Welcome to the Neon Jungle

Turner was too excited to wait for the elevator, taking the steps two at a time as he flew towards the lobby floor. He had been anticipating his day out with Liam, remembering the days that they had spent together in high school. So what if he looked different? Just like Abby, Liam's brain wasn't altered at all, and Turner was confident that he could still have fun in the afternoon.

"Hey, it feels like I haven't seen you in ages, ever since you got a fancy-pants girlfriend, a fancy-pants job, and moved to the fancy-pants city," Liam greeted as Turner came into view down the stairs.

"It really has been a while," Turner agreed as the two of them did their 'secret' handshake that they had invented back in high school.

"So, I don't really know what you've been up to since you became boring and got some sort of office job, but...I hope you're okay with what I picked out for the two of us today," Liam said with a bit of trepidation.

"Hey, I'm fine with anything," Turner shrugged. "I've done everything from a super-busy and super-tiring ski trip to a simple coffee shop and café, so I'm up for whatever."

"Well...follow me then," Liam segued, a bit awkwardly as usual.

Turner missed this, being able to spend time with another guy. Recently, he was surrounded by women in almost every facet of his life; his girlfriend living with him and her sister living a few doors down, his sister being really the only family to visit that often, his mentor and coworker, it seemed like he was surrounded by cooties 24/7. Now this show was threatening to take one of the last men in his life away from him? Hell no. The fact that Liam was wearing his old clothes was a bit of a surprise, but a welcome one, because it showed him that Liam wasn't just going to take this transformation, he was going to fight for any shred of masculinity he could hold on to. He had to admit that it was strange seeing him wearing that with pink hair and a voice higher than Michael Jackson, though.

"What have you been doing recently?" Turner asked as they walked along the cobblestone streets. "When I came to visit home last, I seem to recall you living with Ma-er, your mom, and playing games in your room."

"Uh...not much has changed," Liam admitted. "Although I do have a job now, I work at the market in town!"

"The farmer's market?" Turner raised an eyebrow.

"And I shovel driveways in the winter!"

"You better find something else, you're gonna put the 16-year-olds in town out of job opportunities," Turner teased.

"Hey, just because I don't feel the need to be another corporate drone doesn't mean that I'm comparable to a high schooler!"

"Mhm, sure."

Liam punched Turner's arm for that. It was as if nothing had changed between the two of them. The banter was just as it had been all those years ago, Turner was just as lively as he remembered, it just felt so right. If there was one upside to this, it was that he wouldn't lose track of Turner like he did after the two of them graduated.

"Well, here we are," Liam changed the subject as the two of them stopped in front of a nondescript white building in the middle of the block.

"You sure this is the place you picked out and not where I get murdered?" Turner was skeptical.

"Of course, would I ever lead you astray?" Liam smirked.

"Do you want the whole list of times or just the highlights? Remind me again, who was it that said it'd be fine to park in front of the fire hydrant because we'd only be gone for a few minutes?"

"Okay, okay, point taken, but still, just believe in something for once!"

"Whatever you say, you're the boss," Turner relented as they walked inside.

To his surprise, there was no mafia boss waiting inside to club his knees or interrogate him about who he had seen on the 30th of December, but it was an arcade. Not like your average run-down arcade located inside a dying mall on the outskirts of town, but a real, lively, vibrant arcade.

"I haven't been to one of these in ages," Turner marveled.

"I know, me neither," Liam smiled. "But I happen to remember that we spent a lot of time here as kids."

Turner looked around a bit, getting the lay of the land, and realized that it was almost a carbon copy of the arcade that he and Liam used to go to all the time after school

"Wait, is this-" Turner started.

"Springfield Fun Center and Game Emporium," Liam finished. "Yep, it is. Weird how they had this exact place in this alternate dimension, but I'm not complaining. I still remember crushing you at almost all of these."

"Oh, you're on," Turner challenged, before the two of them started running around like kids in a candy store. Well, more like kids in an arcade, but basically the same thing.

"Oh really now, that's interesting," Paige answered, pausing to take in the information.

"I know, right?" Mandy agreed. "The whole time, I was thinking 'Seriously? That long and a whole lot of nothing?'"

"I don't blame you, that was almost exactly my first thought too when you told me that," Paige remarked. "Poor guy, he really is stuck in there."

"Maybe this is just what the doctor ordered though," Mandy noted. "A vacation, getting away from home, getting away from the daily hustle and bustle of life, and to be around some different people."

"I agree, I feel like he'd've gone crazy having to put up with just that for the time being," Paige said. "It's not like he's sixty years old, or asexual, or something like that. He's just over twenty for fucks sake, in the prime of his life!"

"Don't tell anyone I told you this though," Mandy backpedaled. "I can't have the whole island buzzing with the knowledge that I'm being a bit of a busybody and a gossiper."

"I mean, they're already a little suspicious of you," Paige warned. "When you went off with Becca that morning, the other seven of them were all talking about what the two of you might be doing, coming up with all sorts of unreasonable conclusions. I bet Abby's hot on the trail too, she has to know that something's not right with her own sister."

"Eh, Abby doesn't know squat," Mandy stated. "She's busy trying to delay the inevitable that is Becca coming at her like a nuclear bomb once she finds out that her score is in the double digits. I'm not worried about anyone else either. Emma and Charlotte are both ditzes, Sara wouldn't do anything if she found out, Lauren pays less attention than a defiant four-year-old, and Liam's too wrapped up in his own issues. Kathryn's the only one that I'm worried about, but I imagine she's not doing too well either."

"She seemed relatively put-together last I saw her," Paige countered. "Although it might be a cover-up."

"Well, still, I don't even know if they've realized that we're working together, in a way," Mandy waved. "I don't think we have to worry about that lot, they're all too caught in their budding relationships with each other than the possibility that the three left out might be cooking up something."

"Let's leave it at that then," Paige agreed. "Well, I'll see you later, and I'll tell you how it goes tomorrow. Maybe I can give you some tips for a change."

"Heavens no," Mandy denied. "I'm not doing that to get ahead, thank you very much."

"Whatever you say," Paige nonchalantly responded as she left.

"I don't need that to get ahead," Mandy thought as the door closed, her only remaining connection leaving. "I doubt Kendra will make this show short, so I'll just do well in challenges like the last one, get the easy 100 points, and bada bing, bada boom. I might not get first, but I'm sure as hell not gonna get last."

"So...safe to say I win?" Liam gloated.

"Yeah, yeah, I think you did," Turner conceded. "How the living hell are you still an absolute beast at those games?"

"What do you think I've been doing since I've been spending my days at home?" Liam countered. "It's not like I'm solving calculus problems or anything, I've been playing games. Not arcade games, but the skills port over easily enough."

"Well, kudos for you, I had no chance after the first few games," Turner complimented, then switched gears. "Who knew being a couch potato would pay such dividends?"

"I prefer to call it 'honing my skills'," Liam said with faux-pretentiousness.

"Says the person who called fast food jobs 'food engineers'," Turner shot back.

"Hey, well at least I still have an enjoyable life," Liam pointed out. "I seem to remember a certain someone complaining about the work and commute involved with your job."

"Ouch, low blow," Turner reeled.

"Deserved though," Liam remarked. "Anyways, I'm reeling rather hungry, you got food in that hotel?"

"Of course, what do you want?" Turner answered.

"What do you have?" Liam parried.

"Probably anything you can think of," Turner responded. "Everything from a Happy Meal to oysters and caviar."

"Well, you mentioned Happy Meals, so now you've got me craving a burger," Liam half-answered.

"Consider it done, it should be waiting for us when we get back," Turner nodded.

"How did you do that, do you have some sort of mind control?"

"I don't really know how to explain it, they just seem to know what I'm thinking all the time. It's a bit scary, but it's helpful sometimes. Exhibit A."

"It's probably the nanobots," Liam joked. "They've invaded this planet, and this game show is just a guise for them to travel to Earth and infect humanity."

As of mid-morning, Becca started counting down the days to her and Turner's date like it was their first date back in high school. Four days, she could do four days, right?

Well, she could do it with ease if it weren't for the sleeping "beauty" in the same room as her. She didn't know how it was possible, but Paige seemed to look even less appealing while asleep.

"I just gotta hope that Turner won't be too soft when Paige tries to come on to him tomorrow," Becca thought. "Well, not in that way, but that he isn't too forgiving. He tends to melt like the witch in water whenever someone seems like they're genuinely apologetic, so I hope he sees behind the curtain with her."

Paige snored loudly, causing Becca to snap her head back to her and roll her eyes.

"Sounds just like a dying hippo," she muttered under her breath. Even though Paige was asleep, it was in Becca's blood to insult her whenever she got the chance, even if it wouldn't be heard by anyone.

"Interesting," Kendra said as she listened in to what was unfolding with Becca. "She hopes that Turner isn't gonna be soft when it comes to Paige? Well, I haven't given Paige her reward for coming in first, have I? Maybe I could give her a little boost tomorrow, that'd be worth a first-place win, right? And if Becca stays true to her word of not looking at the scoreboard, she wouldn't know a thing happened until it's too late and she has to face the man himself. Hmm...I see some real potential with these two here."

Kendra fiddled with her dress a bit nervously, wondering if this was the right move she was making. It would stir up drama between everyone, sure, and that would definitely cause the ratings of the show to go up. But was it the right thing to do? Had she ever cared if it was the right thing to do?

"Fuck, why am I having these sorts of moral quandaries now?" Kendra rolled her eyes, pushing those thoughts to the back of her head. "Y'know what, I'll leave it up to chance. Give Paige a bit of a choice of what she wants her reward to be tomorrow. I'm sure she can make use of whatever I come up with, she's a crafty girl."

With that settled, Kendra went back to counting her paycheck and reveling in the ability to watch all of this unfold. Becca and Paige were both thinking over all of the possibilities for tomorrow, but in different ways. Emma was still replaying the wild redhead chewing her out for everything she had done on her date, but trying to get over it. Mandy was thinking about what she had said to Paige, how she didn't need to get ahead, and if she could really live up to that. Abby was sleeping alone, having flashbacks to sleeping alone for the first time after her boyfriend left her. Kathryn and Sara were getting closer and closer to one another night after night, whereas Lauren was avoiding Charlotte like oil and water.

She turned her attention to Liam, and smirked again after what he had accepted. Liam was basically sealing his fate with that decision; he could defy what the audience chose for now, but that choice was going to have massive ramifications at the next transformation. Ramifications that he never even bothered to think about.