A/N: This was a story that I had originally written a couple of years ago. I really liked it but felt that the writing was a bit off. Rather than continuing it, I decided to start it over so I could tweak a few things and pave way for a better storyline. I hope you guys enjoy!

In this story, TDWT never happened.

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There it was. That place. The place that brought brutal memories to my mind each time someone even made a slight reference to it. I had hoped and hoped I'd never have to see this place again, but here I was. Seeing it brought chills to my entire body and I felt as if the blood had been drained from my body.

Camp Wawanakwa.

At twenty-one years old, my life had already felt as if it ended, and it was easy to blame this place for the very death of my sanity, or sense of opportunity. I was only sixteen when I competed here for $100,000. I didn't win, but I came in a very close second, and the producers reimbursed my efforts with a decent stack of cash. But more than that, I became a bit of a celebrity. I let it get the best of me, really. I did finish high school, and I'm proud of myself for that, but university certainly didn't happen. Who needs it when you're a celebrity? But new seasons started, and along with them came newer, younger competitors. Before long, the original twenty-two of us were nobodies.

A couple of years later, I found myself in a small, stuffed apartment and a part time job waitressing at a local café. Combined with a small sum of money from a trust fund, it was enough to pay the bills. I got by.

There, I met Jack.

I was immediately drawn to his beautiful green eyes, or maybe his soft, jet black hair. I fell weak at the knees every time I saw him. I guess the feelings were returned, because he ended up asking me out.

He didn't have the greatest personality. Far from it, I'd say. He loved video games. It was almost sort of hard to get his attention, especially in a particularly challenging level of Call of Duty. He'd call me names a lot. Bitch. Slut. Get in the kitchen, filthy whore. You're good for nothing. I hated him so much. But every time I looked into those green eyes…I couldn't resist.

My thoughts were cut short when I was approached by Chris, grinning his same goofy grin that had always made me want to punch him in the face. He had changed, though. He'd grown a potbelly, and a lot of wrinkles. He was balding, too. Kind of bittersweet to see, I guess.

"Ah, Gwenny! You haven't changed one bit!" Chris exclaimed with a shit-eating smile.

"Really? Because you have," I groaned, rolling my eyes.

"Still sarcastic, I see."

Chris grabbed my wrist and led me to a large white bullseye painted on the ground.

"Your former teammates are at Playas Des Losers, but, in the spirit of the game, you'll have to complete a mini challenge to get there!" Chris beamed.

I yanked my wrist away from his grip. "No way. I've had enough of this sadistic bullshit. Just take me to Playas Des Losers or I'm taking myself!"

Chris sighed. "Fine.Catch the boat at the end of the dock over there."

xxxxx

As I approached Playas Des Losers, I noticed Leshawna and Bridgette at the end of the dock, waving excitedly and screaming my name. I couldn't help but to giggle like a total idiot. No matter how long it had been, we were all still pretty close and pretty excited to see one another.

"Gwen! God it's been so long!" Leshawna screamed as she pulled me into a huge hug.

Bridgette squeezed between us, joining the hug. "You look so good! You've really changed! Wow!"

I didn't really think my appearance change was anything to gush about. I'd grown dark circles under my eyes. My hair had grown out a bit; I guess that was a good thing. I'd had to get rid of the blue streaks for work, though. I'd also ditched my "goth" phase for something a little more gentle: jeans and a t-shirt. I wasn't exactly happy about it, but it was a small sacrifice for a steady income.

Bridgette motioned us to the door. "Come on! We're all meeting up in the common area. Lindsay, Tyler, Noah, Trent, and Harold are already here. We're waiting on everybody else."

Trent?! Oh no.

As the three of us approached the door, Leshawna gasped as she caught sight of my left hand.

"Is that a ring on your finger?!" Leshawna squealed. "Like, a ring ring?"

"No way!" Bridgette screamed, picking up my hand and examining the ring closely. "Who's the lucky guy?!"

My face started to burn. It wasn't an engagement ring, it was a promise ring. Mainly because I was too afraid to make a serious commitment. He'd proposed, but it just…didn't feel right. So we decided to just make it more of a promise instead. Weak, I know. And I certainly wasn't going to tell Bridgette and Leshawna.

"His name is Jack!" I did my best to fake enthusiasm. "I, uh, met him at work. We've been together for a little over a year now."

Bridgette and Leshawna nearly died from excitement. They both asked a million questions, talking over each other a mile a minute. When was the wedding? How did he propose? Did I have a dress yet? Should they take me dress shopping? Who's going to be the maid of honor? Blah blah blah. I felt so overwhelmed. My face fell into an awkward half-grin.

"We're still, uh, working out the details. It, uh, just happened." Lies. He'd proposed six months ago.

Leshawna and Bridgette looked to each other quizzically, and then back to me.

"Well, uh, you can tell us more about it inside?" Bridgette asked, opening the door.

I nodded wordlessly, hoping I could change the subject as quickly as possible.

I took a few minutes to say hello to everybody. Most of them hadn't changed much. Lindsay had a breast reduction, giving her skintight red top a much more modest look. Harold had ditched the greasy long-haired look for a much cleaner, short cut. Tyler and Noah…well, nothing changed whatsoever.

Trent stepped into the room shortly after, carrying a plate of appetizers. His eyes widened as our eyes met.

My face was practically purple. "Hey Trent…"

He smiled awkwardly. "Oh…hey Gwen. How have you been?"

"Good. I'm good. And you?"

"Oh you know…good."

I felt an unnecessary flutter in my heart, followed by a sharp pain in my chest. God, looking at him was ten times harder than thinking about him. Twenty times harder maybe.

"Hey everybody, guess what?" Leshawna announced. "Gwen has a fiancé!"

Everybody in the room took a giant, collective gasp, followed by a squeal from Lindsay and Harold.

"No way! What's his name? What does he look like? Ooh, I just LOVE weddings!" Lindsay clapped her hands together excitedly.

I sighed. "Guys, this really isn't necessary."

Bridgette jumped onto an empty couch. "Of course it is! You're getting married! Harold, go get your laptop. Does he have a Facebook? We have to see him!"

As Harold made a mad dash to his bedroom, the tension (well, it was tense to me, anyways) was momentarily relieved as Courtney and Duncan entered, hand in hand, carrying a baby carriage.

"Hello everybody!" Courtney waved and smiled as the two of them took a seat next to Bridgette, setting the baby carriage on the floor beside them and revealing a small baby bump on Courtney. The two of them shared a kiss as they sat down, still holding hands.

"Well what do you know? The happy couple has survived and thrived!" I joked, hoping to completely divert the attention away from my predicament.

Courtney scowled at me as Duncan snickered lightly.

"We just celebrated our second wedding anniversary, I'll have you know. Things have been great for us," Courtney replied, using her shit-eating smile at full force. She gently rubbed Duncan's arm. "I couldn't ask for a better life with Duncy-poo here!"

The two smiled and shared a kiss. I wanted to gag.

I almost got the chance to ask about the baby, or the soon-to-be-baby, but Harold came running back in with his laptop in hand.

Duncan turned his attention to me. "Fiancé, huh?"

I scratched the top of my shoulder and giggled nervously. "Yeah…kind of…yeah."

"Is this that Jack guy? I thought it was just a promise ring?"

"Oh well, you know…things…happen I guess…you know?"

Courtney turned her attention to me and shot me a fake, shit-eating smile. "You and Duncan have been talking, I see?"

I rolled my eyes. "Every now and again. Nothing to be worried about. We talk casually every couple of weeks."

"Relax, babe. There's nothing to be worried about. Trust me, the only reason she's even with that Jack guy is because he resembles Trent. She's hung up over him…"

"DUNCAN!" I screamed. I glanced up and noticed the shock in everybody's faces. Harold's computer had Jack's Facebook page pulled up already. Guess they'd found him under my profile.

"He…does kind of look like Trent…" Bridgette noted.

"Kind of?" Noah scoffed. "The guy's practically a dead-ringer doppelganger!"

Tears began to well in my eyes. My face had gone from burning to numb. I could feel the coloring draining.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about! I-I love Jack and it…he does not look like Trent…I…" It was no use.

The room went silent.

"Fine. Yeah. He does kind of look like Trent, I guess. You know what? He's a total douchebag! But I'm lonely! I have nobody else in my life and I'll take him over nothing! And yes, it's only a promise ring. Laugh all you want. I'm too afraid to commit, I guess. Are you guys happy?!"

I stormed off into one of the empty bedrooms, sobbing hysterically.

xxxxx

"Hey, you forgot this in the common room."

A short time later, Trent entered the room, carrying my suitcase, smiling softly.

I could barely see out of my eyes. They had gotten really red and puffy. My nose was completely stuffed up. I felt like a total mess. I couldn't believe myself. I'd broken down in front of everybody…worst of all, I'd broken down in front of Trent.

"What do you want, Trent? Do you want to laugh at me? I'm pathetic."

Trent sat down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "Why would I laugh at you?"

Words came out of my mouth like word vomit. "Because I was the biggest idiot ever! I let you go! I dumped the most amazing man I'd ever met in my life because I'd let fame get to my head. I loved you so much. I was so stupid, and I've hated myself ever since. I deserve it, though, breaking your heart on national television like that…you have every right to laugh at me."

"I could…but I'm not, am I?"

"I hate myself, Trent. I really, truly, hate myself. I would give my life to go back in time and keep myself from letting you go."

Trent grabbed my hand and softly stroked it. "I miss you too, Gwen."

"Why? Why would you still want to be with somebody like this?" I exclaimed, tears falling back down my face. "Did you just suddenly change your mind because you felt bad for me out there, making a fool of myself?"

Trent sighed. "Maybe I changed my mind a long time ago. Maybe I only made this trip because I changed my mind. Maybe I wanted a chance, more than anything. Maybe all I wanted was for you to love me back. To finally truly love me back."

I was taken aback. "Trent…did you really? Or are you just saying that?"

"Does it really matter at this point?"

He took my hand, and a spark flew between us. My tears dried as I looked into his eyes. Those warm, green eyes. Words suddenly didn't matter anymore.

"I've always loved you Gwen, and I always will," Trent announced softly, pulling me into one of the best kisses I'd had in my life.

xxxxx

As I waited for Trent to finish brushing his teeth and come to bed, I pulled out a picture from that night, of the two of us kissing on the dock.

Things had changed for the better since that night. I was twenty-seven now, and my life had finally felt like it was going somewhere again. I finally had the nerve to leave Jack, relocating instead to live with Trent. Though money was tight at first, we managed to build a life for ourselves. He'd found a great job with a nearby music studio, and I'd found a part-time job at another café, giving me time to spend around the house. We married and had a beautiful daughter, Ruthie, who was about to turn four. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world sometimes. My dreams had come true: a beautiful home, a beautiful daughter…but most of all, Trent.

"Looking at the picture again?" Trent chuckled as he hopped into bed beside me, hugging me from behind.

"It was the best day of my life," I smiled as I pushed myself closer to him.

"You mean the best day of our lives," Trent replied, kissing my head. "I guess it's a good thing that punk friend of yours said something, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. In the moment, I had wanted to kill Duncan for his little accident. But all was forgiven.

"How is Duncan doing, anyways?" Trent asked. "Have you guys talked lately?"

I shrugged. "It's been awhile. He must've gotten busy. At the rate he and Courtney were going, they've probably popped out ten kids by now!"

The two of us shared a laugh as Trent turned the lights out.

"Goodnight, Gwen."

"Goodnight, Trent."

And with that, I'd drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

xxxxx

I jerked awake in the middle of the night, an unusual occurrence for me. I was usually able to sleep through just about anything. But it had seemed that I'd heard a bunch of screaming, both in my bedroom and in the neighborhood. I'd thought it was just a bad dream.

However, as I turned on the lights, my world was turned upside down. Within one night, I had gone from living at the top of the world to living my worst nightmare.