The next few days were… tense, to say the least.

"Cody! Get away from those two!"

Right now was a pretty good example of that.

"The hell's your problem, Heather?" Leshawna spat, "We ain't doing nothing!"

"Oh, silly me!" Heather snarled, "I didn't realize your name was Cody!"

Gwen rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're insane."

What a lovely way to start the day.

Cody had been hanging out with Leshawna and Gwen over the past few days, keeping his mind off of Owen's… departure, and it had been nice.

Evidently, Heather did not share his sentiment.

"Girls," Cody tried, putting his hands up placatingly, "Can we maybe not fight -"

"Zip it!" The combined glares of Gwen, Leshawna, and Heather were more than enough to shut him up, content to sit back down meekly as the three began to fight for real.

Lindsay was also there, awkwardly standing behind Heather as she traded barbs with Leshawna and Gwen. She gave Cody an energetic wave, but it quickly stopped once Gwen turned and gave her a nasty glare.

Cody still waved back.

"Cody," Leshawna forced out, gritting her teeth, "Why don't you kindly tell Heather to get lost?"

Heather scoffed. "Puh-lease! If anything, he should be begging for the two of you to leave him alone! Lord knows he doesn't need any of your fashion advice!"

Leshawna froze. That was the wrong thing to say.

"Cody," she said, her tone leaving zero room for argument, "Either you will tell Heather to leave or I'm going to make her leave. You have three seconds to pick."

Cody gulped. Why did he have to get dragged into things like this?

"I… uh…" Cody stuttered, causing Leshawna to slowly put up three fingers and bring them back down one at a time. Cody was screwed - at least, he was before he saw his way out. "Um, oh hey Bridgette!"

Bridgette turned towards the remaining Gophers, an easygoing smile on her face. "Hey guys, what's up!"

Cody jumped up, immediately by Bridgette's side and gently dragging her away from the rest of the girls. "Sorry guys!" He apologized as he hurried away, Bridgette in tow, "I totally forgot I was supposed to hang out with Bridgette today! See you later!"

He kept walking until he was sure the two of them were out of sight, before dumbly realizing he was still holding onto Bridgette's arm. She was looking at him weirdly, her face slightly red as he immediately let go.

"Sorry about that," he laughed awkwardly, "But, ah, things have been tense on our team recently. I really needed an out"

Bridgette laughed. "Don't worry about it. Teen drama though? Tough."

Cody smiled lamely. "You don't know the half of it. Is your team anything like that?"

"Not really," Bridgette shrugged, "Everyone's been pretty chill with each other since Harold got voted out."

Damn. Cody could only dream of the Screaming Gophers getting along that well.

"Well, that's bad news for me then, huh?" Cody joked.

Bridgette cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Cody began, "If my team can't even work together, then we're probably going to lose the next challenge if you guys keep up the good connections, and with the way the rest of the guys have been dropping like flies…"

Of course, Cody knew what the next challenge was. But friendly banter was friendly banter, and it was nice to finally talk to Bridgette again.

She just gave him a flat stare. "Yesterday at lunch Chef literally had to drag Heather and Leshawna outside. I think you're fine."

Bridgette then gave him an odd look. "Besides, it seems like both, uh, sides of your team kinda want you to be a part of their group."

"Yeah," Cody forced out a laugh, "It's kinda hard trying to be the mediator between Heather and the others sometimes…"

"I've been meaning to ask," Bridgette prodded. "Why are you friends with Heather? She's kind of…"

She trailed off, as though trying to find the right words to describe the queen bee without outright calling her a bitch, but Cody got the memo.

"She's not that bad!" Cody defended, "Sure, she's bossy, and rude… and, uh, really whiny sometimes, but once you get to know her she's not that bad!"

Bridgette snorted. "Easy for you to say, since you're dating her and all!"

If Cody was drinking something, he would have done a spit-take.

"H-huh?" Cody blinked, taken aback, "You think Heather and I are… d-dating?"

Bridgette had the decency to look embarrassed, jaw opening and closing a few times as she tried to formulate a response. "I… you're not?!"

Cody shook his head, still shocked at what she had said.

"I… uh… Geoff told me you guys were a secret thing!" Bridgette blurted out, "And the other day, Tyler was saying something about it too! I just kind of assumed that, you know, with the way she gets along with you better than anyone else here…"

"I knew I should have told him we weren't dating!" Cody whisper-muttered, before straightening back up, "Uh, well, we're not. And believe me, we definitely don't get along all that much."

Bridgette could only squeak out a quiet 'sorry' as her face burned with embarrassment.

"Hold on," Cody paused, letting the gears in his mind turn for a moment, "You said Geoff and Tyler think I'm dating Heather?"

Bridgette nodded.

"How many people think I'm dating her?!"

"Uh…" Bridgette rubbed her chin in thought. "I think everyone? At least everyone on the Killer Bass? And maybe Lindsay too? I think I heard her say something to Tyler about it."

Cody groaned. He couldn't wait until Heather heard about that rumor. Then she might kill whoever tells her. Or him - she might think he started it! Both seemed plausible.

Either way, someone was probably gonna get killed.

"Got any rumors that don't involve me?" Cody asked sarcastically.

Bridgette giggled. "Well, there is this one about Duncan that Courtney just told me, but I don't know if I believe it…"

–

"What?!" Tyler groaned, "No breakfast?"

"Oh, don't worry bro," Chris comforted, "There'll be plenty of food later on."

Chef snickered beside him, and Chris too had to hide his chuckles as Tyler looked at him weirdly.

"What're you two bozos so giggly about?" Leshawna questioned as she walked into the mess hall, a statement that only made Chris and Chef laugh even harder.

—

Confessional: Leshawna

"I've learned that whenever Chris and Chef are happy, something bad is about to happen to us." She glared into the camera, a mean look in her eyes. "And those two are really happy."

—

"Congratulations to the remaining ten campers for reaching the halfway mark in the competition!" Chris breathed out, trying not to burst out into giggles again, "You'll all be on the jury for the final episode."

Cody made a face at that statement. Everyone was there for the final episode last time around, so what changed this time?

Oh wait, Chris said the same thing last time - something Cody remembered from all his time rewatching the show. Maybe plans changed at some point through the last few episodes, or he just misspoke. Either way, it was pretty likely what he just said could be disregarded. Also, there were only ten of them - how would this be the halfway mark?

"The two teams will become one next week!" Chris announced, gasps echoing through the contestants, "But first, all the girls will be moved to the Gopher cabin and all the guys will stay in the Bass cabin. Today's challenge is as old as history itself: A battle of the sexes!"

Duncan winked at the Gopher girls, causing Lindsay to blow a raspberry at him as Courtney swatted him on the back of the head. He muttered out an apology, causing the C.I.T. to smirk.

"After everyone is settled in, I'll announce the challenge!" Chris smirked, "And then, you have a, uh… bite to eat!"

Chris and Chef began to snicker again, with the teens casting the duo suspicious looks.

"Aw yeah!" Tyler whooped, "I'm starving!"

Well, most of them.

"Ready for a little good news?" Chris asked, rhetorically of course, "This challenge, no one will be kicked off! It's all for reward and it's a good one!"

That got a rise out of everyone.

Chris chuckled once again as he began to see the gears in everyone's heads begin to spin. Things were changing fast, and only the truly gifted would be able to take advantage of it.

Oh yeah, this'd really shake things up. He couldn't wait to see the ratings for this one!

–

Bridgette jumped in surprise as Heather walked up beside her, a bright smile plastered across her face.

"Wow, your hair looks great today!" She praised, "So natural!"

"Thanks," Bridgette responded, "I -"

"How do you take care of it?" Heather asked, "You have to share your secret!"

Heather then proceeded to wrap her arm around Bridgette's, pulling herself weirdly close to the surfer girl.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing, really." She tried.

"Watch it with this one," Gwen not-so-subtly whispered to her as she passed them, "She's trouble."

And just like that, nice Heather was gone. If looks could kill, Gwen and Heather would have been long dead by the time Bridgette awkwardly walked away from them.

—

Confessional: Bridgette

"I was a bit worried about the whole switching teams thing, even if I had Courtney with me… kinda. The girls on the Gophers really seemed to hate each other, and that was when Cody was around to keep the peace!" She threw her hands up sarcastically. "But then I figured it can't be that bad! I don't buy that hype about how well guys get along and how catty girls can be."

Bridgette sighed.

"Guess I was wrong about that one."

—

"Nobody is leaving until I find out who ate my pudding pockets!" Leshawna shouted.

Heather scoffed and turned her back on the soul-sister. "I ate them, so what?"

"Whoa!" Leshawna shouted, "Pump the brakes a minute! You're 'so-whatting me?' That's my food! No one touches my food."

"What-ever, deal with it!" Heather rolled her eyes. "It serves you right for leaving your junk everywhere. Especially that!"

Heather pointed at one of Leshawna's bras, hanging freely off the side of a spare bunk. "That is bugging me."

"Yeah, it'd bug me too if I didn't have anything in the front or in the back to shake!" Leshawna shot back.

Courtney snorted at that one.

Gwen and Lindsay stared on in awe at the disaster that was unfolding in front of them, none of the four girls noticing Courtney and Bridgette awkwardly standing in the door with their stuff.

"Oh yeah?" Heather spat, "Well you got so much junk in your trunk your jeans should come with a trash compactor!"

"Ooh!" Leshawna hissed, pulling back her sleeves, "You wanna piece of this?!"

"Uh oh."

Whoops, she said that out loud.

Things got quiet real quick after that, all four Gopher girls staring in surprise at two newcomers.

"Bridgette!" Heather greeted kindly, "It's so good to see you!"

A pause.

"And Courtney too, I guess, whatever," Heather said flippantly, "Come in, come in! Welcome to our cabin, we're like a big family in here!"

"Big and dysfunctional." Gwen drily remarked.

"What does disjunction mean?" Lindsay asked, genuinely curious.

Heather ushered the Bass girls (Bridgette mainly) into the cabin, linking elbows with her as she subtly directed Bridgette towards her side of the cabin. "Anything you need, just yell!"

"Thanks for the awesome welcome, Heather!" Bridgette replied, genuinely surprised at how quickly Heather's mood had shifted.

"Welcome to the club!" Lindsay said, "As long as you do just about everything Heather s- ow!"

Heather stepped on Lindsay's toes to shut her up, something that honestly shouldn't have worked considering how close Bridgette was to both of them.

"Haha, yeah, we love joking around here in the Girls cabin!" Heather forced out, "I made sure your bunk was next to mine -"

"Hey," Lindsay interrupted, "That's my bed-"

Another kick in the shins had Lindsay quiet, biting her lip to keep from groaning out. "So we could talk and share and really get to know each other!"

Bridgette shrugged happily as she dropped her luggage in front of her new bunk. "Okay, yeah! Hey, thanks everybody, I can't wait to get to know all of -"

"Okay!" Heather interrupted again, "Plenty of time to chat later, let's unpack!"

"This is great!" Lindsay cheered, "I bet we're getting along way better than the guys!"

–

Cody sat quietly as the rest of the guys (only Duncan, DJ, and Tyler) chatted normally, as though nothing had changed since before breakfast. Which was kind of true, since Cody hadn't really, well, done anything aside from taking an empty bunk for himself and plopping his stuff down onto it.

He tried not to listen in on whatever the guys were talking about, but it was kind of hard to do when there was literally nothing else for him to do aside from maybe daydream.

It got even harder once Duncan raised his voice a bit, nudging DJ to stand right in front of Cody's bunk.

"Uh, hi?" He asked.

"Hi!" DJ responded nervously, an awkward smile on his face as his voice cracked, "Uh, how goes it?"

"I'm doing good…" Cody trailed off, unsure of what to make of whatever DJ was doing.

Duncan facepalmed. "Dude, have you never introduced yourself to someone before?"

"Quit it!" DJ shot back, "I wasn't ready!"

"Bro…" Tyler shook his head.

Duncan sighed, clearly frustrated, before turning to Cody. "Hi, welcome to the Killer Bass, or well, the Guys cabin now. Happy to have you. Was that so hard, DJ?"

"W-why didn't you just do it in the first place then?" DJ argued.

"You're supposed to be the friendly one!" Duncan shot back.

Cody wasn't sure if an actual argument was going on or not, but he was kind of thinking they were trying to greet him.

It went a lot better with Trent, Owen, and Geoff around last time.

"Guys," Tyler interrupted, stepping in between them, "Chill! There's no reason to get angry over nothing, am I right?"

Duncan exhaled through his nose, eyes shut. "No. You're right. I'm sorry I got heated."

DJ smiled, all teary-eyed. "And I'm sorry I yelled. Truce?"

Duncan rolled his eyes at all the emotion, but nodded nonetheless. "Truce."

Cody continued to watch awkwardly as all of this unfolded in front of him, unsure of what exactly to make of it.

Duncan nudged Tyler, who nearly stumbled before it looked like a light went off in his head.

"Yo, Cody!" Tyler tried, catching the geek's attention, "You ever seen a guy juggle a football, a soccer ball, and a basketball at the same time?!"

Cody blinked at the list Tyler had just rattled off before shaking his head. "Can't say that I have, no."

"Wanna watch me do it?"

"...Kind of, yeah."

Tyler punched the air. "Alright! Get ready for this!"

DJ laughed along with Tyler as he pulled out an assortment of sports equipment and began to juggle.

Cody smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad…

Duncan smirked from his position against his bunk.

It really was too easy, sometimes.

–

"What's mine is yours," Heather said graciously, "Nail polish, scrunchies, earrings, just help yourself!"

"Wow!" Lindsay jumped up excitedly, only for Heather to slam the beauty kit shut as she tried to reach for something inside with a glare.

"Thanks, Heather," Bridgette tried, "But um, I like to keep it natural."

Heather smirked. "Like my mom always says! A lady could always use a little boost in the looks department!"

Bridgette could only watch on, dumbfounded, as Heather grabbed her face and began drawing onto her eyebrows.

"And my momma told me ain't nothing free in this world!" Leshawna shouted, "Watch what you take from this girl, Bridgette!"

Heather stomped over to Leshawna again, hate present in her eyes. "Mind your own business!"

"We're a team!" Leshawna reminded, "And we gotta live in the same cabin so this is all of our business!"

Bridgette was quick to insert herself between the two, really not wanting another fight to break out so soon after the last one had ended. "Yeah," she agreed, "We're a team! We should be using this as an opportunity to get to know each other better!"

Heather glared. "You wanna play that way?" She hissed, "Fine! Be on their side!"

Then she brought out the duct tape, taping a straight line right down the middle of the cabin. "This is my side, and that's your side."

"Yeah, that's right," Leshawna nodded as Heather rolled the tape along, "You keep putting down that tape, and if you cross it I'll smack you down."

Heather rolled her eyes, before turning back towards Bridgette (and Courtney). "You can choose the weird girls if you want, but just so you know, once you do, you're like, not allowed on our side. Right Lindsay?"

"Hmph!" Lindsay nodded, moving to stand behind Heather in solidarity as Bridgette watched on dumbly.

"Don't mind if I do, then!" Courtney said spitefully, having previously been content to watch on from the door frame in amusement, "I'm sure anything is better than what you have to offer, Heather!"

Bridgette was forced to look on as Courtney took the free bunk next to Leshawna and Gwen's shared bunk, giving the two a smile and nod as she placed her bag down.

Just like that, all eyes were on Bridgette again. Great.

"Let's build bridges, not walls!" Bridgette tried again, to no avail.

"Take your pick!" Courtney insisted, all five of their stares intensifying as they focused on the poor surfer girl.

"I… uh…" Bridgette tried again, only to shrug her shoulders and give up, "I'll just take this bunk, I guess…"

'This bunk' being the one Heather had originally offered her, of course.

"Yay!" Lindsay cheered, "We'll be bunkmates! I haven't had one since Beth got voted off!"

Leshawna just glared at her. "You just dug your own grave, blondie."

Bridgette gulped in fear, even as Heather pulled her away again.

—

Confessional: Bridgette

"I thought we were supposed to be a team!" She complained, "You know, united, together in solidarity, or something…"

"I didn't really want to bunk next to Heather, but Courtney took the only free bunk for herself! Besides, Cody's friends with her, she has to have some redeeming qualities, right?!"

At this point, she was trying to reassure herself more than anything.

—

Confessional: Heather

"It really is too easy sometimes with these people!" She laughed, "I knew Courtney would pick against me, but who cares? She'll probably get herself voted off at this rate, I don't know how she survived for so long in the first place. But with Bridgette, Lindsay, Tyler, and Cody under me, there's no way I can lose!"

Heather suddenly paused, eyes narrowing as the wheels of her mind turned. "I guess there is one thing I should take care of sooner rather than later…"

—

"It's time for today's challenge!" Chris began, voice upbeat.

"Um, where's breakfast at?" Leshawna interrupted.

Once again, Chris and Chef looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

Heather narrowed her eyes. "Stop doing that!"

"Let's just tell them today's challenge is…" Chris announced, "The Brunch of Disgustingness! You'll be getting a nine-course meal. Each member of each team must finish each dish. You will not know if the next dish is grosser than the last, not as gross, or just as gross! Just that it will likely be gross."

"Tell them what they'll get if they win, Chris!" Chef shouted happily, as though he were a gameshow host himself.

Chris nodded. "The winning team spends two days at a local five-star resort, where they'll be pampered, eat gourmet nosh, and be given antibiotics against anything they may have caught while participating in this challenge! The losing team will go hungry tonight, and spend the next two days here, on Total Drama Island, with Chef."

Gasps echoed throughout the room once more as Chef gave them all a toothy smile, something that unnerved even the toughest remaining competitors.

"We are going to win this challenge!" Heather ordered.

—

Confessional: Bridgette

"I just hope we win to ease some of the tension!" She exclaimed, "I mean, I'll try anything once! Except meat. I can't eat meat."

—

"Now wait just a minute!" Leshawna shouted, "In what world is this fair? There's only four guys that have to eat, while there's six of us!"

Gwen's eyes widened in realization. "She's right!"

"Huh?" Chris asked, slightly confused, "Just eat faster than them? It's not like you have more food to eat - I don't see how this is a problem."

"Nuh-uh!" Leshawna retorted childishly, "This ain't right!"

Gwen, Courtney, and even Heather reluctantly threw up their own protests, causing Chris to roll his eyes. "Dude, why are you even complaining? If you want even teams, maybe stop voting all the guys out first!"

"I'm complaining because I want that prize!" Leshawna hissed, "And I'll be damned if this challenge is rigged against me!"

"Why did we even have to switch teams in the first place?" Courtney added, "We already had even teams before this!"

Chris put a hand to his temple in frustration. "You wouldn't get it! But fine, you want even teams? Sure!"

Chris smirked. "The least feminine member of team girls can go and join the guys for this challenge, and since I'm such a generous host, I'll even let you ladies pick who that is!"

That got the girls to quiet down. Duncan burst into laughter, uncaring of the dirty looks half of the girls immediately sent him.

Lindsay and Heather immediately clamped their mouths shut, while Courtney and Bridgette weren't far behind. Gwen didn't look like she cared for the lack of femininity comment, but also looked like she might consider the offer Chris had made. However…

"I ain't losing this challenge!" Leshawna shouted angrily, "And I don't care what I have to do to win it!"

Chris shrugged. "Your funeral. Leshawna is one of the guys for today!"

And with that, Leshawna stomped over to the guys' table, huffing angrily all the while. She took a seat next to Cody, daring any of the other dudes to say anything.

"We're winning!" Leshawna growled, "And I don't care what kind of stuff they're feeding us, you're all gonna eat it!"

DJ and Tyler flinched back at her aggressive tone, cowing to her orders. Cody wasn't fazed, but didn't care enough either way to talk back - especially not while she was as angry as she was right now.

Which left Duncan, who wasn't exactly impressed. He tauntingly raised his unibrow at her. "What makes you think you're team captain?"

Leshawna snarled, reaching across the table and snagging the delinquent by his t-shirt, pulling him in close. "I'm not," she hissed, "And I don't care who is. All I am is a winner, and I better be a winner by the end of this challenge, got it pretty boy?"

Duncan just smirked. "Where do we begin, sir?"

Cody was pretty sure he could pinpoint the exact moment the blood vessel in Leshawna's head popped.

–

"Take a whiff, boys!" Heather mocked as the teams prepared for their first course, "'Cause all I smell is victory for the girls!"

"Clearly your nose is broken," Leshawna corrected, "Because there is no way you can eat more than one meal per day to keep that scrawny chicken-wing figure you're so proud of."

"Let's begin the challenge!" Chris interrupted, smiling all the while, "First, some hors d'oeuvres! Lift up your trays!"

Cody grimaced. He knew what was coming long before he lifted his tray.

"Aw yeah," Tyler whooped, "Meatballs! Bring it on!"

With a speed that rivaled Owen, he began to stuff his face with the meal, only for Chris to smirk.

"Well, technically you're right, Tyler," Chris admitted, "But these are kinda special."

Chef held one of the 'meatballs' in the air for all to see. "It's beef testicle!"

Silence. Cody could only imagine the pain that poor bull went through.

"Testicles…?" Tyler managed, before spitting up everything he had just downed right then and there.

"Aw, dude!" DJ gagged, "Not cool!"

Everyone looked at the meal with a mix of disgust and apprehension, even Leshawna.

"I don't know if I can do this to my bovine brother…" Cody trailed off awkwardly.

Chris nodded solemnly. "It's the hardest thing a man can do."

—

Confessional: Heather

"Judging from the way the guys were reacting to the, uh, dish," Heather smirked, "I knew we could win the challenge."

—

The guys (and Leshawna) watched on in horror as the girls all began to eat the… 'food', although some did so with more hesitancy than others. Heather seemed to take a sick pleasure in the way she ate, locking eyes with DJ and Tyler and making them even more uncomfortable, while Lindsay had to plug her nose and shut her eyes - and even then, she could barely stomach it.

"Okay," she gagged, "Gross me right out the door… but I could totally use a pedicure at that resort! My corns are growing corns!"

"What's the matter!" Heather taunted, eating another bull ball, "You big boys can't eat a little meatball?"

"C'mon guys!" Leshawna encouraged, "You can't let the girls win! Your manhood is at stake!"

That was enough to get a rise out of some of the guys, with Tyler and Duncan each reluctantly beginning to force down some of the food on their plate. DJ, however, remained more or less unmoved, which was beginning to become a real issue.

Cody was the only one who was able to stomach the challenge (aside from Leshawna, who had finished her portion already), and even then it was only thanks to all the rancid food he had once been forced to eat from this very show. He didn't feel very good about it, but it was better than being the one to drag the team down.

"Hurry up, DJ!" Leshawna groaned, "Even Cody is eating it! Uh, no offense."

That last part was hastily added on after Cody gave her a weird look, not at all pleased with being considered the weakest link on the team.

"The first challenge goes to the female campers!" Chris announced, "Looks like the guys just couldn't… stomach the challenge!"

Groans rose up from the boys' table as the girls burst into cheers. Cody looked over and saw that even Bridgette of all people had eaten the bull balls, this time without the need for Geoff's encouragement.

Weird.

"The score now stands at one for the girls, and zero for the guys," Chris recapped, "And now, for the next course in The Brunch of Disgustingness! You guys like pizza?"

"Yes!" Tyler cheered, "I could eat pizza anytime, with anything on it!"

Chris leaned forward excitedly. "Anything? How about live grasshopper pizza with tangy jellyfish sauce and live anchovies?"

"Eww!" Lindsay cried, "I hate anchovies!"

That got some stares.

Tyler shrugged as the pizza was brought out, a small smile remaining on his face despite the foul nature of the food. "Protein is protein!"

Duncan grimaced, but picked up his own slice anyways. "You gym bros really need to learn what qualifies as food."

"Weren't you in prison?" Leshawna pointed out, "How would you know what real food is?"

"Juvie," Duncan corrected, "But touché."

Leshawna took another look at the pizza, before turning her nose up at it. "Nuh-uh! That is straight up nasty! I ain't eating that!"

Duncan scoffed. "Lotta talk with no action from someone who was on our butts about eating testicles five minutes ago!"

"That was different!" Leshawna fought back, "That's just some beef! That is a jellyfish!"

"I thought you wanted to win?" Cody tried to encourage, "Just plug your nose and pretend it's extra cheese!"

"I'm lactose intolerant!"

"Excuses, excuses!" Duncan jeered, taking healthy bites of his own slice of pizza, "Sounds like a loser mentality to me!"

"Just do it, Leshawna!" Cody cried, nervously watching as the girls slowly conquered their own fears and stomach pains, "Even DJ is eating it!"

"Hey!" The aforementioned teen shouted, Tyler awkwardly patting his back after that comment.

Leshawna looked like she wanted nothing more than to rip off Duncan's spiked collar and knock Cody around a few times with it, but she swallowed her pride and shoved the slice of pizza down. It got really close to coming back up, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

"And the winners of this round are the guys!" Chris raised his arm towards their table, but had to duck as Leshawna threw her plate at his head. "And Leshawna! And Leshawna!

"See?" Duncan taunted, "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Leshawna sneered. "You keep making enemies for yourself, pretty boy, and you won't like what happens."

"I got you to eat it, didn't I?"

"Guys!" Cody interrupted, moving between them, "We won! Let's save the fighting for the resort, okay?"

Leshawna turned around with a 'hmph!', but Duncan looked like he was having fun with it. He opened his mouth to get one last jab in, but sighed as he saw the desperate look in Cody's eyes and settled for an eye roll.

It was gonna be a long challenge.

—

Confessional: Chef Hatchet

Chef had a genuine smile on his face, something that made his visage all the more terrifying.

"I was excited about the next dish," he chuckled, "I made it from scratch!"

—

It was, in fact, a long challenge. A long, disgusting, horribly sickening challenge.

It really said something when the least gross food they were forced to eat were flip flops.

The less said about the other meals, the better.

And it said even more that the only thing that stopped the challenge was DJ and Bridgette's outright refusal to eat dolphin - something Cody didn't do either, but it went unnoticed as he merely waited to see if the others would.

"Okay, enough!" Chris whined, "We'll solve this by having an eat off! One on one, any volunteers?"

Duncan raised his hand smugly, but was beaten to the punch by Leshawna, who was in front of Chris in an instant.

"Take a break, doll," she said, "Leshawna's got this one."

Duncan rolled his eyes again, but sat back down. "You better win!"

"Don't worry!" Leshawna laughed, "Never bet against Leshawna!"

"Yeah, yeah," Chris groaned, "Ladies! One of you needs to come up here and partake in the tiebreaker!"

"What is the food gonna be?" Heather asked sharply.

Chris smirked. "Why would I ruin the surprise?"

"I'll do it!" Someone shouted.

Eyes turned, and everyone watched as Courtney stood proudly and marched over to sit besides Leshawna.

—

Confessional: Courtney

"I've got a strong stomach," she admitted smugly, "And I had to take the lead here! No one else on the team wanted to, and I want that resort vacation!"

"Besides!" Courtney smirked. "Once I win, it'll be a great chance to unite the team! Behind me, of course, and then there'll be no way I can lose!"

Courtney suddenly paused, eyes narrowing as the wheels of her mind turned. "I guess there is one thing I should take care of sooner rather than later…"

—

"Whoever can drink the most shot glasses of fresh, delicious blended cockroach will be the winner!" Chris said quickly, moving out of the way for Chef to come through with the liquid, "This unlikely satisfying blend of eight different cockroaches is vitamin rich for your balanced lifestyle!"

"Wait," Leshawna gagged, "What?"

Chris ignored her. "On your mark!"

"Did he, ugh, say cockroaches?!" Courtney whispered.

"Get set!"

"I'm gonna puke!" Lindsay screamed.

"Go!"

It took less than a second for Courtney and Leshawna to refocus, each taking a shot glass and downing it without thinking, only for the terrible taste to immediately make them pause. Leshawna's eyes bulged, and Courtney had to cover her mouth for a moment, her other hand already reaching for another glass. Leshawna wouldn't be outdone, however, and kept the contest neck and neck as they downed more and more…

It didn't take long for the puking to begin. First it was Bridgette, who at least had the decency to run outside before emptying her stomach, and then it was a free for all that is best left undescribed.

Courtney and Leshawna didn't notice at first, too caught up in their, ah, competition, but once the smell hit it was over. Courtney dropped the glass she was holding, tears in her eyes, and Leshawna was able to pull ahead and down the final two glasses before collapsing against the table and joining the rest of the competitors (and Chris and Chef) in agony.

Cody was proud of himself for not hurling - at least until he saw a live Cockroach swimming around in the puddles. That did him in.

—

Confessional: Courtney

Courtney was a mess. Puke stained her shirt, her hairs were frayed, and her makeup was running slightly.

"...Or not…" She sniffled.

—

Confessional: Duncan

"Okay," he began, "Watching your girlfriend drink blended roaches and the puke it back up is not great. But Courtney's a strong girl, she'll pick herself back up in these next two days while I'm gone. Hopefully not enough to keep ignoring my offer, but I can tell I've been making headway with her - there's no way I can lose with this plan!"

Duncan suddenly paused, eyes narrowing as the wheels of his mind turned. "I guess there is one thing I should take care of sooner rather than later…"

—

Confessional: Leshawna

"What did I say!" She shouted, "Huh? What did I say! Never bet against Leshawna!"

She began to dance inside the confessional, shaking it slightly as she bumped against the walls before sitting back down. "This game is too easy for me! I just can't stop winning! And once the merge comes, as long as I keep winning, there's no way I can lose!"

Leshawna suddenly paused, eyes narrowing as the wheels of her mind turned. "I guess there is one thing I should take care of sooner rather than later…"

—

"The guys and Leshawna are the big winners today," Chris narrated, the camera panning out over the dock as the five victors boarded their boat to the resort, "And the girls go their separate ways, divided once again."

The camera then moved to the cabin, where Courtney and Gwen laughed after locking the door behind them, preventing Heather and Lindsay from getting in. Bridgette looked on from her bunk, concerned, but chose to keep her mouth shut.

"Three definitive cliques have been cemented," Chris continued, "For now. What shocking surprises are in store for our campers next week, as they head for the big merge? Tune in and find out on -"

"Total!"

"Drama!"

"Island!"

–

After over a month of Total Drama Island, Cody nearly forgot how good luxury felt. Of course, the last time he felt true luxury was way back when he was a Drama Brother, but the point still stood.

Cody leaned back into his chair, stretching his feet as far as he could while he sipped on his piña colada, enjoying the warmth of the day as the sun slowly set. Duncan and Tyler were off getting massages, and he couldn't remember where DJ or Leshawna went for the life of him, but he didn't care.

This was his time for himself.

Himself, his goofy floral shirt, his straw hat, his khaki shorts, and his black sunglasses.

This was the life.

And maybe, just maybe, this would be the kind of life that awaited him after everything was said and done.

But until then, he'd enjoy this little slice of paradise.

Besides, things were only going to go downhill from here.

—

A/N: Me actually hitting this deadline? No way. It's a mid-January miracle. Really pushed it, but we're all good now. I'll try for two weeks again, so 2/6, but don't be surprised if it takes a bit longer - I have other projects, college, etc., but this is my number one priority for my stories!

Speaking of, thank you all for 200 follows, as well as nearly 150 reviews and 170 favorites (at the time of me writing this)! I never thought anything I wrote would get this popular, it's crazy seeing this story on the front page for Cody stories (and maybe soon, all TDI stories?) - especially when most of these other stories are ones I read years ago! It's all thanks to you guys, so clap yourselves on the back!

I don't usually respond to Guest reviews, since I can't and don't want to clutter up the chapter, but I would like to clarify something that was brought up - in this world, as of right now, Cody IS a teenager. He has the memories of his old life (he would have been around 22/23 before traveling back in time if my memory serves), but aside from those he is a teenager. He has the brain of a teen, the body of one, and the, uh, spirit of one? Whatever else separates teenagers from non-teens. Time travel is weird.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this one! Make sure to review!