As the finale approached, the girls sat around the dressing room in our evening gowns. Our faces had been set with powder and hair styled to perfection. There must've been more bobby pins in Polly's updo than grains of sand on the beach. As the last girl slipped on her heels, the three of us stepped out onto the balcony to appreciate the view one last time. The moon and stars were on full display in a cloudless sky. The wind was calm, with a cooling breeze that ruffled the tops of the palm trees, bringing salty air to our lungs. I looked to the sides of the villa, admiring the lights of residences lining the Fijian coast. This was a view I was going to miss.
Between the cracks in the palm trees, the moon cast slivers of silver light onto the ocean's surface. Ripples of dark blue interrupted the reflective beam as waves made their way into shore, tucking beneath themselves in a white churning sea. It was reminiscent of Hawaii, and the thought made me excited to bring Charlie back to the big island.
"Well, cheers, girls." Peach lifted her pink Love Island water bottle into the air in place of alcohol; the producers had locked away our liquor until after the finale. Polly and I reached out to meet her water bottle and clinked the plastic together. "To our new lives. No matter how tonight goes, we should be proud that we made it this far."
"And I think we should make a pact. That no matter who wins or loses, none of us holds a grudge. I want to stay friends; I don't want money to ruin us," Polly added.
I nodded in agreement and took a sip of my ice-cold water. "I'm with you guys. Friends until the end... and then some. After all the shit we've been through for the past four weeks, I think we need each other to cope. I mean, no one on the outside is going to understand what we went through in here. I know my friends would see Love Island as a vacation, and in some ways, it so is. But it's also been challenging."
"Oh, for sure." Peach agreed immediately and placed her water bottle down on the coffee table. "This has been awesome. Without Love Island, I would probably have never gone to Fiji ever in my life, and now it's one of my favorite places in the world. But the emotional stress we all went through to get where we are was really tough. Because we weren't just trying to figure out our love lives with each other, we were doing it in front of millions of people."
"I'm not sure I'm ready to go home, just for Twitter alone," Polly revealed. "What if they're saying mean things on our social media accounts?"
I shook my head at the thought. "If they are, it's not on yours, Polly. You're a good person and every Islander from this season knows that. You're the kind of friend people dream of having."
She looked down bashfully at her knees. "Really?"
"Of course," I confirmed.
"Both of you guys have been really great to me. I'm not sure I could have kept my sanity without you," Peach smiled, then let out a soft sigh. "It's been a while since I've been to New York. Maybe Maddie and I can plan a road trip."
"Yes, please!" Polly clapped her hands in excitement.
I looked over at Peach fondly, admiring her ability to find optimism in even the most sorrowful events. "I think we could totally arrange that. We could have a girls' weekend."
Polly grinned at the thought. "I could introduce you guys to my sorority! Oh, you'd love them, they're all so nice... most of the time. But they'll be nice to you guys, I'm sure of it!"
"Thanks, Polly," I laughed. A soft knock on the dressing room door turned our attention. "Come on in!" I shouted through the open balcony doors. The door peeled back on its hinges, exposing three well-dressed boys.
"You guys look amazing," Charlie smiled. The trio of guys walked out onto the balcony and took their seats beside us.
Gray made himself comfortable around Peach, then reached out to hold her hand. "We thought we should all be together one last time before the chaos and the confetti. One last time to have a normal conversation."
Peach nodded and smiled proudly at her couple. "That was a really nice thought, Gray. So, are you guys excited to go home?" The consensus was mixed.
"I'm going to miss seeing Polly in person every day, but the penguins back at the zoo need me. I'm their favorite keeper!" Lucas bragged. "But Polly and I are gonna FaceTime every day, right Polly?"
"Definitely," Polly smiled at him. "There's barely a time difference from New York to Denver. And flights are always an option."
"Gray and I are going to do something similar. Lots of FaceTimes, lots of calls...and it's less than a two-hour flight between us." Peach turned her attention to Charlie and me, shaking her head. "I'm so jealous of you guys. What's the first thing you're gonna do together when you get back?"
I looked to Charlie, letting him decide. "Well, I'll probably take Maddie to The Tap at some point. It's one of my favorite bars because their live music lineup is easily the best in Bloomington."
"Oh, I've never been there!" I smiled.
Lucas' phone chimed in his pocket, and the group tensed up as he read the message. "Islanders, are you ready to wear your heart on your sleeve? It's time to read your written vows to each other. #TilFinaleDoUsPart #IVowThatItsAlmostOver."
We made our way downstairs, well aware of the surplus of camera crew circling the garden as we made our way to the glowing neon pink heart on the other side of the pool. Next to the heart were two pairs of chairs for the other couples to sit while one exchanged vows. Lucas and Polly volunteered to go first and stood in front of the heart. The neon was bright and washed the outline of their silhouettes in a rosy hue.
Lucas decided to go first. He was noticeably nervous, and perhaps, a little sweaty. "It's a necessity to like the person you're with, and it's a luxury to be in love with them. Before Love Island, you could say I was pretty shy. And I still am, but not like I was before. I knew that if I had a chance at finding love, I'd need to get a little braver and take some risks that I would never have taken. When I first saw you on the very first day, I knew you were special. And it was the biggest risk of my life pulling you out of a couple you were obviously excited for to force you to be with me... but honestly, I'd do it a thousand times over again to be where we are right now. And my biggest vow will be showing you every day that you made the right choice by sticking with me."
Polly wiped away a few tears and cleared her throat. "There are a lot of things I love about you, Lucas. I love your kindness around everyone you're with, even when they don't treat you the way you should be treated. And for a while, I was one of those people, and I will regret it for the rest of my life. But you've taught me how to be a better person; how to see the beauty in the things that are right in front of my eyes." She sniffled and wiped away several more tears. "And I love your perseverance because, without it, who knows where we'd be? I don't! And my vow to you is that I will never stop persevering you, either. Because you deserve someone who will chase your affections like you did mine." Lucas pulled her in for a romantic kiss beneath the heart, and the two of them took their seats.
Gray and Peach stood in front of each other, and Peach insisted Gray go first. "Well, alright then. I'd drop to one knee, but I'm afraid you'd get some negative flashbacks, so I'll stay standing. I know I'm not the easiest person to read, and as much as I try to be, I'm not an open book. But I know words of affirmation are your love language, Peach, so I vow to do my best to remind you every single day how much I care about you. You're one of the best things in my life, and I promise to protect you for the rest of our lives. You're my forever. I can feel it in my gut, and I don't get those intuitions normally. But you're different. Like your name has always been engraved into my heart, and now I've finally found you."
"Oh," Peach sniffled as she pushed back the tears. "One of my favorite moments in this villa was when I met you. I was in a friend couple, not having the true Love Island experience, while everyone else around me was seemingly doing awesome. And I had a lot of struggles because as much as I wanted to get to know you, I also wanted to protect my friend from being sent home. And you were patient with me, always supportive, and offering kind words of wisdom. That was when I knew how much I wanted to be with you because you never pushed me into doing something in your own interest. You've always wanted what's best for me. And I vow to appreciate the little things you do for me every day, whether it be refilling my water bottle in the villa or washing the dishes now and then." The two of them kissed and took their seats, leaving Charlie and me to exchange our vows.
"Maddie," Charlie began, staring deep into my eyes. Though the blinding lights of the villa were to my right, and the neon vibrance of the novelty heart was to my left, I found myself only being able to concentrate on his eyes. "There aren't words for the amount of pride and happiness that I feel standing in front of you right now. I know we can't always get what we want, but knowing that I got you is enough. It'll be enough for the rest of my life, really. For the past month, you're all that I could focus on. I was drawn to you by your kindness, intelligence, and honestly by your eyes. Our love story is a weird one... you don't usually kiss each other's best friends on national TV, but hey, I'm glad we did! Look where we are now! I wouldn't change a thing. My vow to you is to keep our life as exciting as it has been in the villa. As ready as I am to live a normal life with you, I promise we won't sink into the suburbs and become normal people, Maddie. I'll give you the life you dream about and the life you deserve." His eyes began to glisten as he smiled down at me.
I smiled as my turn came around and took a deep breath. "What I love most about our relationship is that we started as friends first. I feel like I really got to know you without the ignorance that comes with having a crush. Because, you know, sometimes you really like someone and aren't able to see their flaws correctly. I got to know you in an intimate way that I wouldn't have had if we'd started any other way. And now we're here! In front of our best friends, saying mock-vows to each other. Thank you for loving me for who I am and for appreciating the things that I do. I never knew how important certain characteristics are in a partner until I met you. Your ability to communicate is unmatched, and you have respect for other people that should be admired by everyone around you. Most importantly, I feel good when I'm around you. You're a supportive backbone that I didn't know I needed, and a spark of joy that I didn't even realize was missing. And I'm so, so excited to start our life together. I vow to continue loving you long after this experience is over. And of course, I'll always laugh at your jokes."
With our vows completed, Charlie pulled me in for a kiss beneath the neon heart, wrapping his arms around my waist to keep me close. My heart filled with butterflies that fluttered into the night as he pulled away, nearly leaving me lightheaded.
"That was a kiss for the record books!" Gray joked.
The infamous clicking of heels on tile began echoing through the garden. We turned instinctively and straightened our spines, preparing ourselves for the finale. Behind Arielle, shuffling bounced through the villa's exterior walls, prompting confusion from our group.
"Good evening, Islanders, and welcome to the finale," Arielle grinned. We cheered and stood up as she made her way over to us, then stopped unexpectedly on the grass. "But first, I thought you'd like to say hello to some old friends."
Past Islanders stormed into the villa as a stampede, wearing their finest clothes and excited grins. My heart pounded with happiness as all our friends appeared before our eyes, from Katrina and Eli to Peyton and Sara. Nineteen of our past Islanders appeared in front of us. I was about to bawl from the excitement.
"Giselle!" Polly screamed from the top of her lungs, nearly shattering the villa windows. The two friends hugged, swinging each other around and laughing.
"Hey, y'all," Peyton appeared in front of us, lacing her fingers with Mason's.
"Oh my gosh," I grinned and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "I'm happy for you, Peyton."
"Thanks, Mads." Peyton smiled.
Across the garden, our original boys were slamming each other into rib-crushing hugs, trying to maintain their balance of masculinity and affection. Charlie, Michael, and Eli looked the happiest to see each other. Eli looked over and saw Lucas and bounded over.
"Lookin' good, Lucas!" Eli said, giving his blonde friend a playful punch.
"Thanks," Lucas grinned. "I've been doing what you said... lots of protein!"
"Did you guys miss me?" Amelia shouted over the noise as she waltzed through our group. Oddly enough, I did. Amelia came straight to me and pulled me into a hug and I hugged her back.
"How've you been?" I asked as I pulled away from our embrace.
Amelia looked delighted to be talked to. "I'm good, actually. My Instagram followers are blowing up like never before. You should see your account, Maddie!"
"I'm afraid to look," I laughed.
"Mind if I have a chat?"
A familiar accent caught my attention and nearly drained the blood from my body. I turned around to see Noah, as properly dressed as ever. I was nervous to see him, but his eyes reflected nothing but kindness. "Oh my god!" I smiled and hugged him tightly.
"It's so good to see you," he laughed, hugging me back. "I've been watching the show... I know you were worried about hurting me, but you didn't have to be. I totally get it, Maddie. I'm just happy to see you so happy."
"Thank you!" I smiled up at him. I looked over and found Flynn wandering with the other Casa Amor boys. "This is your doppelganger that the producers tried to set me up with," I introduced the two boys.
Flynn looked over and smiled when he saw Noah. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure's mine," Noah smiled.
I looked over and saw Katrina just exiting a conversation with Peach. "Katrina!" I called. The athlete came bounding over, abs on full display. "I missed you." I wrapped her in a tight hug that she quickly reciprocated.
"I missed you too. I'm so happy for you, Maddie! Look how far you've come! Gosh, it was so weird watching you and Charlie get together," she laughed. "It was sweet, though. The way he'd gush about you..." she trailed off, her voice dripping in admiration.
"How are you? What have you been up to?" I asked.
Katrina smiled excitedly. "Michael and I are moving in together, actually. We're gonna move to his house on the beach in Florida; I got a job offer to be a personal trainer at a fitness club."
"That's great!" I smiled.
"Maddie!" A voice called out. I turned to see Blake approaching me. As he neared, Katrina went to go find more Islanders. "Congrats, Maddie. Top three!" He pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you. Where's Abby?" I asked.
"Ah, she's over there talking to Julie. It's crazy to all be here at the same time. Except for Connor, of course. He's banned," Blake said casually. He let out a content sigh and looked around. "Just think... this could've been us."
I had to glance at him to check if he was joking. "No... it couldn't have," I laughed nervously. "Remember? Family... differences... leaving me on a beach..."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Abby's making me a better person," Blake smiled proudly.
I nodded, ready for our conversation to be over. "Good for you. I'll see you around."
"Here she comes... she's going to charge!" Eli's voice came from behind me. He bent his knees and readied his arms. "Come here!" I laughed and obliged, running full speed into him. Eli expertly grabbed me and swung me around to ease the momentum, then set me down. "There's no one that I'm happier to see in the top three than you, Maddie. You deserve it."
"Thanks, Eli." I grinned up at him, my heart as full as it had ever been. It was a feeling like no other, to have all the people that I loved and shared this experience with being in one place. We circled each other in a swarm, pulling people aside for hugs and well-wishes, making sure everyone knew how badly we missed them.
"Alright Islanders," Arielle's voice emerged over the ramblings of our friends. "Are you ready for the finale?"
We prepared for the final results. Charlie and I stood between Polly and Peach's couples, with all of our past Islanders watching intently from several yards away. My heart began to pound in my chest.
"The couple coming in third place is... Peach and Gray," Arielle announced. My best friend and her couple kissed briefly before taking their seats beside Peyton and Mason.
"And finally... we're down to two couples. Polly and Lucas, and Maddie and Charlie. America has seen both of these couples go from friends to official couples who've both declared their love for each other. That means that tonight, all of you are winners. Both of these couples came to Love Island and succeeded in the very purpose of the villa: to find love, and make connections. But there can only be one winner. The winners of this season of Love Island are..." Arielle paused for dramatic effect, suspending us in silence. "Maddie and Charlie."
I nearly blacked out at the sound of my name. I pulled Charlie in for a celebratory kiss as the Islanders cheered. Then we made our way to Polly and Lucas, giving them hugs and kisses on the cheek as they made their way to join the group. Charlie held tight onto my hand.
"Congratulations, Maddie and Charlie. But your Love Island adventure will end with one last challenge." Arielle gestured to a podium in front of us. "Please stand on either side of the podium." We did as she said, waiting for our next instructions. "Your final test. On that podium are two envelopes. One contains $50,000 and the other contains nothing. You will each choose an envelope. Whoever holds the envelope containing the $50,000 must decide whether they're going to keep it all, or split it with their couple. This is when you find out, was your couple playing with you to get to the cash? Or is the love you share real?"
Charlie and I looked at each other briefly before choosing our envelopes. I held mine tightly in my hand.
"Charlie, Maddie, go ahead and open your envelopes," Arielle instructed.
I peeked into mine. Empty. I unfolded it and showed the rest of the Islanders my results. Charlie stood on the opposite side of the podium. In the center of his unfolded envelope, the prize money was printed as a symbol of his victory.
"Charlie, you chose the envelope containing $50,000! You can now decide if you want to keep it, or split the earnings with Maddie and walk away with $25,000." Arielle backed up as Charlie pretended to make his decision on the spot.
"No contest. Her love is worth more than $50,000. We're gonna split it," Charlie announced, causing another celebratory uproar from the Islanders in the gallery. I walked over and hugged him, giving him a long kiss as confetti was shot out of cannons sitting on the roof and sprayed over the garden.
"Into the pool!" Peach shouted. She led an army of Islanders to jump off the concrete and into the swirling pool water. Others followed, jumping one-by-one in celebration.
Charlie reached out and took my hand. "Ready?" he asked. His words had a double meaning, signifying our readiness to jump into the pool, as well as start our new life together.
"Ready," I confirmed. We took a running leap and splashed into the pool. I emerged from the water's surface as a confident woman, a best friend, a girlfriend, and a winner of Love Island.