Always Forever

Chapter 3

All the children came back exhausted from the mission. Ben and Five seemed to be the only ones with bigger injuries. Five wouldn't have been sliced if it weren't for Diego's clumsiness and Ben was soaked in the robbers' blood. Grace came over to Ben and Five.

"You're soaked, darling!" she said in a laughing tone to Ben, "Let's get you washed up." She turned back to Five, "Vanya will take care of you!" She clacked away on her high heels, leading Ben by the shoulder.

Five walked up to Vanya's room with his mind bubbling with "what-if's". What if I say the wrong thing? What if she hates me after that? What if she never likes me again? Five practiced what he was going to say when he got there. He never liked someone this much before, and he thought he never would again. If he made a bad first impression, he would ruin everything. 

The life-altering moment came. There Five was, in front of Vanya's closed bedroom door. As he stood there for a few moments, he could hear the soft voice of the violin drifting through the cracks in the wall. Five's jaw unclenched and his mind relaxed. He knocked on the wood door. 

The violin music stopped abruptly. Vanya's feet softly plodded on the wooden floor. The door opened with a creak. Vanya's eyes shot up after looking at Five's bloody hand. 

"Are you hurt? Come in, come in," Vanya said, barely over a whisper. Her long hair bounced at her back. She grabbed his good hand and ever-so-slightly pulled him to sit on her bed. She ran to her shelf and grabbed the first aid kit. She poured alcohol on a cotton pad and cleaned his hand. Five winced. It stung badly. 

"Did it hurt? Oh, I'm sorry..." Vanya said sympathetically. 

"No, no, it's fine," Five replied quickly. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but it was true. It stung like hell. Fire was ripping through his hand and through his arm.

Vanya quickly proceeded to bandage it. The pain lessened as Five stared at the most beautiful girl he would ever lay his eyes on. He relaxed his arm. His gaze was unwavering.

Vanya finished bandaging it. "There! Done," she exclaimed, "If it still hurts, come back to my room, okay?" She looked up to find Five gazing at her intently, with eyes that were searching and scanning for answers (I know you Hamham fans out there (; ). She felt her face flush red. She quickly broke off his trance. 

"Uh... I think you're all set... um," Vanya smiled. Five tried to shake off his mortification. 

"Uh, yeah! Thank you so much," Five smiled wryly back. He hurriedly walked out of her room. That's it. He ruined it. He was done for. He knew he shouldn't have been staring at her like that. It made him feel like a freak. But how could he not? She was the only girl he had eyes for and she probably didn't like him anymore. 

He trudged down the stairs toward his room and laid there, eyes closed. He had too many thoughts about Vanya going through his mind. Her complexion, her violin playing, her voice. Every part of her intrigued him like no other. And those perfectly pink lips. He wanted to press his right on to hers. He felt mortified for thinking about a girl like that. He was an emotionless assassin, and that was that. 

Meanwhile, Vanya's mind tried to grasp what just happened. She remembered his deep, green eyes, staring into her secrets and thoughts. Though it could be the weirdest encounter with Five, she felt fonder of him. Like she wanted to let him know all her secrets and thoughts, not that she had any. She had admired him since she was six-years-old. He would jump around the house and make sarcastic remarks everywhere he went. His mathematical and scientific skills were immense and he could solve anything. He had no problem solving any kind of math problem when they were younger. The earliest memory she had of him was when he was four. He helped Vanya with her simple math problem of 5 plus 7 (get it?). That was when she fell for him. He liked his smile and helpful remarks. His complexion may have changed but his personality didn't. He was quirky and cute, and handsome if she should say.

Stop it, Vanya. Pull yourself together. What are you thinking  Vanya told herself. There's no way that Five would even notice her. Yet, she could never forget that moment. The way he stared at her. His deep gaze was unwavering. It's true that she liked him, a lot in fact. She's been observing him in silence for years. Maybe, it was time to act.