I knew it would happen eventually, but I still wasn’t prepared for it. I didn’t know who to tell either since it was so embarrassing. Seth and Liam were boys so they wouldn’t understand. I wasn’t sure what to do at this point. It was my first period and I left our home in the early hours of the morning so I could get rid of the bloody pajama pants and find some feminine hygiene products. Now I regretted all the times I raided houses and ignored those types of things.

Things were getting better in the exile district we lived in. The people with powers had started their own community in this area to help survival. The gangs decreased and schools and hospitals were available to us. Housing was still a squatting situation for kids like us, but at least I was able to go to school and learn some things. The normal people left us alone now as long as we stayed out of their cities.

Still, even with all the improvements and access to resources, we lived off of what we could find. Seth was worried that if someone found out about our living situation then we’d be separated. I would rather die than to be separated from my only family.

When I met Liam a year ago, I never imagined he would stay with us after that. It was a little tense at first, but eventually Seth and I began to trust Liam. His power was still unclear to us, but he was a valuable partner to have when it came to protection. He was the strongest person I’d met. He trained his body everyday and even Seth took to training with him which improved Seth’s skills as well. I would try to train with them at times, but they were so much stronger that I could barely keep up.

I walked into a house, feeling rushed to find something to plug up this bleeding. I could feel it running down my legs as I moved. I lucked out and found tampons underneath the sink in the bathroom of this house. I went to the shower and prayed that the water still worked. Brown water sprayed out but after a few seconds it cleared out. I stepped inside and washed the blood off of me. After that, I looked in the box of tampons for instructions and looked at the diagrams.

“I’m supposed to do what with this?” I wondered out loud. I unwrapped one of them and sighed. “Here goes nothing.”

It was uncomfortable going in, but once it was there, I couldn’t feel it. I dressed in the clean clothes I had brought and looked at the bloody pajama pants. I’d probably have to bury them somewhere so no one would find out what happened. I think I would die from embarrassment if I had to explain where I had gone and what happened to my favorite pair of pajama pants.

“Hey Ash!” It was Liam’s voice calling out. “Blue woke me up and you were gone. What’s going on?”

I shoved the tampons out of view just before Liam stood in the doorway of the bathroom. I felt my face getting hot in embarrassment. I hoped he didn’t realize what was going on. His eye landed on the bloody pants on the floor and concern crossed his features.

“Are you injured? What’s wrong?” Liam gripped my shoulders and began to turn me as he checked for injuries. I didn’t know what to say to explain this.

“I’m not injured, Liam,” I mumbled, not wanting to explain any further.

“Where did this blood come from? You wore these pants to bed last night,” he said. Then the dots seemed to connect when he realized where the stain was located on the pants. “You started your…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence and I felt tears come to my eyes. I nodded while sniffling, trying to hold back from crying. This was so embarrassing that I felt I was going to die. I was in shock when Liam pulled me into his chest, hugging me. “What are you doing?” I asked confused.

“I’m relieved. I was worried when you weren’t there when I woke up and then I thought you were injured. Instead you’re turning into a woman.” He pulled back and that goofy grin I had gotten used to seeing spread across his face. I smacked him in the chest and crossed my arms.

“This is not something to celebrate. This is just another problem to deal with,” I grumbled. Then a massive cramp started in my lower stomach and I winced in pain.

“Let’s see if there is a pain reliever in here for you,” Liam stated and looked through the medicine cabinet. “From what I’ve heard cramps are the worst part.”

“What you’ve heard? I never even got the talk and I’m a girl.”

“Before the meteor, I lived with my older sister. She was ten years older and every month I’d hear about the awful cramps and moodiness from her. She left no detail untold,” he laughed. “Here we go. They’re expired, but they still work a little.”

Liam handed me two pills and I dry swallowed them. “Please don’t tell Seth. This is humiliating enough with you knowing.”

“I’m sure he’ll find out on his own. Your emotions will be all over the place.”

“I’ve gotten better at controlling it. Not like you know though. It’s not like my power works on you.”

Liam held his hand out to me and I grabbed it. He helped me stand and we started to leave the house with the supplies I needed. Tampons would be one more item to look for on our raids of houses. I grabbed Liam’s arm when I felt someone nearby. The feelings were hostile and they knew we were here. They were preparing to attack.

“Someone’s nearby,” I whispered to him.

“Act as if you don’t notice. Wait for them to make the first move,” he whispered back. Liam took one step out of the house when a blur fell at him from above. He pushed me back to avoid the force and I fell against the couch in the living room. A young blonde woman came into view as she tried to kick Liam in the chest. He caught her foot and twisted her leg. She collapsed to the ground and he stepped on her throat to immobilize her.

“You’re fast,” Liam stated looking a bit amused.

“It’s not over yet.” The woman’s eyes started to glow red and flames appeared out of nowhere. Liam jumped back, barely avoiding the flames. He touched his black hair, seeing that his bangs were fried.

“I kind of needed a haircut anyways,” Liam laughed.

“You think is a game, stupid kid? I could kill you.”

“I’m not about to fight a woman so you should just let us go. My friend here isn’t feeling all that well and we were just looking for supplies. No harm done, right?” I went and stood beside Liam. The woman was now feeling calmer and the danger was gone.

“I’m not interested in hurting children. Why are you out here alone? You should really have an adult with you.”

“I’m stronger than any adult I’ve met. I’m not worried. It’s not like adults really want to take in orphaned kids these days anyway. That’s another mouth to feed,” Liam stated.

“Not everyone is that heartless. Things have gotten better in this area.” The woman seemed to genuinely believe that. She was older so getting by was easier for her. Being 8 years old when this all started, made me see the real hardships. It was amazing I even survived this long.

“We should get back before Seth freaks out,” I said. Liam nodded in agreement and we began to leave. The woman noticed that I was holding the box of tampons and put a hand on my shoulder as I walked passed her.

“How old are you?” She asked me.

“Um, 12,” I said confused as to why she would ask.

“So you were 8 when this all started. Do you have any women to talk to about feminine stuff with? How to take care of your body?” I felt humiliated and turned to Liam.

“Leave! Now!” I yelled at him. Liam looked at me confused, but left anyway probably figuring it was safe to leave me alone with her. “Do you have to say that stuff in front of him?” I said to the woman.

“I’m sorry, but I had to ask. You’re so young. I’m Shelly, by the way.” “I’m Ash. And no I haven’t had anyone to talk to about this. My first period started today,” I sighed.

“Well, let me help you. You can ask me questions.”

Even though I was embarrassed, I took advantage of this. If it was one thing I learned over the years was to take advantage of knowledge and try to get as much information as possible. I was thankful to Shelly for offering. She seemed like a nice person now that her defenses were down. I couldn’t sense any hostility anymore, just concern. I spent almost two hours talking with her before I went back to meet with Seth and Liam. Shelly told me that house was where she lived so I could go back and visit her. She even let me keep the tampons that I stole. I felt a lot better about my situation now.

When I returned to our home, I only found Liam. “Where’s my brother?” I asked sitting beside Liam on the crappy couch we had in the living room. Our house was a two story house that had the second story collapse. The first story had a huge hole in the kitchen, but the living room, bathroom, and bedroom were intact and covered. We all slept in the bedroom together for safety reasons, but my part of the room was split off by blankets hanging from the ceiling. It wasn’t much, but it was some privacy. I felt safer with Seth and Liam in the room too. There had been a few times that I’d woken up to people raiding where we were sleeping. It didn’t happen much since things had calmed down, but it was better to be safe.

“Seth went out to try and find some more tampons for you,” Liam said nonchalantly.

“Are you kidding me?!” I screamed. I immediately went over and started wailing on his with my fists. I wasn’t hitting him super hard, but I wanted him to know I didn’t find that funny!

“I am kidding, don’t worry.” Liam was laughing hard and trying to block my punches. “He’s out with Blue getting food for dinner tonight.”

“You’re such a jerk sometimes,” I huffed getting annoyed. He was always teasing me, no matter what the situation. Seth found it entertaining and I had to admit, things were more fun since Liam started living with us. It still got me angry from time to time though.

“I know. I’m the worst.” He stuck his tongue out at me.

“It amazes me that you’re two years older than me and I’m more mature.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“You’re only mature mentally. Physically, you’re still a flat chested 12 year old,” he smirked.

“Gross! Quit talking about my chest!” I smacked him in the arm, hard this time. He didn’t even flinch. I wondered if he ever felt pain at all with the way he acted. He was always smiling like nothing ever bothered him. In that moment, I realized how important he had become to me in this last year. He was a valuable part of our team now and I would hate if he weren’t around anymore. Even if he teased me, he would always try to cheer me up when I was sad. He was clumsy and goofy most of the time.

I leaned over and gave him a big hug. He squirmed a little, looking nervous. I was not usually one to initiate contact like this first. “Um, what are you doing? You aren’t going to hurt me right?”

“I’m just happy you’re here. That’s all,” I smiled and let him go.

“Wow. Chicks on their period really do have unpredictable mood swings,” he said. I punched him in the arm again. “Way to ruin a moment jackass!”