Harmony amidst Chaos | A Jori story

Final Countdown

-JADE'S POV-

Last night was a fucking disaster. I went to Sinjin's stupid gameshow in Northridge, fully expecting to sit back, relax, and laugh at how horrible it was going to be. But, of course, life had other plans.

The 'huge hall' Sinjin had rented was surprisingly well-equipped for recording a show, which honestly just made the whole thing even sadder. I arrived late, of course, and scanned the room for an open seat. And—because the universe has a twisted sense of humor—the only available spot was right next to Beck.

Tori had caught my eye and gave me an apologetic look, but I didn't bother responding. What was she supposed to do? Save me a seat with her and Robbie? Yeah, no thanks.

I sat down, bracing myself for awkward silence, but Beck had other ideas. He casually draped his arm around me like we hadn't been fighting just a few hours ago. As if everything was perfectly fine. I slapped his arm away, glaring at him so hard I'm surprised he didn't combust on the spot. Crossing my arms and legs, I tried to focus on the stage, where Sinjin was fiddling with some ancient-looking microphone like he was about to host a 1960s tv show.

Behind me, Tori was wrestling with that broken-ass phone of hers. And not just the phone—she'd brought a whole extension cord with her. Who can even live like that?

After some dumb Northridge girls finally figured out how to plug the extension cord into an outlet, the phone started up with that horrifying Talking Reggie app.

I whipped around and hissed at her to turn the damn thing off. The last thing I needed was that stupid app repeating everything people said. Tori flinched, her eyes widening slightly. For a moment, she looked caught off guard, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something. But instead, her expression softened. She glanced down at her phone, her fingers fumbling to silence it, and I caught the faintest flicker of guilt in her eyes. She probably felt bad for me, which somehow made me feel even worse.

Then the show started. And, shockingly, it was even worse than I imagined.

Some very important man, whose name I've already forgotten because, honestly, who cares, interrupted Sinjin almost immediately to tell him the show needed better-looking contestants. He wasn't wrong.

That's when the real nightmare began.

Instead of letting Sinjin's original lineup of 'ugly Bettys' embarrass themselves, our group was dragged up to be the test couples. Before I could even begin to protest, I was shoved into one of the tacky booths they'd built as part of the set.

Naturally, Beck and I were paired together because we're the only real couple. Cat got paired with André, and Tori got stuck with Robbie. Which—let's be real—is ridiculous. Robbie? The guy carries around a puppet like it's his soulmate and genuinely thinks that's normal. Pairing him with anyone is absurd. But Tori? She's... well, she's Tori. She's smart, talented, annoyingly persistent, and—well, kind of gorgeous when she's not being completely insufferable. The idea of her being paired with Robbie is laughable. She deserves way better, not that I care or anything. It's just obvious to anyone with eyes.

The two of them together? Not even remotely believable. But apparently, credibility isn't a priority for Sinjin's gameshow. Not that I expected much from a production ran by Sinjin.

Anyway... Everything went downhill from there.

Beck and I got into a fight about the ocean. More specifically, a dolphin. Don't ask me how it even started, because honestly, I don't know. But let's be real, I think we both know it wasn't really about the dolphin.

Meanwhile, the other 'couples' were doing their best to play along with Sinjin's ridiculous gameshow. Cat and André were... well, Cat and André. She was giggling and answering every question like it was a riddle, while he tried his best to keep her focused.