Flavor of the Week

Hannah’s stomach was twisting into knots as she made her way to Zayn’s bedroom. He’d texted her about ten seconds previously, saying come here I wanna talk to you with a little smiley face at the end. She knew that he was being flirty and cute, just like a normal guy would be with a normal girl. If the situation were any different, then she would be excited to see him again, to wrap her arms around him, to feel his lips against hers.

But instead, she just felt nauseated. In a couple of hours, the series finale was going to be shot, and the boys would pick their girls on national television. And then they would find out that the entire thing had been one massive prank, that all the girls were actresses playing stereotypical roles. Hannah kept trying not to think about the looks of horror and disgust and betrayal that would sweep across all the boys’ pretty features, but no matter how hard she tried to keep the thoughts away, they always managed to wedge their way into her mind’s eye.

To keep herself from wandering back into a dark, regretful place, she knocked softly on Zayn’s door and called out, “It’s me.”

“Come in.”

Hannah eased the door open to find Zayn sitting up on his bed, his back against the wall behind him. His laptop had been resting on his legs, but when his eyes met Hannah’s, he folded it up and put it down on the floor without hesitation.

“Come sit with me,” he offered, patting the comforter next to him. Hannah shut the door behind her before following directions.

“Are you nervous about later?” he asked quietly, pulling her closer and running his fingers through her silky hair.

The movement was just so affectionate, so uncensored, that Hannah wanted to cry. But instead, she stayed in character, just like she was supposed to.

“Why would I be nervous?” she laughed. “I think it’s obvious to everyone in the competition who you’re going to pick.”

“Ah, but that’s what you think,” he teased back. “I only called you in here to let you know that I’ve decided to choose Juliette.” Hannah burst out laughing, but Zayn kept speaking without interruption. “You know, she’s just so interesting. You never know when she’s going to burst into tears next. It really keeps a guy on his toes.”

Hannah buried her face in Zayn’s chest to stifle how loudly she wanted to laugh so none of the girls would get too suspicious. Finally, Zayn chuckled a bit, taking his hand away from her hair and rubbing circles on her back.

“I really do care about you,” Zayn whispered. “Even if there’s been a little bit of drama.”

Hannah didn’t know what to say to that. She wanted to say her true feelings, that she wanted to be with him more than she ever thought possible. But all it would do was give him more ammunition later, where he could quote it as just a part of her character, even if it wasn’t true.

So instead, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. He fell into sync with her easily, sighing into her mouth and wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her on top of him.

And for the next ten minutes, as they kissed, Hannah pretended that time had stopped so they could stay in the moment of ignorant bliss forever.



The group of remaining girls stood together, chatting about small, inconsequential things, like how they were running out of makeup or how they were going to miss each other. It was the only thing that kept the contestants from going overboard with anxiety, as they all knew the truth was looming just ahead, damning and threatening.

The boys were standing about twenty feet away from the girls, also mumbling back and forth. Hannah looked away from Leona for a second to sneak a glance at Zayn, only to see that he was staring at her. They exchanged fast smiles before Hannah turned away and caught Ava’s gaze.

Although Leona was mid-sentence, Hannah put her hand on the “ghetto” girl’s shoulder and excused herself, weaving through the crowd to get to the girl who used to be her best friend in the competition.

Ava stiffened when she saw Hannah approaching, but Hannah quickly burst out what she’d been meaning to say since that terrible final challenge: “Ava, I’m so sorry about the confessional. I didn’t mean a thing I said. I was just threatened by you, and I said the first mean thing I could think of to stir up some drama for ratings. I think you’re a really lovely person, and I just hope you can forgive me.”

Ava smiled. “I forgive you. I understand.”

Hannah let out a sigh and started to initiate a hug, which Ava reciprocated, before the two pulled away and faced Jay to wait for the introduction.

“Welcome back for the last time, girls,” Jay started, grinning his wide, signature smile. “Throughout this competition, you’ve had to struggle through challenges that tested your compatibility with the boys time and time again. And it all comes down to this, where the boys will make their final choices.” He looked back at the boys, and the five of them stepped forward at the same time, which made Hannah think it had been a rehearsed cue. “Harry, should we start with you?”

Harry took a deep breath. “The girl that I’m picking is probably one of the most beautiful and sincere girls I’ve ever met in my life. She has a way of making me feel comfortable with her that I never knew existed before this competition. Ava, if you’ll accept, I’d love to see where this can go.”

Ava’s cheekbones blushed bright pink as she made her way over to Harry. When she reached her destination, Hannah gave her a small thumbs-up, and Ava’s smile widened in thanks.

Liam was next, so he stepped forward and said uncomfortably, “Um, I think everyone knows who I’m picking, since I’ve been crazy about her since the very first time I laid eyes on her. She’s absolutely perfect in every way, and for whatever reason, she kind of likes me, too. Claire?”

Claire had a huge smile on her face, and she quickly joined Liam, while the girls all clapped for him.

Zayn stepped forward then, immediately turning his head to look at Hannah. “My girl has an unyielding sense of humor, and she’s always able to make me laugh, no matter what kind of mood I’m in. I’ve seen flashes of the girl behind the wit, and the more I see, the more I love her. Hannah Kim, please don’t reject me.”

Hannah laughed and made her way over to him, capturing his hand in hers the second she got close enough.

Next was Niall, and he went straight over to the group and pulled Georgia out. He looked thrilled with his arm around her waist, and she had a mixture of mortification and joy on her face that made Hannah giggle. “Georgia may be the shiest person I’ve ever met, but she also one of the most fun. When she’s able to break down her wall, she has an incredible personality that always leaves me begging for more.” With that, he leaned over and kissed the side of her head, and she turned a darker shade of red.

Last, Louis stepped forward, rubbing his palms on his pants. “I think my decision is probably the most anticipated, since everyone knew who the other boys were choosing. I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone that I’ve just been going from girl to girl in this competition, trying to figure out someone who was compatible with me.” He took a short pause and shrugged. “But, if I’m going to be honest, there’s no one here I can see myself with. I just can’t stop thinking about Eleanor back home and how much I miss her. I can’t pick one of these girls knowing that I’m going to try to rebuild that bridge the second I get home.”

Jay hesitated, not expecting the turn of events, but he recovered like a pro a beat later. “Okay. That was surprising, but I can’t argue against how you feel.”

Louis shrugged again, but he had nothing more to say on the subject.

“Now that you’ve picked your girls, boys, it’s time to reveal something that everyone has been hiding from you.”

Zayn squeezed Hannah’s hand and glanced down at her inquisitively, but she refused to meet his gaze. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and nervousness seemed to pound through her veins with the gushing strength of a harsh current. She almost drew her hand away from Zayn’s, since the palm was starting to get slick, but she didn’t want to make things worse than they were already going to get.

“The truth is, boys,” Jay explained with that sickening smile, “these girls are not exactly who they say they are. While their back stories might be the same, where they come from and who their friends are, they left out one major detail. Every single one of the girls in the competition were paid actresses given a specific role they had to play. You've all been played."