The Right Way to Decorate Cookies

Oneshot

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead Poets Society. If I did, would I be writing this? If you would like to do an exchange of rights though, I'll gladly take all of the boys except for Cameron.

A/N: I received a request to write a Charlie centric piece dealing with cookies and of course, frosting. So what did I do? As soon as finals for college were over with I stuck to my word. This is both for and dedicated to Blackbirdox. I really hope she enjoys it just like everyone else who reads it. I'm on my winter break at my college so I should have a lot more time to write as long as I'm inspired. As always, please read, review, send in your oneshot requests and enjoy.

Charlie Dalton was having problems believing the images that he was taking in at that exact moment. He had rather good vision so he knew that wasn't the problem. The problem happened to be standing on the other side of the Kitchen Island across from him. Her name was Mallory Alena but he knew how she hated to be called her full name. Instead he lovingly knighted her with the simple nickname of "Mal" when they were just four years old. The reason he was having doubtful thoughts was because of the fact that she had seemingly changed so much over the few months that they hadn't seen each other. Charlie could recall the two of them hugging goodbye on his doorstep when he left for the new term at Welton Academy. He and Mal had grown up together and became best friends instantly when they met at the tender age of three. They had both changed drastically throughout their years together but now he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Something had changed. He just couldn't quite pinpoint what. Not yet.

The future-banker quickly ran over the length of time that they hadn't seen each other. Now that he was home for Christmas break he concluded that they hadn't seen each other in a whole three months. They had kept in contact with letters; and sometimes phone calls when they both had the chance to spare a few minutes. It still wasn't the same as being able to look each other in the eye as they had their conversations about everything and nothing until the dead of night. They could at least do that again up until the third day of the New Year. The day that he had to return to Helton. His grip on the counter suddenly tightened at the thought, which caused Mal to notice the sudden movement of the otherwise statue-like boy before her.

Mal frowned and tilted her head to the side to observe him. "Are you all right, Charlie?" she asked in concern. It was rare for him to be so quiet. When he was he was either scheming, sick or extremely upset.

Charlie snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the girl in front of him. He nodded and cleared his throat. "Mhm, I'm fine. Just a little tired from the ride over here." That wasn't a complete lie. The car ride from Welton to her house had been too long and too boring for his liking. He had been too impatient to wait and see her so he had arrived home to go immediately across the street to her house. Mal had been expecting him later that evening which was why he had caught her right in the middle of baking cookies. He usually loved her baking. When she had first started he had eaten so much he was usually sick the rest of the night. It wasn't like he minded any. It gave him the excuse to be whiny and get Mal to cuddle with him on the couch.

Shaking away the memories, Charlie picked up the spatula for the homemade frosting Mal had made earlier. He licked some of the frosting off and grinned to himself. The frosting was better than ever. It seemed his words had convinced Mal enough because she went back to forming the cookies on the baking sheet between them. Charlie again watched her in silence as she worked. He began to try and figure out what had changed once more. Her hair was still just as curly and soft looking as usual. The only difference was that it was a bit longer than when he had last seen her and pushed behind her ears. He concentrated hard enough and long enough to decide that it couldn't be her makeup from what he could tell. Her wardrobe hadn't altered much except that she was wearing a new holiday dress. Charlie's eyes roamed over the silky fabric of the dark green dress. It was tight and formfitting in all the right places. It flattered her hips and brought out what looked to be an hourglass figure that she had been hiding from him. The skirt was too long for his taste but he figured her mother had purchased it for her. Once he realized he was staring a bit too long at her chest he snapped his eyes back up to her face, a light blush staining his cheeks.

Nuwanda didn't usually have such problems around girls. He never got flustered with them or anything of that nature. She was different. The whole situation was different. Mal made him nervous in the best kind of way possible and he didn't want to screw anything up with her. No other girl had made him feel the way he felt. That was what had changed. His feelings had gradually changed into more than friendly ones and he was just now realizing it. Charlie was so caught off guard that he dropped the frosting spatula on the counter. The sudden noise caused Mal to once again look at Charlie in concern.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Mal questioned in the tone she held especially for him. She began to chew on her bottom lip, causing the light shade of lipstick to start to disappear.

Charlie inwardly groaned. He loved it when she did that. The action showed just how concerned she was and that she was sincere. It didn't help that she looked absolutely adorable while doing it. He glanced down at the cookie sheet for some way out of her question when he got an idea. He nodded and slowly looked back up at her. "Actually, there is."

Mal set her spatula down and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. "What is it?"

"This isn't the right way to decorate cookies."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You've never complained before."

Charlie shrugged. "I know. I just thought of a better way to do it is all."

His best friend scoffed. "What's that?"

Charlie noticed that Mal had some frosting from a cookie she had been covering on her index finger. He reached over and gently grabbed on to her wrist. "Well for one, decorating is much more fun this way." Repeating the words of Mr. Keating in the back of his mind about carpe diem, he brought her hand closer to his mouth. Locking eyes with her, he slowly licked the frosting from her finger.

The effect he had on her was immediate. Her blue-green eyes widened in both surprise and darkened in what looked to be lust. Charlie was immensely pleased with himself. It seemed that Mal was just as taken with him as he was with her. That would make things run more smoothly for the both of them that way. "Don't you agree?" he asked.

He watched as Mal could only manage to nod her head and be unable to break the gaze she had on him. As innocent as Charlie could look, he displayed that look on his face as he dipped his finger into the frosting. "Why don't you try it?" He held out his finger to her with the patent smirk of his as he waited. For a moment he didn't think Mal was going to do it. That she was going to back down and ignore what she wanted. Then before his eyes she leaned down and just as easily licked the frosting off of his finger. Charlie watched in a mixture of amazement and happiness as she licked her lips.

Mal debated her answer for another few moments before responding. "You're right. Decorating is much more fun that way."

Charlie had never seen this side of Mal before but he loved it. It was so new, so different and invigorating. The fact that she was so easily doing what he wanted was a plus. Deciding to continue with what he was doing, Charlie walked around the Kitchen Island to stand beside her. Charlie didn't break eye contact with her the entire time he did so. Feeling his heart thudding against his chest in anticipation, he leaned in and kissed her. It started out soft and hesitant at first. Once Mal seemingly melted into the kiss he took it up a notch. He gently placed a hand on the back of her neck while the other went to her hip. After a bit he pulled back just enough to be able to look at her. The sight of a radiant smile on her face was enough to tell him that what he was doing was okay. More than okay, actually. Perfect.

Being more aggressive that time, Charlie gently pushed her back against the counter and pinned her there with his own body. He kissed her again and within a few moments he was running his tongue along her bottom lip to ask for entrance. Mal didn't deny him and soon the kiss had turned ten times more passionate. Charlie kept one hand on her hip again and the other smoothly ran down her side. As he passed, he could feel the curves of her body and he groaned into the kiss. Without meaning to she was teasing him and it just wasn't fair. Charlie's hand stopped at her hip and he picked her up and sat her down on the cleared part of the counter. Mal's legs wrapped themselves around his waist as if they had a mind of their own. Neither one of them minded in the least.

When the need for oxygen became dire the two broke the kiss. Charlie didn't want to be separated from Mal for a second. So he could breathe easier and still touch her, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. His lips planted a trail of kisses down her jaw and ended at her neck. He knew just how sensitive her neck was. Her ex-boyfriend had made that obvious with the amount of hickeys he had given her in the past. Charlie felt the need to mark her as well. She was his and her skin was his territory. It was only fair for other boys to realize that she wasn't available anymore. After this Charlie was going to be sure and make her his girl. He'd do anything for her to agree but he had a feeling he wouldn't have to do more than ask.

Charlie gently bit down on the most sensitive spot on her neck, causing a quiet moan to reach his ears. He gently ran his tongue over the bite to soothe it before beginning to leave his own mark. Mal clung to him tightly and the noise she made only spurred him on even more. It had to be the best one he'd ever heard before in his entire life. After the mark was made he pressed a kiss to it and pulled back. He noticed how ragged Mal's breathing had turned and it caused a boost to his ego. It was so easy to effect her that he wanted to do it again. The mark on her neck quickly turned red and he felt a swell of accomplishment rise within him. Before he could try for another mark on her collarbone, Mal had slid off the counter. Charlie inhaled sharply and backed up just a bit. He looked at her questioningly.

Mal ran a hand through her hair a couple of times to try and smooth it down before grinning at Charlie. "You know, Charlie…I think there's something else you could show me how to do the right way." The smirk on her face caused him to raise an eyebrow. This was interesting. Mallory was coming on to him now.

"Oh, you think so?" Charlie responded nonchalantly. "What's that?"

The girl before him giggled and slowly made her way to the door that led out of the kitchen. "We have to get to my bedroom first so I can show you." With an excited look in her eyes, she left the kitchen and Charlie could hear her heading up the stairs.

Charlie stared at the doorway in a mixture of nerves and amusement. The adrenaline began to kick in at the thought of what exactly she wanted to do. He took a step towards the doorway before stopping. Having a sudden idea, he grabbed the bowl of frosting off of the counter before running out of the kitchen and bounding up the stairs after her. Showing Mal the right way to decorate cookies had been the best idea he'd ever had. Charlie had loads of ideas but this one was going exactly where he wanted it. Now that Mal was educated in the art of cookie frosting, he had a much better idea of what to do with the leftover frosting. He already couldn't wait for her to make another batch.