Just a awkward fan

—— YOU WERE SURPRISINGLY awake and feeling lively this morning. You didn't even groan when you got out of bed, nor were you forced from the confines of your duvet. You just rose and got up. You grabbed a towel and tiptoed past Ginge, who was still peacefully sleeping in the bed beside yours. By the time you'd gotten to the waterfall shower, Kelly was already in there and Alex was drying off.

"Hello, sunshine!" Kelly chirped from the shower, running her hands over her legs.

"Morning." You greeted back with a smile while removing your clothes to reveal the bikini you had on underneath.

"Oh my God, I love that. Where did you get that?" Alex gasped, eyeing your bikini.

"Hollister. I love that shop, it's my best friend." You replied, bouncing from left foot to right as you waited for Kelly to finish up, shivering slightly.

"There you go, darlin'." She finally left the shower, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around herself.

"Thank you." You said, taking her place.

You screamed at the initial contact with the freezing cold water.

"It's so cold!"

"I know!" Kelly laughed at you, "That's why I peed, to warm it up."

"Kelly!" You shrieked in shock, running your hands over your hair once it was soaked through.

READER: The ice bath for a shower is not an ideal situation, but it beats not showering for three weeks so ... I'll just deal with for now. That's another thing that'll go on my 'Things I can't wait for' list. A warm shower that I can sit in for two hours and just do nothing.

When you were out of the shower, you waddled back to camp with your bottom half dried and your red shorts on, but you were still in your bikini top.

"I'm so cold." You whined, jogging up the steps to your bed area and rummaging around for your shirt, "Where's my top?"

"Lisa took it down to wash it in the creek with hers last night, it should be dried on the rocks by now." Martin told you, and you thanked him before making a trip down to the creek.

There, you found your shirt along with Lisa's and Shona's, but they were all still damp. Not soaked through, but also not dry enough to wear just yet. You groaned, picking them up and bringing them back to the main camp area, hanging them over the rails of your sheltered sleeping area so you could watch them dry and snag them to put them on.

"Not dry yet?" Martin asked as you sat on the cushioned bench, clad in a triangle bikini top and vibrant red shorts.

It was definitely an interesting look.

You shook your head, yawning, "No, still wet."

"Are you not cold?" Jack then asked, frowning as he served up a dish of rice and beans for everyone.

"Freezing my tits off. Oh well." You shrugged.

"Oi." Ginge nodded his head at you before chucking a red fleece in your direction.

When you picked it up off your lap, you realised it was most definitely too big for you and didn't have your name etched onto the back. Instead, in big, bold, white letters, it said 'GINGE'.

"You angel." You groaned, putting his fleece on and zipping it up, goose bumps arising on your skin at the sudden warmth. "Oh, that's heaven."

"Here you go, m'lady." Jack handed you a silver tub of breakfast as Ginge sat himself beside you.

"Ooo, table service. Thank you." You joked, taking it from him while everyone else began to congregate and take their own servings.

"I have a point of interest to bring up." The Osbourne then stated as everyone tucked in, "Um, I would like to vote in, uh, a new camp leader for the day. Um, I vote ... Ginge."

Everyone seemed to be in unanimous agreement with that, and you nodded, humming simultaneously and nudged the ginger boy with your foot in a teasing manner.

"I just feel you've got that, like ... leadership quality. I can see it." Alex put in.

Ginge pointed, "I agree I've got the quality—"

"Of course you agree." You snorted.

"Oi, you, behave." He laughed softly, "I'll— I'll do my best, guys."

"You'll be brilliant, bab." You pat his back, putting your empty dish on the floor and tugging your legs up to your chest, cuddling into the warmth of his fleece as much as possible.

"Bab." Lisa mocked your accent.

"Oh, shut up." You sighed, faking annoyance.

"Reader, can you do my hair please? It's a mess." Kelly asked, picking rice out of her teeth.

"Yeah, 'course."

You arrived at the Bushtucker trial as a group, pushing through to low hanging branches and leaves until you were in a clearing with two tents, a campfire and a layered seating area for you all to sit at. Ant and Dec greeted to you all, instructing you to take a seat. The three trial nominees sat on the lower row while those not participating sat above them. You sat directly behind Ginge, aggravating him by poking his lower back with your foot. He then grabbed your ankle and yanked it, so you nearly fell, had it not been for your grip on the edge of the bench.

"Dickhead." You muttered.

He simply snorted and let go.

"You're probably wandering why you're all here today." Dec started, "Now that's because, as you can see, the trials area has been transformed into a bush summer camp. Over the next three days, you're all going to become Bush Explorers!"

You burst into laughter, leaning forwards as Ginge leaned back, letting you laugh into his shoulder while he tried to suppress his amusement at the name.

Ant then carried on, "A bush explorers' goal is to try and win bush explorer badges. Now, badges bring rewards. And we like rewards, don't we? It's like the old bush explorer's motto, 'If you dare to explore, you'll always get more'! Why don't we all do it together? On three; one, two three,"

"If you dare to explore, you'll always get more!" Everyone said in unison.

"And the good news is, you will have two chief explorers to offer you leadership." Dec revealed before exclaiming, "Rangers! A fan fair please! Please welcome your chief explorers!"

Two new campers came through the forest, a woman with a short, blonde bob and the broadest grin you'd ever seen, and a man with a rather feminine atmosphere to him. They were both dressed in the same beige uniform and hats.

"Chief explorer Tom. Chief explorer Vogue. How are you?!"

"Oh, we're swell, Ant." Tom's voice came out, very soothing and posh.

"As Chief explorers, you immediately become the leaders of this motley crew. How are your leadership skills, Tom?" Dec asked them.

"I'm more of a carrot leader than a stick leader. I don't wallop from behind, I, sort of, coax with a carrot."

"Vogue would you wallop from behind or ...?"

"I like to wallop from behind on occasion." Vogue nodded.

"Now, celebrities, over the next few days Tom and Vogue will not only be guiding you, but they will also be deciding which of you deserves to be awarded one of those precious bush explorer badges. Big responsibilities." 

"The battle for the badges starts right now!" Dec announced.

"Kelly, Aitch, Ginge, the public voted for you three to face today's trial. Would you like to find out what it is?"

All three were in positive agreement.

"This is Camp Fright. The trial is three rounds of bush explorer activities. You will face one round each, and it's up to your chiefs to decide which round you take on. There are four stars available to win in each round, so that's 12 stars up for grabs. Each star you win is worth a meal for camp." Ant explained.

"Are all three of you gonna give this a go?" Dec asked, to which they all agreed again.

You put your hand on Ginge's shoulder for support.

"The first round is called 'Knot Much Fun'. And it's knot spelt with a 'K'. Which celebrity would you like to take this on? Kelly, Aitch, or Ginge?"

After a little bit of discussion, Vogue finally announced who they'd nominated.

"We're gonna go for Kelly. Those French plaits are really hard to do, I still can't do them, even with YouTube."

"Vogue, I didn't do these. Reader did them for me." Kelly revealed with a laugh.

"Oh no!" Ant exclaimed, "You've said it now, you can't go back on it. Kelly, let's get you ready."

Once they'd given her a pair of goggles, they began to explain her trial, "Kelly, you will have your head in this box here, while you undo the knots on the four ropes in front of you. Every rope that you clear, is worth one star. You've got four minutes to clear all four ropes. What'd you think? You gonna give this one a go?"

"I was hoping to keep my head in and just keep my eyes closed." Kelly said with her hands on her face, holding a still-wishful expression. "But let's do it."

She rose from her seat and got into position under the box. She pushed her head through the hole and adjusted her goggles. The loud claxon sound went off, signalling the start of her trial. Immediately her hands began moving on the yellow rope, desperate to get all the knots out. Just five seconds n and a ranger appeared, dumping a jug of mealworms on top of her head.

You cringed before starting to hype her up, "C'mon Kel, you've got this!"

"Ah, look at that! That's the first rope clear!" Dec exclaimed and you all began cheering.

Kelly persisted with the challenge, rangers returning to dump more disgusting insects and bugs onto her head, but just before the final claxon rang out, she managed to undo the last knot, winning all four stars for camp. She sat back down on the wooden bleachers, still flicking little bugs off her. You screamed as a cockroach landed on your calf.

"Op— Sorry, Reader!" Kelly gasped as your fellow camp mates laughed at your dramatic reaction.

"Okay, round two is called 'Rotten Removals'." Ant revealed, "Tom, Vogue, who out of Aitch and Ginge do you think is best equipped to take on Rotten Removals?"

They whispered for a split second before Tom picked Ginge.

"I just reckon he would be, like, if he was coming to move your stuff from your house, like, he'd do a good job." Vogue explained.

"So I look like a bailiff?" Ginge deadpanned.

The new duo and the presenters all nodded and chimed in agreement.

You snorted from behind.

"Well, Ginge, would you like to find out what it's all about?"

"Not really got a choice, have I, Dec?" Ginge shook his head.

"Not really, no." 

"Every good bush explorer needs to do their bit for nature. To win the first two stars, you can see we've got two toads here, who are a little bit lost, and they need to get home, and their home is that pond over there," Ant pointed, "To win the next two stars, the tent behind your leaders here is infested with spiders."

"Ah." Ginge huffed, standing up, practically writhing with discomfort.

"You've got to collect two spiders, put them in the jar to win the stars."

"Should we give it a go?"

"Yep."

"Alright, start by the pond."

You slapped his shoulders encouragingly, giving him a supportive smile.

When the claxon went, he was quick to approach the toads, gently gathering one into his hands, holding it with such care as he crossed back towards the pond, putting the toad down gently and then going back to retrieve the second. Now that was the easy part done. 

He poked his head into the tent, letting out a spooked yell and jumped out of the tarp, pacing as he tried to gather the courage.

"C'mon, Ginge!" You called out, clapping, starting a round of encouraging shouts.

He'd managed to put himself fully inside the tent.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked.

"I'm scared to touch 'em!" He replied, "Ah! They're so quick!"

"Yeah, try grab one." You spoke. "Just think, you're already in their nest. Just grab it now."

"I'm fuckin' trying!"

"Don't shout at me!" You argued with him.

"No, yep, sorry." He muttered before coming out with his hands clasped tightly shut.

Once he'd dropped one of the spiders into the jar, you were applauding and cheering the loudest. He stood in front of the tent again, shaking his limbs about in an attempt to relax.

"Spiderman 3 is your favourite film!" Jack shouted at him.

Ginge looked back over his shoulder with a grin, "It is. It is."

He crouched down at the entrance of the tent, sticking his hands in and then pulling back and speed-walking to the jar, dropping it in.

"Ginge that's four stars! Four meals for camp!" Ant announced as you all cheered for him.

"Oh, hold on, one's escaped." He hummed, bending down with his back facing the camp mates, picking something up.

Instead of walking towards the jar, he approached the bleachers, holding his hands out towards you.

"No!" You screamed, nearly breaking the sound barrier on your mic.

You've never moved so fast, the way you shot up onto your feet, holding your hand out and putting it firmly on top of his.

"Ginge, please. Please. Please, don't." You laughed nervously.

He cackled at you, letting go of his clasped hands, showing that he'd not even picked anything up.

"Onto round three," Dec said once you'd both sat down, "This one is called 'Harsh-mallows'. As we all know, every bush explorer loves nothing more than a snack 'round the campfire. Aitch, you're the only one left. Come and take a seat by the fire."

Aitch stood, walking towards the campfire and sitting down on a wooden stump. 

"Where you from?" Ginge tested thrice.

"Manchester." Aitch recalled thrice.

"Let's find out what you're facing. Rangers."

On cue, a ranger came out with a wooden board with four fish-eye skewers on them. Ginge cringed at the sight, turning around and burying his face in your knee as he tried imagining himself eating that, but could only shiver at the concept. You patted his head, running your acrylic nails through his hair and scratching his scalp.

"They pop in your mouth." He groaned.

"These ... are the harsh-mallows." Ant said to Aitch, "They're raw fisheyes. There's four there. Every one you eat means you'll get another star, and that's another meal for camp. Now you know what it is, how'd'you feel?"

Aitch shook his head, "Sick."

"Prepare for the pop." Ginge forewarned, only for his mate to reply;

"I don't do pop, I do rap."

"Show us an empty mouth every time." Ant instructed.

Unfortunately, after chewing the first eye for some time, it came from his mouth mid-gag. No one appeared frustrated, just supportively clapping for him and urging to keep the next one down. Once again, it fell to the dirt between his feet. Aitch groaned in frustration, stomping his feet momentarily before shoving the third eye in.

Ginge, ever the unserious one, couldn't help but find amusement in his friends suffering. He bent his head down, laughing into his hands. Aitch shook his head, scoffing.

"He's fucking lovin' this, en'e?"

"No! I'm not, I'm not." Ginge argued, "I'm not, I'm not enjoying this one bit." His face then scrunched up with suppressed laughter. "It's not fair, 'coz that's my mate and he shouldn't be going through this. If I could, I'd eat that last eye for him."

"Go on then." You snorted.

"Nah, you're alright, love. Against the rules, 'ent it?"

Well, in a late change to the rules," Dec pretended to be adjusting an earpiece.

The Salford boy began cracking up again.

"Ginge, stop it." You tutted and sighed, slapping his shoulder.

"'Coz I know how hard that can be, I won't take the mick."

"Do— Did you eat one of these?" Aitch asked.

"Honestly, I did an eating challenge the other day, I only ate everything." Ginge shrugged competitively.

"'Course you did, ya gannet." You scoffed in defence of the rapper. "Aitch, ignore him. Just ... find your happy place. Think of your sisters." You gave him a double thumbs up.

"There's no way Ginge is harder than you." Jack added, trying to gas him up to eat and swallow one of the remaining fisheyes.

For a third time, Aitch failed to consume the eye. He stood from the stump, walking towards the bushes and spitting up a bloody saliva. You cringed and turned away, facing towards Martin, who pat your knee.

"Argh, I'm fuming, I'm sorry." He apologised to the group, returning to his seat on the lowest level besides Kelly.

"Your total stars are eight stars, and that's eight meals for camp." Ant recounted, "Is that okay?"

The whole camp cheered, clapping and making noise.

"Well done bush explorers, but we're not quite finished there." Dec said, "Because it is time for the chief explorers to award their first badge. Tell us more about the badge, Ant?"

"Well, todays badge is for bravery. So, who would you like to give it to. Have a little conflab and come back to us."

Tom and Vogue began whispering to each other, covering their mouths and facing away from you.

"We are going to award this to Ginge because ..."

"We feel that you overcame a fear in there and it was ... deeply admirable."

"Ginge, come and get your badge!" The presenters instructed, and he did so.

You smirked and clapped for him as he collected it and sat back down. 

"Would you like to say a few words?"

"Yeah." He stood back to his feet, "Today, we came here not knowing what to expect. We've overcome fears, but we've not done it as a three, we've done it as one, okay? Two new individuals have come into the camp, and we will welcome you into that camp like family, okay? And I can't wait until we all get there, learn more about you" He pointed to Tom and Vogue, "And become one. Thank you."

You burst out laughing at the dramatic quality of his speech, and the seriousness in which he delivered it.

"I don't know why you're laughing, because you don't have a bravery badge, so you can pipe down." He sassed, pointing at you and then sitting in front of you.

You teasingly tapped the top of his head.

Your group laughed at the friendly bickering between the two of you.

"So, there you go, the first bush explorer badge has been presented but don't worry guys, there will be lots more opportunities for bush explorer badges in the coming days. And we'll catch up with you all very soon!" Dec finalised.

When you arrived back at camp, you found it to be a little different compared to when you left it. There was now a massive, beige tarp house across the way, a notice board at the entrance and the luxury beds you'd been awarded had been transformed into thin pieces of fabric attached to wooden sticks like everyone else's.

You gasped loudly, leaping up the steps to your bed area and groaning, "No! My bed!"

"Welcome to the real jungle." Jack joked as he sat down on his normal bed.

Tom and Vogue arrived shortly after, to which you all greeted them and properly introduced yourselves.

"Oh, hello lovely!" Tom's accent sang to you as you hugged him.

"Hi! I'm Reader."

"What a beautiful name." He placed a hand to his chest.

"Op— Here comes Salford boy to ruin the vibe." You sighed rolling your eyes.

"It's all jealousy, Reader, allll jealousy." Ginge tutted before greeting Tom.

"Now, should I call you Ginge?" Tom questioned

"What would you like to call me?"

"What's your— What's your ... real name?"

"Morgan." Ginge replied.

"Burtwistle." You added with a cheeky snort.

"Morgan ..." Tom repeated with a breathy tone, "It has a beautiful song of its own. Morgan."

"What d'you think of the last name, though."

"I think it's very unique."

"You're on thin ice." Ginge put his finger in your face again, but you just gave him a funny look, "I'll move my stuff out of that little hut."

You laughed, "Don't threaten me with a good time."

He was stunned by your retort, and you thought you'd gotten away with it and began walking away. But then you felt arms around your waist and before you knew it, you were over his shoulder.

"Ya goin' in the fire!"

"No!" You screeched, "No! Morgan, please! I'm sorry!"

It didn't even mean to happen — the casual slip of his birth name — but it had, and no one said anything. They all noticed, though, Aitch especially, who just smirked whilst sorting his bed out. It felt so natural to call him that. Morgan. Because he was. He was Morgan. Or Salford boy. Either of those things, but Ginge? Not anymore. That was too casual. Too surface-level.

"Have they met before this?" Tom whispered to Jack. "Are they ... you know?"

"No, no." Jack shook his head.

"Oh, that has taken me aback. They're very comfortable with each other. It's sort of harmonious."

"Yeah, yeah." The Osbourne nodded, "I think they've clicked very well."

READER: I love Tom. Can I say that already? I. Love Tom. The way he speaks is very 'oh doolally'. I loveeee! I love! I haven't really spoken to Vogue, to be honest but ... I'm a bit miffed they get to live in miny luxury — well, luxury compared to the state of our camp — up in their little treehouse but ... it is what it is, 'ent it?

You'd reluctantly changed into the new camp uniform, an unhappy expression on your face as you slumped on the floor, resting back against the log.

"Are you okay?" Jack frowned, peering down at your face.

"These colours are so unflattering on me." You muttered.

He burst out laughing, sitting beside you, "Seriously?"

"I know it's a silly thing to be upset about but ... when you're already down to the bare minimum, it's really the little things that can ..."

"Beat you while you're already down?"

"Yeah." You nodded before shaking your head, "Sorry, I'm whining about ugly clothing colours when there's things that need doing."

"No, no, it's no problem. Look, I know better than anyone — especially after these past few months — it really is the little things that make all the difference. It's better that you talk about it rather than bottle it all up and then you explode on someone." He spoke.

You nodded, smiling at him, grateful for his support.

"And, if it makes any difference, I think the green and yellow is a good match on you."

You snorted, "Thanks, Jack."

He just shrugged, squeezing your shoulder before getting back up and walking away.

You sat in your own company for a little longer before arms wrapped around your shoulders from behind, someone's lips kissing your cheek repeatedly and humming against your face.

"You okay, darlin'?"

"Yeah." You hummed, turning your head to look over your shoulder at Shona.

"You look down in the dumps." She pouted, climbing over the log and replacing Jack's spot.

"It's silly." You murmured.

"Nothing that comes from your mouth is silly. Whatever you're feeling, you're feeling. You can't change that." She told you, tucking your hair behind your ears, "You wanna talk?"

"Not really." You whispered.

"Okay." She nodded, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into her side.

You shuffled down so your head was in her lap and her fingers carded through your hair. It was at times like this, when things were a little tough and you were feeling things with no explanation for why, that you really wished you still had your mum's support. The chances were that she, as a woman, had probably experienced the same as you as a young woman, unexplainable sadness, unexplainable irritability, and a thousand other things all at once. Maybe, just maybe, if she hadn't dumped the responsibility of her own son onto you, things would be a little easier, and you would still have her guidance.

Being in the jungle for coming up to a week, had given you far too much time to let your brain just ... think. About everything. Part of you argued it was a good thing, because maybe you just needed breathing space from everything at home, but the other part of you argued that time with your own thoughts was the worst possible thing for you right now, especially because that would mean a lot of tears on national television, and the last thing you wanted to do was come across as some emotional cry-baby to the entire country.

Because you weren't. You were stronger than that.

You wiped the tears that trickled over your nose bridge, sitting up and sniffling before huffing.

"Better?" Shona smiled sympathetically, and you nodded.

SHONA: I think Reader likes to pretend that she doesn't cry that much when, in reality, sometimes all you need to do is just cry it out. She is an emotional person, but she won't want to come across as a wuss on tv. Those of you watching and thinking she is, just know that she isn't. She's been through a lot, and she's allowed to cry whenever she needs to.

It was getting slightly cloudy just as Vogue and Tom descended from their private suit and joined you all at the normal camp. You were sandwiched between Ginge and Jack in your usual spot on the bench, still slightly mardy about things.

"Okay, so, we have put everyone on chores." Vogue announced, holding up a large chalkboard.

"So ..." Tom turned the board around, "Kelly, we just thought you look a bit like Nigella. And I also know that you're green fingered and I very often think that green fingered people are good cooks as well."

"And then Martin, we thought that you might be quite good at cooking. I mean, I did think that your wife would do most of it, but then I felt bad for thinking that, so ..." Vogue explained.

"I'd love to." Martin nodded, "Yeah, I'm happy with that job."

"Then washing up we thought ... Reader."

"Hm." You chewed the inside of your cheek, staring into space with your eyes on the chalkboard.

Kelly winced, "The washing up is probably the worst job."

"Oh." Tom's face fell, his fingers dancing along his top lip, "Oh, my darling, I'm so sorry."

"Oh ... is it?" Vogue made an 'oopsie' face that came across to you as her trying to be funny, which you didn't appreciate one bit.

"It's the hardest. It's the most physical." Kelly continued.

"Don't." You huffed, leaning forwards and rubbing your fingers on your temples, "Just leave it, Kel. It's whatever. I'll do what needs to be done."

You felt Morgan's hand circling your back whilst Jack leant down to mutter to you.

"Don't let it get to you. Just think you only have to do this for a week. Chores are on rotation. One week, that's all." He patted your knee before sitting back up straight.

"It's okay, we can do it together." Lisa gave you a thumbs up.

"So, that's good? You'll still do that?" Vogue pushed.

You huffed and then muttered, "Yeah."

You zoned out for a hot minute, mind emptying as you stared off, white noise filling your ears rather than Vogue's voice. It was at that moment that you decided you didn't want to be a part of this conversation anymore.

"Going for a walk." You muttered, walking up to your sleeping area and grabbing the photo frame of your brothers and yourself before walking away from the group.

"Is it the washing up?" Tom whispered, "Oh, we should change it, I feel tremendously guilty."

"Well, no one else wants to do it." Vogue replied, gnawing her lower lip.

"She's just having an off day." Shona spoke up, shaking her head.

Ginge then stood up, following after you.

"Where's he going now?" Lisa frowned. "You don't even know your job!"

"Water duty with Eddie!" Ginge shouted back, still walking away.

He found you sat on the rocks by the pond, legs just about too short for your toes to be grazing the water. It was just ... one of those days where everything that went wrong made you feel a little bit worse each time.

"You okay?" Morgan asked, grunting as he sat down beside you, the tips of his boots being submerged in the pond.

"Mhm."

"Oi." He nudged your knee with his, "Don't do none of that nonchalant humming bullshit with me. Talk to me."

"It's just one of them, ennit?"

"You were alright this morning, what happened?"

"I ... pfft, I dunno." You shrugged, head hanging low as your finger traced the picture frame. "It's ... one tiny little stupid thing in here can really change your whole mood."

"What was that one tiny stupid little thing? Me nagging you about that bravery badge? If so, I am sorry."

"No, no, not that." You frowned, shaking your head, "Promise not to laugh? 'Coz it is really stupid."

"You've got my word."

"I think these clothes are really unflattering on me."

It was silent for a heartbeat before Morgan huffed, "Really?"

You nodded, swallowing back the emotion that caught in your throat, "I know it's silly—"

"Hey, no judgement here. Like you said, the tiniest things make the difference in here. I just ... Do you want me to be honest?"

"Are you gonna make me cry?"

"I hope not." He chuckled, "I ... How do I say this without sounding like I'm trying to hit on you? Okay, this. You are, honestly, beautiful. And that's not me saying this to try and butter you up and 'Ooo, I'm gonna try get a girlfriend in here' or anything like that. You truly are beautiful."

"Thanks, Morgan." You smiled, tears brimming in your eyes. "You're not too bad yourself."

He snorted, "Is the washing up thing on your nerves too?"

"Yeah ... I can't lie ... I don't really think I like Vogue."

Morgan burst out laughing, leaning onto you as you chuckled.

"That feels mean since we don't even know them yet but ... do you know what I mean?"

"I do, yeah, I do." He nodded, "Right," He pointed to the picture frame, "Tell me about these two. Make you feel better."

"Okay, so, this is Joey, my younger brother. He's 17 now and he plays for Aston Villa U18's."

"Oh my God, really?" Morgan gasped, taken aback. "That's mental. Does he want to be a professional?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's his goal." You nodded, smiling fondly at the thought of how dedicated your brother was to his dreams, "I used to take him to practise every day. Learnt to drive immediately after turning 17, took my test and passed immediately after turning 18 all so I could drive him to practice and to matches."

"Wow." 

"Yeah. He acts like he hates me, but I know he loves me off." You snorted, "And this is Owen, as you know, my baby brother."

"He's your double, he is, Jesus Christ."

"Yeah, we both look more like our mum, but Joey looks like dad." You said, "He's five, but he'll be six in February and ... he loves Transformers and Cars."

"Oh my God, he has to be my best mate." Morgan joked, "I'll show him my Lightning McQueen crocs. In fact, I'll get him a matching pair for his birthday."

"He'd love that!" You laughed, "But he proper hyper fixates on that stuff, which is another reason we think he's got autism, like ... it's serious. He refuses to watch anything other than Transformers and Cars. We had to buy them on Blu-ray DVD's so he has access to them at all times, that's how serious he is about it."

"I love that." Morgan laughed.

"You know them turkey dinosaurs you can get for tea? That's all he eats. Not the chicken ones either, the turkey ones. Turkey dinosaurs, smiley face potatoes and peas and two squirts of ketchup. Every night for dinner. I don't know how he's not bored of it yet."

"That sounds like heaven to me." He shrugged, "Invite me 'round for tea next time, please."

"You'll be lucky if I even talk to you outside of the jungle once we get out."

"Uh! Rude!"

"Only joking." You giggled, leaning into him.

"And what about your dad?"

"Oh, my dad is my rock. I love him. The strongest man I've ever met, genuinely. I've only ever seen him cry once and he's been through a lot."

"Oh, really? And what was that over, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Uh ..." You felt a little hesitant.

"You don't have to say if you don't want." Morgan held his hands up, relieving you of any pressure you felt to answer.

"No, it's fine. It's only us." You smiled, your foot knocking his and his pinkie finger grazing yours in the slip of space between your thighs. "So ... you know how I told you I used to do Molly, like, a lot?"

He nodded.

"Well ... Somebody took it too far one night when they were 19 and put themselves in hospital." You skipped around the blunt answer, hoping Morgan would catch on, to which he did, giving you a sad look, "Said person woke up, and was smothered by their dad's body because he was terrified they were going to die."

"Right, okay." Morgan mumbled, "Can I ask you something?"

"'Course."

"Was this person also scared that they were going to die?"

Your eyes moved away from the picture and your head turned, looking up at the ginger boy through your eyelashes, only to find him gazing at you with the softest expression you'd seen from him in the long week you'd known him. His lips were slightly parted, and his pupils were dilated, a soft line of concentration between his eyebrows as his irises and pupils flittered over your face.

"Mmm ... when they'd originally done it? No. But when it started happening and things started getting a little too close and ... ugly? They were terrified."

Morgan hummed, nodding in understanding, not breaking his eyeline from your face, "Well, you tell that person that I'm very proud of them for making it past that and becoming a stronger person. Will you also tell them that ... I'm really thankful that they didn't die? Because I think they're a wonderful person and they've already impacted my life more than they could know."

Your bottom lip trembled as you put the frame to the side and then threw your arms around his neck, burying your face in his neck as you cried shakily. His arms folded around your waist, pulling you tightly against him.

"No one's ever said that to me before." You whispered, fisting the fabric of his shirt.

"Well, remind me to tell you tomorrow, and the day after that. And every other day ever."

You giggled wetly, resting your cheek on his shoulder, "Thank you."

READER: Um ... I've never told anyone that before. Not even Shona knows. The only people that know are my dad and my brothers so ... it actually felt very good to tell someone— someone like Morgan, and he took it very well. I was kinda worried as to how he would respond to it but ... he handled it really well. I'm very grateful.

MORGAN: I feel quite special that Reader trusted me enough to be the one to open up to me about something like that. It's not something to be taken lightly, y'know, and ... everything I said is true. I am very thankful that she is still with us.

You and Morgan returned to the camp just in time for dinner. Martin explained that it was wild boar rump and missing potatoes as he loaded it up into silver pots. 

"Feeling better?" Jack asked as you walked past him.

"A little. Still ... I dunno. I just wanna sleep and then tomorrow is a fresh day." You sighed sitting on the floor beside his feet.

"Absolutely— Exactly, that's the mindset you've got to have. New day, leave your old worries behind."

Morgan slipped past you, kicking your foot playfully as he sat across the fire from you. You smiled at his cheeky behaviour, finding his constant ability to touch and tease you rather endearing.

After dinner was done, you and Lisa collected the dishes and went off to the creek to wash up. You did it reluctantly, trying to think positively.

"Here, give me some of yours." Lisa gestured.

"No, no it's fine." You frowned, shaking your head.

"Darlin', seriously. You're having a tough time today, just let me do the brunt of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Once all the washing up as done, you returned to the camp at the same time as Tom and Vogue, who apparently had another Chief Explorers announcement to make. You sat beside Shona, who grinned at you.

"Darlings all, as you know, there are quite a lot of badges to win. So, the very first one is awarded for community spirit in the form of culinary wizardry. It goes to Kelly!" Tom fished the badge out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Everyone applauded for her, and you let out a loud yawn mid-clapping.

"Now, our second badge goes to someone who seems to permanently have a smile on their face, who is very hospitable as soon as we came in. It is, of course, you, Lisa." Vogue gave out the second badge.

"Our final community badge goes to somebody who just about everybody around this campfire has said that you owe the whole machinations of this camp to. This badge goes to Jack!"

You whooped extra loud and stomped your feet along with the applause, "Captain Jack!"

"Ah, bravo badge winners!" Tom grinned broadly, and everyone clapped for each individual again. 

Whilst the badge winners were out reaping the rewards of their hard work, you had gotten yourself nice and tucked up in bed, ready to drift off into sleep and let your body recover from the emotionally tiring day you'd had. You'd had extreme ups, and extreme downs, all in the space of a couple hours. You were hoping every day wouldn't be like this, because if it was, you genuinely didn't think you'd make it very far. But, like you'd said with Jack earlier, a new day is a fresh start.

The next morning, you woke up of your own accord, not being shaken by Shona or nudged by Morgan. You groaned a little as you stretched, hands coming up to beside your face in tight fists. Surprisingly, you were one of the first celebrities up, and you saw surprisingly because you slept terribly. There was a whole lot of tossing and turning, a whole lot of waking you up and being on the verge of falling back asleep and a whole lot of snoring from Morgan. 

"Oh, good morning, lovely!" Tom smiled as he approached your sheltered bedding area, "Are you feeling any better compared to yesterday? I sensed that you were a little knocked off kilter and so I just left you to your own devices, but I feel as though now is appropriate to ask."

"Umm ... Well, I didn't sleep particularly well." You grunted as you pulled your boots on.

"Oh no!" He gasped, placing his hand over his chest.

"I'll try and start the day positive but ... you know when you can just feel the ..."

"The negativity is looming over you? I see, I see. Well, I was going to take a dip in the pool, would you like to join me? I think Vogue is coming too." He invited you.

"I'll pass today, but maybe tomorrow. Thank you, though." You smiled gratefully.

"Of course, of course. I'll see you in a little while." Tom finalised before trotting off.

You went off towards the dunny, having a quick wee and then coming out to brush your teeth.

"Morning, Reader!" Kelly chirped loudly, making you close your eyes and exhale sharply before turning towards her and plastering on a smile.

"Morning, Kel."

"Feeling better?"

"I guess." You shrugged, spitting out the toothpaste and saliva in your mouth.

"A little improvement is still improvement! I'll see you at breakfast." She grinned before slipping into the dunny.

As ... lovely, as it was to have someone like Kelly who was always smiling and cheerful, it did get a little exhausting sometimes. For example, right now. You could practically see they day you were about to have. It would be mopey and miserable, and you didn't want people trying to lift your mood when you were feeling so easily irritable. God knows what would set you off today. 

Having to do the trial, probably.

When you got back to camp, you sat on the floor, hands in the pockets of your fleece, just staring at the grey clouds that arose out of the fire as Martin put some water on to boil. 

"Beans or rice this morning, Reader?" Martin asked you with a gentle smile.

"I'm feeling rice." You nodded gratefully as he asked you for your opinion.

"Me and Kelly will cook up some rice for you then."

"Kelly and I!" Jack corrected while tugging his socks on at his hammock.

Thankfully, everyone else woke up relatively quickly and breakfast was quickly dished out. Martin gently tapped your shoulder, and when you looked up, he was holding the silver pot out to you. You thanked him and took it, silently eating the meal. Kelly mentioned that they'd used kiwi to sweeten it, which you could definitely taste the difference in, but at the end of the day, it was still rice, and it wasn't particularly enjoyable.

When it was all eaten and the pots were put to the side, different groups in camp were talking on different subjects. Suddenly, your name was said.

"Reader! You dance! Can you tap? Tom can!" Kelly said, flapping her hand in your general vicinity.

"No."

"Oh." She frowned, "How come?"

"The technique needed for tapping is, like, completely different compared to every other dance. Most people who excel in tap do so well because that's their main focus and priority, and they'll have other dances as minor skills."

"Ohhh right." Kelly nodded in understanding. "You and Tom should do a dance show tonight! Or run a dance class."

You snorted, "I'll try."

"What's your favourite style, darling?" Tom asked.

"I like the Charleston. They're so fun." You replied, shifting as you got more comfortable, leaning back, not realising Morgan was sat directly behind you, your head bumped his knee, "Oh, sorry, Morgan."

"You're okay."

You continued, "Anyway, yeah, Charleston, Jive. I love the upbeat dances, but I love love love an American smooth and a Rumba." 

"Ah, yes! The Rumba is very intimate, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"What do they look like then?" Alex piped up.

"A lot of long leg extensions, floaty arms."

"It's a very sensual dance. I find you must have a lot of chemistry with your partner to pull it off otherwise it, sort of, looks a bit disconnected." Tom analysed.

"Yeah, so you have to have that connection and you have to finish every little move, like this here." You grunted as you got up, kicking your shoes off.

"Oh, I was wondering how long it would take you to show of your moves!" Shona squealed happily, clapping.

You demonstrated a common combo you used in your Rumbas which included a fan kick into an arabesque turn with extended arms.

"Woo!" Shona cheered, clapping.

"Oh, bravo!" Tom gushed, his jaw slack with mesmerisation.

"Okay but now look if I rush it." You did the same thing again, but instead of waiting until you finished each move, you rushed into the next one, making it look clumpy and rushed, "See?"

"Oh, yeah, you can really tell." Alex hummed, nodding.

Aitch, ever the observant one, noticed the way Ginge's eyes hadn't let you throughout the whole time, not even as Vogue tried striking up a conversation with him. He also knew, as one of his best mates, that he wouldn't act on anything without a little motivational shove.

"You said you do this dance with a partner?" Aitch put in.

"Yeah." You nodded.

"How would you do that, like, how would you put partner work into that then?"

"So, in a Rumba, you will have sections where you go in separate directions, but usually if I was to incorporate partner work into that it would be ... do you wanna ..." You gestured for him to come up.

"Yeah, 'course." He grinned, sending Ginge a cocky look and a shrug.

"Okay, so — this is how I did it in one of my routines last year — if you just pick me up, like, bridal style."

Aitch nodded, tucking his arms under your knees and at your lower back. Eddie made a flirtatious noise to which you scoffed while everyone (bar Morgan) laughed at.

"Okay now turn away from the group."

"Away?"

"Yeah, so do a 360, step forwards while you do it, and when you rotate, put your back to camp and then when you're all the way around, put me back on my feet gently."

"Got ya, got ya." He muttered, proceeding to do as you said.

You seemed to float out of his arms as he put you down. You held onto his bicep as you fan kicked.

"Now, when I go into arabesque with my leg up, lift me by my waist, and do the same turn but back the other way."

"Right, okay." Aitch lifted you by your waist, holding you firmly but gently as he turned just the way you told him to, "Then down?"

"Yeah."

He lowered you carefully.

"Okay, I'm gonna penche now, then when I'm back up straight, spin me by my waist, sort of like I'm a fidget spinner."

"You're gonna penche? Perfect." Aitch nodded, "Whatever that means."

That drew an amused giggled from you, "Ready."

"Yeah, girl."

You proceeded to hold onto his shoulder as you did a penche, and once you were up straight again with your knee still bent, Aitch turned you by your waist as you guided him to.

"Woo-ooo, that was sick, man!" Aitch whistled, a large grin on his face, "Wait, nah, okay, put it all together."

"Again?" You raised your eyebrows, shocked by his enthusiasm.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's do it." 

"Okay." You chuckled, then going through the whole thing with him.

His hands remained hovering by your waist at all times, ready to catch you in case you fell and being ready to lift you when needed. By the end, you were chest-to-chest, both grinning.

The whole camp was cheering and clapping.

"Nah! You can't even tell me that weren't sick!" He laughed, punching his palm. "Get me on Strictly next year!"

You burst out laughing, sitting down beside Morgan.

"Instead of having girls shake arse in my music videos, I'm gonna have 'em doing a penche or whatever you said." Aitch joked, sitting down too.

"You see what we just did?" You muttered to Morgan, "I'm gonna teach you much harder stuff." You grinned.

"Oh, lucky me." He snorted, admiring the way you seemed to be smiling for the first time that day.

"Oh, that was divine!" Tom gasped, utterly enthralled by your performance.

"Yeah, now imagine that when Reader actually likes her partner and has chemistry with them." Morgan retorted sarcastically, making you cackle and lean on him.

"Are you saying you could've done better, brother?" Aitch teased with a grin.

Morgan held his hands up in surrender, "Listen, I'm just saying, if I was to do that with her, she wouldn't look like she wants to run away from me."

The celebrities laughed at the banter between the two.

"Go on then, show us." 

"Good mornings celebrities!" Ant and Dec suddenly arrived, coming into view through the foliage.

"Oh, look at that, trial time." Morgan chimed.

"The public have been voting on who they would like to take on the next Bushtucker Trial. In no particular order ..."

The presenters began to go through all of your camp mates, announcing Alex and Jack as possible nominees.

"Reader ... it might be you."

You huffed, dropping your head into your hands and shaking your head. Not today. Not today.

"Between Alex, Jack, and Reader, the public have decided the person to be taking on today's trial is ..."

"Please not me." You whispered to yourself, the only person hearing being Morgan, who subtly brought you into his side in a comforting way.

"Alex and Jack!"

You nearly sobbed in relief, not bringing your hands away from your face and just collapsing to the side, leaning all of your body weight onto Morgan's thigh, not that he seemed to mind.

"Oh, thank the Jungle Gods." You sighed in relief.

"Not in the mood?" He hummed, leaning over you to get a peek at your face and make sure you weren't secretly crying beneath your hands.

"No." You mumbled, pulling them away and looking up at him with a smile.

"We'll see you at the trial in a little bit." The presenters smiled before walking off while the nominees for the trial began preparing themselves

"Okay, I say we get this camp cleaned up nice, all pots washed, bedding sorted, so that Alex and Jack can come back to a nice, clean camp. What do we say?" Vogue offered. "Lisa, Reader, can you get started on the washing up?"

Way to dampen the mood, you thought.

You grumbled, muttering something under your breath and standing up, walking away back towards your bed.

"Reader?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." You mumbled, running your hands through your hair and just standing at the edge of your bed, staring at the picture of your beloved family, gnawing your lower lip.

"I don't understand." Vogue whispered to the camp, "I ask her to do one thing and—"

"No, Vogue, it's not that." Shona shook her head, "She's just having a rough day."

"Well apparently she was having a rough day yesterday as well."

"Yeah, she was."

"I just think she's really starting to miss her brothers." Martin spoke up gently, "And it's all just getting to her. I think today we just need to give her space."

"Yeah, and I can totally, totally understand that, but ... at the end of the day, things around the camp still need doing and Lisa can't just wash all those dishes on her own."

"With all due respect, I get you're these new 'camp leaders' or whatever, but you wouldn't understand how it feels to be in her position, because, A, you've only been in th'jungle a day, and B, you don't know anything about the bond she has with her brothers or how close they are. Everyone misses their family, Reader's just taking it a bit harder than the rest of us." Morgan said, his tone passionate and he didn't stutter once.

"I'd like to get to know her like that, like, on the level where I know those things about her but ... she's just shut me out all the time." Vogue argued, not angrily, just stating her point.

"So, just give her a couple days to get out of the funk. I'm sure we'll all have a row of days where we get like that, someone's gotta do it first. Just so happens to be Reader." Shona advised.

All the while this was happening, Jack had approached you again, a hand on the back of your shoulder.

"You okay?"

"No." You whispered voice breaking as you sniffled, trying to make it subtle as to not alarm the rest of the celebrities.

"Another bad morning?"

You huffed and nodded, looking up and wiping your cheeks with the flat palms of your hands, "I'm just so sick of it. I know I've only been feeling like this for a day but ... it feels so much longer in here and I just ... when you're in a group setting, you don't wanna be the only miserable one."

"I get it." Jack nodded, giving you a sad smile.

"I just feel like I'm bringing the vibe down and being some kind of Debby-downer." You whispered, sniffling again.

"No, no," Jack frowned, shaking his head with a sigh, "You're not, Reader. Trust me. Everyone's going to have days like this where they feel a little bit shitty, it's bound to happen when you're surviving off the bare minimum. But ... you are the joy of the group, I hope you know that. You make everyone laugh alllll the time."

You snorted and giggled.

"Reader, darlin', should we go tackle these dishes?" Lisa approached you.

You exhaled heavily.

"I know, I know, but c'mon, let's go do it. You can tell me all about your dance life."

Once all the dishes were washed and dried, you and Lisa returned to camp, putting the pots away in the dinner trunk. When you walked past Shona, she stroked your leg comfortingly, smiling up at you. You sat down beside her, huffing. You noticed Morgan across from you, and he sent you a firm nod with a cushiony smile and a light in his eyes you'd never quite noticed before.

You ended up sitting back and observing the conversation that fluttered around the celebrities whilst you all waited for the voice of God to announce when it was time for Alex and Jack to depart. But, before that happened, your camp leaders had an announcement to make, in which they explained they had been forced to pick two other campmates to join the already allocated ones in today's trial.

The thought at being vulnerable to be chosen for the trial again set you on edge. Your head dropped forwards, forehead on your knees and hands clasped at the back of your neck as you began to internally beg and pray once more.

Your body visible sagged in relief when Tom announced that it wasn't you, but Martin and Shona.

The latter and Alex seemed over the moon at the fact that they'd be participating in a trial together, even going as far to hug and jump up and down whilst rotating. You laughed at their amusement, happy that they could find relief and joy in such a pivotal moment.

They were sent along on their way by everyone under the arm tunnel. It was all cheers and promises of providing meals for later, which you appreciated. 

Whilst the four of them were presumably deep within their trial, Aitch was sat around the fire pit with you, Vogue, Morgan and Lisa, teaching the latter about common lingo. 

"Fit? Do you say fit?" Lisa asked. 

"I don't say fit. We say leng." Aitch corrected. 

"We is a strong word there, Aitch." You snorted. 

"Leng?"

"Leng. L. E. N. G." He spelled out for the older woman. 

"Leng?" Lisa repeated, still confused. 

"Yeah, like, 'ooo, Reader, you're leng'." He exemplified. 

"I prefer beautiful and curvaceous." You said nonchalantly, running a hand over your head and then dragging it around your ponytail. 

"I don't know what that means!" Lisa guffawed. "Are you sure it means that?"

"I promise ya." Aitch nodded, "Reader is a leng ting. Lisa Riley is a leng ting. Leng is sexy."

"Oh, right, okay." She nodded. 

"Like, Reader would say, 'I know Ginge wants me, look at me, I'm a leng ting'." Aitch smirked at his mate, who glared back.

"Chill out." Morgan scoffed through a laugh, shaking his head. 

"Uh! Morgan, do you not think I'm leng?" You gasped, pretending to be offended. 

"Oh my God! Why am I always in the awkward positions?" He laughed, cheeks going red. "Reader, I think you're beautiful. Not leng, 'coz that's not very nice. I think you're beautiful."

"Aww!" You awed, wrapping your arms around his and resting your cheek on his shoulder, "How sweet!" 

"But, Reader, you said you don't say leng?"

"'Coz I use proper English." You snorted, "Beautiful. Sexy. Attractive."

"See, that's what I'd say." Lisa nodded. 

"I say fit, but that's just 'coz fit is easier to say. Some boys aren't beautiful, but they are fit." You explained. 

Everything was all lighthearted before Jack stormed back through the camp, the front of his shirt dark and his hair wet with sweat, clinging to his forehead. He immediately started telling everyone to stop cheering, kicking off about things being unfair and how he's sick of it. 

Martin followed behind, looking dejected as he dropped his backpack down and sat on a hammock. 

You frowned as Shona and Alex began explaining what they had to accomplish. Martin began crying, so people got up to comfort him while you and Eddie approached Jack. 

"What's the truth? Did you actually get 0?" You asked quietly. 

"You want the truth? The Gods honest truth?" Jack pushed and you nodded, "We got 12 fucking stars."

The camp burst into screams and cheers. 

You hugged Jack tightly and he returned the favour, picking you up and spinning you. 

"Oh thank God! I was so worried we'd all starve tonight!" You got out with a grin before walking to Shona, "Shona! Are you Wonderwoman?!"

She cackled, hugging you.

After Lisa declared that you were free from washing up duty today until after dinner, you laid back on the hammock, arm slung over your eyes to cover them from the sun. You let your body sink into the tarp, relaxing and decompressing after facing such physical and emotional exhaustion. It was a drastic shift to your normal day-to-day life and it was taking a little longer than expected to adjust.

"You okay?" Ginge asked, slinging a towel over his shoulder.

"Yeah, you?" You smiled.

"Yeah, feeling a bit knackered today, but ... Uh, me and Aitch are gonna go down to the pool for a bit of a swim, d'you wanna come with?"

"Just you two?" You double-checked, and he gave you clarification by nodding, "I think I'll sit out, thanks though. I just need to lie and chill."

"No, no, yeah of course." He nodded, "Don't worry about it, maybe another time."

He departed then, joining Aitch by the pool.

"What did she say?"

"She said no."

"Ah, dead shame that." The rapper tutted while removing his clothes, "She okay?"

"I dunno. She just seems really ... like—"

"Low energy."

"Yeah. And I know this is kinda mad to say because I've only known her a couple days but ... she doesn't feel like herself. Not the Reader I've grown to know."

"Nah, nah, I get you brother, I get you." Aitch nodded in understanding, "It's kinda like how I feel with Shona. I've got a bit of a soft spot for her, y'know?"

"Who's that? Shona?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Oh, right, okay." 

Back with you at the camp, Vogue had sat beside you, asking you a little bit about you, trying to get to know you a little better.

"So, your picture is of you and your brothers, right?"

"Yes." You nodded, "My little brother, Joey, and my littler brother, Owen."

"Oh, that's adorable." She grinned, "Are you close, then?"

"Well, we used to be like three peas in a pod, but then Joey — I mean, you know how teenaged boys get — became proper angsty and broody. I'm just waiting for the day he comes back to me and says 'Reader, I love you so much, you're the best big sister ever!'."

Vogue laughed then, slapping her knee, "They go through that phase, boys do. Try and be cool and nonchalant."

"He's such a mommy's boy but ... like, sister’s boy."

"Yeah, yeah I get what you mean. Is Owen the same?" She questioned.

"Oh, absolutely, but he's not ashamed of it. I mean, he is only 4, but he is all over me all the time." You replied.

"So, do you live with your dad still? Or..."

"So, I have my own apartment, and my brothers do have rooms there, but Joey lives with dad, Owen stays with me. Obviously not right now, but, yeah."

"Right, okay." She nodded, getting a clearer picture, "I'm understanding now."

Later on, Vogue and Tom announced that they would both be leading separate expeditions that were rewarded with treats, in which you, Morgan and Aitch would be assisting the former, while Eddie, Kelly and Lisa went along with Tom. The four of you went off with Vogue to your shelter building expedition.

READER: If I don't get a badge out of this ...

MORGAN: Would you like a badge, Reader?

READER: More than my next meal.

VOGUE: Yes, Reader has made it very obvious that she wants a badge so ... I'll see what I can do.

READER: Give me a badge, that's literally your job.

The four of you laughed in the bush-tellie.

"Welcome to Shelter Building. In front of you are two shelters, each with a missing roof. Scattered inside each shelter are a number of planks." Vogue read off of the card. "If you complete this expedition challenge in the allotted time, you will win six portions of sweet popcorn for camp tonight!"

"So, the challenge is we are building two shelters, which is roofs of jigsaws. We're split into pairs. Me and Reader, one team," Morgan put his arm around your shoulders as you nodded, "Aitch and Vogue, the other team."

You were sat in your shelters with goggles on when the klaxon sounded, and you began building the image. It was all going so smoothly until a disgusting, smelly liquid began dripping down you, spraying all over the shelter and soaking the pair of you.

You and Morgan tried the method of 'out of sight, out of mind', choosing not to complain or speak about the obvious elephant in the room, but to focus on the challenge in front of you — or,well, above.

It took a while, but you pushed through gags and traded planks with Aitch through the slot until both of your images were perfectly matching. You threatened Morgan with the thought of you vomiting, to which he pushed your head in the opposite direction.

After the challenge, you were all stood, wrapped in towels.

"I think the only thing I gained from this challenge was the absolute knowledge that I do not have a piss kink." You deadpanned, making the other three howl with laughter, "I don't know who was pissing down on us but ... thank you for helping me learn that about myself." 

"What, you didn't know that already?" Morgan smirked.

"Well, you never know before you try it. And I'll say that was basically a golden shower."

The four of you laughed, the boys shaking their heads at the bluntness in your words.

“At least we got popcorn.” Vogue said, which you all hummed in agreement at.

The heavenly bag of food began levitating down from the tree, causing an eruption of cheers and rumbling stomachs of anticipation.

Martin read out the note attached to it, “Celebrities, as a result of Alex, Jack, Martin and Shona winning 12 stars in today’s trial, you have ostrich egg.”

You and Aitch shared a doomed look, already preparing yourselves for the worst.

Kelly and Martin got to cooking, vowing not to lose the potatoes this time and even broke out into harmonious song at one point.

They cracked it open after boiling it, mixing the insides with the rice and vegetables they were provided with.

Once it was all cooked, it was dished out to the campers in even portions. You were sandwiched between Aitch and Morgan — a position you found yourself naturally gravitated towards.

“I feel like Reader is the one to impress here. You’re the pickiest eater.” Kelly laughed, observing your reaction to the meal.

You shrugged, “It’s a good thing you put these vegetables in. That’s the good flavour.”

Morgan laughed at your deadpanned tone, face screwing up. Kelly nodded in agreement.

“Why did that come out rude?” You scoffed at yourself, “I don’t know why I constantly sound pissed off.”

“‘Coz you are.” Aitch muttered through his food.

You kicked his shin and sent him a glare.

After dinner, Tom and Vogue sat themselves in their ‘thrones’ announcing that they had a declaration to make.

“We come baring gifts.”

“We will start on the expedition badges, for those who joined us on expeditions today, you all did extremely well. I was very proud of my team in those adverse conditions. We all still stink and my first badge, goes to you Aitch.” She held it out, and he went to retrieve it. “Our second expedition badge, Reader, of course its for you.”

The entire camp broke out into applause as you grinned, standing to take your hard earned badge. Morgan rubbed your shoulder supportively and then dragged it along your back so it went back to his side, but you didn’t miss the way his hand lingered ever so slightly at the base of your spine, and he didn’t miss the way our cheeks reddened and you sent him a smile.

In the bush-tele, you stomped your feet on the floor excitedly, giggling and squealing out of excitement.

READER: I got my badge! I did it! Oh, I’m so pleased, this is definitely a mood lifter.

Tom awarded his two badges to Martin and Eddie, leaving Shona and Alex as the only two without one.

You would’ve felt bad for them, but you were so elated that you couldn’t think of anything else.

Further into the night, the camp leaders disappeared for a brief moment before returning with two brown bags. It was your prizes from the expeditions. 

Each person got an equal handful of each in a little cup. 

You were tucked up into Morgan’s side, cheek resting against his bicep with your feet folded under your bum.

“Feeling better?” His voice was low, as if this conversation was only meant for the two of you.

“Yeah.” You hummed, munching on popcorn, “Getting the badge definitely made a difference. Proper fixer upper.”

“Hmm.” He nodded, looking down at you as you took the popcorn piece by piece, trying to savour the taste. “Feel better about the clothes either?”

“It’s just the yellow.” You huffed, puffing your cheeks out, “It washes me out.”

“Well, I think you look beautiful.” He complimented.

You looked up at him then, chin on his shoulder and smiling back at him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t need to say thank you, I’m only telling the truth.”

─────── YOU WERE BLISSFULLY unaware of the chaos of the fire going out, sleeping soundly through the whole event. Instinctively, your body even rolled over, facing away from the camp and bringing the duvet higher up on your chin as the hustle and bustle increased, campmates rushing about to try and relight the fire. 

“Oi! Missy.” Shona tapped your forehead. 

You whined, trying to bury yourself further into the pillow. 

“Wake upppp.” She sang, “Have you packed a bikini with you?” 

You nodded tiredly, not even bothering to open your eyes. 

“We’re going swimming, d’you want to come with?” 

“When?” You grumbled. 

“After breakfast?” 

“Okay.” 

“Come on then. Up and at it.” 

You groaned, literally dragging yourself out of your bed. 

“Morning.” Ginge said, and you lazily waved a hand in greeting, making him snort and close his eyes again. 

After another awful breakfast of burnt rice, you changed into your bikini behind the dunny slow and leisurely, too tired to be making any quick movements yet. 

“C’mon! We’re waiting on you!” Kelly shouted, already dressed in her swimming costume. 

“I can’t tie my top!” You huffed; arms bending in awkward ways to try and get your bikini top to tie. 

“Oh, come ‘ere.” She sighed, and you held the front of the fabric to your chest, jogging towards her. 

“Jesus Christ!” Aitch yelled. 

“Oh my God!” You screamed, “There’s a man!” 

The girls were all cackling as you ran over, standing with your back to Kelly so she could do up your top. 

“I didn’t see anything, don’t worry.” He reassured you, his cheeks red, whether that was from the hot weather today or the fact he’d just seen you half-naked, you didn’t know. “Sorry!” 

“Sorry, Aitch!” You called out. 

“How tight?” Kelly asked. 

“Tight.” 

She pulled the strings so they were digging into your skin, just how you liked it. Your biggest fear when wearing a bikini was that it would come undone, especially now that you’re on television. 

Kelly jumped in, immediately swimming about whilst you, Shona and Alex stood around, silently questioning everything with shared looks of uncertainty. 

“Come on! It’s nice!” She tried convincing you. 

“Oh, fuck it, I’ll just shower afterwards.” You muttered, sliding in, “Oh my shit, it’s so fucking cold! Kelly!” You screamed, and she just laughed loudly. 

Alex and Shona soon joined you, the four of you swimming about and enjoying the relaxing water. 

Back at camp, Aitch was whispering with Ginge. 

“Bro, bro.” The rapper slapped his friend in the chest. 

“What?” Ginge looked up from tying his shoelaces. 

“The girls have gone down for a swim, right? And— I’m not even joking, I actually just nearly saw Reader’s tits, bro.” He cackled, finding humour in the situation. 

“Oh my God!” Ginge wheezed, jaw dropped. 

“I feel kinda awkward— should I have, like, known to avoid there?” 

“No, it’s not your fault ... y’lucky bastard.” Ginge muttered the last bit under his breath. 

“What was that, sorry?” Aitch pretend to not have heard him. 

“Hm?” 

“Yeahhh, don’t think I didn’t hear that, bro. D’you fancy her?” 

Ginge shrugged, feeling awkwardly himself now, “She’s beautiful.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“I like her personality.” 

“Aw, Ginge, man! Don’t get me gassed!” Aitch grinned, shaking his mate. 

“Alright, alright, chill out.” Ginge whispered, not wanting anyone to catch onto the romantic nature of their conversation. 

“Go for it, bro!” 

“I can’t now! I’ve just fucking met her 5 days ago!” 

“Okay, well, when the time’s right, like ... tomorrow.” Aitch joked, making Ginge shove him away. 

“She might not even feel the same?” 

“Is it like a proper, proper crush?” 

“I don’t know yet, like, I feel myself moving towards her— like, naturally gravitating. But ... I dunno, it feels too soon to say ‘yeah, I fancy her’.” 

“I hear it, bro, I hear it.” Aitch nodded. 

─────── ONCE YOU WERE out of the pool, you showered, dried up and get back into your ‘camp uniform’. The girls were all sat on the floor, laying on their stomachs, gossiping like it was a little sleepover while the boys sat around the fire. 

Randomly, you got onto the topic of stretching and flexibility as Lisa stretched her leg up to be next to her head whilst laying on her side. 

“You’re flexible.” Alex hummed, nodding at her. 

Lisa sighed dramatically, “I like to keep my husband happy.” 

You and the girls began squawking with amusement. 

“You’re a dancer, surely you’re flexible.” Alex said to you. 

“Yeah.” You nodded, moving onto your side and lifting your leg so it went further over than Lisa’s, stretching behind your head, your foot nearly touching the floor. 

“Oh my God!” Kelly shrieked in shock, “I wasn’t expecting that!” 

“Anyone you’re keeping happy with that move then?” Lisa smirked and you snorted, shaking your head. 

“No.” 

“No man deserves that.” Shona gestured to you, “Do the one on your back.” 

“No, because that is literally just a sex position.” You deadpanned. 

“Well, now I’m intrigued.” Kelly raised her eyebrows. 

“Fucks sake.” You glared jokingly at Shona and lay flat on your back, lifting your legs up so your ankles were by your ears, “Happy now?” 

“What, a little something like this?” The brunette kneeled in front of you, holding your shins. 

Again, the girls and you burst into shrieks of laughter and giggles as you rolled onto your front, being cautious not to accidentally kick Kelly in the head. 

“What, so, no boyfriend? No fiancé?” Lisa asked. 

“No.” You snorted, “Not ready to be married yet. I don’t think I’ve got the ...” You gestured to your body, “I dunno.” You shrugged. 

“What?” The older woman frowned, “Darlin’, you are my— honestly, if I was still your age, I would’ve tried to be exactly the way you look. But I’m not. I’m too old now, I know I’m beyond my years.”  

“How much weight have you lost?” You asked, interestedly. 

“I’m now a size 16-18, at my biggest I was a size 28.” She said honestly. 

There was a round of gasps from the girls, and you applauded her. 

“Good on you, Lisa.” 

“Do you look in the mirror, now, and think ‘wow’— does anybody?” Kelly questioned. 

“No.” Lisa shook her head. 

“No, oh my gosh.” Alex also shook her head, along with you and Shona. 

“But don’t you think it’s— mentally, if you find so many — what they call ‘problem areas’ — I hate that term so much — ‘Where are your problem areas?’ Well, I don’t know, I am an area, I’m just one area. But then you’d end up— you’d send yourself cuckoo.” 

“Yeah, it’s actually nice not having a mirror in here.” Kelly added, “But to not look at yourself and just be free and liberated, and not really care ... I’m interested, Reader, what’s it with you? That sounds really harsh, but I mean in the sense of where does your unhappiness come from because you... honestly, you are so stunning.” 

“You really are.” Shona agreed, nodding with Alex. 

“Uhh ... I think because of growing up in the dance world, there’s always just been this standard to be ... thin, and skinny, but you have to be tall as well because when you’re tall and skinny your technique looks better— or so they say,” You rolled your eyes, “But I’m not really either of those— well, I wouldn’t say I’m, y’know, big, but in the dance world and the beauty standards of that I’m not considered skinny at all.” 

“What size clothes are you?” Lisa asked. 

“8 to 10, depends.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” She nodded, “So, that’s a small to a medium— and that’s not skinny?!” 

You chuckled at her exasperation, “No. Not— No.”  

“Did you ever used to be ‘skinny’ or whatever that means to their standards.” Alex used finger quotations with a little laugh. 

“Uhm, I dunno, I mean, I’ve definitely grown up over the years, as you do, and I have — I guess — filled out, in a sense, but ... I’m sure in my old pictures I was thinner than this.” You replied. “I mean, I’m happy in my own body, don’t get me wrong, but ... yeah.” 

“Hm.” Lisa nodded, “Well, when you get to menopause, you won’t care, trust me. About anything. How you look, relationships, sex. All goes out the window.” 

The group laughed again. 

“Well, yeah, I’ve spoken to women on menopause, and they said you forget that you even like sex. You forget that it was even a thing you liked, it just kinda goes,” Kelly mentioned, waving her arm out, making your jaw drop. 

“I couldn’t imagine.” You whispered dramatically, and the girls laughed. 

“I thought you don’t have a boyfriend?” 

“I don’t.” You reinforced, “I just ... reminisce and imagine.” 

“Oh my God! Reader!” Shona shrieked, holding onto your arm as she cackled. 

“What?! It’s hard when you’re single and ovulating!” You defended yourself, holding your hands up in surrender. 

Reader: I think it’s really good when – as girls – you all have this shared bond that allows you to feel comfortable in having these sorts of ... deep conversations, because they’re important! They’re things that maybe a lot of women feel ashamed to talk about because it isn’t seen as ‘cool’ or ‘iconic’ when a woman is sexually liberated and free and comfortable talking about those things so ... yeah. 

─────── YOU ALL WISHED Eddie a good and enthusiastic goodbye as he departed for his trial, sending him off under the arm and twinkling-fingers bridge just as you did with everybody else. Once he was gone and the camp was settled back down again, you bit down on your bottom lip, suppressing your grin as you hummed a melody, skipping to sit beside Ginge, who had his elbows on his knees and his hands in front of his face. 

“Guess what I did whilst you were dilly dallying?” You grinned. 

“What’s that?” He smiled. 

“Learnt the offside rule. Just for you, Salford boy.”  

He closed his eyes, his smile becoming more amused than performative as he let out a little chuckle. 

“Why’re you laughing?” You pouted. 

“Go on, explain it.” 

“Okay, wait, so.” You looked to Alex for reassurance, and she nodded as you positioned the water bottles, using them as visual guidance. “This is the ball, so that’s Alex in ... fullback?” 

“Yep.” 

“That’s me and Lisa Riley as strikers, and these are the defenders, that’s you, Aitch and Shona. Okay? Now ... uhhh ... so far, when I’m hanging around here, I’m not offside, right?” 

“Yep.” 

“If I pass the defenders,” You moved your bottle, “Now I’m offside, I can’t get the ball.” 

“Yep, nice.” 

“Can you stop saying ‘yep’ like that? It’s putting me off.” You sassed before returning to your explanation, “So, I need to keep my line with these defenders, and then she’s gonna kick the ball to me, and then I go forward, goal! Yes?” 

The girls and guys clapped for you as Ginge grinned, running his hand over his face before slowly clapping too. 

And then he added, “Pass me the ball, please.”  

“Oh, Ginge! Please, just let me have this one!” You whined. 

Once Alex had passed it over, he continued, “So, if you’re here, okay? And Alex has got the ball, and she now passed you the ball, are you offside or are you onside?” 

“Offside.” You said firmly. 

“’Kay, right. Now then, if Alex kicks the ball over here, and you run onto it, are you—” 

“Yeah, that’s fine.” You hummed, nodding with a slight furrow to your brow. 

“Are you? I thought that was offside.” Kelly butt in, making you second guess yourself. 

You put your fingertips to your lips, looking back and forth between her and Ginge, “Uhhh ... No, I’m onside, it’s okay.” 

Ginge hesitated before clapping, an impressed smirk on his face. 

“Yay! I’m right!” You grinned, giggling, “Are you proud of me?” You leaned towards him. 

“Very.” He nodded, patting your knee. 

“Okay, now you have to learn something for me.” You stated. 

“What?” 

You gasped as the idea came to mind, “Let me teach you to dance.” 

“I can dance. Haven’t you watched my streams?” 

“Oh my God, do not let this guy get on a dance floor.” Aitch shook his head adamantly. 

“Please, please please please let me teach you some dance. Like, professional dance.” 

“Okay, maybe another time. But, yeah, you can.” 

“Yes!” You giddily cheered. 

You then heard really loud, heavy panting, before Eddie revealed himself, “Hello, guys.” 

“Oh, Eddie!” Kelly exclaimed along with everyone else at the sight of their campmate. 

“Um, I got 6 stars.” He announced, his tone defeated and upset. 

“That’s okay, that’s good, that’s over half.” You tried to lift his spirits just as everyone clapped for him. 

“Honestly, honestly, I’m so disappointed. I am, just because— ah, oh my God!” He groaned in frustration. 

“Come sit, take a log.” Jack gestured to all the free spaces, which Eddie did do. 

“It’s an aquarium.” He began to explain, “But down on the floor, they’ve got the chests, and then I have to go underneath the water at the bottom, and then unlock and take the stars out, right? So, when I came back up to breathe, I just saw frogs.” 

“Hey, listen, six is better than one and five.” Jack said as the rest of camp began to reassure him that no one was disappointed. 

─────── A LITTLE LATER in the day, the deep conversations caught up, as expected. It happened every year, so at least you weren’t too shocked when people started revealing the secrets they’d kept hidden from the media. 

“So, Lisa, are you programme sober or cold turkey?” Jack questioned, sat across from her around the fire. 

“Cold— Full cold turkey. Self-assessment and I needed it more than anything.” She replied truthfully, “It was hard, but, I’m 10 years in now.” 

“That’s great.” 

“What’s that on? The alcohol?” Aitch probed from in between them. 

“Yeah, cigs, everything.” 

“What, was you a big drinker?” Ginge spoke up from his place beside you on the slightly comfier couch of-sorts. 

“Yeah, crazy.” She nodded. 

“As in alcoholic? On the verge of?” 

“No, but ... I think, yeah, three bottles of Malbec every night because you— I, mentally, I needed it.” 

“I’d argue that is probably alcoholic, ‘cause you said you needed it.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” 

“Definitely qualify.” Jack added. 

“But I ... I’ve been in New York; I’ve been to AA a lot. Like, I love it. I find ... I find the people are just so interesting. Never in our country ‘cause all the meh meh.” She held her hand up and pretended it was a mouth yapping. “Every time I’m in New York it fascinates me. Just people from here would recognise me from tellie, and I don’t want that spreading.” 

"Yeah, of course.” You hummed in understanding. 

“To be honest, it’s only the people now that’ll say ‘Oh, go on, just have one’, I’m like, I don’t want one. I don’t need a drink.” 

“Brits don’t do well around people not drinking, and everyone’s drinking.” Jack analysed. 

“Agreed. Drinking culture here is wild.” You added, “And everyone makes jokes ‘Oh, England is the best place to live ‘coz you can just get battered all the time, blah blah blah’ but if you really take a moment ...” 

“It is bad here.” Ginge nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah.” 

“’Mount of times I get called boring ‘coz I don’t drink.” Ginge put in. 

“Oh, d’you not?” You hummed in surprise. 

“Nah, it’s not really for me.” 

Lisa sided with him, “Well, yeah, but it’s not like we need a drink.” 

“Yeah, we have a personality without alcohol.” 

“Was it hard for you Jack?” Lisa moved the attention to him. 

“Uhhh ... y’know it was hard stopping but once I’d stopped, I really found, um ... I really enjoyed being super, like, I found the fun in it. And then I was like ‘oh, okay, this is all good’. The hard thing with it is, like ... addiction isn’t just one thing, right? Addiction is a trauma response, and so you often go the path of least resistant to numb that response.” 

“Yep.” You nodded. 

Lisa then got into how her mum dying was the beginning of her alcohol addiction, and the cause for it all. 

“Well, I was sorta the same when my mum dipped when I was 16.” 

“Alcohol?” 

“No, no, like ... drugs. Proper, none of that couple spliffs a month, like, I was doing ...” You nodded firmly to try and show the hardness of what you’d been taking. 

“What, like, coke and stuff?” Aitch tilted his head. 

“I tried it but never got hooked on that. I had a bad trip once and it just put me off forever, but ... Molly. I did a lot of that. Got ... not heavily addicted, but I did it, like, every week.” 

“What’s that? MDMA?” Ginge hummed. 

“Yeah, yeah.” You nodded, “’Coz, the guy I was dating at the time, terrible person, really bad for me, he sold it himself and so would just give it me free of charge so, as you can imagine.” 

“Yeah ... that’s no good.” Jack shook his head. 

“But he saw I was hurting because of everything that was going on at home and was just like ‘oh, have this it’ll make you feel happier’ and the awful thing was, it—” 

“It did.” Lisa finished for you, sipping from her mug, “That’s the worst thing. When you find out these substances do work in helping you feel better, and then you become reliant on it.” 

“Yeah, but I was very lucky that I didn’t get reliant on it. I think I didn’t because I knew I had a baby that needed looking after at home, and mum wasn’t gonna magically rock up one day and start playing house, so ... it was more of a weekend, Friday, Saturday night kinda thing, but I did get to the point where I just took it for the sake of it 'coz I was bored so ... A mild addiction, I would say. But ... yeah, that guy was no good for me at all.” 

“And you were 16?” Ginge double-checked. 

“I think I was actually 17 by this point ... yeah, year 12 and 13 I was just ... off my rocker.” 

“So around 17, 18, 19?” Jack confirmed. 

“Yeah.” 

"Did you show up to school high, 'coz that's what I would do."

"Not in the mornings, but I'd go out at lunch, pop a couple then come back in and just ... giggle away with my boyfriend at the back of the class."

“Do you and him still talk now?” Ginge asked curiously. 

“No, no, he’s actually in jail, I think.” You snorted, “Sorry, it’s not funny, but it’s like ...” 

“He tried to ruin your life and now look where he is.” Jack summed up for you. 

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” 

Ginge: It felt really nice to get to know Reader on a level like that, I think she’s so brave for coming out and saying all of that in a group of people, but, I mean, it is a judgement free zone and I’m sure what she’s been through is relatable for a lot of people who are watching this. 

Once it was dark around the jungle again, the bag of food gloriously descended down from the trees, filling everyone with hope and joy. You were incredibly excited to eat, but that was before Kelly started to read out what was in the bag.  

Eel, galia, and green suppoti for dessert. Whatever that meant. 

Reader: Is now a good time to mention that I don’t like seafood. Like ... other than prawns and shrimp? 

After Kelly gagged about having to skin and gut the eel, Jack decided to thankfully step in, managing to cook up something that might be somewhat edible.  

The moment it went into your mouth, the texture made your skin tingle and your body writhe. You turned your back to the camp and spat it back out into the tin before putting it on the floor next to your foot. 

“Oh, that’s really nice.” Ginge hummed, chewing on a bit of the food and looking at you to see if you were enjoying it as much as he was. “Where’s your— why've you put it on the floor?” 

“I can’t. It’s the texture of seafood. It makes me feel violently ill.” You whispered. 

“Serious?” 

“Yeah.” You bit your lower lip, “I feel bad, though.” 

“Don’t, come put it— you're gonna go hungry.” Ginge frowned. 

“It’s okay.” You waved him off, “I’ll be fine.” 

“You sure?” 

“I’d rather go hungry than eat that.” You reiterated, “I do feel a bit guilty about not eating it, though.” 

“Put it in mine, I’ll eat it for you.” He whispered back, holding his tin out. 

“I’ve just spat a bit out, though.” You snorted, picking up your pot and moving it to be next to his. 

“It’s fine, I’ll eat it.” 

“Freak.” You joked, sneakily pouring your food into his tin. 

“Do you want me to announce to Kelly that you didn’t eat her eel?” He teased, making your eyes widen. 

“Ginge, don’t.”  

“Only jokin’, love.” He chuckled, mixing your serving in with his. 

You smirked at his audacity to make you panic so much and jokingly stomped on his foot. He let out a short howl of pain before falling into a synchronised fit of giggles with you.

It was another blissful morning around camp. You sat up in your bed against the wooden headboard, which was only comfortable once you’d wedged your pillow between it and your back. Your eyes trailed over the camp as best as you could, watching everyone who was still sleeping, and those who were stretching in their hammocks. You saw Jack hunched over the fire, pushing logs around with a stick. 

“Morning.” Ginge’s voice grumbled from the bed beside yours. 

“Hi.” You smiled tiredly, rubbing your eyes. 

“You’re up early.” 

“Jack’s already got the fire going.” You whispered, nodding in his direction. 

Ginge looked over his shoulder, also taking in the sight of Jack Osbourne manning the fire whilst everyone else was still wincing at the light adjustment to their eyes. 

“In his element.” The ginger boy hummed before rolling back over and pulling the sleeping bag tighter to his chin, “You getting up now?” 

“I should but I can’t be arsed.” You snorted resting your head back on the wall. 

“How’s your stomach after last night? Did you throw up any more after dinner?” 

“No, managed to keep it all down thankfully.” You answered, reaching for your glasses and pushing them up onto your nose. You saw everyone beginning to rise from their hammocks and offer help, “Oh, look, everyone’s getting up now.” 

“For fucks sake.” Ginge grumbled, running a hand over his face. 

You laughed at his tired frustration. Clearly, he was hoping everyone else would stay in bed so that he could too, but now if he was the only one in bed while everyone else was up, he’d look like a selfish twat. 

“C’mon, get up.” You said, shuffling off of your bed and patting the top of his sleeping bag. 

“Morning everyone.” You greeted as you came down to the firepit. 

“Ooo, got the glasses on this morning.” Kelly commented, waving as you neared. 

“I didn’t bring any contacts, so this is what I’ve gotta deal with now. To be fair, I only need them to read, but I like to wear them in the morning, makes me feel like ... more put together. I dunno.” You saw a big metal pot of water standing by. “Jack, what are we doing with this big pot of water?!” You shouted over to him. 

“Put it over the fire! It’s for the breakfast.” 

You picked it up by handle and tried to balance it over the fire, but it was incredibly unstable, and you were fearful it was going to tip everywhere. 

“I’m actually gonna leave it.” You decided, “It’s too heavy and I don’t want it to spill.” 

“D’you want me to take it?” Ginge appeared beside you, dressed now. 

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” You passed it over to him. 

“Oh, don’t give it ‘im.” Aitch put in, strapping his mic pack to himself from his bed, “Say goodbye to the fire, everyone.” 

He took it from you, your fingers brushing in the process, making your cheeks flush slightly. 

He put the pot over the fire, and it was stable for a few moments before completely toppling over, putting the fire out. 

“Ginge!” You laughed in shock, as he stood there, hand over his mouth in embarrassment. 

“He’s done it again.” Lisa gasped, also stood there with a grin of disbelief on her face. 

“I’m just not gonna touch the fire again.” Ginge shook his head, stepping away. 

Aitch: Actually, I didn’t know Ginge was this clumsy, but he’s not really got many things to be clumsy about, he’s always just inside four walls and looking at a screen, ‘ent he? The only thing he can be clumsy about is, like, turning his PlayStation off by accident, so ... to be honest, I reckon some rules and regulations need to be put in place ... because Ginge can’t keep putting out this fire— Actually, here’s the rule! Keep Ginge away from the fire when Reader is near, because, what I think he’s tried to do this morning is impress her, and he’s just brutally embarrassed himself instead so ... Yeah. 

Once the fire was back to burst again, Aitch Eddie started the community meeting. 

“I know this might sound a bit much, I do really feel like I’m part of a family. And— I— It sounds mad, I feel like I’ve got brothers and sisters here. I— Martin, I literally look at you like my dad. I do. You’re such a soft soul. There’s a love that you share with everybody, and it’s— it’s— it’s just beautiful. And, Reader, I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you before, but you are so funny! So funny!” 

“Yeah, she is.” Alex nodded, grinning over at you as your cheeks went red from the sudden compliment and attention. 

“Always know how to make people laugh and the right time to crack jokes.” 

“Aw, thank you, Eddie.” You nodded, grinning from ear-to-ear. 

Ginge’s knee knocked yours in what you thought was an accident, but when you slightly turned your head to look at his face, he was smirking at you, so you nudged him back. 

It was then Kelly’s turn to speak up as she was sat next to Eddie, “Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, last night I just felt a bit lost. I just ... wanna be so useful, I’m just still trying to find my place in the camp, in terms of, like, what to do, and so I’m so sorry Jack if I’m coming at you, or if I’m cutting potatoes wrong, but I was— Honestly, it’s only coming from a place where I just wanna, like, help.” 

Jack nodded, “Yeah, I’m just gonna say I, um, I’m gonna be taking a step back today from— from, like, doing it all.” He gestured to the fire and cooking pots, “Kinda want you guys to ... everyone get stuck in and I’m just gonna— I think cooking is gonna be done with Alex and Shona. You guys are gonna take over with that, um ... but, yeah. Maybe I am doing too much, and that’s just, in my world, at home it’s like I’ve got four kids and I’m always doing, doing, doing, doing, doing.” 

You decided to speak, “I think everyone can understand that, especially those who have kids, or have, like me, been a primary caretaker for kids, so ... it’s nothing to apologise for I just think we need to be giving other people chances to do their own things, y’know? Like, Kelly last night, if we gave her more opportunities to cook, she might find her calling in that. Or ... if we gave Eddie water duty every morning, he might find his calling in that— not saying you will, but y’know, just as an example.” 

“No, yeah, I agree.” Jack nodded, “So, whoever wants to cook tonight—” 

“Well, you nominated me and Shona, but I actually – what I saw last night was Kelly really wanted to try, so maybe ... I dunno, we can decide when the night comes and whoever feels confident enough cooking whatever we’ve got can—” 

“Bull bollock, probably.” You muttered, amusing everyone into laughing. 

Soon enough, Ant and Dec arrived to announce that Aitch would be the campmate completing today’s Bushtucker Trial: Vault of Doom. Once the presenters had left, everyone began congratulating him and giving him words of wisdom to show support. 

“Shitting me-self, see you later.” Aitch said, jokingly walking off before coming back. 

“No, you’ve got this!” You encouraged, patting his arm. 

“You’re gonna be locked in a room, or, like, multiple rooms with, like, every worst thing imaginable.” Jack guessed. 

“But you know what the worst thing in that room will be when I’m in there?” Aitch gassed himself up. 

“You!” Eddie said, hitting his arm playfully. 

“10. It’s 10 we want.” Martin nodded. 

“I just don’t wanna let anyone down.” Aitch admitted. 

“Nah, bro.” Eddie shook his head. 

“You won’t as long as you come back with 10.” Ginge gave the sarcastic response. 

“Yeah, I know, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Aitch snorted. 

Once he was all ready to go, the camp sent him off with their little arm-bridge, cheering him on as he walked out of sight. 

“Wait, should we go walk him there?” Ginge offered to you. 

“Yeah, we can do.” You nodded, following the ginger boy and the rapper as far as you could until you had to say your goodbyes. 

“We’re happy for you, you get out of camp, enjoy yourself—” Ginge’s motivational speech was cut off. 

“I’m gonna go now.” Aitch gestured to the bridge. 

“Yeah, I was thinking that,” Ginge pretended to check the non-existent watch on his wrist, “It’s getting late, ennit?” 

“Yeah.” Aitch repeated over and over, obviously a nervous tick that he’d developed, as he walked towards the bridge and started crossing it. 

“You’ve got this, Aitch!” You called out, clapping, “10 stars or don’t come back!” You joked. 

“Goodbye, mate,” Ginge got put on fake tears and got ‘emotional’. 

“Oh, Salford boy, it’s okay, he’ll come back. Hopefully.” You muttered, “Let it out.” You played into the role. 

“He’s just so young, ‘ent he?” He brought you into a hug, pretending to cry on your shoulder. 

You gave the camera a look as if to say, ‘help me’, but it was all in good jest. 

“It feels like I’m sending my kid off to war, or maybe the Hunger Games.” You commented. 

Whilst waiting for Aitch to return from his trial, you were all sat around having normal conversations with each other, starting to get to know people on a more personal level instead of surface level and preconceived ideas. It seemed like very comedic timing, just as Martin finished up his very heartfelt story about how he met his wife and the story of their first date, Ginge’s eyes got stuck on something — or someone — coming through the bushes, covered in orangey brown liquid. He couldn’t contain his laughter. 

“Oh my God!” You screamed at the sight of him. 

“What is that?” Kelly asked, eyes wide and taking in the sight of him looking like an elephant had taken a shit on his chest, “What have you done?” 

“Mate.” Aitch huffed, shaking his head, “Every animal in the world and everything else in the world you can think of, I had to face today. Please don’t be mad at me. I got seven.” 

Everyone began congratulating him and applauding him, making him feel better. Seven stars for a lone trial was not bad at all. 

“I had to ... it was an underground bunker,” Aitch began describing his trial as you all sat around to hear him rant, “Yeah? Yeah? One room, its just a load of pigeons— just pigeons, yeah, yeah, yeah, but, like, some Australian-arse pigeons, they looked like me.” 

“How big?” You asked. 

“I’m talking ... they’ve been to the gym. Security guard pi— they’re looking after us over night, them pigeons.” 

Reader: if I was in that trial, I probably would’ve sat down in the corner in a little ball and rocked back and forth till the timer was up. I don’t mind pigeons, but not if I’m trapped in a room with them— actually! I feel really bad for them. Did you know they used to be domesticated and, like, we’d have them as pets during the war? Fun fact. 

“You feeling okay, lovely?” Shona questioned, coming to sit beside you at the lake, “By yourself?” 

“It’s nice when you just sit in the quiet. Like listen. You’ll never hear sounds like this ever again, unless you come back to Australia.” You whispered, basking in the sounds of the jungle. 

The leaves on the comically large bushes and trees brushed against each other, and the birds tweeted amongst the branches, singing their sweet song. The water rippled and rolled over itself due to the light breeze, and the sound of it trickling over the edge into the bigger part of the lake sounded throughout this part of the jungle, dominating over everything else. You could hear the distant conversation that was occurring in camp, but sometimes, in scenery like this, you just wanted to be alone to take it all in. 

“How are you doing over the past few years?” 

“Okay. Everything's kind of mellowed out now, which is good. No more trouble or ... rollercoasters, or anything like that. Just ... smooth sailing now.” 

“Good, good.” Shona nodded, and then softened her tone, “You seen your mum since last Christmas?” 

You swallowed thickly, shaking your head, “No.” You muttered. 

“She reached out?” 

Again, you shook your head. 

“Well ... you’re probably better off without her, to be honest.” 

“Probably.” You agreed. 

“I need to come see you more outside of events and stuff. It’s not really that far.” 

“2 hours.” You hummed. 

“Exactly. I could be making daily trips.” She joked, nudging you. 

“It’s okay. You've got your own stuff going on.” You smiled, “Besides, I’m trying to finish this year in Uni without throwing myself off the top of the Bullring.” 

She cackled at your comment, leaning onto you for support. 

“Food!” You suddenly heard Ginge scream excitedly from camp. 

“Shona! Reader! Dinners arrived!” Alex shouted for you. 

She got up, wiping her bum and then helping you up. You walked back to camp, making it just as Ginge was reading out the meal, standing on the log for dramatic effect. 

“—I’ve never even heard of any of them.” 

“What we got?” You asked as you stood on your tiptoes, trying to look at the parchment. 

“Camel, basically.” Ginge shrugged. 

You turned your back to him, looking at Kelly with a disgusted look. 

“I know.” She nodded in agreement. 

“You’ve got dirt all on your arse.” Ginge suddenly said. 

You’ve never spun back around so quickly, “What?” 

“Why you lookin’, bro? Have some respect!” Aitch teased him. 

“No— I didn’t—” Ginge sighed, going red and pinching the bridge of his nose, “Just shut up, Aitch.” 

Shona and Alex got to work, cutting and boiling the vegetables to make a stew of some sorts, an idea initially advised by Jack. 

The sun had set a little by the time they were done, the sky being a duck blue. Ginge took a massive forkful, humming and nodding. 

“That’s unreal.” He praised. 

“Is it that good?” You sat next to him with your own tin. 

“Yeah, considering we’re in the jungle, I could have this every day.”  

You took your own spoonful, eyes widening at the fantastic taste, “Oh wow! Well done, girls, this is lovely!” 

As much as you wanted to savour the taste, not knowing when you were next going to get a dinner you enjoyed, you couldn’t help but scoff it down as quickly as you could, too enthralled. 

Unfortunately, for them, Shona, Jack, Eddie and Lisa had been sent off for a late-night trial that would (hopefully, fingers crossed) result in some sort of prize or reward for the whole camp. You were currently reclined in bed, staring at the roof of the shelter, your mind blank but busy at the same time. It was whirring with the thoughts of your friends and family, wondering what they were up to, how much they missed you, had anyone cried yet, when you’d get to see them next, and all sorts, however, the tranquillity of the camp and the constant calm quiet that lay flat over the Earth seemed to cancel it all out, turning it into dull background noise. 

“You okay?” Ginge’s sudden voice spooked you, making you jump up, “Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to make you jump.” 

“Oh, it’s okay, I was just in my head.” You chuckled, sitting up against your headboard. 

“Anything in particular— like, do you wanna talk?” 

Ginge: I think it's really important that within camp, everyone's looking out for each other and noticing when people maybe aren't feeling up to standard, and I noticed Reader was a little extra quiet today, so I just thought, why not— Because, you don't want morale to come down.

“It’s not anything, like, I'm not emotional, just ... being away from your family, like, proper no contact, really makes you think about how much they’re in your life and ... makes you wonder if they’re struggling without you— I know my little, little brother is, because— so.” 

“Life story, fun.” Ginge laughed breathily, sitting down on his own bed but facing you. 

“He’s five, right? But, he ... I think because my mum just kinda ... left? I guess. He’s very attached to me, but we’re starting to think it’s something else, like autism, because he gets into these proper ... I don’t know how to explain this.” 

“Moods?” 

“Yeah, but that makes it sound negative, which sometimes it is if it’s caused by something bad. He just struggles controlling his mood, and when he’s proper into it, he will, like, glue himself to my side and just go non-verbal for the rest of the day.” You tried to explain to the best of your ability. 

“Oh, really?” Ginge tilted his head. 

“Yeah, yeah, so ... part of me is kind of worried about how he’s doing and whether or not he’s had a meltdown like that since I’ve been gone.”  

“I’m sure he’s okay.” Ginge smiled, an attempt to reassure you, “Also, instead of thinking how far away they are, just think, every day here, is one more day closer to you seeing them again.”  

“Yeah.” You nodded, “Yeah, true.” 

“Guys!” Eddie’s voice suddenly rang throughout camp, “I come bearing gifts!” 

“Oh, they’re back.” You hummed delightedly.  

You and Ginge left your sheltered room and returned to the main congregation. 

“This is obviously the result of the challenge.” Eddie sat down on a log and opened the basket they’d won. 

He pulled out a picture frame. 

“Oh, no.” You whispered into your hands, knowing you were about to get embarrassingly upset. 

Eddie began to describe the first frame he picked up, “Oh, wow, this is a big family. Someone’s holding a dog— a puppy.” 

“Is it me?” Shona asked with a bright grin on her face. 

“There you are, Shona.” Eddie handed her the frame. 

“That’s the full family pic right there.” Aitch commented. 

Shona turned the frame so that everyone could see it, “That’s my sister, Camilla, my mum.” She pointed to each person in the picture. 

Eddie picked the next one, declaring it as his own with a proud tone and a matching proud expression. 

“Look at this picture.” He said with glee, turning it to show an image of Martin and his family. 

“Aw, cute. That’s my fam.” Martin swallowed as he took the frame, his eyes lining with tears. 

“Look at this.” Eddie showed the next one, revealing two girls stood side by side. “That looks like your G!” 

Aitch nodded, a somewhat nostalgic smile on his face as he stood to collect it. 

“Everyone looks so happy, there’s so much love in this picture,” Eddie spoke as he turned the next photo frame around, “My guy, Ginge.” 

The ginger boy stood to retrieve it before sitting back down between you and Aitch. 

“Where was that, Ginge?” 

“Uh, soccer aid.” 

“’Course it was.” Aitch added, causing a ripple of chuckles amongst the group. 

“I’ll describe this one here,” Eddie said lowly, a grin on his face as if he knew the reaction that was to come, “It’s a ... venue. Looks like summer. A girl in a beautiful blue dress, makeup done all nice, there’s a boy next to her and a little boy in front of her.” 

You gasped loudly, “Is it me?” 

“Yeah!” Eddie’s face screwed up into a grin. 

You nearly leapt out of your seat, striding across the soil to take your frame. The moment you laid your eyes on your brothers, the floodgates opened. You held the wooden frame to your forehead, covering your face as you started crying heavy tears. 

“Oh, Reader.” Kelly pouted, watching your back shake with each cry. 

“No, no, it’s happy tears.” You pulled the frame away to speak clearly and sat back down, “Um, hold on—” You laughed, wiped your cheeks and jawline, “These are my brothers, this taller one is Joey. He might be taller but he’s still younger than me and I’ll still beat him up if he pisses me off enough.” 

The camp laughed at the sibling banter and love you shared. 

“I’m sure him and his friends are the reason I had to eat cock and ball on tellie.” You added, “And, this little munchkin down here is my little boy, Owen. Proper little devil, really knows how to get his own way. And this was at a wedding; I think it was my dad's best mate. But ... yeah, that’s my squad— And my dad, who was the one taking the picture.”

“You look stunning in that.” Kelly complimented you, and you thanked her. 

“This the one that’s got you moping in bed.” Ginge joked, pointing to your youngest brother. 

“It’s not moping, it’s reminiscing, but ... Yeah.” You snorted, wiping the tears as they continued to come. 

“Yeah ... he’s doing okay. He’s just got that look about him.” He nodded firmly. 

“You think?” You giggled tearily. 

“Yeah, bet he’s tough as nails with you as a sister.” 

“Oi.” You kissed your teeth gently, knocking his knee with your own purposefully.  

He wrapped his arm around your back, rubbing your arm as the tears just continued to flow. You were no longer sobbing, but it was like your body just needed to let it all out. 

Reader: I didn’t expect to be getting so emotional so quickly. I know I am definitely someone who is more emotional than most, like I will literally cry for whatever reason, but ... I think what makes this so hard is that ... they can see me, but I can’t see them, so I don’t know how they are and how they’re getting on, but they can see me and how ... fuckin’ emotional I am— I should probably stop crying now, actually. 

That night, you fell asleep with the frame tucked under your forearm, mirroring that of Ginge’s position as you faced each other. And, with the knowledge that your family was in a picture frame in your bed and you had a strong support network around you, you had the best sleep yet in the jungle. 

Surprisingly, the sleep you’d had wasn’t that awful. You slept the whole way through the night, not once waking up or being disturbed by any of the surrounding jungle sounds, which you were most grateful for. The mattress beneath you was shockingly comfortable, and you knew you had to treasure that for as long as possible before the producers took it away from you.  

You woke up, whining at the brightness of the morning, Australian sun. You stretched your hands high above your head, touching the bed frame as a groan left your mouth. 

“Morning.” Ginge muttered from beside you. 

“Morning.” You yawned, waving, “Sleep well?” 

“Yeah, you?”  

“Yeah, shocked to be honest.” You nodded, “I kinda don’t wanna get up.” 

“Mmm, me neither.” He laughed. 

You huffed, spending a few more seconds tucked up before throwing the covers off and sitting up right. You attached your mic pack around your waist and put it around your neck so the mic was resting at the collarbones. 

“Morning everyone.” You announced, looking down at the camp from your spot in the shelter. 

“Morning.” Alex waved up at you. 

“Oh, you two look like King and Queen up there!” Kelly joked as Ginge stood up too, ruffling his hair. 

“Yes, worship us.” You put on a posh voice as a joke before leaving the shelter and coming down to the jungle floor. 

“Sleep well?” Shona asked, and you nodded, getting into her hammock. 

She brought the sleeping bag up to cover the both of you. 

“I need a shower, I feel like I stink of wilderness already.” You muttered, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. 

“Maybe wait to see if you’re picked for the challenge first. You don’t wanna shower ow and then have to shower again after if you’re covered in pig shit or whatever.” 

“Oh, Shona, don’t wish that upon me.” You groaned, “Nah, you’re right, I will wait to see if I’m in the challenge or not. Still gonna brush my teeth, though.” 

“Yeah, I’ll join you, c’mon.” She hummed, and you both got up. 

The pair of you brushed your teeth together, walking past Ginge and Aitch, who were gathering water for camp. 

“Morning you two.” Aitch said. 

“Morning.” You both spoke in unison. 

“Fuckin’ hell, like twins you are.” 

You laughed and then made your way up to the makeshift bathroom area.  

When you were done, you made your way back to camp, still yawning from not being properly awake yet. 

“God, I still need a shower, I feel grim.” 

“Y’know what, so do I.” Kelly agreed, standing by her bed and running her fingers through her hair to detangle it. “You brought bikinis with you?” 

“Yeah, I’m not showering in my underwear.” You snorted. 

“No, I know, but there’s a pool down there as well. I’m hoping it gets somewhat warmer and we can make use of it.” 

“Yeah, hopefully.” You nodded. 

“Did anyone bring a razor with them?” Lisa piped up, rummaging through her little bag of toiletries that you were allowed to bring. 

“No, sorry.” Kelly shook her head. 

“No, I got myself a Brazilian for the first time before this.” You commented. 

“Did you?!” Kelly gasped, grinning, “Did you enjoy it?” 

“No, it fuckin’ hurt. I bit down on my hand.” You laughed. 

“They are painful.” She nodded. 

“What’s this?” Ginge and Aitch came back from getting changed. 

“Talking about a Brazilian wax.” 

“What’s one of them?” 

You squeezed your eyes shut from laughing before speaking, “When you get everything waxed. Ya fanny, ya bum, the whole lot.” 

“And who’s done that?” His eyes widened. 

“Me.” 

“What? Why? You hopin’ to get lucky with one of the fuckin’ snakes or something?” The whole camp burst into cackles. 

“No, but I don’t wanna have to shave my minge on national tellie. Is that alright with you, Ginge?” You sassed, making him smirk. 

He held his hands up in surrender “Fair enough. To each their own.”  

Once you’d finished getting ready to a reasonable standard, you sat down on the plush bench, stretching yourself out across it. You flapped your hand as you felt flies getting too close for comfort. There wasn’t too much to complain about so far. You were sure that if you were sleeping on the hammocks or the rickety beds, you’d have something else to say, but you weren’t. The camp energy was still so lively, and everyone had such bright grins on their faces, part of you wondered how long you all had until that fell apart. But in the same breath, that was probably not something to be contemplating with your first proper day in the jungle. 

“Alright? Making yourself at home?” Ginge said as he walked over, standing over you. 

“This is our home, Ginge. For the next three, four weeks. Might as well get comfy.” You replied, smiling up at him. 

“Let me get comfy too then.” He gestured to the bench. 

You sat up, scooting over so he could plop himself down next to you. 

“They’ve all gone meditating.” He told you, keeping his voice quiet as it was just the two of you. 

“Oh, what? I want to go meditating.” You frowned. 

“You can probably still catch them if you run.” 

“I’m not running. Not unless I have to.” You spoke. 

“Really? What would make you run? Like what trial?” 

“Hmmm ... part of me doesn’t wanna say in case they’re listening and then make a trial just for me.” You laughed, “I dunno ... anything with creepy crawlies, like, loads of little bugs. Also, anything with bad smells. I’ve got a proper weak stomach so ...” 

“Oh, well, that bodes well considering we’re eating actual slop for the next few weeks.” Ginge deadpanned, making you chuckle. 

“I know. All the content this year might just be me vomming all over camp.” You joked, “What about you? What trial would make you run?” 

“Spiders. I hate ‘em. My worst fear, honestly.”  

“Really?” You chirped, “What about if you had a mrs— do you have a girlfriend?” 

“No, no I don’t.” He shook his head, “And I know exactly what you’re gonna ask me. If she comes running to me asking for help getting rid of a spider, she’s got no chance. We’re gonna have to call an exterminator because I’m not doing shit about it.” 

You cackled at his stubborn tone, as if he was so adamant about never saving anyone from any spiders. 

“You might come out of this and think different, though.” You proposed. 

“Yeah, perhaps. I could do. Or I could come out of this more scared than I was before.” He shrugged. 

“Oh, no, Ginge, don’t think so negatively. You gotta be positive.” 

When the group had come back from meditating, Jack started up on the breakfast, mixing rice and beans together in a pot and boiling it with water in an attempt to make some kind of porridge mixture. 

“Do you want help serving it up, Jack?” You offered. 

“If you don’t mind, yeah, that’d be great.” Jack nodded. 

You got up from the bench and put the oven mitts on, grabbing the pot as he dished out silver dishes to everyone. You went around, one by one, making sure everyone got an even amount. 

“I’m a bit scared for this, I’m not gonna lie.” Aitch admitted. 

“Me too.” You agreed as you moved from him to Shona. 

“Thank you.” She hummed. 

“Salford boy, come have some of this.” You wiggled your eyebrows as he stuck his tray out. 

“Thank you very much.” He said, despite the fact his nose twitched in disgust at it. 

“Bloody hell, it looks like prison food.” Kelly commented, picking it up on a fork and dropping it back down with a squelch. 

“It’s better than nothing.” You said, putting the pot back down and loading your own dish before sitting between Shona and Ginge. 

“Ooo, I’m struggling with this.” Martin hummed. 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just kinda like—” Jack exaggerated a chewing motion. 

“It’s very clacky.” Shona said, budging it around in her dish. 

“Agreed.” You muttered through a mouthful, feeling your throat rejecting the texture, “Ugh, oh my God.” 

“Reader, please don’t vomit already.” Ginge kept his body in place but moved his legs to the side to keep his feet out of range in case you threw up. 

“I told you; I have a weak stomach!” You exclaimed, forcing the meal down your throat. 

The whole group seemed to unanimously decide that breakfast was not good at all, which filled you with a lot less guilt knowing you weren't the only one struggling to stomach the meal (if you could even call it that). You and Aitch straight out refused to finish it, and Shona chuckled at the pair of you dropping the silver pot onto the floor with funky faces. 

Reader: Jack, I think you’re great, but ... that breakfast was awful. Maybe I’m being dramatic because I don’t do good with foods and textures that are foreign to me, but ... no. I really hope we can find something else to make breakfast with because I fear if that’s all we’re having for the next few weeks, I might be starving myself until dinner every day. 

 The dishes had been washed up and you were all now sat around, talking between you and waiting for Ant and Dec to come and ruin the vibes with the announcement of a trial, until Jack spoke up. 

“It might be — we're just throwing around ideas — is it worth having a bit of, like, a community meeting, like, every morning or evening?” 

“Yeah,” You nodded and hummed, “I think that’s a good idea, just to get a grasp on how everyone’s doing and stuff? I think it’s going to avoid any conflicts as well if we approach it in a civil manner like that.” 

“Yeah, I like that. That’s a nice little thing.” Eddie nodded. 

“You start.” You nodded in his direction. 

“Go on Eddie.” Aitch added in. 

“I know it’s early days, but it feels really ... harmonious. Everyone feels really calm and happy, and the contentment’s not gonna last all the time, but we should have a little pact of to maintain it a little better— as much as we can. We got this.” 

Everyone applauded his mini speech before moving their attention to Martin. 

“I think we will all have times where we get down, and I think the main thing that I would like to put into this camp is support for one another.” 

Another round of applause. Everyone else spoke up until it came around to you. 

“Umm ... oh God, it feels a bit like a job interview this.” Your comment made people chuckle, “Uhh ... I’m just really grateful to be in the position that I’m in so that I have the chance to come on a show like this. The homesick hasn’t hit me yet but give it a few days and you’ll hear me crying myself to sleep.” 

“Oh, no!” Lisa awed, “If we hear that, we’ll send someone to comfort you. We can’t have anyone crying themselves to sleep.” 

“Well, thank you. But also it’s great that we’ve all clicked already and no one’s hostile with anyone right off the bat, because sometimes that can happen and people feel like their place or personality is attacked, but ... no, yeah, I think we’ve got a good group going and if we can keep this going for as long as possible, then I think we’ve got a good shot at maintaining peace and good well-being.” 

“Nice, yeah.” Aitch commented before starting the applause. “Ginge.” 

Ginge kept his head down, stirring the beans over the fire. 

“Yeah, don’t think ‘coz you’re stirring the beans over there—” Alex said. 

“Err...” He hummed awkwardly, and the camp laughed. 

“Yeah, I know you’re trick!"  

“I feel like that’s the first time you’ve stirred anything!” Eddie added, making the ginger boy laugh loudly. 

Suddenly, the silver pot tilted over, dropping onto the fire and lid came off, sending a hot, grey cloud of steam up into the air. 

“Oh!” Everyone gasped, getting off their seats and trying to aid the situation in some way or another. 

“Ginge!” You groaned through gritted teeth, pretending to be annoyed. “Right, that’s it, you’re banned from cooking forever in this camp!” 

“When Ginge went to therapy ...” Lisa sighed. 

“This is why I didn’t want therapy!” He exclaimed, ears going red out of embarrassment for causing such a scene. “This is why I didn’t want therapy.” 

“Ginge, what the hell!” Kelly scoffed out laughter, stepping away as she realised that she was of no help in this situation. 

After a very interesting conversation about which presenter Lisa found most sexually appealing, they appeared with gamecards in their hands and bright, spritely grins on their faces. 

“Morning!” 

They went through everyone’s names in camp, telling them whether it was them or not, before the only remaining pair were you and Ginge. 

“So ... Reader and Ginge, the public have decided ... it’s the both of you!” 

“My bastard brother.” You muttered, staring with a face of dread and running your hands over it. 

All your campmates cackled at your statement. 

“It’s okay, you’ve got Ginge.” Aitch said, “He’ll eat it all for you.” 

“Perfect, I’ll go back to bed then.” You retorted. 

“Alright, now, hang on.” Ginge held his hands out, but you laughed and fell into his side. 

“Only joking. Couldn’t be more pleased to be doing this with you.” 

“How do you feel Ginge?” Kelly asked. 

“Fwah, the anxiety is through the roof right now. Just see whatever happens, happens.” He answered. 

“And what about you, Reader?” 

“I’m gonna give my brother a bollocking when I see him, I swear to God.” 

“You know it’s from him?!” Alex exclaimed. 

“Yeah! ‘Coz him and his bloody mates are all watching this, so I know they’re gonna keep voting for me just to see me suffer. Actually, it’s making me quite determined not to crack, just to shove it in their faces.” 

“Yeah, that’s the spirit.” 

“Go on, girl. That’s what we wanna hear.” Shona patted you on the back. 

Ginge: the first trial of the series, and the pressure is down to me and Reader.  Reader: I’m quite glad I got stuck with you.  Ginge: Are ya?  Reader: Yeah, I’m just gonna need you to make me laugh through it. It’s laugh or cry, those are your two options with me.  Ginge: Vomit, too. You said you do that a lot.  Reader: Oh, yeah ... Dream team.  Ginge: I’m more than happy to be paired up with you, we’ve got a great relationship—  Reader: For now.  Ginge: Well— sorry, hang on—  Reader: I’m joking, I’m joking. 

“Feeling good guys?” Martin questioned as you got ready to go. 

“I’m literally gonna shit myself.” You said honestly. 

“Ay, Reader, you’re with me, you don’t need to shit yourself,” Ginge reassured you. “I will protect you at all times.” 

“Aw!” You gasped, hugging him, “Thank you— oh, wait what if it’s spiders?” 

Ginge scratched the back of his head, “Yeah ... good luck.” 

You laughed and tapped his stomach playfully. 

“Only joking. We’ll get through this together.” He rubbed your arm. 

“You are gonna be amazing.” Lisa hugged you and kissed the side of your head as you and Ginge said your goodbyes. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna do it. I’ll just ... find my happy place.” 

“Good luck, my love!” Shona groaned as she hugged you, “Come find me immediately after.” 

“I will.” You hummed. 

You arrived at the Bushtucker Trial, pushing through the foliage into a makeshift restaurant dining room. There was a brown, wooden wall, lined with photos of celebrities, and in the middle, there was a long dining table with a white cloth laid over it and chairs at either end. 

“Hi! Hello!” Ant greeted you both as you came into view. 

“Hiya.” 

“Good to see you Ginge.” Dec nodded. 

“You too, mate.” 

“Take your seats.” 

You took the chair furthest from the exist and he had the one at the other end from you. 

“Welcome to ... The Divey. This is the jungle’s most exclusive, swankiest, VIP restaurant.” Dec gestured to the wall of fame, “All the stars come and dine here. It is normally impossible to get a table.” 

Ginge barked out a laugh, covering his face. 

“We know the honour; we pulled some strings. It’s gonna be a wonderful lunch.” 

“You’re welcome, by the way. You’re welcome.” Ant said. 

“Thank you.” Ginge nodded, playing into the bit. 

“Yep, cheers lads.” You grumbled. 

“Oh my God, I’ve just realised.” Ginge’s hands came up to his face, “All this morning we’ve been banging on about how you’ve got a weak stomach.” 

You pursed your lips and nodded, “Yep, that’s all I can think about right now.” 

“Oh, no!” Dec exclaimed. 

“Now this is, of course, an eating trial. For ten rounds, each round is worth a star. Every star you get, is a meal for camp.” Ant explained, and Dec added on, 

“You can pass on any dish if you don’t like the look of it, but you can’t go back to it, so you will lose that star. And you don’t have to do this trial, but if you both don’t want to do it, you’ll head back empty handed.” 

“Do you wanna give it a go?” 

“Yeah, let’s give it a whirl.” You huffed reluctantly. 

“Ginge?” 

“Yep.” He said in the same manner as you, squirming uncomfortably in his chair. 

“Right, let’s dive straight in with round one, shall we? And up first in this one ... is Ginge.” Ant pointed to the redhead. 

“Of course it is.” He sighed. 

“On the wall here, are all celebrities that have dined here regularly. Including, Maya Jama. She's got a dish that was inspired by her, shall we bring it out?” 

“Yeah.” Ginge nodded. 

“Ranger!” 

A man came out, wheeling a tray and cloche and approaching Ginge, who was in a fit of nervous giggles. 

“Maya loves eating this when she comes here, so much so, that we called this dish ... Cry-a Jama.” 

The ranger removed the cloche, revealing a bowl full of cockroaches and mealworms.  

“And hold on, hold on—” 

“What ya doin’?” Ginge frowned as the ranger got closer before sprinkling something on top. 

“There’s a bit of garnish on.” 

“Oh, my lord above.” Ginge covered his face with his hands. 

“That’s dehydrated cricket.” 

“Rank.” You grimaced. 

“Oh, mate, they’re soft and everything.” He complained, pulling his hand away before going back in. “Eugh!” 

“So, you need to do five mealworms, and five cockroaches.” Ant informed. 

“Okay, I’m gonna do cockroaches first.” 

“Now, apparently the garnish really makes it. It makes the dish.” 

“Oh, does it?” Ginge replied sarcastically. 

“3, 2, 1, go!” 

Ginge chucked the cockroaches into his mouth, his jaw moving rapidly as he chewed and chewed and chewed. 

“Good job.” You nodded, clapping. 

He showed his mouth to the presenters before moving onto the mealworms. 

“Well done, Ginge. Good work.” You applauded the way he just got on with it. 

He took a big swig of his water when he was done, “If that’s the one we’re starting with, we’re in trouble.” 

“Right, Reader, onto you.” Ant said. 

“Mmm ... no thank you.” You held your hands up, “I politely decline.” 

“No, she doesn’t.” Ginge tutted wagging his finger, “Go on, girl, you’ve got this.” 

“Our old mate over there, Timothee Chalamet.” 

“Nice.” You smiled, “Good actor.” 

“Yeah, you fancy him?” Ant tilted his head. 

“A bit.” You shrugged. 

“Not your type?” 

“No, but you are.” You flirted, throwing an exaggerated wink in, making the other two boys laugh. 

“I appreciate that, but you’re still not getting out of this trial.” 

You groaned loudly. 

“When he comes here, he likes to eat this next dish. Ranger.” 

The ranger produced another cloche, placing it in front of you and removing the lid. 

“It’s called grim-othee Chalamet—” 

Once the cloche was removed, there were three long looking bugs laid out rather artistically on the plate. Still, the neat organisation didn’t make it any more appealing. 

“And it’s a witchetty grub. Just got a little bit of garnish for you, which is a cricket crouton.” 

“I think I’m alright, y’know.” You pouted as the ranger placed a cricket on your plate too. 

“So, you have to eat a witchetty and the garnish.” 

You whined before throwing the cricket in your mouth. 

“Wow! Was not expecting that!” Ant exclaimed, “Just chucked it right in there.” 

It crunched in your mouth, but you swallowed it down with a shiver. 

“I like that, well done, didn’t flinch.” Ginge praised, clapping. “Those taste like turkey, apparently. That’s what people have said previously.” 

“Turkey?” You pulled a face. 

“What, d’you not like that either. Steak, turkey, what’s next? Chicken?” 

“Oh, I love chicken.” You groaned. 

“There you go, pretend it’s a bit of chicken.” He advised. 

You bit into half of it, closing our eyes and trying to find your happy place. You swallowed it down with struggle and then presented your empty mouth to the two standing men. 

“Nice job, Reader. And did it taste like chicken?” 

“No. But, in my head, I envisioned a KFC zinger burger.” You shrugged. 

“Well, whatever works for you. Shall we move on to round three?” 

For this round, Ginge had to consume a bull tongue with fisheye glaze as ‘garnish’. And consume he did, as he swallowed it down after gagging over it three times. For your ‘meal’, you had to have one cows nipple with a duck tongue sauce. 

“Are you taking the piss?” You muttered, bringing your shirt up over your nose. 

You took the portion on the stick and squeezed your nose shut while chewing, hoping to dull your tastebuds that way. 

“Reader, you’ve done it again, well done!” Dec applauded you. 

“Gonna make me blush.” You joked as you sipped your water. 

For the fifth round, Ginge had a plate full of snails, and he was instructed to eat all of them. 

“You lot are horrible.” You gasped, shaking your head, “Go on, Ginge, you’ve got this.” 

He got them down, gagging horrifically at the texture of them more so than the taste. 

“Don’t.” You urged him, “If you throw up now, I’ll throw up on you later.”  

“Ooo, a deterrent. Nice tactic.” Ant nodded. 

You winked, “I’m full of surprises.” 

Thankfully, he managed to get through all of them, taking large gulps of his water afterwards. You applauded him, smiling supportively. 

When the ranger brought out your third dish and pulled the cloche away from the plate, your face dropped and you immediately sat back in your chair, pulling your navy t-shirt over your nose and shaking your head. 

Vomit fruit. 

“I might just kill myself.” You muttered, staring at the fruit as if it had personally offended you. 

“It’s fruit.” Ginge attempted to calm your nerves, “It’s just fruit. The only thing not to do, is smell it.” 

“All three, please, Reader.” Dec said, suppressing his grin as he glanced to the main cameras. 

“All three?!” You shrieked. 

“Ay, ay,” Ginge called out, “You’ve got this.” 

“No—” 

“Oi, none of that.” He shook his head, “Pick it up, smack it in your gob, keep looking at me.” 

“I’m so scared!” You whined, picking up the green glob. You gagged at the smell. 

“Plug your nose. Plug your nose.” 

You pinched your nose shut and bit into the fruit. Immediately, your throat jumped at the taste, trying to push the vile thing out of your mouth. 

“No, no, no. Look here.” Ginge gestured to himself, “All here.” 

Your teeth crunched into it, chewing it down and making your eyes water. 

“It’s just a pickle, like a pickle.” 

“I don’t like pickles!” You exclaimed around the food. 

“Oi! Shut your gob and chew. It’s just ... I dunno, fuckin’ cheesecake. Just cheesecake.” 

You nodded at that, looking down at the plate while swallowing. 

“Don’t look down, ‘coz then you’re thinking about how much you’ve got to eat. Just look at me.”  

Your eyes met his shining ocean blues and he nodded firmly. You maintained eye-contact, trying to focus on him as you threw the next half in your mouth. You screamed into your mouth, flapping your hands about. 

“Keep your nose plugged!” 

“Good job, Reader. You’re doing really, really well.” Ant said, wincing as you gagged again, the vomit fruit threatening to come up. 

“Swallow it.” Ginge ordered. 

Another gag and you grabbed the metal bucket, putting it on the table next to plate and hovering over it. 

“No! Don’t you dare!” 

You forced it down your throat and then yelled, “It’s so grim!” 

You had to take a break to pant through your mouth and get your breath back, but once you had, you just shoved the next one in whole. 

“Nice. Just chicken again, ‘ent it?” 

You shook your head while staring at him with wide eyes. He laughed, his tongue poking out of his teeth slightly, which was something you’d come to find quite endearing. 

“You’re doing amazing, so amazing. Next one now.” 

You sat back again in your chair, knees to your chest as you bit into the final fruit. 

“It’s worse when you bite into it. Just eat it all in one.” 

“My mouth isn’t big enough!” You complained, holding your t-shirt over your mouth and closing your eyes. 

A tear slipped out of your eye as you put the final half into your mouth. You wiped your now-wet fingers on your trousers and covered your face with your hands, squealing at the taste. 

“Good girl, very good job.” Ginge clapped louder than the presenters. 

When you pulled your head out of your hands, your eyes were wet and wide, lips parted in a way that made your expression appear traumatised. 

“You feeling okay?” Ant asked, his face looking worried. 

“No.” You groaned, belching loudly. “Oh my God!” 

Ginge burst into cackles, your own shock amusing him more than your actual burp. 

“Grim.” You pulled a face, reaching for your water bottle and cradling it to your chest, taking little periodic sips from it as you stared at the plate that was now left with vomit fruit residue on it. “You’ve got really pretty eyes.” 

“Oh, thank you.” Ginge smiled, “So do you.” 

“Good job, Reader, that’s the sixth star you’ve won. Now, are we ready for course 7?” Dec asked. 

“Excuse me, we’re on a date.” You said, holding your hand out, “And you’re ruining our flow.” You turned back to Ginge, who was uncontrollably giggling, “What were you saying about my eyes?” 

After the laughing had stopped, the presenters ordered for the ranger to bring out Ginge’s penultimate meal. When the cloche left the plate, the smoke filtered away, revealing a camel’s toe. There was a toothpick tuck in the side of it, containing the stupidly large wedge he had to eat. 

“Ginge, if I can eat three vomit fruits, you can eat that camel toe.” You spoke. 

He bit into it momentarily before pulling it away and making an overexaggerated gagging noise. You laughed at him. 

“C’mon, lock in, Salford boy.” 

“Cheers.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

He put the first piece in his mouth, chewing it with difficulty. He gagged into the bucket, but you told him to troop on with it. Eventually, he’d swallowed all that he needed to, and it was your turn again. 

“I don’t want to eat this.” You huffed as the ranger wheeled out your dish to you. 

“This is, Hugh Sack-man.” Dec read from his card. 

“Is it a fucking nut sack?!” You screamed, clutching your knees even tighter to your chest. 

“It’s a pig's testicle.” He nodded, “With a fermented seaweed foam infusion.” 

“Y’know what, none of this tickles my fancy.” You hummed, “Ginge, this is the worst first date ever and, quite frankly, I don’t think I want to see you again.” 

“Well, I apologise deeply, Reader. I will try my hardest on the next one.” 

“If you even get a next one.” You sassed, picking up the testicle and dipping it in the seaweed nonsense. “Y’know, I can’t say I’ve ever put a nutsack in my mouth before.” 

The three boys laughed at your commentary. 

“No?”  

“Well, not on camera, anyway.” You deadpanned before biting into it. 

“It’s nice.” Ginge encouraged, “It’s nice— It’s just cheesecake. Just cheesecake.” 

You nodded, taking another bite of it. This one made you gag hard, your eyes sprouting with tears again. 

“No, you’re okay. You’re fine. Just look into my eyes. Remember? They’re pretty.” 

“They are.” You muttered through food, training your eyes on his. After you’d swallowed, you spoke, “It’s not even the taste, it’s the texture— Am I gonna get pregnant from this?!” 

Once again, the boys fell into a harmonious fit of laughter. 

“No, Reader, there is no sperm in the testicle.” Dec said through chuckles. 

“Good, ‘coz it’s not my time yet.” You snorted before biting into what was left. 

You got through the rest of it surprisingly quickly and well, showing your empty mouth to the presenters as they moved onto Ginge’s final course. 

Crocodile's arse. 

“Ginge, I’m not even joking. Put that fucking arsehole in your mouth now. I just had to eat nutsack on national television. You can join me by eating arse.” 

You were really on a roll with funny comments today, as Ginge seemed too caught up in getting his breath back from laughter to eat his dish. 

Once it was in his mouth, he began violently retching into the silver bucket, but still kept his mouth closed so nothing spewed out. 

“C’mon, Ginge, not now. Literally, you eat this and you’re done.” You muttered, biting your lip, “Hey, look at my eyes. We’re supposed to be on a date here!” You decided to try and entertain him as a different tactic. 

He did as you said, swallowing the whole thing, to which you hollered and applauded. 

“Oh my God,” He groaned after a hefty swig of water, “I’ve just ate crocodile’s arsehole ... Why?” 

Ant chuckled while Dec answered, “Meals for camp. That’s why.” 

“He’s done well, Reader, right?” Ant asked you. 

“He’s done fantastically. And just for that, I’ll accept that second date.” You grinned. 

“Yeah, well I’ll tell you something, love, we ain’t coming back here anytime soon.” 

“Good. ‘Coz it is shite.” You said word by word. 

“Speaking of shite, here’s course 10.” Dec segwayed smoothly. 

“Fuck off, I’m not eating actual shit! That’s a health and safety hazard! Toxins and all that!” 

“Don’t worry, it’s not faeces.” He said as the ranger wheeled out your final meal. 

You covered your eyes, peeking through your fingertips as the cloche was removed. 

“Oh my God, it’s a fucking knob!” You screamed, getting out of your chair and walking away slightly. 

Ginge wheezed as the presenters snorted and asked you to sit back down. 

“You seem frightened. Never seen one of these before?” 

“What? A knob? Yeah, I have, but not ... Jesus Christ, who’s the poor sod that’s lost his chopper?” You whispered in a breath as you picked it up, waving it around and giggling at the way it flopped from side to side. “Lanky guy.” You hummed, raising your eyebrows and lifting it slightly higher before dropping it back down. 

“Well, it’s a bull's penis.” 

“Jesus wept.” You grabbed the toothpick, picking the bit off that you had to eat, “Ooo, the tip. Yippee, my favourite part.” 

The boys were in hysterics at everything that came out of your mouth. 

“I can’t believe I’ve got a knob in my mouth on national tellie.” You sighed, looking at the camera regretfully before putting it in your mouth. “First time for everything.” 

You gagged violently, grabbing the bucket and hovering over it. 

“Y’not gonna vomit, though, are you?” Ginge challenged, “No, you’re not.” 

“Please kill me.” You wheezed as you tried to swallow and it came back up, “Why can’t I swallow it?!” 

“You ever said that before, or ...” Ginge leaned back, crossing his ankle over his knee and resting his chin in his hand. 

“No, that’s why I’m getting pissed.” You winked before forcing it down your throat. 

Once it was down, you got up and started screaming as the three lads clapped for you. 

“I did it!” 

“10/10 stars!” Dec announced. "You can now leave and spread the news to camp. Thanks guys!” 

Ginge held his arm out at the door, waiting for you to go first.  

“Ooo, gentleman.” You giggled, leaving the ‘restaurant’ and walking along the dirt path. 

On the way back to the camp, you stopped at a camera station and spoke. 

“Buzzing we got ten.” Ginge said, looking down at you to see if you wanted to have any input, “First trial of the series, and we got all 10.” 

“Hurray.” You muttered unenthusiastically. 

“I think now we’re just ... planning our second date?” 

You rolled your eyes dramatically, “Yeah, but can we just go to a Spoons next time?” 

“Absolutely. I’m sticking to them, ‘coz that’s the fanciest restaurant I’ve ever been to, and it was ...” 

“God awful.” You finished for him. 

“Yeah.” He nodded in agreement, “I think Reader is just ... trying to keep it all down.” 

“I will vomit on the way back to camp ... that’s fine, though, right?” 

“Yeah, we already got all 10 stars.” 

“Perfect.” 

You did in fact vomit into the bushes on the way back to camp, and Ginge held your hair back for you. You were tempted to wipe it off your chin, but then you thought of the idea of pranking the camp into thinking you only got five stars at your own failure.  

When you pushed through the bushes and saw everyone stood or sat around the fire, you put on the waterworks. 

“Guys, I’m so sorry.” You sniffled. 

“Oh, babe!” Kelly gasped. 

“What happened?” Shona frowned, coming up to you and putting her hands and your shoulders, “You’ve got vomit all down your chin!” 

“Ginge, why are you laughing? The lady is in distress.” Aitch kissed his teeth, slapping him up the head. 

“Sorry, sorry.” 

“I bailed on the sixth one, so we only got five!” You ‘cried’. 

“That’s okay! That’s fine, five is still good. Five is half.” Shona said in an attempt to soothe you. 

“Yeah, it’s okay. It’s only day one.” Alex added. “We’ll get better at trials as they go on.” 

“No, something’s not right. Ginge is still laughing.” Kelly noticed. 

“Because I had to eat pig nutsack and I bailed on it.” You huffed through fake tears. “I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay, lovely.” Shona pouted, hugging you, “Let’s go brush your teeth and wash your face, okay?” 

“We got 10.” You whispered in her ear. 

“What?!” She shrieked, pulling away with a large grin. 

You laughed loudly, nodding, “10 fucking stars, baby!” 

“Oh my God!” Kelly squealed. 

The whole camp started cheering and congratulating you and Ginge. 

“Wait, so what’s with the vomit?” Jack asked, gesturing to your chin. 

“Oh, yeah, no, I threw up on the way back.” 

“It was fucking vile.” Ginge cringed, “Better out than in, though.” 

“Okay, let’s still go and brush teeth and wash faces.” Shona grimaced, guiding you towards the bathroom area. 

The whole camp were sat around the fire, talking aimlessly and just trying to get to know each other. You were sat on the plush bench on your own, enjoying the space to yourself as you stared up at the sky, eyes closed as you tried to focus on getting your stomach to calm down. 

It hadn’t stopped rumbling and twisting and turning, despite having thrown up many times since you arrived back at camp. 

“If you could all change your job right now, what would you do?” Aitch threw a question out. 

“The manager of Manchester United.” Ginge piped up immediately. 

“Boring!” You said loudly. 

“Your dad is from Manchester!” He argued. 

“Yeah, but he doesn’t support United.” 

“City?” Aitch asked. 

“No.” 

“Don’t tell me he supports Salford.” 

“No, Everton.” 

“Everton?!” Ginge exclaimed, “Why?!” 

“His grandad took him to loads of Everton games as a kid so.” You shrugged. 

“Fair enough.” Ginge hummed, “But, no, yeah I’d be a football manager, 100%.” 

“I’d be a dog walker.” Kelly answered, “Professional dog walker. Yeah. Yeah, just be surrounded by dogs all day and just go out for nice little walks.” 

“When we switch our jobs, do we still get to be paid well?” Jack asked additionally, making everyone agree with his query. 

“Dog walkers do get paid well!” 

“They do, they do.” 

“They charge me a fortune.” 

“I think I would be— I always wanted to be a surgeon.” Martin said, “Always. Yeah, getting inside that, fixing people, making people better, that— the idea of that I absolutely love.” 

“I wanna be an actor.” Aitch spoke. 

“Oh really?” 

“One day, yeah, one day. But, like, I want to be like a James Bond villain, kind of actor. You're gonna be watching James Bond once, one time, and you’re just gonna see the back of me— you don’t even know it’s me, and just ...” He got into position, turning around, “Bang.” 

“Reader, what about you, hun?” Kelly asked, turning the attention to you. 

“Ermm ... I don’t know.” 

“You don’t have a dream job?!” 

You shook your head, sitting up, “Never kind of thought about that stuff. I just saw the opportunities I was given and I took them.” 

“What, like, with your acting and stuff?” Lisa hummed. 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“You dance professionally though; you must’ve started that at an early age to be where you are now.” 

“It was more of a hobby I was really passionate about. I never saw myself going pro with it, I just ... liked the idea of being able to dance but do it well.” 

“What about when you were in school or college. What did you want to be?” 

“Uhhh ...” You pursed your lips, swallowing thickly and shrugging. “For me, Year 11 and college was a massive blur. Obviously, I had picked up my role in Hollyoaks, so all the schoolwork I was doing was on set and stuff but ... I was always looking after my siblings as a kid. Never really got to think about myself.” 

“Aw, really?” Kelly pouted. 

“Yeah, yeah, so my oldest younger brother is 17 now, so when I was in college he was ... 11, 12? So, I was looking after him, making sure he was okay. But— well, I say college, because that’s where I wanted to go, but I ended up staying on at sixth form at my school because it was easier for me to get my brother up and go to school with him.” 

“So, you never did the further education you wanted?” 

You shook your head, “Just subbed it out for whatever the sixth form offered. But then ... when I was 17, my mum gave birth to my little, little brother, and then she just ... pffft, I don’t even know. She’d show up sometimes and then dip for about two weeks. So, I was 17 and raising this little baby because my dad would wake up at the arse crack of dawn to go to work and my mum was nowhere to be found.” 

“Jesus Christ.” Aitch puffed out a breath. 

You snorted, “Yeah. I had to take him on set and everything while I was filming. But, if you ever hear me say ‘my little boy’ just know I’m referring to my little brother, I don’t actually have a son.” 

A light laughter filled the air. 

“But, now, given the chance to, like, think about it, what would be your dream job?” Ginge asked, bringing the topic back. 

“I still don’t really know— I feel like a caretaking job is the easiest answer because it’s what I do best.” 

“What about with your acting? What’s your dream role?” 

You turned to look at him, surprised at how intrigued he was in this conversation. You expected a few fleeting questions from him, sure, but not for him to be asking like he genuinely wanted to know the answer. 

“A medieval role. Like as a princess.” 

“Like a Disney princess?” Kelly asked. 

“No, like a proper, proper princess. Like Jenna Coleman in Victoria, or something like that.” 

“I can see you doing that. You’ve got that vibe to you. You should go for that.” Aitch said, nodding. 

“Really? Thanks.” 

You were absolutely starving. The sun had set completely, and the sky was pitch black, the only thing illuminating the camp being the little lamps on each wooden post, mainly surrounding the beds. Everyone (bar Jack, who was having a quick nap) was still around the fire, waiting for dinner to arrive. By trying to past time, someone suggested a game of Hesitation, so here you were, wracking your brain for school subjects whilst your stomach grumbled for food. 

“Maths.” Aitch started. 

“Music.” 

“Drama!” Ginge put out, grinning afterwards. 

You were sat beside him, your mind suddenly going blank, “Ah! Uh, English Literature!” 

“Ohh, close!” Alex laughed. 

“Biology.” Kelly chose. 

“P... Physics.” Martin lagged slightly. 

“That physics was dodgy, bro.” Eddie laughed, waving his hand. 

“It’s meant to be on beat and in the thing, you can’t then go twice.” Kelly explained. 

“Food!” Ginge suddenly shouted, eyes trained on a little patchwork bag as it came down from the canopy of trees. 

“Oh my God, give me a KFC right now. Please. Please, I need a KFC.” You crossed your figners, looking up at the sky as if praying to God. 

When the bag came down, Aitch grabbed the scroll attached to it and read aloud, “As a result of Ginge and Reader winning 10 stars in today’s trial, ‘The Divey’—” 

Everyone cheered and clapped whilst the pair of you bowed. 

“—You have ... kangaroo tail, russets and, uh ... pimientos.” 

You pulled a face, “So no KFC?” 

“No.” 

“Booooo!” 

The camp laughed and then got to work, unravelling the bag and looking at the cards you’d been dealt. People got to work, Alex was cutting the pimientos as Jack began cutting the meat off the bone and instructing everyone on what to do. 

Reader: Y’know what? Considering we won 10 stars today ... we weren’t half given scraps of food. Like ... I deserve a reward for eating cock and balls on national television. But y’know what? I’m sure with Jack's cooking, it’ll all be great, because, for some reason, he just knows how to cook everything. I’m starting to think he was born to be a caveman or some sort of ... Neanderthal. 

Once it was served up in the little metal tins, you sat beside Ginge again, leaning back and trying a forkful. 

“I mean ... Jack, well done. This is actually not that bad.” You hummed.

“Thank you.” Jack chuckled awkwardly. 

“Do you like it?” You asked Ginge. 

“Yeah, it’s not too bad.” He nodded, rolling his tongue over his top row of teeth. 

“I still wouldn’t have eaten pig scrotum for it but ... it’s bearable.” You shrugged. 

“Yeah, but we didn’t do it for us. We did it for them too.” Ginge gestured to the rest of the camp, “And they’re enjoying it.” 

“True.” You agreed, “We did good today.” 

“We did. I’m proud of you, for keeping it down until the walk back.” 

“Thanks! I’m proud of myself too.” You joked, causing him to laugh. “We make a pretty good team, Salford boy.” 

“Can I call you Birmingham girl then?” 

You shook your head, “Nah, that’s too long. Brum girl works better.” 

“Well then you should be calling me Manc boy.” 

“But that just sounds like I’m insulting you.” You pulled a face, “And the last thing I would ever do, is insult you.” You added dramatically. 

“Oh, well I sincerely appreciate that.” He put a hand over his heart. 

“Are those the longest words you’ve ever said?” You muttered with a deadpan tone, making him crack up. 

“You just said you’d never insult me!” 

Ginge: We are now officially Brum Girl and Salford Boy.  Reader: Yes, we are. So now, when we’re speaking in here, instead of having our names you need to put Brum Girl and Salford Boy. 

“And then I realised you’re a United fan, so maybe you deserve it.” 

“Do you support Everton like your dad?” 

“Uhhh ... I wouldn’t say I’m a fan, like I don’t know their players or anything like that – apart from Pickford – but a supporter by association, yeah— Actually! My grandad is a United fan.” 

“Come on! What’s your grandad’s name?” 

“Ron.” 

“Ronnie Pickering.” 

You snorted, “I wish I was related to that icon.” 

Little did you know, Aitch was sat across from you two on the wooden log, eyeing the pair of you with a knowing smirk whilst eating his meal. 

Sat in your denim, Bershka jumpsuit and regretting every decision you’d ever made, you were about to officially start your I’m A Celebrity, Get me Out of Here experience. 

The atmosphere was already ridiculously tense. You were let out of the producer's car and instructed to walk up to the back garden patio of the large beach house-like building in the middle of the courtyard. You did a cute little pose for the cameras, blowing a kiss at it before walking around and taking your place. Upon doing so, you found that you were the first one there, 

“Oh, I’m alone. How lovely.” You muttered. 

It wasn’t long before someone else joined you, a lady in a polka do jumpsuit with black straight hair, 

“Oh, hi!” You grinned, just as she did and waved as well. 

“Hello!” She greeted you, bringing you into a hug once she was near enough. 

“Oh my God, you were in Emmerdale!” You gasped. 

“Weren’t you in Hollyoaks?” 

“Yeah, for a little while as a teenager, not anymore.” You laughed, “I’m Reader.” 

“I’m Lisa, it’s lovely to meet you.” 

“You too. Are you shitting it a bit? ‘Coz I am.” 

“Oh, absolutely.” She nodded, “Little creepy crawly bugs are not my favourite thing in the world, so it’ll be interesting to deal with.” 

“Agreed.” You hummed, “Why did you decide to do this show? ‘Coz I’m questioning myself now.” 

“I chose to do it because I’m 50 in July and thought why the ... y’know.” 

“You’re 49?!” You gasped, “Fuckin’ hell, you’re looking good for that.” 

“Oh, well thank you. ‘Ent that mad, I’m old enough to be your mum probably. How old are you?” 

“I’m 22, 23 in about ... five days?” 

“Oh my God, we’ll have a jungle birthday!” Lisa laughed, holding your arm as you joined her, “I’ll be your maternal figure in the jungle.” 

Another voice spoke up then, “Alright? Sorry to intrude.”  

You turned your head over your shoulder to see a taller guy, ginger with an abundance of freckles dotted over his arms. He was sporting a nice, casual outfit, juxtaposed by the bright red Lightning McQueen crocs he was wearing on his feet. 

“Oh, I know you! My brother watches you all the time!” You gasped, “Angry Ginge!” 

He nodded, approaching you with a hug, “Yep, that’s me, you okay?” 

“I’m good thank you, how are you?” You hugged him back, mentally pleased by the smell of him. 

“Shitting it, to be honest, love.” He chuckled before moving in to hug and greet Lisa. 

You blushed at the ease and naturalness in which he said nickname, glancing down at your feet.

“Nice to meet you, fellow Northerner.” Lisa found common ground with him. 

“Yep, Manchester.” 

“Of course.” She nodded. 

“Should I just get the next flight back home?” You joked, pointing a thumb back to the exit. 

“Op- No!” Lisa laughed, putting an arm around your shoulder. 

“You’re from Birmingham, aren’t ya?” Ginge asked. 

“You can tell by my accent? Or have you been stalking me before this?” You joked again. 

“I know who you are, my mum loved you in Hollyoaks, proper bawled when you died.” 

“My brother’s gonna be buzzing when he watches this and sees that I’m stuck in the jungle with you for the next four weeks. He’s a proper fan.” You explained. 

“Oh, really? That’s amazing, that.” He grinned, “Are you looking forward to this?” 

“I was when I first agreed, but now that I’m here? Not really.” 

“Same!” Lisa agreed with you, “I’m starting to really second guess myself.” 

“Hello, hello?” A fourth person rounded the hedges. 

“Oh my fucking God, that’s Alex Scott!” You gasped loudly. 

“Hi!” Alex laughed, making her way over and hugging everyone individually. 

“You’re so cool, oh my days.” You fangirled slightly. 

“Thank you! I watched you on Strictly, you’re so talented, I don’t know how you work with people who can’t dance, I’d lose my mind.” 

You laughed, “You get used to it.” 

“You were on Strictly?” Ginge piped up. 

“Yeah, I’m one of the professionals so we’re not really in the limelight too much.” You spoke. 

“Wow, I didn’t know that. That’s very interesting, how long you been dancing for?”  

“Uh ... since I was a little girl, but only been a pro on Strictly for ... three years now? Haven’t made it to Blackpool yet but hopefully one day.” 

“Well, we’ll all manifest for you.” Lisa smiled. 

“Ta.” You scrunched your nose up with a giggle. 

“Sorry?” Ginge leant in, as if he didn’t catch what you’d said. 

“Ta?” 

“Yeah, I just thought you were from— Do they say ‘ta’ in the Midlands?” 

“Oh, no, so my dad’s from up North so ... It’s a bit weird; he calls me an accent hybrid because I’ve got a Brummie accent, but I’ve got Northern slang from being around him so much.” 

“Oh, right, okay. Where up North?” 

“Salford in Manchester.” 

“No way, that’s where I’m from!” Ginge exclaimed, “Alright, we’re gonna get along swimmingly. This is fab.” 

“For you, what are we going by?” Alex asked him. 

“Ginge, or Morgan, I don’t really mind, yeah.” 

“Oh, I’ll call you that. Morgan.” You nodded. 

“And the surname?” Alex asked. 

“Burtwistle.” He admitted with a slight wince. 

You burst out laughing, doubling over and holding onto his arm, “I see why you changed it now, that is unfortunate, isn’t it?” 

“Very. Yeah, very.” 

“It’s alright, it’s unique, that’s good.” Lisa said. 

A fifth and final person came around the corner, waving, “Hey-o.” 

“Hello there.” Ginge said. 

“Jack Osbourne!” You gasped, gagged at the fact he was there. 

“Hi Jack.” Alex greeted, hugging him. 

“How’s it going? Hi, how are you? Nice to meet you.” He moved onto Lisa. 

“Hello.” You grinned, hugging him as he did you. 

“Oh!” He pointed at you, “Accent.” 

“Birmingham!” You nodded, laughing and pointing to yourself and then him, “American accent but Birmingham at heart.” 

“Indeed, I am.” 

“Oh, I don’t think anyone wants that.” Morgan sucked his teeth. 

“Pipe down, Salford boy.” You sassed back, making everyone laugh. 

“Ginge, nice to meet you, you okay?” He gave Jack a firm handshake. 

“Ginge? Nice to meet you.” 

“This is gonna be so fun!” You giggled, clapping. 

“You are like a big ray of sunshine, I love it.” Alex motioned to you. 

“I was just really nervous at first—” 

“Yeah, I think we all were— or, are.” Jack agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Yeah, but now I’ve seen who I’m with I think it’ll be alright.” 

“How many people are we expecting?” Lisa queeried. 

“There’s ten, so there’s five here, so there’s two groups.” Ginge answered. 

“So, do you— you know what’s going to happen?” She pointed at him. 

“Nah, I’ve got no idea, but going off what the show does ...” 

“Yeah, yeah.”  

The five of you spoke for a little while longer before the two infamous people came over, “Hello!” 

“Oh, it’s GB’s Ant and Dec.” Jack put on a presenter's voice. 

“Yay!” They cheered, clapping as they made their way over to your group. “Hi everyone.” 

“It’s like, we yay, and then it’s ‘oh shit’!” Alex said, and everyone laughed. 

“Yeah, reality’s just hit home.” Ant added on. 

“Nice to see you all, welcome to Australia!” Dec announced. “Sorry the weather’s taken a bit of a turn.” 

“But, you’ve all met each other.” 

“Yep, we’re all ... best friends.” Jack said. 

“Now, the five other celebrities are already on their way into camp. Two of them are travelling in the getaway car. Now, if you’re in the getaway car, that means you take the fastest, most direct route to camp. That also ensures that you have the comfiest beds for the first few nights when you’re in there, and tonight, you eat steak.” Ant explained. 

“Oh.” You frowned, whereas everyone else seemed enthralled, “I don’t like steak.” 

“You don’t like steak?!” Ginge exclaimed. 

You shook your head. 

“Alright, you just won’t bother then.” Dec shrugged with a laugh. 

“No! No, no, I want the other stuff though.” 

The group laughed. 

“The good news is though; there is room in the getaway car for two of you. Which means pleasantries are now over because you’ll be battling it out to win one of these.” Dec revealed a gold rectangle with the words ‘getaway car’ inscribed in it. “A getaway car key fob ... Would you like to find out how to get one?” 

“Yes, please.” You nodded. 

“Alright, let’s go. Follow us.” 

The five of you followed the duo around the pool and to a pergola area where five, plush deck chairs were under the shade. 

“So, everyone grab a seat please.” Ant instructed. 

You took the chair in between Ginge and Alex, reclining back. 

“Are you all sitting comfortably?” 

“Physically, yes, emotionally, no.” Jack answered. 

“Exactly that.” You agreed. 

“Rangers!” Dec called out. 

Five rangers came out, holding glass boxes. 

“Oh my God, already?” Ginge sighed, his hand up by his mouth. 

They placed each cube on a deck table beside each person, and when you peered in you saw an abundance of tiny little critters scuttling about the inside. 

“Oh, they’re ants.” 

“So, each of you has a box. Inside the box is a getaway car key fob and green ants. All you have to do is put your hand in the box, release the knots, retrieve the key fob, hold it up high, and the first two celebrities to do so will win a seat in the getaway car.” Ant explained. 

“However,” Dec added, “It’s not quite as straight forward as that. ‘Coz you’ll also have your head inside a box. And as this is I’m A Celebrity, the chances are, it’s not just gonna be your head in that box. There could be other things in there too.” 

“Brilliant.” You grumbled. 

“Thank you, Reader.” 

Everyone chuckled. 

“The question now, though, is, are you all gonna give it a go?” 

You all agreed, either nodding or giving a verbal answer. 

“I’m gonna be honest, I’m regretting this already.” Ginge said, making you snort. 

When the rangers wheeled out another five boxes, Lisa piped up, “I’m not gonna fit in there.” 

The rangers gave you a pair of goggles before locking the glass box over your head. 

“So remember, the first two celebrities to get the key fob out and hold it high, wins a seat in the getaway car. The very best of luck. Rangers.” 

“Can you tell us— T-Tell us what— Please tell us what it is first.” Ginge stuttered and laughed nervously. “Please tell us what it is first.” 

“I actually don’t think I wanna know.” You snorted, “Ignorance is bliss.” 

“Ah!” Ginge exclaimed as an animal was placed in with his head. 

“Ginge, what is it?!” You shouted. What—” 

You felt a cold skin slither along your forehead and a hissing flutter of a tongue. 

“Oh my God, it’s a snake, it’s a friggin’ snake,” Lisa muttered. 

“There’s four snakes in there.” Dec revealed, “Welcome to Australia.” 

“Well, this isn’t too bad.” You hummed as the reptiles slid around you, “Ooo, hello.” 

“Are you serious?!” Alex exclaimed, “How are you so calm?” 

“I like snakes, I’ve got one as a pet.” 

“Oh, of course you do.” 

“Can we get going please guys?” Ginge got out through gritted teeth. 

“Okay, you can start the challenge in three ... two ... one. Go!” 

Immediately your hand reached for the one furthest away, set on the idea of working backwards towards you. You started twisting the first nut, only to realise it was going down instead of up. 

“Oh, wrong way.” You muttered before twisting the other way. “Are they all in different directions?” 

“You’ll find out.” Ant said. 

“Cheers.” You grumbled before zoning out and moving your fingers as quick as possible. 

“Jack’s doin’ well, Ginge is doin’ well.” Dec commented. 

“So’s Reader, I think she likes this challenge.” Ant said and the duo laughed. 

“Oh my God there’s more!” Lisa squirmed as they placed another snake in her box. 

“Oh, wow, you’re beautiful.” You hummed as you saw the albino ball python slither around your head. It’s tongue flicked out and tickled your forehead, making you giggle. 

“Reader, you’re like a snake charmer!” Dec said in shock. 

“I like them.” You hummed while focusing. 

Your fingers twisted and twisted, metal nuts clattering off the rods until you were done. 

“Oh!” You hummed, tugging the plastic frame off and grabbing the key fob, holding it up in the air. 

“Well done, Reader!” Ant congratulated. “There’s one more up for grabs.” 

“Can I stroke them?” You asked the rangers once your head was freed. 

“If you want.” He nodded. 

“Aw, hello.” You smiled, stroking the ball python, “You’re so pretty.” 

“I think this is the first time in I’m A Celeb history, where on the celebrities is actively touching the animals.” 

“Snakes are literally harmless unless you aggravate them.” You shrugged. “Thank you.” You said to the ranger before getting up off the deck chair and standing. 

Just as you did, Ginge shouted, “Got it! Oh my God, get me out of here!” 

“Ginge gets the second seat in the getaway car. Let’s get you all out. Alex you were so close!” 

“Oh, I’ve got ants in my cleavage.” You deadpanned, looking down it the two rogue insects that had gotten free. 

The group laughed as you tried to gently grab them and bring them out. 

“Will someone please get them off my tits! They’re biting me!” You fussed, flapping. 

“Come ‘ere.” Lisa beckoned, “Can I bring the zipper down a bit?” 

“Yeah.” 

She unzipped the jumpsuit a little more and collected the ants in her hand, dropping them into the box again. 

“Thanks, Lisa.” You sighed and sat back at your deck chair. 

“Congratulations Reader, congratulations Ginge. Well done. You both get your fobs. You both have a seat in the getaway car. It will be out in the front if you’d like to make your way out and enjoy your trip to camp.” 

“Perfect, thank you.” Ginge nodded as you both stood and made your way towards the car. 

“Did Lisa get them ants out for you?” 

“Yeah, they were proper in there.” 

“They know where home is.” He blurted out, immediately going red after, “Sorry, sorry.” 

You burst into cackles, crouching down and resting your elbows on your knees as your tummy started to hurt from laughing so hard. 

“Sorry.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. 

“No, it’s fine. You’re well funny.” 

When you got to the car, Ginge got in the right side, immediately cheering and shouting whilst you got in the left. 

“Alright, guys?!” Aitch greeted, “I’m Aitch, nice to meet you.” 

“Reader,” You shook his hand and then the guy next to you, “Hi, you okay?” 

“Hi, I’m Eddie, nice to meet you.” 

“Oh, I’m the only girl!” You huffed, pulling a face, “Y’know what, no, get me back over there with the snakes.” 

“You had snakes?!” Aitch gasped, shaking his head, “No way, we had some Texas Chainsaw Massacre shit with, like, animal guts and blood and shit.” 

“That’s grim. I would've thrown up.” You turned your nose up in disgust. 

Aitch wiggled his eyebrows at Ginge, who gave him a look as if to say, ‘shut up’. 

“We all got one of these then?” Eddie held up the gold rectangle and everyone else followed, cheering. 

“Looks like we’re going camping eating steak tonight!” Aitch announced, conducting a cheers with the cocktails. 

“She don’t like steak.” Ginge nodded at you as you sipped on the cocktail, moaning at the delicious taste. 

“Sorry?” Aitch leaned forwards, “You don’t like steak?” 

“No.” You shook your head. 

“Loves snakes but won’t eat steak.” Ginge tutted. 

“Why not?” Eddie asked. 

“Uh ... it’s too chewy, and I had braces in school, so I’ve basically got trauma from having stringy, chewy food stuck in my braces all the time. They put me off a lot of food.” You exaggerated.

“Oh, right, are you a picky eater then?” 

“Yes and no. Like some people are really bad picky eaters, I’m not really bad.” 

When the car started taking off, you all got hype again, cheering and Aitch started a chant. 

“Aitch and Eddie to the jungle, Ginge and Reader to the jungle.” He repeated, moving his shoulders with it. “Got fuckin’ Marnie McQueen in the car, what a vibe.” 

“Oh my God, fictional name drop!” You gasped. 

“You want me to be honest? I had a mad crush on you in Hollyoaks. I never watched the show ever, then I walked in on my mum watching it and saw you. Had me hooked. Then you died and I fucked it off.” 

You cackled, nodding, “A lot of people were not happy that I died.”  

“You died in your TV show?” 

“Yeah, yeah, so—” 

“Hold on, weren’t you a teenager in Hollyoaks?” Ginge piped up, pointing at Aitch as if to accuse him. 

“Oi, chill out!” 

“I was 19 while filming and playing a 17-year-old, but I did not look 17 at all.” You cleared up. 

“Why was you killed off?” 

“Erm ... I asked to be.” You shrugged snorting. 

“Oh, look, are we ‘ere?” Aitch gasped, looking out the window. 

“Oh my God!” You squealed, clapping. 

“You’ve got to walk from here. The path is clear though.” The driver said. “The changing rooms are over there for your kit.” 

“Thank you!” You all said and then got out. 

You slipped into a changing cubicle, taking your home clothes off and putting the classic red trousers and blue t-shirt on. You cringed at the colour combo on you, deciding to roll up the hem of the shirt and took it into your bra and then tie the khaki button up at the front, looking more stylish. 

“Fuckin’ hell, okay fashionista.” Aitch said as you came back out, adjusting your hat on your head. 

“It did not look good without doing all this.” You gestured to the makeshift alterations. 

The four of you made your way along the indented path towards the camp, talking mindlessly between you. 

“Camp beds! Camp beds!” Ginge exclaimed, running down the slope and towards the main area. 

“Oh my God!” Eddie laughed at the sight. 

“Oh, I’m up there!” You shouted, running up the steps and getting one of the beds under shelter. 

“Oi, I wanted that!” Ginge argued. 

“There’s two beds.” You sassed. 

“Oh, perfect then.” He followed you up, placing his hat on the bed opposite yours. 

You dropped your bags down and made your way back to the firepit. 

“Mate, we’re in the jungle!” He got excited, jumping up and down. 

You latched onto his biceps, jumping with him and laughing. 

“Wait, let’s move like this. Okay, that way.” 

The pair of you jumped about in the direction you needed to go, laughing as you did so. 

Ginge got into one of the hammocks, leaning back. 

“I could sleep in here, but I can’t imagine it very comfy.” He spoke, and Eddie approached him. 

“No, no, Eddie! Eddie!” Ginge yelled as he clutched onto the fabric of the hammock while Eddie pushed him back and forth. “Eddie! Eddie, please!” He cackled. 

“I’m just trynna get from Angry Ginge to Happy Ginge.” Eddie joked. 

“Eddeh.” You mocked his accent, “It’s not comfeh.” 

“I know you’re not mocking my accent.” Ginge scoffed, getting up as you crouched by the fire. “I’m Reader, and I’m from Burmin'um.” 

“I do not sound like that!” You exclaimed, and all the boys shared a look before bursting out into a chorus of laughter, “Nah, y’know what, go and get me firewood.” 

“Yes ma’am.” Aitch saluted dramatically before going off with Eddie to get wood. 

Ginge sat opposite you, watching you, “Do you snore?” 

“I don’t think so. If I do, no one’s ever complained or told me.” 

“Okay, good, ‘coz if I’m sharing that area with you I don’t wanna hear a peep.” 

“At least we’re not sharing a bed, ‘coz then you’d be fucked.” 

“Are you a proper fidgety sleeper?” 

“Yeah.” You smiled, “Take up all the room, take all the duvet. I proper sprawl myself out across whoever I’m next to. My friends always complain about that. When we have sleepovers, I just smother them with my arms and legs.” 

Ginge laughed at your explanation, nodding, “Remind me to stay away then.” 

“Here you are, Captain.” Aitch and Eddie returned, dropping firewood into the circle. 

“Thank you.” You hummed, gathering it so it was in an ordered pile.  

You started flicking the flint and steel together, creating a few sparks that were beginning to latch onto the straw at the base. 

“That’s good, nearly there.” Eddie muttered. 

“Right, I’m not being funny, yeah, but how’ve we not got this fire started yet?” Ginge scoffed, obviously joking. 

“I’m trying!” You groaned. 

“It’s nearly the end of the episode!” Aitch exclaimed and everyone started cackling, Ginge being especially loud. 

“Ginge, pipe down! It was the end of Yanited’s career when they lost 12-fucking-nil to Grimsby!” You shot back. 

Aitch started laughing even harder, as did Ginge, who tried to pretend being annoyed but couldn’t help but find humour in your exclamation. 

“Match of the day starts in a minute!” Aitch pretended to check his watch. 

“Oh, I did it!” You blurted. 

“We’re on! We’re on ... Oh, no, we’re off.” Ginge’s mood dropped. 

“Wait.” You muttered, leaning your chest down to the ground and blowing on the fire, trying to get it going more. 

Aitch smirked, slapping Ginge’s chest, and he shook his head with a grin, telling him to chill out, “Are you blowing on it?” 

“Stop talking to the lady while she’s at work.” Aitch fake-scolded him. 

“A’right, sorry, sorry.” 

“Doin’ her head in.” 

“Yeah, you are.” You pulled away from the fire and began mocking his accent again, “Sorreh, sorreh.” 

“I’m just trynna think, when I’ve got a candle, to put it out I blow on it, and ...” Ginge leaned into Aitch and whispered, “She’s blowing on it.” 

“Right, can I have a word over here.” Aitch sighed, pulling him to the side. “I’m just gonna have a word with Ginge over ‘ere, Reader.” 

“Okay, give him a bollocking for me.” You mumbled, continuing to blow on the fire. 

After a couple of minutes, one of the sparks seemed to take off, lighting the straw up and creating a large flame. 

“Yay!” You cheered, adding a couple pieces of firewood around it. 

“Ay, well done, Reader!” Eddie also cheered, clapping. 

“Good lass, well done.” Aitch patted you on the back. 

“Good job, there.” Ginge nodded, clapping too. 

“See. When in doubt, give it a blow.” You made up on the spot, before realising the dirty meaning that could’ve been taken with that, “Wait—” 

“Fuckin’ hell, darlin’, didn’t know you was like that. Calm down, we just met.” Ginge put his hands out, making you blush but giggle. 

“I didn’t mean it like that!” You snorted, “Do you want steak or not?” 

“Right, let’s not take the piss, get the steaks on, now.” Ginge deadpanned before laughing. 

Once the steaks were in, you sat back, still close to the pan so you could be there when it needed tending to. 

“Are you even gonna eat this?” Aitch asked. 

“I’ll firm it.” You hummed, “It’s gonna be the only decent meal we get for a while, so.” 

“It’s gone dark quick.” 

“’Coz it’s winter, you muppet.” Ginge muttered, eyes trained on the way you occasionally got up to tend to the steak. 

Aitch: You guys want me to be completely honest? Ginge will have a crush on Reader by the end of this. She is exactly his type, like, to the bone. He needs to keep it chill though because he’s on the wrong show if he’s looking for love. 

“I think it’s done guys.” You hummed, prodding the steak with a knife. 

“Let’s have it then.” Ginge said, grabbing a dish for everyone. 

You took the steak off the pan, loading it onto a charcoal slate and cutting it into strips for people. 

You gave it to Eddie first, then Aitch, and then Ginge, before sitting beside him. 

“Thank you very much, love. This is fantastic.” 

You'd finished your meals and washed up by the time the six other contestants came back. They came in, cheering and hollering. You and Ginge were stood in your sheltered ‘bedroom’ just talking between you and waving at people as they came in. 

“Oh my God, Shona!” You screamed, leaving him behind and running towards her. “Hi!” 

“Oh, hello, I didn’t know you were here!” Shona exclaimed, hugging you back tightly as you rocked back and forth, “Thank God for you, Reader.” 

You pulled away from her and introduced yourself to everyone else, fangirling momentarily over Kelly Brooks. 

“Oh, where do we sleep?” She asked. 

“Take your pick.” Ginge said. 

“Wait, who’s got these comfy beds?” 

“We do. So, you’ve got these two hammocks there, you’ve got a bed there, a bed there, you’ve got a bunkbed there.” He explained, pointing as he did. 

“Shona.” You whispered in her ear, “I’ve got left over steak. D’you want it?” 

“You didn’t eat it?!” 

You shook your head, biting your lip to suppress a giggle. 

“Where is it?” 

“Come.” You hummed, going up to your bed where you’d left the pot. 

“You fucking angel.” She hummed, crouching over your bed and eating what you’d left behind. “Can they see?” 

“No.” You giggled, amused by the predicament you’d found yourself in of standing over her, guarding her from the eyes of everyone else. 

Reader: I’m really glad that Shona’s here. I met her a couple times at some award shows and she’s a really lovely lady, she’s like my big sister, basically. So, it’s nice to have a familiar face. I’ve also taken a liking to Ginge— or, Morgan, whatever he wats to go by, and I bet my brother’s raving about that ‘coz he loves him. But he’s really funny, seems like quite a gentle guy beneath this big, media personality.” 

You furrowed your brows at her question but silently agreed, nodding your head, your entire body too tired to protest at this moment. Cinna walked towards you and placed a hand on your lower arm, tugging you lightly out of the room. “It’s not bad, I promise.” She nudged you.

You looked up at her and tilted your head, clearly not believing her reassurance. Cinna sighed, “Alright, not really. But I need everyone with me.” She gave in, you bit your lip and followed where she led you.

Fear ran through your body as you edged closer to the living room, knowing everyone would be in there, the same exact people who had seen you break down and the fabric of whatever you had the George be torn out underneath you.

And he was in there.

Probably sitting there all smug, arms slung behind his head and legs spread as he relaxed on the couch. You expected him to smile at you as you walked in, not worried about any pain or embarrassment he had caused you; because as he inferred, there was no relationship between you two.

Except he wasn’t like that.

Past the pitying eyes of everyone trained on you as you walked into the space, you spotted him sitting away from everyone and head hung low; unable to bring himself to look at you as all his mistakes and guilt would come rushing back to him.

You sat down by yourself, choosing not to bump shoulders with anyone as they would place a gentle hand on your shoulder and whisper, “Are you okay?” You really couldn’t deal with that right now, so opted for your own sanity.

Cinna smiled at you as she stood up in front of everyone, “Because I am immune, they called me in there and made me have to eliminate somebody, which is so sad.” She rubbed her eyes as she began to tear up.

Your eyes widened at her statement. You obviously knew you wouldn’t be going home due to the close relationship you had with Cinna, but you couldn’t help but worry for the others. Someone to be specific.

You knew you shouldn’t hope he stays, but this house without George would feel weird. You cursed yourself as if you should be screaming for George to leave, that his absence would be a weight off your shoulders ahead of the final; but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel like that.

“First of all, I’d like to say, it’s really great you guys made me immune cause you made me have to do this, so thank you, PK and Jason.This is the worst person to do this.” Cinna laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

After Cinna’s reasoning for who she had to eliminate, she rubbed her hands together and looked up, “I had to eliminate you, Whitney. I’m sorry.” 

Everyones heads turned to the woman on the sofa, her face neutral, “It’s fine, babe.” She shrugged. 

Cinna and Whitney hugged and you watched Cinna’s face as she pulled away, seeing her eyes filled with tears and hands shaking. As the girls separated, you hopped up and pulled Cinna into a comforting hug.

“I feel so bad.” The American whispered into your shoulder, you shook your head and pulled her in tighter. “Don’t feel bad, you couldn’t help it.” You reassured her, “Whitney knows that and no one will blame you, Cinna.” You pulled away and smiled at her.

Cinna sniffled and laughed, “You’re the best.” She then shook her head and grabbed both of your shoulders, “Oh, God! I should be comforting you! My thing is so minor compared to yours--” 

You shook your head and shrugged, “No, no. It’s fine, I’m fine.” You lied through your teeth, “I’m just gonna keep my head down and reach the final.” Cinna looked at you, her questioning on the tip of her tongue, “Really, Cinna. I’m fine.” You interrupted her thoughts early and tugged her away to bid farewell to Whitney.

time skip!

You walked into the shop with the group, arms linked with Mya as PK stormed forward and pointed at the screen. “Twenty minutes with a puppy!” You gasped and looked around, “Please can we get it?” Mya laughed at your excited face.

George walked forward and tried to meet your eyes, but you failed to notice his pleas for attention. “Yes, yes, yes!” He opted for supporting your decision of the purchase.

You turned towards Cinna and begged her to buy the time with a puppy for you, she sighed and turned to the camera. “Can we confirm 20 minutes with a puppy?” You smiled and jumped up and down waiting for the doors to open.

Cinna was told she could spend the time with two other people and immediately turned to point at you, understanding that you would have snuck your way in even if she hadn't picked you anyway. She debated her second choice, sparing a glance at you and sending you a sympathetic facial expression, “And, I’m gonna pick George too.” 

George was surprised by this, not expecting your new friend to pick him and force the awkward tension into a small room for 20 minutes, neither budging to leave as you both couldn’t say no to the puppy.

Your smile faltered slightly, clearing your throat and you glanced at Cinna. She mouthed, ‘I’m sorry’ to you, your response was sending a mocking smile her way with wide eyes.

The doors opened slowly to reveal the awaited puppy you longed to spend the bare minimum time with, because the lack of normality within this house was getting to your head.

You recognised the golden fur that peaked through the crack and titled your head to the side, “No way…” You muttered, not allowing your mind to get ahead of itself and higher your expectations; but the thought was lingering and made your heart race.

The similar thought had clearly struck George too, “Wait, is that…” He squinted his eyes. Cinna’s confused face flickered between the pair of you on other sides of the room.

You gasped as your puppy from back at home circled on the table, his light blue lead trailing behind him and his happy trot. His sweet face looked up at you as you covered your mouth with your hands in shock, the feelings overwhelming you all of a sudden; his familiar chirp barks falling deaf on your ears.

”Y/N, is that your dog?” Cinna exclaimed excitedly, a broad smile etched onto her face. She understood your nod to be a decent answer and her heart swelled; the pet you had gushed about since day one was here in front of you and flaunting to the strangers around his innocent face.

You skipped up to scoop your puppy into your arms and cooled it, “I’ve missed you!” Your voice went an octave higher and scratched behind his ears, your dog's tail wagging rapidly. Cinna joined you and stroked the retriever’s golden fur, “Aren’t you a cutie?” She smiled and copied your voice.

George stood to the side and watched the scene, not wanting to intrude due to the recent tension caused by his own actions. He wanted to go up to the dog who he loved and had met multiple times before; but if he was honest, he wanted to go up to the person holding the dog more.

You bent down to sit cross legged on the floor and placed the dog in front of you, laughing at his excitement as he began to chase his tail on the spot. The pair joined you on the floor and watched the scene in awe, understanding that in the minimal time you had been here, you had missed your dog immensely.

As you went to stroke him again, the puppy turned away from you and ran towards the only other familiar face in the room. That being the one person you really didn’t have the heart to face right now.

‘Of course,’ You sighed mentally, realising that with the amount of times you’ve asked George to dogsit while you were out, or how many times George has been round your apartment that your little retriever would remember his face. 

George smiled as your puppy approached him and reached his hand out for him to smell, but the retriever had other ideas and hopped onto his lap and curled up in the space.

Cinna awed at the sight but you stayed silent. You felt conflicted, you so badly wanted to shuffle closer to the man opposite you and act like a little happy family and pretend that everything awful that had even gone on in this house didn’t happen; but unfortunately, reality stepped in.

George looked up to meet your eyes and seemed guilty, either for him blatantly lying to you a day ago or for stealing the attention of the one person you missed the most being in this house. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but you interrupted his apologies before they could spill out, “It’s fine.” You mumbled, “You’re one of his favourites, so…” An awkward smile slipped onto your face, realising this was the most you’ve spoken to him since walking out on him in the dressing room.

A small smile itched onto his face and he sent a subtle nod your way, understanding your wishes to no longer press on the situation and begging it to become any less awkward than it already was.

Cinne cleared her throat beside you, “I love you guys, but this wasn’t bonding time. I wanna cuddle this sweet little puppy of yours!” She smiled and called the dog over, the retriever hopping up and catching the ball that Cinna chucked towards him. 

You laughed lightly at her and looked at George one more time, your pitiful smile falling and swallowing hard before you spent the remaining time left in here with your favourite person and the one you wished you never left behind; still feeling George’s stare on you, opting to ignore it.

time skip!

“Congratulations on making it to the final.” The voice rang out inside the living room, everyone looking at each other with surprised faces. A couple of them cheered and high-fived each other, you looked at Cinna with the most genuine smile on your face for the first time today.

“For the next 30 minutes, there is a flash sale on in the shop.” She finished after presenting the prize fund on the screen, everyone feeling overwhelmed that the money in front of them could be their own by tomorrow.

Everyone leaped up from their seat in the living room, you linking arms with Cinna as the pair of you led the group, hearing their laughter and bounding footsteps behind you.

”Premium alcoholic drink!” PK shouted and shook his head laughing. Your eyes widened and a smile crept up on your face as you read the list.

’Y/N, what are you feeling?” Cinna nudged you. You raised your eyebrows, “I’ve never needed a glass of wine more in my life than right now.” You snorted, your answer completely honest after the couple of days you had previously experienced.

”Please can I confirm £200 of profiteroles, please?” George tilted his head up to the camera in the corner of the room. He turned his head around to make eye contact with you and you furrowed your brows.

”Why’d you order two portions?” You mumbled, silently cursing yourself as you realised you had paid attention to George despite your attempts to freeze him out; Mission failed!

George looked at you as if you should’ve known the answer, “They’re your favourite, no?” He cleared his throat while smiling softly at you.

You hummed and nodded at him, appreciating that he knew the little things about you, but the constant reminder of what he did lingered and intercepted any kind gesture he did.

After picking up your wine, you left George to collect his double order of profiteroles because at this point, it was the bare minimum for him to do.

George sighed as you left the room, understanding that he might have to grovel and yearn more. PK tutted and shook his head, “You’ve gotta do more than that, Georgie…” 

George nodded and looked downwards, thinking of all the ways he could admit that he was wrong and in a way that you would actually hear him out and his apology; how could he prove he was all in it for you?

Back in the living room, you sat yourself down on the couch with Cinna and sipped on your wine. The American tapped you on your thigh which brought you out of your daze, “You alright?” She asked.

You scrunched up your nose, “I’ve been better,” You admitted, “But, it could always be worse, right?” You tried to joke but Cinna saw through your defence mechanism.

”He’s trying, you know that?” Cinna’s voice quieted, leaning closer to you to keep this conversation private from everyone in the room. 

You nodded and didn’t say anything, just watched the man in question walk solemnly to the table and place the plates down, his usual bubbly personality gone.

”When we were in the shop, did you see what he tried to buy first?” Cinna questioned, you shaking your head again. “He ran up to the camera, didn’t look at the list and said, “I’d like to confirm more time with Y/N’s dog!” And when it wasn’t confirmed, he said, "To make her happy, please can I confirm?”

You raised your brows at the confession and kept your eyes locked on George, seeing him try and converse with Jason but his heart wasn’t in it, and his gaze kept lingering from the boy chatting to him.

“It feels weird.” You spoke up. “Why?” Cinna pressed for an answer. You sighed and rubbed your eyes with the palm of your hands.

“It’s like I’ve been attached to him this whole time and now we’re just… not. Like, I can’t even hold eye contact with him now, it’s weird, it’s awkward.” You shrugged your shoulders, feeling slightly better to vent this information finally.

Cinna nodded intently, “And you have to remember that it’s his fault. Don’t blame yourself for feeling like this.” She rubbed a hand up and down your shoulder.

You bit your lip and silently agreed, “You’re right…” Your voice trailed off and stayed quiet for a moment. Cinna could see you were holding back from saying something else and she raised her brows to encourage you to finish your train of thought.

“Then why do I still wanna go back to what we were with him? After all that?” You said honestly, voice lower so no one else would hear you two.

Cinna looked around the room, “Do you want my honest answer?” Your eyes widened, “Please.”

“I think what you and George have, or had going on was real and genuine. There were more than feelings there, like you’ve known him before coming in here and now you’ve had the time to explore this with him without any pressure, it almost feels like a long time coming… if you know what I mean?” Cinna explained.

You listened and let your eyes trail to the man in conversation, “He’s crazy about you. And I can’t explain why he did what he did but I can assure you one thing. Y/N, I’m 100% sure that George is in love with you.” She finished.

Your heartbeat picked up and your cheeks flushed a red as you tried to retain this information, was he really in love with you? You convinced yourself after everything had gone down that all his feelings or attraction to you was heightened from being in the house but you never put love on the cards. Cinna could see your mind spiralling from where she sat and gave you a comforting hug before leaving you to have a moment alone. “Just think about it.” She whispered before leaving the room to find the others.

You sat for a moment and watched George sat alone at the table with two plates of profiteroles, keeping quiet and his head hung low.

Your body moved before your mind could comprehend what you were doing and you found yourself standing beside George’s hunched figure. You cleared your throat and saw his head snap around to you, his eyes widening and his hands rushing to fix his messy appearance. 

He swallowed, “Hey.” His voice came out more hoarse than he had expected but he failed to care as this was the closest you had been to him since the fall out. You nodded, “Hey.”

George stuttered and he opened his mouth to ask you why you were here before you interrupted him, “Care to share?” You muttered and gestured to the two plates of treats begging to be eaten.

George nodded eagerly and stood out of his chair, “Yeah, yeah! Sure, you can have this.” He pushed his chair to you and offered you his seat, which you accepted and he bought another chair for himself.

You smiled at him but it came across stiff as you still felt a sense of awkwardness around him for obvious reasons. You cleared your throat and tugged the plate closer to you, seeing from the corner of your eye that George’s gaze hadn’t left your face since you made an appearance.

“He likes you, you’re one of his favourites.” You broke the silence and brushed hair out of your face, George’s brows furrowing, “Sorry, who?”

“My dog. He recognised you in there and you know that.” You referenced back in the shop, where your dog's eyes lingered to the only other he knew. George shook his head, “I wouldn’t say I’m one of his favourites…” “Don’t act humble, you love him just as much.” You laughed lightly, George’s eyes lighting up as he finally heard your sweet laugh and you adoring smile. He laughed also and said, “You got me there, I’ll give you that.”

The pair of you laughed and you felt a sense of comfort and what had been missing the past day. It felt like you had gone back to when it was so much easier, when it never got complicated and everything was alright between the two of you; forever cursing past you for not taking advantage of what you didn’t know you could lose.

“I was one of the first people to meet him, right?” George shuffled closer to you, the smile still etched onto his face. You nodded and locked your eyes with his, “The first.”

His brows raised, “Really?” You hummed and let your smile linger on your face. George’s eyes travelled around your face, like he was memorising your features so he could never lose you; again, that was.

“I’ve missed you…” He mumbled, face falling into seriousness. You broke the gaze, looked down and shook your head. Panic flooded George’s body, “What? What?” 

You sighed, “We’ll talk about that later. Not now.” George was about to say something in response but DDG’s voice rang around the room.

“But I want y’all to know, I’m coming for your heads tomorrow. Don’t be afraid to snake me out. ‘Cause I’m gonna snake you out.” You laughed at his honesty and nodded in respect.

“Tomorrow’s the day of serpents. Remembrance Serpents Day.” PK branded the day and you held in your chuckle as Cinna looked at him next to her with a shocked face.

“Cheers to being snakes.” DDG stood with a glass of alcohol and proposed a toast. You joined and raised your brows at George, “Someone might be ahead of schedule for that day.” You smirked at his face falling and shook your head mockingly as he tried to apologise again for his mistakes, “Later, George.” You tutted.

“Cheers!” Everyone said together and you settled back down next to Cinna on the beanbag. She turned to ask you how it went with George and you shrugged, “We’ll see later, I guess.” You whispered and she scrunched up her face, you shrugging and feeling a sense of nervousness at the result that’ll come in the next couple of hours.

time skip!

“Can we talk now?” You felt a tap on your shoulder as you brushed your hair after a long day now in the bedrooms, turning to see George fumbling with the bottom of his hoodie. You nodded, “Yeah, let’s go.” You led him to sit on the double bed that the pair of you had accompanied the past few days.

He sat on the other end of the bed as you rested your back against the wall, “Can I start?” George mumbled, watching your reaction as you nodded slowly, chewing on your lip to contain the vent that was already brewing.

“Y/N, I can’t even explain how sorry I am,” He started, looking you dead in the eye, “I need to you believe me when I say that I genuinely have no idea why I voted you out and if I could go back and punch past me, I would and I’d knock him out.” He chuckled dryly, but stopped when your face didn’t move as his attempted humour. 

You squinted your eyes at him, “I like you so much and everything I’ve done up until that moment was real and it’s everything I’ve wanted to do before we had come into this house. I thought that because it was just us and in our own time, that I could finally muster up the courage I’ve been needing for months before this to finally make a move on you and confess how I feel about you.” George said, searching your eyes for an answer. “Y/N, I need you to believe me, please.”

You sighed, “But your actions contradict everything you’ve just said.” George’s mouth opened to deny you but you kept going, “Like, in my head I thought that whatever was happening between us wasn’t a game to you.”

“It wasn’t a game--” “Again, why did you pick it over me then?” You cut him off, repeating what you had said with less tears this time. 

“It’s the fact that you lied to me really bothers me. You could have told me and I wouldn’t have had to find out in front of everyone, did you not think that would be humiliating for me? They’ve watched us be all over each other the last few days, then see that you actually wanted me to go home throughout all of this, did you not think about that?” You tilted your head at him, your voice stern.

George shook his head and cast his eyes downwards, “And we spoke that one night and you said, ‘I think being your friend would kill me because I want to be so much more than that.’ Was that another lie?”

“No. It definitely wasn’t.” George mustered the courage to answer you.

You sighed and looked past him, “I just don’t think that I want to follow through with your statement if in the back of my mind I’m always gonna be thinking and questioning if you’re lying again.”

George’s head shot up and his eyes widened, “Are you saying that--” “I’m saying that what we had in here was fun, but I think that’s pretty much it.” You cut him off.

“No, no. Y/N, please tell me what I can do. This can’t be it.” He shook his head frantically and his hands reached out to hold yours. “I like you so much--” “And I do too, but you’re hardly showing it, George!” Your voice raised slightly. “What?” George furrowed his brows.

“You’re saying all this but clearly your words don’t mean a lot. I want to feel like you actually want me, you want to be with me but you’re not making a statement; you’re not showing it like you really mean it!” You shook your head in anger and upset, your words not correlating to him and his mind.

George stayed silent and you could practically see his mind reeling, yet making no attempt to prove your words. You sighed and closed your eyes, hoping that your words would make him put an effort into getting you back and back to feeling what you felt a couple days ago; but George didn’t move, he didn’t meet your eyes.

You smiled sadly and nodded slowly, accepting that this really was it between you two as the effort was clearly too much for George; Cinna’s words gave you false hope that he was in love with you, but apparently you were a good time, not a long time.

As the silence stretched you stood and patted George on the shoulder, “Good chat.” You muttered sadly and left the room. 

Cinna was sitting on the sofa and laughing with everyone until she locked eyes with you. She mouthed, ‘How did it go?’ You smiled weakly and shook your head, the American’s eyes closing in defeat and she gestured if you wanted her comforting company, but you politely denied, deciding you needed some time alone.

You decided you needed to focus on the final tomorrow, not on some boy who you had barely dated for a couple days; you’d prioritise the games, just like George had.

time skip!

You sat on Cinna’s bed in the morning, your head resting on her shoulder as her arm was slung around you. “What happened last night?” She whispered as people left the room gradually to wake themselves up.

You let out a deep breath and pouted, “It sucked, Cinna.” You scoffed, covering your emotion with a pitiful laugh. She sighed and rubbed her arm up and down your shoulder, “What did you say to him?”

“I made this point that if he really meant what he said, he should make a statement of it, because God forbid a girl wants to feel wanted, right?” You shuffled closer to your friend, “And if I’m honest, I thought he would. I was fully expecting to do something, even the bare minimum. But he said nothing so… I guess that’s that.” You shrugged for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.” She whispered and hugged you. “It’s fine. It’s just gonna be awkward as hell once we get out tomorrow, but that’s for a different time.” You sat up and pulled the duvet off of you, the American following behind.

“You’re allowed to be upset.” She grabbed your hand and squeezed it. You nodded and blinked a couple times to cover up your emotions, “I know. I just don’t want him to see me upset.” You nodded your head towards the living room where George sat with his breakfast, he didn’t deserve to see you like this.

Cinna nodded at you and smiled, tugging you into the living room to await your day. Clearly it wasn’t far away.

‘Insiders, please head to the Challenge Arena.’ The screen read, your heart plummeting into your stomach. “Oh, fuck.” You muttered, everyones head turning to the screen as they realised this was the big moment they had waited a week for.

“It’s time ladies and gentlemen!” PK shouted as you all strolled to the Arena, the nerve beginning to settle in as you entered the room for the final time.

“Insiders, welcome to The Pyramid Scheme.” Simon said, rocking back and forth on his feet beside Josh, the pair of them smiling at you and you waved at them.

“You have all made it this far, but who will make it to the end? Only two of you can.” Simon finished, everyone looking between each other, trying to suss the other out. “As you can see, there are six gold pyramids.” Josh gestured behind him.

“Two of them say ‘safe’ inside, the others say ‘eliminated’. The boys are in the living room right now. They will randomly select one of you to come up and choose a pyramid. Once you have chosen your pyramid, you will place it on the podium. Once at your podium, you’ll take a look inside and check what it says. The boys will then randomly select another person to face off against you. It’ll be your job to either convince them to take your pyramid or let you keep it.” The boys explained, your eyes drifting between each pyramid wondering which one will determine your fate, but you felt someone's eyes on you instead of the prize.

After a couple rounds and losing PK and Jason so far, you had failed to be selected so far, your nerves refusing to settle so far. 

“The next randomly selected person to choose a pyramid is George.” Simon announced and you watched the man stand up and wipe his hands on his joggers, his fingers shaking in the process, his body screaming with nervousness. 

He strolled around the stands before selecting a pyramid, walking back and placing it on the stand, looking anywhere but you. 

“We need to pick the next person!” Vik pointed out back in the house with the other boys, JJ shuffling the cards in front of them. Ethan pointed to the one he wanted out and JJ slowly lifted it up to reveal the person up against George.

“Fuck!” Harry shouted and placed his hands on the back of his head, pacing around the room. “No way!” Tobi gasped and looked between his friends, wondering if they could actually believe this coincidence. 

“This is gonna be fucking insane!” JJ covered his mouth and everyone's eyes locked onto the screen in front of them awaiting the chaos, laughing slightly as Josh’s eyes widened hearing the name through his earpiece.

“The person randomly chosen to face off against George is Y/N.” Josh announced.

All the contestants gasped and whipped their heads to you who sat there frozen in shock, “Of fucking course.” You mumbled before slowly standing up and facing George on the other stand.

Everyone’s eyes were on you as you stared at George, seeing him swallow hard and fiddle with the edge of the stand, waiting to open the pyramid. “George, please look inside your pyramid.” He nodded and hesitantly opened it.

You watched as George’s eyes scanned the words in front of him, his gaze flickering up at you who watched intently, face paling as you realised this could be your final moment in the games.

“Your two minutes starts now.” Josh looked between the pair of you.

“Y/N, take it.” George said immediately. “What?” You were taken aback, your brows furrowed instantly and your mouth opened and closed in shock.

“Take it, I’m being serious. It’s safe.” George said confidently, his eyes never leaving yours. 

You shook your head and looked around the room, leaning against the stand, “Fuck, you can’t do that.” Your voice muffled as you covered your face with your hands.

“Do what? What do you mean?” George was now the one confused. “You can’t do this to me after we had that whole conversation about trust and how you lied, George.” You licked your lips and picked at your nails.

“How do I know you’re not lying right now?” You adjusted yourself and looked straight at him, his mind searching for a reason for you to believe him.

“You need to believe me, Y/N. Just this one time.” George pressed his hands against the stand and stood up straighter.

You scoffed in disbelief, “I just said--” “Y/N, this pyramid reads safe. I’m in love with you and I want you-- No, I need you to win this whole thing because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before and I know winning this would mean the world to you, and if you’re happy then so am I.” George confessed, leaving the room completely silent.

Your mouth hung open, heart beating wildly in your chest. “This is it, Y/N. This is my statement, my grand gesture to prove that I want you and I’m in love with you, even though I clearly didn’t hide it very well.” He laughed and looked around the room, at Simon and Josh who tried to hide their beaming smiles but nodded in agreement.

“Believe me that I didn’t plan this to be my big confessional moment, I had this whole thing planned for when we got out of here but-- You know what, that’s a story for another time!” Everyone chuckled in the room but George’s eyes never left you.

“When we get out of here and you have the money because you will take this box,” He said confidently with a smile on his face, “I will do anything and everything to prove that I love you. You’re it, Y/N. Believe me.” He finished and stood back from the stand, his hands shaking once again.

“That is your two minutes.” Simon said, watching your frozen expression and lack of words since George’s confession. “Y/N, what is your decision?” Josh said.

“I--” You felt like you forgot how to speak, mind reeling from everything George had just said; it was everything you had wished for.

You nodded, “Yeah,” George’s smile widened and his eyes glistened at you, “I’ll take it.” Your voice shaky and eyes blinking rapidly to try and not cry in front of everyone.

“So, Y/N, that is now your pyramid.” Josh said. “And your George now, apparently.” Simon said under his breath but you didn’t hear past your locked eyes with George.

“George, please reveal Y/N’s fate.” He turned the pyramid around and pulled the door open, reading the words ‘Safe’.

You gasped and covered your mouth, your feet immediately moving to run up to George, his arms already open for you. You couldn’t hear everyone clapping around you as you lunged into George, his arms tightening around your waist and body relaxing into yours, like it was made for you.

He tucked his head into your shoulder, a hand cupping the back of your head and he muttered, “I love you, I’m so serious.” Just for you to hear. You leaned back to cup his face in your hands, bottom lip wobbling as you tried to suppress tears. You opened your mouth to say what you had been feeling for ages and reciprocated George’s words, but he shook his head. “Don’t. You don’t have to tell me now.” He brushed loose hair behind your ears, “You’re so beautiful.” He grinned before pulling you back into a hug, rocking the pair of you back and forth.

“Y/N, you are now safe.” Simon clapped and ushered you to a separate room. You looked behind you one last time and nodded at George with a smile on your face, tear stains on your cheeks a symbol for the rom-com you had practically experienced. He winked at you before you fell out of his sight.

interview room!

“What the fuck just happened?”

“I can’t believe this stupid reality show just beat all the romantic comedies that Netflix has ever put out. And I was in it… I was Jennifer Aniston in Just Go With It. I was Lily Collins in Love, Rosie. I was Julia Roberts in--”

“You get the idea, I guess I’ve got a final to win. And a man when I get out of here.”

You sat alone in the shop, feet tapping nervously on the floor and mind running wild as you tried to guess who you would be up against, or who you would team up with.

You knew who you wished it was, but he had a target on his back. People wouldn’t want him through due to him cruising through so far, his smarts proving to be a threat to the others; and when money is on the line, apparently all morals go out the window.

You got called back into the Challenge Arena once it was set up and was met by two stands once again with two boxes on top of them. The Sidemen looked on proud on either end of the room, watching you as you approached the stand.

“Don’t look at me like that.” You said as JJ’s expression was one of smugness, his laugh the only response you got as you stood uncomfortably behind the boxes, eyes flickering between the two.

The door opened to signal your rival was about to walk in and your palms immediately started to get sweaty and clammy. You titled your head to get a better view as the tall frame entered your vision.

“Oh, my God!” You gasped and left your spot to hug the man you loved.

George laughed and jogged towards you, picking you up with his arms around your waist, fingers gripping tight as his forehead rested against yours. You ran your hands through his hair and cupped his head, “You’re fucking insane.” You laughed at him as he settled you back on the floor, his hands travelling from your waist to your lower back.

He nodded at you as you opened your mouth, “I love you.” He sighed in relief and chuckled, “Good to know.” He shrugged nonchalantly. 

You opened your mouth in shock as everyone around you laughed at his joke and the timing of it. George laughed before pulling you back into a tight hug and kissing the top of your head, “I’m joking, you know I love you, too.”

You pulled back from his chest and stared up at him, “I do know.” You smiled as he cupped your jaw and pulled you into a long-awaited kiss, his lips soft against yours as you sighed into the contact, hands gripping his hoodie.

Hearing a wolf-whistle behind you, you broke contact and turned to see Ethan laughing with Simon. “You guys are cute and all, but the game isn’t over.” Vik laughed and gestured for you two to step behind the stands. “Sorry!” You chuckled and separated from George.

A smile was stuck on both of your faces as you stood opposite each other, both already knowing what the outcome was gonna be.

“The total prize fund is £293,672.” JJ announced and you covered your mouth in surprise that all of you hadn’t managed to blow the fund by an extortionate amount. JJ and Harry continued explaining the rules but your focus was on George opposite you, who sent you a wink as his hand lingered on one case, the exact same one you were picking also.

“Do you all understand the rules of the game?” JJ looked between you and George. “Lads, what's the point in doing this? We all know what the lovebirds are gonna pick!” He shouted and ditched the cue cards.

Everyone laughed and George nodded enthusiastically in agreement. “Let’s play Split or Steal.” Harry said through laughs, “Or just Split or Split.” He shrugged and you threw your head back laughing alongside everyone else.

You opened your case to reveal the one you wanted and closed it before placing your hand flat on top of it, smiling with confidence. You looked up to see George already in position ready, “You not gonna look at the other one, George?” JJ asked behind him, “Don’t need to.” George grinned and winked at you.

The remaining Sidemen took the other case away, “George, Y/N, your cases are now locked in.” Harry said, “Please turn them to face your opponents. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. One whole week has come down to this. There is £293,672 on the line.”

“On my count, please open the case and reveal your decision.” JJ started, “Three, two, one. Open the case.”

You opened your case in sync with George, both reading a proud ‘SPLIT’ on the inside of your boxes. You beamed and wanted nothing more than to run into his arms but knew you’d have to wait for your cue.

“George, Y/N, you have both chosen to split. You have each won £146,836!” JJ shouted.

George took this as his cue to leave his position and run up to with, his lips colliding with your own. His hands settled on your hips as your own cupped his face, moving his head to the side so you could deepen the kiss, not caring about the other clapping around you right now.

“Congratulations!” JJ laughed with Harry as they watched their friends finally happy together.

You broke the kiss and remained in George’s hold, “No fucking way we actually just won that!” You shook your head in disbelief. “I’m gonna spoil you so much.” George laughed and hid his blushing face in your neck, not believing that all of this and your journey was caught on camera soon to be aired to everyone.

“How does it feel?” JJ smiled at you two. “I don’t even know--” You started but Ethan shook his head at his friend, “JJ, shut up! Let them kiss, they’ve been holding this in for fucking years!”

You blushed profusely and curled in George’s grip more, your hands moving up and down his back and subtly feeling the muscles you couldn’t wait to become a regular occurrence. 

The door opened again and it revealed all the eliminated Insiders, your eyes immediately falling on your blonde friends you missed dearly. “Milli!” You shouted and lunged out of George’s hold, Milli cheering at you and filming the entire interaction.

You hugged her, “What the fuck did I miss?” She laughed loudly, “You don’t wanna know.” You chuckled and pulled her back into a hug as the two of you jumped up and down, the reality that you had won finally hitting you.

Mandi tapped you on the shoulder, “I told you that you’d fucking win!” She grinned and ruffled your hair, “I’m so proud of you!” You thanked her before reuniting with the other Insiders you had missed from the very beginning.

You were conversing with Whitney before a strong pair of arms wrapped around your waist from behind and lifted you up off your feet, spinning you around before placing you back on the ground. “Hey, beautiful.” George’s breath tickled your ear.

You turned around in his hold and looked up at his height towering over you, “Hey, handsome.” You winked back.

“Did I forget to tell you that I love you?” George tried to suppress a smirk. You hummed and shook your head, “I don’t know, I think you might have to repeat it.” He laughed at you and pecked your lips.

“I love you.” He whispered against your lips. “I love you, too.” You said as he pulled away. George slung an arm around your shoulders as everyone repositioned for the final scene of the show, “I knew I was gonna get you back.” He whispered as he leaned closer to you.

You smirked up at him, “You always had me.” George couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, pressing his lips against yours once again and pushing your closer to him via his hand on the back of your head, intertwined with your hair

Someone clearing their throat beside you broke the two of you apart as you posed for the outro, still in disbelief that all you and George needed to confess long-term, friends-to-lovers trope, was the damn Sidemen and their silly reality TV show.

“And that is it. That has been season two of Inside.” JJ started.

“Thank you for watching. Thank you to all our contestants. Take care, and peace!”

‘And there we have it. Season two is finished. What a ride. I guess we can say that the bouquet toss proved to be right about George and Y/N being the next ones to get married, save the date for their Summer Wedding! All our little Georgie needed was the Sidemen for some encouragement! I’ve been Stephen Tries, and you’ve been, well, alright, I suppose.’

wtf do u mean i've finished this story... someone say sike rn...

taglist: (for one last time i'm weeping)

You huffed adjusting the bags and boxes that were uncomfortably piled in your arms hobbling up the stairs in your heeled boots, kicking them with each step to stop yourself from falling.

You’d been working for Chris for about two months now and had settled into the workspace nicely. You'd made friends with everyone and were already being named a fan favorite.

The footsteps of someone else echoed through the corridor of the office building, and you poked your head up over the boxes to see a man walking toward you, a dog in his arms.

The man looked up, spotting you struggling to juggle the copious amount of stuff in your hands. “Uh, need a hand?” he asked in a Northern English accent, making your ears perk slightly.

“If you’ve got the time,” you smiled, looking up at him.

The man placed the dog on the floor and grabbed the top four boxes and one of the bags, leaving you with two bags and a box to carry.

“Where are you headed?”

“Just to Chris’ office,” you nodded to the office at the end of the corridor, and the man hummed, walking off with the small dachshund pattering after him.

You gnawed at your bottom lip awkwardly, unsure whether to make conversation with the stranger as you walked together.

“You’re Chris’ new assistant, yeah?” he asked, looking back at you.

You nodded, “Yeah,” you muttered, “What’s your dog’s name?”

“His name’s Basil.”

“Cute,” you smiled, looking down at the dog, “Like Basil Brush.”

The man let out a small laugh and nodded, “Exactly.”

You both reached Chris’ office, and you rushed forward to open the door, holding it for the stranger. You nodded toward the closest desk, “You can put them there.”

He nodded, placing the boxes down before grabbing the items you were still holding and putting them on the desk as well.

“Thank you…” You trailed off, realizing you hadn’t caught his name during the interaction.

“Will.”

“Well, thank you, Will.”

“Anytime,” he muttered, glancing down at the notebook on the table, “Y/N?”

You flashed him a coy smile, and Will nodded, whispering to Basil to leave you alone as the dog sniffed around your feet.

You crouched down, letting the dog sniff your hand before stroking him, “It was nice meeting you, Basil,” you said as the dog jumped up onto your knees, making you chuckle.

Then you looked up at Will through your eyelashes. “You too, Will.”

“See you later,” he nodded with a lopsided smile before leaving the office, Basil running between his legs.

You watched the door click shut behind him, the sound of Basil’s tiny paws echoing faintly as they disappeared down the hall.

You let out a sigh as you turned to attend to the boxes, chewing back a smile. Chris’ voice drifted lazily from behind his computer monitor, making you jump slightly.

“So… you’ve met Will, then?”

“Jesus, when did you get here?” you huffed, looking over at him, “But yeah, I have.”

“Like an hour ago.” Chris spun in his chair to face you, grinning, “He offered to help you with those boxes?”

“Yeah,” you quirked an eyebrow, quizzically, “Why do you care?”

“No reason,” he shrugged, turning back to his computer screen.

You narrowed your eyes at Chris, already sensing the teasing tone behind his words. He had that look - the one he wore when he was up to something.

“Right,” you said slowly, folding your arms across your chest as you leaned against the desk, “You’re not trying to set me up with Will, are you?”

Chris shot you a sidelong glance, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, “Would it be so bad if I did?”

You rolled your eyes and grabbed a stack of papers, not really in the mood for his antics, “I don’t even know the guy. He just helped me with some boxes, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” Chris hummed, spinning his chair back around and tapping away at his keyboard, “Well, don’t say I didn’t try. I think you two would be nice together.”

“Chris,” you warned, alarm bells going off in your head, “Just because you don’t have a great love life, doesn’t mean you can mess with mine.”

“Okay rude,” he interrupted quickly, not even bothering to look up, “And I’m not.”

You shook your head, fighting back a smile. Chris was always like this - constantly playing the role of the helpful (a bit nosy) friend.

You weren’t sure why he was so invested in your love life, but you were pretty sure he had a spreadsheet or some kind of list on his phone that ranked potential suitors.

“Well, if I ever need a wingman, I’ll be sure to call you,” you quipped as you shuffled through the papers on your desk.

Chris chuckled under his breath, “That’s not in the job description.”

You rolled your eyes again, but this time, you couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto your face. Chris was impossible, but in the best way.

Just as you were about to get back to work, the door to the office swung open again revealing Will once again standing in the doorway with Basil trotting happily behind him.

You blinked in surprise, “Uh… everything okay?”

Will nodded, holding up a coffee cup, “We had a coffee leftover in the office. Thought I’d bring it by.”

He held it out to you, and your gaze fell to the steaming cup in his hand, “Hope you like hazelnut latte.”

Your eyebrows lifted in surprise, “Uh, yeah. Thanks,” you said, reaching for the cup, “That’s really kind of you.”

Will gave a small shrug, his gaze flicking over to Chris before landing back on you, “No problem. I’m just, yknow, around if you need anything.”

His cheeks flushed slightly, and you couldn’t help but notice how awkward he became when he wasn’t carrying boxes or talking about Basil.

Chris, sensing the subtle shift in the air, leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat, “Good to see that you two are getting along fine,” he commented, eyes twinkling mischievously.

You felt your cheeks heat up and shot Chris a glare, but Will’s smile - warm and easy - disarmed you.

“We’re just talking,” you said, trying to sound casual, but the flutter in your stomach gave everything away to you.

“Right,” Will said, nodding slowly as if processing the information. “Well, anyway. Enjoy your coffee.” He looked down at Basil, who was currently trying to climb into the bin. “And I’ll just… you know… make sure he doesn’t eat anything important.”

You chuckled, the awkwardness between you melting away as you watched Basil's antics, “You’re good. We’ll be fine.”

“Cool,” Will said, still a bit unsure, before turning to leave. “See you around, Y/N.”

“See you,” you responded, your voice a little softer than you intended.

The door clicked shut behind him again, and you couldn’t help but find yourself staring after him. It wasn’t much, but there was something about the way he looked at you, the little gestures, the way his smile lingered just a bit too long.

Chris smirked again tapping away on his keyboard, “Told you.”

You reached your hand out to hold hers in comfort as George had his arm slung over your shoulder, leaning into his chest as your knee bounced up and down in nervousness. George pressed a soft kiss against your head, “You’re alright.” He murmured against your temple.

Once you were called over to vote someone to be eliminated, you sighed and stood up from your seat, glancing over at George and Milli one more time, shooting them a sweet smile.

Entering Room 19, you settled yourself down on the comfy sofa and crossed your legs, fiddling with your fingers as you debated your answer. “You guys are such dicks, you know that.” You pointed at the camera for starters.

“I’m going with this person because I feel like their alliance is strong and if you really want to win this game, you have to break them up… as mean as that sounds.” You cringed at your words. 

“Also, I’m convinced this person will most likely vote for me so I’ve gotta back my chances of not getting voted out. So with that, I’m voting for Whitney.” You nodded awkwardly at the camera. 

The crew inside Room 19 told you it was a good enough answer and requested you return to the living room. In doing so, you trudged back with a sigh and a sick feeling swirling in your stomach.

It was pretty obvious from previous encounters that people in the house were out to get you, so your chances of being voted out in this scenario were quite high, as much as you didn’t want to admit it. You knew you had people who wouldn’t vote for you, but the alliances were stacked against you.

You entered the room and fell back into your previous position, George greeted you with a soft smile that didn’t reach his eyes, but his arms were out for you to settle in.

“All right, guys. I don’t wanna be doing this.” Vik started, his hands clasped in front of him as he rocked on his feet next to Specs. “We had a lot of fun. I genuinely actually really enjoyed hosting that talent show, but the person eliminated from Inside today is…”

Your legs shook in nervousness and Milli’s head leant itself in your shoulder, neither of you feeling safe in this case. George’s hand intertwined with yours and stared at your side profile, you looking forward with your eyes trained on Vik, mentally begging him not to call your name out.

“Y/N.” Vik announced. 

A couple people gasped and Milli’s jaw dropped next to you, her face painted with guilt and sorrow. George’s hand squeezed yours and you felt his tense up next to you, his eyes closed shut and lip caught between his teeth. You could hear him muttering beside you, “No, no, no.” His cheeks were flushed and he ran his hands through his hair as the consequence of his actions crept up on him.

“And Milli.” Vik announced.

Everyone’s head snapped towards the two who stood up, jaws dropping as Milli’s face paled. “What?” Her voice shook.

“Only one of you will be eliminated.” You threw your head in your hands as you felt the overwhelming pressure and sickening feeling settle in your stomach. Milli shook her head, “No. I’m not…” She peered over at you. “I’ll go.” She gripped your hand.

“Unfortunately, Milli. You can’t decide that… a game of rock-paper-scissors will decide your fate.” Vik reluctantly said, looking at the pair of you distraught on the sofa.

“Fuck.” You heard George curse next to you, his grip not loosening as you sat up and faced your new best friend in here, realising that in this moment, you could lose one of the people you were closest to in here.

You swallowed and looked at Milli who shook her head with a frown etched across her face. You both shared a look of agreement, that neither of you would be mad at the other if you were to go, and that the first thing you would do as soon as you leave this place is contact each other (and tell the other all the gossip they missed, but that was irrelevant right now).

Both of you held your fists out and counted to three, before you held out a scissor motion with your hand. Your heart dropped as you looked down at Milli’s which was held out in a paper motion. 

“Oh my God.” You mumbled and left George’s grip, lunging yourself into a tight hug with Milli, her arms wrapping around you. Milli smiled and shook her head, “Y/N, it’s fine. I’m glad I got out because of you.”

You couldn’t help but feel immense guilt, not that it was your fault in any way, it was pure luck. Milli pulled away from the hug and placed her hands on your shoulders,

“You’re gonna win it, girlie.” She whispered and winked at you, voice low enough so no one else could hear as they all stood up to bid their farewells to Milli.

“Milli, you have ten minutes to collect your things and leave the house. You are eliminated from Inside.” Vik looked down at the floor.

Milli looked behind you and nodded for you to turn around, and in doing so, you made eye contact with George who was now stood up. You looked back at Milli who smiled at you, mentally telling you to seek him out.

You walked over to George with your head hung low, feeling his fingers brush your forearms. “You okay?” He whispered and ducked his head down to try and read your face. He understood from the shake of your head that you weren’t doing alright, and quickly pulled you into a tight hug, his hand placed on the back of your head and hid your face from the rest of the group.

His other hand rubbed up and down your back, guiding the pair of you to follow the group as Milli packed up her things. George brushed a stray hair away from your face and tucked it behind your ear, “Come on, let’s go say goodbye to Milli.” He said as his thumb lingered on your cheek.

Your heart sunk further into your stomach as Milli edged closer to the door, the constant reminder that it was partially your fault, or it could have been you with your suitcases in this moment was in the back of your mind.

“Hey, George, close the door.” Jason laughed as Milli waved from the otherside of the doorway. Milli jokingly shouted, “No!”

George leaned for the handle, “Stay out!” He laughed as he shut the door. As everyone made their way back into the living room, you peered into the glass window of the door and gave Milli one final wave goodbye, her reciprocating it and blowing you a kiss as the elevator doors closed on her.

As you walked back to the group, Cinna slung an arm around your shoulder, “You alright?” You looked at her and nodded slowly, “I will be.” She smiled at you.

“We’re so doing streams together once we’re out of here.” She nudged you with a wide grin on her face. You matched her expression, “Fuck yeah we are.” Cinna clapped and skipped back to the living room, pulling you behind her as your laughter could be heard around the house.

time skip!

You and George sat on the sofa with your feast settled on the cushions next to the pair of you, your back against his chest and his fingers rubbing circles into your skin that was snuck underneath the hem of your shirt.

You felt and heard him laugh behind you, his chest vibrating against you. Tilting your head back, you smiled at him, “What are you laughing at?” You poked at him.

George shook his head, “Nothing.” He shrugged. Not accepting that as a good enough answer, you sat up and turned to face him. “Well, obviously it’s something.” You shuffled towards him.

You watched him sigh and he intertwined his hand with yours. “It’s just funny…” He started but his voice trailed off. “What is?” You asked.

“Us.” He licked his lips. He took your furrowed brows as a sign to carry on, “It’s just ridiculous how we’ve been friends for ages and all it took was us being forced to live together for 5 days that I grew the balls to actually kiss you.”

Your cheeks grew red as you laughed at him, “If that’s how you wanna put it.” You shoved him in the shoulder lightly with your free hand. “It’s true though!” He defended his statement.

Your laughter quietened down and you stared at each other for a moment, “I can’t wait til we get out of here.” He whispered and edged closer to you. You leaned into him slightly, “Why’s that?” A smile crept up on your face.

“Because then we can act like a couple without cameras watching everything we do.” George said as his fingers toyed with yours. You raised a brow, “A couple?” He nodded with a soft smile etched on his face, “I’ll make it offical once we get outta here, don’t you worry about that, darling.” He ran a hand through his hand and grinned as your cheeks grew a shade of red.

“And I can do this without anyone interrupting us.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against yours, a hand finding its way to hold the back of your head and bring your face closer to his.

You smiled into the kiss and rested your hands on his chest, the fabric of his shirt bunched in your fist slightly as George deepened the kiss. 

His other hand left yours and settled on your hip, squeezing it lightly as the sweet kiss continued.

George leaned into you which made you push him back with a laugh, “Not in the feast!” He looked around and saw the pizza resting on the cushion and nodded in acceptance. 

You were lucky that George had pulled away from the kiss as Cinna walked into the room, the remaining Insiders trailing behind her as she waved everyone in, “Attention! Everyone!” She shouted, holding an envelope.

You and George got up and stood around the table with everyone else, “It says, ‘Congratulations Cinna. You’ve successfully completed your mission. You may reveal your mission to the group.’” Cinna read out loud.

“Guys, holy fuck! Today has been shitty.” Cinna flung her head back. You looked to your side to see George munching away on the pizza, barely recognising that Cinna was announcing something. You slapped his bicep with the back of your hand and nodded for him to listen in on Cinna; him responding with a grumbled confusion with his mouth full of food. You shook your head and balanced on your tip-toes to mutter to him, “Just listen and stop making out with the food.”

George coughed a laugh and covered his mouth as it was still stuffed. He swallowed and nudged his foot with yours, “Jealous, babe?” 

You furrowed your brows, “Babe?” Your eyes crinkled as you chuckled, “That’s a new one.” You teased the nickname. 

George just shrugged his shoulders, “Just trying something out.” Cinna sighed with exaggeration, “Lovebirds! Listen in!”

“Anyways, we have a challenge, and the challenge was on me the entire day.” Cinna started. “The challenge was for me to lie and say that I was a traitor for the Sidemen in order to convince all of you that you had to do something, or that you had to keep that secret. You could not tell the other person. Y/N, I’m surprised you didn’t tell George if I’m honest!” She pointed at you from across the table.

You smile sheepishly, “I nearly did,” You gestured with your fingers, “If you hadn’t said today, George would have known by the time we were in bed.” George raised his brows and slung an arm around your shoulder.

Cinna faked a gasp, “You were gonna rat me out to your boyfriend?” George only clicked his fingers, “Fuck yeah she was.” He stuck his tongue out at the American across the table as you waved your hands for Cinna to continue.

“And all day, I’ve been working on this shit so we can save money, and you guys spent £50K on this fucking feast so…” She trailed off. You looked up at George who slowly put the piece of pizza down, “Your greed sickens me.” You whispered to him.

George ignored you and clapped his hands together for Cinna and cheered, everyone else following suit.

time skip!

You and George were led in bed, his arm draped around you as you were fast asleep on your back. George was sitting upright slightly talking to Cinna, you being completely unaware of the conversation going on.

“I’m fully fucking regretting my decision.” George admitted and ran a hand through his hair. “As soon as I… I mean, I regretted it as soon as I came around the corner.” George made an effort not to move so much, not willing to risk you waking up and listening in.

Cinna nodded, “Yeah, I got scared that they were gonna go over who voted for who. And if it was you and you didn’t get voted out, it means that’s why Milli went home.”

George inhaled sharply, “Yeah…” Cinna continued, “Which is what it could have been. I was like, ‘Holy fuck.’”

“That’s why I kept second guessing everything.” George mumbled, his eyes drifting to you asleep in his arms.

Cinna nodded towards your frame, “Are you gonna tell her that you’re feeling like this?” George shook his head, “No, Cinna. I fucked up today.”

The American tilted her head, “What do you mean?” George stared at you, your relaxed features and hair sprawled out on the pillow, looking beautiful in the shirt that belonged to him. 

He sighed and closed his eyes, “No… it’s nothing. Tomorrow is gonna be a whole different day.” 

time skip!

“Rise and shine!” JJ’s voice echoed around the bedroom, causing you to groan and bury your head into George’s bare shoulder. 

Your hands drifted to his back and lightly scratched the skin, “God, I’m never going to get used to that.” You complained about the shrill voice of your dear friend, feeling the urge to shout at him once you leave this house for waking you up in the most painful ways possible.

George sighed as you scratched his skin, “Don’t think the late night helped us, Y/N.” You felt him smirk against your temple. 

You flicked his arm and sat up with the duvet pulled against your chest, “We are not talking about that on television, George.” You mocked him saying your name just as he had done before.

George looked at you as he rolled to lay on his back, “Didn’t object when the shower was cold though--” “George!” You gasped, ushering him to quieten his voice down in the room full of people; not wishing for them to hear the 

late night rendezvous you got up to with George.

He laughed at you and reached for his cap that sat on the floor, placing the item backwards on your head. George patted the hat that sat on top of your bed hair, “Getting all shy the morning after?” He teased you. 

You rolled your eyes and flicked the cap off your head, placing it on George, “You should wear this more often,” You stared at his rugged handsomeness as his mullet poked out the back of the cap, “It suits you.”

George smirked and ran a hand through the hair that was poking out, “Got a crush on me, Y/N?” He laughed. You only sighed and tried to suppress a smile, muttering that you needed to get ready for the day as you left the bed and strolled to the girls sitting at the table.

time skip!

You were led on the sofa, legs propped up on Cinna’s lap as you were curled into the corner of the sofa. You were in a deep chat with Cinna, discussing the night before and what’s left to come, muttering how you missed Milli. “She’s so gonna make fun of me once she sees what I’ve been doing without her.” You laughed.

Cinna smiled at you, “I can’t wait for the edits to appear on my for you page, especially the ship ones!” She winked at George who was sitting next to you but engaged in a different conversation. You grinned, “There better be ones of me to Taylor Swift songs.” 

“Don’t worry, Chris will be on that.” George poked in the conversation, mentioning how his blonde friend back at home was a fan of the artist, hence why you and him went to the Eras Tour together.

Everyone in the room groaned as Tobi rounded the corner, “Hi, Insiders. How are we feeling?” He waved at all of you. You all murmured in response.

“Nervous?” Tobi tilted his head, “Do you guys know how to feel when you see me?” Shaking your head, Tobi smiled at you and continued.

“Insiders, one by one… you’ll be sent down to Room 19, where you will receive further instructions. While you are in this room, there must be zero communication amongst yourselves. If I see anyone break that, £20,000 will instantly be deducted from the prize fund. The first Insider to go down to Room 19 will be Mr. PK Humble.” Tobi said.

The room was suffocated with silence, dread swarming in the pit of your stomach, mentally praying it wouldn’t be the same situation as yesterday; you couldn’t go through all that again.

Once your name was called, you trugged over to Room 19 and sat in the familiar seat, stomach twisting with nerves. You were told the rules, vote for someone you want to eliminate and vote for someone you wish to gain immunity, but they were at risk of elimination.

You groaned, “Oh God, this is tough…” You bit your lip and shook your head, “I would vote George for immunity but I can’t take that risk, I can’t have him up for elimination.” You confessed to the cameras.

Your fingers wound together, “This is gonna sound so horrible.” You tilted your head back to hide the expression your face read, “But I’m going to vote for Whitney again. I’m convinced she doesn’t like me so I’ve gotta protect myself… I don’t know!” You gestured and laughed with nerves.

“And the other person I want to vote for is Mya.” You nodded, “Because I like to think she doesn’t hate me and we’ve bonded since the start, so I would like her to get immunity… and no one else will vote for her so I know she’ll be safe!” You smiled at the camera, pleased with your answer.

As you entered the living room once more, George winked at you as you walked back to your seat. Tobi pointed a finger at you, “Hey! No communicating!” Your eyes widened and looked between him and George, “We didn’t say anything!” You protested.

Tobi squinted his eyes and flickered his gaze between you two, “Fine… consider this a formal warning.” You sighed gratefully and fell back into your seat, legs placed back on Cinna’s lap.

“Insiders, you were each asked to vote for two people. I can now confirm that the most votes were received by… George.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach and your head snapped to face him, seeing him nod slowly in acceptance. You shook your head and your brows furrowed to try and hold back tears, the realisation that it was all over for you and George hitting you so suddenly, “I’m not--”

“And Farah.” Tobi finished.

You swallowed and your heart sank further as you remembered what you had to do yesterday against your best friend. “Meaning you’ve put us in that position again.” Tobi looked down.

George sighed and slowly inched his hand into yours underneath the cushion, fingers intertwining and squeezing your hand, worried he’ll have to let go soon. “Fuck.” He muttered.

“As we learnt yesterday, the person going home will be decided by a game of rock-paper-scissors.” Tobi repeated.

George glanced over at you, seeing you were already looking at him with a solem facial expression. He tilted his head and bit his lip to stop a frown sneaking its way on his face, “Y/N, please don’t.” He mumbled seeing your eyes flood with tears threatening to spill, hand cupping your face, “Don’t worry about me.” You shook your head, not trusting your words.

George leaned in and pressed a kiss to the side of your head as he was asked to stand up at the front, looking over at you one more time, “I’m fine.” He mouthed, but you could read his disappointed face he was trying to hide from everyone else, but you knew him too well.

You breathed out heavily, head resting on Cinna’s shoulder and she slung a comforting arm around your shoulder. Everyone stared as George and Farah nodded at each other, hands held out ready to play.

As soon as Tobi said, “Shoot.” Your eyes were trained on George’s hand, watching it form a fist; quickly switching over to see Farah’s in the form of scissors. You sighed and tilted your head back, listening to everyone else gasp in the room.

“Farah, you have been eliminated.” George immediately pulled her into a hug, obviously feeling at fault for her elimination, similar to how you felt the night before.

You walked over to Farah first, embracing her and flattening out the hair that had tangled on the back of her head, “I’m gonna miss you.” You reassured her, Farah’s smile filled with tears the only response she gave you, too overwhelmed to formulate a proper response, one in which you respected.

Watching Farah leave the room with everyone else, you looked behind you and saw George standing awkwardly to the side with his hands bunched in his jogger pockets.

You swallowed, “Don’t scare me like that.” You told him, breathing out as you felt tears well in your eyes as everything became all too overstimulating at the moment. Within less than 12 hours, you and George were one vote away from your bags void of this room and bed’s empty as if you were never even there.

George wrapped his arms around your waist, swaying the pair of you back and forth. You were still shaken about how you and George had nearly been sent home, and the fact that you had lost some of the people you were closest with in this house.

George’s hand stroked the back of your head, “That was fucking awful.” You mumbled tearfully into his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat to calm yourself down. “It’s alright, it’s alright.” He whispered into your hair, repeatedly pressing kisses on your forehead to sooth you.

You pulled yourself back from his chest, still leaning against him as you tilted your head up to look at him. “Who did you vote for? Both times.” You whispered, hand fiddling with his top as he stroked loose hairs back from your face, wanting to capture your beauty more.

George held your face in his hand, pausing before saying, “Whitney.” You nodded and tried to hold back your tears for the second wave. Your lips trembled as your voice broke, “Me too.”

George pressed his forehead against yours, “If you leave, I’ll leave too.” 

Tears started running down your face again, George tugged you into his arms more securely. “I’m so sorry.” He mumbled into your hair. 

You chose to ignore his apology, seeing as it wasn’t relevant, it was never his fault you two were both forced into these situations. You only pulled him into the hug tighter, his reassuring words going deaf to your ears; just one more day and you’ll be leaving this house, with or without the money, but definitely with George.

time skip!

“Foam dart blaster! We could all get Nerf guns and have a Nerf gunfight!” George exclaimed, joy written all over his face as he shook your shoulders from behind, reading out the items from the shop.

You gasped as you read the list, matching George’s excitement. “We could team up!” You twisted to face him, raising both your hands to high five him. He grabbed your hands and jumped up and down with you, both of you squealing like kids.

DDG confirmed one dart blaster to double check what they were like and when the item emerged from the shop, everyone gasped and tried to reach for it. “Oh my God!” George’s grin grew wider. DDG pointed at George, “Get five more.”

Cinna counted out the rest of the people as George stood up to the camera, “I’d like to confirm seven dart blasters.” He smiled at the camera.

The door opened to reveal all the dart blasters, everyone reaching for one. “Look at the state of these things!” George gasped and dragged you over, holding your hand. “Damn! Fuck dinner. Let’s go eat this.” He admired the blasters, passing one to you.

You turned to Cinna, “He’s actually gonna pick a dart blaster over me.” Shaking your head and pointing at George as he cradled the weapons. He nodded at you with raised brows, “You’ve been replaced, I’m sharing the bed with these tonight.” 

Cinna laughed at your blank facial expression, you looking at the camera to check if you had heard George correctly.

After some time, you sat at the table with Mya, chatting about life and what you’re going to do with the money if you win it. Your conversation was interrupted as George tapped you on the shoulder, “Come with me.” He winked, your eyes glancing down at the gun slung over his shoulder.

You grabbed yours off the table and rounded the corner to see Cinna and PK led on the floor as if they had been shot, “Say hello to my little friend!” George reenacted and started shooting at the pair, you laughed and joined in, aiming for Cinna who didn’t realise there were two of you.

“What the fuck!” Cinna gasped and sat up, picking up her gun and aiming for you, getting a good few shots in. PK rolled around on the floor, you unable to hold your laughter in when George started yelling. 

Cinna managed to aim perfectly and hit you straight in the head, “Oh! Headshot!” She yelled out in excitement and cheered. You pretended to fall back and slide down the wall, playing the part as if you died, yet George hadn’t noticed and continued shooting.

You kicked George’s shin, “George! I’m literally dead!” Cinna burst out laughing. “What?” George yelled back but didn’t spare you a glance, still shooting PK.

“George, I shot your girlfriend!” Cinna pointed at your body on the floor. George furrowed his brows and looked down at you. He dropped his gun and dramatically yelled, “No!” He knelt down to reach your level. 

He was about to perform a full monologue mourning your death, but you couldn’t hold in your laughter and you leaned forward to rest your head on George’s shoulder. 

You nodded towards his gun behind him, “You went fully sexy Nathan Drake then.” You winked at him and he laughed as your niche reference. “Only you would say that.” He shook his head and offered his hands out to help you up off the floor, which you accepted.

time skip!

“Let’s recreate scenes!” PK had suggested, prompting all of you to reenact the moment Mandi was eliminated. “Where were we all?” You asked, looking around the room.

PK pointed at Cinna, “You and me, we’ll pretend to be Y/N and George!” The American hopped off her spot on the beanbag and layed out on the sofa. PK sat next to her and held her hands, shifting shoulder to shoulder with her. “We’re not gonna recreate it all because that wouldn’t be Netflix appropriate.” PK smirked, staring straight at the camera in the corner of the room with a suggestive eyebrow raise.

Your mouth dropped open, “We are not like that!” You said as you watched PK and Cinna pretend to lean in for a kiss before staring straight at each other. Cinna whipped her head around to you, “Yeah! You’re worse!” PK threw his head back laughing.

Jason began the scene until he was interrupted with the TV behind him going off; ‘Please head to the Challenge Arena.’ It read.

Everyone exclaimed while some (Jason and PK) cheered. The group walked down to the Arena, the door opening to reveal a screen and a seat next to it, the screen reading ‘Spill The Tea.’

“I’m cooked.” PK laughed. George wrapped an arm around your waist and tugged you close, pressing a soft kiss against the side of your head and dragging you down onto the seat next to him, squished between him and Mya, his hand settling on your thigh as Ethan and Tobi stood proud before you.

“It’s time to spill the tea.” Ethan smiled, barely able to contain his excitement for the drama about to ensue. “Let’s see what you guys really think about each other. Each one of you will be called to the hot seat, and you’ll be questioned on something someone said or done, and it’s your job to get the correct answer.” 

After a couple rounds, it was PK’s turn to be in the spotlight. Tobi read off the cue cards, “Which Insider was told, ‘After our kiss last night, I haven’t stopped thinking about you.’”

You closed your eyes in silent horror, hearing the group of people around you all gasp and look between each other. PK’s mouth dropped open, “What have I missed?” He laughed and rocked on his chair. 

You and George subtly looked over at each other, trying to hide the grin and pink cheeks that were growing on both of your faces. “Who’s kissing who?” Pk mumbled to himself; George’s hand on your thigh tensed and squeezed it slightly as his attention remained on the man in front of you all.

PK squinted his eyes and pointed at you and George, “Somethings telling me it’s you two…” You held a straight face as Tobi’s stare watched to see if you communicated the answer in any way to PK.

PK smirked as he saw George’s hand comfortably on your thigh, “Yeah, I’m going with the two lovebirds over there.” 

Ethan nodded and urged everyone to look at the screen, “Let’s find out.”

The screen turned on to show you and George sat at the vanity in the bedrooms, staring into each other's eyes. The room gasped and bellowed in laughter and screams as the intimate moment between you and George was exposed, causing you to hide your face in his neck, hearing his airy chuckles as he watched on.

“And after our kiss last night,” Your cheek burned under his touch. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Everything about you, Y/N.” He whispered, heart sinking at your silence, “Please say something.” He pleaded.

Instead of saying anything, you leaned forward and pressed your lips against his harshly. He grunted in shock and quickly settled into the kiss, hand rounding to the back of your head and tangling in your hair, pushing your face closer to his. George tilted his head to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipping past your lips. You sighed at the contact and wound your hand through his mullet, finding yourself leaning forward to practically sit on his lap.

George noticed this and placed his hands on the backs of your thighs, hoisting you onto his lap, catching you by surprise. You yelped into the kiss which caused him to part from you for a moment, “You drive me insane, Y/N.” Your hands cupped his cheeks and you could feel his jaw moving from the intensity he was kissing you with, heat flowing through your body. 

“Well, PK. You got both answers spot on!” Tobi clapped. 

PK tore his eyes away from the screen with his jaw slack, “George, you horny bastard!” He yelled, pointed at the man who blinked in shock. You covered your mouth to suppress your laughter as everyone, including Tobi and Ethan, slammed the table near them in screeches of laughter.

It was then your turn to be in the hot seat, “Y/N, please join us at the front.” Ethan called your name, he avoided eye contact with you, a sinking feeling settling in his stomach as he held the cue card to reveal your question.

“Oh no…” You pulled an awkward smile, standing up from your seat and letting George’s hand that was resting on your thigh fall off. As you walked away, you heard him mutter a soft, “Good luck.” You winked back at him.

You sat down onto the stool, adjusting your hoodie as you felt your nerves perk up. Looking over at Ethan, he cleared his throat and looked at you with a guilty facial expression. “Y/N. An Insider has lied to you.”

Your eyebrows raised as the people sat down opposite you dropped their mouths open, Cinna looking between them all and mumbling a “What?”

You were shocked to say the least, “Oh…” You laughed awkwardly and fiddled with the hem of your hoodie as Ethan continued. “An Insider has previously lied to you about who they voted for. Please may you name who you think this Insider is.” He declared.

You licked your lips, peering over at the group and seeing their stoic facial expressions. You were confused, you assumed everyone had been truthful to you about their voting habits in the past, now second guessing everything anyones said to you beforehand.

Scratching your jawline, you wince and let your eyes trail everyones body language to see if anyone was subtly giving you a hint, despite it not being a part of the game. “Oh, God…” You bit your lip.

Cinna held a calm facial expression, you had already crossed her off your list as she confirmed to you a couple days ago that she wouldn’t and has never lied to you within this house. Mya looked downwards, actively avoiding eye-contact with you as she picked at her nails. George’s leg was bouncing up and down, his elbows leaning on his knees as his hand rubbed against his chin; he stared directly at you with pleading eyes, taking keen notice of how his face looked paler than usual. 

When you weren’t looking, George shook his head and made eye-contact with Ethan and Tobi on the side, both of them looking back at him with a subtle frown and a dreadful feeling looming over them.

You took a deep breath, “I’m gonna go with PK,” You pointed at him, “Only because I’m going off the assumption that they’re tricking me and the lying took place in one of the early days.” PK nodded at you with an understanding smile. “And me and PK weren’t close by then, so he might have lied to keep himself safe and in the game.” You reasoned.

Tobi nodded, “So your final answer is PK?” You deliberated for a moment, cringing and finalising, “Yes. I’m locking in PK.”

Tobi breathed out heavily and screwed his eyes shut, then pointed at the screen behind you. “Let’s see if you were right.”

You swiveled yourself around on the stood, “Fuck.” You bit your lip and tried to play off this whole event with a forced smile, your heart pounding out of your chest.

The TV flicked on and showed the image of you and George stood in an embrace after Farah’s elimination. 

Your eyes widened and you snapped your head around to face George, confused by this entire thing and allowing yourself to give him the benefit of the doubt at the moment when the video wasn’t finished.

George wrapped his arms around your waist, swaying the pair of you back and forth. You were still shaken about how you and George had nearly been sent home, and the fact that you had lost some of the people you were closest with in this house.

George’s hand stroked the back of your head, “That was fucking awful.” You mumbled tearfully into his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat to calm yourself down. “It’s alright, it’s alright.” He whispered into your hair, repeatedly pressing kisses on your forehead to sooth you.

You pulled yourself back from his chest, still leaning against him as you tilted your head up to look at him. “Who did you vote for? Both times.” You whispered, hand fiddling with his top as he stroked loose hairs back from your face, wanting to capture your beauty more.

George held your face in his hand, pausing before saying, “Whitney.” You nodded and tried to hold back your tears for the second wave. Your lips trembled as your voice broke, “Me too.”

George pressed his forehead against yours, “If you leave, I’ll leave too.” 

Tears started running down your face again, George tugged you into his arms more securely. “I’m so sorry.” He mumbled into your hair. 

The TV paused for a moment, allowing you to turn back to George who stared at the floor. Your brows were furrowed alongside everyone else's. You shook your head, “Wait, so who the fuck did you vote for?”

Ethan sighed, “Y/N, please may you turn your attention back to the screen.”

You obliged, swallowing a sick feeling bubbling in your throat as you heard George behind you protesting, “No, no. Let’s not--” “Y/N, watch the video.” Tobi stated.

Your palms were sweating and your head hurt as you watched the TV flick back on. A picture of George sat in Room 19.

George sighed, crossing his legs on the sofa as he held the cards in his hands, looking through the familiar faces before picking one out. He held the back of the card to the camera as he began to explain his voting.

“This is an extremely tough decision to make,” He said, fumbling with the corners of the card. “I like everyone in the house now, we’ve all warmed up to each other and I’ve already made memories to last a lifetime.” 

George licked his lips and shook his head, “But I feel like I’ve been playing it safe this entire time and it’s clear that in doing so, people have seen me as a target to vote out.”

“I can’t have people in here thinking I’m playing a game, we’re all here for the same reason and would go to certain lengths to get it.” He rubbed his face with his hands, groaning into them. Then leaning back and resting both of his arms on the back of the sofa.

“I’ve decided to vote for this person because I’m completely convinced that they’ll be safe, so technically my vote doesn’t count for anything.” He started his reasoning.

“But in doing so, I’m also proving a point with my vote. It’ll probably shake up the house for all the wrong reasons but… I guess that’s part of the reason why I’m doing it.” He laughed and threw his head back, running his fingers through his hair before picking up the card again.

“So, with that. I’ve decided to vote for…” He flipped the card around to show the camera.

“Y/N.”

The video ended as everyone around you gasped.

You fell still, heart pounding as you felt it sink deeper in your stomach. You shook your head with your tongue wedged between your teeth, biting down hard as you tried to stop the tears from falling from your water coated eyes. Your hands were shaking as you itched your neck, feeling a flush of embarrassment running through your body.

You refused to turn around, you couldn’t bear to see anyone, especially George, with you crying over the person you were the closest with to betray you.

Fuck, you had literally kissed yesterday. You literally fucking slept with him. And he wants you out; what happened to ‘if you leave, I leave’ bullshit? Was he always lying? Did this entire ‘relationship’ mean anything to him? Or did he just want to win and saw you as an easy route to the final?

“Y/N, I am so sorr--” George started. “Don’t.” Your voice trembled, holding back tears. You wanted to get out of this room right now, the feeling was suffocating you.

You looked over at the void where you previously sat, feeling sick that you had to sit next to him again. Shaking your head, you walked to the opposite end of the bench, nodding for Jason to move down and for you to sit on the end.

In silence, Jason obliged with a guilty face, feeling awful for you right now. You felt George’s eyes burn into the side of you face, lip tucked between his teeth with words and apologies threatening to spill; but since he’s fucked up so bad already, he owed you the right for space right now.

Sitting down, you rubbed your face with your hands, sighing heavily and clearing your throat to cover any emotion that was spilling over. PK’s hands brushed your shoulders and squeezed them in support, you placed your hand on top of his as a silent appreciation.

“Y/N, are you okay?” Ethan said softly, eyes casting over you sat with your head low. You shrugged your shoulders, “I don’t know.” You said, voice coming out a lot quieter than you intended, words trembling as your hands shook in the sleeves of your hoodie.

Tobi nodded at you, “Alright. We’ll move on.” He shared a glance with Ethan, “I’m gonna call PK back to the hot seat.”

“Which Insider has lied about their temptation?” He was asked. You knew it was George, he had told you. The reminder of his immunity felt like they were rubbing salt into the wound, the image of you refusing a moment of clarity for George and his safely in this show, and his willingness to vote you out; when was this fucking challenge going to end?

After locking in the answer of Jason, the clip of George rolled through. You didn’t look up at the screen, eyes glued to the floor as your lips trembled, eyes rolling back to stop tears blurring your vision.

Cinna watched you as the clip played, reaching her hand behind Jason and tapping your side. You looked up at the contact and felt Cinna’s hand nudge yours, you let her hand intertwine with yours, knowing you needed the comfort right now. A frown deepened on your face, the impending sickening feeling of George snaking you out replayed over and over in your head; kicking and torturing you for being so naive.

George raised his hand to defend his case, “I would like to say I did feel absolutely awful as soon as I went round the corner. I told Y/N. I told Cinna. I told Milli.” He glanced over at you, yet you didn’t look anywhere near his direction.

Jason turned to you, “You knew?” You swallowed and looked at him, “Yeah, but if I knew we were snaking each other out, I would have told you all.” You spat to try and deflect your sadness.

George let out a sigh, stomach swarming with guilt; he needed to talk to you immediately. “Y/N…” “No, it’s fine. Gotta do what you gotta do to win.” You shrugged your shoulders and stared ahead, the screen in front of you a mockery to what you wish you hadn’t seen.

Tobi sighed, “Wow. That was some spillage.” Ethan looked over at everyone, “I think the dynamic’s shifted a bit.”

Once you were given the signal to leave, you instantly hopped out your seat and strode towards the exit doors, waiting for no one. George watched you leave, lingering in his seat for a moment and sighing, looking over at where you once sat next to him with his hand on your thigh, smiling and tucking your head into his neck. 

Jason tapped George on the shoulder, “You gonna talk to her?” George nodded, “Eventually. Well, when she wants to see me.” 

Jason cringed, “You fucked up, brother.” George nodded and rubbed his face with his hands, “I know.” He mumbled. “I know.” He repeated in a whisper.

time skip!

“Hey, can we talk?” You heard George mumble from around the corner. You were sitting where you had kissed, once a happy memory, but now tainted with a feeling that none of it was real. 

You didn’t respond, so George took the liberty to sit down next to you with enough comfortable space between you two.

“I’m sorry.” He started.

“No, you’re not.” You whispered, voice thick with sadness.

George tilted his head with furrowed brows, “Y/N, I really am…” He sighed watching you shake your head with a humorous laugh, lip tucked between your teeth and tears brimming on your waterline.

“Why would you do that?” You mumbled. George looked down to the floor, “I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking.”

“What night was it?” You faced him, staring daggers into his solemn face. His head whipped up and his face was etched with confusion. “What?” “Which night did you vote for me?” You spoke with certainty.

George’s face paled, “Y/N, that’s not what I want--” “Tell me.” You left no room for digression.

You watched him swallow and eyes trail over you, as if this confession could lose you. As if he was never going to see you again, at least in this light. His chest rose up and down a lot quicker, his heart pounding against his chest.

“The first one.” He said with regret.

Your face fell as you reflected on that night. The one in which you were almost eliminated. If it wasn’t for your insane luck and Milli’s generosity, you would have not been in this house right now, and believing George missed you; but he was the biggest game player here.

“Oh, my fucking God…” You muttered, eyes trailing away from him. You heard him sigh, “Let me explain.” “Explain what?” You interrupted him, “George, I was basically eliminated! And you didn’t fucking care, you were part of the reason!” 

You remembered his face of regret when Vik said you received the lowest voices, thinking at the time, that he was upset at your departure; but no, he realised he was at fault and had to face the consequences of his impulse actions that had led you two to this exact moment.

You covered your face with your hands as it became too overwhelming, “What happened to the ‘You leave, I leave’ bullshit, George?”

He didn’t meet your eyes. All the excuses and apologies that he had planned and were on the tip of his tongue before entering this room had fallen off his lips, reduced to immense guilt as he felt you slipping away from his grasp.

“Did I mean anything to you, George? Or were you just playing the game?” George’s eyes snapped up to see tears streaming down your face.

“No! It was never that!” He started, hands waving around as his brows upturned. “Was I an easy route to the final?” You ignored him.

“No!” George shook his head, desperation seeping in his voice. “Someone to make you feel less lonely being here?” You laughed painfully, thinking back to all your shared moments and considering if any of it was real, let alone last.

George reached for your hand, “Y/N, please…” You flinched away from his touch, “Clearly not because you were happy to get me the fuck out of here!” You thought back to your last question, disregarding any point George tried to make, he understood he messed up, but he needed to feel what you felt.

George sighed and let your statement linger in the air, silence suffocating the room for a moment. “Y/N, you are so much more than this stupid game.” He said. You looked over at him and saw the rims of his eyes were red, cheeks pale and hair messy. Any other time, you would have wrapped him up in your arms and held him close, stroking his hair and kissing his face, whispering sweet nothings; because you knew that man, but you didn’t know the one sat in front of you right now.

You tilted your head and looked at him, “Then why did you pick it over me.” You whispered.

George couldn’t respond. He couldn’t deny you because he knew you were right. His heart plummeted into his stomach as you looked tired from crying, tears staining your cheeks and hands shaking as you brushed hair away from your face, an action he once had the privilege to do, but screwed it all up. He regretted it the moment he said your name in Room 19, the words fell off his tongue as if he was speaking a different language, it didn’t feel right. But he still did it, and he couldn’t take it back.

You couldn’t bear the silence or him anymore and made a move to leave the room. Standing up slowly, you heard George one more time, “I’m so sorry.”

You glanced at him, “I don’t care.” And you left the room, leaving your heart behind you and your rational head questioning if there was any point being in here now; the game had played you, and you didn’t know if you wanted to play it anymore.

bonus! (bc i'm so sorry for doing that to them)

Both of you jumped back in surprise and your faces flushed red, “Oh, God! Y/N, I’m sorry!” George laughed and held your face which was stucken with a shocked facial expression and held back the opportunity to burst out laughing.

“Jesus, George!” Jason groaned, “Kiss your girlfriend goodbye later, we’ve got money to save!” You shoved George towards the American and wished him good luck, linking arms with Milli and walking out the room.

George sat down and pulled on the high vis jacket, “I think we’re gonna be okay. We’ve got the first shift.” Jason nodded, “Yeah, we’re good.” 

George placed his hands on the table, mind still reeling from accidentally nearly kissing you moments before, “We seem to understand the rules. I think we might be losing a lot of money tonight.”

Jason rocked on his chair and smirked, “How about this?” George glanced over at him, “Do you fancy anyone in that room?”

George rolled his head back with a smile, “Come on, man. You know the answer to that.” He laughed as Jason hit his shoulder. “When are you gonna make a move on her, dude?”

George shrugged his shoulders and gestured with his hands, “I don’t know, everytime I try to in this fucking house people always walk in!” He furrowed his brows and shook his head while laughing. 

Jason smacked the table through his laughter, “Swear down, brother. Put a note on the door or something, get down with her, and none of us will interrupt you! We’re all waiting for it!” George covered his face as his cheeks grew a shade red, Jason’s teasing getting to him.

George chuckled, “Just blokes being blokes, chatting about girls.”

Out of boredom, the boys decided to switch seats and Jason asked, “What temptation would you take? What if it said, ‘George, sign the contract?’”

George lifted an eyebrow, “They wouldn’t risk that.” He laughed at his own joke (as per usual) “Uh, I think a sleeping pill.”

“Immunity. That’s the only one. Yeah.” George decided, his legs kicked up on the desk as he shifted in his chair. Jason nodded at his answer, “Why’s that?” George sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Because I could be in here longer with her.”

Jason covered a smile with his hand, “Really?” George nodded and stared forward, thinking about you. What were the chances you were fast asleep on the floor right down, curled up in his hoodie that he gave you. Were you also still thinking about how close you two had been to kissing; which time? He mentally cursed himself for the dozens of cameras and people who constantly decided to tune in at the worst timings.

“I’m doing this all for her now, ever since I saw her enter on that first day.” George admitted, “If I have the chance to be in here as long as I can and enjoy… whatever we’ve got on at the moment with no pressure from the outside world; I’m gonna take it, man.” 

Jason patted George on the shoulder, “To be in love, huh?” George jokingly rolled his eyes and shoved Jason’s hand off him. 

“How about at the start of the next four minutes, you name 100 women.” George laughed, “Your top 100 women and then at the start of my four minutes, I then name my top 100 women.” The duo laughed and nodded their heads.

George started, “Okay, Biff from the Biff and Chip books. Uh, I’m gonna go for Hermione Granger.” Jason agreed with that one and started laughing. “Why are you laughing, man?” George asked through chuckles.

“I’m waiting to hear Y/N’s name.” He smiled. George winked at him, “Oh, don’t you worry, Jason. I’m saving my girl for top spot.” He licked his lips and cockily shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in the chair.

The screen in front of them changed, “Next on shift is Whitney and Mya.” George read out loud, “We have to go get them. That is… Oh, fuck.” George muttered and quickly stood out of his chair, Jason following suit and sprinted out of the room with the boy, shouting “Whitney and Mya!”

You jumped as you heard loud footsteps bounding down the hallway, sitting up abruptly from your uncomfortable seat on the floor sitting in between Milli and Cinna. Standing up, you saw George flinging off his high vis jacket and tossing it at Mya as she caught it.

George found himself gravitating towards you, his shoulder brushing yours as you stood opposite Jason, him explaining what had just gone on. “We didn’t have temptation. We were just talking about women.”

Your eyebrows shot up, “Women?” Jason laughed at you, “We were doing, like, name 100 women in four minutes. Don’t worry, Y/N, George put you first.” “Jason, you don’t tell her that!” George groaned and covered his face with his hands, turning away from the group in hopes they didn’t see his blushing face. Farah burst out laughing with you and you both pointed at George’s embarrassment.

“Wait, Jason! What did he say?” Farah exclaimed. Jason smirked and recited George’s words, “I’m saving my girl for top spot.”

DDG barked out in laughter as Farah wheezed next to you, as you giggled and covered your mouth. You walked over to George and wrapped your hand around his bicep to pull him close to you, his face hovering over yours as his height towered over you. “I think it’s sweet.” You mumbled for only him to hear.

He pulled his face out of his hands and looked at you, he pulled you into a tight hug and swayed the pair of you as the others in the room conversed. George tilted his head down to your ear, “God, I hope we get chosen to go on watch soon because I need to be with you alone for once.” Your stomach swarmed with butterflies and you couldn’t help the grin from spreading onto your face as George’s breath tickled your face and the manner of his words sent a rushing feeling into your stomach.

Some time had passed and you hadn’t been called in to watch for the night yet. The challenge was painfully slow and you found yourself drifting off ever so slightly. You were sitting on the sofa with George and Milli was sitting on the beanbag on the floor, opposite you.

Your head was leaning on George’s shoulder and his arm was draped on the back of the sofa. The position was a little uncomfortable as George’s shoulder was a lot higher than you could reach; groaning, you readjusted yourself and tried to get somewhat comfy.

“What’s wrong?” George asked, seeing you shuffle away from him. You sighed, “I can’t get comfy.”

George nodded and eyed you, “Come here.” He tapped his thighs. Tilting your head, you questioned him. “What?”

Suddenly, George pulled your figure onto his lap, adjusting you so you sat with you back against his but your legs could be sprawled out on the sofa where you had just been sitting. He snuck his arms around your waist and tugged you tight against his strong chest, hands slipping underneath your shirt and his cold hand settled on your stomach. 

“That better?” He whispered from behind you. You nodded contently and leaned your head back to rest against his shoulder, having a better height advantage now you were at his level. “Much better.”

You heard Milli scoff from opposite you, “Jesus, if we’re gonna be here a while; please keep the PDA to a minimum, I don’t wanna look over in a minute and see you two humping each other.”

Others in the room who heard Milli’s outrageous statement covered their mouth to suppress a laugh, while you lifted your hand and flipped her off without sparing her a second glance, but understood that she saw it as her giggles rang around the room.

You found yourself dozing off in George’s comfortable hold; the position familiar as you had spent all but one night attached to him in this house. The soft rise and fall of his chest against you helped your eyes flutter closed, and his fingers rubbing small patterns into your skin sent a chill down your spine.

The blaring alarm noise and the lights beaming red caused you to jolt up on George’s lap, your hips accidentally grinding against his in the process which went unknown to you. 

You looked in front of you to see Milli had gone and Cinna’s presence in the room had disappeared too. You blinked in surprise as you tried to calculate how long you had been out for. 

Upon realising you had lost money as Milli and Cinna hadn’t reached the room in time, you tossed your head back and readjusted yourself on George’s lap again. George’s hand suddenly found your hips to halt your movements and he suppressed a groan by hiding his head in your shoulder, “Fuck, don’t do that.”

You turned around to face him in confusion until you felt something digging into your thigh. You hid your laughter and shook your head at him, “Fucking hell, George. There’s a time and a place.” You teased him.

He groaned again and mumbled, “I can’t help it.” His strong hands situated you on his lap for full coverage, now fully aware he was in a room full of cameras and couldn’t handle people and the public seeing something so embarrassing from you simply sitting on his lap.

Meanwhile in the watch room, Milli and Cinna sat looking at the cameras. 

Milli nudged Cinna and pointed at the camera which was facing you and George in the main area, his arms wrapped around you and his head tucked into the crook of your neck. “Why can’t they just shag and get it over with?” Milli laughed.

Cinna whipped her head around and nodded wildly at Milli, “Literally! I’m just waiting to wake up and see an open condom wrapper chucked in the middle of the bedroom!” They both laughed and wheeled their chairs around to inspect the scene at hand.

They watched as you tried not to laugh and ran your hands through George’s mullet while he dared to show his face. “What’s she laughing at?” Cinna tilted her head.

Milli shrugged, “I don’t know.” They realised it had nothing to do with anyone else in the room as your attention was solely on George, yet he didn’t want to remove his face from hiding behind you.

The girls raised their eyebrows as you hopped to get up jokingly, only to be yanked back down on George’s lap immediately and his arms wrapping around your waist tighter so you couldn’t pull a stunt like that again.

Their jaws dropped as they saw George’s flushed face peek out from your second departure, “George! You dirty dog!” Milli yelled and Cinna covered her mouth to not burst into laughter.

“We’re never letting him live this down, right?” Cinna raised a brow at Milli. “Never.” The blonde girl confirmed.

The screen in front of them changed and said ‘George and Y/N’. The pair jumped up and screamed, “George and Y/N!” as they rounded the corner.

You head shot up from teasing George upon hearing your name, “Shit!” You cursed and stood up quickly with George still attached to you. “Oh, you’re joking.” George murmured as he tried to conceal his issue by waddling behind you as you tried to make a sprint for the room.

The entire group laughed at him, “George, you can let your girlfriend go for one second!” George shook his head and refused to look at them as they luckily hadn’t realised the need for George to keep his lower half hidden, “I can’t!”

Milli and Cinna passed you and George on the way to the room, seeing the predicament up close caused them to double over in laughter. The two girls walked back into the main area holding onto each other and giggling.

“Young love, am I right?” PK gestured to where you and George had left the room. Milli’s brows raised, “If that’s what you want to call it.” “What did you say?” Mya asked. “Nothing!” Milli and Cinna said at the same time, but not without looking at each other with a mischievous glint in their eye first.

You and George entered the room and quickly entered the code in, sighing in relief as the timer reset. 

George stood back from you while his hands still rested on your waist, you heard him sigh and leaned down to catch his breath. You turned in his hold and sent a cheeky smile his way. “Don’t even.” He grumbled, shaking his head.

You laughed, “Well, I can’t pretend it didn’t happen, George. I felt it--” “Alright! Alright!” He cut you off and sat down on the chair, crossing his legs.

You followed suit and sat down in the other chair, “I’m flattered, really--” “Fuck off, Y/N.” He laughed and shook his head.

The pair of you sat in silence for a moment, comfortable in each other's presence. George groaned, “I swear if Netflix put this in the show…” You looked at him and giggled, sliding your chair closer to his so there was no space between them.

George looked intently into your eyes, “I meant it, you know.”

Your eyes flickered from his own to his lips, “I know.”

The two of you stared at each other and found yourselves growing closer, neither of you realising you had leant in at any time. “I’m just waiting for you to make a move.” You whispered and never broke eye-contact with him.

George’s smirk grew and he leaned back in his chair, eyes scanning the room before they landed on you, “We’re alone. No one’s in here.” He licked his lips and pulled your chair against his. 

You nodded with a grin, “Just us.” 

George’s hand brushed a stray hair away from your face and cupped your cheek, his face leaning into yours. “No interruptions.” He whispered as his eyes flickered down to your lips.

You hummed in agreement, mind frazzled from his face being so close to yours and the knowledge that no one could interrupt this moment. George swallowed and shook his head, “Fuck, Y/N.”

His lips connected softly with yours, sighing into the kiss and his unoccupied hand finding home on your waist. Your hands wound into his mullet and tugged his face closer to yours as his mouth opened to deepen the kiss.

He pulled back for a moment, “God, I’ve waited so long for this.” You were about to respond but he pulled you back in for a searing kiss, his fingers digging into your waist and his thumb stroking your cheek. 

Your hairs round to cup his face, feeling him groan into the kiss as you traced his jaw and pulled his face closer to yours. His breath quickened and he wanted to be as close to you as possible, hands pulling your figure tight against his that you were practically back sat on his lap. 

His lips parted from yours and you began to protest, but the words died on your lips as his connected with your neck. You sighed and tilted your head back to allow him better access which he appreciated, pressing your body against his and his mumbled praises got lost in translation as he littered kisses along your neck. 

Your hands tugged at his hoodie, biting your lip to quiet yourself as George’s lips never parted from you. You lulled your head back and glanced at the screen for a moment, this time it read: ‘Jason’.

“Shit!” You shouted and pulled George off of you, pointing at the screen as he yelped out, “What? What?” His eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat, hand attached to yours as the pair of you shouted for the American’s attention.

You sprinted back into the main area as Jason passed you, out of breath and cheeks flushed (not for the reasons the other Insider’s thought). 

DDG tilted his head, “Why were you gone for so long?” Your head snapped to him, “Were we long?” You furrowed your brows.

PK nodded with squinted eyes, “Yeah, you two had like an extra 2 minutes than everyone else.”

Beside you and hand in hand with, George shrugged nonchalantly, “Take that up with the Sidemen, we didn’t know.” That answer seemed justifiable according to everyone else as they returned to their previous conversations.

You sighed in relief and felt a tug on your hand, “I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick.” George said to you, pressing a quick kiss to the side of your head before strolling out the room.

You tried to contain a smile and fell back onto the sofa that Milli was sitting on, the blonde girl already looking at you with a knowing look, “What’s got you all smiley?” She tilted her head.

You raised your brows, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You couldn’t look her directly in the eye because you knew your face would give everything away.

Milli tutted and leaned in to whisper to you, “Maybe George’s boner or your little hickey forming there can give me more detail.”

Your mouth dropped open and gasped loudly in the quiet room, causing everyones head to snap around to you. “You alright, Y/N?” Whitney asked. You nodded quickly with bright red cheeks, “Yeah! All good here!” She nodded with a confused face.

You turned back to Milli who was sipping out of her bottle, before facing you and dusting her clothes off, “Your secrets safe with me.” She winked and walked away from you sitting gobsmacked on the sofa. 

interview!

“Well, that challenge was… something! I’m happy that I, personally, didn’t lose any money but I can’t say the same for everyone else. But, who cares? We all need to sleep for 10 hours straight now!”

“I’m feeling good about the last few days, with George, with everyone… It's all good. I feel like I’ve sort of solidified my friendships here now. I’m definitely closest with George--”

“Yeah, physically!”

“Shut up, Milli! Anyway, I’m closest with George, Milli and Cinna. They’re like my little quad, we’re like the group from The Hangover; I’m Bradley Cooper, of course, being the sexiest!”

“Oh my God! I didn’t feel like the lights would ever go off!” George exclaimed as you entered the room after the long day (and night).

You settled into bed again, a shirtless George already laid underneath the covers. The pair of you hadn’t spoken since the kiss, and neither had made a move to bring it up.

You shuffled under the covers and pulled it up to your chest, resting on your side and facing George who was already looking at you. 

George’s arms were open for you to cuddle into, and seeing this made you smile with a blush coating your cheeks before you obliged. You curled into his figure and tangled your legs with his, George’s hand resting on the back of your head as it tangled in your hair.

“Y/N?” He whispered. You shifted to tilt your head up and look at him, “Yes?”

He licked his lips, “I’m serious about this, about us.” You cleared your throat and lifted your hand to stroke his cheek, “Me too. I don’t wanna mess this up.” His head leaned into your touch and his face softened.

He slowly nodded at you with a bashful smile etched across his face in the dim light, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” He decided for the pair of you, seeing your eyes fight to stay open as the tiredness crept up on you.

You leaned up and pressed a kiss against his pink cheek, “Night, Georgie.” You rested your head against his bare chest and intertwined your hand with his. “Night, Y/N.” He whispered, hearing your breathing even out as you fell asleep in his comfortable hold.

time skip!

You woke up around 11:00 the next day, face buried in George’s chest and his arm wrapped around you if he didn’t want to let you go. You peered up at him in your sleepy daze, him being wide awake and his other arm tossed behind his head, flat against the pillow.

He noticed you shift in his hold, looking down at you and brushing a stray hair away from your face. You blinked some of the sleep out of your eye, looking around the room and seeing that it was just you and George in bed, everyone else’s had been void of who owned it.

You lifted your hands and rubbed sleep out of your eyes, “Where is everyone?” Your voice croaked out. George looked at you, “All getting ready for the day, I just didn’t want to wake you up.” He explained his reasoning for staying in bed with you.

You appreciated his gesture and shifted to press a sweet kiss on his cheek, “You’re adorable.” He blushed and ruffled your hair. “Come on.” You pulled at his hand and helped him out of bed alongside yourself.

You ran your hands through your hair to brush out any knots that had formed in your snooze, stretching your limbs and yawning in the process. George reached down to the end of his bed and pulled on his t-shirt he had discarded the night before; not without you sneaking a subtle glance at his torso before it was hidden from your sight.

The alarm to signal lunch was ready to collect from the shop made your head perk up and caused you to sprint out of the room and collide with Milli as she walked the same way, “Morning, Sleeping Beauty!” She grinned at you and linked your arm.

The pair of you skipped down to the shop clad in your tracksuits, “Oh, yay!” Milli said as the doors opened and revealed your lunch. Picking up the pot, you groaned, “I’m never getting used to this food, it’s rancid.” You inspected the items inside.

Milli agreed with you and ventured off to see the new items in the shop, “Oh my God.” She breathed out.

“There’s lube on there!” You turned your head round to see George entering the room, his figure covered in a beige jumper that suited him a bit too well.

You followed George’s eyeline and saw what Jason said out loud, “Lube for £200.” He laughed and walked over to the food.

George positioned his body behind yours and let his hands drift to your hips, squeezing them lightly as he said, “I’m down for some lube.” In doing so, George had leant down and said this so his words brushed your ear; his fingers teasing the joggers that rested on your hips.

“You’re so stupid, George.” You laughed and shook your head, but didn’t make a move to shove him away as you normally would.

George’s chest vibrated against your back as he laughed. His head was still beside yours as he whispered, “Wasn’t what you said last night, beautiful.”

Your cheeks burned red as you recalled your kiss last night on duty, how his lips peppered kisses down your neck; and how far he would have gone if it wasn’t for being in the middle of a challenge.

The sound of Farah cursing the Sidemen brought you out of your George-infiltrated mind, momentarily pausing your inappropriate thoughts you knew your friends would mock when the show aired. “You think this is a motherfucking joke…” Farah gasped, holding her iced tea in a huge block of ice.

As you offered Farah some help and advice with how to tackle her ice-issue, you didn’t notice George walk towards the camera in the corner of the room, stare at it for a moment and spare a glance your way, “I would like to confirm one portion of lube, please.”

You looked his way in time to see him turn away from the camera sporting a proud smile. “Oh God, what did you buy?” You groaned knowing he was up to no good.

George just shrugged and scooped his spoon into his lunch, grinning while stuffing his face with the salad. Cinna looked at him and sighed in realisation, “You bought the lube, didn’t you?”

George happily nodded, his smile widening. You and Milli both looked at him with your mouths dropped open, “Want to fondle yourself, you sad, sad prick.” Milli tilted her head at George.

George’s gaze flickered from her to you who stood behind Milli. Noticing this, Milli turned around to be met with the sight of you and quickly snapped her head back to George, sticking her thumb out in your direction, “Want to fondle and get down and dirty with Y/N, you filthy bastard!” She exclaimed at his boldness.

Your cheeks blushed pink, “Milli, what the fuck!” You said through a mouth full of salad, shocked by her way of wording.

George simply laughed, not denying the statement and walked away from the scene. Milli followed, “Just because you have a mullet doesn’t mean you have to act like a guy with a mullet.”

He found himself drifting towards you, “What’s that even mean?” George said. You sighed and brushed shoulders with him, avoiding his teasing smile as you suspected his purchase had something to do with you.

The door opened and proudly presented George’s confirmation of lube. “Hey!” He cheered and gestured for you to follow him as he picked up his item. “Oh, look Y/N, it’s tingling lube.” His eyes squinted as he read its description.

You tilted your head, “Why did you single me out, George?” You said through a chuckle. George licked his lips and nudged you with his shoulder, “Well, it’s not exactly a one person job, Y/N.” He winked.

You scoffed a laugh as Jason slapped George on the back, “Get in there, man!” You shook your head at the boys and made your way for the shop’s exit. “I just wanna feel something.” George shook the bottle.

“Wait, Y/N!” You heard his voice call out, you poked your head back into the room, “Tingling lube, cheeky and fun!” He flipped the bottle so you could read what he was saying.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” You muttered and left him and his lube in the shop.

time skip!

“We’re just lubing everything up now.” George turned and squirted some of the lube on the table. “Y/N, look at the lube.” Mya said to you, making you lift your head from your lunch as you see George reach for your bottle.

He placed your bottle on the ping-pong table and slid it across where he had spread the lube, only for it to fall off the table as it reached its end. George covered his mouth to suppress a laugh and turned to you, “Aren’t you impressed, Y/N?”

You blinked, “Not really, no.” You bit back a smile through your deadpan tone of voice.

George pointed at you, “You’re next, Y/N.”

“Whoa!” The whole table erupted in surprised and shocked sounds, George’s eyebrows rising and he covered his mouth quickly after realising what he had just said and how it had come out.

You sat there in shock and eyes wide, “I’m what now?” Milli laughed and hid her head in your shoulder to not be too loud. George stuttered and waved his hands around, “No, no! I meant--”

“We know what you meant, George!” PK snorted and hit the table laughing, the girls opposite him giggling at the scene.

Luckily (for George), the usual noise rang out of the house and everyone’s attention turned to the screen which read: ‘Y/N, please come to the Temptation Room’.

“Shit.” You winced, rubbing your eyes with your hands as everyone cheered for you. “Come on, Y/N!” Milli whooped in support.

George’s hand grabbed yours, “You’ve got it.” He smiled at you and your heart raced. You looked directly in his eyes and for a moment it felt like you were the only two people in the room, “George?” You asked him.

His heart thumped in his chest, thinking you were about to have the conversation he’s been waiting years for now, in a room full of people. “Yes?” He whispered back.

“Your hands are covered in lube.” You whispered back, gently pulling your hand out of his. “Shit! I’m sorry!” His eyes widened, rushing to grab a tissue from the table.

You laughed and shook your head at him and he frantically rubbed your hands free of the lube that coated his, “That’s not what you need when the Sidemen are about to torture you.” He said through laughs, wiping off the remaining essence.

You watched his movements in awe, not exactly the romantic scenario you had imagined but it’ll do. “Hey,” His head lifted to meet your eyes, “We’ll talk about it when I’m back.”

He knew what you were talking about; the kiss. How George had you practically on his lap and neck presented to him as he mumbled how bad he had been wanting this. He nodded his head at you, “Damn right we will.”

You laughed at him and retracted from his hold, bidding goodbyes and accepting good luck messages thrown your way, eyes locking with the door to the temptation room as it entered your sight.

“Here we go.” You whispered to yourself and pushed the door open.

The room was empty besides a plinth displayed in the centre of the room with cards stacked on top of it, and one single door against the back wall. The room was bare of any life or hope, your stomach twisted with nerves as you knew it wasn’t as simple as the room appeared.

“What the…” Your voice trailed off. Walking towards the plinth, you picked up the first card and read aloud its content.

“Y/N, behind this door is your family, friends and your dog.” Your heart stopped at the thought of them all behind the door, especially your little dog, his little face and wagging tail you missed oh so much. “You have the option to spend an hour, no supervision, with them before returning to the Inside house.”

“However, if you wish to take this you will not receive a punishment of £30K being removed from your prize fund.” Your brows furrowed as you reached the end of the card, flipping it over to see if you read it correctly, which you did.

You scoffed, “Well, I’m fucking taking it. It’s a no brainer!” You shrugged and headed towards the door, a smile growing on your face as you knew everyone you loved stood behind that door, ready to meet you once again.

“Y/N, please may you read the second card.” The voice of Josh rang out in the room, stopping you in your tracks.

You obeyed and took slow steps back to the plinth, reluctantly reaching for the second card and reading it out loud.

“We must tell you that George is also in his Temptation Room right now.” Your heart pounded in your chest, “And he has been granted the opportunity for immunity in the next round of eliminations.” You swallowed as you finished the second card, mentally begging for George to take the immunity; you couldn’t handle it if he was eliminated.

You sighed as the final card was in your sight. Picking it up, you cleared your throat.

“If you wish to give into your temptation; George’s immunity, if he wishes to take it, will not be valid and he is at risk of being eliminated in the next round.”

“However, George could reject the immunity. And you could have missed out on a chance to be greeted by your loved ones with zero consequences.”

You shook your head and knelt down, arms leaning on the plinth and your forehead rested on its edge. “You’re fucking bastards.” You whispered, trying to hold back tears as the situation became overwhelming.

George’s fate was balanced in your hands while everyone you loved stood waiting for you. You could accept and pray on the fact that George rejected the immunity and no one would be hurt, you’d simply be doing what’s best for you.

But if George had taken the immunity, and you had chosen to see your friends and family. George would be at further risk of being eliminated and you’d be betraying him and his intuition. 

And if he had rejected immunity and you had rejected the huge chance you were being offered, no one wins. Everyone’s feelings are hurt and it’s every man for themselves during the next round of elimination.

“I don’t know, I don’t know.” You muttered the mantra over and over. You rubbed the brewing tears from your eyes and groaned seeing the door begging to be opened.

To make matters worse, a knock came from the door you were staring at and echoed, “Y/N? Are you there?” Emerged from the other side. You sunk onto the floor as you heard the voice of your family on the other side, inches away from holding you in a tight hug.

You hid your face in your hands and cried, unshed tears spilling into your palms as the room was engulfed in silence.

“Y/N, please make your decision.” Josh’s voice sounded out, almost sympathetically.

You really wished George had taken that goddamn immunity, every fibre of your body willed that he was walking back into the living room now, the token tight in his grip. You wanted him to stay, you needed him to stay; to be selfish for once in here and protect himself as he wouldn’t understand the lengths you would go to keep him here, with you. To be in his hold for a couple more nights, the bed being yours to share. The stolen kisses and whispered confessions that stayed between two tortured hearts, two people who had suppressed these feelings for so long that who knew being locked in a house for seven days and no access to the outside world would push you to admit that he was all you wanted. George Clarke, please take the immunity.

You stood up and sniffled, “I’m not taking it.” You turned and walked out the room, hearing and seeing the lights shut off as you ventured out.

The walk back to the living room felt longer than usual, heart pounding with each step you took; praying that you would turn the corner and see George proudly showing off his immunity token to everyone on the couch.

When you turned the corner, the couch was void of him. Everyone’s head snapped to you and your bloodshot eyes.

Milli was the first one to stand up and pull you into a tight hug, “What happened? What was it?” She rubbed your back while bombarding you with desperate questions.

Your eyes scanned the room, “Where’s George?” Cinna shook her head and stood up to comfort you, “He’s still in the Temptation Room. Y/N, are you alright?”

You shook your head and your bottom lip wobbled, “That was fucking awful.” You whispered and reciprocated Milli’s hug, tears staining her hoodie as Cinna held your hand and rubbed the back of it. Farah joined and played with the ends of your hair, “What did they do?”

Your voice broke, “It was my family, friends and my fucking dog.” Everyone’s mouth dropped open and their eyebrows knitted together in sympathy, “So, you didn’t take it?” PK asked, voice softer than usual.

You shook your head and wrapped Milli back into the hug, the blonde pulling you in tighter. “Hey, you saved £30K though, you can be proud of that, babe.” She tried to comfort you, trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

You didn’t deny her statement, preferring to lie and keep to yourself that losing £30K was never a threat in your case; rather George’s future was taunting you and your plagued mind.

The girls guided you to the sofa, letting you take up most of the space as they all drifted off for a nap, letting their minds rest as they debated George’s willpower. While everyone was confident he wouldn’t give in, you wished, for once, he would.

You couldn’t sleep a wink, your mind was running wild and your cheeks were stained with more tears that no one saw. Your bottom lip was chewed to borderline blood, heart never faltering and sniffles never persisting.

The sound of footsteps makes your heart leap in your stomach, sitting more upright on the sofa while everyone remains asleep.

George’s figure rounded the corner and your body moved before your mind could comprehend it, “Holy shit.” You muttered.

You flung your arms around George’s shoulders and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, taking him by surprise but his hands naturally wove their way around your waist. You buried your head into his chest and let out hollow sobs, “Hey, hey, hey. What happened?” You didn’t respond to his pleas, only shaking your head and tightening your grip on him.

Everyone else woke up to his voice comforting you. “What was it?” Mya asked out loud, the other joining in with her question.

George kept his arms around you. “It was fucking horrible, man.” He swallowed and wound his hands into your hair as your face remained hidden from everyone. “I went in, and there was this plinth with a box on it, card on top.” He explained the room similar to your own.

“Read the card, says, ‘If you take this, it will cost your team £30K, but you have immunity for the next voting.’” You winced at the reminding, waiting for the punchline that he took the immunity.

“I obviously deliberated for a while, and I said, ‘No, look, if my team want me gone, they want me gone.’” Your heart dropped into your stomach. No, no… surely he took the immunity, right?

“So I put it down, tried to mic-drop out of there.” He said through a forced grin. 

Your face fell against his chest, pulling back slowly and locking eyes with him. “You didn’t take it?” You whispered, cheeks flushed and eyes watering.

George shook his head at you, “No, I didn’t.”

You froze. Your head pounded with the image of your family and friends behind the door, knocking for you to see them, confide in them; but you had chosen George over them, and it had all backfired in your face. 

Tears fell down your face, George furrowed his brows at you and reached out to brush them away, you gently pushed his hands away and looked everywhere but him. “No, no, no…” Your voice came out coarse, throat dry from the sickening feeling.

“Hey, what happened--” “I need to be alone.” You cut him off and scrambled out of George’s embrace, the warmth of his chest against your cheek no longer providing you with comfort; now just a mockery of what you could have had.

“Y/N.” His hand wrapped around yours before you snatched it away, “Please.” You begged him, tears welling in your eyes and forehead creasing in desperation. George studied your face with his heart clenching at your distress, he reluctantly let you go, seeing your figure bolt out the room and into the bedrooms.

time skip!

You sat in silence in the bedroom for a while, the only noise that filled the void was your sniffles and you fumbling with your makeup sat on the desk in front of you. You pulled out some makeup wipes from your bag, hands shaking as you removed mascara that had smudged under your eyes.

“That was so fucking embarrasing.” You mumbled to yourself and your reflection. You were humiliated at how you had blindly chosen George over everyone else in your life, because you were stupid enough to think you understood him and what he would do. It seemed you didn’t know George as much as you thought you did.

You felt someone appear behind you in the doorway, “Hey…” Milli said quietly, not pushing you too far due to your current vulnerability. You looked at her in the mirror, “Hey.” You whispered back and cleared your throat.

“You alright, babe?” She walked slowly towards you. You were about to lie and admit that you were perfectly fine, whereas you knew you weren’t. Opting for honesty, you shook your head, “No, Milli. I’m not.”

She sighed and sat down next to you and pulled you into a hug, “Take your time.” She rubbed your back and let you cry into her shoulder. You stayed there for a while, mind dwelling on George and his now lack of immunity, and how your throat closed up the second he confessed he didn’t have the token between his fingers.

“I wish I took it.” You whispered into Milli’s shoulder, “I wish I opened that door and saw them.” Milli winced and hugged you tighter, “I know, I know.”

“Why didn’t he take it?” You said through broken sobs. Milli furrowed her brows, “Who?” 

“George. Why didn’t he take the immunity?” Milli pulled back from the hug, “Is that why you’re upset, Y/N?”

Your face fell a little bit, biting back the confession slipping from your lips. “No, no…” You backtracked, “It’s just all so overwhelming right now.” You covered your alibi. Milli seemed to buy it and smiled sympathetically at you, shifting herself closer to you and on the edge of her chair so she could comfort you.

You two stayed like that for a while, your cries settled to a stop, just bloodshot eyes exposing your inner turmoil. You had grown really close to Milli being inside this house, knowing to catch up with her outside of this place and do streams together, considering her one of your best friends now despite the chaos that ensued in this house.

“Y/N, can I talk to you?” You heard George stutter from the doorway. You didn’t look over at him, focusing your attention on the table in front of you instead. Milli looked up at the new identity in the room and reluctantly pulled her arms away from you, “Uhh,” She glanced between you two and noticed the tension, “Yeah, sure.”

“Y/N, you gonna be okay?” Milli said, hand grazing your shoulder. You looked up for once and nodded slowly, not trusting your words. 

She made an exit for the room, passing George on her way out and locking eyes with him. She nodded at him as his face seemed nervous, silently wishing him good luck.

You heard George take slow steps towards you and he sat himself down on the chair that Milli previously preoccupied. From where she had shuffled her chair closer to you, George’s shoulder brushed yours but neither of you made a move to pull each other in your arms, instead letting the tension simmer in the room.

George opened his mouth to say something but stopped, lips parting and closing after. He looked at you through the mirror, seeing your tear stained face made his heart stutter in his chest. He wanted to reach out and touch you, to comfort you, but due to your lack of eye contact he assumed it would be inappropriate to do so.

You felt sick at the awkwardness in the room. You could see George trying to make conversation from the corner of your eye, but glad he restricted himself because you didn’t know if you could handle talking to him at the moment. Not that it was his fault, it was yours completely, but a part of you hated him because you perhaps didn’t know the person you loved as much as you thought.

“I took it.” George broke the silence.

Your head snapped to face him, seeing his anxious face properly for the first time today; heart dropping as you could practically see his mind racing behind his head.

“What?” You expected him to be messing with you, but his face was etched with seriousness and looked you dead in the eye. He wasn’t lying. “Please tell me you’re serious.” You whispered.

George nodded at you, “I took the immunity.”

You stared at him in shock, every feeling you felt was overstimulating your poor mind. George watched your reaction with nerves swarming his stomach; would you think he was selfish for taking it? Would you call him a traitor and storm out the room? Did he do it for all the right reasons?

“Thank fuck.” You groaned and rubbed your eyes with your hands. You lulled your head back and felt like crying again as all the tension dropped out of your shoulders, relief flowing through your body.

George’s eyes widened, “What does that mean?” His eyes followed you and your body language.

You took your hands away from your face, tilting your head to look at him and bit back a soft smile. “Mine was about you.” You admitted.

George furrowed his brows and his breathing got quicker, “What was about me?”

“The Temptation Room. It was about you, George.” You smiled through your watery eyes, his confused expression not mirroring yours of relief.

“I’m gonna need you to explain, Y/N. I don’t understand--” “I wouldn’t have lost £30K.” You cut his ramble off, slowly guiding your hands closer to his that your fingertips brushed.

George’s silence was your prompt to go on, “They put me in a room with the option to see my family, friends and my dog.” “But he’s with--” “Chris. I know.” You finished his inquiry.

“They said I could see them and not lose £30K.” George furrowed his brow, “Why didn’t you take it?”

“If I had accepted, it would have made your immunity invalid.” You confessed, winding your hand into his, his warmth spreading across your body.

“But you didn’t know if I had taken it yet.” George intertwined his fingers with yours. You nodded at him, “I know. I did it for you.” 

George’s mouth dropped open just slightly, eyes searching yours as your confession slipped past your lips. You had never intended to tell him this, but after his admission, you couldn’t let it go unspoken.

The more the silence extended and the longer it took for him to respond made your heart sink a little bit, scared you had said too much; exposed yourself and let him understand the lengths you would go to for him.

“I did it for you, too.” George finally responded.

Now it was your turn to be stunned into silence, “What?” You blinked at him.

George bit back a wide grin, licking his lips and tightening his grip on your hands, thumb rubbing the back of your hand.

“If I knew I had the chance to be in here with you as long as possible, I knew I was gonna take it.” He started and shuffled closer to you, he took it as a good sign when you didn’t move away from you. “I’ve liked you for so long and if I knew I could be safe from elimination in the next round, all my time could be spent with you.” His hand lifted to cup your face.

“And after our kiss last night,” Your cheek burned under his touch. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Everything about you, Y/N.” He whispered, heart sinking at your silence, “Please say something.” He pleaded.

Instead of saying anything, you leaned forward and pressed your lips against his harshly. He grunted in shock and quickly settled into the kiss, hand rounding to the back of your head and tangling in your hair, pushing your face closer to his. George tilted his head to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipping past your lips. You sighed at the contact and wound your hand through his mullet, finding yourself leaning forward to practically sit on his lap.

George noticed this and placed his hands on the backs of your thighs, hoisting you onto his lap, catching you by surprise. You yelped into the kiss which caused him to part from you for a moment, “You drive me insane, Y/N.” Your hands cupped his cheeks and you could feel his jaw moving from the intensity he was kissing you with, heat flowing through your body. 

You pulled back from the kiss and his lips connected with your jaw, “George, this isn’t some joke to me. I like you so much and I don’t wanna mess this up.” You mumbled through soft sighs as his kisses increased in passion. 

Parting from you, he lifted his head and rested his forehead against your own. “I’m not joking, Y/N. I’m so serious about you and this is real to me.” You smiled at him and your cheeks burned red. “Get back here, Clarkey.” You shook your head and pulled him back in for a soaring kiss, one in which he didn’t object to.

George’s hands drifted underneath your hoodie with the intention to lift it over your head. Just as you raised your arms to let him do so, you heard footsteps rounding the corner which made you and George part immediately and stand on opposite sides of the room.

Cinna’s head popped round the corner, “Do you mind if I speak to George alone, Y/N?” She swallowed and narrowed her eyes at the distance between you two, but cheeks flushed and lips swollen. 

You nodded at the American with a loose smile on your face, “I was gonna get in the shower now, anyways.” You said and left the room; not without seeing Cinna point at George, “Might wanna fix your hair, George.” She said through a teasing voice. You could practically see him fumble to tame his hair with pink cheeks.

You entered the bathroom and stripped down to enter the shower, groaning in displeasure as the cold water hit your skin. 

You estimated that you were in there for about 10 minutes before you heard a soft knock on the glass door of the shower. You furrowed your brows at the greeting and saw a blurred figure rocking back and forth with their hands stuffed in their pockets on the other side of the shower.

You opened the door and poked your head out to keep the rest of your body hidden, “George?” 

George stood there with a teasing grin on his face, and he pointed to the shower you were in, “Cold shower?” He questioned with a tilt of his head.

You nodded at him with squinted eyes, a smile forming on your face as your mind caught up with intentions. You hummed at him while he took a step back.

As he leaned back, he turned his head in either direction to scan the area before they landed back on you once he determined the coast was clear, “Interesting.” He mumbled.

You smirked at him, eyeing his figure as he bit back a cocky grin. You raised your eyebrows at him in confirmation and he looked down to suppress his smile. Looking back at you, he quickly pulled his white t-shirt off and chucked it behind him, doing the same with his bottoms; joining you in the shower before anyone else could walk past and see what was happening.

time skip!

“Y/N, come here!” You heard Cinna’s whisper from round the corner as you sat in George’s arms on the couch. Standing up and out of his touch, you turned to George and said, “I’ll be right back.” He nodded and winked at you, subtly pinching your ass on your way out without anyone seeing. You turned back to him and flipped him off, which caused him to laugh and throw his head back.

“What’s up?” You asked Cinna as you two stood in the gym where she led you. Cinna opened her mouth to start talking but shut it with furrowed brows, eyes inspecting your shirt, “That’s not your shirt.” Your eyes widened and looked down at the item of clothing that was way too big for you, “Yes it is.” You lied through your teeth, fingers tugging at the material to tighten it around you, acting as if it fit you.

Cinna laughed and shook her head, “Y/N, it’s massive on you. That’s not yours!” You faked nonchalance, “Definitely mine, Cinna.”

“It’s definitely not yours, Y/N.” She looked you up and down with a raised eyebrow. “How do you know that?” You tested her.

“Because it’s loose on the neckline and I can see your hickey’s poking out at the top.” Cinna tutted. You flinched and yanked the material further up your neck to hide yours and George's previous rendezvous.

“Anyway, Y/N! Something serious,” She shook her head and cut off your inner panic, “I’m working for the Sidemen.” You tilted your head in confusion, “What?”

“There will be an elimination tonight. Remember the code: 372. You can’t tell anyone, not even George.” You nodded, “I promise I won’t say a thing.” You held her hands and swore to her.

She jumped up and shook you, “Thank you, thank you! Y/N, I love you!” She cheered and sprinted out the room, leaving you laughing and strolling back to the living in which George laid.

You saw George waiting for you with open arms, ones you fell into on the couch. “All good?” He nudged you. “All good.” You confirmed and glanced over to Cinna, sending her a wink as she smiled gratefully at you.

“Hello Insiders!” The voice of Vik rang out in the room, everyone's eyes switching to the door to see him and Specs enter the living room. You all cheered at the arrival but nerves were brewing at the sudden appearance.

“We’ve got some fun for you. We’re gonna be doing a talent show tonight.” Vik announced, everyone clapping in response. He then revealed that there were free drinks downstairs, everyone jumping up and collecting their beverage of choice. 

Returning to the room, Vik displayed cards in front of you all. “Behind these cards lies your fate. There is a talent that each of you will have to perform. One of them is a pair, so two of you get to do the talent together.”

You were chosen to pick a card first. You read it outloud with a bashful smile on your face, “Relationship Yoga for two people.” 

Everyone cheered and pointed at George, slapping him on the back, “Come on, Georgie!” PK shouted and pushed him closer to you. George sighed with a smile on his face, “Time to simulate sex positions on Netflix.” You laughed at him and hid your face in his neck.

Being given 15 minutes of practice time, around 10 of the 5 was spent with your lips locked with George’s, claiming you needed the gym alone to ‘rehearse’.

“You’re so beautiful.” George grunted through kisses, hands gripping his shirt that clung to your back. You smiled into the kiss and parted to say, “You’re not too bad yourself, Clarkey.”

Just as he was about to reattach his lips to yours, a soft knock on the door broke the pair of you apart. Milli’s head poked through the glass in the door, “I need help.” Her muffled voice said past the door. You nodded for her to come in.

“You could do Donald Duck or Kermit the Frog, they’re animals.” George suggested as Milli entered, his arm still slung around your waist.

“Yeah, you have to just… ‘Hi, I’m Kermit the Frog.’” He said in Kermit’s voice. You glanced up at him, “So attractive.” You joked and shook your head, his elbow coming out to nudge you. 

Milli smiled and nodded, “So, what have you two come up with?” Both yours and George’s smiles faltered and you looked at each other, “Uhh… we’ve got the…” George clicked his fingers, “That one move! Yeah, we have the….” Both of your minds searched for an excuse or answer.

Milli tilted her head with a teasing smile, “Y/N, get your ass in the air and do some yoga with your boyfriend.” She winked and left the room, laughing out loud at yours and George’s flushed faces.

In the short time span, you and George had come up with a few moves. But none of them were executed without laughing or hands drifting from their original position, “George, you can’t grab my ass in front of everyone!” “It’s part of the move!” He deflected.

Entering the living room again, Vik said, “Okay, it’s time to kick off the show!”

Teased with the shop token, you looked at George and grabbed his face, “Game faces on.” He reciprocated your intensity, sporting a beer in his right hand.

Once it was yours and George’s turn, you stood up and laughed through PK and DDG’s wolf whistles as George fist bumped them on his way up.

You and George stood side by side, calming music being played in the background as you began your ‘relationship yoga’.

First of all, you simply sat back to back with George with your legs crossed, both of you giggling in the process. Everyone cheered your movement and clapped for you two, chanting for the next position. The next was George lent in a plank position, body shaking as he laughed, “You can’t laugh, I’ll fall!” You cursed at him, making him laugh even more. “Y/N, just get on!”

You copied his position on his back, this time the other way round. The pair of you shook with laughter bubbling around the room, Vik and Specs pointing and covering their faces to suppress a smile as you performed the move. You hopped off him before you could fall on your face, George letting his arms relax and lie flat on the floor.

“Last move, please.” Vik instructed. You looked at George, “Right, I’ll go into the handstand this time.” You recalled George trying to do it beforehand, obviously failing if it had reached this point.

You bent down to fall into a handstand, committing to it. Meanwhile, George wasn’t paying attention, instead facing the mockery of PK and Jason who pointed at him, “George, we saw that!” Jason shouted. “Stop looking at her ass, brother!” PK laughed loudly.

With George’s attention elsewhere, he didn’t see you in the handstand. “George!” You shouted from upside down which made his head snap towards you, catching your shin at the last minute before you fell onto your back.

Everyone screamed and laughed as George let you slowly down on the ground, “Oh my God, I didn’t see you! I’m so sorry!” He shouted apologies profusely, your laughter reassuring him it was alright. You relaxed on the floor, “Fucking hell, George!” You shook your head at him and he lifted you onto your feet, pressing kisses to your forehead, still feeling guilty despite you promising it was all good.

Vik and Specs looked at each other and deliberated, “We’ll give you two a solid 7 for effort!” You shrugged your shoulders and high-fived George, skipping back to the sofa to watch everyone else.

Once everyone was finished, Vik announced the winner. “So our winner of the Inside talent show is Milli Jo!” She stood up and jumped around in excitement. You joined her and cheered for her, “Yes, Milli!” You screamed and held her hands as she was given the shop token.

Vik and Specs left the room, leaving everyone still cheering for Milli. “So proud of you, babes!” You nudged her. “You were so good even though George nearly killed you.” “I didn’t see her!” George joined in with the conversation with mock offense, the two of you laughing at his reaction.

“Jason, you wanted a twist?” Vik popped his head back into the room.

“No!” Cinna immediately vocalised your inner thoughts, “Go away!” You and Milli said at the same time. “We can do a twist.” Vik ignored everyone. “I knew it!” Farah shouted in despair.

“The twist is that there will be an elimination.”

bonus!