Amber’s P.O.V.

“God, why do I love such a dork?” I instantly stopped dancing around as I heard Krystal’s words. Did she… did she just say she loved me? I turned to her slowly and she looked up at me curiously.

“What?” Krystal looked confused before a look of realization came over her face.

“What?! Nothing! What?!” Krystal voice was in a panicked shout as she looked around the room desperately, no doubt looking for a distraction. I wasn’t going to let her get out of it that easy though. Krystal Jung just said she loved me, she’s not backing out of it. I dropped to my knees on the bed in front of her and turned her shoulders towards me so she would look at me. Her face was flushed a bright red and her eyes looked away from me.

“Krystal… look at me.” She shook her head.

“No… I… what? Get your llama face away from me.” She tried to move away but I kept her firmly in place, she was panicking. “Amber….please…” Her tone was desperate and sad. The sound of her voice made me falter, I wanted her to admit it, to tell me that she meant it, that she loved me as much as I loved her. But the tears building up in her eyes hurt me to see, I shouldn’t force her. If she wasn’t ready I wouldn’t press her, I could wait. I sighed, kissing her forehead gently before speaking.

“It’s okay princess.” She looked up at me, her eyes questioning and I smiled at her before pulling her into a tight hug. I wanted her to know that it was okay, that she didn’t need to feel uncomfortable around me. I would wait for her. I understood, Krystal may have been able to admit to herself that she had feelings for me but admitting to me was a different story. Maybe Krystal wasn’t ready for our relationship to change, I understood that. I mean we were idols, we were living in South Korea, a relationship between us would be difficult to say the least, I understood if she was scared.

Krystal slowly wrapped her arms around me, her head resting against my shoulder as I ran my hands along her back in slow circular motions. “Amber?”

“Hm?” I pulled back to look at her as she spoke.

“Are you… I mean… do you…aish!” I smiled at her attempts to speak. I’d never seen Krystal so flustered before, usually I was the one stumbling over my words. I held her a little tighter, smiling as reassuringly as I could before speaking.

“Do I what?” She looked at me a moment before shaking her head and looking away.

“I… nothing.” I nodded, knowing what it was like to have your courage fail you in moments like these. I didn’t want Krystal to feel uncomfortable with me. I struggled, I never had to comfort her in this way, Krystal was always so forth coming with her words that I didn’t know how to make her feel better. I tried to think of how she coaxed things out of me sometimes and I lied against the bed pulling her down with me, still wrapped in my arms. Krystal snuggled against me, sighing against the nape of my neck.

“We don’t… we don’t have to talk about it Krys.” She nodded against me.

“Thank you Amber.” We laid there for a while not saying anything and I felt Krystal’s tensed body start to relax against mine after a few moments. I took this opportunity to speak, hoping to break the tension that had come over us.

“Krys?” She hesitated.

“ye-yeah?”

“Are you coming with me to L.A.?” She seemed surprised by the question.

“I… no… I mean… I didn’t plan on it, do you want me to?” I nodded.

“I understand if you want to spend the holiday with your family instead, but… I’d like it if you came.” Krystal smiled at me.

“I’d like that too Amber.” I smiled widely at her.

“Really?” She nodded in response, then chuckled as I rolled away from her so that I could do my happy dance. “It’s going to be awesome Krys, my mom’s turkey is amazing! Oh! Oh! And Jackie makes pumpkin pie ooh! And grandma’s dim sum! SOoooo good. And I can make-“ I trailed off as I looked at Krystal. She was watching me with a wide smile on her face. “…what?”

“I love you Amber.” My breath caught in my throat at her words. She said it… she actually said it. She watched my expression carefully and looked surprised as I rolled off the bed falling to the floor with a thud. I was trying to stand up but underestimated how close to the edge of the bed I was. Crap. Smooth move Liu.  I blushed deeply as Krystal poked her head over the side of the bed. “Are you okay??” I nodded dumbly in response.

“… are… are you going to say anything?”  I nodded again, holding up a finger, indicating that I needed a moment. Krystal quirked an eyebrow at this and I sent her a pleading look to which she rolled her eyes at but nodded. She laid back against the bed, looking up at the ceiling as she spoke. “I didn’t mean to freak you out Amber.” I shook my head but realized she couldn’t see me, so I reached up and grabbed her hand holding it tightly in mine. She interlaced her fingers with mine and we both laid quietly for a moment before I sprang up from my position on the floor and went over to my bag.

Krystal watched me curiously from the bed as I rummaged through my bag. I felt like such a fool, the girl had confessed to me twice now and I couldn’t pull myself together enough to say anything in response to her. To be honest, I was worried I might say the wrong thing, or that I might lose my voice all together. There was so much excitement and happiness building up inside of me that I didn’t know what to do with it all. My hands were shaking as I finally found what I was looking for.

I’d always wanted to confess to Krystal, but I was never brave enough to do it, and I knew that if I ever could work up the courage my words would fail me. So I wrote her a letter, a letter that I re-read and revised countless times over the course of our friendship, I carried it with me whenever I knew we’d be together, hoping that one day I’d have the courage to give it to her.

I walked over to the bed, my hands still trembling nervously as I gripped the small envelope tightly in my hand. Krystal looked at me curiously as I sat down next to her. She sat up and covered my shaking hand with hers. “Amber… are you okay?” I nodded smiling at the younger girl. That was so like her, to be concerned about me as she was waiting for my response to her putting her heart on the line. I turned my hand under hers and pushed the envelope into her hand.

“Read it.” Krystal nodded, taking the envelope from me. I watched as she turned it carefully in her hands, my nervousness multiplying as she moved to open the envelope. She looked up from the small white package, her hand coming to rest on my thigh that I hadn’t realized was bouncing around out of anxiety. I looked at her and she smiled at me.

“Lay down stupid.” I chuckled and did what I was told, not surprised as she pulled a blanket up over my head, resting her body against mine over the sheet. “Better?” I nodded under the sheet and she chuckled. Through the years Krystal had gotten to know me really well, and she knew that it was hard for me to say things sometimes, and one of the ways she had learned to make me feel better was to make me lie under a blanket like this. I knew it was silly, but it was always easier for me to say things to her if I didn’t have to look at her directly, she knew that and was always trying ways to help me through my anxiety. I really was lucky to have my princess.

 I tensed as I heard the soft tear of the envelope. This was it, Krystal was going to read my letter… there was no going back. I tried to think of something else, but I couldn’t help but try and reconstruct the letter in my head, I had rewritten it so many times that I couldn’t remember which version was which. I hope I wasn’t too cheesy… oh God I hope she doesn’t laugh at me. I strained my ears trying to listen for  any kind of reaction from the younger girl and after a few minutes I was dying of curiosity. “Princ-“ I was cut off as the blanket was pulled off of my head abruptly.

“You’re so stupid!” Krystal slapped my shoulder as she spoke and I froze. It wasn’t her words that caught me off guard, but the fact that there were tears streaming down her face. I sat up instantly wrapping my arms around her tightly.

“I’m sorry Krystal.” I felt intense guilt wash over me as her tears hit my neck. She gripped me tightly and I was at a loss for words. What had I said in the letter that upset her so much? “I’m so sorry princess. Please don’t cry.”

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Hey guys! Here's another update for you, only one chapter left! Are you guys going to miss Grandma Jung? I will! LoL, um...yeah, thanks as always for your comments and your votes and your subscribes, it makes me feel all warm and gooey on the inside, haha. Seriously though, thank you, and enjoy the chapter!