ring. "Ed…I don't know what to say…um…thank you."

"Happy birthday," he said before he slipped it onto my finger. It was a perfect fit.

I was happy, really happy, even though I was still very sad.

"You're not alone, Winry," he said as he tilted my chin upwards and looked into my eyes. "And as long as I'm here, you should know that you are cared about."

"Ed…" I said softly as my eyes began to get teary again.

"Hey, come here," he said as he sat onto the couch and took my hand, pulling me into his lap.

He pulled me up against his chest, my head so near his heart. His strong arms wrapped around me, embraced me, and I began to feel so much better.

He was warm, so very warm, and he made me feel warm, too. He sat there for a long time holding me, erasing as much of my upset as possible.

As I finally began to drift into a deep sleep I realized something. I realized that Edward could've been at home with his family and eating happily while enjoying what was left of the holiday, yet he was in my house holding me, dispelling all of my pain and my fears.

I loved him. And even if he didn't love me the same way, I knew then that he was my very best friend, and that he truly did care.

Best Friends and True Love 6

Best Friends and True Love

Spring Break and the Lake

oOoOoOoOo

"Finally, Spring Break," I said as I woke up Saturday morning. It seemed normal. It was morning time, I felt well rested, light was coming in despite my curtains, and Winry was sitting at my desk eating a bowl of cereal.

Wait, that last part sounded weird. I looked at my desk again and she was still there eating cereal.

"Winry, what are you doing?"

"What?" she asked as she looked at me. "Oh, you're awake. I'm eating breakfast. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're here damn early in the morning again watching me sleep."

"Oops, I'm busted," she said sarcastically. "Come on Ed, did you forget?"

I sat up and scratched my head. "Forget what?"

She narrowed her eyes and stood up, putting her hands on her hips and looking pretty intimidating.

"You, me, today, the lake?"

Oh now I remembered.

"Oh, yeah. I remember now. Is it warm enough outside?"

She sat back down and picked her bowl up again.

"Yeah, unusually warm. By noon it'll be hot."

I swiped her bowl of cereal and dumped the rest of it into my mouth.

"Hey!" she said as she stood up, shocked.

"Hey, I have to eat, too," I told her calmly.

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"You get grossed out by me putting vampire teeth in my mouth that had been in your mouth but you have no problem eating or drinking after me? What's wrong with you?"

I rolled my eyes and left the room to go get ready.

Originally Al was supposed to come with us, but he'd caught a cold. He always caught a cold whenever the weather went from warm to cold and then back to warm.

I kind of felt sorry for him, but…not really.

When I was ready and came out of my room, which I'd chased her out of so I could get dressed, I found her in Al's room giving him a kiss on the forehead and handing him a Popsicle.

"Thank you Winry," he said weakly, which I knew he was faking to get some attention.

"Winry, are you gonna baby him all day or come with me?" I called from the staircase.

She hurried out of the room and grabbed my arm before running down the stairs.

We went to the garage and got into my red convertible. She was right. I was really warm today. At least we wouldn't be freezing in that water, then.

She must've already been to the garage since the stuff she'd brought was already in my car.

I laughed as I saw her put on a pair of black shades and let her hair down. She looked like one of those mysterious women in the movies who liked to drive fast in convertibles with shades on and their hair flowing behind them in the wind.

I guess that's the look she was going for.

I grabbed my shades, too, and I pulled out of the driveway. I knew today would be a nice day. Winry always managed to make things interesting, even in the middle of a boring class at school.

I drove for about thirty minutes before we reached the lake. It was blue and sparkling and looked inviting. Winry was so excited that she was hopping around in her seat.

I think she ate more than a bowl of cereal that morning. She must've had about five candy bars, too, or something…

"Winry, calm down," I said as I tugged on her arm. "It's just a lake."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "It's not just a lake it's the lake that only you take me to! It's special."

I took the keys out of the ignition and stuck them in my pocket. "Come on," I said as I got out of the car. "If you're that happy about it then you should be over there already."

She stood on the edge of the water and looked out at the lake. It really was a nice day. One of the things that was so special about this lake was the fact that we were the only two who knew about it. So I guess it was special.

When we'd discovered the place we promised each other that we would never go there with anybody else no matter what. However, we were planning on making an exception for Alphonse. Too bad for him he got sick.

There was a little cave off to the left of us where we kept an small boat. It was old, but it was still useable. We'd always used this boat when we came here.

"Come on," I said as we entered the cave. "Help me get it to the water."

We had it in the water in no time at all and Winry ran back to the car for a quick minute.

When she came back we hopped on the boat and I began to row us to the middle of the lake.

She'd brought a picnic basket with her. I was pretty hungry since all I got out of that bowl of cereal was the milk.

"Here," she said as she opened it and handed me a sandwich. She pulled herself out a piece of very dark, very burnt toast.

"Uh, how can you eat that?" I asked her in a disapproving tone.

"Oh come on Ed, dark toast is good!"

"No it's not. It tastes nasty. It's burnt."

"Just eat your sandwich," she said as she continued to eat her toast.

It wasn't just toast. She liked burnt popcorn, too, which is weird in my opinion.

She was eating a potato chip when all of a sudden she looked up.

"Hey, look at that," she said as she pointed at the sky. "That cloud looks like a bunny."

I looked up, turned my head, squinted my eyes, but I still didn't see a bunny.

"No it doesn't," I said as I continued to squint.

She threw a cupcake at my head.

"You have no imagination," she said.

I ate the cupcake. It was strawberry, my favorite, and it was good. I wondered if she baked them or bought them, but I didn't plan on asking her that.

"The light…it's too bright…it's blinding me!" she said as she shielded her eyes from the sun.

"Here," I said as I reached into my pocket and took out my shades before putting them on her. "You shouldn't have left your shades in the car.

"Thanks," she said as she adjusted them and sat back.

"Hey, lets play cards," I said as I took a deck out of my other pocket.

We'd played "Go Fish", her favorite card game, for about thirty minutes before we moved on to Old Maid.

"No fair!" she said as I pulled the eight of diamonds instead of the Jack we were using as the Maid. "How come you keep winning game after game after game?!"

I loved it when she got frustrated, it was pretty funny.

"I'm just that good," I told her after I took a drink of soda. "Nobody can beat me."

I avoided pulling the card again and she glared at me.

After about five games of losing, she threw her cards at me.

"I'm never playing cards with you again!" she said as she pouted.

I laughed.

"Okay I guess I'll tell you how I won. I could see the reflection of your cards in the shades."

"What?" she said before yanking the shades off and looking at them. After that she threw them at my head. "Ed, you cheated!"

I laughed again. It wasn't my fault that she fell for it. I expected her to throw something at me but I didn't expect for her to shove me and when she shoved me and fell out of the boat.

"Oh no! Ed, I'm so sorry!" she said as she rushed to the side of the boat. "Here, let me help you."

She reached her hand out to me.

"No, let me help you," I said as I grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

She screamed as she landed up the water.

"Ed! How could you?! I didn't even get to put my bathing suit on!"

"Hey, you're the one who pushed me in!"

"But that was an accident!"

"Well I just pulled you in and that wasn't an accident, so what?"

She splashed water in my face and took off swimming fast.

"Oh no you don't!" I said as I went after her and grabbed her leg.

She kicked me in the jaw and disappeared beneath the water.

I had no idea where she was until she resurfaced behind me and pushed my head completely under water!

But since my hands were free I grabbed her by the waist and yanked her under the water, too.

She let go of me and I let go of her.

When we both resurfaced we were gasping for air. Then we began to laugh.

"What would you do if you drowned me?" I asked her as I laid back in the water, looking up at the sky.

"Hmm? Oh, I think I'd probably chain your dead leg to a huge piece of concrete and let your body sink to the bottom of the lake. Since we're the only ones who know about this pace, nobody will ever find you."

She swam around for a few minutes before she laid back, too, spotting another cloud. "That one looks like a heart…"

As I followed her gaze I saw the cloud, too. "Hey, it actually does. You're not hallucinating this time."

"Or maybe," she said as she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes, "you have an imagination after all."

By noon it had gotten hot. I was happy that we were in the water, otherwise we'd both be dying from the heat.

It was only spring yet it felt like mid summer.

I saw Winry look at her hand and frown. We'd both been in there for so long that our skin had gotten wrinkly.

She looked reluctant to say what was on her mind, that we should go, so I finally broke the silence.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me toward the boat. "Come on. I heard that girls don't like wrinkles. It's time to go."

"Aw," she said in protest. "Okay, just as long as you promise to bring me back here before Spring Break is over with."

We reached the boat and got back inside it. "If it's a warm day, I will," I told her.

"Yay!" she said as she reached for the oars.

"Hey, wait. Are you sure you want to row the boat this time?"

"Do you think I'm not strong enough or something, Ed?"

"I never said that, but now that you mention it…"

She stuck her tongue out at me and took us back to shore. I was impressed by her endurance though I knew she had to be tired.

But Winry was too proud to admit she couldn't do it so I just sat back and relaxed, enjoying the sunshine, the breeze, and her struggling.

We were both soaking wet. I had an extra change of clothes in the car. The only thing she'd brought along was the bathing suit she'd been planning to wear.

I changed my clothes quickly enough and saw her standing there, looking at me expectantly. I tossed my long red coat at her, which I'd left in the backseat a few days before.

"You're kidding, right?" she said as she looked at the coat in her hands.

That's the best I can do for you right now. Take it or leave it. You know I hate getting the inside of my car wet so if you choose to leave it, I'll be leaving you here."

"You wouldn't leave me," she said with a laugh before she went to the cave to change.

She had the coat wrapped securely around herself and the wet clothes in her arms.

"I swear, if you try to pull anything with me, I'll…"

It was my turn to laugh this time.

"Yeah right! Just get in the car," I said as I hopped into the driver's seat and started the car.

By the time we got home it was three o'clock, in the afternoon of course. I saw Al open his curtain and look at the both of us in avid interest. I'd definitely have to explain this one to him.

"Um…I'll wash your coat and give it back to you later or tomorrow," she told me as she hurried up the front steps of her house. "See ya."

I'd always liked that coat and I'd seen her wear it a bunch of times. However, seeing her walk into her house wearing nothing but that coat of mine only made me love it even more.

Best Friends and True Love 5

Best Friends and True Love

Awkward Aftermath

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I really need to work out more," I said as I struggled to pull myself up to the branch of the tree that was closest to the window.

How did Ed do it? He climbed trees all the time and he made it look so dang easy.

"Made it," I whispered to myself as I reached the window. Luckily, it was halfway open. I opened it a little more, just enough for my to get through it. I stepped onto the washing machine without a sound and closed the window.

As soon as my feet landed on the floor, hurried over to the door and quietly opened it.

There was no sign of my parents. Things seemed to be going good. I left the utility room and closed the door without a sound and hurried down the hall to my room.

As soon as I was safely inside, I went over to my bed. I'd made the bed before I left for school yesterday.

I'd leave it like it was.

I took my clothes off and threw them into my basket before I stepped into the shower. I always woke up before my parents did and they should have been waking up about now.

And when my mom came to check on my I would be in the shower and nothing would look out of the ordinary.

I couldn't believe that I woke up this morning in Edward Elric's arms! I felt so happy and well rested when I opened my eyes. But then when I realized exactly where I was and what time it was, I panicked.

Still, though, the feeling of his arms wrapped around my, feeling my head against his chest, hearing the steady beat of his heart…

I sighed. He was just too good to be true, too perfect to be real, and yet there he was.

I dried myself off and wrapped a towel around myself before reaching for my hairdryer. My hair was dry in no time and I went to get dressed.

I returned to the bathroom to brush my teeth and that was when my mother opened the door.

"Hey mom," I said calmly through the toothbrush in my mouth.

"Morning. Ed's here rather early this morning. He said that Al had himself a ride to school and you two were on your own."

I continued to brush my teeth, not trusting myself to speak. Being alone with Ed might be awkward. Wait, what was she thinking? Ed, my best friend, awkwardness…that just didn't add up no matter where I woke up that morning.

My mother left and Ed came into the bathroom.

I gargled the mouthwash and spit it out.

I picked up my brush and ran it through my hair. He just stood there in the doorway, watching me without saying a single word.

I wondered what was on his mind, but I was reluctant to ask him.

Instead, I decided to make normal friendly conversation.

"Why are you just standing there like you got your tongue yanked out and you're incapable of speech?" I asked him as I stuck a piece of gum in my mouth and picked up my backpack.

He rolled his eyes and yanked the pack of gum out of my hand before taking a piece, too.

"I have something to say to you and I've been wondering how to tell you this ever since you left my house," he finally spoke.

I looked at him curiously.

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's…kind of hard to say. I'm afraid…"

"Huh?"

"I don't know how you're going to take this and…"

"Ed, just spit it out!"

He tossed the Chemistry book I'd left at his house onto the bed. I'd originally gone over there so he could help me study for our Chemistry test, but we'd ended up watching that dumb movie and then we'd fallen asleep.

"Winry, you didn't study for the Chemistry test and the test is today."

The horrified look on my face must've been priceless to him, but at least I know he did feel sorry for me.

He'd always been good at science, him and Al both. It just came naturally to them, something they got from their father.

He didn't have to study to do good, but he was worried about me since I had such a hard time changing grams to moles, moles to grams, converting to atoms, etc…

He'd explained it all to me the other day. He just hoped I would be able to remember it. I'd hadn't really been paying attention that day so he had no idea how I'd do…

I groaned as I looked down at my paper. She just had to give us all of these stupid problems where we had to convert and all of that stupid stuff. Why couldn't she throw some definitions or multiple choice at us?

Ed was the first person finished with his test. Noah was the second.

'I can't let Noah do better than me,' I thought angrily. 'I have to try to remember what Ed taught me. Now what was it he said….?'

I sat there for like ten minutes just trying to remember when all of a sudden it all came back to me.

'Oh, I get it!' I thought happily. 'You put 35 moles of aluminum there and multiply that by that and divide it by one and there's the answer!'

I got a bit excited and everything began to get easier for me. 'Oh, Ed did say that'd be easy,' I thought as I worked on the last problem, which had to do with percentage composition.

I finally finished and turned in my paper, giving Ed a happy smile.

As I sat down I looked up at Izumi who was looking over my paper briefly. The woman seemed to be pleased with it and she added it to the pile she'd grade after she got home.

I grabbed onto his arm and hugged it happily.

I grabbed a blue marker out of my bag and wrote "Thank U," on the top of his left hand.

He must've thought it was weird that I was writing something on his hand, but he just shrugged and got out a red marker before writing "U R Welcome" on my right hand.

I smiled at him and began to write my closest girl friend, Sheska, a note. There wasn't really much else to do to kill the time since the teacher didn't like for us to talk during tests.

I saw Noah glaring at me out of the corner of my eye. I kept my expression stoic even though I was smiling inside.

'She's jealous, isn't she?' I thought as I started the note. 'Ed probably wouldn't let her close enough to him to hug him on the arm…let alone fall asleep in the same bed. Uh…why can't I get that out of my head?! I've slept in the same bed as him before right? Then again, things are different since we are much older now…'

Things had drastically changed. It's like ever since we turned sixteen, maybe even a bit before that, our parents seemed to watch us more closely, as if they were expecting for something to happen…

I couldn't blame them considering what some of my classmates were doing behind their parents backs, though…

But I wasn't like that and neither was Ed.

I ran my fingers through my hair before I finished the note and folded it up, writing her name on the front of it. She was in my next class so I'd see her then.

The bell finally rang and I gathered up my stuff and waited on Ed. We left the classroom and headed for our lockers.

Somehow he managed to open his locker himself and looked extremely proud as he pulled out his book. I took a look inside of it and smiled at the picture that was inside. It was a picture of me, him, and Al at my fifteenth birthday party.

I was blowing out the candles, Ed was looking at the cake and he had his chin resting on my shoulder while Al was waving at the camera.

"Chocolate cake sounds yummy," I said as we headed toward the Spanish classroom. This class was nice and safe for me since I easily had an A in there.

Even though Ed was really smart and he was great at Chemistry what he wasn't that great at, however, was Spanish, which was our next class. I thought it was easy. What was so hard about it to him?

"Hey Sheska," I said as I sat down at our table. She sat to my left and Ed sat to my right.

Alphonse was in this class, too, even though he was a year younger than us so he sat on Ed's other side.

I handed her the note and got my notebook out of my backpack before grabbing a pencil, too.

The one thing I hated about this class was all the notes I had to take. I was good at the class, but I needed notes to help me understand. I wrote neat, but after about two pages of notes handwriting got a little sloppy. Then again, Spanish notes were nothing compared to the notes I had to take in my AP classes.

Ed and Al, on the other hand, always managed to write neat. I mean, I'm the girl, dang it! I should be the one to write pretty and neat. They both put me to shame…

Sheska laughed as she read what I wrote her. I told her about a joke I'd heard the other day and about how I thought I passed my Chemistry test and about how my wrist always felt like spaghetti after taking notes.

"Okay, class. It's time to get started. We're going to do a review of things from the first semester that you definitely should know."

"This should be easy for you," I told Ed. "This is the simple stuff."

"Yeah, easy for you to say…" he replied.

"Now you know how I feel in Chemistry when you say it's easy," I said with a grin.

"Okay…Translate this sentence to Spanish…Um…Winry. I am from Resembool."

That was one of the easiest things she could've asked me. I had no problem with this one.

"Yo soy de Resembool?" I answered.

"Si, muy bueno!" our teacher, Mrs. Sanchez, spoke.

See? It was easy, child's play, really. She gave Ed an easy question, too, but he was clueless.

"Ed…Let's see…How do you say "my name is Edward"?"

He looked rather nervous. Okay, I knew he sucked at Spanish, but this badly?

"Uh…um…"

He had no clue!

"Mi nombre es Edward," I whispered so low that he could even barely hear that.

"Um….Mi nombre es Edward?" he answered.

"Si, muy bueno."

"Thanks," he whispered with a smile.

This was something kind of like him forgetting his combination. It was times like this that he needed my help and I was happy to be of assistance.

By the time fifth period rolled around, something was strange about Ed. Russell had said hi to me before gym class started and I talked to him for a few minutes, but I wasn't talking to Ed because he was in a conversation with some random girl in the bleachers.

Anyway, they were playing dodge ball today. Normally Ed like to get Al out first just to get him out of the way, but today, for some reason, he viciously threw the ball straight at Russell Tringham's head!

It missed….barely…and he claimed that it was an accident to miss his head by half an inch.

After that, Ed tried to get Al out like he normally did, but Alphonse dodged every time Ed through the ball at him.

"Go Al!" I called from the bleachers.

Ed turned his head and glared at me. He was obviously getting frustrated.

"Damn Al! Just hold still!"

Al dodged him again and laughed at the angry look on Ed's face.

"You know brother, there are lots of other guys here to throw the ball at. If you're tired of my dodging, then you should aim for them instead."

"No way," Ed said. "I'm not getting them out until I get rid of you!"

It continued that way until Ms. Izumi told them to head to the locker room.

Al was the first one out and he hurried over to me.

"Hey Al, you did good!" I told him as I put my arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks. I'm tired of being brother's victim!" Alphonse said with a fake tear in his eye.

I laughed.

"Winry…have you noticed that brother is acting strange today? When I told him good morning he ran right by me and straight into the bathroom."

I shook my head.

"Nope. I don't have a clue. Are you sure he got a good night's sleep last night?" I asked, though I was laughing inside at that question.

"I don't know…Oh hey Noah!" Al said as he hurried to talk to her.

Al totally and obviously liked Noah. She was just too interested in Ed to see that Al liked her. He shot other girls down cold because he liked her so much.

I was ready for the day to be over with so I could go home. Spring Break was starting soon and I planned to do lots of sleeping and hanging out with Ed.

It sounded like a good plan to me.

He looked like he was in a bad mood when he left the locker room and sat down next to me. What had gotten into him lately?

I shrugged my questions off.

Best Friends and True Love 4

Best Friends and True Love

I Slept With Winry?!!!

OoOoOoOoOoO

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this story on this site. I'll be changing that now. I'll be sure to post the rest of this story and even some of my others if anybody's interested. Anyway, I really like this chapter and I hope you like it, too!

OoOoOoOoOoO

I'd never liked Russell Tringham. He'd gone to the same middle school as me and Winry and he'd thought it would be funny to call me short. Nobody calls me short and gets away with it!

I wasn't short, he was just freakishly tall at the time. He towered over most of the guys in the school, I swear he did.

I knew exactly why he enjoyed calling me short. It was because I was always with Winry and he had a crush on her. It was painfully obvious that he did to everybody. The thing was that Winry's so blind that she's never caught on.

That's exactly the problem with us. I love her and she has no clue. I knew that Winry had seen me glaring at Russell a few times she'd been talking to him and I was thankful that she never questioned me about it.

What was I supposed to tell her if she did? 'Oh, I'm glaring because I'm in love with you and I'm jealous that you're standing there talking to another guy?'

There was no way I'm was going to tell her that!

I was only hostile towards Russell whenever Winry was involved and, of course, in gym class. Winry was always in there watching us so I couldn't let him beat me, could I?

So of course I beat him in basketball.

Plus, I had the satisfaction of being tall now so he couldn't call me short.

Nobody could call me shorty, pipsqueak, micro sized, half pint, or shrimp anymore, Winry included.

We were in my room sitting on my bed playing a video game. Her character was beating mine to a bloody pulp so I bumped her arm to distract her and give myself an advantage.

"Hey, no fair. That's cheating!" she said as she bumped me back.

I won the game and she picked up my pillow and hit me, seeking revenge.

"Is that all you've got?" I asked as I picked up a pillow and hit her back.

"Take that!" Winry said as she smacked me upside my head, hard.

My pillow struck her in the stomach while her next blow landed directly on top of my head.

She jumped off of my bed and ran across the room, holding up the pillow as if she were about to slice me with a sword.

I chased after her and she ran away, laughing the entire time.

I caught up with her and wrapped my arm around her waist, but she slipped out of my grasp easily and turned around and hit me again.

I managed to land a blow to the top of her head and then a couple more.

She laughed as she hit me again. Me, being tired of getting hit, used my pillow to knock her pillow out of her hands.

She squealed as I tackled her onto the bed. I began to tickle her. If there was one thing that I knew would make Winry give up, it would definitely be tickle torture.

"Stop Ed, stop!" she laughed as I tickled her sides.

"Not until you say please," I told her calmly as I continued the torture.

She was holding up better than usual. Usually she would've cracked under the pressure.

"Never," she said between laughs.

I couldn't reach her feet and if I went to tickle those, chances were that she would kick the living daylights out of me.

"Come on, just give up," I told her. She was laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe.

Suddenly she stopped laughing, as if she'd just realized something for the first time.

I stopped tickling her and then I finally realized what was wrong.

There she was laying on my bed and there I was laying right on top of her.

One of my legs was pinning one of hers while my right hand was holding me up next to her head. My left hand, however, was resting on her bare stomach since I'd ended up pushing her shirt up slightly while I was tickling her.

My mind told me to get up as fast as I could, to put some distance between us before I did something stupid, like kiss her.

My body, however, had other ideas. Before I could think about it, before I could stop myself, I brought my lips down over hers.

They were soft, warm, and inviting. I'd wanted to kiss her for so long, had needed to, and I finally had my chance.

What shocked me was the fact that she didn't try to stop me, that fact that she'd definitely returned the kiss the moment my lips touched hers.

Her fingers sank into my hair as I unconsciously pushed her shirt up more, touching her bare skin, savoring the feel of it.

I'd never felt this way before as I explored her mouth, felt her skin brush against mine. It was all perfect until…until…until I heard a very annoying beeping sound in the back of my mind.

I tried to ignore it, but it just kept getting louder and louder. I opened my eyes and looked over at my alarm clock.

I smashed the button down and the annoying sound stopped. So it'd all been a dream? It was a damn dream?

What had happened? I faintly remembered getting beaten by Winry at the video game. After that we'd been watching a movie, some stupid chick flick.

That must've been when I fell asleep. That would explain why my TV was on and why I saw nothing on the screen but fuzz.

Apparently she must've fallen asleep, too, since her head was against my chest and my arm was wrapped around her.

Holding her there felt so good, so perfect, but I knew that we both had to wake up and go to school. I also knew that she definitely had to leave and sneak up to her room before her parents found out she'd stayed with me, at my house, in my bed all night.

Sure, we were best friends, but when a guy and a girl are alone in his room in his bed all night, people usually think it was anything but innocent.

Her breathing was so steady, so even. She looked so peaceful that I hated the idea of waking her up. Plus there was the fact that I didn't wake up every morning with her sleeping against me peacefully like that.

But in the end, the fact that there might be big trouble if somebody found us in there like that and if her parents went to her room and found her missing made me sit up.

"Winry," I said reluctantly as I shook her. "Winry, wake up."

She groaned slightly and I continued to shake her.

"Stop mom…I don't want to go to school…" she mumbled as she began to wake up.

"Winry!" I said a little louder this time.

Her eyes shot open and she looked up at me.

"Ed? Oh my gosh, did I fall asleep?"

"Yep," I said as I nodded.

"What time is it?"

I pointed at my alarm clock. She gasped and got up so fast that I could see a trail of dust!

"Oh no! I'm gonna be is so much trouble! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do??!!!!!!!" she panicked.

"Shh!" I said as I put my hand over her mouth. "First of all, you should be quiet! What of my parents come up here and find out? Or worse, what if Al comes in? He'd never let me hear the end of it!"

She nodded. I pulled my hand back and sat down on the edge of my bed. She sat down beside me.

"First of all," I said as I looked at her. "We have to figure out how to get you out of here. Al should be awake already and chances are that he'll come out of his room. My mom should be up making breakfast so she might see you. And my dad….oh no! Not my dad!"

The conversation he'd had with his father before echoed in his head. He shook his head to clear his mind of the embarrassing words.

"I could climb out of your window…And then I could climb up the tree in front of my room and get in through my window…" she said. "Are rooms are right next to each other."

I shook my head. "No, that wouldn't work. What if a neighbor were to look outside and see you climbing out of my window or if somebody drove by in a car?"

She sighed. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

I sat there for a couple of minutes before I came up with the best idea I could think of.

"I got it. It'll be dangerous, but we have to take the risk," I said, making it sound as if it were a life or death mission.

"So what's your bright idea?" she asked impatiently.

"Al may see you and my parents may see you, but if we're careful enough I may be able to sneak you out through the back door. From there, you run to the back of your house and use that tree to get into the utility room window."

"It's brilliant!" she said as she clapped her hands together.

I opened my door as quietly as I could and looked out into the hallway. Al was definitely awake, but luckily, I heard water so he was probably in the shower.

My mom was most likely in the kitchen and my dad might've been in the living room, so the second floor was free of danger.

"Come on," I whispered as I hurried her out of my door and closed it quietly behind her.

We walked silently down the hallway and made it to the staircase. I still didn't see any sign of anybody, but I was still cautious so I went down the stairs first.

"Oh crap!" I whispered as I saw my mom nearby. My dad would probably make some embarrassing remark. If my mom found us, however, she'd be furious!

I stood there silently and watched her. She soon went back into the kitchen. After a few seconds, I waved at Winry to come down. She hurried to my side as quickly and quietly as she could.

We hurried down the hallway and reached the last door on the right. That bathroom had another door and that door just happened to be right next to the back door.

"Come on," I whispered as I opened the door and locked it behind us.

I then rushed over to the other door and opened it, poking my head out. I didn't see anybody so we hurried over to the back door.

Right when we reached the door, I heard knocking on the bathroom door that I had locked.

"Hey, who's in there?" I heard my father say. "Ed, is that you?"

"Damn," I whispered. "It's my dad. You have to go. Look, chances are that nobody will see you since our houses are so close. Just run fast and don't make any noise when you're sneaking back in."

She nodded.

"You know, since you slept with me you're more obliged than ever to walk me to school," she said with a wink before she hurried out the door.

She left me there with my mouth wide open.

I slept with her, but not slept with her slept with her if you know what I mean. We were in the same bed, but nothing happened.

But the way she said it implied that it was the other kind of slept with. Even though she was only teasing me, I couldn't help the bright shade of red my face turned.

"Ed!" I heard my dad say again.

I closed the back door quietly and went back inside the bathroom, closing that door, too. Luckily enough, it didn't make a sound.

I flushed the toilet and turned on the water in the sink for a few seconds so I could sound convincing.

"Damn," I said as I unlocked the door and opened it. "Can't a guy use the bathroom in peace?"

"Took you long enough," he said. "And why are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?"

I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

"Oh, I was watching a movie and I fell asleep in them," I told him. Hey, it was actually the truth. I only left out the fact that I fell asleep with Winry in my bed snuggled up against me.

"Wasn't Winry over last night? Did she get home alright?"

I stayed calm. After all, if I got flustered now he'd definitely know that something was up.

"Yeah. She made me watch some dumb chick flick with her and then she left. Speaking of her, I should go get ready for school so I can walk her there."

With that said, I quickly left and hurried upstairs. As luck would have it, Alphonse was just coming out of the bathroom.

"Morning brother," he said to me with a smile.

I didn't mean to ignore the way I did, but I rushed right by him and into the bathroom, closing the door in his face.

"Oh, morning Al," I call through the door.

As I undressed and stepped into the shower, I wondered if Winry had gotten home successfully.

I thought back to the dream I'd had. I never had dreams like that even though I'd had a couple of really good daydreams.

Was it the fact that she was sleeping right next to me that caused me to dream that? Whatever it was, it shocked the hell out of me.

As I grabbed the shampoo and poured some into my hand, I wondered if her lips were as soft as they had been in my dream, if they were just as warm.

Hey, I was a teenager. Didn't teenaged guys fantasize about the girl of their dreams? Of course a lot of them didn't have to fantasize because they'd already seen some action…