Love Island

30. The Final

Day 56
Couples:
Faye and Charlie
Jodie and Kyle (official couple)
Liliana and Dougie (official couple)
Sophie and Ricky
Violetta and James (official couple)
Zoe and Alex (official couple)

"And the winner is.." Caroline announces, and James' grip around my waist tightens as we anticipate her next words.

But in this exact moment, I realise that I don't care. I know that sounds odd, I know that at the end of the day this is a competition; but I think back to these last couple of months and wonder, is that really what this experience has been?

Day 8:
"You're doing it wrong!" I laugh, as James attempts to apply my make-up for this evening.

He chuckles in response, nearly poking me in the eye with my mascara wand. "I swear this is how you're supposed to do it." He claims, smudging black underneath my eye. "Oh, maybe not."

He searches for a make up wipe and as he moves to the side I see my reflection in the mirror. "Oh my god! James, I look like a panda."

"A very cute panda." He corrects me, briefly looking up from my make up bag to give me a compliment before diving back in to search for a make up wipe. "Here," He starts, bringing the wipe up to my eye. "Look up, I don't want to ruin my masterpiece."

"Is this your big plan?" I ask, doing as he says. "Making me look hideous so that other boys don't try anything with me?"

"Okay, first of all," He starts, not wiping my under eyes anymore so that he can properly look me in the eyes. "You could never look hideous." He assures me, causing a small smile to appear on my face. "And secondly, I can't believe you figured out my plan."

My jaw drops dramatically before I overly-enthusiastically exclaim, "I knew it!" Before lunging at him and tackling him to the ground. Obviously I weigh a lot less than him and he's a lot stronger and taller than me, so it doesn't take much effort for him to flip over and pin me to the floor, making sure I don't move by placing his knees either side of my waist and resting his hands on my wrists.

"Vee," He starts, in a teasing tone. "Did you really think you'd win?" He asks, then slowly leans in and places a gentle, but passionate kiss on my lips.

Day 26:
"So when are you and James just going to kiss and make up already?" Asher asks, looking over towards where James is talking to Kyle in the kitchen.

"What?" I ask, the question catching me off guard. James and I decided to end things over two weeks ago, why is she bringing it up now?

"Oh come on Vee, this argument has gone on long enough." She whines, clearly fed up at the fact that the argument between James and I has caused a bit of a split in friendships in the villa. "I know you act civil but you've never really cleared the air, and everyone can feel the tension between you two."

"Is there really that much tension?" I ask, I thought James and I had handled things well.

"Sexual tension." Asher jokes, causing me to hit her round the head playfully with one of the pillows form the day bed. But what she doesn't realise is that I'm hitting her so she doesn't realise that I want to be back with James ~ desperately.

Day 34:
"I feel so stupid for ending things all those weeks ago." I tell him, feeling like a complete idiot for nearly throwing away my only chance to find happiness with the guy I love.

"Well at least we're together now, and that just means I'm going to savour every single second." He smiles, giving me a small kiss on my forehead. "Now come on, let's join the others." He says, then we make our way back to the main group of people, ready to enjoy the evening together, not just as friends again, but as a couple again. And I couldn't be happier.

Day 42:
The guys are still in casa amore, so we decide to amuse ourselves with a silly little game. You basically get two options, and you have to pick between the two. "Wine or champagne?" Asher asks.

"Definitely wine." I answer immediately, I'm such a wine drinker it's ridiculous. "Right, cowgirl or missionary?"

"Missionary." She replies after a lot of thought, "I'm a simple girl."

"Really?" I ask, genuinely shocked at her answer. "I would have thought that you would be doing all sorts in the bedroom. I never would have pegged you for a plain Jane."

She laughs before responding, "don't judge a book by its cover, Vee." She gives me a smile before asking the next question, "love, or money?"

As she says this, I think back to when Ricky told me that James was a secret millionaire, and how I couldn't care less about his money. All I cared about was him, and how amazing he was regardless of how much money he had. So my answer is easy, "love."

Day 55:
"Cheers." James says, raising his glass, "to our last date in the villa. And to many more on the outside." I tap my glass with his, making a clinking sound and we both take a sip of our champagne, then carry on looking out over the ocean. "Beautiful." James whispers under his breath, but I still manage to hear it.

"I know, I could look at it all day." I comment, looking out at the horizon.

"I wasn't talking about the view." He states with a loving tone to his voice. I turn my attention to him and notice him looking at me as if I'm the most precious thing in the world. And I realise he was talking about me when I was banging on about the view.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" I ask him, not expecting him to respond.

"Other way round, more like." He laughs, and I really don't think he realises just how much he means to me, or how amazing he truly is.

"Come here." I say to him, causing him to minimise the space between us until our lips are millimetres apart and I can feel his warmth radiating onto me. And I never want him to leave my side.

Present day:
I look over to where Jodie and Kyle are standing, on the other side of Caroline. It's either us or them, and I think I know who it's going to be. Caroline reads the cue card in her hand and smiles before announcing the winner of Love Island, "Jodie and Kyle!" Everyone in the crowd immediately erupts into applause, and I'm genuinely so happy for them. I knew they'd win, Jodie has been hilarious since the day she stepped into the villa and Kyle is such a sweetheart, and he's easy on the eyes as well. But the two of them together, there really isn't any competition when you look at the two of them. They're absolutely perfect for each other.

Jodie makes her way over to me and I give her a big hug. "Congratulations, you really deserve this." I pull away from the hug so I can look her in the eyes, "I'm so happy for you."

She smiles as she shakes her head slightly, "I'm just in shock." She giggles nervously, "I was convinced that it was going to be you."

But our conversation gets cut short by Caroline making an announcement. "This has been the closest final in Love Island history, with only one percent separating the votes." I take a short intake of breath as she says this, utterly shocked by how close things were. "But it's not over yet. Kyle, you've picked the envelope with £50,000 inside. But the question is, do you pick love, or money?"

There's a big pause, and all eyes are on Kyle. He takes a look at Jodie and gives her a warm, reassuring smile. "Love." He announces, before adding, "obviously." And Jodie immediately jumps into Kyle's arms, and he catches her effortlessly.

Then James turns to me, and I have the biggest smile on my face. "What's that smile for?" He asks, laughing at me a little.

"Nothing, I'm just happy." I tell him, physically not able to stop smiling. "I've already won just by finding you and being able to say that we made it to the end together."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." He states, pulling me into a long, loving kiss, and I don't want to pull away but eventually I do because I just can't stop smiling. "So, what happens now?"

I look him in the eyes as I respond, "now we brave the real world." I tell him, and without saying a word, the look on his face instantly tells me that he can't wait. "This'll be our most interesting adventure yet."

He can't help but laugh before replying. "I guess the villa was nothing compared to what we have in store."