A rest day without Dakota, a rest day where Toni is not trying to get with Mike, and a rest day where Zoey still doesn't know vital information that Mike needs to tell her. Thanks for reviewing, AnonBrowser, OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla, lordgemini and Derrick Lindsey.

The next rest day was pretty mundane. I went for my run with Jo, as usual, and I hung around for breakfast, as usual. The place just wasn't the same without Dakota around any longer.

After breakfast, I made an attempt to hang around with the Golden Trio. As Mike had asked, I didn't flirt with him once, and I made a specific effort to chat to Cameron. I had to make more of a conscious effort to be friendly with Zoey, but it felt a little easier, now that I knew Mike hadn't chosen either of us yet. She made an effort, too, smiling and making some overtures to mend our fractured relationship. We even hung out in the trailer for an hour or so, and I told her about how Dakota had been giving me a sort of perky goth makeover, with lots of black and pink.

Zoey basically took her cue immediately. "I thought about becoming a goth for a while when I was fourteen," she said, "But it didn't really suit me, so that's why I'm more about alternative and indie – you know, tube tops and band T-shirts, tennis skirts, leather jackets – some of the other kids at school stare at me if I dare to come to school in skinny jeans and a Sgt Pepper T-shirt, but I figure what do they know. And I have these slim jeans with patches I've sewn on them from bands, which I often wear with my leather jacket."

"You sew?" I asked out of interest.

"Yeah, it's fun!" Zoey grinned. "I haven't actually made much of my own stuff, but I've done a lot of alterations. Last spring I turned one of my longer cardigans into a cropped one. I can just let the hem back down in winter so I can wear it for cold weather too, Anyway," she went on, "My point was, I have a pretty good idea of how perky goth with lots of pink can look. Want me to have a try at making you up?"

"Only if you put my hair up in buns the way Dakota did for the fashion challenge," I said, pulling out my hair from its usual ponytail.

"All good," Zoey shrugged, deftly parting my hair into two sections and curling the first half into one of the buns.

And I have to admit, by the time she was finished, I was starting to really rock the goth look. I still needed more pink, but I'd have to just spend a bit of the pay I got for hosting the season, wouldn't I?

Zoey seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "We could go shopping together later, when the show's over," she offered. "I know some good places to get accessories."

"Yes," I said, "And I'll ask Dakota along, too. I reckon between the two of you, you could make a tonne of cash as stylists."

Even though it was a little easier to be around Zoey, I still didn't feel entirely at ease with her. I was almost sure she wasn't the type to turn on me suddenly, but that almost made it worse, knowing that she was my rival and I had absolutely nothing on her that I could comfortably dislike. Okay, so I'd watched the footage back and I saw that she trusted Scott. But I pitied her more than disliked her for being gullible. She was one of those people who was a sucker for tears, so once he'd cried all over her once, she was ready to believe anything he said to her. I found out he'd even shown the invincibility statue to her to keep her trust. And worst of all, he'd been using Mike's alters to make out that he couldn't be trusted the same way.

I asked Cameron if he'd found anything else out that night, when I managed to corner him after dinner. He looked uncomfortable, and then, still not making eye contact, muttered "Well, um, the thing is…I kind of accidentally told Scott. He made out he knew and then I said it and it turned out he didn't know and was just trying to get it out of me from that."

I gave a sigh. "It would be Scott who's the next to know. It's time everyone found out, really. As soon as the whole thing is out, things would be easier. Everyone knows Mike now, so they don't just see him as the crazy guy, and chances are they won't if he confesses it."

"I've been saying that," Cameron agreed, "But he keeps asking for more time. He especially has to tell Zoey. I can tell just by looking at her how she feels, but she'll never say a word unless she feels that she can really talk to him." He paused for a moment, then added "But I guess you'd feel the same if you didn't already know, right?"

I froze. Why did Cameron have to know that I was into Mike?

"Don't worry, I know he knows," Cameron said quickly, "And I'm not going to tell. At least, I don't think so. He told me that he's going to wait until the million dollars is off the table as an issue and then go for a decision." Then he frowned. "But, just as a heads up, I should probably tell you that it's a close thing. And as a person, I think he might just be more compatible with Zoey."

I gave a sigh. "I think I know that. My heart doesn't think so, though. I suppose I'll just have to wait for him to tell me." I smiled at Cameron. "Thanks for telling me though, kid. See you tomorrow."

Tomorrow was the merge. What would that bring?

Mike's decision, perhaps? I don't know myself. I still don't know who I want him to be with.