"Truth or dare?"

Minho grinned as he sat back against the rock behind him, crossing his arms as he looked across the circle to Analecia, to whom the question had been posed. They had their final O.W.L. today and, to celebrate the end of what Seb described as the exams written by Voldemort himself, the Hufflepuff and Slytherin fifth years decided to throw a slumber party in the Laciospecto.

Candles were borrowed from both houses and snacks from the kitchen -- the house-elves were very proud of them for all of their hard work. Both were scattered around the dark and damp room, the flickering of the flames bringing it to life.

"Truth," Analecia finally said after much contemplation.

"Have you had your first kiss yet?" Aaron asked without any hesitation.

She slowly smiled, and Minho joined some of the others in giving a very embarrassed Gil cheeky grins. "Yes, I have."

Gil covered his face and his smile with his hands while the others filled the room with obnoxious ooo's.

Beside her, Kibum scoffed loudly, the sound immediately drawing Minho's attention. "What? You didn't tell me…"

"We don't tell each other everything, you know." Her gaze darted to Minho, and Kibum's followed her eyes for a second. "Your turn," she said as she patted his knee. "Truth or dare?"

Kibum pinched his chin and furrowed his brow in comedically deep thought. Minho snorted and Kibum's eyes twinkled as they met his. His eyebrow raised in question, and Minho gave him the slightest shrug. He turned back to Analecia. "Dare."

"I dare you….to tell us who you have a crush on."

Oh . Minho looked at his knee, suddenly fascinated with the way the fabric frayed around the tiny hole there. It took Kibum a while to speak, long enough that Minho couldn't bear to keep his attention diverted anymore. He looked up, noticing Kibum's slight smile as he said: "Professor Crowell." Minho laughed out loud, and soon everyone joined in. Kibum snickered. "I like stern women, what can I say?" He couldn't quite keep a straight face, and Minho could barely even hear him over the echoes of laughter from everyone else. "Okay, okay." He turned to Marissa. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," she said, still laughing.

Kibum pushed the bowl of Every Flavour beans toward her. "I dare you to eat a handful of these."

" my life," she said, sighing heavily as she reached into the bowl.

Travis went after her, and he chose truth. Rhesa went after him and Marvin after her and Lindsey after him. Next came Minho.

"Truth or dare?"

He sat up straighter, thinking. If he chose truth, he'd be morally obligated to tell the truth to whatever the question was. And maybe it wouldn't be a bad question, but what if he got "Who do you have a crush on?" Then he'd have to say Kibum and that'd make things way too awkward. If he chose dare…Yeah, he might have to do something gross but he also had the option to lie, like Kibum did.

So… "Dare."

"I dare you...to kiss someone in the circle."

Well .

A couple of the girls around the circle gasped. Minho's eyes widened as he surveyed his options. He could kiss a girl, any girl, but...he suppressed a shudder at the thought. Which only left the boys, and the only person he felt close enough to be able to do such a thing with was Kibum himself. But as much as he wanted to, and he really, really did, it seemed like a bad idea.

A very bad idea.

But...it was also his only option.

His gaze settled on Kibum, who's eyes widened slightly. It was just a game. Just a game. This would mean nothing, it was just part of the game.

Minho rocked forward onto his hands and knees, crawling the short distance between himself and Kibum. As his hand settled on Kibum's cheek, his eyebrows raised in a silent question. Is this okay? Kibum seemed to understand, because he nodded, almost imperceptibly.

The others erupted in wolf whistles as Minho leaned in.

He was pretty sure the entire room could hear how fast his heart was beating. Kibum probably did, at the very least. It pounded in his ears as he planted the lamest of kisses on Kibum's lips. Like, the kind that Dad would give Mom before he left for work. Not that he could have done anything more without giving his true feelings away, but still.

Kibum's lips pursed against his before he leaned away.

This was definitely not how he pictured his first kiss with Kibum going. Actually? No, this wasn't his first kiss with Kibum. Or anyone. He refused to consider it as such. It was coerced. He wouldn't have done it if he hadn't had to.

God, would he even be able to look him in the eye anymore?

He settled back into his spot across from Kibum, thankful for the dim lighting for hiding his inflamed face. Somewhere on the other side of the circle, Seb cleared his throat. "Well, I think Minho won the game."

"Is truth or dare a game you can win, though?"

"If it is, Minho won it." A couple of people chuckled, and Minho wished that the ground beneath him would swallow him whole. "Let's take a loo break, huh? Get some more snacks on our way back?"

"Good idea," Aaron said as he stood. Most of the others followed suit, talking amongst themselves as they left the Laciospecto.

Minho stayed frozen in his spot, staring blankly at the floor as the others left the room. Soon, only he and Kibum remained. He could feel him studying him, and Minho's head hung lower as he said, "I'm sorry, Bummie."

"Why?"

"I just...I didn't want to give anyone else the...the wrong impression and...and I feel most comfortable with you, so…"

Kibum sighed, stood, and made his way over to Minho's side, his hand resting on Minho's knee as he settled beside him. "It's okay, Min. I didn't mind." Minho let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh?" Minho looked up at him, his lips. Kibum glanced down at them before meeting his eyes again.

"Actually, I --"

Before Kibum could finish his thought, Callum poked his head into the doorway. "Oi, lovebirds. Did you want to get more snacks or not?"

" off!" Kibum yelled, grabbing Minho's knee for leverage as he lunged forward, scooping up a handful of Every Flavour beans and throwing them at Callum. They clattered against the rockface and floor, and Callum cackled as he ran back down the hall.

Minho laughed, some of the tension in his chest dissipating as he stood. He helped Kibum up off the ground. "Let's go see what we can find."

"And maybe steal some of Callum's ."

"Good idea."

"I really am sorry, Bummie," Minho said, his whisper filling the Laciospecto.

Kibum glanced in his general direction, though he couldn't actually see him, given the pitch blackness of the room. "Are you still on about the kiss?" Minho let out a huff of a sigh in answer. "It was just a game," he said, repeating the mantra he told himself since it happened. "Everyone knows how close we are, I don't think they'll think you're…" He lowered his voice, even though everyone else in the room was asleep and didn't speak Korean. "...Gay. They'll just think you did it for laughs or something."

"Th-that's not the problem."

Kibum blinked, sitting up. What?

"First kisses are supposed to be...special...and that wasn't. And...and I'm sorry I took that away from you."

Kibum rolled his eyes as he settled back down. Why he even got his hopes up in the first place… "Don't worry about me, Min. That wasn't my first kiss, anyways."

.

.

If the spell holding the Black Lake back could collapse and drown them all, Kibum would welcome it. Gladly.

"What?"

Is it possible for him to unsay something? Maybe he could use Obliviate… But, then, did he actually want to use that on Minho? That was the real question.

"Who was it with?"

Might as well just get it ing over with. "Jonghyun."

Dripping from somewhere inside the Laciospecto was the only sound in the room. It echoed, the tiny sound filling the silence all on its own, until, "Oh."

"Yeah, I was just curious w-what it was like and-and he showed me."

"Oh." Did he know how to say anything besides oh? "When?"

"Uh...when you were in Korea for the summer."

"Oh."

“It meant nothing, really...like I said, I was ju -- “

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Bum,” Minho said with a quiet sort of chuckle. He shifted in the darkness, probably rolling over onto his side. “It’s okay.” Before Kibum could say anything else, Minho added. “I gotta go to the restroom. Be right back.”

“O-okay. Take your wand!”

Kibum watched the darkness, blinking when a bright white light lit up the hallway outside of the Laciospecto. He had every intention of staying awake until Minho returned, but as the minutes stretched on, his eyes drooped under the exhaustion of the weeks of studying. He eventually gave up, letting sleep take him before Minho came back.