Silence plagued the air between them, Taeyeon's smooth car engine was the only sound piercing through it. She found it peaceful this way. With her right hand steering the wheel and left wrist lying atop the gear stick, she caught onto Krystal's fingers, wriggling the limp hand into her own.

It was a Friday night; Krystal had another party to attend. She never asked to join. She was never invited. She didn’t want to crowd Krystal nor impose in anything that wasn’t meant for her. Her finals coming up was always the excuse she used. Krystal knew how important the College Taeyeon strived to attend at meant for her, so Taeyeon never asked and the girl never seemed to mind none.

She stole glances at the girl beside her, still awestruck on her luck. Krystal had her cheek rested on her left palm, gazing out into the dark night from the passenger's window. The street lamps and traffic lights they drove by illuminated her features. Features of a goddess, Taeyeon always thought. She never wore too much makeup. Even without, Taeyeon would still be left breathless. She had a natural beauty to her and it always left Taeyeon breathless.

They spent majority of their time like this. Complete silence, where Taeyeon could only hope Krystal understood what she conveyed with the slight squeeze of the hand or the longing gazes she throws at her. She wasn’t one for extravagant, romantic gestures.

The comfortable silence is broken once Taeyeon pulls up to the two story house littered by drunken teens. Worry would be an understatement when Taeyeon's eyes run across the front lawn where mistakes are about to be made and vomit coated some of its surface.

She didn't want to be that person to stop Krystal's youthful adventures and memories so she kept mum, only squeezing the still hand in her grasp, Morse coding her concerns.

A familiar figure walks up to her car, coming to a stop at Krystal's window. The hand in hers wiggle to be freed and Taeyeon understands, loosening her hold. The window is down now, letting a head, with their hair kept somewhat neat under a backwards worn cap, pop in.

"Hey Krystal, ready to party?"

The other girl is in her year level, someone she didn't see as an acquaintance. They barely interact, Krystal the only mutual thing between them, but Yuri is the closest to a friend as she'll ever get, Taeyeon thought. However long they've known each other now she still only seemed to be close to Krystal, not even giving her an acknowledgement of her presence. Taeyeon notices but doesn't say anything.

"Hell yeah I am, Yuri."

There's a carefree laugh that leaves Krystal's strawberry glossed lips. Her smile reaches her eyes as she lifts her hand to hide her gummy smile. Taeyeon finds the sheer laid back gesture adorable, a smile of her own is found just by looking at the girl. Krystal rarely acted like this, shy and cheerful. Taeyeon soaked up in it any chance she'd get. 

The light feeling she gets as an aftermath of watching Krystal laugh had maybe contributed to the courage she got to voice something so informal out to Yuri for the first time. "Keep an eye out for my girl for me yeah, Yuri?"

She doesn't know why, but the grin she has also falls down a notch when the laughter and chatter between Yuri and Krystal halts, the car falling to silence once more. Krystal seemed to let out a low sigh, looking out the windscreen whilst Yuri seemed to size her up some.

After an awkward moment the corner of Yuri's lips twitch. Taeyeon could only hope for it to be a smile of some sort. Yuri responds, "Of course, buddy, you can count on me." She turns her eyes away from Taeyeon, smiling once more at Krystal, "I'll be at the drinks table, Krys."

Without even a wave of goodbye given to her, Yuri had walked off.

"Have a good time." Taeyeon waits in her seat, Krystal only giving a light nod before turning her body, hand already on the car door. Having barely any interaction with the girl during the entire night, Taeyeon throws caution into the wind. "Hey, Krystal," her seatbelt is stretched to its fullest length as she plants her hand next to the gear stick, leaning over to Krystal's side.

Krystal turns in response. Her chin is gently held by smooth, delicate fingers before soft lips take her own. It was short, nothing but innocent and caring. A blink was longer than the light kiss Taeyeon gave her.

"Stay safe, yeah?"

Taeyeon had driven off before Krystal could wipe the feeling of her lips off with the back of her hand.

"Still have the puppy on a leash, I see." A shorter girl leaned against her arm, a drink too much Krystal could smell on her.

"How else can I get access to a car and butler?" Krystal replies, touching up on her lipgloss.

"You're so brutal, Krys." Yuri had turned up to give her, and the girl leaning on her, a cup of mixed drinks.

"Yeah Krys, how can you manage playing along when she's tripping over your ankles?"

Krystal sighs, the topic at question getting onto her nerves. "Because I don't give two s about her feelings, Sunny. She can play girlfriend all she wants but she's just a driver to me."

~*~

She stares at herself through the full body mirror provided for them backstage. Fumbling with the tassel, Taeyeon shifts how the hat sat on her head, trying to find the right angle that didn’t make her head and face look weird.

This is finally the moment she's been waiting for; graduation night. Finals was dreadful and stressful, but she lived through it all. Her efforts were acknowledged as the college, and many others, had scouted out for her. She greatly accepted the full scholarship from the college she had been dreaming of.

“Round up guys, it’s time.”

Teachers that taught the senior year sat in the rows of chairs on the stage, anticipating their entrance. Some were tearing whilst others unceremoniously let it all out.

Taeyeon only looked for 3 types of people, because she wasn’t acquainted with many. Her music teacher, who was cheering whilst crying making Taeyeon teary herself, her family that was somewhere in the crowd that filled their auditorium, and Krystal.

Her name was called and she was glad to have the embarrassment that was her music teacher, and her loud family. Without them, her appearance would have been welcomed with mundane clapping.

She held her diploma with careful hands, chuckling when her music teacher was out from the assigned seats and twirling her around in her arms. One hand holding the hat in danger of flinging off, Taeyeon looked into the crowd to smile at her proud family. Her eyes however drifts to find the particular girl, smile faltering when she eventually finds her.

Krystal was on her phone, not at all giving Taeyeon any attention at one of the most important times of her life. Maybe there was some emergency, Taeyeon kept telling herself.

Not long after her came Yuri, their last names not that far apart from each other. The cheers were phenomenal. Sport teachers were up and cheering as if it was some sort of grand final. But none of that mattered to Taeyeon. The only thing that mattered was watching as her girlfriend, the one that didn’t even look at her, on her feet clapping and screaming Yuri’s name alongside many in the crowd.

It hurt, but Taeyeon dismissed it.

The ceremony was over. Taeyeon maneuvered around the masses of people to find her family. Along the way, her grip on her diploma grew slack. She couldn’t dismiss it anymore, not now when she was given an amazing view of Krystal in Yuri’s graduation cap, making out like they were the only ones in the room.

Her teeth found her bottom lip as she felt the constriction in , her tear ducts working up a storm as tears shimmer in her eyes. Through the pain that she felt she let out a chuckle, a painful and hollow one. Besides self-pity knowing laced her chuckle the most. She didn't want this to effect her, to tarnish a day and memory that was supposed to be happy, but she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

She should have known. It was obvious to her now, but she was too oblivious and blinded from seeing what was right in front of her. But now that its actually happening for her to see, Taeyeon can't deny it anymore. 

Her family found her in that spot, mistakening her sorrowful tears for tears of joy. She was enveloped in a large family hug. On her tiptoes, she had her chin resting on her brother’s broad shoulder.

Their eyes caught each other when Yuri pulled away from their kiss, ready to leave. No words were exchanged as usual. No shame or guilt were in Krystal’s eyes. Just silence between them, as usual, but this time Taeyeon knew. The look in her eyes that she conveyed, Krystal saw and understood.

They were over.