A Deal With the Devil

As Turner woke up, he realized that the bed next to him was empty. The covers were all messed around, signaling that someone had been there but left; however, Lauren was nowhere to be found.

"That's weird," he said to himself. "Although, I guess we didn't really finish on the best foot last night. That was so stupid of me, to keep on pressing until she finally buckled and reverted back to her closed-off self. Why did I do that?"

Lauren, for her part, had her own motives for leaving early in the morning. It wasn't simply just because of the awkward ending that she had with Turner last night, it was because of her transformation.

Sleeping next to Charlotte for the week hadn't been a huge deal when it came to being a nymphomaniac, especially since she wasn't attracted to the former cheerleader, emotionally or physically. However, being with Turner for the night was a different story. It wasn't just because he happened to be the sex that she was attracted to, but also because he was the type of guy who was the antithesis of her ex-boyfriend.

"It's just a rebound," she thought. "That's what happens on rebounds, you don't really love the person you gravitate towards, you just think you do because they're the polar opposite of the one who is gone."

As she crossed the stepping stones leading back to her bungalow, the sun began to peek above the edge of the water. Lauren was surprised that Charlotte wasn't awake yet, since she normally was up at seemingly ungodly hours, but the boardwalk was quiet, aside from a gentle breeze rustling the sporadic palm trees and the waves crashing on the shoreline nearby.

"I can't believe that I almost gave in to Turner like that," she scolded herself. "I mean, he didn't know that I almost did, but I was this close to waking him up in the middle of the night on several occasions, all because I couldn't control myself. He doesn't need to know, though, and neither does anybody else. It can just be a secret between me, myself, and I. Well, and probably Kendra, because that woman seems to know exactly what everyone is thinking 24/7."

Lauren slowly and quietly opened the door to her and Charlotte's room, bracing herself for it to squeak, but it made no noise aside from the sound of the handle turning. As her eyes adjusted from the moderate brightness of the outside to the darkness of the interior, with the blinds drawn, she saw the outline of two people in the bed instead of the one she expected. Letting her rods work even more, she identified that the person laying next to Charlotte was Sara.

Charlotte was splayed out on her back as normal, her limbs bending at strange angles, hair forming a cloud of gold around her head, and covers kicked off at some point during the night. Sara was a more refined sleeper, sleeping on her side facing Charlotte, with one arm under her own pillow and the other touching Charlotte's shoulder.

Lauren would've been upset at the spectacle, but who would she be upset at? Charlotte seemed too pure to really get mad at for this. Sara was likely talking to Charlotte when one or both of them fell asleep and just decided to stay. Kendra would've stepped in if she found this a breach of the rules that everyone signed when they first arrived at the island. Lauren wasn't using the bed, where was the harm in letting someone else use it?

A problem then arose, though, with Lauren's current arrangement. She did want to get more rest, just...not next to Turner due to her little addiction. Looking back at the courtyard, she spotted the covered patio that the initial meeting had taken place in. There was a pretty spacious couch there, and it wasn't like she was too pretentious to "****" herself to sleeping on a couch every once in a while.

Shrugging, she ambled back over to the courtyard, to the shelter, laid down on the couch, and passed out in mere minutes.

Disheveled. That was a word that Becca used to sum up how she felt about herself when she woke up. She'd worked 12-hour shifts for weeks before, gone through a week of standing outside in the sun for 14 hours a day learning a field show, and hiked through a pretty precarious section of the Appalachian Trail before. This, however, was turning out to be the hardest thing she'd had to endure so far. Having to try and keep tabs on what everyone was doing with Turner wasn't easy, especially with how protective she got of her relationship with him.

"Should I let it go?" she asked herself in the mirror, looking at her tired appearance. "Should I just let whatever happens this week happen, and just try to enjoy my date night with him in four days? It's what he would tell me to do, to stop stressing about everything. He's a good guy, he'll make sure nothing bad happens, right?"

The silence that followed her internal pep talk was a perfect microcosm of how much that helped her.

"I mean, I just have to get past Paige's date, then I'll be more relieved. I doubt Liam is gonna do anything today, that poor...guy? Girl? Neither? Whatever...they're obviously still having trouble accepting whether or not he's a boy or she's a girl now, so I don't think I have to particularly worry about anything happening tonight. Mandy is pretty adamant in her belief that she can win the game without doing anything scandalous, and Kathryn, although pretty dominant, is probably gonna make her intentions pretty clear if I asked her a yes or no question. It's really only Paige and maybe Sara that I have to worry about, then."

Having thought through the rest of the week, Becca was more content. She walked back into the main room, flipping Paige off as she slept, and went out the door, making sure to slam it as she left in an attempt to annoy her roommate as much as possible. It felt good.

Kathryn and Abby were the only people who were awake thus far, but Lauren was also in the main area, sleeping on the couch they'd all sat on days ago. Kathryn was wearing her usual look that seemed as if she was meticulously examining everything she laid her eyes on, and Abby was smiling and lounging in one of the chairs around the area, watching a show that Becca knew all too well.

"Really, Abs?" Becca smiled and shook her head as she approached her sister. "You're on a tropical island paradise and your first thought is to watch a show on TV that you've seen thousands of times at home?"

"Hey, don't judge me," Abby shot back. "I've had my fun the last couple of days, skiing down a mountain, shopping for new clothes, and spending the night in a room that would put the most expensive millionaire hotels to shame. I'm allowed to have a lazy morning every once in a while."

"Hey Becca, you're in a good mood today," Kathryn noted, turning her attention from the food she'd made to the orange-haired girl. "What gives?"

"Ah, I'd rather not get into it," Becca brushed Kathryn's statement off. "Why is Lauren sleeping out here instead of up with Turner?"

"I don't know," Kathryn admitted. "My only guesses are either A) She left because of an emergency that Kendra permitted her to leave for or B) She tried to make a move on Turner and he kicked her out as soon as he could at 5 in the morning."

That second option made Becca's earlier thoughts about Turner and what he would do when faced with a decision to make about the girls seem more valid, causing her to crack a bit of a smile. Abby, on the other hand, frowned, but neither Becca nor Kathryn picked up on it.

"So Becca," Kathryn said after a brief moment of silence. "What were you up to yesterday morning? We missed you at breakfast time."

"It was nothing, really, I overslept," Becca lied.

"No you didn't," Abby denied. "I tried seeing you yesterday at your bungalow and Paige said you left at the crack of dawn."

"You believed her?" Becca sighed, trying to shore up her story.

"I guess, but it seemed pretty obvious that you weren't there," Abby's face might've looked indifferent to anyone, but Becca knew that she was actually suspicious. "It was dark in the room, though, so I can't really be certain."

"I've got it!" Liam suddenly exclaimed, nearly suffering whiplash from how quickly he jumped up from bed. "That talk with Abby actually helped me figure things out overnight, it wasn't just an opportunity for her to tease me! Now I've just gotta remember if there was one in town. Although, who am I kidding, there's a ski slope on the island, where's surely going to be this."

He jumped out of bed, weirdly excited for his "date" with Turner later. Abby had already left for the morning, but that was pretty much par for the course with Liam; he was a bit of a late riser.

"I-geez, what on earth should I wear?" he asked aloud, frowning as he opened his wardrobe and all that was looking back at him was a bunch of cutesy shirts and form-fitting pants. That wasn't exactly the look that he was thrilled to go for when he finally got a chance to reconnect with his childhood best friend.

"Having a bit of trouble there?"

A voice as smooth as molasses with a Southern twang shocked Liam so much that he nearly fell backwards onto the hard wood floor.

"What the-Kendra? What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in on y'all," Kendra replied as if she hadn't been MIA for the last couple of days. "I overheard you talkin' about how you were a bit fussed about your clothes."

"Well, yeah, but what do you care? You're the one who did this to me," Liam accused.

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't do somethin' like this, but I am willing to give you a bit of an...out of this situation," Kendra mysteriously offered.

"What do you mean by that?" Liam was skeptical. "The only 'out' of this situation that you've offered in the past was for us to get to 100 points and be tied to Turner forever."

"Hon', if you just came and talked to me, I'd be willing to give you the world," Kendra dragged out her statement to really let it sink in. "But for now, I'll just give you some assistance on this little night with Turner. I have a bit of a...wager, shall we say."

"I'm not one for gambling, but I'll hear you out," Liam still kept his wits about him, but was genuinely interested in what Kendra was saying.

"Well, I'll bring you some of your clothes from back home, like I have with everybody else, but...you're gonna have to do something for me," Kendra started.

"Mmhmm, and what might that be?" Liam was a bit suspicious of Kendra's motives here.

"Well...when it comes time for the transformations, you'll have yours be similar to if you had gotten last place," Kendra finished.

"That's the most idiotic deal that I think I've ever heard," Liam internally laughed at the ridiculousness of her offer, but then began to think it over. "Well...how bad could it possibly be? It's not like it's an elimination transformation...and someone's got to get last place. Emma's the one who's currently gonna be staring down the barrel for this...and she has a lot of baggage right now with Becca and Paige both mad at her...and I'm already gonna be transformed anyways, so it can't be like it's gonna ruin my life or anything. Plus, getting to have my own clothes might help out quite a bit, I'm gonna go insane if I have to wear another one of these outfits."

"I'll do it," Liam suddenly said after a few seconds of contemplation.

That sudden acceptance shocked both Liam himself as well as Kendra. She mainly came here to try and make a point about how he was being unreasonable by making an unreasonable request herself, but it seemed like she got something better from that.

"Alright, well, I'll move y'all around in the rankings board in terms of transformation intensity. Pleasure doing business with you," Kendra regained her professionalism before leaving the bungalow.

A few seconds later, Liam saw that in addition to the outfits Kendra had created for him a week ago, he had a lot of his own clothes from his home in the wardrobe.

"I hope I made the right choice," he tried to say in a low voice, but unfortunately, his altered DNA wouldn't let it go deeper than an alto voice.

Charlotte tiptoed quietly out of the bed, being careful as to not wake Sara. She was glad that there was someone like the black-haired girl here with her, someone who would look out for her in lieu of having roommates who knew her better than she knew the back of her hand.

As she approached the courtyard, Kathryn glanced over at her, but otherwise continued sipping on her morning coffee. That was welcome; Charlotte knew that Kathryn wouldn't mind that she commandeered her roommate for the night, but it was still nice to see it with her own eyes.

"Hey Charlotte," Kathryn coolly said. "How was your night with Sara?"

"She was just helping me out since I have...difficulty being alone," Charlotte explained.

"Relax, I don't really mind," Kathryn dismissed her worries. "I'm not gonna try to cling to my roommate like it's some end all be all. I didn't even notice that she left until I woke up in the morning."

"Okay, good, that's a relief," Charlotte looked at ease. "Hey Abby, Becca, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright," Abby unconvincingly said, looking at Becca out of the corner of her eye.

"Never better," Becca grimaced a little bit, but kept a straight face.

"Uh-huh, sure," Charlotte wasn't persuaded by their "acting", if it could even be called that.

"Abby, and frankly me as well, want to know where Becca was yesterday for breakfast, Becca claimed she overslept, and now they're mad at each other as sisters traditionally do," Kathryn filled her in.

"Oh, come on you two," Charlotte pulled the sisters close together. "We can't be doing this, especially here! Listen, Becca, wherever you were, it doesn't really matter, just tell the truth! Abby, you can't hold this over her head, try to be accepting of this!"

"I-I really can't tell you," Becca looked a bit hurt. "At least, not until the end of the week. I'll tell you all what was happening, but...I can't."

"Furthering your own game?" Kathryn deduced, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not like that!" Becca defended. "I'm just...trying to make sure nothing happens to Turner. It's not easy being separated from him while all of you go up to his room and do Lord knows what."

"Well, you don't really have to worry about me," Charlotte offered. "Mainly because...I'm not exactly what you'd call attracted to him...or any other guys, for that matter."

Abby looked a bit stung by Charlotte's comment, knowing that she had rocketed into first place. She presumed that Becca didn't know what was going on, and though she wanted full disclosure on it, Becca had been through enough, right? She could withhold that information as long as possible, right? It was in both hers and her sister's best interests to keep this a secret, at least until Becca made a quick glance at the board.

"It's fine, I'm just trying to not worry about it anymore," Becca said, then an idea popped into her head for how to get out of this sticky situation. "I'm just worried about Paige's night, and then it should be all smooth sailing from there. I doubt you'll do anything, Kathryn, I know Liam won't do anything, and I was just confirming with Mandy."

"Oh...was that so bad?" Abby rhetorically asked. "See, you could've just told us that you were doing that with Mandy and none of us would've batted an eye, but you had to make it this big drama-ridden moment!"

Kathryn was a bit wary of Becca's sudden 180 degree turn on telling everyone what happened, but bit her tongue. Literally.

"So, it's Liam's night," Kathryn changed the subject. "Did you and...whatever they're going as right now...have any conversations about this?"

"Actually, yes," Abby confirmed. "Although, it didn't seem like he got the idea that I was trying to put into his head. I guess I could've laid off on the teasing, but he's just...so innocent sometimes. He was talking about how he and Turner used to play games, and I tried to tell him to just find something to do with that, but he didn't get the message."

"That poor boy, he really needs to try and connect some more, or else he's gonna turn into...well, that," Becca looked over at Lauren, who was still completely out of it on the couch.

"I've tried," Abby frowned. "He's pretty shut-in, especially after the falling out he had with Mandy."

"Well, hey, maybe he could do with an afternoon out of the house, spend the day with his best friend, it might rejuvenate him!" Charlotte smiled.

Paige was just running herself in circles. Nothing was yielding a result. What on Earth was she supposed to do with a guy who hated her guts? She had probably 28 hours maximum to figure out something, anything, that Turner would enjoy, but so far, all she had come up with was a headache.

"Fucking hell, first I have this...problem, and now I've got a headache worse than that hangover," she complained. "Where the hell is a pharmacy around here?"

This would be a hell of a lot easier if half of the women here didn't already hate her guts simply by virtue of existing. Becca, Emma, Liam, and Abby were obvious, they were all close to Turner when the "incident" happened. Sara did by way of Phoebe, Turner's sister, relaying the afternoon drama, and Kathryn because...Paige had no idea. Just her personality rubbed her the wrong way or something.

"Ha, with the amount of threatening texts I got from Phoebe the following days, I thought she was 'bout to come back home simply to rip me a new one," Paige let out a nervous chuckle at the memory, but then...she reminded herself of the issue at hand: Turner.

"I've got to find some way to apologize to him for everything I did that day," Paige was a bit sullen, but then a smirk appeared on her face. "Maybe Mandy has some ideas. After all, she did get that expert transformation, or whatever, that gave her all sorts of knowledge about sex. She might have some ideas about something I could do that would be...adequate for what I've done to him."

With her having decided how she was going to spend her day, or at least her morning, she left the house and started heading over to Mandy and Emma's, unknowingly making the exact same trip that Becca had made a day ago, for the exact same purpose.

On her way over, she ran into Liam. It seemed like their paths were destined to cross constantly, like it was being orchestrated by a power above. He didn't look like he had for the last few days, his pink headphones, black leggings, and pink top replaced by clothes he would've worn before the transformation. It was strange, seeing him try to pull off the look of a 22-year-old guy in a body that definitely was not that, but he seemed to have made it work, with a blue T-shirt that she recognized from years ago, a pair of basketball shorts, and sneakers.

"Oh, hi Paige," the voice hadn't changed, but it was still a bit of a shock to hear that high-pitched voice coming from someone who was trying their hardest to look like a man, or at the very least, androgynous.

"Hi, Liam," she continued the conversation, more cordial than it had ever been between the two of them. "Trying out a new look, I see?"

Aaaand...she had blown it. His expression turned a bit sour before he shook his head, walking past her without dignifying her statement with a response.

As Liam walked towards the courtyard and his eventual destination, the hotel, he rolled his eyes. It was just another run-of-the-mill interaction with Paige. She tried to make good conversation, but eventually, her true colors showed themselves. She just couldn't help herself, she was just like Kathryn with her outbursts, except hers were usually rude, and she didn't have the charm that Kathryn had about her.

"Wait!" Paige yelled after him. "I'm sorry! Let me make-"

Liam didn't even look back at the pleading girl. If he were a better person, he may have at least given her a second chance, but he couldn't look past what she had done to Turner, and to a lesser extent, himself in the past. Especially since Paige was slowly getting more corrupted as she piled on misdemeanors that she would have to apologize for by whoring herself out to the person on the receiving end.

"Oh, there you are," Abby said as he came within earshot. "What happened to you?"

"Paige happened," he simply responded.

"Ugh, I just try and block her out," Becca mused. "It seems to work, except when she starts getting really annoying."

"Your 'really annoying' threshold seems like it's pretty low then," Kathryn jabbed.

"Anyways, I'll see y'all tomorrow," he refocused the short conversation that was slowly getting derailed as he continued walking past.

"Wait, you came up with an idea?" Abby asked hopefully.

"Of course," he simply responded. "After all, I was his best friend, I think I know him pretty well."

"Wait, where did you get those clothes?" Kathryn asked. "Sorry for being blunt, it's my transformation, fuck Kendra, but I thought she forbade you from wearing them after you were transformed...?"

"Oh, well, let's just say I made a deal with the devil," Liam looked a bit upset at his past decision. "But hey, it lessens all of your punishments at the next transformation sequence, so that should be a nice boost for the nine of you."

"Oh Lord, what did you do?" Abby pinched the bridge of her nose like a disappointed parent who just learned that her son crashed the car.

"Uh...I may have accepted taking the most punishing transformations at the next batch in return for Kendra giving me back my previous wardrobe," Liam explained, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, it can't have been the worst decision," Charlotte noted. "You do look a lot more confident than you have in the past couple of days, that's not nothing!"

"I just hope that you don't regret that," Becca said, offering the opposing view to the über-positive girl. "Kendra can be pretty crafty, as she's demonstrated to yours truly, she'll probably find a way to make your transformations extra-punishing."

"I'm not all that worried about it right now," Liam confessed. "That's a problem for future Liam. Anyways, gotta go, it was nice catching up with you all!"

As Liam walked off, Abby looked back at the small group with an impressed look on her face.

"Completely forget everything I said about Liam being shut-in, that was more outgoing than I've ever seen him, including before this whole debacle here," she noted.

"I guess just having something familiar really is doing him wonders," Kathryn added.