[IC] Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

[Rogue Sloth]

Jett was just starting to think he’d found another nice, normal girl to talk to at this party, when Nina suddenly went off about her excitement to meet him. He wasn’t really all that surprised, since this was how most people treated him when he told them his name—unless they had already recognized his face to begin with—but he was a little disappointed to find out that she was just another eccentric fan. He had been hoping that the people on the show would have a little more self-control than this, even when she they did recognize him. Although, to be fair, Nina looked like she’d had a lot to drink that night. Maybe she was normally more contained than this, but the alcohol had taken away her filter? He wanted to believe it. After all, despite the crazy energy, she was an attractive woman, and she seemed like a fun person to be around. But, then again, maybe that was just the alcohol in his system talking.

When Nina tried to rope Anna into her wild fangirling, Jett was mildly entertained by the stark contrast between their reactions. It was interesting to see the two side by side: Anna with her unwavering apathy towards celebrities and Nina with her bubbly enthusiasm about meeting her idols. However, the moment quickly passed when Nina whirled on him again to talk about his music, leaving Anna out of the conversation completely. She spoke rapidly as she launched into a cascade of compliments about his work, making it hard for his half-drunk mind to keep up. Still, he tried his best to accommodate the excitable woman and answer as many of her questions as he could, because even though she was gushing over him, he wanted to give her a chance. Who knew? Maybe she was a lovely person when she was sober. He didn’t want to turn her away when he still knew so little about her.

Jett glanced up when he caught sight of Anna gesturing at him and gave her a nod of acknowledgement. Part of him wanted to keep talking to her, since he found her to be such an interesting person, but he had all summer to get to know her better. He could spend some time with other people for the rest of tonight. Turning back to Nina, he decided to try to shift the conversation away from himself, so he could find out a little more about who he was talking to. “I don’t think there’s anything left for you to learn about me,” he said with a laugh when there was a break in her endless speech. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself instead?”

Nina blushed and brought a hand to her face, “Ugh, sorry. I must have been rambling, huh? It’s hard not to when I’m standing in front of a music legend.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say legend,” Jett shrugged. “I think that title’s reserved for people like Elvis or The Beatles.”

“You’re more famous than anyone else I’ve ever met,” Nina asserted with that bright smile of hers.

“Alright, touché,” Jett grinned. Now that the bubbly girl had calmed down a bit, he was starting to think he’d misjudged her, and he was glad he’d stuck around to give her another chance. He looked her over with new interest as he asked, “So, what brings you to this little show?”

“Oh, so many things,” Nina shook her head, swaying a bit on her feet as she took another sip at the drink in her hand. “Meeting celebrities, living in a millionaire’s house, getting that fat paycheck… I’m a barista from Hudson Valley, so this was like winning the freakin’ lottery.”

“You’re from New York?” Jett raised a brow in surprise and pointed at himself. “Long Island, but I’m living in Manhattan now.”

“No way,” Nina beamed. “We’re so close. To think I could have been visiting you all this time!”

“Oh, God. I’m glad you didn’t,” Jett laughed. “I don’t like it when strangers come to my place.”

“Well, then let’s make it so I’m not a stranger.”

“Damn,” Jett whistled. “That was smooth.” He had definitely underestimated this girl. It had been a long time since a woman had flirted with him so casually, and he hadn’t expected something like that to come from one who was so drunk, she could barely keep herself upright. “Alright, Nina,” he chuckled. “You have my attention. Tell me a little more about yourself.”

[Bee]

Nina nodded, before taking a relatively large swig out of her drink. It was a question she had to answer every time, but every single time it came out slightly differently. How was Nina going to change her answer this time? How was she going to phrase things? Honestly, she didn't know herself, even in her inebriated state. But, she was going to give Jett the answer that he deserved. Swallowing the alcoholic liquid, she looked up to the side and tapped her chin, before looking over at Jett. "Okay... well... I'm a barista from Queens, New York. I graduated from Buffalo with a bachelor's in English, but I guess we can all see how that went, yeah?" Needless to say, Nina's degree didn't exactly get her anywhere that she wanted to be. "I wanted to be a writer... but it's hard to be a successful writer even with an English degree to your name. Do you know expensive that shit is?!" Nina scoffed, "I gotta get editors and publishers and tons of paper... and I ain't got enough money for that. I got rent to pay." Rent for her apartment back in New York was definitely no joke, and she was one of those people who had to live paycheck-to-paycheck.

"But, y'know. One of these days... I'll do something." Despite the costs of writing a book, Nina was undoubtedly still hard at work at writing her first novel, but she wasn't entirely too keen on talking about it. After all, spoilers were frowned upon and maybe at the end of this Jett would actually want to read her book. Man, that would be something if Jett Ollison, out of all the people who existed on the face of the planet, had read her book. The sheer thought was causing yet another surge of energy to wash over her, suddenly feeling reinvigorated as she continued to talk to Jett. She was starting to feel a little ballsy, to say the least. Taking another swig, she slammed the glass onto the table, before placing a finger on Jett's chest.

"So you... tell me about yourself." Nina took a moment to hold up the finger that was previously on Jett's chest, "Don't give me that rehearsed biography shit either."

Meanwhile, Anna had been hitting it off with Ashley -- at least by Anna's standards. The two had stricken a conversation about... something. It was hard to keep track of what was happening considering the conversation was moving so quickly and radically. It was definitely a major change of pace from Jett, who was more laid back and conservative compared to Ashley, who was practically flying off the walls in comparison. She wasn't as bad as say, the drunk glasses girl who was talking to Jett right now, but Ashley was still definitely something else. It was sort of endearing, as a matter of fact. Enthusiasm, especially genuine enthusiasm, was hard to come by these days. Anna couldn't help but to be drawn to Ashley's energy.

"...and yeah, I've done so many weddings. My favorite one is this sparkly dress I did for some reality TV star. It took me WEEKS to finish but it was sooooooooo worth it. She crushed it." Ashley remarked, before taking a deep breath. She had just finished winding down from geeking out about her job. A wedding dress seamstress... that was definitely something else. "So, what about you?" Ashley asked curiously. "What brings you here?" Anna shrugged, "I'm just a biological engineer from Boston. I mean, I live in Los Angeles now, but I was born and raised in Boston." Anna smiled, "I'm good at what I do, though, just like you are, I assume." Anna didn't know the first thing about making wedding dresses, but if they decided to cast Ashley, she must've been some level of good. Anna also wasn't entirely sure if she was constituted as a celebrity? Or a regular person. After all, there were even nail techs who were famous. Who was to say Ashley wasn't?

[Rogue Sloth]

Nina was definitely an interesting person, to say the least. Jett had never met anyone who aspired to be a writer before, but he’d heard enough about the field to know it was a competitive one. He found her tenacity to keep pursuing her dream in spite of all the pushback admirable. Anyone who wanted to make it in a creative industry had to be at least a little hardheaded. Music was no different. He’d seen plenty of talented musicians lose everything because they just didn’t have the ambition to achieve their goals. It was just the hard truth about trying to make it in a competitive field. If writing was the same way, this girl definitely had the perseverance to succeed. The only question left was if she was good enough at writing to get published. He found himself hoping so. Anyone with as much spunk as her deserved to be rewarded for their efforts, especially since it seemed like writing was her driving passion.

Jett smirked a little when Nina poked him in the chest. Whether it was just because of the alcohol she’d been drinking or she was actually this forward, he thought her boldness was appealing. She definitely wasn’t the adoring fangirl he’d initially taken her to be. There was a confidence about her that, while different from Anna, still sent his heart racing. Man, I’ve only met two girls here so far, and they’re both something special, he thought as his eyes swept over Nina’s attractive figure. The production team sure knew what they were doing when they picked out the cast members for the show. He hadn’t come here looking for anything romantic, but it was getting harder to pretend he wasn’t interested. Maybe it would be fun to let loose and mess around a bit—see where things went with at least one or two of the girls. The cameramen sure would like that, after all.

“I’m not sure what you want me to tell you, since you seem to know so much already,” Jett pointed out, sipping at the remains of his drink.

“How about something you’ve never told an interviewer before?” Nina challenged with a grin. “Something I couldn’t find with a Google search.”

“So, basically something I don’t want anyone else to know?” Jett snorted. The girl was really confident if she was willing to ask him something like that. Her cockiness was refreshing compared to the more timid and overly respectful women he’d met.

“I guess so,” Nina shrugged, smiling at him drunkenly. It was still hard to tell if the alcohol was the reason she was being so brazen with him, but he was too tipsy to care.

“You know, what the hell?” Jett finished off the rest of his Manhattan and set the empty glass down on the bar. “I like your forwardness, and I’ve had a few already, so I’ll give you something.” He paused to think, trying to come up with something about himself that he hadn’t already told an interviewer before. It was difficult when he was so intoxicated he could barely think straight, but after a moment, he thought of something he could share with Nina. Stepping forward, he rested a hand on her shoulder and leaned in close to whisper in her ear: “I’m actually really superstitious. Knock on wood, don’t walk under ladders… the whole nine yards.”

“Really?” Nina’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re not messing with me?”

“Nope,” Jett shook his head. “I’m dead serious.”

“Wow,” Nina giggled, leaning into him flirtatiously while they were still standing close. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s not something you’d find on Google,” Jett smirked at her without pulling away. He still wasn’t sure where things were going between them, but he was enjoying himself, so he wasn’t about to cut it off. After all, they were far from the most physical people in the room. Just taking a quick look around, he could already see a couple other people—an actress named Chloe Thomas and some guy he didn’t recognize with long hair—making out on a pool table. Surely with scenes like that going on, it wouldn’t be that weird for him to get a little friendly with Nina.

---

Ashley hadn’t come to California to talk to just anyone. She was here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to meet celebrities. Her eyes drifted over the crowd, picking out faces she recognized—Madison Taylor, Bella Michaels, David Hopper!—yet she couldn’t bring herself to move to greet any of them yet. Her gaze wandered back to the girl in front of her. She prided herself on knowing the names and faces of every person with a reputation that would be on this show, and she didn’t know an ‘Anna.’ There was nothing extraordinary about her, but she also got the feeling there was nothing average about her either.

She lightly bit her lip as she listened to the other girl tell her about her job as a bioengineer of all things. Damn, that was cool. Maybe it was worth sticking around Anna a little longer. “What do you mean just a biological engineer?” she was practically bursting at the seams with energy. “Anna, that’s badass! Why the hell are you on a reality TV show when you could be making bank inventing the tech of the future?”

[Bee]

Superstitious or not, Nina was really into this guy. Honestly, she respected those who were more superstitious more than those who weren't. At least they were able commit to a tradition of sorts and trick themselves into believing that whatever they were doing was going to work and produce the best result imaginable. Nina was superstitious herself, but probably not on the same level as Jett. At most, she knocked on wood and she had a favorite pen and favorite tools to make drinks with, but other than that it was more than likely that it wasn't nearly as bad as Jett, considering that she was just a lowly barista/writer from Queens, NY, and he was a big time musician who was facing different situations and scenarios on a daily basis.

Speaking of knocking on wood, however, there was some wood that Nina definitely would've liked to get her hands on right now. Jett Ollison was as close to her -- closer than 99.9% of his fans would ever get. That, combined with the sweet (or not really sweet), magical substance known as alcohol could only result in something along the lines of something that Jesus would frown upon big time. The electric energy in the air had slowly melted away as the party continued. Giving these single people all sorts of alcohol and contact with each other for the first time was bound to change the tide at some point. Chloe Thomas off to the side was busy macking it up with some stranger she didn't even know prior.

Nina put a hand up on Jett's chest, giving him a rather sultry look as she bit her lip. The music had slowed down significantly too. It was rather obvious that this was staged by the producers to start something. Get some romances sparking in order to pull viewers in. They were playing more lovey-dovey songs from the 90s in lieu of the uptempo, bass-heavy EDM songs that were pounding not too long ago. It was having its effects on everyone. Nina wanted nothing but to take Jett in right now -- even despite the fact that he was waaaay out of her league. They didn't call it liquid confidence for nothing, and Nina was more than willing to act on it.

"...why don't we go somewhere a little more... private?" Nina trailed, "Get away from everyone else, y'know?"

Meanwhile, Anna was looking at Ashley curious as she questioned why she was here instead of back at her laboratory. "Because I've done everything I can for now." Anna scoffed, "It's boring, especially when you're at the top of your league. There's no competition, y'know?" When you had the prowess for this like Anna did, tackling projects was like cutting butter with a hot knife. Nothing was going to stop her or even slow her down. Even the top minds at her company were nothing compared to hers. Things that had stumped them for what seemed like an eternity took Anna a fraction of the time to figure out. Was something going to slow her down eventually? Yes, something was, but Anna was going to make sure that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Seems more interesting to be a seamstress, though. At least you get to work with your hands more and make different designs." Anna nodded, "I just sit in a lab." Anna didn't really know how to go about this conversation, since she wasn't entirely sure as to what angle she could work with Ashley. She didn't have as much experience with talking to women than she did with men. It was hard to figure out what made them tick, considering that they tended to be different every time she talked to one. Hell, Nina over there was blowing up about Jett, and there was this girl exploding about dresses. That was what made girls so hard to talk to -- but it wasn't like she could abandon. Based on what was going on around her -- she had a feeling that things were going to take a turn very soon.

[Rogue Sloth]

Despite the fact that Anna was most definitely not a celebrity, Ashley couldn’t help but find her intriguing. Her dark eyes wandered up and down the blonde girl in front of her as she spoke a little more about herself. She wanted nothing more than to hook up with her idol crushes—she’d been eyeing Bella Michaels ever since the party started—but she supposed there was no rush yet. It was just the first day of the show, after all, and she had all summer to put the moves on the famous ladies around her. Perhaps there was also time for her to enjoy something a little more… low key. She didn’t know much about Anna, but the fact that she was still standing here, talking to her of all people meant she had to be interested, right? She hoped so, because this hot piece of ass was just her type.

“I may design dresses for brides, but you’re designing a better future for everyone,” Ashley quipped, sidling up a little closer to Anna. If this bioengineer really was interest in her, she wasn’t making any moves to do anything about it, so the seamstress decided she should make her intentions a little more clear, because she found Anna very attractive, and she wanted to have some fun with her. “I think that’s a thousand times better than what I do all day,” she added, gazing at the engineer beneath hooded lashes. She’d played her hand. Now, if Anna was as interested as Ashley guessed she was, the ball was in her court to make the next move.

---

The longer he talked to Nina, the more Jett realized that he really liked this girl. Even though she was obviously a fan of his music, she wasn’t afraid to get up close and personal or treat him like just another ordinary guy. He appreciated her willingness to talk to him without treating him specially. Whether something romantic came of their interaction or not, he had a feeling they would at least get along well enough to be friends. It was an exciting thought. Because of his lifestyle, he didn’t have many friends in general. There were a few left from before he’d made it big as a music artist and a few that he’d met through his work in New York, but overall, he found it difficult to hold onto anyone worth keeping around. Maybe this girl was someone would be different.

As Nina invited him to get away from everyone else, Jett found himself to be caught off guard by the suggestion. He certainly didn’t mind fooling around a little, but he wasn’t the type to ‘go somewhere private’ with a girl he’d just met. It was tempting—she was really hot, after all—but he preferred to get to know someone before he went that far with them. Just because he was a bit intoxicated didn’t mean he was going to compromise that standard either. If she wanted to go anywhere private with him, either she was going to have to get him a lot drunker than this or they were going to be spending quite a bit more time together.

“What, and miss out on all this action?” Jett laughed, gesturing at the other people in the room with them who were engaging in a variety of drunken activities, most of which involved a lot of unseemly PDA. Turning back to Nina, he casted her a flirtatious smile as his eyes wandered desirously down to her lips, “I think we’re fine right here…” Without skipping a beat, he moved in to close the distance between them with a kiss, ignoring anyone who might have been watching as they made out passionately against the edge of the bar.

--

By the end of the night, Jett was thoroughly exhausted. Between flying across the country, dancing with Anna, making out with Nina, and even meeting many of the other cast members—Bella had introduced him to a few of the people she had met later during the party—he was ready for a good, long rest. Fortunately, it didn’t take him too long to find his room. Since there was no filming going on in that part of the house on the first day, the crew had put up signs all throughout the hallway directing the cast members to their private rooms. He found his on the west side of the wing, right in the middle of—oh, how ironic—Anna and Nina and across from some girl named Traci Green, whom he hadn’t met yet. It looked like the production team had intentionally staggered the rooms so that no two guys or girls would be next to each other. If that’s not a deliberate set up, I don’t know what is.

With a wide yawn, Jett pushed open the door to his bedroom and stepped inside, only to be greeted by a view of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sandy beach below. He whistled softly and closed the door behind him, stepping over to the glass wall to take in the sight. It seemed like he’d gotten pretty lucky to have scored a room with a view like this. He was going to enjoy looking at the ocean every night when he went to bed and every morning when he woke up.

Curious to see what else his room had to offer, he turned on the overhead light and made a quick round. The room itself was modern like the rest of the house, with white walls and light blue carpeting. A queen-sized bed sat directly in the middle, with a nightstand on either side. They probably set that up on purpose too, he thought with a roll of his eyes. In case I have any overnight guests… Subtle.

Once he had finished exploring the bedroom, he opened up an adjoining door to find that there was a private bathroom attached. That was a nice touch. He liked having his privacy whenever he needed to shower or shave. Plus, the bathroom itself was pretty fancy. There was a glass, walk-in shower and a jacuzzi tub in the corner. His apartment in New York was luxurious, but even it didn’t have a bathtub with jets. He was definitely going to take advantage of that while he was here.

Finally finished checking out his new pad for the summer, Jett located his luggage that the crew member had dropped off for him and unpacked just a few of his things to get ready for bed, deciding he’d rather wait until the morning when he would be refreshed and sober to unpack the rest. His nightly ritual was short, and it wasn’t long before he finished getting ready and had settled down in the silk sheets of his new bed, drifting off almost as soon as his head touched the pillow in his weariness from the long day.

[Bee]

Anna bit her lip and looked at Ashley curiously as she started to act a little differently all of a sudden. If she had to guess, this was her way of flirting and she wanted her to make a move. But -- Anna wasn't entirely in the business of rushing things. She had the summer, it wasn't like she needed to make a move now otherwise she was going to lose this girl. Instead, Anna decided it would be a far better option to simply string her along and see what she would be getting in this girl. Anna smiled coyly, before reaching up to brush Ashley's cheek with the back of her hand. "We'll see about that." She trailed, before slowly backing away and winking. That was definitely going to leave an impression on the girl for sure. What would come after it, however, was up in the air.

---

The night was rather eventful and full of new experiences that Anna would definitely remember for quite a while. It wasn't every day that you got introduced to a bunch of celebrities and had drinks with them. It also wasn't every morning that you woke up in one of Malibu's finest properties in your new home for the summer. What had happened the previous night had happened -- but today was an entirely new day with completely new prospects ahead of her. It was also the first full day in this house, after spending half of it at home and getting transported to the venue. She didn't know what was going to happen today.

All she knew was that this was right about the time where everyone started to rise. Anna opened her eyes to the Southern California sun gazing into her extraordinarily gorgeous room. Her room was just as extravagant as everyone else's. Windows allowing for an incredible view of Malibu. Some got a front row seat to the Pacific Ocean, and some got a beautiful view of the road and mountain range out front. Anna was lucky enough to get one that was facing the ocean. Before Anna forced herself out of the bed, she spent a few minutes just looking at the ocean and the tide coming in and out. The waters were calm -- slowly washing away at the light beige sand that stood between it and the twelve people that inhabited this house on a regular basis.

It wasn't like there were cameras in this room anyway. At least, as far as she knew, or at the very least, ones that wouldn't be on and recording all the time. She wasn't obligated to slip out of her room right away. There was nobody watching her watch the ocean. Not to mention, there was a lack of connection to social media. Being that this was a reality show, everybody's phones were confiscated and being held elsewhere. Something about maintaining confidentiality and making sure that nobody was going to leak anything. It made sense, but it sort of drove the younger members of the cast a little crazy - considering how crazily obsessed and connected they were. To alleviate that, however, they were allowed access to production-modified devices that let them do things like create music, or browse some websites that the production company had said that they were allowed to browse. But other than that, they were practically isolated from the real world, at least on the days they had to film.

Eventually, Anna had managed to get herself out of bed and get ready for the day. Hopefully nobody would care if she slipped out in her pajamas. It was just the morning and she hadn't even had breakfast yet. It was much too early to get into her regular clothes and get into a position where she could hunker down and put on a show for the cameras. She spent a couple of minutes in the bathroom to freshen up. Brushing her teeth and washing her face so she could at least look the slightest bit presentable. She didn't want to look like what she actually looked like in the morning at home. There were still going to be cameras on her, probably the second that she stepped foot out of that room. Anna wasn't entirely too keen on disappointing the people who were going to be inevitably rooting for her, as well as those who had their eye on her.

Sighing as she stepped out of the bathroom, she made her way to the front door of her room, pinching the bridge of her nose and rubbing it as she put a hand on the brass handle. Twisting it and pulling the wooden door open, she made her debut for the day and stepped out into the hallway, a distant chatter being heard as she made her way to the kitchen. It was then where she could realize one of the advantages of living in a place like this -- it was that they would have a chef that would make basically ANYTHING they wanted. At least, until the producers decided they would pull her once it was discovered that one of them could actually cook. Stepping into the rather beautiful kitchen, a couple of people were seen leaning on the granite counters chatting idly over a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

However, Anna wasn't entirely sure how this worked. Did she just... walk up to the chef and ask for what she wanted? Was there a form that she had to fill out? It was a dilemma that Anna had faced, but not for very long before the chef noticed Anna's rather bewildered expression and cleared her throat. "Hello, ma'am. What would you like for breakfast, today? The menu is right here," She gestured to the little piece of paper stood up on the counter, "...and if you'd like to make any special requests, please let me know!" Anna nodded and smiled, before she leaned to glance at the menu. It didn't take long for her to come to a final decision. "I'd like some eggs - scrambled, and sausage, please." She smiled, before the chef nodded. "Right away, madam." She said, before turning to grab some more eggs out of the fridge. For the time being, though, Anna took a seat in front of the counter, waiting patiently for her food... and perhaps someone to come along and keep her company.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next morning, Jett woke up to a faint throbbing in his head from a mild hangover. He groaned tiredly and rolled over on his bed, pulling the comforter as high as he could manage to block out the morning light that was coming in through the massive windows on the other side of the room. Though it wasn’t the worst hangover he’d had by a longshot, the faint discomfort made him reluctant to get up. So, he closed his eyes, deciding there was no harm in sleeping in a little longer, but before he could drift off again, he remembered that he wasn’t in his own apartment in New York; he was in Malibu on the set of a TV show—and last night had been the debut. The thought made him cringe as he recalled how he’d gotten a bit more drunk than he’d intended to and had gotten pretty frisky with one of the girls on the cast. It definitely wasn’t the first impression he’d wanted to make, but at least he hadn’t woken up next to anyone. That had to count for something.

Deciding he didn’t want to lay around all day while the crew was probably filming again, Jett forced himself to get up from the comfortable bed and ambled tiredly to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He could still smell the alcohol on his own breath, so priority number one was getting rid of that with a lot of toothpaste and mouthwash. Once he felt satisfied that he’d ridden himself of his bad breath, he finished off his other morning rituals—showering, shaving, a little bit of hair styling, the works—and went back to the bedroom to get dressed and properly put away all of the clothing and other things he’d brought with him from New York. He’d traveled fairly light, since he didn’t think he needed more than two weeks’ worth of clothes as long as there was a place to wash everything, so the process of putting it all away in the closet didn’t take him more than about fifteen minutes.

With that done, Jett finally made his way out the door to see what was left for breakfast. The time was nearing ten in the morning—he’d slept in later than usual because of how much he’d had to drink the night before—so he hoped there was still some hot food left. Of course, he knew the house he was staying in wasn’t a hotel, but he had a feeling that meals were going to be served like clockwork over the course of the show, so there was always a chance that he was the last to get up and would be stuck with the leftover fruits and oatmeal that no one else wanted to touch if he showed up too late. Right now, all he wanted was a hearty plate of sunny-side eggs and crispy bacon, so if he showed up to the kitchen greeted by a bowl of cantaloupe wedges, he was going to be severely disappointed.

However, to Jett’s surprise, there weren’t very many other people at the kitchen bar despite the late hour. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he only saw Adam—one of the non-celebrity guests that Bella had introduced him to the night before—standing at the edge of the bar with a pretty, dark-skinned woman he remembered seeing around the party but had yet to talk to. A short distance away from them was Anna. He wavered by the base of the stairs as his eyes landed on her. Even though he really hadn’t joined this show to meet any girls, he couldn’t help but be drawn to her, especially after the fun he’d had dancing with her the previous night. She was attractive, but she was also an intriguing person; one whom he wanted to get to know better while he had the chance.

Well, now is as good a time as any, I guess, Jett decided, pushing his arms forward to stretch his back as he ambled into the kitchen area and slid into the open seat at the counter next to Anna. “What a night, huh?” he mused aloud, reaching for one of the laminated breakfast menus that were strewn about the counter and bar. It looked like the house was at least somewhat similar to the five-star hotels he’d stayed at in the past in the sense that the meal options were prepared the same way. He browsed the selection, pleased to see that everything he had a taste for that morning was on the list today, before gesturing to get the chef’s attention.

“Have you decided what you want, sir?” the woman asked politely.

“Yeah,” Jett nodded. “I’ll have the eggs sunny-side up with a side of bacon.” He paused, tapping his index finger on the granite countertop before adding: “I don’t suppose you serve mimosas, do you?”

“It’s not on the menu, but I could make one for you,” the chef answered accommodatingly.

“Perfect,” Jett grinned. “I’ll have that too then. Thank you.” While he didn’t normally like to day drink, he supposed there was no reason not to have one mimosa, since he was pretty much on vacation here anyway. It couldn’t hurt to indulge a little.

“I’ll have that right out for you,” the chef said before turning back to continue working on someone else’s breakfast.

With his order put in, Jett turned back to Anna, resting his elbow on the table and propping his chin in his palm, “So, I noticed we’re neighbors. What do you think of that ocean view? Pretty nice, right?”

[Bee]

Anna, being the lovely girl that she was, had managed to space out despite the massive amount of people that just so happened to be around. More and more people were spilling in as time passed -- but Anna couldn't have really paid them any less attention. She had briefly forgotten that she was, in fact, on a reality television show and not just at home. Forgetting that would eventually be something that she would pay dearly for. For right now, given that it was pretty early in the process and that the so-called "regular people" were still adjusting to being in front of a camera, it was totally excusable. Lord knows that everyone that wasn't Anna were probably still finding their way to the kitchen. More than likely they had gotten lost right outside of their door.

Also, not to mention, Anna wasn't really the type to talk before she had her breakfast. That was the way she'd always liked it. Her mantra belonged on a coffee mug that middle-aged soccer mom with three kids and a crumbling marriage would own, but it was pretty much her. She didn't want to interact with anyone. That was hopefully communicated through her body language, where she was hunched over and tapping idly on the countertop. It was situations like these where she missed having her phone. There was literally nothing else for her to do than to just wait and see what was going to happen. Her food was being made, sure, but other than having to interact with people, Anna really didn't know what to do. That was, until her food was bestowed onto her after a relatively quick wait. Her food was still steaming, which indicated that it was really fresh and not just some refrigerated, defrosted shit.

Grabbing a fork from nearby, Anna flashed a smile and thanked the chef, before she stabbed a piece of scrambled egg and placed it in her mouth. For such a simple dish, this chef really knew what the fuck she was doing and had made it taste incredible. It was so fluffy yet you could taste more than just the egg. There was some seasoning in there that she couldn't really identify, but damn did it taste good. She was sitting idly by, eating her food before she heard some footsteps behind her, and that unmistakeable, familiar voice that she could not forget from the night before, despite how fucking wasted she got. Swallowing her food, she turned around and smiled. Lo and behold, it was Jett. One out of two people she had remembered from last night. Flashing a small smile, she nodded toward Jett. She'd say something, but she was kind of in the process of eating her food. But before she could really think of what to say, Jett was already perusing the menu.

In the meantime, Anna just scarfed down her food. The eggs were way too good to neglect, and the hotter they were the better they were. Was Anna gonna burn her throat? More than likely. Was it worth it? Definitely. However, even as she ate, she couldn't help but to overhear Jett's order. She wanted to know what kind of food a man like him ate. Probably caviar on top of caviar... as overrated that caviar was. Eggs and bacon, she heard? That... wasn't exactly what she was expecting. In fact, it was incredibly similar to her order. But then, there was the kicker. Mimosas at... ten o'clock in the morning? Who does that? Apparently Jett did. Anna looked up at him with a weird look, indicating to him that she found it rather weird that he was drinking as soon as he got up.

Following him with her eyes, Anna smirked as she was asked about that stunning ocean view that was bestowed onto them. Apparently she and Jett were on the same side. That meant he would know what exactly she was talking about. "It's great. I wish I had a view like that back home. I could just grab a chair and put it outside the window and stare at it for hours." Anna added, using her fork to draw little pictures in the air that were solely for the purpose of driving the point home. "What about you, Mr. Mimosa at Ten O'Clock Man? How do you like the view?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Jett wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when he had decided to approach Anna, but the strange look she gave him definitely wasn’t it. He tilted his head slightly, wondering what he’d done to warrant the expression. Retracing his steps, all he had done was walk up, sit down, order some food, and strike up a conversation with a familiar face. He hadn’t done anything that out of place, right? For a fleeting moment, he worried that he had bad breath or something. After all, he’d had quite a few drinks the night before, and he hadn’t thought to use any mouthwash the next morning. It wouldn’t have been that shocking to find out that toothpaste alone hadn’t been enough to get rid of the beast that was alcohol breath. He nearly leaned away from her in case she really had looked at him funny because he had bad hygiene.

Luckily for him, it seemed like his guess was wrong. Jett cracked an amused smile when Anna made a comment about the drink he had just ordered, acting like it was too early in the morning for mimosas. He nearly laughed at that. Who in their right mind drank mimosas after ten in the morning? Everyone knew the orange juice was just an excuse to get champagne-drunk before noon under the guise of being classy. It was a classic vacation move, and it was one that he intended to take advantage of while he didn’t have a manager breathing down his neck about ‘maintaining a proper image.’ Of course, he didn’t plan to make a total idiot of himself, but a little bad publicity never hurt anyone—honestly, it would probably bring in more fans. So why not have a little fun?

“Are you kidding? The view here knocks my street-view of Manhattan out of the park,” Jett said in answer to her question. He turned away from Anna when the chef brought over his breakfast, only pausing in their conversation to offer her a quick ‘thanks,’ and take a sip of the mimosa. Like everything else in this paradise house, the drink was excellent. The orange juice was freshly squeezed—not the usual concentrate from a container—and the champagne had to have been from a thirty-dollar bottle, at least. Not only was the flavor good, but it was also a little stronger than other champagnes he’d had at various hotels, and it fizzed pleasantly on his tongue. I have a feeling I’m going to be ordering one of these every morning.

“Judge me all you want, but I know I’m doing this thing right,” Jett added, shooting Anna a wry smirk and taking another swig of his drink. Maybe he came off as a bit of an alcoholic after drinking both the night before and the morning after, but he didn’t care. He was a social drinker, so he found it fun to be a little buzzed when he was hanging around so many people. Besides, the contract he’d signed when he had joined this show stated that all of their expenses within the boundaries of the property would be covered by production. That meant free booze. Who didn’t like free booze? Definitely not Jett. He was going to milk this for all it was worth. Perhaps he would slow down as the novelty wore off, but they were only on day two in this luxury mansion. Right now, it was still new and exciting.

He casted Anna a sideways glance. Despite the poke she’d made at his drinking habits, she seemed like the type to enjoy doing things a little out of the ordinary. Honestly, most of the people on this cast did. It was probably how they’d gotten selected in the first place, since ‘abnormal’ got more views on a show like this. She had been interested enough in trying new things last night—the fact that she’d kept up with him while dancing was proof enough of that—so maybe he could play on that trait a little more now.

“This is actually pretty good,” Jett mused, sliding his glass across the granite countertop toward Anna with a hint of challenge in his eyes. “Try it. I guarantee it’ll be the best mimosa you’ve ever had.”

[Bee]

A man from Manhattan? Anna raised in eyebrow in intrigue. At the same time, however, Anna completely understood where he was coming from. Manhattan was one thing. The city, the skyline, the bustling streets that never seemed to stop. She understood why it would be quite the place to be in. On the other hand, it had nothing on Mother Nature. The beach, the waves, the natural cascading of the tide was something that couldn't be beaten by man-made means. They were both views Anna appreciated, but gun to the head, Anna would pick the beach.

The focus was cast back onto Jett and his early drinking tendencies. She still felt 10:00 AM in the morning was much too early to be drinking, despite this being a reality show with really no rules on it. Anna still had her morals, and if she was drinking before noon then something was seriously wrong in her life. But then again, she was on a reality show. Morals and rules and order were among some of the last when it came to priorities. Time and time again Anna had to remind herself that the producers were interested in crazy shit. Shit that would get them views, scandalous shit, shit that would get people talking. Not to mention that everything within the confines of this household was practically free of charge. She wouldn't be losing anything (besides her dignity, but that's a story for later) by consuming alcohol. She really didn't have any reason as to not consume any, besides her own moral code.

Her eyes migrated over to the concoction that Jett was sipping from. It did look really good. After all, Anna was a fan of orange juice and champagne. There was no telling what would've happened when you combined the two in an environment like this food and drinks were plentiful. Anna took a moment to think, to mull over his offer. it was 10 AM and it was much too early to be drinking. That was what she was hung up on. However, it was not a regular scenario. It wasn't like she had anywhere to be besides here. It wasn't like she needed to be sober the whole day. So what if she was drunk before the moon came up? Nobody cared.

Anna glanced down at the glass, and flashed him a smile before reaching out to grab it. "Okay. I'll take a sip." She shrugged, "...only because it'll shut you up." Anna put the glass to her lips, taking a small sip.

He was right. It was delicious.

[Rogue Sloth]

Jett picked up his fork and took a bite of the eggs on his plate, watching Anna with an amused smile. For someone who had been so quick to judge him for drinking in the morning, she was surprisingly eager to take him up on his offer to try the mimosa. He wondered if she had just poked fun at him earlier to put up a front. He wasn’t sure why she would do that, but it was the only explanation he could think of for her abrupt change in attitude. That is, until she added an explanation of her own.

To shut me up, huh? Jett nearly laughed at that. Anna’s combativeness never ceased to entertain him. No one else—at least, since he’d made a name for himself—had the guts to say the things she did to him. Her spunk was refreshing, and it brought up a competitive energy in him that made him feel the need to think a little quicker on his feet. After all, he wasn’t about to let some woman he just met last night make him look like an idiot by outperforming him in a battle of wits, especially in front of a bunch of rolling cameras. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. He had to do it for the fans—at least, that sounded like a selfless enough excuse for him to convince himself that he wasn’t just being petty.

“I never agreed to that,” he pointed out cheekily. Reaching out, he took the champagne flute back from her after she’d sipped at it and downed a sizeable portion of the drink that remained. At this point, he’d given up on fighting the impression that he was an alcoholic. He knew he wasn’t, and that was what mattered. If he wanted to have fun and indulge a little while he had the opportunity, then there was no reason not to. He would just be careful not to let himself get too carried away, since he was technically still in front of an audience.

As he set his glass back down, Jett casted Anna a sideways glance. She was a difficult person to read. He couldn’t tell if she was enjoying his company or not, so he decided to test the waters a bit. “You know, if you really don’t want to talk to me, I can just leave,” he offered with a one-shouldered shrug. “There are plenty of other places to sit in this mansion that would be more comfortable than this metal barstool.”

[Bee]

Anna raised an eyebrow at the rather odd suggestion from Jett. It seemed like he was trying to play games, games that a petulant, petty high schooler that would play. Anna saw right through it, and knew exactly what he was trying to do with that. She knew - because did the same exact thing to people. It drove her nuts, yet it was hypocritical because she pulled that stuff all the time to get what she wanted. Was it manipulative? Yes. Was it shitty? Yes. Did Anna give a rat's ass? No, she didn't. It worked like a charm, especially with men who she wanted to string along. If they were going to try to rob her of her dignity, she might as well get something out of it in return. That was the way Anna played these games. What comes around, goes around. An eye for an eye.

The Ukrainian made a pouty face and put a hand on Jett's shoulder, her fingers digging into his sleeve as she looked into his eyes. "Nooo.. please don't go!" Anna made a point to sound as fake and insincere as possible, "Don't go! I need you here, Jett with two Ts..." Anna whined, before letting go of Jett's shirt. It was a really shitty attempt at reverse psychology, but attempts even worse than what she'd just pulled were successful. Maybe he'd stay, maybe he'd go. Subconsciously, she wanted him to stay, but she tried to make it seem like she didn't have a care in the world about his decision.

[Rogue Sloth]

Jett had been expecting a straightforward answer from Anna. Whether she cared if he stayed to talk with her or not, he had just been trying to get the point across that he preferred to have a respectful conversation as compared with the sardonic comments she’d been making so far. A little banter here and there was fine with him. He could take a hit if he had to. However, it was quite another thing to sit through a series of mocking remarks so early in the morning. He hadn’t had enough alcohol to handle that yet. So, when Anna answered his suggestion with a melodramatic whine, she quickly crossed the line from amusing to irritating.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as she caught the fabric of his shirt in her hand and begged him to stay in what had to be the fakest voice he’d ever heard. He didn’t know what sort of game she was playing or if she was just trying to get under his skin, but he knew he didn’t like it. The face she was showing now was a far cry from the one she’d put on last night. It was starting to look like his first impression of the alluring, genius engineer had been wrong.

“Yeah, right,” Jett clicked his tongue. Normally, he had more of a filter when it came to giving away his negative emotions, but her intentions had been blatant enough that at the moment, he didn’t care if he offended her. Gathering his unfinished dishes from the counter, he got up from the barstool. “If you really need me so much, I’ll be over here.” He tilted his head to indicate a sectional couch in the living room where a few of the other cast members had congregated to eat their breakfasts and then turned his back on her as he walked over to join them.

[Bee]

Watching Jett walk away was something she wasn't quite sure she knew how to feel about. On one hand, her game was effective and it sort of worked? On the other hand, she was by herself, left to her own accord and to her own vices at the breakfast. Poking at some eggs, she started to mull over what she did to make Jett walk away. Did it really work? Well, she was sitting here by herself and Jett was over there with the other people. She had forgotten that she didn't know Jett like that just yet, and Jett wasn't entirely just some regular guy. She had forgotten that this wasn't Creepo Steve from the bar. This was Jett Ollison, a real life, high caliber musician who was worth his weight in gold.

Poking at an egg, she was starting to feel somewhat guilty about what she did. Anna was that bitch, but she also wasn't that bitch. Usually she wouldn't give half a shit about watching this guy walk away, but something about Jett walking away harshed her vibe. Considering that he was the first connection she made at this show, and to already light the bridge on fire was something that only Anna could accomplish. She looked back at the couch, where he sat down and joined the other people, people who weren't pulling shit like that. Anna sighed, poking at her eggs.

Meanwhile, as Jett sat down, Nina, who was busy chewing on a sausage, had perked up upon seeing the musician. "Hey!" She beamed, her smile practically lighting up the entire room. Nina scooted over to make some room for Jett, before letting him sit down. "Good morning! How'd you sleep?" She asked, holding the brown sausage in her hand, "The beds here are soooooo comfy. I can't believe we have stuff as cool as this!" The girl beamed. But before Jett could really answer, the sounds of footsteps could be heard nearby. "Oh, hey there!" Nina beamed, again.

Anna nodded, before taking a seat around the table. She didn't really want to look Jett in the eye right now, but she figured this gesture would at least do something, even if she didn't really wanna say anything. "Hey." She uttered, before looking down at her eggs. Nina turned back to Jett, before manipulating her body language to make the others feel more included, "What do you guys think of the house so far? I love it, personally."

[Rogue Sloth]

Well, the morning wasn’t off to a great start so far, but luckily Jett was quick to bounce back. He had always been good at brushing off a bad mood, especially when there were plenty of distractions around, and there was no shortage of those at this paradise house. With all sorts of people to talk to and activities to try, he was determined not to let his frustrating conversation with Anna drag him down. He was, however, going to tread more carefully around her in the future.

After their last talk, Jett had realized she wasn’t the type of person he’d thought she was, and the person she had turned out to be wasn’t really the type he wanted to associate with. It was a bit disappointing, but he wasn’t that surprised to find out his first impression of her had been wrong. In his industry, people put on masks all the time. It was pretty common to meet a nice girl or guy and find out a week later that they were cruel or selfish or greedy. He supposed those types of people must have existed in other fields too. This was just the first time he’d seen it for himself.

He didn’t dwell on it though.

When he got to the living room, Jett took a quick look around to see who he was joining. Right away, he recognized Nina, the girl he’d gotten a little physical with at the party last night. The memory made him cringe inwardly. While he wasn’t particularly prudish, he also didn’t like to make a habit of making out with women he’d just met. For one thing, it wasn’t great for his public image. If the production team decided to air that little scene, he knew his other fans were going to go nuts over it. He’d already dealt with enough crazy to last a lifetime. He didn’t need to return to his life in New York with the expectation of dodging around other girls who were hoping to score a kiss from him too.

For another thing, he had his own standards he wanted to uphold. While he wasn’t opposed to having a little fun with a pretty face on occasion—preferably not in front of a camera—he longed to find someone with whom he could share a real connection. Of course, he wasn’t really expecting to meet anyone like that on this show, but he at least wanted to get to know a girl before he locked lips with her. Apparently, that plan had gone out the window with the rest of his good sense when the alcohol had kicked in.

Jett slid in on the couch as Nina made room for him. He barely had time to settle down before she bombarded him with a question and her opinion of the beds in the house. Having barely recovered from his annoyance with Anna, it took him a moment to process everything she said. Her bubbly attitude was a stark change from the scathing engineer, but he appreciated it. He opened his mouth to give her an answer to her question, but then closed it again when he caught sight of someone else walking up to the group.

As Anna took a seat nearby, he quirked a brow, wondering what she was trying to pull now. Was she just following him to be obstinate, or was she trying to make some sort of vague gesture of apology? It was hard to say for sure, but she was definitely avoiding eye contact with him.

Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to figure out, Jett turned back to Nina, who was more upbeat and enjoyable to talk to. “It’s something else,” he agreed, popping another bite of eggs into his mouth and chasing it with his drink. “Definitely worth selling your soul to a TV show for a whole summer.”

[Bee]

Hearing Jett respond to Nina's question didn't really evoke a response from Anna. She looked up, fork stuffed in her mouth as she peeled the egg off the prongs. At this point, you could've replaced the fork with a foot and it wouldn't have made a single difference in the world. Nina, on the other hand, was more than ecstatic at Jett's response. Anna glanced at Nina and Jett, before feeling a slight stabbing pain in her chest and looking down. This was a mistake. Why would she bring herself closer to the person with whom she practically poured kerosene on and lit a match with? Nina had no idea that there was already some sort of tension on the show, but right now all she wanted to do was get to know Jett. Anna was there too, she guessed.

"Right?" Nina exclaimed, biting off another piece of her sausage in the meantime, "If I knew things were this comfortable and the food was free earlier? I would've signed up for other shows way, way long ago." Nina was very happy with the accommodations, which if you thought about it, was kinda sad if this was all it took to really win the young, perky girl over. "It's like I'm sleeping on a cloud, dude!" Nina was in love with the special mattresses, even if they were just your run of the mill memory foam mattresses. It sure beat the shit out of whatever Nina slept on back at her home.

Nina then noticed Anna, who was still poking at her food. Maybe she wanted to say something? Nina turned to Anna, before clearing her throat, "What about you? How do you like it here?" Nina asked. It took Anna a while to realize that a question was for her, so as she looked up to see at least one pair of eyes trained on her, she was a little surprised, to say the least. "Uh, me?" She asked, before swallowing the eggs in her mouth. "I guess... it's nice? The view's cool..." She trailed, looking down at her plate. She couldn't bear to look at Jett right now.

"Aw, you got a view of the beach? I don't have that!" Nina frowned. "It's something." Anna replied. Nina shrugged again before deciding to propose another question to the group. "What do you guys think will happen over this summer? I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what happens between people. I know some things have happened already." Nina said, glancing quickly at Jett, before back at the both of them. Anna looked up again, inhaling deeply. "Well... I'm in the camp of whatever happens, happens. I'm not really... forcing anything, if that makes sense."

[Rogue Sloth]

The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife. As much as he tried to ignore her, Jett couldn’t help but wonder why in the world Anna had followed him into the living room after she’d practically chased him out of the kitchen. She seemed even more uncomfortable than he was. Part of him was tempted to get up and move somewhere else so they’d have more time to cool down apart from each other, but he didn’t want to make a scene. Judging by how eagerly Nina was carrying on with the conversation, she hadn’t noticed that there was anything funny going on—and the rest of the group hadn’t either. So, for the sake of keeping the peace, he remained where he was, awkwardly avoiding the engineer’s gaze as he chewed on a strip of bacon.

He was just getting into the conversation again when Nina suddenly brought up the one other incident on the show that made him want to crawl under a rock. It just so happened that he was halfway through a sip of his drink when she said it too. The unexpectedness of the mention nearly made him choke, and he covered the impulse by clearing his throat as he set his glass back down on the coffee table. It wasn’t that he embarrassed easily—although that could sometimes be true as well—he was just worried about what his drunken fooling around might have led to. It had just been mindless fun last night, but he didn’t know if Nina had seen it that way. He really didn’t want to have ‘that talk’ with someone on his second day on the show.

It was hard to tell exactly what she had been trying to gain when they’d made out at the party. Maybe she had just been drunk and, like him, thought it would be fun… or maybe she was a rabid fan who wanted the bragging right of being able to say that she’d kissed the famous Jett Olliston.

God, he hoped it wasn’t the latter.

When Anna answered Nina’s question, Jett looked up to listen to her response, momentarily letting go of his negative feelings toward her in favor of forgetting about his potentially awkward situation with the bubbly writer girl. He’d heard the spiel before. It was the same thing she’d told him yesterday when they’d talked at the party. However, now he was starting to think her claim wasn’t entirely true. She definitely wasn’t forcing anything to happen, but she certainly wasn’t giving anyone any chances either.

Jett wasn’t the type to go around calling himself a “nice guy,” but, well… he knew he was a nice guy. Aside from a few clipped remarks here and there, he’d been nothing but respectful to Anna. Look where that had gotten him. He sank back into the couch, resting his nearly finished plate of breakfast on his lap. Of course, he hadn’t been trying to score with her or anything like that. The girl was hot, but he barely knew her. However, if there was ever a chance of something happening between them, it was gone now—quenched by the fire that was Anna’s unpredictable temper. He wouldn’t call that the ‘whatever happens, happens’ camp.

“I have no specific ideas,” he pitched when there was a break in the conversation. “But I’ve seen shows like this before, so my guess is anything could happen.”

“Really? Anything?” Nina seemed interested in that.

“Within reason,” Jett clarified with a shrug as he finished off the rest of his food. “I mean, I’d hope they aren’t planning to make us do anything too crazy, like, I don’t know… fear factor stuff.”

“What do you have to be afraid of?” Nina asked with an intrigued grin.

“That,” Jett pointed his fork at her. “Is something I’m going to keep to myself. Wouldn’t want the crew to find out and use it against me.”

“Oh, please,” another voice spoke up from the other end of the sectional. He looked up to see Madison Taylor eyeing him with a smirk. She was leaning forward with her arms crossed over her knees in a posture that offered a direct view down the front of her shirt. It was hard to tell if she was doing it on purpose but, knowing her reputation to show off, he wouldn’t have been surprised in the least if she was.

The actress went on, “You gave up your right to privacy a long time ago, just like the rest of us.” She tilted her chin up arrogantly, making it clear that she ranked the celebrities on the show above the rest of the cast. “If they really want to know, all it’ll take is one Google search.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to make it easy on them,” Jett muttered, setting his empty plate back down on the coffee table.

“I guess that’s one perk for us ‘normal people,’” Nina laughed, flashing a grin at Anna. “It’s going to be harder for them to dig up dirt on us.”

[Bee]

"I don't know about that..." Anna trailed, stabbing a tiny piece of egg with her fork, "I've seen people figure out all sorts of stuff online just based off a Twitter profile." The power of individuals on the internet was not to be trifled with. It might not have happened to her, but Anna had witnessed many cases in which people had decided to take justice into their own hands and not only figure out someone's real name, but also things as close and sensitive as their address, their workplace, school, and other things. She still didn't understand what the internet was capable of, and it was better that she not dive into it too much. By the time this episode premiered, there would no doubt, be people digging into everyone's profiles. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, the works. Someone would find them all and from there they'd be able to find out a lot of about the contestants of this show.

"Oh come on, that's just for people who do shit they shouldn't do." Nina rolled her eyes. "Us? We don't gotta worry about a thiiiiiing." Nina's voice briefly turned sing-songy, which was a bit weird, at least in Anna's eyes. Being a decent person wasn't exactly something to be proud of. It was expected, at least in Anna's eyes. But, Nina wasn't Anna.

"Or it means you aren't worth looking at." Madison scoffed, before sipping on her orange juice, "Easier for you to stay low-key, but nobody really knows who you are." Madison tilted her head slightly, before raising her eyebrows and taking yet another sip of orange juice. As rude as the statement sounded, Madison did have a point. On one hand, nobody knew who you were, but that just meant you were able to carry on with your business without having people constantly pry. Anna nodded, "Yeah. I guess it's better that nobody knows who I am. I wouldn't want paparazzi tracking my every move."

Another figure had managed to make their way to the group that was starting to get bigger with every second. At this point, it was either sit at the table or be left out, because the group was slowly making a circle and all the good seats on the couch were already filled up. Bella Michaels, the local redhead (at least one of them), had decided to take a seat next to Anna, placing a cup of grape juice on the table before scooting in. "Sup guys?" She greeted, inserting herself in the conversation. The other ladies in the area gave their greetings, before Madison honed in on Bella's drink, which she found rather odd.

"Is that grape juice?" Madison asked, "What are you, four?" She laughed, but quick glares from Anna and Nina might've shut it down pretty quickly. Not like Madison noticed, anyway.

Nina looked over, before looking at Bella, "Hey, leave her alone. What's wrong with grape juice?"

Anna nodded, pointing her fork at the cup, "Yeah. Nothing wrong with drinking grape juice." Then another thought popped in her mind, glancing at Jett quickly because it reminded her of him, before proposing it to everyone else, "Isn't wine just alcoholic grape juice?"

[Rogue Sloth]

As the conversation dragged on, Jett glanced between Anna, Nina, and Madison, unsure what to do with it. They almost sounded like they were trying to compete with each other, although they all seemed to have different views on what made them better than the others. He sipped idly at his mimosa, listening without participating as he wondered if they were going to start an argument. If any of them was going to pick a fight, he planned to make a beeline for the nearest exit. It was way too early in the day to deal with more drama. He would have much rather spent his time exploring the other rooms in the house.

To his amusement, the conversation took a completely different turn than he had been expecting when Bella showed up with a glass full of grape juice. Jett casted Madison a sideways glance when she made a rude comment about it. Like the others, he didn’t see why the actress had a problem with the drink. Adults could enjoy juice too. He even had a particular affinity for cranberry juice, developed during his early years of shooting music videos. Before he had been old enough to legally drink alcohol, the producers had always substituted cranberry juice in place of red wine whenever they had wanted to give the appearance of drinking during the shoots. The taste had stuck with him, and he still enjoyed an occasional glass of cranberry juice in his more recent years.

As Anna pitched her opinion, Jett didn’t miss the brief look she’d sent his way. He let out a quiet snort. What, did she think he was an alcoholic or something? He looked down at the now-empty flute in his hand. Well, maybe she has a reason to think that. Even though he knew he didn’t have a drinking problem, he hadn’t really put in much effort to get that point across. Going by first impressions alone, he really couldn’t blame her for assuming.

Not that it matters anyway, he reminded himself, setting his glass down on the table. Still put off by her comments at the breakfast bar, he didn’t care what she thought of him anymore.

“I really think you guys are making this into a bigger deal than it is,” Bella muttered with a shrug, taking a sip of her drink.

Jett nodded and opened his mouth to offer his agreement, but then paused when he noticed one of the production crew members approaching the gathering group in the living room. Curious, he watched the man tap Madison on the shoulder and say something in her ear. In the next moment, she nodded and got up to walk with him towards the door that led to the backyard. He followed them with his eyes until they disappeared from sight, wondering where they were going before he remembered what the director had told them on their first night in the house.

“I think they’re starting to pull people aside for those confessionals they talked about before,” he speculated, turning to Nina but speaking audibly enough that the others could hear him too. “I wonder what sort of questions they’re going to ask us.”

[Bee]

So, what were your thoughts on what just happened?

"What just happened? What just happened was that people didn't understand what the [expletive] was going on. I don't get why they put regular people on here. It's like they're in over their heads. Like, seriously? Grape juice? We aren't in the fourth [expletive] grade. You gotta be kidding me with this! Where did you find these people?"

---

Anna glanced at Jett who asked the question about the confessionals. If it was anything like the reality shows she'd seen (and it was), they were gonna ask some questions about what just happened and record their reaction right there and then.

"Probably something like about what just happened? I have no idea how they work, but I don't think they can really ask too many questions from this."

As Madison was pulled away to do whatever bullshit confession was going to be filmed, Anna sighed, and Nina took a moment to roll her eyes as she put a hand on Bella's shoulder. Bella obviously was made very uncomfortable with what had just happened. Being berated for her choice of drink at breakfast was not the best way to start things off. She tried to stay strong for the cameras, but based on how much she was looking down at her drink and keeping her eyes away from everyone, it was really clear that she was hurt. Anna, in the meantime, was focusing on finishing up her breakfast while Nina tried to do something.

"Heeeey. Don't take it personally. She's probably got a stick up her ass. Don't take it too personally. She probably doesn't have much going on in her life."

Nina pat Bella on the shoulder a couple times, before clearing her throat once again, "Don't sweat it, dude. She'll get what's coming to her at some point."

In the meantime, Anna finished off her breakfast and decided to do something about the Bella situation. As much as she didn't want to, it was probably going to reflect even more poorly on her if she just up and left while someone was feeling down. She already got people to turn against her with her interaction with Jett, probably. It was a tough situation for her to be in. On one hand, she just wanted to be herself, but she could only relaly be so much herself before people would just start hating her. Putting her fork down, she sighed and looked at Bella. "Yeah, Nina's got a point. People like her are probably really insecure." She shrugged, "You have nothing to worry about." Anna then took the time to glance quickly at Jett, who was probably thinking up of a response. She was hoping he would take Bella's side at this little ordeal.

"I think Bella doesn't have much to worry about." Anna said, before glancing at Jett, "What do you think, Jett?"