Shiny Demon

Bad News

"Psst! Seb! Wake up!"

Seb startled at the sound. It took a moment of looking up at the brightly lit canvas to remember that he was in the tent. The other two sleeping bags were empty.

"Seb!" the voice said again. He groggily lifted his head. It had been a restless night. He'd tossed and turned, wondering if Genevieve would come back, jumping at every sound. Mulling over how he'd tell Stevie the next morning.

Apparently he'd fallen asleep, and Genevieve had never come back. But Stevie was here, poking her head through the flaps of his tent.

"Come on!" She gestured at him to get up. "We've got new Islanders!"

His heart beat with a fluttery dread as he pulled his sore limbs free of the blankets and stepped outside. The Villa really never cut you a moment's break.

Stevie's eyes were bright with excitement. She was still in her pajamas and her face wasn't dressed in the usual gloomy colors. She looked different without makeup on. He could get a better sense of what she probably looked like as a kid. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him over toward a large tent that hadn't been there the night before.

"So you're taking me to meet the new Islanders?"

"No, they were taken to the beach hut for interviews. I'm taking you to go through their stuff."

"What?" He stopped in his tracks. "I'm not doing that."

"No, they told me I could." She tugged on him. "Pleeease? It will be fun." She looked at him with pleading eyes, her face so bare and bright it could have burnt him up. "The tent is really fancy."

He looked at the looming pop-up. It would be good to have the opportunity to talk in private, away from the cameras. She'd had enough of her humiliation broadcast to the world, and he didn't want the show exploiting the moment to boost ratings. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly.

"Yes!" She squeezed his arm gratefully. "I knew you'd be up for it."

He stepped into the tent, his mind filling with the soft glow of being chosen as her partner in crime. "So, new Islanders?"

She sat down next to an open suitcase, her threadbare shirt pooling over her bare legs. "There's three of them. Two guys and a girl. There's Tai. He's a rugby coach. Really nice. Ciaran, from Ireland. Seems a little shy. And," She stopped her rifling and gave him a meaningful look. Her voice dropped to a breathy timbre. "Yasmin."

He felt a thrill at her faux-sexy voice. He loved her cheek. It always felt like she was peeking through her gloomy exterior to offer him a private wink. "Anyone pique your interest?"

"Everyone piques my interest." She gave him a dark smile, like the rays of sun flaring about the blinding black center of an eclipse.

"You're not the only one," he sighed as he thought of the news he needed to break to her.

"Oh?" Stevie said with interest as she scooted over to the next case.

"Well I need to tell you something." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck as she looked up at him with curiosity. "Heavy salad, I'm afraid."

Underneath his nerves was a guilty pang of excitement. He got to be the mate looking out for her. He wasn't proud of it, but he knew it might bring them closer, and he couldn't help but want to be closer. As friends, of course.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and it was baltic," he continued. "Genevieve was gone. She slept in my tent last night, remember?" His mouth seemed reluctant to get to the point. "Anyway, she wasn't there. So I got up to get some warmer clothes and, well..." He swallowed as he reached the moment of truth. "That's when I saw them together." His stomach tightened in anticipation. "Harry and Genevieve." He delivered each piece of news in slow doses, giving her time to absorb each bit. "They were... kissing."