Chapter Text
They arrive one by one, with Duncan being one of the first. He anxiously looks in the window of each passing car, hoping to see Gwen’s face. He didn’t wanna admit it, but he missed her a lot. After they officially started dating, they made the distance (only around 4 hours, but still) work. The last time they saw each other was on the cruise Chris sent them on while the newbies were tortured on the island. It's been almost 6 months since then, and he couldn’t wait, despite the harassment he knew they would both get.
Meanwhile, in the car, Gwen anxiously picked at her nails. There were too many things going through her head right now. On one hand, she was beyond excited to see her boyfriend again after 6 months, but on the other hand there was Courtney...and Sierra, and Heather, and everyone else who hated her guts. She tried to forget all of that and think about Duncan, getting to finally see him, hug him, kiss him, and her mind wandered….
Gwen’s car finally pulled up to the curb, and she soon realized she was one of the last ones to arrive. Everyone but Alejandro and Leshawna were already standing by the curb making small talk with one another. It wasn’t long after her car pulled up to the curb that Gwen and Duncan’s eyes met. Duncan paused his conversation with Geoff and ran to open the door for her as she stepped out of the car. Gwen’s face immediately go warmer as Duncan took her hand and helped her out of the car. Now they were both standing, hand in hand, on the curb.
“Oh hey I-” they both started at once, chuckling nervously. They had a habit of doing that, but they both secretly found it endearing.
“You go first” Duncan smiled
Gwen struggled to pull the words from her throat as she looked at Duncan smiling so sweetly at her.
“Hey…” She tried to start, but now all she could feel was everyone’s piercing eyes.
Before she could turn to see the looks of her fellow contestants, some she even considered friends, Duncan pulled her into a hug
“Don’t worry about them right now, babe,” he whispered into her ear, “I’ve missed you so much.”
Gwen continued to blush and she pressed against Duncan’s chest. As he held her, she could smell his mix of cologne and sweat from the summer heat, and she found it oddly comforting.
As soon as Leshawna stepped out of her car, they headed into the lot where Chris had told them to meet. Heather commented on how odd it was that Alejandro hasn’t shown up yet, but the rest of the cast just blows it off as him being “fashionably late.” As they walk, Duncan slips his hand into Gwen’s and she quietly leans on his shoulder.
“Gwen! Hey girl!” Gwen hears Leshawna shout from behind them.
“Oh hey Leshawna, it's great to see you” there was apprehension in Gwen’s voice, she didn’t really trust anyone right now.
“You don’t sound too happy to see me, whats up girl?” Leshawna asked, concerned.
“Well,” Gwen started, “I just figured you hated my guts like everyone else did.”
“Listen girl, I was mad at first I’ll admit, but I realized that you’re my friend and I want you to be happy.”
At this point, it was hard for Gwen to hide her excitement.
“I mean, I got tripped up by Al, so I get it,” she continued, “and it’s been obvious you’ve been after each other from the start, so go get your man,” she laughed.
Gwen didn’t answer, she simply hugged Leshawna as tight as she could
“Thank you Leshawna, that means so much to me.”
Leshawna laughed and hugged her back before walking beside her and Duncan as they made their way to the mess hall.