#romistav

[bomboshell]

that was not what he expected to see after finishing his phone call. he immediately turns round, heading back inside the villa, not wanting to miss the window to escape. making an abrupt turn, he almost runs into romi. “ oh shit, hey-- ” hands are placed on her shoulders, and for some reason he looks like the guilty one. “ uh, you alright? ” @romistav​​

[bomboshell]

romi and marcus are sat together. luke doesn’t want to sit and wait around until they’re done so he decides to walk over to them confidently. “ sorry to interrupt-- ” he says to both of them, but he looks a little too excited for it to seem sincere, then turns to romi, “ do you fancy going for a chat? ” @romistav​

[blondcs]

jenny & romi — day 30

location :   bedroom

featuring :   @romistav

romi

it has been in the back of their mind ever since it happened and even more so with last night's events. so, when they decide to pull her away for a chat, they can only hope she'll stick around and listen to them. "look, jenny, i want to say i'm sorry." they pause, looking down at their hands before back up at her. "i mean that i'm sorry for bringing up the max thing in the dressing room with the girls. i was taken aback that you brought up josh and i kissing, 'cause i didn't even know that you knew about that and i wish it was something we could've talked about in private but it was still a dick move to talk about you and max, especially in a room full of people we barely even knew at the time." romi's not sure jenny even cares at this point but this isn't the only thing they want to talk to her about, it just feels like a good place to start.

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

fight or flight's turning her breathing heavy, an attempt at counteracting the jumpstart to her heart rate. romi's probably the last person she wants to talk to, in part because as much as she's crafted the perfect defense for herself and jude, there's something about the whole situation that lands them decidedly in the wrong. jude more than her, sure, but paired with the rest of her history it's not a great look—just one more thing in a long list that makes it harder to ignore that viewers at home have probably built an entire case against her. she wishes she could talk to her mom, just for a minute to get some perspective. her hands must've been balled into fists, though she doesn't notice until they release, palms white from the force of it as romi throws her a curveball. for whatever reason she'd been gearing up for some kind of argument, safeguarding herself with defensive and offensive lines. but romi's apologizing without any kind of prompting, leaving jenny without anything to really say. her eyes narrow. "i— yeah. um... it was just kind of shitty for me. charlene and stella looked like their eyes were gonna bulge out of their heads or something. like... it was embarrassing." she shrugs, smoothing clammy hands over her lap. "i'm kind of just glad i got the heads up from naomi that you even knew about it otherwise it would've been a total blindside. like, i thought frankie was the only one who knew, so... yeah, i don't know. it was just weird because we've never really had any kind of relationship, so i just felt like you were coming for me out of nowhere. or..." she can't really remember the details, but that feels wrong. "not out of nowhere. just, like— i don't know."

romi

“it was sort of out of nowhere but like i said, i wasn’t expecting you to know about josh and i kissing. i’m assuming naomi told you.” which stings a little because even while they were in their fight romi still acted dumb whenever people tried to get them to talk about naomi and josh. “for what it’s worth, i don’t think it changed how stella or charlene feel about you. i mean, charlene kissed you and everything.” whether that was before or after she can’t actually remember. “anyway, that’s not really what i wanted to discuss. i wanted to talk to you about jude.” the big cloud hanging over both their heads though they’re assuming for jenny it’s still something bright and exciting. “i’m sure you’ve caught on but he likes you and he’s liked you since day one. i don’t know if he’s, like, stupid or a really bad player for trying to convince all of us that he was all about me but on night one i told him i didn’t like him leaving with you because i could tell he liked you. like, not because it’s you but because i didn’t want him to like anyone more than me. anyway, we had this big argument last night, and he basically called you his backup option which, like, i know you and i aren’t friends but that sounds kind of fucked up. i’m not telling you not to get to know him, at this point i don’t really care but if i’m going to have to see you two licking each other’s fingers or whatever all around the villa, i at least wanted to say something to you first.”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

there it is, his name dropped between them like a bomb. she schools her face into something neutral. kind of. there’s a tightness to it, the angle of her brows, the line of her lips, a rigidness extending down through her body that gives her away. and she only winds tighter as romi speaks, a coil ready to spring the second there’s a long enough pause. she waits a moment longer just to make sure romi’s really done before starting in, eyes turning icy. “do you and naomi, like, get off on saying this shit to me? seriously. because i kind of thought the reason we weren’t friends was just circumstantial—like, we haven’t really talked much, but now it’s starting to feel personal.” if she has to hear backup option, second choice, fallback one more time, she’s gonna lose her mind. they can say they’re doing it for her benefit all they want, it still fucking stings. “especially when all the other shit you’re saying doesn’t really make me sound like a backup. like, at all. no offense.” except she definitely means to offend. she’s on the defensive now, can feel that mean, ugly side of her clawing to the forefront. “and i just think it’s kind of rich that you’re gonna come over here and apologize and get your edit just to call me a backup option like you’re not about to crack on with dante.”

romi

“well, first of all, i’m not calling you his backup option. he called you that.” romi clarifies. “i know all the stuff i’m saying to you doesn’t make you sound like his backup option, that’s my whole fucking point is that he likes you and if he can like you and still call you his backup then he’s stupider than any of us think he is.” if jenny wants to know that and still buy into whatever he’s trying to sell her, that’s not really romi’s problem. “you can do whatever you want with what i’m telling you. like, you can be pissed off at me, i don’t care. i’m just really not a fan of jude and i’d hate to see you fall for it, too.” there’s a pause, they’re contemplating something else. “i am gonna get to know dante because as soon as jude and i had our whole argument, he came to look for me.” they’re not about to tiptoe around it when it’s pretty obvious and dante himself is rather open about it to everyone. “though i get that you have to bring someone back. you and i are basically the only two people here on that same boat and it fucking sucks but if dante chooses you over me, that’s not the end of my world.”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

her hand makes its way up to her mouth where she gnaws a bit of skin on the side of her thumb, eyes narrowing with each word out of romi's mouth. 'i'd hate to see you fall for it, too.' like, how much more condescending can they fucking be? her lips settle into something akin to a smile, but a colder imitation of one, laced with skepticism. "this is really the angle you're going with? doing all this," she gestures between them, "out of what, the goodness of your heart? because we're such good friends?" she rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "you had weeks to do that and you never once made any real effort to get to know me. not once, even though josh would've loved for us to get on, and you know what? that's fine. like, we don't have to be friends. we're not friends, even, so i just think the timing of this is really fucking convenient. like, this whole feminist, 'girls looking out for girls' thing, when really you couldn't give less of a shit about a me. like, let's be real. you couldn't." her eyes zip between romi's, seeking, lapping up each little reaction. "so like, just fucking spare me, honestly. you're jealous and you don't want to see me with jude." she shrugs, the word feeling powerful on her tongue, as good as a weapon and wielded against someone else for a change. she gives them the benefit of the doubt, though, the dare for romi to contradict her all over her face, brows lifted in challenge. "like, that's the truth. and i don't blame you. i'd be jealous too," she has to bite down on the cruel instinct to smile, teeth clamping down on the insides of her cheeks. "but don't pretend like you're looking out for my best interests or whatever, because you had so long to do that and you never did. doing it now is honestly just insulting to both of us."

romi

“i know we’re not friends. jenny, i don’t want to be your friend.” they felt that was pretty clear. “maybe some of the people around here feed into the whole all girls should be friends thing, i mean, like naomi and you still even entertaining each other, now that’s funny but i’m not like that. i don’t like you. you stole josh from naomi so i was never going to like you and then what do you do? you cheat on josh with a guy who’s seconds away from leaving the show. it’s stupid.” so, maybe jude and her getting together actually makes perfect sense. they don’t feel that this was a waste of time, they accomplished what they wanted which was simply to talk to her. at her following words, romi can’t help it, they break out into laughter almost automatically. “oh my god.” she stares at jenny for a second, waiting for her to say she’s joking or make some smart ass comment. “yes, i’m jealous of you, you got me. i’m jealous of some white blonde girl…” they can’t finish the sentence, shaking their head instead. “i definitely needed that laugh. you should say that to jude, by the way, that i’m jealous of him liking you, it might make him feel like he still has an in with me.”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

she doesn't react to the laughter, absolutely refuses to give romi that kind of satisfaction when she's gonna double down on it anyway. her lips just tilt up, head cocking to one side. "that must be infuriating for you," she condescends, digging her heels in. "that he threw everything away for a girl with cherries tatted on her ass." she deigns a cool smirk but there's something wild about her eyes as they watch romi, focused and alert. she's operating on instinct, strategy gone in the heat of the moment "i don't need to tell jude. it's like, super obvious." a pause. "that you're jealous." she supplies, lips curving. "besides, when we're together we're definitely not talking about you. kind of flattering that you guys talked about me so much, though. it's definitely giving 'backup.'"

romi

jenny has that annoying jude habit of ignoring half of what they’re saying and just ending up saying something that doesn’t even apply to what they’re discussing. romi wonders what josh and her ever talked about or if they just didn’t talk at all. the latter makes more sense. “that’s it, really?” cause if they were in her shoes they could come up with a thousand things to shove in romi’s face but gloating about jude? that’s funny. “you don’t have anything else in you?” they thought this might finally be an actual argument to have with someone but clearly that was expecting too much of jenny. unlike seemingly a lot of people here, however, she doesn’t feel bad for her. to be making such painful mistakes over and over and not see them must be some sort of twisted blessing.

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

"you just can't argue anything i said 'cause it's all true." her shoulders lift in a silent and not at all apologetic 'sorry.' "like, come on. goading for more is such a fucking cop out, dude." romi's baiting her and it's obvious enough that it breaks through some of the fog. the fire cools enough to give her pause, but then they go in for a second time and she feels her fists balling up at her side. "nah, i actually don't have anything else because i literally don't know anything about you. if it weren't for jude and now dante, apparently, i wouldn't even know you're here. you're boring. that's why you attract guys like dejan who can just project a whole ass personality onto you. until they get bored." her head tilts to one side. "until things stop being fun."

romi

there it is though, truthfully, she was expecting her to say something about marcus because that’s what everyone tends to go for but dejan? that’s a nice touch. “so, which is it? you don’t know me or you know me so well that you know why jude, dante, and dejan are interested in me?” it’s something they’ll think about later. definitely something they’re gonna share with the others later but not something they’ll react to right now in front of her. “that was good, though, i was beginning to think you were just, like, hallucinating in front of me.”

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

"except... jude isn't interested in you, is he?" it's all condescension, brows furrowed in feigned confusion, blinking as if she genuinely needs the reminder. "that's why he kissed me, the one person you apparently had a whole ass discussion about basically warning him off of," she shrugs. "was that not an obvious enough out?" it feels like a thin argument, but they're not giving her much to go off and their last point was maybe the first decent one they've made. it's a little hard to counter. "i don't know, seems like 'jealous' kind of struck a nerve, but hey. you don't have to admit anything you don't want to."

romi

they wish it had been an obvious enough out and that jude hadn't spent so long afterward trying to convince them to still give him a chance. even this morning, still trying to get them to give him a chance but if jenny is willing to live in her delusions and happily scream pick me at every guy that romi rejects then so be it. "yes, i'm jealous of you." romi nods as if to confirm the point. "i'm jealous of the fact that the only reason dante went off and got to know you, like, even chose to share a bed with you at all on the first night is that i made it clear i wanted to get to know jude instead of him. i'm jealous of the fact that both dante and jude made it very clear i'm their first choice. i'm jealous that they both made you breakfast this morning, 'cause they did do that, right?" romi doesn't wait for her to answer. "i'm jealous of how much everyone loves seeing jude and you together. i mean, why else do people storm the kitchen when you guys leave together if not to go admire you two together? like, yeah, jude immediately walks away from you as soon as people notice him even staring but i'm sure that's sexy to you and not at all embarrassing." they know they should stop but they keep going regardless. "...and i'm so jealous that you got with josh only to stop caring about him the second someone else found you even remotely interesting."

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

her expression doesn't change much through the tirade, eyes hard and flat, almost distant like she's watching from somewhere far away, blue faded to something grayer, duller. but her hand cant stop touching her mouth, tracing her lips as the blows land, picking at a dry patch, pinching, circling, pushing them to one side, then the other. 'romi's nice.' that's what everyone always said about them. they're nice and they're chill and they get along with everyone. what a fucking joke. they took the bait and stooped right down to her level—clearly, wishing people would quit being so goddamn level-headed and stoic was a massive mistake. each insecurity had been ticked off like she'd handed them over on a thoroughly labeled spreadsheet. they really hadn't come to play. "and who finds you interesting, romi? the guy with all of five thoughts in his head? the guy who fucked your cousin? very impressive." she tucks her hands between her legs where they've started trembling. "really, you could've just stopped at 'i'm so jealous that you got with josh.' i bet he'd love this side of you. or, you know, maybe he'd pull a marcus and realize you're too fucked up for him too."

romi

"you think josh would think i'm too fucked up for him because of how i'm talking to you right now?" as if romi needed further proof that jenny doesn't know him at all. "you know, you can bait with me dejan or marcus or whoever the fuck you want but there's never going to be a reality where i question how josh feels about me or how i feel about him and i know it must be so sad that you can't say the same." because romantic shit? that can come and go and it will come and go, they're not delusional about that, but friendship is important to them, friendship is way more serious than anything else going on in this stupid villa. even if it is love island and not friendship island. if anything, her words are just a giant reminder that romi can't wait to be back snuggling with josh somewhere telling him everything that's happened while they've been apart.

𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲

"what, are you fucking in love with him or something?" but despite her commitment to the jab, the sharp angles of her brows and cruel twist of her mouth, it's starting to feel like grasping at straws. she's taken one too many hits and can't quite rally the energy to fight back anymore. there's a harsh irony of josh being the thing to do it, the blow to finally make her face prickle with the weight of unshed tears. josh might not side with romi if he'd walked in on that last little nightmarish soliloquy, but with the context? with the things she'd said first, prompted but also... not, he'd never look at her the same. might never look at her, period. if there'd been even a shred of hope for them after what happened with max, she'd just wrecked it completely in a matter of minutes. her eyes lift, nabbing on one of the cameras up in the corner of the room, the lens focused solely on them, hand raking nervously through her hair. shit. shit. "whatever, romi." she's gonna cry. "just... whatever. best of luck to you and dante. sincerest apologies if you can still taste me on him."