Noah decided to wait outside for Owen, as he didn't want to be near the kids right now. They had never seen him get that bad before or raise his voice, and he was sure that they had questions or could even be afraid of what he'd do next. He hopes that they'd forget about it, or Bethany and Joshua would talk to them. Whichever came first.

As he sat on the porch, he looked down at his outfit. He was wearing a sky blue button-up short-sleeved collared shirt that had a pocket on the right side, navy blue jeans with the pants cuffed to expose his ankles, and black converse shoes. His hair had been slicked back as to not look like he had just been sleeping before coming here. As he looked up, he saw Owen's car lights come up the driveway and walked up to the passenger door, but Owen had already started coming out of the driver's side of the car to hug Noah, grabbing him tightly.

"It's been so long, Noah! How you doing, buddy?" It was hard for him to speak coherently, as he felt like he was being squished by a whale. He quickly pinched Owen's arm, indicating he was hurting Noah, and he swiftly let go of him. "Oh, sorry about that. I'm just so excited to see you again! Can you believe we live so close and never get together?"

"Yeah. I can't believe it either." Noah said, trying to sound genuine as the two headed into the car. He looked over to what Owen was wearing and hoped he wasn't overdressed. Owen was wearing his same getup, but instead had a jean jacket over his usual Canada shirt and blue jeans. Owen started to put the car in reverse as he left the culdesac, then they were on their way.

"So, what've you been up to, buddy?" Noah looked over to Owen as he watched him focus on his driving. He hated small talk. That meant he had to lie about what he was doing, as he wasn't going to show Owen how depressed he's been.

"Just working a lot and saving up for college. The usual."

"That's great, buddy!" Noah was going to lose his mind if he heard the word "buddy" one more time. "I've been doing lots of social media work for the show, I livestream every episode. I never see you on Instagram or Twitter."

"Yeah, I'm not much of a social media person."

"Maybe one of these days we can get you an account. You've got lots of fans who ask about you." Noah faked a smile.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Owen nodded and smiled as he looked back over to the road, then Noah let out a small sigh as Owen looked away. He could tell this was going to be a long night.

/page break/

After about 15 minutes of driving, Owen and Noah finally got to the venue for the finale watch party. It was empty to guests, as the doors weren't opening for another few minutes, but when they drove by they saw a line of people anxiously waiting to get in. Some of them had on casual club wear, others were wearing Ridonculous Race shirts. He cringed, but Noah promised himself he would be good. As Noah and Owen walked in, he noticed Emma and Kitty walking up to them, and he panicked inside. What would he say to Emma? What shouldn't he say to Emma? The girls gave the two of them a hug, and Noah and Emma took a long look at each other. They hadn't spoken since the show, and their relationship was fake. He didn't know why he still felt nervous seeing her.

"Noah! So good to see you." Emma said to him. "How are you?"

"Good. Glad to be here. Excited for MacArthur and Sanders." Emma nodded, not knowing what else to say to him, either. She felt alone in the process of being 'broken up' to Noah. She wished that it wasn't scripted and that they could both say it was fake, but imagine the uproar of that.

"Noah, I-" As soon as she began to say something to him, the doors had opened, and everyone came flocking over to meet everyone and wish Sanders and MacArthur congratulations. The club lights went down, the music started blasting, and the bartenders began serving guests. Noah walked away as a fan started coming up to Emma, leaving both Emma and the fan confused, but not surprised. As he walked away, Owen came up to him with a fan.

"Noah, you free for a photo?" The fan was a girl around their age, wearing blue glasses, a green flowered cami dress and looked excited to see them. Noah nodded as she tried to keep her cool around them both.

"I've been fans of you guys since Island. I'm so glad they brought you onto Ridonculous Race. Do you think they'll make a second season?" She asked them, smiling.

"Hopefully we'll know soon, right Noah?" Owen smiled as he bumped him with his elbow.

"Yeah, I'd love to go back." Noah said as Owen readied her phone. He took a selfie, and then the two of them hugged the girl, speechless as she jumped in her place.

"Thank you!" She left them and took her phone from Owen, looking bug-eyed and bright as she walked away.

"Isn't it great to meet the fans, Noah?" Owen asked him.

"Yeah. I can't believe people like me."

"Are you kidding? People love you." Noah smiled as he thought about people out there who consider themselves fans of him, but frowned remembering that that isn't really him they like. They like his persona. They didn't know the real him and never would. Nobody would. That person died with his parents.

/page break/

It was about 1AM once people started clearing out. The bartenders were counting their tips, the bouncers were sweeping the area, and the taxis started lining up outside. MacArthur and Sanders got the bulk of the fans, as expected since they had won, but Noah and Owen got their share of people coming over and giving their best wishes. It seemed like Emma and Kitty had been on the other side of the club for the majority of the event, and Noah wondered if that was on purpose. Owen looked over to Noah as they continued to leave, saying goodbye to the other cast mates.

"Wait, we didn't say goodbye to Emma and Kitty!" He froze. Noah was hoping he'd forget.

"I haven't been able to find the-" As he said that, Emma and Kitty were suddenly behind them.

"See, here they are!" Owen said.

"We couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you guys." Kitty said.

"Good seeing you again." Owen said.

"Yeah, us too! We really had a good time. Emma was glad to get her nose out of those books for a few days. Right?" Kitty looked over to Emma, bumping her.

"Oh, yeah. It was a good time. I'm sorry we couldn't be with you two more. But you know how it goes." Emma hugged Noah goodbye as Kitty hugged Owen goodbye, then Owen and Noah switched girls. The two of them waved as they started walking out, then Owen looked over at Noah as they watched them go.

"Well, should we go, buddy?" Noah nodded as the two of them were about to exit the building, hoping this would be the last of Total Drama he'd ever have to see, but before they could go, Emma spoke up.

"Wait!" She yelled behind them. Noah turned around. "Can I talk to you, Noah? Privately?" Owen looked over at Noah, giving him the 'go ahead' signal.

"I'll go get the car from the valet." Owen said, Kitty walking away with him as the two found a quiet place to talk and sit down. Emma took a breath as she was about to say what's on her mind.

"I felt so alone when I was the only one to issue a statement. I know it wasn't a real relationship, but we had to treat it like it was, and you being silent just made people blame me for everything." Noah looked over at her as she handed him her phone. There was a screen full of hate comments to her about how she doesn't deserve someone like Noah, how she doesn't deserve love, and there were even some death threats. He didn't realize how him not having social media put her in a situation like this.

"Emma… I had no idea."

"Yeah, I know you didn't. Because you weren't there." Noah looked down, ashamed, and masking his tears.

"I didn't call you over to make you feel bad. I wanted to let you know I'm seeing someone." Noah looked up at her, surprised to hear this. This almost makes him want to come out to her, but he lets her talk. "I know our relationship was fake, but the fans don't know that. If anything comes of it and I announce our relationship, can I count on you to be stick up for me?" Noah gulped. Social media terrified him, but he felt so bad that Emma had to get all that hate.

"Yes. You can count on me." Emma smiled as they started walking out of the door. As he watched her leave, something blurted out of him.

"Gay." Emma turned around and looked at him, confused.

"What did you just say?" Noah couldn't complete his sentence. He felt permanently frozen.

"I'm." She was still confused but walked closer to him.

"Yeah?" Noah took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I'm gay. I've been gay for a long time. I've only told a few people. I'm not ready to talk more about it, but I-"

Emma stopped him and gave him a hug. This was the first time in a long time he allowed himself to be vulnerable with anyone but his sister, so he started to cry as he hugged her back. It was always so hard for him to be vulnerable ever since everything had happened, but with Emma at that moment, it was so easy. Emma let go of him, pulling a tissue out of her purse, and Noah wiped his eyes with it so it didn't look like he was crying. As soon as he threw out the tissue, they both walked over to Kitty and Owen outside in the valet parking area, who were both in Owen's car. Emma stopped him and gave him a hug. This was the first time in a long time he allowed himself to be vulnerable, so he started to cry, hugging her back. It was always so hard for him to be vulnerable ever since everything had happened, but with Emma in that moment, it was so easy. Emma let go of him, pulling a tissue out of her purse, and Noah wiped his eyes with it so it didn't look like he was crying. As soon as he threw out the tissue, they both walked over to Kitty and Owen outside in the valet parking area, who were both in Owen's car.

"Is it alright if Owen gives us a ride?" Kitty said, opening the door for her. Emma nodded and smiled as she got into the car, Noah going in the front and Emma sitting in the back, and Owen began to drive away.

As Noah walked back into the house, he noticed how quiet it was. He never went out anymore, never this late anyway, so it felt weird seeing the house like this.

He walked into his room, taking off his shoes and hanging up his clothes as he changed into a shirt and pajama bottoms, then sat down in his bed, thinking about what Owen said about him having fans. He couldn't fathom the thought of it, as he didn't even think that highly of himself. He thought about everyone, both in his life the past few days and at the after-party, who had asked him to make a social media account, but he wasn't ready for that. He got his phone and began to scroll through the internet, looking for a forum on Total Drama. He looked at some of the comments.

Totaldrama96

Omg! Amazing finale tonight! Still wish Noah and Owen had gotten farther. Love them. They balance each other out.

Owenandnoah4ever

Fuck emma, noah and owen should be together. I would die for Nowen. They're so cute!

Noah scrunched his eyebrows, confused. There were people that actually shipped him and Owen? He looked to the reply.

NocoCoconut

No way, NoCo forever. They need to reunite!

Noah scrolled away from this forum and went back to google to find a Reddit server about the series.

Tdtwerkstarz

Why would Emma throw away the game for some dick? And they didn't even stay together by the end of it. Typical man. Couldn't keep up.

His heart started to race. Is this what Emma had been going through when he wasn't on social media? Is this why they didn't see her much? He scrolled down to the replies.

Happyfopdoodle

Good for Emma. Go get that degree and be a lawyer. What's Noah doing anyway, hiding?

Observershong

noah has no personality, no character. idk what people see in him. he's just another nerdy guy who's rude to people because they think they're ~'edgy'~

Noah continued scrolling, but only skimmed keywords. People hated him. He threw his phone to the other side of the room, panicking. This was why he didn't go on social media. This is why he secluded himself, to protect him from the hatred of the real world. As he started to freak out, running his hands through his hair, he heard his phone vibrate and got up to see who it was. He sighed, as it was just Nicole.

"Hello?" He asked slowly.

"Noah?"

"...That's me."

"Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah. Busy night at that party." Noah lied.

"Oh okay. Well, I'll let you sleep and talk to you tomorrow then." Noah nodded, squeezing his hand as he talked to her.

"Goodnight. See you soon."

"Yep!" She hung up the phone, and Noah sighed loudly. Too much fibbing in one night. As he put his phone to charge and went back to his bed, he felt his eyelids begin to droop as he drifted to sleep.

A/N: HELLO! Thank you so much for sticking around with me as I took a very long, unannounced and unintentional hiatus. It's been way too long and I apologize. I have two chapters ready for you while I work on my other fanfiction, Total Drama Arts. I'm trying to make a consistent schedule so I can get both stories having a chapter out a week, I have a lot more freetime this school semester so hopefully it can happen.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good week! Thank you for your support if you've been reading since the beginning, and for those who are new, thank you so much for choosing to read this story! This is a collaboration with give-cody-a-kiss on Tumblr and was originally meant to be just a silly headcanon Tumblr post that we made together, and here we are making a whole-ass story for it! As always, please remember to review, even if it's to give me a reality check. I accept any and all critique and I'm always willing to learn from my mistakes.

~Sami