Gwen's POV

"No, not this..." I mumbled to myself, throwing a pair of jeans and black blouse over my shoulder, holding up outfit after outfit, examining them against my body in my floor length mirror.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Duncan exclaimed gleefully, upon loudly entering my bedroom. I glared at him as he shut the door, ready to whip one of the shoes I'd decided against, at his head. He spoke again before I could tell him off or throw my projectile. "Calling me because you have a nine-one-one fashion emergency." He made air quotes around the last two words, and I huffed and ignored him; clutching a dark red dress and bringing it up to myself.

Shoving some of the clothes I'd tossed frantically on the bed, off, he laid down and put his arms behind his head. "So, why call me? Don't you have girlfriends for this sorta thing?"

I dropped the red dress to the floor with all the other clothes I didn't like, and walked over to my closet to grab another article of clothing. "Bridgette is at some party with Geoff, probably making out in a closet or something, and LeShawna is out on a date with Harold. So-" The rest of my sentence was drowned out by Duncan's sudden outburst of laughter.

"LeShawna is on a date with Harold? Oh Man, did she lose a bet or something?" He crowed, clutching his sides as he laughed. "I always thought Miss Loud and Proud had at least a little more taste than that!"

I threw the shoe I still hadn't relinquished at him, and it hit him in the shoulder. He winced, and I gave him a scowl. "Duncan, don't be an asshole. If LeShawna is happy, we have no right to judge."

He shrugged, rubbing his now sore shoulder. "I have every right to judge."

Rolling my eyes, I spun back around to look at my dwindling closet, and sighed. "I can't find anything to wear!"

The boy behind me glanced around my room skeptically, before raising an eyebrow. "In all these clothes, you can't find anything to wear? Jeez, Gwen, when did you become such a girl?"

Any other day, I would of punched Duncan for acting like such a jerk, but my time was running out, and I needed some help. "Just help me get ready, dammit!"

He smirked at me and I knew I was in for some trouble. "If I help you get ready for your date with Elvis, what's in it for me?"

Yep, there was the trouble. "One, don't call him that. Two, I'll do your Biology homework for a week." I promised, and he chuckled.

"I actually would of done it for nothing, but hey, I could always use the help."

I threw another shoe at him.

Ten minutes later I was dressed in a black skirt that fell a few inches above the knee, and an emerald green, satin halter top. I slipped on some leggings and my usual combat boots, then took one last look in the mirror.

"Are you sure I look alright?" I asked, twisting and turning to admire myself at different angles. "I don't know if I trust your sense of style..."

"Please," He scoffed. "I know better then anyone when it comes to what looks hot on you."

My stomach did a strange kind of flip at his comment, and I suddenly wondered if dinner tonight was such a good idea... Maybe I was coming down with some kind of stomach flu.

The doorbell rung then, and I looked at Duncan. "That should be Trent." I considered asking the teal-eyed boy to leave, but I figured it wasn't like he was going to steal anything of mine, so it didn't matter if he decided to hang around a while. However, for good measure, I added, "Don't stay too long, okay? Mom will be home in twenty minutes, and I don't want her thinking you're some kind of axe murderer, prowling around my bedroom."

The punk waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be gone soon. Go have fun, Gothy."

I grinned, and exited my bedroom as quick as I could, stomach settling down some, now.

Racing down the stairs, nearly stumbling, I heard Duncan shout out a quick, "Make sure to use a condom!" Causing my face to turn beat red, and I took a few deep breathes, hoping my date wouldn't notice.

I smiled to myself, and threw the front door open. Trent stood there, a shy smile of his own, on his face, as he handed me a bouquet of white Camellia flowers. I had always had a soft spot for Camellias, though I was unaware that anyone besides Duncan knew about that. Either Trent was simply amazing at guessing what I'd like, or he'd called Duncan. I was praying it was the first option.

"Wow, Gwen, you look gorgeous." He breathed, taking in my outfit. I could tell my face was heating up, again, after the reaction to my best friend's comment had only just worn off.

"Thank you. You look great, too."

He held out his arm for me, clad in a usual dark tux, with a blue tie. "Shall we, Beautiful?"

My stomach was now filled with butterflies, as I entwined my arm through his. "We shall."

Courtney's POV

"Vacation?" I frowned, and Nathan tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, smiling softly.

"Yes, it seems I won't be around for Christmas, after all. My Mother suddenly announced today that her, my Father, and myself, are all heading to Patricio. I could ask if you'd be allowed to join us, but-"

"No, no." I interrupted. "I don't want to disrupt your time with your family. Don't worry about it, Nate."

We were curled up against the fire place, watching movies and having a very lovely evening. However, knowing that my boyfriend wouldn't be around for Christmas, had me feeling a bit disappointed, to say the least.

"That reminds me," He piped up, suddenly, placing a kiss on my head and standing up, before walking into the foyer. He came back a second later, a wrapped gift in his hands.

I smiled. "I said I didn't want anything."

He set it before me, grinning. "And I didn't listen. I figure you should open it now, since I'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

The news saddened me further, but I didn't let it show, and began ripping the paper from the large package.

Gasping, I stared up at him in disbelief. "Nathan... This is amazing." It was a brand new violin, top of the line, best of the best.

"So you like it?"

"Absolutely."

He beamed at me, then took the garbage from my hands and made his way over to the trash can. About to throw the bundle of paper inside, he paused, then reached down and pulled out a thin white cardboard card from the can. I felt my breath hitch.

Nate looked over at me, and held up the card, hazel eyes seeming to burn a hole in me as he waited expectantly for an explanation. When I didn't say anything, he scoffed, angrily. "So now he's buying you jewelery? Where does he get off acting like this? Was my right hook too subtle for him?"

"It was just a candy ring. It's not a big deal." I responded, and got another dark look.

"Oh, now you're defending him?"

The hostility in his voice surprised me, and ticked me off simultaneously. "What are you getting so jealous for? It was a stupid candy!"

"It isn't just the candy, Courtney." I hated the tone he was using with me; patronizing. "It's the fact that you're falling for him."

Those three words made my blood boil, and with clenched teeth, I pointed toward the front door. "Get. Out."

It was his turn to look shocked. "Pardon?"

"You heard me. Get the hell out of my house!" I shouted, fury clouding every other emotion in my body. I had never been so glad in my entire life, that my Mom worked late tonight.

He said nothing as he stalked past me, then grabbed his shoes and was out the door. As soon as it shut, I jumped up and grabbed the violin, ripping the door open, I threw it as hard as I could into the snow. "And take your stupid present, too!"

Slamming the door shut so hard, it caused the whole house to rumble, I turned around and slid down it, sitting on my butt with my back against the wood.

Falling for him. Falling for Duncan. Impossible. Utterly absurd. How dare Nathan even suggest such a thing!

I clenched my hands into fists, but I could feel my eyes burning with on-coming tears that I rarely ever shed.

I accused Duncan of ruining our whole relationship, when it was I who just hammered the last nail into the coffin.

My pride was the only thing keeping me from running outside, chasing after Nate, and begging for his forgiveness.

I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my forehead against my knees, hiccuping quietly as the first of many tears began sliding down my face. For once, I just let myself drown in self-pity.

Duncan's POV

Arriving home, I found Ma taking a fresh batch of ginger bread cookies from the oven. Walking into the kitchen, I snatched one off the pan, and took a bite of it, ignoring Ma's warnings of them being hot. One burning tongue later, I began helping her ice some of the cooler cookies.

"So, where were you?" Ma asked, mixing up a batch of green icing.

"Gwen's. Helping her choose an outfit for her date." I grinned when I went to grab another sugary treat, when my hand was smacked with a spatula.

"No more until after dinner. And isn't that kind of... wrong, Dunc?" Ma asked, turned to face me now, expression displeased.

"Helping a friend? I don't see-"

She shook her blond head, silencing me. "A girl's ex-boyfriend helping pick out an outfit to go on a date with her new boyfriend."

I pursed my lips. When she put it like that, it really did sound kinda bad. "Well, it's too late now."

She rolled her eyes. "I realize that. I just don't want you to end up making things awkward between you two. I know how you act so thoughtlessly around Gwen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I muttered, icing a cookie with a little more force then necessary.

Ma reached up to pat my cheek lightly, giving me her signature smile. "I don't mean it offensively, Honey, but I know you. You'll end up saying something more suited for a girlfriend, then a best friend."

I stared at my Ma for a minute, and took this in. I had basically told Gwen she looked hot, and for a brief moment, she'd looked almost... stunned. "I see your point." I finally said.

She nodded, approving. "So, any progress with Courtney? I bet she liked that little present you sent her."

I dropped the cookie I'd been icing in astonishment. "How the fu-" I got a dirty look and paused. "How the fudge do you know about that?"

Ma chuckled. "I have Geoff on Facebook. You know, you'd think he thought it was Twitter with how many times he updates his status."

Giving her a deadpan expression, I grunted in irritation. "That's bastard."

She ignored the curse for once, and patted my arm. "He didn't say what you gave her, only, 'Duncan's sending a gift to his soon-to-be gal. I wish my Bro luck!' So, what did you get her?"

I was a bit bewildered with the fact that Ma seemed actually excited, even though she'd told me only days before, to stay away from Court. Still, this was better then her being against me pursuing Princess.

"Sorry, it's a secret." I gave her a cheeky grin, and grabbed one more cookie from the tray, and dashed away before I could get smacked again.

Little did I know, everything was starting to come un-done.

AN: So, Gwen and Trent's date will be next chapter. And could Nate be right? Is Courtney falling for Duncan? Gasp, nooo. That couldn't be. :P