AN: This is going to be a very interesting chapter. Maybe not fun, but it is PIVOTAL. The house gets the biggest blow yet, and it changes everyone's outlook on their time spent in the house…

                                                                                                                                               

Race

            I knew that what I was about to do was very, very stupid. Extremely stupid. But I had to. I was so confident that it would work that it blinded me to the obvious.

            I stood in front of the other house guests as they waited to hear the nominations for the week, and I couldn't help but worry.

            "Alright people. Time to nominate." I said, pulling the first key from the box. "Blink, you're safe."

            He took his key and sat back down in his seat- across the table from Mush. In other words, as far away from him as he could get. They hadn't spoken to each other since the head of household competition. I guess they thought that if they ignored this, it would go away.

            I had news for them. It wouldn't.

            Next key. "Bumlets, you're safe."

            No big surprise there. I had promised him safety. But then again…promises don't mean much to a gambler.

            Next key. "Dutchy, you're safe."

            He took his key and then replaced his arm around Specs's shoulders.

            Next key. "Spot, you're safe."

            He looked surprised, but he reached out and took his key, throwing it around his neck.

            Next key. "Mush, you're safe."

            Another surprised look. I guess he expected me to nominate him or something.

            Now it was down to the last key, and Specs, Itey, and Skittery were still up. I had promised Skittery he was safe.

            "Specs, you're safe."

            Always remember this: gamblers don't keep promises.

            I could see the shock on Skittery's face as Specs took his key. And I could understand. But the first thing you have to learn when you meet me is that you can't trust me. I could see Bumlets arch his eyebrow and give me this look that basically said, 'do you realize what you just did'.

            Yes, I did realize it.

            And I was scared to death.

            "Well, as you guys can see, I nominated Itey and Skittery. For the game. Meeting dismissed."

            Skittery jerked his head toward the back door and I followed him into the backyard.

            Big mistake.

            He slammed me up against the wall, my feet dangling off the ground. "What the HELL was that?" he hissed, and then he dropped me and stepped back, as if saying, 'Explain. Now.'.

            "It was just a part of the game, Skitts."

            "We had a deal. A promise."

            "Yeah, well, I don't keep promises."

            He suddenly got this spark in his eyes, as if I had really struck a chord by saying that. His eyes even seemed to darken as he took a step toward me.

            "Do you know what I do to people who break their promises?"

            And just a second later, I was screaming in terror.

Dutchy

            We all heard the scream. And somehow, we all knew what was happening in the backyard. I could hear the shouts from all the way in here, and they became louder as I sprinted for the back door.

            "You dirty rotten liar! I'll kill ya!"

            "Skitts,I-"

            I pulled Skittery off of Race and pulled him to the ground, and then I sat on him. There was no other way to keep him down- he was too strong. I was soon joined by Blink and Spot in holding him down, and Specs dragged Race inside to tend to a bloody nose and a black eye.

            "Skittery, calm down. Just calm down." Mush urged, and slowly, Skittery's body relaxed and his erratic breathing slowed and steadied. Mush looked up at us and nodded, and we let him go.

            It was like releasing a lion into the wild. We stood to the side, waiting to see if he'd go for us or just run. And after a glare at all of us, he stalked inside and we heard the door to the bedroom slam shut.

            "What was all that about?" I asked. He wouldn't have gone postal like that just because of the nomination

            "I'm gonna go talk to Race." I said, and Spot followed me, leaving Blink and Mush alone in the backyard.

Mush

            "Whew…" I said, sitting down on the grass. Blink stood halfway between me and the door for a moment, and indecision hung in the air like a fog.

            Then he turned and headed for the door.

            "Blink."

            He stopped, but he didn't turn around.

            "Can…can we talk?"

            Another long pause.

            He finally spoke, but without turning around. "Some other time, Mush."

            He started to head for the door again, and I could feel my heart being crushed beneath his feet even as he walked. I had lost a friend in a stupid accident. It never should've happened. And whereas before we talked and laughed like old friends, now it was, 'some other time, Mush'.

            And I didn't want to plead. So I let him go.

            I sat in the grass, the sun already setting and the air chilling me. It was about to rain, but I didn't care. I didn't fucking care.

            I didn't want to lose him. Not now, not ever. Especially not over a trivial accident.

            But there was nothing I could do.

            So I let the tears fall.

Blink

            It hurt like hell. I walked out on him, leaving him sitting in the grass, alone.

            Why didn't I turn around?

            Cause if I saw his face, with that look on it, I would've gone back and talked with him. And that was something I couldn't do. I was afraid of what I would say.

            So I went inside and threw on my headphones, sitting on the couch and relaxing.

            I didn't get much peace though. After only a few minutes, the headphones were ripped off my ears from behind.

            "You're an asshole, you know that?" A voice said, and I turned around to face a very pissed off looking Spot.

            "Yeah, well-"

            "Do you even know what Mush is doing right now?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing. I shook my head.

            "He's sitting in the hammock outside, crying. Because of you."

            I looked out the front window. "It's pouring rain!"

            "Yeah."

            "What in the hell is he thinking?!"

            "He's probably thinking about how much of an asshole you are."

            I jumped up from the couch and ran out the back, and Spot was right. Mush was sitting in the hammock, his back to the door, soaking wet and shaking.

            "Mush, what are you doing?" I demanded, sprinting over to him. He was sitting with his knees up, his arms sitting on his knees, and his chin resting on his arms. He didn't even look at me.

            "Since when did you wanna talk?" He muttered.

            "You're gonna get sick if you stay out here."

            He shrugged. "Don't care."

            "Well, I do."

            "You've got a funny way of showing it!"

            I was taken aback by the anger in his voice. I sat down on the edge of the hammock, and he stared me down, making the situation even more uncomfortable than before.

            "You know, I thought you were really my friend. Someone I could count on." He said, shaking his head.

            "I am!"

            "Then why are you letting a dumb accident ruin it all? That's all it was, an accident!"

            "I just…Mush…"

            He snorted and set his chin back on his arms, knowing that I didn't have an answer.

            "I'm sorry."

            Those eyes. Oh, God, if beauty could kill, those eyes would be poison. He was looking at me, searching for a sign that I was serious.

            "Why does it matter so much to you?" he asked.

            "What?"

            "The accident. To anyone else, it wouldn't have mattered."

            He was right. If it had been anyone else, we would've laughed it off and forgotten about it.  

            "I don't know."

            He stared at me a moment longer, and then looked away, depriving me of his angelic gaze. "You may as well go back inside." He mumbled, a shiver shaking his whole body.

            "I said I'm sorry! What else do you want?"

            "I don't know. Nothing."

            "Bull shit."

            He didn't answer. He just stared straight ahead, fresh tears mixing with the rain on his cheeks.

            "Mush…you've been my best friend since I got here. I don't want to lose that."

            "Neither do I."

            "So we're on the same page here."

            "It's more complicated than that."

            "I know. I know, damn it. And I'm scared."

            He looked up at me, wide eyed, as if the concept of me being scared was difficult to grasp. "Scared of what?"

            "Scared of…of ruining this by making it more than it really is."

            "And where do we put the line? The limit?"

            "Well, last I checked, the limit was about an inch. But that was an accident, remember?"

            He laughed, and I felt that chill go through me. Not from the rain, though. From the sound of his laughter. That sound that any angel would be jealous of.

            "So, seriously. What do you want this to be?" he asked. "Where exactly are we going with this?"

            He looked up at me again, his eyes betraying nothing and everything at the same time. I was speechless, my mouth open, my lips trembling, but nothing spoken.

            "Blink…are you okay?" he asked, concern tracing across his features.

            "No." I said quietly, and then I leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss, catching him off guard and causing him to fall over backwards in the hammock. I fell on top of him, and I suddenly felt him kissing me back, and a wave of passion crashed over me, taking all previous logical thoughts with it.

            I tangled my hands in his hair, and he suddenly broke away looking up at me with that look.

            "New limit?" he asked breathlessly.

            I nodded. "New limit."

            He pulled me down to him and pressed his lips to mine once again, and the rain ceased to matter. We didn't even care that we were both probably going to come down with nasty colds because of this.

            All that mattered was that we were doing something that felt so right in a world that could be so wrong.

                                                                                                                                               

AN: I hadn't planned to end the chapter there. Hell, I didn't plan on them kissing. But the muses took over. Next chapter: veto competition, veto, the votes, and possibly the eviction!

And pretty please, review. I need the encouragement. And after that helluva chapter, if you haven't reviewed yet, now would be the time to do so!