A/N — Welcome to the first chapter of Love in the Dark, a Total Drama World Tour AU. Due to the lack of Ezekiel x Heather fanfics on this site — the only ones that I managed to find were Total Drama Comeback and it's (unfinished) sequel Total Drama Battlegrounds by The Kobold Necromancer and More Than Just Playing the Game by gamestomper — I decided to make my own fanfic about them since a) both are two of my favorite characters and b) reading the aforementioned fanfics made it be one of my favorite pairings. With that said, I hope you enjoy the first chapter.
Main Characters: Ezekiel, Heather, and Alejandro
Main Pairing: Ezekiel/Heather
Side Pairings: Duncan/Gwen, Tyler/Lindsay, and Heather/Alejandro (one-sided)
When you're down and troubled
And you need some lovin' care
And nothin', nothin' is goin' right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I'll come runnin'
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend
— Carole King, You've Got A Friend
Chapter One
You've Got A Friend
The sun blazed mercilessly over the sandy dunes of Egypt, casting a scorching heat upon the hapless contestants of Total Drama World Tour. The third season of the popular reality TV show had taken its competitors to their first destination of the season: the land of pyramids, pharaohs, and scarab beetles. It was here that the first challenge of the season would unfold, promising a whirlwind adventure filled with danger, suspense, and intrigue.
Chris McLean, the sadistic host of Total Drama, addressed the group with his trademark smirk. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Great Pyramid of Giza! Today's challenge will test your strength, agility, and, of course, your brains. You have two options: go over the pyramid or go under it. Choose wisely, because your decision might determine your fate in this competition."
Ezekiel scratched his head as his face flushed with uncertainty. He had always been a simple guy, unfamiliar with the ways of the world beyond his farmland. The prospect of traversing an ancient pyramid filled him with a mixture of awe and trepidation.
One, two, three! he counted to himself as he continued his tedious journey of climbing the pyramid, making sure to avoid anything, like the blazing sun, that could make his task for difficult. After being given a second chance by Chris after being tossed out from the Jumbo Jet back in Toronto, Ezekiel pondered on what to do next. The pyramid, though hard to climb at a first glance, proved to be a more better decision for the prairie boy.
There were, in fact, two reasons why Ezekiel chose to go over than under. The first reason was that he knew he'd get lost, and he'd rather not face any of the traps inside the pyramid or accidentally separate himself from any group that he followed had he gone inside instead.
The second reason? Heather, the 'Queen Bee' of Total Drama. Known for her competitiveness, as well as her cruel and manipulative nature, Ezekiel became confused when he saw Heather climbing the pyramid as well, earning odd stares from others that were also climbing like Bridgette, Lindsay, and Tyler. Ezekiel was the same, but he knew that Heather, on the other hand, was smirking with confidence despite her initial struggles. After all, she relished any opportunity to outsmart and outmaneuver her fellow contestants.
That was why Ezekiel easily saw the reason why she was climbing with them instead of following everyone else inside.
Alejandro.
Being one of the two newcomers — the other being Sierra, an overexcited, looney fan obsessed with both Total Drama and Cody — for the third season, the Latin presented himself as a charming and friendly competitor, easily having many of the female contestants swooning over him, while the male contestants either acknowledged him as another competitor or as someone to secure an alliance with.
Watching closely from afar, it was clear from the start that Heather had her suspicions of Alejandro, and Ezekiel couldn't blame her. The Spaniard reminded him of the few times that people like Alejandro — most of them either came from cities or from other towns — came through his hometown in Saskatchewan. More often than not, they were handsome, rich, charismatic, had a toned body, and could get any girl that they wanted, which were, more or less, all things that Alejandro was.
Catching up to her, Ezekiel couldn't help but try and strike up a conversation.
"Are you alright, Heather?" he asked, noticing that she was struggling a little — apparently, high heels on a pyramid did not go well together, especially when climbing for the past three hours.
"Beat it, Homeschool," Heather replied, the usual scowl on her face as she focused on climbing few next steps. "Unlike you, some of us have more important things to do," she grunted, "like this pyramid, for starters."
Heather was right. Scaling the pyramid proved to be no easy feat. The scorching structure beneath their feet shifted and was hit from the burning sun, making each step a perilous gamble. Ezekiel's grip on the ancient stone was tenuous, his calloused fingers struggling to find purchase. Heather, ever determined, nimbly climbed through the structure, leaving Ezekiel panting and struggling to keep up.
As they neared the top, disaster struck. Ezekiel's foot slipped, and he plummeted downwards, desperately clawing at the air. Heather reacted swiftly, reaching out and grasping his outstretched hand just before he crashed onto the unforgiving steps below.
Their eyes locked for a moment, and Ezekiel saw a flicker of something unexpected in Heather's gaze — a glimmer of genuine concern. It disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by her usual cold, calculating expression.
"Thanks, eh," Ezekiel mumbled, his voice barely audible despite the silence that followed.
Heather yanked him up with a huff. "Don't mention it, Zeke. Just don't expect me to save you again."
Now standing at the top, both Ezekiel and Heather looked over the edge. None of the other contestants that had gone inside had come out yet, though they could hear the faint sound of screaming from inside.
"Great," Heather sighed, crossing her arms in frustration. "How do we get down from here?"
Crack!
Turning around, Heather was surprised to see that Ezekiel had broken off the sign a few inches away from them.
"We can use this, eh," Ezekiel said, setting down the sign. Seeing Heather raise an eyebrow, he added, "It's the best we got. Either that or we walk down."
"Fine," Heather said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
"Ah, hola, mi amigos," a voice said behind them. "Glad to see you weren't far behind."
Turning around, both Ezekiel and Heather saw Alejandro climbing up the steps with relatively ease, carrying Bridgette, Lindsay, and Tyler with him; the two girls were sitting on his shoulders while Tyler, sporting a bruised face and missing a few teeth, had his arms wrapped around the Spaniard's midsection.
Once again, great, Heather thought to herself, fighting the urge to scowl. She didn't want Alejandro to see that she was becoming increasingly frustrated because of him and how he was so good at everything.
Once he was at the top, Bridgette and Lindsay climbed off Alejandro's shoulders while Tyler was supported by Lindsay as he massaged his face.
"Are you guys going down, or are you waiting for someone else?" Bridgette asked, mainly looking at Heather than Ezekiel, which made the prairie boy look to the side awkwardly. Were his words back on Total Drama Island still that bad, even though the first and second season had already passed?
"We're going down, and don't even think about using the sign," Heather warned instead, stepping onto the sign as she spoke. "Find another way down."
"C'mon, it can't be that bad to share," said Tyler, wrapping an arm around Lindsay to make sure she didn't accidentally trip and fall over the edge.
"Tyler's right, Heather," Lindsay spoke up (Tyler silently cheered as his girlfriend remembered his name while Heather simply scowled at her). "You and Esteban could —"
Whatever she was about to say next didn't come. Unbeknownst to anyone, Alejandro had managed to shift the sign with one of his rattlesnake-skinned boots, making so that when Lindsay stepped forward, she tripped on the block of wood that held up the sign.
What happened next was chaos.
Tyler barely managed to grab ahold of Lindsay before the blonde fell over, but that didn't stop her from accidentally hitting Ezekiel as she stuck out her arms in an attempt to grab onto something. Unfortunately for Bridgette, she was the closest to her, and Lindsay grabbed her light blue jacket as she tried to support herself. This, in turn, caused Bridgette to grab onto Alejandro while balancing on one foot, and Heather, like Bridgette, was unable to move out of the way, and as such, Ezekiel crashed into her while the sign, now acting as a makeshift surfboard, slid off the edge of the pyramid.
"Aggggghhhh!"
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
Both Ezekiel and Heather screamed in pure terror as they went down the pyramid at a rapid speed, clinging onto each other as they did so. Then, when they were halfway down, the sign got stuck on a part of the structure, causing Ezekiel and Heather to fall down the rest of the way, becoming scratched and bruised in the process as they hit each step.
At long last, both slid across the finish line at the same time, both morning in pain. Nearby, Chris and Chef stood there, shock evident from the looks on their faces.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, are they alright?" Lindsay shouted in a panicked voice as she and the others looked over the pyramid. In her worry, Lindsay had began to run down the steps in a quickly manner, holding tightly onto Tyler's hand as Bridgette and Alejandro followed close behind. Not knowing that they had all crossed the finish line at the same time as well, Bridgette, Lindsay, and Tyler kneeled down as they turned over Ezekiel and Heather's bodies. Both appeared to be dizzy, and were both covered in dirt as well.
Heather was the first to recover. Shaking her head vigorously, she sat up and looked at her surroundings. When she saw Lindsay, her gray eyes lit up with a fiery glare.
"I am gonna kill you!" she screamed. She attempted to lunge at the blonde, who was profusely apologizing while she hid behind her scared-looking boyfriend, but considering how bruised her body was, along with Bridgette holding her back, her growls and threats eventually faded, leaving her simply breathing in exhaustion as she collapsed onto the sand.
"Ugh," a voice moaned, and everyone turned to see Ezekiel sitting up, rubbing his head as he adjusted his toque. "What… what happened, eh?"
"Lindsay happened!" Heather hissed at him before she turned around and barred her teeth at the still-cowering blonde. "I swear, Lindsay, when I feel better —"
"Woah now, Heather," a smooth-sounding voice said, and everyone turned to see Alejandro walking towards the black-haired girl, a concerned expression on his chiseled tanned face. "Let us not go threatening others this early in the competition."
"Shut it, Alejandro!" Heather said through gritted teeth. "You stay out of this!"
"Easy there, Heather," another voice joined in, and Chris himself appeared next to the group of teens, dressed as a pharaoh. "Save the hatred until you can eliminate her because… you five are the first members of Team One!"
"What?"
As it turned out, Ezekiel, Heather, Bridgette, Lindsay, and Tyler were the first team for the competition, as Chris announced that, instead of the usual two teams, they would be having three teams this time around. As such, Alejandro was the first member of Team Two, with both Courtney and Gwen joining him — after Duncan had quit the competition when he refused to sing a reprise — along with Cody and Sierra, much to Cody's excitement and much to Sierra's fury. For Team Three, they consisted of the last of the remaining contestants who exited the pyramid last, those being Harold, Leshawna, DJ, Owen, Noah, and Izzy.
When it came to the team names, Team One decided on the name Team Amazon (on account of having three girls), Team Two was named Team Chris Is Really Really Really Really Hot by Sierra, and Team Three chose the name Team Victory, though Noah, with his usual sarcasm, had blatantly pointed out that calling themselves Team Victory basically ruined any chances of them winning, though this was something the other members preferred to ignore.
Due to Duncan quitting, Chris had decided to cancel the second part of the challenge due to him feeling like it had ruined the first challenge as a whole (everyone disagreed when they were told by Chef that the second part involved them rowing across the Nile River while having to avoid numerous man-eating crocodiles). On the other hand, because they were the first team to be assembled, Chris had allowed Team Amazon to ride in First Class to their next destination.
Not long after, night had fallen on the Total Drama Jumbo Jet, casting a dark and eerie shadow over the cargo hold. It was the one place on the plane where silence reigned, disturbed only by the faint hum of the engines. the scurrying of the rats, and the clutter of items shaking as the Jumbo Jet traveled along the darkened sky.
Heather had found solace in this secluded spot, away from the drama and chaos of the competition. She sat on a crate, her back against the cool metal, contemplating the events that had unfolded throughout the day.
As the rain pattered against the windows, a gust of wind swept through the cargo hold, causing Heather to shiver. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, seeking comfort in the solitude. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the sound of footsteps echoing through the vast space until a familiar voice broke the silence.
"Heather? What are you doing here, eh?"
Startled, Heather turned her head to find Ezekiel standing a few feet away, his normally unruly hair plastered against his forehead from the rain. Despite the darkness, his vibrant gray eyes glimmered with concern.
"Shouldn't you be with the rest of our team, Zeke?" Heather asked, her voice tinged with annoyance.
Ezekiel shuffled his feet nervously, his gaze shifting towards the floor. "Well, I saw you coming down here, and I was worried, eh. Are you okay?"
Heather huffed, attempting to mask her surprise at Ezekiel's unexpected concern. "I'm fine. Just needed some space."
Ezekiel took a hesitant step closer. "You sure? You've been acting different lately. I thought we would, ya know, at least try to get along, eh?"
Heather's eyes narrowed, her guard still firmly in place. "Don't read too much into it, Homeschool. We're still competitors, after all, even if we're on the same team.
Ezekiel's shoulders sagged, his voice barely above a whisper. "I thought we were more than that. Friends, maybe?"
The word "friends" echoed in the cargo hold, its significance resonating in the air. Heather's gaze softened, and she finally looked directly at Ezekiel. There was something in those gray eyes of his that tugged at her, something that made her reconsider the walls that she had built up over the years.
"F-friends?" she stuttered, her voice laced with uncertainty. "I... I never really had a friend before. I don't know how this works."
Ezekiel's eyes lit up, a faint smile playing at his lips. "Well, it starts with talking, eh. Opening up, sharing things with each other. Maybe... maybe you could start by telling me what's been going on with you. You're not the girl I first saw on the island, eh."
Heather hesitated, her mind grappling with the idea of vulnerability. But in the depths of the cargo hold, with only Ezekiel as her audience, she found a flicker of trust; besides, it wasn't like Ezekiel to be malicious in any kind of way. She took a deep breath, the words tumbling out before she could stop them.
"I've always been the one to manipulate and use people to further my own goals in life. It's how I survived in this game ever since the first season. But lately, I've been questioning if that's really all I'm capable of, if that's all I'll ever be known for."
Ezekiel listened intently, his eyes locked on Heather's face as she continued.
"I've done terrible things, Zeke. I've hurt people, betrayed them. And for what? A million dollars? It's not worth sacrificing my integrity."
Ezekiel took a step closer, his voice soothing. "Heather, we've all made mistakes. It's part of being human. But it's never too late to change, to become better. I've seen glimpses of that in you before, eh. And I can tell that, even though you present yourself as someone who's unsympathetic, I can see a bit of good and vulnerability in ya, eh."
Heather's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her voice barely a whisper. She hated being like this. It was uncharacteristic of her; she was the Queen Bee, the manipulative player who will do anything to win. All of it stemmed back to her childhood. "But can I really be forgiven, Zeke? Can I be more than the villain that everyone else knows me as?"
Ezekiel reached out, gently placing a hand on Heather's shoulder. "You have to forgive yourself first, Heather. And I believe that you can change. I believe in you, eh. After all, I've seen more hateful people than you."
A tear escaped Heather's eye, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to feel, to be vulnerable. It's okay, she attempted to reassure herself. There weren't any cameras down here, Ezekiel wasn't judging her in any way — something that hadn't happened to her in years — and she knew that he would keep this a secret solely between the two of them.
"You're the first person who's ever shown faith in me," she confessed, her voice breaking. "I... I don't know how to handle that."
This is the first time feeling it.
Ezekiel's hand tightened on her shoulder, his voice unwavering. "You don't have to figure it all out at once, Heather. Just take it one step at a time. And remember, you're not alone in this. I know you won't change completely, and that's fine. After all, nobody's perfect."
A wave of warmth washed over Heather as Ezekiel's words sank in. For the first time in her life, she felt a glimmer of hope. Slowly, she opened her eyes, meeting Ezekiel's gaze with newfound resolve.
"You're right, Zeke. I can change, even if it won't completely change who I am. And... and maybe having a friend like you is the first step."
Ezekiel's eyes sparkled with genuine joy. "You mean it? You consider me your friend?"
Heather let out a soft chuckle, a hint of a smile gracing her lips. She couldn't remember the last time when she had genuinely smiled like this. "Yeah, I guess I do. You're the first one who's seen past the walls I've built."
Ezekiel grinned, his voice filled with pride. "And you're the first person who's ever called me a friend. Thanks, Heather. That means a lot."
Heather's eyes softened more, a genuine smile gracing her face. "You're welcome, farm boy. Just don't go getting all mushy on me."
As the rain continued to fall outside, the cargo hold transformed into a haven of understanding and acceptance. Two competitors, both hated by others for different reasons, now found solace and companionship in the depths of their vulnerability. The friendship between both of them began to take root, promising to grow stronger as their journey throughout the competition unfolded.
And as they there sat side by side, the rain tapping against the metal walls, Heather couldn't help but feel a glimmer of something more than friendship. But for now, she cherished the surprising bond that she had forged, grateful for the unexpected connection that had bloomed in the unlikeliest of places, especially with a contestant that she never thought would ever befriend someone like her.
Both of them, however, failed to notice the narrowed green eyes that carefully watched them through a crack behind a stack of crates.
Confessional
Inside the confessional booth, Alejandro let out a chuckle, his voice dripping with subtle hints of jealousy and cunning determination.
"Well, well, well. It seems that dear Ezekiel and Heather are building quite the friendship," the Latino mused, his eyes glinting with a mixture of admiration and envy. "But friendships can be fragile, and I intend to exploit that weakness."
Running a hand through his perfectly styled hair, Alejandro's lips curled into a calculated smile. "Ezekiel's transformation has caught me off guard, but it won't derail my plans. I'll use this opportunity to sow the seeds of discord between him and Heather. A few carefully planted doubts and insecurities should do the trick."
Leaning in closer to the camera, Alejandro's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Heather has always been a lone wolf, a fierce competitor who trusts no one. Seeing her form a bond with Ezekiel will undoubtedly unsettle the others, particularly her teammates. If I can exploit those insecurities, I can manipulate them to my advantage."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed as he contemplated his next move. "But I must be cautious. Heather is no fool, and she won't be easily swayed. I need to play this game delicately, subtly, so as not to raise her suspicions. One wrong move, and the tables could turn against me."
A shadow of uncertainty crossed Alejandro's face before he regained his composure. "In the end, my goal remains unchanged: to claim the million-dollar prize and to prove myself as the ultimate manipulator. Ezekiel and Heather's friendship is merely an obstacle — a challenge that will only make my victory all the more satisfying."
As Alejandro continued to watch, a mix of emotions swirled within him. He knew that the friendship forming before his eyes threatened his carefully laid-out plans. Ezekiel, once considered an outcast by everyone else, and Heather, the mastermind of manipulation generally hated by everyone else as well, had formed an unlikely bond — a bond that was sure to be crushed and used to his advantage.
After all, in a competition like this, there was no room for friendship or trust.
A/N — And here's the first chapter. Let me know what you think of it so far. Also, I wanted to take a moment to address the focus of this story: the friendship, and later romance, between Ezekiel and Heather, as with this fanfic, I wanted to explore a unique connection between two characters who may not have initially seemed compatible.
Ezekiel, the homeschooled farm boy with a different view on the world, and Heather, the strategic and ambitious queen of manipulation, may appear to be complete opposites. However, beneath their contrasting personalities lie shared experiences, vulnerabilities, and an understanding that develops over time. Throughout the fanfic, I'll be delving deeper into their individual journeys, showcasing their growth as characters and how their interactions shape them.
I would also like to point that, while this fanfic does focus on Ezekiel and Heather, it is important to note that the other contestants and the overall competition will still play significant roles in the narrative. After all, Total Drama World Tour is known for its memorable challenges, alliances, and rivalries. Rest assured, I'll be exploring those aspects as well.
Thanks again to anyone reading. Your support and feedback mean a lot to me.