On the edge of something real,

Have a choice, but I don’t know what to feel.

She sighed, once more scanning the shelves for the last ingredient on her list. It’s getting late, and I can’t find that stupid jar of basil pesto. Walking back to the beginning of the aisle, she glanced at her watch. Luckily, it wasn’t a school night, but the grocery store would close in half an hour, and she already spent the last fifteen minutes searching for aforementioned, cursed ingredient. The place was practically empty, save for a few last-minute shoppers and a bunch of the clerks.

Finally, her eyes landed on the top shelf, revealing the row of pesto jars. The shelf was several inches above her head, and even on her tip-toes, it was out of reach. The girl sighed, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Just my luck. I honestly don’t understand people when they say that being short has its advantages.

Mumbling incoherent curses under her breath, she tried jumping up to reach the jar. With every jump, she’d mumble a frustrated thought aloud. Stupid jar. Is it really so important to have pesto, anyway? What am I doing? Ugh...why is everything always on the TOP shelf? Obviously, the poor girl’s patience was thinning quite rapidly.

Letting out a soft, frustrated groan, her eyes zeroed in on the bottom shelf. Right where her feet were, there was an empty space, big enough to stand on. Biting her lip nervously, she hastily glanced around, hoping no one would see her.  Cautiously stepping onto the bottom platform, her small hands gripped the middle shelf. Tightening her hold on the shelf’s edge, she reluctantly took off her right hand, and inched it upwards, towards the top shelf. Almost immediately after trying to reach up, the entire shelf seemed to shake the slightest bit, making her jerk her hand back in surprise and cling to the middle counter in newfound fear.

Ok...was not expecting that.Giving yet another sigh, she looked above her once again. I’ve still got to get that thing, though. Ah, stubbornness. Risking her life for a jar of pesto, of all things. She once again dragged her hand, albeit shakily, to the top of the stacks of shelves, her fingers just barely scraping the cool surface of one the jars. Of course, the thought of asking a clerk for assistance had not crossed her mind, but also due to adamancy and time, she wouldn’t have asked for one anyway.

Just a little more, she thought, painstakingly, as her index finger slowly inched the ingredient forward. Her knees were screaming with exhaustion as she fruitlessly reached for the jar, shaking slightly. The vertically-challenged heroine squeezed her eyes tightly shut upon feeling the ominous shake the rack gave when she reached even further. The fact that the soles of her shoes somehow just randomly decided to turn slippery and inch by inch slide off the bottom shelf was very little comfort to her situation. Feeling her shoes completely slip off along with her grip on the middle shelf breaking, she braced herself for the impact.

She waited for the crashing feeling of the cold, grocery-store floor, but that never came. Huh? Instead, the warm feeling of a palm flat against her back and an arm tightly wrapped around her shoulders came to her senses instead. Snapping her eyes open in surprise, she let out a shaky breath, subconsciously leaning into whoever that just saved her.

“Are you alright?” a voice asked quizzically. Squinting up at her savior, she was met with a a pair of somewhat concerned dark eyes and a dark cap that’s pulled over a mop of white-blond curly hair. Uprighting her gently, his hand still gripped her shoulder, afraid of her falling again.

The girl’s cheeks flushed slightly, embarrassed to have been caught in such a situation, although she grudgingly admits that she might’ve been seriously hurt if this person hadn’t rescued her.

Allowing a small, bashful smile, she nodded at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for helping me.”

He returned her nod, gazing at her curiously. “Well, I just saw you flailing around, looking ready to fall. Sure, you were three inches off the ground, but from the way it looked, if I hadn’t saved you, you might’ve died.” He responded, face twisting in amusement.

The girl’s eyes widened slightly at his comment, and she quietly scoffed, hiding the fact that she was inwardly wincing. Three inches off the ground, huh? she thought. God, I must’ve looked dumb. “Well, it’s not like I asked you for your help. It really wouldn’t have been such a bad fall, anyway.”  She continued on for another minute, chastising him for his sudden brash attitude. Giving the guy a small glare, her expression morphed into worry as she glanced at her watch, realizing the place would close in 20 minutes. And she still hadn’t managed to obtain that darn jar. The top shelf seemed to mock her as she glared at it as well.

The boy still had a slightly amused smirk stretched across his lips, courtesy of the girl’s rant, but glanced up to where her eyes were currently burning a hole in. His eyes zeroed in on the row of jars, and he turned to her, even more amused. Seeing as her glare was still upon the rack, he chuckled, and lazily reached up and wrapped his hand around the desired product, not even having to stretch his arm very much.

Smiling softly, he hands the jar to her. “Here.” She blinked in surprise, before taking the jar, muttering an almost inaudible, “kamsamnida,” and placing it in her basket. Relieved, she made her way out of the aisle, set on finally getting home. Feeling a presence behind her, she turned back, only to see the guy leisurely strolling behind her, his own basket cheerily swinging in his hand.

“So,” he called out pleasantly, “aren’t you going to tell your savior your name?” She eyed him warily, noting his height scornfully. No wonder he got the jar like it was nothing...he’s probably 6 feet tall!

“Yeah, I know, I’m really tall for my age,” he chirped, easily reading her mind. Her cheeks gained a slight tinge of pink, flustered at his response. Sighing for what felt like the tenth time that evening, she replied, “My name’s Amber. Yours?”

He grinned, and said, “Nice to meet you, Amber-ssi. Choi Junhong imnida.” He dramatically bowed at her, leaving her no choice but to comply. Aish, this guy is something else. But, then again, don’t I have a bunch of dorky friends just like this? Unintentionally, a small smile spread across her lips, and she slouched her shoulders in a sort of defeat. I guess I’ve gotta stop being so defensive, and actually talk normally with him. Recalling her biting responses earlier, she winced slightly, before finally, finally giving him a grateful smile. Junhong’s eyebrows rose slightly in the change of character, but he smiled back, feeling as though he might’ve finally broken down her guard.

Trying to not make the brief silence awkward, she decided to chat with him for a bit, if he was just going to be hanging around her anyway. “Um...how old are you, anyway?”

“I’m 16,” he answered casually, picking up a box of cherry tomatoes on a nearby shelf. “You?”

“Same,” Amber answered, trying not to openly gape at him. He’s 16 and that tall? Life really isn’t fair.

Seeing her expression, he chuckled, and boldly poked her cheek. “You know, you actually are pretty short. Is the weather just nicer down there?” he teased.

“At least it doesn’t seem like I’m on steroids,” Amber muttered, walking a little faster, farther away from him.

He laughed out loud, hearing the comment, and lazily caught up with her. Stupid long legs. “You’re a defensive, little foreigner, aren’t you?”

She huffed at him, eyes wide and reflecting the slightest bit annoyance. Junhong was entirely amused by this, finding it funny how worked up she got. Her eyes are so bright and big, it’s too easy to tell what she’s thinking, he mused thoughtfully. The few times she smiled though...I think she should do that more often.

“Alright, yes,” she snapped, breaking his train of thought, “I’m not Korean. I actually moved here when I was 9, and yes, I do get defensive a lot and crabby when I’m tired and in a hurry.” She said this in a rush, massaging a temple in the process.

Junhong’s expression still remained pretty entertained, but he also looked at her with newfound curiosity. “Were you from the U.S. or something before you moved here?” At the girl’s nod, he asked another question. “So...you’re fluent in English?” Once again, she gave a nod, even smiling a bit. Junhong was impressed. Nice, big and bright eyes...fluent in English...a pretty smile...and quite the interesting personality. “You’re really different, you know?” he smiled. She just looked at him again, the defensive expression returning to her eyes. In a good way. The best, absolute perfect way. He smirked slightly at the pun, but concluded that it fit.

Junhong slightly cocked his head, and pointed towards the cash register up front. “Well, we should be getting up to the checkout line, eh? We wouldn’t want you to get even more crabby, seeing how the shop’s closing in 10 minutes, and I wouldn’t want you to freak out.”

Whipping her head to the front, Amber raced over to the old man ringing up the groceries, and hastily got her items paid for. Thank God, there was time to spare.

Junhong joined her a few minutes later, and they both silently made their way outside, where the late evening sky was steadily darkening. All the while, Junhong was still chatting with her, telling even more about himself, and Amber surprisingly found him to be quite interesting. He even had some of the same interests as her: soccer, music, food, etc.

But...there’s something about him... Subtly giving him a once over, she took note of his unique hairstyle, his dark jeans and hoodie, and the almost unnoticeable way he glanced around the street, as though something could be following them.

“And so, I had to quit playing though-” “You know,” Amber interrupted, “you actually look a little familiar.” Her gaze rested on his face for a few more seconds, before looking away.

Junhong paused, seeming a bit startled, but regained his composure. “Oh? Well, this is the first I’m seeing you.” He gave her a cheeky smirk. “Is that supposed to be some kind of a pickup line, shorty?”

Amber’s face turned fire-engine red, and she pointedly turned away from him. “Good Lord...I was just saying.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at her expression, becoming even more delighted when she gave a small smile in return. She should let her guard down more often. There was just something about her that Junhong found pretty refreshing. He was absolutely right when thinking that she was different in the best possible way. She was probably the most...real girl he’d ever encountered, making him all confused about what she might say next, what he might feel next. It’s those blissfully nice kind of moments of confusion, though.

Amber suddenly halted, realizing they were on her street, seeing her house up ahead. “This is my block,” she announced, turning to rest her wide-eyed gaze on Junhong.

He rocked on the balls of his feet, answering, “Right. My place isn’t too far away either.”

Not knowing what to say, she stiffly stood there, biting her lip. Do I just say bye and run home now? Feelings of exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her, and she looked at him blearily. Ah, right.

Bending down into a low 90-degree angle bow, she murmured up at him, “Thanks again for helping me back up at the store. I didn’t really thank you kindly, so, I apologize for that.”

Getting back up, she saw the flash of shock in his eyes, but he instantly gave a soft smile. “It was perfectly fine. I got to know you a little, and besides, I think I should be a little sorry for startling you by appearing out of nowhere and catching you like that.”

Amber’s lips twitched upwards, as she tilted her head up to the sky, watching the first stars slowly peeking out from behind the clouds. “Nah...I don’t think fear was what I felt. You caught me, right?”Giving a small laugh, she continued, “Falling...somehow, it’s become this new concept to me...I don’t know how to describe it, I guess.” She glanced back at him, eyes bright against the night’s darkness. “I’m glad you caught me, who knows what might’ve happened if you didn’t?”

Junhong blinked in surprise at her words, heart rate going faster a fraction more than usual. Definitely never know what she might say next. His gaze softened, and he gave her the gentlest smile he could muster. “Alright, then it was my pleasure to catch you when you fell.” Reaching up to readjust the cap on his head, he grinned. Giving her arm a friendly pat, and ignoring the whooshing feeling in the pit of his stomach, he said, “I’ll be going now, Amber-ssi. It was amazing meeting you. Take care.”

Giving him yet another heartwarming smile, she replied quietly, “Same goes for you, Junhong-ssi. Goodbye.”

Waving at her, and walking back, she stood, rooted to the spot, until he was out of her line of sight.

Amber quietly opened the door to her home, leaning against it and she shut it closed. Unintentionally, a gentle smile graced her lips as she recounted the last  hour. Huh...I guess being short does have its advantages.

Well, there's Chapter 1~! :D I warned you in advance that it'd be cheesy, cliche, boring, etc. BUT..I really wanted to write this for my friend :3 Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed it XD It does look like it should probably end here, but I had something more I wanted to add, so onto Chapter 2! ;)

*On a side note..OMG..HURRICANE...The Loof..the loof...did anyone else just want to laugh their butts off? XD Ah, Himchan XD But, the song was really catchy and just made me love B.A.P even more^^ Even though I've been EXO-ing a lot lately, B.A.P. is still amazing as ever :D