Saturday morning, Dante barely made it down the stairs before two voices shouted his name.
"DANTE!"
He froze. In front of him stood Lana and Lola, shoulder to shoulder, glaring at each other like rival cowgirls.
"What's this about?" Dante asked carefully.
"She's hogging you!" Lola snapped, tiara glinting.
"Am not!" Lana shot back. "You hogged him all yesterday with your dumb tea party!"
"Dumb?! My parties are refined!" Lola tossed her hair dramatically.
"Yeah? Well, mud wrestling's fun, not boring!"
The twins turned to him in unison. "So who's better to hang out with?"
Dante raised his hands like he was surrendering. "Uh… both of you? In different ways?"
But they weren't having it.
Within minutes, Dante found himself dragged into a "royal tea party" where Lola lectured him on manners. She perched a plastic crown on his head and forced him to sip imaginary tea. Dante played along, bowing dramatically after every sip.
"You're a natural," Lola said proudly.
Meanwhile, Lana was in the backyard, fuming. As soon as the tea party ended, she ambushed Dante with a box of frogs. "C'mon! You're my co-pilot in the Great Frog Derby!"
Before he knew it, Dante was crouched in the grass, cheering on slimy amphibians while Lana whooped beside him.
The day spiraled into a tug-of-war — literally. At one point, Lola clung to one arm while Lana yanked the other, and Dante nearly face-planted into the carpet.
Lincoln leaned against the doorway, munching a sandwich. "Dude, you're toast. Best case? They split you down the middle."
"Gee, thanks," Dante muttered, trying to keep his arms attached.
Finally, he gathered the twins on the couch. "Look, you don't need to fight. I like hanging out with both of you. But if you keep this up, I won't hang out with either."
The twins crossed their arms.
"So who's better?" Lola demanded.
"Yeah!" Lana echoed. "Pick one!"
Dante leaned forward. "Fine. The better twin is… the one who stops fighting first."
The girls blinked. They sat in silence for a full five minutes. Then Lola sighed. "Fine. I guess mud isn't totally gross."
"And I guess tea parties aren't totally boring," Lana admitted.
Dante grinned. "See? You both win."
Lincoln smirked. "Smooth. You should get a medal for surviving them."
Dante chuckled, pulling a frog out of his pocket. "Forget medals. I'll settle for a new shirt."