New goal for me: stop leaving chapter edits right up to the last minute.

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Chapter 7 – Lips Are Sealed

I didn't know it was possible to feel so happy that I wanted to yell and scream for joy. Not like it happened, but I almost felt that way. It had only been three months since I last saw Bridgette, but it felt like a lifetime.

I shook my head in astonishment and bolted inside the apartment, dumping my bags a few feet away from the door and ran into what looked to be a living room area. The first person I saw was a green-eyed blonde with tanned skin standing just in front of a white leather couch. My only friend during the early days at the mansion – Bridgette.

"How… how did you get here?" Bridgette suddenly asked. "Did you… leave as well or something?"

"Sort of…" I replied. "It's a really long story."

"But… you're here though… and I'd thought I'd never see you again!"

It was unusual for something like this to happen so fast, but before I knew it we were both hugging each other tightly. I felt tears stinging at my eyes, and tried to fight them back.

"Who'd ya say was here?" I heard a voice call from a nearby hallway… another familiar voice.

"Oh, just a friend… that I knew back at the mansion." Bridgette called back as we pulled apart. "You can come out and meet her if you want!"

"Okay, I'm comin'."

I stepped back a couple of feet, just as someone else walked into the room, and suddenly I was pulled into a massive hug.

"Girl, I thought back at Burbank was gonna be the last I saw of you! Where the heck have you been all this time?" The familiar voice asked – it was one of my oldest friends, Leshawna.

I looked at Bridgette and could only choke out a laugh as I saw her rather confused expression. "Leshawna, I don't think Bridgette… well, understands this." I said, having to raise my voice slightly.

"Yeah, I don't get this at all!" Bridgette added, shaking her head and laughing. "How do you guys know each other?"

"You don't?" Leshawna repeated as she let go of me. "Alright, alright, let's go over to the sofas and talk."

"You ladies all good in here?" I heard Geoff call from the outer hallway.

"Yeah, we're fine now!" Bridgette called back.

"Alright, sweet!"

I went over to a velvety blue sofa and sat down on one end, with Bridgette sitting on the other end, and Leshawna taking the leather couch. "So… well, first off, did I… miss much?" I asked.

"Not a lot, actually." Bridgette replied. "It's been pretty relaxed over the past couple of weeks… uh, what are you looking at?"

"Me?"

"No, Leshawna."

I turned to face Leshawna, and noticed that she was looking funny at me. I could do nothing but feel absolutely confused.

"Leshawna, what is it?" Bridgette asked.

"Girl, I think you've changed." Leshawna eventually said. "What's made ya so… what's the word… uh, reserved?"

"Changed?" I repeated, shaking my head. Not once had I thought about or noticed any changes to my personality.

"Well… I guess I can see a small change, but it's not that much." Bridgette put in.

It only made me feel more and more confused. I didn't notice any changes, and nor did Izzy or Zoey.

"But… I don't exactly feel different." I said, gesturing to myself.

"Oh come on, you were not like this at all two years ago." Leshawna told me, standing up.

It was awkwardly quiet for several minutes at least. I thought about what could have made me change, if I had changed. A couple of years had passed since I last saw Leshawna, which could probably be part of it. And of course, the most obvious one – being stuck at that dreaded mansion for nine months. But I just couldn't see myself going through any changes during that time.

"Well... don't forget that she did come from the same place as me." Bridgette said, looking over her shoulder at something. "That definitely had an impact on... all of the girls, really."

"Oh, well yeah, that's true." Leshawna nodded. "Hey, how'd ya get outta that place anyway?"

I felt my shoulders relax as I let out a heavy sigh and sat up in my seat - it was story time. "Well for starters, I didn't actually leave the proper way."

"Wait, how did you then?" Bridgette asked.

"Izzy came over in the middle of the night and helped me escape."

"You... escaped? But isn't that… impossible?"

"Not really, if you count the side gate we used that no one else has ever even seen before. And… climbing down the fire escape ladder too."

It was… quiet again for a few minutes or more, and I just sat back, waiting for them to take it all in. Of course, I did know that Leshawna probably wouldn't know that much about the mansion at all, but Bridgette was probably going over in her head how I was actually able to get out of there in the dead of the night.

"Do I… need to explain it more?" I asked, causing Bridgette to suddenly shake her head – I could only presume she was lost in thought.

"Oh, no, it's fine." She said, nodding and laughing somewhat nervously. "But isn't the security… really high?"

"That's what I thought it was. But where that side gate is, there's a bunch of empty bedrooms that overlook them – one of them being Izzy's. So because of that… they just decided to not have any guards watching the area."

Leshawna burst out laughing at that point, and I could do nothing but join in after a few seconds. I came to the realization that it did sound pretty ridiculous – and I had even thought that just before I actually made the escape.

"So you're tellin' me, there's nobody watching those empty bedrooms, and nobody knows about that damn side gate?" Leshawna asked, somehow managing to get it out between gasps of laughter.

"Pretty much." I shrugged. "There's even a massive window in between bedrooms, and I think it's practically opposite the side gate."

That did enough to set Bridgette off as well, and soon we were slouched over in our seats, laughing so hard neither of us made much of a noise.

"Hoo boy…" Leshawna chuckled, panting slightly as she regained her composure. "That's the best thing I've heard in a long time!"

"So do you think they'll amp up the security now that you've… well, left?" Bridgette asked. "And… was it just you with Izzy?"

"They probably will, if they're that concerned about another girl going missing." I replied, straightening myself up. "And Zoey came with us too."

"Zoey? But haven't either of the reserves… desperately wanted to leave at this point?"

"Well… Zoey was worried about it, I guess. She even said that she didn't want to come once I'd gotten down to the ground. But… we talked her into it, and I think she is pretty glad she joined us. I have no idea what state she'd be in with still being there and knowing exactly what had happened that night."

"Oh… that makes sense. I haven't really met her, but I think that sounds like something she would do?"

Confusion clouded my mind for a few seconds as I was trying to work out what Bridgette was referring to, but it seemed to come back. "You mean her being not sure about leaving with us?" I asked. "Me and Izzy, I mean."

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Bridgette nodded. "Anyway, I… wait, crap, isn't it shopping day?"

"Oh, dang it, I forgot!" Leshawna exclaimed, slapping her forehead. "Imma go get it now." She got up and went down the hallway. "Is there a list on the fridge?" She called.

"Uh…" Bridgette shifted around in her seat, eventually seeming to spot what I thought was a list. "Yeah, there's a list! And I don't think there's too much this week…"

Leshawna came back out after five or so minutes, a small handbag over her shoulder. I decided to stand up at that point, and decided that I could do with a little self-tour.

"Is it alright if I have a look around this place?" I asked Bridgette, who had picked up the TV remote.

"Oh, sure!" She replied, nodding and smiling. "There's three bedrooms and a bathroom, yours is second on the left."

"Okay… and I better get my bags as well. I just left them by the door."

"Alright, Imma goin' now." Leshawna said, walking towards the door. "You sure there's nothing else you wanna add?"

"Not really, I think I did do a check for what we did and didn't have after work yesterday." Bridgette replied.

I walked out from in between the sofa and ran over to get my bags, then running back round and into the hallway. I slowed down to a halt as I looked in the first room on the left, which appeared to be Bridgette's – mostly blue, dolphin pictures on the wall, a surfboard at the foot of the bed… it definitely looked the part.

I went down and came to the second room, which was open, and I peered inside. It was nothing special – just a plain white room with the basic necessities – bed, wardrobe, dresser, nightstand, even a small bookcase, which was of course empty. I walked in and dumped my bags on the grey and black bedspread, then going out across the hallway, into the bathroom.

"Gwen, can you come in here for a second?" Bridgette suddenly called. "Sorry, but it's… pretty urgent."

And my tour was dismissed… temporarily. I stepped out of the bathroom and walked back down to the main area, where Bridgette was still seated on the sofa. I sat down where I had been earlier and turned to face her. "So… uh, what is it you want to tell me?" I asked.

Bridgette let out a deep breath before talking – something told me that it was pretty big. "You know how the paparazzi went crazy over us whenever we weren't at the mansion?" She said slowly. "And I hear that… what's her name… oh, Dakota attracted a few more?"

"Yeah and… well, yeah, she did." I nodded.

"Since you're not at the mansion… at all, they'll be even worse, because… practically the whole city's going to go nuts about your disappearance."

"Okay…"

"But because of all that… it'd be best for you to avoid any sort of media, from news reporters, magazine editors… maybe even photographers that aren't involved in the paparazzi. Just… you could end up in pretty serious trouble, if you got caught on some camera footage from a news programme, and it gets as far as the mansion… in fact, it probably would anyway."

It took me several long minutes to really think about what Bridgette had just said. Sure, I definitely didn't want the media right on my tail after escaping – or even worse, end up back at that wretched mansion and get given… 'special' duties. But at the same time, I was feeling pretty confused – if I was to avoid all media at all costs, then I had no idea how I'd be able to do it, especially with my hair colour and pale skin being a real standout.

"How do I do that then?" I asked. "I could be recognised by… anyone, just like that. I can't walk around town as I am." I gestured to my face. "Anyone could have my hair colour, but pair it up with my pale skin, and I'm like a black sheep in a field of white ones."

Another bout of minutes slowly slid past, and I looked out the nearby window as Bridgette thought long and hard… at least that was what I hoped she was doing. "Well… I can't really think of anything to help there, other than a haircut…" she paused for a few seconds, "but I don't think that would do a lot to disguise you."

"Oh yeah, a plain old haircut wouldn't work at all… but what could?" I looked up and racked my brain for any ideas, but all that I could think of was hilariously bad disguises.

"You do… promise that you won't say anything to any sort of media though, right?"

It only took me a few seconds to decide – like I wanted to be back at the fun house again. "Yeah, I promise." I said, nodding. "And whatever happens in terms of… well, making me a bit more obscure, I hope it does work out."

"Alright." Bridgette smiled before standing up. "I don't know about you, but I'm a bit hungry now… all that thinking's done my head in." She walked over to the cupboard and opened it, pulling out a small box of what looked to be biscuits.

"What flavour?" I asked, standing up.

"Is double chocolate alright? And they're… not too big or small either, in case you were wondering."

Ooh wow. Double chocolate. "I'll have two." I said with a snicker.

"Okay." Bridgette laughed as she opened the box and pulled three biscuits out. "So… did I miss out on anything at the mansion that was actually exciting?"

"Not really… if the challenges count as exciting. Which they don't."

"Oh… wait, I overheard from Izzy about some sort of… special surprise challenge this weekend… what was it?"

I fell back onto my seat in shock, but started laughing once I realized what it meant. "Thank you Izzy, wherever you are! Thank you!" I shouted, leaping back up. "No way was I going to do that challenge anyway, I would have kicked one of the other reserves in. I still have no idea what was going to happen with it, even though it's this weekend, but not even the butlers were looking forward to it."

"Well… I'm glad I decided to leave before the challenges even started!" Bridgette said, starting to laugh as well. "Were they even legal?"

"Probably not, but guess who doesn't give a crap about that stuff?"

"Yeah… oh, I think Leshawna will be back in a couple of minutes. I guess I better start sorting out what we're having with the chicken for dinner."

Xx

Next chapter will be up usual time probably, unless I can get myself to update it a few hours earlier xD