Hi, I'm sorry for the long wait. It was exams week, so everything was f**ked up and I had to finish a lot of stuff...ugh.

Thanks to Mickeymouse4everz, Tami the Scene Queen, GreenPokeGuy, TDDolphin21, Rufus T. Serenity, Jesus. Lives, and NerdyNightStocker for the reviews!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TOTAL DRAMA. IF I DID, ALL-STARS WOULDN'T HAVE EXISTED.


Cody was balancing himself on a surfboard. His breath caught on his throat as a huge wave approached him. He turned his head to look at Gwen (who was chilling out in a smoothie shack), winked, and brought his attention back to the wave.

Before he could do anything, however, he lost his balance, slipped, flailed his arms like a monkey, and fell face-first in the water.

The wave crashed into him and, a few seconds later, he submerged, seaweed hanging from his hair. Nevertheless, he waved at Gwen again and got back on his surfboard. He was determined to impress Gwen with his killer surfer-dude tricks...that is, if he could magically acquire some at that moment.

Gwen hid a grimace with her pineapple drink. She wished that Cody would stop trying to impress her for two reasons: A, it obviously wasn't working out for her and B, he might end up killing himself if he continued.

"Hey, Max!" an annoyingly loud voice said, cutting through her thoughts. "Can ya get me one of those awesome strawberry smoothies, bro? Like, with the strawberries and all?"

"Sure, Geoff," the barista replied with a smile. He grabbed the a bunch of ice cubes from the cooler and went to the area behind the counter.

The guy noticed Gwen sitting next to him. "Hey, dude," he greeted her lazily. "Whaddup?"

"Hi," Gwen muttered. She kept her eyes on her drink, and began gulping it rapidly. The sooner she could finish the damn drink, the sooner she could get away from here.

"My name is Geoff," the guy rambled on, oblivious to Gwen's growing irritation.

"Nice."

Pause.

"And what's your name, brah?" Geoff asked, tilting his cowboy hat so he could see her better.

"Gwen."

"Oh, that's awesome, brah! Like, my best friend's hot mom? Her name's Gwen." He laughed, loud and throaty. "Man, that lady sure knows how to make cookies!"

Awkward pause.

Geoff would not get the hint. "What are you—"

"SHAAAAARK!" a shrill voice screeched from a distance.

Gwen's head snapped up from her beverage. "What?" The goth girl turned her head to look at the beach. A minute ago, everything was fine, but now it was in chaos, people screaming and running away from the waters.

"Oh, no," Geoff muttered, hastily patting the pockets of his swim trunks. "Where'd I put my binoculars? Wait, binoculars don't fit in pockets..." When he couldn't find it, he shrugged. "Man, being a lifeguard sucks."

"You're a lifeguard?" Gwen sputtered.

Geoff flashed her another one of his lazy grins. "Well, yeah, I mean, I know that's totally hot and all—"

"There's a shark in there!" Gwen shouted. "Go help everyone!"

"Oh, yeah." Without another word, Geoff went into action and acted faster than Gwen had ever seen him (which wasn't saying much, since she only knew him for like five minutes and he acted like someone in a drugged haze). He ran barefoot on the sand, blowing his whistle and yelling at people to get out of the water.

Gwen ran to the shore and nervously scanned the waters, looking for telltale fins. But she couldn't find any. Instead, she saw a mop of brown hair and skinny arms, clutching a yellow surfboard. The current was strong enough to brush him away like a leaf in a rainstorm. Gwen sucked in a breath.

Cody.

Gwen quickly got off her seat and ran to the shore. "Cody!" she yelled. "Cody!"

Everything seemed so surreal. Cody was precariously bobbing up and down the water, clutching the surfboard for dear life as he got farther and farther away from the shore.

The goth girl felt panic eating up her insides. Without thinking, she pushed people away, ignoring their shouts of surprise and attempts to hold her back. She ran to the water and began to swim to her friend. In her daze, she forgot to hold her breath, and water was filling her nostrils.

That didn't matter. She had to save Cody, no matter how annoying the little guy was. Numbly, she began to move her arms, thrashing in the water.

Before she could even float properly, gentle arms were encircling her waist, and a blond blur was pulling her to the surface.

Gwen coughed up water, struggling from the arms that held her. "Cody! I have to save...that pipsqueak..."

"It's okay," a strange, but familiar voice told her. "Bridgette is taking care of him."

"Bridgette?"

"She's the other lifeguard. She's...uh, kind of better at the job than I am."

Gwen felt herself being carried away from the water, and her vision cleared up. She could make out a slight figure swimming expertly to the surfboard, sunlight glinting off her golden hair. She turned to the guy who saved her to say thanks.

Then she saw her rescuer and her gratitude melted.


Cody felt soft lips against his own and he grinned weakly. "Gwen...?"

"He's snapping out of it!" someone yelled, making the teen's eyes flutter open. For the first time, he took note of his surroundings. Sun, sand, surf, a hot blond girl kissing him, an umbrella—

Wait, what?

Cody's eyes snapped open completely, and sure enough, there was a blond chick kissing him.

He waited, but she didn't fade or fly away, like how it usually goes in his dreams. (If he consumed enough junk food, sometimes the female turns into an alien, but that's another story.)

There was a girl kissing him. Basically, the only word that registered in his mind and properly fitted the situation was, WTF?

Unfortunately (for him, at least), the girl pulled away almost immediately. Her lime green eyes stared at him, concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

"Uh...what happened?" Cody asked. The details were hazy, but he remembered something about a surfboard.

"You almost drowned," she replied, almost conversationally, as if it were a normal, everyday thing.

"Seriously?"

The blonde dusted herself off and helped him to his feet. "I was doing CPR," she explained, sensing his confusion. "You know, that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation thing? It almost took you five minutes to regain consciousness." She eyed him cautiously. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused." He was still pretty disoriented, but he realized that the entire human population of the beach was gawking at him, so he tried his best get it together. "But I'll live."

"Great. My name is Bridgette, by the way." The blond girl smiled at him, and Cody felt another wave of nausea. His knees felt weak. She quickly grabbed his arm and draped it around her shoulders to help aid him while walking. She led him to a more secluded spot, away from the curious bystanders.

"Cody?" Suddenly, Gwen was there, followed by a buff blond guy. Man, blondes everywhere.

"Hiya, Gwen," Cody winced, feeling embarrassed.

Gwen smiled at him briefly, relief gracing her features. "You almost gave me a heart attack," she said. She jokingly punched him on the arm. "Don't do that again."

Cody tried to laugh, but ended up coughing instead. "Yes, ma'am." Cody turned around to thank Bridgette, but she had already stormed off with the blond guy Gwen was with earlier.

"Dammit, Geoff!" Bridgette shouted. She wrung out the saltwater from her hair as she glared at her colleague. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"What?" Geoff replied defensively.

"You're supposed to be on duty!" Bridgette snapped. "Why weren't you guarding the beach?"

"Why weren't you guarding the beach, babe?" Geoff countered.

Bridgette growled, frustrated. "Because it wasn't my damn shift! You're just lucky that I happened to be there! What if someone was actually hurt?"

"But, babe, no one was hurt!" Geoff protested. "The shark thing was just some stupid prank, apparently. I made sure that everything was shark-proof and all—"

"Somebody could've gotten injured with the commotion," Bridgette insisted. "Some kid almost got trampled and I had to help him look for his mom. And of course, someone actually had a near-drowning experience."

"But that Calvin dude is okay—"

"Cody," she corrected indignantly.

"—and Duncan threw a wild party last night!" Geoff exclaimed. "I guess that's why I'm all confused and fuzzy, dude, like I slept at four in the morning or something. But, man, it was awesome!"

Bridgette's eyes widened. "Last night? That's why you cancelled our date? I thought you said you were sick!"

Geoff gulped. "Uh, well, I kind of felt sick with those brownies I found in the fridge, like, I think they're as old as my Aunt Rose, but Duncan had some booze and you know what they say about beer—"

Bridgette was near tears. "I can't believe you," she spat out. "Whatever happened to my Geoffy-poo? I don't even know you anymore, you jerk!"

Geoff's eyes softened when he saw her tears. "Hey, hey, look, I'm sorry," he said gently, wrapping his arms around her. He sighed. "Look, I'm just going through a rough time right now..."

Bridgette sniffled, patted his back halfheartedly, and pulled away. She gathered her hair in a ponytail and nodded. "I know. I'll see you later, Geoff."

Bridgette noticed Gwen and Cody staring at them, and she coughed, embarrassed. "Uh, see you guys later. Take care, okay, Cody?"

And with that, she was gone.


I gotta admit that it was a bit rushed, but I honestly didn't know how to make a transition from the first chapter to this chapter, so bear with it, please. Thanks for reading and please review!