Lies We Tell

19 : Stick or Switch

"'Girls, it's nearly time for tonight's recoupling. You'll be deciding whether to stick with your original partner from the Villa, or recouple with one of the boys from Casa Amor. You'll then find out the decision your Villa boy has made.'"

The text the girls had received just an hour earlier bounced around inside Zahra's brain, making it difficult for her to concentrate on almost anything else. There was an odd mix of energy in the dressing room as the girls got ready for the ceremony-- some of them were confident about the night's events like Marisol, while others were uncertain like Priya.

Zahra had two options before her: a sheer black jumpsuit with roses, which was something she'd had for almost nearly as long as she'd been disconnected from Carl, or the strapless white dress Lucas seemed to love so much. As it was, she couldn't figure out which choice to go with because, really, her choice in outfit was how she was committing herself to her decision. It seemed ridiculous to compare her connection with each boy to a piece of clothing, but this was how she would hold herself accountable. If she insisted on this, then seeing Carl in person wouldn't sway her decision; while Lucas would only make an appearance after her choice was set in stone, her eyes would be glued to his face regardless of how the night panned out, and how he reacted to her return would mean a lot.

A flurry of voices--male-- chorused from downstairs, and all of the girls froze. Zahra strained to hear any sign of Lucas, or Bobby, or Gary, but what she heard instead was Felix remarking about the look of the Villa. The others picked up on that, too, and most of them, like her, deflated a bit.

"If the boys are here, then that must mean it's nearly time," Marisol said coolly, unfazed by this new event.

Internally, Zahra was panicking; externally, she politely ignored the law student as per their unspoken rule since their fight the day before.

Priya seemed to sense Zahra's rising panic and immediately came over to help her friend with her makeup. "You know who to choose," she whispered.

"I don't," Zahra whispered back, feeling heat creep up her body. She felt lightheaded all of a sudden. "I keep going back and forth and-"

"Don't," Priya said. "You decide this with your heart, not your head. Do what you feel is right, not what you think is right."

Zahra swallowed. "Not even if they seem like two completely separate things?"

Priya shook her head, winked, then whisked herself away to finish getting ready. The other girls were done themselves, and they moved out into the hall to wait. "Come on, Zahra!" Chelsea chanted. "We've got to go see the boys!"

Despite the other girls ready to get this ceremony over, Zahra took a moment to herself. She shut her eyes, tuned out the others, and zeroed in on the one name she couldn't get off of her mind-- and really, out of her heart, too.

Before she could change her mind, she stripped out of her current clothes and slipped into the white dress.

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It was odd seeing the Casa Amor boys standing on the lawn of the Villa as the girls came out. It felt like an alternate universe, one that didn't feel right to Zahra. The Villa boys-- her boys-- belonged here, and although some of that dynamic would be upset with tonight's changes, the balance would be mostly restored.

Zahra just hoped everything worked out in her favor.

While the girls took their seats at the firepit, the boys lined up ahead of them. A text rang out, and Marisol stood. "'Girls, it's time to choose. In turn, please say whether you would like to stick with the person you're coupled up with, or switch to one of the boys in front of you,'" she read. Her expression brightened as she turned to Graham. "As sweet as Bobby is, he's not the boy for me. This boy matches me in every way possible, so I'd like to switch and recouple with Graham."