Love Island

16. New Beginnings

Day 32
Couples:
Asher and Taylor
Faye and Alex
Jodie and Kyle
Lilliana and Dougie
Sophie and Shayne
Violetta and Noah
Zoe and James

It's been three weeks since James and I decided to break up. And to say things were awkward in the villa is a bit of an understatement, but everything is okay again. Obviously James and I aren't best buds but we get along for the sake of everyone else.

A lot has happened in the past three weeks. Sam got kicked out of the villa that night for violent behaviour, he gave Alex a black eye when he was trying to separate Sam and James. A few days later there was a recoupling, Asher and Taylor got back together and are happier than ever, they're officially girlfriend and boyfriend now. And so are Jodie and Kyle, they haven't spent a single day apart from each other. But it hasn't all been happy endings. Dougie and Hannah split up, they found that they just weren't right for each other. Hannah fell for a guy named George but when we had to vote for our least favourite couple, they both had to leave. Now Dougie is with Lilliana, and they're absolutely adorable together.

Faye, Sophie and Shayne are all new arrivals. Faye hasn't found anyone yet and is coupled up with Alex as friends. And Sophie and Shayne kept trying with other people but gravitated towards each other time and time again. I guess it was just written in the stars for those two. And then there's Zoe and James. They're just friends, staying coupled up so they can stay here, they've agreed that if they find someone they're attracted to the other one will let them be. But neither of them have found anyone yet.

And the only people left are me and Noah. Noah joined the villa three nights ago, and I think I like him, but I haven't quite made up my mind yet. He seems really nice but I'm just not sure if we suit each other. But only time will tell, I guess.

"Your drink, my lady." Asher giggles, handing me over my water bottle that she went to fill up.

"Why thank you." I laugh back, taking it off of her.

"Woah." She says, stopping in her tracks, and I follow her eye line to see Noah and James talking with each other. "Does that worry you?"

"Definitely." I instantly reply, sitting up in my seat. "I swear to God, if James is trying to scare Noah off, or claim me as his own, I'm going to murder him."

"James isn't like that, and you know it." Asher reassures me, "he's the nicest guy in this place, he wouldn't jeopardise anyone's potential relationships in here." She pauses before continuing. "Especially yours."

"Especially mine?" I question, going from staring at James to staring at Asher. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She questions with a small smile. "He still love you, Vee. He always has. All he wants is for you to be happy. Even if that means letting you move on."

I look back at where James and Noah were sat, and see Noah walking right towards me. "Hey beautiful girl." He smiles.

"Hey." I smile back.

"I'll leave you guys to it." Asher says, getting up and taking her water bottle with her.

"What was James talking to you about?" I ask, getting straight to the point.

Noah looks at the ground before looking me in the eyes, as if he's nervous to tell me. "He was just telling me to treat you like you deserve to be treated." He admits, which actually confuses me. "He said that you deserve the world."

"Why would he say that?" I ask, looking over at James, and as I do, my heart starts to beat a little bit faster.

"Why don't you ask him yourself." Noah jokes, but I do as he says and instantly get up and walk towards James. I know Noah wasn't being serious, but a one on one chat with James is long overdue.

"Hey," I say as I approach, and he seems pretty shocked that I've come over to him. "Can I join you?"

"Of course." He says, gesturing for me to sit next to him by the edge of the pool. So I do so, dangling my legs in the water.

"I just wanted to speak to you, I know it's been a while." I start, and it's not as awkward as I thought it would be. And I know exactly why, for weeks I've been lying to everybody, including myself, claiming that I don't have feelings for him anymore. But I do, and I think I always will. But it doesn't matter anymore, as much as Asher believes he still loves me, I don't think he ever could, not after I shut him out.

"You've come to ask me what I was talking to Noah about, haven't you?" He asks with a small laugh, knowing me inside and out.

"Not exactly." I reply honestly. "I know what you were talking about already, but I've come to ask why." This causes him to look utterly confused. "Why are you still trying to protect me, even though we broke up?"

"I'm surprised someone as smart as you hasn't worked that one out already." He smirks, before giving me the real answer. "Because I want to make sure nobody will ever hurt you again. You didn't deserve it when I let you down, and you sure as hell don't deserve to go through that again."

It's silent for a moment as I try to understand what he's told me. And instinctively, I pull him into a hug, "I'm sorry for everything that's happened." I tell him, then we pull away from each other.

"It's okay." He reassures me. "Clearly it wasn't meant to be between us. And as much as I wish that wasn't true, I guess I just have to accept it and move on."

"Yeah, I guess so." I reply, then we carry on chatting for hours about stupid, unimportant things until our skin has pruned in the water and the sun has gone down.

Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.