Jamil groaned as he opened his eyes. "Ngh… Where am I?" It took him a moment to realize that he was back in the Scarabia lounge and another moment to remember what had happened. He couldn't recall much besides blacking out when Octavinelle exposed his plan to oust Kalim from the dorm. After that, he recalled waking up inside his mindscape thanks to Devon's blessing.

Wait…

Devon!

Jamil began looking around frantically as he struggled to sit upright. The hurt look on Devon's face was seared into his memory and he knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he set things right with her. Unfortunately for him, a bespectacled face popped into his field of vision before he could locate her and he had to fight with himself not to groan once again.

"Ah, wonderful! I would appear you've regained your senses," Azul chirped with a smile.

Jamil pushed Azul's head to the side with a scowl so he could scan the rest of the lounge. His expression softened when he finally saw Devon sitting with Grim and the Leech twins a little ways off from him. The little monster had climbed into her lap, pressing his face into her stomach for comfort.

"Myaah… I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be seein' that big genie monster in my nightmares," Grim lamented as Devon mussed his ears comfortingly, a fond smile on her face.

Devon looked up when she felt someone's gaze on her, her smile dropping when her eyes met Jamil's. She refocused her attention on Grim while the twins looked on with amusement.

"Oooh, you're in the dogfish house now, Sea Snake," Floyd practically sang in his usual teasing lilt.

Before Jamil could request that Floyd kindly shut the hell up, he was met with a teary-eyed Kalim.

"J-Jamil…," the white-haired boy stammered, his nose stopped up from all the crying he'd been doing while Jamil and Devon were linked. He barely took a second to breathe before wailing at the top of his lungs, the sound likely echoing throughout the entire dorm.

"Yo, can someone get Sea Otter a tissue over here? Guy's equal parts snot and regret right now," Floyd quipped.

"It seems he forgot all about that punch he intended to deliver too," Jade added.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am that you're okay, Jamil," Kalim choked out. "I'm so glad you're alive…"

Jamil heaved a sigh. "Are these theatrics really necessary?"

"I can't believe you've been so miserable this whole time and I had no idea," Kalim said between sobs. "All this time… I never realized what I was putting you through."

"And that cluelessness is what led to this spectacular betrayal," Azul chimed in.

"Yuuup. Sounds like Sea Snake's been mockin' Sea Otter behind his back for pretty much their whole lives!" Floyd agreed with a grin.

"And you guys say I can't read a room," Grim snarked.

"I-I mean… It's true that you're kind of a jerk," Kalim admitted to Jamil. "That doesn't change the fact that you've been there for me and helped me my whole life, though." He took a deep breath, pulling himself together as best he could. "So…let's just stop. Let's stop holding back on account of our families' status. We should stop playing master and servant and stand on equal footing."

Jamil blinked, confused. "Uh…what?"

Kalim nodded resolutely as he finally cracked a smile. "I say that, starting today, we should be rivals that give it our best to reach the top spot! I want us to be equals, true equals… I want us to be friends, Jamil."

"Equals? And friends?" Jamil repeated, closing his eyes in thought for a moment before opening them again with the tiniest of smiles on his lips. "Why am I not surprised that's the solution you came up with?" He refocused his gaze on Kalim. "Then as one equal to another, there's something I'd like to say…" His eyes narrowed into a glare and he crossed his arms. "Not. On. Your. Life!"

Kalim's eyes widened at the blunt rejection. "W-Wha-?"

Grim was equally incredulous. "The heck?!"

Jamil paid no thought to their reactions as he finally let fly the diatribe he'd been holding in for most of his life. "You're a thoughtless, sloppy, idiotic, clumsy, maddeningly oblivious, arrogant, tactless, pampered little rich boy! Who in their right mind would ever willingly befriend someone like you?! If it weren't for our families' circumstances, I would refuse to have anything to do with you!"

"Wh-Whaaaat?! How can you say that?!" Kalim exclaimed.

Grim couldn't help but wince at the absolute venom in Jamil's voice. "Yeesh. He must be feelin' better because he ain't holdin' nothin' back…"

"A wolf in sheep's clothing if ever there was one," Devon grumbled.

"Is that so wrong?" Azul replied over his shoulder before turning back to Jamil. "I happen to like the authentic Jamil much more."

"Stop smiling at me like that," Jamil said as he eyed Azul suspiciously. "You're grossing me out."

"I've been curious about you since we were freshmen, you know," Azul told him as he pushed up his glasses.

"You don't say…," Jamil replied as he scooted away from the octomer.

"Your attempts to avoid the spotlight worked a little too well and ended up piquing my interest," Azul continued as if Jamil hadn't said anything. "You never scored any exceptional marks, whether it was classroom work or practical studies. At the same time, though, I noticed that you never, ever scored a negative mark in any class. It came across like you were trying to appear perfectly average. There was no way it was a coincidence that you were able to maintain that average, so naturally I began to wonder if there was more to it." He gestured toward Devon and Grim. "Everything finally clicked into place for me when I heard Devon and Grim's story."

"Ah, I see now," Jade said. "Azul's grades may be near the top of the entire sophomore year when it comes to Potionology, but it would be easier to count from the bottom if you were looking for his scores in Flight class."

"That sounds like a different kind of extreme," Grim commented.

"I was able to confirm my suspicions when we played that game of mancala the other night," Azul continued. "You were able to maintain a perfectly balanced win/loss ratio to keep Floyd in a good mood."

"For real? That's a thing?" Floyd asked with a grin.

Azul nodded. "Indeed. If Jamil threw the game by too much, the ruse would have been obvious. On the other hand, if he won by too much it would have soured his opponent's mood. There's a certain level of artistry to successfully feigning defeat. It takes a delicate balancing act to make it look convincing."

Grim sent a glare in Azul's direction. "Meanwhile, you crushed me with no hesitation at all!"

"I knew I had the right read on you, Jamil. Your true capabilities are nothing short of astounding!" Azul finished.

Kalim beamed. "I know, right?! Jamil's amazing!"

"You know, I really do think you'd get along far better with someone like me than with Kalim. If you were to transfer to Octavinelle, we could join forces and really show the world what we can do! What do you say, Jamil?" Azul proposed, still speaking as though he and Jamil were the only ones in the room.

"No way. Absolutely not," Jamil replied resolutely. "Also, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't monologue at me out of nowhere like that. You couldn't sound any shadier if you tried! I have no intention of ever being friends with someone like you, Azul."

Jade's ever-present grin widened. "Goodness. I don't think I've ever seen you rebuffed quite so sharply, Azul."

"Heh. I don't mind," Azul replied, smirking confidently. "I've added a new truth to my collection today, so I'd say that evens things out."

"Right. Azul's secret collection of other people's weaknesses," Floyd quipped.

"Hmph. Can't exactly call it a "secret" weakness if it's already been aired to the entire world," Jamil scoffed. "…I don't plan on holding back anymore. Not against Kalim, not against the rest of you, not against anyone else. I am never throwing another competition again."

"Glad to hear it!" Kalim said encouragingly. "But just so you know, I don't intend to lose, either!"

Devon got to her feet abruptly, holding onto Grim with one arm and holding out her free hand so her staff could fly into it. "Well, now that we've established that Jamil's come out of his Overblot, I think my work is done. You can stay if you want, Grim, but I've been missing Ramshackle somethin' fierce so I'm just gonna-"

Jamil was about to call out to her, but Kalim beat him to the punch.

"Devon, wait!" he called out as he stood up as well. "I know you're upset and you want to get back to your own dorm, but please stay here in Scarabia one more night. I was hoping I could talk to you about," He cast an uncertain look at Jamil, "about everything."

Devon looked between Kalim and Jamil. She really didn't want to be in the same area as Jamil for any longer than she had to and she really did want to check in with Regina and the Ramshackle ghosts, but the pleading look in Kalim's eyes made it hard to say no to him. The poor guy had been through quite a bit these past few days, after all. After arguing with herself for a moment, she ultimately relented. "Fine. I'll stay for one more night. After that I'm going back to Ramshackle."

Kalim's smile was equal parts grateful and relieved. "Thank you, Devon. We can talk after everyone's had a chance to relax and have a meal. I think we all deserve it after today."

After everyone had a chance to wash up and get some food in their bellies and after making sure Jamil was actually resting (courtesy of Devon threatening to ask Azul to watch over him if he didn't), Devon and Kalim were off on another nighttime magic carpet ride through the Scarabian desert. Still reeling from the events of the day, neither of them really knew how to start things off.

Kalim was the one who ultimately broke the silence. "Are you doing alright, Dev? You were really put through the wringer today, huh?"

Devon offered Kalim a small smile. "I think I oughta be askin' you that. How are you holding up?"

"I asked you first," Kalim countered, his expression unusually serious. "You can be honest, you know. I promise I won't say anything to Jamil."

"Honestly, I wouldn't really care if you did. I already gave him an earful when we were linked," Devon replied. "To answer your question, though… I'm not really doin' that great. I mean, I guess I'm glad that Jamil's not dead and all but…"

"I know what you mean," Kalim told her. "I guess you and I are in the same boat." He saw Devon open her mouth to interject and made to cut her off before she could argue. "And before you say that you think my situation is worse, just remember that it's not a competition. We both trusted Jamil and we both got hurt in pretty major ways because of him." He sighed. "Frankly, I'm not really sure where to go from here. I can't exactly cut Jamil out of my life and I wouldn't want to even if I could. Before I enrolled here, he was pretty much the only person I'd ever considered a friend."

Devon blinked. "You didn't have any other friends? I'd think someone as nice as you would be the life of the party anywhere you went."

"Ah heh heh," Kalim chuckled softly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I was actually homeschooled before I came to Night Raven College and I was always under my family's bodyguards' watch whenever I was out and about, so I didn't really get many chances to make friends, let alone hang out with them." He smiled sadly. "I guess that made me latch onto Jamil the way I did. Now I'm wondering if maybe he'd have had more chances to shine if I hadn't insisted we do everything together."

"Even if that's true, it still doesn't justify what he did," Devon pointed out.

"I know. But I really do want to make an effort to be better going forward," Kalim told her. "I don't want Jamil to feel like he's been backed into a corner again. I know how amazing he is, but I had no clue he'd been forced to stifle his talents so much to let me have the spotlight."

Devon nodded. She knew Kalim meant what he was saying but she also had to wonder if his choice to keep Jamil on as his attendant despite everything was his way of trying to look out for the Viper family. She remembered how nervous Jamil's parents had sounded when they warned him that he couldn't outdo Kalim at anything; who knew what Kalim's parents would do if they found out Jamil had not only essentially staged a coup to get Kalim kicked out of the school, but he'd nearly killed him in the process? She also remembered something Kalim had mentioned to her when they were preparing lunch with the Octavinelle boys-how the reason Kalim couldn't bring himself to eat curry was due to Jamil lapsing into a coma after taste-testing a plate of it meant for him. The fact that Kalim's parents were apparently fine with a child getting poisoned so long as it wasn't one of theirs didn't really paint them in a flattering light.

"Have you ever gone through anything like this, Dev?" Kalim asked. "Have you ever hit a rough patch with a friend and not known what to do about it?"

"I think everyone goes through something like that at some point," Devon replied. "As for me…," She paused as she tried to work out what exactly was going on with her and Madison. "I think I'm still in a rough patch with my best friend from back home. She and I are kind of like you and Jamil where we've known each other for pretty much our whole lives. We lived in different neighborhoods when we first met and ended up going to different elementary schools, but whenever we got a free second and one of our parents could bring us to the other, we were inseparable."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Kalim asked.

Devon blew out a breath. "I'm not really sure. My family moved into a new place when I was in middle school and my brothers and I transferred into the same school Madison went to. We were both so excited when we found out and everything was great for that first year but then…I dunno, something changed. She got a lot colder toward me all of a sudden. Way snappier too, like everything I did set her off somehow. I figured maybe she had something going on behind the scenes that was stressin' her out, so I didn't think much of it at first, but it didn't seem to get better and eventually she started getting mean toward pretty much everyone. I eventually asked her if I'd done something to upset her, but she just brushed me off." She shook her head. "It's the weirdest thing, though. As mean as she can sometimes be, every so often I'll see this look of regret in her eyes when she makes some kind of snide comment to me. Despite what my brothers would say, I could tell it was genuine. I think that's why I can't completely step away from my friendship with her-because I know my old bestie is still in there somewhere."

Kalim patted her shoulder sympathetically. "And you have no idea what started this?"

"Believe me, I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out," Devon replied. "I know what caused her most recent bout of not speaking to me, though, and that's because she was upset that I quit our school's cheerleading squad. I think she thought it was personal but it had nothing to do with her at all."

Kalim blinked. "Okay…I feel like I'm getting some mixed messages here. She's been acting like she doesn't want you around but then gets upset with you when you do something that puts some distance between the two of you…"

"Tell me about it! I feel like I can't win with her!" Devon exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation and flopping onto her back. She took a breath to compose herself before continuing. "Before that, though, she got really upset when I turned down the former captain's nomination to take her place once she graduated. Madison thought I said no as some kind of pity move for her sake, but that wasn't the case at all."

"Then how come you said no?" Kalim asked.

"The main reason was because I was already planning to quit the squad by that point anyway," Devon told him. "Again, that was something I did for me, not for or because of Madison. But even if I had stayed on the squad, I would've said no. No matter how you slice it, Madison has always been a much better leader than me. I might have been able to pull off some complicated cheer stunts, but Madison was able to choreograph some of the most incredible routines I've ever seen outside of professional squads. We've been cheering together since we were kids and even before she was ever actually put in charge of any of the choreography, she always studied everyone else's strengths and where best to place them so everyone would get a chance to shine. No matter how bad her attitude might have been, she never dropped the ball on that. She's always had way more passion for cheer than I did; she's the leader the squad needs."

"So you turned down the captain spot because it's what was best for the squad, then," Kalim concluded. "Did you ever try to tell Madison that?"

"Of course I did. She brushed me off when I tried to tell her face-to-face, so I wrote her a letter that explained everything," Devon replied. "I was brought here not long after that, so I have no way of knowing if she read it or not…"

"I'm sure she did," Kalim assured her with a smile. "You're a hard person to dislike, Dev, and if what you said is true, it doesn't sound like Madison wants to end the friendship." His smile dropped just a bit, his eyes growing sad. "Her situation isn't like Jamil's, you know. If she really wanted nothing to do with you, she could've just walked away a long time ago."

Devon sat up and pulled Kalim into a hug. "Guess this isn't an easy situation no matter what the circumstances are, huh? I'm still furious with Jamil right now, but for what it's worth, I really do hope things get better between you two now that the air is cleared. I'll always be willing to listen if you need someone to talk to, man."

Kalim let out a watery laugh as he hugged her back. "Likewise. I sincerely hope that Madison does read your letter and you guys get the chance to clear the air too. I'm…not exactly sure how that would work since Madison's back in your world, but even so I hope you two can be the friends you were before."

"Heh. Thanks, Kalim," Devon replied with a grateful smile.

Madison heaved a sigh that was a mix of both irritation and hurt as she hung up her phone and tossed it onto her bed as she sat down at her desk. She'd tried to reach Devon nearly every day since she'd transferred into that fancy invite-only school (she was pretty sure one of Devon's brothers mentioned something about a raven…maybe it was a mascot or something?), but every time she called she'd get an error message saying the call couldn't be completed. She'd overheard DJ and Dominic mention that they'd been in contact with Devon more than once, so she couldn't help but feel like Devon was avoiding her.

'Pfft. I don't know why I'm so surprised. Honestly, I'd be avoiding me too,' Madison thought as she pulled out a binder and tried to get some ideas flowing for new cheer routines for the second half of the school year. It was a pointless effort, though; she was way too distracted to think clearly. The forced separation and lack of communication from Devon had made it clear to Madison just how much she'd taken her friend for granted. For whatever reason, Devon stuck with Madison no matter how badly the latter lashed out at her. It was as comforting as it was infuriating. She knew her best friend was one of kindest, most caring people she'd ever known, but why couldn't she just get angry with her for once?! If it had been anyone else, Madison knew Devon would've kicked their asses six ways from Sunday by now.

Madison shook her head. She could try to blame Devon all she wanted, but she knew deep down that the roots of the issue were her own insecurities and pride with a dash of terrible coping skills. Any rift that had developed between the two of them was entirely on her shoulders. She hesitated for a moment before flipping to the back of the binder and pulling out the letter she'd found in her locker after Devon returned her cheer uniform. She knew who it was from right away; she'd have recognized Devon's handwriting on the envelope anywhere. She'd refused to open it out of spite since the day she received it, but she couldn't bring herself to just throw it away, either. And…if she were being honest with herself, she was a little afraid of what it would say.

After spending an almost comically long time studying the envelope, Madison's desire for some kind of communication from her best friend eventually won out and she carefully tore the letter open. If Devon had any sense left in her, Madison figured it would be a letter officially breaking off their friendship, but she knew that Devon wasn't the type to give up on someone once she decided they were worth it.

She barely made it halfway down the page before her eyes started to well up with tears. Accusing Devon of giving up the cheer captain spot out of pity for her had been a knee-jerk reaction on Madison's part. She'd regretted suggesting it before the words had even left her mouth. In truth, she could tell Devon had been falling out of love with cheer for a while before she actually quit the squad; they'd known each other long enough that Madison could tell when Devon was genuinely enthusiastic about something versus when she was just going through the motions. She read and reread the letter until her falling tears made it too difficult for her to see, Devon's affirmations and faith in her abilities hitting her harder each time. Even after all this, Devon still cared. As always, she'd refused to give up.

'And she's gone to who-knows-where… Damn, I really screwed things up for us, haven't I?' Madison thought. She took a deep breath to try to compose herself, folding the letter back up and carefully placing it next to a framed photo she kept on her desk, a picture of herself and Devon as children on a day trip to Coney Island-the first of many the pair would take together. In it, the two girls were hugging with smiles brighter than the sun overhead. Madison studied the picture for a long while until her tears finally stopped and she nodded with a determined, resolute look on her face. She knew there was no guarantee that she'd be able to speak to Devon any time soon (she hadn't even come back home for the holidays, after all), but she was tired of disappointing her friend-she was tired of disappointing herself. She knew that Devon had been seeing a therapist regularly for years now and she seemed much better off for it. Maybe Madison could benefit from it too. If nothing else, it would at least give her a neutral party to open up to about what had been bothering her.

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand-her mother would be home from work any moment now. She'd bring the subject of therapy up while they made dinner together, just like they'd done almost every evening for as long as she could remember.

Enough was enough. It was long past time she made an effort to be better, for herself as much as for her friend.

Back in Scarabia, the Wisps hovered around Devon and Grim's room as they kept their vigil over their sleeping charges. They saw Grim crack an eye open and sit up, checking to make sure Devon was still sleeping soundly before climbing off the bed and slowly and quietly easing the door open to head out into the hall. It would've been easy enough to dismiss it as Grim just having to use the bathroom, but something about the look in his eyes made them uneasy. After a quick series of pulses, Mirage and Flapjack (the two most difficult to see due to Mirage being practically translucent and Flapjack easily blending in with all the red decorations in the dorm) passed through the door to follow him.

They kept a safe distance as Grim made it way toward the lounge, occasionally blending into their surroundings as he checked to make sure nobody was following him. As soon as he reached the lounge, he began scrounging around and tossing the pillows used for seating this way and that as he searched for something.

"There's a black stone somewhere in this room. I can smell it…," Grim muttered blankly to himself, sniffing the air as he continued his search. After another moment, he grinned, an unsettling toothy expression especially since his big blue eyes were now devoid of their familiar shine. "Here it is… I found it…!" He cackled softly as he held up the stone he'd been searching for…and shoved it down his throat without a second thought. He smiled at the taste. "Mmm… Mellow and rich with a nice, spicy punch." The smile immediately dropped off of his face and he stared blankly into space. "And now it's gone. I scarfed it down way too fast. I'm still hungry… I want more black stones…"

The two Wisps exchanged a worried pulse as Grim cackled softly to himself again, following him at a distance until they were sure he was heading back to the room. Once they'd confirmed he wasn't making any other stops, Flapjack warped them both back to the room where they filled the other Wisps in on what they had seen. As Wisps were inorganic beings, eating and digestion were still a bit of a mystery to them, but it was clear now that those black stones were effecting Grim in a bad way. They agreed to let Devon know about what happened first thing in the morning, but for tonight, they'd be keeping an even closer eye on the little monster.

Ending Notes: Looks like Grim's starting to feel the effects of all those black stones he's been eating. Sure hope this doesn't go terribly later on. Oh. Wait…

Madison has finally reached the beginnings of her redemption era and I am here for it! I wasn't really sure if that was a route I was going to go down at first, so I hadn't really done much with her since Halloween but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. We've already got two characters (Liam and Marcie) who basically exist just to be disliked and be giant pains in the rear and I'd already planned for Madison's relationship with Devon to be more complicated than just "long-suffering main character has really toxic best friend that they refuse to kick to the curb for some reason that really only serves to make all their new friendships look better by comparison" and I didn't want to leave Dev with no ties to anyone from her world outside her family. That, and I love a good prodigal friend story. I've got a really cute idea (I think it's cute, at least) for something concerning Madison once she really starts making letting go of her toxic mindset and defense mechanisms. I don't want to say too much right now except that we'll be seeing the beginnings of it in the Pomefiore arc.

Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!