Flavor of the Week

“I’m gonna head to sleep,” Ava announced, standing up and stretching her arms over her head, her tank top slipping up her torso to reveal a sliver of toned stomach. Although he was trying to be subtle, it didn’t escape Hannah’s notice that Harry’s green eyes lingered on the exposed skin. “I gotta be rested for the elimination challenge tomorrow.”

“Goodnight!” Hannah called to her teammate as she disappeared down the hallway.

Harry seconded the sentiment before shifting in his seat, an awkward silence between the two of them. Megan had gone to sleep hours before, saying that she needed as much REM as possible to keep up her concentration. Hannah had a feeling that the statement was just another part of her act, but she knew that it was a good addition.

“Not tired yet?” Harry teased, nudging Hannah with his elbow. “You better not lose the challenge for us tomorrow. I might have to send you home.”

“Is that a threat?” Hannah snickered. “I swear, I’m not going to lose anything for anyone. We’re going to rock the challenge tomorrow.”

“I wonder what it’s going to be,” Harry mused. “Do you think it’s going to have anything to do with the first challenge, or will it be something different entirely?”

“I have no idea!” She laughed and ran a hand through her silky hair, trying to hint that she was flirting. “I’m not a psychic, you know.”

“You’re not?!” Harry gasped. “But that’s the whole reason I put you on my team! I’ll have to get rid of you next time around.”

“Oh, yeah, smart move,” she commented drily. “Get rid of the comic relief. Just imagine how boring your life will be.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I hear that Juliette’s a fun girl.” Harry burst out laughing when he finished, probably remembering the girl’s epic breakdown at dinner earlier that day, where she burst into hysterical sobs over Harry finishing the last of the mashed potatoes.

“Mmm, have fun with her,” Hannah remarked, scooting over closer to Harry.

He seemed to realize that she was about to make some sort of move, so he let a bit of silence settle between them. And then, after what looked like an intense internal debate, he opened his mouth to say something. But before he could get a word out, she leaned over and pressed her lips against his.

It took a second for him to respond, but soon enough, he positioned his hand at the back of her head, pulling her face closer to his as she flicked out her tongue to tease him.

He sighed into her mouth, letting the kiss deepen, but Hannah knew there was nothing between them. She felt no spark, no chemistry, nothing. But she could only hope that Harry felt something so, if the time came the next day and they were up for elimination, he’d send home Megan or Ava. Although, if she had any say, she’d want Megan to go home. Even though Ava was pretty forward with her sexuality (on second thought, her role was The Slutty One, so maybe she was just doing a great job with her acting), she still liked the girl.

Hannah stopped wondering about the next day’s elimination when she felt Harry pulling away. She couldn’t let him do that; she felt like, if she let the opportunity slipped away, then she’d lose him.

So as he drew away, slowly and almost hesitantly, she followed him and planted her lips against his neck.

He let out a small groan before she felt a pair of arms shoving her away. “Hannah, don’t you think this is kind of fast?” he gasped, blinking the lust out of his eyes. “We don’t even know each other.”

Hannah felt her stomach sink as she swallowed her embarrassment. “I think we know each other fairly well,” she joked. “Your last name is Styles.”

“I don’t know your last name,” he argued. “I’m guessing it’s something Chinese, but-”

“Vietnamese,” she corrected, trying her hardest to keep her tone light. “And it’s Kim.”

“See what I mean?” He bit his lip uncomfortably before getting to his feet. “Alright, so I’m going to go to sleep. I’ll, um…I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, her dark eyes following him as he stood up and stalked off to his bedroom, his brown curls falling in front of his face.

The second his door shut behind him, she threw herself back on the couch, feeling totally defeated and mortified, and muttered, “Fuck.”

Her team could not lose the competition the next day. Because if they did, there was no doubt about it: She was going home.



All the girls walked into the lobby, lining up with their teams, and took in their surroundings for the challenge. Hannah’s stomach started to flip as she realized that the layout was exactly as it had been earlier in the week. Which meant that the challenge must have been the same.

“Look familiar?” Jay joked, glancing behind him, where all the girls were staring in shock. “That’s because you’re going to do the same exact thing, except this time, the roles are switched.”

The girls started to whisper back and forth with excitement, while some just gaped at him, looking like they were trying to trap some flies in there.

“So here’s the deal: just like earlier in the week, I’ll ask questions, and the girls will think of their answer. The boys will have thirty seconds to write what they think the answer is on their whiteboard, and at the end of that time frame, the girls will reveal their answers and see if their responses match what the boys guessed. The girls on each team will rotate for each question, and whichever boy guesses three correct answers last will be the team that’s up for elimination. We’ll go over the elimination process at the end of the challenge. Everyone ready?”

The contestants raced to their places, which were all labeled with their lead boy’s name, and got into a line. Hannah found herself at the tail end of Harry’s, and she started to feel nervous. Maybe she should have taken the time she had alone with Harry the night before to get to know him instead of making out with and horrifying him.

After the first two rounds, none of the boys had any points. The questions were easier than they’d been in the Date Challenge, but everyone was still wholly unsuccessful.

It came to Hannah’s turn, so she stood at the front and watched Jay carefully for the question. “If your girl could have any kind of food in the entire world, what would she choose?”

Hannah’s heart started to flutter. She knew she had to lie. Although her favorite food was definitely Italian, Harry knew that she was Vietnamese, and he would probably jump to the conclusion that the culture would house her favorite food. So she quickly decided that it would have to be her response.

“Hannah? What kind of food would you want?” Jay questioned, turning to her with a broad grin on his face.

“Vietnamese,” she responded coolly, trying to hold back the smug look that was threatening to force its way to the surface.

Harry, smiling as widely as his face would allow, held up his white board, which read Vietnamese in scratchy, sloppy handwriting. Hannah tried to catch his gaze to celebrate a little when the camera moved on to check Louis’ answer, but the green-eyed boy immediately turned away, avoiding her gaze completely.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Hannah made her way to the back of the line, trying to keep up a positive attitude for the camera. After all, The Comedian would never allow her energy to drop over a little drama.

Jay continued the show, clearly not noticing the awkward exchange between Hannah and Harry. “Okay, boys, if the girls could travel any one place in the world, where would it be?”

The questions got increasingly easier, as the boys continued to fail at guessing the answers correctly. But eventually, after about fifteen rounds, all the band members managed to get their three points. All except Zayn.

The team was sent off to deliberate for a half hour, where the girls all pleaded their case to the leader. In the end, the boy got to choose which of the girls on his team he wanted to send home, and that girl was eliminated.

Although Hannah felt awful for whatever girl was getting sent home first, just from the pure humiliation of it, she was also incredibly relieved that Harry had been the second one to get three points. She was there for another week. Granted, she’d probably have to switch teams, but that only meant one more medal for her. One step closer to achieving that ultimate prize.

At the end of the thirty minutes, Jay brought Zayn’s team back out, where he announced that Candace, the tattooed redhead, was getting sent home.

Hannah let out a breath and got to her feet, hugging the girl she’d never spoken to just like all the rest of the girls. And soon, the pale figure was gone to pack her bags in her room.

“Thank God that’s not me,” Ava whispered so only Hannah could hear.

The black-haired girl nodded in agreement as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She couldn’t have said it better herself.