Word count: 4559

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 her father as soon as breakfast finished the next morning, following through on her promise from the early morning.

"Do you have something to ask, Number Eight?" Reginald questioned with a raised eyebrow as she approached.

"Yes, I was, um, wondering if we could perhaps have . . . some sort of dance lesson?" she asked, a little anxious. "It would be good for improving our coordination, stamina, flexibility, and agility."

Reginald processed the idea, watching her through his monocle as he pressed his thin lips together. He gave a curt nod.

"I suppose a few lessons in ballroom dancing would be beneficial. I will discuss this with your mother. Now, go prepare for training."

And so Elizabeth went to training, eagerly telling everyone about the confirmation. 

Most of them were excited, although Luther and Five still looked a little reluctant. Nonetheless, the group couldn't wait for the lesson, although they had no clue when it was to take place.

Their wait was ended quite early on, as their mother told them to not grab their books after lunch and to remain in the dining hall. 

Grace then brought them to a large, empty room in the training complex, and began the lesson.

"Today, children, instead of working on science, we will be learning how to ballroom dance!" She smiled endearingly at the students as she continued, "Now, we will be doing this step-by-step, so I will be dividing you into partners."

Elizabeth internally groaned. If she was paired with Five, she would simply pass away.

"Let's see . . ." Grace placed her hands on her hips, her lips still pressed into a smile as she shifted her gaze from face to face. "Ben, you will go with Vanya."

The two of them gave mute nods.

"Thank God," Diego murmured, putting a hand on his chest as he let out a small sigh of relief. "I was worried that I'd get paired with her."

Elizabeth stepped on his foot.

"Luther," Grace continued, "with Allison."

Elizabeth did a small fist bump in the air, behind her back so no one could see, and looked over to see as Allison and Luther exchanged nervous smiles. Their cheeks were already beginning to colour a deep shade of red.

"Five, with Elizabeth."

"I'll kill you if you step on me," Five muttered to her.

"See, now, I'm just gonna step on you on purpose," she whispered back with a grin, now feeling butterflies enter her stomach at the idea of dancing with him.

"And, finally, Diego, with Klaus."

"You've got to be kidding me," Diego muttered under his breath as he rubbed his eyes, casting a wary look towards Klaus, who clapped his hands together in delight.

"Karma," Elizabeth whispered, receiving a scowl in return.

"Now, get with your partner, and choose a space in the room," Grace instructed as she walked to the middle of the room. 

The teams separated into different spots, Five and Elizabeth taking the far corner that was opposite the door.

Once everyone was settled, Grace started, "Okay, now, children. Boys and Diego, start by holding your partner's right hand in your left. Place your right arm on your partner's waist, and make sure that your partner's left hand is resting on your right arm and shoulder."

Tentatively, Five reached out and slipped his left hand into Elizabeth's right, the touch immediately making the butterflies quadruple. He followed Grace's instruction, putting his right arm on the left of her waist, and she put her hand on his right arm.

Grace walked around, adjusting everyone's arms. When she was done, she continued to the second step, "Boys and Diego, step forward with your left foot. Support your partner as they step backward with their right foot. Try to step slowly."

With a small nod, Five stepped forward while Elizabeth stepped back.

"Move your right foot to the right, leading your partner along as you go. Continue moving slowly so you can stay in time with your partner."

Five followed, taking a step to the right as she was guided.

"Move your left foot to the right so that both of your feet are together."

They brought their feet together, nervously looking down at them so they didn't accidentally step on the other's shoes.

"Boys and Diego, you lead the dance, take another step back with your right foot, leading your partner forward as you go."

Five took a step back, and Elizabeth stepped forward.

"Step in a backward left diagonal direction with your left foot. At this point, reset the dance by bringing both of your feet together."

They did so, and once everyone had done it, Grace clapped her hands together in delight. Walking over to the radio that sat on the window's ledge, she pressed play, and soft instrumental music began to play.

"Wonderful! You've completed one cycle of the dance. Now, just repeat the steps over and over until you understand it, and then continue dancing."

Slowly, Five and Elizabeth went through the cycle a few times, their steps becoming more confident each time. They soon began to waltz with a good amount of ease to the music.

Elizabeth wasn't too sure where to put her eyes, feeling that if she were to look into his eyes, she would just explode. It seemed as though the only other option was her feet, and so she tilted her head downwards, watching as their feet moved.

"You really that scared of stepping on me?" Five asked as he raised his eyebrows, his voice quiet as to not disturb the other dancers. "I was kidding before. I won't kill you."

"Even if you weren't kidding, I'm not scared of you," she mumbled as she kept her eyes on their feet. "The chance that I'd win in a fight right now is seventy-three percent."

"I hate that you know that," he muttered. "Ruins any sort of intimidation I give off."

"You're not intimidating, though," she pointed out with raised eyebrows.

"I am," Five insisted, a frown forming on his face.

She laughed. "What, with your neat hair and skinny knees?"

"My knees are not skinny!"

"Okay, skinny knees."

He sighed at the teasing nickname as they continued to dance. "I hate Allison."

"Sure." 

It was silent for a few moments before Five spoke, "I really don't think you're going to step on my feet, Elle."

"You never know," she muttered as she shrugged. "Actually, I kinda do. Chances I'll step on your feet is nearly a hundred percent."

"It's fine if you do," he said softly. "Just look at me."

Reluctantly, Elizabeth lifted her head and her eyes met Five's. Just as expected, her heart rate increased by a trillion percent, and her stomach was filled with fluttering butterflies.

"See?" Five raised his eyebrows as he smiled, only increasing the butterflies. "You're not stepping on anyone's—ow."

Elizabeth had stepped on the top of his right foot, although, it had been on purpose.

"Sorry! This is why I was looking down." Elizabeth exclaimed apologetically as she looked back down.

Five removed his hand from her waist and used the side of his index finger to lift her chin up so that her eyes greeted his once more. "I don't mind you stepping on my feet as long as you actually look at me."

Dammit. Why did he have to make her feel like this?

"I feel like you're going to regret that statement pretty quickly," she countered as he put his hand back on her waist. "In fact, there's a sixty-eight percent chance that you will."

"Well," he sighed, "the thirty-two percent chance that I won't is—ow—correct."

She pretended to be exasperated by the foot-stepping-on that she most definitely did on purpose. "I think I should just—"

"No, no, it's okay," he quickly reassured her, shaking his head.

"Five—"

"Look at me or I'll kill you."

Elizabeth crinkled her nose at the threat. "Again, not scared of you."

"Just do it, you loser." He rolled his eyes, his grip on her hand tightening.

She sighed before conceding, "Fine."

They continued to dance for a few minutes, the two of them gazing into each other's eyes as the soft music played through the air. The scuffle of shoes from their peers accompanied, along with mutters of apologies when feet were stepped on.

Now more nervous than ever, she blurted, "Did you know the first documented authority of early ballroom dancing is Jehan Thoinot'Arbeau's Orchesographie from 1588 that mentioned sixteenth-century French social dance. And in 1650, Jean-Baptiste Lully introduced the Minuet to Paris—a dance that would dominate ballroom until the end of the eighteenth century?" 

"I didn't know," he replied with raised eyebrows. "Also kinda didn't care."

"Rude," she mumbled, though that earned a laugh in return. 

Five looked as though he was about to say something before someone interrupted them.

Klaus and Diego waltzed terribly, shuffling over to them.

"Goldie . . . save . . . me . . . ," Diego pleaded quietly, his eyes crying for help as Klaus grinned at the distressed boy.

"Klaus!" Elizabeth called.

He looked towards her with raised eyebrows as he answered, "Yeah?"

"Wanna have the wonderful pleasure of dancing with Five?" she offered with a grand smile.

"Huh?" Five's eyes immediately widened as he looked at her, obviously not very happy with the arrangement. "No, no, Elle, I want to dance with you, not him."

"Of course!" Klaus exclaimed.

Elizabeth grinned. "Switch?"

"You got it, sis," Klaus agreed before tapping Diego on the nose with his index finger, his nails painted a bright green, courtesy of Allison.

With a teasing smile and wave of goodbye, Elizabeth left Five and soon positioned herself to dance with Diego. She grabbed his hand while he put his hand on her waist, and they began to dance.

"So, I take it that dancing with Klaus wasn't the best experience?" she questioned with a grin.

"Not at all." Diego shook his head wildly as he scoffed. "He stepped on my feet a million times, and also hummed to the music. Very loudly. So annoying."

"What? That sounds like a dream come true!"

He scoffed once more. "More like a nightmare."

"Well," she reassured him with a smile, "you've got me now."

"You're doing a much better job than Klaus." Diego smiled as he readjusted his hand on her waist

"Thank you." She soon wrinkled her nose after some thought. "Although, I'm not sure how much of a compliment that is."

"Yeah," Diego sighed as he looked around the room, "everyone else is doing a better job than Klaus."

"But still, it's fun!" Elizabeth nodded. "Aren't you happy we're doing this instead of biology?"

"I guess." Diego shrugged, looking around the room again. "It's pretty funny to watch the others."

Elizabeth looked around, seeing Ben and Vanya stiffly dancing, Luther and Allison shyly stepping in the wrong directions, and Five getting annoyed at Klaus's terrible dancing. "Yeah, it's a bit . . . awkward."

"Not as awkward as Klaus," Diego groaned. "He's lucky I don't have my knife, I would cut his feet off."

"You don't have it on you?" Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows before looking to see that he wasn't wearing the leg strap he usually carried his knives in, especially his favourite one. "Why? I haven't seen you without it before."

"I . . ." He sighed as he gave a small shrug and admitted, "I got rid of it"

Her eyes widened. "Like . . . Like forever?"

He nodded stiffly. "Yeah."

"Why?" she questioned, her expression contorting into one of astonishment. "Did something happen to it? It's your favourite one!"

"It's not my favourite anymore. I mean, I almost killed you with it." Diego's jaw clenched, his back stiffening slightly. "It was only a reminder of what I did."

"Oh, Eggo" —she gave him a small smile— "really, it's not that big of a deal."

"You almost died," he pointed out, the corners of his lips tugging downwards into a frown.

"Exactly." She nodded. "Almost."

"Mom said that if you didn't have your self-healing, you would've died," he added, an upset expression taking over his face.

"But I do have self-healing, so everything is fine!" She patted his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "Seriously, Diego, you don't need to worry about that time anymore. I don't blame you for anything."

Diego shook his head. "You should."

"I don't," she said seriously. "And I won't. Ever."

Diego was quiet for a moment as they continued to waltz, before softly saying, "I love you, sis."

"I love you too, bro." Elizabeth smiled, leaning up and planting a kiss on his forehead.

They proceeded to dance for the next five minutes before they neared Vanya and Ben. 

Elizabeth then asked, "Mind if I switch with Ben? I did promise Vanya I'd dance with her."

Diego smiled and nodded. "That's fine."

"Ben?" Elizabeth called.

Ben turned his head to look at Elizabeth with raised eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Wanna switch partners?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

Elizabeth let go of Diego and resumed the position with Vanya.

"Hey, Vanny."

"Hi, Ellie."

"Having fun?" Elizabeth asked as they began to dance, now much more comfortable with her than she was with the other two boys.

"Yeah!" Vanya grinned. "I mean, Ben is a little bit of an uncoordinated dancer, but it's still fun."

Elizabeth laughed. "Yeah, it seems like the boys aren't as good as us, but I mean, we're the best."

"Yeah." Vanya smiled. The smile soon faded as she softly asked, "Hey, Ellie?"

"Mhm?" she hummed.

Vanya pressed her lips together as she thought for a few seconds before questioning, "I have a question."

"Shoot," Elizabeth encouraged with a nod.

Vanya was silent for a moment before nervously asking, "Why are you so nice to me?"

Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows, not understanding the question too well. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, the others never . . . they never treated me the way you did," Vanya confessed quietly, glancing around the room to make sure that no one was listening to what she said. "They- They never tried to make me feel included. Why do you?"

"Well, I guess I know what it feels like to be by yourself all the time, without friends or any feeling of worth. I don't want others to feel like that." Elizabeth gave her a warm smile. "Besides, you're just as much my sibling as the others are, so why shouldn't I treat you the same? You're an amazing girl, Vanny, don't let the others fool you into thinking anything else."

A smile immediately spread onto Vanya's face. "Thank you."

Elizabeth quickly hugged her before returning to the waltz. "Of course."

—☾—

Later that night, just as midnight struck, Elizabeth slipped into bed, completely exhausted. Technically, she should've been in bed an hour before, but what could she say? She was a rebel.

Just as she closed her eyes and began to drift off to a nice slumber, a heavy weight collapsed onto her legs, causing her to gasp in pain.

"Five!" she scolded quietly, seeing the boy who had fallen on top of her as he adjusted his position.

"Sorry," Five chuckled quietly as she sat up and pushed him off of her legs.

"Why didn't you just teleport onto the ground?" she whined, rubbing her legs. "Or an empty part of the bed?"

He shrugged as he sat down next to her, pulling her covers over his lap. "Didn't feel like it."

"What do you want?" she questioned as she leaned against the wooden headboard, her eyebrows raised. "We don't have any tests coming up, do we?"

"What, I can't hang out with my friend?" he scoffed as she reached over him and flicked on the lamp that sat on the bedside table, immediately encasing them in a soft, yellow glow.

"Whenever you say that that means you want something from me," she pointed out as she narrowed her eyes at him, now more suspicious than ever.

"No, seriously this time." Five gave her a grin, scooting closer to her so that their shoulders were brushing against each other. Elizabeth ignored the pins and needles that shocked her body as he continued, "I do have one question though."

Her eyebrows scrunched together as she asked, "What?"

"How come you became so confident in your not-stepping-on-people abilities when you started to dance with Diego?"

Her eyes widened.

Fuck.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, trying to play it off as her finger began to twirl a strand of her hair.

"You barely looked at me while we were dancing, and when you danced with Diego, it was all eye contact," he said as he leaned back, folding his arms. "What's so special about Diego?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth insisted. "I just . . . um . . ."

She could not think of a good answer.

"Do you like" —Five shifted uncomfortably in his spot, his gaze now averted towards the blanket on his lap— "have a crush on him or something?"

"What? No," Elizabeth immediately denied as she wrinkled her nose. "I just . . . became such a good dancer while I was with you that I didn't need to be afraid while dancing with Diego."

She groaned internally. Not a great excuse.

"You stepped on me, like, three times in two minutes," Five pointed out.

Elizabeth pouted. "You said you wouldn't regret it."

"I mean, I don't," he quickly replied as he shrugged lightly. "But Diego didn't have to force you to look at him."

"How do you know?" she questioned as she folded her arms, feeling anxiety beginning to creep up on her.

"Because I can see," he said blatantly, gesturing towards his eyes.

Elizabeth scrunched her nose.  "No, you can't."

"I—" His nose wrinkled. "What?"

"Exactly." She shrugged as she looked down towards the strand of hair that she had started twirling again.

"What do you—" He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Elizabeth."

"What?" she mumbled. 

His voice softened as he pleaded, "Look at me."

Slowly, she let the strand of hair fall back into place and brought her eyes to his.

He smiled. "Why couldn't you do this while we danced?"

"How about this: The next time we dance, I'll look at you," she offered (although she wasn't sure if she was going to follow through with this plan when the time came). "Sound good?"

Five scrunched his nose. "I don't think there will be a next time."

"I'll just ask for another dance class," she said as she shrugged.

"Please don't" —he shook his head— "I don't want to dance with Klaus again."

"Don't worry, I won't leave you for Diego again," she reassured him with a smile.

"Okay, but you'll leave me for Vanya or Allison."

" . . . No."

"Yes," he scoffed, "you would."

"Yeah, I would," she admitted with a grin. "But for the time that I'm dancing with you, I'll look at you."

Five was quiet for a moment before saying, "Now."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Now what?"

He threw the blanket off of his lap and slid off of the bed. "We'll dance now."

"Like, right now?" she asked nervously. "Here?"

"Yeah."

"There's no music," she tried to come up with an excuse. "And we definitely can't play music, it'll wake everyone up. Or, at least, it'll wake Ben."

"We don't need music." He shook his head before extending his hand towards her and insisting, "C'mon."

"I . . ." She sighed. "okay."

Butterflies immediately emerged into her stomach as her hand slipped into his, him pulling her out of the bed. He placed his other hand on her waist, and she put her free hand on his right arm, just as they had done before.

Shuffling to nothing, they began to take the steps that they had done only a few hours previous. Elizabeth kept her eyes on Five's at first, but soon found it difficult as her heart began to pound faster and faster. 

It's not like it was happening solely by looking at him, she looked at him all the time. Perhaps it was the combination of that and them delicately dancing, their hands gently placed upon each other.

Silently groaning, her eyes went down to their feet. It didn't take long for Five to call her out on this.

"You're doing it again," he groaned. 

"Doing what?" she asked innocently, her eyes trained on their bare feet.

"Not looking at me," he answered with raised eyebrows. 

"Why do you care if I look at you or not?" she questioned.

He shrugged as he readjusted his hand. "Because."

"Because what?"

"Because because."

"That's not an answer, dummy."

"Yes, it is."

"Five."

"Elle."

She sighed. "Tell me."

"Hm . . ." He pretended to ponder for a few moments before shaking his head. "No."

Elizabeth looked back up at him, pulling a small pout. "Please?"

Five was silent for a moment, seeming as though he was trying to find the right words. "Because . . . I can't see your face if you're looking at our feet."

"Why do you want to look at my face?" she asked. "I'm sure the top of my head is just as appealing."

He shook his head. "It's not."

"Damn" —she gave a dramatic gasp of offence— "are you calling my scalp ugly?"

He stared at her, his nose wrinkling slightly. "Elle."

"I'm kidding." Her face broke out into a grin before she shook her head and continued, "But seriously. Why?"

"Because."

"All right." Stubbornly, she looked back down to their feet as they continued to dance.

"No, look at me," Five insisted. "Our feet aren't as attractive as my face."

"Wow," she scoffed in amusement. "Narcissistic, much?"

"Not as much as Diego," he quickly rebutted.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop ragging on Diego."

"Never. But actually." He took his hand off of her waist and used the side of his index finger to lift her chin up again. He kept his finger there as he forced her to gaze into his eyes.

He removed his finger after a few moments and placed it back on her waist. Her chin now free, Elizabeth made quick glances towards their feet, wishing more than ever that she could stop staring into his beautiful eyes.

Five was quiet for a moment before murmuring, "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

This got her attention. "Huh?"

"Is that why you don't like looking at me?" he questioned, obviously upset as he slowed down his pace. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

She immediately shook her head in order to comfort him. "No, Five, it's not that."

"Then what is it?" he inquired, his voice bringing forth the relief that it seemed he was feeling.

"It's . . ."

"It's?"

"It's."

"It—is that your answer?" He stared at her blankly, their dancing pace having normalized. "That's worse than my 'because.'"

"Mm" —she shrugged— "I'd say they're pretty similar."

"Oh, come on, Elle," he sighed, shaking his head. 

"What?"

"Can't you just tell me?" he pleaded.

"No," she answered firmly. "And no more dancing, I'm tired."

Elizabeth let go of his hand and took her other hand off of his arm, already missing the warmth of his skin (although it was her fault she had lost it). 

She flopped down onto her bed, folding her hands over her stomach as she stared up at the dark ceiling.

Five laid down next to her, copying her movements. After a few minutes, he turned his head and gazed at her. She didn't notice him admiring every feature of her face, nor did she notice the small smile that had made its way to his face.

Another few minutes of this, and he whispered, "Elle."

She turned her head to face him, her eyebrows a little furrowed as she asked, "What?"

"Balcony," he whispered before getting up. "Beat you there."

Five then disappeared, giving her no chance to question him. Sighing, she locked her door and turned off the lamp before pushing her hand out and creating her usual portal.

She stepped through it and arrived at the ledge, where Five was already sitting.

Unlike usual, he didn't turn to her. Instead, he just stared out at the quiet city.

Elizabeth sat down next to him, feeling the chilly wind blow against her. It was only the beginning of November, so there was still no snow, but the temperature was quickly dropping. She shifted closer to Five, seeking heat, to which he gave a small smile.

"So?" Elizabeth questioned softly as she looked up at the sky. Tonight, the sky was cloudy, but silver slivers of the moon peeked through. "What is it?"

"I want to tell you something," he said, obviously nervous as he tugged at his sleeve.

She nodded. "Okay."

There was a short silence as Elizabeth waited for him to say something, but he never did.

"Are you going to tell me or what?"

"Oh, right. I—" Five took a deep breath, his voice beginning to quiver. His right hand nervously twisted the strings that came from his left sleeve. "Elle . . . I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too, Five." Elizabeth shrugged, not thinking anything of the verbal gesture. "It's not that big of a deal, we say that to everyone here."

"No, like . . ." Five swallowed. "I'm in love with you."

"Oh." Elizabeth's eyes widened, barely able to believe the words that came out of his mouth. The butterflies from before increased exponentially as she spluttered, "I—Five, I—"

Obviously misunderstanding her blabber to be one of rejection, Five began to get up, trying to hide the devastated look that was edging onto his face. 

"It's okay. I'll just go back to my room," he said quietly, his eyes lowered. "I'll see you, uh, tomorrow, I guess."

"No, Five, wait." Elizabeth grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his spot. She felt her cheeks heat up as she confessed, "I-I'm in love with you too."

Five's eyes widened in disbelief. "You are?"

"I am," she breathed out, the corners of her lips tugging upwards.

A smile of relief appeared on Five's face as they gazed at each other. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before gently resting his hand against her right cheek, the warmth of his skin seeping onto her face.

Slowly, he began to lean in, causing her heart to race. After what seemed like forever, he pressed his lips against hers, the awkward movement soon turning into a passionate one as seconds passed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he used his other hand to grasp her waist, the touch seeming both familiar and foreign.

Heat rushed through her body as they kissed, the excitement and longing taking place. He pulled her closer as he took a breath, coming back in with more passion than before.

Suddenly, Elizabeth heard the creak of a door and pressed her hand against Five's chest as she pulled away from him.

"Shit, I think someone's awake," she breathed out, her eyes now on the door. "We have to go. I'll see you in a few hours."

Five smiled before planting another kiss on her lips. "Goodnight."