* ＨＩＧＨ ／𝓌𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓇 !

chase knew that when they left love island his quality of life was going to increase significantly. no more snooping cameras or wondering what or if he was going to do something that would be embarrassing and last a lifetime on the internet. the time had gone by so quickly. between spending time with dakota and trying to figure out his next step off made him wary of which direction he should go in. the one thing he was grateful for throughout this entire process was dakota. the curly haired boy had kept him sane at the villa and was the sole reason why he would ever go back.

chase nestled into dakota as he felt the other play with his hair, he leaned his head into dakota’s chest and gave him a quick peck of a kiss to his clothed chest. it was moments like these where he felt like he would follow dakota anywhere - even if it meant going back to the villa for another season. for a moment the whole recite a sonnet thing made chase’s eyes widen until he realized that dakota was merely teasing him, “you think you’re real sly, huh?” chase smirked as he tapped the other’s chest with his hand playfully. he rolled his eyes and then asked, “a ping pong bar?” the american questioned, “is that where they play ping pong or is-” he was interrupted by dakota saying that he would whoop his ass. chase’s inner competitive nature jumped out as he shook his head, “you really think you can beat me at my own game?” chase asked. he then laughed against dakota, “i’d like to see you try” a smirk grew on chase’s lips as the southerner added, “maybe i’ll go easy on you or let you play doubles with me or something if you’re lucky” chase teased.

𝕀ℕ 𝕊𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕎𝔸𝕐𝕊 𝕀𝕋 felt a little strange being removed from the constant surveillance of the cameras. dakota had grown so accustomed to living with so many other people and always being on the watch for what might slip out of his mouth ( namely swear words as he knew his father would not approve ) that he still had to remind himself that he was now free to say whatever he liked. that these moments that were shared between them were theirs and nobody else’s to look in on from now on. 

Arriving at the villa for the second time has left Henry a little more disillusioned, a little more heartbroken, and a lot more determined to see himself into a relationship or two that actually makes him happy. The break had done him some good, giving him time to connect with a few people from season two in advance, and while he doesn’t exactly have any potential for finding love just yet, he still thinks that it can give him a leg up. At the very least he knows that he likes kissing one or two of them, so there’s that. “For some reason, I expected this place to change a lot more than it has.” Starting a conversation with someone in the room with him, Henry looks about, already thinking about gravitating towards the back yard since he’s gotten his things settled.

chase’s competitive nature made him very bitter that he hadn’t been able to win love island with dakota. as he had assimilated back into normal life he realized that not winning love island was honestly better for him in the long run. for the time being he was free of the love island lifestyle and all of the pressures and scrutiny that naturally came along with it. now he got to focus back in on his next steps in life as well as spend time with dakota. of course, chase was far more excited about the second part of his current situation. he knew it was just a matter of time before he came back to london with dakota to explore his world and chase couldn’t be more excited to get to see a new part of the world.

as chase walked towards the couch that dakota was lazily draped over, he smirked and eagerly accepted the other male’s invitation to join him. his tall, somewhat lanky body made room on the couch next to dakota and he smirked, “what were you thinking?” he asked rhetorically before dakota continued with his plans for the day. it wasn’t exactly chase’s nature to just go with the flow, but being in london - a city that dakota knew far better than chase could ever imagine - made chase feel like he could just follow dakota’s direction, adding whatever he pleased to their agenda. chase fidgeted on the couch and found a position that was comfortable, his head resting on dakota’s chest as he heard what was on the dossier for the day. “oh, yeah?” he asked about the pub that shakespeare frequented. not even second guessing the information he was presented, chase chuckled, “that sounds pretty good to me. though i’m not sure if i’m worthy of such a place. i’m pretty sure i spark notes-ed all of his shit back in high school” chase scowled before letting a chuckle pass his lips.

𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕋ℍ𝕆𝕌𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕆𝔽 𝔸ℕ𝕐 𝕀𝕄ℙ𝔼ℕ𝔻𝕀ℕ𝔾 love island contract renewal had been pushed to the back of dakota’s mind over christmas, too busy being wrapped up in excitement over finally seeing his family, and then getting some much needed alone time with chase. as much as the past six weeks on the island had been a whirlwind ( and he’s definitely thankful this downtime as he needs a break from all the emotional whiplash of the past few weeks ), he’s ultimately grateful for it at least putting him in contact with the southerner. 

theo: how's it going on your side of the world?

dakota: i knowwww, i've never been skiing it would have been fun :( but i suppose that's the reality of christmas on a photographer's budget

dakota: london's alright! i'm so ready to bring in 2020 though

@chaseweathers​ // 𝔸𝕃𝕋ℍ𝕆𝕌𝔾ℍ 𝔻𝔸𝕂𝕆𝕋𝔸 𝕋𝔸𝕃𝕂𝔼𝔻 down living in london throughout the entirety of his time on love island, having stated on many occasions that torquay was his real home, the holiday break is making him reassess. showing chase around london is giving him a new perspective on life in the big smoke and he's come to realise maybe the city he often found to be too cold and unforgiving wasn't so bad when he had someone to go home and cuddle with at the end of a day. and he sure is relishing in getting the most out of three weeks of missed cuddles. sure, he and chase hadn’t won love island, but dakota genuinely meant it when he’d told his friends on christmas day that he believed meeting chase was the real prize - even if they’d pretended to gag at his words in return. 

no, she practically screamed in her mind. why would she be okay? she came here hoping to find love and she’s leaving with nothing but a broken heart. three times she put herself out there and the world finally gave her a strike out. all she wanted was to pack her belongings and leave for home, to forget her time on this show and go back to the real world. it wasn’t fair. she was a good person, always looking out for everyone and spreading kindness every where she went. so why was she always getting dealt the short end of the stick? rome does nothing but break hearts left and right, and he gets to have a happy ended? it was outrageous! the more she thought about it, the more her face began to twist and turn into a harsh scowl, because the world had finally broken her, and her gentle nature was no where to be found in this moment. 

but how could she vent such frustrations to dakota? after all, he had found someone, and the winning title was snatched away from him like it was nothing. him and chase surpassed all the hardships, and they too were dealt the shitty cards. why do bad things happen to good people? “no,” she finally answers, her tone completely different from it’s usual soft and calm nature. “but there’s no point in talking about it, so…i was just trying to find my flip flops so i can finish packing. have you seen them?” please don’t try to make me feel better, she thinks to herself. just let me be bitter and we’ll never have to speak again. 

𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝕆ℕℂ𝔼, 𝔻𝔸𝕂𝕆𝕋𝔸'𝕊 𝕃𝔸ℂ𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾 optimism as they head towards the final. if it wasn’t enough that he himself had suffered through the various obstacles that the past few weeks had presented to him, here was krysta - kind, giving, wonderful krysta - wearing a very non-characteristic scowl on her face as she stands metres away from him. appearing to be equally broken by the competition. seeing her expression only causes dakota to frown, his brow crumpling. nothing about the way their time in the villa was coming to an end was fair in the slightest, and he can’t help but question why rome had to be so cruel in dragging her into this mess, too. 

– “LISTEN, YOU’RE GOING BACK TO OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COUNTRY SO…you’ll find out whether you’re really meant to be,” ingrid says. “and for now, we’re making the most of it by…” ingrid pulls the blender out, “frozen margaritas. it’s still island time where we are, so – time to get the most of that gorgeous tan, dakota, we’re PARTYING.” 

@seabreezc​ // maybe it was rude of krysta to avoid dakota like he was carrying the black plague, but what else was she supposed to do? even though rome decided to match the two together just to rob him and chase’s change of winning, krysta still felt like she was to blame for the whole interaction. it only made her cruse the day she decided to tell dakota how she felt, but also made her mad that dakota made her think she actually stood a chance. after all, he practically admitted to having feelings as well, but she was simply too late. she still remembers the way he looked at her, how close they were stealing a sweet embrace. the thought of it now only makes her heart weigh heavy in her chest. for now, she simply focused on packing up her things and counting down the minutes until she could finally go back home and forget this whole show even happened. 

missing a pair of flip flops, krysta began to search around the villa for them, not truly upset if she didn’t find them, but at least it gave her something to do for the time being. however, suddenly dakota quickly came into view and she completely froze right in front of him. her eyes were red and puffy from crying so much lately, the dark circles under her eyes showing that sleep was not her friend anymore. god she wanted to say something, anything, to not make this moment so awkward. but all she could do was lower her eyes to the ground and pray that he wouldn’t ask too many questions. 

𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕌ℕ𝕀𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕊𝔼 𝕎𝔸𝕊 𝕀ℕℂℝ𝔼𝔻𝕀𝔹𝕃𝕐 𝔽𝕀ℂ𝕂𝕃𝔼. he’s scared this week, underneath the initial frustration and anger directed at rome. scared in a way he hadn’t really felt when he was coupled with eleanor as at least he was sure that the feelings he’d once had for the chicago native had faded. with krysta, everything is still fresh. the warmth he feels for her, the spark he’d told her he felt in her presence. and although he knows rome is behind this particular cruel twist for the pair of them, he can’t help but think part of it is karma for how badly he’d handled things by the pool. for continuing to fumble over his words whenever he’s asked about krysta by any of the other islanders, and entertaining the thought of being with krysta - however briefly - when ingrid had asked him what would happen if chase and he ended things, earlier in the week. 

“ yes , cult meeting . ” rowan giggles excitedly , fiddling with his hands as dakota finally gets in on the idea . “ we could host it somewhere else , though . or make a fire somewhere in the villa . a safe fire , of course . i’m sure someone has a lighter here , right ? and then that could be our fire pit , and we can still be good hosts ! ”

dakota has his way with words and benoit could not be more thankful for it at a time like this.  he’s asked not to laugh and benoit can’t help but do exactly that even before he begins, and he doesn’t do much to hide it, relying on the lack of lighting in the room to help with his lack of tact. when he does begin though, he listens very intently, trying to find something valuable, a life lesson he can benefit from, or something. — but it’s better than anything he would’ve guessed, which only makes him smile wider. storytime inevitably raises a lot of questions that benoit had been waiting patiently for him to finish speaking before he could ask. “ did you ever get curious about this secret underground kingdom ? did you ever go looking for it ? ” or was disappointment written in benoit’s cards, for the remainder of the night ?  

@ffsrome​ // 𝔻𝔸𝕂𝕆𝕋𝔸'𝕊 𝔹𝔼𝔼ℕ 𝕌ℕℂℍ𝔸ℝ𝔸ℂ𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕀ℂ𝔸𝕃𝕃𝕐 ℚ𝕌𝕀𝔼𝕋 since the results of the final coupling were announced. quiet discontent about the turn of last night’s events bubbling under the surface, reaching a boiling point as he enters the kitchen only to bump straight into the person he’d been desperately trying to avoid. this situation was very different to the ones he’d faced in the villa before because it’s cause was a person who had a choice and chose to do this to him. and he can only think that rome did it to secure himself an underhanded victory. 

open starter / @villastarters​

– INGRID STIRS HER COCKTAIL WITH A STRAW OVER BY THE BAR THE NEXT AFTERNOON, stifling a laugh as she shakes her head. “wish i could say all that was a surprise, but – completely predictable,” she exhales slowly, straightening up. she’s happy to talk all about the way rome took the trophy from chase and dakota’s hands if ANYONE wants to ask. “i guess we should make the most of our last few days here, huh?”

❛ & open starter ! – ( @villastarters​ )

Jennifer was grumpy. She was not happy about being paired up with Angel, and that reality was definitely making her act in a certain way toward the other islanders – it was hard not to take her anger out on everyone else. “I have no idea where your swimsuit is, can’t you just find it yourself?” she grumbles, almost slamming the fridge door shut while grabbing a bowl of leftover yogurt and sitting down at the island-style countertops. “I keep track of my shit, you can keep track of yours, okay?”

* / open starter @villastarters​

chase honestly could not believe that after all this time he had spent on the island cultivating a relationship with dakota he had literally been fucked by every twist imaginable. and now that the final recoupling was over, chase was ready to throw hands with production. right after the ceremony he stormed at the camera and had a full on temper tantrum. the six foot four tennis player walked away from the set and over to a private area of the beach where there was a camera and he flipped over a beach chair in the sand and yelled, “is this fucking good tv? is that what you want?” chase hoped no one would hear but at the same time didn’t really care. “well, fuck!” he put his arms up in the air, “all of y’all can suck my fuckin’ ass” his face got right in the camera. “y’all got your plot twist! y’all got your fun and quirky ending! hope that’s good fuckin’ tv!” he called out. wow, was this embarrassing…

then when he saw someone approach him out of nowhere, chase honestly didn’t know what to say. he thought his temper tantrum was private so all he could do was look like a deer in headlights. “you see all of that?” he asked, partially annoyed at himself for doing all this in front of the camera.

𝕀ℕ 𝕊𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕎𝔸𝕐𝕊 dakota wishes he could flip a beach chair too rather than stand there as numbly as he is now, watching the display before him. no, dakota’s anger over their situation is a boding tsunami, in the stage of drawing back from the shore after weeks’ worth of frustrations before it’d inevitably tumble back at an inopportune moment; angrier that his final few weeks in the villa were now ALL tainted without a redeeming ending by one person he’d actually tried to be KIND to earlier in the evening rather than the thought of the actual prize at the end. 

at least someone’s enjoying the disastrous weather and it’s a refreshing approach ( as things usually were à la dakota ).  benoit wasn’t worried, per se, but the upcoming conclusion of the season had been eating up at his mind a lot more than he would be actually willing to give away. dakota’s little arrangement to calm the nerves is welcomed with much appreciation as he reaches for a glass even before the other finishes speaking. “ thanks. just what i need, ” he raises the glass to toast to his server before indulging. it’s sweet how he shares the little story his father had made up to overcome the fear of thunderstorms… it intrigues him. “ have any other fun stories your dad told you when you were scared ? ”