AN: I started school today…that's why this update is coming so late. I already have homework on the first day!!! Ugh…anyways…here's chapter 25!

Also, pleeeaaasse be patient with me. Between school, jazz choir, homework, voice lessons, piano lessons, and trying to write an original novel, I can't guarantee an update every day. But I sure as hell am going to try.

                                                                                                                                               

Race

            I knew what the competition was even before Sarah said anything. There was a mat set out with bright colored dots in rows on it, and a spinner beside it. Twister.

            "Hello, houseguests."

            "Hi Sarah."

            "As you can all see, the veto competition is Twister. Do all of you know how to play?"

            We all nodded. Simple game.

            "Good. Spot, as head of household, you cannot compete. You will be spinning the dial and calling the moves."

            Spot looked much too excited about that. He practically giggled as he picked up the spinner and gave it a test spin.

            "The order will be Bumlets, Blink, Skittery, Dutchy, Race, Mush, and then Specs. You may begin."

            The first part was easy, and we even went through a few turns before we got into our first tangle. Skittery was supposed to put his left foot on blue, but in order to do that, he'd probably have to disconnect his foot from his body. And I don't think that was something he was willing to sacrifice for veto.

            He tried the move, but fell and almost took me down with him. He carefully untangled himself and got off the mat, and we continued.

            A couple of turns later, it was starting to get seriously uncomfortable. Mush was hovering over me, barely able to hold himself up in his unbalanced position, and Bumlets soon toppled (yes, Bumlets, the dancer!) and took Specs with him on the way to the ground. Now it was on me, Dutchy, Blink, and Mush. And I quite suddenly realized that I was the only straight guy left.

            That shouldn't have bothered me, but it did. Don't know why. Maybe I'm a touch homophobic or something.

            "Race, right hand, green." Spot called out, and I looked for any possible way to get my hand there, but it wasn't going to happen. So I decided that if I was going down, I wasn't going down alone. I made a wild reach for it, and ended up knocking into Mush's arms and taking him to the mat. He laughed about it, and so did I- he had no idea that I'd done it on purpose.

            It was down to Blink and Dutchy now. I tell you, Dutchy's a whole lot more flexible than he looks. What happened next proved it.

            "Dutchy, left hand, yellow."

            Dutchy suddenly made us all cringe with what he did next. In order to make the reach he went all the way down into the splits, and then he leaned forward until his chin was about an inch off the mat and his hand stretched far enough to touch the other side of the mat. And still nothing was touching the mat but his hands and feet- the rest of him still had just barely an inch of clearance. And he was holding it with no trouble.

            It was complete silence for about ten seconds. Then Blink just exploded.

            "Oh, forget this!"

            He stood up and walked off the mat, and Dutchy grinned as he came out of the splits and stood up. He smiled sheepishly before walking past us and into the house.

            Specs was standing beside me, and I couldn't help but ask. "Did you know he could do that?"

            "Nope…did you?"

            "No…that's…inhuman."

            "…………Yeah."

            I followed Dutchy into the house as the others sat down and started to converse again, and I caught up with him as he was getting ready to take a shower.

            "How in the hell did you do that?" I asked, still in complete disbelief.

            "Very carefully."

            That was it? I ask him how he just defied the laws of nature and he says 'very carefully'?

            "You've got the veto now."

            "No…really?" He said, practically spitting sarcasm. It was more of a 'duh' sarcasm than an angry sarcasm though.

            "I wanted to make you a deal." I offered, and he snickered.

            "I remember what happened the last time you made a deal, Race."

            "This is different. All I want you to do is put Skittery up. That's all I'm saying. It would be better for everyone."

            He eyed me carefully, and I tried to look as genuine and honest as possible. Which isn't really that hard for me.

            "I'll think about it, Race. I'll think about it."

            "You do that."

Blink

            Waiting is the worst part. Definitely.

            Mush slipped his hand into mine as we waited on Dutchy to come in with his verdict, and I sighed. This was fraying my nerves fast. I hated being on the block, and losing the veto to Gumby didn't help.

            That should've been his nickname. Not Dutchy. Gumby. Cause that kid did not have bones, obviously.

            He entered the room, carrying the veto and nomination bags. He took a deep breath, and then smiled.

            "Hey guys. Time for the veto meeting."

            He looked down at the bags, and then back up at us.

            "I chose not to use the veto."

            Race audibly groaned- he'd obviously tried to con Dutchy into using it. Which probably made the decision even easier for Dutchy, because everyone knows how Race handles deals.

            Mush squeezed my hand, and I gave him a weak smile.

            I could only pray that I was better liked than Bumlets around here.

            I grabbed Dutchy by the arm before he left, and in front of everyone, I asked him what we'd all been wanting to ask him.

            "Dutchy…how in the world did you do that? I mean…in Twister?"

            He smiled. "My mom is obsessed with gymnastics. I've been taking lessons my whole life."

            "And you never told us?"

            "It's not that big of a deal."

            "Yeah, sure, Gumby."

            "What?"

            "Gumby. You know, the green clay thing?"

            He gave me this look, and I knew he had no idea. We all laughed as he went to put the keys back, his face turning a light shade of red. Specs would tell him later though, so we weren't worried.

The Votes

Mush

            Contrary to Bumlets's belief, there was no way I was going to betray Blink. Even if he betrayed me, which I highly doubted he'd do. 'Love' means through thick and thin, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health…and even though Blink and I couldn't take those vows with the rings, we could sure take them to heart.

            He needed me to stick by him. And I'd do that.

            Cause 'love' means…no matter what. Come what may.        

            I, of course, voted to evict Bumlets.

Specs

            They were both equal threats to the game. That was a certainty. So Dutchy and I discussed it, and we decided that Mush's deal with us should apply both ways for now. He was protecting us, so it was only fair that we help him save his boyfriend's ass.

            So I voted to evict Bumlets.

Race

            I had broken my deal with Skittery, and that had led to possibly my demise in the house. The tarnishing of my reputation. I couldn't afford for that to happen again. I had a deal with Bumlets still, and even if he thought it was void after my little stunt, I didn't like Blink enough to go against it.

            I voted to evict Blink.

Dutchy

            When I have problems making a decision, I go to Specs. He always seems to have an answer, a logical viewpoint that I can easily understand. And he's usually right. And he seemed so certain that since Mush was doing us a big favor by keeping us safe, he only deserved the same protection for his boyfriend, at least for now.

            So I voted to evict Bumlets.

Skittery

            I really didn't care. I could've cared less who got bumped this week. I was worried about my own ass in this house. I needed to look out for me, and no one else.

            So I just went to the usual method. I flipped a coin. Blink was heads, Bumlets was tails.

            It was tails.

            I voted to evict Bumlets.

Spot

            They were both really big threats in this house- that made this decision even harder than it should've been. But I could see something here- an alliance between Blink and Mush. Not just in the fact that they were 'together', but they were looking out for each other in the game. And I couldn't allow that to go on.

            So I voted to evict Blink.

The Eviction

Bumlets

            It was going to be close. At least, I thought it was going to be close. I had no idea who would vote for who- except I knew that Mush was voting for Blink. If only that darn kid weren't so stubborn. He was naïve, maybe even gullible.

            But he was also in love. And that was a 'no shit' situation.

            "Hello house guests."

            "Hey Sarah."

            "Are you ready for the eviction ceremony?"

            I wasn't. I knew I wasn't. $25,000 fucking dollars were resting on this decision.

            "By a vote of four to two, Bumlets, you are evicted from the big brother house."

            There it was. I was done. Game over.

            All because that country boy and that uptown actor decided to fall in love.

            I would have to remind myself to avoid people who were in love. Cause they were fucking crazy.

                                                                                                                                               

AN: See? The author does listen to the reviewers once in a while! Oh, and the head of household competition in the next chapter? It's gonna be FUN. Hehe.