Chapter Text
Alejandro has never been content to rest on his laurels. Indeed, rest has rarely come easy to him, and this is especially the case in an unfamiliar environment like a dangerously unsafe airplane. No amount of first-class luxury can mask the jittery path that their craft cuts through the air, towards whatever newly humiliating challenge Alejandro will surmount in pursuit of his eventual victory.
All this to say that Alejandro hasn’t slept well.
But the path has certainly become a little bit easier thanks to his new “partner.” Alejandro contemplates Noah, who’s snoring unflatteringly on one of the two faux-gold couches in the first-class cabin. He looks a bit cold, curled up into a little ball and pressing his face against the back of the couch.
Alejandro’s perfectly happy to admit that Noah did most of the work in London. It had been… a test of sorts, and Noah had passed with flying colors. Not that Alejandro couldn’t have figured out the painfully obvious clues and caught Ezekiel without Noah. The other boy’s contributions just made things much easier, and it was nice to take a break for awhile.
Yet Alejandro is not so lax as to miss the fact that the other boy’s unassuming presence possesses a hint of potential danger. As much as Alejandro has deliberately put Noah in a compromising position, he’s well-aware that the other boy is probably the biggest threat to his chances of winning left on this plane after Heather’s unfortunate departure, the only one left who’s really seen through his “nice guy” act.
Which is all the more reason to stay back and let Noah knot his own noose. While Owen’s faith in the other boy is probably unshakable, Noah did a fantastic job of solidifying Alejandro’s hold on Tyler with the whole “pressuring him into getting tortured” thing.
Noah’s sheer initiative was especially pleasing, in manipulating Tyler and in pushing the torture to its conclusion. Quite the vicious streak there, buried under six layers of sarcasm.
Alejandro spares a thought for Tyler, passed out on the other couch in first class. He’s apparently still in terrible shape, so hopefully he won’t be needed anytime soon, for… whatever reason Alejandro and Noah might need him. Cannon fodder again, probably.
That’s two votes against two, meaning that the one to break a potential deadlock on their team would be their newest member. Duncan. Alejandro doesn’t know what to think of the delinquent. Given his devil-may-care attitude in the few episodes of Total Drama he watched, as well as his early departure from the show this season, the guy certainly doesn’t seem to be the biggest threat. His relationship with Courtney might be useful, though, given that she’ll likely fill the power vacuum on Team Amazon.
Alejandro wonders if they’re still together…
But it’s certainly not the worst position to be in, all things considered. Solidifying an alliance with Noah might be difficult, but the potential benefits far outweigh the downsides. Every little quip, every sharp insight draws Alejandro in, a heady mixture of poison that could kill if taken in too deeply. The other boy is fun, to toy with and to win with, but more than that, he’s a challenge, the kind to overcome and not to manage, like the rest of these people.
Alejandro can even imagine them making it all the way to the final two, where he finally tosses Noah aside and wins this whole thing. A final betrayal to cap off a season of awful experiences.
He feels strangely hollow at the thought, but… well, it’ll make for good television, at least. And the thought of a million dollars goes a long way toward silencing what little remnants of a conscience might persist in the back of his mind.
Alejandro’s shaken from his thoughts by the intercom blaring out an announcement.
“Good morning, campers! I mean, uh, passengers!” Chris says, instructing them to meet in the dining area so that he can explain the next challenge. Alejandro swears that Chris has been dialing up the volume on that thing as the season goes on.
He isn’t the only one surprised by the announcement. Noah lets out a high-pitched scream, instinctively pushing himself away from the back of the couch and tumbling to the floor with a dull thud. Alejandro idly notes Tyler’s corresponding shout in the back of his mind, his gaze still fixed on Noah. Still in pain, then.
He gets out of his chair and makes his way over to the other boy where he lies on the ground, apparently content to wallow in self-pity after having his sleep disturbed. Alejandro grins down at Noah, taking in the other boy’s disheveled appearance and miserable expression.
“Sleep well?” He offers a hand. Noah takes it with a scowl, content to let himself be lifted to his feet rather than expend any effort himself.
“Oh, just fine. Loved it when the engine almost gave out. It was a real thrill.” Noah blinks before his eyes focus on Alejandro. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
Alejandro’s grin falters. “It’s fine. I’m used to going without sleep. Lots of late nights studying to stay at the top of my class.” It’s a plausible excuse. He sometimes finds it hard to get his mind to slow down enough so that he can actually sleep, especially in difficult environments, of which there have been many in his life.
“You have to study?” Noah’s insensitive as always. Alejandro drops Noah’s hand where he’d still been holding it, since the other boy is on his feet and not likely to fall over again unless the plane starts crashing. “Eh, whatever. What did Chris want?”
“He said we needed to go to the dining area so that he can explain the challenge,” Alejandro says, eyes locked with Noah’s, trying to decipher his thoughts in this rare moment of comparative vulnerability. Noah’s eyes are as dark and treacherous as an oil spill—it’s easy to get caught up in them, ensnared in their depths by the promise they hold.
Noah meets his gaze for a few moments, eyes still a bit hazy after being woken up so rudely, before he snaps into focus, looking away at whatever might serve as a distraction.
This morning’s distraction happens to be Tyler, who is… really not doing well, judging by the occasional groans of pain he’s been letting out every now and then since the plane left London. He’s only managed to sit up on the couch in the minute that has passed since Chris’s announcement.
Noah winces at the sight, probably feeling guilty. Alejandro should really do something about those pesky morals.
“Uh, hey… dude…” Noah stops there, apparently at a loss for words. Judging by the unamused look on Tyler’s face, it’s for the best. “Alejandro, you can help Tyler to the cafeteria, right?”
“Of course.” Alejandro goes over and helps Tyler to his feet, letting Tyler wrap an arm around his shoulders so that he can take some of the injured boy’s weight.
Guilt apparently assuaged for the moment, and not wanting to dig his grave any further, Noah departs for the dining area without a goodbye, casting a suspecting glance over his shoulder.
Alejandro and Tyler set off after him. Thankfully, the silence isn’t awkward because Alejandro knows just how to fill it.
“I’m sorry this happened to you, friend. It was my fault! I should’ve volunteered to take your place, since you clearly didn’t want to…” Alejandro lets out a sigh, just to accent his feigned guilt.
Tyler responds as expected. “It wasn’t your fault, dude! I signed up for it…”
“Doesn’t mean you have to be happy about it,” Alejandro points out kindly.
“I guess not.” Tyler is quiet for a minute. “Hey, listen…” Alejandro makes an encouraging noise. “I know you and Noah are like this—” Tyler holds up his hand to show his index and middle fingers wrapped around each other. “—but I don’t know what to think about what he did. If he didn’t want Owen to get stretched, he should’ve just volunteered himself! Or at least said that!”
Alejandro puts aside the comment about his and Noah’s relationship for later. It’s a good sign that Tyler and Owen are starting to associate them with one another. As it is, Tyler’s resentment is already pretty far along. All Alejandro has to do is push him toward the conclusion he’s been dancing around.
“I have to agree, Tyler…” Alejandro gives him a regretful look.
“So if it comes down to it, will you vote for him?” Tyler asks hesitantly, as if he thinks Alejandro would falter in his convictions this close to victory.
Alejandro lets out another sigh. “I guess so…” After a brief pause for emphasis, so that Tyler will be listening closely, he adds the finishing touch. “After all, we don’t want any Heathers on our team, do we?”
It’s almost too easy.
(He buries his conflicted thoughts in the shallow grave at the back of his mind. It’s a fun game, after all.)
They’re the last to arrive in the cafeteria, of course. Alejandro sets Tyler down on one of the benches before walking over to join the other members of his team.
Noah’s wearing his usual bored look, posture deliberately slouched to project disinterest. It’s so easy to dismiss him that it has to be a deliberate persona that Noah’s cultivated over the years, so that people underestimate him—like Alejandro did at first.
Not that it helped him much during Total Drama Island. Really, Noah’s lucky that Alejandro stepped in when he did and didn’t let his talents go to waste.
His gaze passes cursorily over Owen and Duncan as well. The former is as hapless as always, standing next to Noah, while the latter is standing deliberately apart from them, a good sign that Noah hasn’t managed to get any hooks into the delinquent, if he’s tried at all. Alejandro doesn’t know much about their relationship, but they don’t seem like they’d get along very well. Duncan’s a bit too thoughtless and brutish for Noah.
Chris looks over at Tyler. “Man, you still out of it?” At Tyler’s nod, Chris makes a sympathetic noise. “Sorry to hear that, because today’s full of physical challenges that will be grueling, intense, and potentially deadly, ‘cause we’re going to—” he turns to mug for the camera “—the birthplace of the Olympics!”
Courtney and Noah both say, “Greece?” in the exact same skeptical tone before looking at and then away from each other awkwardly.
Sierra and Owen then give some incorrect, insipid responses that Alejandro would rather not dignify with his full attention, just in case their idiocy is contagious.
“Wrong! We’re going to Rome, Italy!” Chris corrects them with unearned smugness, considering that he’s the incorrect one. Alejandro opens his mouth to back up Courtney and Noah, but before he can—
“Chris, I think your interns are slipping. The Olympics are from Greece.” Noah does the job for him.
“Yeah, Chris. How could you not know that the Olympics are Grecian in origin?” Courtney adds, arms crossed in irritation at being contradicted.
Alejandro notices Noah gazing at Courtney with a thoughtful look. He racks his brain for any connection between the two, but they really haven’t interacted in any meaningful way all season. Hmm… he’ll have to keep an eye on that.
“Uh, no. The Olympics originated in—”
“Greece, like they said.” Gwen cuts Chris off, only to get a weird look from Courtney.
Chris quickly rifles through his prepared remarks before scowling. “Interns!” Two interns run up from out-of-shot, both looking appropriately fearful. Noah winces in sympathy.
Chris looks around at the contestants. “You all might want to find something to hang on to…” He then thumps his crumpled, incorrect notes against the chest of the intern on the right. “Everyone except you.”
Alejandro doesn’t really know what’s about to happen, but it can’t be good. Almost instinctively, he grabs onto a leg of the table they’re all standing around with one hand, then grabs Noah’s wrist with the other.
Noah looks at him with confused apprehension, but in a moment he’s glad for Alejandro’s foresight as the plane tilts to one side, lurches with an ominous creak as the hull shudders due to the change in airflow.
Everyone’s sent flying as they desperately grasp for something to hold onto, but Alejandro’s grip remains firm around both the leg of the table and Noah’s wrist. The other boy dangles for an instant below him as they both let out rather unflattering screams.
After what feels like an agonizing expanse of time but is in reality only a few seconds, the plane rights itself, dropping Alejandro and Noah to the grimy floor as normal gravity reasserts its grasp on them. A few moments of silence pass as everyone tries to calm down before Noah manages to say what they’re all thinking.
“What the fuck, Chris?”
Even Alejandro’s shaken by the ordeal, panting loudly as he tries to get his breathing under control. He really can’t afford to look too shaken. As it is, he’s sure his family is making a list of his failings as they occur, and he doesn’t want to give them any more ammunition.
He gets to his feet and notices that Tyler apparently wasn’t able to hold onto the table and instead slammed into a wall when the plane went sideways. The other boy lets out a pained groan before he slumps to the floor. Ouch.
Chris is somehow standing exactly where he was before the plane tilted, complete with that TV smile affixed to his face. The intern he was angry at is just… gone. He turns to the other intern and says, “You might want to find some info on Greece. Quickly.”
Noah finally gets to his feet and leans against the table, legs still shaking under him. “No, seriously, what the hell was that? You can’t just do that to us!”
“Yeah, nothing like that was in my contract!” Courtney echoes him.
“Oh, come on, you’re all fine… And by the way, Courtney, you’d be shocked at how vague a term like ‘necessary endangerment’ can be.” Chris lets out a chuckle. “Anyways, you have a few extra hours to prepare before we get to Greece… Hey, you can’t say I’m not generous!” With that, Chris turns to leave the dining area, his cruel streak satiated for the moment.
The contestants disperse after that, apparently too shaken to engage in trash-talk about the upcoming challenges. Alejandro’s confident that he can handle whatever they throw at him so long as it’s of a physical nature. As for his team, Duncan seems competent, and Owen can be freakishly strong at times, given the right motivation. Tyler’s unfortunately injured, and Noah…
Noah’s gazing pensively at Courtney and Gwen’s retreating forms as they leave the cafeteria.
Alejandro’s eyes narrow in irritation before he asks, “What are you thinking about, Noah?”
Noah turns to look at him, a smug lilt to his typical smirk. “Have you noticed the weird tension between Gwen and Courtney lately?”
Alejandro combs through his mental list of potential weaknesses to exploit and comes up blank. “I hadn’t been paying much attention. Care to share?”
“What, you haven’t figured it out yet?”
Alejandro just stares at him, unamused.
“I guess I am playing with an unfair advantage. I had to see that mess back during the second season.”
The second season that he skipped watching. Fuck. “Would you like to even the playing field then, cerebrito? We are on the same team, after all.”
“Hmm… not yet. I like it when you don’t know something. You get all antsy. Plus it’s payback for not telling me about the challenge in London.” Noah’s smirk only intensifies as he revels in his advantage.
“Whatever makes you feel better.” Alejandro scowls to cover up the smile quickly taking shape on his face to match Noah’s. “I just hope you’ll put the knowledge to good use.”
Noah can have fun with his little advantage for all Alejandro cares, so long as it helps their team along. Really, putting the other boy in a dangerous position was quite the strategic move on Alejandro’s part, just because it keeps incentivizing Noah to play dirty. And the dirtier he plays, the more he proves himself to be a real threat, and the more he draws attention from Alejandro.
“We’ll see.” Noah’s words pull Alejandro from his thoughts. “I don’t exactly relish the opportunity to beat you at your own game, just because the game is so scummy.”
Yet despite Noah’s words, Alejandro can tell that the other boy is as excited as he is. Sure, there’s some moral conflict there, but the chance to reverse their positions for a moment is just too tantalizing.
“I trust you to make the best decision for both of us,” Alejandro says warmly.
Their arrival in Greece is much less eventful than most of their landings, thankfully. Alejandro’s not sure how many more crashes he’ll be able to withstand, emotionally or physically.
They’re apparently filming on location at the Acropolis, which… isn’t how Alejandro imagined himself visiting one of the most famous places in the world.
Too bad he doesn’t care for most of the company.
They all line up outside the Parthenon so that Chris can give his typical spiel about their current location, full of incorrect facts and cultural insensitivities. Duncan’s supporting Tyler this time, since he’s still injured and the plane-tilting incident hadn’t helped much in that respect. It’s strange that Chris hasn’t said anything about Tyler yet… he probably just relishes the sight of a teenager in pain.
Speaking of Chris, he’s just openly reading off his hastily-prepared notes while the camera rolls. “Today we’re going to do things a bit differently. Since Team Amazon is down a player, we’re going to have Tyler sit out while the rest of Team I Am Illegally Hot competes.”
Well, that answers that question.
Tyler lets out a sigh of disappointment. “Alright, man. I was super excited to finally show off my killer athletic skills, but I’d just drag our team down…”
“Don’t feel too bad, friend,” Alejandro says. “I’m sure you’ll provide excellent emotional support! Better than, say, Noah would if he were the one to sit out.”
Noah gives him a glare for that one, even as the rest of the contestants laugh at the thought of the last time Noah was supposed to be a cheerleader.
“Yeah, and I’m sure I’ll do much better in this athletic competition,” Noah drawls.
“Ah, don’t take it too harshly, Noah. It just really wasn’t your most strategic moment.” Alejandro gives him a winning smile.
“Yeah, it ended up in so many cringe compilations online. There’s a blog dedicated to posting pictures of Noah getting hit by dodgeballs,” Sierra adds.
“Oh, really? What’s it called?” Alejandro asks.
“If you’re done teasing Noah,” Chris cuts in, “I’d like to finish explaining the challenge. Tyler, you can head back to the plane.”
Tyler limps away, a dejected look on his face.
“Anyways,” Chris continues, “in order to make things fair, all of today’s challenges will be one-on-one matches. Each victory will earn your team a medal, and the team with the most golds wins first-class tickets to our next destination. The losing team wins a brutal elimination ceremony.”
“And silver medals?” Owen asks. “We all get medals, right?”
“There are no silver medals, just gold,” Chris says.
“But at the Olympics—”
“Just. Gold,” Chris repeats.
“Awww…” Owen lets out a dejected noise.
Noah pats him on the back. “Don’t worry about it too much, big guy, I’m sure you’ll win one. You’ve always been great at the physical challenges.”
Owen perks up instantly and pulls Noah into a hug that looks painfully tight. “Thanks, buddy! I’m sure you’ll be able to, uh…” Owen looks over at the competition, his brain struggling with how to spin the situation positively to their least athletic teammate.
“Yeah, yeah, physical challenges aren’t exactly my forte. Just means the rest of you will have to win this.” Noah gives Alejandro a meaningful look as he pries himself out of Owen’s grip. Alejandro relishes the attention, as well as the realization that if Noah wants to contribute, he’ll have to reveal whatever he was so smug about earlier.
Chris leads them into the Parthenon itself, where he begins to set up the first challenge, a “Grecian scavenger hunt.”
It seems comparatively easy, so Alejandro decides not to volunteer. He’s sure his skills will be needed elsewhere.
He’s glad he doesn’t, just because when Chris asks who’s going in, Gwen and Duncan both volunteer and it sets off this weird tension that Alejandro still can’t quite figure out the cause of.
“Gwen versus Duncan it is!” Chris revels in the drama, of course.
“Haha, wow! That is so… fun!” Courtney’s response is unusually strained. She stares off into space, deep in thought.
As Chris explains that Duncan apparently has to sing for the rest of this challenge, Alejandro takes a moment to try and unpack what’s going on, what Noah’s been able to figure out.
Courtney and Duncan are in a relationship of some kind. He doesn’t know if they’re officially together at the moment, but they definitely were back during Total Drama Island. Gwen and Courtney are friends (a bit lesbicious honestly), but something about Duncan coming back has driven a wedge between the two of them. And Gwen and Duncan have some kind of tension between them as well…
It’s not enough to draw any conclusions from, really. He’ll just have to wait for Noah to make his move to satisfy his curiosity. The excitement is almost too much to bear.
They leave Gwen and Duncan to simmer in their weird tension (and potentially get mauled by a bear), moving on to the next challenge, which is pankration. Basic wrestling.
“The rules are simple. There are two ways someone loses: either you get tossed out of the ring, or you concede, probably because you’re pinned or the pain gets to be just too much.” Chris chuckles at the thought.
Wrestling is perhaps a better use of Alejandro’s skills, but—
“As the strongest Amazon, I volunteer to fight for our team.” Courtney’s posture is relaxed, assured of victory. Alejandro’s seen how frighteningly strong she can be, and their team needs this win, so it’ll have to be him.
While he’s deliberating, Cody steps forward and boasts, “I’m pretty sure I’m the strongest.”
“Yikes,” Noah mutters under his breath.
Courtney doesn’t even dignify Cody’s statement with disagreement, instead just laughing. Sierra glares at her.
“That’s it! I volunteer to fight Courtney!” she growls.
Chris looks at the developing drama with visible excitement. “Uh, I’m gonna need two people from Team Chris to get involved here.”
With Sierra gunning for Courtney, Alejandro suddenly feels much better about his team’s chances. He steps forward to volunteer when an arm suddenly wraps around his neck. He locks up for a moment in alarm, just because this is a very familiar position for José to put him in, before Owen’s grating voice brings him back to the less-than-ideal reality of his situation.
“Come on, Al! We can take them!” Owen proclaims with unearned confidence.
Thankfully, Noah steps in before Alejandro says something tactless. “Okay, big guy, what’s your strategy?”
Owen drops Alejandro to scratch the back of his head in thought. “Oh, well, uh… I mean, it’s wrestling. You just kinda… get ‘em.”
“Scintillating observation, Owen,” Alejandro says dryly.
“Thanks! I think?” Owen chuckles awkwardly as Noah glares at Alejandro.
“Well, what’s your strategy then?”
Alejandro smirks and reaches back so that he can pull one leg up behind his head, demonstrating his flexibility.
Noah just looks at him, eyes wide. “Impressive. Why didn’t we stretch you on the rack again?”
“And risk damaging my perfect physique like you did with Tyler? It’d be a crime.” Alejandro straightens up from his contorted position, satisfied by his display and his comeback.
“Well, let’s hope your perfect physique can win this thing. Don’t underestimate Courtney. Or Sierra for that matter.”
“Noah… you wound me.” Alejandro’s voice quivers with emotion as he places a hand to his heart.
Noah rolls his eyes at the display. “Yeah, yeah, go win.”
Alejandro gives him one last grin before turning to enter the wrestling circle.
“Alright, into the ring with all of you!” Chris says as the four competitors take their places in the ring.
Alejandro sizes up the competition. Courtney’s obviously the biggest threat, and she’s probably going to be laser-focused on him in return. Sierra might make for a great distraction, but she also might suddenly fly into a rage and beat both Alejandro and Owen, wild card that she is. And Owen… will make for a great target, at least.
“Remember, if you step out of the ring, you’re out. Otherwise, it goes until someone concedes. Go!” Chris yells, and Sierra immediately lunges for Courtney, who artfully dodges her teammate.
“Sierra! Come on, we have a challenge to win!” Courtney yells as she lurches out of the way of Sierra’s punches.
Alejandro and Owen stand back to watch the disaster as it unfolds. Personally, Alejandro is afraid of getting in between Sierra and the target of her ire.
After a few attempts to reason with Sierra, with only near-injuries to show for her efforts, Courtney decides to cut her losses. “That’s it! If you can’t focus on the game, I can win this challenge by myself!” She ducks another of Sierra’s punches and drops to the ground, sweeping her leg out in front of her and knocking Sierra off her feet. She scrambles forward and unceremoniously rolls a stunned Sierra out of the ring, using the momentum of the movement to spring back to her feet.
Distraction dealt with, Courtney turns around and looks at Alejandro and Owen with narrowed eyes. “Alright, who’s next?”
Before Alejandro can even formulate a response to that, Owen lets out a battle-cry and runs toward Courtney, only for Courtney to dodge to the side. She gives him a slight nudge to keep him going, and with the added speed, Owen’s unable to slow down in time to avoid stepping out of the ring.
“Aw, come on!” he shouts when he realizes he’s been eliminated.
Alejandro spares a moment to lament Owen’s uselessness before Courtney finally turns to face him. His eyes narrow in focus as they pause for a moment, sizing each other up.
As much as Courtney’s sheer competence should frighten Alejandro, he’s actually glad that things have turned out this way. It’ll make what he has planned much easier to achieve.
He smirks at Courtney, just to egg her on.
The tension breaks when Courtney charges towards him. He sidesteps her, but Courtney grabs the back of his shirt, using her own momentum to pull him off-balance.
Alejandro lets out a shout as he allows himself to tip backwards, and Courtney uses the moment to push him to the ground with her on top, pinning him with one arm behind his back.
(He can hear Noah snickering.)
“Give up!” Courtney shouts, putting more pressure on his arm. Alejandro spares a moment to wonder why she isn’t trying to throw him out of the ring, before realizing that she rightly assumes that he would have a chance to turn the tables if she lets up for a second.
Either way, this position serves his purpose nicely.
Alejandro turns his head to the side, laying his cheek against the ground, and looks over at Noah. He finds the other boy already looking back at him, deep in thought.
He knows exactly what Noah is thinking about, what he’s weighing in his mind. The hesitation is cute as it loses its battle with the need to be of use, the drive to win.
Alejandro raises an eyebrow and smiles slightly, just to emphasize the urgency of the situation.
Noah closes his eyes and sighs. “Hey, Courtney?”
Courtney ignores him, still focused on Alejandro.
He tries again. “Courtney!”
Alejandro feels Courtney pressing down harder on him with irritation. It’s starting to hurt, actually. “What is it, Noah?” she bites out.
Noah hesitates for one last moment, before—
“Gwen and Duncan kissed in the confessional last night!”
Oh. Hm.
As much as Alejandro would like to turn that over in his mind, he can feel his opportunity coalescing above him. Courtney’s grip goes lax with shock, and Alejandro pushes upward, bucking Courtney off and getting to his feet.
He takes a moment to shake his hands, just to get the blood flowing again after they were pinned for so long, before he looks down at Courtney. She’s still lying where Alejandro threw her, at the edge of the ring, still processing what is likely the confirmation of her worst fears.
Alejandro can see the dazed look already fading from her eyes, as shock turns to rage that conceals a genuine hurt behind its heat.
He almost feels bad, but he can’t afford to hesitate here, even if he really wanted to. Waste any time, and that rage would only fuel a potential comeback.
So Alejandro picks her up and tosses her out of the ring. Courtney tries to grab at his arms, but her grip is still weak, more instinctual than purposeful, and she can’t find any real purchase when she’s being held at arm’s length.
She goes tumbling to the ground as Chris exclaims, “We have a winner! Alejandro wins the first gold medal for Team Me!” Chris tosses Alejandro a medal, which he’s quick to hang around his neck as he smirks for the camera, then at Noah. The other boy scowls at him before deliberately looking away from the mess he caused.
“However,” Chris continues, “because that whole dramatic reveal was so mortifying and juicy, and because Courtney managed to knock Owen out of the ring, she also gets a medal!”
Chris tosses another medal at Courtney where she’s sitting on the ground. She catches it reflexively and crumples the tin foil and chocolate in her clenched fist.
Everyone’s silent, waiting for Courtney to freak out. The girl in question stares off into the ruins in the vague direction of Gwen and Duncan. The tension builds and builds before—
Courtney slumps and lets out a sigh. She covers her face so the camera can’t see her devastated expression and begins to cry as quietly as she can.
An awkward moment passes.
“Uh…” Chris says. “Not that this isn’t entertaining and all, but—”
Courtney silences him with a caustic glare. “I’m going… back to the plane. Okay?” From the way she irons out any quiver of vulnerability her voice might have held, she’s not really asking permission.
“Hey, we have a show going—”
“I am going. Back to the plane.” She stands up, legs barely betraying the tremble of hurt and anger she’s holding back, and begins to walk away from the group.
Chris tries one last time. “Don’t you want to make sure your team wins?” he calls out to her retreating form.
Courtney stops and looks back at him over her shoulder, the tear tracks on her face shining in the artificial light of the set. “My boyfriend just cheated on me with the only friend I’ve made on this fucking show. I really don’t care right now.”
With that, she walks off to hurt in peace, away from the camera to where her pain might not be bottled and sold for entertainment. And as she goes, she leaves behind a fractured group of contestants.
Alejandro thinks it’s a masterpiece, what he and Noah can destroy together.