"Tell me, was it worth it?" Eva practically screamed as Noah fought for breath.

She had both hands wrapped firmly round his throat and was currently holding him an inch off the ground while his feet were struggling for purchase on anything solid. Anything just to take the pressure off and give him that one little bit of leverage in order to catch his breath and answer her.

"Was it worth it?" she repeated letting him drop slightly and find his footing. "Was it worth every bruise you're going to get? Every bone I'm about to break? Every organ I'm likely to rupture?"

Noah had seen Eva angry at the camp when their team had lost the first challenge. He had seen her angry when Ezekiel had made his sexist comments (and he now had a greater swell of pity for the home schooled boy having now gone through a similar neck trauma). He had seen her really angry when she had lost her MP3 player and couldn't find it.

This anger was beyond that. This was a pure, uncontrollable rage, the likes of which made even the bravest men lose function of their bladders and weep like tiny children.

'I'm just glad I used the bathroom before she found me,' he thought, thankful for small mercies in his current situation.

"Well tell me little Book Worm," Eva was now whispering as she drew his face to within an inch of hers. The whispering somehow made him more terrified. "Was what you did really worth all that?"

Noah mused on what he had done briefly before he gave his answer.


It had started so innocently with a simple desire to be on her team. Seeing the girl for the first time caused his heart to skip a beat. She wasn't what he thought he would fall for but that was the way things usually started out. She was obviously male hating, stubborn as a mule and with the attitude of a wolverine.

Yet despite the warning signs and his better judgement he had wanted to get closer to her. There was a presence and drive about her that he found so appealing; so attractive; so irresistibly…sexy.

The fact that she was surprisingly well endowed in the chest department and had legs like a marathon runner didn't hurt her sexiness factor either, and if there was one thing Noah was a sucker for; it was a pair of nice legs.

So when the opportunity to swap presented itself he showed no hesitation.


"I'm not jumping without Katie," Sadie stated.

"We have to be on the same team, Chris," Katie added.

"Please? Please? Can we? Can we, Chris? Can we? Can we?" the pair began asking in unison.

"How about you're on her team?" Noah suggested, seizing the opportunity he had been delivered on a silver platter.

"What are you planning dude?" Chris asked giving Noah a questioning look.

"Well I don't mind swapping with Sadie so she and Katie can be on the Screaming Gophers and I'll be on the Killer Bass," Noah said pointing down to the bottom of the cliff where the rest of his potential new team were waiting.

"Alright, fine, you're both on the Screaming Gophers now. Noah, you're on the Killer Bass," Chris relented.

Noah smiled as he walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped without hesitation.

In hindsight he probably should have let Izzy jump before him as the redhead had nearly landed on him while wailing like a banshee.


Next he had managed to make first contact with the girl over a shared objective. The job of getting the crates back to camp had been tedious and physical activities weren't really his forte but life offers you gifts sometimes and it's not polite to refuse.

Truth be told he had begun doubting his plan of swapping teams when she had sneered at him while he struggled to move a crate but the moment she flexed her legs and lifted a crate with a single arm his stomach got butterflies and his resolve steadied.


"So why did you swap teams anyway?" Eva asked making small talk which had surprised him. He honestly thought she wouldn't give him a second look after his feeble attempts at moving a crate.

"I recognise talent when I see it Iron Woman," he said before clasping a hand over his mouth as the nickname he had mentally given her slipped out.

"What did you call me?" she asked raising the her eyebrow slightly while stopping to turn and look at him.

"Iron Woman," he offered weakly. He couldn't believe he'd blown it with the first thing he'd ever said to her.

"I like it!" Eva exclaimed loudly. "Most of the guys I know call me a steroid junkie . This guy called me a she-male once and if it hadn't been for him having a big head start on me, I woulda turned him into a she if you know what I mean," she said beginning to grin.

Noah winced at the mental image of some poor guy being immasculated in every sense of the word.

"But Iron Woman," she continued. "It's strong; it's tough; and best of all it's not masculine in the slightest. What's your name again?"

"It's Noah," he had said smiling as things seemed to be going well.

"Well Noah you seem a little scrawny, but you're in luck that I, the Iron Woman, have decided to make it my mission to get you into shape so you'll be part of my winning team," she said as her grin widened.

"Oh…goody," he said half heartedly as he wondered what he was getting himself into.


True to her word she had made it her mission to whip him into shape. She hadn't even waited 5 seconds before her regime began. She had started yelling at him to move the crates; to build the hot tub; to run and fetch water for it.

She had also decided on a nick name for him.


"Come on you little Book Worm, work those arms," Eva shouted as she grabbed another 2 buckets of water before running to fill the barely standing wooden tub that most of the Killer Bass were attempting to patch up.

"I'm not used to anything heavier than War and Peace," he protested as his tired body and shaky arms tried to keep up. "…and I don't think I like Book Worm as a nick name. Can't it be something more impressive?"

"Quit complaining; Iron Woman is what you call me, Book Worm is what I call you. If you want a better alias then earn it," she said emptying her buckets before returning to grab more.

"If I have to run any further or carry any more then my limbs will drop off and I really will look like a worm," Noah snarked as he lost most of his water while attempting to pour it into the tub.

"Hey I said quit complaining; no respectable member of my team is gonna whine about a little hard work," she said reaching the edge of the water.

"Hard work nothing," he said incredulously as he huffed and puffed over to the water. "This is like boot camp."

"Suck it up Book Worm, when you see what I do to you, you'll be thankful," she said splashing a handful of water onto her face to cool herself down from all the exertion.

Noah couldn't help but stare as the he watched the water collide with her skin. The way the liquid stuck briefly to her face before slowly trickling it's way down her features and dripped onto the workout vest that clung to the top of her chest.

'If you see what you really do to me I'll just be thankful if I get a head start,' he thought while lowering the bucket to waist height to hide his embarassment.


The elimination hadn't been pleasant. The thought that one of them could end up going. That he could have managed to start getting close to her only to be dragged away so suddenly. But most of all the unpleasant fact that he had very nearly angered her without even meaning to.


"So who went?" Eva asked as she sat down heavily next to Noah as he read by moonlight.

"Courtney," he said nonchalantly turning the page.

"You mean I've got to spend another week with that sexist twerp?" she asked growling at him.

"Don't blame me; I didn't want the guy to stay and I was sure he was gonna go with you Izzy, Courtney and Bridgette voting for him," he said defensively.

"You mean you didn't vote for him?" she asked furiously.

"Like I said I thought he was going anyway so I voted for Duncan, the guy just grates on me," he said rubbing his lip that still somehow felt a slight bit of pain.

"Well did you think with a team of only 4 girls that they'd get majority vote?" she asked folding her arms. "Honestly if you hadn't swapped teams he might have gone instead of Courtney; now it's only 3 girls and 7 guys on the team."

"Hey I swapped teams because of you," he snapped.

Eva's growl quickly turned to a look of shock before returning almost instantly back.

"What's that supposed to mean? You only want to join our team so you could sponge off my success?" she asked with venom in her tone.

"No I wanted to be on the team that you were on," he said trying to calm her down. "I took one look at you and knew you were a winner at heart and thought if I was on your team I could be a winner as well."

Eva's face softenend ever so slightly.

"Just don't piss me off again," she said standing up before turning to leave.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" he asked causing her to stop mid step.

"Well?" she said after a few seconds pause.

"Why weren't you at the Elimination Ceremony?" he enquired while marking his page and closing his book.

"I wasn't getting eliminated so there was no point," she said shrugging.

"Bit presumptious don't you think," he said turning to face her.

"Didn't I just warn you about pissing me off," she said raising an angry eyebrow.

"I'm not trying to insult you, it just seems that there'd have to be a pretty strong reasoning behind why you think you wouldn't get voted off," he said holding his hands up defensively.

"You're smart Book Worm, think about it logically; are they really gonna vote off one of their strongest competitors when there were others in the challenge who didn't even jump," she said giving him a smirk.

"You do make a valid point," he said rubbing his chin.

"Besides it shows acceptance of defeat and that's something I refuse to do; it's winning or nothing," she said holding up a firmly clenched fist.

"I must say you certainly are determined to win aren't you Iron Woman?" he said giving her a smile.

"It's my whole reason for entering," she said returning his smile. "I wanna win more than anything."


It had been a good job that he'd been sitting down when she'd smiled at him. Had he been standing up there was a good chance his knees would have give out as his legs went to jelly.

He'd never been smiled at like that by a girl before and most certainly not one he harboured an attraction to. It had been intoxicating, invigorating. He was selfish in that he wanted her to keep on smiling like that at him and to never stop.

Fate, it would seem, had a cruel sense of humour as it nearly killed him to earn that smile for the second time.


"Come on Book Worm, not much further now," Eva said jogging ahead as Noah gasped and struggled for breath.

"Eva…just let…me get…a breath," he wheezed out as he willed himself to keep on going despite his legs having give up about 10 minutes ago.

"In through the nose Book Worm, keep the air flow smooth and steady; remember what I've told you," she said slowing her pace down slightly to let him catch up.

'I had to fall for the health nut,' he thought as they turned into a clearing and spotted the cabins. 'I just hope she appreciates what I put myself through just to stay on her good side.'

"Okay Book Worm I want a sprint finish," she grinned as she bolted back to the cabin.

'My legs will never forgive me for this,' he thought as he attempted to sprint and catch up to her.

3 strides later and he was flat on his face.

"Nice running," mocked Duncan as he and most of the other competitors ran past where he lay.

"I hope this challenge is worth it," Noah said as he began struggling to get up only to fall flat again.

"You need a hand there bro?" asked Geoff as he slowed and looked at Noah.

"No, I need a leg, or more specifically two," said Noah as he looked up to see Eva arrive at the cabin first.

"Well you're almost there bro, just 100 metres left to go," said Geoff as he carried on running.

"Get up Noah," he whispered to himself as he somehow mustered the strength to get one leg propped up.

"Hey Book Worm get up!" yelled Eva as he looked up to see her growling at him.

The thought of her retribution and anger at him losing the challenge on her caused his other leg to propel him up into a standing position instantly.

"She'll kill me; she will genuinely kill me," he said as his legs began pumping.

"That's it, now lift those knees, keep the arms moving," Eva carried on shouting.

"Think of the smile, just think of the smile," he said as the numbness in his legs faded only to be replaced with agonising pain.

50 metres remained.

"Keep going; you can do it," she shouted.

40 metres.

'Now her legs, think of how nice those legs looked when she ran,' he thought while trying to remain silent and let his breathing get into a routine.

25 metres.

'Those legs flexing and toning, the muscles as they glisten with sweat and move rhythmically.' He focused intently. He had to make it, he had to.

10 metres left between him and the girl he had fallen for.

"I swear if you ran 20 kilometres only to fail in the last 5 metres I'll rip your legs off and beat you to death with them," threatened Eva as she snarled at him.

2 metres to go.

Noah's whole body went numb and he fell forward only to be level with Eva's feet.

"Get up!" she yelled at him.

"I'm trying," he replied as his muscles just wouldn't budge.

"Try harder, you're 1 step from finishing," she said kneeling down causing her leg muscles to tighten in his view.

'Well after that run I think I've earned a treat,' he thought to himself as he barely had the strength to smile. He could practically see the beads of sweat trickle down her legs and onto her calf length white socks.

"Get up Book Worm and give me my 1 damn step!" she yelled at him.

He tilted his head up to see it was only him and her outside the cabin as all the others had entered the dining area to get their much promised breakfast.

"I don't think I can Iron Woman," he apologised pathetically. "Give me a few minutes and I might be able to crawl it."

Then he heard something unexpected.

"Please," she had said in such a surprisingly sweet tone he almost thought she hadn't said it. "Just 1 more step is all I want from you."

"Anything for you," he whispered so quietly even he couldn't hear it.

He pushed himself onto his knees.

He lifted his left leg.

He lifted his right leg.

He moved his right leg 1 step forward.

He brought his left leg after it and stood proudly in front of Eva.

She gave him that smile that he loved so much.

It was the last thing he remembered before blacking out.


It had been totally worth it. Worth the agony in his legs and worth missing out on most of the breakfast while he recovered from the exhaustion he was feeling. He could have walked the 20 kilometres like most of the other competitors had but the jog that had been so agonising had reaped its benefits. He knew he had impressed her. He knew he had set himself up to be the kind of guy she could be interested in. All he had to do was make the final move and let her know what he felt.

Fate once again, had a cruel sense of humour as they had to face the Elimination Ceremony for a second time.


Harold, Noah and Eva sat at the campfire with baited breath as Chris dragged out the elimination process and had slowed in his naming of who was safe.

"The next competitor to be safe is…

…Harold," Chris said throwing a marshmallow at the lanky teen.

Noah's heart sank as pure dread set in.

He wouldn't be able to tell her.

'Why didn't I tell her during the Awake-a-thon? I had plenty of time but put it off cos she looked so focused those first few hours and I didn't want to distract her,' he thought as all his interest in the Elimination Ceremony faded. 'I should have told her after she woke up but again I put it off cos she was upset over her MP3 player. Why did I keep on putting it off?'

"…and the last marshmallow goes to…"

There was a peal of thunder and it began to rain heavily.

"Gah I just had my hair styled!" shouted Chris as he ran for cover.

"Hey!" shouted Eva as she stood up angrily. "Who's eliminated?"

"Elimination delayed until the storm is over, you guys can sit in the rain all you want but my stylist charges per minute and to look this good takes a long time," replied Chris as he snatched an umbrella an intern had handed him.

"Well this is just peachy," Noah said rolling his eyes as the rain matted down his hair.


He had his chance now. The rain and thunder may have only lasted a short while but it was all he needed. There would be no hesitation. There would be no distractions. He would just tell her how he felt about her.

That had been the plan anyway.


"Hey Iron Woman I need to tell you something," said Noah as the pair sat inside the dining cabin waiting for the storm to die down.

"Can it Book Worm, in case you forgot we're both facing elimination," she growled causing him to go rigid with shock.

"But that doesn't matter to me, I need to tell you that I…" he began.

"Well it matters to me!" she interrupted. "I entered this contest to win and I fully intend to win no matter what. You've been good company and I will admit you've done what no other guy has in earning my respect but right now we're enemies and I always aim to beat my enemies."

She glared at him and his heart felt like it broke inside his chest.

"Does winning really mean that much to you?" he asked with a tremble in his voice.

"Of course it does you stupid little man, for a book worm you can be stupid sometimes," she snarled while standing up and walking to the window.

"Well we'll just have to see who wins then," he whispered before leaving the room to go and see Chris in his trailer.


The 20 kilometre run had put his body through agony. The Awake-a-thon had been mental torture. Knowing he couldn't help her find her most precious MP3 player had scarred him emotionally.

All 3 paled in comparison of what he had felt hearing her say those words. All his hard work and effort had been in vain. She cared more about winning than about him.

He should have expected it really. He was just a weedy little book worm that was often the brunt of the jocks pranks. The weedy nobody that may have been Class President, but still didn't get the full respect he aimed for. She deserved better than him. She deserved to get everything she wanted because every single day she put all her passion and heart into achieving her goal and it would have been wrong for her not to attain it.

That's why he had to do what he did.


"Care to repeat that," Chris said as he sat in his trailer surrounded by heaters.

"I said I want you give the last marshmallow to Eva regardless of who got the most votes to be eliminated," said Noah angrily at having to repeat himself.

"But why would you do that?" asked Chris as he turned to look at Noah.

"I have my reasons and I wouldn't expect you to understand," said Noah glaring at the host.

"Well never mind why you wanna do it; why should I do it? According to our ratings you're surprisingly popular amongst the fans, they like your wit and sarcasm. Why would I get rid of such a big ratings draw?" Chris asked.

"Because there's 2 ways this could go down," said Noah holding up 2 fingers. "Either you eliminate me which makes me happy and Eva happy, thus ensuring your wellbeing." Noah looked at Chris with deadly serious eyes. "…or you can eliminate Eva which will anger her and me." Noah's tone became incredibly calm and somehow terrifying. "…and trust me when I say that what Eva does to you will be an absolute 1st Class Spa treatment compared to what I'll do."

Chris went white.

"You can't be serious," he stuttered out.

"You'd be surprised at how creatively sadistic you can get having such a high IQ," said Noah grinning wickedly.

The storm seemed to instantly clear outside.

"Oh l…l…l…look the rains stopped," Chris said stumbling over his words. "Let's get back to the ceremony so we can congratulate Eva," he added before running out of the room and straight back to the campfire.


It had been so enjoyable seeing the fear on his face. The lousy food and even lousier accommodations had been worth putting up with for that 1 brief second alone.

But fate decided that she liked her humour in three's and had to mess him around once more.


Noah arrived at the campfire (or what used to be having gone out thanks to the rain) only to notice Eva was holding Chris up by the scruff of his shirt and appeared to be shouting at him.

"You got that MacLean?" she growled while dropping him as Noah got within earshot.

Chris looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Absolutely Eva," he said on the verge of crying.

"What's that about?" Noah asked as he sat down next to the raging girl.

"Just warning him that there better not be any delays this time; even if lava starts falling from the skies he's not to interrupt the ceremony. We find out who's leaving right now," said Eva angrily while folding her arms.

"Fair deal," said Noah smirking.

"What are you smiling at?" she growled whilst glaring daggers at him.

"Just eager for the result," he said turning to face Chris who was visibly shaking.

"Anyway back to who gets the final marshmallow," he said as his voice began to crack.

"The last person safe and to receive a marshmallow is…

Chris shed a slight tear.

…Noah," he finally said before crouching and trying to protect himself.

"What!" screamed Eva and Noah in unison.

"You can't be serious!" yelled Noah as he advanced on Chris.

"How can you give him the last marshmallow? He didn't last as long as I did in the Awake-a-thon!" yelled Eva as she too advanced on Chris.

"Votes have been counted and the result is final," sobbed Chris. "Please don't kill me; I'm too young looking to die."

"You know what MacLean, you can screw this show," said Noah looking down spitefully at the host. "You said 1 contestant goes per elimination; well it's not gonna be Eva." Noah threw his marshmallow away to the dock. "I quit."

"What?" said Eva in a shocked tone that surprised Noah slightly. He thought she'd be happy to see him go.

"I said I quit; good luck Eva I hope you win this show," he said as he stormed towards the Dock of Shame as she came running after him.

"Wait a second, you didn't get eliminated why would you quit?" she asked in a confused tone.

"Oh figure it out Eva you're not stupid; I like you okay," he said as her eyes went wide.

"You like me?" she asked in a shocked tone.

"Oh come on my Iron Woman; I swapped teams to be with you, I agreed to get trained by you despite the fact I'm as athletically inclined as a strand of spaghetti and to top it off I jogged all the way on a 20 kilometre run just to try and impress you," said Noah exasperatedly as his body sunk.

Eva was stunned to silence.

Noah noticed something.

"I think you dropped this," he said picking up the object before handing it to her.

Eva opened her hand to see he had given her the last marshmallow that he had previously thrown away.

She looked up to see he was already on the boat and was waiting to leave before he stopped and turned to face her.

"Just do me one favour my Iron Woman," he said as she walked over to him slowly.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Don't kill me until after you've won the show," he said while taking a deep breath.

"Kill you for what?" she asked confused.

"For this," he said before leaning forward and kissing her.

Eva went rigid and her face went completely red.

Noah removed his hands from the side of her face and parted their lips.

He gave her a small smile before the boat's engine roared and he was taken away from the dock.

Sitting down he sighed before he could hear Eva yelling.

"You can't just do that to me and leave!" she screamed angrily as the boat vanished from her sight.


He had hoped that would be it. Eva would go on to win the show and he could have died happy knowing she got everything she wanted. He had hoped to get a few weeks of relaxation at the Playa Del Losers before he faced the music for kissing Eva and succumbed to the beatings she would rain upon him.

Unfortunately he hadn't been aware of the results of the next challenge until he left the bathroom only to see Eva standing right in front of him.


"Was what you did really worth all that?" she whispered as his mind came back to the present. "Was kissing me worth all the pain?"

"Kissing you was worth every second of pain I've been through and am about to go through," he answered without hesitation.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she said before pulling her fist back.

Noah closed his eyes and waited for the punch.

Instead he felt a hand delicately cup his cheek.

His eyes opened in shock to see Eva giving him that smile of hers that he loved so.

"Because I like you too," she said before leaning in and kissing him.

Noah was now convinced she had beaten him to death because he felt like he was in Heaven.


"You quit!" exclaimed Noah incredulously as he and Eva lay next to each other on sun chairs by the pool.

"Yup, they were about to eliminate Sadie on the other team but I interrupted the elimination and walked off the show," she said before taking a sip of her drink.

"You mean to say I did that big dramatic exit so you could win and you just walked out?" asked Noah as he started giggling slightly.

"I may not have won the show but I won something more important," she said before reaching over and grabbing his hand in hers.

"Why Iron Woman is that a sentimental gesture you're making?" he asked sarcastically.

"Knock it off Book Worm or I'll have you run laps round the pool till your legs really do drop off," she said slapping him on the shoulder slightly.

"Like you'd really do that to your new boyfriend," he said leaning back and taking a mouthful of his drink.

"Hey I don't need a guy with legs; as long as he's still got what's between his legs I'll be happy," she said causing Noah to choke on his drink as he went red with embarrassment.

"That's very forward," he said after catching his breath causing her to laugh.

"Thank you for the marshmallow by the way," she said lying back on her own chair.

"Well I was leaving anyway and I thought it might be a touching gesture," he said shrugging.

"I meant thank you for telling Chris to give me the last marshmallow," she said causing him to look at her in shock.

"How did you find out?" he asked eventually as the shock lessened.

"He let me know when I told him to give the last marshmallow to you," she said. Noah's face instantly returned to its shocked expression.

"You told him to give me the marshmallow?" he asked.

"Well threatened is more appropriate a word. I told him that you were gonna get the last marshmallow or he would have to legally change his gender to female after I got through with him," she said while grinning.

"Are you always gonna threaten people with castration? What happens if we ever have an argument?" asked Noah with a slightly worried tone.

"Just always know that I'm right and you should be fine," grinned Eva. "Although," she carried on, "I have heard that make up sex is the best so a couple of arguments could be worth it."

Noah went bright red as Eva chuckled at him playfully.

"Seriously though, I don't see us having many problems. I tried to make you despise me in the dining cabin so you wouldn't mind when I was eliminated but you still put my dream of winning before your own wants." Eva turned and smiled at him. "Don't think that's gone unnoticed by the way; the moment we find a soundproof room I intend to pay you back with interest." Noah once again blushed. "Any guy that puts me before himself is a keeper in my book."

"Why did you want me to stay instead of you?" Noah asked in a serious tone.

"You deserved it more. I was there only for myself and wanted to prove to others that I should have won." Eva sighed. "That day you ran 100 metres even though your whole body had given out is when I realised you had more heart than me. It's all well and good to carry on giving it your all if you're in peak physical condition but if you're…" Eva hesitated for a second.

"…a Book Worm like me," Noah offered smiling.

"…then being able to keep on going despite the pain is nothing short of incredible," she said giving him another smile.

"You realise that neither of us are going to achieve our dream of winning the show now?" asked Noah as he felt his legs turn to jelly at that smile once again

"There are other dreams and goals," she said standing up.

"Such as?" he asked while raising an enquiring eyebrow as she grabbed his hand.

"Remember I said I hold a World Record for Highest Jumping Roundhouse Kick by a 5 year old?" said Eva as she pulled him up.

"Yes," he responded in a confused tone.

"Well my new goal is to break another World Record; I was thinking either think longest make out session or possibly loudest scream," she said giving him a flirtatious look.

"Might I offer my assistance to you in attempting these records Iron Woman?" he asked grinning slyly.

"Wouldn't have it any other way Book Worm," she said leading him away.

"There's just 1 catch," he said seriously.

"Name it," said Eva as she smiled at him.

"I want a new nickname," he said returning the smile before draping an arm around her shoulders.

They began looking for the most soundproof room they could find.