the alchemy, jude bellingham

chapter twenty three

THE ALCHEMY chapter twenty three
jude bellingham.
june 2023

THE NEXT DAY

the sun blazed overhead, casting a golden sheen on the clear, azure waters of the aegean sea. the rented yacht cut smoothly through the waves as the group lounged on the deck, soaking in the warmth and the stunning views. jude and ollie, now back to their usual dynamic, shared a comfortable banter, their recent conflicts seemingly behind them.

jude was sprawled on a sunbed, his sunglasses perched on his nose, scrolling through his phone while ollie lay beside him, tanning. the easy laughter and teasing remarks flowed naturally between them, drawing smiles from their friends who were relieved to see the tension had finally dissipated.

ollie playfully nudged jude with her foot. "you know, you still owe me a rematch in that kissing competition," she quipped, her tone light.

jude smirked, lowering his sunglasses to peer at her over the top. "oh, do i now? feeling confident, are we?"

willow, sitting nearby with mason, chuckled. "careful, ollie. he might actually take you up on that."

"wouldn't want to embarrass you again," jude teased, leaning back and closing his eyes, clearly enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

mason, ever the instigator, grinned. "oh please, you two were arguing over jealousy. it was so obvious."

jude and ollie both sat up at that, immediately protesting.

"it wasn't about jealousy!" ollie exclaimed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "we were just...passionate and competitive."

"exactly," jude agreed, nodding. "nothing to do with jealousy. just pure competition."

trent snickered. "sure, because people always get that heated over friendly competitions."

iris chimed in, laughing, "yeah, we all saw how you two couldn't stand anyone else getting attention. total jealousy."

ollie shook her head, laughing despite herself. "you guys are reading way too much into it. i just wanted to win."

"and i just didn't want to lose," jude added, smirking at ollie.

mason grinned. "right, because your pride is way more important than admitting you like each other."

jude shot mason a playful glare. "who said anything about liking anyone?"

ollie raised an eyebrow, smirking. "exactly. it's not like we're secretly into each other or anything."

the group burst into laughter, clearly not buying their denials.

willow leaned over to mason, whispering loudly enough for everyone to hear, "i give them 2 days before they're officially together."

mason nodded sagely. "a week? i say a few hours."

jude wrapped an arm around ollie's shoulders, pulling her close. "you all need new hobbies," he said, shaking his head.

"yeah," ollie agreed, resting her head on jude's shoulder. "like learning to mind your own business."

their friends just laughed, the teasing and joking continuing as the yacht sailed on, the sun glinting off the waves and the atmosphere as light and carefree as it had been before the arguments.