Chapter Eight: Just Duncan
By the next morning, Courtney woke up to thousands of follow requests on all of her social media accounts. She didn't know how she didn't wake up earlier with all the pings her phone was making, but now that she was awake, it was starting to give her a headache.
She turned her phone off so she could enjoy the rest of her morning in peace. After a warm shower, Courtney made a quick breakfast and a calming cup of tea to help her relax and forget about her renewed fame. Once she was done with breakfast, she decided to do some light yoga in her living room to help her let go of any anxieties and stress she had.
"Everything is fine. We are in a good place now. Everything will be okay." This was her mantra for the morning if only she could trick her brain into believing it. She made a mental note to schedule something with her therapist later this week if possible. She needed support with all of the things that were overwhelming her at the moment.
Without turning on her phone, Courtney checked the time and saw that it was time for her to leave if she wanted to be early for their bridesmaid dress appointment. She rushed back to her room to change into something easier to slip on and off and then made her way to the dress shop.
Even though she was already twenty minutes early, Courtney was surprised to see that she wasn't the first one there. She couldn't hide her shock when a certain delinquent gave her a friendly wave with a smug smirk.
"You must be losing your touch, Courtney. I thought you were always thirty minutes early to everything," Duncan teased.
"I… Well… " For the first time in forever, Courtney struggled to find the words to argue back. She wasn't expecting to see him today. Why was he here? DJ was supposed to be the one who was going to help them with dress shopping. What would Duncan even know about this kind of stuff?
"I'm going to let them know that we're here for Bridgette's wedding," she said quickly, avoiding eye contact.
"Already did that, Court. Just relax, I'm not gonna bite," he said without losing any bit of smugness. "Unless you want me to."
"Why would I want to contract rabies?" Courtney retorted, her usual sass coming back to her now.
Unfortunately for her, that just made Duncan smile even wider. That's the Courtney he remembered.
"Don't worry. I've got all my shots," he returned. "So you're going to need a better excuse than that."
"I'm going to go check in on Bridgette and everyone else to make sure that they all get here on time," Courtney said, ignoring his comment. She needed to ask Bridgette if she knew that Duncan was coming and if so, demand an explanation from her. She stepped outside of the shop, quickly pulled out her phone and finally turned it on. Along with all of her follow requests, she saw that she had multiple texts from Heather, Trent, and Bridgette.
She opened her messages from Bridgette and saw that the surfer girl had texted her to let her know that Duncan was taking DJ's place at the dress shop and asking her if she would be okay with that. Courtney groaned internally, but what was done was done. Whatever, she said that she could be an adult about the whole situation and she was going to do that.
Staying true to her word, she texted the bridesmaid group chat to make sure that everyone was on their way. Heather and LeShawna were going to be right on time while Gwen and Bridgette were going to be a few minutes late.
By the time she stepped back inside, one of the saleswomen was talking to Duncan. The saleswoman was batting her eyelashes at him and giggling at everything he was saying. It made Courtney want to barf. But to her surprise, Duncan wasn't flirting back. His eyes were blank with disinterest, and even though she couldn't hear what they were talking about, he seemed to be keeping his answers short.
On the other hand, the moment he saw her walk back in, his face began to light up with a smile. This almost tugged on Courtney's heartstrings, but she reminded herself of everything that he put her through. She was not going through all of that again, no matter how sweet he seemed right now.
"Hey Courtney," he said, brushing off the saleswoman who was now visibly annoyed. "I was thinking that I should have your phone number since you're the Maid of Honor and things happen and… I'll never know if I need to reach you…"
"I haven't changed it," she said softly, interrupting his nervous rambling. She hadn't seen him like this since their first season of Total Drama. Maybe that's why she was being weak right now. "But I guess I can unblock you. If you still have my number, you could text me."
"I got a new number actually, so let me try it." Duncan pulled out his phone, typing in her number that he had memorized from all their late-night talks when they were younger and from when he thought about reaching out to her from prison but wimped out. He types out a quick text and presses sends.
To both of their surprise, Courtney's phone goes off.
Unknown Number: Hey princess, it's me.
"Guess it worked," Duncan said with a smile.
"You still remember my number after all this time?" she asked, giving him an incredulous look.
He shrugged. "Guess I got a good memory or something?"
She gives him another weird look before adding his number to her contacts as Duncan. No emoji or nickname needed. Just Duncan.
"So does Gwen also know you're coming?" Although she tried, she couldn't ask that question without a little bit of venom. It was still a sore spot for her.
"Hm? Dunno, probably not," Duncan answered nonchalantly. "But we're okay. No more hard feelings between us." Which was true. They have hung out in small groups with Bridgette, Geoff, and DJ. They both agreed that they got swept up in the reality TV madness and that they were better off as platonic friends.
Courtney didn't know if she was jealous or not. After everything they all went through, Gwen and Duncan were fine with each other while she struggled being in the same space as him. Courtney and Gwen did have a heart-to-heart about everything, but Courtney still hasn't heard Duncan's piece. Honestly, she didn't know if she wanted to hear it or not. It might lead to closure or it could just make her even more confused.
"Ugh. Look what the cat dragged in and for once, I'm not talking about LeShawna," sneered the former queen bee, Heather, herself.
"Girl, you better shut up before I make you," LeShawna snapped back. However, there was no real bite in her comment now and the two of them were walking toward Courtney and Duncan amicably.
"Courtney! Good to see you again! It's been forever," LeShawna said, giving her a big hug. "Duncan! Didn't take you for the dress shopping type."
Duncan rolled his eyes. "A groomsman gotta do what a groomsman gotta do. Good to see you again, LeShawna. Not you though, Heather."
"Feelings mutual, asshole," Heather said with her faux sweet smile. "I'm surprised they let felons roam around the streets unsupervised."
"That's what this is for," Duncan said while showing off his ankle monitor.
"I feel safer already," she said sarcastically.
"It's kinda fun when someone else is Heather's punching bag isn't it?" LeShawna whispered to Courtney.
"It's better when she's on our side," Courtney agreed.
"Hey ladies, sorry to interrupt," said the saleswoman. "But there are dresses that you can look at before everyone else gets here. Then you can try them on when you're all ready."
The girls all thanked her and began to walk down the aisles to look at their selection of blue dresses. Meanwhile, Duncan found himself a seat to make himself comfortable while he waited.
"So you and Duncan are talking again?" Heather asked once they were further away.
"No… just a truce," Courtney answered.
"Oh! You made him sign a contract?" asked LeShawna.
"No!" Courtney said that a little bit too loudly. Her face began to turn red. "No more contracts. We just agreed to be civil and mature adults," Courtney explained.
"Funny, I would never use those words to describe Duncan," Heather said, rolling her eyes.
"Well I didn't think I would ever use those words to describe you, but here we are," LeShawna retorted. "Duncan is chill. He matured a lot after prison."
"Fine. I'll reserve my valuable judgment. I just don't want Courtney to get hurt again."
"Nobody does. But we're not her parents. We can't just interfere with her life just because we feel like it."
"Guys, I'm right here," Courtney interrupted. "Stop talking about me like I'm not there."
"Okay, whatever. Let's go look at those dresses. We better choose something before Bridgette gets here and makes us wear something all hippie and weird," Heather said, ending the conversation.
Although they split up to look at different dresses, Courtney couldn't focus. While browsing, any time she happened to accidentally make eye contact with Duncan, he would give her a smile which would cause her heart to race and her mind to panic. This was going to be a long day.
Author Note: Sorry for the late upload. Things have been crazy and I've been out of the country. I'll try to post the next one sooner. Thanks for all the views and support!