AN: Just taking a swing in the dark, let me know what you think.
Gwen and Courtney only.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Total Drama series; Island, Action, World Tour, or Revenge of the Island.
Enjoy?
Gwen:
The last thing I remembered was flying through the air after being trapped in a box with a guy who was gassier than Owen, which is far from a compliment. *shudder*
As I awoke I felt the ground moving…gently up and down. Dismissing the sensations as a remnant of my unconscious state I yawned…quite vocally.
In response very familiar female voice filled my ears, "Hey, sleepy-head." I swiftly opened my eyes to check and see if it really was who I thought it was.
My search was brief as I found the only other person on the speedboat we were apparently on, "C-Courtney? What are you doing here?" She was facing away from me, piloting the craft, but I knew it was her.
Remaining facing forward she speaks casually, "I'm sort of the caretaker for the island…or at least the one who gets to make sure the show doesn't get fined, sued, or cancelled due to dead/severely injured contestants. And before you assume…I am not abducting you for some weird torture revenge. I'm simply transporting you away from the island before Chris…well, Chris." Unfortunately I knew exactly what she was talking about…over the course of three freaking seasons!
Her help was greatly appreciated, "Thanks…I guess." But trusting Courtney outright could be as stupid as expecting Lindsey to know about advanced quantum physics.
Just then I register my right arm in a sling when I try to scratch my head with the hand from said arm, "What happened to me?"
Still remaining focused on sea ahead she answers, "Dakota tossed you like a ragdoll and you dislocated your shoulder. I reset it…but you'll need a proper doctor to give you a once over."
"Alright…but what about Dakota?" I ask, given my brief encounter with the orange giant that hurled me about.
She hesitates, and when she does speak her voice has traces of regret, "…I was handling a rather nasty group of scorpions that was burrowing a little too close to the main camp. I told an intern to give her an injection to counteract the radiation…but he seems to have disappeared, which means I have to find him." She sighs heavily.
I offer, "Hopefully still alive."
She chuckles a bit, "Yeah, no kidding…this place is infinitely more dangerous than it was back then."
"And we still lost interns like crazy." I wish that wasn't true…but alas it is.
Since she seems to refuse to turn around and since I'm not feeling getting up, I can't see her face when she continues speaking, "Yep…and as for her mutations…I'm sure her father will spare no expense to return her to normal." She was probably right, nothing worse than a mutant daughter for the image of a billionaire…that and I'm sure he loved his daughter as well.
With a silence drifting over the boat I inquire, somewhat hesitantly, "…So…how have you been?"
She lets out an amused chuckle, "…Well, I did a lot of thinking and reasoning…and planning revenge." She drops her head a little, almost as if she was ashamed of that last part…which was good for me, seeing as she was now even less likely to toss me in the water with cement shoes on.
Not allowing me to the chance to comment she proceeds, "But I came to a series of logical conclusions. One of which was that if you two are happy together, then I should be as well… I mean Duncan was more of a thrill kick than an actual romance, so I had no reason to be so…angry." There were still traces of obvious hurt in her voice…which made me feel a little like crap, seeing as she was now being very mature about the whole thing and even helping me as well…
Yeah, I was starting to feel like crap, "It was still pretty rank of me to do what I did." And I can't help but confess that.
She seems to dismiss the chance to say 'yeah you were' and instead takes a much higher road, "Hey, we've had some fun on this show…plus we got to see the world." Even if we finally became friends, only to have me ruin it…while we were seeing the world. Now I feel even crappier.
I was a little shocked at her attitude to say the least, "You've…changed, a lot." She was nothing like she had been…except for that brief period that we were friends…which I'm starting to miss. *deep sigh*
She nods in agreement before she affirms, "Thinking and reasoning…and getting paid to secure this island for minimal habitation."
"How exactly did they do that?" She was doing menial labor for no reward other than a paycheck…that couldn't have been very large, given Chris's skinflint style. She wasn't on camera and probably had to do some dangerous stuff, which only confounded me more.
"The owner of the company that owns the network requested a guide who knew the island…and I agreed before knowing that the island was rad central." She drops her head…most likely from not seeing that coming from a guy who willingly hired Chris as the host.
I ask knowingly, "Contract?"
She nods, "Contract… I guess that's Karma for you." She laughs lightly and I can't help but join her.
After a few minutes of surprisingly comfortable silence I finally venture to ask, "So, where are we going?" Now lying on my back, watching the sky .
She asks very casually, "Where would you like to go?"
I tilt my head to look up at the back of her head, "Cape Cod."
She pauses, "…I would have chosen Fiji or maybe the Bahamas, but then again you'd turn lobster. Plus there's the New England writer/darkish aura..." She stops when she sees me looking at her face… I had decided that I wanted to talk to her face to face. But when I saw her I may have stared, for across her face were four long thin scars that began above her right eye and carried all the way to her left jaw. It looked like an animal attacked her…
I had to ask, "…Uhm, Courtney, are those scars real?" Just in case this was really just part of the show and there were cameras hidden about…this show had made me slightly paranoid.
But the way she answers so earnestly casts those thoughts from my mind, "Yeah, some giant mutant squirrel thing slashed me my second day with the clean-up crew. I have a few others here and there, so swimsuit season is totally off my schedule." She made the joke, but I could definitely hear the pain in her voice.
Trying to flow with her joke and not make the mood heavy I offer, "Some guys find scars attractive."
She tries to be funny, "The danger freaks, pain-junkies, weirdoes, and ex-cons …" But ends up dropping her head…obviously thinking about the sort-of ex-con that has danced into both our lives.
Encouragingly I…encourage, "I'm sure there's some normal guy out there that can see past them, or at least appreciates the story they tell about the person underneath them." I place a hand on her shoulder as look directly at her, trying to convey just how much I mean what I'm saying.
She looks over to me with a sly grin, "I really don't have a problem with them…sure I'd rather not have them, but…"
I cut her off a bit impulsively, "They actually suit you." They were actually kind of cute…and they went with her face, the tone and angles only popped more with those unique marks.
She was obviously shocked, "…T-thanks, Gwen." A bit of red flared on her cheeks…I suppose it was a bit off-hand and she was understandably surprised.
I scratch the back of my head as I look to the side, "Yeah… " As I do I notice that we seem to be slowing, "…but I do have to ask why we're slowing down." She swiftly turns her attention to the boat, rapidly checking to see why we were indeed slowing.
She drops her head once she uncovers the culprit, "Because we're out of fuel, great."
"Do you have any reserves?"
She smiles as she moves over to a compartment, "Right here…" Inside was supposed to be an orange gas can, instead there was a note.
"…Needed the gas for the chopper, -Chris." Her left eye began to twitch as she screamed, "He stole my fuel and my reserves!" Her hands were balled into tight fists.
She begins to take a few deep breathes and lets the anger wash away, "It's fine, I'll just contact the island and get them to tow us in." Then moves over to the radio to send the message, "Paradice Island, come in…Damn you Chris!" She roars as she hands me the message.
"…Needed the antennae to boost the signal on the cameras in the next challenge, -Chris." Okay now I was also starting to get a little mad, I didn't want to be stranded out here in the middle of the water.
As I reach for my cell she cuts shakes her head, "We're in one of the dead spots around the island, so no cell service." Plopping down in the seat she offers our only option left, "…We'll just have to wait for them to miss my check-in and come out looking for us…unless you think I can push us to the island?"
Taking the seat opposite her I inquire, "So…is there anything to eat?" As my stomach begins to growl.
She points to a compartment behind me, "Emergency supplies?"
I sigh as I pull out a note out, "…Needed supplies, -Chris."
She starts laughing, "I'm surprised he left the motor or the seats." Knowing full well there isn't anything we can do, I join her in a bout of cleansing laughter.
After a few minutes she points at one last compartment, "…Emergency rations, which make Chef's 'meals' seem hyper edible." She was obviously referring to the garbage, for we all know that Chef can cook 5-star quality when he wants to.
I couldn't imagine that being possible, so I didn't, "Better than starving."
She shakes her head, "Not necessarily…"
It barely registered on me that we had spent several hours in the water simply looking up at the darkening sky, "I'm not going to say what we're both thinking, so instead...the night sky is beautiful." We all know what we were thinking, the single most clichéd lines when things start going bad, ALTCGAW or TCBW.
She nods as we lay beside each other on the front of the boat, "Uh-huh. And cold and unfeeling like Chris's black heart."
I laugh, "No, I think it looks really lovely. You can really see the heavens clearly."
She smiles as she stares straight up, "Yeah…
The moon has a face like the
clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbor quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the
trees.
The squalling cat and the
squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall rise."
I know the poet, "Robert Louis Stevenson."
She snorts, "Figures you'd know." And looks over to meet my gaze.
I laugh lightly, "It is an interesting choice."
She narrows her vision and smiles slyly, then looks up to the moon, "Okay…
Someday I would like to
stand on the moon, look
down through a quarter of a
million miles of space and
say, "There certainly is a
beautiful earth out tonight."'
"That wasn't a poem." I state flatly.
"No, it was a quote from Lt. Col. William H. Rankin, an American author." She states as she looks over to me.
"That one fits you a little better." And I wasn't lying.
"And why is that?"
"You'd be the one to actually do it." As soon as I said that I looked up at the moon and imagined her standing there looking down at us.
She smiles, then yawns, "…G'night." Before dozing off almost immediately.
AN: Yeah it wasn't that good, but… tell me what you think.
Ideally a One-shot…I may have an actual ending at some point down the road…maybe?
Girls blush at each other right? Just checkin'
ALTCGAW: At Least Things Can't Get Any Worse
TCBW: Things Could Be Worse
-May Dread watch over you-