Fifteen minutes later, Buttercup's bandmate pulled up with their utility van. The band van was equipped with a keyboard, drums, speakers, and amps to take their music on the road. Mitch's drummer hopped out of the driver seat and tossed cut-up cardboard boxes and duct tape to the floor.

"Ooo, kinky," Mitch teased, walking up to his secret companion.

Al tensed slightly before he realized he was in relatively tolerant company and shrugged him gently with his shoulder. Al was copper-skinned with a drummer's build. Broad shoulders and long muscular arms characterized his physique, but what truly stood out was his dark brows and electric blue dyed braids. Take away the feigned bigotry (no doubt enforced by his parentage) he was an attractive guy.

"Figured a dancer would need a dance floor," his Spanish accent slipped through while the sound of pulling duct tape filled the air.

"The way I dance for you, I wouldn't be worried about the floor…" Mitch tossed Al his signature bedroom eyes.

"Okay, sexual deviants eye fuck some other time," BC hissed, emerging from the other side of the van. "We've got business."

BC approached Princess while Kamari gave instructions to the sweating auditioners. "If y'all wanna dance, you better help them set up!"

"You think Mitch and Al are serious?" BC asked Princess.

Princess glanced over the chatting pair. The two seemed comfortable despite Al's accusations. Their eyes stayed on each other, genuine expressions shared. Mitch could be a lot in the relationship sphere, but he was honest and lived in his truth. Everyone who was in the closet when he was with them eventually came out. None from his exposure, Mitch was just able to pull confidence out in people to be their most authentic selves. It's just that once they were out, they'd explore… Mitch had never had a real boyfriend.

"I guess time will tell," she responded thoughtfully. "Why?"

"We've been trying to get him to open up for months… and I don't know if this will be good or bad for business."

"Then business stays out of it," BC agreed with a tentative nod. "Thanks for coming through with the van. Sucks that Mitch had to haul all that shit out for no reason."

"He needed the exercise," Mari interjected, pulling Princess and BC out of their little bubble. "Y'all ready to start?"

BC tilted her head towards Princess with a smirk and gave her wrist a small squeeze. "Your show, Princess." Then she jogged off to help her bandmate with the speakers.

Kamari shot arched eyebrows at Princess with a knowing head tilt. "Oh, you two have a vibe."

Princess slipped into an incredulous expression, trained and bred to effortlessly tell lies. "What vibe? We're partners; we have detention. A Morbucks knows good business."

"You're chewing your lip," Mari noted. "Your special training may work on others but not me. I won't prod, it might be best to go with the motions on this one. But be careful, because I know how a Morbucks handles business."

Not a jab at her, but her father. The entire Morbucks enterprise is at risk, with Buttercup suddenly being so close to the heiress. She was aware of the vibe, and though she didn't know what it meant, it wasn't going to go any further. She didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"Okay, peasants," Princess greeted the crowd, catching BC's snort at her cleverness. "There will be choreography and freestyle for your tryouts. Has everyone listened to Freak Fantasy and Love Heist by Rotten Flowers?"

The crowd gave murmurs of consensus and then promptly died down. "Good, we'll start with what you guys can do with Freak Fantasy. Cuts will be made after that, and then the remainder will move on to choreo. Who wants to go first?"

They were good. All of them were extremely good and put their own flair and spin on the freestyle. Two of them even had BC slow and play the bass notes instead so that their sensual style of dancing could shine. Maurice Blanchard and Vivian Wills had undoubtedly secured their spot. Three others had wowed the members. Lani Nguyen was able to swiftly pick up choreography, Quin Everett could do amazing tricks, and Derek Collins did everything with personality. There were five more spots to fill and 20 more people to choose from.

"I want to watch the rest for another week and see what they do," Princess told Kamari and Mitch as they solidified the first five. Everyone was torn.

"Tell the five now, then post the other five on our socials once we've decided?" Kamari offered.

"Yeah, that way they can be paired sooner with their big." Mitch said.

"You wanna pair them?" Princess offered. "You know everyone's personality best, Mitch."

"Already one step ahead of you," The trio popped out of their huddle, and Mitch cleared his throat to the expectant crowd. "In my hands, I hold five photos!" Kamari gently smacked him in the back of the head.

"What he means is five have been selected today to be paired with a member, and the other five will be selected in a week!" She clarified. "You all have amazing talent, but it takes more to enter Oaks Kingdom! Listen for your name and your pairing!"

"Maurice and Kobe!" Both are sensual dancers but Kobe usually prefers to dance with his girlfriend…

"Vivian and Alyssa!" Yep, that makes sense.

"Lani and Paulie!" Okay, that one's interesting. Paulie's a feeler, and Lani seems to be a bit more calculated.

"Quin and Bianca!" Oh, I like that one. Bianca is short and confident, but as tall as Quin is, it still seems like she's trying to hide herself after her transition.

"Derek and Wren!" Wren was the dryest of them all. She was an amazing dancer, but she was no-nonsense. She even treated her passions like homework. Derek was…

"WOOOOO!" Derek's loud howl sounded from the crowd as he raced forward to stand with Wren. "Let's go, Big Sis!" He picked up her stiff, tiny frame, as she glared daggers at Mitch.

"This will be good for you," Mitch whispered to her as she swung in Derek's arms.

Princess prayed for everyone's safety. "The rest of you, keep an eye out and don't hesitate to talk to us. We'll be watching you."

The crowd began to disband, and Kamari and Mitch were taking pictures of the fab five for their socials. It was a good day. They got through everyone before 6 pm. OK seemed to be falling into place, it was just choosing those last five dancers holding greatness back.

"That last bit was kind of creepy," BC popped up behind her disturbing Pricess's thoughts.

"Fuck!" Princess caught her breath. "You wanna talk about creepy… anyone you liked in particular?"

"Nah, I've only got eyes for one dancer; the rest of them are a blur." She smirked.

"I'll tell Mitch he's got another bandmate on his dick then!" Princess mused.

BC shoved her with her shoulder and handed her a list of ten names. "These are the ones who haven't done something terrible or have some ulterior motive. These are the ones who don't just need a spot in OK but deserve it. I starred the names I think you specifically should look into"

Princess stared at the list, and next to the names were keynotes as to what they were about, their character, and what they stood for. Some even had actions to back it up. Just what she needed without even knowing that she needed it. She was struggling to figure out just how to get 20 kids followed to pick up decent intel, with half of her squad already focused on their little. Now, she could narrow it down better.

"You didn't have to do this, but thank you."

BC caught her bottom lip between her teeth and then released it. Her eyes danced with Princess's approval and, with a suppressed smile, said, "Only the best for the princess."

Just ask quickly as the bubble solidified around them, it burst. Al had returned from helping Mitch with the equipment and slapped the side of the van. BC took the hint and inched away from Princess. "I'll see you tomorrow in deliquient purgatory!"

"It's only hell because your sister is there too!" She called back.

The van pulled away, revealing a slightly disheveled Mitch with a shit-eating grin. "I smell a vibeee…"

After the three divided up the names to stalk on social media, the trio parted ways. Mitch to do his Mitch things, Princess and Kamari to Ma's house. The names were as follows.

Mitch:

Zara Wright- fashion heiress, sustainability, autistic

Charlie Hunter- scholarship kid, actor/dancer/comedian, equalitarian

Leslie Napier- BPD, vigilante, learning restraint where morally grey

Kamari:

Naomi Pierce- Dr's daughter, health care, feminist activist

Antwon Jones- military son, pacifist, LGBTQ

Mateo Dean- Dietitian's son, body positivity, general ally

The rest were on Princess's list. These kids were of some relation to the nefarious doings around Townsville. Some had members of their family know her father personally. These are staple last names in her household.

Opal King- heiress to a diamond mine, resourceful, honest
Adriana Mahones- weapons cartel niece, no-nonsense, non-violent

Isis Freedman- incarceration enterprise nephew, rule breaker, rehabilitation-focused

Loyal Banks- money heist corporation, adopted, charitable

Like her, they had plenty of followers but very little social media presence. They had the look of a monitored life. Their page followed the same script of selfie, inspirational quote, food pic, pet, and repeat. These four were likely looking for a safe space to be themselves. It was better to be safe than sorry. She sent the names to Dom Louis to do some digging. It wasn't unusual for enemies to use a younger family member to get to the Morbucks'.

"Tell Dom I said hi," Kamari said, glancing at Princess's phone.

"You tell him," she waggled her eyebrows and flipped over on Mari's bed. "Rule anyone out yet?"

"Don't ask me why, but something about this Naomi girl ain't right." She scrunched her brows.

"A little pretentious, yea?" Mari shook her finger in the air, confirming Princess's observation.

"I don't know if she's here to dance or just study it as an exercise. She's got a Lulu lemon deal, according to her Instagram." Her brows knit together. "I think Mateo is just a touch too young."

"He is a freshman," Princess summed. "Probably still trying to find his place in the jungle. I'll let the team know to look out for him next year."

"So we like Antwon?" Mari brought her phone closer to Princess to show her their profile.

Antwon was non-binary and had a highlight dedicated to dancing. He did moves however his body chose to do them. He was patriotic in a "let's better this country" way and not a "we're the best" kind of way. What she liked most was that he didn't delete his hate comments. He responded to a few with various tactics. Some with quips, others with links to articles to correct misinformation, or simply troll with self-help analysis'.

"Yeah, we like them," Princess agreed. "But keep an eye out for the other two still. We might be surprised."

She received a text from Dom.

DL Tail: No go on Banks or Freedman. Loyal is a Freedman by birth, he and Isis are cousins. Their crime-to-jail-to-freedom cycle is too fluid and tight-knit. Banks and Freedman don't know they're related. It's a time bomb waiting to go off.

DL Tail: Opal and Adriana were both at your 10th birthday party, don't you remember? Opal was nine, and Adriana was 7. You and Opal went through all your jewelry, trying to scratch glass with your necklaces. It's what sparked her father to be the Morbucks' exclusive jeweler. You guys scared Adriana, though, but she's been in since your dad moved here. Because of her nature, she's not seen too much. Her mother protects her delicate disposition for her safety.

DL Tail: Anything I should know?

Princess: Nothing at the moment new members just auditioned

DL Tail: Stick with King and Mahones, and tell Mari I said hi.

"My man, my man, my man," Mari mumbled next to her.

"King and Mahones are in. Who do you think Mitch is going to pick?"

"All three," Mari snorted. "He's shadowing his three personality traits."

"I'm not opposed to one more little," Princess shrugged "Someone just might have to double up."

"Think Wren will do it?" Kamari shot Princess a brow. The two thought of her infuriated expression and burst into a fit of giggles.

*.*.*.*

Friday came with minimal drag until it was time for her to find her respective corner of the classroom for detention. Keane was already seated at the front desk with the redheaded demon in her rightful place at the front. Princess resumed her spot from last week, BC nowhere to be found. She was five minutes late.

"Miss Utonium, do you have any clue where your sister is?" Keane primly asked Blossom.

"No, Ms. Keane. It's impossible to keep tabs on that one." She responded not looking up from her book.

A few more ticks of the clock went by before BC made her grand entrance, loud music booming through her over-the-ear headphones on her shoulders. "Don't tell me I'm late to delinquent purgatory?" She feigned shock with a hand on her cheek. "How the hell will I survive?"

"Miss Utonium," Keane's authoritative tone shot ripples through all three girls. "SEAT."

And sat she did.

Thirty minutes of silence went by before Keane decided they were scared straight enough not to try any funny business. With no other words to offer other than a stern look at the room, she got up and headed to her office. Moments passed in silence before anyone spoke. Surprisingly it was Blossom that broke the ice.

"How did try-outs go?" She asked Princess, not turning her head.

She glanced at BC on the off chance that she was talking to her sister, but she shrugged and nudged her head in Princess's direction. Blossom was still casually reading, not fully engaged but willing to extend… whatever this was… to Princess.

"It went well. Still got a few more people to pick. Thanks for the suggestion after the gym…" She trailed off nonchalantly. If they were throwing bones, she'd toss her share.

"Zara Wright is a good pick," Blossom sighed, glancing in Princess's direction. "I wanted her for the squad, but Heather can be such a sarcastic bitch."

"How did you know about—" Princess began.

"Please, you may be coming for my crown, but I'm still HBIC." She smirked. "I know everything you do, now."

Princess didn't know how to feel about being on Blossom's radar like this. She couldn't tell if the Pink Puta was being genuinely helpful or preying on her downfall. Either way, she wasn't shy about Princess being aware of her threat.

"But anyway, when she tried out over the summer, she killed it. Leave it to Heather to make fun of someone who tries to take people at face value." She seemed genuinely remorseful over the situation. "I apologized, but that must've been her last straw because, apparently, she's become a filterless bitch."

"Sounds like she'll make an excellent addition. She's got Mitch's mentality and a preconditioned vendetta against Heather." She preened back.

"You building an army?" Blossom's voice darkened.

"You starting a war?" Princess shot back.

"Chillllll…" Buttercup intervened through her headphones.

"You'll never be Queen, Princess." Blossom sang.

"What's a Queen to a Goddess?"

The bell chimed in the knick of time.

Princess packed slowly, letting Blossom get a head start down the hall. She couldn't stand being in her presence these days. She was always insufferable, but since the assembly, she just got worse. Everything she did went from flashy and vindictive to calculating and menacing. Maybe it's because she didn't have Brick to get her rocks off, or maybe she was scared. Maybe she was finally realizing that her high horse was getting shorter by the day.

"I'm—" BC began.

"Do not even bother to apologize for the Pink Puta, I'm well aware of the person she is and she doesn't fucking faze me." She said shoving her bag onto her shoulder.

"Right, your scowl, heavy breathing, and that light tint of smoke coming from your ears is you unfazed?" She motioned her hand at Princess's disposition.

"Do you like violence, BC?" Princess tilted her head and smiled. "Because it's really feeling like you're choosing violence right now."

Her cheeks pulled back an amused smile that both infuriated Princess and raised the temperature in the room. "Easy monster, I'm not your target. How's talent picking going?"

"Well," Princess strolled past BC, holding the door open for her. "Four, now that Zara is definitely in. We like Antwon, Opal, Adriana, and Zara. I've got a feeling Mitch is gonna have trouble deciding between Charlie and Leslie."

"If you don't want Leslie, I'll take him. We need a new guitar player," she offered.

"Really? What happened to Sailor?"

"Boating accident, bad anchor knot took him out."

"Shit is he…" Princess couldn't say it.

"He's perfectly fine; he just tweaked his elbow badly. He's been looking for an excuse to leave the band for a while. Daddy's inheritance is calling him home." She sneered.

"Those trust funds are a mother fucker."

"That's rich coming from you," She gave her a lopsided grin.

"Very, very rich, actually." Princess played along.

The bubble was back and engulfed the two in tension-thick air. The proximity should've felt uncomfortable. They were standing toe to toe in the hallway, quite the opposite of arm's length from Princess's point of view, but she couldn't be bothered to care when BC was looking at her like she did. In her eyes, it felt like a thousand secrets and inside jokes passed between them. A knowing so sacred you couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and naked under their stare. Princess mapped her gentle freckles, counted her visible piercings, and committed the way her bangs fell in her face to memory. Princess subconsciously licked her lips. Fuck, there was a vibe.

"I uh…" she stammered. "I've got to um…"

"Yeah," slightly breathless, BC took a step back, effectively popping the bubble. "Yeah, um, text me… I've been working on some things I want to run by you."

"Okay," Princess huffed. "Yeah, I will… I'll uh talk to you soon. Bye, BC!" She promptly ran out the doors before she could hear BC's soft. "For now, Princess."