“Amber!” Luna called from somewhere in crowd. Amber finally found the elder as she dragged Krystal behind her and made her way over to the others. “Ready?”

“Yep yep. I don’t really need to do anything besides change. I’m not really a girly girl,” Amber explained as she walked alongside the duo towards the girls’ dormitory. The rush of students was a lot more than the whole week combined. It seemed as though everyone was rushing to hurry and get ready for the party that was in a few hours.

“Ooh, maybe I can style your hair! And do your make up!” Krystal chirped as she looked over Amber, sizing her up and down to decide what she would do.

“I don’t think there’s much you can do with my hair. It’s kind of short so I usually just spike it with gel,” Amber said as she ran her hand through her flat hair. She didn’t have a lot of time to do her hair in the morning so it looked flat all day, something she wasn’t particularly fond of.

“Krystal is a god when it comes to styling hair. I swear, if she wasn’t going towards a career in singing, she should definitely open up her own salon,” Luna commented.

“I can try to do something else with it if you don’t mind, Amber?”

After thinking it over and deeming Krystal a trustworthy person, Amber okayed her proposal and let Krystal begin her makeover.

“Oh hot damn, you look good, Amber!” Luna said as she walked into the bathroom with her makeup done and hair styled to perfection. “Maybe I should’ve let Krystal renovate me as well!”

“Only one client at a time, eonni! Plus, you did your makeup and hair well! I love the color you changed it to this time!” Krystal commented as she finished the last touch of Amber’s eyeliner then deemed her masterpiece as finished.

Amber hasn’t seen Luna yet due to having her eyes closed for the eyeliner, but when she opened them she was surprised to see Luna’s new style.

“Oh my Pablo, your hair is turquoise!” Amber screeched. “I love it!”

“Have you seen your hair, though? It looks amazing,” Luna said as she gestured towards the mirror. Amber turned and looked and gasped when she saw her hair color.

“M-my hair,” Amber said as she gently patted it, feeling the soft texture in her fingers. “I’m a blonde.”

“Do you like it?” Krystal asked warily as she eyed Amber’s reflection.

Amber smiled brightly and nodded her head furiously.

“I haven’t ever dyed it before, but I like this change. It fits me better, I think.”

“It really does!” Luna added in as she stood by Krystal and helped her fix her hair. “You should dye your hair next, Krys.”

“Eh… Jessica would tell umma and I might get in trouble…”

“Maybe we can fix that later,” Amber suggested as she looked herself over and over again, still amazed at how different she looked. Her black, shaggy hair had been trimmed and bleached to wear it was barely above her eyes and swooped to the side. She was in love with her new image.

“How so?” Krystal asked as she finished herself up, glancing at Amber through the mirror.

Amber shrugged and smiled, though she had an idea as to how, she wasn’t sure it was the right time to tell Krystal how so yet.

“We should get going so we don’t get ditched by the boys. I bet they finished a minute after returning to the dorms,” Luna stated.

         *               *               *               *               *               *

“Why is it so difficult to pick out one pair of jeans to wear?!” Zelo huffed out as Kris sat on the younger’s bed in his single dorm room.

“Maybe because you’re difficult?” Kris suggested with a quirked eyebrow. The younger shot him a glare and narrowed his gaze.

“I’m not difficult, I’m just… particular as to how I look when… socializing,” Zelo explained as he cringed.

“Look, just wear something comfortable and I’ll help you get girls. It’s all about the approach and the conversation… clothes are just a meaningless attraction.”

“Fine,” Zelo puffed out as he picked up a well-worn pair of skinny jeans and quickly shuffled into them. Once fully clothed, the younger fixed his hair quickly and decided he was good to go.

“Alright, now time to wait for the girls. Ready?” Kris asked as he shot up and walked towards the door eagerly.

“Sure.”

*               *               *               *               *               *

“Oh wow,” Kris said when he saw Amber’s new appearance. “You look amazing.”

“I know right?!” Amber said as she ran her fingers through her hair, showing off her new locks.

“Y-you look good too, noona,” Zelo said as he looked at Luna’s hair in amazement.

“Thank you, honey!” Luna said as he pulled the younger in for a tight hug. “Are we ready to blow this joint?”

“What?!” Kris and Amber yelled in unison. It was a common American expression, but to hear Luna say it in Korean was rather surprising.

“Oh, hehe. I heard someone say that in an American movie I watched the other day, so I translated it to Korean. I figured it would add some spice to life,” Luna said as she smiled in embarrassment.

“Well I guess it’s whatever floats you kayak,” Kris said with a shrug. “Let’s blow the joint, then!”

         *               *               *               *               *               *

The party was in full swing by the time they arrived. People were all over the lawn and scattered about inside the mansion. Amber and Kris were both so ready to unwind and do something they were both familiar with; partying. Kris enjoyed drinking, while Amber loved watching the way drunken people acted.

“Let’s get something to drink, hm?” Krystal suggested as she linked her arm with Amber’s and began dragging her towards the kitchen already without an approval.

“Where’d Luna run off to?” Amber asked once inside the less noisy watering hole. All different kinds of alcohol covered the marble countertops along with shot glasses, plastic cups, and empty beer bottles.

“Ah, she’s looking for her crush,” Krystal said with a dopey smile on her face as she poured her and Amber a cup of mojitos.

Amber simply nodded and looked around at the unfamiliar faces. There were so many people that went to her school that she hadn’t even noticed until that night.

After taking a sip of the drink Krystal had given her, Amber dragged Krystal back out to the living room where the dancing, and hooking up, was taking place. Amber was rather interested in seeing everyone dance. They went to a Fine Arts school, after all so some people were gods at the subject.

The leader of the dance floor, so to speak, was none other than the young prince Jongin. Of course he wasn’t a real prince, but he wasn’t the king of dancing, though he was close. Taemin, a second year, was the king of dancing. Jongin and Taemin were both flawlessly popping to the music and moving the body ally that drunken girls screamed and begged to get with them.

“They’re thirsty,” Krystal said lowly into Amber’s ear, making her almost spew her beverage onto the people in front of her.

“Can anyone just join, do you think?” Amber asked as she eyed the two dancers. Her skin was itching to jump in and dance with them. They were executing a piece that the teachers taught in school, but they put the teachers to shame with the way they performed it effortlessly.

“Do it!” Krystal cheered on. “I’ll hold your drink!”

Amber nodded and handed over her beverage to the younger before venturing off to join. When the beat dropped for a second, Amber jumped in and joined flawlessly when the beat picked right back up, keeping in sync with the boys.

Amber felt like she was on a high dancing with them and everyone hollering about. She looked at the boys and saw them give her an encouraging smile as they moved aside and made room for her to join them, giving her the center of attention. When Amber looked out into the crowd, she saw Kris already flirting with a girl, making her almost roll her eyes, except then that would draw awkward attention so she refrained.

As the song came to an end, Amber switched places with Taemin in respect to giving her sunbae the spotlight he deserved. With their ending poses, the audience around them clapped and hollered about loudly, clapping and slurring words of praise.

Amber smiled and bowed to both Jongin and Taemin in appreciation for dancing along. Once they disappeared, the circle closed in and people were crowding her everywhere. It was practically impossible for her to find the younger.

“That was fantastic,” a voice commented directly in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She already knew who it was behind her, no doubt about it.

“Thank you, Henry!” Amber said as she turned to face him. He was much closer than she expected, but she didn’t mind so much.

“Want to go out back?”

“Sure.”

         *               *               *               *               *               *

After talking endlessly for a while and drinking beer after beer, Amber could sense that Henry was getting tipsy, maybe drunk, but definitely tipsy. His words were slurring and he was gazing off elsewhere.

Surprisingly, she hadn’t seen Krystal, Luna, or Zelo since she found Henry. Kris was already making out with a girl under the gazebo on the other side of the pool. Amber kept her eyes averted from the sight, she didn’t enjoy seeing her best friend face with someone he barely knew. Or anyone for that matter.

“You know… I like the blonde hair on you. It makes you look more… enchanting,” Henry commented. Amber looked at him and caught his gaze. A cloud covered his eyes, but Amber couldn’t tell if it was feeling or alcohol, possibly a combination of the two. Her heart beat a bit faster as Henry continued to hold her gaze, glancing at every now and then. Amber had kissed people before just for the hell of it, but she wanted to feel something, something Henry could possibly offer her.

“Amber, can I ask you something?” Henry asked as he scooted a bit closer to her.

“S-sure.”

Henry smiled at her sloppily and blinked a couple of times.

“Can you get me more drink?”

Amber felt her heart falter a bit, but nonetheless she said okay and got up to fulfill his request.

As she pushed her way into the crowd, she bumped into someone she was hoping to not see.

“Find your little Henry bear?” Key teased as he followed her into the kitchen.

Amber rolled her eyes and continued about her business, ignoring Key’s pestering.

“You better be careful. He may not do anything tonight, but he still might try,” Key warned as he stood directly in front of Amber.

“And what might he do, Key? He’s a little tipsy, I’ll admit, but he hasn’t tried anything.”

Key smirked and poured himself a shot of whiskey, taking it down in one go quickly.

“Just be careful, I heard some things.”

Amber rolled her eyes and walked back out through the crowd and towards the back patio.

Only when she walked out, she wished she hadn’t. The sight she saw was something she wished she hadn’t, her stomach twisting into knots over and over again. It had only been ten minutes at most, how could something like that happen so soon when she had been with him for hours.

Sulli was who she recognized the girl to be, but she definitely wasn’t the girl Amber and judged her to be. Henry had his hands all over her as she sat in his lap, lips locked tightly to one another.

Amber dropped the drinks and turned to walk back inside. Her world felt like it crashed and burned. Lightheaded and slightly dizzy wasn’t a good mixture. Amber walked her down a hallway and checked every door she could. The rooms were taken already, marked with a sock or a tie on the doorknob as a sign to not disturb the bed shaking going on on the opposite side.

Finally finding an unmarked door, Amber opened it to find it was a rather spacious coat closet.

“Ah, it,” Amber mumbled as she went in and closed the door behind her. Alone. That’s all she wanted was to be alone for a while. Sinking down to the floor, Amber leaned her head back against the wall and took deep breaths in as a single tear streaked down her face.

That couldn’t have been what Key was talking about. The way he spoke of it was much more serious than just hooking up with a stranger. And even at that, Amber didn’t think Sulli was capable of such a thing. She was a quiet and shy girl, not some party animal.

What the hell was happening?

Just as she was beginning to get lost in her thoughts, the door opened and a slender figure stepped in, swiftly shutting the door behind itself.

“Finally…” a male voice breathed out then sat down across from her.

“Uh, excuse me but I was here first,” Amber spoke up.

“Oh !” the voice responded with a soft thud from where he hit his head against the wall. “I’m sorry! Do you mind if I hide out here with you? I just need to get away from some people right now.”

“Same. I’ll let you stay if you tell me whom is it you’re hiding from,” Amber compromised.

“Well… it’s a long story,” the voice started.

Amber leaned back against the wall and stretched her legs out, prepping herself for the ‘long story.’

“We got time to kill, tell me.” The voice stayed quiet for a while but then sighed and began to explain.

“I came here with a friend of mine…”

“Ahh, a girl. Say no more, I can guess where this is going,” Amber said, “You guys came together, you were hoping you could make a move tonight in telling her your feelings, but everything backfired when she met someone else and ditched you, am I right?”

“Yeah, pretty much. But the thing is, she’s making out with someone she barely knows. That’s not like her, she’s a very shy girl and very… sheltered.”

“And you brought her to this party?” Amber scolded.

“She said she wanted to come! She hadn’t ever been to a party like this before so she wanted to see what it was like… then she ran off and hooked up with some second year,” the male explained. The story was starting to sound familiar to Amber and it didn’t take too long for her to put the pieces together.

“Is this girl Sulli by any chance?” Amber asked warily.

“How’d you know?!”

“Because she’s with the guy I’ve had a crush on for a little while now,” Amber bluntly said. “And I agree… She isn’t like that so I wonder if it was the alcohol that changed her.”

“She didn’t have any…”

“Maybe she had a sip?”

“Nope. I steered her clear of that.”

“Maybe she’s a good girl trying to go bad, I don’t know, but all I know is that something is different with her.”

“I hope not… I wish she would look at me, after all I’ve been waiting for her for a while now.”

“Ah, childhood crush?”

“Isn’t it always that way?”

“Sometimes…”

“What’s your name?” the man asked suddenly.

“I’m Amber. I’m a first year.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Minho, a second year.”

“Do you know Henry well?”

“Not really, just heard stories. He’s a womanizer, that’s for sure. But some of his hook ups at parties seem… different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we all know he hooks up with people, he doesn’t keep it a secret, but the girls never talk about it… It’s like they’re ashamed or something,” Minho explained to Amber.

“Or something…”

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A/N: I know this chapter , but I wasn’t planning on anything bad happening… yet. It’s still the beginning, so don’t worry, things will begin to pick up ^-^ I have plans for the next three chapters :3