She still had plenty of reason to worry — Noah could still have feelings for someone else, the new islander could still steal one of them from each other, the new islander could be someone that one of them fancies. It was probably best never to be comfortable on Love Island, especially not this early in.
After her conversation with Noah earlier, Rose was feeling as confident as she could possibly be about the new prospect of a new islander. In stark contrast to the worried expressions and shaking hands of the other women in the dressing room, Rose touched up her makeup in a relative state of calm. She thought about her sweet conversation with Noah, about the careful kiss he’d placed on her cheek, his comment about keeping things fair. She’d managed to keep her gushing to a minimum when she ‘debriefed’ with Lottie, mostly focusing on listening to complaints about Rocco — of which there were many. He was a huge flirt and seemed to like all of the girls just as much as the one he was partnered with, which was already making the larger-than-life Lottie feel small.
“You don’t deserve that, babes,” Rose said, smudging her brown eyeliner with a q-tip. She was going with a slightly more natural look for their first party, having already removed the caked makeup from the day and started anew. “You have to have some sort of respect for your partner, even if you’re not set on staying with them.”
Lottie, in stark contrast with Rose’s toned-down makeup look for the night, was sharpening the wing of her eyeliner and applying an even deeper shade of plum to her lips. “Right? Disrespectful, that’s exactly how it is.”
“What’s wrong, Lottie?” Marisol asked, peeking around the mirror that divided them to intrude upon a conversation she was not a part of. “Things going poorly for you too?”
“I’m just hoping it’s a new guy tonight.” Lottie pouted.
“What about you, Rose?” Marisol asked. “Feeling alright?”
Rose smiled, thankful at least that Marisol had dropped trying to call her nicknames. “I had a nice conversation with Noah earlier, we agreed to stick together for now as long as we have a choice. He’s a good guy.”
“Aww,” Lottie drawled. “Look at Noah being a gentleman.”
Marisol rolled her eyes. “At least one of us is doing well.”
Rose shrugged. She felt as though Marisol was oversimplifying things. She still had plenty of reason to worry — Noah could still have feelings for someone else, the new islander could still steal one of them from each other, the new islander could be someone that one of them fancies. It was probably best never to be comfortable on Love Island, especially not this early in.
“I’m going to get changed,” Rose said. Marisol’s negativity was infectious and negativity was the last thing she needed. “I’m pretty sure the guys are already out on the lawn waiting for us.”
Lottie agreed, “Good call.” And, before Rose had even gathered her clothes to go to the bathroom to change, Lottie had dropped her swim top and started changing in the middle of the dressing room.
Rose tried to hide her blush, looking away and back to her clothes cubby as quickly as possible once she realized what was happening. She grabbed the first dress she saw, a silky green mini dress with spaghetti straps, and all of the necessary undergarments, and ducked into the restroom. The bathrooms were as private as the Villa got, but even then there were a few cameras directed at just the right angles to catch important conversations by the communal sink and cheeky shots of islanders showering. It was a careful geometry looking at the mounted cameras trying to locate possible blind spots. After just one day in the villa, Rose was already tracing sight-lines every time she walked into a room.
She chose a corner by the toilet — undignified but certainly private — and began undressing. Perhaps, by the end of her time in the Villa, Rose would be less of a prude. Perhaps she’ll eventually become used to her body being seen and then blurred in post-production by some poor media intern. But she wasn’t going to press herself too much on the first day.
Rose dressed as quickly as possible, also aware that other girls getting ready may also barge in at any moment — there were no locks on any of the doors in the Villa — and mussed her hair once more in the mirror before returning to the dressing room. Thankfully, all of the girls were clothed once she returned.
“Ready, babes?” Lottie asked, flashing her stiletto nails as she held out a hand. She was dressed in a sleek black dress with mesh sleeves that showed off her tattooed arms. Her hair was pinned back to one side with a vintage-looking silver clip.
“You look nice.” Rose touched the clip on the back of Lottie’s head. “This is gorge.” She took Lottie’s offered hand and gave it a squeeze.
“It was my grandma’s,” Lottie said. “I’m wearing it for luck.” Rose found Lottie’s superstitions charming, especially in a place that felt so outside of reality as the Villa. It made her wish she’d brought something to be made a talisman herself, even if she’d never been the type to believe in that sort of thing before.
“Ready girls?” Hope called. She was standing with her arms crossed in the doorway, looking impatient even though she’d only just put her shoes on. “The boys are waiting.”
Lottie rolled her eyes. “And they can wait a bit longer.”
Marisol trotted out of the bedroom, her shoes in her hands. “I’m ready!” She hopped on one foot to fasten a strap on her heel and then switched, fastening the other just as quickly. “Let’s go.”
Hannah, who had been much quieter in the dressing room than she had been the rest of the day, stood from her dressing bench. She wore a grave face and a simple sundress, looking much the same as before, the same long braid in her hair and the same light makeup on her face. Rose’s chest panged. She hoped Hannah didn’t feel underdressed. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.
Hand in hand with Lottie, Rose took the steps down from the dressing room and then to the deck. Relief washed over her at the sight of Bobby and Noah idly chatting, it was heartening to see them getting along. It meant that whatever flirting she’d engaged in — purposeful or not — was not enough to create a rift in the Villa. Early days, she reminded herself, she had done nothing wrong.
“Hey girls!” Gary waved from the lawn. He had a completely different vibe in his evening clothes, looking much less like a typical lad in square glasses and nice jeans. “We waited for you!”
Lottie gave Rose a look and Rose understood her meaning at once: Gary cleans up well…
He wasn’t her cuppa but he could certainly be Lottie’s.
“We had to get our look right, you know!” Hope laughed. “Now the party can get started!”
The islanders whooped along with Hope, doing their best to shake the uneasy feeling left by the bombshell text.
“Thank you for waiting for us,” Rose said as she and Lottie separated, drifting towards their respective partners.
Instead of Noah, whom the thanks was primarily directed at, Bobby responded, “We didn’t mind one bit, lass.” He winked at her.
Rose smiled in kind, but took Noah’s hand and said, “Thank you both.” Being near the two boys at the same time felt like walking into an active war zone.
“Let me get you a drink?” Noah asked, ducking his head closer to hers as he spoke, effectively cutting Bobby out of their circle. “They’ve got all sorts.”
She squeezed Noah’s hand. “Lead the way.”
“So,” Noah said, voice quiet as he spoke only to her. “I heard talk of a girls-only full moon ritual tonight. Are you planning to take part?”
Rose laughed, recalling Lottie’s insistence that the full moon on the first night of filming was an omen and that they should take care to honor it by convening in the moonlight. She’d gone along with it in the moment because she wanted to befriend Lottie and earn her trust. She shrugged. “Might be a laugh,” she said. “Lottie is really something.”
Noah pouted. “I was hoping you’d prefer to get a head start on sleeping with me—“ He cut himself off with a startled expression. “I mean, er, on sharing a bed.” Shaking his head, he started over. “I was hoping you’d like to cuddle instead.”
For his sake, Rose demurely hid her giggle behind a hand. “I knew what you meant,” she reassured him. “But, sorry, I’m all about the girl code.”
“Was afraid you’d say that.”
“I was going to ask how you felt about sharing a bed, but I suppose I’ve got my answer.” From the corner of her peripheral, she saw the rest of the group descending upon the bar, she had to shift gears quickly in case she didn’t have time for this conversation later.
Noah seemed to understand her meaning perfectly, grinning ever-so-slightly and nodding in confirmation. “I’d be up for it as long as you are,” he said. “No funny business, of course.”
She leaned in conspiratorially, easing her nerves with a joking tone. “Do you think any of the couples are going to be up to funny business right off?”
“Lottie and Rocco I could see,” he said with no hesitation. “I feel like Rocco would try it with anyone, though.”
“He hasn’t much flirted with me,” Rose corrected. “I think he knows I’m not the type to try it with.”
“Or that you’re a terrible flirt,” Noah teased. “Can’t be bothered.”
“Hey!” She lightly smacked his arm. “Your manner of flirting isn’t much better, so I don’t want to hear it.”
He shrugged coolly. “Takes one to know one.”
Rose huffed and rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t keep the smile from her face, she could tell that Noah’s teasing was affectionate.
“What are you two on about?” Gary asked as he shuffled back behind the bar. It was now too late for Noah to make Rose that drink, so she hoped Gary’s bartending skills were up to par.
“Just chatting,” Rose said, sharing a sly grin with her partner. “Where’s Hannah?”
Gary rolled his eyes, not a good sign. “She’s upset about something again. I swear that girl has cried on me twice and we’ve just met.”
“Poor thing…” Rose took a seat at the bar and watched Noah do the same. She turned so that her knees were facing his, doing her best to keep him in the loop while she talked to Gary. Normally, at a pub with her friends, she wouldn’t be concerned with making such clear delineations between platonic and romantic encounters, but things were different within the context of Love Island. She didn’t want to strike up a conversation with a guy that she wasn’t interested in and have her actual crush get the wrong idea. Noah, for his part, seemed to get the message. He laid a hand carefully on her knee, glancing up for permission and gracing her with a smile when she gave it.
“I feel for her,” Rose said. “This is all a touch overwhelming.”
“But you’re not crying all over your lad, are you?” Gary scooped ice into a shaker with an unsteady hand. It was clear that he’d expected to have a much more enjoyable first day, Hannah must really be getting to him. “Do you want a drink?”
“What can you make?” She wanted to humor him while also changing the subject. She hoped he would launch into trying to impress her with his bartending knowledge.
“Not much, I was just going to make some vodka crans,” he said. Then, “Do you think there’s anyone else I can pawn Hannah off onto?”
As she thought of what to say, Rose felt Noah begin tapping his thumb on her knee. She wondered if the gesture was simply absentminded movement or if he was anxious. It made her wish Gary would leave them alone so that she could find out. She said, “I don’t think that’s a nice way to think about your partner. I mean, it’s fine if you don’t like her but she is a person, no?”
Gary seemed to deflate. “You’re right,” he said. “Sorry.” As he began shaking the cocktail shaker, the other islanders gathered around.
“What are you making?” Lottie asked, shouting over the din of ice rattling against metal.
“Vodka cran.” Gary stopped shaking the drink. “Want one?”
Rose breathed a sigh of relief as the two began a conversation of their own, cutting her and Noah back out and into their own bubble. She leaned in close to his shoulder and waited for him to incline his ear. “You planning on doing any grafting?” She asked in a whisper, shooting a grin to let him know that she was half-teasing. At this intersection, though, she wouldn’t mind either way. There were people they both wanted to get to know better, but she also didn’t want to push Noah away if he happened to want to stay by her side.
He gave her a look. “You trying to get rid of me?”
“Not at all!” She frowned, trying to seem cool had backfired. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to stay glued to me out of obligation.”
Noah gave her knee a light squeeze. “It might be good to chat with some other people, but only if you’re okay.”
“I can take care of myself,” she assured him, and she expected him to politely reassure her again. What she didn’t expect was for him to immediately excuse himself, leaving her alone with Gary and Lottie. She hadn’t been lying when she said his grafting other girls wouldn’t bother her, but she couldn’t help but feel discarded in the moment.
“Everything alright, love?” Gary slid a pink cocktail toward her. “Where’s laddy off to?”
She took the drink and stirred it dejectedly with the tiny plastic straw he’d garnished it with before taking a sip. “Grafting.” The drink tasted much stronger than she would have liked, which is what she got for letting a crane operator bartend.
“Rose?” A warm hand landed on her shoulder, and she turned to see Bobby smiling wide at her.
She smiled back though her mind reeled, feeling a little like he’d caught her momentarily playing the role of damsel in distress. “Hi,” was all she managed to say to her knight in beachy, floral armor.
“Noah leave you all alone?” Bobby asked. “I thought better of him.”
Rose sighed, seeing no point in hiding what was obvious. “I told him he could,” she explained. “I just didn’t think he’d be so eager.”
“Well lucky for you—” He slid into the barstool Noah had left open with ease, his knees almost knocking with hers as she hadn’t had a chance to turn away. If he minded the proximity, it didn’t show. “I’m here to keep you company all you like.”
Despite her mixed emotions, Rose chuckled at Bobby’s cheerful demeanor and stayed put, allowing their legs to remain touching. “To be clear, I told him he could go.” She allowed her face to fall into a full-on dejected pout. “I chased him off.”
Bobby rolled his eyes. “Forgive me, lass,” he said. “But I overheard. He’s not supposed to actually take you up on the offer like that.”
Not in the mood to chastise her partner, even if Bobby’s words were vindicating, Rose changed the subject. “How are you feeling with Marisol?”
He tapped his nose, then pointed with his thumb in a smooth motion, indicating Marisol’s approach to their left. He stood and offered a hand. “Fancy a chat on the daybeds?”
Rose nodded, taking his hand and sliding off the barstool before Marisol could interrupt them. She called to Gary, “Thanks for the drink!”
The dismissive way in which Noah had abandoned her may have left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it did its job to make her feel significantly less guilty in her desire to entertain Bobby’s advances. She allowed him to keep his hand wrapped around hers as they walked to the daybeds, ignoring a look from Noah and carefully dodging Marisol and Hannah along the way. When he finally let go, they were seated on the edge of one of the daybeds and far enough away from the other islanders that they wouldn’t be overheard. Of course, the cameraman that followed them was an exception, but he did his best to make himself scarce.
“I feel we haven’t gotten to chat at all.” Bobby’s hand fell gently to her bare thigh, grounding Rose in the conversation and making her forget the camera operator entirely. “I wanted to ask you something, though.”
Something about Bobby’s effortlessly casual way of speaking put Rose at ease. She’d never gotten along with men like Bobby before, usually finding quiet guys like Noah to be more her type, but Bobby gave her the impression that he was concerned only with her the entire time they were speaking. So far, all of her conversations in the villa had been distracted ones — the cameras and bright lights and new beginnings making it that much harder to connect — but speaking with Bobby was completely different, the conversation felt as intimate as speaking with an old friend.
“What’s that?” Rose asked, leaning closer to him as if she could further close off the rest of the world. She cracked a smile and joked, “And don’t ask where my head is at.”
“Damn.” Bobby sucked his teeth, feigning disappointment. “That’s exactly what I was going to ask, though!”
Rose shook her head, giggling. “I think I’ve already had enough of the villa speak.”
“Same here, actually,” Bobby said. Then, “I was actually going to ask you if it was alright that I kissed you during the challenge.” His voice was matter-of-fact, conveying uncharacteristically earnest thought behind the question.
“Oh…” Rose flushed, remembering the warmth of his rough hand on her chin, tilting her face up towards the sun so that he could kiss her cheek. The gesture had been so caring and intimate in the way he’d sensed her apprehension and asked permission. She almost couldn’t believe he was asking for reassurance when he’d been so careful in the first place. “Of course it was alright.” Her voice came out stilted, overwhelmed by the memory and by his thumb tracing intrepid circles above her knee.
Bobby took his hand away and leaned back on the daybed. A flicker of something resembling self-consciousness passed across his face, so quickly that Rose thought she might have imagined it. “You’re a shy one,” he said. His voice was soft like he was trying to match her level of energy. “I don’t want to — I don’t know —” He frowned, struggling to find the words. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable if…” He trailed off.
It was a strange feeling, the ache Rose felt seeing Bobby shrink into himself. His confidence seemed to come so easily that seeing it slip — even momentarily — was jarring. She reached for his hand without a second thought, the desire to reassure him overpowering any apprehension or guilt she may feel about reaching for a man who is not her partner.
“Do you really fancy me the most?” She asked, laying her hand gently atop his. “That’s who you were supposed to kiss.”
Bobby grinned, confidence back in a burst. “I do.”
“Then I see no problem, you just followed what was written on the card.”
“Is that okay?” Bobby asked. “That I fancy you? You and Noah seem to be getting on for the most part.”
“It’s day one, yeah? I don’t think it would be wise to put all of my eggs in one basket already.” That was how she felt, but it sounded much simpler said out loud. Inwardly, her head was already beginning to be done in by trying to quantify her feelings for the two men.
Bobby turned his palm up to face hers and closed his fingers around her hand, using their linked hands to pull himself closer. In a deepened voice that made butterflies swarm in Rose’s abdomen, he asked, “Are you saying you’d like to put some eggs in my basket?”
“If you’ll have them,” Rose laughed, answering without hesitation.
“Oh, I’ll have ‘em, lassie.” His accent went gruff, emphasizing just how keen he was. It struck Rose that this felt like a far cry from the conversations she’d had with Noah so far. While Noah was committed to playing it cool and only just letting her know how he felt, Bobby seemed to lay his intentions bare. “And for the record,” he added. “I’m prepared to earn a proper kiss from you.”
“Earn?” Rose’s voice caught in her throat, only allowing the one word to pass.
“Aye. Earn.” He raised her hand to his lips and ghosted a searing kiss to her wrist. The way Bobby cycled between easy jokes and confident flirting was dizzying, but the natural magnetism he possessed allowed him to pull it off quite well.
At a loss for words, Rose smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. In opposition to the burning stare she’d felt from Noah, Bobby’s gaze betrayed obvious infatuation. She could not be sure whether it would last, but she felt comfortable, for the moment, to bask in it.
-
hiii it’s been a second, so sorry!! thank you all to everyone who has commented, reblogged, or messaged me about this fic, i’m glad you’re excited for it!! also i was gonna put a real kiss in this one but no. slow burns only. <3
/trəʊp/ a significant or recurrent theme; a motif. For Bobby month, we decided to do a little ‘trope roulette’.We each got a random trope, and had to write a fic based on it. My trope was: Medical Romance.
Brit sighed, dragging her ass out of bed, smacking the snooze button on her alarm, before grumpily having to go back and switch it off properly so it didn’t go off while she was in the shower.
Why the fuck did she agree to this fucking shit?
She pulled her hair into her shower cap, and stepped in to the shower, frowning, as she let the water run over her shoulders. She only stood there for a second, relishing how stupidly hot the water was, but not daring to turn the tap even a millimetre, because the alternative was ice cold. Fucking shitty London plumbing. She washed, and hopped out, washing her face in the sink, and brushing her teeth, before deciding whether or not to put makeup on that day.
She stared at the dark circles under her eyes. The 3am starts weren’t exactly ideal for anyone, but as someone who was physically incapable of going to bed at a responsible time… yeah, nah.
Brit decided to skip makeup. She was only going to get covered in blood, puke, and piss anyway, and have to shower again at work. No point. Some days she wondered if life would be easier if she just shaved her head, too.
She pulled on her clothes, and her super fuckin stylish nursing shoes, and pulled on about three layers and a coat. And a scarf. And gloves.
Any British people who judged her could fuck off.
—
She stopped by the convenience store next door to the hospital. No way could she be bothered spending 10 pounds on a proper breakfast when the convenience store sold protein bars and a coffee for 2.50
As she walked through the staff entrance at the rear of the hospital, her cheap-but-shit coffee in hand, she heaved a dramatic sigh.
3:55am. Great. Basically fucking late.
Brit clocked in, stuffing half her protein bar in her mouth, as she downed her already lukewarm coffee. She made her way to the locker rooms, changing into her scrubs, and made her way over to the nurse’s station for handover.
—
It seemed like hours before she had a chance to sit down, but it had probably only been half an hour. But even so, her stomach was longing for the rest of the protein bar she had in her coat pocket in the locker room.
“Brit! You’re on mornings now?”
She recognised his deep, booming voice long before she saw him.
“Hey, Johnno. I swapped with Martine for a few months so she can do that night course, remember?”
“Ahh that’s right. Hey, can you take a look at a burn for me? You got a sec?”
She shot him a look. “Yeah. What’ve you done this time?”
“Not me. One of my boys. Can’t tell you what he did, though. But it’s a sticky liquid burn.”
Brit rolled her eyes. “Fuckin’ hell. This again?”
Johnno smiled. “Yeah. But I don’t think you’ve met this one. He’s my baker. And he’s my favourite. But don’t tell him that. He’s all ego as it is, and he’ll make my life hell.”
—
Brit nodded, and followed Johnno to the room she’d stuck him in. A group of boys hung around outside the door, quietly chuckling to someone inside.
“Oh god, it’s Brittany” one of the boys whispered quietly. The boy he whispered it to sniggered quietly.
“He’s gonna be so pissed at Johnno.”
Brit saw the boy in question from the back first, leaning over the sink in the medical room. His dreads were tied back and covered in a hairnet. It was almost comical to see them straining to be free. She wondered why he bothered with his hair like that if he worked in a kitchen full time. Surely it would’ve made more sense to just keep his hair short?
“D’you put it back under the water, lad?”
“Yes,sir”
Brit shot Johnno a look as they walked in. Johnno just rolled his eyes, shaking his head. But as she walked over to inspect the damage, Brit was finally able to see the boy’s face as he turned toward her.
He was cute as fuck. She almost tripped over.
His face immediately fell upon seeing her, and a slight blush ran through his cheeks. He whipped his head around, trying to see Johnno, and kicked out his leg, aiming for Johnno’s.
“You’re a fuckin’ asshole, Johnno.”
His thick, Scottish accent made her smile.
“Just wait until you hear her talk. You’re gonna love this one, mate.”
Brit furrowed her brow. “Why, what’s wrong with how I talk?”
The boy groaned loudly as he heard her. “Johnnnnooooooooo”.
“He loooooves Australian girls.”
The other boys just laughed. The blanket rule in Johnno’s kitchen was that if they did something dumb, Johnno would take them upstairs, fetch the prettiest nurse he could find and make them tell her what they did.
It was actually pretty effective at getting them to think twice before doing stupid shit. And the nurses were well aware of it, too. Brit found it beyond flattering that Johnno often asked her to come.
She liked the Kitchen staff. For some reason, all the kitchen people just seemed to be wonderful people. They seemed to really care about the patients, too. The kitchen people were good people.
“So what’d you do?” she asked.
He sighed. “I was tryin’ to make jam.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Can the hospital not afford its own jam?” She said, judgementally.
“Aye, it can, but it’s not right for what I needed it for.”
“So you decided you could just do better? Figures.”
He furrowed his eyebrows at her, making the skin between them crinkle adorably. “How?”
“Ego-related injury. Classic Scottish move.”
The boys outside the door cracked up laughing, and he grinned at her. She shooed the others away, and Johnno directed them to promptly fuck off. She started setting up the exam table, as the boy watched her move around the room.
“I’m Bobby, by the way.”
“Brit”
“Funny name for an Aussie.”
She rolled her eyes. “Wow, did you come up with that all by yourself?” She said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. “Johnno, is he really your favourite?”
Johnno gasped, and so did Bobby. “Johnno, is that true?” He fluttered his eyelashes at Johnno, and placed his free hand over his heart. “I can’t believe you’re tellin’ everyone I’m your favourite!”
Brit shot a playful glare at Johnno, who looked at her with utter betrayal.
“Ohyeah,Johnno, I forgot to tell you. You never called Martine after she sucked your dick, so now all the nurses hate you.”
Johnno blushed, and Bobby cracked up laughing. He turned back to face her, grinning madly. “Fuck, I like you.”
“Well, I don’t like you. I don’t like people who hurt themselves doing dumb shit.”
“You picked the wrong profession, then, didn’t you?” Bobby joked, and she shot him a disapproving look.
She motioned for him to come over and sit opposite her at the exam table. He shook the excess water from his arm, and sat opposite her.
Brit took his arm, inspecting the burn while it was still wet. The water had managed to wash most of the jam away, but it was bad. It was actually a reasonably bad burn. She looked up to tell him the bad news, but basically froze as she saw him up close for the first time.
She was completely taken aback by how fucking handsome he was. His face was dusted with freckles, almost like God had thrown some tiny chocolate sprinkles on the best-looking boy he’d ever made, just because he could. Just… absolutely salt bae’d the shit out of him. Old meme. But whatever. It was the best description she could come up with.
The freckles gave him an effortlessly boyish look that perfectly suited the dreads. If he’d had a clean haircut, he’d have looked too boyish. But even with his hairnet on, she could tell the dreads would grow him up a bit. But she wasn’t about to start looking at his hair. Because she was completely, absolutely, and one-hundred-per cent fucking floored by his eyes. His eyes were like gold. She’d never seen eyes like his before. They were such a light brown that they looked like they were made of honey. Or caramel. Or…Amber.Amber was the perfect word for them.
“Woah.” she whispered.
“I could say the same about you, lass” he whispered, flirtily.
She shot him a disapproving look. “I was talking about your burn, idiot.”
She looked down, beginning to clean it off, working quickly as Bobby continued to blatantly hit on her.
“You may not want to be callin’ me an idiot. It only makes me want to impress you more.”
Johnno chuckled. “Bobby, this is meant to be a punishment. Not an opportunity to flirt.”
Bobby’s smile dazzled her up close. “Well, gosh, Johnno, gettin’ me this close to a nurse this pretty? Gettin’ to look into Brit’s beautiful eyes? You can punish me whenever you want, mate. In fact, I might start doin’ dumb shit on purpose.”
He rested his chin on his other hand, grinning at her, biting his lip.
Brit rolled her eyes, “I swear, sometimes you boys forget you’re wearing hairnets.”
Johnno cracked up at the way she shut him down, and she tried not to smile as Bobby immediately reached up and pulled it off, grinning at her.
His dreads came tumbling out of it, falling mostly to one side, almost flawlessly into position.
Oh god, she was in trouble.
He. was. fucking. gorgeous.
She almost groaned at how fucking gorgeous he was. There was a cockiness about him that screamed fuckboy at her… meaning he was precisely her type.
“Better?” he grinned.
“Much worse.” She said, incapable of thinking of a comeback.
She finished cleaning the burn, and took out some dressings.
She pointed at his arm. “This is bad. Like, actually bad. It’ll probably scar. You need to change the dressing every day. And I’m only showing you how to do it once, so pay attention.”
She showed him how to dress it, and he seemed to be paying close enough attention. She handed him the supplies he’d need for the next few days.
“Come by in a couple of days and I’ll check it. I’ll drop some more gauze off at the kitchen on my way home”
Bobby smiled at her. “It’s a date. Thanks, Pretty Britty”
She scoffed, her mouth falling open slightly at the cheeky nickname. He winked at her, and as he got up, the intoxicating scent of fresh bread and cinnamon filled the room. It must’ve been trapped in his dreads. It almost made her drool.She’d have to go and get her protein bar afterwards. Her stomach growled loudly, and Bobby and Johnno shot her a look.
She shook her head, laughing. “Shut up. I had half a protein bar for breakfast.”
She waved them off, and they made their way to the lifts. She watched them as they walked away, and Bobby turned to look at her a few times.
Brit rolled her eyes, and went back to work.
—
Not even an hour later, Brit’s stomach was rumbling again. The other half of her protein bar hadn’t even scratched the surface of her hunger. She’d have to take her break early. Maybe she could get one of the other nurses to…
“Brit to the nurses station please, Brit, station”
The intercom interrupted her thoughts, and she groaned. She walked briskly over, and as she rounded the corner. The other nurses watched excitedly as she approached with suspicion. Her friend and work-mum, Janet, eyed her as she approached.
“What?” she asked, as Janet handed her one of the closed food carriers from the kitchen downstairs. She opened it, and furrowed her brow.
“It’s a danish?”
“Read the note, babe.”
Not going to let a pretty girl go hungry, even if she’s mean to me.
Oh, fuck off, he didn’t.
Brit’s stomach exploded with butterflies. Fucking hell. This was… wow.
This boy had balls.
Janet gasped. “Oh my god, Brit’s blushing. I never thought I’d see the day!”
The other nurses squealed, cracking up slightly as Brit hid her face behind the box.
“He brought me breakfast!Who fucking does that?”
She looked down at the danish, and for one-billionth of a millisecond, considered not eating it, just to spite him. She immediately picked it up and bit into it.
Oh fuck.
She wasn’t sure if it was just because she was starving, or because he was god’s gift to pastry, but it was absolutely fucking delicious. The jam in the middle especially. Holy shit. She wondered if this was the jam he burnt himself making. It wasn’t a regular type of jam. It was… guava? Guava jam? What a wild concept she thought. But it fucking worked.
She groaned loudly, talking with her mouth full. “Ohhh fuk, iz reahry good” and the nurses giggled.
Brit quickly finished it, feeling the energy almost immediately returning to her body as the sugar hit her stomach, as Janet picked up the note and turned it over.
“Oh my god, Brit, it’s got his number on it”
She blushed again, covering her face, as she took the note, as the others excitedly showered her with questions. They really should have been getting back to work, but holy shit. Bobby was bold.
Brit suddenly became acutely aware of the clatter of trolleys around her. Oh god, they’re serving breakfast. She wondered if he’d come up again. Fuck. Fuck.Did she want him to?
Was she nervous?
She saw one of the ladies she didknow from the kitchen, and called her over. “Hey, Marcie, what kind of jam is that? On the danishes?”
Marcie grinned at her. “There are no danishes on the menu today, love. He made that one for you specially. I think he’s already plannin’ your wedding”
Brit groaned, as the other nurses cracked up laughing.
Marcie paused for a second. “You should ask him about the jam, though. The motivation’s almost as sweet as the jam.”
She nodded to behind Brit, and she turned. Bobby was standing behind her, eyes sparkling like the golden colour they were.
“I mean, I don’t know, the jam’s pretty sweet”
The nurses snickered, as Brit blushed again. “Was it guava?”
He looked surprised. “Aye, well picked! Didn’t expect you to get it”
She fell into step with him, planning on checking blood pressure as he dropped off food.
“So what’s the story with the jam, then?”
“Ahhh, patience, Pretty Britty. All in due time. You’ll just have to walk with me.”
They bantered back and forth, Brit checking on patients as Bobby dropped off their breakfast. All of the patients seemed to brighten as they went around the ward, as he cracked jokes and told them how beautiful they all looked. But as they came to the last room, she noticed he had two trays left.
He dropped off the last one, and then stopped at the lift.
“So. The jam. You actually want the story?”
She nodded.
“You gotta come with me and play along, then.”
She smiled. “Go on then. Colour me curious.”
He smiled, as the lift arrived to take them to their destination.
He reached in, pressing the button.
Hospice.
Brit’s face fell a little, as Bobby left the trolley near the service lift for later retrieval. He walked her down a long hall, and nodded to the nurses at the station there, who nodded him on. He knocked gently on a door at the end of the hall, and swung it open as a voice invited him in.
“Abigay, how are you, you beautiful creature?
“Is that Bobby? Me alright, boy.” Her soft Jamaican accent was beautiful, and seemed to pull Brit further into the room. Abigay must have been nearing a hundred, a beautiful coloured scarf wrapped around her head.
But Brit could tell from the way she was staring that Abigay’s eyesight had long since left her, and the tiredness in her voice signed that her final days wouldn’t be long behind.
“A pretty girl, for one. I’ve brought one of the nurses from downstairs up with me. She’s very pretty. Almost as pretty as you, Abi. Her name’s Brit.”
“Ahhh, me take your word for it. You finally found yourself a nice girlfriend?”
“Aye, she will be, she just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Hi Abigay. It’s lovely to meet you.” Brit smiled, making Abigay chuckled softly.
“Likewise, girl. But Bobby, you haven’t brought just a pretty girl for me to not be able to see. What is that delicious smell?”
Bobby chuckled, as he lifted the tray onto the table near her bed. He opened it, and the wafting scent of guava filled the room. Abigay breathed deeply, as Bobby started to cut up some toast.
Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh Bobby, you ‘ave not gone and done it.”
“Aye, Abi, I have. Burnt myself up good doin’ it, too. I’ve been making jam for near ten years and never once burnt myself, I make one batch for you, and I have to get patched up by the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. I don’t know what you did, but this is your doin’, I’m sure of it.”
Abigay chuckled, as Bobby took her hand, gently placing a small piece of toast with guava jam on it. She brought it to her mouth, and tasted it, and the tears that had welled up in her eyes immediately spilled. She pushed the tray away, holding her arms out to him, and pulling him into a hug.
“It tastes just like home, boy. Exactly like home.”
Brit felt the tears start dripping down her own face as she covered her mouth.
“Oh Abi, listen, you’ve made her cry” Bobby laughed.
Abi waved him off. “Gwaan, I can manage this part on me own.”
Bobby nodded Brit toward the door, and she sniffled loudly.
Who the fuck was this guy?
As he closed the door behind him, he turned to her, smiling. “Thanks for that. She’s been buggin’ me to find a nice girl for months. And she’s not got long. So I thought I’d make her day.”
“Is she a relative?”
He shook his head. “She hasn’t got anyone in the UK. Could never afford to move back to Jamaica either.”
Brit waited for him to keep talking.
“I’m half Jamaican. Didn’t spend heaps of time there, but when I did, I was learnin’ to cook. And me and Abi have struck up a friendship, of sorts, over the months. And she’s been goin’ on about this specific jam she used to have back home. So I made it for her.”
Brit was just completely speechless. “Why are you showing me this?”
He shrugged. “Abi told me to just spread some good in the world, and see what sticks. Tried to do somethin’ nice for her, and it directly led me to meetin’ you. Felt like a sign.”
“Plus, you made two pretty decent jam puns there. Spread? Sticks?”
Bobby turned to look at her, his amber eyes absolutely sparkling, as he grinned at her. “Aye, so I did.”
They got back in the lift, and as the doors opened for her floor, he smiled at her again. She stepped out without a word, but smiled back, tucking her hair behind her ear.
—
It was almost exactly three minutes later when she decided she wanted to see him again. She picked up some extra gauze and bandages for his burn, and walked to the service lift, immediately pressing the button for the main kitchen.
She walked with purpose through the halls, down to where she knew Johnno usually worked with his team.
And as soon as she walked in, she saw him.
But boy, did he look surprised to see her.
She smiled at him, holding up the gauze she’d brought with her, as the boys in the kitchen ooooooooooed at the fact she’d come to see him.
Brit walked straight up to Bobby, handing him the gauze.
“I told you I’d bring these down… but now I’m thinking… given that your burn’s on your arm, it’s probably going to be easier to have someone do it for you.”
“I was thinkin’ that, yeah” he chuckled.
“Well, then, I guess that means you’ll be seeing me every morning for the next ten days then. I’ll do it for you.”
He grinned at her, the sparkle in his eyes returning once again.
“You’re just doing this so I keep making you breakfast danishes.”
“Nah, you don’t have to bring me breakfast.”
“Oh, and what if I wantto?”
“Well, then, you can make it at my place before we leave”
She stood up on her tiptoes, planted a quick kiss on his lips, and turned and walked out, as the boys hooted like idiots and jumped around him. She gave Johnno the finger as she did. And glanced quickly back over her shoulder at Bobby, who was surrounded by hollering men, but looked like he’d just been struck by lightning.
These 3 am wakeups were going to be alotmore fun, now.
To move things forward I had to find an ending to the current situation Carl and Fabienne are in… Chapter 16 will have a time-skip… but I still need to figure out where to head in the general direction. Until then… a small filler chapter:
It’s 10 minutes to midnight… I have to get up at 5am tomorrow to go to work. But I am still not tired (the pains of a VERY LAZY Sunday…)
So… I did what I haven’t done in a long time. Finish a picture in one go. Here are Fabienne and Carl - a kind of cover for my “Physics of Love” (Love Island the Game) fanfic - there are currently 5 chapters available on AO3 (*shamelessly promotes herself*).
I enjoyed working on these two a lot - otherwise I wouldn’t have finished it within 5 hours… my hand hurts now, too… I know why I normally work slower… but I had to indulge and I don’t regret anything.
Shameless self reblog… while me getting Covid put posting new chapters on a little hiatus I am still slowly working on the next chapter… I am also trying to figure out what to actually do with the story because I have no real plan… Hmm…
This was a test sketch… and yes, I can still draw despite Covid… but also yes… it is exhausting somehow. My concentration is not as good as it normally is …
It’s a random sketch of Carl and Fabienne. Nothing fancy. And since I won’t do anything with it I am sharing this here as well. Normally sketches are Patreon exclusive… but this sketch won’t turn into a “finished” picture anyway. There is too much about the sketch I don’t like personally… the characters don’t resemble themselves and ugh… anatomy.
(This is no upcoming scene for the “Physics of Love” fanfic! The two will need to figure a lot of things out before they even attempt to kiss…)
“Someone once said, ‘You can’t hurry love’, Anyway, I’m pretty sure they must have been an amazing baker. It takes time and the right ingredients to craft the perfect pastry. The same goes for finding someone special. When I do find her, she’ll always have a fresh pastry in her hand and a smile on her face.”
A piece I made for @becangle, also Bobby in a suit is
“Do you think you can really trust him? He might just be taking advantage of your situation to stay in the game. He practically oozes calculating fuckboi.”
There’s nothing like a summer romance. Or that’s what our Islanders thought when they signed up for Season 2 of Love Island. Mirrored Hearts follows an original cast consisting of: Este, Milly, Sky, Venus, and Zane, along with many other characters (new and old) in their search for love… or money. Will they survive the Villa or will they go home empty-handed?
We’ve had our first dumping since the brutal exit of the polarizing Clarice Figg. Today, we have a special guest whose time in the villa was unfortunately cut short by his other islanders. Offline, he’s been affectionately given the title of the villa’s “Golden Retriever”: it’s Henrik Åkerblom! Let’s see if he’s just as chipper now as he was when he first entered.
Unfortunately, your stay in the Villa was a short one. What are you going to miss the most? Would you say something changed for you?
[chuckles] Yeah, everyone keeps reminding me. I’m going to miss the people the most. Waking up to your friends and spending the entire day with them? You don’t really get that uninterrupted bonding time anywhere else in the world. And I don’t think anything’s changed for me, really. I’m still going to live without regrets and take things as they come. I’m nothing if not optimistic about the future [grins brightly].
Who will you meet up with after the show?
Lucas, without a doubt. We bonded immediately and we’ve already got trips planned out. Plus, I really got used to sharing a bed with him [smirks]! And I’m glad to have gotten voted off with Rocco because I knew from the start that we would get on really well. We’ve been spending a lot of time together since the dumping. A couple of crazy nights so far… that’ll have to be kept private for now [winks]. Venus and Bobby would be another one. They’re such an infectious bunch, and I can’t wait to catch up. Maybe without Rocco present though. Este, of course. I… don’t know how she’ll be leaving that villa, whether it’s with someone or not, but she’s not someone I imagine losing touch outside of all this. I just hope she feels the same.
Any idea who put you up for elimination? Or why you might have been voted for?
Here I thought the questions would be light! I mean, I’m not one to be fussed with the votes. Someone had to go home, and I refuse to blame the girls for making choices they didn’t ask to make. Maybe I’ll watch it back and see Este be the one voting me off? [wiggles eyebrows] You all would love that, wouldn’t you? Honestly, I think I might like her even more if she did [laughs].
Which of the current couples do you think are strong enough to make it to the finale?
Is there anyone solid at this point besides Levi and Milly? [pauses] No, I swear that wasn’t a slight at Este and Gary! But, if there’s a couple I’d like to see in the end… I mean, of course I’m rooting for my brother, Lucas. He’s had someone very special on his mind lately, and I’m hoping she starts to view him the same way.
What’s your favorite moment from your experience in the villa?
I—yeah, there’s a moment that sticks out in particular. [smirks to himself knowingly] I know what everyone is thinking, but I was going to say Mr. Love Island! Getting ready was a lot more fun than I thought it would be! You think RuPaul will have me as a guest in the next season? I’ll only go if Este does. She’s my drag mom, after all!
All eyes were suddenly on her. Nervously, she looked up at Noah first—as she felt him tense up by her side—before turning to face Levi. They both looked stressed, as expected, and she heard someone scoff like they couldn’t believe it. There was no need to look however, she knew who it was. She cautiously glanced over towards Milly, and all that met her was utter annoyance and anger.
There’s nothing like a summer romance. Or that’s what our Islanders thought when they signed up for Season 2 of Love Island. Mirrored Hearts follows an original cast consisting of: Este, Milly, Sky, Venus, and Zane, along with many other characters (new and old) in their search for love… or money. Will they survive the Villa or will they go home empty-handed?
She wears strength and darkness equally well, the girl has always been half goddess, half hell.
- Nikita Gill
Thank you so much to my dear and talented @nerdferatum for this amazing piece and for your infinite patience, you’re a star. You captured my vision of a more whimsical Sky perfectly and the nod to the Mirrored Hearts colour palette is such a special touch since it’s the first fic where my beloved OC has been featured (but hopefully not the last).
Ibrahim’s hopes and dreams of finding connection inside the Love Island villa seem more attainable than ever when his breath is taken away by a beautiful girl, but he quickly learns that time is of the essence when competing for love.
Hi ! I wrote a short songish poem about returning Lurik dumping MC after the show. ( The route where u cheat on ur LI to get together with returning Lurik)
This is the first time I’m writing something like this so uh, i hope y'all like it
Fake Lover - Lurik
Remember when we danced through the night,
So calm, so carefree,
Never letting go, holding on so tight,
Looked into your hazel eyes and knew we were meant to be.
We asked Venus about the intense turns of events this season of Love Island has offered in the last couple of days. Let’s see if she is still the sweet and naive girl we met on day one or if she has some hidden depth that we still need to discovered.
You and Bobby seem to be stuck in a friendship couple. Do you think there could be more there, or are you ready to move on to someone else to try to find love?
I wouldn’t say ‘stuck’. It’s a decision we both made. I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn’t couple up with anyone just to try my luck. That’s why I know kissing Rocco was a mistake. And Bobby forgave me! At this point, something very big would need to happen for us to reconsider our friendship couple, since no one here caught our attention for us to have that talk. I’m very comfortable with him and I hope he feels the same way.
Considering that other people kissed too during the challenge, do you think the reaction to #roccogate was a little exaggerated?
I don’t think the reaction to #roccogate was exaggerated. Our kiss was very different from the others, we went behind our partners’ backs and got… A bit carried away. Feelings are feelings after all, if Sky reacted the way she did was because we hurt her.
What do you think of the other girls so far? Who do you think of as the strongest competition?
Obviously, you can’t connect with everyone in the same way, but I’ve made some good friends so far. I think we are all trying to figure out how to play the game while still being true to ourselves, but thruthfully I don’t even think I am in the competition [laughs]. Milly and Levi seem very smitten with each other, a bit excessive for me, but some couples are like that, right?
A cheeky viewer is asking for a friend, is Rocco really that good of a kisser?
[Laughs and blushes] Oh, those cheeky viewers! Well, I can’t lie, so I will tell you a secret: Rocco has good things going for him!
the other MH writers and I were talking about this, so I had to make some edits. So here you all have it, some of the litg s2 islanders at this year’s MET gala!
We’ve heard Sky and Bobby’s take on our very first summer scandal, #roccogate, but there are always two sides to each story and we can wait to find out what their partners have to say. We’ve here with us the Villa go-with-the-flow, nothing-dims-my-aura Casanova, Rocco.
Have you ever gone through something similar to #roccogate outside the villa? Did it go different in any way?
No, I’ve never experienced anything similar on the outside… although… oh yeah, there was that one time in Dubrovnik when I was supposed to be a wingman for a friend but the girl he liked ended up going home with me instead. Of course my friend was pissed — he’d been trying to go on a date with her for a while — but it’s not my fault if she couldn’t resist my charms [winks].
Do you think #roccogate would still have happened while coupled up with someone else?
It’s hard to tell to be honest because what happened with Venus wasn’t planned. But when your partner is asked to go on a date by two new guys your confidence get shaken a little, the changes of her head to be turn are much higher. I took my chat with Venus—during the welcome party—as a sign from the universe to explore my option, that maybe things with Sky weren’t meant to be.
You don’t seem like the type of person to regret things, but has #roccogate changed that?
Yes and no. I don’t regret the kiss—there’s nothing wrong in kissing a beautiful woman if there’s a spark there and you both want it. But I regret hurting Sky, her reaction made me realize that she did care about us as a couple, I thought she didn’t. I should have been more upfront with her about wanting to get to know other people.
If you get to stay in the Villa, will you want to change anything about how you play the game?
Uhm… not really. I’ve been me this whole time and I did what my heart and soul told me to do. And I’ll continue to listen to my inner self despite people judging me for being an unconventional man and playing the game.
Finally getting what feels like their happily ever after, it’s time for Noah and Inès to settle back into real life. All while also looking back at the events that happened in the villa, reliving the events as they happen on screen – both good and bad – while also moving on, together.
it’s taken me so long, but I’ve finally started updating my first ever fic and dear trash baby: the triumph of time. It’s still not a piece of art, but I’m definitely happier with the writing now. For everyone unfamiliar, it’s a Noah x MC fic that covers both the their post-villa and villa life in alternating chapters, and was originally written in early 2020
Brilliant analysis Aly and it actually makes a lot of sense for him. I had him as a ENTJ, but you know a lot more about the MBTI than I do and this stuff is often very confusing to me
lucas looks like a hugh hefner train wreck and priya is serving in thigh highs (step on me) and bobby’s tights are doing it for me for sure
all of the outfits are fun (albeit weird) but like. im having so much fun playing this and i haven’t had the urge to play litg in months so… I love it! idc! im content
![[a place of random art and rambling]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/ef5d94d402da43c68657661d22c807f8/43ad92460e874659-24/s30x30u_c1/15c6fadb650d221479dbb0fb6ced67b2d5b28f76.jpg){kind=small}
