You try to listen as Chris explains the challenge, but Peru is so boring. No offense to Peruvians, of course. It's just—Cody stands mere meters away from you, and this monologue is getting in the way of time you could spend chatting with him.

And then Chris talks about the poisonous bugs.

"Yes, Cody," he adds, "the legal team made me well aware of your deathly allergies and insisted we supply an epi-pen." When Cody swipes for his epi-pen, Chris rudely holds it out of reach. "Wouldn't make sense for the person with the allergies to hold it, would it?"

This seems like a girlfriend's duty, so you pipe up: "Chris, I can take the epi-pen!"

But instead of giving it to you, Chris rolls his eyes. "You're on the other team. Conflict of interest."

"Yeah, Y/N," Sierra spits with the vengeance of a spurned lover. "You're on the other team. Which means I should take the epi-pen! Pick me, pick me!"

You aren't certain how much more of Sierra's antics you can take. Luckily you and Cody have an ally. You cough Gwen's name into your mouth. She looks over and understands the message.

"I'll take it, Chris," she mumbles.

"No!" Sierra howls. "I'm the only one who knows what sends Cody into anaphylactic shock!"

Chris barrels on, blabbering about ancient tribes. Chef hammers away on bongo drums. When Chris announces the kicker—Macchu Picchu is eighteen hours away—you can already feel fatigue seeping into your bones.

Leshawna takes the walkie-talkie for Team Victory, and everyone begins shuffling towards the destination. The teams intermingle, and obviously you drift from Leshawna and DJ towards Cody, the man of your dreams. Together, you fall in line behind Alejandro and Noah.

"Are you ever gonna tell me your allergens?" you ask Cody.

He chuckles and elbows you. "It's a long list. More of a third-date kind of thing."

"We haven't really been on actual dates, have we?"

"Well, no. We're kinda on a race around the world."

"True." Still, could it be so hard to plan a romantic dinner, just the two of you? Something that could really and properly be a date?

Lost in thought, you trip on Noah's heels.

"Watch it, klutz," Noah snarks.

Embarassment warms your face. "My bad."

Cody jumps to your defense. "Chill, dude. No need to be fussy."

"We've got a lot of walking to do, and your girlfriend seems intent on incapacitating me. Maybe I have a right to be fussy." Noah hustles off to join Izzy and Owen.

"Is he... that was rude." It's obvious Noah is sarcastic by nature, but that was out of left field. Stepping on his ankle was an accident, honest!

"I wouldn't worry about it. He's on a completely different team than us, remember?"

"With all luck, Team Chris Is Really Really Hot will lose tonight."

"Y/N!" Leshawna waves you over. "We gotta talk strategy!"

After kissing Cody goodbye, you stick closer to Leshawna, DJ, and Lindsay. Two paths diverge in the woods, and Lindsay suggests left. Seems legit. Team Chris Is Really Really Hot follows behind at a distance. You choose to ignore Noah and Alejandro, the two biggest bullies.

Leshawna leads the team in a campfire song from her days as a youth coordinator. In time with DJ and Lindsay, you clap your hands, pat your arms, and hum the melody. It's the perfect activity to keep your mind off the fact you still have seventeen more hours of this.

And then finally, finally, a zip line platform looms before you.

"Ladies first," DJ says, allowing you, Leshawna, and Lindsay to climb up. Your hands grip the railing for dear life. Heights don't terrify you, but there's so many things you'd rather do than plummet to your death in the middle of Peru.

Chris waits at the top. "First is first, kiddos! You can cross the river using this t-bar! Everyone else will have to take the line hand over hand."

"That's what I'm talkin' about." Leshawna and DJ high five. You and Lindsay squeal excitedly. What luck!

"Did Team Amazon take the left path too?" you ask Chris.

"Don't you have a life outside of Cody?" he replies drily.

The problem, however, is that there's four people and one handlebar. Obviously, DJ grabs on first. Lindsay clings to his chest like a koala bear.

"This is really weird," DJ mumbles as you shuffle on beside Lindsay.

"Really sorry, dude," you answer. And you are—if there's any boy you should be cozying up to, it should be Cody.

Lastly, Leshawna hoists herself onto DJ's back. He wastes no time getting onto the zipline. Everyone screams as you rush through the air, so fast that the river below is merely a blur of blue and brown.

You land in a heap on the northern bank.

"Well we survived." Leshawna lies on her back and stares at the sky.

"We gotta keep our lead!" You pull yourself to your feet. "We rest at dusk."

Lindsay nods along. "That was a really good book."

And then you're off again. If you had to guess, 90% of this footage will be cut from the final episode. All you guys do is chit-chat and share stories from home. Even though the exercise is brutal, you're actually glad you get to bond with your team. Occasionally, you glance at the walkie-talkie tucked in Leshawna's back pocket. What if you were able to radio Cody and ask how he's doing?

Focus on the team, you scold yourself. Chris is wrong; you have a life outside of Cody. It includes your new friends Leshawna, DJ, and Lindsay.

Over an hour later you run into Chris again. How the heck did he make it here before you? Did someone drive him? No matter. He rewards Team Victory with a crate of bananas.

"Oh my gosh." Lindsay is practically salivating. "It's food and it makes a good facial scrub."

"Let's not be puttin' unwashed bananas on our skin now," Leshawna warns her.

As you pick up your dinner, Chris's walkie-talkie roars to life. Gwen's garbled voice blares out, cutting in and out of focus. The words are unintelligible, but the panic in her voice makes your blood run cold.

"The walkie-talkies are for emergencies only," Chris says cooly.

"—Cody's pants—"

"Cody's pants?" you murmur. Leshawna places a comforting hand on your shoulder.

A third voice cuts in from the microphone. "English, much?" That's Noah, representing Team Chris.

"What is going on?" you demand. "Are they in danger? What did Gwen do to Cody's pants?"

"Hey babe!" Cody must've taken the walkie-talkie from Gwen, because his voice cuts in. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. "We're fine! Gwen accidentally epi-penned herself, heheh, and the Zing Zings are here, but it's cool! Codemeister's got it all under contro—"

"We are being held at gunpoint," Heather adds scathingly. "Help. Us. Now!"

"Okay!" Chris is suddenly smilying, bright and cheerful. "Team Amazon, remain calm and sing a song!"

"You have to be joking," Heather hisses into the walkie-talkie.

Chris barks instructions and shuts off the walkie-talkie.

"Aren't we gonna... listen to the song?" you ask.

"Nah. We gotta set it to music in post." Chris waves your question away. "Take your bananas and go."

But that doesn't satisfy you. "Can you tell us if the Amazons are okay? Spearpoint sounds serious!"

"I don't really care, though. You're new, you should know that by now." Chris shrugs.

He screws off to do something, and Team Victory is left with the banana crate.

Everyone else chatters as you dig into the "meal", but you can only think of Cody. He's currently a hostage of a native group. On top of that, his epi-pen is gone. What if he gets bitten? You chew pensively on a banana.

"Y/N?" Lindsay waves her hand in front of your face. "Y/N! I asked if you'd rather buy a summer house in France or Italy."

"Oh. I don't know." You throw the banana aside, half-eaten, and reach for another one.

"You're worried about Cody," DJ says solemnly.

"How could I not be? Chris is kinda the worst when it comes to people's safety."

"Amen, sister," Leshawna agrees. "But no one's ever died, here. And Cody got mauled two years ago, by that bear."

"I totally remember that," Lindsay adds. "When we were playing paintball and Beth yelled at Heather and then somehow Cody gotta attacked? Wow, he's been through it."

Tears well in your eyes as you think of Cody, scarred and alone, at the mercy of a grizzly bear.

"The point I was tryna make is that he's survived tough situations before. He'll be alright in the end," Leshawna tells you.

Hopefully Leshawna is right. You smile timidly and offer her another banana.

Your sleep is restless. Cody's cute face clouds your dreams, tinging everything with the pink of first love. Leshawna is the one to rouse everyone in the morning, and DJ stuffs extra bananas in his cargo shorts for later. After stopping for a bathroom break for Lindsay, you all hustle towards Macchu Picchu.

What's worse: miles and miles of jungle, or a flight of a thousand stairs? Your knees are weak, palms sweaty. The mountain towers before you, its summit teetering in your shaky vision. Halfway up, DJ offers you a banana. You can't even finish it. Finally, after hours of work, Team Victory completes the stairs. You fall on your face at the mercy of Chris McLean.

"Find the treasure before anyone else and you'll leave Peru in first class," he promises.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lindsay squeals.

Everyone splits up. You work in the ruins, feeling your hands in the grooves of a house constructed by an ancient civilization. Thousands of years of history brush against your fingertips, but your main focus is the golden treasure.

Team Chris arrives one person short. Noah and Izzy sit down while Alejandro leaves to retrieve a missing Owen. You glance at Noah, and his expression is dour as usual. Definitely not the type of guy you want to hang around.

Searching is thwarted when DJ begins complaining of a stomach cramp. Apparently all those bananas weren't agreeing with his digestive system. Leshawna argues with Chris about getting him a glass of water while you and Lindsay keep looking. Golden treasure, golden treasure... jeez, you'd think there would be more gold around here.

And then Team Amazon arrives, and you can't be bothered to look anymore. You run up and embrace Cody.

"What happened?" you gush, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "I feared the worst."

"Yeah, it looked pretty bleak," Cody admits, holding you in his arms. "They thought Heather was fulfilling an ancient prophecy or something, so she used her power to convince them to free us!"

"So... were you in any danger at all?"

He shrugs. "I don't even want to know."

Still under the effect of Cody's epi-pen, Gwen falls asleep beside Izzy and Noah. The latter taps his foot impatiently. You feel a twinge of sympathy for Team Chris, but also—better them than yourself or Cody, right?

Team Victory and Team Amazon are searching the ruins when suddenly Lindsay announces, "I found it! The golden treasure!"

You're at her side immediately. Yeah, she's found a tiny golden egg-shaped monkey.

"Team Victory wins!" Chris announces. "Team Amazon is in second place, and since Alejandro and Owen are MIA, Team Chris is voting out another member tonight! So sad!"

Noah huffs. Izzy does a cartwheel. Chris leads everyone else back to the plane. You hold Cody's hand. DJ hoists a sleepy Gwen onto his back, piggy-back style. He does so with such affection that you can't help but wonder... is there something there?

Guys and girls can be just friends, you remind yourself. You're going to keep an eye on this anyway.

Speaking of eyes, Sierra is staring you guys down. You can feel her eyes on you, even as you and your teammates go to First Class.

"We are on fire!" Leshawna calls as she takes a seat at the nonalcoholic minibar.

"Definitely," DJ agrees. He fistbumps her, and then you. "I'm excited to eat something that isn't bananas."

"I'm excited to get some beauty sleep up in here!" Lindsay flops down on a seat and is out immediately.

It's a good idea to take a nap. You deserve it. And besides, who knows when will be the next time that you have access to First Class? In the seat beside Lindsay's, you settle in and shut your eyes, resting up. Again, you dream of Cody.

It's dark outside when you wake up. DJ and Leshawna are conversing quietly at the minibar. Lindsay is still out like a light. Because you're in the air, you aren't sure how long you've slept. Where are you flying, anyways? That's gotta be a surprise for later.

You leave First Class and head down to the general mess hall. Luckily, Cody is already there, dozing softly. Grinning, you shake him awake. "Cody!"

"Y/N!" His blue eyes flutter open. "Hey! I tried to visit earlier, but you were asleep."

"How long have we been in the air? I can't even tell."

"Uh, we're over the Atlantic right now, so at least four."

Not a long nap at all. "Did anyone get eliminated?" you ask.

"Yep. Noah did."

"Really?" Owen and Alejandro were the ones who were late to the final leg of the challenge. Maybe Noah's general disdain had cost him his social game.

"Honestly," you continue, "good riddance."

Cody chuckled. "Yeah. Guy's not my favorite, either."

"Why not?"

"Sometimes Harold and I used to invite him to our game nights, but he always said he was 'busy.' I think he was just too arrogant to be seen with us." Cody shrugged. "I don't really care anymore, though. I can't be friends with everyone on this show."

"Good point." You think about strategy. Team Chris is down to three members. Team Victory is at four, and Team Amazon is at five. "If your team loses soon... who do you think is getting booted?"

"I don't even know, Y/N. I'd love for Sierra to leave, really, but Heather's a big threat, game-wise."

You nod thoughtfully. It's not your place to make this decision for Cody, but whatever happens next with the Amazons could be a literal game-changer. Why think about that now, though? You didn't join World Tour for the money; you joined to flirt with Cody.

You smile at the boy across from you. Brazil is behind you, and now the two of you can together face whatever country comes next.