Façade: Through the Eyes of the Codemeister

Chapter Fifty-One: The Very Last Chapter, Really!

The finalists were off, quickly being supported by their fellow cheerleaders. ...Well, Trent was the only one that seemed to make an effort to do all the running Izzy, Geoff, and a few of the others were doing for Owen. Leshawna didn't want to run, and Eva wasn't much for cheering, apparently. As for me, well, I didn't want to be a distraction. I felt that if I ran with her like Trent was, I'd just be causing more trouble.

It seemed both competitors had trouble getting up their flagpole. Owen was too heavy, and Gwen seemed to have trouble staying up on the pole. Apparently, something was making her pole slippery, but Trent wiped it off with his shirt.

And Gwen just stood there...

And stood there...

And stood there...

And stood--

"YO! Let's go, girl!" Leshawna shouted, snapping Gwen out of her trance. "You don't have time for daydreaming!"

Gwen hopped on the pole and began climbing. Meanwhile, Owen was still having trouble.

"Okay, that can't be legal," Eva said as Geoff, Izzy, and Heather attempted to push the big lug up the pole.

"Well, we can't say much," Leshawna sighed. "Trent did help Gwen, technically."

Owen grabbed his flag and cried out happily... before realizing he had to get back down. Taking a suggestion by Geoff, he began to slide down the pole, making awful squeaking noises and crying in pain. Despite this, he had a smile when he hit the bottom.

Meanwhile, Gwen had taken the lead, Trent in tow. She headed straight for the second phase of the challenge, no doubt.

"Want to get a closer look, Short Stuff?" Leshawna asked. Nodding, I followed her away from the bleachers. "Yo, Grumpy, man the fort while we're gone!"

"Oh, shut up!" Eva snarled, folding her arms.

By the time we reached the others, Gwen had already started out on the board. I looked on, horrified. Don't fall, Gwen, please don't fall...

Heather gave Owen a pep talk, and handed him his egg. Owen looked over the edge and was horrified at the size of the gorge.

I looked back to Gwen. To my horror--and most of everyone else's--she began to lose her footing...

Oh, God, Gwen... don't fall! Don't fall!

Leshawna covered her eyes, but I kept mine on Gwen. Please, Gwen, please don't fall...

Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man, oh, man...

...

Sh-she did it.

She regained her balance.

I smiled, sighing with relief. Of course, the terror wasn't over yet, but I was glad to see she was okay for the time being.

Gwen and Owen slowly made their way across the boards, but there was a slight delay...

...Oh crap.

Leshawna uncovered her eyes, and screamed... in my ear. "HOLY CRAP!!"

Eagles were heading straight towards them.

And now I had more reasons to worry about Gwen and Owen.

And to make matters worse, Heather came up with the biggest distraction of all: Justin shirtless.

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!

...Well, at least it backfired. Apparently she forgot about Owen's slip-ups.

And the eagles and sharks were no longer a problem either--Justin's bod caused enough distraction and pandemonium to take out the threats.

Trent managed to snap Gwen and Owen out of the trance, and they continued to walk their planks, Gwen reaching the end first.

"Yes!" I pointed out to Leshawna. "Gwen's in the lead!"

"I'm not blind, fool!" Leshawna told me. "Now come on!" We ran with the others, but were shocked to see Owen run into the confession can for a little... unfinished business.

"Oh, boy," I said, hearing the noises coming from the can. "I hope we don't have to make any confessions for a while."

"That's it!" Leshawna cried to Gwen as we caught up to her, passing Heather and an annoyed Chris. "Go, girl! You got it!"

As we ran, I noticed Trent was trying to prove something to Gwen. He even picked up a large, heavy rock. Feeling that they probably should be alone, I tapped Leshawna's shoulder. "They'll be circling back eventually. We should wait at the finish line."

"Good idea, Short Stuff," she said, smiling, yet panting. "Any more of this running, and I'll faint."

-X-

We weren't the only ones that apparently decided to come back to the bleachers, but there still seemed to be a few people on Owen's side missing. Not thinking much of it, Leshawna and I sat on the bleachers again.

"Miss me?" Eva asked as we sat down.

"Wouldn't want you to get lonely," I said, and Eva rolled her eyes.

It wasn't long before we noticed two figures appear over the horizon.

"Ooooh!" Leshawna got excited, and I could see why. Gwen was in the lead!

Yes! Yes! She was going to win this!

"There they are," Chris announced as Owen also appeared in the distance. "Two real competitors, and, if I may say, truly personifying the spirit of the Reject Olympics."

Trent and Owen began to show a lot of strain, and both fell like a bag of rocks... ironically. Still, the two pushed forward.

Leshawna and I cheered. Gwen's victory was in the bag!

"Hot brownies coming through," Izzy said, suddenly appearing with a plate of the delicious dessert.

...Wait...

Oh no...

"Lindsay! The fan! Now!" Izzy shouted, and I turned to find Lindsay with a large fan in her possession. She turned it on... but was holding it backwards, hitting Team Owen with the blast. It even made Heather lose her wig, revealing her in all her bald-headed glory.

The queen bee stood, screaming. "My wig! Can't you freaks do anything right?"

Leshawna had had enough, apparently; she stood up. "Ooh, that's it! I've had about enough of that girl." She stomped toward Heather, who had retrieved her wig. She picked her up and carried her off.

I turned my attention back to the finalists, but not before spotting Lindsay actually facing the fan in the right direction. "Oh, crap..."

Sure enough, Owen found an extra bit of strength, and he ran toward the finish line, knocking Gwen over along the way.

NO!

Not after all that's happened!

Not after all she's gone through!

But it was too late.

Owen had won the contest.

I frowned. Brownies. She lost a contest 'cause of a few brownies!

...Okay, there were a lot of brownies, but to Owen it'd just be a few.

Still, this didn't seem right! As much as I liked the guy, Gwen deserved to win! All the stuff she had to go through, all the pain and tribulations, all the crap Heather put her through... and she wasn't going to blow her money on some stupid party!

Eight weeks of torture... and nothing.

Why?

I looked over at the cheering Owen supporters, as the big lug himself put Ezekiel and Harold in a double headlock. Well, I guess I can still be happy for the guy. After all, he's my friend. And I guess he did deserve the money more than most of the people here.

But it was still a shame to see Gwen lose after all this time.

As Owen began to shower a beaming Izzy with kisses, I looked over to the two still on the race track. Trent had helped Gwen up and was about to walk back to us, but Gwen held him back. I smiled as the musician picked up the beaming runner-up. She still had a smile on her face. That meant something, right?

Of course it did.

In the end, that was all that really mattered.

She was happy, despite the outcome of the contest.

Owen ran up to the two, and brought his arms around them. After saying something to them, he ran around cheering, and they locked arms. I knew what that meant. They were a couple now.

...

And I couldn't have been happier.

Then they walked towards us, paying no heed to the others, who were trying to make her feel better about losing. She apparently didn't care, and I didn't blame her after the stunt they pulled. "Hey, thanks, you three, for having my back."

"We always got your back, Gwen," Leshawna said.

"Yep," I added, though secretly my brain was screaming at me to stop. This was the first time I was able to speak to Gwen in weeks--I didn't want to sound like an idiot. "You're always a winner in our book, Gwen."

My eyes widened as hers fell on mine. "Hey, Cody, glad to see you're okay." I don't know why I was as surprised as I was, but I was really surprised when she hugged me. Unconsciously, I returned it. "I'm so sorry we kicked you off. That was all my fault."

I didn't know what to say, but one thing was for sure: I didn't want her blaming herself. "I-It's not your fault, Gwen."

"No, it is." She sighed. "I made the others vote for you."

"I know."

She looked at me, shocked. "You... you know?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "I found out. Look..." I didn't know how to say it. I could barely speak right now. I mean... I was so excited. I was talking to Gwen! But I had to say it, and I had to say it now. "I-I need to know, Gwen. D-Did you really miss me or did you just wish you could've gotten rid of Heather?" I squeaked out quickly, almost regretting saying it after I asked. I bit my lip, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

She frowned. "I deserve that. Look, I used to think you were just a jerk, but you're a good guy. You really are." She smiled again, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Plus, I was really worried about you after... what happened." I think she was trying to avoid mentioning the mauling. "So, to answer your question, yes. I really missed you." She ruffled a hand through my hair, messing it up a bit.

"See? Told ya," Trent said, nudging me. "But no, you just had to hear it from her. Couldn't take my word for it."

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes, but kept my smile. She really did care. She really did!

"Hey, Cody, Leshawna, can I speak to you guys over here for a second?" Chris called to us, and I looked at the smiling couple next to me.

"We, uh, better go. You guys keep Eva company," I joked, earning what I assumed was meant to be a playful punch to the arm, but it hurt like hell. "OW!"

-X-

"So what are we doing over here?" I asked as Leshawna and I walked up to Chris.

He simply grinned. "Oh, there's this little thing we're doing... something special for a special someone." He gestured toward three other contestants that were standing with us--Bridgette, DJ, and our new champion Owen. "I just want to record something extremely short and sweet, no big deal. It almost hurts, honestly, but I think it'll be worth it. I think." He explained to us what we were supposed to do--sort of pop up into the camera frame or something like that. I didn't quite understand it at the time. Maybe it was something for the fans? But then again, Chris did say a special someone... maybe he had a crush on somebody back home and we were their favourite campers? I shrugged. Well, what does it matter, anyway? It was kinda fun to do.

Once we were done, though, a little tension got worked into it. Leshawna had given DJ and Bridgette a dirty look. "So, what was up with that whole sellin'-out thing, y'all?"

"Sorry," Bridgette said, a little ashamed. "I've never been to a party like that. It sounded exciting."

"Uh-huh." Leshawna still looked a little ticked. "And you?"

DJ tugged at his shirt collar, sweating a little. "Uh, I was kind of on the fence to begin with. I wanted both of them to win."

"Whatever." Leshawna just walked away after that.

I looked at the two, and shrugged. Though I was shocked that they did that, I couldn't hold a grudge against DJ and Bridgette. They're too nice.

It was now Owen's turn to "interrogate" me. "What about you, Cody? I thought we were buds. Bros before hoes?"

I rolled my eyes. "Last time I checked, Gwen's not a ho, bro."

"...Oh, right, right. Duh. Still, how come you supported her over me?"

"Uh, he likes her, dude," DJ said, and Owen gasped as if he just had an epiphany.

"Still?! After she rejected you and got the others to vote you off and--"

"Owen!" DJ tried to get him to shut up. "That's enough, man."

"I mean, I guess I can see why, and all, 'cause she's hot as hell, like Justin, only pale--I MEAN, she's hotter than Justin, 'cause she's a chick." He chuckled nervously. "He's so hot--er--she's so hot. She is. I'd tap that if ever given the opportun--you know what? Let's eat. I'm starving."

"...Yeah, sounds like a good idea," DJ said, a little disturbed, no doubt. Bridgette and I shared a similar "WTF" look before following the two to the lodge.

-X-

The chapter was pretty short, I know, but I think it was still a good chapter. Plus, I wasn't quite sure on what note to end it.

Despite the title of the chapter, this really isn't the very last chapter, really.