Chapter Text
Penelope squared her shoulders giving herself one more pep talk before she entered the main room and would be face to face with all the other girls in the cast.
She could not even believe she let her sister talk her into this.
Why did she ever think that she, Penelope Featherington, introvert extraordinaire could survive two weeks living with a group of women she didn’t know while cameras followed her every move?
If she was being honest she was more nervous about being around all the other women then she was about the idea of meeting all the guys.
There was a comforting thought about the pods.
She could just be herself without worrying about how she looked or what they thought of her.
She knew she was funny, and smart and witty, and all the things that could make a man laugh, but she wouldn’t consider herself the most beautiful girl in the world.
She would call herself mid at best.
She knew some guys went crazy for her tits sure, but besides that she considered herself a little too short, a little too plump…just a little too Penelope.
”Hey Penelope, how are you feeling,” Came a voice from behind her, and she turned to see a member of the crew behind her, already filming.
“Oh hi,” She said shyly looking into the camera. “I’m ok, a little nervous but looking forward to meeting everyone.”
“Can you tell us what you are hoping to find here at Love is blind?” They asked.
“Well, um. I guess I’m here for the same reason as everyone else.” She said with a small smile as she tucked a curl behind her ear. “I, of course, want to find love. Someone who likes me for everything and not just how I look.”
The camera man smiled and nodded.
“Good luck Penelope. Let’s film you walking in to meet everyone ok?”
Penelelope nodded and took a deep breath as she turned and opened the door to the girls quarters.
The sound of excited chatter and laughter filled the air as soon as she stepped inside the room.
The room itself was absolutely gorgeous. Penelope thought she had never seen such an expensive looking space. She looked around her, taking everything in.
There were beautiful women everywhere. Already gathered up in small groups , laughing and talking as if they had known each other for years and not just minutes.
Penelope stiled for a moment, not sure of what she should do next, the camera was still following her, as she made her way into the room.
A small group of girls looked up as she approached, a beautiful girl, with brown curly hair looked up at her and smiled, breaking away from the group to introduce herself to Penelope.
“Hi! Did you just get here? I’m Edwina!” She said with a warm smile, and Penelope could feel herself relaxing already.
“Hi! Yes I did. Nice to meet you Edwina, I’m Penelope.”
“Oh my god that is such a pretty name!”
Penelope blushed slightly. She was not used to compliments being given so freely.
“Thank you,” She said quietly. “ Am I the last one to arrive?” She asked as she looked around the room, trying to count the number of women she could see.
“ I think we are waiting for two more!” Edwina said as she peeked around Penelope also searching the room. At that very moment the door opened, and a tall thin blonde woman entered followed by another equally tall girl with golden skin and dark curls and another crew member, filming their reactions as they entered the room.
“There they are!” Edwina said in an excited voice. “That makes twenty of us. Do you think we will get to meet the guys soon?” She asked as she turned to Penelope with a small giggle.
Penelope smiled and shrugged softly. “ I guess we will see,” she said as she gestured toward the door at the couple that had just joined them in the room.
It was George and Charlotte. The hosts of the show. They were a married couple and basically reality tv royalty at this point, having hosted over ten successful seasons of the show.
The other girls squealed in excitement as they noticed their hosts, and they all gathered around them in a half circle around the room.
George and Charlotte smiled at them all kindly, as they held hands tightly and Penelope smiled seeing how very much in love they appeared to be.
“Ladies, welcome!” Charlotte said with a small clap of her hands. “ We are so happy and thankful you are all here with us for our eleventh season of this show!”
“Can you believe it has reached the eleventh season, love?” George asked as he stared adoringly at his wife.
“I really can not,” she said as the ladies laughed.
“Now, as you all know, we are here to ask the age-old question, is love really blind? Every day you will spend time with the guys in the pods. The guys might I add, are all very much looking forward to meeting you beautiful ladies.” She winked and Penelope felt her heart start to race with nerves and excitement mixed together.
“You will have plenty of time to get to know each gentleman,” George said with a smile. “ Please take your time to talk to each one. If you feel that you have a connection with a certain gentleman and they feel the same way about you, you can have extra one-on-one time to get to know eachother even better! Now.” he said, clapping his hands together. “ How does this all sound to you ladies?”
Sounds of approval came from the group as all the women agreed in excitement.
Penelope nodded along, and Edwina next to her pulled on her arm in excitement.
”Alright then! Let’s get started.” Charlotte said with a big grin. “Please remember there are cameras everywhere, even here in the main area. Of course, there will be no cameras in the bedrooms or bathrooms. Each first meeting is set for a time of twenty minutes. Please, please, remember that you are in control. If at any point you do not feel comfortable with the conversation you are having you are able to leave the pod at any point. Understood?” She glanced around the room as the women nodded in agreement.
“Alright then!” George exclaimed, “Let’s head on out to the hallway and get started!”
The girls broke out into excited voices and chatter as they followed George and Charlotte into the hall, each woman choosing a pod door to stand in front of.
Penelope turned to Edwina and grinned.
“Good luck!” She said, and Edwina smiled brightly back at her. “Here’s to finding our dream man.” She said excitedly, hopping on her feet slightly.
A bell went off, and Charlotte gestured adamantly towards the ladies.
“Go on ladies! Enjoy yourselves!”
Penelepe felt her heart start to race as she opened the door and entered the pod, closing the door quietly behind her. She leaned against the door for a moment and took in the room around her.
The room itself was cozy and inviting. A small couch with blankets sat in the middle, and there was a small table filled with snacks and drinks on the side.
It all felt kind of surreal to be in the pods herself and not just watching it on the TV like she had all the other seasons. She walked over towards the large wall in the middle of the room and placed her hand on it gently.
Was it possible for her to find love this way? She longed for it more than anything.
But as an avid viewer of the show, she was fully aware that not many found actual love matches that lasted forever like she wanted.
She knew some people came to the show, for the exposure. Hoping to become internet famous or whatever, but that is not why she had allowed herself to come.
She wanted to meet her soulmate.
If he even existed.
And if he did, what were the odds that he would even be in the same place as her at this very time, only a wall apart.
Penelope jumped back from the wall with a start as she heard the sound of the door closing on the other side of the pod.
Shit. Someone had arrived.
“Hi.” Came a male voice. “ Anyone over there?”
“Um Hi.” She said, embarrassed already that her voice had squeaked.
”Whew, I was afraid I would find it empty,” the man laughed, and Penelope felt herself begin to relax already. She could do this.
“I’m Alfred by the way,” he added with a chuckle. “This is all rather mad isn’t it?”
Penelope laughed quietly.
“Yeah it really is,” She said softly. “Nice to meet you Alfred, my name is Penelope.”
“Penelope! That is a name you don't hear often! What are you doing here Penelope?”
“Same as you, I suppose, hoping to find love,” She said quickly with a shrug and on the other side of the wall Alfred laughed.
“Yes I guess, everyone will have the same answer to that. Tell me about yourself Penelope. What do you like to do?”
“Well” Penelope said as she sat cross legged on the little couch, pulling a throw blanket over her lap. “I’m a writer. So I suppose I should say I like to write. I like old movies, and to crash on the couch watching reality TV after a long day at work.”
Alfred paused for a moment and the room went quiet. She wondered if he had found something wrong with her answer.
“Hmm,” he said. “What about nature? I am an environmentalist, one of my favorite things is being outside in the great outdoors.”
Penelope swallowed a little, debating on how honest she should be.
The truth was she fucking hated being outside.
Unless it was a cozy walk in the park or a sunny day in the gardens, outside was usually the last place she wanted to be.
“Umm.” She said somewhat nervously. “I mean I like being outside, I like grass…” Her voice trailed off and Alfred was quiet for a moment before he laughed.
“Not really a big nature girl then I take it.” He said and Penelope laughed.
”Sorry not really no.” She admitted, feeling slightly relieved.
“That's ok Peneleope.” He said warmly. “ I know everyone isn't going to have the same interests as me, and that's ok. The truth is, I may be a little too invested in my work. It could be good for me to have other interests too.”
Penelope nodded before she remembered that he couldn’t see her nod and she giggled softly to herself.
“Sorry,” She said. “I keep nodding and forgetting you can’t see me.”
Alfred laughed at this. “It is going to take some getting used to, that is for sure.” He said.
Penelope cleared her throat before asking. “SO tell me about your work, what do you do?”
“Well, like I said I am an environmental scientist to be exact. Right now I am doing a research study on the habitat of Penguins in the Artics.”
“Oh wow, that's really cool.” Penelepe said as she opened the little notebook the show had provided with and began to write a little note.
Alfred. Environment something. Likes to be outside :( Studying about penguins.
“Yep,” continued Alfred. “In fact, after we are done filming here, I am going to be staying there for another two years or so.”
Penelope's head snapped up at this. “Oh really? You will stay there for two years?” She asked.
What was even the point of him coming on this show then? Did he want to find someone to marry just to leave them alone for the next two years?
Alfred however, did not seem to notice her hesitation as he continued on for the reminder of their time over the excitement of his trip, and how he could not wait to see first hand the habitats he had been researching for so long.
Penelope had made sure she threw in an occasional.
”Wow.”
“So cool.”
But inside she felt annoyed. Alfred seemed like a nice enough guy. He was funny, kind of…well funny enough she supposed. Even though she always imagined her soul mate being the type of guy to make her break out into gut wrenching laughter.
But the idea of him being gone for two years just was not something that felt right.
Penelope didn’t join this show for safety. To be apart from someone she had just known to grow and love.
She wanted it all. Every night, every day every hard piece and easy piece.
A bell sounded and Penelope startled.
“Oh wow, our time went quickly.” Alfred said, not having noticed at at all how quiet she had grown.
“It was so nice meeting you Penelope.”
He said genuinely. “I hope we will get a chance to speak again.”
“Thanks Alfred you too.” Penelepe said with a small smile. She didn’t think she would put Alfred on her list for a longer one-on-one but she also didn’t want him to think he had done something wrong.
“Till next time!” He said cheerfully and she heard the door close behind him.
Penelope let out a deep sigh she didn’t realize she was holding and she turned to her little notebook, adding a few things to her notes.
Mainly the part where he said he was going to be gone for two fucking years, and she underlined it three times just for good measure.
The door opened and closed again and a new voice came booming out from the other side of the wall.
”Yoooooo. Anyone in here?”
Penelope resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She didn’t know why, but she already felt annoyed.
“Yep! I’m here!” She said with a false sense of enthusiasm.
”Noiceeee. I’m Bertie. Who are you?” He asked.
“Hi,Bertie, I’m Penelope.”
”Pe nelll ooo peeee.” He said, drawing her name out on his tongue. “ Did you get a lot of pee jokes when you were younger?” He asked with a laugh and Penelope wrinkled her nose in disgust.
What the fuck?
“Um, not really?” She said quietly, shutting down almost immediately. She could already tell this was not someone she wanted to pursue romantically. He sounded like every frat bro in college and she very much did not want to relive those times.
“Hmm,” He said. “I would have expected you would with a name like that. How old are you Penny? Can I call you Penny?”
Penelope grimaced again. She hated being called Penny.
“Um, it’s just Penelope actually.” She said softly and she heard the man scoff.
“Damn girl, you’re one of those uptight girls aren't you.”
Penelope stood up. She was not going to do this anymore. This guy was an absolute jerk and spending any more time listening to him was a waste of her time. She came here to find love, not be bullied.
She left the room quickly, not even bothering to say goodbye.
There was a crew member standing in the hall, who rushed over to her with a concerned look on his face.
”Are you ok?” He asked kindly.
”Um, yes.” Penelope said quietly, trying to hold back her tears. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with that interaction, and Charlotte and George said it was ok to leave any time we didn’t feel comfortable.”
The crew member nodded and smiled gently.
”Of course Penelope. I am so sorry you had such a bad interaction. Why don’t you go ahead and go back to the pod, I will send someone else in for you. Do you want to avoid seeing Bertie again?” He asked with a kind look in his eyes.
Penelope nodded and sniffled slightly.
”Yes, please.” She said quietly as she turned to head back into the pod.
She heard some commotion from the pod next to her but then the door slammed and everything was quiet.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Colin stood in the hallway, waiting his turn to enter a new pod. He had just left a room, where some girl, Cressida he thinks her name was, had indirectly asked him how big he was.
You know, down there.
He had never seen the show before but he was pretty sure that kind of questioning was against the rules.
And honestly kind of fucked up. He couldn’t imagine asking a woman how big her breast size was for God's sake.
The door to the pod opened, and one of the guys came out, an annoyed look on his face, followed by a stern looking crew member.
“I didn’t even say anything bad to the chit.” He said, rolling his eyes. When he saw Colin standing there, he yelled back. “Good luck with that one bro. She’s a really tight bitch.”
Colin stared after him in disbelief. What a fucking asshole. Clearly the girl in the next pod had felt uncomfortable and he had been asked to leave. Colin could only imagine why, if he was saying things so openly in the hallway.
The crew member approached Colin and nodded slightly.
“You can go ahead now Colin, she is waiting for the next visit.”
Colin nodded before stopping with his hand on the door and looking back at the crew member.
“Is she ok?” He asked. “ I mean that guy seemed like a real piece of work.”
The crew member stared at him for a moment, before smiling gently. “ She is alrite. She felt uncomfortable and requested a change, just like Charlotte and George told her too.”
Colin nodded as he stepped into the pod. Was it odd he wondered to himself, that he felt a strange sense of pride in the girl on the other side of the wall, for standing up for herself in what clearly was an uncomfortable situation.
He cleared his throat, and he heard a tiny little squeak come from the other side of the wall.
He smiled widely.
Well that was fucking adorable.
”Hey” he said. “I’m Colin.”