There was an obvious divide in the room.

They were spread out over the floor dedicated to fashion and design in Maurice Hall, the four VKs occupying one half while she and Doug stayed in the other half. Lonnie took a seat as far from the door as possible that gave her a view of the whole room, and Doug followed her, giving the others their space and an easy escape route. The four VKs were already tense and she didn't want to be what finally set them off. Fortunately, no one was going to disturb them here. Everyone would be too busy meeting up with friends or setting up their rooms to even consider spending time at the Hall. Whether or not the VKs knew that, it was a smart move.

Jay placed himself the closest to Lonnie and Doug while Mal pulled Evie and Carlos in a small huddle. The half fae's lips moved as she focused on the blue-haired daughter of the Evil Queen and kept one hand on Carlos's arm. They were too far and Mal was too quiet for Lonnie to catch the words, but it was easy to guess the meaning. Something in the way they held themselves made her wonder if they were holding themselves back around each other because she and Doug were around.

Meeting Audrey had been enlightening and confirmed a lot of the impressions Lonnie had of the gang's dynamic. Like Doug said, Evie was the diplomat, a distraction. Evie was quick to try and distract Audrey from Mal's sarcasm about Sleeping Beauty while also trying to make a connection on common ground. Of course she clearly wasn't expecting Audrey's response to be as condescending as it was, but she probably would've been able to handle it. Her gang just reacted before she could, Mal and Jay going on defense and moving Carlos to the back of the group to keep him safe. They probably would've done the same thing with Evie under different circumstances.

What was interesting was that none of them actually challenged Audrey verbally or physically. Mal was sarcastically aggressive, but she was just reflecting Audrey, not initiating. It felt good to know she'd read the VKs right. What she didn't really understand was why they weren't actually fighting.. They clearly knew how to fight and fought often based on what Lonnie understood about the Isle and the amount of scars on Jay's arms. So why not here? Was it being in unfamiliar territory? Fear of being sent back to the Isle? Or did they not feel the need to fight? She wasn't sure. Maybe Doug or Ben could figure that out.

Right now she was watching them collect themselves and settle their nerves in as safe a territory as they could find outside of their room. A quick reassurance to their diplomat and scout before setting this as a base camp until they could safely retreat to their dorm. After only a few minutes, Evie nodded and her smile was strong and bright again. Carlos sagged in relief before letting Mal nudge him towards a pile of fabric Evie had clearly claimed for her projects. Checkers, who had trailed after them, left Carlos's side to begin her own war with some yarn Evie gave her.

There was a brief glance shared between Mal and Jay, a confirmation that he could safely hold their position, and Mal slid her sketchbook from her bag. As she settled across from Carlos, apparently deciding to actually use him as a model, Jay shifted to lean against one of the support columns.

Dark brown, almost black, eyes met Lonnie's, assessing. Silent, she held his gaze. With only the smallest of nods, Jay looked away. Looked away, but still paying close attention to her and Doug.

Eventually, Evie started talking quietly with Mal, holding up different shades of purple and green for her to look at or holding a shade of yellow or blue next to Jay. Mal gave her thoughts and an occasional suggestion while continuing to sketch.

Once their attention was fully on each other, with the exception of their sentinel, Doug leaned closer to Lonnie. "They haven't chased us off," he observed, voice low, eyes on Evie. "Does that mean they're comfortable with us?"

"No," she replied, also keeping her voice low, watching VKs. If Jay thought the two of them were going to be a threat Mal would get involved. "We're just the people least likely to attack them or try to cause problems. It isn't trust. It's based on previous interactions. Jay's paying attention. If they trusted us, we'd probably be the ones to 'stand watch' instead of him."

"Oh…" Doug mumbled with a frown.

"At least it means they don't think of us as immediate threats," Lonnie shrugged. "They'll get more comfortable. It's gonna take a while, but we're already on the right track." Their unit was tight and in sync and that took years. After years of only trusting three other people, everyone else was dangerous. Her mother and father talked all the time about how the members of their former squad were still the people they'd go to first if they needed help.

Slowly, Doug nodded, she didn't even need to look to know he was watching the blue haired princess. "Of course. I hope they can become more comfortable with us. There's so much we can learn from one another."

Gods, it was tempting to tease him about Evie and how obvious it was that he liked her. But the VKs were too close and if Evie was as smart as Doug claimed, then giving her full confirmation that the dwarf-kin was smitten gave her a lot of power, if she didn't already know. "Right now, I'm worried about Ben," she said, redirecting. "He was pissed."

"Yes. I must wonder why Audrey chose to antagonize them. While she wasn't pleased about the declaration, I'd have thought she'd introduce herself with more tact," Doug frowned.

Lonnie snorted and Jay glanced their way. When he looked away again, Lonnie shook her head. "Audrey was never going to be tactful. Maybe she could've hidden her biases better, but she wasn't ever going to tell them 'Welcome to Auradon. It's wonderful to have you'."

"You're correct. Though for Ben's sake I wish she'd at least try. They've been at odds since even before the declaration."

That was the nice "Doug" way of saying that Doug himself didn't like her and Ben wasn't thrilled about being betrothed to her through a treaty. Gods, Lonnie was glad her parents refused to get so politically tied up. They kept it simple.

By the grace of the gods nothing else happened the rest of the day. All the VKs stayed within Maurice Hall until dinner, skipping lunch entirely which was a little concerning; they never missed a chance to eat. At dinner, they chose the table furthest from the other students, ate quickly, and then Mal declared it was time to go back to their dorm. She and Doug didn't protest and just wished them a good night. It wasn't until she and Doug were finished eating and in their favorite courtyard that Ben finally showed up.

Joining them, Ben stretched out in the grass and closed his eyes. With a quiet sigh, he said, "Tell me what happened after Audrey and I left."

After exchanging a look with Doug, Lonnie began their report.

****Author Note: FYI two chapters will be posted next week. Chapter 21 will contain lemons so if that is not something you want to read, skip to Chapter 22.****