Cody was not having a good time.
Actually no - back up a second.
Cody was having probably the worst time of his entire life, and wanted nothing more than to lay down right this very second and fall into the loving, warm embrace that only the darkest night can bring.
But unfortunately for him, he was stlll very much awake, and was still very much stuck in a bad spot.
The primary reason (or atleast, at the moment the primary reason) for his bad time was, to no one's surprise, the source of many other bad times in the past few weeks: his insane, crush obsessed stalker Sierra.
Said insane crush obsessed stalker currently danced from scene to scene, singing all about how Cody had betrayed her...
Oh, and yes, again bad for Cody - she was revving her antics up to 10 in the middle of a challenge... Just his luck.
"Oui, my friends - you must never trust a boy." He felt his eye twitch, and his hand tremble, as the bleak reality of the situation set in. This was actually happening, wasn't it? This was not some bad dream. He was seriously here right now in the middle of a museum having a song dedicated to him about how horrible of a guy he was by the person who actively made his life that much more unbearable, just because she could not take no for an answer?
He looked around, noticing the nasty looks his teammates were giving him, his gaze settling on Gwen for just a second longer than it did on the others.
He looked back at the ungodly sight infront of him, which was getting worse by the second.
Oui, my friends, you must never trust a boy!" She danced aggressively from room to room, the cameras eating her every moment up, causing Cody's skin to crawl even more...
Not only did his own team think he was a jerk now, but soon the entire world will, all from this crazy chick that won't take the word no for answer? It was bad enough he had to suffer back at home, but to suffer here? Under her? And then to get flak for it? Not even flak - this was just asinine.
He could feel his blood boil more and more as he thought of it - how unfair this entire ordeal was. How he had come back to the show not for the money, or the fame, but just to get away from how bad things were going for him back home... This was supposed to be his escape! Even if just for a little while! His safe haven! And she ruined it, and now he was going to get voted out for it!
And that was...
-"Oui!"
It was just just...
-"My friends!"
He could not even...
-"You must never LOVE a boy-"
All walls inside his mind broke - the train had crashed into the station - the dam busted, flooding the cities - the skies above turned black as the Moon spiraled into the Sun - game over, man.
"SHUT. UP!" He yelled with such force, that it not only echoed through the halls of the museum, but it also cut the music beat off. Chris sat up in his chair with a grin at the sight infront of him, and his team mates looked at him with expressions of pure shock, especially Sierra, who had no idea what was happening.
Cody stood there, all eyes on him, heaving and panting, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were whiter than Gwen's skin, and a glare so piercing and full of contempt that even Eva on a bad day would probably avoid him... Ok maybe not that last part, but still, it was a pretty scary glare.
Nobody had ever seen Cody so angry and hateful- actually nobody had ever seen him angry and hateful, period. It was pretty insane. He stood with his back straight, and he grit his teeth.
Sierra opened her mouth to say something, but Cody was quick to shut whatever inane thing she was going to say next down right quick -
"NO! Don't you even DARE speak..." He took a breath, shutting his eyes as he did so, feeling like his heart was about to pop right out of his chest from the stress. His body shook and tremored from the anxiety of everything caving in on him. He felt likek he was going to be buried alive.
It was as if all the things that had been happening to him in the past year and a half that he tried so hard to ignore and hide behind his smile had suddenly come out of the shadows and attacked him... And he had to let it out somehow.
"ALL you have done for the past few weeks is MAKE MY LIFE A LIVING HELL..." He opened his eyes, which were now red and puffy looking as he bordered crying, which probably should have embarassed him but he frankly couldn't care less. Not at this moment anyway.
"You take all my things, you harass me - actually no, that isn't even a proper word for this... You practically MOLEST me, while everyone around me just stands there with a dumb look on their face or ignores it! And then, when I TRY TO FINALLY GET RID OF YOU, YOU DO THIS STUPID SONG AND DANCE AND SAY IT WAS MY FAULT!? SCREW YOU! I WILL NEVER LOVE YOU. I HATE YOU."
He shook violently once more, and then began breathing heavily again, all while everyone continued to stare in shock, except Sierra, who's face had turned whiter than a ghost and she looked like she had seen a dead body.
After a few minutes, he finally stopped twitching, and his breathing settled, and his posture returned back to the way it was, but he wore the most saddest, most defeated looking frown on his face.
He look at his teammates again and spoke to them: "Vote me off if you want. I don't care anymore. I'm going back to the plane."
He turned away from them and walked off, not even taking a glance at Sierra. Not because he was afraid to, but because... Well he just didn't care!
So off he went, true to his word, right back to the Total Drama Jumbo Jet, where he sat in the cargo hold alone in the dark for an hour or two, silently hating everything that lead up to this point, and feeling disgusted with himself for the way he had handled Sierra, and wishing he could just go... Home?
...
Okay so maybe not home, but he wished he could go somewhere else, that is the point, dammit!
It felt like a long while before the last person on Earth he thought would come looking for him had found him...
The door to the cargo bay started to slide open slowly, and he felt his heart sink into his stomach. He really did not want to deal with anyone right now, especially after what he just said. He started to call out to whoever was coming, to tell them to go away and that he did not want to talk, but he couldn't get a word out because of who stepped in.
"G-Gwen?"
The goth shrugged, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly. "Hi." she said with an goofy grin.
Cody frowned. "Hi." he deadpanned. Why was she here? He already knew she did not like him and never would.
He figured he might as well cut it short.
"Look, if you are here to tell me how awful I am for saying that to Sierra, or how I should go apologize, save your breath. I don't want to hear it. I give up."
Gwen frowned at hearing the way Cody said this - it sounded so... Wrong. So sad. That, and this was not at all the Cody she knew. The Cody she knew was always full of life and spirit. But then again, she hadn't really spoken to him at all since Total Drama Action. She had been to busy with her blog and her art... What had happened to him since the last time she saw him?
"Who said you were awful for saying it?"
Cody stared at her, and it was at that point she noticed the dark circles under his eyes, which only made her more concerned for the welfare of her friend.
"You're kidding me, right? You really think it was fine for me to say that to her? All I did was just take out my problems on Sierra, and that was not right."
Gwen was surprised he felt such regret for this. Maybe he hadn't changed all that much? Maybe?
"Well..." The awkward grin long gone, she now had a more serious expression, as she went over to the box he was sitting up against and slid down next to him. "Let's talk about it... What problems exactly are you having?"
"I don't want to talk about it." He quickly answered, looking away from her.
She held up her hands infront of her, as if she was trying to back down a crazy starving lion or something. "Alright, alright. We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to. Maybe just talk about what I originally asked... Why are you awful for saying it? And why should you apologize for it?"
He sighed. "I am awful for saying it because... Well, again, I was just taking my problems out on her."
Gwen chuckled. "That's it? Cody come on. You can't seriously say she was not getting under your skin and that was a contributing factor to you saying what you said."
Cody glanced at her. "Why do you care?" She raised a brow.
"No seriously, why do you care? Who set you up to this? I already know you don't like me and neither does anyone else on this team, except Sierra (he practically spat the name out as he rolled his eyes), why are you trying to make me feel better?"
Gwen frowned again. What was going on in this boys head to make him think these things? She didn't like him? The team didn't like him? I mean sure, she may have turned down his dates and his advances, and maybe sat with Courtney instead of him... And maybe hardly ever spoke to him willingly... And... Okay, point is, she didn't hate him. Not at all.
And neither did the team.
"Cody... I don't hate you." He snorted. "And neither does the team." He snorted again.
"Yeah, right. You and everyone else on the team just ignore Sierra practically molesting me and making my life even worse because you think I am a masochist and I secretly get off on it. Right."
She put a hand on his shoulder. "There you go again... Cody, what is this really about? What is happening in your life to make you feel this way?"
"I don't. Want. To talk. About it." He said sternly. "Back to the subject please."
She shook her head, not liking at all when he acted this way. "Fine... But anyways, what I mean it, Cody... Well... The girls and I have been talking..."
"Talking about how I am getting voted off, probably." He said bitterly.
"No... Just... Just listen..." She shook his shoulder gently. "We realized that we were wrong about Sierra and you, and we realized that it wasn't your fault she was acting like that in the challenge, and that you were right for wanting to get her off the team... And we also realized we should apologize to you... Or I should apologize on their behalf, and on mine too."
Cody seriously could not believe what he was hearing her say.
He looked at her, his eyes wide.
"The girls?"
"Are sorry. And I am too. I should have been a better friend and we should have been better to our team mate." She offered him a slight smile that made his heart do flips like it usually did in those rare moments when she looked at him this way. "And that is why we are going to vote her off tonight."
"What!?" His face broke into a wild grin. YES! Freedom! He will finally be free from her...
"This is... This is the best news I have heard in a long time..." He idly ran a hand through his messy hair. "Maybe things aren't gonna be so bad after all..."
Gwen squeezed his shoulder gently. "So now that we have that out of the way... I still want to know... Cody, as a friend, I can tell something is really getting to you. There is no way you would act that way to Sierra normally, even if you were angry... You looked like a crazy person... I wanna know, what is wrong?"
Cody sighed and rubbed his temples. He wanted to tell her again, no, he didn't want to talk about it, but... For some reason, he felt like he could open up. Maybe things would be ok.
"Well Gwen..." He began, rubbing his chin in thought, trying to think of the best possible way he could approach this and say this. When he failed, he just chuckled, much to the surprise of Gwen. "I am not even really sure what you want me to say... Do you want me to tell you I am having a bad time? Tell you all about how the kids at my school beat the crap out of me for how I handled myself on Island with you? How I have no friends at all to fall back on? How I am extremely lonely and not sure what to even do? Or even how at home, I am still not safe, since my father is a crazy asshole that..." He sighs, and alarm bells began going off in Gwen's head.
"Cody... What does he..."
He cut her off quick. "It is probably not what you're thinking... He just...He drinks and then he... Hurts me. Hits me usually."
Before she could say anything, he rolled his sleeve up, and she could see the traces of a rather nasty bruise which looked like it had been healing for quite some time. "Here is what happened when I told him to leave her alone."
He rolled it down. "My mother."
Gwen had no idea what to say or do. This was not at all what she was expecting. She came into the cargo hold expecting to find Cody, tell him Sierra was going home, he would be happy, and all would be sunshine and rainbows. She had no idea she would get into stuff this deep with him. She had no idea he was having problems this bad outside of Sierra. No wonder he exploded at her like that. He must have been bottling it up for so long he juts couldn't take it anymore...
The fact he was feeling this way and having such problems made her feel so... Helpless. And it upset her to see that he had been going through so much.
"How long?" She gently grabbed his wrists, stealing a few quick glances at them... You know, just incase. "How long has this been happening for, Cody? How long?"
When he didn't say anything, she shook him gently, and he spoke in the most quietest voice possible. He spoke in a voice that was like that of a timid child. One that had been suffering and being abused since the days end.
One that reminded her so much of her brother it made her want to cry.
"For as long as I can remember."
The walls and windows seemed to break in her head. She had no idea what to say to him. All she did was pull him in a very gentle hug, which he hesitated before accepting, wrapping his arms around her. They sat like this for a while, her holding him close, and him enjoying the safe feeling that came with her embrace.
When she broke the hug, it felt like the light which had avoided him for so long and finally came was leaving once more, stranding him back in the sea of darkness.
"Cody... You... You have to tell someone." She finally said, looking him in the eyes.
"I know."
"No. Cody..." She grabbed his hands, and made him look at her. "You have to." He noticed now, that her eyes were red and puffy, and she was close to tears.
He no longer was thinking of himself.
"G-Gwen?"
"Promise me, Cody... Promise me when this is all over, and you go home, you will tell someone... Tell the school... The... The cops... ANYONE. Please. Promise me." A tear trailed down her cheek, and he instantly felt awful for pulling her into this.
"Gwen... I... Okay Gwen, anything for you. I will. I swear..."
She smiled at him, in spite of the tears. "Good..."
"Gwen... Now it's my turn to ask... What happened to YOU?"
She shook and another tear fell down her cheek. "I... I know what you are going through Cody...""
"Gwen... You don't..."
"I know because my father was the same... That's why in all the audition tapes Chris showed us, you never saw him..." Now the cat was out of the bag. And now there was no going back. But maybe that was ok.
"But Cody... I made it... My brother and I made it... And you can too... Get help."
Cody sat there for a moment, taking it all in, before chuckling. "You know, I stayed for you."
She rose a brow. "Hm?"
"Back on the Island. I came to the show to try to make friends. That's why I did all that dumb Casanova stuff. I wanted to be cool and liked. After the first episode when things were kinda going a bit iffy... I was planning on giving up, but you made me stick through it. I know you're probably sick of hearing it, but Gwen, you're my dream girl, and I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are listening to me and helping me... So uh..." He cleared his throat. "Thanks."
She wiped her eyes and chuckled again, smiling at him. "Well honestly, it wasn't that bad. Your Casanova thing. It did get a bit annoying, but we were all new to this stuff back then. We had only JUST reached the horror that is Total Drama Island. Now though, in retrospect, it kinda was cute."
He blinked. "Cute?"
She nodded. "And it's touching to know someone likes little old me that much... And you know what, Cody? You aren't so bad. If you'd just be yourself more, I bet you'd find things would go a lot better for you..." Her voice was laced with mysterious undertones that Cody wasn't sure he liked or disliked.
"What uh... What are you saying?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying... Be yourself."
Cody was dumbfounded. "Okay, I get that, but... You kinda said it in a weird way. Did you mean something else to? I'm sorry, I am not very good at this stuff-"
"Cody. Ask me out." She finally said to the confused boy, who shrugged, before submitting to the oddness of the situation.
"Uh... Okay... Gwen, would you like to maybe hang out sometime?" He said, smiling at her.
Gwen smiled back. "Sure."
...
Cody could not believe what she just said to him. It was like hearing something out of a dream... Dreams. Dream. He had been dreaming of this ever since meeting her.
"Did you just say..."
She nodded. "Sure. Cody, I think I might have misjudged you... And I can see there's more to you than you let on... I think I'd like to get know you, Cody. The real you. So... What do you say?"
Cody didn't say anything. Instead, he hopped up, a crazy grin on his face. "THIS IS BEST DAY EVER!" He hollered as he skipped merrily out the cargo hold, leaving a smirking goth behind.
Looks like things were looking up for him after all... Maybe things will be okay. Maybe he'll keep going.
For her, he would. For her he would push until he reached the end of the Earth itself.
Wooooo.
That was a long session. I wrote this all in one sitting, without any plan what so ever. I just knew I wanted Cody to explode at Sierra, interrupting her stupid song, and then I wanted Gwen to comfort him. I had no idea I would end up doing something like this. I hope it came out ok. I noticed I did that thing where I start out with an OK writing style but it kinda shifts midway. Maybe it'll be fine? I hope!
Anywho, I really hope you guys liked this little 3k shot. I kind of regret pushing Cody and Gwen together so fast, but I figured, "hey why not?"
Not much to say. Leave your thoughts if ya want! I'm always happy to take criticism. ANY criticism. Flame me if you want. I want to get better.
Oh yeah, also I finally made a proper about me page. Go check it out if you feel inclined!