Derby was surprised that her hands weren't shaking. The last time she was invited to a sleepover was more than fifteen years ago, and she got so scared packing that she begged her mom to call her friend's mom with an excuse for why she couldn't make it.

This time was a bit different. This time she had been invited by Brie, her pseudo bride, to spend the night at the new home of the dark lords. Derby wasn't sure if that bride thing needed to be in play anymore now that Magie de Madawaska had arrived in Derby's world, she hadn't had the chance to talk to Brie about their fake marriage scheme since Magie arrived. Brie also had been spending most of the time getting the new place ready, which made Derby feel surprisingly lonely. She wasn't too pleased at having her space interrupted with her new dark lord bunk mate when Brie first arrived, but when she was gone it didn't feel right.

She cast all that aside for now, focusing on how she'd fit everything into a backpack and a travel bag.

"Oh my god," Derby's sister Colby was in the doorway, leaning against it with her arms crossed. "You're not seriously thinking of bringing your anime figures, are you?"

"Well!" Derby said, blushing as she set one aside. "Some of them are lucky, so..."

"Mom!" Colby called out.

"Don't call for Mom..." Derby said.

Derby and Colby's mother Dani approached, running over like there was a fire. "What? What is it?"

"Tell Derby she doesn't need anime figures for luck for a sleepover with her weird friends," Colby said.

"Don't tell her that..." Derby said.

"Derby," Dani sighed. "You're going to have a good time. Just pack the essentials, it's just a night."

"But my Cheapy Cheapy figure is essential!" Derby said.

"What if she gets broken when you're there? Remember how sad you got the last time you broke one of your vtuber figures?" Dani asked. "She's safer on your shelf."

Derby was surprised her mom even remembered what a vtuber was, it felt like she'd explained them to her at least fifteen times. She did have a point though. "Fine, fine."

"It's gonna be so nice not having Derby around for a night," Colby said.

"I'm gonna miss her, but she does need to get out more," Dani said.

"You don't need to roast me while I'm right here," Derby pouted. "Gonna call Aunt Emme over and have her say how much I suck, too?"

"Ooh, good idea," Colby said.

"No, it's not, Emme would just start arguing that Derby has to bring her vtuber along because she can't not start an annoying fight," Dani said. "Besides, she's at a job interview right now."

"Pfft, really?" Colby asked. "No way."

"Way! Well, she better be at least, I helped her apply for this and everything." Dani scoffed. "But enough about my loser sister."

"Yeah, let's talk about my loser sister!" Colby snickered.

"Stop!" Derby whined.

"We're just teasing, Derbs," Dani said. "Well, I am, your sister has a mean streak, she might be serious."

Colby shrugged, not saying either way.

"Maybe some teasing will make it easier to go," Dani said. "You're probably sick of us, you could use a night off too."

Derby wasn't tired of her family, but when they teased her like this it did make her a bit more eager to leave. "I guess so. I'm still pretty nervous."

"I'm sure you'll have fun," Dani said. "Your friends'll be happy to see you."

"Yeah..." Derby said.

Derby got a bit more decisive and finished packing up. Colby offered to drive her, but Derby had enough of her younger sister's annoyance and decided on getting a ride from their mom instead.

"While they're here, you gotta take care of em, alright?" Dani said as she drove.

"What do you mean?" Derby asked.

"I mean, they're from another world, figuring this one out still. They're probably a bit scared too, even if they don't show it. They need a guide like you to take care of em, make em feel safe, feed em, you know, all that jazz. They're your responsibility, you know."

"You're talking about them like they're..." Derby trailed off. "Like, pets or something..."

"Well, not pets, but you are the one they came here for," Dani said.

"Not really! I just kinda ran into Brie..."

"You're the one they followed, then," Dani said. "I'll do my part too when they're here, of course, but you're the one they're gravitating to, so it's a good lesson on being a responsible friend."

"Mrrggh," Derby tried to think of how she'd even do that.

Arriving at the dark lords' house, Derby was somewhat surprised to see them hanging out on the front lawn. Magie was lying down on a chair, reading a magazine and tanning while Brie was playing with a hose, with CC standing across from her.

"Kay, have fun, love you!" Dani said.

"Love you too, Mom..." Derby said, shutting the door.

Derby cautiously approached the dark lords. The hose Brie wielded had a spray attachment at the tip, and she kept firing bursts at CC, who tried to slice them with her hands.

"I told you, it doesn't work if you don't have your swords," Brie said. She fired another blast of water right at CC's face.

"Ack!" CC said. "Of course it doesn't work when you aim so randomly!"

Brie dropped the hose as the two started grappling. Derby wasn't sure if she should interfere, standing awkwardly at the edge of a stone walkway that led to the house.

"U-um...hi," Derby waved.

Brie gasped, letting go of a headlock she had on CC. "Why, if it isn't Derby of Hope!"

Before Derby could react, Brie practically sprinted at her, hugging her tightly, lifting her off the ground. "H-hi, Brie. Again." Brie set Derby down, giving her a headpat.

"Come see! We are exploring and experimenting with the new abode," Brie said. "You'll love it."

"Hey, Derby," CC said. "Current experiment: the hoses. They're pretty good, but Brie's not very fair with timing, you know? And they're a lot harder to slice without my swords."

"I see..." Derby said.

Magie set down her issue of Dark Lords Monthly and sat up. "Derby's here!?"

Derby had only just met Magie, but the dark lord had taken a liking to her. She didn't sprint to give her a bearhug like Brie, but she approached much more quickly than Derby was ready for.

"Derby of Hope!" Magie said.

Derby realized as Magie also gave her a hug that the dark lord's bikini was rather skimpy. Like Brie, the two didn't seem to have much concern for wearing clothing that showed off a lot of skin. Derby blushed, not sure if she should hug Magie back.

"Why aren't you hugging me back, Derby of Hope?" Magie asked. It sounded like an order, one that if Derby was part of Magie's court she'd be severely punished if she didn't obey.

"E-er, sorry!" Derby said.

"I notice you're still not hugging me back," Magie said. "Do you not like me?"

Magie now sounded like she was going to cry, but there was still a hint of anger in her voice.

"That's not it!" Derby said. Her hands slowly reached for Magie's back. "You're just...really...beautiful. So I'm a bit...shy about...heh heh..."

"Just hug me already," Magie said.

Derby finally managed to hug Magie back, which ended up meaning she felt Magie's back. Her skin was warm, soft, she felt really nice to hold.

"Give Derby of Hope a break," Brie said, prying Magie off of Derby. She then held her arms out again. "Hug me again like that."

"I, er..." Derby said. "O...OK..."

Brie didn't pick Derby up this time, but she still clung tightly to Derby. She wasn't sure if Brie meant to smush Derby's face right into her chest, but between these hugs Derby felt like she was going to explode from overheating.

"I...uh...awawa..." Derby said, feeling like her head was spinning.

"I'm not really into hugs," CC announced. "So don't feel bad you haven't given me one yet."

"Oh, don't pout," Magie said. "If you want to hug Derby of Hope, she's right here, and very huggable."

"Nah, I'm above all that," CC said. "Well...maybe a quick hug."

Derby would have gone over to hug CC herself, but her legs felt like jelly. CC just gave her a quick embrace, but somehow that made Derby feel even more overwhelmed. She'd never had many hugs from friends before meeting the dark lords. Sage gave a few here and there, but typically they were too cool for that kind of thing, at least that was Derby's take on it.

"So, are the others still coming?" Derby asked. Usually Sage was pretty timely so it was kind of a surprise Derby got there first.

"How should we know?" Magie asked.

"We could contact them, I suppose," Brie said, pulling out her phone. "Derby of Hope, explain again how to send a text-based message. And make sure I don't send any pictures this time."

"R-right," Derby said. "Don't want a repeat of that...picture incident." She said that, but she admitted to herself she wouldn't mind a repeat of that at all, their last lesson in text message sending resulting in Brie accidentally taking a picture of herself that was a bit risque.

Derby showed Brie how to send a group message to Sage and Lacy.

"Well, I'm adding you as well," Brie said. "I don't like sending messages that don't involve you, Derby of Hope."

"Aw...." Derby blushed. That sent her completely over the edge, and while she didn't faint, she was overheated and overwhelmed enough that the dark lords thought she was having a reaction to the heat and brought her inside.