Expect the Unexpected

Chapter four

Feline Divine

Heather was laying back on the dock of Camp Wawanakwa once again. The stars shining brightly above her as she sat in her solitude. She was more than happy to finally be alone. After meeting and playing with her new team, she was absolutely sick of everyone. The self proclaimed queen bee knew she would have to deal with some annoying people when she signed up for the show, but she didn't expect to have every single person she met annoy her. Especially that disgusting-

"Hey there gorgeous."

Punk.

Heather turned to see the green haired delinquent, didn't his name start with a P or a D, from earlier sitting down next to her. She could see from his chiseled jaw and fascinating blue eyes why some of the other girls were whispering about how hot he was. But mohawks and piercings weren't for Heather at all. "You really don't know how to take a single hint, do you?"

The man only chuckled at her as he leaned back on his elbows. "You say that, but I bet if I moved on and looked at some other chick, you would miss me," he answered with a smirk.

Heather scoffed at the very idea. "As if! I wish you would go away. Your pick up lines are so tacky!"

The punk, whose name she couldn't quite remember yet, sat up once more as he pulled his knees up. "Well if you want me gone, just give me one kiss and I'd leave you alone."

The queen bee made a gagging sound at his offer. "Ew! No way would I ever want to kiss you. Unlike some desperate losers here, I'm here to win, not find a boyfriend."

"You don't need a boyfriend to kiss somebody," he crooned, "but fine, if you want me to continue flirting with you- don't kiss me. But until I get that, I'll keep annoying you."

She turned her head towards him. Was he seriously playing that card? Heather was an expert at manipulating people to get what she wanted, as these losers would soon learn, and there was no way she would want this loser stopping her game plan. Especially with his terrible pick up lines and moves! She could totally kiss him and not feel a thing! He was a.. gutter punk! "Oh yeah?" she challenged silently before moving forward and pressing her lips to his.

She could feel the guy stiffen for a minute in a surprise, not expecting her to go for it. But she simply had to, for her own pride. This loser couldn't challenge her and think he would win. However the moment she felt him purse his lips back, she pulled away. "There, now leave me alone. I'm planning my strategy."

He touched his lips gently in surprise, as if he didn't believe they truly kissed. He blinked in confusion before lifting his lips into a smirk. "You got it, queenie. I bet this won't be our last kiss either." He sent a wink at her before standing up, "but a deal is a deal. I'll leave you alone."

"Good, and you better not tell anyone either! Or I swear I will make your life here miserable."

"Oh I bet. I can see the craftiness in your eyes. This will be our little secret. Till the next time you can no longer fight the urge to kiss me."

Heather practically growled as she hit his arm, "You're such a loser!"

"You're such a loser!" Heather screeched as she moved the controller with her body. Currently, she and Duncan were spending their Saturday morning with a little Mario Kart championship.

"Says the one who got second place," Duncan jeered while pointing a finger into her arm. "It's not my fault that I found the one thing that you're just okay at."

It had been a few weeks since the pair of them went out that night, which means it had been a few weeks since Heather dreamt of their old night at the dock. She had forgotten about it for so long, but it somehow crept into her buzzed out brain. Since then, she and Duncan had found their petty rivalry dwindling. The jokes and jabs were still very much prominent, but the pranks on one another had finally stopped. It was an unspoken truce between the pair; they would try to be friendly.

Though their version of being friendly probably didn't compare well to other people's versions. The two of them still found small ways to compete against one another. For example, the pair would comment who did more work around the apartment such as cleaning or grocery shopping. Currently though, their new form of competing was the new Mario Kart game that Duncan had bought.

"You're such a dick," Heather rolled her eyes as she grabbed at the small batch of popcorn on the table. They decided to feast on all the junk food they had in the house to commence such a big competition. "You're totally cheating somehow."

Duncan rolled his eyes. He knew Heather was a sore loser, but he found her small fits pretty entertaining. He always thought that Heather's crude words were kind of funny, even when he had to compete against her and everyone else just found her to be rude. There were countless times throughout their years together that he would find himself smirking or chuckling at whatever petty retort she threw at people, even when it was aimed at him.

"It's not my fault that you're terrible at controlling the remote," he snickered at her, reaching for another piece of pizza that they decided to also order. He went to start another game up for them; he knew Heather wouldn't quit until she finally won a round, (not that he would just let her win), and his Saturday was pretty much free anyhow. He chewed on the piece of pizza that hung from his mouth, ready to fall at any moment, while the sound of a phone ringing captured his attention. He looked to the side to notice it wasn't his own, then to Heather to see her grimace before declining the call. "Who was that?" he asked.

Heather sipped on her cola for a moment with a roll of her eyes. "My mother," she finally answered while setting the drink down. It was clear from her reaction to the caller ID and the tightness in her jaw that something was wrong.

Although Duncan usually wasn't one to pry into people's business, he felt compelled to speak without thinking, "you know, I haven't really heard you talk about your parents. What's up with that?"

Heather stiffened at his question. She glanced over at him and expertly masked her discomfort, "nothing. They're just annoying." If Duncan didn't know her any better, he probably would have fallen for that answer. But, he wouldn't pry- well, openly.

"I feel that," he agreed as he chewed on the pizza crust, "my old man is more than annoying though. He's an arrogant prick." It was no secret that Duncan and his father didn't get along. It was clear to the world when Chris shared those video messages from home on international TV. However, Heather's family relationship was still a mystery. He knew from the past that she was raised in a pretty rich upbringing, but that was all he knew. She didn't talk about them much during her free time on the show, and even now that he lived with her, she barely even complained about them.

Heather laid back against the couch cushions with a shrug. "It's complicated. My family isn't exactly warm and inviting. They're actually pretty terrible," she replied bluntly.

A fleeting memory came to Duncans mind of Heather admitting a piece of information about her parents years ago. "Didn't you say.." he blinked repeatedly trying to make sense of what he remembered, "that they made you go to electro-shock therapy?" That had to be a mistake, right? He must have misheard her years ago; no parent would do that nowadays.

Heather subconsciously lifted her hand to touch the temple of her head. There was a faint discoloration where her fingers grazed, but only because Duncan was paying such close attention. "Yeah," she spoke up, voice diluted to show no emotion, "they thought it would make me nicer."

Her confirmation made Duncan feel the need to reach for her. He too had been down the path of parents trying to change their child, however he never had to deal with such extremes as she had. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance. "Nice is boring," he smiled, "I probably wouldn't want to room with you if you were nice."

The dark haired beauty let out a laugh at that. "Thanks, I also happen to enjoy your brash nature every now and then, too."

Duncan smirked at her as he poked at her arm, "Aw, you like me?" He could see Heather roll her eyes at him as she just reached for the remote control again.

"Just start a new game, dumbass." She insisted. Now she was holding back a grin as she gave him a gentle shove.

For the rest of the week Heather's confession stuck with Duncan. He didn't realize how terrible her life must have been before they moved in together. He knew she wanted to get away from her parents, but he had no idea she was literally running away from abuse.

He didn't walk on eggshells around her like most people would have done afterwards. In fact, he was very surprised to hear Heather speak more freely about her family and how she dodged their calls. That was when Duncan finally noticed that the only time Heather would call her parents would be when she was checking on her cat. What was the name of that stupid feline again? Scratchy? Boner? No.. it was.. Bruiser!

Yeah! She would only call when she wanted an update about that silly cat. However it would never be her mother or father she would ask about it, it was always some guy named Baba; who Duncan later realized was just Heather's way of saying grandpa. After those talks Heather would sulk around the living room and complain about the unfair pet rules. It was annoying Duncan to no end!

So, he had to do something about it!

"Come on Barry," Duncan groaned as he stood outside his landlord door, "she's driving me crazy! Just let this one cat be okay!"

The old landlord blew out his cigarette smoke from the side of his mouth. His permanent frown seemed to deepen as Duncan continued to harass him.

"If I let you and your little fuck buddy-"

"We're not hooking up, dude!" Duncan threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Whatever," Barry shrugged, scratching at his stain-filled wife beater, "if I let you and your little roommate get a cat, I'd need to let other tenants get cats, and I hate cats!"

Duncan knew there was no getting through to Barry with empathy. He was a cold hearted man who only cared about three things; beer, cigarettes, and money. Normally Duncan could respect that, but for once he was begging Barry just to look the other way. "Look, you know I love how you run a tip top, in shape place here. This really is the best apartment I've been in, and I'm thankful for it. But just this once, can't you-"

"She must really have a great pair of boobs if she's got you begging like this."

Duncan's face fell down into a scowl. If this wasn't his landlord he would have punched Barry straight in the jaw. However, Duncan really didn't want to be homeless. Plus he was more of an ass man,truthfully. "I'll give you an extra 200 in rent if you let us get the cat."

"Make it 250, and you got yourself a deal!" he agreed before shutting the door in Duncan's face. The tattoo artist let out a pained groan as he walked down the hallway. Why did he always sign contracts with money driven mad men?

When Duncan got back to the apartment, he was relieved to see it empty. Heather was still scheduled to be at practice for another four hours, which gave him plenty of enough time to set the surprise up. It wouldn't be too much work, but it would be worth it. Only because Heather was annoying him with her whining; that was the only reason he was doing this!

He knew it was wrong to snoop through Heather's personal paperwork that she kept in the house, but if he wanted to get anywhere, he would have to. It's not like he kept Heather's family contact information on him! His fingers danced through her tiny file cabinet of important documents until he landed on some emergency contact information, thus finding the phone number labeled 'Baba'. He pressed the numbers into his own phone and waited patiently for someone to pick up.

"Hello… hi, is this Heather's Bapa- I mean Baba?.. I'm Duncan, her roommate.. I just had a quick question about that cat of hers.."

Heather walked towards her apartment later that evening feeling more sore and dizzy than usual. They spent an entire period practicing the proper spin technique. She really needed to stop doing shows with amatures. She was thinking of how soft her awaiting bed would be while turning her key into the doorknob to go inside. The second she opened the door, a creature leaped into her arms.

The ballerina was so caught off guard that she didn't even move a muscle before feeling a cat nuzzling under her chin. She looked down and her eyes widened, "Br- Bruiser!" she exclaimed in excitement as she squeezed him up to her chest.

"Don't say I haven't done anything nice for you, Queenie," Duncan strolled into the room with a knowing smirk. He was surprised to see exactly how big Heather's smile was, it was practically trying to reach from ear to ear.

Her eyes twinkled in pure joy as the cat continued to purr in her grasp. It was clear that both the feline and the owner missed each other very much. "How?" was all she could reply, her finger stroking against Bruiser's head.

"I paid Barry a visit, then your grandpa, and took a little trip to the pet store for whatever else he needed," Duncan shrugged as if it was no biggie. It truly wasn't. He just was sick of Heather's moping, that's all!

The pair caught eyes for a moment, Heather's lips going up into a smile. It was probably the first smile that she purposely ever meant to send towards him with no malice involved. "I'm normally pretty bad at this part, but thanks or whatever." she stated before stepping forward to give him a one armed hug. she couldn't exactly embrace him with Bruiser climbing all over her– Not that she would ever want to embrace him! That would be the day that Heather would be sent to the loony bin. This was just the first time she could maturely say 'thank you' that's all.

To her own surprise, Bruiser moved to practically leap into Duncan's own arms unexpectedly. She couldn't help but blink in surprise. Bruiser hated other people! No, seriously! Bruiser was known to scratch, hiss, fight, and practically mutilate others with his claws! "Well, it's a good thing that me and this little guy will get along," Duncan said as he petted the cat gently.

Heather blinked in confusion. Out of every person that she introduced Bruiser to, this was who he could stand? The cat didn't even like Alejandro, and nearly everything liked Alejandro! "Seriously? He didn't bite you, scratch you, or even hiss at you?" Heather raised an eyebrow at him.

Duncan shook his head as he set the cat back down on the ground, watching it run off down the hallway. "No? Isn't that supposed to be a good thing."

The tiniest hint of surprise was splattered across Heather's face. Why would Bruiser like Duncan? "Well, yeah, it is a good thing. I'm just surprised. Bruiser is usually wary of others. Though I guess since he's living with you, it's for the best that you miraculously made him like you."

The tattoo artist laughed again at her as he walked towards the bathroom, "just call me the cat whisperer, then," he teased.

"Hey, wait," Heather called out to him, making him stop. "I'm serious about this, thank you. I really appreciate this a lot."

Duncan looked at her for a moment, his own lips cracking into a smile. "Maybe this means we can form a truce? I'll be a nicer roommate, no more pranks."

Heather bit on her bottom lip for a moment. Truce? Sure, she could do that. "I prefer the term alliance, but you've got yourself a deal," she smirked.

The tattoo artist let out a laugh at her response. Leave it to Heather to be a smartass during a somewhat touching moment. "It's an alliance then, and this time I won't get you shot with a tranquilizing dart," he promised before going to the bathroom. He really needed to shower.

Heather watched him walk away before heading to her bedroom. She opened the door to find Bruiser laying down gently on her pillow. The moment her head touched her pillow, her eyes felt glued shut. She desperately needed to sleep after all that practice.

Heather was once again back on the couch with Duncan. She had finally won her first game of whatever the stupid go kart game was, and was riding her victory high!

"Ha ha! I won! Suck it, loser," she cheered in his face. She sat up on her knees, celebrating her victory right in his face.

Duncan let out a laugh straight from his gut as he looked up at her. "Only because I let you," he argued while setting the controller down.

"Oh yeah, sure," Heather scoffed, putting a knee forward on the couch. However, she wasn't expecting the couch to dip as deep as it did, causing her to lose her balance. The former queen bee fell forward, right on top of Duncan. The mohawked man wasn't exactly expecting her trip either, making him fall back on the couch, with Heather laying right on his chest.

The pair of roommates stared at one another in complete silence. The weeks of building tension seem to finally bubble over as their intense gaze cuts through like a knife. Heather gives a small lick of her lips, using that as a subtle signal. Until she finally felt Duncan caress her face and bring her into a kiss.

The air seemed to leave her lungs immediately as his surprisingly soft lips met her own. She was even more surprised to find out how much she enjoyed kissing him. It was magnetic in every sense of the word. His kiss was not gentle and calculated like she was expecting. It was powerful, demanding, and able to knock Heather off of her pedestal. This was probably the first time in Heather's own life that she would allow the power to go to someone else.

Her hands ran up his body, feeling his shirt rise up and allowing her fingers to make contact with his skin. She let a gentle moan escape between her lips, encouraging Duncan to let his own sounds of passion out. Heather subconsciously pressed herself up against him, making Duncan wrap an arm around her waist to bring her closer. When did she get so desperate? This wasn't like her!

Duncans mouth finally moved from her lips to press against the pulse point on her neck. She let out a soft whine at the sensation. It had been a while since someone kissed her like this, and it felt like heaven. She felt his lips travel lower down her neck before he eventually turned the pair over for him to look down at her. Why did the sight of Duncan above her suddenly become hot?!

To Heather's surprise, Duncan leaned down and instead of going for her neck- he went for her cheek. He gave a gentle lick to the skin, over and over. It wasn't exactly hot.. at all. In fact it felt like..

"Meow."

Heather's eyes snapped open at the sound of Bruiser crying out for her. The cat continued to lick at her cheek in hopes of waking her up, and he finally succeeded.

"What the fuck," Heather mumbled to herself as she sat up. Did she just have an almost sex dream about Duncan?!

A/N: once again, thank you for even getting this far in the story! Things are really starting to steamy.

If you don't understand the beginning of the story, it was just a small head canon of mine that Heather and Duncan kissed early on during TDI. That was what I was referring to at the end of chapter 3. Now, you all can see how I imagined their first kiss went, and why Duncan suddenly stopped flirting with her so heavy past episode 1.

Come back next Monday to see how Heather deals with her crazy dream. Was it just hormones? Or could it mean more?