A/N: I collect dolls so I have learned a lot about hair care over the years so this is based on me trying to educate people because so many people brush their hair wrong. Also my first attempt at these two falling in love, I think it is cheesy and bad but romance is not my strong suit, hope you like it anyway.

Chapter Eighteen

Electric Touch

Mildred was sat on her bed saying oww every few seconds as she tried to pull her hairbrush through her hair. Mildred loved having long hair, but sometimes she had dreams of getting it all cut off, long hair was a nightmare, it got tangled and knotted up and was painful to brush, she looked up seeing Ethel also brushing her hair, preparing to put it in her ponytail, it was true Ethel's hair was shorter than hers, but not by that much, a few inches at most yet she was brushing it and humming, somehow her hair soft and untangled, Mildred had always been jealous of Ethel's hair, it always had a way of looking perfect. At another, 'oww' Ethel turned around and looked at her room-mate.

"You know you are brushing your hair wrong," Ethel said to her friend. Mildred was stressed out, she didn't have long until she had to be at her lessons and she still hadn't even started her plaits, this meant Mildred was a bit ratty.

"Yes yes Ethel, I am doing something as simple as brushing my hair wrong," Mildred said sarcastically. Ethel rolled her eyes.

"Fine if you want to continue pulling your hair out be my guest," Ethel said and Mildred looked at her, she didn't seem to be sarcastic in that moment.

"What does that mean? How can anyone brush their hair wrong?" Mildred asked confused.

"Start from the ends of your hair, not the top, you are pulling all the tangles to the bottom and making more knots," Ethel told her. Mildred looked at her confused so Ethel walked over, putting her hand out to ask for the brush.

"After our first year I don't think I should let you near my hair," Mildred said remembering the time she had cut it.

"I am sorry about that...okay here I will show you on my hair," Ethel said grabbing her hairbrush. She started from the ends gently brushing them before moving further up until she reached the top of her head.

"It helps a lot trust me, I have two sisters I know a thing or two about hair, Esmie used to do our hair when we were little and we used to cry as it hurt, hating hurting us she tried this way and it doesn't hurt at all" Ethel told her. Mildred bit her lip.

She knew she was starting to trust Ethel, but she still didn't trust her completely and didn't know if she was trying to make her tangle her hair more, after a few minutes of Mildred just sitting there Ethel walked over and started to brush Mildred's hair with her hairbrush, at first Mildred flinched away, not knowing what she was planning but then stopped moving, she was so far simply brushing it.

"Good Merlin, how does your hair get like this?" Ethel asked gently working her way through the knots. Ethel was eight it didn't hurt. Mildred closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of someone else doing her hair.

"I brush my sister's hair all the time, it is easy when you know how," Ethel told her as Mildred half mediated at the feel of it. Ethel suddenly;y stopped causing Mildred to sigh as she had been enjoying it.

"You try, I can't do it for you now or we will be late," Ethel said knowing she didn't have time to do Mildred's and her own hair. She put her hand out to hand the brush to Mildred, Mildred reached to take it and accidentally brushed her fingers against Ethel's.

Both girls in that moment felt something, it felt like electric, like they were receiving an electric shock and Mildred quickly grabbed the brush as Ethel pulled her hand away shocked, not knowing what had happened. It was less than two seconds but the girls got a strange feeling.

They did magic with their hands, neither knew if it was their magical energy causing the feeling or not, but suddenly Ethel rushed to her side of the room without another word, not knowing what had just happened but she was embarrassed. It had given her a nice feeling inside. Mildred looked at Ethel and saw by the way she was acing she had felt it too, but she had no idea what had just happened.

Mildred was still thinking about it as she entered lessons, and still had not figured out what happened, she was in chanting, Miss Bat was asleep and she turned to her friends, having an idea, she had to test what had happened with her friends.

"I have thought of a new secret handshake," Mildred said "Enid you put the palm of your hand on mine and then Maud you do the same, then we chant, 'friends friends, never ever break friends," Mildred said. Her friends smiled, they had never had a handshake before so it sounded cool. Enid placed her hand on Mildred's and Mildred half-closed her eyes worried, and a few seconds later Maud followed suit as they chanted what Mildred had said.

Mildred waited and waited for that electric shock to come, feeling sure their magic would cause it but she felt nothing, it just felt normal, it just felt like a hand, there was no feeling nothing, Mildred smiled at her friends and they practised again, still nothing.

This only confused Mildred more, she had no idea what had happened between her and Ethel, but she told herself not to worry about it, it was just a one-off.

When lessons finished Mildred was daydreaming so much she walked right into Ethel, the blonde turned to her annoyed as she dropped all her books but said nothing, clearly thinking about the events that morning. Mildred told her friends she would catch them up and bent down to help Ethel retrieve her books, by some kind of fate the girls reached for the same book at the same time, their hands touching again and there it was again, that spark, that electric energy. Ethel looked up at Mildred as if she thought she was messing.

"Stop doing that," Ethel said feeling Mildred was causing it herself.

"I am not doing anything Ethel...are you doing it?" Mildred asked wondering if Ethel was messing with her but the girl looked way to confused and shocked to be doing it knowingly.

"No," Ethel said pulling her hand away and grabbing her books "Thanks," she said rushing out the classroom not knowing what the new feeling was, she liked it but she had a feeling she shouldn't. Ethel looked at her hand for any cuts or signs of something that could have caused it, she saw nothing, it was simply a feeling that neither of the girls could explain.