"Eh?"
West glanced over to see Eira sitting right next to him.
"I- I'll pass…"
The girl who posed the question shot a scornful gaze toward West.
"What do you mean, you'll pass? This is truth or dare, and you chose dare! There is no pass!"
West glanced back at Eira, only to see that she was clearly also unwilling.
"Uhh… I'll pass this question on to my buddy, Elric! He can do the next one, too!"
West saw not only a quick escape but also an avenue for revenge against Elric for him helping Eira out when they first met.
The girl across the table looked a bit confused for a moment, but then her eyes lit up.
"Wait, so you want this guy to kiss your date? What kind of relationship do you have, exactly?"
Before either of the dudes could say anything, Ember leaned forward to talk. Her face was bright red as she blushed.
"He means with me, not Eira!"
The question-poser looked like she was about to refute Ember, but when she saw how embarrassed the girl looked, she decided to hold her words. A small smirk surfaced on the girl's face as she spoke again.
"Alright. The two of you kiss, then."
When Elric heard Ember jump in, his head calmed, but his heart's pace picked up a bit.
'Yea, she really must like me! Where did I go right? I don't know, but I'll take it!'
Ember seemed to be momentarily paralyzed after her moment of bravery in speaking up, and she just sat there. All of the twenty-something sets of eyes stared at her and Elric, waiting for one of them to make the move.
'Well, she's the one who offered herself, so she should be fine with this, right?'
Resolving his heart, Elric leaned over toward Ember, reaching up to touch her chin with his hand.
Ember slowly turned her head over toward Elric, her deep ruby gaze sparkling as she met his eyes.
Elric paused for a second, remembering everything he'd heard over the years.
'Don't bump teeth. First kiss, don't go full tongue. Short and sweet. Angle your face a bit, or our noses will bump. Close eyes. Let's go!'
After taking another short moment to take in Ember's beautiful blushing face, Elric closed his eyes and leaned in. Ember followed his lead, doing the same.
Both of them tilted their heads as they leaned in for the kiss, apparently having received the same tips.
Boop!
Their noses touched, causing Ember's eyes to fly open in surprise. She heard a few chuckles from the audience and quickly closed her eyes, correcting her approach angle and going in for a second attempt.
Just before their lips met, she was finally able to take in his scent. The sweet, woody smellof applewood.
Elric, on the other hand, felt like he was swimming through a sea of soft lilac flowers, and he took a slow breath in as their lips met.
Their heads were moving slowly enough and stopped as their closed lips met.
Something sparked within Elric, and a warm feeling ran through his body, and a few cheers sounded in the surrounding crowd.
'Kissing… is great! … what do I do now, though? Do I pull away? I don't really want this to stop.'
Before Elric had a chance to do anything, he felt Ember's hand reach up to his shoulder as she leaned in further.
'What is she- mmph?!'
Elric was completely unprepared as Ember's tongue pushed against his lips, and in a moment of panic, he allowed her access to his mouth.
'Ember?! What is she doing?'
Elric pressed his tongue against Ember's, his taste buds picking up the maple syrup flavor left over from their lunch.
Deciding to be a bit adventurous himself, Elric snuck his own tongue past Ember's, pushing into the confines of her mouth.
"Mmm…"
A small, muffled noise came from Ember as he kissed her, but it only made him more motivated.
Just as he was about to explore further, he heard a clapping noise.
'Shit, we're still in front of those damn truth-or-dare people!'
He and Ember both quickly withdrew, breaking off the kiss, and Elric used his hand to wipe away the saliva hanging on her lips before turning to look at the crowd.
Many of the onlookers looked both surprised and gleeful, and there was even one couple towards the back who started making out themselves.
When he turned his head to view his friends, Elric was surprised to see that Eira's face was nearly as red as Ember's.
When she saw Elric's questioning gaze, the ice-themed girl quickly hid her head away behind her arm.
West seemed to have forgotten all about the origin of the truth or dare challenge as he threw his fist into the air.
"Hell yea! Elric, that was you two's first kiss, right? That was top-tier! Both of you really sent it!"
The entire crowd had seen their initial nose bump and thought they were about to see something amateur.
Elric turned back to Ember, taking in her fiercely blushing face.
"Why did you…?"
Judging from everyone's reactions, Ember seemed to recognize that she must've done something unusual.
"I- Is that not normal? I thought that was what a kiss was…"
Elric certainly wasn't going to complain, though he did wish to save a kiss like that for somewhere more private.
"Most people would just touch their lips. It's fine, though, that was way better."
Ember still looked embarrassed by her actions so Elric leaned in toward her.
Once she met his gaze, Elric winked mischievously.
"Let's try that again, after we're back home."
"Eeee…"
Elric heard an odd sound, but realized it didn't sound like it was coming from Ember in front of him.
'Who-?'
Elric swiveled around, only to see Eira blushing even more than before.
'What is going on with her? Does she have a fever, just like Ember did back after we left the hospital?'
Elric paused for a second to think.
'If Eira really is a dude, then he's still one of The Boys. If she is a girl… she's probably infiltrated the chat with nefarious motives. Still, I've talked to her quite a few times before, enough so that I can consider her as a friend. Either way, I should help them out!'
Elric reached over, pressing his palm against a surprised Eira's forehead.
"Yep, you're a bit warm. If you aren't feeling well, we can leave the party early."