Chapter 2: Where Are We?!

Aria's POV

The sound of waves wakes me. Not my alarm. Not traffic outside my hotel window. Waves.

I open my eyes and see blue sky. Palm trees swaying above me. The sun hits my face, way too bright and too warm.

I'm lying on sand. White sand that sticks to my damp hair and yesterday's clothes.

What the hell?

I shoot up, head spinning. The world tilts for a second. I look around. Beach. Coconut trees. Thick jungle. Ocean as far as I can see. No buildings. No people. No Malibu mansion.

Then I see him.

Devon's sprawled on the sand about thirty feet away, face-down, one arm stretched out like he passed out mid-crawl. He groans and slowly pushes himself up, rubbing his temple.

We sit up at the exact same moment. Our eyes meet.

"Where are we?!" we both yell.

The shock of hearing each other freezes us both.

Devon jumps to his feet. "Aria?! What the fuck?"

I stand too, brushing sand off my jeans. "Don't ask me! I just woke up here!"

His head whips around, taking in the tropical paradise that feels more like a nightmare. He does a full three-sixty.

"HELLO?!" Devon shouts at nothing. "ANYONE?! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

I cup my hands around my mouth. "We get it! Great prank! Can we go back now?!"

Silence. Just waves crashing and birds calling from the jungle.

The sun's already climbing high. Must be six or seven in the morning. The water's so clear I can see coral reefs in the distance. Behind us, the jungle looks dense and untouched. This isn't some resort island. This is the middle of nowhere.

Somewhere online, viewers are losing their minds. The comments flood in:

"YOOOO THEY REALLY DID IT"

"This is insane hahahaha"

"The way they woke up at the same time 😂"

"Devon's bedhead is a whole mood"

Devon bends down and picks something up. "Wait. There's something here."

I walk over. Two empty waterproof backpacks lie in the sand, one near each of us.

"What is this?" I grab mine, turning it over.

Devon pulls out a folded piece of waterproof paper from his bag. I find one in mine too. Same size, same material.

He unfolds it and starts reading out loud, voice flat with disbelief.

"Welcome to Paradise Lost. You've been selected for the ultimate survival experience. Prove you can thrive without your glam squad, assistants, and WiFi. A boat will return in 7 days. Good luck. P.S., Hope you like seafood. Production."

My brain short-circuits. "Did they drug us?! How is this even legal?!"

Devon crumples the paper in his fist. "This has to be a joke. RIGHT?!"

The anger hits me. I think back to last night. Lying in bed in that cozy Malibu room. Feeling suddenly, impossibly tired. My eyes getting heavy before I could even turn off the lamp.

They drugged us. They actually drugged us and dumped us on a deserted island.

"I'm suing them," I say through gritted teeth. "Netflix, the producers, everyone."

"Get in line." Devon's knuckles are white around the crumpled note. "I'm calling my lawyer the second we get back."

Then it hits me. "Wait. We don't have phones."

"Shit."

We stand there on the empty beach, holding our useless notes. Reality starts to sink in.

"Seven days?" I ask quietly.

Devon looks at me, his blue eyes reflecting the ocean. "Seven days."

Devon suddenly straightens up. "Wait. There have to be cameras. This is a TV show."

I raise an eyebrow. "So?"

"So we find the cameras, we yell at them to stop this insane experiment and send us back."

I cross my arms. "You think they're just gonna say 'okay, sorry' and send a boat?"

He's already scanning the beach, the trees, the rocks. "Worth a shot."

Devon spots a tall coconut tree and makes a beeline for it. "I'll get a better view from up there."

"You're gonna climb that?"

"Why not?" He grabs the trunk and starts pulling himself up. His boots slip on the smooth bark. He makes it about six feet before his grip falters and he slides back down, landing hard on his ass.

I can't help it. I laugh.

He glares up at me from the sand. "Helpful."

"Careful! I don't know CPR!"

He tries again, grunting with effort. "That's real comforting!"

"Just saying!"

After Devon gives up on the tree, we spend the next twenty minutes flipping over rocks and checking tree branches for hidden cameras. I lift a large stone and a crab scuttles out. I yelp and jump back.

Devon grins. "Scared of a crab?"

"It surprised me!" My face heats up.

"Sure it did."

Then Devon gets another brilliant idea. He picks up a thick branch and starts dragging it through the sand, carving out giant letters. H-E-L-P.

I stand with my arms crossed, watching. "You think satellites are watching? This isn't a movie."

He keeps dragging the branch. "You got a better idea?!"

"Actually, yes. Accept reality and figure out how to survive."

Devon stops and looks at me. "You're no fun."

"I'm practical."

Even as I say it, something in me softens. At least he's trying. At least he's doing something.

Maybe I should be more helpful.

Online, the viewers are eating it up:

"Devon screaming into the void lmaooo"

"Ma'am sir there's cameras everywhere"

"They really think it's a prank 😭"

Devon wipes sweat from his forehead. "I'm checking the jungle. Maybe there's fresh water."

I hesitate. "We should stick together."

He smirks. "Worried about me?"

"Worried you'll get lost and I'll have to find you."

"Fair enough. Come on."

We push through the thick vegetation at the jungle's edge. It's humid and hot, the air heavy with the smell of earth and rotting leaves. Devon walks ahead, pushing aside giant ferns and low-hanging vines.

He reaches for a large leaf blocking the path.

Then I see it.

A bamboo viper, bright green and coiled, hidden behind the leaf. Its mouth opens, fangs exposed, ready to strike. Devon's hand is inches away.

Time slows.

"DEVON!"

I don't think. I just move. I grab his arm and yank him backward. We lose our balance and crash to the ground in a tangle of limbs. I land on top of him, my hands braced on either side of his head.

We're both breathing hard. The snake disappears into the undergrowth with a rustle.

"Holy shit," Devon breathes. "That was close."

"That snake looked very real." My heart hammers against my ribs.

"Yeah." His voice is low, almost a whisper.

I realize how close we are. His face is right there, those blue eyes locked on mine. I can feel his chest rising and falling beneath me. The heat between us has nothing to do with the tropical sun.

Devon thinks: She saved me. Without hesitation. Five years, and she still...

I scramble off him quickly, brushing dirt from my clothes. "You okay?"

He sits up slowly. "Thanks to you."

We stare at each other for a few seconds. Something shifts in the air between us.

"We should go back to the beach," I say, breaking the moment.

Devon nods. "Yeah."

The comments online explode:

"THAT SNAKE WAS NOT PAID ENOUGH TO ACT"

"Aria's reflexes tho 👀"

"THE WAY SHE JUMPED ON HIM"

"Devon almost died on day 1 💀"

Back on the beach, we sit in silence. The snake incident made everything real. We're actually stuck here. For seven days. With nothing.

"So," Devon says finally. "This is happening."

"Apparently."

He turns to look at me, expression serious. "We need to work together. I know we have history. But out here, we're all we've got."

I study him. No jokes, no sarcasm. Just honesty in those blue eyes.

I nod slowly. "Fine. But I'm not taking orders from you."

He holds up both hands. "Wouldn't dream of it, Your Highness."

I roll my eyes, but my lips twitch. "Don't call me that."

"What, Your Highness? Or Your Majesty? Which do you prefer?"

"Devon." But there's no bite in my voice.

He grins. "There it is. First time you've said my name without sounding like you wanna kill me."

He's right. Whatever happened between us, whatever hurt still sits in my chest, right now we only have each other. Seven days. I can do this. We can do this.

I pick up the crumpled note. "Okay. Priorities. What do we need first?"

"Water. Shelter. Fire. Food. In that order."

I look at him, surprised. "You actually know survival basics?"

He shrugs. "I've done this for movies. Took some training courses."

"Huh. Maybe you're not completely useless."

"High praise from Aria Sinclair."

We split up the work. Devon starts gathering materials for a shelter while I venture back to the jungle edge, more carefully this time, looking for coconuts and anything else edible. My grandmother taught me about plants when I was young. Girl Scouts taught me the rest.

When I come back with an armful of coconuts, Devon's lean-to has collapsed for the second time.

"How many times has that happened?" I can't help but laugh.

He sits in the sand, looking defeated. "Twice. This looked easier in the movies."

"Here, let me help." I set down the coconuts. "You need to anchor the base first."

"How do you..."

"Girl Scouts. Before I decided to be an actress."

Devon laughs, and it sounds genuine. "Girl Scout Aria. I'm learning so much today."

We work together, our movements slowly finding a rhythm. I show him how to properly build the frame with branches, how to weave palm leaves for the roof. Sometimes our hands brush when we reach for the same piece of wood. Neither of us mentions it.

By sunset, we've got a decent shelter. Crude, but it'll keep the wind out.

Devon steps back, surveying our work. "Not bad for day one."

"We're still alive," I say. "That's something."

He uses a rock to crack open one of the coconuts and hands it to me. "Ladies first."

I take it, our fingers touching briefly. "Not bad."

"Better than nothing," he agrees, taking a sip after me.

We sit in front of our makeshift shelter as the sun sinks toward the horizon. The sky turns orange and pink, reflecting off the water. Devon looks at me, something unreadable in his expression.

"Thanks," he says quietly. "For pulling me away from that snake."

I shrug, but my voice comes out softer than I intend. "Don't thank me yet. We have six more days."

"Six more days." The way he says it holds weight. Like it's both too long and not enough.

Six more days with Devon Hayes. The man I loved. The man I left. The man I thought I'd never have to face like this again.

What am I supposed to do with that?

The ocean spreads before us, endless and blue.

We're close, but not too close. Like we're testing the boundaries.