Author's Notes: Hey guys! I know this goes against what I said before but I was shockingly able to find the time recently to get out another chapter for another story! This was mainly because of a brief (and I mean very brief) break in my graduate school workload after my midterm assignments.

I don't have too much to say here since I'm planning to have a long endnote. But one thing I'll say here is that, as you've likely already noticed, this chapter is by far the longest chapter yet for this story! The reason is because with this chapter I'm attempting to show things from two character's points of view as time progresses. Make sure to let me know if you think I handle this well or not, ok?

And to allow you to do that, here's the fifth chapter of "A TDA Love Triangle with Betty, Cody, and Gwenny": Gaming with Gwen

(Cody's POV)

I was feeling good, happy, and content.

At this moment I was being swarmed by huge mutants and pissed-off space marines with superior weaponry who wanted to riddle me full of bullet holes and tea-bag my corpse as they shouted insults so foul that even the most hardened of sailors would have cringed at.

I was feeling good, happy, and content indeed.

Within three seconds my body was ripped apart by a barrage of bullets and ended up spraying copious amount of blood everywhere.

My mood was not lessened any by this turn of events.

Not even seeing my ally falling as a bloodied heap a few moments later changed that.

However, said ally was far from pleased.

"I told you that would happen. But no, you just had to storm their main base with only a pistol and some 'yo mama' jokes. Surely that couldn't backfire in any possible way!" Noah says, with his voice as dripping in sarcasm as ever.

Maybe I should back up a bit, uh?

Well, thankfully, it wasn't really me whose body was ripped apart by a barrage of bullets. Instead it was the character I had created for the latest massive hit in on-line gaming, Bullet Barrage. A kind of parody of most on-line first-person shooters, complete with an emphasis on encouraging gory skill-shots and hilarious, intentionally bad dialogue.

This very enjoyable game, quickly becoming a personal favorite of mine, was being played in the hotel's video game room, on the third floor. In addition to some classic old-school arcade style video games, it also had a huge flat-screen t.v and the latest in modern console gaming. In short, it was in almost everyway imaginable my vision of heaven!

Well, my vision of heaven in almost everyway imaginable…

No, no…don't dwell on that, Cody. Focus on the positives, because there's plenty.

I must have been in a better mood than even I realized since Noah commented as sarcastically as ever, "And what exactly has you so happy? Are you still reliving your imagined romantic exploits with Vampira and Malibu from yesterday, Mr. Casanova? Who knows, now that you've reached out to them maybe they'll both come here in very revealing bikinis to sweep you off of your feet and share a hot threesome with you?"

Naturally, as soon as we started playing I told Noah everything that happened yesterday! Its not everyday that not just one but two amazing things with two amazing girls happen to me! And just as naturally, Noah didn't believe a single word of my story. That much I didn't take offense to, despite it happening I couldn't blame anyone for not believing it.

Saying the whole sequence of events out loud, it does sound… well… pretty unlikely.

I mean, in the same day where I get my dream-girl to end any possible grudge she may have towards me, get her to feel better even if only for a little bit, and leave with her considering me as a real friend…another girl who in many ways is just as amazing finds needed emotional comfort in me, even giving me a kiss on the cheek for my trouble!

Even if nothing else ever came out of it, yesterday would be a day I'll forever cherish!

But there was something in Noah's words that I did take great offense too.

"There was nothing romantic or planned in what happened yesterday, Noah! I wasn't trying to manipulate either of them for my own ends, if that's what you're implying! Neither Gwen or Bridgette are some kind of garden-variety sluts only for my pleasure!"

I must have been angrier at the accusation then I realized since Noah held up his hands in defense, "Whoa, whoa there, Knight in Shining Armor! Calm down! There's no need to get snappy with me. Fine, you were just being a male Mother Teresa…happy now?"

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't. Not one little bit. But most of it didn't come from Noah.

No. Most of my bile was aimed at two people…Geoff and myself.

My reasons for hating Geoff should be obvious. He broke up with Bridgette, reduced her to tears after apparently being a real jerk for quite some time. I'm not a violent person, heck; I'm not even an assertive person. But whenever I see Geoff it's going to be hard to fight the urge to punch him in the face! I once thought he was a cool guy, but not now! Of course then I remember how buff he is and how lacking in muscles I am. That sucks.

This isn't like with Gwen and Trent where I can't bring myself to hate either party. No, the entire onus is on Geoff's blonde head…as if there weren't enough tears here already!

But even Geoff wasn't whom I was the maddest at. So why am I so mad at myself?

Despite there clearly being nothing romantic in my actions yesterday…I wish there was.

I hate admitting this but part of me really wishes that something had happened yesterday. I mean, all my life barely any girl who I wasn't somehow related to have ever noticed me. Then, on literally the same day, I have real movie-equse moments with two great girls. Oh, how I wanted for one of them to do something crazy…kiss me; say they liked me! Despite me knowing it makes no sense, I almost wanted it to become like a porno!

I'm going to sound like such a creep but while talking to both girls a part of me couldn't help but imagine them in their underwear…or even less. I feel so bad about that but I can't help it! After literally years of no girl ever actually liking my company, I suddenly found two doing so…including the girl that I've had a massive crush on for a whole season. But then I think about how both girls were in emotionally vulnerable states. Thinking those kinds of thoughts with them like that feels so dirty…and not in the good, hot, sexy kind of way. The last thing I want to be is like Geoff, someone who just sees girls as just sexy objects. They aren't. They are wonderful human beings with minds, flaws (as few and unlikely as they may be), and unique feelings, hopes, and dreams.

And I'd wager far more than a pretty penny that none of those things involve me…sadly.

I don't mean to sound like your standard love-starved teenager but that's kind of what I am. Is it so wrong that I want to have a girlfriend, to be happy because of her and make her happy? If it is, it doesn't matter, because I won't be finding one anytime soon.

As I said (or thought?) before, Gwen is definitely in no mood to start dating again. She did say that she would maybe hang out with me sometime, but I doubt that'll happen. Gwen might not loathe me anymore but I question if she'll move beyond just that.

And with Bridgette, last night was literally the first time I ever actually interacted with her at all. Even with her in such a vulnerable state, the idea of her somehow developing instant feelings for me is so absurd…despite me almost wishing that it wasn't so absurd. Since she's the one who made the offer to become friends, she might hang out with me. I do feel bad for her. Maybe there's some way I can help cheer her up as a friend? I think I remember hearing that there's a beach near. Maybe we could have a beach-day together?

Despite that thought, I must have slipped into such a depressed looking face because Noah actually paused the game that we had just started and put down his controller.

"Come on, Cody. Are you really going to brood because of little, old me? I'm flattered but I don't swing that way…despite what all of those crazy fan-girls out there might believe." Noah says, his normally ever-present smirk and smugness completely gone.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but chuckle at Noah's remark. While we are NOT (I repeat NOT) a gay couple, he somehow could always lift my spirits. After I was eliminated from TDI and got out of that full-body cast, Noah was one of the few people who I hung out with on a regular basis. It turns out that we both shared many interests. True his endless, and I really do any endless, snarky and often belittling passive-aggressive remarks could wear on my nerves, but I slowly discovered any other side to him. He didn't show it often but he was capable of being something other than a know-it-all prick. To people whom he deemed worthy (meaning only me, Izzy, and Eva) he could be supportive and even comforting if needed. I wouldn't have believed it either, myself.

"Tell you what, Teresa, if I discover any concrete proof that any bit of your story is true, I'll give you ten bucks, admit that you are the better man, and kiss either Izzy or Eva. Shake on that?" Noah says, offering his hand, being assured that my story wasn't true.

While of course I knew it was, I had no idea how on earth I was suppose to prove it. I just didn't feel good about asking either Gwen or Bridgette to say what happened so close to their different emotional hardships over a pretty meager bet with Noah. Even so, I had nothing to lose by this wager it sounded like. So I shook Noah's hand happily smiling.

After that, I took a quick look at the clock. 10:00 AM. And nothing else to do all day.

Nice. Could things get any better?

(Gwen's POV)

10:25 AM.

That's the time after I keep my watch for the seventh time. There's a fun fact. Looking at a watch over and over again doesn't make time go by faster. Shocking, I know.

But I'm not sure what else to do? I mean, sure, I've dragged myself to here…but can I do this? Can I hang out with Cody as a friend? I want to think so but I can't see him as anything but an admittedly noble, but still geeky pervert. Is all that Cody can be with me?

I'm now just outside the opening to the game room Cody mentioned yesterday but can I?

Come on Gwen. Cody returned your bra and sees he wants to be friends with you. And you aren't exactly Miss Popular with friends coming out of the armpits around here.

All right, I know its not your strong suit Gwen but let's try something new and take a leap of faith. Oh God how I hate those! Ok, ok…calm down. How about this? If Cody starts to act like his "normal" self and starts hitting on you, you'll leave right away, ok?

Ok.

With that, I start to lift up my massive black boots and start to walk into the gaming room. They haven't felt this heavy in years, and they aren't the lightest of footwear.

After what must have been twenty or so steps, I was only a few feet from Cody and Noah. They were playing some video game and they were into it. So into it they didn't seem to see me.

As much fun as it was to be ignored for some pixels made to look like people (I think?), I decided to end this by coughing for their attention. Original idea, I know. But it worked. The two turned their heads and saw me. Cody actually dropped his controller in shock.

"Ga-Gwen!?" Cody yelled in surprise.

That caught me off-guard. Trying as hard as I could, I forced up a small smile as I say, "Hey…"

After that, my fake smile dropped. I was never very good at not acting how I feel, sadly.

Cody and Noah are just staring at me. Its like there's a massive spotlight over my head! Cody I can understand looking that way but why is Noah? Oh this isn't making this easy!

For likely about a minute, I just stand there, rubbing my arm as they stare at me. I really regret not coming up with some kind of speech or something. I'll just have to improvise.

"Yeah…listen Cody, I-I…I thought about what you said yesterday and I-"

"Ok, that's it. I've seen enough…I'm out." Noah says, standing up and interrupting me. I was actually thankful to him for that. I felt like a fish out of water and on a beach grill!

"Where, where are you going?" I say, sounding more shocked and worried than I was. Goddamn stress!

"To swallow my pride, find ten bucks, and kiss a girl who scares me more than death itself…all because Cody is the better man." Noah says, his voice as cynical, but also sounding defeated somehow.

As Noah leaves, I'm sure my face was one of total confusion. I can guess that's because I was totally confused. And though it seemed like Cody might have some idea, he was too.

"What was that?" I ask. Cody must still have been reeling in shock from me being here since it took him a few seconds to start answering me.

"I-I…I'll ta-tell…you la-later…"

(Cody's POV)

Was I dreaming? I HAD to be dreaming. Because if I wasn't that meant that Gwen was here…because of me. Because she wanted to see me! SHE ACTUALLY WANTED TO!

I was half tempted to start bouncing off the walls…but I thankfully chose not to.

However, it took every bit of control to not lose it in my happiness…and maybe scare her away. She didn't exactly look comfortable. Very quickly, my happiness was replaced by fear of that. It's hard to believe that two such strong emotions can be swapped out like that, uh?

"So…uh, Gwen…what are you-" I say, finding my voice slowly returning to me until…

"I'm here…to take you up on your offer." My Gothic Dream Girl says, looking torn. "There's nothing else for me to do and if I stayed in my hotel room all day I'd probably end up like Izzy."

"Now we can't have that." I say, flashing that smile that makes the ladies swoon and take a number…at least, that's what I like to think it does. "While I do kind of think of Izzy as a friend after getting to know her after we were booted out of TDI, I wouldn't want you to end up like that. Your much more awesome the way you are…meaning not crazy."

My answer seemed to be a good one since Gwen's terrific teal lips curved into the slightest of smiles as she says a simple but sincere sounding, "Thanks."

Seeing Gwen's small smile and noticeable improvement in demeanor, I smiled back.

That's good Cody. Now make sure to comment on how hot she is…No, I can't. I'm not trying to hit on her anymore.

Suddenly my small smile disappeared.

Looking somewhat unconformable, Gwen says, "So, how did you sleep last night, Cody?"

Oh, I slept like an angel, because you were in my dr-NO! No more hitting on her!

"Oh, I actually slept pretty good last night. The beds here are pretty comfy. How did you sleep?" I say.

Slightly nodding her head, Gwen says, "Yeah, I know what you mean. The beds in those trailers on the film lot aren't anywhere near as comfortable as the beds in this hotel. I guess you and others here since the start dodged a bullet by not being in this season, eh?"

Come on Cody…stay focused! Don't let your eyes wander. Ignore her fine figure…and her pale skin that contrasts with her dark clothes so lovingly…and her teal eyes that are like shining sapphires…and her-DAMN IT CODY! You're doing it now. Stop noticing her very sexy body!

"Uh…yeah. That seems about right. I guess really is a few notches better than Chris, right?" I say, struggling against the hidden emotional maelstrom within his head.

"Yup, it would seem that way." Gwen says, the statement dying the moment it left her lips.

My God, this is a disaster! I just realized, I've never actually talked to Gwen; I've only ever hit on her. Could there really be no way for us to establish a bond as friends!?

"So…uh, what were you and Noah playing before I came here?" Gwen asks.

"Oh…um, Bullet Barrage. Have you ever played that one?" I ask back.

"No, no I haven't. Honestly, I'm not sure I'll ever really get into video games."

I fought it but I repressed a smile. Knowing what I know about Gwen, she was wrong.

"To each his own. How about this? How about you watch me play a little and you can form an opinion off of that? How does that sound Gwen?"

After a long sigh, Gwen says, "Yeah, sure. Why not? What else do I have to do today?"

"Excellent!" I say as I prep the single player campaign. "Now, get ready to be amazed!"

"Oh, I'm sure…" She rolled her eyes, saying this in a sarcastic yet simultaneously sexy way (at least it was sexy to me, anyway). "It's going to be the greatest thing ever."

"Who knows? Maybe you'll change your mind after watching?" I said, chuckling to myself since I already knew the answer.

The look on Gwen's face could be based summed up by her silently saying, 'Oh boy…'

"Come on, you might like it!" I said, grinning.

She rolled her eyes again. "I've never played a video game I've liked…and I'm convinced this one won't be any different. How could it be?"

"Let's find out. Prepare for the brilliance that is Bullet Barrage!" I say starting it up.

After a brief cut scene of two guys sitting in a helicopter, the first moment of gameplay starts. The environment is mostly muted of color expect for countless kinds of bright neon, the most notable right now being several pillars of neon red light in the distance. The protagonist of the game, currently unseen, was operating a massive chain gun.

On the screen the MISSION OBJECTIVE appears: ATTACK THE ENEMY BASE!

"Wow…there really thinking outside of the box with their mission objectives." Gwen sarcastically says, clearly not impressed. Soon, I knew she would be.

As some men in an odd kind of battle armor appear at the top of an enemy tower, a torrent of bright blood red laser bullets are rained down upon them to badass gunfire sound effects. But that wasn't the best sound from the game. That was the soundtrack.

"Gonna tell Aunt Mary 'bout Uncle John,

He claim he has the misery, but I know he's having fun

Oh baby,

Ye-e-e-eh baby,

Woo-o-o-oh baby,

Havin' me some fun tonight."

"WHHAAAAAATTT!?" Gwen shouts, nearly causing me to fall out of my seat. "Is that Little Richard's Long Tall Sally!? A Predator reference? There's aPredator reference in the first ten seconds!?Yeah! Oh God, Cody, I take back every bit of skepticism I had…I love this game!" On her face, there was…there was a…smile.

Gwen was actually smiling. The most I had ever seen her smile before. That was great!

"Really, I didn't catch that. Do you like this?" I say, happily sarcastic with a smile. The moment I got to this part, I knew that Gwen would enjoy this, having already known of her love for good science fiction movies, in particular the violent ones, just like me.

The laser chain gun continued to unleash its crimson stream of death upon the enemies. It struck a large container with red markings at the base of one of the enemy towers. Naturally, it was an explosive barrel and it caused the whole tower to come crumbling down. It was glorious! And it was made even more so when a few more were seen.

Gwen's look of joy actually increased somehow.

"Well, long tall Sally she's

Built for speed, she got

Everything that Uncle John need

Oh baby,

Ye-e-e-eh baby,

Woo-o-o-oh baby,

Havin' me some fun tonight."

"I may not play many video games but they know how to start one off right. Give me a laser chain gun and Little Richard playing in a helicopter. Oohhhh, I love this stuff!" Gwen says, her smile remaining just as strong, becoming somehow even more beautiful.

An enemy helicopter is hovering pretty close by, shooting out a barrage of bright blue bullets. After a few seconds of wrathful red ones, it explodes and the burning wreckage falls onto another one of those giant red-exploding barrels, taking down another tower. Then that falling tower took out a second one, then a third, then a fourth, and so on!

"Its hard for me to say how happy it makes me to see you enjoying this game." I say.

"Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally.

He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley.

Oh baby,

Ye-e-e-eh baby,

Woo-o-o-oh baby,

Havin' me some fun tonight."

"Shockingly, I am. The only thing that could make it better is if a character says…" Gwen starts to say before a character spoke. Having already played this part and knowing the movie it was referencing, I just grinned from ear-to-ear, knowing what was to come.

"Yes, that's it! This will make you a goddamn sexual tyrannosaurs! Just like me."

"He said "sexual tyrannosaurs"! He said "sexual tyrannosaurs", Cody! WHOO!" Gwen cheers, the happiness on her face was completely unhidden and the cutest thing ever!

Indeed, there are few things that can surpass the cuteness of the contrast of a tough girl, for a lack of better words…gushing and geeking out.

After being unable to stop from small chuckles from escaping me that were drowned out by Gwen's loud cheering, I waited until the laser chain gun sequence was over before asking with a smirk, "What happened to not caring?"

Her face was blushing, coming the cutest shade of pink that really made me feel good!

"Uh…" Was all Gwen could say, she clearly didn't realize how loud she was being.

I couldn't help myself from grinning like a madman. "So, do you think its good?"

"Well…um, it-it had a good opening. But I can't judge it more than until I see more."

"Reasonable enough. Then just sit back and allow me to show you the marvels of Bullet Barrage!"

"Fine…but I'm sure that nothing will be able to top that opening." Gwen says.

(Gwen's POV)

I was wrong. Things only got even better after the opening!

For roughly the next hour, I saw sights that delighted way more than they ever should.

Its turns out that one of the gameplay mechanics of Bullet Barrage was that within the game itself there was a meter that gave points for kills, the more creative and brutal the kill, the more points the solider would get. And unless they got enough of those points, they wouldn't be capable of getting any more bullets. Unless they did creatively and astoundingly violent things a solider would get killed quickly. They encourage the player, Cody, to do things to other living things that would make Jack the Ripper blush while presenting it with the tongue not only firmly in cheek but boring its way out of the cheek.

It is awesome!

You know…if you in to that sort of thing?

Awesome things!

Man…I must sound like some serial killer in training, uh? Honestly, I'm not. My protest of the cruelty of Chris on Total Drama should prove that. But there's something about violent movies and video games that make me so happy and excited! Don't judge me. Or do. Not to sound too mean but I don't care. I'm actually enjoying myself for once!

If you don't see how that could be, allow me to reveal and explain some of the "skill shots" of this game, the ways of creatively killing mutants that are actually encouraged.

One: SHOCKER! Some unlucky mutant is kicked into some exposed electrical wire, causing the skeleton to become flickering bright neon blue as their limbs twitch and writhe in an agony that is so delightfully and darkly hilarious to watch.

Two: ENVIRO-MENTAL! Either one or many mutants are killed by some aspect of the environmental, most often exploding barrels that the enemies seem to hide behind like there safe or something. Either that or the giant structures just made of rusty metal spikes.

Three: PRICKED! After a good kick, an enemy is knocked onto a cactus and impaled.

Four: MERCY! After shooting some mutant in the kiwis, you shoot them in the head.

Five: COLONOSCOPY! The protagonist takes his gigantic shotgun and shoves it right up…well; I think you get the idea. And if you don't, look it up. The cringe is worth it.

Its like someone took the epically over-the-top awesomeness of the last ten minutes of Commando, made it into an entire video game, and made it even more over-the top.

As I have said before…it is awesome!

And it wasn't just the gory action, even if that would have been enough. The dialogue was so bad that I often found myself laughing. The best is the following exchange.

"If you give chase then I will kill your dicks!" A female character says to two males.

"What? What does that even mean!? Your gonna 'kill my dick'? Well, uh…then I'll kill your dick! How do about that, uh!?"

"How about we put aside all this dick-killing and kill the mutants who are trying to kill us…and our dicks?"

Yes, that was actually said in the game. I am not making this up, how could I think of something so stupid but so enjoyably stupid! I laughed for like two solid minutes.

And now for the biggest shock of all. These things, as awesome as they were, weren't what I was enjoying the most. No, what I was enjoying the most right now was…Cody!

Words cannot express how profoundly shocked I am to realize that fact!

Hanging out with him wasn't even close to as bad as I thought it was going to be. Cody was very different from what I thought he was, really. If I didn't know any better, I'd have said that this couldn't be the same Cody from Total Drama Island.

Having a hard time believing that? I understand. Let me explain why this is the case.

Very rarely was he doing anything that could even vaguely be considered hitting on me. He wasn't stumbling over his words out of fear of saying the wrong thing or offending me. Cody was treating me as an actual person instead of something to be put on pedestal when he wasn't making out with it. And he was relaxed, much more than I've ever seen him before. I guess video games are one of the few places were he has some self-esteem.

And I was very grateful for that because while playing this video game Cody was a blast! I might not say this directly to him at anytime within the foreseeable future but he's a lot of fun to be around. Apparently underneath that timid geeky shell is a comedic smart-ass.

Almost as soon as the game started, he started firing off mocking quips at the video game. It actually reminded me of when my little brother and me would do something very similar to some of those super-cheesy science-fiction films from the 1950s or so. What can I say? There's a part of me that loves to mock others, at least those who deserve it. And it seems like Cody did too. Soon we were having a kind of "contest" to see who could come up with the best comment to a line of dialogue or a specific act. In our back and forth as we were both mocking the game's dialogue I was reminded of Mystery Science Theater 3000, or any of those who have done the same kind of gimmick.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about so you're not totally lost.

"Ok, so the key to our very survival is in these locked doors! Now all I need to do is…" One of the main characters says before…

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The machine gun of the other main character is slightly smoking. And door remains shut.

"What? You said we needed what's behind these doors, right?" The second smugly says.

"Yes, why apply cognitive resources to a problem when you can just shoot bullets at it!" I say.

"But it's been over twenty-nine seconds since I shot something with my gun! I can't be considered a man unless I'm destroying something!" Cody says in mock anger.

"If you would have let me finish, I'd have said that the lock is bulletproof. Now I need to…"

"No way! I'm not goin' sit here fiddling my thumbs while you pick the lock you're your bobby pin! Space Marines don't wait for locks, we force them open with our cocks!"

"By the way, have I mentioned that I am a fictional character who works the military yet? Because I am!" Cody says.

"God! I have so many nuances to my character! I have so many levels! Angry. Frustrated. Stupid. I must be from the mind of William flippin' Shakespeare!" I mockingly proclaim.

"Uh…is that why I saw you saying another man on a balcony looked beautiful in the moonlight while wearing a dress last week, sir?"

"No, that was just my typical Thursday night."

Yes, we'd have back-and-forth exchanges like that the entire time. And they were fun.

My good mood must have been obvious because at one point Cody turned to me grinning as he said, "Told you you'd change your mind."

"I…" I started say before laughing at myself, what point was there in hiding the obvious. "Alright, fine. You were right!" I threw my arms out, standing up. "It's…a great game!"

Cody was smiling at me as I still laughed a bit at only now admitting that truth. He still had that same gap-toothed smile but for once it didn't look creepy or annoying or prevy. No, in a odd way, it was actually kind of charming, and sweet, and cute, and…

Wait, what!? There did that come from!?

"Hey, you wanna try?" Cody suddenly asked.

My eyes widened a bit, both from the suddenness of the question and my own thoughts. "What!?"

"Come on, I'll show you how to play." He says, placing the game controller in one hand and presenting it to me.

"No, I really shouldn't…" I say, not very convincingly it seems. Cody just looked at me. "I… Oh, whom am I kidding? Hand me that controller!"

After sitting back down, Cody started explaining to me the game's controls. They seemed simple enough. This isn't a reading War and Peace, after all. It's just a video game with one goal: murder all. I'm sure that I'll be able to master this video game in no time at all!

(Cody's POV)

It had been some time since I started the game up for Gwen, and, well…

"Crap, crap, crap, CRAP!" Gwen yelled, standing up. "I SO SHOT HIM FIRST!"

I was trying to muffle my laughter, but it was getting pretty tough. I'd never seen Gwen so emotional before…about anything. It was quite funny… and cute… Ah! No!

Stop thinking about those kinds of things! But it was getting harder and harder not to. As both Gwen and me have been playing this game, she's become hotter and hotter to me! There are few things that can top the beauty of a girl who's sexy, smart, nice (once you get to know her) and likes video games!

But…she's still not into me. And seeing her happy is way too nice for me to spoil. Besides, seeing her like this makes it very hard to be sad…and not bursting with laughter.

"Gwen, calm down…" I said, laughing slightly. "It's just a game."

She sighed. "I know… but it's just so damn frustrating… It looked so easy when you were playing!"

Gwen, to say the least, was doing very poorly.

"I never said it would be easy. I bet you thought it'd just be a mindless video game, eh?" I ask.

Gwen nods her head.

I couldn't help but laugh louder. "You'd be surprised how much they make you think; especially this one, even with the ridiculous outer shell!" I nudged her a bit, grinning.

She shook her head, smiling. "But it's a lot of fun… I'll admit." She says while standing up and stretching. "How long was I on?"

I was curious about that myself. I look at the clock…and was shocked. "Fa-four hours!

"Four hours!?" She seemed a bit embarrassed with herself.

"Hey, its no biggie. That is only double my minimum game time! You should be proud!" I said, laughing some more.

"Oh my God. I'm far worse than I though! I'm transforming into a video game geek!" Gwen says in mock horror.

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked, still smiling. "It's a good life, you know?"

At this point we were both laughing pretty good, but it calmed down after a minute or so.

Gwen sighed. "You know… I'll be honest; I was pretty skeptical about this at first."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, I just figured that you wouldn't be this, well…fun." She said, trying to find words. "I thought you'd act… well…"

"Annoying?" I ask, feeling a little down at knowing that my earlier fears were justified.

"…Yeah…" She said, looking down a bit seeming to be feeling guilt. "But anyways… I'm really having a lot of fun, honestly." She said, smiling warmly. "I know it's only been like five hours but I haven't felt this good for quite some time and I have you to thank. Thanks Cody."

I smiled, very touched by her words. "Well…" I say, blushing a bit. "Glad I could help."

You can't imagine how happy I was that Gwen didn't hate or was repelled by me! But there was a question nagging me in the back of my mind. I needed an answer to it.

After coughing nervously a bit, I ask her, "So, Gwen, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. Why are you being so nice to me today?"

She looked confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…and please don't take this the wrong way…" I say, chiding myself for opening with that. "But you haven't been the nicest person among the show's cast. Don't get me wrong; I think your great! But you weren't that nice to…well, most of the people on the island…certainly not me, that's for sure." I was now very nervous and rubbing my neck. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you've just been so…so…open today…with me."

"Well…yeah." She sighed. "I know I can be really bitter and sometimes downright anti-social but I'm trying to be a little nicer. After everything that's happened with Trent, I'm trying to not lose the few friends I have left here, meaning DJ and you."

It took all of my restraint to not smile. She finally considered me as an actual friend!

"I guess I'm trying to be nicer to you in particular Cody." Gwen says, returning my attention to her. "Yesterday I wasn't exactly the most welcoming or grateful person to you." I unintentionally cringed at remembering how angry she was. She seemed to notice my cringe as she continued with, "Exactly my point." Her voice got just a little softer as she released some chuckles that I could tell were at best bittersweet. "Looking back at what you did yesterday, I realized how much it meant to me…and how lonely I was. And after what I've done to you, both yesterday and on the island, I was kind of afraid that you'd shun me away." By now Gwen was looking down at the floor extremely sad.

I frowned. Despite being happy that Gwen was being honest with me, I didn't like seeing her sad. Remembering what I did yesterday, I reached out one of my hands and brought it under her chin to lift her face up slightly so her face was looking directly into mine own.

"Hey… don't worry about it. I know you didn't really mean anything by your actions before…in some ways I deserved them. But that's the past, Gwen. And this is the present. I really appreciate you acting like you are now." I say before grabbing one of her hands. After giving it a gentle squeeze, I add, "You know how much I love to see you happy."

Gwen smiled at me, making me feel even better than I was holding her lovely pale hand. "Oh, I know. And I'm very grateful for that. You really do deserve a girlfriend, Cody. Whoever that girl is, she'll be far luckier and far better than I could ever hope to be."

I'm sure by now my smile was threatening to break the borders of my face but I didn't care. Gwen considering me as a friend and wanting to spend time with me was great, but those things combined with her saying that I deserved a girlfriend were almost too much.

Part of me wanted to say that there couldn't be a girl better than Gwen but I didn't want to risk ruining the moment. So I just bit my tongue and enjoyed the touch of her hand.

I'm not sure for how long we stayed like that but Gwen started to cough before saying, "Uh, Cody. Could I, uh, have my hand back, please?"

Snapped out of my trance, I released her hand as if it were on fire. My face was bright red. Gwen was smirking at my reaction, making my blush and embarrassment worse.

While I was trapped due to my embarrassment paralyzing my whole body, Gwen stood up. "It's been truly great hanging out with you today, Cody. It really has. But I'm getting kind of hungry. So I'll bid you farewell, for now. Are you available again tomorrow?"

All of my embarrassment left me the moment I heard that Gwen actually wanted to do this again tomorrow! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this happening!

I was about to say yes as enthusiastically as I could…when I…remembered something. Or more accurately, I remembered someone.

"Uh, sorry Gwen but…I can't hang out again tomorrow. I'm, uh, kind of…making plans with someone else. Normally I'd cancel them to hang out with you but this person really could use some company. I won't to say who it is but she's also pretty lonely these days." I say, finding difficulty in both admitting this and saying no to hanging out with Gwen.

"She?" Gwen asks, raising one of her eyebrows. But then she just shrugs her shoulders. "That's fair enough. I certainly wouldn't want anyone else to be feeling as lonely as me." She then smirks that sexy smirk of hers. "You just keep surprising me today, Cody. You're quite the little gentleman, aren't you? Is this mystery girl being kept in a tall tower or something? You hoping to sneak in a kiss from another suffering young lady?"

Once again, I was trapped in my own embarrassment. I knew she was just teasing me but I could stop myself. I wasn't even able to articulate a response like I was for Noah earlier.

What released me from that entrapment was a gentle slug on the shoulder from my Dream Girl. "Oh, come on Cody. I was just kidding!" Though she wasn't smirking anymore, she was still smiling. But this time her smile was more gentle and kind. "Seriously though, I think its great your helping her out. Its no big deal, I'll find a way to entertain myself. I bet DJ would have no objections to hanging out with me tomorrow."

After about another minute or two of general conversation and a proper friendly goodbye, Gwen left. Once I turned off all of the game room's equipment and got what was mine, I left too. As I walked, I couldn't help but bask in the warmth I felt from how great today was. I had so much fun and, more importantly, I got Gwen to have so much fun as well!

Those thoughts and the components of them were what dominated my mind for most of the night. But, every now and then, an entirely different thought would flash before me.

Every now and then, I'd think about the other girl who needed my help right now.

Every now and then, I thought about Bridgette…and how I could cheer her up.

And there you have it! Gwen now considers Cody an actual friend! YAY! :)

Firstly, I'm still curious about how you felt I handled having multiple characters' points of view within the same chapter. So, what did you think of that aspect?

Having asked that again, now let's get to that long endnote hinted at already, eh?

To start with, I hope my portrayals of both Gwen and Cody are fair here. For Gwen, we know that she has a deep love of science fiction and horror films (and as a extension of that a love for violent entertainment) so her going gaga over a video game like the one shown here seemed to be fit very well for her character. Plus the idea of the tough-as-nails Goth gushing over something like this is such a cute idea! :) And for Cody, him being a gamer shouldn't be very shocking to anyone. However, I also thought that video games might be one of the few places where he can truly relax and not worry about what others think of him, where he can be himself. As a result of these two things, playing a video game like this seemed like the perfect way for the two to start an actual friendship and feel comfortable around each other.

Now then, let's briefly talk about the game itself, "Bullet Barrage". Now this game is one of my own creation but almost all of the ideas featured in it are directly borrowed from existing games. The games that have the strongest influence on this game are "Bulletstorm", "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon", "Saints Row the Third", "Saints Row IV", and the Deadpool video game among others. While I've never actually played any of these video games, I know all about them thanks to the let's play videos of 's "The Loading Bar" and the website "Rage Select" (with "Rage Select" being made after the "The Loading Bar" was ended on ). There videos are often hysterical and more than deserving of a look if you can.

Also, about "Bullet Barrage", aside from the portrayals of Gwen and Cody I'm the most worried about this game's involvement with this chapter. On the one hand, I felt like I had to describe at least some of what was happening on the screen for you to understand how its affecting the characters (in particular Gwen). But on the other hand, I'm kind of worried that I've either focused to much on the game and not the characters at points and that I take too much liberty with the sense of time while the game is being described. Just as with the characters, some feedback on this would do wonders to put my mind at ease. Please tell me what you think, ok?

Quick aside, the movie that Gwen was gushing over as being referenced was the 1987 science fiction action horror film Predator. If you haven't seen this movie, trust me, it is awesome! And the song being played in the movie, in two of the video games "Bullet Barrage" is based on (Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Saints Row IV), and "Bullet Barrage" is the 1956 rock and roll song "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard.

2nd quick aside. At the moment I'm contemplating another possible story idea. And it kind of relevant to this chapter since it would basically be a video game parody. Not too much is set in stone yet but there is one word that would describe much of it. And that word is…uh…that word is…oh, this is embarrassing; I have forgotten it! Let's see? What was that word? I remember it was four letters long. It ended in a "Y". It could be comparable to nutty, wacky, looney, kooky, and sexy…maybe? It began with an "I". And I think it was of the feminine persuasion. What could it be? ;) If you can figure out what I'm hinting at, please leave me your thoughts, ok?

As the end of this chapter will hopefully hint at…next time were going back to Bridgette! And not just for one chapter but likely two! The plan at the moment is to do the same basic thing that I did with Gwen, have a chapter with her alone and then a second in which the perspective switches between her's and Cody's. Hopefully this will make up for the lack of awesome surfer chick in these chapters.

It will likely be some time until I get around to writing the next chapter of this story. However, in the meantime, please leave me all of your thoughts about this chapter. I'm in particular interested in the feedback for this one since it may help determine how I handle future chapters.

As always, until next time, please: read, review, alert, favor, and spread the word!