The Challenge: Fire & Fate

05

The morning after elimination always smells the same — burnt adrenaline and bad coffee.

Half the house is hungover from celebration; the other half is nursing bruised egos.

And me? I'm somewhere in the middle, still hearing the echo of T.J.'s voice:

"Sienna Vale wins!"

The words replay in my head like a song I can't stop humming.

I survived.
I won.
And now, everyone's looking at me differently.

🎥 Confessional — Sienna
"It's weird. Yesterday I was the rookie with potential. Today, I'm the rookie everyone's calculating.
You can feel it — the shift. Suddenly people want to talk to me... or about me. Both are equally dangerous."

Kam hands me a mug of coffee in the kitchen. "Sleep?"

"Barely."

She grins. "Welcome to The Challenge. You killed it last night. You should've seen Jackson's face."

"I did."

"You saw the clap too, right? Mr. Firestarter applauding the woman he tried to burn?"

I smirk. "Yeah. Guess even he couldn't fake that one."

Kam leans on the counter. "Be careful, though. Respect here is a double-edged sword. It turns into a target real quick."

🎥 Confessional — Kam
"Sienna's smart. Smart enough to make enemies without even trying. And now that she's beaten Ashley, she's officially a name people fear. That's good — if she can survive the fallout."

By noon, the whispers start.
Water team's huddled near the pool, voices low but heated. Laurel's gesturing wildly. Jordan's shaking his head.

I can't hear what they're saying — but I know exactly what it's about.

🎥 Confessional — Laurel (Team Water)
"Jackson clapped for Sienna. Full-on, standing ovation. That's not strategy — that's something else.
And if he's going soft over a rookie, it's a liability.
I don't do liabilities."

🎥 Confessional — Jackson (Team Water)
"They're acting like I proposed to her or something. I clapped because she deserved it. She outplayed Ashley — hell, she outplayed me.

But yeah... maybe I clapped too hard."

He smirks, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Whatever. I'd rather respect a threat than underestimate one."

Later, I find him sitting by the firepit, sunglasses on, pretending not to care about the stares from his team.

"Rough morning?" I ask, sitting across from him.

He doesn't look up. "Just a lot of opinions for one day."

"About you clapping?"

He exhales. "Word travels fast."

"Reality TV tends to do that."

Finally, he looks at me — tired, amused, dangerous all at once. "You think it was a mistake?"

"Clapping?"

He nods.

"Maybe strategically," I say. "But morally? No. You respected the game."

He studies me for a beat. "You'd have done the same?"

I shrug. "If you'd earned it."

He smiles faintly. "I always earn it."

"Not last night."

That earns a laugh — short and genuine. For a second, the tension dissolves, replaced by something... easier.

Then Laurel steps outside, eyes narrowing like she's walked in on a crime.

"Well, this is cozy," she says. "Should we leave you two alone or start planning your team wedding?"

I roll my eyes. "Relax, Laurel. We're just talking."

"Sure," she says, smirking as she walks off. "That's what they all say."

Jackson sighs. "And that's why I don't talk to people."

"Maybe if you talked less condescendingly, they'd listen differently."

He grins again. "You're really enjoying this, huh?"

"A little," I admit. "You make it too easy."

🎥 Confessional — Sienna
"He's infuriating. Charming. Smug. Occasionally tolerable.

I don't like him. I just... understand him.

And that's probably worse."

🎥 Confessional — Jackson
"She talks to me like I'm not the big bad wolf. Everyone else treats me like a threat; she treats me like a math problem she's already solving.

I don't know if I want to beat her or team up with her. Maybe both."

That night, production sends an alert:
New challenge tomorrow.

Teams are already strategizing, alliances whispering, and I can feel it — the calm before another storm.

Kam passes me in the hall. "You ready to do that again?"

I smile. "Always."

From across the balcony, Jackson raises his glass. That same silent toast.

I raise mine back.

🎥 Confessional — Sienna
"Smoke always looks calm before the flames hit.
But I'm starting to think fire isn't the problem anymore.
It's what happens when you start liking the heat."