Chapter Two

Day 7 – Jumbo Jet – Economy Section

"Achoo!"

Cody had finally warmed up after having been frozen in the Yukon, but he had caught a nasty cold. He was huddled in a corner of the economy section covered in a blanket that the interns had allowed him to take from first class. Bridgette was by his side, checking his temperature and his pulse.

"Well, you seem to be feeling better," she diagnosed. "But you'd better stay warm and drink lots of hot liquids if you're going to be in shape to compete tomorrow."

"Thanks Bridgette," Cody smiled. "You know, sometimes it's good to have someone with knowledge of first-aid on your team...ACHOO!"

"Bless you," Bridgette blessed as she handed Cody a handkerchief.

Cody blew his nose and put the handkerchief in his pocket for later use. As he sat there, he looked over to Team Amazon. Heather was busy filing her nails. Courtney was making a list about something. Izzy was sleeping on Ezekiel's lap, much to the prairie boy's confusion.

And then, there was Gwen. The goth looked so beautiful sitting there as she drew in her sketch book. Cody thought about going over and seeing what she was drawing just to start a conversation with her, but he hesitated. The way he saw it, it might be better to let her come to him. After all, he didn't want to seem too anxious.

But during the whole flight ever since the place took off from the Yukon, Gwen had just sat there. Not once did she even look at the tech geek. Why? He thought that being sick would at least get a sympathy glance or a "Get Well" wish.

'Maybe she just doesn't want to get sick,' he thought to himself. 'Understandable. I wouldn't want to catch this cold from someone else either. Besides, she doesn't have the chewable vitamins Bridgette has to keep herself from catching the cold, so...'

"ACHOO!"

"Never fear Codikins! Mommy made you some soup!"

Cody and Bridgette looked up to see Sierra walking up to them with a giant bowl of chicken soup. The crazed fan girl stopped and seemed to glare at the surfer girl for being next to her Cody. But she decided to let it slide since she was helping nurse him back to health.

"Gee Sierra, thanks!" Cody smiled as Sierra handed him the bowl and a spoon.

"Oh, don't mention it," Sierra insisted. "I'm just glad that you got the chance to eat my cooking. I can't tell you how scared I was when I heard how close you came to being voted off! I can't believe your teammates would do something like that to you!"

"Oh come on Sierra. It's not that big a deal," Cody assured her as he sipped the soup. "I mean, everyone but one person is going to have to go sometime."

"Yes, but why would these three hoodlums want to vote for you? You're, like, their Michael Jordan! Their Babe Ruth! THEIR ROCKY BALBOA!"

"Ugh! Girl! Please!" Leshawna scoffed. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"SHUT IT CODY HATER!" Sierra snapped back. "You three ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Voting for such a stud as Cody! Why, if we were on the same team, I would..."

"Actually Sierra...I didn't vote for Cody," Bridgette admitted.

Immediately, the eyes of DJ, Cody, Leshawna, and Sierra turned to the surfer.

"You didn't?" Cody asked.

"Of course not! It was my fault you got stuck to the pole in the first place. I wasn't going to vote you off for my mistake, so I voted for DJ."

"Oh! Thanks a lot!" DJ lashed, seeming somewhat hurt.

"Sorry DJ, but I had to vote for someone and my choices were sort of limited," Bridgette defended herself.

DJ's glare didn't last three seconds and softened as fast as it formed. "Ah, it's okay girl," he assured her. "Besides, we won't have to worry about doing it anymore cause Team Victory's going to be victorious from here on out!"

"Amen!" Cody, Bridgette, and Leshawna agreed.

"Well, you're not going to be victorious if your MVP is sick! So eat up Codikins!" Sierra instructed the tech geek.

"You don't have to tell me twice Sierra! This is delicious!" Cody replied as she continued to eat the soup. "What's in this anyways?"

"Oh, the usual," Sierra explained. "Some chicken broth...rice...celery...my hair..."

Cody ceased eating the soup immediately and stared at Sierra uncomfortably.

"Um...what?" he questioned.

"My hair was in that soup Cody," Sierra spoke calmly as she leaned in closer to Cody's face. "And now it's inside you...part of me is now a part of you." She leaned even closer to Cody and stared right into his eyes. Unbeknownst to her, she was completely creeping him out. "Do you feel me Codikins? Do you feel me inside of you?"

Sierra then patted Cody on the head and left him to the soup as she returned to the kitchen. All members of Team Victory just stared at her wide eyed as she walked away. Then, all eyes turned to Cody, who looked as though he had just seen a ghost.

"Oh, you poor white boy," Leshawna sympathetically whispered to him.

"Um...so who wants to take turns watching Cody while he sleeps?" Bridgette asked. She, too, was freaked out by what had just happened.

When Sierra was out of sight, DJ took the bowl of soup away from Cody and set it on a table that was placed in front of Team Amazon. Heather, who hadn't been paying attention, saw the soup.

"Oh! Good! I was getting hungry!" she grabbed the bowl and began to eat the contents of the soup. "Mm! This is simply divine!" she exclaimed. "I must have the recipe!"

"You're eating hair," Gwen replied, not looking up from her sketch book. Immediately, Heather spat out the soup.

(Meanwhile, in Quohog, Rhode Island)

Stewie Griffin read this fan fiction and grumbled. "That bastards is lucky I don't sue for copyright infringement!"

Day 8 – New York City

Chris was explaining the ridiculously long challenge to the contestants. It was another race. This time, from the start to the top of the statue of liberty, where they had to retrieve a carriage, back down, to the docks, where a speed boat awaited them, through a sewer that would lead them to Central Park, to the center of Central Park, where the park fountain was, retrieve a giant apple within the fountain, and to the end of Central Park across the finish line.

"Wait! I'm confused," Lindsay spoke.

"Me too!" Tyler added.

"Me most!" Owen agreed.

Chris sighed and proceeded to repeat the instructions again.

Alejandro, who understood what had to be done the first time, decided that now would be the time to take some damage control. He approached Team Victory's Bridgette and Cody.

"Oh! Thank goodness the two of you are all right!" he whispered to them. "When I heard what had happened, I felt horrible."

"Yeah, I'll bet you did," Cody grumbled.

"Cody! Be nice," Bridgette scolded. "He's just offering you an apology even though he didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, but I'm afraid I have," Alejandro continued. "I left the two of you at that pole without making sure you were okay. I must admit that I am deeply ashamed of myself. Why, I ought to be disqualified from the contest for such an atrocious act!"

"No! No!" Bridgette assured him. "Really. It's okay. You didn't know. Besides, you had already done so much for us that we couldn't have asked for more."

Alejandro smiled and gently took Bridgette's hand into his own. "My lady, you are too good to me," he spoke. "I am truly appreciative of how willing you are to forgive such a heinous act. Truly, you are too good to me."

"Um...well...heh heh," Bridgette nervously chuckled. She could feel her face turn bright red. "You know...you've been good to me too, so I thought I'd just...you know...return the favor," she stammered.

Alejandro took her hand, brought it up to his mouth, and kissed it gently. "With all due respect to your ex, as I know you're still friends, he was a fool to let someone as stunning and sweet as you go. If I were Geoff, I would move heaven and hell to keep myself from losing you."

Bridgette was once again enchanted by this man's words. It was as though he had jumped right out of a romance novel that had been written specifically for her. Her yearning to be close to this man was getting stronger and stronger with each interaction.

She then snapped from her thoughts and turned to Cody, who still hadn't said anything.

"Well Cody?" she questioned.

Cody was hesitant at first. But one look at Bridgette, and he just couldn't help himself. He extended his hand to Alejandro and accepted his apology.

"Okay...it could have been an accident," he said.

"I am most grateful that you two are so forgiving. I am unworthy."

"Don't sweat it," Bridgette assured him. "After all, Cody has never been one to hold a grudge against anyone."

Cody just nodded his head in agreement. He may have accepted the apology, but he wasn't sure he was ready to trust Alejandro just yet.

Day 9 – Jumbo Jet – Economy Section

Not much else had happened during that challenge. The teams had their race, they sang their song, they were almost eaten by a giant alligator, and Team Amazon won the challenge. Team Victory had come in second and Team CIRRRRH finished last and were forced to vote out one of their own.

Bridgette sighed as she looked at the new Team CIRRRRH. She was sad to see Owen gone, but relieved that Alejandro was still there. What was better was that they got to spend a little more time together. She had gone over, sat down next to him, and had struck up a conversation.

Leshawna and DJ were talking to Tyler and Lindsay. Lindsay was telling them how great Alejandro was being to her and how she wished that Tyler could be there to meet him, much to Tyler's dismay.

Noah and Cody were playing chess and whispering to one another about certain events that had taken place during the contest.

"...and then Sierra just started ripping off random facts about Chris McLean AFTER Alejandro swung over to her and said something?" Cody asked.

"That's what I saw," Noah confirmed. "And notice how mad Chris was getting at Team Amazon as a whole. One more random fact and I thought he was going to just end the contest right there and declare Team Amazon the losers."

"...and then Sierra would have been voted out," Cody finished.

"Exactly."

"So then you suspect him too?"

"Ever since his played Harold," Noah answered. "I was going to warn Big-O, but Alejandro saw to that. When your team and Team Amazon started to pull ahead of us from the fountain in Central Park, he whispered something to Owen. I don't know what it was, but not long after, the poor guy started to eat the giant apple. My guess is he told Owen that there was candy inside...strange thing is there actually was candy inside. Anyways, when we lost, Tyler and Lindsay blamed Owen for stalling the team. Owen was voted out three-one-one."

"Did you vote for him?"

"Me? No way. I knew it wasn't his fault. I voted for Alejandro. Owen voted for Lindsay because he wanted it to be an all guys team. But I'm keeping that under wraps. He's a little suspicious, but right now, he thinks Lindsay just got the voting mixed up a little."

"I knew it!" Cody whispered. "I knew there was something up with that guy! We've got to tell the others!"

"Easy their killer," Noah collectively ordered. "Don't go out there pointing the finger at him yet."

"Why not? He's going to get people eliminated if we don't get rid of him!"

"Cody, let me explain something to you," Noah sighed as he made a move on the chess board. "Your move."

Cody moved his knight and put Noah into check.

"This whole game is like a giant chess board," Noah explained. "And Alejandro is a king piece. If you try to go for him now while he's still well guarded...you'll only end up hurting your own chances at the game."

As Noah said this, he took out Cody's knight with his bishop and put Cody into check at the same time. Cody studied the board carefully. The only move he could make was to move his king forward one space. Noah immediately grabbed his rook and used it to place Cody into check again. Again, the only thing Cody could do was move forward.

"If we're going to expose Alejandro," Noah continued, "then we have to lure him out of his comfort zone...one step at a time..."

Noah moved his other bishop and placed Cody into check again. Again, Cody couldn't go backwards and was forced to move it forward again.

"...and then...when you've got him to the point that he's so far away from his comfort zone that there's no way he can go back...checkmate."

Noah moved his queen into position, placing Cody in checkmate.

Cody just stared at the board. Sure enough, there was no escape. He then smiled.

"I get your point," he replied. "But the question is how are we going to lure Alejandro out into the open and expose him?"

"That could be tough," Noah admitted. "There's no question about it: this guy's always planning his next move, so I've got to respect him for that. Plus, it might be a little tough when he's still got his pawns...or should I say, queen."

Noah motioned over to Alejandro with his eyes. Cody glanced over. Bridgette had her head on Alejandro's lap and was gazing up at the master mind Latino and rubbing her hands through his thick hair. Alejandro smiled down at the smitten surfer and rubbed his hands through her blonde hair too. Cody got a sick feeling in his stomach.

"No way!" he shivered. "We've got to do something! If we don't...she could be next! We just can't let that happen!"

Noah quirked an eyebrow at the tech geek. "Well, someone suddenly concerned over Malibu."

Cody froze for a minute. "Well...uh...it's just that she's my teammate," he finally reasoned. "You know. Don't want to be down any more teammates than we already are. We lost Harold and that was hard enough."

"Mm Hmm," Noah mumbled. He didn't sound too convinced.

"Look...I'm just concerned, that's all! We can't let Bridgette become his pawn. He'll get more power and...well, I don't want that to happen."

"And why is that?" Noah questioned.

"Because...well...I already told you! She's my teammate! You know, teammates look out for one another."

"Hmm...who are you trying to convince Cody? You? Or me?"

Cody paused for another moment. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Okay, it's more than that," he admitted. "Bridgette's just a great person. She's sweet, friendly, funny...beautiful to boot...and she's the only person on my team that I can really talk to ever since Harold got the boot. Leshawna's too busy trying to keep her head in the game without Harold and DJ keep moping about missing his mom. We've really bonded since this season started...I don't want someone that's become my friend to fall for such a schemer!"

Noah smirked a little. "Well, that's understandable," he replied. "But just relax. I'm working on a plan that will not only save Bridgette and the others from Alejandro's tricks, but to finally expose his true personality to the whole world. They'll have no choice but to vote him off."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me," Noah assured. "Al's one tough nut to crack, no question. But then again, I've been craving a challenge like this." He then glanced over at Alejandro and Bridgette again. He studied the Latin for a minute, trying to think of something. His attention then turned to the surfer girl. He chuckled a little.

"What?" Cody asked.

"First Gwen. Now Bridgette...I've got to admire your taste in women."

"Dude! It's just for the sake of the game! That's all!" Cody grumbled, sounding annoyed.

"Right. Keep telling yourself that," Noah grinned as he left Cody and joined DJ, Leshawna, Tyler, and Lindsay.

Cody turned to Alejandro and Bridgette again. He clenched his fists a little as he watched Alejandro move his hand across Bridgette's smiling face. His stomach just continued to sink as he watched Bridgette's eyes twinkle up at her handsome crush.

'Ugh! I can't believe it! Playing her like that! Why, if I had a little more muscle I'd...'

Cody stopped his thoughts as he came to a sudden realization. He only felt this angry at Alejandro whenever he flirted with Bridgette. He never felt this mad when Alejandro was flirting with the other girls. Why was that? After some thinking, Cody decided that it was because Bridgette was his teammate and he didn't want his team to lose anyone else. All the other girls were on the other teams, so it wasn't that big a deal.

'Yeah, that's got to be it," Cody thought. '…..Right?'

Day 10 – The Alps

"Come on guys! Shovel that meat!" Leshawna encouraged her team. "We can take it to them! We've got to seize this day and finally win!"

Bridgette and DJ were shoveling the meat into the meat grinder as fast as they could while Leshawna ground it up. Cody was working as fast as he could to stuff the meat into a sausage.

"If anyone makes a joke about how well I can handle a sausage, I'll stuff our leftover meat down your throats," Cody announced to everyone.

"Come on short stuff!" Leshawna called over. "Don't be wasting no time talking to the others! We've got to show them how fabulous Team Victory really is! Let's go!"

DJ and Bridgette grumbled as they shoveled. Something had come over Leshawna that had made her extremely bossy and energetic.

'She's usually cool and collected,' Bridgette thought to herself. 'I wonder what's come over her? Is she just pumped and confident for the challenge today? Yeah, that's probably it. She just wants to win this one. I've got to admit, it is starting to get annoying riding in that economy section of the plane. I wouldn't mind going back to first class myself.'

She quickly glanced over at the other teams to see how they were progressing. Team Amazon was moving along slower than usual. She kept hearing them complain to Heather about something to do with an electric meat grinder.

Team CIRRRRH was coming along at a much better rate than Team Amazon. Their unit was working cohesively and swiftly. Tyler and Lindsay worked on shoveling their meat into their grinder while Alejandro grounded the meat up. It was Noah's responsibility to stuff the sausage.

'Maybe it was best they voted off Owen. Otherwise, he's probably eat all their meat and become a sausage himself,' Bridgette chuckled.

While packing the meat, Alejandro had begun to work up a sweat and had taken off his shirt. Also, to keep his hair from getting in the way, he had tied it into a ponytail. Before he got back to work, he caught Bridgette staring and looked her way. Bridgette blushed and waved flirtatiously at him. The Latin responded by blowing a kiss her way and a wink.

Bridgette felt her knees get weak and her head go light. 'He likes me!' she excitedly thought to herself. 'He really likes me! Maybe I've got a chance with him after all!'

"Bridge? You okay girl?" DJ asked.

"Huh? Wha?"

"Your face is all red," DJ pointed out.

"Oh! That! Um...well...it's shoveling this meat," Bridgette lied nervously. "You know, working up a sweat."

DJ just stared at her doubtfully, but decided to drop it as Leshawna had started barking at them for stalling.

Finally, their sausage had been filled to maximum capacity and the whole team could ride on it. With Cody, Leshawna, and Bridgette sitting on the sausage, DJ gave it one giant push to get it started downhill and jumped on at the last second. Team Victory sailed their way smoothly down the hill and across the finish line first.

"WOO! Oh yeah!" Leshawna cheered. "What did I tell y'all? I knew we'd have this one! That's what I call capturing the day and making it ours!"

Her teammates just stared at the large sister and her recently acquired strange attitude, but they didn't seem too phased by it after all, they had finally won a challenge!

Cody high-fived DJ. He then turned to Bridgette and hugged her, to which the surfer was glad to return. Cody then realized what he was doing and, for some reason, thoughts of what Noah had said to him started to flood this thoughts.

But Cody managed to shake them off. He figured it was the heat of the moment. After all, their losing streak was finally over...or so he thought.

"Team Victory! Congratulations! You guys get an advantage in the second part of today's challenge!" Chris announced.

"Say WHAT NOW?"Leshawna demanded. "You mean to tell me that there's more?"

"You're surprised there is?" Chris taunted. "Come on Leshawna. You've been competing in this series for three seasons now! Finished in the top ten every time! You should know better."

Cody was about to say something, but something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye: a gigantic meat statue of...him?

"Aha! There it is!"

Sierra raced over to where the meat Cody was and hugged it ever so tightly. After a couple seconds of this, Sierra began to passionately make out with the wad of meat. Cody slowly, but swiftly, made his way over to DJ and hid behind the gentle giant.

Soon, the next challenge was all set. Eight contestants were to compete in a slap dancing version of DDR. The major differences: the platforms would be eight feet in the air and would be electric. The contest was elimination-based and the team with the last member standing would win the whole thing for their team. The losers would send someone packing. Since Team Victory came in first place, they won an item that would come in handy for the challenge: protective head gear. Team CIRRRRH had finished second in the previous challenge and had won mediocre head gear. Team Amazon had finished last and had practically no protection. As added insult to injury, Ezekiel was forced to wear a tight German yodeling outfit for the challenge. For some reason, Izzy seemed to like it as she jumped on his shoulders and began to yodel a song.

In the first round, the match ups were as followed: Sierra vs. DJ; Leshawna vs. Noah; Ezekiel vs. Tyler; Cody vs. Alejandro.

"Oh yeah! You'd better bring your A game turkey!" Leshawna taunted as she danced around on her platform. "Cause this sister's about to seize the day and the competition!"

Noah just stared at her blankly. Clearly, Leshawna's teammates weren't the only ones that noticed a change in her behavior. Something fishy was going on.

Just then, Chris gave the signal to begin. Within seconds, Leshawna had eliminated Noah effortlessly from the competition.

"WHOO! Oh yeah! That's how we roll!" she cheered.

Ezekiel, not knowing how a DDR platform worked, was shocked instantly and knocked unconsciousness from the watts of electricity that were sent through his body. His body fell limp off his platform and out of the contest.

"Zeke!" Izzy cried out as she raced to his side. She knelt down to touch him, but was zapped.

"Oh!" She giggled excitedly. "Izzy knew there was a spark between her and Zeke, but this is more than she expected."

Cody looked up at his opponent: Alejandro. Clearly, he was at the disadvantage here. The Latin was clearly a lot stronger than he was. And he was certainly more athletic. This was plainly a mismatch of the worst proportions. Alejandro just glared evilly at the tech geek.

"Well then amigo," Alejandro whispered to him, "I await your move...if you dare, that is."

Cody took a deep breath and swung at Alejandro as hard as he could. He did manage to strike Alejandro across the face, but he didn't look to be at all phased by the attack.

"Admirable," he sneered. "However, if I may say, I think my sister hits a little harder...like this!"

Alejandro pulled his hand back and then swung it forward, striking Cody directly across the face as hard as he could. Cody wasn't only knocked off the platform, but he was also knocked twelve feet back from where he once stood. He landed in the snow, dazed and confused.

"Cody!" Sierra shrieked. She wanted to check on her favorite contestant to make sure he wasn't seriously hurt, so she wasted no time in finishing DJ off. Once he had been declared eliminated, she hopped off the platform and raced over to where he had landed. But she wasn't the first person there to check on him.

Bridgette had beaten her to the scene and was helping her teammate sit up. The pupils in his eyes were swirling around and he had a goofy grin on his face. She was checking his vital signs to make sure he didn't have a concussion.

"Am I somewhere over the rainbow?" he senselessly asked the surfer girl.

Alejandro had arrived on the scene by then and was wearing the best concerned face he could muster up at the time. He was about to perform his act when...

"YOU!" Sierra growled at him. "Why, I oughta knock YOU over the rainbow! Look what you did to my Cody!"

Even Bridgette was looking up at him disapprovingly.

"What was up with that Alejandro?" she questioned. "You do know you could have seriously hurt him just now, right? You're lucky he was wearing this helmet. Otherwise, you could have fractured his skull."

'It's a shame I didn't," Alejandro grumbled to himself. But he hid these thoughts and began to put on his act.

"Yes, I am very well aware of that," he sobbed. "And I deeply regret my actions. I'm afraid that I got a little too into the challenge and let my emotions get the better of me. I can only beg you all for forgiveness as I offer my sincerest apologies."

"Well, you'd better be sorry!" Sierra barked. "Because if any negative side effects show up on my Cody, why I'll..."

"Sierra, that's enough," Bridgette stated. "He realizes his mistake and has apologized."

"What? You're letting him off the hook just like that? He could have killed my Cody!"

"Sierra, please," Bridgette replied calmly. "Yes, he could have hurt him seriously. But he didn't. That's all that matters."

"Truly senorita? You're not mad?"

"No Alejandro. I'm not mad...just disappointed, that's all." Bridgette explained.

Alejandro let out a breath of relief as he took Bridgette's hand in his. "Senorita, I am so happy to hear that. Indeed, I am ashamed of what I have done here today and am truly unworthy of your mercy." He then kissed her hand. "I promise you on this kiss that I shall never allow my head to get too lost in a game like that ever again."

Any negative thoughts Bridgette had towards Alejandro at the time disappeared in an instant as Alejandro kissed her hand again to secure the promise. Alejandro released her hand and returned to his platform for the second round. Bridgette took the hand he had kissed and held it to her chest dreamily.

'Even when he messes up...he's still so amazing," Bridgette smiled.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sierra grumbled as she stomped back over to the platforms. "He nearly kills my Cody and all he has to do it say 'sorry' and they forget anything happened! Well, mark my words: if anything bad ever happened to Cody at his hands, why I'd rip that shirt off his back and stuff it so far down his throat that he'd never be able to breath again! And then, just to make his death slow and painful, I'd strap him to a chair with no means of escape and force him to watch Jersey Shore until he breathed no more that no good piece of Hispanic garbage!"

The second round had begun shortly after. Sierra was paired up against Tyler. That left Alejandro and Leshawna to face off.

"All right sugar," Leshawna grinned. "Ready for this sister's rad moves? Cause hot stuff or not, I'm in it to win it!"

But Alejandro just stood there with a forlorn expression.

"Do what you will," he spoke. "For I cannot strike a lady as fabulous and soulful such as yourself. Apart from it not being very noble of me, I am too worried of losing my control in this challenge again. And your dear, sweet teammate is right. I could seriously hurt someone next time."

Leshawna's expression softened as she listened to his speech.

"However," he continued. "I mustn't just give up. Otherwise, my teammates will think I haven't tried. Therefore, I am left with no choice."

He then extended his face out to Leshawna and placed his hands behind his back.

"Go ahead," he offered. "Give it your best shot. Think of it as punishment for what I did to your little friend. Go on. I deserve it. Just, por favor, make it quick."

Alejandro then closed his eyes and leaned in closer to Leshawna, awaiting her attack.

The large diva was speechless. She just stared in awe at the handsome face that was being presented to her. It looked so helpless and pitiful. She took a deep breath before raising her hand up to strike him off the platform. But...

"...nuh uh! No way!" she declared. "Ain't no way I'm gonna strike this boy! How can anyone expect me to hit such a beautiful and innocent face such as this! Sorry, y'all! But this is one fight I ain't gonna accept!"

Then, without a word, she willingly jumped off her platform.

Day 11 – Jumbo Jet (Elimination Room)

Following that incident, Team Amazon had gone on to win the challenge. Sierra knocked Tyler off the platform effortlessly and Alejandro forfeited to her in the finals. Therefore, Team Victory was in the elimination room once again.

Cody and DJ each had an ice pack to his cheek while Bridgette made sure that each boy applied the appropriate amount of pressure to the swollen areas of their face. Leshawna just sat there, confident that despite her losing the second challenge, she had done enough during the first part to save herself from being eliminated. They were now anxiously awaiting the results of the voting.

"...and the first two bags of peanuts go to...DJ...and Bridgette!"

Chris tossed the said contestants each a bag of the peanuts.

"...and the final bag goes to...

….

….

….Cody!"

Chris tossed Cody the bag, much to his shock and Leshawna's.

"What? You guys voted ME off?" She cried out. Clearly she did not see this coming.

"Sorry girl," DJ whimpered. "But you DID cost us the challenge."

"And you WERE a little more bossy than usual," Bridgette added.

"WHAT? But...But I was just trying to motivate us, that's all!" Leshawna asserted. "I was trying to seize the day! I was just being my fabulous self! You know! Being a good leader!"

"Yeah, yeah. Not impressed," Chris grumbled as he puller her towards the plane's exit and handed her a parachute. "You know what to do! Now go!"

"Again, I'm sorry Leshawna," DJ waved as he left the room.

"Take care Leshawna! We'll miss you!" Bridgette waved as she followed DJ.

Cody smiled at her before he too got up to leave. But Leshawna didn't smile back. She didn't do anything. She was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Cody just shrugged as he turned around to leave.

'It's a shame,' he thought to himself. 'She's usually a better competitor than that. But today, it was like we were with a completely different Leshawna. Heck, it's almost as if...'

"WHAT? YOU!"

Cody jumped when he heard Leshawna's voice boom out. He turned around to see what had happened. But Leshawna was gone. All he could hear was her faint scream as she plummeted from the plane. He scratched his head, very confused. Then a terrible thought occurred to him. He quickly raced off to find Noah.

Unfortunately, he did not see Alejandro hiding behind the tiki structure. He peered around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. He then closed the exit door and blew a kiss down towards the plummeting Leshawna.

'Another one bites the dust,' he snickered. 'But that Cody's becoming a problem. He must be dealt with soon.'

Day 12 – Amazon

Cody, Bridgette, and DJ settled down for the night under a big tree. They had hiked through the thick jungles of the Amazon in search for the Machu Picchu ruins. Chris had informed all the contestants that it was going to be an eighteen hour hike minimum, but the first team to reach the ruins and find the lost treasure would win the challenge and travel first class to their next destination. They had already traveled for ten hours straight and the night was so thick that they couldn't even see their own hands in front of their faces. Therefore, they decided it was best they rested until morning.

Despite the fact that Cody was in a place that was also home to almost every single insect he was allergic to, Cody felt a small sense of relief. First of all, Chris was actually nice enough to provide him with an EpiPen in case he got bitten. He had given it to Bridgette due to her experience in first aide, since it didn't make sense to give it to Cody should he be bitten.

Also, Alejandro wasn't going to be anywhere near their team for this challenge. All three teams had taken different paths to the ruins and were miles apart. Cody had informed Noah about Leshawna's weird behavior the previous challenge. Sure enough, just as he suspected, Alejandro had been talking to her the day before. Apparently, according to Noah, Alejandro had filled her head with nonsense about a leader being someone that captures the moment and takes advantage of the day.

Before the teams had departed, Noah had told Cody not to worry about Alejandro for the day. He would keep an eye on him and watch for even the slightest mistake. Cody's responsibility was to make sure his team didn't lose the challenge.

'Well, at least I can finally sleep comfortably for change,' he chuckled. 'Anything's more comfortable than economy section.' It was nice not having to keep an eye out for Alejandro. It gave him time to think about things: His time in this contest; his friends and family back home; his time touring with the Drama Brothers; Gwen...ah, Gwen.

How he adored her and missed her throughout the second season. What came as a shock to him and everyone else was how she broke it off with Trent during that season. After all, if he couldn't date her, he would have chosen Trent to be the guy to date her. That was why he helped the two hook up. Though he was bummed that it had to happen, that meant one other thing: Gwen was single! And so was he! Now the question was how was he going to convince her that he was the idealistic choice of a suitable boyfriend?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard teeth chattering. He looked up and saw Bridgette holding herself and shivering. She had been trying to sleep, but found it difficult to do what with being in the woods and all. Even with DJ right there next to her and letting her use him as a pillow, she still couldn't calm her fears of being in the woods at night.

"Bridgette? You okay?" Cody asked as he approached the timid surfer.

Bridgette nodded her head yes, even though one could tell just by looking she wasn't.

"J-Just a little jumpy," she replied. "You know, being in the woods and all."

"But I thought that was only when you were alone in the woods," Cody questioned.

"Well...yeah. If you and DJ weren't here, I'd probably be a lot worse than this," she admitted. "But still...this being the Amazon jungle and all..." her body trembled slightly. "Oh, I wish Alejandro was here. He'd know how to make me feel safe..."

Cody rolled his eyes at this. Thankfully, it was too dark for Bridgette to notice. 'Yeah, he's help all right,' he grumbled. 'He'd help by leaving you and taking off. Then, we'd lose and have reason to vote you off...' Cody couldn't stand seeing Bridgette fall for Alejandro like this. Whatever magic he had worked on the surfer girl was some good stuff. He would have admired him...had he not been using it for evil. A creature howling in the distance caused Bridgette to whimper slightly as she hugged herself tighter.

Then, Cody had an idea.

"Hey Bridgette," he said. "I know I'm no Alejandro and all, but if you'd like, I'll sleep right next to your side. That way, you don't have to feel so alone and scared...if you want."

Bridgette was quiet for a minute. Then, softly, she said, "Thanks Cody. That would be a big help."

"Ah, well..." Cody blushed. "It's the least I can do. After all, you did warm me up in the Yukon."

Cody then settled himself next to Bridgette and laid his head upon DJ's stomach. But that didn't work out so well. The gentle giant's breathing was so heavy that it moved Cody's head up and down continuously. He soon became motion sick.

Bridgette must have noticed this because she heard Cody groan a little after sitting up and trying to snap himself out of it.

"Here Cody, I'll let you sleep on my lap," she offered.

"Uh, say wha?" Cody asked, sounding a mix between excited and shocked.

"Well, you ARE going to be sleeping next to me," Bridgette smiled. "And since DJ's stomach isn't a comfortable pillow and I'm sure you don't want to sleep in his lap...unless...of course..."

"One gay joke out of you and I'm going back over by my tree," Cody threatened.

"No! No! No! I'm sorry," Bridgette laughed. "But seriously, I don't want you to be uncomfortable and...well...consider it a thanks for helping me out like this."

"You...you really don't mind?" Cody asked.

"Well, you're not allowed to enjoy it...too much," Bridgette teased.

"No! Of course not!" Cody insisted. "...um...thanks..."

"Don't mention it," Bridgette smiled.

Cody scooted over next to Bridgette and rested his head on her lap. She was right: this was better than trying to sleep on a stomach that constantly moved up and down. Much more comfortable too. He let his head sink into her lap and he slowly drifted to sleep.

Bridgette looked down at the geek sleeping in her lap. She chuckled as she ruffled his hair a little. 'He's a little too excited about the opposite sex,' she chuckled. 'But he's a sweet guy. What Gwen doesn't see in him is beyond me. He's really nice, sensitive, gentle, sweet...hmm...from a certain angle, he's kind of cute.'

Bridgette froze. She realized what she just thought to herself. Why did she start thinking this all of a sudden? Maybe it was because she was tired. Yeah, that was it. She looked down at Cody one more time and drifted off to sleep...feeling safer than ever and with a smile on her face.

END PART II. Stay tuned for part 3 and review to let me know what you think of this story as it's the first time I'm attempting something like this...or else Kratos will drive the sword of Olympus through your chest area and slice your body in half! JK. JK. But seriously, let me know how I'm doing.