Alejandro was nothing but affectionate with Miranda once their bath came to a conclusion. Sure, they didn't get the spiciness they had initially desired when thinking about sharing First Class together, but that didn't stop the Spaniard from snuggling up to his pretty dollface. Peppering her face with kisses, keeping an insistent grip on her hand or waist, cooing sweet nothings into her ear, he was just all over her.
They took some time to blowdry each other's hair and prep for bed. Although that mainly consisted of Alejandro hogging the dryer and occasionally taking a few seconds to blow it onto her head, tickling Miranda's neck as she did her skincare.
But eventually, they settled that debacle and got dressed in comfier clothes while Miranda put her hair into a messy bun. She was feeling quite refreshed, but not sleepy despite the late hour. Since the two of them were so playful, she couldn't find the will to sleep within her.
And as much as Alejandro wanted to spend every second with her, he was awfully keen on the idea of sleeping, despite not being too tired either.
Miranda had sat down at the piano, plunking the keys without much thought behind the notes. Alejandro approached her, humming the melody in her ear and kissing her cheek. She giggled softly, shoving his cheek away.
"I'm busy, excuse you~"
"Oh, please, mi angel~ I know you want to come to bed with me."
She shrugged. "I told you if you want to go sleep, go for it. I'm staying up for a while."
"When was the last time you slept?" he questioned teasingly.
"Hm, good question. Last night I think I got...God, three, or four hours? But hey, that's more than I usually get." Miranda adjusted her glasses, pouting at her how nerdy she must've looked.
"Depriving yourself of sleep is unhealthy, dollface. Come on, at least try. For me?" Alejandro sighed.
"Ugh, I'm not even tired~" Miranda groaned.
"Can't you at least come to lay with me, dollface?"
He pulled her up from the piano bench and into a rather convincing hug. Miranda huffed, hugging him back reluctantly.
"Fine... Just quit calling me dollface." she rolled her eyes, snickering.
"But the word fits you like a glove, how could I do such a thing?" Alejandro purred.
He led her over and laid down on one of the golden chairs. She hesitantly crawled onto the chair as well, settling her head in the crook of Alejandro's neck, her hand delicately tracing lines over his chest. His hand immediately went into her freshly cleaned hair, his nails softly scratching her scalp. This sensation seemingly put her into a trance. Alejandro grinned as she quietly swooned.
"I will never get over how gorgeous you are, my doll."
Miranda hummed softly, stifling a yawn. She figured resting her eyes for a moment wouldn't hurt.
Alejandro stayed awake, watching her slowly but surely fall asleep. Once that time came, he carefully picked her up and stood up, gently setting her back on the chair. The poor girl was out like a light, she hadn't reacted in the slightest. He took one last second to admire her adorable sleeping face, pushing away any hair from it, and kissed her cheek before leaving First Class.
As soon as he did, his villainy shined back through his smirk. He cautiously made his way into Chris's quarters. In the center of the room was a hyperbolic chamber, fogged by air. Alejandro rubbed the glass, seeing Chris inside, fast asleep.
Seeing that his coast was clear, he turned around to view a desk with a laptop sitting on it. Quickly, he booted it up, navigated the files, and opened the live feed coming from the security cameras placed all around the jumbo jet. One shot was of Miranda sleeping in First Class, and another was of Sierra and Cody sleeping in Economy Class. He grinned wickedly upon finding his targets.
With some crafty photo manipulation, he created a seemingly real image of Cody and Miranda resting on each other in Economy Class. Multiple copies of it were printed moments later.
Was it incredibly backstabbing? Absolutely, especially after redeeming himself to Miranda. But, he figured what she didn't know wouldn't harm her. All he needed to do was turn the girls against each other, so he could secure two votes for anyone but himself.
Once he was finished, he shut everything down, snatched up the photos, and got back to First Class. Miranda hadn't moved since he'd left, a wave of subtle washing over his system. Instead of potentially disturbing her, Alejandro decided to leave her be and simply sleep in the chair beside her, a content grin glued onto his face.
The next morning, he fully expected Miranda to be awake before him, but he was mistaken. The doll was still fast asleep, her breathing the calmest he'd ever seen it. Usually, she had a pillow to grip onto while she slept, but since she didn't, she was hugging herself unknowingly, as if there was something filling the empty space. He had noticed this habit of hers early on and completely adored it. It was so wholesome to him. Though he supposed it could also be a bit sad at times, as she was desperate to have something, or someone, to hold onto.
Despite how peaceful she was, he took no time to leave a soft peck on her cheek, a yawn escaping his mouth shortly after.
"Buenos diaz, muñeca." he purred gently in her ear.
She quietly groaned, trying to swat away what was tickling her cheek. Alejandro chuckled sleepily, peppering said cheek with kisses again.
Miranda halfheartedly opened her eyes, yawning through her tired whining.
"Fuck off of me...Just five more minutes."
"Ooh, feisty girl...Says the one who didn't want to go to sleep last night." Alejandro quipped.
Miranda groaned, trying to push his face away again, making him snicker.
"Though I pity your inability to sleep, I miss seeing your gorgeous baby blues."
"My baby blues are fucking tired, now back off~" She huffed, turning on to the side facing away from him.
Alejandro hummed playfully, getting up from his chair and walking around to the side she'd turned to face. He crouched down so he could be at eye level with her sweetly sleepy pout.
"Dollface~" he cooed, pushing the hair out of her face, making her nose scrunch slightly.
"...I'm only getting up if there's coffee."
"How do you like it?" Alejandro grinned, obeying fast.
"Are you making coffee?"
"Perhaps."
"...Splash of caramel and almond milk," Miranda grumbled tiredly.
"Your wish is my command, gorgeous."
He stood up and began preparing a pot of coffee, and while he was at it, he also made himself a quick breakfast. Though she didn't believe he was actually doing that until she heard the coffee starting to brew in the machine. She sat up and peeked through the seats, watching him take out a mug from behind the bar. She knew he felt guilty for what happened in Africa, but she didn't expect him to be this acquiescent. She kind of found it charming to watch him cook, she wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the strange domestication of such a macho man, something about the concept was romantic in her frazzled mind.
When everything was done, he came back over with a plate of pupusas and her coffee poured in a simple black mug.
She took a sip, and her eyes widened. She made her coffee this way constantly, but it was never so brewed to flawlessness.
"How is it?"
"...How did you make it so...?"
"Perfect? Don't you know who you're conversing with, doll?"
Miranda rolled her eyes, taking another sip as he sat down beside her. She shouldn't have been so taken aback, perfection was his supposed staple, after all.
"Would you like a delicious pupusa?" He offered courteously.
"No, I'm good. Thank you for the coffee though."
"Thank you, once again, for inviting me up here with you," he smirked.
She scoffed. "Don't get it twisted. You know I only did it to make things right with Sierra. And if she would've left, I would've taken Cody as a sign of revenge."
"Mhm~" He rose an eyebrow, his smirk growing.
"It's true! I felt terrible for voting Sierra off. After putting up with my screaming and angry ranting about you, just for me to turn around and vote her off...And she was so supportive of me too. What kind of friend goes and does that?"
"You rant about me? Oh, you flatter me, doll~"
Miranda groaned at his selective hearing.
"Oh my God, it's all about you, isn't it? Marvelous, novelist you~ Jesus Christ. Put away your ego for like, ten seconds. This is about Sierra. Ugh, I hope she isn't still mad at me..."
"Alright, in all seriousness, I can't deny or confirm anything for you, doll. But, I would advise you to be cautious of who you're putting your trust into, especially this late in the game."
"Wow, coming from the most untrustworthy person left. Isn't that a little hypocritical, asshole?" she pouted, sipping her coffee.
"I see how that comes off as contradictory of me. But sometimes, the people that hurt you the most are the ones you least expect to."
She scoffed initially, but his words carried some depth to them. Perhaps trusting Sierra with such ease had the potential to hurt her. Getting attached to DJ certainly did, so who was to say Sierra wouldn't? Alejandro noticed the disdain wash over her face, speaking up again.
"Do not let this get to you, dollface. I'm just warning you."
"...I'm not."
"Yes, you are. I know your mind works."
"You're brave, lying like that," Miranda muttered.
Alejandro couldn't help but laugh and kiss her cheek again.
"I love when you're cross with me. You just have the cutest little pout."
"Don't patronize me," she whined.
She stood up with her empty mug to put in the sink behind the bar. Alejandro followed her, stopping as she went behind the bar. When she tried to walk passed him, he took her into his arms and suddenly pulled her into a kiss.
Miranda was taken aback by this but quickly decided to dismiss the shock, getting herself comfortable on his lips. Once he felt her reciprocating, he cupped her face, deepening the kiss for only a moment. Miranda softly whimpered as he pulled away.
"Hm...you're so gentle when you kiss me. Like you're afraid to hurt me. Contrary to that feisty tone of yours."
Her cheeks began heating up as she pouted, embarrassed to ask him for more. But she didn't have to, Alejandro knew how she behaved in situations like these.
"Are you mad at me, doll?"
She shook her head slowly, still not looking him in the eye.
"Then why aren't those gorgeous baby blues looking my way?"
She shrugged, cautiously looking up at his shiny green eyes, but only for a second before her face had the chance to get redder. Alejandro chuckled, his smooth voice vibrating in his throat.
"If you want something, you have to ask for it."
Her cute pout returned. "I thought you said you knew how my mind works."
"Oh, I do. But you know how much I love hearing you beg for me."
Miranda's breath hitched as that smug smirk of his melted away her hesitation. She whimpered, looking up at him with a pair of adorably desperate eyes.
"Please? Kiss me?"
It was a look that could thaw any frozen heart, Alejandro's being no exception. He could've sworn he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight and sound of her. He hummed lovingly.
"You're so gorgeous when you look at me like that. And asking me so nicely...you're such a good girl."
He rewarded her with another kiss, pulling her in by her waist. His fingers delicately slipped under the fabric of her shirt, making her tug on his shirt a bit. There was that intimacy they wanted.
But before anything could transpire, he pulled away again, once more teasing her with temptation.
"Stop...~" she whined.
He snickered. "Hold on, doll. I'll be right back."
He had her in a close embrace, with her tugging at his shirt, making it difficult for him to let go.
"No~"
His grin was starting to hurt, but he just couldn't hold it back. He cupped her face again, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs.
"It's okay, I know how long you've waited. Just give me a moment, and I will give you everything you've been dreaming about."
"...Promise?"
"I promise, mamí. Just wait a little longer." he purred seductively.
Upon hearing that pet name, Miranda let go of his shirt and in turn, he released her from his loving hold and left the room. Miranda couldn't help but feel fuzzy after that, taking a heated breath while fiddling with her shirt a bit. She pursed her lips together before smiling sheepishly as she laid herself down patiently on the couch.
Meanwhile, Alejandro made his way to the galley where he found Sierra, exactly as he predicted. He leaned up against the wall, glancing at her as she passed by.
"Sierra, have a moment?"
She glared at him. "Don't even bother trying to flirt with me, okay? I'm a one Cody-kins girl."
"Of course, however, I feel I must show you something."
"I don't have all day, you know. I have a secret surprise to engineer."
Sierra was holding a duffel bag that had something moving around frantically inside. Alejandro was concerned by this, but he remained tight-lipped about it.
"Your plans may change after you see...this."
Alejandro showed her the photo he'd created, making Sierra gasp with horror at the sight.
"No...! It can't be true! Where did you get this?! I am going to kick Miranda's husband stealing butt!"
"Nuh, uh, uh, patience. You must not let emotions rule your game."
Sierra looked ready to burst into, much to Alejandro's maniacal glee. With that, he left her be and returned to First Class, where he was greeted by his dollface laying on the couch, a pile of her clothes gathered on the floor below. Safe to say, Alejandro focused on little else after seeing that, and Miranda got to relish in all of his lovely attention.
The plane soon landed in the badlands, suffocatingly dry and dusty.
"Welcome to Drumheller, Alberta, a world heritage site. It has the wickedest collection of dinosaur bones on the planet. In front of you is a giant pit with lots of super ancient dino bones. Grab whatever bones you can find to make your very own life-sized dino. I'm calling it, 'Design-osaur-It'!"
The final four groaned at the cringy name. Not like it was anything new.
"I know, they should pay me just to come up with titles. I'm that good. You have two minutes to rifle through the plane's cargo hold and grab whatever you can to help build your creations. And...go!"
The four ran into the opened cargo hold, with Sierra grabbing a multitude of items.
"Glitter glue, stickers, puffy paint, yes!"
Miranda was digging in a box nearby, giving Sierra the idea to squirt glitter glue on her face. Miranda was startled by it at first, but she just brushed it off, along with the glitter on her cheek.
"Heh, real mature."
She took a canvas that Cody was in the process of grabbing, making her stutter a bit.
"O-Oh, sorry, do you need this?" she asked sheepishly.
"Yeah, you're alright, though." he smiled.
Sierra, visibly upset, ran over to Miranda.
"How could you?"
She ran off, confusing her and Cody both.
"What did you do to her?" Cody asked.
"Nothing...? I-I mean, I voted for her. But, we all did, and I apologized for it...is still upset about it?"
Cody shrugged since he was used to Sierra's erratic behavior. Miranda tried to just dismiss it and took her supplies to hunt for bones.
At that time, Alejandro had found his way over to Sierra, who was close by.
"I thought you could use a little visual reminder of what you're playing for."
He pulled out another photo for her to snatch up and seeth at. Alejandro grinned at the instant results, pulling out another one.
"Better? I made many copies... to help you to vent."
"I expected this from that lying, two-faced husband stealer! But, Cody-kins? How could he!?" she cried.
"Ah, I'm sure you two will smooth things over, after you get rid of Miranda, of course." Alejandro's tone oozed with confident venom.
"Miranda is about to become extinct!" Sierra snapped one of her bones violently in half.
Alejandro left her be, going off to find more bones for himself.
After a few minutes, Miranda's eye also caught on to Sierra. As nervous as she was, she approached her with the intent to fix their seemingly broken bridge.
"Hey, Sierra!"
The fanatic growled under her breath.
"I-I can tell that you're not in the best mood, but I feel as though we should talk. I'm sorry for voting for you before...That's why I tried to make it up to you by leaving you and Cody alone in Economy. But if that's not enough, then..."
"At least dinosaurs only killed people for food! You kill people for fun!" Sierra exclaimed.
"I don't think people were around back then, but–"
Sierra cut her off as her emotions took over.
"I'm not talking about actual people. Okay, I mean relationships and souls!"
Miranda shook her head cluelessly. "What are you even talking about?"
"We're talking about the fact, that you're pure evil!"
She picked up a large bone, threatening to wack her with it, causing Miranda to run away, completely terrified.
Miranda took a confessional about the whole situation.
"I don't understand! I apologized to Sierra, and I let her stay with Cody...! Was that not enough? Is she really that mad about it? Oh, I feel awful!"
She covered her face, feeling the guilt beginning to consume her again.
"You're such an awful friend."
"So fucking toxic."
"It's no wonder she hates you."
"Everyone should take notes from her and leave you."
"They shouldn't torture themselves anymore."
The challenge ended within the hour.
"Time's up! Now we'll begin the amazing tour through the ages, of imaginary dinosaurs. Let's start with Alejandro."
He smiled proudly. "I can do better than imaginary. This impressive fellow is the Allosaurus, and yes, that's his real name."
"Wow!" Sierra and Cody exclaimed.
Miranda was utterly stunned, and had nothing to say.
"It's gonna be tough to beat that, right out of the gate." Chris gestured to Miranda.
"Y-Yeah, but there's no harm in trying. I went for a more mythical approach with the aerial beast known as Areodactyl. He's from a popular video game franchise, and he's half pterodactyl, half dragon, ruling the skies of ancient times. Its DNA is extracted from amber, and it was always distinguished by its unexpectedly intense ferocity. Like it?"
"Loving the imagination! L-U-V, love! Code-ster, what do you got?"
"Meet the Cody-odon! No, here, meet him firsthand. Get to know him."
He handed his tiny dino to Sierra, which she hugged.
"Oh, Cody-odon, how could you?"
She handed it back to Cody, who then handed it to Miranda.
"Oh, wow, it's so light."
"I came across a whole whack of these, and I thought they were really cool." Cody grinned.
"They're coprolite fossils," Alejandro clarified.
"All right! Let's call them the, uh, Cody-olite."
"Coprolite translates from ancient Greek. 'Copros' meaning dung, and 'lite' meaning stone." Alejandro snickered.
Miranda gasped, immediately dropping it after hearing that definition.
"You mean it's fossilized..."
He realized its meaning and wiped his hands as everyone gagged about how disgusting his creation truly was.
"Sierra, please rescue us from Cody's suckitude."
"Meet the broken-heart-asarus. A tribute to all those who have been betrayed by who they love."
"Fucking preach, girl." Miranda clapped.
"Why is it wearing a party hat?" Cody asked.
"Because, it's your birthday!" Sierra exclaimed.
"It's my birthday? It's my birthday! I totally forgot!" he grinned.
"I could never ever forget your birthday! Miranda, did you remember it was his birthday?"
Miranda took a confessional again.
"I have...several questions. First of all, how would the hell I know when Cody's birthday is? And also, how the fuck did Alejandro build an entire allosaurus by himself, within an hour?! Like, I have no words..."
"It's so sweet that you remembered, Sierra. Thank you, really." Cody responded with a genuine smile.
"Enough mush. It's judgment day! Which dinos will survive, and which ones will be driven to extinction? Oh, and did I mention who the very special judges are? You! With a pretty shocking twist, of course."
An electric chair that doubled as a lie detector was brought in and Miranda volunteered to go first, just to get it over with. If this was just about which dino she liked the best, she had nothing to worry about. If it were literally anything else, then she'd probably be sobbing with anxiety.
"Please, help me, Lord." she prayed.
"It's time to vote for your fave dino! Can't vote for your own, of course. And you might want to tell the truth, just saying."
Miranda took a deep breath.
"First off, I'd like to just come out and say, Alejandro, yours is absolutely incredible and I literally can't fathom how you made that. But...there's something really genuine and sweet about Sierra's, and it really touched my heart. So, Sierra is getting my vote."
No shocks were executed.
"Alright. Next!"
"I will vote for the dung er–" Alejandro was shocked midway through his lie, the pain immediately recoil and spit out an honest answer.
"Fine. I appreciated Sierra's genuine emotion."
"Good enough. Next!"
Sierra was next up, having no reason to hide her truth.
"While I'd love to vote for Cody's doo-doo raptor, I must vote for vile Miranda's pterodactyl, dragon thing. Mainly because I bet I could try to get something like that for the yard this summer."
"Send me some pictures, eh? Next?"
Last up into the chair was Cody.
"Last year, my own mom and dad forgot my birthday, so I got to vote for Sierra's glitter- osaurus."
"As the winner, Sierra gets this handy dandy post digger!"
"Yee-haw!" She cheered as she was handed the machine.
Once she learned how to turn it on, an evil grin met with Miranda's gaze as she approached her, the blade pointed right at the horrified girl.
Miranda, with terror in her eyes, covered her mouth and began to back away, muffled screams coming from behind her hand. Alejandro's eyes widened as he quickly stepped in front of her to protect her from injury. Despite being the one to set this whole mess up.
"Miranda versus the post digger. See who wins, next, right here on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
Miranda instinctually gripped Alejandro's arm, fighting back and bursting into tears of pure mania.
"Sierra, please! This violence won't solve anything!" Alejandro exclaimed anxiously.
"Please, don't hurt me...! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...! Please... Sierra!!" Miranda's tears weren't held back long as a terrified sob escaped her throat.
Sierra simply glared at her, approaching a bit more, until Alejandro gave her an even stronger, more threatening glare. No matter what kind of ploy he had arranged, no one was going to so much as lay a finger on his dollface. The angry glint in his eye must've clicked in Sierra's head, as she turned off the post digger and silently walked away in anger.
Even though Miranda was in the clear, she was still incredibly distraught by what had just happened, shakily breaking down as a panic attack erupted within her. Alejandro instantly wrapped her up in a secure embrace, shushing her softly.
He knew her feelings would be hurt by all this, but he never expected something as insane as this. He wanted to yell at Sierra for traumatizing this poor girl. Had he known this would've happened, he'd never have devised this plan in the first place.
"She's mad at me...! It's me! She wants me dead, and I deserve it...!"
Alejandro pulled her away to wipe her tears and scold her for what nonsense she was saying.
"Don't you dare say that, Miranda. I have no idea what's gotten into Sierra, but whatever it may be, it is inexcusable to threaten you like that. She is a danger to you. You can't let her get away with coming at you like this."
"But she's mad at me! I did this! I just wanted to talk it out with her...I don't want her to feel like this...!" Miranda bawled, burying her head in Alejandro's shirt.
"At this point, there isn't any room for discussion. Your safest bet right now is to be rid of her before she actually hurts you."
Alejandro rubbed her head gently, making Miranda whimper weakly.
"But this is all my fault, I have to fix it..."
"Even if it was your fault, don't you think she's being quite vicious about it? Whatever you may have done can't be as awful as she's portraying it. Miranda, you're the kindest person I know. You carry with you so much love and compassion. I know that. She knows that...you know that."
She sniffled. "I just want to know what I did..."
He frowned, holding her shoulders and kissing her forehead.
"I'm sure this will all smooth over. I just want to make sure you're safe, above all else."
She nodded, taking deep breaths to calm down. But nothing could protect her from the voices ringing inside her head.
"We're talking about the fact that you're pure evil!"
"How could you?"
"You kill people for fun!"
"WORTHLESS"
"MONSTER"
Thankfully, no interns had to be called in for medical treatment, and eventually, the two rejoined everyone else in front of the jumbo jet. Once cameras were rolling, Chris spoke up again.
"Welcome back to resource-rich Alberta, Canada. The interns were supposed to bury these barrels of maple syrup, sugar, spiders, and rattlesnakes."
Chris banged on the barrels, a hissing sound startling the contestants.
"Long story short, the interns buried our reserve fuel barrels instead."
Chris tipped one of the barrels and snakes came pouring out of it to attack the interns.
"Since Miranda came in second, she gets this rusty, old prospector kit."
He tossed Miranda a pickaxe, making her grin a bit with relief
"And the boys take third, getting deadly squat."
"How am I last when I created the only realistic dinosaur? That has to get me something." Alejandro complained.
Chris chuckled cheekily. "Yeah, you'd think so. First one back with a barrel of my oil wins immunity."
"There must be twenty square miles of badlands. It's like looking for a needle in twenty square miles of badlands." Cody marveled.
"Oh, and I forgot to mention, we'll be pummeling you with the occasional boulder. Funny, right?"
No one seemed amused by this. Chris blew a whistle, letting people begin the challenge.
As to be expected, Miranda decided to keep close to Alejandro for her safety. Just the thought of being alone with Sierra and that dreaded post-digger was going to give her nightmares for the rest of the competition, at least.
Alejandro had no problems with this, of course, though it would've been much smarter had they split up to cover more ground. But, considering the tense air, the least he could do was protect her from any more scares like that. Plus, her prospectors kit would definitely come in handy for him.
"See anything, doll?"
She shook her head, her head hanging down. Alejandro could see the drained look on her face though, grimacing at it.
"It's alright, look at me."
Miranda huffed, her dull blue eyes humoring him.
"You're safe with me, Miranda. She will not get near you while I'm here, do you understand?"
Her lip quivered a bit, but she nodded, lowering her gaze again.
"Chin up, doll. We have to focus now. Hold my hand if you need to."
Miranda nodded again, taking his offer and gripping his hand tightly.
"...I'm scared."
"I know, doll. But you can't think about that right now."
"But, I..."
"Miranda, it's not worth it. We have a challenge to partake in, and it is in your best interest to stop dwelling on what's already done." Alejandro firmly insisted.
Miranda suddenly stopped, letting go of his hand. She hated being told what was best for her. Nothing would be the best for her. Even if there was something, it was completely irrelevant to her. She gave no care for herself. All she wanted was the best for Sierra and nothing else.
"...How do you know what's in my best interest? My life was just threatened! I think I have the right to be upset about it!"
Alejandro was a little taken aback by her outburst, but he knew why she was emotionally unstable. She was certainly selfless. No matter how much Sierra had upset her, she still put her feeling first. Alejandro was unable to comprehend it sometimes.
"You do, you absolutely have that right. But there is a time and place for grief, and here and now is not it. Once the challenge has concluded, by all means, confront her about this. I am not prohibiting you. All I said was there are other things to focus on right now, such as the game."
"Who cares about the stupid game!?" She yelled suddenly, so suddenly that even she flinched once she realized what volume her voice was at.
Alejandro, despite his worry for her, was honest with his response.
"...I do. At the end of the day, you and I are still competing against one another. If you truly did not care about the game at this point, then I suggest you quit and make it easier on all of us."
Miranda gritted her teeth through closed lips. She wanted to dig a nasty insult into his inflated ego but came up short thinking of words venomous enough to perfectly describe it.
Instead, she shook her head and bluntly parted with him.
"...Fine. Have fun digging."
With that, she turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. Never in her life had she felt so lost for words with anger and disappointment. Of course, she knew where his motives lay. But at the same time, after the blissful time she had with him in First Class, part of her secretly hoped his priorities had shifted. But no, it was always about the million. Nothing else fueled him more than money. And this was a wake-up call.
However, Alejandro quickly regretted expressing that to her. He was simply getting tired of being so delicate with her in times like these. Yes, she had every right to be upset, and he felt awful that things had escalated so far. But at the same time, he had no idea where her priorities were. In fact, she never once expressed any interest in winning the game. He was starting to wonder why she actually signed up to be on this show, especially if it only caused her mental and emotional distress. If not money or fame, what else was she searching for?
Instead of chasing after her though, he decided some space was what she needed to recoup and get her thinking straight again. So, he took a few paces and began to claw at the dirt with his hands, in hopes of finding a barrel.
Meanwhile, Sierra began making it abundantly clear that she was not pleased with Cody either, as he began to question her for it.
"I still feel like you're mad at me, what did I do?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Sierra grumbled, sticking her digger into the ground, and drilling a hole.
"I already felt bad for voting for you, okay? And I realize that you must care a lot about me and..."
Sierra pulled out the picture Alejandro had given her in order to retain her concentration.
"Must focus...must focus," she growled.
Cody was confused when she pulled it out. He couldn't quite see the full image and tried to peek over her shoulder.
"Sierra, what's that?"
His thought was interrupted by a boulder flying towards them.
"Incoming!"
He pushed Sierra out of its way. The impact knocked the picture out of Sierra's hands and fluttered into the air. It eventually landed directly on Cody's face for his widened eyes to see. He was completely stunned as he sat up to take a better look at it, unable to process what he was even looking at.
"...How could this happen?" he asked hopelessly.
"You tell me. We're supposed to married. Which means you're not supposed to be cuddling with the fakest girl on the show, or any girl! How could you?!"
"But, I didn't do it, Sierra!"
Chef suddenly came crashing on a boulder nearby, but they were too involved in their conversation to take notice.
"I'll forgive you eventually, but cheaters have to acknowledge..."
Cody quickly cut Sierra off as a lightbulb of realization lit up in his mind.
"Wait, this is just me and Miranda alone in Loser Class."
Sierra started getting emotional once he said that.
"Oh, oh gosh...I told myself I wasn't gonna cry, but–"
Cody put a hand on her shoulder to halt her waterworks.
"No, Sierra, don't cry! That proves it's a fake! When do you ever leave me by myself?"
"I let you go to the bathroom all the time." Sierra defended.
"But this isn't in the bathroom! Don't you see? There's no time that Miranda and I could've been alone without you!"
Cody grinned, which reflected onto Sierra.
"I...guess you're right."
"Where did you get this?" Cody asked.
Sierra gasped as horror and regret flooded into her train of thought.
"Alejandro staged this!"
"He set me up!" Cody scowled.
"Oh, my, gosh. He is going down!" Sierra growled, turning on her digger again.
She suddenly stopped as her digger clanked onto something.
"What'd you hit?" Cody questioned.
Sierra gasped again, this time excitedly.
"It's a barrel of oil!"
As the two tried hoisting the barrel out of the hole, Miranda was out picking away at the ground, trying to find a barrel of her own. She wiped the sweat off her brow, panting.
"What does it even matter anymore...?"
She tossed her pick out of the hole. It luckily struck an oil barrel, proven by the black liquid seeping out of the ground.
"I mean...sure, okay, whatever, I'll take it. Just so I can go inside..."
Her indifference quickly faded as a boulder came flying toward her. She screamed, ducking into her hole. The boulder nearly crushed her, but she was just low enough to be okay. But, there was no way she could get herself fully out of the hole. She got her upper body out, but the legs were hopeless.
"No, no, no... help!" she called out.
Alejandro actually wasn't too far off of where she was, finally digging up his own barrel.
"You cannot keep me down, Chris."
He was suddenly stopped when he heard a familiar, desperate voice, screaming.
"Help me!!"
He turned quickly, his eyes widening with worry.
"Miranda?"
With his concern getting the best of him, he started going in the direction of her screams. Once he saw her struggling in the hole, he couldn't help but chuckle as he leaned against the boulder.
"Please help me..." she whimpered.
He turned to see the flooding oil on the ground. He knelt down to feel it with his fingertips, smirking.
"Don't you dare, Alejandro."
"Oh? Why not? I thought you didn't care about the 'stupid game'?"
"I swear to God, this isn't funny! For once, can't you just put the game aside and help me out of here?"
Miranda was genuinely starting to fear he would leave her to die. And with Sierra completely hellbent on destroying her with a post-digger, she wasn't exactly hopeful that Cody would come to her rescue.
"Alejandro, please. I-I'm sorry for snapping at you...now, please get me out of here...!"
Chris suddenly rang a bell. "Guess what?"
Seeing no other way to plea for her freedom and her forgiveness without a melody, she accompanied Alejandro in a heated duet, on a metaphorical puppet show stage.
A: You drew up some good-faith treaties
But you drew curtains closed, drank your poison all alone
M: You said I have to trust more freely...
A: But diesel is desire, you are playing with fire
M: Well maybe it's the past that's talking...
Screaming from the crypt
A: Telling me to punish you for things you never did
So, I justified it
All that bloodshed, crimson clover
Uh-huh, the bombs are closer
M: My hand was the one you reached for
All throughout the Great War
A: Always remember
Uh-huh, the burning embers
M: I vow not to fight anymore
If we survive the Great War
She felt as though all her limbs were tied up with thin strings, and every calculated move Alejandro made allowed a part of her to move. She always felt like that around him, out of control, but still...guided. She wouldn't have made it to this point had it not been for him, and she knew that all that well. She was truly grateful to him for all he had done, and she just didn't want to lose that.
M: It turned into something bigger
Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I've been betrayed
Your finger on my hairpin trigger...
Alejandro knew he wasn't going to leave her, of course, he wouldn't do that to her. Especially after everything she had gone through today because of him. He just wanted to see her fire reignited. But seeing her look so defeated in that hole...he couldn't leave her wedged in the hole. Alejandro knew he wasn't going to leave her. It was against everything he felt for her. But, pushing her buttons was his favorite thing to do, and her voice was captivating.
A: Soldier down on that rocky ground
Look up at me with honor and truth
Broken and blue...so I'll call off the troops
Tonight's not the night I nearly lose you
M: I really thought I lost...you
Alejandro picked up the pickaxe and began to lift up the boulder to free her. Hope twinkled in her teary eyes as a relieved smile graced her lips. Alejandro lifted her out of the hole, and then gently set her down. Miranda put a hand on his cheek, her gratitude eminent on her face.
M: We can plant a memory garden
Say a solemn prayer,
A: Place a poppy in your hair
M: There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair
A+M: And we will never go back
To that bloodshed, crimson clover
Uh-huh, the worst is over
My hand was the one you reached for
All throughout the Great War
Always remember
Uh-huh, we're burned for better
I vow I will always be yours
When we survive the Great War
As soon as their song concluded, Miranda hugged Alejandro tightly, making him snicker and hug her back.
"You know I wasn't going to leave you, my liege."
She quietly squealed, but of course, Alejandro heard her, his grin widening as a chuckle escaped him.
"You are just the cutest little doll. Now, please. You will never, never, never vote for me."
She looked up at him. "No, of course not. This is the last vote, right? Have I ever done you wrong?"
"Promise?" He cupped her cheek, his eyes glistening with seriousness.
She nodded, planting a soft kiss on his cheek to solidify it.
"I promise. It's the least I can do."
Alejandro smiled sweetly. It was rare to have her kiss first nowadays. Once she initiated back in London, she mostly passed all the control over to him when it came to affection. She didn't care for the idea of being outwardly affectionate with him, so even a simple peck on the cheek spoke volumes about her emotional state at that moment. Miranda soon let go of him to reobtain her pickaxe.
"Will you help me lift out a barrel I found earlier? We can finish this challenge together."
She nodded again as he wrapped an arm around her. Alejandro took a confessional about his decision to free her from the hole.
"I did not let my feelings get in the way of the game. I just needed her to prove her loyalty to me, since she does not plan to target Sierra. Got it? It's all strategic."
Miranda also took a short confessional.
"I'd never thought I'd say this, but... Alejandro has treated me better than anyone else today. I'm really grateful he's always been there for me... Th-That's the only reason I'm gonna vote with him, okay? It's all strategic...!"
The two of them pushed their barrels back to the plane, although Miranda's was still leaking everywhere. They made it only to sadly find another barrel already there.
"We lost!" Miranda frowned.
"We tied for second, but it's okay! The worse that can happen is a tie-breaker. And either one of us can be best either one of them, with our eyes closed!" Alejandro smirked.
Miranda went along with his confidence but she still had a wide array of doubts. Sierra would probably team up with Cody to eliminate her at this rate. She could only hope Alejandro would do the same.
She made her way into the plane, with intention of using the confessional once more, for a couple of reasons. To mentally prepare herself for not just eliminations, but also to confront Sierra about what was going on between them. Despite everything Alejandro had said to calm her down, she still had this awful feeling that she had done something so fatal to Sierra's wellbeing. Something she'd completely forgotten about. This was definitely deeper than just some silly vote.
But not knowing what that something was was the most infuriating part about all this. Had she known what was going on, she could easily make steps to correct her behavior and make it up to Sierra. Without that knowledge, she was just a bullseye on a target, waiting for Sierra's digger-shaped bow to impale her with wrath.
"So... Sierra won the challenge, which basically puts me on thin ice. Alejandro is either going to be my downfall or my savior. If he's the latter, I'm stuck in the final three with him. Ugh, and I'll never beat him, he's great at everything. Unless it's another eating challenge..."
Sierra suddenly popped her head in the door, completely terrifying Miranda as she backed away as far as she could from her, her back pressed firmly up against the bathroom wall.
"Please, please, please...! Not the digger! Please, just let me go, I–"
"We need to talk," Sierra said firmly.
Miranda looked up at her anxiously. She removed herself from the wall but didn't fully approach the fanatic.
"Y-You're not gonna hurt me...? I-I don't know what I did to hurt you so bad, but I'm so sorry, Sierra...Really, I'll do anything to make it up to you, so please...just don't hurt me..."
Sierra suddenly pounced on top of Miranda, but it was not out of violence. She wrapped her arms around her in a tight, regretful hug as she began to ramble.
"Miranda, you have nothing to say sorry for. I should be the one apologizing. I'm so so SO sorry! Today has been a totally wacky, crazy misunderstanding...I definitely went overboard, and considering your anxiety...that was totally uncalled for. I shouldn't have been mad at you at all, you did nothing wrong..."
Miranda blinked, thoroughly confused. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to hug Sierra back at this point, but she didn't push her away by any means.
"W-What are you talking about? Y-You're not mad I voted for you?"
"What? Pfft, no way! I'm kinda used to it at this point."
"Then...why were you so furious with me...?"
Sierra sighed, pulling away from Miranda a bit.
"As I said, huge misunderstanding. You see... Alejandro gave me this."
She handed her the last copy she had of the fake picture. Miranda covered her mouth, her skin paling at the sight. Her heart had a sinking feeling when she saw it, knowing exactly where it came from, but she didn't want to believe it was really true.
"Sierra...Oh, God. N-No, this is fake...I would never do that to you...But, where did...?"
"Alejandro faked it. I don't know how, but there's no way it's real since I'm always with my Cody-kins."
Miranda's chest swelled, fear getting caught in her throat. She began to tremble, unable to control it even if she wanted to.
None of this would've happened had it not been for him...He used her...so blatantly...
"He...set all this up...?"
"Miranda, I'm so sorry." Sierra frowned.
She felt like she could barely stay conscious anymore, as the realizations bombarded her mind. Her brain picked apart every single interaction she'd had with Alejandro. Every word he said, every smile he faked, every glint his eye would catch in every form of light... Every lie he ever told her...every sick truth that had only just now realized...
"You're beautiful, you know that?"
"Even like this, you're the most gorgeous woman I've laid eyes on."
"I care about your well-being so much, Miranda, I haven't been pretending."
"Talented, intelligent, resourceful, yet above all else...self-effacing."
"You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you. Not when I'm here."
"You are quite ideal, my dear liege."
"Do you know how worried we all were?"
"We can still win this without you."
"She's a stubborn girl, that one."
"Yes, I may be using her for my own gain, but..."
"I suggest you quit and make it easier on all of us."
"H-How could he...? No...but I..."
Her voice had completely shattered along with her overwhelmed heart, leaving her unable to hold back the tears, or the words that slipped so devastatingly off her tongue.
"...But I love him..."
Sierra gasped. "So you really do...?"
Miranda nodded as the tears cascaded down her face. She hugged Sierra tightly, who took no time to hesitate and hug her back, and their friendship mended. But at what cost?
She couldn't hold back the distraught scream from bellowing out from her mouth and into Sierra's chest.
"That fucking...traitor!! He'd said he'd never hurt me...!! He made me fall in love with him...!! That bastard!!"
"You poor thing... He's been super flirty with you all game, I get why you fell so hard. Boy, do I know? But, if he's going to keep hurting you like this, you can't stick with him. You are way too good for someone like him. You deserve someone who's really gonna love you, and not turn their back on you when you need them most."
Miranda whimpered, hiccupping through tears as Sierra pulled away to look her in the eye.
"Cody and I are both voting for him tonight. If you want to join in, he'll be gone and you can move on from this. You don't need him."
She took a very shaky breath. "I know...You're right... But, he...no one has ever shown me affection the way he did...I wouldn't be here...if not for him...and I promised him that I'd..."
"Who cares, Miranda!? He lied to you and tried to stab you in the back, after everything! You can't let him get away with that! He's controlled you for way too long! Take a stand, and do something for yourself!"
"...Sierra..." Miranda sniffled.
"I'm really sorry this happened, Miranda. Once I realized what was going on, I felt terrible for the way I treated you! Making you break down like that...I was worried about you. Like, super worried."
Miranda shook her head dismissively.
"No, I understand... I knew if I could just talk to you, we could fix everything... I really...appreciate you telling me all this...You're a good friend."
"So are you. That's why you deserve better."
"...Can I just...be left alone, for a little bit?"
Sierra nodded as she left the room, obeying Miranda's shaky request.
Immediately as the door clicked shut, Miranda was filled with a hurricane of emotions. But not the one she should've felt. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to be furious...but all she could bask in was the storm of betrayal, heartbreak, regret...and guilt. Because no breakdown was complete without guilt, apparently. Despite letting some of it out in Sierra's embrace, she was reluctant to let any more tears loose for the time being. So she simply tried to breathe through it all, and pull her shit together, as usual.
The worst part was, she knew she could've avoided all of this, the second she made eye contact with Alejandro on the first day. She knew the second she let Alejandro see her walls crash, her fate would seal. He took advantage of her fragile heart and mind's weakness and turned them into a weapon. She always knew that would happen too, but those damn hypnotic eyes and sickeningly calming voice made her disregard every red flag that was ever raised, every single time. It was like wearing a pair of rose-colored glasses every time he was around. Her ignorance had gotten so awful that it had gotten to the point that she began to genuinely fall in love with him, despite everything in the world telling her it was a terrible, suicidal idea.
But it wasn't until now she realized more than ever before that he had treated her less than fairly. He either spoiled her beyond belief or degraded her to the point of no return. She saw why Heather would constantly warn her about him, and why she was so furious about the idea of covering up for him. She had been trapped in a never-ending rut of humiliation and uselessness.
But, Sierra and Cody were offering her a ladder, a way out of this mess. The ladder was covered in thumbtacks, sure, but it was a way to freedom. She couldn't stay trapped in this hole, hoping and praying he'd lighten up and stay consistently kind. Enough was enough.
Chris had an intern bring in the passports to the confessional where Miranda was hiding. She opened up the four different varieties and look at each face with thought. She picked up the one with Alejandro's handsome face on it, sighing.
"...I can't do this anymore. I can't let how I feel blind me to reality. You're done, Alejandro. I am done."
She put it down, picked up the stamper, and pressed it down on his face, blotting it out with a red "X".
The intern was waiting outside for her, so she opened the door and handed him the closed passport. There was no one else around since Alejandro was in the Common Area, and Sierra and Cody were in First Class. She closed the door behind her as she watched the intern walk away.
But as soon as the door clicked shut again, her vision started hazing. Her reflection began to blur, despite her contacts desperately trying to aid her sight. Her hands started to tingle as if they were asleep. A sharp pain struck her in the frontal lobe of her head.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
"YOU PROMISED."
"YOU'RE SO FUCKING STUPID."
"GAME OVER."
"HE'S GONNA HATE YOU FOREVER."
"GET RUINED, BITCH."
"YOU DESERVE HELL."
"TRAITOR."
"WORTHLESS."
"MONSTER."
Anxiety hit her like a bunch of machine-gun bullets, the voices in her head making her feel like she was going deaf, overlapping with each other, making them sound only barely legible. Despite being in such a quiet little room, it couldn't have been louder for her. Without any restraint, she started to run, completely out of her control, like she was walking home drunk from a concert. She aimlessly ran down to the other bathroom down by Economy Class.
Miranda shut the door behind her, nearly running into the wall. With no hesitation, she screamed off the top of her lungs. She fell to her knees, gripping her hair tightly before completely bursting into fits of sobbing once again.
All that went through her head was the inevitable anger Alejandro would have for her, and how it suddenly became her ultimate fear. Never in her life did she feel so terrified to look someone in the eye again. What would he do to her now that she betrayed him?
She absolutely despised that it had to be this way, after everything. She was overwhelmed with fond memories she had of him, and she wanted them so badly to outweigh all the betrayal and hurt he'd brought upon her. Yes, he was incredibly toxic to her, but he had something about him that made her devastated to see him go.
It was undeniable that she'd fallen in love with him, despite his manipulative, evil, Aries qualities. She had cherished his kindness, even if wasn't genuine in the first place. She wanted to believe he was secretly good under all that narcissism. No one had made her feel the way he did, and to repay that kindness by going back on her promise like this...? She couldn't fathom how Alejandro could do something so cruel and so effortlessly. But even still, she considered stamping that passport the most horrendous mistake she'd ever made, aside from what she had just done.
She stayed in the bathroom until Chris called everyone out on the intercom. She stood up from the bathroom floor, turning towards the mirror to see her completely wrecked appearance.
Her hair was tousled, her shirt was stained with tears while eyeliner and mascara ran down her face in streaks, and her eyes, nose, and cheeks were severely pink and puffy. A familiar sight to her, but this was the worst she'd ever seen herself. Not to mention her throat was now almost totally shot from how loud and hard she'd cried. But all she decided to do was wipe her eyes of the smeared makeup coating them and fix her hair before walking out.
Everyone was already outside, except for Chris, who was "disciplining" the interns for burying the wrong barrels.
Sierra and Cody were sitting at the fire while Alejandro was pacing around it. Miranda walked out of the plane with her head down and arms crossed. If Sierra didn't know any better, she would've thought she was simply cold.
That was what Alejandro believed as he walked over to her. He quickly noticed her shaking the closer he got.
"You look a little chilly, dollface. Sit down by the fire."
She shook her head, holding back whimpering.
"...N-No, it's fine..." her shaky voice immediately concerned him.
"Miranda, what's the matter?"
She shook her head again, feeling tears falling down her face again. She couldn't even look at him. She knew she hadn't gotten it all out, but she almost hoped it was enough to get through the night. Alas, here she was, bawling for the third or fourth time today. She'd honestly lost count at this point.
Alejandro saw the tears fall from her chin to the ground, making him wrap his arms around her. What he didn't expect was for her to hug him back so tightly. The second she did, she started to crumble again, crying into his chest in an incredibly panicked tone. She hadn't given herself enough time in the bathroom to let the attack or breakdown pass. So, now she had to let it pass, whether it was in a safe space or not.
Alejandro's worry spiked as soon as she started to lose tact in her tone. He'd seen her breakdown before, obviously, but for some reason, this particular one held much more weight than the previous ones. Her tone sounded urgent, even more so than it did when Sierra nearly attacked her earlier in the day. But Sierra hadn't appeared to do anything that severe since then, so he was confused and worried as to what could've possibly triggered Miranda so badly. Plus, he wasn't fully expecting to be bombarded with a breakdown at this exact moment. A few hours ago, she was squealing with glee and now she was crying as if someone in her family had passed.
Sierra and Cody looked incredibly sympathetic for her as Alejandro attempted to calm her down, rubbing her back and shushing her. But no matter what he did or said to her, she showed no signs of slowing down her breathing, which kept getting caught in her throat as she sobbed.
"Miranda, what on Earth has gotten into you? I've never seen you this upset..."
He almost thought it was foolish to ask her anything that wasn't a yes or no question, as she was crying so hard she could barely breathe. But despite that, Miranda was barely able to whimper out a choked-up sentence that Alejandro didn't expect to hear.
"...D-Don't...leave me..."
At first, Alejandro didn't know what she'd said. But, after taking a second, he interpreted her distressed tone.
"Don't leave me...? You don't want me to leave?" He asked for confirmation.
She nodded, still crying heavily. Alejandro frowned, squeezing her a bit tighter as he started to rub her head.
"Oh, dollface...you don't have to worry about that. There's very little chance that I will lose to Cody in the tie. But, on the rare chance I actually do...That does not signify the end of us. You mean more to me than you will ever know. Nothing I do or say to you will make you realize how much you mean to me."
She finally got the courage to look up at him, wiping any more tears from her rosy cheeks. It was then Alejandro realized that she'd been crying for quite a while before this, his curiosity and worry rising ever so slightly. She couldn't even respond, because she just didn't know how to. What if he was lying? What if he wasn't? Every word he said became overwhelming. All she could do was lower her head and continue crying in his chest.
Alejandro kissed her forehead, which only made her whimper nervously. She broke down a little more as he slowly cupped both her cheeks and kissed her lips gently.
Miranda, for once, didn't take a second of it for granted. She knew this was the last time he'd ever do this, and the last time she'd ever feel this type of comfort with him. She clung to his shirt, feeling that loving perception of him she grew to adore fading away into her distant imagination. She put her other hand on his cheek, whimpering in between breaths. Alejandro removed his hands from her face and wrapped both arms around her in a protective embrace, in hopes of slowing down her tears.
When they broke, she felt his thumb wipe away a stray tear as she brokenly spoke through the rest of them.
"I'm...so... sorry...I'm sorry... you ever had to see me like this...I'm sorry...that you've had to... put up with me... for so long..."
"Miranda, stop it. I haven't been putting up with you. It's been my pleasure to be in your company. You are heaven-sent, dollface. So gentle, selfless...You take my breath away every single day. I told you before, but even like this...you're the most beautiful woman I've laid eyes on. I will never stop singing your praises."
He pulled her closer, keeping his hand on her cheek. A smile could faintly be seen on her face, but the tears made it fade just as quickly.
"...Such an Aries," she mumbled weakly.
He snickered, kissing her lips again for a moment. He tried to let go of her, but she was deathly afraid to, burying her head back in his chest, whimpering helplessly. Alejandro chuckled, hugging her again.
"It's okay, dollface... Everything will be just fine."
She was really getting sick of hearing that.
Chris soon came out of the plane, forcing them to let go and sit down.
"I've got a little season one tribute treat here for you. Remember, Sierra has invincibility, so there better not be any votes against her. So, Sierra, you get tonight's first marshmallow."
Chris tossed her the marshmallow, which she caught.
"Aw, I used to eat these at home while watching the show!"
She ate the marshmallow, savoring its sweet flavor.
"Oh, that is so much better than I ever imagined."
"Tonight's second marshmallow goes to... Miranda, who also had no votes against her."
Miranda caught her marshmallow, quickly looking at Alejandro with horror.
"Let's read the remaining votes, just for a little suspenseful fun. The first vote goes to...Cody."
Sierra put a hand on his shoulder, while Miranda covered her mouth with her fist to hold back her whimpers. She would've given anything to disappear at that moment.
"One for Alejandro...Another one for Alejandro."
Alejandro looked over to Miranda, seeing her shaking more than she had been before. Seeing this even made him nervous.
"And the last vote goes to..."
Sierra suddenly interrupted the verdict.
"Wait! We've all been through a lot together, so I think we should do one last thing before anybody gets the boot. BRB!"
Sierra ran into the plane, and Miranda took her hand off her mouth with a temporary sense of relief.
Sierra came back outside with a cake topped with sparklers.
"Happy birthday Cody! I made it myself."
She failed to realize the sparks were landing on the spilled oil from Miranda's barrel. But everyone else realized it, crying out in a panic to the ticking time bomb.
"Sierra! Look out!"
"What?!"
BOOM!!
Before she or anyone had time to react, the entire jumbo jet exploded, the blast expanding out for what felt like hundreds of miles in all directions.
Alejandro acted fast, tackling Miranda to the ground to shield her from the impact and debris. When the smoke cleared, he looked down anxiously, only to be met with intense relief to see that she was fine, just wildly shocked. Once she came to her senses and realized what had just happened, she gasped loudly when she saw Alejandro on top of her, nearly screaming again.
"Oh my God, a-are you okay?! Oh my God, why did you do that?! Are you insane, you could've been killed!!" Miranda hugged him tightly.
"Sh, sh...Hey, hey, I'm alright...I'm okay...I've got you, baby... What did you want me to do? You could've been killed...!" Alejandro panted heavily while holding onto her securely.
Cody peeked out from behind a totem pole he had taken cover with.
"Sierra!"
"My beautiful plane! NO!" Chris cried in agony.
Cody rushed over to the source of the explosion and knelt down next to a completely charred Sierra.
"Are you okay?" he asked, completely shocked.
"It was chocolate, your favorite..." she squeaked out weakly.
Miranda and Alejandro ran over as well, the former sounded almost manic with concern.
"Oh my God, Sierra!"
"Are you okay?!" Alejandro asked worriedly.
"Do I look okay?" Sierra sneered at him as her burnt hair disintegrated.
"Chris, hey, Chris!" Miranda cried out.
Chris was in the rubbage of the plane, looking infuriated.
"Aw, she's fine. Although I guess with the whole blowing up my plane business, she's out of the game!"
Realizing what was said, Alejandro grinned.
"So, the final three, it's Cody, Miranda, and me?"
Miranda gasped as he spoke.
"Cody, you must win it for both of us!" Sierra whimpered.
Miranda took the biggest sigh of relief, resting her forehead on Alejandro's arm. He smiled, taking her up and into his arms, her feet dangling off the ground as Miranda squeaked and softly giggled, pushing the remainder of her tears back within herself.
"I told you there was nothing to worry about, dollface."
She was praising the heavens above as she hugged him back.
"Oh my God...I need to sit down after all that, holy fuck..."
Alejandro quickly put her down to do just that. She went over to the seating area, noticing the passports sprawled across the ground. She picked them up, opening each one to confirm what would've happened had the plane not been destroyed.
Alejandro turned around to see if she had found a place to sit, only to see her drop the passports into the fire, then walk back over to check on Sierra and Cody. He was fully aware that curiosity killed the cat, but that was something he was willing to risk in this instance, as her action only made that unsettling feeling in his chest intensify.
When she wasn't paying attention, Alejandro made his way over to the fire. He carefully knelt down and reached in to pull them out before they could turn to ash. He blew off the flames, reading the votes. His eyes widened as he saw three pictures of his face stamped out with an X, rather than the two he was expecting. At last, this evening was starting to make some sense. The words he spoke next sounded like a hiss coming from a venomous snake, seeking out its next victim.
"You will regret this, Miranda. Oh, yes...You will regret this."
(A/N written in 2019): Goodbye Drumheller and goodbye my absolute favorite chapter ever. (AND IT STILL IS HOLY FUCK I LOVE THIS CHAPTER SM) I absolutely adore this chapter's changes. The original was kind of the pacifist way to write how this would turn out, but I wanted to go darker for the alternative. Alejandro's plan is, yes, SO FUCKED UP. Like, I would read this back, gasp and whisper how not okay this was. But, that's why I love it. This is just a rollercoaster of feels like- this is huge. (Some parts still make me tear up omg) I hope you guys love it as much as I do! Let me know how you're feeling after reading this in the comments, I'm so excited to see the reactions. How will these two come back after their losses? Find out next time! Thank you, guys, so much for your love and support, I love you! ~Miranda