"Hey sweetie."Mandy said as she approached Liv who was once again isolating herself by sitting away from everyone, "Ive been meaning to talk to you."
"Sure. Whats up?"
Mandy sat next to her, "How are you dealing with all of this right now? Being back here with Dean and having to work with Renee and all that, how are you handling it?"
"Well.....I just got to keep my chin up and try to get through this."
"Has Renee spoken to you at all?"
"No. Like, for the challenge that we did, we didn't even discuss strategy or anything like that. Basically, we haven't spoken a word to each other since we got here."
"Yea I understand what you're going through. Im kind of in the same situation. Look, I know you're probably feeling alone but I just want to let you know that you're not. Im always here if you need to talk. I just want you to know that....im looking out for you. In this house and in challenges. You got somebody on your side."
"Wow. Thanks."Liv forced a smile.
VC-Mandy-In this Challenge house, having numbers is a huge advantage. The more alliances you have, the better it is for you. I gotta start rallying my squad.
Mandy was then seen talking to Alexa.
"I wanna know, who do you think has your back in this house?"Mandy asked her.
"Why do you need to know that?"
"Do you want to wait until its too late to start making the right moves? You're one of the girls that always gets thrown into eliminations. Also, you have Mickie as a partner. She's a rookie. She has no allies yet. What I'm trying to pitch to you is....lets form an alliance."
Alexa listened on and nodded.
"So far, Liv is already on board. You, Liv and I ,along with our partners can be a pretty dominant alliance."
"Why would you want to help me?"
"Because I actually like you. And theres not a lot of people I like. Plus, we're all drop dead gorgeous. I only associate myself with beautiful people." she fluffed her hair.
"Alright. Im in."
VC-Alexa-Ive been in alliances before and....that didn't really work out too well. Mandy is right though. I don't have a lot of people looking out for me in this game and I don't think Mickie does either. Now, I actually have some security here.
"Trish, can I speak to you for a minute?"Mandy called her over to where she and Alexa was.
Trish approached them with a bowl of salad in hand.
"Hey beautiful. So, I want to offer you a spot in our alliance."Mandy said, "So far it consists of Liv and Renee, Alexa and Mickie and myself and Naomi. If we all work together, we can be unstoppable. Because face it, we're all wildcards. We're probably going to be picked off by the other teams any chance we get. This season, the beautiful women are going to take over. What do you say? Are you in?"
VC-Trish-..........Huh?
"Wow. Um. No thanks. Im good."she said.
"Are you serious?" Mandy asked, "You'd be a perfect fit in our team."
"Yea I know but I'm not really a team player. I don't need to be associated with big alliances. I can take care of myself."
Mandy was visibly disappointed, "Alright. Your loss."
Trish walked away.
VC-Trish-Mandy, I don't know you. Why would I want to help you? Why would I want to help anybody from your alliance? You guys are all my enemies. You guys are all my competition. Im not a follower. Im not about to have you calling shots on what I should do. I just don't need it.
"We'll make her eat her words."said Mandy.
Alexa laughed.
---
Nominations
All 18 teams were assembled in the gathering area. They all applauded as Hunter approached.
"Hey guys."he greeted, "Lets get down to business shall we? First things first, I need the team of Enzo and Cass up here with me. As you all know you lost the challenge so you're automatically being sent into the Stomping Grounds."
"Aint a problem. Aint a problem."Enzo said as he and Cass made their way to stand next to Hunter, "We aint Sawft. We can take anybody on."
VC-Chris-Hm, who do I want to send into eliminations against these two stupid idiots? I don't want to take the usual route by picking on the new kids because lets face it, thats predictable. Id probably throw in....John and Roman. They're a team that has many allies in this house and thats not good for teams like mine. The sooner they leave this game, the better for everyone.
"Alright, ladies, since all of you are safe this week why don't we kick the voting off with you? Remember, Johnny and Tommaso are safe so they can't be nominated. Nikki and Brie, which of these guy teams are you nominating to go into the Stomping Grounds? Remember, 1 vote per team."
"I think the obvious choice is to vote for Dolph and Cesaro. Cesaro, im sorry to do that but its really not your fault."said Nikki.
Dolph rolled his eyes, "Get over yourself."
VC-Brie-There really isn't a team I had in mind so I let Nikki take the reins on this one.
"Sasha and Peyton?"
"Well, the safest bet is to vote in Aleister and Velveteen. You guys are new here and well....welcome to The Challenge I guess."said Sasha.
"Thats a pretty weak argument."Velveteen sassed.
"Naomi and Mandy?"
"We're also going to vote for Aleister and Velveteen. Don't want to ruffle any feathers this early in the game."said Naomi.
Velveteen shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"Kaitlyn and AJ?"
"Our vote is also going to be for Velveteen and Aleister. Sorry guys."said Kaitlyn.
"I don't really think you are."Velveteen said.
"Trish and Lita?"
"Velveteen and Aleister." Lita responded.
"You guys know there are other teams right?"Velveteen asked.
"Alexa and Mickie?"
"Our vote is going to be for Kevin and Sami." said Alexa.
"Ouch. Okay."said Sami.
"Liv and Renee?"
"Aleister and Velveteen."said Renee.
"Billi and Bayley?"
"Velveteen and Aleister."said Bayley.
"Lastly, Paige and Charlotte?"
"We'll vote for Dolph and Cesaro."said Charlotte.
"Alright well, so far theres six votes for Aleister and Velveteen. Two votes for Dolph and Cesaro and one vote for Kevin and Sami. If it were up to the ladies, Aleister and Velveteen, you guys would be going into eliminations. But luckily for you.....it is up to the ladies."
Everyone gasped.
"Huh?"said Renee.
"So, Velveteen, Aleister, you guys will be facing the team of Enzo and Cass in the Stomping Grounds."Hunter informed.
"Wait what?"a totally off guard Velveteen said.
"But what about us?"Miz asked.
VC-Sasha-Here comes the surprises.
"I told you all don't get too comfortable just yet." Hunter smirked, "Heres how voting is going to work this season. The guy teams will be nominating the girl teams for eliminations and vice versa. So next week when its time to choose a female team to send into the Stomping Grounds, guys, only you all will be able to participate in nominations."
"This is ridiculous."said Chris.
Everyone sat in silence, stunned by the new announcement.
VC-Roman-This new little twist literally changes everything now.
VC-Mandy-So you're telling me....that I formed an alliance with those girls for nothing?
VC-Dolph-So my fate in this game is not only in the hands of Cesaro....but also in the hands of all the women in the house. And fyi, I'm on the shit list of a lot of chicks here.
"If you've wronged anybody of the opposite sex in the past, its best you start patching things up with them. In the end, it'll only benefit you and your partner."Hunter added.
Immediately, everyone started paying attention to the people of the opposite gender that they've had bad history with. Alexa eyed AJ. Chris eyed Charlotte. Punk eyed Lita. Seth eyed Kaitlyn. Liv eyed Dean.
VC-Seth-Basically, everything you did in your past is now coming back to haunt you.
"So, the match is set, Dream and Black versus Enzo and Cass in the Stomping Grounds. I'll see you all very soon. Take care guys."
VC-CM Punk-When they said we gotta work with our rivals, they sure weren't kidding.
"This season just keeps on getting worse."Chris whined as he exited the gathering area.