Page 103 of Take Two

By the time it was all over, the room looked like it had survived a medium-sized earthquake. Mae and Callie lay in the centre of it, holding onto each other, catching their breath. Callie glanced around the wrecked little room.

‘Wow. We really destroyed the place.’

‘They're gonna think you wrecked the place because you didn’t win,’ Mae said dryly.

‘I didn’t?’ Callie asked with a grin.

Mae returned the grin and then regarded the destruction. It really was a mess in here.

But messes could be cleaned up.

Forty

‘I’ve changed my mind,’ Callie declared.

‘What? No!’ Mae moaned.

They were on the couch at Mae’s the evening the finale was set to air. They were still pretending Callie might go home to her own London flat at some point. There were biscuits on the coffee table, real ones, Mae ones. Callie had only eaten half of one. That was how nervous she was. Because you didn’t eat only half of Mae's shortbread if all was well.

‘Well,youcan watch it. Alone,’ Callie said.

‘Don’t make me do that,’ Mae complained.

‘I don’t even know why we need to see it.’

‘Because you should see how it turned out so you can stop worrying about it,’ Mae began. Then she added quickly, as though it was an afterthought, ‘And we got back together that night. It’s part of our story now.’

Callie smiled at her girlfriend. ‘You’re so cute when you’re sentimental.’

Mae tutted. ‘I’m not sentimental. I don’t even have a favourite tea mug.’

Callie knew the truth about Mae’s gooey centre, but she was willing to let her keep up the lie.

‘We can turn it off at any point,’ Mae said. ‘I’m serious. If you don’t want to…’

‘OK. Fine. We’ll watch the bloody thing.’

‘Yeah?’ Mae asked, surprised how quickly she’d talked Callie round.

‘You’re right, it might be horrible,’ Callie said. ‘But I shouldn’t hide from it.’

Mae grabbed the remote and Callie’s hand. Callie relaxed a little.

‘What if theydidgive me a villain edit though?’ Callie asked.

Mae shook her head. ‘I don’t think they will.’

‘Why not?’ Callie smirked. ‘Youdid.’

Mae smiled. ‘That’s not quite how I’d put our… breakup.’

‘I’m right though, aren’t I?’ Callie said, nudging Mae’s ankle with her socked foot. ‘Statistically speaking. There’s always a villain.’

Mae hit play on the remote anyway. ‘If they do, you immediately make a reaction video denouncing the production’s methods and how you’ve been shown. I’ll shoot it. Get a ring light.’

Callie rolled her eyes. ‘Hilarious.’

The theme music started. They both winced. ‘I bet my mum’s watching this,’ Callie said over the credits.