𝐌𝐈𝐗𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 // Ａｌｐｈｏｎｓｅ ｘ Ｒｅａｄｅｒ ｘ Ｓｅｔｈ \\

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐬' 𝐚𝐬𝐬. [𝟏𝟔]

[uhh before i start this chapter i just want to apologize for not posting any new chapters!! writers block was a bitch lol. ANYWAYS now that we all (i hope) know that the next ep is coming next week i've decided to post a new chapter woeweiuei yayayay......also i might start writing bittersweet stuff on my ao3 account since i much prefer that platform that wattpad so.. if i ever do i'll post the @ here!! also im kind of thinking of writing this in my new and "improved" style so if this seems differently written than the other chapters that's why :D ]

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I stared out the window and watched the blondie hop into the van. Who the hell was that? Why did he look at me like that? Did he know me? Was I supposed to know him? I sighed and shoved my face into my hands, trying to keep my thoughts from overwhelming me. As the vehicle quickly sped off I leaned back into my seat until I heard the car door open, the back door doing the same a few seconds after. Alphonse and Seth hopped in. 

I looked at the now emoified Al, seeing a thin layer of blood coated onto his lip, cheek slightly bruised and blood coating his knuckles. He quickly wiped it off and looked at me, "Hey, boo. I uh.. I'm sorry you gotta see me like this. All bloodied up n' shit. Could you pass me the-" "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?!" I asked urgently, rolling down my sleeve and lightly trying to wipe off the blood from his lip. He let out a soft chuckle, and put his hand over mine. "I'm fine, you don't gotta worry so much." he reassured me. A slight smile of pity came from me as I turned back to look at Seth.

He wasn't much better. His nose was a little bloody and he had the same blood covered knuckles as Alphonse. I put my hand on his lap, trying to, I suppose, comfort him in some sort of way. I turned back to look at Alphonse. "As I was saying, could you pass me the wipes in the dashboard?" he asked, turning on the car and holding onto the wheel. I nodded and opened the dashboard, taking out said plastic packet of wipes. I took a few out and turned Al's head to look at me, wiping off the blood from his lip and knuckles. It looked like it was just a small scratch that just bled a fair amount, thank god.

He smiled at me as I turned to do the same for Seth. I made sure to be gentle, just in case his nose might've been broken or fractured or anything like that. Thankfully, it didn't seem to hurt him. I then wiped his knuckles and hands, shoving the blood-soaked wipe into the car door, along with putting the plastic packet of wipes back into the dashboard. "You both ready?" Alphonse asked, looking at me, then into the rearview mirror.

"Yep." Seth responded tiredly, yawning and proceeding to lean back into his seat. "Yeah, I think it's about time we head home for some sleep." I agreed, picking at my nails and staring out the window. And just like that, we headed off.

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I continued to look out of the window, but that was when I remembered. The blondie. Maybe Al would know who he was? I pushed my head off of the cold window and looked at the windshield. "Hey, uh.. Al?" "Hm? What's up boo?" He asked, his eyes still glued onto the road. It was almost night time, the sky had turned a dark purple-blue, stars already forming. "I saw a blonde guy while I was waiting for you two. He looked at me kinda funny, I was just wondering if you knew him." I questioned. His eyes sharpened, his grip toughened on the wheel. Shit, hat if it was something he didn't want to talk about? What if it brought up some repressed memory of his? Oh god. "- You don't have to tell me if  you don't want to talk about it, I just thought I'd ask cause I wasn't sure if-" "No it's..it's fine. If I'm thinkin' of the right blondie than.. that'd be Charlie." he responded, "Me, Seth and him used to be 'acquaintances'." He smiled bitterly. Were..were they partners? The way Alphonse had said it made it sound like they were a little more than "acquaintances". 

"We had a thing -" knew it. "- It wasn't really serious or anything but. It was a thing." he replied. I nodded, continuing to listen to the story about this apparent 'Charlie'. "He was a snitch. A dirty fuckin' snitch. He'd do anything to protect himself from harm, even if it meant hurting us." he said in a slightly angered tone. "One day, we caught Charlie watching me n' Seth from the stairs, lookin' like he wanted a show. So we gave him a fuckin' show." he chuckled. 

"But one afternoon the rat got into some trouble. Two boys had cornered him and picked on him. Makin' him feel like how people back home made me and Seth feel, y'know what I mean?" he asked, quickly glancing at me. I nodded, another smile of pity on my face. "So, to get the heat off of him, he outed me and Seth.." a sad grimace came from him, his eyes softening as if he'd remembered the way he'd felt that exact moment. God, I felt bad now that I knew some of the shit the two people I loved most had went through.

"Hey it's.. it's alright if it's too tough for you to talk about the rest, I get it. There's no pressure, okay?" I replied, putting a hand on his back and slowly rubbing him. He nodded and softened his grip on the wheel. I looked back at the car door window and saw a few complex buildings pass by us. Were we close to our "new home"? I waited a few minutes and Al slowly parked the car into a mostly-empty parking area in front of a small-ish complex. I looked to the side and- wait wasn't that the van that Charlie came from? I tried to see if there was anyone in the van but- "Boo I-I think our apartment's on fucking fire?!" he nearly yelled, looking at me and then nudging Seth to try and wake him. 

He groaned, only moving an inch from where he laid. "Seth. Our apartment is on fire." he said, his tone sounding more aggressive and impatient this time. "Wh- huh..? H-holy shit!" he quickly got up and opened the car door. Alphonse and I did the same, running up to the steps.

So much for a new, safe and in-tact house..