Chapter 6 : Steamy Miscalculations
"Stupid, arrogant bastard! Who does he think he is?!" Edward had drug the slightly taller teen behind him all the way back to Central, he was still angry from the coffee shop incident, though he couldn't really understand why. They had arrived back home, but her wrist was still locked firmly in Edward's grasp. "Would you calm down, he was just trying to be nice. He offered to buy me a new one." Edward whipped his head around, his pony-tail grazing across Charlotte's nose. "That's not the point!" She shrunk back, feeling smaller than Edward appeared. "He spilled your drink then visually violated you!" The cruel irony continued, Edward's voice growing louder and more coarse. Charlotte, on the other hand, was slipping out of her borrowed coat, one sleeve falling around Edward's hand that was still latched onto her wrist. "Look, I'm gonna give you some time to simmer down, I'll be in my room." she wretched her hand away and slung her jacket over her shoulder. "Uh-I-" She placed a hand in his fleshy shoulder. "Bye." she then turned and walked with HIS coat. It was a mix of feelings, he was partially upset that she didn't realize what that stranger did, then again, he couldn't understand this fluttering he felt in the pit of his stomach. Just seeing her made his heart do back flips.
"Okay, I'll let him know. Okay, bye." Alphonse hung up the wall phone in the lobby, turning to see his depressed brother hobbling towards him with both hands buried deep in his pockets. "What happened? Where's Charlotte?" The befuddled teen looked up, his eyes half-lidded and his irises were dusted with a light grey luster. "She's in her room, we sorta....fought." Al grasped his brother by his shoulders, one steel hand resting on his equally steel arm, and the other touching his warm left shoulder. "She's okay right?" His voice echoed throughout the empty armor. "Of course! I wouldn't-" He relaxed and peered down to the tiled floor. Al removing his hands. "Hurt her....." Ed's voice was hollow, his eyes sweeping the floor searching for a new topic of conversation. "What'd Winry say?" "She's visiting in a month, she kinda wasted her train ticket this time around. It will take tine to get money for another." The shorter blonde turned and sulked down the corridor.
The guilt was eating at him. Dissolving his ego brick by brick and dismantling his self esteem. His head was stuffed in a book once again, but he wasn't reading this time. His head was reeling from the recent argument. He scratched his head and lied down his book. "I'll be back."
Charlotte arrived back at her apartment with a heavy, heavy mind. Her sinuses aching from all the rain. "Ugh, boys." She shimmied out of her clothing, tossing them into a nearby hamper. "Maybe a shower will relax me."
Edward didn't bother knocking, the door was wide open, though he clung to it. "Charlotte?" He called out, his uneasy voice bouncing off the blue walls. He wandered aimlessly through the apartment, Charlotte was nowhere to be found. The only remnants of her was the television. Being the only source of light in the whole room, so he was drawn to it quickly. It flickered some show about a doctor hobbling around on a cane. "What the-" his ears picked up a voice, he quickly switched off the t.v. A light appeared in the screen, reflecting from the bathroom directly behind him. It was Charlotte, wrapped loosely in a white towel with her blonde tresses cascading down her back, glimmering with water. She gazed at herself in the mirror, moving the towel further down on her chest. There, smack dab in the center, was a bright red transmutation circle. It glowed purple, almost like a bruise. Edward was glued to to the tv, and the bigger the gap between the towel and her body, created a deeper crimson that spread across his cheeks. "What is this?" She touched it with one hand, tracing the outer edge of the circle. It wasn't drawn on like a tattoo, it was engraved into her skin. Suddenly, a beam of light sprang out from the gash in her skin, it encircled her, creating a coil-like formation around her body. One by one, her feet were picked up by the light, her towel falling down around her toes. Ed tried to turn away, but was transfixed by the light that consumed Charlotte. She involuntary opened her mouth, the light disappearing into it, her feet then meeting the ground. Edward took this as a sign to make a B-line for the door. He was just as quiet leaving as he was arriving.
Edward practically bounded into his apartment, knocking over everything in his wake. To his dismay, Alphonse was still in the apartment. He was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through a book he had read a thousand times before. Alphonse had noticed Edward's chest heaving heavily, his face glowing red. "Brother!" Alphonse squealed as he ran to his side. "What's wrong?!" Ed shuffled his was to the sofa, Alphonse in tow with him. "I-I went to apologize....a-and I saw something I shouldnt've." Alphonse's eyes widened to the farthest extent of his helmet. "Brother! You need to be more careful!" Edward threw his head into his hands, almost collapsing onto the couch. "I know! I didn't mean to. But, she has this thing...." He pointed a finger to the middle of Al's "chest", resting his head on one shaking arm. "Here. It's a transmutation circle.- a human one." Alphonse shook his older brother, forcing him to look up at him. "She had this aura around her. I dont understand it." "Is she a homunculus?" Asked a dumbfounded suit of armor. "I dunno Al, I just don't know."
Central's "Spies" were buzzing about the pairing of Edward and Charlotte, especially since they knew Winry would be visiting soon. They were extremely in-tune with their entire situation, they even saw Edward slip into Charlotte's room. They decided to confront him about it, their suspicion at it's pique. Edward was sitting with his brother in the cafeteria, not really paying attention to each other's presence. The group consisting of Hughes, Havoc, Breda and Falman approached the auto-mail clad blonde. "Soooo........" Havoc walked cautiously around Edward, Hughes getting a notepad ready. "What were you doing in Charlotte's room at-" He glanced over at Hughes, who flipped through his booklet. "7:47" Havoc turned to Ed and gave him a quizzical look. Then he realized what they meant, they had been watching them, for almost a month. "It was last night." Breda scratched his orange hair. "I don't have to report to you." He blushed lightly, trying to cover it up by shuffling deeper into his coat. "Well.....I haven't seen Charlotte around today ...maybe she got mad because you're a two-timer." Offered Jean thoughtlessly. Edward immediately spat his soda all over his tray of food. "What'dya mean by that?!" He rose to his feet with a crimson face; his voice growing loud and hoarse. "Well Winry's coming soon right? And she IS your girlfriend..." Breda said "Aaaaaand your with Charlotte too. So, it kinda solves itself." Al shook his head in his brother's defense. "It's not like that. Winry's his mechanic." Edward squirmed around and nodded his head "Y-y-yeah, and Charlotte just needs looking after." His head rotated around to Hughes, watching him scribble down notes, mumbling some inaudible speech. "Where has Charlotte been anyway?" Said Foreman. Ed scratched his messy head, "I haven't apologized yet...." he said to himself under his breath. "Apologized? For what?" Havoc pressed once again. "I don't have to explain myself to you!" He left the cafeteria, Alphonse staying behind to answer their questions. His tray still lied on the table. His food sprayed with soda.
Edward's eyes were glued to the floor, he didn't know where he was heading, but he continued to walk at a brisk pace, his coat trailing behind him. Little did he know, another person was in the hallway with him, walking directly toward him. Though it was unknown to both teens. Edward suddenly was flung onto the floor; landing on his back. "Watch it will -" In the ground across from him was Charlotte, looking slightly more mature. Her hair was done up in a clip, small curls slipping down the sides of her face. Her thighs were sheathed in a white scallop miniskirt, and a midnight blue strapless top.
"Edward? Is that you?" She scurried around the floor, papers fluttering around the hall. "Uh" He sat forward and regained his composure. "I'm so sorry." she picked up her papers, some still lying around the hall. Edward collected the remaining papers in a stack in the fold of his arm. They appeared to be printed off papers about alchemy, unreadable scribbles littering every page. Some sentences were underlined in red pen about a million times. Charlotte held out her hand to help Edward to his feet. "Here." he looked up at her, holding the stack of papers out, opposing her helping hand. "Oh, thank you." She took the papers as Edward stood up on his own. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." The spy team had finished questioning Alphonse and turned the corner to witness the pair. "Don't apologize, I deserve it for flipping out yesterday." He threw his hands in his pockets awkwardly. It's a little difficult to converse with the girl who you saw naked the night before. Her top covered only half of the transmutation circle, it was still red. It looked almost like a welt on her chest. "Don't worry about it." she shuffled her papers around so that they would cover her chest. "Oh, Mustang called me earlier,he needs us to head over to a place called....Xing I think it was." Ed slumped forward. "Ugh. Not Xing." Charlotte started walking in the opposite direction of Edward, though he turned and followed her. "What's wrong with Xing? I've never heard of it." "Believe me, you'll find out.
"Stupid, arrogant bastard! Who does he think he is?!" Edward had drug the slightly taller teen behind him all the way back to Central, he was still angry from the coffee shop incident, though he couldn't really understand why. They had arrived back home, but her wrist was still locked firmly in Edward's grasp. "Would you calm down, he was just trying to be nice. He offered to buy me a new one." Edward whipped his head around, his pony-tail grazing across Charlotte's nose. "That's not the point!" She shrunk back, feeling smaller than Edward appeared. "He spilled your drink then visually violated you!" The cruel irony continued, Edward's voice growing louder and more coarse. Charlotte, on the other hand, was slipping out of her borrowed coat, one sleeve falling around Edward's hand that was still latched onto her wrist. "Look, I'm gonna give you some time to simmer down, I'll be in my room." she wretched her hand away and slung her jacket over her shoulder. "Uh-I-" She placed a hand in his fleshy shoulder. "Bye." she then turned and walked with HIS coat. It was a mix of feelings, he was partially upset that she didn't realize what that stranger did, then again, he couldn't understand this fluttering he felt in the pit of his stomach. Just seeing her made his heart do back flips.
"Okay, I'll let him know. Okay, bye." Alphonse hung up the wall phone in the lobby, turning to see his depressed brother hobbling towards him with both hands buried deep in his pockets. "What happened? Where's Charlotte?" The befuddled teen looked up, his eyes half-lidded and his irises were dusted with a light grey luster. "She's in her room, we sorta....fought." Al grasped his brother by his shoulders, one steel hand resting on his equally steel arm, and the other touching his warm left shoulder. "She's okay right?" His voice echoed throughout the empty armor. "Of course! I wouldn't-" He relaxed and peered down to the tiled floor. Al removing his hands. "Hurt her....." Ed's voice was hollow, his eyes sweeping the floor searching for a new topic of conversation. "What'd Winry say?" "She's visiting in a month, she kinda wasted her train ticket this time around. It will take tine to get money for another." The shorter blonde turned and sulked down the corridor.
The guilt was eating at him. Dissolving his ego brick by brick and dismantling his self esteem. His head was stuffed in a book once again, but he wasn't reading this time. His head was reeling from the recent argument. He scratched his head and lied down his book. "I'll be back."
Charlotte arrived back at her apartment with a heavy, heavy mind. Her sinuses aching from all the rain. "Ugh, boys." She shimmied out of her clothing, tossing them into a nearby hamper. "Maybe a shower will relax me."
Edward didn't bother knocking, the door was wide open, though he clung to it. "Charlotte?" He called out, his uneasy voice bouncing off the blue walls. He wandered aimlessly through the apartment, Charlotte was nowhere to be found. The only remnants of her was the television. Being the only source of light in the whole room, so he was drawn to it quickly. It flickered some show about a doctor hobbling around on a cane. "What the-" his ears picked up a voice, he quickly switched off the t.v. A light appeared in the screen, reflecting from the bathroom directly behind him. It was Charlotte, wrapped loosely in a white towel with her blonde tresses cascading down her back, glimmering with water. She gazed at herself in the mirror, moving the towel further down on her chest. There, smack dab in the center, was a bright red transmutation circle. It glowed purple, almost like a bruise. Edward was glued to to the tv, and the bigger the gap between the towel and her body, created a deeper crimson that spread across his cheeks. "What is this?" She touched it with one hand, tracing the outer edge of the circle. It wasn't drawn on like a tattoo, it was engraved into her skin. Suddenly, a beam of light sprang out from the gash in her skin, it encircled her, creating a coil-like formation around her body. One by one, her feet were picked up by the light, her towel falling down around her toes. Ed tried to turn away, but was transfixed by the light that consumed Charlotte. She involuntary opened her mouth, the light disappearing into it, her feet then meeting the ground. Edward took this as a sign to make a B-line for the door. He was just as quiet leaving as he was arriving.
Edward practically bounded into his apartment, knocking over everything in his wake. To his dismay, Alphonse was still in the apartment. He was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through a book he had read a thousand times before. Alphonse had noticed Edward's chest heaving heavily, his face glowing red. "Brother!" Alphonse squealed as he ran to his side. "What's wrong?!" Ed shuffled his was to the sofa, Alphonse in tow with him. "I-I went to apologize....a-and I saw something I shouldnt've." Alphonse's eyes widened to the farthest extent of his helmet. "Brother! You need to be more careful!" Edward threw his head into his hands, almost collapsing onto the couch. "I know! I didn't mean to. But, she has this thing...." He pointed a finger to the middle of Al's "chest", resting his head on one shaking arm. "Here. It's a transmutation circle.- a human one." Alphonse shook his older brother, forcing him to look up at him. "She had this aura around her. I dont understand it." "Is she a homunculus?" Asked a dumbfounded suit of armor. "I dunno Al, I just don't know."
Central's "Spies" were buzzing about the pairing of Edward and Charlotte, especially since they knew Winry would be visiting soon. They were extremely in-tune with their entire situation, they even saw Edward slip into Charlotte's room. They decided to confront him about it, their suspicion at it's pique. Edward was sitting with his brother in the cafeteria, not really paying attention to each other's presence. The group consisting of Hughes, Havoc, Breda and Falman approached the auto-mail clad blonde. "Soooo........" Havoc walked cautiously around Edward, Hughes getting a notepad ready. "What were you doing in Charlotte's room at-" He glanced over at Hughes, who flipped through his booklet. "7:47" Havoc turned to Ed and gave him a quizzical look. Then he realized what they meant, they had been watching them, for almost a month. "It was last night." Breda scratched his orange hair. "I don't have to report to you." He blushed lightly, trying to cover it up by shuffling deeper into his coat. "Well.....I haven't seen Charlotte around today ...maybe she got mad because you're a two-timer." Offered Jean thoughtlessly. Edward immediately spat his soda all over his tray of food. "What'dya mean by that?!" He rose to his feet with a crimson face; his voice growing loud and hoarse. "Well Winry's coming soon right? And she IS your girlfriend..." Breda said "Aaaaaand your with Charlotte too. So, it kinda solves itself." Al shook his head in his brother's defense. "It's not like that. Winry's his mechanic." Edward squirmed around and nodded his head "Y-y-yeah, and Charlotte just needs looking after." His head rotated around to Hughes, watching him scribble down notes, mumbling some inaudible speech. "Where has Charlotte been anyway?" Said Foreman. Ed scratched his messy head, "I haven't apologized yet...." he said to himself under his breath. "Apologized? For what?" Havoc pressed once again. "I don't have to explain myself to you!" He left the cafeteria, Alphonse staying behind to answer their questions. His tray still lied on the table. His food sprayed with soda.
Edward's eyes were glued to the floor, he didn't know where he was heading, but he continued to walk at a brisk pace, his coat trailing behind him. Little did he know, another person was in the hallway with him, walking directly toward him. Though it was unknown to both teens. Edward suddenly was flung onto the floor; landing on his back. "Watch it will -" In the ground across from him was Charlotte, looking slightly more mature. Her hair was done up in a clip, small curls slipping down the sides of her face. Her thighs were sheathed in a white scallop miniskirt, and a midnight blue strapless top.
"Edward? Is that you?" She scurried around the floor, papers fluttering around the hall. "Uh" He sat forward and regained his composure. "I'm so sorry." she picked up her papers, some still lying around the hall. Edward collected the remaining papers in a stack in the fold of his arm. They appeared to be printed off papers about alchemy, unreadable scribbles littering every page. Some sentences were underlined in red pen about a million times. Charlotte held out her hand to help Edward to his feet. "Here." he looked up at her, holding the stack of papers out, opposing her helping hand. "Oh, thank you." She took the papers as Edward stood up on his own. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." The spy team had finished questioning Alphonse and turned the corner to witness the pair. "Don't apologize, I deserve it for flipping out yesterday." He threw his hands in his pockets awkwardly. It's a little difficult to converse with the girl who you saw naked the night before. Her top covered only half of the transmutation circle, it was still red. It looked almost like a welt on her chest. "Don't worry about it." she shuffled her papers around so that they would cover her chest. "Oh, Mustang called me earlier,he needs us to head over to a place called....Xing I think it was." Ed slumped forward. "Ugh. Not Xing." Charlotte started walking in the opposite direction of Edward, though he turned and followed her. "What's wrong with Xing? I've never heard of it." "Believe me, you'll find out.
