A/N: Only one person reviewed last chapter. That's fine with me because it makes determining what happened next a whole lot easier for me. Thanks, xey, for your input on the production meeting. I have some ideas of my own and I like the way your ideas flowed into my ideas. One of those things will happen in another production meeting.
Chapter Eight
That morning, in the Love hut, a 24-by-24 foot space made of wood and consisting of three small rooms, a door that led to the kitchen and the kitchen that led to the bedroom and in the bedroom, a small room connecting to the bathroom, were two unhappy people
Once Lizzie got out of the shower, she turned to Gordo, in her towel and said, "So? Did you find anything interesting?"
Gordo handed Lizzie the contract and she sat down on the bed to read it. Gordo didn't mean to, but as she sat down, her towel went up and he couldn't help but see a certain part of her body that he was pretty sure she didn't want him to see. He didn't realize he was staring at it until he heard, "Ew! Gordo! You pervert!" and she got up frantically, and pulled her towel up closer to her. "What were you thinking?"
Gordo looked away quickly and said, "I didn't see anything! I swear."
"Liar!" Lizzie said and she threw the paper at him, "I can't do this! This isn't worth it! I can't pretend that I love you. I hate you too much! You are a selfish pervert who needs to get a life!"
"Lizzie!" Gordo said, panicking because as much as he hated her, he couldn't afford to be sued, "I didn't see anything! I promise. Besides, do you really want to get sued for money you don't even have?"
"What?"
"Here," Gordo said and he shoved the contract back to her as he walked to the shower, "Read it again. I'm taking my shower." He slammed the door.
Lizzie flicked the slammed door off and got her clothes from her suitcase and got dressed. Once she was dressed, she read over the contract and found that if they broke it off, they would be sued. Lizzie had to agree with Gordo in that she needed the money, but there had to be some way out of this. Maybe they could stage a fight or something at the production meeting and the producers would see that they are anti-whatever the show wants.
Gordo came out of the shower with a towel around his waist. Without looking up, Lizzie said, "We need to have a fight."
Gordo turned around and looked at Lizzie, "What?"
"I am saying we need to have a fight in that production meeting so they will let us leave. Are you in?"
Gordo shook his head, "Are you crazy??"
"No, I want to get out of here."
"So do I," Gordo said as he turned around and dropped his towel.
"Ugh," Lizzie said, covering her eyes, "Could you show a little more modesty?"
Gordo didn't respond as he put on some boxers and the rest of his clothes.
"What type of fight do you have in mind?" Gordo said, turning around.
Lizzie shrugged, "Something believable enough."
"Like. . ." Gordo said.
"Like you calling me a slut or something."
"So I have permission to call you a slut?"
"No! I mean, wait. We have a problem. I am supposed to be my cousin's friend. I can't do this to her!"
"So you mean we're still in?"
Lizzie sighed, "Yeah, I guess so."
A few minutes later, after they ate breakfast, Lizzie and Gordo headed to the mansion for the production meeting. They were the second couple to arrive after Thomas and Jane, who lived in the mansion. Pretty soon, Mary, George, Elizabeth, and Jane arrived. The meeting began after Ryan Philips, the host, came in. While everyone was seated, three official looking people came in, two men, one older who was balding and the other who looked like he was about ten years older than everyone, and one woman, who was blonde and looked like she was in her forties, stood up.
"My name is Gracie," she said, "And this is Ted (older man) and Greg. We are the producers of this lovely show. Every morning, we will meet here and discuss the days events and what we want to happen."
No one said anything, until Ted spoke up, "As you may know, this show will be featured on cable TV. Now, we don't know about you, but we want to top the charts on our time slot and have high hopes of setting records for this station with you. This means that all of you are going to have to cooperate with us. We want everything that happens to seem believable, however, because we want viewers from all demographics, we realize we have to appeal to everyone. This means we want everything from sex to drama to action on this show. In the meetings, we will tell you what we want you to do. As you know, failure to cooperate means we can sue you."
Again, the room was silent. Ted and Gracie looked at Greg, who was about to speak, "Now, here is the agenda for today. Now, let's start with Mary and George. You two seem like the perfect couple. Maybe not today, but I think we might want to take advantage of that 'perfect couple' angle. Today, I want you two to spend some time together looking like you are having a good time and Mary, if you could, flirt with him a little."
Mary and George looked at each other and nodded their heads. Lizzie and Gordo noted that it was weird that they were going along with this idea so easily. Maybe they were supposed to know this the whole time.
"Now, for Elizabeth and James, you are in the trailer and I want Elizabeth to complain about that and James to complain about Elizabeth as a result. That should make great sex later." The couple nodded their heads.
"For Jane and Thomas, I want to see if we can have a little bit of awkwardness between the two of you. Maybe mixed emotions. We have tape of you talking last night, and maybe have a little bit more conversation."
That couple nodded their head and it seemed that all heads were then turned to Lizzie and Gordo. Greg looked at them for a few minutes as he seemed to be in deep thought, "This couple could be the toughest couple of the four. With your backgrounds and everything, you should hate each other, but yet I see you and it looks like you two could be the most interesting couple. Man, I am so excited because I can't wait until you two have sex," he said and he shrugged, "Not now, of course, but we will give it a few days. Anyway, for today, I think Danny should pretend to be optimistic about the whole relationship. The optimism should come from the night without the cameras, which was a chance for you to talk about your life. And for Tory, I think you should show a little pessimism with him today, like you aren't really sure what you think of him, but you don't really see yourself with him romantically."
Lizzie and Gordo exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other a few times as Greg said all of this, especially the comment about the sex, but knew they couldn't say anything. As they sat there when he finished, confused about this whole thing, Greg said something as if he had an epiphany. "And you know what?" he said, pointing at Tory and Daniel, "I think it would be interesting if you two were the first couple to kiss. And I am not talking about a small peck, mind you. It will happen casually, of course, and it should happen tonight, after the competition and before dinner, the couples will have drinks and Tory should be sitting next to Daniel and Daniel should lead her off into the corner and they should talk and that's when the first kiss should happen."
Gracie gasped, "That's brilliant!"
"Yeah, I think that would work," Elizabeth chimed in. Lizzie gasped. What was going on here? This was all a scam and everyone was in on it except them.
"Now, we want you to go back to your houses and we want to get footage of each other you walking out of the house. After that, we want interviews and after that, you will have lunch and then competition will begin. Today, we are playing game to see how much you know about each other. The winners will receive a palm pilot. I don't really care who wins because we want to make the competition as believable as possible."
After the meeting, everyone walked to their houses and as soon as Lizzie and Gordo were safe and secure, Lizzie closed the door, looked at Gordo and said, "Something is going on here. The producers think we are actors like the other six members and the other people seem to know they are acting."
"Yeah, I know," Gordo said, sitting down at the kitchen table, "Maybe Pete and Tory knew about this and just forgot about it."
"Maybe," Lizzie said, sitting down next to him, "But its such a big piece of information, how could they forget to tell us."
Gordo shrugged, "Well, I know Pet would put me up to something like this and your cousin's friend is probably a little forgetful. I think the joke is on us, Lizzie."
"Yeah," Lizzie said, "In more than one way." She said, looking at him and crossing her arms, "I hope they realize I am not having sex with you."
"Relax," he said, "Because they can't make us have sex. They can imply that we are having sex, but they can't make us actually have sex."
"Good," Lizzie said.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on their door and on the other side was Greg, and he let himself in. Looking at Lizzie and Gordo he spoke up, "Now, when you leave this hut, I want Daniel to open the door and let Tory out and then Daniel will come out, closing the door behind him. I want Tory to be looking down as she walks and Daniel to be looking down as well. I want you to walk to the mansion with Daniel behind Tory the whole time. We are going to add your comments to the track when it airs."
"Okay," Lizzie said.
"Good, let's go then."
Cameras were waiting outside and Greg went out of the shot and watched. Gordo rolled his eyes as he opened the door and let Lizzie out, and Lizzie came out and started walking down the steps, but being the ditz she was, she tripped and fell down the remaining five stairs. Gordo's immediate response was to run down and see if Lizzie was alright, "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lizzie said.
Gordo waited for someone to say "Cut!" but it never happened so he continued. He helped her get up and they headed toward the mansion. Lizzie was unhurt, but just to make sure, Gordo walked next to her instead of behind her, forgetting that he was supposed to act for a minute. Once they reached the mansion and were inside, they heard Greg yell "Cut! That was perfect! I like that you helped her when she fell." Greg walked away and looked like he was heading for the small house.
Once Lizzie and Gordo were inside, they saw Gracie walk up to them and she turned to Lizzie and said, "Tory, are you ready for your interview?"
Lizzie nodded her head, "Yeah, I guess so."
Gracie led Lizzie to a room with a camera and a guy holding cue cards, "If you could read off these cue cards, that would be great. Just don't read them like you are reading off of something."
Lizzie looked at the cue cards. This was ridiculous. Everything was staged. She began reading, "Last night, I had the opportunity to get to know Daniel without the cameras. We stayed up and talked a little, but it was nothing too special. He seems like a nice guy, but I'm not sure if I like him romantically or anything yet. I guess we'll see."
Gracie let her go after a few times of her reading the cards and then asked her to get Daniel. Lizzie rolled her eyes as she walked downstairs and saw Gordo standing there waiting, "Your turn, Danny."
"Thanks," he said and he walked upstairs and went into the interview room where there were cue cards.
"What do I think of Tory? Well, initially, I thought I might have problems with her, but now I don't know. After talking to her last night, I got a whole new impression about her and right now I don't know what I feel. Maybe I will fall in love with her, but right now, I don't know. She's a beautiful person and all I know right now is that I can't wait to spend the next few days getting to know her even more."
After Gordo finished the interview, he was let go and he was so relieved. He hated that he was supposed to be in love with her. This was ridiculous.
All four couples eventually came for lunch, and the cameras started rolling as they ate and hate conversations about little things, like pets and blind date horror stories. As fake as this all seemed, Lizzie had to admit that all these people were nice and she did enjoy hearing them talk. The lunch also made Gordo feel a little more comfortable. He liked most of the other people and the conversation was entertaining. He decided maybe he should try to make the best out of this situation and just see what happens.
At one point, he caught a glimpse of Lizzie laughing and he didn't really know why, but seeing her laugh made him smile. Maybe, he thought, he and Lizzie can end up being friends after this. Neither of them ever talked everything out, and in some ways, Gordo felt that he and Lizzie never officially broke up.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~
A/N: Was that long enough? I'm working on this long chapter thing, and I think this was about double of what I usually write. Please review!
I am upping the rating because of references to sex.
Question 1:
What will Lizzie think that night when Gordo is supposed to kiss her? (or the main idea of her thoughts a) This sucks. I can't believe I am doing this. First Gordo looks up my towel and now I am agreeing to let him kiss me. Eww! What is wrong with me? b) As much as I hate him, I have to admit I love the way he kisses. I mean, wow! He is incredible! Ohh, did I just say that? Or c) I can't let myself think too much about this, because if I read into this too much, I'll think things I am not supposed to be thinking, like having sex with him. Oh, too late.
Question 2:
What will Gordo be thinking when he kisses her? (again, main idea) a) I need the money, I am only doing this for the money. I do not like Lizzie. Yes, all I need to do is keep telling myself that so win. b) Alright, this does it. I can't even deny it anymore. I like Lizzie. Forget the past! Now all I have to do is hope that she likes me back. c) You know, this isn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. I forgot how much I liked the way Lizzie kissed and this reminds me. . .Lizzie is amazing in bed.
**Note: I am fifteen (as of a few days ago) and I am not going to make this as raunchy as it may sound. These are initial responses, not what they are thinking about when they think about it longer. There will be references to sex (*gasp* she's using the word sex and she's only fifteen!) , but they will be "PG-13" and no more.
Please review. I am not dependant on reviews, but they do help some and give me an idea of how I am doing. If no one votes, I am fine with whatever I choose because it is ultimately my decision with what happens. I am trying to give you, as the reader, a little say in the process and maybe a little power. Thanks.
*Quack
Chapter Eight
That morning, in the Love hut, a 24-by-24 foot space made of wood and consisting of three small rooms, a door that led to the kitchen and the kitchen that led to the bedroom and in the bedroom, a small room connecting to the bathroom, were two unhappy people
Once Lizzie got out of the shower, she turned to Gordo, in her towel and said, "So? Did you find anything interesting?"
Gordo handed Lizzie the contract and she sat down on the bed to read it. Gordo didn't mean to, but as she sat down, her towel went up and he couldn't help but see a certain part of her body that he was pretty sure she didn't want him to see. He didn't realize he was staring at it until he heard, "Ew! Gordo! You pervert!" and she got up frantically, and pulled her towel up closer to her. "What were you thinking?"
Gordo looked away quickly and said, "I didn't see anything! I swear."
"Liar!" Lizzie said and she threw the paper at him, "I can't do this! This isn't worth it! I can't pretend that I love you. I hate you too much! You are a selfish pervert who needs to get a life!"
"Lizzie!" Gordo said, panicking because as much as he hated her, he couldn't afford to be sued, "I didn't see anything! I promise. Besides, do you really want to get sued for money you don't even have?"
"What?"
"Here," Gordo said and he shoved the contract back to her as he walked to the shower, "Read it again. I'm taking my shower." He slammed the door.
Lizzie flicked the slammed door off and got her clothes from her suitcase and got dressed. Once she was dressed, she read over the contract and found that if they broke it off, they would be sued. Lizzie had to agree with Gordo in that she needed the money, but there had to be some way out of this. Maybe they could stage a fight or something at the production meeting and the producers would see that they are anti-whatever the show wants.
Gordo came out of the shower with a towel around his waist. Without looking up, Lizzie said, "We need to have a fight."
Gordo turned around and looked at Lizzie, "What?"
"I am saying we need to have a fight in that production meeting so they will let us leave. Are you in?"
Gordo shook his head, "Are you crazy??"
"No, I want to get out of here."
"So do I," Gordo said as he turned around and dropped his towel.
"Ugh," Lizzie said, covering her eyes, "Could you show a little more modesty?"
Gordo didn't respond as he put on some boxers and the rest of his clothes.
"What type of fight do you have in mind?" Gordo said, turning around.
Lizzie shrugged, "Something believable enough."
"Like. . ." Gordo said.
"Like you calling me a slut or something."
"So I have permission to call you a slut?"
"No! I mean, wait. We have a problem. I am supposed to be my cousin's friend. I can't do this to her!"
"So you mean we're still in?"
Lizzie sighed, "Yeah, I guess so."
A few minutes later, after they ate breakfast, Lizzie and Gordo headed to the mansion for the production meeting. They were the second couple to arrive after Thomas and Jane, who lived in the mansion. Pretty soon, Mary, George, Elizabeth, and Jane arrived. The meeting began after Ryan Philips, the host, came in. While everyone was seated, three official looking people came in, two men, one older who was balding and the other who looked like he was about ten years older than everyone, and one woman, who was blonde and looked like she was in her forties, stood up.
"My name is Gracie," she said, "And this is Ted (older man) and Greg. We are the producers of this lovely show. Every morning, we will meet here and discuss the days events and what we want to happen."
No one said anything, until Ted spoke up, "As you may know, this show will be featured on cable TV. Now, we don't know about you, but we want to top the charts on our time slot and have high hopes of setting records for this station with you. This means that all of you are going to have to cooperate with us. We want everything that happens to seem believable, however, because we want viewers from all demographics, we realize we have to appeal to everyone. This means we want everything from sex to drama to action on this show. In the meetings, we will tell you what we want you to do. As you know, failure to cooperate means we can sue you."
Again, the room was silent. Ted and Gracie looked at Greg, who was about to speak, "Now, here is the agenda for today. Now, let's start with Mary and George. You two seem like the perfect couple. Maybe not today, but I think we might want to take advantage of that 'perfect couple' angle. Today, I want you two to spend some time together looking like you are having a good time and Mary, if you could, flirt with him a little."
Mary and George looked at each other and nodded their heads. Lizzie and Gordo noted that it was weird that they were going along with this idea so easily. Maybe they were supposed to know this the whole time.
"Now, for Elizabeth and James, you are in the trailer and I want Elizabeth to complain about that and James to complain about Elizabeth as a result. That should make great sex later." The couple nodded their heads.
"For Jane and Thomas, I want to see if we can have a little bit of awkwardness between the two of you. Maybe mixed emotions. We have tape of you talking last night, and maybe have a little bit more conversation."
That couple nodded their head and it seemed that all heads were then turned to Lizzie and Gordo. Greg looked at them for a few minutes as he seemed to be in deep thought, "This couple could be the toughest couple of the four. With your backgrounds and everything, you should hate each other, but yet I see you and it looks like you two could be the most interesting couple. Man, I am so excited because I can't wait until you two have sex," he said and he shrugged, "Not now, of course, but we will give it a few days. Anyway, for today, I think Danny should pretend to be optimistic about the whole relationship. The optimism should come from the night without the cameras, which was a chance for you to talk about your life. And for Tory, I think you should show a little pessimism with him today, like you aren't really sure what you think of him, but you don't really see yourself with him romantically."
Lizzie and Gordo exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other a few times as Greg said all of this, especially the comment about the sex, but knew they couldn't say anything. As they sat there when he finished, confused about this whole thing, Greg said something as if he had an epiphany. "And you know what?" he said, pointing at Tory and Daniel, "I think it would be interesting if you two were the first couple to kiss. And I am not talking about a small peck, mind you. It will happen casually, of course, and it should happen tonight, after the competition and before dinner, the couples will have drinks and Tory should be sitting next to Daniel and Daniel should lead her off into the corner and they should talk and that's when the first kiss should happen."
Gracie gasped, "That's brilliant!"
"Yeah, I think that would work," Elizabeth chimed in. Lizzie gasped. What was going on here? This was all a scam and everyone was in on it except them.
"Now, we want you to go back to your houses and we want to get footage of each other you walking out of the house. After that, we want interviews and after that, you will have lunch and then competition will begin. Today, we are playing game to see how much you know about each other. The winners will receive a palm pilot. I don't really care who wins because we want to make the competition as believable as possible."
After the meeting, everyone walked to their houses and as soon as Lizzie and Gordo were safe and secure, Lizzie closed the door, looked at Gordo and said, "Something is going on here. The producers think we are actors like the other six members and the other people seem to know they are acting."
"Yeah, I know," Gordo said, sitting down at the kitchen table, "Maybe Pete and Tory knew about this and just forgot about it."
"Maybe," Lizzie said, sitting down next to him, "But its such a big piece of information, how could they forget to tell us."
Gordo shrugged, "Well, I know Pet would put me up to something like this and your cousin's friend is probably a little forgetful. I think the joke is on us, Lizzie."
"Yeah," Lizzie said, "In more than one way." She said, looking at him and crossing her arms, "I hope they realize I am not having sex with you."
"Relax," he said, "Because they can't make us have sex. They can imply that we are having sex, but they can't make us actually have sex."
"Good," Lizzie said.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on their door and on the other side was Greg, and he let himself in. Looking at Lizzie and Gordo he spoke up, "Now, when you leave this hut, I want Daniel to open the door and let Tory out and then Daniel will come out, closing the door behind him. I want Tory to be looking down as she walks and Daniel to be looking down as well. I want you to walk to the mansion with Daniel behind Tory the whole time. We are going to add your comments to the track when it airs."
"Okay," Lizzie said.
"Good, let's go then."
Cameras were waiting outside and Greg went out of the shot and watched. Gordo rolled his eyes as he opened the door and let Lizzie out, and Lizzie came out and started walking down the steps, but being the ditz she was, she tripped and fell down the remaining five stairs. Gordo's immediate response was to run down and see if Lizzie was alright, "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lizzie said.
Gordo waited for someone to say "Cut!" but it never happened so he continued. He helped her get up and they headed toward the mansion. Lizzie was unhurt, but just to make sure, Gordo walked next to her instead of behind her, forgetting that he was supposed to act for a minute. Once they reached the mansion and were inside, they heard Greg yell "Cut! That was perfect! I like that you helped her when she fell." Greg walked away and looked like he was heading for the small house.
Once Lizzie and Gordo were inside, they saw Gracie walk up to them and she turned to Lizzie and said, "Tory, are you ready for your interview?"
Lizzie nodded her head, "Yeah, I guess so."
Gracie led Lizzie to a room with a camera and a guy holding cue cards, "If you could read off these cue cards, that would be great. Just don't read them like you are reading off of something."
Lizzie looked at the cue cards. This was ridiculous. Everything was staged. She began reading, "Last night, I had the opportunity to get to know Daniel without the cameras. We stayed up and talked a little, but it was nothing too special. He seems like a nice guy, but I'm not sure if I like him romantically or anything yet. I guess we'll see."
Gracie let her go after a few times of her reading the cards and then asked her to get Daniel. Lizzie rolled her eyes as she walked downstairs and saw Gordo standing there waiting, "Your turn, Danny."
"Thanks," he said and he walked upstairs and went into the interview room where there were cue cards.
"What do I think of Tory? Well, initially, I thought I might have problems with her, but now I don't know. After talking to her last night, I got a whole new impression about her and right now I don't know what I feel. Maybe I will fall in love with her, but right now, I don't know. She's a beautiful person and all I know right now is that I can't wait to spend the next few days getting to know her even more."
After Gordo finished the interview, he was let go and he was so relieved. He hated that he was supposed to be in love with her. This was ridiculous.
All four couples eventually came for lunch, and the cameras started rolling as they ate and hate conversations about little things, like pets and blind date horror stories. As fake as this all seemed, Lizzie had to admit that all these people were nice and she did enjoy hearing them talk. The lunch also made Gordo feel a little more comfortable. He liked most of the other people and the conversation was entertaining. He decided maybe he should try to make the best out of this situation and just see what happens.
At one point, he caught a glimpse of Lizzie laughing and he didn't really know why, but seeing her laugh made him smile. Maybe, he thought, he and Lizzie can end up being friends after this. Neither of them ever talked everything out, and in some ways, Gordo felt that he and Lizzie never officially broke up.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~
A/N: Was that long enough? I'm working on this long chapter thing, and I think this was about double of what I usually write. Please review!
I am upping the rating because of references to sex.
Question 1:
What will Lizzie think that night when Gordo is supposed to kiss her? (or the main idea of her thoughts a) This sucks. I can't believe I am doing this. First Gordo looks up my towel and now I am agreeing to let him kiss me. Eww! What is wrong with me? b) As much as I hate him, I have to admit I love the way he kisses. I mean, wow! He is incredible! Ohh, did I just say that? Or c) I can't let myself think too much about this, because if I read into this too much, I'll think things I am not supposed to be thinking, like having sex with him. Oh, too late.
Question 2:
What will Gordo be thinking when he kisses her? (again, main idea) a) I need the money, I am only doing this for the money. I do not like Lizzie. Yes, all I need to do is keep telling myself that so win. b) Alright, this does it. I can't even deny it anymore. I like Lizzie. Forget the past! Now all I have to do is hope that she likes me back. c) You know, this isn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. I forgot how much I liked the way Lizzie kissed and this reminds me. . .Lizzie is amazing in bed.
**Note: I am fifteen (as of a few days ago) and I am not going to make this as raunchy as it may sound. These are initial responses, not what they are thinking about when they think about it longer. There will be references to sex (*gasp* she's using the word sex and she's only fifteen!) , but they will be "PG-13" and no more.
Please review. I am not dependant on reviews, but they do help some and give me an idea of how I am doing. If no one votes, I am fine with whatever I choose because it is ultimately my decision with what happens. I am trying to give you, as the reader, a little say in the process and maybe a little power. Thanks.
*Quack