So... I was more than a little surprised at the reception to the first chapter. 18 reviews, 11 favourites and 15 follows! Thank you so much!
I am so sorry for how long this took. I've just started uni, so I'm still settling in, and I'm just good at procrastinating. I hope the next update will be quicker. Anyway, onto the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama or any of its characters.
Hearing the voice makes him lean back, and he puts a hand over his rapidly beating heart. He feels a hand on his ankle, and he turns around and looks down to see…
"Zoey?" Duncan whispers, and she nods, a reassuring smile on her face.
"Please, Duncan, come down from there. We can talk then." Zoey asks, a soothing yet urgent tone to her voice. It calms Duncan, and he climbs back over the rail and onto the ground. They look at each other, watery teal eyes locking with warm brown, neither saying a word. Suddenly, Duncan leaps forward and wraps his arms around Zoey's frame, quietly sobbing as she freezes, then wraps her arms around him in return, patting his back.
"Calm down, Duncan. It's going to be okay. I'm here now." Zoey reassures him, his tears wetting her shirt.
"Z-Zoey, I-" Duncan starts, but Zoey interrupts him.
"Don't talk for now, Duncan. Just let it all out. I won't abandon you." Duncan's sobs get louder, and Zoey rubs his back, hoping to soothe his emotions.
A few minutes later, Duncan has calmed down considerably, and he releases Zoey and takes a step back. This allows him to have a good look at her. She is wearing her outfit from Total Drama, but she also has a red hoodie to ward off the cold of the night. Zoey is also looking at him, a worried expression on her face.
"Duncan, you look terrible! Come with me, and we can talk where it's warmer." Zoey says, beckoning Duncan to follow her as she walks away. Duncan follows her to a white car, and she gets in the front seat. Duncan gets into the passenger's seat, and he sees that she is turning on the heater.
"Is it really that cold?" Duncan asks. Zoey stops fiddling with the heater and turns to him.
"Yeah, it's around 5 degrees at the moment. Fortunately it's mid-autumn, or it would be freezing! Can't you tell?" Zoey asks, tilting her head slightly.
"No, I can't really feel anything. I just feel numb." Duncan states, and the worried expression returns to Zoey's face.
"You must have had a really rough day today. Tell me all about it." Zoey says encouragingly, a smile on her face, hoping to have Duncan open up to her like he did on All Stars.
With a deep breath, Duncan recounts his day, from his release from prison to the bridge. By the end of it, Zoey has her hands to her mouth and her eyes are slightly damp.
"Wow, Duncan, that sounds awful. You don't have a place to stay?" Zoey asks, blinking rapidly. Duncan slowly shakes his head. "If you want, you can stay with me. I'm sure my mum won't mind."
"Are you sure your mum won't mind? Surely she wouldn't want someone like me in her house…" Duncan replies, hope in his eyes. Spending at least the night with someone he feels he can trust sounds very inviting in his current situation.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Even though she thought what you did to Chris' mansion was reckless, she thought that our temporary friendship was good for both of us, so I'm sure she won't mind." Zoey assures, smiling. Duncan smiles back, feeling relieved that he likely has a place to stay.
"Thanks a lot, Zoey." Zoey nods at his gratitude, and then a grumbling sound is heard by both of them. Duncan holds his stomach, where the noise came from. He blushes lightly in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, I haven't eaten since this morning… I forgot all about eating while searching for somewhere to sleep." Duncan apologises. Zoey shakes her head.
"You don't need to apologise. How about we go somewhere to eat before going home? I'll just tell Mum that she doesn't need to make dinner for us." Zoey offers, starting up her car.
"Sure, that sounds great. I don't mind where we go." Duncan says, leaning back in the seat as Zoey starts driving to get some food.
They arrive at the nearest fast food place and order some burgers and fries.
"I'm going to tell my mum that you're coming, and that she doesn't have to cook for us, so can you get the food and find a table, please?" Zoey asks. Duncan nods and Zoey goes outside to make the call. When their food is ready, Zoey comes back inside and they walk to a free table to eat.
"Mum says that it's okay if you stay over. She says she'll make something if we get hungry when we get there." Zoey tells Duncan, eating some fries after speaking.
"Thanks, Zoey. This means a lot." Duncan replies gratefully, and Zoey smiles. They eat in silence for a few minutes before Duncan breaks the silence.
"Are you sure Mike would be okay with it? I don't want him to think anything…" Zoey frowns at this.
"Oh… Mike and I broke up." Zoey admits, looking down at the table.
"What? I thought you two were happy together?" Duncan asks, confused. Zoey manages a small smile, but Duncan can tell that it's fake.
"Well, we were, but then things got complicated… I'm sure you don't want to hear it, you have so much going on for you, I'd just sound like I'm complaining." Zoey explains, looking outside.
"No, I don't mind. You can tell me. It sounds serious." Duncan says encouragingly. Zoey looks at Duncan and, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, sighs.
"Okay, I'll tell you why it happened. It was because of Mal." Duncan's eyes widen.
"Mal? I thought Mike got rid of him during the finale?" he asks. Zoey nods.
"He did. But apparently, he was only locked away. A month after the finale, I noticed that Mike was stirring in his sleep, like he did when he had his personalities. The next morning, I told Mike about it, and he was surprised, too." Zoey pauses because her voice starts cracking. She clears her throat before continuing.
"A week later, Svetlana and Manitoba came back. Mike was ecstatic. The next day it was Vito, and three days later Chester as well. Mike was so happy they were back, but we both had fears about Mal. None of the others knew if he would come back, either. The next day, we received our answer when I woke up to Mal standing over me. He started punching me and cursing about losing Total Drama because of me and Mike. I screamed and fought back, but he was really strong." At this point, Zoey starts tearing up, and Duncan takes her hands in his in an attempt to comfort her.
"Thanks, Duncan. Anyway, I managed to get out of the house and he didn't follow me. When I came back a few hours later, I found Mike crying. I tried to comfort him, but he pushed me away, saying he was too dangerous, especially when he saw my bruises. That's when he said we should break up, to protect me from Mal. So we packed my stuff and I moved back in with Mum. We haven't spoken since." Zoey sheds a few tears, and Duncan squeezes her hands.
"That sounds really tough. I'm sorry." Duncan says soothingly. Zoey shakes her head.
"It's okay. It's just really hard because he was the first guy I ever dated, you know? We had a deep connection." Duncan nods.
"Yeah, like me and Courtney. Even now, I think about her sometimes. Gwen, too. They never leave you." They finish their food in silence once more. They leave the restaurant and continue driving to Zoey's house.
A few minutes later they arrive at Zoey's house. Zoey parks in the driveway and they get out of the car.
"Well, we're here. It's pretty small, so I hope that's okay." Zoey says as they walk to the door. Zoey opens it and they enter into the hall. They hear footsteps from nearby.
"Zoey? Is that you?" A voice calls, and a woman appears where they are.
"Hi, Mum!" Zoey says, hugging her mother. When Zoey lets her go, she turns towards Duncan, who is standing awkwardly, looking around.
"You must be Duncan. I could recognise that mohawk anywhere." Zoey's mum says, enveloping Duncan in a hug. Surprised, Duncan freezes up until she lets go. He glances at Zoey, who is also surprised.
"Mum! What are you doing? You can't just hug him!" Zoey exclaims in shock. Zoey's mum turns back to her.
"Oh, Zoey, why not? Now I can say that I've hugged a celebrity." she laughs, and Duncan and Zoey exchange another look. "Now, are you two hungry?"
"No, we're fine. I'm going to go to my room. Come on, Duncan." Zoey says, walking up the nearby stairs, Duncan following after looking back at Zoey's mum again, who waves at him. Zoey leads him to her room, and she goes over to a cage on the desk.
"Hi, Miss Puffycheeks!" Zoey says to her hamster as Duncan looks around the room. It's a small room, though it has two windows with patched curtains. Zoey has some arts and crafts hanging up on the walls as well. On her desk are her pet hamster and a sewing machine with some materials. Her bed has a purple blanket that looks like it's been sewed as well.
"Did you sew the curtains and blanket in your room?" Duncan asks as Zoey makes sure Miss Puffycheeks has enough food and water. After she's done, Zoey turns to Duncan and nods.
"Yeah, I did. Does it look tacky? I thought it would be cool…" Zoey confirms, looking unsure.
"No, no, they look fine. Where did you learn to sew like that?" Duncan asks, and Zoey smiles at the knowledge that Duncan approves.
"I did textiles at school, and my mum got me lessons as well." Zoey explains. "So, sorry about my mum back there. She's pretty full-on."
"Yeah, I noticed. So where am I sleeping?" Duncan asks.
"We have a guest bedroom that you can sleep in. I'll show you to it now if you want?"
"No, it's fine. I'll check it out later." Zoey nods.
"Okay then. So, what are you planning to do now?" Zoey asks. Duncan runs a hand through his hair.
"I'm not really sure yet. Probably find somewhere to stay and get a job and work from there." Duncan admits.
"That sounds good. How about I help you find a job tomorrow, if you want?" Zoey suggests.
"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Zoey." Duncan accepts, and Zoey smiles.
"You're welcome. Do you want me to show you to your room now? I'm sure you're exhausted." Duncan nods, and they leave Zoey's room. Zoey leads him down a passage to a room to the right. "Here it is. If you need anything, just come to my room and knock. The bathroom's downstairs if you need it. I'll leave you to it now." Zoey starts to leave, but Duncan grabs her arm. She turned back to him.
"Thanks a lot, Zoey. For everything." Duncan says sincerely, and Zoey smiles at him, which he returns. Zoey then leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Duncan puts his duffel bag down, kicks off his shoes and lies down on the bed.
Okay, so tomorrow I need to find somewhere to stay and attempt to find a job. That sounds like a good start. Tomorrow… The exhaustion kicks in and Duncan falls asleep instantly.
So it was Zoey that found Duncan. I hope this doesn't put some of you off. I noticed a lot of you said Courtney or Gwen.
What do you think of this chapter? Do you think Zoey's kind for letting Duncan stay with her? And what's Duncan going to do next? Stay tuned to find out!
Until next time, don't forget to review! :)
-Green
