Work Text:
'Congratulations Alejandro Burromuerto! Your application for Total Drama Dirtbags, has been accepted!’
Alejandro had auditioned for a new reality show being put together by Chris Mclean. Normally, Alejandro wouldn't dream of auditioning for a reality tv show. Reality tv is humiliating to say the least; all your 'biggest fails' being broadcasted to millions around the world doesn't sound pleasing. It wasn't until Alejandro had binge watched hours of MTV when he realized that he could have a chance doing this stuff and profit off of it. These people were messy, and full of drama, and the chance of becoming famous was tempting to say the least. 17 years of dealing with his disapproving family has made him able to mask his anger very well, at the same time however, 17 years of dealing with Jose has given him the ability to become very vindictive. So, one fateful night, Alejandro decided to submit an application for a show that could not only help him showcase his malevolent tendencies but also help him earn a spot in show business.
Alejandro read the requirements:
'Must be over 15'
'Must fill in contact information below'
Must submit an audition describing what you would bring to the show and talk about something attention seeking
He had this in the bag.
...
Alejandro walked into the small office the email had told him to go for his contract execution. After waiting for what felt like 5 years, he was finally given access to go to a small room in the back to talk it over with Chris Mclean. But it wasn't Chris; Alejandro had seen Chris's face multiple times on posters and a billboard for toothpaste on the side of the highway before, and this was certainly not him. Instead, a man with too many layers of shirts, some very well-loved cargo shorts, and an earpiece walked into the room.
"Are you Alejandro Burromuerto?" The man sat down as he asked.
"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, but isn't Chris Mclean supposed to be the one here?"
The shorter man chuckled, "Chris doesn't give interviews. He'd rather sacrifice his luxury trailer than sit here for 20 minutes."
Alejandro's eyebrows quirked up, "Very well then. And who do I have the honor of being interviewed by?"
"I'm Noah. I'm Chris' personal assistant."
Alejandro stuck his hand out for him to shake, "Well it's very nice to meet you, Noah!" Alejandro put on his best grin and enthusiastically waited for Noah to return his gesture.
Noah gave him an unimpressed look but reciprocated, "Alright, well can we get started on your contract?"
"We may proceed."
Noah rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath, that Alejandro couldn't make out but didn't bother to ask, before dropping a stack of pages in front of him. He started going through the contract and explaining what's expected, what to expect, blah blah blah. The sound of Noah's voice was drowned out by Alejandro's internal thoughts, mainly worries about his performance on the show. His parents weren't aware he'd signed up for a reality tv show at first; to be fair, why would he tell his family in the first place? It’s not like they would really care. Or so, he thought. Somehow the word got out that Alejandro had been accepted, Alejandro was very sure Jose had a play in that, how Jose found out? Alejandro had no clue. and suddenly his family was expecting many things.
"Alejandro, you must project fierceness and determination."
"Alejandro, you must steer clear of anyone who dares to cross your path."
"Alejandro, you must make us proud."
"Hellooo?” Noah dragged out, “Are you even listening?" Alejandro's thoughts were cut off by Noah. Alejandro realized he'd been dozing off for about three pages of the document.
"Ay, sorry muchacho. My mind was elsewhere."
Noah's confused expression softened as he reclined back in his chair, "I can't blame you. This contract is really repetitive and besides Chris paid money to put advertisements for products sponsoring the show into it. If anything, he's just giving these out because the network requires him to."
Alejandro chuckled, "You know for Chris' personal assistant you don't seem to like him very much. Why do you stay?"
Noah didn't even have to say anything; he just rubbed three fingers together to say 'money'. Alejandro nodded his head, "Well, I think I'm ready to sign! Do you have a pen or something I coul-" Noah cut him off by placing a pen into the palm of his hand.
"Right." Alejandro quickly signed underneath the printed line and stood up. "Well, my friend, this has been an interesting experience to say the least. I look forward to my time here."
Noah stayed sitting down, "Yeah man. I'll be praying for you."
Alejandro snorted, but Noah's face remained deadpan.
'Well then," Alejandro continued, "I'll see you in a few days." And with that, he walked out of the room.
...
Alejandro arrived at the mansion where he and the rest of the contestants would be staying for the next two months.
Thankfully today he wouldn't have to do anything show wise. All he had to do was go find his room, unpack his bags, and get settled in. Alejandro was pretty excited to be away from home; he’d never been able to have time away from his family. Apart from school, after school activities, and the occasional school trip, he'd always been incubated in his own house. Alejandro despised summer because of that very reason.
The minute he walked into the house, he saw a group of people in red polos, and some of his fellow contestants roaming throughout the halls. Alejandro went up to one of the people wearing the red shirts, who he assumed were part of the crew, and kindly asked if he could be escorted to his room.
After a series of questions, and a lot of clipboard checking, Alejandro had arrived at his new room. The room was pretty big, not as big as Alejandro's back home, but it worked. Nice open space, an empty desk that looked like the ones every hotel in the world has, and a very neatly made bed.
He decided to start unpacking his clothes, but as soon as he was about to start putting his shirts in the closet, he heard a knock at the door. "Yes?"
Alejandro expected it to be some random employee from the network, but to Alejandro’s surprise it was Chris’s snarky assistant.
"Noah! What a pleasure it is to see you."
Noah's eyes narrowed, "I'm surprised you even remembered my name."
"Nonsense! How could I forget the name of such a witty guy like yourself."
Noah rolled his eyes, Alejandro wondering how his eyes haven't gotten stuck in the back of his head already. "Whatever dude. I'm only here to give you the schedule for your time here."
"Excellent!" Alejandro took the slip of paper. Noah held out and skimmed over it. 8:30 AM, Breakfast. 9:00 AM-11:30 AM, Free Hour/Filming time. 12:00 PM, Lunch. 12:30 PM-6:30 PM, Free Hour/Filming time. 7:00 PM, Dinner. 7:30 PM, All contestants are to go to their living quarters.
“Well, this doesn’t seem too bad, I will follow the routine as scheduled. Would you happen to have any pointers?”
Noah exhaled, "Beware of chef's food, don't try and butter up to Chris. There's absolutely no point in doing that, and don't let anyone get into your head."
"Why thank you Noah, you have been most helpful. I'm sure I will be alright here."
"That's what I'm here for, I guess. Can I ask you a question though?”
Alejandro's eyebrow quirked up as he nodded his head.
"Well, you seem to be really nice. What is a guy like you doing in a place like this?"
Alejandro smirked, "Trust me mi amigo, there is much more to me than you think."
Noah scoffed, "Alright man, whatever you say. If you need any help with anything, feel free to ask an intern. Otherwise, you're pretty much set."
Noah walked out the door and Alejandro couldn’t help but feel like his experience here was one he’s surely going to remember.
...
Alejandro’s first, real, day was astounding. He’d managed to make two of the contestant's hysterically cry, one of them had threatened to raid his room with spiders (which Alejandro prayed wouldn’t happen), and the rest have started trash talking him already. It was safe to say that Alejandro was a star in the making already.
He could feel Chris grin from the other side of the room, a very cold grin however his eyes told Alejandro that he had promise, and that was all that Alejandro needed. He wasn’t trying to butter up to him; Noah advised him not to after all, but he at least wanted to stand out on the show. Speaking of Noah, he would watch him rush back and forth between takes with various coffee orders Chris had burdened him with, and when he wasn’t being tortured, he’d be trying to hold in laughter from all the comments Alejandro would make to the others.
It gave Alejandro pride; it was nice to know someone as sardonic as Noah enjoyed his quips. Granted, Alejandro barely knew the man, but from what he’d seen Noah seemed to be the type of person to have little to no filter, exactly what Alejandro liked.
After the filming was done, Chris rubbed his hands together. “Alright team! I’d say we have enough footage for the day, enjoy lunch and take the rest of the day for yourselves!”
Alejandro took his lunch and sat down on one of the living room couches, fully basking in the moment of his perfect first day. His family would definitely be impressed with the stellar show he’d put on today. He mindlessly kept eating his food until he noticed a certain someone with a clipboard and his Ray Ban sunglasses near the crew, who was currently packing up. He couldn’t help but walk his way over to him.
“Noah! I have to say, today has been quite a successful one, don’t you agree?”
Noah shrugged, “For you maybe. I think that killer guy with the hook is still crying after you told him his neck looks like your grandmothers back wrinkles.”
“But it was entertaining, no?”
“A little.” Noah smiled.
Alejandro was currently eating a nice salad, which shocked Noah. “Dude, how are you guys able to have actual food while I was stuck eating actual slop.”
“What does Chris have you eat? I can give you some of my salad if you want.” Alejandro’s concern started growing a little. Noah seemed to be an excellent assistant, why did Chris have to treat him that poorly?
“No, no, no. I mean whenever I was on Total Drama.” Noah laughed.
Alejandro almost started choking, “You were on Total Drama!?”
“Wow. Have you not watched the first season? I was on it for like 3 episodes, and last season I was practically stuck in the peanut gallery. Chris said I was ‘wasting my potential’ and offered me this job after action ended two months ago.”
“Well, I’ll definitely need to watch it some time.”
“Eh, I wouldn’t do so if I were you. I was a wreck, and my performance was more than embarrassing.”
“Ay, I bet it wasn’t that bad.”
“I kissed a random dude's ear on tv.”
Alejandro stood there stunned, “Well my friend, it’s reality tv. And besides it’s not like everyone will remember that forever.”
Noah deadpanned, “Well thanks. Listen I’m gonna go, I don’t want to waste your free time.”
He started making his way towards the door, right before Alejandro grabbed ahold of his wrist, stopping him before he could open it. “Wait!”
Noah’s eyes widened, Alejadnro seeing a blush lightly dusting his cheeks. “Do you need anything else?”
Alejandro hadn’t exactly thought this through, so he took a second to formulate his words carefully and he put on his best casual expression, “You aren’t wasting my time at all. I have nothing else to do for the rest of the day. Do you think we could possibly hang out?”
Noah stood there for a moment and didn’t say anything at all. He seemed stunned; Alejandro could see him fiddling with the pockets of his cargo shorts.
Alejandro couldn’t feel anymore awkward, “Unless you’re busy, then I completely understand-”
“No, no, I’m free. I just can’t believe you actually want to talk to me.”
Alejandro couldn’t help but chuckle, “Well why wouldn’t I? You’re a delight to talk to my dear friend.”
Noah crossed his arms, “Whatever. Do you mind if we hang out in my trailer?”
“Not at all.”
...
It wasn’t that far of a walk; in fact, the trailers were parked right outside of the house. Noah reached into his pockets for his key, and once the door opened, Noah tossed himself onto his couch.
“This is your home?” Alejandro looked around at the neat camper, admiring how neatly organized everything was.
“Yep. The fact that Chris even let me have an RV is a miracle, but he’s insanely easy to convince. Despite how heartless he is most of the time.”
Alejandro sat down next to Noah on the couch, “Was he going to make you sleep outside?”
Noah took his glasses off and turned towards Alejandro, “Chris isn’t a Disney villain. He’d make me drive back home for 3 hours instead.”
Alejandro smiled, keeping his gaze on Noah while reclining back, not knowing what else to say while Noah turned his head back towards the ceiling and exhaled. “You know how long it’s been since I've taken a nap?” Alejandro shook his head to which Noah responded, “Me neither.”
“Well, would you want to take one right now?”
Noah scoffed, “What kind of hangout would this be then?”
“I suppose you’re right, but your health is much more important. Besides, I have many books I need to read in my room. I can come back another time.” Noah turned his head towards Alejandro again, faces now inches apart from one another. Alejandro had to admit, Noah’s brown hair looked redder under the sun, thanks to the window right above them. His eyes also seemed like a whole new hue of brown, lighter, and honey colored. Wait.
Since when did Alejandro start thinking such mushy things? He’s wooed women in the past, he knows he usually gives them these sorts of feelings, he’s never reciprocated those feelings, but now his thinking is scrambled, and his body does not feel normal at all. Why is it that he suddenly starting borderline swooning for a man? If his family could read his thoughts right now, they would’ve already removed him from the will.
Alejandro pushed all those thoughts aside; they were just thoughts after all, with no significance whatsoever. He broke eye contact to stare back up at the ceiling and just waited for Noah to break the silence.
“I guess you’re right. Besides you could probably use some rest too, I can see eyebags.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about, I look well rested unlike some people.”
“Believe in what you want. Anyway, I’ll go ahead and walk you out.”
Alejandro stood up, Noah following behind him, “Or in other words we’ll walk two steps forward.”
Noah lightly slapped his bicep taking Alejandro by surprise, “Be glad I'm doing something nice for you asshole.”
...
The next few weeks fly by, and Alejandro feels nothing but confusion. Mainly for two reasons, the first one being how long dirtbags was going to last. Obviously, he knew how long he was supposed to be living in this mansion, but this show didn’t have much going for it. It was just Alejandro silencing everyone who dared to cross his path, but other than that the show had little to no drama or energy. Even if the cast tried to touch Alejandro or do something worthy of camera time, there wouldn’t be much going on.
And sure, Alejandro kept giving the show his all, but it was starting to get old and repetitive. This show was just doomed to fail.
However, it didn’t matter that much because seeing Noah enjoy his remarks from behind the scenes was enough to keep him going. Which brings Alejandro to his second reason why he’s confused, and it’s because of Noah in general.
It started with Alejandro visiting his trailer a few days after his first visit, sitting on the couch and keeping Noah company while he typed up some documents. He fooled around with some of the miscellaneous objects he'd find on Noah's small basket next to his bed, and they'd just let the awkward, yet comfortable silence linger while he typed letters at rapid speed.
Noah groaned, '"I can't do much more of this stupid paperwork. I'd let Fatima wake me up at 3 AM again instead of doing another hour of this."
Alejandro gave him a puzzled expression, "Who?"
"One of my many sisters. Eight to be exact."
"Eight!?" Alejandro dropped the rubix cube he was holding, "How could you possibly deal with 8 siblings?"
Noah closed his laptop, "I'm the youngest so most of them are moved out, Fatima's the only one left in the house, so she takes her boredom out on me all the time."
"Ah, so is that why she woke you up at 3 in the morning?"
Noah covered his face with his hands, like the memory was too painful to remember. "It was horrible, airhorn and everything."
Alejandro cackled, to which Noah only shot him a glare in reply. "And I'm guessing you're an only child?"
"Sadly no, I have two older brothers Carlos and," Alejandro couldn't help but grimace at the sound of his name. "Jose."
Noah couldn't help but snort, "Is Jose some kind of supervillain?"
"In my eyes, yes. But he is unimportant and not worth discussing."
"I get it. What’s the rest of your family like then?”
Alejandro paused. Discussing his family is something he had never done, let alone feel comfortable doing. Sure, he had a lot of anger that would be healthy letting out, but there was some corner of his mind still wanting to please them and make them proud. Never mind the fact that they've always been so cold and distant towards him. "As much as I would love to, there's not much to say about them. Your family sounds much more interesting, I think it’d be better if you talked about yours."
Noah narrowed his eyes, "I mean, if you insist."
Noah went on and on about his sisters, the oldest Indira, the twins Laila and Lucia, Aurora, Tatiana, Yvonne, June, and of course Fatima. Noah described a life Alejandro could only dream of. Close family dinners, siblings supporting one another, despite all the pranks and messing around they all did.
Noah, however, seemed annoyed talking about it, liking his personal space and preferring to stay away from all the closeness.
“How could you find that annoying? That sounds so sweet and thoughtful.”
“I mean; I guess. I just like my privacy and most of the time I barely have that.”
Alejandro held himself back before mentioning anything too revealing about his own family life, “Well, I know there’s many people who would love to have that.”
Noah’s expression softened, “Yeah, I guess.”
Alejandro felt envy and anguish wanting to take over but instead washed it over with something else. “I would love to meet them sometime, maybe I could help Fatima prank you. I’ve been known to excel at pranks.”
“Yeah, and that’s something to be proud of.” Noah sarcastically retorted with that stupid smirk plastered on his face.
Alejandro felt loopy again. And that was the problem, there should be no reason for him to feel this way about a man. Yet here it was consuming him like crazy; every time a thought would rush into his mind his skin felt itchy. Burromuertos were composed, poised, not idiotic, and incontrollable. And at the very least attracted to the same gender. Alejandro had to find a way to make it stop. But for now, he’d just keep pushing them down.
After that memorable visit, Alejandro would start visiting any day he could. The minute Alejandro stepped into the RV, Noah would immediately abandon whatever work he was supposed to be doing and go straight to talking about whatever came to his mind. Alejandro would talk about his love for dinosaurs, Noah would talk about his hacking skills, and the two would nerd out over whatever else they wanted for hours. He'd never had anyone match his level of passion for such niche things, but then again, he had no one to talk about them with. Visiting Noah became part of his routine. He didn't even feel like a guest anymore; Noah’s camper could technically be considered his second home.
So, when the dirtbags cast had been given a whole day off, he immediately seized the opportunity to go and hang out with Noah for the day.
He had walked over to his camper and was about to knock until Noah had come out before his fist could even touch the door. “Oh good, I was about to come and get you.” Noah said.
“My, my, urgent are we now?” Alejandro could never resist the opportunity to be suave, even if it made his guilt ten times worse.
Noah frowned, “For your information prince charming, Chris just wants to see you.”
Well, this certainly wasn’t expected. Alejandro had been playing his role very well, but he still felt the need to worry. What could Chris possibly want?
...
Chris’s trailer was right next to Noah’s; however, it was much different in size. Noah's trailer was tiny, yet nice, and cozy. Chris had a whole living area inside of his, decorated with modern furniture and a whole kitchen. It was, to say the least, outstanding.
"Alejandro! Good to see you man. Have a seat on one of the couches, will ya?" Chris freaked Alejandro out, which was crazy coming from a guy who could demolish your self-esteem in one sentence.
Nevertheless, Alejandro complied and sat down on the couch in front of Chris, while Noah awkwardly stood by the door. Chris immediately turned towards Noah, "Thanks for dropping off your boyfriend Noah! I got it from here."
Suddenly, Noah and Alejandro looked at each other, their faces red and eyes wide, and then back at Chris.
"We are not dating!" They both yelled in unison.
Chris happily sighed, "Sure, whatever. Just leave Noah, now puh-lease."
Noah rolled his eyes and huffed his way out of the camper, Chris spinning his head back towards Alejandro once he walked out. "So, Alejandro, I just want to start off by saying that you’ve done an amazing job on the show by now.”
Alejandro gave him a proud smile, "Thank you Chris.”
"Unfortunately, the network doesn’t see the same vision I have, and they don’t want to go through with the show. Which means we aren’t shooting anymore, and the show is finished.”
Alejandro felt his heart racing; his only chance at impressing his family was just a complete waste of time. But Alejandro knew better than to make those emotions shown, keeping a calm and collected expression on his face as he spoke, “Well, that’s certainly a shame, I have enjoyed my stay, and I will definitely miss my time here.”
“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard that,” Chris snickered, “But you’re not leaving just yet. The network really wants to see a new season of Total Drama, and we really need a new antagonist. Would you want to join the cast?”
Suddenly, all of Alejandro’s ambition came back. “I would love nothing more. Thank you for this opportunity, I won’t let you down.”
“Great! Well just some things to lay out here. First things first, a lot of your plotline is going to be scripted. I’ve seen you in action, and I can see how dirty you can be, but we need you to develop throughout the show. Which leads me into my second topic, we’re giving you a romantic storyline.”
If Alejandro was drinking something, he would’ve spit it out by now. Great, just what he needed during his Noah crisis, except there was no crisis, Alejandro didn’t like Noah. His mind was just playing stupid tricks on him. “Could I know exactly, who the other person will be?”
“Our redeemed villain, Heather! See, the fans love enemies to lovers. Courtney and Duncan boosted our ratings during the first season, so why not do it again?”
Alejandro nodded slowly, “Alright, well I’ll try my best to give the audience what they want.”
Chris grinned, “Listen man, I would’ve given it to Noah, but the network isn’t great with gay couples.”
It was like Chris could read all the small thoughts in his mind and make a fool of him for his own personal enjoyment; it felt so intrusive and dangerous. “Me and Noah aren’t a thing, Chris.”
“Keep telling yourself that bud. Anyway, I’ll give you more details throughout the week. Other than that, you’re free to go man.”
Alejandro was pushed out of the camper and left with a load of questions. First things first, why was Chris so obsessed with the idea of him and Noah together? It wasn’t obvious that Alejandro was dying in untrustworthy thoughts, right? And besides, Chris didn’t see anything other than the two talking together, so what gives? And second of all, now he has to act like he likes some random girl? The universe must despise him. Alejandro couldn’t take any more of the self-questioning and decided to go back to where he originally wanted to go in the first place, Noah’s trailer of course.
...
“So, they’re ending dirtbags?” Noah sipped his coffee as Alejandro paced around the room in a frantic haze. After his toxic headspace kept trying to take over, he found that moving around was helping him calm down.
“It seems so amigo. But they’re doing a whole new season of Total Drama, and Chris wants me to be the antagonist.”
“Here we go again. At least I don’t have to participate.” Noah deadpanned.
Suddenly, the words, “Listen man, I would’ve given it to Noah, but the network isn’t great with gay couples.” rang in his head, for the four hundredth time. But that crazy, impossible to happen statement implied that Noah would be on the newest season. “Actually, he mentioned something about you.”
Noah slammed his coffee on the coffee table in front of him, “What do you mean? Alejandro, you have to be 100% sure you know what you’re saying.”
Alejandro sighed and finally took a seat next to Noah, “Well, you know Chris has some weird fantasy that we’re dating,” he could feel his chest tighten at the mention of it again, “He said he would’ve given the romantic plotline to you but the network doesn’t approve of homosexual relationships.”
Noah’s eyebrow shot up, “What do you mean romantic plotline?”
“Oh right. I’ve been given a romantic ‘enemies to lovers’ arc.”
“With who?” Noah asked almost immediately. Alejandro couldn’t believe it; Noah seemed jealous. That thought didn’t make Alejandro feel half bad, but he shoved it down.
“Some girl named Heather.”
Noah’s jaw dropped, which then morphed into a fit of laughter. “There’s, no, way.” He was practically hiccupping his way through each word.
Alejandro frowned, “Well you certainly aren’t helping soothe my worries.”
Noah was still laughing, but he collected enough air to speak. “Sorry man. But Heather? I feel so bad for you.”
“I’m sure she isn’t that bad. Besides, Chris called her a redeemed villain; certainly, she’s changed?”
“I completely doubt it. Heather might be toning down her evil antics since everyone knows how terrible she is, but she’s just purely mean. Egotistical and annoying.”
Alejandro frown softened into a sad pout. He couldn’t believe he had to act like he liked this girl, and worst of all, how was he going to face his family back home? They’re going to think he had finally gotten a real girlfriend, all for them to be disappointed once they find out it was all part of some script.
His thoughts were cut off by a sudden weight on his shoulder; Noah had put his hand there comfortingly. He had inched closer to Alejandro, and now his organs felt soft, not to mention his breathing pattern became jagged. He prayed Noah wouldn’t be able to hear how insane he sounded right now.
“Hey listen, it won’t be too bad. Heather’s a lesbian, so I’m pretty sure she won’t be too thrilled about this either.” Thankfully those words calmed Alejandro down. However, that wasn’t the only thing. Hearing Noah’s voice so close to his ear made him feel skittish, but this wasn’t anything to rave about. Noah was only trying to calm Alejandro down; and sure, they might be in very close proximity, but it was for a good reason.
Noah’s voice cut through again, “You want to go to the lake?”
Alejandro rapidly sat up, “Pardon?”
Noah stood up, and pointed outside the window next to the door, “The lake? The thing outside the mansion.”
“And why now specifically?”
“The fact that I might have to work on another season of Total Drama might kill me. And besides, you might have to kiss Heather. I think it’d be nice for us to get some fresh air.”
Alejandro froze; he hadn’t thought about that.
...
He’d been too busy going back and forth between his room and Noah’s camper to pay any mind to the view outside. But once he stepped outside, he was in awe. Orange, purple, and pink painted the sky, and the air was cool and refreshing, which was great since it was mid-summer.
Noah was the first to speak, “I used to come here all the time when Chris was preparing the set for the show.”
“How come you stopped coming?”
“I got busy with work, duh.”
Alejandro chucked, “That makes sense.”
They sat under a pile of boulders and looked at the scene in front of them.
“Yvonne would love this.”
Alejandro turned to Noah, “Does she like scenery?”
“She likes to paint it.”
“Ah. I personally enjoy the arts myself as well.”
“The arts?”
“Why yes. Music, art, literature.”
Noah looked him up and down, “You look like you listen to instrumental.”
“I like Luis Miguel. He’s my favorite musician.”
“Never heard of him, I mainly listen to The Cure.”
“The cure of what?”
It was like it was out of thin air, but Noah pulled out a portable CD player and an album with a set of lips as the cover. “The Cure is a band. Here, I think you might like them.” He handed it to Alejandro, who put the headphones connected to them on and pressed play.
He focused on the chimes and the heavenly sound once the music started. He hadn’t listened to whatever genre ‘The Cure’ was, but he found himself liking it. The feeling of the music matched the ambience around him; it felt euphoric almost.
He listened to the album for a bit more, but once he got to the 6th track, he felt something clinging onto him. Noah was asleep and cuddling up to the left side.
Alejandro’s face went hot; why was Noah doing this? It wasn’t until Alejandro remembered a conversation he had with him a few weeks prior.
‘I’ve slept cuddled with literally everything, that’s why I got to have my own room. It’s also cause I’m the only boy.’
Right, how could Alejandro forget? He had asked Noah why he kissed a random boy’s ear on tv, to which Noah admitted to being a ‘human teddy bear’ or at least that’s what he calls it.
Alejandro didn’t necessarily mind the action as a whole; he was more concerned as to what it was doing to him. He admired Noah snoring softly, and the way he’d still have that smug smirk on his face. It was like he knew what he was doing in his sleep. Alejandro’s hands were resisting the urge to comb through his velvety looking hair, but he squeezed one of his hands with the other to make sure he wouldn’t do anything he would regret. In Alejandro’s mind, Noah’s hair was like fire. If he touched it, his hand would go into flames, and it’d be covered in blisters. So, he just watched the way his chest rise and fall silently, while his mind was screaming at him to do something.
He decided to grab the CD player and the album, put them in Noah’s immense cargo shorts pockets, and then he carefully carried him in his arms all the way to his trailer. Noah clung onto Alejandro’s shirt and was breathing on his chest, the warmth of it sending shivers through his body. Alejandro wanted to get this over with, so he wouldn’t go even more insane than he already was.
They finally made it; Alejandro managed to open the door with two fingers. He carefully sent Noah down on his bed, took one final look at him, and with that, Alejandro left the camper internally cussing at himself to get it together.
...
Alejandro was not an idiot, well in some cases that was debatable, but he wasn’t that much of an idiot.
He knew that his ‘intrusive thoughts’ were getting the better of him, and he knew that he couldn’t keep blaming his thoughts for Noah anymore. His feelings were entangling him into a huge mess, and at this point, Alejandro had to face the music.
But what was the cost? On one hand, Alejandro could keep denying these complicated emotions and live in a state of complete and udder denial while it eats him like it is now, or he could come to terms with himself and act on his feelings for Noah while knowing he’s disappointing everyone he cares about back home. It’s truly a double-edged sword.
Alejandro thought about all this while Noah was ranting about some video game he had just started playing before he had to leave home for the summer. But all of a sudden, he stopped. “You alright?”
“Hm?”
“Your face, you looked confused.”
“I was just thinking about something, apologies amigo.”
Right out of nowhere, Chris barged into the RV whining. “Noah! It’s 10 AM and I’ve had no-” He then turns towards Alejandro, “Oh, so that’s why I’ve had no coffee. Noah, work comes first, then you can focus on your relationship.”
Noah groaned while Alejandro face palmed. ‘Este descarado me esta volviendo loco!’
They both yelled once again, “We are not dating!”
“Ugh, whatever! Listen, I was going to do you a favor and make my coffee myself.”
“Small miracles.” Noah cut in.
“But- we’re out of milk. So go to the store and get me some more.”
“Chris, the only reason I don’t get you coffee shop lattes is because we’re in the middle of nowhere. How do you expect me to go get milk?”
“Oh, come on Noah! I know you just got that little Magellan RoadMate, just use your little GPS.”
Noah sighed, “Fine, but don’t expect for me to be back for another 3 hours.”
“Aw Noah don’t be so grumpy, I’ll let Alejandro go with you too.”
Noah turned to Alejandro, as if he was expecting him to say something. Funny enough, so did Chris.
“Well,” Alejandro started, “I’m sure our adventure will be a fun one my friend! I would love to go.”
Chris smiled, “Great! Now go, I’m going to go crazy without my coffee.”
...
“How much longer?” Screw Chris’s coffee, 3 hours in a car just for milk is outrageous.
Noah inched his head closer to the GPS, “2 more minutes, please don’t explode into pieces in my car.”
“No promises. Couldn’t Chris just go get the milk himself?”
Noah slowly turned his head to Alejandro, practically telling him ‘You know why’ with one facial expression. Alejandro smiled in response. Every time Noah pouts it makes Alejandro’s brain turn into mush, he practically found it adorable. But that’s beside the point.
Then he finally parked the car at the grocery store’s parking lot, giving Alejandro the chance to stretch since Noah told him stopping would be ‘wasting more time than the task itself was already doing.’ As much as Alejandro hated that, he knew he was right.
“Ok, let’s just go quickly get the milk and get this over with.”
“Agreed. Let’s go!”
They quickly made it into the dairy section, only for their quick and simple plan to blow up in their faces immediately. Alejandro was sitting on a bench waiting for Noah to quickly check out, when he felt 2 girls loom over him.
He looked up from his phone, “Can I help you two?”
“Sorry if this sounds like, totally awkward but we thought you were uber hot.” The first girl said.
‘Pero en que carajo es esto?’ Alejandro thought. He’d been used to women being attracted to him, even making slight implications and using pick up lines, but to come up to him and tell him straight up was odd, and now Alejandro had to reply to this? Great. “I appreciate the compliment, Senorita. I must say that you both are also both very radiant yourselves.”
The two girls squealed and turned to each other; “Katie! He just called both of us hot!”
“I know Sadie! But wait, who’s he going to choose?”
“Well, it should obviously be me! I have the better hair.” Their bickering made absolutely no sense to Alejandro; the two had the exact same hairstyle.
Unfortunately for his ears however, their small bickering turned into full on arguing. Alejandro wasn’t even planning on choosing any of them; he just said that so they could just walk away feeling satisfied. He was about to cut in, when Noah finally appeared.
“Uh, what’s going on here?”
The two girls turned their full attention towards him. The first girl, Sadie, was the one to speak, “Uhm, do you mind dweeb? We’re trying to figure out who gets to keep him.”
Noah turned to Alejandro with pure confusion sprawled on his face, to which Alejandro only shrugged with his eyes wide with worry.
Noah rolled his eyes, “Alright this is ending right now.”
The second girl Katie was next to speak up, “Who are you to talk?”
Something had to have clicked in Noah’s mind, because Alejandro saw his facial expression tense. He pulled out his lanyard he would have on during the taping of dirtbags and shoved it in Katie’s face, “His personal assistant. Ma’am, you’ve been talking to world famous reality star Alejandro Burromuerto. Make one more move, and you will be sued for harassment.”
Katie turned to Alejandro, “Oh em gee. Sadie, we’ve been talking to a celebrity the whole time! We’re kind of reality stars too you know, we were on Total Dram-”
Noah stood in front of the girls and behind Alejandro, creating some kind of protective shield. “Mr. Burromuerto would like to be left alone at this time.”
“Yeah right, I wanna hear it from him.” Sadie chipped in.
Alejandro finally stood up and put his hands on his hips, “You heard him ladies.”
Both girls huffed in frustration and finally made their leave. Noah turned around and Alejandro’s eyes were wide again, this time with amusement. “Noah! What on Earth-” but Noah’s hand covered his mouth before he could get another word in.
“Save it for when we get back.”
“Alright, alright.” Alejandro removed Noah’s hand and held it in his. “Were they really on Total Drama?”
“Yeah, they were. They just probably didn’t recognize me since both of them refused to talk to anyone else.”
“Ah, I see.” Eye contact with Noah never failed to make him melt. He could look into those dark brown orbs for days.
“Uh, can you let go of my hand?” Alejandro broke out of his trance and quickly let go.
“Right, sorry mi amigo.”
...
After being in the car for another 3 hours, they arrived back at the mansion. They had left around 10 in the morning and finished the whole trip at around 5 in the afternoon; the whole day practically wasted. Despite that, he couldn’t deny the fact that he liked accompanying Noah. Especially after what happened in the supermarket with Noah showing off his impressive improv skills, and some other factors, Alejandro had a great time.
Noah banged on the door to Chris’s trailer while proudly stood off to the side watching the scene in front of him. “Open up, Chris! I have your stupid milk.”
Chris slowly opened the door with a stupid grin on his face, “Hey! Look who’s back, did you kids have fun?”
“Totes. Now can you take your milk?”
In one swift motion, Chris took the milk and shut the door right in Noah’s face. “You're welcome for the warm milk.” He quipped.
“Lighten up, Noah! Our day wasn’t too bad.”
“Says you. You got to be passenger princess the whole ride.”
“Well yes but think of it this way; now that we’ve finished our task, we can go and hang out like we originally intended. And besides, you have yet to still talk about your golden acting skills.”
“My trailer then?”
“Why don’t we, switch things up tonight? We should go to my room.” Alejandro said it in a way where it sounded way too seductive for what he was actually trying to get at.
“Yeah, sure.” Noah murmured.
They went inside the house, walked up billions of stairs, and collapsed onto Alejandro’s bed.
“How come you always want to come to my trailer? This whole room is bigger and way more comfortable.”
“Well, I believe it’s because you needed to work on work cerebrito.”
“True.” Noah hummed. “I should’ve brought my laptop up here though.”
Silence lingered for a second, until Alejandro couldn’t bear it anymore. “Now can you explain what possessed you in the grocery store?”
“Possessed me? I’m pretty sure I just stood up for a friend of mine.”
Alejandro scoffed, “Noah, you underestimate yourself. Your acting skills are phenomenal; I don’t understand why you barely show that. You’re very intelligent, don’t you want to put that to good use?”
“You sound like Chris. I’d rather be the one in the back. Plus, I don’t want a cheesy villain arc or some forged romance.”
“What’s so bad about the romance part? Everything is scripted, and besides it’s not like you and the other person are in love.”
Noah turned away and sighed, “If I tell you, you can’t judge me.”
“I couldn’t possibly judge you if I tried Noah." Noah rolled his eyes at that, "You have my word; I won't judge you.” Alejandro stated.
“Alright. The truth is I’ve never even been in a relationship before. And the thought of being in a fake one is overwhelming enough.” Noah stayed silent like he was bracing himself for laughter, or a snippy comment, but nothing came out. In fact, Alejandro’s heart broke for him. Noah was such a wonderfully unique man, how could no one want that?
“See? Not a word.”
“Ok, ok. You kept your word.”
“Of course I did, you deserve to find the right woman, and the time just simply hasn’t come yet.”
Noah sucked his teeth, “Well, that’s the other thing.”
Alejandro found himself confused, “What other thing?”
“I’m not really, into women.”
“Oh.” Was all that could come out of Alejandro. He’d never questioned Noah’s sexuality, nor had he ever even thought about it since he was more focused on what he himself was.
“Oh? Oh like, oh you’re one of those? Or oh like you don’t care?” For the first time ever, he heard worry in Noah’s voice, which sent Alejandro in a frenzy.
“Of course I care! But not like in a disapproving sense, I just care for your happiness and what’s best for you, and if that’s who you are then there’s nothing anyone can do to stop that.”
Alejandro heard a small sigh of relief come from Noah, “I usually get mixed reactions. Thanks for being cool about it.”
“Of course. Besides, the sexuality of a person doesn’t define their personality.”
Noah chuckled, “I guess, yeah.”
Alejandro didn’t know what to follow up with other than to ask him about his sexuality even more. What was he supposed to say after that? Just change the subject? “So, when did you first realize?”
“I think I was 7 years old. I remember watching The Power Rangers and having a crush on the red one.”
“What was so special about the red one?”
“He had nice hair.”
It was Alejandro’s turn to chuckle, “So you like guys with nice hair?”
“I guess so.” Noah smiled.
Alejandro didn’t know what he was feeling. It was a mixture of relief, anxiety, and newfound hope. Knowing that he had some sort of slim chance gave him way too much optimism, he didn’t know what he was going to do with it. The double-edged sword was still hanging over him, and at this point, he found that his emotions were getting hard to control.
So, Alejandro let himself slip from the shackles a little bit and ask him a burning question, “Have you ever kissed anyone before?”
“I’ve never been in a relationship before, remember?”
“But you’ve never made out at a party or just for fun?”
Noah sighed, “No, I’ve never kissed anyone. And honestly, it looks hard.”
“It isn’t that hard. You get more comfortable the more you continue.”
“Well, that’s because you’ve made out with a billion people.”
“Come on, Noah. I’ve started somewhere too.” Alejandro loosened himself the shackles a bit more, “And if you really want to start somewhere, I can help you.”
He felt Noah stiffen next to him. “When you mean ‘help me’, you mean-?”
“Just think of it as a friend helping a friend. I understand if you’re not comfortable, no hard feelings.”
“I am comfortable, it’s just,” Noah paused, “I don’t know. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I'm sure.” Alejandro carefully instructed Noah to lay down and towered himself over him. He was about to get closer when he heard Noah quip under him. “Couldn’t we just do this sitting down?”
In reality, Alejandro just wanted to savor the moment and gaze at the boy below him, but in Noah’s mind, all of this was platonic. He just didn’t want to risk their friendship, let alone the fact that Noah might not even be into kissing Alejandro in any other context. “I just want you to relax is all.”
“You’re right.” Noah took a deep breath, and Alejandro finally freed himself from his imaginary shackles. He leaned in, to the point where their noses were touching and took one final look into his favorite brown eyes before he finally closed the small gap between them.
Every movement felt like it was dangerous, yet he couldn’t get enough of it. He couldn’t lie and say that the idea of kissing Noah wasn’t messing with him this whole time, but the real thing was so much better than he imagined. For a few seconds, Noah didn’t kiss back, but Alejandro knew he was just getting used to it. Eventually, he felt Noah kiss him back, matching Alejandro’s slow, sweet pace.
Noah’s lips were as soft as he imagined, and the feeling of Noah’s fingers intertwined in Alejandro’s hair was making him feel rabid. He loved the way Noah’s nose collided against his, and as weird as it sounds, he just liked the feeling of Noah being close to him.
Alejandro felt like he’d done enough, so he slowly pulled away. After all, this was to help Noah out; he couldn’t just let himself go. He opened his eyes and found Noah in a blushing mess. Seeing Noah this unraveled made Alejandro’s knees go weak a little, and he couldn’t help the blush forming on his face as well. “Well Noah, I’d say you did well for your first time. Are you feeling, ok?”
“It felt weird. But I liked it.”
“I’m glad you did. Now you have some experience under your belt!” Alejandro can’t say he liked the fact that he felt the need to get off Noah, however, feeling Noah tug his collar quickly washed away his disappointment.
“That’s it?”
Alejandro’s eyes widened in surprise, “I thought you only wanted to know what it feels like?”
“Well, yeah,” Noah started, “But I want to know other stuff too, if you don’t mind showing me.”
Alejandro was more than impatient; he wanted nothing more than to chase the euphoria he had just had a mere minute ago. So, without saying a word, he clashed right back into Noah’s lips, a bit hungrier than before. He couldn’t help it, focusing on nothing more than the sensation of kissing him was all he had wanted this whole time, even if he hadn’t realized it before.
Minutes felt like seconds, because as soon as they started, it quickly ended. They pulled apart and Alejandro stared into Noah’s eyes; this time it was completely intentional. All of this felt so right, kissing girls was phenomenal but so was kissing Noah.
“Are you ok?” Alejandro giggled.
“Yeah, I am.” Noah smiled and lifted himself up with his elbows. “What time is it?”
Alejandro hadn’t even kept track of the time, but thankfully there was an alarm clock next to his bed. “10:30.”
Noah quickly stood up, “10:30?! I need to start heading to bed, Chris told me I have to start printing and sorting scripts tomorrow.”
Noah collected his things, and Alejandro walked him out of the mansion. Once he left, Alejandro felt like he was on cloud 9, hell maybe even higher than 9. He couldn’t help but jump back into his bed and replay the moment in his mind again. Every small touch, every slight glance, it was all exciting. It was impossible to not fixate on, that might've been the first time Alejandro hadn't kissed someone for the sole purpose of 'entertainment'.
But; was it worth it?
The more Alejandro thought about what just happened, the more his fathers voice crept into the back of his mind. Alejandro had forgotten his family for a couple hours, and now instead of relishing over the ecstasy this whole new experience gave him, all he could think about was the disappointment on his father’s face. He knew that what he had just done was bad, sure, but laying down and thinking about it, and worst of all, wishing it woud happen again? This was bad.
Why does everything Alejandro do, a mistake in his father's eyes?
...
“Kid, you alright?” Alejandro was currently in a meeting with Chris, where he was supposed to be going over all the things he was supposed to do as the show's ‘archvillain’. However, Alejandro didn’t care, let alone listen; he had something bigger happening at the moment.
After the whole ‘friends helping friends’ kiss, Alejandro couldn’t even look at Noah in the eyes. He’d see him while walking to Chris’s trailer for meetings, but the moment Noah tried to make conversation like before, Alejandro would quickly dismiss him.
He just didn’t want more guilt or risk the fact that their platonic kiss might happen again, except it probably wouldn’t be platonic. Alejandro was a coward, not a moron, he knew that his emotions would be uncontrollable again. Eventually, Noah just stopped trying to talk to him. The minute he saw him nearby, he’d scowl and turn away.
“Alejandro? Dude, listen I know you’re probably tired, trust me we all are, but the dirtbags crossover episode starts shooting next week, we really need to focus here.”
Alejandro looked down at the papers in his lap, “My apologies. You’re right, let’s go over the plan.”
Chris gave him a deadpan look and then slammed his own papers onto the coffee table in front of them. “Ok, I seriously don’t know what’s been going on with you and Noah, so at this point just tell me.”
“What?”
“Noah’s been giving me more attitude than usual all week, and every time we sit down to have these meetings you daydream and go to fantasy land. What happened between you two?”
Alejandro put on his best apathetic look, “I’ve been tired, that’s all. And in regard to Noah, i simply have no clue why he’s decided to act that way towards you. Nor is it any of my concern.”
“I have eyes man; you haven’t been in his trailer and you two don’t even talk to each other anymore. Something happened, and this meeting isn’t gonna continue unless you finally tell me what gives.”
Alejandro just stayed silent for a moment and narrowed his eyes at Chris. ‘Como sabe todo? Es como si me esta leyendo la mente!’
Eventually, after the longest minute of his life, he broke. “Noah and I kissed.”
Chris’s frown immediately turned into a grin, “Yes! Chef so owes me 10 bucks.”
“But it wasn’t romantic! It was simply helping a friend out; Noah has never kissed anyone before, he said it looked hard to do, so I just showed him how.”
“So, this is why you two aren’t talking?”
“It’s much more than that actually.” Alejandro didn’t know if sharing his family troubles with someone was such a good idea, and especially that someone being Chris Mclean, out of all people. But screw it, maybe talking about it is what would help him. “My father wants me to be with a woman.”
Chris tensed up, “Oh, that’s rough. Has he ever talked about how he feels about-”
“A man being with a man? Plenty of times. He thinks it’s disgraceful, and that a man and a woman is the only correct relationship. And I liked kissing Noah, I also like spending time with him, but all this time, I’ve been repressing my feelings for him because I can’t bear the fact that my father would be disappointed in me.”
Alejandro slumped in his spot on the couch and buried his face in his hands, while Chris didn’t do anything other than pat him on the back awkwardly. “Honestly dude, screw your dad.”
Alejandro quickly lifted his head and turned his head towards Chris, “How could you say that?”
“Well, let me ask you this. Would your dad disown you if you ever got together with Noah?” Alejandro didn’t say anything, but he nodded his head.
“Then that’s not a good dad. Not every parent has to love the fact that you’re gay, it’s a lot sure, but they’d accept it either way man. And honestly, why try to please him anymore you know? He sounds like a douche, do what feels right to you.”
Alejandro froze. He knew this sure; it was obvious that his father wasn’t a great parent but hearing it and having to come to terms with it was difficult. After years of chasing approval, it was hard to accept that all this time he was always going to receive rejection. So, Chris was right. There was no point in trying anymore when all that effort was just wasted time.
“Either way, I’ve practically ruined my relationship with Noah. I told him the kiss between us was platonic to avoid hurting our friendship, but I did it either way.”
Chris rolled his eyes at this, “It’s not over. You just need to talk to him; does he even know about all this with your dad?”
Oh, right. Not only had he just been avoiding Noah, but he completely left him in the dust. Beautiful. “No, I haven’t told him anything about my family. I’ve been avoiding doing so.”
“Then get to it. Please. I can’t take one more insane insult from him; it’s driving me insane.”
Alejandro lit up and laughed a little. Alejandro was great at being mean, but Noah was amazing at making comebacks and offending people. God, Alejandro missed that a lot more than he realized.
“Well, when should I go talk to him?” Alejandro flipped open his cell phone and saw that it was 10:30PM. What a coincidence. Also, kind of a bummer that he’d spent most of the day planning his new show persona with Chris when he could’ve been doing anything else.
“Do it now, dude. Tell him how you feel, run to him-”
Alejandro cut him off, “This isn’t a romance novel Chris.”
“Well with the way you two are acting, it might as well be. You two are driving me crazy, sheesh. Now go.”
“Very well then.” Alejandro stood up to leave but stopped in front of the camper's door, “Thank you, for your thoughtful advice Chris.”
...
It wasn’t the first time Alejandro was knocking on Noah’s door, but this time the atmosphere wasn’t light and exciting. He was horrified out of his mind but eager; this was worth being persistent for.
After a few seconds of knocking, the door finally opened and an annoyed Noah stood in front of him.
“Noah, can we talk? I understand that you’re mad at me, but I think a conversation is necessary.”
Noah didn’t say anything, but he made way for Alejandro to enter. He then shut the door coldly, “What do you have to say to me now? That you enjoyed taking my first kiss and then basically never talking to me after that?”
“Noah, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want things to go that way but-”
“But what? You regret it? Was I really that horrible? So much for a platonic kiss.”
“The reason I stopped talking to you wasn’t because you were a horrible kisser, Noah. I would've never stopped talking to you over that.”
“Then what was it?” Noah inched closer to Alejandro like he’d done a million times before, except this time it was confronting and cold. His scowl deepened every second he waited for Alejandro to say something. “Well?”
“I liked it Noah! I liked kissing you, and I liked pretending you were mine for a minute. That’s why I stopped talking to you.”
Noah kept the same facial expression, but the only thing that changed was his eyebrow quirking up. “What’s so horrible about that? Am I that bad of a person to like?”
“Not at all!” Alejandro practically shouted that, because it was true. Noah had everything Alejandro could ever want in a woman, but no woman could ever hold a candle to him. He took a deep breath and looked Noah dead in the eyes.
“Noah, my family isn’t loving and accepting like yours. My family is distant, and I’ve been compared and belittled my whole life. My brother Jose gets all the praise, not me.” Noah’s expression softened a little, and Alejandro continued.
“I’ve had expectations set up for me my whole life. And my family disapproves of me having a relationship with anyone of the same gender, I would never be able to speak to my father again if he found out what feelings I’ve developed for you.” Alejandro felt tears prick his eyes, but he pushed them away. Frankly, crying would make him feel even more vulnerable than he already felt since he was always told to never cry in public.
Noah sat down and stared at the floor, “Wow, I mean, I’m not great at comforting people, but I’m sorry that you’ve had to deal with that.” Noah picked his gaze up off the floor and looked back at Alejandro. “But wait you’ve developed actual feelings for me?”
“Yes, Noah. I have. You’re the only person who’s been able to match my humor, and I love your wit, and sarcasm. You’re intelligent, cunning even if you don't realize it, and honestly Noah,” Alejandro had to breathe before he said the words that would eventually shift the entire weight of this conversation. “I’m in love with you.”
Noah froze, his eyes widening, being the only thing moving. “Are you sure? Like you’re being serious?”
Alejandro couldn’t help but snort, “Noah, I promise you, I’m sure. You are the only person I’ve ever felt this much passion for.”
Noah started laughing as well, “I mean if you say so I guess.” Then he stood up and stood in front of Alejandro.
“I’m in love with you too dork.”
Alejandro couldn’t help but grin, which Noah laughed at. “Dude, have I ever told you that you smile like a little kid who just got candy?”
“Ok first of all,” Alejandro wrapped one arm around Noah’s waist, “If we’re going to date you cannot keep calling me dude. Second of all,” Alejandro’s other hand caressed his face, “Can we kiss, preferably un-platonically this time?”
Noah smiled, "We may.”
Alejandro was just about to kiss Noah, when suddenly he heard- applause? He and Noah rushed towards the window in front of the camper, to find Chef holding a bucket of popcorn and Chris loudly applauding. “I called it! That was so beautiful kids!”
Noah and Alejandro couldn’t help but exchange glances. Of course, Chris was listening.
...
Surprisingly, this was the most boring week of Alejandro’s life.
All that Alejandro had to do was drive a bus for some cool action shots, pretend to be this huge action star as he walked across a fake red carpet, and that was practically it. A whole week of this, and not able to see his boyfriend? This was torture. However, by the time Thursday afternoon rolled around, Alejandro was finally able to see Noah.
Filming had wrapped up in this remote desert, since it was the farthest location from where the show actually took place. It was flaming hot, but thankfully the cast was finally given some down time, and Alejandro was finally able to properly meet everyone, including Heather.
She roughly shook his hand, “Just know, what we are on screen has nothing to do with real life.”
Alejandro chuckled, “That shouldn’t be a problem, trust me.” He and Noah agreed to keep their relationship a secret, even to Heather who was obviously in on the whole fake relationship arc . Some things on the show were more genuine than others, for example, no one on the plane knew Alejandro was the next antagonist of the show, and the network had come up with a whole, wooing women into elimanation act, so everyone knowing that he was in a relationship, could ruin the plot of the season. They also just didn’t want everyone knowing that they were dating, could you blame them?
Speaking of Noah, he found him talking to some girl wearing all green, and a blonde guy wearing a huge maple leaf shirt.
He calmly walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, “Noah, may I have a word with you?”
Noah smiled and said his goodbyes to his small group and followed Alejandro to an area farther apart from the group to sit down at. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m very excited. I think this show is a better opportunity to showcase my vengeful side, unlike dirtbags.”
“Agreed, that show was bound to fail in the first place.” Noah chuckled.
Alejandro hummed and softly put his head on Noah’s shoulder. “Noah there’s something I have to tell you.” Noah looked down at Alejandro, his way of telling him to continue. "I'm planning on telling my father about our relationship.
Noah immediately sat up straight, "What? Are you sure you want to do that?"
"I'm sure." Alejandro chuckled. "I don't care about winning his approval anymore, and if he truly hates the fact that I'm with you, then so be it."
"Are you going to be ok? What if he kicks you out of the house?"
"Carlos will take me in, it's no big deal mi amor, believe me I will be ok."
Noah sighed, "I mean, as long as we'll still be able to hang out once in a while."
"Noah, my brother is very excited to meet you. I've already called him and told him about all of this; trust me he'll be the one picking you up personally."
From a distance, Chris could be heard calling everyone back to the bus so they could start heading home. Noah and Alejandro stood up to start making their way over to the area, not before Alejandro quickly gave Noah a quick peck on the lips.
“What was that for?” Noah playfully asked.
“Come on Noah, we won't get to interact with each other all season. Let me have this.”
"I hate you."
Alejandro rolled his eyes, "Why still date me if you hate me so much?"
“You have nice hair. That's why I stay.”