Love At First Lie | Herophine Fic

Caught Without Being Caught

JOSEPHINE

"Who are we voting for?" I ask, sounding equally as nervous as I feel. My eyes are fixated on the screen, looking at the names of the two other couples still in the house with us. I don't know why I'm asking, really. It doesn't matter who we vote for, we'll probably be the ones going home. I'll be horrendously surprised if we're not.

"Whoever you want," Hero replies softly, placing his hands on my shoulders. I know he's doing this to support me, because I'm the one who's likely to cast our last ever vote. And that's a job in itself. Lifting my right hand, I hover over the couple at the top, simply because they're at the top. Deciding on selecting them, I drop my finger and cast our potential last vote. I decided on Ryan and Olivia - not that I wanted to, of course. Hero and I have always gotten on well with them but Alistair and Lara just seem the most real out of everyone here.

"Do we have to go?" Turning my head, I look up at Hero and sigh. I'm worried. I don't want to leave because I don't know what it means for us on the outside world. Sadly, Hero begins to nod yes, causing me to turn and wrap my arms around him tightly. I don't want to let go. Letting go means we have to face the elimination and while I have him at my side, it doesn't seem like enough to get me through it.

"I'm scared," I admit on a whisper, resting my head on his shoulder. He pulls me closer to him somehow and I feel him place a kiss on the top of my head. He seems so steady and even whereas I'm a fucking mess. I feel like I could crack at any moment. We could survive this but the chances are beyond slim.

"No matter what, we'll be okay, buttons," he whispers, keeping me in his hold. I hope he's right. He's a constant for me now. One I'm not willing to change whether it's in here or outside in the big wide world.

"You promise?"

"I promise." I just hope it's a promise he can keep.

***

After casting our votes, staying hand in hand, we head into the living area. Silence surrounds us, telling both Hero and I that we're the first to arrive and potentially the first to have cast our vote. The living room has returned to normal, everything from yesterday, the stage, table, cards and chairs are all gone. But everything else is back in place.

My heart pounds in my chest as we stand in our usual spot for eliminations. I just want to head back to our bedroom, curl up and hide under the duvet. As we stand here, I feel Hero's hand grow sweatier in mine. It's the first time he's ever shown any other type of emotion than confidence and positivity. But I need him just as he needs me, right now.

"Your hands are sweaty. You okay?" I look down at our joined hands and then back up at him, worriedly. He's been better at playing the game than I have our whole time here. It's the reason I'm so fucking scared about what's going to happen. The uncertainly looming is just too much. He begins to nod yes, reassuringly. Perhaps it's the sweat from my hands I'm feeling, who knows?

"Yeah, I'm good," he replies, sounding his usual casual self. If he's lying, he's too good an actor for me to keep up. Pushing closer to his side, I let my head fall to the side onto his chest, hearing his steady heartbeat underneath my ear.

"We'll be okay," I whisper, mimicking his words from before. Although I'm not entirely sure who I'm telling that we'll be okay. Me or him or both of us. We have to be okay, regardless of the result. He's said it countless times these last twenty-four hours but he's right, we've already won. It wasn't what either of us expected to win, we came in here with money at the forefront of our minds. But the money and the show don't matter now. All that matters to me, is him.

Falling for my fellow faker was not on the agenda at all. I came into this expecting nothing. I applied via a social media pop-up for Christ's sake. I was at rock bottom, jobless thanks to redundancy and struggling to see the sunrise from day to day while Mia was thriving and living the life I had before it was taken. We had a constant between the two of us, but now, my constant is Hero. And that can't change.