As the finale approached, the girls sat around the dressing room in their evening gowns. Their faces had been set with powder and hair styled to perfection.
There must've been more bobby pins in Caro's updo than grains of sand on the beach. As the last girl slipped on her heels.
The four of them stepped out onto the balcony to appreciate the view one last time.
The moon and stars were on full display in a cloudless sky. The wind was calm, with a cooling breeze that ruffled the tops of the palm trees, bringing salty air to our lungs.
Fatima looked to the sides of the villa, admiring the lights of residences lining the Fijian coast. This was a view she was going to miss.
Between the cracks in the palm trees, the moon cast slivers of silver light onto the ocean's surface.
Ripples of dark blue interrupted the reflective beam as waves made their way into shore, tucking beneath themselves in a white churning sea.
It was reminiscent of Hawaii, and the thought made me excited to bring Charlie back to the big island. "Well, cheers, girls."
Caro lifted her pink Love Island water bottle into the air in place of alcohol.
The producers had locked away their liquor until after the finale. Heather and Riley reached out to meet the others water bottle and clinked the plastic together.
"To our new lives. No matter how tonight goes, we should be proud that we made it this far." "And I think we should make a pact. That no matter who wins or loses, none of us holds a grudge. I want to stay friends; I don't want money to ruin us," Caro added.
Fatima nodded in agreement and took a sip of her ice-cold water. "I'm with you guys. Friends until the end... and then some. After all the shit we've been through for the past four weeks, I think we need each other to cope. I mean, no one on the outside is going to understand what we went through in here. I know my friends would see Love Island as a vacation, and in some ways, it so is. But it's also been challenging."
"Oh, for sure." Riley agreed immediately and placed her water bottle down on the coffee table. "This has been awesome. Without Love Island, I would probably have never gone to Fiji ever in my life, and now it's one of my favorite places in the world. But the emotional stress we all went through to get where we are was really tough. Because we weren't just trying to figure out our love lives with each other, we were doing it in front of millions of people."
"I'm not sure I'm ready to go home, just for instagram alone," Heather revealed. "What if they're saying mean things on our social media accounts?"
Fatima shook her head at the thought. "If they are, it's not on yours, Heath. You're a good person and every Islander from this season knows that. You're the kind of friend people dream of having."
She looked down bashfully at her knees. "Really?" "Of course," Fatima confirmed. "Both of you guys have been really great to me. I'm not sure I could have kept my sanity without you," Caro smiled, then let out a soft sigh.
"It's been a while since I've been to New York. Maybe Bianca and I can plan a road trip." "Yes, please!" Riley clapped her hands in excitement.
Fatima looked over at Caro fondly, admiring her ability to find optimism in even the most sorrowful events.
"I think we could totally arrange that. We could have a girls' weekend." Riley grinned at the thought. "I could introduce you guys to my sorority!"
"Oh, you'd love them, they're all so nice... most of the time. But they'll be nice to you guys, I'm sure of it!" "Thanks, Riles," they laughed.
