Once Courtney walked into the cafe, she couldn't help but smile. The aroma of coffee filled the air. It reminded her of simpler times. Times when her worst fear was failing her next calculus exam. Times when... I wasn't dating Jake. She frowned for a second before dismissing that thought. No, this was just growing up. She can't stay a teenager forever.

Duncan noticed Courtney's short genuine smile. It made his heart swell. Not because he's in love with her but because she finally smiled. All this time he's only seen depressed or anxious Courtney. It was nice to see that the carefree Courtney was there too. The fact that he caused her to smile was an added bonus. God I missed her...

Courtney eventually realized that Duncan was staring at her. She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Duncan chose not to answer. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Why don't you grab us a table? I'll go get our drinks."

As soon as Courtney nodded, Duncan tried to make his way to the cashier.

"Wait," Courtney said trying to catch Duncan's attention. It worked. He turned around. "I didn't give you my order-"

"Don't worry," Duncan said with a smirk. "I remember what you like."

Courtney narrowed her eyes at him. Duncan swore he could see part of the old Courtney back.

"There's no way you remember my order."

Duncan just shrugged. "Like I said. You were a large part of my life." He then spun around and left Courtney alone with her thoughts.

Courtney looked over at Duncan suspiciously. Finally, she brought her coffee mug to her lips and took a sip. She let out a happy sigh.

"And the verdict is," questioned Duncan.

Courtney shook her head. "I can't believe you remember my coffee order."

"What can I say? Sixteen-year-old Courtney left quite an impression."

Courtney started laughing a little before suddenly becoming sullen. She thought back to the last time they came here together. She remembered yelling at him. What were we even arguing about? She remembered growing so frustrated with his nonchalant attitude that she threw her mug at him. Luckily, it crashed on the wall. He then called her a psycho before leaving her alone crying.

"You know, I meant what I said to you in the car," Courtney said with a sigh. "I really am sorry about how I acted in our relationship. If I were you, I wouldn't want to date me either."

Duncan shook his head. "Why do you keep apologizing? Sure, our relationship wasn't perfect, but we were teenagers. We didn't know what the hell we were doing."

"Still, it doesn't mean I had the right to throw a cup at your head."

"Yeah, well, with the way I was acting, I probably deserved it," he replied while laughing. When he didn't hear Courtney laughing with him, he looked over to find her looking confused. "...You do remember what happened that day, right?"

Courtney was furious. What started as a small thing quickly snowballed into something that Courtney could no longer handle.

It was her fault really that all of this started. For Total Drama Action, Courtney had decided to focus on herself and herself only. She tried the "friendship" strategy before, and she ended up being unfairly voted off. It was time to change directions.

At the time, Courtney felt good about the way she handled the competition. After all, she did get third place, a much higher position than she had before. And with the competition gone, she could finally relax and be a regular teenager.

Or so she thought.

It turned out that the producers decided that Courtney would be the new villain. And boy were they good at making her look bad. When the season came out, Courtney woke up to multiple letters and emails telling her how horrible she was. How she never deserved to win. How she was a spoiled rich brat.

Those notes stung, but it was nothing that she couldn't handle. She'd usually read it once and toss it right into the trash can where it belonged.

It was the notes about Duncan that broke her. Bridgette told Courtney that the producers developed the whole "Gwen likes Duncan" thing. She was suspicious, but she trusted Bridgette not to lie to her.

Until she got those notes. The ones saying that they could feel the sexual tension between Duncan and Gwen. That Duncan should date someone like Gwen. That Duncan could do better than Courtney.

It was happening for over a month now, but Courtney never told Duncan. Instead, she let it stew inside of her while acting like she was fine.

Duncan knew better. He grew tired of watching the "fake" Courtney. He wanted the fun Courtney. The angry Courtney. The Courtney that drove him nuts while also making his heart beat like crazy.

It was at the cafe when Duncan decided he was sick of Courtney's attitude. "Alright, enough already. What is this?"

Courtney glanced over at him frowning. "What is what?"

"This," Duncan shouted while pointing over at Courtney. "You've been acting so lame lately. It's boring. I want the fun Courtney back."

Courtney had to bite her tongue from saying something she'd later regret. Instead, she decided to sip her coffee in silence.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Courtney calmed down and was able to think things clearly. She wanted this relationship to work, and according to Bridgette, communication is key. Besides, didn't he start off as one of her close friends? She can confide with him.

Courtney sighed. "You're going to think it's stupid... But I keep getting these letters, and these letters keep telling me that we should break up because you deserve someone better than me..."

She looked up at him waiting for him to say something. Anything. But Duncan still had that same bored look on his face.

Finally, he said, "Someone like?"

"...Gwen."

Duncan looked over at Courtney. Courtney waited for Duncan's reaction. But he didn't give any.

"That is stupid," Duncan said with a yawn. "You should just not open the letters and dump them in the trash. That's what I do."

Courtney felt her heart break into two. Here she was trying to open up to Duncan, and this is what she gets in return? No, this couldn't be right.

"And you really need to get over Gwen," he continued. "Your obsession with her liking me is killing my vibe."

That was a punch to her stomach. Duncan knew how upset Courtney was about the whole Gwen situation. How much Bridgette had to console her so that Gwen and Duncan's relationship wasn't in her thoughts 24/7. And he thought she could just stop?

"Actually, maybe I should date Gwen. She would never act this dramatic."

That was the last straw. Courtney glared over at Duncan, but he seemed unbothered. The anger bubbled inside of her. It didn't seem like words would be able to describe how she felt. So, instead, she threw her mug. Right at Duncan's head.

Luckily, Duncan had fast reflexes and was able to dodge the mug. However, his nonchalant attitude was gone. Instead, his eyes were filled with anger.

"Are you fucking crazy? That could've hit me!"

Courtney rolled her eyes in response.

Duncan then stood up and marched out of the cafe. "Maybe I should date Gwen instead of you because you're a fucking psycho!"

Duncan tapped his fingers on the table. "Really, I should be apologizing to you."

"No you shouldn't-"

He raised his hand making Courtney silent. "I know this is over five years late, but I'm sorry that I didn't take you seriously. You didn't deserve that."

"Please don't apologize," Courtney begged. "I overreacted. If I hadn't been so bothered by Gwen-"

"Courtney," Duncan said while putting his hand on top of Courtney's. Courtney froze. "You're allowed to have felt what you felt back then. And you were right to open up to me about your feelings. It was me that messed up."

Courtney shook her head. "I still threw a mug at you..."

"Yes," Duncan agreed. "After I mocked the way you were feeling. So what if those things didn't bother me? It bothered you, and that's all that should've mattered."

For a moment, Courtney looked like she understood what Duncan was saying. Yes, she was wrong for throwing the mug, but he was wrong for ignoring her. But what does this mean?

"Besides," Duncan continued. "You should express your feelings to your partner. That's what makes a good relationship."

Courtney's moment of clarity disappeared. No, she can't express her feelings. Her feelings make her act like a lunatic. And now, she had the chance to have a long, stable relationship with Jake. She wasn't going to mess it up with her overreactions.

Courtney pulled her hand away. "Agree to disagree."

Duncan sighed in disappointment before finishing up his coffee.

The drive back to Courtney's place was silent. Courtney insisted that Duncan drop her off a block away from home. Duncan didn't understand why, but he did it. However, before Courtney could get out of the car, Duncan lightly touched her elbow. Courtney looked back at him in shock.

"I just," he began. Throughout the years, there were a lot of things that he wished he could tell Courtney, and now that he finally had a chance, he could think of nothing. Courtney was patient and remained in her seat allowing Duncan to regain his thoughts.

"I had fun," he lamely finished. He could slap himself.

But to his surprise, Courtney smiled at him. She lightly touched his shoulder and whispered back, "I had fun too."

She then turned and left the car while slamming the door shut.

Duncan had a lot on his mind and needed someone to help him process what he was thinking.

...Unfortunately, the only option he had was Geoff.

"So," Geoff said with a big smile. "You went on a date with Courtney! Bro, we should do double dates just like the old days."

"Geoff," Bridgette yelled sternly. "She's engaged!"

"Then, why did she go on a date with Duncan?"

Duncan wanted to bang his head against the wall. This was such a bad idea. "It wasn't a date," Duncan screamed. "We were just hanging out!"

"Oh." Geoff nodded as if he finally understood what was going on. "But why?"

Duncan gave Bridgette a pointed look.

"I mean, he has a point," Bridgette said. "You and Courtney haven't hung out for years. Why'd you decide to start it up again now?"

Duncan groaned. "I don't know! Because I missed her!"

"You miss her only now," questioned Bridgette.

"I've missed her since the day I left her!" Duncan let out a deep breath. "...I just never realized that I did."

Geoff and Bridgette stayed silent while waiting for Duncan to continue.

"She's always in my head. Telling me what to do. Telling me what not to do. It drove me insane. So I thought if I ran away from her, the feeling would go away..."

"Is that why you quit World Tour?"

Duncan nodded. "But it didn't go away. It just stayed there. Except now, I only saw a disappointed Courtney. God, I wanted her to leave... So I thought it'd go away if I dated somebody else. But it never stopped. And the worst part was that she wasn't even talking to me anymore! I thought it would make the memories of her fade. But it just kept replaying...

"Then, I drove her home when she was drunk. And when I saw how much she's changed, that's when I realized I missed her..."

"Are you in love with Courtney," questioned Geoff.

Duncan shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I think I just never realized how big of an impact she's had on my life. And now... No, I'm not in love with her. I just need her to be in some part of my life."