Were just starfish on the beach

“…So do you like fish?”

“Um, it tastes okay, I guess…”

“No, I meant-! …Never mind. I play guitar, do you like the guitar?”

“I mean, sure? I don’t do much music though.”

An oppressive air of awkwardness hung over the two of them as the conversation withered away and dried up.

Do you like fish!? Really!? Is that the best I had?!

Nick was starting to realize through conversing with Ella that maybe he was actually a really boring person who didn’t have any hobbies that people would actually find interesting.

Now that I think about it, most of my connections to the women in my harem are because they started liking me as a person, not because we did a lot of fun things together that they enjoyed, Nick realized sheepishly. Maybe trying to come up with fun hobbies isn’t the way to go with this. But I really want Ella to find something to enjoy herself with!

It would be awful if the poor girl just fell into a routine of being a glorified maidservant. Especially considering how much trauma she had associated with that.

The thing was, Nick didn’t really know what else he could do to help her.

“…Look, I’m not very good at this,” he admitted, scratching his head sheepishly. “If you were expecting me to be some sort of charming lothario… I’m really not. I’m just some guy. If it wasn’t for me being dragged onto this show, I doubt I would have had any real positive relationship with a woman ever again. So if you came onto this expecting me to sweep you off your feet and make all your dreams come true… I don’t think I can be counted on to do that.”

Ella looked surprised when he said that, which is what he expected. But the surprise soon left her face and she gave a small nod.

“Well… that’s probably better than what I could expect,” she pointed out with a quiet look. “I didn’t come here expecting any of that, honest. I just… I wanted to meet someone.”

She clutched her wrist, digging her nails into her caramel-colored skin until it started to pale. “…It was the only chance I would have.”

Nick winced. He could understand Ella’s thought process, but that wasn’t exactly great to hear from his perspective, either.

“…Look, Ella… I appreciate the fact that you’re not placing all these expectations on me. Really, you can’t know how grateful I am for that,” he swore. “But at the same time, it kind of stings to hear that anybody would do. I know that’s the truth, and that we didn’t have any relationship before any of this started, so I’m not blaming you or anything, just to be clear!”

Ella raised her eyebrows in surprise. “…Oh?”

Nick shook his head. “Normally Harem Hotel I guess is supposed to be the kind of show where you make up for your past. And your present, too. At least, that’s the vibe I’ve managed to get from it so far after everything.”

He thought back to all the women in the initial wave of his harem. They were all people he’d had regrets about in one way or another. Whereas the Auditionees, for the most part, were all women who were “new” to him as potential sexual partners.

“…With you, I guess it’s more like, I don’t know, one of those blind dating shows? Those are a thing, right?” He didn’t actually watch that much reality TV himself. But that wasn’t actually the issue here. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I mean, I guess just calling it a blind date works. You came in with expectations about how this would go. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to meet them. But at the same time, it’s not like you really have any options, right? So what I’m trying to say… I guess… …Look, if you’re not enjoying yourself in this harem, if you end up regretting agreeing to come on this show, I’ll understand. Because I don’t know if I can live up to those hopes of yours.”

Like with Morgana, Ella had built up an idea of what she wanted out of this. And while Nick had been able to cut through Morgana’s delusions, things with Ella were completely different due to the trauma she’d endured all her life.

He wasn’t sure he’d be able to help her through that. But he’d certainly try his best.

Ella nodded slowly, and he could tell she was really thinking about what he’d said.

Then, finally, she said something in return.

“…I appreciate that,” she murmured. “The fact that you’re thinking about me. And you’re right, this really hasn’t gone at all how I expected.”

She had been completely blindsided by how much the “harem” aspect of Harem Hotel overpowered everything. When she’d agreed to this, Dakota had been clear that she would just be one of Nick’s many women, but actually being put into that position, and then being tasked with cleaning his room every night…

It definitely blew away all her preconceptions of the kind of life she’d be living on the show.

Still… I was prepared for anything, right? Anything to push away the crippling loneliness, and the lack of hope… I just… I just want the chance to experience the kind of love I never had before. That’s all I want, really.

“THWAP!”

Ella could feel Cinder pushing back against her. She knew her other self was just trying to keep her safe, trying to protect her from Nick. But she didn’t need to do that.

But Cinder thinks she does. And doesn’t that mean, part of me isn’t fully invested in this? It was hard for Ella to keep her thoughts straight sometimes. She pushed forward and tried to pretend like her thoughts were in order, but as long as she and Cinder weren’t on the same page about something, that meant her own heart was split.

At least, that’s how she understood her affliction to be, anyway.

Whether or not she could do anything about it? Well… that was another matter.

Ella looked up into Nick’s eyes, and saw how uncomfortable he was. She could tell he wanted to care for her, he really did, he just didn’t know how.

And Ella… Ella wasn’t sure she knew how, either, if she was being honest.

That was the worst part.

She took a deep breath, and sighed.

“Nick… I want to make this work,” she said, trying to sound as firm as she could. “For the both of us. I’ve never been in love before… but I really want to try. Will you help me with that?”

Nick was surprised by the determination in her eyes. For a moment, he thought that Cinder had taken control. Was Ella always this strong-willed? But maybe he was just underestimating her.

That’s right. I have to stop thinking of her as some shy girl who can’t stand up for herself. She’s not. Cinder is a part of her, after all. Everything that Cinder can be, those qualities are in Ella as well. It’s not like they’re two different people. They’re just two sides of the same coin.

If he treated Cinder like a disruptive problem while Ella was just some innocent waif who couldn’t do anything for herself, he would be doing both women- or, well, the one woman, a massive disservice. And he definitely didn’t want to do that.

He wanted to help however he could.

“I want that too,” he said. “To help you, I mean. If you want to try, I want to help you try. I just don’t know how I should do that.”

Nick scratched his cheek and laughed sheepishly. “But then again, I’ve been working really hard to help the women in my harem, and I’ve managed to make a few of them fall in love with me, so it’s not like I’m completely lost in that regard, or anything.”

Ella giggled. “I-I hope not,” she said with a nod. Her eyes were hopeful and she had managed to relax herself. She left her rubber-band untouched as they stared at each other in a silent tension that, while awkward, had a bit more of mutual understanding between it than the one before.

Now if only one of them had an idea about how they could make things better, they would be in business.

Nick brought his walk with Ella to a close not long after that. He might not have managed to accomplish everything he wanted regarding the sweet latina, but he knew that helping her would be a long process going into this. And he couldn’t just make today all about Ella, either.

Thankfully, she seemed grateful for the awkward walk to end, almost as grateful as he felt.

“I’m glad we don’t have to do too much of this,” she said with a small chuckle. “I was out of things to talk about…”

“Same,” Nick agreed as they returned to the party area.

What they saw when they got there was a surprise.

“What… what’s going on?” Nick’s jaw dropped as he tried to process what he was looking at.

They’d only been gone for like twenty minutes; a half-hour, at the most.

So where did the giant hole in the middle of the beach come from?!

Nick looked over at Amelia, who was the only person actually there. Even the girls who had been working on sandcastles had disappeared.

And he had a feeling he knew where.

“Is… is this normal?” Ella stammered as she cautiously approached the edge of the pit. “Digging a big hole in the beach?”

“Oh! Nick, is that you?” Gina called down from the hole. “I think I heard him.”

“Yeah, it’s me! What’s going on here?” He reached the lip of the chasm and looked down, not sure what he expected to see.

His suspicions were confirmed.

The girls were digging. A big, wide hole, nearly the size of a house. Everyone was involved, too, that was the shocking part. Gina, the laziest person he knew, Rose, who acted like she was above menial labor, Dawn, who could barely lift a shovel, and even Dakota, who he never imagined would get involved with something like this- they were all digging a massive pit in the beach.

“I can explain that!” Vivian turned her head up to look at him, and waved. “I had a great idea! We can dig a big hole in the beach! Sort of make it a secret fort, you know?”

Nick blinked. What, were they five?

“That’s not why we’re doing this,” Dani griped.

Vivian cracked a twisted smile and shrugged. Then she looked over at Dakota.

“It was my suggestion,” Dakota purred, flicking her shovel like she flicked her cane. Then she summoned her cane and with a snap of her wrist, leapt up out of the hole and landed right beside Nick. “Just a little something to put on a show for you, that’s all.”

Nick frowned. If Dakota was going to propose turning this hole into some kind of sand wrestling pit, he was going to be very upset. Appreciative, but upset.

“It’s not anything that complicated,” Rose admitted. “I just joined because it looked like fun, with everybody else doing it.”

“I thought we were making a barbecue pit,” Mary admitted with a sheepish smile. “I don’t know what this whole ‘show’ is supposed to be about.”

“It’s dangerous to dig holes on the beach,” Dawn said, even as she drove her shovel deeper into the sand. “I don’t know why Dakota suggested this, either. But she said Victory Points were on the line if we did, so…”

“Ah, point of order, I said that Victory Points might be on the line,” Dakota clarified. “Not that you were certain to get them if you dug.”

About half the girls dropped their shovels immediately.

“What!?” Kim exclaimed. “Then why the heck were we doing this!?”

“Yeah, you didn’t need to be so misleading!” To Nick’s shock, Vivian seemed more incensed than anyone. “I thought we’d be getting Victory Points!”

Dakota scoffed and rolled her eyes. “…For digging a hole?”

Now that she put it like that, it actually sounded really dumb. Dawn turned bright red, and looked down at her feet. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen for it.

“Whelp, that was a waste of time,” Holly griped.

“Holly, you’re not even in the competition,” Morgana reminded her. “Why would you care about Victory Points?”

That was a very good question. And one Holly didn’t have an answer to.

“I-I’m done now!” Vivian shouted. She turned to Octavia. “Octavia, I need a boost to get me out of this thing!”

Apparently, she’d been willing to go along with digging the hole if it meant getting some VP out of the deal. But if that wasn’t part of the equation, she wanted nothing to do with it.

“Dakota, why did you do that?” Nick demanded. He couldn’t see the logic.

Dakota looked a little perturbed herself.

“You were always talking about building a giant hole, to China,” she reminded him. “You said it was something you always wanted to do, back when you were a kid.”

“Okay, but come on, I was a kid!” Nick pointed out. “There’s no way you could actually dig a hole all the way to China!”

…Or could they? This was Harem Hotel, after all. Anything was possible.

Dakota scowled. “That… that isn’t the point!” She exclaimed. “Digging holes is fun, right? So the girls were just trying to help you have fun! And because I told them to, it was because of me, right?!”

Okay, Nick was starting to get the picture now.

“…So you used your position as a host to try and manipulate everyone into an activity you thought I would enjoy, is that about right?”

“…Yes!” Dakota said with a cheerful smile.

Sylvia sighed. She couldn’t exactly condemn that behavior… if anything, she was maybe a little bit guilty of that, herself.

“You shouldn’t just do that,” Nick chastised the host. “Dakota, don’t you get how pointless that was? I’m sure if you’d just said that digging a hole was something I’d like to do, then you would have gotten a lot of people onboard. You didn’t have to lie to them about giving away Victory Points!”

“Yeah, that wasn’t necessary,” Dani agreed. She was one of the only girls who’d kept holding onto her shovel. “Heck- I like digging! Everyone’s got that urge in them to dig a couple holes in the beach, right guys?”

She looked at the others, but received a bunch of head shakes in response. Even Carly couldn’t support her on that.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin did, though.

“…Well, it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Marley said, stretching her arms over her head. “But Nick, what do you think? We did a pretty good job, right?”

“I’ll say we did!” Sylvia chirped. “I did like, so much digging, Daddy, it was the best!”

“I’m so sore!” Morgana whined, rubbing her shoulders.

“…I guess it’s kinda cool,” Carly admitted. “But messing with us like that, Dakota, that definitely wasn’t cool.”

“They’re right,” Nick agreed. “I know you’re used to having everything your way, but I think you should still at least uphold your end of the bargain. You promised them some Victory Points, and you should deliver on that.”

Up until this point, Dakota had looked surprisingly contrite. But when he said that, she turned as cold as ice.

Sylvia sighed and shook her head. “Oh, Daddy… it’s not that simple.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Dakota replied. “Just giving away Victory Points on a whim like that, would violate the spirit of the show. As the host, I have to make things worth watching. And giving a few Victory Points for a bit of hole digging wouldn’t fit the standard.”

While Nick could understand her perspective, he didn’t really care about the “spirit” of Harem Hotel.

“Wait, then… Sylvia, you and Nola knew that she was bullshitting?” Dawn turned to the two of them with a frown. Now that she thought about it, though, the VP excuse made no sense for why Nola would be digging at all, just like with Holly, Marley, and Mary.

Nola shrugged. “I liked digging! It was a lot of fun! Plus if Dakota wants to do it, then I should do it, too! It’s only worth it, to get on her good side!” She flashed a toothy smile.

“I just had fun!” Sylvia replied. “…Sorry. I probably should have mentioned that she couldn’t actually give us VP for something so menial without the producers breathing down her neck about it. But if I did, then we wouldn’t all have fun digging a hole together!”

She looked at the cat girl with pleading eyes, and Dawn felt the urge to swat her with a rolled-up newspaper.

“Sylvia… that isn’t okay,” Mary chastised her. “A lie by omission is still a lie!”

“…Sorry,” Sylvia said quietly. “That’s just how the producers are. It’s perfectly fine to misdirect about giving out VP in order to motivate contestants, as long as you don’t outright lie. And that’s preferable to just giving out VP on some whim of the day.”

For what it was worth, she did look genuinely sorry.

“Okay, guys, I think that’s enough,” Gina said, stepping in. “Nick, that goes for you, too.”

She looked up at Nick, and he was surprised by how serious her expression was.

“Yeah, Dakota may have been a little manipulative, but come on, is it really that big of a deal? I thought it was a fun little pastime to be honest. And we were only digging for like half an hour! We don’t need to breathe down her neck about giving us VP.”

“Well… I guess it was kind of enjoyable?” Rose admitted.

“Fair enough,” Kim said with a sigh, kicking up some sand. She cracked a little smile. “I guess it was nice to not be the only ditch digger for a change!”

Nick didn’t even want to know. He turned back to Dakota.

“I guess we’ll look past it for now,” he said, trying not to sound angry at her. “But in the future, don’t do this kind of stuff, Dakota. Let’s just think of some other fun activity that we can get everybody to want to do. Okay?”

Dakota looked like she was about to get torn in half. One half wanting to agree with Nick, and the other half staunchly defiant of doing so.

Unable to bring herself to wound her pride with a verbal agreement, she bitterly nodded her head.

Nick would have to be satisfied with that for now. In the future, though, he really needed to find some way to get Dakota to stop using **** and **** to get her way. But he expected that would be a long and hard-fought struggle.