Real(ity) Feelings

Chapter 20

Joe's eyes scanned the fire pit, taking in the sights around him. The other couples shifted nervously against each other, all questioning who would be leaving tonight during the live selection ceremony. It was the last week before the finale, when a competition would determine the top three couples, and a winner would then be voted on by a live audience.

Joe wasn't even sure what the winning couple would get. He had barely listened to his manager explain the rules of the game, assuming he never would make it through to the end. He could feel Dianne glance at him, before shifting her eyes away quickly. They were seated next to each other, but their legs were about a foot apart. Joe had turned his upper body away from hers, in an obvious show of disinterest.

Trying to hide the smile that was creeping across his face, he coughed and turned his attention to the host, who had initiated the selection ceremony.

Lucy stood up, proudly talking about her relationship with Luke, and Joe zoned, out thinking about the past week. It hadn't been easy, especially after their emotional reunion after all the Marco drama had unfolded. But he and Dianne had been determined to do something big in response to the manipulation they had endured at the hands of their producers.

Joe thought briefly about the hours Dianne had sat next to Marco on the pool deck, nodding and smiling and tipping her head back in laughter. He had put extra energy into the sad, brooding look that he was sure was getting picked up by every camera in the house. He hadn't even really had to dig that deep to have emotional conversations with the other contestants. They had been exceptionally great at providing comfort, truly believing in the façade he and Dianne worked hard to put up.

However, his conversation with Ben had been a doozy. The one thing he and Dianne agreed to avoid was confrontations between him and Marco. It was just less messy if they chose to separate somewhat amicably - and easier to pull off in front of the other houseguests. That hadn't gone over well with Ben, who had shouted at him repeatedly this past week, reminding him that if he wanted this show to do anything for his career, he needed to do more onscreen. Ben had finally given up, warning Joe that he was the next to go home, and he had nobody to blame but himself.

Joe smirked as he came back to reality, watching the new girl, Jade, choose Jay to be her partner going into the last week. Straightening up slightly, he turned his smirk upside down into a frown, suddenly remembering the cameras.

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Dianne turned her knees away from Joe, leaning up against the back of the bench and letting out a huffy sigh.

"I'm having way too much fun with this," she thought to herself, biting her lip to hide the smile that was ready to spread across her face.

Although it was fun to play this new game that she and Joe had invented, it had also been difficult. She remembered going back to Marisol - pretending that her producer was right had put a sour taste in her mouth almost immediately. It took all her energy to pretend that she really hadn't fallen in love with Joe, and that their make-up the night before was just her getting caught up in the emotions of it all. Marisol had grinned, as if she had known all along, and had then explained her own plan to Dianne.

Marisol's plan had led to the on-camera break up between her and Joe - she hadn't cried like she had been instructed - partially because her tear ducts were all dried up from the day before, but also because she wasn't actually sad, and she couldn't bring herself to create fake tears. However, they had managed to pull off a withdrawn, unemotional, and cold conversation - Dianne pretended to end it by telling Joe she still had feelings for Marco, knowing Marisol was going to add in some dramatic music and cut out the footage of their make-up from the night before. She was sure all of the UK thought there was a seamless transition between Marco's arrival and her and Joe's break up.