#adela&&jude.

[bluemmings]

@gotatext​

day 39 / jude && adela / smoking area

without dylan to chat to as easily as she’d like, she’s realising she really does lack friends in here. maybe it’s just her desire to avoid everyone today, the fact that she feels like talking to certain people will make her look worse than she does, that she’s avoiding a certain number of other people because she can feel their judgement... either way, she’s concluded that her own company is the safest. she doesn’t want people wondering what’s going on with her and dylan or making bets whether he’ll actually forgive her or not. she knows she can’t stop them, but she can avoid hearing it first hand. though it’s hard to be alone when there’s very limited numbers of spaces to hide, one of the best places is the smoking area given not everyone smokes. she rarely does unless she’s feeling herself on a night out and all her friends are but she’s got the itch for it today, the need for a little kick of something else, something a bit different than what she’ll get from a bottle. she almost turns around when she sees jude sitting on one of the benches but there’s a feeling that turning around is worse, that she’s not avoiding him anyways so why would she be weird about it ? if he wants to go, fine, but that’s on him. so her steps don’t stall, heels clicking against the ground before taking a seat near him. she’s not as far as she could be but she knows there might be reason to keep her distance. she takes the little bag of baccy and some papers that she’s probably stolen from someone else and gets to rolling herself a cig, wishing she had some weed to sneak in too. she can’t just sit here in silence, feels too heavy and weird for some reason. so she clears her throat. “ right, do not watch me... a’ve not rolled in ages, it’s gonny be so bad. ” she starts, already feeling like she’s put too much baccy in.

[gotatext]

location :  bean bags

when :   lunch time, day 43.

featuring :  adela  /   @bluemmings

        “ mate, i am gaggin’ for a greggs, ”   jude notes, by way of greeting, dropping down into the bean bag beside adela and popping the cap on his sun cream lotion. “ honestly, think i’m goin’ into withdrawal. the shit they give us for lunch in here. not even joking, who do i have to suck off for a sausage, bean, and cheese melt ?   harry hill ?  richard branson ?  philip schofield ? ”  they definitely won’t be airing that last one, or probably any of this conversation. product palcement gone mad. it’s like loose women in here.  “ what’s your go-to greggs order, then ? ”  because c’mon ! she’s geordie. she’s obviously got one. 

[blondcs]

when:   thirty-four / night / post-challenge

where:   bedroom

featuring:  @gotatext​

she didn't want to take her costume off—would've slept in it, wings and all if it weren't for production all but forcibly disrobing them and corralling them to bed. it means an early morning tomorrow, probably another too-full day of talking herself into even more trouble, if she can get through the night first. after the high of the challenge she’s feeling the comedown, the frenzied excitement gone and nothing but consequences in its wake until it’s hard to focus on any of the highlights anymore—the kissing, the grinding, the eyeliner. the fact that she got not only jude’s heart rate up the most, but josh’s and dante’s too. these are wins, but there’s no more hooting or hollering and definitely no more bombshell kisses to distract her from the fact that, sans the makeout sesh, jude fixed adela with the routine she should’ve gotten while she went out of her way to put on a show for josh. she doesn’t flop down on the bed per usual, flailing limbs in check as she mechanically slips under the covers and wraps herself up in them until it’s just her face poking toward jude. “so... why didn’t you pick me up?” 

[romistav]

“So, like, Josh told me that the two of them got in a fight but like was it over Jude?” There had been hair pulling involved which must have made for good television but at the same time at this point the producers must be fucking done with all of them. Romi takes a sip of their drink, looking between her two friends. “They knew each other already, right? Adela and him? That’s what he’d been trying to say at the recoupling, I think.” // @graftisms  + @heatwayve​​​

[dobits]

CALLIE & ANGEL -- NIGHT FORTY

location: evening / the boat cruise

featuring: @graftisms

ANGEL

“how much are you loving this?” judging by angel’s grin, he can tell the answer is a lot. still, seems like he’s enjoying watching her enjoy it more. sat at one of the bar’s tables they can overlook the ocean and watch the water lap warm and forceless against the side of the vessel. “how’s it compare to your old man’s boat?”

CALLIE

"oh, i'm buzzin'," she laughs, not having enough tact to even pretend otherwise. her eyes are on the ocean as if there's a pod of dolphins out there, when in reality she's just missed actually seeing the water. "comparing his boat to this is like comparing... that guy," she points to the average looking bartender, "to chris hemsworth." no offense, mate.

ANGEL

“well, this is kinda a bit much anyway,” angel defends mr. michaels with a shrug of his hand. “like, you can’t even feel the spray on a joint like this.” the yacht seems designed to negate the whole point of being on the water, all the messy, salty, fun bits he imagines you get on a good ol’ fashioned fishing boat. “— chris hemsworth?” he arched a teasing brow at her. “see, i knew you had a thing for the josh types.”

CALLIE 

"yachts are too much for you?" she teases, brushing her knee against his under the table. "no, you're not wrong. this thing is massive. i went to find the loo earlier and got lost." on a boat! ridiculous. the mention of naomi's boyfriend immediately makes callie's nose wrinkle. "josh wishes he looks like chris hemsworth," she shakes her head, "but nah, that was just the first, like, conventionally hot guy i could think. i'm more of a chris pine girl myself."

ANGEL

“only when i don’t have my cigar,” in that posh, upper crust tone. a hand curls the back of callie’s knee, pulling her leg between his as he leans forward to court a kiss. “maybe we should go find the loo and get lost,” he suggests, grinning. “you look beautiful, y’know.” a snort has his head nodding, isn’t entirely surprised by any of that. “i’m kinda more chris evans vibe. but, like, not another teen movie era.”

CALLIE

she leans forward to meet his kiss easily, hand resting on the top of his knee, giving it a squeeze. "i'm willing to bet jenny and jude have thought of that already," she jokes, but it's not exactly a no, eyes shining. "chris evans? what teen movie was he in?"

ANGEL

“please, as if they’d do us all the favor of finding somewhere private,” angel quips. knowing those two, they’d start exploring each other’s bodies right there on the dance floor if it suited them. a cheshire grin stretches over his mouth, too pleased she’s opened herself up to the joke name of the movie. “not another teen movie,” he repeats, hardly restraining laughter. “c’mon, i know they have parody movies in australia.”

CALLIE

callie laughs through making a face, eyes sweeping around to see if she can find them. safe to assume what they're doing since she doesn't see them. "good for them," lips press together to hold back a smile, shaking her head. "naur, sorry. the only movies we have in australia are nature documentaries, and stuff with nicole kidman," eyes widen in faux disappointment. "no, i've just never heard of that. sounds stupid."

ANGEL

the corners of his eyes crinkle as he laughs, his head shaking. “you’re out on the water for an hour and already you’re ODing on aussie-isms.” not unlike the way she gets when her and dylan talk together, or jude and adela. he scoffs dramatically. “it’s not stupid, it’s fucking hilarious and you’re gonna love it when i make you watch it.” angel squeezes the back of her knee again before he leans back in his chair, smiling at the prospect of still learning things about her. “what kinda movies aren’t stupid then?”

CALLIE

"me? have you heard eden, she always sounds way more aussie," she argues, as if it's a bad thing. it's not, but callie likes to think that her few years in america makes her a little more cultured than that. "you should be keeping a list at this point." it's not the first time he's told her they're gonna watch something, nor will it be the last. there's a pause as she considers the questions thoughtfully, before shrugging. "i don't know, i'm not much of a movie person," she admits. "but parody movies are made to be stupid, aren't they?"

ANGEL

“nah, you been really hittin’ those naurs lately, it’s cute as fuck.” between her and jude, he’s definitely going back to LA with a few extra slang terms. angel brings a finger up to tap his temple. “already keepin’ a list, babe. we’re gonna start off with fast and furious. every single one.” he’s laughing because he fully could’ve called that, callie doesn’t exactly seem like the kinda person to sit home and geek out over a screen. “no, you’re probably more like why watch a movie when we can just live it?” which, kinda fair. “oh, totally stupid. the chris evans one is a banger though. god, i haven’t seen that in forever.” if only they could pull up netflix or, better yet, just do anything besides drinking and talking about other people’s relationships. “y’know, mr. not-chris-hemsworth behind the bar over there is, like, the only fresh blood we’ve seen in weeks. maybe he’s got, like, exciting news from the outside world.” he’s joking, until suddenly he’s not, leaning forward into callie conspiratorially. “maybe he’s got weed.”

CALLIE

"naur, i have not," she defends, before pausing. "--okay, that time i heard it." eyes roll lightly in jest at herself. "every one? how many are there again?" those movies really don't sound like her cup of tea, but she is curious to see why he likes them so damn much. "wow, you make me sound like a douche," she laughs, shaking her head. "nah, i just don't have the attention span for them. i'm never just chilling alone and think, hm, i should put on a movie." though now she misses them, since they can't watch any here. "victoria and santiago erasure," she laughs, though turns to give the bartender a second glance. the mention of weed has her head snapping back to angel, eyes narrowing playfully. "there's no way," she says, but she's not confident in that, leaning forward too. "should i ask? shake him down? that is the only thing that'd make this night better."

ANGEL

“they’re doing a tenth one,” he tells her, totally indulged. “in one of the other ones vin diesel stomps on the ground and makes an earthquake, man. so sick.” angel’s definitely part of the joke that the movies suck, but he also definitely still likes them anyway. “nah, yeah, i feel that. honestly, i think it’ll probably be, like… a long minute before we’re gonna be able to do the normal chill stuff together, huh?” presumably after this they’ll travel, do press and marketing for their various business deals, do appearances. seems like there will hardly be any time to bop around a random grocery store together. “they’re, like, cast. i’m talkin’ bonafide normal person.” the line is pretty fine. he chuckles lowly at callie’s immediate interest, thrives under that attention. “way. c’mon, boat bartender?” angel points out under his breath. surely this guy has a joint. never mind the fact production can definitely hear them and will squash the bit when they feel like it’s gone on too long. he nods eagerly. “mhm, go toss your hair at him. oh, do that little slanty smile thing you do, that’ll bring it home.”

CALLIE

"you must be joking," her head falls back as she laughs, just at that mental image alone. "i don't think that's actually possible. what are those movies about, anyway? besides cars." or is that what it's only about? callie hadn't actually thought about the next time they can sit down and watch a movie, but angel saying that does make her consider it. "damn, when you say it like that, it's kind of depressing," she admits, with a little chuckle. it's weird to think about when they get out of the show, they won't just be going back to their normal lives; there's the added layer of everything that comes with this. "there's no way they'd let us get some..." but her voice trails off, considering it. what does she have to lose? "alright," she takes a deep breath, smacking a kiss on his lips before rising to her feet. "i'm going in."

ANGEL

“so it starts with them doing street races with their homemade rides and then by the end of the series they’re committing, like… international espionage.” a shrug, like it’s a natural progression. super sick. for someone who’s spent the majority of their adult life working, staying low key and in his lane, there’s a semblance of excitement to living the antithesis. it’ll be like playing a role for a little bit, playing pretend, before he goes back to the shop, back to reality. callie breaking it down to the dubious bare bones though has him nodding slowly with realization. “huh. yeah, i guess, kinda,” he concedes. then he jerks his chin toward her. “at least we’re gonna be doing it together, right?” that’s the silver lining to anything, he figures. it brings a spark of excitement to watch callie talk herself into playing the game with him, especially since she’s about to do all the heavy lifting. “hell yeah,” he hypes, can’t find the restraint to not lean forward and smack her ass when she starts toward the bar. “you got this.”

CALLIE

"oh, naturally," she deadpans with a nod, as if that's the most normal thing in the world. "what's happening in the tenth one, are they going to the moon?" i guess, he says, and it's clear that he doesn't totally agree with her, which makes callie smile to herself. now that she thinks about it, maybe it's for the best that they don't get a movie night in the near future; those movies sound terrible. "nah, it'll be fun," she assures him, because while the idea of celebrity life feels increasingly overwhelming the longer they're here, part of her recognizes she's probably overthink it. it's not like they're becoming the next kardashians. but she feels a bit like one of them while on this yacht, channeling their energy as she struts over to the bartender, arms resting on the bar between them in an effort to come off as cute and approachable as possible. the conversation's quick, only a minute or two, before she's coming back over to angel with a restrained smile, immediately laughing as she sits down. taking his hand, she passes him the only thing the bartender gave her: a cigarette. "okay, that man did not speak english," she tells him, keeping her voice down despite some residual laughter. "i tried to mime a blunt, but... he was so happy to give me this. i didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise." a pause. "or the spanish."

ANGEL

“what you mean? weed is a universal language,” he argues playfully, also trying to restrain his low laughter as he inspects the cigarette. angel heaves a sigh, begrudgingly grabbing a stray lighter abandoned on the table before lighting it up, his hand cupped around the end. “do you think your grandparents are gonna like me?” he wonders randomly, the smile lining the edges of his mouth aware of his glibness. “or, like, oh my god, your friends? are they gonna, like, ice me out if i don’t have a vagina?” it’s a joke, can infer as much but his light chuckles, but it is a vague curiosity.

CALLIE

"then you go ask him for some," she nods in the direction of the bar, but it's half-hearted. callie shakes her head when it becomes apparent he's going to use her own cigarette. "what?" the question is so out of left field for a second all she can do is laugh. "oh yeah, sorry. did i not mention? all my friends are man-hating lesbians," her eyes roll at that. "of course they're gonna like you. hate to break it to you, but we wouldn't be doing this if i thought they wouldn't. besides, you gotta be, like, parent catnip, right?" callie finds it hard to believe anyone just wouldn't like him.

ANGEL

“yeah, flip my hair at him?” angel jokes, a boyish smile settling on his face. it only broadens at callie’s tease. “shut up, it could happen.” he’s sure he’s seen it in a movie once, surely written by a man. the plume of smoke is ripped away by the water’s gentle breeze, he ashes into one of the trays. “nuh uh,” angel defends his nonexistent bad boy image, his smile slanted and bashful and no help. “i mean, i’d try to be. but i’m, like, the guy with no degree, barely a job, mostly a bunch of debt. or i dunno, maybe they’d want you with an aussie or somethin’.” somebody to keep her close, he could understand that considering his immediate plans to steal her away to LA. “tell me about your bestie. not dylan.” ‘cause he just figures.

CALLIE

"is that how you flirt?" she teases, already knowing the answer to that. her hand outstretches, silently asking for the cigarette. may as well, since they can't get actual weed here. "barely a job? don't you run your own shop?" she laughs incredulously. "you do remember i'm, like, actually unemployed, right? my nan's gonna just like that you have ambitions." it's not really something she's thought about, but if anyone should be worried about family not approving, it's probably callie. not just the fact that all she has to her name is a golden retriever and a surf board, but also for having to watch her drama unfold with frankie. now she really does need this cigarette. "um, i have a few of them," she admits, taking a drag from the smoke. "there's hannah and bri, who i grew up with. hannah's still in sydney, which made moving back home not completely dull. bri's over in brisbane now, getting her phd. she's crazy smart." definitely the friend that's the least like herself. "there's also amanda, who was my roommate back in san diego. i'm still really close with her. she's constantly trying to get me to move back, but she's living with her girlfriend now, so it's not like she needs the roomie." she takes another puff before handing it back. "what about yours? are they gonna like me, even though i don't know shit about cars?"

ANGEL

“don’t act like you don’t love it when i flip my hair,” he warns, brows lifting and falling like he’s said something salacious. the ciggy’s slotted between her fingers as he sniffs, cants his head in a shrug and plays with her free hand. “yeah, but it’s, like… not jiffy lube or anything,” angel laughs, modest. “it’s hard to say if i can make it into a thing, y’know?” by all accounts a confession, an admission of his real world fears which feels too large and looming backlit by the silly villa qualms of who’s grafting who. “that’s different. you can do anything you wanna do, plus… like, i’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of you.” a sentiment laced with a false sarcasm, like the heteronormativity and the gender roles are just a joke. angel does believe it though, if even just a little bit. for all his progressive new agey vibes, he admittedly would wanna make sure he was bringing home the bacon. “i love that you have friends in california,” angel buzzes, his smile thinly veiled. “you know hannah and bri from, like, school? that’s kinda sick, i dunno if i’m still homies with anybody from high school anymore.” he takes the cigarette and ashes it, head shaking playfully. “yeah, you’re gonna be walking a thin line. they’re gonna trivia you for sure.” breaking into a laugh, angel cheeses. “nah, my closest buddies aren’t even gearheads. you’re gonna be fine.”

CALLIE

"what, when you flip it in my face while i'm trying to sleep? it's very cute, yeah." it's not like she hasn't admitted time and time again how much she likes his hair, okay. "what do you mean, make it into a thing?" eyebrows arch, not sure if he's being modest or if she just doesn't have the whole picture. "it's a business that you run and you make money from it, don't you? that sounds like a thing to me. like honestly, angel, that's... really bloody impressive." really intimidating too, because it's so wildly different to the life she's returning to, one where she actually has to figure out what she wants to do. in reality, callie will probably just end up living off influencer money for as long as she can, because optimistic notions aside, she can't really do anything she wants when callie has no desire to work at all. though him making the comment about taking care of her throws her off enough to make her cough up her cigarette puff, reaching for the drink in front of her before giving him a dirty look. "what are all your friends from, then?" she asks, once she can breath again. if he didn't meet them as kids or from work, where else do you meet people? "who am i gonna get to meet?"

ANGEL

“mm-mm, i can’t help flipping it in your face ‘cause you’re always, like, all over me when we’re sleeping,” he exaggerates, enjoying the bickering way too much. an inhale is held for a beat of thought, eyes passing over the waves before slinking back to callie. “i mean, make money…,” mouth twists into a shrug, “like, i break even. i dunno, maybe i just been away too long, y’know? getting in my feelings about it. i’m always kinda wiggin’ that it’s gonna fall flat as, like, a passion project kinda vibe, but, nah, i know i can build it up. hire the right guys, maybe open another location one day.” his fire stokes a bit at the thought of her being impressed, an electric jolt with the steep awareness that there’s a whole lot left they’ll be able to see of each other’s lives outside of the villa. callie’s reaction makes him belly laugh, though he opts not to double down for fear of having her hack up a lung. another drag gives him a little time to recount the origins of his besties. “mmm, so i met jimmy through juno, actually. he’s her ex from college. they didn’t date, like, super long, but me and him became homies, like, that’s basically my brother now. then i met my other buddy, mick, through him. he’s, like, this musician, his family’s all in it and shit, but he stays mostly in new york. uh, aside from them, i really just chill with, like, my cousins, y’know? but they’re all gonna love you.”

CALLIE

"oh, yeah, i'm always all over you?" she laughs, swatting him lightly in the arm. "i'll remember that." an empty threat, and surely he knows that by now. "how long have you had the shop for?" she asks, knowing it takes a while for a new business to make profit. how much time, she doesn't know—she was only a psych major in uni. "having your own business sounds so stressful," callie exhales, a little jokey but also fully meaning it. "but no, it sounds like it's been doing pretty well already, and once we get back? i'm sure there's gonna be plenty of new clients coming in, hoping to see some of that heart rate challenge action," she teases. but it's hard to ignore that this place does come with a platform, one that has the ability to really change their lives. "how does she feel with you being besties with her ex?" callie's trying to imagine how dylan would feel if they were in their shoes, but genuinely can't. she had almost forgotten that he said he had all this extended family, more people that she's going to have to be introduced to. california's going to be overwhelming; callie's been so focused on how easy he's going to fit into her life, she hasn't really thought about whether she'll even fit into his. "how many cousins are we talking about?" she laughs a little, trying to will the nerves away.

ANGEL

between the sweetness and the sarcasm, angel feels like a conduit of cringey pda and yet he can’t manage to feel even a scrap of shame for it. “no worries, if you forget i’ll remind you.” because the lack of personal space in their bed is as much his doing as it is her’s. “like, the physical shop i’ve had for… man, almost two years now? before that i was kinda just working on my own rides and, like, renting ‘em out for photo shoots or whatever. so the shop is more like a new venture.” which doesn’t make it easier to be away for even a couple weeks, though callie’s reassurance has him nodding, believing. “hey, that’s same for you, y’know? every fuckin’ surf brand is gonna be paying hand over fist to get you in their stuff. and you already know i’m hiring you as pit crew as long as you’re wearing that fit.” he sighs dreamily with the memory, teasing as much as he is nostalgic for it. his shoulders shift in a shrug, stealing a last hit of the cig before crushing it into the ashtray. “she’s chill now, it’s been, like, a few years, they both dated a bunch of people since then.” he wonders briefly if those two have backslid before since him and jimmy have become friends, decides immediately to abandon that consideration and remain ignorant. “well, i got, like, seven aunts and uncles and they all got at least two kids each… probably ten or so that i’m actually tight with.” angel watches callie’s face a moment before breaking out into a grin. “you feelin’ overwhelmed?” a concept that tickles him, usually only ever sees her utterly in control, her agency absolutely measured. “don’t worry, i’m not gonna throw you into anything you aren’t ready for.”

CALLIE

"a new venture," she parrots back, because it sounds so fantasy when he says it like that. like he's a real business person—which he is, really. it's surreal to think of her angel as someone's boss, paying checks and working and 9 to 5. does the shop even have those hours? there's something to be said about how callie can probably list which fast and furious movies angel likes in order, but the day-to-day operations of his work is a complete mystery to her. "did you make a decent chunk of money doing that, the renting?" she asks, genuinely. "but yeah, i know. part of me is stoked for it, too. i could use a new wetsuit," callie admits, lips curved. "but i don't know. we'll see. i'm not ready to go back to real life just yet." some parts very much so, but others—like working—can definitely wait. "yeah? can i get a job at the shop?" she squeezes his knee from beneath the table, grinning. "that's good. my brother dated hannah for a bit in high school, but it ended totally shit. i was pissed at him for weeks after." so awkward when your friends date your brother. callie makes a face when he calls her out for looking overwhelmed, though he seems so happy about it she can't help but laugh. "a little bit," she says, not afraid to admit it, "but in a good way. i'm excited for it. my family's gonna feel so small compared to yours, though."

[crackonhq]

IT’S THE LOVE ISLAND FINALE!!!!! 

for the finale, i took the TOP FOUR couples from our vote and threw out the rest, so there were still 8 characters left standing when the winners were announced. your final four are:

naomi & josh

jenny & jude

callie & angel

adela & dylan

IN FOURTH PLACE...

adela and dylan received 16% of the vote. adela and dylan had a rocky start when they met in casa while dylan was still coupled up with naomi. he had options, but couldn’t deny the chemistry he had with adela, and chose to bring her back because he felt like they had a shot at romance. they’ve stuck it out ‘til the final, and we wish them the best in continuing their romance in the real world !

IN THIRD PLACE...

jenny and jude received 24% of the vote. jenny and jude both explored in casa before realizing that they couldn’t deny their feelings and that it was going to work best with each other. jenny was coupled up with josh, but they left things on uncertain terms when she brought back jude from casa. a couple weeks later, jude asked jenny to be his girlfriend on the boat cruise and the two have been attached at the hip since. 

IN SECOND PLACE...

naomi and josh received 28% of the vote. naomi and josh were first coupled up on day two when she stole him from his day one couple. while they continued to gravitate toward each other as new bombshells entered the villa, the decision to explore other options broke them up before the start to casa amor. josh returned from the other villa intent on winning naomi back, and the couple made things official after movie night. now they’ll be making the return flight to canada as a couple. 

IN FIRST PLACE...

angel and callie recieved 32% of the vote. angel and callie got together in casa amor. callie was coupled up with frankie at the time, but decided to give angel a chance while she was feeling uncertain about her potential with frankie. callie’s connection with angel proved to be too strong to ignore, and she brought him back to the villa with the intention of focusing on him. the two have been completely about each other since, and angel popped the ( girlfriend ) question just before their last week together in the villa. now they won’t just be going home in a relationship, but they’ll be taking $50,000 with them. 

congratulations to our winners, all our happy couples, and thanks for a great season !!

[graftisms]

BEACH HUT CONFESSIONALS 13:  JOSHUA VARGAS DAY THIRTY-NINE

how are you feeling about movie night ?   did anything surprise you ?

“ you know what, fuck movie night. all the shit that was shown about me was old as fuck. why did they need to being mali into it ?   and adela and i, seriously ?   funny there were no clips of frankie and i flirting, because naomi wouldn’t care about that, but no. ”   he takes a deep breath.   “ i think i’m mostly surprised how seriously some people took it ?   naomi included, like, i didn’t think it was that. even her movie wasn’t even that bad—the only thing that annoyed me was the marcus shit, which doesn’t matter now. i thought romi’s was the worst. her saying that shit about naomi and i... i don’t know. that stung. right after her and jenny fighting too ?   jesus. ”

what are your thoughts on romi and marcus’s decision to leave ?

“ it’s fine. i’m fine, ”   he says. after a few seconds of silence :   “ what ?   obviously i’m not fine, but what is there to say ?   i love them both. do i get why they left ?   no. does it seem like a fucking waste, because they could’ve gotten back together and won this thing ?   yeah. i hate how romi and i left things, even if we are fine, i guess. i don’t know, we’ll see when we get out of here. it kinda feels like my friends are dropping like flies, though. watch miles and frankie be next. ”

are you happy in your couple or do you think your head could be turned ?

“ no, i think at this point the ship has sailed on my head turning. it’s fully with naomi. i know i talked shit about romi and marcus leaving, but i’d do the same with naomi if she asked. she may as well be my girlfriend by now... which is why the argument we had last night annoyed me so much. i know, is should’ve waited before saying anything, probably do my little plan today. i’m just... i’m tired of waiting, y’know ?   i was trying to show to her how she shouldn’t care about the movie night shit, because we’re more real than that. but it backfired, obviously, she she slept outside. maybe with fucking dylan, who knows. she hasn’t talked to me today, and i’m just gonna let her come to me for once. i think we’ll be fine, otherwise i’d be doing more, but... that shit was embarrassing, man. i’ve never asked someone to be my girlfriend before. i need a minute. ”

what are your thoughts on santiago and victoria ?   are either of them your type ?   do you think your partner would be interested in them ?

“ i don’t think victoria likes me very much, ”   he snorts.   “ not just because i’m a dude, but probably doesn’t hurt. i’m definitely not her type. santiago obviously isn’t my type either, though what the fuck is that guy ?   there’s no way he’s taller than me. i think he just wears shoes with some lift in them. whatever, either way i’m not worried about naomi. jude should be a little worried with jenny, though, otherwise he might find her in the shower with that one. ”

[properbantz]

BEACH HUT CONFESSIONALS 001 — EDEN FOSTER

BOMBSHELL ENTRANCE:

HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT ENTERING THE VILLA? 

“ oh i’m absolutely stoked. i saw callie on the show and thought like, now there’s a girl with an idea. ”  her smile widens and she leans forward in the chair.  “ like i know i should be nervous or something but i’m just not y’know? ”  it helps that she’s used to a sort of reality tv type beat. talking in front of a camera is comfortable at this point given interviews or her family’s little day in the life show.  “ the camera’s don’t really faze me or anything and i’ve done this long enough not to like.. have a total freak out like that one guy with the hair, reece? or the boxer trying to throw his dick everywhere? or the other blonde? jenny’s an absolute dream but she’s gotta work on grounding breathing exercises. really, i’m just here to have a good time and whatever it is at the end of the day that’s that. ”  eden shrugs, bright smile returning to her features.  “ like obviously i’m hoping to find someone grand but i’m also being realistic. shoot for the moon, yeah? stars are pretty too. ” 

IS THERE ANYONE WHO YOU HAD YOUR EYE ON ALREADY OR HAS CAUGHT YOUR EYE OFF THE BAT THAT YOU’D BE INTERESTED IN GOING FOR? 

“ oh definitely. ” her expression twist as if she’s asking ‘are you serious?’  “ yeah a lot of the islanders already seem pretty ace. i’ve got a few that i’m looking forward to pulling for a chat before others, like miles, frankie, adela, but i’m keen on getting a chat in with everybody. not because i’m desperate or anything, ”  she laughs, pointing at the producers behind the camera,  “ but how else are you going to know if you’ve got chemistry with someone if you don’t even try to entertain a conversation? how do you know there’s not that spark or fireworks if you don’t go for the kiss? ”   

WHICH COUPLES SEEM THE MOST SOLID TO YOU? LEAST SOLID? 

her nose scrunches, clearly not wanting to answer this question and not having a good answer for it either.  “ none of them? ”  she feels bad saying that, but all of these couples seem so shaken around.  “ i mean if you want to get into it i guess angel and callie have got a really good thing going? but something about callie and frankie feels severely unfinished, like if they don’t get it out now they’re going to end up doing something they regret later or hurting their partners. like not intentionally, but that original fire pit just felt... intense. even in here, you don’t react that way to someone you’re over. i think jude and jenny are sweet. i’d like to see them succeed, i think he’s sweet to her despite the fact he looks like he would kill a pair of tracky daks. you think he owns ‘em? ” 

WHAT PEOPLE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF GETTING ALONG WITH?

“ overly optimistic to say everyone, like i’m being thrown into the lion’s den here, but that’s not unfamiliar in the slightest. plus i know cal, she and i ran in a pretty similar circle a while back. ”  her tone’s light, teasing. who would she be if she didn’t make some sort of wild animal reference right out the gate?  “ i’m gonna have to put a little more thought into what comes out of my mouth from time to time but i just call it like i see it. i’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, the last thing i wanna do is make anyone upset. so like... that’s gonna be the thing. i hope i get on with angel and charlene. they seem like a good time, dante and jude maybe? ” 

WHAT PEOPLE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF NOT GETTING ALONG WITH? 

“ i’m not like hoping to go in making enemies. that’s not my speed. ”  she tries to make this aggressively clear,  “ but maybe dylan? maybe. which is like wild considering that’s another true blue right there but i think he just takes himself so seriously and i’m not really about that. but i hope that’s not the case. um... i don’t really know how it’ll go with josh. or naomi.  i don’t want to get sucked into that whirlpool of a mess just by being in their sheer proximity so maybe i’ll stay away from that with no less than a six foot pole. ” 

[inquixotic]

BEACH HUT: ENTRANCE.

how are you feeling about entering the villa?

“i am feeling really, really good! i think eden and i are going to bring such a fun vibe that’s been missing for, like, a really good minute. we’re a barrel of laughs, or whatever. i think they’re going to really like us.” evelyn smiles sweetly, the nervous energy bubbling up in her. “like, i’ve been watching the show for so long now that it feels a little surreal almost? and i know, like, it’s going to be a challenge for us, regardless.” she pauses a little, her smile going a little thoughtful, though unaware that what she’s about to say is kinda cruel. “i think everyone is finally fuckin’ worried about not being in actual, real, truly solid couple that they’re willing to just settle and stick with whoever they’re with now and swear that it’s the real thing, that it’s got the potential to be love. but i don’t think some of them are making the right choice, so hopefully we can show them that.” 

is there anyone who you had your eye on already or has caught your eye off the bat that you’d be interested in going for?

“i think i just want to get everyone’s vibes a little bit. i don’t really...like to make judgment calls without meeting someone? especially when i don’t really know them yet. but from how they look alone, i think charlene and angel are my type? we’ll see,” she giggles. “dylan and frankie, too, they seem so sweet. but i think it’s more like, i want to be their friend? i just know it’d be a blast to hang out with them, so i’ll sus it out, see if there’s a vibe or anything. if jenny wasn’t so obviously not into women, i’d probably try to pull her, too. but i think if anyone could do it, it’d be me, no offense to any of the girls who’ve tried. she just seems to like someone who can handle her.” there’s an embarrassed flush at that sentiment, though. “i think what marcus is doing with trying to win romi back over is really sweet, so i think having a chat with him will be necessary, too.” 

which couples seem the most solid to you? least solid?

“i don’t think they’re solid exactly, but i’m not touching josh or naomi with a ten foot pole after the shit they pulled in casa.” it’s the first time she’s looked anything other than cheerful, her forehead creasing with concern. “i’m not lookin’ to be used as spice for someone else’s relationship drama. and if they can’t stop doin’ that, they need to walk because it’s not fair to everyone else here who just wants to find their person.” she means charlene, specifically, an already protective streak forming from the edit she’s seen. “i really think jenny and jude have got a good chance. angel and callie, frankie and miles...both of them seem pretty paired off for it having only been, like, what, three days? least solid...i don’t know that any of them are solid, really. probably dylan and adela? i don’t think i have the full story, but she doesn’t seem very nice, right? i can’t imagine her leaving if he had to, you know? and that’s the whole point of the show, find someone to leave with. i hope they do make it if he likes her, though.” 

what people do you see yourself getting along with?

“well, frankie and i are going to be best friends.” the confidence in her tone leaves little room for argument, her positivity radiating through her smile. at this rate she’s going to scare frankie and they won’t even be friends. “i know jenny seems a little...scary on the surface, but she just cries so much. like, she’s my people, you know? i completely understand that feeling, when there’s just too much going on and all you can do is cry. miles and angel, too, they seem like such a good laugh. i think we need more of that energy and less of the, like, unnecessary dramatics? like, i personally as a viewer don’t want to see more exes or whatever.” she gives the camera a pointed look, speaking directly to the producers. “i think jude, too, once you get past all the doom and gloom will be really fun. hopefully he won’t be too upset when i kiss his girl, though.” 

what people do you see yourself not getting along with?

“thankfully, the only person i was not looking forward to decided to take off. i don’t want to not get along with anyone, but i don’t think i’ll spend too much time with naomi, josh, or adela. my therapist says i struggle with “toxic positivity”, and i’m really trying not to like, go in thinking i can fix their problems or that i have the solution. so like i said, i just...don’t think i want the drama that seems to follow them around. can’t tell if they create it themselves, y’know, and that’s not anything i want to be caught up in. i just want to find my person, you know? and i know damn well that’s not them.” she offers a shrug. that’s a very concrete statement, but her mind’s closed off from what she’s seen. “callie, too, probably, if i’m solidly on the frankie did nothing wrong side of things. it’s whatever, though. i only need one aussie girl in my life, and eden’s already got that covered.” 

[vongosh]

all pretense of smugness drops as she hits him with the trifecta: an immediate scoff, the signature eye roll and a half-baked clap back that she instantly: "naomi isn't even little," as involuntary as tapping her knee and watching it jump. and she isn't! what's jenny, an inch taller maybe? it's flashbacks to towering over all the boys well into high school and to naomi always coming out just slightly ahead and to jude hoisting adela up in the air because golly gee, isn't she just so cute and small and augh. jude, whom he's bringing up before she can even recover from the first jab, a power combo that has her grinding her teeth and clenching a fistful of acrylics down into her palm. touché. no 'cheers' for him then as she hides behind a sip of her drink. then another. "so you're saying your thing with mimi was comparable to me and jude." it isn't technically 'a question', but she expects an answer, shifting back so she can wield those doe eyes like a weapon. but it's max she's looking at, and any vulnerability that might slip out would be demanded back of her two-fold. case in point, this. the wresting back of his control, and at her expense. how original. she holds a hand up then, an urgent stop to whatever he might've been about to say. "actually, you're right. let's not." that's what he was getting at, right? do you really wanna go there? she's not happy to give him his like, fiftieth win in the span of just minutes, but it's easier than unpacking a relationship she hasn't even let herself think about.

it's hard to get her head back in the game after that, but their conversations have always gone like this. the quippy back and forth, the equal parts flirting and roasting, the palpable sexual tension, but all of it kind of feeling like the tip of the iceberg—the one that sank the titanic, probably. like they're dancing on the surface while something dangerous and inevitable plays out just below. it's the mindfuck of it all, the having a conversation about one thing but meaning something else entirely, the layers, the references, the nuances of expression or shift in intonation that can flip them from somewhere flippant and easy to somewhere raw and terrifying. or in this case, from taunting each other about exes to how good he apparently licks. not that she would know, of course. couldn't waste that much hot water. she wonders if mimi knows, her lip curling in disgust the minute the thought lands. of course she does. how annoying... "do i?" is all she says at first, gaze slinking over. she saw a tiktok recently of some influencer telling everyone that if you're silent for four seconds, the person you're talking to will experience rejection and will move to fill it themselves. or something. she scrolled past before it'd fully wrapped up. would that work on him or did he know that trick already—she wouldn't put it past him to read up on all the trendy mind games. still, she blinks at him slowly, lips curling slightly as she makes a move for his drink instead, a brow lifted in question. then declares her experiment null and void by filling her own silence. "wouldn't know, babe. i've never seen you perform." either kind of lick. a smirk. "and would you look at that, i've never had an old fashioned either. feeling generous?"

"oh, she really read more naomi to me." the first swing. he follows it with a quick two-punch. "whatever happened with jude, by the way?" where jenny conceals her bitterness in a thick veneer of smiley overcompensation, max keeps his loaded with priggish disinterest. his face is too blank, tone too even. unreadable in a probably obvious way and does she seriously wanna talk about this? exes? now? he almost puts her hand back on his dick by way of diversion. who's easily distracted now?

he doesn't. doesn't bother rounding up any other orders either, too lazy to pretend to care about them any further. "yeah, glad he's got something goin' for him," max mutters with a cursory glance toward the stage. fair to say no one's here for his talent. the correction is met with a bit of a roll of his eyes, nodding at the bartender -- of course, how inane of me. god, and back to the guitarist. irritation whiplash. "yeah, it's like if coke were sentient." a decided side step of her trap. max takes this far too seriously. "jesus, look at him, he --," eyes trip on jenny, her round gaze full of the band. he purses his lips with hammed up jealousy, fingers on her chin jerking her attention off them. "'kay, stop looking. listen. even if their levels were right, he's fuckin' lost in the track. boy doesn't know how to lick." go ahead, jenny, take the bait. there's a smirk around the rim of his fresh drink, rife with innuendo and implication when he tacks on, "you know i'm better."

[bluemmings]

@gotatext​

adela & jude, day 35 in the morn idk where x ​

“ how’re ya feelin’ that jenny and josh got each other ? i’d be fuckin’ livid. ” and she was a little mad that romi made dylan’s heart rate go the fastest but they’re not actually exes or anything so she’s claiming it’s different... “ do you think something’s still there or just the whole... i still find my ex hot as fuck and would defo fuck again kind of thing ?  ”

[gotatext]

JUDE & JENNY (& ANGEL) — DAY FORTY.

location :  boat party, pool and then top deck.

description :   jude asks jenny to be gf bf with him

featuring :  jenny / @blondcs  &  angel  / @dobits

angel reid

“nuh uh,” he preemptively disregards jenny’s desire for another shot, instead hooking her elbow and dragging her to walk along the pool. “maybe we shouldn’t play who can blackout first tonight.” didn’t work out so well for them on movie night (at least not at first). he’d also like to keep her clear from the dance floor for the time being, though he veils that concern behind his usual puppy dog smile. “tell me about you. what’s the word, baby bird?”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

“nooo…” she whines, a half-assed attempt at reaching back just as she’s toted out of reach of a lemon drop. “that’s not even a real shot.” more sugar than alcohol, so actually angel might be doing future jenny a massive favor there. still, she has nothing but a glass of ice with the tiniest bit of water in her hands and he’s dragging her away from the bar? this is starting to feel like a ploy. “what, am i being messy? i was just trying to give him space so i wasn’t latched onto him all night, but the energy below deck was not it. hey—what are you drinking?”

angel reid

“yeah, i noticed all the space,” angel chuckles dryly. “i’m, like, what the hell. i dunno what you guys are doing.” trying too hard to be whatever they think they’re supposed to be, presumably. both of them chronic over thinkers. “i mean, have you guys been good after… y’know… the thing,” he clears his throat, unsure if she knows that he knows about the fingering exclusivity convo. he smacks his lips, shows his half full beer bottle to her. “corona — you wouldn’t like it.” then, worried she might deign herself out of spite, holds the beer up and away from her. “you really wouldn’t like it. i backwash.”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

“what do you mean?” she stops short so the arm looped through hers wrenches back, then chuckles as she resumes their stroll. “it’s not like i can spend every waking minute with him.” can she? “like, you’re not with callie right now. he needs time with the boys and stuff, right?” duh. where is he now though, if not with angel or josh and miles? “the thing? like, our talk about apparently not being exclusive?” because that’s the alternative. if he doesn’t want to be exclusive, it means he’s just fine if she gets to know santiago and gives him the freedom to revisit things with adela. that’s the last thing she wants to think about. “yeah, we’re good. we’re fine... i dunno, it’s—“ her head tilts side to side trying to streamline her ocean of thoughts into a single coherent sentence. “when i’m with him everything is literally perfect and then it’s like the minute we’re apart i, like…” in the absence of words she just shrugs. “it’s fine.” but now that she’s let a little bit out she can’t quite stop the torrent. “i don’t blame him at all for not wanting to like, completely settle down and close himself off. like, ‘cause who knows who else is gonna come in, you know? or maybe there’s people here he wants to get to know better. i just have to kind of like, change my expectations a little, which, again—totally fine.” she pauses, huffing out a breath like that’s gonna be the end of it but swiftly launches back in.

“he’s just so intense that like, it’s easy to let myself get carried away sometimes, and he feeds into it too like, he was all teasing the other day saying that i love him and all this stuff,” and maybe she does just a little bit. “so it’s just like, a little hard to figure out what’s real and like, what he actually wants. but i’m kind of like, almost proud of myself for asking? about the exclusivity thing. because i got some clarity from it, i guess? but also like, it’s not the answer i was expecting at all and i will literally never be doing anything like that ever again, so… sorry, what was the question?” she reaches for the beer anyway, elbows in full gear to wrangle it away. “c’mon, i love backwash, backwash is my favorite. gimme.”

angel reid

“that’s different.” it seems unnecessary to quantify all the ways in which him and callie are different from jude and jenny, so he’ll just let that sleeping dog lie. he’ll also let her qualification breeze on by ‘cause he’s not sure what boys jude could be spending time with right now if not him. it seems more fruitful to let jenny spiel, only interjecting after her third repeated assurance, “— it sounds fine.” deadpanned, smiling. it really is fine, he wishes she wouldn’t slide that word on like a mask. “for what it’s worth, i really don’t think him not wanting to be exclusive has anything to do with what he wants. like, he’s not trying to get to know anybody else.” as far as angel can tell, jude just wants to make sure jenny’s scratched all of her own itches before she settles down. “no, it’s, like… extremely fucking cool that you told him what you wanted. that takes balls, for real and — he fucked that up, like even i’ll say it. i wish you guys could learn to really trust each other, man. anybody could see you both want it bad.” it’s a hard thing to do though, he’ll admit. ragged groan deflates him. “you sick fuck,” angel complains, holding her back at arms length while he takes a parting sip before handing it off to her. “…you know, you can’t ask him to stop being friends with adela though. like, i know that sucks, but, like, pick your battles, y’know?”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

her head bobs, nodding her acknowledgment and trying to let the words drill their way home while her brain is soft and mushy from the liquor. angel has no reason to lie on jude’s behalf, but there’s still a bit of healthy skepticism that keeps her from abandoning her reservations entirely—she knows firsthand the way boys protect each other. still, she likes to think angel somehow dodged that affliction. “why would i bring up being exclusive if i didn’t want it?” is that what he’s suggesting? her brows knit together, head shaking away the overwhelm of yet another branch of questions springing from what angel probably assumed would be a nice, soothing answer. not quite. “it’s not that i don’t trust him specifically. i just don’t think i trust like, anyone?” ‘even you cheated,’ she wants to say, but thankfully the tequila hasn’t loosened her tongue that much, though she pushes it when she finally gets a hold of his beer. it lingers near her mouth for a moment, fixing him with a look before she downs a swig. “did he say i said that?” and carefully dabs the corners of her mouth with her thumb, feeling her face heating. “because literally what i said to him verbatim was that i would never ask him to do that.” her eyes don’t leave his for a second, not even to blink. “he said she reminded him of home. what am i? satan? like, i’m not gonna tell him not to talk to her and i’ve never told him that,” she goes to take another sip, but interrupts herself— “although i will say i think it’s really fucking hurtful weird that they waited to pursue some kind of ‘friendship’ until after i physically lunged at her because of all the out of pocket shit she was saying to me. but sure, whatever. i’ll ‘pick my battles.’”

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

“what battles are we picking?” jude asks, sidling up behind jenny, his hands placed on her shoulders, and massaging away any tension there. "damn. lotta knots, girl. what you stressin' about?"  if he had stepped in any sooner, he might not be so content, face dipping down to plant a kiss against her cheek, and her jaw, and then the soft mark on her neck where he knows, beneath half an inch of concealer, there’s a bruise left by his mouth. “i'd pick 1066. battle of hastings. five years of GCSE history and that’s the only fact i remember.” although the only reason he remembers it was because it was on an advert for an insurance company. his brain just seems to buzzing with useless commercials, music videos, and obscure drug-related anecdotes. jude plops down onto the poolside between the two of them, one arm swinging around angel’s neck, the other around jenny’s. “my two favourite people.” siobhan will fucking kill him for that ; he wouldn’t be surprised if she skips out on family day — if him and jenny even make it that far. “you mind if i steal the lovely jennifer for a bit?” jude asks, turning to angel with a flash of his eyes, jerking his head as if to say, fuck off, it’s go time. he already knows the plan, so it shouldn’t be too hard for him to get the message and make himself scarce.

angel reid

it’s a big, british blessing, really. all of jenny’s questions stood looming like a liminal hall of doors, each would surely only open up increasingly crazier trains of thought despite angel genuinely believing that none of the answers to her inquiries would be objectively disappointing. that’s jenny for you. he smiles at jude’s presence, partly with wonder. “shit, i thought we were still, like, trying to discover fire then.” guess it’s never too early to go to war. he smacks a hand against jude’s chest. “take her for two bits. i’m gonna go get a shot,” then he makes a face at jenny like . sucker. then off he goes to find callie by the bar.

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

she smiles slightly in spite of herself, tucking into his side, careful not to transfer any foundation onto his shirt. she’s packed it on tonight, rocking the opposite of a natural look but rather something glowy and golden and glam for their chic night on a boat, jude decked out in his matching gold accessories and a cheeky nod to the dirty jerz with his leopard print shirt. god, he’s so hot, even if she is feeling more on edge around him than she should. but his arm is like a weighted blanket around her shoulders that grounds her back in her body, sparing angel another tirade because, as always, the minute jude’s touching her she feels better. her fingers knot through his to steer his hand back up where her neck meets her shoulder, squeezing his hand until his kneading her muscles again. “keep going. i’m so tense,” she sighs, angling her back to him as angel moves to leave, but not before whirling a glare at him. “oh c’mon. are you kidding?” then to jude, “he wouldn’t let me get a drink—god, ‘you’re a fake and a phony and i wish i’d never laid eyes on you!’” her voice takes on the olivia newton-john australian lilt as she quotes a cohen home classic at his back. “evil, evil man,” mumbled through a laugh as she swings her full attention onto jude, a bashful smile on her lips after the rant she’s just gone on. “what’s up, dempsey?”

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

despite the roll of his eyes, jude has no problem picking up the hints she’s giving him, his hands sliding back up to her shoulders, thumbs digging in against the muscles there and rolling away the tightness. “you’re tense, huh. i know something that could work for that…” though probably not if angel’s here. thankfully, he’s already fucking off to find the missus, leaving the two of them alone by the dim light of the pool, a ripple in the surface throwing a wavy beam of light across jenny's face. “you look mad good tonight," jude admits, basking in the hazy golden glow of her. "and the way that light’s reflecting on you… damn, bro, that’s some tate britain shit right there.” jude hasn’t seen grease enough times to catch her reference, otherwise he’d tell her that men are amoebas on fleas on rats. he leans down to press a kiss against the back of her neck, hands still working against the tension in her shoulders, until she turns to face him, a rare moment of quiet shared between the two of them. “nothing’s up,” he says, breezily, feeling the calmest he’s felt in weeks. “i'm golden, me.”  there’s usually some kind of tension playing on his mind, but tonight everything’s streamlined, like leaving the villa’s left all of his usual angst and disquiet behind. “just wanna’ spend time with you. what, do i gotta get a permit for that?” his hands drop to her hips, tugging her into his lap and meeting her mouth in a slow, deliberate kiss that seems to start in his lips and flood down his whole body. “c’mon, let’s go check out the upper deck,” he breathes, when he pulls away. “hear the view’s pretty fuckin’ swanky up there.” getting to his feet, jude extends a hand to help jenny to hers, the little bracelet she’d given him catching on her ring as he takes her hand. “oh, shit. i’m all caught up.” he ducks down, attempting to untangle their jewellery (smooth one, jude) as he leads her up towards the top deck.

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

it never feels like jude’s complimenting her just to compliment her, even if he is. she knows she can be insatiable where words of affirmation are concerned, but in his lilting accent, dark eyes drinking her in, she can’t imagine his comments are practiced or even considered much before they come out of his mouth. as if independent of her needing to hear it, he needs to say it—looks at her and just has to tell her she belongs in a museum. that’s why it’s so easy to believe the things he says. her whole body warms, beginning at her chest and radiating all the way to the tips of her fingers, the compliment wrapping around her like a hug as she smiles down at her feet. “you’re tate britain shit,” she mumbles, nudging his shoulder with hers. she really doesn’t want him to stop rubbing her back, but at the risk of cumming from that alone, she turns to face him, hands going right for the collar. “i’m obsessed with the fit tonight,” she muses, running her thumbs along the fabric. “no one else here could rock this but you look so fucking good. i almost feel bad that i’m gonna have to steal it later.”

she snorts when he drags her onto his lap, two pieces sliding into place. “not a permit, just a signed permission slip. you have to state your reasons and everything—make a compelling case for why you’re not sick of me yet.” she drapes herself around him, giggling against the lips that press to hers, slow and languid enough to give her pause before leaning into it. everything in the villa is so go, go, go that even the laziest of interactions are hurried along on borrowed time. there’s been a feeling of needing to hit all the milestones quick, take advantage of every possible opportunity in case it’s all ripped away, but jude’s been talking ‘afters’ recently. ‘can you travel with your job? what if you came and stayed with me in manchester after the villa.’ it’s like time itself has gotten bigger to make space for them now, no need to rush, and today he almost looks calm. she dots his nose with a quick peck before docking hers against it, slumping forward when he moves to stand. “i dunno, i’m kinda into the view from down here,” she teases, gaze swooping up from the front of his pants to meet his suggestively before begrudgingly pushing to her feet just in time to get tangle up in him. “aw, babe, look. the universe wants us stuck together,” she teases, looping her pinky finger through his. “c’mon, leave it for now. i’ll fix it when we get up there—i don’t want you breaking’ anything. this ring is real aluminum, you know.” or is it nickel? brass? what’s the jewelry from five below made of? “what’s up here anyway? is it like, a whole ‘nother floor?”

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

“yeah, but i’m like the bag of rubbish that they put on display as an exhibit and then the cleaner threw it out…” jude adds, self-deprecating,  “or like, that banana on the wall worth millions that someone ate and then put the skin back…” whereas jenny? she’s a piece of art that actually deserves to be there, not just a gimmick with a hefty price tag. “you’re like… hm. not the mona lisa cos she’s actually a bit of a minger, but like, one of them bare cool aphrodite sculptures or sommat.” his hand falls to the divot of her spine, skin on skin where her backless dress allows, massaging a spot there just above her ass as he draws her in against him. for now at least, he’ll keep it PG; he’s been planning this moment for days, imagining it weeks into the future, and now it’s like an opportunity he can’t refuse has landed itself in his lap and he’d be a court jester juggling his oranges for the noblemen not to take it. fuck it. why not? it’s not like there’s any point in waiting for another golden opportunity to present itself. “you picked out most of it,” jude responds, flicking his finger against the end of her nose. as with most nights, jude’s ‘getting ready process’ is just modelling a series of outfits for whatever girl’s on hand like he’s in a coming of age late noughties movie. still, the thought of her in any of his clothes warms him. he gets a sick little thrill when she sleeps in his hoodie, or he catches her making her smoothies wearing his birkenstocks as oversized slippers. “right. well my compelling case is that nobody could ever get sick of you. it’s some new crazy shit with you every day,” he’s shaking his head, but it’s clear from the crinkles around the corners of his eyes that he says it with tenderness, adding “—and i’m mad into it,” before she can misinterpret his tone, pout her lips, and ask him something like would you still like me if i was a worm. 

her finger loops itself around his, and jude swings their caught wrists, a warmth in his gaze when he looks down at her. it’s a view he could get used to — his girl in a nice dress, tucked into his side — the two of them held together by tangled silver like a pagan hand-wrapping ritual.  “aluminum,” jude repeats, cheeks pitching up as he imitates the soft inflection of her jersey accent. “we say it aluminum. like… ally minion, kinda.” usually, he’d take the stairs two at a time, but with jenny at his side he slows his pace to a dawdle, arm instinctively bending to slot hers on top of his elbow as a fail safe, something to grab hold of if her heels catch and she topples on the stairs. “i dunno,” jude says, as if he hasn’t already scoped out every part of the boat with angel, the location scout in him vying for a place with the best angles. “less people? less noise? but also, you can see everyone, and i know you love a gossip, so...” reaching the top of the stairs, he drops his arm, tangling their fingers as he pulls her towards the centre of the upper deck, his free hand going to the small of her back as he draws her in against him. “you know any ballroom dancing typa shit?” jude asks, folding their joined hands up at a right angle and shifting his weight in a messy approximation of slow dancing. jenny feels like the kind of girl who might have attended dance competitions as a kid, fake-tanned and hair sprayed within an inch of her life, like aoife at her irish dancing feis, ringlets hard enough that you could crack them.  “i’ve only ever slow danced with my nan, and she’s had two hip replacements, so you’re already miles better.”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

“hey,” she scolds suddenly, yanking his hand hard enough for the shockwave to zip up his arm and snap him out of it. “i don’t like when you say shit like that.” her eyes wait for his to look over, impatiently blinking up at him. “‘cause both of those would actually be like, epic bits of performance art that end up in the news and like, in text books and get studied and start like, massively impactful dialogues because of their commentary on… i dunno, society or whatever, but you’re not saying it like that.” two fingers hook into his waistband so their legs can stay slotted while she arches back for a better look at him. “i’m not trynna be a buzzkill. like, i know it’s just a joke but you say stuff like that all the time and you’re not rubbish and you’re not a banana.” it might sound ridiculous, but she’s being completely earnest, each point driven home by a frustrated tug of his pants—an attempt to drill this into his thick skull with something physical that isn’t a smack upside the head, even if she’s tempted. “like… jude.” be serious. her head slants to one side, one brow lifting, lips pressed into a reproachful line as her hands find his, toying with his fingers. “i wish i was better with words so i could explain how ridiculous it is when you say stuff like that.” but she’s not, and the idea of trying to articulate just how highly she thinks of him feels akin to chasing the wind with a net. how can you explain feelings with words? how can she sum up jude when the language that rushes to mind feels cliched and lazy. ‘you’re not garbage, you’re perfect. you’re awesome. you’re amazing.’ that’s what a teacher would write on an a+ paper, not a suitable antidote for the guy she’s falling for. her eyes linger on his a moment longer before she leans in and gently bonks her forehead against his. that’ll have to do. .

“i’m sorry for, like—i can take a joke, you know.” she’s feeling a little embarrassed for the rant. “i’m just gonna have to refute those ones every time. you’re not allowed to be mean to the guy i’m— to my guy.” she huffs out an indignant breath, reluctantly peeling her gaze away to finally notice the change of scenery. holy shit, this fuckin’ boat. “whoa, look at the sky.” there’s only a moment to try to drink it all in, the view of the deck below, the shoreline, the faint smattering of stars even though it’s not completely dark yet before he’s sweeping her back up. her free hand automatically winds around his neck while his creeps around her waist, the other two clasped together like they’re about to dance. it takes a second to realize that’s exactly what’s about to happen. her gaze shoots to his, confused and tentatively excited but braced for a ‘just kidding’ until he starts swaying them back and forth, and even then she can’t quite believe it. she can’t even remember the last time she slow danced. prom, maybe? some distant relative’s wedding? “oh, do i.” she does not. “i’ve seen a lot of dancing with the stars. would you believe we’re actually viennese waltzing right now.” the hand linked to his—seemingly even more entangled than it was before—lifts, a silent instruction for him to twirl beneath the bridge their arms created before coming back together. her cheeks hurt from how hard she’s beaming at him and trying to contain it. “i should’ve known you were a romantic the minute you sang that jenny song to me, even if you didn’t like me then.” although, according to angel… she steps herself in closer, rests her head on his shoulder as she drags the hand she’s holding hostage up, guiding it to splay out across her chest. “can you feel my heart? it’s like, racing.”

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

“ouch!” jude shouts, taken aback by her yank, although it wasn’t exactly painful. still, he rubs the socket where his shoulder joins his arm, scowling down at her. “what d’you do that for, you muppet?” she barely lets him get a word in, already going on her long spiel about how he’s an impactful piece of performance art or some shit, and he has to bite his tongue from comparing himself to that shit piece of absurdist theatre aoife dragged him along to in soho. he wouldn’t mind being something a bit andy warhol, though. that stuff’s proper cool. “alright, alright, chill out. i’ll fuckin’... calm it with the self-effacing bullshit, just please don’t beat me up.” like she could take him. his mood sallows slightly, recalling the incident with miles. whatever. he’s not important right now. and this isn’t a direct response to the perceived threat of that either, just a culmination of everything he’s been mulling over, cinnamon sticks and all, for the last few days. miles just gave him a kick up the rear end is all. 

“shut up. you’re great with words,” jude parries (en garde!) bracing his arm to dip jenny over it, before he draws her back up against his face, nose to nose as they dance. feels almost like that scene in that new edgar wright film with the fit lass who was in the witch, except jenny doesn’t change into a different person every time she crosses the screen, and honestly, he wouldn’t want her to. his eyes have no reason to wander anywhere else when what’s in front of him’s already more than he deserves. “ i wish i was better with words so i could make you see yourself the way i see you. and probs so i could stop putting my fuck-off massive size 11 air max nike’s in it.”  he hadn’t exactly handled the question of exclusivity with grace, decorum, or even an arbitrary grasp on language. “you’re from jersey. you’ve got an excuse. but i’m english and i can’t even speak it, for fuck sake.” she knocks her head against his, and it brings a soft smile to his lips, turns his cerebral cortex to candle wax and renders him mushy around his hard edges. “you try’na knock me out? squaring up? you wanna fuckin’ go, mate?” his hands are in her hair, pulling her lips to his to lose himself in her kiss before she can answer, fingers sinking along her spine, beneath the cowl back of her dress, before he remembers that the reason he brought her up here isn’t to get her naked. although he wouldn’t stop her, if she wanted.

“don’t be daft. i know you can take a joke.” obviously she can if she’s going out with him — it feels like jude’s the one who can’t take a joke, rattled by the smallest of aggravations. “your guy?” he repeats, equal parts teasing and turned on, his mouth against the shell of her ear as he says it again. “i’m your guy?” he spins her out before she can answer, draws her back with just as much fervour, a heat in his eye contact when his gaze meets hers, a quiet settling as the two of them sway. she tells him to look at the sky, but he can’t tear his eyes away from her long enough to, murmuring in agreement as he drinks her in, “ yeah, i know, it’s beautiful,” totally aware of how much of a cliché he’s being, the fact that if he saw this in a film he’d call it lazy writing, but with jenny there’s not much his eyes could look at that he’d find more interesting than her. alright, maybe if he saw marcus rashford in foot locker down the trafford centre or some shit, but like, not much else. “viennese waltz? thought that was a biscuit. them ones you get at your dead posh mate’s house.” he’s thinking of viennese whirls.

laughing, he cringes at the memory, serenading a girl who seemed like she wouldn’t even waste a drip of spit if he was on fire. “i did like you then,” jude admits, groaning. “jenny, i wanted you from the moment i met you. you did that sexy little jessica rabbit impression, i was fuckin’ obsessed with you,” even if the way he expressed it was by spending every waking moment telling anyone who’d listen he was absolutely not interested. “and then you got me with the mixed messages saying i should leave you alone and shit. you parred me off first.” he dips himself (all 6’1 of him) under her arm, with some effort, grips her hips to dip her round in a circle before drawing her back up to him, his own pulse so erratic that when she draws his hand against her chest he can’t tell which heartbeat’s hers and which is his. “yeah, mine too. i’m dead nervous, actually, because i, uh…” his free hand’s scratching at the curls at the back of his head, pulling on one to draw his focus back to the present. “i wanted to ask you something.” fuck. “look, i know i'm not good at speeches or saying how i feel or owt. but i really like you, jenny.” he’s scared to use a stronger word. “i know we talked about this the other day, and i’ve been fuckin’ kicking myself ever since. i said i didn’t think you were ready, but honestly i think it was more that i wasn’t ready to get my heart broken by you. but i dont really give a shit about that any more, because that’s life, innit? like when you’re seeing someone chances are you’ll either get married or you’ll break each other’s hearts, so why fight it.” .

the whole time he’s been talking, his wrist’s been fiddling with the clasp of his bracelet, trying to get it off her ring, and it finally comes loose, a little thread of jude’s anxiety untangling itself with it. “but… y’know. we’ve been doing this for a while now. and i trust you, and i love spending time with you, and i think we understand each other pretty well. i wanna keep waking up next to ya. and i’d really like to be able to call you something other than jenny — although it’s a great name. nice one, heather.” he’s a fucking mess of nerves, but when his eyes meet her its like a second wind of confidence. “so what i wanna know is, uh… fuck it.” jude pauses, hands on her hips to steady him as he gets down on his knees — both knees, mind — he doesn’t want her getting any ideas. his hands leave her hips to move to the nape of his neck, unclipping the fiddly clasp of his chain, and sliding it into her hand when he takes it, folds her knuckles over it and kisses them, the little saint christopher hidden inside her palm.  “are you gonna be my girlfriend then, or what?”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

cheryl says you can trick anxiety out of your body by convincing your brain it’s just excitement. easier said than done, though. the overly cheery voice in her head grows shakier by the second the very instant he prefaces his question, swiftly shooting down any delusion that this isn’t just sheer panic. people only do that when they’re about to ask something serious. the hand against her chest becomes an anchor, warm and solid and clasped between white-knuckled fingers as her eyes flick nervously between his. she’s surprised to see he doesn’t look much better off. whatever this is has him all worked up too. “hey,” she offers softly, brows knitting together as she squeezes his hand, not as a way of stealing comfort this time, but of gifting some back, “it’s just me.” that must be enough because once he launches in, it’s impossible to get a word in. or maybe she just can’t quite formulate a sentence, her mouth caught in a small ‘o’ as she tries to absorb everything he’s saying, plus anything he might not be. because there has to be a ‘but.’ there has to be. ‘i really like you, jenny’ …….b-but? she’s holding her breath, muscles locked and braced for the worst while he rattles off confession after confession, each sounding more like something ripped straight from her own inner monologue until she can’t help but lean into the fantasy. .

there’s something poetic in their wrists coming free the moment he tears it all away and she hears that dreaded word. a shaky exhale and a brittle smile, deflating as her eyes pinch shut. this was always gonna be too good to be true. she knew that, but why here? why now, in this perfect place at this perfect moment? it doesn’t make any sense. this is the kind of setup for a proposal or something, not a—  one eye squints open as his words to come back into focus, feeling confused when it’s all just more of the same clumsy ramblings that sound a lot like everything she’s wanted to hear. and he doesn’t look apologetic like he’s about to break her heart, but hopeful. emboldened even as his hands go for her hips. “wait—“ not a command for him, but a filler as she tries to get her head on straight. what the fuck is going on? hope swells in her chest, fluttering quick as a hummingbird’s as she watches him sink to the floor, struck by the sight of him on his knees in front of her. “sorry, what’s… i’m so confused. i—“ she lets out a slightly hysterical laugh, her hand lifting up to muffle it. “are you being serious?” the metal feels warm in her palm from sitting against his pulse and she carefully unfolds her hands to look at the necklace she’s become so familiar with, then down at him. “jude. are you being serious?” she demands again, her own knees crashing into the floor in front of him, hands going straight for his face, running over it like she’s checking for a fever. she presses a lightening fast peck against his lips, wild eyes not wanting to miss a second. “this is real?”

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

god. jenny’s mad fucking cute, especially when the shock of it all hits her with such a force that she laughs, hopefully not at him, though the uncertainty that wells in his stomach doesn’t quite settle until she’s sinking down on her knees before him. “is it too soon?” he asks, an attempt to catch the creases of that laugh and iron them out, needing to know that it’s the situation she finds ridiculous, not him.  surely the idea of the two of them trying it, despite the air miles they’d have to cover just for a weekend away, isn’t that ridiculous. if it is, why are they even bothering? “i was gonna wait, but… i don’t want to? never know when your time here’s gonna be cut short, do ya.” or when snakey santiago might strike again, though he feels pretty confident he’s put in enough groundwork that should her focus start to falter he could catch her chin, ease it slowly back to him, before her head had the chance to fully turn. “you what? obviously it’s real, you div.”  her lips are on his, not long enough to give him his answer, but long enough to ease his anxiety slightly. he can feel his pulse in his fucking fingertips where their hands meet, hopes to hell his palms aren’t clammy like she’s holding soggy fish fingers. in the back of his head his brain’s already off on a tangent, palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti body working overtime when he draws her closer to keep him rooted in this moment and not miss a second lost in the clutter of his thoughts.  “alright jen, you’re freaking me out now. are you gonna say yes, or shall i grab my fucking arm bands and walk the plank?”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧

“it’s obviously not too soon. did i not try asking you like, a few days ago?” and spent the next few kicking herself over it. she’d let herself operate on emotion alone, forgetting that once things are out there, they can’t be taken back. not that she wanted to take it back, but she expected her big, bold, take-the-reigns moment to be received with a little more enthusiasm otherwise she would’ve kept her fat mouth shut. naturally, she’d been mortified that she’d read him so wrong, confronted for the first time with this idea that maybe they weren’t as in sync as she’d thought. now she’s exhaling a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding until jude’s fingers first started massaging the tension from her body, stress built up from the weight of everything she wasn’t saying. “obviously yes,” she breathes with a shaky laugh as her arms slip around him, dragging herself in closer until she can bury herself in his neck. she kind of thinks she might cry for all his tenderness. “you’re… you’re sure about this?” the question is barely above a whisper and gets muffled against his skin where she presses a gentle kiss to his thundering pulse. one final out should he want to take it because she can’t freaking help it—sorry cheryl.

“you’re— you don’t feel pressured, do you? this is what you want too?” she peels back to look at him, eyes embarrassingly misty. “you and me? —sorry, i don’t know why i’m getting all emo. i guess, like… i didn’t really think i would find anyone in here, meanwhile you’re legit made for me, like… it’s all just kind of surreal, isn’t it?” she toys with the necklace in her hands. “like, so much had to line up for us to end up here, so many conditions had to just work out perfectly. we probably never would’ve met if it wasn’t for all this, and now i can’t even imagine spending a day without you and like, i just wanna hang out with you all the time and i know how you take your tea and i can’t wait to meet siobhan and aoife and introduce you to heather, like... isn’t it crazy?”

[blondcs]

𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐇𝐄𝐍 | 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐇𝐔𝐓: 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝟗

how are you feeling about movie night ? did anything surprise you ?

“i really shouldn’t even say anything about movie night because my movie wasn’t even aired, you know? so it’s just, like—already it’s not really fair. but it’s just... we’d been fighting so much, it was like, why are we doing this? so i just let him know that like, obviously him saying ‘maybe, i dunno,’ about whether or not he was excited to be coupled with me? yeah, super not cool. hated that, actually. but... yeah. we moved on, easy peasy. other people’s movies were way worse though. like, the adela and josh stuff?” she sits back, eyes going wide with judgment. “i dunno, dude. that was slimy—like, it’d take me a while to forgive that, not gonna lie. i actually look at josh kind of differently now and he definitely couldn’t have made it any clearer that he doesn’t trust naomi. and then the romi love bomb? obviously that was gonna make it in there, but that was tough to watch. i think they were struggling a bit with that one. yeah, i dunno. the popcorn was def essential.” 

what are your thoughts on romi and marcus’s decision to leave ?

“i wish they stayed. and i wish i’d gotten to talk to romi one more time before they left because like, i would’ve told them that. we obviously had a really rocky start and like, watching that clip of us fighting was probably one of the hardest parts of movie night for me, but i feel like we kind of found this like, understanding in the end? but by that point i think they just felt so beaten down and so tired and like, maybe if she had one more voice on her side she would’ve changed her mind? every time anything goes even a little sideways for me i like, convince myself no one likes me and no one wants me here and i’m ready to walk too, so maybe if they had one more person... who knows. i don’t blame her, though. i wish her and marcus the best—i really hope they work out.” 

are you happy in your couple or do you think your head could be turned ?

“at this point, i don’t really think my head can be turned. it’s hard though, because attraction doesn’t just disappear when you’re with someone, and everyone here is like, super fucking hot,” her head tips back with a groan. “but i don’t want to fuck things up with jude. like, i am straight up obsessed with this man. i won’t fuck it up.” 

what are your thoughts on santiago and victoria ? are either of them your type ? do you think your partner would be interested in them ?

“both victoria and santiago brought me on dates, which was such a stroke to the ego. like, when i tell you i needed that... but again, i’m not really like, looking? like, the attention was definitely really flattering and it was fun to just be going on dates and doing something different. and yeah, victoria’s got really good banter and this like, energy, and santiago’s the definition of tall dark and handsome. like, his presence alone is just... overwhelming. do you know what i mean? like, overwhelming, and you know, maybe if he’d come in a little earlier or if the timing was different... but i was just kind of comparing him to jude most of the time. like, yeah he’s beautiful and i’m sure the sex would be great, but... jude is beautiful and the sex is great and there’s already so much more than that. so i dunno... on the bright side, victoria’s a lesbian and jude would definitely hate santiago, so i don’t think i have to worry about them swooping in and stealing my mans, thank fuck.”

are you grafting right now ? if so, who is at the top of your list ?

“i’m not even grafting anymore, so let’s just hope jude doesn’t break my heart,” her smile is nervous but excited, holding up two fingers for the camera, crossed and hopeful. 

[heatwayve]

josh.

“ WHAT, YOU NOT HE’S NOT ABLE TO ? ”   josh scoffs, rolling his eyes. figures. they’re not even together anymore, and still dylan can do no wrong. it’s not jealousy josh feels—at least, it’s not jealousy he recognizes—but it’s hard to not find it a little ridiculous that she still holds dylan with such respect. part of him wishes they were the same when it came to exes, her and dylan as estranged as him and jenny now are. maybe they are, really, because josh doesn’t know for sure. all he knows is if jenny and jude were in the bottom with rhys, he still would’ve voted for rhys to stay.   “ who, dylan ? ”   he asks, not really sure what she’s getting at. josh assumes she’s referencing dylan and phoebe getting together and ruining dylan and naomi’s chance together, but josh knows that’s not exactly how it worked. if anything, it’s adela that fills that spot. but it also makes him think about himself and mali, which after last night isn’t really a minefield he wants to step back onto.   “ what, would you still be with dylan right now if he came back single for you ? ”   he looks down at her, knowing it’s a messy question to ask, but now he’s not going to be able to think of anything until she answers it. now it’s josh’s turn to potentially goad her into an argument, apparently.   “ yeah, i like adela, ”   he admits, only because she’s not around to hear it.   “ we get on well. she’s a hockey player too, but field hockey. ”   his eyes roll again, to show how seriously he takes the sport.   “ she’s definitely tough. i see her sticking around here. ”   but jury’s still out on whether it’s with dylan or not.

“ no it’s not ! ”   he argues, laughing.   “ reckless is doing something without knowing the outcome. i knew what the outcome would be. ”   getting the crap kicked out of him, yeah, but knowing he’d have the ability to kick dejan’s ass right back. the softness of naomi’s kiss is welcomed with a smile, hand cupping her cheek to brush his thumb against it tenderly.   “ relax, i’m not doing it a second time, ”   he tells her, affection clear in his tone despite the words.   “ i’ve just got you back. i’m not going anywhere. ”   she knows that he’s ready to leave with her if it comes to it, but part of him does wonder if she would leave for him at this point. she had threatened to leave yesterday, but that was more because of him than anything else. selfishly he hopes the feeling is mutual, but some questions are better off not asked. besides, he’s pushing his luck here already.   “ think of how bored you would be if i had gotten kicked out last week, ”   he hums, lips gliding over her neck as he whispers it to her like he’s trying to turn her on. if his words don’t do it, his body tries to do the trick, especially as she hooks herself around him when he moves on top of her. the kissing is meant to be fun, not trying to start something that will make it hard for them to sleep a second night in a row—but he doesn’t realize how pent up they both are until she’s grunting about him being a boner killer, causing him to laugh.   “ stop, ”   he groans, pressing a few kisses to her collarbone, before pulling away to peer down at her. it’s hard not to admire her when she looks like this :   hair splayed out like an angel, but with swollen lips and a look in her eye that’s anything but.   

“ it’s not bad, i promise, ”   he assures her, knees resting on both sides of her body to kneel over her, letting a hand slowly trail up her leg.   “ i don’t know how much you remember about that night, ”   he says quietly, despite them being the only two people outside,   “ but i know you and i said a bunch of things. some was probably more true than others. ”   the more he thought about what he said to her for days after, particularly the her not being able to win without him, the more josh began to realize that it probably wasn’t true.   “ you had said at one point, you know, that you were falling for me… ”   his voice trails off, looking down at her carefully.   “ i guess i was wondering if it was something you meant, or if you were just exaggerating. ”   playing up her victim edit, trying to make her look better than the situation provided. 

– “ NO, JOSH, ” NAOMI HEAVES A SIGH, visibly annoyed as she twists away from him a little. “ both of you. you both made it so i didn’t want to choose either of you when you made your decisions in casa, and you both took a risk. ” she pulls herself off of him now, rolling onto the pillow so she can look at him from the side, needing the ability to think clearly. she props her head up on her hands, hazel eyes trained on him. “ i don’t think you realize what it was like for me to see that post card. it was humiliating. everyone was looking to me, asking how i felt, and i just . . . mostly i felt like i’d fucked everything up and i was all alone. ” because she’d taken a risk, too, by entertaining josh, he had to know that. still, he asked, and she’s not about to give him an answer that’s as black and white as the way dylan chose to see things. “ the answer’s no, ” she says this quietly, eyes big and sad. “ the short answer, at least. the long answer is that i thought i would. i thought he was what i wanted, or that he’d be the right choice. but now that i know what it felt like to break up with him compared to what it felt like to break up with you ? ” the rhetorical question hangs in the air, which seems to have quieted. all naomi can hear is her heart in her ears, cheeks flushed. “ no. ” her gaze shifts away from josh’s face now, but she can feel his eyes on her as she looks anywhere else. she just can’t look back at him and see her own vulnerability reflected in his eyes. “ i don’t think i ever told you this, but i’ve never gotten back with an ex before. not that you’re really an ex, i know we weren’t really together, so i don’t count it, and, this is . . . ” she waves her hand in the air slightly, as if to silently indicate that this isn’t a perfect mirror of dating on the outside. “ but the point is that i’ve never wanted to change my mind or take someone back. so, i’ve never really felt the way i did in the hideaway the other night, when you asked me to try, ” she explains. naomi’s gracious, using the word ‘asked’ instead of ‘begged’ to describe him in that conversation. she reaches out now, and she’s looking everywhere except his eyes – his cheeks, his lips, the curve of his eyebrow. she runs her thumb over his cheek affectionately, “ you’re different. ”

if this isn’t enough to keep him from asking about other guys again, then she’s tapped. but she’s also not letting him off easy after he’s asked her to play so many of her cards like that. naomi adjusts her weight on the bed so that she’s still close, closer, legs slotted back between his now as she fits beside him. “ but you definitely didn’t make it easy for me to figure it out, while i was over here away from you. i heard all this stuff from romi and jenny about that night, and i thought . . .  ” naomi trails off, swallowing thickly, but this time she draws her eyes back to his, needing to be brave about asking this, “ well, would you still choose me ? if she hadn’t cheated on you ? ” one perfect eyebrow raises expectantly as she turns the question back around on him. naomi definitely likes to believe that she could’ve won josh over in any universe, and not because of any cunning or manipulation. she thinks she could’ve done it because she knows what it feels like to be with him, and she knows he feels it too. she just wants to hear how he’ll respond, with the same morbid curiosity as when he asked her the mirroring question. 

“ oh. so you are just stupid, then, ” naomi clarifies, though her body shakes around him as she laughs, unable to hide how much she’s grinning despite the way she hides her face against his chest. she was the reckless one, then, when she’d slapped dejan, when she’d marched into the hideaway with no plan. if she was able to do the latter without josh at her side, then who knows how formidable she’s going to become in here. josh always seems to admire that she can take care of herself, but naomi doesn’t think he knows how much more powerful his support makes her feel in here. they’re terrifying opponents, but just as ruthless as a team. “ good. or at least if you ever feel like doing something so stupid again, warn me, ” she teases, tone low as she speaks against his lips, “ so i don’t miss it. ” naomi kisses him again with more heat this time, body shifting into his in a way that seems to seek out every gap between them, trying to close it. as much as things have changed and developed between them, their chemistry is the one thing that’s remained unmoved, the familiar heat between their bodies as their lips crash together. naomi’s teeth tug at his lips as he pulls away and it’s like a dance, the way his mouth finds the sensitive places on her neck next, trying to turn her on. her breath hitches softly, lips close enough to josh’s ear that can surely hear – and if not, then he can feel it as she rocks into him, her hand sliding down his chest until its position is tantalizingly low. but the ‘it’s not bad, i promise’ works like a bucket of cold water, and she makes a face at him, scrunching her nose as she pulls her hand away. 

historically, she’s pretty good at distracting josh from serious topics with her body, so immediately she knows it must be serious if it was on his mind enough to get him to pull back just when it was getting good. 

it’s worse than bad, though. she wishes he’d asked her anything else, about any number of the horrible, vitriolic things she’d said – like, about how horrible he’d was or that she never wanted to date him. naomi and josh are alike in a lot of ways, but she’s not naive to the fact that they’re on camera. with the daily accusations that she’s playing a game, what’s she supposed to say ? that she was trying to win an argument ? “ i meant it, or – i believed i did, ” she clarifies, looking up at him. naomi already looks uncomfortable that he’s asked her about this, because it’s definitely outside of her comfort zone. and this definitely isn’t the way she would’ve liked to talk to him about this. he can probably see the annoyance on her features in tandem with her own discomfort. “ i didn’t see how i felt coming. like, when i said we should still stay open back then, i’d meant it. so, it really caught me off guard how i felt when you said you wanted to get to know someone else, and not just because i’d be vulnerable in here, ” because let’s face it, naomi wouldn’t if she hadn’t wanted to be. “ but because i realized how much i didn’t want to lose you, and i really didn’t want that to be the end for us. then you told me what happened and it hurt, like, so fucking badly. that was so not how i would’ve chosen to realize that i was catching strong feelings for you, ” she laughs at that, at all the stupid irony, turning her face into the pillow. strong feelings that she’d tried to get over by immediately dumping him. it’s this moment to catch her breath that makes her realize how much her body feels like it’s burning, trying to relive this and explain it all for him, everything she felt leading up to the day when they fell apart. she’d drawn so into herself then, guarded and measured with everything that she said to him. because she hadn’t let him in at all back then, it’s built up. “ so, yeah, i thought i knew what that meant when we broke up, ” she adds. naomi moves back now, unable to take this position where he’s leaning over her. she sits up, back against the headboard. her hair’s a mess from laying on her back, rolling around with him, and she futilely tries to tuck it back behind her ears. “ but i don’t think i did. because that night in the bathroom . . .  ” naomi trails off, her hand absentmindedly touching her forehead like she can still feel him there, a ghost. she looks back at josh like she can’t believe she’s resurrected him, something swelling in her chest. “ when you left . . . that was when i really knew, ” back when she could barely fake it, could barely lie to him properly despite being expert at both of those things. “ i actually told romi the next day that you made me feel scared. but i meant that i was scared i was falling in love with you, ” she doesn’t realize she’s on the verge of tears until her voice breaks in the midst of speaking. “ fuck, ” naomi mutters, using the edge of her palm to wipe at her eyes. “ i’m still scared. and yeah, i wish i was exaggerating, but . . . i really want this, ” she adds with certain, quiet vehemence. she doesn’t touch him, though she wants to. it just doesn’t come instinctively for her, love never having to do anything with affection in the place where she grew up, doesn’t instinctively go to physical touch in her most vulnerable moments, even if she wants it. there are a lot of things he still doesn’t know about her, reasons she can’t explain all of her fears to a television audience. she hopes josh knows, or that he doesn’t need that to want her. she does look at him, though, eyes glassy and face flushed when she says, “ tell me you mean it, too. ”

[romistav]

It’s still pretty early in the morning, everyone is lounging around and not exactly doing anything yet. When they spot Adela heading into the dressing room, they decide it’s time to fix their hair or something. Romi walks in, taking a seat at the vanity that’s crowded with their stuff. “Hey, I figured it was time we actually, like, met.” It sounds corny and rehearsed and that’s because it is. A part of them is worried about Adela taking Dylan’s heart rate results seriously because, well, they made a whole show of being mad at Jude over a challenge so they’re not about to judge her if she is. // @bluemmings​​

[crackonhq]

the islanders line up by the pool to take turns in snog, marry, pie. they’ll get to kiss someone, then take a ring pop off the table to do a proposal. lastly, they’ll go get a pie and smash it in someone’s face ! 

callie gets to go first. she goes up to jenny and gives her a proper kiss, pulling her in and kissing her slowly. she pulls away, turning on her heel with a smile as she goes to get a ring pop.

she gets down on her knee in front of angel, laughing as she asks him, “will you marry me?”

finally, she gets a pie, and she’s cracking up by the time that she approaches jude. either because she’s laughing so hard or because she doesn’t want to, she pies him very gently, saying, “sorry.” there’s only a small amount of cream on jude’s face afterward.

victoria goes next, ready to put on a show as usual. the kiss she gives eden is definitely more than a peck, lingering as she cups the blonde’s face with her hand, pulling her closer by her hips.

next, she goes to get a ring pop, kneeling down in front of charlene. “i know we’ve only been coupled for like ten minutes, but i think you’re so fucking hot and sweet. wanna get married?” she grins.

when victoria goes to get her pie, she walks over to josh and says, “this is for saying vancouver’s better than new york,” and smashes it in his face properly, yet playfully. 

dante goes next and he immediately walks over to eden, cupping her face for a good smooch. then, he goes to get a ring, walking over to charlene.

“i would like to propose because there is nobody else here i would want to spend the rest of my days with. you make me very happy, charlene,” he says, kneeling down in front of her to put a ring pop on one of the fingers victoria didn’t go for yet.

finally, he grabs a pie, going to smash it in victoria’s face, “i am very sorry, but i wanted to couple with charlene.”

naomi takes her turn, walking over to josh to lean up to kiss him slowly, draping her arms over his shoulders. she’s got cream all over her face when she pulls away and she reaches up to drag her index finger down his cheek. she sucks the cream off her hand with a smirk before turning on her heel to get a ring.

she goes to kneel down in front of angel, giggling when she informs him, “though we’ll be sleeping in separate beds until death do us part, you starfish.” 

she walks over to get a pie, she hesitates in front of dylan for a beat, devilish smirk on her features before she stops in front of jude, already cackling a little, “’cause once a day he’s gonna make me want to smack him, and he hasn’t done it yet today, but...” she smashes the pie in his face satisfyingly. 

dylan goes next, and he chooses to kiss miles. it’s a good and proper kiss, dylan pulling miles closer by his waist and it goes on for a bit. dylan pulls away grinning and goes to get a ring pop from the table.

he kneels down in front of adela. "i want more of those mornings with you in bed where you cling to me so i don't get out of bed." he grins. "plus, adela michaels has a nice ring to it, don't you think? will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

then, he goes to get a pie from the table. "this is a special welcome back to the villa, and for not being able to leave the villa the first time without being shady." he pies mali with a smile on his face, though it’s not too hard – he does rub it in a bit, though.

josh goes next, going over to naomi to kiss her. he grabs her by the waist and lifts her up, her legs wrapping around him for a kiss that probably goes on obnoxiously long and is really hot. luckily the viewing audience is getting a cut version.

he sets her down and goes and gets a ring, walking over to kneel down in front of adela. pointedly, he says, “i’m proposing to this girl because she deserves better than what she’s got, and it beats getting on my knees in front of miles.”

he grabs a pie and walks over to jenny saying, “i think we both know this pie has your name on it,” and smashes it in her face.

miles goes next, and he paces the line before turning on his heel to go for a kiss with santiago. it’s pretty steamy, and he just goes for it with all the passion of when they were alone together in the hideaway. then, he goes to grab a ring.

“i’ve always got a smile on my face whenever this girl’s around,” he says, kneeling down in front of eden, “think we’d have a mad time together if we got hitched, mermaid or not.” 

he goes over to get a pie, standing in front of mali. he tries to look serious, pressing his lips together, but he can’t keep from grinning when he pies her in the face. “for coming all the way back just to graft the guy i’m coupled with, obviously,” he laughs.

when angel goes, he walks over and kisses eden on the mouth. it’s a real kiss, more than peck, but it’s not excessive and doesn’t go on too long.

then, he goes to get a ring pop, walking over to callie. “callie, i already know you’re the person i’m gonna walk out of here with, one way or the other. you’re the first thing i think about in the morning, i’m so excited about you. i know it’s only been fourteen days, but… will you love island-marry me?” he asks, smiling up at her.

when angel goes to get a pie, he’s laughing when he goes right for josh. “no hard feelings, bud.” the pie isn’t thrown hard, but he does smash it gently into josh’s face, slides the tin around a bit to make sure he doesn’t miss an inch.

it’s jude’s turn next and he addresses the line, “i want to snog this boy because i've been dying for a taste of his luscious lips since the day we met. c'mere, you,” he says, walking over to angel and pulling him in for a kiss, sliding his hand around angel’s neck and grabbing his hip with the other.

honestly it’s a bit longer than it ‘should’ be, a serious snog that has those not interested in watching tapping their feet, and those that are...you’re welcome.

jude goes to get the ring, but he winds up dropping it at jenny’s feet. he’s cracking up as he’s scrambling to find it on the ground, picking it up from next to dylan’s shoe. 

"i wanna marry this girl because even with pie on her face she’s still the most beautiful girl i’ve ever seen. she drives me mad in the best way, and there's no one else i'd rather have a future with,” he says, putting the ring on her finger.

finally, he grabs a pie, going over to naomi, “i'm pieing this girl because she's the worst sous chef i've ever met. my nan could cook better than her, and she's dead.” then he smacks her with the pie, rubbing it all over her face. 

its jenny’s turn to go after jude, and she walks over to angel. "i'm sorry," she says, but she doesn't look very apologetic when she takes his face in her hands, laughing through the moment she gives him to brace himself and shimmies her nerves away before planting one on him. it's definitely not a peck and lasts longer than it ought to, but when they do pull apart they each shove the other away, faces scrunched up in playful disgust.

after jenny gets a ring, she sinks down onto one knee, then both, kneeling in front of jude and peering up at him, all mischief as she slowly licks her lips and makes like she's going to unfasten his shorts. "kidding," she singsongs, then clears her throat. "well it definitely wouldn't be a white wedding, but i'd like to marry you because i think... i dunno, you're really great, or whatever. it's just you and me, baby." 

next, she goes to get a pie.for a minute you'd think jenny was gearing up to pie charlene, but she backtracks suddenly, landing predictably in front of josh with a resigned smirk. "sorry. the temptation was just too strong." how could she resist throwing something in his face? she pushes the pie onto him then, smearing it until his face is thoroughly coated. and to finish, she swipes her finger along his forehead, gathering some of the cream up to pop in her mouth. "delish."

mali goes next, looking across the line at eden. she smiles at the blonde, “come on, darling,” she beckons before pulling her close in a kiss that can only be described as a show, nothing held back. it’s a full-on snog. 

then she goes to get one of the ring pops, heading to kneel down in front of santiago, "i know this is a little fast, but they say when you know, you just know and i really think we have a great foundation here. would you do me the honor, darling?" she asks. 

finally, she heads over to josh with a pie. she rubs the pie in his face and his hair, smiling as she adds, “sorry, sweetie, it’s nothing personal, but i do think you need this.”

adela goes next, walking up and down the line to decide who to kiss. she hesitates in front of dante for a moment before choosing naomi. she cups her cheek with the palm of her hand and pulls her close, kissing her. she seems to be testing the temperature, so when naomi kisses her back, adela also fully goes for it. “i just wanted to see what all the fuss was about,” she says as she pulls away. 

next, she goes to get a ring pop from the table, kneeling in front of dylan without hesitation. "i want to marry dylan because he's really sweet and makes me so happy, and there's no one else i'd get down on my knees for."

lastly, adela gets a pie and goes right for mali. she doesn’t do it too aggressively, but she does make sure to smear it down mali’s face before saying, “that’s better.” 

santiago goes next. he approaches callie with a grin, saying, “i’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” before giving her a proper kiss. then he goes to get a ring pop from the table, kneeling down in front of mali.

he says to her, “you’re beautiful and incredibly charming, te quieres casar conmigo?” 

finally he goes to get a pie and smashes it in miles’ face, saying, ““i love this color on you.” 

charlene goes next. she paces before standing in front of santiago, grinning up at him when she says, “this isn’t the first time i’ve thought about kissing you.” her hands reach up toward him as if she’s about to pull him into a kiss until she swerves, reaching for victoria beside him instead. charlene pulls victoria in closer for a kiss.

next, charlene goes for a ring, lips curved into a wide grin as she gets down in front of dante. “you’re literally my best friend. my partner in crime. the uh, riga to my toni. anyways, you’re incredible and i think the world of you. would you marry me?” 

next, she goes to get a pie from the table. “callieeeee!” she calls in a sing song voice as she approaches callie, “it’s all fun and games and honestly, you’re the only person i can count on to understand that so —” right after she pies her, she swipes a finger over her cheek and cheekily licks off the cream. 

eden goes last, approaching mali. “hey, gorgeous,” she says, placing a hand on mali’s waist to pull her in closer for a kiss. she leans mali back a bit, and the kiss lasts for a few moments, and if you look at them, you can totally see tongue.

next, eden kneels down in front of miles with a ring. “he was a boy, she was a girl, can i make it any more obvious?” she laughs, “he played footy, she did conservation, what more can i say? will you marry me?”

she brings a pie over to santiago, smashing it in his face. “nothing personal, i quite like whipped cream in the bedroom anyway.” 

ADMIN NOTE: this took place on DAY 43. you can set upcoming starters from after this challenge all the way to the evening of day 44.