Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 2: Step By Me

Krystal sat up and brushed the remaining tears from her eyes. The thought of Amber coming to visit her on set with a pizza cheered her up immensely. The circumstances of her life hadn't changed--Jessica was still out of Girls' Generation and her drama shooting schedule was still demanding--but for the moment her life seemed a little bit brighter.

She reached across the bed for her call sheet and checked the times. There was at least an hour before her next filming; plenty of time to eat a pizza and to complain and whine to her friend, assuming that Amber arrived quickly. Krystal picked up her phone and started to send Amber another text.

"How much longer until you--"

KNOCK KNOCK.

Krystal stopped mid-text, startled by the knock on her trailer door.

"One moment!" she called out, double checking that her eyes were dry, not wanting the filming staff to know that she had cried. She quickly ran her hand through her hair to straighten out her bed head.

"It's me!" Amber called back, much to Krystal's surprise.

"Huh?!" Krystal immediately opened the door and found Amber on the other side with a pizza in hand and a smile on her face.

"I have arrived!" the blond haired girl announced grandly, gently pushing Krystal aside as she entered the small trailer. "Lunch is now served!" She glanced at the time on Krystal's phone. "Well, early dinner. Either way, time to eat! Sit, sit, sit," she ordered, pulling Krystal towards her once the younger girl had closed the trailer door.

"How'd you get here so fast? Where's your manager-oppa?"

"He's hanging out with your manager-oppa. My last schedule for today got moved, so I thought I'd just hang out with you for the rest of the night while you're not filming." Amber flipped open the pizza box and pulled out a warm slice of pizza. She held it in front of Krystal's mouth with a wide smile. "Eat!"

Krystal tilted her head slightly and felt awash with gratitude. She wondered if Amber could read her expression and understand how much it meant to have her here right now, but Amber continued to smile and nudge the slice of pizza against Krystal's lips. With a small smile, Krystal leaned forward a took a bite of the delicious pizza. Her tongue was instantly covered in grease and it ignited her appetite. Krystal hadn't realized how hungry she was until that first bite.

"Sooooooo good," she moaned, picking up her own slice and finishing it off in no time. As she swallowed the last bite, for one pathetic moment, Krystal felt like crying again because the pizza was so delicious. She wiped her hands and held the napkin against her pressed lips, trying to regain her composure. She looked up to find that Amber had been watching her closely, still holding onto the first slice of pizza that Krystal had bitten.

"Are you doing OK?" Amber asked, her cheerful expression now mixing with concern. "Have you talked to your sister yet?"

Krystal started to shake and nod her head, unsure of whether or not she was OK. "I called Jess earlier and she was crying really hard. I tried my best to console her, but how can you make anyone feel better after your whole group kicks you out like that?" Krystal heaved a shaky sigh, feeling the tears coming back. "I mean if you guys ever kicked me out like that--"

"We're not. We would NEVER." Amber said firmly, dropping her slice of pizza and moving closer to Krystal. She wiped her hands quickly before wrapping her arms around Krystal. f(x) is a family, and families stick together. You're gonna be stuck with us for a long, long time."

"That sounds nice," Krystal said, closing her eyes and returning Amber's hug. "But that's why it's so devastating, because Jess thought of Girls' Generation as family, too. I don't understand how they could do this, or how the company could let this happen."

"I don't know either," Amber said, "but f(x) is not Girls' Generation. We won't let what happened to Jessica-unnie happen to you."

"Wait a minute." Krystal pulled away, a sudden fear creeping into her thoughts. "Did the company say something about removing me from f(x)?"

"Huh? What?" Genuinely confused, Amber pulled away from the hug as well. "No, I just meant that f(x) will always protect you no matter what. I didn't mean like I had heard--"

"No wait, seriously. I hadn't thought about it until now, but what if they decide to pull me out of f(x)? Jess was a main singer and they just flat out dropped her. I'm only a lead singer AND I'm her sister. What if they cut me too?" She sat down on the edge of the small bed and put her face into her hands. It felt like her life was just spiraling out of control.

Amber quickly sat down next to her, wrapping her into another tight hug. "Hey, hey, hey, slow down. I promise that nothing like that is going to happen. I haven't heard any rumors from the company, but I can guarantee that they won't cut you, not unless they want to disband f(x) completely. You know Vic-unnie; she would fight anyone between us and the CEO in order to protect our family. Me, Luna, and Sulli, too. There's no way we'd continue being in f(x) if you weren't there with us."

Krystal's heart was still racing from fear, but she tried to breath deeply as Amber held her tightly and murmured the reassuring words into her ear. f(x) was a family and she was part of that family. She nodded her head and pressed herself into Amber's warm chest. It felt good to be with family.

"I don't know how I can make it through the rest of the day, Am. It was exhausting enough trying to get through my scenes this morning while pretending that everything was OK. I'm just so, so tired..."

"I know, and that's why I've appeared, Princess-nim." Amber gently laid them down onto the bed and pulled the covers over them. "I plan to bore you into a quick nap so that you're refreshed for you next scene! Which is in..." she scanned the filming schedule, "about an hour. Plenty of time!"

Krystal smiled but shook her head. "I don't know if I could relax enough to sleep right now."

"Sure you can, just try," Amber soothingly murmured. She tucked Krystal in firmly and snuggled closely to her, knowing that Krystal enjoyed being tightly wrapped in blankets. "Just close your eyes," she ordered, shooting Krystal a mock angry look until the younger girl closed her eyes obediently.

"The Tokyo concerts this weekend will be the first time I've been to an SMTown concert without my sister," Krystal realized sadly thinking about the upcoming concerts on October 4th and 5th. "I'll never be able to stand at an SMTown concert with her again." The truth sank in like a knife to the heart and Krystal could hold back the tears no longer.

"I know, I know," Amber mumbled sympathetically. She rubbed Krystal's shoulders reassuringly as Krystal sobbed softly into the covers. "I know we can't replace Jessica-unnie, but Vic-unnie and Luna and I will be there for you. We'll be your sisters in her place."

Krystal let out a small, watery laugh. "Yeah right, like I can think of you as my sister."

Amber chuckled at the jab, grateful that Krystal's tongue was still sharp despite her sadness. "Fine, then I'll be your brother, whatever."

Krystal smiled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "God, I'm gonna be such a mess when I get on set later."

"Well, it looks like you've got a crying scene scheduled pretty early in the evening. Maybe you can tell them that you were getting yourself in the mood?"

Krystal nodded. "Sounds legit. OK, let's try that napping thing again." She scooted closer to Amber, absolutely exhausted at this point. Can you wake me in half an hour?"

"As you wish, Princess-nim."

Smiling and the familiar words, Krystal closed her eyes and tried to lose herself to sleep.

"What the, a kiss scene with Rain-oppa?" Amber whispered in outrage as she scanned the rest of Krystal's filming schedule. Grinning over Amber's obvious jealousy, Krystal drifted off to sleep.