The Duncney Fanclub

But they're just friends, right? In fact, rumor has it, they hate each other!

If it hadn't been for Geoff, who he found lounging in his apartment, Duncan may have beaten himself with a brick to the head.

Being around Courtney was starting to kill him. It had been a whole week since the Gwen incident and she was still acting like it was no big deal, but also acting as if he had just murdered the world leaders.

Duncan didn't think he would miss her arguing, fighting him, telling him how wrong he was about every little detail. But, sometimes, Duncan liked to throw his Princess a curve ball. He had kissed her to get a rise- which was what he'd almost got. Courtney had told Heather about the incident, letting his publicist put him right instead of doing the dirty work herself.

The whole day had been frustrating. Duncan didn't take girls out on dates, he never had. He picked them up at clubs or bars, fucked them, and forget the whole event by the time he woke up the next morning. Duncan had always been happy living that lifestyle, Heather just always seemed to have a way to ruin his happiness.

"It's Saturday night, brah," Geoff exclaimed with a grin. Any other Saturday night, Duncan would have grinned back, but he just wasn't in the mood. "Brah!" Geoff shouted out as Duncan simply walked past him.

"Not in the mood, man," Duncan told his best friend, throwing himself down on his bed. The day had been nothing but tiring and he wanted it to end.

"But it's Saturday night!" Geoff told him again, "That means we have to go out!"

"Haven't you heard?" Duncan snorted. "I have a girlfriend."

"Bring the girlfriend! The more the merrier!" Geoff threw himself down on the bed next to Duncan. "Duncan, man, dude, brah." Duncan found himself cracking a smirk at Geoff's speech abilities. He always lost track of the English language when he was high; which was always. "We always go out on Saturday nights, you vowed you would never let Heather stop that, even if she stops us all the other nights! Saturdays are the best nights to party and pick up chicks and we can still do that tonight."

"Still got the girlfriend, Geoff," Duncan reminded him.

"Bring her too! She'll have so much fun, show her how to live!"

Somehow, Duncan doubted Courtney would class getting drunk and high on a Saturday night as fun. But that didn't stop him from ending up in front of her door twenty minutes later.

She opened after six knocks, her cellphone pressed to her ear. She raised an eyebrow at him, probably contemplating slamming the door in his face.

"Hang on a sec, Bridge, it's my ever so loving boyfriend," Courtney deadpanned. Duncan couldn't say her humor didn't hurt. "What do you want?"

"Geoff and I are heading out tonight, we're extending you and invitation."

"Not interested."

"You don't got a choice," Duncan replied, trying to calm his temper. "If you don't come with us, I don't get to go out. Heather keeps saying that we need more publicity, and you're all on board with that, so get your shit together because we're going out, darling."

"What do I get from it?" Courtney asked eyebrow still raised. She leaned her weight onto one leg, trying to intimidate him. Duncan could say it worked well.

"You get to stay on Heather's good side," he told her. "And Malibu can come with." Duncan motioned towards her phone. "Do we got a deal?"

Courtney eyed him for a moment and Duncan wished he knew what was going on inside her head. "Fine," Courtney replied. "We got a deal, darling." And she promptly slammed the door in his face.

An hour later Courtney and Bridgette appeared in his apartment without knocking. Duncan, however, was already used to Courtney's rude intrusions. Simply to piss her off, he opened his arms to Bridgette, allowing a hug from her. Bridgette happily complied, but the look on Courtney's face told Duncan that she wasn't too impressed with it.

"Looking good, ladies," Geoff grinned, throwing his arm around Courtney's shoulders. "What's say we get out of her already?"

Duncan suddenly had a bad feeling.

If someone had told him five hours ago that he would be locked in a jail cell at 2am, he would have believed him. However, if they'd told him he'd be locked in a jail cell, holding back Courtney's hair as she puked into a metal can called a toilet, he would have laughed in their face.

But here Duncan was, doing exactly that.

As soon as they'd arrived at the bar, Geoff and Bridgette had disappeared. Duncan suspected the pair had a secret plan to leave himself and Courtney alone for the night from the start. Courtney had started out not too bad, she was agitated but didn't take it out on him like she normally would. Instead she drank herself stupid.

This being the second time Duncan had seen Courtey drunk beyond belief, it didn't go as well as the first time. He'd turned his back on her for a moment to get her a glass of water from the bar and when he'd turned back around some guy was all over her. Duncan tried to tell himself it was only for appearance, as they were still a couple to the rest of the world, but there was something about seeing that guy with his hands all over Courtney that just didn't sit right. So he knocked the guy out.

It had blown into a full fight from there and Courtney had been in the middle trying to separate the two men. That was how the cops found them. All three of them found their way to a holding cell where the douchebag had quickly been released. Duncan had no idea what status he and Courtney were at, but they'd been there for about an hour, Courtney vomiting up her guts for the better half of it.

"I don't feel so good," she moaned, turning to sit on the bench, her head resting between the wall junction.

"Usually people say that before they throw up," Duncan tried to joke, handing her a plastic cup of water. Courtney took a long sip but spat it back into the cup, her face twisting in disgust.

Duncan took a seat beside her and she giggled, her face nudging against the wall, eyes peering over at him. Duncan cocked his eyebrow and she smiled shyly.

"Why- Why don't I know you?" Courtney hiccuped, moving her feet to lay across his lap.

"What do you want to know?" Duncan asked, tense. He knew if he told her anything now, she wouldn't remember it come morning, but the fact that she was going to ask him questions that he would need to answer now made Duncan uneasy.

"Why did you go all half Britney Spears?"

"...What?"

"You know," Courtney giggled. "You only shaved half your head, so you only went half Britney Spears." She ran her hand through his Mohawk for good measure. Duncan couldn't stop himself from laughing at her statement. "Don't laugh," Courtney chided through her own laughter. "I want an answer mister." She poked him in the rib and his laughter died down.

"I guess...I guess I was just done with everything expectations," Duncan told her honestly. "After Reach finished, I realized that everyone was looking at me to still be this perfect boy, this role model, the teen idol that every girl had a crush on. It was too much pressure and I didn't want any of it, so I shaved my head and dyed what was left bright green."

Courtney seemed to accept the answer, nodding her head tiredly.

"What about you?" Duncan asked.

"What about me?" Courtney replied, "I've still got all my hair."

Duncan grinned, resting his head against the wall. "Why are you such a stick in the mud? You strike me as someone who knows how to have fun when she wants to, but do you ever want to?"

"Of course I want to have fun, Duncan," she told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How else would I be here?" Courtney dropped her voice, "I just...my parents aren't so supportive of me unless I'm doing what they what me to do. They're Lawyers, you know...they have big expectations for me and my sister. She's at Law school now, which is where I'll be going next year." Courtney shook her head, snorting and yawning before resting her back against the wall as if it was the comfiest pillow she had ever used.

"Is that what you want to do, become a Lawyer?"

Courtney shrugged. Duncan couldn't blame her, even he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.

"Duncan?" Courtney asked. Duncan turned his attention back to her, her black eyes twinkling under the white lights. He could feel her breath on his face, which still stank of vomit, but not even that could ruin the moment. "Kiss me."

And he would have, Duncan decided, if they hadn't been interrupted by the cell door opening.

Heather was standing there with the cop, her teeth clenched in anger. Duncan helped Courtney to her feet and she glared at the pair of them.

"Thanks for bailing us out," Duncan offered.

"Oh," Heather replied, the ghost of an all-knowing smirk playing her lips. "I didn't."

Duncan looked over Heather's shoulder to the cop desk where the woman Duncan dreaded was standing, her face as impressed as Heather- probably even less so.

"Mom?" Courtney questioned, using Duncan's shoulder to hold herself up right. "What are you doing here?"

"Bailing my irresponsible daughter out of jail, apparently," Mrs Taylor replied harshly. She stood a little straighter, speaking only to Courtney. "We're going home."

Courtney's face twisted. "No," the young girl announced. "I'm not going home with you, I'm going home with Duncan."

Mrs Taylor was not pleased by this. Duncan wanted to step in and saying something, but he felt it was best he stayed out of it. Parents didn't exactly like him, especially Courtney's parents.

The mother and daughter continued to talk back and fore in stern voices, Courtney holding her own pretty well. All the while, Duncan could feel Heather's angry, intense gaze at the side of his head.

"She was supposed to be an influence on you," the publicist hissed. "Not the other way around!" Duncan rolled his eyes, but his stomach dropped to the floor. Heather was right. Courtney- pole up her ass and all- would never be this kind of person. The person that got drunk and started fights.

Duncan watched the argument between the mother and daughter some more. And he felt terrible.

"Court," Duncan said gently, grabbing at her elbow to get her attention. She innocently turned to him, her eyes softening. "Maybe it's best if you go home with your mom."

"But-"

"I'll see you in the morning, I promise," Duncan told her. He expected some kind of fight, but the hurt look on her face was what killed him.

Duncan fell into an empty bed that night and he didn't know what to do with himself. His head was pounding but he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Instead he stayed awake, pacing the halls of his empty apartment. It gave him too much time to think.

He never realized how lonely he was anymore. He was always so surrounded by people, but no one was there when he really needed it. This time of night on a regular weekend, Duncan would still be out or he'd he some floozy companion in his bed beside him. Courtney had changed all that in a matter of weeks.

But he saw the damage he was doing to her. He saw the change from the girl that used to slam her front door every morning at the sight of him to the girl that had been vomiting up her guts in a jail cell beside him. That was all Duncan's doing. He hated himself for it, hated what he was doing to Courtney.

The by the time the sun came up, he was sure Courtney was regretting her night even if she couldn't remember it. Heather and Noah would not be visiting him today, and he had no idea what had happened to Geoff the night before so he was crossed off the list for now. So Duncan sucked up his guts and went next door.

He knocked three times without answer, so he knocked three times again. It was a long moment of silence throughout the apartment building before Mr Taylor opened the door. Before Duncan could even muster a hello, the older gentleman slammed the door shut. Duncan got the feeling he wasn't very welcome anywhere he went.

Duncan tried calling Courtney instead, but her phone was off. It had probably died sometime during the night and being drunk, Courtney hadn't thought to charge it. Duncan had done that one too many times.

He left a few messages for her, sent her a couple of texts to wake up to. In the end he retreated back to his own bedroom and tried to sleep the day away.

He was woken a few hours later to the movement in his bed. Cracking open one eye, Duncan spotted Courtney making herself comfortable next to him.

"Um, hi?" He said, his voice hoarse with sleep.

"Hi," she whispered in return. "You should maybe consider locking your door. I could have been an axe murderer." Duncan snorted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I'm sorry about my dad this morning, he's kind of a dick."

Duncan shrugged, sitting himself up right. "No he's not, he's your dad. No dad's actually like me, Court."

"You keep calling me that," she said, to which Duncan raised an eyebrow. "You keep calling me 'Court', not Princess." He noticed the frown on her face. "You said it last night too...Why?"

Duncan didn't have an answer for her, or at least an answer that was suitable. Courtney looked tired, drained, not the energetic girl he thought he was starting to know.

"Court...Courtney," Duncan tried. "I just...I'm telling Heather this was a bad idea. I'm going to tell her that I'm pulling out of the deal. I'm going to move out of here and she can release some shit about us having a bad- but private- break-up."

Courtney stared at Duncan, which unsettled his stomach. She sat up straighter eyeing him up. "Why?" She asked, eyes slanting. "Why would you do that?" Duncan didn't answer. "Is this about what you said last night? About being pressured?" Duncan looked at her in confusion. "Do you think I'm pressuring you into this deal?"

"What?"

"This wasn't my idea, remember," Courtney told him. "It was Heather's, I hated you from the start of this."

"Courtney, I-" He tried to reach out, to touch her hair or run his finger down her cheek, but she backed up, moving off the bed altogether, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You're just going to back out of this deal," she said, realizing what he meant. "Well- Well, good riddance to you. All I wanted was you gone." And then she was gone too.

A/N: D:

This is slightly longer than my usual chapters for this story because A) It's heartbreaking, and B) It's kinda overdue...

So, I'm going to tell you guys the truth. I wrote up to where Duncan and Courtney have their heart to heart in the jail cell aaaaand...I lost it. For some reason the document didn't save right and when I opened it up it was completely blank...which kinda of pissed me off and put me off writing this for a short while. Luckily I had up to the point where Courtney slams the door in his face saved in my emails because I wrote up to there in work. But yeah...that's why the long break. I'm still kinda pissed.

And you guys are probably also pissed because DUNCNEY D:

Thanks for reading, please review (:

Love, ChloeRhiannonX.

Ps. This is soooo not the direction this story was gonna take place when I started writing this chapter! But fuck it, this is where it is XD