Chapter 36 – Jesse Flynn

Now that two huge events had taken place – Silas's engagement and Val's Elite – Jesse was hunting for something new to bring to the public, something different. And there was one girl he had his doubts about. One girl who had kept her head down for some time. Besides, he had been keeping tabs on her on social media, and some weird things had popped up on her Instagram feed.

Things like a selfie with friends in front of a University building. He had noticed the Instagram post at the beginning of September, but a couple of days later, it had been taken down, and nowhere to be found. Jesse was curious as to where this building was – because it certainly was not the Royal Palace, that he was sure of – and who was this girl, since she was supposed to be in the Selection, in Los Angeles.

Thank goodness he had done a screenshot of the post, but apart from some hashtags in the description like #art #uni #newyear and #fall, there was nothing there that told him where it was. So Jesse had done some detective research and tried to go through all the universities of Illéa and had found one matching building to the photo: the AIK, also known as the Art Institute of Kent.

"Veronica, Veronica," Jesse muttered as he went through her older pictures; there was not one of the Selection or her time in LA, and nothing since July, either. There were lots of pictures before that, though, of Veronica and her sister Victoria. Both seeming to be known as Roni and Tori. Now, even if Jesse had had both girls next to one another in the same room, he could not have told them apart. Could it be…?

Jesse then tried her Facebook and Twitter accounts, and some other social media, but it was the same thing everywhere: neither she nor her sister had posted anything since the beginning of the Selection. Not a single post about Tori's summer holiday, or of Roni's time in the Selection.

"Sus," Jesse muttered again.

"What are you muttering about?" Sydney asked.

"What?" he looked up, confused.

"You're muttering again. You just said sus." She eyed him suspiciously. "Who's suspicious?"

"Roni," Jesse said. "I need to find proof and expose her, and that'll add some drama to the Selection."

"Proof of what?" she asked. "We're gonna be late to the Report, we gotta go now."

"How do you prove that someone's not someone?" Jesse asked. "Oh, I know…" He snorted. "Okay, we can go, I'm ready!" The trio headed to the studio in town and while Otis drove their shared car, Jesse downloaded some pictures found on social media, anything that could help him make his point. Then he transferred everything to a USB drive. When they got to the studio, he went to the guy in charge of the big screen. "Hi, here's some stuff I'll need you to show this morning and to add in the final edit as well.

"Sure," the guy said. "What exactly is it, and when do you need it?"

"I'll tell you. Just be ready to send them to the screen."

"Okie, dokie."

The dreadlocks dude shrugged and Jesse was on his way to the stage. People were already coming in and filling the seats. Meanwhile, he went to the stage and paced back and forth, reading his notes again and figuring out how to proceed about this. Should he tell someone beforehand? Or should he just surprise everyone and deal with the Live consequences? Yes, it was more fun that way.

He heard the group arriving backstage and waited for everyone to be seated. Of course, Nate and Val joined him on the couch, but Silas and his fiancée went directly to the audience next to the queen. It didn't matter: he didn't need Silas this morning and he would give the couple a day off the Report for once. There were other things more important to do, anyway.

"Are you guys ready?" Jesse asked the two princes chatting about something.

"Yup," Nathan said. "Always ready."

Valerian nodded and Jesse signaled the Stage director who nodded as well. "Filming in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five," and then he counted with his fingers. The red lights on the cameras went on and Jesse grinned.

"Goodeveningladiesandgentlemenboysandgirls!" he boomed, eager to get this party started. "My name is Jesse Flynn, and another week has passed for the Selection, and things are about to get juicy, trust me…" he wiggled his eyebrows at the cameras and laughed. "Okay, so first off, here are some pictures of the small vacation His Royal Highness took with his Lady…"

Behind him, some pictures of their trip to Hansport showed up: a few selfies of the couple on the northern beach, another picture with Ximena's mother, and whatnot. There were lots of aw-ing and ah-ing from the audience, but this was not the main entertainment of the Report… Jesse then talked about the two dates that happened during the week – Valerian and Eve's bike date and just a mention of Nathan with Emelda – and he chatted a little with the princes about this and that.

Then he did something a little different: he decided to interview the girls just like that, from his armchair to their seat, like popcorn questions.

"Morrigan," he started. "Do you have any movie or TV show coming up after the Selection?"

"What do you mean, after the Selection?" she asked. "If I win, I'm not sure I can continue acting," she said. "But if I can, I'll try to find something in LA…"

"Okay, as a Plan B?"

"In that case… I can't say too much, because of spoilers, but if I have to go back home, which I hope I won't," she added, "I do have work waiting for me…"

"Excellent, that's great news!" Jesse said. "Malia, any new calls from the Make a Wish Foundation, recently?"

"No," she said. "But it's good like this as well, I can focus on the Selection and I can continue to practice in the pool."

"Nice!" Jesse quickly checked his notes. "Jenissa, have you played any music with Silas recently?"

"Not really, no," she said. "Let's just say he's been… otherwise occupied." She looked at the couple in the audience and everyone chuckled. "But I have been working on a new piece…"

"Oooh! For what occasion?"

Jenissa shrugged but remained quite mysterious about it. "I guess you'll see in due time."

"I see," he replied. "Victoria!" he said. "How is your art coming up? is the Study group helping?"

"Yeah, definitely," Roni said. "I–"

"Victoria," Jesse said again. "I believe your twin sister put a picture of herself in front of the Art Institute of Kent, a few weeks ago but took down the picture two days later…" he looked at the dreadlocks dude and he sent the screenshot of the post to the big screen. "And it ended up on your Instagram page. Or was it your sister's?" He asked. "I honestly can't tell you apart."

In the middle of the group, Roni – or was it Tori? – was becoming as red as a tomato, and the girls around her were simply staring at her. Jesse was pretty sure she would have hidden in a mousehole if she could have.

"Victoria, right?" he asked again.

"Jesse, what are you doing?" Valerian asked, confused.

"I'm glad you asked, Your Highness," he said. "You see, I've had my doubts about Roni–Tori for some time now, and I've always pushed the matter away, thinking it was ridiculous. But I follow everyone on social media and when I saw that post, I just knew my gut was right from the start."

Valerian looked at Roni, then at Jesse. "But how and why did you start wondering if Roni was really Roni?"

"Well, my dear friend, Roni has once or twice slipped her sister's name in a conversation with your brother Silas, saying Roni instead of Tori. And if you look closely," he said, nodding at the screen guy, "the two sisters look exactly alike. Now, if you compare both accounts, Veronica's and Victoria's are very similar but for one thing: the real Veronica has no picture whatsoever of any dog but has many friends. Victoria posts pictures of dogs, but also mainly pictures of her and her sister." He paused. "The real Veronica wouldn't have liked Doug at all and would have made friends with everyone in the Selection."

Valerian and Nathan looked at each other.

"Am I correct in assuming you are Victoria and not your sister Veronica?" Jesse asked the red-head girl.

Roni/Tori didn't answer right away, but she nodded slowly. "…Yes. I'm afraid so."

"Well, thank you for your candidness," he said, though he had just made her say it in the first place. He looked at Nathan. "Your Highness, she's on your list at the moment, what are you going to do?"

From the look on his face, Nathan didn't really know what to do. What could he do? He looked at Valerian for help, but his brother just shrugged. They were being filmed and they had to continue the show. Thank goodness they weren't going live, so it was that, at least.

"Wait a minute," Nevaeh said from the audience. "Can we just stop filming please?"

Jesse looked at the blonde duchess. Now what? "No, we won't stop filming," he said. "But go on with what you wanted to say, Your Grace."

Nevaeh stayed out of camera range and in her seat, though she knew one of the cameramen would come and film her. "This is ridiculous, Jesse. How long have you been planning this?"

"I've had my doubts for some time, but thanks to the post the real Veronica posted a couple of weeks back and then took down, it all came together." He was proud of his journalistic instincts if he had to be honest.

"Then if you figured it out two weeks ago, why didn't you speak up earlier or talked to the lady herself? You had many opportunities to do it."

Jesse smiled. He liked arguing with Nevaeh, and doing it in front of everyone was a delightful pleasure. People watched them going back and forth like people watching a tennis match. "Because too many important things happened in the past two weeks and I was keeping this for when things died down a little," he replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we have a Report to finish."

"We're not done, Jesse," Nevaeh said as the light came back on Roni who was really Victoria.

"Honestly, don't worry about it," Victoria said. "I'm honestly surprised we were able to keep the charade this long…" She stood from the middle of the group of girls and joined the princes and Jesse in the couch area and she sat between Nathan and Val, who both had to scoot to either end of the sofa.

"Oh, hello," Nathan said. "So is it Tori or Roni?"

"Hi, my name is Victoria Madison Flores, and my sister made me come here as her," she said, pink rising in her freckled cheeks. "She made us both put our names in, really, though she has a boyfriend at the moment. A very serious boyfriend, mind you," she quickly added.

"But why come as her?" Jesse asked.

"That's the thing," Victoria replied. "She wasn't supposed to be selected, and I didn't want to be selected. But we've spent so much time as kids pranking people by switching each other, and this is the longest we've ever done it. I mean, two months and a half is a personal record," she continued, giggling nervously. "And when her name came up instead of mine, she planned the whole thing and made me go instead." She paused. "I guess she forgot not to post on social media because that's a rule we put down before I left."

"I see," Jesse said, nodding thoughtfully. He honestly hadn't thought Victoria would just come down and explain everything, but this was even better! "But are you happy you came, even if everyone thought you were Roni?"

Victoria grinned. "Yeah, I'm super happy," she said. "And what you said is totally right: Roni would have made friends with everyone in no time, but I'm glad I did make some friends, in the end." She looked over her shoulder at the group of girls and smiled. "Mia, Evangeline, and Pallas have really been amazing friends, and I'll never forget my time with the princes as well…"

"And Doug, of course!"

"And Doug, yes!" Tori said, laughing.

"But you seem like you're expecting to be sent home," Jesse said.

"Well– I mean, I was a fraud for two and half months, I would kick myself out if I was in their place," she said, pointing at the two brothers on either side of her with her thumbs, which made them both laugh.

"Aw, Ron– I mean, Tori," Nathan said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, it was not cool to lie to everyone about who you really were, but I'm not even mad. I'm impressed!" He laughed. "What do you think, Val?"

"Honestly, same, I'm impressed," he said. "But I don't think it's fair to the others? I don't know… She's on your list…"

Victoria chuckled. "Well, if you're both indecisive about this, I can choose for you: let me go home," she said. "I mean, in all honesty, it's been fun and all, but I really miss my sister, and it's getting hard to continue college from here. There are so many things I need that I don't have here." She looked at Nathan and then Valerian. "Would you be okay with that? Besides, I don't think either one of you fell in love with me, and neither have I." She shrugged. "I'm happy for the experience and that I got to meet you guys, but I think my time is up."

Valerian also hugged her from the side, and it was a huge princely sandwich with Tori in the middle. "I'm gonna miss you!" he said

"Aw, please don't say that," she said. "You've got lots of girls remaining, and between you and me, I know one or two who are pretty smitten with you." She smirked.

"Who?" Jesse said. Now that was tea, a Selected putting another Selected at the front of the line.

Tori looked at the two princes next to her and then stayed on Val. "I know for a fact that Eve, Malia, and Odessa reeeeally like you," she replied. "But that's all I'm gonna say."

"That's good information," Jesse said. "Prince Val, keep that in mind. Now," he continued, grabbing a black rose, "I think it's time for this week's official elimination, isn't it?"

Nathan took the rose. "Roni-Tori, as per your wish, you are hereby freed from your bond to the Selection."

Victoria took the rose and thanked him before heading backstage.

"Well, Ladiesandgentlmeboysandgirls, that was a feat! One girl down, fourteen to go! Six in Prince Valerian's Elite, and eight still on Nathan's list. We're getting closer and closer to the end, and I'm so excited to see how all this will turn out! It's already been such an adventure, and I know many things are still going to happen! It's all for tonight, and don't forget to like and share the latest post on Instagram, to follow the blog, and to be happy! Have a nice weekend, Illéa!"

-o-0-o-

"I can't believe you went and did that," Nevaeh said, storming backstage after Jesse, once the Report was done. "It's not your job to decide who goes home and who stays. She would have said something at some point, don't you think?"

"That's the thing, I don't think she would have," Jesse retorted, stopping in the middle of the hall. The girls were already out of the doors, and into the limousines with the princes. "She was so deep in the thing that I don't know how she would have come up with it to anyone." He paused. "And you have to admit it was a fun and interesting conversation we had with her."

"Perhaps," Nevaeh conceded and Jesse took that as a win. "But you're not God: you don't decide who the boys or the Selected fall in love with and if it's time for the girls to leave or not." She huffed. "You've been pushing them to eliminate girls, and you forced Valerian into choosing his Elite. What if he wasn't ready for it?" she said. "You don't care about what anyone thinks or feels, all you want are likes and shares on your posts and articles!"

"Woah, calm down, Nevaeh," Jesse said, holding up his hands in defense. "First of all, it's the queen who demanded they eliminate one girl each week, I'm only doing my job. Second, I didn't force Val to do anything, I merely suggested it. And thirdly, I'm a journalist, this is my show for now, and I do whatever I want on it."

"That's the problem with you, Jesse," she said, getting angrier by the second. "This is all just a show and a game for you!"

Jesse wanted to reply something to that but she was walking away – fast – with her heels clicking down the linoleum floor of the studio building. He let out a breath and did a mental note not to get the woman angry again and not to stay on her bad side. She was beautiful, but terrifyingly so when she was angry.

"You okay, man?" Otis asked, walking into the hall.

"You heard that?" Jesse winced.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone heard that…" Otis made a face and shrugged. "She's not wrong, but she's not entirely right either."

"Hey, what side are you on?"

"I'm just saying…" Otis said, shrugging. Then he patted his computer in his bag. "Everything's in here, we're ready to go," he said. "Though I don't know where Sydney is."

"Here!" she said, joining them backstage. "Are we ready to go? We've got lots of works and editing to do."

Jesse and Otis nodded and they piled into Otis' small car and drove back to the Palace. Jesse looked out the window, thinking about what Nevaeh had just said. True, he wasn't God. But he was the host of the show and it was his job to keep it interesting and full of new things and suspense. Without the ticket sales for live filming, there was no Selection. And if there was no Selection, there was no marriage for the princes and no entertainment for the people. He knew he was doing the right thing. But he also wanted Nevaeh to approve of what he did.

Her opinion was important to him. Hadn't she complimented him on his job just a couple of weeks ago? He had felt like flying on clouds, at the time. But now? He felt like a cockroach she was stepping on with the pointy heels of her shoes.

When they were back at the Palace, Jesse and the two others climbed out of the car and headed inside. They put their things in their makeshift office and went directly to the dining room for lunch. They mixed up with the girls and the two princes still in the Selection, while Silas ate with his fiancée and his family at the royal table.

He pushed his food around, only half-listening to the conversations around him. Ron– Tori was still there and would leave later that afternoon, and the girls were asking her questions about how she kept the act for so long, and what kinds of pranks she and her sister did when they were kids.

"Hey," his table neighbor nudged him in the arm. "You okay?"

Jesse looked up. Brandy was looking at him with genuine concern on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," she said. "You're usually the one animating the conversations, at the table, at least with the girls around you." She paused and forked some food into her mouth. "What's going on?"

Jesse shrugged. "Honestly, I'm fine," he said. "I'm just a bit tired, I think…"

"Yeah, well. You've been working overtime for two and a half months, seven days a week." She paused. "It's understandable."

"Thanks," he said wearily. "So, how are you doing?" he asked, trying to mind what Neveah has said earlier, about him not caring about what people thought or were feeling, which wasn't true, by the way.

"Me? Oh, uhm, I'm fine!" Brandy said with a bright grin on her face. "To be honest, this is just one big paid vacation. I mean, the food is great, there's staff everywhere, and the rooms are great."

Jesse laughed. "So it's a glorified hotel?"

"Yeah!" Brandy agreed, laughing as well. "And everything is free of charge, so that's a plus."

Jesse chuckled. "And what do you make of Val and Nathan?"

"Patrons? I don't know, I haven't thought that far, to be honest." She drank some water "But I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to win this thing, anyway. So I'm making the most of everything."

"I see," Jesse said. "And why do you think that?"

She looked around her, but no one was paying attention to them. "Because as much as Nathan is fun to be around and Valerian is a cinnamon roll, I don't think there can ever be anything more." She looked around, at the fancy dining room around them. "I don't think I'm meant for this life, especially if it means leaving behind my private life and not being able to do what I love."

"Which is…?" Jesse prompted. He realized he didn't really know her.

"Drawing. I haven't done it in some time, but I've felt like drawing again these past few weeks." She took a deep breath and chuckled. "There, said it."

"That bad, huh?" Jesse asked. "How long had it been?"

"Way too long." She sighed. "Ever since my little brother passed away, I've never been able to draw again. But I've been doodling in class, and I've been creating characters based on the Selected and the princes, and I've been focusing on that more than anything else."

"Ooh, I'd like to see that," Jesse said. "We can even post them on Instagram or something if you want."

"No! Oh no, please no. I'm not– I don't think I'm ready to show these to anyone just yet. Well, maybe to you, if you can promise me not to post them or anything…"

Jesse nodded. "Okay, I won't post them anywhere, I promise."

They set out a time later that afternoon for her to show Jesse the drawings, and then dessert arrived, stopping conversations mid-sentence.

-o-0-o-

On Saturday morning, Jesse pushed himself to get out of bed, but it was getting harder and harder if he had to be honest with himself. Was he getting down with the flu? He didn't have any fever and he didn't ache all over. Maybe it was just autumn getting to him already? Usually, it was November that was nasty, not October.

After a longer than necessary shower, Jesse slipped on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a comfortable hoodie. He put on some sneakers as well and sat at the small desk he had in his room. Of course, his room was not as grand as the Selected's and it must have been a lady's maid's room at some point when all the royal ladies of the palace had lady's maids. But it was just fine for him, and his window overviewed the front entrance of the Palace.

He opened his computer to start writing his next article when there was a knock on his door. Jesse sighed.

"Come in," he said, too lazy to get up.

But the knock sounded again.

"Fine, I'll come open the door," he mumbled. "Nevaeh?" he said, seeing the blonde Duchess standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a fancy deep V-neck shirt with elbow-long puff sleeves and high waist taupe pants, paired with nude heels. "What are you doing here?" It was the first time she was coming to his room to talk.

Nevaeh looked at him, then around him, inside the room. "I'm looking for Jesse?" she said, ignoring him.

"Uh…" Jesse looked behind him, confused. "I'm right here…"

"No, the Jesse I know wears tacky suits with hideous bowties. Not… this…" she gestured at his outfit with an air of disgust. "Who are you?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Nevaeh what do you want, I'm kinda busy at the moment."

Nevaeh eyed him suspiciously. "Jesse, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine."

"I'm serious, Jesse," she said. "You've– May I come in?" she said, walking past him and sitting on the only chair he had, the one he was using just before. "Look, you haven't been yourself these past couple of weeks, and I just want to make sure you're okay."

Jesse snorted, slammed his computer shut when Nevaeh's gaze went towards it, and sat on his unmade bed. "Since when do you care about me?" he asked. "You've been cold and rude to me since Day 1. And just yesterday you yelled at me for bringing up Roni– I mean, Tori's fraud. What is wrong with you?" Jesse was good at returning uncomfortable questions, and he knew it.

"Don't play this game with me, Jesse," she retorted. "You've lost your spark and you've been snapping at everyone. And as the Selection Coordinator, it is my job to make sure everyone is in a good place so everything runs smoothly."

"Your job," Jesse repeated. How could this woman be so annoying, yet so beautiful and lovable? "So you don't really care and I'm just someone on your to-do list – not that kind of to-do list, mind you – and then you go to the next person."

Nevaeh shot him a look.

"Well for your information, I'm perfectly fine and I don't need your help and you can go see the next person. Now, may I please have my chair back, I was actually working on something."

"I don't believe you one second," she said. "You used to be annoying in a funny way, before. But now you're just– you just snapped at me again! See?" She sighed and tried to meet his gaze, but Jesse looked away, out of the window. "Jesse, I'm genuinely asking you how you're doing," she said softly. "And yes, I may have a list of people I have to go check up on, but you're number 1 on that list. Because you're the other big actor in this Selection and if your happy, everyone's happy."

"Pfft," Jesse said. He wanted to say something back but nothing came up. Not even a snappy retort. He felt tears coming up his throat, but there was no way he was going to do that in front of her. No, sir. So he swallowed them down and went to stand in front of the window, his hands stuffed deep into his jeans pockets. He hoped she would take the hint and leave, but of course, she didn't.

They stayed like that, in silence, for a few minutes.

"Jesse, I–"

"I can't–" they both started at the same time.

"You go," Nevaeh said, standing up and joining him by the window. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" she asked, softly, squeezing his shoulder in sympathy. "We used to be such good friends, once upon a time."

Jesse nodded. It was true. Before that stupid fall on the Report where he had made fun of her in front of the whole country and completely messed things up between them, they used to be great friends. He had even thought that maybe something more would have sparked between them. Of course, he had to go and ruin everything. What an idiot. Maybe he could mend things, do things better this time.

"I don't sleep anymore," he said, keeping his eyes on the golden gates, some distance away. "And I don't even want to eat anymore. I'm not hungry, and it's like nothing has any taste, anymore."

"Oh," Nevaeh said. For some reason, she hadn't taken her hand off his shoulder. "Jesse, I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I didn't know it was this bad. How long has it been like this?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. A few weeks, maybe? At first, I thought I was just tired or something. But now I don't know…"

"Has this ever happened to you before?" she asked. "You know, I don't want to be the… rabat-joie or anything… sorry I don't know this word in English. The 'joy killer'?"

Jesse let out a small chuckle. "Killjoy, actually."

"I was almost there. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that this might be the first burn-out symptoms. But," she continued, taking off her hand from his shoulder, making Jesse feel very alone at the moment without her warm touch, "I'm not an expert so you might want to talk with a doctor or something."

Jesse shook his head. "I don't have time to go see a doctor, there's too much work to do."

"Jesse," she said a little more strongly. "Look at me."

Jesse sighed, but he turned around and faced her. Somehow, she was eye to eye with him; either she was wearing super high heels, or he felt small at the moment.

"The whole selection does not lay on your shoulders alone. You have two people to help you, Sydney and Otis, and they're more than capable of covering for you for a day or two." She paused. "And if you don't want to go into town to see your own doctor for reasons, the palace doctor will be more than happy to step in, and he swore an oath to complete secrecy as to what happens inside these walls if that makes you feel better."

Jesse tried to smile because he knew she was genuinely trying to help, but he felt like a huge failure at the moment. Jesse Flynn did not have a burnout.

Then again, he didn't feel like Jesse Flynn right now. He was Jasper Finley in a horrible outfit and on the verge of tears. But he couldn't cry– he wouldn't cry in front of Nevaeh. She had already seen him this low, he was not going to let her see him dig his grave any deeper.

Nevaeh put her hand on his arm. "Are you going to be okay?" she said. "I need to go see to Val's date this afternoon." She paused. Clearly, she didn't want to leave him alone in this state, but she also had a job to do.

"I'll be fine," he lied. "And maybe I'll go see that doctor, but I won't promise you anything."

"That's good enough for me," she said, offering him a smile. It made him feel all warm inside because he just loved it when she smiled like that. She reached up and placed a tiny kiss on his cheek. "Take care of yourself, okay? And if you need anything, please let me know."

He nodded and she was on her way. "Oh, and for this afternoon, take some time off. I'll send Sydney with Val and Odessa." She laughed softly.

-o-0-o-

Valerian turned the engine of Daisy-Clover and he and Odessa were on their way, Sydney following them in Otis' car.

"So, where are we going?" Odessa asked. "You said I should wear something not too fancy, something that could get dirty… Are we going to go rolling in the mud?" she asked, giggling.

"Nope," he said. "Though that does sound like something fun, we're doing something different, obviously."

"Hmm… is it something with flowers?"

"No, but there are plants," he said, grinning. If she wanted to play the guessing game, then so be it.

"Animals?"

"No."

"Is it outside or inside?"

"Outside."

"Okay, so not the LA Tropic-arium."

"No," Valerian said. "Is that something you'd like to go to?"

"I don't know, maybe? But not today!" she said. "I know you've chosen something amazing." She paused. "Can you give me a clue?"

"Uhm, let me see… It's in the fall and October mood."

"Oct– Pumpkins!" She laughed. "Are we going pumpkin picking? Or apple picking?"

"Pumpkin picking," Val said. "I can't believe you figured that out. My clue was so hard." He snorted and they exchanged a glance, then they laughed together. Valerian drove to their destination while they listened to some background music and chatted about random things.

"In 200 yards you have reached your destination," the GPS said, and Valerian followed the last instructions. The last 200 yards was a long dirt road between evenly spaced orange, yellow, and red trees, and at the far end of the road was a red and white barn. On the façade was written in big white letters: The Pretty Pumpkin Patch.

"Well, here we are," Val said, parking the green car in the parking lot. They both climbed out of the car and went to the back, opening the trunk to take out sweaters. It wasn't cold enough for coats, but there was a slightly chilly wind blowing around, so sweaters would do just fine. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes!" Odessa grinned. "I haven't done this in forever!" She slipped her hand in his. "I'm so glad you had this idea. Can we carve them, afterward?"

"Of course! There's no pumpkin picking without carving the pumpkins, right?"

"Definitely."

They walked together to the entrance of the barn, Sydney following behind with her camera, but they quickly forgot about her. She was much more discreet than Jesse, and Valerian was thankful for that.

The owner of the PPP – Pretty Pumpkin Patch – welcomed them warmly, telling them it was the first time they had a celebrity- no, a royal come to their patch, and he was all flustered and excited about it. He asked if he could take a picture with the couple, and Valerian and Essie accepted, laughing. Valerian also promised to post something on his Instagram about their Pumpkin adventure, and the man was happy and thankful about it.

He gave them a red wagon and sent them on their way, reminding them that the pumpkin's prices, in the end, depended on their weight – the pumpkins, not them.

Valerian and Odessa walked around the patch and there were so many different kinds and colors and shapes and sizes!

"Oh, this one is so beautiful!" she said, picking up a small white one. "I could totally see it in a floral arrangement. Add some physalis, some moss, and some dahlia, and you have something really nice for a table center decoration."

Valerian smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen one of your floral arrangements," he said. "Do you miss doing them?"

Odessa nodded. "Yeah, I do. I used to make 10 or 15 bouquets and arrangements every day, and I'm afraid I'm losing the hang of it, you know?"

Val nodded. "I totally understand. You know, I bet Sydney would let you make the floral decorations for the Report. And why not put you in charge of the Halloween floral decorations as well?"

"For real?"

"Of course! I wonder why Nevaeh didn't ask you to do them…" he said, frowning. "I need to have a word with her."

Odessa smiled, but she was already filling the wagon with more of those tiny white pumpkins. And they continued filling it with funny ones, and colorful ones, and unusual ones. Odessa was explaining exactly what she had in mind for all of these, and how she was going to use them.

"That's amazing!" Val said. "But now we have to find some to carve, too…"

"Right!" she said, giggling. "Okay, let's go over there, the pumpkins look bigger and better for that." They followed the dirt road, Valerian pulling the heavy wagon and Odessa chatting about something. She wasn't looking where she was going and she slipped on a muddy patch and yelped just as Valerian reached out to grab her arm, but he fell, too, his foot slipping on the same tricky spot. They laughed and giggled and it took Sydney to come to help them up. People were watching them, taking pictures with their phones, but so far, no one had come to talk to them.

They were still giggling – and both had one leg covered in mud – when they arrived at the carvable pumpkin patch.

"Look! That one is huge!" she said. It was probably as big as three times a soccer ball. "I dare you to carry it over your head!" she said, to which Valerian simply laughed.

"And if I do, what do you give me?"

"A floral arrangement made with one of the small white pumpkins." She grinned at him, waiting.

"Okay, here goes," he said, warming his wrists. He lifted the pumpkin over his head quite easily, as it was, though he was grunting a little bit. He 'carefully' dropped it back to the ground. "See? Easy."

Odessa giggled and they picked several pumpkins to carve. They continued on the path – it was a huge domain – and they arrived at another area where the pumpkins were even bigger! The biggest one was as high as Odessa's shoulders, and they took pictures next to it and on it.

"I can't believe there are such huge pumpkins," Odessa said, wonder filling her voice. "Imagine the number of pies and soups you can make with this monster."

"I think I'd be sick of pumpkin soup before the end of it."

"Yeah…" Odessa looked towards the other smaller pumpkins, though they were still big compared to the average size. "What about this one?" she pointed to one that arrived at Val's waist. "Can you lift it?"

"What are you going to give me this time?" he smirked.

"That's a surprise," she said. "I'll tell you if you can lift it. But you'll like it, I promise."

Valerian raised an eyebrow and this time he warmed his back a little. No use bruising himself just to lift an insanely big pumpkin.

"Oookay," he said, trying to push the pumpkin, just to feel its weight. It was heavier than he thought, but he could do it, right? From the edge of his vision, he saw Sydney filming with her phone, and Odessa was looking at him with worry in her eyes.

"Hey, if it's too heavy, don't do it, okay?" she said. "Don't hurt yourself."

"No, I can do it," he said. "I don't back down from a dare."

Odessa rolled her eyes and regretted asking him if he could lift it. If he hurt himself, it would be her fault.

Valerian crouched with the pumpkin in front of him, put one knee on each side, and hugged the orange thing. With all his strength in his core, legs, and arms, he lifted the thing, but only an inch from the ground.

"Damnit," he said. "Silas would be able to lift that thing without breaking a sweat." Val stood and put his hands on his hips, staring at the monster.

"But you lifted it off the ground!" Odessa said, walking up to him. "And I didn't say how high you had to lift it."

"Oh. So I win?"

"Yup!"

"And what do I win, then?" he asked, looking at the New-Asian girl in front of him. Her big grey eyes full of wonder and admiration made him feel all kinds of feels in his stomach, but he was still surprised when she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. She kept her lips on his for a few seconds, waiting, expecting something. Anything.

At first, Val was so surprised that he didn't move. And when she pulled away, thinking that she had done something wrong, Valerian pulled her back to him and kissed her for real. He deepened the kiss, oblivious to everything and everyone around them. Her lips were so soft and he wanted more. He laced his fingers in her hair and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him back as well.

Valerian then broke away, keeping the young woman in his embrace, but looked her in the eyes. "Was that what I got for lifting that thing?"

"Yeah," she breathed out. Her face was flushed and pink and Valerian thought that was adorable.

Sydney cleared her throat, and the couple looked around them. All the families and the couples who had also come to the PPP were filming them, at the moment. Could it be that this had been Valerian's first real kiss of the Selection? In front of everyone there? Valerian chuckled. "I think we have enough pumpkins to keep us carving for weeks, don't you think?"

Odessa smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think so." The couple walked hand in hand with the wagon pulled by Valerian back to the front desk, where the pumpkins were weighed to determine the price. Valerian took out his wallet and paid for them, and they filled his trunk with the vegetables.

Odessa was not quite meeting his gaze and she was super silent all of a sudden. Had Valerian done something wrong?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she said. "Sorry, I just– It's been a long time since I kissed someone…" she trailed off and climbed into the car, waiting for Val to do the same. She clearly didn't want to talk in front of Sydney or any other person who might hear. "Was it inappropriate?" she asked once Valerian was driving down the dirt road. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line."

"No! No, you didn't cross a line," he said. "I'm actually glad you did it. I was–" he chuckled nervously. "I was actually nervous to do it myself. You're braver than me, to be honest."

Odessa grinned, looking out of the window.

-o-0-o-

Jesse had taken the Saturday off, and now he was more or less willing to get out of his room though he wasn't quite ready to go third-wheel whoever was going on a date. Of course, it had to be the Playboy Prince. Because yes, on Sunday afternoon, it was Nathan's turn to ask one of his girls on a date. "His girls" meaning the ones that were only on his list. He didn't call them his Elite, because that meant he had to be choosing soon. As it was, he was glad to just have a pool of girls to date and have sex with – for those who were willing, that is.

Jesse had made an effort into wearing something decent – not his pajamas or simple jeans and t-shirt – and saw Nathan coming from his office where Jesse kept the roses with an orange flower in his hands.

"Hey, Jess!" Nathan said, coming over to pat him on the back. "How are you, my man?"

"Why is everyone asking me this?" Jesse mumbled. "Great!" he replied, louder. "Who are you going on a date with, this time? Another black box date?"

Nathan laughed. "Nope, no black box this time, that's only between Jen and me." He rolled the rose stem between his fingers. "I'm taking Pallas on a date."

"Nice. Where?" Jesse tried to sound interested, but it was kind of hard. All he wanted to do right now was wrap himself in his blankets and binge-watch a TV show before falling asleep.

"I found this really nice ice cream shop down by the ocean, in LA, so we're gonna go there." He paused. "Are you gonna come along, or…?"

Jesse sighed. "I have stuff to do, but I'll probably send Otis or Sydney with you."

"Sydney took the day off to spend it with her wife," Nathan said. "At least that's what I heard. And I haven't seen Otis all day."

Jesse made a face. "Well, you'll just have to send me pictures. Because I really can't come with you." He paused. Did he care if no one from the Report team came along? No.

"Uh, sure, I'll send you some pictures if you want…" Nathan said. "I gotta go. See ya!"

"Bye," Jesse said, continuing on his way. Actually, no. After a few steps, he turned around and went to his room. He really didn't want to interact that day. With anyone. Not even with Nevaeh.

-.-

Nathan knocked on Pallas' door, and half a minute later, she opened it. She was wearing a huge hoodie over some yoga pants and some comfy-looking fluffy socks.

"Nathan!" she said, smiling when she saw the Prince. "What are you- Oh, a date?" she said, brightening up when she saw the orange flower.

"Yeah, I was hoping you'd come with me?" he looked inside her room, and her desk was covered in books and papers and stuff, and her computer was opened as well. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no, I was just getting some work done for college, but I could definitely use a break."

"Great!" he said. "I know it's October and that we've all started to wear sweaters and all, but I found this super nice ice cream place in LA, and I thought–"

"Yes! Ice cream," she said. "I don't care what season it is, I'll always be down for ice cream. Give me just a few minutes to get changed and–"

"Nah, that looks comfortable," he said. "You don't have to change."

"I'm not going into town dressed like that. That's my study clothes."

"Okay," Nathan said, handing her the rose. "I'll wait for you in the entrance hall."

Pallas took the rose, nodded, and went into her room to change. Nathan quickly swung by his own room to take a blazer and a scarf – in case he was cold later in the afternoon – and went downstairs to wait for her. When she came down, she was wearing a black puff sleeve high-collar shirt – what was it with everyone wearing puff sleeves? – with a grey pantsuit and black pointed toes stilettoes.

"Now I feel underdressed," he said, chuckling.

"You're perfectly fine," Pallas replied. "Shall we?"

"Yes, Ma'am." A footman opened the door for them and Nathan let her pass in front of her. "You know why men always let women go in front of them?" he asked.

"To be a gentleman?"

"No, so they can look at their butt." He snorted, and Pallas hit him on the arm.

"I know I have a nice butt, but that's not a reason to stare at it." But she laughed and added: "At least yours is nice too, and I can also stare at it."

Nathan was not expecting her to say something like that, and he burst out laughing. "I like your way of thinking, Pallas." He opened the back door of the black, unmarked car and climbed in after her. When they got there, the guard with them just went in before them to make sure there were no threats, and then they went in.

The owner himself welcomed them and gave them the menu. While Nathan went through all the flavors the restaurant had, Pallas looked around them.

"It's very… pink," she said. It was designed like a vintage diner, themed 'Pink Milkshake'.

Nathan looked up from the menu and also looked around. "Yeah, I know. Would you want to eat ice cream in a creepy place?"

"No…"

"Exactly." He went through the menu a second time. "There are way too many flavors!" he whined. "How am I to choose one among all these?"

"Who said you had to choose only one?" Pallas said.

"Huh. You're right. Why take only one when I could have one of each?" he said, a mischievous spark in his eyes. Pallas didn't notice he was messing with her right away, but when she did, she laughed.

The owner came back and asked them if they had chosen.

"Yes!" Nathan said, making himself more comfortable on his pink seat. "I'm going to take five huge scoops." He paused. "One brown chocolate, one black, one white, and then one stracciatella, and one Nutella."

"That's… a lot of chocolate," Pallas commented, chuckling. "I'll take three average-sized scoops: Chocolate, salted Caramel, and Cookie Dough, please."

"Right away!" the man said, walking away with the menus and their order.

"So," Pallas said, leaning on the table and crossing her arms. "Is there anything you want to tell me about?" She looked pointedly at him from across the table.

Nathan leaned back. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Nathan," she said. "You're ordering way too much ice cream. It's October, and we're coming in this pink ice cream diner."

"So? Can't we just eat ice cream like two responsible adults?"

Pallas sighed. "Nathan. We talked about ice cream on our last date. Remember? Eat ice cream when you need you-know-what?"

"Ooooh, that," Nathan said. "No, I'm perfectly fine, really."

Just then, their ice creams arrived, and Nathan's eye's bulged when he saw the size of his 'little' snack. Pallas laughed and took a picture of him in front of his giant ice cream bowl with the five different chocolate scoops. They both started eating, tasting one spoon of each to see which they were going to start with. When Pallas noticed they were doing the same thing, she pointed it out and they laughed together.

"Okay, fine, you win," Nathan said. "I miss you-know-what." He paused, scooping a large chunk of Nutella ice cream. "I used to do it 4 or 5 different times a week, with as many different people. Now? Only once or twice a week if I'm lucky." He shook his head and sighed. "I'm bored."

"I see," she said, spooning some salted caramel ice cream. "You have so much energy and passion, Nathan," she continued. "Is there anything else besides sex that you're really good at?"

"Eating chocolate ice cream?"

"I'm serious, Nate," she said. "I'm trying to help you."

His shoulders dropped a little. "There's nothing I'm passionate about."

"That's not true," she said. "You used to do modeling, before the Selection. Why haven't you done it recently?"

"Uh, because of the Selection?" He ate some ice cream.

"You could still do it, here," she said. "Now, what do you like in modeling? Do you like dressing up? Picking out an outfit? Posing? What is it that you like most when you do that?"

Nathan frowned, thinking. He ate a few spoonfuls of ice cream before replying. "I like picking the outfits, but I never get to do that when I model." He paused. "Did you know that I was the one who picked Silas and Val's outfits for the last two parties?"

"Really? I didn't know that." She paused, also eating some of her ice creams. "And do you prefer picking outfits for men or women?"

He snorted. "It's not like I have a lot of experience with women outfits," he said. "I'm better at taking them off the women." He laughed at his own joke but Pallas rolled her eyes. "But I think I could do that, too. Choose outfits, I mean."

"Good. There are 15 girls left in the Selection, I'm sure a few would be happy to be dressed by you – if they don't want to be undressed by you – and then you could ask Sydney for some help setting up a photo studio and everything. It would make a nice Selection activity for the next few weeks, don't you think?"

Nathan nodded, thinking, still eating. "Yeah, I could try that out." he paused. "You know what I really like modeling and having my face on the cover of a magazine?"

"No?"

"People see me in a different way than 'The Spare Who Sleeps Around', you know? It's a nice change."

Pallas smiled and they continued chatting about how to put this idea to work, while still eating their ice creams. At some point, Nathan couldn't eat anymore, and there was still some ice cream left in the bowl. Well, it was now just cream, having melted and all… But one thing was sure for him: Pallas was becoming one of his best friends and confidant, and there wasn't even sex involved! Which was a nice change… right?


oops this was super long lol. But I hope you enjoyed it, nonetheless!

what did you think of Jesse's... situation? of what he did to Roni/Tori? of Val and Nate's dates?

anyway. yeah, I'm posting this on a Saturday, because I'll be posting twice every week from now on, becuase I really want to get this story to the end. if all goes according to plan, now, the epilogue should be posted on March 3rd...

Also, don't forget to go see the new IG posts this week! ;) see you on Wednesday with an article!

PS: I just want to thank Llama for Roni/Tori, she was a blast to write! but yeah, she was SUS lmao.