#frankie & evie 003.

[absolutesort]

FRANKIE & EVIE — DAY THIRTY-NINE.

location :   bean bags.

description :   frankie and evie are sweaty, and frankie sweats abt her relationship.

featuring :   evie   /  @inquixotic

𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨.

“man, i’m sweating like a pig,” frankie sighs, fiddling with the corks hanging from her australian bushwacker sun hat. feels more i'm a celebrity, get me out of here than love island, but she loves a novelty item of clothing, especially when it's one she's robbed from dylan. why does mallorca feel hotter than naples right now? she’s used to long summers quad-biking down the dirt track with the burning heat of a florida sun on her back, air con in the trailer always broken, waking up to find her sheets damp with sweat, but the kind of heat in the villa hits different. it’s like being on edge only heightens it, makes her feel like peeling her skin off, walking around the place looking like something out of they live — i came here to chew bubblegum and fuck athletes, and i'm all outta bubblegum! “i kinda wanna pick your brain, actually. like how solid would you say you and charlene are? not that i think anything will happen just… i don’t know, miles saying he wants to take a step back has me buggin’ out. obviously him and charlene were talking about getting to know each other before we closed things off, and now the door’s wide open again it’s like… anybody could break into my house.”

evelyn mendoza.

“i know, babes, it’s like we’re on a fuckin’ barbeque.” even in bikinis, wearing next to nothing, the heat permeates in a way she’s only known in the islands. it’s weird to think europe gets like this, too, especially when she feels like all she hears is that it pours constantly. she’s fanning herself with her hand, hair pulled off her neck and twisted up with the other. “i’m going to shave my head,” she announces, shaking out her curls finally as she lets go, trying to ignore the feeling of sweat dripping down her neck. the producers would have to come dab them down at this rate. “we’re good, yeah. open, but focused in,” she answers, slowly, turning over her phrasing in her head. normally, that would’ve been paired with a sunny smile, but the rest of what frankie says gives her pause. “they were gettin’ to know each other?” she hadn’t been aware of that, nor had either of them mentioned it — was it not serious? there’s the little spike of uncertainty in her chest, even though she’s well aware that agreement could’ve been had before she came in, but they had kissed during the challenge, right? was that the reason? “we agreed to give each other a heads up, but we’re not like, exclusive or anything. it’s only been a few days, so nothin’ is locked down.” there’s a note of apology to that, smiling a little sympathetically at frankie’s situation, of which she heard a little. “so wait — what happened after you and callie talked? you guys are takin’ a step back?” what didn’t she hear of that frankallie convo that would’ve caused that, she wonders.

𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨.

“listen,” frankie starts, reaching out to place her hand against evie’s knee. despite the lack of sincerity on evie’s part (or at least frankie hopes she isn’t serious), she’ll still commit to the bit. “you're a hot bitch and i truly believe you can rock anything but… if i'm honest, i think you would look like a baby chick. or like, that animated penguin on tiktok.” already, she’s cracking up, hand moving up to her eyes to wipe away a tear. “and as your friend i don't think i could allow you to do that to yourself.” it’s such a funny image—evie’s bald head on an animated penguin’s body—that frankie starts coughing mid-laugh, tears springing from her eyes. “jeez. calm down. it’s not that funny,” she tells herself, still snorting. “no, but i would look gross if i shaved my head, too, which is why i can laugh about it.” she just hopes miles doesn’t go for the sinead o’connor look. shrugging, frankie sinks back into her bean bag, playing with the cords on her bikini bottoms. somehow, she feels like she’s put her foot in it, that maybe she’s indirectly created a shitty situation for charlene. “i mean, i don’t know if they were or not. miles just said that he wanted to get to know her, and i kind of… i reacted super childishly to it, actually. just started hitting shit.”  her lips purse, jovial mood soured somewhat.  “the idea of him kissing anyone else just makes me feel physically sick, and since i’ve already had to sit through them kissing in a challenge,” which at the time had felt like no biggie, because miles had seemed focused on her, “it’s not too hard to imagine it happening again. and now i’m sat here imagining it and i just wanna—” she throws her hands out, as if expelling some kind of toxin. “bleugh, y’know? i just want that crap gone from my head.”

frankie sighs a little when evie presses her about the situation, unsure how to explain herself without coming across as a total dick. “i kept telling him things with callie were done, which they were! and like, i genuinely thought i was totally over it. because he’s so great, and we have so much fun together, and he made that speech at the recoupling and it was just… it was all going so well. it felt like it was going too well. and then callie picked my movie, and we went for a talk and it just ended up with us both like… admitting that there’d been feelings and stuff, which i kind of already knew, because the way she behaved after casa wasn’t like… four-day fling kinda reaction, y’know? she was yelling and crying and stuff. but basically i ended up saying look, we keep having the same conversation and it’s not going anywhere, and it's not fair on miles or angel to keep putting them through it, so what do you want to do with this, because we either we put this thing to bed now, or we try it again, like those are the two options.” does it sound like a big ‘oof’ when she says it aloud, or has she just built it up in her head as something way more awful than it actually is? “but yeah, i think we both knew that the only real answer to that was to focus on miles and angel. but i needed to put that ultimatum on the table for her to recognise that it’s not going to go back to being us, and that she doesn’t actually want that. angel meets her needs, and i didn’t — and miles makes me happier, even callie can see that. so it was good, because it feels like she doesn’t hate me any more. but now her relationship is like, crops nourished, harvest bountiful and mine’s obviously not, so… yeah, i don’t know. every time i see him, i wanna just grab his face and smush it, but i’m trying to give him space. it sucks.”

evelyn mendoza.

"i'd look like a penguin?" she hadn't been serious, but now she's seriously alarmed — she's wanted to try a pixie cut before, and no one told her she didn't have the face for it. what if she just did it and ended up looking like happy feet? "oh, god. okay, undercut it is. that's way gayer anyways." or at least it feels it. shaved head could just be a bad bitch. frankie's laughter sends evie into a fit of giggles, melting the alarm away just as quickly as it came on before she gasps, grabbing frankie's thigh. "oh, my god! eden and i were chattin', you should try brown. like, hair. wig. whatever. we decided you'd look killer, like totally 80s rock star. don't shave it, though, i think you'd get, like, major dad friend vibes." she's like halfway there anyways, with the way she jokes. "he said that," she repeats, brow furrowed. obviously, he doesn't need her permission, but it feels a little weird that he wouldn't have mentioned it to her at least. she thought they were on their way to becoming friends. she nods along, in full agreement with frankie's graphic sentiment. "i guess if charlene says anything, we'll know, right? she said she'd tell me if there were other people she's wantin' to kiss." she leans her head back to look up at the sky, making a face. "i feel like she and i have a good enough vibe that you don't need to be worried but...i dunno." she's not so confident in her situation that a goofy guy doesn't make her antsy. still, she brushes it off a little and rolls her head to grin at frankie. "if he steals my girl, though, i'm gonna steal you to make him proper mad, full disclosure."

she listens quietly, having heard some of the discussion firsthand, although the ultimatum surprises her a little. "honestly, comin' in, i thought you two weren't done," she admits, giving a small shrug of her shoulders, honest. "but if you two are happier now...yeah, that was the right move. but miles wasn't happy 'bout it?" her head's tilted, confused. isn't that what he wanted, to focus on frankie? "i think you shouldn't judge your own relationship by hers," she says slowly, trying to figure out the proper wording to say their approach isn't realistic. "they're both rushin' things and if it works for them, that's great, but look at josh and naomi. took 'em a full month to figure their bullshit out, right?" maybe part of it is wishful thinking, wanting less competition, but she also thinks that miles is a simp at heart, too. "i've heard how he talks about you, right, like it's not...you guys'll be fine, i think." in her expert, two relationship having opinion.

𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨.

“a very fuckin’ cute penguin!” frankie assures her, finger and thumb pinching evie’s cheek between them. “the kind that you’d like, accidentally sign up to sponsor for a year when you’re doom-scrolling and you’ve had a few beers and get kinda liberal with your cashflow…” the tip of her finger boops against evie’s nose, before she shifts back into her bean bag, sunglasses pulled down over her eyes to shield them from the sun. “man, 80s rocker chick? that sounds dope. maybe when i get out of here i’ll dye it. just for the lols, you know? miles is into blondes, but… i dunno, i think i could get him to like me any kinda way.” or maybe that’s just wistful thinking, steadfast faith placed on a rocky connection in the hope that it might prove true. jeez. if she doesn’t finish this thing with miles’ hand in hers, then what’s the fucking point? sure, it’s been a fun holiday, but she doesn’t just want a holiday any more — she’s grown greedy enough to want to take a piece of the holiday back with her. clutching her chest in one hand, and evie’s fingers in the other, frankie fixes her with a smile that’s only half-ironic. “dude, are you serious right now? i’m like, so flattered. i would love to be stolen by you. girl, if the two of them go for it, there’s no way i’m not stealing you right back.” the words might operate at a pretty surface level, but still there’s a warmth to the way the two of them interact. evie’s only been in the villa a few days, but already she’s become one of frankie’s closest friends, and lately it feels like she needs all the friends she can get. “honestly, in my head, it was done. like two days into knowing miles, i was ready to kinda bite the bullet and jump ship. i think… i don’t know, it’s easy to get anxious in here that you’re not making the right choices.” making choices isn’t really a conscious process that happens with frankie. first thought, best thought is her usual modus operandi. but recently, taking the bull by the horns and leading head-first into impulse hasn’t exactly been serving her well, and more often than not it’s come back around to bite her on the ass. “i’m not a person who regrets shit, really, so i don’t wanna leave here with any regrets. and obviously i’d never regret miles, he’s already one of the best people i’ve eve met in my life, but i think… maybe to be able to fully be all-in on him i needed to properly shut down the callie thing. to make it certain that that was like… sealed off, rigged with the explosives, due for demolition type deal. and yeah, i went the wrong way about it, presenting it like there was an option for us to get back together, like that was fuckin’ stupid, dude, but like. at least there’s no confusion now.” before, it had felt closed off, but in the way of a scabbed wound one pick away from reopening. now, it feels like the faint line of a scar, like the little one that bisects her abdomen from when they’d taken her appendix away. she’d asked the doctor if she could keep it in a jar, give it little googly eyes and name it bruce, but sadly keeping body parts is pretty unhygienic. “a month! god, i don’t have a month, evie. like, what if i go tomorrow and we never get to fix this? i think i’d actually fuckin’... i’d have to catch a flight to dublin and just camp out at the airport until he gets back, like some tragic fuckin’ superfan with a parasocial crush. literally the script called and they want the plot of their hit single the man who can’t be moved back.”