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Word had spread around the villa about a weird vibe. Calling it weird was understating, even insulting, the disaster that became of the recoupling. Bobby felt a twitch of guilt when he realized his offhand comment to Jakub was probably what set it off. He was trying to be supportive after Marisol encouraged him to consider Jakub’s feelings as a newcomer and it had only snowballed.
“I’ve been thinking of trying things on with Hope,” Jakub had said, wrapping his meaty hands around the handles of the barbell. “I don’t think it would go over all that well, though. She and Noah have been inseparable since they laid eyes on each other.”
Bobby stifled a bitter laugh. He had seen the way Noah looked at you, the way he talked to Priya, the way he sat too close to Marisol. He had seen Hope with Lucas and Jakub, and wondered just how much he too could get away with if he wasn’t afraid of disturbing the peace in the Villa.
“Nah, mate. You should go for it.” Bobby planted his feet, tucking his knees and lifting the bar off its stand. “We’re all in here to find love, right? If you think you could find it with Hope, you’ve got nothing to lose.”
Jakub laughed heartily. “You really think so?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Bobby said, trying to fight a smile. “I think I really lucked out with MC. We’ve got a stellar connection. She’s fantastic. If Hope’s your MC, you’ve got as much right to try it on with her as Noah.”
An uncharacteristically thoughtful look crossed Jakub’s face. “You’ve got a point. I do have to think about it a bit more before I make any final decisions. I might take it up with Hope and Noah just so it’s not a total shock at the recoupling, yeah?”
“Yeah, mate. Do what you need to do,” Bobby said, growing less interested in Jakub as moments passed by.
“Who knows, though? I have a feeling by the time I reach a decision it’ll surprise everyone here.” Jakub shook his head, on his way to the door of the gym. “I’ve really hit it off with a lot of the girls in here. I reckon even MC and I would make a good fit.”
Bobby felt a chilling panic rush through his arms and he dropped the weight back onto its stand. When he looked up to squint at Jakub, he had gone. He suddenly felt a bit ill.
Glistening with droplets of water, Bobby emerged from the showers, making a beeline for the kitchen where you stand, refilling your water bottle. He still feels a bit nauseous and he finds it hard to conceal that with his expression.
“We should talk,” he says. “You got a minute?”
“Sure thing!” you say, screwing on the lid of your bottle.
He’s comforted by your enthusiasm. Bobby’s shoulders relax and a relieved smile stretches across his face. “Great.” The hesitation returns as he says, “I didn’t want to er… get the wrong impression and make the wrong decision later.”
The conversation with Jakub is replaying in his head, but you can’t hear that. Your mouth drops open and you stammer out, “What are you getting at?”
“Well, what with everything else going on and all this chat recently…” He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck as an involuntary frown takes over. “What I really want to know is if you’re serious or not.” He finally meets your eyes and heaves a sigh, slipping his hands in the pockets of his swim trunks. “So here it is. Do you want me to pick you at the recoupling?”
Choosing your words cautiously, you respond, “Only if you want to pick me.”
His eyes widen and rushes to clear the air, taking your limp hand on the counter in both of his. “Of course it is! I’d really like to end up with you,” he says, giving you a signature grin. You reciprocate it and he seems relieved. He catches sight of Gary approaching the kitchen and slips his hand out of yours. “Anyway, that’s great. I’ll pick you again this evening then.” He says so rather loudly, and he pretends not to be smug that Gary’s shoulders slump.
“I’ve got just one question, though. I was chatting to Jakub earlier and he was saying he was going to pick someone nobody was expecting,” Bobby says in a low voice. “Do you think he’s into you?”
Honesty. That was his brand, after all. The only way he was going to guarantee he wasn’t being underhanded was to ask questions. Guessing games weren’t his style. Waiting and seeing induced too much anxiety. Besides, if he could catch it from you that things were going south, maybe he could salvage it. He liked transparency because it gave him a sense of security and control over things that was hard to come by in the Villa.
“He’s hard to read,” you admit vaguely, and he seems to tense up even more.
“Yeah, that’s one way to put it…” He draws circles on the countertop before slapping its edge with his fingertips, recovering quickly with a carefree grin. “I’m really glad we had this chat. And the recoupling later is going to be great. Catch you in a bit!”
He had nothing but his razor sharp intuition to tell him how painfully wrong he was about to be.
Jakub pranced over the lawn, stretching his muscles and roaring with confidence, ignoring the well-earned remarks from Gary and Rahim about being an idiot. Bobby bounced a knee, his fist closed over his lips as he stared into the hot coals in the fire pit.
Henrik seems lost in thought as well and wordlessly takes a seat next to Bobby. Bobby almost doesn’t notice, but Henrik says something nearly inaudible that draws him out of his thoughts.
“You alright, mate?” Henrik says, giving Bobby’s shoulder a push with his own.
Bobby squints an eye at Henrik, unsure of how much to give away to him considering they weren’t all that close. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just thinking about the recoupling. The weird vibe, yeah?”
“Absolutely. I’m pretty excited, actually.” Henrik smiles. “I think Priya and I are a good fit.”
Bobby wonders absently why everyone is so ready to tell him their business. He envied the rest of the islanders for maintaining an air of mystery. Ignorance really is bliss, he thinks. Knowing everyone’s secrets was a heavy weight to carry, even if it did offer him a ledge of power if he ever needed it.
“Good for you, mate.” Bobby sighs, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back. “Jakub’s driving me mad.”
Henrik looks over at Jakub, who is holding Noah’s arm to his chest for some reason. Distantly, Bobby hears him say something about his heartbeat. It doesn’t enlighten him at all.
Henrik clicks his tongue. “Yeah, you’re entitled to that. I’d be pretty worried too if he was planning on picking my girl.”
Bobby feels his heart drop to his stomach. “What?” he stammers. “He is?”
“Mate, I think we all were,” Henrik says, shaking his head as the girls start to emerge from the villa. “I know I was.”
It’s almost surprising before it isn’t. He was perfectly aware of Gary’s crush and Noah’s strange devotion to protecting you. He suspected Jakub liked you, and he found it didn’t relieve him at all to know that he was right. But Rahim? Henrik? Anger trickled down his arms in goosebumps as he started to let himself wonder if he really had any friends in the villa after all. Then he wondered if he even had you.
“All of you have had your eye on MC and none of you bothered to tell me,” Bobby says, beads of sweat freckling his neck. “Has she been grafting then?”
“I wouldn’t say she’s been grafting, no.” Henrik rubs his hands together and stands up to wave at the girls. “But it’s her loyalty to her couple that’s so intriguing. That and we’ve just all been wanting to try it on with her since day one.” He frowns at Bobby, who’s gone pale. “You should see the look on your face. You look ill. It is fair game, bruv. No worries, though - I’m all about Priya. As long as I’ve got her, your girl’s safe from me!”
This is not as reassuring as Henrik thinks it is. Bobby catches sight of you, and you’re wearing a tight white pantsuit and, donning a long, lively ponytail. The girls immediately notice Jakub’s show of a warm-up. Your nose pinches and you shake your head, eyes surfing the line of boys before you found him and smiled warmly, which would have melted his heart if it hadn’t dropped six feet under after Henrik’s reveal. Instead his eyes fell to the floor, to the fire pit, to the fairy lights, to the trees. He couldn’t bring himself to meet eyes with you as his face grew strangely hot with tears.
The recoupling was entirely too eventful. Jakub had first choice (of course he did), and he chose Hope, the first to start the trend of completely bizarre and unexpected couples.
The best way to describe the evening was definitely when Priya looked around at the couples and blurted out, “It’s an absolute disaster!”
Hope and the rest of the islanders except Jakub burst out in ironic laughter, and Bobby joined in to channel every emotion stirring in him into something other than staring at you, for at every next sight of you his knees threatened to buckle and his televised dignity threatened to follow.
After the laughter settled into uncomfortable silence, the new couples broke off from the group. Marisol was speaking, and Bobby tried to put on a polite and attentive facade. She saw through it almost immediately, and responded by giving him a sympathetic look.
“She meant what she said,” Marisol promised. “And she was right. You will get another chance. Besides, you two can still spend every second together until the next recoupling. I even give you my blessing.”
Bobby smiled at her sweet attempts to cheer him up. His eyes traveled over to where you and Henrik were talking. Henrik leans closer to you to initiate a kiss, but you immediately jump up, shaking your head at him. Pride swells in Bobby’s heart when you do.
“What about you?” Bobby says to Marisol. “Anyone in here lucky enough to be your recent fascination?”
Marisol shakes her head, seeming a bit deflated. “I’m starting to wonder if I’m just hard to get on with, honestly. I’ll probably get dumped next. I’ve sort of just accepted it, to be honest with you.”
Bobby invites her into a hug but she declines.
“I’m alright. Really.” She stands up, smoothing out her skirt. “It’s Love Island. It can’t be long until they send in someone new, and that someone could have the spark I’ve been looking for all along.”
Normally, Bobby would attempt to uplift her with a follow up joke, but this time he can’t find one. He reclines in his seat, folding his arms over his chest. He watches Noah and Priya sway together to no music in the dimly lit kitchen. He watches Rahim and Lottie sit in silence by the pool as she traces over the lines in the palm of his hand. He even watches Henrik dance fingers through your hair as you lounge together in the bean bag chairs, and feels a sudden crushing sense of loneliness. For the first time in the Villa, he lets himself feel scared. He lets himself feel sad. And most of all, he lets himself fall in love with you. He curses himself for not letting you know how deeply he felt for you when he had the chance, but he’s far too aware that, because of the nature of Love Island, it hardly mattered how he felt for you all along, and too aware of how he was falling in love with you, without you.
You’re refilling your bottle of water one last time before bed. Your hair is in a lazy bun and a lavender jumper is pulled over your shoulders. Bobby’s heart is twice as heavy as he approaches you again. He musters a tired smile and greets you.
“Hey, you. I’m going to be honest, I really didn’t see the recoupling going the way it did.” He sighs, nervously tapping his fingers along the surface of the counter. He lets go of his smile and gives you a more serious look, hoping he can somehow communicate how much he feels for you with a single glance. “We really need to talk about what we want to do from here and how we want to play this. So I was thinking…” He stops talking when Jakub, Hope, Chelsea and Priya stride into the kitchen, laughing and chatting as Priya wrapped up some absurd story about falafels. Bobby’s jaw tightens when he locks eyes with Jakub.
Jakub gives Bobby a stoic up-nod and slips his hand into Hope’s.
“That is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. I can’t believe that’s how they make mayonnaise.” Chelsea receives a few odd looks from the rest of the group. “Olive oil and vinegar! That’s lols.”
Bobby purses his lips to keep from laughing.
“I don’t think that was the point of the story, babes,” Hope says gently, and Chelsea frowns.
“That reminds me of the time I was at a bodybuilding meetup and this rep came along with these meal replacement samples…” Jakub starts to say, earning an eye roll from both you and Bobby.
“Maybe it can wait until tomorrow,” Bobby says, trying to ignore the feeling of his breath being caught indefinitely in his chest.
You slump your shoulders, tossing an annoyed look at the group that interrupted. “I guess it’ll have to.”
He’ll tell you. He will. Just not now. The moment was soiled, but it would come again soon. Marisol was right, after all. You’ll have plenty of time to spend with only each other until the next recoupling. Right?
Bobby followed up the chaotic and restless evening with a restless sleep. His dreams were plagued by Henrik’s laugh, an overflowing sink, and he distinctly remembered being locked out of a house, freezing in a snowstorm with no clothes on. In the dream, he’s pounding desperately on a window and you’re staring at his vulnerable, shivering frame with a blank expression on your face.
Then he’s being gently shaken awake, and a feeling of shame blankets over him as he comes out of sleep and realizes it’s really you. He feels strangely like he’s violated you by dreaming about you, but manages to give you a sleepy smile.
“Oh, hey.” Bobby forgets, for a blissful second, the events from the night before. He makes sure to appreciate this moment, where he is allowed the privilege of waking up to your face even though you weren’t coupled up.
You sigh, tracing your thumb over the shape of his face. “Listen, we don’t have much time. Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but… The girls are going off on a secret trip.” Bobby raises his eyebrows and props himself up on an elbow to look around the room.
“Oh, woah, is everyone gone?” he asks. “You lot are like cats. I’ve got no idea how you did that without making any noise.”
You wrinkle your nose at him. “It helps that you guys all sleep like sacks of potatoes.” Bobby grins and wipes the sleep from his eyes.
“So where are you going?” he asks, fighting a yawn.
You give him a deflated shrug. “We don’t know - we’re just leaving and it’s meant to be a secret.”
Succumbing to the yawn, Bobby mumbles, “I hope you’re not gone for too long. I’ll miss you.”
You bite your lip to hold back a smile. “You’re such a melt!”
He tilts his head and sits up in bed. “I know,” he says. “But I mean it. It’s always different when you’re not around.” Your eyes soften at his words, but you have no idea how much he truly means them. He makes room for you to join him on the bed.
You nudge Bobby’s cheek with your nose, and he rests his forehead against your own. He gives your shoulder a gentle squeeze. He only hopes the darkened room hides the crimson shade blooming beneath his freckles.
A nervous chuckle escapes him. “Hey, you,” he says again. “Why are you being so cute all of the sudden?” You just shrug and press yourself against him. He grins and leans his head down, winding a strand of your hair around his finger. He lowers his voice even more. “You’re literally so gorgeous,” he says. As he smiles he rolls his eyes for emphasis. “Like, I can’t even.”
You interrupt him with a kiss and whisper in his ear: “Stop talking.”
An excited fear creeps up his neck, making every hair stand up straight. “Don’t need to tell me twice.” He gathers you up in his arms, desperate to have you near him for the first time since the afternoon before the recoupling. As every emotion hits him at full speed, he deepens the kiss, making sure it is slow and deliberate.
His crooked smile and lonely dimple catch your eye as you break apart. He leans back, taking in your face in its entirety: every crease from your smile, every scar from your adolescence, every freckle on your cheeks. He looks at you, and he’s seen your face in countless dim mornings before, but he suddenly feels like he’s seen you in a brand new light. Then the thought crashes into his mind for the first time and certainly not the last: I love you, I love you, I love you.
Breathlessly, you say, “Do you use lip balm or something?”
At first, he doesn’t reply. His eyes widen as he gestures to his mouth, his lips pressed firmly together to say, You told me to stop talking, remember?
You roll your eyes but can’t fight off a smile. “You can talk now,” you say, trying to giggle quietly. He makes a show of exhaling, which gets another giddy laugh out of you.
“So I may have kind of sort of procured some flavored lip balm from a friend of mine…” Bobby says, and immediately regrets it. Your face falls and your gaze drops to your lap.
“Oh. I didn’t realize you two had gotten so close,” you say. He freezes and his eyes widen with understanding and light humor. He laughs.
“Me and Lottie?” Bobby takes your hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Please. She’d eat me for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” He eyes the other beds before he says, “And not in a good way, either.” He wires an arm around your waist and presses a kiss to your cheek. “I have everything I want right here.” His breath tickles your neck, sending chilling pleasure down your spine.
The other boys start to stir in their beds, and you bid him goodbye. Henrik calls out at the two of you to keep it quiet. You finally depart from Bobby and he tells you to have fun.
It’s you who woke him, but it’s his own thoughts that keep him awake afterwards. The other boys sleep, peacefully unaware of the upcoming chaos that was sure to follow the girls’ secret trip. Bobby had binge-watched Love Island before getting approved to join the show; he knew how it worked. But it didn’t cross his mind until sunrise that you would probably encounter new boys wherever you were going, and a jealous sting bit at his heart.
Throwing the duvet off himself, Bobby decided to start putting together breakfast for the other lads. Cooking was more than just his gift, it was therapeutic for him in a way. If he was thinking about the perfect cup of tea or the perfect fried egg, he wasn’t overthinking anything else. It was while he was cooking that he realized how out of character it was for him to be so worried about you.
Shaking off his woes and trying to focus on the moment he was in - in the kitchen, cooking eggs, brewing coffee and boiling water - Bobby topped off the final plate of eggs and got cracking on the pancakes.
Gary emerged from the bedroom, looking tired and slightly confused. “The girls are up early,” he mused, plopping himself down in a bar stool and poring over the spread Bobby had prepared in his anxious state. “Quite the spread you’ve got there, Cake Boy. Trying to impress anyone?” he pressed.
Bobby’s eyes flicked up at Gary, slightly annoyed but remaining perky. “No one here to impress. At least, not now. The girls went on some secret trip so it’s just us guys here for now.”
“I’ve got a text,” Jakub emerged from the bedroom, and the group met in the kitchen, drawn to the smell of Bobby’s fresh breakfast. Jakub reads out the text from his phone.
“Boys. You might have noticed the girls are nowhere to be found. They’re out of sight, but are they out of mind? Some new islanders are on their way. Have fun.
#boyswillbeboys #eggsinbaskets”
“New islanders,” Noah deadpanned. Bobby clicked his tongue and whistled lowly. “Just what we needed.”
Rahim massaged the bridge of his nose. “Wait, wait… the girls aren’t here?”
“No, Bobby says they’ve gone on some secret trip,” Gary announced, tucking in to his plate of eggs.
“Bobby?” Rahim says, eyebrows raised. “How’d you know that?”
“MC… Er, I heard them leaving. I asked about it,” he says, not meeting their eyes as he thought about his kiss with you earlier in the morning. A blush crept up his cheeks.
Henrik doesn’t seem convinced. His eyes bore into Bobby’s forehead. If looks could kill…
Jakub clapped both of his hands together. “New girls? This sounds like a good time!” He thumped Bobby on the back and tore off a piece of pancake with his teeth. “Don’t you think, Bobby?”
Bobby tried to glower subtly. “I suppose.” Gary caught his eye.
“I’m not too sure about this, personally,” Gary says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, we’ve just coupled up. I feel like if your head can be turned that quickly…” His gaze settles on Henrik. “You shouldn’t have picked the girl you did.”
Bobby isn’t sure how to feel. He’s glad he’s not the only one bricking it about Henrik choosing you at the recoupling, but he doesn’t like the fact Gary’s eye was on you too. If Henrik hadn’t chosen you, would Gary have? Bobby tries to shake the thought. He’s fine. You kissed him goodbye, after all. Not Gary, not Henrik. He had no reason to be jealous.
Yet, his mind chided, reminding him that you - all of the girls - were somewhere else for who knows how long, probably getting on with another bloke… whispering in his ear, slithering into bed with him…
Nope. Not thinking about that. The moment was slipping away and he needed to grasp onto it before his anxiety got ahead of him.
Henrik narrows his eyes at Gary. “Have you got something to say to me then?”
Gary ignores him, snickering as he shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth.
“Right, then. Say nothing. Keep eating, you’ll have to work it all off later,” Henrik sneers, placing his empty plate back on the counter and stalking off to the pool by himself. Gary freezes, staring at his plate wordlessly. An unsteady silence is upon them as they try to process Henrik’s outburst.
Bobby studies Gary’s face. “What was that about?” he asks cautiously. “Are you alright, mate?”
Gary’s eyes gloss over and he almost doesn’t register that Bobby has said anything. Mouth full, he raises his eyebrows. Gary takes a napkin and swipes it over his lips. He speaks clearly, but his voice is shaky.
“Everything’s alright. Henrik’s just a right git,” Gary says, shaking his head and putting his plate in the sink. “Bit of a drama king, isn’t he?”
Nobody says anything for a moment. Bobby laughs at an awkwardly high volume, earning a raised eyebrow from Rahim and Noah.
“Drama king,” Bobby repeated, gesturing to Gary then in Henrik’s direction. “It’s a play on drama queen, because…” He trails off and drops the joke. “Eat up, then. We’ve got some new girls coming in any minute now!”
Gary tries to slip out subtly, but Bobby sees him slip into the gym. Rahim follows quickly behind them. The two stay chatting there until the new girls arrive.
Blake, Shannon, Emily, Isabel, Trina, and Paula. They’re all lovely and incredibly attractive, but Bobby is surprised to find he doesn’t even notice that they are until Gary mentions it.
“They’re the chicks I’d like to take to meet my nan,” he says enthusiastically. Bobby stares at the bowl of cereal in front of him before excusing himself for a stroll.
He’s excited to be alone with his thoughts for the first time since the morning. He misses having someone to bounce his thoughts and theories off of. He’s a good people reader, which he expected to be more useful coming in. It wasn’t like he actually believed he’d find somebody he would enjoy as much as he enjoyed you. His goal coming in was to put his people-reading skills to work and make his way to the end, even if that meant putting himself in excruciating “friendship couples” exclusively.
But then you picked him. Even after his godawful line about beefcake. You laughed, and it was all downhill from there. Then it wasn’t even about winning the game, even if he did need the money. If he walked out of the villa with you on his arm, whether you won the game or not, he’d have won at something much larger.
I love you, I love you, I love you. He wanted to say it. It was a bit crazy and entirely too soon. Those three words don’t mean a damn thing until you feel them for yourself, coursing through your veins, burning your lungs and mind and the heart in your chest until you explode and let the words burst out of you all too quickly and all too soon. But if you’re lucky, it doesn’t matter how soon or how late you say it.. If you’re lucky, you only love people who love you back. If you’re lucky, you only love people you can have.
But it’s become abundantly clear that he wasn’t lucky. You definitely fancied him, but he couldn’t have you. Not that easily anyway.
If only you had met each other outside of the villa, away from the insanity of recoupling and other villas, then maybe you would have lived out a love story worth telling…
“Hey, there.” A voice swims through his thoughts and breaks his focus, leaving him momentarily confused as he tries to put a name to the face. It’s Blake. She stands there, her hair in the same full curls that you wear all the time, her dress clinging to her impressive form that doesn’t even faze Bobby.
“Oh. Hey.” Bobby gives her a polite smile and faces the Spanish hills.
“You seem lost in thought,” she remarks, crossing the roof to stand next to him. He glances at her, arching an eyebrow.
“I can find my way out of it when I’m ready,” Bobby replies, shuffling a couple steps away from her.
Blake pretends not to be bothered and leans against the ledge, pushing her breasts together. “Really? I’d be happy to assist you,” she says, a sly smile playing at her lips.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood to be grafted on,” Bobby says curtly. He leaves her standing there, mouth open in shock, and makes his way to the bedroom. He takes a seat on the bed you used to share, hands folded.
Isabel, a petite girl with long gold hair and warm brown eyes, sits on one of the beds with a journal in her lap. She stops scrawling in it to give Bobby a pursed lip smile and notices the almost distraught look on his face.
“Something wrong?” she asks cautiously as she puts the journal down beside her. Bobby knows she can see his eyes swelling so he doesn’t bother to respond. She takes a seat on the bed next to his, cross legged. “Something is wrong. I don’t know why I asked.” She lowers her voice and glances around the room. “They’ve got cameras everywhere. I know it’s hard, but you can tell me what’s wrong.”
Bobby says nothing again, pressing his eyes shut and open again, putting on his best attempt at a smile.
“I’m not grafting,” Isabel says, hand up to pledge her honesty. “Cross my heart, I just want to help you out.”
“I miss her,” he says, hands shaking as he unfolds them between his knees. “I didn’t think I would this much, especially when we aren’t coupled up. But I do.” His gaze drops down to his hands. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This probably sounds right melty, but I think I lo…” He shakes his head, suddenly hyper-aware that she’s a stranger and there are cameras all around. “I think I just need some water. I’m parched. Probably dehydrated. Excuse me.”
The groups participate in some ice breaker games, and Bobby surprises himself with the ability to put on a brave face. Afterwards, a video of the girls getting up to a few challenges of their own is sent to Bobby, because of course it was. Clips of sultry kisses and most absurdly, a literal ass-kissing performed by Priya and you respectively.
Henrik rolls his eyes when the clip rolls. “Right. That’s good to know, then. You know, when I asked her where her head was at the night of the recoupling, she told me she wanted to see where things go. Yeah, I won’t need to ask her twice. I know where her head’s at…” He gestures to Bobby’s phone.
“What’s that supposed to mean, then?” Bobby asks, feeling every ounce of repressed anger resurfacing.
“I’m saying, you’ve been a fool to avoid grafting on the new girls, because I guarantee you MC is going to walk through that door with a new beau on her arm,” Henrik spat out, puffing out his chest. “Loyalty doesn’t mean a thing to her. Neither did I, neither do you.”
“First off, you had no reason to think you meant anything to her to start with,” Bobby barked, balling his fists beside him. “You don’t know her. You never did, and frankly you don’t deserve to.”
Noah’s eyes flickered nervously between the two of them.
“Alright, let’s all settle down,” he said, putting an arm between them as a barrier. Bobby glared at Noah and pushed his arm out of the way.
“No, you guys don’t get to tell me to calm down.” Anger bucked in Bobby’s chest. He let out an involuntary laugh. “Listen, I’ve had enough bullshit from the lot of you. You all had your eyes on MC, and none of you had the courtesy to clue me in before the recoupling.”
“Hold on, then,” Henrik bit in, furrowing his brows. “I did clue you in. Right before the recoupling. I came to you as a friend - “
With one swift motion, Bobby sent Henrik hurling for the ground, holding the side of his face with his hand and gasping in pain. Bobby’s knuckles throbbed from the impact and he stared wordlessly at Henrik on the ground, almost in disbelief that he had actually hit him.
“Some friend,” Bobby scoffed. “You picked her! If we were ever friends, you burned that bridge when you stole her away. Come to think of it then, none of us are friends, are we?”
The other guys stood at a healthy distance from Bobby and Henrik, eyes wide and mouths hanging open in mirrored shock to Bobby’s own. Bobby dropped his guard for mere seconds as he saw the looks on the guys’ faces, and found himself up against a wall with Henrik’s hands at his throat.
“You’re an asshole!” Henrik roared, thrashing like a child. His face was red where Bobby had struck him, and would definitely bruise up later. Both Noah and Gary rushed in to peel Henrik off of Bobby, but it took all four of the guys to jump in.
Bobby could feel a looming fear creep up from his stomach to his throat as he gasped for air. If the girls were getting a video, would it include the fight between him and Henrik? What would you think of it? Shit. No, never mind that. He couldn’t be bothered to think about it now.
Bobby was the first to leave the room, leaving the guys to discuss what had just happened among themselves.
Waiting impatiently for a signal to reveal their Stick or Switch decision, the boys chattered just as excitedly as the girls, trying to figure out prematurely which girls would switch and which ones would stick.
“Did you see that footage? I’m telling you, Priya or MC’s going to walk in with that Ass Man, no doubt about it,” Henrik was saying loudly as Blake plaited a section of his hair. “Lottie too!”
Noah squinted an eye at Henrik. “I’m not so sure about that, mate.”
“Lottie wouldn’t,” Gary piped up. “She’s always saying up and down how loyal she is. No way she’s switching.”
This doesn’t seem to make Ibrahim very happy, but his new partner, Shannon, gives him a reassuring kiss on his shoulder. “I don’t want her to wind up vulnerable to getting dumped because of me,” he says quietly.
The thought of Lottie getting dumped - or any of the girls whose partners had switched - hadn’t even crossed their minds. Bobby had initially been relieved that Henrik had switched to Blake. Now knowing it could leave you single and possibly dumped off the island, he’s antsy again. He starts fidget and bounce anxiously, his forehead beaded with sweat. He notices his knuckles are starting to turn just as purple as Henrik’s eye, and feels an odd sense of pride from it. It’s quickly crushed when he remembers what’s about to happen.
“So… Lottie and MC would get dumped,” Bobby says, his voice flat as his eyes bored into Henrik’s head again.
Blake gave Bobby a cold look. “So? It’s like what they call natural selection, I’d say,” she says. “Nobody even likes them.”
“Your own boyfriend liked MC,” Gary pointed out before Bobby had the chance. “Bobby liked her. I quite liked Lottie,” he says, eyes flicking over to Bobby cautiously. “Rahim liked Lottie. So I’m not sure where you got that idea.”
Bobby returns to quiet brooding as he waits for his phone to chime. The first to go is Noah, who chose to stick with Priya, but was really hoping to try it on with Hope again. The next is Gary, who stops in the doorway for a brief moment, obviously shocked by something but it’s not clear what. Then, Ibrahim and his new partner Shannon. For just a moment, it’s only Bobby, Henrik and Blake.
Bobby meets Henrik’s eyes and gives him an apologetic half-smile. “I know this probably won’t mend things. It doesn’t have to. I want you to know I’m sorry I punched you in the face. But I don’t regret it. You’re wrong about MC. You’re wrong about me. I’m no fool, and she’s the most loyal person here. Just… not to you, which is fair.” He gestures to Blake. “You two deserve each other.”
On cue, Bobby’s phone beeps and he makes his way to the doorway.
“I hope you girls are ready to get hands-on!” he says, prepared to make a dramatic entrance. “Because the man with the fastest fingers in the Villa is back…” Bobby steps through the door, feigning confidence as he nonchalantly searches the group for your face. “And he’s still single and ready to mingle.”
He catches eyes with Marisol, who is holding hands with a ginger bearded man with a mosaic of nautical tattoos. Most notably, he has the word BOAT tattooed across his knuckles.
“Oh,” Bobby says, suddenly remembering that he was paired with Marisol, and he hadn’t considered that her decision would affect his place in the Villa. Boat Knuckles shakes Bobby’s hand and grins.
“I’m Graham.” He’s a lot taller than Bobby, which is a tad intimidating, but Bobby plays it cool. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. How are you doing, matey?”
Bobby glances down at Graham’s BOAT tattoo and cracks a smile. He searches the crowd for any new faces, pauses and raises his eyebrows when he notices that you’re standing alone.
“You didn’t switch,” Marisol says, giving him a knowing smile as she looks over at you.
“I didn’t. None of the girls could handle Captain B-Smooth. Besides, I figured I owed it to MC.” Bobby says, his eyes still on you. He finally crosses the fire pit to stand in front of you. “Come here often?” He grins as you pull him towards you with the collar of his shirt for a kiss.
Lottie clears her throat. “This is really sweet, but isn’t there one more guy?”
Bobby rolls his eyes. “Is there?”
“Unfortunately,” you say, allowing the looming nervous energy to take over your face for the first time. “Should I be worried?”
Bobby hesitates and slips his hand into yours. “I don’t think so,” he says, giving you a reassuring smile. “By the way, I know something you don’t.” At your confused expression, his eyes twinkle. “I’ve got something to tell you later. It’s a secret.” He slips in a subtle wink. You furrow your brows at him, squeezing his hand to ask him silently what he means. He winces, but before you can ask why, Henrik strolls in with Blake.
The can of worms, Bobby thinks, muffling another eye roll. It begs to be opened.
The most prominent of Henrik’s features is no longer his glorious Thor-esque locks of hair, but the purple mass that swells around his left eye. You gasp, pulling your hand out of Bobby’s to cover your mouth.
“Henrik, your eye - “ Priya says, her mouth agape.
Henrik shoots Bobby a dirty look. “Yeah, leave it, won’t you? I’m aware.”
Bobby purses his lips. You notice the look on Henrik’s face when he looks at Bobby and glance down at Bobby’s hand. His knuckles are a close shade of purple to Henrik’s face. It doesn’t take you long to connect the dots. You lean into Bobby and whisper, “No way.”
Bobby looks at you, trying to keep his face hard to read. “Uh… Would you believe me if I told you it was an accident?”
“After the look he just gave you, absolutely not.”
“Fair enough,” Bobby says, the corners of his lips upturned ever so slightly. “Then I’ve got two secrets for you later.”
And of course, neither of you can object to more time spent together.
You give him a meaningful look you hadn’t given anyone in the entire time at the Villa, and perhaps even life. It’s full of so much love and fear simultaneously. You say six words to precede the only three you really need, saving them for a moment alone, but they’re there, in your eyes.
“I’ve got one for you, too.”