More than a Buddy, you're my best friend

“We’re back!” Sylvia declared. “And our lovely contestants were wondering just who it is that they would be getting paired off with! I’m sure some of them are still mulling it over, and some of them have already decided on a couple of people who they might like to be with… but none of that really matters because your buddies are already decided! Before we get to that, though…”

The screen began to shift and blur as the details on it started changing.

“…Let’s take a look at the results of the first popularity poll!”

The girls’ names all appeared, displaying numbers written beside each one.

1. Dakota – 15.37%

2. Dawn – 15.12%

3. Gina – 14.12%

4. Dani – 13.7%

5. Kim – 13.54%

6. Carly – 12.29%

7. Mary – 10.71%

8. Holly – 5.15%

“Those numbers are the percentage of total votes cast in your favor,” Sylvia explained. “Quite a decent swing, considering there are eight of you.”

Holly winced at the results. She wasn’t surprised she was last place, but there was such a large gap… Mary, the next lowest, had gotten twice the amount of votes that she had!

Dawn seethed. She was in second place. She’d lost out to Dakota. And it was so close, too! Dakota had barely said two words to anyone, and somehow she was in first?! _This is ridiculous! Are you telling me that those freaks out there like a zombie more than they like me?!_

“You said that we would get Bonus Points for our placing in the ranking, didn’t you?” Kim asked. “So, then what if there’s a tie? Me and Dani were pretty close, after all.”

“A tie could be a problem if the points were assigned based on your placement,” Sylvia said. “But that’s not how I do things. No, the amount of bonus points you get is proportional to your raw percentage scores- specifically, for every 3% of the vote you receive, you’ll get 500 BP. So again, here’s how many BP each of you will be receiving!”

The board shifted once more, and the percentages were replaced by a different set of numbers.

1. Dakota – 2500 BP

2. Dawn – 2500 BP

3. Gina – 2000 BP

4. Dani – 2000 BP

5. Kim – 2000 BP

6. Carly – 2000 BP

7. Mary – 1500 BP

8. Holly – 500 BP

“See? Very simple,” Sylvia said. “There are eight of you in the harem, which means you should, on average, accrue 12.5% of the vote! That’s math, my girls. And as long as you can stay at that average, it’s a cool 2000 BP every week… until the Auditionee comes along, of course. That should throw those numbers off a little.”

Holly glanced at Mary. The redhead seemed ambivalent to the point totals, which could be good or bad. Either way, it couldn’t be denied that they were both polling below average with the audience- significantly below, in Holly's case.

Of course you’re the least favorite, a creeping thought snuck into her mind. Compared to all these other, gorgeous girls, a plain Jane like you is just an eyesore.

Holly shivered, hoping it was just due to the cold and not something else. The thoughts faded away as fast as they came. So she was behind? So what? As long as she won her challenges and kept from getting eliminated, she’d make it through this somehow. And if Nick tried to do anything to her…

He won’t. You’re not worth it.

She bit her lip.

“Dang, I feel a little bad for Gina,” Dani winced. "14%?"

“I know what you mean,” Carly nodded. “Just barely beneath the 15% mark. Losing 500 BP on such a thin margin must be rough.”

Of course, none of them knew how much 500 BP was worth. In the grand scheme of things, it could be just a pittance since they didn't have any clue of the prices of anything yet.

“Then there’s that girl, Dakota,” Dani said, glancing at the black-haired girl standing in serene repose before the screen. It looked like she didn’t care one way or the other about the results.

“Congratulations to our champion, miss popular!” Sylvia mockingly congratulated Dakota, strolling over to her. “You showed up last, didn’t even get a new transformation, and yet still! First place!”

She leaned in close, so the other girls couldn’t hear. Not even Nick knew what she was saying to Dakota.

“Don’t go getting a big head just because you won the popularity vote,” she hissed. “You haven’t done anything. You’re practically an emotionless doll at this point. People only voted for you because of what happened to you in the past, not because of anything you’ve done now. I'd count on that number dropping soon.”

Dakota took a step back, glaring at the blonde. Then she smiled, and her golden eyes reflected the deep emotions of the setting sun.

“We’ll see,” she whispered too soft for anyone else to hear.

Sylvia answered with a smirk and walked into the center of the crowd.

“Now then my girls, allow me to announce the teams I have so painstakingly come up with! When I call out your name, will both buddies step forward please?” She took off her hat and dug around in it for exaggeration, before drawing out two slips of paper.

“And our first pair of buddies are… Dakota and Holly!” She announced. “First and last place in the popularity polls, what a pair!”

Holly’s head snapped over to stare at Dakota, who reacted to Sylvia’s declaration the same way she did to everything apparently, flat ambivalence. She turned and her eyes met Holly momentarily, looking her over with clear disinterest.

Sylvia cleared her throat. “I said, step forward please?” Holly and Dakota quickly lined up together in front of her.

“Now then, Dakota, Holly, I chose the two of you to be buddies because you have very… intense feelings as far as our master is concerned. Out of the eight girls here, I’d say you two are by far the most passionate about him.”

“Passionate?!” Holly sputtered. “About Nick?! No, I-“

“Ah, but hate is a passion as well, is it not?” Sylvia asked, her eyes twinkling. “I’d say so. And thus, I dub this pair of buddies Team Passion!”

Holly’s voice died in her throat and she looked down, muttering something unintelligible.

Sylvia smiled and moved onto the next pair.

“Pair number two… Dawn and Gina!”

“Seriously?!” Dawn’s jaw dropped. “Her?!”

“Gee, thanks doc,” Gina sneered.

Dawn quickly regained her composure. This… this might actually be for the best. There's no way she's a threat, right? I'm certain I can do better than her in the challenges, at least, which should keep me safe from elimination.

“Dawn, Gina, to be frank, I put you two together because I wanted to see how hilarious watching you look after a **** addict would be,” Sylvia said bluntly. Dawn's tail stood on end as she suppressed a scream. “...And because the two of you are both so well-acquainted with all manner of pharmaceuticals, I’m going to label you both Team Addiction!”

“Addiction?!” Dawn exclaimed, her tail bristling with anger. “You… first you put me on the team of a druggie burnout, and now you're saying I’m an addict like her?!”

“Oh, you’re an addict, my girl, no doubt about that,” Sylvia smirked. “Only the high you’re chasing doesn’t come from bottles, pills, or needles. No, the thrill that gets you going is the feeling of winning, of proving how superior you are to everyone else. For you, that’s a rush you won’t get from **** or ****.”

Dawn glared at the blonde but couldn’t find the words to refute her. Sylvia was right, after all, she did have a bit of a problem with being overly fixated on winning, even if Dawn wouldn’t consider it an addiction.

“Now, onto our third team,” Sylvia continued, taking two more names out of her hat, “Kim and Mary!”

“O-Oh,” Mary said, glancing at Kim. The other girl looked back at her, curious.

“You two, I picked for a very simple reason,” Sylvia laughed. “Hello, Team Virgin!”

Mary’s face turned red and Kim looked away, blushing slightly herself as she felt Nick staring at her. He was stunned. Mary was obviously about as virgin as it got, but Kim was a surprise.

It doesn’t matter, he reminded himself. It’s not like you’re going to be doing anything with her anyway. She’s a prisoner here! He was disgusted with himself for actually getting excited when he heard that the two of them were virgins. He knew for a fact that Carly and Dani weren’t, Gina almost certainly wasn’t, given her state when she’d arrived, and Dawn and Holly he had no idea, since he hadn’t seen them for years. But Kim and Mary…

No! You’re better than that! He screamed internally, coming back to his senses. He **** himself to look away from the girls, staring at the sand instead.

“And thus we come to our fourth and final pair of buddies,” Sylvia said, turning to the last girls remaining, Dani and Carly. “Team-“

“Team Gamer Girls!” Carly shouted, wrapping her arm around Dani and pulling her into a sideways hug. Dani turned bright red as she felt Carly’s large chest press up against her own.

I-I’m going to be on her team? Dani felt her face and other parts of her start to heat up at the thought of sharing a bed with THE Carly Granger from LonelyFans.

Sylvia blinked. “Um… well, I guess that works. Now, as I was saying, you girls will be with your buddies until the next round. And you all will be living with each other in the same room. I don’t want any funny business. No switching or anything like that, nobody’s sleeping in the hall, or on the floor. If you’re spending the night in someone else’s bed besides your own, it damn well better be because you’re having sex with one of the occupants, understood?”

Mary let out a terrified squeak.

“Now, before we actually get you all checked into the hotel, I want to go over the sleeping schedule,” she said, shifting the board again with her cane. “This first week is orientation. That means you’ll be spending the entire day with your master, not just the night. Here’s how the schedule works out!

6:00 – Breakfast Buffet

7:00 – Morning Activity with Master

12:00 – Lunch with Master

1:00 – Afternoon Activity with Master

6:00 – Dinner with Master in the Master Suite

After 6:00 – Sexy Fun Time

“To make it clear, you will each have a full day date,” she explained. “Pick two fun activities you can do together, one in the morning, one in the evening. It can be a specific thing, like going on a nature hike, or to watch a movie, or it can be something as simple as just walking around the shopping center checking stuff out. But you must remain with the master at all times! If you are not within 10 feet of Nick for a continuous period of 10 minutes or more, then your date is automatically deemed a ‘bad date’ and you will fail the challenge.”

“Wait, this is the challenge?!” Dani exclaimed. “I thought the challenge wasn’t until the end of the week!”

“Eh, it’s more like a bonus challenge,” Sylvia clarified. “A way to build up your relationship with the master before the official challenges start. And because it's a bonus, you'll be earning some Bonus Points from it! The audience will be ranking your dates by which one they liked best, and that will determine who gets how many bonus points!”

“But this won’t affect elimination, right?” Holly narrowed her eyes.

Sylvia smirked. “What’s the matter, Holly? Already expecting your date to go poorly? Well, I’m sure it will be difficult for a cuck like you to come up with a date that would please your master, but still, do try your best!”

Holly held back her growl.

“And remember, you MUST be in the Master Suite by 6:00. Even if your date goes horrendously and you just want to lock yourself in your room and never come out, attendance in the Master Suite is mandatory. You will not be able to leave until morning, so make the most of the time you have with him, my girls!”

Eight dates… Nick was still trying to wrap his head around that part. He’d never been on a date before period. And certainly not with any girls as hot as these.

“If you’re interested in ideas, you’ll have all sorts of pamphlets and suggestions to look through back at the hotel. The guide will provide you with details on ALL the amenities we have available, so please use whatever we have at our disposal to please the master.”

“I have a question,” Carly raised her hand. “When it’s NOT our date day, we can do whatever we want, right?”

“That’s correct,” Sylvia nodded. “Like I said, all the hotel facilities are there at your pleasure. You’ll find that, as a member of the harem, all manner of services are available to you free of charge, such as our spa, bar, restaurants, anything that would not give you a direct edge in the competition is at your disposal. For those other things, such as specific clothes and the like to appeal to the master, those may cost a small transaction fee, since they are, technically, an advantage.”

“Seriously?!” Dani exclaimed. “So what am I supposed to do then?! This shirt barely fits me with these things!” She pulled at the hem of her wifebeater to prove a point, then realized that Nick was staring at her, and quickly straightened up.

“Ah, yes, about that,” Sylvia said. “Since you’ll be staying her for 100 days, we took the liberty of moving your clothes from home to your rooms. You should have plenty of changes available.”

Nick didn’t even want to know how they pulled that one off.

“But NONE of my clothes from home will fit me!” Dani wailed.

Sylvia shrugged. “Not my problem,” her body language seemed to say.

“Alright my girls, we’ve been beating around the bush long enough,” Sylvia said, turning to the screen. “Let’s see the date schedule we’ve got set up for you! Remember, the master will be getting his time to rest today, but starting tomorrow, I expect you girls to WOW him with your dates! And first up is…”

1. Gina

2. Dawn

3. Dani

4. Mary

5. Carly

6. Kim

7. Holly

8. Dakota

Dakota scowled when she saw her placement on the board. She wasn’t the only one.

“I’m going the day after tomorrow?” Dawn asked. “I ranked higher than Gina did! Shouldn’t I be going before her then-“

“I’m not giving you that advantage,” Sylvia cut her off. “Too much. Sorry.”

“Oh, but you’ll give the advantage to Gina?” Dawn crossed her arms and sniffed, not at all pleased that her “buddy” was getting the first crack at Nick.

Sylvia innocently batted her eyes. “You know, Dawn, if you’re so worried about your buddy getting an even bigger points lead over you, you could always make a move on him right now, in front of everyone. I’m sure a diligent girl like you could work herself up to 100 points in no time.”

Dawn clenched her fist and fumed at the blonde. Her tail was standing on end. But she couldn’t form a rebuttal. It wasn’t like SHE wanted to do things with Nick, she just didn’t want Gina getting all those easy points!

Sylvia shook her head. “I chose the first person to go randomly, Dawn, I promise,” she said, crossing her heart (if she had one that is, Nick wasn’t sure).

“…I just made sure that you would go second no matter what,” she added.

“WHAT?!” Dawn’s tail was swishing angrily through the air as her furry parts stood on end. She practically hissed at the host.

“You’re so **** to win all the time, I thought it would be good to see you be **** into second,” Sylvia smiled cheerily. “Second in the popularity poll. Second in date with the master. If I were you, I’d start getting used to not being first all the time, my girl. This game isn’t all about you.”

Dawn held back a scream.

“I’m going seventh, huh?” Holly muttered. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. It would have been better to get this over with early... now I'm going to have to spend all week feeling anxious about going on a date with him... shit, this is awful!

“You said there were hiking trails, right?” Carly asked excitedly. She turned to Nick and gave him a thumbs up. “Dude, it’s been forever since we went hiking! …Just gotta hope I’m not cosplaying a princess with a big frilly dress that day!” She added with a laugh.

A few of the other girls were considering what to do on their dates, which was good for Sylvia. Even better, Dakota looked angrily enough to kill, having been put in last. Sylvia just stared her down, daring her to try something. But she was smarter than that.

“Now then, as nice as this beach is, it’s getting rather cold!” Sylvia clapped her hands together. “Let’s get a move on, shall we? To the hotel!”