She had a lot to be grateful for. As the next few days after the trip would play out, she'd develop a new layer of comfort in her friendship with Cody. He had never stopped meaning the world to her but her view of him changed drastically. He kept Sierra afloat for so long, but now he was keeping her in check as well as she worked on focusing on her own life. Her joy for him only would get better as she'd get an offer she never expected to receive.

"We can sit downstairs if you'd like."

And for the next few days they ate together, laughed together and spent time together in the common area of the house… despite the short glances they'd receive. As they sat together on the sofa on a warm spring morning, she laid her head in his lap. He looked down at her. The thought of what happened at the campsite still polluted his mind. Everything she had confided in him hasn't been mentioned since that night but continued to weigh him down. It eased him to see her happy. Happy with the reality that they were living in together.

She laid in his lap as he held the remote to the large television and scrolled through the programs. A familiar name came up that caused him to freeze. Total Drama: World Tour. As he trembled with the remote, she lifted her head up and looked at him. It was no secret that Total Drama was her favorite show. As much as she would've liked to watch, she dreaded watching any of it with him. She wanted him to move on so badly but a part of her knew. She knew that if he saw what happened back on the plane that old feelings could come flooding back again

She sighed, "Why don't we just go back upstairs." He smiled and went with her into the room. He wanted to be a good confidant to Sierra. He couldn't understand why this was all messing with his head. The thought back to the night they spent together kept making circles in his head. He became so close to her, it felt unreal. He hesitated before sitting next to her on the bed in the more than familiar room.

"I know something is bothering you…"

He stuttered, "Wh-what do you mean?" All this time she spent sharing her feelings with him, she never knew what exactly he was feeling. It was clear to her that he was still not being honest with her.

"I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I've been honest with you." It never really dawned on him that she'd spend a lot of time talking about her feelings but he wouldn't do the same. It never was a very 'manly' or 'cool' thing to do to open up about emotions. But… he didn't want to feel like her therapist at the end of the day. She was more to him than just a patient. But he always felt like he needed an understanding to her behavior. Now that he had one, he wasn't sure how to feel.

"I just…" he hesitated, "I just don't know how honest I've been with myself. Or that I've haven't been acting like myself."

She looked down and smiled, "You've never acted like yourself. You always acted like you'd fit in with the others. Like Trent, or Duncan, or Geoff. You were never honest with yourself about it. Are you acting like yourself now for the first time?" There were times like this when Cody would forget. Sierra truly loved him. And she was someone who knew more about him than he even did. She'd be the one to know about all the days he spent at school, befriending those who made him look better by comparison. She understood him.

She continued, "You know, I think I liked you more than the others because of it. I kinda feel the same way." He remembered the blogs and the way they made her feel. It was the only thing that made her fit in and gave her false confidence in herself. The stars aligned in his mind as he realized that he was meant to meet her for a reason. As it looked like she'd be the only person that'd understand him, he became the only person in her life that understood her struggles.

"I think hearing your story made me realize that…" He watched her as she stretched out on the bed and looked up at him. It was clear to Cody that he'd never had a friendship like the one he's created with her. A friendship that meant more to him than any other. As he thought about their relationship, he remembered the night at the campsite again. How important it was that he helped her cope in a way her fantasies couldn't. He felt weakened by his own bad decisions and his lack of maturity in the situation. No 17-year-old would really know how to solve a problem like this, but he knew it wasn't one Sierra could solve alone.

He sighed, "After hearing about everything with your parents… I just feel bad. Like I contributed to your problem." It was clear to her that the problem was mutual. As he carried the weight of her recovery, she carried the weight of guilt. He didn't deserve to get dragged into this, did he? But she knew that no other person in her life could understand her as much as he could.

"It's not your fault... I was projecting and you didn't deserve that. I guess I just wanted what they didn't have."

"No, you wern-" He caught himself as he remembered going to Niagara Falls with Chris and the others. He looked at Sierra as he remembered how much the whole wedding theme meant to her. The marriage of her own parents had fallen to pieces… maybe she was projecting onto him. As annoying as it was to him at the time, he never realized how touchy the subject was to her. She wanted something she was never able to get from anyone else.

"Is that why you wanted to get married so badly? I know you wanted a perfect marriage and I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you."

She laughed, "I don't care about that anymore. I think you just made me really happy. Before we met. I thought it'd be the same way on the show but it wasn't." Her being happy has always been Cody's goal. He helped her sit up before pulling her into an embrace. He wasn't able to think. It was the story of the girl that stalked him of all things. He never once considered what was going through her head while they were on the plane. Now… he couldn't stop thinking about it. How badly was she really broken up every time he'd cast a vote against her? Was she tearing herself up inside when he'd say harsh things to her or make cold gestures? It'd been on his mind for days.

He let go of her and stood up off the bed, "Let's not worry about it right now. We can go back downstairs if you want." She smiled and followed him down the staircase. The two of them spent most days together just to enjoy each other's company. She found a new layer of comfort in their friendship as they were both bearing the weight of the struggle Sierra had found herself in. While she knew that she needed to better herself alone, it calmed her that she had him to support her and understand her. She loved their friendship. She loved it more than she loved him as a celebrity.

As the sun started to set, Cody sluggishly walked into his own room and sat on the bed. His heart pulsated heavily as he sat in the silence of his thoughts. The more he thought about Sierra the more he knew he'd be second-guessing himself. It wasn't an easy choice. The silence faded as his mind would loop through everything that's happened. He thought about the girl he'd met on the plane. Stealing his toothbrush and underwear, touching his feet while he slept and making assumptions that they were married when it discomforted him. Then he thought about the girl he'd met at the other end of the hallway. How she'd lay with him in the warm breeze, how she'd talk very openly with him and how she made an effort to understand and respect him. He was almost in disbelief with his own opinions.

He stayed hunkered in his own room until the night settled in. A simple piece of notebook paper he tore loosely from a spiral-bound book would hold him up for hours. It was one sentence written at the top that made him question everything he ever knew about himself. He spent all this time wondering what to write after it but he realized that it was all he really wanted to say in that moment. His door creaked slowly as he snuck into the hallway and wandered to the door on the other side. It tensed him that she was only meters away and that the faint light of her computer shined through the edges of the door. He exhaled quietly before slipping the note under the crack of the door and hurrying back to his side of the hallway. The sound of the door to that little room opening and closing shortly after made him realize there was no turning back anymore.

"I think I love you…"