DiapOut: Chapter 50

“We’re a third of an hour into the competition and there are still six contestants hanging strong. You guys are doing awesome!” Cassi announced, her voice lacking in its usual, performative enthusiasm as she congratulated the surviving players for making it past the 20-minute mark. Her eyes darted toward the loser’s waiting area as soon as the red light on the camera was off, fuming over the fact that Ayaya had yet to return. She wasn’t sure why but something about Ayaya’s sneerful tone felt…off. So off that her narcissistic paranoia was through the roof; it couldn’t simply be that Ayaya was being a sore loser. Replaying the events of the day in her head, she racked her brain in search of a catalyst, a moment of offense…anything to explain why Ayaya hated her this much to walk off-set.  

“AHEM! Earth to Cassi!” 

Unfortunately, Cassi was unable to parse through her jumbled thoughts as Keelee’s interruption brought her back to reality. “Huh?” she muttered, peering into the prompter at her next dialogue blurb. “Oh…sorry, I totally spaced–” 

“Cameras 2 and 5 are trucking to get extra coverage on Misa and Zeke. Stay close in case someone falls,” Keelee repeated before walking off without waiting for a response; she loathed repeating direct instructions. 

FLOOOMPH! 

The petticoats of Zeke’s dress rose against his chest and arms before the laws of physics sent them plummeting in the opposite direction with each landing. He winced as the added weight stressed his knees and hamstrings, causing him to stumble in place. “Woooah!” he said, causing the audience to gasp as he rotated on his backfoot to keep from prematurely exiting the game. 

“You okay, Zeke?” Kyoko asked, catching a glimpse of her bestie’s miraculous recovery in her peripherals. 

Dismally, Zeke’s backward position allowed him to spot the additional camera that was now looming nearby. The vultures were circling. “Yeah…but I fear I’m not long for this world,” he joked, spinning back around just in time to gallop over the arm’s next assault. “Maybe the dress…wasn’t such a good idea.” 

“You think?!” Kyoko chuckled, happy to see that Zeke was finally returning to his senses. “I mean, what were you even thinking, dude?” 

Shrugging his raised shoulders, Zeke shook his head. “I dunno! It’s been a weird day, okay?!” he said, suddenly forgetting why he rejected the normal DiapOut uniform in the first place. It was kinda scary how much of a grip Betsy had on him. “I was mad…and I just wanted to feel…confident? I know that probably sounds dumb but…” 

“Pfft! Hahaha!” 

To Zeke’s surprise, Kyoko burst into another fit of laughter. A different, more personal kind of blush emerged on his face. “Heh…what’s so funny?” he said, his chest finding a sense of levity in Kyoko’s light mockery. 

Kyoko shook her head as her cackling softened, “Everything…everything’s funny. The club, Cade and Rupert, being here today…if it weren’t for you, I’d still be sitting alone in the cafeteria hoping that my diaper wouldn’t leak again. You say you want to feel confident. Half of my fucking confidence is because of you. You’re like…the best older brother I never had.” 

Zeke’s eyes watered. Considering the deepest conversation he’d had with his sister since the incident at the Pretty Pretty Princess Doll Factory was exchanging birthday texts, he was touched by Kyoko’s familial sentiment. So touched that he didn’t notice the rotating arm taking him out below the knees. His eyes widened as the force of the arm caused the rope to slip from his hands, sending him flailing backward into the oversized diaper pail. 

“Zeke!” Kyoko screamed, her head whipping back and forth as she attempted to check on Zeke while simultaneously keeping a watchful eye on the double-sided spinner. With only half of the Messers still eligible to win, she could afford to be distracted right now. 

Luckily, Kyoko wasn’t alone in this sentiment. “Don’t worry about me! You’ve got a…game to…win…Oh, fuck!” Zeke said, his motivational statement fading into an aroused stupor as the aphrodisiac quickly took hold of him. He’d been so pent up over the past several hours that there wasn’t an ounce of resistance left in his body. 

“Hehe…w-welcome to da cwub,” giggled Rupert, his body barely visible as he furiously humped himself into a deeper hole. 

CRACKLE! 

“Okay, boys, fun's over!” Keelee shouted into her megaphone, garnering awws of disapproval from Zeke, Rupert, and the audience. As of right now, Cade was surrounded on both sides by fallen comrades, and she wasn’t about to let an injury lawsuit happen on her watch. “Oh, zip it, you horny babies! Zeke, Rupert, you two can either get out now or Cade and Kyoko will have to forfeit.” 

Whimpering like the pair of blue-balled babs that they were, Zeke and Rupert slowly waded toward the closest rope ladder. “Thanks a lot, Rupert. I didn’t even get a full minute,” Zeke scoffed, flinging a heavily used diaper in Rupert’s direction. 

“Oooh! Zeke took quite the tumble!” Cassi said as a slow-mo reel of Zeke being pulverized by the padded arm played on the overhead monitor. “Only former Messers’ Cade and Kyoko are left standing to face off against Baby New Year Mia and her two remaining allies. Will Cade come to regret his betrayal?! We’ll find out soon enough. For now, I think it's time to ramp up the difficulty of our little game.” 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! 

The alarm bells from the beginning of the game bared through the studio speakers for the second time as the ropes that each contestant was clinging to began to rise simultaneously until they were far out of reach. “No more safety net, cuties! May the best bab win!” cheered Cassi, leaving the final five to flounder as they scrambled to adjust to the game’s newest element.  

“Of freaking course…” Misa groaned, dancing atop her pedestal to stay balanced after leaping over the arm, “...because this shit wasn’t hard enough.” A sedentary gamer girl by nature, Misa had wanted off the diaper carousel of doom since the final round began. The money may as well have been an afterthought. She would’ve taken the easy out Ayaya-style by this point if it weren’t for the bed of dirty diapers waiting for her at the bottom. Sadly, it appeared her only hope of avoiding a trip to the squishy diaper pit was to be the last one standing. 

“Misa’s not looking hot,” Jackson said, alerting Cassi, Keelee, and every other crew person on the studio floor to which player was most likely to exit the game next. “Leave camera 5 on a two-shot of Kyoko and Cade and hold off on interviews for Zeke and Rupert after the show. I want Cassi on the other side of the pit when Misa falls.”  

“Copy that,” Keelee said, sending her crew into motion. “You heard the man, Cassi. Let’s get you set up between Lelaya and Misa for a wide shot…Cassi?” 

Once again, Cassi’s focus was nowhere near the action of the show. Instead, her gaze was on Ayaya, who had finally re-entered the studio only to instantly beeline for the curtain where the control booth was stationed. The siren that was still blaring throughout the studio elevated her heart rate as her suspicion and paranoia only grew. “I…I need a minute,” she said moments before sprinting offstage. 

“C-Cassi?! Where are you going?!” Keelee said, her voice drowned out by the clamoring of the audience as Cassi ran past the seating section. Tragically, she had far too many things to keep track of to go chasing after DiapOut’s spacy host. Miss Caretaker could walk through the door at any moment, and Keelee wasn’t about to miss a big moment because Cassi decided to go AWOL. 

“Camera 3, watch your framing,” Jackson said in a firm yet hushed voice as he carried on calling the show. “And tech, camera 4 is looking a tad dark. Can I get a little more exposure–EEEEP!” 

A sharp squeal was expelled from Jackson's body as Ayaya’s wiggly fingers worked their way up his hips. “Sorry everyone, I…stubbed my toe,” he lied before muting his headset mic to deal with the troublemaker lurking behind him. “Alright, silly girl. What are you doing back here? You’re supposed to be waiting on stage with the other losers–no offense.” 

“Well, too bad because I’m offended,” Ayaya quipped, walking her fingers from Jackson’s side to his neck. “I just wanted to see what all went on back here. It’s really impressive.” 

Running a hand through his hair, Jackson's ego was set alight by Ayaya’s interest. “Well, if you’re THAT interested, I suppose it's okay for you to watch,” he said, practically swooning as he cleared a chair for Ayaya to use. It wasn’t like she was needed on set anyway, so what was the harm? “Just don’t touch anything, okay?” 

“You got it!” Ayaya said, playfully saluting Jackson before sitting down with her legs spread in such a way that she was practically offering her diaper up on a silver platter. Unsurprisingly, the flustered director struggled to pay attention to the show happening on screen as a result, leaving the board ops to fend for themselves. 

Little did Ayaya and Jackson know that their flirty moment together in the control booth was being spectated by DiapOut’s vindictive host. Poking her head through the curtain, a bitter Cassi looked on with gritted teeth as a scorching fire rose within her pupils. What gave this girl the right to blow her off so that she could make googly eyes at Jackson? And why wasn’t Jackson kicking her out on the spot?! She didn’t have all the facts yet but one thing was certain: Ayaya was up to something and she was going to find out what it was. 

TO BE CONTINUED…