The First Rose Ceremony

 

Wesley hmmed, concentrating as he reviewed the footage, clicking at the keyboard and watching intently, rewinding several times.

 

“So we’ll start filming the Rose Ceremony in a bit. We managed to do a rough edit of the footage we have so far, and got interviews for everyone except Giovanni and Ash,” Roger said aloud.

 

“We can get them after we film the Rose Ceremony,” Lisa said. “I am curious about you having notified security about your girl being a flight risk, Wesley.”

 

Everyone tuned in then, but gossip was always an area of attraction so that wasn’t surprising.

 

Wesley shrugged. “She’s skittish about the show –wary about the cameras and being filmed, and not sure about the journey. Still, I wouldn’t worry about that anymore.”
 

“Oh? Why not?” Lisa asked, really curious now. But so were the others.

 

Zachary cut in. “Did Giovanni go looking for her?” he eagerly asked, making everyone whisper and be surprised.

 

Wesley smirked briefly. “Soon as he was done talking to Leigh Hunt, he slipped outside to find her. That period of time where we were all looking for him and wondering where he was? He spent that entire time outside the mansion, talking to her as they sat on the fountain.”

 

Lisa’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

 

“I’m not,” Wesley smirked again, smugly crossing his arms. “And I saw the unedited footage of their conversation. You guys didn’t get to see it all yet –it was too long, especially for the show and fitting in everything else, but before they cut up the original footage, I went and watched that scene since I was the one that ended up finding them and interrupting their talk and was curious about it.”

 

He took a dramatic pause before his smirk widened. “He purposely and directly asked her to stay on the show for him, after she flat out told him how she felt being on the show. I don’t know if she’ll stay, but I’m sure that she won’t run away in a panic before the Rose Ceremony. We’ll just have to wait and see if she accepts Giovanni’s rose.”

 

Zachary chuckled. “You really were spot on with the girl. Hell, I’m still stuck on the fact he remembered her entire name straight off the bat, without needing a reminder from any of us. He’d asked specifically for her, trying to find her.”

 

Lisa shook her head. “That’s amazing. I’m still sure on Janelle –and we’ve got to remind George to set up this season’s betting pool –but Ash is definitely going to be a contender. I think you’re right about her being this season’s ‘heartbroken sweetheart.’ She’s definitely pretty and she’s got adorable down pat –she’ll absolutely be a favorite. Plus, she’s a Trainer. That’s a whole demographic pool we can draw in this season, along with those Trainers watching for Giovanni, and I’ll bet the ratings will climb.

 

“She’d definitely be a top contender, if not the only contender, to be our next Bachelorette,” she concluded. “And along with new fans of hers from this Bachelor’s season, I can bet you that Trainer demographic will pour in for her season.”

 

“I think we should keep in that scene,” Roger suggested. “You know, the part where he asked her to stay on for him. I think it’s definitely an important scene and essential to their relationship that’ll be shone to the audience.”

 

“I’ll make a note to the editors,” Wesley said. He was going to speak more when he was interrupted by a knock on their door. Everyone traded looks before Zachary went over to the door and opened it, revealing Giovanni.

 

“I was wondering if it would be alright to hand out the First Impression Rose now?” he asked smoothly.

 

“Oh! Yeah, sure. You could do that at any time –there’s no need to consult us about that,” Lisa smiled widely, blushing a bit. Wesley kept in his snort, but he could admit that Giovanni was definitely a handsome and charming guy, so he could see what his colleague and the other women saw in him.

 

Giovanni nodded, but hesitated.

 

“…Unless you wanted advice?” Wesley hazarded a guess.

 

“I wanted to give the First Impression Rose to someone, but I know that they’re still not sure about their place here,” he said slowly, but everyone already clearly knew who he was talking about, having just talked about her and that little scene. “Should I wait to hand it out and ask a little later, or simply hand out that rose to someone else and wait until the Rose Ceremony for her answer?”

 

Wesley nearly balked. It was already obvious who he was talking about, but while he was pleased his pick was drawing so much attention from their Bachelor already, it was also somewhat of a dangerous path. They didn’t want him to already pick someone from the beginning and not try to see about forming connections with the others and be open-minded. It was also becoming too obvious about his interest and bias, which could lead to it maybe being too clear on the show and everyone guessing about her. Never mind that stupid website that somehow kept leaking information from the show; it was just going to be causing somewhat of a problem if their Bachelor instantly chose someone from the get go, and they had no show if he didn’t want to even try or look like he was forming anything with anyone else.

 

There was also the fact that they already decided, even though it was completely early on, that Ash Ketchum was the definite choice to be their Bachelorette, and she couldn’t exactly be that if she and Giovanni got together at the end of this. Not to say that they wouldn’t be happy and supportive –it was just their preferable choice that Ash got as far as possible, before being eliminated and therefore allowing them to snatch her up and have her become the Bachelorette.

 

“You should wait,” Zachary offered up helpfully. “If she really is having trouble and needing time to think about being here, give her that time she needs. Probably even up to the Rose Ceremony, to give her as much time as possible.”

 

“You should also consider the fact that giving out the First Impression Rose means that whoever receives it usually ends up with a target on their back and everyone’s ire and jealousy aimed at them,” Lisa added on. “So whoever you wanted to give it too will probably have to suffer that.”

 

Giovanni sighed. “Very well. I’ll hand it to someone else. I’ll see you all when it’s time for the Rose Ceremony then.”

 

He left them and there was a moment of silence in the room.

 

“Ideally, we would like it to end with a possible opportunity to have Ash Ketchum as our Bachelorette, but if they do end up together, that’s still a good thing. We want that fairytale romance, guys. So hopefully, this season will end up with another couple that hopefully stays together,” Wesley told everyone. He clapped his hands. “Let’s get to work!”

 

Still, while he would be pleased that his girl ended up with their Bachelor, Wesley admitted that a part of him was hoping this wouldn’t be the case.

 

Giovanni had ended up handing the rose to Rue, who he did actually enjoy talking to. Maybe not as much as he had Ash, but Rue had still been entertaining and had a great sense of humor that managed to pull some genuine laughs out of him.

 

Then it was time for the Rose Ceremony and he was pulled aside and put into a room where he was with a few of the producers.

 

“Alright, so we’ll go over with you who you want to stay in and then we’ll decide on the order that their names are called out. We’ll probably do a few at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed and we can refresh you on names too,” Wesley told him.

 

Agreeing, Giovanni took a look at the spread out flashcards on the table and looked through them. He immediately saw Ash’s and picked hers and placed it aside in the definite pile, missing the look the producers gave each other. He then began thinking hard over the rest of the women and picked the ones he liked best and had enjoyed being around.

 

“That’s short 4,” Zachary noted. “Later on, it’ll be fine to cut down the numbers so you can have only the ones you really want here, but as the first night, we try to keep the number more or less that same grouping. Do you mind if we pick the last 4?”

 

Giovanni shrugged and waved towards the pile of pictures and names. “Go ahead.”

 

The producers discussed it quickly before picking out four pretty, likable girls that they felt would be able to have some good screen time and show up good on TV before they were probably inevitably cut out.  Who knows though? Maybe one of them might change Giovanni’s mind and he’d decide he had ended up liking them more than he thought he would…

 

Wesley glanced at Ash’s photo though and thought that might be a long shot.

 

Giovanni was also inclined to think so, though he didn’t voice it vocally. Those girls they picked were definitely pretty, but he couldn’t find himself the least bit interested.

 

“Let’s have you call out Janelle and Meghan’s names as some of the first ones,” Roger picked out. “Based on the footage, they’re clearly some of the more obvious picks of yours.”

 

“Tara and Keira too,” Lisa said after him. “We could put some of the less obvious and our last picks in between to spread them out.”

 

“Ash should be last,” Wesley said then, which made Giovanni straighten up.

 

“Why? I’d like her to be earlier than that,” he frowned at them.

 

“She’s the one who’s been skittish and needing more time to think about being on the show, right?” Lisa asked, seeing where Wesley was going with this. At Giovanni’s hesitant nod, she continued. “Being last not only gives her the time needed to think about her decision, but being played out on the show will create the drama and tension for the audience, and make them wonder ‘will she or won’t she accept your rose?’”

 

Giovanni grudgingly accepted their choice, even if he would have preferably had given Ash the first rose from the beginning. If he could have, he would have given her the First Impression Rose while he was at it. But, given the explanations, he knew he had to give her more time to think about staying on the show than that and he really hadn’t wanted her to be picked on because he’d picked her out from everyone else and everyone else became jealous and threatened by her.

 

“So we’re decided on order?” Zachary asked.

 

“Yeah, looks good to me,” Wesley looked over their list with a critical eye. “Are you good to go on this, Giovanni?”

 

He nodded and gave his agreement, and then they walked out to start filming the Rose Ceremony. They met up with Topher, told him the order of the girls, and then they gathered into the Rose Ceremony room, where Giovanni and Topher separated from the producers and moved to the front of the room, where they stood beside the table that held the roses. At the signal that said they were going to start filming, Topher started speaking to the ladies.

 

While he talked to them, Giovanni immediately looked for Ash, seeing her to the side, at the bottom row and wearing a troubled look on her face. It made him anxious and he was surprised by how he felt with this whole situation, especially surrounding her.

 

When Topher passed the attention over to him, he remembered who he was supposed to call out first and took the first rose, calling out the first name.

 

“Janelle.” He watched the beautiful red head he’d talked to earlier glide over to him gracefully, smiling widely. Her blue eyes were bright as she stood in front of him, and he returned the smile (despite the urge to look at Ash and wonder what was going on in her head).

 

“Will you accept this rose?”

 

“I’d love to,” Janelle answered him breathily, the appealing and form-fitting golden dress sparkling on her.

 

He handed her the rose and kissed her cheek, before letting her go back and moving on, continuing with the next woman. After around four women, they stopped briefly and he went out to get the next few names of the women, and then the process repeated. It was almost tedious and he managed to pull through until it was finally Ash’s turn and he tensed up. His anxiety came back full force, and he found his reaction and his turbulent feelings rather alien to him.

 

He usually never found himself feeling this way.

 

He took a deep breath before calling out her name. “Ash.”

 

Giovanni watched her closely, seeing her hesitate before coming forward and coming face to face with him.  He hid his twitch, trying not to show his unusual anxiety as he held out his rose to her.

 

“Will you accept this rose?”

 

If he was holding his breath for her answer, he wasn’t going to let anyone know it. Her eyebrows furrowed, making his worry mount as he waited. But then she gave him a beatific smile that actually made his heart (what the fuck was that?) and accepted the rose from him.

 

“Thank you, I’d love to accept this from you.”

 

And when he leaned over and kissed her cheek, he tried to not make it obvious as he lingered a bit.