Matches

03 | crying babies and dirty diapers

HER POV

Zayn and I tiptoed past the quiet halls and toward the lawn. The sun was slowly starting to peek in creating a beautiful mix of blues, purples and pinks in the sky.

The envelope from yesterday's game instructed us to head to the lawn first thing in the morning. There we would find our child-to-be and various things for it including clothes, diapers, toys and a baby bag. These items were limited though and the first contestants to get them would have an advantage.

"Oh my God," I gasped as I saw the little figures kicking around in the cribs.

"They're real babies," Zayn was just as surprised as I was. We thought that we would be getting those baby robots, but there were actual human babies in the cribs.

Zayn and I looked at all the cute little bundles of joy. There were five cribs, one for each couple.

One of them had their arms stretched out as it's little face wrinkled into a sad frown.

Please don't cry, I begged mentally.

Her small lip quivered as her baby blue eyes began to swell with tears. I sighed in defeat and reached down to grab the fussy baby. She let out a happy babble when she was in my arms.

"I guess we have our baby," Zayn joked as gently tickled the baby girl.

"We should get all of the essentials before the rest of them wake up," I motioned to the table full of baby essentials on the table.

Zayn grabbed everything he could including a baby bag and various toys. I rocked the little girl in my arms and noticed the name take clipped into her onesie.

"Hey Aileen," I cooed as I made funny faces at the her which caused her to erupt in giggles.

"I think I have everything we need," Zayn said as he approached us. A gray baby carrier was strapped around him and he motioned me to put Aileen inside.

The little girl did not seem to be a fan of the carrier as she immediately began to wiggle out of its grip and let out loud shrieks of reluctance.

The other babies began to do the same, crying loudly one after the other.

"It's okay, it's okay," Zayn soothed Aileen while I tried to calm the other babies.

"What is all the ru—Are those babies!"

David stood near the porch steps rubbing his eyes while Ivory looked at the babies with heart eyes. David noticed the babies and frowned.

"Don't tell me this is our next challenge," he groaned in annoyance.

"Oh my gosh," Ivory squealed as she picked up on of the crying babies. "You're such a cutie, yes you are."

The small baby boy stopped crying when Ivory rubbed her nose against his lightly.

It was not long before the rest of the half asleep contestants joined the chaotic scene. Many of the contestants walked over to the babies immediately to try and soothe them. All except David, Riya and Sasha.

Lawrence who always seemed to be serious was actually smiling as he picked up one of the baby boys. Much to his dismay Riya did not look as enthusiastic.

"Okay, listen up," Zayn gathered everyone's attention as he read the instructions out loud. "Contestants, this is your first official challenge as a couple. What better way to break the ice than a little team activity?"

"Each couple will have a baby to take care of for the next 48 hours. If the baby gets too fussy for you to handle they will be returned to their parents and you will be disqualified. Both partners have to cooperate in the upbringing of your baby or you will be disqualified."

"There are essentials that will help you in taking care of your baby, however supplies are limited," I read the next part. "The two contestants that one the last game has received a head start, so the rest will work with what is left. Good luck, let the first challenge begin."

The other contestants rushed to the table and battled over the rest of the baby essentials left. Zayn and I walked back toward our hut nonchalantly with little Aileen now sleeping peacefully against Zayn's chest.

"I think this will be somewhat of an easy challenge," Zayn commented as he pushed back Aileen's thin raven hair.

"Don't jinx it Mr Delacorte," I warned as I began to prepare our breakfast.

Zayn looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms and smiled in awe.

"We haven't even had our first date yet and we already have a kid," Zayn joked causing me to chuckle.

I continued to watch Zayn's gentle fatherly manner with Aileen. He was not even his real daughter and he was already doing an amazing job at being a father.

Maybe we could just be friends?, I thought to myself.

"Do you plan on having kids in the future?" I asked curiously as I fried a couple of eggs for us.

"Always," Zayn grinned. "I know I may not look like it, but I am getting old and I want to start a family. Maybe have two or three kids."

He looked out into the distance as he spoke about his ideal future. I could not help but smile at his cute enthusiasm. Whoever became his wife would be a very lucky woman.

"How about you?" Zayn asked back.

I looked down at the nearly cooked eggs trying to avoid his gaze. The truth was that I always adored children, but I already had enough on my plate to consider having one.

"I guess I haven't thought about it," I lied with a small smile.

Zayn looked at me with his eyebrow raised skeptically but did not say anything.

"He peed on me! He actually peed on me!" David rushed through corridor and sprinted into the communal bathroom. The door shut close with a hard slam.

"This is going to be the best challenge yet," Zayn chuckled uncontrollably.

Author's Note
Happy Tuesday my beautiful lovelies! Here is the next chapter of Matches. I am trying to keep this novel filled with some light humor and decided to follow one of the mini-games shown in Love Island, the baby challenge. This "episode" will continue some emotional scenes so be prepared. Thank you so much for reading my lovelies! I'll see you all on Thursday with the next update.
Xoxo Liz 💋💋💋