Gwen grabbed the rest of her things from her locker and shoved them into her bag before walking outside where all the students were leaving and piling into their cars as the first day of school finally ended. It had been a long day of classes, despite missing her first period, and she was so ready to go home.
Her eyes wandered the yard, already knowing where her friends were, but she wanted to see how different, or the same, the rest of her classmates were this year.
It was their senior year, the last year she would ever see most of these people again, and though high school hadn't been the greatest experience of her life, she met a handful of people that she actually liked and made her own sick memories within McLean's concrete walls. She wasn't going to miss school, but Gwen knew she was going to miss how comfortable she was hating the people around her.
"Ya gonna stand there all day, lady, or are ya gonna join us?" Geoff bellowed from beside her, his height making it seem like he was ten feet away. Gwen slightly jumped at his voice, before laughing and following him over to the tree where Bridge, LeShawna, Harold, and DJ were hanging around. Duncan was nowhere to be seen, but that was expected.
"Lost in your own world, girly?"
"Taking it all in one last time," Gwen dramatically said, waving her hand as she watched the crowds of people pass by her. A few of them glanced over, most continued with their journey home.
"What are you guys up to?" Gwen asked, adjusting her backpack as she looked around at her friends.
"I have to go feed Bunny. I haven't seen him all day, I'm sure the little guy misses me!"
"Harold and I are going to the mall, mama needs me some hair product for this heat."
"And daddy needs some new shoes- Ow!"
"Don't ever say 'daddy' again."
Gwen laughed as LeShawna gripped Harold's skinny arm, his freckled face turning a crimson red that almost matched his hair.
"Geoff and I have practice, so we're going to grab a quick bite before heading to the field. Wanna join us, Gwen?"
Bridgette was a cheerleader and Geoff was on the varsity football team. Gwen wondered how she became friends with the typical high school sweetheart couple, when she was usually seen as the outcast, lonesome type, but she was grateful nonetheless.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I still have jet lag from my trip, so I'm probably going to head home and sleep until tomorrow."
The group dispersed, Gwen off on foot since cars were expensive and her single mom had enough to worry about than her teenage daughter's commute from school. Not that she was complaining, but when she walked by the parking lot, she couldn't help but glare at Heather's white convertible that was as shiny as her bald head that she tried to cover up with pony-hair extensions.
Gwen chuckled at the memory of junior prom last year when Heather, the school's mean girl, and Lindsay, the stereotypical blonde bimbo sidekick, thought it would be funny to vote Gwen and Ezekial, don't even get her started on what was wrong with that guy, onto junior prom court, spreading rumors that they were secretly dating and Ezekial stalking her for three weeks. Gwen's mom had to file a restraining order, and in return for the prank, Gwen shaved Heather's long, luscious hair when she fell asleep in sixth period on the day of her prom photos.
Just as Gwen was about to leave campus, a pair of rough hands grabbed her waist and pinned her against a nearby car, and his muscular body blocked her from escaping. She gripped onto the stranger's toned arm, attempting to push them away until his voice slithered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine as he pressed his crotch against hers.
"Hey doll face, missed me today?"
"Ugh, Duncan!" Gwen couldn't help but laugh, and she was able to break away from Duncan's embrace. "You know I hate it when you do that."
"Do you really though?" She watched Duncan's tongue play with his lip ring, and she chewed the insides of her heated up cheeks as she turned and continued walking, Duncan hot on her tail. "How ya getting home?"
"Mom's at work, so I'm walking it."
"Want a ride?"
Gwen looked back at Duncan, who was grinning at her, and she didn't need to answer as she knew exactly where his truck was and climbed in. It wasn't hard to miss the giant red truck with a white skull spray painted on the side. The roar of the vehicle once Duncan got in behind her was a familiar and comforting sound, with her spending days on end in the passenger seat ever since he got his license two years ago.
"What happened to 'old reliable'?" Duncan asked as he pulled his truck out of the school parking lot, weaving through the traffic. Gwen tuned out the honks that he got from other cars, used to Duncan's lack of driving skills.
"Turned out it wasn't so reliable, go figures," Gwen answered, leaning back into the car seat. Her dad's 1987 Ford Taurus was left behind with the rest of his things when he walked out on the family, and it was supposed to be hers once she got her license, but the minute the key entered the ignition, the engine blew out, leaving the Adams' family with nothing but a dead memory of her dad in a form of rusty junk. "Mom drops me off, but I'm on my own after."
"Well, if Ms. Adams needs to take something off her plate, I'd be more than happy to take the Princess both ways, and I don't mean up yer ass."
Gwen ignored the innuendo, and the funny feeling in her gut when Duncan winked at her. "Please, as if you're even going to show up to school. And I think you're confusing who you're talking to, Dunky."
Duncan shivered at the nickname, memories of him dating the student body president, otherwise known as Princess, flashed in his mind. "Don't ever call me that."
"Or what, pookums? You're going to debate me to the death?"
"Shut it, Gwendolyn."
Gwen scrunched her nose at the sound of her full name, remembering all too well that Duncan had just as much on her as she did on him. The truck continued to tear its way through the town of Wawanakwa, never missing a turn as if it was on autopilot to Gwen's house, and the two sat in silence as the radio playing a random rock song echoed the silent cabin.
After a moment, Gwen spoke up, "Rumors said y'all talked today."
"And you believe that crap?"
"I believe that the CIT would do anything to be the delinquent's savior."
The car fell silent again after that, Duncan thinking about the last conversation the two had before Duncan was arrested and Gwen warned him about Courtney's intentions.
Unlike Gwen, Courtney had wanted to be on prom court with Duncan, to prove that she could turn a bad boy into the school's shining star. It all crashed down when right before prom, Duncan was caught by the police and Courtney was left out of the ballot since she no longer had a date.
"Look, Duncan-" Gwen knew that conversation is a touchy subject since it left their friendship with some tension that was never talked about due to his juvenile time. Courtney, or any of their love interests for that matter, was an off-limits topic for the duo, since it was easier and more fun to be tying people's underwear to the flag pole or listening to their favorite rock bands in Duncan's basement, but everything that was going on during that late night in April before it all went down was too heavy for them to ignore.
"Nah, don't fret it sweetheart. You know me, I'll get over it."
Gwen sighed as they pulled up to her house and she turned to face him. "I do know you, that's why I'm worried."
Duncan's smirk sent shivers down her spine, "Aw, Pasty's worried about old Duncan? I didn't know you cared about me that much."
Rolling her eyes, Gwen unbuckled her seatbelt. She grabbed her backpack from the floor and exited the car, "Look, I'm actually exhausted and I already know you're going to cause me trouble the rest of this year, so give me a pass today, alright?"
"How'd you know what I was going to propose?" Duncan chuckled, mentally erasing the plan he had to pick Gwen up later in the night for their usual shenanigans.
"Like I said, I know you."
Gwen began walking down the path to her front door, adjusting the backpack on her back and taking the house keys out of her pocket. She didn't hear his car drive away yet, but she continued walking, feeling the tiredness slowly take over her body as if she could sense her bed getting closer and closer.
"Gwen?"
"Hm?" she turned around, looking at Duncan through the open window of the passenger seat. She watched as he watched her, words playing on his lips but never actually spoken. Gwen smiled and shook her head. "I missed you too Duncan."
"Yeah?"
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bright and early."
sorry if the characters seem ooc, i haven't watched total drama in years and i don't really feel like i need to rewatch it to write this. i'm trying my best to keep them as they are, but it's all fake anyways so does it really matter?