Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Shane Hollander sat on the couch of his parents’ house, chewing on the string of his hoodie while scrolling on his phone, watching different videos of all kinds of things. Celebrities, food, animals, cars, houses, humor, you name it. At the age of 22 and single, for him, visiting his parents and even staying over for a couple of nights was normal. And right now, his mom was making pasta for the three of them. Shane loved her pasta. In fact, he loved anything that she cooked. In general, he just loved his family. Unbeknownst to Shane, he’d received a text maybe twenty minutes ago. His phone was on “Do Not Disturb”, so of course, he would’ve had no clue that anyone had messaged him.

Ordinarily, he was prone to ignoring any text from people that he didn't know. Life experience had taught him that unknown numbers usually belonged to scammers, telemarketers, political campaigns, or relatives who’d somehow acquired a new phone for the umpteenth year in a row. For some reason, he decided to check his notification wall for anything new. He only had his parents as bypassers, so he would often catch himself looking just to make sure that his best friend(s), Hayden Pike and Rose Landry didn't text. And right now, they haven't.. But a message from an even stranger did.

Shane stared blankly at his screen for several seconds before chuckling to himself. Out of every scam in the fucking world, this had to be the most creative one. The House was practically impossible to get on, firstly. The goddamn show had spent years dominating television ratings and social media discussions. It easily built an audience large enough that almost everyone knew someone who watched it obsessively.. And for Shane, that someone happened to be his mother. Yuna Hollander absolutely loved The House with a level of admiration that practically bordered on being alarming to any normal person.

Every season she had her favorite person–every season, she developed theories about the people participating and their relationships–and every season, she would swear that she was only going to watch one episode that day but somehow end up on the couch watching the entire season until two in the morning. Half of the time, Shane wasn’t convinced that she even remembered that the participants were real people and not actors or fictional characters for her to suck entertainment out of. And the idea that The House had selected him out of thousands.. Maybe millions of people was fucking ridiculous. And the idea that they would’ve informed him about his spot through a goddamn text message was even more ridiculous. But he still took a screenshot after finishing his laugh.. Mostly because he wanted to see how his mom would react. Seconds later, he was on his feet and searching for his mom.

“Mom?” he called out for her.

“Im in the kitchen, Shane!” Shane followed the sound of her voice into the kitchen and almost instantly found himself being drafted into helping out with dinner. Somehow, he always ended up chopping vegetables or stirring while Yuna instructed him through everything from somewhere else in the kitchen. Within minutes, he was in fact chopping vegetables with a knife in one hand and a cutting board in front of him while his mother enthusiastically discussed her excitement of watching the upcoming season of “The House” for this year. Apparently, one of the contestants was a well known model and the other was unknown–..Alledgedly, the producers and casting team decided to do an unknown face this year to give very.. Very normal people a shot at being on the show. Shane had no idea why any of this mattered.

“This season is going to be crazy, Shane!” she informed him.

“I don’t know any of these people, mama.”

“You don't need to know them!”

Shane sighed with a smile, his sigh turning into a laugh despite him wanting it to as he remembered the message he’d received. “Speaking of your.. show, look at this bullcrap.” Yuna accepted his phone without much interest, thinking that it was gonna be some kind of diss from online about her favorite television obsession. When she read the message, she gasped, gripping her son's phone tighter before reading it again and again, now frozen in place. His mother wasn't a subtle person by any means—so for her to go silent like this meant that she was struck with pure shock or imminent disaster.

“Mom? What is it?” he asked.

Yuna looked up at him for maybe a split second before her eyes shot back down to the phone, then up to her son again. This motion repeated maybe two more times before she spoke again, her jaw almost on the floor. “Oh my God, Shane.”

“What? What is it?”

“Where did you get this message!?”

“It was a text.”

“Where!?”

“On.. my phone?” he responded, his tone now leaking with confusion as his head tilted. He’d now begun resting his wrist on the cutting board, knife still in hand as he was staring over at his mom, eyebrows furrowed.

“Shane.”

“Mom?”

Yuna didn't respond again, for she was too busy reading the message again and then checking the number, then reading the message and checking the number.. reading the message, checking. the. number.. until a smile slowly spread across her face. Shane instantly groaned at the sight, feeling a sense of dread creep into his bones.

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed.

“Mom, will you please tell me what's going on?”

“You have to call them.”

Shane nearly dropped the fucking knife. “What!?”

“I said, you have to call them!”

“Mom.. It's a scam.”

“It's not!” She rebuttaled, turning to her son as she set his phone down on the counter. “Do you have any idea how many people apply to this show each season?”

“How many, mom?” Shane said, now entertaining her idea for him to respond to this bullshit of a message.

“Thousands! Maybe even millions!”

“Sounds difficult for the casting directors.”

“Shane. You could be on The House.” The horror on her son's face was visible. It had to have been, because Yuna bursted out into laughter and pulled him into a hug. “You need to smile! Why’re you reacting like this!?”

“Because I..–mummy, I don’t want to be stuck in a mansion with one other person for a month while the entire world bets on if I will fall in love with them or not.”

“But that's the entire point,” Yuna corrected, practically beaming up at him, and Shane could already tell that she’d become emotionally invested in the idea of him going..which was bad. It was really fucking bad, because once she became invested in something–anything, the chance of one escaping was nearly zero.

***

The next morning, Yuna was awake before the sun had even come up. Shane had discovered that when he stumbled into the kitchen for a glass of water at six-thirty in the morning and found her completely dressed with a mug of coffee mere inches away from her, sitting at the table with a notebook, a pen, and her laptop while wearing an expression on her face that screamed preparation. Shane had only exited his room in order to quench his thirst before falling back into bed. But at the sight of her, he sat up straighter. “Mama, what are you doing?” Shane asked.

“I was waiting for you, my favorite son.” Shane tilted his head, confusion entering his frame again. He was her only son. So for her to say that was very confusing.

‘Okay…” he mumbled. “Why?” Yuna slowly turned her laptop around, now wearing a wide smile on her face with the official website for The House displayed on her screen. Shane instantly groaned.

“Mom.. no, I can’t go.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No.”

“Sit down, Shane,” she sighed, patting the seat next to her.

“Mama–”

“Sit!”

Shane sat down—..plopped down into the seat next to his mother with a huff, folding his arms and pouting at her like a kid. He wasn’t entirely sure why he still obeyed her so easily at the ripe age of twenty-two years old.. Especially when he had his own life, bills, and career.. but somehow, it kept happening. Yuna reached into her son's pocket, guessing where his phone would be. She was right. She took his phone out of his pocket and put it into his hand. “Call them,” she demanded, staring at him. Shane knew she was serious.. Just like he knew that this was a great opportunity–as long as it wasn't a scam. He stared at her, then at the website.

And finally, back at his mom. “Mama.. what if it’s a scam?”

“Then we will hang up.”

“Okay.. oh! Well, what if they, uh, steal my identity!?”

“Then dad will sue them.”

“Can he even do that?”

“Probably!”

Shane sighed, realizing that she was completely serious and that she had no intention of backing down. He picked up the phone and dialed the number that’d texted him the previous afternoon. The phone only rang twice before clicking, a woman's voice answering from the other side.

“Good morning, this is The House casting department.” Shane froze as he gasped, looking over at his mother whose eyes had gone wide at the introduction from the lady on the phone. The woman continued once more. “Am I speaking with.. Shane Hollander?” Shane didn't respond. He only looked over at his mother again in complete shock. He didn't utter a word until his moms hands went out and desperately gestured for him to speak.

“Ah!” He exclaimed. “Ah, yes. My name is Shane Hollander. It's me.”

“Wonderful, mister Hollander! Congratulations!” Shane felt his mother physically vibrating beside him. “We were hoping you’d call,” she added before speaking again. The conversation had lasted nearly twenty minutes, and by the end of it, Shane had learned four things.

One, the text was fucking real.

Two, he’d actually been randomly selected despite the fact that he never signed up.. which was something that he looked at his mom sideways about.

Three, would be boarding a plane in twenty-four hours, all expenses paid. That included the flight, food, transportation, any last minute clothing he wanted to buy, anything–..everything.

Four, he was the first East Asian male to be selected to go on the show. So far, only East Asian women had gone.. but now it was his turn, and his mother was basically jumping up and down as the call ended. Silence filled the kitchen for maybe a minute as Shane stared at the table. Behind him, his mother was silent as well.. Before she shrieked right into his ear. The sound was loud enough that his father came running into the kitchen, thinking that something had happened to his family.. They were fine, unfortunately for Shane. His mother wrapped her arms around him, squeezing as tightly as she possibly could. “MY BABY IS GOING ON THE HOUSE!’

“Dad, help!” His father looked over at the excitement in his wife’s face, then the look on his son's face before sighing.

“You’re on your own, kid.”

***

The entire day was honestly a blur. His mom had taken him shopping and Shane was sure that they’d spent hundreds of dollars on clothes, colognes, shoes, accessories, and hair products.. maybe even thousands. Yuna was honestly going crazy with it, especially after finding out that The House themselves would be covering everything. Why not take advantage? It was less of Shane being taken shopping and more of him being dragged around while his mom loaded him up and made him look pretty. And when they finally got home with maybe 50 bags from too many stores, Shane collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy sigh, grumbling in his head about the whole ordeal of the show's existence. But to Yuna, resting right now was not on the agenda.

“Shane! Get up! We need to get you packed and prepped for tomorrow.”

“Mama.. I’m tired. I’ll just nap for a second,” he whined, turning over on the couch and getting himself comfortable.

“You can nap in your luxurious California King bed when you get to The House! Up!”

Shane couldn’t even argue.. or, he didn’t have the energy to argue. He only dragged himself off of the couch and followed his mom into his room, and of course, she had gotten there maybe two minutes before he did and was already packing all his new stuff into three different suitcases. Although he was fucking exhausted, he was happy she was helping.. because if she wasn’t, he’d probably have nothing to take with him—especially for a whole month.

The state of Shane’s bedroom could only be categorized as catastrophic. Clothes occupied nearly every available surface. Shirts hung from the backs of chairs. New pairs of shoes sat lined up along the wall. Shopping bags covered portions of the floor that had been visible earlier that morning. And somewhere.. beneath the growing mountain of purchases existed a bed. Shane knew that because he’d slept there the night before. Locating it with the current state of the room required actual effort, though. Yuna sat in the center of the disaster with confidence.

Shane sat on the edge of the mattress, exhausted beyond words, while watching his mother reorganize a suitcase for what felt like the twentieth time. “This one is for everyday clothes,” she explained while moving folded shirts around.

“You already said that, maman.”

“Because you’re not paying attention.”

“I’ve been awake since six, I want to sleep,” he whined, sounding like a kid once more.

“You can sleep on the plane.”

“I feel like everyone’s solution is me sleeping on the plane.” Yuna ignored him. The woman had become immune to criticism hours ago. David appeared in the doorway carrying a laptop under one arm and three printed packets under the other.

“Good news.” Neither of them looked up.

“That’s never how good news starts,” Shane groaned, combing his hands over his face. David smiled.

“The contracts are downloaded!” His dad added, exclaiming out loud. Shane groaned so loudly that even Yuna paused.

“Oh, come on. Mama—!”

“Shane, you’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Ugh,” Shane flopped backwards onto the bed, letting himself be buried in the mountain of new things his mother had bought for him as his father laughed. The sound earned him an immediate glare from his son. Unfortunately, it only made him laugh harder. Twenty minutes later, the three of them were gathered around the dining room table. Shane occupied one side. His parents occupied the other. The arrangement made him feel less like a grown man preparing to travel internationally and more like a teenager being interrogated about his report card. The stack of paperwork sat in the middle of the table. Shane stared at it, and it felt like the paperwork was fucking staring back at him. David slid the first packet toward him. “Ready?”

“No, dad, i’m not ready”

“Excellent!” He replied. The participant agreement turned out to be even longer than Shane remembered. Reading it a second time somehow felt worse than the first. The first time, the shock had distracted him. Now he actually understood what the hell he was reading. The document had itineraries filming schedules, expectations, travel procedures, behavioral guidelines, confidentiality requirements, and approximately millions of other things that made him feel increasingly unqualified to participate in reality television. Halfway through the first packet, he lowered the papers and rubbed his eyes. “I miss when this was a scam.”

Yuna gasped.“It was never a scam, my son”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t.” The next hour vanished beneath legal language. Paragraph after paragraph. Page after page. At some point, Shane became convinced lawyers intentionally made contracts difficult to read just so people would stop asking questions and just sign. Every sentence seemed 3x longer than actually necessary. The whole thing felt like a treasure hunt designed by psychopaths. “What does indemnification mean?” Shane asked eventually.

David looked up from his own copy. “It means don’t break things.” The conversation somehow got even worse when they reached the confidentiality agreement. The NDA had already terrified Shane once. Experiencing it with witnesses didn’t help. The section outlining confidentiality penalties managed to silence the entire table. David reread the number for breaking the rules twice. Then a third time. Then he lowered the papers.“Damn.”

“See?” Shane said immediately. “I’ve been saying that.”

David looked back down,back up, then down again. “Damn!”

“Exactly!”

Yuna reached across the floor and lightly smacked both of them. “You aren’t going to violate the NDA.”

“I’m not planning to.”

“Then stop acting like you’re preparing for prison.”

“I’m preparing for bankruptcy.”

David laughed so hard he nearly spilled his coffee.

The further they progressed, the more fairytale-istic things became. There were sections discussing international travel, media appearances, obligations, and filming procedures. One document even explained what would happen if production equipment accidentally captured private conversations… private moments?

“What!? Private moments!?” He shrieked, slamming the paper down on the table, his jaw dropping at his parents. “Mama, Dad, please. You’re telling me that if anything should happen, it could be streamed!?”

“I’m worried about that too. I’d rather not see my own son shaking his toosh on national television,” David sighed, rubbing his fingers on his temple.

“Shaking.. my toosh?” Shane asked, his eyebrows furrowing at his father. “Dad, really!?” David ignored him. Every new page reminded Shane that this wasn’t a vacation. It wasn’t even really a television appearance. It was an entire production. His name appeared repeatedly throughout the documents.

Shane Hollander. participant, pretty, talented, contestant. The word talented made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t talented.He worked a normal job and paid normal bills while buying normal goddamn groceries and lawyers were calling him ‘talented’. it was fucking ridiculous. Yuna looked up.

“They called me talented.”

David smiled. “You are talented.”

“No.”

“According to the contract.”

“The contract is wrong.”

“The contract seems expensive enough to be right.”

Shane hated that answer. The signatures took forever, and every few fucking pages required another one. Initial here. Sign there. Date this. Acknowledge this. Confirm another thing.. and by the end of it, his hand physically hurt.. like, it was cramping up. His signature looked progressively worse every single time he wrote it. “Your autograph is getting worse,” David teased, nudging his shoulder playfully.

“I don’t have an autograph.”

“You do now!”

“I’m not famous.”

“Yet.”

“Papa, I don’t want to be famous for having sex on television,” Shane complained, putting his pen down on the table and his head in his hands.

His parents went silent with that one. Shane’s confession had knocked the air out of the house. David and Yuna stared at each other, exchanging concerned glances, but Yuna spoke first. “Son, that’s not what this show is. You could make a really good connection here.. and no one will see anything like that—should it happen. You also don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Just think about it tonight.. and if you really don’t want to go in the morning, I’ll call them.”

Shane didn’t look up at her. He only nodded, head still in his hands. He was kind of freaking out, so David changed the subject, the discussion shifting away from contracts and toward tomorrow. The closer they got to finishing the paperwork, It became real that there was nothing left to prepare, should he go. His bags were packed, his flights were booked, his contracts were signed, and everyone was ready.. except him. His parents knew that without his say so, tomorrow wasn’t happening. Shane got up from the table, and raked a hand through his hair as he began to walk back to his room.

“I’m going to sleep on it, I think. I’ll let you know how I feel soon, okay mom? Dad?” His parents nodded at him simultaneously, offering him encouraging, but also sad smiles as he exited the room and went to his own, closing the door behind him before falling into his bed, sprawled out and exhausted. He’d be dolled up all day and sat in front of contracts, signing, reading, signing, reading. And although he felt pretty with his haircut and freshly shaved face and body, he couldn’t help but feel nervous about leaving his family for a month.

But if he felt this way, imagine how the other person participating would feel if she—Shane assumed—realized that he’d chickened out and that the season would be postponed.. or canceled. He didn’t want to take someone else’s opportunity away.. but he was horrified. Eventually, he turned over in his bed and pulled the blankets over his head, deciding to just sleep and deal with it in the morning. He’d have a definite answer in the morning, yeah—..fuck.

***

When Shane finally fell asleep, it wasn’t because he’d stopped being afraid. It was because he’d exhausted himself thinking. Every possible outcome of him going and not going had already been examined inside his head in a hundred different ways. He’d imagined embarrassing himself on television. He’d imagined getting homesick halfway through the experience. He’d imagined hating every second of it. He’d imagined being stuck on an island with somebody he couldn’t stand. He’d imagined accidentally becoming a meme. He’d imagined disappointing everyone. He’d imagined making a fool out of himself. And he imagined plenty of more things until his brain just..—simply ran out of things to worry about.

The last thought he remembered having his mind forced him to calm the fuck down and go to bed was that saying no wouldn’t actually make him feel better. It would make him feel safe, yes, but there was a difference. Safe meant staying in his comfort zone and never finding out what would’ve happened if he’d just.. gone. The thought of that sat in the back of his mind all night, and when he woke up the next morning, the answer was already there waiting for him in the form of a gentle knock sounding against his bedroom door before it slowly opened.

Yuna peeked her head inside carefully, as though she were approaching a nervous stray animal that might bolt away if it’s startled. The sight would’ve been funny under normal circumstances. Right now, it only made Shane feel guilty. His mother looked nervous. Actually nervous. She wasn’t her excited and energetic self..—Because despite all her enthusiasm and encouragement, she’d ultimately left the decision up to Shane. And if he said no now, he wasn’t going. If he said yes, he was leaving today..

Neither of them spoke at first. They only stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Yuna stood near the doorway while Shane remained beneath the blankets staring back at her. Finally, he pushed himself upright, rubbed a hand across his face, and sighed.

“I’ll go.”

For a second, she simply stared at him for another ten seconds before her entire face lit up. Shane noticed the change almost instantly. Her shoulders relaxed and then came the smile he’d been seeing for two days straight.. oh! There’s excitement. “Oh, thank God,” she exclaimed, crossing the room and wrapping him in a hug before he could even react. Shane laughed despite himself.

“Mama, come on,” he’d chuckle, wrapping his arms around her as well and hugging her back.

“I’m serious!”

“I know.”

“I was trying not to pressure you.”

“Well, even if you were, you weren’t succeeding.”

Yuna pulled back just enough to look at him. “Probably not.”

“Definitely not,” Shane corrected, evoking a hearty laugh out of both of them.

For the first time since receiving the text message, Shane felt ..lighter—and don’t get me wrong, the fear was still there.. but it felt better in his mind now that the debating and lingering question was dealt with. The answer.. his answer, was yes. And now—now he just had to survive the consequences of that word. lDavid was already downstairs when Shane entered the living room. Coffee sat in front of him on the coffee table with the early morning news playing quietly in the background. He looked up from his mug the moment he saw his son. “Well?”

“I’m going.”

His father nodded once. “Good.” That was it, and somehow, that simple answer meant more than anything else could have.

***

Breakfast was.. nice . Although nobody seemed hungry, they all still ate together anyway. The food gave them something to do besides think about the fact that Shane would be on a plane and gone to a resort for a month without any outside communication within a few hours. It was fucking terrifying knowing that he couldn’t talk to his parents or friends—what if something happened while was gone? What if he couldn’t get back in time if there was an emergency? What if—

“Shane,” Yuna called out to him, placing her hand over his. She’d noticed the tremor in his wrist as he held his fork. “Shane, son. Don’t worry your head. We’ll be okay here—and i’ll be watching every episode, okay?”

Shane looked over at her and offered a small smile, nodding his head slowly. His affirmation gave her the confidence she needed to talk about the show again. She talked about the weather on the island, the resort, previous contestants, and a lot more things.. so many things that Shane believed that she may have gone over the same list dozens of times. But David and Shane understood what was happening.. They understood that if she kept talking, she didn’t have to think about Shane leaving them for a month.

The closer they got to Shane’s departure, the more obvious it became that Yuna was damn near more nervous than her son was. She’d spent the last two days preparing him, and now she was preparing for the possibility that something had been forgotten. Every five minutes she found something else he absolutely.. ‘absolutely’ needed, which meant it was things that he truly didn’t need all too much. Gum. Hand sanitizer. Extra socks. More medicine. Another charger.

At one point she even emerged from another room carrying a neck pillow, a travel blanket, and what appeared to be enough snacks to sustain him through a minor fucking apocalypse. “Mom.”

“What?”

“I’m going on a show for a month. Not crossing Antarctica.”

“You’ll thank me later.”

“I won’t.”

“You will.” The situation became significantly worse when Yuna turned her attention toward his carry-on bag. Shane made the mistake of leaving it unattended for the time frame of ten minutes whole. When he returned, the bag looked visibly fuller. Suspiciously fuller. “Maman...” he sighed, picking up his bag.

“What?”

“What did you put in there?”

“Nothing.” Shane opened the bag. The sight that greeted him nearly made him double over with laughter. She’d stuffed the bag with an absurd amount of snacks. Granola bars. trail mix, crackers, chips, candy, Jerky, and somehow she’d even managed to fit multiple bottled drinks into side compartments. He knew he wasn’t gonna eat half of the stuff in this bag.

“Why?”

“Because you like those.”

“I also like fruit. Why isn’t there any fruit in here?”

Yuna pointed a finger at him immediately. “Don’t get smart with me.”

***

By the time they finally loaded the luggage into the car, Shane’s carry-on weighed almost as much as the suitcase itself. His mother looked extremely pleased with how much she’d packed for him. And although the sun had just begun to wake up, they were already pulling away from the house in the car. Shane watched as the streetlights illuminated portions of the road ahead of them. Yes, most of his city remained asleep, but he was about to have the adventure of his fucking life.. he hoped.

Shane sat in the back seat surrounded by luggage while his parents occupied the front, his father driving. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with him. The previous several days had been a blur of excitement, anxiety, shopping, paperwork, phone calls, packing, and just genuine fucking stress. His body had been operating entirely on adrenaline. The moment the car settled into a smooth cruise on the highway, his eyes started feeling heavy. He wanted to stay awake.. No, truly. He really did. He wanted to spend the final time he had with his parents before leaving them for a month, but unfortunately, his body disagreed. His head thumped quietly against the window, the sound of his parents talking quietly in the front seat becoming distant and muffled–..and within minutes, Shane was asleep. Neither parent woke him. David glanced back several times throughout the drive and found his son in exactly the same position each time, completely unconscious. The sight made both parents smile, reminiscing on how he’d sleep during every drive when he was a kid.

By the time they finally arrived at the airport, Shane had slept through almost the entire ride there. He stirred awake when Yuna reached back and gently touched his shoulder. “Honey.”

No response.

“Shane.” She said, a little louder this time. Shane groaned at the sound of his name being called, knowing what it meant. “We’re here.” His eyes opened slowly. He looked through the window and saw the airport and his stomach fucking dropped. The reality of the situation he was in returned all at once, feeling similar to a slap to the face. In less than a few hours, he’d be on a plane headed toward a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The thought would’ve been ridiculous a week ago.

Once inside, he stood there quietly for several seconds, his parents trailing behind him with his remaining luggage as he stared at the terminal while people moved in every direction around him.

***

The goodbyes to his parents took longer than Shane expected. He’d already said goodbye at home. He’d already hugged his parents and had already made peace with the fact that he was leaving. Yet, somehow, standing inside the airport made everything feel more real. Yuna hugged him first, then hugged him again, then adjusted the collar of his shirt despite there being absolutely nothing wrong with it. She reminded him to call when he landed.. And with a sad smile, he reminded her that he likely wouldn’t have his phone once the production crew picked him up. She gave herself a facepalm, laughing softly before looking up at him with another one of her sad smiles. She was so happy for him, but she’d miss him more than anything. Shane laughed through most of it as well, because otherwise, he was pretty sure she’d cry, and if she cried, he’d definitely end up doing the same thing. David was easier. His father simply wasn’t emotional in the same way Yuna was. This isn't to say that he wasn't as sad, no. He was trying not to burst out into tears in front of his family as well. He hugged his son, squeezing his shoulder afterward before giving him the sort of smile that always made Shane feel better no matter what was happening.

“You’ll be fine,” he said. “And if you’re not, pretend you are until you figure it out.”

Shane laughed. “Great advice.”

“I’ve been using it for years.” That earned another laugh from both of them. Then David pulled him into one more quick hug and stepped back. Eventually there was nothing left to do except leave. Shane grabbed his carry-on, adjusted the strap of his backpack, and looked at his parents one final time. The sight hit him harder than he’d expected, every emotion seemingly existing simultaneously. It reminded him that he wasn’t the only one going through something today. They were too. Maybe not in the same way, but they were.

He lifted a hand and waved one final time before heading toward security. The airport swallowed him almost immediately. People dragging luggage behind them, people rushing toward gates, people standing in different areas purchasing last minute things like neck pillows or food… the entire place felt alive. Normally, Shane would’ve found it interesting, but at this current moment in time, he was too tired to find anything other than getting some rest interesting. His body still felt like it was running on fumes after the chaos of the previous few days.

The Security check passed surprisingly quickly. The production team had arranged nearly everything ahead of time, and several notes attached to his itinerary seemed to smooth over potential complications before they could appear. Within an hour, Shane found himself sitting near his gate with a bottle of water in one hand and his backpack resting beside him. Nobody recognized him–..nobody knew he was about to participate in one of the biggest reality shows in the world. His phone buzzed.

Shane looked down at the carry-on currently stuffed with enough food to sustain a family road trip and laughed quietly to himself.

Three dots appeared almost instantly.

Shane rolled his eyes affectionately.

A pause followed before another message appeared.

End of chapter 1