What the fuck am I watching?

Striking Nerves

It's officially been 10 days since James was eliminated from the show. At first, he was conflicted about his departure, which a certain boy toy caused. He could clearly tell that the guy was jealous, believing a previously portrayed villain from their season and getting upset at a high five, which was seriously one of the dumbest things he has seen. How blind can he be? Sure, Aiden and Tom have been getting closer recently, but James sees nothing wrong with that; it's just friendship, nothing else. They gave each other a high five, so what? It's not special. He fully trusts Aiden, and he fully trusts him, so why doubt? It's not a massive loss, though he still has his own money, and James can technically say that he's placed first in both seasons he participated in. But he found it strange that he didn't need to mention and thank specific audience members when he was leaving.

At this moment, he's staying at a nearby motel. The previous season, he was only able to stay there for 2 days, but now he can relax for a long time. There had been new renovations to the motel due to Yul's complaints. Who knew he could be very useful? creaky floorboards that James swore he could fall through, water pipes that were on the brink of bursting, and lights that would constantly flicker were completely fixed and majorly improved, but they also added new facilities such as a pool and sunbathing area outside. While there was a new building behind the cafe, it was a living room where eliminated contestants could watch episode premieres and other shows, along with a fancy kitchen, fitness suite, and bathroom connected to it as well.

Throughout the first two days that he was by himself, he pretty much went live on TikTok, worked out, and watched films. Time flew by, and soon many others joined him, many of whom he thought deserved to stay in the competition, such as Lake. He made sure to make tik toks and do lives with those who were eliminated each 2 days, such as baking with Miriam (although it took a lot of convincing), which definitely didn't cause him to make a literal sticky toffee pudding where it stuck his, Miriam's, and Lake's mouths shut, and that it didn't take them over an hour to fix.

The premieres of the episodes were often shown in the evening for the eliminated contestants, unlike the public; they were able to see the elimination ceremony and the departure live, and they also got to access them three hours before they were released globally. James would always tune into them, and eventually others joined in as well. Often, it was them reviewing the challenges and commenting on the drama that was going on, which consisted of all of them groaning loudly.

But maybe today it will be a drama-free episode! Yeah, right, as if that were to happen, it's as likely as him growing a full beard. Waiting for the broadcast, the group sat on the couches, talking about what the episode could be about. They all watched the trailer. Lake thought it would be a talent show; on the other hand, Hunter was questioning why six massive stage lights were needed for Yul and Riya. After a couple of minutes, the episode appeared with a timer until it went live.

"Uhm, James, the thumbnail..." Lake blurted; she was staring concernedly at the screen and fidgeting with her hand. Instantly, James got off his phone and looked up to see an imprinted image of Tom and Aiden kissing with their smoothly styled hair, holding hands, and closing their eyes. It looked so genuine that his eyes widened and his jaw hung open. "I'm so sorry, James." Hunter sympathised. "They're probably just using it to bait the audience," reassured Miriam, but then she shifted her gaze downward. "Well, I hope that is the case. I hope Jake is alright," she added. Something doesn't feel right when looking at it, though. Tuning out the voices around him, he turned back to the screen and squinted his eyes. There, right in front of him, were small things that would be invisible to the naked eye. They told a different story than what others thought. Specifically in Aiden's body language, he was leaning away from the other out of awkwardness, his face gleaming with guilt, and he didn't do the usual hand contact to the face, a hug, or the reach he would do around the shoulders. He did none of that. Wow, he's so good at acting; he even got him fooled for a minute. Why does no one ever cast him in productions? He has so much potential.