Love At First Lie | Herophine Fic

Epilogue Part 2: We Made It

HERO

Seven months later

Days have blurred into weeks. Weeks have turned into months and somehow seven of them have passed by now. It's insane. The clock seems to be turning quicker. Like someone's turning the fingers quicker than they should be. It's gone so fast, perhaps a little too fast for my liking.

It only feels like me and Jo moved in together two minutes ago. Never mind two weeks or two months ago. No, two minutes.

That fateful day of us getting our keys to our new apartment was a long but surprisingly unstressful day. We got the keys, had about fifteen minutes alone and then were joined by Mia, Felix and Morgan. In tow were the remaining boxes that we couldn't fit into mine and Jo's car despite it being a four-by-four.

All of us got to work unpacking and after the others left in the evening for their own moving-in celebrations - whatever they may have been - Jo and I laid out a blanket on the floor, ordered a pizza, ate ice cream and slept on the mattress that lay on our bedroom floor. We spent about a week surrounded by various boxes that we slowly unpacked at our leisure.

About three months after settling into our home both Jo and I received the fateful email we knew would come one day from Charlie. The producer of the show. We were told it was finally airing and would start on the date and time provided in the email. Of course, we gave Mia, Felix and Morgan a heads-up about it so they knew about it. Mainly so they didn't take the piss out of us when it was on.

But surprisingly, they didn't. Instead, they made it their mission to get us - me and Jo - to watch the show with them. They made a beeline for it every Thursday night that it aired. So much so that it actually became a thing for all of us. We'd go around to their place, order a takeout of some sort and watch the show.

Of course, there were parts that were cut and edited to suit the producer's narrative. Things were taken out of context, twisted and changed to suit so there was drama in the show. Which in reality, didn't exist as much as you'd expect in the house. Not for me and Jo, anyway. At every point, Jo and I told the guys what really happened. It's really surprising how much reality TV isn't really reality at all.

Then, of course, while we were watching the show, this also meant we were watching the tasks. Which were just as cringy and nerve-wracking as they were when we performed them. Perhaps sometimes even more than when they happened.

I'd say the worst one was getting naked. It had both me and Jo blushing a deep red at every instance. My heart pounded in equal amounts at watching us as it did when we actually performed the task and said our favourite things about each other. I still stand by what I said that day. Her eyes are still a favourite part of her for me. Still, they're not one colour but a mixture of blue, green and a hint of grey.

Our words to each other made the others melt. And also laugh too at the whole situation. But I don't think I've ever seen anyone watch anything as intently as the episode where Jo and I were eliminated. Where we were found out. The producers hopped onto the other couples being shocked that Jo and I weren't a real couple at the time. We'd fooled everyone, even though we stumbled. And they went to town on that in the narrative. It was overly dramatic but what everyone wants to see on reality TV. Even the others said they could see why the others were shocked.

Solemn music played as we took our leave on the screen. We'd not only shocked the others, we'd shocked the nation. On Twitter, we trended together with the hashtag Herophine. We couldn't help but laugh at it all. Our couple name stuck and the others now refer to us as that. As much as we don't want them to, sometimes. People were so invested in it and despite that and the attention, nothing changed between the two of us.