it is what it is.

𝐷𝐸𝑃𝐸𝑁𝐷𝐸𝑁𝑇 𝑀𝑈𝑆𝐸 𝐵𝐿𝑂𝐺 𝐹𝑂𝑅 𝐶𝑅𝐴𝐶𝐾𝑂𝑁𝐻𝑄 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎

☀️  𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐀 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐒 //  𝟮𝟱,  𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙫𝙚𝙧,  𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚—

𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀.   𝗽𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.   𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀.   𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.   𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲.

☀️  𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋𝐒 //  𝟮𝟰,  𝙨𝙮𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙮,  𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙣—

𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀.   𝗽𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.   𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀.   𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.   𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲.

☀️  𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐀 //  𝟮𝟳,  𝙩𝙪𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙮,  𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮-𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩—

𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀.   𝗽𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.   𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀.   𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀.   𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲.

“girl, why does it feel like months have passed by instead of days?” so much happens in such little time. the mention of victoria brings her to smile, because she really is flattered to have been picked. even if she had thought it was going to be by someone else. “kind of? like, we’ve kissed and it has been fun and all but at this point i’ve literally been kissed by so many people without it meaning anything that its like, hard to tell when someone is actually interested, you know? i’m not mad though. i really want to see where things go with dante but i don’t think he and i are in a rush to set anything in stone. just gotta take things one day at a time, right?” here's hoping that works out this time. “miles and santiago was so random! like… have the two even talked? guess it doesn’t matter. doubt they did much of it while in the hideaway.” she raises her eyebrow suggestively, taking a sip of her own drink as she does. “right? why couldn’t they bring stella in here?” charlene leans in towards her, tone taking a more gossipy tone. “do you think the producers brought them back as like, reparations for having fucked josh? personally, i would have just sued.” she teases, “we should pull them aside for drinks later. they seems nice.” as for callie’s question, charlene has plenty to say about how she’s been and about the drama that has happened but in the spirit of not making this reply a million paragraphs, she nods her chin towards calllie. “you first. can you believe frankie is gone? how are you feeling about that?” 

“ YOU AND VICTORIA ARE BOTH FROM NEW YORK TOO, RIGHT ?   that’s not a small thing, ”   callie says, because she knows how much charlene would like something real to come out of this place, and what’s the biggest hurdle than distance ?   it’s not like she’s going to move to the italian countryside.   “ but that’s fair. get to know them both, see how you feel. there’s still plenty of time, ”   she points out. although the days have been going faster than normal lately, and callie would be lying if she said she wasn’t counting down the days until this was over.   “ i thought santiago was going to pick you, ”   she admits.   “ maybe he was, and victoria got to you first. you’re a hot commodity, ”   she teases. the word reparations makes callie laugh, shaking her head.   “ she fucked him all on her own, ”   callie points out.   “ what’s that saying ?   you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it fuck the hockey player ? ”   the question about frankie has her making a bit of a face, not surprised to be asked this, but it’s still weird.   “ is it bad, i feel kind of guilty ? ”   she admits.   “ i think everyone was just so surprised she got the least amount of votes, i can’t help but wonder if our drama had anything to do with it. i wish her well, but... it is a bit of a relief to not have to worry about that any more, either, ”   callie confesses.   “ especially for angel and i. though he asked me to be his girlfriend last night, so i’d hope her being here wouldn’t mean anything regardless. ”   also that he would’ve asked her regardless of frankie still being here or not, but callie isn’t going to bother to go down the path of hypotheticals. it rarely goes well.

SHE QUIRKS AN EYEBROW AT HIS LAUGH, wondering what’s so funny. she’s usually not one to miss jokes so it’s confusing to her. maybe he’s just laughing because he actually thinks he can win. isn’t that cute ? the question strikes her because she knows charlene is the kind who wants someone to be all about her but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t thinking about chatting up some of the other girls. she decides to do that though, to lie. “ no, not really. i think i wanna focus on charlene for now. what about you ? are you getting to know eden ? ”

eyes roll up, heavy lidded with amusement that reflects just as fondly in the big grin on angel’s face. he shakes his head a little as if to say noooo i’m not, though they both know that would be a lie. it probably wouldn’t even really surprise callie to know that it’s been days of wrestling with the notion, of weighing the con of time - or lack thereof - against the pro of just knowing this is what he wanted. the small universe she creates for them in the shroud of the blanket gives the illusion - and maybe even reality - of true privacy, of a moment for just them, hidden even from the night-vision eyes tucked in the corners of the ceiling. fingers splay over the curve of her jaw as angel guides her closer, nose to nose, so he can whisper the question against her mouth. “will you?” he asks. “will you be my girlfriend?”

– SHE WATCHES HIS FACE CLOSELY, a certain gentle intensity in her hazel eyes. she wishes they could speak more openly, that she could ask him what he thinks about the producers bringing mali in here and what that means for their game, what kind of reflection it must be on the public and the producers. she feels so disconnected from reality sometimes, for how long they’ve been in here, always talking in a slightly roundabout way. “ yeah, it is stupid, ” she says, though there’s a terse edge to her tone. “ i just … we’ve been talking so much about the future and everything that comes next and i think i’ve gotten kind of used to it, ” she says, a slight smile playing at her lips as she ducks her head, having trouble meeting his eyes for a moment. “ – in a good way. ” and she doesn’t want to think that something in here could be capable of driving them apart, but there’s tests everywhere for a reason. “ does anything scare you ? ” she asks, affectionate fingertips lightly tracing his collarbone. 

breath catches in the back of her throat as he pulls her against him, though any other sound from her lips as she grinds her hips down against his is lost in the midst of their kiss. her eyebrows arch, unable to resist a look of amusement at his word choice. “ perfect, ” she echoes, a little smirk curving the edge of her lips, shiny gloss slightly smudged. “ feel free to elaborate further, don’t hold back, ” naomi says, always entertained by josh’s dramatic declarations, like he’s the leading man in a romcom and he’s like, being drafted for war or something. but sometimes it’s what she needs to hear – a girl who grew up adjacent to the stage, she kind of lives for the drama. there’s an occasional hunger for such theatrics. she kisses him like that, too, impassioned as she presses her lips to his again, a hand on his neck to hold him in her orbit, her other sliding down his chest. she’s just teasing him, no intention of taking it further in the living room in the middle of the day, even if her hand curling into the hem of his shorts implies otherwise. “ what if we slept outside tonight ? ” she asks, voice low against the shell of his ear, “ without an audience, without being quiet. ”

HIS STOMACH FLIPS AT THE MENTION OF THEIR FUTURE TOGETHER. it’s not like they haven’t spent the past couple nights staying up late whispering about it in bed, learning countless names of friends and family and family friends that josh can’t wait to meet once they’re out of here. but the word future feels so serious, especially coming naomi. in a good way—like she says.   “ this has nothing to do with any of that, though, ”   he assures her, thumb tracing the edge of her jaw.   “ it doesn’t change anything, y’know ? ”   her question makes him laugh, head shaking in mild exasperation.   “ that’s a loaded question, ”   josh teases.   “ with us ?   no. ”   a pause.   “ well, with me and you, no. the idea of meeting your parents scares the shit out of me, if you must know. ”   and normally he’s good meeting parents, but having to look adrian santos in the eyes knowing him and naomi’s sex life is so public ?   terrifying.

“…but long distance is hard,” he fills in the expletive, inferring as much. it’s especially hard when their brand of long distance redefines the term long. their homes literally couldn’t be further apart - at least angel thinks so, he’s unsure about geography. “i could work with that,” he finally admits. “like, facetimes, texting, flights. i would do it.” it’s a bucket of cold water spilled over their cozy, tropical dreams of vacationing together post-show. that would have to end sometime, and then what? “i mean, we don’t gotta chisel that kinda stuff in stone,” he chuckles quietly, trying to maintain a certain amount of levity and knowing callie well enough to know she appreciates some level-headed logic with her whimsy. “but i’d probably try and get you out to LA, to be honest. and in the meantime…” there’s something he’s been gearing up to say, the trip down memory lane obviously leading to a specific destination, and this topic of concern seems like the best segue into it. no matter the precarious logistics of stuff post-show, angel wants her to be reassured that some things can be certain, like the way he feels about her. “i want you to be my girlfriend,” he whispers, thumb sliding over the contour of her cheek. production will kill him for not making more of a show of the question, but it doesn’t occur to him to care.

location :   outdoor swing

featuring :   @heatwayve​

– NAOMI EYES HIM WARILY FOR A MOMENT, in tune enough with the cadence of josh’s voice to know when he’s mentioning the producers. naomi doesn’t believe they’d bring mali back with the intention of her peacefully finding love, but maybe the fact that it rattles her generally unshakeable demeanor was enough for them. she’s not sure. what rattles her more is the fact that she has felt like, up until this point, that she’s pretty much had them under her thumb. mali back in the mix the second that naomi’s felt happy in a relationship is a reminder that she can’t get too confident. she’s not immune to any machination. “ that doesn’t eliminate the possibility that it could start shit. i mean, is that it, then ? you’re actually completely unbothered ? ” naomi asks, brow furrowing. “ nothing rattles you now ? ” what she really means is, nothing scares you ? because even before mali walked in ( because truly, that’s the least of their problems in a week or so when they’re contemplating long distance and dealing with a media storm ) she’s started to feel scared, and she’s never been scared like this, never felt like she had to flinch at the idea of losing someone. for the most part, it’s felt like an inevitable, and that’s been fine. even now, it’s not like she needs josh, but she’s started to get used to the idea of their future. she’s started to like it. 

her expression darkens at josh’s accusation, eyes rolling to express her annoyance at the sentiment. it’s far too cocky. “ jealous ? ” it’s a dismissal, like she can’t remember laying awake the first night in casa amor, crazy over the idea of him with someone else, despite knowing rationally that it was within his right. “ i do not need to be jealous, ” she refutes with clear annoyance, her hand wrapping loosely around his neck. naomi’s thumb tilts josh’s chin upward to give possessive lips better access to the hollow of his throat, hips rolling against him. her voice is honeyed but full of intent when she adds, “ i already know you’re all mine. ” though she wouldn’t mind hearing him say it today. 

“ I MEAN, I WOULDN’T SAY I’M UNBOTHERED, ”   josh starts, shaking his head.   “ do i want her here ?   not particularly. am i annoyed that this is probably meant to piss me off ?   yeah. but... i don’t know, ”   he shrugs his shoulders, bringing a hand to her back to knead his thumb between her shoulder blades.   “ it doesn’t rattle me. it’s just stupid, y’know ? ”   josh wants to assume that mali hadn’t been brought here because anyone—her or the producers—thought that he would suddenly get cold feet about being with naomi and switch teams. and if that’s the case, then why fucking bother ?

“really really,” angel affirms, grinning with the memory of how much she shook him that night, how everything seemed to turn on a dime. “y’know, ‘cause i didn’t know where your head was at and i – like, i was trying not to move too fast? or do anything you weren’t into, but i knew i wanted to be next to you.” when angel came into the villa as a bombshell, he worried that might be to his detriment. his reluctance to step on toes, his over-sensitivity to someone else’s feelings. it was his undeniable luck that callie chose to make those moves for them. “no, for real. probably just ‘cause… i mean, we’re together all day,” he breathes a laugh, shoulder lifting. “we’ve done a lot together.” and mostly just the mundane things: brushing their teeth, doing laps in the pool, grocery shopping. but he knows that reflecting on any of those memories will always be tender. even this, now. the night they stayed up a little too late recounting their brief too weeks together with big, goofy grins on their faces. “y’know, i never lived with somebody i dated. i mean, i think we’re all gonna love to have, like, two seconds of truly not being around anybody else once this is over, but i think it’s really gonna suck not be within, like, fifteen feet from you at any given time.” that would be an inconvenience.

“i know. but some of them will want a villain.” they give a shrug, a sarcastic smile appearing. it’s really no concern to them what the others think. she’ll gladly be a villain if that’s what they want, so long as it doesn’t get in her way. the topic turns to adela and she makes a face, their nose wrinkling in distaste. “you mean, besides the fact that the girl practically called me a slag for sleeping with you?” they raise their eyebrows at him, almost daring him to make an excuse for her on that account. they’re almost certain no one had said anything remotely similar to josh for his behavior with jenny, or with mali herself for that matter. even with adela’s clarification after, it didn’t sit right with her. “there’s no doubt in my mind that she was using bash until dylan decided to look at her and i don’t like that,” they frown. “it’s gross and manipulative. you don’t get to play with someone’s feelings like that and get off scot-free just because the lad’s nice.” their huff after the little tirade is maybe a little much, but they’ve annoyed herself at the recollection. their expression turns thoughtful, lips pursing as she holds back an amused laugh. “really? are you sure? he seems taller. maybe you’ve just shrunk.” idk if mel was just saying things when she made him 6′5 but i think it’s funny so that’s mali’s story. 

victoria gives him a semi-friendly smile in return. her smile kind of falters when he says that he’s going to be getting to know charlene as well, even though she saw that coming from a mile away. she thought he might’ve been nice or dumb enough or both to just step aside but she guesses that was just wishful thinking. “ oh yeah, of course. ” she waves her hand. “ may the best win. ” and she plans to.

“man, i really hope so. hanging up all those sheets was complicated as fuck,” angel heaves a playful sigh. “really damn cute though.” and if that doesn’t chill jenny out, he’s not sure what will. his chest hitches as he muffles a laugh, one hand pulling off her waist to sweep a curl off her cheek. “yeah, that’s when it started for me. do you have any idea how shocked i was?” he affectionately squeezes the apple of her cheek between thumb and knuckle of his index finger. it might be the rose-colored lenses surgically implanted into his eyes, but he’s pretty sure it’s just the design of her face to be so glowy and bright in the dusk. “i knew i had to steal you, like, the minute that game ended. i had to beat the girls to it. but, i dunno, it always felt like you were the one starting things.” that charmed smile teases his lips again as he presses his thumb against the plush of her mouth. “you kissed me first the second time, too.”

– NAOMI DOESN’T NEED TO ASK JOSH IF HE’D LEAVE WITH HER. it feels understated between them, since the night where she’d tried to leave and he’d told her it would be a long plane ride back to canada with him. she still finds it just as ridiculous as she had then, but in a different way. “ oh my god, stop, ” she laughs too, ducking her head into his chest, “ that was so good, quit being such a hater. better than yours, oliver twist, i sounded like a proper chav, ” she adds stubbornly, punctuating her sentence with the accent, though the jury’s out on whether any of that can be understood through her laughter anyway. she’s got to blink in surprise when josh says he’s so happy she’s not crazy. can feel her friends screen recording that and adding a montage of stupid clips from nights out together already. sometimes josh says things that remind her of his massive red flags. naomi doesn’t love talking about jenny with josh, mostly because, “ you know she’s just doing all that for attention, right ? ” she remarks, arching one of her eyebrows as she tilts her head to look up at him, “ i wouldn’t take it too seriously. i doubt jude does either. the first day we met we had this massive row and called each other a bunch of names, it was way intense – then, the next day, he made me tacos. i don’t think he’s very capable of holding a grudge. ”

– LIPS PRESS TOGETHER THOUGHTFULLY, trying to resist the way he reaches out to her, hand angling her face closer. she’s unsuccessful, though, curve of her cheek pressing into his touch, and she does hate him a little bit right then for this vulnerable, helpless feeling. the way he’s being so gentle right now is confusing to her, she’s not sure how to read it except as proof that there’s something wrong, right ? but she doesn’t even know that for certain. it’s not like she’s ever really let anyone else sit this close when something’s wrong. “ i don’t know, josh, it feels like you’ve been walking around the villa on eggshells since we got the texts – which doesn’t make sense if it’s not actually that big of a deal, ” she adds, a nervous hitch of her breath.

naomi puts her hand on his where it is on her leg without thinking. she can remember the last time she spoke to mali, and how genuinely relieved she seemed to be leaving. “ i just don’t know why else she’d be back if it wasn’t to start shit. for santiago ? he’s gonna be out of the villa by next week and still single. like, why would she come back to shitty wine and mediocre catering to date a guy for two days ? ugh, don’t fucking answer that, ” she adds, catching josh’s eye warily. she can feel her face heating up, and the pressure to explain herself following along with it. “ i just hate this, i hate feeling like this, and it’s pissing me off and then it’s pissing me off that it’s pissing me off, ” she says, voice taking on that lower, darker edge when she’s angry and no longer trying to put on any kind of front to sound cool and calm about something. a tone generally reserved for him. 

“ I HAVEN’T BEEN WALKING ON EGGSHELLS, ”   josh scoffs, actually offended about that. as far as mali coming back goes, he thought he’s been handling it exceptionally well. he hadn’t started any fights, hadn’t raised his voice, hadn’t gone off to sulk in a corner. yes, he’d been anxious about actually seeing mali again, but now that he had done that... honestly, josh feels fine about it all. he’s not the happiest camper in the villa today, and that likely won’t change until she’s gone for good, but as far as drama goes, he’s dealt with worse  ( naomi going on a lunch date with mali, for example ) .   “ maybe i was a little weird earlier today, but that’s because i didn’t know why she was coming back. but i talk to her about it, and it definitely had nothing to do with me, ”   he shakes his head. it feels like it was pretty obvious, even before they talked, but it had been lingering in his mind until she put it to bed.   “ i think it has less to do with her wanting to start shit than... other people wanting to start shit, ”   he says carefully, referring to their friends. but really, why wouldn’t mali want to come back on television for a few more days ?   there’s far worse places to be, especially knowing it was going to make him and naomi squirm.

– “YEAH, THAT WAS A WEE BIT INSANE, i don’t know why anyone voted for us, ” miles snorts. “ it was weird, too, like i’ve known the guy a minute and we walk into this room full of rose petals. could’ve gone really awkwardly, under different circumstances. but knowing that just makes me like him more, i think, ” he grins. no comment on what he deserves. miles notices people have been saying that to him a lot lately, and he’s not sure if it’s supposed to make him feel better. but it doesn’t. “ no, it’s not a thing you ask, you dolt ! i didn’t need you to answer that either, everyone in the damn bedroom knows more than enough about you and your bird. ”