Chapter Text
Noah disliked the color green. A few rare shades of it he didn’t mind, but for the most part the color irked him. He disliked drinks with green dye added to them, finding them tacky and unappealing. As a child he would always pick out the green skittles and bribe one of his many sisters with them, never eating them himself. Noah was never a fan of sports and never liked how artificially green their playing fields looked.
He came to the conclusion it was bright shades of green he disliked. So it was safe to say he disliked the bright, untrustworthy eyes of Alejandro.
During the well earned downtime the contestants got during Jamaica, all Alejandro would do was continue to butter up his teammates. His carefully placed mask helped to deceive the members of Team Chris, but Noah knew better. He saw right through those horrid green eyes.
DJ was the latest victim of his, not being allowed to join their team deemed the gentle giant useless to Alejandro’s goal. And he wasn’t the only one. Sure Noah tended to be more lazy at times, but that didn’t mean he was completely unaware. He was labeled ‘The Schemer’ in Season One after all. Noah took note of how Alejandro played a hand in getting countless great players out.
Before it had become painfully obvious to Noah how fake the other was he had actually enjoyed his company. Something about the Spaniard felt so normal compared to the colorful cast the series liked to reuse. He even seemed to be able handle Noah’s sarcasm, something he greatly appreciated. So when the mask faltered just enough to reveal Alejandro’s true colors, Noah was pissed.
Alejandro was just a two-faced eel.
Both teams sat in economy. Despite winning the previous challenge, Chris had forced Team Amazon out of First Class, much to Heather's annoyance. Noah watched as she complained to her teammates from across the plane and rolled his eyes. He did agree with her frustrations, however. The less people in economy, the quieter it would be and he could catch up on some more reading. He would be shocked if he was given the chance to actually finish an entire book during his time on the show.
His attention began to drift away from the other team as Courtney brought out a bucket of bird shit to help with Gwen’s sunburn. Disgusting. Looking over to his side he noticed his friend Owen had arrived back from the ‘lunchroom’ of the plane, carrying a basket of peppers and a half gallon of milk. ”Snacktime, bud?” He questioned.
”Yep!” Owen cheered happily as he took the end seat of the bench, “I’m already missing the yummy food Jamaica had to offer…So why not finish what I brought with me!” He laughed before tossing a yellow pepper into his mouth and quickly washed it down with milk.
Noah shook his head fondly. Somehow, Owen became the only person on this plane that he could tolerate. That fact perplexed him, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. His attention returned back to Team Amazon as he caught the end half of another one of Sierra’s insane ramblings. He couldn’t help but jab back at her.
”Considering buying myself a life on Fred’s List,“ Noah started as he raised the pitch of his voice and pretended to type away, “But having trouble deciding because they are all such a major improvement!”
His mockery is found hilarious by Owen, who laughed so hard he shoots milk out of his nose and directly onto Noah. “Dude! Gross.” He scowled as Owen quickly Apologized before throwing another pepper into his mouth and chugging the milk. Noah recovered though and continued to mock Sierra. “Must learn how to make nose shakes like Owen. That’ll impress Cody!”
This time Owen snorted so hard two peppers shoot from his nose bouncing around the plane. As the peppers hit Tyler, Noah couldn’t help but genuinely laugh at the sight. Being a victim of Owen’s grossness? Not funny. On the other hand, someone else being affected? That was comedy gold.
Owen joined in on his laughter, not because of the sight of Tyler’s misfortune, but out of pure enjoyment as he was always so happy. “Check it out.” Owen grins. “I’ll shoot a pepper out of whichever nostril you pick.” It took a second, but the unintended pun hits Owen. “I mean choose!”
”Yeah, cause one nose shake a day isn’t enough.” Noah rolled his eyes at Owen’s attempt to make a game out of this.
“Ah, but I’m out of milk…” Owen sighed dejectedly.
Noah looked back once more to Team Amazon as his eyes latched onto the poop bucket Gwen had her hand shoved into. “Hey, Courtney! How much of that poop juice have you got left?” The question earned him another laugh from Owen as somebody started to walk in front of them.
Alejandro.
He had been resting on the other end of the bench. At some point, the pepper commotion must’ve woken him. “Excuse me, gentlemen.” Alejandro spoke as he passed by. “I have to be… Anywhere but here.” And with that, he exited economy.
Owen gave Noah a questioning look as he shrugged in response. However, when Owen turned back to his peppers Noah smirked ever so slightly. He knew that for some reason, Alejandro hated Owen. To Noah, that was a massive red flag. No one in their right mind could ever hate Owen! It was satisfying though to see someone get under the eel’s skin, intentionally or not. It took Alejandro down a peg. Being rid of his presence would make the reminder of the flight go even smoother.
After a very painful departure from the plane, one that Noah would’ve much rather forgotten about, the contestants had found themselves in London. They all had been loaded into the double decker bus that Noah had unfortunately been crushed on top of and Chris wasted no time in starting to explain the challenge. Yet somehow, Heather beat him to it, cutting him off to ask where Alejandro was. Noah rolled his eyes yet again, at this point he swore they’d just fall out, the tension between the mean girl and new guy was so unbearable it made Noah want to scream. The two of them need to get a room at this point, before they both destroyed each other. Although, now that he thought about it, that would make winning a whole lot easier.
Chris just dismissed her ‘concern’ and explained the rules of the day’s challenge. Jack the Ripper is on the loose, and one of the teams needs to find him, yada yada. Noah honestly could care less about the specifics and more about figuring out a way to finish this challenge as fast as possible. There was a chair in first class calling out to him and his unfinished book, and victory was the only way to have it. Chris reveals that Jack the Ripper is also hunting them all, which finally explained Alejandro’s absence.
With the explanation of the challenge complete, Chris allowed the two teams to chat amongst themselves. Noah blocked out any conversations Team Amazon was having and only partially listened to his own. While he did truly love Owen to death, listening to him yap with Tyler was his own personal hell. The pair combined had about five shared brain cells. For most of the bus ride, Noah’s gaze drifted out the window as he took note of how quiet the usually busy streets of London appeared.
During the challenges, whatever space the show runners had rented out for them had been blocked off from the public to the best of their ability, so seeing less people around wasn’t uncommon. But something about this felt off. No other vehicles had passed by as they drove to their destination. No people walking around the shops and restaurants.
Odd.
Whatever concerns he had swirling in his head and making him sick to his stomach were quickly extinguished as the driver slammed on the breaks, bringing the bus to a sudden and jarring halt. The next thing he knew, Chef was yelling at them to get out. The teens all left the bus and made their way to the first part of the challenge.
”Your challenge is to follow a series of clues through the tower complex, all the way to The Ripper’s secret lair,” Chris explained, “Bag the criminal mastermind before he gets you, and you win! Your first clue will be found during the ‘changing of the guard’. And when I say ‘change’ I mean CHANGE the guards. Your clue is hidden in his uniform so one of you has to strip him down to his gitch until you find it.” At this point, Noah noticed the two British guards who stood still as statues front and center of the building before them.
”WHOA! Strip a dude? I’m out!” Tyler cried out.
”Up to you, bro.” Chris cheekily responded, “A million bucks! That’s all I’m saying. And while you’re at it…” The dreadful musical chime rings out as everyone groans.
And yet, the song comes and goes quickly, not being as painful as they usually are. While the tune rang out, Noah and Owen played a round of rock, paper, scissors, eventually deciding to just leave the task of stripping the guard to Tyler as their game had no winner. The jock tried to protest but it was two against one.
As Tyler started the stripping task, Noah glanced over to Team Amazon and cursed as he watched Sierra quickly find the clue. He turned back to his own team and walked closer to the guard, frowning at Tyler. “You lost rock, paper, scissors fair and square. Stop throwing the game!” Noah scolded, then froze, watching Tyler in horror and awe. He was stripping the guard…with his teeth? Yet he insists he’s straight.
“I’m not!” Tyler grumbled, the guards sock still in his mouth. “You try taking off a dude’s pantyhose with your teeth.”
Noah raises an eyebrow. “Uh, dude. No one said you had to use your teeth.” Noah pinched the bridge of his nose. Every time he interacted with Tyler he swore he could feel an incoming migraine. It was moments like this that made him miss Alejandro, if only for the fact that he had a brain. And was useful for challenges. That’s all.
“Hey Noah! Noah! Check this!” Owen’s voice rang out as Noah’s hand slowly ran down his face turning to face his friend. Delicately placed atop Owen’s head was the guard’s hat, a goofy smile on his face. “I say, I’m the queen!” Owen exclaimed, his voice shrill. “Oh Heavens! I think I ate too many royal beans at the royal luncheon.” His all too familiar laugh escapes him as he tries to force out a fart. Noah sighs.
Ok, now he really wishes Alejandro was here so he wouldn’t be the only one with functioning brain cells trying to secure the win.
The guard was completely stripped before they finally found the clue in the hat. If Owen wasn’t his best friend Noah would have definitely killed him right then and there. Nonetheless, Team Chris arrived at their second location. The device, a medieval torture one that was used to stretch a person to be exact, laid in the room and was intimidating. Thankfully, Tyler volunteered himself to be stretched. Maybe idiots do come in handy.
“Quick, tie him down before Alejandro shows up and makes me do it just because I’m shorter.” Noah demanded as Tyler laid himself down and did simple stretches to prepare himself. Owen did as he was told, shooting a concerned look towards Noah.
”Why don’t you like Al? He’s great!” Owen asks innocently while helping Tyler. Noah again rolled his eyes. Most people were completely unaware of how the spaniard really was like because they were stupid. Owen, like them, was unaware because he was stupid but also because he could only see the good in people. Whether it was genuine or not.
“I don’t trust the guy.” Noah simply stated, making his way over to lend a hand to the “stretching Tyler” process. He knew he couldn’t properly explain how fake Alejandro was to Owen, the big guy would still somehow see the best in him. So he kept his approach nice and simple. “He’s like an eel, dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil.”
”Dirty?”
”Slippery.” Noah began to turn the wheel of the machine, “Think about it, he’s like Heather, only with social skills.” He hoped the comparison would make it through to Owen, even though the guy was naive to a fault, even he was familiar with Heather’s cruelty.
Tyler let out a loud cry and the two quickly removed their hands from the machine. Noah raised an eyebrow as he lowered his hands, eyeing the machine to see that it had done no damage to the Jock yet.
”You do realize we haven’t started yet, right?”
The rest of the challenge went by in a blur. They got their clue and made their way to the next destination, having to turn back when they realized they left Tyler tied up. By the time they got back it was too late, and Jack the Ripper had already struck. And so, the duo continued on without him. Noah found the next clue fairly easy, while Owen practically got mauled by a pack of corgis. This time they were led back to the double decker bus.
Lying in wait, Jack the Ripper made his move, quickly separated the two, locking Noah into the glass driver box in the front of the bus. By some miracle, Owen was able to turn the pack of corgis on the ripper, and secured the win for them by bagging the killer.
As they made their way back to the plane a sense of pride washed over Noah. His team didn’t need Alejandro. Sure they lost Tyler, a simple mistake on their part, but they still won! The pair managed to drag their catch back to the plane. Noah was somewhat relieved to see all his fellow castmates were already on board, but he became shocked and puzzled to see Gwen and Courtney with a full sack of their own. Him and Owen had the Ripper, didn’t they? So who on earth did those two have? Before he could give it more thought, he felt the burning sensation of those green eyes on him. He met Alejandro’s gaze and almost shuddered at how much rage was barely being held back as his eyes squinted harshly.
Heather made some comment about everyone being worried, and Alejandro took the chance to chime in. “But it was reassuring to see some were concerned.” His eyes locked back onto Noah’s as his voice leaked bitter poison.
Oh. Fuck.
“You were watching everything?” Noah could feel himself shrinking under those damn green eyes. God, how could I have been so stupid! His mind was racing as he tried to think of anything that could save his ass. “Wow, that’s…awkward,” was all he could muster as he forced himself to look at the ground, unable to keep up with the piercing eye contact anymore, if looks could kill Noah would be a pile of bones.
”Like an eel dipped in grease.”
I’m dead.
Noah was hoping, at the very least, that he could make it to the next challenge.But it seemed that was too much to ask for because Team Amazon brought back Duncan, of all people, so Chris played favorites and gave them the win. It was unfair, but unfortunately that’s just how this stupid show worked. Noah knew he was going to be eliminated. Alejandro had Tyler wrapped around his finger at that point, and Duncan had shown clear distaste for Noah since season one. It was easy to see Alejandro securing his vote.
There was no way to be saved. Noah was doomed.
The walk to the elimination room was torturous. Noah was leading himself right to the end of his surprisingly good run and having to meet the same fate as the others jumping out of the plane. Sure he’s had to do so a few times already, but there was always the promise of returning that made it worth it. Now he had nothing.
He felt a little bad though, not only was he losing out on a million dollars, but now he was leaving Owen behind. Knowing that Alejandro hated the guy meant he was the next target, especially if Alejandro still had it out for Noah. Which he did, if his lingering glare was anything to go by. Why did he have to run his mouth? He had been coasting along so well and one little mistake completely ruined it.
Team Chris sat in the elimination room for the first time, Noah sitting on the bottom bench in preparation to walk off the plane. He still felt Alejandro’s eyes on him, burning a hole in the back of his head.
Chris went off listing everyone that was still in the game before taking a dramatic pause. “And with three votes against him-“
Suddenly, an intern burst into the room, his eyes wide with panic as he frantically made his way to Chris. He kept his signature smug look for the camera, but was clearly annoyed at the interruption. The intern leaned over and whispers something into Chris’s ear, the smug smile slowly dropping as a look of pure, utter fear painted itself across his face.
The intern backed away, eyes still wide. Chris turned back to the contestants. He stares for a moment, the confusion and growing worry clear on their faces.
Chris cleared his throat and nodded.
”Alright. Everyone to first class.”
A chorus of ‘what’s’ broke out as Chris turned back to the intern, his voice lowering into a hushed whisper as he gave them orders.
”Que? But we lost. Someone should be eliminated.” Alejandro hissed, Noah sank in his seat a bit.
The intern, after being given his orders, rushed back out of the room and Chris turned around to shut the plane door. “No one is leaving this plane. For the competition, as far as I’m concerned it’s now on indefinite hiatus. Now GO! I have to talk to Chef,” Chris demanded. His grin ever returned to him, speaking of the true gravity of the situation. This wasn’t how he usually spoke to the contestants, and somehow, that made this all the more terrifying.
He left the room without another word, leaving the teens completely baffled. They all looked at each other, unsure of what to do, before they slowly made their way out of the room. Noah didn’t get too far from the elimination room, a large hand grabbing his wrist and yanking him backwards, stopping him in his tracks.
“This isn’t over.” Alejandro’s familiar voice sneered as Noah turned to look at him, those green eyes glaring daggers at him. With a painful squeeze, Alejandro released Noah’s wrist and shoved him to the side as he pushed his way past him.
Noah rubbed is wrist, shooting a glare of his own at the eel as he passed. “Asshole,” he mumbled once he was sure the Spaniard was out of earshot, then moved to catch up with the others. By the time he reaches first class he could already hear someone screaming. He’s not surprised to find out it’s Heather.
”Why the hell are these losers here? CHRIS!” Ignoring er shrieking, Noah just sighed, making his way towards the comfortable chairs furthest away from the girl. He nearly collapsed into it, sinking into the plush material as he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. At this point Noah didn’t care what had happened, he was just glad it kept him on the plane. His calm moment, however, didn’t stop him from eavesdropping on the others.
”Duncan, what is going on?” Courtney asked, approaching her boyfriend who sat himself at the bar, not too far from Noah. He leaned back on the bar stool and scoffed. She was clearly struggling to keep a level head, her tapping foot the only indicator of her own anxiety.
”No idea, princess. One second Chris is about to send dweeb over there off the plane, the next he’s acting like the world is ending. It was strange.”
Gwen joined them, leaning against the bar with an eyebrow raised. ”Strange, how?”
“Oh yeah. Like, you know how Chris yells at us all the time?” Tyler chimed in. “Well it was like…different. I don’t really know how to explain it.” Of course you don’t bud.
Duncan just nodded in agreement.
”Chris!” Heather screamed, making a beeline for the door, “I swear to god, if you don’t explain what’s happening! When he comes out of thee, I’m gonna-“ Just like that, the door opened before her, revealing Chris just beyond it.
Heather beamed at him, paying no mind to his frazzled appearance, her voice light and cheerful, “Oh, Chris! So lovely of you to drop by,” her irritation became more evident now, seething as she pointed a finger back at the others, “Now could you tell me why first class is full of losers?”
Chris solemnly nodded, “Well, first things first. No more show.”
Everyone spoke out at once, Noah felt inclined to join them, but having almost been booted, he didn’t quite have the energy to protest. He didn’t think there was much of a point if he complained. “Quiet, quiet! I know that’s not what anyone wanted to hear, trust me. I’m not happy about it either. We have bigger issues right now.”
”What do you mean?” Cody questioned.
”Yeah, Chris what’s going on this is sooooo unlike you and the show!!” Sierra’s chipper voice followed quickly after.
Chris took a long, deep breath before meeting the eyes of each teen in the room, “To be honest with you guys, I’m also confused. It’s been a struggle trying to get ahold of anyone, the network, the studio, producers, anybody!” He paused taking another deep breath, shaking his head. “Look, I’m gonna say this in the easiest way I know how to. The deceased are walking.”