Bring Me To Life

Emma was curled into a tight ball on the bed, a blanket wrapped snugly around her shoulders. Sara sat on the edge of the bed, her own body tense with a mixture of helplessness and lingering frustration. She tried to help, she wanted to help, but everything just resulted in a comedy of errors.

"I couldn't... I couldn't stop," Emma choked out, her body shaking, feeling both violated and utterly exhausted. "It's not fair, Sara! Why does this have to happen? Why did Charlotte have to say that word?"

Sara reached out, her hand hovering over Emma's back. She desperately wanted to offer comfort, to stroke her hair or hold her hand, but she was terrified of making things worse.

"You were trying to help," Emma sobbed, her voice muffled by the blanket. "It's not your fault. It's just... this whole thing is so messed up."

Sara felt a knot of helplessness tightening in her chest. Her power was meant to soothe, but it was just causing more of a problem for Emma. A part of her wondered what was going on in the common area, and if anyone was even aware of the situation.

A sudden, sharp knocking at the door startled both of them.

"Emma? Sara? It's Abby! Are you two okay? Can I come in?" Abby's voice, finally returning, was a welcome sound.

"Yes! Please!" Sara called out, relieved. "Come in!"

The door swung open, and Abby rushed inside, her eyes immediately scanning the room. She spotted Emma's huddled form and Sara's tense posture and quickly moved to the bed. Abby's usually calm and laid-back demeanor was replaced with an urgent, focused concern.

"Oh, Emma," she said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Sara. She reached out, placing a hand on the small of Emma's back, a touch that was both gentle and firm. "I am so, so sorry. I should have come back sooner. I got caught up with Turner and Lana and everyone else in the common area, and things got... complicated."

"Turner?" Emma shot up, a brief feeling of shock immediately being replaced by embarrassment. "Oh God, does he know?"

Abby paused, her expression a mix of frustration and compassion. "Yes, he knows. Kathryn...well, she sort of told him everything." Abby sighed, a quiet, weary sound. "Turner was...well, he was confused, but above all else he was worried about you, Emma." She squeezed Emma's back gently.

The information seemed to sink in slowly for Emma. The initial embarrassment remained, but it was now tempered by a surprising wave of relief. Turner knew. And he wasn't angry or disgusted. He was worried.

Emma finally uncurled from her ball, sitting up and looking at Abby and Sara. She felt a familiar, creeping sense of embarrassment return, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

"So... so what did he say?" Emma asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Did he... did he say what the other words were?"

Abby shook her head sadly. "He knows, but said he can't say them. Kendra put a block on him sharing that information. So we're just going to have to... figure them out."

"Well, Kathryn found two of them out," Sara offered. "There are only five of them, so that's almost half of them."

"Three others..." Emma's voice trailed off, thinking about how much of a problem this was going to be. "Does anybody else know? You mentioned Turner and Lana...Kathryn and Charlotte were here...anyone else?"

"Mandy, Lauren, and Anastasia," Abby replied, her voice soft. "Becca was there as well," she continued, a knot forming in her throat. "And Paige." The mention of Paige caused a subtle tension to return to the room.

Emma’s face flushed again, but this time with a different kind of heat. It was a familiar, furious rage. Paige. Of course she had to know. She was probably gonna find some sick way to use it to her own benefit too.

"Wait, isn't that everybody?" Sara realized. "Paige and Becca, you and Lana, me and Kathryn, Lauren and Charlotte, Mandy and Anastasia, Turner, and of course Emma?"

"Yeah," Abby confirmed with a tired sigh. "That's everyone."

A heavy silence descended upon the room as the weight of this new reality settled over them. Not only was Emma's most intimate and humiliating secret now known to the entire group, but that so happened to include the girls who had made Emma's life so difficult.

This heavy silence was once again interrupted by a knock at the door. This time it was a softer, more hesitant knock.

"Hello? Sara? Emma? It's Kathryn. Can I come in?" Kathryn's voice was timid, a stark contrast to her usual outspoken demeanor.

Sara and Abby exchanged a quick glance. Abby nodded, and Sara called out a soft "Come in!" The door opened, and Kathryn shuffled into the room, looking like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

"I'm so, so sorry," Kathryn said, her voice barely a whisper. "I didn't mean to. The words just... came out." She looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "I swear, I didn't want to tell everyone, but it just... it just happened. I'm so sorry, Emma."

Emma stared at her for a long moment, a swirl of emotions warring within her. She was upset at Kathryn for exposing her secret, but she also saw the genuine remorse in her eyes.

"I know," Emma said finally, her voice still a little shaky. "I know you didn't mean to. It's just... a lot to deal with." She gestured to the bed, a silent invitation for Kathryn to join them.

Kathryn took the invitation, sitting next to Emma with her hands clasped.

"What are we going to do?" Emma finally whispered, her voice tight with a fresh wave of fear. "Paige knows. She's going to use this against me. I know she is. She's going to find a way to humiliate me in front of everyone, for fun." The thought was so terrifying, so plausible, that her body began to tremble again.

Sara moved closer to Emma, her hand now resting gently on her back, still somewhat afraid to touch her. "We won't let her, Emma. We'll figure something out. We'll come up with a plan."

"But how?" Emma asked, her voice bordering on despair. "The whole hotel knows! We have no control over what anyone says!"

"That's not entirely true," Abby said, her voice calm and steady. "We know what two of the words are now. If we can find the others, we can protect you." She looked from Emma to Kathryn, a plan beginning to form in her mind. "We can't rely on Turner to tell us, so we have to figure them out ourselves."

Kathryn, her analytical mind now in overdrive, immediately saw the logic in Abby's suggestion. "We could... test them," she said, her voice gaining a hint of its usual assertiveness. "We could get a list of common words and try them out, one by one. It's the only way to know for sure what triggers you and what doesn't. And it's better if we're in control of when and how it happens."

Sara's eyes widened, a flicker of panic in them. "Test them? Like... on you?" she asked Emma.

"And going through the whole dictionary of possible words?" Abby incredulously added.

"What do you suggest?" Kathryn responded, with a deadpan voice. "Throw Emma out to the wolves and just see what happens? Sara," she turned her head to look specifically at the girl in question. "You saw what Paige did with Charlotte when she was...less than in control last week. What about if something like that happens to Emma?"

Sara recoiled slightly, her face twisting in a mix of offense and guilt. The memory of Charlotte's crazed frenzy was still fresh in the forefront of her mind. "Kathryn, that's not what I meant!" she retorted, her voice shaking slightly with emotion. "I just... it seems so ****. Like we're going to put Emma through more of the same, just to figure it out."

Abby sighed, placing a hand on Kathryn's shoulder. "She has a point, Kathryn. We can't just... inflict this on Emma for our own curiosity."

"It's not for our curiosity, it's for her safety!" Kathryn shot back, her voice tight with frustration. "If we figure out the words, Emma can be prepared. We can all be prepared." She looked from Abby to Sara, then back to Emma, a **** plea in her eyes. "This isn't an experiment for fun. This is a survival strategy. It's the only way we can protect Emma from someone like Paige."

"No!" Sara immediately responded. "I'm not comfortable putting Emma through that! She just...well, you saw her! And that was only after like five repetitions! Knowing you, if we find one, you're gonna be so elated that you'll just keep repeating it! And it's not even like we have a clue where to start because the first two words had nothing to do with sex, which is where my mind would go. Nothing!"

"Can you all please just stop!" Emma suddenly spoke up, drowning out the three of them bickering.

The three of them immediately fell silent. Kathryn's mouth, open to retort, snapped shut. Sara recoiled, her expression a mix of frustration and genuine distress. Abby simply squeezed Emma's shoulder, her gaze fixed on her.

"I just... I can't do this right now," Emma whispered, her voice trembling with the effort to hold back tears. "I can't listen to you all argue over what to do with me like I'm some sort of science experiment."

Kathryn flinched. "Emma, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I just..." she trailed off, her earlier assertiveness completely gone. She looked at Sara, a silent plea for her to understand.

Sara, despite her frustration, felt a familiar wave of guilt at Emma's distress. She turned her attention to Kathryn, her voice softer now. "I know. It's just... we have to be careful. Emma's been through enough."

"I know," Kathryn replied, a hint of her usual analytical tone returning. "But what are the alternatives? We just wait around for Paige or someone else to find them by accident? Then she won't just be humiliated, she'll be a complete spectacle. At least if we do it, it's controlled. We can stop. We can protect her."

Emma shook her head, a fresh wave of despair washing over her. "But how? How do we know which words to even test? I didn't even know min—er, sixty seconds—was a word that could be used like that!"

"There has to be something..." Abby worriedly began, not even knowing how to finish the sentence.

"Can we just...think about it tomorrow?" Emma weakly replied. "I'm...I can't exactly think straight right now."

Abby squeezed Emma's shoulder, her touch a silent promise of support. "Yeah, Emma. Of course. We'll think about it tomorrow." She looked at Sara and Kathryn, her gaze a clear signal that the conversation was over.

Sara nodded immediately, her expression softening with relief. The argument had been distressing for everyone, especially for Emma. "Yeah, tomorrow's good. We can figure it all out."

Kathryn sighed, the earlier tension bleeding out of her shoulders. "Okay," she said softly, her analytical mind still buzzing, but now recognizing that this wasn't the time for logic. She just wanted to reassure Emma and her own guilt that she was on her side. "I'm sorry, Emma. For everything. I just..." she trailed off, unable to find the right words to express her desperation to help.

Emma gave a weak nod in response, her gaze still distant. The sheer scope of her humiliation, and the very real threat of future public incidents, was too much to process all at once. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, her body still trembling slightly.

Sara moved closer, and this time, she finally allowed herself to gently rest her hand on Emma's back. "We'll be here," Sara whispered, her voice a soothing murmur. "We'll be here with you. Well, I mean, Kathryn and I have to go back to our bungalow and you have to go back to yours with Mandy, but we're here for you."

The bungalow door opened a few minutes later, allowing a tired Kathryn and Sara to slip out. They walked the short distance in near silence, the earlier argument hanging between them.

"She's right, you know," Sara said softly, breaking the silence. "It's a huge risk. What if we do it and it just makes things worse for her?"

Kathryn sighed, running a hand through her hair. "And what if we don't? What if we let Paige find the words by herself and she uses them to humiliate Emma in front of the cameras? In front of everyone? At least with us, it's a controlled risk." She looked over at Sara, her expression earnest and sincere.

Sara listened, the guilt returning. Kathryn was right. Paige's cruelty was a more terrifying threat than their clumsy attempts to help.

"We can figure something else out, I'm sure," Sara softly responded. "What that something else is is beyond me, but you've got a big analytical mind, you can figure out the answer to this."

Kathryn sighed again, her shoulders slumping. "I don't know, Sara. The words are so random. 'Sense' and 'minute'… they have no rhyme or reason." She trailed off, her analytical mind, which had been buzzing with ideas just moments before, now felt utterly defeated.

"I know," Sara replied, her voice filled with quiet understanding. She reached out and took Kathryn's hand, a gesture she wouldn't have dared to do before. "We're all a bit tired though, we'll figure things out in the morning."

The familiar nausea that Turner had come to expect from the number of times Kendra had teleported around subsided as he found himself back in the penthouse suite, Lana still clutching onto his arm. As the disorientating feeling ebbed, the torrent of information about the happenings down on the beach came back to him.

"Emma's having involuntary orgasms... Sara's voice makes it worse... and the whole gang knows about it," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I know what they are, but I can't say anything. And Paige knows... she's going to use this, I just know it." The thought made his stomach churn more than Kendra's teleportation ever could. He pulled his arm out of Lana's grasp, needing a minute to process everything.

Lana watched him, her hand falling back to her side.

"It's a huge mess," she said softly. "But Abby went back, right? She'll figure it out." Her words lacked conviction, even to her own ears.

Just as the silence was beginning to stretch, the elevator chimed, and Becca stepped out. She looked tired, her face a little flushed, but the anger from before had been replaced with a kind of resigned weariness. She glanced between Turner and Lana, her expression unreadable.

Turner's head snapped up. "Becca! I was so worried about you...I know I saw you down there, but the situation was so chaotic that we didn't quite get a—well, that's not important anymore."

Becca offered a weak, tired smile. "I'm fine, Turner. I just... needed to get away from everything for a minute." She paused, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just left like that. I know you were probably worried."

A pang of guilt went through Turner. She was apologizing to him for leaving when he was out on a date? "Don't apologize, Becca," he said, taking a step closer to her. "You have every right to do what you want. We just... got worried."

Lana watched the exchange, a strange mix of emotions swirling inside her. A part of her was glad to see Becca safe. Another part felt a twinge of the old rivalry, a faint echo of wanting to be the one Turner was worried about. She once again grabbed Turner's arm, pressing her chest into it a little more than before.

Turner looked down at Lana, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Lana?" he asked, trying to pry about her sudden, unusual clinginess. "You okay?"

Lana's grip tightened for a second before she released him, her face flushing with embarrassment. "Oh, sorry," she mumbled, her eyes dropping to the floor. The moment of instinctive rivalry had passed, replaced by a quiet shame. It was a reflex she hadn't anticipated.

Becca watched the exchange, a small, unreadable smile on her face. The sight of Lana's clinginess, and Turner's gentle confusion, was almost... amusing in a detached way. It was a new dynamic, and a part of her was fascinated to see how it would play out.

"So...what happened down there?" Turner tried to change the subject. "You went down there before the two of us did, right, Becca?"

Becca's smile faded, replaced by that resigned weariness. "Yeah," she said softly, her gaze drifting toward the windows. "I went down there because I was lonely. I knew you two would be here soon, and I figured I'd give you some privacy." She paused, picking at a loose thread on her shirt. "I just wanted to talk to someone, you know? And everyone else was down there."

"Did you... did you talk to anyone?" Lana asked, her curiosity now overriding her earlier embarrassment. She looked from Becca to Turner, needing more information to make sense of what was happening.

"Well...more like someone talked to me," Becca grimaced. "Bet you can guess who."

"Paige," Turner and Lana answered in unison, sparking the two to look at each other in surprise.

Becca nodded, the grim expression on her face confirming their guess. "She... she was a lot. Asked if I was jealous of you, Lana," Becca said, her voice dropping a little. "And when I said I wasn't, she said it was pathetic. She even... she said that what I was, was a... a cuckquean."

Turner's face hardened immediately, a protective rage rising in his chest. His worry over Emma's situation was momentarily eclipsed by the anger he felt on Becca's behalf. "She said that?" he growled, the muscles in his jaw clenching.

Lana felt a pang of sympathy, the remnants of her brief moment of rivalry completely gone. She had felt a similar kind of shame when her own insecurities surfaced and been exploited by Paige. She moved to Becca's side and put a hand on her arm, a gesture of solidarity. "She's just trying to get a rise out of you," Lana said, her voice low and steady. "She's been doing that to everyone tonight."

Becca offered a weak smile. "Anastasia said something similar," she replied, a flash of gratitude in her eyes as she looked from Turner to Lana. "She told Paige off after I left. Mandy did, too."

This new piece of information seemed to momentarily deflate the anger that had been fueling Turner. He ran a hand through his hair again, his rage replaced by a complex swirl of frustration and bewilderment. "Anastasia? I didn't peg her as the type to get involved in other people's fights. What did she say?"

Becca shrugged, remembering the exchange. "She said that Paige was a pathetic, cruel little girl who was just a sadist with a magical excuse. It... it was honestly a little terrifying."

"Well damn, sounds like Anastasia's gotten the profile for Paige down pretty quick," Lana whistled. "Honestly, I'm impressed that she didn't fall for any of her tricks or whatever."

Becca nodded, turning to look at the ocean again. "Yeah, I was too. And Mandy stepped in, too. It was a whole thing. The room got really hot all of a sudden. I think it was Anastasia's doing." She sighed, the weight of the night starting to be relieved by talking things over.

"So Paige said all of that to you, and then Anastasia got involved, and the room got hot?" Turner asked, trying to piece together the events he had just heard about. "Did... did anything else happen down there?"

Becca's face hardened again, the weariness returning. "You mean after the fight between Paige, Anastasia, and Mandy was over? Yeah. Abby and Kathryn came back with me to the common area. We were supposed to get a blanket for Emma... but we got sidetracked...and that's about when you showed up," Becca admitted, the guilt from her part in the incident still heavy on her mind.

The trio fell silent once again. The situation was complex, but nothing could be done at the moment. Especially not with the madwoman that was Kendra running the show.

"Anyways, tell me about your date!" Becca excitedly said. "I noticed you were being a little more...touchy-feely with him, Lana, so that must mean it was a pretty good one!"

Lana's face flushed at the directness of Becca's question, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at Turner, then at the floor. She hadn't even realized she'd been so openly affectionate. The mention of her "touchy-feely" behavior, paired with Becca's positive tone, felt both exposing and surprisingly validating.

Turner looked from one girl to the other, his earlier tension easing with Becca's shift in topic. He ran a hand through his hair, a small smile finally reaching his lips. "It was... different," he admitted. "We had a lot to talk about."

"Different how?" Becca prompted, her own smile returning. "Good different or bad different?"

Turner chuckled softly. "Good different. It was… nice. It wasn’t about the show, or the transformations. We just talked, like we used to. We had a lot of history to catch up on, and she… well, Lana’s a pretty cool person when you get to know her as...well, her." He looked at Lana as he said the last part, a genuine warmth in his eyes.

Lana felt a familiar, pleasant rush at his words, the praise feeling like a reward. She glanced up at him, a shy smile on her lips like a high-schooler with a crush, and scooted a little closer to him. "He's a good listener," she responded. "And a pretty cool person when you get to know this...other side of him that you don't get to see as his best friend," she added, her voice soft.

"See?" Becca exclaimed, her face alight with a genuine, happy smile. "I knew it would be a good date! I'm glad you two had fun." She turned to look at the ocean once more, a quiet contentment settling over her.

"Uh...so what's the sleeping arrangement exactly?" Lana asked after a minute.

Turner looked from Lana to Becca, a sudden realization dawning on him. Right. The penthouse only had one bed. It hadn't really been a problem for Abby...it had been something completely different with Emma, but the situation with Lana was very tense.

"I can take the couch! It's no problem!" Becca immediately offered. "You two can...you two can take the bed!"

Lana's eyes darted from Becca to Turner, a flash of surprise and panic in her expression. The offer, while kind, was a clear and direct path to a new level of intimacy that she was not prepared for, especially not with Becca right there, watching. "No! I... I don't mind the couch either," Lana stammered, her face reddening further.

Becca's smile remained, a faint, unreadable curve of her lips. "It's really no problem, Lana," she insisted. "The couch is super comfortable. And I'm just happy you two are getting to spend some time together. I'm not... in the competition anymore. You two are."

Lana's face was a mask of sheer panic. "But... but we're not... we're not like that!" she insisted, her voice tight and high-pitched. "We're just friends! Just... catching up!" She shot a pleading look at Turner, begging him to back her up, although a small part of her did not want him to.

"Lana's right, Becca," Turner said, his voice firm but gentle. "We're not... we're just friends. And you're not sleeping on the couch. This is your space too."

Becca's smile finally faded, a flicker of something unreadable passing through her eyes. "Oh," she said, her voice soft. "Okay. Sorry. I didn't mean to... I just thought..." she trailed off, her gaze once again dropping to the floor. The offer had been so genuine, so much a part of her new way of thinking, that she hadn't considered it might be rejected.

"I can take the couch," Turner offered. "You two can take the bed. It's no big deal."

Lana and Becca looked at him at the same time, their eyes wide with surprise.

"No, Turner, that's ridiculous," Becca said, her voice filled with protest. "You're the one on the show! You're the one in the competition! You need your rest!"

"She's right," Lana added, her voice a little more steady now. "You can't sleep on the couch."

Lana and Becca exchanged another look, this one filled with a sense of understanding. They both knew they couldn't just have Turner sleep on the couch. It would be an insult. But the idea of them two sharing the bed was more than just that—it was awkward. Especially with the three of them present, it would be almost like a strange trio.

"So, what do you suggest, Becca?" Lana asked. "It's your decision after all. We don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own space."

Becca looked at Turner and Lana for a second before a small grin crept onto her face. The idea had suddenly dawned on her. It was a little crazy, but it was just so perfect that she couldn't not suggest it. "Well, I saw you two getting a little chummy earlier," she started, her grin widening. Lana's eyes darted from Becca to Turner, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

"But I'm also not going to **** Lana into a situation she doesn't want to be in. So how about this? I'll take the bed with Turner," she suggested. "And you, Lana, can take the couch."

Turner looked from Becca to Lana, his mind still reeling at the ridiculousness of the offer. Lana looked relieved at the prospect of the couch, while Becca was smiling to herself, as if a little proud of herself for figuring out a solution to the whole debacle.

"That's...a really good idea, actually," Lana said, her voice filled with relief. She wasn't ready to go that fast with Turner, not with Becca watching and especially not after the revelation that she had almost been Turner's best friend.

Turner ran a hand through his hair, his mind in a state of bewilderment. He couldn't quite fathom that his girlfriend was literally trying to make him sleep with another girl, but the show had long since stopped making sense. He looked at Lana, who was looking a little pleased mixed with miffed with the couch, and Becca, who was still smiling. He knew she would continue to try and get them together.

"Okay," he finally said, with a quiet sigh of defeat. "Okay. That's fine with me." He looked at the couch, then the bed, then at both of them, and for the first time in what felt like a while, a small, genuine, and exhausted smile appeared on his face.