Finding out that his sponsor was the one family that Nicole had warned him about getting involved with knocked the wind out of him. He wasn't sure how to react or how he even made it back to the dorm he was sharing with Kim Jonghyun, a Good Samaritan. Something told him that Jonghyun probably wasn't the Good Samaritan he thought him to be. Yet there he was lying on the couch and not knowing who the daughter of the Jung's is. He never heard her name or maybe he tuned out enough of the school gossip to have missed the mention of her name throughout the day. All he knew was that she was the reigning queen of the school and was a sophomore.

The mere fact that the school fell on its knees for a sophomore made Kibum's blood boil. How much power could a sophomore have over the whole school? By the sounds of it she had a lot of power, enough to scare him as well. Hopefully the dinner would not include the daughter from hell. He wasn't sure if he could take that meeting. But at the time being he didn't have to worry about it and had to look forward to seeing Amber again.

He was intrigued for the most part when it came to Amber but he was just glad to know he got to meet someone that seemed relatively normal. Nicole wasn't far off but she did have her own group of friends and if he suddenly just became part of it, it wouldn't help how much of an outsider he felt like. With Amber it was different because she was an outsider as well. Everyone ignored her like she was invisible. Deep inside of him, Kibum knew that Amber wasn't always like that and perhaps she actually meant something to everyone. Why else go through the effort of ignoring her?

A brief sound of a door opening and closing let him know Jonghyun was home. He didn't move from his position of staring at the ceiling and seeing dots from the white. He just listened. Jonghyun was loud or could care less if he were to be asleep or not. Or he could have forgotten that he now had a roommate in the form of Kibum.

"Oh there you are. How was school?"

Kibum furrowed and gave Jonghyun a puzzled look as the latter leaned over the couch to look at him. "I'm sorry, but did you suddenly become a parent?"

"What, I can't wonder how your first day went? I remember going to that school. If it can even be called a school. I learned a lot but not of much educational value."

"How do you expect it went? The 'charity case' made his grand entrance. Shocking moment, he spoke to the social outcast." Kibum faked aghast as he sat up. 

Jonghyun jumped over the couch and landed beside him laughing. He would be in school had he not graduated a year early. Kibum was taking into consideration what Jonghyun did but he knew he didn't have the capacity to do an extra load of work. Sadly that meant there would have been no saving grace of Jonghyun in school. Kibum still didn't know if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

"Ah, so you met Amber?"

"Why do you mention her when I said social outcast?"

"I only graduated a year ago. I still have ways of knowing what happens in school and who falls off the social pedestal and hits rock bottom. Actually last I heard, dirt was higher than her."

Kibum thought Jonghyun's words through. Amber had obviously been high up the social ladder to have received such treatment. Even if Jonghyun was explaining it, it still bothered him on how it was all worded. Jonghyun almost sounded like one of them. He most likely was one of them. And so Kibum changed the subject.

"I got an invitation to meet my sponsors tomorrow night. A dinner at the Jung's residence,"

The subject change didn't really seem to please Jonghyun. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he leaned to pick up the remote to the TV. Kibum just stared at Jonghyun, silently asking why the sudden reaction to the surname Jung. His stare must have gotten to him because Jonghyun turned off the TV and turned to look at Kibum who had both his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, I never planned to tell you but they said they never planned to formally meet you either. I know the Jung’s. In fact I dated their daughter."

"Wait you went out with a freshmen?"

"What? No not Krystal. I dated her older sister Jessica. I'm not in the best of terms with her but she asked me to house you since I still live close to campus. I've been living here for a while. My parents didn't want to make the move closer to campus so they just bought me this apartment in this complex that now houses a lot of other students like me."

"I would have never painted you as one of them."

Jonghyun grimaced. "You make it sound like I committed a crime."

"I don't know. Seeing how they were in school today ... what makes you so different?"

"You have two girls cheat on you with your closes friend and let me know how that changes you." If Jonghyun meant to say it playfully he did a very bad job at it.

Kibum could hear the bitterness behind his words. Instead he let silence fall between them before speaking up again. "So ... about Amber?"

"She's cute isn't she?"

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah but I meant do you know what happened? She wasn't all that keen on befriending me and I think part of her hopes I don't show up to the editing room tomorrow. To put it simple, I know she won't tell me but I just want to know ... she wasn't always the outcast, so what was she?"

Jonghyun smile and patted his back in a brotherly way. "I feel like you might be the best thing that happens to her."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Even if he could have stopped it, Kibum avoided eye contact as he flushed. No. He couldn't like someone from just one day. It was crazy. He was intrigued and oddly felt like he was justifying his own denial.

"Haha, I'm just joking. She needs a friend to be honest. Amber was one of us. Well no, I mean she has money but not as much as all of us. She was a freshman last year and met Krystal over the summer at her parent’s beach house. They had an odd type of relationship. Krystal treated her more of a slave but they both got along well. I don't know what happened but suddenly they had a falling out. No one knows but it ruined Amber. Krystal wasn't even the ruling queen yet but everyone listened. She was a Jung and to the school the Jung and Choi siblings rule. The iron fist just leans more towards the Jung's. By the start of summer Amber had a complete change. If she doesn't tell you than only she and Krystal know. Maybe Henry as well. He did date her for a while."

"She had a boyfriend but refuses to acknowledge she's pretty?"

"Interested in Amber, are we?"

Kibum rolled his eyes at the way Jonghyun was nudging him on the side. "No, confused more than anything else. Still it's not something I should be prying into. I guess it's up to her if she ever decides to tell me or not. In the meantime I'm just trying to convince her to be my friend."

"Reasonable enough, she's probably weary of anyone after what she went through. It's not an everyday occurrence of you being considered one of the top to a nobody. Anyway I'm going to turn in and you might as well too."

"Wait, do you think the dinner tomorrow will just be Mr. and Mrs. Jung or their daughters as well?"

"Who knows, Krystal has her own social circle but if she cleared it for you ... I'd be more worried than not. The Jung's did say there weren't any plans of formally meeting you so that could leave a big possibility that this was all thought up by little Jung herself.”

Suddenly all the nerve Kibum did not have prior to talking to Jonghyun came out. What did Krystal want with him? She even persuaded her parents. Where did that leave him in how obedient he would be to her word? She couldn't be that bad . . . could she?

He didn't really sleep the night before. When his alarm went off he wasn't very happy. It was one constant waking up after another. He lacked energy to start the day, too worried about the events that would happen that evening. So it wasn't surprising that he simply put on his uniform and wore it as it should be worn. The lack of a "flamboyant" accessory or gesture let his morning pass with as little to no stares. 

Yet again it could simple mean everyone had seen enough of him the day before. He blended in now and well, just your average student who was there to learn and get the best of grades. Though he couldn't say the grades weren't met by the high class. Even with all their parties, most of them dreamed of having high enough grades and test scores to be admitted into Ivy League schools overseas. It was a high costing dream that meant sacrificing. What they sacrificed he wasn't sure. It surely was not their social life. Parties were held every day and he only knew when a girl handed him a handout with the list off all the open guest parties going on that week.

They were the stepping stone to getting noticed and recognized. Once you received an invitation to the most elite of parties you were practically royalty. Which led to Kibum's anxiety for the day. He didn't know how Krystal looked like and spent most his day unconsciously looking for her and picking up on her name. Yesterday he had tuned everyone out but today he was hyper aware of the names Krystal and Jung. He hoped that if they were said, one would mean she was nearby.

But many things could be learned by eavesdropping on every single conversation that involved Krystal's name. First and most important of all was that she was taken since she was 12 and he was the school heart throb. Second was that her best friend was a girl named Sulli, everyone knew that Krystal only called her best friend by keeping to the ancient saying of having your enemies closer. Along with that she had one playboy friend that is open about the feelings he has for her though fights are most constant and a childhood friend everyone adores.

Just alone with that he knew enough of who ruled the school and so far it was those five. But Kibum would worry about that later. He was late. He had spent too much time at his locker locating the piece of paper with the map Amber had drawn him. He could picture it in his mind how she was counting down the time left before lunch hour was over and she could forget about him. He didn't want that, not when he desperately needed friends to council with. Not that he really could if his woes were related to Krystal and he still didn't know their past.

He would worry about that later. At the moment he was worrying about making it on time. After moments of agony he had found the paper and sprinted to his destination. He found it and was merely trying to catch his breath before entering. When he did he was surprised and somewhat happy to see that Amber was looking at the time in her seat but what she mumbled brought him joy as he opened the door.

"I guess he really isn't coming..."

"And let this," Kibum walked in and pointed to himself and then Amber, "whatever this is, come to an end? No. That would make it too easy for you."

Amber probably wasn't planning on smiling but she did. She smiled while he pulled up a seat to sit beside her, straddling the chair and facing her. He leaned forward and her radiant smile practically yelled "you came" to him. So he nodded leaning his head forward over his arms that rested on the back of the seat. Amber looked away to stop smiling, something he found very amusing while looking at her.

"I wouldn't have been disappointed."

"Right, because that tone of voice sounded so excited about getting rid of me. Face it Amber, you want to be friends with me as much as I want to be friends with you."

"That's ridiculous. No one would want to be friends with you."<