A/N: Sorry for the lack of recent updates. I've been pretty busy as of late with a number of other things. But hey, House Party's back, so that's cool.
"Last time on Total Drama House Party…" Hatchet stood in the foyer for the recap. "The houseguests dared to reach out for the truth, or somethin' like that, as they played a huge game of truth or dare. On Team Chill, Tucker began messin' with Lauren even more, causin' her to swear revenge on him. Also, David got hurt a lot. Heheh. On Team Flame, Nolan admitted that he's gettin' tired of CJ, and Rachel began flirting with Barry. Team Thunder were our losers of the night, which caused Susan to admit to Bailey why she hates Judy, and Preston began blackmailing Franklin over his past. Looks like Preston wasn't as good as he thought he was, since he was the one to go that night. Will Lauren get her revenge? Will Susan get over her grudge on Judy? Will Team Flame ever lose a challenge? Find out ya fool! Only on Total! Drama! HOUSE PARTY!"
Team Thunder returned to the backyard, nobody saying anything. That is, until someone broke the silence.
"So, Chappy, I suppose this is the point where you yell at us for losing," Susan said with a roll of her eyes.
"While I am very disappointed in all of you, I'm tired, and I think I'll be going to sleep," Chappy groaned.
"What, no 'Here's the reason you suck' speech?" Susan retorted. "I'm surprised."
"Susan, what are you doing?" Franklin asked.
"To be honest, I'm not exactly happy that people voted for me," Susan frowned. "And I just know one of them was Chappy."
"Yeah, I voted for you. Get over it," Chappy leered.
"To be honest, I don't think I like your attitude," Susan said with her hands on her hips.
"Susan, sweetie, we're all tired. We should get some sleep," Judy suggested.
"Don't talk to me!" Susan snapped. "You probably voted for me too!"
"Susan, please…" Bailey pleaded.
"Just let me have this," Susan told her friend. She then turned back to Chappy. "You think you can get angry at us just because we haven't won every challenge? You're just as much a part of that as we are, you know! You're not infallible. What would your mother think if she saw you treating others this way?! I bet she's embarrassed to have you as a son!"
"Susan, that's enough," Frankly told her sternly.
Chappy glared at her in silence before turning around and heading for the backyard door.
"Um, Hatchet locked the door," Judy reminded him.
Chappy ignored her as he punched the glass door, shattering it into many pieces. Chappy went back inside.
"Jeez. Way to throw a tantrum," Susan scoffed.
Confessional:
Susan: It's about time someone took Chappy down a peg. My team should be thanking me.
Bailey: (she is reading from a paper) I'm not sure what's wrong with Susan, but she's acting totally different from the way she did near the beginning of the game. It's rather unsettling to be honest.
Judy: I'm concerned. Not just about Susan, but also about Chappy. I should check up on him…
Team Flame made their way down to the basement to sleep.
"Well, gang, we may be back here, but if you ask me, we're still winners," Barry told his teammates.
"Barry's right," Rachel smiled. "We still haven't had to vote anyone out yet."
"How is that a good thing?" CJ asked.
"Aw, come on, guys. This is great!" Mac grinned as he put his arms around CJ's and Erica's necks. "This just gives us more time to bond!"
"What's the point of bonding?" Erica sneered. "We're just going to be voting each other out eventually."
"That's not true," Barry said. "We could win every challenge in the team phase."
"But then what?" Erica asked. "Then we get to the merge, and we have to turn on each other."
"Not if we stay as a six-person alliance," Mac proposed.
"That's not going to happen. Not only do I hate all of you and will turn on you as soon as the opportunity arises, but we also have Nolan with his dice, who's totally unpredictable, plus CJ, who will probably vote for herself until she goes home. And that's assuming we somehow make it that far at all," Erica explained. "Now, again, what's the point of bonding?"
Barry and Mac were silent. They glanced at each other hoping the other had an answer.
"Well, I'm off to bed," Nolan said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He rolled his die. "Alright, Rachel. Looks like I'm sharing a bed with you tonight. Don't take this as an invitation to get touchy-feely."
"R-right," Rachel replied.
Confessional:
Barry: Well, I can't say I expected to hear that tonight. Erica seems really cynical. I think I'll talk with her tomorrow, if only to understand her point of view.
Erica: I just told them the truth. It's not my fault they're too much of idealistic babies to want to hear it. …I guess to be fair Barry isn't a total baby, but… whatever.
Rachel: Geez, Erica. Way to warn them of the backstabbing ahead of time. Now they'll be expecting it. That just makes my job that much harder.
Team Chill had just arrived at the first-place rooms.
"Well, it's been great, but, like, I need to get some sleep," Ernie said as he went for his door.
"I'd better hit the hay too," David said. "I'm still kinda tired from that Awake-a-thon challenge."
"Aw, same," Jilly realized as she went to her room.
"Well, ladies, looks like it's just you and Tucker," Tucker said as he approached Lauren and Kiki.
"Go to bed, Tucker," Lauren said testily before smirking and adding, "We'll be there in a sec. Then you can do whatever you want with us."
"Really? Sweet! Tucker knew you'd come around. Hehehehe." With that, Tucker went back into his room.
"Alright, so now what?" Kiki asked Lauren.
"Now we do this." Lauren took a folded-up piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it to reveal that it was blank. She then took a pen and began writing a note.
"What are you writing?" Kiki asked.
"You'll see," Lauren assured her. "And… done!" With that, she folded the paper back up and slipped it under the crack of Tucker's door. "Quick! Back to my room!" Lauren whispered as the two girls bolted for Lauren's door, which happened to be the closest one to them.
After a few seconds, Tucker left his room, completely naked. He went up to one of the rooms, one that wasn't Lauren's, opened the door, and went inside.
Meanwhile, in Lauren's room, Lauren was having a giggle fit, much to Kiki's confusion.
"Okay, what'd you do?" Kiki asked.
"I left him a note saying that I was asleep and I would let him do anything he wanted to me," Lauren snickered.
"How's that funny?" Kiki asked.
"I requested that Ernie swap rooms with me for the night," Lauren continued. "As far as I know, Tucker has no idea."
Just then, two loud screams could be heard from Ernie's room.
Confessional:
Kiki: Lauren's methods are unorthodox, but they seem to be effective. Thankfully, she remains loyal to my side, so I don't have to worry about anything like that happening to me. (she begins snickering) Okay, but seriously, that was too funny.
Lauren: Maybe that'll teach Tucker that these bitches can bite back. Rawrrrr.
Tucker: Oh, so you girls think you're funny now, is that it? Well, two can play at this game! Er, I guess three since Lauren and Kiki… Whatever! Tucker will have his revenge!
The next morning, Bailey approached Susan with a stack of papers in hand.
"Oh. Hey, Bailey. What is it?" Susan asked.
Bailey cleared her throat before reading from her paper. "Good morning Susan. Are you feeling better?"
"I guess…" Susan sighed. "Bailey, am I too emotional?"
"I, er…" Bailey trailed off as she searched through her papers for a response.
"No, don't read me anything. I want your straightforward opinion," Susan requested.
"Well, um, you do, kind of, sort of, you know, tend to let your emotions get to your head, sometimes…" Bailey stammered.
"I get it," Susan said quietly. "Do you think that's why I can't get a boyfriend? Because I'm too emotional?"
"Um, well, you see, uh, you know, it's, just, uh, I, um, don't know…" Bailey stuttered in shock.
"It's a yes or no question, Bailey," Susan said impatiently.
"Yes!" Bailey finally shouted in distress. She then gasped when she realized what she'd said.
Susan sighed. "I'm going to go eat breakfast. Alone. Might as well get used to the idea…" she said sadly as she trudged off.
Confessional:
Susan: Do you guys know much it costs to take care of twenty-something cats? I'm going to need to know considering I'm going to be single forever.
Bailey: I… I just… I feel bad. I don't have anything else to say… sorry.
CJ absentmindedly strolled through the halls of the mansion.
"Gosh dang it, Nolan, where are you?" CJ asked rhetorically. "I'm bored and we still haven't voted me out yet."
"Hey, look who it is!" Mac suddenly appeared behind her.
"Gah! Where'd you come from?" CJ jumped.
"Well, you see, a few years after my parents got married…" Mac started.
"That's great. What do you want?" CJ asked testily.
"I just wanted to talk is all," Mac shrugged. "We're sort-of friends, right?"
"Are you coming on to me?" CJ asked warily.
"What? No. I actually have my eye on someone else in this game," Mac admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."
"Why would you want to be my friend? I'm going to be voted out as soon as our team loses," CJ reminded him.
"I dunno. You just looked lonely," Mac shrugged.
"Well, I appreciate the gesture, but it's futile," CJ told him. "Besides, Nolan's the only friend I need."
"Ohhhh, I see how it is," Mac snickered.
"What? No! It's not like that!" CJ denied.
"I was wondering why you liked hanging out with him so much. Now I get it. Heeheehahaha!" Mac chuckled as he walked away.
"Hey! Get back here!" CJ called as she chased after him.
Confessional:
CJ: Can't we just vote me off already?
Mac: CJ's a funny girl. Maybe I won't vote her off if we lose.
Ernie held a meeting with his alliance in the rec room.
"Alright, so, first order of business," Ernie started. "Tucker, like, I, don't care if you like dudes, but that doesn't mean you can, you know, do what you did last night."
"That totally wasn't Tucker's fault!" Tucker objected. "Lauren and Kiki tricked Tucker!"
"Whatever," Ernie said. "Second order of business, we need to think of a way to get Lauren to, like, flip back to our side."
"No way!" Tucker objected. "After what she did last night, we should be voting her out!"
"You can't play this game personally, Tucker," Ernie said. "Lauren's, you know, an important swing vote. Getting her to, like, vote with us could mean the difference between winning and losing."
"But how are we going to get her to vote with us?" David asked.
"From what Tucker tells me, Kiki basically whored herself out for Lauren's vote," Ernie said. "What we have to do is, like, one-up that."
"So you're saying Tucker should sleep with her? Excellent," Tucker grinned slyly.
"No," Ernie said simply. "Lauren despises you. David's going to be doing it."
"Why me?" David asked.
"Because Tucker's out of the question, and I can't be bothered to take the time to seduce her. I have game plans to think about," Ernie explained.
"I dunno, man," David admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, it's either do that, or, like, risk an early elimination. Your call, dude," Ernie told him.
Confessional:
Tucker: Pffft. Ernie's just jealous of Tucker's natural charm.
David: I dunno, man. Flirting's not exactly my strong suit. I mean, of the three of us, I guess I'd be the best at it, but that's still not great. Besides… I've kinda had my eye on Yolonda.
Ernie: Best case scenario: David succeeds in getting Lauren on our side. Worst case scenario: David fails, we lose the challenge, the vote turns out a tie, we lose the tiebreaker, and one of us goes home. No matter who of us leaves, the rest of us will follow shortly after. David better, like, know what he's doing.
Judy found Chappy in the garage, sitting behind one of the expensive cars that were parked there.
"Chappy?" Judy asked worriedly. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Leave me alone," Chappy said quietly.
"You don't seem fine. Is something wrong?" Judy asked.
"I just need some alone time. Which requires me to be alone," Chappy told her.
"You sure? I can help with whatever's bothering you," Judy offered.
"Woman, are you not listening to what I'm saying?" Chappy began to raise his voice. "I don't need your help, I just need to be by myself."
"…Alright, if that's what you want," Judy sighed as she left the garage.
As soon as Chappy heard Judy leave the room, he sighed to himself.
Confessional:
Judy: I really want to help Chappy, since he's my friend, but he's started to shut himself away. What should I do?
Chappy: I'm just going to stay out of everyone's way for a while…
Barry went down in the basement to grab something when he noticed Erica sitting alone on her bed.
"Oh, hey, Erica. What's up?" Barry greeted.
"What, you don't hate me for pointing out our inevitable betrayals in the future?" Erica snarked.
"Not at all. Honesty is the best policy, I think," Barry smiled. "I'll admit, I was a bit shocked that you were so blunt about it, but sometimes we just need to be blunt."
"…Why are you so nice to me?" Erica asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Barry asked.
"Because I'm an albino freak," Erica replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Who said that?" Barry asked.
"Everyone. And why shouldn't they?" Erica asked rhetorically. "It's like you said, honesty is the best policy."
"Well, Erica, you might not believe me, but for what it's worth, I don't think you're a freak," Barry smiled.
Erica's face turned bright red. "Y-yes you do. Shut up!"
"Well, you don't have to believe me, but I speak the truth," Barry said. "Honesty is the best policy."
"Leave me alone!" Erica snapped.
"Oh! Okay," Barry winced. "But, uh, if you ever want to talk, I'll be around." With that, Barry left the basement.
Confessional:
Erica: Honestly, screw Barry. (she is blushing) He clearly doesn't mean what he's saying. He can go get voted out for all I care! Which is not at all. I don't care. (she pauses) Screw Barry!
Barry: I think I'm getting Erica to open up some, which is nice. She's still a bit on the testy side, but I think that's just her introversion speaking. I'm sure deep down she's a sweet girl.
Kiki, Lauren, and Jilly were currently eating breakfast.
"Okay, so, Nolan. Hot or not?" Lauren asked.
"Aw, geez," Jilly said. "I mean, he'd be cute if he weren't so weird. Franklin, hot or not?"
"Definitely hot," Lauren smirked. "Come on, Kiki, why won't you play?"
"Because I consider myself to be above such childish things," Kiki said as she sipped her coffee. "Besides, with my condition, it's hard enough to speak to men let alone hook up, so I try not to think too much about romance. It depresses me."
"I see," Lauren said. "So, Ernie, hot or not?"
"Were you not listening?" Kiki asked.
"I was, I'm just curious," Lauren grinned.
"I mean, he's not bad," Kiki admitted. "I guess he's pretty cute."
"Ha! See! I got you to admit it," Lauren pointed out.
"You got a thing for Ernie, eh?" Jilly teased.
"I don't have a thing for anyone," Kiki said. "I might consider certain individuals to be attractive, but I don't have crushes. I'm not a child anymore."
"Okay, you're so adorable when you try to act serious," Lauren purred.
"Please don't." Kiki narrowed her eyes.
Confessional:
Kiki: I wish Lauren and Jilly would stop talking about boys so much. They're not all they're cracked up to be, you know. (she shudders slightly)
Jilly: Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if Kiki and Lauren hooked up. I know Kiki's straight and all that, but that don't stop the shippers.
Lauren: I'd totally hook up with Kiki if she were into that. I know she's always like 'I'm straight, it'll never happen,' but you never know.
The seventeen houseguests all met in the foyer with Hatchet for the next challenge.
"Alright, kids, listen up!" Hatchet commanded. "Today's challenge will bring us back to the Playground of Pain, so once we all get on the bus, we can get it started!"
"Well, let's just get this overwith…" Franklin said.
"Not a fan of the Playground of Pain, I take it?" Nolan asked.
"Not a fan of pain in general, really," Franklin said with a sad smile.
"It's okay, Franklin. I can make you feel better!" Susan blurted, only to earn awkward glances from the others.
"You can make Tucker feel better anytime you want," Tucker snickered.
"Come on, let's go!" Rachel said in disgust.
The houseguests were currently riding in the bus to the Playground of Pain.
"So, what do you guys think the challenge is going to be?" Judy asked.
"Hopefully something that we can finish quickly," CJ remarked.
"Yeah, I, like, agree," Ernie added. "The physical challenges aren't my cup of tea, you know."
"It's too bad you guys couldn't be on my team," Judy said sincerely. "I don't want to brag, but I'm kind of a sports all-star at my school."
"I'm so proud of you," Ernie said sarcastically as he began to doze off.
Bailey noticed Rachel, who sat next to her, reading a book.
"Um, so, what are you, uh, reading?" Bailey asked.
"Oh, this?" Rachel asked. "Of Mice and Men. One of my favorite stories."
"I, uh, well, please don't take this the wrong way, but, um, I never took you for, uh, you know, the, uh scholarly type," Bailey admitted.
"I like to indulge myself in a good book every now and then. When I'm not indulging in other things." Rachel giggled. "What about you? Do you read?"
"I'm, um, more of a, kind of a writer, myself," Bailey admitted. "I'm, uh, sure you've noticed the, uh, papers I often read from… I also do, uh, poetry… and stuff."
"I have. I also notice you're not using them now," Rachel pointed out.
"I know. I'm sorry…" Bailey frowned. "I'll stop talking now…"
Eventually, the bus arrived at the Playground of Pain. The houseguests couldn't help but notice it looked very different from last time: the large play structure was gone and in its place were many smaller park rides. There were also multiple spots in which there was no bark, but rather an eerie black surface.
"Welcome back to the Playground of Pain!" Hatchet announced as he exited the bus.
"Whoah! It looks so different and stuff!" Mac observed.
"Right you are, Mac," Hatchet nodded. "For you see, the Playground of Pain is ever-changing to fit the needs of our challenge."
"What's our challenge this time, dude?" Jilly asked.
"What we have here is a relay race," Hatchet said. "Each team will pick five of its members to compete in the race."
"Looks like all of us are competing," Franklin pointed out.
"That's right," Hatchet confirmed. "Anyway! It's your job to clear the obstacles in order to get your team's baton to the finish line! The first obstacle is the merry-go-round. Someone from each team will spin for a full minute, and then has to make their way to the second obstacle: the monkey bars. You have to get to the other side. If you fall or drop your baton, you gotta go back to the beginning of the monkey bars. Once you're across there, you pass the baton to your next teammate, who must climb on the swingset to try and propel themselves across the danger zone to the other side. The fourth obstacle is the jungle gym. You gotta crawl your way to the other end to move on. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Your fifth and final obstacle is the balance beams. Nothing too hard here, as long as you got a good sense of balance. After that, it's the finish line. Make sense? Good! Now figure out who's doing what. Team Flame and Team Chill, since y'all have six members, y'all are gonna have to sit someone out of the challenge."
"Me!" CJ and Ernie said in unison.
After the teams had chosen who would do what, each contestant had moved to their respective areas. Chappy, Erica, and Lauren were all holding on tightly to the merry-go-round with one arm and to their team's respective baton in the other.
"Alright, when I start spinnin' the merry-go-round, that's when the challenge officially begins," Hatchet informed them. "Y'all ready?"
"Bring it on!" Lauren replied.
"Whatever," Erica responded.
Chappy stayed silent.
"Well then…" Hatchet took a remote control from his pocket and pressed a button on it.
All of a sudden, the merry-go-round began spinning at an increasing speed. Since the contestants were only using one hand to hold on, they found themselves holding on tightly in order to avoid flying off.
"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Erica complained.
"Woooohooooo!" Lauren cheered.
After a while, the merry-go-round slowed to a stop. The three contestants let go and immediately found that they had no sense of balance or direction.
"Come on…" Chappy grumbled to himself.
"Where am I…?" Lauren asked dizzily.
Erica wasted to time making her way towards the monkey bars, which were about thirty feet away. She was the first one to make it.
"Take it," Erica said as she tossed the baton at Mac's head.
"Thanks. Heeheehahaha," Mac chuckled as he picked up the baton.
Lauren managed to arrive not long after.
"Let's do this," David smiled as he took the baton from her.
Chappy was the last to arrive.
"Win this for us," Chappy told Franklin.
"Will do," Franklin nodded.
Confessional:
Mac: The challenge seemed simple at first, but then I realized I had to do the monkeybars without dropping the baton, which isn't as easy as it sounds. Heck, I guess it doesn't really sound all that easy at all.
The three boys all had a different strategy for making it across the monkeybars with their baton. Mac held his in his mouth, David, in his pockets, and Franklin, up his sleeve. Franklin's strategy didn't seem to be working, as about halfway through, the baton fell down his shirt and onto the ground.
"Dang it," Franklin muttered as he dropped down the monkeybars to retrieve it. To his surprise, however, he landed upon one of the black sections, and was greeted with an electric shock upon landing.
"Gahhhhhh!" Franklin cried. "What was that for?!"
"I gotta make this somewhat difficult and painful," Hatchet replied. "This is still Total Drama, even if Chris ain't here."
"Awesome!" Mac grinned as he dropped down onto the ground. "Heeheehahaha!" he laughed as he experienced the same shock.
"Mac! The hell are you doing?!" Erica called.
"Don't listen to her, Mac. Please, continue!" CJ called from the sidelines.
"Shut up, ginger," Erica snapped.
"Make me," CJ retorted.
David was the first to have made it across the monkeybars. He handed his baton to Jilly, who was waiting by the swingset.
"Think you can do this?" David asked.
"Please. Your girl is no stranger to electric shock," Jilly responded. "The only thing we'll be droppin' out here is our completion time."
"Booooo!" Ernie heckled from the sidelines.
Just then, Franklin arrived as well.
"Oop. Gotta bounce! Laters!" Jilly said as she began swinging.
"I trust you can make up for my lost time?" Franklin asked Judy as he handed her the baton.
"I think I can," Judy nodded as she too began to swing.
As the two girls started picking up speed, Mac finally made it to the other side.
"Sorry about the wait. Here you go!" Mac apologized as he handed the baton to Nolan.
Nolan rolled his die. "I forgive you, but I'll still keep this in mind should we lose."
"Fair enough I guess," Mac shrugged.
Judy was the first to let go of her swing. She managed to make it to the other side with no problems.
"I think we might get first place for once," Judy told Susan optimistically as she passed her the baton.
"Yeah, maybe," Susan agreed as she entered the jungle gym.
Jilly quickly arrived soon after.
"Yeah! Made it!" Jilly cheered.
"You know, Tucker likes the way you hold that baton," Tucker said slyly.
Jilly whacked him on the head with it. "Just go."
"Roger," Tucker agreed as he made finger-guns at her.
Confessional:
Jilly: That boy ain't right, I tell you what.
Nolan finally made it to the other side.
"Sorry I'm late," Nolan told Rachel as he handed her the baton.
"No problem, sweetie," Rachel said with a wink. "You still did an amazing job."
"Uh, sure," Nolan replied warily.
The three contestants were all having trouble making it through the jungle gym. It was very intricately designed, almost like a 3D maze, and the vast number of bars made it hard to tell the difference between a dead end and a way to progress.
"This blows," Tucker remarked. "And not in the way Tucker normally likes."
"Gross," Susan grimaced.
"I don't know, I think I'm almost done," Rachel told them.
"That's impossible. You were the last one-" Susan started.
"Oh, hey, I'm out," Rachel said as she crawled out of the jungle gym.
"You're joking," Susan said flatly.
"Well Tucker's picking up the pace," Tucker said. "And not in the way he normally does."
Confessional:
Susan: What is Tucker, like, twelve? I'm not even that desperate.
"You can do this, Barry," Rachel said as she handed Barry the baton. She began fluttering her eyelashes at him playfully.
"Th-thanks," Barry said with a blush. "I'll do my best."
Barry got onto the balance beam and began slowly making his way across. However, his mind began to wander as he thought about Rachel, and in his distraction, he lost his balance and fell off the beam, causing him to get shocked.
"That's okay, babe. I believe in you!" Rachel cheered.
Just then, Susan managed to squeeze out of the jungle gym.
"I made it!" Susan clapped. She ran up to Bailey, only to trip and fall. "I'm okay!" she insisted.
Bailey timidly walked up to Susan and took the baton from her. The smaller girl made her way onto the balance beam and slowly started to make her way across.
"Alright, minor setback," Barry told himself as he made it back to the beginning of the balance beam. "I can still win this." He began walking a bit faster in order to make up for lost time, only to lose his balance and fall again.
"That's it, Barry! Keep it up!" CJ called from the sidelines.
Tucker finally made his way out of the jungle gym. He quickly ran up to Kiki, handed her the baton, and pushed her onto the electric floor.
"That's for last night," Tucker said with a satisfied smile.
Confessional:
Tucker: Tucker doesn't care if that cost us time, it was worth it. That'll show her not to mess with Tucker.
Kiki: Now I almost want to throw the challenge just so I can vote that lesser life form off of our team.
Barry decided to take it a bit slower as he got back on the balance beam. Perhaps too slow, as Kiki managed to pass him with little effort despite him having a bit of a headstart.
Bailey, meanwhile, was about halfway across the beam. She continued going at a slow pace, and didn't seem to be having any issues. Just then, she noticed Kiki catching up to her, and she started to get nervous. Bailey eventually choked up and fell off the beam, causing her to suffer a painful shock.
"And the pain just keeps on comin'," Hatchet remarked. "So far all three of our balance beam kids have suffered some painful shock."
"Yeah, which was no fault of mine," Kiki muttered under her breath as she hit the three-fourths mark of the balance beam. "Thankfully, I'm almost there.
Barry managed to reach the halfway point of the beam, when all of a sudden, he sneezed, causing him to fall off once again.
Confessional:
Barry: I don't know what's wrong with me. (he shrugs) I thought I'd be able to make it without falling more than five times. I can only imagine how it'd be if poor Susan did this challenge.
Kiki had finally made it to the other end of the balance beam and ran through the finish line.
"Kiki wins first place for Team Chill!" Hatchet announced. "That's three first-place wins in a row for Team Chill."
"Awesome!" David cheered.
"Oh no…" Bailey said to herself. "If I lose, then Chappy… this, um, isn't very good." She began to pick up the pace.
Barry noticed how far behind he was, and figured he'd pick up the pace as well. He managed to catch up to Bailey without falling off.
"Hey," Barry greeted her with a smile.
"Um, hello…" Bailey replied.
"I just want to say may the best person win," Barry told her. "And if you do lose, I hope you don't get voted off."
"Oh, uh, thanks…" Bailey responded meekly.
The two teens were neck-and-neck as they reached the three-fourths mark of the beam.
"Looks like it's anyone's game," Hatchet pointed out. He and the rest of the contestants were at the finish line.
"For everyone's sake, I hope we at least get second," Susan said as she glanced at Chappy, who only grunted in response.
"For my sake, I hope you get second too," CJ remarked.
Bailey began to sweat in fear of losing, and Chappy's response to doing so, and she began going even faster. Barry failed to notice and continued going at the same speed, so it wasn't long before Bailey was able to cross the finish line before he could.
"And Bailey wins second place for Team Thunder!" Hatchet announced. "Meanin' Team Flame will be votin' off their first member tonight."
This revelation was met with a collection of groans from the members of Team Flame, besides CJ, who had a big grin on her face.
Confessional:
Erica: Whatever. CJ's basically asking to be a free boot for us, so who am I to complain?
CJ: Yes! Yes! Finally! I can finally get out of this stupid game. I never cared much for Total Drama before, but actually being on Total Drama has caused me to develop a burning hatred for it. And now it's finally over.
Barry, Rachel, and Mac all met up to discuss the vote.
"So, it's pretty obvious who's going tonight, right?" Barry asked.
"Totally," Rachel nodded. "CJ's been a detriment to our team from day one. It's about time we got rid of her.
"Yeah, she kinda sucks the fun out of everything, you know?" Mac added. "Her and Erica both."
"Hey, Erica's not trying to be such a downer," Barry told him. "I'm sure she's just a misunderstood loner with a heart of gold."
"If you insist," Mac shrugged.
"Bottom line is, CJ goes tonight," Rachel said to bring the topic back to the vote.
"Right," Mac and Barry nodded.
Confessional:
Barry: Normally I'd feel bad for having to vote anyone off, but CJ actually wants to get voted off, so who am I to let her stay?
Rachel: CJ's always been a non-factor in my plan anyway, so getting rid of her is no big deal. I'm willing to bet we'll actually do better in challenges with her gone.
Nolan: Well, as much as I'd like to vote for CJ tonight, in accordance to my self-imposed dice challenge, I will let the dice decide who I should vote for. (he rolls the dice) And the lucky loser is… Mac.
Nolan approached CJ to inform her of the vote.
"Alright, we are still allies, right?" Nolan asked.
"I dunno. You've been avoiding me for so long that I'm starting to wonder myself," CJ responded.
"Look, I'm sorry if we haven't been hanging out that much, or whatever," Nolan said. "But I need to talk to you about the vote."
"I know. We're all voting for me tonight. Six-zero, unanimous, I go home, never see any of you again," CJ told him. "What's to talk about?"
"You do remember my twist, right?" Nolan asked.
"Great, so you're being the wild card again?" CJ asked. "Who are you voting for?"
"Mac," Nolan told her.
"Mac? Why Mac?" CJ asked.
"Were you not paying any attention?" Nolan asked as he showed her his dice.
"Well whatever. I don't care if you vote for Mac. Five-one is still the majority," CJ shrugged nonchalantly.
"Alright then," Nolan said as he took his leave.
Confessional:
CJ: I honestly don't get what's up with Nolan. Is he trying to be a stick in the mud? Because it's working.
Nolan: Dang it. The worst part about this vote is that I have to try and get others to vote for Mac too, that's another rule. Which sucks, by the way, because Mac's probably the last person I'd want to vote off, myself excluded of course. If CJ won't go for it, I'll have to find others who will.
Mac found Erica brooding by herself, so he went up to talk to her.
"Wassup?" Mac greeted cheerfully.
"What do you want?" Erica spat.
"I dunno. Talking to lonely girls seems to be my thing right now," Mac shrugged. "Which is weird because the girl I actually like isn't even on this-"
"Would it kill you to not talk to me right now?" Erica responded.
"I dunno. There's always the possibility that if I stop talking to you right now, I could get crushed by a falling safe as I walk away, which, despite being incredibly painful, wouldn't exactly be my idea of fun, what with the dying and all," Mac told her.
"Great. In that case, please stop talking to me right now," Erica told him with a grim smile. "Maybe if we're lucky your death will be slow and painful. Er, painless. Whatever doesn't float your boat."
"You're really mean, you know that?" Mac asked. "I don't care what Barry tells me."
"What's Barry saying about me?" Erica asked, her interest now piqued.
"Something about you being a lonely girl in a lonely world and you have a heart of glass or something," Mac shrugged. "Or maybe those are just lyrics on my 80's playlist. Whatever he said, it probably wasn't true." With that, Mac walked away.
"Stupid, stupid Barry…" Erica said with a blush.
"Also, no falling safe! Ha!" Mac called from across the hall.
Confessional:
Mac: It's like I said before, physical pain is great, but emotional pain just flat sucks. I have half a mind to vote for Erica tonight instead. I have another half a mind to go eat some superspicy nachos.
Erica: Barry better not be saying nice things about me behind my back, or I'm going to hate him. Forever. …I totally am, you know!
Nolan managed to find Barry and Rachel and started talking to them.
"Okay, look, I know you're deadset on voting for CJ tonight, and I don't blame you one bit, but I have something to tell you," Nolan said. "I overheard Mac threatening to seriously injure Erica. I couldn't hear why, but he said something about 'breaking all her limbs so she'll be even more of a freak'."
"Whoah!" Barry gasped. "That is uncalled for!"
"When did you hear this?" Rachel asked.
"A couple minutes ago," Nolan said. "I don't know about you, but I'm definitely voting for Mac tonight. I was hoping you two would join me. I assume Erica will vote for him too, so the four of us will ensure his elimination."
"Well you got my vote, dude," Barry assured. "I can't believe Mac would say something like that."
"Neither can I…" Rachel pondered.
"Well, it's nice to hear I have teammates who care," Nolan said with a smile. "With that, I'll be off. Good day."
Confessional:
Nolan: Yeah, I lied through my teeth, but that's the tactic the dice chose for me. I can't help it if the dice want me to slander a teammate just to get him eliminated. Believe me, if it were up to me, CJ would be going tonight. But hey, rules are rules.
Rachel: As someone who's been lying throughout the entire game, I know a lie when I see one, and Nolan was definitely lying. Very interesting…
The six members of Team Flame sat on one of the couches in the foyer. Hatchet came down the grand staircase carrying what looked like an ice box. He set the ice box down next to him as he stood across from the contestants.
"Team Flame, welcome to your first elimination," Hatchet greeted. "In case y'all don't know how this works, I have five sodas with me here tonight. If I give you a soda, that means you're safe. If ya don't get a soda, that means you've been voted out and you gotta get your butt out of here. Ya got that?!"
The six teammates all nodded nervously.
"Alright, now. Sodas go to…"
"Barry."
"Rachel."
"Nolan."
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"Erica."
This left Mac and CJ in the bottom two. Both looked nervous: Mac, that he would be leaving, and CJ, that she wouldn't be leaving.
"I only have one soda left for y'all tonight," Hatchet said. "And it goes to…"
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"CJ," Hatchet finally said.
"Aw come on!" Mac and CJ complained in unison.
"Yup. Sucks to be y'all. Whatever," Hatchet said with a roll of his eyes. "Mac, getcha self outta here."
"Aw. But why me?" Mac asked.
"The fact that you have to ask makes me glad I voted for you," Barry said with a glare.
"Uh, sorry… I guess," Mac shrugged. He then turned around and exited the house.
"Well, looks like you guys voted out one of your strongest teammates," Hatchet remarked. "Question is: Was that a smart decision? Probably not, but only time will tell. Now. Off to bed with y'all!"
Confessional:
Nolan: Well, the plan went off without a hitch. I'm not sure whether I should be cheering or complaining. Eh, I'll sleep on it tonight.
CJ: Eff my life. Seriously, eff my life with a big purple spiky dildo. The one time we lose a challenge since this thing starts and I don't even go home? The hell is this bulls**t?!
"Well well well, looks like everything ain't what it seems on Team Flame," Hatchet said to the camera. "Will Nolan get called out on his lie? What's going on with Chappy? Who will win the feud between Tucker and Lauren? Y'all're gonna have to find out, next time on Total! Drama! HOUSE PARTY!"
Votes:
CJ: No-brainer, I vote for myself. About time, too.
Barry: I vote for Mac. I don't care what Erica might have said to him, threatening to cripple her goes way past the line.
Nolan: Naturally, my vote goes to Mac. The dice have spoken, and soon enough, the tribe will have spoken. Er, team, rather. You know what I mean.
Erica: I vote for CJ. She wants to be gone, and I want her to be gone, so why the hell not?
Mac: Erica's just rude. You know what, I think I will vote for her. I know CJ's going home tonight, so one vote for Erica won't make a difference.
Rachel: It's fairly obvious that Nolan was lying about Mac. And I respect that. Us sneaky liars have to stick together, you know, so I vote for Mac. Not like he was all that crucial to my plan either.
A/N: Mac was a fun character, I think, even in his short time in the game. It was fun to write a more crazy, off-the-wall kind of character, especially in a team full of cynics and sane men. I admittedly could have done more with him, but as an early boot, he never had much plot relevance. Oh well, live and learn.