Chapter Text
Zach was in pretty high hopes after his morning with Bryce. After the events of yesterday and his thoughts last night, that was a low bar. But he genuinely felt good today. But if the show was to do anything, it was to cause drama.
And drama they caused.
Right after Zach dropped off food for Kayda, he felt a buzz in his pocket. His heart dropped. It was his show-issued phone. They wouldn’t have announced anything this early in the morning, and none of the islanders were gathered together. This made no sense. He quickly fished the phone out of his pocket and read the message.
“Come to the confessional room - Production”
Weird.
It was too early for a confessional; nothing had even happened yet, and he would have given one last night before bed if they wanted him to talk about the day. Zach felt that sinking feeling in his stomach again. Whatever this was, it wouldn’t be good.
His feet felt like lead weights as he walked over to the confessional room. He tried taking a calming breath, but it came out sputtered. He reluctantly opened the door and walked into the room.
It was the girl from last time, plus a different producer. He froze.
“Take a seat,” the girl said, gesturing to the seat everyone sat in.
He lowered himself into the seat, heart beating wildly in his chest. What the hell did she want again?
“No confessional right now; we just need to have a chat,” she said flatly, her eyes still sending shivers down his spine.
He gulped.
He had done what they asked; he had hurt Kayda and talked to Jen. What more did they want? Did they want him talking to the other couples?
“Bryce is having trouble remembering…his purpose on this show,” she said, emphasizing purpose.
Did they give him the same talk? He knew that he and Trinity were a strong couple, but they hadn’t mentioned anything about being closed off. If anything, they were still building their relationship up.
“We would like you to remind him of why he is here,” she said, like she was stating a fact. Was cold the only thing she knew?
“I’m sorry?” he asked, and then immediately regretted his choice of words. Last time he said that, he got shown the contract and his stomach wanted out of his body. He could feel it gurgling again, even though he hadn’t eaten yet.
She stared daggers straight into his eyes. Her lips pursed, like she was holding back words. If this was her holding back, he was afraid to see what it was like when she let loose.
“Bryce feels like he and Trinity aren’t on the same page as a couple. Agree with him.”
What? Sure, Bryce had his doubts a couple of days ago, but they patched that up immediately. Zach was a little jealous of their strong communication skills; if there was a problem, it was solved just as fast as it started.
“But-” he started, but was quickly interrupted.
“Agree. With. Him.”
Zach almost peed his shorts.
He was in shock. The first time they asked him to do something like this, it was within his couple. He could barely live with that. But now they wanted him to interfere with a different couple, just because they were good together.
“Reinforce his doubts. Talk personality clash, maturity, jokes, anything he brings up. All you will do is push him to explore. Got it?” she asked, as if that was a normal task. Not that he was risking his relationship with Bryce and Trinity, potentially breaking up a great couple.
He wanted to say no. He wanted to scream at the producer. He wanted to tell her to go to hell and never return. He wanted to jump off the dock and swim back to England.
But he didn’t do anything. He just slowly nodded.
“Good!” she said, clasping her hands together. “That wasn’t so bad, right?”
He couldn’t speak. It was like there was a brick in his throat.
“After all, you all are here for the same reason, to explore!” she said that like it was a good thing. They did explore, and they each found the person they like.
He wanted to die.
“You can go now,” she said, and started whispering to the other producer, who was furiously writing things in his notepad.
He awkwardly got up from the chair and headed towards the door.
“Remember!” She piped up. He knew what she was going to say.
“Confessionals are private!”
He walked out and slammed the door. He didn’t look back.
Zach felt the bile in the back of his throat, and his mouth started to salivate. He took quick gulps, trying to prevent another breakdown. Once was more than enough for him.
He headed down to the center of the villa towards where the boys were milling around the kitchen.
Bryce immediately noticed him walk in and perked up like a puppy.
“You took a while with the girls,” he said, winking at him.
All Zach could do was pretend to laugh. He didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to hurt Bryce.
But he feared the show more than he liked Bryce.
“Cereal and sand time?” Bryce asked, pointing to the bowls he already lined up on the counter.
“Sure man…” Zach trailed off.
He was not looking forward to this conversation.