The rest of the school day went smoothly. Ed went to Chemistry right after lunch, and to his surprise, neither Roy nor any of his friends were in that class, as far as Ed knows. The girl who helped Ed find the gym, Gracia, sat next to his in the back of the classroom and talked to him all hour. Ed found out that she was a junior, but planned on graduating early wither boyfriend that year.

Ed listened attentively, adding comment, nodding and even telling about his own life. He told Gracia about his younger brother Al, who went to the middle school down the street, Winry, his best friend since they were babies, who was Al's age and therefore also going to the middle school. Ed even mentioned his mother once or twice.

When the class ended, Gracia offered to show Ed to his next class and Ed complied as they walked down the hallways. Gracia led Ed up to his English class, then, with a bright smile, told him goodbye and walker over to her own class.

Ed soon discovered that English was the most boring class of the day. The sun was streaming through the windows, creating a warm, sleepy feeling. Along with a the dull sound of the teachers mumbling, Ed could feel himself falling asleep right next to Russell who had fallen asleep only 20 minutes into the class and it wasn't long until Ed joined him.

When the bell rang loudly, both blondes awoke with a start, Russell mumbling something about plants and red water. Ed laughed as they grabbed their things and headed down through the crowded hallways to their lockers. Russell's locker was in the hallway next to the history classrooms, so Ed headed to his own locker, telling Russell that he'd meet him outside.

Ed walked to his locker hurriedly, eager to get out of the school as quickly as possible. In fact, Ed was completely ready to forget about going to his locker, if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't want to carry his new text books home. Ed sighed in relief as he looked around and saw that Roy was nowhere to be found. Ed opened his locker quickly and stuffed his books in, hoping that Roy decided to stay upstairs to make out with his girlfriend, talk to one of his friends, or even better, had already left the school.

Ed closed his locker and turned around, rushing off to the front of the school to wait for Russell and possibly Alfons. Ed passed by a group of giggling girls, one he recognized as Roy's make out buddy. Ed hid his face, squeezing past them and out into the fresh air. Ed breathed a sigh of relief; he had survived his first day of high school in one piece, even if he now had a couple of enemies to worry about, he at least had some friends who got to suffer with him.

Russell was leaning against a tree, talking, or rather listening, to Alfons. Ed smiled and started to walk over towards them, when a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back into a group of seniors.

Roy, Solf, and the spiky haired boy all leered at him, and Ed's face went white. Solf's hand was wound tightly in the fabric of Ed's collar, and his smile was the wickedest of the group.

"Well, well," Roy chuckled, "What do we have here? A shrimp with a big mouth who's missing his friends. Who's gonna stick up for you now, small fry?"

"M-my friends are o-over there," Ed pointed over to the tree where neither Russell nor Alons were paying the scene any mind. Ed swallowed weakly and looked back into Roy's dark eyes.

"Oh, right," Roy glanced over at the other freshmen, "They seem so worried about you,"

"Let's hurry this up, Roy," Solf muttered, "We don't need a teacher seeing us." Roy nodded and pulled back his fist. Ed closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to come, worried about what his mother would say, and wondering why the hell Roy hated him so very much. Before the fist came into contact with his fist, however, Ed heard a loud voice from behind the group.

"Roy Mustang!" It was a woman's voice, clear and strong, making Roy turn around to face the source of the voice. Ed opened his eyes and glanced over. He saw a tall blonde girl staring at Roy with narrowed eyes with her arms crossed disapprovingly. Ed sighed slightly and the grip on his shirt tightened. "Let that kid go! He didn't do anything to you, you idiot!"

Roy nodded to Solf, who sighed and released Ed's shirt. Ed grabbed his fallen things off the ground and walked away. From behind him, he could hear Roy trying to talk to the girl.

"Oh, come on, Riza. It was just a little fun-"

"Maybe for you, you mindless oaf! Pick on someone your own size for once!" Riza retorted and Ed heard Roy scoff. The voices died out as Ed walked over toward Russell and Alfons, who had finally looked over from their conversation.

"Come on," Ed pulled on Alfons' arm, leading them away from the chaos. "Let's get out of here before Roy Mustang decides to use us as punching bags." The other two nodded, following Ed at a hurried pace.

Once they were far enough away from the school, Ed told Russell and Alfons about the encounter that occurred that morning which seemed to had started the whole mess. Russell scoffed as he kicked a stray walk down the sidewalk with such viciousness that Ed could only imagine Roy's head in place of the rock.

"Roy Mustang is an asshole," Russell said, "That's what I've heard from a couple other kids." Ed wondered for a moment how many kids Russell had actually talked to that day. "He hates freshmen, and he hate you especially, Ed." Russell kicked the rock into the road and Ed nodded, watching the rock skitter off.

"Ja," Alfons replied, "I heard from a girl in my mathematics class that he's been a jerk since last year. When they let him join the basketball team and he got a big head over it."

"He's also a slut," Russell said bluntly, and Alfons turned a light pink color. "I hear he's been with all the girls in the senior class."

"Doesn't surprise me," Ed mumbled as they got to the middle school. "I have to wait for my little brother, so you guys can leave if you want."

"Nah," Russell leaned against the school fence, "My little brother Fletcher is in seventh grade here, so I have to wait anyways." Alfons nodded and sat down on the grass.

"Ja." Alfons picked at the grass, creating a pile. "Meine mutter does not mind if I am a little late." Russell glanced down at Alfons with a questionable look on his face.

"What do you call that language over there, Alfons?" Russell asked, and alfons looked up, confused. "I mean, sometimes you use English, sometimes you use German…what would you call that? It's a little bit like Spanglish." Ed listened to Russell prattle on, rolling his eyes. Alfons smiled slightly, looking back down at his grass pile.

"Well," Alfons thought for a moment, "You can call it whatever you want, Russell. I'm not very good at making up names."

"I'll call it Germish, then." Russell decided, watching a couple of the middle schoolers walk by. "It sounds good to me." Alfons chuckled and nodded in agreement. Ed just smiled, shaking his head at Russell and watched for his little brother.

Al came up to Ed and the others a few minutes later, a bright smile plastered on his face as he talked to Winry, who was a few steps behind him. Winry grinned and waved to Ed, who waved back lazily. Al looked at his brother and began to chatter.

"Hi Ed! I had the best day!" Al grinned, looking over at Russell and Alfons. "Are these your friends, brother?"

"Um, yeah," Ed pointed to the blonde boys, "This is Russell and Alfons. Russell, Alfons, this is my little brother Al and our friend Winry." Winry waved again to the two boys, along with Al, and both boys returned the gesture.

"Are we ready to go, brother?" Al asked, "I can't wait to get home so I can tell mom about my day!" Al sat next to Alfons and helped the German expand his grass pile.

"Not yet. We're waiting for Russell's little brother," Ed sighed, leaning against the fence next to his friend.

"Oh, alright," Al motioned for Winry to sit down, and she quickly joined the pile building. Ed glanced up at the clear sky, wondering if his brother, his gentle, slightly chubby, little brother would have to go through the same hell that Ed went through when he had to go to high school.

'Of course not,' The voice in Ed's head replied, 'Roy Mustang and his cronies are going to be gone by then.' Ed sighed and threw his backpack on the ground. Ed closed his eyes and basked in the late summer sun.

Russell called out to someone, pulling Ed out of his thoughts and forcing him to open his eyes. A small bonde boy came running up to the group of older kids. He was wearing green overalls, and his blonde hair was bouncing around, contained by a very bizarre hat. Ed look at the boy curiously, wondering if he always dressed like that.

Fletcher ran up to the group and hugged Russell tightly. "Hi Russell!" Russell smiled and ruffled Fletcher's hair.

"Hey Fletcher," Russell looked over at the others, "This is Alfons, Al, Winry, although I'm sure you've met those two already, and the shrimp."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT NO ONE CAN SEE HIM?" Ed ranted, earning a chuckle from Russell and a smile from Fletcher.

"Come on, guys," Alfons stood up, brushing his pants off, "Let's get home, now." The others nodded and grabbed their things. The group of students started off towards the neighborhood, with Fletcher and Al telling everyone just how great school was that day.

Ed and Al found out that they lived farthest away from the high school, even if Winry was only closer by one house. Russell and Fletcher lived just a street away from the Elrics, while Alfons only lived at a street away from the middle school. Ed was pretty happy that they all lived close by, meaning that he could see them even after school. Al listened to Ed's retelling of the day, frowning deeply whenever Ed mentioned the senior known as Roy Mustang.

"He doesn't seem very nice," Al mumbled as he looked through the kitchen for something to eat, "Maybe he's just insecure."

"Or he's just an ass," Ed replied and Al gasped. "Oh calm down, Al. I could've said a lot worse." Al frowned and continued searching. "He has it out for me, Al. I don't know why." Ed sighed, resting his head on the counter.

"Maybe you should tell mom," Al said, pulling out a bag of chips and sat next to Ed, munching happily. "She'll be able to do something," Al shrugged and Ed sighed deeply.

"Maybe. I'll think about it," Ed mumbled, "At least I have Russell and Alfons," Ed took a handful of chips and shoved them in his mouth.

"I like them," Al said, smiling, "They're really nice,"

"Yeah, they are." Ed smiled, "I'm glad that they live close by, so I'll finally have someone to hang out with after school." Ed took some more chips, "It'll give me something to do. Not to mention I will finally have someone to walk to school with,"

"Well, if you would just get a ride with dad—"

"No thanks, I have to see him enough at school. I'm not going to let that bastard give me a ride." Ed scowled, making Al sigh heavily.

"He's our dad, Ed. He a good guy," Al reasoned, Ed scoffed loudly and stood up.

"He's still a bastard," Ed walked out of the kitchen and down to his room. "Tell me when mom gets home," Ed called as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door, locking it. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, thoughts racing through his brain.

Internally, Ed began making a list of the things he had learned that day:

1-Roy Mustang was an ass

2-Alfons spoke Germish

3-Russell was also an ass, but Ed figured he was okay

4-Gracia (and possibly Riza) was probably the coolest girl(s) in his opinion

5-English class was a great place to sleep

Ed chuckled lightly at his own thoughts, counting the newly learned lessons on his left hand. Ed then heard the television turn on from the living room. Ed listened to the muffled noises, trying to ignore it and focus on his own thoughts.

Dinner that night was roasted chicken with mashed potatoes. Ed didn't pay much mind to the food, and instead listened to Al recount the day for the second time for their parents. Ed chewed slowly, thinking about what he was going to tell his parents about his day. Ed hated lying to his mother, and if he sounded too suspicious, his father was sure to check in on it at school. Al continued to chat, and when he mentioned Russell and Alfons, his mother's interest turned to Ed.

"You made some friends, Ed?" Trisha Elric smiled, happy that her son had finally opened up to kids his own age. Ever since the accident, the family had been moving from place to place, and making friends had been hard on her eldest son.

"Um, yeah. Russell has a little brother who goes to Al's school, and Alfons is German." Ed shrugged, 'They're pretty cool." Ed smiled at his mother, who beamed brightly.

"Well, good. I'm glad that you're making friends. Anyways, Ed, how was your first day? You've been quiet all evening." Trisha folded her hand under her chin and looked over at Ed intently. Ed looked down, thinking of a way to avoid answering and worrying his mother.

"It was interesting." Ed answered, avoiding his mother's gaze. "But it was just school, nothing unusual." Ed felt Al kick him from under the table and shot him a glare.

"I'm glad to hear it," Trisha smiled as she stood and picked up a couple of plates. "Van, dear, can you help me with the dishes?" Trisha looked over to her husband, who nodded and also stood up.

"Yes, of course, Trisha." Van grabbed a few plates and headed to the kitchen.

"You two go get ready for bed or school tomorrow." Trisha told her boys, "I want you both to shower before you go to bed tonight." Trisha picked up the remainder of the plates and followed her husband into the kitchen. Ed slid away from the table and glanced over at his brother.

"Ya wanna go play a game?" Ed asked, nodding his head to the TV, "Let's see if you can finally beat me in wii tennis."