Noticing that Heather had gone towards the makeup station, he strolled over to hair to avoid her. If he couldn't figure out how to fix things now (since she wouldn't talk to him), he could capitalize on this time by building relationships with the rest of the cast. For now, the strategy was simple: today's goal was to charm, charm, charm.
Alejandro ran a hand through his own dark locks. He hoped Chris was just exaggerating about how bad he looked (since Heather looked fine) but he didn't exactly have time to put his hair up before running either. Thankfully, he didn't see anyone of note on his way to the hair station anyway, but when he arrived, he heard an argument from inside.
"And I'm telling you, do not wet my hair!"
"But, my boss told me to spritz and comb everyone's-"
"This is Brazilian, and you'll damage it if you wet and comb it. I got it done on my own so you don't have to try and deal with it. If you can't redo my edges, just check me off and let me go!"
"But, I-"
"I'm sick of this, if the producers have a problem with my hair, they can say it to my face. We're done!"
He heard a loud noise and the door burst open. Leshawna's face contracted with weary, heavy annoyance, not even looking at him. Alejandro shot her a sympathetic glance, and it wasn't even fake.
"Your hair is beautiful. Anyone who doesn't recognize that is a fool."
Leshawna turned in surprise when she heard Alejandro's comment, before sighing, and relaxing, a little. "I know! They do this every season- but that's Total Drama for you. Don't be afraid to tell em what's what, new guy!"
Alejandro nodded meaningfully and watched her walk off. The interaction didn't leave him particularly excited to enter the hair trailer, but thankfully, they left him looking fine. With that he headed off to makeup, now waiting behind Gwen.
Heather still weighed on his thoughts, but thankfully he was focused enough to remember to try and make allies. He cleared his throat before talking.
"Hola, a pleasure to see you again. Your name is Gwen, correct?"
Gwen turned in surprise when she saw him, but her eyes didn't glaze over in awe the way he was used to. Huh, he guessed he'd have to try a little harder.
"Oh, hey, it's you! You're…" She paused for a moment, before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm totally blanking on your name."
Alejandro smirked, putting out his hand to shake and making eye contact. "Alejandro Burromuerto. As I said, it's truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And don't worry, I wouldn't mind doing it again."
Gwen glanced away and laughed a little, but shook his hand awkwardly. "Heh, thanks. Nice to meet you again too?"
Oh, she needed him to tone it down. Another person was immune to the flirting, then. Too bad- not that he couldn't handle that. "Right." He said, casually, letting her hand go. "So, how long is the wait for makeup? As you can see, I still have other tasks to complete." He lifted his bags for emphasis.
Turning towards the trailer, Gwen shrugged. "Heather got done fast, but right now two people are inside, so-"
"Princesss. Relax! It looks good!" The trailer door opened to Duncan, holding the door in one hand and Courtney's waist in the other. A couple, clearly.
Courtney looked displeased. "That's easy for you to say, they just throw foundation on you and let you leave. Look at my eyeliner, it's too short!"
Duncan rolled his eyes, but they lit up when he looked in front of him. "Gwen! Ugh, finally. She needs a girl that's not insane to tell her. How does Courtney look?" Courtney's expression was sour, but she fell silent, waiting for Gwen's critique. Alejandro glanced at Gwen, who was less 'evaluating' Courtney's face, and more… drinking it in.
No wonder the flirting didn't work.
After a moment of silence, Courtney started to complain. "You see? I look-"
"Gorgeous!" She said, smooth and confident, and Courtney's mouth snapped shut in surprise. Seemingly realizing what she'd just said, Gwen's eyes got just a little wider before she immediately changed her tone to one of indifference. "Seriously, the shorter liner shape actually compliments your eyes. They did good." She finished with a shrug.
The surprise on Courtney's face melted into a little, pleased smile.
"Oh. Thanks."
Duncan looked back and forth between the two before he stretched, dropping his arm from Courtney's side. "Yeah, thank you. Honestly, Princess, it'd take a lot more than that to make you look not-hot. If anyone should be worried about looking fucked up its Gwen-"
"Duncan!"
"Like you can talk, unibrow!" Gwen added, both of them turning on him in an instant. He put his hands up in self-defense.
"Hey, let me finish! Don't they try to wreck your style like, every year? I always see you wiping off whatever pink or tan nonsense they throw at you when you leave the booth."
At this, Courtney jumped in with concern. "He said it like a bonehead but he's got a point. Our staff is dangerously incompetent, Gwen. You should be careful."
Alejandro took this moment to make himself known. "That sounds like a constant across the whole show- and yet, whenever I see you on TV, you all look like models to me."
Duncan turned, seemingly just noticing him for the first time. "I ain't no model. Who the hell are you anyway?"
Courtney elbowed him. "Hi, Alejandro, nice to see you again, new costar! Oh, you still have luggage. Did you just get here?"
"I ran into some trouble on my way here, with the whole location leaking problem. Chris told me you all had a Groupme with the actual location, but that was after having to run from groups of, ah, passionate viewers. Do you send a lot of important information there?"
Courtney spoke up right away, stepping forward. "We most certainly do, even if it's embarrassingly unprofessional. I still think we should use a secure business messaging platform but I guess the producers are too smart and on top of things to listen! Oh wait, we had our cast attacked today, never mind!"
That wouldn't have solved today's problem at all, but she didn't need to know that. "They're fools. It's a brilliant idea- leagues better than a group chat." He saw Gwen glance back at Duncan, wave, and head inside the trailer. He waved back, then walked up beside Courtney.
"I know, right!" Courtney sounded extremely pleased as she pulled out her phone. "Hey, I'll add you to it, what's your number?"
"Woah, woah, what are we adding Alejandro to? I ain't looking for a third!"
Courtney hit Duncan for the crass joke while Alejandro laughed fakely, his skin crawling at the thought. He remembered watching their relationship throughout Action. They had way too much screen time for so little happiness. Hell no, he would not be involved.
But, he was a Burromuerto. Tempering his reactions was a trait passed through his bloodline.
"No, no amigo, I think you have the wrong idea. I would never intervene with such a-" Problematic? Conceptually broken? "wonderfully matched pair. I just want updates from your cast group chat, in case more incidents like today happen again."
Duncan, at least, seemed to appreciate his response to the bad sense of humor. "Cool. Give her the digits! We talk so much shit about Chris there, it rules."
Alejandro gave her the number and felt his phone buzz moments later. "I have it, thank you, amigos."
"You're welcome. You can go in, they have another makeup technician inside. Come on Duncan, let's get food- this might be the only good meal we have for free all season."
Duncan frowned as Alejandro walked away. "Cool, but we're waiting for Gwen, right?"
Alejandro closed the door before he could hear her response to that. Well, he knew what their conflict was going to be this season. He'd have to try his best to stay out of the way and let those three destroy themselves. No way whatever they had going on had a happy ending.
As he relaxed into his makeup chair, Alejandro considered how he'd done so far. He was doing well with everyone except Heather, which really wasn't too bad.
Still, there was Heather. What could he do to fix things with her?
As usual whenever he had a problem like this, Alejandro considered what tools he had at his disposal.
Incidentally, he'd been properly acquainted with all of the players in 'Gwen's group', but wasn't at the right level of friendship or seduction to convert it into a favor yet. So, useless.
Maybe he could just add Heather to the chat. Could what her fellow castmates said about her really be that bad? Now that they weren't forced to pursue 'the drama' he figured they'd be nicer.
Curious now, Alejandro slid open the chat as the makeup technician went to grab another palette. He scrolled up to the messages from this morning.
5/28
Slammer Dunc: ok who's tryna get one last meal this morning before we keel over + die from Chef's cuisine
Gwen: i'm in if you can find a restaurant with good vegetarian food
Slammer Dunc: G pls can't we wait for the show to start the impossible challenges
Leshawna: girl don't listen to him ill find you a nice tasty apple
Gwen: shut up!
Slammer Dunc: lmao sounds like 3 yesses to me
Lindsay: wait how are we getting breakfast? Omg, did I forget about a meet up?
Tyler: Babe, you know the season recording starts today, right?
Lindsay: uhh… yes! ^^
Tyler: I'm so glad you live in Ottawa lol
Tyler: Also I can't, I'm hanging with some of my cross country guys in town. Maybe we can run by?
Noah: Right, insert "legit excuse" here for me too. Thanks.
Tyler: you could just say no.
Noah: I could, but it's meaner this way.
Big O: aww no worries buddy I'll see you on set!
Noah: How will I contain my joy?
Ezekishizzle: Yo is it cool if I bring food from home?
Disk Jockey DJ: seconded :) I want my mama's cooking before we go!
Slammer Dunc: do u want to know if it's cool or if ya can?
Courtney: attention, I've found the perfect location! You're welcome!
Gidgette: Courtney that place is way too expensive! Can't we just get some Tim's and chill?
Courtney: Absolutely not. I thought we wanted a good last meal!
Geoff: im totes down for some Tims :)
Courtney: you aren't even on this season!
Leshawna: girl don't play you know party boy and brigette come connected at the lips
Haroldini: and total drama or no total drama, that shouldn't stop the consumption of Timbits. I'm in!
Big O: izzy says she knows a guy at the Tim Hortons by the dropoff!
Haroldini: Sweet!
Gwen: wait, knows like in a free food kind of way, or he knows her and she's banned for destroying property?
Big O: uhh
Big O: Oh. The second one.
Courtney: then it's settled! We'll have to go somewhere better than Tim Hortons!
Slammer Dunc: no way there's like a million Tim's in Ottawa. Let's just go to the next closest one.
Courtney: Duncan! Maybe support me here?
Slammer Dunc: see i would princess, but while I love ya, Tim's and I just got a special connection. Nothing personal.
Noah: aww, you two are so cute, I'm going to barf.
Courtney: which would taste better than Tim Horton's!
Codemeister: Courtney, do you seriously not like Tim's?
Courtney: It's disgusting
Gwen: pff then why'd you order five hashbrowns last time we went?
Courtney: ugh, Gwen! You don't know what you're talking about!
Codemeister: hold on. You two got food together?
Gwen: it's a long story lol
Leshawna: we got teaaa?
Courtney: it's none of your business!
Disk Jockey DJ: haha I'll bring an extra sandwich for anybody who wants one
Geoff: you rule, man!
Leshawna: DJ we love you boo
Courtney: I guess there's something to look forward to this season. I want one. No mayo!
Disk Jockey DJ: aw you guys!
"Okay sir, can you turn your head towards me?"
Alejandro looked up and complied immediately. "Of course Senorita, but don't expect me to be able to look away." She giggled, shiny lips extending into a very pretty grin as she tucked a braid behind her ear. Good- he needed the crew on his side too. Alejandro thought he heard a side door open and close. Gwen must've been done.
As for what he'd seen in the chat, the cast didn't seem bad at all. All the insults were fairly light-spirited, and this was clearly where they made plans. Maybe he should invite her.
But, he hadn't read through everything. Even if they somehow didn't exclude her on purpose, he had no idea how Heather would take it. Clearly she didn't want pity, and while this was more like his attempt to make amends, Alejandro wasn't sure it'd read the way he wanted.
Then again, they were about to take off around the world on various challenges. What if she needed to contact the rest of them?
Sure, there'd be camera people around, but every contestant got off screen sometimes. What if she got lost, or more likely, left behind?
Alejandro shuddered at the thought. No way. He had an idea.
The makeup technician walked off, And Alejandro pulled his phone into typing position. He had a message to send.
To: Heather
Me: hello. If it's not too much trouble I was hoping i could say-
Alejandro frowned and deleted it. He was a Burromuerto. He needed more confidence.
Me: Hola Senorita. You know you can't stay mad at me, especially as such a ? ﾟﾔﾥ?spicy? ﾟﾔﾥ beautiful lady-
No. No. Too cocky. She'd hate it.
Me: Heather, this is Alejandro Burromuerto. I know you don't want to speak to me, but read this. I'm sorry for what I said. I appreciate you being generous, and I hope that this token of my thanks can go towards making amends. Unfair advantages are bullshit. Use this however you like.
He read it over, thought it through… then sent it.
Me: Chris McPain (Personal): ###-###-####
His eyes bored into the screen, anxious to see if she'd read it, or respond.
"Okay, now look up?" Alejandro reluctantly pulled his eyes away before getting embarrassed. He shouldn't have cared. He did his part, now he needed to focus on everyone else. And he would- he absolutely would.
"Alright handsome, you're all do-" The words weren't even out of her mouth before he looked at the phone again, then pushed it back down when he saw no update.
"Ah, thank you, miss. It would be my deepest pleasure to see you again soon."
She giggled again. "Yeah, it'd be my pleasure too. I cannot wait to work with you, gorgeous!"
Alejandro smiled, stepping out of the trailer with grace, then immediately checked his phone again, before forcing it into his pocket. He did not need to be worrying about this. And he wasn't worried, not at all, he barely even cared.
The urge to check his phone again plagued him as he headed to the luggage drop off. The moment he arrived, he looked at the cart. His eyes definitely didn't search for Heather's Louis Vuton bags, and he definitely didn't slump in disappointment when he didn't see them.
Going through the check-in process made him relax a little. Being forced to write his name and interact with the staff totally, totally helped him forget.
His phone buzzing once helped him remember, but he forced himself to finish going through the process and get instructions before he looked. Restraint was a key skill he needed to hone, and he'd been doing a great job so far.
So Alejandro very casually waved at the bag checkers as he casually walked away. And if he casually- not quickly, but casually pulled out his cell phone, then, who cared? He unlocked it, trying to force himself not to look desperate, reading over Heather's texts.
Heather
Me: Heather, this is Alejandro Burromuerto. I know you don't want to speak to me, but read this. I'm sorry for what I said. I appreciate you being generous, and I hope that this token of my thanks can go towards making amends. Unfair advantages are bullshit. Please, use this however you like.
Me: Chris McPain (Personal): ###-###-####
He almost put the phone back down, when he spied something by the last text.
Heather
###-###-#### R*
Read. Read! She read it! And she hadn't said anything yet, but she had it, and there was no unsending it. He felt his heartbeat quicken. What would she say back? Would she say anything? He hoped she'd say something.
"You're Alejandro, right?" A voice pulled him out of his head, and he looked up to find another contestant- DJ- smiling at him. Of all the times.
He forced a smile on his face, placing his hand out for a shake."That is my name. How fortunate to see you again, DJ! What are you doing over here, amigo?"
DJ shook back, then scratched his head, sheepishly. "Well, I checked in my bags already, but I realized I left my framed photo of mama inside one. Can't travel without that."
He wanted to send him on his way, but this would be a good distraction until Heather texted back- er, a good opportunity to bond. Yes.
"I see, well let's not waste any time then, I'm certain they'll want to take your bags sooner rather than later."
DJ looked surprised as Alejandro started to walk off. "Oh. Really?"
Alejandro paused. What was the problem now? "Yes, the bag check is this way, so…"
DJ chuckled. "No, it's not that. Just, the rest of the cast usually makes fun of me when I do stuff like this. You're alright, Alejandro."
Of course they made fun, Alejandro would never dare be so pathetic over affection from his parents… but if this ingratiated him to a strong player, so be it. "Of course. Your care for your family is admirable. Let's get that photo."
Returning to the desk, DJ started talking to the staff. "Uh, hi. I need my mama photo, can I please get it? I hope it's not too late, I need it!"
The staff member blinked, confused, panic beginning to crease their brows. "Mama photo? I- uh, I'm sorry but-" his voice started to shake, and Alejandro took over.
"Let me try. Hola, sir."
The bag-checking intern relaxed a little. "Uh, hi again. Why are you here for, uh, a mama photo?"
"Your service was so excellent we just had to come back for more." The intern guy laughed a little, and Alejandro went in for the ask. "See, my friend here left something important to him in his bag, and he's hoping to retrieve it before we leave. Could you help us with that?"
The intern brightened. "Oh! Sure, probably! Do you see your bag here?" He gestured to the cart, and DJ looked over it, giddy with anticipation.
He looked through, then frowned, shaking his head. Alejandro sighed, turning back to the intern. "No, sorry, we don't. Do you think you could help us find the rest of the bags?"
The intern nodded quickly. "Yes! I mean, I don't know but I can find out. Let me just see …" he started speaking into a walkie-talkie. Alejandro gave him some space, moving next to DJ.
DJ whistled. "Oh man Alejandro, I gotta say. You're one smooth operator." Alejandro waved his hand, dismissively, but DJ continued. "No no, I mean it, man! You got that guy in the palm of your hand, I bet he'd do anything you asked!"
Uh oh. He was trying to help DJ, not appear too strong. So, Alejandro laughed. "Oh, you're generous, amigo, but no. I just have a talent for creating peace. My father always says, a relaxed mind relaxes others. I suppose it's not that different than your comfort with nature."
At that, DJ smiled. "So you just show people what a good person you are, and they're good back, huh? That's alright by me. Thanks for stepping in while I was panicking."
Alejandro sighed, mostly in relief that he'd thrown DJ off his trail. "Whatever you need, friend."
The intern came back, expression concerned. "Well, I want to get you your bags, but the first load is already kind of on the plane. I'm sorry, please don't be mad."
Alejandro heard DJ's breath catch in his throat, and knew he needed to at least try to fix this. "Mad?" He repeated, voice unnaturally incredulous. "Why would we be mad, you've done an excellent job helping us. Truly, we appreciate you."
The intern let out a quick, kind-of-comical sigh in relief. "Oh, that's good! I wouldn't want to make you upset. Is there anything else I can do?"
Alejandro leaned over the counter. "Well, if it's not too much trouble, could you let us know where they're loading the plane? Perhaps we can find the bag on our own." The intern looked away, uncertainly, so Alejandro turned up the charm. "Por favor- it would be very helpful to my friend here. And I really, really love helping my friends."
He saw the intern's face flush. Got em.
"Just down this way, past the cast tent into the open lot. You can't miss it."
Alejandro stood again. "Thank you."
The intern smiled, bright and awkward. "Oh, uh. You're welcome! Good luck!" He added, and Alejandro flashed him a smile, then walked away, DJ in tow. He was too good sometimes.
Except, like hell he was going to empty out an entire plane just so DJ could have a photo of his mama, but he couldn't flat out tell him no if he wanted his trust later.
DJ twiddled his thumbs. "So, what are we gonna do, Alejandro?"
Alejandro put on a neutral expression. "It's completely up to you, friend. We can return to the cast meet spot now, where we're supposed to be. Or," he tossed in a tinge of weariness. "we can walk to the plane, unload all of the cast, crew and producer bags one at a time to find this photo, then reload everything, risking being late to call time and potentially damaging the crew's sensitive items." He let that sink in. "What would you like to do?"
DJ frowned, concentrating like this was a tough decision. "I don't know, that sounds like a whole lot of work, but mama! I can't be without her!"
Alejandro nodded. "I completely understand, and it's up to you. It's too bad you don't have photos of her on your phone to keep you company during our short flight."
DJ blinked. "Actually, now that you mention it, I do have a couple of those! I like the framed one…" he looked at the bag check, meaningfully. "But, If it's just for the flight, I can make it." His lip wobbled in a way that didn't make Alejandro so sure that was true, but he wasn't backtracking.
He clapped DJ on the shoulder. "Excellent, let me know if you change your mind!"
DJ smiled, taking a deep breath and thanking him. Now that was some good bonding. He'd get something from everyone soon enough. As they headed back to the dining area, DJ invited him to grab a plate and sit at his table.
Alejandro looked at the 'spread' offered, trying not to cringe too hard in disgust. Someone was definitely getting fired first feeding the cast mystery spaghetti while they were all in costume, but at least the salad looked edible.
He grabbed his plate and went to find DJ, finding Owen, Harold, Leshawna, Noah, Gwen and Tyler sitting with him.
"Yo, everybody! You guys met Alejandro yet?"
Owen shook his head, enthusiastically standing to shake Alejandro's hand. "Not really. Hey, I'm Owen! You're the new guy this season, right?"
Alejandro wavered for all of a second, flashes of Owen eating pancakes flooding his brain, but took his hand anyway, giving it a firm shake. To his surprise (and relief) no sauce residue remained on Owen's fingers.
"Hola, Owen! It's so nice to make your acquaintance."
Owen beamed. "Oh woah, you're so polite! Not to mention, hot! Seriously, hurts to touch you, hubba hubba!"
That threw Alejandro off guard as Owen dropped his hand, pretending to be burned. He'd never met someone so straightforward. It was disturbing. Luckily, Noah jumped in. "Owen, you're a harassment lawsuit waiting to happen."
At that, Owen's attention set on Noah's in a puppy dog-like frown. "Whaat? But it's true- oh man, I didn't mean to be rude! Sorry, do you not like being super sexy, Alejandro?"
Noah just lifted a hand to his temple, and Alejandro swallowed. He was a gentleman. A gentleman laughed politely, so that's what he did. "Ha, not to worry friend, I appreciate the compliment. I'm lucky to be in the presence of such a kind and thoughtful cast."
"We're more than that." Harold piped up. "You're in the presence of some serious cunning and wicked skills."
"I always found the creativity this cast exhibited during the challenges incredibly engaging on Total Drama. I look forward to seeing it in person this season." He replied, smoothly.
Harold nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Then see it you shall. I hope for another opportunity to demonstrate my skills in ka-ra-te. Perhaps with a battle for the million atop mount fuji. Or a robot race in Tokyo."
Leshawna groaned. "Oh, don't get me thinking about those challenges yet, honey. Can't we just pretend we're all actors on a normal show?"
Tyler, who usually seemed pretty enthusiastic, cringed. "Yeah man, when I first signed on to Total Drama I figured it'd be extreme, but not brutal. What do you think they're going to do to us?"
"My money's on specialized torture from around the world." Gwen said. "Cheese falling and catacomb mazes in France. Coliseum monster matches in Rome. Racing to the top of Kilimanjaro. The whole deadly deal."
"Oh-h man. Don't let Chris hear you Gwen, you'll give him ideas!"
"Like he hasn't already thought of something worse." Noah added. "You should know by now that the man is a criminal mastermind."
Alejandro raised an eyebrow. "So, I trust that you're happy to be done working for him?"
Noah scoffed. "Are you kidding? I got all of the connections I needed during the Gemmies. If I didn't sign that stupid contract I wouldn't even be here on this nightmare show again."
Harold frowned. "Oh, come on, Noah, the fight for the million is an honorable one. Besides, maybe it won't be so bad this season. At least Chris and Chef are getting along again."
Leshawna nodded, in support. "You've got a point, sugar. Chris was getting straight up mean last time he and Chef had it bad. Maybe now that they've made up he can chill out a little."
Alejandro's easy smile started to slip with confusion. Had he missed something? "Hold on, I thought Chef wasn't allowed to impact the competition. Didn't he get in trouble last season?"
DJ spoke up then. "He was just trying to quit. He and Chris were fighting a lot. I kind of felt bad for him."
"And competition or not, he affected Chris. The challenges started getting downright nasty when they started fighting." Gwen said, shaking her head. "That whole season was a nightmare."
Leshawna patted her shoulder. "At least you got out back when the only problem was Chris playing around with the camera guy. Man's a damn fool."
Alejandro frowned. He'd watched all of Total Drama looking for each contestant's weak points, along with ways to get Chris's favor. He'd found nothing that could shake the host one way or the other, save for shameless flattery- which Chris would immediately recognize as insincere. How had he missed this major plot point with Chris?
"What? Sorry friends, but… what?"
Tyler mirrored his confusion. "You mean you don't know?"
"Of course he doesn't." Gwen cut in. "He wasn't here last season, and they didn't even let us talk about it on the aftermath!"
Tyler still looked confused. "Didn't let us? I thought Geoff kept cutting you off cause he was a jerk."
"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive." Everyone turned to look at Noah, who sounded just as nonchalant as ever. "Okay, so I might've sat in on a meeting between Geoff, Brigette and the producers. Before you ask, I didn't care, but Chris made me."
Leshawna leaned in. "And? What'd you hear?"
"Apparently they wanted Chris's flirty dalliance with the camera guy and allll the drama with him and Chef on lock-down. They were trying to make Total Drama more 'internationally appealing' for the Japanese and American markets. No doubt they were already dreaming up the hellscape that is World Tour."
"Appealing?" Harold repeated, also confused. "What exactly is appealing about cutting out Chef and Chris's conflict? Seems like it'd be good press for the show. As the wise reality sages once said, 'all press is good press', right?"
Noah sighed like Harold was an idiot. "Yeah, not when it's gay press. You know in like, all the places we're going, being gay is illegal, right? Not that this is the first thing Total Drama has dodged lawsuits for. His voice was as sardonic as ever, but anyone with a good ear could catch the bitterness tinging his words.
"I knew they censored me!" Gwen realized. "Prank war my ass, I swear I said love affair on the show! Those pricks. I hate our producers!"
"But is that really even possible?" Owen questioned. "I mean, how could anyone not know Chris and Chef are together? Even when they torture us they're all over each other."
"Uh, ch'yeah." Tyler piggibacked off of Owen's point. "Every time Chef wore a dress, Chris would forget his lines like, two times a scene. And he started wearing them way more last season from what I saw. How could anyone miss that?"
Gwen smirked. "Editors are pretty good at what they do, so they could hide it from the general crowd, but I bet the producers couldn't miss it. Kind of badass way to quit if you ask me."
"For real!" Leshawna chimed in. "That was the whole thing with the camera guy, he didn't know they were together because he was new to the show! Ya'll haven't been paying much attention to the drama, have you?"
Tyler gasped, about to defend himself while Owen just looked embarrassed. "I mean, yeah. Chris gave me a note. He said I was coming off as creepy towards the beginning of last season so I tried to stay out of it."
"You were." Gwen said, immediately, and Leshawna nodded in agreement.
"See? So this season I'm not into any of that. I'm just here to have a good time with my buddies!" He finished by hugging Noah and Tyler in one arm each, who ignored it and laughed, respectively.
Interesting. Verrry interesting. In terms of observation skills, Tyler and Owen seemed like incompetent baffoons, while Noah, Gwen and Leshawna were forces to be reckoned with. He'd have to try to get on their team. Or at least, avoid Owen and Tyler at all costs. Based on what he'd seen, they probably wouldn't know the difference.
As the cast talked around him, Alejandro found himself feeling glad that he'd had this conversation. It shifted his dream team around considerably. Leshawna, DJ and Gwen were given strong competitors. Tyler, who had once made that list, had just been demoted to 'idiot to avoid' status. He wanted Courtney, and preferred her separate from Duncan. They'd compete and self destruct in an instant, and he was sure he could convince Harold to fail if Alejandro ruined his relationship with Leshawna enough too. That just left Lindsey, Cody and Brigette as easy idiots to trick and destroy, and whether Ezekiel made his team or not, he'd be long gone after the first challenge.
With a solid mix of strong competitors and elimination fodder, it wouldn't be hard to fly under the radar until the merge. Even if someone discovered his plan by then, he'd have too many strong allies to lose. This game was in the bag.
At least, so long as no one saw through him too early. Alejandro didn't like that Noah knew his original schtick by working with Chris, but at least they'd (hopefully) be on the same team, and his keen powers of observation would be blinded by their inevitable wins. Crazy izzy was a wildcard, but Owen would keep her in check. No, there was only one other person to be concerned about, and that was-
Wait.
The color drained from his face. Alejandro whipped out his phone immediately, not even considering how desperate he felt and possibly looked. Thanks to all of his efforts, he'd actually managed to forget about it.
Heather
Me: Chris McPain (Personal): ###-###-####
Heather: this better be real.
Heather: and your nickname for Chris sucks.
He couldn't stop the smile that cropped up on his face. The immediate distrust was wise, even if he was actually serious this time. She'd be a threat. Heather had to go down immediately, which meant it was time to turn up the charm.
Heather
Me: Test it yourself. I assure you, it's real.
He saw her there in the chat, but she didn't say anything. Just when he started to get concerned that he'd pissed her off, he heard an intern yelp outside the tent.
"Wait, no! Give me back my- oof! Oww!"
Alejandro stood. Oh, this was going to be good. "Excuse me, friends." He said, and immediately headed to the edge of the tent.
There, he saw Heather standing by the intern, on the phone. She stood, listening for a moment, until her face lit up with surprise.
"I'll be damned." She said aloud, then hung up immediately. "See, it wasn't that hard. Here, take it back." She dropped the phone in the intern's hands, ignoring how she clutched her stomach in pain. Heather's eyes narrowed. "Well, what are you waiting for, move it!" The intern walked off, and Heather turned, satisfied, while Alejandro made himself known.
"I told you it was real." He said, and Heather didn't even waste a second looking surprised before she had a comeback.
"And I told you that you suck at nicknames. Chris McLame was right there."
Oh, that was better. Damn it. "Duly noted. Of course such a clever insult would come from a brilliant competitor such as yourself."
Heather's eyes narrowed dangerously, making Alejandro feel less like they were having a conversation and more like he was walking on a minefield. His casual posture straightened, but he still kept his swagger as she spoke, lips curling into a frown.
"So, seriously. What do you want?"
Since he'd prepared himself, the question didn't throw him off guard. "Oh, just the opportunity to be near your enchanting beauty is reward enough."
Heather blinked, face relaxing into a soft smile. "Really?" She asked cutely, her pretty dark eyes softening and boring into his as she stepped closer. Finally. No one could resist his charms for long.
"Why yes-" Heather stepped forward again, eyes narrow and sharp like daggers. Alejandro felt his words choke in his throat.
Gone was the sugary sweet tone she had before, now replaced by something dark and powerful. "Don't mess with me. You think I'm not wise to your games little man? You saw how my mom reacted to you being a jerk today, so how do you think the rest of the cast is going to feel when they hear about it, huh new guy?"
Alejandro froze. Oh, no. He couldn't have her ruining his progress, not before things even really started. And worse of all, he'd already given her his leverage.
The look on his face must have said enough. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Try again." Her voice cut, deep and serious, and it sent Alejandro into panic mode.
He grimaced. "I'm just trying to win! I didn't want to start things off on such a terrible foot with you so I thought that would make up for my attitude. I don't want you gunning for me from day one! ¡Jorder!" He admitted, only to feel Heather's scrutinizing gaze burn harder.
And then, like magic, she stepped back. With her distance came the release of 1000 tons of pressure, and Alejandro felt like he breathed for the first time that minute. He couldn't believe she'd rung the truth out of him so fast.
"Hm. Well that's understandable." She said casually like she hadn't just trampled all over his ego. "But sorry, I'm gunning for everyone. You might want to win, but I know I will. Don't mess around with my million."
Alejandro couldn't hide his glower. "Maybe you shouldn't mess around with mine. "
Heather actually laughed, and Alejandro practically felt his heart pump. "Hm, guess you'll see. Thanks for the phone number, that'll be brilliant blackmail. Maybe I won't kick you off right away after all. Good job, Alejandro."
With that she walked off, getting the last word once again. Damn it, damn it Mierda pinche hellballs. She was awful. She absolutely had to go, right away, he couldn't stand her.
And yet, he'd achieved what he wanted, right? Heather was going after him like she'd go after anyone else. If he could believe what she said, she wouldn't do anything against him just yet.
Which meant that he still had a chance. But he'd have to be smarter about how he went after her. He didn't know what he'd do, but he knew that the flirting didn't work at all, apparently. If she looked like she was falling for it, she was just waiting to trap him back. He'd remember that.
With a determined stare he took a deep breath and walked back inside, just as Chris started to get them into places. Now the game would really begin.