Work Text:
Once the producers had called for break, Trent rushed to the green room, trying to get away from everybody, asking for some privacy before he left. He felt…awful. He was called weird for his mental disorder, got his heart broken by the girl he liked, accused of doing things 9 times all just for said girl, basically seen as a creep, and was emotionally vulnerable all on live tv. Going on a reality show was a bad idea. So many people had seen things he would've never purposefully made public. He was exposed, and it felt terrible. He was sitting in one of the couches in the green room, staring down at the floors trying to process everything and figure out what exactly he was feeling. Suddenly, however, his thoughts were interrupted by a light knock at the door.
"Hey, Trent?" Came a muffled voice on the other side. "It's Cody. I know you said you wanted privacy but…I wanted to at least try and give you some company, if you need it. I figured you might need a friend after…all that."
Trent never minded Cody. He was…a little weird towards him and Gwen, but he always seemed like a good guy, just not the best with romance. He honestly expected him to be mad with him after how he and Gwen ended. He got up and opened the door, immediately stepped to the side to let Cody in, giving him a small smile.
Cody smiled back. "Thanks." He said, following Trent back to the couch. "I, uh, I'm not sure how helpful I can be, but just lemme know what you need and I'll try my best." He said as he sat down, letting out a sigh. "I know that had to be…a lot for you. Basically being embarrassed on live tv for something you can't control. Nobody really having your back either. It sucks to see, and I want you to know that I got your back at least."
Trent had…never seen Cody like this before. It felt sincere, too. You could almost always tell when Cody meant something.
"Thanks man." Trent replied as he sat next to the shorter boy. "I can't really say much that hasn't already been said. I was embarrassed and exposed for something I've done since I was a kid. It…really hurts. It took a sob story for people to take my side. I should be numb to it by now, people always looked at me weird when I did things in nines, but here it's just…"
"I get what you're saying. It's different when people you trust act just like everybody else. Hurts more that way. If this helps at all, I never thought you were weird for that."
Trent looked at Cody with wide eyes.
"You didn't?"
"Nope. It seemed harmless. It was just something you did. I have my own habits I do kinda like that. I don't do things nine times like you do, but people always find it weird. Done them since I was a kid too."
"What…do you do? I-If I may ask!"
"You've probably seen me do some of it. I tend to shake my hands and bounce my leg when I get nervous or scared. I'll also rub my fingers on the side of my hand or the fabric of my clothes. My hair used to be longer when I was younger, and I used to twirl it and even hold it against my face. I'm inconsistently sensitive to sound, any volume is either too much or perfectly fine and it changes day to day. I'm working on this one but I tend to chew on things I'm really not supposed to."
"That doesn't sound all that weird."
"To everyone else it is. I've had person after person yell at me for my habits. Ironically, Duncan yelled at me for it once."
"God that guy's a jerk. I mean, why would I be obsessed with the number nine because Gwen has four letters and I have five? Who thinks about things like that??"
"I thought he was really reaching there. I've never met a single person that adds the letters of their names together like that. I hope he feels terrible when he finds out the real reason."
"He probably won't. Especially if he gets Gwen."
"You really think he wants Gwen? Wouldn't surprise me."
"Why else would he have kept trying to make me out to be a creep? Unless I did something to make him hate me."
"Whatever it is I just know he's in the wrong for. You're too nice to do something mean."
"You think I'm nice?"
"Well duh. You're about as nice as DJ, and everyone can admit he's an angel."
Trent smiled again, softly, his cheeks turning red. "Thanks Cody..you're not so bad yourself."
Now it was Cody's turn to blush and smile. "You're just saying that…"
"I'm not. Really. You acted weird and a little creepy sometimes but, hey, I did too, and I could always tell there was a pretty cool guy deep down. And one thing that told me that was how you reacted to Gwen and I breaking up. I expected you to be excited Gwen's available while being mad at me for what I did, but clearly you're not."
"If you were anyone else I would be. But I can tell that you don't really deserve any anger or anything. I'll even admit that Gwen didn't exactly treat you right. Kinda a two way thing in a few areas if you ask me. She wasn't perfect. You weren't perfect. It sucks but you just weren't meant to be. But I know you'll find a good person to go out with. Anyone's lucky to have you."
Trent was about to respond, but a producer came in and told them they needed to be on in five. Trent gave Cody another thank you before walking with him back to set, chatting together along the way.
The two started to see each other pretty often afterwards, chatting on and off, always next to each other on the aftermath set, and becoming genuinely good friends. Eventually the two had decided to start an entire band together, roping Harold and Justin into it. They had bonded over their love of music and decided to try and take it to the next level. It felt so awesome as everything was coming together.
As the band, called Drama Brothers, were writing and practicing for their first album, Cody would spend about an hour each practice by himself practicing a personal project. He didn't say what it was, but everyone could hear quiet piano playing when they passed by the room he was in. Justin suggested he was aiming to impress somebody with it. He had guessed Gwen but Harold seemed to have known otherwise. Trent never questioned it.
One day, Trent had accidentally walked in on Cody practicing. He didn't hear the piano playing and wasn't paying attention to time. Once he noticed Cody, after they both screamed, he felt embarrassed.
"Sorry dude! I, uh, didn't notice the time and I couldn't hear ya. I'll go ahead and-"
"Wait." Cody flipped around in his bench to fully face Trent. "Actually…do you think you could help me real quick?" Trent had noticed Cody's cheeks were pink, but wasn't gonna point it out.
"Oh, uh, yeah, sure." He walked over to Cody at his piano, setting down his guitar case he was carrying with him. Cody flipped back around and scooted over, letting Trent sit next to him. "Whatcha need?"
"This song I'm trying to practice, I got it mostly down but it has a guitar backup. I figured maybe you could play it for me? I could do it on my own but I thought it would sound better with the guitar." Cody seemed…a little nervous asking Trent this.
"Yeah no problem man!" Trent answered with a smile, leaning forward and opening his guitar case, pulling out his acoustic. "What song?" He asked after getting the strap around him.
"W-wanted…by..Hunter Hayes."
"That's a lovely song Cody. You planning on singing it to somebody?"
"You could say that…" Trent seemed a little suspicious now, but got in position to play anyway.
"Just let me know when to play man."
Cody nodded and turned forward to his piano. He shut his eyes, took a deep breath then let it out, playing his hands on the keys, not opening his eyes. He nodded his head to the intended best and tapped his foot, whispering a "1…2…3…" before signaling Trent to begin playing. Cody led in with his gorgeous piano playing, Trent adding the guitar about a beat after. Trent already knew this song, and had played it once or twice, so he didn't need sheet music or practice. Trent looked towards the ground and his guitar as they played in unison, replicating the song damn near perfectly. After a few more beats, Cody would begin to sing.
"You know I'd fall apart without you
Don't know how you do what you do
Everythin' that don't make sense about me
Makes sense when I'm with you.."
Trent was always amazed by Cody's voice every time he sang. You'd expect a guy like Trent or Justin to have a gorgeous singing voice, but Cody? You'd expect him to try too hard and still not get it right. But no. He was amazing. Honestly? Probably the best singer of the band. If you asked Trent anyway. When Cody began to sing, Trent found himself looking at him over his shoulder. His eyes were still closed, and he was definitely focused on the song. Not that he minded. It made Trent smile at how focused he was. How great he was doing. How gorgeous he was.
"Like everythin' that's green, girl, I need you
But it's more than one and one makes two
Put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted too…"
Cody's eyes briefly opened before the chorus, and Trent swore he saw him glance over at him.
"'Cause I wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted
I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget
Baby, I wanna make you feel
Wanna make you feel
Wanna make you feel
Wanted…"
Cody's intensity made Trent wish the band sang more songs like this. Trent enjoyed pop boy band music, but the slow, emotional, meaningful songs was what he adored the most. Especially when the person singing put their heart and passion into it, which Cody was doing just that. His pink cheeks had changed to a dark red halfway through the chorus and his body had tensed, mostly in the shoulders.
"Anyone can tell you, you're pretty, yeah
I know you get that all the time, I know you do
Your beauty's deeper than the make-up
I wanna show you what I see tonight.."
During this line, Cody's body eased up and during the first two lines, his eyes opened and he glanced at Trent again. Part of Trent figured he was making sure he was getting the song right, but the other part could feel the emotion from Cody was aimed directly at him. As if he…Trent shook his head and continued the song.
"When I wrap you up
When I kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted
I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget it
Baby, I wanna make you feel wanted.."
It was Trent's turn for his body to tense and his cheeks to go red. He kept trying to tell himself that this was just practice. He was just helping. Cody's emotion didn't mean anything. He was just singing, nothing more, nothing less…
"As good as you make me feel
I wanna make you feel better
Better than your fairy tales
And better than your best dreams
You're more than everything I need
You're all I ever wanted
All I ever wanted…"
Cody's eyes were fully open now and towards the end and during the brief pause, he looked directly at Trent. Not a glance. A look. Trent had looked back and caught eyes with him, the eye contact lasting for a beat before both men turned their heads and continued the music, bodies both tensed, faces both red, and Cody's eyes closed again.
"And I just wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
And never let you forget it
Baby, I wanna make you feel wanted
Baby, I wanna make you feel wanted
You'll always be wanted.."
Cody's eyes opened at the very last line, staring at his hands on the piano keys. They were both silent, not moving a muscle. Cody eventually put his hands in his lap, but kept looking down. The silence was broken by Trent, who still didn't move.
"..That was beautiful Cody."
"You think so?" Cody quietly responded, looking up at Trent's back. Trent removed his guitar strap and held the neck of the guitar, a smile on his face that Cody couldn't see.
"It was gorgeous." He set the guitar down in its case and turned to the shorter bandmate. "You're unbelievably talented."
Cody smiled and ran a hand through the side of his hair. "Thanks…"
"Did…did you…mean…any of that, for anyone? I'm sure whoever this is for is gonna-"
"I meant it for you." There it is. Trent grew wide eyes as he stared at Cody's near horrified expression. Cody sighed. Trent noticed his left hand was slightly shaking by his lap, his right leg bouncing. "I've…felt that way for a while. I know when we first met I was Gaga over Gwen but..I think a part of me always liked you in a sense. At first it was platonic. I knew that but…seeing the way you treated Gwen should've made me jealous. I should've sat there wanting it to be me that made her smile the way you did. I only got that feeling once. Every other time…I didn't want to admit it, but I wanted to be in Gwen's place. Not yours. Then Total Drama season 2 happened and I just…I hated the way everyone was treating you. I was feeling an emotion I never felt before. I had to do something, help you in some way. Be there for you. Show you at least some support nobody else bothered to give. After filming ended, I had confided in like five people to help me be comfortable with how I felt about you. I've struggled for…a long time figuring out who I was. I thought I had to like girls to be seen as a man, but you came around and helped me realize…I didn't need to do that. You changed my life Trent. And it may be too early to say, but it's how I feel. I love you. I know you haven't been loved the way you should, and I want to give that to you. If you'll let me."
Trent was…speechless. Totally speechless. Not once had anybody, ever in his life said something so beautiful and meaningful. He never felt like Gwen didn't love him, or any other ex he had, but this…Cody's love was on a deeper level than anyone before him. Deeper than Trent's own love for himself. He felt like crying. In fact, he did tear up a little, a tear or two running down his face.
"Cody…-"
"Y-you don't have to return the feelings at all…I just…felt you-"
"I love you too."
"You what?" Cody had a genuine look of total shock on his face.
"I love you too." Trent repeated. "I've always admired you, and not a single person in my life has treated me the way you do. You're unique, and I adore that about you. I can tell how much you care, and how deep your feelings go. I would be insane to let that all go. As I was listening to you sing, part of me at least wanted to believe or was hoping you were singing to me. Glad to see I was right. So yeah, I'm more than happy to let you love me."
A huge smile spread to Cody's face as he hand shaking and leg bouncing stopped. His eyes almost sparkled like a kid in a candy store. He leaned forward and pulled Trent into a tight hug, which was easily returned.
"Dude you have no idea how happy this makes me!! You won't regret this, I promise! I'll be the best boyfriend you've ever had! Nobody's given me a chance like this before, and I'm gonna make the most of it!" Cody pulled his head back and gave Trent a big kiss on his cheek, making him laugh. Cody kept his arms around his shoulders as he sat back. "Should we…tell everyone?"
Trent shrugged. "Don't have to. Maybe at some point, but it's up to you."
"We should at least tell Justin and Harold next time we get the chance."
"We got some time till they show up. Until then," Trent moved his arms from Cody's back to his waist. "If you don't mind.." he said as he leaned closer to his face.
"Moving so fast are we?" Cody teased. "Not that I care." Both boys chuckled as they closed their eyes and closed the gap between them, very softly kissing each other on the lips, Cody being pulled into Trent's lap. They managed to break away 5 minutes before Harold or Justin showed up, and right before they were called to set up actual band practice. Trent closed his guitar case and Cody took down his piano, the two leaving hand in hand. Right as Trent opened the door, Cody snuck a quick cheek kiss, making both of them smile. Both of their bodies had felt weak for the rest of the day, and even the rest of the week, as it was really settling in that they were together. They didn't want to be secret about their relationship, but they didn't want it to be everywhere. They told their friends, but weren't exactly public about it due to their popstar status. Not that that would've stopped paparazzi and tabloids but still. They spent almost all of their time together, up until Cody was called up for another season of Total Drama, and Trent wasn't. Trent would be in Aftermath of course to support him, but it would've felt better if they could've been on the same team. Though now that Trent thought of it, it was the opposite of how their friendship first formed at the first Aftermath, when Trent was on Total Drama and Cody wasn't. Funny how that worked.