Well, this chapter is going to be a lot to unpack. And due to this reason, I am separating it into two parts. Otherwise it would have just seemed like too much of a run on chapter. But, without any further delay, let's jump right in! :) This chapter starts with Cody bringing Noah and Emma over to Sierra's apartment to 'chat with her'. Hope you all enjoy it!
(Emma's POV)
"Dude, tell me again why you even have a key to her apartment?" Noah pointed out as we walked down the hall.
After trying to get Cody to agree, we got a cab from the diner and went to Sierra's apartment.
We kept walking and Cody still didn't say anything. But from where I was standing, I could see his face turn red and his expression looking… perplexed.
But, I didn't really have too much time to think about it as Cody said, sounding like he was 'avoiding something' toward the end, "She just wanted me to in case she wasn't there to get the door… Well, here it is."
We got to a door labelled '52A' and Cody started to unlock and open it. No one answered when we buzzed downstairs so that was why Cody said he'd 'let us in'.
And honestly… I still had no idea how to even feel about this right now?
Sure, even though the mystery of who was following me was solved, but it's not like I'm any less disturbed by it.
Especially considering it was Sierra?...
Look, I watched season 3 (mainly for Noah, but that's not the point) and I've seen Sierra and 'what she's like' so… yeah, to say I'm not at least slightly concerned is a complete understatement.
The 'unknown factor' was definitely getting to me since the moment Cody opened the door to her apartment. And I further felt that way once I heard Noah ask, "Are you okay?"
But, not wanting to show weakness, I responded as normally as possible as I looked over at him, "Yeah, why?" "Because I can't feel my hand anymore." He responded as I looked down at our still joined hands.
My eyes went wide when I noticed I was practically unconsciously crushing his hand in a vice grip, making me loosen it immediately and my face went red in embarrassment as I responded, "Oh crap, sorry."
But, he just smirked and waggled his eyebrows slightly at me before he responded, "No worries. You get a pass."
I smirked back as Cody said, not even paying attention to us and what we were doing, "I'm guessing she's probably out. It's pitch black in here."
Cody flipped on a light switch next to the front door and… I was shocked.
Not for any real reason, but her place looked surprisingly… normal.
Just a very neutrally yet nicely decorated 2 bedroom apartment. At first I started to settle out until I looked over and my eyes went wide once I saw what looked like an office at first.
Okay… I stand corrected.
Sure, it's more what I was expecting her entire apartment to look like, but that didn't mean what I was seeing was any less disturbing. It honestly kind of reminded me of Kitty's dark room that mom and dad let her turn the small upstairs hall closet into.
Well, except that it was a lot more… unsettling.
I think Noah was on the same train of thought when he saw the room as he remarked, his completely oozing with absolute weirded out sarcasm, "Yeah, this isn't the second creepiest thing I've ever seen."
There were pictures hung up on lines with clothes pins of a bunch of different people (MANY of Cody), most of them looking like they were totally unaware that they were being photographed.
I was so consumed by the pictures until my stomach dropped before twisting in on itself (making me feel nauseous) when I saw a corkboard on one of the walls that had pictures and what looked like post-it notes with things written on them.
All of them being about me and/or Noah.
I especially felt even more disturbed as I saw the pictures of us on our date, the one of me reading and taking books off the shelf in the university library.
And then there were pictures of me that I completely didn't recognize as times I felt like I was being followed. One of me sitting in one of the study zones at the student union between classes, me just walking on the sidewalk, and another of me going on my usual Saturday morning jog.
Yup, definitely unsettled.
"What the…" I heard Noah start in an equally creeped out tone under his breath before we heard, making my stomach clench in recognition (as well as making me feel like I partially lost my sense of hearing), "EEEEEEEEEEE! CODY!"
Right then, I saw what I was definitely sure was Sierra practically sprinting in front of the doorway down the hall. "H-hey Sierr-ah." Cody said, even though it sounded like wind knocked out of him by the end.
We didn't hear anything as Noah and I exchanged confused looks before we slowly made our way back to the doorway, assuming something.
Well, until we looked around the corner and my eyes went wide in total shock with what I was seeing right now.
Okay, when I was watching the first three seasons of Total Drama for the first time after I got home from the race and officially started dating Noah, I saw the full extent of Cody and Sierra's 'relationship' (well I have no idea what else to call it like Noah said).
Mainly that most of the time up until the very end of that season, all Cody tried to do was get away from her. And honestly not that I'd blame him after what I saw.
Look, although I can sympathize with being a total hot mess when it comes to boys too and tried to cut off a lock of Noah's hair once during the race in New Zealand.
However, my rebuttal to that on what makes Sierra and I different is… I have never tried to force Noah to like me nor have I ever stolen any of Noah's things… or even Jake's when I dated him briefly.
Hey, I'm not perfect when it comes to this stuff with boys either, but I'm also not completely insane. And what I was seeing now was confusing me more than I have been confused in my entire life.
Right in the middle of the living room in her apartment, was Sierra with her arms wrapped around Cody and kissing him. And even more insanely… It looked like Cody was actually reciprocating and even giving in to the point of kissing her back and resting his hands on her sides.
Well, until Cody pulled back slightly when her hand started going under his sweatshirt as he said, "Um, Sierra can you uh…"
She quickly stopped and giggled a little before saying, "Sorry, force of habit. But, you know I can't help it. I just missed you." She kissed him on the cheek and I was shocked to see him smile at her.
Okay… I have questions.
It was also at this point that I realized Sierra also looked different than what I remembered.
Once I found out and confirmed she was the one who had been following me around and taking pictures of me today, I just kept picturing her the same way I remembered her looking from TV. But, weirdly… she had a similar vibe about her as her apartment did.
While her 'office/dark room' was still a very clear indication she was still the same as she always was, her 'look' about her could have fooled me if I saw her as a total stranger on the street.
She had probably shoulder length hair pulled back into a short ponytail. Her hair wasn't fully dyed purple anymore, but was instead her natural dark brown almost black hair with just the ends of her hair dyed purple. But that wasn't the only thing that threw me.
It was that she looked surprisingly normal and professional with how she was dressed.
She was wearing a yellow blouse and a thin black duster cardigan with the sleeves on over it. Her sleves rolled up to mid forearm and a pair of black women's dress pants with black flats that matched.
As I was trying to process this, I heard Noah say under his breath, also sounding confused, shocked, and borderline creeped out to completion, "What in the…"
Well, until I think both of us pushed our limits by trying to crane our necks around the doorway until we both fell over, causing us to fall into the hallway.
Luckily I was able to catch myself on the opposite wall of the hallway, but Noah fell flat on his face on the floor as he mumbled sarcastically into the carpet, "Well, great…"
I reflexively helped him up only to remember where we were once we were both upright.
Sierra and Cody, still holding onto each other, were looking at us. All four of us kept staring at each other in dead yet still completely awkward silence.
Then my stomach twisted before dropping in total dread when I saw Sierra staring right at me.
She immediately let go of Cody and he put her hands on her head with wide eyes and a huge smile on her face, "Oh, my, GOSH! It's you!"
I felt my expression drop and my hands reflectively going in front of me as she ran right up to me until she was standing barely 6 inches away, very much in my personal space and started, sounding like her usual self, "Emma Marie Park, it is SO great to finally meet you!"
Meet me? MEET ME?! SHE HAS BEEN STALKING ME FOR MONTHS?! In all this time she couldn't have just said 'hi' like a normal human being instead of keeping me in a constant state of paranoia?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!
Well until I realized something she said as I started, sounding as disturbed as I felt, "Um… how do you know my middle name?"
She just laughed a little and kept talking as she said, "Oh, ever since you gained traction with the fans on the race and I had to add you to my blogs. The fans have been going crazy to know more about you, especially after you and Noah got together. The Nemma blog has been HUGE!"
"Nemma?" Noah and I both stuttered out simultaneously in total creeped out confusion.
But, it was like she was hardly paying attention as she just kept going, "Oh yeah, you guys have been getting a HUGE following. So, since I didn't know anything about you, I did some digging and talked to some of your teachers from when you were in high school to officially add you to the Total Drama blogs. And I got A LOT of info! Your birthday is October 10th, you were Valedictorian of both your high school and undergrad classes, you were a tri-sport athlete in Tennis, Gymnastics, and Track at your high school. And then of course you were captain of your high school…"
"Okay cuckoo clock, back the crazy train up here. Nemma?" Noah cut in, seeming to be on the same 'creeped out wavelength' as me still.
Sierra gave Noah a slight glare before rolling her eyes slightly and saying, "Um, it's your ship name the fans came up with for you guys, duh! The hashtag was going crazy all over social media halfway through the race. And ever since I saw you guys having dinner at Niko's when I was getting my take out order, I had to grab some photos of you guys for the blog!... and for work."
Work?
I glanced down and saw what looked like an ID card hanging off a lanyard around her neck.
It had a picture of her to the left and 'Sierra Weber (Writer/Photographer)' written off to the right. The 'Real Star Reality Magazine Co.' written on the top of her ID automatically made a bunch of connections in my head.
It was the same Magazine company Kitty sent me that had that article about Noah and I.
Sierra looked back to me and said, "The fans LOVED the article and coverage I gave them for you guys. It was EXACTLY what my blog needed to revive everyone's enthusiasm. Even the Total Drama official fanclub gained so many more members over it after years of it being stagnant. And then all everyone wanted was to know more about you. So, I kept track of you to see what you liked to do. You study a lot. You're in the university library practically every other day."
My muscles in my body kept tensing up and my stomach felt so twisted that I thought I was going to throw up.
I just… I didn't know what to do right now?
Well, until my nauseous feeling settled out and I felt my fists clenching at my sides and my jaw clench so tight I thought my teeth were going to shatter to pieces.
Then I felt like I had no idea what I was doing anymore. I lost all logic and reason in the situation as I started, "Can we talk?... Alone?"
I looked around to both Noah and Cody with a stern look as they both looked at me like I was crazy, but… I don't care.
"OMG! I haven't done a first person interview in forever! Hold on, let me get my laptop. Brb!" Sierra called out and ran into what looked like her bedroom.
"Uh, are you sure you want to be left alone with her?" Noah asked, sounding hesitant and putting a hand on my shoulder.
Even Cody was still looking at me in near shock that I wanted to be completely on my own with Sierra.
I put my hand on top of his as I looked back and said, "Don't worry, I got this. I'll meet you back at my apartment, okay?"
Eventually, he gave me a hesitant nod before he and Cody walked out.
Yeah, I'm hesitant too but… ugh, I am SO done!
Sure, I'll give her a one on one interview, but it's not going to be for 'no strings attached'. Sierra may be an official member of the poparazzi now, but I am going to be a lawyer.
She wants to get an interview from a lawyer? Well, then she's going to get one on my terms.
I am going to make her stop following me if it's the last thing I do.
({No POV})
Noah and Cody made their way out of Sierra's apartment and out of her building without barely saying a word to each other.
They stood outside the building for a few moments before Cody let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck before saying, sounding like he was trying to quickly excuse himself for a very obvious reason, "Well, it was nice seeing you, dude. But I really should go back to my place now so…"
Cody quickly tried to stride away until Noah caught the back of his hoodie before saying, "Whoa, not so fast, casa-liar. You have got a lot of explaining to do here."
Cody, though knowing exactly what his friend was referring to, rubbed the back of his neck and looked up as he feigned in ignorance, "Lying? C'mon Noah, what are you…"
"Look dude, what the hell is going on here? Or was I just seeing an optical illusion when I saw you close to making out with little miss stalkerlicious up there?" Noah cut in bluntly, knowing he was being lied to by one of his best friends.
Again, normally Noah wasn't one to care about anyone's personal life to this degree. But, after all the history between everyone involved here from season 3 (specifically Cody and Sierra), Noah knew Cody was holding out on him.
Cody tucked his other hand that wasn't rubbing the back of his neck into the front pocked on his hoodie, biting his lip.
He finally looked up only to see Noah with a deadpan yet expectant expression on his face with his arms crossed.
Eventually Cody closed his eyes for a second and sighed in defeat before saying, his tone sounding nothing but hesitant, "Okay, well… Sierra, she… She's kinda… we're kinda in a… relationship."
So… looks like in the next chapter we're about to find out how 'complicated' Cody and Sierra's dynamic with each other is exactly. To be continued, and brace yourself. Haha. ;) But, anyway, speaking of Sierra, I hope you all enjoyed how I showed a 21 year old, young adult Sierra would be like. To start, I do feel that no matter how old Sierra got and also what her mother is also like, that she would most likely always have her 'quirky' and slightly disturbing stalker tendencies as a part of her personality. In TDWT, Sierra always struck me as someone who wasn't ever doing things to be intentionally 'malicious' per say. She is deep down a nice and resourceful person, but she unfortunately just has a 'too much gene' personality and lets herself get carried away to the point of scaring people and doing invasive things, especially when it comes to those she likes (i.e. Cody). While the whole 'Tea Drugging' thing with Cody still disturbs me to this day, I don't think Sierra was doing it to intentionally hurt Cody or anything like that. She's just a bit… well to quote Heather, "Hello?! She's CRAZY!" XD I'll go more into it in the next chapter, but let's just say that over time Cody has found a way to see through Sierra's 'quirks' as they stayed in touch as friends after season 3 and eventually developed into 'something more' later on. Again, TBA! ;) But, going back to my adult head cannon of Sierra, I hope you liked how I basically turned her into a professional celebrity stalker 'aka a member of the paparazzi' as an adult in the form of a photographer and writer for a celebrity gossip magazine based on Reality TV stars. That and she's still president of various Total Drama fan clubs and is still 100% dedicated to her blogs and will do whatever it takes to give fellow fans like herself what they want. And unfortunately for Noah and Emma (especially Emma), she has become the object of Sierra's fangirl-stalker attention to give the 'Nemma fans' on her blogs from Total Drama what they want (which is more information on Emma as a RR contestant and Noah's girlfriend). But, it looks like Emma is not about to take this lying down. What will happen next? Stay tuned! Thanks again so much for reading and constructive feedback is always appreciated.
Stay healthy, safe, and well everyone!
Dexter1995
P.S. For those of you wondering why I gave Sierra the last name 'Weber', I'll give you the exact reason. Since we never got to know Sierra's full name in the show, I looked into her heritage for context clues as to a surname she could possibly have that would make sense. And not to pat myself on the back, but I think I found the perfect surname for Sierra. In the series we found out two oddly specific things about Sierra's heritage. One was she came from a long line of basket weavers and another was that she has a strong connection with her German ancestry. So, I had a look at the most common German surnames and found 'Weber'. And in German, the last name 'Weber' translates to a meaning of 'weaver'. So, Sierra Weber seemed like the perfect fit to me!