Expect the Unexpected

Chapter Five

A Walk to Remember

Heather sat outside of the cafe, drumming her fingers against her coffee cup. She hadn't gotten a chance to sleep a wink that night after that dream. She wasn't attracted to Duncan! He was gross, and annoying, and.. Duncan!!

"So, you had a sex dream about him?" Cody spoke up. The sound of his voice made Heather's attention snap back to him. She had completely forgotten for a moment that he was sitting across from her. She had been so freaked out about the situation, she went to the only friend she had that wouldn't judge her.

"That isn't that crazy though. You dancers are very close. I'm sure dancers have sex dreams about their partners all the time."

Well, he would judge her for one thing- the fact that it was Duncan. Heather made sure not to tell Cody that Duncan was the subject of her dream. So to hide that, she may have fibbed and said that it was a coworker, instead of her roommate. Both Cody and Harold, her only friends from the show, both harbored a strong dislike for the guy. It was quite understandable to Heather. Duncan picked on Harold pretty badly back on the show, and he also got to date Gwen before Cody had the chance to. Therefore, the idea of Heather having a sex dream about him would cause Cody to short circuit.

"It was an almost sex dream," she corrected him, hiding her blush behind a sip of coffee. "Bruiser woke me up before things could progress." Heather ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly feeling hot. She felt frustrated about the entire situation. Here she was, rooming with a guy she was not at all romantically inclined towards, and she was not able to understand why she suddenly would dream of such a disgusting activity.

Cody shrugged wearily as he bit at his bottom lip. He was clearly searching that big brain of his for some type of advice, but he didn't really have experience in the field of hot coworker, (well, really roommate), dreams. He was in computer restoration, it's not like any good looking people were in such a field. "I think it might just be something because of the chemistry you guys might have. The brain is a crazy place. It most likely means absolutely nothing."

Heather let out a scoff at his answer. "Trust me, there is no chemistry between me and this guy. He is a total loser." Maybe, she only had the dream due to the fact that Duncan was the first guy Heather had been around constantly since Alejandro, and Heather hadn't been laid since Alejandro left for South America. So, Duncan was an easy fill in for a fantasy. She wasn't really into casually dating, and she definitely wasn't the kind of girl who could do one night stands with strangers. Hell, Heather was super picky about her shoes and those things only ever went on her feet. Which, once again, only made the Duncan sex dream more weird.

"You say that about everyone," Cody let out a laugh as he gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Just don't worry about it. Like I said, it probably meant nothing."

It probably means nothing...

It probably means nothing…

It probably means nothing…

Heather kept chanting this to herself as she walked back to the apartment after her and Cody's coffee date had ended. She hadn't seen Duncan yet in person since her little dream. She had left early that morning just to avoid him, and was only going back home at that moment since she knew Duncan had an appointment scheduled to tattoo someone.

Then to her surprise, she opened the door to find Duncan laying across the couch with his sketch pad in his lap. "Hey," he called out, not even looking away from his sketch.

Heather played it cool as well as she could. She set her purse down on the counter before walking over to the kitchen. She was trying to act normal as she looked at Duncan stretching himself out on the couch; the very couch she dreamed that they had– no! "What are you doing here? I thought you had work."

"I did, but the guy called me earlier this morning and told me he had to cancel. His wife went into labor, and kids kinda go above tattoos," he explained, glancing at her for a brief moment. He shut his sketch pad lightly,seemingly finished with whatever it was that he was drawing. The former punk laid out against the edge of the couch with a groan. "Hey," he called out to her, "you have any plans tonight?"

Heather paused in the kitchen at his sudden question. "Uh, not really. I was probably just going to watch a movie or something."

Duncan scoffed at the very idea. He stood from the couch and walked towards the kitchen. He leaned against the door frame as he watched her heat up whatever meal she was cooking in the microwave. "Since when did the great Heather spend a night in doors? I thought you were so popular," he teased her.

"My goodness! Will anyone ever let that stupid line go?" Heather rolled her eyes. She leaned forward to let her elbows rest on the kitchen counter, finally looking over at him. "Also, please keep in mind that I only moved here a while ago. It's not exactly easy making friends when you are known internationally as a bitch for most of your life, especially in a new city."

Duncan once again let out a laugh at her words. He wished he could have had a good reason for always finding Heather so funny. It was most likely that her outspoken and brash nature was very similar to his own, but he always found himself letting out a laugh whenever she got sour with him. "Well, since Ms. Popular is free tonight, why don't you come with me and get some drinks?"

Her head snapped towards him right as the microwave went off to alert her that her food was ready. "Drinks? Me and you?" she basically repeated to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well not just the two of us; Dj, Geoff, and Bridgette are also going."

Heather knew Duncan was still very good friends with Dj and Geoff; some would even say they were best friends. Then, as his roommate, it would have been only logical for her to know that she would have to deal with those two former boys, and one's girlfriend, by default. "And you want me to go because.."

"Well, Geoff and Bridgette usually like to make out on whatever couch is available. DJ likes to pretend that he's drinking-"

Heather held a hand up to stop him right there. "Pretend that he's drinking?"

Duncan let out a sigh, knowing he would have to explain this. "He doesn't like the taste of alcohol and he gets scared of ever possibly being drunk. He said it had something to do with promising his mom he wouldn't do it when he was younger, and not wanting to break it."

"Sounds silly," Heather scoffed.

"It is," Duncan agreed, "but it's Deej, and he still wants to go out. So, he just orders shots of water for himself and we have to pretend that we don't notice. Then, he gets tired and goes home early. Which means, I'll need a real partner to drink with."

Heather stared at him for a moment. She knew her dream meant nothing, but it didn't sound like a good idea to be potentially getting wasted with a man she just had a sex dream about– well, an almost sex dream. "What's in it for me?"

"Since you bought last time, I'll buy this time," Duncan promised, " It'll basically be like an open bar for you. Plus I know you aren't scheduled for practice tomorrow anyhow, so don't use that as an excuse."

She pursed her lips in thought. She already knew her answer, but she enjoyed making him wait a moment. "Fine. I'll go to whatever stupid club this is. That is, if you pay for my drinks and if you help me give Bruiser a bath right now. I doubt my parents did it the entire time I was gone and he desperately needs one."

Duncan let out a groan at her offer. How did she always manage to get extra things out of him? "Deal. I'll go start up the tub and you wrangle him up."

Heather let out a smug smile at his agreement. "Thanks roomie," she teasingly called out to him before going to grab Bruiser.

Soon enough, the two dark haired young adults were in the bathroom, wrestling down a very agitated and very slippery wet cat. "Wait- watch his tail!" Heather warned Duncan, watching her old, yet sadly still pretty agile, cat squirm around.

"I'm watching it!" Duncan shouted back right as Bruiser slipped from his grasp. The cat began to splash the water around, soaking up the floor.

"Hold on- I almost got him!"

"Ouch stupid ca-"

"Don't say that! You'll hurt his feelings!"

"Hurt his feelings? Heather, my limited edition Led Zeppelin shirt is soaked!"

"Well, it's hideous anyway. So, he's really doing you a favor."

"Hideous? It is not- AH!"

At that, Duncan slipped on the puddle by his foot, making him fall right into the tub as Bruiser jumped out.

Heather stopped dead in her tracks as she looked down at Duncan sitting in what was once supposed to be her cat's bath. She placed a hand over her mouth before she let out a strained laugh. She was desperately trying to contain her laughter, but looking down at him simply broke her.

"You think this is funny?" Duncan growled at her, holding back his own smirk. As mad as he wanted to be, he knew the situation was comical.

She once again laughed at his expense. She tried to shake her head no, but they both knew it was a lie. "I-I'm sorry. But.. you just look really stupid," she continued, clutching her stomach.

Duncan nodded his head slowly in thought. He looked away from Heather for a moment, before suddenly grabbing her wrist. She immediately tried to pull away, but Duncan was stronger than her. With a pull forward, he pulled Heather into the tub right along with him, only soaking both her and more of their floor as she splashed.

"You're right," he chuckled, looking at her, "it is funny."

She slapped his shoulder gently. "You idiot! What's the point of us both being wet?! Now my hair is ruined!" As mad as she wanted to be, it was quite hard to be upset when she had to look at that goofy grin on his face. He looked ridiculous!

"Now we're even," he replied, "Your cat caused this, so you have to live with the consequences."

Heather gave a small scoff at his rebuttal. She shook her head for a moment before looking back at him, "should we find him and try bathing him again, or should we just let him win this round?"

"Well, I wouldn't be opposed to giving up and ordering lunch from somewhere. But he does need the bath, and if he doesn't get it today I don't know if I'll ever want to do it." Duncan answered.

"Well, well, well," Heather folded her arms over her chest as she smirked at him, "look at who is becoming a responsible cat owner."

"Oh, shut up, Queenie."

After fighting Bruiser once again, the pair eventually was able to finish his bath. Surprisingly, team work really did make the job go by way easier. Aftwards, they were able to chill at the house for the rest of the evening til it was time to get dressed for their night out.

When Heather finished getting ready, she exited her room in a pair of black leather, straight legged pants and a brown corset top. She walked out to the living room, to which she found Duncan in just some regular dark blue jeans and an open black button-up shirt exposing a white t-shirt underneath.

"Seriously? Is everything you own black?" Heather asked while grabbing her black, alligator skin mini purse. Despite her remark, her tone was quite light and Duncan could tell she was just teasing.

"Well, you sure like to wear a lot of leather. So are you really one to talk about this?" he snickered.

She turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing, Queenie, nothing at all. Just that on our last going out adventure,you wore leather. Then, here we are tonight–you are wearing leather. Someone might say you might have a thing for–"

"Ew. Stop," she cut him off, "don't even finish that. I do not have whatever joke you're about to say. So, don't even try to finish it. That is, unless you want to go out alone tonight."

"I'm teasing and you know it," he shook his head, "so, don't even try to get out of this. I helped bathe your cat for you."

"Which I am oh so thankful for," she sarcastically joked with him.

Duncan just rolled his eyes before pushing her gently towards the door. "Whatever, just get your butt in that elevator so we aren't late."

The club was fairly close by, so to save a couple extra bucks, the pair decided to walk. "I can't believe Geoff actually gets to party for a living now,'' Heather shook her head as they walked across a crosswalk.

"Hey, I have to hand it to the guy," Duncan shrugged, "he found something he was good at and found a way to make a career out of it."

"The life of a club promoter," Heather chuckled. "How glamorous."

"It does get us into the V.I.P section. Maybe we can be a little grateful for whatever idiot decided to hire him just to take his shirt off and fistpump." Duncan jokes.

"You didn't tell me we can get into the V.I.P," she said as she turned to look at him. "You forgot to mention that nugget of information."

"Well I was going to surprise you with that," Duncan shrugged. "Y'know, to show you that I actually can get us into places."

Heather let out a hum at that. "You did get us out of the line at the other club the other night, that was oddly cool."

"Listen, Queenie," Duncan pulled her closer by letting an arm go around her shoulder. "When you hang out with the best tattoo artist in the city, you get a few perks." To which, Heather held back a small chuckle at his boasting.

It was strange how easily the pair seemed to be getting along these days. Only a week ago they were battling it out to see who could outdo and out last the other. Now, they were in the secluded section of the V.I.P balcony pointing and laughing at the people down below.

If Duncan was to be honest with himself, he had never really truly hated Heather. Even back when most of the cast was against her, he'd held an underlying respect for her. She was who she was. Heather was no wolf in sheep's clothing; she was a wolf, and she always let people know it was her whenever she decided to strike. He respected her hustle and game, even when it would end up burning him.

Heather had carried around the same level of admiration for him. She said it herself on the show; he was sketchy, manipulative, and completely unpredictable. She liked that about him. It also helped that whenever other players were being dorks she could have someone to laugh at them with. Sure, he was just as big of a loser and a creep as the rest, but at least he could crack a funny insult.

Currently, the pair were doing just that– making fun of others. They stood on top of the roped off balcony, pointing down at the people in the crowd. Whenever Heather saw a good target of ridicule Duncan would have to drink, and vice versa. It was a fun little game that kept them pretty entertained throughout the night. Though, it did make it easy to go through the drinks since there were just so many people to make fun of.

"Okay, two o'clock," Duncan pointed. "Guy in the polo is aggressively fist bumping way too hard to impress that chick."

Heather turned her head and had to let her body cringe. "Oh my god, he is totally freaking her out." The roommates watched in pity as the man began to freak out his intended girl for the night as she backed away from his rough moves. For that, Heather had to take a sip.

"Oh wait– wait. Look to the left of the DJ booth. That chick is totally about to faceplant."

"No way," Duncan shook his head as he watched the new target.

"I would bet tomorrow night's dinner on it that she does," Heather upped the stakes, knowing it was supposed to be Duncan's turn to pick.

"There is no way. That chick is drunk but stable," Duncan rebuffed. "You're on."

The pair watched like hawks as the girl danced like crazy next to the DJ booth. Til suddenly, she went tumbling down and did indeed fall face first onto the floor.

"Yes! In your face!" Heather cheered. "Drink up! Drink up for me, loser." She did a little bounce of excitement due to winning, nudging him with her elbow.

Duncan groaned irritably before bringing his glass up to lips. "Damn it! I had so much faith in her. How did you know?"

Heather looked back at the girl, "her heels are way too skinny to support that much alcohol. I know one of those things just totally broke and she'll be going barefoot.. now." Right on cue, the drunk girl got up and had to completely take her shoes off, showing off a broken heel. "And due to that loss we will be having Moe's tacos for dinner."

"Ah. The old skinny heel.." he shook his head solemnly. "Gets me every time."

"Hey guys," Geoff slowly approached them both. "Me and Bridge are gonna go. My hosting time is about up and it's time for the other guy. Is it cool with you guys if DJ takes us? Me and Bridge are way too drunk to drive, and you know I'm banned from Uber."

Heather sent Duncan a questioning glance at the last statement, but he sent her a face back that let her know he would tell her the story later. "Sure dude," Duncan nodded. "That's cool. You guys be safe, and thanks again for inviting us." The two bros dapped one another up before they separated. Bridgette and DJ also said goodbye, and Heather was quite surprised that they also said goodbye to her. Was she on friendly terms with these people? Ew.

Duncan and Heather stayed for about an hour after that, continuing their game and enjoying one another's company. It wasn't until two in the morning did they both decide it might be best to hit the road. So there they were, two former contestants walking back down the street.

"Ugh. I am never letting you convince me to take a jäger shot ever again!" Heather poked him harshly in his chest as they walked, "it was disgusting." She swayed to the side a bit, letting all of her drinks finally catch up to her as the cool night air hit in the face.

"Whoa there." Duncan grabbed her by the arm to stabilize her. "Careful, Queenie. I can't have you getting injured and not able to help pay rent." He let out a smirk as she rolled her eyes at his joke. "Here," he paused and turned around to get into position for him to give a piggyback ride, "you're swaying a bit so get up."

"You sure?" she questioned. She looked at him hesitantly. It's just a few more blocks away."

"I'm sure it'll be faster this way than having to watch you stumble," he reassured her. "Trust me, Queenie."

Heather looked at him hesitantly for a moment. But hey, the idea of having to walk home in these heels was enough to convince her to hop on. She got on his back, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and off they went.

"Duncan?" she said out loud after a few moments of walking in silence "Can I ask you something?"

"Isn't that technically a question in itself?" he pointed out, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Ew. That was the dorkiest and corniest joke ever. Please don't ever do that in my presence again, or I swear I'll move out," she threatened lightly.

"Okay, okay. You're one hard lady to please," he shook his head. "But fine, what's your question?"

"Would it be weird to say.." she trailed off for a moment to think. "That we're kinda like.. friends or something?"

Duncan pursed his lips at the idea. "Huh. You're right. I guess we have become friends."

"I know! Totally weird," she agreed, shaking her head.

"I can't say I'm surprised. I always thought of you as an entertaining chick back in the day," he admitted to her, hoisting her back up further to get a better grip. "I'm not hard-pressed to call you my friend."

"You're not?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "For some reason, I like you. Even though you can be a giant pain in my ass. You always hog the bathroom. And you know, you can talk real loudly in your sleep--"

"Okay I get it!" She interrupted him, "I'm annoying."

"Yeah, you are, but I like hanging out with you. You're a lot more fun than I thought you would be. You're pretty cool, Heather."

The former queen bee held back a small smile at the compliment. "Well, I guess you aren't as big of a smelly neanderthal as I thought either. I like hanging out with you too."

The pair walked in a comfortable silence til they got back to their apartment. Only when they walked into their home, did Duncan let Heather go.

"Night, Heather," he waved as he watched her carefully walk into her own room.

"Night, Duncan," she responded, shutting the door to her room once inside.

Maybe Cody was right; her dream didn't mean a thing at all. It was just her brain's way of mixing up what they really were– friends.

Because that is all they were... friends.

A/N: Hmm.. idk Heather. Did the dream really mean nothing? What do you think? We're five chapters in and they only just admitted to being friends. So, yes, this will indeed be a slow burn.

Feel free to leave a review! See you all next Monday.