rumours
PARADOX (KRYBER)the interview with the principal didn't take long. you were asked with the common questions as part of the investigation.
she said nothing after that aside from reminding you about the rules and that the board will decide on this matter.
they will inform you after two weeks as the board is still on a company trip.
your parents called you after hearing the news and you forced to stay on the line for thirty minutes, listening to a great deal of scolding.
they eventually calmed down, saying you'll return to the province to continue your studies if you'll get kicked out.
taeyeon said even if you both get kicked out, her parents, who are both lawyers, will surely sue kai, jinhwan, and jimin. they are just waiting for the decision to see what steps the school will take given what happened.
krystal assured you there's nothing to be worried about. she didn't give any details except for having her mom take care of the situation.
a lot of bad things happened today. but despite that, above all that, you still feel happy as krystal is finally yours.
---
"eeeeeee!!!"
it was already saturday and you still can't get the smile off your face. you know you look stupid squealing alone in your apartment but you don't care. you are the happiest person in the world right now and no one can ruin that.
you almost thought it was impossible. but it is real. krystal is in love with you too.
you were about to let out another excited squeal when your door buzzed. you got up from your bed disappointed at the disturbance of your daydreaming.
being too lazy to check the peephole, you opened the door right away.
"pringles delivery!"
you were expecting to see the same boy who's delivering these boxes daily. but this time it wasn't him.
the box was raised right in front of your face and you had to crane your neck to the side to confirm the familiar voice.
"you..." you said.
"'you'...?" said krystal, dropping a hand to her side. "is that the proper way to greet your girlfriend?"
"ah. no. i'm sorry. i just... i thought you'll be out with your mom this weekend?"
she rolls her eyes. "aish. i was trying to surprise you, okay?"
smiling, you scratched your head out of shyness. you observed her, couldn't believe she's standing in front of your door now.
since the day you met her, krystal never failed to make your heart flutter. you couldn't believe before that someone with a beauty like hers could actually exist in this world.
just imagine how lucky you are feeling right now seeing her standing right in front of you, looking perfectly beautiful even with that annoyed face she's wearing.
"what's with that smile?" she asked.
you didn't know you were already smiling. you shake your head and pulled her into your room, hugging her tightly after.
"i missed you..." you said soon after her scent filled your senses.
you heard her smile. "i missed you too." she pulled away. "what were you doing the entire morning?"
"nothing... just thinking about you..."
"were you alone here?"
"mmm-mmm."
"are there any woman who went here this morning?" she raised an eyebrow. "you better behave, amber, or else i'll kill those es who will try to snatch you away from me."
you laughed at the exaggeration. "i'm good. i promise."
"i'm not kidding, okay?"
"okay!" you wrapped your hands around her waist, pulling her tightly against you.
you don't care if she'll think you're being aggressive. for you, there's no point playing shy anymore as you've already wasted two years trying to read each other's mind.
knowing with certainty that you were falling in love all over again, you kissed her deep.
her hand tightened around your neck, her body surging up against yours.
your starving for her lips took over, and you edged closer to savour her lips.
she pulled away after a little while. "would you like to eat some pringles first?" she raised the box she's holding.
"no." you smiled deviously at her, taking the box from her hand and putting it down. "your lips taste better than these."
with your arms wrapped around her waist, you pulled her for another long and deep kiss.
---
"are you selling this stuff at home?" you asked as you munch the pringles while you watch a movie with you and krystal cuddling on your bed.
krystal shook her head without looking at you. "i'm buying it from the supermarket. sometimes mom buys it for me."
"your mom knows me?"
"yeah. she knows you. why?" she looks up at you.
"and she's not mad at you?"
"mad at me for what?"
"well, because i'm a girl..." you said.
"she doesn't mind," she said, giving you an assuring smile. "she's thankful to you. you're the reason i wanted to be a better me."
"that's... that's good to know..." you nodded. "if that's the case, then does that mean we can go out for a date some time?"
she pulled away from the hug and you can sense she doesn't like the idea.
"umm... it may be better if we stay indoors for now," she said, looking apologetic. "i just don't want kai or his friends to see us."
"huh? i thought you already broke up a month ago?"
"yes. and i went to his dorm yesterday to straighten things with him," she said, shifting on the bed to face you. "i told him we should stop pretending. i used the event with byungho that morning as my card. he understood. he even apologised to me for lying."
"but he still doesn't know about us?"
she shook her head no. "i don't want him picking a fight with you because of that."
"he always picks a fight with me for any reason," you grunted.
"but i'm sure that it'll piss him more if he finds out, or if the whole school finds out."
the idea finally dawned on you. "wait. are you planning to keep our relationship secret?"
"just for a little while, yes." she avoided your eyes, maybe feeling guilty for not telling you of her plans right away. "it's not just about kai. people will surely look down at you if they knew you're dating me."
"i'm sure they won't," you said. "besides, i don't give a damn about what they think about me or about us."
"i just... i just don't want to put you in an uneasy situation because of me," she said, sighing. "kai's still on trial this coming week. i was hoping we could keep it low-key while we wait for the result to come out. i don't want to sound mean, but the chances of them getting kicked out this time are high. i will feel safer telling everyone about us once he's out of school. so, please... please... can we keep this secret for now?"
how are you supposed to argue when she is looking at you like a baby who's asking for chocolate?
"okay. i understand."
she stares at you. "why do you look upset?"
"i just want to tell the entire world about us," you said, looking down as she reaches out for your hand. "but i get you. don't worry."
"come here." krystal knelt on the bed and hugged you to her chest.
it was heaven. krystal's scent, her softness, it just calms you.
"what's important is we're finally together, right?" she asked, running her fingers through your hair.
you nodded, hugging her around her waist, feeling relaxed now. "i love you."
she kissed the top of your head and said, "i love you more."
---
keeping your relationship a secret may not be as easy as it sounds.
monday came and the class schedule was back to normal. as expected, what happened became the talk of the town. according to the rumours, kai, jinhwan, and jimin were suspended for a week.
kai's fangirls couldn't believe what happened. they were even claiming he can't do such thing, that it might be byungho who started all the fuss and kai was just dragged into it because he wanted to help jinhwan.
you're not sure if kai's fangirls are already despising you and taeyeon for what you did but you are certain they are secretly murdering krystal in their minds. krystal is openly telling people now that they are no longer together, and these fangirls thought it was rude of her to leave him the moment he needed support.
but the next day, the rumour of you and krystal dating arises. tiffany and taeyeon suspects it was jimin who started that. there were several speculations that came up:
first, you are the villain. people think--specifically kai's fans--that you stole krystal from him. he can't bear the pain it brought him. being just another human with flaws, you got into a fight, and he stabbed you.
second, krystal is a two-timer. some people think she wants more attention and fame so she flirted with you while she's with kai. these are the people who think krystal is nothing but a troublemaker and they are wondering why you fell for her.
third, kai couldn't accept the fact that a lesbian lover replaced him, causing his aggression.
of course, suzy, tiffany, and taeyeon were clearing up the issue as much as they can. however, it's not something they can clarify to everyone.
as for you and krystal, well, you're acting normal in school. by normal, it means you're pretending to ignore each other during classes. you agreed to keeping your relationship secret for now because you don't want to add to her worries. to make it up with you, krystal promised to visit your apartment every after classes so you could spend time together. she also scheduled sleepovers every weekend.
you still eat lunch with taeyeon and suzy. suzy seems to have limited her closeness to you a bit because she knows you and krystal are already together.
everything is falling into the right places. it won't be long before the school's decision on kai's case will be out. after that, all will be well.
---
it was thursday the same week when the professor in one of your subjects with krystal gave a project. it is a term paper which will be worked on by pair.
draw lots decided the pairing.
to your dismay, krystal didn't get paired with you. she was partnered with the nerdy tall guy with glasses named sehun. he's kind of weird but you think krystal is safe with him because he's not like the others who keep hitting on girls.
and then you got paired with your block mate ailee. you don't hate her but you're not close with her either. this will be the first time you'll be working with this classmate of yours.
krystal gave you a knowing look which meant you need to be careful with your actions toward this partner of yours.
---
you and krystal went to your separate classes after. by the time your last class rolls around, ailee, who's your classmate in all your subjects, approached you and asked if you could go to the library and discuss the project.
you were mentally prepared to do eighty per cent of the work for this term paper. but since she took the initiative to do this, you agreed right away.
"phew! honestly, i didn't think that we could finish our draft today," you said as you arrange the books you used for the research.
to your surprise, you were wrong about ailee. she was helpful to the point that you were able to complete the outline of the project and have divided the tasks among you.
"i didn't want to be a burden to you," said ailee, helping you with the books. "i know you got a lot on your plate right now. the least i could do is help you with this."
"thanks! appreciate it." you carried most of the books while she held some.
"i'm still lucky to have you as my partner here. i didn't want to get paired with any of the boys. they won't be helpful at all," said ailee, inserting one book she's holding in the shelf. "who were you expecting to get paired with?"
"i was hoping it would be krystal," you answered absentmindedly.
ailee turned to you, surprised. "with krystal? why?"
"er... well..."
"you two don't seem to be close," said ailee. "i never saw you guys talk. that's why i don't believe those stupid rumours spreading about you being together."
"yeah... well... i... i haven't worked with her once ever since she became our classmate," you said right away. "who knows, she might not be our classmate next sem and i just, you know, want to get to know her a little better."
ailee nods. you walk to another shelf. she picked one book you were carrying and put it in there.
"well, you haven't worked with me too yet, right?" she asked.
"yeah. i was about to add that," you lied, laughing weirdly.
"honestly, i don't want to work with her," said ailee, busy putting the books back. "i don't think she's focused on her studies. if she will be your partner, you will have a hard time. i can't imagine seeing you two work together. she's just going to burden you."
you wanted to argue with ailee but you know it won't be worth it. maybe this is what krystal meant when she said people will look down at you if they find out you are dating her.
you still don't mind if they would. but since you know it will affect krystal that much, you thought of not insisting going public to her yet.
you'll wait until she's comfortable.
"but i get you," said ailee, pulling you back to earth. "i don't have the right to judge her. who knows, there might be a soft side behind that attitude she's showing."
you smiled secretly at that. "how about you, who were you expecting to get paired with?"
ailee grabbed the last book from you hand and shyly smiled at you. she said nothing but she walked to another shelf still wearing that smile.
you followed her. "umm... i just asked you a question..."
"why are you interested to know that," she asked, scanning the books.
"well, i answered your question so it would be fair to answer mine too, right?"
ailee turned to you, chuckling. "hmm. why don't you try guessing it?"
"we have thirty other classmates in that subject. i believe giving me a clue would help unless you want to spend the night here?"
ailee laughed. "okay. well, three letters, starting with 'y'."
you tried recalling the names of your classmates and couldn't come up with another person with a y-name. "c'mon, who is it?"
ailee finally found the right place for the book. she bent down to level the lower shelf and inserted it. she stood up and pinched your nose quick.
"it's you," she said, walking away.
you were simply frozen on your spot. you stood there motionless for a little while before deciding to follow ailee back to your table.
"why me?" you asked.
ailee picks her bag and turns to you. "because i've always wanted to get to know you more." she smiles and turns away, not forgetting to give you a wink before leaving. "thank you for today. i'll see you tomorrow, amber."
you bit your lip and scratched your head, already regretting asking ailee that question.
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