They did go on a date in the end, and then another, and another after that. Amber was still uncomfortable around Onew for a while but the boy took it in his stride and, with Krystal’s help, was able to make sure they went on dates she would enjoy. On their first date they went to see a movie, a horror movie because Krystal said Amber enjoyed them and the boy hoped, in the back of his mind, that the tomboy would get scared and shuffle closer to Onew for protection, just like the clichés. But instead, much to Onew’s embarrassment, he was the one hiding his face and hugging Amber’s arm, with small whimpering sounds. Though Amber had said it was cute and that she had fun anyway, which made Onew sigh in relief.

Their second date was a trip to the arcade followed by dinner. Amber beat him at dance dance revolution and he won her a cuddly toy alpaca from the claw machine. It had taken over half an hour, and cost more than buying the toy in a shop probably would have, but Amber’s eyes had glued themselves to the white alpaca as soon as she had seen it and, even though he wouldn’t tell her, he loved how her eyes sparkled hopefully each time the claw picked up the toy....before promptly dropping it, and how happy she looked when he had won it. She had cheered happily, grinning wide as she hugged him tight, making him blush lightly and insist that is wasn’t a big deal as she picked the toy up and patted its head. Krystal had told him a week later that the toy was on the tomboy’s bed and that she always slept with it. The thought of it made him smile.

But it wasn’t until the third date that Onew decided to finally ask Amber out, ask her to officially be his girlfriend. He was nervous, really nervous, but their past two dates along with their lunch times together at school had just confirmed his feelings for the girl and, with reassurance from Krystal, he was sure he wouldn’t be rejected. Well, Krystal was sure, he just hoped the tomboy wouldn’t reject him.

He spent ages planning the perfect date, wanting to make it truly memorable. Key had helped him plan it, asking his friends at school for help and to find out exactly what girls wanted. But, in the end, they both ignored a lot of the suggestions Key’s friends made, all expect one.

Take her to where you met

This piece of advice confused Onew. Not because he didn’t know why, he understood that being able to remember their first meeting was important, but he didn’t know whether that would mean where he first found out about her, the park, or where he first introduced himself to her in school.

Key insisted on the school as it was where Onew first made himself known in the tomboy’s life but Onew couldn’t help but think that would be a bad idea. Amber didn’t associate their school with happiness, at least Amber would say she didn’t until Onew starting brightening up her lunch times, and Onew didn’t want to take the girl to the place she was able to get away from at the weekend. He wanted to take her to somewhere she was happy, like the park where she played games with her friends, as while they didn’t meet there it was where Onew was first drawn to the girl and to be able to tell her that in the place it first happened meant a lot to him.

He found it hard to explain this to Key, fumbling over his words and blushing lightly over what he was saying but this just made Key smile softly and pat the boy’s shoulder lightly.

“You are a hopeless romantic” Key said simply, making Onew blush darker “Hey, it’s a good thing. Amber will love it”

Onew nodded, fiddling with his fingers and sighing softly. He did hope Amber loved it...and that she wouldn’t reject him. Their dates had been fun, along with their lunch times in school between dates, and the tomboy had opened up to him again as if nothing had happened. Plus, the night he went to her house, a couple of weeks before to regain her trust, she didn’t push him away when he kissed her, that meant something right?

She didn’t tell him that she returned his feelings and had said nothing on the matter since but, at the same time, she hadn’t rejected his feelings or told him outright that she felt nothing in return. Key and Minho insisted that it meant she felt the same and wouldn’t reject him and Krystal kept on trying to push him towards asking the tomboy.

Key and Minho could be wrong, as neither had actually met the girl no matter how much they keep on telling Onew to introduce her to them, so they couldn’t know for sure. But Krystal was Amber’s best friend. She must know more even if she wouldn’t tell him.

Onew nodded to himself and smiled at Key. He was confident and he was ready. He was going to ask Amber to be his girlfriend and he was nearly certain that she would say yes.

----------------------------------------

Their date, Onew felt, was going just as well as the two previous ones had done. Amber was smiling brightly and had her arm linked with his so they wouldn’t get separated in the crowd. A funfair was in town, conveniently in their local park but on the other side, near the south entrance, of it where most of the public normally went to.

Amber had looked so happy when he told the tomboy he was taking her to the fun fair, he smiled at the memory of her bouncing happily and hurriedly saying how she hadn’t been to a fun fair in years and how her excitement hadn’t waned in the two hours they had now been in the fun fair. They had been on a couple of roller coasters, where Amber giggled and squeaked cutely during the whole ride while Onew squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to embarrass himself by screaming and, afterwards, they had also played most of the games available, winning a wide range of things from sweets to cuddly toys.

Onew had won two toys, a cute green cuddly dinosaur and a fluffy, honey brown cuddly rabbit. Amber already happily had the dinosaur under her arm, patting its head, when Onew won the rabbit on the last game he played and when he tried to give it to her she shook her head.

“You should have it Jinki” She had insisted, pushing the rabbit back towards him with a smile, and when he looked confused she just smiled wider and said simply “it reminds me of you. It’s cute, cuddly and has the same hair colour as you”

Onew looked at the rabbit in his hands, blushing lightly at what the girl had said but he nodded and kept the rabbit like Amber had said. He didn’t understand how Amber could say the rabbit was like him but that didn’t matter to him. Only one thing mattered...she said he was cute.

He looked at the rabbit for a moment longer before tucking it under his arm and reaching out to take hold of her hand. It was now or never, that’s what his brain was telling him. His mind insisted that this was the time to ask her out and that he couldn’t chicken out.

He watched as Amber looked at their joint hands and blushed lightly, it was the first them they had held hands like this and she couldn’t help but think their hands fitted well together. His fingers were small but she could feel the strength in his grip. It was like he didn’t want her to pull away but she found the strength reassuring, comforting even.

Keeping their hands joined Onew led them away from the fun fair, away from everyone and the hustle and bustle of the crowds until they were under the tree and by the bench Onew sat at every weekend when he watched the tomboy play baseball.

He looked around him, thankful to find that no one was there at all because anyone who would be there was drawn to the bright lights and colours of the fun fair instead. There was no one there to make him feel under pressure, there was no one where to watch. It was just him and Amber, the girl who made his hands clammy and butterflies flutter in his stomach, the girl who was like no other but filled his mind and heart regardless. It was just her and he was nervous.

“Are you okay?” Amber asked, a mixture of confusion and concern in her voice. She didn’t see a reason for the boy to lead them away from the fun fair like that. They were having fun weren’t they?

She lifted her hand and placed it over his forehead when she noticed that he looked a little pale and felt how the hand holding hers was clammy. She was worried that maybe he was sick or had a temperature as he didn’t look well but she was met with no signs of a fever, he felt normal.

Onew closed his eyes and sighed softly, trying to calm his nerves as he reached up and gently pulled the girl’s hand away from his forehead. He was thankful for the worry, the concern in her voice just making the butterflies worse, but he couldn’t get side tracked. It was now or never.

He was now holding both of her hands in his, giving them a light squeeze as he shook his head “I’m fine. I just wanted to talk to you...”

Amber nodded, instantly looked uncertain as to what was to come next. She was worried, in the back of her mind, that she was about to get hurt again but she was convinced that the boy wouldn’t of worked so hard to gain her forgiveness just to go against her. But, there was also a flicker of hope as to what would come next as she thought that it could be a good thing, that he could be about to ask what she had been secretly hoping for all along.

“You know...” Onew continued, looking around them to avoid Amber’s eyes as he knew they would just distract him and prevent him from being able to speak “This is the place where I first saw you. I didn’t know we went to the same school or anything, your laugh just pulled me out of my studying and then I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. That was over six months ago now...but Krystal told you how long I’ve known about you for right?”

Amber blushed darkly and looked down at their joint hands with a small nod. She had known he had been around for a while but never knew that he paid any attention to her. Krystal insisted that he did but she knew the girl had a habit of over exaggerating, especially when it came to boys. She didn’t know how to reply but, before she could even think of a way, Onew continued.

“I came back almost every weekend in hopes of seeing you again, in hopes of seeing you smile and hearing you laugh. I was addicted and I didn’t even know your name. All I knew was that you were different, so different to any other girl I’ve seen in my life, and I loved that about you”

Onew took a calming breath and slowly laced their fingers together. The tomboy hadn’t pushed him away or told him to stop. He took this as a good thing and quickly got the rest of what he wanted to say out before the girl got a chance to actually push him away.

“When I saw how you were in school, so different to in the park, I wanted to bring the smile I was so use to seeing back to your face in any way I could. So I pestered you and told lame jokes, it was all I could think of doing to make you laugh as humour isn’t my strongest point. But, while doing this, I got to know you too and, hell, if I thought I was hooked on you before that is nothing compared to what I am now. You know how I feel about you but I’m yet to hear how you feel about me. If you feel even the tiniest bit for me I would be over the moon and, maybe, you’d be my girlfriend?”

After he had finished he bit his lip and ducked his head, unable to watch her reaction as silence stretched between them. Amber was finding it hard to process what was just said. She knew the boy had told him he liked her but she wasn’t sure if he meant it or if it was just an overemotional moment, she wasn’t sure what to think and so didn’t tell him that she felt the same. But, now, there was no denying it. Onew liked her...she couldn’t see why he would but he did and it made her heart swell in her chest.

She smiled, though Onew wasn’t able to see it, and she gently tugged one of his hands up so it cupped her cheek. She closed her eyes, her smile now soft but still evident on her face as Onew looked at her and she nuzzled his hand a little bit as she spoke.

“You are my glimmer of light at school...did you know that? When that prank was pulled on me and I wrongly thought it was you, it was like that light was completely shattered. I was heartbroken”

She opened her eyes again and looked at Onew, her eyes meeting his as he continued “I was heartbroken because of how much you have ended up meaning to me. You could do better than me, you deserve better than me, but now you’ve given me the offer I’m not going to let you go”

Onew’s eyes widened slightly as it sunk in that the girl hadn’t rejected him, the complete opposite in fact. He didn’t believe it and couldn’t stop the huge grin that spread across his face.

“You’re saying yes...?” Onew had to ask, to make sure he wasn’t just hearing things, and when Amber laughed softly and nodded in reply Onew let go of the tomboy’s other hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in closer to him as his thumb of the hand cupping her cheek her cheekbone.

“You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me” With that said Onew pulled Amber in a little more and closed the distance between their lips, both of their eyes fluttering shut as he softly kissed he and she was quick to return the kiss, to not miss the opportunity like she had done the first time. His lips felt so soft and warm against hers, everything about him was warm.

The kiss broke slowly and Amber giggled quietly as her eyes opened to see that Onew’s were still closed. She quickly pecked his lips again, just to feel his lips against hers once more before pulling away a bit and taking hold of his hand again.

“There’s still a couple of rides we haven’t been on” Amber said excitedly, with a huge grin on her face, and Onew opened his eyes and nodded, his cheeks still lightly tinged pink from the kiss, before they headed back to the fun fair together to continue with their date.

Author's notes:

Sorry for taking so long!

I've been so busy and I still am and now I'm sick too and fgthyuijugytfghyui

but, yeah, I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. I don't know if I will add more or make it compelete here, tell me what you think I should do ^^

Enjoy~