𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄, ᵗᵃʸˢ

EPISODE ONE - part one

" finally, introducing our final housemate, elaine rose, a podcast host & singer. "

i was five minutes away from the house—the place i'd be staying for the next 14 days, hopefully. i had no clue who was already inside, but that was about to change. my heart was racing, full of excitement and nerves. i was trying to stay calm, but the thought of what was coming was making my stomach flip.

the door was a bit tricky to open, but after a couple of tries, i finally got it. as soon as i stepped in, i was hit with a wave of noise. laughter, people talking, someone chopping something in the kitchen. i could tell i was the last one to arrive.

i walked in and saw four girls in the kitchen right away.

"mia! adeola!" i called, and they both turned to face me.

"laney!!" mia yelled, rushing over to give me a big hug. adeola followed, pulling me into a tight one too. "i missed you so much!" mia said, and i could feel the nerves start to ease.

"i missed you both so much too," i said, laughing. "this is crazy, isn't it?"

"so crazy," adeola agreed, and i grinned, feeling a lot more comfortable already.

i turned to the other two girls in the kitchen. "i'm elaine," i said, a little shy. "but you can call me laney if you want."

"i'm shelen," said the girl with curly hair. "you're so pretty, oh my."

"aww, stop!!! so are you, thank you." i smiled, a little flustered.

"i'm america," the other girl said, her voice loud and full of energy. "nice to meet you, laney. you ready to cause some fucking chaos?"

"oh god," i muttered, already knowing she was going to be a handful.

"oh, it's gonna be fun, trust me," america grinned.

just then, the door shut behind me, and two guys walked in. one of them had this cheeky smile, and i could tell right away he was trouble. the other was a bit quieter, but still seemed easygoing.

"hi, i'm jack, well i'm pie," said the guy with the easy smile, holding his hand out. "nice to meet you."

"hi, i'm elaine, but you can call me laney," i said, shaking his hand. he seemed really sweet, actually.

"do you want a brew?" pie asked, already heading toward the kitchen.

"yeah, i'd love one, thank you," i said, smiling at him.

"i'm michael," the other guy said, giving me a friendly wave. "nice to meet you, laney."

"nice to meet you too, michael," i replied, feeling a bit more comfortable now.

just then, we heard some whispers from the hallway.

"we gotta go in, we'll seem rude..."

i turned, and two more people stepped inside. one of them i recognized immediately.

"tays?" i said, blinking in surprise.

tays shot me a grin. "what's up, laney?" he said, walking straight toward me.

tays. the guy who made that tiktok months ago about fancying me. i had seen it, but didn't really think much of it at the time. now here he was, standing in front of me with that same grin, and i felt a little taken aback.

"you finally made it, huh?" tays laughed, pulling me into a hug before i even had time to respond. i laughed awkwardly, but hugged him back. "nice to meet you properly," i said, trying to sound casual, but my nerves were definitely showing.

"yeah, about time," he grinned, looking around. "pick a bed. only six, so no fighting."

"i'll try not to," i said, still feeling a little awkward but also a bit amused.

the guy standing next to him stepped forward with a grin. "i'm mali," he said, shaking my hand. "and i'm here to make sure tays doesn't do anything too ridiculous. use his unspoken rizz"

"i'm just here for the shit shows," tays said, nudging him.

"he's not wrong," mali said, rolling his eyes. "but seriously, i'm just here to keep tays in check."

"yeah, good luck with that," i said with a laugh.

"oh, trust me, i've got it covered," mali said, smirking. "mali here is a huge fan of you two," jack added, glancing between me and tays. "i'm just saying, he's been waiting for this."

i looked at tays, who was already looking smug as hell. "what?" i said, raising an eyebrow. "are you serious?"

"oh, i'm serious," pie said, barely holding back his laugh. "he's got his whole little ship going in his head."

"shut up, pie," tays muttered, but i could see he was enjoying it way too much.

"nah, it's true though," mia chimed in from the kitchen, leaning against the counter. "we've been waiting for this moment."

"you're all ridiculous," i said, laughing, feeling both shy and amused at the same time.

"oh, don't pretend like you're not into it," mia teased, grinning.

"i don't even know him!" i said, shaking my head, but i could tell they weren't letting it go anytime soon.

"you will," tays said, winking at me. "you will."

"jesus," i muttered under my breath, but i couldn't help but laugh.

just then, america jumped in, practically bouncing in place. "this is gonna be mad, i'm telling you. chaos. drama. everything. i'm here for it."

"yeah, we know," i said, already bracing myself.

pie came back with my tea and handed it to me with a kind smile. "here you go," he said. "one brew."

"thank you, pie," i said, smiling at him.

we all settled into the living room, chatting and getting to know each other a bit more. but just as we were starting to relax, the speaker crackled to life.

"laney, to the storeroom."

i froze. that was my cue.

"guess i better go," i said, standing up, feeling a little nervous again.

"good luck," jack said, smiling at me.

"don't take too long," tays said, leaning back and looking at me with that same playful grin. "we'll be here, causing a shitshow, obviously."

"god, you're a lot," i said, laughing.

"i know," tays said, winking. "it's why you're gonna love me."

"we'll see about that," i said, walking toward the storeroom door, my heart racing. whatever was coming next, i was ready for it. at least, i hoped i was.

" laney, how are you feeling about your fellow housemates "

" okay number one, where is sugar lips? this is not the sugar lips i know. " i said, a little shy but smiling.

" we need to get hashtag bring old sugar back trending. " i laughed, glancing around nervously.

" but the girls seem really nice. " i added, a small smile creeping in. "

" they all gave me a hug, which was really sweet. " i paused, feeling a little bolder. " pie and tays seem really nice as well. i want to be their friend. "

i shrugged playfully " i'm gonna force everyone to be my friend for the week. "

" how does one force people to be their friend. "

" just speak to them and tell them that they will be my friend. and not let them leave me. they don't have a choice really, simple! " i said, laughing a little.