Efua whispered, "That's the same girl? Are we sure?". Zhihao nodded slowly. "She flips personalities. Fascinating." Raye softened a little "Aw… she's kinda cute like this."
Aria stepped forward, voice soft. "You dance like you're made of light. I just wanted to say that."
Purple almost hid behind Deji again. "Oh… um… thank you… you're very… very good too."
Storm gave Deji a fist bump. "You two are dangerous."
Deji grinned. "That's the plan."
Nicholas gaped at Purple. "You're so quiet! I thought you were going to, like… burn the house down."
Purple panicked. "Oh! No! I don't— I'm not— I mean— I wouldn't—"
Theo stepped forward and gently put a hand on Nicholas's shoulder. "Stop terrifying her."
Nicholas raised his hands. "Right. My bad."
The duos eased around her, careful, kinder than before. They had been prepared to meet a warrior —but they found someone small, soft, unsure.
And strangely, that made them respect her even more.
Lennox whispered to Mira, "I think she's the dark horse."
Mira nodded. "Yeah. The quiet ones… they always wreck the competition."
As all ten duos chatted and complimented one another, the room buzzed with fresh excitement and nerves. Then—beep, beep—the enormous screen above the exit door flickered to life.
James appeared, crisp, smiling, and impossibly composed.
"Hello, duos."
The room instantly settled. People shuffled toward the giant couch, squeezing in shoulder to shoulder, all eyes on the screen.
"I suppose you're all beginning to learn more about the people you met during orientation last week," James continued. "Those same people who are now officially your fellow competitors in the House of Duos."
A couple of duos exchanged glances, some excited, some wary.
"But before I let you go and settle in," he said, lifting a finger, "there are a few important things you need to know about how this house works."
A soft chime sounded, and graphics lit up behind him.
"First: There are ten rooms in this house. Each room is labelled with your duo names and has been customized based on the requests you submitted beforehand."
A few gasps and smiles broke out—Jun nudged Solene excitedly; Indigo clasped Thira's arm; Jade smirked like she already expected luxury.
"Second: You are expected to present a performance every week, following a theme that will be assigned to you."
Some nodded confidently. Others swallowed hard.
"These weekly performances will be ranked by the viewers," James continued. "Results will appear right here on this screen every Monday after your performance on Sunday."
A hush fell. Even confident duos shifted uneasily.
"Third: We respect every dancer and artist's privacy. To keep things fair and organized, there is a booking system for the practice rooms. There are four practice rooms, so wait times shouldn't be long. Each duo is permitted a maximum of three hours per booking."
Raye whispered to Malik, "Three hours? We'll need to strategize." Malik nodded silently.
"Fourth: Throughout your stay, our sponsors will provide games and tasks. Completing them earns you duality points."
Nicholas raised her brows at Theo. "Points? Oh, we're winning those."
James went on, "Your duality points will determine a second ranking inside the house. The more points you have, the higher you stand."
Purple, still feeling unsettled, shrank a little. Rankings—two of them—felt overwhelming.
"Next," James said, "you are allowed to switch partners if—and only if—all members involved agree. However, you must have over 200 duality points to be eligible."
That caused a ripple across the room. Mira and Zayn exchanged a curious look. Jun folded his arms, very sure he would never need a switch.
"And finally," James said, his tone dropping just slightly more serious, "every two weeks, fan rankings will determine your ability to remain in the competition."
A wave of tension swept over the duos. Some straightened with determination. Some froze. Some smiled like competition fuelled them.
James's expression warmed. "Welcome to the House of Duos. Make every moment count."
The screen clicked off.
Silence.
Then—an explosion of overlapping whispers, strategies, nervous giggles, and half-panicked laughter filled the room as the ten duos processed the reality of the game they had just entered….
As all ten duos chatted and complimented one another, the room buzzed with fresh excitement and nerves. Then—beep, beep—the enormous screen above the exit door flickered to life.
James appeared, crisp, smiling, and impossibly composed.
"Hello, duos."
The room instantly settled. People shuffled toward the giant couch, squeezing in shoulder to shoulder, all eyes on the screen.
"I suppose you're all beginning to learn more about the people you met during orientation last week," James continued. "Those same people who are now officially your fellow competitors in the House of Duos."
A couple of duos exchanged glances, some excited, some wary.
"But before I let you go and settle in," he said, lifting a finger, "there are a few important things you need to know about how this house works."
A soft chime sounded, and graphics lit up behind him.
"First: There are ten rooms in this house. Each room is labeled with your duo names and has been customized based on the requests you submitted beforehand."
A few gasps and smiles broke out—Jun nudged Solene excitedly; Aria clasped Storm's arm; Efua smirked like she already expected luxury.
"Second: You are expected to present a performance every week, following a theme that will be assigned to you."
Some nodded confidently. Others swallowed hard.
"These weekly performances will be ranked by the viewers," James continued. "Results will appear right here on this screen every Monday after your performance on Sunday."
A hush fell. Even confident duos shifted uneasily.
"Third: We respect every dancer and artist's privacy. To keep things fair and organized, there is a booking system for the practice rooms. There are four practice rooms, so wait times shouldn't be long. Each duo is permitted a maximum of three hours per booking."
Storm whispered to Aria, "Three hours? We'll need to strategize." Aria nodded silently.
"Fourth: Throughout your stay, our sponsors will provide games and tasks. Completing them earns you duality points."
Nicholas raised his brows at Theo. "Points? Oh, we're winning those."
James went on, "Your duality points will determine a second ranking inside the house. The more points you have, the higher you stand."
Purple, still shyly staying close to Deji, shrank a little. Rankings—two of them—felt overwhelming.
"Next," James said, "you are allowed to switch partners if—and only if—all members involved agree. However, you must have over 200 duality points to be eligible."
That caused a ripple across the room. Mira and Zayn exchanged a curious look. Jun folded his arms, very sure he would never need a switch.
"And finally," James said, his tone dropping just slightly more serious, "every two weeks, fan rankings will determine your ability to remain in the competition."
A wave of tension swept over the duos. Some straightened with determination. Some froze. Some smiled like competition fuelled them.
James's expression warmed. "Welcome to the House of Duos. Make every moment count."
The screen clicked off.
Silence.
Then—an explosion of overlapping whispers, strategies, nervous giggles, and half-panicked laughter filled the room as the ten duos processed the reality of the game they had just entered.
"Well, that ruined the fun…" Nicholas announced dramatically, breaking the heavy silence like someone snapping a twig.
"It was never really supposed to be fun," Purple murmured.
Nicholas placed a hand on his waist, leaning toward her with a teasing grin.
"Oh? Look at you getting all cheeky now, uhn?"
She didn't hide this time around.
She just shot him a side-eye — sharp, unimpressed, and very "don't start with me."
Nicholas froze for a second. then burst into a grin.
"Ohhh, she's shady. I like it."
Deji sighed. "Bro, leave her alone before she actually fights you."
Mira leaned toward Lennox and whispered, "Why do those two look like they're destined to be rivals?" Lennox shrugged. "Polar opposites. It's nature."
Both of them stifled giggles as Nicholas kept provoking and Purple kept side-eyeing him like she was calculating the exact moment she would throw him out a window.
Before it escalated, Blaze clapped sharply.
"Alright! Before someone dies, how about we play a little 'Who Is Who' while we wait for our stuff?"
Everyone agreed and moved toward the circular dining table.
Purple walked past Nicholas and, for no reason at all, gave him one more side-eye just to make sure he knew it wasn't accidental.
Nicholas gasped dramatically.
"Oh, she's consistent. I need everyone to see this."
Indigo dragged Thira to one of the chairs.
"Come on, it'll be fun. You're going first."
"I literally didn't agree to that," Thira protested while sitting anyway.
Raye bounced into a seat beside Malik, who sighed dramatically.
"This feels like a trap."
"It's a bonding exercise," Raye corrected. "Bond."
Jun and Solene took seats across from Zhihao and Efua, already exchanging competitive glances like the game was secretly another ranking.
Storm pulled Aria into the chair next to him.
"If this turns into a roast circle, I'm protecting you."
"You're the one they'd roast," Aria laughed.
Zayn and Mira sat like they were judges in a panel, observing everyone with quiet amusement.
Jade plopped down beside Blaze. "Okay, what are the rules, Game Master?"
Blaze grinned. "It's simple. We point at someone and ask something like: Who is the biggest menace? Who's secretly soft? Who would survive a zombie apocalypse? Majority wins."
Nicholas cracked his knuckles. "I was born for this."
Theo sighed. "And that is exactly what I'm afraid of."
Deji sat beside Purple, who folded into her seat like she wished she could shrink.
He nudged her gently. "You okay playing?"
Purple nodded quickly. "Yes. I'm fine."
Then, under her breath: "Just don't let them ask anything weird."
"They won't," Deji assured—
Nicholas immediately shouted, "FIRST QUESTION! Who looks like they'd cry the fastest?"
Purple's head snapped toward him with the deadliest side eye of the night.
The table erupted into laughter.
Theo dropped his face into his hands.
"It hasn't even been ten seconds…"
Aria giggled. Blaze hit the table. Lennox was wheezing.
Even Mira cracked a smile.
Purple crossed her arms, eyes narrowed.
"If you point at me, I swear I will out-dance you into early retirement."
Nicholas froze.
Then slowly put his hand down.
Blaze laughed. "And THAT is why we're playing this game."
The House of Duos, for the first time, felt alive — a chaotic, warm mess of personalities colliding, teasing, discovering each other one ridiculous question at a time.