[Music Recommendation: "Blue & Grey" by BTS (instrumental only)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

"Uhm, S-Senara, I'll just… go to the bathroom for a moment," Crystal's lips trembled as she spoke. Her eyes and nose turned red. Then, she turned to my side and walked away in a rush.

"Wait—" I tried to stop her but she didn't hear me. She must have been so hurt.

I looked towards Hora's direction and to Crystal's direction alternately, hesitating where to go. I thought since Hora looked fine and Verrill was taking care of her, maybe I should follow Crystal instead. She was crying for goodness' sake.

With my heart still worried about Hora, I followed Crystal since she needed me more. She walked so fast with that long leg of hers, and I had to jog a bit to catch up. I followed her along the corridor, passed many people, and unto a place that seemed to be the backyard of the house. There was a garden filled with flowers and trees.

"Crystal, wait!" I called out her name and pulled her arm. Finally, I managed to catch up to her.

When she turned around, her beautiful face had been stained with tears—even her neck was wet. Her eyes were slowly becoming puffier, too. My heart wretched for her. Poor girl… and she was still so young.

Honestly, I didn't know what to tell her. I wasn't even sure if I should support her feelings. Not because Hora was my best friend—definitely not! Crystal had been nothing but an angel and she, too, had become very dear to my heart. It's just that… Verrill seemed to be falling for Hora. And Hora liked him, too. Shouldn't two people who liked each other be together? Though of course, the price would be somebody else's pain.

Unable to come up with any wise words to say, I simply embraced Crystal. She wailed so loud the moment I did… like a broken child. There was a stinging pain in my heart. I hated seeing my friends in pain. How I hope I could just take their pain away.

"Waaaahu-hu-hu-hu… sniff… hu-hu-hu-hu."

Crystal cried and cried and cried. That's good, right? Crying could help reduce the pain inside, at least for my experience. Yes… please, may those tears carry away her pain.

After what seemed to be half an hour of crying, Crystal's wailing turned into soft sobbing instead. The tears in her face began to dry up as well. We sat on the bench nearby and I patted her back.

"Your face is a mess now," I jested, trying to make her smile. "Pretty girls shouldn't be crying like this. I wonder who made her cry? I want to punch him in the face."

Crystal chuckled, despite the tears that still fell from her eyes.

"Yes. His name is Verrill, and please punch him for not appreciating this stunning goddess."

"Exactly! Maybe, you're too beautiful for him."

"Yeah… or I'm just not his type."

"Crystal…"

"It's alright. I'm not an idiot. I've known him since childhood and liked him ever since. But he sees me as a younger sister—always treating me like a child. That look he gave Hora though… I've never seen him like that. And you know what's funny?"

"What?"

Crystal looked me in the eye and said, "I can't blame him for falling for her. Even I like Hora, too. If it wasn't her and instead, some other girl, I would have lashed out. Like how dare he fall for another woman?! But in this case, the one he fell for was a really decent girl. So funny and cute… angelic even. Makes you want to protect her. She's the complete opposite of me. Now, I understand why he never liked me. It's because—"

"Crystal! Don't compare yourself to others. You are you and Hora is Hora. And you are both equally beautiful, kind, funny in your own way, and lovable! You should know how amazing you are. The moment I first saw you, I thought you were a celebrity. You're gorgeous and confident like a queen! And I love that about you. So don't… just don't think you're any less just because some guy preferred another girl instead of you."

"Sniff… sniff… Y-yes… I know. I shouldn't think lowly of myself. But it's just that… it hurts… so much! Hu-hu-hu-hu. I can't help but compare myself. What did I lack? Why can't it be me? I wanted it so bad to be me."

I patted her head and embraced her. She starting crying hard again. What should I do? What should I say? Please, somebody help me heal her heart.

"Crystal?" a worried Callan suddenly appeared before me. He was huffing, as if he ran everywhere searching for Crystal.

I nodded at him with a sullen expression and he immediately came over.

"What happened?"

"We… ahm," I struggled to reply. I wasn't sure if it's alright to tell him.

Then, Crystal wiped her tears and turned to Callan.

"He likes somebody else," she confessed, smiling bitterly towards him.

Callan's expression grew dim. He clenched his fist and tightened his jaw. For some reason, he looked as hurt as Crystal.

Patting Crystal's head, Callan said, "Then it's his loss. He's stupid for not seeing this amazing girl right here." He then gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Sniffing, Crystal got up and embraced Callan. She cried again. Callan simply embraced her in return, and rubbed her back, trying to calm her.

"It's alright, Crystal. It's not the end of the world. You're still young and there's still plenty of men out there. Even better ones! I mean, Verrill is my friend but… let's just say he's got a few screws loose, you know. He's definitely stupid for saying no to you."

Crystal chuckled despite her tears.

"I didn't actually confess to him."

"Oh? I thought you did. Then, why are you crying? Did he say he likes someone else?"

"No. I, well, we saw him…"

"Wut? You saw him? Was he kissing a girl? That Verrill?" Callan's face turned comical.

"Pft! No! Ha-ha-ha! He's too shy to do that."

And so, we told Callan everything that happened. His expressions were so funny as he listened to us. I wasn't sure if he was doing that on purpose or that's just his personality. But if he was doing it on purpose then… that's really nice of him. Kaiden was right. Callan was a really kind person despite his rough looks and somewhat rude attitude.

Before we knew it, Callan was making jokes and Crystal was already laughing.