Summary: Frederick meets the princels…

"So, what's been on your mind, kiddo?"

Frederick gazed up at Prez. He shrugged, looking away. The two were away from the rest of the club, walking nearby the forest.

"Oh, you know…" he sighed. "Just the same old stuff."

"Same old stuff?" Prez asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Frederick shrugged, looking away.

Prez sighed. He was still so aloof after all this time.

"Well, if there's something bothering you, you're welcome to talk about it," Prez gave him a smile, gently squeezing his shoulder.

"Thanks, Prez," Frederick returned the beam.

The two continued their trek, eyeing the bushes and trees.

"In the meantime, though…" Prez waved a hand. "How are you going with Gwen?"

"Oh!" Frederick went red. "Um! Good! Really good!"

Prez had to crack a grin. It was adorable, how flustered he got about Gwen.

"Great to hear, kiddo," Prez chuckled. "She seems to think the same about you."

"R-Really?" Frederick asked, eyes glimmering.

"Yeah," Prez nodded. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Frederick. You're doing great!"

Frederick looked away, his solemnity returning.

"Kiddo…" Prez sighed.

"What if this doesn't work out…?" Frederick uttered. "What if… what if she starts seeing me as…" he paused. "… a loser."

"You're not a loser, Frederick," Prez assured him.

"I can't do much other than read books," Frederick argued. "I'm not strong, I'm not smart, I'm not good at anyth-"

"Hey, hey, enough," Prez grabbed his shoulders. "Listen… I'm a little out of my area when it comes to romance, but… you're not a loser, okay? You have plenty of strengths. Gwen thinks you're the bees' knees."

Frederick's cheeks flushed. He gazed at the ground. Seemed he still didn't believe it.

Prez sighed, gazing over him. She narrowed her eyes.

"You really think you're a loser, Frederick?" she asked. "Because I can take you to see some real losers."

"Huh?" Frederick asked, looking up.

Prez grabbed his shoulder. "Come on. I think it's time we took a trip to the Denim Kingdom."

Before long, Prez, Frederick, Whitney, Abbi and Curtis were on a carriage, headed to the Denim Kingdom. Prez had initially asked Saffron and Syrah to come along, but they hadn't been keen to 'see them again'.

Frederick was seated next to Prez, facing Whitney and Abbi. Curtis was at the front, controlling the horses.

"So…" Frederick looked at Prez. "Who exactly are we going to meet?"

"You'll see," Prez replied.

"They're not dangerous, are they?" Frederick asked.

"Dangerously stupid, maybe," Curtis uttered.

"Well, even if they are, they're no match for me," Abbi huffed, nudging Whitney's side, "or him."

"Don't worry, they're not dangerous," Prez spoke up. "They're just… well… they're something, that's all I'll say."

Frederick gulped. He wasn't sure what these people were going to be like, but the thought was making him sweat.

"Here we are!" Prez clapped. "The Denim Kingdom!"

"Wow, that was fast," Frederick muttered, gazing at a large sign outside.

WELCOME TO THE DENIM KINGDOM!

"Yep," Prez nodded. "It's way closer than their last kingdom. And far less dangerous, too…"

Who exactly are these people?! Frederick thought.

The carriage stopped in front of a small house. The roof was slanted, covered in denim. The door was also covered in denim, as well as the curtained windows. Shockingly enough, the doormat was also covered in denim.

"Come on," Prez said, getting out of the carriage. "It's time to meet the Princels."

Frederick whimpered, hiding behind Whitney.

The Princels…? he thought.

Abbi crossed her arms, while Curtis sighed, massaging his brow. He stayed by the carriage. Prez knocked on the denim-covered door. There were a few moments of silence.

Prez rolled her eyes, knocking again.

"GIMME A SECOND!" someone shouted from inside.

There were a few more moments of silence.

"Uhhh?" Abbi raised a brow.

Then, the door opened up, revealing a prince with pale skin, grey hair cut into a bob, and a brown jacket. A golden crown was wrapped around his hair.

"Oh, it's you," he glowered at Prez. "What do you want, ham hands?"

Ham hands? Frederick thought.

"Can we come in?" Prez asked. "There's someone we'd like you to meet."

"No," the prince - well, princel - snapped.

"Come on," Prez waved a hand. "I'm the one who helped you get this house! The least you can do is let us visit!"

The princel grimaced. "Well, we WOULDN'T have had to move if you hadn't…" he trailed off when he noticed Whitney.

"Hey!" he grinned, stepping outside. "Big guy! Great to see you again!" He gestured at the door. "You're welcome to stop by any time!"

"Uh…" Whitney sweat-beaded. "Thanks…?"

Prez face-palmed.

"Just let us come in already!" Abbi snapped. "Or I'll climb through your window!"

"Who invited this old granny?!" the princel cringed.

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME, FUNNY BOY?!" Abbi put her fist in her palm. "SHOW YOUR ELDERS SOME RESPECT!"

"FINE! FINE!" the princel waved. "YOU CAN COME IN!"

… this is interesting… Frederick thought.

The gang began walking inside. Two other princels walked over; one was short, with a scraggly brown beard and zig-zag shirt. The other was taller, with a large figure and a blue coat.

"Not these guys again," the short princel groaned, while the taller one sweat-beaded.

The short one stared at Whitney, blushing. "Oh, not you, Whitney. You're cool."

"Thanks…" Whitney looked away.

"HOLD IT!" the grey princel shouted, pointing at Frederick. "Don't think I'd let you get away with this so easily!"

"Huh?" Frederick asked.

"Did you really think I wouldn't recognise you?" the princel asked. "How dumb do you think I am?"

"... what?" Frederick repeated.

"We should've known you'd have some ulterior motive, showing up like this," the grey princel eyed Prez. "Why else would you bring HIM here?!"

"What are you talking about?" Prez asked.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know," the short princel snapped. "You don't need to ex-Blaine yourself to us, idiots. We've known about your plan all along!"

The other princels nodded in agreement.

Oh god, Frederick grimaced. They used Blaine's name in their vocab… don't tell me they-

"What plan?!" Prez asked.

"Yeah!" Abbi snapped. "What's with you guys?!"

"Tch, it's so obvious," the grey princel waved a hand. "You brought Prince Blaine's younger brother here to sabotage us!"

"WHAT?!" The CPC members gasped.

"Are you guys serious?!" Prez glowered. "Frederick's not here to 'sabotage' you!"

"Yeah…" Frederick agreed. "I didn't even know you guys existed until-"

"We d-don't wanna hear your excuses!" the blue princel stammered.

"Yeah!" the short princel jumped in. "We saw right through your stupid plan."

"Exactly," the grey princel stepped forward. He jabbed a finger at Frederick's chest. "Nice try, Frederick. Clearly, the only thing you inherited from your brother is your LACK OF SELF-AWARENESS!"

"Oh, the IRONY," Abbi uttered.

"You guys are wrong," Frederick stepped back. "I… I don't have any plans to sabotage you! I literally didn't even know you existed-"

"Oh, SPARE us," the grey princel waved a hand. "Doesn't your brother give enough spiels, getting all the girls, while we get nothing? I know EXACTLY what you think of us."

"You think we're trashy degenerates," the short princel added.

"You think we're weak and pathetic," the blue one piped up.

"I don't!" Frederick whimpered. "I… I don't know what you guys have been through, but-"

"We don't wanna hear pity from an entitled, privileged little Blaine-spawn," the grey princel backed Frederick into the wall. "As if you could EVER understand what it's like to be looked down upon by absolutely everyone! You're just like your brother… adored, but utterly worthless!"

Frederick leaned against the wall, shivering.

"HEY!" Prez stood in front of Frederick. "Don't talk to him like that!"

"Yeah!" Abbi agreed. "Leave Freddie boy alone, you bunch of dweebs!"

"Frederick…?" Whitney gazed down at his friend.

"... can everyone please STOP COMPARING ME TO MY BROTHER?!" Frederick bellowed.

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"I get it!" Frederick snapped. "I get it! I get it! He's PERFECT AND EVERYONE LOVES HIM! And I'm sorry I'm not just like him. But… you know what?! I DON'T WANT TO BE! I want to be MYSELF!"

He panted, his hands shaking. The princels continued to stare at him, eyes wide in shock. Frederick backed up.

"Sorry, I…" he trailed off. "I…"

He turned and ran, leaving the building.

"Frederick!" Prez cried.

"… I was not expecting that," the grey princel admitted.

"Maybe he's not so different from us after all," the short one piped up.

"We should ask him to join us," the blue one agreed.

"You three," Prez pointed her finger at the princels, eyes narrowed. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back."

She raced out, chasing after Frederick.

"Heh heh…" Abbi cracked her knuckles. "Why wait for Prez? I'll show you losers what happens when you mess with MY BUDDY!"

"WHY IS THE OLD LADY SO SCARY?!" the princels whimpered.

Whitney gazed out the window, thinking of Frederick. He sighed.

"Frederick…?"

The young prince perked up; he was hiding behind the carriage, hugging himself. He wiped his eyes.

"Hey, Whitney," he sighed, his tall friend coming over.

"You feeling okay?" Whitney asked, sitting next to him.

Frederick looked away. "I don't know… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run away like that…"

"Well, it's fair enough," Whitney shrugged. "I get how it feels… people compared me to my siblings all the time. It could get quite emotionally draining."

"I'm so tired of people thinking I'm just like my brothers or less than," Frederick grumbled. "Sometimes… I want people to acknowledge me for myself."

"I get it," Whitney nodded. "I'm glad that we both found someone who can understand the other. I've always appreciated the company only you can give." He gave Frederick a small smile. "Either way, I'm here for you, Frederick."

"Yeah…" Frederick smiled up at him. "Thanks, Whitney."

"Of course," Whitney replied.

The princes paused.

"… I've never had anyone refer to me as a Blaine-spawn before," Frederick admitted, chuckling. "That makes it sound like I'm Blaine's son rather than his brother."

"Ahh… so that's the Blaine those princels kept mentioning," Whitney hummed.

"Uh, yep," Frederick made a face. "You haven't heard of him…? Seems everyone knows who he is."

"I never paid much attention to happenings outside my own kingdom," Whitney admitted.

"Go figure," Frederick sighed. "I mean, well… you literally saw him in person. He was at Gwen's dinner party. He was the guy wearing the red plaid."

"Ah yes, I remember," Whitney replied. He looked away. "At first, I thought he was your uncle or something…"

"Are you serious?" Frederick stared at him.

"I don't mean to demean your appearance, but you look far younger than him," Whitney sweatbeaded.

"Gee, thanks," Frederick grumbled.

"Sorry," Whitney sweatbeaded. "I, uh, don't want to upset you."

"Let's just go back to the others…" Frederick stood up.

"Frederick! There you are!"

Prez walked over to him, brows furrowed in concern.

"Oh, Prez!" Frederick gasped. "I… I'm sorry! I shouldn't have yelled and-"

"No, no, I'm sorry," Prez waved her hands. "I shouldn't have brought you here… I thought those guys would be able to help you."

"They did help, in a way," Frederick assured her. "You're right… they are losers."

"They shouldn't have said those things to you," Prez agreed. "Don't take anything to heart, okay? They're just jealous idiots."

Frederick looked away. "Well… I already know all the stuff they said anyway…"

"None of it is true," Prez assured him. "You… you're not worthless. You're wonderful, Frederick. I mean it."

Frederick gazed at her. He smiled, cheeks going red.

"Let's go back to the club," Prez grabbed his shoulder, grimacing. "Those idiots were right about one thing… there is WAY too much denim here."

And so, the gang got back on the carriage. The princels were all hiding inside their house, eyeing Frederick with caution. Abbi, on the other hand, was grinning like a sadist.

Frederick had to wonder what went down… or, maybe he didn't want to know.