A/N- Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with me this far. I honestly didn't think a lot of people would read this story because it's pretty niche so thanks!
Chapter Thirteen
After the Heroes and Villains gathered around the Spa Hotel, both teams followed Chris down to the beach, waiting to hear his announcement. Duncan joined the other Heroes.
"Hey," Zoey whispered to Duncan. "What did he want?"
Chris was really freaking out earlier…
"Ah, nothing," Duncan shrugged.
"Really? You were gone for a long time…"
"Yeah, we went on a walk."
"What?" Cameron stepped in. "Like, for fun?"
"Yeah, it wasn't that interesting. Oh, hey Courtney!" Duncan watched as his friend walked over.
"So help me God, if we're not in the Spa Hotel tonight," she stopped to yawn, "I'll flip my shit."
"First day without Alejandro, how are we all doing?" Gwen walked over.
"I miss him already," Duncan sighed.
"Don't we all?"
They sure talk about him a lot… Why do they all miss him? After he said all that terrible stuff to Mike?
"How's Heather holding up?" Zoey asked. "Is she still upset?"
"Nah," Gwen dismissed her concerns. "She'll get over it."
"Alright, campers!" Chris stopped walking and clapped his hands together. "Today, we'll be- wait, who's supposed to come back from Boney Island?"
"Uh," Cameron looked around. "I don't think anybody went last night."
"Damnit, really?" Chris sighed. "I guess I got too caught up in the chaos of the elimination ceremony to send anyone over. Well, you guys are off the hook this time. As I was saying… Good morning campers! First, I want to say that the McLean Brand Immunity Statue is still located on this island! C'mon guys, pick up the search efforts! Anyways, today you will be competing in a boxing match!" He gestured to a large boxing ring near the edge of the forest. "Isn't that exciting?" Both teams crowded around the border of the ring.
"Oh, no," Cameron whimpered.
"We just have to box someone?" Scott crossed his arms. "That doesn't sound too bad."
"Oh?" Chris smiled. "Then how about I increase the difficulty?"
"Scott!" Heather turned on him. "Why do you always do that?"
"I don't know!" He put his hands up. "I really have to keep my mouth shut."
"In this challenge, you will all be fighting against a random opponent on this wheel!" Chris gestured to a large wheel next to the boxing ring. "We'll spin the wheel, and you have to fight whatever it lands on!"
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Cameron was starting to panic.
Yeah, me too buddy.
"So!" Chris beamed. "Who wants to go first?"
"We'll go!" Heather spoke instantly.
"Great!"
"Alright," Heather faced her team. "Who's going up there?"
"What? Aren't you going?" Gwen glared at her.
"Why would I go up there? I don't want to box anyone. Sounds dangerous."
"I think Scott should go," Courtney decided.
"Good idea," Gwen voiced her approval.
"What!" Scott whined. "I'm not going."
"Let's have a vote," Heather declared. "Everyone who wants Scott to go, raise your hands."
Every contestant on the Villain team except Scott raised their hands.
"Majority rules," Heather smiled. "Scott, get up there."
"Oh, fine," he grumbled. "But if I die, it's on you."
"Have fun!" She waved at him as he climbed into the ring and put on a pair of boxing gloves.
"Alright, Chef!" Chris announced. Chef appeared from behind the wheel. "Spin it!"
The dial landed on the outline of a shark.
"And, that's a shark!" Chris smiled.
"No. No, no, no, I'm not doing this-"
"If you forfeit, that's an automatic loss for your team!"
"Scott, don't you fucking dare," Heather seethed at him.
"Chef, release the shark!"
A small piece of the boxing ring was removed to reveal a shark wearing boxing gloves.
"Fang," Zoey gasped upon seeing the creature.
"What is that?" Duncan asked her.
"This shark that Scott hates," Zoey explained.
"I see. Well, good luck to him."
"And begin!" Chris announced.
"Oh, um, good shark… Good Fang…" Scott cowered in the corner of the ring.
Yeah, he's fucked.
Fang took the opportunity to punch Scott as hard as possible, sending him flying out of the ring.
"And the Villains lose!"
"I'll go check on him," Courtney sighed and jogged over to Scott, who was lying in the sand.
"Alright Heroes, send up a contestant!"
"I'll do it!" Sierra yelled. "I'll do anything to protect Cody Junior!"
Duncan noticed that she had brought the mutant rat with her.
"God, she couldn't leave that thing behind?" He whispered to Zoey.
"Tell me about it."
"Alright, Sierra! Come on up!"
"Oh, Zoey," Sierra turned to her teammate. "You'll look out for Cody Junior, won't you?"
"I mean, I'd rather not-"
"Great!" Sierra plopped the creature into Zoey's arms. "Chris, I'm ready!" Sierra climbed into the ring and put on the gloves.
Those things must be so sweaty…
"Oh God, ew…" Zoey grimaced as Cody Junior squirmed in her arms.
"Here, I'll take him," Mike offered.
"Oh, thank you," Zoey handed Cody Junior over.
"Chef, spin the wheel!" Chris yelled. Chef spun the wheel, which landed on the outline of a large rat.
"No!" Sierra gasped. "Not Cody Junior!"
"How about Cody Junior's mother!" Chris smiled with glee as a large rat appeared onstage. The rat screeched at her.
"Hey, back off bitch!" Sierra screamed. "Cody Junior is mine!" She ran towards the rodent.
"Aww," Scott complained as he limped back to the other contestants, Courtney walking beside him. "Why didn't I get this one? I can kill a rat. That's what I did in my audition tape!"
"Really?" Gwen wrinkled her nose. "That's what you did for your audition? Killed rats?"
"Well, yeah," Scott shrugged. "Why, what'd you do?"
"God, it was so cringey," Gwen winced. "Some whole goth art mess."
"You think that's bad?" Courtney added. "I remixed my speech with the speech I used to run for class president. Vomit."
Nobody was paying attention to Sierra, who was suffering a brutal beatdown from Cody Junior Senior.
"If it helps, mine was also pretty bad," Cameron sighed. "It was when I was still in the bubble."
"Jeez, do I want to know what that is?" Gwen stared at him. "Wait, Duncan, yours was pretty good."
"Considering I had no props and no computer, I have to pat myself on the back."
"For mine, I just listed off things I liked," Zoey explained, "and I have no idea why."
"What kinds of things?" Courtney asked.
"I'll never forget, it's so embarrassing- 'indie theaters and horn-rimmed glasses.'"
"What's an 'indie theater?'" Courtney asked.
"Honestly? I couldn't tell you. Hey, Mike, what was on your audition tape?" She asked her boyfriend. "I don't think I've ever asked you about it."
"My audition tape?" He tilted his head.
"Yeah, you know, the video you sent in."
Actually, I don't think he auditioned. I think Chris just brought him here directly. He probably doesn't have a tape. He can't say that, of course- it will lead to more questions.
"The video…" he trailed off.
Does he not know what I'm talking about?
"Dude. The audition you made to get on this show," Gwen looked at him.
He might not even know how the audition process works… I don't think I explained it to him back in the day.
"Oh… oh, right! Yeah, I don't really remember it, to be honest," he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Seriously?" Gwen quirked an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"
"It was kind of a chaotic time, to be honest," he wrung his hands together. "Lots of stuff going on."
I put a lot of effort into mine, it must have taken me hours… I can't imagine forgetting it...
"Ahh!" Sierra shrieked as she was slammed into a wall.
"And, Sierra's out!" Chris announced. She left the ring as quickly as possible, tossing the gloves on the ground.
"Oh, Cody Junior!" She scooped up the rodent out of Mike's arms. "I'm so sorry I couldn't kill your mother…"
"Are you alright, Sierra?" Zoey looked at her teammate, who was covered in bruises.
"I'm alright… but when I was there, in the ring, I did some thinking…"
"Oh?"
"Cammy-bear," she grabbed onto him with her free arm, "I need to end things between us."
"Uh, were there 'things?'" He asked.
"I'm so sorry, but life is short, and I need to spend it looking after Cody Junior."
"Oh. That's fine."
"I'm sorry it had to be like this!" She wailed.
"Really, it's ok…" Cameron struggled to escape her grasp.
"Villains! Send someone up!" Chris ordered.
"Fine, I'll go," Heather grumbled as she climbed inside the ring. She put on the gloves. "Gross, these are so sweaty…"
"Alright, Chef, spin the wheel!"
The dial landed on the outline of a man.
"What, so I just have to fight some guy?" Heather appeared unbothered. "No problem."
"Not just any guy!" A voice echoed from nearby.
"No way!" Heather gasped.
"Yep!" A boy appeared onstage. "It's me!"
"Damien!" She shrieked. "What are you doing here?"
"Chris told me to come on the show," he smiled.
"Chris! You brought my brother here?"
"Indeed I did!"
"Sorry to interrupt," Scott jumped in, "but what's so bad about your brother? He looks like a little kid."
"Yeah?" Damien turned on him. "And you look like a little bitch!"
"Oh my God," Scott recoiled.
"Damien is such a jerk," Heather seethed. "He put glue in my shampoo, and he told everyone at school that I had bacne."
"Do you?" Courtney asked.
"That doesn't matter, Courtney!"
"Sorry, how old is this kid?" Gwen asked.
"I'm thirteen, so I'm not a kid! I'm a teenager now."
"Oh, I see. Sorry about that."
"Now, are we gonna fight or what?" He pounded his gloves together and faced his sister.
"God, I hate teenage boys," Gwen shuddered.
"Right there with you," Courtney sighed.
"This kid is a demon," Duncan crossed his arms.
"Aw, I don't know," Zoey was standing next to him. "He's kind of cute."
"Did you just say I was cute?" Damien glared at her. "Careful, wouldn't want your boyfriend to get jealous," he gestured to Mike.
"Well, I don't think-"
"Mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah," Damien mimicked making out with someone.
Classy.
"Chris…can you just start the fight?" Mike looked intensely uncomfortable.
"He just wants attention," Zoey tried to gather herself together.
"Alright, that's enough," Chris decided. "Ready? And… begin!"
"C'mon, Heather! Hit me! Hit me! You can't catch me!" Damien started running in circles.
"Chris, I can't beat up my kid brother on TV," Heather looked unimpressed at Damien's antics.
"Heather, we have to win!" Courtney insisted.
"Fine, then you punch a thirteen-year-old and see what happens."
"Ooh! She got you! She got you so good!" Damien cheered. "She got you-"
"Shut up, Damien," Heather glared at him.
"Well, someone has to fight him," Courtney declared. "Who wants to do it?"
"No thanks," Zoey looked apprehensively at the boxing ring.
"Duncan?"
"Hard pass."
"What, that guy? He couldn't take me in a fight," Damien squealed.
"I'm pretty sure I could. You're pretty small," Duncan observed.
"No! No I'm not! You're small, and you have weird hair!"
"Yeah, that's a thirteen year old boy, alright."
And I hate him.
"Heather, just pin him down," Gwen pleaded.
"Ooh! You're cute," Damien announced. "I would fight- oof!"
Heather had pushed him onto the ground, where she pinned him down.
"Help! Help! Assault! Assault!" Damien shrieked.
"And, Heather wins it!" Chris announced. "One point for the Villains!"
"Awe," Damien complained. "Fine."
Heather let her brother go. He quickly scampered out of the boxing ring, humiliated by his defeat.
"Nice job, Heather!" Gwen smiled.
"Yeah, thanks," she dusted herself off.
"Hey, Gwen, looks like someone has a crush on you," Duncan smiled.
"Great, looks like all hope isn't lost. Sorry about your weird hair, by the way."
"Thanks. I'm sure I'll make it through."
"I can't imagine Chris bringing my brother here… Actually, I can't imagine him bringing your brothers here."
"Let's be thankful they're not, how about that?"
Thank God I'm an only child…
"Alright, Heroes! Send up your next contestant!"
"Wait!" Cameron interrupted. "Doesn't anybody find it weird that everyone has had such personal opponents?"
"Yeah, that is weird," Heather agreed.
"Who cares, just send up a contestant!"
"I'll go," Mike shrugged.
"Alright!" Chris grinned. "Chef, spin the wheel!"
A shower of sparks erupted from the wheel.
"Huh… that's not supposed to happen," Chris observed.
"Yeah, weird…" Mike smiled. He stepped into the ring.
"Certainly is…" Chris murmured. "Alright, you will be fighting… a spider?"
"An Izzy spider!" Someone shrieked. Izzy, dressed in a giant spider costume, appeared in the ring.
"But Mike isn't scared of spiders," Zoey noticed.
"No, but I am," Cameron whimpered.
"It looks like everyone's opponents have been scrambled…"
"Alright, look," Chris clapped his hands. "To be honest, Cameron was supposed to fight Izzy and lose right away. So Mike, if you want to forfeit this one, I get it. I don't think anybody can actually fight her and win."
"Haha!" Izzy shriek-laughed.
"If he forfeits, we lose," Cameron observed. "Since Sierra already lost, I'll probably lose, and Duncan…well, he'll also probably lose. Sorry."
"It's fine," he shrugged. "That's statistics."
"You can do it, Mike!" Zoey cheered.
I don't think he can. Nobody can.
He stared at Izzy in apprehension, then sighed.
"Fine…Fine. But don't screw this up."
"Who's he talking to?" Heather asked.
Oh, no way.
Mike took off his shirt.
Should I look away? No, that would be weird. I can look respectfully.
"Shit, he's shredded," Gwen whispered.
"Hey, yo, woah! What's goin' on here?" Vito put up his hands as he tried to get a grasp on his surroundings.
"It's a boxing match," Cameron explained matter-of-factly. "You need to fight Izzy. The spider girl."
"Woah, what! You want me to punch a chick? That's messed up bro."
"It's not like that," Cameron sighed. "It's for a challenge. Alright?"
"Is this true?" Vito asked Duncan, who was standing next to Cameron.
"Um," Duncan faltered, "Yeah, don't worry."
"Alright!" Vito decided. "I'll do it."
Izzy started to laugh maniacally.
"Are you sure, dude?" Chris asked him. Vito pulled on the boxing gloves.
"I'm sure!" He pounded his gloves together. "Andiamo!"
Zoey watched this display with a nervous look on her face.
I don't know if this is a good idea, I don't want Vito to get hurt…But he doesn't often listen to reason.
"Alright, begin!"
Izzy lunged towards him. Vito grabbed one of her spider legs, twisting her out of the way.
"Come on, is that all you got- oof!" She kicked him in the stomach.
"Hehe, that wasn't hard!" She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Oh, you-"
He swung for her again. The two exchanged a series of blows, none of which seemed to bother Izzy.
"Jeez," she slapped Vito across the face with one of spider legs. "I thought you'd be better at this."
"Yeah, well," he huffed. "I don't fight spiders very often." He stepped forward, but she swept the ground with her legs, sending him towards the ground. "Oof!"
"C'mon, Vito! You can do it!" Zoey cheered.
"Yeah, I don't know about that," Gwen winced.
Vito dragged himself off the floor. He managed to land a hit on Izzy, but she only laughed.
"Aw, come on! That had to hurt." Vito was in disbelief.
"Eh, not really!" She smiled.
"Do you think," Gwen whispered to Duncan, who was standing next to her, "that she likes this?"
"Oh, like a sexual thing?"
"Yeah."
"I've never considered that… but it appears to be the case."
"Is that all you got? Hah!" Izzy dodged a punch. Vito looked like he was about to collapse.
"Alright, I'm tappin' out," he decided.
"Giving up that easy?" Izzy grinned.
"How are you so good at this?"
I want him to win, but he looks exhausted…
"Chris, can he at least take a break?" Zoey asked.
"Hmm…" Chris surveyed the situation. "Fine. He gets five minutes."
"What!" Heather was outraged. "Since when do we get breaks?"
"Since I said so. To be honest, I didn't think he'd last this long…I want to see where this goes."
"Bullshit," Heather muttered. "You can't change the rules at the last second."
"When you're the host, you can do whatever you want. Vito, take five."
"Oh, thank God," he collapsed on the floor of the boxing ring.
"Vito!" Zoey rushed over to him, standing at the outside of the ring. "Are you alright?"
"Wha…" he huffed. "Yeah… I'm good." He was lying on his back.
"Do you think you can keep going?"
"Dunno… jeez, that chick is strong."
"Tell him he has to keep going!" Cameron hissed.
Easy for you to say…
"Look, um, Vito?"
"Yeah?"
"You need to keep going… please. If that's ok. Unless you're tired, then don't worry about it."
"Why?"
"We need to win the challenge."
"Yeah, no way," he sat up. "That spider girl's out of her mind."
"But the team," Cameron jumped in. "We have to-"
"Non me ne importa un cavolo, yeah? I'm outta here!" He stood up.
I don't know what else to do… I can't make him fight. It's dangerous.
Duncan watched this scene unfold with quiet amusement. He hadn't joined Cameron and Zoey, preferring to observe from a distance.
That's not how you motivate him… He's so lazy. He won't do anything unless you make him.
"Alright," Zoey was clearly disappointed but trying not to let it show.
Spending a night in the cabins sounds so gross… And she looks so upset. Fine.
"Here," Duncan offered. "I can talk to him?"
"Thanks, Duncan," Zoey smiled. "But I don't think he'll listen. He can be very stubborn."
"Hmm…" he pondered that for a moment. "Let's see what I can do."
"Alright," she gave him a reassuring nod and stepped away, Cameron at her side.
Duncan walked up to the edge of the ring.
"Hey."
"Duncan! I forgot you were here," Vito smiled.
"Yeah, yeah," Duncan looked around, worrying Vito would unintentionally say something. "Listen, you have to keep fighting, yeah?"
"That again? I really don't want to…"
"No excuses. You have to do it."
"But did you see her? She's like a maniac or somethin'..."
"Look," Duncan sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this…"
"Come to what?" Vito looked nervous.
"Rocky IV. Do you remember how it ended?"
"Yeah!" Vito brightened. "Yeah, I know. I memorized the entire damn movie."
"What if Sly Stallone watches this episode of Total Drama? What do you want him to see? Do you want him to see you… give up?"
The Italian Stallion himself would never waste his time watching this shit…
"No," Vito bit his lip. "No…"
"He would be pretty disappointed, wouldn't he?"
"He wouldn't… would he?"
"I think he would," Duncan nodded his head. "I think he would be mortified by this display. Can you imagine if Rocky… lost? What if he let Ivan Drago win?"
"America would be lost to the Russians," Vito panicked as if this were a major concern for him. "No, no, no, that can't happen…"
"Or," Duncan paused. "You can stand up and win this thing."
"Ok. Ok, yeah," Vito sighed with relief. "I gotta make him proud, right? I gotta save America. Yeah!"
"I think you should get your shit together, stop embarrassing yourself, and fight. Alright?"
"Yeah, I got it!" Vito stood up. "Alright, I'll keep goin'!"
"That's what I like to hear," Duncan smiled. "Go get 'em, tiger."
"Are we gonna start this thing or what?" Chris was getting annoyed.
"Yessir!" Vito pounded his fists together.
"Finally!" Izzy grinned. "Let's go!" She charged towards him.
"Jeez, what did you tell him?" Zoey watched the fight as Duncan rejoined his team. "It's like you knew exactly what to say."
How come Vito didn't care when I tried to get him to fight?
"Eh, it was nothing," Duncan waved her off. "Just a quick talk was all he needed."
Izzy swung a leg at Vito. He caught it, yanking it in the other direction, causing her to stumble.
"Hey, there we go! Oh, shit!" He ducked. "Woah, woah, hang on!" He grabbed a leg and jerked it towards him, causing Izzy to stumble and fall onto her back.
"Ah…" she tried to get up. "Hmm, doesn't look like this is gonna work…." Her costume was weighing her down too much.
"One!" Chris counted. "Two! Three! And, the Heroes win!"
"Woo!" Vito threw off his gloves. "That's how it's done, yeah?" He left the ring to rejoin his team.
"Good job!" Cameron smiled.
"Ah, no biggie'," Vito kept walking towards Zoey and Duncan, who were still standing next to each other.
"Hey, that was great!" Zoey beamed.
"Hmm? Yeah, thanks. Duncan!" Vito grinned and pulled him into a hug.
No no no-
"Oof!" Duncan gasped. "You're too strong, ya know."
"Thanks for the motivation and all that stuff. You're good at that."
What am I, chopped liver?
"It was nothin'..." Duncan mumbled.
Please let go now.
"Alright," Vito released his grip. "Good stuff. I gotta go now, Mike's gonna flip his shit if I'm here too long. Who's got my shirt, ey?" He turned to the rest of his teammates.
"Um, I do," Cameron spoke up in a meek voice and tossed Vito his shirt.
"Thanks broski," Vito caught it with ease.
Duncan felt weird looking at Vito without a shirt on, so he tried to focus on something else. The Villains were arguing about who had to fight next.
"Courtney, it's gotta be one of us," Gwen sighed. "Rock paper scissors?"
"This is gonna suck…" Courtney shuddered.
Duncan caught her eye from where he stood. She tilted her head. He shrugged, then looked away.
"We could flip a coin?" Gwen offered.
"No…I'll go."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"Alright, go for it."
On the Heroes Team, Mike had returned.
"Please tell me Vito didn't mess that up?" He looked worried.
"No way, he did great," Zoey beamed.
He was kind of a jerk, but whatever.
"Alright, Villains, send someone up!" Chris announced.
"I'm going," Courtney climbed into the ring. "These are so gross," she put on the gloves.
"Chris, this is so unfair," Heather whined. "They have more people, so they have more chances to win."
"Oh my God, stop complaining," Chris waved her off. "It'll be fine. Chef, spin the wheel."
Chef spun the wheel and another shower of sparks erupted from the contraption. The wheel didn't move.
"Alright," Chris was getting annoyed. "Do you know how much time I spent hand-picking opponents for you guys? How much effort went into that? We spent a good chunk of the budget on this thing," he gestured to the wheel, "and now we can't use it. Do you think I'm made of money? We had to have an engineer come in and set this whole thing up, but I guess some people don't care about the thought that went into it. And that's fine! We'll do this the hard way. Courtney, you're fighting Gwen."
"Wait, what?" Courtney was shocked.
"No way, Chris. I'm not doing that," Gwen insisted.
"That's so hot," Scott whispered under his breath as he stood with Heather and Duncan, who had stepped away from the Heroes team.
"Chris, is this some sort of sick fetish?" Gwen yelled at him.
"What? No, of course not. Why would you even say that?"
Zoey was alarmed.
Would Chris do something like…that? Why would she even suggest it?
"Please," Heather whispered just so Duncan could hear. "If he had the opportunity, he would put the two of us up there."
"I hate it when you're right," Duncan sighed.
"Ok, everyone stop," Chris demanded. "This isn't a fetish. Put the idea out of your head. Gwen, put on these gloves and get in the ring."
Chef tossed her a pair of boxing gloves.
"Fine," she grumbled and stood opposite Courtney.
"And, begin!"
"This is so dumb," Gwen stood there. "I'm not going to fight you."
"Literally. Chris, what are we supposed to be doing?" Courtney asked him. "Why would I ever fight Gwen?"
"You don't seem to be getting this," Chris sighed. "She stole your boyfriend. Sound familiar?"
"I thought we were done with that," Gwen looked nervous. She glanced back at Courtney, who had a blank expression on her face.
I'm sure that's the last thing Courtney wanted to hear.
"Hmm, I don't think so!" Chris grinned. "Yes, you have broken up with Duncan, but does that mean Courtney's forgiven you? Maybe she's still upset-"
"I'm not upset," Courtney spoke plainly.
"And maybe," Chris ignored her, "she even wants to fight you! Ah, it's the resolution we need!"
"I'm not doing it," Courtney decided.
"Well, you have to do it," Chris seemed unbothered.
"Well, I'm not going to."
Gwen looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes darting, biting her lip.
"Courtney," Chris smiled. "You have to do it."
"No. No way. I've done enough. You've done enough. I'm not having my reputation dragged through the mud any more than it already has been."
"Courtney, it's part of the show."
"Really? Is it?" She sneered. "Have you considered that our actions have consequences outside of this stupid TV show? Maybe people yell at us on the street, maybe I get emails and videos harassing me and threatening me over some dumb romance plot you created because Gwen 'broke up' a relationship that never even existed! Have you thought about that?"
"Courtney…" Gwen sighed. "Don't bother."
"No, this is great," Chris encouraged her. "Keep going."
"You're such an asshole," she snapped. "Is this fun for you?"
"Absolutely."
"You're sick. You like this, don't you? You used me to get more ratings in your goddamn TV show and you didn't care how it would affect me."
"Courtney, would you calm down?" He didn't seem to be listening. "Just do the scene."
She turned to look at Duncan.
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
Oh, shit.
"Um…" he looked over at Gwen, who was also staring at him. "Um. I don't know."
"Of course you won't. God forbid you say anything to Chris that he doesn't like."
Please don't do this…
"Look, Courtney…"
"No, I'm serious. You've never once defended me, not to Chris, not to anyone. Why is that?"
The rest of the contestants watched this exchange in silence.
This is so uncomfortable…
"I mean… I don't really want to get involved…"
"Because…why? You knew I was miserable. Would it have killed you to pull Chris aside and ask him to lay off? You know he would've listened to you. Why are you so scared of upsetting him? Huh? Scared he's gonna do something? Look around, it can't be worse than what he's already done!"
He suddenly felt very nervous.
"Can we please not do this here-"
"And do you know what the worst part is? I was always there for you. Even at your worst moments, I never pushed you, I never yelled at you, I always tried my absolute best to help you, and you never did the same for me. Why was I so nice to you? You didn't deserve it!"
"Courtney," Gwen begged. "I think-"
"You know what, Duncan? I'm going to tell you something that you need to hear. You're pathetic."
"God," Heather sighed. "This is like watching my parent's divorce."
"Me?" Duncan fired back. "I'm pathetic?"
"Yup! And I should have told you that years ago."
Zoey wrung her hands together.
Courtney really shouldn't be doing this…
"Well you know what, Courtney?" Duncan glared at her. "If you're so miserable, leave the show. Nobody is holding you hostage. Chris doesn't have a gun to your head. If it's that bad, then go home."
"That's not the point," she seethed. "You're so wrapped up in your own bullshit that you would never think to ask how I was doing. You're selfish."
I can't deal with this.
"You know what I think?" He started. "I think you like being here. I think you like torturing yourself because you have a fucked up obsession with being perfect, and if anything doesn't go your way then we all have to suffer. Stop trying to fix the people around you and focus on yourself."
"I like torturing myself? Duncan, you refuse help from everybody who offers it to you."
"So do you! You can't admit when you need something because God forbid somebody realizes that Courtney actually has flaws like a normal human being. Have you considered that you're not actually blameless here? Maybe some of your 'haters' have a point. You're controlling, obsessive, and you can't let anything go, can you?"
"That's ironic coming from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Duncan, you can't get over a breakup that happened two years ago! There, alright? I said it!"
"Wait, what?" Gwen, who had been silent this entire time, asked in confusion. "What's she talking about?"
No way…one time…I talked to her about it one time…And she threw it back in my face in front of everyone, no, in front of HIM…
Duncan felt like he was in a trance.
"I shouldn't have told you anything," he almost whispered. Then, he cleared his throat. "I'm done. I forfeit, vote me off, I don't give a shit. I'm leaving."
"You can't leave," Chris snapped at him.
"I don't care. This is too much."
"Nobody move!" Chris announced in a booming voice that Zoey had never heard before. She flinched. "We have to finish this challenge. I can't use any of that footage for obvious reasons and I need this done now. Someone is getting in that ring and fighting, and I don't fucking care who it is."
"But what about the winner," Heather spoke up. "Someone has to win-"
"It's a reward challenge!" Chris snapped. "It's a fucking reward challenge! Are you happy? Are you happy now, Heather?"
"I don't like this," Zoey whispered in a soft voice.
"Hey, Chris," Mike started, "don't you think you're being a little too harsh?"
Stay out of it.
"Oh! Look at that!" Courtney laughed hysterically. "Mike thinks that Chris is being too harsh. Duncan, are you gonna say anything about that?"
He whirled on Mike.
"Dude, back the fuck off," Duncan bit back a wave of anger that threatened to overcome him with every word.
Jeez, that's harsh too…But Mike probably shouldn't have said anything…
"Woah, alright," Mike put his hands up.
"You know," Chris pondered. "This wouldn't be a problem if I had extra footage from yesterday, yeah? Funny how that is."
Mike took the hint and stared at the ground.
"Well, I'm not doing this," Courtney took off her gloves and stepped out of the ring.
"Duncan," Gwen couldn't move on from their conversation, "I don't understand why you wouldn't talk to me about-"
"Well, too late now," Duncan spit out.
"Gwen, don't move," Chris ordered.
"Um, ok…" her voice trembled.
"Fuck this. You don't need me here," Duncan decided. "I'm going."
"Fine," Chris gritted his teeth. "Do you know what? Go. Take a walk. I don't care. Pull yourself together before tonight."
"Fine…fine," Duncan turned on his heel, making a point to avoid eye contact with any of his castmates. He stalked off towards the woods.
Zoey watched him leave with a look of concern spread across her face.
Gosh… do I even want to know?