SIRRAH’S POV

Tao came running into the circle of tents. He looked absolutely terrified. What happened to him? As Kris came out of our tent, Tao ran up to him and clung onto him. He hid himself behind his back and burst into tears. Oh no… Kris turned around to him and his expression immediately dropped as he saw the state of the younger boy. He started talking to him in Mandarin and the only part I understood was didi. Tao’s whole body was shuddering with his sobs and couldn’t even answer Kris.

“That’s it…” Kris said. I moved forward to see if the boy was ok but Kris turned around and glared at everyone. I took an involuntary step back – he looked so intimidating. His gaze skimmed over me and then over everyone else. Everyone cringed under his stare.

“Who did this?!” He yelled, looking at everyone. Everyone shook their heads, not wanting to experience the wrath of Duizhang. Tao was still clinging to his back crying, but hiding his face in shame at the same time. “Baekhyun, Jongin, Yi Xing!! Get your asses here right now!” He roared in anger. I stepped towards Tao again. Kris turned his glare to me. “Don’t.” He warned.

What the hell? I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t what? Don’t see if he’s ok?” I ignored his warning and moved to Tao. “Hey, what happened to you?” I said rubbing his arm. He didn’t answer me. I frowned. What exactly did they do to him? Kris looked around to see if the three he had called would come out or not. When they didn’t, he unclasped Tao’s arms from around his waist and wrapped them around me instead.

“Stay with him.” He said and walked towards Kai and Lay’s tent. They’re so dead. I tried to look at Tao but he had his face buried in the crook of my neck as he cried, getting my skin and cardigan wet. I led him over to a rug on the floor and sat him down. He didn’t let go of me though and carried on sobbing. I rubbed his back to comfort him. How cute can this kid get? Lu Han came and sat on the other side of and tried to talk to him, but he turned away from him and hid closer to me, still whimpering. Oh my God, I think I’m going to die of cuteness overload. I felt like I was hugging a baby instead of a 19-year old boy even though he was much bigger than me in size. He was tugging at my heartstrings. I his hair and back, telling him everything would be ok, and no one would hurt or scare him now. He seemed to calm down a bit but was still hiccupping.

We heard screaming and yelling and then a few seconds later Lay, Baekhyun and Kai came into the circle looking scared with Kris behind them. He moved to stand in front of them imposingly, crossing his arms in front of his body. “So…care to explain what happened to him?” He said, pointing towards Tao.

“I don’t know.” Kai mumbled.

“Really?” Kris moved forward and stood directly in front of him. The height difference only led to make Kris seem even more intimidating than he already was. He was seriously mad – his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits that promised of great pains for upsetting his precious didi. Kai’s own eyes widened and he took a step backwards.

“It was him!” Kai blurted out, pointing at Lay.

“Yeah! He started it!” Baekhyun chimed in. Lay looked at them incredulously. He threw his hands up in frustration.

“Thanks guys… some solid camaraderie that was…” He scowled at them.

“No dinner for you.” Kris told Lay.

“What?!” Lay stared at him with an open mouth as the other two tried to supress their laughter.

“Or you two.” Kris added, pointing at his younger cohorts.

“What?! But hyung, it was his plan!!” Kai whined.

“I don’t care. You both joined in, so you take equal share in the punishment. Can you see the state he is in? You know what he’s like…was there really a need for that?” He asked them.

“We didn’t even do that much…” Baekhyun mumbled.

“Right…I saw you guys hiding all the masks and blood back there.” Kris informed them. They all made puppy eyes at him. “You might as well go to sleep now since you’re not getting any food.” He waved them off.

“Hyung! We are sorry! Please don’t do this!! My tummy is hungry!” Baekhyun moaned.

“No. Maybe this will teach you not to abuse your dongsaengs next time.” Kris scolded the older two. “Or your hyungs.” He eyed Kai.

“Jun Myeon hyung say something!” Kai complained to Suho. Their guardian just looked at them apologetically and shrugged. He wasn’t going to stand up against Kris in this. He pouted and came and sat down next to Sehun who was currently chewing on kimbap. He mumbled something to him and Sehun looked at him awkwardly.

“You better not share, Sehun.” Kris said walking past him and back into our tent.

“Ah…neh, hyung.” He looked at Kai apologetically. Kai scowled at Kris’ back. Lay and Baekhyun sat down and watched the others eating glumly. Lay, especially, sat down next to Zara, putting his masculine charm into full effect and trying to snag a few bites of food. I watched them while still consoling Tao. He rubbed his tummy slowly, drawing his shirt up slightly with each circle. Zara’s eyes fell onto the strip of exposed skin and stayed there – her being the ert that she is, it wasn’t that surprising. She slowly looked up at his face to see an innocent look plastered over it.

“What do you want?” She asked him suspiciously.

“I’m hungry.” He said in a low voice and then bit his lip. Oh my dear God! He’s seducing her for food! I don’t know why I was so surprised when Zara actually picked up some kimbap and put it in his mouth. I watched them with a slack jaw. Are they for real?

“Zara, I said no food for them.” Kris’ stern voice came from the entrance of our tent. He had stuck his head out and was watching them too.

“Sorry.” She mumbled. She gave Lay an apologetic smile before proceeding to gobble her food down. Lay groaned and fell back onto the grass. Kris crawled out of the tent to come and stand in front of Tao and me. He extended a hand towards him, beckoning Tao, who had his head on my shoulder, to him. Tao looked up and then shook his head, wrapping his arms around me instead. Everybody stopped eating and looked towards us. Did Tao just choose me over Kris?

“You…you want to stay there?” Kris asked, astounded. Tao just nodded his head and snuggled closer to me. I giggled. Kris looked down at me with an incredulous expression.

“Looks like you just got rejected, Duizhang.” I said and smirked at him, as the boys and Zara burst into laughter. Kris looked shocked but I could see the amusement playing in his eyes. He pushed Lu Han over and sat down on the other side of Tao. Lu Han went and sat next to Lay instead, since he was pushed onto the grass. Xiu Min moved forward and handed Kris a box of food and chopsticks. D.O came over and knelt in front of me with a box.

“Here you go.” He said, extending the box. I took it and opened it. “I remembered that you don’t like kimbap so I made you this instead.” There was rice, meat, kimchi and a few other things in it. “Oh and I got you these too.” He said holding up a pair of thick, wooden chopsticks while giving me a wide smile. I felt myself melting. What a thoughtful, cute guy! I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. I heard him gasp.

“Why are you so cute, Kyungsoo?! Bless your soul!” I mumbled into his jacket. The rest of EXO laughed at my sudden burst of affection. I let D.O go, and he moved back a little flustered. His cheeks were an adorable shade of pink and his eyes were wide. “Aigoo….” I pinched his cheek. “Call me noona, arasseo? You are so cute!” I told him. He simpered at me but nodded, quickly shuffling away. I laughed at how he was embarrassed.

I took the box of food and pinched some meat between my chopsticks. I was about to put it in my mouth when I stopped. I turned to Tao and held the chopsticks in front of his mouth. He shook his head.

“Why?” I asked.

“I don’t want it.” He said. I frowned. Tao always wanted food. He must be really upset if he was rejecting food. I put the chopsticks and spoon down and clamped the lid down over the box.

“Ok, well if you’re not eating, I’m not either.” I told him.

“Aniyo, jie-jie, you eat.” He said, handing me the box. I shook my head and put it down again. He pouted. “Just eat.” He said again. I made no response. After a few minutes I heard him sigh. “Ok, I’ll eat.” He said. I grinned at him and opened the box. I scooped up some food and held it out to him. He pouted, but then smiled as he took the food into his mouth.

“That’s my good little panda.” I ruffled his hair and he smiled shyly. Sweet pickles, he’s so cute.

KRIS’ POV

I watched her fuss over Tao when he didn’t eat. She refused to eat until he did. I admired the fact that she was taking care of him. No wonder Tao had rejected me and stayed with her instead. I was shocked but not jealous at all. In fact I was happy that he liked her. What had struck me most though, was the fact that she hadn’t backed away from me when I had been angry earlier. She had stood her ground out of concern for Tao. I had a feeling that she would stand her ground for other things that mattered to her as well. She was small, but unexpectedly brave at the same time. I smiled to myself.

Tao looked around.

“What do you want?” Sirrah asked him.

“Kimbap.” He answered.

“Here.” I held some of mine out to him. He smiled and took it.

“Awww, look at you two, like cute parents looking after their baby.” Lu Han grinned. I looked up at Sirrah. She blushed and looked down. I turned and smirked.

“Yeah, well at least we are nice and taking care of him, unlike some others.” I eyed the trio who had bullied him. They avoided looking at me. I chuckled quietly. I was done eating so I handed the remainder of my food to Tao, so he would let Sirrah eat in peace. Once she was sure he was eating, Sirrah ate her own food.

I sat by the mouth of Sirrah and my tent just watching everyone. They seemed happy enough – except for the panda abusers, of course. I felt bad about not letting them eat, but discipline is a must, even if it’s just between the twelve of us. They’ve already known each other for so long, yet they still torment each other just for the fun of it. Playful abuse is fine, but what they did to Tao was no fun. But either way, I knew the boys would eat before the sun came up. One of the others would get them food – my prime suspect was Suho. Although, I could see Chanyeol sneaking Baekhyun bits of food already. I watched Kai crawl over to Sirrah and sit down next to her.

I sighed. She was an easy target since she had a soft spot for the guys – especially the younger ones. Kai looked at her with puppy eyes. I could hear them from here although I pretended not to be paying attention. I could see Kai glancing my way nervously from the corner of my eye.

“Noona! Tell hyung to let us eat.” He moaned quietly.

“Kawai…do you think he will listen to me?” She sighed.

“He might! I’m so hungry. Can I have some?” He asked, looking down at her food. She shot a quick look my way.

“Kai…I have to share a tent with that monster! He might kill me in my sleep.” Monster? Thanks so much.

“Just one bite!” He pleaded. She looked towards me again. I kept my face away but watched them from the corner of my eye. She scooped up some food with her spoon and held it out to him. He quickly devoured it. “Ahh, heaven!” He hummed quietly, as Sirrah laughed at him. She quickly fed him a few more spoons and then pushed him away. Brave…really brave…I’ll have to scare her a bit later.

I noticed that D.O had realised that Sirrah had fed most of her food to others. He took another box of food out from the bag and handed it to her. “Eat well, noona!” He said and grinned at her. She took it graciously. She opened the box, and it didn’t take her long to empty it. I watched her in amazement. It seems the others had the same reaction as me.

“Wah, Sirrah, you really like eating don’t you?” Suho asked her. She nodded since was full of her last bite of food. “I honestly, haven’t seen many girls eat that much. I think you can probably eat more than Tao.”

She swallowed her mouthful down. “It’s just a habit of mine. I like eating all the time.” She grinned.

“That’s good. You should eat lots, because skinny, bony girls look disgusting.” Chanyeol said. The smile on her face instantly disappeared. I noticed Zara glance towards her with a worried expression.

“Sirrah…” She said quietly. What on earth is that all about? Sirrah looked towards her and then plastered a smile onto her face.

“Yeah, you’re right. They don’t look nice, that’s why I eat all the time – because I don’t want to look like that.” She laughed but it sounded forced. Is there something wrong? What could be wrong though? It’s not like he’s offending her in anyway.

“But you mustn’t get fat, because fat girls don’t look nice either!” Sehun said, widening his eyes.

Sirrah laughed again, but this time it was genuine, almost as if she had instantly forgotten whatever had been bothering her a minute ago. How do I find out what happened? I looked at Zara – she had relaxed again as well. “Sehunnie, you forget I have to climb ten flights of stairs every day, and these days more than once.” Sirrah reminded him as Sehun nodded.

Everyone had finished eating by this point, and some of the boys cleared the stuff away.

“Ok, guys, we have a photo shoot early tomorrow morning, so get changed and go to sleep now. We have to be awake before Daesuk hyung comes back.” Suho told the boys, getting to his feet. I checked my watch. It was ten thirty.

“Ah but hyung, we came here to have fun!” Sehun moaned.

“Yeah, well whoever made this silly plan should have thought of our schedule first.” I said, looking at Lu Han. He ignored my stare and grinned.

“There’s much fun to come, yet, Sehun-ah! So go to sleep now!” Lu Han told him. I could see that mischievous glint in his eyes again. He’s up to something again…

The boys and the two girls slowly got up and shuffled off towards their tents. Sirrah walked past me into out tent. I looked at Tao. “Will you be ok, didi?” I asked him.

He nodded. “I’m fine now, gege.” He smiled at me. I nodded and he went off to the tent he was sharing with Zara and Lu Han. He was about to crawl in when I called out to him. He turned around to look at me.

“You might want to do something about…” I waved my hand in front of my face.

“Huh?” He asked, confused.

“You have blood on your face, silly. Get it cleaned up.” I told him. His eyes widened and he scrambled into his tent, most probably to find a mirror. I turned around and crawled into my own tent. Sirrah had turned a little solar lamp on and was rummaging through her bag. She pulled a pair of baby pink pyjamas out which she put down.  She turned around and gasped when she saw me sitting behind her.

“Oh my God, you scared me.” She said, placing a hand over her heart.

“Did I now?” I asked. She nodded, watching me with wary eyes.

“I saw you feeding Kai, you know.” I told her. She opened to say something, but then closed it, a slight pink creeping into her pale cheeks. I pushed myself onto my knees, my head scraping against the top of the tent. “And I heard you call me a monster too.” I told her. Her eyes widened and she looked up at me. I saw her swallow hard.

I moved my hands forward and grabbed her legs, just above her knees, my hands wrapping more than half way around, and pulled her towards me. She yelped and slapped her hands down over her dress to stop it riding up her thighs. I pulled her close and then leant over her, placing my hands on both side of her head. She had stopped breathing again. I smirked.

I moved my face closer to hers and whispered. “You’re right, I am a monster – and you have no idea just how scary I can be. Now shall I kill you or…”

Or do something else to you?

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Honestly...it's not that i like tormenting you guys...ok maybe just a little bit.  I know i was supposed to get to the SIRRIS tent action but this is kind of a filler chapter but it was important for various reasons:

1) Tao - Kris relationship

2) Sirrah - Tao bonding, which will be important later on in the story.

3) Character development.

4) Did Kris notice something strange about Sirrah? What could it be? O_O *dramatic music*

Anyway...i'm majorly sleep deprived...couldnt be bothered revising for my exam which i am going to fail anyway, so i decided to write this chapter out instead. Please wish me luck for my exam which is now less than 4 hours away...I'll need it haha.

and finally... comments will make my awful day when i come out of my exam, moping over how i'm a failure at life and chemistry....

PS....i realised i made a terrible mistake. i doubt any of you noticed, but this story has started in March time...at that time EXO hadnt even made their debut, so obviously its a year ahead..ie. 2013...

right so the mistake - ive told everyone's ages a year behind. Now i cant be bothered to go back and change the number every time i have mentioned someones age, so just imagine them a year older than they should be in 2012...and that will make Sirrah 20, not 19 - and from now onwards i will tell their correct age.

now i'll stop rambling - its the sleep deprivation i tell you... ¬.¬

But i've fixed the ages now in the previous chapters so its all gooood! ^^

ENJOY! <3