Every time Duncan went to school, Courtney always wondered what she should do. She knew she could watch some TV, but she wasn't someone who watched TV regularly. She wouldn't know a majority of the shows. If she ever had free time — finished with homework, projects, activities, et cetera — she would read a novel or organize her daily agenda. She didn't like not doing anything; her body always tingled with a desire to do something.
She spotted the console near the TV and grimaced. She wasn't fond of videogames, either. They were useless contraptions and killed brain cells. What was the point of inventing them, anyway?
She sighed and sat down on the computer chair, twisting around it side by side. She took out her PDA from her pocket and watched the screen light up, making her tanned face have a bluish glow.
She had an epiphany.
If I'm here, then … what's going on back home? Courtney wondered. What's my mom doing? Does she know I'm gone? Or am I already there … ?
She groaned, feeling so helpless. She couldn't find an explanation no matter what. All these happenings were beyond strange — what could she do about them?
Clank.
Her ears perked up to the sound. She looked over to the window and saw nothing but the bright sunlight shining in. She grumbled to herself about being delusional.
Clank.
She stood up from the chair, which rolled all the way to edge of the bed, hitting it. She gripped her PDA strongly. Taking a few steps towards the window, she suddenly felt unsure.
Whoever's throwing objects at the window must be a friend of Duncan's. I can't let anyone know I'm in here, but …
She shoved the PDA down deep inside her pocket.
Clank, clank.
Two rocks hit the window, one after the other. Clank. And then another one. Clank, clank, clank. Three more came with fast speed. Some rocks were bigger than others, and Courtney was afraid one of them might shatter the window glass. Clank, clank, clank. More and more and more and more.
What idiot is doing this?
Courtney grasped the window pane and pulled it upwards. She felt a whoosh of the fresh wind hit her face pleasantly. Her hair blew back. She didn't know that the breeze outside was strong yet very inviting. She looked down and searched for the culprit, ready to yell at them.
Something blue came her way fast without her noticing.
Suddenly, a sharp pain kindled on her nose, scattering throughout her face like wildfire. Hissing in pain, she held her nose. She clenched her teeth, holding in the pain and desperately trying not to cry out. The pain throbbed from her nose. She felt warm liquid trickle down her nostril and inside her mouth. Droplets of it went in her mouth, going on her tongue.
Blood.
"Damn!" the mocha-haired teen swore. Still holding her pained nose, she looked back outside the window and saw him.
Green Mohawk. Shiny piercings. Teal eyes. Dog collar. Unattractive clothing. Oh, and the smirk.
Yup.
Duncan.
"Hey, Courtney!" the aforementioned suspect shouted. "You all right there? Did I hit you? Aw, shit! I hit ya, didn't I?" His unibrow was wrinkled down, a guilty expression on. But Courtney could see from his lips that he was desperately trying not to laugh at her expense.
"No!" Courtney answered back, having a casual tone. "Oh, no! Of course not! You didn't hit me, Duncan! I'm just clutching my nose in great pain, because apparently a soda can hit me straight in the nose! There's blood pouring down, and it tastes horrible! So yeah, none of this was — WHAT DO YOU THINK, YOU STUPID OGRE?" Her tone grew increasingly loud, voice echoing to the streets. She didn't notice.
He rubbed the nape of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "Er, sorry 'bout that, babe! I didn't know you opened the window. And I ran outta rocks to throw!"
"So you just had to use A SODA CAN?" It almost looked like a nerve was ready to burst out of her skin on the side of her temple.
He held up his hands, moving it up and down. "'Kay, just chillax there, honey! We're gonna go someplace, so jump!" He then held his arms out and got into position, bent knees and alert eyes.
Onyx eyes widened. "You're crazy! I'm not jumping! Where are you going to take me? And wherever it is, I'm not going! I'm not jumping! Hello — I don't want to DIE!" She whimpered slightly when the pain worsened and held her nose gentler.
He rolled his eyes, still in place. "I'll catch you, don't worry! Jump! And I'll treat your boo-boo!" He smirked. "C'mon, don't be a scaredy-cat, babe!"
She growled. "Stop mocking me! 'Boo-boo'? 'Scaredy-cat'? Ugh, you're such an elementary brat! I'm not scared! You won't catch me!"
"Have a little faith! Get your sexy ass down here!"
"Flattery won't work! I said NO!"
"Aw, come on, girlie — just jump!" a guy leaning out a window of his apartment across the street shouted out, grinning.
Courtney gave him a look of repulsion. "Who the hell are you? And stop taking his side!" she screamed. Ugh, my throat hurts.
The window below the guy who yelled earlier opened and out came a girl with pigtails. She cupped her hands on either side of her mouth and yelled, too: "Jump, girl, jump! Can't you see how desperate he's being? It's so kee-ute!" She squealed noisily in enjoyment.
This girl reminds me too much of The Squealing Twins. "Shut it, you!"
The window next to the girl with pigtails opened, as well. A little boy came out, attempting to put his chin over his folded arms that were placed on the window ledge.
"Lady! Jump! Jump! JUMP!" he yelled, grinning toothily.
"Don't make me come over there, you brat!" She realized that since she was clutching her nose, she sounded awfully nasally.
The boy stuck his tongue out. "Go live in a trashcan, witch!" He blew a raspberry and closed the window.
Courtney scoffed, rolling her eyes. Brats nowadays — or … not nowadays since this is 2008, so that would — ugh, forget it!
A window three stories down from the little boy's opened, and a balding man came out, shaking his fist in a strangely stereotypical manner, scowling hard.
"Shut yer traps, ya damn humans!" He waved his fist some more. "Else this fist right her' will hit straight yer face faster than a — a — a — aw, never mind there." He shut close the window.
Soon then, the little boy's window opened, and he started pestering her to jump and calling her a witch. The boy and the pigtailed girl joined in with him. Squeals, insults, and constant persistence surrounded her eardrums, banging and banging. Courtney gritted her teeth. She let go of her nose, grabbed onto the window ledge, and stuck her head out, ready to yell.
Abruptly, the window on the far right end of the apartment opened. An elderly woman came out. She held out her cane and screamed on the top of her lungs: "PANCAKES!" She retreated and closed the window.
Everyone stared at the closed window as if they were expecting the old lady to come out again. Slowly, the nosy people brought themselves back inside and shut their windows, a strange look upon their faces.
Courtney touched her nose and sighed in utter relief when she found out it wasn't bleeding anymore. She frowned and then faced the sixteen-year-old delinquent. Her grip on the ledge tightened and tightened.
"DUNCAN!" she roared. "IF I JUMP — AND YOU BETTER CATCH ME IF I DO — YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE THE PROPER EQUIPMENT FOR MY INJURY, YOU GOT THAT? DO I HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN ON PAPER AND STICK IT DOWN YOUR EARS JUST FOR YOUR MEAGER BRAIN TO UNDERSTAND?" She didn't understand why she was yelling so loud especially when Yvonne and Natasha were just outside doing whatever they were doing.
Duncan sighed, nodding carelessly. "Yeah, whatever lets you sleep at night." He prepared his position again, rubbing his hands together. He adjusted his shorts and stayed in position. "Now jump! Jump as if your ma found out where you stashed all of your Playboy magazines!"
The former C.I.T. placed her left foot on the ledge and took a deep breath. "Shut up! I don't have any Playboy magazines!" She lifted herself up on the ledge. She let go of it and held onto the sides, gulping. She looked down and almost felt like going back down when she realized how far a length it was. She saw Duncan who was ready to catch her.
Duncan's idiocy is contagious, Courtney thought.
She jumped.
Oh, God. Ohhh, God. Don't let me die, don't let me die, don't let me die! Duncan, if I'm suddenly in the afterlife, I swear you will be the first and only person I will haunt forever!
"Aw, mother — oof!"
Courtney braced for the painful impact but felt nothing; she felt something soft yet something hard. Her butt seemed to be slightly aching, but other than that, she felt fine. She saw darkness and almost slapped herself unconscious when she noticed she closed her eyes. She opened them and saw herself outside on the ground.
She heard a moan and looked down.
And almost screamed.
"Is it possible to have your chest broken into pieces?" Duncan moaned from underneath her. "Damn this shit, dude … Aw, craaaaap, this hurts like hell!" He moaned again in pure agony.
With slit eyes, Courtney swung her leg over until it was on the other side of Duncan and grabbed onto his shoulders. She started shaking him back and forth, not caring if the back of his head hit the ground. There was grass, anyway.
"You — " shake " — didn't — " shake " — even — " shake, shake, shake " — CATCH ME!" Her shakes increased, getting rougher and rougher. She wouldn't be surprised if his neck snapped off. Her scary, volatile side hoped that; her queasy side didn't.
Duncan grabbed her hands and shoved them off. He sat up, almost hitting his nose with Courtney's, but Courtney immediately moved her face to the side to prevent any further damage to her precious nose. He held onto her hands firmly with his big ones.
"I did," he said angrily. "But then your freakin' shoes smacked me in the face, and I fell with your big ass landing on my stomach!"
She turned red, a combination of embarrassment and anger. "I do not have a big butt!" Unconsciously, she was about to feel her rear end but stopped because that was foolish to do.
He snorted. "Uh, yeah, suuuure, honey."
"I don't!"
A lecherous grin spread on his lips. "Want me to find out?"
" … Why don't you cut off your hands and eat them."
He grimaced. "So you have a disgusting side too." His eyes traveled downwards, grin becoming wider. "Kinky — I like it."
"Wha — ?" She followed his gaze fast. "EWWWWWWW!"
"Yeah, thanks, Courtney. Now you broke my freakin' eardrums."
Courtney jumped off of him. She shuddered in disgust. She couldn't believe she was on top of him. If a bystander were to see this, he or she would've thought obscenely, thinking that she was straddling him. That would be wrong! That would be repulsive!
Thoughts of her having her way with him wormed its way inside her cranium, circling around like a carousel, taunting her and taunting her. She clutched her head and shook it, hoping to fling off away such thoughts.
But she felt like a hypocrite, because —
Stop it, Courtney.
"Don't act like you didn't love it." Duncan appeared besides her, nudging her side with his elbow, grinning.
"I didn't," she spat and stepped away from his nudging. "It was purely accidental."
"Uh-huh." He grabbed her arm and started dragging her to who-knew-where.
"What the — Where are you taking me?" She tried prying her arm out of his grip.
"Where do ya think? We're gonna get your nose treated."
She stopped struggling.
she shrugs off the truth and drowns in her lies
As they entered the police station, Courtney watched as almost every police officer greeted Duncan. They passed by the front desk and a woman manning it greeted him with a satirical tone. (Courtney remembered that she was Duncan's older sister, Mia.) They went behind the front desk, where only employees could go, and trudged down the hallway. More and more police officers who passed by greeted him — even the people who weren't out in the field and were in charge of managing the files greeted him. Everyone working in that station knew him.
The duo entered a small room. When the lights turned on, Courtney saw that it looked like a mini clinic. Four beds were on the right side of the room, obviously for injured officers. On the other side were counters and cabinets with medicinal items, antibiotics, and other medical-related tools. A generic-looking TV was installed on the far left corner of the room.
Duncan pulled her over to the sofa near them and made her sit down. He walked over to the cabinets and got out a first-aid kit. He sat down on the sofa near her and opened the kit.
"A first-aid kit for my nose?" Courtney questioned.
He stared at her blankly. "You have a scratch on your hand," he said.
Confused, she looked at her hand and saw that she did indeed have a scratch — a big one. And it was starting to smart. She held out her hand when he started to dab some cotton balls with alcohol.
"I'll get an icepack for your nose after this."
Quietly, she nodded and let him treat her hand.
She hissed when the alcohol hit her wound but remained tough. It was just a little scratch; she wasn't going to die. And since Duncan was treating it, she wouldn't have to worry about it getting infected.
As he took care of her hand, she couldn't help but stare at him from time to time underneath her lashes. A strange feeling surged through her, conspicuously wrapping around her heart. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced away from him. She focused her attention on the white tiles.
"Done," Duncan announced. He placed a big bandage on it. He closed the kit and dumped it to the side. He then went over to the refrigerator near the sink and opened the freezer. He got an icepack and threw it at her.
She caught it and immediately put it on her nose. She sighed contentedly.
"After this, we're going to do some errands. My ma told me to grocery shopping for her since she can't; she has stuff to do at work," he informed her, drinking a bottled water he got from the fridge. "We're walking, 'cause my license got suspended."
No surprise there, Courtney thought disappointedly, rolling her eyes.
"And walking will take long, and the grocery list is long — which means you'll have to stay by yourself for a long time while I'm gone. So, I figured I'll bring you with me. It's gonna be freakin' boring doing all of that, and since you're pretty fun to play with, I'll bring you. Cool?"
"I'm not a toy." But she didn't complain. She didn't like being confined in his room.
He nodded and threw the water bottle in the trashcan. "Let's jet."
"Wait, don't you need to have money first? And the list, too? You don't have that great of a memory, especially when the amount of groceries needed is large. Go home first, and I'll wait here."
His teal eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How … how do you know that my house is near?"
"What?"
He got closer. "You know that my house is connected to this police station? That the other two stories are just for show to other people so they don't know that there's someone living in there?"
Hesitantly, Courtney nodded. When she had first visited Duncan's family, she had to go through the backdoor. She didn't understand. So after she had eaten dinner with them, she had gone to his bedroom alone with him and had inquired him about it. He had told her that their house was built together with the station a long time ago. His parents own the station and the house, as well. But they kept the fact that the house behind was theirs to themselves for safety reasons. It didn't matter, though, because their security system was state-of-the-art.
There was a front entrance. Someone would have to go through the police station first. There was a hallway in the way back, far away from the jail cells. A system was installed that only Duncan's family knew, and if the code was entered, the door would open. Of course a member in the family would have to have keys to the door — just like a regular household door — to open it properly. Oddly enough, there was even a doorbell. But they mostly used the backdoor now.
He inhaled through his teeth. "You must've been one serious girlfriend, then."
At that, a grave expression was on her face. Turning away from him, she started for the door, leaving him behind.
As soon as they walked by the front desk and out the door, Courtney heard Mia shout out, "Hey, Duncan! There's a sale at the store nearby for condoms!" The mocha-haired girl grumbled to herself and walked faster.
She heard a chuckle beside her and saw that Duncan effortlessly caught up with her.
"She thinks that you're one of … them." She could tell he was trying to keep it vaguely simple, and she respected that. But still, she knew what he was talking about, so what was the point in it all?
Smiling bitterly, she replied, "Just wonderful."
"Wow, what's up your ass?"
She scowled at him. "Everything, apparently!" She groaned and started complaining to herself unintelligibly.
The two entered a convenience store and went down the aisle, searching for items. In actuality, Duncan was searching while Courtney was just following him, looking around. She crossed her arms over her chest when she realized the freezing temperature. She cringed when she realized that Duncan was heading directed to the frozen goods aisle. She sighed and went after him.
Duncan was reading the list, mumbling words to himself as he did so. He sounded like he was complaining and didn't understand what was on it. He opened the door and took out a box of frozen chicken wings. He stared at it, clearly confused, shrugged, and tossed it in the cart. He pushed the cart and went on.
"You cold?" he inquired conversationally.
Courtney scoffed. "What do you think?" she snapped.
"Hey, here's how you can shake off the coldness."
"Ugh, what?"
"Think of me." After that, he smirked at her and walked to the vegetables/fruits section.
Egotistical jerk. How could he even have an ego that big? Who could've possibly blown up that ego to the point where it squishes his brain until it can't breathe anymore, which means it isn't workable?
She huffed, glaring at the back of said egotistical jerk's head.
Whoever did should die.
Duncan waved his hand, motioning her to come over to him. Unwillingly, she complied and stood next to him, wondering what he needed help with. He was holding two fruits: a tangerine and an orange.
"All right, here's how it goes: this is an orange" — he picked up his left hand holding the orange — "and this is a tangerine." He did the same with his right hand holding the tangerine. "I mean, I can tell which is which, but what I don't get is what the difference between them is. They're both orange."
Courtney rolled her eyes at his stupidity concerning the citrus fruits. "Duncan, tangerines are smaller than oranges, able to be pocket foods because of that; oranges are bigger. Tangerines are less sour than oranges — I guess it's a bit sweeter, though that depends on your taste buds. They are also easier to peel; oranges have a hard skin, thus them being hard to peel," she explained smoothly.
He nodded, seeming impressed. "You really are smart," he noted.
Feeling complacent, she thanked him.
"And that's why you're still doing my homework."
She smiled; it was etched with sweetness and innocence, a smile that was begging for the heavens to open up and shine upon it, angels singing softly. Underneath it, however, was the ire waiting to be unleashed from the depths of her dark personality. It was clawing its way up and out of her system, but it restrained itself until it needed to come out and attack.
"Duncan," she sighed. "Duncan, Duncan, Duncan … Would you like those two fruits shoved up somewhere? How about down your esophagus? How does that sound? Hmm?" The smile twitched.
Duncan looked at her dumbly. "You say somethin'? Didn't hear you."
Seeing people pass them by, she gulped down her fury with all of her strength hard. She whipped her head away from him, smile disappearing faster than the speed of light. A haunting look came about, and she took a couple of deep breaths.
In due time, Courtney, in due time … And then you can do whatever you want with him, she thought, sounding rather creepy in her thoughts.
A fast, small whisper passed by: With whips, handcuffs, matches, a huge comfy bed, ooooh …
Horrified at that, she swore, "Shit!" and covered her mouth. She wasn't the type of cuss so extremely, nor would she ever even do it in public. She wasn't like that. She wasn't!
A little girl holding fruits samples in one hand stared at her curiously. "Shit?" she inquired, tilting her head in an adorable way.
Courtney's mouth became ajar. She thought of a plan hurriedly. "Um, well … uh, erm — Little girl, what I meant to say was — ," she tried to explain.
"Shit," the little girl finished.
Gasping, she waved both hands frantically in front of her, shaking her head sideways. "No, no, no! Of course not! That's — that's a bad word, sweetie! Now, wh-who taught you such words?" She laughed nervously, dark eyes dashing everywhere, panicky.
She frowned. "You did."
Courtney laughed louder and patted the girl's head a couple of times. "No, I did not! Cussing is wrong, and I don't do that! Ha-ha! Adults don't cuss, so you shouldn't cuss, all right?"
"But … you cussed, so that makes it all right." She smiled brightly, showing her missing two front teeth. "I'm gonna tell my mama my new word! She'll be happy!" She skipped along happily, humming.
"You just taught a little girl the word 'shit.' Round of applause for Courtney, everyone," Duncan announced near her, too close for comfort. "Ain't she a sweet, folks?"
Courtney smiled and elbowed him in the guts.
she smiles, frowning
Duncan ran over to his bed and jumped on it, exhaling loudly with happiness. He stretched his body out.
"I am beat!" he declared, closing his eyes shut. He opened them and checked the time. "And it's only 7:56."
Courtney yawned. "Well, I'm tired, too. And this time, I'm not sleeping on the ground." She placed her hand on the small of her back and stretched. "My back needs to feel softness, you know."
"Unless you wanna sleep with me … "
"Duncan! I'm serious! I'm tired of sleeping on the ground! Don't you at least have a futon somewhere in the house? Or at least check in the station and see if they have some." She stomped her foot on the ground. "I don't deserve to sleep on the ground."
He sat up on the bed, looking at her irritably. "What, am I supposed to give the royal treatment or something?"
"Give me a futon right now!"
"All right! Chill — can you do that? Do you need a demonstration? Goddamn." He got off the bed and opened his closet. He went inside it and hunted for a futon, cursing at times when random objects hit him in the head.
Courtney put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot continuously. Her patience was growing thin. She wanted to lie down on a soft — she prayed that it would be soft — futon and go to sleep, relaxing in the somewhat calm darkness. Although it was still early and she would wake up with a pounding headache, she was just too exhausted. Lately, her body didn't seem as active as much.
She saw Duncan pull out a cream-colored futon. He lifted it up and slammed it on the bed multiples of times, dust flying everywhere. Courtney turned her head away and covered her nose. She shuddered in disgust when the bits of dust flew on her everywhere.
"Duncan!" she cried out angrily. "There's dust on my clothes and my hair!"
Panting heavily, he set the futon on the ground and placed a comforter on top of it messily. He ignored her previous statement and brushed off the dirt on his T-shirt. He groaned and took off his shirt and threw it on the bed. He walked over to his dresser and rummaged for a new one.
Courtney's eyes pretended to be engrossed on the rock band poster on her right side, but slyly, they slid over to the built delinquent looking for a shirt. As she secretly stared at his torso, she noticed that he looked … smaller. He wasn't as built as the one she knew in Total Drama. He was fit, yes, but it seemed to be in the midst of developing. All in all, his torso was still something to ogle at.
Right after he put his shirt on, the freckled teen averted her attention back to the poster.
Duncan chuckled. "I know you were staring," he said.
She faced him, an innocent look on. "Staring? At the poster?"
He chuckled again. "You know what I mean."
She acted like she didn't know what he was talking about. "Yeah, I was staring at your poster, Duncan. I can't believe you're into this kind of music. I don't understand it. The aggressiveness, the angst, the screaming, the outrageous vulgarity — really … I don't see what interests you in it." She sighed, burning holes at the poster. Drop the freakin' subject, Duncan!
Looking as if he knew she was trying to sidetrack him, he crossed his arms over his chest and answered back, "Music is music, babe. All music genres have meaning underneath. Some meanings are actually meaningful; some are just filled with crap."
She nodded, pleased with the fact that he got distracted, agreeing with his logic about music.
"And I still know you were staring at me."
She gritted her teeth and glared. "Ugh, what is there to stare at? Okay, I'll admit: you have a fit body. Hip-hip-hooray. But really? You're just an idiot with no manners whatsoever. You make me, a woman, sleep on the ground — the ground, Duncan! You barely treat me with any respect, always calling me 'babe,' 'honey,' and — and 'sweetheart.' You have no self-discipline, and you are so careless with everything you do! You act before you think! You're a Neanderthal!" She finished, chest heaving.
He raised an eyebrow. "Um … ouch?" He smirked. "My turn. You're hot, Courtney. You got a nice, curvy body right there. Oh yeah … " He trailed, a goofy look appearing. Let the perverted daydreaming begin.
Courtney snapped her fingers.
"Huh? Oh! Smooth, long legs, big hips. You're a looker." He cleared his throat. "But of course, you've got your bad points. Which are a lot."
Locking her jaw and narrowing her eyes at him, she waited patiently. She knew what was to come.
"You're uptight. You're bossy. You're hotheaded. You're demanding. You're pushy. You're loud. You're not fun. You're overdramatic. You complain a lot. You look down on things a lot. You're judgmental. You're … a chick with issues, to put it simply." He shrugged.
Sadistic thoughts came to mind, and she thought about doing a large amount of them. But down there — deep, deep, deep, way down there — she knew he was right. About some. Okay, most. Okay, all!
"So that's what you think," she whispered, feeling like she fell down in a bottomless pit. She didn't show it.
"Hey, maybe if you loosened up and smiled more, tons of guys would be acting like lovesick losers around you — maybe even me." He winked. "But … I'm just sayin', you know?"
Duncan was a nice guy. Courtney knew that ever since she had found out Duncan gave DJ a new bunny and hid the fact that Bunny got eaten in Total Drama Island. Ever since then, she saw how genuine of a person he could be, even when he tried to conceal it. She loved that about him — more than she could ever imagine — and was quite envious, because she knew she could never be like that. It was actually sweet on how he would sacrifice that bravado and manly pride of his just for the sake of others even if discreetly. She really, really loved that about him.
And she loved — though unaware at the moment — the fact that even the Duncan back then, the one with her, was a nice guy, as well.
"Duncan!" a voice yelled from outside, downstairs.
Duncan sighed and yelled back, "What, Yvonne?"
"Help me prepare the dinner for today! Your mother isn't home yet for obvious reasons, and your brothers don't want to help me! Mia is currently sleeping, because she's exhausted from work — "
"Exhausted from work, my ass," he muttered.
" — and Natasha isn't allowed to touch anything sharp! So, could you be a kind person and come help your dear, dear nanny? Oh, Duncan, please! My old hands can't take it! What if I'm cutting the vegetables and the knife falls from my hands and stabs me on my foot? The thought horrifies me, honey! Oh, and oh! What if — ?"
"All right already!" Duncan groaned aloud and walked over to the door. "I'll help ya, I'll help ya! Don't let your granny panties get in a knot, Yvonne!"
"Duncan! You know very well that I wear — !"
He grimaced. "Don't know, don't wanna know!" He lowered his tone. "Don't tell me for the sake of my sanity."
Sanity? Didn't know he had one, Courtney thought smugly.
The delinquent faced her. "Maybe I'll bring some food up for you. Need to fill that tummy up with something, right?" He patted her stomach playfully.
She scowled and slapped his hand away.
He opened the door and was about to head out when Courtney grabbed his hand, stopping him. He turned back, a confused expression fixed on his face. He raised his pierced eyebrow.
"Thank you," she burst out, slightly disinclined. "For treating my hand and bringing me with you."
His face showed that he didn't know what to make of what she said. He grinned and squeezed her hand before letting go.
"Don't mention it, Princess." He left the room.
Courtney's eyes stared at the closed door. She brought the hand Duncan had squeezed to her chest, fingers tingling. Her breaths soon became fast and heavy. Powerful emotions hit her straight in the chest fast like a bazooka, aiming perfect. For some reason, her heart felt like it was jumping so high it could spurt out of her chest and fly.
Her lips felt like curving upwards.
TBC –
I Wanna Be Famous:
What a happy chapter.
Not for long. Buah-hahahaha! :D (Maybe. Dunno.)
Oh, and just to inform you guys, this story will be short — so it's a short story! (Duh.) Of course, it could change anytime soon, but yeah, I'm thinking it doesn't have to be that long and continuous. Probably up to a one-digit chapter or so.
Or whatever.
And ooooooh, he called her "Princess." Huh. Why, oh, why did he? Well, there was never a proper elucidation for that, so TDI made us use our freakin' imagination (cue rainbow over heads, like Spongebob!) and we thought of reasons:
"He calls her that, 'cause she acts like it and, uh, stuff!"
"It's because Duncan's a sweet hottie!"
"How the hell should I know?"
" … He calls her that?" (Those who think that shouldn't be reading this.)
"The nickname 'Princess' is a term of endearment reserved for Courtney and Courtney only, but as said nickname is uttered, the tone has a sense of mockery, using that nickname to taunt her. But it also has a tone of affection. At least we would hope so. You should refer to 'Basic Straining' for more information."
"'Duncney' FTW!"
I guess a majority of the fan base would go for the latter …
On to the next chapter!
And Happy-almost-New Year, peoples! ❤