Purely Platonic (Love Island)

- 𝑒𝓅𝒾𝓈𝑜𝒹𝑒 𝓈𝒾𝓍 -

- Nick -

Song: Cake By The Ocean by DNCE

I lay back in a lawn chair, sunglasses resting on my nose as Aryan and I rest under the sun. Hailey is sitting on the edge of the pool next to Fernando, and I watch her every motion from across the villa. I see her laugh and tuck her hair behind her ear, and my jaw clenches when he places a hand on her thigh.

"You good there, man?" Aryan asks me, and I snap my head to his sudden voice.

"Yeah, why?"

He laughs. "I don't know, you just seem pretty pissed right now."

"I'm fine," I argue, turning my head back to the two at the edge of the pool.

"Don't bullshit me," he scolds, causing my eyebrows to raise. Him and I are the more quiet ones out of the guys, so when his attitude arises, it surprises me a bit. "I know somethings up," he says. He tracks my line of sight before letting out a sigh. "You like her."

"I don't."

"Yes, you do," he states. "Why don't you pursue her?"

"Because she doesn't feel the same," I admit, giving into Aryan because I know he's not going to let this go. "She is into Fernando. I'm not going to go after someone who wants someone else."

"How come?"

I look over at him, giving him a look that suggests he is rather stupid. He shrugs.

"Because it's respectful," I say.

"You're right, you're right. I know," he says. "Then leave her alone." I nod. "You're a good man, from what I know about you already. You'll get yourself a good girl."

"You will too," I say, and he nods.

"But Hailey-"

"Shut up," I snap at him.

"Okay, okay," he says. "Do you, brother."

We hear screaming from behind us, and I turn my head to see Olivia jumping up and down as she waves her phone in the air. "I got a text!" She repeatedly shouts, and everyone goes running over to her in excitement. I am curious on what the text is, but I still groan as I get up from my comfortable position. Once we make it all over to Olivia, she reads the text out loud.

"Islanders, it is time for your first game!" Cheers erupt from the group, and Olivia has to raise her voice over us all. "It is time to test your teamwork skills with your partner in this game of strategy. Hashtag teamwork, hashtag capture the flag!"

💖💖💖

When we make it to the beach, deflated paddle boards are set out with pumps on the sand. I look out to the water, and a couple bright red flags, all on one buoy, are floating, bobbing with the waves. Each of the couples go to their designated spots, and Kyle reads a sheet with the directions out loud to us all.

"As a team, you and your partner will inflate your paddle boards and set sail to the ocean, where you will paddle out to the flag. First team to grab a flag and successfully bring it back to shore and run through the arch together will be the winners of this game. Who is ready to play capture the flag?"

We all cheer, and I look over to Hailey.

"You ready, hun?" She teases.

"Oh absolutely," I say. "We're going to win."

"You're going to have to beat us, first!" Fernando shouts to us, and Olivia giggles.

Kyle picks up the starting horn. "Three, two, one!" He shouts before the horn blows, and we all scatter.

Hailey unrolls the paddle board, and I run over to the pump. I place it into the valve and lock it. Once Hailey gives me the thumbs-up, I aggressively pump the air into the paddle board. Soon enough, it is fully blown up, and I pull out the pump and secure the air valve. I wrap the ankle tie to my ankle, fastening it with the velcro.

"Grab the paddle," I yell to Hailey, and she does as asked. I bring the paddle board to the ocean, and Hailey helps me shove it into the water. "Get on my back," I tell her, and she wraps her arms around my body. She helps me paddle us out, and she looks behind us.

"We're ahead!" She shouts to me as she continues to paddle harder. After a while, we make it to the flag. Hailey grabs one, pushing it into the air. "Yes!" She shouts.

"Good, now help me bring us back," I demand.

"Okay Mr. Bossy Pants," she scoffs before placing the flag between her teeth and helping me paddle us back to shore. She looks behind us, and Lucas and Isabella are close behind. "Shit, they're gaining up on us!" I paddle harder, and a wave comes, pushing us forward, helping us a lot. Eventually, we make it to shore, and Hailey gets off my back and I rise, picking up the paddle board with my left arm while Hailey holds the flag in her right hand. With our free hands, we hold hands as we run through the archway. I drop the paddle board, and Hailey throws the flag into the air.

"Yes!" She shouts jumping up and down on the sand, her brown, sun-kissed hair bouncing off her shoulders. She jumps onto me, taking me by surprise. She wraps her lags around my torso, and I spin her around as she giggles. After a moment, I set her down and she smiles a toothy grin at me. I can't help but smile as I see the joy take over her.

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aw this is so cute!!
*cries in severely lonely*

are you guys enjoying the story so far? wdyt??

-Liz <3