Ch 6; Endurance
We walk out to the backyard once the screen door is opened, and realize we're in for an endurance competition. It has been a while since the last.
By some luck Dani, who didn't want me playing in the competition in the first place, pulls my chip out of the bag. We were up against Jordan and, wouldn't you know it, Lawon.
"Mel... you don't have to stay up there." Dani warns as I turn the key around our chain.
There was a big board. I've seen them use this board many times... like the season with Dan and a few other ones. It had a wintery background and skis, and little knobs you could hang on to for balance.
"I'm really okay! ...look, I'll fall after Lawon falls, deal?"
She looks at me sternly. "...well, okay." She sighs. "He is sorta clumsy."
I smile, and release the cuff from my side. She took the key and started to turn hers, and I walked to my position.
When everyone was ready, the board came down and picked us up. We were lifted in the air, and the timer starts.
"How we doing houseguests?" Julie asks, five minutes in.
"Goood." Many of us reply.
"Cold!" Rachel shouts out.
"Well, it's gonna be a cold night..." She says before the snow begins to fall. "Goodnight houseguests."
Cold wet snowflakes came storming down out of nowhere! I forgot to bring a hoody, yet again. I didn't forget to go to the bathroom at least...
I was positioned next to Jeff, with nothing on the other side. I could see Dani on the other side of him, and past that was a blur from the snow storm. I think Rachel tried to climb on the one next to her, but Jordan asked her to move as to not bother Dani. So... it could be Jordan next to her. Or maybe they're on the other side entirely...
Well, it's either Jordan, or Lawon, when you think about it. Maybe it goes Me, Jeff, Dani, Jordan, Rachel, and then Lawon? Not that it really matters. It occupies my thoughts, and keeps my mind off how cold I am already for a while if nothing else.
The snow storm dies down after a good hour. Being able to see now I notice Jordan and Rachel have already fallen. Lawon was in the middle of the two spaces, so I guess I won't know who was next to Dani until after I fall. I'm probably not going to ask, as I'm sure my mind will trail off to a different subject by that time.
Hey... that reminds me... now would be a good time to analyze what Dani was saying last night.
She said, indirectly, that she was attracted to me. She said she was bi-curious, and she was STILL curious to an extent. I was thinking last night before I fell asleep that she's probably waiting for me to tell her I'm okay with it. She wants me to admit to myself that yeah... I like girls. I like her. ...I do like her, I mean. Cause she's right; we have chemistry. I want to be near her. I want to cuddle next to her at night, and share that intimacy with her. ...there's nothing wrong with me... It's perfectly normal... No, wait. It's who I am, weather I like it or not. I can't help the fact that I feel attracted to girls, and the more I try to push it out of my mind, the more susceptible I am to it. So, I just let this happen I guess. Surrender myself to these uncontrollable feelings and let myself fall for her. Certainly I'll tell her as soon as possible that I want to be with her.
...or...
Maybe I should take advantage of the fact that I know she wants me too, and surprise her. I know I already did, in a sense... neither of us were expecting for me to kiss her that next morning. But, this is different. I can plan ahead! Though, there's not much to plan if we're stuck in this house. Good thing I have time to think about this up here. I guess I can't really do anything too extravagant, but to just tell her I'm ready to be with her isn't exactly apt.
The buzzer sounds, which snaps me out of my thought process. I glance to the ground before the snow comes in to see Jeff has fallen to the ground.
Even though it's snowing harshly, Dani's close enough for me to see. Without Jeff blocking the way, it's apparent that she's about to give out any second.
"H-hey." I speak.
Her body shook vigorously, and she didn't have the energy to lift her head to look at me.
"I got this." I tell her. "You don't have to stay up here any longer."
A short, quiet mumble emits from her mouth. After I ask her what she was saying, Dani speaks up.
"I said if anyone should drop it should be you. Mel, you've been up here for three hours without a jacket. Your arms are turning blue..."
I shrug. "Yeah, but at least I can't feel them hurting from hanging on for so long. They've gone completely numb!" I look over at Lawon, but can't see through the snowy wall. "...I think he's gonna drop soon. I can stay up here for another three hours. You..."
Her whole body was shaking with pain and exhaustion. After another ten minutes, she dropped to the ground.
The buzzer goes off, and a pile of snow comes shooting up from where she land. Now, it was just me against Lawon.
The snow begins once again.
"We are now reaching the fourth hour of this competition, with Melanie and Lawon still hanging on for the power of veto..." Julie announces. I think the snow is on for half an hour, and off for five minutes. I don't know if all that equals into four hours or not, but it's just a guess.
"What are you still hanging on for...?" Lawon pants from the other side.
The houseguests sitting on the bench all look, knowing the reason but curious to see how I'm going to respond. At first, I don't. After a few seconds...
"For Dani." I boldly answer.
I know if it weren't for her, I wouldn't still be up here.
"...you're gonna lose." He warns. "Because I'm hanging here for myself."
I didn't look at my peers, or him. I kept my line of sight focused... ignoring any embarrassment I may have caused for her. It's true, though. If I don't win this, Dani becomes public enemy number one and the Vet's side of the house will hate her. She's depending on me! It puts a lot of pressure on a person... she knew it would, too. She knew, so she didn't want me playing in the first place. But here I am.
Ahh... lookit the pretty shiny... they're all piling on that big cushy thing down there! Hehe! ...why am I getting closer to the big cushy thing down there...?
Before I realize it, I was face down on the safety mat, my face plunged right into the snow that torcher me for the past eight hours of my life.
I heard someone calling my name from afar before finding Dani kneeling at my side, wrapping her hoody around my body.
"Mel! ...y...someone...HEY...!" I hear. My senses were zoning in and out, and it was hard to hear or see her when only catching short glimpses of both.
I felt Dani put her arm around me, and sling mine around her shoulder. She picked up my legs and carried me to where I believe must have been back into the house.
"Is she okay?"
"Hey! Wake up!"
"I think Lawon's blacked out..."
"Oh, this is just terrible!"
These were some of the sentence fragments I'd picked up as I was being carried in. Dani set me down in the have not room, and started shaking me vigorously.
"Melanie! Please wake up!" She cried.
"Not so rough!" A male voice warns. Jeff?
"Melanie...!" Dani whines again.
"Don't worry! She'll be okay!" The voice reverbs. "I'll make them some soup. You should just try to talk to her, distract her from whatever pain she's experiencing."
I hear Cassi's voice. "Well Lawon says he's okay, but I don't believe him... oh my god!" She pauses. "Is she passed out?"
"I don't know." Dani cried.
I'm not passed out! I can hear them...
"Cassi I'm scared..."
I felt the bedding shift as Cassi sat down. "Hey, calm down. She's still breathing..." She confides.
"This is all my fault." Dani sobs. "I'm the one who should have stayed up there."
"...I'm cold." I mutter, and the girls gasp.
"She's awake!" Cassi calls out the door and I'm soon greeted by Jordan, Adam, and Shelly.
"Melanie! You're alive!" Jordan excites.
"Do you know how worried we all were?" Jeff asks, entering with a bowl of soup.
"Um... I'm fine..." I lie, sitting up slightly. "Am I allowed to eat this?"
"Yes." Jeff nods, and I assume someone checked with the diary room people beforehand.
I take the food.
"You know that form you signed says Big Brother is NOT responsible for any health problems inflicted while in the house, right?" Shelly laughs.
In the mean time, Dani grabbed a blanket and was wrapping it around my shaking body.
"You should really change out of those wet clothes." She suggests, remaining close by my side.
I really don't have the energy to do it myself. Thankfully, I didn't have the energy to explain this to the group before it came out of my mouth without thinking. I simply nod, and sip my soup.
"H-how's Lawon?" I ask.
"You're so sweet to worry about someone else when your suffering like this." Jordan comments.
"He took quite a hit to his health too." Adam explains. "But he's tough! He'll be fine!"
"Good..." I sigh.
"Dani, you should take her up to the dungeon." Jeff suggests. "She's not gonna get any rest on this hard excuse for a bed."
She nods. "Someone grab her soup."
She picks me up the same way as before, still wrapped in my blankets. We finally reached the top of the stairs, and Jeff took the key from her pocket and opened the door.
"...it's not opening." He notes.
"Oh, that's the key to the chains. Other pocket."
Soon we were inside the room, and I was placed on the bed. Jeff handed her my soup and left promptly. He may be our enemy in the game, but I think he supports this blooming relationship of ours.
"You want your soup?" She asks after a moment.
"No thanks." I reply.
She looks at me angrily. "Melanie, eat your soup."
I ignore her, and wait for her to set the bowl back down. She was sitting at my side.
"...are you mad at me?" I ask quietly.
She wasn't looking at me. "You better believe I'm mad at you." She says with her arms crossed.
"...I'm sorry I didn't win the veto." I apologize, closing my eyes in shame.
"Excuse me?" She retorts. "Mel I could care less about that! Do you know how worried I was?"
Worried.
Dani went on about how scared she was when I fell, and how scared she was when I DIDN'T fall, and when I stayed up there for her sake. I zoned out... Dani. Genuinely, genuinely cares for me. This isn't some game strategy she has, trying to allure me to do what she wants. I don't have the veto; Lawon does. But here she is, taking care of me.
"And I never, ever want you to put yourself in that sort of risk ever again!" She finished.
I wanted to thank her for her concern. I wanted to tell her how much it means to me. I wanted to sit in the room and chat with her for a moment before anyone started coming up about who's getting voted out. None of this was gonna happen.
Just as I smile and am about to begin my spiel, the doorbell rings.
"Uhg." She grunts, loud enough for me and her to hear her. "It's unlocked!" She calls, and Shelly enters.
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you're okay." She concerns.
Perfect timing... not.
"Thanks Shelly. I'm alright now." I say, trying to act grateful for her concern.
"Do you need me to get you anything? Water, crackers,"
"I'm taking care of her." Dani announces, but Shelly still doesn't get the hint.
She steps inside and lets the door shut behind her. "You know just because we aren't on the same team, I'm still concerned about you." She begins to explain.
"...which is why I feel like maybe we can start over, because I have nothing against either of you personally! And-"
"Um, Shelly, thank you. I'm not mad at you or anything, okay? I just, sorta need to rest now, if you don't mind." I say calmly.
It's possible she finally picked up that we want to be alone.
She stands. "Feel better, kay Mel?"
"I will." I fake smile, and she leaves.
We watch her exit down the stairs, then continue our conversation.
"So... you were really worried about me then?" I say shyly.
"Did you not hear a word I said a couple minutes ago?" She accuses.
"I was listening!" I argue. "I listened to every word you said." I explain, less hyper now.
"Oh." She says, not sure how to respond yet. "Well, then yes. You should know by now that I care about you, Melanie."
How sweet.
"Speaking of which, we should probably get you to the diary room." She suggests. "You get changed and meet me down there, okay?"
It's standard that when you have health issues, you go to the diary room. Anything serious and they would have came rushing in, but we really were just fine.
Dani walks down the steps and sits in the living room as I changed. Good thing I had moved all my stuff up to the HoH room when Dani won. I figured since we were cuffed together, we'd be sleeping together. Once I'm changed and have waddled down the stairs, I notice Lawon is up.
Jordan and Porsche were expressing their concern for Lawon.
"Ladies, ladies! I'm just fine! You should be worried about-" He stands. "Tiger! There you are!"
"Hey..." I smile. "You okay?"
The other girls listen patiently.
"Yeah. Hey, I was meaning to tell you. Good game up there, girl." He says, offering a hand-shake.
I accept. "You too."
"I'm gonna take her to the diary room." Dani interrupts, and the three look at her.
"Ask the camera man in there about meds for Melanie then. Lawon said he got some pills or somethin." Jordan suggests.
"Electrolyte tablets." Lawon corrects.
Dani nods.
I was prescribed a few electrolyte tablets, but other than that they said I was fine, and didn't need to be taken off the slop. Frowny face.
Now we sat outside waiting for Lawon's decision on the veto. We know he's not gonna change it, but it's also standard we all wait outside.
"It's warm out." I comment aloud. "It makes me mad."
Jordan and Adam laugh.
"Why are you mad?" Dani asks. She was sitting on the other side of the couch.
"Cause ten minutes ago it was cold and I was freezing and now it's like nothing happened!" I whine.
Lawon decides not to use veto. Meeting adjourned. Back to game talk...
"I'm not gonna lie, I didn't expect him to win." Dani explains once all the Vets are up there with us.
"News flash; he won, and me and Rachel are on the block." Jeff glares. He wasn't hyped up like usual though, knowing that he has himself to blame for as well.
"Look, I'm sorry! I don't know what else to do."
Rachel starts crying. Psh, Rachel.
Whatever Dani wants to do, we have the votes. As for the vets, it's every man for themselves. I'm sure Jeff and Rachel will go around campaigning. Not that it matters, cause like I said, we have the votes. This is actually a good thing for us to pick off the vets, now that I think about it.
"Daniele and Melanie, please go to the diary room."
SAVED BY THE BELL!
"...sorry guys." Dani shrugs, and I follow her out the door.
They called us in and we found the cuffs sitting on the couch, as usual.
"...Some curse." I smile.
Dani was still lost in thought about the whole Vet's deal.
"I really like being cuffed to you." I say. "...and, I'm just realizing how creepy that must sound. I'm sorry!"
"I like being cuffed to you too, Mel." She responds blankly.
Right now she wasn't worried about this. There's a lot of change going on in her game play.
"Hey, come sit down and repeat that." The camera guy says. "They say they want it on camera."
"Oh god..." Dani moans. "Do we have to?"
"Yeah, but act embarrassed." He directs. "Take it from 'I really like being cuffed to you'."
Can he do that? Can he just, turn whatever I say into a freaking script? Rude!
Dani, also annoyed, slouches and sits on the red couch, pulling me with her.
"ACTION!" he announces, and points at us. We put on our smiles.
After a couple takes, we're free to leave. We head back up stairs, where Lawon was waiting for us.
"What's up?" Dani asks after the door shuts.
"I wanna say, I know it was the plan to backdoor me. And I'm totally cool with it!" He starts. "You know, you were doing what the rest of the house wanted, I respect that, I understand, but point is, I'm still here. And quite frankly, I don't think your veteran friends are too happy with you right now."
"Dani's not a vet!" I accuse, glaring at him.
"Technically she is. Not the point, though."
Oh yeah... I forgot. She's such a rebel!
"Now, even after all this planning and stuff, my offer is still open to you girls. Face it... you'll need my help if you're going to continue this little love-circle you've got going on here." He explains.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Dani asks, skeptical of what he knows.
"I'm just saying, you think Kalia would ever team up with this one here, there's no chance." He elaborates, referring to me. "Nothing against you tiger, but the odds she'd be willing to join up with the girl who stole her crush."
Crush?
"You're a lot smarter then you look, Lawon." Dani comments. "I'm not expecting Kalia to form an alliance with us. ...since we're being blunt, you're lucky you squeezed another week out of your time here, but that's all you're getting. I don't need to add a bigger target on my back by teaming up with you, got it?"
He was speechless.
"I'm not in the mood for this right now." She continues. "Just, leave. I don't want any deals. Leave."
God! This whole thing is really stressing her out. Poor Dani...
Lawon does the thing with his eyebrows, where he just sorta raises them up and down, like he's shrugging, then walks out.
Dani falls backwards on her bed and heaves.
"...everything okay?" I ask awkwardly.
"No." She moans. "I never should have won this HoH to begin with."
I scoot a little closer and grab her hand chained to mine. "I think you're doing a great job."
"Mel, thank you. I need to sleep. I'm sorry dear." She huffs and pulls her hand from mine.
Oh! I almost forgot!
"...Does Kalia have a crush on you?"
She turns her head. "She did. She never said it, but she did."
"So, how did you-"
"Meeeel..." She moans again.
"Sorry! Sorry. Um, want me to turn the lights out for a little?" I offer.
"Yeah, get them on your way out."
...
"...oh, shoot. Right." She remembers. "No, you can leave them on."
What the hell is wrong with her? She seems so... distant now. It... it kinda hurt. Does she really like being chained to me? I mean, I know she said she did, but, just a second ago she asked me to leave.
I must be over thinking this. Clearly the poor girl is just stressed from all this. I, hope, that's all it is. It's really eating at me, that she DIDN'T want to hold my hand, she DIDN'T want me here, and she DIDN'T want me to turn the lights off. God... I know she just wants to rest, but part of me wants to know if I did something to make her mad. The other part kinda just wants to let myself believe it's just stress and pretend everything's okay between us.
"..."
She lay on her back, her eyes closed. She can't be asleep already, can she?
"..."
Say something! ...no, no! I can't! I'll just... see what happens tomorrow. See if things go back to normal. I mean, they WILL go back to normal! Y-yeah...
I roll away and close my eyes, but sleep didn't come. I just kept thinking about the competition, and Kalia, and how distant she was acting now. After hours and hours of waiting, I finally drift off and have a nightmare about it.
"Hey, ...HEY!" Dani shouts, seven in the morning.
Great. Three hours of sleep...
"You awake yet?" She asks while shaking me.
I yawn. "Y-yes."
I didn't know whether to be happy or worried. Waking up to her face was beautiful, but she was still uptight.
"Get up, then." She orders. "I need to get some food."
Without waiting for me to stand, she drags me across the bed and I hop to my feet before she knocks me on the floor.
"Whoa!" I say. "Slow down!"
She continued down the stairs at the same speed though, determined to eat, and nothing's going to stop her from doing so.
I limp from place to place as she yanks me around finding her dishes and silver wear. Once she has some slop and sits down, I get a break.
"Morning girls." Kalia greets, poring some milk.
"Hey." I reply, but Dani says nothing.
There was really no reaction after that, and the conversation dies. Once Dani's scarffed about three spoonfuls of her food, she dumps the rest down the sink and it's to the bathroom to brush our teeth.
"...Dani?"
I flinch at the apprehended rage, but she continues to scrub her teeth. After she spits and rinse,
"What?"
I flinch again.
She looks at me, able to feel my reaction. "Mel, why are you so jumpy all the sudden."
"Um..." Best we solve this right now, before the house solve it for us. "I just want to know, if you still like me." I say shyly. "I don't mean to interrupt you, I just want to know so I can stop bugging you about it if maybe your mind has changed since we last talked about it.
"Mel, don't be ridicules! Of course I still like you." She sets her tooth brush down. "Why wouldn't I?"
Instead of saying anything, I scan through scenarios of what could happen if I tell her how mean she's been acting. I was frozen in mortification...
She looks around. We were alone. Dani puts her hands on my shoulder. "Look hun, I'm just a little on edge right now. I'm, really sorry if I'm taking it out on you. I know it's not very possible with these chains, but I just need my space for a little."
"I understand." I oblige.
"Okay." she nods.
After finishing our dental routine, we head back up stairs for hair brush and other morning preparations for today.
It was a relief that it wasn't me she was upset with. I want things to work between us, and I don't need things changing before I tell her.
Tell her what? Exactly? Well, that's a secret.
"So, not to pry, but can I ask you something?" Dani says over the silence.
"Only if I can ask you something." I reply.
"Sounds fair." She nods. "I wanted to ask you about what you said when you were up on the skis with Lawon."
"Mel, why you still hanging up here?"
"For Dani."
"Oh, right..." I remember.
"It's the way you said it. And, at first I thought you meant for the veto, and for me to get him out. But, you weren't playing for revenge." She analyzes. "You were playing so I wouldn't have to deal with all this stress." She smiles. "Am I right?"
I smile. "Sorta."
She stares at me.
"I know how stressful it can be, and don't get me wrong, I wanted more than anything to keep you safe for next week!" I begin. "But... That's not what kept me up there."
I take her hand. Dani, you have this... reputation, for using you white-witch powers to convince people to do whatever you say." I gently put.
"Wait, I'm lost..."
Lemmi take a moment to explain this.
Those close intimate moments when she pull her prey into an alluring hypnotic state... they hear Dani saying 'go tell Melanie to put up the vets' but all they can feel is her warm breath hitting their ear and neck... and you want to close your eyes and fall into a deep sleep, but you just can't stop staring at her beautiful face... and just when you think she's close enough to kiss...
BANG!
White witch powers. -W-win their heart -H-hypnotize the victim -I-instruct plans -T-tease and flirt -E-execute instruction. WHITE witch.
"You pretend you like people to get them on your side." I explain in short.
"Oh..." She looks down, not denying anything.
I was thinking about how if I didn't win the veto, I'd be useless to you! There'd be no reason for you to continue flirting with me or putting up with me if I you were doomed anyway."
"Oh sweetie! That's not true!" She cries.
"I know!" I say. "But, at the time, when you're up there long enough, you think about things. Patterns... and, at the time I thought that if I didn't win you the veto, you'd never let me kiss you again..."
She pulls me into a hug.
"No wonder you were so concerned... Oh, Melanie... I'm so sorry!"
"It's alright, you didn't know what was going through my head." I softly explain. "It's not your fault."
She takes a breath and calms down.
"I want you to understand that no matter what happens in this game, it doesn't change our relationship, okay?"
Relationship... that word makes my heart do a flip.
"Y-yeah. I know that now." I stutter. "Now... it's my turn to ask you a question."
She releases me. "Of course! What do you want to know?"
"How you knew Kalia had a crush on you." I state.
"...anything different?"
What! ...well...
"Why you ignore your father." I try again.
"...anything... different...?" She winces.
"Dani! You really can't tell me?"
She sighs. "The dad thing is kinda personal, and you wouldn't want to know how I knew Kalia was into me."
"If you two had a thing, you can tell me." I explain. "I remember her being a bit, angry, when she'd learned of our 'experiments'."
"You mean our kiss?" Dani fills in. "Mel, you can say we kissed. That's what happened, after all."
"Right." I shake. "So, why was Kalia really flipping out? DID you two have a thing?"
She says nothing.
"No." She finally breaths. "But, Kalia did show a slight interest in me."
She goes on about Kalia climbing in bed with her, Kalia making her breakfast in the morning, Kalia brushing her hair for her, Kalia, Kalia, Kalia!
"Okay!" I suddenly interrupt. "...I mean... okay. So, she clearly had a great interest in you, and made it obvious and everything, and you... let her flirt with you to win her over and, take control of her votes."
"Sure..." She shrugs, looking off.
"Dani?"
"...well sorta. At first. But, Kalia and I became good friends! Then she told us everything about your alliance, and put herself at risk, and I couldn't just throw her under."
What a pattern. She didn't have a problem with any of her boys in the past season. I doubt she even remembers -Dominic- exists! But Dani's become attached to me and Kalia. We're more than game players. Kalia's like a best friend, and I'm like a- ...very, close, female friend.
"So you and Kalia are friends." I smile. "Why did you think you couldn't tell me that Dani? I'm not jealous! Even if she does still like you that way."
"Well, I don't know about that, but thanks so much for understanding." She gives me a quick hug. "Maybe we can talk about my dad some time, but right now I don't really feel like it, you know?"
"Sure! Sure thing, Dani." I nod. "And only if you're comfortable with it."