There's always two sides of the story, you've got yours and I've got mine

Ella couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Cinder!?” She sputtered, her eyes widening behind her dark bangs. “Why would you want to talk to her!?”

“Oh!” Rose blinked, surprised. “That’s the most animated you’ve been all morning, I didn’t expect that from you!”

“Eh? Uh, uhum…” Ella’s cheeks darkened and she quickly shielded her face with her hands. “I-I’m just surprised, that’s all!” She stammered. “I didn’t think… Nobody would want to talk to Cinder…”

“Well, I do,” Rose said bluntly. She snapped her fingers a couple times. “Chop chop! I haven’t got all day!”

“Wh-why would I even do that?” Ella snapped back. Rose’s rude gesture was getting on her nerves. While normally she wouldn’t call Cinder out on principle, the way the blonde was acting made her also want to not do it out of spite.

“Because I want to talk to her about something serious,” Rose said, looking down at Ella on the bed. “Is that so wrong?”

Ella bit her lip. She couldn’t comprehend that someone would actually want to talk to Cinder and not to her. The relationship between her and her alter was a complicated one, but she knew Cinder’s goal was protecting her. Bringing her out in Rose’s presence seemed like it could go very poorly.

But Rose looked adamant.

“…Is it something you can’t talk to me about?” Ella finally asked glumly.

Rose frowned. “I could talk to you about it. But it wouldn’t help even if I did.”

That confused Ella even more. “It wouldn’t… help?”

Rose sighed and scratched her head. “Okay, fine… I didn’t want to say anything to you until I had the chance to seriously clear the air with Cinder and make sure, but… fine. I guess I can tell you, too.”

“No, wait!” The serious look on her face made Ella suddenly not so sure she wanted to know. She held up her hands quickly and snapped her rubber-band. “Thwap!”

“Mm?” Rose looked at her curiously.

Ella lowered her head. “I’ll… I’ll see if… she wants to come out.” She looked timidly up at her roommate. “Please don’t be angry with me… or her…”

“Huh?” Rose’s eyes widened in surprise. “No, I’m not angry with either of you!” She said. “Just the opposite, this is about our friendship!”

“Haaah?” Ella tilted her head to the side in confusion. Were they friends? While Ella may have been closer to Rose than she thought she would be when the two of them became roommates, the idea that they were friends…

…And yet, she felt remarkably comfortable around the other girl for some strange reason. So maybe… maybe there was something there after all…

Summoning up her courage and hoping nothing would go wrong, Ella turned control of her body over to her alter, if Cinder was willing.

Rose watched the process play out with a discerning eye. It was quite remarkable actually, the way Ella seemed to almost go to sleep. With her eyes closed it was hard to see when exactly the change occurred, but over the span of an instant it was as if the girl’s entire body language change. Subtly, of course, but a change nonetheless, and when she raised her head and opened her eyes, Rose was certain she was looking at the right one.

The foul frown on her face and the exasperated sigh that left her lips when she spotted Rose was another giveaway.

“Haaah? What do you want?” Cinder scowled. She didn’t feel anything strange, like the familiar sign of a panic attack from her other self, so whatever was happening now, Ella must not have been under pressure. Did Ella call me out on purpose, then? Why? Because of this blonde bimbo?

“Cinder, hello!” Rose said with a charming smile, pressing the tips of her fingers together. “Did you have fun at the slumber party last night?”

Cinder scrunched up her face in confusion and stared blankly at the girl in front of her. What kind of nonsense is coming out of this girl’s mouth?

Rose puffed up her cheeks. “Why are you looking at me like that? Just because I’m in my underwear?” She pouted. “I couldn’t help it! I got a temporary clothing transformation… oh, never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go throw something on!”

While she rummaged through the mannequins trying to find an appropriate change of clothes that she could wear without them falling off her, Cinder was stuck trying to process what the hell happened.

Why am I here? Ella never brings me out on purpose. Except for last night… but now we’re back in the room and Rose is almost naked?

“Okay, there we go!” Rose couldn’t find anything that wouldn’t look indecent on her curvaceous figure, especially with her newly-enhanced chest. But she was fine with that; a silk shirt clung to her frame just as easily as her cotton pajamas had. “Not perfect, but it’s a start.” She walked back over to the bed. “…Now what were we talking about again…”

“That’s what I wanna know!” Cinder snapped, her eye twitching in frustration. “Listen you, I ain’t got time for this! I’m supposed to be looking out for Ella, not wasting my morning with you! So hurry up and say what you wanna say, and get fucking lost!”

Rose scoffed and crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up slightly. Cinder’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to them, wondering if they’d slip out.

“And- and cover up, too!” She growled. “That thing’s gonna snap open any minute!”

“What? Oh, this? No, I borrowed it from Marley, in exchange for my sweater,” Rose said, indicating to her black bra. “It’s not like she’s using it, what, with her new endowments. I was surprised though, I didn’t think she’d have any underwear this daring…”

“I don’t fucking care!”

“Again, that’s just rude. And here I am trying to bond and be your friend!” Rose pouted, turning up her nose at the other girl.

Cinder’s brain stopped working for a second.

“Why’d you wanna do somethin’ as fucking stupid as that?” She asked incredulously. “You got fucking brain damage or something?”

To Cinder, the notion that anyone would want to be her friend- not Ella’s friend- was so beyond comprehension Rose might as well have said she wanted Cinder to be her new financial planner. Not that Cinder even knew what that was.

“Don’t look at me,” Rose said. “This wasn’t my idea, after all.”

Cinder frowned, and let herself relax. Now that things were making sense again, she didn’t have to be so on edge. “Oh, okay. Let me fucking guess. That shitstain Nick put you up to this, didn’t he? Acting all caring and worried, ‘Oh, Cinder and Ella don’t have any friends, how sad! Rose, you should go be friends with them since you’re roommates!’ makes me fucking sick.” Her mocking tone cut like a knife, but Rose remained unfazed.

Seeing that her words had no effect on the blonde, Cinder got a little frustrated. “Wait! That’s why he put you up to this, because if you and I are friends, then he thinks you both can get away with screwing in our room whenever you want! Well, no chance of that!”

Rose sighed. She’d already apologized plenty for that. “Are you done?” She asked tiredly, tapping her fingers on her arm.

Cinder lowered her hand and looked at the other girl in confusion.

“…Why are you staring at me like that?” She spat out, narrowing her eyes. That look… it was like Rose was pitying her! And that made Cinder want to hurl.

“Nick didn’t ask me to be your friend,” Rose said, shaking her head. “He would know better than to ask something like that of me.”

Cinder’s eyes widened in surprise at the certainty of Rose’s words.

“Fucking what? Uh…”

“After all, he knows that I am absolutely terrible when it comes to making friends!” Rose declared boastfully.

…

“Huuuuuuhhh?!” It took Cinder a second for her brain to make sense of what she just heard. The confidence in Rose’s absurd statement caused the circuits in her head to overload, and she needed another moment to process properly. “Are… are you making fun of me!?” She fumed, her cheeks turning red.

“Not at all!” Rose assured the other girl with a shake of her head. “Simply put… someone as impressive as myself has a bad habit of overwhelming those around me, you see. Being born as beautiful and talented as maman was a curse, and because of it, I have always had trouble making friends with others. Rest assured if Nick wanted you to make friends, I would most likely be the very last person he would consider asking!”

The absolute pride with which Rose praised her inability to make friends left Cinder completely dumbfounded.

A moron… she’s a fucking moron! I knew she was a bimbo, but I had no idea she was actually this much of a-!

“No, the one who wanted me to be your friend, Cinder, that would be you!” Rose declared, pointing at the confused girl in front of her.

With all the out-of-nowhere, crazy things Rose had said in the last five minutes alone, Cinder couldn’t fully process what she’d just heard for a couple of seconds.

Wait… did she just say…?

“…No!” Cinder shook her head. “Your friend?! You think I want to be your friend? You really are fucking crazy!”

And if anyone would know a thing or two about that, it was Cinder.

Rose blinked. “…You don’t?”

“NO!”

“Huh, I could have sworn…” Rose scrunched up her face. Now she was the one confused.

And the dumb look on her face made Cinder even angrier.

“I’ll tell you this again, I’m not here to make friends!” Cinder snapped. “I’m here to look out for Ella! So leave us alone!”

“But while you’re out here talking to me, Ella couldn’t be more safe, right?” Rose pointed out.

Cinder flinched. She couldn’t argue that. “W-well… yes, but-”

“So it’s okay if we talk a little bit more?” Rose leaned forward excitedly, and her shirt nearly came off in the process.

Ella would have pulled away, but Cinder wasn’t a coward. She pushed forward and clenched her teeth, balling up the sheets beneath her in her hands.

Then she jumped off the bed and pointed at Rose.

“I already told you, I don’t have shit to talk to you about!” Cinder pushed past the blonde and stormed towards the bathroom. “If you have any sense, you’ll be gone by the time I’m out!”

“Nothing to talk about?” Rose called after the irate girl. “Not even after you stabbed me in the back in the last game?”

Cinder’s hand froze on the bathroom knob. She ground her teeth together, only stopping because it was Ella’s mouth, too, and whirled towards the other woman with a sneer on her lips.

“So what? You’re gonna whine now? ‘Waah no fair, she betrayed me!’ …Well that was the fucking game, so if you don’t like it, too fucking bad!” The latina’s face twisted into a cruel, mocking expression, wishing the other girl would take the hint and just get lost already.

Rose did just the opposite. Rather than being upset with Cinder’s mocking words like she’d expected, the actress just smiled cheerily.

That made Cinder even angrier.

“I moved on from that ages ago,” Rose assured her, waving her hand. “Water under the bridge!”

“Huh!?” Cinder’s eyes widened for a second. “Then… then don’t bring up useless fucking shit! Puta madre… I swear-”

“Hey!” Rose snapped, her face hardening. “You watch it. Say whatever you like about me, but don’t you dare talk about my maman that way!”

Cinder was taken aback. “You… speak spanish?”

“Enough to know what you said just now,” Rose replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well… beat it, or I’ll call her something even worse, then!” Cinder was done screwing around. She had no idea what crazy game this bimbo was playing, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

And she definitely didn’t want to be friends.

“Cinder, the reason I wanted to talk to you was because I was curious,” Rose said, approaching her. “About whether or not you felt bad for what you did, stabbing me in the back like that. But it seems like you aren’t bothered by it in the slightest.”

Cinder couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you fucking stupid? It was a fucking challenge, that’s how you win.”

Rose nodded. “I agree.”

“So don’t- wait, you agree?” That wasn’t the response Cinder had been expecting.

“It was a challenge, and I let my guard down. I should have expected you or Ella to stab me in the back, but I didn’t. So I deserved to lose.” She shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal.

Cinder was too confused to even think about unpacking what she’d just said. So she focused on what pissed her off, as usual. “…I was the one who did it,” she clarified. “Don’t blame Ella, she just ran away and hid!”

Rose raised her eyebrow. “…So Ella is an innocent sweetheart who doesn’t have a bad bone in her body, is that right?”

“Leave her alone!” Cinder’s defensive side emerged instantly, and she tensed, ready to lash out if Rose kept running her mouth.

“…If that’s how you feel, we’ll leave it there, then,” Rose said, deciding to drop the topic. But she wasn’t so naïve. Ella might not be as cold and hostile as Cinder, but she’s no innocent flower. She’s got an edge to her, and it’s not just her alter.

Just this morning, Rose had noted the disdainful look Ella had given her when she thought Rose wasn’t looking. Her opinion of Rose was pretty low, and while she did a good job of hiding it, Rose knew she probably thought of her as a moron or a bimbo.

But she’s not a bad girl.

“…I actually like Ella alright, you know,” Rose said, changing the subject.

Cinder was pleasantly surprised to hear that, but suspicious at the same time. “Well… good, then-”

“But I like you more.”

“What!? Why!?” The fucking idiot! Cinder couldn’t even begin to understand what she was hearing right now!

Rose shrugged. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re the one who actually likes me for me, that’s why. So of course if I had to pick one, I’d pick you.”

“Uh, I don’t like you, though. At all,” Cinder replied, glaring at Rose.

“Well, one of you does. Ella likes me, right? Because she’s such a sweetheart?”

“Ella’s a good person, so…” Cinder could sense a trap in Rose’s words, but she wasn’t nearly savvy enough to avoid it. She plunged ahead with furor in her eyes, and braced herself for whatever the other girl had to say.

“Good!” Rose clapped her hands together. “So that means you like, me too!”

Cinder clenched her teeth. She was too tired and frustrated to point out how stupid Rose was. “She and I… we are not the same, I-”

“No, you’re not the same, but your hearts are linked now, remember? With your transformation.” Rose pulled up Cinder’s transformation, her trump card, and showed the flustered latina.

• The Heart Remembers: Cinder and Ella may not share conscious memories between them, but moving forward their hearts will share significant overlap. If one persona has a close relationship with another contestant, this will result in the other persona feeling a sense of fondness towards them as well, even if they are not aware of the root of these feelings. (Switch)

“What… what is this nonsense-?!” Cinder had tried very hard to ignore her transformations, but with it shoved in her face like this…

“Last round, Ella didn’t like me much at all,” Rose said, dusting off her hands. “Even though I spent practically every night helping her out in the Master’s Suite, can you believe that? Well, she probably thought I was intimidating… a beautiful woman helping out of the goodness of her heart? I can see why that would be-”

“She thought you were a blonde bimbo more interested in spreading your legs for that shitty master of yours than actually helping,” Cinder interrupted Rose’s act of self-aggrandizement.

Rose’s jaw dropped. “Huh!?”

“…Forget it.” Cinder clamped her mouth shut and looked away.

“…Fine,” Rose sighed, rubbing her forehead. “The point is, that’s changed for some reason. Ella seems to be a lot nicer to me now, more opened up. I even helped her with her pajamas! It’s like we’re really friends! But… I don’t really know why. So I wondered if maybe your transformation had something to do with it, you know? Like maybe, after we worked together on the challenge, you started to like me! And with the transformation, that fondness carried over to Ella! So you see, Cinder? I think we’re already well on our way to being friends!”

Rose beamed from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Cinder’s mouth refused to work. Hearing all that from Rose, it was just…

“And that’s why, I want to help you!” Rose quickly approached Cinder, her eyes shining with excitement. “As your friend, I think it would be just swell if you and I teamed up! We could work together to help you and Ella both get closer to Nick!”

Normally, Rose would have preferred to keep women away from Nick, to monopolize his time for herself. But Cinder and Ella were different. She couldn’t imagine either personality being a threat to her position in charge.

No… she wanted to help them become a perfect support for her and Nick! Not maids necessarily, but someone- or someones- who would be there to lend a helping hand! It would be perfect for both of them! And if she had to guess which one liked her more, she was pretty sure it was Cinder. That was the only way Ella’s changes made sense, since she didn’t seem to even be aware of why she was treating Rose better all of a sudden.

…Of course, the furious look on Cinder’s face was doing a great job of poking a hole in that theory…

“Get the fuck off!” Cinder shoved Rose aside and stormed away, heading for the door to the room this time. Before Rose could say anything, the furious girl was gone.

“…That could have gone better,” she sighed as Cinder stormed down the hall.

“Calling us friends like that…” the latina muttered to herself. “Acting like I like her… how fucking crazy is she…? Who would ever think… something like that?!”

Cinder fumed, trying to understand the madness in Rose’s words and coming up woefully short.