Scott didn't have feelings.

Okay, that was a gigantic lie. He was human, of course he had feelings, but he never was one to express feelings.

Feelings left you open to being vulnerable, and being vulnerable made you weak. And then that weakness is exploited. Scott never felt like he could risk it unless he was with someone he could trust, like his sister Albertha.

That was until he encountered Courtney.

At first, Scott only found her attractive when he first interacted with her. I mean, who could blame him? Courtney was very pretty, but looks alone weren't what won Scott over, after all, he found Dawn and Dakota good looking, and he quickly disposed of them last season.

What attracted Scott to Courtney was her personality, namely her leadership skills, tough nature, and her kick-butt attitude. Though Scott couldn't lie that he also found her passionate side cute as well.

The more Scott interacted with Courtney, the more he grew attached to her and felt a great connection between them, it went to the point where he didn't care about the competition as much as he used to, but to see Courtney happy.

Sure, there was a road bump, such as Cameron kissing Courtney but looking back, that was more of a misunderstanding than anything. Scott was confident their relationship was strong enough to last.

Until he saw that damned chart.

Yes, he was aware that Courtney wanted him in the finale with her but that drawing of him with a rat tail definitely indicated that she did not respect him. It was clear she was just looking for an easy win, whether it be a genuine victory or if it was just out of desperation that he would let her win.

Scott scowled at the memory as he walked to the dock, Courtney didn't even seem to care about how much she had hurt him, just that she wouldn't be the next one eliminated from the game.

Today, Zoey was the one that won the challenge, so Scott was free to vote off Courtney if he wanted, but for some reason, he was having doubts.

The times he and Courtney had together had to have meant something right? Those smiles they shared? Their banter? It wasn't all just a game, right?!

Maybe he could vote off Mike? He's never really seen eye to eye with the guy and he's been acting weirder than usual.

Then again… Courtney did show in the challenge that she wanted to win and nothing else.

Scott grunted as he held his head, why was he so confused?! It was basic math, Courtney was using him to win and she should go home. So why was he still pondering this?

"Scott… are you okay?" Scott heard a soft voice, he didn't need to turn behind him to know that Zoey was there.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend?" Scott asked with a narrowed gaze.

Zoey faltered a bit by what he said, and seemed nervous before saying, "I-I just needed some time to think is all."

"Why? It's not like Courtney's actions affect you in any way." Scott rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Why don't you talk to Mike about it? Aren't you both perfectly in-sync like Yin and Yang?"

Zoey glared a bit at this before crossing her arms, "You're not the only one who has relationship problems you know."

That surprised Scott, given their history together, Mike and Zoey seemed like the ultimate dream couple ever since they formed a relationship, so the fact they were having problems was shocking to say the least.

"Sorry." Zoey sighed softly, "You're clearly upset about Courtney and here I am making my problems your problem."

Scott scoffed in amusement, Zoey was way too nice sometimes.

"No. You're fine." Scott reassured her with a lighter frown, "I'm just upset about Courtney."

"Yeah." Zoey chuckled sheepishly, "Drawing your boyfriend as a rat does sound insulting."

"It wasn't just the drawing." Scott muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something Scott? I didn't quite hear you." Zoey raised an eyebrow curiously.

Scott widened his eyes, she heard him. What does he do now?

Scott took a look at Zoey and not a trace of skepticism or suspicion was on her face, but a rather rare emotion he ever saw: concern.

"It wasn't just the drawing that set me off. Well okay, yes. It kinda was the reason I broke off with her at first given she didn't seem to respect me that much, but I was willing to forgive her before realizing that she didn't care about how I felt and it seemed like she was using me as a means to an end so… what I'm trying to say is, she hurt me with what she did." Scott confessed.

"Oh… I'm so sorry Scott. I had no idea it was that serious." Zoey said remorsefully.

"It's fine. It's not your fault." Scott shrugged, clearly still downtrodden about what had happened, though he did have to admit, he was rather curious about what Zoey meant when she was talking about her and Mike having problems.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what's going on between you and Mike?" Scott asked curiously which seemed to surprise the red haired girl, to which he quickly added, "You don't have to tell me, given… everything, but I'm just curious."

Zoey was a bit skeptical of this, should she really tell Scott about what's been going on with Mike? He's not exactly the nicest guy around.

Zoey then turned to Scott again and saw that for once, there was no trace of malice or bravado in his eyes. She might just be going crazy, but a gut feeling told her that it was safe to talk about this.

"Mike's just been acting strange lately. His personalities hardly appear anymore, but lately he's acting a bit more… sketchy I'd say. He has this darker demeanor to him and he seems to hide from me at times." Zoey explained with a sad sigh, "I thought we had moved past this secret business from last season but clearly something's up with him."

What Zoey didn't mention was that she was starting to believe that Mike probably had an evil personality named Mal and that's why Mike could be acting so weird but Zoey didn't tell Scott this lest her theory be correct and she'd be putting Scott at risk, and if she was wrong, it could just cause unnecessary conflict.

"Well…" Scott said awkwardly, not knowing how to react to this situation but eventually he settled on, "Knowing you two, you'll probably resolve whatever issue this is. I mean, you did accept his disorder, a pretty big milestone all things considered."

Zoey smiled fondly at that day, it was when they had established a relationship and she accepted Mike for who he was and ever since then, they had a stable bond. Maybe they could get through this problem too.

"I guess you're right." Zoey said happily, "Maybe we need some more time to figure this out."

"Well… assuming one of you isn't gone in the final four that is." Scott smirked teasingly which Zoey rolled her eyes at playfully.

"We'll see about that." Zoey replied with a determined grin before gaining a softer look, "But thanks for letting me vent Scott."

Scott was surprised to hear Zoey say that, especially after the events of last season but then again, she didn't seem like the type to hold long grudges.

"Whatever. I was only being honest." Scott rolled his eyes, still smirking, "Still… it was nice actually having a decent conversation after everything with Courtney."

"No problem. I should probably get back to Mike" Zoey shrugged with a smile before starting to walk off, "Also, don't worry, Courtney is definitely leaving tonight." She reassured him happily.

As Scott watched Zoey leave, a part of him felt more free now that he told her what he had been feeling after what happened with Courtney. It also surprised him that Zoey of all people helped him with that whole situation. He was honestly starting to grow a bit more fond of the Indie Chick.

Of course Scott was still a little upset about what Courtney did to him, but if anything good came out of this, it was that he sorta made peace with Zoey.

Author's Note: So I made this one-shot to start this series off. If you want to make a request, here are the rules:

1. No Smut- I do not write that. It is highly inappropriate for me. At worst, the characters will make out but that's it.

2. You cannot force me to write something I don't want to.

3. No illegal romantic pairings- This one should be fairly obvious but I'm not doing any couples with large age gaps and stuff like that.

4. Poly Relationships are allowed- I felt it deserved a mention.

Those are all the rules you need to follow. Happy requesting. Just remember to be specific, I can't read your minds and I can only PM so many of you for clarity since some of you use Guest accounts.