Wednesday Morning…

Harper sighed when she walked back into the bedroom. Elle was just as she'd left her, face down in her bed with a blanket covering everything except the very top of her head. Her love of sleep was no secret but this was too much, even for Elle. Harper had been trying to get her out of bed for over an hour. She walked over to the bed, bracing herself for what was sure to be a barrage of curse words, and grabbed the blanket, "Eleanor. It's time to get up."

There wasn't any yelling but Elle opened her eyes slowly and fixed a death stare on her that she felt to her bones.

"Honey, it's time to get up," Harper knelt beside the bed. "Jim's been up here rantin' and ravin' that we're all gonna be late. We have to leave in like 10 minutes."

Elle sat up slowly, raking a hand through her messy waves, "I don't think I'm gonna be able to do the challenge today."

Her voice was raspy and she rubbed lightly at her neck. She seemed like she'd been feeling under the weather the day before but Harper made her drink a bunch of tea and she'd hoped that would do the trick.

Harper frowned, "What do you mean? You can't miss it. You could get sent home."

"I know but I feel like I'm dying," Elle croaked out. There's no way I can be up and moving in 10 minutes. My throat is killing me and I think I might have a fever."

Harper reached out to check her forehead but Elle dodged her hand, "I don't want you to get sick too. That won't do us any good."

"You have to at least try," Harper insisted.

"I would if I could but I feel absolutely miserable," the brunette insisted.

"What am I gonna do if you go home?"

"Use your own hair dryer," Elle smirked.

"I'm gonna get Daisy," Harper got up, shaking her head. She had to do something. "Maybe they can get a doctor in here and you can meet us there."

"Harp, calm down," Elle stopped her. "Staying home doesn't mean I automatically get sent home."

She knew it didn't but it certainly increased her chances of being cut.

"Don't worry about me. Get going. Win the challenge. I'll be fine."

Harper put her hands on her hips, feeling uneasy. She was so much more comfortable when Elle was around. She felt like she could be herself more and she didn't think so much about how crazy her being there really was. She also didn't like the idea of leaving a sick friend.

"Seriously, go," Elle pushed, her voice little more than a harsh whisper. "And don't come back without a date."

Harper sighed but the sound of Jim shouting in the hallway spurned her on, "Fine. I will go. But I'm telling Daisy to send you a doctor."

Elle wandered around the house, trying to enjoy the peace and quiet. She had one cameraman with her and he wasn't even bothering to follow her around. The producers and all of the girls were off at the challenge and Elle was crossing her fingers and toes that whatever it was, Harper would win. That was the whole reason she stayed home. She felt perfectly fine, maybe a little tired. She'd made a show the day before of acting sluggish and coughing a bunch and she only let Harper check her for a fever once when she'd been huddled under blankets long enough to seem a little warm. She didn't enjoy lying to the other girls but it seemed like the right thing to do. The more time she spent with them the more unfair it seemed that she was there taking attention away from them. Jules confided to her the night before that she thought she would be going home soon if she didn't get picked for a date. Abigail was feeling the pressure as well. She'd been quiet and Elle could feel anxiety coming off of her in waves. The show was apparently getting great ratings and they were gaining a decent fanbase, so much so that the girls had been given access to their Instagram accounts and brand new Samsung Galaxy cameras to document their time in the house. Elle overheard Jim and Amy talking and it sounded like they were attributing some of the success to the drama between her and Mia. She knew that if she went to the challenge, the attention wouldn't be on the other girls it would be about the tension and she didn't want to deal with that guilt.

She also hoped that Mia lost almost as much as she hoped for her girls to win.

They'd been gone for a few hours and Elle wondered how much longer it would be. She was getting bored without anyone to talk to. Her mind was going all over the place but inevitably, as it had for days, it kept drifting back to Seth. She kept thinking back to that day outside the car when she teased him with a kiss. Her skin flushed just thinking about it. She kept wondering what would have happened if he'd just kissed her. He obviously wanted to and she would be lying to herself to say that she didn't like knowing the effect she had on him. She couldn't say with complete certainty that she would have pulled away if he'd made a move. That probably made her a bad person but she couldn't help it. Seth was gorgeous and her body reacted whether she liked it or not. That was just body chemistry. It wasn't her fault.

She plopped down on the couch and turned on the WWE Network to distract herself but ended up watching a special about Seth coming back from his injury which only managed to make him more attractive. He was so dedicated to getting back and worked so hard and then seeing him with his adorable dog; it was just too much.

She made her way to the kitchen and started to pour a glass of wine but changed her mind and grabbed a water bottle instead. She didn't want to hear Mia's mouth if she found out she'd polished off a bottle of wine while she was supposed to be sick. She traipsed back into the TV room and curled up on the couch putting on an episode of NXT. As she tapped her nails against her water, she forced thoughts away from Seth and found herself thinking of Ethan. She'd been away from her boyfriend for weeks but this was the first time in days that the image of his clear blue eyes had popped into her head. She was surprised by how little she'd missed him. She missed the rest of her lipstick, Real Housewives, the food at work, her couch, all kinds of trivial things but not Ethan.

It had to be some strange side effect of being in a house full of crazy people. She cared a lot about Ethan. She wouldn't have moved in with him if she didn't. She had some reasonable frustrations that they needed to work through but they could address that when she got back to the real world. Seth would inevitably send her home since she missed the challenge and then things could get back to normal. For the first time, she wondered what Ethan was doing. Did he miss her or was he just going on with life as if she'd never been there? She wanted to believe that he missed her but she didn't know it, deep down, the way she probably should.

She went over to the computers; there was a new station set up where the girls could post their pictures, check emails, feel slightly more connected to the rest of the world. Kai and Emily had been hogging them since they were set up. She logged onto her Instagram, laughing at all the pictures she'd been tagged in. There was a particularly ridiculous one of her on the lawn, posing on a pink inflatable flamingo and trying to look serious which she made her new profile picture. She found herself going down a full on Instagram rabbit hole, looking through and double tapping a bunch of the other girls' pictures. Then she went to the show's account and the most recently posted image featured Elle and Seth holding hands in the limo coming back from the winery. The next was Mia latching her mouth onto his. Elle felt her jaw clench at the image and she quickly scrolled past it.

"God this is so weird," she shook her head. She clicked on another picture of herself and found herself unable to resist the temptation of the comments. It started off well, there were a few people rooting for her. Then it took a turn and when she saw what a wretched bitch she was for the 7th time, she decided comments were no longer a good idea. She had thousands of new followers and it seemed like a third of them hated her. Shaking off her newfound Insta-fame, she found Ethan's page. His agency encouraged it to keep his name out there so he was always very active on social media. Most of his recent pictures were from parties or the beach. Sully appeared many times, as did Layla. The sight of the other woman should have set Elle off but it didn't. She rolled her eyes but that was the most emotion she could muster. She could only get mad over the same thing so many times before she just felt like an idiot. She also didn't have much room to talk considering that if he'd taken a moment at all to look at her page, he would know that she was currently vying for the affections of another man.

"What is my life right now?" she asked herself, shaking her head, scrolling up to 'Message'. They still couldn't have their phones but no one said they couldn't send a DM.

Hey. Just wanted to say hi and see how you're doing. I'm sure this whole thing is super weird for you. If you have any questions or if you want to talk about it, just let me know. I should be home this week.

His response came much faster than she expected.

Hey hot stuff. What whole thing?

She was immediately pissed but she took a deep breath and talked herself down. It was possible that he still didn't know. He didn't expect her to be posting anything and he rarely ever sat and scrolled through the accounts he followed so maybe he just hadn't seen anything.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she tried to figure out how to explain the nonsense situation she was living in but before she actually typed anything,, he sent another message.

The dating show thing? No worries, babe. You do what you gotta do to get that paper. I'll see you when you get home.

That was it? He didn't have any questions? He wasn't angry? He thought it was okay to say 'get that paper'?

Her own boyfriend was indifferent to her appearing on a dating show and she missed her couch more than she missed him.

If that didn't speak volumes about the state of their relationship, she didn't know what would.

Just found out I'm going to start interviewing your cast offs on Talking Smack. If any of these girls cry on me, I'm will punch you in the face.

Seth winced as he read the text from Renee. He had no idea if any of the girls would cry but he knew that Renee wouldn't hesitate to follow through on her threat. The show was already more popular than Seth expected it to be and it seemed like the WWE Network brass were trying everything they could think of to capitalize. Seth's already packed press schedule had grew every day.

The day's challenge was an especially entertaining one. The fans would love it when it aired. Chris Jericho and the rest of Fozzy were on-hand as guests and the girls were split into groups and asked to write and perform a metal song dedicated to Seth. The songs were atrocious but the girls tried hard and it was always fun to hang out with Chris. The band selected the team of Harper, Abigail, Emily, and Mia as winners and they would accompany him on a date that evening. He wasn't sure what they were doing but he was sure the catfighting would be endless. The women managed the best song but they barely made it through the challenge without strangling each other.

Sitting in the limo on the way back, Seth was glad to have a few minutes of peace as the women spoke quietly among themselves. It wasn't long, though, before Harper was talking to him about some country band that she thought he might like. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he wouldn't. She was just so sweet and earnest. He'd been right to pick her to stay in the house. Not only was she adorable, she brought some humility to the group.

His phone buzzed and Seth looked down to see a text from Jim who was riding up front with the driver.

Ask them who should go home next

Seth was of two minds when it came to things like this. Part of him thought it was mean to pit these women against each other for the sake of ratings. Another part of him liked to be fought over.

"So ladies, I have to ask, who do you all think should be the next to go home?" he asked, looking around at them. Harper looked like a deer caught in headlights. Seth looked her in the eye, gesturing for her to go first.

She took a deep breath, "Whoever you don't see yourself with. I don't feel comfortable saying anyone's name."

He wasn't surprised by her answer but he could appreciate that Harper stayed true to herself. He never got the feeling that she was just pretending to be nice.

"I would say Abigail," Emily spoke, looking right at the blonde Texan. Abigail glared and Emily shrugged, "Oh calm down. I'm not trying to be confrontational. I just don't see any chemistry there."

Abigail rolled her eyes but refrained from responding, shaking her head instead. Seth was certain that there wasn't a moment in this whole ordeal where Emily was not trying to be confrontational.

"It's obviously Elle," Mia scoffed, visibly annoyed.

Seth looked over at the feisty woman, raising an eyebrow.

"Even if you choose to ignore the fact that she broke a rule and is clearly hiding something, she acts like she's above all of this," Mia explained. "I've seen the two of you together. She tries to play so cool and hard to get. I am here for you and I don't try to hide it. Don't you wonder if it makes you look a little silly that you have to chase one of the girls on your own show?"

Seth considered her words and opened his mouth but she wasn't done.

"You don't have to chase me, Seth," she looked him in the eye. "I'm here to chase you. And I'm going to get rid of every other girl that's in my way, because you're worth that."

Seth wasn't sure what to say when she was done. Mia was staking her claim on him and she didn't care who knew. She'd been consistent from the very beginning, she came to win and anything less would be unacceptable for her. He didn't know what man in their right mind wouldn't be enticed by that kind of fire.

"I agree with Mia."

Everyone in the car turned in confusion when Abigail finally gave her answer. Harper's jaw fell.

"You do?" Mia's voice dripped with amusement.

Abigail fiddled with the hem of her shirt before looking up and nodding, "I do. I don't think Elle is here for the right reasons."

Elle woke with a start when she heard someone's loud cackle float through the wall and assault her ears. The rest of the women were back. Annoyed as she was at being woken up, she was relieved to have company back in the house. She'd fallen asleep out of sheer boredom. She couldn't wait to see Harper and hear all about the challenge.

She sighed to herself at the revelation, "I really need to get a life."

A light rapping at the door drew her attention and she got up, surprised that someone finally bothered to knock. She took her time traipsing over and somehow she was surprised when she found Seth waiting on the other side. Maybe Mia was right, someone needed to remind her that she was on a TV show.

"Hey," she smoothed down her wrinkled Sasha Banks t-shirt with one hand and tucked her hair behind her ear with the other, "Hey. I wasn't expecting to see you until the ceremony."

"I heard you weren't feeling well, I had to come check on you," he said. He held up a steaming black mug, "I thought maybe you could use this."

"Did you make this?" she asked as he carefully handed over the tea.

"Don't look so surprised," he smirked. "I can boil water."

"I apologize for doubting that. Thank you. This is sweet."

She actually didn't like tea. Her father had always called it dirty water and it stuck with her. She couldn't turn it down though. The gesture was adorable,

"You're very welcome," he sat at the edge of the bed while she curled up near the headboard with both hands wrapped around the mug. She turned the cup in her hands and narrowed her eyes when she spotted his logo.

"Really, Rollins?" she laughed.

He shrugged, "What do you want from me, woman? I tried to do something nice."

"I suppose it's still nice," she took a sip, sliding her feet under the blanket. All of the mugs in their kitchen were WWE branded.

"So what'd you do around here all day?" he asked, toying with the blanket his knuckle grazing her ankle. A shiver went through her and she clutched the mug a little tighter.

"I watched a bunch of episodes of Raw on the network," she answered, trying not to be distracted by having his hand so close. "Is there supposed to be so much sexual tension between you and Stephanie McMahon?"

He laughed, "No, not at all. Steph started as kind of a mentor when I was in the Authority and now she's more of an adversary."

"Well then you should stop playing it like you want to bang her," Elle smirked. "Because that's how it comes across."

She was only half kidding. She truly thought the tension was something they were aiming for. She wouldn't blame Seth if he was attracted to her. Elle was starting to think she was. The woman had great style and she could get the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.

"No it doesn't," he made a face.

"It definitely does," she insisted. "I can give you some acting lessons if you want to work on it."

"Ooh, private lessons from professional actor," he chuckled. "How could I possibly say no to that?"

"These lessons aren't free," she insisted. "I don't do handouts."

"I think I could give you something you'd want in return," he smiled.

Elle felt her breath catch in her throat and she quickly changed the subject, "So how was the challenge today? Who won? Tell me Harper won."

"It was good and her group did win," he informed her. "She was really worried about you. She made sure to tell me that you wanted to come today but the doctors wouldn't let you."

Leave it to Harper to tell an unnecessary lie. She was going to have a talk with her new friend about helping without being asked.

"So what did they say is wrong?" he asked, sizing her up.

"Dehydration," she answered, taking a sip of her tea. Daisy forced her to see the medic and that was what he came up with. Of course she was dehydrated. All of the girls were. The producers kept the bar stocked and they had very little to do.

"That makes sense," Seth nodded, his dark eyes meeting hers. "That's usually what they tell us in my line of work when there's nothing really wrong."

"Excuse me?" she stared over the top of her tea.

"Oh come on, Elle," he chuckled, "We both know exactly why you didn't come today."

"Because I wasn't feeling well," Elle lied through her teeth. "Harper told you herself."

"And I'm sure Harper believed you," Seth shrugged. "But I don't."

"And why exactly would I fake sick and stay home?" she challenged, crossing her arms. She got up from the bed, creating more space between them. "Do you have any idea how boring this house is when you're alone?"

He answered with a cocky smile, "You like me. I keep telling you this."

She opened her mouth but words failed her for a moment. Alarm bells went off inside her and she felt like there was a neon sign above her head telling him he'd hit the nail on the head. She considered just walking out of the room but she knew that wouldn't do any good. She'd been trying her hardest to hide her attraction to Seth but he made it too hard. And he was so damn perceptive. She wanted to believe that her staying home was out of pure benevolence to her friends but that wasn't the only reason.

"Of course I like you, you're a likeable person," she shrugged.

"You know exactly what I mean," he stood up, stepping toward her. "You came here with your little boyfriend and you thought this was gonna be some cake walk, in and out, no problem. You didn't think you'd actually like me and you do and now you're running scared."

She scoffed and then choked out a scornful laugh again because she didn't know what else to do. He took another step closer to her and she felt the bedside table lamp brush against the back of her shirt.

"I am not scared," she finally managed words.

"I like you all flustered like this," he smirked. "It's cute."

"It really isn't," she shook her head.

"If it makes you feel any better…" he leaned close, whispering in her ear. "I like you too.."

She took her bottom lip between her teeth, anxiously tapping her fingers against her arm. His scent was intoxicating and she could feel his breath and the heat radiating from his skin.

"And I think you want to stay here," he said. "You just don't want to admit it."

Amy popped her head into the room and Elle expected Seth to move away but he didn't move an inch, smiling devilishly at Elle. Something about his smile made one tug at the corners of her own mouth.

"Hey Seth, we need you downstairs," Amy looked back and forth between the two of them.

"I'll be down in just a minute," Seth glanced over at the producer. "Just making sure that Elle is feeling better."

"Okay, just come down ASAP," Amy nodded before making a quick exit.

Seth smiled down at Elle, "I'm gonna level with you because I think we're at a point where we can be honest with each other...I don't care that you didn't do the challenge, I'm still going to give you a necklace at elimination tonight because I don't want you to go anywhere."

Elle could feel her pulse quicken and she licked her lips.

"And if you really aren't scared, then you'll take it," he continued. "But if you take it, I want you here. One hundred percent. No backing out."

He was so close she could feel her eyelids fluttering, her body already responding to his attempt at a kiss. He stopped short, though, opting instead to smile and brush his thumb across her cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

Harper tapped her fingers on the kitchen island, her eyes trained on Abigail as she poured a glass of wine. She was so tense that her shoulders hurt and if she didn't say something soon she might burst.

"Can I talk to you outside for a minute?" she asked the blonde who looked up at her in surprise.

"Sure hon," Abigail smiled sweetly. She went to grab an empty glass, "You want one?"

"Oh Lord no," she shook her head quickly. "I think I've still got wine coursing through my veins from last night."

Harper led the way outside toward the pool area, turning around once they were out of earshot of the other women. She didn't know why she was being so careful. They had a cameraman right on their asses.

"Okay, I just have to ask, what was that about in the limo?" Harper questioned. She didn't have the patience to beat around the bush. "You tossed Elle right under the bus and didn't look back."

Abigail looked down at her feet and sighed deeply. When she looked back up she shrugged, "Seth asked us a question. I gave an honest answer."

"You don't think Elle is here for the right reasons?" Harper asked. "Why would you say that? We're Elle's friends in the house. Do you know how bad it has to look to Seth that one of us turned on her?"

"I know exactly how it looks," Abigail answered. "You know what else looks bad? Sneaking in a cell phone. How about picking someone you hate to go on your date instead of your so called friend?"

"Daisy told her she could only pick one of us," Harper reminded the other woman.

"If we believe anything Elle says, sure," Abigail shrugged. "But I'm not sure I do anymore. She probably wasn't even sick today. And look where Seth went as soon as we got here, right on up to your room to see her. She's just trying to get attention."

"Why would she stay home to make sure she got attention from Seth?" Harper stared. "Listen to yourself, that doesn't even make any damn sense. Elle has been nothing but a friend to us since we got here."

"She hasn't been our friend at all," the blonde argued. "You're just too naive to see it. She's the one who yelled out that Mia and Emily called me fat in front of the whole house."

"Shouldn't you be more mad at the ones who called you fat?"

Abigail continued, ignoring her question, "She immediately befriended you, the nicest girl in the house, so she looks nicer by association. Instead of picking me to go on that date, she picked Mia, knowing it would make her look like the bigger person but she bickers with Mia in the house every chance she gets so she can have all of the TV time."

"She doesn't start the fights, Mia does," Harper declared. Elle had been trying her best to avoid Mia at all costs. Mia was the one who practically followed her around trying to start drama. And befriending Harper was not strategic. She was sure of that. Hell, Elle hadn't even wanted to be her friend at first. Was she the kindest, gentlest person in the world? Absolutely not. But she had a good heart.

"When we leave this house, I guarantee you, you'll never talk to that girl again," Abigail declared. "I don't owe her anything and neither do you."

Elle stood between Harper and Jules, staring down at her nails. Elimination was due to start any minute and she still had no idea what she was going to do. Seth had given her his terms. If she stayed, that meant she could no longer tell herself that she was there to help Daisy or for the paycheck. For the first time, accepting that necklace would mean one thing and one thing only; she was there for him. The entire time she was getting dressed she was going back and forth on what to do and she just couldn't choose a landing point. She was barely even able to decide what dress to wear.

Seth was right. She liked him. She'd been attracted to him from the moment she saw him. She liked flirting with him and she wasn't sure she wanted that to end. But was this really her? Was she the type of person who actually tried to win a guy on a reality show? Could she compete with Mia for real without actually murdering her? There were just too many questions. She wanted to talk to Seth again but Jim informed them right after they got dressed that the cocktail party was cancelled. The next time they spoke, he'd be asking for a decision and she still didn't have one.

"Stop worrying," Jules tapped her arm. "You're fine. We all are."

"Of course we are," she forced a bright smile and squeezed her hand before resuming her internal panic. What if he was just messing with her? He struck her as a pot stirrer. Maybe he just wanted to get her all worked up and spun into a tizzy so that he could send her home, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Ladies," Corey stepped onto the set, smiling at everyone. Corey was a real calm in the shit storm. He always seemed so even keeled. Except for the few times she'd seen him cornered by Madison; then he looked homicidal but he couldn't be blamed for that. No one liked talking to Madison.

Seth walked up beside Corey in an impeccably tailored charcoal gray suit. He scanned the crowd but his eyes stopped just before Elle.

Corey reminded them of the rules: Seth would call them down one at a time to collect a necklace. The two that he did not gift with a necklace would be going home.

Seth picked up the first necklace, twirling the pendant around in his fingers as he looked over the two rows of women before him.

"Mia."

Mia strutted up to Seth like a proud peacock and Elle wanted to hurl.

Harper was next followed by Kai then Jules and Abigail.

One after another, other women were given their necklaces and Elle's neck started getting warm. It was down to her, Alice, Crystal, and Isabelle. He wasn't looking at her and Elle had no idea what was happening anymore. He told her she was getting a necklace, so why wasn't he saying her name?

"Alice," Seth smiled and the Louisiana native happily walked up to accept.

He changed his mind. He must have. He decided that he didn't want to deal with whatever was happening between them. He had every right to do that. It was his show after all.

"There's only one necklace left. If your name isn't called next, I'm afraid you'll have to leave the house tonight," Corey spoke as if they couldn't count for themselves.

Seth picked up the final necklace and looked down at it, taking a deep breath, "Elle."

The two people in front of her parted to give her room and Elle moved forward.

He smiled when she reached him, "You looked a little nervous up there."

"Well, you took your sweet time calling me," she shrugged.

"Decision time," he held up the necklace. "Are you in or out?"

Elle's gaze traveled from the necklace to Seth's dark eyes and realized. This was it. She was out of time.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, blurting out an answer, "In."

She opened her eyes and found Seth looking at her with a surprised smirk, "You're sure?"

Elle nodded. She couldn't deny that there was something there with Seth and if she went home now, she would always wonder 'what if'. She was making a decision that she could very well come to regret but in the moment, she was positive. What did she have to lose?

"I'm sure if you are," she smiled.

His smile spread across his face and lifted the necklace to drape it over her head.

The feel of the cool gold against her skin made her jump and Seth chuckled, taking a small step back, "Looks good on you."

"Crystal, Isabelle, I'm afraid this means you'll be leaving us tonight," Corey spoke. Elle took the cue to move away while the eliminated girls got a quick hug and goodbye from Seth.

"I told you!" Jules rushed up behind Elle, wrapping her arms tightly around her. Harper was next, squeezing them both in a vice like group hug. Abigail was noticeably absent from their celebrating but Elle would have to look into that later. She'd gone through a bit of an emotional rollercoaster over the last few hours and she needed a glass of champagne.

The producers handed out the glasses as Crystal and Isabelle said their goodbyes and hugged a few of the girls. Everyone was speaking excitedly and Elle didn't have time to talk. She downed her glass of Veuve like a shot. When she finished, her eyes drifted toward Seth and she found him looking right at her. They locked eyes and Elle had a feeling they were both thinking the same thing.

Shit just got real.