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“Oh, Winry, you’re always working! At least act like you’re sixteen!”
Nelly waved a hand in front of the engineer’s face, as though she was trying to wake her up from something. Between her and Paninya, Winry didn’t know what made her such a magnet for sassy friends.
The raven-haired girl continued, “My family is a bunch of farmers. You think I don’t know about work? But I still make time to go out and have fun. Do my folks get mad? Yeah, but they are just going to have to deal with it until I reach legal adulthood!”
Winry scratched the back of her neck. “I don’t know. I had a lot of customers today and parties aren’t really my thing.”
Nelly raised her eyebrows. “How do you know if you’ve never been to one?”
Winry’s mouth opened, but she couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse to get the girl off her back.
Nelly drove her point home, “Besides, your grandma is chill! My step-mom is so strict, she’ll have a noose around my neck if I’m gone for more than an hour.”
Winry thought “chill” wasn’t quite the right descriptor – Pinako just trusted her. From the stories she heard, her grandmother was a hard-ass on Urey when she was raising him, but Winry was never much of a trouble-maker. Always dutiful, never a back-talker, and more focused on tinkering with metal parts than boys.
“Winry!” Nelly whined, grabbing her hand. “Please, at least come for emotional support! I don’t want to go alone... Sean is throwing the party, which means his pal Liam is going to be there, who won’t take no for an answer!”
Winry felt like she was being backed into a corner. The more Nelly insisted, the more she felt obligated to say yes. She really wished Nelly would just grow out of this ridiculous wild child phase.
Nonetheless, she gave in. “Fine.”
Nelly hooted with victory. “Thank you, girl! You won’t regret it! Besides—“
Winry’s lips dipped into a frown, waiting for what her friend was going to say next. Nelly flipped her newly-grown tresses over her shoulder, winking as she said cheekily, “I heard through the grapevine that Sean always thought you were pretty."
Winry leaned against a wall, staring, but at no one or nothing. She started to regret saying yes before she even left her house, but she already put the effort into makeup and a sweater dress, and she never got the chance to get dolled up, so she might as well go in public. She didn’t know why, but she was grateful she left while Ed was gone. She told Al and Granny where she would be, but for some reason unbeknownst to her, she didn’t like the idea of telling Ed.
Winry swished the red punch in her cup back and forth. She told Nelly she wouldn’t be drinking, yet when social anxiety kicked in, she decided a little bit of alcohol could help ease it. Everyone in the house was in her age group, and many of them she knew from grade school. Since she dropped out to pursue automail engineering, however, they were practically strangers to her. Nelly was the only person she remained friends with, aside from some friendly acquaintances she would see around town.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the stares of Samantha Dawson and a red-haired girl she didn’t recognize. If looks could kill. Winry finished the rest of her drink, already thinking ahead to grab another one.
“Tell them to put their claws away,” she heard Nelly say from behind her, barely loud enough for the girls to hear. “Don’t take it personally, girl, they just hate cute blondes with boobs.”
Winry pursed her lips, trying to suck in a laugh at Nelly’s bluntness when she had a few drinks in her.
“Winry! You made it down from the toolshed, huh?” A male voice bellowed toward her.
As she turned, she realized it was Sean. She should have known from the remark itself; he always liked to joke about her gearheadedness.
His shit-eating grin almost rivaled Ed’s. He was always a pretty a likeable guy, and on top of that, all of the girls in Resembool found him good-looking. Objectively, she could see why: puberty was certainly kind to him. That being said, she couldn’t decide if he wasn’t her type, or if her eyes were simply too set on someone else. It was probably the latter.
She gave him a friendly smile. “Hey, Sean.”
Nelly bumped Winry’s arm with her own, wearing a sly grin that quickly fell when she spotted Liam.
Sean grabbed the empty cup out of Winry’s hand. “You want another? My house is yours.”
“Um,” Winry hesitated. She looked over at Nelly, as if for approval, even though she knew she was just going to cheerlead her into drinking more.
They were standing near the kitchen entrance, so by the time she decided to say yes, he already was pouring more into her cup. She thanked him coyly after he handed it to her.
“I’ve seen you around, but I haven’t gotten to really talkin’ to ya in years! How’ve you been? Please tell me you’ve been doin’ more than playing with wrenches,” Sean said, playful.
She had to admit, his personality made her feel comfortable right away.
Winry laughed. “That’s all I’ve been doing!”
A pair of golden eyes searched through a crowd of teenagers, dancing from person to person and disappointed when they weren’t the girl he was trying to find. He had no idea there was even this many people his age in Resembool, so he assumed they must have come from neighboring rural towns as well. Searching through this house without being noticed was going to be a real headache.
“Well I’ll be! Ed Elric?”
At the sound of his name, Ed cursed to himself. A tall girl stopped him in his tracks, one who he almost didn’t recognize. Then he remembered.
“Oh. Hey, Samantha,” he said flatly.
“Hello! Wow, you’ve really grown up! I didn’t know you came back to town!”
Ed replied, “Yeah, did a while ago. Hey, I hate to cut to the chase, but I’m looking for Winry. Have you seen her?”
“Who?” Samantha’s nose scrunched. “Oh, her?”
Ed’s eyes darted to where she pointed. There was Winry, sitting on a couch between two farmer boys, Sean Whitley and Liam Collins. Something about that sight turned his stomach. Yeah, Nelly was there too, but he was only able to focus on the two males with hungry stares.
In the meantime, Winry was lost in laughter, face heated from the liquor. The night was becoming a bit of a blur, but she was having the time of her life. Now she knew why Pinako liked to drink.
“You shithead!” Sean mockingly yelled across Winry at his friend. “How are you s’pposed to get a girl with a crummy pick up line like that?!”
Liam shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t that bad!”
“A classy lady like Winry would never fall for that pick up line,” Sean said. “Would ya, Win?”
Nelly was the first to spot Ed. She could tell he wasn’t happy, and she had a feeling he didn’t show up to party.
While the boys were busy arguing, Nelly called it to her attention. “Winry, look who’s here.”
Winry was both shocked and relieved when she saw Ed’s face, even from a distance. Numb from laughing, she didn’t notice the smile grow on her lips.
Nelly’s eyes practically turned into hearts as she gushed, “He came out all this way to pick you up? He must really like you!”
“You think so?” Winry said, voice catching with what sounded like hope.
As Ed closely approached them, hands stuffed in his pockets, he announced his presence. “Having fun, guys?”
From slightly deepened pitch of his voice, it was obvious he was more so addressing Sean and Liam.
Winry was too inebriated to notice the awkward tension Ed cast upon them. Sean, however, noticed it instantly. He could handle himself pretty well, but now that Ed was known in their parts as the Fullmetal Alchemist, with the stories he’s heard about the guy, he wasn’t about to try his luck.
Sean and Liam got up simultaneously. Sean played it off, as though it wasn’t Ed’s glare that was shooing him away.
“I’m getting another drink. Want one, Win?” Sean asked.
The way he spoke to her was so sickening sweet it made Ed want to gag. He wished he would keep his eyes off her, too.
“No thanks,” Winry said, to Ed’s relief.
As the boys disappeared into the kitchen, Nelly followed. She got the hint from Ed to get lost as well.
Left alone, Ed stared down at Winry, hands in his pockets.
“Time to go home,” he said, simply.
Winry swayed slightly, belting out a hiccup. “Not yet, Ed.”
Ed’s eyebrow quirked. “Winry, have you been drinking?”
She swayed the other away. “A little.”
He sighed, prying the half-full cup of bright red from her lazy grasp. “More than a little. Let’s go home, c’mon.”
Ed gestured his hand for her to get up, but she hesitated. Instead, she leaned forward, grabbing his hand with both of hers. He would have blushed, if it wasn’t for her current state and his current mood.
“I can’t stand,” she giggled, using his hand for balance.
He sighed. In one sweeping motion, he scooped one arm under her, the other supporting her back, lifting her from the couch. For a girl that could throw a wrench like an Armstrong, she sure was light.
Winry giggled, kicking her feet.
“Where’s your shoes?” Ed asked, eyes searching the floor.
He gave up on his search pretty quickly. Winry was too wasted to care. Quite a few people watched as he carried the woman out the door.
Ed made his way down the dirt path, glad he was coming back with Winry, but irritated he was forced to carry her on a thirty minute walk. What’s worse, he only had a sliver of a moon to light his way, and the road wasn’t exactly smoothly paved. He stabbed the front of his shoe into a ridge, nearly stumbling with over one-hundred pounds of girl in his arms.
Ed grit his teeth, resisting the urge to kick the ridge. That stupid country boy. With his stupid dirty blonde tousles, his stupid suntan and his stupid worn out jeans. The way he called Winry “Win”, as though he knew her half as much as Ed knew her. Girls think he’s so great, but he is nothing more than a sweet talker.
“Why are you so mad?” Winry finally asked. She has been watching his expressions for some time.
“Because you’re an idiot for going to that party,” he said, fuming eyes on the road ahead. “And letting that guy…”
His voice trailed off. Of course, Winry wasn’t going to let him off the hook.
“Letting what? What guy?” She still slurred her words, making her sound delirious.
Ed didn’t say anymore, but Winry took a guess.
“Who, Sean? He’s nice!” she said, a little too loud.
“Of course he’s nice, Winry. Too nice,” he replied. “Just don’t trust guys like that. And don’t let them get you drunk, alright?”
“Okay,” she said, quiet, almost like a child who has done something wrong. She wriggled her toes, exposed to the cool air. “Where’s my shoes?”
When Ed didn’t answer, she huffed, looking up at him. The longer her eyes were there, the more she forgot about her question. If it weren’t for the liquor, she would be too bashful to outright stare. Now, she was indulging herself. She always appreciated his face, but an excess of punch made her extra appreciative.
“Ed.” Winry’s hands found his square jaw. “You’re handsome.”
Suddenly, he was looking at her instead of the road. His larynx bobbed. He could feel his heart beating in his head. She didn’t know what she was saying, right? It’s the alcohol talking, right?
“Nggh... thanks,” he managed to get out. He didn’t know what else to say.
Smiling, Winry closed her eyes, pressing her palm into his broad chest. “Thank you for coming for me.”
As they headed toward the Rockbell home, any thoughts he had of Sean Whitley were left in the dust.