[Year 19 of Exile]

I fluffed my pillow as I laid my head down on it and stared up at the ceiling, in particular a photograph of the boys and I. Since when did they start to keep secrets from me… I understand that they want to protect me but still… Am I not a part of them?

“Am I not…?” I muttered as I looked out of the window, at the crescent moon that smiled down at us, bathing us in silvery moonlight. The moon is really beautiful tonight; there’s no need to move the clouds at all.

“What are you not?” A deep voice asked as I turned my head to face the door. Kris stepped through it, ruffling his hair with a towel. His still-wet hair draped over his eyes as he gazed at me while hanging the towel on my chair, an action which I pursed my lips at. He ignored my expression and repeated the question. “What are you not, Jen? Or were you just talking to yourself, like always.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes at him and returned his gaze. Let’s just be direct.

“Are you and the boys keeping something from me?”

His eyes dropped briefly before they returned to mine, somewhat lacking in confidence and truth. “We’re not.”

I continued to stare at him as he sat on the mattress on the floor and hugged his pillow.

“Why would we be anyway?” He gave a shaky laugh. “We have nothing to hide.”

Oh really. What a load of bull.

“Mm, I suppose so.” I returned to my admiration of the moon, trying to suppress the churning of liquids that suddenly began to happen at the pit of my stomach.

“Why the question, Jen?” From his tone, I could imagine a worried and suspicious face as I felt his gaze on the back of my head. “You can’t suddenly be suspecting us of keeping secrets from you. You know we’ll not do that.”

I stomped angrily away from Sehun and Kai as they followed silently behind me.

I am never playing with them ever again! How could they!?

“Jen?” Kris opened his arms as I approached him near the door that leads to my kitchen. I bypassed his outstretched arms and slammed the door behind me. The rest of the boys who were in the kitchen, jumped and silently watched me plop huffily on the sofa in the living room.

I stared blankly at the television screen as I felt warmth radiating from two beings that sat down on both sides of me.

“Jen? What happened? Why are you angry with Kai and Sehun?” Chanyeol’s gentle voice broke the stuffy silence, as his worried face came into my line of vision. “Did they do something wrong?”

Something wrong? Hah.

Suho pushed Chanyeol’s face away and his own face appeared in my field of vision. In fact, ten boys had suddenly poofed into my peripheral view.

“Jen? Princess?” He called my nickname that Baekhyun had given me when I was behaving like a ‘spoiled brat’ (according to him) when I was first brought to live along with them in this community after the attic incident.

Kai and Sehun had their heads bowed as they stood behind Yixing and Xiumin. Kyungsoo was exchanging glances with Zitao and they shot dirty looks at the pair.

“Jen, if you don’t talk we won’t know what’s wrong.” Kris raked a hand through his hair as he gazed at me, pleading for me to open my mouth through his eyes. “Tell us. You know you can tell us anything.”

“Ask them.”

Everyone looked to the pair as they lifted their heads and gulped at the sudden attention they had commanded. They looked at each other and slightly nodded before Sehun confessed.

“W-We sort of let slip that we boys are going on the camping trip tha