They tell us from the time we're young
To hide the things that we don't like about ourselves
Inside ourselves
Secrets~Mary Lambert

Xiumin’s POV

“Goodness. To have lived in that time and meet Mr. Darcy,” Michelle says as we slide into a booth. 

We just left the movies and we decided to grab a bite to eat after, which is why we’re at this quiet little diner. 

“I don’t know. They should’ve just confessed that they loved each other, without the drama,” I say.

“Yeah, but then there wouldn’t be a story. It’d be all boring,” she says.

“There could still be a love story, just a more simple and classic one. Why go throughout the trouble when both of them could have been happy?” I say.

Michelle just stares at me as the waiter comes to give us our food.

“Here you both go. Can I get you guys anything else?” he asks, looking only at Michelle.  I clench my jaw at this.

“No, we’re fine,” she says with a smile.

“Alright, let me know if you do,” the sly waiter says before walking away.

“You’re different,” she says out of no where.

I quirk up an eyebrow.  “How so?”

She shrugs before taking a sip of her drink.  “I guess I just expected you to be different. You’re pretty much a world famous idol. You travel and sing and dance for a living. Not to mention, you’re hot. I just thought you would’ve been one of those stuck up, douchebag type guys.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.

“And you say your favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice.”

“Yeah, valid point. Guess I owe you an apology,” she says with a smile.

I shake my head.  “It’s alright. Some idols are actually like that, which tends to give the rest of us a bad name, you know? But I’d like to say EXO is pretty laid back and down to earth.”

She nods.  “I’m starting to see that now.”

“So, tell me more about Michelle,” I say with a smile before taking a bite of my burger.

“Well, I already told you why I’m here. There’s not much to tell really,” she says.

“What about back home? Your family?” I ask.

She shrugs.  “It isn’t that great, neither is my family. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to come here just to get away from there.”

I stare at her, contemplating on whether to ask her more.

“Something happen back home?” I ask, deciding I may as well.

She stares at me for what seems to be like the longest time.  That’s when I noticed her eyes and how beautiful they were, yet how sad they seemed.

“What didn’t happen is more of the question,” she says, more to herself than to me.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I say.

She shakes her head.  “May as well let it out in the open.”

I don’t say anything but just nod, letting her know I’m listening.

She sighs before taking a fry from her plate. 

“I come from a really strict and. . .prestigious, if you will, family. My mom is this huge lawyer and my dad is this successful businessman. They always want things to be perfect. They were so wrapped up in their careers that they didn’t even have time to raise their own daughter. I was raised by nannies. I don’t even think they came to one school event. As I got older, they suddenly got this huge interest in my life. They told me that I was to become a surgeon and go to medical school after graduation. I laughed when they told me this. Me? A surgeon? I hate sick people and don't even want to be near them. Why would I want to have a career out of this?”

I couldn’t help but smile a little at her comment.

“Anyways. They began wondering why I wasn’t dating anyone up to their level or standards. I told them I was fine, not like they listened. A few weeks after that conversation, this guys asked me out. I didn’t think anything of it. He seemed like a genuinely kind guy. We hung out and went on dates. He asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yeah. I actually really liked him and my parents surprisingly liked him, too, so it was a win-win for everyone.”

She takes another fry in .  “That’s when hit the ceiling. It was about a month after we became official that he started to really push it. He kept hinting that he wanted to get into my pants and I kept telling him that I wasn’t ready. Then one night, we were in his car and making out and he just got all rough all of a sudden.”

My fists begin to clench tight.  “He didn’t you did he?” I ask.

Her eyes widen before she starts shaking her head.  “Hell no. I wish he would try something like that on me.”

I let a sigh of relief out.  “Then what happened?”

“I pushed him off of me and he got super pissed. I then heard him mutter something under his breath like ‘I shouldn’t have agreed to it.’ That’s when I began to get suspicious. The next time we had a date, he tried again, and again I rejected him. That’s when I realized that I had enough of him. I broke up with him that night. The next morning, when I went to school, people began talking, saying that I had to pay a guy to date me. I was so confused so I went up to jerkface and asked what the hell was going on. He just shrugged and told me to ask my parents.”

“I got home that day and asked them about it. Can you believe those people paid him to ask me out and be my boyfriend? The saddest part was that they told me to go take him back. They didn’t even care how I felt about the whole thing. They kept telling me how I was stupid to let him go and that I was a good for nothing daughter and how I did nothing right. Later on, I found out my so called ex was the son a man who owned like ten malls. Apparently, my dad was trying to get a deal with him.”

“Do you talk to your parents now?” I ask.

“Not really. They still think I should be a doctor. Even though I’m majoring in business, they still don’t approve. They think I won’t make it or whatever. But at this point, I really don’t care. I mean, I’ve gone basically my whole life of them controlling my every move. So once I went away to college, I never looked back.”

“So that’s why you got pretty mad at me for giving you a hickey. You felt like I was trying to somehow control you,” I say.

She nods.  “I know it didn't mean anything and I know it sounds really stupid. It just brought back memories that I'm trying my hardest to get rid of.”

“It's not stupid at all. Everyone has some type of history that they don't like,” I say to her before offering a smile.

“So what about the famous Xiumin? What’s your backstory?” she asks.

“Well, Xiumin doesn’t have a backstory but Minseok does,” I say with a chuckle.

“Then what’s his story?” she asks.

“Well, unlike you, I came from a poor family. Well, not like poor that we were starving but we were under middle-class. Both my parents worked long hours for me and my older sister. But then my dad died from an accident at work and that’s when it hit us. My mom was a wreck and stopped working, leaving me and my sister to fend for ourselves. We each got a job but I wasn’t enough. She soon quit school to work full-time but told me to stay in school. I was so against this but I didn’t want to disappoint my sister anymore. My mom was still sad about my dad but we were able to keep a roof over our heads and food in our mouths.”

She just looked at me so I took a breath and kept going. 

“Then one day my sister came home crying hysterically. I asked her what was wrong. She looked at me, still crying, but told me she was pregnant. My sister, who was sixteen at the time, a school dropout, told me she was pregnant. I was twelve at the time but I was so pissed. I asked her where her boyfriend was and she told me he just left her. Just like that. I remember me and my sister walked into my mom’s room. We were both crying. I was so scared for my sister. My sister was crying so much that she couldn’t talk, so I was the one to tell my mom she was pregnant.”

“A funny thing happened, though. My mom just sort of snapped out of it. I guess she realized that her kids needed her. Ever since that day, she’s acted like a mother again. She got a job and helped my sister. I was able to stop working and focus on school and start being a kid, again. I mean, it was rough, but we made it through. Some years later, I somehow got scouted. Now I’m here as Xiumin from EXO.”

“Wow. I would’ve never known,” she says.

I nod.  “Not a lot of people know about it, not even all of the members. Jun, Kyungsoo, and Yixing are the only ones who know. And now, so do you.”

“You probably don’t know this, but I was so pissed at Junmyeon for acting like the way he did at first. I almost knocked some sense into him, literally.”

“Is that why he came to the appointment that day?” she asks.

“Part of the reason. I think it was mostly himself, though. It's just that no woman, whether they're 16 or 35, should have to deal with that alone. It just isn't right, especially when it's not entirely their responsibility,” I honestly say.

“Wow. You really are something,” she says before smiling.

“And you really are beautiful,” I say before smiling as well.

She only shook her head but I didn’t miss that blush that started forming on her cheeks.

“So," I start off, "you think I'm hot?"

Baekhyun’s POV

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Robin asks me.  I nod and give her a smile.  I look at Alex whose gaze hasn’t left me since I arrived here. 

“Alex, why don’t you just give him a chance to explain? He said he’s here to apologize,” Robin says.

“I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. Why is he even inside my place?” Alex asks.

“If you’ll just listen to me and don’t want to talk to me after, I won’t bother you again,” I say.

I see Alex staring at me, deciding whether to take me up on my offer or not.

“Fine,” she says.

I let out a sigh of relief and smile.

“Let’s get this over with so I don’t have to see your face ever again,” she says as she takes a seat in the sofa chair.  Maybe this wouldn’t be as easy as I thought.

“Oh, Suho just texted me, saying he’s here,” Robin says before looking up at us both.

Alex sighs before speaking.  “Go. I won’t do anything, I promise.”

“And if she does, I know I deserve it anyways,” I say with a chuckle.

“Damn right you do,” Alex says.

“Um, alright. I’m just down the hall, so let me know if you need me,” Robin says as she heads to the door.

“Yeah, yeah. Good luck with your parents,” Alex says.

“Thanks because I’m definitely going to need it. I don’t want to come back to a dead body!” Robin exclaims before closing the door.

The fact that this could actually be my last day on this earth scared me. . .just a little bit.

“Start talking. The faster this goes, the faster you’ll be able to leave,” she says.

I take a breath before speaking.  “Alex, I’m really sorry for how I’ve acted towards you. And that last remark was way out of the line. I didn’t even mean for that to come out of my mouth. It just did but I know that doesn’t give me any excuse of saying it. Just know that I am truly and deeply sorry.”

“Why do you act that way towards girls? Did your mom not teach you how to treat a woman?” she asks.

I shake my head.  “No, my mom taught me well.”

“Then why do you act the way you do? I think you at least owe me an explanation,” she says.

“I suppose you’re right. It’s kind of stupid once I think about it. EXO had just debuted and we were having a lot of success. When we got our first break, I went home to visit my family and friends. My friends decided to have this get together. I was able to hang with them like old times, before EXO got put into the spotlight. Then, this girl came up to me. I knew of her from school but didn’t really know her that well. Throughout the night, we started talking and getting to know each other. She had the prettiest smile and this funny sounding laugh. Throughout my break, we practically spent every day hanging out or talking on the phone to each other. This continued even when I had to come back to work.”

“I don’t see what some girl's laugh has to do with this,” Alex impatiently says.

“I’m getting to it. Anyways, we’ve continued to hang out and talk to each other. Soon enough, I asked her to be my girlfriend. Things were going pretty great. We would hang out and I would take her to some of the parties EXO would be invited to. I was never a party person but she was so excited to go, so we went. Somehow, she began going to the parties without me, saying she made some friends there. I was okay with it, happy she didn’t feel bad that I didn’t get to spend that much time with her because of all the schedules. She seemed completely fine.”

“Once night, EXO got invited to this premiere party. I didn’t want to go but our manager said it would be good for the group. So we went. I remember talking to someone and then I saw her, dancing with some guy. I didn’t think too much of it but then it happened. He kissed him. I was waiting for her to push him away, but she never did. They stood there making out. I went up to her and confronted her about it. She apologized, saying she wasn’t thinking and that she was just lonely. That’s when I made the stupidest mistake of my life.”

“You knocked the guy out?” she asks.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.  “No, but I wish I did. I should have just left it at that, but I didn't. I forgave her. I loved her you know? Or at least I thought I did. I thought she got me and understood but, but now as I think of it, none of it was real. After that, the relationship was okay for a while, but then one day, everything just went downhill. I got this call one day while we were practicing. It was from the bank, telling me that my bank account was emptied. She took all of my money and disappeared. I kept calling and texting her. I think I tried for months but she wouldn’t pick up. One day, she finally answered, but it wasn’t her. It was someone else. She switched her number. Til this day I have yet to see her.”

“Wow, you were a ,” Alex says.

I nod in agreement.  “The funny thing is that my mom told me she never liked her. But ever since she disappeared, I got into this ‘I don’t give a about anything’ stage. I started partying, drinking, and ing girls like crazy. I mean, why should I care about someone if they’re just going to hurt you in the end? Just and dump them. It’s not like it was hard anyways. Since EXO’s popularity’s been increasing, girls have been flocking to us like crazy. They don’t even know us but think we’re the greatest guys ever. So why not take advantage of it? They want to say that they were a famous guy and I just wanted a . No harm, right?”

“You know they were just innocent girls, right? They didn’t deserve to be treated like that,” Alex says.

“I know. I guess it felt like some type of revenge. I hurt them before they can ever hurt me. Besides, it’s not like they ever said no,” I say.

“Tch, how could they even say yes. They’re es, too,” she says.

“Yeah. You’re actually the first girl who hasn’t thrown themselves on me. Actually, I don’t think I’ve had a girl has ever acted like that.”

“I bet it’s been a life opener.”

I smile.  “In a way, it has been. It’s refreshing to say the least,” I say.

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” she says.

“What?” I ask.

“I forgive you. I mean, I don’t agree with how you handle things and how you treat girls, but you did come and apologize and I know how hard that can be sometimes. And no one should have to go through that sort of thing because it really . So, I accept your apology,” she says.

“Really? That’s great! Thank you, Alex. I really am sorry. Does this mean we can be friends?” I ask her hesitantly.

She rolls her eyes before sighing.  “I. . .guess. But that doesn’t mean you can treat me like those other bimbos you hang around. You are to treat me like a decent human being. And if I ever hear a remark like that again from you, I won’t hesitate to cut you next time.”

I smile.  “Of course, I can do that.”

“You don’t have a chance but to, unless you want your cut off,” she says with a smirk.

I smile, not sure if she was joking or if she meant it. . .though I got a feeling she really would do it.

We sat there in silence for a little while, until I finally broke it.

“So. . .you got any food?” 

Suho’s POV

“So are you ready?” I ask as I take a seat at their island.

“I don’t know. Maybe we can delay this for a few more days, just until I figure out what to say,” she says.

I place my hands on her shoulders and look her in the eyes.  “Robin, it will be okay. They are your parents. Whatever happens, they will still love you, right? Yeah, they may get mad but at the end of the day, you are their daughter.”

“I hope that’s true,” she says before taking a breath.  “Okay, let’s do this.”

I smile and nod at her.  She presses the call button on Skype.  It rings a few times before a woman shows on the screen.

“Robin! How are you, dear? I was afraid you forgot about your parents,” she says before chuckling.

“Sorry, mom. Just been busy with. . .school, ya know. Junior year is hard,” Robin says before smiling.

“It’s alright. Better late than never. Oh, who’s there with you?” she asks.

“Er-um, t-this is Junmyeon,” Robin says or more likely stutters.

“Hello Mrs. Owens, it’s nice to meet you,” I say in English, which is pretty rusty.

“Nice to meet you, too. Your English is pretty good. I’m assuming you’re a friend of Robin’s?” her mom nicely asks.

I smile and nod.  “Thanks and you could say that,” I say with a chuckle.

She smiles.  “So, what’s up, Robin? I know you didn’t schedule a call with me just to say hi.”

“I could have,” Robin whines to her mom.  I couldn’t help but chuckle at her behavior.  She seems so innocent.

“Yeah yeah. Okay, I’m listening. What did you do this time?” her mom jokingly asks.

That’s when Robin’s demeanor changed.  She went from smiling to clear fear written all over her face.

“Uum. Is d-dad there?” she hesitantly asks.

“He’s at work. Are you alright, Robin? You don’t sound so good,” her mom says.

And that’s when it happened.  I didn’t think she was the type of girl to do it but she did.  Robin broke out into tears.

“M-mom. I’m so s-so-sorry,” she says between her sobs.

“Robin, what’s wrong? You’re starting to worry me here,” her mom says.

“I’m pregnant,” Robin finally says.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” her mom asks as she looks pretty stunned.

“I’m pregnant,” Robin says again with her head down.

It went silent for a moment.  It felt like the longest time ever. 

All of a sudden, the call ended.

Robin shoots her head up.  “Mom? Mom!” she yells as she tries to call her back.  Her mom doesn’t answer.  She tries a few more times until finally giving up.  She then goes to the living room to get her cell phone, I assume to try on there.

Robin begins pacing back and forth, continuously trying to reach her mom. 

“!” she screams before throwing her phone at the wall.  She then goes to the couch and starts breaking down again.

I rush over there and wrap my arms around her, bringing her to my chest.  For some reason, this doesn’t feel awkward. . .it feels. . .right.

“You need to calm down, Robin,” I softly say to her.

“I didn’t think she would react like that. I know me and my parents don’t have the best relationship but she just hung up on me and is now ignoring me,” she says as she cries.

“She may just need some time to absorb the news,” I tell her.

“M-my dad doesn’t even know, yet. If my mom reacted like that, there’s no telling what my dad is going to do. What if they disown me? They’re paying for my tuition and this apartment. Oh my god. I’m so screwed,” she says before crying even harder.

I continue to hold her as I soothingly rub her back, waiting for her to calm down.  Once I hear her breathing slowing down.  I then gently pull her back so I could see her face.

“Robin,” I say and she slowly opens her eyes and looks at me.

“You’re going to make it through this. Just give your parents some time and try them again later, okay?”

She nods.

I bring my thumbs up to wipe away her leftover tears. 

“And you’re not alone. You have your friends and you have me. We’re in this together. I know it won’t be easy and I know we’re probably going to have a lot of bumps along the way, but we’ll get through this. We just have to take this step by step, okay?”

She nods again before leaning back on my chest.  “Thank you Junmyeon,” she quietly says.

I wrap my arms around her again.  “I’m here for you, Robin,” I say before kissing the top of her head.

“Do you have anything to do tonight?” she asks.

“No.”

“Do you mind staying here for a while? I don’t want to be alone right now,” she says so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

“Of course,” I say.

We just stay like that on her couch, me leaning back on the couch, with her head resting on my chest.  Her breathing slowed and calmed down, indicating that she probably fell asleep.  I lean down and kiss the top of her head again.

At this moment, I realized that I never want to see her cry again.  He breaking down like that tore my heart apart.  It’s something that I don’t want to ever happen again.

I don’t know what you’re doing to me, but you’re surely doing something, Robin.

Lay’s POV

I look at my watch for the fifth time.  She should be coming out any time now.  My eye catches someone walking out the café.  I hurriedly get out my car and begin walking towards her.

“Camille!” I yell, trying to get her attention.

She turns her head and looks straight at me.  She stays like that before turning around and walking the other direction. 

What the heck?  I know she saw me.

I walk towards her, calling her name again, but she continues to walk.  Is she ignoring me?

I was finally able to catch up to her and grab her arm, spinning her around.

“Hey, Cam. I thought I could take you ho-“

She forcefully pulled her arm out of my grip before turning back around and walking again.

I stare at her back for a moment before catching up to her again.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

“Can you just leave me alone?” she asks me as she glares at me.

“What? What did I do?” I ask, completely confused.

She stares at me before letting out a bitter chuckle and shaking her head.

“You just couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut, could you? I tell you something and you go running your damn mouth?” she says.

My eyes widen at her language.  I’ve never heard her sound so angry.  And then realization hits me.

“Cam, I did it for you. Someone you truly trust should know. You shouldn’t have to deal with this alone,” I say.

“I don’t need anyone to know anything because I’m not dealing with anything! If I have a problem and need help I will get it! Who gave you the right to tell people my business?” she begins screaming at me.

I look around us, noticing how we begin getting looks.  I pull my cap down lower, making sure my face is hidden.  Camille must have noticed, too because she closed her eyes and took a breath, seeming to try and calm herself. 

“Look, I just tried to help. I don’t want something bad happening to you, okay? I care about you and so do your friends. If they knew about this they would want to help, too,” I calmly say.

“No! Just because you found out doesn’t mean you can go around telling people. This has nothing to do with you! Just because you’re this big shot idol doesn’t mean you can go around doing whatever the hell you want. Unlike you, who just has to sing and dance on stage for a living, us regular people down here have to work for a living. I’m sorry I’m not up to your high standards. I’m sorry I have a ing alcoholic of a dad who doesn’t even know what time of day it is and that I have a mother who left me high and dry. That doesn’t give you the right to make me some charity case.”

“Camille, I wasn’t trying to do any of that. I just want to make sure you’re safe. I don’t want something to happen to you. You said you have loan sharks coming after you. I’m just trying to look out fo-“

She runs her hand through her hair and heavily breathes out before walking around me.

“Camille!”  I grab her arm and turn her around but she pulls her arm back.

“You want to help me so bad? Do me a favor and leave me alone,” she says before turning around and walking away.

I just stand there and watch her walk away.

!

I quickly walk back to my car.  There was no way I was letting her walk alone in the dark, no matter what she says.

I followed her with my car, making sure I didn’t seem like a creep doing it. 

I stopped my car when she began walking towards her doorstep.  An older lady opened the door and welcomed her in.  This must be her grandma’s house.  She did mention about staying over there. 

At least she made it home okay and I now know where I can reach her if needed.

I begin driving away as I think about what Cam said to me.

I’m sorry, Camille but I won’t be able to do you that favor.

I can’t leave you alone. . .

Not like this.

Woo! Another chapter! Even typed it out on my computer this time, lol.  How'd you guys like it?  Everyone's stories are starting to unfold! I thought I'd try and put it in the guys' POV for this chapter.

Huge shoutout to shreyasaif, Michiko37, and findingstarx for subscribing!

And thanks for the comments guys! I love reading them!

NoraMyFics: I will try my very best to include more of them!! I'm glad you're enjoying Lay and Cam!

If I don't update again by the end of the week, to those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!!

 This so isn't creepy at all. LOL!

Until next time guys!

Peace! :)