Baekhyun stands outside the school gates, taking in a deep breath before walking in. He is a charming boy, he knows that, with a silver tongue that could make anyone like him without much effort on his part. Well, that had been the case back home anyway. Baekhyun isn’t quite sure if his charms would work here. The city was different from the countryside, as the boy had found out that morning on his way to school, nearly getting knocked down by cars way too many times as he cycled. Starting in the middle of the school year also meant that everyone would already have established their own group of friends, making it harder for Baekhyun to slip in.

It is still early when he walks in — there are various groups of students milling around the courtyard, but instead of socializing, Baekhyun continues his path to the school building, needing to collect his timetable from the front office first. As he is walking though, he feels something hit his face and burst, leaving a cool wetness. He hears laughter erupt from all around him, and he feels his face burn. Baekhyun reaches up to swipe a finger over the liquid, wanting to see what it was. Paint — neon pink paint covers the entire right side of his face.

"Pink is totally your colour, country boy," someone yells and everyone starts laughing again.

Baekhyun wants to run away, but his feet feel like they have been glued to the ground. He notices a girl — dark hair, dark eyes, dark expression — striding over to where he stood. She gives him a once over, and Baekhyun shudders slightly under her scrutiny.

"What is going —" Her sentence is cut short by the water balloon that hits her straight on the face, this time spilling neon green. The silence that falls upon the entire courtyard is instantaneous and heavy. The girl doesn’t speak for a while, long enough that Baekhyun wonders if she is crying and decides to tentatively take a small step towards her.

"I — I didn’t mean to hit you," the boy who had thrown the paint balloon stammers, looking as if he wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole. "I was aiming for the new kid."

"Oh yeah?" She replies coolly, and although Baekhyun cannot see her face, he can just imagine her with a single eyebrow raised haughtily. " off."

To say that Baekhyun is surprised when the girl whirls around on her heels, grabs him by the wrist, and drags him off would be a serious understatement.

She drags him all the way behind the main school building, her grip on his wrist loosening — “Sorry, am I hurting you?” — once they are out of everyone’s sight. She doesn’t stop walking though, nor does she look at him once, and Baekhyun vaguely wonders why he is letting this girl pull him to isolated areas of the campus. That entire episode at the courtyard could have been a set-up to allow her to get him alone, where she would then… Baekhyun doesn’t get to finish that thought (which is just as well because he has no idea how) because the girl stops walking without warning, causing him to walk into her. She stumbles a few steps from the impact, finally turning to face him to shoot him a dirty look. He gives her a sheepish shrug in return and she rolls her eyes, walking off. Baekhyun quickly scurries after the girl, eyes taking in his surroundings. It looks drab, and rather dusty. He wonders how far behind the main building they are.

"The school club house," her voice breaks the silence, crisp and confident. "They used to host school dances here years ago, but it’s been abandoned in favour of fancy hotels."

Baekhyun wants to ask her why she has brought him there, but he can’t find his voice. Also, he is rather intimidated by the smaller figure. She had silenced the entire courtyard and made a bully stammer without having to say a single word. He figures that she definitely isn’t someone to mess with, and Baekhyun doesn’t trust himself not to offend her. They turn around yet another corner, and she opens a door, revealing a lavish en suite.

"We can wash up without being disturbed," she says, and Baekhyun swears that he sees a glimmer of a smile.

Yes, he definitely isn’t mistaken. The strange, scary girl is actually smiling at him. It’s a small smile, just the slightest quirk of her lips, but it is a world of difference from the frown she had been wearing before.

"What?" He asks, relieved when his voice comes out normally.

She shakes her head slightly, her smile widening just a tad before she schools her features into a neutral expression. Baekhyun can’t help but note that the amusement lingers in her eyes.

"He was right, Baekhyun. Pink really is your colour," she remarks as she turns the taps on, proceeding to wash the paint off her face.

Baekhyun can’t decide what surprises him more, the fact that the scary girl seems to be teasing him almost fondly, or that she knows his name. He sees his own confused expression in the mirror, and then notices the girl’s reflection staring at him, the same amused look still in her eyes.

"You’re wearing your name tag." Oh. He doesn’t know what to say to that.

"Are you usually this quiet?" He looks over at her and finds her already wiping water off her clean face with a packet of tissues she retrieved from her jacket pocket. He notes with disappointment that she isn’t wearing a name tag.

"No," he answers, shaking his head when he realises she is still waiting for him to talk, "my brother used to pay me to shut up."

She wets a handful of tissues and walks over to him, carefully wiping his face. Baekhyun feels his breath hitch slightly in his throat, and he is sure he did not imagine the smirk that flittered across the girl’s lips. “Could have fooled me,” she replies breezily.

"It’s my first day," he shrugs, earning a small noise of displeasure from the girl who is still cleaning his face, "I’m a little overwhelmed."

"Also I was nearly run over more times than I’d like this morning. I’m too pretty to die," he adds as an afterthought.

She laughs at that, and Baekhyun can’t help but admire the way her eyes turn into little crescents, opening wide to reveal perfectly straight rows of white teeth. He is proud of himself for making her laugh like that because somehow he feels like it isn’t something she does regularly in front of people.

"Yes you are," she agrees, biting her lip with a small half-smile as she throws the used tissues away. When she turns back to him again, any traces of the smile are completely gone, and her eyes are serious. Although they lack the hardness from earlier, it still makes Baekhyun shudder involuntarily. "Take care of yourself. I can’t be around to save your pretty little every time you get picked on."

He doesn’t know whether he should be touched by the sentiment, or offended that she thought that he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. But before he can decide, she reaches over and squeezes his arm lightly before disappearing out the door, her dark hair swinging behind her.

Her dark hair and dark eyes are burned into his mind’s eye, but Baekhyun doesn’t think she can shine any brighter.

He stands there for a full minute or so before he bolts out, catching the girl at the exit. “What’s your name?” He asks, his words coming out in a panicked rush.

She turns to him with a grin, and Baekhyun is momentarily blinded. “I thought you’d never ask,” she rolls her eyes, and Baekhyun has the decency to blush in apology. “It’s Krystal.”

"Krystal," he repeats, his tongue testing out the foreign name. "It suits you."

" off," she replies, but he doesn’t miss the jest in her voice.

A/N: First chapter is up! I'm nervous :-((( I just really like hbic!Krystal, and her having a soft spot for Baek just seemed really cute. This whole chapter was inspired by the 'Pink really is your colour' scene. I hope you like what you've read so far, because there's more to come!