A/N: Hello, y'aaaaall! So, apparently, 'Korean' is actually called 'Hangul'; did anyone else notice that when looking up NU'EST's songs with lyrics? It was always: "English lyrics + Romantization + Hangul"? It's like Japanese. Japanese has three alphabets . . . I don't think the Korean language has multiple alphabets though ^^ But for your benefit (mine too, in fact), I'll just continue saying 'Korean' when referring to the guys and Amber speaking Hangul, okay? ^^;

And is anyone else getting problems with using pictures for chapter pics? Because I am and it's annoying the hell outta me >.<*** So that's why the chapter's picture is part of the chapter (just for now hopefully until the website stops it's BS).

And this chapter's a looong one, so set some time aside! ^.~

P.S.,

Hey, okay, so you know how I only have 13 subscribers? Well, I do. I love all of you so much (even the silent readers that have me gritting my teeth) but you know what would be one of my dreams come true? To have Break Throughs featured on the Home page. But I don't have NEARLY enough subscribers - or views, for that matter. So, I really would like you guys to do me a favor:

COULD YOU PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE POST BREAK THROUGHS LINK TO YOUR CHAPTERS, TO YOUR WALL, TO YOUR BLOGS. PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR SUBSCRIBERS, ANYONE THAT YOU TALK TO, THE MEMBERS/CHARACTERS IN ANY ROLEPLAY YOU PARTAKE IN TO TRY MY STORY OUT?

I'm soooooo grateful to have as many subscribers as I already have - but the number is dicouraging at times, especially when I read a story with like, five chapters so far, or the writing's not that good and there spelling and grammer errors galore - but in their second or even first chapter, they're thanking their 30+ subbies and then the next chapter it's tripled to 90+. I would absolutely LOVE that to happen to me. It's bringing me down to the point where I'm thinking, "Do I have to change my first chapter so that it jumps right into meeting NU'EST? What can I do to make people interested enough?"

It makes me even sadder when I get comments from my enthusiastic readers telling me just how much they totally loooove this fanfic and that I'm a good writer (I love you guys for the rest of my life because I know you guys (*cough*Rose, Cotton, BaekRen08, Alice <3 *cough*) will actually be the reason I finish this fanfic) because it makes me think of all the view I've gotten - but hardly anyone has given me a chance.

So this 'P.S.' is a babble/thank you so much/I love you/calling out for help. Please help me. My foremost dream and goal of course would be to finish this story because it would be the first out of my many many many MANY unfinished stories that I've completed and when/if that day comes (God, please make it happen . . .), I will cry. The very last chapter will be an Author's Note of thanks and tears.

. . .

Um. Anyway? I just made the chapter much longer with that added A/N P.S. ^^; Sorry about that~

ENJOY THIS CHAPTERRRR!!!

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We arrive at the mall twenty minutes later. Everyone gets out stretching and I observe what they're all wearing. I'm interested to see that Choi MinKi does indeed wear leggings under shorts even off camera; MinHyun is garbed in this fashionable red and black outfit that's, I think, a wraparound sweater with black high-tops; BaekHo's wearing a leather jacket and torn jeans; and Aron has on a white button-up shirt with a blue sweater.

Ren points out the looming grey thunderheads and we sprint to the mall entrance. As soon as we reach it, the sky opens up and pours. We chuckle, relieved that we just missed getting hit with the rain. We head for the first clothing store we see: Abercrombie. Amber and I glance at each other and smirk; that store is like a freaking club with its dim lights, the cloud of perfume/cologne, the black and white picture of the shirtless model that's so large, you can see his eyes from the store across the corridor. But what ultimately gives it the club-vibe is the loud bass music. When you pass the store, you can't help but feel like you're missing something.

All part of drawing customers in – and it works so well.

There's a fair amount of people in the store, mostly girls and the occasional boyfriend that was dragged along. MinHyun, BaekHo, Ren, and JR are a little entranced by the magic of the store; Aron looks interested but his pants most likely came from Abercrombie so he's not as impressed as the other guys. We all gravitate to the boys' section and I'm amused all over again at their fascination with the simplest things. MinHyun and JR have their heads bent over a sweater, trying to find the price tag and arguing lightly in Korean. BaekHo's trying out caps but he complains when he takes them off because they all mess up his Mohawk. He finally settles on making Ren try on the caps since his hair is easier to fix. Aron's found something and is looking for the dressing room. I'm about to point it out when 'Birthday Cake' by Rihanna comes through the speakers. Amber and I catch each other's glance with wide eyes. We slyly slip away.

Once, we're in the girl's section we begin to giggle. There's just something about sneaking away from a bunch a guys to steal some girl time that's humorous. We look for the less-busiest place near a speaker. I find a spot behind a display of mannequins and then –

We dance.

I'm not talking about normal 'oh, I know this song', head-bob-in-the-middle-of-the-store dancing. This was y dancing. As in worse-than-Amber-and-Aron's-roleplay dirty dancing. As in five-inches-from-each-other's-face-and-semi-grinding dancing. It was the way girls dance when they were alone with their friends. It's how we really dance. We let go and meld into the song. And since the songs that are mostly playing at parties and in stores like this are, well, um, not songs we want our parents to hear us listening to, Amber and I are completely skilled in this kind of dancing – because we do it all the time. I'm dropping my hips low and Amber's doing this thing where it looks like a wave is going through her body – and then we're back-to-back and creeping downwards, legs straining.

A few girls look our way but we don't care and they must know how it is: when you're with your best friend nothing can embarrass you and when a good song's on, sometimes you just gotta get down right where you are.

When the last "cake" fades, Amber and I are laughing and sweating a bit. We made our way back with breathless smiles. JR is trying on a different sweater, but when he sees us through the mirror, he turns around, a confused look crossing his flawless face. "Where'd you two go?" The look that passes between us girls is secretive. "Oh, we just saw a shirt that was cute, is all," I say nonchalantly. "We might go back and buy it," Amber adds, winking at me, and hugging JR's shoulders from behind. She spots Ren trying out sunglasses and she runs to tackle him. I smile as Ren starts to complain.

"Hey, uh, Starr?" JR calls. He's gazing at me through the mirror again. "Yah?" I answer. He motions to the back of the hoodie where the hood is tucked inside. "Could you pull that out?" I nod. You'd think that I'd take this chance to put my hands all over the boy – but just the opposite: I'm using the tips of my fingers to pull out the hood. When it's out, I fix it neatly, letting my fingers linger on the fabric and soak in the slight warmth JR's back produces through the sweater.

I step back as JR surveys his reflection. Then he turns to me. "Does it look good on me?" Looking at him full-on, I blush and automatically avert my eyes, even when I don't want to. They land on the mirror where I only see half of him reflected – but I still see his face falling a bit. "You don't like it?" he asks with a hint of (heartbreaking) embarrassment. "No!" I say forcefully, my eyes snapping back to his puzzled brown ones. I stop myself. Crap. "I-I mean yes!"

"Yes . . . you don't like it? Or you do?" he asks carefully. My eyes widen in panic. Crap, crap, crap! "Ah! That's not what I was trying to say!" I laugh nervously. I run my fingers through my hair and have to look away again because my face is heating up. Damn! How can a friggin' hoodie look so good on someone?! It's a stupid white sweater with a brand name stitched vertically in the front. I own, like, five.

"Um. I just – I think –" I clear my throat "- I think you look really, really good in it, JR." I exhale in uncomfortable mortification. I watch his reflection. His face goes from being relieved, to the realization of my delayed answer, to spreading into a happy grin that makes my heart skip a beat because it's directed at me (even though I'm not looking at him). I nearly laugh, though, as I take in the reason those emotions flashed across his face on that order: I had made him doubt his physical charm, the thing that has the female population of Korea sighing at his voice and fawning over his pictures. JR glances at the mirror one more time before taking it off and slinging in over his arm. Because he had to take off his thin black hoodie he came with to try this one on, he's before me in his light pink, black, and white skinny jeans with a chain dangling from a couple belt loops and a black t-shirt that has a huge gold bird with bursts behind it. The shirt clings to his lean frame.

And this is an additional cue to my body to make my face red yet another time. I just can't catch a break.

* * *

We cruised the stores for about an hour and a half – goofing off, buying things, trying on things and modeling clothes, teasing each other, chasing each other, laughing with and at each other, and accumulating several shopping bags for each individual – before I'm hit by Mother Nature. It was slow coming, but the second I feel the slightest tugging in my lower abdomen, I begin to lag. The pinching gets worse and I finally give in. The group has gone into Papaya's, but I decide to take a break in the small lounge area right outside the store until they're done. I curl up in one of the big comfy chairs just as the big cramp wave crashes over my body. Agh. I close my eyes for a few seconds and lay my head on the armrest. I'm concentrating on breathing, so it scares the out of me when Amber grabs my shoulders and nudges me. I jump and gasp. I'm instantly pissed; I mean, WTF?!

"Can I help you??" I snarl. She widens her eyes and backs up. "Whoa there, tiger," she says. "Calm down –"

"Don't tell me to calm down are I swear I'll rip your Goddamn head off. You know how much I hate people telling me –"

"Alright, babe, alright," she coos soothingly. The boys walk up then. I sit up a little, so it doesn't look like I was, y'know, sleeping in a mall or anything . . .

"Hey, what happened?" BaekHo asks looking between us girls. "I just need some water," I say quickly. Amber's the type of person to blab – whether its periods or where she hid my book. Simple things like this she won't be able keep her trap shut about for long. Amber glances at me and opens . "MinKi . . . could you get Starr a bottle of water from the coffee café right there?" she asks, pointing to the open shop in the corner. He nods and swiftly makes his way over.

JR tilts his head. "What's wrong, Starr-ssi?" He looks worried and cute, I wanna cry. There goes my out-of-whack emotions . . . I grumble to myself. I make myself train my eyes on his. Okay, now lift the corners of your mouth . . . come on . . . come- oh, forget it; I'm too out of it right now. "Nothing, hon, I just – I just got dizzy . . ." I manage to answer (without smiling). Another cramp wave attacks me and I fumble into my purse for my pill bottle.

I freeze.

I don't have anything on me.

ANYTHING.

I usually stash extra products in my purses, even when it's not my time, just in case a girlfriend needed something or I came THREE DAYS EARLIER than predicted (stupid irregular cycles >x<*). I forgot to pack anything today though. I whip my head towards Amber, desperation written plainly on my face. She pauses to rummage in her bag before looking back up and shaking her head. Amber bites her lip. I sigh in despair and drop my head into my hand. God, what I'm I gonna do? I'm practically immobilized by cramps, I've run out of female purses to beg from, and where the hell do you buy tampons/pads in a mall anyway??

Ren comes back with a bottle of water and hands it to me. I thank him and he sits down in one of the other chairs next to Aron (who I think knows what's going on, 'cause every time I catch his eye, he raises his eyebrows at me in a way that says, "So how's those cramps for you?"). MinHyun and BaekHo are half leaning, half sitting on one of my chair's armrests. It's wide and just as padded as the seat cushion itself so they seem comfortable enough. I suddenly find it sweet that they all decided that the shopping trip would come to a pause until I feel better to continue. Our bags are in an organized pile near my chair.

I find it sweeter that JR hasn't sat down and is instead still standing in front of me. Even Amber sank down onto one of the small coffee tables beside our chairs.

. . . But his intention is to find out what's going on if it's the Last. Thing. He. Does.

"JongHyun," I say kindly (through clenched teeth, mind you; as much as the boy appeals to me, a minute straight of too much damn curiosity/worry is tiresome (or irritating to an imbalanced-hormones teenage girl)), "I'm not injured, I'm perfectly fine. My stomach just –"

"Oppa, she's on her period, okay?!"

All five male eyes are suddenly glued to my unbelieving face. I'm almost shaking with anger. My eyes contact slowly shifts from JR's eyes to Amber Steele's regretful ones. She's slightly wincing.

Fifteen boxes of damn cupcakes? To with them!!

But everyone's eyes are turned away from me when JR bolts. He's racing in the other direction. We watch him in stunned silence. I kind of have my jaw swinging on its hinges. He just – did that boy -? He –

He just ran away from me.

I jerk my head in Amber's direction so sharply, my neck cracks. She looks scared.

"Amber."

My friend throws her arms out in desperation. "I'm so sorry! It's fine! It's okay, it's alright, he'll be back. I know him well enough; JR will be back with –"

"Amber . . ." I lean towards her.

"Starr, it was an accident! I swear it!" I'm going to leap over this chair and claw her eyes out. "Starrrr!" Amber whines. I stop tilting out of my chair and turn away from her (pathetic) pleading face. I totally turn my back on her and face BaekHo and MinHyun. She seriously pisses me off and annoys me at the wrong times. MinHyun's playing with his phone, a light blush still on his pretty face. But BaekHo's staring at me outright. My lips twitch. His open-faced curiosity is so adorable. "I don't get it; why does it hurt so much?" he asks me. I actually laugh out loud. "Don't you have health class in middle school?" I giggle.

"Eh, no . . . what's that?" I peek at Aron, hoping that he'll take over. "You see," he starts, "the –"

"Aron, not across the whole freaking mall!" I yell. Was he REALLY about to explain how the uterus works from ten feet away?! He looks at me like "what?" and then he grins and waves his hand at BaekHo to come closer. BaekHo transfers to Aron's armrest. I make my eyes look elsewhere as Aron starts to use his hands to freaking demo. At least he switched over to Korean so I can't understand them. Then Amber joins their conversation. Ren doesn't look like he realizes that everyone around him is talking of menstrual cycles because he's focused on his nails. God, they're so perfect. What could possibly be wrong with them? About thirty seconds later, someone comes rushing up to me.

It takes me a moment to focus my gaze enough to comprehend that it's Kim JongHyun.

JR bends at the waist and rests his hands on his knees. He's panting and even chuckles a couple of times. He has a plastic bag in his hand that says 'J. C. Penny'.

"Starr-ssi . . ." he gasps. ". . . I . . . run to . . . and get . . . box for you . . . Look different from . . . home so . . . was hard . . . but . . . here." Whoa, that must've been one hell of a run; his speech is all messed up. He holds out the bag for me to take. He's facing the ground, his thick hair hanging down, preventing me from seeing his face. He's still huffing. JR glances up at me and I snap out of it. I reach for the bag and peek inside. What I find stuns me.

He didn't . . . he couldn't have . . .

"What did he get?" Aron calls out. But I don't answer. I can't pull my eyes from JR. He did this on instinct? I wonder, amazed. The second Amber mentioned my period, he took off. He stands straight and runs his hand through his hair. I'm aware of MinHyun leaning closer to me to glimpse at what's in the bag. When JR catches my stare, he notices my lack of expression. His face falls for the second time today because of me and asks, "Did I get the right one?"

I finally smile. I think I'm sparkling, glowing, actually. What kind of guy goes to such instant measures for a friend he barely knows? He's too much – there's too much good in him. Is there a girl in the world that deserves him? That measures up to his standards? I stand up, ignoring my body's protests, and hug him around his neck, bag and all. JR hesitates in surprise, but then hugs me back. He's still out of breath a bit and I can feel his fast-but-slowing-down-to-normal heartbeat. "Thank you, JongHyun Oppa," I whisper (I picked up some terms from Amber and my research on NU'EST). I slide back and peck his soft cheek. Just as I do, two things happen: 1) JR's flushed face gets pinker, and 2) BaekHo snatches the bag out of my hand from behind JR's back. We turn around to see him examining the box he'd taken out. He squints and reads, "Tam . . . pax?" Aron comes up from behind the thief, shoves the box back into the bag, and hands it to me, lightly scolding the younger boy. BaekHo just asks a question and Aron goes back to giving his impromptu lesson.

"He got you a box of tampons?!" Amber shouts, jumping up. "You actually did what I thought you'd try . . ." I whip around, my scarf tugging at my neck. "You what?" I bark flatly. Amber gazes back innocently. I roll my eyes. JR still has an arm lingering on my waist and when I move, I feel it slip away. I shiver a little at the sudden absence of the small warmth. "Thank you," I repeat, smiling sincerely. It was one of the most selfless things somebody's done for me. JR smiles back, looking genuinely relieved that I was pleased. I hand him my water bottle, telling him that he could use it. He drinks from it gratefully, bowing his head slightly in thanks.

On my way past her to the restroom, I grab Amber's arm and tug her along. "You," I say firmly, "are coming with me." Once we're in the restroom and the door falls shut behind us, I head for a stall, exclaiming at Amber. "You KNEW that boy would go buy tampons??"

"Well, no, but he's the type of person who wants to help others – especially friends and fans - in any way he can, so it was automatic to go get what you needed. That's what NU'EST was created for, by the way."

I tear the box open and answer incredulously, "Their purpose is to save the girls of the world from leaking?"

"Pft," she laugh-scoffs. "An amusing idea, but no. Their single is directed to the teenage bullying in school problem. All of their singles will be and most of their songs. They all have that bone in their body that wants to reach out to everyone. Their hearts are so pure."

"I'll say," I say coming out of the stall. I lather my hands in soap. "How did he know what to get? And how did he find it?"

"I really don't know about that," Amber contemplates. I dry my hands. "I just knew he was going to try."

JR'S POV

-FLASHBACK-

JR sprinted away. He wasn't sure where to go but he knew Starr needed one of those many feminine products. God, he didn't even know the function of all those things in the female aisles back home; how was he gong to find what Starr needed in a foreign place?? JR ran into the first department store that he saw. He scrambled around, trying to read the signs but though he could speak English pretty well, reading the language was a real challenge. Whose idea was it to stick an 'e' at the end of words or toss in a silent 'g' for the hell of it?

"Fem . . . in . . . ine. Pro . . . ducts," JR mumbled as he jogged down several aisles. Those two words are some of the more logically spelled ones; I can find them. But after running up and down the main aisle a couple of times, he past a row filled with what Starr needed. He glanced at the sign, not sure how he missed it until he read what it said: Feminine Hygiene. What the hell? he thought, annoyed. JR turned back to the row of products and was overwhelmed with all the blue, green, black, and pink boxes and packages.

"Ahh!" he cried. It wasn't loud, but several people nearby him stared. JR quickly walked down the aisle, looking from side-to-side, squeezing past other women, talking quietly to himself in Korean. He trailed his fingers along the edges of the shelves. "What am I looking for?!" he grumbled. He felt so lost – and probably looked it too. JR continued down the row until he found blue boxes that read 'Tampax'. He knew he was looking for the word 'tampon', but 'Tampax' was close enough and who knew? Maybe "pax" makes the "pon" sound in English sometimes.

For a moment JR stood there silently scanning the boxes. "I should get the biggest one," he decided. He picked up a huge one that said 'LITE'. "'Lite'?" he wondered. "What the heck is . . . ?" He spun around to ask the nearest person, a middle-aged woman, "What does 'lite' mean?" She stared at him, then replied, "It's for when a woman is bleeding the least. 'Lite' is also the smallest."

"Gomawo," JR thanked, bowing a bit. He went back to complaining in Korean. "I need to get the biggest, not the smallest." Then he caught the word 'super'. "Super is super in any language, dae? This has to be the biggest . . ." JR saw the size of the tampons through the small plastic window on the box. He gulped. How were these used again? "Omo. Yes, these are the biggest." JR snatched the largest box and raced through the check out. There were three lines. "Anyaaa!" he exclaimed. "I'm not waiting this long!"

"Excuse me, sir," a young woman said. "I can help you at register two." JR nodded urgently. He needed to get back to his group. But he found out that checking out was harder than actually getting the box of tampons.

"That will be $12.50. Would you like a J. C. Penny rewards card?" the cashier asked.

". . . A what?" JR asked as he reached for his money. He was trying to figure out how much he was supposed to pay. Ten is less than twelve sooo I give her the twenty dollar bill? "A rewards card, sir," the girl repeated. "Five dollars off your next purchase." JR stared at her. "Anya . . . no thank you. Here." He handed her a twenty and she gave him his change in return. When she handed him his receipt she asked, "Would you like to use this coupon now?" She was referring to the free coupon on the receipt for Tampax tampons.

JR shook his head, a little nervous now. Was she going to stop asking questions so he could get the box to Starr?? He stuffed the change into his pocket again. "No thank you. Is this it? I need to go."

"I'm sorry what was that?"

"Do I need to do anything else before I leave?"

"I can't understand you, sir."

JR gave her a look that was borderline insanity. He didn't have time for this. Okay, so he knew that his accent was heavy, but not being able to understand him was a stretch. Out of the group, he was equal to BaekHo in English – and that was pretty fluent. Starr and her family understand him perfectly well. JR shook his head again, grabbed the bag, and took off back to his friends.

-END FLASHBACK-

JR sighs and sinks into the chair that Starr had been occupying a second ago. He's satisfied that he had done the right thing. But now his band members are teasing him without pity.

"Tampons, JongHyun-ah?" BaekHo laughs in Korean. "Are you a sudden expert in this field?"

MinHyun speaks up. "How did you know what to even look for?"

"JongHyun, don't grow up too fast on your hyung," Aron says with pretend tears. "You're taking care of a girl already?"

Ren looks from JR to everyone else to JR again. "What's going on?" he asks.

* * *

STARR

Amber manages to find a vitamin shop and buys me a small bottle of Aleve. Once I take a couple, it only takes my body ten minutes to sigh with relief.

At the food court, we buy a large pizza and share it. Then we go upstairs. When MinHyun sees the salon/spa, he wants to go inside for a manicure. He won't stop bugging us until we all are completely swayed with his eager, pretty face (how the hell do these boys live each other with an innocent, pretty face like MinHyun's and a cute, girly one like Ren's? I would die everyday) and submit, giggling at MinHyun's excitement. Amber, Ren, and I start with pedicures first – actually, that's all Ren's getting since his fingernails are already done (to perfection . . .) while Aron, BaekHo, MinHyun, and JR are led to the manicure tables since that's all they're getting. We're not the only people, but we outnumber every other customer so we don't really care if we talk too loud. The atmosphere is giddy and fun. I glance over at Ren, whose sitting to my right, to find him covering his mouth with his hand. He's laughing airily and I try to hide my chuckle: the scrub brush is tickling his feet.

At some point the song 'Whistle' by Flo Rida plays and I start to sing along. To my surprise so do the boys. Aron notices my surprise and says, "We have I heart Radio in Korea too, you know." We whistle and sing off key and try to rap with Flo Rida; only JR and Aron are actually able to do that. It turns into a game of 'who can rap the best'. Aron wins just because he knows all the words. But I find it a little embarrassing to hear the guys sing the song, considering what Flo Rida is sooo discreetly implying. Amber and I look at each other slyly when singing "You just put you're lips together and you come real close. Can you blow my whistle, baby, whistle, baby – here we go." Then Aron does a hand gesture towards us (I don’t even know if I want that to be only directed to Amber or not; if that was for me too, he dies. If he did that to Amber alone, he dies) that has me gaping like a fish out of water. As Amber cackles hysterically next to me while I frantically look around to see who else (other than the wide eyed young woman named Andrea who's doing Aron's nails) saw.

"ARON KWAK! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUUUU??!" I scream. "What the hell?! You did NOT just do that!" Amber Steele's getting one hell of a belly laugh from all of this. This is what food does to her. You don't want to feed her unless you want her to get ditzy off of air. Food just gives the girl too much energy and – it doesn't matter if it's tofu – the sugar will make her high. So Amber's farrr from effected by what Aron did. She probably wouldn't even care if she was normal, given the fact that she and Aron act like that all the time.

It doesn't look like the rest of NU'EST knows what the gesture Aron did with his hand meant. I'm suddenly so grateful for different cultures. Thank GOD Ren didn't understand what happened. But the boys are curious and are prodding us to know what Aron did and what it meant. BaekHo and MinHyun in particular are determined to know. NOT THAT WE'RE GOING TO TELL THEM CRAP, but they won't stop asking. At least they're not going to go around doing what Aron did; he's such a bad example!! I huff and plop back against the seat. I hadn't liked Aron that much anyway – but now? Now he just makes me mad. I settle on ignoring everyone and just watch the people walking by through the huge glass windows.

I catch JR's reflection. He's looking back at me. We stare at each other for a few seconds, but it feels like five minutes. It isn't an awkward 'oh no, they caught me looking' moment. It's much more comfortable. It seems like it should be normal to just gaze into someone's eyes without reason to.

Then we shift our eyes and the connection is gone.

* * *

After our manicures/pedicures are done and dry, we want ice cream. We stop at Dip n' Dots and spend a ridiculously long time choosing flavors for the seven of us. It took us less time to order our Subway sandwiches for TEN of us on my birthday – but that was without Amber Steele. She can't make up her freaking mind between vanilla or – brace yourself – French vanilla.

Not even Ren would be able to stop me from choking her.

Guess how long it takes us? It takes fifteen minutes before we're situated with the right Dip n' Dots orders and walking again. Something off to the right catches my eye.

"Hey! Was that there before?" I ask pointing. It's a store called K-Pop Central. The sign outside the store answers my question. It screams "GRAND OPENING! COME ON IN! WE HAVE: MANGA, ANIME, MUSIC/CDS, POSTERS, AND LOTS MORE! COME SEE!" I am interested immediately. "Hey, that seems cool. Do you guys wanna check it out with me?" I ask.

Amber skips into the store. "Since when are you into k-pop?" I roll my eyes at her, grinning. "Well, I don't know, maybe when my best friend came back after four years of no contact from a country of k-pop. Or maybe it's when I met the new boy band of Korea. I'm not really sure, Amber." She turns to me, a poster of Big Bang in her hands. "You never researched it when I was gone?"

"Believe me, I did," I reply skimming the manga. I don't know why, since I don't read much (I barely know how to read it), but I think I should get into this kind of culture fast considering the company I've been keeping lately. I don't want to seem too much like a dumb, closed-in, American girl. "But I was looking up Pledis Entertainment, not k-pop specifically. I was looking for your name or something. I've picked up some vocab."

"Yah, in the past week from me."

I ignore her and move on to the animes. I've actually watched anime before so this time, I know what I'm looking for. NU'EST is a few rows down when they exclaim, "Yah! There it is! Our CD!" Curious, I find them crowded around a large rack of music in the middle of the store. In fact, the whole back of the store was just music. The boys are picking up their 'Face' CD and chattering happily. I guess it would be a big success to see the result of your blood, sweat, and tears in a foreign country.

"KKYYYAAAAAA!!!"

All of us jump at the sudden scream and spin around to see the cashier – a fake blonde about my age with a lip and nose ring – gaping at us with eyes that are about to fall out of her head. The finger she's pointing at us is quivering and keeps opening and closing. Her face is red and it doesn't seem like she's breathing right. I see the scream erupting from her body before I hear it.

"KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA . . . !!!!"

I cringe. God, that really hurts my head. I watch as she literally leaps over the counter and rushes over to us. "Omigosh, you're – you're . . . AHHHH!" She starts laughing hysterically. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! YOU'RE NU'EST!" She's jumping up and down. The boys are smiling delightedly, of course; it's another foreign fan. Amber and I, on the other hand, are sneaking looks at each other like, WTF? Can she get a hold of herself maybe?? Then the girl moves so fast it takes me a minute to comprehend that she's squeezing the daylights out of MinHyun. But he doesn't mind, does he? No, of course not. He smiles and hugs her back gently.

When the crazy girl finally lets the face of the group go, she grabs their CD from the rack and s it in their faces. "Can I have your guys's autograph, pleeeease??" For crying out loud, how old is she? She's totally up to them right now! I restrain from rolling my eyes for NU'EST's sake; they're enjoying this. They all sign the album (the cashier squealing at them the whole time), before she seems to actually notice me and Amber for the first time. She gasps. "Are you two any of NU'EST's girlfriends?!" she practically yells at us. GOD, SHUT UP ALREADY! Amber manages to chuckle politely (though I can totally see the gears in her head whirling with mean words and just how she would like to torture this annoying bee-yatch) and she shakes her head. "No, I was just a trainee with them. I debut in September as Sweet Alice."

I hold back once again, this time from smacking my best friend upside the head: of course she takes this opportunity to promote herself! The girl obsesses over that idea for a minute. I'm about to wander around the CD collection before the shrieking girl turns her sharp eyes on me. "And you?" she demands. I shake my head. "Just a normal girl."

"A normal girl doesn't just happen to know NU'EST," she shoots back. I narrow my eyes. "Well, I actually did happen to meet them a few days ago on my birthday. And Amber has been my best friend since I was born. Now, since you're here, does this place carry Hot Gimmick?"

She waves her hand towards the front of the shop. She answers snottily, "Yah, it's with the manga." I gawk at her. No-f***ing-DUH, ! "Thank you," I growl through my teeth, a fake smile plastered on my face. I see the boys' expressions as I pass: they're trying not to laugh. They obviously see how much this girl is annoying the hell outta me and Amber. I glance at Amber. She catches my eyes and the question in them: will you come with me? The apologetic shake of her head is barely visible. She shifts her eyes to Ren and back at me a few times and I get the message. I hope she doesn't let that girl cling to JR either. And hopefully MinHyun will be alive and will have no punctured lungs when I get back.

I find Hot Gimmick pretty easily, but I hang out and browse until JR comes looking for me. When he sees me he grins. I roll my eyes half-heartily. "God, I'm sorry. I tried but I had to leave," I say. "There was going to be a cat-fight if I hadn't." I look at him. "How did you get away?" He pulls out a manga and examines it. "She had a customer waiting." I laugh. "Man, I don't know how you guys do it."

"Do what?"

"Handle fans like that. I would go berserk."

He shrugs and flips his hair away from his face. "It's part of the job, of being famous. Our goal is to bring awareness to the bullying in schools, so if this is the small price then we'll take it."

I look at him and teasingly say, "Yah, I totally got that moral from 'I'm Sorry'." He chuckles. "I'm glad you did." I smile and we walk back to the group. I bring my books up to the counter. MinHyun, Ren, Amber, and BaekHo are in line ahead of me. I play with the trinkets on the counter. Something sparkly gets my attention. Anything sparkly that casts off little rainbows in your eyes makes me stare. The shine was coming from a small portable rack of tiaras. Or were they headbands? I pick one up and find out that it's both. If you bend and fold it a certain way, it becomes a small tiara. Unfold it and you can wear it as a headband. I'm holding a purple, black, and silver one. It's so sparkly . . .

I don't know that I'm just staring at it until someone from behind me takes it from my hands and places the tiara on my head. I look in the mirror (like the ones that are on sunglasses stands) and see JR looking back at me from over my shoulder, placing the tiara on my head. "There you go, your Majesty, now you look like a real princess." I blush at JR's words and then blush even more at the shy smile that spreads across my face. His hands are in his pockets now, but we're still looking at each other and at the tiara that he put in my hair through the mirror.

"NEXT!" I jerk at the loud voice. I glare at the cashier girl and put the tiara back on the rack.

JR'S POV

JR his head to the side. It didn't look like Starr wanted to let go of the sparkly tiara. He'd noticed her standing there staring at it in her hands and smiled at how child-like she looked with big eyes. He glances at the purple headband again. She probably likes sparkly things . . . and she seemed to really like it . . . So JR makes his decision.

STARR

"Starr!" Amber calls after the girl hands me my change. I snatch it from her without giving her the grace of my eye contact and grab the bag of books. "Have a nice day, loser," she says in an undertone that only I can hear. I hesitate. Okay, I realize that what I say next is has a little too much bite and I would murder anyone who said this to me about a celebrity I like out of pure envy and jealousy, but come on! She just dissed me! "I will have a nice day hanging out with my NU'EST friends." I smile sweetly and rush off to Amber who's waving her arm at me over excitedly. She shows me the poster and points out a girl in the background. I squint. "Hey, Amber, is that you?"

"Yeeesss!" I giggle at her happiness. BaekHo ruffles her hair and says, "So my Little Spark's finally showing her face around, dae?" She swats his hand away and he continues to , messing up her hair every time she fixes it. "Why do you call her 'little spark'?" I ask the big guy. He chuckles, slinging an arm around Amber's shoulders. He replies, "Because she's the spark in life, yah? Life of the party. She's my little Spark 'cause she's so much shorter than me."

"Heyyy!" she complains beating on his chest. He just laughs and throws her over his shoulder. She beats on his back. "OPPA! Put me down or my skirt'll go up!" It really wouldn't though, seeming as it's, like, two feet long. But whatever.

AMBER'S POV

Amber's sixth sense made her notice JR's quick grab at the object as soon as Starr wasn't looking. She heard the whole episode with the 'your Highness' sweetness and decided to help out her guy bestie. "STARR! COME OVER HERE!" she practically shouts, trying to draw Starr away from the counter long enough for JR to do what he wants to do. She shows Starr the poster she bought (WITH HER OWN FACE ON IT!) and makes a big enough show and commotion with BaekHo to keep Starr's eyes occupied away from JR.

JR'S POV

JR hands the purple tiara to the cashier fangirl. She looks it suspiciously while still coping to give him googly eyes. As she rings it up she asks, "You're buying this for her, aren't you? Your girlfriend over there?"

STARR

". . . girlfriend . . ." That's the rude girl's voice.

I start to turn around.

AMBER'S POV

Amber's ears pick up the word 'girlfriend' from JR's conversation. Oh, crap! "ANYA! Starr, help meeee!" No, no, don't turn around, babe, just don't! JR, hurry up!

STARR

Amber's screech makes me jerk back to look at her. "Jeez, you're going to start an earthquake!" BaekHo finally puts her down. "See?" he grins. "A Little Spark." She huffs like she's upset and goes to cuddle against Ren's arm. We shake our heads, smiling. How can someone be so dramatic? Gosh, her music videos are gonna have me laughing my off. And don't even get my started on what her song lyrics will be like.

AMBER'S POV

Good, she forgot about it. Amber rests her head on MinKi's shoulder. She's holding his hand. She squeezes it and he squeezes back lightly.

STARR

MinHyun's showing me the CD he just bought as we walk out of K-Pop Central (Big Bang. He bought Big Bang) when JR comes up to walk next to me. Amber and Ren are way ahead of us but we can see them (and hear them . . .) well enough. It's about five o'clock already and looking at all of us, I smile: we're all loaded down with shopping bags and our nails are perfect (but not as perfect as someone's up ahead . . . I just can't get over it, okay?). After a minute, MinHyun lags behind me and JR to walk with BaekHo and Aron. The three groups kind of become their own. Amber is dragging Ren around, jerking to a stop at windows and popping in and out of stores just to look at something. Ren's complaining – but honestly, it looks like he couldn't care less. Come on, I think. He's totally happy with the fact that he finally gets Amber to himself. The boys behind us stopped to play with some sort of attention-getting machine in front of Build-A-Bear way behind us.

JR and I are walking leisurely. We're close, shoulders bumping, and I feel content and warm. I'm drowsy from the busy day we had and I'm ready to get in the car, lean against someone, and just fall asleep on the way home. JR and I are conversing about our Amber Steele experiences (very entertaining, let me tell you) when he brings us to a stop in front of Olga's. The smell of food surrounds me making me feel even more comfortable. "What is it?" I ask. "First, turn around." Um, okay. I stare at my reflection in Olga's windows. I watch as JR pulls something out of his sweater pocket and carefully places it in my hair. I gasp. He fixes it around my bun and steps back, satisfied.

I twist my head to look at him, at my reflection, at him again. I touch the incredibly sparkly purple, black, and sliver tiara, almost like I don't believe that it's there. "A princess should always have a tiara," he comments softly.

"You bought this for me?" I ask in a hushed whisper. He nods and his hair falls across his eyes but his still dazzles me with his smile. My heart throbs. "But . . . JongHyun, it was, like, fifteen dollars for one of these headband tiaras."

He shrugs, still smiling. He looks so happy over the fact that I like it. I immediately reach for the wallet in my purse but he grabs my hand and pulls it away from the bag. "Don't get your money out," he warns letting go of my hand. "But you already spent your money on me today . . .!" I protest, blushing a little. He's face gets pink, too, but he just says, "That was a necessity, Starr. This is a gift. Please don't turn it down like you tried to turn down our birthday present." He laughs lightly at the memory and I can't help but join in. I gaze at my reflection, entranced with the sparkle. "Thank you, Oppa. It seems like I have a lot to thank you for lately." I turn back to him and smile warmly. "It's alright," he answers. His hair is covering his eyes. Again the urge to move it away rushes up to my conscious, insistent.

I push the nagging thought away. But it won't work this time. Not seeing his eyes is starting to bother me. But I can't just touch him so intimately like that! I struggle to focus on what JR's saying, but even the subject is lost on me. Then I can't stand it anymore; I need to get that hair out of his eyes! I want to run my fingers through his hair and trace my thumb across his forehead. I got to –

Something moves in my peripheral vision and I realize with panic that it's my arm, half-raised towards JR. I yank my hand down and look away. I had interrupted what he was saying. "What is it?" he asks after he pauses. I glance back up at him and, for some odd reason, it looks like he's holding his breath. "Uh," I say lamely. "It's nothing. Just, your hair –"

And that's when I do it: I reach back up and touch his bangs. The second I feel his hair, it seems that the people around me fall away and everything in this moment is magnified spectacularly. I gently brush his hair away from his brown eyes; it's so soft. His forehead is slightly damp with sweat and his face is warm under my fingertips. When I unveil his eyes, I want to melt. They're looking at me, immersed in  attempting to read my face, and his lips are slightly parted and I don't want to do anything else but mold myself into his arms, crash my lips down on his and never break away.

When his eyes are fully showing, I let my arm drop back down to my side. I'm about to say something (like, apologize for touching his face with no permission whatsoever) when I feel warmth by the side of my face. JR's taken one of the loose strands and is twirling it on his finger. Then he tucks it behind my ear and gazes at me, a small smile tugging on one side of his mouth. After he dropped his hand, it takes a minute for awkwardness to sink in. He clears his throat and I look down and shift my feet. Is that a smudge on my white boots?

So I'm immensely grateful when Amber's voice calls for us to hurry up (God, she and Ren are like a mile ahead of us. She's so damn loud). JR and I start walking again and the awkward moment passes. I glimpse the reflection of the sparkly tiara in every window we pass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I go back on that moment, I'll notice how dangerously fast my heart was racing, and that with every heartbeat, my stomach dropped closer to my toes, and when my stomach reached rock bottom, I found it hard to breathe correctly.

It's weird, how love works. It could take ten minutes or ten years for love to decide to jump in between two people. A couple could fall madly in love one day but never see each other again afterwards. People can fall in love, not see each other for twenty years, and when one finds the other again, they could pick up right where they left off. Or love could be cruel. Romeo and Juliet isn't a love story, it's a tragedy. Beauty and the Beast is a love story, but a mean one. I agree full-heartedly with the moral of the fairytale – don't judge someone from the outside – but it was a bit cruel to let Belle believe that her husband will be a monster forever.

But when someone finds love, it's always sweet. The first time you see that someone, to look back and marvel at the perfect timing, of you being right where the other person would be at that time and place and lifetime.

When falling in love, one can fall slowly and carefully, or hard and sudden, like ice water down your back: you don't want to believe it happened, so you stand there soaking wet. But the truth is you're drenched – and there's nothing you can do about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It isn't until I see Amber holding Ren's arm way ahead of us, grinning at him with utter love and devotion, making him smile and laugh-whine at her about dragging him everywhere that I find out I've been drenched.

"You really do, huh?"

"Yes, I do. I love him as much as I love you – just in an entirely different way . . . Do you think you've fallen in love with JongHyun yet?"

"No."

"But you could."

"But I could."

And I have.

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A/N: Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, that hair . . . baby, could you - a clip maybe? I can't see . . . it's in the way . . . I need to . . . those chocolate brown eyes . . . *aigoo*~~