Week 6
#6 of Gainer's Paradise
Will eats ice cream out of the tub in the kitchen. Fred sits next to him, keeping him company. "I just can't believe he's gone." Will says.
"I know." Fred slowly rubs his back. "This is exactly how I felt when Robert left."
"And right when he agreed to be my boyfriend, too."
"He's still alive out there, cheering you on, hoping you'll win this game. Don't give up yet."
"I know. I'm not Jon. I ain't gonna quit the game all because my #1 ally is no longer here. But I am concerned about Anthony and Tom."
"What about them?" Fred asks.
"They're becoming the alpha couple of the red team. If we can't win immunity, they're just gonna control vote after vote and next thing you know, we're both gone." Will places a paw on Fred's shoulder. "I really hope that you and me can team up and send one of them home. That way, they don't have as much control anymore."
"So, you want to go to the final 2 with me?"
"Yeah. Now that Stephen's gone, I need someone to come with me."
"Well, I've got your back, man. 100% of the way."
***
Anthony makes out with Tom and just when they start to do naughty stuff, Fred comes into the room and shuts the door. "I need to ask you two something." Fred says, sitting down.
"What is it?" Anthony asks.
"Why did you two clowns vote for me to stay?"
"Because we saw you as an ally." Tom says. "Since you're still technically the Newbie on our team, we wanted you to see that you can trust us."
"How do I know that after Will is gone, you're not just gonna turn on me?" That question got the Bears to remain silent. I knew it, Fred says, they're trying to manipulate me into getting rid of Will, my only chance to split these two up. Fred gets up and walks out of the room.
"What's gonna happen?" Tom asks.
"What's gonna happen is Fred and Will need to go." Anthony says. "If not, we're goners."
"Wouldn't it just be easier for us to win immunity?"
"I wish. But that hasn't happened since week one."
***
Kevin, David, and Nathan play video games in the living room. Eric passes by on his way to the kitchen. When he's gone, Kevin pipes up. "Are we still throwin' him a birthday party?"
"Absolutely." David says.
"When is it?"
"The day before elimination." Nathan says. "So it's on Friday."
"I really hope Eric will like it. And who knows? Maybe the producers will help me set it up."
"Maybe..." Nathan looks at his Wii remote. The red light's on. "I gotta get new batteries. I'll be right back." He gets up and walks into the kitchen where Eric sits around eating chips.
"What're doing?" Eric asks.
"Looking for batteries." Nathan searches through the kitchen drawers to find some. As he looks, Eric remembers something.
"I think I remember seeing some in this drawer." He says. He pulls open the one next to him and pulls out an unopened pack of AA batteries. "Here! Found some." Eric hands them to Nathan.
"Thanks." Nathan says. As he takes it, he notices a piece of paper stuck to the back of it. He rips it off and shows it to Eric.
"Oh no. Not another task. What is it?" Eric asks.
"Task #9: find a bottle of unopened whipped cream somewhere in the house. If found within the day, the house is get an entire Oreo cheesecake every day for the rest of the competition."
"Wow." Eric's tail slowly swishes back and forth. "What happens if we fail?"
"The fridge gets locked for 12 hours and no soda for anyone tomorrow."
"Woah! Stop there! These tasks are getting crazy. How are we supposed to find a small can in this entire house? Knowing Toner, it could be on the roof."
"Well the last thing we want is to panic. Besides, we can always refuse the task, remember? That way there's zero chance of any bad consequences."
"Hold on," Eric says, "you want to refuse this one?"
"Yes." Nathan says. "That way we aren't wasting our time for something that could take all day."
"Ok." Nathan tips up the paper and throws it away. This is the first task that anyone has ever refused on the show.
***
Raymond, Kevin, and David tie up balloons in the kitchen. Nathan and Eric are in the bedroom where Nathan is trying to keep Eric from leaving. Anthony, Tom, Fred, and Will prepare snacks. "I can't believe it's Eric's birthday today." Anthony says.
"I personally think that it's exciting." Tom says. "I don't think this would've happened on the Amazing Race. Glad I didn't sign up for that."
"Nope. Instead you signed up for a show that's making you fatter." Anthony says, rubbing Tom's stomach a bit.
"Hey guys, I don't think Eric would want to see two bears having sex on his birthday." Kevin says.
"Sorry." Tom says.
"Hey," Fred says to Will, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Will says. He doesn't say much else.
"Is this about Stephen? You'll be fine, I promise." Fred slowly rubs Will's back. "Besides, I'm still here for you, aren't I?" Will smiles.
"You're right." Meanwhile, in the blue team's room, Nathan and Eric lie down on a bed, snuggling up to each other like they've always done.
"So, how come you don't want me to go into the kitchen?" Eric asks.
"Because I thought that maybe you and I can spend some time alone. As friends." Nathan says. It's a better excuse than the one he had earlier: trying to watch his weight. It would've raised eyebrows since it was obvious that everyone in the house wanted to gain weight.
"Ok." Eric says. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"What do you miss most back home?"
"Hmmm... definitely my friends and family. I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say that since it's probably true. As for anything else... I'm not sure. You?"
"Well, apart from my friends and my folks, I kinda miss this girl back home that I like. Her name's Ember."
"Ember?"
"That's just a nickname. Her real name is Amber but her cute orange eyes and soft red fur gave her that name instead."
"Because it reminded people of flames?" Nathan asks.
"Yes. She always did like campfires. That just made it much more ironic."
"And you do you think she's gonna react when she sees you cuddling with a fatter man?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine with it. We're just doing this as friends and besides, six weeks in a house with nothing much to do and... it's gonna happen. Look at Anthony and Tom. They've only known each other two weeks and they had sex together."
"Yep. Sounds like a real alpha couple on the red team. But hey, as long as we keep winning immunity, maybe they'll be split up soon. The five of us even could make it to the final 5."
"That would be interesting." Eric says, his tail slowly swishing back and forth. And it's true, he thinks, if any of us want any chance at the money, we need to split up Anthony and Tom.
A knock on the door interrupts Eric's thoughts. "Come in!" Nathan says. David comes inside, the signal that the party's ready.
"Hi, Eric." David says.
"Hey. What're you doing?" Eric asks.
"I came to give you this." David hold out a blindfold.
"And what's this for?"
"It's a surprise." Without questioning, Eric gets up and David wraps the blindfold around his eyes. With the help of Nathan, David guides Eric out of the room and down the hall.
"Where are we going?" Eric asks. He tries to picture the house in his mind and see if he can predict where they're going. But they're being so slow with him, he can make heads or tails with it.
"Calm down, we know what we're doing." David says. The two slowly maneuver Eric around the couches in the living room and into the kitchen where the rest of the house awaits.
"Here." Nathan says. He takes off Eric's blindfold and within a second, the rest of the housemates yell "SURPRISE!"
"Oh my goodness." Eric says, clearly taken by the surprise. "You guys remembered?"
"How could we forgot something about someone who's been there for us?" Raymond asks.
"Awwww, thanks guys." Eric says, starting to hug everyone.
***
Eric, Nathan, Anthony, and Tom eat cake on the couch. Raymond sits playing video games on the Wii. "I can't thank you guys enough for throwing me that party." Eric says.
"Hey! What're friends for?" Anthony says. "We may be on different teams but that doesn't necessarily mean that all nine of us can't be friends, right?"
"He makes a good point." Tom says.
"Yeah." Eric says. "I don't see a problem with everyone getting along. In fact, that's what I signed up for this show for: to make new friends." What he didn't know is that Kevin was listening in the whole time. He quietly walks back into the kitchen. David and Raymond also eat some of the birthday cake.
"So, it looks like the four of them are buddying up, big time." Kevin says. "I think that we may have a four-way alliance on our hands when we get to the merge and that's not good."
"Yep." David says. "And next thing you know, all three of us are walking out the door on the way to loserville."
"Look, we're not gonna have that happen." Raymond says. "Besides, Nathan and Eric aren't a couple we should worry about Anthony and Tom for the time being."
"They may not be a kissing couple, but they're still a dynamic duo." Kevin says. "Someone who could threaten the future of this alliance. Plus there's still the matter of Fred and Will. They seem to be pairing up now that they've lost their partners."
"Fred and Will are the last of our worries." Ray says. "They're just starting friends, those two pairs." He points to the living room. "Need taken care of immediately."
"Whatever happens, we stick together." David says. He touches his nose and Kevin and Ray do too; it's a symbol they agreed upon for their alliance.
***
The red team decided to hand out outside today while the blue team stayed indoors. Will and Fred stop down to their swimming gear and they get in the pool. Anthony and Tom just stay in their boxer and stick their legs in the water. "We need to have a serious team discussion." Fred says. "Y'all realize that this team hasn't won safety since week one."
"Yep." Anthony says. "I've been noticing that too. That explains why we have to keep eating cupcakes to vote out our people."
"Think about it. What pattern could Toner be using to determine who wins and who doesn't?"
"At the beginning he said that every move we make goes into who wins or not." Tom says.
"True." Fred says. "But I can't but think something: why does Toner make us weigh ourselves before elimination?"
"I'm not sure." Will says. "Then again, we're all gainers and we came here to keep gaining weight."
"Exactly. I have a theory about how this game is REALLY scored. It's based on our weight somehow. I don't know, maybe the person who gained the most weight every week wins for their team?"
"Maybe." Anthony says. "Maybe not. Maybe we'll never know. This is Toner we're talking about so I suppose we'll never know."
"I guess not." Tom says. He lies down in the grass, taking his feet out of the pool. "But what is you're right? And this game of winning is all based on who gains more weight, why would Toner not tell us?"
"Probably to avoid pandemonium for the fridge." Fred says. "Which makes sense. Which is also why he keeps threatening to lock the fridge doors if we fail a task: to make sure we have a tough time gaining weight."
"Ok, this is seriously big information." Will says. "Should we tell someone?"
"No!" Fred says. "If we have that knowledge, we have an advantage over the blue team and we might be able to strike back."
"Ok. So, we keep a promise to not tell anyone about this?" Anthony asks.
"Yes. Do we all agree?"
"Absolutely." Will says. Anthony just nods.
"That other team won't know what hit them." Tom says. Meanwhile inside, Kevin leaves the blue team's room and walks down the hall. He doesn't see anyone in the red team's room which arouses his suspicion. He does into the living room and sits down on the couch with David.
"Where's the red team?" Kevin asks.
"Outside." David says. "The four of them are hanging out a lot more lately."
"Probably because they're all they have. One more loss and they're completely crushed. They're probably the worst team in reality history."
"And to think, they had us by the neck the first week, but after Jon quit, it was clear the red team wasn't going to survive much longer. I just hope we win again and this time, Anthony and Tom get pinned against each other on the block."
"That would save us the trouble of having to take care of them later on." Kevin says. Raymond comes in later, bag of chips in paw, and sits down next to Kevin.
"What're you guys talking about?" Ray asks, starting to eat and enjoying the salty taste in his muzzle.
"The red team." David says. "And now that I think about it, when are we going to merge teams? Next week there's only gonna be right of us. The teams have to be done by then, right?"
"I don't know." Ray says. "Although I think this show's halfway done. So I guess it would make sense to merge now."
"Exactly. And once that happens, we're outnumbered five to three." Kevin says.
"No." David says. "They should be afraid of us, not the other way around. And Raymond's right, the second we merge, we're gonna control this game."
***
Everyone is gathered in the living room, waiting for Toner to appear. Anthony squeezes Tom's paw and whispers in his ear, "good luck honey."
"Thanks." Tom whispers back before giving him a light kiss on the mouth. Will and Fred sneakingly look over at them, then each other. Their eyes saying the same thing: if one of them is up, vote them out.
Toner appears on the TV screen. "Hello players." They say hi back. "Well, you nine is about you eight. But first, I have a few things on my mind I need to get off. Eric, first off, happy birthday. I know I'm late but I might as well say it now."
"Thank you, Toner." Eric says.
"How was the party your housemates gave you?"
"Awesome. How did everyone know that I like chocolate cake?"
"I think the question is: Who doesn't?"
"Good point."
"Anthony and Tom. For once, you didn't have sex this week." Toner says. Tom blushes and Anthony just puts an arm around him.
"Well, I guess I wasn't feeling it this week." Anthony says. "But I still love him to death." To prove it, he kisses Tom's cheek.
"Great." Toner says. "Well, as much as it might get boring, it's time for the weigh-in. Will, you're up first." Will gets off the couch and walks into the hallway. He steps on the scale and sees his new weight: 365 pounds. That's 3 more than last week. He steps off and Tom goes in.
"Please be bigger." Tom whispers. He gets on the scale and it reads 423 pounds. An increase of 6 pounds.
+8 pounds: Nathan
+3 pounds: Anthony, Fred
+2 pounds: Eric
+1 pound: Kevin
-1 pound: David
-2 pounds: Raymond
"Alright." Toner says. "After the weigh-in, I can confirm that for once in this game, the winner is... the red team." Will whoops, Fred sighs, and Anthony and Tom kiss each other. For once, none of them are at risk of going home. The blue team, however, start to get nervous. They didn't have to do this in weeks.
"Awwww man." Kevin mutters.
"Ok. Blue team. It's time to send one of you home." Toner enjoys the looks of worry on their faces. "Those marked for elimination are... Raymond and David."
"What?!" David panics. Ray's been on the block before, but David hasn't.
"Yep. You two are nominated and Eric, Nathan, and Kevin are gonna vote one of you two out. Eating a 1 cupcake will send home David. Eating a 2 means a vote for Raymond. Eric, you're up first." Eric gets up and walks into the kitchen where the cupcakes are. He voted out Raymond before, maybe he shouldn't do anything different this time. He picks one the 2 and eats it.
***
Kevin's choice is obvious. "Sorry Ray, but David's my best friend." He eats the 2 cupcake.
***
Nathan, on the other hand, has no idea who to vote for. "Oh man. I wish Eric would help. We didn't exactly discuss the voting situation." He decided to say screw it and ate the 2.
***
"Well, that was the fastest voting process this game has ever had." Toner says. "The votes are unanimous. Again. With all 3 votes, the lucky loser is..." Kevin looks at David with a reassuring face. If it's unanimous, the Levin knows who's leaving. "... Raymond."
"Wha?" Raymond says, dumbfounded. "Why would you all vote for me?"
"I'm really sorry, bud." Kevin says, giving him a quick bro hug. The two of them, joined by David, walk to the front door. They quickly each other goodbye.
"Good luck guys." Ray says.
"You too, dude." David says. Raymond opens the door, steps on the porch and Kevin closes the door. Kevin and David go back into the living room.
"Hold on! I ain't done yet." Toner says.
"What do you want now?" Kevin demands.
"I decided I wasn't done messing with the teams yet, so, I'm gonna take the strongest person from each team and make them do an important task."
"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Fred asks.
"First off, Tom. You're the highest scoring person for your team this week." Tom sits up and gets worried. "And as for the blue team, Nathan scored highest."
"What're you gonna make us do?" Nathan asks. "And does it involve the fridge locking?"
"Nope. It involves moving your stuff because Nathan and Tom are switching teams." The whole house gasps at that. "Goodnight." The TV screen goes static.
***
Raymond walks down the porch steps and goes up to Toner. "Nice to meet you again." Ray says.
"Same to you." Toner says. They shake paws and they take a seat. "So, I bet you never saw any of that coming, did you?"
"Nope. I certainly did not."
"You, Kevin, and David made an alliance last week to get to the final 3. Obviously, that's not going to happen anymore. What do you think is going to happen now that you're gone?"
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Raymond says. "Kevin managed to stay off the mark this long and David might've just gotten his first taste but I'm sure they'll survive in the weeks ahead."
"How do you think the red team is doing?" Toner asks.
"Oh they're doing terrible. The only reason any of them are still there is because of pure luck. Nothing else."
"So, what if they win again?"
"Just plain coincidence. Then again, Anthony is the fattest one in there and he's also a leadership type."
"I wouldn't say that. Nathan and Tom just switched team and so... you never know what might happen." Toner says.
"The crazy thing you put in this game, Toner."
"I know. But hey, you're not going home empty handed." He reaches into his pocket and gives him a $100 gift card to Pizza Hut.
"Thank you." Ray says.
"Good luck on the outside." Toner says, shaking paws with him again. Raymond gets up, gets one last look at the house and walks away. "Well, that's 6 gone and 8 remain. After the switcheroo, will the team survive next week? Keep watching and find out next week on... Gainer's Paradise."