Cleaning Up Messes

While Allie was getting ready for her date, Laura, Chloe, and Talia went to check on the three at the Velvet Tower. They entered to find Aubrey and Ellen resting on the bed, propped up on some pillows, with Flora nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, you two, we heard you gals could use some food.” Laura said as she entered and put down a stack of waffles and the jar of syrup on a table nearby the bed. “Though, where’s Flora?”

“We sure could, I’m starving,” Aubrey replied while checking out Chloe as the pink ranger. Then, with a slight amount of worry said, “Flora left a bit after we woke back up. She waited to make sure we were okay, but wanted to be left alone.”

“Yeah, we tried to tell her it was okay, and we weren’t upset with her. In fact, that was a generally great time as far as I’m concerned, but I think Mark’s scolding really got to her.” Ellen continued. “Then she just disappeared, like before.”

“What exactly happened?” Chloe inquired, sitting down next to Aubrey, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Aubrey and Ellen shared an embarrassed glance with one another, then Aubrey said, “We may have gone a little overboard using some of the items here on Ellen, and I may have tricked Flora a bit because of it.”

“Oh, you two definitely deserved that, both as a reward and punishment. I think I would be a bit more upset if you hadn’t because I’m willing to bet Flora would have left me in that all day. That is honestly probably what is making her feel so guilty right now. Seeing how it went and how much worse it could have gotten.”

“I’m confused.” Chloe began. “Mark thought you two wouldn’t really be up and moving around, but how would you two, wearing some of the clothes here… Okay, well, I can see how some of them would do that. But you two don’t seem to be wearing any of this stuff, so why couldn’t you come to breakfast?”

“Um, well, let’s just go with our legs are like jelly right now, and leave it at that.” Aubrey replied as Chloe’s mouth formed a large, comical ‘Oh.’”

“Would you two like some company? Or just be left to recover.” Chloe was hoping Aubrey would say the former.

“I would like to do something, but not sure we will get very far, so I would if we could do something here.” Aubrey unknowingly granted Chloe’s wish.

“How about a board game? I’m sure Cassandra has some around here somewhere.” Talia offered, speaking up for the first time, slightly red in the face from embarrassment over the prior discussion.

“That sounds fun, though, could you confirm it is a normal, ordinary board game and not some magical game that is going to change us every time we roll the dice or something?” Ellen requested. “I loved last night, but dang, am I exhausted. I’m just glad my date night is towards the end of the week because I feel like it will take that long to get back to 100%”

“Well, you four have fun. Not that I don’t want to spend time with you all, but tame board games aren’t really my thing. I also kind of want to go check on Flora, even if it might be hard to find her.”

“Okay, well, good luck, Laura,” Talia said, and Laura left the tower. “So if they have it, how about Catan, or Red Dragon’s Inn? I would always play those with the other grad students back in college.” With shrugs from the others, Talia messaged Cassandra to see what board games were available. Getting a response that she could check the normal board games from the BP Store for free. “Okay, I’ll be right back. Cassandra told me where to get the games.” Talia left, and shortly after, Chloe got a message from Allie. “Hey, looks like Allie wants some of my candies. I'm going to go give them to her and be right back.”

“Okay, well, you’ll know where we’ll be.” Aubrey joked, “Just waiting for your return,” which caused Chloe’s heart to flutter a little.

Merida and Sam went into town after Sam was mostly back to normal. They were looking for things to do with Mark, since their dates were early in the round.

“So soonds like we had verra similar ideas for dates,” Merida said a little glumly. “Glad I found oot whit ye were plannin’ noo, so I dinnae hae tae scramble tae come up wi’ somethin’ else for mine. Somehoo, I don’t think Mark wad find doin’ the same thing o’er an’ o’er a’ that excitin’.”

“Sorry, though, to be fair, yoga and zumba are fairly different from going to the Gym. Plus, I may not end up doing that, so maybe we just need to find you a backup?”

“Wait, I thocht that wis yer plan?”

“It is… but well… okay, can you promise not to tell anyone else what I am about to tell you?”

“Only if it isnae somethin’ that puts someone else in danger.”

“It isn’t,” Sam said, shaking her head, “It is just personal.”

“Then aye.”

“The reason Allie and I used the Hookah was that I couldn’t really deal with explaining my problem to Allie without it. I don’t want to talk about what that problem is. I’m glad I did it with her, but I hadn’t wanted to share either. Long story short, Allie said she would use her Walkthrough for me to help deal with my problem since it is in the way of being with Mark.”

“Awe richt, I see. So ye see marryin’ Mark as juist a matter o’ time, aye?”

“What!?”

“Weel, why else wid Allie use her Walkthrough for ye? She pretty much said plain as day yisterday she didnae think she’d be usin’ it any time soon. Only reason I can think o’ is ‘cause o’ the end o’ her ither TF—whaur she’s supposed tae gladly help those wha want tae tak that step, or somethin’ close tae that. So even if she doesnae want tae help maist o’ us, if you decided ye were gonna tak that step—maybe even juist eventually—weel, that’d explain it, widnae it?”

“I mean, I guess? I don’t really know. You're right though, mostly at least. Allie said her desire to help was swapping back and forth and it was bothering her. So she just decided to help. That’s why I might do something different, because part of the plan might involve going on a specific date. Frankly, if Allie's plan can help me get over this issue, then I will follow it to the letter, even if that does mean marrying Mark.”

Merida raised a curious eyebrow at that. “Maun be a serious problem then, tae be willin’ tae marry a lad juist tae get ower it. But I won’t ask any mair aboot it—clearly it’s somethin’ personal.”

“I appreciate it, and I want to apologize, my first impression of you was that you weren’t all that bright. I was wrong and sorry.”

“Hey, juist 'cause I didnae go tae college doesnae mean I’m no’ smart. I’m learnin’ juist hoo true that is masel',” she said, a bit of mournfulness in her voice. “I’ve gotten a few memories frae an alternate me come through, an’ I wis surprised—I wis in college, and had been datin’ Mark for a couple o’ years. I think I figured oot whit kept Mark an’ me frae gettin’ togither here, ‘cause the second surprise really shocked me. Ma da wis there, helpin’ us pack for a spring break trip togither.”

“Why would that be a surprise?”

“He died, ma first year o’ high school. I got depressed, lost freens, an’ ma grades juist plummeted. We’d juist moved awa frae the street whaur Mark an’ me grew up, an’ he wis a wee bit younger than me. I juist... lost touch wi’ him in a’ ma grief. Guess ma othersel’ an’ Mark didnae lose touch, an’ eventually we got togither some time in high school.”

“Sorry for your loss, and knowing what might have been has to be rough.”

“Aye, thanks. I ken ye unnerstaun. Yer loss is still a lot fresher than mine. I had time tae grieve, but ye haven’t really had that yet. Ay kno’ there’s a lot goin’ on, but ye really should mak time tae grieve properly. Dae it hooever feels richt tae ye, forget whit anyone else says. An’ if ye need someone tae talk tae, ye’ve got an open ear wi’ me.”

“Thanks, Merida. It’s a little funny, I feel like I have made better friends in the past 24 hrs than almost anytime before coming here, save for a select few people.”

“I could say the same. Guess that hale thing aboot dealin’ wi’ stress an’ adversity thegither really does build strong bonds, doesnae it?”

“Sure, but I did that with fellow sailors, and sure, they were my mates, and I would have most of their backs in a heartbeat, but I don’t think I really knew many of them outside of a professional capacity as Navy sailors. Whereas I think with most of you, we are actually becoming friends. Even with how bizarre the situation is.”

“Ay, I ken whit ye mean. Everyone’s pleasant enough, even if we’ve got oor differences. Maybe it’s ’cause we’ve a’ got some kinda compatibility wi’ Mark. Like… we cannae be that different deep doon, or else, unless things were really different, we’d never hae worked oot in thae ither realities.”

“Does that ever bother you? The idea that slightly different circumstances would have meant you would have had a good, happy relationship with a man who loves you instead of, well, all this?”

“Eh, no’ really. Sure, the hale multiple reality thing bein’ real threw me for a wee bit o’ a loop. But I get the idea weel enough. Nae reason tae worry aboot a’ that—it didnae happen tae me, it happened tae them. Plus, if Cassandra’s tae be believed, she actually wants us tae have a happy relationship wi’ him. Is it odd tae me that he’ll be wi’ ither wummen? Aye, very much—no’ exactly the romantic fantasy I’ve always imagined or love readin’ aboot. But I learned real quick ye’ve got tae tak things as they are, no’ as ye wish they were. If ye dinnae, ye’ll juist end up crashin’ an’ burnin’.”

“Sounds like you have decided you’re going to be with him, too.”

“I mean, it’s no’ like I really hae much choice noo, is it? But Mark’s a decent enough bloke, an’ I widnae mind havin’ some other wummen aroond tae hang oot wi’ and dae stuff thegither. Nae reason tae get bent oot o’ shape ower somethin’ ye’ve got essentially nae control ower. I wis raised Catholic masel’, like Mark an’ Talia, but I fa’ somewhere mair in the middle. Easter, Christmas Mass for sure, an’ I’d go tae church when I had the time, but it wisnae a big priority for me like it wis for Talia.”

“Ma point is, far as we’re concerned, Cassandra—an’ ah guess her producer tae—are pretty much Gods, or maybe juist forces o’ nature. They can warp reality. Ye heard Cassandra—the wish we could win has practically nae limits. Wi’ that kind o’ power comin’ against ye, ye dinnae fecht it. Ye either get oot o’ the way, or ye try tae saften the blow. Since I cannae exactly dae the first, micht as weel dae the latter best I can. If that means bangin’ the guy wha wis ma childhood frien’, fine. Least he’s handsome an’ kind. Ay dinnae ken if marryin’ him is whit ay want or no’. Plus, are we even gonna be allowed tae? Polygamy isn’t exactly somethin’ governments are rushin’ tae accept.”

“An’ whit aboot yersel’, eh?”

“I guess I’m pretty much the same. I want to protect the people I care about, so getting eliminated isn’t an option. Which, practically speaking, means being with Mark. Plus, Mark doesn’t seem to mind sharing his partners, at least with other women, which I mean is a nice bonus for me. Allie is adorably cute, so is Flora, honestly, all of you are attractive.”

“Hey, dinnae go gettin’ any ideas aboot seducin’ me. I’m cool wi’ ye bein’ bi an’ a’, but I dinnae swing that way. I micht consider a threesome at some point wi’ Mark, but that’s a lang way aff yet, for sure.”

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I wasn’t trying to hit on you. Anyway, back on topic, yeah, I think I will end up marrying Mark eventually. That is assuming we can legally do that. If we can’t finagle it with magic, then I guess that spot will go to Allie. But it doesn’t mean we can’t view our relationship that way. Ah, here we are — so this is the fitness center in town, I was concerned there might not be one with the area around the boudoir being intended to exercise at. Shall we go inside?” Sam opened the door for them to examine the facilities.

Flora felt awful. How could I be so stupid? I should have held back. Why couldn’t I just tamp down the excitement? This is why people didn’t like you in high school, Flora — Because you get way too over enthusiastic about a topic and hyper fixate. I should just find a corner to crawl into and stay there until I have to leave. Being around people is just too complicated. Wallflower. Maybe that is what I should be, just fade into the background. Be Mark’s pretty little pet kitty. At this point, tears started to roll down Flora’s face.

Mark was right. What I did was reckless and stupid. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for Ellen if we hadn’t gotten that stuff off when we did. What if she hadn’t decided she wanted free or been **** during her window to take off the items, too? I’ll take whatever punishment Mark comes up with because I deserve it.

It was then that Flora heard something strange; it sounded like grunts and a repeated thudding. Which didn’t make a lot of sense to Flora since she was at the top of the Velvet Tower. Thinking that no one would bother to come up here to check to see if she was here. But the more she listened, the grunting was getting louder, and it sounded like it was coming from over the edge of the balcony. She got up and just before reaching the edge saw Laura climb over the side of the balcony.

“LAURA! What the hell!? We are five floors up. What if you had fallen?”

“It’s fine, first, I am a LOT stronger now, more so than even how I look. Second, I doubt that Cassandra would have allowed me to get hurt too badly. Third, I have done Free Climbing like this before. Now don’t even think about running away, or I will be upset with you.”

Flora could not believe Laura. How had she figured out where I was? “What were you thinking, climbing up the side like that? Why not come up the stairs like a normal person?”

“One, Fun. Two, I figured you would prefer that everyone else didn’t know you ran up here to hide.”

Flora narrowed her eyes. “How did you figure it out?”

“I figured you would be in a similar state as the girls downstairs, so you couldn’t have gone too far, and you couldn’t use your boon to hide forever. Best place to hide is under everyone’s nose, or I guess above them in this case.”

“Okay, that’s how, but Why? Why come looking for me when I clearly want to be alone?”

“Because you want to be alone, and right now that isn’t healthy as a response.” Laura’s tone was matter-of-fact.

“How would you know?” Flora’s voice cracked with frustration. “Do you even know what happened?”

“Not fully, but I think I get the gist, though you’re welcome to correct any misconceptions I might have. The three of you came back to the room. I bet Ellen was being a bit annoying, maybe teasing you or Aubrey. You decided you had had enough and wanted to shut her up. Turns out Ellen has a thing for being restrained, which makes sense considering she was the only one to get a straight-up sex fetish path, besides myself. You got overenthusiastic because maybe you like tying people up, maybe you like Ellen. Doesn’t really matter. In your enthusiasm, you either hurt Ellen or at least potentially put her in danger. The fact that neither Aubrey nor Ellen is upset with you makes you feel worse. Then you have Mark actually upset with you, which is making you worried. Of which, you should be worried, he is mad at you. Did I miss anything major?”

Flora stared at the ground, ashamed. “Yeah, and Cassandra encouraged me to do the whole plan, said I would be rewarded if I did all I really wanted to, and could coax Aubrey into letting me.”

“Well, that should have been a sign to reconsider your actions, frankly. Not saying that Cassandra is evil or anything, she seems nice enough. But she clearly enjoys most aspects of her position. Now I won’t tell you that you shouldn’t feel guilty because you almost certainly did go farther than you should. But don’t fucking wallow in a corner having a self-pity party. The correct thing to do is apologize, accept the consequences, and try to do better. Have you apologized? Because Aubrey and Ellen said you waited to check on them, but then ran off after knowing they were alright.”

“I said I was sorry, I told Mark that I didn’t think it would be like that.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t wrong Mark; he is mad because he feels like he has to look out for all of us, which frankly isn’t fair to him, but that isn’t a battle I’ll end up winning. You need to go to Aubrey and Ellen and apologize to both of them. I think you should also tell them why you did it and apologize for running off instead of confronting them. I will say this, I won’t tell them.”

Laura’s expression softened substantially. “Look, I know what it’s like to go overboard during the heat of the moment. I’ve done it a few times. Even when the person enjoyed the entire experience, I still felt guilty because I pushed past where I should have. So I get how you are feeling right now. The only thing that will help is to go down and apologize fully. The longer you wait, the worse it will be both for you and your chances of repairing any damage done.”

“But,”

“No buts. I can tell you have trouble dealing with people, from everything I learned about you so far tells me that you prefer to avoid people. But here’s the thing, you can’t avoid us or Mark. Not if you want to stay in the competition. I’ll tell you what I told Talia: under normal circumstances, I would say you be you. The way you were living was your choice, and nothing wrong with that lifestyle if you chose it. But you will need to change something, or you aren’t going to make it.”

Laura continued putting her hands on her hips. “Flora, look, I know we talked about the stuff in Mark's BP store. I am telling you this because you need to make amends with Ellen and Aubrey, because I don’t want Mark doing something stupid, and doling out a punishment that is going to hurt everyone here, seeing it happen. But I could see Mark making that mistake and not being able to take it back, or worse, making it and him not regretting it. I don’t know if you need to be punished or not. Maybe that will help both with your guilt and fix some hard feelings. But no one got seriously hurt, and I don’t think any permanent damage was done, so go apologize.”

“Do you really think they’ll forgive me, especially Ellen?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s not about you. This is about you taking responsibility. You need to face it. Apologize, and let them decide how to respond. But you can’t avoid it, Flora. The longer you wait, the worse it’ll get. Now, would you like me to go down with you, or would you rather stay here for a while, because I can go back the way I came?”

“I, thank you. For doing this. I think I needed the kick in the pants. I’ll go down the stairs; you can do whichever makes you more comfortable.”

With that, Laura put her hand on Flora’s head between the ears and gave her a few soft pats. “Good, let's head down together.”