A/N- God this is so embarrassing. I'm glad people are out there reading this because I think this would be even more embarrassing if nobody read it. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen

God, this is gonna suck.

Duncan picked at the threads on his bed as he awaited the return of the other guys.

Are we gonna have to have a whole conversation? Although, I do want to see the dynamic between Scott and Mike…I wonder if someone will say something? Oh, I want to ask so bad…but then Mike could get upset, and I'll have to smooth things over.

The cabin door opened. Duncan perked up immediately as Mike and Cameron filtered through the doorway.

"Hey, my old teammates!" Duncan smiled. "Look at that, just like old times!"

"If by 'old times' you mean last night," Cameron walked straight over to his bed and sat down.

"Well, I was nervous the Heroes would be broken up for good," Duncan smiled. "But here we are."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic," Mike leaned against the doorway. "Or if you genuinely identify with the 'Heroic Hamster' moniker."

"Are you saying I'm some kind of rodent? Right when you were being nice to me…"

"I'll save the rodent talk for Scott," Mike closed the cabin door and walked over to his bed. "I should lay out some traps."

Cameron laughed at that.

"Woah, open hostility? In the cabins? Now things are getting out of control," Duncan laid down. "But really, what's the deal? Is he that bad?"

"Yes," Cameron answered immediately, then cleared his throat before speaking. "He's that bad."

"Like, he's gonna kill you guys in your sleep?"

"Well, maybe not that bad," Cameron conceded. "But it's still bad."

Duncan watched as Mike fiddled with the covers on his bed.

Now, this is complicated. I can't align myself with either side. Scott is Courtney's boyfriend. Or, whatever. I have to assume anything I say is getting fed back to her. On the other hand, anything I say is also getting fed back to Zoey from Mike and Cameron. And at that point, I have to assume Gwen and Heather would know as well. I don't want to upset Zoey because she might never talk to me again. Then we have Mike…I still don't know what his deal is. But if he made this whole gesture to be my friend, and then I outwardly choose Scott over him, he can turn around and tell everyone, and I'll look like a heartless asshole. But most importantly, I don't want to upset Courtney. Not after everything she's done for me. And if I choose Mike- no, don't word it like that. If I choose Mike's version of events over Scott's, she won't like that at all. And I don't blame her. This is when this game can be difficult. It's best to remain neutral until one of them gets voted off, and then I side with whoever is left. I'm neutral. Switzerland. I can be Swiss for the next ten minutes, yeah?

"Well, I'll sleep with one eye open, just in case," Duncan reassured his ex-teammate.

And I have my knife under my pillow…but I'm sure it won't come to that.

Scott opened the door and the room became silent.

Cameron averted eye contact, Mike stared at his hands, and Duncan watched Scott with a big smile on his face as he ignored the other two.

"God, I finally win a challenge and Chris sticks me in the cabins," Scott complained as he picked a bed at random and kicked off his shoes, sending them soaring across the room. "This is bullshit. You guys got to be in the Spa Hotel basically the entire show," he buried his face in his pillow. "This sucks."

"Scott," Duncan chastised. "I'm getting the feeling you don't want to be here with us."

Scott inhaled deeply, then spoke and exhaled at the same time.

"Noooo," he sighed, then flopped over onto his back. "It's fine."

"Well, I for one am happy to spend the night with my three favorite contestants," Duncan smiled.

"Yeah, whatever," Scott grumbled.

Awe, I was hoping he would say more. Well, whatever.

Seeing as he wasn't getting anywhere, Duncan grabbed his sketchbook from his bag and flipped through the pages, tuning out the other contestants.

These guys are so lame…

In the girl's cabin, Zoey sat anxiously on her bed while the other contestants spoke amongst themselves.

There's no way I can break into the conversation, I'm too much of an outsider. This is so awkward…It was easier last season when everyone was on equal footing. This is much more difficult.

"Anyways," Gwen was explaining. "I had to delete his number and never speak to him again."

"God, what a creep," Courtney frowned. "I hate it when that happens. Remember Jeff?"

"Jeff who works at the mall?" Heather asked.

"Yeah, that one. Well, I stupidly gave him my number, right?"

"Rookie mistake," Gwen sighed.

"I know, I know. Well, he texts me one day, right? He tells me it's his six month anniversary with his girlfriend, and he sends me these pictures because he's trying to buy her makeup and he has no idea what he's doing. So I opened the pictures. Guess what? There was no girlfriend."

"Oh my God, what did he send you?" Gwen frowned. "His dick-"

"His dick," Courtney nodded. "From many different angles. And now I can't go back to that mall."

"Men are gross," Heather decided. "No exceptions."

I'm so out of the loop. There's no way I can catch up.

"Well," Courtney smiled. "One exception."

"One…exception?" Heather tilted her head.

"Yup," Courtney tried not to smile. "One…exception…that you may be…familiar with," she beamed.

"Oh, stop it," Heather blushed. "Shut up."

"Please, you have to tell us everything," Gwen propped herself up with her arms and looked at Heather. "What did Alejandro say?" Her eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Ok, fine," Heather crossed her arms and smiled despite herself. "Well," she looked around the room. Then her eyes landed on Zoey, and she quickly grew quiet. "Maybe later."

The other two girls turned to look at Zoey, then quickly looked away.

Zoey felt her face flush.

This is so mortifying. Should I leave? Do I sleep in the woods? It's like I'm ruining their night just by being here…but they don't have to stare at me like that.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me, really," she insisted.

"Oh?" Heather raised an eyebrow.

"Heather," Gwen warned.

"Are you sure you won't turn around and tell your boyfriend everything?" Heather tilted her head and smiled. "Or…Duncan?"

"No," Courtney cut in. "We promised we weren't talking about him."

"Fine, you're right," Heather conceded. "Forget that part. But Mike? I'm sure you two don't keep secrets."

Zoey knew she was supposed to defend herself, but she was caught up on what Courtney said.

"Is it a rule that we're not supposed to talk about Duncan?" Zoey asked, then realized she probably shouldn't have. "I mean, I guess-"

"Well, you're talking about him right now, so I guess it's not a rule anymore," Courtney stared at her.

"Oh! Sorry, um," Zoey floundered, surprised at Courtney's stern response to her question. "I didn't-"

"It's fine," Courtney sighed. "You didn't know. Just, we're not talking about him for a while."

Jeez, what happened? I must REALLY be out of the loop…

"Courtney, you know that sounds insane, right?" Gwen rolled her eyes, then turned to Zoey. "Look, basically, he was always a mess, then he was getting better, and now he's randomly getting worse and not telling us why. And trust me, we've tried to talk to him. And it's really exhausting having to constantly watch out for him. So we're tired. And stepping back for a bit."

What? They can't just give up on him like that! I would never step back from Mike if I thought he needed help. Maybe they aren't as great friends as I thought…

"You know, Zoey, he sure takes a liking to you, though," Heather pondered.

"Courtney, you have no idea what's wrong?" Gwen steered the conversation away from Zoey. "No idea at all?"

"Nope," Courtney bit her lip. "I know what you know. I mean," she glanced at Zoey, then back at Gwen, "what he told you earlier- I still don't know what he meant by that. No idea," she shrugged.

"God," Gwen flipped onto her back. "I have no idea either. I mean, he already told us that one thing, and that other thing, and that was fine, so how could this thing be more important than those other things?"

"Oh," Heather spoke up, "you mean that one thing?"

"And the other thing. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Heather nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

I don't! What are the things?

"It just feels like we're losing him to whatever he's dealing with," Gwen frowned and picked at her blanket. "Sorry, that was really dramatic. Heather, I'm begging you to tell us about Alejandro. Please, so we don't have to think about this anymore."

"Zoey!" Heather turned to her. "You promise you won't say anything?"

"I won't, I promise," Zoey nodded.

"Hmm," Heather looked her up and down. "Fine, I'll trust you just this once. But if I find out you said anything, I'll vote you off instantly."

"C'mon Heather," Courtney chucked a pillow in her direction. "You know that actually means something to her."

Do they all really not care about getting voted off? Am I the only one who wants to win?

"Fine, I won't vote you off," Heather changed her mind. "But I'll be really upset. So you better not say anything."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Zoey sighed.

"So the night he was voted off, I asked him what his deal was, right? Anyways, he goes into this whole story. And I was like, look, are we doing this? 'Cause he's always flirting with me, but does that even mean anything? Because I can't deal with flakiness. I don't do flakiness."

This is terrible…I hope the guys are having more fun than I am.

Back in the guy's cabin, the contestants were sitting in a somewhat awkward silence. Duncan was looking at the paper in front of him, but every so often he would glance up at Mike and Cameron, who kept exchanging worried looks.

They're not being very subtle.

For his part, Scott was half-asleep.

He's really unbothered, eh? That's kind of badass…I'm so bored. I should've slept in the girl's cabin. At least that would have been fun. Should I start shit? I know I shouldn't, but I really want to, and it's not even that late out. I won't sleep anyways. Oh, well.

"Hey, Scott," Duncan called his attention.

"Yeah?"

"What's the deal with Courtney?"

"What about her?"

"C'mon," Duncan grinned. "You know. The deal."

"Wha- I dunno," he blushed. "I mean, well, it's a thing."

"It's a thing," Duncan smiled, sitting fully up in bed. "I love it. Tell me more."

"Well," Scott began to smile. "I gave her a ring made out of my shoelace."

Yeah, that fits.

"I'm sure she loved that."

"She- well, I think the shoelace part grossed her out a bit," Scott frowned.

"That's fine," Duncan waved it off. "It's the thought that counts."

"And I'm giving her my breakfast tomorrow, 'cause I don't mind eating gruel, but I'm sure she will."

"Very romantic," Duncan approved.

I shouldn't be doing this, I'm baiting him. But I want to see if he'll stand up for himself…

"Keep me updated," Duncan insisted. "I have to see where this goes."

"I thought Courtney would have told you?" Scott asked.

Huh…hmm. He's right. She WOULD have told me this stuff. Is she mad at me? I'm sure she is. She's already distancing herself. She'll probably never talk to me again after this show. I don't blame her, she probably doesn't want to keep worrying about me. She's better off without me- Alright, slow down. Answer Scott.

"She's…Well, she's given me the vague details," Duncan lied. "But you know her. She doesn't talk about that stuff a lot. Anyways," he swiftly changed the subject. "Ring made out of shoelace? Nice move," he turned to Mike and Cameron. "You guys should take notes."

And now, we sit back and watch.

"I'm good, thanks," Mike wrinkled his nose.

"Sounds unsanitary," Cameron added on just to say something in solidarity.

"What, you don't like the idea?" Scott sat up and frowned.

"I don't need to take advice from you, Scott," Mike spoke softly, as if he wanted to insult Scott but was too nervous to fully commit.

"Oh?" Scott narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"

"I do fine by myself, thanks," Mike stared right back.

Add some fuel to the fire…

"Woah, guys, calm down, both of you," Duncan put his hands up. "I didn't mean to start anything."

"It's alright, Duncan," Cameron genuinely felt bad. "Why don't we all-"

"You didn't start anything," Mike cut in, still looking at Scott. "But you did."

"Me?" Scott was surprised. "What'd I do?"

"Don't play dumb."

"Yeah," Cameron looked unsure of himself.

He hates conflict, but he's loyal to Mike…Let's see what he chooses.

"Um," Cameron cleared his throat. "Scott. You know what you…did."

"Yeah? What'd I do?" Scott smiled.

"Well," Mike faltered, disarmed by Scott's nonchalance at the situation. "You know…there's a reason you were put on the Villains team."

Scott laughed.

"You guys are funny," Scott laid back down.

"What?" Cameron asked, completely confused.

"It's just funny that you said that," Scott yawned.

"I don't see what's so funny about it," Mike stared him down.

Oh, here we go!

"You know," Scott closed his eyes. "Hero Team. Villain Team. Come on."

"What's wrong with that? You're a villain, simple as that."

Scott snorted.

"See, that's what's funny. This is TV, not real life. The world isn't made of heroes and villains. Grow up."

Silence.

Cameron's mouth was gaping like a fish. Duncan tried not to smile.

"What did you say?" Mike almost whispered.

"Grow up. It's that easy. Sorry that your feelings got hurt, but you need to get over it. Or at least, stop bitching about it, yeah?"

Cameron looked at the door, considering the option of making a run for it. Scott was still laying in bed, not looking the least concerned.

Duncan looked at Mike and they locked eyes.

Come on, defend yourself! Don't let Scott say that shit to you! Zoey isn't here, this is your only opportunity to do something real without her getting involved…I probably shouldn't think that. But it's true!

Duncan raised an eyebrow, glanced at Scott, then smiled ever-so-slightly.

Mike closed his eyes.

He's asking them what to do, probably putting it to a vote…This must be serious. They'll say yes. Vito and Manitoba will say yes. Mal will say yes. Svetlana will want to throw the first punch. Chester…well, his vote doesn't matter. Sorry. But that's enough. Oh my God, it's actually happening. Mal will probably do it. He's better at shit-talking. He'll probably wink at me, then start on some whole rant, then start kicking ass-

"You know, Scott," Mike stood up. "I don't think I should get over it."

No way. No way. He's doing it!

"Huh?" Scott opened an eye.

"Sit down," Cameron hissed. "Are you crazy?"

"It's cool," Mike didn't look at his friend. "You were wrong, Scott. You just don't want to admit it because you can't own up to your mistakes. You knew what you were doing, don't act like Chris forced you. It was a bitch move."

"It's a game," Scott sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "You can't show up with an obvious weakness and be shocked when someone exploits it," he crossed his arms. "Besides, I only found out about it because he," Scott nodded to Cameron, "told me about it."

"Oh, please don't bring me into this," Cameron scrambled away from the edge of the bed and pressed his back against the wall.

"I don't care what Cameron did," Mike wouldn't let himself be distracted. "He apologized, you didn't. But then again," he sighed. "What should I except from someone who spends all his time fucking pigs?" He smiled. "I sure hope you've been washing your mouth. Wouldn't want to spread anything to Courtney, right?"

Cameron audibly gasped.

Yes! Yes! Fuck him up!

"You-" Scott stood up. "You fucking-"

"What? You fucking…what, Scott? What is it? What are you gonna say? Hmm? We're all listening!"

"You're crazy," Scott shook his head. "You're a real fucking lunatic."

"Wow, like I've never heard that one before. You're so spineless. Go back to your farm and roll in the mud. Stick to what you're good at."

"Now you're asking for it," Scott stepped closer. "I have no idea why Chris brought you onto this show, you should be in a padded room."

"And what are you gonna do about it? Hit me? Are you going to hit me? I'd love to see you try."

This is fucking wild! Mal had to give him that pig line, it was too good. You can tell Mike has wanted to say this for a while. It's probably been killing him. Well, at least he can say it now-

"Do you think this is funny?"

"Huh?"

"You're laughing. Do you think this is funny?" Scott glared.

Duncan hadn't realized he'd been smiling the entire time.

Shit. Well, now I have to side with someone. Courtney already hates me, but I'm trying to fix things…But Scott is in the wrong…Yeah, Scott is a jackass. And she probably can't hate me any more, so does it really matter? And Mike never defends himself, I can't leave him out to dry now…Well, maybe she won't find out about this. Somehow.

"Me?" Duncan asked. "Hey, don't use me as a distraction because you don't want to fight him."

"That's not what this is," Scott narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, then leave me out of it."

"Look," Scott huffed. "I'm not gonna fight-"

"Pig boy."

I couldn't help myself. I actually couldn't stop myself from saying it.

"What did you say to me?" Scott turned on him.

"Nothing!" Duncan put his hands up. "You must have misheard me. Too much mud in your ears?"

"Please don't," Cameron begged.

"Now you want to start?" Scott asked him. "Stay out of this, Duncan."

"You're the one who brought me into it, Scott. Besides, you're scared he's gonna kick your ass. That's not my fault," Duncan shrugged. "Courtney would find it endearing, though."

God, it's so unfair of me to say that, but I just can't stop.

"Don't bring her into this. You know she can't stand you lately, right?"

I knew it I knew it I knew it-

"You're getting off-topic," Duncan tried to hide his devastation. "Are you two gonna fight or what?"

"Pfft, no way," Scott decided. "I'm not stupid. How would that look tomorrow?"

"Whatever," Mike shrugged. "Too bad."

Cameron let out a sigh of relief.

"Please, can we just go to bed?" He begged. "No fighting."

"Anticlimactic," Duncan grabbed his sketchbook again. "But it would have been a mess to clean up."

"Oh, gross," Cameron recoiled.

"Guess you're getting off easy tonight, eh, Scott?" Duncan smiled. "Might not want to piss him off, though."

"Stay out of it," Scott gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, yeah," Duncan smiled and laid down.

Huh, I guess he's still got it…Alright, Mike, I'm impressed. Maybe you're not totally lame after all. Maybe. But I'm keeping my eyes open. I'll figure out whatever you're up to.

In the girl's cabin, Zoey was at her wits end. The other three contestants were huddled on Heather's bed and speaking as if Zoey wasn't there.

It's just so awkward. I obviously don't belong here.

"Gwen, how's your mom?" Courtney asked. "Is she doing better?"

"Yeah, I think so," Gwen stole one of Heather's pillows. "I think she's just stressed out," she sighed. "You know how it is."

"Hmm," Courtney considered. "Well, you know you can always call us if you need anything." She started to braid a few strands of loose hair.

"Thanks, guys," Gwen smiled. "I really think she'll be okay. Marcus has been obsessed with his guitar lately, so that's been distracting him."

"Awe, that's cute," Heather had her feet propped up on Courtney's leg. "He was always into that type of stuff."

"Yeah, he really likes it. How's Damien?"

"I talked to him yesterday before he went home. He's still a jerk, as usual. Middle schoolers are always terrible. But…he says hi to you guys. And he says sorry for saying you were 'cute.' I think he's actually embarrassed."

"Tell him I forgive him," Gwen smiled. "I'm sure Chris scripted half that stuff."

"You'd be surprised," Heather wrinkled her nose. "Damien can get pretty creative."

"Zoey, what about you?" Gwen asked.

"Hmm?" She was only half-listening.

"How's your family doing?"

"Oh!" Zoey was surprised. "They're doing…fine."

"Where are you from again?" Courtney asked.

"Saskatchewan. Middle of nowhere. It's kind of boring," she shrugged.

"Oh, so you don't live near Mike, then," she noted.

"Nah, we're long-distance most of the time."

"Where does Mike live?" Gwen whispered to Courtney.

"Nova Scotia."

How'd she know that? Well, I guess it's public information, or Mike probably told her when we were all on the same team.

"Oh God, red flag," Heather cut in.

"Forgive her," Courtney insisted. "She has a vendetta against the Maritimes."

Probably because Duncan's also from there…

"But your place sounds cool," she continued.

"Not really," Zoey blushed. "I'd like to live somewhere a bit more interesting. Somewhere with more…culture."

"Places are only interesting when you don't have to live there," Gwen decided. "I'm sure there are people in Toronto who wished they lived somewhere else…but from one suburb girl to another, I totally get it," she winked. "Sometimes it's nice to be somewhere that's closer than eight hours to the next city."

She's so cool…

"Anyways," Gwen tossed her hair. "I'm going to bed." She slid off of Heather's bed and walked over to her own. "I was hoping to have air conditioning tonight, but…that didn't happen," she flopped onto her mattress.

"Zoey, now you know what it's like to suffer through the heat without the luxury of the Spa Hotel," Heather moved her legs away from Courtney, who had begun to walk towards her own bed.

"Hey now," Gwen scolded. "It's not her fault that we suck at challenges."

"Sucking at challenges?" Courtney laughed. "You guys have both won the show!"

"Like that even means anything," Heather rolled her eyes.

"Maybe we've phoned it in?" Gwen offered. "You know, not like we're gonna win again."

"Ew," Heather wrinkled her nose. "Could you imagine?"

"Well, some of us have to sort-of try," Courtney whined. "So, let me sleep."

"Good night, guys," Gwen offered.

"Yeah, whatever."

"'Night."

"Good night!" Zoey responded politely.

I can't break into their group, I don't think. Maybe the guy's had better luck. Well, Mike and Cameron are nice to everyone, so I'm sure it went well. At least Gwen is nice to me. Honestly, Courtney is also decently nice to me, shockingly. Heather…I could go without. No offense to her. It's just a weird dynamic, I suppose.