Last Girl Standing

Regina had been eliminated. Jenna didn’t know the girl well, but it was still shocking. Regina was twice as beautiful as she was, and it just proved that nobody was safe.

The entire house was happy to have a night off: a night where they didn’t have to worry about challenges, dates or eliminations. It was only the first week, but it was still stressful, and it would only get worse. The group needed a night off to relax and get to know one another.

Most of the house was on the back patio, hanging out by the pool and having drinks. Jenna was standing in the kitchen by herself. She pulled a gallon of orange juice out of the fridge and poured herself a glass, before heading out to the patio.

On one end of the pool, Louis sat with his feet dipped in the water and a girl on both his sides. His attention appeared to be more focused on the water than the two blondes next to him.

Jenna pulled her attention to the opposite end of the patio, where Zayn was surrounded by a small group of girls. Ordinarily, she would have been right there with them, fighting for Zayn’s attention, but she didn’t have enough alcohol in her body at the moment. She followed his gaze to the quiet girl sitting in a chair at the edge of the lawn. With a book in her nose, the girl appeared to be focused on anything but the party.

The girls by the pool had their attention on Zayn. Zayn had his attention on the girl with the book. The girl with the book had her attention on her tattered copy of Brave New World. No one’s attention was on Jenna.

Sighing, Jenna made her way across the lawn, to the place where the girl sat. The girl didn’t appear to notice her, so Jenna cleared her throat, in an attempt to keep from startling her.

The girl looked up immediately and thumbed her book shut. Neither of them spoke, until Jenna was just inches away from her.

“I’m Jenna.” She held her hand out to the girl, and the girl reached for it.

“Abelia.” The shy girl smiled, shaking Jenna’s hand.

Crossing her legs, Jenna sat firmly in the grass, directly across from the girl.

“What are you doing?” Jenna asked, smiling up at her.

The girl held up the book. “Just reading.”

Laughing, Jenna lifted her eyebrow. “I can see that. I meant, why are you reading?”

Abelia shrugged, before placing the book back into her lap. Her gaze moved to the ground, somewhere behind Jenna.

“Listen,” Jenna said, smiling at the girl. “I like you. I think you’re a cute girl, and that’s the only reason why I’m telling you this.” Jenna paused and moved her balance to her knees. “You’re never going to win if you run away all the time. I mean, you’ve got that bookworm thing going for you, and that’s cute and all, but you’ve gotta actually talk to the boys.”

When Jenna finished speaking, Abelia bit tightly onto her lip, while tapping her fingers against her kneecap. The girl was deep in thought, and Jenna thought about interrupting her, but decided against it. The girl would have to make the decision on her own.

In an effort to help the girl along, Jenna smiled at her. “I’ll stay with you the whole time. You won’t have to do it alone.”

Nodding her head, Abelia stood up. “Alright, let’s go then.”

Jenna stood up with her, and locked her hand around the girl’s. At first, Abelia seemed shocked by Jenna’s touch, but after a few seconds, she accepted that it was just a part of Jenna’s personality.

“So, which boy do you have your eye on?” Jenna asked, smiling at the girl.

Shaking her head, Abelia shrugged. “None of them really.”

Jenna had noticed Abelia’s eyes flick over to Zayn when she asked the question, but she decided to wait before calling the girl out on her lie. Pausing for a moment, Jenna racked her brain for her next move. The shy blonde boy on the other side of the room would be the perfect fit for Abelia.

After deciding on a course of action, Jenna smiled, and pulled the shy girl’s hand over to where Niall sat. A girl was sitting in front of him, one Jenna didn’t recognize, but he didn’t appear to be too focused on her.

“Do you mind if we join you?”

Niall smiled at them, and motioned for the two of them to take a seat. “Not at all.”

Jenna sat in the seat across from Niall, forcing Abelia to sit next to him. Niall began telling a story about one rainy day in Ireland. His accent was charming and cute, but it made it difficult to understand him. Jenna didn’t comprehend the story, but she laughed and smiled just the same.

On the other side of the table, a smile crept onto Abelia’s lips and Jenna knew she had done a good thing. She simply chose to ignore the fact that Abelia’s eyes would flicker to Zayn every so often. Abelia and Niall were getting along too well for Jenna to take notice of anything else.

When Abelia and Niall’s attention was focused solely on one another, Jenna slipped away. Her heels clacking against the concrete, Jenna made her way over to the far end of the pool.

Zayn sat on a small sofa with a patio covering above it. Two girls were sitting next to him, one blonde and one brunette. His gaze moved back and forth between the girls, who smiled as he spoke.

As Jenna approached him, Zayn turned to her. A large smile fell to his face. Jenna’s stomach went up in knots. Happiness flooded her body, due to the fact that her presence was able to grab all of Zayn’s attention.

“Jenna,” he said, standing from his seat. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Nodding her head, Jenna smiled. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since elimination.”

The girls sitting on the sofa glared at Jenna from behind Zayn’s back. She kept a smile on her face, as Zayn held his hand out to her.

“Wanna have a seat?”

“I’d love to,” Jenna said, taking Zayn’s hand. He sat back down on the sofa, and luckily for Jenna, the other girls had already walked away.

As Jenna sat with Zayn on the soft, plush sofa, her attention flicked back and forth between the handsome boy and the sweet girl she had left with Niall. A part of her couldn’t help but think that she had done something wrong, but Zayn seemed so happy with her, and Abelia seemed so happy with Niall, that the thought was fleeting.

With a smile on her face, Jenna turned her attention back to Zayn, who was looking back at her with a smile equally as big.