Being in the rehearsal studio, listening to Amber breathe, watching her sweat and grunt in frustration when she got a move wrong, was a mistake. Krystal was every day almost from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to sleep. Amber was one of the few things on her mind these days, along with their impending concert. She was nervous and excited and would be traveling with Amber...and the other members of course. But it was another chance to find alone time in a hotel room. Somewhere a little special, especially while doing their Japan portion of the tour. And she couldn't help but look forward to France with Amber. They wouldn't be going there immediately together, but she would meet Amber and Luna there later. She hoped she could set something up with their manager so that she could share a room with Amber. 

Krystal brushed her hair, wondering if she should do something special to it since she would be seeing Amber at practice later. She'd had a dream the night before that, for once, Amber was feeling the same way she was after a long dance of dancing, grabbed her hand, and took her somewhere private to keep her heart rate up. 

She blushed, biting her lip. 

"Hey," she said, stepping into the practice room. The dancers and the members all nodded at her. Luna giving her a quick hug. Amber barely glanced at her, making Krystal roll her eyes. Does she have to play it so cool?  She wondered. At least pretend you know who I am. 

"Alright, Victoria just informed us, that she won't be able to attend many more practice sessions with us, so let's get this down as fast as we can so we can move on to the next three we need to learn today." 

Krystal sighed. She'd been hoping for a few chances to pull Amber aside but knew that wouldn't happen now. 

"Why is she always looking at you like that?"  Henry asked, throwing an arm around Amber's shoulders. He was practicing dancing that day as well as looking into arranging some songs in hopes of a new album. 

"Like what?" Amber asked, glancing over her shoulder to find Krystal trailing along behind them with her brows drawn low over her eyes, her small mouth pinched in a frown. 

"Like a wolf on the hunt. Is she bullying you?" He queried. "I think I can take her." 

Amber smiled and elbowed him lightly in the side. "No. I'll go see what she wants and catch up with you later, okay?" 

He nodded and walked off, leaving Amber to stand and wait for Krystal. 

"Wh-" 

Krystal grabbed her arm and pushed her, not very gently, into an empty focus room. It was practically sound proof with small benches, a rolling table for writing, and a single window in the doorframe. Krystal sat down on the bench and crossed her legs, glaring up at Amber.

"Woah, what did I do?" 

"I told you to wait for me after practice," she pouted. 

Amber tilted her head. "I did, then you said 'let me grab my bag' and disappeared for like five minutes. I figured you'd left without me." 

Krystal closed her eyes and shook her head. "And then you and Henry-"

"You know I don't like him like that-" 

Krystal cut her off. "I know. It's just, you always seem so comfortable with him, and you get to be all over him in public, but you've cut that back with me." 

"If people suspect-"

Krystal cut Amber off again. "I know!" She lowered her head. "I know..." she said more softly. How could she let Amber know that she just wanted to feel wanted by her without having to say it out loud again? She felt like a friend with barely a single benefit except for the few times she managed to get Amber alone in her apartment. And when they were there, she was so busy cuddling up next to Amber that they barely had time to really talk. 

"Look, it's nothing. I'll see you later okay," she said, a bite of annoyance to her tone. She didn't mean to let it slip through and Amber really was living up to her part of their arrangement, but she wanted more and she didn't want to feel like crap for wanting more. "I have a bit of a headache and I'm being grumpy." She glanced around then slipped a kiss onto Amber's lips. She wanted to linger, but you never knew when someone would round a corner. 

"I don't like what this is doing to you, Soo Jung," Jessica sighed, moving to wrap her arms around her little sister who lay on her bed, a frown and tears marring her pretty face. "I've never seen you bent this out of shape over someone." 

"I've never loved someone the way I love Amber," she said brokenly. "I feel like all I do is cry about her or talk about wanting to see her, then getting to see her and being disappointed about our time together because it never lives up to my imagination for it." 

Jesica her hair. "Maybe..."

"No!" Krystal said firmly. "If I'm with her, there's still a chance cause I know she'll at least keep her promise to me and not be as intimate with anyone else, but if she's free, then she's free to just crawl into Henry's arms whenever she's down or whenever he's down. I know that those two are closer than we'll ever be, but I want her. All of her." She wiped her eyes. "I sound like a psycho, don't I?" 

Jessica chuckled lightly in agreement. "Love makes us all a little crazy sometimes. A few more months, Krystal. Promise me," she conceded. "If I find you crying over her like this one more time I'm going to break her leg. How can someone not fall for my beautiful little sister?" 

Krystal sniffled, loving that her sister was there for her even though she didn't fully support her relationship with Amber. 

"Why are you being so weird?" Henry said with a sigh watching Amber take ten years to crawl into the bed beside him. 

She fiddled with the hem of her tank top. "I wanted to talk to you about something." 

"Well, get in here first. It's cold and I'm sleepy and you're making me nervous the way you keep shifting from foot to foot." 

Amber bit her lip and crawled under the covers beside him, sighing in relief when he pulled her into his arms, resting her head comfortably against his chest. Such a familiar sound of his heart beating comforted her. "You're my best friend...right?" 

"Obviously," he said. "No one else can put up with you." 

She rolled her eyes but kept talking. "If I told you something...would you promise not to hate me or-" 

"What? Did you spill something in my piano?" Henry asked. "That thing cost me a fortune. I wouldn't hate you, but you'd definitely need to buy me a new one." 

"No. I didn't spill anything in your piano. I..."

"Yeah?" he asked with some concern, wondering what she was so hesitant to tell him. 

"I'm...kind of dating Krystal." 

She felt him freeze, then slowly start to pull away from her.

"Henry?" she asked, clinging to him tightly so he couldn't move. 

"Krystal?!" he demanded. 

She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing against him. "I don't even know how it happened. I don't even know what's happening. I wanted to focus on my career and everything, but I was so lonely, then Gongju died, then..she was there and she was holding me, and touching me, and-" 

Henry grabbed her slender arms and pushed her away, rolling out of bed. He stalked into the living room, his feet thumping heavy on the floor. 

Minutes later, hesitant, Amber followed him, her fingers rubbing nervously together. She found him on his leather sofa, knees pulled up to his chin, arms curled around his legs and his head hanging down, a light wash of tears streaking his face. 

She carefully sat down next to him. 

"I was hoping," he said in a choked whisper, "that one day, maybe five years from now, or seven, we would...I mean I wanted to be the one to give you your three children and raise them with your smile and my cheeks."

"They'd look like high gophers..."

He chuckled a little and pulled her into a side hug. 'If things work out between you two, please consider my ." 

"Oh, my god. Gross!" Amber laughed, knowing that Henry was just trying to lighten the mood. Their friendship would survive this moment. She knew that. Her and Krystal's friendship on the other hand...