Chapter 5 The band was puzzled. Things had changed between Justin and Krystal. It was fine with them, even welcomed, but they were curious. What exactly had changed? Why were they suddenly friends? Every time they saw one another, they would grin madly, from ear to ear, sometimes even laugh. There was a secret between them. Something had broken the ice, torn down the wall that was between them and it was driving them crazy. Everyone except JC, of course. JC had been oblivious to the change. He didn't even know that Krystal and Justin were better now. Why, no one could understand. ��� Krystal couldn't help it. Every time she looked at him, she thought of their little conversation. Her mind instantly filled with images, none that she was particularly proud of, although they could entertain her just fine. Oh yes� just fine indeed. She couldn't sleep without thinking of him either. Lately, he had been occupying the empty spaces in her mind, tormenting her. It wasn't exactly torture, but she still wasn't quite comfortable with it. But Krystal wasn't the only one suffering. Justin too, was suffering. Probably even more than Krystal was. He couldn't close his eyes. If he did, he would be trapped. Trapped in a world he couldn't escape. She was everywhere now. Every thought was filled with images of her. She tortured him without even knowing it. He played the conversation in his head over and over again, each time making him want her more and more. It was almost unbearable but he knew she was playing. She was never serious about it. Even if she knew how she felt, she wouldn't let him have her. She just didn't belong with him. Yet this didn't stop him from day dreaming. Thank god it was only an attraction and nothing else, or he would never get over it. It was only an attraction, just an attraction� right? ��� JC lay on the couch, closing his tired eyes, reflecting on the events that had happened the day before. This was something that he liked to do when he was tired, yet could not sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep, someone climbed onto him. He cracked open an eye and saw that it was Krystal. Typical. She always managed to find a way to disturb him, just as he found peace. It wasn't that he was mad at her. No, it was practically impossible to get mad at Krystal, although Justin seemed to be able to do that very often. He couldn't understand why they hated or maybe disliked one another so much. They were both great people who could almost get along with anyone but once the two got together, they would start quarreling. They couldn't even be in the same room, or they would start fighting. They were both his best friends. He wished that they would learn to get along once in a while. JC gently stroked Krystal's hair, putting his arm around her. She snuggled closer to him, breathing in the scent of his cologne. It was amazing how comfortable they were with one another. It was as if they had been friends before this. Krystal rested her head on JC shoulder as she closed her eyes. JC looked at her, noticing how smooth her skin was. To him, this felt so right. He almost never wanted it to end. Suddenly, JC found himself on the floor. Krystal had given him a gentle push to the floor. He looked at Krystal, who was spread out on the couch, arms and legs stretched to maximize the small space. Looks like I spoke too soon, JC thought to himself. Wanting to get back at her, he walked into the kitchen. As he opened the fridge, a brilliant idea hit him. Ice! He filled a cup full of ice, a mischievous grin on his face. What was the phrase that Ashley and Krystal liked to use? Ah, yes. Payback's a bitch. That was one of their favourite phrases when they got back at one another. He crept into the room, making as little noise as possible. He stood behind the couch and started to throw the cubes at Krystal. I knew this was too good to be true. Since when does JC not get back at me after I play a trick on him? Krystal thought. She was just lying there when something cold hit her leg. She turned and another one hit her arm. What the? JC was happily standing there, throwing the cubes at her. she reluctantly got off the couch and approached JC. JC took the chance and pulled the back of her shirt and threw in three cubes of ice. Krystal shrieked as the cold, cold ice slide down her back. She was going to kill JC for that if that was the last thing she did. But before that, she had to admit that the ice idea was a great one and she briefly wondered why she had never thought of that. As JC neared Krystal, he realized that she would want to get back at him for that little ice trick. He needed something to sidetrack her attention, something to distract her. He remembered that when he pulled her shirt back, he saw she had no bra on. He didn't look intentionally. It was just something that he noticed. Of course, in his mind, he knew the truth but as long as he just kept telling himself that he didn't look intentionally, he just might believe it. " Hey Krystal. Why is it that you don't have a bra on?" "I just woke up for goodness sake, give me a break. I don't sleep with a bra on. Most women don't." "Oh. But why?" "Do you know how uncomfortable it is? Oh wait, I forgot. You're a guy, so that means that you're na�ve. You go and try sleeping with something as uncomfortable as a bra and see if you like it." JC grinned a mischievous grin. " So now that I know you don't sleep with a bra, how about you tell me what you wear to bed, or what you don't wear." Krystal let out a laugh and raised an eyebrow. "How about this. I'll show you mine if you show me yours." She said as she winked at him. JC looked at her with his eyes opened wide. He couldn't believe what had just come out of her mouth. His heart skipped a beat. Before he could reply, Krystal laughed and he realized it was all a joke. He forced a laugh and a smile, but in his mind, he was greatly disappointed. What is wrong with me? I know Krystal isn't one to do these things, plus, she's my friend. I shouldn't have imagined anything. I know what a joker she is, so what made me take her seriously? He couldn't understand. Krystal is like a sister to me. How can I think of such things? Must be raging hormones or something, he thought. Deep in his mind, he knew the truth. It was just a matter of whether or not he wanted to face it. ��� "Guys, Joey's birthday is coming up. What are we gonna do for him?" Justin asked everyone. Everyone was present except Joey, of course. His eyes strayed to Krystal, meeting hers. They looked at each other, having a moment of their own. Chris noticed this and cleared his throat, breaking their stares. An idea hit JC and he knew it was perfect. "How about the beach? Joey loves the beach. There's the sun, girls, sea, girls, bikinis, hot dog, girls� you get the general idea." Everyone laughed knowingly. Yes, it was perfect. Joey would love a day at the beach. Everything he loved was there� well, almost. Basically, he loved the girls but that was besides the point. He was going to have a blast and would probably be grinning madly when he found out what they had in store for him. "How about going clubbing after that? You know how much he loves clubbing." Chris suggested. "Yeah, cool. He would love it. I bet this is gonna be the best birthday ever." Justin grinned. "Erm.. J, you said that last year, and the year before and the year before that, and two years before�" Lance laughed "Okay, okay. I get the point. So what if I say that every year? It always is a blast anyway." "Right� somehow, I don't quite trust you. Remember what happened last year?" Chris couldn't resist smirking. "Oh yeah� it was going to be the best birthday ever� I can clearly recall you saying that. I wonder, did the birthday seem so fun when you insisted on driving Joey's new car and ended up putting a few scratches on it? I don't think so. He was so mad at you. His face was all red, and he was so mad he was tempted to murder you. Oh man, we should have captured it on camera it was priceless. And the look on your face when you found out Joey knew about the scratches? Invaluable. So J, do you dare to say it's gonna be the best birthday every?" "Okay, so last year I was wrong. But overall it was still great. I mean, come on, it was organized by us. Anything organized by us had to be great right?" Krystal rolled her eyes although this time, not out of disgust, but out of amusement. Somehow, his remarks didn't seem as egoistic as before. Joey strolled into the room. He had heard snippets of the conversation and loved it. He knew it was about his birthday and wanted to find out more. "What 'cha talking about?" Joey asked as he sat down on a nearby chair and lied down on Krystal's lap, making himself very comfortable. "Joey, anyone ever told you that your head is heavy." " Nope. You're the first one." "Hmm.. maybe it's 'cause you have a hard head." Krystal smirked. "Nah, that's impossible. With all that air inside, plus the fact that he has nothing between his ears. My guess is that his head can't be all that heavy." Chris stated boldly. "I did NOT just hear that come out of your mouth." "Oh dear me. All the air must be going blocking your ears, affecting your hearing. There's too much air in there and it needs to get out. Need me to repeat what I said before?" "Forget it. I didn't hear anything come out of your mouth. You do not exist to me." "Fine, be that way. I bet that's just 'cause u can't come up with anything better." Joey rolled his eyes. "As if, but I'm just going to ignore you. like I said, you don't exist to me. What are we gonna do for my birthday?" "Birthday? What birthday? Who said anything about birthdays?" Justin asked innocently. "You seriously expect me to believe that, J? It's my birthday tomorrow and you guys always plan my birthday the day before. " "Darn� who told him?" "You forget J, not everyone is as dumb as you. I have my ways of knowing." "Hey, I'm not dumb. In fact, I'm pretty smart. Smarter than you anyway. Wait a minute� EVERYONE is smarter than you. anyway, what the heck. I'm smarter than you, way smarter. And that's all that matters. " Krystal nearly choked on the piece of gum she was chewing. Justin? Smart? Those two did not go together in the same sentence. She started laughing uncontrollably. "Well, Justin, you must be pretty dumb to have the fact that everyone is smarter than Joey dawn on you after such a long time. Besides, smart and Justin doesn't go in the same sentence." Justin glared. "But it's true�" "Ok, you know what? Whatever. I don't care who's smarter. Just answer my question before you two start to bicker. What are we doing tomorrow?" Joey asked curiously. "Well, we're gonna go to the beach then go clubbing." JC stated. Joey let out a whoop. Suddenly, he stopped. He looked around and his eyes landed on the brown haired girl. He was going to be devilish. No one could blame him. It was the perfect opportunity. Too perfect to let it pass. He gave Krystal a mischievous grin. Krystal noticed Joey's look. She didn't like it. Nope, not one bit. He knew something that she didn't. he was planning something in his scheming mind. She didn't know what and that was going to cause her a whole lot of trouble. She could just feel it in the air. She didn't like it. Trouble was arriving. She knew she was going to find out what he had planned in his mind soon enough. Now was the hard part- waiting. " Hey, does everyone have to go?" Joey asked. Yup, Krystal was going to find out what he had planned very soon. " Yeah." JC replied. Joey looked up and grinned once again. "Krystal�" "What?" Krystal had to be cautious. She didn't want to fall into one of his traps. Something was coming up. "You have to go to the beach with us right?" "Uh-huh�" "I know what would be the perfect birthday present for me." "Oh boy.. I'm afraid to ask." "Since we're going to the beach, you and Ash can do something for me." "Whatever it is, the answer is no." "Come on. Just wear a bikini. It would look great�" Joey looked the pair up and down. Krystal gave him the evil eye. "You both have the figure� You'll look great. I promise." "No." "Look at me. Look at me and tell me that you can say no to this face and deprive me of the perfect birthday present." Joey gave both girls a cute puppy dog look. Ash couldn't resist. "Fine." "Krystal?" Krystal groaned. She really didn't want to agree. "Must I?" "Yes, you have to. " "Then I really don't have much of a choice, do I?" Joey grinned madly. Now was the hard part. "I get to chose your bikinis." "WHAT?!?" Krystal exploded. "Yes, I do. It's my birthday." "But�" "No buts." Krystal let out a wail of protest. "Too bad. Now we get to go shopping. And for the rest of the guys, none of you get to go. Only me." Justin wanted to protest. "Why?" "Cause I say so. It's my birthday, plus, I only get to pick out the bikini. It's not like I get to see them with it on today. Nope, that'll happen tomorrow." ��� (At the mall) "Joey, don't you DARE get that near me. I am not wearing that. Nope, not in this life. There is no way you're going to make me wear that itsy-bitsy thing. Zero, zilch, nada, nil, also know as NO, nothing." Krystal exclaimed as Joey neared her with a faded blue bikini. That wasn't so bad. What got to her was the fact that the bottom was a thong. She nearly screamed. No way was she going to wear that. It would be humiliating. It was so... small. ��� Ashley came out of the dressing room just when she heard Krystal's words. She nearly burst out laughing. She had never seen her friend in a bikini ever. Not in all the long years she had know Krystal. It was going to be pure torture for Krystal, but Ashley couldn't help but laugh at her. She was going to look drop dead sexy in it and she knew the guys were going to appreciate it. Krystal had the perfect body, ones that women would kill to have but she never wanted to show it. She had the tan, the stomach, the legs, everything to pull it off� just not the character. ��� As the trio went to pay for the stuff, Krystal shot Joey a deadly glare. "I'm going to make you pay you know." "I know. But you forget, I am paying." "No, as in I'm going to get back at you for this horrible, mean trick, you evil man." Joey laughed at her. "Too bad. It's just in my character. Besides, it's not like you can do anything about it now." Krystal groaned. " Tomorrow is quickly approaching. Only 12 more hours." Joey smirked. " It's not quick enough. " Krystal scowled at him. She really dreaded tomorrow. She wished it would never come. ��� Krystal stared at the mirror, groaning at her reflection. Somehow, she had a sense of d�j� vu (A/N: Is that how you use those words? I'm not sure. If it's wrong, I'm sorry.) It reminded her of the day before she left for the tour. It hadn't even been a month, yet it felt like years ago. Home was so far away and for a moment, Krystal felt homesick. If anyone had told her that she would experience homesickness, she would have laughed in their faces. Home was more like a cold museum rather than a place where you learn to love. She sighed. She hated her reflection. The bikini was way too small for her liking, hardly covering anything. She felt so naked, so indecent. The thong was even worse. It was so uncomfortable. She wished she could back out in this, but knew it was impossible. She wrapped the wrap-around skirt round her waist, threw on a huge shirt, grabbed her bag and closed the door. ��� The guys waited impatiently in the lobby for Krystal. She was taking an awfully long time getting ready. Joey was looking forward to this immensely. For once, he had Krystal where he wanted her and there was no way she could get out of it. He couldn't wait to see her. He knew that he wasn't the only one who was looking forward to this though. He knew JC and Justin were looking forward to this too, maybe even more so than him, whether they wanted to admit it or not. He had seen the way JC looked at Krystal, even though JC said they were 'just friends', Joey knew. If they were 'just friends', why was JC looking at Krystal like that? There was more to their friendship than meets the eye. Justin. Justin was the complicated one. There was something electric between Justin and Krystal. They were constantly quarreling, most of the time over small things, rubbish basically. They say they hate one another but you can't always believe what people say, can you? Joey suspected that the only reason why they quarreled was because they felt it� the undeniable attraction between them. Action was going to unfold and Joey had front row tickets. Yes, indeed it was going to be an interesting birthday. ��� Authour's Note: Yeah, I am aware this chapter was lame. I'm so sorry. I had no idea what to write. I promise the next one will be better =D |
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