Heather wasn't used to waking to an alarm; her father's booming voice followed by various methods of inhumane torture courtesy of Chris had assured that. But sure, as the sun was to rise, the blaring of her phone woke her from her slumber early in the morning.
Disgruntled, she reached over to shut the device off, stretching over to the other side of the bed. Sitting up among the lush sheets, she started to take in her surroundings, slowly recounting the previous days events; and how she came to wake in this unfamiliar setting, rather than her drab dorm room.
I'll never get used to this
Swinging out of bed, she spread her toes into the soft carpet, stepping over to the window and throwing the curtain. Taking in the view, she could spy Eva on her morning jog- and Tyler trailing behind her; struggling to keep up with her swift pace and tripping over himself.
The sun had barely peaked over the horizon by the time Heather had completed her morning routine, brushing the last knots out of her hair before tying it back in her signature ponytail and placing her laptop in her bag.
Checking the time as she turned her speaker off, she grumbled to herself "Why in the world did I choose 8am classes" sighing, she locked her bedroom door and stepped into the freezing halls.
It may have only been half past five in the morning, but the house was bustling with activity.
As she approached the kitchen, Heather could muffled chatter, masked by the clanging of pots and pans that rang through the halls. She inhaled deeply, preparing herself for whoever was behind that door- there wasn't many of her former castmates she could tolerate. As she inhaled, Heather could smell the most divine breakfast she could imagine, her mouth watering at the scent.
Pushing through the ornate saloon-style doors, she could see DJ and Bridgette moving in perfect sync, tossing ingredients to each other without a word. Turning her attention to the kitchen table, a large spread of gourmet dishes was laid out before her.
The cooks murmured a distracted greeting, their attentions clearly on the task at hand. Heather piled her plate high, loading a plateful pancakes and bacon, and proceeding to take a seat at the breakfast bar, rather than where Owen and Geoff were currently inhaling their food.
She scrolled absentmindedly through her phone, taking small bites of her food, revelling the taste.
The doors knocking against their frame pulled her attention to Courtney and Gwen strolling through into the room, arm in arm. Looking back at her plate, Heather focused her attention on her meal, ignoring them when they took a seat beside her.
Heather could feel their eyes on her, their whispers obviously about her.
"Soooooo Heather…" Courtney trailed, leaning on the counter" We heard you running through the hall last night"
"And?"
"And we were wondering why you were making such a ruckus" The goth continued, in a deadpanned voice. " You should have more consideration of your neighbours"
"I don't have to- wait a minute; isn't your room on another floor?" She snapped back at the girl.
The pair blushed, looking away, as if trying to find an excuse. "We were trying to study" Courtney answered "Not that it's any of your business"
Heather eyed her former teammates " Hm. That's odd seeing as no classes have started yet. But that's none of my business, just like how me running is none of yours" Heather stood, grabbing her bag. "You guys always have to ruin a good thing, like my breakfast"
Leaving the girls at the bar, Heather rose, and sped out of the room. Maybe living here will be more challenging than I though. Waving a half-assed thankyou to Bridgette and DJ.
True to form, it was raining when Heather got off the bus. The bitter cold was biting through her jacket, chilling her to the bone. Unfortunately, it wasn't cold enough for snow, but it proceeded to drizzle in icy rain, small pieces of sleet crashing to the ground among the puddles of water.
The campus matching the weather, drab grey buildings towered over browning grass and dying gardens. It didn't have the vibe of a prestigious college, but it was functional, and fit her needs.
Heather ran into the large building, shielding her hair from the rain with her bag. Pulling out her campus map she had received in the mail, she checked she was headed in the right direction. As she set off across campus, the rain continued, and Heather saw a familiar face, he was strolling in the same direction as her, as if headed to the same Accounting lecture she was.
He can't be in the same class as me She thought to herself, praying that she wouldn't have to put up with him outside of sharing a house, as the thought of it crossed her brain, he turned into the classroom she had made a beeline for.
Because she'd been late, when she entered the room the only seat she could see was directly beside him, the cramped desks leaving little room for personal space. She scanned the room, hoping that the small lecture hall would have another place for her to sit, but alas she found none and was forced to sit next to her ex-lover.
"Hello Chica" he whispered as Heather reluctantly took a seat beside him, angling her body towards the front of the room, attempting to ignore his presence.
After a pause, Alejandro opened tried again "So, you aren't talking to me now?"
"I'm here to learn Al, appreciate if you let me do so" she threw back at him, eyes and tone cold as the rain still falling in sheets outside.
"Carry on then" Alejandro sighed in resolve.
The class had been torture. Two hours of sitting next to him, his warmth radiating onto her and even his presence keeping her acutely on edge, the entire class she had been taking notes, but still she was completely unfocused on the content and distracted by how close his body was to hers.
I'm never going to be late again. This is bullshit
Heather knew that she couldn't let herself be distracted, but her mind wandered elsewhere, reminiscing in how wonderful their time together had been, how arm his embrace was and how she knew he would always protect her, and that she would do the same.
They'd been fierce competitors- World Tour had been their season; the show's editors had crafted the episodes so well, that when rewatching it, you could tell from the get-go that they would be the focus that season, but never completely giving away that they were destined to be the finalists.
They'd also been fierce lovers, constantly bickering, but also in perfect sync. The pair of them were an unstoppable force, if only they had realised it sooner; they would've been rich.
Daydreaming about the short time they'd spent together eventually led her thoughts to her end; the messy, gut wrenching break-up that pained her to think about; she'd had everything and then nothing in the space of a few hours- from an unstoppable force to an inconsolable mess.
"Heather?" His warm voice broke her daze, startling her. "Can you move?"
The class had ended while she was lost in her thoughts, and the students had started to file out. Heather quickly gathered her things and moved out of his way, watching him leave the room from her place.
She shook her head, as if she could remove the thought of him with the movement and started the trek back to the bus. Heather push through the large doors, only to reveal the drizzle from earlier had turned into a full-blown downpour, trees being whipped in the wind and hammering down, echoing off the tin roof.
Heather ran through the courtyard, making a beeline for the bus stop. By the time she reached the sanctuary of the small shelter, her clothes were soaked through, and she stood there shaking. Even more true to her luck, she could see that the bus was rounded the corner, disappearing from sight.
Sighing heavily, she looked at the schedule; the next bus was an hour away. Shaking, she took a seat on the creaky bench, resolving that more water couldn't do any more damage than it already had.
Heather had been trembling on the bench for ten minutes, when a luxurious red car rolled up, the passenger side window rolled down, and Alejandro leaning over from the driver's seat.
"Want a lift?" He offered with a slightly patronising tone.
"L-l-like I want a ride with you" she trembled in response, clutching her arms tightly
"Ah Heather, always so stubborn." Rolling the window up, Heather kept her eyes on him as he climbed out of the car, proceeding to walk over to her, a warm jacket over his arm.
She eyed the fur-lined leather, recalling how it was the same jacket that she borrowed constantly while they were together.
Alejandro wrapped the jacket around her shoulders, taking her book bag out of her hands and putting in the back seat of his car. "Get in the car Heather, you'll get a chill"
She reluctantly ducked into the passenger seat angling her body towards the window while he walked to his side of the car, watching the rain roll down the outside of the glass.
Glad to be out of the rain, she leant against window, yearning for a warm showering and wishing literally anyone else could have picked her up.
"How are you liking college?"
Turning her head, she arched her eyebrow in his direction. "Just because I caught a ride with you does not mean I'm going to talk to you"
"You're talking to me right now" He quipped, and Heather's quizzical look turned into a scowl "Hey, hey Chica, no need for the sour look- why can't we just chat?"
"Because I have absolutely no interest in chatting with you"
"Why not?"
"Because I-" Heather faltered. She couldn't admit to him how much he'd hurt her- hell, she couldn't admit it to herself. "Because I don't want to"
"That didn't answer my question Chica"
"Stop calling me that"
"Ah Heather, you always did hate that"
"Shut up and drive Al" She smirked, watching him visibly shudder, she returned her gaze to the rain drops racing down the window.
The rest of the drive had gone quickly, and on arriving back at the house, Heather had grabbed her bag and raced to her room.
Heather flopped onto her bed, exhausted, the day had tired her both physically and emotionally; her body still shaking and drenched from the downpour. Clutching her jacket closer, she inhaled the lingering scent, basking in its familiarity.
Shaking herself out of her daydream, she groaned, wishing she had anything to distract her from her own thoughts; in the competition it had been easy to keep him off her mind- strategize, stay focused and win the million. Now, it was normal life; they were adults trying to make it in the real world. Now, she was an ex-reality show contestant and a regular college student, and she began to wonder whether moving into the house was a good idea.