"Welcome back to Total Drama Double Trouble!" Chris welcomed as the cameras panned on him at the production camp, "Before the break, Callie pulled off an upset as she ate her way to an individual immunity win. With the elimination ceremony only a few hours away, let's take a look at what everyone has planned."

--------

With the completion of the challenge, the majority alliance was situated in the living room of the mini-mansion, ready to begin their discussion for the upcoming elimination ceremony. However, with the underlying tension among some of the members of the alliance, there were some relationships to mend and air to clear.

"Alright guys, we still have a majority, so we can keep the votes away from us," Veronica reminded, "But before we begin that, there's some stuff that we need to clear up."

"It's been a part of my strategy to keep bigger targets in the game so I'm not the biggest threat. I need to make sure that Rhythm & Dallas can trust Daniel for just one more episode. That way, I can get my plan across."- Veronica

"Last night, Tory claimed that Rhythm & Dallas were going to vote for Daniel," Veronica reminded, "We need to clear the air if this alliance is going to work."

"If you guys don't mind, I'd like Daniel, Rhythm, and I to have a chance to talk alone," Dallas requested.

"Uh, what about the team meeting?" Kavan noted.

"You can just send someone to tell us the plan; if we're voting together, we just need to figure out how we're splitting the votes," Daniel pointed out as he stood up from his seat, "I'm ready to talk now, if you want."

"Let's do it," Rhythm agreed as her and Dallas stood up, "Let's head to the music room."

"We'll tell you in a bit!" Callie assured as the three conflicting alliance members left towards the music room.

"Alright guys, now that the three of them are gone, we need to discuss the real plan," Veronica declared, "Kavan, did you tell Spencer & Zeyad about the plan?"

"Yeah," Kavan confirmed, "They seemed like they were on board."

"What plan?" Alina asked, confused.

"Yeah, what plan?" Karlie added.

"Oh yeah; we have a new plan," Veronica revealed, remembering that Alina & Karlie were out of the loop, "We; and when I say we, I mean Kavan, Callie and I. We think that its best to split up Rhythm & Dallas."

"Oh," Karlie remarked, a bit shocked, "Uh, yeah! That's fine."

"I'm surprised that the plan to blindside Rhythm & Dallas was already in motion. I'm just glad that I'm not the one that had to bring it up; keeps less of a target on my back."- Karlie

"Callie, you're alright with this?" Alina asked, wanting assurance.

"Yeah, it's what's best for all of us," Callie assured.

"It's good to know that Callie is getting more involved in strategizing, I just hope that she's making these moves because she wants to, and not because the others want her to."- Alina

"If Dallas and Rhythm want to get rid of Daniel right now, I need to vote one of them out just to hold them back a bit longer."- Callie

"Then I guess I'm on board," Alina agreed, "And Spencer & Zeyad are voting with us?"

"Correct," Veronica confirmed as she paced around the L-shaped couch, "That means we have eight votes to split. We just need to figure out who we want to target."

"I think it's clear," Kavan admitted, "Dallas is louder, crazier, and more unpredictable than Rhythm. That makes her more dangerous."

"I don't think I've ever fully trusted Dallas. Maybe it's because she kept on trying to overtake Roni, but she also hasn't given me a reason to trust her fully. She's strategic, but she's like a short-fused firecracker. She could explode at any moment, so we should probably vote her out before that happens."- Kavan

"I mean, we voted her out before for a reason," Kavan reminded, "It's better if she goes."

"Can I say....eh, I'll just say it," Callie declared as she cleared her throat before speaking again, "I kinda think that Rhythm is more dangerous."

"Why?" Veronica asked, curious.

"I mean, Dallas is gonna be targeted as long as she's here, so we can vote her out anytime," Callie noted, "Rhythm's being more secretive, and that worries me."

"Rhythm pinned Alina & I against each other during the challenge, which makes it clear that she might not be on my side 100%. And with Dallas, her and I have actually been able to talk one-on-one with each other. Even though she's a bit crazy, I feel safer with her in the game than Rhythm."- Callie

"Remember: she placed second last season," Callie reminded, "She's a great competitor."

"But that was last season; things change in two years," Veronica insisted, "You're a perfect example of that; you placed sixteenth last season and now you're in the final ten!"

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Callie agreed.

"We can't always judge people on their past actions; sometimes the recent actions mean more," Veronica claimed, "And recently, Dallas seems to be the more dangerous camper."

"I guess I can agree with that," Karlie agreed, "She has to go tonight."

"I've been thinking about getting rid of Dallas ever since she was brought back. She's way too unpredictable to keep around and it'd take a hail mary for someone to convince me otherwise."- Karlie

"Well, if we all agree that Dallas should go tonight, we just need to figure out who's voting for who," Kavan rationalized.

"I guess it doesn't really matter who votes for who," Veronica admitted, "How about....the five of us vote for Dallas, and the other three guys vote for Rhythm?"

"Fine by me," Karlie agreed.

"Sure," Alina added as she turned towards her friend, "Is that alright, Callie?"

"Yeah, that works," Callie assured.

"Alright. Kavan, you can go and tell Daniel about the plan, Karlie can go tell Spencer & Zeyad about the plan; meeting adjourned," Veronica declared as her fellow alliance members got up from their seats, "Remember: as far as Rhythm & Dallas are aware, we're targeting Spencer. We don't say anything about this until after the vote. Break."

"This is gonna be the first real blindside of the merge and honestly, I'm looking forward to it. Someone has to make the first move and I'm ready to make it. But what I also know is that once the first move is made, the entire dam breaks. After this, everyone's gonna start planning their own big moves, and I've just got to be ready for it."- Veronica

--------

Veronica wasn't wrong; people were ready to start planning their own big moves in order to put themselves in a better position to make it to the end. However, there were two things that Veronica hadn't considered: how early big moves would be made, and who would be making the big moves. Unbeknownst to her, plans were already in place to disrupt the current plan, and they came from an unlikely source.

"Hey, we need to talk," Callie insisted as she and Alina climbed the stairs to the second floor of the mini-mansion.

"Go ahead," Alina allowed, "You know that you can talk to me about anything."

"Okay, I don't know if it's a good idea to vote out Dallas," Callie admitted.

"When I was invited to come back for this season, I wanted to play nicely. What I meant was that I want to do the right things, even if it goes against what most of the campers want. Early this season, I thought that eliminating Ariton was the best for my alliance, and I helped vote him out. This time, I really don't think that Dallas is our biggest problem, so I've got to protect her."- Callie

"I was afraid that you'd say that," Alina revealed, "Callie, we can't keep her here."

"Please, just hear me out," Callie requested, "Just this once."

"This is bad. Dallas and Callie have gotten too close to each other, and now Callie is trying to protect Dallas. I didn't want to do it, but I had to get to Callie and make sure that she knows who will actually be loyal to her."- Alina

"Callie, Dallas is bad for all of us," Alina insisted, "We can't keep her here."

"Maybe, but Rhythm is worse for us," Callie claimed, "We know that Rhythm can make it to the final two; Dallas won't get anywhere near there."

"The future is for the future; we need to think about right now," Alina retorted, "Right now, Dallas is the more volatile and unpredictable camper."

"If that's true, then people will still take her out next time!" Callie noted, "So many people like Rhythm; if Dallas goes, I think Rhythm might make it far because Dallas won't be here to overshadow her."

"Callie, I'm gonna ask you something, and I want honesty," Alina began as she stopped walking and grabbed Callie by the shoulders, "Did you make a deal with Dallas?"

"No!" Callie answered truthfully, "I didn't!"

"Then why do you want to protect her?" Alina asked.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?!" Callie apologized, nearly crying, "Please don't be upset!"

"Hey, I'm not upset," Alina insisted as she pulled Callie in for a hug, "I'm just confused. Everyone wants her out; why don't you?"

"I just..." Callie began before wiping away her tears and clearing her voice, "I just don't think that she's as bad as everyone says she is."

"Callie, you know that I want what's best for us," Alina reminded, "If you want to make a big move, I'll be on your side any other time. But I just can't do it this time, okay?"

"Alright..." Callie conceded, "Fine..."

"It's bad when my best friend doesn't want to help me out. But I'm not gonna give up; I know that I can't win if I just sit around. Just like Daniel from last season; when something bad happened, he found a way to fix it instead of giving up. And I'm gonna find a way to make this work."- Callie

--------

Even though it was two years ago, no one forgot the events that happened last season. Everyone remembered the personalities of the campers, the strategies of the campers, and most importantly, the popularity of the campers. For Rhythm & Daniel, they were two of the most popular returnees from the previous season, so both of them understood the concept of making people like them. Right now, they were in the music room with Dallas, making sure that they still liked each other enough to not target each other.

"So, you two admit that you planned to blindside me?" Daniel asked, wanting clarification.

"Yeah," Rhythm agreed, "Can't exactly say sorry."

"There's no point in lying to Daniel; he can read people like he reads a newspaper. And since the alliance insists on staying together, I have to make sure that he's not gonna try and take me out. At least, not until tomorrow."- Rhythm

"And I don't expect either of you to do that," Daniel agreed, "I know that we haven't had the best relations, but I still see you two as respectable players, and I don't blame you for what you did."

"Kavan told that there's a plan to get rid of Dallas, so all I really need to do is hold them off for a few hours so they won't try and pull a counter-blindside against me. Honestly, I've done much more difficult things in this game, so I'm not that concerned."- Daniel

"Big moves will be made eventually, and we've got to be ready for it," Daniel reminded, "Just because you guys were gonna make a move against me doesn't mean that this window of communication is gone. I hope that we can talk in the future."

"Whatever it takes to make it another day, we'll do it," Dallas remarked, "Let's just take it day by day and hopefully we'll both still be here."

"Alright then, are we good?" Daniel asked, wanting assurance.

"Done," Dallas confirmed.

"I'm fine," Rhythm agreed.

"Good. Now if you don't mind, I gotta cook something," Daniel declared as he stood up and left the room, "Stress cooking for the win."

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Rhythm asked.

"I don't think he's lying," Dallas answered, "No one's that big of an idiot."

"I have a hard time believing that Daniel would lie to us like that. I think he has enough balls to stand up to us. Then again, he didn't have the balls to eliminate Amalia last season so he'd be guaranteed a million dollars, so who knows what he's doing?"- Dallas

"You've known Daniel longer than I have," Dallas noted, "Do you think he's lying?"

"Uh......no," Rhythm admitted, "But I'm pretty sure he's coming after us next time."

"Daniel's a forgiving person, but I doubt that he'll forgive us completely. The second he gets the chance, he's gonna try to take us out. Which might be next episode. I'm gonna keep an eye on him."- Rhythm

"Hey guys!" Alina greeted as she appeared in the doorway, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Uh....no; not really," Dallas assured, "Come in. What's up?"

"We just finished the meeting," Alina claimed, "You two and Karlie are voting for Zeyad, the rest of us are voting for Spencer."

"Alright, thanks," Rhythm thanked, "Everyone's on board?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Alina assured.

"That was a boldface lie, but I had to do it. Someone had to keep them in the dark, and hopefully they believe it. As long as the rest of the alliance sticks together with Spencer & Zeyad, everything will be fine; Dallas is out of here."- Alina

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While Alina kept Rhythm & Dallas in the dark, Karlie was busy talking to Spencer & Zeyad behind the communal washrooms. With the majority alliance ready to collapse on itself, Spencer & Zeyad were the new suitors for extra votes. Even though they didn't have enough power to make a move on their own, they could at least buy themselves another episode of safety.

"So you're sure that this plan will work?" Spencer asked, wanting assurance.

"If you don't trust me now, you'll never be able to trust me," Karlie rationalized, "If you two vote for Rhythm, the votes will be split, ensuring that one of Rhythm or Dallas get voted out."

"I still don't trust Karlie fully; I mean, she's responsible for Annie & Damien's eliminations. But I have no choice but to trust her; it's either I vote as she says, or I get voted out. Hopefully this buys me enough time to get back into the flow of the competition."- Spencer

"I really hope I can trust you," Spencer admitted, "I don't want to get screwed over again."

"I'm used to it by now," Zeyad joked, chuckling, "Girl, just remember that this doesn't have to be a one-time thing; if we pull this off, we can still work together going forward."

"I don't wanna be the target; I wanna be the one making the moves. In order to do that, I need to start rebuilding connections; Karlie and I haven't really talked at all during the game, so if I can make myself look good to her, I might be able to get out of the bottom of the lineup."- Zeyad

"I'm not saying that I trust Zeyad, but he hasn't taken a direct shot at me yet. Although, I have screwed him over a couple times, so the shot could come soon. I'm not gonna put all my faith in him, but I'll keep my options open."- Karlie

"Anything said to me doesn't fall on deaf ears," Karlie assured, "I'm willing to keep on talking going forward."

"So, the votes will be split 5-3, we're voting for Rhythm, and Dallas will be voted out," Spencer repeated, wanting to confirm the plan.

"That's right," Karlie agreed, "If anything changes, I'll let you two know."

"Alright, thanks," Spencer thanked.

With that, Spencer & Zeyad left to further mitigate any remaining paranoia of their own, while Karlie walked into the communal bathroom. Seeing no one in there, she decided to take some time to think about her current situation. After all, with the first real post-merge blindside about to occur, she wanted to make sure that she was in the proper spot to make it out without a lot of blood on her hands.

"Dallas goes tonight...I rally the allies against Rhythm..." Karlie muttered, trying to verbalize her plan, "Veronica may be next..."

"At the rate that people are being voted out, I need to take more time to ensure that I'm not the focus of any alliance. With Dallas' planned blindside, I know that the tables are going to turn against the core six alliance members, and I want to make sure that the order goes along with what I want."- Karlie

"Then Spencer.....maybe Kavan next-" Karlie began before being interrupted by the sudden sound of a toilet flushing, "Who's there?!"

"I've been wanting to talk to you," Callie revealed as she stepped out of the stall and joined Karlie by the sinks.

"How long were you in there?" Karlie asked.

"Not long at all; at least it didn't feel that long," Callie admitted as she washed her hands, "But we need to talk about the vote."

"What's there to talk about?" Karlie questioned, "Did the plan change?"

"It will if you vote with me," Callie answered, "We're supposed to vote for Dallas, right?"

"Yeah," Karlie confirmed.

"I think we should switch and vote for Rhythm," Callie revealed, "I really think so."

"Okay; Callie, I'm gonna say something, and I'm only saying this because I care about you," Karlie prefaced, "Do not let Dallas take advantage of you!"

"She's not taking advantage of me! She didn't even tell me to do this!" Callie insisted, "This is all my idea!"

"A lot of people around here treat me like I'm eight. I know that they're just trying to be nice, but I can handle myself; I mean, I did win immunity on my own. This is my one chance to make a move that is entirely my idea, and not anyone else's."- Callie

"I thought it over, and I think this is what's best," Callie admitted, "Not just for me, but for you and our allies too."

"I'd like to know how you'd justify that," Karlie requested.

"First of all, we need to get rid of who we think is the biggest threat," Callie noted, "Everyone says it's Dallas, but Rhythm is just as dangerous; she got second place last season!"

"Dallas is more dangerous because she's unpredictable," Karlie reminded, "We can get rid of Rhythm later."

"That's what everyone said about Katelyn last season, and she made it all the way to the final five," Callie noted, "People love Rhythm; people like Veronica won't target her. And if they're not targeting her, and if Zeyad & Spencer don't win any challenges, they're gonna come after us."

"That's...." Karlie began before pausing, "True...."

"If everyone wants Dallas out so badly, keeping her here only buys us one more episode of safety," Callie claimed, "Dallas will be after Veronica, Veronica will be after Dallas. We're not gonna be targeted."

As much as Karlie wanted to stand her ground and make her move the official one, she couldn't help but ponder what Callie was telling her. Even though Callie's move was risky, it was exactly what Karlie wanted to do with her gameplay. By voting for Rhythm, she keeps Veronica & Dallas in the game, who would likely go after each other, which would keep her out of the spotlight. At the same time, it would be difficult to explain herself if anyone asked if she swapped her vote.

"That's a good idea in theory;" Karlie admitted, "But I don't know if it's a good idea in practice."

"Why not?" Callie asked, confused, "It's perfect for us!"

"Once the blindside happens, people are gonna know that someone swapped their vote," Karlie noted, "They'll know it's us."

"Of course, and when they ask us, we're gonna be honest with them," Callie explained, "If we're honest, they'll still trust us enough to go to us for help."

"I've spent a lot of my time in the game trying to go along with what people say, and I've put my trust in people to make the right moves. But for me and my closest allies, I just don't think that getting rid of Dallas is the right move. Hopefully Karlie realizes that."- Callie

"Attention campers!" Chris shouted through the loudspeakers, "It's time for the elimination ceremony! Make your way to the campfire area now!"

"C'mon Karlie; trust me!" Callie pleaded, "I asked Alina, and she said no; I need you to help me! Just trust me once!"

"I'm not saying that Callie isn't thinking straight, but she seems like someone that can easily be influenced. I truly don't know if keeping Dallas safe is her plan or someone else's. Callie's making some good points, but this is a big move that might put too big of a target on my back Ugh...." *leans forward into her arms*- Karlie

--------

For the first time in a while, the campers entered the campfire area eagerly, as if they were looking forward to voting someone out. With them being about halfway through the competition, it made sense that they'd be getting used to voting people out by now. Instead of simply making it far, everyone was ready to start thinking about how they could win, and this vote would reflect that.

"It's time for another elimination ceremony!" Chris declared as he stood in front of the campers, "It's not new to you all: you go into the Confession Can, x-out the photo of the person that you want to vote out, I'll check and tally the votes, then I'll hand out marshmallows to those who are safe. Whoever doesn't receive a marshmallow will be forced to walk down the Dock of Shame and leave the island on the Jet Ski of Losers. Go vote!"

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"I can't have you keep on going after Roni, so bye."- Kavan

"You really need to go; not just because you're unpredictable, but because I need Callie on my side 100%. And with you here, that just can't happen."- Alina

"At this point, I gotta do what I need to do to stay in the game. That means voting for you. Oh well."- Spencer

"If I'm the one going tonight, consider yourself lucky. You won't be targeted for a while."- Dallas

"I hope that you weren't the one trying to kick me out, and hopefully you won't hate me for doing this."- Daniel

"I voted you out once for trying to control my game, and you really haven't changed. Bye."- Veronica

"Hopefully people are telling me the truth and you'll be left to go to me for help. I'll be looking forward to working with you to win."- Rhythm

"I'm really sorry that I have to vote for you. If I don't, my head is gonna be on the next plate. And my head looks better on my body." *shudders*- Zeyad

"This isn't easy to do, but this isn't an easy game. I'm really sorry."- Callie

"I really wish that we could've talked more, but I guess it'll have to wait until I get to Playa de Losers. Or the finale."- Karlie

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"Alright campers; I've tallied the votes and the following campers are safe," Chris began as he picked up a few marshmallows, "Veronica, Daniel, Alina, Kavan, Callie, Spencer, & Karlie; you guys are safe. The ones in danger tonight are Zeyad, Rhythm, & Dallas."

That declaration resulted in different emotions from the three campers in danger. Zeyad was concerned; even though he was told that he'd be safe, he still felt worried that he could be voted out. Rhythm was immediately concerned; with her and Dallas both receiving votes, she felt worried that one of them would be going home, and moved to hug Dallas. Contrary to her girlfriend, Dallas wasn't too worried; she felt that she knew what was going to happen, and was ready to accept whatever the votes had in store for her.

"The final marshmallows go to....Zeyad!" Chris began as he tossed Zeyad his marshmallow, "And..........Dallas! Rhythm's out!"

At that moment, the entire group of campers gasped in shock. Callie & Karlie acted surprised, not wanting anyone to immediately know that they were responsible. Dallas and Rhythm were shocked, not expecting Rhythm to be the one that was targeted. As for everyone else, their plan worked as far as getting someone out, but their desired target wasn't eliminated, leaving them confused and worried.

"Okay, you guys are really good at keeping things consistent," Chris admitted, "The 10th place eliminations are always blindsides."

"No sh*t, Captain Obvious," Dallas commented, clearly annoyed, "What the f*ck?"

"Did you guys really hate me that much?" Rhythm asked, visibly hurt.

"Okay, I'm just gonna say it: this isn't my fault," Veronica declared, not wanting to be blamed, "Someone switched their vote."

"Multiple people switched," Spencer corrected, "If it was gonna be 5-3-2, at least two people needed to have switched."

"Well, those two people are gonna pay!" Dallas declared.

"Dallas, could you please calm down?" Callie requested, a bit scared.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Dallas ordered as she picked a saddened Rhythm up from her seat, "C'mon baby, let's get away from these sh*theads."

--------

Oddly enough, the person who was the most upset with the blindside wasn't even the person who was voted out. Not only was Dallas infuriated that her alliance betrayed her, she was upset that they seemingly targeted Rhythm over herself. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she deserved to be voted out much more than Rhythm; so finding out that her girlfriend was going home instead made her resent the others even more.

"Look, you and I both know that you deserve to be here," Dallas insisted as she stood on the Dock of Shame with Rhythm, "And I'm gonna prove to all of them that they made a mistake by keeping me here."

"I know you will; you always do," Rhythm agreed as Dallas wiped a single tear from her left eye, "You can do this. You can win."

"I'll do everything in my power," Dallas assured as she kissed Rhythm, "I love you."

"I love you too," Rhythm reciprocated as the couple hugged.

"They all screwed up big time. I don't care who knew about the plan and who didn't; they're all going down. One by one, they'll all fall. Just watch me do it."- Dallas

After saying goodbye to Rhythm, Dallas silently walked back towards the other campers without looking back; she didn't even turn when she heard Rhythm's screams as she was sent away on the Jet Ski of Losers. She didn't want to think about anything else other than eliminating the others one by one, and she needed to conserve all her energy and power to do it.

"At least she's stopped talking," Daniel whispered to Veronica.

"That's not gonna last long," Veronica noted, also whispering, "Do you know what happened with the vote?"

"I've got no clue," Daniel admitted, "Honest."

"Looks like a couple people switched their votes, and it wasn't me for once. I don't know if this is good or bad yet, but I'm not gonna wait to find out; I've gotta start talking to everyone and figure out what's going on."- Daniel

"I feel like I know what happened, and I gotta make sure Dallas believes what I'm gonna tell her. Let's just say.....Daniel better watch his back, because it could be him leaving next time."- Veronica

"Well campers, before I send you off, Callie needs to pick who she's sending to Boney Island and who she wants to join her in the mini-mansion," Chris reminded.

"Well, I'd like Daniel to join me in the mini-mansion," Callie revealed, "And I'll send Alina to Boney Island."

"Uh....are you sure that you didn't get that reversed?" Alina asked.

"Yeah...I'd have to agree with Alina on this one," Daniel admitted.

"Guys, I know what I'm doing," Callie assured, "Daniel will join me in the mini-mansion and Alina will go to Boney Island."

"I needed to make a strategic choice. I want Daniel with me in the mini-mansion so I can explain to him what happened and ensure that he still likes me. For Alina, I don't think she's upset with me, so I sent her to Boney Island so she can try and find an invincibility statue. Hopefully this works."- Callie

With that, Chris sent Alina to a boat located down the beach and sent the remainder of the campers to their respective lodgings. That left Chris alone on the Dock of Shame, and he was smiling wider than ever before. He knew with absolute certainty that this blindside would change the course of the game, and all he had to do was sit around and watch the sparks fly.

"Well, I guess this elimination shows one thing: being liked could be just as bad as being hated," Chris noted as he talked to the main camera, "Will Callie & Karlie get exposed for their vote swap? What will Dallas do without Rhythm? And who will be voted out next? Find out next time, right here, on Total...Drama...Double Trouble!"

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Final Words:

"This season was definitely a change from last season. Last time around, I came here a loner, made a few friends, and strategized my way to the final two. This season, I came with an ally, and I lost her early on. I haven't really been the same since then. Even though Dallas was brought back, I just haven't felt the same. I feel really bad that Dallas is left in the game without any support. But I guess if I can do it, she can too. Hopefully me being blindsided lights a fire under her and helps her make it farther. I'll be rooting for you, baby!" *blows kiss*- Rhythm

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Votes:

Kavan: Dallas

Alina: Dallas

Spencer: Rhythm

Dallas: Zeyad

Daniel: Rhythm

Veronica: Dallas

Rhythm: Zeyad

Zeyad: Rhythm

Callie: Rhythm

Karlie: Rhythm