Say Anything

by MoonlightSalsa

After the Yukon episode of World Tour, Noah sneaks away into the cargo hold for some much-needed peace and quiet. In need of more blankets to warm his frozen body (and to get away from Sierra), Cody also makes his way to the cargo hold. And thus begins regular meetings in the hold for these two friends (who eventually want to become something more than friends).

11. Hawaiian Style

"Noah?"

Noah stirred, rubbing his bleary eyes with his hand. Against the fuzzy light of the television screens, Gwen's silhouette stood out in sharp contrast. She reached out, put one hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Noah? Are you awake?"

"Am now," he mumbled. He tried to sit up, but felt a dull ache spread all over his back. Whatever he was lying on was simultaneously soft and hellishly uncomfortable. "Where am I?"

"You fell asleep watching the live broadcasts. You've been out cold for hours." Gwen responded. "Anyway, it's dinnertime. The others are waiting for you."

Noah stood up from the sofa he was on and, using his wobbly legs, sluggishly made his way to the dining area, Gwen right behind him. As soon as they entered, the brilliant orange Hawaiian sunset shone through the enormous bay windows and directly into his face. His arm shot up to shield his eyes from the onslaught.

"Can't somebody turn that off?" he grumbled.

And he would find out seconds later that Eva, Izzy and Owen had chosen the table closest to the offending windows, because of course they did.

Noah seated himself facing away from the windows. He was so tired that it took him a good thirty seconds to register the sixth person at the table.

Ezekiel was sitting across from him, nervously twiddling his thumbs. He looked uneasy. Probably scared Noah was going to yell at him again. Though, no one else seemed to be upset by his presence. That was a change.

Zeke's skin still had a slight green tinge and his hair was unkempt, but otherwise he looked no worse for wear, considering that he'd been hiding out in a dingy cargo hold for weeks with little food. His last adventure in the Serengeti had ended with him being tranq-balled and left behind. A group of tourists on a safari had discovered him and sent him to the Canadian embassy in the capital city, who in turn sent him on to Hawaii.

Any friend of Cody's was considered a friend of Izzy, and she'd invited him along to dinner tonight. Gwen, Eva and Owen had no apparent objections. Noah did, however.

Every time he looked at Ezekiel, he remembered that night in the cargo hold, and he had to turn away in disgust. It was outrageously petty, but he couldn't help himself. Being petty was just part of his defense system. Just one more crappy memory to file away forever.

One more memory in an entire slideshow of crappy memories…

But Cody did say Zeke was sorry for what he said. Noah hadn't spoken to him since that night, though. Maybe he should…

He snapped out of his thoughts when Owen carried over two large platters of various seafood. When he placed them on the table, Noah saw that half of the food from one platter was just gone, shells and droplets of sauce being all that remained. Owen conspicuously licked his fingers and grinned innocently.

"Who's hungry? I sure am!"

"Why is half the food missing?" Eva demanded.

Owen's eyes darted around nervously. "Oh, uh… I dunno. I may have had a teensy snack on my way here…"

Noah sighed. "Quick everybody, grab what you can before he decides to have another snack."

"Way ahead of you." Gwen said, reaching out with her plate.

The remaining seafood was evenly distributed among the others, and soon everyone was eating happily. Izzy and Ezekiel shared their experiences of hiding from other people in random, uncomfortable spots. Owen and Gwen had a conversation about something Tyler accidentally destroyed in the hotel's gym. Eva listened silently.

While he ate, Noah took the opportunity to reflect on Cody's journey thus far.

Back in the cargo hold after London, Noah had told Cody to stop thinking of himself as the weakest link. Cody seemed to finally be taking those words to heart. Ever since standing up to Sierra on the Great Wall of China, Cody had grown more assertive. It was obvious that he was still nervous deep down, but he was also more willing to not let others walk all over him.

Except Heather.

Well, it was an interesting situation. Heather was still holding Cody's crush over his head like an anvil, but she didn't seem as cold-hearted as before. Towards everyone else, she was the same. But with Cody, she demonstrated a weird sort of…how to describe it… Tolerance? Yes, tolerance was probably the best way to phrase it.

Something definitely happened between them, sometime around China or Tanzania, but whatever it was, the cameras never captured it. Noah would have to wait until Cody arrived in Hawaii so he could ask him.

But what was captured on camera was Courtney's newfound tolerance for him.

After Cody was kidnapped by monkeys, Courtney had split off from Heather and Sierra in order to search on her own. A confessional edited into this moment had her say that she was really just looking for Ezekiel, but the fact that she constantly called out for Cody immediately proved her wrong.

Cody had a rough couple of minutes where he had to stop and puke his guts out; no doubt a side effect of that tea Sierra gave him. And then he just broke down into tears. Courtney, surprisingly, put aside the competition for a moment in order to comfort him. That was nice of her to do.

That friendliness carried over into the next challenge on Easter Island. They helped each other out, sticking together while Heather hung around Sierra, and Alejandro went off on his own. After collecting their bird eggs in the basket they took from the plane, they raced their way up the mountainside. The others came huffing and puffing minutes later.

The next part of the challenge - depositing the eggs into the condor nest - was where Cody really shone. He clambered up the rocks with relative ease. As soon as he reached the top, he quickly dumped in all his eggs milliseconds before the condor knocked him off, scoring him a spot in the final four.

And all without even pausing during his song.

Cody had an incredible singing voice…

Because he passed so quickly, Chris announced that the next person to get their eggs in would also win immunity. Heather ended up being the one to snag second place. She couldn't resist doing a little jig in the bird's nest. Alejandro, Courtney, and Sierra all had sour expressions on their faces.

For poor old Courtney, things completely fell apart for her. First she lost the challenge. Then Alejandro tired of leading her on and, in an extremely dramatic moment in the plane's galley, more or less dumped her. And then she got voted out.

Courtney wasn't taking the loss too well. Noah could see her from where he sat. She was sitting alone at a corner table, stabbing a piece of shrimp with her fork and muttering angrily to herself. He couldn't actually hear what she was saying, but he could only imagine it had something to do with Alejandro.

"...right, Noah?" Izzy said suddenly.

Noah perked up. He hadn't been paying attention to the table's conversation. "Uh, what?"

"I said, once Cody gets here, you're gonna give him a real nice birthday gift, aren't ya?" Izzy wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

"What do you- oooohhh, I see what you mean!" Owen chuckled.

Gwen grinned. "Guys, don't put him off."

Noah only responded with one of his world-class eyerolls, but his mind drifted towards what happened in Drumheller. The dinosaur building competition.

Cody had been incredibly enthusiastic about getting to build his own dinosaur - if it weren't for the fact that he ended up using fossilized poop. Heather used this opportunity to suck up to Chris by creating one in his likeness. Alejandro was the only one to build an accurate dinosaur.

But it was Sierra who stole the show. Hers was a glitter glue-coated broken heart with a party hat strapped to its skull. Noah had to admit that it was impressive. Cody, ever curious, enquired about the party hat. Sierra's response came as a total surprise.

"Because," she cried, "it's your birthday!"

The initial look of total confusion on Cody's face sent a pang straight into Noah's heart. "It's my birthday?" Then the realisation. "It's my birthday! I totally forgot!"

Sierra laid a glittery hand on his shoulder. "I could never forget your birthday!" She glanced up at Heather. "Heather, did you know it was his birthday?"

Heather folded her arms. "No. Why would I?"

"You need to start treating Codykins better. He deserves better…" Sierra's eyes began to water. "Or else he might leave you and find someone better!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Heather asked. Sierra never answered, because Chris interrupted the conversation and finished the challenge.

But Noah couldn't focus on the challenge anymore.

How could Cody have forgotten his own birthday?

How could his parents have forgotten his birthday?

Did they really care about him so little that their only child's birthday meant nothing to them?

For what was not the first time, Noah was starkly aware of the differences between their parents. If anyone forgot his own birthday - which happened to fall on New Year's Day, lucky him - his parents would have raised hell.

Heck, he could recall at least three separate occasions when his eldest brother Joshua tried to escape the celebrations, either by scheduling skiing trips or feigning ignorance. Nothing ever worked and he was always forced to attend. Ironically, he was such a Debbie Downer about the whole thing that Noah would prefer if he didn't attend.

But enough about Josh's antics.

Noah had spent the day watching Cody traverse the Drumheller badlands in search of oil. It was an interesting episode. And a crappy way to spend one's seventeenth birthday. Cody willingly put up with both Heather and Sierra, and was able to secure some oil for himself.

Alejandro, that slimy bastard, tried some mind game on Sierra by convincing her, through use of an edited photo, that Cody and Heather were together. Sierra, to her credit, simply accepted it and tried her best to move on. Albeit with three separate confessionals where she just sat and cried the whole time.

Clearly, Alejandro wasn't counting on Cody discovering the photo. Pissed that he would set him up like that, he convinced Sierra to vote with him and Heather that night.

Noah grinned. He couldn't wait to see the elimination ceremony tonight. Alejandro was finally getting what was coming to him.

Actually, it should be happening soon. He decided to go and check up on how Cody was doing.

But before he could even get up from the table, someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Ezekiel, giving him a tiny, nervous smile.

"Hey, uh…" he began cautiously. "I've been meanin' to talk to you…"

Noah suppressed an exhausted sigh. He knew he should just get this over with. Normally, he'd make some nasty comment to anyone who insulted him, but it seemed Ezekiel was at least trying to make things right. That was more than he could say for his old school bullies.

So he let Ezekiel continue with what he had to say.

"Listen, Cody told me about how offensive my words were. He told me that it was rude to assume your ethnicity, and that it'd be like thinking I'm American, even though I'm not, eh."

Noah quirked an eyebrow but didn't say anything. That was one way of getting the message across, he supposed…

"My dad always told me a bunch of stuff that isn't true. I used to believe him, but now I don't, 'cause what he's been saying is wrong, eh. And I've been tryin' to say sorry for a while but I never got the chance. So I'm saying it now: I'm sorry."

Noah stared at him. Ezekiel was dead serious. He could tell by the way he bit his lower lip and the way he fiddled with his fingers. He seemed really desperate for forgiveness.

Noah thought back to that night in the cargo hold. He remembered how his temper had suddenly spiked like a bad fever. And he remembered the utter contempt he held towards Ezekiel in that very moment.

All throughout elementary and middle school, there was always a group of kids who thought it was fun to take racist jabs at him. It eventually escalated into straight-up insults and even some physical violence, too. The teachers never did anything about it. The other students never stuck up for him. His parents didn't even know until things came to a head.

Small town, small school, small-minded idiots.

Noah tried his best to stop it all from penetrating his heart and soul by defending himself with his own arsenal of insults, but he couldn't stop the hatred from festering. He was irritated by a multitude of things in his day-to-day life, but racism was one of the few that made him genuinely angry.

Eventually, it all culminated into a dramatic blowout. It was one of the most intense and embarrassing moments of his life, but it at least ensured he was left alone after that. He hadn't heard a single stupid comment about his skin colour in a long while.

Until that night with Ezekiel. And before he could stop it, all the bad feelings and hatred came flooding back in a giant monsoon. He'd snapped once again, scaring the crap out of both Ezekiel and Cody.

But did Ezekiel really deserve it?

No, Noah decided, right then and there. Ezekiel wasn't being malicious. He was just stupid.

So Noah sighed quietly and said, "I forgive you."

Ezekiel's face relaxed in an instant. "Oh, thank god! I dunno what I'd do if you didn't forgive me, eh."

"You'd probably never show your face around me again."

"Yeah, probably." Zeke paused, then asked, "So, are we still friends?"

"If you promise not to say that crap again, then whatever."

"Nice!"

"Seriously. I have a very low tolerance for that." Noah leaned over to him. "You know, I used to get harassed in school a lot. Not by idiots like you, but by kids who wanted to hurt me."

"That's not cool, eh."

"No, it wasn't." That familiar feeling of anger started creeping through Noah's veins again, but this time it wasn't directed at Ezekiel. "I had to put up with it every single day because no one bothered to put an end to it. I had to start taking matters into my own hands."

Ezekiel's eyebrows were knitted together. "What's wrong with them? That's just…wrong."

"Oh, there was plenty wrong with them. But let me tell you about how I managed to stop them." Noah saw that he now had Ezekiel's full attention. Sure, he was a moron, but at least he was trying to make up for everything with his solidarity. Noah realised that he actually really appreciated that. So he carried on.

"There was this one day when I wasn't left alone at all. Five of these assholes kept following me around shouting all sorts of crap at me. I couldn't get a moment's peace. I didn't know why they wouldn't shut up and piss off like they usually do after a while, but it was getting really annoying. Things sort of came to a head when this one guy, Adam, called me something particularly horrid." Noah's face morphed into an expression of utter rage that, terrifyingly, suited him perfectly. "I'm not even gonna repeat what he said. It was disgusting. I nearly snapped on him right then and there. But I managed to hold it all in. I vowed to get him back, and get him back good."

"How'd ya do it?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah Noah, how'd ya do it?" Izzy spoke up. Noah glanced round the table and realized that the others were watching him curiously. They'd even stopped eating, focusing entirely on him.

He had an audience now.

"We had a school assembly that afternoon. And as it happened, I ended up sitting right behind him. So when the principal started with his usual speech, I leaned over to Adam and whispered all sorts of shit to him. About how no one liked him, not even his own parents, and that everyone was just pretending to be his friend. I told him how everyone hated him because of how ugly he was, and how he was always surrounded by a cloud of flies because he was so dirty. I told him that he was useless and would never amount to anything more than a pile of horse manure, but even horse manure was better than him because it could at least be used to fertilize plants. He got mad and yelled at me to stop, but he got in trouble for interrupting the principal."

Eva's eyes went wide. "Woah, that's cold."

Noah shrugged. "It's what he deserved. And I haven't even gotten into the really bad part yet."

"Uh oh…" Gwen said uneasily.

"Uh oh is right." Noah nodded. "So the principal continued with his speech, and I continued with mine." He couldn't help but smile. The next part was probably his favourite childhood memory. "I began telling him about how terrible his shoes were. He always wore these ugly Pike sneakers that he was way too proud of. So I said they looked like he'd stolen them from a homeless drug dealer infected with the bubonic plague, and that his parents must be constantly ashamed everytime he wore them. There was a bunch of other stuff I said, but I won't repeat that here."

"What happened then?" Owen asked.

Noah's grin grew wider with satisfaction. "He started crying."

Owen gasped. "Really?!"

"Yep. He got in trouble for interrupting the assembly again. I remember how he glared at me, and I knew he was gonna try and get me back."

"Did he?"

"Oh, he sure as hell did." Noah's smirk dropped away. He clenched a handful of his cargo shorts in his fist. "He gathered all his friends to hunt me down after school. I tried to run, but they caught up to me. They had me surrounded and started taking turns beating the crap out of me." He stopped for a moment. In his mind's eye, clear as day, he could see the sneers and hear the hisses as Adam and his friends shoved him to the ground, punching and kicking. He couldn't even snag an opportunity to run away. They were right on top of him.

Ezekiel took notice of the silence. "Are you okay?"

"I am now." Noah gazed out the window at the sunset: as hot and fiery as he'd felt on that day. "I was getting beat up pretty bad and I couldn't do anything about it. Another group of kids came by and just stood and watched. As always." He exhaled sharply. "And then Adam decided to call me the same disgusting thing he called me earlier. And I just couldn't take it anymore. I'd had enough of this stupid bastard making my life miserable. I stood up, shoved everyone aside, walked up to Adam, and decked him in the face."

Everyone's mouths hung open. Noah knew what they were all thinking: Noah punching somebody? With those spaghetti arms of his?

"Right in the nose, as hard as I could. I was so angry that all I could focus on was hurting him as much as he had hurt me. I jumped on top of him and pretty much went berserk." Noah looked down at his right fist. He lightly flexed it.

"That musta felt good…" Ezekiel whispered.

"Oh, it did. And I could tell everyone was scared. It was the first time I'd ever gotten violent with anyone. And guess what? It worked! Adam and his cronies didn't bother me again."

"You didn't get in trouble for fighting?" Eva asked.

Noah snorted derisively. "Of course I did. I got suspended for a week for daring to defend myself. Apparently, that meant I was a problem child. But my parents let me do whatever I wanted at home, so it wasn't too bad. And they ripped the principal a new one." He smirked. "But the best part is that no one picked on me again. They tried, of course, but I was always able to convince some lunkhead to punch their noses in if they got too close. Usually by threatening them with violence. Everyone was so surprised that I just snapped like that and they didn't want to risk it happening again."

"...Now I'm kinda glad I didn't go to a normal school, eh." Zeke twiddled his thumbs.

"You should be. It eats guys like you alive."

Ezekiel grew silent. Noah saw, from the hardened look on his face, that he was thinking hard about something. It made him look constipated, but he didn't say anything about it.

After a few moments, Ezekiel spoke up. "My dad said the same thing about me going on Total Drama."

"Of course he did."

"He really didn't want me to sign up."

"Oh?" Gwen said, her curiosity piqued.

"Yeah. He thinks that TV and movies rots your brain. But I still really wanted to sign up. Life gets pretty boring on a farm, eh. I wanted to go out and see the world. My dad really didn't want me to go, but my mom stood up for me. She said that he should at least let me sign up, as a special treat for helping out on the farm. My dad only said yes 'cuz he thought I wouldn't get picked."

"And yet here you are." Noah said.

Ezekiel nodded. "On the morning I left, my dad told me not to get my hopes up of winning. He said that the world doesn't like people like us and that they'd never let me win."

"That's…kind of harsh…" Owen seemed saddened by that.

"And he also told me to help the girls if they can't keep up."

"Oh, so that's where all that bullshit came from." Eva spat.

"But he's wrong about girls being weaker than guys, and I know he's also wrong about movies rotting your brain and all brown people being Mexican and gay people being bad…so maybe he's wrong about no one liking me?" Ezekiel gazed up at the others, hope shining in his eyes. He looked so pathetically desperate to please that Noah couldn't help himself.

"Cody likes you," he said.

"Well…" Eva drummed her fingers on the table in thought. "At least you're trying to change."

"Your dad sounds worse," Owen said.

"I won't be like him." Ezekiel was firm in his statement. "Besides, he was also wrong about no one liking my harmonica rap. But people don't buy music they don't like, eh?"

The others shared an awkward glance.

"I made a lotta dough off my music, but I always stayed true to myself. I didn't wanna be like one of those sellouts. You can't buy passion, eh."

He wasn't wrong about that last part, Noah had to admit.

"And besides, we were able to buy a new tractor-trailer with my earnings!"

"Cool!" Izzy exclaimed. "Can we come to your house and take it for a joyride sometime?"

Ezekiel seemed horrified by that suggestion, but before he could respond, everyone at the table happened to overhear Leshawna loudly announce, "Come on, Harold. Let's go see that handsome jerk get what's coming to him!"

Noah glanced at a clock on the wall. It would be night-time in Drumheller by now. The elimination ceremony should be happening soon. And Alejandro's long-deserved downfall. He couldn't miss it.

He stood up, scraping his chair against the floor as he did so. "I'm going too," he called out, feeling people's eyes on him. "I've been waiting to see him get shoved out the plane for too long now."

Leshawna grinned at him. "That's the spirit, stringbean!"

He grinned back at her. As soon as Alejandro was gone, he was going to celebrate. Maybe with a glass of the champagne in his hotel room's fridge. Yeah, that would be nice.

And maybe he'd also give a toast to Cody's luck and health. At least that'd be one good thing to happen on his birthday.

---

The small room was vibrating with excited chattering and shifting bodies. Usually no one really watched the live broadcasts, preferring instead to enjoy what the hotel had to offer, but tonight was a special occasion. Tonight would be the downfall of Total Drama's most ruthless villain.

All the former contestants were crammed onto the sofas, with a few standing at the back due to the lack of sitting room. Noah, Eva and Izzy had managed to score a sofa at the very back, their view partially blocked by Trent's enormous head. Noah reclined, smirking. He felt a little giddy at what was to come.

There were still five minutes to go. Everyone was milling about, minding their own business. One TV screen showed Chris stoking an enormous fire outside. Another was of Alejandro sitting alone in economy class, deep in thought. Sierra was in the kitchen, hiding something behind her back and telling the cameraman to not 'spoil the surprise', whatever that meant. It better not be something else detrimental to Cody's health.

And Cody himself was absentmindedly wandering down the hallway, until a pale hand reached out and pulled him aside into a small alcove.

It was Heather. She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms. "So, did you do it?"

No one needed to be told what 'it' was.

Cody nodded frantically. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"Same here." Heather paused for a moment, chewing her bottom lip. She turned her head away slightly, focusing her gaze on a shadowy corner instead. "You know, I wouldn't mind going against you in the final two."

"Really? You mean that?"

"Don't be so skeptical. You're, like, the only one left that I can stand."

"That's…probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Plus, you'll be way easier to beat."

"..."

"It's a strategic choice as well."

Cody sighed. "I should've known you'd be like that."

"Hey!" Heather whacked him lightly on the shoulder. "At least I'm giving you a chance at all! Besides, if you somehow manage to overcome your astronomically low odds and win, then you can take your boyfriend to that place in Mexico you told me about."

Instinctively, Noah's fingers gripped the armrest. Oh, for god's sake, Heather. The fact that Cody apparently wanted to take him on a holiday to Mexico hadn't quite sunk in yet. He just prayed that Heather wouldn't mention him by name. He didn't want to deal with everyone's snooping and invasiveness right now.

"Boyfriend?" Courtney cried. "What do you mean, he has a boyfriend?"

"It means," Duncan said as he sidled over to Gwen and put his arm around her, "that someone would rather hook up with him than you. You're just that unlikeable."

"Go screw yourself, guttersnipe!"

Noah privately agreed with Courtney. He didn't want Duncan around him, either. He only tolerated him for Gwen's sake. And his tolerance was rapidly running out.

"This is news to us," Trent said, sharing a glance with Harold.

Duncan opened his mouth again. "Who on earth would lower their standards like that?"

Noah glared at him. "Someone who'd rather date a good, functioning member of society than some walking pincushion like you."

Duncan only snorted in response.

Back on screen, Cody rubbed the back of his neck and said, "You know my parents wouldn't like that-"

"Screw your parents!" Heather hissed. She leaned forward and poked him in the chest. "If you wanna take Noah to a nice sunny beach and snog him until kingdom come, then do it!"

As if they were all acting upon the same invisible cue, every other contestant in the room slowly turned their heads to stare at Noah.

Noah couldn't help but stare back, still gripping the armrest hard enough that he almost poked holes in it. He could see everything in their eyes: surprise, confusion, intrigue, wonder. He gulped as silently as he could. "What?" he asked, keeping his own emotions under the surface.

"What do you mean, "what?"" Leshawna stood up. "He's your boyfriend, and you didn't tell us?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Noah stated. Technically the truth.

"But he wishes he was!" Izzy piped up.

Bridgette stood up too, holding up her hands. "Wait, so let me get this straight: you have feelings for him? And he has feelings for you? But…you're not together?"

"Yes." It was DJ, of all people, who responded. "Cody told me back in Jamaica. I tried to get him to tell you, but he got too nervous."

"...What?" Noah asked quietly. He didn't even have time to process it, because the conversation carried on immediately.

"Noah hasn't confessed to Cody yet, either," Gwen clarified. "He's waiting until everyone gets here."

Geoff went over to him. "Nice, dude!" He gave him a high five. "It's awesome to see you scoring some action!"

"Aw, you guys would be so cute as boyfriends!" Beth exclaimed. "You could do all sorts of nerdy stuff together!"

"Awesome of you to finally join the love club!" Tyler said, putting his arms around Lindsay's shoulders.

Trent and Harold gave him a thumbs-up. Katie and Sadie squealed over the romantic pining. Leshawna, Bridgette and DJ all gave him nods of encouragement.

Duncan shrugged. "Eh, better than being alone forever."

The sour look that was undoubtedly on Noah's face made his friends start laughing. He knew his cheeks must be as red as the sunset right now. But what was most important was making sure none of this got out.

"Okay, I'm glad you're all supportive, but do you think you could maybe…not tell anyone? We're trying to keep things on the down-low." Noah wanted to hold himself back, but there was no point anymore. Heather had inadvertently outed them both already. "Cody hasn't come out yet because his parents suck, so don't tell anyone."

"Roger that!" Geoff said cheerfully. "But when he gets here, you have to tell him how you feel!" The others nodded in agreement. They all looked so overly happy and chipper.

Noah just wished everyone would turn away from him. He wasn't a fan of being the center of attention. But luckily, he was able to seize a diversion.

"Look everyone!" He pointed at the TV screens, "the plot's marching on without you!"

It worked. They all started chattering excitedly and sat back down. On the main screen, the four remaining contestants sat around the campfire outside. The elimination ceremony was beginning.

Chris walked up with a platter of marshmallows. "A little season one treat for you all!" He chuckled. "Sierra, since you won immunity, you got the first marshmallow."

He tossed one in Sierra's direction. She caught it with one hand and lovingly cradled it for a moment before eating it happily.

"Heather, you're also safe with no votes…for once."

Heather rolled her eyes as she caught her marshmallow.

Chris brought out the passports and flicked through them. "The first vote goes to Alejandro."

Alejandro perked up.

"Second vote for Cody."

Cody began to twiddle his thumbs nervously.

"Third vote for Alejandro. And our final vote goes to-"

"Wait!" Sierra stood up, catching everyone off guard. "While we're all still together, I have a little surprise for you all…BRB!" She ran up the plane's ramp and disappeared inside. The sounds of footsteps and rustling could be heard. Cody and Heather exchanged a confused - and slightly worried - glance.

Then, a minute later, Sierra came proudly marching back down the ramp. In her hands was an enormous cake frosted in white and pink, with several sparklers stuck on top.

"Happy birthday, Cody!" she announced. "I made it myself!"

Noah's gut twisted as he watched Cody's entire face soften, his eyes glistening in the flickering light. He remembered what Cody had said earlier in the day: "Last year, my own mom and dad forgot my birthday." And just based on what Cody had already said about his parents, it was entirely possible that they'd forgotten before. They certainly seemed self-absorbed enough. This could very well be the first acknowledgement of his birthday in years.

Good job, Sierra.

But it was not to be. The gratefulness in Cody's eyes only lasted a moment. It was swiftly replaced with fear.

The camera panned down to reveal the pile of oil at Sierra's feet, which the sparks were gently drifting down onto. She was completely oblivious.

"Sierra, look out!" Cody, Heather and Alejandro all shouted.

"What?" That was her only response before the whole world lit up.

Every single TV screen turned a blinding orange, then static a split second later. They'd lost the feed.

It happened in the literal blink of an eye. Everyone sat in utterly shocked silence, unable to comprehend what they'd just seen. White noise filled the air, causing everyone's thoughts to buzz.

Noah willed the feed to return. He needed to know if Cody was safe. Not even the most wild challenges in the last seasons had knocked out all the cameras like this. The level of destruction here must have been huge.

Noah crossed his fingers and pleaded silently for the forces of nature to have spared Cody from its dangerous grasp. Cody had to be okay. He had to.

He did not make it all the way to the final four just to be medically evacuated. Again.

---

Noah was still shocked as he migrated to a chair in the dining area with everyone else. They'd been given biscuits and mugs of hot chocolate, which only helped a little in taking the edge off the horror. A full ten minutes had passed, and no information had come through yet. Geoff and Bridgette were with a couple of the producers, trying to reestablish contact.

The rest of his friends sat grouped around him. They were near silent. The rest of the room held only subdued chatter between the other contestants. Everyone was hoping that they didn't just witness someone's final moments on live TV.

Noah fiddled with a biscuit on his plate, breaking off tiny chunks and grinding them into crumbs. A brown and sandy mountain grew on the porcelain.

What horrible luck, for this to happen on Cody's birthday, of all days. The one time Sierra decides to do something completely sweet and kind and selfless, and it blows up in her face. Literally.

And now the future was uncertain.

The biggest question on everyone's mind was: Is the competition going to continue? Were the final four too injured to compete? Would there be no true winner?

Knowing Chris, if this was true, then he'd probably confiscate the prize money and use it for his own comfort.

Hell, he'd probably force the others to finish, regardless of how badly they were injured. The ratings boost would be through the damn roof.

Noah couldn't bring himself to voice these concerns out loud. They bubbled up in his throat, and abruptly jammed themselves in his windpipe, leaving him short of breath. He crunched up another biscuit in his hand out of frustration.

"Hey. A hand laid itself over his, accompanied by an even softer voice. Gwen gave him a small, thin smile. "I'm sure they're all okay. They're pretty resilient. Especially Cody. I mean, he bounced back from that bear attack quite quickly, right?"

She did have a point. Noah thought back to Playa des Losers, and the day Cody finally got his casts, bandages and stitches removed. Cody had strutted round the poolside like a peacock, proud and relieved to finally join in on all the fun the others were having. He didn't even showcase the tiniest amount of distress over his previous predicament.

He'd held it all in, like a soldier. He never let anybody except Noah see how much it actually hurt him.

But still. An explosion was not the same thing as a bear attack.

"Chris would never let them die," Gwen continued. "But I did overhear Courtney earlier saying that if they end up in hospital then she would sue Chris on their behalf."

Over at her corner table, Courtney was angrily muttering into her PDA, clenching and unclenching her fist all the while.

"Good," Noah said darkly. "It's the least of what he deserves."

"No," Eva suddenly butted in, "the least he deserves is a good punch to the skull!"

"And to fall into a zoo exhibit with hungry lions!" Izzy joined in, sounding gleeful.

"And to get his hair messed up, eh." Ezekiel added.

"How about all of it at once?" Owen suggested.

Gwen snorted. "Oh god. I have the wackiest mental image of him getting sued by the lions while they punch him and try to eat him…messing up his hair in the process."

The group shared a hearty chuckle. It made Noah feel a little better. It wasn't just a wacky mental image, but a deeply satisfying one as well. Chris deserved to be put through the ringer just as he'd done to them.

Hell, even if Cody and the others weren't seriously hurt, he hoped that Courtney would go through with her plans to sue him, anyway.

The doors to the dining room swung open. Geoff and Bridgette strode through them, coming to a stop in the center of the room. All chatter died away instantly.

Geoff cleared his throat. "So uh, we were able to get in contact with the guys out in Drumheller…"

"...and they told us that everyone's unharmed, except for Sierra and a few of the crew members." Bridgette took over. "We were also told that the show will go on, but unfortunately Sierra's been disqualified. So the final three are Heather, Cody, and Alejandro."

"Oh, come on!" Courtney screeched. "Isn't there anything that can stop him?"

"He is going down," Leshawna smacked her fist into her palm. "I'll go to Drumheller and push him into a ditch myself if I have to."

Geoff held up his hands. "Easy, easy. Look, I know. I want him to lose too. But there's nothing we can do about it. Oh, and by the way, we're also filming the final Aftermath episode down on the beach tomorrow at ten a.m. sharp."

Noah groaned. Everyone briefly glanced in his direction. They all knew how the last one went for him.

"So go back to your rooms and get some rest," Bridgette concluded. "We'll bring you more updates in the morning."

Several of them began filing out, making their way to their rooms. Noah was one of them. He really needed some time to himself in order to just sit back and think about everything. He bade his friends goodnight and left.

Noah unlocked his room and went inside. As soon as the door closed behind him, he kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his clothes, and crawled into bed. He rolled onto his side and stared at the bright orange-yellow curtains.

Cody was safe. That was good. That was relieving.

Sierra had been disqualified. That was not good. Not relieving. Not only because she tried to do something unselfish and not harmful for Cody's health, but because Alejandro was still in the game.

That wasn't fair.

But that's what you have to expect from Total Drama, Noah supposed. Fighting it never helped anyone get ahead. That wasn't fair either, but the whole situation was just incredibly frustrating.

Whatever the final challenges were going to be, Cody would have to keep his head and spirits held high. He would need his wits and his smarts. Noah had faith that Cody would try his absolute best.

He just hoped Cody would keep remembering that he wasn't the weakest link.

---

The next morning dawned bright and brilliant. Warm sunlight, crystal-clear waters, a light breeze, and soft sand. A perfect day for doing literally anything.

Noah was lying in his bed, curtains shut, sheets and blankets in an absolute mess. In his darkened room, he lay on his back, staring up at the intricately patterned ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

There were many things weighing heavily on his mind, but one that stuck out in particular was that comment DJ had made the night prior:

"Cody told me back in Jamaica. I tried to get him to tell you, but he got too nervous."

That put that afternoon walk they'd shared in a whole new light. When Noah was walking along, complaining about Chris, Cody had already fallen hard for him. His chest felt light and warm; a sensation that he'd been experiencing frequently recently.

And now that he was in Hawaii, which was also famed for its long beaches and dazzling sunsets, he longed to take another walk with Cody.

Being in love was still so new and weird to him. He'd always told himself that romantic relationships weren't necessary for a fulfilling life - contrary to what others might say - but he'd come to understand that some people had different ideas of what fulfilling lives even were in the first place. And now he was open to the idea that maybe it was what he needed.

One thing was for sure though: once his family caught wind of this, they were going to make fun of him for this forever. He could picture it now: a family dinner years from now, everyone reminiscing at how Noah had always turned up his nose at the idea of love until he experienced it for himself. They'd call him a sap and remark on how this seemed like a plot straight from a stereotypical Hellmark movie. Noah was already cringing at the thought of these potential conversations.

The only question was: would Cody even be there to experience them with him?

He was obsessing over whether or not his crush liked him back. Just like all the other teenagers he'd mocked.

No matter how much he acknowledged the irony of everything, he always found his mind drifting back to Cody's sweet smile. It relaxed him, like taking a long, hot bath.

Noah rolled over onto his side and stared at the curtains. He wished the final three would just hurry up and get here already. He was absolutely itching to confess to Cody.

And wish him a happy birthday.

That explosion was because Sierra did a genuinely sweet gesture by baking him a cake. The one nice thing anyone did for him all day, and it blew up in his face.

As soon as he saw Cody again, he was going to give him the biggest hug imaginable.

Noah never thought he was one for physical affection - he'd always hated the overly lovey-dovey couples that littered the hallways of his high school - but now all he wanted to do was hug Cody. It all just felt so right. Cody was so warm and soft.

Everything about him - his chestnut curtain of hair, his big doe eyes, his gap-toothed smile - invaded Noah's mind and wouldn't leave him alone. He was infectious. He was everything Noah wanted.

It was just like a stupid romance movie.

The weird pressure building up in Noah's chest was getting to be too much to bear. He let out a long, low sigh that filled the entire room.

"Busy daydreaming about the love of your life?" A muffled voice announced suddenly. From right underneath Noah's bed.

Noah sat up with a shrill scream. Immediately the voice started giggling. The source of said voice shimmied out from underneath the bed and grinned like a madman.

"IZZY!" Noah thundered.

"Sorry!" Izzy cried, not sounding very sorry at all. "I thought it'd be hilarious!"

"How'd you even get in here?!"

"It's a long story-"

"You know what, I don't care. Out!"

"Aw, come on-" Izzy was interrupted by Noah standing up on his bed, pointing at the door and bellowing, "OUT!"

Izzy slunk out of the room, still stifling giggles. Noah flopped back down on his bed and covered his face with his hands.

If she did that again, he was going to make her pay.

He groaned and got out of bed, sluggishly put on his clothes and headed for the dining room.

As he made his way to their usual table, he caught a few of the others glancing at him, and quickly turning away as soon as he glanced back. The whole revelation about his and Cody's crushes on each other must still be on their minds.

Noah sat down at the table and reached out for the pot of coffee that was in the center. Gwen, sitting across from him, put down the newspaper she was reading and gave him a grin.

"Stayed up all night dreaming about Cody?" she said, giggling.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Izzy was hiding under my bed again."

Of course, Gwen was right, but he didn't want her to know that. He didn't think he could handle any more of anyone's gloating.

"Did you hear the updates this morning?"

Noah perked up immediately. "No. What's happening?"

"Chris is gonna have the final three race to Hawaii. Last one here gets eliminated. They'll have to find their own ways, though. They've only just started preparing to leave, but they're expected to be here sometime this afternoon. And apparently Chris wants to have the final challenge today, as well."

"That soon, huh?" Noah was surprised.

"Yeah. We're so close to the end." Gwen's mouth squeezed itself into a tight, but excited, smile. "This is probably gonna be the last time we'll all be together like this."

"Yeah, you're right…" Noah looked around the dining room; at each and every face talking, chewing, smiling. Most of these people he may never cross paths with again…

Noah was struck with a strange, forlorn feeling. These fellow teenagers of his had spent an entire summer, and months afterward, in each other's company. The thought of never seeing some of them again made him feel weird.

He realised that this must be the closing of another chapter in his life. Post-Total Drama - and whatever he was going to face in the next chapter - awaited him, and he was edging towards it as if expecting a shocking plot twist.

Life was like a book with no real plot or sense of purpose to it. Not everyone's story was going to wrap up without a single loose end. He didn't particularly enjoy those kinds of stories, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. Hell, he knew that he had tension with some of the others that might never get resolved. That was just life.

And the chapters were going to keep coming and coming until it was time for the book to be closed, at which point it'll be put back on the shelf and another one would be opened.

"Noah?"

Noah snapped back to reality then. "Huh?"

"You kinda spaced out on me for a second."

"Oh. Sorry."

"I know. It's weird to think that once this is over, we'll all just go back to our normal lives."

"Our new normal lives." Noah corrected. "Remember: we're technically famous now."

Gwen snorted. "Yeah. We're celebrities."

Just then, Geoff strolled in. He put his fingers in his mouth and wolf-whistled sharply. Noah instinctively clapped his hands over his ears.

"Do you have anything better to do than rupture my eardrums?" he growled.

"I actually do, li'l dude!" Geoff said cheerfully, pointing finger guns at him. "It's time for us to begin filming the final Aftermath episode!"

Noah looked at Gwen. She smiled reassuringly. "Our last ever Aftermath. Let's hope it's a good one."

Oh, Noah was hoping, all right. Hoping for the sweet release of death.

---

Who you gonna root for?

Who's it gonna be?

Is it Heather, Alejandro, or will you pick Cody?

Noah already knew full well who he'd be backing. Was that even a question? Anyone with any sense would side with Cody.

And it seemed like the majority of the cast did have some sense.

The only ones rooting for Alejandro were Tyler, Lindsay, Katie and Sadie. Noah wasn't surprised. All of them had the combined IQ of a watercress sandwich.

And the only person on Heather's side was a heavily bandaged, immobile Blaineley. Not out of her own volition, either. It was almost enough to make him laugh. Especially once he heard that there would be one final challenge for the losers. Poor, poor Heather. Her karma just kept on coming.

Right when there was a pause in Geoff and Bridgette's little song, Harold was quick to jump in. He did a little rap about how Cody was going to win. Noah hated rap, but he had to admit that Harold's gesture was nice. Geoff and Bridgette didn't look too happy about being interrupted, though.

But things got infinitely worse, however, when Ezekiel joined in with his own rap.

"Yo yo yo, Zeke's in the house! Let's give it up for Cody, as sneaky as a mouse! He'll beat Heather and Alejandro, and when he wins, he'll shove 'em out the door, yo!"

It was already embarrassing enough as it was, but when Harold decided to supplement Zeke's raps with his own beatboxing, Noah had to put one hand over his mouth to hide his laughter. Most of the others didn't even bother to hide it. Giggles rippled throughout the peanut gallery.

Ezekiel remained oblivious. "He's made it this far, he'll see this through; and that means he's better than you!"

Bridgette snorted and covered her face.

"Cody's the man, dawg! He'll get through this, uhh…fog!"

Duncan chuckled. "What a loser!"

Ezekiel flashed the gold chains around his neck. "When Cody gets here, there'll be a blaze of glory! Cuz he's so amazing, just like…uhh…" He stopped short and looked at the crowd in befuddlement. "Uh…what rhymes with glory?"

The entire peanut gallery broke into peals of laughter. People were stomping their feet, slapping their knees, and clapping their hands. Noah couldn't help himself. He joined in.

And Ezekiel, bless his ignorantly blissful heart, simply took a proud bow before Geoff marched over and snatched the microphone from him.

"Stop! Cut the music!"

---

On top of a cliff right next to a rampaging waterfall, Geoff and Bridgette gathered the former Total Drama contestants around a blackboard. "I'm glad you're all so passionate about who you're supporting, because one member of each team is about to risk your lives for your favourite finalist! Any volunteers?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I'll do it!" Sadie, of all people, shot her hand up immediately. "I'm an excellent surfer!" Katie gave her an encouraging pat on the back.

For once, Sadie had set a halfway decent example. Noah knew, deep down, that it was his time to shine.

"I'll do it, too." He stepped forward.

A hand immediately came down on his shoulder. "Ah, no you won't. I will." It was Courtney. What a surprise. "Cody needs someone who is actually competent at challenges."

"And Cody needs someone who isn't overly aggressive and uptight." Noah shook her hand off and marched forward. Again, he reaffirmed, "I'll do it."

"Wow, Noah taking the initiative for once?" Bridgette stated. If Noah didn't know any better, he'd have thought she was being sarcastic.

Owen broke down from guilt and volunteered for Heather, not just so Blaineley wouldn't have to do anything, but also because he was scared of what Heather might do if she found out he didn't do anything.

With the volunteers decided, Geoff gestured to the blackboard, which had a variety of animals drawn on it. "What you need to do now is choose an animal that you think best represents who you're fighting for. Sadie, you're up first."

"Uh, I'll go with the jaguar! Jaguars are kinda vicious, but also really cute! Just like Alejandro!"

"I know, right?" Katie nodded.

"Awesome! Noah, what do you choose?"

Noah put a hand on his chin and scanned the blackboard, deep in thought. Most of the animals were much too bloodthirsty to truly represent Cody. He didn't have much of a fighting spirit, but he was pretty resilient. He was also fast and light on his feet.

And then Noah saw it. Right smack in the center. He knew he was going to get teased for it, but fuck it. Whatever. "Deer."

Everyone snickered obnoxiously. Eva, Izzy, Owen and Gwen were the loudest of them all. Noah rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"A deer? Seriously?" Duncan smirked. "That's so lame."

"What?" Noah glared at the crowd. "You all would've laughed anyway, even if I did pick a scarier animal."

They didn't dispute that.

Once the laughter died down, it was Owen's turn to choose. He selected a Doberman as Heather's spirit animal. A sleek, snarling, vicious thing. Fitting.

Geoff gestured to the top of the cliff that rose high up above them. "You'll need to make your way up to that clifftop, grab a lei and a surfboard, and surf your way back down." He pointed to the river running along, frothy and swift. "Then, you'll need to try and avoid that volcano spewing lava and rocks everywhere."

Sadie and Owen both gulped.

"Once you make it past the volcano unroasted, you'll need to surf over the waterfall and try to put your lei around the animals you chose earlier." Down in the ocean below were three rafts: one with a jaguar, one with a deer, and one with a Doberman.

Noah grinned. "Good thing I didn't choose a predator."

Sadie looked at the jaguar snapping violently at the intern tying it to the raft, and shuddered.

Geoff nodded his head towards the changing rooms, an excited grin on his face. "Go change into your swimwear dudes and dudette, and I'll meet you at the top!"

Noah, now in his boardshorts, was right behind Sadie and Owen. Sadie was powering up the steep path with purpose. Noah had to admit: although Sadie had about as much common sense as a potted plant, she did have drive. She was also boy-crazy. She'd do anything to prove herself to Alejandro.

Owen, on the other hand, was only doing this to appease Heather. That was also some pretty decent motivation.

What was Noah doing this for? The answer was plain and simple: Cody.

Cody was up against two insanely strong competitors. He deserved a fighting chance. And since Noah had the opportunity to help him, he was going to take it.

The trio reached the top of the cliff. A bowl filled with beautiful leis sat on a table in front of a large statue carved from wood. Right next to it was a colourful row of surfboards sticking out of the ground. Upon seeing them, Noah was hit with a sudden realisation: he didn't actually know how to surf.

There was no way he could have known what the challenge was going to be, but if he knew it involved surfing, he would have just let Courtney do it instead. He shared a glance with Owen, who was looking apprehensive about the whole thing.

Geoff appeared then, strolling leisurely over to them. "You guys ready to rock?"

"No." Noah responded.

Geoff ignored him. "I also forgot one more thing you'll have to do-" As soon as he was finished speaking, a familiar chime sounded. The two guys groaned.

"We have to sing?" Owen asked.

Sadie gasped in delight. "Oh, I've always wanted to sing!"

"Not on this show, you don't." Noah grumbled.

Once again, he was ignored. Sadie turned to Geoff. "Can I start us off?"

"Of course you can!"

Sadie squealed. "Okay, okay, here it goes…" She took a deep breath and began.

"Surfin' on, Hawaii Style!

Havin' fun but all the while,

Lava's spewing everywhere,

I hope it doesn't burn me!"

Sadie grabbed her surfboard and lei and, with only a moment's hesitation, disappeared over the cliff. Her singing voice honestly wasn't all that bad.

Geoff looked over to Noah. His time to shine. Noah held in his grumbles and took a lei.

"One last chance to prove my worth,

Let's ignore the others' mirth,

Why else would I volunteer,

For something that could kill me!"

He chose a bright blue surfboard from the row and gave a cursory nod to Owen. Showtime.

He plunged over the cliff edge and into the water below. Landing on the board on his feet, he held out his arms to balance himself as he drew up alongside Sadie. They narrowed their eyes at each other. He wasn't going to let her win.

"I'm winning for real! Yeah yeah!

I'm winning this deal! Yeah yeah!

I'm a surfing genie!

I'm winning, you'll see!"

Another loud splash came from somewhere behind them. Noah craned his neck back to look. Owen was steadily approaching them on his own surfboard, scared.

Sadie continued the song. "I'm winning for Al! I'll be his gal pal!"

"I'm doing this for you…" Noah's posture was rigid and stiff. He couldn't afford to topple over. Not now. Not ever. "Cody, you'd better come through!"

"Ah!" Sadie squealed, clutching her surfboard with both hands as they entered the spray of lava. "Hot, hot, hot, hot!"

Noah gasped in shock as a large fiery rock smashed into the tip of his board, shearing it off completely. The impact caused him to wobble dangerously, but he managed to stay upright. "Oh, come on!"

Owen came soaring down upon them, scared out of his wits. "This is crazy, it's true. If I die, Mom will sue!"

Noah turned his head, catching the fire blazing in Sadie's eyes. She wasn't going down without a fight, that was for sure. "Step aside, let me through!"

"I'ma still come for you, woah! I'm winning this time!"

"Sorry Sadie, it's mine!"

"Sorry 'bout my behind!"

O-oh! I'm winning this time! Yeah yeah yeah!"

As soon as the song ended, Noah spied a particularly large rock hurtling towards him. He instinctively raised his arm to protect his face. The rock thwacked into it. Hard.

"Aah!" He clutched at his arm. It burned. He was sure there was going to be a bruise later on. And a burn mark.

Better it was on his arm than on his face.

But as bad as an injury was, Sadie fared much worse. A rock crashed into the front of her surfboard. Large cracks appeared and water droplets sprayed through them. "Uh oh…" Sadie groaned.

Things were about to go from bad to worse. Yet another rock, larger than all the others, was plummeting from the sky, straight towards them. Owen immediately dropped back from the others. Noah gently but quickly moved as far to the side as possible, hoping the rock would miss him.

Sadie seemed to be losing control of her surfboard. She was swaying from side to side, arms windmilling frantically as she tried to set her damaged board on its proper course. Looking up at the rock growing closer and closer by the second, she knew she wasn't going to escape it.

Mere moments before impact, she made a split second decision. She jumped from her surfboard and landed on Noah's.

Noah turned his head just in time to see Sadie's now completely destroyed surfboard sink beneath the waves. The suddenness of Sadie jumping on his board caused them to veer from side to side, the weight distribution completely thrown off.

He held his arms out, as did Sadie. "Move closer to the front!" she yelled in his ear.

The front end of the board was lifted out of the water. When Noah edged his way along it, he saw that the edge of the waterfall was very close.

What's more, they were moving downwards much too fast. So fast that their surroundings were becoming a blur.

"We're going too fast!"

"I don't know how to slow down!" Sadie replied in a panic.

"I don't know, either!"

Sadie let out a sob. "And I lost my lei when my surfboard was destroyed! I'm gonna lose the challenge! I'm gonna let Alejandro down!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Noah said through gritted teeth, his eyes stinging in the wind, "Alejandro doesn't deserve you winning! He's a stupid jerk!"

"Yeah, but he's sooo hot…"

Noah rolled his eyes. Typical.

Sadie gasped and pointed in front of her. "The waterfall!"

Indeed, the waterfall's edge was right there. There was nothing they could do to slow themselves down. They were like a speeding bullet.

"Please don't let me die…" Sadie whimpered.

They shot over the waterfall's edge like a car going over a speedbump. High, high into the sky they went. On his right, Noah could see the ex-contestants gathered on the beach below, watching them from a distance. On his left was the volcano surrounded by dense jungle.

Right in front of him was a crystal-clear azure sky. Not a single cloud to be seen. The sun shone brightly, painting the sky in a golden wash. With the faint breeze and tropical location, the brief moment of stillness reminded Noah of Jamaica.

I did this for you, Cody.

As quickly as they rose, inevitably they began to fall. Sadie clutched onto Noah, scared and trembling. Not just because they were falling… but because the raft with the jaguar was right below them.

Noah knew they were going to crash into it. He just knew.

The jaguar craned its head up to look at them, and immediately began straining against its leash, growling and snapping. Drool dripped from its toothy jaws. Coals burned in its eyes, hotter than those expelled from the volcano.

Sadie gave in to her terror, wrapped Noah tightly in both arms, and screamed.

Noah gave in to the adrenaline and chaos, wrapped his own arms around her, and screamed at a high pitch to match hers. He felt his heart thumping against his ribcage. He was pressed against Sadie so tightly that he could also feel her heart beating out of control.

There was nothing they could do.

The board - with Noah and Sadie along with it - smashed into the raft at a million miles per hour. The raft broke apart instantly, wood and other debris flying everywhere.

Noah plunged into the cold water. The shock of it took the breath right out of his lungs. Pieces of both the raft and surfboard sunk past him. Everytime he moved, little bubbles floated away.

Sunlight shone through the water from somewhere below him. He realized that he was upside down.

He righted himself and began furiously kicking his legs. The sunbeams reached out tantalizingly. His hands reached out for them in return.

Noah's fingers broke through the surface of the water. When his head finally popped up, he sucked in mouthfuls of precious air. He rubbed his stinging eyes and looked around. He saw that the raft was completely destroyed, with various debris drifting past him.

Sadie surfaced right next to him. "Ohmigod, that was crazy!"

"Crazy is right." Noah retorted. "I thought you said you were good at surfing."

She huffed. "Well, I wasn't expecting to have to surf next to an erupting vol-!" She suddenly stopped short, eyes growing wider and filling with fear. Her mouth hung open, incomprehensible stutters being all that she could manage. "J-jj-j-j-"

"What? What is it?" Noah asked.

Sadie pointed behind him. "J-J-Jaguar!"

Noah turned. The jaguar, now free from its leash, was paddling to them, its jaws still snapping violently. It was moving shockingly fast, too. It seemed like it was running on pure adrenaline alone.

He didn't hesitate to swim for the shore, Sadie following suit. Their arms ploughed their way through the water, legs kicking frantically, the jaguar nipping at their heels.

"Please don't let me die!" Sadie wailed.

As Noah swam for his life, he heard some kind of dull roar from up above him. It took him a few moments to realize that it was getting closer.

And that it sounded like Owen.

Noah risked turning around to see what was happening. Sadie did the same. The jaguar also stopped and looked up.

Owen was clutching his surfboard for dear life as he hurtled towards them at a million miles per hour. He had a look of utter determination on his face. His yells of fear gave way the fact that he was terrified.

He slammed into the jaguar with a ginormous splash, sending a huge column of water into the air. It rained down on Noah and Sadie. When he sunk beneath the waves, the jaguar surfaced and swam in the opposite direction, yelping in terror all the while.

Noah and Sadie stared at each other, then at Owen as his head bobbed up. He was grinning. "No wild beast is gonna have my little buddy for lunch! Not on my watch!"

Noah gave a single relieved chuckle. "Thanks, Owen."

"Ohmigod, that jaguar could have eaten us if it weren't for you!" Sadie exclaimed.

"Well, looks like it couldn't handle the O-bomb!" Owen said smugly, flexing his arms.

"Let's just get back to shore." Noah let slip a few more giggles.

When they finally reached the beach, every head in the peanut gallery craned round to face them. The trio sat down on the bottom bench, exhausted.

"Nice surfing skills!" Harold said.

"Harold, they almost died," Leshawna reminded him.

"I told you you should have let me do it!" Courtney admonished. Noah ignored her.

Bridgette stood up. "Noah, Sadie, Owen. Since none of you completed your goal - or even got anywhere near completing your goal - you win…absolutely nothing!"

"Should've expected that," Noah murmured. Beside him, Owen and Sadie sighed in disappointment.

"...But don't worry!" Bridgette did her best to reassure them. "You were never going to win anything anyway!"

"What?" All three of them cried out.

Seeing that this was having the opposite of the desired effect, Bridgette backed away a little. "Uh, you see, Chris never intended for any of you to win. He deliberately designed the challenge to be as difficult as possible."

"Of course he did." Noah spat.

"So no one receives an advantage?" Owen asked.

"Nope."

Noah had heard enough. He stood up, spun around on his heel, and started walking away.

"Hey!" Geoff rushed over and put his hand on his shoulder. "Where are you going? We haven't finished filming yet!"

"Finish it without me," Noah's voice was sharp. "I'm going back to the hotel. I need to dry off."

With that, he shrugged off Geoff's hand and marched down the path, grumbling all the while.

---

Noah thoroughly enjoyed his shower. He sat down, leaned up against the tiled wall, and let the warm water pour down his body. It was so relaxing, being completely alone like this. He could stay here forever.

Besides, he damn well deserved a good long rest after risking his life for no reward. He was never going to take up surfing again for as long as he lived. His limbs ached from all the frantic swimming, and he had a sore spot on his arm from where he was struck by a flying rock.

Yes, Noah most certainly deserved the rest of the day off for all his efforts. He could have some peace and quiet, doing what he loved.

He felt like stargazing, all of a sudden. An impossible task, given that it was the middle of the day, but he still felt the urge nonetheless. It was one of his favourite things to do. He loved seeking out the patterns and constellations.

Back in his small hometown of Hill Creek, there was never enough light pollution to seriously impact his view of the sky, so on clear nights, he would go into his backyard armed with a telescope and a blanket to lie down on. There, he would lie on his back and watch the stars rotate around the entire planet, way up above him. It was so dreamy, so relaxing. On more than one occasion, he would fall asleep like that, and wake up to his mother shaking him awake for breakfast with an amused grin on her face.

It was a frequent enough occurrence that for his last birthday, his sister Marie (a patisserie chef by trade) made him a cake iced with multiple little dots in the shape of various constellations. His whole family had a good laugh when they saw it. Noah did, too.

Needless to say, he really liked stargazing.

Stargazing was a solitary act. It was just him and the stars, with the moon for company. Noah needed no one else but himself.

But that didn't mean he didn't want anyone there…

Because the more Noah thought about it, the more he realised that a certain gap-toothed geek would probably love to join him. It was a romantic enough activity, and he knew that Cody did enjoy romance from time to time.

So Noah made up his mind. Once all this was over, he was going to ask Cody to stargaze with him. And hell, maybe he'd confess to him, too.

Noah stood up and shut off the water. He stepped out of the shower and, grabbing a towel, pushed open the door to his room.

Izzy was lying on his bed, tossing a bright green ball into the air and watching it thunk hard against the ceiling.

"When did you get here?" Noah demanded, getting real sick of Izzy sneaking into his room.

"'Bout five minutes or so."

"Is the Aftermath over?"

"Yep. You didn't miss anything."

"Good. Now, would you kindly get the fuck out of my room? I need some alone time right now. Besides, why do you keep sneaking into my room, anyway?"

"Because it's fun! And I like it when you scream in terror." Izzy pouted. "Besides, I came in here because I wanna hang out!"

"We can hang later, I promise." There goes Noah's plans for a quiet day. "But I just want to be alone right now."

"Aw, okay. I'll go see what Big-O's up to! I want him to help me track down that jaguar so I can train it to do my bidding!"

Noah rolled his eyes. "You've been watching too many animal buddy movies."

Izzy scoffed. "I've only seen, like, fifty of them. There's always room in my life for fifty more! Anyway, catch ya later!" She bounded out of the room. In her excitement, she'd left her green ball lying on Noah's bed. He'd never seen it before, and he had no idea where she'd gotten it from.

Noah made sure the door was locked properly before getting dressed. Though, he knew it wouldn't stop Izzy from getting in if she really wanted to. She could practically teleport through walls.

He rummaged through his duffel bag, looking for the copy of The 44 Rivets that he'd bought in Paris. He hadn't read it yet, and now that he had a moment of peace, he might as well begin.

During the constant shuffling, something fell out onto the floor. He picked it up. It was a pair of glasses, with thin black rims and swirly red and white lenses.

The X-ray glasses. Noah suddenly remembered; Cody gave them to him for safekeeping. Apparently Gwen had seen his dick using these.

Noah inspected them carefully. They looked perfectly innocuous. Being a rational guy who only wanted the objective truth, he wasn't entirely sure if he really believed they actually worked. Like, how would they even work?

Cody had told him that he'd bought them in Japan, thinking it was just a gag. He'd been shocked by the truth too.

Noah knew he was going to regret this, but he stood up and went over to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. He watched his reflection as he slid the glasses over his face.

…Yup, they worked, alright.

He spread his arms out, clearly feeling the fabric of his shirts brush against his skin, but his reflection didn't have so much as a stitch on. It was like some trippy optical illusion he couldn't figure out the secret to. The only thing that did show were the glasses themselves.

Remembering that the curtains were wide open for anyone to peer through, he went to cover himself with his hands, but stopped himself. He was wearing clothes. This whole thing was starting to hurt his brain. He briefly considered asking Gwen about the experience before deciding that that would be too weird.

Just then, the door swung inward. Speaking of the devil, Gwen stepped into the room. "Hey Noah, you gonna come down to lunch?"

Instinctively, Noah turned to face her.

"AAH!" He let out a short scream and covered his eyes. The split second he saw of Gwen had already seared itself into the folds of his brain.

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" Then she caught sight of the glasses. "Oh no, you have a pair too?"

"I-no! Th-these are Cody's! He let me uh, have them for s-safekeeping!"

Gwen glared at him, long enough for Noah to wonder if she was going to get mad at him. But then she burst into laughter. "Oh man, I know exactly how you feel!" She reached forward and plucked the glasses from his face before tossing them on his bed, landing right next to Izzy's ball.

Noah's face was still burning hotter than the sun. "I-I…S-sorry…"

Gwen shrugged. "You're just lucky I'm over what happened in the Amazon. Well…kinda. Now come on. Let's go get something to eat."

She took him by the wrist and led him out of the room. But right before they could shut the door, Izzy suddenly appeared out of thin air and barged her way into the room. The shock of it shook Noah out of his embarrassed stupor.

"Izzy, what the hell?"

"Sorry!" she called. "I'm just taking my ball back!" True to her word, she darted back out the door, stuffing something down the front of her top.

Noah and Gwen followed behind. When they reached the dining area, they wordlessly headed for their usual table by the big bay windows. One thing Noah noticed was that Trent and Harold had joined them as well, sitting on either side of Ezekiel. More company.

Pizza was on the menu tonight, as Owen was already in the process of inhaling a whole one. Ezekiel and Eva were splitting apart a meatlover's with hunger in their eyes.

"I didn't get to eat much meat on the plane, eh." Ezekiel said. "Not tryin' to be picky, but I coulda gone for a steak."

"Sucks to be you, then," was Eva's response.

Noah snagged the last couple pieces of pepperoni before Owen could get his hands on them. As he chewed, he couldn't help but notice that Izzy hadn't shown up yet. That was weird. Wasn't she ahead of them?

Oh well. Izzy probably went off on yet another misadventure. She'd better get here soon, or else she'd miss out on pizza.

But right then, Noah spied Izzy in the corner opposite them, heading over to them. He rolled his eyes, completely prepared to write this off as Izzy being Izzy, until he saw that something was covering her face…

When she sat down, he and Gwen stared in disbelief at the X-ray glasses sitting snugly atop her nose. Instinctively, Noah moved his hands into his lap. Gwen was gaping. Noah was too.

"Izzy…" he began.

She turned to face him full on. "Wassup? Hey, I like your pink boxers. They're cute."

Noah grit his teeth. "Take those off."

"Why? These are pretty cool!" She looked at Harold. "Nice undies, Harold."

"Thanks. I got them from…" Harold stopped as he realised what Izzy had just asked him. "Wait, what?"

"I like the hamburgers on yours, Big-O." Izzy carried on. "Ooh, nice love hearts, Trent."

Trent's face twisted in confusion.

Izzy snickered. "Ezekiel's not wearing any…"

"How did ya know, eh?" Ezekiel asked.

Gwen's hand suddenly shot out, aiming straight for Izzy's face. "Take those off!"

Izzy moved faster than the speed of light, ducking and rolling out of her chair. "Nope. Never!"

And before anyone could stop her, the absolute worst-case scenario was taking place, right before Noah's eyes. Izzy ran around the entire dining room, going up to every single table and giving her unwanted opinions on their choice of underwear.

"Nice ducks, Geoff! I like the colour of yours, Lindsay! Where'd you get them? You know, Duncan, I always thought you were the type of guy to never wear undies."

If Noah wasn't so mortified, he'd have laughed at the horrified look on Duncan's face.

Izzy carried on, unperturbed by everyone's reactions. She was having the time of her life, whether the others liked it or not. "Whoa, Katie and Sadie, you even match your undies? I gotta respect the dedication! Justin, I didn't think you were the type to wear tighty whities!"

Gwen had had enough. She leapt up from her seat and bolted towards Izzy. "Take. Those. Off!" She made another swipe at Izzy's face, which she dodged.

"Oh, are we playing tag now? Cool! You can be it!"

And just like that, Izzy was darting around the dining room like a gazelle on steroids. She was laughing like a hyena high on weed, too. Gwen was right on her heels, moving faster than Noah had even seen her move before. He knew that she'd need help if they were to stop Izzy from embarrassing herself and everyone else…

Speaking of the others, they just sat and watched everything go down. Noah would have snapped at them to help, if he wasn't so out of breath already. This was why sports weren't his forte. He didn't have the endurance for them.

Izzy ran around a table, only for Gwen to circle it and attempt to cut her off. Without even missing a beat, Izzy sprang onto the counter, leapt towards the chandelier, grabbed hold of it, and swung herself clear across the dining room. The whole room gasped.

She let out a Tarzan-like screech and landed on top of another table. Noah saw his chance.

Right as Izzy stepped down onto the ground, Noah dove for her. His arms encircled her waist as he tackled her to the shiny marble tiles. He landed square on top of her, faceplanting directly into her ribcage. They rolled around a few times, until Izzy was sitting on top of him and looking down.

"Take those off, Izzy!"

"Why? They're sooo cool? Oh, and did I mention that I like your boxers today, by the way? Nice shade of bubblegum pink."

The heat rushing to Noah's cheeks made him feel like he might explode. Especially since the whole room was staring at him.

But from out of the corner of his eye, he happened to spy three burly security guards marching over to the pair, hellbent on preventing even more chaos. About time.

Noah waited until they grabbed Izzy by her arms and legs, then he reached out and whipped the glasses from her face. He smirked as he watched her be carried away.

Izzy was completely nonplussed. "That was fun! Let's do that again sometime! Well, first I'll have to break out of whatever maximum-security prison they put me in…right, guys?" She turned to the guards, who didn't respond at all.

The door shut behind them, and all was silent.

Noah stood there in the center of it all, glasses in hand, heart beating hard as he calmed down from the adrenaline rush. He looked all around him. Once again, all eyes were focused on him.

And Gwen.

She came over to him, took the glasses, and snapped them in half. Then she dropped them on the floor and ground the lenses into shards with the heel of her boot.

"That's the end of that," she said, sounding completely relieved.

A few moments of silence passed before someone else spoke. And of course, it had to be Duncan.

"Wait, so Noah wears pink underwear? What are you, a girl?"

The tension in the room broke and everyone started to laugh, though it was just as much out of confusion as it was amusement.

"At least I can remember to do my laundry so I don't have to go commando all the time," Noah immediately shot back.

The crowd roared. Duncan fumed. Noah smirked.

---

After the third-most mortifying meal of his life, Noah hurried straight back to his room, head held down the whole time. If he was lucky; if he stayed inside for the rest of the day, then maybe the others might have forgotten about the whole underwear incident by tomorrow.

He picked up The 44 Rivets and lay back on his bed, prepared to finally start reading. He took a moment to admire the cover. It was bound with black leather, with the title and author's name embossed in silver calligraphy. Below that was the outline of a singular rivet. Very simplistic, just like all the other books in the series.

But as luck would have it, as soon as Noah opened the cover, the door opened.

Ezekiel came into his room, phone in hand. He smiled uneasily. "Hey Noah, you're not busy right now, right?"

Noah put the book back on his bedside table and muttered, "No."

"Ah, cool. Cuz I need your help with something." He held out the phone. "Trent let me borrow his phone so I can call home…"

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Trent let you borrow his phone." He didn't think Trent liked him enough to do that. "Um, no offense, but why?"

"We're friends now, kind of." Ezekiel clearly took note of the incredulous look on Noah's face, because he rushed to clarify. "He and Harold came up to me after the Aftermath and said they liked my rap about Cody…"

Noah held in a violent snort of laughter.

"...And we were hanging out before lunchtime having a beatbox session. They said they liked my style and wanted to hang out more when Cody gets here." He looked so goddamn happy to have more friends.

"That's nice and all, but what has this got to do with Trent's phone?"

"Oh, right, um so he let me borrow it so I can call my parents…but I don't actually know how to use it. They're pretty complicated, eh. Trent and Harold are busy right now and no one else will help me. And I thought that since you're smart, you might be able to help…"

Noah sighed and sat up. "Fine, pass it here."

Ezekiel obliged. Noah switched it on. He tilted the screen slightly so that Ezekiel could see what he was doing. "Alright, do you know your phone number?"

Zeke nodded enthusiastically. "My mom made me memorise it in case I ever got lost."

"...Can you tell me what it is?"

Ezekiel did so. Noah typed it into the phone, then pressed the call button. After making sure it was ringing, he handed it back to Ezekiel. He held it up to his ear, bouncing up and down on his feet in excitement.

"I can't wait to tell them all about my friends!" He smiled.

Just then, a male voice from the other end called out, "Hello?"

Ezekiel was quick to answer. "Hi Dad, it's me!"

There was a few seconds of murmuring, then Ezekiel said, "I've missed you guys so much! Oh man, I have so much to tell you! I even-"

He was sharply cut off by a stream of angry words. The fuzziness of the speaker made it difficult for Noah to do more than pick out a few words, but given his reaction, Ezekiel understood just fine.

"What are you saying…wh-whaddya mean I can't come back home?"

Wait, what the fuck?

Ezekiel was starting to become hysterical. "Dad! You can't just leave me! What am I gonna do? I…Dad! Don't do this! I'll behave, like I always have!"

His tone of voice made Noah feel a pang of sympathy. He knew his father wasn't exactly a nice person, but to kick out his son…for what?

"Lemme speak to Mom! Is she there? There's no way she'd let you do this…" Ezekiel paused, his lower lip trembling violently. He sucked in a shaky breath, eyes shiny with tears. "Nnn…no…" he stammered. His hands shook.

Noah had heard enough. He snatched the phone from him and held it up to his ear.

"Hey," he barked, "I don't know who the hell you are, but what do you think you're doing, kicking your own son out of your home?"

"Who is this?" Zeke's dad demanded.

"I'm his…friend. But you haven't answered my question?"

A sigh. "If you wanna know so badly," the voice said in the same thick accent as Ezekiel, "I'll tell you. That show has been nothing but bad news. It's corrupted him. You know what he did on the plane, right? He was scrabbling round in the dust and dirt like a filthy rodent. Half-starving himself, and for what? The million dollars? He was never going to get it. I tried to warn him before he left, you know. The outside doesn't take too kindly to people like us. I told him to play it safe. And guess what? He was the first one gone both times."

All that was said without his father even taking a breath. Like it had been building up inside him for a while. Noah stole a glance at Zeke. He was watching him silently, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

Goddammit, he wasn't expecting to feel this sorry for him. Zeke may be naive, incompetent and unhygienic, but not even he deserved this. Especially not when he was trying to change.

Trying to undo all the tangles his father had caused.

Then Noah remembered: that comment Zeke made that had set him off to begin with…came out of his father's mouth.

And boy, Noah had a few words to say about that.

He gripped the phone tighter. "Say whatever you want about him. He's still miles better than you ever will be, you bigoted cretin."

His father laughed horsley. "You stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you. Keep your nose out of other people's business. Ezekiel has made his mother and I into laughing stocks. We can't go anywhere without people pointing and laughing at us. And quite frankly, he's bloody useless on the farm, too. He just lazes about, caring more about his archery and his pets than his duties. He clearly needs to be taught a lesson about responsibility."

"And you need to be taught a lesson on how to be a good parent," Noah fired back. "You are so much worse than I initially thought. It's your own fault he can't survive on his own. You never taught him how."

"Well, now I am! He wanted to see the outside world so badly, so now he can stay there, for all I care!" And then there was a clang, as if Zeke's dad had literally slammed the phone receiver down. The dial tone followed immediately after.

The room was silent for a few moments. Noah stared at the phone in his hand. He wanted to throw it at the wall. But then he remembered that it belonged to Trent, and he really didn't want him on his case right now.

"Well…" he began. "That sucked."

Zeke only nodded along.

"Your parents are so much worse than I thought. They literally just kicked you out. For what, embarrassing them? I've done plenty of embarrassing crap on this show, and my parents wouldn't dream of kicking me out." He looked at Ezekiel, with more sincerity than he'd ever felt towards him. "You deserve better."

Ezekiel scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "It's just like what happened with Damaris, eh," he muttered.

"What? Who's Damaris?"

"Nothing. Forget it." He said that a little too quickly. He sniffed dramatically. "What am I gonna do now? I don't know how to do anything…"

"Gee, Zeke…" Noah rubbed the back of his neck. "I really am sorry. Truly." He meant it whole-heartedly. Any bad blood between them had now been transferred over to his absolute prick of a dad.

Ezekiel stared right into his face, his eyes wet and bloodshot from all the rubbing. "Didja mean what you said? About us being friends?"

"Yes." Noah found himself saying it with zero hesitation.

Only yesterday had he accepted Zeke's apology for all the offense he'd caused him. And Noah was someone who could really hold a grudge if he wanted to. His early school years were proof of that.

He wasn't exactly a forgiving person.

But Zeke had somehow managed to become the exception to that rule. Lucky him.

"And that stuff you said about me being miles better than my dad?"

"Absolutely."

Ezekiel looked so relieved. He gave Noah a thankful smile. Noah gave him a tiny one back.

His lips were feeling dry after all that yelling. He fished a tube of cherry chapstick from his pocket and began applying it to his lips.

"Why are you putting on lipstick?" Ezekiel asked.

Noah rolled his eyes. Ezekiel may be open to change, but he still had a lot to learn. "It's not lipstick. It's chapstick."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No. Chapstick is meant to help if you have dry lips, like mine."

"Oh." Ezekiel fiddled with his fingers. "I thought you were puttin' on lipstick. Y'know, to make yourself look nice for Cody."

Noah's cheeks flushed. "Well, I'm not."

"I always kinda knew you liked him," Zeke suddenly blurted out. "And I kinda knew he liked you, too."

Noah blinked. "No. No way."

"Yes way." He nodded quickly. "I could tell. I remember back in the first coupl'a seasons, you never smiled at all. Unless you were telling a joke. Or being mean to someone. But ever since you started hanging around Cody, you started smiling a lot more. Even when you weren't being mean."

"...Oh."

"And Cody always looks so happy around you, eh. He was so sad when you got eliminated. He told me how much he misses you. And how you told him he wasn't the weakest link."

Noah couldn't help but smile. His face was still burning. "I…wow…I didn't think anyone else would notice. I figured I was going to have to just break the news to everyone myself. But now I don't need to,I guess. If you were able to figure it out on your own, then maybe the audience has, hah." He let out a breathy chuckle.

"Uh, they already have…"

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"I was using the computers this morning," Zeke explained. "I searched up Total Drama on the internet 'cuz I wanted to see what people had to say, y'know. And I found this one, uhh, webpage-thingy-whatever you call it talking about you and Cody. There was this one confessional Cody made back in Sweden, I think, and he said that he wanted to kiss you. And everyone on that site was going crazy over it."

With a sudden chill, Noah realised exactly what he was referring to.

He'd seen that exact confessional. Hell, it was what helped him realise that Cody had a crush on him. He didn't even consider the possibility that it might have ended up airing.

And now Cody's secret was a secret no more. That warning Noah gave to everyone last night was all for naught.

Once Cody found out, he was going to freak.

His home life wasn't great; having to deal with bullies of his own, as well as parents who may or may not be wildly bigoted. He wouldn't even get the chance to properly come out on his own terms.

Using the confessional like that might turn out to be a big mistake.

Of course, Noah has nothing to hide. His whole family - and by extension, the assholes at his high school - knew he was bisexual. His family was nothing short of supportive. The bullies said nothing, because they didn't want Noah to beat their asses again.

Cody may not be afforded the same luxury.

And there wasn't a whole lot to be done about it.

Noah stayed in silence for a moment, contemplating the future. Ezekiel stayed quiet as well, in deep thought as well.

Cody would have to be strong about this. Backing away and taking it all back would do no good. Of course, Noah was going to support him through whatever bullshit gets thrown his way. He'll be there for him,no matter what.

The sound of rapid footsteps bolting down the hallway made Noah jump up. For a split second, he thought Izzy was going on a rampage, but then he heard Geoff's voice, frantic and excited.

"Dudes! Dudes! Go down to the beach right now! The final three are, like, almost here! Chris is already down there waiting for us!"

Noah opened his door, as did everyone else. His heart inexplicably began pounding.

Cody was almost here.

Gwen came up behind him and touched his shoulder. She gave him a nervous smile.

"Ready to go watch the very last challenge?"

Noah nodded wordlessly.

The very last challenge.

The end was in sight. No, actually - the end was in spitting distance now.

After this, he would be going home…hopefully with Cody by his side.

He smiled. Let's just get this over with.