A/N: Please don't confuse Gwen from 6teen with Gwen from Total Drama. I know it's confusing with them being name twins, but hopefully you'll know which one is which in context.

Oh, and the profanity count increases during this chapter. You'll see why.

Chapter 4: La Dolce Vita

"Me?" Jonesy and Jen's neighbor asked, pointing to herself in disbelief.

Caitlin smiled. "Yes, you!"

She crept over to Wyatt's DJ booth with uncertain footsteps. "H-hi," she said.

"You're the girl who came to the Lemon yesterday—I remember because I took you to A&F, and that place has clothes to die for. Anyways, I didn't know you'd be here."

Fidgeting with the silver bracelet Caitlin remembered from the day before, she said, "Well, I was invited by some girl I met at the mall yesterday; I'm not sure if you know her, though. Her name's Leshawna."

"We totally know Leshawna."

She gawked at Caitlin, then the rest of the group. "We?"

"Oh, I should probably introduce us, shouldn't I?" Answering her own question, she pointed to each individual she named, saying, "I'm Caitlin and these are my friends: Jonesy, Nikki, Jen, Jude, and Wyatt."

A faint smile appeared. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm Sydni."

"And you're our new neighbor—ours being me and Jonesy, by the way," Jen said, adding clarity when Sydni looked confused. "We met your parents when you guys moved in. They're very nice, by the way."

"Thanks." She took a long sip of her drink.

"So, where are you from?" Caitlin asked.

"Baltimore. I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not. It's this huge city in Maryland—I loved it there."

"Where the hell is that?" Jonesy asked, scratching his head.

"If you've ever picked up an atlas, which I know you haven't, you'd know it's the state bordering Washington, D.C. and Virginia," Nikki said.

"Basically," Sydni added.

"So why'd you end up moving? Toronto seems pretty far from Baltimore," Wyatt said.

"Well, my mother wanted to move back to start her own law firm, especially since she's from here. She's got a better chance of making more money this way, so she couldn't ignore it."

Nikki suddenly found Sydni's story paralleling her own. "Reminds me of a couple months ago when I almost had to move to Nunavut, since my dad got a really big job offer. I mean, he worked things out so we were able to stay here, but I can still relate."

Jonesy wrapped an arm around her waist. "By the way, I'm really glad you got to stay. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Caitlin and Jen exchanged awws.

"Well, I'm really glad things worked out for you," Sydni offered.

"So," Jen began, "do you like it up here so far?"

"I can't say I don't. It's not so bad. I just haven't got over my homesickness yet."

Caitlin placed a hand on Sydni's shoulder. "That's totally normal. I was upset for weeks when I moved here from Vancouver, but once you're here long enough, you'll forget all about it."

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, glancing in a different direction. Looking at the gang again, she asked, "I'm kind of curious about how you guys met. You all seem so close-knit."

"Jonesy, Jude, Jen, Wyatt, and I have known each other since we were little kids, but we met Malibu Juice Barbie over here about a year ago and she's been with us ever since," Nikki said.

"Reminds me of my best friends back home." Sydni grinned softly. She couldn't help but eye Jonesy and Nikki, however. They too reminded her of how things used to be at home.

Caitlin, noticing groups of people heading to the backyard through French double doors, suggested, "Hey, do you guys want to go swimming?"

Jude beamed. "I thought you'd never ask. Lemme go find Starr." Walking off, he said, "I'll see you dudes later. Nice meeting ya, bra."

"Nice meeting you too, Jude," Sydni replied.

Jonesy, still having his arm around Nikki, said, "C'mon, babe, we can't waste time—let's head outside!"

As Nikki walked with him, she snorted. "You just want to see me in a bikini."

He couldn't hide his mischievous intentions. "Possibly."

Jen turned to Caitlin and Sydni. "I'm going to find Nick. I guess I'll see you guys outside."

"Bye, Jen!" Caitlin called before facing Sydni. "If it makes you feel less lonely, I can hang out with you."

"You don't have to. You probably have someone else you'd rather hang with."

"And that person's you." Caitlin took her hand. "I promise—no, I swear on all my magazines that by the end of this night, you're gonna have a great time! Let's go!"

So she whisked Sydni away—through the double doors and beyond.

"And I'll just be here mixing. By myself. All alone." Wyatt sighed. "At least I get paid for this."

With one gaze, Jonesy lost his breath. "Damn, babe. You look hot."

Nikki stood on the patio before Jonesy, who was in the pool. She rolled her eyes as she shifted her stance.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it," she said.

"I don't know why you don't like wearing bikinis, Nik. They obviously like you." He swam to the patio, resting his arms on the concrete. "I really, really like you."

She glanced at him. "You do?"

"Uh-huh… Really. So"—raising an eyebrow, he patted the ground before him—"wanna join me?"

"Give me a reason to." She crossed her arms, staring at him, awaiting his response. She found herself dripping with pool water. "Jonesy, what the hell?"

He shrugged. "What? You wanted a reason."

"That's it, Garcia. You're going down." After jumping into the water, she rose to the surface and attacked him with splashes.

Back and forth, they hit each other with small waves. She was determined to put up a brave fight, her offense and defense strong. She managed to avoid his attacks by diving below the surface, breaking the surface to blindside him with splashes.

He was overeager, moving at the wrong times to subdue her.

She was skilled. Resilient.

But he soon learned he had to be clever in order to win against her. So he studied the ways she moved, the ways she'd evade him. He discovered a pattern in the way she moved and knew he could corner her in the middle of it. Though it took him eons to do so, he finally managed to pin her against the pool wall.

They gazed at each other, out of breath from their struggle.

"I win," he whispered, his face inches from hers. He leaned in and stole a kiss from her, making it last. Her lips lingered and he swore he got a taste of la dolce vita.

When he pulled away, he realized that maybe she was la dolce vita. She was worth the fight he put up. His lips curled into a smile as he thought, Holy shit, I'm in love.

She kissed his lips once more, pulling away when she heard water splashing behind them. She looked behind Jonesy to find Gwen and LeShawna.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Gwen, "but Heather and Tricia are on their way out."

Nikki crossed her arms as her expression grew devilish. "Perfect. It's about time we get started, don't you think?"

While Jonesy looked confused, both girls agreed with Nikki and got out the pool, walking to a lounge chaise near the backyard entrance.

"Do you have the stuff?" Nikki asked Gwen.

"Of course," she replied, showing Nikki the contents within her bag, which she'd fetched from Trent on the walk over.

"Nice."

Tricia and Heather, the rest of their clique following behind, walked into the backyard. They were greeted by the eerie, friendly faces of Nikki, Gwen, and Leshawna.

"What's with you skeezes?" Heather asked, regarding them with caution. Her gaze seared as she eyed them up and down.

The option of cursing Heather out being so tempting, Nikki tried her hardest to feign kindness. "We wanted to offer you a truce. That way, you can enjoy your summer and we can enjoy ours."

"We even brought you these"—Gwen had two bottles of self-tanner in her grip—"and we even asked Geoff to reserve these chaises for you."

"We don't want no problems, honest," Leshawna added.

Heather and Tricia stood with their arms crossed and eyes narrow.

"We'll consider it," Tricia replied after a tense moment.

Heather exchanged a glance with her before saying, "Well, if they so desperately want to make up to us, let's accept the offer."

So, the two took their reserved seats, reclining.

Heather slid her black, designer shades over her grey eyes. Her face was emotionless as she spoke to Gwen, Leshawna, and Nikki. "You three can go now."

Nikki rolled her eyes. "As you wish, your highness."

Heather ignored her sarcasm as the trio walked off. (However, they stood close by to watch their scheme further unfold.)

"Lindsay," Tricia said, "be a dear and apply my tanner for me."

"Same here, Lindsiot," Heather added.

Lindsay complied, applying the self-tanner on both girls. After doing so, she caught sight of her hands, her palms turning bright orange. In fear, her eyes flicked to Heather and Tricia, then her hands, then Heather and Tricia—wash, rinse, and repeat.

She tried wiping her orange hands on her legs, but to no avail. She gulped. "Um, you guys, I think there's something wrong." She pointed to Heather and Tricia after she captured Gwen and Mandy's attention.

They gasped in pure horror, shouting, "Oh my God!"

Gwen's eyes widened. "You two are really freaking orange. Like prison-jumpsuit orange!"

"Or Orange Is the New Black orange!" Mandy added.

Tricia immediately opened her eyes, looking at her prison-jumpsuit orange arms. She yelled, "What the hell?"

Before bursting into laughter, the partygoers leered at her and Heather like they were a freak show.

"This shit is so not funny," Heather snarled. She took a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as humanly possible. "Let's just get in the pool. Maybe it'll get this butt-ugly color off of us."

"It's worth a try," Tricia replied.

They both tried to get up but were forced back into their chaises.

"What gives?" Heather asked.

Gwen looked closely at Tricia's chaise. "Glue. There's glue on your chaises." She placed a hand on her chin. "I've got to say, those girls are pretty clever."

"No, they're not," Heather protested. "They're obviously deranged—now help us up!"

"Fine," Gwen said.

She took Heather by the hands—which Mandy also did for Tricia—using all her might to get Heather out her seat. Gwen's heart thumped when she, Heather, and the chaise tumbled backwards, landing in the pool. When she and Heather had surfaced, she noticed the same unfortunate thing happened to Mandy and Tricia.

Standing on the patio with an orange palm over her mouth, Lindsay looked down upon the four of them. Heather and Tricia's red-hot rage could not only boil the pool water, but evaporate it.

Also standing poolside were Nikki, Gwen, and Leshawna. They snorted and laughed together, as did the rest of the party. Even the people who'd been dancing inside the mansion were peeping out the windows and doors.

Heather's heart almost stopped when she saw camera phones flashing and videos being taken, but she didn't dare to show her fear. Instead, she hissed at the trio that did this to them, to her. "What. The. Fuck."

Nikki smirked. "We thought this would teach you guys a lesson or two." She looked at Gwen. "Think it worked?"

"I think so," she responded, looking just as satisfied as her friends.

"Serves you bum bitches right!" Leshawna yelled.

With Lindsay's assistance, the clique clawed and fumbled their way out of the pool and onto the concrete. Standing in front of Gwen, Nikki, and Leshawna, they dripped with chlorinated water and fury.

"You know what? You can forget all about this make-believe truce," Tricia said. "I never trusted it to begin with."

"It was never real to begin with," Nikki said, punctuating her sentence with a snicker.

Ignoring Nikki's comment, Heather said, "If you think that you're going to enjoy your little summer now, think again. This means war, bitches."

"Bring it on, even though you won't do much," Gwen said before her mind sorted through memories, landing upon Heather's kiss with Trent. "At least not this time around."

Heather sneered, gaining her confidence back. "I wouldn't be so sure." She snapped her fingers at her friends, saying, "Girls, let's leave this dump."

Before the girls walked off, Tricia warned, "This isn't over."

As they stalked away, Tricia and Heather earned themselves some snickers. After all, their bikini bottoms were ripped in the back, leaving little to the imagination.

"Ladies, I think our work here is done." Nikki smirked. "Nice job."

The trio gave each other high fives as Leshawna said, "Teamwork makes the dream work."

"Totally," Gwen replied.

Their friends and boyfriends began approaching them, lauding them for their work. Trent and Bridgette and Courtney whisked Gwen away, eager to discuss what had just happened. Harold made his way to Leshawna, in hopes he could speak with her.

Nikki walked off in search of her friends, only to find arms wrapping around her waist. She knew who it was at an instant. There was no one who touched her like that, set her on fire so easily. (That, and none of her friends would grab her by the waist.)

"That was awesome, babe." Jonesy nuzzled against her. "You know, you're pretty hot when you're scheming like that."

"Seems like I'm learning something new everyday."

Jen's face lit up with amazement; that scheme had Nikki's name written all over it. She made her way towards the couple, asking, "Okay, how did you pull that off?"

"A little bit of luck and a lot of help." Nikki winked. "But I'm not one to reveal secrets."

A/N: I really enjoy the friendship between Gwen and Courtney, so naturally I wanted it to make a little cameo.