The Kiss

Cleo immediately backed off of him. She could still feel the warmth of his body on her hand.

Cecil coughed, his uninjured hand covering his face, where a splotch of red was forming on his cheeks. "Are you going to heal me or not?"

Cleo fumbled, finally managing to summon her magic. She reached out with her hands, her fingers awkward and stiff. She mumbled something that was inaudible to Cecil, and a holy light glowed from the tips of her fingers, shining on the gash on Cecil's shoulder. He let out a sigh as the warmth of the spell spread throughout his body. His arm was fully healed now.

Cecil put his jacket back on.

"I'm sorry," Cleo mumbled, looking away. "I...I shouldn't have done that."

Seeing her so look so ashamed made Cecil feel bad for Cleo. "N-no, it's...it's fine."

Suddenly, she stood up. "I can make it up to you! I took your clothes off, so I'll do the same!"

Cecil watched, as Cleo removed her jacket, then her second jacket, and then...

"Stop, stop, stop it!" he cried, trying to make her put her clothes back on while also trying to not look at or touch her. "This...this isn't right!"

***

On the other side of the crystal ball, the teachers blinked and looked at each other.

The headmaster cleared his throat and chuckled awkwardly. "Perhaps we should switch to watching the werebear."

The other teachers all quickly nodded in agreement.

***

"Put your clothes back on," Cecil said, grabbing Cleo by her shoulders. She was down to a tight, strapless black crop-top and a pair of black shorts. Her discarded clothes were scattered all around her.

"But don't you want me to apologize?"

"Not like this!"

"Oh, then how about I give you a kiss?"

Before Cecil could react, Cleo had pulled his face down towards her, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. A blush creeped up his neck. His pulse was speeding up. If Cleo noticed, she did not say, but Cecil was already too embarrassed. He pushed her away from him, hard, and luckily, Cleo landed on the bed behind her, with a small yelp of surprise.

"Just put your clothes back on," Cecil said, chewing on his lip. He could feel that his face was bright red, and he was breathing hard.

"Okay, I'm done," Cleo said, a few minutes later, after putting who knows how many layers of clothing back on.

Cecil looked up, the stress on his eyes finally relieved. That is, until his eyes immediately went to the small window of space right above Cleo's chest, where the maker of the dress had clearly neglected to fill in with cloth.

"Are you okay?" Cleo asked, kneeling down to Cecil's level, since he had slid onto the floor a second before. "You look pale."

"I'm...I'm fine..." he said, noticing how terribly short Cleo's skirt was. And the slit on the side was really not helping. Suddenly, an image flashed in Cecil's eyes. He tried to blink it away, but the thought lingered.

He just wanted to...

Cecil covered his face and groaned. What was wrong with him today?

"Shouldn't we go..." Cleo gestured towards the door. "The werebear...?"

"Oh, right!" Cecil stood up, getting ready to leave. Cleo marched towards the door.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked her, running to block her path to the exit.

"I'm going to fight the werebear."

"N-n-no...you can't do that..."

"Why not?"

"You just...can't."

"Wha-"

Just as Cleo was about to argue with him, Cecil scooped her up in his arms, trying his best to avoid touching the places where her dress exposed her skin. He carried Cleo over to the bed, and plopped her down onto it.

"Stay there and don't move."

"Why-"

Cecil's gaze stopped Cleo halfway through her sentence. It felt like if she did not listen to his orders, then he would eat her up. His gaze was like that of a wolf, powerful, sharp, and intelligent.

"Okay," Cleo said, crossing her arms and lying down.

Satisfied, Cecil left the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Cleo wondered out loud. "He wasn't like that in the book."

***

As Cecil walked down the hallway, he smiled to himself. Now nobody else would see Cleo in that really revealing dress. Suddenly, Cecil stopped walking. The image that had appeared in his mind was back, and now it was clearer than before. He swallowed the saliva that had unknowingly pooled in his mouth. He shook his head, wiping the thought away, but it stayed, unfaltering.

He just wanted to...