Hi there! I'm enjoying my autumn break on my period and with a healing crack in my heart. So dramatic. But that's just who I am.
Hope ya'll like seeing the couple off the island for the first time. Enjoy one of the final few chapters!
Ally doesn't remember much after that. Because she found herself being unable to cheer out of bewilderment, it was awfully quiet after she lit the fire, except for the distant cry of joy coming from Austin. After finally reaching him by walking back over the beams, the wrecking balls now having stopped swinging, he hugged her tightly. Both Rachel and Drew had congratulated her, simply because the cameras were pointed at her. A few hours later, the plane heading towards civilization took off, carrying four physically and mentally exhausted candidates, the foresight of meeting their loved ones again creating satisfied smiles on their faces.
Since the viewers at home lagged a few days, they would have to wait half a week to see the finale. And, even then, they wouldn't get to see who won. The final few minutes would not get aired until the 'reunion' that would take place a week after the unfinished finale. All candidates return to talk about the journey that they had taken on the show, discuss certain important moments and watch significant bits of the show, considering none of the final few candidates had ever seen the cut and edited recorded shots of themselves.
As soon as Austin and Ally had returned to their internet possessing homes, they found out their slowly developing relationship on the show had not gone unnoticed. Quite the contrary, actually. Some found it more exciting and moving than the game itself. Ally didn't feel like reading through all the comments on the social platforms, at first, but the game had changed her somewhat. Even though she had always wanted to stay away from all media attention, ever since she had decided to participate in the show, the media had searched for her, found her, and had not let her go. It was easy to get used to.
It was strange to see pictures and short videos of herself the fans had posted all over Twitter. Especially the moments she hadn't even known a camera was pointed at her, like the time she had been singing a soft song during her first time fishing alone, while she had let herself be amazed at the sights in front of her. Or the moment she had shared with Austin during the feast after they had granted themselves the pleasure of alcohol for the first time in weeks and the heat of the small fire in front of them warmed their blushed cheeks even more.
The producers of the show had encouraged them to appear in public, figuring their relationship was one of the reasons for the high ratings this season, but stay platonic when they were together. It would let the public wonder whether or not they were still a couple and increase the suspense. They had merely shrugged at the proposition. The idea of using their relationship to attract more views was absurd to them, but they couldn't blame the producers for seeing it that way. The contract they had signed at the start had made them promise to follow their orders as much as they could. So, today, Austin had convinced Ally to take a walk in the park to admire the freshly fallen snow in New York, maybe get a pretzel and some frozen yoghurt in the process.
After attacking each other's faces with the sweet, frozen substance, they took a stroll through central park. Talking about the show, the other candidates, and their personal lives, they spent their time laughing and getting to know each other better, something they didn't get the chance to do on the island. All in all, it's the first time they can spend time together without being watched. Minus the possibility of paparazzi, of course.
"The idea of people watching us makes me nervous," Ally giggles while the untouched snow squeaks under the soles of her shoes. She happily bites into her warm pretzel, the salt tickling her lips. "I feel like a teenage girl again, keeping her older boyfriend a secret from her parents."
"God, you make me feel 18 again." Austin throws his napkin in a garbage bin as they exit the park. Just before crossing the street, he takes Ally's free hand, interlacing their fingers.
"Austin, we're not supposed to be doing-" she does not get the chance to finish her sentence as Austin pulls her to one of the columns decorating an apartment's front entrance, hiding both of them behind them.
"Doing what?" Grinning, he brings their intertwined hands to his chest and brushes his nose against hers. His other hand is quickly placed on her hip.
"There are a lot of people with cameras on their phones here," Ally sighs weakly, her eyes fluttering closed once Austin's lips approach hers, but don't grant her the pleasure just yet. Instead, he presses butterfly kisses all over her cheek, jaw, and neck.
"If only there was a simple way out of this risk carrying situation." The snicker coming from Austin is suggestive, yet he shows no sign of moving anytime soon. And neither is Ally, who fails to let the words get through.
"If only," Ally nods breathlessly before recognizing her surroundings, the column, the apartment building that included her apartment. When catching Austin's eyes again, she notices the smirk he attempts to hide, secretly mocking his ability to play her so easily.
She blinks a few times to rid herself of the haze that had gotten rid of her ability to think straight. "I mean," she starts but is faced, once again, with Austin's know-it-all smirk. Mentally cursing herself for being so easily influenced by him, she pulls him towards the entrance of the building. "Let's just go."
"Great idea." Austin willingly lets himself drag along until Ally comes to an abrupt stop as she's about to enter the elevator. Looking in the reflection of the elevator mirrors, her eyes focus on a point behind them.
"Is that paparazzi?" She asks him in shock in which he quickly drops her hand and looks behind him, meeting absolutely no sign of cameras. When he turns back to Ally, the doors are closing as she's shooting him a sweet smile, obviously content with her revenge. "Call me," she mouths, holding her thumb and pinky stretched next to her head, imitating a mobile phone, just she disappears behind the closing doors.
"Isn't tonight the show's finale?" They're lying on her couch, Ally's head resting on Austin's lap, as some 90's movie fills the television screen that neither of them is really paying attention to. Instead, Ally was mindlessly playing with Austin's hand that was lying on her stomach, now looking up as Austin was showing the tweet on his phone reminding the fans to tune in. "Do you want to watch it?"
Ally shrugs, not showing much desire to follow that plan. "I hate watching myself, especially doing any type of exercise."
He snickers. "Don't you want to relive the glory?"
She stays silent for a few seconds in reply. "I can't believe you're not even remotely mad about me snatching the title right from under your nose," she says softly, guilt that she had never shown before now colouring her words.
"And I can't believe you were crazy enough to hesitate at the finish," he replies in disbelief. When Ally refuses to look him in the eyes, he moves his leg slightly, Ally's head on his lap moving with them. She bites her lip doubtfully as she finally meets his gaze. "You deserved that win more than anyone there." He finishes his reassurance by lifting her hand to his lips, causing a slight smile on Ally's lips. "And to think Rachel almost took it away from you."
Ally sighs softly, still regretting how the way the game had progressed had ruined what could've been a great friendship. "I haven't even heard of her since the finale."
"I have." Ally looks at Austin confused until he hands her his phone, along with an explanation. Apparently, there has been a massive war between her and your fans on Twitter ever since she got outvoted."
"Are you serious?" Ally gasps, moving to sit upright as she scrolls through the thousands of tweets about their trifle, hating how awful the word 'war' sounds.
"It's clear who has the bigger fanbase, but things will get seriously heated during the finale tonight," he explains. Ally would lie if she said she hadn't seen the increase of followers on her personal Twitter account, despite it being quite abandoned. She wasn't trying to be 'relatable' like other semi-famous candidates might by posting mindless tweets about her day, just some retweets about the show showed on her timeline. When scrolling through the hashtag the creators of the show had made up, '#RachelvsAlly', she noticed an obviously larger amount were rooting for her. Still, besides supportive tweets, also some harsh tweets about Rachel had been published.
"I don't want them to fight." She shakes her head determinedly before giving Austin his phone back.
"It's Twitter; there will always be a feud between people with different likes and opinions." Austin shrugs simply.
"I have to do something about it." After grabbing her phone from the side table, thereby leaning over Austin, she sits back down by flopping her legs ungraciously over his lap from the side. Typing the first personal tweet in, probably, a year, she hopes to calm the feud just a tiny bit. "Let's all remember that Expedition Robinson is just a game and the candidates are real people with real feelings. Play nice, shall we?"
"That's very mature of you." Austin grabs her hips to pull her fully on his lap as soon as she sends the tweet.
"Has anything I've ever done proven you otherwise?" She giggles, moving her legs on either side of his hips, her phone thrown somewhere on the coffee table, seemingly being far less interesting all of a sudden.
"You're making valid points," he whispers, moving his face closer to hers.
"I'm a lawyer, it's kind of what I do," she whispers in return, a smile sneaking on her lips.
"Remind me not to get into an argument with you."
Ally snickers sarcastically. "An argument? With my boyfriend who eats my popcorn stack? More likely than you think."
"That's no fair!" He gasps. "You have, like, an emergency supply, it's selfish to keep it al to yourself!"
"You have, like, an addiction." The words escape her mouth before she can stop them. She squeezes her eyes shut while whispering 'fuck' to herself. Sucking in a breath, she avoids his eyes by burrowing her face in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
He stays silent for a few seconds, giving her the feeling she has ruined it all before he speaks up again.
"Hey, calm down. Don't worry about it." With a soft gesture, he brushes a brown lock behind her ear, easily assuring her she shouldn't feel bad about the slip-up. "How do you feel about meeting Ariella soon?"
The simple question tells her he loves her enough to introduce her to the most important person in his life, but also the person she had purposely taken away from him. He had forgiven her.
She smiles widely, nodding eagerly, after kissing him. "I'd absolutely love that."
The following days, the two stayed indoors mostly, Austin's apartment, this time. Only stepping outside for the bare necessities, like food and the occasional fresh air was needed. Human contact, they had enough. The finale, and every reaction to it went by unnoticed by the two, since they had better things to do than keep track of Twitter and other social platforms. No, they had intended to spend this short week together, no distractions of any kind.
Though, the viewers hadn't seen the finale until the end. The final few minutes had been scrapped and saved until the next episode, which was today. Today was the day that all twelve candidates would assemble to watch the final bit, talk about their experience, and, of course, crown the winner, live on screen. It was the first time Austin and Ally would be able to appear side by side on camera, off the island, without consequences. Saying they were looking forward to it was a mild way of putting it.
But, for now, they had about ten more hours of privacy, isolation, and complete serenity until the big ceremony that evening. And Ally would not let it go to waste, in contrast to Austin, who was still peacefully snoring after a rather restless night. After getting partly dressed - a shirt and panties were sufficient -, she scavenges for any kind of object that could help her wake him up. Spotting one of her black panties under the bed, she stretches it between two index fingers, tries to remember Austin's tips on bettering her aim for one of the tests, and shoots.
It was safe to say those tips hadn't gotten through because, while she had intended to hit him on the chest, the lacy material landed right on his forehead. With quite some speed, though, as you could hear a good slap when it hit him. It turns out she had learned something from his tutoring.
The impact was successful either way. His eyes fly open and after a second of, most likely, trying to wrap his head around whatever just woke him from his sleep, he spots the lingerie used as catapult and Ally, still frozen in her attack stance, surprise and a suppressed laugh hidden.
And then, like a green light suddenly lit up, Austin seemed to jump out from under the covers and began to chase Ally, who ran as fast as her relatively short legs allowed her to. She was thankful for the short head start she had, as Austin needed to put on pants before he was ready for the race. You see, chases weren't a new thing in their relationship. At least once a day, either of them – it was usually Ally - teased the other enough to start a pursuit through the apartment, resulting in lots of kisses, tickles, and giggles. It was a good system.
Now, after you've been in that situation a few times, you start to develop a pattern, especially if the chaser is about twice your size. What Ally often does, is just giving up and lowering herself on the floor before curling in a ball and accepting the consequences that she really didn't mind. Not today, though, she thought, as she spots the first object low enough for her to stand on and climbs on.
That's how Austin finds her; in the middle of his cooking island, in one of his white shirts, her knees drawn up and a guilty giggle muffled by her sleeve-covered-hands. He can't help the snicker escaping his mouth as he shakes his head while approaching her. After a long stare down, Austin has enough. In a quick movement, he grabs her ankles and pulls her towards him. Ally releases a quick yelp before her chest collapses with his.
"Always climbing on top of things," Austin whispers against her lips as they form a smirk, resting his hands on the cold ceramic, on either side of their hips.
Ally throws her arms around his neck. "You didn't seem to mind last night."
"You are unbelievable." Squeezes her hips one more time after she shoots him a naughty wink.
"Try to keep up with me, babe." Pushing his shoulders, she frees herself from his enclosure and hops off the island. After giving him a quick kiss, she walks straight to the fridge to obey the compelling rumbling of her stomach. She feels Austin's studying eyes on her as she grabs an apple from the fruit bowl on top of it.
"Are you wearing my shirt on purpose?" He asks her, his voice sounding slightly lower and raspier than usual.
"It always looks fun in the movies." Ally turns around with a cocky smile, loving how his eyes roam her from a distance as he leans against the island. "Besides, it's really good for my self-confidence." Finally opening the fridge, she scans its content while taking a bite from the fruit. "Is your fridge always his empty?"
Austin laughs as he walks towards her. "As you're the one who empties it, I think you'd know best." Ally bats her eyelashes innocently in response. "I'll get us some breakfast. How do paninis from Il Pozzo sound?"
Ally raises herself on her tippy toes to press a kiss on his cheek. "You're the best."
In the time Ally is alone, she gets dressed – though it's fun, she can't parade through her boyfriend's apartment in his clothes forever -, sets the table and takes another look at their outfits for tonight. She hadn't been that excited about her little black dress hanging in the back of her closet, but ever since she noticed how much more special it felt and how much prettier she looked next to Austin's white shirt with a black pattern, she had not been able to stop admiring it. They'd look amazing together tonight.
She was just grabbing some orange juice from the fridge when she hears the house phone ring. After a short mental debate, she decides it would be rather strange to answer it, figuring they weren't really publicly together. So, she just lets it go to voicemail.
"Hey, Austin! It's me, Thomas," an excited voice sounds through the room. Ally remembers a vague memory of Austin telling her about his manager called Thomas, who had been an old friend of him before they started to work together. That must be him. "Our plan didn't work out as well as planned, but the spot in the finale earned you good publicity." Ally freezes, immediately wondering what this so-called plan exactly implies and why Austin hadn't told her.
"I got you a few interviews and appearances, make sure you call me when you get back. Also make sure you thank that lawyer girl if you ever run into her again, Abby, wasn't it? Oh, well, it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" Thomas snickers, making Ally's breathing get heavier and faster. "You really picked the best girl as a gateway to the finale. I was sincerely impressed by your acting, though."
Her muscles fail when she hears the word 'acting' and the carton in her hand falls to the floor. The orange liquid pours out as Ally's hands start to shake. Never, not one single moment, had it occurred to her that a candidate would create a persona, a character, that would get them far. That a candidate could fake their emotions, could think of exactly what to say when the situation asked for it. That a candidate could use anyone just to win a stupid game. It's as her world crumbles apart in a matter of seconds.
"Just wanted to let you know that training for FINA World Aquatics Championships starts in two weeks. Call me once you get this." Ally doesn't even hear the rest. Before emotions get the best of her, she takes a few shaky breaths to calm down, rolls her shoulders back, brushes her hair out of her face, and steps over the large puddle of orange juice that had formed on the tiles without even looking down at it.
With focused eyes, she enters the bedroom. It's like she has entered a new body, a new mindset. An attitude she only let take control when she entered the courtroom, solely because she knew it got rid of the filter that normally would make sure nobody's feelings got hurt. When she was working, that wasn't one of her priorities anymore. She almost was a different person.
Merciless lawyer mode; engaged.
The final chapter is coming up! Stay tuned x
Ps. Thank you for passing 50 reviews! xx