I do not own TDI or TDA or any of the characters.

Because, this could be his great awakening, but, how would he know, it's all noise to him.

Gethsemane

Chapter 2 : Great Awakening

Duncan was lying back on his bed, listening to Gwen's iPod, which he had lifted from her top drawer without permission, when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door crack open. Slowly, the door opened the rest of the way, revealing his Princess, who, in return, beamed at him from the doorway.

Panic immediately setting in, bolting upright, he ripped the buds of the blue iPod out of his ears and quickly tucked the device under his pillow.

"Courtney, what are you doing in Killer Jock territory?" His voice nearly cracked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Just making sure that you're behaving!" She said as she approached, a flirtatious expression dancing across her dark features.

"Thanks for letting me know where he was, Heather." Courtney called out into the hallway.

"Oh, anytime." Heather called back.

Duncan silently cursed Heathers everywhere.

Courtney began to stalk towards him. He was torn between panic and the urge to jump all over her. It had been weeks since they had the pleasure of being alone, but the idea of his roommate returning from dinner, and having his girlfriend find out about his girl-roommate made him reluctant. He vaguely entertained the idea of a vicious catfight between the two ending in a wild threesome, but knew better. He would tuck that one away for later.

He stood, meeting her at the end of the bed, desperate to distract her from finding anything obviously belonging to Gwen. He loved tormenting Courtney, and having a hot goth girl for a best friend certainly helped, but even he knew Courtney had her limits.

"Oh, what's the matter? Don't trust me, Princess?" He said, taking her in his arms, forcing her back to Gwen's side of the room, hiding his panic with a smooth grin.

"As a matter of fact…"

He cut her off before she could go off on another one of her rants by pressing his lips to hers. He, decidedly, liked her much better when she couldn't talk.

Though she resisted for a moment, it quickly passed. They began to make-out furiously, Courtney pulling at his shirt, his hands grabbing and squeezing at all of his favorite places.

That was when the door opened for a second time, Duncan and Courtney both turning to the door, Duncan wearing a look of horror, Courtney a look of fury. They all froze as Gwen stood in the doorway, an extra plate in hand.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I'll come back later…" Gwen said, placing the extra plate of food on Duncan's dresser before turning to leave.

Duncan was watching everything unfold in slow motion. He watched Courtney follow Gwen's movement to his dresser, then, her eyes swept across the room to the other dresser, and she began to studying the contents on top. He watched as her look of curiosity became one of horror, then, of pure, unadulterated rage.

"Hold on a minute!" Courtney yelled, causing Gwen to freeze in the doorway, her shoulders stiffing, her legs leaving obvious signs that she was thinking of bolting.

Courtney stomped over to Gwen's dresser, giving the contents a closer examination to confirm her suspicion. Duncan watched as her eyes landed on the tube of dark blue lipstick.

"You're rooming with HER!" Courtney screamed, pointing at Gwen while glaring at Duncan.

"Wait, Courtney, it's not what you think!" Gwen started.

"Oh, really! Then what is it! Never mind! I don't want to know!" Courtney stomped off, absolutely enraged.

Gwen just stood in the doorway, blinking at Duncan while be blinked right back at her.

"Well, now what?" Gwen asked, stepping into the room and closing the door.

"I… Wow!" He said, quickly covering up his distress with his smooth demeanor. "Did you see that reaction? It was fantastic!"

"Just remember what I said about paying for the funeral. I don't exactly come from money you know."

"Don't worry, Sunshine, I've got it covered." He chuckled.

"Shouldn't you go after her?"

"No way, Sweetheart. If I do that, she owns this relationship, and that is SO not going to happen."

Just then, the door swung back open, slamming into Gwen's back, knocking her forward into the room and into Duncan. They both watched with amused shock as Courtney, completely ignoring their existence, began laying a line of tape down the center of the room between the two beds.

When she was finished, Courtney stood. With great ferocity, she grabbed Gwen and yanked her around to her side of the room by the upper arm.

"There!" She yelled. "Now FREAK GIRL stays on that side, Duncan, you stay on THIS side."

Duncan watched Gwen sigh and roll her eyes.

"Courtney, I wish you would just listen for a minute. I don't like Duncan that way!" Gwen pled. He had to admit, her declaration stung his ego just a little.

"Right, says the girl who back-stabbed her own boyfriend and lied to her friends! I'm leaving!"

"What, no good night kiss, Princess?" Duncan mocked, giving her a look that told her he knew he was getting under her skin.

She made her way back across the room to him and, as he began to lean in for the kiss, his eye's closing, she pulled back and gave him the best sucker punch she could muster. The next thing he knew, he felt the sensation of weightlessness just before everything was dark.

"Duncan? Duncan, are you alright?" Her voice was tight and worried.

He heard a rattling noise, followed by a cold stinging sensation over his left eye. He groaned, moving his hand up to sooth the pain and was surprised to feel something warm and soft under his fingertips.

Slowly, he opened his right eye and gazed up into the face of a heavily backlit Gwen, who cracked a small smile through her worried expression.

"Good, you're awake."

The world wasn't making any sense, his ears were ringing and his face ached. He remembered Courtney, looking all hot and pissed off, and then, nothing.

He tried to ponder the meaning of it all, but found himself unable to focus. His very hot goth friend was looking especially hot as she leaned over him, holding an ice pack to his eye. He knew it must have been the concussion talking, but he had a very strong urge to pull her down on top of him.

"Duncan?" Her voice cut through the ringing.

"Mmmm…" He groaned.

It was then he realized he was making small circles over the back of her hand, which held the ice pack to his eye, with his fingertips. Meeting her gaze, he moved his hand to take a hold of the cloth and she withdrew hers and stood, strolling back to her side of the room and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"You can't sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time. You've got a concussion."

"How in the hell did this happen?" He moaned, attempting to sit up.

"Uh, you poked a big, angry, green-eyed monster with a very pointy stick and she attacked you." Gwen said, clearly irritated with him.

It all came back to him now. Courtney inspecting Gwen's dresser, the yelling, the line, then, the sucker punch. He knew he'd push some buttons with this one, but he hadn't realized that she was capable of this level of violence. He knew she was strong, and that she was angry, but to K.O. him? He couldn't decide if he as more in love or repulsed.

"What does Trent have to do with this?" He laughed, hiding his confusion over his feelings for Courtney and causing Gwen to sigh and roll her eyes at him.

"You had really better go apologize to her. Maybe I can convince LeShawna to let me bunk with her."

"What! Are you kidding!" Duncan said, jumping off the bed and stumbling onto her side of the room.

"Uh, hello, earth to Duncan! She isn't going to kill just me, she's going to kill you too!" Her look of concern for him touched him a little.

"Gwen, if you do that, she will definitely own…"

"Your relationship. Yeah, I know, got it. But, Duncan, aren't you worried that there won't be a relationship if you keep this up? Remember what happened with me and Trent…" She said, looking down in to her lap, a sad expression on her face.

"You let me worry about MY relationship with Courtney. You've got to focus on the game." He said, pointedly referring to her pining over her ex.

"Yeah, whatever. It might be better for everyone's health if I were voted off." She said, standing and crossing the line in order to get to his dresser.

He watched her pick up a plate of cold food and move toward his bed. She looked so delicate, so vulnerable, so… beautiful? He mentally slapped himself.

Way to go there, Trent! Next you'll be calling her 'little goat Gwen'. And since when do you like delicate, vulnerable girls!

Nothing was making sense.

"Here," she said, holding the plate out to him, "I picked up an extra plate for you since I didn't see you at dinner. It's cold now, but, I think there's a microwave in the caf' if you are interested." Then she smiled at him mischievously, "Or we could make a fire on the balcony to warm it up."

He accepted the plate, shrugging. He picked up the spoon in the center of the non-descript brown slop he supposed was supposed to be stew. Cramming a spoon full into his mouth, he swallowed thickly. It wasn't the worst crap Chef had ever made, but it was no prize winner either.

"It's okay cold."

"Yuck! It was barely edible warm!"

He took great pleasure in grossing her out as he spooned mouthfuls of cold slop into his mouth. When he was finished, he rubbed his stomach and set the plate down on his nightstand. Lying back in bed, he rested his eyes.

"You know, you can't sleep just yet, right?"

"I'm not sleeping. I'm just resting my eyes."

"Well, if you sleep, I can't."

"What, you don't want to sleep with me, Sunshine?" He joked, opening one eye and smiling at her.

"Unbelievable." Gwen sighed, rolling her eyes and laying back in her own bed.

"Just promise me you won't go doing anything stupid, like trading rooms to bunk with LeShawna. Harold snores way too much." He smiled, turning his head back and closing his eyes once more.

"Go to sleep. I'll wake you up in twenty."