Chapter 5
DJ sat in his usual spot in the front row, reading over a Sherlock Holmes story. Courtney laid in the back, curled up on the seat. She didn't know if she was going to sleep, the seat was comfortable for sitting but for sleeping? It felt weird. She never could sleep in a car when it was in drive and she doubted it would change if it was stopped. Her doubts were proven wrong as she fell asleep in a matter of minutes.
Her dream was deep, everything black. Her consciousness felt in the weird middle ground. Asleep, yet awake, just enough to feel like she was floating. She tried to ask what was going on, but the only thing that came out was a mumble. Her mumble must have caused whatever was making her float to stop. Her body felt on stable ground again. It even felt warm.
The peace she felt did not last long as the sound of something crashing onto the ground caused her eyes to snap open. Her eyes adjusted to the scene around her. She was on her couch in the living room. She sat up, the woven afghan blanket falling into her lap.
"You're up?" came a voice causing her to turn her head around to see Duncan walking into the living room.
"Did you break something? I thought I heard a crash." She spoke, her voice tired.
He shrugged his shoulders. She noticed him give a quick glance down the hallway. Even with all that sleep she still felt like she could sleep the day away.
She let out an aggravated sigh as she stood up from the couch. "What'd you break?"
Instead of Duncan answering her question there came a bark from the other side of the house. Near her mother's study. She shoved his shoulder before running to where the sound came from. She looked down and saw that one of her mother's large potted plants had fallen over. Pieces of the vase and dirt scattered around the floor. Dirtied pawprints painted the wood flooring. She hoped he didn't get into the study. The study had carpet and dirt was more difficult to get out of that.
She spotted him. There stood Duke, tongue out, standing in the middle of the hallway. He had the face of a being that didn't know what was going on. Courtney thought that was a lie. This dog knew exactly what he did.
Duncan placed a hand on her shoulder, "Careful, he's a runner."
"What did you do?" She asked, her eyes now tearing themselves away from the dog. "Why is Duke in my house?"
"He got out of her backyard and was just chilling in the front. How was I supposed to know he'd come in if I left the door open?"
"You left the door open?" She glared, causing him to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, I was carrying your fat butt in here. Welcome by the way." He stated, using his index finger to push her head away from him.
"Did you get him?" Came a voice causing the two to turn around and see DJ.
"If there were two of you why couldn't you shut the door." She asked him.
DJ was quick to defend himself. "I had to pee. When I got to the bathroom Duncan already said he had it."
"Look how that turned out." Courtney sighed as she pointed down to the dirtied floor. "Where's Bridgette?"
"Her and the others went to get Gwen. They're bringing back lunch." Duncan told her, his voice slightly above a whisper as he slowly made his way to Duke.
She let out another aggravated sigh before she walked to her kitchen. "You look like an idiot."
Courtney was not a drinker, but times like this caused her to understand why her mother always had a glass of wine when she came home from work. She could just hear her mother's lecture now. Knowing her she'd probably say it happened while Courtney was drunk. Just the thought made her angry.
She got to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. She had to calm down. She took a deep breath and began to list what needed to be done. She needed to clean the floor. Pick up the shards of the plant holder. Replace said plant holder. Come up with a lie as to why it got broken. She let out a defeated sigh. She was going to get lectured no matter what. She might as well throw the whole thing out.
She could hear them trying to coax the dog to them. Their voices grew closer and the sound of paws on the ground caused her to look up. She saw Duke running towards her, his tongue sticking out. She knew he was enjoying this. She placed the water on the counter before she walked to the door that led to the backyard. Duke seemed more than happy to leave.
"Can I get some water?" DJ asked as he walked into the kitchen.
She glared at him before she grabbed her drink and sat down at the table in the breakfast nook. "The fridge is all yours."
"Don't be mad. Listen, I'll help clean up, it wasn't like we were just going to leave." He told her as he brought out his own water.
Duncan placed his hands against the counter before he pulled himself up to sit on it. "I was."
"This is why no one likes you." Courtney sighed as she relaxed in the chair.
"Wasn't asking to be liked." He shrugged.
DJ watched the two. Being a part of this group one had to get used to the dynamics. Courtney and Duncan seemed to only talk to each other in banter. He would say something, she would say something, and if there was one extra person they had to be the buffer. DJ was not good nor bad at being a buffer but he really wished that they could stop.
"Anyways." He spoke, as he watched the two become distracted with things around them. "Are you going back into the forest? Geoff, Bridgette, and I have to get to The Boardwalk for our shifts at 5."
"Probably not. I think I might sit out investigating for a few days until my elbow gets better." Courtney stated as she looked down at her elbow.
Duncan stretched, his neck popping as he did so. "I think I'll go check the well after lunch."
"Let me guess," Courtney began. "You think the dead body might be down there since the wood was so loose."
"Read my mind, Princess." He smirked as he tapped his temple with his index finger.
"Duncan, after years of rot is what caused the wood to crack under pressure, not the fact that someone messed with it a day ago." She pointed out as her index finger tapped the table.
"Wouldn't hurt to check."
DJ shook his head in disgust. "Have fun getting dysentery, man."
"I never said I was going in! Just y'know, use a flashlight to look down." Duncan stated, which caused the two others to look at one another.
DJ and Courtney decided to let it go. They weren't his parents, and he didn't even listen to them.
DJ decided that instead of standing there in awkward silence as Courtney looked out the window he was going to start cleaning up the mess. He tried to convince Duncan to help out but he was too busy looking through the TV Guide. Courtney got tired of the noise and went upstairs to get changed into something more comfortable, and less torn up.
Duncan flipped to the next page when the phone in the kitchen began to ring. He looked up and stared at it. He heard DJ yell at him to get it. He let out a groan before he jumped back onto the floor.
He picked up the phone, flipping to the next page as he decided to only half-listen to whoever was calling. "What?"
"Who is this?"
Oh crap, it was Courtney's mother. His attention was brought away from the page. He looked around, he wondered who was going to yell at him first.
He rolled his eyes, moving his body to lean against the counter. "Duncan."
She was silent for a moment. "May I speak to my daughter?"
"She's busy."
He had to hold his laughter in. He just knew she wanted to yell at him over the phone.
Her voice was strained. "Busy doing what?"
"Well, y'know, stuff." He stated as he heard Courtney call to him.
He watched her run into the kitchen.
She moved her hands, signaling him to hang up the phone as she whispered, "Hang up the phone. Hang up!"
He shook his head, having way too much fun doing what he was doing.
"Busy doing what 'stuff?'" Her mother demanded.
"Hang up the phone!" She pleaded as she walked closer to him.
"You can guess if you want." He smirked down at Courtney, knowing that he was getting under both of their skin.
She reached up and snatched the phone away from him. "I'll kill you."
"Hot." He chuckled as he watched her put the phone against her ear.
"Mamá! Don't mind Duncan, he's just being annoying. I tore my shirt so I needed to change." She told her, praying she could calm down her mother.
"Why'd you tear your shirt? What happened." She asked.
Duncan, overhearing this, leaned closer to the receiver. "Stuff."
"What stuff is he talking about?" Her mother demanded.
"Me, I'm the 'stuff.'" He couldn't help but laugh now.
Courtney used her good arm to elbow him in the stomach before she hissed out. "Will you knock it off?"
He shrugged, her glare only riling him up more. "Having too much fun."
"I fell down and it tore. Duncan's just being gross because he thinks he's funny." Courtney told her, turning her back to him.
Gabriella was silent. Courtney gripped the cord, she hated when her mother was silent. This meant that she was thinking something over. Something that Courtney would not like.
"Mamá?" Her voice betrayed her nerves.
"Ted told me that Duncan was over last night."
Courtney felt her stomach twist and her body became hot. Her grip on the phone tightened as she tried to force herself to not panic.
"He brought me food because Mrs. Murphy was worried I wasn't eating. Nothing happened."
Gabriella was quiet. Courtney took this opportunity to continue. She needed her mother to understand that Duncan wasn't as bad as she thought.
"Me and the others were just goofing around when I fell and it was actually Duncan who helped me out." She told her, hoping that maybe him helping her out would win her mother over if only a little.
Gabriella seemed to ignore Courtney as her ears only focused on one word. Her voice was strained. "I thought we agreed you would take a pause from hanging out with those friends for a while?"
"We? Mamá you- I never agreed to that!" Courtney's voice showed a type of desperation that she wished she had never exposed. She needed to be reasonable if she wanted to get through to her mother.
"Well let's agree to it now, yes? It would be best if you stayed away from them. The first night I leave and you have a boy over without asking. Now I'm finding out you tore your shirt over God knows what."
Courtney forgot what it was like to have her heart race so fast but drop so quickly at the same time. She took a glance over to Duncan who stared at her. She didn't want to argue with him there. He didn't need to know what she was going through with her mother.
She put her back to him again, her voice defeated and soft as she answered her mother. "I understand, Mamá."
Courtney relaxed her grip on the phone, her anxiety being snuffed out by wanting the conversation to just end. She felt the weight of the phone leave her and the feeling of someone behind her. She turned her head to see that it was Duncan as he put the phone to his ear.
"How about if you want to parent you get your ass back here! If not, then just piss off!" He yelled at her before he slammed the phone back down on the switchhook.
His black brows were knitted together as he glared down at the phone. Courtney was shocked that he would do something like that. A snarky comment, sure, but to confront her mother of all people? That initial shock wore off quickly and intense rage replaced it.
"What in the Hell were you thinking?" She demanded as she reached for the phone, but was blocked by him.
"She was pissing me off! That woman has you so scared you remind me of a damned toy poodle who shakes if there's a slight breeze."
"I know how to handle her, Duncan. But because of you, it's going to be more difficult."
"And you were doing such a bang-up job there, Princess." Duncan mocked as he moved his body out of the way.
"I just-," Courtney had to take a deep breath, she didn't want to start another fight. Not after they just made up. "She's been more stressed lately, okay?"
He was silent for a moment before he let out an annoyed sigh. He messed with his hair, scratching at his scalp as he tried to get over whatever he was feeling.
"Whatever." He grumbled before he walked to her back door.
Duncan reached into his pocket and brought out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth, ready to destress. He reached for the door. Ready to block Duke from getting back inside.
"Where are you going?" Courtney demanded, ready to click the last digit for her mother's number.
"Thought you didn't want me to smoke inside." He grumbled as he brought out his lighter.
"You said you were out."
"Bummed some from Trent."
"A whole carton?" She rolled her eyes.
He gave her a shrug. "Bummed. Stole."
Courtney let out a light chuckle as she placed her phone to her ear. She watched him leave and kept watching him as he lit up. Her mother's voice brought her eyes back to the notepad in front of her. She decided to write down talking points to bring up with her.
It took some time but she was able to smooth things over. She was able to convince Gabriella that she had kicked Duncan out after his actions. That act of responsibility calmed her down. Enough that Gabriella had forgotten to continue the lecture about her hanging out with the others.
After hanging up the phone Courtney felt her back relax and her shoulders slouch. Dealing with her mother was always so draining when she was like that. Her eyes went to look to the hallway that would show DJ cleaning up the mess. She should go help him, the pot was a rather large one, and the dirt was all over the place.
Duncan stood outside. The cloudy Grand Musko weather brought a chill that caused him to pull the collar of his jacket up. He needed to cover his neck the best he could. Still, the cold air was needed from how hot he got in Courtney's kitchen.
He was working on his second cigarette as he still tried to calm himself down. He didn't give a shit that Gabriella was ordering Courtney to not see him, that made sense. He was never a perfect influence. But the others? Courtney could definitely convince her mom to let her still hang out with them.
That's what he thought until he looked at her. Her shoulders were tense, her voice defeated as she agreed with her mother's demands. He hated when she acted like that. He hated it when she acted that way with Justin, and now it was happening with her mother? It made him want to grab her by the shoulders and shout at her that Gabriella could get fucked.
He hated the way her eyes that held such fire would quickly become like embers of their former glory. God, those brown eyes that always glared at him, and would scold him or others for not doing what needed to be done. Her eyes that held such ferocity that he loved so much.
Love?
He brought the stick from his mouth as he slowly came to his own revelation. He took a drag of the cigarette, finally finishing it off. His teal eyes stared off into the waters behind her house. He released it through his nose as he watched the water's waves pick up from a gust of wind. After everything that had happened, it was now that he realized it?
"Shit." He mumbled, moving his body to snuff the remaining embers against the house's brick.
He felt himself grow more agitated as he let out a louder, and more aggressive, "Shit!"
"Duncan?"
The soft voice caused him to snap his head over to the back door. Courtney stared at him, a brow quirked.
"You've been out here for a while. Is everything okay?" She asked, her brown eyes showing concern for her friend.
He forced himself to give her a lazy smirk as he flicked his cigarette into the grass. "Don't worry about it."
"I think I should since you're cursing in my backyard." She glared.
"Fine. Duke got out." He lied.
Technically it wasn't a lie, Duke really did run out of her backyard, but it was the only thing his brain could think of. Not even a snarky comment? He really needed to get it together.
"What? Are you kidding?" She ran out to her porch, her arms quickly wrapped around herself for warmth.
"Ran out the side gate." He told her as he pointed towards the area.
Courtney could see it. The sliver of dark wood could be seen from behind the brick wall of her house.
"Why didn't you get him?" She demanded as she brushed past him.
He was quick to snap back. "I was busy."
She let out an aggravated sigh and waved at him to go inside. He watched her walk off her porch. She didn't notice the slight skip she had as she jumped from one walking stone to the other, as she tried to not get her shoes dirty.
The muscles in his face relaxed as he smiled at her. He shook his head before he walked inside.
Courtney got to her fence. It was large, standing at 6 feet for privacy. She had warned her mother about the fence being more sensitive to the wind lately, but did she listen? No!
She would have to apologize to Bridgette when she came back with lunch. Her tan hand reached out and shut the gate. The gate, however, stopped as it almost closed shut. She gave it a shove but it wouldn't budge.
Angry, she looked up to the sky to curse but stopped when her brown eyes caught sight of a gloved hand. Her breath stopped in her throat and her heart raced as the hand tightened around the gate. A head popped out from behind it.
It was Ted. Courtney forced herself not to curse at him.
"You scared me." She sighed as she let go of the gate.
"I'm sorry." He apologized as he stared down at her. He wore a calm smile. Courtney wanted to scold that smile.
"What are you doing here?" She hoped he wouldn't say what she feared the most.
"Well, your mother called me."
There it was.
"She told me about the fight you two had. I saw the gate opened and thought that maybe that boy wanted to sneak back inside."
"Duncan," She corrected, her annoyance almost slipped out. "He left about 15 minutes ago. Don't worry, it's just me here."
Ted let out a hum as he walked past her to take a look at her backyard.
"I smell cigarette smoke." He pointed out.
"That's Mr. Robinson. He's been hiding his smoking habits from his wife since he promised to quit." She told him.
It wasn't a lie, Mr. Robinson was a good alibi because it was true. Ted stared down at her, daring himself to go against her.
"There was actually a main reason why I stopped by." He began. "There have been more tourists coming earlier than we expected. We've been getting calls that some have been drinking and driving. There was even a hit and run this afternoon by the Kmart."
"Oh goodness, are they okay?"
Courtney wasn't shocked. Seeing some of the types that came to Grand Musko made her think that someday something like this would happen. Still, she felt sad that someone was caught in the crossfire of someone being an idiot.
"They're fine. But I just wanted to make sure that you would be extra safe on the road." He told her.
"Well, thanks for letting me know." She smiled, it was strained but he probably didn't know that.
There was an awkward silence.
"Do you mind if I come inside to use the bathroom?" He asked.
Absolutely not! Courtney thought as she moved her body to get ahead of him.
"Not at all." Her smile was tight. "But first can you help me out?"
He quirked a brow. "Sure, what's up?
"Well, Duke, Bridgette's dog, got out so I put him in the backyard, but I can't seem to find him! I'm so worried that he left, can you help me look for him?"
"Of course." He turned around to look at her big backyard. He put his hands on either side of his mouth to use as a microphone. "Duke!"
"Thanks so much!" She gave his arm a light pat. "I'll go check inside, he might have come back in without me noticing!"
Courtney watched him walk around her yard, calling for the dog. Quickly, she walked inside, shut the door, and locked it. Her brown eyes frantically looked around to find Duncan. Wasn't in the kitchen. She heard a cough and her head snapped to the living room. There! Sitting down on her couch was Duncan. He was looking over one of the documents that still lay on her coffee table.
"You have to hide." She demanded as she walked to the couch.
"Sorry, kinda lost interest in hide and seek when I was 8." He joked as he placed one of the papers down.
"Ted's here! My mom called him and told him you were here." She told him, her eyes looked out the bay windows to the backyard.
She heard Duncan stand and walk to her side. "Why do I have to hide? Not my fault he's pussy whipped."
"I know right!" She agreed.
If she wasn't so frustrated with her mother and the situation as a whole she would have scolded him for being crude. Now though? It was hard to disagree as she watched Ted look around the backyard for a dog that was nowhere to be found.
Duncan let out a snort as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Man, your mom's right, I totally am a bad influence."
Courtney didn't have time to retort as Ted turned his body to face the window. She shoved her body against Duncan. The two fell onto the carpet. Duncan let out a puff of air, Courtney's weight almost knocking the wind out of him no doubt.
"Courtney, this is so sudden." He teased, his voice a pitch higher as to mock a cheesy actress.
He snaked his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. She glared at him. The wicked grin he held was close to making her want to just tell Grant that he broke in. She put her hand over his mouth. She did not want him to say anything else, just in case, his voice could be heard by Ted.
"What's going on?" DJ's voice came.
"Hit the deck!" Courtney yelled at him.
DJ, without hesitation, dropped to the ground and crawled to hide behind the couch. He looked out from behind it and whispered to Courtney. "What's going on?"
"Mayor Philips is here."
"Why's the Mayor at your house?"
"He came to check up on me." She told him.
She thanked herself for covering Duncan's mouth. She just knew he would say something crude and disgusting about Ted being her mother's boyfriend. Probably something like, 'They're shacking up, man.'
"I didn't know your mom and him were close," DJ said but quirked a brow at her. "But why are we hiding?"
Duncan's tongue came out and began licking at her palm. She tried to ignore him but his tongue kept hitting a particular tickling part of her hand. Plus, the spit was starting to gross her out. She pulled it away and began to wipe it on the floor as she called Duncan an idiot.
"They're banging, dude," Duncan told him as he gave Courtney a wolfish grin.
"Oh wow," DJ said, but realizing that his tone might have come off as grossed out, quickly tried to cover it up. "I mean, super cool, Courtney."
Courtney gave him a look. DJ let out an awkward laugh before his face changed to shock.
"Shit he's coming to the window." He hid back behind the couch.
Duncan finally used his strength against Courtney and moved her body. Their positions were now reversed. His two arms were on either side of her head. She could feel his hot breath hit her ear as he stayed very close to her. The window came down to about four feet from the floor and there was no time to feel embarrassed by their close proximity.
Courtney knew this, but she couldn't stop the way her cheeks began to heat up.
They could hear Ted walk to the backdoor to try and open it. Nothing.
"Locked the back door?" He whispered in her ear.
She nodded, biting her bottom lip as she tried to ignore him being so close. "Mm-hm."
"Good girl."
Courtney's stomach did a backflip. She hated how her body was suddenly betraying her after years of constant annoyance from the delinquent. The sound of crushed leaves went from the back door, to across the yard. Knowing that Ted was finally out of view Courtney shoved Duncan away from her chest.
"Okay, get off." She demanded.
"So handsy." He laughed at her.
He got off her and stood up. He rubbed at his left shoulder, most likely damaged from the fall.
"Go hide in my room."
"First it was the closet, now your bedroom. Dare I say, you've fallen for me." He mused to himself.
Courtney glared and gave his aching shoulder a light slap. "Shut it and get up there."
"You didn't deny it." DJ joked as he got up from behind the couch.
"Cram it, giant." She glared at him. Duncan let out a laugh.
"Don't worry I'm going." He gave her head a pat before he walked to the foyer.
In a comedically slow manner, he walked up her stairs. Courtney rolled her eyes, because of course he would. As if on cue Courtney's front door handle began to jiggle open. They forgot Ted had a key! Duncan's once slow walk became frantic as he raced up the stairs to hide in the hallway. Courtney shook her head. DJ let out a laugh.
Courtney walked to the front door to meet up with Ted. "Oh my gosh, did I accidentally lock you out? I'm so sorry, I must have done it on instinct."
"It's fine. There's no reason to worry about me. Though I'm afraid I couldn't find Duke in the backyard at all."
"No luck inside either." She sighed, her left hand going to her cheek in feigned thought.
"Is this one of your friends?" He asked.
Courtney took a step back to look at DJ who now sat on the couch.
"Oh, Mayor Philips, what a pleasure to meet you!" DJ smiled. He quickly stood from the couch.
"Please, call me Ted." Ted smiled as he reached his hand out for DJ to take.
Courtney didn't know if DJ was nervous because they were essentially lying to him or because Ted had some form of social standing and power within the town. Either way, she made sure he saw her roll her eyes. When Ted looked back at Courtney, DJ gave her a confused look. Silently asking her, "Well, what do you want me to do?"
"I thought you said you were alone?"
"My mistake," Courtney laughed. "I meant that it was just me outside."
"Gabriella didn't mention anything about DJ." He was staring down at her.
His eyes showed suspicion. He knew she was lying now, but how far should she take it?
"Didn't have time to tell her from the way Duncan was acting." DJ joked as his large body sat back down on the couch.
Courtney never wanted to hug someone so much in her life! She looked at Ted to see if he bought it.
He stared at him for a moment before the beep of his pager caused his attention to be taken away. He looked at the device and then back to Courtney.
"Sorry, it looks like I can't stay. Apparently, a last-minute meeting has been scheduled."
Courtney smiled as she guided him back to the front door. "It's totally okay! Thanks for coming to let me know about the tourist and everything."
Ted looked over Courtney and to DJ before he moved his gaze back to her. And with a calm wink, he told her. "I'll try and convince your mother that she's being a tad overprotective. He seems like a good guy, along with your friends Bridgette and Trent."
Courtney noted that he didn't mention Gwen, Duncan, and Geoff. She could already tell what he thought. Goth chick, probably practices witchcraft. Delinquent loser that will end up in jail by the age of 19. Pot-loving hippie. She knew this because that's what her mom would tell her in some of her off-hand comments about her friends. It would always be followed by, 'but they seem nice so I guess it's fine.' Well, for both Gwen and Geoff, she never did enjoy Duncan as a person. Which was why Courtney kept most of her relationship with him a secret from Gabriella.
"Wow, that's cool of you," Courtney said.
His sentiments would be nice if he wasn't judging half her friend group. He gave her a wave before he walked towards the driveway. Courtney closed the door and sighed.
DJ watched as Courtney's shoulders relaxed. Her posture showed her exhaustion. Shoulder's slump, head down, arms crossed over her chest. He followed her to the couch and sat down beside her.
"He seems," Dj paused, he wanted to choose his words wisely. "Interesting."
Her face was in her hands as she tried to figure out what to do with Ted. She grumbled through her fingers. "Annoying's more like it."
DJ hummed in acknowledgment. She looked over at him. He was looking over one of the documents from her coffee table. Probably wondering just exactly what she was doing, no doubt.
"I was going to organize the files for Grant, before," Courtney started but stopped herself. "I just wanted to finish this little project."
"It's a pretty big project." He observed, his eyes caught the sight of an unopened box under the coffee table.
She remained silent as DJ placed the document in the year it had to be placed. Her mind began to wander to the thought of Grant's death possibly not being a suicide. Duncan just seemed to be so convinced that Grant's death was under suspicious circumstances, but her? She didn't even think she had even processed Grant's death yet.
"Still can't say he died, huh?" DJ's voice brought her back to the living room.
She stared at him for a moment. Fear of her actually speaking her thoughts raced through her head before he let out a knowing chuckle.
"Don't look so shocked. I might not be a detective or anything but it's not hard to know you haven't accepted it yet." He said.
"It's just hard. He seemed dehydrated the day before. It wasn't anything too big, right? I should have, I don't know, asked him how he was." She could feel her lips quiver.
She kept these thoughts at a healthy distance. She didn't actively talk about it and this was why.
"Courtney, you don't have to feel so alone with these feelings. You aren't the only one who thinks that." DJ stated. "What if we just checked in sooner? Were there any signs that were there? I go through these thoughts every day. Every interaction I had with him plays in my head and I have to wonder if there might have been a sign that I just didn't think about."
DJ placed a hand on her shoulder. He gave her a comforting squeeze as he watched several tears fall from her eyes. She was quick to wipe them away.
"My Mama told me that it's okay to cry. If you keep these negative emotions in you, they will only continue to pour into everything else. Whether it's happiness or anything, that negative emotion will take over every aspect of it until it consumes you." He told her. "She might have a point in that. So cry all you want, it's not like I'm going to judge you."
Courtney listened to his words. She knew that he was trying to help her. She wanted to listen to his words. To soak it in and learn from it, but her pride was far too big. Crying was something vulnerable children did, and she was not vulnerable nor a child. Still…
She let out an exhausted yet content sigh. "Thank you, DJ. Really."
She stood from the couch. Arms reached towards the ceiling as she stretched her muscles that seemed to never not be tensed these days.
"I'm going to go check on Duncan." She declared, her once sad expression now gone that she had other things that needed to be done.
"Afraid he messed up your room?" He joked.
Courtney paused. She never thought about that. She could hear DJ laugh at her when she raced towards the stairs. Up the stairs, down the hall, the last door to the left. Her bedroom door was shut. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer. She hoped Duncan didn't touch or break anything while in her room. It had only been 11 minutes but with Duncan, she never knew.
With a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in. Nothing. No object broken and no Duncan. Her head went left and right, where was he? She went further into her room and noticed a familiar black long sleeve shirt and jeans on her bed. The gears in her mind, for once in her life, were working slowly. Her eyes noticed something on the floor, hidden by a pillow that had fallen on it.
She reached down and picked it up. The soft yellow fabric was hiding something dirty underneath. Black boxers. Duncan's black boxers. Her face flushed. She became hot. Too hot for the chilly weather outside.
The click of her bathroom door caused her to stand upright. There, standing in all his naked glory, was Duncan. His mohawk had fallen to the left side of his head. Hair damp and wet, stuck to his neck. His freshly washed body still had beads of water running down it. His rather nice body.
Courtney quickly covered her face with the pillow. "Dear God, why are you naked!"
"I got bored and needed a shower." He told her.
His reply was so simple. She just knew he was staring at her, not understanding just why this was so inappropriate. She wanted to scream into the pillow.
"I know your mother taught you better than to use a lady's shower." She scolded, face still hidden by the pillow.
"You're no lady." He chuckled as he walked over to her. He reached down and picked up his boxers. "'Scuse me."
"Seriously where do you get off!" She hoped her words of frustration covered up her embarrassment.
He stood up and stepped into his boxers. As if he had no shame. "Dude, you're lucky I didn't take a dump."
Courtney didn't say anything and just let out a loud aggravated sigh. He laughed at her dismay which made her want to smack him with the pillow, but then that meant she would have to see him.
"You mind moving." His right foot was touching her leg, lightly giving it a shove. "I need my jeans."
"You wouldn't need your jeans if you didn't take a shower." She told him. Still, her body moved away from the bed, the pillow still blocking her view of him.
"Yeah, but I wanted my hair to smell like lavender."
Courtney couldn't believe him! How could he act so casual after coming out of the shower? Out of her shower no less. She peaked out of the edge of the pillow and to the ground. Her favorite peach towel was on the ground, damp from the water. She had to control herself from reaching down to pick it up and put it back in the bathroom. Her eyes quickly went back to staring straight ahead into the yellow fabric.
She could hear him pull up his jeans and zip them. He stopped moving. What was he doing?
"You know, you could have left after you knew I was getting dressed." He pointed out.
She didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking.
"Duncan, have you thought that maybe I was too traumatized to move?"
"No. But I do think you want to see me naked."
"As if!" She scoffed.
"Voyeur. But don't worry, I give you permission to check me out." His amused voice made her roll her eyes.
"Yeah, that's why I have a pillow in my face. I totally want to check out your 'awesome bod.'"
"Nothing to be ashamed of. I thought you paid attention in health class?" He reached out and grabbed the pillow.
Courtney pulled it back. Luckily he didn't make his grip serious and she pulled it to smack his arm with it. He really needed to stop testing her patience! The pillow made contact with something, but when Courtney opened her eyes she saw that it wasn't his arm but his other hand had blocked it. His grip was now serious.
He smirked down at her. Triumphant.
"Come on, Princess, you know you want to." He told her.
His voice was low. His smirk showed that he was teasing her. But his voice? That tone of his was almost seductive.
"No, I'm okay just looking at your face, thanks." She told him her brown eyes never leaving his teal.
"Dare I say, was that a confession?" He mused, his lips still held that smug smirk of his. "Don't worry I love you too."
She forced herself not to look away from him. He would probably view that as an agreement to his little 'confession'. His eyes which shined in amusement changed to a form of confusion. Black eyebrows knitted together as he stared down at her.
"You've been crying?" He observed. His hand reached out to move her brown hair from her face. He wanted to get a better look. "Christ, it was Ted wasn't it?"
"What?" She pulled back from him, if only slightly. Her voice became soft as she tried to correct him. "No. It was just something DJ said."
Duncan let out a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders, his tone annoyed yet held no seriousness to it. "Well, you know, it was a good 12 years of friendship but he's dead to me."
Courtney let out a soft laugh at his bit. "You don't mean that."
"Of course I do. No one makes my darling cry." Duncan told her, his eyes now back to holding that amused glint as he stared down at her. Still, he continued it. His hand on her shoulder moved to her cheek. His thumb smoothed over the slightly smeared mascara at the outer corner of her eye.
"You can stop with the bit." She giggled, her free hand went up and grabbed his hand. She put slight pressure to it to try and get it away from her face.
"Who said it was a bit?"
His tone was different now. Even his eyes held a serious gaze. Courtney felt her cheeks heat up, and her words got stuck in her throat. He had to still be messing with her, right?
He leaned closer to her. Earlier that day Courtney thought he was going to kiss her and she was wrong. What about now? Would she be wrong now too? He would lean close to her and pull away at the last minute and mock her for falling for it.
But what if he didn't? What if she wasn't being messed with? The way he held her cheek so gently made her feel like this time it was different. She didn't pull away as he leaned in closer. The air was tense, as she felt the time become so slow. She dared not move though, fearing that it might break whatever was going on between them.
"Lunch is here!" Geoff yelled from the floor below them.
That broke the spell as Courtney pulled back. Her head went away from Duncan to her door. Her cheek felt cold when she pulled away from his touch. Her skin almost missed his touch.
"Courtney!" Bridgette's voice came from the hallway.
Courtney felt her heart race as she came back to what exactly was about to happen between her and Duncan.
"I," She cleared her throat. "I'm coming!"
She turned around to Duncan who reached down to grab his shirt. "Um. I should."
"Yeah." His voice was calm as if he didn't care anymore. That made Courtney's heart twist. "I'm right behind you."
She placed the pillow on the bed and walked to the door. Once outside her bedroom, she took a deep breath as Bridgette called her name again. Pushing what had just happened to the back of her mind she turned around and smiled at her friend.
"So what did you get?"
Authors Note: So new chapter out! I actually got halfway done with this chapter a few days ago but guess who's computer restarted and didn't save? This girls! :D Honestly, it took me a bit to get the courage to rewrite it in fear that it might not be as good as the first draft. Which was unnecessary because it came out the way I wanted lol! Have a great weekend guys :)
