A/N: Yay! I really enjoyed doing the Courtney and Trent hook up last chapter and am hoping I can do good justice to this next chapter. No I won't be all Duncan and Gwen but it will be all characters. I want to give everyone a fair share of this story and hope I'm doing a good job of just that. I'm hoping Gwen will get a little more time in this because I personally feel her character needs more room to develop. So here we go!

Chapter 9: Jumper

I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend,
You could cut ties with all the lies,
That you've been living in,
And if you do not want to see me again,
I would understand

Courtney POV

I can honestly admit to myself that I would've been fine never falling in love. I never really wanted to know about love the way most girls do. I had many other things in my future to look forward to and never felt the loneliness in a quest for fulfillment or completion. If I needed anything it could be found in me and not someone else.

Duncan had changed a lot of that.

Something about his very presence made me feel more alone than ever, to the point of loneliness and I found myself in need of someone else's appreciation and attention. It grew even stronger when I thought he had something-close-to care and love for me and I wanted as much of that as he could give. What was worse was I started to feel those things right back.

I think the worst part of breaking up with him was the feeling as though I would never be the same. In a way I'm not. I'm better, stronger and smarter now knowing what to look out for and what to not let myself get caught up in again.

I'm not sure why, but I feel safe with Trent. I feel like if this thing between us, whatever that was, wouldn't break my heart. That Trent was good enough a guy who would continue to be kind with me and maybe even care.

I know he still cares for Gwen, even if he doesn't love her anymore it's actually nice to know a guy who can be that way with his ex's.

It didn't hurt me as much as I thought it would, if anything else I expected it to happen right away. I knew as soon as Duncan got the chance he would make his move on Gwen and try to forget about me as fast as possible.

What's crazier is I feel like I forgot about him faster. Trent was being such a great friend and showing me such a great time that I hadn't had a single thought of Duncan until I saw him in the restaurant. I'm surprised he took Gwen to my favorite restaurant. He probably thought he could be real smug and show me how much he didn't miss me by being with the girl he was attracted to so much. However it didn't make one difference to me, and surprisingly it didn't seem to make a difference to Trent either. Duncan thought he was the one who moved on? He was sadly mistaken when Trent and I went over to them and I stared Duncan down, daring him to say he wasn't upset with the fact that I had moved on. Duncan's look pretty much said it all, I knew he was mad and I know he's still not over it.

In a really sick way it kind of makes me happy, simply because I already know how selfish and egotistical Duncan can be when it comes to women, but mostly I pity him. I may have never really liked Gwen, but she is a good person and she probably would be better for Duncan in the long run because she can relate to him better, but Duncan doesn't even really know what he wants yet. He thinks he can have everything the easy way.

But I'm not an easy kind of girl; I'm a strong-minded woman who expects a lot in a relationship. At first I believed Duncan could handle it, but I was wrong and I hope he can grow up and just be in a good relationship eventually. As much as Duncan hurt me, I do want him to be happy, I'm not as heartless as I seem, and if I wanted to be truly honest with myself I could admit that I still loved him enough to want him to be happy. But I no longer love him enough to put up with his bullshit.

"You ok?"

Trent looks at me concerned for the third time. I know he keeps waiting for me to say something, but my mind isn't in the right place to say something appropriate for the situation.

Right now we're sitting on his couch with his arm around my shoulder and my back pressed against his chest. It's nice and comfortable and yet I can't seem to pull my mind away from Duncan. I need to remind myself that the break up was still recent and I just need time to get over it. I really don't want to spoil the night with Trent, especially after the wonderful gift he gave me.

"I'm fine, I guess I'm just trying to soak everything in right now."

Trent nods as if he understands, but I can tell there's some worry in his eyes, worry that my kissing him was a mistake on my part.

I pat his leg assuredly. "I don't mean the kiss Trent, the kiss was wonderful, it just brought up some other thoughts in the back of my head."

I wish I could be a little less blunt with people, I can tell it hurts their feelings, but I've never been less than completely honest and I'm not going to pretend with Trent that my break up with Duncan doesn't still hurt when it does.

I don't believe moving on means you don't feel hurt anymore, you just learn to accept it and find something better. If anything I don't believe in forgetting, if you chose to forget something then what can you learn?

Trent clears his throat and looks down at my hand, which is entangled with his. "I guess I can't blame you, hell I even know what you're going through, but why did you kiss me exactly?"

I bite my lower lip and try to form a proper answer, there really isn't one, there are so many reasons and so many feelings and thoughts, I just don't want this be complicated.

Trent POV

I'm not sure how this whole thing suddenly turned complicated but it has. I really did want to do something nice for Courtney and show how much I've appreciated her help and company. Yet the kiss caught me off guard.

I didn't really give a romantic relationship much thought simply because I didn't think she felt that way about me, so I didn't even allow myself to entertain such thoughts.

But now that a possibility has opened up, I can't help but feel excited and apprehensive at the same time.

Courtney is a wonderful girl, yet the whole thing with Duncan leaves me concerned. I can tell she's not fully over him and I don't want to become the better option just because I really like her and because she's still hurting from the break up and just needs someone. Yes it's nice to be needed, but I needed to know that I was wanted too.

"I just…"

She's trying to answer my question about the kiss.

"I just wanted to Trent."

I smile fondly at her and tighten my hold around her delicate fingers and place a small kiss on her shoulder while whispering out, "Good."

Duncan POV

I can't help but wonder if I might be rushing this. I've wanted Gwen like a bad itch for a while now, and now that I have her the whole thing seems so surreal.

I continue to stroke Gwen's back while trying to rationalize things in my head. There is no need to feel like I'm rushing or forcing anything. It's not like we had slept together yet, she just stayed the night. I know I want Gwen very much… but a part of me feels like I still need Courtney, or at least need her to want me back.

I'd hate to think myself that egotistical, but I do know that I can't stand the fact that she had moved on from me so damn fast. Sure I hadn't been the best boyfriend in the world, but I certainly didn't think I'd been the worse one either.

What's that girl's deal?

Is Trent really that great a guy or is she just using him to get back at me? It actually wouldn't surprise me if she was capable of doing that, but the way she was with Trent didn't seem the least bit played out or fake.

Trent's a good guy and all, but what the fuck does he have that I don't? Besides sappy taste in music.

I need to stop thinking about this, Gwen's already waking up and I don't want to spoil the day with a whole replay of "Why are our ex's suddenly together?"

I settle back down next to her and wrap an arm around her delicate body. "Sleep well?"

She hums to herself and nods. She can be so damn cute sometimes.

"What's your deal? Couldn't sleep or something."

Damn it, she knows I've been up awhile. I shrug acting like it's no big deal.

"Just thinking about some things."

"Like us?" she asks hopefully.

I don't want to tell her I've mostly been thinking about Courtney and Trent. I know Gwen wants this to work out, for us to have a serious relationship. But the way Courtney blew me off has kind of left a bad taste in my mouth for serious relationships. I just need her to be patient with me.

"Just all kinds of stuff," I reply not answering her question. I can tell she's disappointed as her smile falls into a small frown. I want so badly to make her happy, but I'm not going to change myself, I've tried it once already with Courtney and it didn't work.

Gwen gets over things much faster than most girls; she simply yawns and starts to get up. "I should get dressed, I need to go get some art supplies for a project."

I nod and get up myself kissing her on the cheek. "I'll see you later then, I have something I've got to do."

She raises an eyebrow and looks at me curiously. "Yeah? Like what?"

I smile coyly at her and kiss her one last time on the forehead. "Nothing for you to worry about, let's just say it's a surprise."

She smiles brightly at me and I get myself together preparing to do something to set things in motion for the both of us.

Gwen POV

I walk down to the local art supply store in a rather good mood. I'm not going to rush things with Duncan, I'm going to take things slow and let what happens happen. I'm very hopeful for this relationship.

Even though I feel like I'm still moving on from Trent, I can tell Duncan has some moving on to do as well, I feel like the both of us being in this situation will actually help us move along faster.

I stop walking so immediately I almost fall over; right next to my favorite art store is a coffee shop which has none other than Courtney sitting on the outside patio.

I consider waiting until she leaves but she looks like she's comfortable writing something down in a notebook. I feel like the world is against me, but it could be that the world is telling me that I should stop avoiding her and just face her already. Courtney was a huge part of Duncan's life, weather I like it or not I have to accept it.

Maybe confronting her will give me some more clarity, perhaps she even needs some of her own.

I take a deep breath and stride up to her, the sound of my heavy boots gets her attention, she looks up at me with some annoyance but I can tell she's willing to talk to me as she sets down her pen.

"Hi," she says curtly.

"Hi," I say back nervously. I twiddle my thumbs a bit trying to find my words. "I just wanted to say I had no intention of being with Duncan while he was still with you, I honestly didn't think he even felt that way about me. But now that you two are broken up I just want you to know that I'm going to try to make it work with him."

She looks at me like an annoyed parent would a misbehaving kid. "So what do you want Gwen? My blessing?"

I exhale loudly getting a little frustrated by her cynicism. "I'm not asking for anything from you, I just felt like you should know where I stand. I'm not out to get you or anything, I know you must hate me but…"

"I don't hate you," Courtney sighs rolling her eyes. "I just wish Duncan had been more honest with his feelings instead of springing on me the fact that he likes you so much, I really loved him."

"He loved you too," I say feeling the need to protect Duncan.

Courtney snorts at my comment and shakes her head. "He never loved me, he might've gotten close but…" Courtney closes her eyes and I can clearly see the hurt on her face. "You might have a better chance with him, but don't hold your breath."

Her blunt remark stabs right though my heart, I don't want to believe her but she was with him longer and more romantically than I was. She looks up at me ready to say something else which makes me even more nervous.

"But I wish you all the best Gwen."

Her last statement takes me completely off guard. I didn't know Courtney was capable of actually being so nice and forgiving. I almost forget how to react at all as she starts gathering her things and preparing to leave. There is one last thing I need to confront her about.

"This thing with Trent…" she looks up at me, the one taken off guard this time. "Are you two... getting serious?"

Courtney raises her eyebrows and bites her lower lip. "Well not that it's any of your business, but yes. I'm hoping to start something new with him."

I nod a bit frazzled by her answer, it's just odd imagining Trent with Courtney. "I know it's not my place," I say a bit more confidently. "But please be good to him, he's a nice guy."

Courtney looks off, slightly dreamy. "Yes he is." She smiles at me once and it gives me a comforting feeling to now think of the two of them together.

I smile back at her as she walks away, somehow I feel as though the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. I have no need to wonder if Trent misses me not, it doesn't even bother me if he doesn't, and I finally understand what he sees in Courtney.

Ross: You're over me? When were you under me?

-Friends