A Whole Host of Problems

Becca woke up annoyed, resigning herself to having that happen every day at this point.

"I wonder how Emma's date with Turner went," she thought to herself. "I can't imagine she would actually do anything with him. She's young, but she isn't stupid. Even with her transformation, it can't have gotten that far, right?"

She fidgeted a bit. Just because she didn't think Emma did anything doesn't mean that she didn't. It was still Emma, she was a bit reckless at times, and that might have been augmented by the big fat "0" that Emma had when it comes to Victory Points.

"I mean, even if she did something to get her out of the hole, it's not like she would go...all the way with him, right?" she continued. "She isn't that kind of girl."

Becca wanted to see Turner, to talk to him, just about anything. He helped keep her sane whenever her anxiety was rising, but she didn't know if she was even allowed to go into the hotel of her own volition. Maybe he would come downstairs himself, and she could catch him somewhere? Maybe she would talk to Charlotte, find out where they were going, and then follow them, just to get any chance at talking to him?

That last idea sounded a bit stalker-like, but she was ****.

Paige laid motionless beside Becca. She wasn't asleep, she hadn't been for hours, but she didn't want Becca to try and talk to her. The events that had transpired last evening were worrying her, and an interaction, especially if she had heard anything, was the last thing she wanted. Her eyes were shut and she was facing away from her roommate (the same way she had been sleeping last night), but her mind was spinning.

"I don't know what came over me," she thought. "I can't believe what I did...and my involuntary reaction to it."

Her date was in five days, more than enough time to recover from this. Plus, it would feel great to stick it to Becca that she got to go on a date first. She was Turner's first in a lot of things, and being able to steal yet another one was cathartic. She wouldn't do anything with him, she was comfortable sitting at the top of the group with her 9 points, but she didn't have to say that to her.

"Um...I can explain this," Emma sheepishly said, staring at the floor.

"I'm not mad," Turner reassured. "Not disappointed either. I'm just curious, that's all."

"I...well, I think this had something to do with Kendra, but...I...had a dream," she said in a very small voice.

"Ah," Turner acknowledged. It honestly was the theory he expected the most, but wanted the least. "That makes sense. Well, I can just get these sheets washed, apparently there are some people here that'll do that for me."

"You're not upset?" Emma questioned.

"Nah, it's no big deal," Turner assured, his Laissez-Faire attitude coming into play. "Especially with everything that's been happening, I don't blame you in the slightest for this."

Internally, Turner was a little weirded out by it. It's not every day...er, night that you're cuddling with someone who isn't your significant other and they have a wet dream. He wasn't going to let Emma know about that, though. She and the rest of the girls were the ones being transformed, they already had enough on their plate. He could handle it.

Emma began helping him take the sheets off the bed, in a display of penance for what had happened. She still was embarrassed about the whole situation, but thankfully Turner hadn't chastised her for it. As he hefted the sheets into the laundry chute, it dawned upon her that she hadn't gotten many victory points and she didn't want to be out so early into the game.

"What's on your mind?" Turner asked, noticing her conflicted face.

Did she tell him? He would understand, right? Then again, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. It wouldn't need to be anything that drastic, right?

She looked over at the TV, and a list of all of the girls with their VP scores was visible. She let out an audible sigh of relief. She was worried that she was still at zero, but those fears were unfounded, because apparently she had gotten 3 overnight, tying her with Charlotte in 7th place.

"Do I go for more?" she asked herself. "Y'know what, fuck it. I can let Charlotte and the other girls play catch-up, and if another bad challenge comes my way, I don't want to be left in the dust."

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought again," she brushed off, but then she made a move that Turner wouldn't've even dreamt of happening. She got up on her tip-toes and gave him a chaste kiss.

Kissed Turner!: 3 VP

Looking at her place on the screen nearby rise up to fourth, she was satisfied. Turner, however, was confused.

"W-what?" he managed. "Why did you do that?"

"Look, this is a game," she stated. "I don't want to be a part of this any more than you do, but I'm not getting out of it that easily. I'd like to be spared of those exit transformations, and if that means playing along to Kendra's whims, then so be it."

"Bu-okay, but...what about..." Turner started.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to Becca," Emma consoled. "I'm the one who did it, I'll be the one responsible for whatever happens."

"Yeah, and then she was all apologetic and everything, saying 'Oh, why don't we go off to the side and I can show you how sorry I am'," Liam recounted.

"I mean...I do feel bad for her with regard to her transformation, but everything else, I just don't want anything to do with her," Abby said a bit disinterestedly. "Good on you for not catering to her whims."

"I just...I don't even know what to make of her!" he continued ranting. "She's gone from 0 to 100 and then back down to 0 faster than a freaking race car! And that's not to mention everything she's done in her past, then trying to play it off like she's a little angel and Becca's the devil! Plus, do you think they'd actually even put the devil on this show? That'd be too far, even for Kendra. Ooh, and this really irked me, she was trying to find some sort of common ground with me! She was talking about how her mom was overbearing too, like that's something magical that you can build rapport off of!"

Abby continued sipping her coffee, half-listening to what Liam was saying. He was a great kid, but not someone that was particularly easy to deal with. It was clear something had changed aside from his physical appearance. The old Liam wouldn't rant like this to anyone, even those close to him. Now here he was ranting to someone who wasn't that close to him, a friend of a friend. Was there a hidden mental transformation in his gamer girl transformation? Did it make him more outgoing to fit the persona they wanted him to conform to?

"...and then, she acted all glum, like she was trying to manipulate me, just because I wouldn't do God knows what with her!" Liam continued, oblivious to Abby's lack of listening. "Can you believe that?"

"I mean, yeah, she's definitely not someone you want to spend time with," Abby said noncommittally. "She's probably just trying to find her place on this show with people who have reason to not be fond of her."

"Hey you two, whatcha talking about?" Charlotte entered the scene, cheerful as always.

"Oh, nothing, just Paige," Liam said.

"Oh, her! I don't really know what to think about her. She's done some questionable things, but I think she's a bit misunderstood, she seems to be trying to change."

"Yeah, like when she tried to change by manipulating me," Liam sulked.

"I really do think she has good in her," Charlotte defended. "Some people just express it in different ways!"

Lauren stared at the ceiling. It was difficult for her to get a good night's sleep in at this point, and it was only the second night that she'd been here. There were a few reasons to it; her roommate's unending energy, the fact that she typically didn't sleep super well normally anyways, but most of it did with her new trait that made her addicted to sex.

She was a little wary when the transformations had been handed out at first. Telling someone that they'll "slowly grow addicted to sex" was a little difficult to categorize. Addicted in what way? In the same way that someone could get addicted to ****? Would she eventually start going to insane lengths in order to get her fix, or would it just turn into a slight but constant tingle? Knowing everything that Kendra'd done in the last few days, it was more likely the former, but she hoped it was the latter.

She shuddered at the thought of "going to insane lengths in order to get her fix". What would that entail? Would she try to masturbate any chance that she got (which, given how much Charlotte was out of the house, would likely be very often)? Would her mind be filled with thoughts and fantasies related to sex? Would she try to get others roped into her little scheme, heaven forbid, her own roommate?

She didn't know if she could do that to Charlotte, the girl seemed like she needed a bit of an awakening, but she didn't have it in her heart to do it for her. Heck, maybe Turner would be able to do something tonight to whip her into shape.

Not literally, though.

That was another disadvantage that she had. Whereas a lot of these other girls were people who knew Turner quite well, she was lacking in that department. There were people here that he'd spent lots of his recent years with; his mentee, his housemate, his coworker, his GIRLFRIEND. And then along came Lauren, someone who babysat him back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. How was she meant to compete with those people who knew him in his current state when her best memories of him were eating Spaghetti-O's and watching Horton Hears a Who?

It was gonna be a long day. She didn't have a challenge to keep her busy, Charlotte would be gone and unable to keep her at least a little bit entertained, and who knew what Paige was doing?

Oh, speaking of Paige, she had come over to her place last night while Charlotte was on another one of her impromptu outings. She gave her a bit of a wake-up call, because she was slipping in the polls. Paige was someone who started out unpopular but managed to hoist herself up a little bit, but Lauren was free falling. This was all because Paige spotted something on the pathway back from the challenge, a paper that Kendra had dropped, and it had everyone's recent poll numbers.

So...how did she make a name for herself?

Her appointment with Turner was in two days, maybe that would be a chance to knock his, and the audience's, socks off. How the living fuck would she achieve that though, especially when she had no idea what to do, she had no idea what he was into, and she had no idea how to act around a guy who wasn't her boyfriend?

Nothing seemed to be going her way here.

Kathryn was on a walk through town. She was all about efficiency, and this was about as efficient as it got. She was looking for things to do herself, looking for ways to possibly spend her bonus points, looking for things to do on a date with Turner, and just walking to clear her head.

"Maybe if I just say everything on my mind now, then I won't be revealing family secrets whenever I'm with other people," she reasoned out loud.

She passed by a bunch of buildings, most of them seemingly ripped straight from the average East Coast downtown district. Lots of brick buildings seemingly created to look aged, a bunch of them repurposed as restaurants or little niche stores.

"Gosh, it's only been two days and I'm already feeling tired of this," she complained. "I probably would've given up about nine times now if Sara hadn't talked me out of it. I don't know how bad those 'exit transformations' or whatever are, or if they're just another scare tactic by this sad excuse for a host, but I'd be willing to bet on that if I didn't have to stay in this forsaken hellhole."

"What's that about a forsaken hellhole?" a familiar voice said beside her.

Kathryn flipped her head around to see the face of her unknown walking partner, and of course, it was none other than Kendra, the person she had just been complaining about.

"Why are you here?" Kathryn accused. "Are you insistent on making my life a nightmare? Can't I ever get rid of you?"

"Sure you can, when you win the game and join Turner's harem, or lose the game and join Turner's harem, or do neither when the game is over and, well, join Turner's harem!" Kendra said quasi-helpfully. "Then you can get rid of me."

"Gee, thanks, that's really helpful," Kathryn rolled her eyes as she turned her head away from Kendra.

"Look, I know I'm the host and you all see me as this untouchable deity, but I'm someone just like you," Kendra mentioned. "I have feelings too, and whenever you say something like that about me, it hurts."

"Maybe it's because you afflicted us with these conditions!" Kathryn accused. "Maybe if you were a bit more agreeable, you'd actually be someone I would appreciate a little more!"

"Again, I'm not the person you want to accuse!" Kendra defended. "I'm just the messenger!"

"Well, you're the only one that I know is at fault," Kathryn fired back. "Who do you want me to attack, the sky people or something inane like that?"

"Well, I'm just here to warn you that you're not going down a positive path," Kendra informed. "You're acting way too negative, and soon enough, you're going to make that your whole personality."

"What do you suggest I do then?" Kathryn rhetorically asked with fire in her voice. "You've made it so that I say whatever the fuck is on my fucking mind, and then, if that wasn't enough, you tacked on another transformation with stupid fetishes, which I haven't dared test out yet. And if THAT wasn't enough, it was against the wishes of not just a plurality, but a MAJORITY!"

"I'm just saying to be careful," Kendra restated. "You make your negativity your whole personality, and no one is gonna like you. The viewers are gonna vote for you to be in last place, none of the contestants will want to associate with you, even your newly-beloved Sara, and then you start losing challenges, losing Victory Points, and then you lost the game. Is that what you want? Do you want that to happen? It won't make you not tied to Turner, it's too late for that, hon', but it'll certainly make the next decades a lot more unbearable than if you just decided to play along here."

Kathryn was stunned into silence, a first for her since Kendra's manipulation.

"Now, you tell me, who's the one making this place a forsaken hellhole?" Kendra continued. "Is it me, who has been more than accommodating, giving you this island all to yourselves? Or is it you, who hasn't appreciated but a small fraction of what this place has to offer, because you've been too busy badmouthing me every chance you get?"

That was all she said before she disappeared before Kathryn's eyes.

Charlotte fixed her hair for her later date with Turner. So far, she had played into the idea of being a bundle of positive energy, but she wanted to take this evening and night a bit differently. Sure, she was sitting in the back of the pack when it came to victory points, likely behind Emma now, although she hadn't bothered to check the standings on the board near the central area yet, but she wasn't in a hurry to get them. They'd be nice to get, but not imperative.

"Wow, Charlotte, you...wow, you look amazing," Lauren said from behind her.

That shocked her, Lauren didn't seem the type to offer her opinions when she wasn't asked about it, especially if it was a positive one. Maybe Charlotte was finally rubbing off on her, or maybe she really just did look that good. Whatever the case, it was a confidence boost.

"Thanks, Lauren!" she cheerfully responded. It wasn't anything over-the-top, this was only an evening and night with Turner, not like it was her senior prom or wedding or anything, but it was a little showy. She'd opted for a blue dress that fell to about her knees, one that definitely accentuated her figure, but wasn't something considered 'slutty'.

Leaving the house, she felt confident. Emma had told her that she'd gone ice skating, so thankfully, it didn't overlap with her idea for where to go. Based on what the girls had divulged about Turner, she was confident that he'd have a great time too. This was going to go great, regardless of if she earned any points or not.

She rang the front doorbell, and immediately felt a little nervous. It was cliché, but that added a bit of novelty to the whole experience, although the usual trope would be that the guy would ring the doorbell or knock on the door and the girl's dad would answer with a shotgun cocked in his hand. Whatever the case, Charlotte was a little nervous about the whole experience, but it would be fun! Who could turn down a free outing, and even if she didn't know him the best, it would still be a night to remember.

"Hey Charlotte!" he answered the door. "Wow, you look...amazing."

Charlotte blushed. Dammit, why was she feeling just like a high school girl again? The fact that she was blushing was more embarrassing than what was causing her to blush in the first place.

"Thank you," she composed herself. "You don't look too bad yourself." That wasn't a lie, he was able to put himself together if he put his mind to it.

"So...where are we headed?" he asked after a few minutes of idle chatter.

"You're not allergic to anything, are you?" Charlotte asked, continuing the joke that Emma had told her about.

"Not again," he groaned, but he was smiling underneath that front. "What, are you going to take me somewhere that has nothing to do with allergies again?"

"You'll see," she smugly replied as the two of them walked into town.