chapter 15

You stagger into the hall where the doorway to your suite stood. Al's warm body presses against yours, and despite your exhaustion, you feel happy, butterflies erupting in your stomach. One thought comes into your mind as you stare at his caramel brown hair:

When you reach the door of the suite, you stop, taking a deep breath to calm yourself.

You set Al down so that he's leaning against the wall to open the door. You reach for the handle but suddenly, Al's hand is holding yours tightly. Your face turns a light shade of pink as you cry in surprise and Al spins you so that you were facing him.

"(Y/N)..."

You inhale sharply and stare into his eyes, mesmerized again, like earlier.

"(Y/N), why didn't you run earlier? You could've just left me and saved yourself. Look now," Al's hand goes to your stomach and you blush, "you re-opened your wound."

You couldn't say anything.

"Now what?" Al continues. "You'll have a huger scar on yourself. (Y/N), why didn't you just run?"

You stare at him, processing his words. Did he really just ask you why you didn't run!?You really could've saved yourself from this harm. I could've taken care of myself and-"

"Al." You interrupt his talking, switching your gaze from his face to your shoes. Your hands starts trembling. "Al, did you really think I could just leave you? All your troubles right now,-"

"- injuries,-"

"-Ed's problems,-"

"-your ruined plans,-"

"-it's all my fault, Al." By then, all the memories and flashbacks were overwhelming you with feels and guilt, and your eyes become blurred over. Your subconscious mind screams at you.

"So why are you so selfish?" You continue, looking up at Al, tears spilling out. "Why do you guys try to make me forget about my mistakes and let me make them all over again? You're so selfish, asking me to do that..."

Your gaze flickers downwards, and you remember the flashback you had, and how you liked Al.

Your mind tells you not to speak, but your heart does (I know, cliché) and you clench your fists in contemplation.

"(Y/N), I-"

"I remember now, Al." Your face flushes completely red and you raise your voice, embarrassed. You look at Al again. "I really liked you before I came through that gate, and- and..." Embarrassment takes you over and your heart pounds loudly through your head. "And I still do!" You spit out, looking away.

The hall goes silent, and you hold your breath, waiting for Al's reaction. When he doesn't say anything, you give a small, exasperated laugh.

"I'm sorry, Al. I'm forcing all my feelings onto you all of a sudden," you look up again, locking eyes with Al, whose face was red and eyes wide, "but I just wanted you to know that I really like you and that there was no way I would've left you back there. That's it." You try to smile, but your mouth ends up twisting in a grimace. What did you just do!?

You step away from Al and hastily dry your face with the back of your wrist. You turn back towards the door and open it without hesitation.

You step inside and suddenly find yourself looking into Ed's golden eyes from across the room. His eyes were wide, face flushing, and you saw something different in his eyes. Something fierce, like he was angry. You look away and limp to your room, locking the door behind you.

Your room was dark, and you were surprised that it wasn't day anymore. You think.

You don't bother to turn on the lights as you stumble to the window across your room. The moon is big and yellow as you stare at it through the window, and you slip into deep thought.

and

A vision of Al seeps through your mind, and you find yourself blushing.

There's a knock on the door. You jump in surprise and turn around, staring at the door. You start to panic.

Hesitantly, you walk towards the door and place your hand on the doorknob. Slowly, you unlock the door and open a crack into it, peeking out. The bright light makes you squint.

You see blond hair and you stop yourself from reacting, sending your face into a poker face. You open the door a bit more, peeking

"Whaddya want?" You say, pressing your lips together.

Ed stares into your eyes, and you open the door wider. "Ummm... Wanna come in...?"

Ed snaps back to reality and smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Oh, uh... Yeah..."

He steps into your dark room and you close the door behind you. Your eyes adjust quickly back to the darkness and you watch as Ed stumbles around, feeling around with his hands. You reach out to grab his hand and you lead him to your bed. You sit down next to him.

The two of you sit in silence awkwardly, and you stare at his figure. He was slouched over, elbows on his knees and head resting in the palms of his hands.

"Why are your lights off?" Ed breaks the silence.

"Huh?"

"Why are your-"

"Oh," you shrug, "I dunno, I was too lazy to turn them on."

Ed doesn't reply, and you glance at the clock. It was only 8:15 pm.

"Are you-"

"(Y/N), I-"

The two of you speak at the same time. You turn your head to him. "You go first."

"No, you can go." Ed replies.

You shake your head. "I was just gonna ask if you were going to say anything."

The room goes silent, and you sigh.

"(Y/N)..."

Your gaze turns to him, curious, though you feel like you know what he's going to say.

"(Y/N), are you mad at me?"

"Mad at you?" You reply. "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, you're avoiding me."

"That's because I'm afraid would be mad at ."

"But-"

"Look, Ed, I heard everything this morning, okay? I know how you blame me, and there's no way how I would be mad at you for that, because this all really my fault. That man, he wasn't trying to hurt Al, he was trying to hurt me, and he just hurt Al in the process. If anything, you should be the one mad at me."

The room falls into thick silence again.

"(Y/N), I feel really bad for blaming-"

"But you don't have to, because there's really nothing to feel bad about. You're right, it my fault."

You tossed away your pride, repeating that phrase so many times over, but this problem had to be fixed.

The awkwardness was pressing into you at all sides, and you press your lips together.

"I'm sorry..."

******I'm sorry, this was such a bad chapter(ｰ ｰ;)

Anyways, I hope you guys are okay with the little Al x reader going on now, but it'll change, I promise. If a lot of you don't like it, I'll re-write it if you want... It kinda what you guys (two of you) voted for anyways... Hehe.. He...

I hope Ed doesn't seem too OOC (out of character), and don't be afraid to tell me at any point if he does, I like to keep my characters in character.

Anyways, if you're still reading this and if you enjoyed this chapter, be sure to vote, comment, share, and most inportantly, ENJOY!! (T_T)

~Sky-chan

Word count: 1307 words

(My sis's bday!!)