I've got this burning, yearning, yearning feeling inside me

Dani lounged in bed, reading some manga to pass the time. The day had flown by fast after she separated from Nick and the others. It was nice to reconnect with Carly and Marley and hang out just the three of them. But the girls had turned in for the night, so she did too.

Her roommate still wasn’t back though.

Dani hadn’t seen Kim all day. She had no idea where her diligent companion was; knowing Kim, she was probably still hard at work, doing something or other. But just as Dani was about ready to go out and look for her, the door to her room opened and Kim came trudging inside with a stack of clothes in her hands.

Given the room they were in, that wasn’t unusual. But what surprised Dani was that Kim was wearing an outfit that she’d never seen her in before, and her shirt was open down the middle.

“Kim? What’s up?” She sat up in bed and walked over to her friend. “What’s with those clothes?”

Kim sighed in exasperation. “This is my reward,” she said. “For a photoshoot gone well. Dakota let me keep some of the outfits.”

“Really?” Dani was surprised to hear that. “That’s pretty nice of her. So what’s that you’re wearing? And why is it unbuttoned?”

And come to think of it, why was Kim wearing glasses?

Kim scowled. “…It’s a sexy CEO costume,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “For the photoshoot. If I try to do up the buttons, they come undone again a second later. And yet, it’s still better than the other outfits I got.”

She held up the qipao for Dani’s inspection.

“Wait… isn’t that Chinese though?” Dani pointed out.

“Thank you!” Kim rolled her eyes. “Dakota thought she was being funny. And the audience agreed with her, can you believe that?”

Dani didn’t know what to say. But she did think that Kim would look nice in that outfit, even if that probably wasn’t what the other woman wanted to hear right now.

“The last one is nice though,” Kim noted, showing Dani the red dress as well. “But it’s not for wearing every day.”

“I think Nick would like it,” Dani pointed out with a grin.

“Yeah, it would probably give him a heart attack!” Kim snickered. Getting to air out her grievances with a friend was already doing wonders for her mood. In the meantime, though, there were other matters to attend to.

“Honestly… I like my old uniforms better than any of these clothes,” she admitted, changing out of her costume and putting the glasses away. She wasn’t sure if she’d wear them again, but she might. She did look kind of cute in them.

“True, a sexy schoolgirl suits you better,” Dani teased.

Kim tossed a pillow at her roommate and rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have Carly for your eye-candy?” She pointed out. “You don’t need to ogle me.”

Dani’s jaw dropped. “Hey, come on!” She groaned defensively. “Don’t say stuff like that, you make me sound like a sexual predator!”

Kim winced. “…Sorry. That was a bad joke… I didn’t mean it to come off that way,” she apologized. “I just meant… well…”

How could she say that the idea of Dani checking her out in her schoolgirl uniforms actually gave her a bit of a thrill? She didn’t know why, but she enjoyed the idea of her friend looking at her.

…That was something to unpack for another day, though.

Dani just sighed and shook her head. “Look dude… it’s cool. Didn’t mean to make a big deal out of it, okay? You clearly had a long day. Let’s just chill for a bit, sound good?”

Kim smiled. “…Yeah. That sounds good to me. Oh, are we still on for working out tomorrow?”

“That depends. You gonna wear that sexy CEO costume?” Dani joked.

Kim was out of pillows to throw, sadly. She just rolled her eyes and snorted, and climbed into bed. She’d worked hard today, and she deserved a nice, long nap.

I hope Nick likes those photos. I really put a lot of work into them!

Speaking of putting in a lot of work…

“I did it! I mean, I can do it!” Sylvia was practically in tears. She’d actually made it all the way from one side of the room to the other in her heels! Without falling over once! And at a relatively normal pace, to boot!

“Excellent work, Miss River,” Octavia said, lightly clapping for her charge’s success.

“Yes, well done,” Amelia agreed, nodding sharply. Her chest swelled with pride, even if it had been Octavia’s advice that had helped Sylvia out in the end.

The butler just seemed to be able to talk to Sylvia in the way she needed to hear. She encouraged Sylvia to try again, and never once judged her for not being able to do it. All the things that Amelia knew she should do, and had tried to do, but had simply failed miserably at.

I’m just not good enough. And here I thought I could consider myself a teacher. No wonder Vivian doesn’t respect me. It was quite a wound to Amelia’s pride, knowing that she had failed so severely at something she had made her life’s work.

And it didn’t help either that her other student was currently sulking in the corner.

“Yes, well done, Sylvia. Maybe I can give you a nice pair of heels when your bounty wears off,” Vivian said, barely masking the sarcastic sneer in her voice. Her behavior was nastier than it had ever been before, and she really didn’t like it.

But she couldn’t help herself.

Seeing Octavia encouraging someone else like that?! How dare she! Who did Sylvia think she was?!

Calm down. You’re a grown woman, and she’s just a brat. If you keep this up, you’ll prove to everybody you’re just as immature as Amelia says you are, she reminded herself, taking a deep breath. We can work this out with Octavia later.

Amelia was about to rebuke Vivian, but she was beaten to the punch.

“Miss Carrington, I understand that you have qualms with me assisting Miss River in her attempt to walk in heels, but please understand that my duties must always come first,” Octavia said, politely chastising the heiress while not directly antagonizing her.

Vivian fumed, but remained silent. She knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on in this situation, so she didn’t even bother.

“Hey, look, I get it, okay?” Sylvia’s smile took a bit of a denting and she looked sympathetically at Vivian. “I did kinda just **** you to help me out using my transformation… and that wasn’t the right thing to do, I know that.”

Amelia raised her eyebrow in surprise. Was this really the same woman who had brazenly **** her as a prisoner to attend that farce of a wedding ceremony for her stepson? It seemed unbelievable that they could be one and the same person, but she’d clearly grown quite significantly in the time between now and then.

Nicholas said that time flows differently on this island, and I suppose this is as firm of proof as I could get. In my mind, that wedding was only a week ago, but who can say how much time has passed in this strange place?

She could write a book on the twisted logic present.

Vivian looked hesitant to accept Sylvia’s apology, for obvious reasons. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and adjusted her arm covering her chest again.

Then she sighed.

“Look, it’s whatever, okay? But don’t do it again. Please. Octavia… she… well, just don’t, alright?!” Vivian took a deep breath, and calmed herself back down. “…If you need Octavia’s help with something, just ask. Don’t just **** her.”

Amelia thought that was rather hypocritical coming from Vivian Carrington of all people, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Miss Carrington, Professor Campbell did in fact make a request for my assistance, and very politely, if I may add,” Octavia pointed out. “And you rebuffed her.”

Vivian’s eye twitched. She pressed her lips together in a firm line and stared daggers at her butler, who let the other woman’s rage roll over her like water off an Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s back.

Before the situation could escalate further, however, the door cracked open and someone else walked into the room.

“…Whoa. Did you guys hold a party in here and not invite me or something?” Gina asked, looking around the room. She certainly hadn’t been expecting such a crowd. Her dripping wet hair left a trail of water behind her as she walked inside.

“Oh, Gina, what have you been up to? I haven’t seen you all day!” Sylvia asked, tottering over to her roommate as best she could.

“Clearly not as much as you have,” Gina said, raising her eyebrow.

“Eh, well… I needed some help, walking in these,” Sylvia said, pointing to her high heels. “Gotta get that BP somehow, right?”

“Sure, yeah, I guess,” Gina said, scratching her head. Ironically, she had the most BP out of everyone in the harem. She just never did anything with it.

It was Amelia who addressed the elephant in the room.

“…Why are you soaking wet?” She inquired.

Gina flicked her eyes over to the teacher, getting some water on Sylvia as she turned her head.

“Because.”

Brilliant answer from her.

Amelia crossed her arms indignantly, but didn’t press the issue. It was clear that any attempt at repairing relationships would be slow doing.

Gina sighed. “…Look, Sylvia, I know you’re happy, getting to walk in heels and all, but… do you think maybe we could turn in for the night? I’m really burned out.”

“Uh… yeah, I guess,” Sylvia said, frankly a little surprised. She had thought that Gina, party animal that she was, would want to stay up for a little longer. “Oh! Are you trying to be a good girl, by getting to bed at a reasonable hour?” She guessed.

Whoops.

Gina’s eye twitched, and her nostrils flared. She instinctively glanced over at Amelia out of the corner of her eye before turning her focus back to Sylvia, and then let out the breath she’d been holding.

“…No. You should know me better than that by now,” she snapped, walking past the blonde and locking herself in the bathroom.

Amelia sighed and adjusted her glasses. “That girl… I swear, I wish… never mind.”

No sense in saying anything.

Gina needed her space, and she was completely right- they were overstaying their welcome, occupying Sylvia’s room like this.

“She is correct,” the teacher said instead. “We should all turn in for the night.”

Octavia nodded, and Vivian’s face glowed with triumph. Finally, things could go back to the way they were!

“Aw… do you really have to go?” Sylvia looked downright heartbroken to see everyone leaving. “But it’s like you just got here.”

“Yes, we do,” Amelia said coldly. When she saw the twinge on the other girl’s face, she realized she’d been too harsh again. She cleared her throat and tried again.

“…It’s important to respect the boundaries of others,” she said gently. “This is your room, but it’s Gina’s room as well. If she wants us to leave, then the right thing to do is leave.”

Sylvia nodded glumly. “Okay… yeah, I get it. But can we hang out tomorrow, too?”

Amelia blinked. She was momentarily taken aback by the hopefulness in the other girl’s voice. “…I suppose that could be arranged,” she relented.

It was surreal- she couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked her to clear up her schedule for a social call.

“Yes!” Sylvia punched the air. “I’ll get to spend tomorrow with you and Daddy! Ooh, it’s going to be so much fun!”

“P-pardon me?” Amelia was taken aback once more by Sylvia’s declaration. She adjusted her glasses and shifted her stance, studying the blonde closely. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I mean, tomorrow’s your night with Daddy, right?” Sylvia pointed out. “So you’ll probably want to spend the day with him, I imagine. And now, with me, too! It’ll be so much fun, like a happy little family, don’t you think?”

“Oh, yeah, sounds like a blast!” Vivian snickered, covering her mouth as she practically dragged Octavia to the door. “I’d pay for some box seats for that!”

Amelia felt a fluster in her chest. She’d nearly forgotten that her day with Nicholas was upon her. The situation had been so surreal when she first came to the island that there were several things that had yet to properly settle.

But what she did know was that she was expected to spend tomorrow night with stepson. And given the subject matter of the show, and Dakota’s stated purpose for her presence, she doubted that it would be a pleasant, casual affair.

“…I-I suppose we can work something,” she said, trying her hardest to put on a composed face as she considered what tomorrow would bring.

Feeling a great wave of shame washing over her, she hastily bid Sylvia a good night, and headed out after Vivian and Octavia.

Sylvia sighed, and did her best to make her way back to the bed. It was still a pain in the ass to walk in heels, but at the very least, she could do it now.

It still hurt like heck though.

While the other girls were all turning in for the night and returning to their respective rooms, one woman in particular found it impossible to do anything else.

Cinder fought tooth and nail every step of the way, but whatever had control of her body was adamant.

It was time to turn in for the night. And like a good girl, that meant she had to go to bed herself.

When I’m free from this thing, I’m going and shattering every mirror in that fucking park! Cinder screamed internally.

In an example of peak irony, to get back to her room, she had to pass by another mirror. And as she did, she stopped, and checked her appearance in it.

For a moment, she wasn’t sure why she was doing that, until she realized that she was checking her hair and her uniform to make sure that nothing looked out of place.

Of fucking course her possessed self would care about something like that.

It could be worse, Cinder had to admit as she picked a bit of lint off her apron. At least Ella wasn’t **** to endure this.

She didn’t even want to think about how her other half would have responded to such a torturous situation.

Once the forces controlling her were convinced that she looked nice and neat like a good maid should, she turned and headed into her room. The lounge was quiet, and she expected her room would be just as quiet when she got back, given that her roommate was mute.

And that was certainly… almost the case.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked rather run-down. It didn’t help that she was soaking wet, like she had been all day. She seemed **** somehow. Her cheeks, which were usually pale, were flushed, and when she turned to Cinder, there was a ****, manic gleam in her eyes.

Cinder flinched, not sure what to react to, or what she was even seeing.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, she’d been rubbing her body, like she was trying to warm herself up. Patting her arms, rubbing her thighs, she’d even unzipped the front of her jumpsuit to reveal the sides of her glistening breasts, and ran her hands over them.

“…Good evening, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. May I inquire what you are doing?” Cinder approached the dark-haired girl with a pleasant smile, speaking words far sweeter than the “What the fuck did I just walk in on?!” that she wanted to scream.

A scowl crossed the assassin’s pursed lips, and she glared at the other girl, clearly upset that she’d just been interrupted. Frustration radiated off of her, and it seemed like she was practically steaming.

Cinder really didn’t know what to make of the situation. And it wasn’t like the assassin could exactly explain herself either. Her hands were making wild gestures and she kept pointing at herself, like Cinder was supposed to understand what she wanted from just that.

She didn’t, or she would have helped out with whatever problem her roommate might have had!

Finally, realizing she wasn’t going to get anywhere, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin rolled her eyes and stormed into the bathroom.

“…Okay then!” Cinder called after her cheerfully. “Let me know if I can help!”

She couldn’t help though. That was the whole problem!

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin didn’t even know what kind of help she needed. Something was wrong with her. Very wrong.

She sat down on the toilet and clutched at her head, focusing her concentration on the heat surging through her core.

This was unusual.

Because of what had been done to her when she was created in that lab, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had a very firm grasp on her body’s physiology. She was trained to pick up on the minute changes in her body chemistry and energy levels, and could even maintain homeostasis to an extent on her own.

Which was why it was so strange for her to feel this way.

Was she sick? Of course not. Her immune system was superhuman and she could fight off any known disease in a matter of minutes. This condition had persisted for hours!

Raised body heat. Flushed skin. Desperation and hunger for… for what, exactly?

Certainly not food- she’d spent the last hour devouring as many sweets as she could from her room, hoping that would help the heat burning up inside her.

No… it was a hunger for something else. She could feel it. Her body wanted to be touched, and she’d tried. She’d touched herself in all sorts of places that ached, trying to rub herself down and make the burning need go away. But it just didn’t feel right. It had only made her more ****.

She needed something to soothe this condition of hers. But that stupid maid hadn’t understood her request for assistance, for clarification, for… for something!

Anything would be better than this, at this point.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was being struck by something she’d never felt before- fatigue. Her whole body felt so exhausted, and she just didn’t know how to bring herself relief. It felt like there was a buzzing in her ear, distracting her, making her lose her focus.

And that wasn’t a good thing. She needed to be sharp. She needed to be vigilant. She needed to be ready at any time for when Nick needed her.

What use was an assassin who couldn’t even think straight because her body was too hot and bothered?