chapter 5: The Party! part 1

The hands of time are more often then not, against you. For instance, say you have a huge test coming up and you’re really dreading it. Time will suddenly speed up and before you know it, the test is tomorrow and you’ve barely studied. On the other hand, say you have a party coming up that weekend, and you’re totally pumped for it. Again, time will rear its ugly head, this time being extremely slow, leaving you to sit and twiddle your thumbs while you count the seconds passing by.
This second scenario was me. The next few days for me seemed to be dragging by slower then molasses as I waited for the big party on Saturday. The only thing I wasn’t excited for was dealing with Rose, obviously.
Then finally, after what seemed like years, Saturday came.

I woke up Saturday morning, ate a delicious and sugary breakfast of pancakes, then got ready for the party. As the forecast had predicted, it was already really warm and was just getting warmer.
I decided it would be easiest to wear my swimsuit and throw some shorts on overtop of it. I put on my bikini, which was a light blue with cute little pink Hawaiian flowers on it, then put on some short denim shorts. Deciding to do something different, I put my hair up in pigtails instead of a ponytail. I smiled, looking myself over in the mirror. Good enough.
I went back to my room and packed a beach towel and some sun tan lotion. The last thing I wanted was sunburn! Just as I was thinking if I would need anything else, my cell phone started to ring. I recognized the ringer immediately as Edward’s, and raced to my phone to answer it.
“Hello” I answered.
Hey Win, you about ready?” came Edward’s reply.
“Yup, are you?”
“Al’s just finishing up. We’ll be there to pick you up in about 5 minutes ok?”
“Alrighty! Are we picking anyone else up, like Russell and Fletcher? Or do they have their own rides?” I asked.
“Nope, it just us.”
“Cool, ok I’ll see in a few then!”
“Ok, see ya”
Click
Alright here we go! This is either going to be a great day, or Rose and the other fangirls are going to ruin it for me. I’m praying it’ll be good. I thought to myself as I headed out of my room and down the stairs. As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs my stomach growled.
“Shoot” I muttered. Well, there’s probably gunna be food at the lake, I thought reasonably. I headed out to the front door but stopped as I noticed a bunch of bananas on the counter in the kitchen. Taking a quick detour, I ducked into the kitchen and snatched a banana. Hey, I needed something to tide me over until we got there; a growing girl needs her food after all!
I was just throwing my banana peel away when I saw Hoenheim’s tan colored truck pull in. Oh, Hoenheim is Ed and Al’s dad by the way. Apparently he was the one who was driving us to and from the lake.
“Granny I’m leaving now!” I yelled, having absolutely no idea where in the house she was at.
“Bye Winry, have fun!” came her reply from wherever she was. I grinned and headed out the door to find Ed out of the truck as if he was just about to come get me.
“Look at that, I just climbed out of the truck for nothing,” he sighed in fake annoyance. I smiled and swatted him in the shoulder.
“Oh, poor baby” I cooed.
“Yeah shut up, I can easily make you walk to the lake” he threatened. I rolled my eyes at him and hopped into the truck. I slid down the seat so I was in the middle, right next to Al, to make room for Ed to sit. Ed jumped in and closed the door after him.
“Hey Winry!” Al greeted cheerfully.
“Hey Al!” I returned, just as cheerfully.
I looked up to see Hoenheim sitting behind the wheel with a nifty pair of sunglasses on, and his wife Trisha was seated next to him in the passenger’s seat looking back at me.
“Hi there Winry, how have you been?” she asked sweetly.
“I’ve been great, thanks” I replied warmly. I loved Ed and Al’s parents. Trisha was the sweetest thing on earth and Hoenheim was just all around a great guy; funny too. I seriously didn’t understand why Ed didn’t get along well with him.
Just then Hoenheim turned around and peered at me over the tops of his sunglasses.
“So, are you going sight seeing?” he asked me seriously. I raised an eyebrow at him, not really understanding what he meant.
“Sight seeing?”
“Yeah, for that wild species. You know, the one they call ‘guys’”
I burst out in giggles as Ed just sighed.
“Come on old man, let’s get going!” he said.
Hoenheim looked at him for several seconds before sticking his tongue out then whipping around and starting the truck, laughing warmheartedly. Edward just shook his head.
“So Trisha, why’d you come along just to drop us off?” I asked as we headed down the road.
“Oh, Hoenheim and I are going into to town to run some errands after we drop you guys off,” she replied. “We’re having stew for dinner tonight but I need the ingredients for it.”
“We’re having stew? Sweet!” Ed cheered. He loved stew; in fact it was his favorite dish as far as I knew.
“Got it” I laughed. Ed reminded me of a little kid the way he got all excited over things like stew.
The rest of the ride was just random small talk until finally we reached the lake. When we arrived and found a place to park, Ed, Al, and I grabbed our stuff and got out of the truck. I felt the hot sun hit me immediately, causing my lips to turn up in a relaxed smile. Finally we where here!
“Have fun you three!” Trisha called after us. I saw Hoenheim wink at us before Ed closed the door with a slam.
“Alright, let’s go find everyone shall we?” Ed suggested.
“No need” I interjected. Ed looked at me, obviously a little confused, until he followed my gaze. There running toward us was the dark skinned, hyperactive Paninya, with a rather pale Sciezka struggling to keep up behind.
“There you guys are!” Paninya exclaimed right before she slammed into me. I was just barely able to stay up on my feet as she hit me then clung there for a moment or two before finally letting go.
“Well who’s this?” she asked, suddenly seeing Al.
“Uh, hi, I’m Edwards’s younger brother Alphonse” he introduced politely.
“Oh, Al! Ed’s told me a bit about you! It’s a pleasure to meet cha’! I’m Paninya!”
“Yeah, Ed’s told me a bit about you too actually” Al laughed. Paninya’s gaze suddenly snapped over to Edward.
“Oh has he really? Was he saying how I’m such a great person and that he’s just so happy to have me as a friend?” she asked, more threateningly then anything.
“Well actually…” Al trailed off, grinning ear to ear.
“Well what are we doing just standing here huh? Let’s get down to the water!” Ed laughed nervously, obviously wanting to get of that particular topic.
“I’m all for that!” I chipped in. Sciezka just nodded.
“Oh by the way Al, this is Sciezka. Sciezka, Al” Paninya introduced, waving her hands at Al and Sciezka as she said their names.
“Nice to meet you Sciezka,” Al smiled kindly.
“Nice to meet you too,” Sciezka returned.
Finally we headed down to the water and found all of our assorted friends and acquaintances scattered all along the shore.
Roy, Riza, and Havoc were all standing at some barbeque grills, trying to get some hamburgers going while Fuery, Falman, Breda, and a few other people teased them. I saw Rose and her cronies wading out in the water along with Russell, all having a conversation of some sort. A bit farther out in the water I saw Russell’s younger brother Fletcher and a girl with black hair playing around and swimming. On the shore, relaxing in the sun, where a guy and girl I didn’t recognize and an extremely large muscular man.
“Why do I get the feeling there are more than 20 people here…” I murmured.
“Find some empty shore and lay down your towels guys!” Paninya instructed, ignoring my little comment.
“Yeah and good luck with that” Sciezka piped up. I looked through the sea of beach towels, cursing the fact that we seemed to be the last people to arrive.
“Great,” I sighed.
“Hey, I see some space over there! It might be kinda tight but I think we can all three fit there” Al exclaimed while pointing at a bare patch of sand.
“Alright, nice going Al!” Ed cheered as he headed to the spot. Al beamed and followed his brother. So much for a small party with a few friends I thought as I recalled my first thoughts when we decided to throw this party. Small party my ass.

After getting our things set up, I plopped down on my towel, slipped off my shorts, and pulled out my sun tan lotion. I poured some into my hands then started rubbing my arms and legs with it. As I was doing so Ed sat down on his towel next to me. He started to take off his shirt, the movement catching my eye. I peeked over at him as he removed his shirt, and found myself marveling over his chest.
Oh.My.God. Right there! Right next me! Damn he has such a nice body! He even has a six pack!
“Hey Win, could I use some of you’re sun block? I forgot mine”
I heard his voice but didn’t really hear what he was saying. I looked up at him, tearing my eyes away from his chest.
“What?” I said dumbly. I inwardly kicked myself being such a fangirl. WHY DID I SAY ‘WHAT’?! Stupid Winry, stupid!
“I said, can I use some of you’re sun block?” he repeated.
“Oh, sun block! Here,” I blabbed as I handed the bottle to him.
“Thanks” he said as he took it from me. He didn’t seem to notice the fact that I had just been checking him out, thankfully.
Okay, what was I thinking! There are people everywhere!! And if he had noticed I was looking at him like that…WHY AM I SO HOPELESS!!!
My inner fit of despair was interrupted by Paninya who had made her way over to us.
“Hey guys, lets go swim!” she exclaimed.
“I’ll go later, I’m gunna relax a bit right now,” Ed replied as he lay down. I was about to so no too, especially since Rose was out there, but then decided it was really hot and submerging myself in water sounded great. Not to mention sitting next to shirtless Ed was too risky at the moment.
“Ok I’ll come!” I smiled as I stood up.
“Sweet! Al, are you coming?” Paninya asked.
“Sure!” he nodded.
“You sure you don’t wanna come Ed?” Paninya pushed. He just nodded.
“Yup, I’ll be there in a bit, you guys go ahead.”
Paninya shrugged then headed to the water. Al and I followed leaving Ed to relax.
The cold water splashed around my ankles as I stepped into the lake. I felt the sand squish under my feat as I walked making me smile. I could remember when Ed, Al, and I would come to the lake all the time as little kids.
“Hey Al, do you remember when we would have mud fights all the time out here?” I asked. Al looked at me and smiled.
“Yeah, Ed would always make you cry because he’d throw the mud right at your face, then he’d feel bad and try to cheer you up. I remember once when that happened, he gave you his cocoa later that night to make up for it. Man we were so young back then.”
“Haha, yeah I remember that! Then I had two cups of cocoa and you started complaining you wanted two cups as well. Then we all got in a big argument about it! Oh man, to think we would get so riled up about something like cocoa!” I chuckled.
We both started laughing. Man it had been to long since I had just chatted with Al. Since summer ended I had hardly seen him at all.
“Come on, lets go into the deeper water,” he said as he began to wade farther out. I followed, smiling like a fool. Soon we were out deep enough that the water was up to our chests. I held my breath and dived under, then popped back up.
“Much better,” I sighed as I pushed my now wet bangs out of my face. “The upper half of me was burning!”
Al laughed then dived under as well. He popped back up and shook his head, causing water to splash all over the place.
“Jeez Al, you remind me of Den!” I laughed. Al laughed too.
“Gee thanks Win, so I’m a dog now?”
“Hey, Dens a perfect gentleman!” I defended.
“Yeah, a hairy one at that.” Al teased.
We where both silent for a moment until Al said,
“Hey, I noticed you put you’re hair up differently today. I like it.”
For some reason or another I felt my cheeks grow warm.
“Oh really? Um, thanks, I just wanted to try something different I guess.” I replied.
“Well it’s cute” he smiled.
Ok how did this suddenly become awkward for me? Ok yes, Al is really cute but I like Edward! Ed, not Al! I’ve never felt this way around Al before.
The smile began to fade from Al’s face a bit and I noticed his cheeks turn a slightly darker color. He looked down at the water and cleared his throat.
“Uh Winry?”
“Yeah Al?”
“Um, well you see I um…I wanna tell you something”
I felt my throat begin to tighten as I listened. Why did I not like where this was goin?
“What is it Al?” I prompted, wishing I felt as calm as I sounded. Al looked up at me and met my gaze.
“Winry, I, I li-”
Before Al was able to finish I felt something in the water grab onto my leg. My eyes widened and I was about to looked down when whatever it was yanked me under. I let out a scream before water rushed over me and I kicked furiously at whatever it was that had dragged me under. But my leg had already been freed. I surfaced and took in a gasp of air. I instantly heard the laughter of Edward Elric.
“Haha I got you good! You didn’t even know I was coming! And I heard your scream from under water! Oh man that was priceless!” Ed laughed hysterically. I however, did not find this funny.
“Eeeeedwaaaard…” I growled as I glared at the older Elric. He took a look at me and immediately stopped laughing.
“Aw shit!” he gasped as I lunged myself at him. He tried to evade me but I was to fast for him. I landed on his back, forcing him and myself under. I surfaced moments before him and started to swim away as fast as I could but he quickly caught up and wrapped his arms around my waist in a firm grasp.
“I gotcha” he whispered. His breath tickled against my ear making my cheeks blaze. Oh, not to mention his arms were around my waist and I was pressed right against his chest!!!
“EEEP! Edward let go NOW!” I squealed as I twisted and writhed trying my hardest to escape his hold. This was just way to much at once for me to handle!
“Fine, have it you’re way,” Ed chuckled evilly. With that he picked me up then threw me into the water. I landed with a loud splash!
That boy is so gunna get it!
I surfaced and looked around hastily, finding Ed was already fleeing toward the shore. I made my way over to him as fast as I could, hungry for revenge. As I was chasing however, I heard Paninya call out to me.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she called. I spared her a small glance then shouted,
“Sorry can’t talk! I gotta go get Ed!” and with that I was off again. Suddenly Paninya was sloshing through the water at my side.
“Attacking Ed sounds fun! I wanna help!” she exclaimed.
“Ok you can help!” I nodded. Soon Ed emerged at the shore and stopped to take a little breather. He looked back and I saw his eyes grow huge as he saw Paninya with me.
“No fair! You can’t have help!” he whined. As we grew closer he took off running along the very edge of the shore. We reached land and sped off after him.
“No good, this kid is to damn fast for us!” Paninya panted. “We have to get him back in the water where we have a chance.”
I nodded and looked at our situation. We had run past the beachy part of the shore and now were running by a more forested area. Edward wasn’t too far ahead of us, and a plan clicked.
“Paninya, we need to split up! You go into the woods and do all you can to catch up! Then ambush him. With one of us on either side, he’ll have no choice but to go back to the water!”
Paninya nodded and dived into the trees. I continued running after Edward, breathing heavily. I wonder if he’s as tired out as I am? I wondered.
Suddenly Paninya burst out of the trees directly in front of Edward. Ed yelped and stopped. He looked back at me then hastily charged into the water.
PERFECT!
He didn’t get far before Paninya jumped onto his back. He turned and flung her off just in time for my turn. I flung myself at him, all my weight hitting him at that speed knocking him over.
He landed with a little splash and a grunt, me now on top of him.
He propped himself up on his elbows to get his head out of the water, even though it was only about 2 inches deep where we where. He gasped slightly then tilted his head back, breathing heavily. I looked down at him as I sat there straddling him. Ok yeah, I didn’t really realize what I was doing at that moment, cuz if I did I would have surely gotten up at the speed of light.
“Ok, you win, I’m exhausted!” Ed groaned.
“That’ll teach you” I teased as I stuck my tongue out at him. He looked at me smiling slightly. Our eyes met and I totally forgot Paninya was standing there next to us. I could feel every breath Edward took as his stomach rose and fell rhythmically. Water droplets dripped down his features, and I noticed his long beautiful hair was down and hanging freely.
“Winry...” he said quietly. The way my name sounded when he said it quietly like that made me shiver.
“Yes Edward?” I replied softly.
“Could you maybe, get off me now?” he asked moronically. I looked down and finally everything hit me.
Yikes! Why am I still sitting on him! How embarrassing!!
I jumped off of Edward and offered my hand to help him up. He took it and soon we were all three standing there. [Yes, Paninya was there through that whole scenario! ACK!]
“Well, we should head back, I bet they finally got the food done by now,” Edward said after an awkward silence.
“Yes food! That’s what we need!” Paninya said as she looked from me to Edward, then back to me again.
We started walking back to everyone else, Ed in the lead. Paninya stayed back with me, giving me odd looks as we walked. I finally looked over at her and mouthed the word, ‘what?’
She nodded her head towards Edward and whispered, “What was that?”
“What was what?” I replied blankly.
“Hello, the whole sitting on top of your ‘childhood friend’ looking down at him like a love stuck puppy!” she replied.
“Shh! I was not!” I hissed, really not wanting this conversation to continue. She didn’t seem to buy it at all.
“Winry, don’t lie to me, you’re a real bad liar. Just admit it, you like him!” she pressed.
“Ok fine, maybe I do, but don’t tell anyone! I mean it!” I muttered.
“Mum’s the word Doll, but seriously, why didn’t you tell me earlier? You trust me don’t you?”
I looked down at the ground and smiled. Of course I trusted her. I had just told her my deepest secret.
“Sorry” was all I said.
“What are you two whispering about back there?” Ed asked as he looked back at us.
“Nothing at all Eddie, just some girly stuff that you wouldn’t be interested in” Paninya replied casually. Ed gave her an extremely confused look.
“Eddie?” he repeated.
“Yeah, it’s my new nickname for you! You like it?” she grinned.
“Um no, not so much” he snorted.
Paninya sped up so she was walking right next to him then sighed.
“Fine, I guess Short Stuff is just gunna be you’re nickname for the rest of your life.”
“WHAT?! SHORT?!? Who are you calling a micro-sized speck of dust on top of an ant!?!?!”
With that little outburst Paninya started running, an enraged Edward chasing behind. I laughed, all awkward feelings from a few moments ago gone, then started running to catch up.