by Raziel Reid
Joel is already tired of this fight with Brandon—sometimes the only thing you can do is move on. He can’t just cancel Brandon, though. The Cadogans are family friends. Joel surfs with Conrad when he’s not off saving third world countries. If Joel could, he’d cancel both Brandon and Idris. He’s never believed that Idris treats Greta right, and he’s glad that she finally seems to be done with him. But Joel’s had his hopes up before. He knows how things can change in a heartbeat.
“It was going fine until this bitch started flinging the ball at my face!” Spit flies out of Brandon’s mouth.
“It’s not my fault you can’t hit it,” Joel says.
“That’s it!” Brandon comes around the side of the ping pong table and swings at Joel. He misses, and Joel trips him, sending Brandon falling to the ground and landing on his back.
Sean and Idris circle around, and even Fortune puts away his phone long enough to watch. Brandon bounces back up.
“You’re probably a faggot,” Brandon says. “That’s why you won’t give it to Hailey. Who turns down Hailey Paley?”
“No kidding,” Idris says.
Joel drops his paddle on the ping pong table. “Unlike you, Brando, I don’t have anything to prove.”
“You almost broke my nose, Strom!” Brandon is about to blow. The vein in his neck is starting to pop. “How dare you touch my face with your dirty peasant hands!”
“He was just protecting his sister,” Sean says calmly. “You can’t hold that against him.”
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“No one’s. I’m just saying—”
“I’m gonna smash this pretty boy’s face in!” Brandon grabs Joel by the collar of his tee-shirt and shoves him against the side of the RV.
“You really want to settle this?” Sean runs over and breaks them up. “What about a race?”
“Oh my God, yes!” Fortune’s eyes light up.
“A drag race?” Brandon asks.
“What’s the matter?” Sean taunts. “Scared?”
“Set it up.” Joel doesn’t miss a beat.
“Yeah.” A smile spreads on Brandon’s face. “Set it up. Of course, I’ll have to buy a new car for the occasion…”
They’re interrupted by the sound of a car pulling into the camping lot. Valeria parks her BMW behind the RV and steps out.
“What’d I miss?” she asks.
imseanjohnson
1.5m followers
ayecandy13 @riprakash if I could I would eat him
simonregan @christianrdouglas he’s goals man
reelinevisca dope
ines.rebel Você não é bom o suficiente para Valeria
debsterbanx @raven.ly i have to fuck him by next summer too :(
After all the drama, everyone goes rock climbing to blow off some steam. Valeria and Sean decide to go off on their own. Sean wants to check out the trail where the camp gives guided group tours in search of Sasquatch, aka Bigfoot. Sean believes Sasquatch is real but he doubts you’d spot one on a group tour. They steer clear of human beings. They must know better.
“Don’t you think there would be some kind of evidence?” Valeria says as they walk down the trail.
Sean stares down at her Golden Goose metallic leather platform sneakers.
“Like a corpse or something?” she goes on. “Not just grainy photos and videos that are probably people walking around in ape costumes.”
“What if it’s not from this dimension?” Sean looks up at her. “Like, what if when it dies, it just, like, disappears and goes back to wherever it came from?”
“You have quite the imagination, Sean Johnson,” Valeria says. She reaches for his hand. Sean likes the intimate moments they share when it’s just the two of them.
Valeria means a lot to him. She knows what his dad is like and she’s tried to make things better for Sean at home. Valeria goes out of her way to charm Christoph. Sean’s dad thinks he’s all right so long as he has a girl, which is why Sean let Sam and her henchmen at the network push him into this relationship in the first place. Sean has come to depend on Valeria. Sometimes he thinks she’s the only one who really knows him, aside from Joel. Fortune doesn’t know him—but Sean wishes he did. They’ve been exchanging secret texts since arriving at the campground, planning to meet in the woods late at night. He knows that for Fortune it’s just a thrill, and that it’s dangerous to want it to be anything more. Fortune loves only himself.
“For me it’s not a matter of whether they’re real or not,” Sean says as they continue walking. “I already know you can be both.”
Last season, when Sean was doing press for Platinum Triangle, hair and makeup descended upon him before the camera started rolling. Sean felt them smoothing his hair and straightening his shirt and brushing his eyebrows with that small, ticklish brush. His eyes closed as they powdered his face to hide the sheen under the glare of the lights. It took only a few seconds, but as the hands moved over his face and body, it was like he stopped belonging to himself. He experienced this strange phenomenon where it was like he had disappeared, like he was hanging suspended between dimensions, and his life was just a dream.
idrismorcos1
573k followers
larayasser33 Are u sure that u r Muslim!!
stevensk02 @larayasser33 what do you mean?
larayasser33 @stevensk02 He is said to be a Muslim…but all he does is vice versa unfortunately there are many people like him
stevensk02 @larayasser33 but that doesn’t actually mean that he is a bad muslim…ig you are a good person inside, than you are a good human being…which makes him a good muslim
larayasser33 @stevensk02 I didn’t say he is a bad muslim! Only God knows if he is a good muslim or not.. I’m just talking about his doings which are clear for all
Idris is going to drive Lily and Joel apart. No problem. If he can just find a way to get Lily to spend some time with him, he knows it’ll drive Joel crazy. Joel Strom hates Idris’s guts. They were friends before Idris and Greta started dating, but then Joel decided Idris was a bad influence on Greta, even though anyone who knows Greta knows she can’t be controlled.
It’s dark out and they’re all hanging around the firepit and everyone’s having a good time; even Hailey’s getting into it. She brought out the marshmallows for them to make s’mores.
Greta’s still ghosting him. Brandon pulled out a beer bong from the RV and Greta chugged a six-pack by herself. Shit’s about to get crazy and Joel looks like he knows it. Lily and Joel are sitting next to each other.
All Idris has to do is make Joel think that Lily is interested in him by getting her to hang out with him. That’ll be enough to piss Joel off and cause tension with Lily. Fortune’s plan is a little bit of entertainment if nothing else.
Idris gets the plan in motion later on. He meets Lily when she’s coming back to the campsite from the bathrooms.
“Yo, Lily,” he says. “Can we talk?”
Lily stops walking. “What can I do for you, Idris?” she asks. Lily’s no innocent fawn in the woods. She looks at him suspiciously.
“Greta’s still ghosting me,” Idris says.
“Good. She shouldn’t waste her time on you.”
“Not gonna lie; that hurts. But I respect you for saying it to my face. You’re real. No drama. Like, grand theft aside. What I’m trying to say is that you seem like the kind of girl who knows what other girls want. So, tell me how I make it up to Greta?”
“How about trying not to be a douchebag? If I were Greta, I would never forgive you for that video.”
“Not my finest moment. Admittedly. Obviously, the situation demands a big gesture. I was thinking I’d charter my dad’s jet, right, and take her to SF for a romantic dinner, maybe get her a diamond…. But then I was, like, can I really just splash money to show her how sorry I am? Like, will that even work? Greta can charter her own jet if she wants, and she’s not impressed by diamonds…”
“You’re right,” Lily says. “G
reta deserves a genuine apology.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. So, like, what about a love letter? Like, handwritten and shit.”
Lily tries to keep a straight face because she wants to be hard on Idris, but he sees her softening up.
“That’s not a terrible idea,” she says. “Try writing from your heart. Greta may decide that you don’t deserve hers, but at least you’ll have tried.”
“There’s just one problem.” Idris lowers his voice and leans in. “I don’t know how to write cursive.”
“Didn’t they teach you in elementary school?”
“At my school? We had our own iPads in kindergarten. That’s why I need your help. I can’t ask anyone else; it’s too embarrassing. Will you teach me?”
They hear laughter from over the crackling flames of the firepit down the trail.
“I’m sorry, Idris,” Lily says. “I can’t help you…. I don’t think Joel would like it very much if I helped you get back together with his sister after what you did.”
“What do you care what Joel thinks?” Idris asks.
Lily can’t hide her emotions. It’s written all over her.
“Oh, I get it,” Idris says. He shakes his head. “I gotta hand it to the guy. Joel Strom’s playing two cousins and I’m the pig?”
thejoelstrom
1.8m followers
tan_cao21 What’s the song you put in your story while you were in the Bahamas
tan_cao21 Pleassse I need to know
larapescoast WHat?!! I thought you were with hailey now you’re with lily is that true?
miss_strom_ Hello Joel I love you you my passion I’m ready to sacrifice for you, the same who breathe it’s true you don’t know about me but thank God I got to know you you’re the only one who lived for this life despite the hardness of her but I loved her thanks to you because you’ve lived it
At midnight, Joel’s about to sneak away from the campsite and go to the stream where he promised he’d meet Lily when he hears Hailey calling out his name.
She’s running down the trail as Joel steps out of his teepee. So much for being discreet.
“Joel! You have to help!” Hailey catches her breath. “It’s Greta. She’s so drunk, and I think she took something. I don’t know what. Some kind of hallucinogen. She’s totally out of control. She took off all her clothes and she’s running through the forest.”
“Where?” Joel asks. He knew something like this was going to happen when Greta started beer-bonging. Why does she always have to take things to the extreme? He’ll be angry at her later—for now he just needs to find her and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.
“This way,” Hailey says. She turns and runs, leading Joel down the path.
They seem to be running for a long time, or at least it feels long for Joel, when suddenly they hear screaming echoing in the distance. Hailey stops abruptly.
“I think this is where she veered off.”
Another scream. It’s deep and scary, like an animal, but not exactly of this world. Like Bigfoot.
“Follow me,” Hailey says. She pushes through the bushes. Joel’s right behind her, feeling the branches scratching against his skin.
Hailey leads him to a clearing in the woods. They look around.
“This is where I last saw her,” Hailey says. She looks at Joel. “I’m sorry. I never should’ve left her by herself!”
“It’s okay,” Joel says. “You did the right thing by finding me.”
They both freeze when they hear the echo of another guttural scream.
“Greta,” he says, running in the direction of the sound, shoving branches out of the way as he pushes through dense trees. He hears Hailey’s panting breath behind him.
Joel stops running when he reaches the end of the woods and approaches the cliffside. Greta is standing there naked, screaming just to hear the echo reverberate through the mountains. She turns and looks at him, and her eyes are completely black. There’s mud streaked across her cheeks.
Joel opens his mouth but he doesn’t know what to say. He’s paralyzed, just like he was when Greta slit her wrists on camera. There was blood everywhere. The camera operator didn’t react; he just kept filming. Kathy was screaming hysterically and calling an ambulance and their dad tried to stop the bleeding by wrapping a towel around Greta’s arm. Greta was laughing in the face of death. And Joel just stood there. He couldn’t move.
The memory plays over in his head sometimes on a loop, usually in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep and he’s staring up at his bedroom ceiling for hours. He becomes as paralyzed as he was in that moment.
Hailey slips her hand into Joel’s. It helps him unfreeze.
“Please, Greta,” Joel says. “Let’s go back to the campsite.”
He puts out his other hand for Greta to take. Greta smirks and looks back out at the mountains. She takes a step forward, like she’s about to leap off the cliff. Rocks and dirt fall down below.
“Greta!” Joel gasps. He lunges forward but Hailey holds him back.
“I’m sorry,” Hailey says to Greta. “It’s all my fault.”
Greta turns back in surprise.
Hailey lets go of Joel’s hand and takes a cautious step closer to the edge.
“All the games in the press, all the bitchy things I’ve said in my confessionals, all of it,” she continues. “The truth is, I’m not confident enough to just be myself on the show.” Hailey pauses, holding Greta’s feral eyes. She takes another step forward. “I’m not like you, Greta. I’ve never admitted it because it isn’t easy for me to admit to being anything less than perfect, but the truth is that if I could switch places with you, I would. I’d give anything to feel as deeply as you do and not be afraid to show it.”
She puts out her hand.
“You know I’m all for Free the Nipple but let’s get some clothes on you, girl.”
Greta looks down at Hailey’s hand. Joel thinks he sees some life returning to her eyes. Come on, Greta…Joel hasn’t taken a breath since Hailey took the first step forward. He finally breathes when Greta takes Hailey’s hand.
“You’re my ride or die,” Hailey says. She pulls Greta into a hug.
Joel takes off his Palm Angels hoodie and passes it to Hailey, who helps Greta put it on. It’s big enough that it covers her down to her legs. Hailey and Joel each link one of Greta’s arms and lead her back to the campsite.
The fire has almost burned out in the pit when they get back. Everyone’s sleeping. The last piece of wood is burning. It cracks, and sparks shoot into the air. Joel stares into the red and orange embers while Hailey takes Greta to her tent.
When Hailey gets back, he’s still standing in the same spot.
“Bea promised to make sure Greta doesn’t get out of bed,” Hailey says. “I don’t think we have to worry. She was out like a light.”
Joel doesn’t say anything. He just reaches for Hailey and they hug. None of the fake shit matters. Hailey proved her loyalty to his sister tonight. Joel will never forget it.
lillianrhode
46k followers
_lavish_bohemia_ Who the hell do u think you are?
Lily comes down the trail to the campsite after waiting nearly an hour for Joel at the stream where they planned to meet. She stops when she sees Hailey standing in Joel’s arms by the fire.
The stars had been so bright and felt so close that Lily couldn’t help but lift her hand up as if she could pluck one out of the sky. She sat on a rock listening to the water flowing in the stream and waiting. She sent Joel a pin drop in case he was having trouble finding her spot, but she was close to the opening of the trail so she didn’t think he could miss her. It was creepy sitting in the dark by herself. She heard the echo of a scream ringing through the mountains.
When Joel didn’t show up, she walked down the dark trail by herself back to the campsite, using the flashlight on her phone to guide her, telling herself there must be a good reason for him to have not shown up or even te
xted. Another fight with Brandon? Not exactly a good reason but a probable one. The more beer Brandon drank the more he was taunting Joel around the campfire about their drag race.
Now Lily turns and runs away from Joel and Hailey before they see her standing there. She doesn’t stop until she reaches the safari tent she’s sharing with Valeria. Valeria’s sitting up in bed reading a script when Lily enters.
“You okay?” she asks. “Lily?”
Valeria puts down her script when Lily just stands there.
“Where were you?”
“Stargazing,” Lily says. She blinks and shakes it off. “New script?” she asks.
“A sitcom.” Valeria flips through the pages.
Lily kicks off her shoes and sits on the edge of the bed, staring across the tent.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Valeria asks.
“Fine.” Lily nods. “Just tired.”
“The extended trailer for Platinum Triangle dropped tonight,” Valeria says, reaching for her phone. “You made the cut.”
Valeria shows Lily the trailer. Lily’s really in it. Just for, like, half a second, along with audio of Whitney telling Hailey that her cousin is coming to stay with them after her arrest. The trailer cuts to Lily’s mugshot.
“Get used to it,” Valeria says. “They’ll probably cut to your mugshot ten thousand times this season.”
There’s another scene that’s like a kick in the gut. It’s during the cast trip to the Bahamas. Joel and Hailey are lying in a hammock together on the beach…and then the trailer cuts to the next scene: Hailey’s milli party. Joel and Hailey kiss, and then the screen smashes to black. End of trailer.
“Joel knows what he’s doing.” Valeria looks up from her phone and meets Lily’s eyes.
“What do you mean?” Lily asks.
“Well…” Valeria pulls out a licorice from a bag open on the bed next to her script, one of the many things they bought during their supermarket stop. “Maybe I’m wrong and Joel really is over the show,” she says, pulling the licorice between her teeth, “but I don’t really believe it. Maybe that’s because I don’t believe you can be over it. Once you’re infected, it’s for life. With Joel, it’s, like, okay, so maybe the YouTube account got tired. Maybe he’s not as obvious about it anymore. But Joel likes the attention. He lives for it. Just like we all do. Joel runs the game almost as well as Hailey does. And you being Hailey’s cousin? It practically played itself.”