Mai definitely missed Lay's sweet and kind nature. He had an extremely gentle appearance about him, almost a parallel to Kris' harsh looks, coupled with very adorable looking dimples. His lips curved ever so slightly with just the smallest movements. Without wasting another moment he reached out for her hand. She slowly retreated from his touch, knowing that she had grown unfamiliar to his healing capabilities and didn't feel worthy of his pity.

He remained unaffected by her action. "What? Now you're afraid of me?" he kindly asked her—the deep crevices at the sides of his lips added a sense of playfulness to his words.

"It's not that." Her eyes readjusted into a softer look.  "Tao and I aren't the only ones who have slipped into comas, or have you forgotten that?I'm the reason you've ever entered such a phase, Lay," Mai reminded him as she pushed back that dreaded memory.

Lay didn't take her gesture as a signal for him to not even try. His soft skin and small action was so gentle.  Pulling her hand closer to his body, he felt an almost electrical jolt surge through his veins. This signaled how weak she had really become. "And I still woke up from them earlier than you. Trust me on this, okay? I've gotten a lot better at healing over the years."

Mai turned her head to face Kris once more. He had his eyes locked on the skin contact being initiated between Lay and her. Lay had continuously put himself on the line to help out those in need, especially the weaker Royal members like Tao and Mai, but he had a tendency to overdo it like they did. The lucky thing for the gentle Prince was that his ability and Royal blood gave him the ability to self heal at incredible speeds. He'd continually exert as much energy as he needed to just to make sure that his friends were alright and alive.

It was Lay's nature to do so.

And it was Kris' nature to grow jealous whenever he felt like he wasn't good enough to fulfill his word.  

"Feel any better, yet?" Lay asked the Princess as he gripped a smidge tighter onto her palm.

And in all reality, she really was. It was as if Lay was giving her bursts of energy for her body to utilize, when he was regenerating her physical and mental capabilities. He was like her own personal energy pill or boost. His ability was rooted on a history that was difficult to explain, but was still respected and heavily sought after. The nice Prince wasn't kidding around when he said that he had gotten much better. This feeling was something almost foreign to the Princess, yet still a pleasurable experience—like a continuous tingling flow entering her veins.

Mai simply nodded, without turning her head back to look at him. She still wasn't over how easily out of hand the conversation she was just having with Kris had gotten. When he turned back to look at her, she didn't avert her eyes like her initial reaction had prompted her to do. Both knew that they'd have to continue their conversation elsewhere, just to resolve it all properly. The longer she stared into the deep crevices of his soul—she noted the glimmer of self blame and sadness in Kris' eyes.

A feeling of wanting to embrace him lingered in her system. Was it as a thank you for bringing her to the infirmary? Or a thank you for continually understanding her over the years?

"Isn't this scene all too familiar?" questioned a distinct voice.

The three Royals eyed the door, where extremely familiar people were standing nonchalantly. One by one, ten individuals entered the medium sized private room. In unison, they looked so perfect in their uniforms, especially since they added their own personal touches to them.

Great. Now Mai was stuck in a closed off room with the twelve Princes she had left behind in her galaxy. There was no way of escaping. She couldn't fly away like Kris. Nor could she just freeze time and unfreeze it once she was long gone like Tao. Invisibility wasn't possible for her people and neither was the ability to spontaneously combust to escape this awkward pain. She tried her best to avoid any sudden eye contact with most of them, but failed to do so.

"Boys," Mai acknowledged their presence. That's a start, at least; in the favour of the Princes.

And to come to think of it, this could have all been avoided in a sense had she just packed her things and left just as her initial plan detailed. She expected some sort of hatred towards them at this moment, but no. There wasn't a drop left in her body. The panic bursting from her veins was a result of not knowing what their future held. What sort of... insane notions could happen once one of the guys snaps? Not like they would... correct? This wasn't the time or the place to do so. All twelve were here in this room simply because they cared about her well being. Right? They were truly worried. She had to acknowledge such love in a way; so prompting towards her normal harsh words would be too much.

The alien Princess continually repeated in her mind to withhold her sharp tongue and just let the time breeze by as quickly as possible.  

Chanyeol rushed over to her side, pushing aside Kris from his chair. The tallest Prince almost fell out of his seat from the fire Prince's action. He just threw Kris' uniform onto his lap before placing his hand on Mai's forehead. Bending over so close to her face, he noted how red her overall face looked. His eyes were a beautiful ember, that started out as a dark brown around the rims and carefully shifted from a dark red to orange to a hazel effect the closer the iris radius was to the pupils. Mai's cheeks began to burn from how close he was. She quickly avoided any possible eye contact as she tried to retreat her head back from his hold.

He crept even closer, almost close enough to touch noses with the Princess. "Oh my God you feel like you have a fever!"

Even though he wasn't the leader of Chanyeol's half of the group, this individual couldn't help himself from restraining that Prince. "She feels like she has a fever," Kris yanked Chanyeol's hand back forcefully, "because you always feel like you live on the sun."

"The sun's heat is nothing compared to Ignis' temporal patterns," Chanyeol pulled his limb from Kris' grasp while pouting and readjusted his blazer. "Let's be honest now."

"I'm sure she'd feel like she was frozen to me, okay, Chan," the cat eyed Xiumin scoffed at the younger Prince. His breath instantly precipitated to cause the air around him to be visible by the eye. "It's just the way we are."

"Blah blah," Chanyeol ignored the words of his seniors as he took a step back from his leaning position. His playful attitude was a great start to countering the obvious tension in the room.

The thirteen childhood best friends—together at last.

"I'm fine, Chan," Mai convinced him as she eyed how he was now holding onto her wrist with his other hand, while Kris struggled to pull him away. It was no joke; he was definitely a lot hotter to the touch than the normal human or alien. "Lay is doing a great job helping me recover."

Lay caressed her hand sweetly before letting it go. He had done what he needed to do to help her out. The Princess' ailment had affected her since birth—it caused her to basically have a close individual always guarding her and thus lived a very secluded life in a sense. Her body was naturally weaker and more fragile compared to theirs. This healing Prince was always there to fix an injury or for her to talk to when in need of some moral support."Just be more aware okay. As much as I love the quality time, I don't want to spend it with you in pain or weak." He reached out to pat her lightly on the top of her head, feeling how soft her wavy dark curls were.

A knock from the door prompted all of them to acknowledge the old nurse. Her fingers stably held the pitcher of water and glass cup. She was astonished to see so many good looking boys stuffed in a room with the ailing girl. A small smile formed across her face while eyeing them. Since she had never seen the others before, this meant that they were the new students everyone had been raving about in the hallways. They were definitely some very attractive younglings; no wonder so many people wanted to know more about them!

"Oh, it seems you've gained quite a bit of company since I left," she frailly stepped further into the room. None of them were expecting that sort of comment from her. If anything, they were more prepared for either an appalled or upset response. "You are truly a popular girl, Miss Mai. I've informed your teacher of your whereabouts. Stay here until lunch time, alright?"

Suho placed a comfortable hand on the grey haired woman's back. He took a hold of the items in her grasp before smiling brightly—that grin was extremely intoxicating in every way possible, and he definitely knew that. "I'll pour her a glass of water, ma'am. Thank you so much for your delivery."

Almost lost in the perfection of his smile, she was instantly reminded of her husband. "What a gentleman! Good looking and sweet," the nurse praised him as she placed her hands within the pockets of her lab coat. "We need more boys like you around here that's for sure!"

"We'll take great care of her in the meantime," added Kai as he turned to bow a thank you to her. "Do you mind informing our teachers of our whereabouts? It'll look extremely terrible for us to be missing class on our first official day."

"Oh yes! I will write you all a note and send it to the office. Just pen me your names and grade levels before you leave for your meal!" As she left the room, closing the door behind her, she whispered, "Such great mannered children. All good looking too! Can't find a lot of those around, and all of them like that young girl! Oh young love; how sweet that taste was when I was her age—"

As soon as they heard the door shut into place, Luhan smiled, "What an adorable old woman!"

"Yeah, Dr. Shin is extremely caring," Mai sat up while adjusting her body on the bed.

She trailed her eyes from one side of the room to another, observing their body movements and stances. The Princess focused on how all of the boys were keeping their eyes locked on her. It was very clear that each and every single one of them had wonderfully grown into mature and handsome individuals. Their entire galaxy knew that they would definitely end up becoming such captivating individuals, but would they have predicted it to this caliber? No wonder they had caused such a ruckus during the assembly. Even from a distance, they exerted a powerful and alluring aura. And up close, man, they easily took anyone's breath away.

"This isn't an intervention is it?" A sigh escaped her light pink lips easily. No. Bad. She was supposed to be nice to them, at least for now. They didn't have to leave class and check on her like this. Be kind-er. With a cough, she corrected herself. "I mean, are you all going to ambush me?" Even worse! Why would someone say that! "Uh... I mean... I mean..."

"Struggling with your words, aren't you?" grinned D.O. as he tilted his head slightly.

Mai always got flustered when she was with all of them. One by one, she was so confident and independent; but being with the twelve Princes like this caused her to almost retreat in a hermit shell. Why did she always do this? She had convinced herself such a long time ago to retain her power and remain headstrong about her beliefs; yet here she was getting all shy around them of all people! Previously, there was no problem keeping her composure with half of them—so what changed?

"It's alright for you to be a bit..." Baekhyun reassured her nicely with a little smile of his own. He couldn't look more childlike in his uniform, which really was reminiscent of what he always wore around his planet, "confused about all of this."

"Great to know you recognize my confusion," Mai didn't sound too snooty that time. She began fiddling with her fingers, trying to get lost in the crevices of her mind. What a terrible habit, that's for sure. "Confused doesn't even begin to explain what I'm feeling right now." Another sigh breezed from . She slowed down in an attempt to control her emotions while returning Baekhyun's kind gaze. "But... but that conversation can wait to another time."

"Good, because you really look like you're thirsty," Suho's smile just would not fade. He had an arousing grin that could easily make any girl's heart just race at unbelievable speeds. Something about his looks, actually all of theirs, that was just so perfect in their own unique way.

D.O. shouldered the youngest of the Princes before nodding at the direction of the windows. "It's a bit too bright in here, don't you think?"

"That can easily be fixed." Sehun grinned before raising his hand and opening the palm of his hands. In a swift swing, he all of the blinds to close abruptly with a gust of wind. Nothing made him feel more powerful then when he could feel a rush of wind breeze by his body. His little piggy nose twitched slightly once the wind returned to its calm state.

With a darker room to ensure privacy, Suho placed the pitcher and glass in Kai's hands. The leader balanced his hand above the pitcher's opening before the water began to follow his movements. It moved at such an interesting, almost lifelike, manner while imitating the direction of Suho's fingertips. He slowly raised his other hand to parallel the water and shaped it into a sphere shaped concoction. The water continued to flow in different directions, as if it was trapped in a glass globe that was continually being rolled about.

The younger of the two leaders smiled as his eyes followed the flow of the liquid in his control. "We should really filter this out. No one knows what sort of germs could be linked to this water."

"Wow, and someone's fatherly instincts kick in," Luhan started laughing as D.O and Lay joined him.

Chanyeol understood that it was a signal for his ability and so he hastily moved closer to his leader. He was quite a bit taller, but didn't struggle in leaving just enough space between the bottom of the liquid sphere and his own palm. His fingertips easily snapped a small blue flame into life, thus gaining more power and heat as he focused more of his energy at it. Within moments, the water began to boil in Suho's control. Lucky for Suho that he wasn't touching the water, or else he'd experience some incredibly painful burns. Mai found herself caressing the area that Chanyeol was touching before Kris ceased her wrist himself to stop her from doing so.

Xiumin knew that they wouldn't be force feeding the Princess some boiling hot water, so he pushed aside Luhan and Chen to get closer to the opposing group. No matter what had happened throughout these recent years, those other six individuals were basically his brothers; and he'd never ever forget that fact. Chanyeol retreated his flame as it disappeared once he broke his snapping formation. The feline looking oldest member of the thirteen Royals hovered his hands in perpendicular positions to Suho's. He focused on the water properties itself, wanting to will the molecules to slow down greatly. In seconds, the liquid cooled to a drinkable level. He had to focus on not freezing the entire glob, or else the Princess would almost be forced to it down like a lollipop.

Kai extended out pitcher as Suho willed the water back into its proper place. Now this was something fit for a Princess to ingest. The former carefully poured about three fourths worth of water into the glass cup before extending it out for the Princess to reach for.

The oldest of them immediately stopped him as he spoke, "Wait. It is still missing something."

"And what's that?" asked Kai as he made this look of 'no more showing off please'.

"Ice," Xiumin took a hold of the glass. Almost instantly, the entire glass had fogged up starting out from its base to its tips. As it cleared out, there were three ice cubes that formed amoungst the liquid. "Much better." The cat his thin lips playfully before handing over the cool cup to the Princess.

Mai's senses felt the almost magical touch of the trio's abilities once her lips met the water. One thing she really did miss about them was how darn handy they were in every situation. Not anyone could do half the things they were capable of performing, at least not on Earth.

A small gesture of gratitude escaped smoothly. It was a great way of being cordially thankful of their actions and love. "Thank you."

All twelve Princes couldn't help but smile after seeing colour return to her skin. Seeing the Princess in such a weak condition definitely bothered them all on different levels. Just as long as they were capable of helping her somehow, they would use all in their power to provide the necessities. Once Mai finished her water, Kris took a hold of the empty glass.

"That felt good," Chanyeol grinned largely while clapping like a seal from excitement. He was definitely such a bright and happy person; humans would compare him to the glowing sun.

Mai carefully eyed him. "What?"

"Being able to work together like that," he continued while turning to focus on the other Princes in the room. He was sure they felt the same way, regardless of the past. "...I've definitely missed it over the years."

Right. Even though all twelve were with her right now, it didn't mean that they were all on the same page. The Princes who were inseparable had been torn by the Princess unintentionally. Now six were on one side while the remaining six were on the other. She had completely overlooked that fact. It was too easy to forget when they were so comfortable with each other in such a choking environment.  

The Princess sat up straight, pulling the pillow against her back to her lap. They'd half to answer her, right? "How long has it been?" Mai gathered up the courage to question them.

"How long as what been?" Luhan's doe-like eyes enlarged from his curiosity.

"Since you guys were together like this."

Chen, who was one of the ones who remained quiet, spoke up. He had been too busy withholding his relief to have said something earlier. "Somewhere around five years in home time since your departure."

Mai mentally counted that she had wasted about three EXO years just being a nomad and traveling from solar system to solar system and planet to planet trying to find a place to settle, before finally choosing Earth as her new home planet. Five years in their galaxy was about a year in Earth time; meaning they had spent the last ten EXO years hating each other. Just the thought of such a broken relationship caused the Princess to flinch in pain. It's been that long... already?

"Ah..." She mouthed while avoiding sudden eye contact. There she was, playing with her fingers once more. One day, she would definitely get rid of such a terrible habit.

"Time wasted, if you ask me," Tao finally said something also. He had his arms crossed as he leaned against one of the counters in the room. Such a cool looking guy, he was.

"...Tao..." Kris eyed the youngest individual on their half of the dozen.

"I'm being honest here," the panda-eyed member focused on his childhood friends. "You cannot tell me that the hell we went through fighting with each other for five years doesn't bother any of you at every single moment of the day."

Silence crept into the room. This was the first time in two years—ten EXO years—that all thirteen ex-bestfriends were together. They promised each other to be friends until the end of time itself; but look at where they stand right now. Everything was broken and glue wasn't enough to stick everything back together.

Not when secrets and lies separated their hearts.

"It would be a lie to say that it didn't," Suho nodded with Tao's words.

In the back of all the boys' minds, they were battling the rush of memories of the darkest times of their friendship. They hated that it happened. They hated that they were separated. They hated that it wasn't handled differently.

"So are you going to take advantage of this moment and kidnap me?" What a terrible way to not sound so mean. She wasn't very good at... at being so polite in times when holding her tongue is terribly needed.

And of course, no one responds. They all begin to ruffle with their hair or play with their uniforms. That was their bad habits. In Mai's eyes, she saw the same awkward kids who played a bunch of pranks and protected her from harm. Their hush attitudes coincided with their inability to cohesively agree on something—aka their downfall. They were all such different individuals with unique personalities that molded a beautiful friendship out of their hardships and goals.

Okay, maybe a different question will pose better results—some actual answer or two. "Why are you here if you're not trying to drag me back home?" Mai eyed the twelve Princes.

All of them began to turn to look at the others, before focusing in on their respective leaders. Kris and Suho almost glared at each other. Well, more like Suho retained his smile to the fullest of his ability and Kris didn't seem to twitch one in return—just to mask their rifted bond. The tallest Prince immediately stood up with his uniform at hand. Xiumin handed him his backpack once he straightened himself up.

He avoided eye contact with the Princess lying down on the bed. "I'm going to get changed before the lunch bell rings." Without giving anyone another second to pull him back, Kris rushed out of the room in another breath.

Upon closing the door behind him, he found himself just leaning against the metal separator. Good thing all of the blinds were still closed or else they would see how he is reacting to her question. Taking a few deep breaths, he made every attempt possible to calm himself down. What was this feeling? Was this fear of not fulfilling their mission? Or was this the fear of losing Mai's trust forever?

"Is there something you need, child?" The nurse looked up from her seat behind the desk. She still wasn't done with all of her paperwork.

Kris took one last, large gulp of air before smiling as nicely as he could. He raised his hand to ruffle through his hair while saying, "Where is the restroom?"

"Right there, sonny," the frail old woman pointed with her pen in the direction of a door with a uni symbol on it.

"Thank you," Kris bowed as he walked over to the room. This uneasy feeling was just because that room was starting to suffocate him, right?

Back in the private corridor, Mai was still staring out at the door. She didn't quite notice she was until D.O. cleared his throat loudly. With a few blinks, she returned back to reality and reverted her eyes back to her hands. There was a slight tremble with her fingertips.

Suho kept his smile strong answering her question with a riddle. "It doesn't matter right now because I'm sure that everyone is too glad to see you well and alive."

Mai squinted her eyes at his response, noting that he was definitely still skilled at averting certain questions with solid excuses. It was an attribute that helped the thirteen of the avoid getting punished for a lot of troubles they caused in their youth. It was probably that glorious grin of his; no one could stay angry when he looked too much of what humans called an angel.

"Okay, then," she avoids sighing to the fullest of her ability. "You are all so well behaved for people who haven't talked in years."

Kai walks closer to Mai to place the pitcher on the table right beside her. This was definitely some sort of improvement compared to the ignorant mood that suffocated the two of them in homeroom earlier today. "To argue with you upfront would only weaken your disposition and set us back from being able to talk to you freely," he set aside Kris' chair to make room for himself. "I'm sure that the last thing any of us want, regardless of whose 'side' we are on, want you to get angry in any way shape or form."

"You are just a smidge scary when you're angry, Mai," Chanyeol commented while gesturing a teeny bit with his fingers.

"Such logical responses," the Princess admits defeat as she reached over the table to pour herself another glassful. "Never expected to be outsmarted like this."

"Only way to defeat a genius is to outsmart the genius," Tao stood up straight to get closer to her. He squished himself between Lay and Mai.

"I don't understand this," she notices how her hands were slightly trembling. For what? Fear? Sorry? Worry?

"What do you mean?" asked Lay as he reached out to show some sort of support for her. He began to try to help her with his abilities; but her problem was emotionally driven, not physical. There was nothing he could do to help her.

She stared at his soft hands, realizing just what he was trying to do. Why were they so nice to her? Why were they so open to her? How could they just look at her with such kind eyes and continue to care for her like this when it was so easy for her to turn her back on them?

Fighting back her tears, she heaved a heavy breath before replying. "You shouldn't be so kind to me. None of you should. I mean, I up and left ten years ago. And I've been ignoring your presence since the assembly. That... that doesn't even give you a reason to be nice to me on any level."

Chen smiled at her loving words. She had no reason to take all of the blame like that. "We are your best friends. If you didn't know, that calls for knowing each other's personality and having an almost accurate prediction of possible reactions to a variety of situations."

"Your thick skull hasn't changed a bit," D.O grinned also while adding, "and attempting to even heads with you would be nothings hort of stupid and cause more harm than good."

Luhan joins in with a very careful heart. "Nothing other than your wellbeing matters right now."

"We can easily talk to you about our personal requests or goals in private when you have the time or strength to walk out or take a swing at us in a fit of anger," laughed Sehun as he tried his best to avoid having his lisp noticed.

The door of their room opens slowly, and it reaches the point to where they all know just who it was. Kris returns to his seat, gripping onto his backpack over his shoulder, while breathing in the extremely gloomy atmosphere. Mai notices how he still looked defeated.

"If I had predicted such a dark outcome to our friendship," the tears were coming. She had to fight them off. At least for a few more minutes. Lunch was too close. Don't cry. Don't do it. No. Mai coughed in an attempt to cover up her tight throat. "I would have rethought everything. I never saw it being damaged by anything. And just taking one person out wouldn't do that much harm..."

Kris reached over, placing his hand on her baby soft cheeks. She was burning red from the contact as her blood rushed to the area of his touch. His fingertips lightly grazed by her soft curls and touched the beautiful crystal earrings he had gifted her years ago. No matter how much she could have pretended to be indifferent of their friendship, he knew that they mattered more to her than she lead on. "Without you, we will not have that swing vote during our disputes. You know how we end up being evenly matched most of the time." He was slightly poking fun at their enjoyable memories from their childhood.

"Don't be so understanding or kind to me," she pouted. "I have put you all through hell and I'll take whatever punishment you have planned for me."

The tallest Prince laughed at her words. "You will definitely regret that." He removed his hand from her cheeks and proceeded to pat her on the head lightly, messing it up in the process.

A feeling of security and comfort was now floating about the room. The Princes were never the type to get angry at her or to ignore her indefinitely. No matter how much she really needed to be taught a lesson. It didn't matter. None of it did. They knew what kind of person she was—a selfless and meticulous perfectionist.

The Princess' upbringing consisted of knowing her mother died saving her life, living with a stepmother who could have cared less about her health, and being surrounded by palace guards due to her weak physical condition. In short, she didn't get the freedom the boys did; and the only taste of a real childhood she ever got was when she was with them.

"What an improvement from your cold demeanor," Xiumin carefully worded his observation. "I wouldn't have predicted this."

"It's probably because she is a bit loopy from Lay's ability," laughed Baekhyun while D.O gave him a high five for his comment.

Lay released his hold on Mai's hand for the final time and cracked his fingers as fluidly as he could. "I never said that it would be an easy road to achieving a healthy body."

Mai smiled as she turned to eye Chanyeol. He was grinning largely himself. She definitely had some sort of mutual understanding with him, especially after their time together last period. "Let's just say that someone had the amazing power to beat me at my own game."

And with that, the lunch bell rang all throughout campus.

What a very... hectic first half of the day. Who knows what the latter has in store for the alien royalty?

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Hey guys! Back with another update! I've gotten a bunch of inspiration lately, so hopefully I can translate those ideas into words for you guys (: this was definitely one of the more difficult chapters to write simply because GOSH DARH IS IT HARD TO DISTRIBUTE LINES EVENLY AND CORRECTLY TO CHARACTER PERSONALITES OKAY. 

;~~~~~~; 

But i hope you like it! I wanted to clear up that she was sixteen when she left the EXO galaxy and is now about eighteen (this being in Earth years btw). So two years here is ten years there. Get it? :D 

Well, talk to you guys later! leave me some warm and loving comments ! Alright? Thank you so much for your love and support so far!