Love Island

Chapter 49 - The First Official Couple

"Maddie!" A soft voice called out to me. I hit an imaginary snooze and squeezed my eyes shut. "Maddie," the voice whispered just close enough to my ear to shake me from my REM cycle. I peeled my eyes open and found Lucas inches from my face. The room was still dark, but I could see his silhouette stand up straight and cast an investigative survey of the room. "Get up."

"Lucas? What is going on?" I whispered back as quietly as possible. Charlie was sound asleep beside me in the bed. One hand was resting on the pillow near his face, the other reaching out and holding onto my thigh.

"I need your help, please." Lucas dropped to his knees as one of the beds rustled. When the coast was clear, he stood up again. "Please!" He began walking away, a silent signal to follow him.

I let out a soft sigh and slowly slid out of Charlie's grasp, adjusted the covers neatly, and tiptoed out of the bedroom. I looked around, unsure of where he'd gone and unwilling to navigate the entire villa in the dark. "Where are you?" I whispered.

"Up here, come on." Lucas' silhouette appeared before me half-way up the stairs. I carefully maneuvered the steps to avoid creaking the stairs and followed Lucas to the girls' dressing room. The lights were on and nearly blinded my eyes before they could adjust to the brightness.

"Oh my god," I whimpered, covering my eyes with my hands.

"Good morning, Princess," Peach smiled and placed a glass of orange juice in my hand. "Go ahead, Lucas. Tell her." As Lucas prepared his statement, I looked around the room. All the girls were there except for Polly.

"I'm going to ask Polly to be my girlfriend today, but I'm not sure how." Lucas began fidgeting with his hands nervously.

"Oh my gosh, that's amazing!" I smiled and looked around at the girls.

Peyton nodded. "Isn't it the cutest?"

"Our first official Love Island couple," Giselle gushed, holding her hands to her heart.

Lucas smiled bashfully among the sudden attention he was receiving. "I just want it to be special ... and personal! How should I do it? Do I do it in private?"

Peach rocked her head back and forth. "I don't know, I guess it depends on the person, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed with Peach. "Personally, I would rather be asked in private. But I think Polly would like all of her friends to enjoy the moment with her."

"What if she says no?" Lucas asked, causing his anxieties to heighten.

"Eh, I doubt it. She really likes you," Peyton said.

"I don't know much about either of you, so it's hard to give advice," Sara let out a quiet laugh. "But, if I were Polly, I'd want there to be flowers."

"Flowers, great idea!" I commented.

Lucas nodded and began short-circuit pacing through the room. "Okay. Flowers. How do I make it personal to her?"

"Well, first of all, don't get her name wrong," I joked. "In all seriousness, I think Polly would want you to go all out."

"How do I do that?" Lucas asked.

"I know! I know!" Giselle grinned at her idea. "Have a performance! Charlie on keys, Sara can sing vocals, and Maddie and I can sing backup!"

"Okay, perfect! 'All of Me' by John Legend is one of her favorite songs," Lucas said. "We could set this all up in front of the giant neon heart in the garden ... and we could have rose petals, and have her walk down the aisle ... or is that too much?"

I shook my head. "I think that's exactly what Polly would want."

"Okay then," Lucas smiled and rubbed his hands together. "God, I'm nervous. What do I say?"