Chapter 9

At the start of the week, Friday had seemed like a thousand years away. And there were definitely moments that dragged, but for the most part?

It was blink and you miss it, that first week.

It was a quick study in getting to learn one another's habits, too. How Femi rolled out of bed and ran to the kitchen to put the kettle on before anyone else was awake, how Jayden tended to steal all the pillows in the bedroom to make a stack he could lean on while he and Sienna had their morning conversation. The way Maddison sang to herself as she put on hand cream, how Tia came skipping in every morning from the extra bed in the living room and dove into bed next to Sienna.

The way Ada would lie, stretched out, duvet kicked off, staring at the ceiling for the first few minutes after she opened her eyes.

Cas had expected it would be strange, sharing a house with nine, then ten, other people, and in a lot of ways, it was. No matter where she was, no matter what time of day, Cas was either sitting with someone or she could hear shouting and laughter and conversation all across the house. It was impossible to sit alone with your thoughts in a space like this, surrounded constantly, talking constantly, being drawn into the beach hut constantly to dissect your feelings, real or otherwise, with the producers.

There were only two toilets, too, and it was humbling, having to lift your microphone and whisper that you needed to use the toilet so they could unlock the door for you. It was nice that there weren't cameras in that part of the bathroom, but god, she hated having to ask like she was three years old.

But it was remarkably easy to get used to, sharing this space with so many people. Even the worst parts, like fighting it out every night to get a shower (because if you were any later than, like, fourth, you were guaranteed cold water), weren't so bad.

It was the parties, though, that were the biggest shock of the season so far. She'd always thought these parties looked fun, like they stretched out all evening, but in reality, they all met their two-drink maximum about thirty minutes in, the dance sequence lasted for four songs and four songs only, and then they all floated around the garden until the Voice of God told them they were allowed to go to bed at some ungodly hour of the morning. It was quite the opposite of the sort of events she was used to.

Her favorite part about being here, by far, was the morning, when the boys brought their coffees up to the change room off the bathroom and the girls had a gossip while getting ready for the day. Cas was usually still waking up, and thus, silent, but she liked how giggly and chatty everyone was in the morning, liked the little antics they planned for their day. One such antic: Femi plopping down in front of Sienna that morning and declaring that he was going to try to do her makeup.

Sienna eyed Femi suspiciously as he pumped a deep pool of foundation onto the back of his hand. "You better not make me look like a fucking clown."

"I've got three sisters," Femi said. "I know how to put makeup on."

"Having sisters doesn't mean you automatically know how to do makeup," Ada said. She was smearing a heavy layer of sun cream into her cheeks, her freckles cast white as she attempted to blend it all into her skin. "My brother doesn't have the first clue about makeup."

"I actually do, though." Femi dotted the foundation brush into the product and started swiping it across Sienna's cheeks. "My sisters used to make me model for them, like, regularly. I was their little doll."

His technique wasn't perfect, but Sienna ended up with an actually decent face of makeup after about half an hour's work.

"See, I told you," Femi said, admiring his handiwork as Sienna examined her face in the mirror. "You look hot."

"I always look hot," Sienna said. "But, yeah, you did all right."

In spite of those bright moments, by Friday evening, Cas felt like she understood how people eventually started going a bit mad in this place. She'd always thought that those conversations on the Missed Moments episodes were fabricated (because, surely, no one would invent a game like the infamous Banana Toes from Season 3 unless the producers put them up to it), but they'd spent so many hours staring at one another over the last few days that Cas had found herself thinking that, really, you could turn anything into a game if you were bored enough.

Cas was just about to roll off the deck chair and suggest a Banana Toes reprise (she was pretty sure she'd seen a few bunches of bananas in the kitchen) when Brad shouted from across the garden.

"Text!"

Cas sat straight up at Brad's announcement, her mind already flying through the possible things that could be on that text message.

A date. A new arrival. A challenge.

It probably wasn't a new arrival—Tia was still settling in, and though Reece was trailing after her like a puppy, they hadn't yet had a partnership ceremony to cement any changes. And, oh god, it wasn't Saturday yet, but it could be a partnering. It was close enough to the regular schedule, since partnerings happened on a weekly basis, but just different enough that they'd be surprised. Here they were all lying around comfortably and thinking they had twenty-four more hours before everything went to hell. Suckers.

Cas really needed to pull Femi aside now that she was thinking about it. Figure out what their plan was.

She'd enjoyed spending time with him, but it was painfully obvious to her that there wasn't any sexual chemistry between them. Still, they got on, and it probably wouldn't be too hard to convince him to stay in a friendship couple with her. Especially because neither of them seemed that interested in anyone else.

Or, well, Cas wasn't. Cas had definitely seen Femi's eye wandering in a specific direction this week, but she didn't think he was quite ready to act on it yet.

"?‘Lovers.'?" Brad was reading in his best announcer voice and it made Cas want to punch him. "?‘Please gather around the fire pit for an announcement.'?"

"Oh fuck."

Cas hadn't meant to say it so loudly, but there it was.

Ada laughed, but there was a tightness to her expression that belied the sound. "It's probably fine. Maybe there's a DJ coming tomorrow or something."

She didn't sound convinced.

The mood was appropriately somber as they made their way across the garden, all eleven of them flocking from the corners they'd scattered to in an attempt to find something like privacy. They settled automatically into their couples, Tia sandwiched uncomfortably between Reece and Jayden.

Cas dropped down on Ada's right side, leaving just enough space at the end of the bench for Femi. Or, at least, she thought she had. When he sat down, his thigh was hanging off the edge of the bench, and Cas swore quietly.

"Sorry, sorry." She shifted to the left and her thigh immediately rubbed up against Ada's. Cas jolted. "Fuck, sorry." Cas pressed her thighs together, trying for even a half centimeter's worth of space, but she could still feel the heat of Ada's thigh along the outside of her leg.

Ada just smiled. "No worries."

Charlie's phone beeped the second everyone was finished getting settled.

"?‘Lovers,'?" Charlie read, his words slow and careful, like he was defusing a bomb rather than reading a text, "?‘this summer, we've decided to do things a little differently.'?"

Maddison's phone chimed.

"?‘In previous summers, you've had to wait until the public nominations in week seven to find out what the British public think of you.'?"

Maddison stared at her phone for a long second after she finished reading, the blue light illuminating her face eerily.

Cas's phone.

She almost didn't think it was hers at first. It had to be Ada's, Femi's, maybe even Brad's. But Ada's head whipped round at the sound, and Cas had no choice but to accept that she needed to tug her phone out from the strap of her mic belt.

To find three little words written on her screen.

"?‘But this summer... '?"

They were really trying to stretch this out for all that it was worth, weren't they?

After a long, weighted beat, her phone beeped again.

"?‘We've decided to keep you a little more up to date.'?"

The words themselves didn't actually say that much. Didn't even mean anything. But Cas's brain was spinning with options.

Were they going to be put to the public vote earlier? They already had people vote for their favorite couples to eliminate people as they moved into the final weeks, but maybe they were going to have people voting earlier. More often. Fuck, was this what Mila was alluding to on their first day? Maybe it was individuals instead of couples this year.

In a way, that could make her strategy easier, especially if she managed to make herself even passably likable, but there was something to be said about the protection a couple could provide. If the person you were partnered up with was popular, that went a long way in terms of saving your skin, even if people didn't love you.

Cas had seen it plenty of times on previous seasons. It was the reason that Adam—a literal cardboard cutout of a man—made it to the top two in Season 7.

Sienna's phone pinged.

"?‘This summer, the public is going to be voting for you—individually—every week... and your rankings will be posted on the television in the living room for all to see.'?"

What. The. Fuck.

"They're going to rank us? Weekly?" Lexi's jaw was hanging open.

Before anyone could say anything else, though, Reece's phone beeped, shattering the silence and immediately ratcheting Cas's heart rate up to fifteen thousand.

"?‘The first ranking was completed last night.... So let's find out if you made a good first impression.'?"

"Now?" Femi's eyes were blown wide, disbelief all over his face.

"I guess we better hope we got a good edit," Sienna said.

Cas felt like she was going to be sick.

Brad's phone beeped.

"Go to the lounge for your first rankings ceremony now."

The screen was already lit up when everyone walked into the lounge room, the Hot Summer banner with two numbered lists titled "Boys" and "Girls" underneath. The numbers themselves were blank, but even seeing them there was enough of a reminder of what was to come to make Cas's palms sweat.

She knew that this night was being intentionally crafted for drama on the show, but Cas hadn't anticipated how stressful it would feel to actually be living this in the moment. Separated from the dramatic music and the jump cuts between shocked faces, it could have felt like any other activity they had done so far. But the looming presence of the screen on the wall, the promise that her name was there, somewhere on the board...

She hadn't had enough time. Hadn't done enough. Hadn't given the viewers enough of a reason to love her. Or, at least, to like her enough to keep her around until she found her "match" so she could sail into the finals.

They had barely finished getting settled on the sofa inside when Maddison's phone beeped.

"?‘Welcome to your first ranking. These ranks will not affect your couples.'?" Maddison's voice was shaking. "?‘Only you can decide if your partner's ranking matters.... Tomorrow night, you'll be forced to decide whether you stick with your partner or, if they're ranked low, twist and re-partner with someone else.'?"

Cas could feel her heartbeat in her throat, her pulse hammering violently in a way that made it hard to breathe.

Ada's phone.

Her hands were trembling as she lifted her phone off her lap, the light noticeably flickering across her face as she read. "?‘The girls are going to learn their rankings first. Rankings will be revealed one at a time, starting with the girl in first place.'?"

Ada swallowed hard, and after a glance at Cas, and then Sienna, she set her phone back down in her lap.

Despite the speed of the introduction messages, everything was almost eerily silent as they waited for the first ranking to be revealed. In spite of herself, Cas could hear the music they'd play over this moment in the edit, could almost see the way that they'd be jumping from face to face, desperate to get the most dramatic series of reaction shots possible.

Charlie's phone beeped.

"?‘The most popular girl this week, and first in the rankings is... '?" He stared at his screen for a long second, his brow furrowing. "There's no name here."

Cas exhaled. Tried to sound calm. "They'll send it to you."

Sure enough, his phone went off half a second later.

"?‘Sienna.'?"

A little cheer went up around the living room as her photo popped up on the television. Jayden pressed a kiss to Sienna's temple; Ada wrapped her arms around Sienna's neck in a swift, fierce hug; and Cas, leaning over Ada so she could reach, tapped the outside of Sienna's knee. Cas moved to straighten up when she felt Femi leaning in from behind her, his arm stretching along the back of the sofa so he could reach Sienna.

He brushed his fingertips lightly along the outside of her shoulder, and, though everyone in the room was trying to congratulate her, when Sienna turned, she only had eyes for Femi.

"Congratulations."

Sienna was beaming, the relief written all over her face. "Thanks."

Reece revealed that Ada was second, and they all celebrated again. Ada had thrown her arms around Sienna so easily, but Cas kept hesitating, unsure. She wanted to give Ada a hug—it was nothing, a hug—but would it be too much?

Not as a gesture, but too much for Cas to handle?

Cas was still arguing with herself when Ada turned, an electric smile lighting up her face.

"Congrats," Cas said. She leaned forward without thinking now, her arms winding around Ada's neck. "You deserve it."

Ada laughed, and the brush of her breath against Cas's neck made her shiver.

Ada pulled back a little, brow creased with concern. "Are you cold?"

Cas had goose bumps down her arms.

She shook her head. "No, I'm all right."

The emotional high of the first two reveals didn't last as they continued into third place. With each text, the tension in the room ratcheted higher, especially after Tia, surprisingly, snagged the third place spot.

Cas, Maddison, and Lexi were left, until Brad announced that Lexi had swung fourth.

Cas hadn't expected she'd be in first or second, she'd been hoping for third, thought fourth was a solid bet, but now, here she was, staring down the barrel of last place, her heart so massive in her throat that it was impossible to breathe.

She couldn't be last place. Not if she wanted any real hope of staying to the end.

Last place would be the nail in her coffin. The final straw that kept her in hot, sweaty pubs getting pawed at by strangers until the end of time.

Femi's phone pinged.

His movements were sure, steady. He wrapped his arm around Cas before he even moved to pick up the phone, squeezing her briefly against him in one last show of solidarity.

She had never adored him more than she did in that moment.

"?‘The final two positions will be revealed at the same time....'?" Femi trailed off appropriately, staring at his screen for a few beats longer than necessary before he dropped his phone back down into his lap. Everyone was completely silent as they waited, the tension so thick Cas could feel it, choking her, squeezing her, until, finally—

Beep.

Femi stared down at his screen and Cas knew what he was going to say before he even said it from the way his fingers twitched on her shoulder.

"?‘In fifth place, we have Maddison.'?"

Beep.

"?‘And, in last place... Cas.'?"

Both of their photos now joined the others on the television screen. Cas pressed her lips together into a fine line, determined to keep her expression neutral, but she was sure that she looked just as angry and confused as she felt. Was sure that everything was written all over her face for the entire fucking country to see.

Femi squeezed her shoulder and leaned over to whisper into her ear. "Are you okay?"

Cas nodded mutely, her gaze frozen dead ahead. Femi squeezed her shoulder again, leaning into her so she could feel the heat of him directly against her side.

"I adore you no matter what," Femi whispered. "And the public's wrong. People don't know you like I do."

Cas nodded again, though his words barely registered.

Last place.

Last fucking place.

She needed to get her game together.

And fast.