Last Girl Standing

Abelia’s hands were shaking as the ten of them stood out on the front lawn, waiting for whatever this first elimination challenge would be. But she felt a soft, secure hand wrap around her own and looked up to see Zayn’s warm eyes. He pulled her into his arms, resting his head on top of hers as they waited for Tanisha to appear.

Ever since the two had made love for the first time the other night, she was even more terrified of being kicked off. Even though Zayn promised he was never going to leave her, she knew that they wouldn’t be able to have time like this outside the house. He would be off on tours, leaving her behind for months at a time. And when Natalie, Zayn’s ex, had confessed that was what had caused their split, it only made Abelia that much more nervous.

He saw how terrified she was, and simply tried to hold her tighter in his arms, reassuring her that he’d never let her go as Tanisha finally appeared. She was smiling, as usual, as she greeted everyone.

“Good morning boys and girls!” She said, her voice full of pep as it always was. “And congratulations on making it to the last part of the competition.” She smiled again and Abelia was glad she and Zayn weren’t the only nervous couple as she gripped his arms. “Now you can’t have a relationship without trust, so that is what your first challenge as couples will be all about!”

Abelia let out a small sigh, figuring they might have to play twenty questions or something, but as Tanisha informed them all to go get into the cars she felt her stomach drop. She looked up at Zayn and saw he was just as nervous. As they sat down in one of the Jeeps, being escorted by a driver, Abelia just looked at him. “Are you alright?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He said simply, pulling her into another tight hug. “I just don’t want us to lose is all.” His eyes then met hers, making her heart skip a beat. “You trust me, right?”

“Of course.” She promised, smiling at him. “And you trust me?”

“You know I do.” He said, smiling. Both of them felt a lot better as she snuggled into his chest as he rested his chin on the top of her head. “I think we’ll be just fine.” He whispered, running his fingers through her hair.

Finally they pulled up to a large stretch of land as two massive poles stood on either side, going at least forty feet into the air. Abelia hadn’t remembered seeing it in their time at the house and wondered how it was built so quickly, but also so discreetly. Four wires hung between the poles, and even with as high up as they were, Abelia could see the harnesses.

She saw the terror on Zayn’s face and swallowed nervously. “Zayn?” She said simply, setting a hand on his arm.

“Buggar.” He muttered, his eyes glued to the wires. Abelia felt her heart start hammering as she remembered her one question she’d gotten wrong to Natalie during the exes challenge; Zayn was terrified of heights. She simply gripped his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Couples!” Tanisha said, grinning at them. “Today to test the trust you have for your partner, we have set up a challenge for each one of the boys, which caters to their worst fears.” She saw the panic on Zayn’s face and pressed her lips together. “I see Zayn has found his and Liam’s.”

Abelia heard Liam chuckle nervously as he looked at the massive structure, his skin turning white. “Now.” Tanisha continued. “You boys will have to trust that your partner will be able to get you through your challenge, whatever it may be. The couple who does not complete their challenge will go home, and if more than one doesn’t complete it, there will be a tie breaker of the girl’s works fears.” Abelia felt her blood run cold at the thought of spiders, and knew that she had to help Zayn complete their challenge. “We chose the order randomly before you got here, and first up is Niall and October.”

Everyone looked at the pair as October took his hand, smiling reassuringly as they made their way over to a tunnel that looked far too small for the blonde boy to get through. She saw his hands shaking as Tanisha explained that he had to crawl through the tight space, which was really a maze, for nearly a quarter of a mile. October would have a map with the way out, and Niall had to trust her directions to escape.

He took a deep breath, his hands still shaking as he and October started. Abelia felt terrible for her friend, and hoped that he would be alright. Finally, after about half an hour, Niall made it through, shuddering as he pulled October into his arms. Tanisha smiled, congratulating the two, as she informed Harry and Sadie that they were next.

Harry was going to be submerged in a box filled with snakes, and trust Sadie to get them all off of him. He let out a small squeal as he laid down with the reptiles, but Sadie had no problem freeing him from their grasp. The two finished in only about ten minutes, and Harry seemed to be fine.

Next up was Louis and Haley, and Louis already seemed terrified. His challenge was that he’d be trapped in a room filled with birds at the end of a maze, and Haley had to find him and open the door, setting the birds free. Abelia could see how pale Louis saw as he looked at the glass door, and he was told that, should he need to forfeit, the red button would open the roof of the room and let the birds out.

Abelia was worried for him, squeezing Zayn’s hand as the other couples watched on a screen. Haley had no idea which way to go, and Louis was absolutely terrified as the birds were flying all around him, trying to get out. He lasted almost an hour before demanding where Haley was. And when he heard that she was on the opposite side of the maze he just shook his head, his face pale. He apologized to her a million times, and even though she begged him not to do it at first, she finally said she understood. He pressed the red button, setting the flock of birds free and forfeiting.

He and Haley were devastated as they met each other outside of the maze, but Abelia could see with how badly he was shaking, it was probably the right decision. Louis simply slipped his arm around Haley, kissing her temple as Liam and Jenna were told they were going next. Abelia swallowed nervously as Liam and Jenna climbed to the top platform, their harnesses hooked tightly onto their bodies.

To make things fair, Liam and Jenna’s challenge would be slightly different for Zayn and Abelia’s. Jenna started on the opposite side and had to make Liam walk across to her, which he was finally able to do after about thirty minutes.

As Zayn and Abelia were told to make their way to the top of the platform, she looked up at him, taking his hands in hers. “If you want to forfeit I’ll understand.” She said simply her eyes locked with his. “You know I won’t hold it against you.” He hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

“As long as you’re with me Abelia, I won’t be afraid.” He whispered. She smiled, gripping him back before the pair made their way to the top.

“Just don’t look down, okay?” She said, running her hand up and down his arm.

“Abelia and Zayn.” Tanisha said through the speaker at the top of the platform. “For your challenge you will have to both cross to the other side, and you must be holding one part of your partner at all times. Also, if one of you falls, you both will not finish the challenge.” Zayn nodded, pulling at the harness and trying to tighten it. Abelia simply reached over, tightening it for him before he quickly returned the favor.

As they stood on the edge of the platform, waiting for Tanisha to tell them to go, Zayn looked at her, smiling. “Just keep your eyes on mine and I’ll be okay.” He whispered. With that he took her hand, lacing their fingers together as Tanisha told them to start.

They both gingerly stepped out onto the wire, keeping their hands together as their other hand gripped the wire. The wind was pushing them every which way, and staying up there was going to prove to be a challenge. They had only made it a few feet out when she nearly fell, Zayn’s hand being the only thing that kept her up.

“We need both our hands.” He said, looking at her. “What do we do?” She blushed for a moment before smiling, leaning over and pressing her lips to his. She knew his eyes had flew open, but felt his lips pull into a smile. They kept their kiss going as they let go of each other’s hands, slowly sliding across the wire. Finally they felt the wood of the panel beneath their feet. They opened their eyes as they heard cheering below them, and Zayn pulled her into his arms.

As he pulled back, looking into her eyes she felt herself blush, knowing their kiss was going to be on television for thousands of people to see. But in that one moment, as she lost herself in Zayn’s eyes, she didn’t care. He pressed his forehead to hers, grinning.

“Best kiss of my life.” He whispered. She smiled, looking up at him.

“Best kiss of your life so far.” She corrected. He smiled, pulling her close.

“Well let’s see if we can top it.” And with that he pressed his lips back to hers. With the wind in their hair, the cheers at their feet, and knowing that she’d bee with Zayn just a little bit longer, Abelia felt like she was on top of the world.

And she never wanted to come down.