Chapter Text
Noah had disliked the island as soon as he stepped foot on it. Although as he got to know how the show ran, the feeling of annoyance towards the island and it's inhabitants devolved into a feeling of despise. His considerations over whether the money was worth the lousy experience became more frequent.
As for the inhabitants, Noah considered most of them insufferable. The most tolerable of them, he found to be Cody. The 'ladies man' character he played was less than desirable, but Noah saw that the kid was relatively intelligent under the facade.
Appearance wise, Cody was - objectively - no one special. But something about him stood out to Noah. He was no stranger to his own sexuality, more specifically homosexuality, and could recognize that something in the scrawny boy magnetized him.
So Noah found himself spending many minutes simply looking at Cody. Overtime he became extremely accustomed to the boy's appearance, every detail seemingly sketched into the front of his mind.
One thing he noticed was just how skinny Cody was.
Not saying he wasn't rather skinny himself. Noah had always been slightly underweight. Eating was nothing special to him, except as an extra yet necessary chore for everyday life. Combined with a high metabolism, it was difficult for him to put on much weight.
Cody though, he was next level skinny. During a challenge the boy bent down, and Noah silently jolted over how visible his ribs were through his shirt. It had stood out to Noah, but not enough to be a point of concern. None of the other campers ever brought it up so he assumed it didn't raise any flags for them either.
As for the other campers, they didn't draw him in at all. Often he found himself being driven away from them in disgust, disinterest, or some combination of the two.
Noah noticed their unspoken alliances and/or relationships fairly quickly. He saw who tolerated who. He knew what certain people wanted other certain people eliminated. Cody seemed to be at a neutral ground with the campers. Noah found that somehow relieving. No danger in losing him. He cringed internally at his own emotions.
A smaller thing he caught onto was that Cody and Owen actually conversed extremely well. Their conversations were passionate and, upon listening in, often had a basis in food. Noah found it amusing that a kid as scrawny as Cody talked about snack food with the same enthusiasm as a behemoth like Owen.
Noah had wanted to have more time with Cody. Before he knew it, he was eliminated and sent off the island to where he would reside for the rest of the season. Playa de Losers.