A/N: The last fanfic I read was so dark and depressing and urgh, I need happiness and light and optimism in my life so this story will never go down the path towards angst. Enjoy this chapter (it's all TaeStal by the way; there will be more OnSica in the next ones)! Please do sound off in the comments. I'd love to know what you think of this story so far.

***

You Picked Me [5/?]

and I can see this unraveling

your love is where i'm falling

***

The guy's name was Kim Myungsoo and Taemin decided immediately that he wasn't good for Krystal. His reason? The dude comes from a different school and his house is too far away.

“You always say that, you know,” Krystal scoffed when he told her about his thoughts on her dating the aforementioned Kim Myungsoo. ”There's always something wrong with any guy I date.”

It was the end of a school day and she and Taemin were wandering the aisles of the grocery store nearest the apartment Taemin was staying in, picking out items to replenish Taemin's depleted food supply. Taemin was pushing the cart while Krystal was walking alongside him, scouring the shelves for food items she deemed worthy of being stuffed inside Taemin's refrigerator.

“I'm just looking out for you,” Taemin reasoned, as he watched Krystal place a banana bunch in the cart. “You're basically entering some kind of a long-distance relationship. You won't see him at school or anytime you want to. You won't see him everyday—”

“He has a car, Taemin,” Krystal said simply, setting her sights on an assortment of apples.

“So?” Taemin said, unfazed. “Okay, fine, he has a car. But he's sixteen. He probably has a driver to drive him around, which means you have a third wheel when you go on dates together... Hey, you can't force me to eat grapes, okay? Put that back.”

Krystal sighed, setting down the offending bunch of grapes to give Taemin a look. “The driver stays in the car, Taemin. He wouldn't watch a movie with us, let alone have dinner with us. And besides, do we need a car to go places? We can always take public transport.”

“Public transport is dangerous. Honestly, you should have just dated someone from school. That way you wouldn't have to travel back and forth just to spend time together.”

Krystal let out a chuckle at this. “You're pretty passionate about stopping me, huh?”

Taemin shrugged. “Like I said, I'm only looking out for you.”

Krystal only shook her head in amusement, before pulling the cart with her to the dairy section, where she picked up some yoghurt, two cartons of fresh low-fat milk, cream cheese, butter and half-a-dozen eggs. Taemin had sauntered into the cold beverage section, and Krystal had to snatch away the 1.5 liter Coca-Cola bottle he brought back with him. “This is unhealthy,” she warned, poking him.

“Geez, did Seohyun-unnie get to you, too?” Taemin grumbled loudly, earning him another poke from Krystal.

A few more arguments and disagreements about produce and toiletries later (“Really, paper towels and toilet papers are just the same thing, Jung!”), they were finally good to go. Luckily for them, they didn't have to wait too long in line to pay for their groceries even though it was a weekday. As they walked away from the counter, grocery bags in hand, Krystal looped her free arm with Taemin's and whispered teasingly, “You know what, Taemin, why don't I just date you? You claim to know what's best for me anyway.”

Taemin laughed. “Right, like we'd last one day before deciding to call it quits.”

They stopped to buy ice cream at their favorite ice cream parlor across the street before finally walking home to Taemin's.

***

Just as they made their last turn before reaching the street to Taemin's apartment, Krystal stopped on her feet, startled. A group of girls appeared to be gathering in front of Taemin's doorstep.

“Why do you think—”

“I don't know,” Taemin said, halting behind her. “Hey, Krystal, I think I forgot to buy something from the store.”

“Hair gel?” Krystal raised a suspecting eyebrow at him. Taemin was already fumbling for his keys in the pockets of his school uniform. “Shaving cream? Facial wash?”

“Here.” He handed the keys and his grocery bag to her. “You can put those,” he gestured to the grocery bags in her hand, “on the dining table. I'll be right back.”

“What, no, hey—” but Taemin was already stepping backwards, waving at her, before sprinting back to where they came from. “You left me alone to deal with them, I see,” Krystal muttered under her breath. She let out a heavy sigh and started walking forward.

As she neared the apartment, Krystal couldn't help but frown. The group of girls was comprised solely of girls from her year—she could tell from their familiar faces—but one girl with long, dark hair and a strikingly pretty face she recognized instantly. It was Son Naeun, her classmate in biology class and Taemin's admirer.

“Hey, umm,” Krystal began, her face impassive, as they parted to let her walk up the door. “Can I help you?”

“I wasn't expecting to see you here. You're Jung Soojung, aren't you?” asked Naeun, eyes traveling over Krystal from head to toe. “We haven't been introduced yet, I believe. I'm Son Naeun. We have Mr. Lee's biology class together.” She stepped forward and offered her hand.

Krystal put down the bags of groceries to give Naeun a handshake, trying her best not to look irritated. “Most people just call me Krystal.”

“Of course. You've transferred here from California, right?” She was wide-eyed and smiling, but her smile didn't seem very genuine to Krystal. “Your sister Jessica is so pretty. Now that I've seen you super upclose, I've realized you're kinda pretty too.”

Krystal had to resist rolling her eyes.

“Well, Krystal, we actually came here looking for Taemin,” Naeun continued, finally releasing Krystal's hand. She stole a brief glance at the windows of the apartment. “Is he perhaps inside?”

The other girls seemed to lean forward in anticipation of Krystal's answer.

“He went out to buy some stuff. I had to bring these in for him,” Krystal said, gesturing to the bags of groceries on the doorstep. “Maybe you could just leave him a message? I'll be sure to tell him later.”

Naeun seemed hesitant at first, but relented after realizing she really had no choice. “We're having a party on Saturday night, and we were hoping Taemin could come. It's my birthday, you see,” she declared disdainfully. “I slipped a note in his locker this morning but I saw him throw away all the notes he received today, so he couldn't have read mine. You should come too,” she added with remarkably less enthusiasm. “It'll be fun.”

“I'm not really sure if I'm free—“

“Wait, one last thing,” Naeun retrieved a pink envelope from her handbag and handed it to Krystal, which the latter took half-heartedly. “It would really mean a lot to me if you gave it to Taemin. A lot of his friends will be there. I'm sure he'd be very excited to go.” At this Naeun gave a sly wink, and the girls behind her giggled; Krystal felt like she was going to be sick.

“Sure,” Krystal said. She had had enough. “I think I'll be going inside now. Gotta put some of these groceries in the fridge.” She put on a smile for Naeun turning to face the door. “It was nice seeing you,” she said through greeted teeth.

“Likewise.”

Krystal hurriedly unlocked the door to the apartment, shoved the grocery bags inside and closed the door without giving Naeun and her friends as much as a second look. She pulled out her phone and typed.

Lee Taemin, you owe me. I won't open your apartment door if you don't come home with pizza and ice cream and popcorn. Pizza AND ice cream AND popcorn, get it?

His reply was swift. Anything for you, Soojungie.

***

Taemin was expecting a fuming Krystal to greet him once he got back to his apartment.

The moment he saw the crowd of girls in front of his apartment earlier, he had panicked. Fan girls? In his apartment? How the heck? There was no mistaking that the tall, dark-haired girl who stood out from the others—her name was Son Naeun and it was Krystal who had told him about the said girl's admiration for him, if he was not mistaken—was the same girl who slipped a note inside his locker this morning. He had made up his mind instantly: he couldn't deal with them. He had to leave, and that meant leaving Krystal with them, alone.

He was expecting Krystal to be mad, and he really couldn't blame her for being so.

When he had actually arrived though, the door was unlocked, his apartment was somehow tidier than when he left it this morning, and Krystal was lying on his couch, her socked feet dangling from the armrests, singing along to Girls' Generation's Gee in full blast on his stereo. “Hey, Taeminnie, teach me how to dance Gee again?” was the first thing she blurted out when she saw him at the door, and somehow, Taemin knew, she had already forgiven him for leaving her to those girls earlier.

He thanked the heavens for such an understanding friend.

After he had stored the ice cream (rocky road-flavored, Krystal's favorite) inside the fridge, placed the pizza and popcorn on the lone table in the living room, and sauntered to his bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes, Taemin found Krystal standing in the living room with her back to him, slowly running a finger across the spines of the DVDs on the shelf directly in front of her, reading their titles aloud. Krystal looked so comfortable in his apartment, so at home; Taemin couldn't help but smile as he walked towards her.

He was suddenly overcome by the urge to wrap his arms around her and and hold her tight against him.

Whoa, don't go there, Lee Taemin.

“Safe Haven? Oh my God, I can't believe you own this, Lee Taemin!” Krystal exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts as she raised an eyebrow at him, realizing that he was lost in his own world.

Taemin blinked a few times, suddenly pulled back from his reverie. “What? No! I didn't buy that! My mom did!” he sputtered, an embarrassed blush forming on his cheeks. Krystal only stared at him, an amused expression on her face. “I figured you wanted to watch a movie since you wanted popcorn. I bought this from the store.” He held up a DVD copy of 22 Jump Street. “Is this movie okay?”

***

The closing credits rolled and Taemin and Krystal found themselves where they always end up when they finish watching a movie—on the floor, her head on his lap and him leaning back on the couch. 

"It's late. I should probably get going," Krystal said, standing up slowly and stretching her arms. Taemin followed suit. He looked through the window and noticed how dark it had gotten outside without them realizing it. "Naeun left you something. It's on the fridge, stuck under a fridge magnet. You might want to check that out."

Taemin retrieved the pink envelope and read its contents, grimacing. He glanced at Krystal and asked, "You going to this party?" She just shrugged.

"I don't think I'll be free? I'm not really sure. Plus she didn't sound very inviting so..."

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Taemin said, dropping the envelope on the table and taking the remote control to turn the TV off. "Maybe you could take home the leftover pizza to Jessica-noona? I don't really want them anymore."

The walk to the apartment Krystal shared with Jessica was relatively silent, with the occassional humming from Krystal when she hears a familiar song play as they walk by the stores that line the dimly-lit streets. Taemin didn't even attempt to convince her to enter his favorite comic book store which they passed by along the way, and that's how Krystal knew that Taemin was somehow lost in his thoughts, contemplating things. He finally broke his silence when they arrived at her door. 

"I meant it, Krystal. I don't support you dating that Myungsoo," said Taemin, sticking his hands in his pockets and giving her a wry smile. "But, of course, you wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"You never supported anyone dating me, really," Krystal said, pouting slightly. "And Naeun... I don't like her for you too."

"Yeah, well, I don't like her for me either so don't worry," Taemin said, patting her head lightly. Krystal laughed heartily at this. "Thank you for today," he said sincerely.

Krystal tilted her head to the side and gave him one final smile. "Anything for you, Taeminnie."