A/N- Sorry, I know this is a shorter chapter, but I feel like the past few chapters have had a lot of stuff happen quickly and I needed to throw a calm one in there. Yeah. Idk man. Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen:

By the time Duncan had gotten up the next morning, Mike had already left the bedroom, leaving him alone with Cameron.

Jeez, how early did he wake up?

"Good morning," Cameron almost whispered to him.

"Hmm? Oh, mornin', Cam," Duncan was dreading facing the day.

I know I have to talk with Courtney…it's gonna be so awkward. So…emotional.

"So…how are you?" Cameron looked nervous as he sat on top of his bed.

"Fine, Cam. Shitty. But, it is what it is," Duncan sighed and threw his covers to the side.

"Well," Cameron rubbed his hands together. "I hope everything is alright."

I really don't want to talk about this with him…How can I change the subject? Oh, wait…

"Cameron, how have things been? You know, after we talked…"

We had that whole conversation about his friend group falling apart...

"Well, I don't know. Better, I think."

"Humm. Well, that's good to hear."

"Yeah," Cameron picked at his sheets. "I don't know, I think yesterday took the attention off Mike for a bit, so that helped. Umm. Sorry, not to say that I'm glad you're suffering-"

Duncan put a hand up to cut him off.

"Stop apologizing, dude. I'm just glad one of us is doing alright. Yeah?"

"Right," Cameron smiled.

"Anyways, Sierra should leave you alone now. I think she's too pissed off to bother anyone. You're welcome, by the way."

"Oh! I guess you're right, but I don't know about your methods-"

"Oh, come on, Cam. It had to feel good to see her get a taste of her own medicine."

"Well," Cameron paused to mull it over. "I guess you're right," he smiled in spite of himself. "Don't tell her that, though."

"I would never," Duncan got out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his hands to see they were black.

Smudging…

"Well, I have to go talk to Courtney," he sighed as he fished through his pockets for eyeliner. "See ya later."

"Wait!" Cameron whispered.

"Yeah?"

Ooh, why are we whispering?

"Um," Cameron rubbed his hands together. "Please don't tell Mike we talked about that stuff, alright? I don't want him getting upset again…"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Duncan dismissed his concerns. "Cameron, we went over this. Golden rule, snitches get stitches. Yeah?"

"Yeah," Cameron grinned.

"Alright. I'll see you later," Duncan left the bedroom.

There was no way to reach the front door without walking through the kitchen, where Mike and Zoey were sitting at the table.

God, I seriously need to burn that thing.

They instantly stopped talking when he appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, hey," Zoey stared at him.

"Don't let me interrupt," Duncan sighed. "I'm leaving to find Courtney."

"Good luck," Mike had an absolutely blank expression on his face.

"Yep…" Duncan kept walking, then he stopped. "Hey, Zoey? Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?" Her voice shook.

Oh God, what is he gonna say? What could he possibly ask me?

"The eye situation. How smudgy?"

"Oh! Um…" she stared up into his eyes. "Well…"

"Raccoon look going on?"

"A bit," she conceded.

"Great…Well, I'll see ya guys," he kept walking towards the kitchen.

"What was he talking about?" Mike tilted his head as he heard the front door close.

"Just his eyeliner. Anyways, what were you saying?"

He has very blue eyes…Like, really blue.

"Well," Mike sighed, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright after yesterday. I know Chris freaked you out…"

"Right," Zoey shuddered. "I don't like it when he yells…"

"It's all so different from last season," Mike mused. "I wonder why the change?"

"Who knows," Zoey pulled out a deck of Tarot Cards from her back pocket. "Nothing makes sense anymore," she opened the box, took out the cards, and started to shuffle them.

"What are you going to ask it?" Mike eyed the cards in apprehension.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Just looking for guidance. Why, did you have something you wanted to ask?"

"No," he quickly shook his head. "You know that kind of stuff freaks me out."

"What, Tarot Cards?" She asked. "Why?"

"Dunno. Just superstitious."

"But you wear that thing around your neck," she observed. "How is that different?"

"That's for the Eye," he spoke with complete seriousness. "That's totally different."

"I don't see how-"

"It's not even remotely the same-"

"Hey, guys."

Mike and Zoey turned to see Cameron standing in the doorway.

"Oh, mornin', Cam," Mike smiled at him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright," Cameron shrugged. "Fine, I guess." He bit his lip.

"You sure?" Zoey asked. "You look kind of tired."

"Sorry," Cameron shook his head. "I guess I am a little bit. Long day yesterday."

"You can say that again," Mike smiled at him. "Hey…maybe we'll lose today?"

"If only," Cameron sighed. "Um, not to say that I want us to lose, but, you know-"

"We know," Zoey assured him.

"So," Cameron slowly walked over to where the other two were sitting. "What're you guys doing?"

"Well, I was trying to do Tarot Cards-"

"Oh." Cameron frowned.

"What, you don't like them either?" Zoey asked.

C'mon, him too?

Cameron took a seat at the table.

"Well, it's not that I don't like them…I just don't think they're real. I don't believe in magic."

"It's not magic," Zoey rolled her eyes. "It's more like…a spiritual guide."

"Um, sure," Cameron wasn't convinced.

"Want to try it?" Zoey asked. "I made this deck myself."

"Oh, well…you see-"

It's not that serious.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," she gave him an out.

"I just feel like I shouldn't do it if I don't believe in it. Mike, you should go."

"He's scared of them," Zoey answered before Mike could say anything.

"Ok, I'm not scared of them, I just don't want to mess with them."

"Because," Zoey smiled. "You're scared of them?"

"Keep it up," Mike fake-threatened, "and you're getting the Eye-"

"There is no 'eye'-"

"There totally is-"

"Hey guys!" Sierra stepped into the kitchen. "What are you talking about?"

"Tarot Cards," Zoey stopped smiling, then realized that was rude and fake-smiled.

"Ooh! Cool! Can I try?"

I don't want her touching these with her rat-contaminated hands…

"I don't know if we have time," Zoey apologized. "We should eat breakfast before the challenge."

"Good point," Sierra smiled sweetly. "I can make breakfast?"

"Oh! Sure," Zoey was caught off guard.

She never offers to make breakfast…Is she being nice because she thinks we're gonna vote her off?

"Thanks, Sierra," Mike smiled at her.

"No problem!" She smiled back.

So weird…

"Hey Cammy-Bear, would you mind feeding Cody Junior?" Sierra asked sweetly.

"Oh, um," Cameron looked terrified.

"Hey Cam, I'll go with you?" Mike offered.

"Thanks," Cameron answered gratefully.

"What does he eat, Sierra?" Mike asked.

He really is patient with her…

"Here," she opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. "He really likes these, especially the shells. He likes to crunch them."

"Oh," Mike's smile faltered ever so slightly. "Well, that's cool…I guess," he took the carton of eggs. "Ready, Cam?"

"I guess," Cameron almost whispered as he followed Mike into the girl's bedroom.

"So!" Sierra announced once they had left. "What are we thinking for breakfast?"

In the woods, Duncan was on his way towards the girl's cabin.

This is gonna suck so bad…How many more conversations in the woods can I possibly handle? No, no, I can't make this all about me…

He knocked on the door to the cabin, stepping back and bracing himself for the worst.

Wait, has Scott had his own cabin the whole time? Lucky bastard…

Heather flung the door open.

"What do you want?" She snapped. "Oh, it's you…"

"Hey, Heather," Duncan kicked at the ground. "Um…is Courtney there?"

"Oh, right," Heather's lips curled into a smile. "Courtney!" She yelled behind her shoulder. "You-know-who is here!"

I'm gonna throw up. This is a nightmare. I am possibly the worst person in existence.

"Yeah?" Courtney took Heather's place in the doorway. "What?"

"Um," Duncan swallowed. "Can we talk?" He forced himself to say the words.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "Not like I'm gonna sit here and eat that slop."

I should've brought her food…

He stepped back, allowed her to descend the stairs and stand next to him.

"Have fun, you two!" Heather cheered and slammed the cabin door shut.

Duncan was suddenly aware of how alone he felt standing next to Courtney.

"So, hey," his voice shook. "Well, I was wondering-"

"Save it. Let's get this over with," she started walking towards the woods. Duncan jogged to catch up with her.

They walked in palpable silence until Courtney decided they were isolated enough to talk.

"Do you want to go first?" Courtney crossed her arms and stared him down.

"Ok…" he struggled to maintain eye contact. "Well, to start…I think I- sorry, I know for a fact that I said some things I shouldn't have. About you. In front of everyone. And on camera. Lot going on there- sorry. I don't do well with this type of stuff," he struggled. "I should have checked in with you instead of only focusing on myself. We're supposed to be a team in this, and I have not been a team player recently. To you or Gwen or anybody, really. And I should have stood up for you in front of Chris yesterday. You were right, we do have a…I never stand up to him when I should. And you paid the consequences. And most of all, I shouldn't have attacked you personally or insinuated that you deserved to be treated badly. So for all of those things, I'm sorry."

Please let that be enough.

She stared at him for a few moments.

"Duncan, you look like you're about to collapse."

"I am."

"Jesus," some of the tension left her shoulders. "Well, thank you for your apology."

"Yep."

"And," she took a breath. "I am also sorry. I should've talked to you earlier instead of letting everything reach a breaking point. And I also stooped pretty low…I shouldn't have said you were pathetic. Among other things. But you are sometimes- sorry, I guess I'm not very good at this either. What I meant to say is that sometimes I get really frustrated with the way you act towards yourself. I want to grab your shoulders and shake you when you get like that. And of course…I shouldn't have mentioned the breakup. You trusted me with that, and I told everyone. And I'm going to be honest with you…Um. You're not gonna like this."

"What is it?"

Oh God, what did she do?

"I may have, well, I did tell Zoey some of the very vague details a few days ago. Sorry."

"What?" Duncan was shocked. "Are you serious? Why would you do that?"

Ok, ok, it can't have been THAT bad if Zoey didn't seem to act any different otherwise, and now everyone knows about it, but still.

"I'm really sorry," Courtney continued. "She was freaking out, saying you went off on her or something, I don't know, I shouldn't have said anything but I swear I didn't give any details, well, no major or specific details, just that you went through some stuff with an ex, that's really it, but if we're putting it all out there-"

"Look, it's fine," he just wanted to move past it. "Let's put it behind us, alright?"

"You're sure?"

"I am if you are. You know I hate fighting with you."

"Alright…" she extended her hand. "Let's move past it."

"Great," he shook her hand.

"We should probably head back," she sighed. "Challenge and all that."

"Right…well, hopefully we lose. Everyone is voting Sierra off. I'll take a night in the cabins for that."

"You'll regret saying that, it's so humid in there…" she started to walk. "Um," she stopped. "Actually…ok, wait. We're not done."

"What's up?" He asked.

Damnit.

"Look," she sighed. "I know you don't like it when I pry- don't interrupt," she sensed what he was about to do. "Just listen. I was talking to Gwen- don't give me that look- obviously something's going on with you."

"Everything's fine-"

"Look, I'll be straightforward. Is there something you want to tell me?" She stared directly into his eyes.

"About what?" He asked innocently.

"I think you know what."

What is she getting at?

"I'm not sure I do," he answered, unsure of himself.

"Really," she blinked. "You have nothing you want to say."

"You're freaking me out."

"Alright," she shrugged. "I was just asking. Forget it. Let's go," she started to walk.

It bothered him.

She's giving me an out, I should take it, right? But we just had a whole conversation about working on stuff, I feel like I can't let this go…

"Wait."

"Yeah?" She stopped walking.

"What do you think I should tell you?"

"Jeez, I don't know. I was just saying."

"But you must be thinking of something in particular," he took a step closer. "You wouldn't have said anything if you didn't think I had something to hide."

"I'm not saying you have anything to hide," she put her hands up. "I'm just saying if you want to talk about it, I'm here and all that."

"But what is it? Why can't you just say it?"

"Look," she frowned. "You have to say it first because if I say it and I'm wrong I'll look insane and you'll be weirded out."

Oh God, this must be serious, it takes a lot to weird me out…

"Give me a hint."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "Something to do with one of your teammates."

Fuck, that could mean anything…Which one?

"Hmm, very specific."

"You're kidding me, right?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, ok, let me think…"

She said she talked to Gwen yesterday, and Gwen told me Zoey was being a snitch…

"God, this isn't about Zoey, right?"

"...Nope," she exaggerated the word.

"Oh, Sierra? Yeah, we totally got into a screaming match last night, but we're supposed to vote her out next time, so-"

"Not her either."

Duncan blinked.

Hmm. Well, it's worth a shot.

"...Cameron?" He spoke weakly.

"Seriously?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"Well then," he cleared his throat. "I have nothing to say."

"You don't think you're forgetting someone?"

This was a mistake. This was a terrible idea. What is she trying to say?

"...No."

"Duncan-"

"You're right, we shouldn't talk about this," he was on the defensive.

"So there is something to talk about?"

Damnit, I should've known- I can't admit this. No way.

"I get the sense that you already know what you want to talk about," he gritted his teeth.

"Do I?"

"You do."

"And?"

"And? And you're right. Ok? You figured it out," he crossed his arms.

Huh. Nevermind.

"Oh my God," she covered her mouth. "Are you serious?"

"Look," he rubbed his hands. "I can't get into it right now. Not before a challenge where we all have to interact, alright? Just…whatever question you have, assume the worst possible answer and you'll probably be right."

"I don't even-"

"And don't say anything," he begged. "Not even to Gwen. Please. We can talk about it after the season is over but…look," he took a breath. "I'm really trying to keep my shit together and I'm almost there."

"Fine," she looked at him in concern. "I guess- wait, does Chris know?"

"Oh, does Chris know?" He chuckled. "He planned this."

"Jesus," she bit her lip. "I don't know what to say. What the fuck? Like…how? Why? Wait, Zoey knows, right?"

"Nope."

"Jesus…He hasn't told her? Scummy…"

"We can bash him over it after the finale. Preferably while drunk."

"I would expect nothing less."

"Alright, campers!" Chris' voice echoed over the loudspeaker. "Time for your next challenge!"

"Fuck," he muttered. "Well…I guess that's us."

"Yeah, I guess so…" she bit her lip again and stared at the ground. "We better get going."

Back at the Spa Hotel, Zoey was sitting at the kitchen table while Sierra was eating a plate of scrambled eggs. She had offered Zoey a plate as well, but the redhead only ate a few bites.

This is so weird…Does she know we're voting her off tonight?

Sierra paid her no attention as she ate her breakfast.

"Thanks for breakfast," Zoey said in an attempt to be nice.

"Oh! No problem! Hmm, I hope the guys are alright, they've been in there for a while…" she glanced towards the hallway that contained the girl's bedroom.

"I'm sure they're fine," Zoey forced herself to eat a spoonful of eggs. "Mike can handle it. If he managed to fight Izzy, I'm sure he can fight Cody Junior."

No, no, do NOT feel bad for voting her off…

"Right," Sierra smiled. "But if he lays a finger on Cody Junior, I'll kill him."

And there it is.

"Alright, done!" Mike flung open the bedroom door. "Cody Junior has been fed."

Cameron practically ran out of the bedroom holding an empty carton of eggs, looking much more unsettled than his teammate.

"Oh! Thank you!" Sierra stood up and took the egg carton from Mike. "I'll throw this out. Also…I made more scrambled eggs-"

"I'm good," Cameron quickly answered. "I think I'm done with eggs for now…I can't believe he ate the shells off those things," he shuddered.

"I'll take some, Sierra," Mike sat down at the table and accepted a plate of eggs, while Cameron quickly poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"So," Mike took another bite. "Everyone ready for today?"

"Anything to not sleep in the cabins," Sierra rolled her eyes. "Those things are gross."

"Well, I think we all need to try our best today," Zoey smiled. "Right, guys?"

And if we lose…I can handle that.

"Right," Cameron mumbled through a mouthful of cereal.

"Alright, campers!" Chris' voice echoed from outside. "Time for your next challenge!"

"Well, that's us!" Zoey smiled. "Good luck, guys! We got this!"