Last Girl Standing

It was late when there was a knock on the door. The clock neared nine o’clock, which wasn’t particularly late, nor particularly early. October was already in bed, curled up in a tight ball. She was still sore from the first elimination in which the panel of five boys had each taken their stabs at her.

It wasn’t that October hadn’t wanted to be at the competition, it’s that she thought she didn’t stand a chance. All of those girls were beautiful and athletic, and while she wasn’t ugly, she knew she didn’t compare to the other girls. They all had a similar classic beauty, beauty that everyone loved. October knew she wasn’t anyones’ first choice of girl.

She’d be the last girl to be picked or she’d be sent home.

She only wanted to find love since San Francisco was the city which had spurned her and turned her away. Her previous relationships ended in disgust in the male entity and only resulted in pain and horror on October’s part.

October’s eyes closed slowly as sleep fell upon her. It wasn’t until October was mostly asleep that the door was knocked upon and she was roused from her sleep. She sat up, let out a curse, and pulled a sweatshirt on that said, ‘San Francisco University’ across the front before she stepped out of bed and walked down the stairs

Being met with the screams of the girls, the door opened and revealed the Alpha and one of the boys, Zayn.

October bit her lip and frowned, staring at the ground. He was the one she wanted. He was the one she had her eye on from the start and it was Zayn who had hated her the most. She had completely lost her chance at being with him when she had spoken so rudely to Niall, the sweet and innocent boy that October had snapped at at the elimination the first time.

Harry smiled and hugged some of the girls, kissing one or two on the cheek. “Alright, settle down, ladies. I’m here on official game business, alright?”

Two of the girls took hold of his hands and led him into the living room, nestling against him when they all sat on the couch. October remained standing in the corner of the room, leaning her back against the wall with her arms crossed. “So, as Alpha for the second time, it seems that instead of having an advantage in the next challenge, I’ve been given something else.”

“Ooh, what is it Harry?” Jenna smiled sweetly, perching on his knee like a slag.

October rolled her eyes as Harry continued. “I’ve been given an opportunity to go on a date with one of you. We’ll be watching a film and having dinner as well so it’ll be a very nice date. Though, I’ve been given the choice to take the date for myself or give it to someone else. I’ve decided to give the date to Zayn. He’ll be choosing which girl he wants to be with tonight and then she’ll return in the morning.”

Some of the girls cooed and raised their eyebrows at the implications of the phrase, ‘return in the morning.’

October rolled her eyes yet again and sighed. There was no way she’d be chosen for this date after she had so offended Zayn and the other boys, save for Liam and Louis and Harry. Another frown appeared on her lips as Zayn began to speak. “It wasn’t easy deciding who I would take on this date, but I’d been thinking about which girl stood out to me and which girl caught my attention. I thought about it for a while, but I think in the end, the girl chosen is the girl who I feel is most similar to me. And that girl is October.”

Her heart stopped.

She’d been chosen for the movie and dinner date, something she thought she was totally last choice on. Zayn stepped forward and held out his hand towards her. She took it hesitantly, noticing the hateful and malicious glares from the other girls.

October was the underdog in every definition of the word. She was quiet but aggressive in certain aspects of the game, but above all, she was closed off from everyone. October took his hand and saw the tattoos on his forearms. That was the similarity he was talking about.

He led her through the house, the courtyard to a large section of the island where the boys all stayed. They entered in and she was greeted by all of them, except Niall. Louis hugged her tightly and Liam kissed her cheek. But Niall was nowhere in sight. Her heart fell a little bit and she knew even more that there was nothing for her in the house.

With one boy against her, all of them would follow and she would be the next to be eliminated. Zayn led her through the kitchen, grabbing some drinks in the mean time. “So, what film should we watch? We have The Avengers, Lord of the Rings, and Gladiator. You can pick.”

October sat down on the love seat couch. “Why did you pick me? Out of all the girls, why did you pick me? I’ve pretty much shot myself in the foot because of how I acted with Niall.”

Zayn shrugged and handed her a beer. “Because I wanted to give you a chance. Yeah, you hurt Niall’s feelings, but he’s a bit sensitive and I think you ought to have a fair chance like all the other girls in this house. If you’re sorry then I’m sure that Niall will forgive you.”

Sighing, October settled further into the couch. “I just didn’t think that he or anyone else had a right to know my past. My past is mine and I didn’t really want to share it with anyone else. I’m sorry if I offended you or any of the others.”

“It’s fine, it really is. I understand that there are certain things that you would like to keep under wraps during something odd like this.” Zayn moved to sit beside her. “So, what film do you want to watch?”

“I don’t care,” she answered quietly. “Do you think I’ve ruined my chances with all of you? Because if I have, I think I should just go home right now. I don’t want to waste my time or any of yours.”

Zayn turned to face her, lifting her chin to look at him. “I don’t think you’ve completely ruined her chances. I know some of the boys are interested. I’m one of them.”

October cast her eyes away but opened them wide again when Zayn pressed his lips to hers softly. She sat frozen.

The feeling was wrong. No spark, no attraction, nothing.

In that moment, October knew that the attraction she felt towards Zayn was not warranted. She should have felt something when he kissed her, but there was nothing. She no longer felt the attraction between herself and Zayn.

As he pulled away he shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” October whispered.

“I thought maybe...”

“Me too.” October laughed. “I guess not though, yeah?”

Zayn laughed too. “Well, I guess we should start the film. I’m going to stick one in and we’re going to watch it. That’s all there is to it, alright?”

October nodded. “Alright.”

He popped in the disc into the player and the opening credits The Avengers rolled across the screen. He settled down beside her and lifted an arm over the top of the couch. “So who did you have an eye on?”

She rolled her eyes. “You, but since our kiss was awkward and wrong, I’m not sure. I think that they all dislike me after I treated Niall the way I did.”

“They don’t dislike you,” Zayn started. October glared at him sideways and rolled her eyes again. “They just don’t like that you’re so defensive. I think if you were to open up to them, they’d be able to see that you’re not this hard person with a cold exterior.”

“I don’t want to open up though,” October objected.

He smiled sympathetically. “Then you won’t find love.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if you don’t open up, you can trust. And if you can’t trust, there’s no relationship to speak of.”

She nodded hesitantly. “I don’t know how to open up and I don’t know how to trust.”

“You have tattoos, that’s opening up.”

October rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

He turned to her further. “So, what made you put up all those walls to begin with? What makes you so defensive and so difficult?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

He smiled. “You’ve got to talk about ti win my favor, October. I’m your ticket to getting on someone’s good side. I’m he only one of the boys who is willing to get to know you so that you can have a chance.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked quietly.

Zayn shrugged and rolled his shoulders. “Because I think that there’s someone here who fancies you. I think there’s someone here who wants to get to know you and see what you’re all about.”

“Who’s that?”

Zayn smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously. “I can’t tell you. That’s his job.”

“A mystery?”

Zayn nodded. “Yeah, a mystery. So are you going to tell me why you’re the way you are?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

October shrugged. “Because I’m not ready yet. When I’m ready, I’ll tell you. It’ll be my mystery that you need to solve. That way it’s not a one sided friendship. You’ll have the knowledge and I’ll have whichever boy fancies me.”

They shook hands in agreement before Zayn raised an eyebrow. “You’re beautiful, you know that? I think you’re one of the most beautiful girls here and I think you should know that.”

“Thank you,” October said quietly. “Thank you very much, Zayn. And I’m really sorry about the way I acted. It wasn’t right at all and I hope you can forgive me.”

“I forgive you, October. Friends?”

She nodded. “Friends.”