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As Courtney rummages through her box looking for her next item, Bridgette can't help but wonder about Courtney's life before arriving to this island. Though they were close friends, they never actually talked about their home life. It was mostly due to always focusing on the competition and the drama that came with the island. But now that they were finally off of a season, Bridgette could finally learn Courtney's whole story.
She remembers that day when they went camping. She remembers waking up when she heard Duncan and Courtney arguing about whether or not Courtney was trying to cuddle with Duncan. She remembers teasing Courtney about having a crush on Duncan. And she remembers Courtney getting mad at her for mentioning such a thing.
Back then, she thought that Courtney was just angry because she was in denial about her feelings for Duncan. Now, she knew that there was more to the story. And that's when she realized something. If she ever wanted to help Courtney move on with her life, she needed to find out Courtney's whole story.
"So," Bridgette finally says breaking the awkward silence. "Who was this ex-boyfriend? What happened?"
Courtney finally stops rummaging through her box. "Honestly," she confesses. "There's not that much to say about him. His name is Mark. We went out for about a month before I came here. Then, he saw what happened here and sent me this long ass text about how he felt about me cheating on him. I tried to explain to him what really happened, but he didn't want to listen."
"I'm really sorry that I didn't help you through that."
Courtney waves her hand dismissively. "It's fine. I didn't want anybody to know. Besides, it's not like we were written in the stars or anything."
"Still, it must've been hard to hear all of us teasing you about you and Duncan when you really had a guy back home."
"Nah. The teasing only really began after we were through anyway." Courtney starts to go through her box again.
Was she really this nonchalant when it happened? "Courtney, look at me." Courtney pauses before stopping her search and looking at Bridgette. "You don't have to pretend that it didn't hurt back then. We're alone. I won't tell anyone."
Courtney looks at Bridgette for a long time before finally letting out a huge sigh. "I was mortified. I couldn't believe that something I did could effect a person that much. My feelings for Mark weren't that strong, but I would never have intentionally tried to hurt him like that. And I wish that I could tell him that. So, that night when I told Duncan that I hated him, I meant it. I hated him for making me go through that. I hated him for making Mark think that I was secretly cheating on him."
"No offense, but it didn't really look like you hated him when we were around the campfire."
"...That's because I didn't actually hate him," she whispers while looking down at her hands. "I hate what he put me through, but Mark was kind of right. I was starting to feel something for Duncan. But it was just a small thing. It wasn't something that I wanted to try to pursue. It wasn't something that I wanted to break up with Mark for. And it definitely wasn't something that was worth pursing behind Mark's back."
"Wow," Gwen mumbles to herself. "You really put her through a lot of shit from day one of meeting her. It's a wonder why you guys never worked out."
Duncan didn't hear what Gwen said. Thoughts plagued his mind. Was I really that bad to her?
"I mean, first you try to convince your team to vote her off after the first challenge!"
I didn't even vote her off that day. I kind of just said day because I was pissed when I found out she had a boyfriend.
"And then, you made it look like she was cheating on her boyfriend!"
Why did I do that? Did I actually want her? He could feel his heart beat start to quicken when he thought back to that day. He knew the answer. He wanted her to be his and only his. To him, this boyfriend was just an easy obstacle to overcome. And he was right.
...And it was selfish.
"You guys really were a train wreck from day one."
Bridgette watches in silence as Courtney finally finds what she's looking for. A Celine Dion CD.
Bridgette looks at the CD in amusement. Though she wasn't there for Duncan's challenge, Geoff kept her up to date on what happened. They were so great back then... How did it ever end up coming to this? "Not exactly the same thing as a standee."
Courtney scoffs at her. "Be reasonable, Bridgette. I needed something that I could easily fit into a box."
FLASHBACK: Sparks
It happened by the cabins. The Killer Bass were down by one. But I had faith in Duncan. He was always a tough guy. He could do it. Easy.
...But just in case I decided to stand by him. You know, for encouragement. There was no more Mark. He made sure of that. ("And Mark blocked my number so I knew we weren't getting back together.") There was no longer a reason to feel guilty standing near him.
At first, I was just going to stand there for moral support.
"She's pretty. She's nice!"
("I see how it is. You act all nice to Duncan but when poor DJ had to hold a snake..." "Are you really going to interrupt me every single time?")
That's when I noticed he was shaking. I don't know why I did, but something inside of me felt compelled to hold his hand. So, I did. And that's when I felt it.
Sparks.
END OF FLASHBACK
Duncan could feel his hand twitch as he listened to Courtney say, "Sparks." He felt the spark too back then. When did the sparks die?
A/N: ...Or did it?
