Chapter Text
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, it’s happening!” Sierra repeats with overwhelming excitement as she tugs at Owen’s arm. The moment Noah had turned away at the sound of Alejandro’s voice, Sierra had popped out under the long snack table and dragged Owen down under it with her. They’re curled up under the table (Owen on his chest and Sierra on her knees) watching Noah and Alejandro glide across the ballroom through the filter of the thin fabric of the tablecloth on the table above them.
Sierra’s being pretty aggressive with her tugging, shaking Owen back and forth, as well as the table above them. A fork lands by Owen on the other side of the tablecloth and Owen winches.
Honestly, Owen is surprised by Sierra’s strength. He’s used to people complaining about his weight, but she managed to pull him down under the table and tug him around with ease. He guesses that’s the power of The Fangirl. Or maybe Sierra’s been hitting up the gym with Eva.
She doesn’t seem like the type of person to work out, but he wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she works out just so she can spend time with their friends from Total Drama. Noah would call that “nutzo,” but Owen kinda admires Sierra’s drive. It’s nice to see someone so passionate about something. Besides, her passion is the main reason Noah is even letting Alejandro guide him around like royalty. He never thought he would see his little buddy be part of something so… romantic. It’s pretty heartwarming.
“This is the big moment,” Sierra declares, finally letting go of Owen’s raw and red arm so that she can put her hands over her heart. “This is the last step of Operation Alenoah! What happens next is out of my hands. Gah, it’s so intense, my heart is racing!”
“A-what-now?” Owen asks, not really grasping what the fangirl is saying.
“It’s Noah’s and Alejandro’s ship name!” She says like that is obvious. “Come on Owen, I thought you knew better. We already had a conversation about ship names back in chapter 1!”
“Chapter 1?”
“Shh!” She shushes him, her eyes glued to Alejandro and Noah. “They’re heading towards the balcony, how romantic! We’ve got to make sure they aren’t disturbed.” She scrambles out from under the table and Owen attempts to follow her. He almost brings the table with him, but comes out without causing too much damage to the yummy food displays. By the time he’s up, Sierra is already talking to Cody, wildly waving her hands around. He throws a few chocolates in his mouth.
“We can’t let anyone go near the balcony, got it Cody bear?” Owen hears her say. “We need guards, stat! Where are Leshawna, Gwen, and Bridgette?”
“Uh, well Leshawna’s getting drunk with Heather at the bar, Gwen just went into the photobooth with Courtney, and Bridgette is well, you know.” Cody gestures towards a nearby wall where Geoff has his fiancé pinned, both of them sucking each other’s faces off. Some things never change.
“Gah, why is everyone having romantic side plots???”
Owen longingly wishes that he had a romantic side plot. He can’t help but to look over at Izzy who is sitting on the edge of the stage, her legs crossed and looking up in interest as she watches Lindsay stumble through a Britney Spears song. It’s “Oops!... I Did It Again.”
Owen knows he shouldn’t feel this way about his former girlfriend. She’s wild and dangerous. More importantly, she put Owen in danger. That was the main reason Noah wanted him to break up with Izzy in the first place. However, after he broke up with her and they stayed friends, Owen still felt attraction for his untamed redhead and that attraction has lingered over into the present. Izzy is beautiful and full of life. There’s never a dull moment with her. She never gives Owen a hard time when he eats too much or is a little gross and she’s willing to try anything. Owen has never met someone as interesting as Izzy.
He thinks he still loves her.
“Great for ratings, huh?” Owen hears and the trio turns to see Blaineley walk over to them, a cunning smile on her face. “I didn’t think tonight would be so gay. If I would have known, I would have suggested that we have the reunion last month in June instead of in July. Ah, what a shame, but I guess what’s in the past is in the past. Now, just what are you plotting?” She narrows her calculating eyes at Sierra, Cody, and Owen. “I want a piece of the pie. I am the host of this reunion, after all.”
“Nothing!” Cody yells, slightly hiding behind Sierra. Sierra stands her ground and crosses her arms. “That’s right! We aren’t doing a thing. Even if we were, I wouldn’t tell you. You are barely even a part of Total Drama lore!”
“Owen?” Blaineley asks, raising an eyebrow. Owen feels himself start getting all sweaty and nervous. He can’t handle the pressure. He’s about to explode.
“He doesn’t-” Sierra starts to say but it is already too late.
“We’re trying to hook up Noah and Alejandro!” Owen blurts. There’s a beat of silence, Blaineley’s eyes widening in astonishment. Of course, Owen can’t stop it there. He has to go on a rant about how everything went and has gone down, starting with the first conversation he had with Noah all the way to the present. “-And now Noah’s on the balcony with Alejandro.”
It doesn’t take long for Blaineley to recover. She gets a sparkle in her eyes and strains her neck to get a good look at the balcony.
“Oh really?” She purrs. “That’ll be some good TV-” She starts walking over and Sierra jumps in front of her, putting her arms and legs out like a starfish so she can become more imposing.
“NO! You’ll ruin the moment!”
“Oh,” Blaineley stops, mulling over what Sierra has said. “You know, I think you’re right, super fan.” She winks at Sierra and she in turn looks relieved. “Besides, there’s a hidden camera on the balcony so I don’t even need to go over there for good TV to go down.”
“Are ratings all you ever think of?” Cody asks, exasperated.
“Yes,” She doesn’t even have to think before answering. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go interview the Drama Brothers. So that means,” she walks over to Cody and grabs him by the ear, “I’ll be needing you.” With that, the older reporter walks off, dragging Cody along while he goes “ow, ow, ow, ow.”
“Sometimes she scares me more than you,” Owen tells Sierra and instantly regrets it. “Oh, I mean… Sorry,” He tells her, glancing over with a guilty expression.
“It’s alright,” she tells him with a shrug, “I was pretty bad before. Now, think you’ll be willing to play guard duty for the enemies to lovers?” She asks as she points a finger over at the balcony.
“Sure, I’ll do anything for my little buddy.”
---
Noah doesn’t really understand how the events of the night lead him here, standing next to Alejandro, their shoulders touching, watching the cityscape surrounding them. They gaze out at the nightlife in complete silence, the sounds of the party behind them and the traffic below them filling the air with noise.
Noah moves his gaze upward, disappointed to find that there are no stars in sight due to light pollution. He wishes there were stars above so he could find all the constellations, trace their shapes with his finger, and talk about the stars. It doesn’t matter though, Noah has no one to talk to. He wouldn’t dare blab to Alejandro about them. Why would he want to talk to the slimy bastard next to him? Alejandro wouldn’t find it interesting, anyway.
He wishes something would happen though. He agreed to be out here with Alejandro and not a word has been uttered since they’ve stepped outside. Normally, Noah wouldn’t give a damn about whether or not he was standing around in silence. He’s fine with being an observer, sucking up all the information he can through careful observation. Yet, now the silence is troublesome. The eel said he wanted to talk, so talk, damnit!
“What are you thinking about, chico ?” The Spaniard asks, as if on cue.
“You ask me what I’m thinking about when you’re the one that dragged me out here?” Noah says with a snort as he moves his gaze to Alejandro and-
-Fuck. He’s beautiful.
Noah doesn’t know why this realization hits him all of the sudden, but it has hit hard. There is just something about the way the multicolor city light hits Alejandro’s face, the way his suit hangs on the body, and those teal eyes that Noah could get lost in for hours.
“Hm,” Noah sees Alejandro’s lips twitch upward in amusement, “Well, would you believe me if I told you I was trying to stall our conversation since I’m nervous?”
“No way.”
“I’m being honest,” he states in return.
“Honesty’s not something that comes easily to you,” Noah mutters and snaps his gaze away from Alejandro, feeling too overwhelmed to look at him in the face.
“That’s true, but when I lie, most of the time it isn’t to the people around me, but to myself. Besides, what point is there in lying to you, Noah? Do you see a million dollars on the line? I sure don’t, querido. ” Noah doesn’t have a witty retort to hit back with. “So please, allow me to stall a little longer. What are you thinking about?” Noah huffs, but plays along.
“The stars,” he says with more gentleness than he planned on using. “I like stargazing and was disappointed to see that there are no stars out tonight.”
“I like gazing at the stars too,” Alejandro says as Noah sneaks a careful glance at him. The man beside him is looking up at the night sky with the same wistful look Noah surely was. “I’ve lived in cities most of my life, so I rarely get the chance to properly do it. Perhaps,” he looks back at Noah, “We could stargaze together in the future.”
“Don’t make me laugh,” Noah says without any amusement. “You’d never want to do anything with me.” Let alone something as intimate and quiet as stargazing. “We’re both washed-up reality TV stars and I’m a snarky asshole you booted.”
“I don’t see how those qualities make you less desirable to be around,” Alejandro merely replies as he places his arms on the balcony railing and crosses them. “And about me catalyzing your elimination off of World Tour, do you know why I did it? I’m done stalling now,” he adds, “We’re getting into the meat of why I wanted us to talk.”
“Isn’t it obvious why you did?” Noah rhetorically asks. It had seemed obvious to Noah at the time, at least. Noah knew the truth about Alejandro and the eel didn’t want anyone to know that his appearance of sweetness was actually vinegar. Therefore, Noah got the boot in order to maintain Alejandro’s gentlemanly image. Noah says this much to Alejandro and by the time he’s done, Alejandro is softly chuckling, covering his flawless face with a hand.
“Ah, if only that was the truth. It would make me a less pathetic man. The reality,” Alejandro explains as he removes his hand from his face, “Is that I was honestly offended by your words.”
“Seriously?” Noah can hear the shock in his own voice.
“Seriously,” he replies and appears to be cringing at himself. “Before London, I admired you, Noah.” The confession makes Noah’s face sting in embarrassment. “I found just about everyone else to be,” he turns to wave off towards the crowd inside, “Stupid, loud, and brainless.”
You and me both , Noah thinks. It was something he once thought that he shared with Alejandro. Besides Izzy, who is a different scope of intelligence, Noah thought that he and Alejandro were the smartest and most focused people in the room during World Tour. People such as Heather and Courtney are smart, but Noah’s struggled to relate to them- and still does- due to the fact that they let social drama consume them more than an intellectual challenge. Although Alejandro played the social game on television, Noah could tell that he hated it. Behind the scenes when the cameras weren’t rolling, they would make small quips about the others and the idiotic things they said or did and then have a good laugh about it. It was comforting, and something that Noah misses. However, he would admit that over his dead body.
“So, when I listened to what you said to Owen and Tyler about me, I became…” He struggles to find the right word for a moment. “Mad. Heartbroken. What you said was right. I was slimy, I was playing the game, and everyone involved, but your words affected me because I didn’t like that you saw who I really was and attacked it. I felt betrayed.”
“How do you think I felt when I was eliminated?” Noah can’t help but bite back.
“But that’s the thing, I knew that’s how you would feel so that’s why I eliminated you. I was being petty,” he shrugged.
“Petty is definitely the way to describe it,” Noah says, narrowing his eyes but without any malice. He wants there to be rage. He wants to feel that raw anger he felt when he saw the handsome bastard earlier this night, but he can’t. This stronger burning, fluttering sensation is within him instead, consuming Noah’s everything.
“I didn’t think about what I did much at first,” Alejandro admits, leaning in a little closer to Noah, “But after Total Drama was over and Heather broke up with me-”
“-How did that happen?” Noah asks before he can stop himself.
“You sure are curious about my personal life for someone who hates me.” Noah, in turn, fumbles over his words.
“I’m teasing,” Alejandro whispers in a way that sends a shiver down Noah’s spine. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you because I haven’t told anyone before, and I think it will be therapeutic to get it off my chest.”
What, I’m your therapist now? Is something Noah would normally think, but instead he’s thinking: He hasn’t told anyone about this before and he’s choosing to tell me? ME of all people?
“It had been a year after All-Stars when we officially got together after I fully recovered from-” Noah sees him involuntary shiver “-The volcano incident, and I had been getting pressure from my family to hurry along my relationship with Heather. Things had been going steady between us for about a year. We had been traveling, putting distance between us and reality TV. I was happy, Heather seemed happy, but my family was not. Burromuertos are big believers in settling down, Noah. My family’s philosophy is that if they are attractive, well off, and make you happy (happiness being the least important aspect) then you better put a ring on it. So, I…” Alejandro pauses and Noah realizes with horror where the story is going. “I did. Or well, haha,” Alejandro runs a hand through his luscious hair awkwardly, “I tried, that is.”
“Woah,” Noah blinks, “That was a big step.”
“I know,” Alejandro sighs. “A step that I don’t think I ever wanted. Heather didn’t and she could see within me better than I could myself and said no. It started to fall apart after that.” Alejandro stares off into the distance for a moment, his expression solemn. “I think there was just something that Heather wanted that I couldn’t give to her. No matter how many trips we went on, there was no way to discover what she wanted with the two of us together…”
“I understand how that feels,” Noah hears himself say but it doesn’t quite sound like him. His voice is too vulnerable, unlike the cold and apathetic Noah that everyone knows. It makes his head hurt. “The same thing happened to me.”
---
“Well, not the same thing, but you know,” Alejandro watches Noah mumble as he waves a hand around aimlessly. This causes Alejandro to become intrigued. “Emma broke up with me,” Noah says, and Alejandro feels his heart skip a beat.
“That little lawyer you met and were smitten for on that new Total Drama show?”
“She’s not a lawyer, not yet at least- Wait… You watched Ridiculous Race?” Noah asks him, looking mortified.
“No,” Alejandro smirks, “But I did read a few gossip articles in passing.” Alejandro would rather die than admit this, but he read more than just a few articles. He didn’t lie when he said that he didn’t watch Ridiculous whatever, but saying he only read a few articles about Noah was stretching the truth a bit. Alejandro has solemnly sworn that he won’t watch anything Total Drama related ever. He’s followed through with that oath and hasn’t even watched World Tour or All Stars. He doesn’t see the point. He lived that experience. He doesn’t need to watch every embarrassing mistake he’s made through the flashy and watered-down filter of reality TV.
However, when it comes to articles that have nothing to do with him… That’s free real estate. First, it started off small: he read the list of names for the upcoming Total Drama that wouldn’t be hosted by Chris (Chris was in prison, after all), and was surprised to see Noah’s name on it. He had to reread Noah’s name over and over again just to make sure he wasn’t going insane. Then he read Owen’s name and the pieces started to click together. Surely the bigger fellow, who had no problem with the trauma that Total Drama puts people through, forced Noah to compete with him. There was no other explanation.
After that, the show fell off Alejandro’s radar for a while until he discovered that a new couple had formed on the show. He was once again shocked to discover who that couple was.
Noah has a girlfriend? That just can’t be. That was the first thing Alejandro thought when he heard the news. It wasn’t as if he thought Noah was undesirable or even asexual, it’s just… He didn’t like the fact that Noah had a girlfriend. It was as simple as that.
So, he read up on this Emma character to make sure she was deserving of him. She was intelligent, strong, competitive, loved her sister… She was a great fit. Alejandro attempted to push aside his irrational irritation at the news of Noah’s girlfriend and went on with his life. Why should he care about Noah, anyway? He told himself that the bookworm was nothing to him.
Only now does he realize that he didn’t destroy his envy about the situation but merely buried it. He’s more excited about Noah’s recently changed status than he should be. In fact, this whole night has dug up feelings and strange sensations that Alejandro wishes were left untouched.
There’s something about Noah that is so alluring. It’s not as if he finds the snarky, shorter man perfect or model-like, in fact, he has a forehead that is far too big for his face, but who even cares about that when his rare smile is so endearing and his laugh is adorable and- ah, that’s beside the point. What Alejandro is getting at is that Noah isn’t like him. He isn’t the one that everyone stares at when he walks into the room and isn’t the one that makes women swoon when he speaks. Noah lurks in the background, watching, only speaking up when he can’t resist making a sarcastic comment. They socially function differently, but Alejandro doesn’t care about that. He likes how different Noah is. He enjoyed it during World Tour, and he appreciates it now.
“So, why did she break up with you?” Alejandro asks. Personally, he can’t fathom why someone would want to break up with Noah. He appears apathetic to all around him and isn’t afraid to attack something with wit, but surely this Emma knew that going into the relationship. Besides, to Alejandro, those traits are far from flaws even if others are quick to judge them as so.
Noah, in turn, lets out a loud and long sigh before hanging his head. Alejandro tries to peer at his face, genuinely curious.
“If I tell you, you can’t laugh,” Noah says, his voice edging towards threatening.
“Very well, I give you a solid Burromuerto promise that I won’t laugh,” Alejandro declares, placing a hand over his heart.
“If I even hear a chuckle…” Noah warns as he gives Alejandro a death glare.
“You won’t,” Alejandro assures. Noah proceeds to mumble at himself, seemingly attempting to find the best way to say what he plans on admitting.
“I’ll just be blunt,” he decides, “I couldn’t please her sexually.”
“Oh,” Alejandro says before whispering “ oh. ” Alejandro wasn’t expecting that. He tries not to think about Noah having sex. Not that he finds the concept disgusting, but once he starts, Alejandro struggles to stop. He thinks about ways Noah can be broken, how to get him so flustered that he can’t even make a witty comment, how-
-And that’s enough of that , Alejandro tells himself, quickly shutting down whatever the hell that was.
Meanwhile, Noah seems to be bracing for impact, seemingly waiting for Alejandro to laugh. When he doesn’t, he looks a mix of relieved yet cautious.
“See?” Alejandro whispers. “I’m not laughing.”
“So you aren’t,” Noah whispers, a softness to his sharp features. It’s an enchanting expression and Alejandro craves to have a way to preserve it forever.
“Now tell me, why didn’t the two of you work together?” Alejandro too boldly asks, keeping the hushed level of his voice.
“Geez, probably because I’m the worst at sex ever,” Noah bites, sounding self-hating. “I… Can’t explain more,” he tells Alejandro, swiftly turning his back to him.
“Hey, there’s no need to, querido ,” Alejandro assures the bookworm as he ever-so-carefully places a hand on Noah’s shoulder. Noah tenses up at the contact for a moment before relaxing again so Alejandro leaves his hand there. “Although you probably don’t want my two cents, I bet the real issue was that you too had different tastes to enjoy each other-”
“-I couldn’t even get hard half of the time,” Alejandro swears he hears Noah whisper. “How stupid and pathetic is that?” He says, louder this time. “I’m not some 60-year-old man who needs Viagra to get off,” Noah turns around, his eyes swirling with emotion, “I can get aroused I just.. Fuck.” He crumbles and almost falls into Alejandro’s arms. Alejandro catches him, his hands landing on Noah’s back while Noah’s forehead presses up against Alejandro’s chest. Noah’s hair tickles Alejandro’s chin and he notices that it smells really good. He’ll have to ask him later what shampoo he uses. For now, Alejandro is almost too stunned for words and that’s a rare experience indeed.
“I loved Emma,” Noah continues, “But it’s like you said about Heather earlier, she wanted something that I couldn’t give to her.”
“Look at that,” Alejandro hums as he absent-mindedly moves one of his hands up to pet Noah’s hair, “For us hating each other so much, we sure have more in common than we originally thought.”
“What?” He hears Noah snort. “We’re both terrible with serious relationships when it comes to women?”
“Hm, well, yes. But I meant the part about the fact that we both secretly think we’re pathetic,” Alejandro explains as he starts to pet Noah’s hair. It’s softer than it looks. This closeness reminds him of how close they were just a few minutes again, passionately singing at each other. Alejandro hadn’t felt so alive in such a long time. Noah’s flame was infectious. That experience shocked him to the very core, so much so that Alejandro just had to talk to Noah. He had to mend his relationship with the snarky prick.
“We’re also extremely petty,” Alejandro lightly adds. “I don’t know anyone who holds onto hate quite like you, chico . I thought you were going to strangle me the moment I walked through the door earlier tonight.”
“I wasn’t going to murder you, just…” Noah attempts to argue but shuts up. “You make me feel a certain way,” he settles with saying. “It makes me want to kill you but also- Ugh, I hate you .” He says in a way that is unlike how he said so earlier that night. Alejandro knows what he really means.
“ I hate you too. ”
---
“Really?”
Noah looks up, removing his forehead from Alejandro’s firm chest, and stares into his shining eyes. It results in Noah getting butterflies. Fucking butterflies. The last time he got butterflies was around Emma, yet here he is, falling for someone he absolutely despises. When he looks into Alejandro’s eyes, Noah knows that he is experiencing what he is feeling too. They’re two sides of the same coin.
“Really,” Alejandro parrots, his lips tugging up in happiness. Noah moves his hands from his sides and to Alejandro’s hips. It must be the alcohol that is making Noah this bold, but he doesn’t give a shit. All he knows is that he must kiss Alejandro immediately. Future Noah can be damned. He can deal with the consequences later. They lean in like magnets being pulled together, Alejandro’s warm body warming up Noah’s cold one, and-
“Alright, everybody!” Izzy’s loud voice breaks across the air, knocking Noah and Alejandro out of whatever trance they are in. As if making a terrible mistake, they both jump away from each other, giving each other some distance. Noah’s disappointed about the lack of warmth he is currently feeling and is cursing Izzy for her terrible timing. His heart is pounding in his head. The rational side of Noah is screaming at him for what he almost did, but it’s muffled by Izzy shouting: “There is approximately one minute before Total Drama hits another anniversary! Oh, now it’s 57 seconds, now it’s 56!”
“We get it!” He hears Duncan shout. Noah looks down to confirm Izzy’s statement and she’s right. His watch reads 11:59 pm.
Has the night really gone by so quickly?
Noah hears Alejandro let out a slow whistle.
“My, this night has flown by so fast…”
Inside, a timer is projected onto the wall behind the DJ booth, and everyone starts counting down.
“But let’s end it on a good note,” Alejandro shoots Noah an eager smirk before stepping up to Noah and grabbing his hand. The contact feels like Noah is shocked by electricity. “Come with me,” he tells him before dragging him along inside, Noah’s arm feeling tingly and strange.
“Where are we going?” Noah asks, his eyes wide as he lets the Spaniard lead him towards the photo booth. Alejandro doesn’t reply as they pass a weirdly stiff-looking Owen and a squealing Sierra (that would be a lot to unpack later) and jump inside.
When they crawl inside, Alejandro reaches across Noah and slides the black curtain closed before quickly tapping some buttons on the booth’s touch screen. Noah’s heartbeat quickens.
“This is stupid,” Noah mumbles and crosses his arms, feeling uncomfortable with being so close to Alejandro. The booth is small, so the pair’s legs are touching. He’s acting as if he wasn’t this close to the man mere moments before.
God, I was about to kiss him too, Noah says to himself, part mortified and part excited.
“Come on, just enjoy the moment,” Alejandro tells him as the camera’s timer starts counting down on the screen. “Look, it’s about to start, get ready.”
When the first flash goes off, Noah’s giving the camera a stink eye while Alejandro is dastardly smiling.
When the second flash goes off, Alejandro has his arm wrapped around Noah’s shoulder while he’s shooting the camera a silly face and Noah is blushing while staring at Alejandro’s lips.
And when the 3rd and final flash goes off, the two are kissing.
It happens so suddenly that Noah doesn’t have time to process what’s going on at first, but his body melts into Alejandro’s instantly and they both eagerly wrap their arms around each other. So many years of oppressed emotions and thoughts have led up to this singular moment.
The rest of the Total Drama crew loudly cheers from outside the sanctuary of the photo booth. Noah later comes to find out that they weren’t cheering because Total Drama had turned another year older, but because Courtney and Gwen were kissing.
Amidst the countdown, the goth summons up the courage to confess to the brunette. Courtney turns towards Gwen, her eyes wide and her expression unreadable. Gwen fears the worst; however, she has no reason to worry. Courtney responds to the confession by grabbing Gwen by the collar of her dress, rolling her eyes while saying “ finally ,” and kisses the goth right on the lips. They kiss right as the night rolls into a new day and balloons fall from the ceiling in a gorgeous display of color.
That doesn’t matter to Noah at the moment because he is too caught up in how sweet Alejandro’s lips taste.
---
“They’ve been in there for a while,” Owen remarks as he stares at the photo booth, sitting at the bar with Eva and Izzy. The bartender is wiping off the table behind them and some of the camera crew is packing up while Blaineley makes the last statement of the night to the camera. Some of Owen’s friends are filtering out of the ballroom already, heading off to their hotel rooms that had been so generously paid for by the network.
“That’s because they are s-s-s-smooching!” Izzy sings, wiggling in her seat.
“Can’t believe that stalker’s stupid plan actually worked,” Eva says, Owen watching her shake her head in disbelief. “I’m impressed.”
“Thank you, and that’s ex-stalker to you,” Sierra says as she ambles over to the group with Cody by her side. She’s holding her heels in her hand and walking around barefoot. Owen can’t blame her, her heels were probably killing her all night. “I don’t stalk Cody anymore,” she declares, “Otherwise he’d be hiding in the bathroom right now.”
“Haha, yeah,” he scratches the back of his neck, “That is something I would have done.”
“Anyway, not only am I responsible for Alenoah, I am also partly responsible for Gwen and Courtney getting together!” Sierra starts jumping up and down. “I can’t believe that happened- I mean, I can,” she stops jumping, “But it was just SO good. Straight-up iconic. I can’t wait for the Internet to go wild after all this. Ooo, I bet people are already posting! Cody, my phone, please.” She makes a “gimme” gesture with her free hand. He shakes his head as he pulls her phone out of his pocket and tosses it to her. She catches it and quickly hurries off, the Total Drama fandom beckoning her.
“So, you guys going to the afterparty?” Cody asks once Sierra is gone.
“What?” Owen gasps. He has been so caught up in Noah’s love life that he didn’t even get a chance to hear about this amazing afterparty that’s been planned.
“Yeah, Geoff hosting it in he and Bridgette’s room,” Cody explains. “And we can be a little louder than normal since we’re all staying in the same hall.”
“That’s like… awesome!” Owen chuckles. “Woo, I am so there. Eva? Izzy?”
“I’ll go, Big O!” Izzy grins.
“I’ll pass,” Eva grumbles as she crosses her arms. “I plan on going to bed. If Geoff’s afterparty wakes me up, I’ll kill him. Make sure you tell him that,” she says to Cody, her face screaming “murder.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he squeaks.
“Good,” she huffs as she gets up from her seat. “I’m off. See you when you come back to the room tonight,” she tells Izzy and Owen. “If I wake up in the middle of the night to you two having sex in our room, I’ll kill you both right then and there. Your friendship status with me won’t save you,” she casually tells them as she prowls off.
“Huh, what?” Owen’s face burns like a boiling teapot. “Us, having sex? Haha, no way…”
“Uh, I’m going now. I have to do the thing, with the guys, and yeah, bye!” Cody slimes away, shooting a wave to Owen and Izzy before jogging off to Harold and Trent who are waiting for Cody by the ballroom door.
“Ooh, hooking up sounds like fun!” Izzy shamelessly declares and grins up at Owen, wiggling her eyebrows. “Wanna make out somewhere before going to the afterparty?”
“Yes,” Owen blurts.
And without any shame, Owen sneaks off with Izzy somewhere to rekindle their romance. Best. Party. Ever.
---
Unlike most former Total Drama contestants, Noah doesn’t end up at Geoff’s “totally rad” after-party and instead ends up in Alejandro’s room. Alejandro makes good on his word and ends up, ahem, wrecking Noah just the way he promised. Noah quickly learns that he’s not actually the worst love maker in the entire world like he once believed and that Alejandro, unsurprisingly, is amazing.
It’s late when Noah drifts off to sleep, his bare body embraced by Alejandro’s larger one. Their bodies fit together perfectly, like puzzle pieces meant to be together. Alejandro occasionally nuzzles his face against Noah’s whispering sweet nothings to him in Spanish. When Noah grumpily tells him he doesn’t know Spanish, Alejandro chuckles and says, “But it sounds sexier in Spanish.” He continues despite Noah’s protests and Noah tells himself that he’s going to buy a Spanish-to-English dictionary the next day. It seems it’ll be a requirement around Alejandro.
If he’ll even stick around.
Noah doesn’t know what he and Alejandro are yet, but tonight has been too long and too draining to establish that now with his former enemy. The future remains unclear, the promise of tomorrow lingering in the air as they embrace. The last thing Noah remembers before sleep claims him is receiving a light kiss on the jaw and hearing “Good night, mi amor .”
When Noah wakes up, it’s to the sound of a running shower and the bright light of the room’s window. Noah, in his hazy state, mumbles something incoherent as he attempts to cuddle up to something. He’s disappointed to find a vacant spot next to him.
That disappointment is soon replaced by alertness and suddenly Noah is wide awake. He’s naked. He never sleeps naked. He’s not in his own room too, he realizes, before the entire night before plays in his head like a sped-up movie.
“I can’t believe that happened,” Noah moans as he throws the sheets over his head and hugs them. He kissed Alejandro. He made out with Alejandro. He HAD SEX with Alejandro.
And he doesn’t regret it nearly as much as he should. If someone had told the Noah that was sitting in that diner with Owen a month ago that the reunion would end with him opening up and having sex with Alejandro he would have laughed in their face and said: “ Yeah, right buddy, sure that happens. Sorry dude, but you’re straight-up delusional. ” Then Noah would have locked himself in his room and thought really hard about how he wished that would come true before repressing the emotions in some way.
But that fantasy is real. This is real.
Noah hears the shower turn off and tenses up, carefully listening. Soon, the bathroom door opens, and Noah peeks his head out of his comfortable haven to see Alejandro walking into the bedroom with just a towel on. Noah’s eyes go directly to his firm and toned chest.
Alejandro quickly notices that Noah is staring and smirks.
“Good morning, mi amado . I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”
“What time is it?” Noah asks as he sits up in bed and rubs his eyes. The sheets fall on his lap, exposing his upper body. Noah glances over at a digital clock on the bedside table next to him and sees that it’s 11 am. Next to the clock sits Noah’s likely dead phone and the two copies of the photos from last night. “I’m surprised it’s not later.”
“Ah, that’s probably my fault,” Alejandro explains as he feels around and finds a hair tie to tie his wet hair back with, “I’m a morning person.”
“Of course, you are,” Noah rolls his eyes.
“I take it you’re not?”
“Not in the slightest,” Noah mumbles, scratching his head.
“Then shall I make you some coffee so you can wake up?” Alejandro asks as he ties his hair back, referring to the small coffee machine in the room.
“That’d… That would be perfect, actually.”
“Alright, then I will,” Alejandro flashes Noah a smile before turning around and humming as he turns on the machine.
Noah carefully stares at the nearly naked man, part of him entranced by how attractive he is and the other half considering everything that’s gone down. He didn’t expect Alejandro to be so… kind after last night. Noah had feared that Alejandro would have viewed what happened last night as a one-night stand and cut ties with Noah afterward, but Noah doesn’t think hookups are typically treated with such courtesy.
“You’re going to drill a hole in me if you keep it up with the staring,” Alejandro cheekily tells Noah as he goes to the sink to get some water for the coffee.
“I wasn’t staring,” Noah snaps, his face burning as he moves his gaze away.
“You’re a poor liar, Noah. What are you thinking about?”
“I… I’m trying to figure out what we are.”
“Well, I have a feeling we’ve at least gone past the begrudging acquaintances' phase…” Alejandro remarks as he returns to the machine with water.
“Come on, you know what I mean,” Noah says, getting impatient. “I want to know what last night meant to you. I want to make sure we are on the same page.”
“Ah, what last night meant to me,” Alejandro repeats. “Well, I like you Noah, a lot more than I should. I think I’ve liked you for a while but never thought I would have a chance to act on it. Never did I think you would be affected by my flirting-”
“Wait, you were flirting with me last night?” Noah interrupts, this being news to him. “I thought you were trying to annoy the shit out of me.” Alejandro laughs, facepalming.
“For being so smart, you sure are clueless sometimes.” He turns around and crosses his arms as coffee spurts out of the machine and into a cup placed below the nozzle.
“At first, I just wanted to tease you. I assumed there would be no way to convince you to not hate me. After all, any attempts would be met with comments about being an eel, so I had decided early on that I was content with getting you… Flustered.”
“Well, congratulations, that definitely happened.” Noah is beyond flustered around the sly man who is standing before him looking like a Greek god. Who wouldn’t be?
“But, I quickly realized that wouldn’t be enough. I didn’t want to leave things the way they were between us so that’s why I asked to talk. At the very least, I would get the chance to explain myself to you. Of course, you gave me a lot more than that, mi amor ,” Alejandro winks at Noah before turning around to face the coffee machine again. “Do you like anything with your coffee?”
“No,” Noah lies through his teeth. “I drink it black.” Alejandro shoots Noah a puzzled expression. “Are you sure? That sounds rather bitter.”
“I’m a bitter person so I like my coffee bitter.”
“Mm, that’s not true,” he tells Noah, ignoring his protests as he starts to pour creamer and sugar into the cup. Noah doesn’t know if Alejandro is saying that Noah liking his coffee black is false or if Noah being a bitter person is false. It would be a nice sentiment if he believed both weren’t true.
“Now, for what we are,” Alejandro continues, getting back on topic as he stirs Noah’s coffee cup, “I think that depends on how you feel. Personally, last night made me happy, querido . How did it make you feel?”
“It made me feel good,” Noah mumbles as he brings his knees up, curling up a little into a ball. He feels way out of his comfort zone talking about this. It’s not his level of expertise. “I think I also had… repressed feelings about you- but don’t let it go to that big head of yours,” he tells Alejandro when he sees his face light up at Noah’s words. “You already have a big enough ego as it is.”
“I’ll try, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to help myself,” Alejandro grins as he picks up the coffee cup and brings it to Noah. Noah murmurs a “thank you” as he takes the cup from Alejandro who joins him on the bed, sitting beside Noah.
Noah stares at the cup before giving it a test sip. His taste buds are met with a pleasant blend of bitter and sweet. He can’t help but softly smile, for once enjoying his morning cup of coffee.
“I knew you would like it,” Alejandro says knowingly.
“Shut up,” Noah says into his cup as he drinks some more. “I uh,” he clears his throat as he sets down his cup on the bedside table, “I know this is soon, but we need to talk about what happens next.”
“Next?” Noah nods.
“What are we? Is this a one-time thing or-”
“-I don’t want this to be a one-time situation, do you?” Noah stares down at his hands, carefully considering the question. His mind is screaming no, no, no , but he needs to be 100% certain about his answer.
“I don’t want this to be the end, but how would we stay in contact?” Noah asks in return. “I go to university here in Toronto, you travel.”
“Well,” Noah sees Alejandro bite his lip, “I decided a few months ago that I was ready to start getting an education and… I applied for the University of Toronto, and I got in.”
“So, you’re telling me that this fall we're going to be attending the same University? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“When would I have told you? We weren’t exactly on the best terms before last night, mi amor .”
“Yet here you are, calling me ‘my love’ of all things,” Noah smirks.
“What, don’t like it?” Alejandro’s voice teases as he pushes Noah’s knees down and moves to cradle Noah’s lap, his towel barely staying up.
“Hey, I didn't say I had anything against it but-” Their faces are inches apart. “-Gosh, is not having personal space around you going to be a reoccurring trend?”
“Only if we keep this going,” Alejandro tells Noah, his voice lowering to a more intimate level. “Willing to stick around this ‘eel dipped in grease swimming in motor oil’?” Noah snorts, not minding the fact that Alejandro is using his own words against him.
“As long as you’re self-aware, I’m game,” Noah tells him, staring into his eyes like he’s just accepted a challenge. “After all, kinda hard not to fall for your honeyed words.”
“Oh, so now you’re calling me charming?” Alejandro looks all too pleased with himself. “I never knew that I’d pull such high praise from you, Noah.”
“Ugh, just shut up and kiss me already,” Noah tells his cocky lover as he wraps his arms around his neck.
“Your wish is my command, querido .” And this kiss is just as perfect as the first.
---
There’s something so exhilarating about walking into the hotel’s cafe with Noah by his side, Alejandro realizes. It’s like he finally has what he’s always wanted and now everyone gets to know. They’ll especially know that Noah is his when they see the dark hickey on his neck. Oh, Noah was furious when he saw it while getting ready. He threw several pillows at Alejandro (half-dressed, his hair still unbrushed) while threatening to throw away all of his hair products.
Alejandro was worried there for a moment, but his little lover calmed down after he had more coffee. Noah was sure right when he said he wasn’t a morning person, something Alejandro will be sure to remember from now on.
But outside of being a terror, morning Noah is rather cute. He’s wearing an oversized sweater and sweatpants that shallow his smaller body and although he already brushed his hair, his hair is still a mess, sticking up in some spots. The best part is Alejandro gets to stare as much as he wants. Long over are the days when Alejandro has to sneak glances at his snarky companion and fake disinterest whenever he does something cute like laugh or smile to himself while he reads…
Ah yes, life is good. Life is very good indeed.
“Where shall we sit?” Alejandro asks the grumpy Noah when he sees the “seat yourself” sign by the cafe’s entrance. The cafe is an elegant one, with white tablecloths and fresh flowers in vases sitting on top. Several tall windows line the walls, draped in peach curtains that stream all the way down to the ground.
“I don’t care, just somewhere where we can get some peace and quiet,” Noah responds. “I’m not ready to socialize yet.”
“Very well,” Alejandro chuckles as he walks deeper into the restaurant, passing a few previous Total Drama contestants who have already arrived. Beth, Lindsay, Tyler, and DJ are sitting at one table, Lindsay and DJ talking about some magical pony cartoon they used to watch.
“You watched a girl’s cartoon?” He hears Tyler ask DJ.
“Yes- No! It wasn’t a girl’s cartoon, it was just kinda girly, that’s all. And who cares who it was meant for? It was really good!”
“Yeah Tyler,” Lindsey chimes in, ganging up on her boyfriend, “It was really good!”
The next table they pass has Eva, Izzy, and Owen seated at it. To Alejandro’s disgust, Izzy is sitting in Owen’s lap while they sloppily make out. They don’t even notice Alejandro and Noah walk by. Eva just sighs, her arms crossed, looking more disappointed than anything. He notices Noah mouth something to her and she nods with a roll of her eyes.
The final table the two pass has Courtney, Gwen, Leshawna, and Heather sitting at it. He tries not to look at the table, in fear of gandering Heather’s wrath. Though he does take a moment to wonder when Courtney and Gwen got close again.
Alejandro and Noah find themselves at a table for two, next to a window with a view of a skyscraper across the street.
“Seems we aren’t the only ones who had the idea of eating here,” Alejandro states, casting a glance at the others present. “Will you be alright here? I’m sure the others will talk.”
“They can talk all they want,” Noah says, looking disinterested as he fiddles with a flower from the vase at their table, “Finding another place to eat would be a pain. I don’t really care about their opinions anyway.” Alejandro wishes he could care less about the opinions of others. Alejandro realizes with horror that his family probably already knows about his relationship with Noah. His parents have adamantly refused to watch any of the reality shows that Alejandro has been on- just like Alejandro, though out of shame instead of finding it unnecessary. However, his brother José has always made it his duty to watch whatever Alejandro is in with the sole purpose of making his life miserable. It’s typical of him.
But Alejandro has to stop letting José make him ill-tempered. He had made some progress when he beat the shit out of him in All-Stars, but the progress Alejandro had established quickly regressed after a few months of dating Heather. Alejandro refuses to let José get in the way of another of his relationships. He’s learned his lesson the hard way after he lost the previous love of his life.
Uh oh, speaking of lost love… Alejandro thinks as he watches Heather get up from her table and walk over to his and Noah’s table. She stares at him sternly and Noah shoots her a questioning gaze.
“Uh, have something to say?”
“So, you’re with him now,” she says to Alejandro, ignoring Noah.
“Ah, jealous, are we Heather?”
“Please,” she huffs, placing her hands on her hips, “Never in a million years. I just came to hear the truth. Leshawna told me you losers got together and I couldn’t believe her.”
“And just how does Leshawna know?” Noah asks before Alejandro can beat him.
Yeah, just how does that chica know?
“It has something to do with the crazy fangirl, I don’t know. Does it really matter?” It does to Alejandro, but it’s clear neither he nor Noah are going to get anything out of her. “Well, I just wanted to say that I’m glad you’ve moved on,” Heather continues, aiming her words at Alejandro. “It’s good for both of us.”
“Yes,” he nods, “I agree.”
“Good, I’m glad we agree on something for once.” Ouch . “And you, book nerd,” she turns to Noah, “If he ever does something stupid or wrong, come to me. I’ll beat the crap out of him. Or,” to Alejandro’s surprise, she places a hand on Noah’s shoulder, “We can just talk. I know it’s weird I’m his ex, but I’ll understand more than anyone how it feels.”
“Can you not talk about me as if I’m not here?” Alejandro asks with annoyance.
“Oh shush,” she snaps at him, removing her hand from Noah’s shoulder, “I’m trying to have a moment here with Noah.” Alejandro and Noah share a look. Noah shrugs so Alejandro backs down. “Finally,” she rolls her eyes and turns back to Noah. “What I’m trying to say is that Alejandro isn’t a bad person. He’s a great boyfriend, actually. He just makes stupid decisions.”
“I’m touched, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me, Heather,” Alejandro grins.
“Well,” she grins back at him, “Don’t get used to it.” And with that, she’s off. “And don’t act all lovey-dovey in public or I’ll puke. We already have to deal with Owen and crazy over there.” She points at Noah’s friends’ table before sitting back down at her own, getting suspiciously close to Leshawna.
“Well, that could have been worse,” Noah notes and Alejandro agrees. “But I’m still trying to figure out how Leshawna knew we were together before we even knew we were together.” They get their answer a few minutes later after they’ve already ordered their drinks and meals when Sierra enters the cafe, excitedly chatting with Katie and Sadie. Behind them are a few other cast members. Late risers like Duncan and Geoff still aren’t down.
“OMG, so that’s why they’re trending right now!” Katie loudly gasps.
“And it’s all because of you!” Sadie adds and Sierra shushes them. Alejandro and Noah raise an eyebrow at each other.
“Do we want to know?” Noah asks.
“I feel like we’ll find out whether or not we want to know.”
“Sierra and Owen hatched a plan to get you two together and to everyone’s surprise, it actually worked.”
“Jesus,” Alejandro hisses as he and Noah jump in their seats. They turn to see Blaineley standing at their table, wearing a red jogger suit with her hair in a messy bun. She smiles at them before taking a sip of the coffee in her hand.
“Where the hell did you come from?” Noah asks and she points towards the chic cafe bar.
“I flirted with the bartender and got a free drink,” She elaborates.
“Of course, you did,” Alejandro can just feel Noah’s eyes rolling, “Now can we circle back to what you just said, Mildred? Owen and Sierra did what now?”
“They apparently are the reason we’re together now,” Alejandro quietly says before glaring at the two.
Those idiots? No way.
“Crazy, I know,” Blaineley says, “But it made for a great special last night. If you don’t believe me, you can go watch the reunion special yourself. Or just ask Owen, it’s not like he’ll be able to hide it from you.” Alejandro watches Noah stand up and cup his mouth with his hands. “Owen, come here.” Owen looks up from his table, busy shoving a pastry down his throat (thank god he’s still not making out with Izzy). He points at himself as if to say “me?” before getting up and strolling over. Noah sits down and stares daggers at the oversized man as he gets closer.
“Hey little buddy, hey Al!” He bubbly greets the two when he arrives at their table. Alejandro’s eye twitches. The fool always forgets the fact that Alejandro hates being called Al.
“Owen,” Noah says slowly, like he’s talking to a dog that just got into something he wasn’t supposed to, “Did you and Sierra make some kind of stupid plot in order to set Alejandro and me up?”
“Uh, uh,” the poor man starts to sweat bullets. “Define plot…”
“Owen…”
“It was me, I did it!” Sierra yells as she runs over to the table, waving her hands above her head. “Owen came to me to ask how he could make you and Alejandro not hate each other anymore and I came up with the idea to make your ship a reality!”
“And I only went to Sierra because you acted all weird when Alejandro was brought up while talking about the Total Drama reunion, so I talked to Izzy and she said you had a crush on Alejandro-”
“Izzy!” Noah yells, shooting out of his seat with a red face. Alejandro chuckles, getting more and more amused by the moment.
“Ooo, this will be good,” Blaineley says, still standing by their table, eating up every moment.
“Yeah, Noah?” Izzy says, popping her head out from under Alejandro and Noah’s table. Both he and Noah yelp, startled.
“How did you get under there?” Alejandro yells.
“Using my ninja skills,” she says as she wiggles her way out and up. “You called?”
“Izzy,” Noah grabs her by the shoulders and starts shaking her. “You promised not to tell anyone.”
“About what?” She says, not bothered about being shaken.
“You know!”
“Oh, about the big, fat crush you had on-”
“Yes,” he says while moving a hand and covering her mouth. “That. I was drunk and nobody was ever supposed to know about it.” Noah quickly pulls his hand away with disgust and Alejandro sees Izzy’s tongue sticking out.
“Wait, I want to hear about this,” Alejandro can feel a smile growing on his face as he rests his face against his hand.
“Oh, hahaha,” Izzy laughs, “It’s so funny! So, this happened after the competition in Newfoundland during World Tour. This was after dinner and when filming was over. Remember when some sailors had brought over some rum, and we started drinking?”
“Right, I do,” Alejandro nods.
“Well, Noah got like, super, super drunk and we started to talk about the contest and everyone on the show. Then he starts going on and on about how dastardly handsome you are and how you have this ridiculously sexy voice-”
“Do I now?” Alejandro looks over at Noah who is sitting back in his seat with his face in his hands, groaning.
“I’ll get my revenge,” Noah tells the redhead, his voice muffled by his hands. “Watch your back.”
“Oh, I’m always watching my back,” Izzy narrows her eyes. “The enemy is everywhere! Now come on Big O, let’s let Noah and his cute boyfriend have a romantic lunch!” She lets out a cackled laugh as she grabs Owen's hands and drags him back to their table.
“Sorry, little buddy!” Owen yells as he is pulled away. “I was just trying to look out for you. Please don’t hate me.”
“For once that girl has some common sense,” Blaineley notes and turns to face Sierra. “Come on Sierra, let’s go. If you stick with me, I’ll show you some flirting tips on how to get any guy you want.”
“Really?” She excitedly gasps and with that Alejandro and Noah are finally left alone. Alejandro sees Noah check to see if the coast is clear before slumping in his seat with a sigh.
“Looks like we had a fan club cheering us on last night,” Alejandro hums.
“My friends are crazy,” Noah moans.
Yes, yes they are.
“But it’s clear that they really care about you.”
“Pff, stop trying to come up with something nice to say about them,” Noah tells him, scooting in and leaning forward, his arms crossed on the table. “I know you can’t stand my friends.”
“You’re right,” Alejandro admits, “I can’t.”
“Don’t worry, I can’t either,” and they both chuckle. The tension and chaos die down and it goes back to seeming like they’re the only two people in the world.
“Hey, give me your hand,” Alejandro tells Noah as he reaches out his own on the table. Noah gives him a look but does so without protest. Alejandro squeezes his hand once he’s holding it. “In a strange way, I’m glad those idiots meddled with our lives. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have had the courage to make things right with you.”
“I wouldn’t have either. I would have just kept on hating you,” Noah confesses.
“But here we are.”
“But here we are,” Noah repeats and gives Alejandro a smile that lets him know everything is going to be alright. After all, they have each other and nothing could be sweeter than that.