Ruiz sighed as she sat alone and watched T.V. in the girls' house. She didn't want to see anyone else on her team anymore, not after Pandora getting eliminated. While the athlete was moping on the couch, Lenore approached her and gave a slight smile, "Hey, is this seat taken?" The cheerleader asked Ruiz, who just shook her head softly in response, "Neat."

Lenore then let out a sigh as she sat on the couch, "Team troubles, am I right?" Lenore tried to lighten the mood, though it clearly wasn't doing much to help Ruiz feel better. "Do you mind if I rant a bit to you? I guess it's 'betraying' my team, but I kinda just wanna get this off my chest."

"Sure..." Ruiz groaned as she tried to ignore the person next to her.

"I just kinda feel, like, ever since Lucien left, I've had less and less control on my team. Everyone's scheming against each other and backstabbing one another." Lenore confessed as she rested her head on her chin, "Kinda makes me feel like I'm not doing a good job as a 'leader'. I can't even say I myself am innocent from this, I kept accusing Grims of things in my head when he was clearly innocent, and I decided to publically fight with Asuka rather than discussing them getting Lucien out in private. I dunno if you guys have it just as bad on the Ravens, but it feels like every challenge my team slips deeper and deeper into becoming dysfunctional."

Ruiz looked at the floor, "My team's following someone who betrayed us to get rid of our other teammate. I get wanting to get rid of someone who's rude like Atticus, but he could've easily just asked us to eliminate him the next time we lost, he didn't have to force us to lose. Because of him, my girlfriend is gone, and now he has more control over the team. I... already miss her... she's only been gone for a day and I just feel sick. I think it's just that everyone sided with Devon over Pandora... I can't stand to be around any of them."

Lenore winced in response to Ruiz's rant, "Wow... that sounds pretty bad. You know what I've learned in cheerleading though? That when someone tries to mute your voice, you gotta yell as loud as possible to keep them from silencing your voice and, eventually, others will hear what you have to say." Lenore lightly chuckled, "Heh, it sounds like a dumb metaphor, but you get the gist, right?"

Ruiz nodded, "I... think so."

"Good," Lenore patted Ruiz on the shoulder, "Next chance you get, you should stand up to Devon, doesn't matter what his intentions are or how good he is at the game. The end goal has to be to get him say two words 'I'm Sorry'... if you can do that, you win. Don't let him throw Pandora away and then get eliminated without apologizing, make sure he tells you he's sorry."

Ruiz teared up a bit, "G-got it. You know, I wish you were on my team over Devon, you seem like a great leader."

"Heh, I try." Lenore shrugged, "Just keep my advice in mind, ok?"

"Yeah... I will..." Ruiz nodded as she got up, "I'll show him..."