"And then I puked on him!" I said through short gasps of laughter. Sarah doubled over, punched my shoulder lightly, as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Stop it. I can imagine his face. He didn't hit you or anything right?" She sobered up, wiping her tears off her cheeks. I browsed the room, and was taken aback to see all the other contestants staring at us, whispering among themselves. Sarah noticed my gaze and cleared her throat. "Ignore them."

"Why? Did something happen?" My forehead wrinkled as I examined their faces. Except a few, everyone had a hostile stance towards me, a posture I had learnt well. I hadn't noticed it when Brandon, Sarah and I had entered the room, but the hush that fell inside the room could not be ignored. But before Sarah could explain, another voice came out from the group.

"You think we are stupid?" A girl spat out, and Brandon stepped closer, noticing her offensive stance. "After turning all of us against Isabela, you are reaping the benefits? Such a gold digging bitch."

My ears burned, at a loss of words. There wasn't anyone except the contestants around, and she used her freedom explicitly. I looked at the sudden foreign faces, shaking my head.

With a deep breath, I started, "You got it wrong. We talked and--" Sarah pressed her hand on the small of my back, reminding me that Bella still hadn't come out to any of them. Only she along with Francis knew the secret.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" She smirked, more confident now that I was hesitating. Bella wasn't with us in the standby room yet, and I knew for a fact that there wasn't anything I could say to her without revealing one of Bella's secrets. My silence motivated her, egging her on further.

"So tell me, did you bully her into posting that picture again? We all know what you did with her boyfriend anyways." She gave a hollow laugh, and a few people nodded. It was like everything was repeating itself over again. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. There wasn't anything I could say that would change their mind. After facing too many such situations, I didn't even try to explain myself, for really, no one even bothered to listen.

Beside me, Brandon took a sharp breath, as if to control himself, and I tried to do the same.

My eyes burned under the humiliation, and Brandon too hesitated. Though from the way his fists wcurld up, I knew he wasn't enjoying it. The girl came closer, and I remembered her name, Kate, and how she had been the one to go to the elimination round when I was safe.

"We all know that you are a bully, so stop fooling us. And get the fuck out of this competition," she hissed, and I stared at her flabbergasted.

There had to be a limit.

Sarah lunged for her the exact moment a sharp voice interrupted the room. All of us froze as Bella shouted, "You!" She stalked in, her heels echoing in the silent room. Kate grinned, looking pleased with what she had achieved and stepped forward to meet Bella.

"I have shown the whore her place. You don't have to worry, Isabela." She grinned, and my nostrils flared with anger.

Bella did this?! After everything?

"Who the fuck are you?" Bella frowned, glaring at her with such force that Kate took a staggering step back. The flare of anger subsided as soon as it had come when I heard that.

"K-kate. It's all right. I know you didn't know my name. We can be friends-" She cut off abruptly when Bella pushed past her to face me.

Kate gave an angry yelp, but no one paid heed to her as the room fell even more silent. I don't know what everyone expected to happen, but one thing was sure, that they never expected this to happen.

Bella took the last step forward and crushed me with a bear hug. Everyone gasped, and Sarah's hand on me loosened as Bella surrounded my vision. The strength with which she gripped me made me take a small step back, which couldn't have been possible because she was half my size. My head was stuffed in her well endowed (surgically or otherwise) chest, being much shorter than her. It was so unexpected that I stood frozen in shock. My ears burned, and a moment later I was struggling to get out of the embrace.

Soft murmuring in my ears made me realize she was whispering something as her hand patted my head and back. Knowing it was impossible to loosen her hold, I listened harder to the incoherent French, picking out 'thank you' and Giulia's name in them.

She pulled away, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she regarded me with affection. "Thank you so much for saving Giulia. Doctors said that the first aid saved her. I can't thank both of you enough."

A smile lit up her face, and an overwhelming feeling built up in me. I took a side glance towards Brandon who was smiling too.

"You're welcome," I said, putting all my emotions of relief and happiness in it. Before my lips could stretch into a smile, she bent lower and pressed her lips with my lips.

Wait a minute.

Rewind!

The numbness of my mind pushed away as I felt her lips on mine. I froze, my heart skipping a beat. Heat flushed through me as she pulled away with a small peck. I stared at her wide eyed, the blood pumping in my ears drowning out any voice. Her dazzling smile moved away from me as I tried to comprehend that Bella had just kissed me.

"No, thank you-" Brandon didn't get to finish as she pecked his lips as well, their heights in perfect alignment. I stared at them with open shock, Brandon rubbing his lips to wipe her trace off and Bella giving him an affectionate smile.

She turned to me and said something, to which I only nodded, the words a mess in my mind. Her steps echoed away, and the vacuum like silence went away with it.

"What the heck just happened?" I whispered, taking a ragged breath. I touched my lips, not knowing how to react. Sarah supported me with her hand, laughing at both of us.

"You both look like you have seen a ghost," she said, shaking her head in amusement.

"In my defense I tried to stop her," Brandon rushed, flustered. His hands came around my shoulder, twisting me to face him, the room once again filling with loud whispers.

"You kissed her?" I was numb, too surprised to react, and still somewhat trying to get my head around on what had just happened. Noticing my far away gaze, Brandon pulled me away from the crowd by my hand and stopped near a secluded corner.

"Back to earth, Ty." He snapped his fingers in front of me, making me focus on his face.

"Bella just kissed you," I stated, looking down, "and me."

Brandon groaned, tilting my face up so he could make eye contact. "She did. But that means nothing. Sorry you had to see that." He did look sorry, and apologetic, his puppy eyes begging for forgiveness.

"I know," I murmured, a little bummed about it. But then I realized something else. "Just a sec. I'm confused. Which one of us is supposed to be saying sorry?"

"Me?"

"But she's a lesbian," I whispered that part, and Brandon's eyes widened.

"You cheated on me with a girl!" he gasped, mocking me. He clutched his heart, making a shocked face.

"No, you cheated on me! You're the guy here." I poked him, laughing at his wounded acting. The humor of this messed up situation wasn't lost on us as we accused each other of kissing her.

"I can't believe I kissed a girl." I giggled. "It would have been cool if I had it on my bucket list."

"Well, I can't believe my girlfriend cheated on me with a girl. Damn, should have made a video." He tilted his head in regret. We walked back to the assembling area; a good thirty minutes still left before we took off to the place where the next round would happen.

"Eww, get your mind out of the gutter. It's never happening again." I wiped my lips once more, but the strong vanilla scent of her lip gloss still remained.

"Does your lip smell like vanilla too?" Brandon rubbed off his lips with his shirt in a rough manner, trying to make the taste go away. The lips swelled up at his handling, looking luscious and so... kissable.

"I don't know, let me see how your tastes." A mischievous smile spread on my lips as I tiptoed to meet his height and kissed him. Our vanilla scented lips smashed together, and we took our time tasting it. The loud cough beside us was the only reason we separated. We grinned at each other, pulling away to see Sarah shaking her head at us.

"I can't decide whether that was adorable or simply puke worthy. But we don't have time to ponder that, come with me." She took my hand, and I took Brandon's, as she led us away from the spacious assembly room. I ignored everyone, and so did Brandon and Sarah. People were going out more than coming in, and I had no idea how much time it would take before the third round finally started.

Sarah stopped in front of a door, knocked twice and opened it.

"Thank you, Sarah," Francis acknowledged, ushering us inside the room.

"What, why are we here?" I looked around the plush suite. The room reeked of expensive everything. Decorated with over the top interiors and luxurious furniture, it hardly looked like a business suite.

"To meet Alard Roussel, Bella's father," Francis explained, and my back straightened up. Panic flushed in me, and I hyperventilated.

"He's coming?" I looked at the door back and forth, smoothing my teal skater dress and head full of wild curls.

"Yes. No one knows that he's the surprise chef judge. But I got out the special information as a trusted future son-in-law." He winked at me, not apologetic at all.

"Bella doesn't know?" Brandon asked.

"She might. I'm not sure. But I called him here so you both can at least try to talk to him."

"I'm not prepared! What will I say to him?" I rambled, and Brandon put a comforting hand on my back.

"She's right. This is too short of a notice. We should go through this after a lot of thought if we want to help Bella," Brandon argued, and I nodded in agreement.

"They're right," Sarah spoke up, "But what if this is the only chance you might get?"

"Oui, that's why I thought, earlier you meet him the better," Francis explained.

But still my stomach rumbled at the thought of meeting him. I hadn't forgotten yesterday's phone conversation. And if he had been that gruff and cold over the phone, I couldn't imagine the real life version. My toes tapped on the floor in nervousness, and Brandon noticed it, putting a hand on my thigh to still it.

"It'll be all right," he said. We stood for five more minutes when we heard the definite sound of shoes on the polished floor. My breathing intensified, and I worked harder to keep my head clear and on point.

First, introduce yourself. Then I can talk about Bella. See how he reacts. Maybe talk about homosexuality...? Nah, not yet. We don't want him to cut us off so soon. And there is the competition to consider. What if he gets angry and makes Bella and I lose? That couldn't happen.

My breath caught in my throat as the steps stopped in front of our room. All of us stood still, silent. I expected the door to barge open anytime, and in come a powerful business man in suit. But that didn't happen.

We waited for it to open, but the steps receded away from the room, and away from us.

"He knows we are here, right?" Sarah confirmed from Francis, and he nodded. "Then... why?"

"I don't know." The echoing sound continued once again, coming closer to the room and stopping in front of it. This time the door knob twisted, the door opening an inch by inch, and a head popped in to look around.

Surely, Alard Roussel wasn't thirty years old.

"There you are!" the assistant producer shouted, opening the door further and entering in. He had his hand on his hips, talking sporadically in his walkie-talkie. He told us, "The bus leaves in five minutes. Get in fast!"

"Oh, okay." His commanding tone had us on our feet and we shuffled out of the room after him.

"What about him now?" I hissed, asking Francis. His phone rang, and he picked it up, putting a finger to his lips to hush us. He blabbered in French, nodding, and smiling. Switching off the phone, he put it back in his jeans pocket. "He'll meet us on the shoot site. Meeting before is not possible."

"That was him on the phone?"

"Nope, that was his secretary." He shrugged, as if it was a normal thing, and I took a deep breath. Brandon's slumped shoulder indicated his relived state as well and all of us settled at the back of the bus for our ride to Sentosa.

The whole ride no one disturbed us and we didn't talk to anyone else. Bella sat next to me. With Giulia still recovering, she was alone, and hadn't even blinked twice before settling next to me. Her sudden behavioral change wasn't unnoticed, but we kept our silence and let her mingle with us. Brandon sat on my other side, his head on my shoulder, snoring softly. Francis and Sarah both sat with their partners, so it was only Bella and me left together alone.

"So," I cleared my throat, "You'll take part today?"

Bella turned her head, shaking it once as a no. "I talked to the production team and will use my immunity pin."

"Oh," I whispered, falling back into awkward silence.

We reached the island soon enough, Brandon wiping his drool off his face, and I stretched though the ride was short. Bella strode ahead, apparently having enough of her company.

I looked around, and the scenic beauty stole my breath away. We stood on the edge of the beach; the whole place was already set up for the shoot. Cameras lined up facing the beach, a beautiful backdrop to the third round. Excitement and nervousness filled me as within half an hour everyone was in place. I had yet to see the judges, and I was waiting for Alard to come out.

In the awkward silence I had forgotten to ask Bella if she knew her father was coming. It could be possible that she didn't know, and I tried to gage her face for any clue. Her face was void of emotion, no excitement or hatred for me to make a guess.

The director gave a last once over and I saw a group of people hovering around the judges. An old brown hat stood out in the group, and I tiptoed to see the face. Brandon beside me kept me down, giving me an amused glance. Director called for attention, and I turned away, staring forward. The introductions began in the soft sunlight, and one by one the judges entered. I looked over to Bella, alone in her cubicle. The ocean breeze made her hair fly away from her face, whereas mine jumbled up in front of my face.

There were seventeen of us left, and three more were to leave today. If only everything went right, Bella and I would be closer to victory. Suddenly Bella's color drained down from her face, and she whipped her down.

I looked towards where she was looking; already having a guess that she had no idea her father would be here. Brandon hooted and clapped as they introduced the one and only Alard Roussel.

But all I saw was the same old brown suit and sunglasses. His attention seemed to land on me the exact moment I gasped. I ducked my head, but I could feel his cold stare on me even with the sunglasses.

"What happened?" Brandon whispered, nudging me to look up for the camera. "Alard is looking at you. And so is everyone!"

"He-" I stammered, and then in one breath, whispered, louder than expected, "He's the one I puked on yesterday!"

I heard the massive jaw drop Brandon did, and just wanted the earth to open and swallow me whole.

Way to go, Ty, the only thing you were responsible of, you messed it up before you even started!

*****

Bella kissed BRANDON AND TYLER?! Who found that part funny? XD And they're bickering on who cheated on who with her. Lol, I can't imagine this happening in real life!

The lovely chapter name was given by .