Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 18: The Truth Is... (Shh!)

Krystal Jung smelled coffee. It was a smell that Krystal always loved to wake up to, but this morning it caused a sense of panic to wash over the 20 year old birthday girl.

"Shit," Krystal thought as she sat up with a jolt on her living room sofa, tossing off the blanket that covered her. It was still somewhat dark out, but the smell of coffee could only mean one thing: someone was awake.

Looking down, Krystal found her sleeping partner, makeshift pillow, and girlfriend, Amber. Krystal spared just one moment to lovingly take in the sight of Amber sleeping with abandon beneath her before gently shaking the older girl.

"Amber, Am!" Krystal whispered loudly.

Amber's brown eyes fluttered open in surprise, and then melted into an affectionate smile. "Good morning, Princess-nim."

Krystal smiled back, but her smile was a bit strained. "Am, we fell asleep."

Amber stretched and yawned. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought. Should we go back to your room now?" Krystal shot Amber a very distressed look that quickly caught her attention. "What's wrong?"

"Someone's awake..."

The news startled Amber, who hadn't noticed any of the signs. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

Krystal gestured toward the kitchen. "Coffee." She held up the blanket that was covering them that hadn't been on the sofa earlier when they exchanged kisses. "Blanket." It was damning evidence.

"Shit," Amber whispered.

"'Shit' indeed." Krystal replied, biting her lower lip nervously. She stared at Amber desperately. "What do we do?"

"I don't know, maybe nothing?" Amber wondered. She looked concerned, but Amber was considerably less panicky than Krystal. "Whoever left this blanket must not have jumped to conclusions about what they saw, or else they would have woken us up instead of covering us."

"Yeah, true," Krystal agreed. She felt a little bit better with that logical assumption. "But what if that someone starts asking questions about us?"

"It's not the end of the world if people find out about us," Amber said gently, covering Krystal's hand with her own. They slowly intertwined their fingers and Amber offered her a reassuring smile. "It's sooner than we planned, but we can handle it if it comes to that."

"Yeah," Krystal agreed again. "But I'd rather not have that happen so soon if we can help it."

Amber nodded earnestly. "Believe me, I feel the same." There were noises coming from the kitchen, and Krystal let out an anxious whimper. With a sympathetic smile, Amber stood up and held a hand out to Krystal. "Come on, best to get it over with before other people wake up."

"Wait, what do we say happened last night?" Krystal worried.

"Say it got too hot sleeping in a small room with five people, so we came down here where it was cooler."

"Uh huh, and we cooled off by sharing our body heat," Krystal said sarcastically. "Did you not see me sleeping on top of you just now?"

"Hey, that's on you. Maybe you'll learn how to stay on your side of the bed next time," Amber joked, but Krystal was in no joking mood. "It'll be OK, just don't look so serious. You're gonna give us away. Relax a little."

"I don't think I can," Krystal responded anxiously.

Amber quickly pulled Krystal into a hug. She wrapped the younger girl protectively in her arms and soothingly whispered into her ear. "The world won't end on your birthday, Jung Soo Jung. The people in this house love you too much to let that happen. Just go greet the person in the kitchen--do it normally--and everything will be OK."