Disclaimer: I do not own the Total Drama series or anything else copyrighted.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Just a little note (for I have forgotten to do this in a few chapters before) - while this isn't a very sexual chapter, there are a couple of those moments in here. Also, for those who read "The Fake Engagement"... Remember chapter three, entitled "The Ring"? You'll be happy to know that a certain moment briefly explained in that chapter is fully explained here. (If you don't remember a certain moment, go back and read that before reading this... It'll all make sense once you read this.) Please, please review!
Courtney couldn't help her smile as she drove down the street and up to Duncan's house. She had a number of reasons to smile. She was turning 18 that day. She was officially an adult! She had spent a lot of the day with her parents, who made her breakfast and took her out to lunch. Unfortunately, her Dad got called into work after lunch, but her Mom was able to take her shopping. She was also happy because she was going out to dinner with Duncan and was going to spend the night with him. They've been out to dinner plenty of times, but tonight, they were going out to a special, nicer restaurant, something they never did before. She had spend the night with him before, but the next day, he was going to graduate high school. She didn't want to have to travel back and forth between Toronto and Hamilton of the course of those few days, so she decided to stay with him.
She was so very proud of him. When she first met him, she thought he was going to drop out of high school. She didn't think he was very intelligent at all. But they soon started dating, and as she really got to know him, she was very wrong. Even during those moments in between "Total Drama Island" and "Total Drama Action" where they didn't quite talk as much, she got to learn things about him on Facebook. He wasn't just a delinquent that always got into trouble and hung around the wrong crowd. His cousin, Brian, was his best friend, and they were almost complete opposites. They both swore like sailors, and, at times, acted a bit immature for their ages. When they decided to really work on their relationship, she learned of his intelligence. He used it only when necessary; he wasn't about to go out and use those big words he sometimes knew the meaning to.
As she pulled up to his house, she realized that there were a lot of cars parked in his driveway and in front of his house. She pursed her lips and decided to park in front of the neighbor's house. Hopefully they wouldn't mind too much, seeing as she would only be there for a few minutes... hopefully. She knew there was a change he would be driving. She got out of her car, grabbing her handbag. As she walked up to his house, she thought about how she looked. She wore a solid black dress that had one strap. On that one strap was a large, black flower. The dress ended three inches above her knee. Her shoes were also solid black. They were five inches in height, and were some of the tallest shoes she had ever worn. She stepped up his front steps and knocked on his door.
"Aah, I figured it was you..."
She rolled her eyes at Brian. "Really, now?" she retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"You know, if you and Duncan weren't dating, I'd totally hit on you..." he quietly said, leaning forward as he did so.
Whether or not he was serious, she wasn't sure. She playfully said, "You know, if Duncan and I weren't dating, you and I probably wouldn't know each other..."
"Who's there?"
Courtney furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't recognize the voice, but could tell it was an older woman. "Who was that?"
Brian grinned. "My Mom," he proudly said. He turned around and called out, "It's Courtney!"
Courtney smiled, nodding. Now she fully understood why all the cars were there. "So... All these cars that are parked here... Everyone in Duncan's family, right?"
"And mine." He smirked, rolling his eyes. "But yes, his family. And there's only more to come..."
She laughed. "I see. So, where is my boyfriend?"
"Hmm..." Brian put a finger to his lips, looking away thoughtfully. "I'm... Not sure, actually. I'm not sure where him or his Momma are at..."
"I'm... I don't think his Mom is accompanying us tonight," she muttered.
He chuckled. "No, no. But, you know them... If you can find one, you can find the other, and I can't find either, so..."
She giggled. "Well, may I step inside?"
He shrugged, opening the door and stepping aside. She walked in and looked around. "Mom!" Brian immediately called out, causing Courtney to jump.
A slightly older woman walked into the room. "Yes?" she asked.
"Mom, Courtney... Duncan's girlfriend," Brian said, introducing the two women. "Courtney, Mom... Sally, Duncan's Aunt, whatever you want to call her..."
The woman laughed, walking over to Courtney and shaking her hand. "Just call me Sally," she said, smiling.
Courtney smiled. "It's nice to meet you."
"Where are Duncan and Suzie?" Brian asked.
Sally thought for a moment. "Upstairs," she finally said. "Yeah, they're upstairs." She quickly turned to Courtney and said, "Don't go up there."
"Oh, yeah," Brian said, nodding. "Don't go up there... Good thing we remembered when we did..."
"So, why should I stay away from upstairs?" Courtney questioned.
"Duncan and Suzie are just up in his room," Sally explained. "But they've been up there for a while, let me see if they'll come down..." She walked over to the edge of the staircase and exclaimed, "Suzie!"
"You know what I just noticed?" Brian asked.
Courtney turned and looked at her boyfriend's cousin. "What would that be?"
"You're almost as tall as me today. Did you shoot up a few inches since we last saw each other?"
Courtney smirked. "Yep. Five inches."
"Really?"
She laughed, rolling her eyes. "No," she said. She then pointed down at her shoes and said, "You might want to take a look at these..."
He followed her finger and nodded. "Those are some mighty tall shoes," he said.
"Oh, my God, Courtney!"
Courtney smiled slightly as she was engulfed in a hug by Duncan's Mom. "Hello," she muttered.
"You are so pretty tonight!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed, now holding out the younger girl in front of her. She paused for a moment before saying, "And we're the same height today..." She looked down and gasped. "Oh, my! Can you walk in those?"
Courtney nodded, smiling. "Yeah. I've worn taller shoes..."
"Oh, you are so pretty..." Suzie softly said. "And so toned! I am so jealous, sweetie."
Courtney laughed, a blush instantly covering her cheeks. "I, uh... I just work out every now and then..."
"I was just a skinny little thing back in high school," Mrs. Evans said. "Barely any muscle... nothing."
"Someone's super jealous and creepy..." Brian muttered.
Mrs. Evans rolled her eyes and turned to her nephew. "Go upstairs and see what's taking Duncan. I told him to come down, but..."
Brian nodded. He walked to the end of the stairs and started to walk up when he stopped. He grinned. He covered his mouth, in hopes no one would see what he was saying, and mouthed to his cousin, 'Your girlfriend is hot!'
Duncan glared at his cousin as he slowly made his way downstairs. "You better not have been hitting on her..."
"And what if I was?" Brian retorted, raising an eyebrow.
Duncan rolled his eyes as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He looked over and had to keep his mouth in place so it wouldn't drop open. To say his girlfriend looked good was an understatement. She was beautiful, gorgeous, sexy... He knew there were more very positive words to describe her, but he couldn't think of any.
"Hey," he softly said as he approached his girlfriend.
"Hey," Courtney softly said, reaching forward and grabbing his hands.
"You ready for tonight?" he quietly asked, lightly swinging their hands.
She nodded, smiling. "I am."
He smiled. "Good." He looked at his Mom and said, "We're off."
"Oh, you two have fun," Mrs. Evans said, smiling an extremely giddy smile.
The two teens said their good-bye's as they walked out of Duncan's house. Once the door was shut and they were on the front porch, Duncan immediately grabbed the back of her head and pulled Courtney into a passionate kiss. She let out a moan, placing one hand on his chest and the other on his jaw. She wasn't expecting him to do that, but it sure did feel great.
"What was that for?" she softly asked.
"You look so amazing tonight," he softly said, running a hand through her hair.
She grinned. "You look really handsome yourself." He grinned and leaned forward, kissing her forehead. He grabbed her hand and began leading her to his car. After settling in, she asked, "So where are we going?"
He grinned even more. He waited until he drove away from his house before saying, "It's a surprise, babe."
She rolled her eyes, but a smile still remained on her face. "I see," she said. "Am I dressed appropriately? And don't even think about saying 'For now...'."
He chuckled. "One, I wasn't thinking that, and two, yes. You're dressed perfectly."
"That's good."
He nodded. "So, how was your birthday?"
"Well, it hasn't ended yet..."
"Someone's especially witty today..." he muttered, smirking.
She giggled. "It's been good. I spent almost the entire day with my parents. I'm sure it'll be even better now that I'm spending the night with you..."
"Hopin' to score a bit, eh?"
She giggled. "Maybe," she teasingly said.
"Well, I've got a bunch of family at the house, and my little cousin's been known to barge into my room at times, so if we do anything, it'll have to be a quickie or something, like, in the car or at some hotel around here..."
"I was kind of joking around," she muttered. "But if you're serious..."
He paused, focusing on the road ahead of him. He finally said, "We can decide later."
She nodded. She turned in the seat so she could face Duncan. "Thank you for taking me out tonight," she softly said.
Since he was stopped at a red light, he turned to her and smiled. "You're welcome," he said. "Plus, we've got two things to celebrate tonight - your journey into adulthood, and my graduation..."
She giggled, rolling her eyes. She let out a yawn and shut her eyes for a few moments.
"Are you that tired?" he asked.
She nodded, keeping her eyes shut. "A little bit..."
"Do I have to pull over and wake you up a bit?"
"No, no, I'm hungry..."
"Maybe this will do the trick..." While keeping his eyes on the road, he reached over and started stroking her thighs. As his light stroke reached higher and higher, she started to turn away. She opened her eyes and had to bit her lip to keep from making any noises. "What?" he whined, keeping his hand on her leg.
"Just pay attention to the road," she said.
He raised an eyebrow at her, for she had this giddy smile on her face. "What?"
"If I had let you reach any higher, you would've pulled over."
He paused for a moment, his fingers tapping against her bare leg. Suddenly his eyes widened. "No way."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her legs. "'No way' what?"
"Are you seriously not wearing any underwear?"
She shrugged, a coy smile plastered across her face. "Maybe, maybe not."
Once they stopped at another red light, his hand shot to her waist. He couldn't reach under her dress, so instead he felt the outside of her dress. "Oh, you tease," he muttered once he found the outline of her underwear.
"Of course I'm wearing underwear," she muttered.
"Makin' me not pay attention to the road..."
"You felt me up when we were at a red light!"
"Leadin' me on..."
"You weren't touching the right place, sweetheart... Oh, my God, we're going here?"
"Mmhmm..." he said, smirking lightly. "I wasn't touching the right place?"
"Nope," she said, grinning at him. "You didn't get the picture I sent you last week, did you?"
He slowly shook his head. "No... Why?"
She bent down and picked up her handbag. She grabbed her cell phone out of the bag and began browsing through it. She turned the phone towards him once she found the right picture.
He scanned the picture and gasped. His eyes grew wide. His surprised reaction turned into a devious, naughty smirk. "The Princess has got a new piercing..."
"Yep."
"I want to see..."
"You're looking at the picture."
"No, lift up your dress."
"No!"
"Please?"
She let out a sigh and turned around. Once she was absolutely sure no one was around, she took off her seat belt. She then proceeded to pull up her dress past her underwear and up to her waist. There, on her belly button, was a ring. It wasn't too fancy - just a normal, barbel ring - but it still entranced Duncan nonetheless.
"Holy shit," he breathed. He reached over and touched the ring. He also gave it a light tug, causing her to make a noise that was a mixture between a moan and a whimper.
She wore a grimace as she muttered, "Don't pull on it..."
"Get it done at a cheap place?" he asked, frowning slightly.
"No!" she snapped. "But, uhh... You know my belly button is a sensitive spot for me..."
He grinned. "Aah, yes, I remember now..."
"Oh, hush," she darkly muttered, narrowing her eyes at him. She pulled down her dress and asked, "So we're eating here, huh?"
"Yep," he said, getting out of his car.
"This is really, really expensive..." she muttered, also stepping out of his car.
"And?"
"I..."
"Don't worry about it." He gave her a small, genuine smile. "It's your birthday." She let out a sigh, frowning slightly. He was at her side before she could say anything. He wrapped his arm around her and persistently said, "Don't worry about. Whatever you were thinking about... Throw it away. Or we can talk about it at the table. We're right on time for the reservation."
"You...made a reservation?" she softly asked, looking at him.
He nodded. "I sure did." He opened the door and waited until she walked in before quickly walking to her side.
"Hello," the hostess said.
"Hello," the two of them said. Duncan then said, "I have a reservation for two under Evans..."
"Aah, yes, here you are," the hostess said. "Follow me right this way."
The two followed the hostess to the back of the room. They held hands with each other, staying close to each others side. They sat down at a small table across from one another in the back of the room.
"This is beautiful," Courtney quietly marveled, looking around the room in awe. Duncan smiled, opening the menu and looking through it.
"Hello, what can I get the two of you to drink?"
"I'll have an Amaro Averna," Duncan said. He pulled out his I.D. and showed it to the waiter.
"I'll have... um... I'll have a champagne cocktail," Courtney said, also pulling out her I.D. and showing it to the waiter.
"You're drinking tonight?" Duncan asked, a little surprised.
Courtney shrugged. "It's my eighteenth birthday. I'm of legal age now. Might as well have a drink or two. I hope you don't plan on drinking much..."
He shook his head, placing his menu on the table. "Nah. That's the only alcoholic drink I'm getting."
She nodded, still browsing through the menu. "What are you getting?"
"The 'Hamlet's Joy'," he said.
She looked for that item on the menu. Once she found it, her eyes instantly widened. "Oh my..."
"Remember, you can get whatever you want..."
"Whatever I want, eh?"
He rolled his eyes, smirking. "Hah, hah. You know what I mean."
She nodded and said, "I think I'll get the lemon poached salmon... and a Caesar salad."
"Still cheaper than my food..." he said in a sing-song voice.
She glared at him. "I'm sorry, would you like me to get the thick New York sirloin?"
He reached over and grabbed her hand. "I'm just messing with you," he softly said. At the moment, their waiter came back over with their drinks. They then each ordered their food. Right before their waiter walked away, Duncan said to him, "Hey." The waiter bent down, and Duncan started whispering something to him.
Courtney stared at them curiously. What was Duncan saying to the waiter? After the waiter walked off, she immediately asked, "What did you say to him?"
"I didn't change your food," Duncan told her. "I... I wanted to do this later in the meal, but I think now is a good time to talk to you..."
Oh, my God.
Courtney just sat in her seat. She didn't say anything. A small frown did appear on her face, though. Her insides starting turning at his words. He wanted to talk to her now instead of later?
Immediately noticing her now tense attitude, he quickly told her, "I'm not breaking up with you."
She let out a sigh, something she didn't realize she needed to do. She gave him a soft smile and said, "That's... That's good."
"What made you think that?" he asked, honestly confused.
She gave him a measly shrug and said, "It's just the way you said you wanted to talk to me now instead of later... I don't know..."
He reached back over and grabbed both of her hands. "I wouldn't dream of breaking up with you."
"I've had a couple of dreams where you broke up with me," she quietly said.
"I remember the last one," he said, smiling softly. "What was it... It was a couple of weeks ago, right?" When she nodded, he said, "I had a dream once where you broke up with me... I think that was a nightmare, though..."
She let out a small laugh. "Yeah, those dreams could be considered nightmares." She intertwined her fingers in his and said, "So, um... What did you want to talk about?"
He stared at her for at least a minute, his eyes inquisitive and thoughtful. "You know I love you, right?"
She nodded, a smile forming on her face. "Of course."
"I... I never thought I'd meet someone like you," he quietly began. He then pursed his lips and said, "Okay, scratch that... I never thought I'd like someone like you, Courtney. Well, what I first thought you were. Uptight, prissy, insane... But then I got to know you. You loosened up, and despite what people say about me changing you, you... you opened up. Then we left the show, and... I realized there was that something about you. That's why I found you on Facebook. Of course, I got to know a little more about you during our last week together on the show. But I learned more about you on Facebook in between the two shows..."
She couldn't help but smile as he spoke. She knew what he was saying was genuine and honest. He spoke in such a quiet, calm manner, something she rarely saw him do. She kept their fingers intertwined, never wanting to let go.
"Of course, the second season happened..." He let out a sigh. His thumbs ran over her hands. He hated thinking about all the crap they went through during that time. Even she wasn't liking what was about to come up, and she didn't know what he was going to say. He continued, "I was shocked to see you return. Did I know anything about that lawsuit? Nope. I... Our playful banter picked up right where it left off, but I think it got serious after a while. It really was war for a few days there. Then we tried to keep that relationship going... We tried communicating, but I think we got lost in trying to think of our own ways to make the relationship perfect. You wanted all these different things, and I..." He shrugged. "I did what you wanted. I didn't want to break up with you. After a few days, I snapped. I didn't care anymore. I thought you were too thick-headed to even see things my way..."
Courtney wasn't even looking at him at this point. She was staring down at their hands. She was gripping his a lot more than she was before. Thankfully, she was keeping her breathing steady, but she knew she could break down at any point. He knew she hated how she acted at that time. She wasn't sure why he was bringing all of this up, but knew there had to be a reason, so she kept silent.
"That's why I voted you off. I wasn't sure what to think at that point. I needed some time to think about us without you being there, trying to make us into this perfect couple. Then I won, and we kissed... a lot..." He chuckled, shaking his head. "But I knew things weren't magically better because of our make-out and you deeming me a 'King' or whatever... Then you left me that note." He paused for another few moments, once again gathering his thoughts. "I knew there was no reason why I couldn't give you, or us, another chance. I've been given plenty of those, and I never really give any in return..." He shrugged.
"Then we really started going out. We basically started fresh. Yet again, I just wanted to be your boyfriend. It's like I told you, my longest relationship prior to this was a week long. A week. I had more flings, more one or two-night stands, than anything else. I had never been in love. This..." He pointed back and forth between the two of this. "This scares me at times. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have you as my girlfriend. We used to be complete opposites, but we found out we had a lot in common."
He took a deep breath in and let it out. He reached forward and tilted her chin up. Once their eyes locked, he said, "Promise me something, Courtney."
"Go on," she softly said.
"Promise me that... I hope that we can stay together forever, I really do." She could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes as he continued, "Promise me that you'll never change. Always stay true to yourself, okay? Even... even if we suddenly have to break up, you can't change for anyone else. You continue to be that smart, sexy, rebellious..." He tried to think of more words but shrugged as he said, "...awesome girl you are. Okay?"
She nodded, biting her lip. Tears were falling down her face and onto the table. "I... I promise," she choked out
He smiled, nodding. He brought her hands up to his mouth and gave them a kiss.
"I love you, Duncan," she choked out, the tears still falling down her face. "I really, really, really do. I mean it."
"I know," he softly said, giving her hands another kiss. "I love you, too. Now..." He placed her hands on the table and left his on top of hers as he said, "Close your eyes, okay?"
She quickly nodded. She shut her eyes and let out a few deep breaths.
He patted her hands and reached into his back pocket. In there was a small velvet case. He took a deep breath and held it in his palm in the middle of the table. "Okay," he finally said.
She slowly opened her eyes. Once her eyes landed on his palm, she gasped and covered her mouth. She knew more tears had begun falling down her face. This so wasn't a break-up - it was a proposal!
"I'm not proposing to you."
She blinked, staring between him and the velvet case. "Are those earrings?" she softly asked, slowly uncovering her mouth. He shook his head, chuckling softly. He then proceeded to open the case, causing her to gasp once more. "I-I thought you said you weren't proposing!" she softly exclaimed, her eyes wide once more.
"It's a promise ring," he stated.
She slowly nodded. It was a beautiful ring. In the middle was a heart with a tip shooting through the middle of it, all encrusted in diamonds. "It's beautiful," she whispered.
"Well, it's yours," he said, smiling. He took the ring out of the box and held it on it's edges and out to her. She nodded eagerly and held out her left hand. He slipped the ring onto her finger, smiling broadly.
She immediately brought her hand to her face, examining the ring closely. She then pursed her lips and held up her right hand closer to her face. She then switched the hand the ring was on, switching it from the left to the right. "This isn't an engagement ring, and we don't need people thinking we're engaged," she softly explained.
He nodded. "You like it?"
"I love it!"
He chuckled, still smiling broadly. "I'm glad you like it."
She beamed at him. "I'm glad you gave it to me." She then patted the table and started to stand up. "Get up."
He nodded and stood up. She practically trampled him as she leaned forward. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. She held him close to her, her head resting against his. He smiled, his arms wrapped around her waist. Without her heels, his hands just rested on her waist. Now, he could wrap his arms around her, creating an even more intimate hug for the two of them.
"I want you to do something for me..." Courtney whispered, stroking his head, running her fingers through his hair.
"Yeah?"
"I want you to promise me the same thing," she softly said.
He smiled and kissed the side of her head once more. "I promise."
"You know your eyes are especially brown tonight," Duncan softly said, noting the black eyeshadow and eyeliner that his girlfriend wore.
Courtney smiled, snuggling closer to Duncan. "It's just the make-up," she said.
The two of them were sitting on hiss back porch. On the porch was a swing, which they were currently sitting on. Her heels were on the ground, and her legs were pulled up beside her. He was just sitting beside her on the swing, his legs hanging down, his feet pushing the swing from time to time. When they got back to his house, he noticed that everyone was sitting in the front room. He figured they were either waiting for him, or they all happened to be sitting in there. The two of them quietly made their way towards the back, where they had been for about half an hour. The two of them spoke in whisper-like voices, both not wanting his family to come out, and they were just speaking that way.
"You did a really good job," he said.
"It got all smeared at dinner, though," she said, looking up at him and smiling.
He smiled and leaned down and softly kissed her. "You look fine now."
She continued to smile as she shrugged. She then rested her head once more on his shoulder.
"So, why did you get your belly button pierced?"
She let out a set of giggles. "You'll laugh when I tell you this."
He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh, really now?"
She nodded. She sat up and looked at him. "I like your piercings."
He slowly nodded, an amused smile slowly getting bigger. "Yeah?"
"Yep. But, I don't want a nose or an eyebrow ring, or any other piercings in my ear-"
"You have pierced ears?"
She nodded. "It's just one hole in each ear, and I rarely wear earrings."
He nodded. "So you decided to just get it? When?"
"Four weeks ago."
"Right after my prom, huh?"
She nodded. "Yep. I had my friend come with me. I thought I had to be eighteen to get it, but at this place, it was seventeen..."
"What friend?"
"Amber. She turned eighteen last month."
Duncan nodded. "Have you changed it yet?"
She shook her head. "I didn't realize it would take three or more months to heal."
He nodded. "Yeah... Over half a year is more common, I think."
Courtney was about to question his reasoning when she remembered all the piercings he had. "That's right, you're the piercing guru..."
He chuckled. "No, no," he muttered. "I know lots of girls who got their belly button's pierced. Most complained and complained because it hurt so much..." He rolled his eyes.
She rolled her eyes, continuing to smile. "I actually need to get inside," she muttered. "I just realized I should have cleaned it off as soon as you touched it."
"Sorry," he muttered, sheepishly grinning. "You know I can't keep my hands off of you."
She smiled and stood up. She bent down and grabbed her heels. He stood up beside her and grabbed her hand. They began walking over to the door. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and his Mom jumped out onto the front porch. She turned towards them, her gun aiming right at them. Courtney turned her head away in fear, her eyes tightly shut. Duncan just stared at his Mom, almost glaring.
"Really." It wasn't even a question, he just stated that to his Mom.
Suddenly a shot was heard. It came from inside the house and was shot at nothing towards the backyard. Courtney flinched even more. Duncan screamed, "KNOCK IT OFF, DAD!"
"Oh, sorry, sweetie," his Mom said, sheepishly smiling at the teenagers. "Brian said he heard noises out here and thought he saw burglars... Oh, that child..."
Duncan rolled his eyes, an angry look still on his face. "Thanks for scaring Courtney."
"Oh, knock off the tough act," his Mom snapped after seeing his unchanging angry face. She stepped forward and gently rubbed Courtney's arm. "Are you alright, dear?"
Courtney nodded, feebly smiling at the older woman. "Yeah," she muttered.
"Why didn't you come in through the front door?" Mr. Evans asked, stepping onto the front porch.
"We just wanted some alone time," Duncan stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Next time, I'll make sure to pop my head in before going out back so we don't get our heads blown off."
"Duncan!" his Mom snapped.