WELCOME TO CHAPTER 4. THANK YOU FOR THE VIEWS, REVIEWS AND FOLLOW/FAVS. REALLY MAKES MY DAY. I PLANNED TO RELEASE THIS CHAPTER RIGHT AFTER CHAP 10 OF MY OTHER COMPETITION FIC. BUT THEN IT GOT DELAYED DUE TO SOME WORK I HAD.
BUT NOW HERE WE ARE. I'D LIKE TO THANK Channel 101 Productions FOR THE FOLLOW/FAV AND lordgemini FOR THE REVIEW.
lordgemini: I'm glad you liked the band's name :D Yes that Trent and Gwen scene was a small detail that I wanted to write. I felt if you picture the scene it'll be nice. And yes the trio is bonding well. I hope I'm able to clear some doubts you had about his slight nervousness. Hope you enjoy this chap :D
WITH THAT, LET'S DIVE IN.
I DO NOT OWN TOTAL DRAMA OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.
"Yeah I expected that reaction." Trent scratched the back of his head.
"Dude you told me you were over her" DJ said.
"Yeah but-"
DJ cut in, "Nah wait. I'm skipping the obvious question. When and where did you two meet?"
"The day I gave the instrumental to Cal" Trent replied, laughing awkwardly.
DJ was shocked, "Wha- You met her and you didn't tell me? It's been so long since I've seen her man."
Trent smirked, "Believe me, you'll meet her sooner than you expect."
DJ raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"
"Just roll with it for now. You'll know soon enough" Trent said referring to the recording session the next day.
DJ looked confused, "I have no idea what you meant, but okay." he paused before continuing, "So you two are dating again. Nice."
"I mean technically we're not actually dating, we were hanging out. Y'know as friends" Trent replied.
"Alright brother. If you see her as a friend then what was the problem in telling us earlier?" DJ asked, not understanding his reasoning.
DJ was determined to get it out of him, Trent knew it. He couldn't blame him. Trent himself told him before that he was over her and now suddenly he's hanging out with her? Anyone would be surprised. His actual reason was something he didn't want to admit. He hesitated at first but he knew DJ would somehow wring it out of him.
"It's cuz of Duncan" Trent finally blurted out, "There I said it."
DJ raised an eyebrow in confusion, "You didn't tell us because of Duncan?"
"Yeah" Trent sighed.
"But why?"
"You know the reason why"
"I know the things that went down between him and Gwen. Agreed, he was being a jerk and all. But how long ago was that man" DJ said, "Duncan probably didn't even see her after they split up in that All Star season and I don't think Gwen went to meet him in jail. I was one of the few people apart from his parents who visited him in jail."
Trent ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh, "Maybe they might not have met after that but still these relationship things really affect people for a long time y'know. I don't wanna talk about Gwen and bring any more awkwardness between the three of us especially when we have to perform as a band."
DJ nodded in understanding. "But isn't it better you clear the air quickly so all of us could be free rather than think about it too much. Besides, I know Duncan well. You don't have to worry cuz I'm sure he won't try to make the same mistake he did in World Tour and go out with Gwen. He's with Courtney now and he's ha-"
Trent cut in raising an eyebrow, "Whoa-whoa… What?!" he exclaimed in confusion.
"What's wrong? Isn't that mainly why you don't wanna tell Duncan" DJ asked, oblivious.
Trent shook his head, "No. Of course not. I didn't even think of that. I know that even if Duncan does try it, Gwen won't fall for it again." he clarified.
"Oh damn! I'm sorry man, I thought- yeah cuz- ughh I feel so stupid now" the big guy stammered a lot in between trying to apologize. He quickly cleared his throat, let a heavy breath out and continued, "Alright. If that's not the problem then what is?"
There was no escape now for Trent. He understood DJ wasn't going down without knowing the actual reason. He heaved a sigh and adjusted himself on the couch such that he faced his flatmate.
"You remember about two and a half months ago, I was pretty skeptical when you asked me if Duncan could stay with us. Honestly I never believed we would get along. I mean, it's not like we really do now but, to some extent we can tolerate the other," he paused before letting out a breath, "I feel we're building a bridge between us, and I don't want to burn that down already by bringing Gwen into the picture."
DJ smiled. He could feel the change in perspective Trent had on Duncan. From hating him for all his deeds to understanding the person behind the tough facade.
The brickhouse patted Trent's shoulder, "I'm proud of you brother. Thank you for taking my word and giving him a second chance. I know you didn't like my suggestion back then, but you took the chance."
Trent smiled back, "It's all thanks to you. You made me look at him in a different light. I guess you do learn more about people when you live with them" he smiled.
"When who lives with whom?" Duncan asked, barging into the flat and swiftly closing the door behind him.
Trent and DJ turned to look at Duncan from the couch.
"Nothing. Just talking perspectives" Trent said.
"Oh boring talk" Duncan mocked.
"Yeah the guy we were talking about was pretty boring" Trent said, referring to Duncan.
"Well then, sucks to be that guy if you think he's boring" Duncan smirked.
"You have no idea" Trent smiled.
"Man you two are somethin' else", DJ shook his head smiling. He got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen, "Anyway, after some chow we'll look into the second song. Cool?"
Trent gave a thumbs up while Duncan nodded.
"I mean you have the most lyrics in that song, Elvis and I just have some small parts" Duncan said.
"Small but important" DJ added, "Your lines are important for the flow so a mix of voices will give a nice feel to the song."
Trent's notification bell rang. He clicked on the pop-up. It was a message from Dex.
'Hey Trent. Dex here'
'Your recording is scheduled at 1pm tomorrow. So be ready.'
'We're all hyped up' Trent replied.
'Great to hear :) Also here's the location. MAPS: LOCATION'
"Guys, tomorrow 1 pm" Trent informed, "Dex sent me the location as well."
"Cool. So we gonna practice both songs again in the evening and then have a good night's sleep" DJ said.
"Yep. We gotta keep the instruments ready too. I'm taking my guitar" Trent said.
"Alright. Duncan?"
"Yeah, Imma take the guitar" he replied.
"Cool. So we're all good" DJ clapped, "Alright onto cookin' again."
DJ opened up the fridge and looked at the empty top egg tray.
"Aye yo, where did the eggs go?"
"Dude we literally made omelettes for breakfast and dinner in the last two days. It's no surprise that we have none left" Duncan said, his voice sounded a little suspicious.
"True, but I know we had two left. Where did those go?" DJ said, before narrowing his eyes at the ex-prisoner, "Duncan brother, what did you do?"
"What are you looking at me for" he said loudly, looking at DJ with a playful grin.
"Duncan, spill."
Duncan chuckled before looking at Trent, "Hey Elvis, how's your hair man?"
Trent looked up from his phone, running a hand through his hair "My hair? Yeah they've been a bit sticky for a couple of days not sure why-" his eyes widened in realization, "You sick bastard!"
Duncan burst into laughter while DJ looked at him in disbelief.
"HEY! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Trent shouted, "It took me two days to get all that clumps off my hair! You got any idea how much shampoo and conditioner I used! No wonder she asked me why my hair smelled funny."
Duncan calmed from his fit of laughter, "Who's this 'she'?"
Trent's eyes widened in shock, "Oh uhh… Olivia! Yes, uh Olivia- she's a co worker back in the store." he replied, stumbling his words in between.
"Uh huh" Duncan didn't look convinced at all but he shrugged, took out his phone and started scrolling through.
Trent glanced at DJ, who gave him a look insisting on telling everything to Duncan. Trent nodded slowly and let out a sigh.
"Alright man, I gotta tell you something."
The ex-prisoner looked up from the screen with an eyebrow raised, "Well this is rare. Anyway, spill."
Trent composed himself, "I didn't tell you this earlier because I didn't want to bring in anymore awkwardness between us. But now I feel, it's better to clear everything early" he rubbed his hands together, "Past few days, I've been acting a little strange-"
"Little isn't the right word" Duncan cut in, smirking.
"Shut up, let me finish" Trent demanded, "Anyway, that's because I've been seeing someone that both of us have a history with, The person being-"
Before Trent could finish, DJ's ringtone echoed in the room. He checked the caller id and panicked a little.
"It's dad!" he exclaimed, his face showing a mix of fear and worry.
Duncan immediately ran to him, trying to calm the big guy down, "Remember dude, you know what to say. You tell this one lie now, it will do you a world of good."
"I know what to say but I don't know how to say it man" he exclaimed.
"Answer the call!" Trent shouted, "Delaying it is just gonna make him suspicious."
"Put it on speaker" Duncan suggested.
DJ nodded and answered the call.
"H-hi Dad. What's up?"
"Hello DJ. How are you son?"
"Yeah I'm good dad. How 'bout you?"
"I'm fine. I hear cooking noises in the background. Are you at work?"
"Y-yeah dad, w-where else would I be"
"I knew you wouldn't disobey me. I'm happy you understand why I told you to stay away from it. The industry is plagued with some really bad influences and I don't want you to get trapped in it." he explained. Duncan shook his head in annoyance hearing DJ's father.
"I understand that dad" a hint of sadness was there in his voice, but it didn't match the sorrow in his body language.
"Good for you. Anyway, is Jerome there? It's been a while since I've talked to him."
Jerome was the Head Chef at Toronto Taste, the restaurant DJ worked as the Assistant Chef. Jerome and DJ's father had been friends for years and it's through him that DJ bagged the job as a trainee and worked his way up to assistant Chef.
"Um… uhh Chef's not here right now" DJ said trying to get the topic done with.
"Oh is it? He's usually always there" his dad asked confused.
DJ looked at his flatmates frantically.
'Do something please' he mouthed to them.
"Um dad, lemme ask one of the guys… Hey Adam! Have you seen Chef around?" DJ acted, looking at Duncan, gesturing to him to respond.
Duncan quickly replied, "Non, I did not see ze Chef. I guess he went outside." He said in a pure French accent.
DJ and Trent looked at him in bewilderment, not knowing why he replied in that fashion.
Nevertheless DJ continued, "Yeah, dad he's gone outside."
"Ah that's okay. I called to tell you one more piece of news. I'll be coming over to Toronto tonight. I have to take part in a law conference there and I'm one of the selected representatives from Vancouver."
"Wait what?! TONIGHT?"
"Yes. I'll be landing tonight" he replied.
DJ glanced at his flatmates with a tense look. Trent had his hands on his head while Duncan rubbed his forehead.
"Um, how 'bout your subordinates and assistants?" DJ asked.
"Oh they have already landed in Toronto a week back actually. I had to close another case today morning so I'll be the last one from our group reaching there" he chuckled.
DJ chuckled nervously, "Yeah, that's great."
"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow after my conference. Can't wait to see you again son" he smiled.
"Me too dad", DJ said, smiling, "What time should I come to the airport to pick you up?"
"Thank you DJ but you don't have to, it's already been arranged. So, you can have a good rest at night."
"Are you sure dad? I can come"
"It's alright son. I'll call you if there's anything" he replied.
"Oh alright then."
There was a pause in the conversation, "I'm getting another call. It's from my legal assistant, I have to take this. Sorry son."
"It's okay dad, go ahead" DJ replied.
"Thanks. So I'll see you tomorrow DJ" he said happily.
The brickhouse smiled, "Sure dad. Have a safe flight!"
"Thank you. Bye."
"Bye dad."
DJ cut the call and heaved a sigh of relief. He had successfully kept himself from telling everything to his dad.
"Man, how do you guys do this?" he asked, hands on his knees.
"Practice and experience my man" Duncan said, patting his back.
"Before we go onto anything," Trent started and turned to Duncan, "What. The. Hell. was that French accent?"
"I swear. Why'd you do that?"
Duncan shrugged, "Yeah sure blame me for that. The French are good at cooking so yeah I had to make it believable." The other flatmates shook their heads. "Either way, it worked so that's the main thing."
"But we have another problem now" Trent said.
"Does your dad always travel a lot?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah he does. He needs to meet his clients, attend some meetings in different places, conferences and the like" the brickhouse replied.
"What surprised me the most is that his dad's a lawyer" Trent said.
DJ laughed, "Yeah I get that a lot. He's regarded among the best ones in Vancouver. He gets a lotta cases in a month."
"Vancouver?" the ex-prisoner asked.
"Yeah. My parents are staying there" DJ replied.
Duncan raised an eyebrow on hearing that and looked to be in deep thought. He felt he'd heard the same statement before.
"Hey Deej, what's your dad's name?" Duncan asked, trying to clear his doubts quickly.
"Why do you want his name?" DJ asked.
Duncan shrugged, "Meh, just curious."
"His name's Samuel Joseph," he replied as he walked towards the fridge.
Duncan was sure he had heard the name before. He gave it more thought, trying to recall. After a while finally, recognition registered in his mind. He saw that Trent was on his phone while DJ was going through the fridge. Duncan tried to find an excuse to go out.
"You want me to go down and buy some eggs?" he asked.
DJ looked surprised seeing he was ready to help, "Really? I mean, yeah sure, that'd be great."
Trent looked up from his phone, "If you're planning to play some kinda prank again, keep that in your head. You do it again, I'll beat you up."
Duncan smirked, "Yeah sure, I'll like to see you try." he paused, "Anyway, I'm off."
Duncan exited the flat and walked to the elevator. Before he pressed the elevator call button, he whipped out his phone from his pocket and started texting.
Back in the flat, Trent was scrolling through his feed going through different posts when the notification bell rang. He looked at the pop-up and saw that it was from Duncan. He raised an eyebrow and opened it.
'Hey I need to talk Come down rn'
Trent shrugged and got up from the couch.
"DJ, I'll be back in a few. Boss texted me" he said.
"Oh sure" DJ said as he continued cooking.
Trent exited the flat and saw Duncan standing in front of the elevator. He walked to him as he called the elevator.
"What's wrong?" he asked the ex-prisoner.
The elevator door opened and the two young adults entered.
"I think we both know DJ won't be able to take control of the whole situation" Duncan said, "Especially when his dad's gonna meet him tomorrow."
Trent sighed, "Yeah I know, it'll be hard for him. I wish we could do something about it."
"What if we can" Duncan smirked. There was confidence in his voice.
Trent looked at him with his eyebrows raised, "What do you mean?"
The elevator door opened on reaching the ground floor and they exited into the small lobby.
"When DJ told us his dad's name I felt I heard it before. Then I figured out where" Duncan elaborated. Trent looked interested, "You remember that day we saw that show with Sierra hosting?"
"Yeah"
"In that Sierra said, Courtney was practising law under a top lawyer in Vancouver. Guess who that top lawyer is"
Trent eyes widened in realization, "No way. That's his dad?!"
"Bang on."
"How do you know for sure?" Trent asked, astonished on hearing the detail.
"Courtney just came from Vancouver more or less a week back. She even told me the lawyer's name was Samuel Joseph. That's why I asked DJ" Duncan explained.
"And he just said his subordinates and assistants came here a week back" Trent stated, connecting the pieces, "Damn wow. Good job figuring that out."
"What can I say, I'm a natural" Duncan said.
"Surely" Trent rolled his eyes, "Anyway, that opens a route for us to get to his dad. You know what we gotta do" he smirked.
"Of course I do" Duncan said confidently, "We make Courtney rig his legal papers or some shit and make him screw up the conferenc-"
"HOLD UP!" Trent exclaimed, stopping the ex-prisoner, "Why don't we just talk to him yeah."
Duncan shrugged, "Meh, I guess that works too."
Trent shook his head, "Good. You have his number?"
"You think?"
"I mean, luckily maybe" Trent said before pausing, "Or we could just ask Courtney for his number."
"Oh yeah true. Didn't think of that" Duncan said, scratching the back of his head. Trent rolled his eyes.
Duncan took out his phone and pressed call beside Courtney's contact. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Hi Duncy. What's up?"
Hearing the nickname, Trent chuckled which earned him a glare from Duncan.
"No" he said annoyed, "You are not gonna call me that."
"You can't stop me" Courtney chuckled.
"We'll talk about that later" Duncan said, "Anyway, that lawyer you work under, what's his name again" he asked just to confirm.
"Mr. Samuel Joseph. Why?" she asked, before taking a pause and asked in a serious tone, "Duncan, what did you do?"
Duncan rolled his eyes, annoyed, "Oh C'mon! I didn't do anything Princess!"
"Tell me the truth Duncy."
Duncan looked at the phone in disbelief, "What do you mea- WOMAN I'M TELLING THE TRUTH! I didn't d-" Before the ex-prisoner completed his sentence, Trent snatched the phone from him. "HEY! We're arguing- don't you take my girlfriend away from me man!"
"Yeah like you're one to talk" Trent debated.
"Fair enough."
Trent shook his head, "Hey Court, it's Trent here."
"Hi Trent. Tell me seriously, did Duncan get in trouble?" she asked, a hint of worry in her tone.
"No no, don't worry nothing's wrong." he reassured.
She finally let out a breath she was holding, "Okay, that's relieving. If he gets in trouble he'll never tell it to anyone. Sometimes I have to force it out of him. Only if he tells me I'll know if I can help him or not."
Trent chuckled, "Nice. You know how to deal with him."
"Yeah" she smiled, "Anyway, why do you need Mr. Joseph's number?"
"It's for something regarding DJ" Trent said, knowing he can't tell her all the details about the band.
"I'm sorry Trent, but I need a proper reason as well" Courtney informed, "Also I can't give you his number either."
"But why?"
"Since you said it's regarding DJ, I can almost confirm it has nothing related to a case or a legal complaint" Courtney elaborated, "DJ's like the last person I'll associate to a case."
He finally gave in, "Okay fine, it's nothing related to that. But it is important. Is there any other way we can contact him?"
She thought for a few seconds, "Well, I can book an appointment to meet him. But again, it's for official purposes only."
"C'mon Court, please, we need to meet him" Trent pleaded.
Courtney hesitated at first but came to terms with it. She let out a sigh, "Alright. Just this once, I'll do it for you guys."
Trent smiled, "Yes!"
"Again, I'm sorry but I need a reason" she said.
Trent looked at Duncan. Through his expressions he asked Duncan if he could tell Courtney about the band. The ex-prisoner initially shook his head against it but then, he knew that his girlfriend would not go down without knowing the right reason. He nodded.
Trent explained about the band they formed and informed her about the recording tomorrow afternoon.
She looked surprised, not knowing what to say, "Well… wow. Just wow. You guys in a band. Especially you and Duncan in a band." she paused, "I mean, not that you two are bad at music, just that- you know, Trent and Duncan working together on something, it feels kinda… yeah I don't know the right word" she chuckled.
Trent smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure we'll get a lot of that once the album releases."
"Expect it." she said, "Anyway listen, I see you're forming a band and that's great and all, but I still don't see the reason."
Trent narrowed his eyes, "What more reason do you need? We want to talk to him about DJ, isn't that reason enough"
"Don't you think talking to a lawyer for that is kinda strang-"
"Wait, hold up." Trent cut in, "You do know that he's DJ's dad right?"
Courtney was shocked. "What?!" she exclaimed, "You're kidding."
"Nope. Samuel Joseph is Devon Joseph's father" Trent said.
"Oh wow." she let out a breath she was holding, "He never talks about his family a lot. But it makes sense, he told me that he has three sons and a daughter."
"And DJ has three siblings. Two brothers and a sister" Trent completed.
"Yeah. First the band and now this, two surprises in 3 minutes. Nice." she chuckled.
"So now can we get the appointment?" he asked.
"Yeah, you're gonna talk about his son so I can't say no to that" Courtney replied smiling, "Anyway, I'll call him now and let you know the time. Hold on a minute."
"Sure."
She took her second phone and called the lawyer. Their conversation could be heard through the call Trent was on.
"Alright" Courtney cut the call on the other phone, " We have a conference at 10 am. So tomorrow morning 8:30 is the only slot he has. Fine with you guys?"
Trent looked at Duncan, giving a thumbs up asking him if he's free at that time. Duncan nodded.
"Yeah. We're good."
"Great. So 8:30, at Toronto Taste. He wants to meet his friend there as well. You know where it is right?" she asked.
"Yeah I do. Thanks a lot Court, you're the best" Trent replied.
"I strive to be" she smiled.
Trent passed the phone to Duncan.
"So princess, believe me now?" he muttered.
"Yep. When Trent said it" she joked as she blew a raspberry. Duncan reacted back quickly as if to assert dominance. Courtney laughed.
Duncan smiled, "Talk to you later babe."
"Sure. Don't get into trouble" she said.
"No promises" he smirked and cut the call.
Trent turned to Duncan, "So now that's out of the way."
"Yeah 'cause of me" he said proudly. Trent shook his head. "By the way Elvis, you wanted to tell me somethin' earlier?"
Trent tensed up, "Oh that," he poised himself. "Well, I didn't tell you this earlier. DJ told me that telling you right now is much better. I've been late to come home the past few days because I was hanging out with-" he was interrupted by the ringtone of his phone. He checked the caller id to see one of his colleagues at the music store, Daniel.
"What's up Dan?"
"Sup Trent. I know you're on leave for three days but we kinda need you at the store right now. One of the customers is saying something about the guitars and I have no idea what she's saying" Dan elaborated, "Could you come over? I'm waiting below your building. Silver Kia Sedona."
"Alright. I'm in the lobby, I'll come right over."
"Cool thanks."
Trent put his phone in his pocket, "I gotta run. Problem at the store."
"Ah. Hey you got any cash?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah why?"
"I told DJ I'd buy eggs. I didn't bring any money." he lied.
Trent rolled his eyes. "Fine." He passed him some cash from his wallet.
Duncan stashed it in his wallet which had a few dollars, "Thanks, those are extra bucks" he smirked.
"Brat"
Duncan smirked and ran out of the building while Trent walked out to Dan's minivan.
Recording Day:
Gwen got into her little black Nissan Micra. Before she started it, she took her phone and called Cal. A couple rings later he picked up.
"Hey Cal."
"Hi. Have you started from home?"
"Yeah, I'm in my car. Where's the location?"
"Didn't Matt send you the location?" he asked. Matt is their colleague who supervises and takes care of the music promo and commercials. He also looks into the appeal of the albums.
"No?"
"Ah that's fine. I'll text you the location. Gimme a minute."
"Yeah sure. You're there right now?"
"Yep. Me and Dex are at the recording studio. Our Recording Engineers and their assistants are here setting everything up. It's going smooth until yet. We gotta remaster the tune Trent gave us, that's the final thing to do."
"Cool! Can't wait to see who plays with Trent." she said in excitement
"You'll be happy on meeting them" he said smiling, "Check your chats, I sent you the location."
"Alright thanks. Meet you there."
"You too" he said as he cut the call.
Gwen opened her chats and clicked on the link. It redirected her to Maps.
"Hmm 20 minute drive. A little away from the city. Strange" she said to herself before shrugging and plopping the phone on the passenger seat. She pulled out of the parking lot into the main road as she passed junction after junction. About ten minutes later, she noticed that she was a little away from the city. She looked around and didn't see a whole lot of people or vehicles around. But somehow, these roads did look familiar to her, she didn't know why. Couple of minutes later, she saw a huge cliff, similar to the one in Camp Wawanakwa. Her eyes widened. The voice from the map said 'Your destination will be on the left'. She reluctantly looked to the left. This was the last place she ever wanted to come back to. She got out of the car and looked at it nervously.
"Not again"
The Abandoned Film Lot from Total Drama Action.
END OF CHAPTER 4. I INITIALLY SAID THIS FIC WOULD BE MAX 4 CHAPTERS BUT IN BETWEEN WRITING THE PREVIOUS CHAPS, I GOT IDEAS FOR NEW PLOTLINES. GWEN HAD LESS SPOTLIGHT THIS CHAPTER AS I WANTED T OCONCENTRATE MORE ON THE OTHER PLOTLINES BETWEEN THE TRIO.
ANYWAY, IF YOU LIKED THE FIC, REVIEW IT OR IF YOU FEEL SHY JUST MARK A FOLLOW/FAV (OR DO BOTH :D)
UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER, ADIOS!
-sbktd