"Putting The Past Behind Them"
Rated K
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Total Drama nor any of its characters. Total Drama and its characters are owned by FreshTV, Jennifer Pertsch, and Tom McGillis. This little short story takes place around Total Drama: Pahkitew Island. This is a 'what if' scenario if Shawn and Jasmine weren't together in the show to begin with. Instead, what if Jasmine found solace in someone else? Anyway, enjoy!
Total Drama Pahkitew Island was finally over and done with. Having to be tortured by a sadistic host in Chris McLean while being trapped in an island full of mechanical animals, torrential atmosphere, and a sadistic madwoman threatening to destroy humanity and every animal life altogether was definitely enough for anyone to begin with. All of that trouble for having to win a million dollars.
This experience for one certain Aussie was not worth it.
This tall adventurous Amazon went by the name of Jasmine. She went on the show to prove her skills that she perfected while down under. She hoped with the money that she won, she would use her winnings to open up a flower shop/cage fighting school somewhere in her home of Australia. That was her main goal, and nothing was gonna stop her from achieving that.
That was until Shawn came in her life.
At first, Jasmine found him a bit weird because of his obsession preparing for the so-called zombie apocalypse. He found him strange and yet, he found them fascinating. Even when she wasn't on his team, she was always there for him whenever Shawn needed it. So far, everyone in the island found them cute together. After all, Jasmine didn't mind having a zombie-crazed survivalist as her boyfriend, even if she was taller in him.
They suffered a bit of ups-and-downs in the middle of their relationship. Even when Shawn intentionally hit her with a baton during one of the challenges, Jasmine always found it to forgive him, especially when he helped her fight off the food-poisoned 'zombies' in order to gain her trust back.
And the first kiss they shared in front of the lasers when trapped in a huge metallic building was something that both Jasmine and Shawn would share forever. So far, nothing and anything could split them apart.
That was until she realized that Shawn wanted the money for himself in order to build himself an underground shelter. He wasn't satisfied with having to split the money with Jasmine at all. Of course, she suggested the idea to him that they should split it, but Shawn felt uncomfortable by the idea, and he insisted to himself that splitting the money would prevent his dream for building his bunker.
And that was the nail that drove their relationship in the coffin.
Right now, Jasmine was busy slaving away at a coffee shop, sipping on a usual cup of cappuchino. She felt defeated and mad that Shawn would do something like this. The only way Jasmine would cool off her anger was spinning the entire cup with her spoon. But that only bored her more.
"I can't believe that Shawn would do that to me, after all we've been through..." Jasmine muttered angrily to herself. "I hope he enjoys his little bunker, because I don't want anything to do with him anymore."
The Aussie was still in emotional anger. Every time she would think about Shawn, she would grasp her spoon full of rage and squeeze it hard enough to even break the iron. Seeing that she didn't want to break the silver equipment, Jasmine took her cup of coffee and gave it a light sip.
"Great, now I need more cream..." She sighed as she got off from her seat.
But before she headed straight for the creamer counter however...
*THUMP!*
She bumped into somebody, therefore knocking him/her down! Luckily, the figure managed to hang on to his/her cup of coffee, considering it had a cap on the top, which managed to prevent a huge spill from happening. Agitated, Jasmine looked down to the figure, which happened to be a guy.
"Could you watch where you're going, mate?" Jasmine replied.
When the figure looked up at her, the Aussie was shocked to find out who she rammed into. She could tell by his slicked back hair, narcissistic demeanor and clothes that nearly resembled a vain host that Jasmine knew by heart.
"Topher?!" She shrieked.
"Whoa, I didn't see you there." He said in a hint of fear.
"What on earth are you even doing here?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Just getting my coffee like everyone else in this place." He replied. "Didn't anybody tell you you're like a wall?"
"Oh, ha ha," Jasmine said, mocking some sarcastic laughter. "That was so funny I forgot to laugh, mate."
"Me too." Topher said, standing up on his two feet. "Anyway, it's very unusual that I'd see you again. It hasn't been long since the show ended."
"Tell me about it..." She sighed.
A look of discomfort appeared on Jasmine's face. Apparently, something was wrong with her.
"Something wrong?" He said, raising his eyebrow.
"Yeah, I just don't want to talk about it." Jasmine said, turning his back on him.
"Are you sure?" Topher replied. "Because it seems to me that there's something on your mind."
"I said I don't want to talk about it, mate!" She shouted, therefore walking away from him before grabbing some cream for her coffee.
However, despite her objections, Topher was willing to help her out. Of course, he was pretty much the last person who would ever be nice towards anyone. Except during his time on Pahkitew Island, Topher only cared about getting rid of his idol Chris McLean as host and caring about his looks other than the competition. Like Jasmine refused to believe in a helpful Topher.
"You know Jasmine, if there's a problem you got, you can always talk to the Tophmeister!" He exclaimed as he followed her to her table. "No matter how bad the problem, you always have me to solve it."
"Yeah right, like you'd help out my problems." Jasmine scowled at him. "You're better off looking at yourself at the mirror."
"Look, that's not true." Topher insisted. "I can be helpful if anyone needs it. Like I said, if you got a problem, you can trust on me."
Jasmine knew this was a battle the Chris-obsessed teen wasn't planning on losing. It was trying to avoid an annoying gnat over and over again until it has no choice but to fly all around you. Whenever she liked it or not, Topher was that annoying gnat.
But what if he's really trying to help her out, especially when her problems involved her and Shawn? She didn't want to get any help.
She didn't need any help.
But to be honest...
...
...
...she really needed help.
"You just don't know how to give up, do you, mate?" Jasmine sighed, sipping a bit of her coffee.
"When there's a problem, the Tophmeister never gives up!" Topher chuckled and winked.
Feeling that she needed to get things out of the open, Jasmine took in one deep breath, and finally explained her situation.
"I'm still feeling a little hurt about Shawn's confession to me." Jasmine replied.
"Really?" Topher said, tapping on his chin like a therapist. "Do tell."
"Well, I suggested to him that we'd split the money if he won in the finals." The Aussie explained. "But he would rather give the money all to himself for his underground shelter. I just don't understand, Topher. I mean, he made that promise to me. But Shawn would rather put out relationship aside just to make his dream come true. I thought he was this thoughtful around me, but I swear I'm living a lie made full of false promises and whatnot."
In a surprising move, the tone of Jasmine's voice soon turned somber.
"I wish I could at least find someone else who would put the money aside and focus on me." Jasmine sighed. "I just wish that I could find someone who would feel that way just like me."
Topher couldn't quite help but feel bad for the tall Aussie. Having his beautiful looks and glorious body ruined was the most of Topher's concerns, but having an attractive woman like Jasmine grieve like this weighed heavily on his heart. All she really wanted was to meet a man who would at least listen to what she's feeling from the heart. Despite being a little egotistical, Topher managed to help out.
"Look, don't beat yourself up like this." He replied. "So you and Shawn weren't meant to be. That doesn't mean the end of the world is at stake. I'm certain you can find someone else who really cares about what you want."
"Yeah, but the only odds of that happening are pretty much a million to one." Jasmine rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"You're definitely gonna find someone, trust me." Topher said before placing a hand on her shoulder.
As soon as his hand was on her shoulder, Jasmine felt a slight blush through her cheeks. He never imagined that Topher had such a warm touch. It felt so embracing and right, but yet it still wasn't enough to make Jasmine change her mind. So the next thing Topher did was give her more words of encouragement and promise.
"You wanna know something, Jasmine?" He replied. "If I'd won the million dollars, I would've let you have the money. Besides, I don't care about the money in the first place. The only thing I care about is seeing someone feel happy with what they want, besides having to be noticed on TV. I would go to the ends of the earth to do something like that for you."
Topher's surprising statement actually made Jasmine's blush light up. Failing to hide her blush, Jasmine looked at him with sweetness in her heart.
"You would actually do that for me?" She replied.
"I would do anything to make you happy." He smiled widely.
"Thanks." Jasmine said, forming a wide smile. "That really means a whole lot to me."
"No problem, Jazz." He nodded.
However, this little chat with Topher and Jasmine soon turned into an enjoyable conversation. They talked about their dreams and lives outside the show, what they wanted to be when they get famous, and even the long-hour talk where Jasmine brought up the flower shop/cage fighting school that she wanted to open up someday if she had the money. Topher was really getting to know a lot about the tall, yet attractive adventurer. Together they found this conversation amazing and interesting between each other.
It lasted all throughout the afternoon to be honest. While the sun was setting, Topher and Jasmine left the coffee shop altogether, laughing like there wasn't a time in the world.
"Well, this was really fun." Jasmine replied. "You know, you're not the annoying vain type I thought you'd be."
"Thanks." Topher smiled again. "I'm really glad you thought that way."
"So, I guess that means we'll be heading our separate ways then." She sighed.
"Yeah, I guess so." He rolled his eyes in an unsure way.
"I'll see ya around." She muttered.
"Yeah, see ya." He muttered.
Just like that, Jasmine walked away feeling refreshed, therefore leaving Topher all by himself. But as soon as he walked away, the adventurer suddenly came back to him.
"Oh, I almost forgot something to give." Jasmine replied.
"Really?" Topher raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
Not wasting any second, Jasmine approached Topher and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. The Chris wannabe never expected that to happen, after what he was going through with her not too long ago, even though they spent an excruciating three hours inside the coffee shop. After the kiss, Jasmine shot a sweet look at him.
"Call me, mate." She whispered as she gave him her phone number.
After that, she finally walked away. Topher had no choice but to smile from Jasmine's sudden gesture. Holding up the note of her phone number, Topher smirked in appreciation as he put in his pocket.
"Will do, Jazz." Topher smirked as he was the last one to walk away.
Truth be told, it was the perfect way for an afternoon like this. Especially when they put their past behind them and make a better way for the future.
Yeah, I had to admit it was hard work. And it may not be my best and it may be a bit rushed, but I'm proud of it nonetheless.
Anyway, what do you Tophmine fans think of it? Feedbacks are always welcome! ;D