"Okay, what do you think, sweetheart?"

Krystal looked up from where she was studying, sitting on the side of her bed with her foot keeping beat with the rhythm with the soft music in the back ground. Her blue eyes grew wide as she stared at her mother who stood in her doorway.

"You can't be thinking of going out like that!"

"Honey, it's a beach, of course I'm going like this." Clarissa preened a little more, running her hand down the side of her very svelte figure.

Krystal rolled her eyes, sliding the heavy chemistry book off her lap before standing up. "I meant your hair and your earrings, mom. You can't wear that style to the beach." She walked over, pulling the heavy pins out of her mother's bright red hair that was just starting to show a touch of gray, watching as the fiery locks cascaded down around her shoulders. Pushing a few of the pins back in, she changed the style to make it softer around her mother's face.

"And wear these earrings," she said, going to her case on her dresser and pulling a pair out small silver hoops out and watching as her mother slipped the heavy pearl earrings out of her small, shell like ears. "Now you look beautiful."

"Oh, honey, thank you. Why don't you get undressed and come with us? It's going to be a huge celebration, lots of drinking and dancing and fireworks after dark. They're going to have the bonfire again like they did last year, and a pig roast," Clarissa said, trying to interest her daughter in attending.

"You know I have to study, mom. I've got that chemistry exam and another one in biology. Besides, if you're going with Seho that means HE will be there." She couldn't help the bitterness that colored the word, or the sharpness in her voice when she thought of him. Oh Seho, her mom's boyfriend of many, many years had a son by his first marriage.

That son, Mr. Oh’s son. or Sehun as most people called him, would be going with them tonight. He was huge on the whole freedom of expression thing and spent many days at the beach that had opened on the far side of Rifle Lake, surprising the staid community of Rose City. The beach had been a huge controversy and many had tried to have it closed down. But it was on private land, and all the proper permits and licenses had been taken out by the owners, so those who'd complained were pretty much out of luck.

The people who frequented the beach were well mannered and family oriented, and they also brought revenue into the tiny town, so much so that many who'd been against the beach were now putting up with the stigma.

Sehun though, grated on Krystal's nerves. He wasn't a geek, as a matter of fact, he was the furthest thing from geek. He was tall and well built with dark hair and able abs that sent many of the girls in town to swooning. Tanned and gorgeous, his dark skin made his amber colored eyes all that much more noticeable. And he was never seen without a girl or two in tow, usually more.

But Seho, her mom's boyfriend was a prince, sweet and loving, he showered Clarissa with affection that had been so lacking in her relationship with Krystal's father. Her mother seemed to glow when he was near and had even opened up to going to the beach, something that would have scandalized her father.

"Oh, honey, you always use that excuse. You could take some time off, come out with us and sit and eat some barbeque, get some sun. You're so pale." She reached out and ran her hands over Krystal's long red hair, her contribution to the girl's beauty.

"Not if I want to pass those exams. Besides, being premed takes up too much of my time." She sighed as she saw that stubborn look come into her mother's brown eyes, a look that meant she would argue until she got her way if Krystal didn't say something quick.

"Look, mom, I promise that I will go down and sit by the pool for an hour or so, and get some fresh air, okay? But I really want to do well in these classes, they are important." She watched as her mother walked to the mirror over her dressing table, checking out what Krystal had done to her hair as she thought through what she would say. Krystal could see the tiny fairy tattoo that her mother had gotten, Seho's idea, right above her shoulder blade.

"Don't let Seho talk you into getting anymore of those, mom. Next thing you know and he'll have you getting your s pierced."

Clarissa snorted, laughing at her daughter. "Tattoos are one thing, I refuse to have needles stuck though these," she said, trailing her fingers over her s.

"That's a good thing, you could get the hoops caught in your toes. That could be very painful." She blinked innocently at her mother then ducked as she turned and threw Krystal's hairbrush at her.

"That wasn't funny, young lady," Clarissa said, laughing despite herself. "And my s don't hang down like that, you wretched child."

"Oh, well, they don't yet anyways, but you know, mom, you are getting up there in years." She laughed harder as Clarissa spluttered, speechless. "I'm just kidding, mom. You still got it," she said, wiping tears from her eyes and coming up to hug her mother hard. It had felt very strange the first time she'd hugged her mother when she was , but now, Clarissa was just her mother and she was proud of her for doing something that she enjoyed like being a nudist. There was nothing overtly ual about . It was a baring of the soul, a lack of pretense that had drawn Clarissa into the lifestyle. Not getting to watch all the male asses parading around the hot sand.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. "Oh, honey, will you get that. Tell Seho I'll be right down. I just need to slip on my cover up." She hurried out of Krystal's room and into her own.

Krystal skipped down the stairs and hurried though the house to the front door just as the bell rang again. She opened it and without really looking to see who it was, she stepped into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. "Hi Seho," she said.

Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her against a well built chest that was definitely not Seho's squishier one. She gasped and tried to pull back, only to hear Sehun's voice above her head.

"You should greet me like this more often Krystal. I kind of like it," he said without letting go of the curvaceous little bundle that pressed intimately against him.

Krystal took careful aim and put her tennis shoe clad foot down with precision on his bare foot, covered only by the flip flop strap. "Let me go, Sehun, or I swear, I'll break it," she said, telling herself the butterflies that were doing aerobatics in her stomach were only there because she was angry.

Instead of letting loose, he tightened his arms and lifted, holding her against him as he stepped into the house, carefully kicking the door closed with his foot. He ignored her struggles and the amazing things that feeling her soft body against his were doing to him. Grimacing as her foot caught his shin, he managed to cart her into the living room that was just off the front hall and dropped her into the overstuffed couch.

"What, no kiss? No hello to your favorite soon-to-be stepbrother."

"I'd rather gargle with glass."

"Ouch," Sehun said, smiling down at her and stepping quickly back as she reached out to kick him again. "Where's the love in that?"

"That's my point exactly. Mom was expecting Seho, not you." She turned around until she could get out of the couch feeling at a distinct disadvantage with him standing over her like that.

"Dad had to do a few things down at the store he could close it up. He asked me to come and get the two of you. So why aren't you undressed?"

"I'm not going. I have too much studying to do." She moved a few steps away and warily put her hand out as he followed her.

"Oh, come on. You look like you could use some fun in the sun." He reached out and pulled a lock of her hair out of the tidy ponytail she'd fastened earlier. "Besides, your mom is worried about you; she says you spend too much time with your nose in a book."

"And you spend too much time with yours in my business," she snapped, yanking her hair out of his fingers. "I have to study if I ever want to make it into a decent medical school. I don't have time to lollygag out at a beach with a group of giggling admirers hanging on my every word."

"From what I've seen, you don't even have one admirer hanging on anything of yours, Krystal. And who the hell uses a word like lollygag?"

Krystal felt the scream building in her chest, wanting to be let loose while she punched his lights out. "I do," she said between gritted teeth. "I'm too busy trying to make something of myself to be hanging out with people like you who so happily live off daddy's money."

"Krystal!" Clarissa's shocked voice rang out.

Oh, , Krystal thought. This conversation just really took a turn for the worse.

"Apologize to Sehun, my lord, girl. I don't know what's gotten into you that you two can't be nice to each other." Clarissa stepped forward, a huge tote bag in one hand and a hamper of food in the other.

"I'm sorry I said what I thought, Sehun," Krystal said, staring at him in shock as he started laughing.

"Talk about a non apology," he said, shaking his head. "It's okay, Clarissa. That's one thing I really like about Krystal. She says what she means."

Krystal blinked in surprise at the compliment.

"Yes, sometimes it a very good trait, but others," she sighed as she looked at her only child. "Some days I think she'll be the death of me."

Krystal walked over and gave her mother a kiss. "But you love me anyway," she said.

"Someone has to," Clarissa said, pulling on Krystal's long ponytail. "Now, I'll have my cell phone with me in case you need anything and I left some potato salad in the fridge for you. Lock the doors after we go, there's been that rash of burglaries in the neighborhood. And try to do something other than study, you're going to turn into a book if you keep it up the way you have."

"Yes mother," Krystal said on a sigh. "You'd think I was twelve instead of twenty."

"I could stay and baby sit her for you, Clarissa, if you'd like," Sehun offered.

"Okay, okay, I know, I'm an over protective mother." She handed Sehun the hamper of food, pressing another kiss on Krystal's soft cheek. "Just remember, you can always come and join us later if you want. We'd love to have you, wouldn't we, Sehun?"

Sehun's pulse jumped. If you only knew, Clarissa, he thought. "Of course, I can always use another giggling groupie."

"You keep wishing, Sehun, and while you're at it, hold your breath too."

She watched, astonished, as he threw his head back and laughed before leaning over and kissing her cheek himself. The sensation of his lips against her skin was a shock, awareness shooting through her like lightning.

Clarissa shooed him out and they left, leaving Krystal standing in the front door watching them go.

~*~

Going back to her books, Krystal tried to study chemical compounds and theories, equations and findings, but none of it sunk in. She kept thinking about how Sehun's lips had felt and the urge she'd had to turn her head and feel them against her own lips.

Finally slamming the thick book shut, she set it aside, going to her window to look out over their back yard. It was very private with tall fences surrounding the pool area and the patio. Her mother wanted it that way because they both enjoyed sunning and didn't want the prying eyes of their neighbors to watch them. A swim might be the best thing for her right now.

She stripped off her jeans and tank top, slipping off the silk and lace of her red thong, before grabbing a towel and heading down stairs. It was hot outside of the air conditioned house, the cement scorching her bare feet as she hurried out to the deck surrounding the in ground pool. Dropping the towel over one of the deck chairs, she took two steps and dove into the water, slicing through the sparkling surface in one clean move.

The water felt almost sinful against her skin, cool and clean, silky on her s and belly. She swam underwater until she got to the shallow end of the pool, flipping around underwater to swim back before surfacing. And then she started to do laps, allowing her mind to wander as the steady pace and monotonous rhythm of the took no thought. It felt wonderful, reaching and kicking, pushing water with her cupped hand, slipping through the water with what looked like such little effort.

After about twenty laps, she climbed out of the pool, water glinting like diamonds on her pale skin. She didn't bother with the towel, instead lying down on the long loungers and letting the sun dry her body. The heat felt wonderful after the coolness of the water and she relaxed, closing her eyes and slowly sliding into sleep.

When she woke, the sun was going down. She stretched like a mink, thinking for a second about jumping back into the pool but then responsibility reared its ugly head and she knew she had to go back and do some more studying. With a sigh, she retrieved her towel, carrying it in front of her and going through the sliding glass door into the house.

It hit her immediately, like an eerie prediction. Someone else was in the house!

She quietly wrapped the towel around her curvy body, not wanting to face anyone while she was . Then sneaking through the house, she started towards the front door, determined to go out and get help. She wouldn't be one of those dumb slasher film starlets who headed up the stairs instead of going out the front door.

No one was in the kitchen and she slipped through the swinging door that led to the dining room, seeing on the table a pile of valuables that had been taken from other rooms, including her jewelry case and purse. Outrage struck, as well as an obscene feeling of being violated. The person or persons who'd been robbing houses in the neighborhood was in her house, and they were being robbed.

The only thing she could do was call the police, but to do that, she had to get out of the house. She sneaked through the dining room, forcing herself to not look at the pile of things on the table. Passing the overstuffed couch that Sehun had thrown her on earlier in the day, she felt a surge of relief, she was almost out.

"Well, look at what we have here."

Krystal spun around, grabbing the towel that almost dropped. The man before her was dressed in dark charcoal gray down to the leather gloves he wore on his hands. Even the stocking cap he wore pulled down over his face was gray.

"Sleeping beauty finally woke up," said another voice from behind her.

Another man, taller than the first with a huge beer belly, dressed all in black, stepped forward, his glove covered hand coming down on her bare shoulder. "You didn't need to cover up on our account, missy. We kind of enjoyed the view."

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, trying to spin away from his hand.

"Oh, geez, she doesn't want to be friendly," the first man said, stepping closer and boxing her in between him and the other man. "That's too bad. The friendly ones always have an easier time of it."

"Yeah, but they are no where near as fun as the ones that fight," the other man said, his hand in her towel.

Krystal desperately held onto the terrycloth fabric as the man yanked but she was no match for his strength. She was spun from the cloth, losing her balance and tripping on her own feet to fall against the couch. Her ankle was twisted and she could feel it swelling, pain hitting her like a freight train.

The man in gray was standing over her, his eyes roaming over her ness with avid lust. "Wow, she's better close up than she was out on that lounge," he said, staring at her lush curves.

Krystal tried to stand on her own, but couldn't put any weight on her foot; instead, she leaned against the couch, covering her s with her arms and the patch of red curls between her thighs with her hand. "Please," she said, more scared than she could remember being before in her life. "Please don't touch me. Just take the stuff and leave; you can tie me up if you want. I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Her pleas were met with laughter. "You promise, huh?"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, partially pain, partially terror. Why hadn't she gone with her mom and Sehun tonight? "I won't tell anyone," she said, trying to sound as sincere as she could.

"Move your arms and let us have a look, then maybe we'll leave you alone." The man in black stepped forward, putting his hand on his partner's arm.

"Yeah," said the man in gray. "Move your hands and spread your legs out and let us have a peek and then maybe we'll leave."

Anguish mixed with fear, and all of that was pierced with indecision. What they wanted of her was abhorrent, but what choice did she have? With a small whimper, she dropped her arms slowly to her sides, moving her hand away from the trimmed red hair of her bush. Krystal could feel the blush rise from her chest, covering her in red blotches of shame.

"Nice , there sister," the man in gray said, sidling even closer. "Now, part them legs and let's see what's between em."

Krystal sat down on the arm of the couch, moving slowly as if by hesitating, they might change their minds and just leave her alone. Instead, it seemed to make them mad, and the man in gray reached out and pushed her down, grabbing her knee in his hand and yanking it away from the other one.

"Oh," she cried out, his hand rough and hard against her skin. "Stop!"

"Then keep em open, girlie. We want a good look." The man in gray dropped to his knees, holding her legs apart with his hands. He also lifted them, keeping her balance precarious and forcing her to hold onto the arm of the couch with her hands so that she didn't fall backwards.

The man in gray brought his stocking capped covered face close to the soft pink flesh he could see between her legs, breathing deeply of her scent. His hands slid from her knees and up to her thighs, laughing as she struggled to close her legs against him. His fingers touched the lightly furred skin, brushing over her lower lips almost gently.

"No!" Krystal screamed, holding on with one hand while she tried to hit him with the other. Her hand made contact with his face, slapping hard against his yarn covered skin with a noise that sounded like a thud.

He looked up at her, his eyes glittering behind the mask. "I was so hoping you'd do that. Grab her arms and move that table out of the way. It looks like we're going to get some after all tonight."

Krystal screamed even as she struggled against the two big men. But she was no match for their strength. Their fingers dug into her skin, bruising and twisting her soft flesh. The coffee table was knocked out of the way and pushed against the wall. And between the two men, she was forced flat on her back, the man in gray still between her legs.

"Hold her arms, I go first," he said, leaning over her and rubbing his hand over her . He took the pale pink between his fingers and squeezed until she squirmed and cried out in pain.

"Please, don't. Stop, oh God, stop it. You're hurting me." Her voice rose until she was screaming out the words but he wouldn't stop, finally bending down and taking her now reddened into his mouth, his teeth biting down on the soft flesh of her .

With her hands held by the man above her, being rubbed against the hard length of his under his pants, she couldn't fight though she tried to kick and to bite, but they were to strong. His hand was down between her thighs and she felt his finger pushing into her dry flesh, stretching her soft opening until it burned and hurt her.

" is dry," the man said, removing his hand and spitting on it then rubbing his saliva into her crotch as if to moisten it. Then she felt him fumbling at his pants and she struggled harder, knowing he was going to her.

~*~

Sehun walked along the beach, feeling the warm light of the sun touching his body as it began to set over the lake. It was a beautiful sight and he stopped for a moment to enjoy the colors, the bright reds and oranges, the subtle hints of purple that grew and changed to magenta, all reflected in the smooth surface of the water.

The party was behind him, loud music, and a beer tent, everyone getting ready for the firework display. But for some reason, Sehun wasn't in the mood for a party. His mind was elsewhere. He stopped at the edge of the lake and took a drink out of the beer bottle he was carrying.

So lost in thought was he that when two hands slipped over his stomach and s pressed into his back, he jumped. A giggle told him who he would find when he turned around and he sighed. "Janie, I told you I wanted to be alone."

"Yeah, but you didn't mean it," she said, wiggling her slim form against him so that he could feel the heat of her against his back. "You just said that so I'd follow you."

Sehun closed his eyes in frustration. "Okay, I said, Janie, I want to be alone and you took that to mean you should follow me?" He turned, pushing her gently away from him.

"Of course, you just wanted everyone to think you wanted to be alone. I saw the look you gave me. I know what it meant." She stepped back towards him and Sehun sidestepped, trying to keep her from touching him.

"No, Janie, I wanted everyone to leave me alone, including you. I've told you I'm not interested in you that way. And I meant it." He turned to leave but heard her sob as she fell to the sand at his feet.

With a heartfelt sigh of annoyance and a roll of his eyes, he turned back to her, seeing her staring up at him with her blonde hair tangled around her. She was very pretty with a cute little body that he knew from experience went from zero to wet in about point two seconds. "Listen," he said, not wanting to hurt her. "We've had some fun and I've really enjoyed the stuff we've done together, but I'm in love with someone else," he said in a rush.

Shock stopped him as he heard his voice say those words. His mind flew and suddenly he realized why he'd tortured Krystal so badly for the years their parents had dated. He wanted her, not as his sister but as his--period.

He was so lost in thought, he didn't see Janie move. But he felt the small hand that wrapped around his . He tried to step back, but she had a hold of him. As he watched, she opened and wrapped her lips around him.

Hot, scorching wetness trapped him, making him groan. He felt his start to stiffen as her lips moved over him, her tongue tracing and tickling the underside. For an instant, he was lost in the sensation and then, like a bucket of cold water being thrown over him, he realized what he was doing.

He wrapped his hand in her blonde hair and pulled, feeling his pop out of like a cork from a bottle. Spittle drooled out around her lips, and he felt disgust. "I tell you I love someone and you try to give me a ? Grow up, Janie." He let her drop into the sand and drained the beer from the bottle in his hand before heading back towards the party and the beach house where he had a locker to store his stuff in. Janie's screams and recriminations followed him as she sat, pouting, in the sand where he'd pushed her.

Sehun waved at his dad and Krystal's mom and then went into the beach house, going to his locker and getting dressed. Then he rushed out to his car. He was going over to see Krystal now, before he chickened out and became just as pathetic as Janie. The idea of following Krystal around and begging for scraps of affection was just too bleak to imagine.

~*~

"Check out them . Think they're real?"

"Only one way to tell for sure, gotta give them the squeeze test." The man in gray said, watching as his partner took the girl's wrists both in one hand and clamped his other over her luscious s. He knew they were real; he'd had a taste of them babies already. But he liked the terror and loathing in the girl's eyes and knew she hated what they were doing to her. "Gotta squeeze em hard, partner."

Krystal screamed as his fingers bit into her tender skin, bruising her and leaving finger sized welts upon her s. She could feel the other man's pushing against her thigh, leaving a trail of stickiness against her skin that disgusted her and made her feel dirty.

"Don't you think you should get to the ing? We don't want them coming home and finding us doing their daughter in the living room."

"We got lots of time. The parents are down at that nudey beach. They got a big party going on there. No one will be home for hours yet." The gray man reached once more between her thighs, gently, finding the hidden bud of her . "I want to get her wet and make her like it," he said as he circled the small bud. "It makes em hate it all the more if they like it."

"You're a sick mother er, ain't you partner." But his hands gentled against her , his fingers finding and twiddling her in little circles.

Krystal struggled and fought, tears slipping from her eyes into her hair. She couldn't move, couldn't bear thinking about what they were doing to her. She hated their touch on her body. And when she felt the man in gray sliding down her body, his mouth across her stomach, she struggled even harder.

"I don't think she wants you tasting her honey pot."

"That'll make it all the sweeter when I do," his partner said with a laugh. "I gotta get this going so she'll give us both a good ride."

"Think she'll bite me if I try and get her to my ?"

The man in gray held her legs apart with his body, his fingers opening her soft nether lips. He looked up at his partner. "You really ain't never done this before have you?"

"No, I told you that."

"Let me get her warmed up and then I bet she'll do whatever we want," he said before turning his attention back to the sweet little that was under his fingers. He his lips before taking his first taste of her dry flesh.

Krystal fought and kicked even as she felt her body moisten. She didn't want this but her body was preparing the way for her to be . She bucked her hips, trying to knock him off of her, but he held on and fastened his lips around her , it between his lips.

"NO!" she screamed, hating that despite her disgust and fear, what he did felt good. It had been ages since she'd slept with anyone, since she'd felt someone else's hands on her body but her own. But just because it felt good didn't mean she was going to give in to what he was doing. It just made her struggle more.

He kept at it, and nibbling, ling and poking until he deemed her "good and wet". Then he slid up her body, grabbing her face in his hand and forcing her to look at him.

Krystal, forced to stare into the brown eyes of her , tried to show all the loathing and hatred she felt for him in her eyes. He laughed, enjoying her fight and shifted his hips, his pushing against her now wet . "Lay still and enjoy it, ," he hissed as he felt her opening around the invading head of his hard .

Suddenly his weight was off of her, his body gone. She blinked, not sure what had happened and felt two hands lifting her by her wrists and dragging her against a hard body. There was a loud flicking noise and suddenly a sharp, cold blade was at . "Don't move," a voice hissed in her ear. "Stay still and I won't have to slice you."

"Let her go."

Krystal almost fainted at the sound of Sehun's voice, only the pressure of the blade at holding her upright. She searched the room and found him standing over the unconscious form of her other attacker. His body was rigid, his hands curved into fists as he stared at the welts and bruises that were quickly darkening on her body.

"Don't move," the guy in black shouted, staring down at his unconscious partner. "You take one step and I swear I'll slice ."

The blade shook against her skin, nicking her and causing a drop of blood to trail down . Krystal held completely still, staring at Sehun with desperation in her gaze.

"Take it easy, you don't want to hurt her," Sehun said, holding his hands out in a placating motion though his words denied the gesture. "If you hurt her at all, I promise you, I'll hunt you down and kill you."

"I won't hurt her; I'm just going to take her and my partner there at your feet out of here. When I get somewhere safe, I'll let her loose."

"You're not leaving this room with her," Sehun said, his voice hard as he stared the man down.

"And how are you going to stop me without getting her killed?"

"We'll make a deal," Sehun said. "You leave her, you can leave and I'll give you a twenty minute head start before I call the cops. That's the best deal you're going to get. Otherwise I'll break your arm and take that knife away before you have the chance to even think of using it."

The man in black stood there, indecisive. He stared at Sehun who was just as tall as he was but more muscular. Then suddenly, he moved his arm, throwing Krystal towards Sehun and turning to run out the door.

And right into the arms of the police whose car had pulled up a second before the front door opened as the man in black ran out.

Sehun grabbed Krystal in his arms, pulling her close to him as she clung to the polo shirt he was wearing, desperately grabbing fistfuls of the material. Sobs gathered in her chest and spilled from her, wracking her slender frame with shuddering jerks. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she could just lean against him and cry.

Sehun pulled the small blanket that hung on the back of the couch off and wrapped it around her form, holding her to him gently even as the cops came in.

"Is she okay?" one asked him.

"She was almost ; they had her pinned to the floor when I came into the house."

"We'll get an ambulance."

"No," Krystal said as her voice hitched. She wiped her eyes on one corner of the blanket pulling slightly away from Sehun. "He didn't penetrate, I'm fine."

"But..."

"No, ambulance," she said again, stubbornly.

"Okay, but we need to get a statement from you, Miss...?"

"Krystal James, officer," Krystal said, wrapping the blanket more securely around her body and huddling back in Sehun's arms.

"Miss James, and we'll need your statement also, Sehun."

"Can it wait until tomorrow, Brad? Krystal's been through the wringer and ..."

"Now would be better, Sehun, I'm sorry," Brad interrupted.

Krystal shrugged out of his arms and sat down on the couch. "Could I at least put on my robe?"

The officer sent someone to get the robe and started with his questions. After hearing Krystal's side and listening to what Sehun had found when he'd come in, plus the fact that the two men had been caught red handed, their haul left in the dining room, there weren't many questions to be asked. They were still in the house thought when Clarissa and Seho showed up an hour later.

Krystal had gone to her room to put some clothes on, leaving Sehun to answer any questions.

He quickly explained what had happened, finishing when Krystal was walking out of the bathroom, dressed in a loose fitting sundress that covered most of the bruises on her s, though left the ones on her arms and wrists bare.

"Oh, baby," her mother cried, coming up to wrap Krystal in her arms. "Are you sure you shouldn't go to the hospital and be checked out?"

Krystal sighed and leaned her head against her mother, breathing in the familiar scent of suntan oil and her mother's perfume. "I'm fine, mom. Really," she said, looking into her mother's worried brown eyes.

Clarissa ran her hand over her daughter's bright head, pressing a kiss on her cheek. "You go sit down and I'm going to make you some soup," she said.

Krystal laughed and patted her mother on the back as she hugged her tight. "Mom, chicken and noodles don't cure everything."

"Yeah, but it never hurts either. Don't argue with me, go sit down with Sehun and Seho and I'll be right out." Clarissa gently pushed her toward the living room, watching with worried eyes as she walked with a limping gait through the archway that separated the living room from the hall.

Sehun stood when she came in, walking over and swooping her up in his arms to carry her over to the couch and then propped her foot up with pillows. "You shouldn't be walking on that. As a matter of fact, you should be in the hospital right now."

"I hate hospitals," Krystal said, her eyes still wide from the suddenness of his move.

Seho started to laugh. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. You hate hospitals but you want to be a doctor, how is that supposed to make sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Krystal said, smiling at Seho. "Doctors make the worst patients."

Sehun shook his head. "That doesn't matter, you could have broken something or they could have seriously hurt you. You should be looked at."

"God, Sehun, quit being such a woman," Krystal said, looking up at him since he still stood over her. "And stop hovering, I'm fine. I'm a hell of a lot tougher than I look."

"Fine, I'll stop hovering. As a matter of fact, I'll just get out of here all together." He started towards the door, stopping only when Clarissa called his name. He kissed her cheek, giving her a loose hug.

"She's fine, Clarissa. I'm going before I say something that we both regret."

"Like telling her you love her?" Clarissa asked, smiling with that serene smile that only mothers can perfect. She chuckled softly as she looked into his startled face, patting his cheek. "Don't worry, Sehun, I don't think she's figured it out yet. And I promise not to tell her either, but I think you should."

"Yeah, like that'll work out. She hates me, Clarissa. She's hated me since the first day you introduced us. She'd laugh in my face if I told her how I feel." His head dropped and then he heard Krystal's bright laughter. "I've got to go," he said, summoning up a half smile and turning to hurry out the door.

Clarissa sighed and shook her head, closing the door after him and locking it tightly. Then she walked to the living room to cluck over her daughter.

~*~

Sehun stared up at her window in the darkness. He couldn't believe he was standing here contemplating what he was. He was crazy, he had to be.

After driving around town, a feat which didn't take as long as he wished it would, he'd driven back to the beach, staring at the fireworks that blazed across the sky from his car window. His mind was in such turmoil that he couldn't appreciate the beauty in those flashes of red and blue, silver and gold, green and purple. Even the more elaborate designs that shot across the sky, living and dying in that one bright burst of colorful light couldn't interest him. All he kept seeing was the welts and bruises on Krystal's body.

They'd done a job on her, leaving bruises and bite marks that would take a while to heal. And how long would it take for the scars on her psyche to heal as well? He didn't know but he wanted to be able to do something for her, to help somehow.

But nothing seemed right. How did he overcome her hatred of him?

Starting the car, he left the beach without even seeing the big finale of color that exploded over the lake rivaling even the sunset he'd seen earlier. And then he found himself here. Now he leaned against his car, staring up at her bedroom window with a frown on his handsome face.

He was crazy. She was probably sleeping and here he was contemplating climbing that rickety wooden trellis to get up to her room. He'd probably break his damn neck. With a sigh, he started across the yard and grabbed a hold of the old wood, praying it would hold is weight.

Half way up it creaked and he heard the wood splinter. With a muffled curse, he threw himself forward, grabbing the ledge outside her window and pulling himself up. He managed to get his foot jammed against the brick and hauled himself up.

He knocked on the window, peering inside the dark room. The light and he saw Krystal, fear easily seen on her face until she saw him looking inside her room. Shocked, she slid out of bed and hurried to the window, opening it and helping him inside.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed as he fell inside the window, rolling to his feet as she stumbled back.

"I was worried about you," he said, rubbing his elbow where it had connected against the hard floor, hitting his funny bone and making it tingle.

"You were worried about me?" She laughed, sitting on the side of her mussed bed.

"Yeah, what's so hard to believe about that? I can't be worried about you after you've almost been and maybe killed?" His eyes roamed over her, enjoying how she looked in a thin tank top that followed the lines of her body with the faithfulness of a lover's hand and the short shorts that hugged her and left all of her long curvy legs bare to his eyes.

"It's hard to believe because you've never worried about me before, why should you start now?" She crossed her arms, the movement causing her s to jiggle enticingly.

"You've just been through a really bad experience."

"Oh, it's a bad experience that has you here, so if I flunk my chem final, are you going to climb up the trellis and wake me up in the middle of the night too?" She stared up at him, still in shock that he was here, especially after the dream he'd woke her out of.

He'd been in her room then too, but he hadn't been wearing the cut off shorts and polo shirt he was wearing now. He'd been and in her bed, his body tangled with hers, between her thighs, making love to her with such intense passion that when he had knocked on her window, she'd had problems figuring out what was reality and what was dream.

And now he was in her room and she was still trying to get her mind out of that dream and back into the here and now.

"If you needed me here if you flunked your chem final, you'd only have to ask." He stepped forward, sinking down next to her on the bed. "I'd be here for you, Krystal." He pushed a lock of her hair back off of her forehead.

"Okay," she said, pushing his hand away. "What did you do with Sehun? Is he in the mother