A Different, Better Timeline

by iwishiwaskidding

What if Courtney doesn't get eliminated during Basic Straining? What then? Canon divergent after Basic Straining, but things are already a little different. Most season one canon pairings.

15. Close

A/N If you'll remember, we're nearing the end of the challenge. Bridgette, Izzy, Lindsay, and Leshawna are still in it, and it's anyone's game! Heather wants an alliance with Courtney, and what's going on with Geoff and Bridgette? Enjoy!

Chris was starting to get a little impatient. The challenge had just passed the two-hour mark, and there were still four campers left. None of the girls looked like they were giving up any time soon.

Leshawna handled everything with a determinedness the other three lacked, quiet and completely in the zone. Izzy enjoyed every second of the torture, cheering whenever it was her turn. Lindsay squirmed and complained, but still she kept going. Bridgette looked absolutely bored as she did her tortures, almost as if this was just another day. There had to be something he could do to hurry this along.

"Lindsay, you're up again!" Chris called, his voice tired, "and, since we've gone through three different wheels, I'm changing things up. The challenges are no longer by chance, but I'm picking something special for each of you."

"Coming!" Lindsay ran to the center of the stage and smiled at her host, "what do I have to do?"

Chris smirked, and, suddenly she wasn't so happy, "Wawanakwa Hair Salon! How close will you let Chef get to your head with a pair of scissors? If you manage to make it the whole ten seconds, you win this challenge and get a cool new do!"

"My hair?" Lindsay asked, subconsciously touching it, "you want to cut off my hair? But I need it! I don't want to get a haircut, especially not from Chef. He's not a trained professional. He'll cut off too much! And it'll be uneven! I don't want a haircut. I like my hair how it is. I don't want it to look bad. I don't want to be ugly."

"Yes, yes, it's quite shocking, I know. So, are we doing this?"

Lindsay looked at the others. Bridgette and Leshawna were both sending her sympathetic looks. Izzy was picking her split ends. She really didn't want to do this, and she didn't think the trailer was quite worth a bad haircut. Worse, she could hear Chef snipping the scissors behind her, ready to make her ugly.

Turning back, Lindsay shook her head, "no. I can't have a bad haircut, I just can't. I'll go to the dining hall now."

Chris nodded, "you hate to see it. Anyway! The show must go on! Izzy, it's your turn!" Izzy quickly took Lindsay's spot. Once she was there, Chris continued, "Your challenge is… the electric eel shock!"

Despite that being completely dangerous, Izzy cheered, "bring it on! I've always wanted to be shocked by electric eels! And you thought this would make me quit."

Chris bit back a smile. This wasn't Izzy's real challenge, not by a long shot. "I hope for your sake you're right. Chef, let's go!" Chef sighed and grabbed the eels, shocking Izzy with them. Unsurprisingly, she easily withstood it.

"That was great!" Izzy laughed, her eyes wide, "I told you I could do it! Ha, ha, sucker! You thought you had me, but you didn't."

"But I do," Chris smiled, and everyone's eyes shot to him. What? "Since you've been so enthusiastic about everything, I thought I'd reward you with letting you pick the next victim. You can pick Bridgette or Leshawna. Or… if you wanted to… you can even pick yourself."

Shit. Izzy didn't seem to realize the magnitude of this, but Bridgette and Leshawna did. She was screwed no matter which way she went. If she picked one of them, she'd likely be out. If she picked herself, she'd definitely be out, whether she won or lost.

"I can pick myself?" Izzy asked, and Chris nodded. This was actually happening. "Okay, then I pick myself! I wanna go again!"

"I hoped you'd pick yourself. Your next torture or, in your case, pleasure, is a poison-ivy spa treatment! You know the drill: ten seconds of poison-ivy goodness, and then it's over!"

"Sounds fun!" Izzy's voice was full of sincerity, "is it just on my arms or my legs or both or on my face or what?"

Letting out a sound of disbelief Chris shrugged, "I don't know! Chef was just going to put it on you. Arms and legs, I guess. As much as I'd love to do the face, I don't think the producers would be very happy with that. Sorry, Izzy."

Izzy nodded as if she understood, "okay. Let's do this." Then, Chef wrapped the poison-ivy around her arms and legs, signifying her elimination. They'd still wait and see, though. This was awesome! Sure enough, she passed.

"Nice! Way to go, Izzy!" Chris mocked, which Izzy didn't pick up on, "proud of you. Sadly, though, you're out."

"What?" Izzy stood up from the table, "why am I out? I did the challenge! And I want to do more!"

Chris grimaced, shaking his head, "if your victim completes their challenge, you're out. Your victim was you, and you completed your challenge. You're out!"

Frowning, Izzy stuck her tongue out at him, "that's no fun! There are still so many fun challenges for me to do! I'm sad. I should have resisted the urge to pick myself." She shook her head. "I can never say no to temptation. I thought maybe you were tricking me, but it was so shiny! Ah, well, next time."

"Quit your rambling and get out of here!" Chris ordered, "and wash your arms and legs off before going to the dining hall. I don't need you spreading poison-ivy. Capisce?" Izzy nodded and left, so he turned back to the final two campers. The end was in sight!

"We're down to the wire! Who's it going to be: Leshawna or Bridgette? Both of you have made an outstanding performance today, but it must come to the end. Here's the rules: first one to fail a challenge, loses! We keep going until someone loses, but it's not going to be easy! For the sake of fairness, I have a fifth wheel for us. If you somehow finish the wheel, then we compete head to head! Who's ready?"

Neither girl showed any emotion except boredom. Where was the hype? Chris sighed, "Bridgette, you're up first."

The end was not in sight. What Chris thought was going to take maybe six minutes took close to an hour, and the eliminated campers were starting to develop cabin fever.

It had been three hours and counting since the challenge had started, and tensions were at an all-time high. They were trapped, unable to do anything except sit and wait for an end that didn't seem to be coming.

"I need out of here now. I want to be alone with you and do things I can't with everyone watching," Duncan murmured into Courtney's ear. They were standing now, and his hand rested on her hip.

Courtney sighed, grabbing his arm and squeezing it, "baby, I know. This is shitty, but it's almost over. Just hold on a little longer."

Duncan let out a strained groan, "you can't know that. It's already been for-fucking-ever. I can't handle it anymore."

"You can handle it," Courtney shifted closer to him and let the side of her breast graze his arm. It was the easiest sign of comfort she could give him. His hand just gripped her hip tighter, and she knew it helped. "I know you can. It's almost over."

"Like Hell it's almost over," Duncan's free hand reached for her shoulder. His forearm pressed against her upper arm as he moved closer. "It's been an hour since Izzy got here. This isn't ending any time soon."

Courtney sighed again, "please, Duncan, just pretend. We're almost in the clear. We have to be. Look, one of them is going to get tired soon. They've been doing this all morning. It's only logical."

"Logic doesn't exist on this damn island. You know that."

"Yes, but I'm choosing to believe it does. You're not the only one who wants out of here, trust me. I'm upset we're stuck here, too," Courtney's thumb stroked his arm, "But, honey, you have to relax a little and maybe take a step back. We're about a centimeter away from turning into Lindsay and Tyler."

"You're the one who decided to let me cop a feel. Babe, I know you did that on purpose," Duncan didn't move away from her, but he did look over his shoulder to the mentioned couple. They obviously didn't care how many people were around because, as far as he could tell, Tyler's tongue was down Lindsay's throat. He quickly turned back to his girlfriend. "And I appreciate you so much for it. I like being close to you."

Still stroking his arm, Courtney quietly laughed, "you caught me. Okay. Be close all you want."

Then, the most marvelous thing happened. The door started to open. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare. Who was it? Was it over? What was going on? Those questions were answered when Chris walked in.

"Alright campers, apparently Leshawna and Bridgette want this challenge to last all day, which is very inconsiderate of them, don't you think?" The campers nodded, and Chris continued. "I don't want that, so I'm forcing them to compete head to head to finally end this thing. Come with me to the beach, and then hopefully we can all get on with our day. Should've just let Izzy win."

Chris turned and walked out of the dining hall, and the campers wasted no time following after. They were still stuck, but at least they wouldn't have to be in that building anymore.

Grabbing Duncan's hand off her hip, Courtney laced their fingers together, "see, I told you. It's almost over."

Duncan rolled his eyes but stepped closer to her, "yeah, I should've listened to you, Court. You were right."

"Honestly? It was just a lucky guess, but it turned great," Courtney bumped her shoulder against his arm, "you think we can get away with just leaving now? I don't know if we're allowed to, but the cabin's right there."

Looking around, Duncan nodded. No one was paying them any attention, and Chris never said they couldn't. "Come on," he whispered, pulling her away from the group. They didn't make it two steps before they were stopped by Chris, who, although he was in front of them, apparently knew what they were planning.

"By the way, we all have to watch this final showdown, so don't try to sneak off," Chris yelled over his shoulder, "if I have to be there, you have to be there. You'll have plenty of time to do whatever you want later."

"How the fuck were we caught?" Duncan groaned as Courtney brought them back to the group. While he had no problem ignoring Chris' announcement, she did. "I just wanna be alone with you."

Courtney gave him a knowing smile and squeezed his hand, "yeah. Soon."

Duncan sighed and took another step closer. They were so close to being done. The cabin was right there. This sucked. Courtney just laughed at his obvious frustration, and he focused on the sound as they walked the rest of the way to the beach.

When they made it, Courtney sat down in the sand and pulled Duncan next to her. The rest of their castmates scattered around the beach, and Chris stood on the dock. The challenge had already been set up, and Bridgette and Leshawna stood at the edge of the dock in their swimsuits. There was a log floating in the water.

"So, the final challenge of the morning," Chris said, "Bridgette and Leshawna, you'll be competing in the log roll. Whoever can balance on this log the longest wins! Are we ready?"

Both Leshawna and Bridgette nodded, so Chef helped them onto the log. Once they were situated, Chris said "go," and Chef let go of their hands. As the log started rolling, the girls started moving their feet. The crowd watched with mild excitement and cheered for who they wanted to win.

It wasn't a long match. While they had both started strong, Bridgette was soon struggling. Despite being a surfer, she found it difficult to balance on the log. The water didn't help. She'd never been graceful, and now wasn't any different. Besides, Leshawna was more focused than her and wanted the trailer more. Seven seconds after it started, Bridgette jumped into the lake.

Chef reached out to grab Leshawna and pulled her up onto the dock. Chris grabbed her hand and raised it in the air, "Leshawna wins! Bridgette is out!"

Leshawna smiled widely at her castmates, "that's how I roll! Yeah! Sorry, Bridgette. I needed that trailer."

"Yes, I'm sure you did," Chris said before moving on, "anyway, lunch is in half an hour. I'll see you tonight at eight for the marshmallow ceremony where you'll be voting someone else out! Leshawna's immune, but anyone else is fair game! Go on! Enjoy your day."

"It's over," Courtney smiled, nudging Duncan on the shoulder.

Duncan returned her smile and stood up, "I know." He offered her a hand. "Get up. We can go now."

Courtney took his hand, and he helped her up. She didn't let go of it. "Okay. I need to talk to Bridgette first, though. Tell her we aren't going to make it to lunch, probably?" Duncan nodded, so she did too. "Tell her we aren't going to make it to lunch, then. And she needs to talk to Geoff."

Duncan dropped her hand, "go, then. I'll wait here."

"Be right back," Courtney leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before running over to Bridgette, who was talking to Geoff and DJ. She grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the guys.

"Bridgette, though you didn't win, I wanted to say great job. You hung in there for a long time."

Bridgette blushed, "thanks. You did a great, too. You lasted a lot longer than I would have with your final challenge. That was super unfair. Did you also want to tell me you aren't coming to lunch? And that Duncan won't be there either?"

Rolling her eyes, Courtney nodded, "and you need to talk to Geoff. He thinks it's happening for you two. He's excited. You need to talk to him."

"What am I supposed to tell him, though?" Bridgette asked, grabbing Courtney's other hand, "I don't want to break his heart or anything. I don't know how to tell him this."

"Yes, you do," Courtney squeezed Bridgette's hands before dropping them, "we've talked about this. Speak from your heart, like you always do. And, while I doubt you're actually going to break his heart, you'll break it more if you jerk him around. I really have to go now, but I believe in you."

"Are you sure you have to go?" Bridgette sounded panicked as she grabbed Courtney's wrist.

Courtney looked at Duncan before turning back to Bridgette, "I'm sure. It's kind of been a long few hours. Bridge, just tell him the truth. It's not that hard. You don't need me. I wouldn't help anything."

Letting go of Courtney's wrist, Bridgette nodded, "I don't need you. You wouldn't help anything. It's not that hard. Okay. I can do this. Go before I change my mind."

"That's the spirit! I'm leaving now. You've got it," Courtney assured, flashing her a smile before going back to Duncan. She grabbed his hand and started walking towards the cabin. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Duncan walked with her, "now we shouldn't have any interruptions."

Courtney laughed, "hopefully. Thanks for waiting. I… I like you."

Duncan smiled but didn't reply. He just dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her instead, tugging her to his side. They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence.

After kicking off their shoes by the door, Duncan walked straight to the bed and sat down at the edge of it. Courtney turned on the light before sitting next to him. They were quiet as they took a moment to finally breathe. Then, not wanting to wait any longer, Duncan leaned over and kissed her.

The kiss was soft, one of his hands slowly moving up her thigh and the other gripping her shoulder. Both of her hands rested on his chest. She opened her mouth for him, and he slipped his tongue inside. Without breaking the kiss, Duncan pushed Courtney onto her back and lowered himself onto her. He needed to be closer to her.

"Mmm, Duncan," Courtney moaned into the kiss. Her hands traveled down his stomach until she reached the hem of his shirt. She grabbed it and pushed it up. "Off."

Duncan laughed, rolling off her, and sitting up, "whatever you want." He smiled at her before taking off both of his shirts at once and carelessly throwing them onto the floor. As he did that, Courtney crawled all the way onto the bed and sat against the wall. He looked back at her, "you too, Court."

Leaning forward and removing her top sweater, Courtney nodded. That came easy, but she would have to unbutton her white blouse completely. She started it, but she didn't want to finish, "help me with the buttons, please."

"Happily," Duncan murmured, reaching forward. His forehead rested on hers as he undid the buttons, and, once they were all undone, together they got the blouse off completely. "There you go, Princess."

"Thank you. I hate having to button and unbutton that every day," Courtney tilted her head up and pecked him on the lips. "Lie down."

"Okay, babe," Duncan did as she asked, laying on his side. He propped himself up on his elbow.

Courtney smiled and slid down next to him. She placed her hand on his hip and scooted closer until their lower halves were pressed against each other's. His free hand played with her hair as she hitched a leg over his. "I like this. Us. I like being close to you. I like you. I'm going to kiss you again."

Dropping his head to the pillow, Duncan nodded. This wasn't the furthest they'd gone, but it felt the most intimate, and he liked the feeling. Courtney's eyes fluttered closed, and she pressed her lips against his. Her tongue swept across his teeth and into his mouth before finding his newly returned tongue ring. She focused all her attention there, having missed the jewelry.

As the kiss progressed, Courtney couldn't help but marvel about how right this felt. They were on equal footing, not having to worry about who was on top and who was on bottom. They could both lead. He treated her with so much care, listening to her and showing his appreciation the best way he knew how, and, in the moment, she loved him for it. For the whole morning. She didn't try to get the thought out of her head like she usually would, but she wouldn't say it. She couldn't.

She had never seriously told anyone she loved them before, and no one had ever said it to her, either. It wasn't time yet. It had almost slipped out earlier, but she had stopped herself before it could. It was still too soon, and she didn't love him all the time. Only in small moments that were growing longer with less time between.

Grabbing Duncan's hand in her hair, Courtney guided it to her bra clasp. He would certainly find this better than those words. Letting out a low moan, his other arm forced its way under her waist to help, and he soon had it undone. He pushed the straps down her shoulders, and she helped by taking her arms out. He tossed it over the side of the bed before moving a hand to her breast.

Meanwhile, Bridgette was about to break a heart. Geoff had been so excited when she pulled him to the side and told him they needed to talk. No doubt he thought she wanted to make things official between them.

That was confirmed as Bridgette held Geoff's drawing for her in her hands. It was poorly drawn but possessed all of his charm, and she couldn't pull her eyes away from it. She didn't want to look at it, but the alternative was looking at him, and she definitely couldn't do that right now.

"See, it's you 'n me sittin' on the dock holding hands cos we like each other 'n stuff," Geoff said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. This was going to hurt. "And I wrote a lil' something on the back for you! Turn it over."

Bridgette nodded and did what he asked. Bridge + Geoff = Forever. Shit. She looked up from the paper, heartbreak evident on her face. He didn't notice.

"I know it's a lil' cheesy, but who doesn't like cheese?" Geoff asked before panicking slightly, "wait. Do you like cheese? Are you allowed to eat that? Sorry if you aren't."

"No, I can eat cheese. I'm vegetarian, not vegan," Bridgette wished she could laugh at the cluelessness she once found endearing. She wished she could just force herself to like him again.

Geoff smiled, "okay, good. I dunno a lot of things, but I know I like you. I've been tryin' to give you time to make a move, and I'm still doing that, I just wanted to make somethin' for you. I dunno, remind you of me. It's hard cos everyone is getting together, but I'd wait forever for you."

Closing her eyes, Bridgette slowly breathed out, "you shouldn't. You shouldn't wait forever for me. Geoff, I don't think this is going to work out."

"What?" Geoff asked, and Bridgette opened her eyes to look at him. She owed him that. His expression was confused mixed with a sliver of hurt. "Bridge, why not? Did I do somethin'? Is it the drawing?"

"No, Geoff, it's not the drawing. You didn't do anything. It's me," Bridgette grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "you're a really great guy, and I love being your friend, but I don't want anything more than that. I wish I did."

"What happened?" Geoff pulled his hand from hers and turned away, "I thought… I thought you liked me."

Bridgette sighed, "I thought I did too, Geoff. I really wish I did. I just… I don't. It's not about anything you did, because you didn't. It's about my feelings."

Geoff sniffed and brought a hand to the front of his face, wiping it down. Was he crying? No. Bridgette didn't want that. "When did you… you realize that, uhm… when did you realize that you did… didn't like me? Were you… was it recently or, uh, or for a long time?"

"Recently, oh Geoff, recently, I promise. On the reward, actually," Bridgette hopped out of her seat and walked around to his front. He needed to know she didn't lead him on. "I promise. I told you a while ago that our time was coming, and I really thought it was. This is so recent. I still really like you as a friend, and I still really want to be your friend, if you'll let me."

Looking at her through his tears, Geoff nodded, "okay. I can, uh… I can respect that. We are really good friends. This just sucks, y'know? It feels like a breakup even though we weren't together or anything."

Bridgette nodded, "it does suck. Sorry. I know this doesn't help, but I really want to like you. You're a great guy."

"If I'm so great then why don't you like me?" Geoff spit before he could stop himself. He quickly realized his mistake, but the damage was already done.

"Geoff!" Bridgette gasped, taking a step back and covering herself with her arms. Maybe she deserved that, but she didn't think she did, and it hurt. He was one of her best friends, and if he didn't want that anymore? She didn't think she could handle that.

"Wait, that's not fair," Geoff reached out to grab her, but fell short. Maybe that wasn't the right move. "Bridge, I'm sorry for sayin' that. You're great, too. Being friends is nice. I just… can I have some time?"

Bridgette slowly stood up straight, "oh, Geoff, yes. You can have as much time as you need. I'm really sorry. Do you want your drawing back?"

Geoff shook his head, "no. You can keep it. Made it for you. It can just be 'Bridge plus Geoff equals Friends Forever.' Cos we will be, just not right now. Is that okay?"

"That's so okay. I get it. I wouldn't want to be my friend right now either," Bridgette folded up the paper and stuck it in her hoodie pocket, "I'll leave you here. I'm going to skip out on lunch. I had a nice, big breakfast this morning on reward, but DJ will be there. Duncan and Courtney won't, though, they're, uhm… they're busy."

Though he was still crying, Geoff laughed, "they're always busy. Bye."

Bridgette held up a hand in lieu of a wave, "bye." Then, she left. Once she was gone, Geoff collapsed into a seat, his head falling onto the table. This sucked big time.

Twenty minutes later, everyone who had made it was finishing up lunch. The tables had been moved back in, and things finally started to feel like normal again. Gwen, Trent, and Leshawna sat at the far end of the old gophers' table and discussed their strategy.

"And you really think this will work?" Gwen asked, looking between Trent and Leshawna, "you think we can actually convince everyone to vote with us?"

"I mean, I hope so," Trent said, "I think it's the only option we really have at this point. To try to get as many people on board with voting Courtney out as possible. As long as it doesn't get back to her or Duncan or Bridgette. I don't know what else we can do."

Gwen nodded, resting her head on a hand, "no, you're right. It's just a lot of work. And I don't really want to be stuck with Izzy. That conversation is going to be exhausting."

Leshawna raised her eyebrows at the goth, "would you rather have Heather? Cos I'll trade." Gwen sighed and shook her head. "That's what I thought. Sometimes we gotta do things we don't wanna do. I don't see how it's fair that you," she pointed her thumb at Trent, "get the guys, and we get Izzy and Heather, but that's how it has to be."

Trent let out an affronted noise, "I thought we agreed that they would respond better to a guy solidarity thing! And you're the only one Heather even halfway respects! But I am sorry you got stuck with Izzy, Gwen."

Laughing, Leshawna shook her head, "boy, I'm not mad. You two always gotta take everything so seriously. Obviously, I'm the only one who has any hopes of makin' Heather see reason. And that's a big hope. We all know Heather has her own agenda and doesn't budge."

"Well then, let's hope her agenda matches our agenda today," Trent said, "I'm mostly scared about the guys. They might not go for a guys' alliance. Tyler maybe because she voted him out, but Geoff and DJ are both close with Courtney. Izzy and Heather are actually the easy ones."

"And ain't that a scary thought," Leshawna muttered.

"What if it doesn't work?" Gwen said suddenly, sitting up straight, "what if we can't get the votes to get Courtney out? What happens then?" She sounded scared, causing Trent and Leshawna to share a look.

It was a valid fear, Courtney had a lot of allies, but they couldn't think like that. At least not until after they tried talking with the others. They needed to have hope. Hope that the guys would see her as the threat she was. Hope that Heather would want to break up the bass. Hope that Izzy would decide to listen to them. Hope that things would go their way.

"Then we hope that whoever Courtney targets isn't one of us," Trent sighed, grabbing Gwen's hand, "we trust that nothing is going to go wrong. And, if it does, we move on. I'm scared too, Gwen, but it's going to be okay."

"I'm not scared," Gwen snatched her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest, looking the other way, "I never said that I was scared. It sucks that you are, but I'm not."

Trent held his hands up in defense, "okay, you're not scared. Sorry. I thought I would try to reassure you, but I guess you don't need that."

Gwen turned back to him, a fire that wasn't quite necessary in her eyes, and opened her mouth to say something. Before she could, however, Leshawna spoke, "you two need to calm down. Y'all are making me stressed, and I do not deserve to be stressed right now. I have immunity and a kickass trailer. Lunch is over anyways, maybe we stop talking about it and do it."

"Sounds good to me," Gwen huffed, not ceasing glaring at Trent, "I needed someone saner to talk to."

No one responded to that, instead choosing to separately throw away their trash and gather their mark. Three minutes later, everyone was all set. The guys ended up in their cabin.

"You're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to all of you," Trent stood awkwardly at the front of the cabin, his eyes raking his cabinmates. Tyler and DJ both looked curious, but Geoff was lying face down in his bed with his cowboy hat covering his head. "Uhm, is he okay?"

"He's fine," DJ sighed, patting Geoff on the shoulder, "he's going through some stuff right now, but he'll be fine. You were going to tell us why you wanted to talk to us?"

Trent nodded, "yeah! Sorry, he just looks… sad. Anyways, I was thinking we could maybe do an all guys alliance? Get rid of some of the girls? There are only five of us and seven of them. They could pick us off if they wanted. We should be proactive." He paused, waiting for their reaction.

Tyler looked at DJ, then Geoff (who still hadn't moved), then Trent, then back at DJ, who he shared a confused look with. An all guys' alliance? That didn't seem right. "But this isn't all the guys."

Trent forced a laugh as he nodded, "yeah, I know, but it's really important that it's just us. I'm not trying to leave Duncan out, but I don't think he'd be interested. He's not going to be very happy about the vote."

Looking down at his lap, Tyler tried to work it out. It almost sounded like…

"You want to vote Courtney out," DJ said, his voice neutral, "that's why Duncan isn't here."

Trent shrugged with his hands, "yeah. I just thought I would throw that out there. She's the best in the game and in the best position, and none of us have a shot as long as she's here. Her relationships are scary strong. Nothing's breaking up her and Duncan or her and Bridgette."

It was silent for a full minute, outside of some muffled wailing at the mention of Bridgette's name. Trent didn't know how that boded for him. What were the chances they were finding the right words to praise him for his awesome suggestion?

DJ broke the silence, "you make several good points… but I think… man, I don't know. I kinda have a good thing going right now, and it includes Courtney. I don't really want to mess that up."

"No, man, I get that," Trent said, wishing he could take it all back. This had been a bad idea. What was he thinking? DJ and Geoff were never going to turn on Courtney. And, even if they would, they definitely wouldn't turn on Duncan. "She's your friend, but this game might be more important than friendship."

"I don't know about that…" DJ furrowed his brows, "friendship is pretty important, and I can't really justify valuing money over that, especially not at this point. What you said was right, but I'm probably not going to vote with you. I don't want to speak for Geoff, but I think he's with me."

Geoff just groaned, and no one knew if it was an agreement or a disagreement. They ignored it.

Trent nodded, "yeah, sure. That's cool. Just thought I'd see what people were thinking." He took a deep breath and turned to Tyler. "What about you, man?"

"I don't know, dude. I kinda wanted to vote with my Lindsay tonight, and I don't know if she'd be into that," Tyler rubbed the back of his neck, "maybe if you had the majority, but I don't really want to make any waves tonight. I just got back, and I want play it safe."

Trent nodded again. This was a disaster. "Yep. Cool. Totally understand. I'd want to vote with my girlfriend, too." He started backing towards the door. "I was just testing the waters. I'd, uh, I'd appreciate it if we kept everything in this room. Like I said, Courtney's the biggest threat, and she could probably find a way to get me out for suggesting it."

Tyler and DJ both agreed, though they lying. Everyone wanted this conversation to be over. Trent took them for their word, and got the hell out of there.

Once he was gone, Tyler turned to his cabinmates, "so, Lindsay's probably going to wanna vote with Bridgette and Courtney, and they're probably going to vote with you, so you have my vote. And we're totally telling them Trent wants Courtney out, right?"

"Right," DJ laughed, "we're happy to have you with us, even if Geoff doesn't seem it right now. I don't know who we're going to vote for, but someone will figure that out."

On the other side of the wall, Duncan and Courtney were taking a nap together. It wasn't planned, but both the challenge and their personal activities had proved tiring. After a while, Courtney had curled her body around Duncan's and told him she wanted to sleep, and he hadn't said no.

As everyone else ran around camp, they slept. As their alliance mates and Lindsay and Tyler shared all their intel, they slept. As Heather silently formed a plan to keep Courtney safe, they slept. As Gwen, Trent, and Leshawna tried to figure out a way to get her out, they slept. They slept until someone knocked on the door.

The knocking, which was ceaseless, woke Duncan up first. He'd always been a light sleeper. Opening his eyes, he winced at the brightness in the room. Why hadn't they turned off the lights? Then, he debated waking Courtney up.

If the knocking hadn't already woken her up, he didn't think it would. It had been going on for around a minute, and she was still sound asleep. She had only stirred slightly and mumbled, "loud" into his neck. He would deal with this himself.

"Just a minute," Duncan hissed, loud enough that he knew whoever it was heard him but not loud enough to be considered loud at all. Sure enough, the knocking stopped. Now, he just had to get out of bed.

Duncan laid on his back, and Courtney had him pinned down with an arm, a leg, and half her body. Her head was tucked into his neck. He grabbed the arm around him and slowly moved it to her side. Then, he scooted away until her leg was no longer around him before climbing over her. She whined at the removal of physical contact, and he sighed. He wished he was still in bed with her, but he had to get dressed.

They had stripped down to their undergarments before falling asleep, and he was still in just his boxers. Courtney, who thought it was weird to sleep without a top on, was wearing his skull shirt, and he didn't like wearing the white shirt without it. It didn't matter who it was. They could see him shirtless. He just tugged his shorts up and opened the door. It was Bridgette.

"What?" Duncan whispered, his voice harsh.

"I wanted to talk to Courtney," Bridgette gave him a once over as he stepped onto the porch and closed the door, "is now a bad time or…?"

Duncan shrugged, "kinda. You woke me up. She's still asleep."

"Dammit, sorry. Don't wake her up. It's nothing, really. I just got some information from DJ, and it's about her, so we wanted to tell her. But it can wait."

"What kind of information?" Duncan asked, mostly because he was already up and it was about his girlfriend.

"Trent proposed an all guys' alliance to DJ, Tyler, and Geoff," Bridgette watched his face for a reaction, but he didn't give one, "he really wants Courtney gone tonight. We wanted to know who we were voting off, and where our sixth and seventh vote were coming from. I know Lindsay's one…"

This time Duncan did react. His face hardened, and there was an edge in his voice. "Fucker. Grab DJ and Geoff and go to the arts and crafts tent. She'll be pissed if we don't do this now. We'll get there when we get there."

Bridgette nodded, "do you want me to get Lindsay, too? Since she'll probably vote with us?"

"Fuck if I care," Duncan rolled his eyes, "sure, whatever. If it means we don't have to talk about it for as long."

Trying hard not to laugh, Bridgette just nodded before darting off. Duncan sighed and went back into the cabin. This killed their afternoon plans of doing nothing. He found Courtney awake and sitting up and sat down next to her.

"Why'd you leave?" Courtney asked, curling into his side.

"Bridgette came by. Said Trent wants to vote you out, and she wants to talk about it," Duncan reluctantly pushed her away, "I told her we could all meet in the arts and crafts tent. Babe, I'm sad to say it, but I need my shirt back, and you should probably get dressed."

Courtney glared, more annoyed than angry, and got out of bed, "that's dumb that he wants to vote me out, and that he told people. I didn't think he was unintelligent, but I guess he is." After putting her bra on under his shirt, she took it off and tossed it to him. "Don't put the undershirt on, please. I want to feel more of your skin, even if it's just your arm."

Duncan nodded, pulling the shirt on, and watched her get dressed. He didn't like it nearly as much as watching her get undressed.

They finished getting ready and left for the arts and crafts tent. Courtney looped an arm through his and placed her other hand just above his chest. As they walked, they threw out a few possible names and plans.

Everyone, excluding Geoff, was already in the arts and crafts tent went they got there. DJ and Bridgette sat on one side of the table, and Lindsay and Tyler, both of whom Courtney was surprised to see, sat on the other. Duncan took a seat at the head of the table, and she settled onto his lap.

"I hear we need to vote someone out tonight," Courtney greeted, "where's Geoff?"

Bridgette winced, knowing his absence was her fault, but didn't say anything. She would just sit there and try not to look too guilty. DJ took it, "he wasn't feeling up to this right now. He's still with us, I'll just tell him later."

Courtney's eyes drifted to Bridgette and could tell by the way that she was consciously not looking at anyone that they had talked earlier. She couldn't say anything about it now, so she just caught her friend's eye and gave her a small smile.

"Okay. That's fine. He never listens, so it doesn't make much of a difference," Courtney turned to Lindsay and Tyler, "and you two are here because…? Not that you aren't welcome, I'm just a little confused."

"Bridge invited me!" Lindsay clasped her hands together, "she said that you were talking about the vote and that I could come! Don't worry, I'm totally voting with you. I've been waiting so long for this!"

"Yeah, and I'm voting with Lindsay," Tyler added, "DJ said I could come."

Courtney quickly ran the numbers in her head, making sure she hadn't miscounted. "So that's seven! Which is all we need. Great. Now we just need a name. Duncan and I thought, since he said my name first, that it would be easiest to go with Trent. Thoughts?"

Bridgette giggled, "that's kind of our move, right? Voting people out when they suggest you?" She shot Tyler a playful grin. "Sorry, Tyler."

"I'd be a little pissed if you guys didn't want to vote him out, honestly," Tyler joked, "but, and I know I've been gone for a while, why are we going for Trent and not Heather? Doesn't everyone kind of hate her?"

It was a reasonable question, and that's why Courtney wasn't annoyed that he asked it, "Heather's not winning this game, and she's not a threat to us right now. We've been teasing Trent, Gwen, or Leshawna for a while. Leshawna's the best of them, but she has immunity, so it has to be Gwen or Trent. I know Gwen doesn't like me, which is whatever, but Trent's a bit of a mystery. I don't like that."

Tyler accepted this information, "cool. You totally have my vote for him tonight."

Courtney smiled at him, "thank you, Tyler, and thank you for not holding a grudge. You very easily could have, and it would have been within your rights. We're all okay with this?"

Everyone nodded, so Courtney stood up, "alright, we're voting Trent out tonight. Thanks, everyone, for coming." She turned to her best friend, "Bridge, you want to chat?"

"Yes, please," Bridgette said as Lindsay also got up from her seat, "me too! I wanna chat, too! Can I?"

"Yeah, Linds, you can come," Courtney reached a hand behind her and hit Duncan's shoulder, "give me a minute, then we'll leave."

The teens said their goodbyes to friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends and made afternoon and evening plans. No one was in any rush to leave, and, before anyone did, the door opened. Assuming it was just Geoff, who was the only one who knew where they were, no one turned to look.

"Great, there you all are," the person said, and it wasn't Geoff's voice but Heather's, "Courtney, DJ, Lindsay, I want to talk to you. Everyone else can go." She walked over to the table, everyone's eyes on her, and sat down. "I had to ask other blond one where you were. Other blond one! And he was all sad. It was depressing."

"Heather, what are you doing here?" Courtney tried to keep her voice even.

Heather rolled her eyes, "listen much? I want to talk to you. And DJ and Lindsay and not anyone else. I assume you're all caught up on the play to get you out?

Crossing her arms over her chest, Courtney returned her eyeroll, "yes, and it's handled. There's nothing left to talk about. If you'll remember, we aren't allies or friends nor do I want to be."

"You've made that abundantly clear, yes, but I'm not taking no for an answer," Heather looked around the room, narrowing her eyes, "okay, there's, like, three more of you than I want in here right now. Blonde one, juvie, Tyler, what are you still doing here?"

While both DJ and Lindsay had sat down at the table again, and Bridgette tried to quietly slip out, Courtney wasn't having it. "No. Stay. They don't have to go anywhere."

Heather sighed and rolled her eyes again. Why was she being so difficult? All she wanted was for Courtney's best friend and boyfriend to leave and for Courtney to join an alliance with her without either of them. What was so wrong with that? She watched as Bridgette placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Court, it's okay. I don't mind going. I'll be at the beach, okay? Just meet me after."

"You don't have to go just because she told you to," Courtney said, "you're a big part of my game."

Bridgette shook her head, "I'm going. All three of us are going. It's okay." Her hand fell from Courtney's shoulder. "I'll see you in a bit." Then, without giving Courtney time to say anything, she grabbed Duncan and Tyler's wrists and dragged them away with her.

Courtney took a moment to collect herself, forcing herself to smile, and turned around, "so, what could you possibly have to tell me that I don't already know?"

"Sit down," Heather gestured to the chair next to her. Courtney begrudgingly took it. "I said earlier that I wanted to vote with you, and I mean it. I know you've already picked a name, so all you have to do is tell me. I'll write that name down, no questions asked, and I'll even throw in a little something extra for you."

"Trent, I guess," Courtney muttered, "what extra could you even throw in. I already have seven votes without you."

"Izzy," Heather simply said, a smile on her face. Courtney held out a hand for her to continue. What did that mean? "I'm going to try to get Izzy to vote with us. She's crazy, so there's no telling, but if you can control her? That's an advantage. An advantage I want to share with you."

Though Courtney had to admit that would be nice, she couldn't let Heather know. A quick look to DJ told her he was visibly interested, but she wouldn't be. "I don't need that. I don't want to owe you any favors."

"DJ, Lindsay. What do you two think?" Heather asked, not letting Courtney's reluctance deter her. She was on a mission, and she would succeed.

"I think…" DJ glanced at Courtney, "I think that's very nice of you. And I think that I, personally, would appreciate it. Sorry, Court."

Heather smiled, "thank you. Lindsay?"

Lindsay shrugged, "I dunno. I think it doesn't really matter, but I know you want me to agree with you right now, so I think I should do that."

Heather could have gone without Lindsay's blatant apathy, but it still worked, "see, Court. We all think it's a good idea. I am doing this for you. It's not a favor, and I won't expect anything in return except a name for the next vote and for you to actually consider giving both an alliance and a friendship a chance. I want to work with you. All three of you."

"Fine. I still don't understand why you want this so badly, but fine. I'll give you a name, and I'll consider working with you, but we will never be friends," Courtney stood up from the table, "can I go now? Since we've reached an agreement and all?"

"Sure, if that's what you call an agreement. I want to give you some advice first, though: don't count me out. We want the same thing, and we would be powerful together."

Courtney rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Heather. Bye. Lindsay, are you coming?"

Sending Heather an apologetic smile and jumping up from her seat, Lindsay nodded, and the pair left. DJ also left, wanting to try to cheer Geoff up. Heather didn't care, though. She had gotten what she wanted. For now.

Nothing too exciting happened as the rest of the day passed. Most everyone knew how the vote was going to play out, and those who didn't know for sure got the feeling it was one of them. As they waited, Gwen and Trent spent their first evening as a couple saying goodbye to each other. Leshawna was immune and everyone else avoided them. One of them was going.

It came time for the Marshmallow Ceremony, and, after casting their votes in the confessional, everyone met at the fire pit. Someone was about to be the next person eliminated. Gwen sat down between Trent and Leshawna and mentally prepared herself for the worst.

"Welcome to the first marshmallow ceremony of the merge!" Chris greeted, "I'm glad you all could make it. Not that you had a choice! Should I remind everyone of the rules?"

"What? That if we get voted off we can never come back, ever?" Gwen sarcastically asked, sharing an unamused look with Trent. They both wanted this over with. "We all know that's crap."

Chris laughed, "you got it! If you don't receive a marshmallow you must go down to the Dock of Shame to take the Boat of Losers, and then you can never come back, ever. Unless I say you can. Let's get started. On my plate I have eleven marshmallows, but there are twelve of you. Leshawna, since you have immunity and can't be voted off, it's only fitting you get the first marshmallow of the merge. Enjoy it!"

Leshawna smiled and stood up, offering a high five to Gwen on her way up. The goth took it, sincerely happy for her friend. If only all three of them could get a marshmallow.

The ceremony continued, and Gwen tried to concentrate on Trent's hand in hers instead of Chris calling everyone else up. She couldn't listen to the others, especially Heather, being safe when she or Trent weren't.

"And Gwen!" Chris called, gaining her attention. She was safe. Which meant Trent wasn't. Looking up, she found that there were only two marshmallows left on the plate. One was hers, and she assumed the last one belonged to Courtney. Her brand-new boyfriend was out, and she didn't know if that was better or worse than being out herself. It would suck here without him. She wordlessly got up and collected her marshmallow.

"We have one marshmallows and two campers. Courtney, Trent. Both of you received votes, and one of you will be taking the Boat of Losers tonight!" Chris paused, building the suspense. Gwen kept her eyes on Trent and watched as the last of his resolve crumbled. Why did Chris have to drag this out?

"Courtney… Trent… one of you will be the eleventh? No thirteenth? It doesn't matter, one of you will be the next person voted out of Total! Drama! Island!" Chris paused again. "The final marshmallow goes to… Courtney! Sorry, dude. You're out. And right after you got a girlfriend."

It was official. Trent nodded sadly and stood up, "I understand. At least I made it to the merge. Good game, everyone. Gwen, Leshawna, good luck. Have fun. Goodbye."

After giving Chris and Chef a handshake, Trent started the trek to the Dock of Shame. While he was a good sport, if not a little sad, Gwen was mad. Why should they get to stay and not Trent? It wasn't fair. Standing up, she spun around to everyone and opened her mouth. No words came out, however, her anger too strong. Instead, she just spun back around and followed Trent. She had to say goodbye to him.

"Trent, wait, don't go yet!" Gwen called right before he was about to board the Boat of Losers. He turned to face her and let her come the rest of the way to him. "You shouldn't have been voted out tonight. It's not fair. You deserve to be here, not them."

Trent grabbed her shoulder with one hand, "It's okay. It's just a game, and you have to win now. Don't be mad."

Gwen looked at the ground between them, "it's not fair, though. They all suck, and you're the only one who doesn't. We just got together, too. It's not fair."

"I know. The timing kind of sucks, but everyone's just trying to stay in the game. I drew the short straw tonight, but you have to keep fighting," Trent's hand moved to the base of her neck and he took a step closer, "you're a winner, and you have to show all of them that." Then, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going to miss you, Gwen." He pulled his hand away and got onto the boat.

"I'm going to miss you, too!" Gwen said, her fingers hovering over her cheek.

The boat started sailing away, and Gwen waved until she couldn't see him anymore. What an awful night.

A/N So that was the second half of No Pain, No Game! I hope you enjoyed it! I have no timeline for Search and Do Not Destroy, but I have an outline of a story. Happy holidays to everyone.

As always, if you enjoyed this, please leave a comment or kudos. They mean so much to me, and I love reading about what you liked. If you want more total drama content or just want to chat, you can find me on tumblr at i-wish-i-was-kidding.