17: Snow Shovelling: Justin and Sadie

Justin was used to girls fawning over him. He had come to expect, even welcome, the attention he received on an hourly basis. When he went on "Total Drama", it was the same. Nearly every girl, minus a few odd balls like Gwen, tripped over themselves to be close to him. He liked it, he always had, but he rarely noticed the girls that praised him, for there were so many, it was hard to keep track. Yet Sadie and her best friend Katie stood out. At first, he only remembered them because they were the ones always praising him. The second reason he recalled the pair was their clothing. They dressed the exact same, and on Sadie it was not flattering at all. He didn't bother commenting though, for why should he bother? It wasn't like he really cared.

The strange thing was, he kind of did. Whenever the cast got together, he noticed the sad look she'd get on her face as Katie and Noah drifted towards each other. He knew of their relationship and was happy for the pair, yet he also knew how distraught it made Sadie who was, essentially, losing her best friend.

Maybe it was pity that made him care. It probably was. But after "World Tour" wrapped up, Justin went over to Sadie and pulled her aside.

"You know, you really shouldn't wear something that revealing. It's always better to leave people with something to imagine. I learned that in photography class," he stated proudly.

Sadie was enthralled with the knowledge, obviously, but she seemed reluctant to accept it. "Katie dresses this way though. We've worn the same outfits since we were kids!" she exclaimed.

Justin shrugged. "So? Branch out, try a new style, do something different. Do you want to be known as the girl who dresses exactly like Katie for the rest of your life?"

His point was valid, she couldn't deny that. He saw her hesitation though and suddenly had an idea. "Why don't I take you shopping later today? Our flights aren't booked till tomorrow night. That could give us some time to try to find you a new look."

He knew she wouldn't pass up a chance to be alone with him. They found a taxi and headed downtown where he proceeded to educate her on the value of fashion.

"Don't follow trends, set them."

"Mixing patterns, especially horizontal ones, is not a good idea for your body type."

"Bold colours will look good with your skin tone."

"No more halter tops and short shorts. They make you look cheap, and you certainly aren't that, are you?"

Sadie followed his advice and by the end, she had some decent looking clothes that actually would work on her body. She kept thanking him over and over; by the time they got back in a taxi, Justin's head was hurting but he felt like he had done a good thing, so he said nothing.

It didn't end there though. He lived an hour away from her on a ranch, and Sadie had a habit of showing up at unexpected times. Once he was about to head into the shower. Let it be said plans changed quite quickly when he found her on his doorstep. He didn't find her to be such a bother though, not later on at least. She proved to be more than her surface image. She was even funny and quite good at dancing. She taught him a few things in terms of lyrical moves which he was actually impressed by.

One day, a big winter storm hit. Justin's driveway was completely coated in almost twenty inches of snow and both his parents and older sisters were out in the city, leaving him to tend to the ranch. The snow mobile was busted, so Justin put on his thick jacket, gloves, and hat and set out with a shovel to clear the driveway before more snow came. His parents would need a place to park when they got back.

He worked alone for almost an hour when he heard someone honk. He looked up to see Sadie park her car on the other side of the snow covered road. She was dressed for winter and her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Justin leaned on his shovel and stared at her in confusion.

"What are you doing here?"

"Helping you of course. You won't get this driveway shoveled before your parents get home by yourself." She went into his garage and grabbed another shovel.

Justin wondered how she knew all this, but then he remembered he texted her last night. Seeing as she was right, he didn't bother to argue. They managed to finish working together by the time his parents drove up the road. When they got out, they greeted the pair with impressed grins.

"Wow, you two did a great job! But Sadie, you didn't have to help," his mother said. "I hope Justin didn't call you over just to shovel snow."

Sadie waved off her concern. "Oh, he didn't call. I just came over to help. Besides, I need the exercise. My dance teacher says I need to trim down a little in order to get back into competitive dancing. This was just good exercise," she smiled, her cheeks rosy and nose resembling Rudolph's. Justin stared at her as she chatted with his parents and he tried to remember her before the make over. She wasn't as confident as she was now; he liked her this way, he liked her, not that he'd ever tell her that. At least not right now.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? I was going to barbeque something," asked his father.

"Sure, that would be great! I'll call my parents inside." As she began to follow Justin's parents, he grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop. When she looked back at him, at first he didn't know what to say.

"Thanks—for helping. It was . . . really nice of you," he stammered.

Sadie just smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "No problem. Like I said, I needed the exercise. Would you like to go for a run with me tomorrow morning?" A run didn't sound appealing, but he agreed as they went inside. Neither noticed they were still holding each other's hands.