“If only you’d have told me this earlier, it would have made all the difference.”

Krystal felt numb; her pale hands hanging limp by her sides, her mane of gold flailing wildly in the air. In front of her, stood a tall, tanned boy, a frown plastered on his face- guilty.

A few deafening moments of heart-breaking silence separated the two, until the high-pitched giggling of a girl was heard.

“Oh! Hey, Krystal! I was just going to ask Kai if he’d like to go for a movie with me. The new ‘Jungle Book’, probably. Would you like to come?

Trying her best not to punch the girl, who now had her hands wrapped around Kai’s torso, Krystal thought, ‘Its not her fault, its his.’

Coughing in an attempt to lighten the heavy aura that surrounded the trio, Kai wearily said, “So? Want to join us?”

“No, thank you, I’ll just go home. Assignments, projects, yada yada yada. Anyway, enjoy your date.”

Krystal tried so hard not to sound spiteful, but she couldn’t really help it.

“Ah okay”, replied the other girl. “Bye, Krystal!”

“See you, Jessica.”

Krystal never, ever, ever wanted to see Jessica again. Not one bit.

Almost sprinting home, her patchy red sneakers tumbled down the staircase and squeaked painfully against the sidewalk. She just continued to pick up the pace.

On the way, though, she stopped at a park. Their park.

Sitting on one of the old, creaky swings that hung in melancholy (much like her mood), Krystal tried to gather her thoughts.

Kai and Krystal were friends. Best friends. Ever since the age of three, the lad whose family moved into the neighbourhood would ensure that ‘Little Princess Jung’ was never lonely.

From Fischer-Price toys, Barbie dolls to even the X-boxes they received for their respective birthdays- Kai and Krystal would share whatever they had with each other. They grew up on the Jung household’s couch, watching gory action movies while laughing boorishly with their mouths full of burnt popcorn, wearing matching Pikachu pyjama pants.

And as they grew up, things changed. No longer toddlers with puffy cheeks and stubby fingers, they transformed into tall, lean teenagers, with sharp jawlines and intelligent eyes.

And as they grew up, Kai changed.

He already knew Krystal through and through- how she would part her hair, where she kept her hidden stash of chocolate and the contents of her not-so-secret ‘secret’ diary. He also knew that she was the most understanding, funny and beautiful person he had ever come across. Well, they were already best friends; maybe, there existed a chance that they could be something more?

But, somewhere deep inside Kai’s head, a voice advised hi