Disclaimer: I do not own the Total Drama series or anything else copyrighted.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Please don't hesitate the review. The more, the merrier! This chapter was so-so... I really wanted to write about Courtney's graduation, so here it is! And, while I wanted to update "Best of the Rest" first, this chapter just came to me quicker. That story will be updated soon, though! And I've got some major surprises to be unveiled in the next chapter of this story. Enjoy!

"Ma, we're gonna be late..."

"Hush!" Mrs. Evans drove slowly through the parking lot, hoping to find a parking spot. They were currently driving through a parking lot at the University of Toronto, where Courtney's graduation was to be held.

Duncan looked at the clock once more and sighed. Her graduation was to start in twenty-five minutes, and he wanted to get there early enough to get a seat and see her before she had to get with her graduating class.

"Found one!" his Mom exclaimed, quickly turning into a spot.

"Good job," he muttered, getting out of the car as soon as she stopped.

"DUNCAN!"

"What?" he snapped, peering into the car.

"Wait for me," she said.

He let out a sigh and shut the door before leaning against the car. That tone meant she was not to be messed with. He walked beside her once she got out of the car.

"We're well over twenty minutes early," she said, reaching over and rubbing his back.

He shoved his hands into his pants and muttered, "I wish we were earlier..."

"Blame traffic, sweetie. I don't understand the point of having a graduation at six-thirty..."

"I'm pretty sure almost everyone here lives in Toronto, so of course they know to leave early enough..."

"Well, at least we're here before it starts," his Mom said, continuing to rub his back. "So... Are you excited?"

Duncan shrugged. "Kinda? I mean... Yeah, sure."

His Mom looked at him, studying his face carefully. She let his answer go, not worrying about it too much. "Do you and Courtney have any plans for the summer?"

"I'm... I'm not sure." He shrugged. "We want to do something, like head down to New York or Niagara Falls or something, but..."

She stared at her son carefully once more. "But...?"

He looked at his Ma carefully. "We, um... We kinda discussed moving in together."

His Mom stopped, causing him to stop. She stared at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open. "Are you serious?" she softly asked.

He slowly nodded, carefully looking at him Mom. "Yep..."

"When... When did you discuss this?"

He shrugged. "We first brought it up... sometime in March, I think. And we've been talking about it a bit for the past couple of weeks..." He sighed when his Mom engulfed him in a hug. "Ma..."

"I am so proud of you, sweetie."

"Thanks...?"

She pulled back and looked at him. "I'm serious," she softly said. "You and Courtney... Courtney is a wonderful young lady. I know you two care about each other so much."

He blushed and quietly said, "Yep..."

She rubbed his arm and said, "And I like that the two of you are together. You both seem to just... I don't know. There's that connection between the two of you that's so rare with couples your age."

Duncan slowly nodded. He then quietly said, "We should be heading in..."

His Mom laughed, patting his back. "You're right."

Together, they made their way to the hall where Courtney's class would be graduating. Duncan wasn't expecting to tell his Mom the news on that day, and he was now just thinking about that. Duncan had a feeling he would bump into somebody he would recognize there, so as they approached the building, he looked around. His mouth opened in shock as he saw a blond couple ten feet away from them. Geoff and Bridgette were there! He knew Bridgette would be there, because Courtney spent at least ten minutes talking about how excited she was. He didn't know Geoff would be there, though, and he was excited to see the eccentric party boy.

"HEY!" he exclaimed, hoping they would recognize his voice.

Geoff instantly turned, while Bridgette stared at her boyfriend curiously. Geoff finally saw Duncan, and they two instantly waved. "DUDE!" Geoff exclaimed, quickly walking over to his friend.

"Hey, man!" Duncan chuckled, high-fiving Geoff. He smiled at Bridgette and said, "Hey, Malibu."

"Hey, Duncan," Bridgette said, smiling.

"Have you two seen Court?" Duncan asked.

Geoff and Bridgette nodded. "She's... somewhere around here," Bridgette said, looking around slightly.

"I'm going to head inside," Duncan's Mom quietly said.

Duncan nodded at his Ma and said, "Cool." He turned to his friends and said, "So you two already said 'hello' and stuff?"

Geoff nodded. "Yeah, bro. She was so stoked to see us."

"Did you tell her you were coming?" Duncan asked Geoff.

The blond man shook his head. "Nah. Only Bridge knew I'd be here. It was a surprise, really."

"Well, I am surprised," Duncan said, shrugging. He then spotted his girlfriend and smiled. "I'll meet you two inside. I gotta say hello to my gal real quick." He walked off, but stopped and sighed when her parents walked up to her. He wasn't too keen on approaching her while her parents were next to her. He shrugged and started walking forward again. He figured she would rather see him, anyway. He panicked for a second as the three of them started to walk away.

"COURT!" he exclaimed, immediately cursing himself for sounding desperate.

She immediately turned around, and as soon as their eyes locked, she grinned. She carefully, but quickly, ran down the stairs and ran even quicker once she hit the ground. She wrapped her arms around him as soon as she reached him, still smiling broadly.

He instantly wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her around, also smiling.

"You're here!" she cried out in happiness.

He immediately stopped, but kept his arms wrapped around her. "You thought I wouldn't show up?"

"No!" she immediately said, looking up at him. "You weren't here, so I thought you would be late and I wouldn't see you before all of this started..." She sighed and muttered, "I just needed the reassurance of you being here..."

He smirked, giving her sides a squeeze. "Thought so. Now..." He turned and grimaced. "Your folks looked pissed."

She shrugged, not bothering to look their way. "I've been with them all day. Same with the rest of my family, who are inside. It was nice to see Bridgette for a few minutes, and of course it was nice to see Geoff as well. But..." She shrugged, smiling slightly. A blush instantly emerged on her cheeks as she said, "It's nice to see you, too."

He chuckled and asked, "Missed me the past two days?"

"Kind of." She shrugged, removing his hands from her waist and holding onto them.

"So... I told Ma we were thinking about moving in together..."

Courtney looked a bit shocked. "Really? How did she react?"

"Shocked." He shrugged. "She likes us together, and seems all for the idea."

She slowly nodded, her eyes still wide. "I told my parents last night as well."

Duncan figured he looked more shocked than she did. He was certainly very shocked. "And how did they react?"

"They weren't happy at all. They were mostly upset they found out at the same time as the rest of the family, I think."

"You told your whole family?"

"Um... A lot of them, yes. I didn't mean to, though! It just... My Aunt asked what I would be doing this summer, and I brought you up. Then one of my cousin's asked if we were moving in together, and I said yes..."

He chuckled before quietly asking, "Do they know about the ring?"

"Only my Mom. I wouldn't be surprised if my Dad knows."

"How does your Mom know?"

"We were putting away some things and she was talking to me about us moving in together. She doesn't think it's a good idea. She kept going on and on and finally I told her that you wouldn't give me the ring if we weren't in a serious relationship. I showed her the ring, and she started freaking out. She thought we were getting married!"

He laughed, shaking his head. "We so don't need to get married."

She giggled. "I know! I told her we're not, and she was still freaking out... I didn't give her any details, but I told her that the ring had more meaning in it than just a promise for our relationship."

He nodded, squeezing her hands. "Who cares what they say," he quietly said. "You've got a job, and I've kind of got one. I should have no problem finding one here. Plus, we want to live together. They should feel ashamed for getting in the way of your happiness."

She couldn't help but beam at him. "You're right," she softly said.

He shrugged, smirking. "I know." He took a glance at his watch and said, "It's about ten 'til. I gotta find Ma, and you should probably head inside..."

She nodded. She leaned up and passionately kissed him on the lips. "I love you."

He smiled down at her. "I love you, too. Can't wait to hear your profound speech, babe."

She coyly shrugged. "It was going to be pretty profound, but a certain Salutatorian's speech inspired me some..."

"Oh, really?"

She nodded. "Oh yeah." She gave his hands a squeeze before letting go of them. "See you later, sweetie."

He smiled. He hated that term of endearment, but her giving him pet names was something special, since she hardly did it. "Bye, babe." He watched her walk away before walking inside himself. He sighed once entering, for he realized the place had two floors. It took a few phone calls, but he finally found his Ma.

"Did you find Courtney?" Mrs. Evans asked after her son sat down.

Duncan nodded. "Yep."

"Did you see her parents?"

"I saw them from far away, but I didn't talk to them. Why?"

"I got to talk to them."

"What? Really?"

"Yep. They spotted me, surprisingly enough. I didn't realize it was them for at least a minute! We just got done talking, actually. They seemed... Oh, it's starting."

Duncan smirked. He couldn't wait to hear what her opinion of her parents was!

Courtney's graduation was far different from his, and he was rather bored most of the time. Her graduation was filled with speech after speech... And there were two Salutatorian's! Their speeches were nothing like his, of course. After a while, he laid his head on his Ma's shoulder. He was just so bored and knew she wouldn't mind him doing that.

"Up next we have a speech from our Valedictorian, Miss Courtney Richardson."

Duncan's attention was focused back on the stage. He continued to rest his head on his Ma's shoulder as he watched his girlfriend walk onto the stage.

"Good evening," Courtney said, smiling at everyone. "To the class of 2010... Congratulations! After all of our long hours dedicated to this school, we're finally graduating! I had to change it slightly, but as my boyfriend mostly said, 'We're out of this place!'"

Duncan and his Mom both quietly laughed. That little outburst did not mesh well with some of his family, though his Mom got a kick out of his little outburst.

"There are so many people we have to thank. Without these people, we wouldn't be sitting here right now, awaiting the moment where our names are called and we're able to walk across the stage, our diplomas in our hands. We have to thank our teachers, especially those who really believed in us and gave us those extra pushes. We have to thank our mentors, or those who helped us outside of school. School was not easy, and sometimes, we bit more than we could chew, so we should thank those who stuck by our sides and listened to us if we needed to rant or scream out.

"I can't thank go through every single person and tell you who they all want to thank, because I'm sure some people don't even know who all they want to thank. Instead, I can tell you a few people who I would like to personally thank. I would like to thank all of my teachers, both here and outside of the school. You all taught me what I know, and I hope to continue using my knowledge from these studies when I continue my studies at a higher educational facility. I thank you all for the wisdom you have bestowed upon me.

"I want to thank my friends, both my old and current ones. We see so many people in our lives. Some are there briefly, others are there for years. I have learned things from all of you, and you all help me be the person I am today. I thank you all for the memories and the times we shared together. For those whom I call my friend, I hope we all continue to keep in touch and support one another through this journey we call life. I wish you all the best.

"I'd also like to briefly mention my boyfriend. He's a special guy, who's really shown me what life can be about. We haven't known each other too long, but the memories we've shared together are some I will never forget. He surprised me by being the Salutatorian at his school, and I'll admit, parts of this speech tonight are inspired by the one he made last week."

He saw her look up and they immediately locked eyes. It was as if they were the only two people in that room at that moment. She said to him, "Thank you, sweetie, for everything." He couldn't help but smile and mouth, 'You're welcome'.

"Of course, I need to thank my parents. In so many ways, I wouldn't be here without them. They've always given me those extra pushes to really succeed and help me become the person I am today. I feel lucky and grateful to have the parents that I have. I want to thank you, Mom and Dad, for everything that you've done for me, and I love you both.

"High school is quite the experience. Many adults hated what happened there, and wouldn't re-live it, even for a large sum of money. But, no one will deny that they are who they are because of high school. We grow up during these years here. We start off as children, and we leave as adults. Like I mentioned, the amount of people in our lives drastically gets higher and lower in these years. Many people pass through our lives, toying with our minds then throwing it away. But, we learn from these experiences. Many of us experience a first love in high school. Many people get their hearts broken, and some are even the heart-breakers. These experiences also teach us a lot.

"Most of us will be attending University after this. We'll go from seeing each other every day to, most likely, never again. Even if we attend the same college, what are the chances we'll be seeing each other a lot? I know everyone will be successful in whatever they do, and we'll all someday have that perfect life we've been invisioning of for years.

"I won't invest any more of your time, and I thank you all for listening to my speech and attending our graduation tonight, especially those friends and family who have traveled from other parts of the country and the world. Thank you."

Duncan smiled, clapping along with everyone else as Courtney walked off the stage. Her speech didn't have that comical factor that his did, but it was still great nonetheless. His Ma was also impressed by her speech, for she said, "She is so well-spoken..."

Soon, it was time for the graduates to walk across the stage. There weren't as many people in her graduating class as there were his, but that didn't matter. He still had to wait a while for her name to be called.

"Courtney Marie Richardson..."

He let out a boisterous, "GO PRINCESS!" He smirked when she laughed, shaking her head in his direction. He even heard Geoff and Bridgette exclaim, "GO COURTNEY!"

"I want to get a picture of you two together," Mrs. Evans said, quickly ushering him out of the hall when the graduation was over.

"Ma, I don't want to interrupt her family time..." Duncan murmured, continuing to be pushed by his Mom.

"They'll be fine," she explained as they stepped outside.

He looked around, trying to find his girlfriend. He smiled at the sight of her taking pictures with Geoff and Bridgette. "She's over there," he said, pointing in her direction.

"Weren't those other two people on that show?" his Ma questioned.

He nodded. "Yep. That's Geoff and Bridgette." When he approached his friends, he said, "Hey you three."

"Hey," Bridgette and Geoff responded, smiling at him. Courtney just smiled at him, almost bashfully.

"Oh, can I take a picture of all of you?" his Ma gushed, holding up her camera.

None of them minded. Duncan pulled Courtney beside him, and she stood beside Bridgette, who stood beside Geoff. After a few pictures were taken, it was time for Duncan and Courtney to take pictures together. He definitely smiled for a couple, but after that, he just smirked or kind of smile.

"Honey, do something else, like... uh... you know, keep showing us how much you love her..." his Mom insisted.

"Ma, you don't want me doing that," Duncan insisted.

Geoff snorted, Courtney giggled, and even his Ma couldn't help but laugh.

"Baby, just smile a bit more for you Mom," Courtney softly said, looking up at her boyfriend.

"What is with all the pet names today?" Duncan teased, looking down at her.

She shrugged, blushing instantly. "I don't know," she murmured, leaning into his chest. "Do you not want me calling you anything?"

"I mean, I can't say 'no' because goodness knows I have a bazillion names for you," he softly said. "It's strange, but sweet, I guess."

She nodded, patting his back. She looked at Mrs. Evans and said, "I should probably go look for my parents."

"Oh, sweetie, you go right ahead," Suzie said, turning off her camera and putting it into her purse. She looked at her son and said, "I'll be in the car. Try not to take too long."

Duncan nodded, heavily resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Gotcha."

"Hey, Court?" Bridgette softly asked, beckoning for Courtney to step closer to her.

"So, dude, you live around here?" Geoff asked Duncan as the girls had their talk.

"Kinda," Duncan said. "I live about an hour away."

"That's cool," Geoff said, nodding. "You got plans for tomorrow?"

"Uhh... I don't think so," Duncan said. "Why?"

"Well, I think the girls are gonna hang out," Geoff explained. "You wanna hang for a while?"

"Sure." Duncan shrugged. "Any time good for you?"

"Is eleven good?" Geoff asked.

"It's perfect," Duncan said, smiling. "Gimme your number, man, so I can call or text ya in the morning..."

"Sure, bro! I totally need yours, too..."

Once everyone got done talking, and after Bridgette and Geoff said their good-bye's, Courtney asked Duncan, "Can I talk to you?"

"Absolutely," Duncan said, reaching forward and grabbing her hand.

Courtney smiled and led him to an empty part of the stairs. After they sat down, she turned to him and said, "So, we can't hang out tonight."

"Why?"

"Mom insisted I spend time with the family tonight. She thinks you're going to take my virginity while everyone else is asleep, and she isn't sure how well the rest of the family will feel about that."

Duncan sat there for a few moments, silent. Did her family really think that? "Uhh... Wow. Okay."

"Yeah," Courtney muttered, nodding. "It's stupid."

"Uh, yeah, it is." Duncan nodded. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Kind of," Courtney said. "I'm having lunch with Bridgette, and then dinner with my Grandma."

Duncan nodded, tapping his chin. "You want to go out to breakfast?"

She nodded, smiling. "I would love to. Do you want to meet some of my family tomorrow before breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan."