Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Faces of Hatred ❯ Why I Followed Him ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Why I Followed Him

Love can make people do some senseless things. Take me for instance. Edward Elric had been my childhood crush since I was eight. I followed him everywhere when we were kids (even into the places my parents had told me I should never go into, like the tool shed in the backyard, or the swamp that was about three miles down the road from the thorn infested woods). Then, after he lost his arm and leg, I followed him into the military. I was hopeless at alchemy, but I had a knack for undercover investigation. I even worked a few cases with Hughes, who had been like a second father to me. But I spent the majority of my service with Ed and Al. I always went, even on the assignments he told me were too dangerous.

That day when he and Izumi attacked Central in hopes of confronting Pride I followed him unseen. When he went to that weird place that letter talked about I followed him there too.
When I arrived I watched him get flung through a strange gate. Without a second thought I followed him through it. That was what was so weird about me when I was around him. I'm the kind of person who has to carefully plan things out, and if there's the slightest chance it can go wrong I hesitate. But when it came to Ed, I followed him without a thought in my head. It was like he was the answer for everything, he'd make everything right. Nothing else mattered.

Well look where that had gotten me. Now I was with him on a train to somewhere, in a completely different world. Pretty senseless. And the worst part was, Ed didn't even feel the same way about me. He wouldn't even acknowledge my feelings for him. Sometimes he was just so stubborn I wanted to ram his head into he nearest solid object. Although I couldn't bring myself to put the blame on him. He had been through so much.
Ed had lost his mother at a very young age. Then he and his brother Al lost even more in an attempt to bring her back. Ed had lost his arm and leg, and Al's soul was bound to a suit of armor because he lost his entire body to that gate. As if that wasn't enough, he was thrown into the middle of a sickening conspiracy to get the Philosophers Stone, led from the shadows by a psychotic woman named Dante, who depended on the Philosophers Stone to continue her so called eternal life. It made me sick just thinking about that hag. Now he was who-knows-how-far from his home with only his father, and an obnoxious girl who followed him around like a loyal puppy. I felt so stupid.
I glanced over to where Ed was sitting to see him gazing longingly out the window. I made a rather pathetic attempt to start a conversation. “Thinking about Al?” Stupid question! Of all the topics I could have picked I had to chose the one that would do anything but take his mind off his problems. He simply shrugged it off and gave me an impassive nod, not even looking at me. In my nervousness I continued on. “I'm sure he misses you too.” No response. “I know we'll see him again.” Still no response. “Look on the positive side, you still have Hohenheim,”nothing. “You still have...me.” Finally he stirred. He stared at me a moment before answering, and I fought to suppress a blush.
“I'm sorry Sharee. I've been so wrapped up in this rocket research, and I'm not even sure that's what's going to get us home.” Dang. I'd gotten him to talk, but it looked like I just made him feel worse. I tried a compliment.

“Well it's not like I've come up with any good ideas. If anyone can get us home it's you.” I thought I saw a slight smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

“Well without you I don't think me & Hohenheim would be able to get on. Especially with this price inflation. I'm researching rockets, he's working with that wack-job Thule Society. You're the only one who seems to make ends meet.”

That was a bit of an overstatement. I didn't earn a whole lot from the make-shift flower shop I had opened. Hohenheim was the one who kept us living in our quarters (but Ed didn't like to admit he was depending on his father). I didn't agree with this Thule Society he was with, but they did let us live off their funding. It was like being in the military again. “Say Ed, do you think your father will come back with us once we figure out how, I mean, now that Dante's gone?” He shrugged,

“I don't think Dante was the only reason he chose to stay here.

I didn't ask any more about Hohenheim. Even if their father-son relationship had been more or less patched up, I could tell Ed didn't like talking about his father. We remained pretty much silent the rest of the trip.

When the train finally came to a stop, we exited, along with an important looking man, a family of five, and a tall woman in a black cloak who pushed hurriedly past us. The way she walked seemed vaguely familiar, but I brushed that thought aside. “Ed, you haven't exactly told me where we're going?” He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd.

“I'm here to meet a partner of mine named Alphonse Heidriche” was all he said. I just rolled my eyes.

Following him had gotten me into more trouble than I knew possible, but I did it anyway. I don't know why, I just followed him.