DISCLAIMER:
Hello, I wrote this story as part of Gwent Week 2022 (from October 17-22). I hope you enjoy it. And as always, like one ship doesn't mean we have to hate other ships. The world is big enough for all of them. And if you're interested, go to the Total drama reddit to check on the other stories and pictures in the week.
Also, thanks to ACE_TD for commissioning the cover, to SIMGArt for the art, and to just-a-bite for helping beta reading the story, this story is also for you.
Total Drama belongs to Fresh TV, its creators, and distributors. I don't own anything from the properties used in this fic
A small note in my diary.
It was a dark room in the middle of a sleeping city. A lone bat entered the space through the glass of a window as if the barrier wasn't there or had been turned to water. The creature fluttered in place for a moment, but without making a sound, suddenly there stood a young woman in its place. The young vampiress was dressed in a long black dress, and her long hair was a mix of black and teal.
She walked to the bed and found her soon-to-be victim. A young and attractive man with dark hair and an athletic body. She admired him for a moment before drinking his blood, or at least that was the plan.
However, the undead girl hesitated. Was it fine to just kill him? Shouldn't she turn him into a creature of the night like herself? The cabal has strict rules forbidding turning common humans into vampires, but she didn't mind. There was something about him that she didn't want to lose, even if that meant going against her own kind.
So Gwen leaned toward him, showing her fangs, ready to give him her impure gift. But she stumbled forward, falling over him, and dropped together from the bed. It was such a blunder! She could feel the blood running down her face.
She hit the floor harder than she expected. The pain in her pride was bigger than in her body, and she was confused and tired. Suddenly the sun hit her face, hurting her eyes.
It took a moment for her to understand what was happening. Instead of the modern apartment, she was on a dirty floor in a random cabin. Gwen was wearing her black pajamas and fell from her bunker to the ground.
She groaned weakly. "Really? I wanted to sleep a little more."
Gwen stood up as she straightened up her thoughts. She was in a stupid reality show that she entered thanks to her annoying little brother. Some days ago, she won a challenge for staying awake for more than three days, and yesterday she was forced to play a dodgeball game.
And of course, she wasn't a vampire.
"It's the last time I listen to Lindsay talking about her favorite romance movies. I don't even like vampire romance," said Gwen, who hated all mainstream novels and movies. "Vampires are cool, but only those who die in the sunlight."
She then smirked. "Even if that dream was cool. I wonder who was the guy in the bed?"
For some reason, she couldn't remember who the guy she was supposed to kill in her short-lived dream was. She only remembered he was attractive and made her blush.
Gwen was alone in the cabin. She looked at her clock, and it was 12:10 p.m. At least the others let her sleep more than 12 hours. Even then, she felt tired.
"Now I guess I'll go and look for something for breakfast, even if it'll be more like a brunch," said Gwen shrugging. But then she saw it.
There was a muffin on her nightstand.
She took the small bread and looked at it. It was made today, and the texture was still fluffy. Was the muffin for her?
"I shouldn't take it, but on the other hand, it was on my nightstand," as Gwen pondered her options, her stomach growled. "Ok, I guess I'll eat it."
She checked the small muffin one last time to ensure it wasn't made of mud or something like that and bit it. To her surprise, it was delicious.
"As they say, hunger is the best spice," muttered Gwen as she continued eating her brunch. After finishing, she took her toiletries and her clothes and went to the communal showers.
Lucky for her, no one was in the bathroom, so she could take a relaxing shower without interruptions. Even after sleeping so much, she was still tired. It seemed that being awake for so long was a bad idea.
"This show sucks," she muttered as she entered the shower.
After the shower, Gwen put on her make-up. She was lucky that her skin was naturally pale, so she didn't need a lot of foundation like her goth friends. With her mascara, eyeliner, and green lipstick, she was ready. Yes, when Gwen is with her mope she uses more make-up, but for the reality show, it was enough.
As soon as she stepped outside the bathroom, she was annoyed by a familiar voice.
"Helloooo Gwen! How is my favorite goth girl doing?" asked Cody, trying to sound smooth.
Gwen frowned at him. "What do you want, Cody?"
"Ehehehe, nothing, just greet you," said the brunette guy, rubbing his neck. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Is this an interrogation?" asked Gwen in a harsh tone.
Cody raised his hand. "Oh no, of course not. I was just worried about you."
Gwen sighed. Cody was annoying, but he actually didn't say anything wrong. Maybe she was overreacting.
"Sorry, I'm just tired and a little touchy," Gwen said, shrugging, and then went to her cabin to leave her toiletries. There was no one in the room so she just put her things on the nightstand and exited.
"And do you have any plans right now?" said Cody making a nervous smile.
"I'm going to the Mess hall to take lunch," said Gwen, slowly walking toward the building.
Cody winked. "What a coincidence, I was about to take lunch too. Want to eat together?"
"It's a free country, do what you want," said Gwen, already expecting this development.
The duo entered the Mess hall, and both tables were empty. In the kitchen, Chef was preparing something on the stove. He chuckled as soon as the contestants entered the place.
"You're on time, the lunch is ready," said Chef glaring at the contestants.
Chef put a bowl of white gruel into Gwen's tray and something that looked like a steak covered in a brown sauce.
"What's this?" asked the goth.
"It's called secret sauce lunch," said Chef, shrugging.
She pinched it with the fork. It felt like rubber. "Is it meat?"
"No, it's actually a vegan dish, so everybody can eat it," Chef made a dark grin and chuckled.
"And it's edibl-*yikes,*" before Gwen could finish her sentence, Chef stabbed the secret with a big and sharp knife.
"If you find it hard to cut, use this knife," said Chef, glaring at the goth, who just gulped.
"Ok, t-thanks," she said and quickly sat on the gopher's table, followed promptly by Cody.
Gwen sat and tried to eat her "vegan dish," but cutting it was harder than expected, even with the big butcher knife.
"You know how awesome looking your highlights are?" asked Cody. He tried to sound smooth, but it was hard when trying to cut that rubber-like food.
The goth arched an eyebrow while chewing a piece of her food. It was like trying to find the taste in used gum.
Cody decided to insist. "Yes, that green is really beautiful! Because it's green riiiiight…"
As Cody talked, his food slipped under his knife and flew toward Gwen, hitting her in the face. The secret lunch slowly slid through Gwen's face.
"Oh I'm sorry," Cody jumped and ran around the table in a second, taking a pack of tissues from his pocket. "I don't know what happened."
Gwen threw Cody's food back into his plate, her face covered in the brown sauce.
"Don't worry, I can do it alone," Gwen took some tissues and cleaned her face.
"Ok," said Cody, going back to his place. "I'm really sorry. It's the first time something like this has happened to me."
"I already told you to not worry about it," said Gwen, still cleaning her face. How a food as rubberish as this could be so greasy?
The two gophers continued eating in silence, Cody too ashamed after the incident and Gwen trying to figure out how to eat her food.
Luckily for them, someone else joined the table.
"Hello buddies, I hope I'm not interrupting your date, hehe," said Owen sitting with them.
Cody's face turned red while Gwen huffed.
"Don't be silly," said Cody in a harsh tone. "This isn't a date unless Gween says otherwise."
"It's not a date," said Gwen coldly, frowning at the blond guy.
"See," Cody glared at Owen, his tone harsher. "It's not a date, so stop creating misunderstandings."
Owen rubbed his head, "sorry, it was just a joke."
"No problem big guy," said Cody. Gwen only nodded, still frowning.
Owen tried to slice his secret lunch, but it was impossible. He grabbed his food and pulled it with his teeth until he could take a bit.
The atmosphere was still heavy, making Owen nervous. He then had an idea.
"Well, it must be hard to be so popular, eh Gwen? All the guys are talking about you," Owen winked, making Cody blush nervously.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "I don't think I'm that popular."
"Of course you're," said Owen making a big grin. "Just yesterday, Trent was talking about you."
"Trent did?" asked Gwen, a subtle blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Trent did?" asked Cody, but his tone was a little harsher than the goth.
Owen nodded with a big grin. "Oh yes. He, Justin, and I were yesterday in the docks, and he was wondering about you. If you were too tired after the sleeping challenge, if you were eating well these days, and what kind of food you like."
"Are you sure it was him and not you the one asking? I don't think he would make so many food-related questions," said Gwen, trying to sound snarky.
"Yes I'm sure, he even told me to… uh oh," Owen's proud expression disappeared. He blanched, sweating nervously.
Gwen tilted her head, not hiding her interest. "He told you what?"
"Yes dude, don't leave us hanging. What did he tell you?" Cody elbowed him, making a small smile.
"He told me…" Owen's eyes darted back and forth, "to not tell anyone what we talk about."
Cody and Gwen deadpanned at him, chuckling.
"It's a little late to think about that, don't you think?" said Gwen, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes dude, you're the worst secret keeper I ever met," said Cody, chuckling a little too hard.
Owen rubbed his neck. "Please don't tell the guys, they'll no longer trust me."
"And with good reason," said Gwen making an impish smile.
"Yes dude, that's not cool," said Cody, nodding.
The goth then smiled. "But I´ll not tell anyone, only don't tell other people you told us."
"Yes, we're friends after all," Cody patted Owen's back.
"Thank you dudes," said Owen sniffing. "I'm so lucky to have friends like you."
Gwen smiled and stood up, "Then I'll take my leave. There are some things I need to do."
"Sounds fine. Let's go," said Cody, standing up immediately.
"Sorry, Cody but I need to be alone," said Gwen, giving a cold stare at the flirt.
Cody tried to protest, but Owen interrupted him. "Hey Gwen."
She looked at him for a moment. What did he want?
"You aren't finishing that?" asked the big guy, pointing at her half-eaten 'vegan dish.'
"It's all yours," said Gwen exiting the Mess Hall.
She could hear Owen's excited shouts. She took a mental note about him being fun but a little annoying, and she couldn't trust him with any secret. But more than that, she wondered if what he said about Trent was true. Maybe he was the one that brought the muffin? For some reason, that thought made her smile.
Gwen went to the cabins and took her sketchbook and a pencil. She then went outside, meeting Heather, Lindsay, and Beth, who were walking toward the cabin. She looked at them with suspicion.
"Hello Gwen," said Heather, waving. "I was about to teach Beth about proper skin care. I can let you come if you want."
"It would help that pale, sick-looking tone you always have," said Lindsay with a big smile.
Gwen huffed. "Not interested."
"Well, if you change your mind, we'll be in the cabin," shouted Heather, forcing a smile.
"I'll not change, but whatever," replied Gwen, shrugging.
Heather glared at her. "I don't like that weird goth girl."
"You don't?" asked Lindsay tilting her head. "I guess cyan highlights are a little out of fashion."
"It's not her cheap highlights or ugly make-up. It's her attitude. She acts so full of herself as if she doesn't care about my leadership," said Heather glaring in Gwen's direction.
Beth furrowed her brow, folding her arms. "But that isn't the same thing you do, Heather?"
"Oh no, Beth, I'm not full of myself. I'm the team leader." Heather scoffed, looking down on Beth, "I just act my part to keep the team focused on the goal, which is winning. I must find a way to knock her off her high horse, but how?"
"First, we need to find her horse, which will be easy. Horses are really big," said Lindsay smiling enthusiastically.
Heather rolled her eyes, "Don't be stu…" However the queen bee stopped mid-sentence, rubbing her chin, "wait a minute, you're right. First we need to find what may hurt her, and then we can plan how to use it. I'm a genius."
"Yes Heather that's a great idea," said Lindsay clapping.
"But Linds, that was YOUR idea," said Beth, adjusting her glasses.
The blonde chuckled. "Don't' be silly Beth. In that case, Heather would say I'm the genius, not her. It's obvious it was her idea."
Beth tilted her head but stopped pursuing the matter. It was probably a misunderstanding, Heather would never cross any of her friends.
Gwen sat at a tree near the lake and began to draw. She had a lot on her mind, but after a few lines, she forgot everything and began to capture the mountains and the lake on her canvas.
Her focus was so intense that she spent a couple of hours drawing. It was already sunset when a familiar voice interrupted her.
"Girl, I don't have great eyes, but I'm sure the mountains are prettier than that."
Gwen was startled and glared at the person who interrupted her, but her expression relaxed when she recognized them.
"LeShawna! Can't you say hello or good evening like everyone else?" said Gwen, her happy tone contradicting her message.
"What? I told you hello and even waved, but you just ignored me, so I came to see what was you drawing that was soo interesting. And then I find it was just some weird mountains," said LeShawna sitting next to Gwen and handing her a water bottle. "Also, I bring you this. I thought you would be thirsty."
"Thanks," Gwen opened, took a small sip and sighed. "I don't draw things as they are, but instead as I feel them. I want to draw the mountain as I saw it, not as it is."
"So you're more like an impressionist?" asked the sister with a 'tude, raising an eyebrow.
Gwen smiled. "Similar, but I wouldn't call myself an impressionist. And I'm surprised you know about that artistic movement."
"HEY! what do you mean by that? I know a lot about a lot of topics. I just don't like to brag," LeShawna raised her head proudly after 'scolding' her best friend.
Both girls then laughed a lot, and LeShawna patted the goth's shoulder.
"But," Gwen sighed again and looked down at her picture. "I don't like this picture."
"What, why?" asked LeShawna, looking at her friend with wide eyes. "I mean it's just a sketch, but it looks damn fine. I just say that about the mountains as a joke."
Gwen looked at the canvas with a cold expression, "It's not like that. I can't feel anything from this sketch."
"Girl, aren't you being too harsh with yourself?" The picture is fine, maybe …" LeShawna folded her arms and tilted her head.
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe you're worried about something else, which makes you look your picture uglier than it really is?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious?"
"My momma stopped cooking dinner when she had a bad day at work because she always put too many spices on the dishes. She didn't like the taste even if it was delicious," LeShawna chuckled at the memory. "So start talking, girl. What's on that cyan and black head of yours?"
Gwen closed her sketchbook, the sunset was over, and stars started to appear in the black sky.
"I don't know," said the goth in a soft voice.
LeShawna nodded but didn't utter a word, waiting for her friend to straighten up her thoughts.
After a moment, Gwen continued talking. "It's as if I had a thorn in my side, but I don't know where. Maybe I'm tired after staying awake for three days."
"Maybe," after mentioning the challenge, LeShawna had an idea. "Girl, I don't know what worries you, but I´ll show you something awesome. Follow me."
"Hey … wait a minute, what are you talking about?" asked Gwen, who was pulled by the sista with a 'tude.
"It's a surprise. Just trust me," said LeShawna, winking.
Gwen wanted to protest, but it was useless. LeShawna's positive energy was contagious. So she decided to follow her and see the surprise she mentioned.
And after walking to the docks, she was flabbergasted by it.
Gwen stood there hearing the guitar melody. It was a bit cliché, but she liked guitar songs. And this song, in particular, touched something inside her.
"It's awesome, right?" said LeShawna, with a big smile.
"You just read my mind," replied Gwen, still surprised by the impromptu show, "who is playing?"
LeShawna waggled her eyebrows. "Try to guess. First hint, he's on our team."
"Trent?" replied Gwen, blinking a couple of times.
"Wow girl, you get it on your first try. Maybe the hint made it too easy," said LeShawna folding her arms.
"I knew he played guitar but … wow," said Gwen, still surprised by Trent's skills.
LeShawna squinted at her. "Really? I guess you two are closer than I thought."
Gwen blushed, remembering him. Trent was with her for the most part of the staying awake challenge. They talked for hours about everything. She was tired and opened up a lot more than she expected, and he also shared a lot with her.
But after the challenge they didn't talk. She was too tired to think about it. At least until now.
"We're not close or anything … I just …"
"Oh, maybe some goth girl is falling for the guitar boy," LeShawna elbowed her friend, winking.
Gwen did her best to look as if she didn't care. "It's not like that. We just had a good time during the second challenge."
"Yes, just a good time," LeShawna did an exaggerated nod, "don't worry, girlfriend, I believe you."
"I told you it's not like that," Gwen stomped her foot, but her voice was not as harsh as she wanted. None of them noticed the music stopped.
"I never thought you were the shy type," LeShawna teased, making a wide smile.
"Because I'm not," replied Gwen folding her arms.
"LeShawna and Gwen, what are you doing here?"
Gwen felt her cheeks burn up when she heard his voice. Trent was waving at them with that smile so characteristic of him.
"Go for it girl," LeShawna whispered to Gwen. She then stretched up and made an exaggerated yawn. "Hello Trent, sorry I don't stay longer but I'm tired, see ya."
"Bye LeShawna," Trent waved again and focused on Gwen.
The goth took a second to understand what happened, LeShawna would pay for this.
"Hello," said Gwen, trying to sound cool.
"It's funny, we haven't talked in a couple of days, and I feel like it's been a lot longer," said Trent, smiling. "How are you? Already recovered after the sleepless challenge?"
Gwen smiled. "Not 100% but I'm a lot better. It was such a weird challenge."
"Yes, but I'm glad you were there. Thanks to that, I didn't fall asleep in the first hours."
"Aren't you humble? But I'm sure you would remain awake even If I wasn't there,"
"That's not true. Talking with you was what kept me going."
"Eh? I don't remember we talked that much?" Gwen said, tilting her head.
"Really?" Trent looked at her with wide eyes, frowning sadly.
Gwen chuckled and made an evil smirk. "Of course not. I'm just teasing you. How could I forget if we talked for almost two days."
"Hahaha, you really got me there," said Trent, lowering his shoulders as if he just took a heavy weight off his shoulders.
"It was weird. I usually don't open so quickly to other people," said Gwen, turning her face away from Trent, a light blush appearing on her face.
Trent chuckled. "Me neither."
"What?" Gwen turned around, squinting at him. "C'mon Trent, you're the kind of guy with lots of friends and is really popular at school."
"Hey! It's true I have a lot of friends, but … I don't know, I felt that with you I could be myself and tell you everything I really think," Trent rubbed his arm, blushing.
Gwen smirked. "You're exaggerating."
"You're teasing me again, right?" said Trent, folding his arm.
"Oh, you realized it?" Gwen chuckled, covering her mouth. "It's a shame. I like how you get all worked up."
Trent made a small smile. "To be fair, I wanted to talk with you a lot more."
Gwen thought how sappy that line was, but for some reason, she didn't hate it and found his smiling face cute.
"I also want to talk with you a lot more," said Gwen, trying to not blush.
"By the way, there is a song I wa…" Trent started saying, quite excited but was suddenly interrupted.
"HEY! It's Gwen and Trent! Hello guys, what are you doing?"
Gwen rolled her eyes and glared at the guy. she didn't hate Owen… yet, but she may start right now. And the worst part is that he wasn't alone.
"Oh my… If it's my favorite girl and Trent, what a coincidence," said Cody making finger pistols at them.
"Yes, it's awesome," said Gwen in a cold tone.
But at least Owen didn't seem phased by it. "We were about to dine. Want to come with us? The more, the merrier!"
"Please let's go together," said Cody making a big smile that showed the gap between his teeth.
"I'm not hungry," said Gwen, shrugging. "So I'll take my leave."
Owen looked at her with wide eyes. "WHAT!? You aren't hungry!?"
"Yes Gwen, it's not good to skip meals. Come with us," said Cody, looking at her with pleading eyes.
"Yes Gwen, also we can talk a little more," said Trent, looking at her with his green eyes.
Gwen just thought how cute his eyes were.
"Ok, let's go, but stop shouting," she rolled her eyes and huffed.
"YEAH!" cheered Owen, Cody, and Trent.
"So let's go before Gwen changes her mind," said Owen, racing first, followed by the rest.
Gwen was upset. She didn't know why but this whole situation made her angry. It was like having an itchy spot that you couldn't scratch.
Trent looked at her and whispered, "I hope we can talk alone next time."
At that moment, she realized why she was upset. She wanted to keep talking with him but without interlopers, it was a weird feeling. Gwen decided to not say anything and just smirked and walked to the mess hall.
That night Gwen opened her diary and decided to write about her day and finally about him.
Ok, so I'm trying to ignore him, but he's just so cute. If they had custom ordered a guy to be a distraction for me here, it would have been McHottie. We just totally connect. He's pretty much the only person I can relate to here, and I know it's a cliche, but I love guys who play guitar.
Gwen smiled, it was cheesy, but it was true. She tried to avoid him the past few days but couldn't. She was upset even when drawing. And after hearing him play tonight, she realized how much she wanted to know more about him.
"Maybe I will try to invite him to swim tomorrow," said Gwen blushing and covering her face with her diary. She then hid it in her drawer and went to sleep, realizing who the guy in her dream was. Maybe with some luck, she would dream with him again tonight.
Thanks for reading. I was thinking about what theme I should write for this Gwent week. At first I thought about an AU story, but I wrote the Zombie AU last year, so I wanted to try something different.
So I decided instead of writing a romantic story, write a story about a blooming romance, and then I watched the Talent episode for another fic I'm writing and think, "ok, Gwen was hearing Trent playing last night, what exactly happened between them?" and from there I write this story.
The story is the day before the talent show, and Gwen still has some issues with many characters. She isn't Cody's friend yet, doesn't know a lot about Owen, and her only friend is LeShawna, kind of. And yes, you guessed it, the muffin was Trent, but she will discover that the next day.
I hope you enjoy it, and remember to leave a review with your thoughts about it. Tell me if you like these meanwhile episodes, and I can write more. For example, right now I'm writing a story about what happened in Playa des losers as the contestants were eliminated. Check it out if you like Ezekiel, Eva, Noah, Justin, or Katie.
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you like it.
