Shiny Demon

Don't Say I Didn't Warn You

"Woah, long night?" Bill joked.

The girls looked disheveled as they approached the catered breakfast the show had set out.

"You could say that," Genevieve grumbled. Stevie lagged a bit behind her, wearing sunnies, the same black bathing suit from the first time he'd seen her, and a slight frown. Yasmin on the other hand, looked as serene and composed as always, floating toward them in an intricately patterned silk robe.

"Well, someone came to visit late last night," AJ crowed as she grabbed a plate.

The boys stared at each other blankly. "Who?" Nicky asked.

AJ swiveled her head dramatically in his direction. "Seb!"

"Seb?" Harry grimaced. "Who was he sneaking around with? Did a cat make its way on to the Villa?"

"Shut up, Harry," Stevie said wearily.

"He was visiting me," Yasmin said in a steady voice as she cinched the tie on her robe a little tighter. "I asked him to." Her confidence sent a tingle up the back of his neck.

"Cheeky!" Camilo said approvingly.

"Sweet as!" Tai said cheerfully, clapping Seb on the back. "Really did have a good date, then."

"I'll say," Miki said. "They were doing bits in the hot tub."

The other lads gave a scandalized cheer. Iona wolf whistled and some of the others clapped.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Sebby!" Bill said.

"Stevie saw them." Miki continued like she was reporting the scoop on her YouTube channel. "They were starkers!"

"No they weren't," Stevie snapped. "Can we move on?"

"Yeah," Iona agreed, looking over the spread. "What's to eat? I'm starved."

They all tucked into the buffet. It was the first time they'd all been together since the new Islanders had arrived, so everyone was quite chatty. Ciaran and Genevieve were engaged in a friendly conversation. Tai and AJ were laughing loudly together about something related to football. Harry and Yasmin were discussing intention-setting or some new age nonsense.  Elladine and Nicky were wrapped in each other's arms, happy to be reunited after a night apart, laughing with Iona and Camilo. Bill and Miki had snuck away, it seemed. The kitchen area was crowded with so many Islanders in the Villa now, so Seb made his way to the pool where Stevie was stretched out on a lounger.

"Alright?" he said as he sat down next to her.

She looked away quickly and covered her eyes with her hand. "Are you decent?"

"Hilarious." He said in a deadpan voice, secretly relieved that she was joking about it.

She looked back at him with a bemused smile. "Seems like your date went well."

"It did. How were your dates?"

All the amusement fell away from her expression and she gave a bored sigh. "They were fine. Date with Yasmin was good, but not as good as yours, apparently. And Tai is fun, but not my type." She stretched her legs out in front of her. "I could tell they were both more excited about the other person they'd asked out." She shrugged. "Which suits me just fine."

Apparently that was all she was willing to share about her dates. He probably should have expected it, but disappointment tugged at the edges of his mind. Tai had shared more with him than she had.

She swiped her sunglasses off and looked at him with a smile. "Any word on Doom yet?"

His mood lifted at the mention of his cat. Stevie was the only one who ever asked about her. "Not yet. But I had an idea for how to name the kittens."