Chapter 5

Ooh, Lucy's drinking at a carnival! XD

"You should stop now," Edward grunted as he helped me walk up a hill. "You've had four already." I responded by a burst of giggles and a "Loosen up, Mr. Stick-Up-His-A*s!" He sighed angrilly as he sat me down under a tree at the top of a hill a little ways away from the carnival. I finished my fifth bottle of beer and felt great. I looked at Edward's angry expression and exploded in giggles once again.

     "Honestly, you just drank because you didn't want to be there," he said, continuing to lecture me. "And I thought you were the responsible one around here!'

     "N-No, You-YOU'RE the responsi-bib-le one," I said through giggles, my words slurred. "You need to pull that s-stick out of your a*s and l-loosen up, Eddy!"

     "Give me that," he grumbled, taking the empty bottle away from me and throwing it in a nearby trashcan. "Just sit there and enjoy the fireworks. Can you manage to do that?"

     "Oooookay, I guess," I said like a little kid. Edward sighed and mumbled something about how I was going to pay for it the next morning.

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Pay for it, I did. The hangover was HORRIBLE.

     When I emerged down the stairs the next morning, Edward immediately threw me a chunk of ice wrapped in a  towel. I held it to my pulsating head and sat on the couch, my feet resting on the coffee table.

     "So, did you enjoy being drunk?" he asked, a snide remark.

     "It was fun at the time, because everything was funny," I said, trying to remember the previous night. "Lord knows I needed a laugh."

     "And how's the after effects?"

     "This hangover's killing me," I said with a sigh. There was a knock at the door that pounded in my ears.

     "Gah, get the door!" I shouted, covering my ears. Edward laughed and opened the door.

     "Hey, Al, Winry," he said.

     "Hi, Brother!" came Alphonse's cheerful voice.

     "Hey, Ed," Winry said. I heard the shuffling of feet, and then I heard Winry whisper, "What's wrong with Lucy?"

     "The idiot decided to have five beers at the carnival yesterday and got drunk. She's now paying the price."

     "This is anything but Equivelent Exchange!" I shouted, remembering that rule of alchemy.

     "If you think about it, it kind of is," Alphonse said. "The price for drinking is a hangover, probably a warning that if it happens again, the next cost will be alchohol poisoning. Or an even worse hangover."

     "Good point," Edward said, thinking it over and nodding. "Nice one, Al." He smiled and giggled. I groaned and pressed the towel and ice harder against my head.

     "So, any news on, um, him?" Edward asked in a serious tone. Alphonse's smile faded, and Winry stayed silent as the three of them went to the table and I went outside on the porch. I didn't want to hear that conversation. Alphonse is a State Alchemist, and he's on a personal assignment with Leiutenants Hawkeye and Havoc, also including the colonel himself. They were looking for him: The Bad Man. My father.

     Sitting outside didn't help. The kitchen withdow was open, and I happened to be sitting under it on the porch....

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"We haven't found him yet," Alphonse said in a serious voice. "We're looking all over Central. East City included. No one's seen him. We have WANTED posters all over the place, and no one's called in.

     "The colonel even sent men around Resembool, and he hasn't been sighted here, either. His house is completely empty except for the piles of trash everywhere."

     It sickened me. He made a mess of my old house....!

     But it wasn't like I ever cared before. Just thinking about him made me want to get drunk again and forget all about him.

     "It's scary," Winry said, speaking up. "thinking about what that terrible man did to Lucy and her family those years ago. He doesn't even seem human."

     "Because he's messed up in the head," Edward said sourly. "I should have killed him three years ago when Lucy and I first met him here in Resembool."

     "How do you think Lucy is, knowing that he's still out there somewhere?" Winry asked suddenly. "Did you ever find out if she was afraid to be alone or not?"

     "No, I haven't," Edward said. "As far as I can tell, she was just bored being here by herself all the time. There really was no reason for me to stay with her here. But I bet she's glad with the company."

     So that was it, I thought. That day I walked in on Pinako yelling at Edward for being lazy, and then her bringing up Edward staying with me, it was all faked. All because they thought I was scared of being alone, like the Bad Man would get me if I was by myself.

     I didn't know whether to be angry or relieved or happy. All I know is that it made my headache get ten times as worse.

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"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," I brought up that night when Edward was thinking about what he wanted to eat.

     "Why bring that up?" Edward asked warily.

     "I heard the conversation today, Edward," I replied, staring out the window at the distant fireworks from day 2 of the carnival. "The window was open."

     "So you heard that," Edward said, a sad note in his voice. "Well, you know we don't really trust you all that well, because you keep to yourself, mostly."

     I stayed silent, continuing to stare out the window.

     "I'm sorry, Lucy," he said, right behind me. "We just wanted to make sure you were alright."

     "So are you staying or going?" I asked flatly.

     "Heh, staying, of course." I felt his arms go around my, pinning my arms to my sides.

     "E-Edward...!" I said, feeling my face get hot. He just laughed and released me, announcing that whatever I wanted to make for dinner was fine.

     That night, after dinner and laying in my queen-sized bed, it was then that I shivered, realizing how alone I really was, not opening up to anyone. Even though Edward was living with me, I felt like my heart was empty. The feeling from Munich was back, when I thought that Edward was dead, and that the "fake" Edward was mocking me.

     That, and my depression.

Reviews

[Anonymous]

Awwww... I'm glad you're bringing conflict back into the story!
I expect another chapter tomorrow! :D