Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After checking the hallway, Cody carefully snuck out into the aisle, trying to sneak to the confessional. If Sierra saw him, he would never be able to get out of her grasp and would be covered in lip gloss. That disgusting lip gloss. He hated it. It was sticky, and smelled like Sierra. He's scrubbed his face raw numerous times trying to get that god awful stuff off.

Cody silently turned the handle to the bathroom/confessional, letting out a relieved sigh once inside. Sitting down on the closed toilet seat, he turned to the camera. Making sure to whisper as to not wake anybody up, he started speaking.

"Why can't she just leave me alone?" He asked to noone in particular, looking at his feet. "She's so... overwhelming. I don't even know how to describe it. I've told her so many times that I don't like her. And it's not because she's not pretty or something, she's beautiful."

"Listen, I know Sierra has a crush on me or whatever, I'm not clueless-and I'm flattered, truly- but... why does she have to like me?"

Cody confessed, looking into the confessional camera as if it would respond. He curled into a ball, resting his head on his knees. He ran his hand through his hair before continuing, "I just-..." He paused for a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"I can't stand her touching me." He finally spoke, trying to ignore the tears welling in his eyes. He wouldn't let them fall. He can't. "She's just a girl, I don't know why I'm so scared of her. Not that women are weak or can't be scary or something!" He corrected, "She just has a small crush. It'll pass... right? W-what if it doesn't? She... she wouldn't follow me after the show, right?" He started panicking a bit, 'She's gonna follow me, isn't she? She's gonna find me eventually. What if she finds my house? What will she do to me? I can't imagine how much she's been holding back on camera, even after I say I don't want her, I don't want her kisses or touches that go slightly too far. Wait. I-if she's willing to do small touches on camera, h-how much will she do if we're alone-'

His spiraling thoughts are interrupted by a slightly aggressive knock on the door, 'She's here, she found me, shit, shit, shit-'

"Hello? Who's in there? Get the hell out." He recognized the sharp voice. It's just Heather. Thank god. He got up, finally realizing the tears streaking down his face. He wiped them quickly, holding back a sob. 

"Oh, uh, sorry Heather! I got distracted! I'll be out in a minute." He said, sniffling. Pushing down his stupid thoughts and feelings, Sierra is just a girl, after all. He hesitantly unlocked the door, quickly making eye contact with the taller female.

"What in God's name were you doing in there? I've been waiting for, like, thirty minutes!" She exclaimed.

Thirty minutes?  "Really? Uh, sorry. I guess I didn't realize." He mumbled, still holding back the dam of tears that threatened to break. 

"Were you... nevermind. Just leave, I don't have time for you tonight." She said, going inside the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. He flinched slightly at the noise.

And if he slept in a broom closet that night, nobody had to know.

Chapter Text

The next morning Cody felt terrible. It was easy enough to ignore the ache in his neck from the uncomfortable position he slept in last night. But the fact his foot was in a cleaning cart was really the cherry on top of an already shitty cake. His eyes were still puffy from crying last night. He had woken up early in hopes of being able to brush his teeth before Sierra inevitably found him. 

That’s what got him in this position,

alone with Sierra

alone.

Her hands aggressively cupping his face, roughly pressing kisses all over his face with, once again, that lipgloss. It’s fine. She’s not even kissing your lips. He spoke too soon. Her soft lips should have had any man kissing back passionately, yet Cody wanted to rip his skin off at the feeling. 

Then.

Her hand traveled up his shirt. He tried to grab her wrist. He tried to stop her from going further. She overpowered him. Maybe this was a punishment from the Gods. Maybe he deserved this for all of the perverted things he said about the girls on the Island. He wanted his mom. He wanted his dad. Noah, Heather, anyone. Please don’t let this happen. His prayers were answered. Gwen opened the door, locking eyes with Cody. He pleaded with his eyes. Help. Please. Sierra stopped. She ripped her hand out from under his shirt and stopped touching him completely. Yet she stayed within a foot distance.

“Um, hey… sierra, I-” Gwen paused and looked at Cody once again, “I think Heather was looking for you. Something about her shampoo. You should go see what she wants.”

“I’m a little bit busy, sorry.” she said, getting annoyed.

“It seemed urgent.” Gwen said, with more force than before.

Sierra rolled her eyes, but complied.

“Bye-bye Cody-kins!” She said, blowing him a kiss before closing the door behind her. He had to suppress a shiver. He stared at his shoes, feeling embarrassed that Gwen of all people saw him in such a vulnerable state. 

“Cody..” she said, hesitating a bit, “are you okay?”

He was taken aback, ‘is he okay?’ that’s not what he was expecting. He thought she would call him weak for not being able to defend himself against a girl. 

“I’m fine. T-thank you.” he said.

She knew he wasn’t fine. She saw the genuine fear in his eyes. She saw him relax when Sierra left, and she saw him on the verge of tears almost every minute of the day (if she ever did see him outside of the challenges). 

“Cody, please be honest with me. She was-... she was being inappropriate with you, and I could tell you didn’t like it. Just talk to me.”

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he couldn’t fight back against them anymore. He let out a sob, and Gwen pulled him into a hug. He latched his arms around her tightly and didn’t let go until he was done. Gwen didn’t say anything except soft comforting words. She held him lovingly, such a big difference from Sierra’s aggressive interactions with him. 

“I’m so tired of her.” He said, trying to wipe away his tears and stop crying. 

“It’s okay. She shouldn’t be allowed to do things like that, and I’ll be telling Chris. If that's okay with you, of course.” She said, trying to put him at ease.

“N-no, you can’t! I tried to tell him b-but he just called me weak because she’s a girl. He said I should be able to stop her if I didn’t like it.”

“Cody, that’s messed up. He’s already weird with Lindsay, I should’ve expected it. I’ll handle it myself. If she does anything weird again, please come find me. I’m usually in the first class area, okay?” She replied, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ll try,” He said.

_________________

Gwen was hanging out with Courtney and Heather in first class, since everybody else was hanging out somewhere else. Except for Noah, he was sitting in a seat not too far away, reading his book. She tried to keep her mind off of Cody, but she was worried for him, (and rightfully so!). 

“Ugh, my throat hurts from having to sing so much.” Said Heather, rubbing her neck. 

Courtney opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the opening and slamming of a door. Cody ran in and went straight to Gwen, sitting in the seat beside her and trying to make himself look smaller. He looked disheveled, his hair was a mess and Gwen tried to ignore his belt being slightly unbuckled. 

“What the fuc-” Heather started, but stopped when she was hushed by Gwen. 

Gwen leaned in to whisper to Cody, “Is it Sierra?” He nodded. “Where is she?”

“I-I don’t know. I ran before she could-... do anything bad.” He whispered, a look of slight disgust on his face. Gwen nodded with understanding, wrapping her arm around the boy curled into a ball. He rested his forehead on his knees, feeling embarrassed that Heather and Courtney had to see him like this. 

The two girls sitting across from them both had confused looks on their faces while watching the scene go down. Noah had already gone to the door to lock it, a knowing look on his face.

“What is happening?” Courtney asked, looking between Cody and Gwen.

Gwen leaned in once again to Cody, “Can I tell them?” she asked in a hushed tone.

He shook his head. 

“They’ll understand, Cody. It’s okay.” She said. 

“Fine. But don’t tell them everything.” He muttered, still keeping his face hidden.

“First of all, don’t tell Sierra anything about this conversation, or what has happened with Cody,  okay?” Gwen said, turning her attention to the two confused girls.

They nodded in acknowledgement, getting more curious as she continued.

“Sierra has been… acting weird towards Cody, as you know.” she said, trying to find the right words.

“No, I don’t know. I thought they liked each other?” Courtney said, completely oblivious to the current situation at hand. She didn’t notice the quiet sobbing and shivering from Cody at the sentence.

“No. Don’t say that ever again, please. Cody does not like her. She’s a stalker and even though she knows that, she doesn’t stop when he wants.” She stated, her voice a bit shaky. Courtney’s eyes widened in realization.

“Wait, you don’t mean…?” She asked, reluctant to believe this has been going on. Heather has a confused look on her face while Gwen nods slightly.

“Umm, hello? Explain please.” Heather demanded, getting more annoyed by the minute.

Courtney leaned closer to her ear, whispering an explanation. The way her eyes widened was almost comical, if not for the situation. 

“So… how far has she gon-” Heather started, but was cut off by the pounding on the locked door. 

“Cody?” Sierra yelled, a bit muffled from the door, “Are you in there?”

Chapter Text

Everyone froze, startled by the interruption. Cody snapped his head up, revealing his face that was covered in tears, his bloodshot eyes darting to the door. Fuck. She found me. He rushed to the row farthest away from the door, hiding behind one of the seats. After he was hidden, Gwen got up to answer the door. 

She unlocked the door, cracking it open. 

“Gwen.” Sierra stated with a certain distaste in her words, poking her head into first class, “Cody baby, are you in here?” she exclaimed, trying to get in.

“He’s not. I last saw him going into the bathroom.” Gwen said, trying to make the blatant lie even the slightest bit convincing. Everyone tried to ignore the nickname that slightly disgusted them all.

“You’re a liar! I already checked there. I checked everywhere for my Cody-kins except here, where are you hiding him?!” Sierra yelled, pushing through the door and trying to look around. She glanced at the back of the isles, seeing a tuft of brown hair peeking over the very last row. Nobody could stop the tall woman as she ran to the back, reeling the poor boy from his hiding spot. He tried to get out of her grip, and the scene would have been comical if it weren’t for the context of the scenario. 

“Cody-kins, why were you hiding from me?! We were having so much fun earlier too…” she said, a pout on her lips. The disgust that spread on Cody’s face was immediate, his mind traveling back to what had occurred in his last interaction with Sierra. ‘Come on, I know you like it. All boys do.’ She had said, unbuckling his pants. He didn’t like it. ‘Stay still, Cody-kins.’ She warned, trying to snake her intruding hands down his boxers. Please just stop. He wanted her to stop. She never did.

He couldn’t help the tears that escaped from his eyes from the reminder of what had happened. Likewise, he couldn’t help the way his body froze at the words that came from her mouth next.

“Stay still, Cody-kins.” Sierra said, her words laced with a venom that terrified the younger boy. She knew what effect those words had on him, and she abused that knowledge to no end as of lately.

“Let go of him!” Courtney screamed, grabbing Sierra’s wrist that was holding Cody’s collar. 

“Why? Stop trying to separate us just because you're a jealous homewrecker! Nothing can keep me and Cody-kins apart!” She yelled, pulling her hand off her wrist and bringing Cody into an uncomfortable embrace. 

“What did you tell them, Cody-kins?” She whispered into Cody’s ear, sending shivers down his spine and causing him to experience a sudden feeling of dread. He started to sweat.

“N-nothing. Let me g-go. Please.” His voice broke towards the end, and the words barely came out as even a whisper. 

“Don’t lie, honey. Don’t act like this. I know you like me, and if you don’t, I’ll make you. Your little noises earlier were so delightful, Cody-kins. You wanted it didn’t you, after you led me on for so long, you finally let me take what’s rightfully mine.” Sierra whispered once again, causing him to start crying in silence.

Her hands were all over him. In his boxers, in his hair. Her lips were all over his face. The lip gloss that was left behind made him feel unbearably suffocated. He cried, he asked her to stop, he said he didn’t like it. Yet his body betrayed him as she caused him to release. ‘Look at you, Cody-kins. See? I told you; you like me.’ 

He didn’t.

“I don’t like you, Sierra. I never have, and I never will.” Cody unexpectedly said, with much more confidence than before.

Almost everyone in the room froze at his words, except for Cody himself, who had finally wriggled out of Sierra’s grasp. 

“Leave me alone. I’ve never felt any amount of joy around you, and you make me uncomfortable and- and you do weird things to me and I’m sick of it. I do not like you.” He said, backing away from her. 

The hurt look on her face was pitiful, until it turned into an expression of pure anger as she marched up to Cody. 

“I will always be there in the back of your mind, and you know it, Cody Anderson. I’m gonna haunt you until the day you die.” She yelled, stomping out of the room. 

And if she was, who cares. Cody was going to be okay eventually.