Cody couldn't believe this.
Currently he was in the cargo hold by his lonesome. After refusing to tolerate anymore of Sierra's crying at the end of the challenge in Paris, Team Amazon had been furious with him. Absolutely none of them wanted to interact with him after shutting down any hope he would apologize.
He tried to focus on the positives. He knew he had a chance of not being eliminated, Heather and Sierra had also earned Courtney and Gwen's ire and he had a hunch Heather would prefer to keep him over the rest of the girls so it was likely one of the girls who would go next, but either way he was practically isolated from any group dynamic.
And for what? Not wanting to deal with Sierra's stalking?
Cody was not the type to hold grudges but right now, he couldn't help but feel resentment, yes even to Gwen. She had enabled Sierra's attitude like everyone else did, and while he had to admit he did some questionable things towards her at times, she said they were friends and she let the team treat him like this.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps heading towards him and turned around to not face them, "If you're looking for me to apologize to Sierra, I can't do it anymore!"
"Funny of you to assume that I care about such a foolish pursuit." He heard a familiar accent speak before turning to see Alejandro had entered the hold.
"May I sit?" Alejandro asked politely as he gestured to the crate he was sitting on.
Cody absentmindedly moved to the right, allowing Alejandro to sit next to him.
"How come you're here?" Cody asked in monotone.
"I noticed you didn't go to first class." Alejandro explained neutrally.
"I'd rather not deal with my team right now." Cody rolled his eyes.
"Ah yes, they didn't seem too happy with you snapping at Sierra today." Alejandro remarked with a dismissive smirk.
"Well she deserved it. I'm not apologizing to her. I've had enough of dealing with her." Cody ranted in annoyance.
"And you are completely justified in feeling that way." Alejandro smiled reassuringly at the geek. That surprised him, and Alejandro noticed this so he quickly elaborated, "I saw how uncomfortable she made you in the dancing challenge. If Sierra couldn't see that, that's her fault."
Cody smiled at this, it was honestly a relief to hear Alejandro say that.
"Thanks Alejandro." Cody smiled gratefully.
"Don't mention it. I just found it shameful how Sierra would treat someone so sweet like that." Alejandro smirked charmingly, sending an odd feeling down Cody's spine before Alejandro stood up, "Well I should probably get back to my team so they aren't concerned about where I am."
Alejandro then walked off, leaving Cody blushing and confused. He hid a smirk as he looked back while walking back, he meant what he said about how he felt about Cody's situation with Sierra but there was much more to his comfort than Cody knew. Owen wasn't exactly using his inside voice whenever he asked Noah about his feelings for Cody. This was a perfect way to keep himself from going to elimination, if his team lost, he could eliminate Noah for his jealousy, and if his team won, well he was safe either way.
Alejandro then made it back to Economy Class to where his teammates were waiting for him.
"Hey Al! Where'd you go earlier?" Owen asked giddily.
Alejandro stomached his annoyance and answered politely, "I was comforting Cody of course. It's quite tragic what happened to someone so special after all."
He saw Noah narrow his eyes a bit at that statement but the rest of his teammates were oblivious.
"Totally man. The Amazons are full of jerks." Tyler scoffed indignantly, "I can't believe Cody has to deal with them."
"Well… Gwen's kinda nice at least." Owen tried speaking in defense of the goth.
"I'm not sure about that man. She's kinda moody and snappish." Tyler pointed out to the blonde.
"Yeah, but that's just how she is." Owen defended.
Alejandro tuned out the inane chatter of his teammates and just readied himself to turn in for the night, Cody didn't know it but he was the key for Heather and Noah's undoing.
Meanwhile Cody himself was finally entering first class and peeked inside to see that Gwen, Courtney, and Sierra were all asleep but before he could continue walking quietly, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and his mouth was covered by none other than Heather who immediately shushed him.
"Heather…" Cody whispered when she finally let go of him so he could face her, "What's this all about?"
"Never mind that." Heather whispered harshly, "Why did you leave for so long?"
"Because I didn't want to deal with all of you glaring at me for not wanting to apologize to Sierra. Nothing special." Cody explained quietly, letting some bitterness seep through his tone.
To her credit, Heather didn't seem to mind this, "Whatever. You didn't talk to Alejandro did you?"
Cody's eyes widened at this statement, in all honesty he was a bit worried about what Heather would do if she found out about his and Alejandro's interaction, so he decided to lie.
"I was in the cargo hold and he's in loser class right now. We haven't spoke" Cody lied with a shrug.
"Just keep your eye out for him. You're already on thin ice and I know you have enough common sense not to be manipulated." Heather huffed before walking off.
When Cody walked to his seat far away from his teammates, he thought about what Alejandro said. Maybe he was reading too deep into this but seemed to be flirting with him, and honestly, the thought of that kinda made him blush. Maybe someone actually found him special.