hi everyone! thanks to you all for all the support and encouragement for me to continue this story, I really appreciated your kind words! i'm glad you are all excited to continue reading, it makes me all the more motivated to continue writing it. just a couple things i do want to mention before the new chapter begins:
* unlike a lot of stories I've read, i really do want to put an emphasis on Bridgette and Courtney's friendship. I feel like it's super important and it's one thing I wish the show focused on.
* it's gonna be a slooooowburn Duncney, and for obvious reasons. I don't want them getting back together to be the premise of the entire story. Same thing with Bridgette and Courtney's friendship. This is mainly going to be about Courtney's redemption.
* that being said, Courtney is gonna be a little more OOC than usual, as the first chapter introduces her totally different than what we're usually seeing her as.
And yeah, that's pretty much it, I think. Enjoy this new chapter, and leave a review if you want. Thanks!
Courtney didn't dream that often. Or, she did and couldn't remember them. When she was a child, right before she hit the double digits in age, she wanted to keep a dream journal and track of all the people, places, and things she could recollect in the mornings. The swirly lines, princesses being kissed. She even saw herself sometimes, little tan feet stumbling through rocky, tough terrain until she appeared in front of a forest, or a beach, or her home. It was ever only her though.
When her parents found out about the journal, they threw it out and said, "Courtney, you don't need a dream journal, we already know what your dreams are: to be a lawyer. Now forget this silly thing."
Throughout her life, Courtney had a recurring dream, and she figured it was because of the constant stress she carried on her shoulders. The dream was her, however old she was at the time, standing at the top of a flight of stairs. She would always stand there, until suddenly she fell. The stairs never ended, so Courtney continued the dream continuously falling down the stairs until she woke up.
Throughout the Total Drama series, Courtney had this dream multiple times. By the fifth one in two years, which was unusual, she noticed it always appeared when she knew her time was coming close to an end on the show or before an extremely difficult challenge. After the second aftermath show, she had the dream. It made her nervous and she woke up gasping for air she already had. Luckily, her roommate at the time was no where to be found, so it saved her the few minutes of explaining herself. A lot of times after she had that specific dream she woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily and eyes wide. Those were the nights where Courtney never went back to sleep, where she wandered the island, or the lot, or the plane, or the island (again). They also ended up being the days where she was more irritable, more hot-headed, and the camera ate it up like a dirty, starving, homeless animal. It was true she didn't apologize all the time, but the times she did went unnoticed by the world. The people she surrounded herself with stopped believing her apologies as the days passed, and so Courtney stopped apologizing. She fell into her stereotype, and dug herself six-foot holes at every lash her words stung on people.
This morning, Courtney woke up on her stomach, arms outstretched like she was flying. Well, one arm was dangling off of her bed. Her curtains were burgundy, and did the exact job Courtney needed them to do: hide the sun. The Latina groaned and closed her eyes again, before opening them and sliding her legs towards her and off the bed, so when she sat up her feet were almost touching the floor. Because her twin-sized bed was in the corner, she could see everything in her bedroom from where she sat.
She used to call herself a perfectionist. But when she looks around her small room, she feels nothing but shame. Her mother would be disappointed. The hamper is filled with her uniform and lots of underwear, because she at least has the decency to change that - most of the time. Her closet has more empty hangers than clothes hanging, because a lot of them are on the floor creating a path from there to her bedside. There is a shattered mirror in the corner across from her bed, closest to the door. Courtney's floors are carpet and she hates carpet, but the apartment was cheap and available. The walls are plain and white and that's only because she's not allowed to paint them according to her contract.
Contract.
The word itself makes Courtney want to run into her bathroom and puke. She threw that word around like she owned it, and her lawyers. Courtney hated contracts, everything they entailed, and anything that left her with less than what she already has. Sure, they had helped her in a couple ways, but if it wasn't for it she wouldn't even be in this mess to begin with. Though, there are a few people she would have missed the opportunity of ever meeting, Courtney isn't even sure they were worth the crap she went through to win an obscure amount of money. The girl mentally curses at herself for how spoiled rotten she was on the show.
Before she can continue her train of thought, her phone buzzes. She keeps forgetting to turn the ringer on. Grabbing her phone, she looks at the new text, not surprised to see it's from Bridgette.
"hey Court! leaving here in a few, see you soon!" It read. In her head, Courtney could hear Bridgette saying it, as light-hearted as ever.
Courtney, however, looks at the text confused, before she glanced at the time it read on her phone. Her eyes rolled ot the back of her head and she groaned for the second time in the few minutes she had been awake. The phone read "12:19pm". She was supposed to meet Bridgette at 1.
The Latina lazily escaped the subpar comfortableness of her bed and out of her bedroom door, taking a quick right into the tiny closet-spaced bathroom. She shut the door and sat on the toilet. After she peed, she stood up and flushed the toilet. Standing quietly and slightly impatiently as the toilet continued to flush slowly, Courtney avoided looking at herself in the medicine cabinet mirror. Moments later, the toilet finally stopped. "Thank god." Courtney sighed out, slightly annoyed, before opening the medicine cabinet and taking out her toothbrush and toothpaste. The cabinet was empty for the most part, besides the Advil and Moltrin bottles. There were sleeping pills there too, but they had a thin layer of dust on them. The cabinet was shut soon enough and Courtney turned the water on, wetting the toothbrush and putting the paste on it afterwards. She brushed her teeth hard, to the point where there was some bleeding inside her mouth from one of the back corners. When Courtney spit out the dirt and toothpaste and blood, some parts of her sink had a light red residue from the toothpaste and blood mixed together, and Courtney stopped for a moment and stared at the spots. Then, she washed it all away.
A few months ago Courtney threw out her trademark outfits. The white button up shirt, the gray sweater vest, the olive capris, and her wedges. Though, she loved those shoes a lot, they needed to go. She knew as soon as she got home she didn't want any variation of her outfit to exist in her closet. Though her closest was already basic and bland to begin with, without her trademark it looked downright depressing. Most of her clothes were gray or olive green, with the occasional pair of jeans and sandals. Courtney believed in looking her best at all times, but that was years ago when she still cared enough. Plus, she barely went outside unless there was an important purpose to it. Buying groceries, going to work, and visiting her parents were the main reasons she left her apartment.
Even though she was inching closer to her mid-twenties, the Latino still mooched off her parents. They had paid for a lot of things for Courtney, but the most important thing to Courtney was the fact they let her still use their Netflix account. Besides electricity and water, it was the only thing Courtney used consistently. But now, as she looked in her barren closet, she realized she had to buy new clothes soon. Or at least a new pair of jeans; her favorite pair was starting to get a hole where her thighs connected.
So, she chose a different pair of leg-hugging jeans and a plain gray t-shirt. In her head, Courtney hoped it wasn't too hot outside. Sometimes she forgets what season Canada is in, or what month it is. It is July 10th, 2017, she read off her phone. Unlocking her phone, she went to the Uber app and requested one to take her to Rolley's. When she realized her driver was four minutes away, she ran towards her bedside drawer and opened it, pulling out a brown headband that early matched the color of her own hair. Quickly, she combed out the small knots in her hair with her fingers. Courtney's hair grew slightly longer since the show ended, only by a couple inches. Shoes in one of the corners of her room, Courtney flew into her slip-on sneakers, grabbed her phone, wallet, and keys, and sped walked out of her apartment door.
Courtney stared through the window of the silver Toyota that picked her up from outside her apartment. It was a beautiful day outside; There were a few spotty clouds but the skies were as blue as ever and the sun warmed the young adult up with open arms.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" The driver asked. He was an older man, the wrinkles in his skin described his age better than he ever could. "I have water and peppermints in the trunk if you need me to grab them."
The Latina shook her head side-to-side. He had already asked if she wanted to have control of the radio, and she denied that as well. Then, she continued to look outside.
Courtney kept staring at the sky. Has it always been this blue? she asked in her mind. She must have not looked outside her window in awhile, or if she did it was always at nighttime. Maybe she was unlucky enough and caught the days where it rained steadily and it was a "stay-at-home-and-watch-Netflix" type of day. There was even the possibility she didn't look up when she was going to work. When it rained, her umbrella took the attention off of the sky. And when it was nice out, she kept her eyes low, still afraid that one day someone would call her out as that smartass teenager on that reality television series. And when she thought about that, she noted there were only a few things in the world she had seen as blue as the sky, and one of them had led to be extremely dangerous.
Finally, the driver slowed into the parking lot of Rolley's Restaurant. Courtney thanked the man and walked into the restaurant, giving him a five-star rating as she did so. A couple years ago, The Latina knows she would have ruined the man's day with an awful review, picking at the little things she didn't enjoy or if he asked too many questions. But now, she doesn't have the energy to do so.
Courtney tucked her phone in her front pocket and looked around the restaurant. At first, she didn't see her best friend, but after a second look she saw the long blonde hair facing away from her and she knew exactly who it was.
"May I help you miss? Table for one?" The waitress asked. She was pretty enough, in a plain way, and Courtney couldn't help but make an attempt to recuperate the smile she was given.
"No no, I'm ok. I see my friend sitting down. Thanks." Courtney looked up and pointed her thumb in the direction of Bridgette, and the girl looked towards Bridgette, to Courtney, and back to Bridgette, before setting her eyes on Courtney again.
The waitress gasped lightly and covered her mouth. "You're..." She coughed a little bit and fixed her hair. "Are you, by any chance, Courtney Otero? And is that Bridgette Harrington?"
It was the moments like these that made Courtney wonder why she came outside. It wasn't that she was annoyed with the teenaged waitress, but more-so with the whole situation. Fame, as rusted as it was, was still fame. People will still look at you differently and treat you differently too. Their assumptions, usually incorrect ones, stuck like the stench of garbage so everyone knew exactly who you were.
"Yeah." Courtney awkwardly breathed out, uncomfortable with being recognized. She had gone so long without anyone noticing her she almost forgot what it was like to be noticed. "I'm going to go sit down now. I guess if you want an autograph or picture or something with Bridgette you can ask her later on after we finish eating." She finished, mumbling. Quickly, she walked past the waitress and towards Bridgette, a warm feeling in her stomach growing with every step she took. Though it was a short walk, by the time Courtney had gotten to Bridgette she had completely forgotten about the encounter with the waitress.
"Bridge." Courtney greeted, smiling.
Almost as if struck by lightning, Bridgette's head snapped behind her and smiled wide at the sight of Courtney. The blonde stood up excitedly and met Courtney, not saying a single word but hugging her tightly. In response to the embrace, Courtney lowered her head into the crook of her friend's neck and wrapped her arms around her best friend. Without her usual wedges, Courtney was a little shorter than Bridgette. Some of the other customers in the restaurant watched the display of affection between the friends. The waitress from before looked like her eyes were about to water, after she had taken a picture of the two. Others in Rolley's "aww-ed" at the scene, and some gave a light smile. Finally, when the two girls let go, they sat down opposite of each other.
"Hi Courtney." Bridgette finally greeted Courtney back. Her blonde hair was still in a ponytail, just a little higher up, and her eyes were still the prettiest hazel. The tan she had received from traveling the West Coast in the United States looked good on her. "How are you feeling?"
What a question. No one has really asked Courtney that in awhile. The Latina felt a lot of things, mostly negative, and she knew that Bridgette knew that. So, instead of complaining about her bland life, she responded, "Better, now that I'm getting to see you."
"Pfft." Bridgette waved a hand at her. "Puh-lease. You can't lie to me."
"But I'm not lying." Courtney leaned into the cushioned booth. "I've missed you. Seriously. My life gets kinda boring when the only people I talk to are my parents and my co-workers."
"Aw Court, you need to get out more and make some more friends." Bridgette commented. Then, she smiled wide. "I've missed you too, though."
The ex-contestant sighed, as a new waitress walked over to their table. "Good afternoon ladies! My name is Lorianne and I'll be your server today! Can I start y'all off with some drinks?"
Courtney ordered a strawberry-banana smoothie, and Bridgette ordered a sweet tea. When Lorianne left, Courtney continued to talk.
"Bridgette, I only go outside when I have to. I don't like being judged, I never did."
Bridgette sighed. "Court, you gotta realize you're being judged the way you are because that's how you judged people. What goes around comes around. Plus, you could always join a book club or something cool like that, it's an easy way to make friends. You can't mope all day on the stuff you can't change."
In retaliation, Courtney glared at Bridgette, who sweetly smiled back. Courtney knew her friend was right - as usual. Bridgette knew it too. "I don't mope all day." Courtney grumbled out. "I watch Netflix sometimes also. And I do have a job." She ignored the more important parts of the conversation, the parts that she knew they couldn't discuss in public. Bridgette was a lot of things: clumsy, silly, and even had her dull moments at times, but Courtney knew Bridgette was more self-aware than she was given credit for.
The conversation they need to be having must happen behind closed doors. At times, Courtney became envious at how easy-going Bridgette was. Even her words had a flow to them, a relaxed melody where even the most important things were said casually. And unlike her, Courtney's words were rock solid. They were both blunt in their own way. Years ago, when they first met, Bridgette was passive with her meanings and was too afraid to speak up. But now, she really did grow into herself, and especially to Courtney, can be straight-forward with her words.
Lorianne brought out the drinks for the girls, and brought out a notepad, asking if they were ready to order. Both girls ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce, but Courtney asked for meatballs with hers. Another thing Courtney liked about Bridgette was her lack of judgmental behavior. Even though she was a vegetarian, Bridgette never scolded or preached to Courtney about why being a vegetarian was the better, healthier option. Plus, it wouldn't have made a difference to Courtney anyway; she already was a healthier eater than most people. Usually, her kitchen would be full of fruits, vegetables, whole wheat, and everything in-between. As a child, her parents forced her to learn how to like other foods when they found out she was lactose-intolerant. Recently, though, Courtney has been buying the bare minimum of food so at least she can eat three times a day.
"What do you watch on Netflix? Hopefully not all documentaries." Bridgette asked, holding her head with both of her hands, elbows on the table.
Courtney pouted, taking a sip from her smoothie. "I do not only watch documentaries." She retorted. "I just finished watching Gossip Girl, and this week I've started 90210."
Bridgette gave her friend a confused look. "As juicy as those teen dramas are, they don't really count. I'm surprised you haven't mentioned any political shows you've watched."
To be truthfully honest, Courtney purposefully avoided the shows revolving about the government and lawyers. Those shows brought her back to not only her promises to sue Total Drama, but also the times when she was a child and lawyer was one of the first words she knew. When she came back home for the final time, she didn't immediately jump into law school programs, nor did she apply to any. Because of the time she arrived back to her home in Canada, most colleges had already begun their semesters, so Courtney would have had to wait until the next year anyways.
Nonchalantly, Courtney shrugged her shoulders. Bridgette gave her a concerned look, but did not speak further on the topic. Again, they were parachuting into a conversation they knew needed to be addressed in private.
"Doesn't matter," Courtney began, suddenly gaining more energy after the quick awkward moment, "this lunch is happening because you have something to tell me." She pointed a finger at Bridgette.
The blonde gave her friend a final look, and Courtney knew that look meant in Bridgette's language, "this conversation is no where near done". Then, she brightened up immediately. "Well," Bridgette started, "I wanted you to be the first one to know first."
Courtney looked at Bridgette oddly.
Lorianne arrived moments later, two plates of spaghetti. One was in her palm, the other placed delicately in-between her arm. As soon as the waitress placed both plates down on the table, Courtney gasped loudly.
The Latina reached across the table and grabbed Bridgette's left hand, frightening the waitress. She stared at Courtney, who stared at Bridgette's hand. Then, she looked at Bridgette, who looked back at Courtney, her eyes watering.
"Bridgette, are you-?" Courtney wasn't able to finish the sentence.
"Yes!" Bridgette exclaimed, excitedly. On her hand, her ring finger, a beautiful gem was perfectly placed.
"Oh my god! Congratulations!" Courtney and Bridgette looked at the waitress, who was still standing there. "I'm going to bring you dessert, on the house!" Lorianne walked away, a single tear in her eye.
Courtney let go of Bridgette's hand, smiling wide. "Wow, Bridgette. I can't believe it. Geoff really popped the question? I didn't think he had the courage."
There was no malice in her friend's voice, and Bridgette laughed, before sniffling and wiping her nose. "Yeah, he did it two days ago. On the beach, totally casual about it, typical Geoff. It was so him though, I loved the proposal. There was no way I could've said no."
Courtney swirled her spaghetti on a fork and ate it, slurping the rest of it into her mouth. After she swallowed, she commented, "It could've been the most romantic dinner in the whole world and you still would've said yes." She picked up a meatball with her fork. "Why are you crying though, you wouldn't cry over something like this?"
"Because," Bridgette began, eyes watering again, "because I want you to be my maid of honor."
The only sound after that was the clang of the fork on the plate. Bridgette looked up, and Courtney looked down. Her hand was frozen in place. Then, Courtney looked at Bridgette with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Bridgette, what?"
The blonde sniffled again and nodded her head up-and-down over. "Courtney, you're my best friend in the whole world. There is no one else in the whole world I would want to be the maid of honor. So please say yes. Here, in Rolley's, with our spaghetti and your meatballs."
"Oh my God." Courtney finally moved, blinking and moving out of her seat, standing and bringing Bridgette up with her. "What makes you think I'm going to say no?"
"Courtney, we haven't talked in months. No one has heard from you. You've been so lowkey the tabloids thought you might have ran away or died." Bridgette voiced her concerns, explaining to Courtney the things she didn't want to hear.
The brunette hugged her friend tightly, originally not saying anything. Then, she whispered so only Bridgette could hear, "Bridgette, you're still my best friend, you know that. And yeah, I've been hiding away from the world for a little bit, but that will never stop me from answering your calls." Courtney pulled away. With full confidence, she announced, "Bridgette, I would be honored to be the maid of honor at your wedding."
Some of the other customers surrounding the duo clapped in congrats towards Bridgette, and all Bridgette could do was look at Courtney.
And Courtney saw nothing but love in her eyes. And tears, a few of those too.
The ride back to Courtney's apartment was slow. Bridgette had announced she was going to spend the night because the two had to talk.
"Courtney, we need to talk wedding plans. Also, you need to stop being a hermit and come back to life. My clothes better still be in your closet." The blonde looked at Courtney with hard eyes when she spoke those words while they were eating the apple pie Lorianne brought to them. And all Courtney could do was nod in agreement. She was nervous.
Bridgette drove a 2011 Honda Civic, named Ariella. It was her baby, and Courtney was given the right to own Ariella if something ever happened to Bridgette. When they got to Courtney's apartment complex, Courtney stepped out exhausted. It was close to 4pm, and she needed a nap. Usually, she would either be at work or napping on her couch, Netflix watching her instead of vice versa. She hasn't talked to anyone for more than five minutes in a long time, and forgot how much energy was required to carry a conversation.
Plus, her phone has been buzzing for the past ten minutes. Bridgette posted a picture of the two of them on her Instagram, and tagged Courtney in it. Since then, hundreds of people have been requesting to follow her private account. She complained about this to Bridgette, who took her phone and made her account public, which then allowed Courtney to go from 237k followers to have over 244k followers. The Latina's last picture was posted over eight months ago, and it was herself and Bridgette standing on some street in Toronto, both smiling wide. This was right before she went away to film for All Stars. Courtney looked at the picture sadly, before putting her phone away.
"Hey Courtney, look at this." The two were standing outside of Courtney's apartment door. Bridgette showed her best friend her phone, with an article from an online news outlet Courtney recognized. The title, Britney Reunion: The Two Spotted Amidst Questions Surrounding Courtney's Return to The Total Drama Reunion. There was a picture of the two when they first embraced, and a few more fuzzier pictures of them eating and talking. Luckily, there weren't any pictures or words describing Bridgette's recent engagement.
"I blame it on the first waitress." Country groaned into her hands. This was not the time to see anything regarding the reunion, or Courtney's recent re-appearance on social media. She opened the door and walked in her apartment, making headway towards her comfortable tan sofa, a present from her parents when she first announced she was moving out. When she reached it, she plopped into it and breathed in its cinnamon aroma.
The sofa was one of the most important things in Courtney's apartment. It was her go-to spot every time she got off of work, whenever she needed a new scene and was tired of looking at the walls in her bedroom. Even at night, she would come to the sofa if her sleepless nights were worse than usual. It didn't actually help her fall asleep, but being curled up on it with her blanket somehow made the outside world much more bearable. At the same time, though, she felt lonely on the sofa. There was so much space, and Courtney had so little friends she never invited anyone over. The only exception was Bridgette, and that was only a couple of times a year. The young adult didn't really go out of her way to make friends; she was too afraid they would remember her for what she used to be and not who she was now. It was heartbreaking, in a sense.
Footsteps came towards Courtney and she barely had the energy to look up at Bridgette's disappointed face. "Court, your room smells like Geoff's room. Which means it smells like dirty laundry and sweat." She sat down beside Courtney and she leaned onto the blonde. "And your dishes haven't been washed in like a week." Bridgette smiled and put her head on top of Courtney's. "We're both gonna take a nap now, because all that food and excitement made me super sleepy. But as soon as we wake up, we need to do some spring cleaning. And catch up on everything, okay?"
Courtney nodded her head absently, before closing her eyes and praying she would fall asleep easily. Bridgette moved onto the other side of the couch and curled up, sleeping before her head hit the pillow, as per usual.
The other girl had her eyes closed for an hour and the half before she finally drifted into a dreamless, silent unconsciousness.
hello! thanks for reading! i was a couple hundred shy of hitting the 5k mark for this chapter, but it's all okay. anyways, i hope y'all enjoyed and yeah, i'll see you all for the next update!
