(Frederick's Crush)

Author's Note: Frederick is now 13 years old and is the brother of Anya! *See Chapters 13 and 106 for more about him*

*April 18th, 1943*

*1:10 pm*

*Central Park*

The warm sunny spring air breezes through the beautiful park as Anya, her brother, Charlotte, and Judith were having lunch while talking amongst each other.

"So, how's nurse school been, sis? I heard that Neville guy keeps bugging you." Frederick curiously spoke to his sister while taking a bite from his sandwich as he waited for an answer.

"Well, it's going great and Neville has been bugging me. I swear! That boy is quite troublesome, but I have my sweet brother to protect me, right?" Anya responded before smirking at her brother playfully while Charlotte and Judith giggled at this.

Hearing this, Frederick chuckled rather nervously at this before responding once more.

"Yeah, sure. I-I don't know if I can take him in a fight but perhaps a stern talking too." Frederick responded while Anya made a pouty face before playfully but softly, punching him in his arm.

"I know you're my younger brother and all but you just protect your sweet older sister." Anya advised Frederick with a smile while Charlotte nodded in agreement.

"She's right. I wish I had siblings to rely on but I know you're doing a good job so I won't hold it against you." Charlotte also spoke to Frederick with a warm smile while Judith nodded in agreement.

"Also, my apologies for my cousin's behavior. I try to talk to him about this and he knows that Anya is dating Calvin so at least he should be respectful of that." Judith chimed into the conversation while Anya and Frederick nodded understandably.

"It's all good, but you're right. All that creepy behavior isn't right at all." Anya reassured Judith calmly before quickly moving on to another subject, not wanting to discuss it any further.

"But moving on, how's Oliver doing? I heard you recently met him, right?" Anya asked Judith while waiting for a response.

After hearing this, Judith nodded understandably before blushing at the question.

"Oh, well, Oliver is doing good. He's busy so hanging out with him is quite difficult at the moment but he's a sweet guy." Judith responded with a smile, blushing at the thought of him while Frederick was curious at what he heard.

"Sweet. How does it feel, Judith? That feeling when you see someone you truly like.." Frederick asked Anya's friend with curiosity in his voice as he waited for an answer.

Of course, Judith blushed at the question, not expecting such a thing from Anya's brother; however, she answered the question.

"O-Oh, well. It's this warm and fuzzy feeling. It's something that just warms you up and just turns you soft. I'm not good at explaining romantic stuff, believe it or not, but yeah." Judith explained to Frederick while the boy nodded understandably.

"I-I see, thanks for answering my question.." Frederick thanked Judith with a small smile while Judith began to speak.

"Of course, anything for my friend's brother," Judith responded with a thumbs up.

After this, the trio continued to hang out for a bit until Mary arrived.

"Good Afternoon, my friends! I've finally arrived!" Mary (now 14 years old and a bit taller) greeted her friends with a warm smile while everyone was happy to see her.

"Hey, Mary! It's great to see you, I've saved some food for you. If you're hungry, I'm glad you're here." Charlotte responded with a smile, hugging her friend while she watched Mary sit down.

"H-Hello Mary. Good to see you. You look good today.." Frederick greeted Mary while waving at her, and of course, Mary waved back.

"Hey Frederick, how do you like doing volunteer work so far? You've been such a good help to the orphanage, so thank you for helping." Mary greeted her friend with a warm smile while Fredrick blushed at this before speaking.

"I-It's great. And I'm enjoying the work as well, and I want to get out of the house more, so everything is going great." Frederick responded with a smile while Mary smiled at this.

"Glad to hear, It makes me pleased to see that you are doing well," Mary responded warmly while Anya and her friends watched the ongoing conversation.

"Oh, I see. My brother has a crush on Mary, huh? I mean, I should have realized it when he first signed up a few weeks ago.." Anya thought to herself while smiling at her brother.

Suddenly, Anya tapped her brother on the shoulder and this prompted the young boy to turn his attention to his sister.

"Need anything, sis? Is it about Neville?" Frederick responded while Anya shook her head before speaking once more.

"No, nothing bad. I just need to talk with you privately if that's okay with you." Anya answered back while this made Frederick get up from the floor.

"Sure, anything for my big sister." Frederick responded while he and Anya began to walk.

"I'll be back guys, so don't get too worried." Anya reassured her friends while continuing to walk to a more private area with her brother.

Of course, Mary, Judith, and Charlotte were understanding of the situation as they nodded understandably.

"It's all good and please take your time, my friend" Charlotte responded to her friend in an understanding voice before resuming her conversation with Judith.

Soon after, Anya and Frederick arrived at a more private area of Central Park after walking for a minute or two.

"So, what is it you want to talk about?" Frederick curiously asked his sister while waiting for an answer.

"You have a crush on Mary, don't you? I can see it all over your dumb face." Anya asked her brother in a teasing manner while Frederick tried to deny it.

"Nah, come on sis. I'm not crushing on Mary.." Frederick lied to Anya while chuckling to himself as he saw the smirk on his sister's face.

"Come on, I know it's Mary. And it's okay. She's pretty nice and cute so she's the perfect fit for you, my sweet annoying brother." Anya spoke to Frederick once more in a playful manner while Frederick finally confessed.

"Y-You Win. I have a crush on Mary but don't tell you or our parents, alright? I sometimes get embarrassed when talking about crushes and love." Frederick responded with a blush while Anya nodded.

"I won't tell anyone and my advice is to keep talking to her and just be yourself. It's what I did to Calvin." Anya advised her brother while also reassuring him.

After hearing this, this made him smile as he spoke once more.

"Thanks and wasn't he a huge flirt for some time, I remember hearing you talk to your friends about it two years ago." Frederick responded to his sister while the pair began walking back to their friend group.

"Yes! Calvin was a huge flirt when I first met him. Always asking me out and trying to charm me, of course, I didn't like it at first but unlike Neville, I saw some good in him and he was also cute as well, and well.." Anya responded in a warm voice, blushing madly at her words before looking at her brother and she noticed how tall he was becoming.

"Damn, you're almost taller than me, little bro. I remember when you were small, but now.." Anya complimented her brother before feeling Frederick's hand patting her on the head, making her blush with embarrassment.

"And I'm going to be taller than you, Big Sis. I remember how often you teased me for being small, now look at you." Frederick responded to the claim with a smirk on his face, gently patting his older sister on the head while she looked to her side.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to rub it, pipsqueak. Let's head back to the others now.." Anya responded playfully before smirking back at him while she and her brother shared a laugh.

Soon after, Anya and Frederick walked back to their friend group together; their sibling bond only grew closer on that day.