A/N: Well, here I am with the next oneshot! This one's for prompt two: fashion. Yeah, I'm a few days behind, I know. Anyways, this is sort of a sequel to Only the Sweetest, but it can stand alone too. Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: Total Drama is not mine, I only wish that it was...
/(._.)/
"Ugh, where is he?" Duncan mumbled to himself as he paced back and forth inside of his room, "he should have been here 15 minutes ago! Not that I can't handle this on my own, of course..." Believe it or not, the person that Duncan was waiting for was Brick; yes, Brick McArthur, of all people. Why, you may ask?
Well, it had been a week since Duncan had given Zoey those flowers, and somehow, it had taken another six days for him to ask her on a date; today, they would be having lunch together at the Playa's buffet. 'It's just lunch, it's no big deal,' Duncan tried to tell himself.
Though he would never admit it, just being around Zoey made the delinquent almost nervous. He didn't understand- he had been bold and outgoing when flirting with Courtney, and when it came time to kiss Gwen, he didn't even hesitate. What was it about Zoey that made him so... soft?
Whatever it was, it made him really soft; so soft that he was actually going to dress up for their date. Now, he had seen what Brick called fashion in season four; all of the girls on the island, however, claimed that he had gotten a lot better since he went to fashion school. Duncan, after deciding that Brick was his best shot, had given him a call asking for help. Brick had replied with a happy "of course, soldier!" And promised to show up at 1100 hours.
The time was now 11:15, and there was still no sign of Brick. Duncan was just beginning to plan a revenge scheme involving glue and a pair of the cadet's underwear when he heard a knock on his door. "Ugh, it's about ti- hey, what are YOU doing here!?"
"Helping you get ready for your little date, Dud-can," Jo replied, pushing her way into the Delinquent's room. "Brick was busy, so he asked me to come help your sorry butt instead."
"Oh, nonononono," Duncan began, glaring at the jockette as she sat down on his bed, "no way am I letting you help, man-lady, this is far too important!"
Jo growled at this comment, but she was able to contain her anger. "Look, Jarhead gave me all of the outfits and whatever else you need for this girly date, and showed me how to handle it. So, unless you want me to leave you to your pathetic self, you had better figure out who's in charge here!"
As much as Duncan would have liked to snap right back, he knew that Jo was right. "Ugh, fine. So, what are we supposed to do first?"
"Clothes, I think. Brick-for-brains said that you'd decided on- oh my god." Jo burst into laughter as she pulled the outfit that the boys had discussed over the phone out of her duffle bag. Not that it was gaudy or weird- in fact, if it was to be worn on someone other than Duncan, it could have been considered some of Brick's best work. First, there were the pants: they were long and black, rather skinny but not too tight, giving them an indie feel. The shirt was a bright red, almost exactly matching the color of Zoey's usual attire. It was a long-sleeved shirt with a slight turtle neck, the sleeves rolled back just past the wrists. To top it all off: a short, stripe-covered scarf.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Jo smirked and Duncan sighed as the pair headed for the bathroom.
/(._.)/
Now, you may be wondering what Brick was doing to make him so "busy" that morning. You see, Duncan was not the only former contestant to surprise the Cadet with a call that morning: only a half an hour after the delinquent called, Brick got a call from his indie friend, Zoey, asking him for fashion help. Brick had smiled at how sweet that was - they both wanted to dress up for each other! - before realizing that he couldn't be in both places at once.
To solve this dilema, Brick had picked up the phone and called Jo, who he was supposed to be hanging out with that day anyways. After he explained the situation, Jo asked, "so, what's in it for me?" Suddenly, an idea popped into Brick's head, and he voiced it before he had a chance to reconsider:
"How about, if you help Duncan, then we can go to lunch together at the buffet? I'll buy" Immediately, his cheeks had turned red as he realized what he had done. Had he really just asked her on a date? 'No,' he thought to himself, 'it's... it's just lunch, right?'
Jo had pretended to be considering her response, although one could tell that she already knew what she would say. "Hmm... Yeah, alright, Brickhouse. But only because it's taco Tuesday." They had talked for a little longer before it was time for them to meet up in the hallway near Zoey's room. Brick had given her a bag with the outfit and hair products and told her the general process for getting Duncan ready for his date. Now, Brick was knocking on Zoey's door, ready to help his friend get ready, too.
Zoey answered her door with an exited "Hey, Brick!" and invited her friend inside.
"Hello, m'am!" Brick smiled as he entered the room, "are you ready to begin?"
"Yeah! Thanks so much for helping me, it means a lot," Zoey replied.
"It's my pleasure," Brick said, "I've always wanted to experiment with this style, anyways." With that, Brick pulled out the outfit that he had designed for Zoey, based on what she had described over the phone. First was a pair of simple, yet nice looking black shorts. Then came the top: its cut was similar to Zoey's usual shirt, but it was black instead of red. On the front of said top was a simplistic drawing of a skull, similar to to the image on a certain delinquent's shirt. In addition to the shirt, the outfit also came with a light-blue, sleeveless denim jacket.
"Oh, it's perfect!" Zoey exclaimed. "Come on, let's go!" With that, the pair headed for the bathroom.
/(._.)/
Duncan sighed as he stepped out of the bathroom. "Well, how do I look?" He asked.
Jo actually thought that Brick had done a good job, but she wasn't about to say that. "Eh, not as bad as I thought you would," Jo said. Hey, coming from her, that was a huge compliment! "Come on, let's do your hair so that we can be done already."
Duncan rolled his eyes as the two walked over to a chair in front of the bathroom mirror. "What are you getting out of this, anyways?" Duncan asked as he sat down, "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't help 'just to be nice.'"
Jo smirked as she pulled out hair products from the duffle bag. "Well, you're right about that," she began, spraying Duncan's hair with some weird liquid, "Jarhead promised to buy me lunch if I came and prepared you for your pathetic little date."
"Huh, I guess I should give the guy credit: he finally got the guts to ask you out"
"Pft, it's just lunch. I don't know what you're talking about," Jo responded.
"Oh please. You've both been, like, super obviously in love since season four!" Duncan laughed.
He definitely shouldn't have said that while Jo had a brush in his hair. The jockette growled and yanked the brush, earning an "Ow!" from Duncan and causing him to stay quiet while she finished his hair.
"There, I managed to make you look at least a little better," Jo said after about 10 minutes. Duncan had to admit, for someone who didn't care at all about looks, she sure had done a nice job with his hair. The green dye from his Mohawk had been left in; however, his hair had been flattened and parted so that it could be swept to the side.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," Duncan said, glad that the awkward session could end.
"You're welcome," Jo said, grabbing the now-empty duffle bag. "See ya around." With that she left for her room, as there were still a good 10 minutes before she had to meet Brick for lunch. Duncan was to meet Zoey at the same time, so he decided to stay and sit around his room until the time came.
/(._.)/
"How do I look?" Zoey asked, stepping out of the bathroom. "Do you think that Duncan will like it?"
"You look lovely, m'am," Brick replied, always the gentleman. "Say, when are you meeting Duncan? I have some ideas for hair and makeup, but they may take a little while."
"12:00," Zoey replied, "so we should have time."
"Cool, that's when I'm meeting Jo!" Brick smiled at the thought.
"Aw, that's so sweet! You finally asked her out?"
"Um, n-no," Brick said, his cheeks turning red, "I totally didn't mean it like that, I just... uh... Oh, fine," Brick gave in as he sat his friend down and began to do her make-up. "I've actually wanted to find some subtle way to ask her out for a while- she'd kill me if I asked directly. Then today, this thing came up, and we were talking, and I wasn't really thinking, and..."
"Brick, stop," Zoey said, grinning at how adorable he was being. "She said yes, didn't she?" 'Wow, I wonder if Duncan was like this when asking me out...' She thought this last part to herself.
"Huh, I guess you're right," Brick smiled, "thanks, Zoey!"
After about 20 minutes, everything was finished: Zoey's hair was mostly the same, although the ends of her pigtails had been curled and her usual red flower replaced with a black one. She had only a light layer of make-up, just enough to be noticeable, but not overwhelming. "Oh, shoot, I've gotta go!" Brick said, noticing the time. He got up and ran out the door, literally sprinting down the hallway to get to the buffet on time. Zoey followed after, at just a slightly slower pace.
/(._.)/
Brick ran into the buffet at exactly 12:00, only to find that Jo was already there. "Slower than me as always, soggy-pants," Jo smirked, "now come on, I think that somebody owes me a full plate of tacos!"
"Yes, m'am!" Brick replied, following her to the food line.
It was about this time when Zoey and Duncan walked into the buffet area and noticed each other. "Aw, Duncan, it was so sweet of you to dress up!" Zoey exclaimed, admiring Duncan's newest indie garments.
"Well, same to you, Red," Duncan replied, used to her calling him sweet at this point. He was shocked that she had dressed up as well- and with a punk theme, too! "You wanna go get something to eat?"
"Sure!" Much to Duncan's surprise, Zoey took his arm and began walking with him to the food line. On the way there they passed Brick and Jo, who were on their way back to the tables with a plate of tacos each.
"Huh, these tacos are even better than usual today- here, try this one!" Jo said with her mouth full, shoving a fish taco at the cadet. Feeling brave after his talk with Zoey, Brick took the taco in one hand and Jo's hand in the other.
Brick was blushing as he took a bite. "Wow, that is pretty good!" he said, handing the taco back. Since Jo hadn't pulled away, they continued to hold hands until Duncan and Zoey returned from the food line.
"See, I told ya, Jo!" Duncan shouted at the jockette. Jo glared at him but, instead of moving away from Brick, she moved her chair closer to him.
"Eh, I'd say it was unexpected, but I kind of saw it coming," Duncan said as he sat down with Zoey. "Al owes me five bucks now."
Zoey giggled. "Lightning owes me ten," she began, "and he owes Dawn another twenty for guessing the exact date and time that they would get together." After laughing for a little while, Zoey had to ask a question that had been burning in her mind for a while now. "Hey, Duncan," She asked, "why... Why did you ask me out in the first place? I mean, I understand if it was just out of pity after my breakup with Mike, or-"
Zoey was stopped by Duncan taking both of her hands in his and sighing. "Look, the truth is, I... I've liked you for a while now- like, a lot, more than I ever liked Gwen or Courtney. I wanted to do it sooner, regardless of whether or not you were with Mike. Just... there's something about you that makes me so..." Duncan grimaced at what he was about to say, "...sweet."
Zoey wrapped the delinquent in a hug. "That's alright Duncan," she said, "sweetness is just your style."
/(._.)/
A/N: Whoa, that ending turned out a lot cheesier than I had intended it to be. I hope that you guys enjoyed this week-late oneshot, despite the cheesiness! See ya around!
PS: I love the word Broey. It sounds like a type of yogurt, like you could ask for some Broey with fruit mixed in or to visit a fro-bro shop.
~iamsoproh