A/N: I had no idea where this chapter was going as I wrote it, so sorry if it seems a bit all over the place. I'm thinking about revealing some of Duncan's past in the next chapter(s), what do y'all think? (like why his dad kicked him out and why he reacted the way he did to the the words 'soft')

I do not own Total Drama, all rights reserved to the respective owners.

The Sunday after was uneventful. My dad was back home, though he spent the majority of the day in his study with the door shut.

He had been eating dinner when I got back from Geoff's, sitting alone in the dining room with a newspaper spread out on the table. We had exchanged pleasantries and he offered me some left overs that he'd put in the fridge. He didn't really cook, other than grilling meat during summer cookouts, it was always mom or me and I imagined the simple pasta dish he had on his plate had taken a great effort on his part to make.

I soaked in the tub that evening, long into the late hours of the night, letting my thoughts wander as they wished. I had wrapped myself in my blue robe and fallen asleep to memories of the last time I'd worn it.

Sunday came and went without any social interaction. I supposed Bridgette was nursing whatever hangover you got from the substance and that Duncan had crashed at Geoff's and was probably doing the same as Bridgette. DJ had sent a single text reassuring me no shenanigans went down after I left and I had responded with a smile.

Soon enough the alarm clock by my bed went off and reminded me it was monday. I dragged myself out of bed and ate breakfast at the kitchen island, much to my dad's dismay. He was soon out of the door and I said goodbye with a smile and a kiss on his cheek.

The school parking lot was all but empty when I arrived, I liked being early and at times engaged the janitor in conversation. The job wasn't a fancy one, but one that needed to be done and he at times let me in the library before the librarian so I could get out of the cold and study during the colder months.

Today was not one of those days though. I walked fast over the quad as to not get my shoes wet by the morning dew that still clung to the grass. My locker felt empty before I stuffed the books from my bag into it. I hadn't brought many books home with me during the weekend, yet they filled the empty spaces on the shelves and more.

I fiddled with my phone as I waited outside the math classroom. The bell wouldn't ring until another fifteen minutes and the corridors had started to fill with students and teachers, their chatter rising in volume steadily as the minutes ticked away.

"Hey, Court", a voice that stood out from the crowd said. I looked up to see Bridgette and Geoff standing before me, his arm around her shoulder.

"Hi you guys", I smiled back and tucked my phone away in my bag.

"I heard you took a cab home", Bridgette said, "you could have spent the night you know." She smiled sweetly at me before looking up at Geoff with determination in her eyes. "No one would've minded."

"I, erm, didn't want to disturb your privacy once again", I chuckled in response and gestured lazily at the couple. Knowing the two of them would've probably spent the sunday clung to each other and forget others were around.

Bridgette's cheeks immediately reddened at the mention of what we had interrupted two days ago, though Geoff didn't seem to be bothered by it. He merely shrugged at the explanation before squeezing Bridgette's shoulder with one hand.

"Well, I'm off to history. See you guys later." He exited the conversation with a small nod at me and a kiss on the cheek to Bridgette. "Love you."
"Love you too", she smiled and waved as he walked away.

"So, uh", I said and caught her attention again, breaking the heart eyes she was throwing at Geoff, "did Duncan stay through Sunday?" I hoped he had, sleeping in a real bed - or even a couch - was much better than the hardness of the ground at the campsite. I had only stayed one night and my back had been killing me the morning after.

"Why?" Bridgette asked and cocked her head to the side.

"I-uh", I swallowed hard and choose my words carefully, if his living situation was something limited to only his closest friends I was not about to spill the secret to anyone, "I just thought that, uh, he wouldn't and shouldn't drive until he'd sobered up enough."

"Oh", she nodded and my mind twisted at the surprised look on her face. She had expected something else. Maybe she knew about his father? After all her and Geoff kept nothing from each other, if you told one of them a secret the other was bound to find out; they were a package deal. "Yeah, he stayed", she continued after she'd shaken off her surprise, "left early this morning."

I forced down a sigh of relief for his well-being, I was happy to hear he had not been too stubborn or proud to accept the offer of a bed. Before I had a chance to respond though DJ walked up and greeted us.

"This chapter is really kicking my butt", he sighed and patted the math book which he held.

"I know", Bridgette sighed, "I can barely understand any of it."

"Why they gotta complicate an already functioning way of thinking?" DJ went on, rambling about the unnecessary additions of letters and imaginary numbers. I could see were he was coming from, math wasn't a favorite subject of mine nor was it all that much fun. It could at times be relaxing, when the equation was easy to understand and you didn't have to rip your hair out to try and figure it out. Mostly though it was frustrating and made my stress worse.

Nothing of interest happened during class. It was a quiet ninety minutes and Mr Barnett sat with his feet on the desk, almost sleeping by the looks of it. He was a tall man with a beer gut and a balding head, his face was square and a silvery bear covered his jaw and neck. He didn't care much for being a high school teacher, he used to be a university professor, teaching adults about space technology. No one really knew why he had taken such a downstep in his career, but it showed how much he disliked it.

"I'm never gonna get this", DJ sighed and leaned his forehead in his hands. He was looking at a particularly hard equation with one too many square roots.

"You got to cancel these two out", I said and leaned over his book, pointing with the tip of my pencil.

"I'll cancel this subject out", he muttered lowly before erasing some of his attempts to solve the problem in his book.

"Count me in", Bridgette said unenthusiastically from my other side, she was resting her cheek in the palm of her hand, looking out the window. It was a nice day, not so much sunny but still warm enough to skip the jacket. The leaves on the trees had started to change color, the green was fading away and shades of yellow and red took its place. It was still another few weeks until they would drop to the ground by themselves, but strong enough winds would at times blow them free.

The minutes ticked by and after my twentieth equation the class was over. We filed out of the classroom with the rest of the students and met up with Geoff by his locker. Duncan was still nowhere to be found, though he often skipped the first few hours of school and later showed up for lunch.

Bridgette and Geoff stood facing each other with their arms wrapped around the other, whispering sweet nothings as they leaned their foreheads together. Only every few words were recognisable; love, baby, stop, friday. Bridgette let out a girlish giggle as they shared kisses, not caring who saw.

"Get a room!" I turned around at the sudden yell and was met by Duncan with his hands cupped around his mouth to make his voice reach farther.

"Hey, dude", Geoff greeted and offered Duncan a high five, which he gladly reciprocated. DJ patted Duncan's back and they too exchanged hello's. Bridgette soon delved into a conversation with Geoff and DJ about their english homework.

"Good luck on that biology test", Duncan said and turned to me with a crooked smile. The others chatter just barely covering his hopeful statement.

"Thanks", I smiled back. His eyes caught mine in that moment; they were a cloudless summer sky, glistening with what could only be described as happiness. He smiled gently at me and it was like I could not look away. Those eyes could tell a million stories if you just looked close enough, and those lips could tell you a million more if you took enough time to break down his defenses. I realised in that moment that I wanted to know them, all his stories.

I had lost myself in the moment enough not to realise the hallway had quieted down and our group of friends had dispersed to their respective classes. Duncan dared himself a step closer and let one of his hands stroke my upper arm comfortingly. The movement snapped me back to reality and I quickly dismissed myself.

I could feel his gaze on me as I walked away, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and trying to calm down the heat in my cheeks. It should not be a big deal that he remembered my test, it should not be a big deal that he caressed my arm and I should most definitely not get giddy by his smile. But I couldn't deny it to myself any more that I did find it warming that he had remembered and that I did enjoy his soothing touches and looks and smiles.

The biology test was not as hard as I had imagined. Most of the questions were taken straight out of the textbook, and the ones that weren't were simple anatomy related things we'd learned last semester.

I handed my papers to Mr. Richards with a smile. He was leaning back in his chair and sighed as he leaned his elbows on the desk and took my papers. He took a quick look through my answers before nodding his approval, which was my cue to exit. Mr. Richards was a strict teacher and he only allowed his students to leave if he found their work acceptable. One unanswered question too many and you had to sit back down.

The hallway was already starting to fill with students as most classes ended for lunch. I knew Bridgette and Geoff would show up any minute and decided to wait by my locker. I packed the math and biology supplies back into it and got the history ones out.

"How'd it go?" Duncan asked as I closed the locker door; he was stood on the other side of it again like two fridays ago with his hands in his pockets.

"I feel confident", I answered before heaving the bag over my shoulder. He nodded at my response but said nothing more. "What's for lunch?"

"Some weird stew", he shrugged.

"Weird in look or taste?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Thought I'd wait for you before I find out", Duncan said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips and I couldn't help but smile back.

We walked side by side to the cafeteria and even though neither of us spoke my head hurt from noise. I had accepted the truth about whatever was going on between Duncan and I and how I felt about it, but had he? We had established monogamy during breakfast, a decision that hadn't been spoken about more than four words. Was it even a decision or only a mutual statement that were true for the time being?

I closed my eyes hard as we sat down with our food at an empty table. I could feel myself regretting the words I spoke the instant they came out my mouth. "What are we?"