❝Looks like a girl, but she's a flame
So bright, she could burn your eyes
Better look the other way
You can try but you'll never forget her name
She's on top of the world.❞
— "Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys


"Have you seen Allison?"

Five looked away from his book, raising his borrow, and eyed his brother. He was halfway through Vanya's favorite book as he wondered why she cherished Pride and Prejudice so damn much. He had just gotten past the part where the main male character, Mr. Darcy, had just proposed to the main female character, Elizabeth Benet, in the rain. He felt the rawness that emitted from the pages where Mr. Darcy had confessed his love for the woman. He secretly related to the scene as he too questioned if he should confess his love for Vanya. Not because of his economic status within the community but because he feared what would Reginald do to his violin princess if he were to find out. The old man already shipped her off to public school because she supposedly "distracted" him, and their father couldn't have that.

So, if he were to confess to Vanya? What would Reginald do? Would he place her in a different home? Would he send her away to another boarding school?

Just the mere thought of Vanya's presence no longer lingering around the manor upset up. He couldn't bear the thought of waking up one day and Vanya not greeting him with her bright smile felt like a huge stab in his heart.

He needed her…

And that was a frightening feeling…

Closing the book, with the bookmark in the middle of the pages he stopped at, Five placed the book on the arm of the chair, sighing.

"Does it look like I know where Allison is? Shouldn't that be your job as her bodyguard? Oops. I mean boyfriend." He quipped; his tone laced with his signature sarcasm.

Luther gave Five a look, already regretting this. The blonde teen pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing the urge to choke his rather arrogant brother. He then let out a long, heavy sigh before trying again.

"Unlike you, I don't have a tracker on my girl, and I'm only asking because I haven't seen Allison since dad allowed her to be excused to the medical bay because of stomach pains." He said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his shorts. A habit he had picked up on from Five. What? If Five looked cool doing it, then so could Luther.

Five continued to stare at Luther with a bored expression. There was no point in this conversation, especially since it didn't pertain to Vanya. She was one of the few things that Five genuinely cared about.

Standing up, he took the book off the arm of the chair he had preoccupied. He clutched the valuable book against his side, holding on to it as if he life depended on it. With a blank expression, Five looked to his brother and said,

"Well, if you haven't seen her since dad excused her to the medical bay, chances are is that she's still there. Now, I'm going to finish my book. Don't follow me."

Luther watched the arrogant teen turn his body and began walking out of the alcove. Where the intelligent boy went, Luther didn't know nor care. He just wanted to find Allison and find her quickly. Knowing that she was in pain didn't sit right with him.

A faint scoff escaped his lips as an amused smirk graced his handsome face. He then shook his head as he stepped out of the alcove with a hilarious thought in his mind.

"So, this is how Five feels whenever Vanya is missing for more than three hours…"

Turning the page, Five's brow furrowed. His eyes scanned each sentence, slowly absorbing himself back into the story. He anticipated what would Elizabeth Benet would say to Mr. Darcy's "amazing" proposal. Would she honestly accept it? He, after all, did insult her. Would she reject him? Five hoped she would as she deserved better than him.

Now, he finally understood why Vanya loved this book with a passion. Why she read this lengthy book more than three times and every single time, she acted like it was her first time. How her eyes became so animated whenever she talked to him about it. He especially loved how her tone changed from different pitches when she talked about various of scenes, she read that that day.

Flipping through yet another page, Five landed on the scene that showed the aftermath of Elizabeth Benet rejecting Mr. Darcy's proposal. The intrigued teen stuck his nose further into the book; his attention ever so glued on the words to the point that he barely registered two voices as the bodies walked by him.

"Vanya…?" His questioned silently, taking a mental note of the sentence he left off at. He placed his index finger on the first word before trailing his gaze up.

Yup. His mind wasn't playing tricks on him today. Interesting. It normally did.

"Hey!" shouted Five, standing up from the couch. A dimpled grin graced his face as his eyes softened at the sight of his precious violin princess glancing behind her shoulder. Her eyes widened but soon softened as well. This faint blush crept on her cheeks as she smiled warmly at the boy that constantly made her heart flutter.

"Oh! Five!" She walked up to him with Allison in tow. "What brings you to this alcove? Aren't you usually lingering around the one near the library after completing your afternoon study session?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side with a quizzical brow.

Allison eyed her sister strangely, "And how do you know what he does after training?"

Vanya looked to Allison, "Kind of like how he knows what I do after dinner," The violinist shrugged, "We just know each other on that level."

Allison pursed her lips, "And you guys don't get sick and tired of each other?"

"Why the Hell do you even care? Just because I took the time to get to know five and you didn't with Luther, doesn't mean you need to get all jealous over it. News flash, no one gives a shit about you and Luther." Vanya froze. Her eyes grew wide; her pupils trembled. What in the world was that? Then, tears pooled in the brim of her eyes. Tiny sniffles escaped her, "I'm so sorry, Allison! I didn't mean any of that!" She pulled her sister in a hug, uncaring that her tear-stained cheeks moistened Allison's.

Both Five and Allison were alarmed. They subtly glanced at each other, wondering what was with the sudden change in moods. Vanya went from being irritated to feeling remorse. She went from being a total spit-fire to this soft, vulnerable person who desperately needed love and affection.

Carefully, Five approached Vanya just as Allison broke the hug. He eyed the violinist's body language, ready to stop in his tracks if he noticed any signs of distress. As he neared Vanya, he placed a warm hand on her shoulder; his gaze softened.

"Is everything alright?" asked Five as Vanya removed herself from Allison and clung onto him instead.

Vanya shook her head. Then, she froze as she felt this rush of liquid near her legs. Her eyes widened; confusion glazed over her eyes. Slowly, her eyes trailed down, hoping to see something – anything – trickle down her thighs, but nothing. The poor girl's brows furrowed as she carefully removed herself from Five's embrace.

"I…um…I'm going to go find our mom. I'm not feeling too well…" She excused herself just she felt this tight sensation around her lower stomach. "Allison, can you come with me? I don't want to ask mom about you-know-what." She added, eyeing her sister with a pleading look.

Allison, fully aware of Vanya meant by that, nodded. She too had to visit Grace earlier in the day as Allison experienced odd stomach pains. It felt like someone squeezed her tummy and continued to do so until Grace applied a warm towel onto the area.

Five looked at his sister and Vanya, still curious as to what was happening. He felt so out of the loop as neither one of the ladies would open their mouths and spill the beans. It was a giant secret between them, and it kind of irked him as he was the only one Vanya entrusted her secrets too. Now? Allison slowly replaced him, and that was a bittersweet feeling.

"Do you want me to come with you as well? I don't mind, especially if you're not feeling well." He asked, hoping that Vanya would say yes.

Sadly…

She didn't…

"It's fine, Five. Allison is coming with me, and I don't want to worry you even more than I already did. I'll be okay. I promise." And with that, Vanya and Allison walked away and ventured to the medical room where Grace was hopefully already stationed at.

As the two ladies walked further away, Five noticed something strange with how Vanya took each step. Her legs were a tad apart, and she looked uncomfortable. The way she took each step looked carefully placed just in case something threatened to show.

A faint hum escaped his lips as the curious teen contemplated if he should follow his violin princess. Part of him argued that he should trust Vanya and allow her to go through certain things with alone, but the other half – his insecurities – felt threatened that Allison was replacing him as Vanya's sole confidant and would soon take over that special bond that he and Vanya shared. The poor conflicted teen tried his hardest to soothe away the insecurities, citing that not even Allison could get in the way of the strong, unique bond that he and his violin princess established.

At the same time, Five didn't argue that that bond could be severed one day. He'd be replaced, and the mere thought terrified him. His heart tightened at the thought of watching Vanya from a distance as she lived her life. A life without him in it.

Cursing under his breath, Five activated his spatial jumping ability and teleported himself just outside the medical room. He quickly ducked around the corner but still remained close enough to spy on his sister, mom, and Vanya. He cupped his ear, hoping that the weird action would enhance his sense of hearing.

"…we need to throw your clothes in the wash immediately as blood stains are hard to get rid of…" Five heard Grace say. The second he heard the word "blood", he immediately became alarm. Why was Vanya bleeding? Did someone have a moment of stupidity and attacked her?

Anger surged throughout his veins; his hands balled into a fist as a murderous glare appeared in his eyes.

However, that fury was short-lived as Five heard something else. Something that he least expected to hear…

"I'm just so embarrassed…I read somewhere that the age range for girls to get their first periods were from thirteen to fifteen, and I honestly hoped that I would be fifteen when it happened…" Vanya's soft voice entered his ears. Then, realization dawned on him. His eyes widened. A blush crept on his cheeks. Now, it made sense to him. The reason behind her funny walking…the mood swings…why she had felt unwell all of a sudden…

His precious violin princess officially begun the journey of puberty…

Holy shit…!

"…and if your chest is starting to hurt, do let me know. I had already taken Allison bra shopping, so I am already equipped with proper knowledge on the diverse types of bras and what would suit your needs, Vanya."

Five froze in his spot. His mind plagued with the thoughts of Vanya's breasts becoming more prominent.

Oh, dear God…

This was a foreign topic for him. Shit. He barely understood his own changes when it came to puberty. All he knew was his voice would deepen and how his hormones would only worsen until this journey into adulthood was over. It was because of those stupid hormones that he became easily flustered and aroused he could be whenever he thought of Vanya and how soft her skin felt whenever his hand accidentally grazed her thighs or how dainty her hands were as he laced their fingers together.

"And you're distracted again…" He berated himself before getting back on track. He needed to better equip himself with the knowledge of what females go through during this important milestone. The lovesick boy wanted to be there for Vanya from now on, helping her through the mood swings and the constant, uncomfortable pain that occurred during it.

The intelligent boy tapped his chin as he pondered where he could get this kind of information. He could go to the local library and use the computers, but he easily-tempered boy didn't want to deal with the judgmental stares and unwanted questions. So that was out of the question. He could, maybe, go to a doctor and ask but then, he would also get odd glances and questions. The nurses there might even ask where his parents were at, and that was one of the many things he despised. He hated being treated like he was just a kid.

"Come on think…" He slowly became frustrated as every single idea that entered his brainy mind was immediately rejected.

Then, just as he began to lose hope, he remembered that the manor had a library. Knowing his dad, there might be a section that contained medical books. Without a moment to lose, Five teleported himself to the library, landing right smack dab in the middle of the room.

He hurried down a few aisles, nearly skidding across the wooden floors, as he neared an aisle where the poor teenage boy hoped that there would be medical books.

To his luck…

There were indeed books on the topic…

"Guess that old man is indeed smart, especially when he's dealing with five teenage boys and two teenage girls." He thought with an amused smirk as he walked down the aisle; his eyes scanned the different titles until he came across one that might help him. His fingers traced over the book's spine before he pulled it out of its spot.

Tiny creases appeared on his forehead as he opened the cover and scanned the table of the contents.

"Let's see…the anatomy of a male's human body…the anatomy of a female's human body…the difference between the genders…sexual reproduction. Bingo!" He muttered, ignoring this feeling of embarrassment as he read each title. He particularly blushed when he glanced at the title about a woman's body. An image of Vanya immediately flashed in his mind, but he shook those hormonal thoughts away. He could think about those when he turned fourteen-years-old. Right now, he had to remain focus on the task at hand. He couldn't afford being this easily distracted teen while his beloved violinist solidified her bond with someone else. For the sake of his insecurities, he needed to protect his spot in Vanya's heart. Depressing, but he had to be done.

He flipped to the page about sexual reproduction; though, he'd soon regret it as he came face-to-face with a diagram labeled with the different components of a male's penis. His eyes widened. His face flushed. He slowly swept his tongue across his bottom lip, wetting it as it had become dry. His heart started to race as he scanned the section about the male reproduction section.

Lately, he had dreamt about an older version of himself starting a family with Vanya. So, it was only natural that he educated himself. Right?

He immediately focused on the section where it briefly talked about what happened during puberty for males. His head cocked to the side as his brows raised.

"Great…" He mumbled as he finished reading that his easily riled up hormones would stick with him until he becomes an old man. Well, that explained why his dad always seemed like he had a stick up his ass. He no longer felt that sexual drive.

Then, he grimaced. Why did he put that disgusting image in his head?

Wanting to get rid of that horrid image quickly, he flipped through the pages, ignoring the possibility of getting a paper cut. He stared off into the distance, not wanting to look at any rather detailed diagrams of the human body. He wanted to save that for when he was ready to progress the intimacy that he and Vanya shared. But that would only happen when they older…much…much…older.

After what seemed like an eternity of page turning, Five glanced, mentally preparing to see a picture of either a male's body part or a female's body part.

Luckily, he didn't see any and actually landed on section that would better equip him to understand what happens during a girl's period. He swiftly prepared himself, uttering a quick prayer, before reading,

"During each period, the inner lining of woman's uterus is shed through the vagina…" Five's ears turned bright red. His cheeks became scorching hot. Okay, he didn't prepare himself enough. He inhaled and exhaled slowly and repeated that action until he calmed his nerves enough. "The purpose of this blood is to provide nutrients for a fertilized egg if a woman was to become pregnant…" The poor, flustered boy stopped again. His mind bombarded with the thoughts of Vanya could now get pregnant. Holy shit. They just started kissing and now that she officially began this big – huge – change, he needed to prepare himself. He needed to strengthen his will-power to pull away from Vanya's precious lips, so they wouldn't do anything they weren't ready to. "Around the time of a woman's first period, her body shape will become curvier, her hips and breasts will get bigger…" Okay, now that explained why Grace told Vanya about the thing about bras.

Fuck…

He had to be careful when he hugged Vanya. He didn't want to squish her growing breasts and accidentally hurt her.

But…

How would they feel against his chest? Would they feel kind of hard? Or would they feel soft? Wait. Would he even feel them if Vanya started to wear a bra? What kind of bra would she even go far? Was she the type to wear neutral, nude colors? Like the color white that depicted her innocence. Maybe, she'd be the type to wear dark colors that had lace and clipped in the front.

God…if she wore the ones that clasped in the front, then he'd be fucking doomed…

"Alright…is there something in there that would help me take care of Vanya?"

"You don't have to take care of me, Five."

Five flinched and then instantly slammed the book shut and carelessly tossed it to the side, uncaring that he could've damaged the book.

Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder, trying his hardest to mask the shy expression that so happily graced his face. Then, he turned his entire body around; their gazes met each other's. He tilted his head to the side, giving her a once over. With that he learned from the book in his mind, Five did indeed noticed a subtle change in Vanya's body. Her body looked a little curvier. He paid special attention to the fact that she clutched a pillow against her stomach, hugging it as if it gave her comfort.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts, Five walked up to Vanya, closing the gap between their bodies. With a dimpled grin, he asked,

"How are you feeling after seeing mom?"

Vanya smiled sweetly, "I'm better. She gave me some pain medicine to get rid of the tight pain near my lower abdomen and then gave me something sweet to keep the blood sugar levels high."

"Why?"

"Apparently, I could feel nauseous or light-headed if they are low, but she said that as my body gets older, that symptom will pass as I'm used to Mother Nature visiting me."

Five slowly nodded, fishing one of his hands out and gently placing it on her lower back. He began to rub in a circular motion, having read that that tiny action could help relax women.

"Do you want me to get you anything? Chocolate? Ice cream?" He asked, wanting to soothe away Vanya's discomfort—like the perfect unofficial boyfriend he was.

She softly shook her head; her heart fluttered just a bit as he continued to show concern over her well-being.

"I'm fine. I just need to lie down and put a warm towel on my lower tummy. She said that would help with the cramps as the pain medicine wears off."

"Okay then." He said, smiling.

Vanya, on the other hand, noticed a grin appearing on his face. Then, an interesting gleam in his eyes.

Oh, she knew that look.

He was about to teleport the two of them somewhere.

Just as she opened her mouth to protest, wanting to actually walk to her room instead, Five pulled her body close. His hands anchored on her waist as he activated his spatial jump ability.

Vanya squeezed her eyes shut, hating the odd sensation she got whenever he teleported them somewhere.

Seconds later, they reappeared in his room since his bed was a tad roomier.

Vanya gave Five a look. Her expression read, "why couldn't we just walk?", but the headstrong boy simply waved it off. He then laced their fingers together and guided them over to the bed. He removed the pillow away from her, carelessly tossing it to the side.

"Lie down." He politely instructed, shielding his eyes since she wore a skirt. He was a gentleman after all.

Vanya chuckled softly, finding his actions a bit excessive but understandable as he was always protective and overly caring about her well-being. She maneuvered onto the body, careful to not move too much as she wanted the pad to stay in its place. She might ask Grace to buy her ones with the wings since Vanya moved around a lot.

"Okay! I'm ready!" She shouted happily, making Five shake his head with an amused grin.

He soon followed after, carefully moving his body so he wouldn't hurt her. He then laid his head onto the pillow and then lifted up his arms. Vanya took that as his invitation to snuggle, and so she did. She curled up next to him, laying her head on his chest, hearing the sound of his beating, racing heart.

Her bright smile softened as Five began to play with the strands of her hair.

"And to think…I get the privilege of taking care of you until you hit menopause."

"Oh, my goodness Five…"

Vanya glanced up, meeting Five's warm gaze.

Then, before her shyness could take over, she lifted up her head enough to press her lips against his. She added a bit of pressure and allowed it to linger for a few more seconds.

She pulled away, revealing her rosy cheeks, and adverted her gaze, completely missing Five's bright red cheeks and toothy grin.

"Thank you though…"

"Don't mention it…"


A/N: Forever spoiling you guys! I'm starting to think this might be a part of my schedule because last week, I also updated this story on Sunday/Saturday evening. So, I think I might do that. Unless stated otherwise, this series will be updated every Sunday! My plan is release a new request for this series, work on the next chapter for Pressing That Rewind Button, and then work on a request for this series! But enough about the life of the writer, what do you think of this request? :D Did you guys love seeing a flustered Five again? I know I did! I honestly had to channel my experience when I was first visited by Mother Nature. I legit freaked out and was embarrassed to tell my mom but gave in because the cramps got so bad and yeah. The life of being a girl (sorry to the fellas that read this lol)!

Up next is my own personal idea and the title is "A Song About Love" :) Comment below what you think is going to happen in that chapter!

Don't forget to hit that follow/favorite button and/or leave a review on your thoughts! I love hearing them! :) Also... please do NOT send any more requests!

- Kim