~_~_~ (Abby) ~_~_~

Abby straightens her dress as Pim goes through his drawers trying to find something to wear. "I like that he always seems to see the best in everything," Abby answers. They were currently discussing what they liked about Niall. In some strange way, the conversation seemed to be calming Pim down.

"What kind of date would you pick if you got first," Pim asks. He holds up a shirt and tosses it aside a moment later. Abby thinks for a moment before answering.

"I know it's cheesy, but horseback riding and then watching the sunrise," Abby sighs. She runs her hands down her pale pink sundress and smiles. She's so insanely happy for Pim to have gotten number one. Although they've only been in the competition two days, she feels like Pim and her will surely be friends outside the competition as well.

They hear a knock at the door. Without thinking, Abby calls out, "Come in!" Lani was supposed to come over as soon as she got dressed to help Pim with his last minute decisions. They both freeze when Lani doesn't walk in the door.

"You're shirtless... okay," Niall breathes. Abby watches as his eyes pan over Pim's chest. He coughs awkwardly and glances at Abby.

"Sorry we thought you were Lani," Abby explains. Niall nods slowly and leans against the door-frame lazily.

"Last time I checked I was not a girl," Niall jokes. Abby giggles quietly. "I'll see you two later!"

They both let out a loud sigh when Niall exits their shared rooms.

~_~_~ (Lani) ~_~_~

Lani munches on a bag of pretzels in the lounge by herself. By the time she had her shower and was dressed, Pim and Abby were both already dressed and gathering things for Pim's date in a couple of hours.

So, Lani decided she'd sit this one out and let the two prepare on their own. She tosses another pretzel in the air to catch, but it's intersected by a pale white hand. "Hey," She protests. She sits up and turns to see Niall standing behind her. The tell-tale crunch of a pretzel is enough evidence for her to conclude that Niall stole her pretzel.

"What's up with you and pretzels anyway? Every time I run into you, you seem to be chowing down on them," Niall jokes. He pushes Lani over in her chair and sits in it with her. Niall takes up most of the seat, and he seems to notice this, so he picks her up and moves her so she's sitting on Niall's lap. She lets out a huff of air and her heart races as Niall's arms wrap around her torso.

"Maybe I eat them because every time I open a bag of them you seem to find your way to me," Lani teases. Niall nods dramatically and steals the bag away from her. She makes a pathetic attempt to grab it back and pouts when Niall holds it out of her reach.

He nosily throws some in his mouth and chews them. Lani pretends to pout, sticking out her bottom lip and crossing her arms like a four-year-old. "Oh no, we got a pouter," Niall cheers. He races his fingers along Lani's sides and she yelps loudly. Laughter echoes through the lounge as her sides are attacked merciless by Niall's fingers. Finally, he stops.

"Okay, okay, I surrender. I would keep going just to hear that laugh of yours, but I've got to say hi to everyone else too or they'll think I'm picking favorites," Niall jokes. Lani tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as Niall slides her off his lap and stands. He hands the pretzel bag back to her before turning back towards the rooms.

~_~_~ (Ambrose) ~_~_~

A quiet knock interrupts Ambrose's strumming. He sets his guitar down and calls for the person to come in. Niall sticks his head in the door and offers Ambrose a warm smile.

"Just wanted to say good morning before I headed out with Pim," Niall explains. Niall starts to leave, but Ambrose calls him back.

Admittedly, Ambrose was hoping to show Niall a video of him playing at an open mic a couple of weeks ago. He knows that Niall's into music and prays that Niall will be impressed by it. Of course, Niall's a famous singer, so he's also hoping to bond with Niall over their shared love of music.

"I wanted to show you something real quick, if you don't mind," Ambrose rushes out. He nervously smiles and rocks back and forth on his heels as he waits for Niall's answer.

"Sure," Niall smiles. He steps into the room and towards Ambrose. Hurriedly, Ambrose pulls his phone out and clicks on the latest video. His best friend back home took the video for him and he prays that her hands weren't shaking as he passes it to Niall.

"Is this you? That's so cool! You, Pim, and I could have a really cool guitar session," Niall says excitedly. He plays the video and the sound of Ambrose's voice radiates through the room. Niall watches the video to the end and hands the phone back when it's done.

"You've got a great voice on you. I would stay and chat, but I've really got to get going," Niall explains. Ambrose nods and shoves the phone back into his pocket.

"Yeah, no worries. I just thought I'd show you. Have fun on your picnic," Ambrose sighs. Niall gives him one last smile before he leaves the room.

~_~_~ (Pim) ~_~_~

Pim planned a picnic. He had some of the workers help him pick a spot at the lake nearby where nobody else would be. Abby and him had packed up everything they'd need for a picnic and Pim packed his swim trunks just in case. "I hope you're not leading me out here to murder me," Niall jokes. Pim silences him and stops when he gets to the spot.

It's a large grassy field a few meters away from the lake's shore. Pim's already itching to change into his swim trunks and cannonball himself into the water. Admittedly, he's also excited to see Niall in his own swim gear, something Pim made sure to mention before they left the house.

Lunch goes smoothly and they talk quietly about home. Niall does most of the talking, while Pim listens. He goes on about touring and how much of a pain it is, but how much he loves it at the same time. Pim smiles as Niall gives voices to each one of his bandmates as he tells a story of how, one time, Louis and him made toothpaste centered 'Oreos' for fellow bandmates Harry and Liam to eat.

"How about a swim," Pim suggests. Niall laughs and agrees. They both head in separate directions to change into their outfits. Pim slips on his navy blue trunks embroidered with tiny white anchors. He nervously takes his shirt off. Pim knows that Niall has seen him shirtless before, this morning for instance, but he's never revealed his naked torso to Niall before purposefully. He becomes insecure of any blemishes
or in-perfections he might have.

Niall comes out wearing pale pink swim shorts, looking as hot as ever. "Damn," Niall mutters. Pim blushes and races towards the water, Niall following after.

Pim doesn't make it into the water before Niall touches his shoulder. He jerks back, not expecting the sudden cold, wet hand on his back. He turns and sees Niall frowning.

"What's this," Niall questions. His finger traces up Pim's back and a little over his shoulder. Pim shudders under Niall's finger. His stomach drops as he realizes what Niall's talking about.

Pim has no clue how he didn't think about it before. In all of the excitement of being with Niall, Pim forgot about his biggest insecurity. "Just... just a scar. No big deal," Pim lies. It is a big deal. He knows it and Pim can tell Niall knows it too. He doesn't push it though and Pim's more than thankful. The last thing he wants to do is relive the memories he's tried so hard to repress.

"You don't have to tell me now, it's okay. Hug it out," Niall suggests. Pim nods and allows Niall to wrap him up in his long, strong arms.

"Thank you," Pim whispers.

~_~_~ (Ashley) ~_~_~

While Niall is gone on his picnic, Ashley decides on baking a little. She was absolutely overjoyed when she found out she was making it through. Honestly, she thought she'd be sent home the first day, but luckily she got to stay. She feels terrible for Romy.

Ashley pulls out the ingredients for an 'Irish Cream Cake', a cake she loved to bake as a young girl. She spent all night thinking about ways to get Niall's attention. While thinking, she kept coming back to the old saying 'A way to a man's heart is through his stomach' and decided that an 'Irish Cream Cake' would be absolutely perfect. She hums quietly to herself.

She pours the butter and shortening into a bowl and starts to mix it. As she mixes everything else together she sings quietly to herself. Ashley hopes that she doesn't wake anyone up as she pours the cake mixture into a pan to cook.

As she waits for the cake to cook she thinks up ways to present it to Niall.

~_~_~ (Kamille) ~_~_~

Kamille makes sure she grabs Niall's attention as soon as he gets back from his picnic. She knows that she won't have the most time with him since it's already nearing three in the afternoon and he has another date with Megan at six. Three hours should be more than enough time for her to do what she wants to do.

"Niall! Hey, are you doing anything," She asks. Niall shrugs and she gestures for him to follow her. She spent all morning getting her colors and canvas out. She messed around with some of the colors she knew she'd need. Kamille wasn't sure that she got his skin tone quite right before, but now she knows she aced it.

"I wanted to draw a portrait of you. I love drawing and, of course, you would make for an excellent model," Kamille explains. Niall shrugs and sits down on her bed in front of her eisel and colored pencils.

It takes an hour and a half for Kamille to get a sketch done. She figures that he'll probably want some time to change and get ready for his next date, so she assures him that she can do the coloring and shading sometime else. Besides, she can always pull up a picture if she needs a reference.

~_~_~ (Megan) ~_~_~

Megan runs her hands down her mustard yellow dress. Ashley helped her pick it out this morning. She didn't want the dress to stand out too much since she has no clue where they'll be going for dinner.

"Ready," Niall asks. Megan nods and lops her arm in Niall's as he escorts her towards a black SUV. "I knew you wouldn't want anything too flashy," Niall explains. Megan thanks him quietly. They hold polite conversation about their day on their way to the mysterious place. The trip isn't long and they're there before they know it.

As soon as Megan steps outside she has to catch her breath. They were atop a mountain, overlooking a beautiful mountainous view. The sun sits low in the sky creating a mix of beautiful pinks, oranges, and blues in the sky. All the colors complementing the different shades of green spotting along the mountains.

"I knew I had to bring you somewhere as beautiful as you," Niall explains. Niall tugs on her hand and leads her down the ways to a restaurant. She raises an eyebrow as Niall walks past the entrance and allows himself in the gate to the outside seating area. A table, sitting closest towards the edge, is covered in a beautiful white table cloth. A single rose sits in the middle of the table and two candles sit on either side of the ruby red rose.

"Niall this is... amazing," Megan breathes. Niall leads her to the table and sits her down. A man in a tuxedo comes around a moment later with the first course. Megan doesn't remember ordering anything, but figures Niall did all of it before hand.

When they finish dinner it's past eight and the sun has fully set. Lights illuminate the outside porch just enough for Megan to see Niall sitting in front of her. The stars shine bright in the sky and Megan has an idea.

She grabs Niall's hand and leads him to a clearing she saw earlier. A grass spot a little ways away from their SUV gives them the perfect spot to lay and star-gaze. Megan lays down, not caring if she stains her dress. Niall follows and they lay next to each other.

They talk and talk about everything and anything they can think of. They're interrupted who knows how long later by the sound of Niall's phone, alerting them that they have to be heading back.

~_~_~ (Lia) ~_~_~

Lia stress bakes. It's not something she's proud of, but it's something she's come to terms with. She hasn't spoken to Niall all day and Lia's worried that it means he probably hates her. She nervously throws in ingredients for a basic chocolate cupcake.

It's nearing eleven at night and most of the other contestants are already in bed. A small part of her worries that she's being too loud, but the other side assures her that she's fine. By the time the cupcakes are finished baking she's mixed up a batch of homemade icing.

She takes her time icing the cupcakes. Lia can feel her heart slowing as her hand swirls around the top of the cake, finishing off the perfect icing job. She decorates all of the cupcakes individually, putting her heart into every one of them.

Finally, she finishes. It's past midnight by the time she's done, but she's pleased with how they've turned out. She picks the tray of cupcakes up and is about to walk them towards the island when a voice startles her.

"What're you doing up," It says. Lia jumps and looses her footing. She trips over thin air, but manages to steady herself before any of the cupcakes fall. Her heart pounds in her chest a million miles an hour as she anxiously sets the cupcakes down on the table before addressing her visitor.

She turns and spots Niall. His torso is covered by a thin white shirt and stripped pajama pants cover his legs. "I uh... made some cupcakes. Do you want one," Lia offers. Niall looks between her and the cupcakes before shrugging and trotting over to her.

He takes one and bites into, moaning loudly. "These are heavenly! Between you and Ashley I'll gain twenty pounds before I leave," Niall jokes. Lia bites her bottom lip nervously.

Niall asks her if she's ever considered a job in the culinary field which sparks a completely different conversation about their shared dreams and future ambitions. It's past two in the morning before Lia makes it to bed, but it's totally worth it.

~_~_~

Hey guys! Love that some of you guys gave more detailed answers. I still had some issues with some people who didn't give me enough to write anything at all. If you don't answer the question fully then I'm not able to write much for you. People who give unique, creative, and detailed answers are going to have a better chance at playing higher in this competition than other people. Glad I'm able to update this a little early for you guys! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! ~B

GCQ: How far up do you think you'll place in the rose ceremony? What do you wear? How do you think the day went?

Jury (eliminated characters): Who will you boost?