He was a senior student, two years older than Claude was. Not all that tall, slightly tanned, not scrawny but not particularly muscular either - an average 15-year-old, Claude would have said.

"So, what do we have here?" the older boy asked teasingly, raising his small, dark eyebrows in a mocking manner Claude certainly didn't enjoy looking at.

Although he had deliberately been invited here along with some other first year boys, Claude had soon understood he and the others were here solely to be made fun of. This was nothing but a jest, a way for the older boys to humiliate the younger ones; to show they were the kings of this school because they were older, and as such somehow had the natural right to boss the younger ones around.

This didn't sit too well with Claude, who for all his life had gotten used to giving orders to others rather than taking them himself.

"Are you going to sing to us?" the boy continued and laughed, now directing his attention entirely to Claude instead of the group of juniors as whole. "Or will you give me a kiss? You're so pretty that you wouldn't need to sing or dance if you did that."

He laughed again, but this time Claude interrupted him:

"Just one kiss? Is that all?" he asked, as if he had taken seriously the other boy's obviously joking suggestion.

"Yeah, just one kiss," the other replied and laughed again at the junior student's naivety. Of course he had not been serious - even if he did admit the younger boy looked cute, like a girl, so it probably wouldn't be all that bad.  

"Fine, then," Claude nodded and took a confident step towards the senior. "Just one kiss."

He had never kissed anyone before, but Claude feigned confidence as he approached the now silent boy. The older student looked confused, flustered even, but as he realized all the other boys around them now excitedly waited to see how the show would go on, he understood he couldn't just back down now.

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"Hey, you can't be serious, are you that dense?" he asked as a final last attempt to avoid what was soon to happen. He had taken one shaky step back, away from Claude.

"I'm not particularly fond of singing or dancing in front of others," the blond responded and placed his slender hands against the upperclassman chest. The older boy flinched, face burning red, and the others around them stayed silent, holding their breaths as they watched the scene unfold. It wasn't the kiss they were looking forward to, however. Rather, it was the tension between the two boys that interested them so; a challenge to see which one would be forced to back down. Could a first-year really overpower a third year, or would the junior be reminded of his place in this school's hierarchy?

Still resting his hand against the boy's chest, Claude leaned a bit forward. He did it slowly, almost teasingly, as if trying to see if the boy's nerves would finally crack; the upperclassman's entire face had gone bright red by now. Claude could feel the boy's warm, shaky breath against his face as he tiptoed to match the height of the other. He let his eyes rest, remaining now only half open, and he started moving his hands, wrapping them slowly around the upperclassman. Someone watching whistled at this.

Their lips were now almost touching. He could feel the tension in the room, both the one between the other boys and them, and the one between him and the nervous boy in front of him.

Claude moved his face forward,

past the boy's lips,

next to his right ear and spoke in a soft tone:

"Don't suggest something you have no guts to go along with."  

The older student went pale, and the entire audience started screaming and clapping hands, yelling incoherently about how Claude had won and how he had made a fool out of the older boy. What had happened just now had clearly made the older students excited, and the entire room had returned back to its liveliness - except that this time they were all simultaneously focusing on Claude.

"Can't believe a first grader would do that!"

Claude smiled in humble manner, averting his eyes from the other boys and feigning shyness. However, deep inside Claude was satisfied and proud of what he had done, and was very much enjoying the undivided attention he now received as a result.

Claude took a fast, arrogant glance at the upperclassman he had humiliated, and licked his lips.