Hello all!

title: Dare
summary: With his father now returned to his family, Charlie finds that his life-goal has been completed. But he's only twelve. What can he focus on now? His friends are beginning to explore love, but when he asks Olivia to help she dares him to kiss Manfred. That's unfair!
warnings: Not much. It's rated T for some in-detail-but-not-very-graphic-scenes.
disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but my style is my own.
author's notes: This idea popped into my head and I chuckled and had to write it. It turned out rather longer than I was expecting, but it is essentially a one-shot so I've kept it as a one-shot instead of splitting it into chapters. Also I've only read five of the eight books of the CotRK series because my library doesn't stock the other three and I'm relatively poor. So this is set after the fifth book, before the sixth, and I do apologise for any chronological or 'realism' errors I've made!

Enjoy!

Dare

Charlie was twelve and he had recently succeeded in finding his father, waking him from his deep, hypnosis-induced sleep and bringing him home. Now he was happier than he had ever been before, and nothing could go wrong. But his life felt a little bit pointless, now that he had found his father, which had been his quest for a long time. What do you do when you complete your life-goal so early in life?

Generally some other problem presents itself, and this is exactly what happened.

People around Charlie were beginning to take more interest in their friends of the opposite sex and even the TV was showing more coupley moments than before. Perhaps it was because it was Spring, that beautiful time of year when fresh love is supposed to bloom, but Charlie was feeling decidedly left out. He wanted to have a girlfriend and to know what kissing felt like, but he had no one he fancied in that way.

On Monday, when he was back at school, Charlie found himself sitting by the ruins with Olivia. She had kissed before, Charlie knew, because Fidelio had blushed about it for some time afterwards and it was common rumour that something was going on between them. But Olivia didn't strike Charlie as someone who would take offence at him asking a favour of her, so he said;

'Livvie, you know you've kissed Fidelio?'

'Huh?' Olivia wondered, picking daisies and making a chain of them. 'Yep. So what?'

'Well,' Charlie fiddled nervously with his hands and picked at the grass. 'I was wondering whether you'd kiss me too.'

Olivia's mouth dropped open and she stared at him in shock. 'Charlie!' She finally exclaimed when he refused to look at her, his cheeks red from embarrassment. 'I didn't realise you felt that way!' She didn't sound upset, so Charlie chanced a glance. She was more surprised than anything else, and Charlie wondered whether she'd jumped too hastily to a false conclusion.

'It's not that I fancy you!' He explained hurriedly, 'But I want to know what a kiss feels like and I've no-one else but you!' Emma being far too shy a girl to ask, and obviously very taken with Tancred.

Olivia's face fell and Charlie realised he'd hurt her. 'Oh. Well. I suppose I'll have to do then, won't I? The best of a bad lot, huh?'

'Liv, you know that's not what I meant!' Charlie felt as if he was digging his own grave. Deeper and deeper. 'Just that you and Fidelio…you've got something there, and I don't want to break that up. But you're really pretty and I do want to kiss you an-'

'OK, OK,' Olivia cut him off, waving a hand. 'Sorry I overreacted. I will kiss you.' Charlie grinned in relief but Olivia continued, holding up a hand to stop him from interrupting; 'But! You'll have to do something first.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well,' Olivia grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes, 'you'll have to do a dare.'

Charlie eyed her warily. 'What dare?'

Olivia giggled. 'I'm not going to tell you. You have to agree first.'

'Livvie, that's not fair!' Charlie protested.

'Oh well, if you don't want a kiss then that's fine with me.' Olivia shrugged nonchalently and returned to her daisy making. Charlie seethed, but decided that whatever Olivia wanted him to do would probably only amount to a bit of harmless humiliation. Or maybe a detention, but he'd had so many of those in his time at the school that it hardly seemed to matter.

'Oh all right then!' Charlie sighed in exasperation. 'I give in; what is it you want me to do?'

Olivia was so pleased Charlie was unnerved. She clapped her hands exitedly and laughed. 'Oh goody!'

'Livvie, get on with it.'

'Okay, okay. It involves Manfred.'

Charlie pulled a face, which just made Olivia giggle all the more. 'What about him? Want me to steal his shoes? Throw food at him? Trip him up in the hall?'

'No, no, no - something even better than that,' Olivia assured. She could barely contain herself, and Charlie watched her uneasily. 'I want you to kiss him!'

For just one second Charlie was motionless, and then he laughed. He laughed harder than he'd ever laughed before, and Olivia laughed with him. When he sobered, reluctantly, he began to feel queasy. Because he hadn't been laughing because he thought that Olivia was joking, he'd been laughing because he was scared of what he'd do if he didn't laugh.

'Livvie,' he finally said, 'that's not fair. That's a really, really harsh dare. How am I supposed to kiss Manfred? I mean, chances are he'll bat me away before I could get within a foot of him! And logistics aside, that's disgusting! I want to kiss you, not Manfred!'

Olivia had laughed so hard that a few stray 'hic's escaped whilst Charlie was talking. Her eyes were still shining with mirth when the bell rang for the end of break.

'No backing out now, Charlie,' she hiccupped. 'You agreed to it, and if you break our agreement I'm going to tell everyone that you fancy Manfred!'

'No-one would believe that!' Charlie gasped, standing up and racing after Olivia as she ran towards the school building.

'Well then,' Olivia replied, slowing down so that Charlie catch up and hear the next words without anyone eavesdropping, 'I'll tell everyone you fancy me. I bet Fidelio wouldn't be happy at that!'

They entered the hall, where talking was forbidden, and Charlie shut his mouth in despair. What on earth was he supposed to do now?

…

That evening, in the King's room, Charlie was still at a loss. He wished he'd never agreed to Olivia's stupid dare, but now that he had he couldn't pull back from it for fear of her spreading the word that he fancied her. He knew that that could potentially ruin his friendship with Fidelio, something he desperately didn't want to happen; Fidelio had been his best friend for years now and he couldn't bear to lose him!

Manfred wasn't present in the King's room, although this wasn't all that surprising. Ever since Asa had turned on him he had been much more of a recluse, perhaps scared that he couldn't stand up to the overwhelmingly positive energy now present during the endowed's homework time. Certainly the twins and their 'friends' looked uncomfortable in the silence.

The teacher's assistant's absence allowed Charlie to slack at his work and to think. He pondered the problem that Olivia had faced him with; she herself wasn't in the room because the Bloors had yet to discover who the illusionist was. Luckily she had toned down her pranks as of late, although a tell-tale love heart had chased Fidelio around the field one break time. It was a wonder that the Bloors hadn't caught her!

After homework time Charlie packed his books up slowly, debating his course of action. It was clear to him that he would have to go ahead with the dare now, having tried to think of ways out of it for the last hour and more. But how could he possibly kiss Manfred?

Charlie guessed that Manfred would be in his study, and so he dragged his feet along the corridor towards the bookcase which hid the entrance. He assumed that, when face to face with the older boy, an opportunity would present itself. Perhaps he could 'accidentally' trip and fall onto Manfred's lips? Charlie pulled a face at the thought.

He listened briefly outside the bookcase, hoping that he'd be able to hear if Manfred was inside, or if he already had company. There was no noise though, so, with a deep breath, he pressed his index finger to the wood and watched as the secret entrance was revealed. There was a chance, he knew, that Manfred mightn't be there at all.

But he was.

The man sitting at the desk swivelled in his chair to face the door as soon as the room became visible to Charlie, and two dark eyes glared at him; clearly he was annoyed at being disturbed. What excuse did Charlie have? He thought quickly.

'Um, Manfr- sir. May I have a word?'

Manfred pursed his lips, but nevertheless gestured towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk, rising and moving over to the door to shut it as Charlie reluctantly sat down. His plan of falling onto Manfred wouldn't work now, what with a desk separating them and all.

'Well, Bone?' Manfred drawled, folding himself back into his tall-backed chair, which looked much comfier than Charlie's plain one did, the younger boy thought resentfully. 'What do you want to say?'

Charlie internally sighed at his habit of placing himself in these kinds of situations where, with a lack of anything more substantial to act as a plan, he had to rely on his intuition. He said the first idea that came to him; 'You're a teacher's assistant.' He stated blandly. Manfred raised an eyebrow, but didn't deign a verbal response; it wasn't really a question, anyway.

'When you first became a teacher's assistant, at the start of this year,' Charlie continued, 'you told us that if we had a problem we could come and see you about it.' He remembered clearly his response to that statement when it was first uttered; who'd want to go to Manfred if they had a problem? But suddenly this seemed like a perfect way to a) make the situation less awkward and b) possibly solve the problem of Olivia's dare!

Manfred's eyes sparked, infinitely more interested now than he had been at his first sight of Charlie at the door. 'I did.'

'Well I have a problem.' Charlie realised that it was going to be more difficult than he'd first thought to actually explain his problem to Manfred. It was rather embarrassing, now he thought about it.

Manfred raised an eyebrow at the awkward pause. 'Go on.'

Charlie looked at the desk as he spoke, still unnerved by the flinty eyes even though their power had dwindled drastically by now. 'Er, it's a bit embarrassing,' Charlie admitted. Then he forced himself to rush out an explanation; 'Olivia has dared me to kiss someone I don't want to kiss, but I can't get out of the dare.' He would leave off the part about him asking Olivia to kiss him first, and obviously the name of the one he was supposed to kiss. That would be going too far.

Manfred, who had been leaning forward to listen, now settled back into his chair and eyed Charlie curiously. 'Why on earth would you be coming to me with this sort of problem?' He couldn't help asking.

Charlie felt his cheeks heat up, humiliated by his own words. 'I can't think of anyone else to ask, and I thought you'd be - sort of - impartial about it.'

'Right.' Charlie wasn't sure if that had actually convinced Manfred or not, but after a minute of silence, where Charlie wrung his hands on his lap anxiously, Manfred cleared his throat and said, 'Why can't you get out of the dare?'

Relieved, because Manfred had decided to help him, Charlie then wondered how much he should say. 'Cause if I don't do it then Livvie's going to spread rumours about me which could ruin one of my friendships.'

'Olivia doesn't sound like much of a friend,' Manfred frowned at his cousin. 'What rumours?'

'Oh, er, that I fancy her. But my best friend fancies her, so he wouldn't be my friend anymore.'

Manfred rolled his eyes. Really, in a way he was glad that he had missed all of these childish love-games when he was younger. It all sounded so stupid!

'I do have to do the dare,' Charlie insisted. 'I've been trying to think of some way out of it all day, but I can't.'

'Why do you want my help then?'

'Well, 'cause I don't know how I can kiss this person.'

Speaking slowly, as if Charlie was very stupid, Manfred said; 'You press your lips together.'

Charlie flushed at the insinuation that he hadn't known what a kiss was. 'I know that!' He protested, then took a breath to calm himself. 'I meant that this person doesn't want to kiss me, so I don't see how I can complete the dare.'

'Oh!' Manfred looked just a little bit sorry that he'd made a mistake. He considered the problem. Then; 'Do you know where this girl sleeps?'

Charlie opened his mouth, then paused. 'Yes I know where they sleep,' he finally said, deciding not to correct Manfred's natural assumption of the gender.

'Then, provided you can avoid matron, you could sneak into her dormitory and kiss her whilst she's asleep. She probably won't even wake.'

There was quite a bit wrong with this advice. To start with, Manfred probably locked his door when he slept. 'You shouldn't be telling me to sneak out at night,' Charlie pointed out, and received a withering look in reply.

'Do you want my help or not?'

'Sorry,' Charlie ducked his head apologetically. 'I do.' He was surprised at Manfred's willingness to help him in this matter, or in any matter, but then he supposed that he was the first person to come to Manfred seeking advice since he had been appointed teacher's assistant. It was probably gratifying to the older boy that Charlie had sought him out.

'Or you could 'trip' and kiss her 'accidentally' in the corridor or at break.' Manfred's eyes betrayed the fact that he was actually enjoying formulating answers to Charlie's problem.

'I've considered that,' Charlie shrugged. 'H-She is taller than me though, so it would be difficult.'

'A girl who is taller?' Manfred asked, and Charlie could see him trying to work out who this girl was. 'One of the seniors?'

'Sort of, yeah.'

Manfred pondered that, realising that Charlie was being deliberately elusive in his answers. He glanced over at the old clock on the mantle-piece beside his childhood photo and sighed. 'It's getting late, Charlie. You should be heading back to your dorm before Matron comes a-prowling.'

'Oh.' Charlie wasn't sure he wanted to leave just then. He didn't feel like he had accomplished all that much. Would it be possible to trip into Manfred as he left? Considering it for a second, Charlie had to drop that plan; it wouldn't be at all natural, especially after they'd just been talking about that technique. 'Okay.'

'Try the accident plan, and if that doesn't work I'll try and think of something else,' Manfred added, getting up and opening the door from the inside for Charlie.

'Thank-you, Manfred,' Charlie smiled, slipping out of the door.

'Sir,' the young man corrected sharply, but there wasn't as much malice as usual in his tone.

'Sorry sir!' Charlie apologised quickly, but the door was already shut. Shrugging, Charlie made his way back to his dorm, hurrying to get there before matron.

…

The next day, Charlie's problem didn't seem to have mitigated at all. Instead Olivia kept winking at him whenever Manfred was in the near vicinity, and Fidelio didn't give the impression that he was entirely convinced that Charlie had been late the night before because he had homework he needed to finish.

By the end of the day Olivia was shooting him frustrated looks, and eventually she drew him aside.

'Charlie, you've had ample opportunities to do your dare today! You haven't decided to chicken out, have you?'

'Huh?' Charlie replied, open-mouthed. 'I haven't had any opportunities!'

'I've been winking at you and I know you saw me. Manfred's been around quite a bit.'

'But, Livvie, all of those times were in public. I can't kiss hi-' Fidelio wandered over and raised an eyebrow.

'What's all this secrecy? Do let me in!'

'Oh no,' Olivia said quickly, waving a hand dismissively. 'It's nothing really.'

This was not convincing at all, and Fidelio looked upset that he was being waved aside, but Olivia quickly changed the topic of conversation and led the musical genius away from Charlie, who sighed and moved to the King's room.

Manfred was absent again, and Charlie decided that he would pay another visit to the teacher's assistant after he'd done his homework. This resolution, made so early into his time in the King's room, meant that Charlie had quite a lot of time in which to work. He tried to get the homework he'd slacked on yesterday finished as well, but didn't manage it all.

'I'm going to stay and do a bit more work,' Charlie told Gabriel quietly after their time was over. 'Just in case Fidelio is wondering.'

'That's not like you,' Gabriel replied. 'But alright.'

Charlie shrugged. 'I've got a tonne of homework this week for some reason.'

When everyone had left though Charlie packed up his work and, after putting it away, he made his way back to Manfred's office and hesitated again, listening for the sound of talking inside. Silence greeted him, so Charlie opened the secret door and slipped inside. Manfred jolted and turned to the door in surprise, then relaxed when he saw who it was.

'I wish you would knock,' he sighed at Charlie, gesturing at the seat opposite him again.

'Oh! Sorry, sir.' It hadn't even occurred to Charlie that he could knock, since the door was, essentially, a bookcase. But he supposed it was possible.

'Well?' Manfred demanded when Charlie was seated. 'Did it work?'

'I wouldn't be here if it had,' Charlie admitted. He wasn't going to tell his cousin that he hadn't even tried the 'accident' trick. It would be too hard to fall onto Manfred and manage to kiss him before one was pushed away. 'Also, I think Livvie is getting impatient.'

'That's quick! Wasn't it yesterday she dared you?'

Charlie nodded. 'Livvie isn't a very patient girl.'

'No,' Manfred agreed shortly. He frowned over Charlie's shoulder, out of the window. 'I haven't thought of any other methods,' he said after a while. 'It might help if you told me who it was?'

Charlie shook his head firmly. 'I can't do that, sir.'

''Can't'?'

'Well, I'd much rather not.'

Manfred frowned at him. 'Then I can't help you. You'd better go to bed.'

Reluctantly, Charlie left the room, but Manfred stopped him with a light hand on his shoulder. 'There is another way.'

'Yes, sir?'

'Just tell her that you've been dared to kiss her. She might go along with it anyway.'

'I doubt it,' Charlie grimaced. 'But thank you, sir.'

'Good night, Charlie.' Manfred let him go and pulled the bookcase shut behind him, and for a few seconds Charlie stood still in the corridor. Then he heaved a sigh and walked to his dormitory. So much for that port of call then! Now what was he supposed to do?

…

Charlie didn't have much contact with Olivia the next day, mostly because he tried hard not to. But when she did see him she would give him a glare that was clearly suspicious and impatient. She didn't trust him to carry out his dare. Charlie wasn't actually sure of himself though, as far as the dare was concerned, so he could hardly blame her.

He had intended to go back to his dormitory straight after homework, but something stopped him and he once again found himself outside Manfred's study. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he knocked on the books before he could change his mind.

'Come in,' Manfred called from inside, distracted.

As the bookcase opened Charlie told himself that this time he would do it. Third time lucky, after all, right?

'I thought it might be you.' Manfred barely glanced at Charlie, his hand flitting across a piece of paper on his desk, leaving a trail of neat, florid letters behind it. 'Shut the door and sit down.'

Charlie shut the door but didn't sit down. Instead he moved to stand a couple of feet away from Manfred's chair, watching the man write. Realising this, Manfred stopped, laid down his pen, and looked over at his cousin inquisitively. 'What?'

'It's about what you said last night.'

'Oh?' Manfred cast his mind back. 'Which bit?'

'The last bit. About telling them.'

'Did you?'

'Er, no.' Charlie was going to continue but Manfred made a derisive noise and picked up his pen again.

'Charlie I told you I can't help you anymore.'

'Unless I tell you who it is, sir.'

The pen was laid back down, but Manfred's eyes stayed fixed on his paper. 'And will you?'

Charlie took a deep breath. Now was the time, and he figured that it was worth a shot. 'Yes. Manfred sir, Livvie dared me to kiss you.'

The silence was tangible. Charlie gazed at Manfred, who in turn stared at his paper. Their chests were the only parts of them to move, subtly rising and falling as they breathed. Then Manfred's lips twitched and his tongue flicked out, as if tasting the offer. He raised an eyebrow, 'hmph'ed, and sat back in his chair, eyes moving up to look at the window instead.

Charlie shifted from one foot to the other anxiously. The reaction wasn't entirely negative, but he still felt apprehensive and, besides, he suddenly realised that he wanted Manfred to agree to it, and that worried him.

Finally, Manfred tilted his head to gaze at Charlie, ran his eyes over his face. He weighed the word, then said, simply, 'Alright.'

The air became a lot heavier and Charlie swallowed nervously. 'You sure?' He forced himself to ask.

'Don't give me time to change my mind,' Manfred advised, beckoning Charlie closer. 'It was you who said you had to do the dare.'

This was true, and it served as enough incentive for Charlie to take a couple of steps closer. Without rising from his chair, Manfred reached out and hooked a hand around Charlie's neck, his other firmly holding the younger boy's right bicep. Charlie felt his head being guided lower and instinctively placed a hand on Manfred's shoulder to steady himself.

Then, with only the briefest of hesitations, Manfred pressed their lips together.

Being this close to the young man was rather overwhelming for Charlie, who had always - whether through fear or not - held a small amount of respect for Manfred. He closed his eyes, wondered at his heart beating so much quicker, and realised that he was holding his breath. He exhaled shakily and felt the older lips smile faintly against his own. Then Manfred brushed their lips against each other, creating a light friction that made Charlie grip the young man's free shoulder with his other hand and lean in even more.

When they broke apart it was Charlie who pulled back, because he wasn't sure how long a kiss was supposed to last. His skin was darker than before and it unnerved him that the kiss had affected him physically. He understood a little better what the fuss was about now.

'Mm,' Manfred hummed under his breath, keeping his hold on Charlie's neck and arm, albeit loosely. 'That wasn't a proper kiss.'

Charlie shot him a surprised look, eyes open now. 'It wasn't?' The breathlessness in his voice embarrassed him.

'Sit on my lap,' Manfred suggested by way of an answer, already propelling Charlie around the arm of the chair. Charlie sat awkwardly, hands still gripping the teacher's assistant's shoulders, and looked up at Manfred innocently.

The hand then resting on Charlie's upper arm ghosted up his neck to his chin, where the long fingers tilted Charlie's head just-so. Manfred lowered his head this time, but paused when their lips were barely a centimetre apart, breath mixing. 'In a proper kiss you use your tongue,' he murmured explanatorily. Charlie blinked at him. 'So open your mouth.'

Not entirely sure he understood, Charlie nevertheless closed his eyes and opened his mouth; not very wide. He felt Manfred's lips on his again, soft warm flesh pressing against his own sensitive mouth, but then Manfred's tongue slithered between Charlie's parted lips. His stomach flittered as the strong, moist muscle ran along his teeth, pressed impatiently against them. Understanding, Charlie opened his mouth wider and made a soft sound in his throat as his small mouth was invaded completely.

Manfred pressed closer, incited by the noise, and licked almost hungrily along the inside of Charlie's mouth as the hand gripping the younger boy's chin slid into the mop of untameable hair. Cheeks flushed, body hot, Charlie's arms wrapped around Manfred's neck as he leant his weight on his cousin and shifted so that he was straddling the young man. He pressed his tongue against Manfred's, felt the force returned, and whimpered involuntarily as he was overcome.

One of Manfred's hands ran itself down Charlie's spine, cupped a lower cheek and squeezed experimentally, not ceasing in his administrations above. Charlie instantly surged up, tightened his arms around the young man's neck.

A low moan from the older of the two struck both of them at once with the realisation that things were going too far, and they pulled away from each other simultaneously, cheeks red and breath laboured. Their eyes, now open, they averted from each other although for the time being their hands stayed where they were.

When his heartbeat had slowed sufficiently, Manfred let Charlie go, closed his eyes and sunk back into his chair. Charlie let his arms slip from around Manfred's neck and, sensing that it was right to do so, clambered off of his cousin and the chair to stand beside it.

'You should go,' Manfred said quietly, and Charlie agreed. There was something unpredictable in the air, sparked by their unusual conduct, and Charlie was afraid to stay and find out what it might lead to.

'Thank you, sir,' Charlie said out of formality before he left and closed the bookcase behind him; he'd seen Manfred open the door from the inside of the room the other day and was glad he now knew how to do it.

Charlie checked the time and was surprised to find that it wasn't as late as he'd thought. But by the time he'd visited the bathroom to sort out his flustered appearance he was almost late enough to get a detention. He managed to slide into bed just before Matron flicked the lights off, heart beat still a little rapid.

…

'Charlie!' Fidelio protested when they woke up in the morning. 'Where've you been? That's three nights in a row you've been late, and you still won't tell me!'

'I've been doing homework, I already said,' Charlie said lamely. He knew Fidelio wouldn't believe that. 'But anyway, I've finished it all now so I won't be late again.'

To his relief, Fidelio dropped the topic of conversation at that, albeit reluctantly.

At break Charlie flew straight to Olivia and pulled her aside, grinning from ear to ear. 'I did it, Livvie! I did it!'

She stared at him, mouth parted in shock. 'Seriously? You kissed him?' Luckily this was spoken in a low voice, despite Olivia's usually shrill reactions to surprises.

Charlie nodded, still grinning. A weight had been lifted from his chest, and he refused to let it bother him that he'd enjoyed last night immensely. Olivia was still staring at him agog. 'Gosh, Charlie, when?'

'Last night. I went to his study and, er,' he considered what he should say. 'I 'tripped' into him and our lips brushed.' Yes, that would do. But would Olivia be satisfied with that? Manfred had told him that a brush of the lips was not a proper kiss.

Olivia did indeed look a bit annoyed, but Charlie discovered a moment later that it was for a different reason. 'Oh Charlie,' Olivia huffed. 'You were supposed to do it in public! Otherwise what's the point? How can I believe you if there's no proof?'

This time it was Charlie's turn to look askance. 'What?' He demanded. 'I did it, didn't I?'

'Well, I don't know that!' Olivia complained.

Charlie found himself getting angry. 'So what now then?'

'Do you think you could kiss him again, but, like, in public this time? So I can see it?'

'No!' Charlie fumed. 'No! No no no no! No!' He stopped himself there, realising that he'd said that word a tad few too many times. But it was an unreasonable request. 'You should have said that it had to be public when you dared me to start with,' he glared at Olivia, who withered a bit under the gaze.

When Olivia opened her mouth to apologise though Charlie walked away and the bell soon followed.

When he was walking to the blue cloakroom, Charlie felt a hand on his arm and turned in surprise to see Manfred, not Olivia. He let himself be led into the prefect room, which was mercifully empty.

'Olivia didn't look very pleased,' Manfred said, watching Charlie shrewdly once the door was shut.

Charlie scuffed his shoes together, staring down at them. 'She said she didn't believe me.' He didn't want to tell Manfred about her request that they kiss again, but in public this time. He was scared that Manfred would agree, that that same intoxicating pull he had felt the night before would emerge in him again. He didn't want to experience that again, because it had set him on edge, made him confused.

'I guessed as much,' Manfred shrugged, moving to sit down on the leather sofa. 'Would you like me to tell her you're telling the truth?'

Charlie blinked up at him, pleasantly surprised; he hadn't even thought of that. 'Yeah,' he said slowly, 'that could work.' He grinned, and Manfred twitched out a smile in reply.

'Go on then, off you go. Don't be late for lessons.'

…

Charlie wasn't sure when Manfred actually pulled Olivia aside, but since they were both in drama it didn't take him long. She was waiting for Charlie outside the King's room after homework time had passed, and Charlie jolted in surprise when he saw her.

'Sorry,' she mumbled, falling into step with him as he headed back to the blue cloakroom to put away his books.

'Did he speak to you?'

'Yeah.' There was silence for a while. 'Sorry I doubted you, I guess I just wanted to actually see it for myself because it would've been more fun that way. You know; it's not as amusing trying to picture it!' She laughed, and Charlie smiled a little too. He was really glad Olivia hadn't been there to see them.

Before they parted to go to their separate dorms, Olivia tapped Charlie's shoulder and smiled secretively at him; 'Tomorrow you'll get your reward!' Then she turned and skipped up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Charlie watched her, mouth dry, and wondered what he was feeling. It wasn't the same feeling as he'd had at the start of that week at the thought of kissing her. There wasn't the same lightness and exitement as before.

Shaking his head to clear it, Charlie went to bed and chatted to Fidelio until Matron announced lights-out.

…

'Livvie, Fidelio is going to get jealous if we keep going off with each other,' Charlie protested as the purple-haired girl pulled him away from the others. They disappeared into the trees, which Charlie thought would look even more suspicious. But why was he trying to get out of his reward?

'Silly,' Olivia chuckled. 'Do you want to kiss me or not?'

Charlie opened his mouth, then closed it. He wasn't sure himself. But Olivia took this as a 'yes' and held both of Charlie's hands in her own.

'Okay,' she smiled. 'I'm ready.'

Charlie wet his lips nervously, then leant forward (Olivia was about the same height as him) and closed his eyes. He hesitated though, and it was Olivia who actually pressed their lips together. She lingered, and Charlie tried to move their mouths against each other like Manfred had done to him. Olivia's hands varied their pressure, showing her surprise, but she didn't pull back.

Heart beating fast because he was nervous, not sure he liked being in control, Charlie nevertheless parted his lips and forced his tongue through, until it flicked against Olivia's closed lips. She emittied a small, startled noise and immediately pulled back.

'Charlie!' She protested breathily when her friend had opened his eyes to look at her. 'What was that?'

'It-It was a poper kiss,' Charlie stammered, letting Olivia's hands go. 'You use your tongue.'

Olivia was blushing, which surprised Charlie because she was usually very sure of herself. 'That's-' she started, reconsidered, 'Only adults-' Olivia took a breath and composed herself. 'Only adults in the TV shows kiss like that,' she explained, cheeks still red.

Charlie kept his mouth closed about Manfred. 'Sorry,' he said instead, not sure what else he could say.

'No, no,' Olivia waved his apology aside; 'You didn't know, it's alright.'

The bell rang, and it was a relief for the both of them.

'Oh Charlie,' Olivia said, making him stop before they left the trees. 'Let's not tell anyone about this, alright?'

He knew she was thinking of Fidelio, and so smiled. 'Of course not.' He doubted that Fidelio had ever kissed her like Charlie just had, and he wasn't sure whether he should feel embarrassed or proud of that fact.

Olivia kept her head ducked and hurried ahead, so Charlie was the last one to enter the hall. Manfred, who was standing guard by the door, studied his face as he approached, and Charlie felt his own cheeks heat up under the stare. He braved a smile as he stepped into the silent hall, and Manfred winked at him; a novel experience.

He glimpsed Olivia's purple hair in the purple cloakroom as he moved across the hall and gave himself time to think about her kiss as Manfred turned his back to shut and lock the door. Aside from the awkwardness produced, it had been very different from Manfred's. Olivia was a girl, and roughly the same age as Charlie, and that had made much more of a difference than he'd thought it would. She had been shy, submissive for the most part, much softer, more fragile. His heartrate had increased, but due to nervousness, not excitement, and he'd been confused more at his lack of enjoyment than his overflow of it.

Although he didn't like to admit it, it was clear to him that he had enjoyed Manfred's kiss more than he should have, and definitely more than he had enjoyed Olivia's.

Sitting in the last lesson on Friday afternoon, Charlie considered his week. From Olivia's dare on Monday to her kiss that morning, it had certainly not been a dull week. He had begun his journey to adult life.

Best of all, it had given him hope that his life could still be meaningful, even when he had achieved his life-goal so early on.

Voila!

Reviews would be lovely :)

Thanks for reading,
~WfCP