Last Girl Standing

Folding her legs in front of her, Jenna slouched back into the sofa, attempting to make herself comfortable. The dates had been going on for over two hours, and all of the girls left behind were getting anxious.

A few of them were trying to keep busy by taking shots, but Jenna wanted to make sure she was focused when the boys got back. She had to know how Liam’s date went.

After the challenge that morning, Jenna’s connection to Liam felt even stronger. It wasn’t the fact that his lips had made contact with her soft skin; it was the way he looked at her and the smile gave her when he did it. She couldn’t help but feel that he was thinking the same things she was. He’d even looked disappointed when Niall hadn’t assigned her to be his date, but not quite as disappointed as she was.

The laughing of the girls in the other room was the only sound flowing through the house. Even though another girl sat on the sofa opposite Jenna, neither one of them spoke. It was clear that Megan was desperately waiting for one of the boys to get back, just like she was.

Jenna’s eyes flicked up, meeting Megan’s for a moment, and they shared in the desperation that the other one felt. The worst thing about the Love Games house was idly waiting while the boy that you were falling for was with another girl. Megan knew that pain the same way Jenna did, and the poor girl’s eyes showed it.

Feigning a smile, Jenna kept her eyes up. “Waiting for someone?”

The girl nodded, as she bit her lip. “You too?”

Jenna’s sympathetic smile matched the girl’s, as she flicked her head up and down. She wondered if Megan was the only other of the leftovers who had become attached to one of the boys. The rest of the girls didn’t seem too settled on any one of them, but Megan did. Jenna knew for a fact that the blonde girl only had eyes for Louis, just as she only had eyes for Liam.

“Maybe their dates went terribly,” Jenna said, forcing out a small laugh.

Megan shook her head. “I don’t think I’m that lucky.” The girl let out a laugh, which showed even more of her doubt, before continuing. “Everyone’s got a role in the house. Harry is the sweet one. That’s pretty obvious. I mean, look at the way he is with Sadie.” Jenna nodded her head, matching Megan’s laugh. “Zayn’s the bad boy and girls just flock to him. Liam is the deep one, who is always off doing God knows what. Niall is the shy one, but somehow he still manages to have girls wrapped around his finger.” Megan let out a deep sigh, moving her gaze to the floor. “And then there’s Louis. He’s the promiscuous one. He can’t settle just one girl and changes favorites every day. One night he’ll sleep in my bed, and he’ll be with Kelsie the next. I just –"

The girl didn’t finish her sentence – she couldn’t – because the boys walked in before she could. Harry held Sadie in his arms, carrying her through the door as if she was too weak to do it herself. She laughed the whole time, her smile just as wide as his. He dropped her slowly to the floor, while still keeping one hand wrapped around her waist, which he used to pull her closer to him.

Jenna’s eyes flicked between each of the boys, hoping to catch sight of Liam. It took a moment, but he was the last one through the door. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief when she found that his hand wasn’t wrapped around his date’s. Instead, they were an arms distance apart, not looking overly happy, but not looking pissed off either. Jenna took it as a good sign.

Unlike the girls in the other room, Jenna refrained from jumping at the boys’ sides. Four happily drunk girls pranced into the room, attempting to pull the boys away from their dates as quickly as they could. It was clear that they didn’t care which of the boys they attached themselves to, just as long as there was one.

Kelsie jumped up and down, clutching onto Louis’s arm, as she and the other girls pulled the boys into the kitchen. Jenna heard one of them remark something about a ‘drinking game’ and sighed to herself. It was going to be one of those nights, and it was going to make keeping Liam away from the other girls even harder.

Luckily, Liam didn’t seem to be overly excited about following the girls and took slow steps, as Aurora drunkenly tugged him into the room. Jenna made a mental note to slit her throat later. It had to be done.

Even though Harry’s arm was still wrapped tightly around Sadie’s waist, Rachel attempted to coax him into the kitchen. The girl clearly had no boundaries. Harry barely even acknowledged her, even when she batted her eyelashes at him. Instead Harry gave her a simple shake of his head, before pulling Sadie into the billiards room, which was far enough away from the drinking game to not have to participate in it, but still close enough that you could hear any ruckus going on.

At that moment, Jenna would’ve given anything to be like Sadie. She and Harry were the happy ones. They weren’t fighting or playing any games. They were just together.

Jenna wished more than anything that she and Liam could be like that – that they could have that same happy relationship – but that wasn’t the case.

Sadie didn’t have to worry about another girl stealing Harry, because Harry was all hers. He had practically fallen into her lap with very little effort on her part. Whether or not the two were in love was not a question Jenna could answer, but it sure looked like they were. And Jenna would give anything to have that.

Jenna and Megan stayed seating, neither of them sure what to do. They hadn’t been in on the other girls’ plan, and were just as confused as the girls that had been taken on the dates.

Each of the girls who had been lucky enough to go the bonfire were still standing in the doorway, unsure about whether or not they should go join in on the game. The boys didn’t appear to be interested in the drinking, but with a challenge coming up, not being around them was risky.

Every moment counted because you could never know whether or not it would be the moment one of the boys was swept of their feet. It had happened so quickly with Harry that no one was sure how soon another boy would fall for one of the girls.

One thing was certain, Jenna was going to make sure that the only falling Liam did was for her.