Chapter 8: iDo it Right

"Ladies, your next challenge will be painting a picture for Freddie." Nevel said. "Three girls with the best paintings will win the next group date. Good luck!"

"God answered my prayers." Amber whispered excitedly. "Finally a challenge I can win. This is freaking awesome! Wait…am I dreaming? That's just cruel."

I smirked. "You're not dreaming, Am." Amber was the only cool person here. Sam had even more in common with her than Carly.

"Thank God." Amber said, picking up a paintbrush. "So are you an artist?"

"Not funny." I rolled her eyes. "Well…I draw bunnies in jail. Does that count?"

"Um…why was the bunny in jail?"

"He robbed a gas station."

"Oh, for a second I thought you were insane." Amber said sarcastically. "But you look like an artist. I bet you'll make a masterpiece."

I started to argue when Jade yelled "Ow!" and kicked the door. "Jade, if you walked into the door, it's not the door's fault."

"It's not the door…it's Madison!"

"Madison made you walk into the door?" Amber sighed. "I believe that."

"No! God, she just told me I don't belong here and slammed the door in my face. Who does she think she is? Ryan Seacrest?"

"Forget about it." Amber told her. "She's just worried she'll lose. She probably thinks you're a threat. If she's rude, just ignore her."

"Or pour honey in her hair." I said, grinning. "She'll have a heart attack." We all laughed. God, that would be fun. Madison had been so nice to me…it was creepy.

I knew I wouldn't win. Freddie wouldn't like some stupid bunny behind bars! Would Freddie be mad if I didn't win? I slapped myself. I shouldn't even care!

Maybe he wanted to date other girls. It couldn't just be me. For a second he had seemed sweet. His lips tasted sweet. I just didn't know anything about him. But I could change that…

"Sam?" I looked up at Madison. "Can I sit with you? I can go somewhere else…"

"Um…whatever." I shrugged as Madison sat down in the chair next to me. Madison didn't notice me slide away from her. She was just so strange. Why was she nice to only me?

"Oh, I love your painting." Madison pointed to my piece of paper. "A bunny criminal? That's so cute."

"Yeah…whatever." Who thinks bad bunnies are cute?

Madison stared at me for a minute. "Can I paint you? I draw people really well and you're the only one around." She didn't wait for my answer. "So what do you think of Freddie?"

I slid a little farther away. "Oh. He's very…cute?" God, that sounded lame. It was too awkward to talk about a guy who might be my husband. Especially with Madison.

X

Dear Sam, Madison, and Jade

Congratulations! You have won the third challenge. Your paintings were beautiful…just like you. I'll see you soon.

-Freddie

"Beautiful just like you?" Sam whispered, rolling her eyes. She read the letter again and laughed. "I expected better from you, Freddie."

"So did I."

Surprised, Sam turned around and saw Freddie standing behind her. "You did? So why did you write this?" Sam held up the letter and smiled when Freddie blushed.

"The producers made me write that." Freddie confessed. "They like that cheesy stuff. I have some dignity."

"Keep telling yourself that…" Sam rolled her eyes. "Wait. Is Mr. Reality actually embarrassed?"

"No! No, of course not!" Freddie shook his head. "I don't get embarrassed. Why wou-"

"Freddie." Sam interrupted. "You're embarrassed." She leaned closer, trying to look serious. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

His cheeks turned bright red. "Shut up, Mumble."

She shrugged. "You're not my boss. I spent all day painting for you! Did you pick that challenge? God, that paint stained my skin. Stained. My. Skin!" She held up her arm for him to see. "See."

"Mumble, there's no paint. I think you're just being dramatic."

"What did you call me?" I have never been dramatic! Ever! I just lie to get what I want. And sometimes I make things seem worse than they really are…but I'm not dramatic!

"Dramatic?" Freddie looked nervous while Sam stood there angry. Then she shoved his shoulder, making him stumble backwards. "Mumble!" He rubbed his shoulder. "That hurt."

"Awesome." She said as Freddie grabbed her waist and pulled her close. "Hey! Warn me before you do that."

"That's no fun."

Sam laughed and shut up quickly. What are you doing? She thought. You're giggling like a little girl! But she couldn't help it. She hadn't laughed like this in a long time. When her first real love had dumped her.

She liked Freddie. She couldn't deny that. But she still wanted to keep her guard up. What if he changed his mind? Maybe she could find a way to leave without getting eliminated…oh forget it. She was stuck here until Freddie kicked her out.

She wanted to leave…but did she want to leave Freddie? Maybe not but this was on live TV. Sam hated America watching her every move. What if she fell in love with Freddie and he didn't want her? What if he chose her and she didn't want to marry him? God, this was so hard!

"You ok, Mumble?" Freddie whispered in her ear; she shivered down to her toes. "You look distracted. If you want to talk…you can talk my ear off."

"Tempting." Sam mumbled as he kissed her. Sam leaned away but he held her shoulders and put his lips against hers again. Sam sighed. She couldn't think when he kissed her. Or maybe she just didn't want to.

X

Confession Camera:

"The group date was nice." Freddie said, smiling. "I talked with Madison and Jade a lot. I know enough about them now…I know who I'll send home tonight."

"It was amazing!" Jade squealed. " I have to thank Freddie for kissing me on the cheek…and God for making Kate see! Man, she was mad. I'm not worried about tonight. I told a few jokes about computers…the man is mine."

X

Elimination.

I hate that word. I hate feeling so nervous. Me and Freddie had kissed…but he'd ignored me on the group date. Why? What game was he playing? The makeup artists yanked my straight hair while I told myself Freddie wouldn't eliminate me. The closest hospital was miles away. He wasn't stupid. Wait…he was, but still. He wouldn't do it. Maybe.

Last week I'd begged to go home. Now I wanted to stay…a little. I wasn't going to cry if he sent me home. I just wanted to know him more. That's all. Nothing else. Nothing. No thing…

"This is Love Ain't Reality." Oh. I'd missed Nevel's speech. Whatever. I forced a smile as the camera zoomed in on all the girls. "Just like last time, Freddie will call your name and give you a necklace." This time it was a ruby instead of a sapphire. "Two will be sent home."

"Madison." Madison smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Jade."

"Kate." Kate kissed him on the lips again. Sam noticed he didn't push her off. She frowned for a second, then gave the camera a fake smile. I had to get used to the dumb game I was playing.

"Amber."

"Natasha."

"Holly."

"Jenna."

"Megan."

"Hannah."

"Chelsea."

"Alexis."

"Skylar."

I couldn't believe it. I was in the bottom three again. God, what was going on in that man's head? If cameras weren't filming us, I would kick him. Hard.

"This is the last necklace." Nevel whispered, staring at me, Emma, and. "The two girls not chosen will leave the mansion immediately."

I couldn't tell what Freddie was thinking. He picked up the last necklace and took a deep breath.

"Sam."

That. Nub. I thought as I walked over to him. That little nub. I let him put the necklace around my neck and gave him a small smile. He looked disappointed, like he wanted more. Well, he wasn't gonna get a kiss after making me so freaking nervous.

Maybe I shouldn't kiss him so much. I barely knew him, and we were already kissing like a couple? It wasn't right. America probably thought I was his little puppet. If he wanted me, he had to earn me.

If this was about falling in love…I'd do it right.

A/N: I promise the next chapter will be even better! Thanks to all my reviewers. I love reading all of them. I got 27 reviews for chap. 7! I'm so grateful.

I've added a picture of Sam's new necklace on my profile. It's waiting for you…

I love reviews…lotion…reviews… (: