Nickelback's Gotta Be Somebody. I was originally going to use Victoria Justice's Gold, but after much frustration, I realized that it just wasn't the right song for them, so I chose a new song and rewrote the whole chapter.

Dedicated to my good friend 80jj, who helped me find just the right song.

I don't own Total Drama.


His hands deep in his pockets, he ducked his head down further, trying to use his shoulders to keep the hood of his jacket up around his ears. A gust of cold air made him shiver, and he immediately regretted leaving the house. He hated snow, and he hated cold. He just wanted to be curled up in a nice comfy armchair in front of a roaring fireplace, reading something – anything.

But then, at the same time, it was better out here.

Here it was easier to think about how the cold of winter bothered him, and not of the ache in his heart he felt when he was around his friends.

It wasn't that he wanted to feel this way. Contrary to popular belief, his life goal was not to be The Grinch. He didn't like being jealous of his friends, feeling so lost and alone that he couldn't even enjoy reading a book.

And he couldn't help wondering if it was his own fault that he was so damn lonely.

Taking a deep breath of the cold, night air, he couldn't help thinking about his friends. Izzy and Owen were easy. She was nuts, sure, but Owen needed a girl with a spark and Izzy had just that. And not just when she was playing with explosives. As much as he made snarky comments and chirped Izzy whenever he got the chance, he didn't think they were a bad couple. In fact, he thought they were one of the best couples he knew.

Eva had DJ – that had come out of nowhere. But if he really thoughts about it, the teddy bear brought out the best in the bodybuilder. And while it didn't solve the problem completely, he had noticed that Eva did have slightly more control over her temper since the two of them had gotten together.

Even Cody had someone. Someone he actually wanted to be with – which was not Sierra. How he'd managed to get Sierra to back off enough that he could actually date Sammy was well beyond Noah. But then, even if Cody wasn't with someone he wanted to be with, like Sierra, that still would have been an improvement. At least he had someone who cared.

Noah certainly couldn't say he had that.

He wasn't a romantic person. He really didn't care for romance, of dating – it was all pointless, a complete and utter waste of time. And as such, he'd never actually bothered with it before.

And yet here he was, regretting his disinterest, regretting his lack of participation.

With his sleeve, he quickly brushed the snow off of a nearby bench and sat down. If he was going to stay out a little longer in the cold, he may as well try to make himself comfortable. Above him, the streetlight flickered on for a moment, but quickly went out.

Tugging his coat tighter around his body, he shivered.

Maybe he should have made an effort. Maybe not a great effort, but some kind of effort nonetheless. Anything would have been better than this. Then he wouldn't be so completely alone. Then he wouldn't be the odd man out. As much as he hated feeling so dependent, he couldn't help thinking that there had to be someone for him out there.

There just had to be.


She didn't hold it against them.

Mike and Zoey couldn't help being hopelessly in love with each other. Sure, they could have been a little more respectful of others, of her, by not showing it so much in public. But then with a love as dedicated as theirs, she could hardly blame them for wanting to share it.

Dakota was pretty self-involved, so she wasn't really surprised that the blonde heiress didn't notice the discomfort in the room when she sat on Sam's lap in front of everyone.

Dakota and Zoey had been lonely before too, but they seemed to have forgotten how that felt with the presence of their boyfriends. Dakota had spent her life being raised almost entirely by nannies and Zoey had had no friends as a child, and yet now that they had people who cared, they seemed to have completely forgotten what it was like.

Even Cameron had Gwen. They weren't publicly an item yet, but Dawn could see the growing pink in their auras. They had strong feelings for one another – though she wasn't sure if they'd figured that part out just yet.

She had never felt so alone before, even when she was with her friends. And it definitely didn't help when they were publicly displaying their affection for each other, while she was always left behind, the sole single in her friend group. The last one without someone who cared.

It really hurt, but she couldn't hold it against them.

Even though she felt really, really alone.

She just had to keep hoping that she'd find the one she was destined to spend forever with.

Shivering as a gust of wind dusted her green coat with snowflakes, she tried to adjust her bright blue scarf to keep the cold air off the back of her neck, but her mittens had caught some stray snowflakes out of the air, and when she adjusted her scarf they sprinkled on her exposed skin, making her gasp.

Pulling her scarf tighter, she moved to a nearby bench and swept the thin layer of snow off of it so she might have a seat.

She didn't want to go it alone anymore.


Above the duo, the streetlight began to flash again, finally flickering to life. While he shivered in his coat, feeling two types of cold, one physical and one in his soul, she stared down at her two mittened hands curled in her lap, her breath creating a cloud of fog in front of her.

Unwittingly, the same thought plaguing both their minds.

There had to be someone who felt the same somewhere.

Their hearts aching in unison, he glanced over at her and their eyes met for just a moment. He looked back down at his lap, a sigh temporarily clouding the air before him.

She glanced up at the streetlight above them, illuminating each and every snowflake that was spiralling down towards them, and she couldn't help feeling like the whole thing vaguely reminded her of a scene in a movie. It was almost like deja vu, like they'd been there before.

Glancing over at him again, she started to feel as though her gaze was drawn to him. And when he met hers, she wondered if he felt the same pull as she did. Because when their eyes happened to meet for a third time, that sitting on a bench with him felt perfectly natural – it felt right. It was almost as though they were meant to be there, together.

And in that moment, she realized she didn't feel quite so alone anymore.


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