I got a million things to do, I got so much I wanna prove

“Hnnngg… ahnn… aaahhh… …Hahh… hahh…”

Nick was trying to concentrate on his workout.

He really was. The muscle aches, those had passed, and he was really trying to get in the zone now and focus on what he knew he needed to do.

But…

“Oooh! Aaahnn…”

…The sounds that were coming out of Ella’s mouth weren’t things he expected to hear from someone who was working out. They sounded a lot more like the passionate moans of a woman who was experiencing a different kind of physical exertion.

And it was really distracting.

“That’s enough! I quit!” Ella moaned out. Nick finally turned his head towards her out of raw curiosity when he heard her flop down on floor a few mats away from him, and he immediately wished that he hadn’t.

Ella didn’t have any energy left. Not enough to even pretend to look presentable. Instead of sitting down like a normal person, or even lying down with some degree of normalcy, she had gone and plopped herself in a very vulnerable pose, with her top partially rolled up and clinging to her body due to sweat. Her flushed complexion and short, panting breaths weren’t helping matters, either.

I really hope I don’t look like that when I’m finished working out, Nick thought, swallowing the uncomfortable feelings that seeing Ella looking like that elicited in his mind. The damaged girl was hard for him to get a read on, specifically in regard to his own emotions. He cared deeply for Ella, he really did, and they’d gotten closer- closer than he’d anticipated. And she was surprisingly forward for such a timid girl, pushing things in the direction that she wanted them with only a slight bit of hesitation, which Nick greatly appreciated as well.

But… Nick wasn’t sure where their relationship was going. And he wasn’t sure if she would appreciate him looking at her in her ragged state.

Something that he was sure about, though, was that Cinder would NOT be happy if she knew what he was doing, and that was enough to put the fear of God in his heart.

Cinder was the complication. He wanted to get to know both sides of Ella, but with Cinder, everything just became more troublesome. The easily-irritated girl did not make things easy- her emotions were even more mercurial than Ella’s were!

So, with respect for Cinder’s wishes in mind, he turned his head away and studied the gym equipment, instead. Yes, that was much more preferable.

Dani could look out for Ella.

“Something wrong? You naughty boy.”

Nick jerked his head up in surprise. His heart raced in his chest and his eyes widened to see Dawn staring down at him with a sly grin on her lips. She wiggled her eyebrows playfully and leaned over, bringing her face in close to his.

Normally, he liked when Dawn got playful. But right now wasn’t the best time. Especially when Dawn herself looked like she’d just finished with quite an intense workout of her own, and her leotard seemed even more skintight than usual thanks to her sweat.

She wiped a towel across her nape and sat down across from him. There was a glassy sort of stare in her eyes, and for a moment, Nick was confused.

“This… may have been a mistake,” Dawn murmured, shaking her head slowly. “Probably shouldn’t have come along, hehe…”

It wasn’t like Dawn to look so distracted. Nick’s initial thought was that she was drunk or high, but no, those two things would be so wildly out of character for the girl he knew that he pushed the notion aside before he could even get a tangible hold on it.

Which brought him to the actual correct answer, when he started thinking about the sort of things that WOULD lead Dawn to get a little hazy-eyed and distracted.

One of her transformations.

• Like Catnip: In the wild, animals are drawn to one another through pheromones, and now Dawn will be as well. She’ll develop an attraction to the musk of her master, as well as the sexual aroma of the other contestants. While these feelings are manageable at first, it will slowly grow the longer she’s in proximity with the scent. (Animal Lover)

“Dawn, Dawn,” Nick said quickly, snapping his fingers in front of her face. She blinked rapidly and shook her head, and like coming out of a fog, she gradually returned to her senses.

“Huh… wh-what was I doing again?” Dawn looked around the gym, and her face began to heat up. She replayed her fuzzy memories back to herself, and as she watched her own performance, mortification seized her breast and she practically collapsed on the spot.

“…OH my god…” Dawn buried her face in her hands and tried not to scream. “I… th-that was-!”

Nick shook his head. “Trust me, you don’t need to explain anything,” he assured his friend, patting her on the arm. “I get it.”

Dawn blushed. She had initially come over to Nick to talk to him, but once she’d gotten a whiff of his sweat, that had all flown out the window. What a fool! How could she not have anticipated exactly this scenario!? Was she an idiot or something?

“…I’m so sorry,” she apologized again. “…Actually, I wanted to see if you were feeling okay. Not… tease you.”

She glanced past Nick, over at where Dani was helping Ella work out. “I thought… well…”

The gymnast chewed on her lip briefly before turning back to her crush. “…Were you feeling self-conscious because you were checking Ella out?” She asked critically.

Nick knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to Dawn’s scrutinizing gaze even if he wanted to, so he didn’t even bother with acting upset. “Yeah,” he admitted with a nod. “I was.”

Dawn sucked on the inside of her cheek. “Well… that… that’s really sad,” she said quietly, looking down.

Sad?

That was a strange way to put it.

“Why is it sad?” Nick asked.

Dawn jerked upright. “No, I mean… I didn’t mean ‘sad’ I just, uh…”

Damn it. The pheromones again. They were getting Dawn all emotional and misty-eyed, like an idiot. “…I didn’t mean sad,” she said curtly, narrowing her eyes into a cold look. “Got it? That’s not what this is about.”

Nick didn’t even consider arguing. He just nodded. “Okay. Not sad,” he agreed. “So… what’s up, then? What are you talking about?”

If Dawn knew the answer to that question her head wouldn’t be hurting this much.

“…You shouldn’t feel bad for checking Ella out a little,” Dawn assured him. “If you ask me? She might even be happy about it.”

Nick looked at her in surprise. “…You’re kidding,” was all he could manage to say. Somehow, he couldn’t take Dawn seriously when she was talking about something like that. “I mean, I know Ella has a crush on me, but…”

“I think it’s a little more than that,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “When she came down to breakfast this morning, she was really weird.”

Maybe it was a betrayal of Ella’s privacy to reveal this to the boy she liked. But, on the other hand, Dawn knew that Ella would be thrilled by the idea that Nick was interested in knowing more about her feelings towards him.

So, in her eyes, this was all good!

At least, that was what she told herself.

Dawn cleared her throat. “Look, it’s not a big deal,” she said, her tail wagging behind her. “All I’ll say is that Ella was the one who wanted to come here after we finished breakfast. And she ate pretty fast, too, like she had somewhere to be.”

Nick wasn’t sure how to process this new information. He hadn’t noticed anything off about Ella earlier that morning, when he’d run into her in the hall. He’d just mentioned that he was going with Dani to the gym.

Had that really been enough to spur her on and get her to make a choice like this, to come down and work out herself?

…Really?

“…So, what, she was feeling jealous or something?” Nick asked incredulously. “Of Dani, of all people?”

Dawn held up her hands and stood up. “Hey, don’t ask me. None of my business,” she said, shaking her head. “You want answers, you go talk to her. I’m not violating my friend’s trust, or fueling your egotistical fantasies.”

Nick scowled at the “egotistical fantasies” line but realized that Dawn probably wasn’t being serious. With an exasperated sigh he shook his head and thanked her for her concerns, and she responded by giving him a soft smile of her own.

“Hey, no, it’s fine,” Dawn said, her ears twitching on top of her head. “I was happy to come myself. Any excuse to look this cute for you,” she teased, and did a cartwheel to stand on her hands. Then she lowered her core while splitting her legs apart, bringing her cheek down to the mat while giving Nick an exceptional reminder of just how flexible she could be when she put her mind to it.

Nick’s face turned crimson and his heart jumped in his chest.

“Well, uh… …Very nice,” was all he managed to say.

Dawn turned herself upright again and smiled. “Anyway… I’m gonna go get back to working out myself, so… …Oh! Uh, quick question…”

She looked around like she was concerned someone might be listening in. But the only other person nearby was Kim, who was off doing her own intense workout. And she was too busy cursing Dani under her breath for hanging her out to dry to hear anything that the cat girl might have to say.

“…Isn’t this supposed to be your date with Dani?” Dawn asked, turning and looking across the room again, to where Dani was helping Ella cool down.

Nick had been thinking the same thing.

“Well… it’s not exactly a date,” he pointed out. “But yeah, that’s just how Dani is.”

“Mm, mm, she’d rather have her hands full with another woman than with a guy, yeah, that tracks,” Dawn nodded in agreement.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Come on, Dawn. You know that’s not what I meant.”

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. “I know. She’s already got you ‘on the hook’ so now she’s switched to trying to get Ella interested in working out, too. That’s just the kind of girl she is, I suppose, friendly to a fault.”

Nick didn’t see any fault in Dani’s actions. It wasn’t like this was supposed to be a moment where the two of them got closer or bonded. That was for an actual date with an actual woman who he was actually trying to establish a relationship with.

As long as the two of them were having a good time together, they didn’t need to be joined at the hip or anything.

“…I just hope that she doesn’t end up scaring Ella off,” Nick said. He was worried that the timid girl had bitten off more than she could chew.

Finally, Ella found the mercy of a bathroom break. With energy in her movements that threw Nick for a loop she dashed over to the bathroom, leaving Dani free to come over and check up on his progress with the free weights.

“How’s it going?” She asked. “You almost done?”

“Just about,” Nick said. He nodded to Dawn. “…Except this one is trying to distract me.”

“Oh, please,” Dawn said, rolling her eyes. “As if you need me to distract you. You- …Err, never mind actually, hehe…”

She’d been about to say that Nick was distracted enough by Ella’s workout, but realized that probably wouldn’t go over so well with Dani so she’d kept her mouth shut at the last minute.

Dani didn’t seem to notice, though. She sighed and scratched her neck. “Well, I do feel kind of bad for leaving you in the lurch like this,” she apologized.

“What about me?” Kim asked, coming over to the three of them. She looked like she was in the worst condition out of everyone in the room to Nick’s eyes, judging by the tired look of fatigue on her face. She seemed ready to collapse on the spot. How much weight had she shed from sweat, anyway?

“…Yeah, sorry, you too,” Dani apologized again. “It’s not like I can be everywhere at once, though, and Ella needs my help more than anybody else here.”

No arguments from any of them. Even Kim agreed that was the case.

“Are you sure you’re not going too hard on her, though?” Kim asked Dani. She remembered when she first started working out with the tomboy, and how painful that had been. Ella didn’t seem like she was in much better shape than Kim had been back then.

“We’re going easy, don’t worry,” Dani assured them. Although it sure didn’t sound like that to Nick’s ears, judging by how Ella had been groaning.

“Do you know how to go easy?” Dawn prodded her with a smirk.

Dani rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. I asked her what kind of workout she wanted, and she said that she just wanted to do a few stretches. To get the tension out of her body, I guess? She’s pretty wound up, is all I could say. She could do with a good massage more than anything.”

Dawn nodded slowly. “Right, right, she wanted to stretch to ease her tension, makes sense,” she murmured. Her eyes drifted towards Nick and she gave him a knowing smile. “That’s gotta be the reason.”

Nick knew what Dawn was implying, and didn’t say anything. So, Ella wanted to do some stretches in the gym with him, and was making those moans. It didn’t mean she had ulterior motives.

Although, it’s kind of hard to deny that she came here because I was going to be here, he was forced to admit. Is this really just about getting healthy, then? What is she actually after by coming here and working out?

Nick wasn’t the only person who was asking themselves that question. But the other person who was wondering that was much closer to the source than he was.

That didn’t make things any more clear to her, though.

“Damn it…” Cinder cursed, leaning against the stall door and moaning in tried exasperation. “Ella, what the fuck are you doing!? Fucking damn it… this fucking… fuck… it’s so… fucking… fuck!”

She was so tired that her vocabulary had taken a bit of a hit as well. Cinder felt like she was going to puke all over the bathroom stall.

“Leave it to Ella to wear herself out, and leave me to deal with the consequences of our body,” she muttered, staring daggers at the white door in front of her.

That wasn’t fair, and Cinder knew it. After all, she had been the one to force her way to the surface after feeling how much stress Ella was under from all the stretching. Her role was to protect her other self, after all, even from herself- and that was exactly what she’d done.

…But if she knew it was going to hurt this badly, she would have never done it. Her whole body felt absolutely miserable. And no matter how hard she tried to keep from vomiting, it seemed more like an inevitability at this point.

“Why would you come to work out in the gym!?” She demanded of her other self, even though she knew that no answer would be forthcoming. “Putting your-our body through this sort of abuse!? For what?! Just… just so that asshole could check you out a little!?”

Cinder looked down at her clothes. The white tanktop she was wearing was practically glued to her body, and it made the beige bra that Ella had worn this morning stand out. On another girl it wouldn’t have been as noticeable, but because of her skin tone, it was easy to see the contrast.

Just another bit of humiliation that Cinder was forced to endure. She was getting too used to feeling this way, and she was starting to get sick of it.

“Wearing these clothes…” Cinder grimaced, pulling at her top and trying to keep it from looking like a second layer of her skin. “What are you doing? You can’t actually think that this is a good idea, could you?!”

Cinder wasn’t privy to the deepest thoughts of her other self- she could only sense Ella’s anxiety and agitation.

She was forced to fill in the blanks herself.

And, as much as she hated the idea…

It sure seemed possible that Ella had been trying to get Nick’s attention through a sensual workout of some sort.

Without the specifics, it was impossible to say! For all she knew, Ella and Nick had been doing some hands-on stretches together, touching each other all over, and-

“No! Absolutely not!” Cinder slammed the side of her fist into the door so hard she almost made a dent. It didn’t even sting her hand, she was so irate. “That was NOT what happened! I would have felt it myself, and I didn’t!”

Cinder staggered to her feet. Her legs were a little shaky and she felt a little woozy still, but she wasn’t going to let herself get sick.

Whatever she had been doing in the gym- or rather, Ella had been doing- it wasn’t going to best her! She was in control of her own body, damn it!

Cinder decided that as soon as she left the bathroom, she was going to leave the gym. She didn’t know how she’d gotten here or why Ella wanted to be here, but all the guesses she could come up with were things that she would rather avoid.

So, with that in mind, she stormed out of the bathroom…

…And crashed right into Dani coming in to check up on her.

“Waagh! Hey! Back off, bitch!” Cinder snapped at the other girl involuntarily.

Dani recoiled, her eyes widening in surprise as the foulmouthed girl staggered away from her, eyes burning furiously.

“Geez, sorry,” she apologized, scratching her cheek. “I didn’t mean to… …Look, Cinder, I just wanted to check up on you and see if you’re feeling okay-”

“I’m feeling fine,” Cinder muttered. “And it’s Ella you were checking up on, not me,” she pointed out coldly.

Dani winced. Cinder wasn’t wrong there. “…Yeah,” she conceded. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not also concerned about you.”

Cinder sulked at her.

“Whatever,” she muttered, shoving past the taller girl and exiting the bathroom. “Save that concern for someone who cares.”