I wrote this a long time ago, but have only gotten to posting it now.
Gwen was standing outside C.A.'s Game Store. Her mom had asked her to get a video game for her younger brother's birthday. She didn't want to go in there. True, she had never actually stepped foot in there, but when her brother wasn't old enough to drive yet, they had been to many game shops. They were all the same: small, dark, smells like a locker room. Not appealing to a twenty-four-year-old girl.
She finally willed herself to go inside, and was immediately shocked. 'This place actually looks kinda cool,' she thought. It was small, sure, but nothing like her other experiences. It didn't smell like sweat at all.
Gwen easily found the game she was looking for, "Alien Destruction 6." She stepped up to the counter to pay.
"Ah, 'Alien Destruction'. A classic series," the cashier noted. He had a smile that Gwen was sure had melted many hearts before.
"It's for my brother. He's turning twenty on Friday. Personally, I think he's a little too old for video games," Gwen said as she handed him her credit card.
"Hey, you're never too old to kill aliens," he defended, still wearing the smile. It soon faded. "G-Gwen?"
She looked at him, puzzled.
"From Total Drama?" he continued.
"Oh, yeah. I try to block that from my memory."
"You mean, you don't remember me?"
Gwen studied his face, but was drawing a blank. "I'm sorry, no."
"I'm Cody... you know, fellow Screaming Gopher and Amazon." 'I also had a crush on you for three years and I sniffed your hair on international TV,' he thought but didn't mention.
Gwen was shocked. In her defense, Cody had changed a lot. His voice had gotten a little deeper. He finally got a growth spurt. His hair wasn't as floppy. Even his trademark gap-teeth were gone.
She blushed. "Oh, hey Cody! Nice to see you...again. So, you work here now?"
"I, uh, own the place. C.A, Cody Anderson..." he trailed off.
"Oh, wow! That's great!"
"Yeah, I graduated early." He drummed his fingers, sensing the awkward.
"Well I guess I should be going," Gwen hurriedly said.
"Great talking to you," Cody waved.
Gwen really hated herself after that awkward fiasco. She was sitting in her car, deciding whether or not to go into C.A.'s Game Store. Cody's game store. It had been a week since she last came, and she had been thinking of him ever since. She knew she had already had her chance and blew it eight years ago. Well, maybe he believed in second chances. Besides, the new Cody seemed nothing like the old one. She started walking towards the door.
Losing confidence, she stopped, five feet away from the door. Cody was cleaning the windows, and he spotted her standing there. He came outside with a "Hey Gwen!"
"Oh, hi Cody."
"So did your brother like his game?" he asked.
"What?"
"You came in here last week buying a game for your little brother."
"Oh yeah! He liked it so much, he wanted another game," Gwen lied.
"Then come on in!" Cody said while holding the door open. Gwen forced a smile and walked inside. She pretended to look at some shelves, then grabbed a random game, knowing that her little brother already had this one.
"So what have you been up to?" Cody asked.
"I got my art degree finally, and have been... painting, you know?" Gwen awkwardly answered.
"Very cool," Cody nodded.
"But that's nothing compared to this." Gwen gestured around.
"Well, I had a lot of help," he modestly replied.
"But still. Wow."
"Okay, yeah, it's pretty cool."
"I should get going. See you around?"
"Totally. Maybe you could paint me something?"
"Sure!" Gwen called on her way out the door.
As soon as Gwen left, Cody started thinking. Thinking about Gwen to be exact. 'Could she really be into me? Now? After everything has already blown over and she rejected me a million times?' The worst part was that Cody had moved on. After the show was over, he let her go. Sure, it took a while, but he finally got over her. Now, to have her back in his life confused him. He didn't want to fall for her again.
He didn't want to reject her either, though payback had crossed his mind.
Later that night, he stood in front of his bathroom mirror in his apartment. 'Ha, now she sees me. I'm actually kind of successful now and not nerdy anymore. Okay, I'm still nerdy, but I'm more sophisticated, right?'
An idea popped into his mind. He ran to the box of high school junk in his closet. He found the album of pictures he kept from the island, mostly copies of Geoff's pictures, but what he was looking for was still there, tucked in the back. He shoved it in his pants pocket, set to return it.
Gwen walked up to C.A.'s Game Store, confident and with the retro gaming picture she spent all of the previous night painting.
"Gwen!" Cody nervously chuckled. "Oh man, you came through for me! This is an awesome painting!" he remarked.
"Thanks! Hey, can I talk to you for a minute? In private?" Gwen asked.
Cody led her into a room in the back. "This is about as private as it gets," Cody said, even though he was all butterflies inside.
"Listen, Cody, I just wanted to know if the offer still stands. If you still want to... go out."
Cody was afraid this was going to happen. From the moment she opened her mouth. "Gwen, years ago I would have killed myself for saying this, but I really just want to be friends. I want to forget Total Drama as much as you do. I think staying friends is the best for both of us."
Gwen was shocked. 'Oh god, what was I thinking?'
"Oh, I almost forgot. Here's your bra." Cody shoved the piece of black fabric into Gwen's hands, mumbled "sorry", and walked out.
After somewhat gaining her composure, Gwen followed. "Oh my god, Cody, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it," a downcast Cody assured. "We're still friends right?"
"Of course, Cody. Anything."
So there you have it. I forgot how cheesy this was.