Hello, and welcome, to My First Ever Shot at a TDI fanfic! A.k.a, Would you Rather?
Basically, me and some friends were doing the "Would you Rather" game, TDI came on, and D.J's bunny (a.k.a, the plot bunny) sprang into my brain!
So it's pretty much random drabbles about choices which all connect to form a story (eventually) - such is life, after all XD

Chapter 1 A:

Knowing what you know today, Would you rather,
Change your past
Or live with it?

Noah (several years after TDI)

For a while, I was into questions, the type which makes one think "What will I do?" if such and such happens. Such and such, of course, would reference events so unlikely, incredulous, or out-and-out dumb, that they were not worth the time I spent thinking about them. Would I rather die old and alone or young and in love? Would I prefer to be famous but destitute or infamous and wealthy? Even the trivial questions concerning my favorite color made me cringe; I feared every answer I gave would impact my future irreparably.

But the years went by, step by step, and with them flew away my frivolous superstitions. I no longer delved so deeply into the world, and thus the world began to make some sense. I began to examine other people rather than myself, and while it gave me a negative view of them, at least in general, it took away from my own self-loathing. Yes, it must sound strange to hear, but by hating others I loved myself all the greater.

It was my complicated mind which did me in in the end, I suppose. That, or... I shudder to think it... teenage hormones. But regardless, something changed my views, and made me question once again what in this world truly mattered. If I had to pinpoint the precise moment of change, I would trace it all back to that dastardly camp. That mind-numbing, soul-crushing purgatory which gave me the most bittersweet experience on Earth. No experience in my life has come close to matching it; whether that is good or bad, I can not say. But all that occurred to me on that island I can never erase nor fully ignore. The impact was too great, too long lasting, too surreal.

Life-long friendships were formed right before me; romances kindled in my love-longing gaze. So I read my books and ignored them, foolishly, rather than joining beside them in their childhood journey. Thus missing out on my own experiences, my own chance to discover what could have been, what must have been right before me. It was all lost, because I would not look for it; I was the lackluster know-it-all amidst young souls, an infant flung coldly into the experienced, prepared adult world. A brainiac who thought he knew everything, but now knows today... I knew nothing at all.

…Which brings me back to the questions; I guess one can not truly escape them. All we do is add on as we live our lives, as we make decisions we end up regretting. So… do I prefer knowing what I could have had, only to know that I have lost and never will have it? Or would it have been better if the light had never been lit, only to be extinguished so cruelly, and justly, regrettably.

I already made that decision; unfortunately, it is far too late for me to change the past. But if I had known back then what I now know today… who knows...
...I might have found my favorite color.

(Years Earlier, at Playa de Losers)

Chapter 1 B: Brains or Beauty

The poolside was refreshingly brilliant, a wonderful change from the grotesque Wawanakwa. I could lounge beside it without fear of sharks... until Izzy arrived, that is. But before that, life was good, as good as life ever can get. I was accomplished in having lost for I had won this chance at solitude.

Bathing in the sunlight, a book in my hands, I was content to be by myself. The others had greeted me and I had said hello back, but afterward, the three of us scarcely interacted. But that was all good and dandy; our personalities somewhat conflicted. The Sexist, the Brute, and the Genius were hardly a team worth holding a candle to.

What more, my schedule was far from empty, what with my "arduous reading" regime. Not to mention my hours of laying around idly, hungering for a challenge, or at the very least some tiny form of mental stimulation! I was forbidden from using my game stations - "Can't let you reveal you were voted off yet, bra" - and any other form of "fun" was cruelly withheld from me, making the lap of luxury as painful and undesirable as the horrible camp I had just escaped. Speaking of...

Within a few days of my own departure, everything took a turn for the worse. The next ex arrived at the Playa; upon seeing him, my brain nearly vomited. It was Justin, the Hunk, the Beauty, the utter bane of a Brain's existence. He knew nothing, for he had no need to, and he never spoke for his looks conveyed all. So captivating and so alluring was he, that it was utterly, downright disgusting.

I would not say that I was jealous, though in my defense, I had every right to be. He had lasted longer than me, after all, without any real fair reason as to why. He had more-or-less done nothing while I had worked my hardest to earn my keep!... All right, up until the whole dodge ball incident... but I had cheered on my team still, right?

Whereas Justin... well, what had he done? He had smiled a few times for the camera. He had flexed and winked and waved; he said a sentence, and the girls all swooned. Not to mention Owen and the viewers back home, who could not see past the front to his ugly innards.

All they could see was this pretty-boy nothing, whom somehow... somehow... had surpassed me.

My big brain had taken a beating and it was far from happy to face that. Beauty, beating brains? Justin, beating me? A frown creased over my face as I put my book down in disgust. These thoughts had ruined my appetite for the one hobby which allowed me escape them.

I prayed that the cameras were elsewhere as I thoughtfully stared out into space. I could envision them leap at the chance to capture me rapt in my internal calamity, exploiting it for the masses as if it were mere entertainment. But from the corner of my eye I saw something move, followed by the flash of something shiny. I sighed as I awaited the fateful camera lens to spring upon me like a wild animal.

However, to my surprise, the camera never showed. I cocked my head back towards the movement, and to my surprise, to my disdain, I recognized it. The shine had not been a lens; it was an overly-lotioned, bronze, toned chest, which strutted towards me like it owned the place. Like it owned me and I was trash.

Justin walked over to me, still smiling, though I knew the grin hid ulterior motives. He stopped next to me, raising a brow. "So Noah," he started nonchalantly. A towel adorned his shoulders which I just-then-noticed were sleeked with water. He moved it to his face questioning, "How have you been getting along?"

Pulling over the beach chair beside mine and sitting on its edge, Justin looked towards me with mild interest. Surprisingly, he seemed rather ominous, like the cliche cat happily toying with its cliche mouse. I could have imagined it, but in that instant, I thought his face grew feral, that his smile smirked. I shook away the feeling as he shook back his hair and ever-so-kindly doused me with water. I could not prevent myself from scowling, but it did nothing to damper his smile.

Rolling my eyes, I responded crossly, "Oh, I'm just dripping with joy," before attempting to reclaim the book I had put down mere seconds before. Hopefully he would get the hint and leave, thus bothering me no further; as much fun as it sounded like talking to Justin would be, I refused to subject myself to his "Justininess." I had already faced more than enough embarrassing incidents on this show to earn me a few nicknames when I returned to school; I neither needed nor desired another nickname nor accidental encounter to be harassed for. But before I could grab the novel, Justin's hand shot out and grabbed mine. His reflexes were dauntingly fast; I had only time to stare at him perplexed before he released me and smiled mischievously.

"Wait a moment," he requested quietly, his words traced with the slightest demand. His eyes held a dangerous gleam; I could tell they were guarding a secret.

"What is it?" I queried annoyed, unsettled, both by his actions and his unending smile. Bringing one finger to his lips and pointing his left thumb behind him, he motioned to the bushes he had previously walked through.

"The cameras will be here soon. Follow me somewhere... private..." Saying so, he stood back up, walking off without another word. Not even bothering to see if I was following him, he glided towards the hotel.

At first I sat there mutely trying to make sense of what had just happened. The whole exchange, however tiny, left me baffled as a box. I had never heard the pretty boy speak so much; I doubted that anyone had. And it was unnerving to know he had more to say, but that I would have to subject myself to his game first to hear it.

... I could have just went back to my book. I should have ignored the entire conversation. I knew he was trouble from the moment I saw him; they do say that the devil is tempting. But for some reason, one I can not justify, I had a desire to follow after. Perhaps it was my desire to escape the cameras, perhaps my desire to feed my unquenchable curiosity.

Curiosity did kill the cat, or mouse as the case may be. I knew this, but I could not help myself, a fact I would later blame on gaming withdrawal. I was desperate for entertainment and did not care about its side effects; a boy in the grasp of boredom is a very impressionable person.

He had set up Step One of his Challenge, and I was helpless to turn it down.
There was no way I could have known that this was a game I was far from ready for.

Yeah! so chapter one, done. And I'll take anything! Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Critique?
Anyways, the first part will always be the character thoughts, so if you're not into that you can skip it, followed by a part of what happened years earlier at TDI (which will later relate to their thoughts, if that makes sense)- I'll try to stay IC, and hopefully jump around POVS (if anyone's interested in this anyway)
Thanks!