Chapter 9:
"Well, here we are." Duncan said. He and Gwen arrived at the mall. Other than occasionally talking about old times on the show, the walk was mostly quiet. Duncan didn't really have much to say, and Gwen was still thinking about whether now would be a good time to offer Duncan a place to stay or not.
"Cool." Gwen said. "So Duncan, have you thought on what job you'll try to apply for?"
"Like I said before, most places I've been going to have been jobs that anyone with half a brain could do." Duncan and Gwen entered the main entrance.
"And that's why they keep turning you down. You don't offer enough that they couldn't find in someone else to view it as outweighing what you did to Chris' mansion." Gwen replied. "You'll need to find a job that you'll have a lot of skill in."
"Oh yeah, you mentioned that back at Mike's house." As Duncan and Gwen were walking through the mall, a couple people were staring at them. Probably just more fans who think simply hanging out is a sign that Duncan and Gwen are dating.
"So, to get an idea of places to look for, what skills do you have that aren't illegal?" Gwen asked.
"Whittling, auto repair, and while I'm no Trent, I'm pretty good with the guitar."
"Huh..." Gwen started to slow down a bit and rubbed her arm awkwardly.
Duncan stopped walking. "Something up Gwen?"
Gwen stopped walking as well. "I guess you mentioning Trent just got me thinking."
"Thinking about what? Getting back together with him?"
"No...it's more that I guess his worries back in Season 2 proved to be kinda justified after all."
"Huh?"
"When he was worried that he'd lose me to you. Obviously you weren't the reason I had in mind when I dumped him and all, but still...he started to become obsessed and threw challenges for me because he was afraid of losing me, and for his worries to come...it makes me feel guilty, you know?"
"Psst. You think Duncan and Gwen are gonna get back together?" A fan whispered.
"Please. You SAW how terrible a couple they were back in All-Stars. Duncan's lucky that Gwen even accepted him as a friend again.
Duncan felt a prickle of annoyance at the fan gossip before putting a hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Hey. You couldn't have known we'd become a thing back then. We didn't even start to like each other in that way until after Season 2. And Trent himself said it wasn't your fault back in one of the Aftermath's, didn't he?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"Gwen. Why are you letting this drag you down again? You moved past the Trent thing, and so has he."
"It's just that...it's because the incident with Trent is when my life became a drama-filled mess. I'm not gonna pretend like the show wasn't crappy before, but after I broke up with Trent, it was the start of what felt like half the whole world being against me. Fans and contestants of the show alike were constantly giving me grief about what happened. Then after Season 2, that Gwuncan vs Duncney crap started to pick up steam, and after we kissed in Season 3, basically exploded. Not a week has gone by with people either yelling at me for kissing you behind Courtney's back, what happened with Trent, or what happened with you back in All-Stars." Gwen wiped some tears from her eyes. "I know I made mistakes, but being reminded and hated about it day in and day out was killing me!"
"Whoa...is Gwen ok?" A fan asked.
"This would be the perfect time for Duncan to kiss her to make her feel better." Another said.
"HEY!" Duncan yelled. "In case you didn't notice, you guys getting involved in her personal life is a major reason why she's feeling this way! Buzz off!"
"It's fine Duncan." Gwen said.
Duncan was pretty surprised by this. "You sure?" Though he noticed that a good amount of fans were starting to scatter.
Gwen took a few breaths. "Yeah. Sorry about that tangent."
"It's fine. Sometimes you gotta let out steam." Duncan and Gwen stood in silence for a little while. "So...I take it dating me was serving as a reminder of all that, huh?"
Gwen widened her eyes, before looking at the ground, ashamed. "I never thought about that, but...yeah. The shippers, trying to make things right with Courtney...it was so much stress, and being with you served as a reminder of everything that was going on. I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault, but I treated you like crap."
"I told you Gwen, it's fine. Besides, we've been over this last night. We both did our fair share of neglecting back in All-Stars. I'm not exactly blameless" Duncan took a look at Gwen. She looked like she really needed some comfort right now. Of all times for there to be fans watching. "Um...do you need a hug or-"
Gwen immediately hugged Duncan. "Thank you..."
"Yeah..." Duncan returned the hug. He knew he'd be kicking himself later for coming off as soft, but for now, Gwen needed support. "No problem."
A few minutes passed before Gwen broke the hug. "Man...I feel like a mountain's been lifted off me!"
"And you didn't even need my help. Looks like Duncan's not too bad a therapist himself." A familiar voice said. Duncan and Gwen turned around and saw that Dawn was standing next to them.
"What the-?!" Duncan yelled.
"How long have you...?" Gwen began to ask.
"Since after Duncan caused most of the onlookers to leave." Dawn answered. She walked up to the two. "Gwen, I'm happy to let you know that you aura's a clear midnight blue. You're not completely over everything what happened, but your soul is no longer in conflict with itself. You finally obtained closure."
Gwen smiled at Dawn. "I have to say, when I first met you, I thought you were nuts. But you've been a ton of help over the past few days Dawn." Gwen offered a hand. "Thanks for everything."
"You're welcome." Dawn shook Gwen's hand. "By the way, wasn't there something you wanted to let Duncan know?"
"Oh, right! Duncan, get out your phone." Gwen got out her phone and started texting.
Duncan took out his phone, and took a look at his messages.
Texting instead of speaking so that fans don't overhear and get the wrong idea.
Wanna crash at my place until you get back on your feet?
"Wait...for real?" Duncan asked.
Gwen nodded. "The least I could do for a friend, right?"
Duncan widened his eyes before smiling. "Yeah. I'll totally take up that offer." Duncan offered a fistbump, which Gwen accepted.
"Sweet. I'll call my Mom to let her know if she's cool with it. Then we can get start looking for a job for you. I'll be back here soon." Gwen dialed some numbers on her phone, and started to walk a bit away. "Hey Mom. I have a question?"
"You know moonchild, I gotta second Gwen on this. You've been a ton of help."
"Thank you. Though being honest, I'm surprised you feel that way."
Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Why's that? Thanks to you, I got out of the slammer, made things right with Gwen and Courtney, and if Gwen's mon says yes, I'll have a place to stay. Thing are going better than ever for me."
"True, there have been a large amount of benefits. But for as many mends as there's been to your aura, there's been twice as many fractures." Dawn put a hand on Duncan's shoulder. "You might not realize it Duncan. But these past few days, your aura has been more miserable than it's ever been in your life."
"Seriously? No bullshiting?" Duncan asked the man over the phone. He was back at Mike's house, Mike, Zoey, Gwen, Courtney, and Cameron all in the house as well.
"Yeah. You'll start off by working on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10 AM to 6 PM." The man answered.
"Sweet! I'm so happy right now! I'll be there!" Duncan hung up. "
"You got a job? Cameron asked.
"Yup. He said I work four times a week, 8 hours a day. My first shift is tomorrow on Monday."
"What was the place?" Mike asked.
"Some woodworking shop in the mall." Gwen answered. "Apparently, the time he spent whittling in prison isn't only good for making weapons."
"I gave the owner my phone number, and it looks like my skills outweigh my criminal record to him. I got the job! This is awesome!" Duncan cheered.
"This is great!" Zoey cheered.
"And your mom said yes to Duncan moving in with you, right?" Mike asked.
"Starting the day he works anyway since that's the day Duncan starts working." Gwen answered.
"Well that's not too big an issue. Duncan can sleep another night here, but tomorrow after work, move into Gwen's place." Courtney said.
"Looks like things are starting to go my way!" Duncan stated. "I haven't been this happy in years!"
Zoey raised an eyebrow at this statement.
Courtney stood up from the couch. "Congratulations Duncan. Maybe if there's time, we can celberate tomorrow before I leave on Wednesday. Right now, I gotta have Mike drop me off at my hotel."
"And I should drop Cameron back off at his house too." Mike said.
"Again, thanks for inviting me." Cameron told Mike and Zoey.
Courtney walked up to Duncan. "I never thought I'd be happy that something good would be happening to you."
"Yeah. Been a weird couple of days, huh?"
Courtney gave Duncan a hug. "Sorry for all the times I treated you like crap back in Total Drama."
"It's all good Court. I'm just happy that things are better now." Duncan broke the hug, and turned to Gwen. "Sure you'll be able to resist my charm tomorrow?"
Gwen rolled her eyes, but smiled. "I'll try my best." Gwen walked out of the door, Courtney, Mike, and Cameron following.
"Have a nice night guys!" Zoey waved.
The four waved back before Courtney and Cameron went with Mike to his car while Gwen went inside her car before both of the vehicles drove off.
"Man, I got out of prison, made up with Courtney and Gwen, found a place to stay, and a job to make money. Things are going great!" Duncan yelled.
"...It's ok to be sad Duncan." Zoey said.
Duncan turned to Zoey. "What are you talking about Red?"
"You've been talking about how things are going good for you and how you're happy almost every sentence. It's like you're trying to convince yourself."
"Let me guess, Dawn told you about what she sensed my aura was like."
"No. But you just did. But if Dawn sensed the same thing, it makes me even more suspicious."
"Whatever. I'm just gonna kick back, relax, and watch some movies to celebrate." Duncan sat on the couch, and grabbed the remote.
"Duncan, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But you don't have to lie about how you're feeling." Zoey sat down next to him.
"Why would I lie about it?" Duncan turned on the tv and started flipping through channels.
"Because you don't want to look soft."
"What, has Dawn been teaching you how to read auras too?"
"I've watched the show you know."
Duncan stopped flipping through channels, and turned off the TV. "Ok, sure. I don't want to look soft. But that has nothing to do with this. Everything's going great! Why would I be sad right now?"
"You got kicked out of-"
"And I got a new place to stay! I don't need my parents! They abandoned me, so I told them off! And I'm gonna start staying with Gwen tomorrow! Why would that make me miserable?"
"Maybe you could talk with Dawn about it some-"
Duncan stood up. "I'm heading to bed early."
Zoey sighed. "Alright. I'm not gonna try to set up a session behind your back again."
"Thanks." Duncan walked off.
Zoey woke up at the sound of some footsteps, rubbing her eyes. It was well past midnight. "Mph. Mike?" Zoey turned to the young man in the same bed as her. Mike was in his pajamas, sleeping like a log. "...Then what was that noise?"
Zoey quietly got out of bed, and walked out of Mike's bedroom. She saw a figure sitting on the couch downstairs. "Duncan?" Zoey started walking down the stairs.
"You heard me come down?" Duncan asked, not even turning to face her.
"Yeah. You ok?"
"...No."
Zoey sat down next to Duncan. "Look, if you need someone to talk to, I'm right here."
"...Dawn was right. I'm more miserable than ever." He turned to face Zoey. She noticed that he was fighting back the urge to cry. "I don't get it. I made up with Gwen and Courtney, I found a place to stay, I got a job...why am I so miserable?"
"I don't know." Zoey answered. She held one of Duncan's hands with both of hers. "But I promise you, until I leave Windsor, I'll be willing to help you in anyway I can."
"Damnit...I feel so lame right now." Duncan started to rub tears out of his eyes. "Guess I'll let you set me up with another session with Dawna Lovegood to figure this out."
Zoey hugged Duncan. "It's ok Duncan. You don't have to deal with this alone."
Duncan didn't know why he allowed himself to come off as so weak. But he let himself cry softly. As he was crying while being held by Zoey, he ironically started to feel a little bit better. Zoey might have had some trick with people, or it could have been because Duncan was letting out the sorrow he's been bottling in for months. But maybe it wouldn't kill him to let out his soft side once in a blue moon.
