A/N: Hello~ Miki and Hannah here. This is our first fanfic! We hope you enjoy it! Reviews and constructive criticisms are tremendously appreciated. This is a Sci-fi AU, which we hope to pack full of comedy, action, fluff, and angst. :D The main pairing and the focus of the story is NoCo, but expect more to pop up along the way. We'll be updating biweekly and would be very grateful if you'll follow our little story (which will probably end up pretty lengthy OTL).
Disclaimer: We do not own Total Drama.
CHAPTER ONE: FAILURE TO LAUNCH
Noah paced nervously back and forth across the corridor, feet scuffing lightly against the steel platform leading to the escape pod deck. He inhaled, trying to center his thoughts as his hand hesitated over his destination's access panel. He ran his fingers through his russet colored hair nervously and quickly input the combination before his anxiety got the better of him.
Just get this over with, Noah, he thought to himself, striding through the paneling. Once he stepped over the foyer he was hit with the desire to turn around and run until he jumped out of the bridge and died in the vacuum of space. However, the doors slid shut with an apathetic hiss, condemning him to commitment.
The escape pod itself was a massacre of wires framed by a sleek, white interior. The pod's navigation system was gutted, displaying a medley of green computer chips. The last diagnostic review run by Harold, (a carrot-headed, glasses wearing nerd that Noah found deplorable at best), had revealed several problems within. Underneath the console, a pair of military-issue black boots stuck out from the rubble. A pounding resounded through the capsule as the resident tech geek, Cody, labored on the task he had been assigned.
Immediately Noah felt his heart flutter in anticipation. He summoned his existing courage to fight off the beads of sweat forming at the base of his neck. He had certainly not been known for displays of unnecessary exertion in the past, preferring to let such responsibilities fall on the shoulders of those with the energy to waste. This time, it was something he alone had to face.
"Hey Cody, can I speak to you for a minute," he mumbled, successfully keeping his usual tone of nonchalance present. So far so good…
In spite of all his efforts the only sound that came in reply was the continuous clanking of a ratchet wrench. Cody seemed rather immersed in his work, so Noah cleared his throat and repeated himself, this time with a little more force. He held his breath as he listened for a reply.
"Mmmhmmmm," Cody uttered in a singsong tone.
"Well, I- uh," Noah looked away, now was not the time to freeze up. Nonetheless, all romantic notions had left him, and much to his vexation he found he had no idea what to say. Well, he had decided to go for it hadn't he? "I've been thinking lately… about… us, and well ever since I met you this place has seemed a lot less monotonous and a lot more, well, sane. What's the most eloquent way I can say this… I- uh," his face grew hot with frustration as he struggled to force out his words, which became a rather jumbled mess of syllables too fast for anyone to comprehend. "IthinkIl-l-l-oveyou!"
Nice one, genius.
Again he was met with silence, a cruel entity that ripped through him like a dagger. Maybe he had come on too strong? The palm of his hand slapped his forehead in agony, running down to pinch the bridge of his nose. Ugh he was so stupid, there was no way Cody could feel the same way about him. After all he had once harbored an enormous crush on their fellow coworker, Gwen, only to be rejected. Now by exposing his feelings Cody would probably avoid him, never speak to him again; never look him in the face with his clear blue eyes, always so full of emotion and child-like wonder, or—
Noah couldn't bear it anymore. He swallowed harshly, choking on a lump that had found fit to situate itself in his larynx.
"Answer me," he gasped.
"Put your hands down my pants and I'll bet you'll feel nuts."
"Wh-whaaa…?" Noah's jaw went slack. His expression twisted into one of confusion and he felt his heart skip a beat. This is going faster than I expected…
"Yes I'm Siskel, yes I'm Ebert and you're getting two thumbs up." Suddenly Cody shifted out of the wreckage and stood, continuing to sing. Thin speaker wires hung from his ears, leading to a musical device. "You've had enough of two hand touch you want it rough you're out of bounds. I want you smothered want you cov-" He paused, finally noticing Noah's presence in the room. "Oh, hey Noah, what are you doing here? Heh heh." He flushed slightly, of all the songs he had to sing along to it had to be Bad Touch. How embarrassing.
Noah's eyes widened in disbelief. He had just confessed his love and Cody hadn't even heard him? The concept appalled him. He had just risked everything and really it had gotten him nowhere. For a fleeting moment he thought maybe it was better if he just forgot about it altogether (maybe fate had graced him with this chance to change his mind) and remained content in his friendship with Cody. After all wasn't that what had caused him to fall so madly in love in the first place? Upon thinking the word love a terrible sinking feeling materialized in the depths of his stomach. No, he couldn't give up on Cody… If anything, fate had graced him, but with another opportunity to confess, to precisely form the words that he wanted Cody to hear about how he felt.
"Uh, Noah? Did you need me for anything?"
He must have been frozen like an idiot for a considerable amount of time, grimacing internally at the double implication he found in Cody's question. The room suddenly felt too small for the two of them. Noah backed away, he needed to gather his thoughts. In an attempt to act casual, he rested his hand against the surface of the console behind him. Just play it cool Noah, there's no reason for you to get all flustered now. He didn't even hear me.
Cody rubbed his arm as Noah continued to stay silent. His expression reminded Cody of a trapped animal.
"Er, do you mind if I hide out here for a bit? I may have called Eva a sadistic bitch, and now she's out for my blood," Noah smirked, finally gaining his composure. Cody's face lit up and he let out a laugh.
"Sucks to be you," he grinned. Noah eased up a bit, leaning further as he relaxed, the edge of his palm nudging against a red button unknowingly.
Suddenly blaring sirens echoed throughout the room, jarring them both with its message.
"LAUNCH SEQUENCE INITIATED. TEN SECONDS UNTIL ABORT OPTION IS LOCKED. NINE."
"Whoops," Noah frowned at the predicament. "Do you know how to stop this?"
"EIGHT."
Cody glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah, no problem." He hurriedly stepped over to the console, eyes jumping over the buttons, searching for the one that would save them.
"SEVEN."
"SIX."
"FIVE."
"Aha!" With a gleam of confidence in his eyes, he pressed a key on the control panel. The sirens suddenly grew quiet as relief flooded over them both.
"LAUNCH ACTIVATED."
"Wha?" Their reprieve was quickly shattered and replaced with an abundance of horror. Cody pushed the button fervently, but to no avail.
"I can't stop it!" he cried.
The entire room started shaking violently as vibrations from the rocket's ignition traveled through the frame of the craft. The dock opened, revealing the endless blackness of space, and as they were shot out into its midst the two were thrown to the back of the ship like ragdolls.
Noah steadied himself first, standing up slowly and then offering a hand to Cody, who was rubbing his head from the impact. He blushed as his fingers entwined around Cody's and hefted him to his feet.
"It's not too late," he huffed, "We can still fly this thing back to the ship."
"Yeah," Cody stifled a grin, "Um, Noah?"
"What?"
"You can let go of me now."
"Oh- right," he released Cody quickly, as if his hand had been a flaming poker, and moved toward the pilot's chair. Fortunately the steering was left intact. A set of two u-shaped joysticks protruded from the face of the dashboard. Noah grasped them and began to turn the ship around, tilting them like he would his favorite video game. The tail end of the ship swung around listlessly, obeying his every command. Noah prided himself in being one of the better pilots on their ship; although if given the choice he would much rather enjoy the ride than commit to any actual piloting.
The image of an unknown planet filled the window, a marbled mass of green and a breathtakingly deep blue accented by wisps of pearly white fluff. They were enticed by this view for a moment before regaining their senses.
Noah pressed on the throttle, their ship was heading father and father away from them by the second. Much to his nuisance he found that the escape pod didn't budge, instead the planet seemed to be growing closer at an increasingly rapid rate.
"No offense to the maintenance department, but this heap of junk is useless. Why aren't we moving?" His eyes shifted to meet Cody's disconcerted gaze.
"There was nothing wrong with the rockets in the diagnostic," he shrugged nervously, hugging himself. "Heh, unless they decided to break down r-right this minute…"
"Fantastic," Noah groaned. Today had really turned out quite swimmingly. He forced the throttle down fiercely, hoping to spark some kind of ignition. "Come on, can't at least one thing go right for me today?" Then, as if by magic, the rockets engaged and the craft began moving forward. Or well, more to the left side. Noah shifted the steering to put them on the correct path, but oddly enough they only seemed to be moving in the direction of the planet. Then he was struck with a blood curdling realization.
"The planet's gravity is too intense for us, we're being pulled in," his tone grew more panicked as the ship began its encounter with the atmosphere of said world. "You might want to hold on to something."
A white hot intensity struck against the windshield the moment the sound left his mouth, rattling the ship to the point where Noah feared it would splinter into a million pieces. The grating sound of machinery being torn away from the vessel further maintained this predicament. Noah prayed to God, if he survived he would let Izzy dress him up as a maid and marry him off to Chef or any other dastardly scheme she could concoct.
The rattling gradually dissipated, much to his relief. He cracked open an eye when one of Cody's unmanly screams resounded throughout the cabin.
A great mass of green filled his vision. A tree? He jerked up on the steering, hoping they would be able to dodge it in time.
They did not, the edge of the ship smashed against the top of the tree sending them careening into a stomach-churning tailspin. Now they were both crying at the top of their lungs, each bit of foliage they hit tossing them in a new direction, until finally the ship crumpled upon meeting the ground. Noah was flung to the floor violently, an eerie black clouding his vision until it was consumed entirely by the liberation of sleep.
Thank you very much for reading~! :3