"Listen honey, I know I'm hot and all, but I'd appreciate it if you kept to your own personal space bubble. Please and thank you." Vivica pushes Chase back from where he was looking over her shoulder.

He gives her a cheeky smile. "Are you saying that you enjoyed my kisses?"

Vivica gives him a good look up and down, her eyebrows raised. "Oh, is that where you're going with this, pretty boy? Because if you think I enjoyed that, well..." She snakes her arms around his neck. "Quite frankly, I really found your kissing as bad as it was the last time."

Chase feels his cheeks heat up a little bit but doesn't break eye contact.

Maybe every single time he did that he was giving away a piece of himself, and maybe each night he also filled in a little gap that his mother left him with those times she was too drunk to recognize him.

He shakes away the thought of his broken family and looks deep into Vivica's emerald eyes, searching for whatever made him take her to his apartment that night.

Besides the little quirk that gave her a mysterious essence, he can't find anything that led him to want her, to need her.

"I don't know why I..." Chase looks at her earnestly. "I don't know why that night even happened. I was lost, blind, and a little drunk too I think."

Vivica smiles, "Boy you were totally gone. That's probably why you said the things you did."

"Oh, and what things did I say?" Chase hopes that it isn't something too bad. But knowing his behavior at those old high school parties where he got drunk, it must've been something nuts.

A light pink dusts Vivica's cheeks. "I think they are better left unsaid and forgotten."

"That bad, huh?"

Vivica hums and takes his hand before twirling herself.

"At least you could dance," she says. "I always loved a good dance partner."

"Is that so?" Chase knows the glint in her eyes, one implying that she wants to have some fun. "Well, then, if you'll allow me."

He places his left hand on the crook of her back and grabs her left hand with his right, pulling her a bit closer to him. While he had no feelings for her whatsoever, Chase believes that he owes her something nice.

If she wants to dance then they can dance. It's the least he can do, he reasons, for what he'd done to her.

Together they move in sync. One step forward. One to the left. One to the back. One to the right. Then they do it all over again.

Vivica lays her head across Chase's chest and he wonders if she's thinking about that night at the pub when they danced to Bless the Broken Road.

Chase spins her, her body moving gracefully back toward him. He knows that Vivica is a woman of many talents, and he isn't surprised when she takes the lead.

She spirals out, never letting go of his hand, before twirling back inwards. Chase catches on quickly and holds her close then dips her. A light pink dusts Vivica's cheeks and Chase feels a bit warm.

Looks like he's still a bit out of shape.

"Thanks Chase. That was nice." The said guy pulls her up from the dip and lets her go with a bashful smile.

"Do you think if someone walked in, they'd find us to be crazy?" Chase wonders aloud.

"Oh, I'm sure Otto would say, 'See ya, loonies,'" Vivica replies, her imitation of the German spot on.

"Wow, you're good."

"I know." She flips her hair off her shoulder.

In the silence, they hear the sound of rushed footsteps and desperate voices. The two look at each other and Chase knows that Vivica's thinking the same thing he is.

"Shall we go see what the other's are up to?" Chase asks, his eyes twinkling. Vivica is already walking out the door, heading down the many stairs that lead to the main floor.

He hurries after her and when she sees him he gives her a cheeky grin, hopping up onto the sleek railing and sliding down it with the ease of the playful child he was before his family broke.

Vivica lets out a little laugh and it's a sound that Chase hasn't heard from her in a long time.

If only life offered more choices than what he was given. Perhaps he'd be in a better position than he's currently in.

"You child!" Vivica teases as she speedily walks down the stairs, her head held high. "I know that girl, Jennifer, was it? She did the same thing, but you? I didn't think you're the type."

"I'm a man of many talents," Chase says as Vivica reaches the bottom of the steps. "Wouldn't you say so?"

"Sure." She winks at him before strutting out of the room, leaving him to chase after her.

"Will you quit doing that?" Chase asks as they walk through the halls with the maroon wallpaper that has intricate designs in an even darker red.

"Why?" Vivica runs her hand along the walls. "You know if we weren't trapped in this god-awful place, I think I'd love to stay here, wouldn't you?"

"Maybe..."

Chase isn't sure if he wants to stay in a place where there is bloodshed and where hate runs deep in the veins of the players. With everything that has happened to him in his life, this is the most bizarre.

How the hell does someone end up in a mansion with mostly strangers who are very deadly and a Host with a twisted mind so crazy that it drives everyone wild thinking about it.

Does anyone know who killed Zuri? Does the Host know?

Probably, Chase thinks.

"Maybe the others will have figured out what happened to Zuri." Chase runs a hand through his hair.

"I'd sure like to eliminate whoever did this to her."

Chase smiles grimly. "I have a feeling that it's not for the purpose of justice."

Vivica smirks. "Nope. It's one more player out of the Game, right?"

"True."

A comfortable silence follows them as they walk down the hall. Chase watches as Vivica traces the designs of the walls, never missing a step. As soon as she realizes he's watching her, she stops.

"Can't resist my charm?" Vivica turns to face him.

"I think you're the one who can't resist my charm."

"Oh, really?" She starts walking backwards.

"Yep. I'm also so handsome that you can't stop looking at me."

"That's what you'd like to think—"

"Watch out!" Chase grabs Vivica's hand, drawing her close to him. They turn to look at the set of steps in front of them.

"Those...weren't there before." Chase says.

"No kidding." Vivica looks back at his face. "Now would you let me go, Pretty Boy?"

Chase releases her, careful to make sure she isn't in danger of falling down the steps.

"We must've taken a wrong turn." Chase peers over the edge. Since darkness covers every step after the third one, he can't make out where they lead.

"Neither of us were exactly paying attention." Vivica flips her hair behind her shoulder. She walks over to stand next to him, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"I think we should leave this for now. You know, find the voices we were looking for before we got lost." Chase moves away from the steps, causing Vivica's hand to slide off.

"And how do you propose we find them?" She turns around and walks next to Chase.

"We retrace our steps. If we wander enough, we'll find them eventually."

"That doesn't sound very efficient, does it?"

"If you have anything better, by all means, tell me."

Vivica huffs in response and they continue on in silence. After taking several different turns, they start to hear the voices again.

"Bingo." A small grin starts to appear on Chase's face.

"Tell me you did not just say 'Bingo'." Vivica gives him a look.

He turns to look at her before he carefully mouths the word again. This causes Vivica to smack him on the arm.

Chase breaks into a run down the hall until he comes to the familiar door with the scratch. He waits for Vivica to catch up before turning the door knob.

"What's going on pe—"

The scene before him causes him to freeze in his tracks.

Naomi is pacing the floors while Otto is hunched over a piece of paper.

No, Chase realizes.

A map.

"Holy—" Vivica is staring at one of the paintings.

"What is it?" Chase follows her gaze and his eyes widen. On the frame is Zuri's name and inside the painting...

There is now a picture of her.

"This is beyond freaky." He seats himself on a chair in front of the loveseat where Zach and Eliza are sitting.

"What's even more strange," Otto says, "is that there's a secret message on this map."

A secret message? What is this? Clue?

"What's it say?" Chase cranes his neck to see what Otto is looking at but doesn't see anything.

"'Playing games with someone's heart is not a sign of strength. It's a sign of weakness.'" Otto traces his finger across the paper while he is reading.

Any words that Chase was about to say dies in his mouth.

No. It can't be...

"Where did—" Chase clears his throat. "Where did you find that?"

Elizabeth looks over at Zach before speaking.

"In the observatory."

Wow. The mansion has a teaching room and an observatory? Is there anything this place doesn't have?

Privacy, it seems.

"We also found a constellation carved into the frame of the dome, the same constellation that you can see in the night sky," Zach says.

Eliza is now smiling at Zach and Chase is wondering if there's anything going on between the two.

"The same constellation we found hidden on the map," Eliza says, pointing to the parchment Otto's holding.

"And on that painting."

Naomi nods to one of the paintings on the wall.

The one with Chase's name on it.

He cautiously walks closer to the painting and squints at the painted sky. Seven stars are depicted and Chase fails to hold in a gasp when he realizes what it is. .

Ursa Minor.

Little Bear.

Chase tenses. Little Bear was what she used to call him. It was what she used to call him lovingly when she wasn't drunk or high.

And that quote...He remembers when she first told him it. Chase had just come back from a party when she stopped him. It had sounded so sincere when she had said it, but he knows better now.

"What?" Otto asks.

Chase stares at the thing for another moment before turning at the other's to meet their questioning gazes.

"I, uh, well..."

Am I really about to give them my whole life story?

What does he have to lose?

Chase sits back in his seat and takes a deep breath.

"My mother loved me," he begins. "More than she loved studying the stars. She had me at an early age, being only seventeen years old when she brought me into this world. I never knew my dad."

"Oh, Chase." Vivica reaches to put a hand on his arm and he offers a wan smile in return.

"It's okay. Life was good for me until high school."

"What happened?" Naomi asks.

"She took a wrong turn, tried dating again, you know? He dumped her and she took it really hard. I wasn't helping either, getting drunk at parties and taking women home with me."

"I'm guessing that's what the quote is for? You were playing others just like how your mother was played?"

Chase nods and grimaces when he remembers Vivica.

"Yeah..."

"Hey, I was just as guilty for it."

Eliza shakes her head disapprovingly. "You went after me one night, you know. This is why I usually avoid pubs, but I was going through some rough stuff and..." She clears her throat. "Sorry, continue."

"It's this need I have, I guess to fill in the love I thought I lacked. But none of it was ever real."

Naomi nods understandingly. "I know that feeling."

"Don't we all at some point?" Otto asks, each of them. "My father wasn't the best man..."

Chase suddenly realizes something.

"Is that why you flinched in the foyer when Viv came shouting down the stairs? Because it reminded you of your father?"

Otto nods.

"Whoa, okay. Guys, way too deep. Let's not go spilling all of our secrets here. Trust no one, remember?" Zach warns. Eliza steps on his foot.

"Chase, continue. I doubt this is something others can use against you," Eliza assures him.

"Like my mom, I found a love for studying astronomy."

Naomi laughs. "Wait, you study astronomy?"

"Oh quiet Nomi! You still read The Babysitters Club books," Vivica scolds, smiling when the Spanish woman gives her daggers.

Chase offers a small smile in amusement. He doesn't know how these two know each other, but they must go way back.

"You two know each other?" he asks. Vivica laughs and Naomi scoffs.

"We were high school besties," Naomi answers.

"Now we're just old friends who see each other every now and then." Vivica gives Naomi a strange look. "Still got it, girl?" She offers her fist.

Naomi sighs in fake exasperation. "Of course I do, Viv." Chase watches as they do this whole secret handshake thing.

"Okay, okay. You two are friends, you're an astronomer like your mom, and a player like your dad. Continue." Zach leans back and crosses his arms.

Ouch.

"That constellation is Ursa Minor, which is Little Bear. My mother used to call me that when I was younger."

"So...the Host reminds you of your mother and astronomy for what exactly?" Vivica asks.

Chase stands up. "I think the whole reason for this is for me to actually listen to what my mother said. I never stopped what I was doing."

He looks at Elizabeth.

If only he could be more like her and resist things. She reminds him of his mother before life fell apart. Strong, bold, and intelligent.

Zach is a lucky guy if she's his...

What confuses Chase is why would the Host remind him of his mother.

More importantly, how did the Host know all of this?

"This is all interesting," Vivica says. "But what I want to know is who the hell killed Zuri?"

"James poisoned her," Zach says.

Eliza points to something on the table. "With that sandwich."

"He's so dead."

Chase catches Vivica's eye, and they nod in unison.