"I know." He blushes, obviously not expecting to say that. "But we can't hide this much longer."

"As soon as I get back, we'll talk and figure it out." I peck his lips.

"Wish me luck!"

*****

Emma P.O.V

The bridge is a little bouncy and unstable, but I walk my way across it, through the evergreen and to the clearing where Dec and Holly are waiting.

"Hi Emma," Dec welcomes me to the clearing.

On first glance is a building, kitted out to be an old run-down hospital. It's a grubby, rank and miserable structure kitted with bugs and critters.

Dec and Holly, however, look as beautiful as ever. Holly is wearing a gorgeous sundress from Zara, whilst Dec always looks smart in his suit.

"How are you today?" Dec asks.

"I'm good." I nod. "We've all had a great morning because of the banquet last night, so I guess the pressure is off a little bit to get food for tonight."

"And we heard about Nick's new recipe?"

"He's made these burger things out of beans, bless him. They're tasty though!"

Dec and Holly cackle at my enthusiasm. "Anyway, shall we tell you what's in store?"

"Please."

"So this is 'Hellish Hospital'. On the klaxon, you will work your way through the rooms searching for and collecting stars. For every star you win will get you a meal for camp tonight. There are eleven campmates, so eleven stars to find. Of course, you don't have to-,"

"Nah, get me in there!"

Medic Bob runs over and gives me a pair of goggles. By a pair of male rangers, I'm guided into the waiting room.

I'm hoping dearly that there aren't too many bugs as I'm only wearing my green tee and a pair of shorts, and I don't want bugs near my nether regions.

I'm sat on a bench in a dimly lit 'waiting room' beside two prop skeletons. Even the waiting room has a measly smell, and it's doesn't even have any stars in.

"Can you hear us?" Holly's voice bangs down my eardrum. "You can start on the klaxon, Emma."

After a few seconds, the klaxon rings. I jump up from my seat and charge through a pair of curtains into the 'doctors office'.

Laid out on a doctors table is a skeleton with a colossal python wrapped around its bones. Around the walls are papers and papers, with filing cabinets and a large wardrobe at the back.

"Have a look at the skeleton." Holly guides me.

Having a look at the prop, a star is lying under the snakes tail. "Sorry big guy," I whisper, pushing its slithery skin slightly so I can grab the star.

I put it in my pouch and begin to storm through the drawers. All of them seem to have pesky mud crabs in, but I find the star shortly after a pull it from a crabs claws.

I then reach the wardrobe.

"Crap!" I bellow, spotting the spiders infesting the shelves. Tied up on a string at the back of the closet is a star.

I break down the spider's web like a wrecking ball, bursting through and grabbing the rope. "You've got tonnes of time! Well done Emma! That's your third star."

I close the wardrobe doors and wipe off a few spiders that have habituated on my bare skin.

"Ah!" I scream, seeing the lady that was just chilling in the corner.

"Don't mind Florence Frightingale," Dec laughs in my ear. "Just move past her."

She stands blocking my entrance to the next room, but I manage to swiftly smooth talk her (barge past her) and fly into the next room.

"So this is the storage room."

Around the room are piles and piles of fish guts and organs and tissues - the smell is rancid, and it fills my nostrils and burns at my throat.

I scramble through the guts, digging in and pushing it around to find a star buried under a cows heart. "That's the fourth star!"

As I move to the other side of the room, millions of cockroaches and maggots are dumped onto my head from the ceiling.

"Gross!" I squeal as the cockroaches begin to invade my nether regions. "They're in my bra!"

I hear the faint giggles of Holly and Dec as I'm rummaging for my fifth star. "I got it!" I bellow once I spot a shining piece of yellow plastic from under the blood.

"Into the theatre now!" Holly calls. "There are a few birds in here."

"Lucky me."

The room is full of pigeons. Freaking pigeons.

"What the heck man!" I laugh, watching them all lay eyes on me.

"6 minutes left. You're storming through it."

This room is a little easier as there are more stars to find and less pressure because the critters are nicer. "There are four stars to find in this room, Emma!"

I manage to find one star in a fake bag of blood, another amongst some rotten paperwork, one in a drawer full of green ants and the final star amongst a large stack of fish guts.

"Three minutes left. Onto the final star."

"Where do I go?"

"Into the air vent."

My feet sweep through guts and blood to reach the right-hand wall. At the bottom of the wall is a vent, in which I'll have to get on my hands and knees to crawl through.

"This is so disgusting!" I gag, putting my clean hands into a composition of blood and pigeon feathers.

As I crawl forward, the room fades to pitch black. I feel my hands around the cube-shaped room and luckily there doesn't seem to be any guts.

"The star is on the floor. Just feel around." Holly guides me. "But be careful. There's a big friend in there with you."

Just as Holly says it, I feel the most almighty force of a reptile's tail whip me around the leg.

"Ow!" I screech, jumping back a bit. My heart begins to beat ten times faster than it usually does. "What the hell was that?"

"Just a friend." Dec giggles. "Reach forward and to your left, Emma."

I tiptoe forward, trying my ever so best to be gentle and kind. My hand smoothes over the metal floor, but I have no sense of where it is.

"One minute left."

Screw it. I want food.

I power my body forward, almost tripping on the gigantic reptile, but I find the star in a heartbeat and slip it into my pouch.

"That's it! Let's get her out!"

I push on the end wall of the air-vent to be struck again with daylight. My body is covered in cockroaches and maggots, blood, guts and a large bruise on my leg from my lizard friend.

"Want a hug?" I ask the presenters, wiping off the excess crickets and green ants that were thrown in there too.

"No!" Holly squeals. "So let's count your stars out."

From my pouch, I manage to throw down eleven stars, confirming that we'll be eating eleven meals tonight.

"Well, we will let you go back to camp and tell them all the good news!"

"Thank you!"

I feel elated! To go back to camp and tell them all I got eleven stars would be awesome.

But maybe I can have a bit of fun with it.

Back at camp ...

When I walk in, everyone is gathered around Fleur, John and Emily who are still practising the dance to Sax. "Hey," I put on a deflated tone when I walk back into camp. "I've got news."

"Hi!" Sair beats. "How did it go?"

"Not well," I shrug. "On the fourth star, there was this massive lizard thing that whipped me with its tail. I shouted 'I'm A Celebrity'. Completely bottled it."

I twist my leg and point at my shin, where a massive purple bruise is emerging.

"Oh my god," Malique frowns. "Don't worry about the food! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I promise.

I think I got away with it. "But we have three meals between us tonight. I'm so sorry."

Basically, everyone comes up to hug me. Malique and James help me over to the log like I'm some lost cause, or for some reason, I can't walk. "I'm fine!" I promise the boys, holding my hands up. "I might go to the creek actually for a wash because I stink."

"I'll come too!" Fleur stands up.

"Let's go!" I smile, grabbing my towel. Luckily, my red and gold bathing suit is on under my shorts and tee, so I can change at the creek.

Fleur and I walk down to the pool, chatting away on the path there. Once we reach the water, I jump in first and resist the bitterness and how it causes me an array of goosebumps.

"Is it cold?"

"When isn't it cold?" I throw my hair in the water and grab the shampoo.

Fleur strips down into her bikini and jumps bravely into the water. Her afro doesn't straighten out like I thought it might, but instead becomes a lot flatter and curlier.

"So, talk to me," I say. "I've seen you and Mal having a bit of a flirt. What's going on there babe?"

"Well ... we are just great friends."

"Leave off," I giggle. "You obviously like him! And he likes you too."

"You reckon? I mean we had a bit of a rap earlier, a press-up competition."

"If he asked you out, would you date him?"

"Uhh..."

"Would you sleep with him?"

"Emma!" She laughs. "Oh my god. I mean I think he's hot. Maybe we should get together, I don't know."

"Well, whatever happens, keep me updated." I wash the shampoo out and put conditioner in.

"Well, what about you Em? You and James, wink wink nudge nudge."

"Is it that obvious?"

"I think he likes you more than you like him. I mean, whenever we chat, he always talks about you and how good looking you are."

"Oh yeah?"

"I know he thinks you're hot Emma. I mean, look at your boobs."

I cackle. "Thanks, Fleur."

"Anytime."

...I have to tell someone.

"I actually have to tell you something."

"What?" She frowns, staring me deep in the eyes. "What is it or I'll splash you with water?!"

"James..."

"What? ... Tell me!"

"We kissed."

Her jaw drops so far downwards. "No way!"

"Don't tell anyone though," I swear her to secrecy. "No one can know yet."

"But what about-,"

"Fleur!"

Fleur and I look up to see Malique staring back at us. "Fleur! We're doing the Dingo Dollar Challenge now! We have to go!"

I flash her a wink. As we climb out of the creek, her smile is infectious. "Go get him, you babe." I hug her goodbye, and she rushes off on the arm of Malique.

That night ...

After I told the camp about the 'lack of meals', the mood has been lower than usual. Everyone is insisting they don't care, but everyone does.

However, Fleur and Malique worked their way to the Dingo Dollars, and we managed to bag Nick some scampi fries in payment of missing the banquet, so at least he's happy.

"Dinner time!" John sings, spotting the brown bag descending over the fire. "Did you want to do the honours, Emma?"

I'm preoccupied.

I'm sat with James on John's bed, and he's massaging my bare shoulders. He's managed to pull my shirt strap and bra strap down whilst caressing his fingers across my neck.

I don't really want to do anything else right now.

"Could you do it? I don't really want to move."

"I'll let you and lover boy play then." He teases, unhooking. "Christ, this is heavy for three meals."

"You two need to seriously go out. You're like me and my Sandra." Harry claps, clumsily walking up to his bed.

The side of my smile perks up as I see John look confusingly into the bag. He pulls out the laminate and begins to read.

"'Celebrities! As a result of'... YOU LITTLE SHIT EMMA!"

I break out into laughter, whilst everyone else looks frantically between John and me.

"What? What is it?" Sair frowns, running to look at the laminate in John's hand. "... OH MY GOD!"

"What?" James asks eagerly, taking his hands off my shoulders. "John, read it out!"

"Celebrities!" He starts in a much happier tone. "As a result of Emma winning 11 STARS in today's trial-,"

Emily screams at the top of her lungs and belts over to me, piling on top of me and hence squashing James too. "You were so believable!"

"How did you pull that off?" James asks me. "I mean, you've got a secret talent in acting!"

I smile, scooting back between James' legs as his arms wrap around my stomach.

Anne frowns. "But what about the bruise on your leg?"

"Oh," I shrug. "I actually did get whacked by a lizard tail."

After explaining truly what happened in the trial, John serves up the Emu and a side of mango in our little metal dishes.

The dinner is, as John would say, fabulous.

"Cheers to Emma!" Noel raises his water bottle.

The whole camp joins in, cheering to a lovely meal and tucking into the Australian cuisine.

Even as we eat, James and I cuddle up on John's bed beside the fire, openly enjoying each other's warmth.

I really do love this lot.

*****

Quick question that I've been asked a lot... do you guys want smut in this story? I'm planning to write about the days after the jungle between these two as a few bonus chapters, so it can either be in the jungle or after?

James and Emma's relationship will be announced to the other campmates very soon!

Thank you to the amazing gracessheridan for all the lovely comments and amazing support!

Xoxo