Chapter 11: Unexpected

I walked slowly to where Amber was and put my arms around her thin frame. Unlike earlier, she did not tense this time but I could feel that she was really awkward with me hugging her. Before the awkwardness could grow, I said in her ear what I’ve wanted to tell her the whole day.

“Thank you, Amber.”

Amber POV

Despite the chilly air at the amusement park, I felt hot all over. The warmth from Krystal’s slight frame chased away the worries that have piled up these past few weeks. Well, not all of it; but almost, almost.

Just when I was about to return her hug, she backed away and gave me her most dazzling smile. I could not form a coherent thought to her expression of gratitude. I just stood frozen while the other members came out of the horror house, almost doubling over in laughter.

Krystal, still smiling, approached the other girls and pulled them to the amusement park map. From where I stood frozen, I watched them bicker and fight over which ride to go to next.

Calming breaths, Amber. Calming breaths. I thought to myself.

“Yah! Amber! Will you come with us or not?” Vic-eomma called.

“Yeah, yeah! Coming.” I ran to the girls and tried, but failed, to forget how much I liked, really liked Krystal’s arms around me.

I was still deep in thought and mindlessly following the girls when I suddenly bumped into someone’s back.

“Sor—“, I started. Apparently I bumped into Krystal. It was not her back, but her torso.

Well, that was awkward at best.

“Sorry.” I apologized.

“It’s fine. You seem occupied Amber. What’s on your mind? You should be enjoying today’s free day!” Krystal tried to cheer me up and it worked. A little.

“Come on guys! Sunset’s nearing, we need to see it from the top of the Ferris wheel!” Sulli all but pulled us all to the entrance of the ride.

The line for the ride was longer than expected, I told them to just go to another ride with a shorter line but they insisted we should ride the Ferris wheel. It is a must, Luna said as we patiently waited for our turn.

As it turns out, the maximum capacity of each cabin is 4 people. That was why it was why the line’s so long. Still, we waited patiently for our turn, which thankfully lasted for a good 15 minutes. Not so bad considering the number of couples lined up for the ride. Oh well, great things come for those who wait, or however that saying goes.

“…So I guess we need to split into two groups for the ride…” Vic eomma said.

“I wanna go with Luna-unnie!” Sulli clung to Luna’s arm.

The three of us left looked at each other and seemed to have silently agreed that Krystal and I are the ones to go on a separate cab. With that silently settled, we each rode our cabs and on to the sunset we rode.

The Ferris wheel door had been locked and Krystal and I sat on either side of the ride. Silence took us for the first few minutes we were in, just absorbing the view and the reminiscent atmosphere the sunset brought.

“…hey…” Krystal said in a drawn-out voice.

“Hmmm?” I replied, still looking out the window.

“I want to ask you something…” she continued.

I face her this time and saw curiosity and shyness in her eyes. I did not reply, just nodded my assent.

“Ummm…I just really wanted you to continue your story…” she looked down this time, hiding the blush that was creeping all over her face.

“Which story?” I asked even though I perfectly know it was Nicole’s.

“…the one about…ummm…Nicole…” she peeked through her lashes and shyly looked me in the eye.

We were quiet after that. Moments passed by before I finally spoke.

“I haven’t told you much about Nicole…but I guess I couldn’t share everything in one sitting. So, here, I’ll make a promise to you and to myself to share at least some parts of our story every day.” I held up my pinky to Krystal. It was an impulsive decision, but I made up my mind that releasing some of my held up feelings may help me get over her.

With that, she took my proffered finger and sealed the promise like kids.

“So, okay…on with the story. We first met back in fifth grade. I was a transferee in their school and the other kids kept calling me a freak for dressing the way I do. The boys hated me because some of the girls would hit on me instead of them. Well if getting hit on means being cornered in the girl’s bathroom and slapped to oblivion, I would freely give them my place. The other kids didn’t get me so they did what they did…” I took a deep breath before resuming.

“One day, just two weeks after my transfer, a group of seventh grade boys cornered me on a secluded place in the school and started hitting me. First with their books, then with their fists. I was never bullied until that time. All I could think about was I just wanted everything to stop and be normal. I did not cry that time even though I really wanted to. I didn’t wanna show them I was weak. Just when I thought I 'could hurt no more, I heard someone yell, ‘STOP!’ The world instantly froze. The boys stopped and ran away. All I could hear was loud shouting and a string of curses.” I stopped and looked at Krystal. She was still engrossed with my story so I tried to continue.

“…So when the boys have all ran away, I chanced a look at my savior and saw that it was a tiny girl. She was so thin and small, you’d never have imagined she scared those boys away. She sat beside me then and wiped the blood and sweat from my face. We did not speak in those moments, I just looked into her eyes and silently thanked her for what she did for me.” I closed my eyes and remembered her tiny hands on my face, the warmth of her touch.

I was close to tears at that point. So I just closed my eyes and let the emotion stabilize before I could continue.

KRYSTAL POV

Amber was hurting, just reliving that moment. I saw the pain in her eyes and how she masked it by just closing them and taking deep breaths. I wanted her to continue but I didn’t want her hurting.

So I mustered up my strength and sat next to her. The sudden movement startled her and she opened her eyes. Upon seeing me sitting next to her, she asked, “Krystal…?”

I did not answer her, just hugged her fiercely and rubbed her back in relaxing circles.

“You don’t need to continue. We could do this some other day.” She was still not returning my hug so I released her and took her hand instead.

Looking at her face, I saw her eyes glistening with tears, her lips quivering with the effort to keep all her emotions in. I wanted to cradle her and cry with her. But we’re not in our rooms and the ride’s almost over.

A thought flashed through my mind as I saw Amber composing herself. I tried to contain the thought but my mind says it’s now or never. With a deep breath and a hard push from my gut, I acted on my thought.

AMBER POV

One moment, Krystal was hugging me and the next, her face was inches from mine as she touched her lips into my own.

The first thing I noticed was the softness of her lips, next was the incredibly awkward stance we were in. But I didn’t mind the second too much, I was too captivated by her lips on mine that everything else seemed to have gone from existence.

It was the most innocent kiss I’ve ever had but it was pure and oh so emotional that I felt her heart open up to me. Sparks did not fly and certainly no gross exchanging of bodily fluids, just pure heartfelt emotion.

Krystal broke the kiss first and said in a hushed tone, “Thank you and sorry, Amber.”

KRYSTAL POV

I can’t believe I actually kissed Amber. It was just a simple peck, but I put all the emotion I had kept the whole day into it. Hopefully it reached Amber and made her feel a little better.

But I still can’t get over the fact that my first kiss is Amber, a girl. My whole life, I thought it would be a guy. But I was really glad Amber was my first. No regrets here, just pure happiness and contentment.

We were thankfully in our rightful selves when the operator opened our cabin door. The other girls have already gone off and were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. They were all giggly and talking in really loud voices when we got to them.

“THAT WAS THE BEST RIDE EVER!” Sulli shrieked.

“BEST DAY EVER! WOOOO!” Luna echoed Sulli’s excitement.

“GROUP HUG!” Said Vic eomma, who gathered us all in a tight and warm group hug.

As we pulled apart, I saw Amber smiling and looking at the now fading sun. She seemed more relaxed now.

“So Krystal, when will you do your last dare?” Luna asked.

“Yeah! Who are you going to kiss, hmmm?” Sulli prodded.

“But I already did the dare.” I said, not batting an eyelash at the girls who are now gaping like fishes at me.

“WHEN DID YOU DO IT? WITH WHO?” Vic eomma exclaimed.

“Yeah! And we didn’t even see it!” Sulli whined.

Silence. Amber and I exchanged knowing glances.

“IT WAS AMBER! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!” Luna beamed.

“OOOH. We need details…details, I tell you.” Vic eomma said as we walked out the park.

From the parking lot, we saw Manager Kim waving his hands at us, a big smile on his face.

“So did you girls enjoy your day?” He asked.

We all replied a loud yes and filed into the van.

But before I got in, Amber held me by the hand and whispered in my ear, “Thank you for today, Krystal.”

Oh how I love being unexpected sometimes.

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I'm so sorry guys for the late update.

I have been busy with school and other things.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

- blacknaive