Carrie looked like a movie star. Her hair was left straightened, but you could clearly see her dangling crystal earrings. Her makeup complimented her silky dark blue dress which dragged ever so slightly on the floor. Despite the loose, gorgeous fabric, the dress made her figure look heavenly. It was just over a hair tighter around her chest as the sparkly blue band just below her bust allowed the cloth beneath it to sway freely and elegantly across the rest of her body.

"Entree 4, Carrie Beff." The announcer called. Carrie straightened herself as her name was called.

"Wish me luck." She winked at the girl before strutting on stage. Unknown to everyone else, Carrie was laughing maniacally on the inside. Penn had no idea what she was about to go through once the next few rounds were over.

Laney found her hand shaking ever so slightly as she walked to meet Kin and Kon. She didn't know how, but something about how Carrie was acting made her feel intimidated, as if Carrie had a card up her sleeve for a guaranteed victory. She was acting far to innocent for a Newman. She must be up to something. There's no possible way she wasn't.

"What's wrong, girl?" Kon asked, "You rocked it out there. Left 'em wanting more just like we taught you."

Laney sighed, "The competition is a bit to much, Kon. Have you seen these girls? They're like goddesses of Rocklympus. I'm no match for that."

Kin and Kon gave one another excited looks, "Rock lore time!"

Kin began to speak, "There is old tale told in rock lore."

"About a contest held by one of the most powerful rock gods, Rockalous, to find the fairest and most rocking girl in all of Rocklympus to be his son's, Coremane, betrothothed." Kon continued.

"Every maiden in Rocklympus traveled to the contest, each a striking vision of beauty, but one was special. Lanently, daughter of the instrument god, Instrumous, was deeply in love with Cormane ever since she saw him play guitar as a child, and had secretly written many songs about him."

"When she heard the news, Lanently was struck with depression. Though she was twice as talented as any other goddess, she feared she was not able to match their beauty. Still, she packed up her instruments, songs, and all the courage she had, and traveled to the contest."

"When he saw her, Coremane instantly fell in love with Lanently. He longed to reach out and ask her name, but Rockalous would not allow it, for it was he who was to decide Coremane's future wife."

"But there was one other goddess named Carrine who had entered at the last moment. However, it was not because she wished for Coremane's heart. Her only desire was to beat any hope out of Lanently so that she could exact her revenge for years of not being as good as her."

"The contest started soon, and it was on fire. The competition was fierce, no godess held anything back, but Rockalous saw that his son held no interest for any of them other than Lanently."

"Then came the moment in which the goddesses would prove their skills of rock. However, none of them quite met the bar of Rockalous's level. But finally, after so much failure, it came down to the final two: Lanently and Carrine."

"Lanently planned to sing her heart out in a song she had written especially for Cormane. It was a beautiful song filled with passion and love, but that didn't last long. As Carrine went on stage to perform her song, Lanently heard her words flow from the evil witch's mouth."

"Cormane found himself impressed by the song. Impressed, but not in love. Seeing his surprised and admiring expression toward Carrine, Lanently began to lose hope. Her rival had won by using trickery and foul play. Surely she could not perform now, singing the same song Carrine had just sang."

"But Lanently loved Coremane too much to not fight for him. Quickly came up with a plan. She had-"

Kon was interrupted by the sound of Kin's beeping watch. A look of terror washed over the smaller twin's face as he gasped in horror, "Twenty minutes until show time! Laney, get dressed! Kon, sort the makeup!"

Laney pouted a small amount, "But what happened ne-"

"No time, woman!" Kin shouted, "Get into your sweetie-pie dress and prepare for your walk."

"What," Laney's eye twitched, "was that?"

Kin gulped and laughed nervously, "I mean, please oh wise and amazing one, can you get dressed into the next section's attire? Please.."

Laney smirked, "That's more like it. I'll be on my way now."

Now feeling a small amount better, Laney walked into her dressing room, and slipped on her dress. It just so happened to be the same one her mother had her try one before, but was now much better by her standards. The once pink fabric was bleached white, and had splashes of black paint near the ends. Small, delicate red hearts found there way around the bottom trim and a few scattered around the band of her dress.

She strapped on her red silhouettes, and put in her ruby heart earrings and matching necklace (which she had received on her thirteenth birthday, and had never worn until this moment). With a final nod of acceptance in the mirror, she left the room only to be met by a her roommate, Carrie Beff.

The blue haired girl smiled, "Laney, you look wonderful." Her voice glided.

"Thanks." Laney gave a fake smile as she sidestepped around Carrie, "You too."

"It's a good day to be hot, huh?" Carrie laughed. Laney had just made it out the door when Carrie's tone changed.

"Oh, and Laney," She smirked, "Good luck out there."

With that, she closed the door, leaving Laney to stand there in bewilderment. What had she meant by that? Whatever it was, it was surely not a simple good luck. There was something threatening in her voice, as if she coated it in acid and sharpened it into a knife.

Laney shuddered at the thought, but trudged on to where Kin and Kon were waiting for her. After all, what could Carrie possibly due to ruin all of her hard work?

She had just turned the corner when two pairs of hands pulled her down into a chair. She looked up to see Kin attacking her hair once more as Kon began cleansing her makeup to apply a fresh coat. Despite her low growl, she said nothing and let them torture her.

GOTTA LOOK GOOD TRANSITION

"Success!" Kin yelled as he hi-fived his brother, "In just ten short minutes, we made the ferocious Laney Penn look like a innocent little girl!"

Laney let her eyes, which had been closed due to need of red and black eyeshadow, open in surprise, "You what?!"

She hastily looked in the vanity mirror, and relaxed at her reflection. True, she did look much sweeter and (dare she say) adorable, but not to the point of nausea and self hatred. If anything, she looked like a daughter of a famous dress designer who liked to add classic tastes to their work. Then again, it may be her own taste in style affecting her opinion. Whatever the situation, it fit her much more than a powder puff pink girl who looked as if she just came from a giant bottle of pepto bismal.

"Laney, you're on." The woman called. Laney nodded, and walked into the line. She repeated the same steps and poses she now accustomed to. The announcer asked her a question, she answered, and went back stage once more.

Laney smirked as she walked back. This was so easy, it could get boring.

SKIP ALL THE JUNK TRANSITION

"Guys!" Laney shouted, "I look fine, back off. They're just pajamas."

Kin and Kon gasped, "Just pajamas?!"

"Yeah, I sleep in them. It doesn't matter."

Kin shook his head violently, "No, No, No, No, Missy. This outfit resembles how well you keep yourself during your slumber. It shows you care about how you look, not just how others see you."

"Whatever," Laney sighed, "have you seen Core yet. I'm getting impatient."

"He's probably hiding in the viewing room, but I think I should check the buffet again." Kon giggled. Laney rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll find him solo." She grumbled, taking an extra check to make sure she didn't look like an idiot. To her pleasure, this outfit was rather simple.

She and Core had taken yet another hot pink thing, this one a nightie, and dyed it black. On it, she sewed several small roses scattered all over. At the ends and on the straps, she embroidered dark green lace in the same pattern of white. The two colors met in the center, and twisted together to form a large flower in the form of the Grojband flame. To top off her look, her fuzzy black slippers now had Grojband's skulls on them, matching the sleeping mask keeping her disheveled hair at bay. In her arm was her beloved white unicorn, Mustang.

She smiled to herself as she searched for Corey. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, her trusted band leader could not be found unless he wished to reveal himself.

She jolted as a hand touched her shoulder. On impulse, she flipped her attacker over and struck a fighting pose. She dropped it, however, when she saw that it was only Derek.

"Wow," He muttered dreamily, "I just got my butt handed to me by Laney Penn. Best day ever."

Laney smiled apologetically and helped him up, "Sorry, Derek. You caught me by surprise."

"It's cool, Laney. I walked into it." He dusted his shorts off, "I wanted to wish you luck, but it looks like you won't need it looking like that."

"Thanks," Laney smiled, "Have you seen Core around."

"Not since earlier. He's much scarier than I imagined."

Laney let out a healthy laugh, "Core's not scary. He's just been acting weird because we almost-" She stopped herself, a sudden embarrassment forming in her.

"Almost what?"

Laney shook her head, "Nothing. I was just rambling. So you haven't seen him?"

"Nope, sorry." Derek shrugged, "I'll look around a little if you want me to."

"Thanks." Laney smiled as she saw the woman approach her. She held her hand up to the director.

"I know, I'm on." She smiled as she walked to her position. A calm glance behind her revealed Carrie Beff, wearing yet another outfit that made her seem perfect.

Her pajama tank was simple, white with the Newman's flame stamped everywhere while her pajama bottoms sported the feminine skull. Her sleeping mask read' Beff Is Best' while her white slippers remained plain.

"Well don't you look cute?" The blue haired rockstar said.

"Don't I always?" Laney began to strut down the catwalk with a calm confidence, hoping to have left her rival speechless. She flawlessly struck her poses and approached the man on stage.

"Well, Laney, I was going to ask you this card question, but I'd rather ask 'Why does such a tough girl have a unicorn pet for sleepytime pal?'."

Laney smirked, knowing the man meant to stump her. Instead of looking like an idiot, she grabbed the mic, "Mustang has been with me through everything since I was a little girl. He's a tough unicorn who can get me through anything, so why wouldn't I bring him to my first big pageant?"

The crowd awwed as Laney handed the man back his mic, snuggled with Mustang for a few pictures, and strutted backstage.

"Have fun." She smiled at Carrie before returning to Kin and Kon, who each were a bit shocked.

"What?"

"We just never expected you to be so-" Kin started

"good at this." Kon finished.

Laney smiled and snuggled her unicorn again, "So the world knows I have a stuffed unicorn. That's nothing compared to the dresses I could have worn today."

Kin and Kon nodded, "One more round until the talent show. Time to get professional, Laney."

"I'm on it, guys." Laney walked away, "But please find Core. I really need his comfort right now."

"You don't look like it."

"That's because I have Mustang." Laney held up the stuffed toy, "Trust me, when he leaves my hands, I'll be back to nervous."

She turned on her heel, and walked into her dressing room, locking it tightly, and sliding down the door slowly. She pressed her face into her unicorn and sighed.

"One more round, girl." She told herself, "Then you can get him."