I see Benen and Donovan rush out of the room abruptly, making me wonder where they're going. Before he leaves, Benen whispers something in the female Altruistic's ear before kissing her cheek gently. Both of them smiling happily, Benen rushes after the male Sovereign, making me frown visibly.

I'm about to rush after them when Audrey pulls me back down, causing to lose my balance and fall onto our sleeping area. When I glare at her, she says, "They'll be back, don't worry. And besides, you're staying here with us, Ms. Sophie."

"When did you start to like to have sleepovers?" I ask skeptically as I sit up.

Audrey shrugs. "I don't know," she admits. "But I do."

I sigh. "I'm not getting out of this in any way possible, am I?"

"Nope," Audrey and Laurel say simultaneously. The Sovereign and Altruistic begin to laugh as I lay down again, groaning in defeat.

A few minutes later, Benen and Donovan return with Fitz, talking to him about something I can't hear. When we make eye contact, the male Percipient and I smile at each other. He then comes down to sit next to me, allowing the male Altruistic and Sovereign to be seated next to their respective partners. Sophie, Fitz transmits, startling me slightly. When I turn to look at him, I can tell that he needs to talk to me.

Let's go to my balcony this time, I suggest, looking over at the sliding door. When both of us stand up, I mouth, "I'll be back," to Laurel and Audrey before walking over with Fitz to the balcony doors. Smiling, Fitz opens the door and chivalrously lets me go outside first before following. Thanking him, I step outside and look at the, spotting a few stars that are scattered within the darkening sunset.

Fitz chuckles softly behind me, causing me to turn towards him. I smile sheepishly as I stare into his teal eyes. "Just a habit of mine," I explain, sighing happily as I stare at the sky again. I manage to find the stars that make up the constellation Ursa Major and smile more. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fitz smiling softly at me, and I can't help but smile back at him shyly when I face him again.

Before he can say anything, I say, "I know you wanted to talk to me about something, but take your time. It may be hard for you to say." I don't miss how Fitz tenses up at the topic of whatever he has on his mind, causing to stare at him with more concern in my gaze.

Releasing a breath I realize that he's been holding in for a bit, Fitz looks at the setting sun before staring at me. "It's actually going to be hard bringing the topic up again," he says somewhat to himself, but loud enough so I can hear it. "Well, bringing that topic up again to you."

I'm about to ask what he's talking about when realization hits me. My breathing hitched, I manage to ask, "Oh... about when you..?"

Fitz nods. "And... something happened there," he says. "And now, it's... permanent."

"What's permanent?" I inquire, worry laced with every word. "What happened? Fitz- did you get hurt while you were there..?!"

The male Percipient furrows his eyebrows. "Hurt... is too broad with this topic," he says. Suddenly, Fitz unbuttons his shirt, revealing an unnatural shape on the corner of his chest. He stares at me as I look at his torso in shock.

"What is it?" I ask suddenly, rushing to him. Touching the dark blue part gently, I question, "Does it hurt? Is it a tattoo?" I trace the intricate details of the black outline. "What is it?" I repeat out loud.

"It's a scar," Fitz says, making my eyes widen considerably. "I got it last year, but I only told you two today."

"Who?" Overwhelming emotions flow throughout my body, ranging from irritation that he kept this a secret for at least one year, or saddened that he didn't tell any of us sooner. I can't decide what emotion I should be showcasing on my face, so my shock is still noticeable out of all of my emotions.

"Benen and now you," Fitz explains. "Steven and Donovan saw it at the hideout."

"H-" I take in a shaky breath. Shaking my head in disbelief, I swallow and ask again, "How did you get it, Fitz?"

"Nebmentia," Fitz says, his explanation breviloquent. "Fitton shot me with about ten pieces of it. I'm allergic to it, and-"

"Ten?!" I almost shout, thankful for the fact that the balcony door is closed. "Doesn't that mean you got amnesia? And you can't remember things for awhile?"

Fitz nods slowly. "I actually can't remember a part of that infiltration," he says as he puts his shirt on again. "I can only assume that's what happened," Fitz admits. "Steven's the only who told me that I'm allergic to nebmentia."

I lean back just the slightest so I can stare into Fitz's teal eyes. "Wait... does that mean that the reason you backed away from Caroline when she held the nebmentia solution was because of that?"

Fitz merely nods.

And at that moment, I realize something much worse.

"You're allergic to nebmentia," I begin, my face paling, "but you decided to jump in front of the nebmentia for me anyway."

"I didn't think about my allergy then," the male Percipient argues quietly. "I wasn't going to let you forget like I was forced to then. I'm sure that it'll be horrible to the people around you when you act like you don't know them for a while." After a few moments of silence pass between the two of us, Fitz asks quietly, "What do you remember from when I touched the nebmentia?"

"You glowed dark blue," I begin to say. "And you were flying across the room, screaming. You slammed into the wall, and then you fell. Once you hit the ground, the entire room became white. I fainted, but not after I saw... scales." I remember the scale in my pocket and take it out. "Just like this one."

Fitz's eyes widen momentarily before his entire expression softens. "What else happened..?" the male Percipient asks softly, cupping his hands underneath mine.

"I woke up in the laboratory," I say after swallowing. "Apparently, I was asleep for at least a day. But you were still sleeping, Fitz. You didn't wake up until much later. For some reason, I didn't remember that we went to the laboratory, so I went there again. Mr. Wallace looked so angry that I thought he was going to do something so I ran to my room." I don't realize I've been ranting until I have to take a deep breath before I choke. Clearing my throat, I add, "And now we're here."

The male Percipient runs a hand through his hair as silence falls over the two of us yet again. I would ask him what he's thinking about, but I stay quiet for the moment anyways. As we're both stuck with our thoughts in our own minds, I realize that I haven't asked, and Fitz hasn't told me why he hid his scar for a year from everyone. I'm about to ask, but I decide against it, thinking that this revelation was hard enough on the male Percipient already.

"What does the nebmentia do to you?" I ask quietly, refusing to look at the area where his scar is.

"It makes the effects of the nebmentia more powerful," Fitz says. "I'm assuming that it also made my 'amnesia' last longer."

"So you forgot everything for a while?" I ask quietly, thinking about how that must've felt. "So you also forgot who Fitton was?"

Fitz nods slowly. "I don't think I was able to create new memories," he says. "So I don't remember most of my time there."

Frowning, I finally as the question I didn't ask earlier. "Why didn't you tell anyone sooner?"

"I-" Fitz suddenly stops himself. Running a hand through his hair, he tries to say it again. "I don't know- maybe because no one else is allergic to a crystal. It's hard to explain..."

I nod slowly. I won't admit it out loud, but I can't help but feel a bit hurt that Fitz didn't share it with me- with anyone- for over a year. Closing my eyes momentarily, I sigh. Opening my eyes again, I walk up to Fitz and place a hand over his scar. "It may have been hard to explain, but we're here if you need to get things off of your chest." In a softer voice, I add, "I'm here for you..."

Suddenly, I feel the male Percipient's hand gently cover my hand. I look up to see Fitz smiling, his teal eyes sparkling slightly in the darkness of the night. "I know, Sophie," he whispers, smiling a bit more. "I knew that for three years." He leans slightly closer, staring into my eyes. My cheeks warming slightly, I find myself not being able to avert my eyes from his gaze...

That is, until both of us jump when we see Laurel banging on the balcony door. My heart racing out of control, I watch with wide eyes as Fitz opens the sliding door, the light inside the room illuminating his angular face and showing the slight tint on his cheeks. "I'm really really really sorry for breaking up your moment," Laurel says, "but Mr. Wallace just came. I tried to get him out, but he only left when Audrey threatened to prank him for a month straight."

Fitz and I both look at each other. Do you have any ideas why he'd come here? I ask.

Fitz frowns noticeably. I have one, he transmits, his expression bitter. I think he was trying to stop me from tell you about my scar.