What's Love Worth To You, Mi Amor

Breaking Down Walls

Blaineley had taken over the loudspeaker for the last stretch of the twenty hour flight. She was non-stop advertising herself as a potential ally. Of course, nobody wanted her on their side. Both Alejandro and Heather, who were sitting together in economy, ignored the woman's begging until she was finally silenced. They sat together, judging the other couple in the room; Sierra and Cody. The crazed teen girl was pretending to type on a pizza box while Cody sighed and vented to Alejandro. "She just wants to throw a reception for us when we get home."

Alejandro gripped Cody's shoulder. "They say it's always best for a husband to indulge his wife." He said, trying to keep the peace. Heather interjected, "Except they're not married!" Alejandro protested, claiming he was a witness to their marriage. Heather had no idea what he was talking about. "There is no marriage certificate, no rings, no paparazzi photos." Cody perked up, agreeing with Heather. "Seriously, you are about as married as Alejandro and I." She said pointing her finger in the air.

"Mi angel," Alejandro said placing his hands on his hips, "I know you crave Alejandro like a baked chicken craves mole sauce, but marriage?" He chuckled. "Aren't you rushing things?" Heather widened her eyes. 'The nerve of this guy, flirting right in front of Sierra and Cody! It doesn't matter how cute or uh appealing he is to me. That is so not cool!' She shook her hands, trying to rid herself of her uncomfortable feelings. "Ew, ew, ew, ick, ick, ick!"

Alejandro ignored her attempts to distance herself and leaned forward. "Your mouth says ick but your eyes say something else." He blew her a kiss. Heather cracked a small smile. "They say barf." Crossing her arms, she couldn't hide the enjoyment she got. Even if it made her slightly uncomfortable having Sierra and Cody watching. Sierra had stopped "typing" and was now bombarding Cody with different color schemes for their reception.

As Heather laughed at the strange display, Alejandro whispered in her ear. "I know they're married only in Sierra's fantasy. But she needs me to say I witnessed it and therefore she stays on our side." Heather was impressed with Alejandro. She tilted her head and made sure the other couple was still distracted. "Nice plan. I'll work Cody in the meantime," She whispered, "Then maybe we can revisit the whole Courtney thing." Alejandro patted Heather's thigh. "In due time, my dear." He stood and left, surely heading to the confessional bathroom.

Heather scoffed. 'He just wants Courtney here to use, especially against me. I have to make sure that flirty nerd heads home next!' Heather slid down the bench to work on Cody, focused on the path to finals.

-------------

When the plane landed successfully, Heather made her way down the exit ramp. Taking a look around, she noticed the green trees covering half of a large wall. The wall extended as far as Heather could see. Chris' introduction only confirmed Heather's thoughts. They were in China. Heather ignored the rest of Chris' speech as most of it was racist and incorrect. He rambled off a fake history that Courtney corrected and explained the challenge for today. Another race across the top of the wall. There were numerous vehicles like a rickshaw, donkey, skateboard, bike, tricycle, a pogo stick, and a pair of platform shoes.

The group steadied themselves to run. Before Chris could set them off, he got a phone call which he decided to answer. Heather asked, "Do we go or what?" Chris spoke to his phone. "Uh-huh." The teens were confused as to who he was speaking to. Alejandro asked for clarification but he got the same response as Heather. Confused, the contestants sped off, leaving Chris annoyed. Little did they know, Chris was about to explain about the planted mines along the wall, but was rather amused at this turn of events.