"Happy birthday my dear."

"Thank you Daddy." Magali pressed the house phone to her ear, afraid that the girls behind her would hear. Her father had spent the first minutes of their phone call trying to wish her a happy birthday in Italian. His thick Senegalese accent had deceived him.

"Did you get the gift I sent you?"

"I did, thank you."

It was a brand new tennis racket in the brand that the professionals use.

"You keep practicing and you might become like Serena." He laughed.

"I'll give the racket a go later today."

"Oh there is no rush my dear. Enjoy the day with your friends."

"Right." She muttered. "My friends."

A girl waiting in line gestured for Magali to wrap up the call. Her time was up.

"I got to go dad. Thank you so much for the gift."

"Magali, you are my child. My only child. I will give you the world if you ask me nicely."

"Ha ha, very funny dad. I'll talk to you later."

Magali ended the call and handed the phone to the next girl in line. On her way out of the dormitories, tennis racket in hand, she wondered why the date March fifth had never been one she looked forward to. She was never opposed to receiving gifts, that wasn't it. Perhaps it was the word birth in birthday that had left her feeling uneasy for all these years. Her mother gave birth to her on March fifth but there wasn't a birthday in which Magali had a strong enough memory of her mother being present. In this way it was a sad day for her. Sad not only because of the loss of her mother, but also because of the loss of her friend, her only friend here at SDC that actually knew the date of her birthday.

Mia was stubborn but so was Magali. None of them would be the first one to yield and apologize for their stupid fight. Magali was therefore set on spending her birthday alone, playing tennis.

"A guy threw up during the cross country team's run this morning."

Magali wasn't completely alone on her birthday, she had Milo. The eleven year old boy with the soul of a fifty year old man. They were playing a set of tennis in the school gym and during the games highs and lows Milo revealed his dry humor.

"So I told him, If you can't handle the pace please leave the other's some space."

Magali paused her serve to look at him.

"It's funny because it rimed."

"I get it." She reminded herself that it was either this, playing tennis with Milo, or camping out in the school library. To do that on her birthday seemed more tragic than playing tennis with a freshman. There was no hope of meeting Charles in the library either. They met up for a quick rendezvous just before the weekend, but Charles had been very vague about his time away. Something about family matters. It had bothered Magali that he had left out the fact the matter had been between him and Rebecca's family. However Charles had told her to trust him and that's what she had decided to do from now on. Trust him completely.

"There is a swim meet this afternoon, are you going?"

"No."

Milo beat Magali in their best of three tennis games, but that was not the reason for her foul mood.

"No? But I heard it was going to be a rager."

"When has anyone ever considered a high school swim meet to be a rager?" She said as the two of them made their way across campus.

"I dunno, but I have a feeling about this one."

"And why is that?"

Milo walked ahead with a devious smile on his face.

"Milo" Magali's dormitory was coming up ahead. However, she did not enjoy the dramatic suspense Milo had left her with. He kept on walking, leaving her behind.

"Milo." She cursed the fact that he made her run after him. "What's so special about this swim meet?" She said, breath in her throat.

"All I can say is that it's what happens after the swim meet that you should look forward to."

"What's happening after the swim meet?"

"Can't say." He shrugged.

"Milo."

"I really can't say, Leclerc said he'll kill me if I ruin the surprise."

"Surprise, what surprise?"

Milo sighed. "I just ruined it didn't I?"

"Look." Magali stepped up to Milo in hopes to intimidate. "Something you must know about me is that I am a woman who hates surprises. I'll guarantee you that a surprise of any kind will have me claw the eyes out of the first person I see, even if he calls himself just a messenger."

Milo swallowed nervously. "So do you still want me to deliver the message...?"

"Shoot."

"Leclerc wants you to meet him by the gates after the swim meet."

"Why?"

"He didn't say. Anyways, I got to go."

"But..."

Milo was already seen sprinting across the courtyard. He stopped to wave back at her. "By the way, happy birthday!"

*****************

Charles needed Timo to be certain. If he won the hundred meter butterfly he would owe Charles a favor, that was the deal. "Don't worry Leclerc." He confirmed. I want to see Lorenzo's head on a stick as much as you do."

"You do?"

It was ahead of the swim meet. That morning Charles left the clubhouse with Luca still snoring away in bed. Meanwhile swimmers from school's all over the region had arrived at SDC, gathering in the pool house.

"Malena can be a handful sometimes but she's still my girlfriend." Timo said. "Lorenzo took it this far this time and we all know it."

Charles never thought he'd sense a ripple amongst the council members. At least not without having caused it himself. It was inevitable, the plan was in motion and there was nothing he could do or wanted to do to stop it.

"Alright then." He said." I'll leave you to it."

Charles left Timo to warm up with the other swimmers, meanwhile the person that possessed the key to the success of his plan, the ultimate key to Charles chance of freedom, was still drifting away somewhere in dreamland.

******

"If you grab his feet, I'll grab his arms."

"Why do I have to grab his feet?"

Charles had broken at least five rules by letting Milo wander into the clubhouse. However most of the cadets had gone to the pool house like the rest of the students at SDC and Charles was desperate to get Luca ready for his meet this afternoon.

"Desperate times call for desperate measurements." Charles reassured Milo, urging him to grab a hold of Luca's feet so that the two of them could drag him out of the clubhouse.

"I'm not that desperate." Milo frowned.

"But I am."

They had managed to roll an unconscious Luca out of bed and onto the floor but that was as far as he'd go. He was now snoring away below them as they stood hovering over his unconscious body.

"How about we both grab him by the arms and pull him out of the room?" Milo suggested.

"Good idea."

Til' the end of the hallway. That's how long Milo's good idea had gotten them. They had managed to drag Luca out of his room and to the end of the hallway. That's where the second floor and first floor were separated by a flight of steps.

Charles and Milo looked at each other. "Now what?"

"Whatta hell do you two think you're doing?" Someone shouted from down the hall. It was Franco, charging towards them with rapid steps.

"Isn't it obvious?" Milo said, pointing to the limb body that lay at their feet.

Franco looked at Charles, a wrinkle between his brow. "What were you thinking Lecrlec, letting a freshman into the clubhouse?"

"Don't make it a big deal out of it, he's just helping me get Luca to the swim meet."

Franco shook his head. "You have gone completely rogue, Leclerc. The other cadets are starting to notice."

After the fight with Enzo, Charles had also begun to notice that some of the cadets kept their distance. However he couldn't care less. The success of the plan required that he sacrificed himself and everything he was at SDC. If Enzo and Lorenzo's family could take away his legacy with the snap of their fingers, what was the point in fighting for it?

"Hello?" Milo said, flapping his arms to regain their attention. "How are we going to get Lucas' body downstairs? I'm pretty sure that he's already dead, if not, the fall down the stairs will most definitely kill him."

Charles turned to Franco with pleading eyes. "Please help us."

He sighed. "I'm going to get some resorb. He's probably still dehydrated from all the Jack you guys inhaled last night."

"You let him get drunk before a swim meet?" Milo said, hands on his hips.

It had been Charles' idea that they'd take the Chrysler and escape into town. Perhaps he should have known that his friends would never refuse such a tempting offer, not even ahead of an important swim meet. Charles had acted selfishly last night, however he bore no guilt. He had a lot of things on his plate and getting drunk with his best mate turned out to be a real stress relief.

"Let's just get him downstairs, shall we? I don't see the need to play the blame game." Charles grabbed Luca's arms. Milo sighed but grabbed a hold of his legs. With the help of Franco's hydration pills Luca quickened up, enough to stand on his own two feet. The three of them brought him to the pool house. By then Luca looked fit enough to participate in the meet. He did his usual warm up where he flapped his arms like a bird and bounced around on his feet.

"Can he win this?" Franco asked. He and Charles had taken their places in the grandstands, amongst the other cadets. Milo was sent to search the gathered crowd.

"He's not supposed to." Charles reassured.

Below them Luca flashed what was underneath his robe to a couple of girls in the crowd. Franco shook his head in disbelief. "What a waste of talent. Both you and Giotto are just a waste of talent."

Charles snorted. He was probably right.

Milo returned just before the call for the men's hundred meter butterfly. He climbed the crowded grandstand and sat down next to Charles.

"She's here." He nodded.

Charles smirked. "Good."

"Who's here, Rebecca?" Franco frowned.

Charles ignored him, pretending to be interested in what was happening below him. Getting Luca drunk last night was perfect. His hangover would serve as a natural explanation to his poor performance today. Charles was giddy for things to go as planned. It would give him two reasons to celebrate after the swim meet. However, the one reason he had was good enough as it was. Magali was amongst the crowd. That meant that Milo had given her the message and that she had accepted Charles' invitation. She would wait for him by the gates. Despite his many troubles that had gotten in their way lately, he was determined to gift her a birthday that she would never forget.

*************

Magali could still see people pouring out of the pool house. The campus ground was built on a slope. This forced her to shield her body behind a tree so as not to be discovered by the people leaving the pool house. It was never a good sign seeing students lurk by the gates that outlined the entire campus. Magali knew that some girl's in her dorm would hitch rides into town by strange men that would pull up to the campus gates. It was the result of girl-meets-local boy during the weekend voyages into town. Even Magali admitted that it was the perfect recipe for a heartwarming love story. However she wasn't much for those. Magali had learnt that such love stories only happened in movies. The recipe for real love required a dash of betrayal and perhaps some misunderstanding, especially in the beginning of a relationship. It wasn't a subject she had explored much, god knows her father never gave her "The talk." However there was no denying, not even to Magali, that real love required some passionate se...."

"You ready?"

Magali pushed off the tree she was hidden behind, only to find Charles staring back at her with utter interest.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't." She was quick to protest. However the sinful thoughts she was having had involved Charles and that frightened her a bit.

"Alright then, shall we go?" He toyed with the keys to the Crystler before stuffing them in his pocket. There was a bit of a walk to get to where it was parked behind Mr Mandore's cabin. Magali felt a ray of butterflies invade her stomach when Charles stretched out a hand for her to hold. She cursed herself for being so silly. Nevertheless with Charles' hand in hers she had never felt more happy.

They hurried towards Mr Mandore's cabin and hit the road as soon as they got into the car.

"It was a strange swim meet wasn't it?" Magali said. Charles made it clear that where he was taking her was a surprise and that she should't ask. So to avoid any smothering silence she had withdrawn to any form of small talk.

"Was it?" He frowned. He kept one hand on the steering wheel as he turned to look at her.

"Yes it was. Your friend lost but only by default."

Charles wrinkled his nose at her words.

"He was winning at first, wasn't he? Then all of a sudden he just stopped moving his arms, letting the other swimmers pass him."

"Why are you so sure that he let the other swimmers pass him?" He said, raising a curious brow.

"I mean who forgets to move when in the water? Isn't that the whole point of swimming."

Charles looked ahead, a large grin on his lips.

"What?" Magali nudged his leg. "Charles if you..."

"It's a part of the plan." He said, turning back to look at her. "Just trust me."

Magali was getting tired of not being allowed to ask questions. It just wasn't in her nature. Charles took notice of her furrowed expression and gently rested his hand on her thigh. "You trust me don't you?"

Immediate heat rose to Magali's face, she had stiffened with his touch but learned to relax as the palm of his hand stroked gently across the fabric of her jeans.

"Don't you?"

She failed to answer him, her eyes still darting at the large hand resting very close to the crease of her leg. She looked up to find him batting his lashes at her. God, how she loved his long lashes. "I trust you." She whispered.

"Good."

The car ride resumed in silence, with Charles' hand continuing to stroke Magali's leg.

They went on driving for about an hour. Magali took the liberty to rest her head against the window. But when La valle dei purosangue, the local town, flashed before her eyes she was quick to raise her head. "Charles, where are we going?"

"Relax." He chuckled. The distress in her voice amused him. "I'm not kidnaping you."

"But where exactly are you taking me?" Magali crossed her arms, this time demanding he'd answer.

Charles shook his head but acted wise not to pick a fight with her. "There is a fruit farm not too far from here." He said.

"A what?" She frowned.

"There is not much in season right now, but I'd like to take you there anyway, If that's okay with you?"

"Oh." Magali felt the heat in her cheeks as she melted in her seat. Perhaps It was best not to doubt Charles and his intention for the day. Maybe she should let him lead her blindfolded. What was the worst thing that could happen?

*********

A bike ride through outlined fields of crops and frozen flower beds, turned out to be the worst thing that could happen. The farm was sighted after an hour and a half minute drive. Charles had pulled up with the Chrysler and gotten out of the car to ask the owners of the plantation if they could park there. The owners, a farmer and his wife, mid seventies, seemed very friendly and very familiar with Charles. He had greeted both of them with kisses on the cheeks. However Magali had resonated it to be the Italian way to greet the elderly. Charles also asked if the two of them could take a stroll through what was known to be a real tourist attraction during the summer.

"Charles, I don't understand why you..."

"Happy birthday!"

They had gotten as far as to the plantation house, a large vertical cylinder house where the farmers apparently grew fruits and vegetables all season long with the help of sun panels. Beyond the plantation lay the frozen flower fields and initially Magali assumed that this was where Charles was taking her. However he had stopped at the plantation house, turned the corner before Magali had caught up with him, only to return gripping the handles of a bicycle.

"What is this?" She asked and stared down at the chartreuse colored bike as if it was a newly discovered invention.

"It's my birthday gift to you." Charles smiled.

The bike did indeed look brand new, Magali thought, giving it another inspection. The handles were strapped with red ribbons, a bit childish, she thought, but other than that it was a nice looking bike.

"I thought we could strap it onto the car once we go back, but first I thought you might want to try it." Charles said, glancing over his shoulders towards the open fields behind them.

"Charles." Magali inhaled patiently. "As much as I appreciate your thoughtfulness, I thought I told you that I don't know how to ride a bike." Charles had been fairly intoxicated during their infamous game of dart truth or dare. However Magali had confessed one of her most shameful secrets that night. For Charles to have forgotten dug deep into the pits of her stomach.

"I know." Charles said, his voice gentle.

A light sprung inside Magali. "You do?"

"You told me, remember?"

Charles' smile made her own lips twitch. "I do." She said, kicking something invisible at her feet. There was sudden warmth at her ear as Chalres leaned in. "Do you want me to teach you?" He whispered.

Magali raised her chin to find herself eye to eye with the crook of his neck. "Yes." She nodded.

Charles made the slight shift of his head so that they now stood facing each other. He kissed her. Magali flared her nose as his scent invaded her nostrils and once their lips collided a warmth was spread through her entire body.

"Go on then, get on the bike." He said once they parted. "I won't let you go."

Magali threw her leg over the bike to mount it. "Promise?"

Charles regripped the handles of the bike, cradling Magali's body underneath his own, like a protecting shell. "I won't let you go, I promise."

**************

A wobbly beginning as expected. Charles however did not expect Magali to be a screamer. She let out a terrible shriek with the slightest bump in the road. After hearing the first ones escape her mouth, Charles may or may not have provoked the following, steering the bike towards the many bumps in the gravel road.

"Charles you promised!" She held on for her dear life as Charles pushed the bike through narrow pathways isolated by twigs of dry tomato crops.

"I promised to teach you how to ride a bike and that is exactly what I am doing." He laughed.

At one point Magali's feet left the pedals as she was struck by panic coming down a small hill. Her attempt to brake with her feet resulted in the two of them ending up in the bushes, with Charles on top of Magali.

"You did good." He smiled.

"Shut up." She muttered, pushing his weight off her.

Charles laughed. "I'm serious. You'll learn in no time."

"Ha ha, very funny." Magali began picking twigs and leaves out of her hair. She was worse off than Charles because of her curls. "What?" She said, as he was caught staring.

"You missed one." He reached forward to pluck the last leaf out of her hair. His hand lingered longer than necessary, eventually moving down to caress her cheek.

"This place looks better in the summer." He said.

"How do you know, do you come here often?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged. "It was mostly when I was younger, during my first years at SDC." He could take her orange picking, he thought. However, the harvest season was in october. He would have graduated by then and Magali, where would she be?

"Do you only stay in a country for a year?" He asked and by the looks of it the question had startled her. "I mean is your father forced to move countries every year because of his job?"

Silence fell as Magali looked to ponder his question. The wind rattled the leaves in the bushes around them, calling upon the early days of spring.

"We never know." She shrugged.

"Would you like to stay?"

She raised a brow.

"I mean if you could?"

She took the time to ponder the question once more but this time it took her longer to answer him. Charles still held her face, perhaps this turned his question into a conflict of interest.

"If you were given a chance to leave the school would you?" She asked, dogging his question by asking another.

"Today?" He frowned.

She nodded.

"I dunno, but I guess I would. Yes." Charles thought about his visit to the Ciccone mansion, this and all the other times that his legacy had forced him to make choices beyond his capabilities.

"I would stay." She said.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You would?"

"If I was asked to leave or stay today I would have stayed."

"Why?"

Magali chuckled at his furrowed expression. "It's not as bad as you think, to have a place to stay for more than a year. To have friends and people to talk to whenever you feel alone."

Charles searched her face, desperate to know what went on in her mind, for her to tell him about the times she's felt alone. Perhaps more alone than he ever had.

"Charles?"

"Yes, Magali?"

"Can we get out of these bushes now? My butt is getting cold."

He snorted, but rose to his feet, stretching out a hand to help her up. He then leaned down to peck her lips. The motion had startled her, however he felt her relax against him. The kiss lingered long enough to turn into something more, something more daring and vulnerable then any of their other kisses.

"Where to next?" Magali said. Once they were back on the road, Magali's bicycle strapped to the back of the Chrysler.

Charles had failed to teach her how to ride the bike, however he had certainly enjoyed the attempt. "I thought we'd grab something to eat?" He said.

"That sounds good. I'm starving."

"I'm surprised?" Charles grinned

She frowned. "Why?"

"I dunno?" He shrugged. "You ate so much grass falling off the bike. I assumed you'd be full of it by now."

"Ha ha." She playfully hit his side.

Charles dodged her weak jabs by grabbing her hand, intertwining it with his.

"It's better to drive with both hands." She mumbled, perhaps a bit flustered.

"Don't worry." He brought her hands to his lips, planting a kiss on the back of it. "I'm a very skilled driver."

Magali shifted awkwardly in her seat, turning her head to look out the window. Charles could see her reflection through the glass, she was smiling too.

They drove back to La valle dei purosangue. The sun had gone down by the time Charles parked the car behind the Caterpillar. "Where not eating here." He said, stopping Magali from going around back to where the entrance was.

"No?" She frowned. "Why not?"

"It saturday. There's too many students." He took her hand, leading her in the other direction. He was expecting Magali to question where he was taking her, since that's what she always did. He turned to find her tilting her head towards the ground, hiding her face from him.

"Hey." Charles paused his steps. Magali tilted her head up to look at him, a slight sorrow in her expression. "You are not my secret." He said assuringly. "But I just don't know any other way to protect you, to protect this."

Magali snorted when he pointed between the two of them. As if what they had was something sacred and not another teenage romance.

"I'm serious Magali. There are people who are trying to get me and if they find out how much I care about you, perhaps they will come after you as well? I don't know how to live with myself if anything were to happen to you because of me."

Her eyes searched his face. Perhaps unsure if he spoke in earnest. Charles however didn't feel like he needed to convince her further, feeling Magali's hand squeezing his, convinced him enough.

The two of them continued down the main road of the local town. Once they arrived at the town square, Charles turned the corner to a more narrowed street that eventually led up to a bundle of apartments. It was one of the taller buildings, with several balconies overlooking a small courtyard.

"My godmother lives here."

Magali turned to him surprised. "Are we going up?"

Charles nodded. "She's dying to meet you." He grabbed her hand and all Magali could do was follow.

************

Magali hadn't had a home cooked meal in forever. Her father had people do it for them where they lived at the embassy. Charles' godmother was a great cook, serving a three course meal that included Magali's favorite dish, lasagna.

"Save some room for the cake honey"

"There is cake?" Magali looked up from her plate. Friendly faces stared back at her. There was Charles' godmother, her two seven year old sons, her husband and of course Charles. He chuckled to himself, seeing Magali stuff her face with lasagna.

"Of course there is cake." The woman stood. "It wouldn't be a birthday without it."

Magali sat back a bit embarrassed, she had never celebrated her birthday in the presence of so many people. Usually it would just be her and her dad, having dinner in some fancy hotel in whichever country that they were staying at.

"How old are you turning hun?" The woman said, returning with a red velvet cake smothered in whipped cream, placing it in the middle of the table for everyone to gawk over.

Magali swallowed the last of her lasagna. "Seventeen." She said,

"God, I remember when I was seventeen. Charles' mother and I would sneak out to the farm as well. There is a lake on the other side of the forest. We used to go skinny dipping there all the time."

Charles coughed.

"Sorry honey." The woman laughed. "What were you two doing at the farm anyway, it's too early for any skinny dipping." She winked.

Heat rose to Magali's face. The woman was very lively and playful. Like them, she used to be a student at SDC. Cahrles mother was her best friend. During her senior year she met a man in the local town. They got married after graduation and lived happily ever after.

"I was just teaching Magali how to ride a bike, although little progress was made."

"Pardon?" Magali gasped.

Charles grinned.

"Wait, you don't know how to ride a bike?" One of the boy's exclaimed.

"Don't be rude Eric." The boy's father hissed.

Magali shook her head, "It's okay." She smiled at the boy. "I've never owned a bike until today." Magali turned to Charles who's cheeks blossomed.

"That's so sweet of you honey. Do you remember when we used to go orange picking at the farm?" Charles' godmother leaned towards Magali. "Charles used to stay with us during the weekends during his freshman years."

"Is that so?" Magali said deviously. Charles' cheeks blossomed even more, the color rising to his entire face.

"It wasn't until he moved into the clubhouse that he stopped staying over. A shame really."

"Wait, you know about the clubhouse?" Magali frowned.

"Do I know about the clubhouse?" She snorted. "I may or may not have gone to a few parties.

Magali wanted to ask if she'd ever attended a leash party, but found the time and place a bit inappropriate."

"I remember Chalres mother forcing me to go to all of those crazy events happening at the clubhouse. All to get the attention of this boy she liked."
"A crimson brother?" Magali gasped, but closed her mouth as she caught Charles' stiff glare.

"What was his name again? Do you remember what his name was again honey?" She turned to her husband. "We used to double date sometimes but you hated his guts and called out Chiara for dating such a bastard."

Her husband shrugged his shoulders.

"I've forgotten his name." She sighed. "The last time I saw him was when I dropped Charles off after a weekend. God that was a long time ago, I can't believe that bastard is still the school's headmaster."
"Headmaster Paolo?" Magali did not mean to shout, however the name had burst out of her like the lava inside a volcano.

"That was his name!" Charles' godmother exclaimed. "Ruben Paolo. Remind me to call Chiara and tell her that her taste in man used to be so awful when we were younger. Thank god she found your father during her year abroad." She laughed and so did everyone else around the table, everyone except Charles who stood.

"It's getting late, we should get back to campus."

"Nonsense, we haven't cut the cake yet." His godmother frowned.

"Sorry madrina, but we gotta get back before curfew."

"Well, let me cut a piece for Magali to bring along." The woman stood, disappearing into the kitchen. Whilst she was gone Magali caught Charles glare again. What had been said at dinner had clearly upsetted him, perhaps his mother's love affair with SDC headmaster was something that he didn't wish to share with her.

"I'm not ready to return back to campus." She told him, once the two of them had returned to the Caterpillar, where Mr Mandore's Crystler stood parked out back. "The last bus hasn't even left the station yet."

Charles' expression told Magali that he was in a slight mood after dinner. She moved to embrace him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thank you for inviting me to meet your godmother. The dinner was wonderful, I loved it."

His expression softened as he tilted his head to look at her. "Happy birthday." He smiled.

Magali raised herself to her tippy toes, an indication for Chalres to tilt his head further. Their lips met in a soft kiss. They were swept up in the sounds of the night. Laughter was heard coming from inside the pub behind them, the night was indeed still young.

"How about a movie?" Charles said, once they parted.

She smiled. "A movie it is."

It was a small town, but it had the essentials for a night out. The young students of SDC were drawn to the local pubs, decorative cafes and the old cinema across the town. Charles let Magali pick the movie, but he sighed at the fact that she picked one in black and white.

"It's a classic." Magali insisted as she held their snacks whilst Charles paid for everything.

"Classic's are boring." He muttered.

Magali happily led the way towards their movie salon, but stopped midway down the stairs seeing as they were the only ones there.

"See!" Charles exclaimed. "We're the only ones dumb enough to buy tickets to this boring movie."

"Don't be silly, the movie hasn't started yet." Magali said, however she ate her words up fifteen minutes into the screening. That is when she finally came to terms with the fact that the movie sucked.

"Boo!" Charles shouted, throwing popcorn at the screen. Of course he found the liberty to do so considering he wasn't disturbing anybody as the two of them sat in the middle of the abandoned theater.

"Can we at least try to enjoy the movie? Perhaps it gets better towards the end?"

"I doubt it." He snorted.

Magali sighed as she slumped down in her seat. Perhaps she should have let Charles take her back to campus. It had been a long day, she was getting tired.

"Wanna get out of here?" Charles said, reading her mind. She could feel him staring.

"Yes." She muttered. "But I don't want the night with you to end, which it will once we get back to campus."

"Don't think like that." He said, throwing his arm around her shoulder, railing her in. Their foreheads knocked against each other as Magali turned to face him. They sat like that for a while, letting their noses touch.

"I mean it Charles." She whispered. "I don't like it when we have to hide. Can't we have one night together where we don't have to turn to look over our shoulders to see who's watching us?"

"No one is watching us now." He smirked.

"I suppose." She chuckled.

"And I..." Charles paused, choosing his next words carefully. "I know a place we can go. If you are serious about spending the night..."

Magali raised her brow.

"...with me?"