Chapter 3
Willow arrived in LA at 2:30. It was slightly warmer than North Carolina but it was still cold, so she was grateful for the chunky knit cardigan she was wearing. She was greeted at the airport by one of the production staff who was going to be taking her to the house where all the contestants would be staying for the duration of the show. "I'm Polly. It's my job to make sure all the contestants are happy and looked after" she said leading Willow out to a car which was waiting for them. It took them thirty five minutes to get to the house, where seven of the ten contestants were already unpacked and already settled in the house. As Willow made her way into the house, someone threw their arms around her and lifted her off her feet. "Willow Smithson it's been too long" a familiar male voice said excitedly "Dean Woods. Oh God I've missed you" she replied, a smile on her face as she looked at her former lover. He hadn't changed at all, his dark skin and deep brown eyes made her realise that she missed him more than she thought she had. "Let me take your bag" Dean said, unable to take his eyes off Willow "we've got a lot to catch up on, and Polly will introduce you to the other six contestants that are already here" as he led the way into the house, followed by a very conflicted Willow.
"Hey Willow, let me introduce some of the other contestants" Polly said, calling the other contestants into the living area. "Hey everyone this is Willow. She's currently the youngest Diva and current Women's Champion in the WWE" she said as everyone mumbled a quiet hello to Willow. "Willow, this is Brooke, she's part of the ECW dance troupe Extreme Expose. Comedian Drew Carey, actor Barry Van Dyke, Hills couple Spencer and Heidi Pratt, socialite Khloe Kardashian and of course, you already know soccer star Dean Woods" Polly pointed each contestant out as she introduced them, adding "and we are just waiting for our final two to join us" "who are they Polly?" Khloe asked, desperate to know who she would be competing against. "Khloe, you know I'm sworn to secrecy. But they should be here by tomorrow" Polly replied before leaving the house, leaving everyone to question Willow "so what's your story?" Khloe asked "I mean, you're the newest contestant and we've had a few days to get to know each other so" "I know what you mean Khloe" Willow replied, before asking "so what do you guys want to know?" as she retold her life story to all the housemates. She told them about Mike and Grace, being adopted, finding Amy, about Matt, about Eric stalking her and eventually kidnapping her. She didn't tell them about the torture and rape, that's just too much info for these guys she thought to herself as she made her way to the bedroom she was sharing with Brooke and besides, I'm not ready to talk about it with a load of strangers, completely unaware that the others were talking about her, back in the living area. "So what do you guys make of Willow?" Dean asked, concerned for his ex girlfriend not realising how rough the last year had been on her. "She seems ok. Sounds like she's one hell of a year" Barry replied getting up to make a start on dinner for the house, when Polly re-entered the house with the final two contestants, TV presenter Mario Lopez and news anchor Robin Meade.
"Guys, can everyone come into the living area for a few minutes?" Polly yelled to the house, as everyone made their way into the living area, noticing Mario and Robin. "Ok everyone listen up. As you know the first live show is one week away. So the hard work begins tomorrow, but right now we are gonna give you a chance to stake out your competition. Tonight, everyone is going out for a meal and then on to a karaoke bar. It's our way of saying welcome to the show" she said, a huge smile on her face "you have one hour to get ready. I'll be waiting here" as everyone scattered off to their various rooms to get ready.
3 hours later, everyone had enjoyed their meal and were now in one of the private rooms at the Orchid karaoke bar, enjoying a few drinks and staking out the competition. There were some contestants who were just god awful (Barry, Drew, Heidi and Spencer) some who were ok (Khloe, Robin, Brooke and Mario) and then the two who outshone the rest (Dean and Willow.) Everyone was astounded when Willow took the microphone and started singing Black Velvet by Alannah Myles. "Wow Willow, you are good" Robin said, "Honey, you're better than good. You are freaking amazing. You are so gonna win this thing" Brooke added, hugging her roommate, Heidi and Spencer just gave everyone dirty looks before throwing themselves over each other while everyone else enjoyed the party which lasted until the early hours of the morning.
Willow awoke the next morning and looked around for Matt. It took her a few minutes to remember that he was over 2000 miles away, back home in North Carolina. Willow closed her eyes and fell back onto the soft pillows, suddenly remembering why she felt so guilty. I need to talk to Matt she thought to herself but now is not the time. I need to start rehearsing for next week, forcing herself out of bed and dragging herself into the shower before heading off to her rehearsal, unaware that two thousand miles away, Matt was feeling the same way and was planning on coming to Los Angeles in one week's time to win her back.
all people in this story (except Dean & Willow) are real people. if you dont know who they are, just google them :-)