Sorry it's been so long, but here I'm finally updating! I even made a cover for the fic, what do you think? ;)

Duncan tried to ignore Courtney, he really did. He only had to do it for another week and then he could be well shot of her. But something about her drew him in, which annoyed him to no end. Especially since she was doing an excellent job of ignoring him, which meant she probably hadn't even noticed he was ignoring her.

"She still likes you," Cody told him one day when he caught Duncan staring at Courtney (again) from across the pool. She was lying on a lounger, weirdly fully clothed, her eyes shut.

"No one asked you, dweeb," Duncan snorted, not taking his eyes off Courtney.

"Well, I'm just saying-," Cody tried again.

"Why are you still talking to me?" Duncan growled, turning to Cody to glare at him menacingly.

"Sorry, it's just, I need to ask you a question," Cody stammered, stepping back slightly.

"What?" Duncan snapped.

"It's about Gwen," Cody gulped. "Do you know who her soulmate is?"

"Trent, I assume," Duncan rolled his eyes. Clearly the little nerd had a bit of a crush.

"But you don't know?" Cody clarified.

"Trent's lines are midnight blue. That's Gwen's favourite colour. I can put two and two together," Duncan said, wondering why he was still even talking to Cody. He didn't need to have this conversation.

"But you haven't seen Gwen's chest?" Cody continued. Duncan glared at him.

"None of your business," Duncan said harshly. Cody, instead of backing off, just laughed.

"Oh, I'm not asking if you had sex with her. But just because Gwen is Trent's soulmate doesn't mean he is hers," Cody informed him. "I thought you might know, give me reason to hope."

"How do you know that?" Duncan asked.

"Just look at Harold and Leshawna," Cody pointed at Harold who was mooning over Leshawna in the hot tub while Bridgette and Geoff made out next to them. Duncan glanced over at the pair and saw Harold's jagged orange lines and it dawned on him what Cody was trying to say.

"You mean, soulmates don't always match up?" he asked incredulously. Cody nodded. "Well I'll be damned. Sucks to be Harold," Duncan laughed.

"Haha, yeah," Cody grinned. "Listen, about Courtney-," Cody started.

"This conversation is over now," Duncan told him.

"Right, yeah, of course," Cody giggled nervously as he backed away. Duncan turned back to look at Courtney only to find she was no longer there.

Courtney slipped away to the gym where Eva was working out while Duncan was distracted by Cody. It wasn't like she hadn't noticed his constant staring, he was hardly being subtle. It was a little unnerving. He obviously still wanted her, even after their fight two nights ago. And yes, she still wanted him. But it was more complicated than that, wasn't it?

It wasn't like the two of them could just be in a happy relationship forever, because she'd always know that she was just a little bit more invested than he was. And somewhere along the line, he'd find out who his real soulmate was, and what then? Would he pretend he didn't care? And even if he didn't really care, Courtney would always worry that he did. Or he would leave her. And Courtney didn't want to put herself through that.

It would be much easier, though, if she didn't keep thinking about how he kissed her the other night. And how she burned for his touch whenever she felt his eyes on her. And how she dreamt about him the last two nights. The problem wasn't that he was in her heart. She could ignore her heart, she was good at it. The problem was that he was in her head, and that was an entirely different matter.

On the plus side, her lawyers had finally gotten back to her. They sent a letter weeks ago and she'd only just received it, thanks to being stranded on this goddamn island in the middle of nowhere, but they stated they were working on her case and they would try and get her some compensation for being unfairly eliminated. In the mean time, she only had ignore Duncan for another week and then she'd be free of him and this stupid competition.

It was around lunchtime when Chris showed up, looking particularly pleased with himself. Courtney was on him like a rocket.

"Why are you here? Is someone else going back into the game? Is it me?" she blurted.

"No," Chris chuckled. "But we do need your help for our penultimate challenge." Courtney frowned in disappointment as Chris pulled out a megaphone. "Hey, losers, listen up!" he called. "Meet me in the dining room in five minutes!"

Five minutes later everyone was gathered in the dining room, sitting at the tables, each with a piece of paper and pen in front of them.

"What's going on, eh?" Ezekiel asked.

"Do we get to draw pictures?" asked Lindsay.

"No!" Chris replied. "I need you all to think of the most disgusting and horrible dares possible and write them down. Our challenge for the final three is a dare contest! To remind you, the final three are Owen, Heather and Gwen. Keep that in mind when coming up with the dares," Chris grinned. "I'll be back in half an hour to collect your suggestions."

Courtney looked around as everyone began scribbling down their ideas, most people snickering to themselves as they likely envisioned Heather carrying out the dare.

"Hey, Harold," Beth called across the room. "Would you be willing to donate your wad of chewed gum to the cause?"

"Sure, I guess," Harold shrugged. Lindsay started cackling to herself so Courtney could only assume she'd thought of some ridiculously evil dare. She glanced over at Duncan who was smirking to himself and scribbling furiously. Courtney sighed and scribbled down a few ideas of her own. She honestly couldn't care less who won the money now. She didn't like any of the final three and honestly none of them deserved it as much as she did.

Duncan made his way down to the dock after Izzy had yelled out that the boat of losers was approaching, though it was only mid afternoon. Obviously there had been no campfire ceremony. It was the first time he'd been able to experience this, and it was the only time he'd get the chance, so he figured he'd make the most of it.

The person who stepped off the boat was barely recognisable, apart from the sour expression on her face.

"Heather!?" Lindsay shrieked in delight at Heather's badly shaven head. Duncan glanced at the person next to him to make a snide comment about Heather's new hairstyle, only to find it was Courtney. He closed his mouth quickly but Courtney gave a snort of laughter and Duncan smirked back at her. It seemed everyone could get some enjoyment out of Heather's pain.

"What happened to you?" Sadie asked, seemingly horrified. Not because she was worried about what had happened to Heather, but because the hairstyle was downright scary.

"Lindsay," Heather seethed. Lindsay just laughed harder.

"What did I say about questions?!" Eva growled.

"Yeah, yeah," Trent rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to murder all of you," Heather screeched as everyone continued to laugh at her misfortune. "Right after I call my lawyer and sue the ass off Chris!"

"Yeah, good luck with that," Courtney rolled her eyes. "I've already tried. A lot." Heather screamed in frustration before pushing through the group of people and marching up to the resort. The others made to follow her, most of them still chortling.

"Courtney," Duncan said, before she could leave. "Can I talk to you?" Courtney hesitated but decided to stay and hear him out.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Look, I don't expect us to get back together or whatever, I guess you want to find your real soulmate. But it's driving me crazy not talking to you. Can't we at least be friends?" he asked.

"I really don't think I can be your friend, Duncan," Courtney said flatly. "We have literally nothing in common. What would we even talk about?"

"I don't know…" Duncan sighed.

"See?" she shook her head. "Let's just move on, okay? We can just be… civil." Duncan sighed and gave a short nod of his head. Courtney nodded in return and began the walk back to the resort.

On the day of the finale, Courtney and the rest of the eliminated contestants were ushered down to the dock and onto a ferry by Chef Hatchet. Once at the island, Chris asked them to take a seat on the side of the person they wanted to win. Of course, Courtney didn't want either of them to win, but she decided to go with Owen. He was gross and annoying, but he tried to be friendly at least, and she remembered how he's dominated at the dodgeball challenge (even if her team had thrashed his in the end). She was happy to note that Duncan had also chosen Owen's side as she slid onto the seat in the stand next to him and he nodded at her politely.

Heather appeared from nowhere and joined them on Owen's side. Courtney shook her head in pity at the horrible wig Heather had managed to find in an abandoned props room at the resort.

Courtney tuned out as Gwen went on some spiel about what she'd do with the money. Gwen honestly had the most boring and annoying voice. Then Owen announced his party and she knew she'd chosen the right side.

Chris announced the start of the challenge and Geoff, Izzy and Heather immediately took off after Owen to show their support, while everyone else trailed along behind. Everyone except Trent that is, who was running beside Gwen pathetically trying to win her back.

"What a loser," Courtney scoffed, mostly to herself.

"Totally," Duncan agreed beside her. She turned to him in surprise as she hadn't realised he was standing there. He gave her a smirk as he raised one eyebrow and she felt her pulse quicken. She hurriedly turned her attention back to the action, where Gwen was struggling to climb her pole. Trent whipped off his shirt, revealing his midnight blue swirls and Gwen's eyes went as big as saucers.

"Why is her face like that? He's not even hot," Courtney snorted.

"You know it be funny if his soulmate was actually Heather and not Gwen," Duncan laughed.

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone, not even Trent," Courtney grimaced.

The two competitors raced off with their flags towards the next part of the challenge, and everybody followed, eager to see the carnage about to unfold. Gwen and Owen grabbed their eggs and stepped out onto the flimsy boards that crossed the gorge. Courtney watched in horror as Gwen almost lost her balance. Okay, she didn't like the girl, but she didn't want her to die. A resounding screech filled the air and they all looked up to see massive eagles racing towards Gwen and Owen.

"Angry eagle parents?" Chris said somewhat proudly. So that's what the eggs were about.

"Oh snap!" Duncan approved, giving Chris a high five. "That is messed up!"

"What? You mean you like watching this?" Courtney huffed in annoyance. Seriously, Duncan was so immature. And this was why they could never be together. "They could die!"

"Aw, mellow your yellow, babe, this is awesome TV!" Duncan explained. Courtney ignored they way her heart started pounding when he called her babe.

"Why would I want to watch Gwen and Owen risk their lives?" she asked haughtily, but even as she was saying it, she kind of knew he was right. It was more than a little exciting. Chris rolled his eyes at the two of them before walking away, getting closer to the action.

"This is life at its most raw. Check out Elvis here with his guitar," Duncan gestured to a petrified Trent. "One misstep and his girlfriend is shark bait! Now that would make for an interesting song!"

God that smug look on his face was infuriating. Oh, what the heck, she thought, grabbing the front of his shirt and hauling him towards her, opening her mouth as she kissed him. Duncan was taken by surprise, but after a second he was an all too willing participant in the impromptu make out session. Courtney pulled away abruptly, annoyed at herself, not wanting him to think this changed anything, but still wanting to kiss him some more.

"You're still not my type," she warned.

"You make me sick," he spat in return, but as she pulled his lips back against hers she could feel him smiling and it was all she could do not to smile back. He pulled her tightly against him while his hands roamed underneath her shirt and she gave a small moan of appreciation.

"Should we take this into one of the cabins?" Duncan breathed into her ear. Courtney's eyes snapped open as she came to her senses.

"No!" she cried pushing him away. It wasn't that she didn't want to take things further with him, on the contrary, she wanted it a lot. But he'd want to take her top off, and then he'd see her terrible secret.

"Okay, I'm sorry, I thought…" Duncan started, looking confused.

"No, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have kissed you," she straightened her clothes and hair and glanced around, noticing everyone else had gone. "We should head back to the finish line. This never happened, okay?" she stressed and Duncan nodded but he didn't look happy about it. Courtney held her head high as she marched back to the finish line. She couldn't believe how close she'd come to letting him see the lines on her chest. She hoped no one had seen their indiscretion.

No one looked up or seemed to notice her or Duncan as they joined the rest of the group on the stands, everyone on edge, watching to see if Gwen or Owen would cross the finish line first.

Gwen was speeding ahead while Owen crawled along behind, and for some reason, Trent was carrying a massive boulder. Just when it looked like Gwen had it in the bag, Izzy and Lindsay pulled out some freshly baked brownies and a fan and Owen came barging towards them, knocking down Gwen and Izzy in his haste to get the brownies, and consequently winning the competition.

The flames flickered brightly as the campers all gathered around for their final campfire ceremony. Courtney found a seat to sit on and Duncan grabbed the one next to her, much to her chagrin. Chris announced Owen as the winner and handed him a huge cheque. He was then thrown into the lake by Duncan, Geoff and Owen, kicking and screaming.

Courtney didn't bother to go down to the dock to watch, instead walking over to her old cabin brushing her hand along the railing as she walked up the stairs, feeling strangely nostalgic over this grotty old thing. She stood in the porch light, watching with a small smile as the guys chased Chef around, trying to grab him to throw him into the water as well. This was probably going to be the last time she'd see any of them and it was a little bittersweet.

Duncan looked up and spotted her and grinned. She stiffened as he abandoned his chase and sauntered towards her. Courtney glanced around for an escape route before resigning herself to her fate. She honestly didn't trust herself around him.

"It's weird, huh?" Duncan said as he walked up the steps of the cabin to join her.

"What is?" she asked, not looking at him.

"That this is our last night," Duncan mused, voicing Courtney's own thoughts. "Feels like I've been here forever."

"Yeah," Courtney nodded. She heard giggling coming from somewhere close by and she looked over to the next cabin to see Lindsay dragging Tyler from the cabin. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they'd been doing.

"Oh, heyyyy, Duncan, Courtney," Lindsay giggled, walking over to them. "We were just… oh you know," she winked. Courtney raised her eyebrows at the blonde. "I saw you guys kissing earlier," Lindsay continued suggestively, and Courtney felt a blush rise in her cheeks. "I guess you decided to tell him then. That is so great! I'm so glad you guys could work things out! Everyone deserves to be happy, even people as mean as you two." Lindsay grinned and skipped off, dragging Tyler with her. She had no idea what she'd just said, but Duncan hadn't missed it.

"Tell me what?" he asked in confusion.

"Nothing," Courtney said quickly, but she wasn't convincing enough.

"Seriously Courtney, what did she think you told me?" Duncan demanded.

"Nothing, okay? Will you just drop it?" Courtney snapped, still refusing to look at Duncan. Duncan grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"What is it?" he asked desperately. "For god's sake, tell me if it could help us be together!" Courtney's heart lurched at the words, and she found herself angry again, because he didn't understand how it would change everything.

"You think you want to know, but you don't, okay? Trust me," she urged.

"How can I trust you when you've obviously been lying to me about something?" Duncan groaned angrily.

"Fine. You want to know? Fine," she spat, pulling her grey sweater over her head and throwing it to the ground, before tugging the collar of her shirt open and revealing the bright green lines glowing on her chest. She stared at him, her heart pounding out of her chest as his eyes widened and he took a step back.

"Wait, what?" he stammered. Courtney didn't think she'd ever seen him so lost for words.

"You did this to me," she accused, her voice shaking.

"Courtney…" Duncan said softly. Courtney ignored him, picking up her sweater and pushing past him. "Courtney, wait!" he called.

"Fuck off, Duncan!" Courtney yelled back as she marched down to the dock where the ferry was waiting to take them all back to Playa des Losers for one last night.