Heyheyhey!

Sorry about the delay. Man, I should set an alarm every week to make sure I remember to update. Oh well, 12 hours late. I've done worse. It's a bit bigger to make up for it

Just wanted you guys to know that, if you've reviewed for any chapter, I saw it, I read it over and over and it made me very happy. Just because I don't reply to your reviews, doesn't mean I don't appreciate them, I really do.

This one might be a nail biter. You'll be able to see Ally's new dilemma's that make the story a bit more interesting :)

After another few days, the last candidate that would regularly get sent home, got outvoted. Ally didn't know this, the rest of the candidates on her island filled her in. After this last elimination, the merge test would take place, but not before the two islands would merge.

The two groups of a total of 6 will get together on a whole new part of the island. This particular 'merge' test is different than the usual tests, though. For the first time, it won't be two teams battling, but each candidate individually. If you fail, you won't be dragging down your team, you'll only be putting yourself in a very insecure spot, once you receive the dreaded 'black vote', meaning you get one extra vote against you at the following island selection.

Not only that prospect, but also the knowledge that the remains of the red team would soon arrive brought tension. The blue team had ended up with 4 candidates remaining, including Austin, Ally and Rachel, meaning only two red team players would step off the boat.

It was honestly a surprise that Rachel managed to stay in the game this long, figuring she didn't fit well in the group. It was probably the fact that she was one of the best known candidates that had the classic 'girl next door' look that made everyone love her automatically, no matter how little action she actually showed on the island. Lots of candidates who weren't afraid to show the viewers their attitude got outvoted way before her.

When the small boat arrives, not only Drew steps out, Ally's biggest fear being confirmed, also a fairly broad girl, a field hockey player, Ally presumed, steps on the sand. She immediately runs up to Oliver, also a field hockey player that Ally got closer to as they spent more time together on the same team. They must've already known each other before being separated when the group split. Drew smirks, seemingly impressed to see both Ally and Rachel still in the game.

"Nice to see you again, too, tell-tale," he tells her as he deliberately roughly bumps his shoulder against hers while walking past. Ally's mouth drops open as she tries to wrap her mind around the unusual nickname he gave her. What blows her mind even more, is the fact that he walks right up to Rachel and that their conversation seems far from hostile. Last time they spoke, Rachel ruined his chance on winning the test, so he should have no interest in talking to her, yet they walk off together, leaving Ally with Austin.

"You two don't seem to be friends," Austin remarks, resting his elbow on her shoulder while tightening his blue rag, the one he had to remove soon as the teams officially didn't exist anymore, around his pulse.

Ally sighs as she crosses her arms. "We go way back." Turning her attention to Austin, she tries to hide her nerves. "Are you looking forward to the first individual test?"

"I guess so, it sure will be different." Austin keeps looking ahead until he notices Ally's teeth digging in her lower lip. "No need to be nervous, you'll be fine on your own."

"Right, we can do this," she agrees, earning a friendly shoulder punch.

"Today, you will experience how it is to not fight for your team, but for yourself only. This test is all about the combination of strength and brains," the presenter announces, gesturing at the curiously looking devices placed on the sand next to them. The brain part comforts Ally, knowing she had practiced by solving sums in the sand in private, but the muscle part not so much. Glancing at Austin, she sees the exact opposite as she notices him looking at the familiar black schoolboards.

"The test begins once everyone hangs onto a horizontal bar. Your weight will lift an obstacle, revealing a set of numbers and letters. The longer you manage to hold your own weight, the longer you have to memorize them. But if you let go, you must turn around and can't study it any more. Only when everyone has let go of the bar, you can all start writing down the code as far as you have it memorized. The person that has the longest set on their board without errors, wins."

Only the perfect combination of muscle and good memory was guaranteed to make a good chance to win. The only thing Ally was worrying about, was whether she could compensate her lack of strength with her intelligence. She would soon find out as everyone took their place. Right between Austin and Rachel, she catches Austin's encouraging eyes briefly, but can only look at Rachel, who avoids her eyes and stares ahead. The presenter starts his countdown, giving the sign to grab the bar hanging above them. As soon as the start signal sounds, the stools are being pulled away and a wooden board is being lifted.

2-E-5-0-T-S-9-9-S-1-L-M. That is the first set. Under that line, there are four other combinations of numbers and letters. Before starting to mindlessly memorize, Ally decides she needs a strategy. Nobody will be able to or even try to learn the whole thing. Quality is more important than quantity in this situation and she decides to take all the time she needs to memorize the first line perfectly. One single error might be enough to get the black vote.

Her hands are already starting to hurt, her fingers turning stiff, signalling her to start immediately. By combining mnemonics and repeating the code as a melody in her head, she quickly finds herself silently humming the combination on the melody of one of her favourite Halsey songs. Before she can even start focussing on the next set, she hears Rachel making soft noises to accompany her struggle. Trying to get a better hold, she moves her hands, one of the worst things you could do in a situation like this. When she turns her head to study Austin, he looks more relaxed, yet doesn't seem to be able to fully focus on the test.

As Ally is just reading the second set, Rachel loses her grip and falls down. The wooden board falls down with her and she's forced to turn around, having to find every bit of concentration to remember what she had just learned. A little while later, after she had luckily managed to cramp the second set into her brain as well, the law of gravity overpowers the strength in her arms. After that, Drew promptly follows. Another major disadvantage of having to let go early, beside having less time to study, is that the longer you aren't able to see the code on the board, the more you start doubting yourself. Was it T-S-9-9 or S-T-9-9?

Long after Oliver is forced to let go, Austin is still hanging on. On one hand, Ally grants Austin all the time he needs. On the other, she's does a silent prayer he lets go soon, so she can write everything down while still having enough trust in herself. Finally, in a moment of lost focus, his fingers slip and he falls to his feet. The rest quickly turns around, grabs the pieces of chalk and start writing everything their mind allows them to remember.

Ally is fairly sure about the first set, but the second one gives her trouble. After a few minutes, their time is up and they have to stop writing. It only takes one quick glance to notice nobody is sure about their work, eyes taking a final look at their board as teeth nervously nibble on lips. Comparing her work, she sees only Drew has written more symbols on his board. That doesn't mean they're all right, though. If his first letter is wrong, he'll be the one with the black vote tonight.

"Before showing the right codes, I will reveal which three are in first, second and last place. Drew," the presenter speaks, making Drew's eyes light up in hope. "you are neither of those. Neither are Oliver and Rebecca." Now he turns his attention to Austin, Ally and Rachel, who are proven to be the three he spoke of.

Austin looks at Ally worriedly, knowing he didn't manage to remember much, even though he had the longest time to memorize everything. The presenter pulls a cloth that covers the biggest blackboard off, revealing all the sets. The three quickly compare their work with the example and, soon enough, they know the results.

"Congratulations, Ally," the presenter says with a smile, making Ally's mouth drop open. She had actually won the first ever individual test without any help of others, all because of her own intelligence in balance with whatever kind of muscle was to be found in her small body. Austin gives her a high five, genuinely proud and content with his second place. "And Rachel, you will have a black vote in the island selection tonight." Then it finally hits her that Rachel will be in a very difficult position. Rachel nods sadly before receiving a pitiful smile from Ally.

"The privilege you will receive is immunity for tonight." She cheers silently, grateful she won't be having to waste any energy on worrying about the small chance she would have to go home. "Also don't forget that the winner always has two votes to cast. I wish the rest all the luck with deciding who they want to give their single vote to. Remember that there are still some candidates with extra votes."

He was right, while almost everyone of the Blue team had used all their extra votes, Ally knew that Austin and herself had saved up a few. Not that Ally would need them tonight, but Austin had showed he was a huge threat by hanging onto the bar for so long.

While it was clear to everyone that Ally and Rachel weren't as close as they were at the start of the show, Ally had made an effort to keep Rachel as a friend. Rachel hadn't picked up on that, though, or she just didn't feel like Ally was worth keeping close. This had upset Ally for a while, but she couldn't be bothered for long as she realized she didn't need Rachel if Rachel kept up the ignorant attitude towards her. But, as soon as they're back on the island, Rachel is dragging Ally away from the group.

"You did amazing at the test today!" Rachel preaches her quickly. Ally wants to thank her, but is immediately interrupted as she keeps talking. "But I really don't want to get outvoted tonight. I'm going to be needing your help."

"Sure." Ally nods uncertainly. She had ignored Ally for weeks and now she wanted her help? But she couldn't deny it. Even though their friendship had maybe gotten weaker, they still had a pact. Ally had promised her once to do her best to make sure they'd be in the finale together and she couldn't deny her call for help now.

"I think the only option we have, is to put our votes on Austin," Rachel whispers in which Ally automatically steps back. Rachel rolls her eyes when she sees Ally's shocked look. "Come on, you hated that guy when you met him. Don't tell me you're actually considering protecting him, just because he pitied you enough to use his time to give you a hand. Don't think he would've helped you if he hadn't gotten anything in return."

It hurts Ally to even think of the possibility that Austin still didn't think they hadn't built up some kind of mutual trust. Sure, both of their intentions at first was just to get further in the game. Ally's information about him had made her lost all respect for him instantly, after all. But, after spending more time with each other, she had actually started to forget his big secret.

From the small signs she had picked up on, he enjoyed spending time with her as much as she did. The combination of support and the way they could bring out the best in each other made them grow towards each other as the most unlikely friends. But now she was threatened to betray him.

"He was just a way to get me further in the competition," Ally lies, keeping her eyes down, this one sentence hurting her more than she could ever imagine. A content smile appears on Rachel's lips, after which she starts explaining her waterproof theory of how they could outvote Austin with the help of Oliver and Rebecca. Apparently the two field hockey players had had their eyes on Austin for a long time now, wanting to make him disappear before they found themselves in the finale with him.

Ally glances over her shoulder to see Austin sitting on one of the logs, staring at her with a look filled with distrust before she gets back to pretending to listen to Rachel.

"What did Rachel want from you?" Austin asks her once she returns. Ally shrugs as she remembers the promise she made to keep quiet. It was crucial that she kept a natural act up, careful not to arouse suspicion. The slightest bit of doubt could ruin Rachel's whole plan, she had said. Besides, she couldn't even look at Austin without feeling herself crumble under the pressure of the plan she had against him.

"Not much, just wanted to congratulate me," she mutters, avoiding too much eye contact.

"Well, you should start focussing on the selection tonight. You might've not noticed yet, but you have an important role. You have a lot of power over the outcome." Grabbing her pulse, he drags her away from the camp, a camera following as always. "Drew asked me to get you. He wants to discuss tactic with us."

"Drew?" Drew wanted to involve her into whatever plan he had? Figuring he would probably only be using her right to cast two votes, Ally didn't feel like coming with Austin, but he seemed eager to work with Drew, for some reason. They soon arrive at the spot where Drew is waiting for them. He gets down to business at once.

"Austin is in trouble and since you two seem quite close, I figured you'd want to help him out," Drew starts. Ally holds her breath, but plays it cool as she nods. Little did the two men in front of her know she was one of the people participating in the plan. "Oliver and Rebecca are both voting for Austin. Lucky for us, they don't have any extra votes left, Austin told me. Rachel is helping them, I overheard, but if you're on our side, we can easily overpower them with the help of some extra votes."

Ally narrows her eyes and crosses her arms. "What's in it for you?"

"I'm helping him with an extra vote if he'll be targeted in the future," Austin illustrates quickly.

"Fair enough," she decides, but can't fight the doubtful look in her eyes. She has a pact with Rachel and, even though she didn't really agree with her plan, besides wanting everything but sending Austin home, she felt unsure about agreeing with Drew's plan. "I don't feel comfortable going behind Rachel's back like that."

"We can vote Rachel out with or without you, but if you're not with us, you will be next," Drew exerts pressure on her shamelessly. Looking at Austin for help, he just stares back apologetic.

"Ally, it's just a game." He tries to convince her and he's right. This isn't the place to start friendships. Betrayal wasn't a new incident in the show, that was certain. And this particular dilemma was a perfect example. Was this just a game to Austin, as in; would he would betray her if he would find himself in her situation?

She had to choose; who would she feel less guilty about sending home? Who did she want to battle against in the finale? Who was more important to her? Apart from that, Drew would do everything in his power to sent her off the island first chance he got and she doesn't doubt for a second he would succeed. Austin awakes her from her trance with a careful, yet urgent voice. "You need to make a decision. Are you playing for yourself or for Rachel?"

"Fine, I'm in," she says after a second, feeling a weight falling off her shoulders. There's still the guilt that will most definitely grow as the selection approaches, though.

Drew nods pleased. "You both better bring in an extra vote, just to be sure."

"I'll use two of mine," Austin quickly states, looking at Ally reassuringly. "Ally can save hers for later."

"Whatever, as long as there's an extra vote on Rachel tonight." Drew disappears as soon as the deal is closed, not bothering to stay in their presence longer than necessary.

"Thank you," Ally releases a breath she didn't know she was holding while closing her eyes, still overflowing with stress.

"I'm sorry to drag you into this," he sincerely apologizes while awkwardly biting his lip.

Ally shakes her head resolutely. "It's not your fault, you had no choice. I'm just hoping Rachel won't be too mad at me."

"She shouldn't be, it's just how the game works. She knows that as well," Austin adds in an attempt to calm her down, but it doesn't seem to be working as Ally's eyes are still obviously full of worry. Austin steps closer to pull her in a hug in order to comfort her, since he's ran out of words that he thought could work.

Her body feels tense, but relaxes once his two arms wrap around her shoulders. Still unsure how comfortable she feels in his presence, she hesitantly hugs him back, pulling back as she notices the always present red light nearby, reminding her that everything is being recorded. It's not like she doesn't want their friendship being seen by the viewers, she'd just hate to create the illusion of something that definitely isn't there.

I know i told you all I wouldn't be answering any more reviews, but I got a few questions that I reckoned deserved an answer so here we go :)

Also a quick question, if anyone wants their name as Austin's daughter, tell me in the reviews!

letmetakeyourpicturebaby chapter 15 (College Works Out)

oh ok that makes sense:)

It's been a while, and now I realize that the story you've picked is Just a Game, (which I do love dearly) but still kind of hoping that the 3rd part of this series will be written?

I know that Just A Game is kind of your main story rn, (wait is ROALT still being written? It has like 60 chapters and you must have some crazy willpower to keep going on the same story that long:D), so I totally understand if this doesn't get a 3rd part, but keeping my fingers crossed:)

Suggestion for Just A Game: It briefly mentions that Ally is a lawyer and that's how she knows Austin, can you write a bit of backstory on that interaction?(maybe a flashback of sorts or something like that?)

Having to review on this chapter because the story won't let me review more than once on the last chap:) – hi there! Just wanted to tell you I love how much you support my work and I'm glad you're liking my new project. As for the question, the third part of the Working Out trilogy is merely some ideas for now. I'm close to finishing Just A Game and there's a greater chance I'll be starting a different story that requires more research about some serious topics than I've ever done for a story. Needless to say, it might take some time to write it. Though, it won't be a long story, not more than 10 chapters for sure. Hate to keep you waiting, but I'm just collecting ideas for the story you're looking forward to. Hope you understand!

Ocean chapter 3

I absolutely adore this fanfic!
I can't wait for next Sunday and the next update!
How are you? Are you excited for school and how much of this story do you have planned out? Also, at what point do you think Ausally will get together?
Thanks! – Hey girlie! Thank you for asking, I'm quite good. Just started university for the first time and it's quite the experience. For now, I'm having fun, so that's definitely a relieve. I've written everything for this story except for the final chapter, I'm making sure that's perfect. I might do an epilogue as well, if I find some inspiration for it. Oh, I know when they're getting together. The thing is, 'getting together' is a rather vague term. You'll find out soon, though. Just enjoy the journey of an increase of chemistry and it'll be there before you know it :)

jcarter692 chapter 2

Awesome chapter, I'm glad Ally is on the same team as Rachel and Austin! Honestly, I love the length of your paragraphs. I love more descriptive detailed stories because I like to visualize the scenes. Your writing is really great! – Thanks for clarifying that! Same here, I love to describe everything I can imagine in a scene, which, sadly, enlarges the length of the chapter. Compromises have to be made! Thank you for the compliments!