Welcome back to Zane's Bachelorette Challenge where there was more fighting in the first day than I ever had in my unpublished Asylum challenge, where my Sims there were belligerently cheerful and happy.

Zane was feeling tired after all of the stressful events that had taken place in his waking life, so he fell asleep and found that he was dreaming about being in a Bachelorette Challenge. The contestants seemed to be random people that he's run into in his life as well as the love of his waking life, Tina Traveller.

So far, he's eliminated Lilith Pleasant, frankly because he literally only spoke two words to her, so she had the lowest relationship with him...even though she was fighting with Cassandra Goth on Zane's behalf.

As a side note, I am embarrassed to admit that on the Day 1 cover page, “Bachelorette” was spelled wrong. But we're going to pretend that I didn't mention that and I'm also going to pretend that the “e” in this one isn't too close to the “c” of “Challenge” because on the template it was misspelled.

MOVING ON TO THE SHOW. Day 2: Getting to know you better.

***

After Lilith left, the rest of the girls decided to do a celebratory dance, glad that they weren't the ones who got eliminated first.

Well, of course, Cassandra was just plain dancing over the fact that Lilith was gone; but that was neither here nor there.

Taking a bit of a breather and waiting for the hot tub dates to being, Meadow and Sandy rested upon the couch.

“So Meadow,” Sandy began, “how did you manage to get Zane to like you so much?”

Meadow smiled. “I am magical in all things that I do, Sandy. Zane and I have the same outlook on life and I'm not nearly as mean as Cassandra. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he's going to choose me over everyone else. He has to.”

“What do you mean, 'he has to?'”

Meadow shrugged. “He just does. He needs me in his life. He just needs to realize it.”

“He needs me too, you know.”

“Maybe, maybe not. He's managed to avoid you so far.”

“He's not avoiding me! He's just...”

“Uncomfortable with you.”

“Yeah...” Sandy trailed off sadly.

Before long, it was time for the mad dash to where the hot tubs, and more importantly, Zane, were located. Unfortunately, not everyone could sit in the same hot tub as him, so three of the girls were left out, forced to share the other one.

Sandy had a perplexed look on her face as she looked over at one of her companions. “I thought you were magical in everything that you do, Meadow. If that's so, then why didn't you manage to make it over to Zane's tub, hm?”

Meadow smiled at Sandy's snarkiness and she shrugged amiably. “I'm not too worried. I have a feeling that I'm going to be here for a while, so this is only a minor set back. Why didn't you make it on time?”

Sandy looked glum. “I could have sworn that I brought a sexy thong for this, but I couldn't find it.”

“We all have the same bathing suits, Sandy.”

“No, Tina doesn't, and neither does Carter.”

Meadow shrugged again. “Carter is wearing a camouflage bikini, which I guess suits her in Zane's mind. As for Tina...”

“Speaking of you, Tina,” Sandy interrupted, “why didn't you make it to his tub in time? I mean, you seem to be so confident that you're going to win this thing, but you aren't putting forth that much effort.”

Tina, looking splendid in her flattering bathing suit, placed a finger to her lips dramatically while she pretended to think about an answer. Finally, she smirked at the other blonde woman.

“Unlike you guys, I have no need to worry. I'm never far from Zane's thoughts. So there.” She primly stuck her tongue out at the other two women.

The conversation in the main tub was rather awkward as Zane was uncomfortably aware of the practically naked women sitting in it with him. Alternating between stammering and blushing, he finally put on an excited face and started babbling.

“So, this is a lot of fun. It is awfully neat to be able to sit and relax and get to know everyone better. And then after dinner, we get to talk to each other one on one and then tomorrow, well tomorrow is, well...”

“Tomorrow is the day where you get to start testing out your Don Juan moves upon us,” Lucy said with a slight smile. “I wouldn't worry too much about it, Zane; I'm sure you'll do fine.”

“You're going to flirt with us? To what end? Oh, it just figures that you get to be the one who will string us all along. You and your family, thinking that you can get whatever you want. Well, I want no part of it!” Cassandra angrily snarled through her clenched teeth.

“Okay, we can change to a different topic,” he responded in a hurried manner. “So, um, Carter, what is it like traveling to different worlds? Are they very different from this one?”

“Zane, I already told you that the 'traveling to different worlds' is fictional! My team and I study deep space telemetry and nothing more!”

Zane raised an eyebrow and tried not to smile. “So in other words, if you tell me, you are going to have to kill me?”

There was an awkward silence as everyone in the tub realized just exactly who they were talking to.

He splashed some water into Carter's face. “Oh come on! I am trying to make a joke! I realize I am not very good at it, but the least you can do is laugh a little!

Carter and Lucy did let out a laugh then and Carter splashed some water back at him. “Well, I suppose it isn't in poor taste when it's you making the joke,” she said. Zane smiled happily as he began to relax.

After sitting quietly for a few moments, Zane finally turned to Cassandra.

“Am I really that bad? You do not even know me, yet you hate me so. Why?”

She shrugged. “I don't necessarily hate you. I just don't do well with rejection. I know, for a fact, that I'm not going to win this. You're going to keep me close, but in the end, you'll reject me. You always will. It's better for me to be mean to you so I don't get hurt.”

“You cannot say that with such certainty, Cassandra. You cannot possibly predict the future.”

“True, but I know you. Better than you think I do.”

He sighed and got out of the hot tub. “I hope that you are wrong,” he quietly responded.

“What? Are you going to choose me out of spite? I know that you most definitely won't do that.”

Zane shook his head and walked out of the room.

***

At dinner, Zane was inwardly pleased by the fact that Tina sat next to him again. The two of them chatted about nothing while the other women sat in silence, observing the two.

Afterwards, as everyone was clearing off the their dinner plates, Carter approached Zane and held his hands.

“Zane, you need to know that you can't go down this path, okay? Remember who you are and know that you're better than this.”

Confusion was obvious on his face. “What do you mean, 'I'm better than this'? I am not doing anything embarrassing,” he paused, uncertain. “Am I? I mean, if this is a dream, it has not gone down any uncomfortable paths. I--”

Carter shook her head. “That's not what I'm talking about.”

“Then what--?”

“I'll tell you when you are ready to hear. Until then,” she let go of his hands, “just remember, okay?”

“Um, okay. If you insist.”

“I do,” was her response before she walked away.

He walked into the room where all future private encounters were to happen. The 'Frog Who is a Prince Underneath' wallpaper didn't go unnoticed while he waited for the girls to figure out who was to go first.

Five out of the six women had gathered in the living room, trying to decide who was going to go first. Before they had come to a decision, Lucy noticed that Tina was missing.

“Hey, guys? Where did Tina go?”

The others looked around before Carter sighed. “Well, it looks like she made the decision for us,” she grumbled.

“So Zane, I decided that you should see me first, being that I'm your best gal and all that. So, what do you want to talk about?”

Zane's breath caught, happy. He was finally able to ask her something he absolutely needed to know, but had been too terrified to ask.

He hesitantly reached out to touch her hand. “Are you happy? Are you going to stay? Do I even have a chance? Just say something to me about it. You know I will do anything for you! But I need to know what you are thinking! Your silence is slowly killing me!”

She jerked her hand away and looked at his pasted on hopeful smile. “How can it be killing you when you are already dead, hm? Besides, what do you think my answer is?”

He was stunned by the casual insult, but he ignored that in favor of her question. Throwing his hands up, frustrated, he said, “I have no idea what your answer is Tina! That is why I am asking you!”

“Well Zane, because you don't know, that means I don't know. Get it?”

“No! I do not!”

“Well, I can't answer you, because you don't know. You can't read my mind, so you can't even answer the question in your dream.”

“This...this SUCKS!” Zane finally screamed.

Tina shrugged. “Yeah, well get used to it. This is your subconscious, not mine.” She strode past him and out the door.

He was weary after his conversation with Tina, and he really felt no desire to continue on with the other one-on-ones, but he didn't seem to be waking up from his dream, so continue he did.

The next person to enter was Sandy. He gave her a halfhearted wave. “Hi Sandy.”

“Hi Zane,” was all she said in return.

He came to the realization that she wasn't going to say more, so he put on his best, cheery smile. “So, tell me Sandy--”

“Don't even bother,” she interrupted, crossing her arms.

“What? What do you mean--”

“Zane, really, don't bother. I know you've already rejected me. You've put me to the side, and you've tried to forget about me, but here is the weird part: you want me, and you want me bad. It's such a shame that you can't be normal.”

“But, I did not put you to the side! I gave you the same amount of attention that I did everyone else!”

“No. You didn't. I'm okay with that. You're the one who is going to be miserable without me.” Sandy shrugged and walked out of the room.

The door had barely swung shut when Carter came striding in. “Hi--” Zane began, but he was interrupted.

“No. You aren't ready to hear what I have to say yet,” was all she said. She turned on her heel and marched out the door.

Zane sighed. “Aren't Bachelorette Challenges supposed to be where the girls are fighting for the chance to talk to me?” He asked loudly to himself.

“Well, yes, they are. Normal ones, at least,” Meadow said when she walked into the room. Zane spun around to look at her.

Meadow laughed as he contemplated her. “Well Zane, what do you want to talk about?”

“You are actually going to let me talk to you?” He asked, surprised. Meadow laughed again.

“Of course I am, silly. Isn't that the point?”

“So,” she continued on in a vivacious, bubbly tone, “what fun things have you done lately? Have you played with any cool toys? Teddy Bears are the best. They are so soft, aren't they? Oh! Christmas time is awesome, too! There's lots of presents, and candy canes, and Christmas songs to sing. Eggnog tastes good. Have you ever had that? Mmm!”

“I--”

“Birthday parties are fun, too! Presents and birthday cake and the Happy Birthday song. Have you ever gone to a birthday party?”

“Actually, yes--”

“Oh! And then there is just the plain fun of swimming in a swimming pool on a hot summer day. Have you ever done that?”

“No--”

“So, what fun things have you done then?”

Zane considered her question for a moment before he found an answer. “I swung on some swings recently.”

“Did you throw your head back so it felt like you were flying?”

He smiled. “Yes, I did.”

“Was it awesome?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Yay! Having fun is so much...well, fun! Well, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow morning!” Meadow gave him a perky wave and bopped out of the room.

Lucy was the next one. She strode purposefully in, stood in front of him, and glanced around the room.

“Zane, don't you find it odd that you chose your cousin's house for this?”

Surprised, he glanced around himself. “I did not really think about it,” he said with a shrug. “It is a rather nice place and I have always had fun whenever I came here.”

Lucy nodded. “You place an awful lot of stock in happiness, don't you?”

Zane blinked. “Well, yes, I suppose I do. Don't all people, though?”

“They do, but you take the cake on it. Look at everything that has happened to you, yet you try to remain happy and positive and nice. Unfailingly nice above all else. A lesser person would have been warped and twisted by all those events, but not you. It's strange...”

“What is?”

“Nothing. I shouldn't have said anything.”

“Why do you guys keep doing that?” Zane asked, exasperated.

“Doing what?”

“It is like you guys are pushing me away on purpose by giving me cryptic answers. In fact, the only person who has been straight forward with me is Meadow!”

“That's because that's who Meadow is. She doesn't know how to act any other way. Besides, remember that this is your dream. So, in essence, you are the one who is pushing us away.”

Zane smiled to himself. “You are right. This is my dream and I can control it, even if it is just a minimal amount. So, if I ask questions, you, in essence, have to answer. Right?”

She shrugged. “I suppose you're right. But it's not like we can answer questions about the meaning of life and stuff. It's your subconscious, so any answers given are really just answers you already know, whether you realize it or not.”

“Fair enough. So, when you mentioned something being strange, what did you mean?”

Lucy hid a smile behind her hand. “Very good. And you know what? I will tell you the answer to that. It's strange that you place so much stock in happiness, yet you are far from happy yourself. You have been so kind, sweet, nice, and you've even sacrificed your own safety and you haven't received anything in return. You've asked for very little, in fact, and you haven't gotten that: Happiness.”

“So..so you are saying that I am depressed? I am not--”

“Oh, very much so. But, you will never let anyone else know it, because you are nice, and nice people don't burden others with their own personal problems.”

“I--”

“I really hope you keep me around, Zane. You need a lot of me in your life.”

“Lucy, you're married to Alexander in real life. Whatever are you talking about?”

Lucy shrugged. “Zane, you don't get it. But you will. I apologize for being 'cryptic', but that's the way it has to be. For now.” She gave him a small smile and left.

Zane sat upon the couch with a sigh. He honestly didn't think that he was depressed, so it was a shocking revelation to him. A little sad? Maybe. But depressed...?

As he was turning it over in his mind, Cassandra entered and stood in front of him, giving him a blank look. She sighed heavily and turned to walk away when he didn't immediately greet her.

Her walking away snapped him out of his reverie and he quickly walked over to her.

“Cassandra, I am sorry--”

“And so it begins: the distance, the lies--”

“I am not lying about anything! I make it a point not to lie!”

“Mmm,” was her response. Zane sighed.

“Look, I know you really do not want to talk to me; most of you guys do not, but you in particular. If you would like, I can eliminate you tomorrow so you can leave my 'horrendous' presence.”

Then, she did something that surprised him: she smiled. “Oh, no, don't be too hasty! Did it occur to you that maybe I just want you to work for it? That maybe you have to earn me? I'm not really one to give myself away so easily to someone like you, Zane. I can be worth it in the end, you ought to know.”

Zane blinked. “So, you consider yourself a prize to be won? That just sounds...wrong! I mean, I am sure that you are indeed a perfectly fine pick, but I would never consider anyone to be merely a...a trophy! That is degrading!”

“You are taking it the wrong way and when you put it like that, then yes, it sounds degrading. But that is not how I mean it. Work for me Zane. Prove that you can have me.”

“...What?!”

“Goodnight,” was her simple response to his confusion and she left the room. He watched her leave and shook his head. He was tired and he wanted to think about everything the girls had said to him, so he went to bed.

***

Conversation the next morning was rather lighthearted as everyone chatted cheerfully about the upcoming “dates.”

“So who is going to go first? Is it going to be Tina again?”

“Well, I think that seeing as she went first last night, that today we should go from the top of the alphabetical list. That means that Cassandra goes first. Is that okay with you Cass?”

Cassandra shrugged. “First, last, it doesn't matter.”

“Well, then you go first. Not Tina,” Lucy firmly replied.

“Just so you know, I'm on to you. I'm not going to let you do this to him. I think you should know that,” Carter casually said to the woman sitting next to her.

“Pfft. Whatever. He's going to reject each and every single one of you. He's already chosen me; he just needs to symbolically get rid of all of you. But trust me on this: I'm the queen bee.”

“I'm going to inform him that--”

“This breakfast was very filling,” Tina interrupted, raising her voice slightly. “I'm stuffed!”

Zane, who was clearing up his own plate, stepped over and picked up Tina's as well. Giving her a shy grin, he said, “Seeing as I am up, I will just grab yours as well.”

Tina spared him a glance. “Thank you, Zane. That's awfully kind of you.” Zane ducked his head with a happy smile and took the plates to be washed.

Tina smiled smugly at Carter. “Well, I think I'm going to go get some coffee before the flirt dates come up. I need to be in top form. I do like winning, but I just want to make sure that I blow the rest of you guys out of the water.”

Carter shook her head and fumed.

Sandy had watched the entire encounter with fascination. “Man, I'm stuffed too,” she said. “Is there a Prince Charming who will wash up my plate as well?” Zane had walked into the private room though, so he hadn't heard her. “Frammit,” she muttered, disappointed.

Though it had been agreed upon that Cassandra would go first, Zane was still surprised that she came in willingly, even amiably.

“So,” he began.

“So...”

“So I have been thinking about what you had said last night, about proving myself to you.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I did, and something occurred to me that you should know.”

He leaned in and spoke softly. “Yes, I want you to know that I am not Don Lothario and I would never treat you like that.”

Cassandra blushed. “I know you aren't, Zane. But..but thank you for saying so. I really appreciate it.”

He smiled at her. “Good, I am glad.”

Ducking her head shyly, Cassandra let the next person in.

“Wow, way to go! You actually made her smile! What did you say to her?” Lucy asked as she walked in next. Zane shrugged.

“Nothing that she did not already know,” he responded.

“Well, either way, great job.”

Zane blushed. “Thanks.”

They stood looking at each other, Zane a bit awkward, for a moment.

“All right, give it to me. Give me your cheesiest, laughable pick up line ever. I promise to laugh at it.”

Zane's brow creased. “I do not want to be laughed at.”

“I don't mean it like that. Come on, it'll help you relax. Have some fun with it.”

He smiled slightly. “Okay,” he said and he cleared his throat. Leaning into her he said in his deepest voice possible, “Your legs must be tired, because you have been running though my dreams all night!”

“Oh Zane! You have such a way with words!” Lucy fake swooned in response. The two of them laughed and Lucy nodded, satisfied. “You're doing fine. There's hope for you yet.”

Feeling confident, Zane had managed to relax a bit when Meadow came in. “Hello Meadow. I was thinking about what you were saying last night about having fun,” he began.

“Really? You were? That makes me so happy!”

He cleared his throat and smiled. “Yes. I was also thinking that it would be fun to get to know you better.”

Meadow happily grinned. “I really hope you mean that. You and I can have lots of fun together. Lots and lots!”

“I believe that you are truly honest when you say that!”

“I am, Zane, I really am!”

“You really seem to be taking to heart what I said to you last night,” Carter began without preamble, patting him on his shoulder. “The last thing any of us wants to see is you go down the path of self destruction. Well, most of us don't want to see that, at least.”

Zane looked to where she had touched him and then raised his eyebrow. “Is that what you had meant last night?”

“Partly, yes.”

“Are you going to tell me more?”

“In time, I will.”

“You know, um...Samantha, I find myself really wanting to find out about a lot of what you have to say.”

Carter was obviously flattered. “Oh, that's right, you're part Knowledge Sim, aren't you? So you would find a lot of my work interesting, wouldn't you?”

“Yes, I'm very interested in...'deep space telemetry'...”

Carter smiled. “Zane, please, call me Sam.”

“I will then, Sam.” They both smiled at each other.

His confidence was flying high by the time Sandy entered. Giving her an easy smile, he began with, “You know that you are wrong, Sandy. If I ignored you, it was not on purpose and I sincerely apologize. I really would like to get to--”

“Zane, I'm flattered that you want to make the effort, but I know it's too late for me. At least for right now. I really do hope that you invite me back into your life in the future, though. But, as it stands, I'm expecting you to eliminate me today.”

“But--”

“No, I mean it. You aren't comfortable with me; I get that. Hell, you may never be comfortable with me considering everything that's happened.” She shrugged. “Goodbye, Zane.”

“But, Sandy,” he started to say, but she had turned and left the room, ignoring whatever else he had to say.

Last, it was Tina's turn. She stood in front of him with a mysterious smile on her face and said, “It just occurred to me: I'm your first, aren't I?”

“My first?”

Her smile widened slightly. “Yeah. You know, your first kiss, your first love...”

His face brightened. “Yes--”

“And I would have been your first WooHoo if my parents hadn't come home early that night as well.”

Zane blinked his eyes, startled, and blushed furiously. “No. We were only teenagers! Neither of us was ready for that sort of thing!” He protested.

“But you wonder, don't you? I mean, making out heavily leads to other activities. It's the natural progression of things.”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“But here's the messed up thing, Zane. There we were, getting hot and heavy. You had to leave so I wouldn't get in trouble. You went to your house, flying high with love, not to mention revved up...and your mother killed you. That's got to mess with your head!”

He felt the color drain from his face. “Please, stop,” was his pained whisper, as he violently tried to control where the dream was going.

The tone shifted slightly, and he saw Tina swooning a bit before him with a smile. “Zane, you're so sweet. If you keep saying things like that, I just might actually fall in love with you.”

He smiled wanly in return. It was a bit better; not much, but a little.

He followed her out the door, dragging his feet, fiercely wishing for the entire dream to end so he would wake up.

Zane looked wearily around at everyone gathered. He stood there for a few moments, willing himself to wake up. He noticed Tina giving him a special look, but for once it didn't make him feel happy. In fact, for some reason, it downright hurt.

When it became apparent that he wasn't going to wake up, he cleared his throat. “So, I guess it is time...”

Immediately everyone went to their seats. Everyone except for Tina, that is.

“Are you okay? What's wrong Zane?”

He looked blandly at her. “Nothing,” he finally replied, softly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I am fine.”

“You...you aren't going to eliminate me, are you? You wouldn't hurt me like that, right?”

He hung his head and shook it. “No. I am not eliminating you today--”

“Good,” she interrupted, “then you don't mind if I just skip this entire decision process, do you? I mean, I don't particularly care who goes next. It's not as if I really like any of them. So you won't care if I just go upstairs and read a book then? Good, I'll see you later.” Before Zane could answer, she made her way to the stairs without giving the other girls a glance.

“Oh! She did not just do that!” Cassandra huffed.

“I'm afraid she did,” was Lucy's response.

“But, that's not fair! Why does she get to skip this part?” Meadow asked.

“Because she's right. She's not being eliminated. Besides, Zane's getting rid of me today.”

“Sandy, you keep saying that. You don't know for sure,” Carter patiently replied.

“Yeah, I do. I know for a fact.”

“You guys? I am standing right here. I would really appreciate it if you would stop talking as if I were not.”

Nobody said anything and they expectantly waited for him to continue.

He rubbed his neck and sighed deeply. “Sandy is right. She is the one who is going to be eliminated. She has been rather insistent throughout the entire day that either I am going to 'get rid' of her, or that I do not 'want' her. I never got the chance to talk about anything else; that is the reason why--”

“You want me, but you can't have me. So instead, you're going to eliminate me. Just like I predicted you would.” She shook her head in disappointment. “Oh, Zane. I feel sorry for you.”

“But, you practically told me that you wanted to be eliminated!”

She gave a half shrug. “I know I did. That doesn't mean that I thought you would take me seriously, and that's why I feel bad for you.” She walked over to the computer and prepared to leave.

All of the women, except for Tina, gathered around her in silent support. “Don't let her win,” Sandy said, “whatever you do. He's too good for her.”

“We'll try our best,” Lucy replied. Sandy nodded and headed out the door.

She had only made it a few steps when a bolt of lightning, identical to the one that hit Lilith the day before, struck Sandy right where she stood.

She looked down in dismay at the puddle that had suddenly appeared. “It's bad form to kick someone when they're down!” She shouted before she winked out of existence.

Completely unaware of the unnatural lighting, Carter and Lucy looked at each other grimly. “So, which one of us is next to go?” Lucy asked. Carter shrugged.

“I don't know. I certainly hope it's Tina, though. She rides on my last nerve.”

Lucy nodded in agreement.

***

“The readings on this are absolutely fascinating! With just a mere thought, you are able to trigger what appears to be a lightning bolt at a designated target. I believe that this is the most important discovery since--”

“Alright. Listen here, you. If Angela finds out that you've been messing around with this thing, she going to be super pissed. I mean, I get to play with it because I'm married to her. She doesn't even like you. In fact, she downright hates you and she cheered every time you got killed. So, I seriously suggest--”

“This is unbelievable! It appears this box serves other functions as well. It's almost like...almost like this would be a utility device to make life easier for the...gods, as the Sim race might refer to them. Astounding!”

“Daniel,” Jack said impatiently, “it's a box that has the Batman symbol on it. You can't possibly be taking this so seriously.”

Daniel, however, continued to babble on incessantly. He was completely ignored by everyone else in the room.

***

Thanks for reading!

The scores are as follows:

Meadow: 100/27=127 Friends, Both CrushCarter: 91/32=123 Friends, Both CrushTina: 82/23=105 FriendsLucy: 79/14=93 FriendsCassandra: 52/19=71Sandy: 29/10=39

Hearts were surprisingly quick to appear, even though I specifically put in the “Harder Loves” hack. It's very frustrating.

As you can tell, the challenge is taking a turn towards the dramatic, despite the fact that I really just wanted this to be funny. Blah.

I hope you liked it, and Day Three should be out relatively soon. Until then, Happy Simming!