Lucky in Love (A Reality TV Romance)

Ten (first night)

"Who wants to experience some team bonding?" Alex spoke from the hall, clad in a tank top, plaid flannel, and sleeping shorts, standing by the door so the cameras could spot her without needing to wake up any girls in Suit Spades that were already heading to sleep. Any time there was talk, it had to be recorded. Delia had mentioned that chatting in the Suit Spades room would mean camera men tiptoeing around everyone's stuff, giving America a clear view of the absolute mess in there right now. She'd suggested, if Alex wanted to talk, maybe she could find somewhere else.

Which is why four of the eight remaining girls of Suit Spades are now wrapped in blankets, sprawled out over the couches and floor, and Alex is leaned over the edge of a sofa, attempting to recreate the braid she'd worn for the mixer earlier in Ashley C (yes, there were multiple Ashley's to start, and an Ashleigh), the Seven of Spades', hair. It's Alex, Will, Ashley, and Brittany (the Nine of Spades) who'd been willing to subject themselves to even more filming by setting up their little sleepover. Alex was only mildly surprised to find Ashley and Brittany both still in makeup, even with their pajamas.

"So what do you think the first challenge will be?" Brittany twirls curly hair around a finger, voice low in the dimmed light.

"I don't know, but I hope the boys have to join us."

Alex lets out a short laugh, glancing sidelong at Will. "Is there precedent for it?"

"I can't believe you never watched the show."

"Dani said she didn't either," Ashley pipes up, "Until she got the interview."

"Sure, but Alex: even once you knew you were coming on?"

-*-

"It's hard to believe that Alex takes this seriously. It's like she's only here as a game." -Brittany (♠9)

-*-

"Yeah, I'm realizing my mistakes now, believe me. I tried to take my mic off earlier, to go to the bathroom, and it was like someone called code red."

"Mics on until you go to sleep," Brittany recites. "And messing with them just makes it more likely that you'll break something."

Alex ties off the braid, tucking a loose wisp of hair into the weave. "Well, I definitely didn't realize that then. Got it now, though. Feel bad for the crew."

"Don't," Brittany sounds more bitter than she has all night, which is surprising, and her voice lowers again. "I mean, weren't you being herded around earlier, too? They treat us like cattle. Like... stupid stupid cow girls."

"I am definitely not a cowgirl. Can't even ride a horse," Alex pivots the conversation away from bashing the crew. Brittany knows there's camera crews watching them right now. Does she not realize shit-talking Production will almost certainly go badly for her? Like... there are better ways to bring it up. Alex pulls herself up onto her knees before scooting to slide off the sofa at a spot where she won't step on Ashley. "Wanna go take a look?" There aren't a lot of mirrors around, so they'll have to hike to a bathroom. The infamous aforementioned bathroom, actually.

They're partway down the hall when Alex is suddenly aware of the camera rig following them. When she glances back, it's the same two from her confessional earlier. Rookie and the boom mic. She just barely lifts a hand in acknowledgment. The boom mic shakes his head slightly, and it feels like he'd be sighing if that wouldn't just draw more attention to them. Alex turns back to Ashley, who didn't bother turning around.

As she'd been warned, this time the bathroom isn't so private. The door stays open, camera angled in as Ashley admires the work on her hair. "This is actually so cool!" She's too tired to be as enthusiastic as earlier in the night, but she still pulls Alex into a hug, which Alex really isn't expecting. She's stiff at first, and her eyes purposefully move away from the camera's lens, which feels like it's too focused on her face. She's blushing a little, happily, and her lips quirk slightly.

"It's kinda nice to just have a girls' night, actually." They pull apart, and Ashley takes another look in the mirror, wiping a finger under her eyes to clear up smudged eyeliner as Alex goes on; "Reminds me of college."

"Well. There are going to be a lot of girls' nights in the very near future. If you're lucky."

"Lucky in Love," Alex teases, poking Ashley in the side.

"Mhm."

On their way back, Alex splits off, heading for the kitchen for water. There are clean glasses by the sink, and she hops up to sit on the counter and pour herself a cup. A few sips and she turns her head a few degrees to the left, looking at the camera once more trained on her from just outside the edge of the counters. Setting down her glass, she clunks the faucet on and fills two more, then pulls her legs onto the counter - criss cross applesauce - and holds one out. "Sorry you guys have to stay up late with us."

-*-

Why is she doing this again? What's her deal with completely breaking the illusion? But Ben has more experience and he's lowered the boom to go grab a glass, so Jonas accepts one as well, even if he's still keeping the camera trained on Blue Hair and glancing down at the monitor as he sips.

She's shifting on her perch, stretching out one amber leg and watching it with a kind of detached consideration that would make excellent b-roll. He makes sure to pan over her in her state of contemplation. Probably will be useful if they use anything from the girl talk. Also, it feels like a guarantee that they'd want footage of long legs in short shorts. Unfortunate reality of reality TV.

"Jo." The call is soft, and when Jonas glances over his shoulder, it's Tully. He volunteered to stay as part of the two-cam crew covering the girls that hadn't already tucked themselves in, mostly so he could see Jonas through his first full day on set. "The rest of the girls are out for the night, we need Ace's pack." Don't stop filming. Just take the mic. Camera stays on until they're out, or close to it. Can't miss any chatter. But let it pass for cut.

"You're done for the night?" Blue Hair sounds surprised, and looks half-dazed as Tully gestures her up. She hops off the counter, reaching back for the mic pack—

"I got it," Tully interrupts, stepping in before she can accidentally mess anything up.

"I thought you guys never stop filming," she observes, casually, and sticks out a hand as she turns back to Tully as her mic slips down the front of her shirt and out the bottom. "I'm Alex, by the way. Ace is cute, but there's three more, so... Alex."

Tully takes it quick and lets go quick before ducking away as he pops the bottom of the mic pack. "Tully. This is Jonas and Benji. They're cam 12, and from here on in they don't exist."

Jonas shoots his friend a tired look - this girl seems completely incapable of grasping that fact - but Tully is busy pulling the batteries and packing the mic for the night.

Blue Hair's lips have that skeptically amused quirk to them, but she rubs a hand down her face like the long day is finally hitting her, and lets out a long breath. "Mhm, whatever you say." She pads out of the bathroom toward the blankets on the couch, an audible pop from her joints as she stretches. Jonas films her back as she goes, a steady shot tilting from the tips of her fingers down her toes, and the blanket-covered lumps on the floor in front of her.

"4 is gonna cover on-call, you guys are good to go."

Excellent. He starts to adjust the steadicam, ready to pack it in.

"Tomorrow we have the first big challenge, so Jonas, I want you there to see what's up so you know what to expect. But you guys won't be rigged up til after, we'll try to keep you to confessionals and girl talk for now, covering the evenings and house stuff." Tully's voice is low as they make their way to the collection of cases and storage and start disassembling the rig for the camera. "You may end up coming in later most days, but I'll see you at 1. Get some sleep, you're gonna need it for the next couple months."

Breaking down the rig is mostly automatic, but Jonas pauses as Tully starts to step away. "What's with the introductions? Blue Hair is notoriously bad with fourth wall breaks."

"She made it on all four lists. She'll be sticking around for a while, would rather have her comfortable knowing us than stilted." She wasn't exactly stilted. More like too easygoing. "Besides, the look is memorable enough to warrant coverage, and Story says there's some threads, so we'll probably get at least one big moment before she leaves. We'll talk about it later, give Story another look at the dailies."