But I'm left waiting in the wings

“Stick with me, Morgana- you and I are going to make quite a pair together, I promise you!”

When Carly first said that, Nick had no idea that she had meant it so… literally. His cosplaying friend clung to the flustered goth girl like someone had glued them together. He wasn’t sure he’d seen her cling this close to her sister, and she had to remain within ten feet of Marley at all times to keep her from turning into a puddle of slime!

“Are you sure you want to buy the maid costume yourself?” Nick asked. “Kim isn’t working here today- there’s no need to pay full price, you know.”

He was being pragmatic as always, but Carly interceded. She stepped between him and Morgana and wagged her finger in his face like the protective older sister she was emulating. (As opposed to the laidback and permissive older sister she actually was.)

“Put yourself in her shoes, Nick!” Carly insisted. “Yes, you’re right, it would be easier if you just got it for her with your MasterCard or whatever they call it. But- sometimes, a girl wants to buy something for herself every once in a while, to show how much thought she put into her outfit- because she wants the boy she bought it for to appreciate it all the more for her efforts!”

She turned and winked behind her at Morgana. “Isn’t that right?”

“Um-!” Morgana wasn’t really sure how to respond to that- she was pretty much just going along with what Carly was saying. But she bobbed her head up and down since Carly’s words sounded pretty close to how she felt. “Ye-yes!” She squeaked out. “That’s, basically, um, pretty much true! You’re right, there! Yes!”

Carly grinned triumphantly and turned back to Nick with a smile. “See? Trust the girl who’s got the brains in the right place!” She crowed, throwing back her head and giving a good laugh. “I know all about how to appeal to a guy.”

Of course, she was so focused on helping Morgana stand out that it had slipped her mind that part of her motivation here was to help bolster her own appeal to Nick. Nick recognized that, but he kept that to himself as well, given the circumstances.

He had a feeling it would only make things more awkward between all of them.

“So with that being said… Morgana!” Carly turned to the flustered goth girl and flashed a gorgeous smile that made Morgana’s heart quiver.

“Y-yes!?”

“Ready to buy that maid outfit?”

Morgana was completely swept up in Carly’s flow. She probably would have said yes if Carly asked her if she wanted to walk naked through the street with her!

It was too late to save her from Carly’s clutches at this point- all Nick could do was hope that his mischievous and seductive friend would be merciful on the poor, defenseless goth.

No… I shouldn’t be thinking that way, he realized as he watched Carly lead Morgana over to the checkout counter. Morgana isn’t defenseless or powerless… she knows what she’s doing. This is her choice. Sure, she goes with the flow and gives into peer pressure easy, but… if I’m going to try and see her for the kind of person she wants to be… I can’t be babying her or looking down on her like this. It’s not fair to her at all.

So with that in mind, he set his concerns aside, and let them continue with what they were doing.

Until another thought occurred to him.

“Hey, wait!” He chased them over to the counter. Carly looked back at him, and raised her eyebrow curiously.

“Oh? What now? Got any last requests?” She teased. “Maybe something to wear… underneath it, hmmm?”

Nick’s face reddened. “No, not that, it’s just, well… …What about a fashion show? They still do those here, right? We have photos taken of Morgana wearing the outfit, and, uh…”

He trailed off as he watched the color darken on Morgana’s pale cheeks. She looked petrified with embarrassment.

“…I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized, sobering up. “I shouldn’t have pushed like that. Sorry, Morgana. I was so focused on pragmatism that I forgot, well…”

He’d almost forgotten that Morgana wasn’t exactly the kind of girl who was up for that sort of thing. He needed to be more sensitive to what she actually wanted.

Morgana raised her head, and chewed on her lip. Nick saw a look of frustration flash across her face, which caught him by surprise.

“It’s not like… I’m too embarrassed to do it, or anything,” she said in a little huffy voice, puffing out her cheeks. “I can do a photoshoot too… but I want to pay for it myself. It’s not like I buy a lot of clothes anyway…”

Nick wasn’t sure if Morgana was just trying to put on a tough face or not. If she said she was up for a photoshoot, then what was the point of buying the maid costume herself, then?

But the young girl seemed adamant, and Nick had already stuck his foot in his mouth enough times today to bother her any further with this. So he nodded his head and let her make her own decisions, the way she’d wanted to from the start.

“Don’t worry, Nick,” Carly leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “She just doesn’t want to spoil the surprise, that’s all.”

Nick looked at her in confusion, but Carly’s smile revealed nothing. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and then stepped away with her hands clasped behind her back, and let Morgana finish her transaction.

Morgana: 7000 BP – 600 BP = 6400 BP

It was a little pricier than a lot of other clothes, Nick noticed. But judging by the quality, it was definitely worth the price.

The only thing he wondered about was whether or not Morgana would get that much use out of it. He couldn’t exactly imagine her going around sweeping up the Master’s Suite- she seemed way too clumsy for that.

Then again, if Ella could handle it, maybe Morgana wanted to support her friend somehow. That sounded a lot like her.

“Now that we’ve got your costume,” Carly said, draping her arm around Morgana’s shoulder and hugging her close, “let’s put it to good use… shall we?”

“Eep!” Morgana squeaked, before nodding in agreement.

Nick wasn’t sure he should trust that look on his friend’s face or not. But he didn’t want to push the issue, so he let her continue to lead Morgana around, knowing that, at the very least, he could trust that Carly had Morgana’s best interests at heart.

Whether that would end up manifesting as a tangible benefit was another matter, of course. But he didn’t want to force the issue regardless.

Part of treating Morgana as the adult that she wanted him to see her as was leaving her free to make her own choices, decisions, and mistakes, so that was exactly what Nick was going to do.

Carly had an air around her that made you want to follow after her. Nick had known that from the moment he first met her. She was the center of attention everywhere she went. And you could say it was because of her good looks or her killer body, but Marley was living proof that those things were only superficial elements to the cool girl’s charm.

No, the reason Carly attracted admirers like a sports cars attracted speeding tickets was because she had a lust for life that simply couldn’t be contained. Just one look at her and it was clear that she was the sort of person who gave her all in everything she did, and enjoyed herself the whole way through if she could do so.

And that was why Nick wasn’t at all surprised that Morgana was so easily swayed to share her one day of the round with Carly so easily. In fact, she had given Carly so much grace today that Nick almost felt bad for her- except that Carly was using this opportunity to promote Morgana almost as much as she was promoting herself.

For better or worse, as the case may have been…

“Um… I… I’m not so sure about this, actually…” Morgana fidgeted with her fingers and looked down, her face red hot. “Are you sure, um… that… that we should, uh… …Or I mean, that I’m a good fit for, um, whatever this, uh, is?”

It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who had so boldly dragged him out of the Banquet Hall just a few hours ago to patch things up with Rose. Morgana looked like she was going to deflate like a flat tire.

Carly, on the other hand, had never looked more animated as she stepped into the showroom with a flourish, her hands extended out to the sides.

“Come on, Morgana! You’ve got to live a little!” She insisted, twirling into the photography studio with a big smile on her face. “Take a look at all this great equipment, it’s perfect! Last time I was here? I really had a blast!”

She winked at Nick. “Of course, that time I had Dani with me, so…”

“Um… I just… I get it, but… I don’t know…” Morgana stammered, chewing on her lip. She kept shooting furtive glances towards Nick, but he had no idea if she was looking for support, or trying to get him to intervene and change the course of the conversation.

All he could say for sure was that Morgana didn’t seem very enthusiastic about what Carly was proposing, and Nick couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.

“Carly, I know you want to do a photoshoot today for your transformation,” Nick said gently. “But I don’t know if Morgana’s up for that.”

“Huh?” Carly turned and looked back at the both of them, confused. “Why wouldn’t she be? It’s a load of fun!”

She waved at Morgana’s maid costume. “Come on, Morgana, don’t you want to show off that outfit you just bought?”

Morgana glanced down at her dress. It DID look nice, Carly wasn’t wrong there. So nice it made her feel like she was a doll.

“I… I guess, I… …Maybe?”

She was having difficulty making any definitive choices for herself, and Nick wasn’t thrilled about that. Knowing how easy it was for the younger girl to give into peer pressure, he stepped in to see if he could get Carly’s attention refocused.

“I get what you’re trying to do here, Carly,” he said gently, approaching his friend. “You want to use this as an opportunity to appeal to me, don’t you? And I’m all for that, really, I am!” He assured her. “It’s just that, well…”

“It’s not about just you and me!” Carly shook her head adamantly. “Morgana deserves an opportunity to shine herself!”

She turned and winked at Morgana. “Don’t you?”

“Um… yes?” Morgana was hesitating again. At this point, Nick really wasn’t sure which side he should take between the two of them, or if he should take any sides at all.

So the only way to be sure was to ask Morgana directly.

“Morgana, I want to know how you feel,” he said sincerely. “Do you want to take part in a photoshoot with Carly?”

“Come on, Morgana, it’ll be so much fun!” Carly encouraged her. “You won’t regret it! Nick will be looking at you the whole time, since he’ll be taking our pictures! You’ll get to show him how sexy you are!”

“R-really?” Morgana was looking convinced now.

“That is true,” Nick admitted, not wanting to influence her decision but unable to deny the facts. “This is definitely an opportunity for you in that respect, I can’t deny that. If you want to show off your sex appeal, Carly is a good way to facilitate that.”

Carly flashed a toothy grin. “And don’t I know it?”

He still felt a little embarrassed admitting something like that to Morgana. It sounded like he was actually trying to convince her to do it now!

But… this was for her sake.

What he wanted had nothing to do with it, really.

Morgana looked hesitantly at him again, and he could see in her eyes that she was starting to be swayed by the idea.

“Well… I suppose… it’s not… the worst thing…” she admitted, scratching her cheek. Her face was red with embarrassment. “…As long as Nick is the only one to see the pictures, though!” She quickly added. “I don’t feel comfortable, um… with anybody else seeing them!”

Even Nick was surprised to hear her say that. He would have assumed that Morgana would be most embarrassed by him seeing the pictures, and that she’d be fine with everybody else because they were all girls.

In truth?

Morgana honestly didn’t really care about any of that.

She’d only blurted that last part out because, well, she wanted to maintain some semblance of control, and that was the first thing that came to her mind.

“Well, if that’s what you want,” Carly said with a shrug. “I’m not sure I can guarantee that, though, unfortunately.”

“What? Why not?” Nick looked at her in alarm and Morgana gasped.

Carly had a guilty expression on her face. “Well, I mean… it’s how the transformation works, you guys,” she pointed out, calling up her transformation for the two of them to read for themselves.

• Stream Donations: Nothing shows you’ve made it as a content creator quite like receiving money and gifts from your simps- err, subscribers. Starting now, other contestants will receive spicy pictures of Carly each morning, and in exchange they may donate BP to a pot set aside to buy her a gift. At the end of the round, or if total donations for the round reach 10000 BP, whichever comes first, she will receive a gift commensurate to the amount of BP she managed to earn. [NOTE: Carly’s own BP cannot be used towards this end, but she can provide favors to other contestants in exchange for donations.] (Content Creator)

“See?” Carly pointed out. “The pictures we take today are going to be shown to the other contestants no matter what.”

“It does say only your photos, though,” Nick pointed out.

Carly gave him a look. “…Really, Nick? You think Echo is just going to stick with my photos, and what, Morgana’s are just going to be put aside to respect her privacy?”

Morgana’s face was practically steaming as she nodded in agreement with Carly. However she personally felt on the matter, she knew that Carly’s instincts were right on the money.

But still…

“I-I still want to do it!” She said, surprising the both of them.

“Whoa, you sure?” Carly asked, giving her a look. “I mean, this is a pretty big deal, Morgana, and what you said before…”

“You’re going to make me look sexy, right?” She asked Carly, turning and giving her an adamant look. She balled up her fists. “So… I can handle it!”

Carly was surprised.

“Well… don’t think I’m going to stop you,” she said with a smile, and shook her head. “I’m happy to hear it, in fact!”

Nick was happy as well. No, not because it meant he would get to see sexy pictures of Morgana (though obviously, that was a bonus) but because Morgana seemed to be seriously giving this some thought, and putting her own wants first.

She wasn’t just being swept up by Carly’s enthusiasm.

“Well, great!” Carly grinned from ear to ear. “In that case, we’ll be making today be a maid-themed photoshoot!” She put her hands on her hips and pushed out her chest with pride. “Just the perfect idea, don’t you agree, Nick?” She asked, giving him a wink.

Nick shrugged. “I mean… it seems like that’s the theme.”

“And don’t worry about the pictures getting too repetitive, either,” Carly said, rushing over to the clothing rack and pulling it over to them. “See? Echo already prepared it with all different sorts of maid costumes that the two of us can wear! Morgana’s butt might be a bit of a tight squeeze, but my boobs are bigger so it should all even out.”

Morgana’s eyes were wide with amazement. “Wow, that’s a lot of maid costumes! And you really get to wear all these even though you have your transformation!?”

“Yup!” Carly chirped. “It seems like I’m allowed to change my cosplay just a little, so long as it fits the same general theme,” she explained, running her hand along the silk apron of one of the maid costumes hanging up on the rack.

Nick was glad for the two of them, and honestly, he was looking forward to the photos they would take together.

But he did have one concern.

“Uh, Carly…” he walked over to the two of them. “Quick question…”

“Wait, if you can just wear these for the photoshoot, then why did I need to buy one?!” Morgana gasped out.

That was exactly what Nick had been planning to ask, actually. He doubted that Carly had been manipulating Morgana to waste her money or anything like that, but it was obvious that she’d set up this photoshoot for the both of them ahead of time.

They both looked at Carly, who just laughed aside their concerns.

“Come on, it’s no big deal!” She assured them both. “This way, you get to have your own costume to keep!”

Morgana blinked. “Well, uh… I guess that makes sense?” She conceded with an awkward shrug, not sure what else to say.

Yeah, Carly really went above and beyond, there was no denying that. Nick actually found it pretty cute of her, if he was being honest.

But it was also a little tiring.

“Let’s get to it then!” Carly looked through the maid costumes and chose a few that she thought would look good on her. “Hey, Morgana, check out this one! Isn’t it in your style?”

“Yeah, I-I guess so… but you don’t think you’ll overshadow me if we take a photo together in this, do you?” She asked hesitantly.

Carly waved her hand. “What? No way! Come on, I wouldn’t stand a chance! Trust me, you’re going to look amazing!”

“Well, alright… if you insist…”

Nick watched the two of them pick out clothes, and found himself relaxing. Carly really was trying her best to support the other girl and draw out her charms. He almost felt like he should thank her for going this far for Morgana’s sake.

Nice job, Carly, he thought, nodding in approval. Getting her to open up like this can’t be easy.

But then, Carly had always been great at stuff like that for as long as he’d known her, so he couldn’t really say he was surprised.