Buy your girl a cotton candy while you're down on the ground, then take her on the Twirl-A-Way and spin her around

After the girls finished off on the Merry-Go-Round, everyone was happy to follow Nick’s lead and go check out the little lesson in physics that Dawn had described. It was a pretty easy ride to find, all things considered, given that there weren’t a lot of rides that were shaped like a Merry-Go-Round, or had chairs suspended from them.

And, as expected, Kim was there to greet them with a customer service smile.

“Here it is!” She chirped, gesturing to the circular ride behind her. “Now, like so many of the rides here at the Amusement Park, it’s two to a seat. Please partner up!”

“Well, I guess that’s an easy one for the two of us,” Carly said, glancing at her sister.

“Guess so,” Marley nodded. The twins walked through the gate and over to the ride to pick out their chair.

“Ah, Dawn, come here, please,” Kim said, beckoning her over. She had an apologetic expression on her face that made Dawn feel a little antsy.

“…What is it?” The cat girl asked warily, not sure she was all that thrilled about what Kim might be up to. “If you’re going to tell me that I’m too short to go on this ride, then I swear…”

“No, no, not that!” Kim said, quickly shaking her head. “Just come over here, please?”

Dawn sighed and followed Kim through the gate while the other girls worked out who was sitting next to whom.

“Policy says that we would like you to sit in this seat,” Kim said, gesturing to the bright bench that she’d led Dawn over to.

A baby car seat was affixed to the bench, with straps and everything.

Dawn’s eye twitched.

“Kim…”

“Hey, come on!” Kim held up her hands defensively. “Dakota said I had to do it! As part of the joke! Seriously, I’m not trying to start anything, I’m not!”

Dawn took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. She knew that Kim wasn’t responsible for this, not really. And she really didn’t want to pick any fights. “…Do I have to?” She finally, reluctantly asked the other girl.

“No, of course not,” Kim said automatically. “Sit wherever you want.”

Dawn sighed again. “Well, these seats are two per person, so I guess that makes things a little more complicated.”

She turned and walked back over to the group, to see if anyone would want to partner up with her for the ride.

Unfortunately, she suspected that there wouldn’t be anyone left.

After all, she thought, we have an odd number of people here.

But that wasn’t how it was playing out.

“I should be the one sitting next to Nick!” Mary whined. “I’m his wife!”

“Oh, so that’s the deciding factor, then?” Rose snorted, rolling her eyes. “Come on, we both know he’d rather have me pressing up against him.”

“No fair!” Sylvia pouted. “Daddy should be with me!”

“Nah, this ride is perfect for me,” Gina cut in. “We’d be all over each other before the chairs even started spinning, right, Nick?”

She turned to him and flashed a smile, licking her lips.

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Come on, guys, are we really doing this?” He asked, shaking his head. “I can’t sit next to all of you on the ride.”

“I’m fine with not sitting next to you,” Dani said bluntly.

Nick didn’t even seem offended. If anything, he looked glad at Dani’s statement, and gave her a nod of respect.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Dawn cut in, even though she could already see the problem clearly.

The girls immediately started explaining all at once why they were the best choice to go on the ride with Nick and not the others.

While they were all blabbing, Dawn looked past Nick, and stared pointedly at him. She indicated with her eyes that there was a pretty big issue here, and Nick took the hint.

“Actually, guys, I think I’m going to sit this one out,” Nick said, eliciting a chorus of groans.

“Okay, then I’m sitting this one out too!” Mary said.

“Yeah, same!” Sylvia nodded.

Nick shook his head. “No, come on, you guys, this whole day is supposed to be about you all having fun with each other, right? Not just sticking around me the whole time. Come on! Do it for Sylvia’s sake, alright?”

The girls frowned and glanced at each other. Nick raised a decent point. They’d kind of forgotten the whole reason for this little outing in the first place.

“Well, does anyone want to go with me, then?” Sylvia asked awkwardly, looking around at the other girls.

“I will,” Dawn said, surprising her.

“Really?” Sylvia raised her eyebrow. That was unexpected.

“I think it could be fun,” Dawn explained. “Are you unhappy with that?”

“No, not at all!” Sylvia shook her head. “I’d be happy to, my girl!”

“Well, in that case, I suppose I should make a pick as well then,” Rose mused. “Hey, Holly, want to go together?”

“Me?” Holly’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want to partner up with ME?”

“Sure thing!” Rose cracked a grin. “It feels like it’s been forever since we last got to bond together. Why not?”

Holly smiled a little and nodded. “Well… okay then, if that’s what you want,” she agreed. “It could be fun!”

She turned to Mary first, though. “Mary, you don’t mind, right?” She asked her best friend. “Did you want to partner up with me?”

Mary shook her head quickly. She would have liked that, sure, but she didn’t want to monopolize her best friend, either. If Rose wanted to spend time with Holly, that was great! Being Nick’s sex **** didn’t give Holly a lot of opportunities for socialization, so Mary wanted her to be having as much social interest as she possibly could.

Of course, that left only a few other choices for Mary. But she would be fine with anyone for the ride, really.

“Are you sure you want to sit this one out?” She asked timidly, turning to Nick.

“Yeah, I am,” Nick nodded. He smiled. “I’ve already gone on it with Kim. It’s a pretty fun ride, but I’d prefer you girls get to experience it.”

“Works for me!” Gina nodded. She draped her arm over Morgana’s shoulder, causing the other girl to freeze. “Okay, Morgana, want to go have some fun together?”

She cracked a smile, startling Morgana. But the goth girl was thrilled.

“Really?!” She asked, barely able to contain her excitement. She’d never had someone ask to partner up with her for an Amusement Park ride before. “You… you really want to be my partner?”

“Sure!” Gina cracked a grin. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Morgana nodded her head rapidly. She didn’t even look back.

“So I guess that just leaves the two of us,” Dani said, turning to Mary. “You’re cool with that, right? Partnering up with me?”

Her expression looked wary, and Mary stared at her in confusion.

“Of course I am,” she replied. “Why do you think I wouldn’t be?”

Dani got a little flustered. “Well, I mean… those seats look like a pretty tight fit,” she said, nodding over to Carly and Marley, who Kim had already strapped in together. “And not everybody would be completely cool with… you know. A lesbian pushing up against them. So if you’re not into that, then… well, I mean…”

“It’s fine,” Mary cut her off, shaking her head. “It’s fine, really, it’s fine. Something like that… I’d never say no over something like that!” She said, smiling.

Mary reached over and took Dani’s hand. “Come on, it’s no big deal! But at the same time, you better not complain if my boobs push up against you a little, either…” She had tried to sound cool and confident the whole way through, but by the end of her little statement she got incredibly flustered. It had nothing to do with Dani being a lesbian or anything like that, though, any amount of physical contact under circumstances like this was certain to make her get a little wary.

Dani just smiled in relief.

“Oh, good,” she said, nodding. “I was worried, since, well, I assumed that not everybody would be cool with it…”

“We’re friends, Dani,” Mary assured her. “If I can put up with you in the kitchen, I can definitely put up with your body smooshing up against mine. Just try not to flatten me, okay?”

“Yeah, not a chance that doesn’t happen!” Dani laughed. “But I’ll try my best!”

Nick smiled as he watched them head through the gate, and find seats of their own. Meanwhile, the other girls were all getting situated in, except for Carly and Marley who were already ready, and frankly growing a little impatient.

“No high chair?” Sylvia asked, smirking brazenly for everyone to see.

Dawn’s eye twitched. “Drop it, or you might end up falling off the ride,” she threatened.

That was more than enough to get Sylvia to drop it, even if she knew that Dawn wasn’t actually being serious.

She changed the subject. “So why did you want to partner up with me?” Sylvia asked curiously. “I mean, I’m grateful, and I’m happy to partner up with you, it just seems like a weird call. After all, it’s not like we’re exactly close.”

Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Wait, that’s it! Is it because we bonded so much last night? Is that why?”

She laughed at the thought of that while Dawn just stared coolly at her.

“No, it’s not about that,” she said, shaking her head. “I just thought that it would be fun. You know, to be together.”

She looked down at the pavement beneath her, kicking out her legs. There was a lot of room below the seat.

“The truth is… I was worried,” she confided. “For a second, when I got back to the others, and saw you all fighting over Nick… I had a terrifying premonition.”

“A premonition?” Sylvia scrunched up her face.

“Yeah,” Dawn nodded. “I saw you guys all buddying up. And me… without anybody. Just by myself sitting on one of these benches alone. And I was scared of that. So I said what I said. I figured that you would say yes, so…”

She glanced apologetically at Sylvia. “…Sorry. That was kind of bad of me, huh? I just didn’t want to be alone, so I asked you. I should have let you be with someone who really wanted to be with you, and yet I…”

“Hey, no skin off my back,” Sylvia snorted, rolling her eyes.

Dawn stared at her, surprised at that reaction.

“…Huh?”

“Come on, Dawn, it’s not a big deal,” Sylvia laughed. “Come on, there’s nobody here who would pick me just because they liked me. Not Gina, not Mary, certainly not Dani. After all, I’m me. After all the stuff I did? Come on. You know as well as I do that these guys aren’t willing to play nice and just be friends after that, my girl.”

“That’s not true,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “Come on, you know better than that, Sylvia. The others, they care about you! Sure, maybe Dani probably wouldn’t have wanted to partner up with you for a ride like this, but Gina definitely would have.”

Sylvia looked genuinely surprised. “You really think so?”

“Of course,” Dawn nodded. “She’s not nearly as heartless as she seems on the surface. She was really concerned for you last night, too.”

“Really…” Sylvia glanced down the curve of chairs, to where Gina and Morgana were getting strapped down by Kim.

“Really,” Dawn confirmed with a nod. “She’s definitely the kind of woman who just says what she means, without thinking. So if she wanted to hang out with you, it wasn’t because of obligation or whatever, it’s because she genuinely likes you. And she’s probably not the only one, either.”

Dawn paused for a second. “…Dani would probably say no, though.”

Even then, Dawn wasn’t fully convinced. She could easily believe that Dani would partner up with Sylvia out of obligation, like she implied this morning, but there was a chance that…

…

No, I think it’s probably too soon for that, Dawn thought, shaking her head. Still, the possibility was definitely there.

While everyone was getting strapped into the rides, Nick watched from the sidelines on his bench, smiling.

“No going on yourself? What a pity, Nick.”

Nick didn’t even react to Dakota popping in at this point. He’d grown to expect it, and he turned to his friend with a reserved smile on his face.

“You could always join us, you know,” he said, looking into her eyes. “Just because you’re the host, that doesn’t mean you can’t hang out with us.”

Dakota only offered a wry smile in return. She stared incredulously at Nick and shook her head at him slowly.

“You really are such a fool,” she breathed. “Actually believing that. Those girls… they’re no fools, Nick. Not like you.”

“I’m a fool now?” Nick asked, frowning.

Dakota nodded. “You are if you think that everyone here can just get along and be friends,” she said, her voice as cold as ice. “Nick, you don’t seem to understand just what’s going on here. The relationship between the host and the contestants is not a pleasant one!” Her wicked laugh filled the air. “I’m the one who’s transforming them. I’m making them into what they need to be, for your sake, don’t you see?”

She reached up and caressed his cheek. It was a gesture that seemed full of affection, but to Nick it came across as hollow and empty. Especially when Nick met her eyes, and saw just how cold and detached they were.

“And they are far from grateful for that,” she stated.

Nick could understand completely how Dakota could see things that way. But he didn’t agree with her estimation.

He shook his head.

“Dakota… it’s not that simple,” he said. “Look. Look over there.”

He pointed at Sylvia.

“You see that?” He asked. “Sylvia. Look at her.”

Dakota clearly didn’t want to. But she obliged him, reluctantly.

“What of her?” She asked calmly.

“She did a lot of bad things,” Nick reminded Dakota. “But even so, the other girls are still trying to make an effort to be her friend. You don’t think that means something? You don’t think that says a lot about them? About what they’re willing to forgive?”

“Forgive?” Dakota shook her head. “You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not about forgiveness. There’s nothing TOO forgive. That’s what you need to understand, Nick. I don’t feel bad about the things I’ve done, or the things I will do. All of it, it’s all for your sake. To make you happy.”

Nick could see that he wasn’t getting through to her. And that hurt him considerably.

“Dakota…” He said quietly. “I never asked you to do that, though.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “But it’s my responsibility. You saw it yourself, Nick, didn’t you? The producers wanted you here. And even though I was uncertain at first… I know now that they were correct.”

She placed her hand over his and squeezed.

“You deserve this,” she said. “You deserve a harem to make you happy.”

“Does Dani deserve this, then?” Nick asked, narrowing his eyes. “She didn’t ask for any of this, you know,” he pointed out. “She just wanted to live her life. Not be with me. You think I’d be happy, with a woman who doesn’t even love me being **** into situations like these, at her expense? Do you think that’s the kind of harem I’d like?”

“And if Dani would be happy?” Dakota replied automatically, staring at him with narrowed eyes. “If she’d like the position she ended up in?”

Nick wasn’t going to fall for that. He stared at her suspiciously.

“Actually happy?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. “Or a happiness that you manufactured for her with a transformation, like how Holly became ‘happy’ with being a cuckold?”

“The term is cuckquean, actually,” Dakota corrected her. “And does it really matter anyway? Happiness is happiness, isn’t it?”

Her voice lowered and she murmured under her breath, “sometimes that happiness is as good as it can get.”

Nick frowned. He could see a bit of what she meant by that… and his heart ached with sympathy at her statement.

But he still shook his head. He couldn’t allow this. He didn’t want his best friend, a girl he cared about, to be warped by the whims of another best friend.

“Dakota, I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “But I told you before, I’ll go along with this if it means the girls I care about will be safe from harsher transformations. But I also want… I don’t know, honestly.”

“Hmm?” Dakota looked at him, intrigued. “What don’t you know?”

Nick stared into her golden eyes.

“How can I make you happy?” He asked.

Dakota stared at him for a moment. She didn’t know what to say.

“…What?” She asked finally, as if she hadn’t heard him.

“It’s a simple question,” Nick replied. “How can I make YOU Happy, Dakota? Happy with all this? Happy with this situation? What can I do to make this good for you, as well?”

“I… I don’t…” Dakota just stared blankly at him. Then her face hardened momentarily before a sly smile spread across her lips.

“…That isn’t something you need to concern yourself with,” she smirked. “My wishes are immaterial, ephemeral things.”

Nick could smell a deflection when he saw one. He scowled at her.

“Dakota…”

“I believe we’re done here,” the host said, rising from the bench. “Thank you for this lovely talk, Nick. It was quite fun.”

The sadness that echoed in her voice was distinctive, and it made Nick wince.

“Excuse me.”

Dakota turned to see Kim leaning over the counter. She had a sour expression on her face.

“…Oh, it’s you,” Dakota said bluntly, nonplussed by the asian girl’s presence. “And what is it that you want?”

“If you two are done with your conversation, I’d like to lodge a complaint with HR,” Kim answered testily.