(aka, possibly the fluffiest chapter too)

Alyssa had instructed the group to wear sports apparel suitable for the Water Round. Everyone at Zodiac Street ended up wearing a variety of gym wear.

They all met at the nearby park where the Water Round would start.

- = {🔔}= - (the bells are ringing)

"So what is this big twist you're talking about?" Alex adjusted their sports cap. Everyone stood in a circle near the drinking taps awaiting a response.

"I'll get to that." Alyssa nodded. Behind her, Leo and Sienna were filling up five different coloured sets of water balloons with the tap's water and placing them in their representative bucket. "First of all, we are all aware of the rules of the Water Round, right?" The group nodded. "Good because I am not explaining myself. We have made some changes to the original one."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked her hands on her hips.

"Well for starters, the area is smaller. We are only limited to the road outside our houses, our backyards and the park. The inside of the houses themselves, the Earth sign houses and the outside of Zodiac Street are strictly out of bounds. But there are safe areas such as the drinking fountains and your garages." Alyssa explained. She nodded when the group expressed commotion. "Yes, despite the inside of the houses being out of bounds, your garages are safe. I have let the leaders of each house know in advance."

"So, this is why you texted me, Alex, Arlen, Aika and Carol. It's on the water round." Skyler recollected.

Alyssa clicked her fingers. "You've caught on. Also, you guys did an amazing job opening up the backyards, setting up the garages and putting up the party banners for each house!"

Everyone remembered about the banners. When leaving everyone noticed that dangling from the roofs of five of the houses were different coloured banners. House 1 had red banners, House 3 had yellow, House 4 had green, House 7 had blue while House 8 was left with purple.

"The teams all start simple but will get complicated later on. To start, the teams will be your housemates." Alyssa started. She got cut off by everyone cheering. "HEY!" Everyone went silent. "Let me finish. You won't be staying with your housemates for the entire game."

"What?!" Colin frowned while hugging Pete and Skyler. "Why?!"

Alyssa crossed her arms. "Because every team would be swapping team members. Every third person eliminated from the round would lead to Leo blasting this." Leo had pulled out an air horn and pressed the top. Everyone covered their ears except for Sabrina who was not looking up from her phone. "When the air horn sounds, everyone remaining would be returning to the park to swap teams and be assigned colours. There would be a ten-minute break to rendezvous at the bases before we start the round again. Does this make sense?"

Some of the group nodded, others shook their head.

"Wait, just to clarify." Colin held his hands out. "The twist is that we are switching members. Which means.."

"Coming up with new strategies and learning how to deal with changes!" Giselle finished.

"Yes! And you would be ranked individually instead of groups. Once we get to the final six, things will be done individually." Alyssa grabbed everyone's attention. "Since fifteen of you would be playing..."

"Fifteen? No, no, no." Sam shook his head. "You mean eighteen right? As the Earth signs are not here."

"Me, Alyssa and Leo will not be playing." Sienna looped her arms around Alyssa and Leo.

Lily huffed. "That's not fair! I'll be working alone!"

"You are teaming up with Alex and Sam for the first round, don't fuss." Alyssa waved a hand.

Sienna had nudged her housemate. "Hey, what about the phone rule?

"Oh yeah!" Alyssa smiled. "There are no phones or electronics allowed."

"WHAT?!" Everyone protected their phones from being seen. Only Sabrina didn't seem to care and instead was staring at the screen and scrolling.

"What do you mean phones and electronics are not allowed?" Lizzy threw her hands out. "We need it!"

"You don't." Leo countered back. "The Water Round involves everyone throwing water balloons. Your phones need to be protected. I suggest you all put your phones in Sienna's phone box." He turned to Sabrina. "That includes you, Sabrina. If you were listening."

"Hm?" Sabrina looked up. "Sorry, I was invested in this book I am reading. Torn Pages by this author named Quack. It's a really good book." (A/N: GO READ THE BOOK "Torn Pages" by one of my online best friends, x_Quack_x
GO READ IT! But do make sure to read this chapter too)

"What's it about?" Aika wanted to know.

"It's a book based on historic events! Well researched and it has a wonderful writing style-"

"Ok, but shall we get back on topic?"

Sabrina nodded. "I suppose. Also, I was listening, trust me."

"Oh yeah? What did Alyssa say then?" Leo smirked.

"Imagine if Bri gets it wrong," Sam whispered to Gilbert. Gilbert shook his head.

"You'd be surprised. Brina knows her stuff and I love her for that." Gilbert smiled. His girlfriend summarised Alyssa's rules on the event. Most of the group's mouths dropped when she recited with accuracy. Gilbert puffed his chest. "Told you."

Sienna ran out of the park and later returned with a shoebox decorated with colourful stickers. "Your phones will be safe here. We won't be locking them away. Look look, look! I even painted a daisy field on the inside!" She opened the box revealing the painted daisy field.

"It's a cute box but I don't feel easy knowing that my phone would be trusted with three incompetent fire signs." Skyler hid his phone. Most of the group agreed.

"So you guys would rather have your phones soaked and placed in a vulnerable situation than be safe in a box?" Sienna then shrugged. "I mean the box is optional. It's up to you."

"I'll leave my phone at home then," Lizzy mumbled. The others agreed and decided to leave their phones at home. Well, Alex, Sam, and Lily disagreed.

"Even if we will be playing the round, me, Alex and Sam will still have our phones in an unsafe place. I mean it'll be vulnerable."

"From what?" Alyssa tilted her head.

"From you three fire signs!"

"I would never!" Alyssa blinked innocently. "We would never!"

"You would! We do not feel safe around you!"

"You could just give your phones to me. I know a safe space." Aika offered. Easily trusting her than their housemates, Lily, Alex and Sam handed their phones to Aika.

"Anything else that needs to be covered? Or are we covered?" Leo leaned forward to look at Alyssa.

"Think we're covered. But I need you to hand out the bibs. Sienna, you pass the balloons and packs to each team."

The two handed out the balloons and sports bibs. The players each got a bib and a bucket of balloons that matched the flags on their houses. Once everyone was geared up, they all headed to their bases.

~= {⭐️⭐️}=~ (Bob is standing at the aisle with his best friend, Jay)

"So what's the plan, guys?" Gilbert was sitting cross-legged on the floor. "What should we do to eliminate the other teams?"

Arlen paced around House 3's garage. "Well, we need an effective strategy that does not place ourselves at risk. Going as a group is not the best choice."

"How come?" Levin asked before he gritted his teeth on a hair tie as he gathered his long blonde hair into a high ponytail. Holding onto the ponytail with one hand, Levin grabbed his hair tie and secured his ponytail in place.

"Well, it would make us an easy target for the other team. I mean there's powerful players now."

"Weren't you a powerful player?"

"Levin, Arlen's team lost in the previous Water Round. They got out first and they used to be the powerful ones."

"Yeah, 'cause we got taken out by your team!" Arlen huffed. "It's surprising."

"Wow..." Levin mused. "And I thought Arlen, Aika and Pete were unstoppable. Who do we have to worry about now?"

"We worry about them." Arlen faced a certain direction. His two housemates faced the same way towards House 8.

Lightbulbs clicked in their heads. Of course... Sabrina is the more strategic one and Phoebe won the last one. Carol, however, they don't know but it's not like she would be a threatening presence, right?

"For the first round as a team, we can focus on getting the strong ones out. We can do this individually but we need to stay close." Arlen strategised. "We would have to wait to see where it leads for future rounds."

"Hey Arlen," Gilbert looked up. "For the next few rounds, try to be with Giselle as much as possible. You're confessing, right?"

"I am still trying to figure out the best way to confess to her."

"How about you focus on that later?" Levin got off a table near the door leading to the inside of the house and picked up his bucket. "You two should focus on not getting eliminated right now! Perhaps confess after the round?"

"That's an even better idea." Arlen pointed towards Levin before noticing the three fire hosts emerging out of House 5. Alyssa had a megaphone, Sienna had a notepad with a pencil and Leo had an airhorn. "Hey look there's Alyssa, Leo and Sienna."

"TEAMS!" Alyssa spoke into the megaphone. "IT IS TIME TO BEGIN THE WATER ROUND."

Sienna received the megaphone and spoke into it. "YOU MAY BEGIN IN THREE...TWO... ONE...."

Then Leo sounded the horn and the players all split off.

~ = {⭐️}= ~ (Zoe is walking down the aisle)

(ROUND 1)

Levin peeked out from behind one of the walls. He looked around the area for the other teams.

No one in sight. Well maybe except Gilbert who sneaked his way into House 7's backyard. He looked up and noticed Leo sitting crosslegged on House 6's roof, speculating the event. If Levin would be honest, the game felt like a drama played by puppets with strings. And above them were three figures silently there, enjoying the chaos.

Wait, why is he thinking about puppets? The main priority is to find Sabrina, Carol and Phoebe. But he only saw them at the base before the round started. The three were nowhere to be seen.

Just then, Leo's voice roared from above. "PETE IS OUT!" It was followed by a request to be a part of the spectator team.

Not long after, Sienna's voice called out. "SAM IS OUT."

Two are out already. Levin's mind went into a frenzy. It's now or never. He has to find one of the House 8 members before the first round ends. He had to make a plan and quick.

Then a deep feminine voice spoke. "Are you looking for someone?"

Levin jumped in his spot and whipped his head around. Behind him was no one other than Sabrina. She stood in the shadows with a sly smile clear on her face.

Levin opened his mouth to say something. Unfortunately for him, no words wanted to come out. He stood like a deer in headlights awaiting disaster to strike.

When did she get here?

How did she get here?

"You look surprised!" Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "I mean that makes sense. I scared you but your hiding place is visible."

"How did you get here?" Levin finally managed to say. "I didn't hear your steps! How did you-"

"A master never reveals their secrets." Sabrina reached into her bucket. "But masters do know their rules and priorities. And player to player, we can learn one thing here."

"...What is it?"

Sabrina smiled in the shadows. "Rule number one: Always expect the unexpected."

It was at this moment that Levin realised how much he underestimated the other team. It was at this moment Levin knew how much of a disadvantage his team had. And it was at this moment when Levin got splashed by a purple water balloon.

Leo spotted what happened. "LEVIN IS OUT!" Then he blasted the air horn. "ROUND ONE IS OVER. PLEASE REASSEMBLE FOR ROUND TWO!"

Levin, now dripping from head to toe, turned to where Sabrina was. To his surprise, she had appeared to vanish in thin air.

That's strange.

Levin took off his sports bib and noticed the other players heading to the park awaiting the next round. All he could do was watch. Being on the lookout is not his problem anymore.

But rather, everyone else's.

~= {⭐️⭐️} =~ (They are exchanging vows!)

The players remained rendezvoused at the park ready to start the second round. Everyone used the time to stretch as well as swap teams and equipment. For Pete, Sam and Levin, they joined the three hosts to spectate.

Gilbert noticed Levin standing by the hosts. "Huh. Levin's out." He turned to Arlen who was doing some arm stretches. The two have decided earlier on to stick close as a team. "Are we still doing the plan?"

"The plan of eliminating House 8 first?" Arlen inquired as he rolled his left shoulder. Gilbert gave a nod. "Well yes, Gilbert. It's the only strategy we have."

"We can't do that with only two members since, you know, Levin is out."

"Levin is out?" Arlen turned to the hosts. "Oh, he is out."

"Which is why we need a third team member. And I know who." Gilbert turned to his left towards a certain someone. "Her."

Arlen faced the same direction and noticed Gilbert was referring to Giselle. Giselle was doing the splits on the ground and leaned forward to touch her sneakers. She appeared to be focused, Arlen didn't want to interrupt that.

"Giselle?" Arlen crossed his arms.

"You should invite her!" Gilbert nudged his friend.

"Is there a reason?"

"Two reasons. For me to know about my counterpart and for you to get to know her. She's perfect for the team."

"Of course..." Arlen pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath. "Okay Arlen, get this over and done with." He made his way over to Giselle stretching. "Hey."

"Hm?" Giselle looked up to the voice. She smiled. "Oh, Arlen! Hello! What brings you here?"

"Hey, um, I was wondering if you wanted to team up. I noticed you here alone and-" He got cut off by Giselle.

"Sure." Giselle stood up and brushed the dust off her tracksuit pants. "I can join your team."

"W-Wait, really?"

"Yes?" Giselle placed her hands on her hips. She raised an eyebrow. "I always wanted to work with you on a Water Round. You were powerful.

"But my team lost."

"So? You were still an amazing player. It would be such a great honour to work with you." Giselle offered her hand. Arlen shook it back. "Are we the only two on the team?"

"Uh no... Gilbert is stuck with me."

"Oh." Giselle looked over at Gilbert who waved cheerfully. "Lovely."

"Giselle!" A cheerful feminine voice called out. Giselle turned and noticed Lizzy running up to her. Behind Lizzy was Alex, taking their time.

Giselle smiled. "Lizz! What's up?"

"Giselle, can you join me and Alex, please?" Lizzy held her friend's hands. "Please?"

"Oh..." Giselle frowned. "Um, sorry you're too late." Giselle turned to Arlen. "I'm in a team with Arlen and Gilbert."

"Oh..." Lizzy acknowledged.

"Sorry! Maybe we can team up for the next round! If we both make it there, that is."

"I hope we both do." Lizzy nodded. She acknowledged Alex's presence. "Giselle just stated that she's in another team."

"Oh." Alex nodded. "Oh. Who are we going to have as the third member then?"

Then Sabrina emerged. "I heard you need a team member?" Arlen, Giselle, Lizzy and Alex screamed. Gilbert, who was watching, fell to the ground laughing. "Calm down you four! It's only me!"

"Where did you come from?!" Alex turned around. Everyone could hear Gilbert coughing in the background.

"That's unimportant." Sabrina placed a hand on her hip. "You need a team member, right? Well, turns out I need two more team members to work with. So I was wondering if we should team up."

"You want me and Alex to team up with you?" Lizzy asked.

Sabrina nodded. "It'll be fun!"

"I mean Sabrina was in the top three last round, wasn't she?" Alex whispered.

Lizzy nodded. "Yes, she is. Alright then." Lizzy confirmed. "We'll join!"

"Awesome!" Sabrina cheered. "Is it okay if we can be the purple team? The balloons are pretty."

"Oooh!" Lizzy gasped. "Yes! I always wanted to be in a purple team!"

"Sure, why not." Alex shrugged.

"I have a feeling we are gonna work great together!" Sabrina looped her arms around her teammates' shoulders and led them away.

Arlen caught her looking back at his team with a smile on her face.

~={⭐️⭐️                🌟❇️}=~ (Bob and Zoe are doing their wedding dance but uh oh, it looks like we have intruders)

(ROUND 2)

Carol, sitting in a tree, watched as her teammate, Phoebe, made her way over to House 5. She sat silently as she looked over her surroundings. The leaves rustling acknowledged her presence.

She was not trying to avoid the game. In fact, she still wanted to play. She was hiding to track down her surroundings.

Plus, she and Phoebe made a promise to someone to relay information to the other teams. And the best way to do that is to do that hidden.

"Ah, there you are." a familiar deep yet soothing voice spoke. Carol turned and noticed her teammate, Skyler, had climbed up to join her. "I was wondering where you went."

"Skyler, you know people are going to hear us, right?" Carol hushed.

Skyler waved it off. "No one is around, we'll be fine." He sat down next to Carol, his knees grazing near hers. "Are you sure this spot is safe?"

"It's safe to me!"

"Yeah but won't you fall over?"

"True but this place has a nice overview of the area."

"You're not wrong about that."

The two softly chuckled. Then Carol rested her head on Skyler's shoulder.

"Tired?" Skyler queried.

"Yeah, I mean. There's so much going on! I want to sleep but-"

"But?"

"I promised someone that I would be on the lookout. I don't know if this is cheating or not but I was told it was a strategy."

"The thing with the Water Round is, cheating and scheming is not frowned upon." Skyler plucked one of the leaves from the tree. "As long as it isn't hurtful, then you're good."

"Oh okay."

"And yours is just letting someone else know about the teams. Yeah, it creates a disadvantage, but isn't that the main purpose of the game? To strategise?"

"You seem to know a lot about this game."

Skyler laughed. "That's cause I am used to it." He looked down at the tree's branch. "We should head down. This place makes me nervous."

"Hm?" Carol turned to Skyler who started to climb down the tree, his bucket of blue balloons dangling around his arm. She chuckled. "You scared you would fall?"

"Duh. I just want to stay on the ground."

"Okay then, I'll stay up here." Carol smiled and hugged her bucket of balloons. It wasn't long until she heard Skyler shout from the ground. "Skyler?"

Carol climbed down the tree, balancing the bucket with her hand. When she got to ground level, she saw Skyler drenched by a popped red balloon.

Then something red flew at her and drenched her. Carol gasped and looked up to find Lily, Aika and Colin standing there.

Alyssa ran over to see the commotion. "Two birds with one stone! CAROL AND SKYLER ARE OUT!"

~=[⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌟❇️]=~ (Turns out Bob's ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend crashed the wedding. Jay immediately defends his friends)

"Hey, I heard Carol and Skyler got out," Alex told their teammates. Their team navigated around House 1's backyard.

Sabrina blinked and turned back. "Two people out already?"

"What on earth were they doing?" Lizzy mused.

"I don't know. But... it does heighten things up here. I mean we need one more person out to progress to the next round."

"Does anyone here at least know what we are supposed to do?" Alex asked. Lizzy shook her head.

"I guess be on the lookout for any teams?" Sabrina suggested.

"We are doing that already but okay."

"Hey, shush, shush, shush. I hear someone." Lizzy silenced the two. The three decided to hide in a tree. They heard three recognisable voices.

"You know, Gilberta. I don't understand how you are my counterpart when we have nothing in common."

"...What does this mean?"

"Well for starters, you are weird. Me on the other hand. I'm ten times better, stylish and know how to keep a streak going."

"You're just mentioning that because I forgot to do your streak."

"And I'm still salty about that."

"Also, also, you're not the better Gemini, either. You're boring!"

"Hey, you two. How about you stop arguing and look out for any teams?"

"Arlen, out of me and Giselle. Who is the better Gemini? You can't say both or none."

"You know, I don't like it when I am placed in a situation to pick. You are both amazing people with interesting qualities."

"Oh for f**ks sake, Arlen. Can you pick one?"

"Wow," Arlen exclaimed. "Wow. Okay. Then I pick Giselle because of your attitude young man."

"Hey, what was that?" Giselle asked. "I heard a sound."

"Must be a possum." was Gilbert's voice.

"Must be."

"Hey, it's the yellow team. Sabrina, what do we do?" Lizzy turned back. Sabrina was nowhere in sight. "Oh, she's gone."

"Should we leave the tree?" Alex whispered.

"Yeah, good idea." Lizzy hopped out of the tree following after Alex. By the time they reached the ground, Alex got soaked by a yellow water balloon. "What?"

"ALEX IS OUT!" a hyperactive female's voice yelled from the sky. Everyone looked up to find Sienna watching from the roof. "Though this is such an anticlimactic way to end this round. Lame."

"How did you three know we were here?" Lizzy turned to Gilbert, Giselle and Arlen.

"Well, you suck at whispering..." Gilbert answered.

"Oh!" Lizzy put her hands on her waist. "Oh! Okay... that's. Wow."

"Wow," Alex mumbled.

"Wow." mimicked Gilbert.

"Wow." Giselle joined in.

"Wow." Sienna looked over the group.

"Wow." the author said, wondering what was going on.

"Why are we saying 'wow'?" Arlen asked.

"Cause," Sienna answered. "Anyways, ALL TEAMS HEAD TO THE PARK. WE ARE STARTING ROUND THREE SOON!"

~= {⭐️⭐️ ⭐️} =~ (Jay, Bob and Zoe kick the intruders out)

Lily was confused as to why Leo, Sienna and Alyssa were not at the park to start round three. Instead, taking the three fire signs' place were Alex, Carol and Skyler followed by the other eliminated players.

Strange...

Lily made her way to Levin. "Hey."

"Lily!" Levin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Nice seeing you here! What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just wondering where the three hosts went." Lily shrugged.

"Are we talking about Alyssa, Sienna and Leo?" Carol overheard the conversation. Lily nodded back. "Oh, they had to do something important. So they left the eliminated players to take over the spot as spectators and hosts."

Something important? Odd. Lily crossed her arms. "What's the important thing they have to do?"

"I- I don't know?"

"Lovely. I kinda want to quit this game so I can find where those three are."

Sam stepped forward from his spot. "You can't leave yet! You're the only fire sign left!"

"But you know those three! They could be doing something out of the ordinary!"

"Then leave the investigation to us then! You go play the third round and play for the fire signs."

"Oh... I don't like being told that. Places a lot of responsibility." Lily mumbled. "Okay.. but when there's a case when I lose, can you blame Alyssa, Leo and Sienna instead? Seeing as they left us with a disadvantage."

"Uh... sure?"

"Thank you..." Lily observed her surroundings. "I need a team."

"Why don't you join Sabrina and Phoebe's team? They look like they need a teammate." Carol pointed to her housemates. Lily noticed Alex had started fidgeting with their fingers. Carol, meanwhile, gave a wave.

Sabrina and Phoebe waved back. Phoebe then held up a purple sports bib and a bucket with purple balloons. Sabrina smiled and gestured a welcome with her hand.

"Sabrina and Phoebe?" Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "But, I heard-"

"That they need an extra player? Joining their team can help you a lot." Skyler leaned forward next to Carol and pointed to the group. "Given your current situation of being the only fire sign player."

"Well..." Lily stepped forward and looked back at the eliminated players. She noticed Levin rubbing his arm while Sam and Alex shared glances. She turned to the other teams who were already set in place. She sighed, "I guess there's no other way. I could either quit or join. But I'll join."

"Now Lily, you just made a fantastic choice!" Pete walked up and patted her on the back. "Good luck!"

The eliminated air sign and the eliminated fire signs shared a glance.

~ = {⭐️🍰⭐️} =~ (Bob and Zoe had just cut their wedding cake and are now sharing)

"Gilbert, why are you staring at your house?" Aika asked her new teammate.

She, Gilbert and Colin were in House 7's garage, preparing themselves for the ten-minute break. Well, Colin and Aika were preparing, and Gilbert sat down crosslegged watching Arlen, Giselle and Lizzy.

Aika placed her hands on her hips. "Gilbert Jackson O' Roberts!"

"Huh?" Gilbert whipped his head towards his teammate. "What?"

"Why are you staring at Arlen, Giselle and Lizzy?"

Gilbert patted the spots beside him.

Aika and Colin, after sharing a look, joined their teammate on the floor.

Gilbert then pointed to his garage. "Do you two notice anything up with Arlen and Giselle?"

"Arlen and Giselle?" Aika turned to House 3. She noticed Arlen and Giselle were in the middle of the conversation. Arlen was talking and rubbing the back of his head. Meanwhile, Giselle swayed as she listened, one hand holding her arm.

Aika also noticed Lizzy sitting further away from the two, on the ground hugging her knees. Aika placed a hand on her chest. She made a mental note to check up on her housemate later.

Gilbert nodded. "Arlen wanted to ask Giselle out. So I told him to team up with her to get to know her better."

"So you're shipping them together, right?" Colin inquired.

"Yes," Gilbert confirmed, "Yes I am. I mean, have you seen the way they talk to each other?"

The other two teammates began to recollect. After realisation, the two murmured in agreement.

"Giselle has been talking about Arlen a lot," Aika remembered. "Not to mention she always signs up for anything he is doing."

"And on my end, whether Giselle comes to visit, Arlen always tells me and Levin to leave them alone. So everything adds up. They even went through the same sh** as well."

"Hey, profanity!" Aika laughed.

Gilbert chuckled. "Aika, you know almost everyone is old enough to not correct profanity, right?"

"You're right but honestly it's fun just to say it."

"You used to scream it out as well."

"I can bring it back. PROFANITY!" Then Aika and Gilbert laughed.

Colin smiled at his teammates. Then he spotted the hosts walking in a line. Carol took the lead with the megaphone while Sam lingered at the back with the air horn. "Hey, the hosts are back!"

"Teams!" Carol spoke into the megaphone. All the remaining teams faced the hosts. "We are about to start Round Three in three..."

All the teams stood up and got into stance.

"Two...."

Sam held the airhorn up high.

"One!"

The air horn sounded. The other hosts covered their ears.

"BEGIN!"

Then all the teams split off.

~ = {⭐️✴️} =~ (While Bob and Zoe are dancing together, Jay dances with his friend, Brian)

(ROUND 3)

"AIKA IS OUT!" Giselle heard Skyler yell out. Her team is preparing themselves in House 3's backyard.

"That was fast." Arlen wondered aloud. "I wonder who got her out."

"Definitely one of the purple team members. My guess is on Sabrina."

"Sabrina?" Lizzy asked. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, she has been very stealthy lately," Arlen answered. "I mean it's not surprising seeing that she was in the final three last time."

"Lizzy," Giselle turned to her friend, "Sabrina was in your team before, right? What was she like?"

"Hmm..." Lizzy recalled. "Very careful, I guess? She was always on the lookout. But before Alex got eliminated, she had vanished."

"And where did she go off to?" Arlen wanted to know.

"She never stated and all the team members from the last red team are still here..."

"LILY IS OUT!" Skyler's voice boomed.

"Who is in the current purple team now?" Giselle asked.

"If I recall correctly... Sabrina, Phoebe and Lily. Sabrina and Phoebe worked together alongside Carol. In the second round, Phoebe and Carol teamed up with Skyler while Sabrina left to find two other teammates. And Carol and Skyler got off together. But I spotted them alongside Pete encouraging Lily to join Sabrina's team." Arlen listed. "And now Lily is out..."

"And you told me last round not to trust the water signs."

"How come?" Lizzy was confused.

"They have been suspicious the entire time. Sabrina, Skyler, Phoebe, Carol and even Pete." Arlen nodded. "I feel like Colin is also playing a part in this too."

"I see it now!" Lizzy gasped. "They're cheating!"

"More like teaming." Arlen crossed his arms. "It's allowed, for some reason."

"Wait, wait, wait. So the entire time, the Water signs are planning to win the round together and they used the next round to spy and take advantage of other teams..." Lizzy muttered. "Which included me and Alex as well, since Sabrina...." She gasped. "She never teamed up out of pity! She teamed up for advantage!"

Arlen nodded. "You've caught on."

"And you knew about it?"

Before Arlen had a chance to speak, he heard Skyler's voice. "GILBERTA IS OUT! ALL TEAMS GET READY FOR ROUND FOUR!"

"NOT MY NAME!" the trio heard Gilbert scream out.

"If I recall, Colin is with Gilbert last, right?" Arlen began to theorise. "I'm not saying he got Gilbert out but he could be working with the other water signs to get to the top six."

"If that is true, that's sneaky," Giselle added. "What should we do?"

"That's easy." Arlen smiled. "We work with what we have."

~={⭐️}=~ (Zoe is throwing the bouquet!)

After a quick Round Three, it is time for another interval session. Lily alongside Levin, Sam, Alex, Aika and Gilbert all marched their way to House 5.

"How on earth do you know the three are in here?" Levin asked when the group arrived at the front door.

"While my team and Gilbert's team were going against each other, we heard loud music coming from in here." Lily kneeled near the welcome mat. She flapped the mat to the side and picked up the spare house keys before fixing the mat and getting up. "And everyone is busy playing or observing. And it can't be the Earth signs since they are still not back."

"We don't know that. The Earth signs could be back..." Alex crossed their arms.

"Then how come we never saw them?" Lily unlocked the security gate and then worked on unlocking the front door. "The minivan should be here too. Plus I installed a security system here where I would get a notification of any intruder alerts." Twisting the key and the doorknob, Lily unlocked the door.

The group made their way inside the house. Gilbert paused in front of a gallery wall of photos of the residents with the other people of Zodiac Street. "Awww! You got photos of everyone!"

"This was Sienna's idea!" Lily smiled. "Said it's to hold the memories. But we need to find those three fire signs. So I need everyone to split up and do that."

The group split up and started to check the rooms. First, they checked the downstairs and much to their disappointment, the three fire signs were not there. Then Lily suggested checking upstairs.

Lily ended up finding the three in Alyssa's room, playing Snakes and Ladders while blasting songs on Sienna's speaker. The three fire signs screamed when they saw Lily at the door.

"You guys were playing Snakes and Ladders?!?!" Lily threw her hands out.

"How did you find us?!" Alyssa sat up.

"We heard your music from the outside, idiots."

"Leooooo!" Sienna groaned. "This is why we told you to not open the window. And what did you do? Open the window."

"Hey in my defence, we needed fresh air!"

"Lily! My best friend, how is the Water Round?" Sienna rested her hands on her chin. "I'm guessing you got out."

"Yeah, I did." Lily knitted her brows. "And you three were no help!"

"Lily? Did you find them?" a soft male voice spoke. Levin peeked his head from the frame. "Oh, there they are."

"Lillian... who else did you invite into our house?" Sienna asked.

"Alex, Sam, Aika and Gilbert."

"Gilberta is here?!"

"Yes, but that is not important right now. What is important right now is how the Water Round is turning a bit chaotic."

Alyssa, Leo and Sienna exchanged glances. Then Leo spoke, "....What do you mean?"

~ = {⭐️⭐️} =~ (Bob and Zoe hop in a limo about to head off)

"Okay, so what you're saying is, the Water signs are teaming up together and they are taking advantage of everyone." Alyssa gathered the information handed by the others. The fire signs alongside Levin, Aika and Gilbert were in House 1's kitchen recalling information. "And this included using others for winning purposes and teaming up."

"Yes." Lily nodded.

"Honestly, they ate." Alyssa smiled.

"Are you kidding?"

"Uh, sorry, I meant to say that that isn't a nice thing to do!" Alyssa giggled sheepishly.

"Just a reminder, this would be avoided if you set out clear boundaries and rules." Alex frowned.

"But did any of you forget that the Water Round encourages cheating?" Leo pointed out. "Makes it more chaotic."

"Chaotic, yes. But not fun when you realise that you got an advantage of." Lily stuck her nose in the air.

"But you joined Sabrina's group last round..." Sam shook his head.

"I wanted to quit. Plus there are no other groups to turn to. I knew I was doomed the moment I joined. And it would be better if A CERTAIN THREE PEOPLE DECIDED NOT TO RUN OFF."

"Hey, we were hosting! Leave us alone!" Sienna yelled.

Everyone heard an air horn. Aika covered her face with her hands. "They started the next round..."

"Who is left?" Leo asked.

"Well... Arlen, Giselle, Sabrina..." Gilbert counted with his fingers. "Oh! Lizzy, Phoebe and Colin too!"

"The final six already? Wow, that was quick." Alyssa leaned forward. "And Aika, Gilbert and Lily got eliminated."

"Correct." the others replied.

"Alright, cool." Alyssa nodded. "Uh, you can go watch the round now. I don't know why you wanted to find us."

"Because you ditched your duties for Snakes and Ladders?" Lily facepalmed. "Why did you do that?"

"Because we can!"

"Gosh... how about you three stop playing Snakes and Ladders and join us in spectating?"

"No!"

"Why?"

"Oh, you know, because we are bored," Alyssa replied nonchalantly.

"I can't do this anymore."

"And we all wanted to annoy you."

"I can't do this anymore." Lily sobbed. She pointed at the three. "Alright, you three do whatever you want. Just make sure to watch the game."

Then Lily stormed out followed by Levin, Aika, Alex and Gilbert. Sam lingered back. "I hope you three keep your promise."

"We might, we might not. Who knows?" Leo shrugged and watched Sam leave the house too. "Well..." Leo turned to his friends. "At least we know the Water Round is getting chaotic."

"I'd say." Sienna nodded. "This round is better than the last one! Even though we are not playing."

A notification popped up on Alyssa's phone on the counter. Alyssa quickly picked up her phone to check. "Oh, it's Vivi. The Earth signs are almost here." She smiled. "Well, this is perfect timing!"

"How come?" the other two asked.

"Well, you'll see. Follow me."

And then Alyssa left with the other two tailing behind her.

~= {⭐️⭐️} =~ (Bob and Zoe are happy)

(ROUND 4)

The fourth round was more chaotic than the previous rounds. The round was first limited only to the road instead of the backyards. The players also stopped playing in groups and played individually, though the air signs created an alliance. All the remaining players stayed in high spirits as they dodged, threw and leapt. The eliminated players, however, sat down on their front lawns, watching the game.

Well, the author lied (bad author). Lily did not sit down on House 5's front lawn. Instead, she sat down on the front lawn of House 3, seated next to Levin, head resting on his shoulder.

She spotted Alyssa, Leo and Sienna had emerged out of House 5 and sat down on the lawn. "Oh." She watched as the three watched the round play out. "They kept that promise."

"You can't stop thinking about them, do you?" Levin turned to her.

"Well, yeah. Sure they are annoying and give me a headache but..." Lily smiled, "They are my housemates, and Leo's my counterpart. I love them dearly as friends."

"More than Tyler and Phoebe?"

"Now, come on. I can't compare my housemates and counterpart to them. I love them dearly too!"

"And me?"

"You too."

"But where would I stand, hypothetically?"

"Now this isn't fair."

Levin chuckled and hugged her close. He planted a kiss on her forehead. "I know. I was only playing with you."

"You never told me you like trickery."

"I.. well.."

"Levin the trickster... never saw this coming."

Levin ran a hand through his long blonde hair. "The more you know?"

"Guys, focus on the round," Gilbert said, as he witnessed the two's conversation from sitting next to them (me core). Levin and Lily exchanged looks with each other and then laughed. Gilbert sighed. "I'm serious, I feel so left out."

"You wish Bri was here so that you wouldn't feel lonely?" Levin asked.

Gilbert nodded. "Yeah, but she's in the middle of a round." He turned to his two friends. "You two are not helping."

"And why is that, Gilberta?" Lily smiled.

"Because I wanted a hug too, you know..."

Levin and Lily awwed. Then Levin offered an arm out. "Join in."

"Oh no, I ca-"

"You wanted a hug, right? You're getting that hug."

"But-"

"Just join in, Gilbert."

Gilbert scooted closer to the two and embraced the group hug. A purple water balloon flew over their heads and burst on the wooden fence bordering Houses 2 and 3. The three noticed the balloon and turned to their thrower.

"Colin, what." Lily narrowed her eyes. "That was a terrible aim."

"Sorry! I was aiming for Giselle!" Colin called out. A water balloon splashed him and Colin turned to find Arlen standing there.

"COLIN IS OUT!" Pete called out. He reached his arms forward and Colin ran into his arms.

Skyler, who is next to them, scoffed. "Yes, we are aware."

Lily noticed Giselle pacing backwards, reaching into her bucket. She noticed the player's eyes had widened as she waved her hand around the bucket. Lily frowned. "Hey, look at Giselle."

Levin and Gilbert noticed the situation and frowned. "That's not good..." Gilbert ended up stating.

Levin spotted Sabrina sneaking her way over to Giselle. He pointed to her. "That's not good." Then someone ran past them and stood between Sabrina and Giselle, arms out.

Arlen. He got drenched by Sabrina's balloon. Everyone gasped.

"ARLEN IS OUT!" Carol called out.

"ARLEN! CONFESS NOW!" Gilbert screamed out. Everyone turned to him confused.

"Gilbert, what did I say about saving that for after the round." Levin narrowed his eyes.

"C-Confess?" Giselle blinked. She looked up at Arlen. "What..."

"I can explain later," Arlen answered back, swapping Giselle's empty bucket with his full one. "Here, take this."

"Wow." Sabrina smiled. "Never saw this coming. Never saw this coming at all."

Lily pressed her lips together in a thin line. She noticed Alyssa, Leo and Sienna looking away from the round and clapping their hands excitedly. A minivan had driven into Zodiac Street and stopped in its tracks. Everyone stopped and stared. (Everyone: 👁️_👁️)

"Wait, is that the Earth signs?" Lily whispered to Levin and Gilbert. The other two nodded.

Giselle darted past the other players and stood in front of the minivan to gather her breath. She waved to the confused Earth signs and showed her bucket. Cameron gave a thumbs up.

The other players had stopped their stare-fest and continued the game. Sabrina sashayed her way over. "Saying hello?"

"Well, yes. They just got back."

"Oh," Sabrina smirked. The minivan's doors opened and the Earth signs boarded out.

Phoebe gasped and ran over. "TYLER!" She leapt into his arms and laughed as he spun her around. This was followed by a frown as she got splashed by a yellow balloon.

Tyler glared. "Really?"

Everyone turned to the thrower, Lizzy, who admired her acrylic nails. "My bad."

"Can someone please tell us what is going on?" Vivian looked around confused.

"Water Round. Also," Alyssa cupped her hands and called out, "MOVE OUT THE WAY!"

"NOT WITH THAT ATTITUDE, YOUNG LADY!" Vivian yelled back. The spectators booed back. "Why are you guys booing?"

"YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FINALE. MOOOOOOOOVE!" Alyssa glowered at the Earth signs as they made their way to House 6's lawn to watch. Phoebe joined Tyler on House 6's lawn while Arlen stood to the side. "THANK YOU!"

Sabrina reached for another water balloon and threw it in Lizzy's direction. The purple balloon burst on her jacket and Lizzy yelped. "You played well, but that's not enough."

"PHOEBE AND LIZZY ARE OUT!" Sienna called out. "FINAL TWO TIME! FINAL TWO TIME!"

The spectators roared. Sabrina picked up another water balloon. "Final two, huh. You and I." (YOU AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII, AAAAAA YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH, OHHHH)

She tossed a water balloon towards Giselle's direction. Giselle quickly dodged out of the way. The balloon burst against the minivan's window. The spectators gasped.

Vincent screamed. "NOT THE VAN!!"

"Sorry!" Sabrina called out. She reached into her bucket and her eyes widened. No, no, no, no, no... why now? Why now? Why now?

She quickly looked around for spare buckets and spotted Phoebe's. Yes. This is good enough. She prepared to make a move.

And felt something splash on her back. She looked down and noticed a popped water balloon. Her gaze followed up to find Giselle facing away, her long double ponytails swaying in the wind.

Giselle looked back and smiled. Sabrina nodded and shared a smile back. The spectators cheered loudly... well except for Vincent.

"AMAZING!" Leo ran over to the final two. "In a turn of events and through many twists and turns, we finally got a winner!" Leo raised Giselle's arm in the air and shook it. "THE WINNER FOR THIS SPECIAL WATER ROUND GOES TO GISELLE! CONGRATULATIONS!"

"YESSS ELLE!" Giselle turned to find the air signs running over. Gilbert gave her a high five, while Lizzy and Aika gave a group hug.

Arlen however picked her up and spun her around. "You did it!"

"I did it..." Giselle breathed out. She patted Arlen'shoulder and he let her down gently. "I couldn't have done it without you."

Gilbert and Lizzy cleared their throats.

"And Lizzy and Gilbert too."  Giselle smiled shaking her head.

The others made their way over to congratulate her. Only the Earth signs stayed back.

"I am still confused. Also, this street is a mess!" Vincent gestured to the wet spots and the popped balloons. "This place needs a cleanup."

"Just let them celebrate, babe." Cameron chuckled.

"I am letting them celebrate, bab-" Vincent noticed everyone staring at him. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You just called him babe~" Cleo taunted.

"NO, I DIDN'T CLEO."

"YOU DID! YOU SO DID!"

"NO!"

"Alyssa?" Giselle asked. "Since I won, what do I get? And what does everyone else get?" Everyone waited for the answer.

"Well," Alyssa stroked her chin. "Seeing as you won. You get to decide what the losers do. But the Water signs get something extra since they were teaming."

"The water signs did WHAT?" Tyler turned to the water signs.

"And since there are snitches who claimed it is unfair and the Earth signs have returned, it is only right if the Earth signs pick the punishment."

"We only just got back though..." Tahlia sighed.

"Wait, wait, wait. We get to pick?" Vincent gestured to himself. "I got a really good one!"

"Is it finally admitting that you call me 'babe'?"

"No." Vincent clenched his fists. He relaxed himself and smiled. "It's something better!"

~={ ⭐⭐ } =~ (Zoe and Bob are home, ready to start a new chapter)

Everyone gathered in House 5's backyard for Giselle's request. Since the backyard had a pool, Giselle requested the losers to jump into the pool in their Water Round clothes. The Earth Signs, Giselle, Alyssa, Leo and Sienna, however, watched from the sidelines as everyone else jumped in the cold waters.

Later Lily, Gilbert and Aika dragged the three sidelined fire signs in. The Earth signs, except Tahlia, pushed each other into the pool while Vincent tripped over his own feet. Giselle even got dragged in by Arlen which she didn't mind.

The Water signs even got their prize for teaming: lemon juice, suggested by Vincent. Tahlia had poured six glasses of lemon juice for the six water signs. Sabrina and Phoebe only got half since their boyfriends drank the other half out of love.

"It can't be that bad, right? I mean we can think of it as lemonade!" Carol picked up her glass. She admired the orange and pink sky above her and listened to the fire signs splash in the pool.

Skyler gestured to Gilbert and Tyler in the corner of the backyard, sobbing. "Then how come they are upset?"

"...Maybe they just don't like lemonade?"

"..."

Suddenly Arlen walked up to the water signs. "Hey."

"Oh hey Arlen, good game you did back there."

"Oh, thank you! You did well too, even though you teamed." Arlen crossed his arms. "By the way, have you seen Giselle anywhere?"

"Giselle?" a mature-sounding feminine voice asked. Arlen and the water signs turned to find Vivian. "She told me she went home. Said she was tired. I understood her so I let her go."

"She went home?" Arlen confirmed.

"Yeah. Why'd you ask, Arlen." Arlen brushed past Vivian. She turned, confused. "Arlen?" No answer. "Arlen??"

~= {🧹⭐️🧹✴️} =~ (Jay and Brian are cleaning up the venue)

Giselle flopped back on the couch and rested a hand on her forehead. She had just arrived home by herself. As much as she loved her friends and wished that she could spend more time with them, she was tired. Tired of running, tired of dodging, tired of everything.

She also could not stop thinking about it earlier. That earlier conversation with Arlen including Gilbert.

"ARLEN, CONFESS NOW!"

"C-Confess?"

"I can explain later."

Just what did that all mean?

She noticed Glimmer, Lizzy's dog, had trotted over. Smiling, Giselle bent over and stroked the dog's fur. The dog sat down and panted.

That's when the doorbell rang. Glimmer darted out of the room and barked at the door. Giselle looked up.

Someone's here.

She picked herself up from her spot and made her way to the front door. She pulled the door inwards and smiled when she saw someone familiar.

Arlen.

"Arlen?" Giselle put one of her hands on her waist. "What a surprise to see you."

"Hey Giselle, can we talk?"

"Why of course. Do you want to come in?"

"Uh no. I think standing outside here is fine." He tucked his hands in his pockets. "Look about earlier."

"Is this about the confession?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"Figured. Never left my mind." Giselle leaned against the doorframe. "Anyways, regarding it?"

"Uh yeah, well, um." Arlen cleared his throat. "Sorry. I have liked you for quite some time now and lately, my head has been bugging me to ask you out and-"

"Are you asking me out on a date Arlen Georges?" Giselle felt her cheeks heat up.

"Well, yeah. I was wondering if..." Arlen paused and then chuckled to himself. "Sorry, I am not used to it."

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Giselle reached over and held his hand. "Say what's on your mind, Arlen."

"Do you want to go to the movies together? Just the two of us?" Arlen asked. "It's- it's fine if you don't want to g-"

"Arlen." Giselle stepped forward and placed a finger on his lips. "I would love to go to the movies with you. What day and time?"

"I was thinking tomorrow."

"Oh that's too little time, we need to call and plan for a better time."

"I agree. I was thinking we can see that horror movie."

"Ooh, I like horror. Sounds perfect!"

"Yeah." Arlen smiled. The two laughed before Arlen let go of her hand. "Alright, so I guess we're a thing now. Unless you want to announce that later which is fine with me."

"Yeah, we're a thing now."

"Cool." Arlen gave a thumbs up. "Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Cool."

"Wait Arlen, I forgot to mention something."

Arlen stepped forward and lowered himself to get to her height. "What is it?"

"This." Giselle stepped forward and brushed her lips on his. When she pulled back, Arlen slowly lifted a hand to his lips. "That's what I wanted to mention."

She stepped backwards and closed the door. She knew he was probably standing at the front door, his hand still to his lips but one thing's for sure, she is going out with him.

She jumped in her spot and squealed before she slid down a wall. She could hardly believe it.

He asked her out. And now she's going out with him.

She smiled to herself. In one day she had managed to win two things, and she could not have been happier.

~= {⭐️} =~ (Jay is heading home)

Man, I went through a rollercoaster of emotions writing this chapter. But it was all worth it in the end and honestly, I am so excited about that!

Anyway, this is a note to remind you to read Torn Pages by my friend Quack (x_Quack_x ). Quack if you are reading this, ily /p

And everyone else reading this I also love you /platonically. I hope you liked this chapter cause I had fun writing it.

Also, the number of words overall in this chapter is 8551 words which wow that is a lot.