It is the second half of May during the year 2011. It has been two years since they wrapped up filming Total Drama All Stars, and a little over a year since Total Drama All Stars finished airing on TV. Gwen, now 20 years old, has just finished her sophomore year of college. She is back home for two weeks before she starts her summer internship.
Gwen is organizing her shelves at her apartment. While doing so, she comes across her "Total Drama" album. She hasn't looked at it in a while, so she decides to open it up and go through it. She smiles fondly when she sees Bridgette, Leshawna, and Cody, but she scowls when she sees Heather. She looks at it even more fondly when she gets to Trent's picture.
Trent was her first love. They fell in love and hit it off from the start of Island. The way they got together was basically true love. Despite Heather's actions, which Gwen is still mad at, they managed to work things out by the end of the season. In Action, their relationship unfortunately fell apart due to Trent's jealousy, her not talking to Trent about his interest in number 9, and ultimately, him throwing challenges for her, the latter leading to her breaking up with him. While they did work things out and agree to be friends following Gwen's first aftermath, Gwen still wishes things did not end the way they did. She appreciated Trent being cool with her and Duncan getting together on the World Tour even though she knew that hurt him. They've continued to be good friends. However, since wrapping up filming All Stars, she has noticed the sparks for him have returned. Things have been going back to how they were in season 1. Gwen has been hesitant to ask Trent if they can give their relationship another chance because she doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but over the last few months, she has been considering asking for another chance even more. The more she thinks, the more she wants to. Her mom and brothers are encouraging her to give their relationship another chance. Gwen's family loves Trent and always preferred him over Duncan. She may do it.
Gwen: "Trent. What a guy".
Gwen then starts flipping through the album more. She becomes uncomfortable when she sees Sierra's photo. Wow, was she crazy. She scowls when she sees Alejandro's picture. He was the more social version of Heather. Their relationship has been stronger since All Stars, and Gwen was happy not to deal with them anymore.
She then looks fondly and frowns at a photo. The photo she looks at is of her and Courtney fist-bumping each other in World Tour. This was after the Jamaica challenge a couple of days before the infamous kiss between her and Duncan in London.
Gwen initially did not expect to be friends with Courtney. She was super controlling, bossy and overbearing. While they didn't have beef on Island, they didn't like each other. In Action, however, Courtney began disliking her because she believed Gwen and Duncan were getting together, which was untrue. Gwen was truthful when she said she and Duncan were just friends, but Courtney did not believe her. Gwen did not have feelings for Duncan until a couple of months after they wrapped up filming the finale.
While things were initially tense during the World Tour, their relationship surprisingly improved as the season progressed. They learned to get along and realized they had similar interests. Hating Heather was the first thing that got them to bond. For the first time, Gwen found her likable and realized why Bridgette was such good friends with her. She did come to see Courtney as a friend. Unfortunately, everything was ruined when Gwen and Duncan kissed. The kiss was not something Gwen planned. It happened all of a sudden. She felt guilty from the moment she kissed him. She never intended for that whole situation to go down like that, and to do that to Courtney. She wanted to tell Courtney but was afraid to do so because of how she would react. She wanted to wait for the right time but didn't know when, and everything was ruined when Alejandro forced Tyler to reveal it, which made Gwen feel more guilty of her actions.
She initially believed that Courtney and Duncan were still together when she first kissed him. She didn't know that they were technically over until Duncan was apologizing to her after they left Greece. Gwen was shocked when Duncan told Courtney they were over prior to World Tour. After confirming with Duncan that he and Courtney were over prior to World Tour when they were in Area 51, Gwen started using that as her justification to claim she wasn't wrong. She actually argued they weren't together at time time a few times after Area 51 but those scenes were now shown. However, despite the claims, Gwen still really did feel bad for her actions. She knew deep down that she was wrong for kissing Duncan behind Courtney's back, trying to hide the kiss, and not getting confirmation from Duncan that they were already over before Duncan kissed her. She knew she was wrong, but refused to admit it after Area 51 because she was trying to absolve herself from feeling guilty.
Even though Courtney hated her guts after the kiss, she still got together with Duncan, so she chose Duncan over her. Deep down, she knew she was wrong, and she did feel guilty, but she refused to admit it. Despite getting together with Duncan, she still felt bad and wanted to make up with her, even though she also refused to admit she did anything wrong.
Gwen did want to make up with her, showing that her guilt was there. If she really didn't believe she was wrong, she never would have tried to make up with her. She stated multiple times she wanted to make up with her, though the show refused to air those scenes. Gwen was particularly upset that the show did not air any scene of Gwen stating that she wanted to make up with Courtney post the kiss reveal, and acted like she didn't care. However, she didn't approach her because of how hostile Courtney was. She wanted to approach her once she calmed down, but Courtney never did.
Courtney treated her horribly. Not only did Courtney falsely accuse her of being a boyfriend stealer, she also scapegoated her for the kiss and made her out to be the worst person ever. Gwen technically did not steal Duncan in hindsight so she should not have been called a boyfriend stealer. Despite Duncan initiating the kiss and not making it clear to her and Courtney that he and Courtney were already over by the time he and Gwen kissed, Courtney put almost all the blame on her which Gwen felt was very unfair. She called Gwen every name in the book and made her out to be the worst person ever. Gwen was deeply hurt by how far Courtney was going and she felt that Courtney was being so unfair to her, but she also understood how hurt she was.
Despite being unable to speak with Courtney while filming World Tour, she hoped she could after filming. About two weeks after they got home from filming World Tour, Gwen contacted Courtney to try to make up, but Courtney did not want to hear from her. She blocked her everywhere, which deeply upset her. She really wanted to make up with Courtney. She flat-out begged Bridgette to get Courtney to talk to her, but Bridgette made it clear that Courtney did not want to speak to her. Gwen was so sad about losing Courtney as a friend forever. She tried to move on, but she could never do it entirely. Duncan tried to assure her that she didn't need Courtney, but that didn't help.
Things got worse when the love triangle episodes aired, as the Duncey fanbase attacked her way more than Courtney did. She unfairly became the scapegoat. The fans blamed and hated her way more than Courtney did. While the Gwuncan fans loved her, the Duncey fans relentlessly hated on her. She got so much hate, which included death threats. Her mom had to get the police involved, and she could not go out in public for a month because of how bad things got. This made her miserable and feel more guilty for how things went down, but she still refused to admit she did anything wrong.
When she later got the call for All-Stars, she wondered if Courtney would be on. Feeling like this was her chance to make up with her, she asked. Once she got the confirmation, she immediately decided to go. As much as she wanted nothing to do with Total Drama, she decided to go solely to make up with Courtney. Duncan tried to discourage her because he felt that Courtney was not worth it, but nothing was stopping Gwen.
Things in All-Stars were initially going bad as her initial attempts to apologize and make up with her backfired, which made Courtney hate her more and accuse her of doing this on purpose. It also did not help that Gwen kept saying Duncan and Courtney were not together at the time, as during that time, she still refused to own up to her actions fully, even though she knew she was wrong. When she first apologized to Courtney, she claimed she technically didn't do anything wrong, which she shouldn't have said in hindsight, but once again, she didn't entirely want to admit she was wrong even though she knew she was. Things got so bad that Gwen cried in a confessional. However, she noticed things slowly improving between the two of them after Courtney was switched to the Villains team as Courtney somewhat was getting along with her even though she initially refused to admit it, so Gwen did feel some hope. Things got even better after Gwen told Courtney that she had broken up with Duncan, which caused Courtney to stop hating her and start being friendly with her. Following that elimination ceremony, they had some conversations, and Courtney was not hostile to her. Gwen really was feeling good.
Despite Chris instigating their fight in the boxing challenge the next day, this is what they needed, as they really let out all their issues and called each other out before admitting they were wrong, apologizing to each other, and officially mending their friendship. Most of the boxing challenge was not shown, so the viewers did not see them constantly calling each other out, before eventually admitting they were wrong and apologizing. Gwen finally admitted she was wrong for how she handled her kiss and relationship with Duncan on the World Tour. She also admitted she was wrong to say she did nothing wrong. Courtney admitted she was wrong to call Gwen a boyfriend stealer and scapegoat her for the kiss. That night after the challenge, Gwen told Courtney it felt good to admit she was wrong because that was something she had felt deep down for over a year but had refused to acknowledge.
After that, things between them were great until the whole chart situation. She was serious about going to the finale with Courtney. She was willing to throw the finale for Courtney because she cared about their friendship. However, when she found out about Courtney's chart, it broke her heart, as Courtney exploited their friendship to win and chose winning over her. Gwen really cared about their friendship, but Courtney did not feel the same way. She was just heartbroken. Despite being heartbroken, she still wanted to believe Courtney was her friend but to trust her again; she made her vote for herself. Courtney kept her word, and Gwen also kept her word about not voting for her. Courtney still got eliminated.
For the next few hours after Courtney's elimination, Gwen really thought about everything that happened between them. She still wanted to believe Courtney was her friend, but she wasn't sure. She hoped Courtney would reach out to her after they got back from filming, but she hasn't. They have been back for almost two years, and All-Stars finished airing for a little over a year, but Courtney still hasn't contacted her. Maybe Courtney wasn't her friend, but Gwen does not want to give up. A part of her actually wants to reach out to her. She hasn't done so yet because she isn't sure if it's worth it, but she wants to do so. As the days pass, she wants to reach out to Courtney more.
Gwen (sighs): "Courtney. We've been through so much. However, I don't want to give up".
She flips through her album some more. Then she sees a picture of her and Duncan joking around on the Island. She smiles and frowns.
She found Duncan hot from the start of Island. On Island, they became friends later in the season after realizing how much they had in common. Gwen was shocked at how much in common they had. They really formed a good friendship. They became closer in Action after she chose Duncan to be on her team. He was there for her when things with Trent weren't going well and when she broke up with him, which she appreciated. When Gwen was voted out due to Justin forcing her to throw the challenge, Duncan was the only one who did not vote for her, which she really appreciated. She was happy to see him later win the season. She really saw Duncan as only a friend that season. Things only started to change between filming the finale and the aftermath.
Between the finale and aftermath, Gwen and Duncan texted often and saw each other occasionally, making their friendship even closer. However, within those few months, Gwen began to realize she had developed romantic feelings for him. However, because he was still with Courtney, she did not tell him and was upset. When she learned they had broken up in the aftermath, Gwen thought a relationship with Duncan could happen. She, however, was disheartened when Duncan and Courtney made out on the bus, as they got back together. At that point, Gwen gave up trying to pursue Duncan but still had feelings for him.
When Duncan quit early on during World Tour, Gwen was upset. She thought about him many times. She even mistook him for a cactus. After she and Courtney brought Duncan back to London, she was happy he was back, but at the same time, she felt uneasy. Then, the infamous kiss between them stirred up all that drama. Looking back, Gwen wishes she talked with Duncan and confirmed with him that he and Courtney were already over before kissing him. She still wishes that the whole situation never went down like that. She never wanted Courtney to find out and be hurt like that. Despite how things went down and her guilt about hurting Courtney, she and Duncan became a couple. Gwen wanted to be in a relationship with him, so she decided to try it. Duncan confirmed with her in Area 51 that he and Courtney were not back together before World Tour, which gave Gwen the justification to argue that she was not a boyfriend stealer. Even though she didn't know that he and Courtney were already broken up until Duncan mentioned that when he tried apologizing to her after they left Greece, she tried to use Duncan's confirmation as her justification that she was not wrong. She kept trying to convince herself she wasn't wrong even though deep down she knew she was.
Things between them were mainly good through the first few months after wrapping up filming of World Tour. Despite being bummed that Courtney refused to speak to her, feeling deep down that their relationship was not right due to how they hurt Courtney, and her family not being fond of Duncan, things with Duncan were going well. Gwen always felt deep down that their relationship wasn't right because they hurt Courtney. The guilt was always there, but she did what she could to suppress her guilt. So, initially, things were going great. However, after the first 2 months after filming World Tour ended, Gwen noticed that the thrill of their relationship was reducing and her interest in him was reducing. This feeling became consistent day after day. Their relationship was becoming predictable because they agreed on almost everything and did the same things. They weren't able to discover new or exciting things. So, their relationship was becoming boring. Also, Duncan's bad boy image was becoming old. Despite his bad boy image being one of the reasons she fell for him, being around him a lot eventually caused her to realize that this side of him was no longer endearing. She was losing interest, and she could tell Duncan wasn't as interested in her. Duncan tried to do things to make their relationship more exciting, but that did not work. She wanted to talk to Duncan about these issues but didn't do it -because she knew he didn't like to talk about his feelings. She regrets not talking to him. They should have had a conversation before All-Stars, and while that may have led to them breaking up much sooner, that would have been better than unnecessarily dragging their relationship on.
Heading into All-Stars, Duncan knew that Gwen was going back to make up with Courtney, which he was firmly against because of how miserable Courtney made her. He also said the same thing when Gwen tried to make up with her after filming World Tour. Gwen now realizes she didn't give Duncan enough credit for being there for her when she got so much hate from Courtney and the Duncey fans. While Gwen understood why Duncan did not want her to make up with Courtney, she made it clear she would do it. She also told him she would ignore him a few times to increase her chance of making up with Courtney, which Duncan was unhappy about.
During the earlier days of All-Stars, Gwen ignored Duncan a few times. However, it's not like she didn't talk to him. They did have conversations, many of which were not shown on TV. Where things really started to get bad when Duncan expressed his interest in Courtney again to her. Only a few scenes of him being interested in Courtney were shown, but he was way more into her than what was shown on TV. He first expressed his interest in Courtney to Gwen during the Leeches' challenges. He asked her what she was saying about him, claimed that Courtney was talking about him, and he looked really interested when inquiring about her. Out of concern, she asked why he wanted to know what Courtney said about him. While he claimed he just wanted to know, she wasn't entirely convinced. She didn't think he had feelings for her again then but was concerned. Duncan, however, would prove he did have feelings for Courtney again as he continued to excitedly ask what Courtney was saying about him and claim she was talking about him and still into him; he got jealous of her and Scott, and there were occasions of him looking at her affectionately. He clearly developed feelings for Courtney again. Knowing he still had feelings for Courtney made Gwen mad, and she started calling him out for still having feelings for Courtney and being jealous of her and Scott. Duncan tried to deny her accusations, but he did a poor job. Gwen really should have broken up with him when she first realized he had feelings for Courtney again, but she convinced herself this was just a phase. It took until Duncan first inquired about Courtney during the night challenge for her to acknowledge that she needed to break up with him. When Duncan later kissed her and asked if Courtney saw at the elimination ceremony, that was it for Gwen, as she finally realized that their relationship would not work out, so she broke up with him. Gwen in particular is still mad that the show chose to air their breakup the way they did, as they didn't include so many scenes; such as her saying in a confessional that things with Duncan weren't going well on day 1, her stating that she was ignoring Duncan to make things better with Courtney, and the many instances of Duncan openly expressing his interest in Courtney. A lot of Gwuncan fans turned on her after the episode of her breaking up with Duncan aired, as they accused her of looking for an excuse to break up with him which was really far from the truth.
After breaking up with Duncan, she made fun of him a few times, and the main reason she did was because she was still mad at him for expressing his interest in Courtney to her. She felt no sympathy for him when he was sent to prison.
However, after the All Stars episode of her breaking up with Duncan aired, this caused her to think about her relationship and friendship with him. After a lot of thinking, she realized she was wrong to treat him like that in All Stars and both were wrong not to end their relationship when it was clear things weren't working, making her regret her actions. She also realizes she misses him as a friend because they had a good friendship. Duncan was released form prison about 6 months ago. She actually heard from Bridgette a few months ago that Duncan has been changing for the better. Gwen, however, hasn't reached out to him because she wasn't sure if Duncan wanted to see her due to the way she treated him and not seeing or speaking to him since he was arrested. Gwen is now wondering if she should take a chance and try to reach out to him.
Gwen: "Duncan, how things went wrong".
She then closes her album and does a lot of thinking.
30 minutes later.
Gwen: "You know what? It has been almost 2 years since we wrapped up filming All Stars and a little over one year since the All Stars finale aired. I don't want to spend the rest of the life wondering if I should have tried to make amends. I should do it now. Trent and I are already friends but I want to take a chance and ask if he wants to give our relationship another try. I still believe he likes me. I am going to reach out to Courtney and Duncan and see if we can make up. All I can do is try. If it doesn't work out, I can at least say I tried.
Gwen picks up her phone and makes a call.
Notes:
I am not a fan of how Gwen ended things with Courtney and Duncan in canon. I'm glad Gwuncan broke up but their breakup was rushed and poorly written. Ending Courtney and Gwen's friendship after building a reconciliation made no sense as well. I want to see her make up with them.
This is taking place almost two years after filming All Stars ended and just over a year after the finale of All Stars aired on TV.
This chapter is 100% from Gwen's perspective. She thinks about some of her friendships and relationships she wants to fix.
Trent, Courtney and Duncan are all going to play their parts but Gwen is the main character of this story.
I'm going with Gwen's narrative of Duncan and Courtney not being together at the time she and Duncan kissed. While we never saw them break up, there is a possibility that Duncan and Courtney did not officially get back together following their kiss in the bus. However, I'm also showing Gwen feeling guilty for what she did.