It seems as though no matter how many times she's told, no matter how many times she's been shown, Alice doesn't seem to get it.

In the fairytale book that Sharon has, the princess and prince kiss and it is happily ever after. In Alice's head, however, the princess and prince bite each other's face and then it's happily ever after. Every effort to try and teach Alice seems very trying to Sharon, and all Sharon can do is attempt to repeat herself in a different fashion, in hopes that maybe this time, Alice will understand it.

Now together, they sit on Sharon's bed in her chamber, looking at the fairytale book laying in Sharon's arms once again for another lesson. Alice is looking over Sharon's shoulders at the colored pages as Sharon is about to turn the page.

Sharon reads carefully, "...Then the prince sees the sleeping princess and he —"

"Kisses her!" Alice shouts, raising her arms. "I know the story, Sharon! You've told me before so many times now!"

Sharon turns the page before looking back at Alice, "And how does it end?"

The brunette crosses her arms, "In a happy ending, of course."

"Yes, so you understand that if you want a happy ending with Oz, then you have to kiss him, right?" Sharon asks.

"Yeah! I know that!" Alice beams, puffing out her chest and putting her hands on her hips. "I just have to bite him and then we'll be happy! I understand this completely, Sharon! No problem!"

"No. No no," Sharon shakes her head and waves a finger at the other girl, "No biting. There will be no biting in this. I have told you before, Alice."

"But isn't that what —"

"No, it isn't," Sharon turns back to the illustration of the prince leaning down to kiss the lying figure of the princess.

"See this, Alice?" Sharon points to the faces of the characters, "This is kissing. Kissing is different than biting. We do not bite people's faces; we kiss them."

With her purple eyes, Alice scans the image carefully, her head slowly entering a nod as she continues.

Then she looks up from the book back to Sharon before stating, "I don't see the difference."

"Alice —"

"He looks like he's nibbling on her face," Alice points at the image, but Sharon pulls the book away in shame of the other's interpretation.

"That's not it at all, Alice," Sharon sighs, closing the book in defeat. "Biting: you use teeth. Kissing: you don't. Do you see now?"

"So what? You just get close to the person like this?" Alice shows her teeth in an awkward grin and leans closer to Sharon's face, only making the other laugh and fall to her side on the bed.

Sharon waves Alice off, still laughing at the other's silly attempts of a kiss. She pushes herself up on the bed, "Well you certainly aren't using your teeth this time, so I suppose that's an improvement."

And Alice bows her head with a small smile at what she assumes is a compliment.

"But that's not a kiss either," Sharon confesses.

"Ugh, come ooon," Alice slams her hands on the bed, "But I'm close though, aren't I? Aren't I?"

"Well... I guess a slight bit," Sharon shrugs.

"Jeez, it can't be that hard!" Alice puffs her cheeks out. "Like, what am I doing wrong?"

"Er... all...of it...?" Sharon admits as her voice trails off. "But don't give up, Alice. You can do this. In fact, you did do this."

"Yeaaaah, but it was to make the contract sooo..."

"Y-Yes, but it's the same thing, I assume." Sharon nods.

"Oh, I see! So that's a kiss!" Alice nods more with a smile, "Okay, I think I got it!"

"Alright. Are you sure, Alice? I don't want to have to come back and see Oz's cheeks or lips bleeding or anything." Sharon worriedly asks.

But Alice shakes her head, "Yeah! I'm sure I can... But..."

Sharon tilts her head, "Is something wrong?"

"Can I practice?" Alice asks.

"Excuse me?"

"Could I try this whole 'kissing' thing?" Alice repeats, leaning closer to Sharon.

Sharon almost feels herself getting dizzy. What? Practice kissing? They've never gone this far with Alice's training, nor has Sharon ever thought of practicing. Oh, and the thoughts are making Sharon all the more lightheaded. But why is that?

"Sharon?" Alice calls to the other girl. "Is it too hot? Do you need some ice or something?"

"No! No! I'm quite alright! Thank you, Alice," Sharon waves her hands in embarrassment, scooting herself away from Alice. "B-But, yes! Perhaps we should practice...?"

Sharon isn't even convinced with her own tone. No, in all honesty, she would much rather let Oz take the fall and get bit. It seems like something that Sharon would do, and yet, she's volunteering herself to become the guinea pig to Alice's new understanding of kissing.

"Okay, here I go!" Alice announces. Her pink lips slightly pucker as she shuts her eyes, leaning on her arms as she moves closer to Sharon. Sharon looks down at the girl's pink lips, and instantly she can feel her own face going red, burning in shyness that she has to cower away.

"No! No! Never mind!" Sharon turns her head away from Alice to hide her face in shame of herself. "I don't think I'm quite fit for practice! Maybe another time, Alice?"

But a response never comes from Alice, and Sharon can only imagine that Alice may be upset.

With a sigh, Sharon decides to muster an explanation, "I'm sorry, Alice. I just —"

Her words fail her when she feels something soft on her cheeks. With wide eyes, Sharon tries to turn her head, but soon, that soft feeling on her cheeks is replaced by sharp, jagged pain. Quickly, Sharon yelps and pulls herself away. She looks to the source, only to see Alice close to her face.

"W-What are you doing, Alice?" Sharon peeps in shock, holding a hand up to her face. Her cheek feels hot and wet, most likely from the pain and what she figured happened.

"Did I do it right?" That's all Alice asks. Her eyes are gleaming with high hopes, and Sharon couldn't allow herself to be angry or upset with Alice…. Not that she is angry with Alice. In fact, with Alice's purple eyes shining the way it is now, she couldn't help but think of Alice as cute and nothing more.

Then Sharon snorts. She tries to stop herself from laughing, but all her laughter becomes muted into small giggling to herself. Alice raises a brow at the other's giggling.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Alice," Sharon rubs her pained cheek, "But that's just biting, not kissing."

"But it worked right?" Alice asks.

"Worked?" Sharon asks back.

"You're not upset anymore! You're laughing and smiling!" Alice nods. "So this still works!"

"Ah, is that why you still tried?" Sharon smiles sweetly at the chain. "How kind of you, Alice."

"Mhm!" Alice hums before bowing her head quickly. Seeing how proud the girl is almost makes Sharon want to let Alice go with biting instead of kissing, but that just means Sharon has failed as Alice's teacher; she wouldn't allow that.

"Here, Alice," Sharon scoots herself closer to Alice, reaching out for the other's hand. "Would you allow me to show you? Then you can understand better."

"Why didn't we do this before?" Alice groans, stretching her arms over her head before dropping them to her side, "But okay! Show me, Sharon!"

And Sharon nods with a small sheepish smile. Then Alice shifts herself, sitting on her legs and placing her hands on her lap, waiting to learn about a kiss.

Meanwhile, Sharon is just nervous. She brings herself closer and closer to Alice, but every time she gets closer, her chest starts to feel warmer and her heart begins to race faster.

It's just a kiss. Just a kiss. Sharon repeats in her head, reminding herself that this is just mere practice to teach Alice better.

Her lips are brushing against Alice's pink lips and Alice begins to close her eyes. On the other hand, Sharon can feel herself become more lightheaded at the touch, so much that she wants to pull herself away.

But she doesn't. No. As soon as she feels those lips against her own, all Sharon wants to do in that moment is to lean in further and feel those lips in full. Softer than she had thought before, but she isn't complaining; she loves them.

Sharon holds Alice's hand tighter, and Alice does the same, and Sharon can feel herself melting into the kiss.

Wait. No. Stop. This is practice. What is she thinking?

Sharon pulls herself away from Alice, hand letting go of Alice and lips quivering from the absence of the other's lips. Sharon touches her own lips before sheepishly smiling. "That's a kiss, Alice. See? No biting. No pain."

"O-Oh. I see." Alice touches her lips and looks down. "That… was actually really nice."

Sharon nods, quietly agreeing with the chain. In silence, they look away from each other, both with their fingers still on their lips, thinking about the lingering presence. Sharon couldn't tell how Alice feels about it, but she knows full well with herself that Sharon liked it more than she would like to admit.

She's almost jealous that Alice would be sharing more kisses with Oz than herself.

Wait, no, stop that nonsense. Sharon shakes her head and frowns at herself. She's just supposed to help Alice practice. That's all. What's with all these other thoughts? Perhaps she is tired, and her mind is slowly turning into a mess.

Her thoughts come to a pause, feeling something soft touch her lips once again, and she knows what these are. Her eyes fall on Alice kissing her once again, and she closes her eyes enjoying this feeling.

And Alice pulls away.

Sharon blinks in confusion, "Alice?"

"You looked upset again," Alice shrugs. "And you said kissing would help, right? So, I kissed you again!"

Sharon holds her cheeks, feeling how warm they feel. Her lips waver into an awkward smile under her blush.

"So it does work!" Alice concludes, raising her hands again in excitement. "So I can kiss and I can bite to help! Thank you, Sharon! I'll go do just that with Oz!"

"Y-You know, on second thought," Sharon grabs Alice's hand. What on Earth is she doing? "I-I think Oz would actually appreciate the biting more! Yes. No kissing. Just the biting will work just fine!"

"Huh? Really?" Alice leans on her hands toward Sharon before pumping her fists in the air again, "So I was right all along! Yes!"

Sharon chuckles at the other's excitement. "Just don't bite to harshly now."

"Fine by me!" Alice smiles happily, proud of herself. "Thanks for the lessons, Sharon!"

"Not a problem, Alice," Sharon bows her head. She can feel herself slightly regretting her own decision, "But you know, Alice?"

"Hm?"

"Kissing was nice, though, but I would much prefer that kissing is something we only do."

"Huh?" Alice raises a brow, "But didn't you say I should do that with Oz?"

"Never mind Oz," Sharon waves her hand before covering her face, "Let's just say that I'm fond of us kissing, and I would prefer that it's reserved as something only we do."

"Oh okay, sure!" Alice nods, "I really liked kissing you anyways, Sharon! So I'm fine with that! Plus, you taste good!"

"T-Taste good?" Sharon stammers, baffled by the odd comment. She rubs her cheeks again, as though her attempts from before would brush the red burning her cheeks, but the comment is starting to repeat in her head again. Lightheaded again.

Sharon shakes her head and ignores Alice's last comment, "B-But you liked the kiss?"

"Yeah!" Alice nods again with a big grin. "It was nice and soft! I like it!"

With a soft smile, Sharon grabs Alice's hand and pats it, "I wouldn't mind it at all then, Alice."

And Alice too grabs a hold of their hands, "Hey, let's do it again!"

"A-Again? Already?"

"Yeah! It's nice and I like it! You like it, too, right?"

"I do, but oh, perhaps another time," Sharon chuckles. "I think we should probably return back to the group and see what our next plans are."

Alice sighs tiredly, "Alright fine."

Then the two get up from the bed, looking back on the forgotten fairytale book that was supposed to be used to help with the lesson.

"So shall we?" Sharon gestures to the door of her chamber.

"Sure, but first," Alice steps closer to Sharon and pecks her on the cheek one more time.

Sharon smiles sweetly and does the same, kissing Alice on the cheek in return. This is starting to feel so natural to Sharon, and she can tell that Alice is starting to get used to this as well. She almost wishes they could do this more often.

"Just keep this a secret, alright?" Sharon puts a finger to her lips and Alice nods before the two head out. A happy secret shared between the two, and the thoughts won't leave their minds for quite a while.