Are You The One? •

nine - the second

   It was week two and already time for the next challenge. Ryan had given the heads-up that this challenge was more physical than the last, hinting that the team should wear more athletic clothing.

   "Hello again, guys!", Ryan greeted. "Are you ready for your second getaway challenge?"

  The housemates whooped in response.

  "Alright" Ryan started, "here we go. In this challenge the top three couples will win an incredible date, getting you some valuable alone time and that much closer to finding your perfect match. Now here's how it works. Each couple is going to stand on either side of this glass maze, and you're gonna link yourselves at the start by placing your mouths on opposite ends of a wiener. Yes, a wiener."

  The team burst into laughter and sounds of disgust. "Wiener??"

  "A hotdog wiener, of course.", Ryan further explained. "Now, on my go, you're going to work together to navigate the maze without letting go of the hot dog. If it drops, or it breaks, you are out. The two couples to complete the maze together in the fastest time, are heading out on that getaway date, in a challenge I am calling Hotdog-gy Style'."

  "Grooosss.", Tessa groaned, a few others joining in with her.

  "You have 30 seconds, grab your partner, right now."

  Everyone looked around at each other in excitement, deciding who they were coupling up with.

   Ashton grabbed Laurelle quickly and pulled her against his chest. "Mine, mine.", he claimed as Laurelle giggled at him. Fallon turned around and jumped into Logan's arms, locking themselves in as a group, and surprising the hell out of Logan.

  Thatcher: "I go to look for Tessa and she's already with someone else, so I had to make another game plan."

  Tessa stood in front of Jett, smiling wide, while Thatcher found Brooke and paired with her.

  Hadley and Prosper, Summer and Charlie, Andy and Joshua, Alex and Jamey, Natalia and Miles, and Flynn and Erin all paired up for the challenge ahead.

  "Alright, first up, Alex and Jamey, step up to the maze. The rest of you head inside where you can watch them on TV. You won't be able to see the maze from there, so no one will have a unfair advantage."

  Everyone huddled inside while Alex and Jamey readied themselves on each side of the maze. "Alex, Jamey. Get ready, go."

  Alex quickly grabbed a hot dog wiener and placed it in his mouth. He then shimmied it through the hole in the glass so that Jamey could grabbed it with her mouth as well. They navigated the maze, getting stuck in a few dead ends on the way. Finally, the wiener slipped from Jamey's mouth.

  "Ahhh, dang it!", Jamey cried out as she laughed.

  "Alex and Jamey, I'm sorry, this unfortunately means you won't be going on the date."

  Alex shrugged. "We tried." He and Jamey laughed as the next couple was called to come out.

  "Summer and Charlie, wiener. And go."

  Immediately, the two began to laugh childishly at the wiener and barely even began before Summer accidentally bit her end of the wiener off, disqualifying them.

  Logan and Fallon went next, looking very oddly competitive. The two were silent as they talked with their eyes, working the hot dog through the twists and turns. The two made it to the end just before Logan dropped the meat.

  "First to finish, Logan and Fallon!", Ryan cheered. Fallon jumped onto Logan's back, hugging him from behind as they celebrated.

   Natalia and Miles followed, almost getting through, before a sharp edge split the couple's wiener in two.

   Matt and Laurelle were the second to complete the wiener maze, seeming to click seemlessly and fly through the challenge. Matt gave Laurelle a firm kiss on the cheek and wrapped an arm around her.

   Hadley and Prosper looked promising at the start, but soon fell apart when they miscommunicated and went different directions, causing their hot dog to plummet to the grass.

  Andy and Joshua finished despite Joshua laughing at every and any wiener related joke thrown his way during their turn. Andy and Joshua high-fived one another. "Good job!", Andy encouraged Joshua.

  Flynn and Erin finished surprisingly fast for how many wrong turns they took. Erin had to reach up on her tiptoes and Flynn got down to his knees, but they finally made it to the finish.

  Thatcher and Brooke got midway through the puzzle, making good time. Finally, Brooke couldn't take the slimey feeling of the cold hot-dog in her mouth any longer, and she spit it out.

Brooke: "That wiener was cold and slimy and disgusting and I hated it."

   Jett and Tessa finished up the challenge, working well with one another. They let each take turns as the leader and worked slowly but smoothly. They completed the maze and just hoped they had a fast enough time to go on a date.

  "Okay, everyone, five of our couples found their way through the maze but only three are going on this date.", Ryan revamped. "The first couple going on this date, with the fastest time of one minute, seventeen seconds...is Matthew and Laurelle."

  Summer: 'Matt and I are close but I'm happy he's going on the date with Laurelle. She's a sweet girl. But I kind of want to destroy her.' She laughed, realizing her craziness.

  "Next couple going on the getaway date, with a locked-in time of one minute, thirty seconds is...Jett and Tessa." 

  "Yay! I'm going on another date.", Tess beamed, hugging Jett. Several of the housemates laughed at Tess' reaction.

  Ryan spoke up again. "And the final two going on the date, beating another couple by just twelve seconds with a time of one minute, forty-six seconds, is...Flynn and Erin."

  Erin yipped in happiness while Andy smiled a small smile but remained quiet.

  Andy: I'm not jealous, I just honestly don't see anything happening between Erin and Flynn. Just a weird sort of dynamic.

   "Ready to find out where you're going on your date?", Ryan teased. The couples all shouted variations of 'yes'. "You're going to be cruising down the coast on incredible motor scooters, taking in all the sights that there are to see here in Maui!"

"Oh my gosh, that's amazing."

"Sick, yes."

"The rest of you have a very important job to do while these guys are gone. You will vote for which of these three couples you'll be sending into the truth booth, the only way to verify if they're a perfect match or not. Think hard about it, couples have fun, and I will see you all back at the house for the results."

"Thanks, Ryan!"

The teammates all began to reenter the house, all with heavy minds, weighed down with thought.

///

Which couples you think were a beam at the last matchup ceremony?