Key was sitting in his psych class, eagarly listening and taking notes from the lecture when Amber came wandering into class. She bowed to the teacher, apologized for being half an hour late, and quickly sat down in the empty seat next to Key. She gave him an awkward smile.

 

"I do not mean to be a bother, but would you mind allowing me to take a look at the notes that I missed?" Amber whispered to Key.

 

"Uh, sure thing, man," he replied and passed Amber his notebook. 

 

Amber smiled, "Thank you."

 

Key just nodded. He couldn't seem to concentrate. He found himself constantly glancing over at Amber. He decided to start a casual conversation, so he leaned over and whispered, "So the girl two seats in front of us, what's her score?"

 

"I beg your pardon, but what do you mean?" 

 

"Dude, like a hotness scale? You know, one through ten?" 

 

Amber was in disbelief. Why does he continue to talk about women in such a way. She found him to be repulsive, yet again. She just rolled her eyes at him and shrugged. 

 

"What's your problem, man?"

 

"What is my problem? If you ask me, it seems as if you are the one with a problem."

 

Key's face was covered in confusion. Amber continued, "Why is it that you constantly talk about women with such vulgarity?" 

 

The professor dismissed class early. Amber returned Key's notebook to him, thanked him, and left. Key was at a lost for word. Was he really that bad? Was what 'he' said true? He doesn't do it intentionally. It started during high school as a way for him to become popular and not get picked on. He was always somewhat of a nerd, but when he appeared to be a playboy, no one noticed the nerd anymore. Eventually, hooking up with girls became routine. 

 

- - - - -

 

A couple weeks passed, during which Amber got herself a job at the coffee shop near campus. Even though she'd been working there several days now, she was still having a hard time learning all the different drinks. She worked after noon shifts because they weren't as busy as morning which gave her more time to make the drinks. However, everyone was there preparing for midterms and needed their caffeine kick, Key included. His intense concentration was interrupted when he heard the sounds of metal mixing cups hitting the floor.  He looked  over and noticed Amber frantically moving about behind the counter and the order line was not getting any shorter. Key jumped up from his seat and rushed behind the counter.

 

"Dude, you all right?!"

 

He startled Amber causing her to burn her hand from the hot milk of the latte machine. She looked at Key with pleading eye, on the verge of tears. He rushed over to her side, "Calm down man. We can fix this real quick."

 

He walked towards the counter, placed a 'closed' sign on the counter, and motioned for everyone to leave. "Sorry guys. We're out of coffee." 

 

Everyone gave him the evil eye, some even muttered some nasty words, but it didn't really bother Key. He shrugged it off and went over to help Amber. 

 

"It's Jo, right?" He said helping Amber to the back of the cafe.

 

She nodded, "Thanks."

 

He could see that she was still upset, overwhelmed with everything. Her voice trembled, "Um, can I use your phone?"

 

"Yeah, sure. Here," he said as he handed over his mobile to her. 

 

She punched in some numbers and waited for the other line to answer. Her voice started to break as she spoke, "Unnie, can you come get me? I don't know what I was thinking. I'm not cut out for this at all."

 

Key looked at Amber. Why did 'he' say 'unnie'? Isn't he a guy? He shrugged the thought away. When she handed the phone back to him, she gave him a weak smile. He couldn't help but sympathize for her. She looked so helpless. He looked at her hand. It was still red. He got up and raided the cabinets in the back, looking for a first aid kit. When he finally found it, he grabbed the ointment and bandage and quickly made his way back to Amber, who was sitting on the ground. 

 

"Dude, let me see your hand," Key instructed as he knelt down in front of her and applied the cream. "It's only on the surface. No big deal. We'll get it all patched up and healed in no time. No need to cry, little man." 

 

He shot her a smile. As soon as he placed the bandage on her, he stood up and offered her a hand. She reluctantly took it, and when she was up, she quickly wiped her tears and returned the smile. 

 

"You look like a mess." He chuckled as the two walked over to the table he had been sitting at. "Why are you working by yourself anyways? Where are the others at?"

 

"I don't know? They told me they had to make a quick run for some stuff and for me to 'hold down the fort'? What does that even mean?"

 

Key looked at her bewilderedly. There was something about this 'guy'. 'He' was so unusual. It was as if the kid had been in a bubble all 'his' life. Regardless, Key had this bizarre attraction for 'him'. There was this connection. He shook the thought away. He started laughing. "You're really something, Jo. You shouldn't let this little episode bother you. Me and my crew are gonna do some karaoke tonight if you wanna join."

 

"Kara-oke?" She repeated with much confusion. 

 

"Are you serious? How can you not know what karaoke is?! Dude, you have to come tonight!" Key exclaimed. "We're gonna be at the one on 5th street at 9pm. You better come."

 

Nicole entered the cafe and walked over to Amber. "You okay?" 

 

Amber nodded. Nicole thanked Key and the two girls left. As soon as they were in the cab, Nicole freaked out, "Princess, what happened? You sounded really upset."

 

"I'm fine, unnie. Work was really overwhelming and I had a nervous breakdown. You don't have to worry about me."

 

"But I do. Your parents asked me to watch over you. And I don't think they'd be too happy to see you upset about work. Are you sure you do not wish to return home now." 

 

"I'm positive I do not wish to go home. My conversation with that guy back there changed my mind. There's still a lot I want to see and learn. I'm going to stick it out, unnie."

 

"I guess I should thank him. What is his name anyways?"

 

Amber laughed. "To be honest, I don't think I ever asked him. BUT he invited me out with the guys tonight."

 

"Okay. I'll go with you."

 

"Unnie, you can't. It's all guys."

 

"Sweetie, did you forget that you aren't a guy either? I don't think it's a good idea. What if something happens? I won't be there."

 

"Unnie, we are just going to the karaoke bar. I'm sure I'll be fine."

 

- - - - -

 

Amber entered the karaoke room that the guys had rented. The music was loud, and the guys were sitting around the coffee table taking shots. Key motioned for Amber to join them on the couch. Onew got up and started singing while Amber took a seat next to Key. Jonghyun got up and started dancing along to the song Onew was singing. Clearly these guys were drunk. Key poured Amber a shot. 

 

"Dude, you're behind. Gotta start catching up, buddy."

 

Amber was reluctant. She wasn't much of a drinker. Sure, a few girly drinks here and there were fine, but she's never done the whole shots charade. However, she said she wanted to experience the 'normal' life so she grabbed the shot glass and downed it. It was disgusting. She had absolutely no idea how these guys had taken so many shots. The night went on and everyone would sing songs and take some shots. Amber was singing when Onew helped Jonghyun up. 

 

"Dude, Jonghyun's a mess. He's throwing up all over the place. I think we're gonna call it a night and head out," Onew said as the two stumbled to the door. 

 

Key was slumped on the sofa with his eyes barely opened. He lifted his hand partially to notion to the guys that he got the message. When Amber finished the song, she fell back onto the couch. This whole time Amber was too drunk to remember her manly voice, but the good thing was that Key and the others were too intoxicated to realize it. 

 

"God, I feel liberated." Amber exclaimed.

 

"And why is that?" Key asked as he cocked his head towards her. 

 

"Because..." she drunkenly slurred with hiccups interrupting every other word. "I've always been-- trapped at home, never getting-- to do anything! Here I am in college--, and I've never even been-- kissed! Shhh!!! Don't tell anyone my secret." She laughed.

 

Key laughed with her. The conversation wasn't all that funny, but the alcohol made it hilarious for the two. "What about your girlfriend, Nicole?"

 

Amber burst into another fit of laughter. "Silly goose! Nicole-unnie isn't my girlfriend!"

 

Amber started to sway with the music. She then managed to push herself up off the sofa and stumble over to Key. "You must celebrate with me. Let's dance!" 

 

Key shooked his head, "Nah, I'm too tired, man." 

 

"Stop calling me a man." Amber whined. She then smiled and hovered above Key. "I'll tell you another secret if you dance with me."

 

"How about you tell me and if it's good enough I'll get up and dance." Key laughed some more. 

 

"You're no fun!" She pouted and hiccuped, yet again. "Fine! I'll tell you--. My secret is-- so awesome."

 

After some giggling she leaned into Key's ears, and whispered. "I'm a girl."

 

The girl started snickering as she pushed herself back up. She then started ping her hoodie. "Gosh, i'm burning up." 

 

As soon as her hoodie was off, she pulled off her oversized guy tee, leaving a fitted tank that hugged her body. She then proceeded to take her wig off and let her long blonde hair flow down. "Feels so much better now." 

 

"Now you have to dance with me," she started tugging on Key's arm trying to get him up, but eventually fell beside him from the dizziness. 

 

Key was in shock. The moment she confessed that she was a girl, his eyes shot open. He watched as she paritally undressed herself and took off her wig. He was in awe. She was beautiful. His little attraction towards her was now ten times greater. 

 

He glanced over at Amber whose face was only a few inches away from his, and studied it again. His eyes stared at her dark brown eyes, then shifted down to her cute little nose, and landed on her soft, lucious, pink lips . She hiccupped and smiled at him. He shifted himself closer to her and proceed to press his lips against hers. Amber was a bit startled but decided to returned the kiss as she pulled him in closer. He turned his body slightly so that he was now hovering over her. His tongue made its way inside , and she allowed it to explore. His hands roamed her whole body as his kisses began to trail to the nape of her neck. Her body slightly tensed up as the surge of feelings rushed over her body. She let out a litte moan. 

 

Key suddently pulled away when he realized what he was doing. He couldn't do this. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't take advantage of her. He thought to himself, if they were ever going to do something, he wanted her to be aware of it. He wanted her to WANT it. She was clearly too drunk to know what she was doing.  He quickly grabbed her stuff and redressed her, wig included. 

 

During the cab ride back to campus, Key could not stop thinking. Thoughts ran wild in his mind. Why was she pretending to be a boy. He still couldn't believe it. She was a girl this whole time. A GIRL! How could he have missed it? For goodness sakes, her mannerisms said it all. He chuckled thinking about all the funny things he had noticed about her. He glanced over at her once more, "You really are something, Jo."

 

- - - - -

Hope you liked the update! ^___^ Please comment! =]