(Narrator's POV)
As the camera starts to roll for the beginning of this episode, the first shot is, as per usual of the season thus far, our host stood out on the Dock of Shame, his arms outstretched and a huge grin on his face.
"Last time on Total Drama Island..." Chris begins, starting off his weekly rundown for the viewers watching at home. "The teams were dissolved, leaving each and every camper to look out for number one, and just to add a little more drama to the mix, both Noah and Courtney returned for more fun! The campers remained to suffer all manner of abuse in the No Pain, No Game Challenge!" Chris exclaims, before continuing on, knowing that some montage footage will be added on in post-production.
"In an act of chivalry, Geoff stepped up to save his girl from the perils of the leech barrel, and in an act of stupidity, Lindsay stepped up to save her alliance mate Heather from the perils of the ever-dangerous Sasquatchanakwa! In the end, after a deadly display of log rolling, a grizzly got itself a piranha haircut, winning Owen not just invincibility, but a brand new trailer to bunk in for summers to come! However, despite all this, it was Leshawna who was sent packing from the island after Noah finally lived up to his nickname of 'The Schemer', brokering deal after deal to kick her off the island once and for all."
With a clap of his hands, Chris gets the camera to zoom in for a close-up on the host, his smile ever-present as usual. "Now that the campers are forced to fend for themselves, who will be selfless? Who will be selfish? And who will eat shellfish? Stay tuned for the most thrilling episode yet on Total. Drama. Island!"
-0-
As the intro comes to a close, the camera's focus starts shifting throughout the island, as it shows the start of yet another early morning for the campers; Owen is the first of our eleven remaining contestants shown, albeit only through the window of his newly-won trailer. The big man is shown to still be sleeping, seemingly having partied a bit too hard the previous night in celebration of his win in that day's challenge.
Some campers, however, seem to have had a bit of an easier time waking up than others. Cutting to the waterfront of Camp Wawanakwa, some ripples can be seen at the surface level of the ocean, before a wet-haired Trent emerges, pulling himself up onto the dock above him. Shaking his head to get the water out of his ears, he takes a moment before waving off to someone in the distance.
"Hey, beautiful! What'chu sketching?" Trent calls out, and as the camera pans over towards the edge of the forest, Gwen is seen sat against a tree, quickly pulling her sketchbook to her chest as she blushes from the musician's question.
"Nothing!" She calls back, before trying to go back to her drawing. As a camera zooms in over her shoulder, the current shot shifts to its view, and the sketch in question is shown to be one of Trent himself; Something Gwen isn't too keen on sharing, as she turns toward the camera and pushes it away with her hand.
(CONFESSIONAL)
As the feed cuts to the confessional camera, Gwen is seen sat front-and-center, her head tilted slightly forwards as she addresses the audience at home. "I absolutely, positively, don't have a crush on Trent." She states, swinging her arm out in front of her to further emphasize her own denial. "I'm so over it. I mean, come on." She rolls her eyes, continuing to make it seem like her infatuation with the guitarist is no more. "Sure, for a week or two, I was into him, but I mean..." Gwen trails off, trying to find the words on how to follow this up; When she can't, her eyes widen, and the goth girl simply falls silent to conclude things.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
-0-
Abruptly, things look to kick off as a loud boom sounds throughout the island, followed by a cannonball sailing straight over the same trailer shown earlier with Owen still inside of it. In mere seconds, Owen is wide awake, bursting out of the trailer in nothing but his pants, looking out towards the source of the boom; None other than Chris McLean, who is decked out in pirate garb and standing besides a cannon.
"Hey! Sweet cannon!" Owen calls out, before a nervous expression appears on his face. "But uh, can you please try not to take out my trailer?" Owen asks sheepishly, and another cannonball comes careening toward the big man, as if to answer him.
Suddenly, it crashes directly into his exposed stomach, and he doubles over, dropping to his knees in pain. A small "Thank you" can be heard escaping his lips, but that's all that is heard from the big man, as he remains laid out on the ground beneath him. After a few seconds, the screeching of a megaphone can be heard loud and clear, as the focus is shifted back towards Chris McLean, a smile on his face at the pain caused by the cannon he's stood next to.
"Arr, maties! Meet me at the amphitheater in five minutes and I'll tell you about today's challenge!" Chris yells, before the megaphone shuts off.
-0-
Minutes later, the remaining cast are all gathered at said amphitheater, and Chris is stood waiting for them with that ever-present devious smirk on his face. "Well, my little scallywags. Have we got an adventure in store for ye?" He asks, only to be met with silent confusion, part of it towards his manner of speech, and part of it towards the sheet-covered pile that stands beside him.
"What's under the sheet?" Geoff asks with a smile of his own, using a finger gun to point towards the sheet in question.
"All in good time, laddie. Who here has-a-hankerin' for a good ol' fashioned treasure hunt?" Chris exclaims, seeming way too excited about this challenge for his own good.
Unfortunately for him, he appears to be the only one showing that sort of excitement, as a pair of sighs come from the campers sat before him; Specifically, from both Gwen and Noah, who take a second to look at each other in confusion over the shared sentiment before turning their focus back to Chris McLean.
"Now, this treasure hunt's got a twist, mates." Chris continues, still keeping up with his pirate accent all the while. "What you're looking for isn't hidden and it isn't treasure." Chris states, and this only seems to further confuse the contestants, leading one to speak up about this explanation of the challenge.
"If there's no treasure, then what's with the eyepatch and the plastic parrot?" Duncan questions, rolling his eyes at the over-the-top, childlike enjoyment that the host is getting out of this setup.
"Arr, shiver me timbers!" Chris calls out, before tossing the parrot off its perch and off-camera entirely. "Good question, me boy! You're looking for keys to a treasure chest!" Chris exclaims, and right on cue, Chef pulls the sheet off the top of the pile, revealing it to be a stack of treasure chests. "Inside each of these chests is a treasure that will pamper you landlubbers, and one of these chests will even give you invincibility!" The host reveals, letting out a small laugh after doing so.
A few seconds later, Chef comes walking back on-screen with a bucket in-hand, but there's more; Inside the bucket, various pieces of wood with circular pieces of paper glued to them are seen, the logos on the paper just barely out of focus for the camera's gaze.
"Now, come 'round and pull a clue out of this bucket, or you'll have to walk the plank!" Chris announces, and the contestants share looks with one another before they finally come walking onto the stage.
As soon as they're on-stage, each of the eleven remaining campers pick out a clue from the bucket, practically going all at once to grab their wooden slab with whatever clue they've chosen, and despite none of them seeming too excited to be participating in this challenge, some seem a bit more concerned with their clues than others.
"These clues will tell ye where your keys be stored!" The host calls out, and finally, one of the contestants speaks up about the clue they have received.
(Noah's POV)
"A bear?!" I sputter out, emphasizing both for Chris and the viewing audience at home just how boned I truly am.
Upon that discovery, Chris leans in toward me with that sadistic smirk on his face, showing off for the cameras once again as only an egotist like himself could. "Aw, really? I was hoping Owen would get that one, dude." Chris stage-whispers to me, dropping his pirate accent in order to feign sympathy, before moving right along to some of the others.
"Haha, Chef's fridge. Nice." Chris calls out, standing right in front of Heather as he does so. "I heard he brushes it daily for fingerprints." He suggests, causing the queen bee to cringe at the thought of having to somehow get herself that key.
Meanwhile, Chris' attention is turned elsewhere for a moment, and as he walks over towards Geoff, I can barely hear what he says to him, although the word 'washrooms' is enough to make me shudder in fright.
"All you scallywags, go find your keys and bring them back by six p.m. Eastern Standard Time..." Chris pauses, taking a second to continue on for whatever reason, "to open up your chest and get your loot! Fair thee well, young scallywags." He concludes, finally letting us get to our challenges.
Looking back down at the wooden slab in my hand, I turn towards some of the others initially, before slinking off to the confessionals, wanting to get my thoughts out before I, more likely than not, wind up becoming the second bear-related medical evacuation of the season.
(CONFESSIONAL)
Sitting down in front of the camera, I sigh, holding up my 'clue'.
"Really, Chris? A bear?" I scoff, rolling my eyes in the process. "Well, it could be worse, I suppose. After all, I could be dealing with what poor old Geoff has to go through. Swimming through sewage for the sake of invincibility..." I shudder once more, trying not to picture just how utterly disgusting that would truly be. "Yeah, if I had to deal with that, I'm sure nobody would hold it against me if I just sat out the challenge and gave up my chance for invincibility this time around." I quip, trying to make light of his situation, as well as the fact I'm not the one going through it, before then taking my leave.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
Exiting the confessional, I take a deep breath; Partially to get some 'fresh' air in my lungs after sitting in there for a couple of minutes, and partially to try and figure out just how I was going to get around this challenge. After all, it's not exactly wise to go looking around for a grizzly bear, especially when this island's form of 'medical help' is Chef Hatchet and whatever bargain bin supplies Chris McLean scrounged together.
"Then again, it might not even be a grizzly bear. For all I know, Chris could've had a koala bear imported onto the island just for me to deal with on my hunt for this key. Or maybe he thought that wasn't bad enough, so he brought in a polar bear? Would one of those even be able to survive in this type of climate?" I think to myself, wandering deeper into the woods all the while, before stopping in my tracks. "...You are literally talking to yourself about bears, Noah. Just get moving so this can be done and over with." My inner voice chastises, and for once, i actually agree with it.
Focusing my mind less on bears in general and more onto the challenge...which involves me somehow stealing a key away from a bear, I continue making my way through the forest, having to also ignore my own body rebelling against this rather long hike. Eventually, I finally stumble upon a cave, one that looks to be about the same as the one indicated on the clue in my hand. Looking around for a few moments, however, I'm led to wonder if this is the right place or not, but almost as soon as those thoughts come to mind, they are dashed away; Exiting the cave with a makeshift necklace adorning it comes a rather large bear, thankfully still on all fours rather than standing upright. Taking a few small, deliberate steps, I try to calmly approach the giant beast, but as it takes notice of me, I freeze in my tracks. For a few seconds, I find myself fearing the same fate that had occurred to another geek on this island, before suddenly, a voice pops up in my head...and a rather annoying one at that.
"Firstly, you should never run away from a bear." Chimes the voice of one ginger-haired, pencil-necked geek who once competed on the Killer Bass and, not to mention, was inadvertently the reason for my demise on my first attempt for this show. "Secondly, you should NEVER run away from a bear. Those things will chase you down, and they're as fast as a racehorse, both up and down-hill, so there's no chance that anyone, let alone you, could outrun one. That is, unless you're like, a freak athlete or something." It continues to speak, unfortunately for me, and while I would try to simply ignore it...I begrudgingly have to acknowledge the fact that, for whatever reason, Harold's insipid knowledge-dumping habit from when the show had just started actually seems to have its use in this extremely niche, highly specific situation.
"Thirdly, you should talk in nice, calm, low tones to the bear, to identify yourself as a human to the creature, instead of being its prey." The voice concludes, and with a gulp of air, I step forward, catching the bear's attention once more.
Surprisingly, the bear keeps itself silent in my presence, so I stay where I am, opting not to annoy it any further than I already have to. "Hello...bear." I start, trying to keep my voice level. "I am a human. Hu-man, okay? I am not your prey. I am just a human." I continue...only for the bear to suddenly stand up, making my legs quiver in fright from such an action.
"Remember, when a bear stands up, it's not usually doing so to threaten you. It's merely curious, so keep calm." The voice chimes again, making me question just how good this supposed knowledge of Harold truly is; After all, if this bear is going to be curious about anything, it might just be curious as to how I taste for dinner. "Whenever faced with a bear, remember to stand your ground. Bears won't normally attack someone unless they deem them threatening or if they happen to smell food on them. As long as you're not carrying anything on you, the bear should have no reason to attack you." Harold's voice chimes in one final time, and while it does little to calm my nerves, it does make it easier for me to stay in place, rather than run away.
"Look, bear, I just want the key that's hanging off of your neck, alright?" I ask, edging ever so closer to the bear, each cautious step taken with hesitance aplenty, even as the bear looks down at itself, seemingly catching onto the key in question. Taking it into one of its claws, it looks towards me, and I slowly nod my head. "Yes, bear, that key. The one you're holding right now. I just need to take that away from you, so if you wouldn't mind-" I try to continue speaking, reaching out towards the bear's paw...but apparently, that proved to be enough for the bear.
After a small grumble from the bear, I stopped right in-place, afraid of losing far more than my chance at invincibility in tonight's ceremony...only for the bear to use the other paw to wrap around my waist, pulling me in tight with a crushing, Owen-style hug, taking the air right out of me. After a few seconds, I gently struggle against the grip of the beast before me, trying to get myself freed. In the process, I somehow manage to take hold of the string, pulling it over the bear's neck and taking it into my hand, getting myself one step closer to success, but the bear seems to take notice as well, letting go of the key and wrapping its second arm around my waist. Letting out a squeak of pained surprise, the bear looks down at me, and as fear takes hold of me, I try to rapidly shake my head, only for the bear to suddenly smile at me, before then dragging me with it back into the cave it came from.
(Narrator's POV)
A sound of splashing water can be heard as the focus shifts to Gwen and Trent, the two of them having just finished flushing a family of skunks out of the hole they resided in, leaving behind one of the keys for today's challenge. With a smile on her face, Gwen takes hold of it, and turns towards Trent, laughing at her own success. As Trent joins in on this, the two eventually settle for just looking at one another, Gwen clearly enjoying her time spent right now.
(CONFESSIONAL)
"That was moderately cool of Trent to help me avoid the skunks." Gwen states matter-of-factly, looking down at the floor as she sits in a more relaxed pose in the confessional, one foot planted firmly on the benched seat with an arm draped over it. "He's okay." She follows up, remaining in this pose for a few more seconds...before the goth girl finally cracks under the silence, sitting up with a giddy grin lining her face from ear-to-ear. "Okay, he's more than okay. He's so incredible!" Gwen swoons, before she stops herself. "But..." Gwen then hesitates, eyes widening even moreso than her confessional prior. "Don't tell anyone I said that."
(STATIC)
"The fact that Gwen is so smart and independent, coupled with the fact that she's incredible to look at," Trent begins, looking down at his hands at first, before looking up with a grin on his face, "is just making me nuts." He admits, his grin growing wider for a second, before his eyes settle onto the camera. "She rocks my world. So yeah, I'll take a skunk shot for her any day." Trent claims, smiling all the while.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
A moment passes between the two of them, then another, and a third. As more and more time passes by, Gwen seems to be building up as much courage as possible in these waning seconds, before abruptly leaning in and kissing Trent, planting her lips onto his own in a passionate display of their budding romance. As the two break away, however, the focus shifts from the two of them towards Heather and Lindsay, who appear to have watched it all unfold from the shadows. Huffing in disgust, Heather walks off, leaving her alliance mate to face her challenge by herself.
(CONFESSIONAL)
"That's just too much!" Heather calls out, frustrated beyond belief with her rival and her now-boyfriend. "Everyone knows that boyfriend-girlfriend is just another way to say 'alliance'. And my alliance is gonna be the only alliance on this island!" Heather remarks, but before she storms out, she looks to the camera, still in complete disgust. "But...seeing as to how Leshawna got voted off? I think there's another alliance that could use some time apart..." She says, a devilish smirk lining her face.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
(Noah's POV)
Looking around for a few seconds, I watch as the bear finally decides to drift off to sleep, having apparently had its fun keeping me hostage for who-knows-how-long in exchange for giving me its key. Sneaking my way out of the cave, I pause for a second to ensure the bear is fast asleep, before rushing my way out of there, getting about halfway through the forest before looking back in victory.
"...Finally!" I exclaim, somehow maintaining the same, low-energy tone of voice as usual, and continue to head off back to the amphitheater.
-0-
Once I've made my way out of the woods, I look towards the stage, trying to see if Chris is already there or not, but with no sight of the host to be seen, I instead head over to the boys' cabin, looking to relax for a bit before it's time to reveal the rewards. As I get up to the steps, however, I spy Duncan walking over as well, twirling his own key around his index finger, a smile on his face as he notices my presence.
"Hey there, forehead." Duncan 'greets' me, ceasing his twirling of his prize. "How did your little date with the bear go?" He asks, and I let my own smile emerge, showing off my prize.
"Oh, just peachy." I quip, putting my key back into one of my pockets. "Had to cozy up with a disgusting, flea-infested monster to get it, but I'm sure it will all be worth it once I'm given my invincibility for tonight's challenge." I reply, before entering inside, opting not to hold the door for Duncan as he enters as well. "So, what about you? What'd Chris make you do to get your key?" I ask offhandedly, not really interested but also knowing he'll want to brag about it anyhow.
"Oh, nothing much. Jump through a ring of fire, come out unscathed, just another day in the life of a badass like myself." He states, bolstering his own ego in the process, before sitting across from me on one of the empty bunks. "Hey, not knocking what you did though. Least you had a bit of action in your own right."
Rolling my eyes, a small smile forms on my face as I think up a perfect retort to his little comment. "Hey, at least one of us is getting action around here, even if mine came in the form of an oddly friendly grizzly bear." I fire back, only for Duncan's face to fall into a scowl, and the delinquent rushes towards me.
"You want to repeat yourself there, Einstein?!" He challenges, to which I rapidly shake my head, leading him to back off and sit back down across from me. "That's what I figured..." He states, leading to a brief bit of silence.
Thinking the conversation is over, I pull up one of my books from beneath the bunk I'm sat upon, and make to start reading it once more, only for Duncan to clear his throat, garnering my attention once more.
"So...you get to talk with Courtney again, nerdling?" Duncan asks, to which I raise an eyebrow in reply. "Relax, dorkwad. I'm just wanting to make sure you're not trying to put the moves on my girl." He states, bravado filling his tone. "I'm sure she's just waiting for the right moment to come crawling back to me, and to stop playing this silly game of 'hard-to-get' with me." He continues, and I have to roll my eyes at this obvious false confidence on display.
"Right, because I'm sure the girl who tried voting you out last challenge is definitely going to want to get into your pants as soon as this challenge is over with..." I drawl, initially expecting Duncan to rush me once again...but instead, he just glares at me for a second, before turning his attention upwards.
"I just don't get it, man. Why is she doing this to me now that she's back on the island?" He asks aloud. "I get that there's a hundred thousand dollars on the line and all, but does she really value that over our relationship?" He once again asks, but to this rhetorical question, I have an answer.
"Obviously she does. If she didn't, she wouldn't have fought so hard to get back onto the show." I state the obvious, making it as clear as possible so even Duncan understands what I am saying, but once again, I'm only given a glare in response.
"Well then, genius, if you're so knowledgeable about her, why don't you be the one to help me fix things between me and her?" He calls out, leading me to sigh as I put my book down to turn towards him.
"Because one, I'm not some love guru that's free-to-use, and two, why am I going to help you fix things between you and Courtney if I'm not getting anything out of it?" I respond, wanting this conversation to be done and over with...until Duncan does something that even my genius intellect could have never seen coming.
In an instant, a golden gleam comes flying towards my head, causing me to instinctively raise my book up as a shield...but once it connects with the spine of my hardcover and lands on the floor with a metallic clink, I look down, and find the key that Duncan was twirling, laying right at my feet. Looking up towards Duncan in confusion, the delinquent groans in annoyance, before motioning towards the key in question.
"Look, do you want the key or not?!" He yells out, to which I hastily stumble over myself, getting myself down on the floor to grab the key and pocket it before he can think twice about this, before then scurrying back up onto the bed, looking towards Duncan in confusion. "There, you have the key, now tell me how to fix things between myself and Courtney." He demands, catching me off-guard once more; Clearing my throat, I hesitate for a moment to come up with a plan, unsure of what direction to even take this interaction...when my gaze falls outside, and I see Gwen walking past the cabins, a smile on her face and a key in her hand, indicating her own success in today's challenge.
At that moment, a thought hits me; One that, if it were to backfire, could very well cost me the game entirely, especially since it would make not just one enemy out of the ten other campers on the island, but a whole host of them. However, if it were to succeed...my plan would be working in full force, and I would be one step closer to securing myself the hundred thousand dollar grand prize that I signed up to this show for in the first place.
"...Okay, fine, I'll help you out." I exhale, looking towards Duncan. "But I'm going to need you to try and withhold any of those comments you've got until I'm finished talking, alright?" I state, and while Duncan doesn't seem amused by this, he nods his head anyways. "So, you want to get Courtney back so you and her can be together again, right?" I ask, the question's rhetorical nature thankfully not lost on the delinquent across from me. "However, my question is this; what drew her to you in the first place?" I offer, and for a moment, Duncan...actually hesitates, before a sleazy smirk crosses his expression.
"Well, I'm sure chicks like her dig my dashing good looks." He states, to which I roll my eyes in response.
"Sure, Casanova, but aside from that. What made Courtney fall head over heels for you, like you believe she did?" I ask once more; This time, to his credit, Duncan actually seems to be putting some thought into things this time, before he responds once more.
"Hmm, if I had to narrow it down to just one option...it's probably the fact I'm a bad boy, and someone who her parents would absolutely despise upon first glance." He grins, and after a few seconds, I nod, being given an avenue to work with from this answer.
"Okay, so if that's true then, maybe what you need to do to win her back over is to show her that, deep down inside, you're still the bad boy who she fell for back before she got eliminated the first go-around?" I suggest, and for a few seconds, Duncan remains silent.
At first, I keep my attention on him, wanting to make sure he doesn't do anything too heinous or rash against me that I'd need to defend myself, AKA simply raising my book to my face and hoping for the best. However, as the seconds tick by and the delinquent remains silent, I eventually lose interest in this conversation, and with my...fellow male remaining camper still in silence, I bid him a silent adieu, taking both my key and his with me as I head off towards the confessional once more.
(CONFESSIONAL)
Twirling my own key around my index finger, I smirk to the camera, holding the other key in the palm of my hand.
"Two keys, and I only had to complete one challenge? Sounds good to me. Double the chance of earning myself invincibility tonight." I comment, before I look towards the camera. "Plus, with that 'advice' I gave to Duncan, I should be all but assured an ally if I just so happen to not get invincibility in tonight's vote."
After a few seconds, I pocket the keys once more, and look back to the camera, my arms folded. "I mean, really, how simple is this game, people? I've got the queen bee thinking I'm some desperate nobody clinging onto her coattails, and now I've got the guy who runs around this place thinking himself to be the king-," I pause, re-considering my choice of words, "nah, the God of this place, literally handing me the keys to victory in exchange for some help getting back with a girl he's got no shot with? I've got a great feeling about this game right now..." I state to the camera, before hearing the loudspeaker suddenly crackle to life.
"Arrrr, maties! You scallywags have one and a half hours to get your keys, or else ye booty be gone!" Our 'lovely' host exclaims, causing me to look to the camera with the same grin on my face, before then taking my leave.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
As soon as I leave the confessional, another burst of 'fresh' air hits my lungs, and while the smile remains on my face, I head on back to the boys' cabin, knowing that there is a book with my name on it waiting for me to dive back into for the first time since Playa Des Losers.
(Narrator's POV)
Just as Noah takes his entry into the boys' cabin, Duncan is there to make his leave, walking off to the mess hall with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
(CONFESSIONAL)
Duncan sits in front of the camera, idly whittling something with his pocket knife. "Y'know, bookworm might be on to something with what he said earlier. Courtney always did dig it whenever I showed off how bad I was before." At that, his whittling ceases, and a dangerous gleam appears in his eyes. "So, I started thinking to myself what the people back in juvie would do to make a girl fall for him after they had been put on break with one another..."
(STATIC)
Rather than cutting to another confessional, the shot shows Duncan taking a piece of paper from the mess hall and starting to write something down onto it, smirking at his work once it was finished.
(STATIC)
"And if there is one thing that drives chicks like Courtney nuts? It's competition." Duncan states, punching his fist into his hand with his resolve on full display.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
Slipping into the girls' cabin with his note, Duncan covertly drops it off onto the bunk of one goth girl named Gwen, and slips out without anyone suspecting a thing. However, what he couldn't have accounted for is for, mere moments later, Lindsay to come walking into the girls' cabin, her own note in hand. However, as she spots the note on Gwen's bunk, Lindsay pauses, looking down at her own note, then at the one on the bed...and with a perplexed expression, she walks out of the cabin, heading right back towards Heather, who seems rather justifiably annoyed at her subordinate for returning with the note in-hand.
"Lindsay, why do you still have the note with you?" Heather snaps, almost in disbelief at the perceived stupidity of her alliance mate. "I told you what the plan is; Go in there, place the note onto Bridgette's bunk, and make sure she sees it afterwards!"
"But Heather, there was like, already a note on her bunk!" Lindsay exclaims, having seemingly forgotten where the note in question was; However, with Heather unaware of this blunder from the blonde before her, she raises an eyebrow, intrigued by this revelation.
"There was?" Heather questions, prompting Lindsay to nod her head in reply.
"Totally!" She exclaims. "It was right there on her pillow, all folded up and everything!" She states, clearly not understanding what Heather is thinking; After a few moments, a grin forms on Heather's face, and she nods her head.
"Interesting..." She muses, before turning her attention back to Lindsay. "Lindsay, change of plan. We're going to trail whoever left that note on her bunk, and make sure to get a front row seat to the fireworks that are about to go off..." She states, devious intentions on her mind, only for Lindsay to give a big grin at her statement.
(CONFESSIONAL)
"Ooh, I love fireworks!" Lindsay exclaims, looking straight at the camera with a wide-eyed grin on her face, although it soon fades away not long after. "Although, fireworks can be like, really loud..." She states, closing off the confessional with one of her, surprisingly, smarter comments on this show thus far.
(STATIC)
"So, seems like I wasn't the only one who had breaking up Bridgette and Geoff on their mind." Heather states, looking down at her nails as she files them, trying to hide her interest in this situation unfolding before her. "Big deal. I'm sure it was some half-baked scheme from Noah or one of the other losers around here." She rolls her eyes, but still smirks all the same. "And I know for sure that I want to be around to see it happen." Heather says, looking up at the camera as she does so with a decisive grin.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
A few moments pass, and with Heather and Lindsay each taking their leave, Gwen is seen finally making her way into the cabin, speaking with Courtney along the way; Notably, Courtney is also seen carrying her key with her, showing off another successful go at the day's challenge. After another second goes by, the two enter the girls' cabin, only for Gwen to stop, spotting the note placed onto her pillow.
"Is that a note?" Courtney questions, confused by the paper laid on her bed, but Gwen doesn't seem to mind it, picking it up so she can read it.
"Meet me by The Dock of Shame at five o'clock for a little surprise. Love, Trent." Gwen reads aloud, before holding the note close to her chest for a moment. "Hm. Cool." She states, letting it drop as she walks out.
However, as she makes her exit, Courtney picks up the note, scrutinizing every detail of it as the goth girl heads off to the aforementioned Dock of Shame.
(CONFESSIONAL)
For a few seconds, Courtney is seen still evaluating the note that was left on Gwen's bunk, before she suddenly shifts her gaze up towards the camera.
"This...doesn't make sense to me," Courtney comments, setting the note down on her lap. "Obviously, this sort of brute-ish handwriting belongs to Duncan, not Trent." She begins, before a perplexed expression forms on her face. "What is that ogre planning between himself and Gwen, though?" She questions aloud, her eyes narrowing soon after. "Whatever it is, I'm going to be the one that finds out." She states, her determination on full display at this decision.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
-0-
As Courtney's confessional comes to a close, the camera cuts to The Dock of Shame, or at least, a fair distance away from it; Gwen is seen to be approaching the dock, a soft smile on her face, but as the person currently on the dock comes into focus, the smile on her face fades, as rather than it being Trent waiting for her, instead stands Duncan, a smirk lining his face.
"Hey, pastie." Duncan calls out nonchalantly, waving towards the goth girl, who scoffs at this comment.
"What are you doing here?" Gwen asks, leading to a small chuckle from Duncan.
"Well, Gwen, I'm not too sure myself." Duncan states, before focusing his gaze on Gwen's own. "All I know is I got told to meet here at five o'clock for a little surprise." He says, leading to a confused look forming on Gwen's face.
"Uh, you got told to meet here?" Gwen asks accusingly. "I was told to meet here at five o'clock for a little surprise by Trent, so unless you know where he's at, I suggest you get out of here."
At this point, neither Gwen nor Duncan would catch onto the fact that a small entourage had formed, albeit in secret, as Heather, Lindsay, and Courtney all arrived to the scene, with the alliance unaware of the C.I.T.'s presence and vice-versa, as each side tried to remain hidden so as to watch the event that was currently unfolding before them.
"Aw, but I could say the same to you, Gwen. Far as I know, Courtney invited me down here to try and make up with me, so I was kinda hoping you would take the hint and leave us to it?" Duncan asks, prompting Gwen to walk towards him further, unknowingly falling into the trap laid before her.
"As if!" Gwen exclaims. "I'm supposed to be here for Trent, so why don't you take your little puppy dog love for Courtney somewhere else?"
At this, Duncan's face falls, a pre-meditated display of emotion at the rejection from Gwen, catching her attention. A rather forced sigh from the punk all but secures it, as he slumps down, resting against one of the dock's pillars.
"Man, I just miss being around her, okay?" Duncan states, appearing...almost pitiful, in a way, at least to Gwen's eyes. "I was trying to hold out hope that this wasn't just someone trying to mess with me, but I guess I was the one getting punked this time." He exclaims dramatically, and although his acting isn't quite up to snuff with those in Hollywood, it seems to be more than enough to fool Gwen, as she sits next to him.
"...Look, Duncan, I really shouldn't care all that much about what's going on between you and Courtney, but I'm sure she's just trying to hide her feelings again." Gwen states, looking at Duncan with the slightest showing of sympathy towards the delinquent. "She's always been like this, hasn't she? Puts up a tough exterior, acts like a total bitch to everyone around her, but once you get through that, she becomes-"
"The love of my life?" Duncan cuts off Gwen, sighing once more. "Yeah, I know, but it was difficult enough breaking through to her the first time around. Now I'm supposed to do it all over again?" He laments, turning his attention towards Gwen. "At least you've got it easy, Trent seems to be head-over-heels for you!" He exclaims, putting on an act of jealousy towards the goth girl, which works to a tee as Gwen swoons in delight.
"I know~..." Gwen sighs, before snapping out of it and looking askew. "I mean, I know. Obviously, I mean, he's totally into me, and he's cool and all, but..." Gwen tries to follow up her comment, but as she trails off, Duncan lets out a small laugh.
"Just admit it, you're totally falling for him." Duncan quips, causing Gwen to blush as she looks away from him once more; After a few seconds, Gwen sighs, looking up to the sky above.
"...Okay, fine, I'm totally in love with him! How can I not be? He's super sweet, he's great at playing the guitar, and he sees me for more than just being some cliche goth chick!" Gwen calls out, causing Duncan to let out a bitter laugh in response. "Oh, like you're any better with your crush." Gwen retorts, a scowl forming on her face at how she perceived Duncan's laugh, but he shakes his head in reply.
"No, it's not that." He states, before looking away. "It's just..." He trails off, before turning to face Gwen once more. "You know about that party that the guys had? The one after Owen won the trailer in the last challenge?" Duncan asks, unprompted, causing Gwen to look at him once more.
"...Yeah? Trent told me something about that, he said he was just going to spend the night in the cabin writing out a new song, though?" Gwen asks, to which Duncan chuckles.
"Pastie, there's a lot you have to learn about the rest of the world." Duncan bitterly laughs, before continuing on. "When a man knows there's a party going on, and all the other guys are going, he tells the missus a white lie about what he's doing, and then sneaks off to go join them afterwards." Duncan explains, causing Gwen's eyes to widen, taking in his words; Before she can respond, Duncan adds onto this, wanting to press on further. "We were heading back to the cabins to use the hot tub instead of just hanging around in Owen's trailer, and Trent joined us. It was DJ, Geoff, Owen, Noah, Trent, and I, all hanging out, and we started talking about our love lives a bit. Y'know, typical guy stuff, asking about fantasies, any girls we got back home, whatever." Duncan explains, rolling his eyes at his own reasoning, "Anyway, it turns out that, outside of myself, Trent, and Geoff, none of the others have had a girlfriend before. DJ was being a real wuss about it, going on about how he needed a girl who his mama would approve of and all that, while Noah just...didn't seem interested in that type of stuff." Duncan snickers to himself, prompting Gwen to be the one to roll her eyes this time. "But Trent? Oh, man, Trent was the worst. All the dude did was keep moping around about his girl back home." Duncan says, his uncaring method of speech catching Gwen entirely off-guard, as the goth girl sputters for a few seconds.
"H-His...girl?" She asks hesitantly, and a grin briefly flickers on his face before he goes back to the nonchalant smile that had been on his face throughout the entire story.
"Yeah, turns out that right before he got sent off to be on this show, he and his girlfriend had a huge fight; I'm talking huge. Like, thrown furniture and cops getting involved huge." Duncan lied, before the grin forms once more. "It ended with the two of them breaking up, but every time he brought it up, Trent kept saying that they were only 'going on break', like the dude couldn't understand the fact that things were over between the two of them." Duncan explains, and this gets more than just Gwen's attention, it gets to her emotions as well.
"Wait, they're just taking a break?" She questions, not wanting to believe the words coming out of Duncan's mouth, but the delinquent keeps on talking.
"That's what he kept saying! But then the brainiac decided it'd be a great idea to bring up Gwen, and suddenly, Trent started talking about you. He said you were real pretty; Y'know, nice hair, nice smile, nice body, the usual stuff." Duncan says, and while his lecherous grin isn't lost on the goth girl, she doesn't care about it as much as the notion of Trent finding her attractive, at least in the physical sense; Still, she crosses her arms a tad defensively at the delinquent's comments, causing him to let out a chuckle. "Relax, pastie, I'm just repeating what he was telling me," He defends himself, "But anyway, the more he talked about you, the more he let slip what he really thought about you. Like how he told me that he really isn't all that interested in the whole 'starving artist' schtick you've got going on?" He says, throwing it out like it meant nothing to him, which causes Gwen to gasp in surprise.
"B-But, but he always said-" Gwen stutters, only for Duncan to silence her with a finger to her lips.
"What, that your drawings looked nice?" Duncan asks, leading the goth girl to nod her head in response. "Pastie, when a guy says something looks nice and he isn't talking about a woman, ninety-nine percent of the time, they're lying." He explains, before quickly adding on. "Trust me, I've spent enough time in juvie and around my dad to know the difference between 'nice' and 'nice'." Duncan remarks; Even as Gwen seems to be going through an emotional turmoil at this alone, he continues on, giving quite a show not just to Gwen, but to those who are in the audience, unbeknownst to the punk. "Oh, and that's not to mention how he kept whining about how cliché the whole goth look is for you." Another gasp from Gwen, and Duncan finds himself prompted to continue. "He kept on insisting about how you'd look so much better as a blonde, kinda like Lindsay, in a way." He says, adding in the offhanded comment about Lindsay just to further twist the verbal dagger into Gwen's back.
As tears begin to build up in the goth girl's eyes, a war becomes far too prevalent within her psyche to ignore, as one side of her brain yells at her about how Duncan is wrong and how he cannot be trusted, all the while the other side questions everything Trent has ever told her and if he was ever truly into her at all.
With that nonchalant grin still ever-present, Duncan leans forward, the killing blow on the tip of his tongue. "Hell, I think I even heard him say something about how he wasn't looking forward to wiping those blue lipstick stains off of his face, considering how tacky they look against his skin tone. Not to mention how he mentioned how much easier it'd be to kiss someone like Heather or Courtney, considering how little makeup they need in order to look pretty-"
This comment would be what breaks the camel's back, as it were, as Gwen throws her head back in a loud wail of sorrow and anguish, screaming out to the slowly setting sun as the waterworks begin. Her paling makeup starts to run down her cheeks, leaving a nasty trail under her eyes and along her cheeks that only seems to get worse with every passing second. After a few moments, Gwen suddenly finds herself pulled into a hug from the delinquent next to her, and while initially shocked by this response from him, she eventually reciprocates, her snivels and sobs getting worse and worse with each second that passes by.
Turning towards Duncan out of sheer desperation, Gwen snivels once more, trying to speak, but finding her voice caught up in her throat. "Wh..." She stutters, trying to dislodge the words stuck within her own sorrow, "W-Why are you telling me this?" She asks, tears continuing to race down her face; After a few seconds, Duncan gently takes her cheeks in his hand, using the other to wipe her tears away with a pained expression on his face.
"Look, I don't normally care about petty emotional stuff like this," Duncan begins, looking off to the side, almost over her shoulder, trying to watch for if anyone is watching the scene unfolding. "But with how hard you've fallen for him, I figured you deserved far, far better than a guy like him." Duncan answers, letting a soft smile form on his face; One that takes Gwen by surprise. "You deserve someone who cares about you, or at least, someone who views you as something better than just being their rebound girl." He states, clearly trying his best when it comes to comforting the goth girl, which she surprisingly seems to appreciate, given her state of emotional distress at the moment. "You deserve someone who enjoys you for you, not someone who is going to be all pissy about you being a goth chick." Duncan continues on, and after a few moments, he leans in closer towards her, trying his hardest to keep the smile on his face from widening any further from what he was about to do. "Someone who can spoil you like the princess you are." He states, letting that line sink into Gwen's mind, causing a pained smile to form on her face.
Unbeknownst to both of them, another pained occurrence happens out in the bushes nearby, as a hoarse cry comes from one of them, just barely silent enough not to be heard by either Duncan or Gwen, but it still remains uttered nonetheless, as a certain mocha-skinned contestant watches the ongoing scene, fighting back her own tears from forming at what is going on in front of her.
"So, hopefully that helps you out a bit, pasty. I should probably-" Duncan starts to say, walking off, only for Gwen to turn Duncan around, making him face her once again.
As soon as his head is turned back towards hers, a look of shock appears on his face as Gwen pulls him in close, giving him a huge kiss on the lips that seems to take everyone watching on by surprise, even as it only lasts for a couple seconds before Gwen pulls away in some shock of her own.
"Oh my God, Duncan, I-" Gwen starts, panic setting in over what she had just done. "I-I'm so sorry! I, I don't know what came over me, i-it's just, what you said about Trent, a-and what you said about me-" Gwen tries to explain, only for a much, much louder voice to sound out from the bushes, taking both Gwen and Duncan by surprise.
"PRINCESS?!" Comes the roar of one royally pissed off C.I.T., and the look of fear on Duncan's face tells the entire story, as his gaze shifts between Courtney and Gwen, his mind trying to catch up to the fact that things had decidedly not gone to plan, considering just who was in attendance for, at minimum, this unplanned kiss between the two of them.
"C-Courtney?!" Duncan calls out, panic showing on his own expression as Courtney draws closer towards the both of them.
"L-Look, I c-can expl-" Duncan's statement is cut off prematurely as a haymaker blow from the C.I.T. knocks him straight onto his back, a tooth going flying out his mouth and into the water behind him.
"You..." Courtney starts, before her attention turns towards Gwen, who is just in much of shock as she is fright over what she presumes the C.I.T. is going to do to her. "You...you...!" She starts to yell, but before any tirade can be launched, Courtney's tears, held back for all this time, suddenly burst forward, the C.I.T. breaking out into sobs of heartbreak and anguish, her wailing echoing across the island for all to hear, as she goes rushing off from the scene, her emotional shields destroyed with but a simple kiss.
As Duncan sits up from being knocked down, looking upwards towards Gwen, he tries to smirk her way, his mouth swollen and bruised from the punch, but Gwen spares him not a glance, as she starts to put the pieces together as to what just happened, at least, in her mind anyways.
"Y-You..." Gwen starts, her hands balled up into fists as she turns toward the delinquent, simmering fury about ready to explode squarely in the punk's direction. "YOU JUST USED ME TO GET BACK AT COURTNEY?!" Gwen yells, and before Duncan can explain himself, Gwen goes stomping off, furious over what had just occurred, leaving Duncan alone on The Dock of Shame...or so he thinks.
After a few moments, Heather and Lindsay are shown walking away from the scene, a shocked expression on Heather's face, while Lindsay's ignorant self simply smiles at what she perceives to be a plan working to perfection.
"Look, Heather!" Lindsay exclaims, "Greta was totally just making out with Danny, and Cynthia saw it all happen right in front of her!" She explains, as if Heather herself hadn't seen the same thing she did. "Isn't that what you wanted?" She questions, her childlike glee only making things worse for the queen bee, as her face falls; The queen bee turns away for but a second, the sound of Courtney's hysterics still echoing out in the background, but for a split second, the sight of sympathy could be seen on Heather's visage.
"...Not this way..." Heather mutters to herself, earning a questioning look from her subordinate.
"Not what way, Heather?" Lindsay asks, confused over her alliance leader's response; In that moment, Heather snaps back to her typical self, looking towards Lindsay with her usual disdainful sneer.
"I-I mean, duh, I didn't want it to happen that way, Lindsay!" She exclaims, scoffing at her alliance mate's stupidity. "All I wanted to do was break up Geoff and Bridgette so that the 'party brah' would be easier to vote out, not for...for that to happen!" She states, anger bubbling over from what she just saw, before turning towards Lindsay. "I thought you said the note was on Bridgette's bunk, anyways?" She asks, and after a moment, realization dawns on the face of the bubble-headed bleach blonde.
"Ooh..." She starts, pausing for a moment in surprise, "I guess I must have mixed up Greta and Brianna's bunks somehow! Sorry, Heather!" She states, leaving Heather stunned once more, as she comes to terms with just how dumb her minion truly is.
"W-Well," Heather stammers, trying to get her thoughts together, "next time, come and get me so I can see that type of stuff for myself! That way, we don't have to sit through...that ever again!" She exclaims, turning her head away from Lindsay, inadvertently whipping her subordinate with her hair in the process, before walking off, Lindsay blindly following behind her as usual.
(CONFESSIONAL)
Sat down in the confessional, Heather still seems to be in slight shock over what she saw, unable to shake the feeling of it off her face. After a few seconds, she clears her throat, and finally, the look of disinterest makes its way back to center stage, as she seems to shake things off once and for all.
"Look, I don't normally feel sorry for anyone, let alone the weird goth girl, but..." Heather trails off, her expression softening from its normal glare, a rare sight for the queen bee. "Nobody, whether they be a weird goth girl or not, deserves to go through that type of emotional damage. Especially when it's dealt by some green-haired delinquent who's just wanting to show off to the boys back at east block, o-or whatever gang it is he probably is representing from that juvie they pulled him out of!"
After a few seconds, the disinterested look returns, and Heather turns her attention down towards her own nails in an attempt to further hide her expression, scoffing at her own words. "Like I should really be caring about the weird goth girl anyways. All this means is that I've got a much easier decision to make when it comes voting time." Heather states...yet still, her disinterest only serves to mask the shock she's still feeling from what she saw unfold at The Dock of Shame.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
Back at The Dock of Shame, with everyone else gone in a myriad of emotions, Duncan is left sat there, stunned beyond belief, his own maelstrom currently ongoing within him, before he finally turns to the sky, realizing what exactly he has just unleashed upon himself.
"...Oh, fuck..."
(Noah's POV)
With time passing way too slowly for my own liking, I glance at one of the alarm clocks placed in the room with weary eyes. As the red-colored numbers read out 5:49, I roll my eyes, fixing one of the noise-cancelling earplugs currently in my ears. I had been spending the last seventy five minutes or so either reading or simply trying, and subsequently failing, to take a nap ahead of the conclusion of today's challenge. Finally, as what sounds like a chime rings out around the island, I pull out my earplugs and let out a sigh, all too glad to be heading off to the amphitheater to get this done and over with.
Right as I exit the boys' cabin, I catch sight of Gwen, heading on over to the amphitheater as well, a serious scowl on her face; Whatever happened, it isn't going to deter me from making a joke at her expense over it, so I walk up beside her, smirking a tad cockily over the knowledge I have two chances at immunity tonight, rather than just one.
"Wow, your key must have been hell to get, huh?" I snark, only for Gwen's head to whip around towards me, and a growl of raw anger to come out of her mouth.
In that exact moment, I realize this was the wrong move to make, and without hesitation, I hightail it away from her, not wanting to hang around her any longer than I have to, making my way to the amphitheater in what must be record time.
-0-
As soon as I arrive, though, three things immediately become of notice to me, two of them far more interesting than the other. The first is how Geoff currently smells as if he just swam the River Thames, and it proves to be nearly enough to make me retch right on the spot, while also making it all too understandable why most of the other campers are keeping their distance from him. The second is the conspicuous absence of one C.I.T., which leads me to wonder if another med-evac is set to be on our hands, something which both seems unsurprising to me, yet also alarming considering just who it is that would be removed from the competition. Then there's the third thing, which is how Duncan is being completely isolated by the other campers, making me curious as to what exactly went down, if anything, involving the delinquent. Unfortunately for me, it seems fate has it out for me before tonight's rewards can be handed out, as the punk strides towards me with rage in his eyes, grabbing me by the collar. As I am lifted off my feet by my shirt, I let out a sigh, figuring this to just be part of Duncan's typical routine of bullying those he views beneath him, and I meet his glance with complete and utter disinterest.
"Hey, Duncan." I drawl, uncaring about the ongoing events...that is, until Duncan responds in kind.
"Hey, Brainiac, some advice you gave me, huh?!" He calls out, leading me to look at him with a curious glance.
"Advice? What are you talking about?" I ask, playing dumb so as not to clue in the others to our prior conversation.
"Oh, don't play stupid with me, geek! You know exactly what you said to me earlier! What exactly was it again? Show off how much of a bad boy I am to win Courtney back?" He repeats, and as the realization dawns on me what he means by this, all eyes fall on me, most of which are filled with surprise or scorn of some kind, leading me to raise my hands up defensively.
"Y-Yeah, I figured that meant you'd go carve another skull into a tree or try to steal something for her again!" I exclaim, exacerbated by what was currently going on. "What did you think I mean, to go around chasing another girl's skirt?!" I ask, rolling my eyes in the process at such a stupid idea being even considered reasonable advice...only for the rest of the campers' expressions to darken, causing my own face to whiten in response. "Y-You...you didn't do that, r-right...?" I question, feeling myself start to tremble as Duncan suddenly thrusts me downwards, dropping me to the ground below with anger in his form.
"Oh, I don't know, why don't you go ask them yourself, Brainiac?!" He growls, leading me to slowly walk over to the surrounding crowd, a bewildered expression forming on my face.
"I'm sorry, but what exactly did Duncan do this time?" I ask, my voice a mixture of confusion and panic, only for Bridgette, BRIDGETTE of all people, to snap at me. "He was caught kissing Gwen by Courtney, Noah!" Bridgette calls out, completely shocking me at such an event even transpiring in the first place. "Didn't you hear her crying?!" She yells out, leading me to grow a bit more unsure about the events transpiring around me on this island.
"Crying? What do you mean she was crying?" I ask, completely unsure what she means by any of this. "I didn't see her at all on my way here from the boys' cabin, the only person I saw was goth girl, and she growled at me when I asked about how bad it was trying to find her key." I state, defending myself as best I can with the information provided to me; Rolling my eyes, I go to continue, only for the pieces to finally click together in my mind, giving what happened earlier with Gwen an entirely new context. "Wait...you're saying that Duncan kissed Gwen?" I ask, repeating Bridgette's explanation to a collective nod from the others, with the exception of Gwen, Duncan, and Trent, with Gwen caught between tears and scorn, and both Duncan and Trent glaring holes into my soul. "And Courtney...caught them?" I repeat once again, getting another nod from the others, who finally seem to understand that I may very well have had nothing to do with this situation as a whole.
Unfortunately for me, the chance given for me to defend myself is cut short by Chris McLean interjecting himself as per usual, that dumb smile lining his face and his body still clad in that ridiculous Spirit Halloween pirate costume.
"Yarr, it be time to claim your treasure. Who's fortunate enough to bear the precious key, come forth with it!" Chris smiles, and while the others who possess keys approach the various treasure chests, I walk towards it, smirking as I carry with me two separate keys. "Arr! Hold it there, landlubber," Chris stops me, looking down at the keys in confused anger, "how do ye have TWO keys?!" He asks, and after an eyeroll directed towards the host, I bring one of the keys to the side of my head, tapping it on my temple in a mock display of my superior intellect.
"Nothing in the rules said I couldn't find more than one key, Chris." I reply simply, and the host's expression changes to that of a smirk, accepting my brilliant ploy for what it is.
"Argh, ye be correct, bookworm...clever one ye arrrre." The host responds, allowing me to finally make my way to the treasure chests.
Trying the key I obtained from the bear first, I soon find that no matter what chest I try, not a single one of them opens, leading to me tossing it overhead, rolling my eyes at the host.
"Hmm, seems one of my keys just isn't working..." I sarcastically muse, giving Chris the opportunity to laugh at my plight.
"Oh yeah." He says, chuckling as he turns his head towards me once more. "I forgot to mention that some of the keys don't open up any chests." He announces, and I let out a small groan in response.
With only one shot left at immunity, I take the key Duncan gave to me for the advice he horrendously misconstrued, and begin testing it on the remaining chests. After a few incorrect guesses, however, I finally find one that the key fits perfectly into, and as it opens up...I am left disappointed. Within the chest, outside of a flash bulb glued into its interior to give the appearance of a golden glow from within, I find nothing but a bag of store-brand chips, of sour cream and onion flavor nonetheless, and a generic stick of 'sport-style' deodorant, leading me to roll my eyes once more.
"Is this the best you can do, McLean?" I ask, leading Chris to shoot off a sarcastic finger gun my way, telling me to step aside and let the other contestants pick out their prizes.
One by one, they begin finding the chests that work with the keys in their possession, with the prizes being, for the most part, rather...uninspired. Owen gets himself a tacky-looking leg lamp, Trent nabs a couple bottles of soda pop, Lindsay winds up coming away with an accordian, of all things, Gwen grabs a toaster, which for a brief moment makes me glad that we don't have any bathtubs in the communal washrooms, and-
"Oh, and look!" Heather calls out, brandishing a store-bought basket with various feminine-leaning beauty supplies within, as well as a laminated piece of poster board with the symbol of a marshmallow on a pink and red background. "An invincibility pass. Lucky me!" As Heather finishes speaking, though, she quickly realizes that not a single bit of attention is turned her way, with everyone still caught up in this ongoing Duncan/Gwen/Courtney drama.
Brandishing her invincibility pass for all to see, nobody even so much as bats an eye towards her whilst doing so, further infuriating the queen bee due to being ignored. Watching as she steps back from my placement beside the other contestants, I roll my eyes, before muttering something under my breath.
"Say that again?" Heather sneers, looking towards me with her usual demanding tone, prompting me to sigh, putting on a show of frustration at the queen bee.
"Gee, how lucky you are." I state, rolling my eyes once more. "I could really use that invincibility pass right about now, Heather." I tell her, my tone cold and sarcastic as ever, yet my glare is met with a small scoff of approval from the queen bee, as her glance turns away from my own.
"Well, guess I really am lucky then, aren't I?" She responds, all too pleased with herself at getting a response out of me, before our 'conversation' is cut short by Geoff opening up his treasure chest.
"What the...?" He mutters, holding up some sort of bottle in his hands, to which Chris smiles wide, stepping in front of him and looking directly at a camera that'd been filming his unboxing.
"Geoff will be able to cover up that foul stench with a can of new Cleaver Body Spray." Chris states, happily reading off the advertisement script that has been clearly memorized word-for-word for this exact instance. "Cleaver. It cuts through the stink."
"I just snorkeled in a septic tank for cologne?!" Geoff asks, a small twitch in his eye indicating a surprising level of anger to the party cowboy that I had never seen prior, no matter how much unedited footage of Total Drama I was gifted with seeing from Chris McLean; For a few seconds, it feels as though the temperature of the island is dropping drastically around me, a chill flowing through the air at Geoff's anger, before his smile returns, cutting the tension off at the source. "Nice!" He replies, stepping back to his place in line, albeit still far, far away from the rest of us.
"I hope everyone got the treasure they were looking for, and more." Chris states, turning back towards us with that smug grin on his face. "But now, it's time to do your duty and send one of you off the island for good. So cast your votes." Abruptly, Chris switches back to the pirate accent once more, making me further regret my decision to even partake in this show to begin with. "And I'll see ye buccaneers back at the campfire after sundown!" Chris laughs at this 'revelation' for a few seconds, before giving a small pause; With a look off to the camera, he nods, and then turns back towards us.
"Aaaaand clear!" Chris yells out, immediately tearing off the pirate garb to reveal his typical wardrobe underneath, thankfully. "Alright campers, we don't got much time till night falls, so go cast your votes and meet me at the bonfire ceremony in ten! And awesome job with the drama today! Really made for a good episode!" Chris announces, walking off alongside Chef Hatchet to God-knows-where and abandoning this all too tense atmosphere.
Within seconds, Geoff is completely gone, having more likely than not run off to rid himself of...whatever the hell that stench is. Similarly, Duncan walks off without any hustle to his step, not even giving a look back towards me or any of the others. With them gone, however, it leaves me with the others, and immediately, I am back on the defensive verbally.
"Okay, look, can you all just...hear me out for a second?" I ask, sighing at the knowledge I'll have to try a bit harder than usual when it comes to swaying people to my side of things. "Whatever it was that went through Duncan's mind that made him think that kissing another girl was what I told him to do, that's firmly on him." I begin, earning some not-so-impressed looks from the others. "Earlier, Duncan asked me what he should do to get Courtney back, since he was starting to feel really upset about how she was giving him the cold shoulder. I asked him what made her fall for him in the first place, and when he said that he thought it was his bad boy persona that drove her nuts, I told him to simply play into that to try and see if it was truly what made her attached to him." I explain, shrugging my shoulders directly afterwards. "I simply figured he'd either go showing off how much of a renegade rebel he is and get completely laughed off in the process, or he and Courtney would wind up having one of their countless arguments, which would lead to them talking about their romantic feelings for each other, and it'd either get them back together or break them apart for good, not that I cared particularly which way it went." I openly state, before making my way towards Gwen and Trent, each step full of hesitation.
"Gwen," I begin, pausing just to make sure she wouldn't gouge my eyes out or lash out at me like she did before with my little joke regarding the challenge. "I'm...sorry about what happened to you." I say, unsure how else to word it so that way I don't get assaulted for my perceived actions. "I swear to you that I'm not lying, or manipulating you, or doing anything else when I say that I had zero intentions for Duncan to do what he did to you." I explain, only for Trent to suddenly cut in.
"Sorry?! You're sorry about what he did?! He kissed my girlfriend because of you!" Trent barks out, causing me to step back, unsure how to continue on.
Thankfully for me, I don't have to this time around, as Gwen turns towards him, fighting back tears. "No, Trent...if anything, I should be the one apologizing." Gwen states, a somber expression being shown. "I was the one who kissed him, not the other way around. I...I just wasn't thinking straight, okay?!" She blurts out, catching everyone's attention. "All the things he said a-about what you were saying to him, a-and the party, and all that other stuff, it just...it really messed with me!" Gwen explains, and at this, both Trent and I share a similar look of confusion towards what she is talking about.
"Wait, Gwen, the party?" Trent asks, perplexed by this reasoning. "What party?" He asks, and Gwen fires back immediately.
"The party Owen threw! You know, the one that you joined in on, after they went into the hot tub? After you said you weren't joining them?!" She asks, now just as confused as the two of us are, but it seems to dawn on Trent and I what really happened here.
"Gwen, what are you talking about? I never went to that party." Trent tries to explain, but rage takes over the goth girl once more as she points her finger in accusation.
"Yes you did! Duncan told me all about it! How you were so torn up over some girl back at home! How you said you didn't care about me being an artist? Or how you thought the goth thing was a cliché?!" She calls out, and while Trent does seem to be shocked by this, I realize that this is my moment to hopefully clear my name, and make sure that no matter what happens, I'm not the one going home tonight.
"Gwen, please, listen to me." I ask, calling her attention over towards me. "I was there at the party, and Trent didn't show up for even a second. We didn't even go into the hot tub that night. All we did was hang around at Owen's trailer, drink some soda, listen to some way too loud music, and then we all left, save for Owen, who crashed inside his trailer for the night." I explain, before looking over towards Owen, DJ, and Trent for backup on this. "Far as I remember, me and Duncan went into the cabin first, then after a few minutes, Trent and DJ came in to carry Geoff inside as well, since he passed out before he even got to his bunk. Then we all went to sleep, and nothing happened involving the hot tub." I concluded, with both DJ and Owen nodding along in confirmation.
With that said, Gwen looks between myself, Owen, and DJ, before realizing we're all corroborating the same story, and once she realizes what this means, she turns to Trent with tears in her eyes, while the musician remains stunned all the while at what's going on.
"T-Trent...oh my God, Trent, I'm so sorry!" She cries out, resting her head onto his shoulder as her tears fall upon it, staining its dark green coloration. "I...I should've known better than to trust that delinquent! I'm so sorry, Trent, please, please forgive me!" She pitifully begs her current crush, crying into his shoulder until suddenly, Trent cups her chin in his hand, and forces her to look at him.
"...Look, Gwen," Trent sighs, staring right into the onyx eyes of the goth girl standing in front of him. "I'm not happy about what you and Duncan did, and I don't think I ever will be," Trent then hesitates, his expression softening, "but I think that we can put this behind us, and the two of us can just focus on each other. No more deceit, no more distractions, just the two of us. That cool with you?" Trent asks, with Gwen suddenly pulling Trent into a crushing hug as a response, a joyful grin crossing her face as she agrees, which prompts me to turn around and start walking away, shaking my head at the events that have transpired today.
-0-
With most of the crowd dispersing as well, I make it to the confessional first out of the group, and make my way inside with one last deep breath of the 'clean' air outside.
(CONFESSIONAL)
Upon sitting down on the bench, I let out a small sigh to the camera. "Well, so much for my strategy, I guess." I shrug, before looking up to the camera. "For all the others who are watching this, I want you to know that I really didn't mean for Duncan to do any of that stuff to Gwen. I'm not Heather, after all." I scoff, rolling my eyes in a desperate attempt to keep my cool for the eye of the camera. "Anyways, I should probably also apologize to Courtney with the first chance I get. She might be a bit bossy at times, but a girl like her doesn't deserve to cry..." I state, but a mere couple moments later, I smack my forehead in self-annoyance. "Way to go, genius, now the entire world thinks you've got some crush on the resident Sociopath-in-Training." I chastise myself, before grabbing the stack of headshot photos next to the ballot box, alongside the stamp used to mark who you're voting for; Flipping through them one-by-one, I stop as I settle upon the picture of Duncan, stamping it without any hesitation and dropping it into the secured box below the camera. "See you later, Duncan. Hope you think you're hardcore enough now." I sarcastically remark, before swiftly taking my leave.
(CONFESSIONAL END)
-0-
With naught but an unamused grin on my face, I take another breath of the 'clean' air outside the outhouse, and as I do so, a thought hits me. Heading off towards the bonfire pit, I pay no mind to the fact there's still some time left before the ceremony in hopes of finding one particular man...and as I spot him, I hasten my approach, wanting to strike while the iron is still hot, proverbially speaking of course.
"Oh, Noah! Making it two for two on being early!" Chris calls out, to which I roll my eyes before walking up to the host.
"Yeah, definitely glad to be the early bird to this one." I snark, before stopping next to the host. "Look, I know this is going to sound a bit weird, but it's for a decent reason. Can you confirm to me if Courtney wound up getting her key in today's challenge?" I ask, to which Chris initially turns toward the camera, making a motion towards it, and after a few seconds, it suddenly stops filming, as he turns back towards me.
"Normally, I wouldn't care about such things, but since you've been acting as a huge drama magnet for me since returning, I'll humor you here." Chris states offhandedly, before looking away. "Yeah, Courtney got her key just fine; Nabbed it from a rattlesnake, if you can believe it." He answers, before turning back towards me. "What's your point, kid?"
"My point is that, if she got her key, that should give her the chance to have unlocked one of the treasure chests, right?" I ask, to which Chris nods his head, still unsure of where I'm going with this, to my annoyance. "I'm not saying that you should give her invincibility, since Heather already got that," I state, trying to reason with the host as best I can, "but can you at least let her have the prize she would have gotten from her key, if it was able to open one of the chests anyways?" I ask, and after a few moments of contemplation, Chris turns to me, an inscrutable expression on his face.
"...I don't get what you're getting at here, kid, but y'know what? I think she's had a rough enough day as is, so I'll play nice." He states, before turning his head towards one of the interns currently setting up the scene for the bonfire ceremony. "Hey, red shirt! Go get me the prize that went unused for tonight's challenge, and make it snappy!" He calls out, causing the rather average-sized man to go rushing off towards who-knows-where, only to suddenly return about a minute or two later with a box of some kind, handing it off to McLean before getting back to his typical work. "Here you go, one..." Chris starts, before looking down at the box, as if even he was unsure of the prize being given upon first inspection. "...Fountain pen, gifted directly to the C.I.T. as reward for earning her key. Tell her 'you're welcome' for me, okay?" Chris asks, to which I nod in reply, taking it from him with a look of forced disinterest on my face.
As soon as it is in my hands, I rush off back towards the boys' cabin, wanting to ensure nobody gets the wrong idea about this prize that doesn't belong to me in the slightest, and swiftly drop it off at my bunk in the cabin, before then slowly making my way back to the bonfire ceremony, this time showing up just in time for the event at hand, bleak anticipation filling me with dread once more at another night of potential elimination...
(Narrator's POV)
With all of the remaining campers, sans Courtney, now gathered around the bonfire, Chris stands at his typical perch, a smile on his face and a platter of marshmallows once again in-hand.
"And now the moment we've all been waiting for. The moment of truth. Marshmallow time!" Chris declares, a look of joy in his eyes at some of the weary expressions on the campers' faces. "You know the routine. Whoever doesn't get a marshmallow, it's curtains for you." He states, looking around the campfire once more; While most of the contestants seem tired out from the day's challenge, none of them looks to be showing any true signs of emotion, perhaps a smirk here or there at most, but otherwise nothing too major from any one particular camper.
"Bridgette. Geoff. Lindsay. Heather. Trent. DJ. Courtney. Owen. Gwen." Chris says in rapid-fire fashion, tossing out marshmallows just as swiftly as their names are called; Suddenly, it's down to only two, something Noah seems to recognize quite well, as he starts to quiver in his seat.
"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the night." Chris states as usual, leading to Noah feeling all the more unsure about his own placement in the game, all the while Duncan simply smirks, almost uncaring about the vote at hand.
"And the final marshmallow goes to..." Chris calls out, the unease of Noah clashing against the almost-cockiness portrayed by Duncan, as only one of these two can remain in the game...
...
...
...
"...Noah!" Chris announces, tossing the final marshmallow towards the scaredy-cat's way, while gleaming at the elimination at hand. "Duncan! YOU, ARE, OUTTA HERE!" The host yells out jubilantly, causing Duncan to shoot up from his seat.
"What?!" The delinquent cries out in shock, turning his attention towards the other campers. "You guys voted ME over HIM?! He's the one that caused all this!" Duncan cries out, only for Gwen to stand up, alongside Trent, both of them with matching scowls on their faces.
"Because you're the one who got me to kiss another boy!" Gwen shrieks out, with Trent placing a hand on her shoulder for backup.
"Yeah, Noah didn't tell you to kiss my GIRLFRIEND, Duncan! He even apologized for the crap you pulled! Just man up and move on from it already!" Trent calls out, and with the rest of the campers, outside of Geoff, giving Duncan a side-eyed glare, the delinquent slumps his shoulders forward, and silently begins his walk off The Dock of Shame.
Without even a fight, he stands before Chef Hatchet, letting the cook grab the delinquent by the scruff of his neck and chuck him into the Boat of Losers, nodding his head downward in resignation as Chef steps aboard as well, and the two depart from Camp Wawanakwa, another victim added to those who have fallen thus far.
"Wow, a shocking elimination tonight!" Chris exclaims, looking out towards the camera. "But who's to say that the next one won't be just as, if not more shocking? Find out next time on Total. Drama. Island!" Chris yells out, the wide-shot of the island leading to the fade to black of the episode once more, as per usual...
(Noah's POV)
"Aaaaand that's a wrap!" Chris McLean yells out, turning towards us with glee in his eyes, obviously elated by the fact Duncan is finally gone from the island, and without a chance of returning at that. "Alright, have a good night everyone. I'm going to enjoy some beauty sleep tonight!" The host exclaims, before almost skipping off towards his airstream while leaving us behind.
With filming for the day now done and dusted, I look towards the other campers for a moment, noticing how most of them are either ignoring me or, in the case of Trent, giving a subtle glare my way for...whatever reason he may have, I opt to take this opportunity to slink away back towards the cabins, heading straight for them without stopping at the confessional, or anywhere else along the way.
-0-
Making it there before all the others, I immediately head for my bunk and grab the boxed fountain pen from under my mattress, before heading back outside, continuing to try and avoid everyone else in the process. As I head towards the girls' cabin, however, I quickly realize the snag in my half-baked scheme to try and help Courtney out in some miniscule way, but thankfully for me, I catch sight of Heather just before she gets inside, and manage to walk towards her in a way to catch her attention.
"Ugh, what is it now, nerd?" Heather scoffs, clearly too tired for any unique nicknames to be thrown my way.
"Heather, is Courtney in the cabin right now?" I ask, to which Heather gives an inquisitive look in response. "Look, I'm just trying to make sure she got her prize from the chest her key was meant to unlock in the challenge, alright?" I offer as a response, changing Heather's questioning look to one of resignation.
"Fine, dweeb, I'll go check for you, but only because I'm too tired to question you being such a creep, okay?" She snaps at me, and after she gets a response of my eyes rolling as per usual, she checks inside, before looking back out towards me, shaking her head.
"Thanks, Heather." I reply, and rush off before she can ask any more questions, now needing to try and find where this C.I.T. has run off to.
-0-
Thankfully for my sleep schedule, my search for the C.I.T. proves to be a surprisingly short one, as I spot her sitting at one of the tables in the mess hall, looking off in the distance at nothing in particular, completely unaware of my presence within the room. After a few moments of awkward silence and hesitance on my end, I finally try to approach her, and I immediately take note of how she is almost curling in on herself, not quite in the fetal position, but rather close to it. With a silent sigh escaping my lips, I mentally question what I am about to do as I make my way towards the table she's sat at, and place down the boxed fountain pen in front of her, getting her attention as she looks towards the box, confusion quickly being masked by pained anger.
"...What is this meant to be?" She asks me, leading me to roll my eyes in an attempt to maintain my composure.
"It's your prize," I tell her, earning a well-deserved glare for this that beckons me to elaborate further, "Chris told me that you managed to grab your key for the challenge, but since you weren't there, I...decided it wouldn't be fair for you to go without the chance at getting a prize out of the treasure chests." I speak, unsure of myself even as I explain my reasoning to her. "I...I'm sorry for causing you to go through what you did, Courtney..." I continue onward, taking her silence, save for a small whimper escaping her lips, as a sign to continue. "I know I don't normally do this whole 'emoting' thing, but I really do feel bad for you, Courtney." I continue, trying to get her to find some humor in all of this, even if it comes at my own expense. "I mean, for him to do something like that to a girl like you, and to know that somehow, someway, he managed to twist my own words enough to take away that sort of meaning from them..." I try to explain things as best I can to her, trying to avoid her wrath in the process by not mentioning the delinquent's name whatsoever. "I...honestly thought that he'd at least have the common sense, to, y'know, do something dumb enough that you'd just laugh him off, or break up with him, or-" My sentence is cut off by a choked sob escaping from Courtney's throat, throwing me off entirely from my train of thought.
In an attempt to get her to calm down, I opt to sit down next to her, looking over at the emotional wreck on display. For a second, the sight starts to bring some...rather unpleasant memories back to light, as my mind wanders off, back to my family at home, as I recount all the times that I've come home to seeing one of my sisters in the exact same state of distress as Courtney, having either gotten dumped, cheated on, rejected, or a whole host of other things that have left them in this sort of emotional anguish. Unsurprisingly, whenever one of my sisters were going through this type of pain, it always turned out that my brothers were somehow busy at the exact time that they had one of their almost bi-weekly emotional breakdowns, so it fell entirely on me to be the shoulder they cried on and to comfort them in their time of need, while my older, more 'mature' siblings wound up going out to either a school sporting event, a party, or a date night of some kind... "Really shows their emotional maturity, doesn't it?" I mentally snark to myself, giving myself a reminder to let my older sisters know just how often my brothers were busy during their breakdowns before then returning to the matter at hand. Once my attention is back on Courtney, I start to wonder just how exactly to handle this situation, going off of my bevy of experience in the field, but before I can put any of it to practice, Courtney turns her head away from me, continuing to sob into her own curled-up form.
"...Why do you even care?" Courtney chokes out, and at such a question, I suddenly feel my heart twisting and straining, caught completely unaware of just how much those words would truly affect me.
"...Why DO I even care?" It's a genuine question I have to ask myself. Why do I even care about her? It's something that has been at the forefront of my mind ever since I returned to this island and all the drama it brings, but it's also something I've never quite come up with a consistent, reasonable answer for. Every time I've tried to answer it, I've never really felt satisfied with my response to it. Saying that I didn't care about her was a bold-faced lie, so that went out the window rather quickly. Saying that it was just basic human decency to care about one another was...hollow, to say the least; Technically not a lie, but not much better than the other option. Claiming it to all be some strategy? At first it seemed correct, but...then what does this have to do with strategy? Would it not just be better for me to let her wallow in her own misery and go into the next challenge at an extreme emotional low, hindering her performance and making it all the more likely I either win immunity, or at minimum ensure she is vulnerable for the elimination ceremony? Turning my head up towards the ceiling in thought, I take a deep breath, and for the time being, an answer comes to mind that, even if it is just for this particular moment, seems correct in my current state of mind.
"Six sisters, Courtney." I answer, initially pausing to see if she even heard me; Once I catch a glimpse of her face, complete with makeup streaks running down her cheeks and an expression questioning what the hell I even meant by this line of thinking, I decide the best course is to simply repeat and elaborate. "I grew up in a household of nine children, counting myself, and six of them are sisters. Older sisters, to be exact, since I'm the youngest in my family." I speak, before turning my gaze fully towards Courtney, meeting her own line of sight. "Do you know how many times I got dragged out of my room to help comfort one of my sisters, or how often I came home from school to the sight of one of my sisters bawling their eyes out over whatever emotional problem they were facing at the time?" I ask rhetorically, not wanting to wait for an answer. "Back when I was stuck as their logical little shoulder to cry on, I hated it. Despised it, even." I sigh, looking back on those encounters in a much different light at this moment in time. "It even got to a point where one year for Christmas, all I put down on my wish list was 'a lock for my door'." I dryly joked, trying to ease the tension as much as I could between Courtney and myself. "I loathed being the one that they poured their feelings out to, to be the one they constantly ran to when every little thing in their life went wrong, all because my brothers were too cowardly to realize their family should probably come before some worthless sports accolades, or some frat-adjacent party they wanted to attend that night." I continue, sighing once more as my gaze rises to the ceiling yet again. "But, looking back on it...it was actually kind of...nice." I admit, both to Courtney and to myself. "To actually feel wanted by someone. To actually have someone care enough about you that they're willing to be so vulnerable around you." I state, wanting nothing more than to lean back to get a better view of the ceiling blocking my sight of the stars hanging above us, only to recognize that doing so would undoubtedly result in me falling backwards in my seat, potentially concussing myself from the impact of my head hitting the floor beneath me.
"...Do you have any idea how tough it was to be back at Playa Des Losers, Courtney?" I ask her after a moment of silence, and as the corner of my eye catches her look of confused annoyance, I shake my head in reply. "No, of course you don't..." I sarcastically mutter to myself, before sitting up and looking at her once more. "When you found out I was Chris' choice to return to the show, that was me at my highest point following my elimination." I explain to her, shaking my head at having to recount my time on that island once again. "What you didn't see were the weeks of me hiding up in my hotel room, scared out of my wits to talk with anyone else on the island, thinking myself to be above them while also thinking they wouldn't be caught dead talking to me after the stunt I pulled during the dodgeball challenge. You didn't see how I avoided social interaction like the plague, not even offering up a 'hello' or 'how are you feeling?' to anyone else on the island because, for the first time since entering high school, I actually felt scared about getting made fun of for how I got eliminated." I tell her, feeling flashes of indignance bursting within me, hatred starting to bubble in the cauldron my stomach was transforming into at this point in time.
"I mean, I am the single smartest kid in my entire school. I am on track to be the valedictorian come my senior year-, hell, I am the class president of my entire school! But still, that wasn't enough; Not for me, or for my family. They pushed me to go onto Total Drama Island, wanting me to 'go and do something with my life' rather than stay at home and be the emotional support pillar that they always took for granted, and I decided to go onto this show just to prove to the rest of the world that it's not brawn that gets you far in a reality show, but brains." I explain, my tone slowly rising in both anger and tempo as I continue this incidental monologue of mine to the mocha-skinned beauty sat beside me. "But you know what happened to me, don't you? Not only do I get voted off first by my team, but I get voted off because of a challenge that was purely based on brawn, and not a lick of any actual cunning or intelligence whatsoever! Do you know just how humiliating that was for me, being made to walk The Dock of Shame just because I recognized my own greatest weakness and wound up making one smart-aleck comment too many towards my own team? Do you understand how much pride I lost in that single moment, in that exact second that I realized not only did I prove that I was completely wrong in my reasoning for coming onto this show, but that I was the first person voted out by my team because of it?" I ask her, knowing full well that she is far too smart to truly answer that, at least not right now anyways.
"I knew that from the moment I came back home, to the moment I was back in school, I would lose everything. They'd all see that their class president got voted out first from his team, that my downfall was the same jock-ruled sports I'd dismissed oh-so-arrogantly, and they'd start questioning why I even went on that show in the first place. They'd question my status, they'd question my social standing, and at the end of the day, I'd just go back to being 'the bookworm', 'the know-it-all', 'the recluse', and I just...I just couldn't go back to that." I admit, my face adorned with humility and shame, as I try to keep as much anger pent up inside of me as possible, so as not to make this situation any worse than it already is, both for her and myself.
"But then I got that second chance, that opportunity to come back to Total Drama Island, and...to be honest? I was ecstatic. This was going to be my moment, my time to shine, my chance to return to the show and prove my worth. It'd be my opportunity to tell the entire world that, despite any and all asterisks they put onto it at the end of the day, brains always wins out in the end. But before I even got back to the show, Chris made me sit down and watch every single episode of the show that I had missed since getting eliminated, and to see such despicable, deplorable actions taken, all for the sake of 'playing the game', it just all felt so disgusting to me. Especially when I got to the point of seeing when you got taken out of the game, Courtney. For you to be cheated out of the hundred thousand dollars like you were, and all because some scrawny ginger geek wanted revenge for being bullied by the green-haired delinquent who you had fallen for at the time? It just reminded me so much of my sisters, Courtney, from when they were so angry back at home, convinced that the world was out to get them, desperately crying out for another opportunity." I pause once more, needing to remind myself to breathe as I look off to the ceiling once more, unaware of how Courtney's head has risen ever so farther away from her knees, looking at me with such wide eyes of wonder that, had I seen them myself, would have made me stop everything right then and there and question just what was clouding her mind in that very instant.
"So you want to know why I care, Courtney?" I ask once more, looking back down at the boxed fountain pen sitting on the table in front of her. "It's because you're like a sister to me. You're smart, you're strong, you're bold, you're independent...and even with all that, even you need someone every once in a while, whether it be so you have a shoulder to cry on, or for that someone to give you the second chance you deserve." I conclude, standing up from my seat and walking out of the mess hall, not even bothering to look back her way, my legs shaking with every step taken back towards the cabin.
And with each tiny bit of progress made back to my own bunk, I can feel myself shaking more and more, but force myself to keep walking. "Just keep walking, Noah," I think to myself, "Just keep walking, and maybe then, you won't be stuck needing your own shoulder to cry on..."
A/N: So...this elimination was...a bit difficult to plan out actually. I was honestly 50/50 for the longest time on this elimination happening here, because I wanted to have a bit more time spent building up Duncan's drastic efforts in trying to win back Courtney, but eventually, I finally settled on the fact that, yes indeed, this elimination needed to happen here.
And for those of you wondering, no, I don't despise Duncan; I'm actually a big fan of Duncan for most of the series, save for his rather mediocre writing during TDAS. I think he's one of the better gen one characters in the Total Drama franchise, and is an absolute joy to write for, especially given the interesting dynamics at play in this story...however, his elimination here also turned out to be quite mandatory for the plot to develop as it needs to. I won't spoil anything ahead of time, for those of you who haven't read the original version of this 'fic, but when it comes to the future of this story, there is a lot of stuff that hinges on Duncan's elimination happening now that can't really transpire at any other point if Duncan winds up lasting for one more bonfire. So, it is with a somber heart that I finally say goodbye to The Delinquent, and hope that I wrote him well enough for you readers to have enjoyed him while he was around.
I also really, really hope that the ending talk between Noah and Courtney came out well. In the original story, it was practically on the cutting room floor as I was writing it, but I wanted to keep it in this go-around with some slight altercations to it, as I missed an extremely minor detail from the original show that, upon re-watching, stuck out to me as a missed opportunity for the original take on this fanfiction. Hopefully I did it justice here, but if not, I hope I can make it up to y'all in later chapters.
Once again, if you've enjoyed the story thus far, please feel free to leave a favorite, follow along for future updates, and/or leave a review~! Outside of just boosting the numbers for others to be able to read this, it also gives me valuable feedback on what you all think of the story thus far, and if there is anything I can possibly change in the chapters going forward, or just if I'm doing something right to begin with! Until next time, though, this is MrLeedles, signing off~!
REMAINING CONTESTANTS: Bridgette, Courtney, DJ, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Noah, Owen, Trent
ELIMINATED CONTESTANTS: Ezekiel, Eva, Justin, Katie, Tyler, Izzy, Cody, Beth, Sadie, Harold, Leshawna, Duncan