Intermission: For a better tomorrow, today.

Carrie is sitting on a deck chair on the terrace, trying to concentrate on the music in her ears. Smooth jazz is always a good distraction from the hustle and bustle of the world around her. She has a good memory and is smart enough to remember which thoughts are important and which are not. So she knows exactly the day on which she started to be interested in her favorite music. It has been years since her boyfriend pointed out to her after an argument... a lively discussion, that this music might help. At that time she was only freshly together with Michael and he had still displayed this hideous quality of wanting to influence her. As if he could. Carrie frowns and watches the goings on on the lawn in front of her. It's amazingly empty when Finn is gathering his damn harem around him. She hardly pays any attention to Susan and Claire. The two act like little children. Rachel and Karen are walking on the edge of the forest and talking about something Carrie is not interested in either. Sure about him. A snort of scorn. Michael would say now that there is no need to be angry. 'You just can't control everything.' And she couldn't protect Emma. Especially not from herself. And Michael is right. Basically he's very intelligent. Sometimes even smarter than she is, but Carrie prefers not to tell her boyfriend that. Otherwise he would come up with ideas. Like her, he wants to go into politics or business later. He hasn't made up his mind yet, and Carrie thinks that's ridiculous. Michael would answer that one should enjoy life and not steer it into predefined channels. Then there would be an argument... a lively discussion.

And then Carrie would run to Emma and complain to her about her stupid boyfriend, as she has always done since they met. Emma would listen to her, try to comfort her as best she could, and suggest a solution. Carrie would dismiss the idea, but because she doesn't want to offend Emma, she would think about what to do instead. Then she would find a solution and thank Emma for giving her the idea. Emma would shine and the two would hug. It's always been the same game and both of them have mastered it to perfection. But now everything is different. Carrie watches her two friends go for a walk. They didn't take off their bikinis because Karen wants to see Finn drown in the lake when he's out again. When Rachel noted the flaws in this plan, Karen said that she would save him. With mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The plan was passed and Carrie giggled and thought that a lot can go wrong with such a plan. Wouldn't be the first time Karen got it all wrong. Michael would also not like that she thinks so badly about her friends. There was a lot he wouldn't like about the Carrie, which was created during the time at the lake. At the thought of how she has to talk to him after her return - hopefully soon - and honestly tell him what happened, her stomach cramps. She will tell him everything. They have reached an agreement because only then can a strong spirit and a spirit that is not always so strong live together. Well, I'll tell him what he needs to know, she thinks, and lolls on the deck chair. She only wears her black, monochrome and inconspicuous swimsuit, has decided against a bikini so that Finn does not rush on her and tries to **** her into his harem by ****. Karen would love that. Little bitch. Her eyes wander to the girl and look at her together with Rachel. But a damn pretty bitch. Karen is wearing her same bikini that Finn couldn't resist days ago. And it also has an impact on Carrie.

She and Emma spent a long time talking about the preferences of Carrie. The twenty-one-year-old girl had asked Carrie openly how she felt about boys and girls. Carrie had given her an answer but both hadn't really believed it. The official version was that Carrie wanted Michael in her life because she loved him, but she was also into girls.

'That shouldn't be an obstacle in the 21st century,' said Carrie. Emma had already opened her mouth and Carrie could already imagine what she was going to say.

'But loyalty is important' was the only thing Emma had mumbled. She knew that in her situation she couldn't say more. She added, 'Having someone you trust is important'.

'I trust you' was a good counterattack and Emma had blushed.

That's what Carrie loves about Emma. Her shy shell under which there is a bright and funny spirit, which can sometimes be pretty naughty. An angel in life and a whore in bed, Carrie thinks and grins. The perfect girlfriend. Unfortunately, she had done away with her preferences for boys and girls faster than Carrie had managed and for that she condemned Michael with his egalitarian nature and liberal attitude. Yes, her political stance had appealed to her so far, but not in this case. It's not about Carrie, it's about Emma. And Michael can't help her with that.

She has not been able to admit it to herself for a long time, but after a long… discussion, the two of them realized that they are really only held together by Michael's love for Carrie and her need to be close to someone when Emma isn't around. It's not that Carrie hates Michael. She even loves him. But Emma Jackson I love more. Much more. Michael is a great guy and with him Carrie can safely achieve her goal of being elected to the political system. But no, a future or even a family will only be built with him in order to satisfy the voters. And because now, she has little choice but to stay with him. Finn made sure the alternative would be life alone. Her true love is for the young and lovely Emma. There are now many who no longer rule out a lesbian marriage and the path of a politician, but times have not changed that much. What if she wanted to try? Until a week ago she would have thought that when in doubt, Emma would choose her and not Finn.

"Fuck" she grunts softly. She no longer perceives the music in her ears. That asshole, she snaps inside. Finn ruined everything. But she played high and lost. She would have made any bet that Finn was too busy with his sisters. She caught his eyes when Emma wasn't staring at him. The two had always been drawn to each other. But the plan did not work out to send Emma to him and let him see that she has no more place in his life. Who could have foreseen that poor Emma would be drawn to a life of second class? To a boy who obviously has no self-control and who only cares about the number of women in his bed. And Emma throws herself protectively in front of him and lets herself be beaten for this life! But it's not her love's fault. Carrie is responsible for Emma. It's been like this since their first kiss and even if Emma doesn't recognize it, Carrie will take care of her because Finn certainly won't be able to.

Then it gets worse. A shadow falls over her body and it goes well with that on her soul. It's the same shadow in the shape of a damn good-looking and sneering boy who is too lucky in his life and doesn't even realize that fact. Finn says something but the smooth jazz is too loud. Only his lips move and his eyes are fixed on hers. Am I not showing you enough skin or do you know that you have no chance with me?

"What?" Watch out, Carrie. Don't sound too annoyed otherwise he'll take out his defeat on Emma. She pulls the headphones out of her ears and drops them on her chest. Yeah, just look closely. A pair of tits are the only thing that you find interesting about my girlfriend. She has to call herself to order. It is neither good for Emma nor for her to let her anger guide her. Emma likes this sleazy guy and she has to put up with it if she wants to stay close to her.

"Sorry to disturb you," he says gently. Too friendly. He's up to something. Then he points to the chair next to her. "May I sit?"

"Sure," smiles Carrie. Is your house after all. But she doesn't say that. Granted, she's not doing well, but if she wants Emma to stay with her, she mustn't upset Finn. The Haarems leader sits down and even thanks her. Carrie just grins. “What's up?” she asks with a better mood in her voice. Finn scratches the back of his head and again doesn't know what to say. Then the words finally find their way out of the undoubtedly sperm-filled skull onto his tongue.

"Emma sent me," he says and sounds almost apologetic. Now that he's won, he doesn't see any reason to show Carrie his superiority. At the mention of Emma, her eyes light up. Finn sees this and the two have something in common.

“What does our angel want from me?” asks Carrie and is really excited.

"You know how she is," says Finn a little embarrassed and grins at her stupidly.

"Don't say anything bad about Emma... your girlfriend." Carrie manages a smile that Finn sees through. It doesn't surprise her, just the merciless with which he attacks a wounded opponent.

"I couldn't say anything bad about her even if I wanted to." Now his smile is real and blissful. "And I do what she tells me."

"Really?" Carrie can't believe it, has seen too many times that it was the other way around. But Finn nods.

"Naturally. That's why I'm sitting here.” Suddenly his voice is official. Carrie sits up, her instincts speaking. Forget your mood. Now it's getting serious. "Emma sent me to you to talk to you again."

"But what else should we..." A raised hand interrupts her and Carrie is furious at herself for reacting to Finn in this way. But it's about Emma.

“She wants me to tell you that she is happy to spend time with you. That she is happy that you are helping us. We talked and she said you were a hell of a lot of help to her." Carrie can't deny it. She likes hearing that very much... and it hurts her a lot too. But Finn is not finished yet and takes the right to keep talking. Her blood freezes when she notices his gaze. Did he find out that... "But I think that's not the real reason Emma sent me to you." He sighs. “Let's not fool ourselves Carrie. I've already expressed my thanks often enough for your **** and that you support us is really very important to me. I could hardly make Emma happy without you. She also needs her friends to talk to when I can't be there for her. Even if we rarely talk about it, each of us has a life outside of the world we built for ourselves.” He sounds so serious about it. Carrie frowns. He is a dangerous opponent. Don't underestimate him. “I've told you all of this often enough,” he repeats - probably hoping to make her happy. "The real reason might be that Emma knows exactly how we feel about each other." Carrie raises her eyebrows.

"How do we feel about each other?" Finn smiles and looks tired. He shakes his head a little but remains calm and matter-of-fact.

“I admit I don't have your strength. If you and Emma were together, I don't know if I could solve the situation as elegantly as you do. I am aware that it must cause you great pain to see me with your great love. And I thank you for your patience. I will have to sacrifice a lot on the path that I take for my girlfriends. But never the happiness of the girls. I promise you that I will always start with myself and should it ever come to the point that one of the girls feels neglected, then I would hope for your support."

"Wow Finn, I..."

“I know this will come as a surprise now. I'm not as smart as you, Carrie. But I have some intelligence. And I know that if Emma is in danger of suffering from me, you will be there. I could threaten you now, tell you that Emma has chosen me. But I also know that love can make you blind. I'm the best proof of that.” Carrie freezes. She didn't expect that. With wide eyes she looks at the boy who holds her happiness in his hand and feels... respected. Fuck!

"That must not be easy for you," she mumbles and feverishly thinks about what else to say. That Finn reacts so... classy... she didn't expect. She doesn't know boys like that. Usually they always have their pride. Finn recognizes her accomplishments and power in her life. "I have to say that impresses me." A mischievous grin.

"Yes, sometimes I have my moments," he says and looks embarrassed again. “But don't get me wrong. I love Emma. So much so that it almost tears me apart. This happiness... I'll grant you that too. But I can't, and will not **** my girlfriend to do anything. The best I can do is keep you in her life, remind her that she can depend on not only me but you as well. Always. And I have to say that makes me proud.” He pauses and waits for an answer, but Carrie can't get a single word out. That little bastard! What does that mean? But it doesn't help. No inner curse and no destructive thought will help. Carrie Wilson is proud. She is proud to be there for Emma, proud that Finn recognizes her and proud that she was wrong about him... Fuck! What now? She clears her throat and now it's to her scratching the back of her head nervously.

"Ihave to give you one thing Lynchwood: You can deal with women."

"I'm also good at political issues that shouldn't be addressed and I can cook three... okay, two recipes from my grandma." It doesn't help, Carrie has to laugh. Then she sobs a little and hides a tear or two.

“Damn it, Lynchwood… Finn. That's really clever of you. Compliment. You did it.” He looks really happy and relieved now. Not only does Carrie feel lighter, he does too.

“The question arose how I deal with the situation that Emma would like to have in her life the girl who happens to feel love for her. I admit that my first protective instinct was to seperate her from you. But I wanted to protect not only Emma with that, but myself too. That did not gratify me. I think this is the best way to help my little elf. We put the cards on the table. Staying away from Emma is the worst option. Appealing to your sense of honor and trusting you seemed the best to me. So Emma doesn't just have to rely on me, she also has you. She'll like that, which also makes me happier than withholding something from her.” Then he is silent for a moment and looks Carrie in the eye. And Carrie can't hold his gaze. "Did I do the right thing?" he asks gently and she can feel his hand on hers. At first she flinches, but there is nothing she can do to prevent her fingers from closing around his by themselves. She has to look at him, has to give him an answer. But she can't. It hurts too much. And Finn knows that, helps her, but ashamed she is still there for her. "Are you going to help Emma?" Carrie can answer that.

"Yes." She smiles weakly too. The music is forgotten, that she is wearing a bathing suit is forgotten and so is everything else. Just not one. The happiness of Emma, her great love. "Yes, I can help her." And Finn thanks her. Then comes a moment Carrie will never forget. Again he looks her in the eye and offers a silent invitation. Peace? And without thinking, Carrie accepts.

"Great." Finn claps her hands loudly and Carrie gives a startled win. The environment crushes over her again like a tidal wave. The noises and voices from the lawn penetrate her again and while Finn gets up from the chair next to her, she has time to look around and realize that luckily they are still undisturbed. Finn planned that well too. He stretches, cracks his knuckles and also looks around. "Then I have to go back to the kitchen," he says, pouting. "Emma has obviously bought too much pineapple and I have to drink the leftovers." He grins and Carrie gets dark.

"You know that..."

"Yes, I know."

"And that your birthday tomorrow..."

"Yes, I know."

"And you didn't tell them all that you knew?"

"No. Why spoil their fun?” He winks at Carrie. "A man's lot." Then he shrugs and walks through the door into the house. "And besides, pineapple juice doesn't taste that bad." Then he disappears and Carrie is alone again.

"I have to go back into town for a moment," she calls out to Rachel and Karen shortly afterward. "Should I bring something with me?"

“Definitely no more pineapples,” shouts Karen. "Does Finn actually know that pineapple makes his..."

"Yeah, he knows," Carrie calls back. Even Karen jumped on his bandwagon. And Rachel laughs so happy too.

“When are you coming back?” the Latina asks.

"Do not know yet. Soon.” Rachel frowns, but waves goodbye to her friend. I need time to think! Everything in her head is screeching, groaning, and shuddering. Finn left a mess of the extent of which he would be surprised himself. With trembling hands, Carrie sits behind the wheel of the car that belongs to Maureen. As a sign of reconciliation, this irresponsible and thoughtless person has made the car the property of all. Damn communist! What am I thinking about? Suddenly Carrie sees Maureen with milder eyes. Also a work by Finn. "Shit!" she hisses and kicks the gas pedal.

The street is calm in front of her. She doesn't know where she's going. Just get away from the house and the distractions. Think Carrie! That you can do best. She has lost track of time and the car seems to be crawling across the street, sometimes racing at the speed of light. A maelstrom of thoughts and feelings rages in her head. First, there is Emma with her angelic smile. Carrie also had the idea of naming her 'elf', but she hadn't dared to call Emma that. Then there is Finn. She only feels pride and security when she thinks about his words. But he took away her great love. She must hate him, must hate him. Is she doing it? She doesn't know anymore. A meaning in life has been taken from her with Emma. Now Finn has stolen the replacement too.

Then the tears come. Lots of tears. So many that Carrie has to pull the car to the side of the road. She looks around briefly. The road runs on a slope and only a guardrail separates it from the view of the lake. That damn lake where everything got so bad. That lake where Emma first told her that she wanted to stay with her. That lake where Finn slept with Emma. Carrie leans weakly on the cold metal and look out at the blue surface, which she could admire through the green frame of the leaves.

"Emma..." she sobs. "Emma..." Snot runs out of her nose, mingling with her tears. She can no longer breathe. Her legs give in under her and she has to cling to the dirty metal to avoid getting stuck on the spce between the Guardrail and the car. "But... I...love you... Emma..." But it doesn't help. For an eternity she just crouches there and looks out over the peaceful blue of the lake, caressed by warmth. The sun blinds her and her bare forearm is encrusted with tears and snot. Only now does she realize that she is still in her bathing suit. She looks down at herself and doubts arise. Am I not beautiful enough for her? Yes, she is more beautiful than me, but arent I am enough for her? What does she want from me? What can I do? She shifts her weight and pain let the corners of her mouth curl. She looks at her knees. Naked and unprotected, they squeeze on the rough and dirt-strewn asphalt. The otherwise proud politician sinks down on her bum and looks at her battered knees. She is bleeding from an abrasion on one of them. Looks almost like my soul. And Emma is not here to help me. Again she almost suffocates from her grief.

"No! Fuck!” She finally calls. She is Carrie Wilson. She mustn't behave like that. "Finn was right," she grunts and gets angry. But that helps. “Emma doesn't want to see you like that. You have to be strong. For her."

And then Carrie Wilson makes a conscious choice. It is only human but controlled by her. Puffing and coughing with a sticky face and disheveled hair, her swimsuit dirty and her legs wounded, she gets up and stands upright with bare feet. It can not go on like this. She has to do something. Finn did something, talked to her, worked out a plan. Carrie can do that too. She is intelligent. She is the master of herself, her thoughts and her actions. And she will act.

Carrie Wilson doesn't know why she chooses this path. The only thing that counts now is the act itself. Consciously and with a clear mind, rationally, she thinks. What now? How can she deal with the current situation? Finn came to her, offered her peace. His peace! The peace of King Finn I. He is not thinking of Emma and certainly not of me. It is he who benefits most from his peace. I help him with Emma and he can sleep with her, while I'm just the assurance that she really stays with him when he fucks other women! Her teeth are almost cracking with anger, she clenching her jaws so hard. He almost made it. But only almost. Finn is smart, but not that smart. And his greed for more and more pussies will be his undoing. His plan is good, but in the end, only desperation comes as he will not be able to make any of the girls happy. Megan maybe or his little sister. Both eat out of his hand. Any help comes too late for them. She doesn't care about the others, Susan, Claire and Denise. They can happily place their fate in the hands of a madman. But not Emma! Emma is important! She got down the wrong path, met the wrong people. What should stop Carrie not to go ahead with her plan? She smiles again. She sniffs away her grief and wipes the tears from her face and beneath the grief, something ancient and dangerous comes to light. A woman's ****.

Before Finn almost made it and she softened, Carrie had come up with a plan. Emma was the target. But how do you get hold of her? How to gain her trust? How do you get her on your side? At first, Carrie had tried it like a man: with crying and begging and screaming. Of course that hadn't worked. Emma is too in love, too misguided by Finn and the promise of everlasting love. Eternal love in a long line of horny women! Carrie envisions Emma in the future. How she looks in terms of her life. The thought of giving her life away for someone who seduces several other women makes her sick. She spits furiously. She will save Emma. Even from herself if she have to. And in the end, she'll thank her best friend. Whether or not she falls in love with Carrie doesn't really matter to her. It is only important to her that she does not come into contact with Finn and his whoredom world. But considering the relationship between the two girls, Carrie has a real chance. But that's not important to me. Only Emma matters. She's going to have her plan, a girl's plan. She will play the loyal friend, make Finn feel safe. That should be easy for her, as distracted as he is with all his pussies. And then time would take over. Carrie doesn't really have to do anything else. Emma is already showing signs of dissatisfaction and Finn has already confessed to Carrie that without her control over Emma, he will find it difficult to keep her to himself. At some point, Emma will understand the inevitable - forcibly brought in by Finn and his fruitless efforts to keep the peace in this damn group. Then Carrie will be there for Emma and her great love will recognize which of the two options is best for her. The relationship between her and Finn is still far too short and the longer they know each other, the harder it will be for them. Soon everyday life comes to her and then it gets even easier.

Yes. That is the plan. Carrie grins contentedly and scornfully. Finn almost made it and she fell for him. But in the end, all that counts is that she is smarter than him, more patient and more reliable. She won't **** Emma to do anything, will make Finn feel like she supports him. She herself will take no risk and let time and the world do the rest. And in the end, everyone wins. This is important to Carrie. Finn will still be able to fuck with his trusty underlings, be it his sisters or these young naive things. Emma will be happy with Carrie and Carrie will be happy - finally happy - because she gave her great love a life that she can enjoy. Not fulfilling the plan makes Carrie happy or that she knows what to do next. Not even that Finn will suffer anytime soon or that the wait will be worth it. No. Carrie is happy because she can make Emma happy. At least one thing Finn was right about.