An Unexpected Bond:

Chapter #01.

Episode #00.

Part #01.

Another day at Wawanakwa felt like another normal day at home. For the remaining contestants, nearly two weeks had passed since first arriving onto the Dock of Shame; none of them knew what was in store for them, at the time. The prospect of an elimination game, competing in dangerous challenges, living on an isolated island with different strangers from different walks of life - all for a hundred-thousand dollars in cash. Very unbelievable.

But here they were. The numbers were dwindling down, and at this point, they had grown accustomed to their new environment. Friendships had formed, rivalries were revving up, and even love began to blossom. These summer days would be the best time for some, and the worst for others; there was really no in-between. Comes to show what money can do.

Money, however, never crossed a certain geek's mind. That geek went by the name of Cody, as he laid in his bed, pondering about one thing and one thing only: love. Since he laid on one of the top bunk beds, he had to occasionally swipe a fruit fly away from his face; he stared up at the wooden ceiling of his cabin. He auditioned for this show, not for the money - it would help with his college tuition though - or the fame, but rather, for the romance.

He devised a domino-effect formula: get a girlfriend and it'll help him win some popularity points, increase his chances of sitting at the cool kids' table without getting beat up or humiliated. Killing two birds with one stone was the best idiom for this scenario. Yet so far, he hadn't been able to achieve that goal, not even close. Sure he had perved on some of his female teammates, but then again, those athletic men did the same thing or similar, yet were still able to get a woman to fall for them.

It couldn't be because of his social status as a geek, right? Beth and Sadie were actual options, but the Codemeister was stubborn to pursue the ones out of his league. Such women like Lindsay, Bridgette, Leshawna, and especially Gwen. He wanted to prove he could defy the social norm and hang with the big dogs like Geoff, Duncan, and Trent. But of course, he's unable to do so at the moment, or even for the rest of his life.

Cody shook his head at that very last thought. Now he was getting too pessimistic. A quick walk outside and some fresh air could help distract him for a bit. "At least I don't have to deal with Chris…" He muttered; today was a free day, a non-challenge day. No cameras were around to film him, and no Chris McLean in sight. The geek hopped down from his bed to get changed, soon wearing a new pair of the clothes he wore on his first day at the island.

As he went outside, however… "Great. It's you again." Cody heard the voice of one mean woman he had grown familiar with over the last several days. He turned his head and his eyes met Heather's. The usual, serious frown could be spotted on her face, as she leaned against the wooden balcony. Same appearance, same personality, same everything.

Unlike with the other attractive women, Cody didn't seem to flash his trademark, gap-toothed grin when it came to Heather. He kept his expression a bit more serious when around her. But at the same time, if he walked away and ignored her, his gut feeling told him it wouldn't end well. "Heather! Hey! Need something? I bet the Codemeister can help out." His attempt to sound macho and cool came off more as cringe. Then again, if someone like Heather wanted him for something, who was he to complain?

Heather's frown deepened. The pathetic attempts from him to be a suave, charming man made her wanna gag. She didn't hesitate to show her disdain. "Yeah, I need something. I need you to never do that again. And you can start helping out by giving me some space." When it came to being a verbal asshole, the queen bee made sure her words were drilled into the person's mind. "Go bother Gwen or, do whatever you weird geeks like to do."

Indeed some of the words hurt him a bit; they stung like a bee's sting. Yet Cody made a simple rebuttal to her assumption. "I'm only going for a walk! Catch some fresh air, get a tan at the beach, nothing to do with Gwen!" Of course, being the simp that he is, he hoped the goth would be around. Even better if at the beach and in her bathing suit. That would be a sight for him to behold.

Both eyes of Heather rolled. She doubted any of what he said. "Sure, whatever." The queen bee didn't seem to care and dismissed it, persistent on being alone right now. "Now can you actually leave me alone? I don't need to spend my day near a loser like you." Although she didn't seem intent on using physical action, her intimidating aura could be effective enough to shoo him away.

Now it was Cody's turn to frown. One couldn't say he's an innocent saint, but still. "Oh c'mon, I'm actually serious about leaving Gwen alone; at least for today." But nonetheless, he decided it would be a losing battle if he tried to convince her otherwise. So he went down the steps, being cautious around the middle step where Owen had left a small hole. The last thing he wanted to do was trip and faceplant in front of someone like Heather. As for the hole itself, that would be another story for another time - boys will be boys.

Once the geek made a bit of progress in walking away from Heather, he stopped. Despite how unnecessarily cruel she could be, part of him still felt bad. Seeing her standing by herself and wanting to be alone, it didn't sit right with him. Being alone. Alone. He turned around and saw Heather still in the same spot; she raised an annoyed eyebrow. "Wait, Heather. Why don't you…" Cody gulped. This was more difficult than he expected. "Why don't you hang out with me, j-just for today? We can do whatever you like to do." Sweat began running down his forehead; when it came to other women, almost no problem. But her? For whatever reason, asking her to simply hang with him made him very nervous.

Heather had plenty of responses in mind; none of them were positive and would probably make Cody feel like shit. "Are you seriously brain-damaged? I just told you I wanted to be alone. Got that? Your thick skull better understand that I'd rather be dead than around you." She stood upright, making sure her glare stabbed Cody, in a figurative manner. Then she crossed her arms. "Besides, I would throw up if I had to spy on Gwen all day."

"I'm not hanging out with Gwen!" Cody protested, getting a bit frustrated, even though Heather did tell the truth. Not that he would admit it. "If I end up seeing her, I'll just say 'what's up' and walk past. Look, I just don't like seeing you, or anyone all alone." He scratched the back of his head. A small, assuring smile formed on his face. "And even if you think I'm a loser or a pervert, you still deserve to have some fun." His awkward side came out, having to talk down on himself a bit to persuade her.

The queen bee took a deep breath and sighed to herself. If her friends caught her hanging out with someone like Cody, she wouldn't hear the end of it. But she also knew the cameras weren't filming today; she would be able to do whatever and not be caught on footage. On top of that, if Cody tried anything funny with her, she'd get him eliminated right away, even if part of her team hated her guts for her actions at the talent contest.

Then she made her decision. "Forget it. I am making plans with Beth and Lindsay." A smug look appeared on her face, as if she had outwitted the geek. She did make plans after all… just not with him. "Those two will be more fun than you, twerp." Heather felt a bit satisfied and began to head off to find her two alliance members. However, she hadn't been aware about the hole Owen made, and:

"Heather, watch out! There's a hole in -" Cody never got to finish warning her, as one of her heels stepped into the hole, catching her off-guard. Soon her body fell forward, eyes widened as she fell. A gasp escaped her mouth, and the geek's first instinct was to try and catch her. Even if he lacked muscle, he could at the very least break her fall.

…He did. Heather landed on top of him, and Cody could feel some of his internal organs being damaged a bit. His and her eyes were closed as both tried to recover from the impact; Heather from the fall and Cody from the landing. The geek made a mental note to get someone to fix that hole, or remind his other teammates about it. But when they opened their eyes…

…

…

…

…Their lips had touched in an embrace. An accident, without a doubt, but their lips connected to each other's. Within that brief second, both bodies were almost paralyzed in shock; they were frozen on the ground. Widened eyes staring right into each other's. That brief second seemed to have taken longer than expected.

But just as quick as it happened, it all came to an end. Heather pushed herself off the scrawny shortie and held a hand to her lips. Shocked was an understatement to describe her current emotion; she stood still, taking everything that had happened all in. What's most notable, however, was the faint blush on her cheeks.

For Cody, such a similar reaction from him as well. Stunned expression, still body, and a blush more apparent than Heather's, given his romance experience. Yet he became the first of the two to speak. "I… H-Heather…" Never mind the fact that he struggled to speak coherent sentences. He could only look up and stare at her.

Heather looked down at him, and while Cody expected a glare or an angered expression, what he received from her was a conflicted look. She had never kissed him before, and right before it happened, she had expressed her disdain towards him. "...Did you… take mint breaths?" At least she was able to speak normally again.

Sensing that Heather was alright, Cody brushed off the dirt on his clothes and got back onto his feet. "I-I mean… the ladies dig guys with good breath, right?" He answered, scratching the back of his head and displaying a sheepish grin. Then he shook his head and got serious immediately. "But I swear I didn't mean for that to happen! Honest! I-I tried to catch you and… and -"

"It's fine." Heather said simply. She turned her head to view the hole. "When I catch who did this, they are going to pay." Her venomous tone came back as soon as she knew it, unaware that the culprit was a particular colossus on her own team. The queen bee also had zero idea that Cody was one of the witnesses. Again, boys will be boys.

Deep down, a small part of Cody felt relieved to see Heather returning to her old self and shrugging it off. But he had to ask. "So… you're not mad at me for what happened?" He might regret asking that question, but the last thing he wanted was for his social life to hit rock bottom because of an accidental kiss.

Heather turned and gave him a stern look. Not a glare or a disgusted frown. "You may be a loser of a geek, but I'm willing to let it go, if you help me find whoever did this." She pointed at the hole. "I'll trust you, just this once, that you didn't do it." Even Cody looked surprised at what Heather said. Never would he expect her to trust some low-level loser like him. But again, who was he to complain?

Cody flashed his signature grin again. He pointed at himself, filled with confidence and determination. "You can count on the Codester! And, as a bonus, I won't tell anyone about this! None of the cameras are recording - you won't have to worry!" The geek offered his hand for her to shake. It seemed clean enough.

The queen bee shook his hand, albeit with a bit of reluctance. "Good. What happened between us, stays between us." Heather remarked, making sure the geek understood her message, one-hundred percent. Then she turned around again, only this time, to venture off to find Beth and Lindsay. "Got that?"

He nodded in eagerness, now feeling more ecstatic the whole moment didn't go sour and ruin the mood. "You know it!" Cody shot finger guns toward her. Sensing the atmosphere improving, he decided to give it another shot. "So, you uh, still gonna hang with the ladies?" A subtle method of seeing if he still had a chance for a hangout session.

But of course, Heather caught on to his attempt. "If that's your way of asking me to hang out, then -" She stopped herself mid-sentence. Her original response would've been a straightforward no. But now that she thought about it, would it honestly kill her to spend a bit of time with someone out of her social circle? Especially since she'd gain an ally from all of this. To help eliminate Leshawna, and with a big push, Gwen.

She took a deep breath. "Maybe. I'll think about it. But, I am hanging out with Beth and Lindsay today. You can't change my mind." Then she moved further away from the geek, in the direction of the cafeteria, or Mess Hall. "Oh, and if we do, it'll only be for a short time. No funny business, and no Gwen or Leshawna."

Cody nodded. Call him pathetic, but even if the terms were more beneficial to her than him, he still wouldn't be complaining. "No problem with me! I'll, uh, see you later then?" He turned around to head in the opposite direction, but immediately turned back. "Just one more thing. Did you… like it? Because… if I gotta be honest, you were my first kiss, and -" A blush appeared on his face. "I liked it."

Then as he turned to actually begin heading off, Heather, back turned against him, answered. "You know what?" Both heads turned to meet each other at the same time. Cody felt a bit nervous on her upcoming response. "For a short geek, you weren't bad." Her voice went soft near the end, a very faint blush on her cheeks. Still noticeable. But she smiled; it wasn't a fake or forced one, this one was genuine. Even if that smile was very small.

Right after that, she turned her head and ventured to the cafeteria. She didn't say goodbye or anything at all. This left Cody by himself, staring at Heather as she walked away. Now by himself, various thoughts crossed his mind. One of which was, of course, about the kiss. His very first kiss. He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his pants as he continued to ponder and go on his outdoor walk.

Persistent as he is, Cody muttered to himself, an optimistic smile on his face. "Maybe I can help change her for the better…" As for his crush on Gwen - too much thinking for him right now. He wanted to clear his mind on this walk. So he opted to think about other, more lighthearted stuff, such as Owen burping the 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' song.

…Or maybe something like Gwen and Heather in the hot tub with him - bikinis galore.

Author's Note: Salutations! First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to click on this story and read it. To provide clarification, this is indeed a one-shot story. As such, the length of this story isn't what you would expect from a competition fic. I wanted to write this for the holiday season, and to improve and practice my writing. Allow me to provide a contextual backstory for this, and to go into further detail about the content - give my thought process on it.

In case you missed it in the summary, this is a gift for one of my good friends. I had some options when it came to selecting a ship, and it came down to Lindsay x Tyler and Cody x Heather. The latter had been chosen because I felt more comfortable writing them, which isn't to say I can't write Lindsay or Tyler. I'll admit, writing romance isn't as easy as I expected, so do feel free to provide criticism if necessary. That being said; yes, this is a Cody x Heather fic. Or, more-so in the lines of a tease. While writing, I had three different routes in mind: a depressing dark one, a wholesome one, and a realistic one.

Of course, I steered clear of putting angst content into this story. As much as I wanted to provide a wholesome, happy ending with the two of them becoming a couple, I felt like that would've been too unrealistic, and out-of-character for Heather. So instead, I opted for an ending more ambiguous, with a sprinkle of wholesomeness. Whatever happens to them next is up to you; the ending is fitting for a one-shot or for a transitional plot into the next chapter for a multichapter story. It could work out for them, it could end in disaster.

Side note: the timeline for this story is an alternate universe, per say. Depending on the path the reader wants to choose for them, it could diverge into an alternate timeline, or it could be like a filler episode - it would continue on exactly like in canon. But enough of that, I hoped you liked my portrayal of Cody and Heather in this one. Feel free to provide feedback, positive or negative. Bonus if you favorite this story. Perhaps in the future, I'll do a continuation of this, with some potential M-rated scenes~. Key word being: perhaps. It's a 50-50.

Until next time! Take care and happy holidays!