Chapter Text
After singing the final part of the show's name and ignoring Duncan's incredulous comment, Chris turned his attention to the contestants.
"Alright people, the plane will take off in 10 minutes, so now..."
Before he could continue speaking, he was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. “Give me a minute,” he said irritably.
While the annoying host put the object to his ear and prepared to listen, the contestants began to talk among themselves.
“Why did Chris sing the last part?” DJ asked, waiting for an answer from anyone.
“My lawyers managed to inform me that Chris convinced the producers to include musical challenges in the show,” Courtney responded with a full smile on her face, although without looking at her co-star.
“Oh, no! Girls sing. Little birdies sing. Ha ha. Duncans do not sing”, Duncan exclaimed at the information revealed by his girlfriend.
"Come on Duncan, singing won't be so bad, you have a great voice, we'll surely destroy everyone else," Courtney replied as she affectionately grabbed his hand. He rolled his eyes, though she didn't notice.
“Of course, it won't be bad for you because you like to sing,” said Leshawna.
“It will be that way as long as Duncan doesn't die from his disdain for singing”, Gwen commented as she walked past Tyler and Izzy until she was behind the couple. His comment made everyone laugh except Courtney, who instead shot daggers from his eyes.
Despite being at the back of the line, Alejandro managed to visualize the interaction between the couple and the goth. “Interesante…”
“I wonder if the musical challenges will require duets”, Bridgette commented as she looked sadly at the floor, longing for Geoff.
“I pray there are, because Cody and I would be the best duet ever!” Sierra exclaimed in response as she hugged the geek so tightly he couldn't breathe.
“With my rap skills, my victory is assured, eh,” said Ezekiel, crossing his arms in a rapper's pose. “You will definitely be the first eliminated,” Noah replied, as expressionless as ever. “Oh yeah? We'll see about th…”
“New news, people!” Chris exclaimed as he approached the teenagers, “I've spoken to the producers and they've informed me of some small changes,” he said with his typical smile.
Stepping in front of the plane and the contestants, the host pointed to his right at a dilapidated bus heading towards them. “First, the losers who had originally failed to qualify for this season will be able to compete after all.”
“Really?!” Bridgette exclaimed ecstatically.
“That's right, the producers said that with the full cast our ratings will surpass the atmosphere,” Chris said as he raised his arms to the sky. The bus stopped behind him. “So here they are…” he began to say while positioning his arms in the direction of the door as an introduction.
“Geoff!”
The door opened and the surfer came down smiling with his thumb raised.
“Hey dudes, it seems like in the end…” Before he could finish, Bridgette ran and threw herself at him, tackling him to the ground and kissing him.
“Geoff! I'm so glad you're here!" said the granola girl after stopping the bombardment of kisses. “Me too baby, being without you is like a party without its DJ,” Geoff stated, taking the hand that his girlfriend offered him to get up.
While the surfing couple joined their peers, Chris continued with the introductions.
“Beth!”
The farmer girl came down greeting the people.
“I'm glad to join you on this jour…” Like Geoff before, Beth was also interrupted and thrown to the ground, this time by Lindsay.
“Yaaay, we'll travel the world together!” the blonde exclaimed, then she got up and helped Beth do the same.
“Justin!” Chris exclaimed, although he had to cover his face so the shine of the model wouldn't blind him.
As the trio get up and moved out of the way, it was the best friends' turn.
“Katie and Sadie,” the host said without encouragement.
Getting off in the order in which they were called, the two girls were excited to see the plane. “Oh my gosh Sadie, I can't believe we're going to travel the world after all!”
“I can't believe it either! I hope we visit Paris!” Excited reply from her friend. Seeing that no one was running towards them, Sadie distanced herself from Katie and lunged at her.
“Can we please hurry up? “I don't have all day,” Chris exclaimed, quite annoyed. "Eva."
The muscular girl came down without saying a word, and somehow, Izzy lunged at her from inside the bus. “Team E-scope is finally complete!” the orange-haired girl shouted happily. “I hope I don't regret this,” was all the Slavic woman said as she grabbed Izzy by the side and joined the rest of the participants.
“And last and therefore least, Trent,” Chris said as he looked at his phone.
Trent got off the bus and greeted his companions, but when his eyes met Gwen, she looked away. Before he could think or do anything about it, Katie and Sadie collectively pounced on the guitarist.
“Well, since all the losers are gathered, I'll continue with the list of changes: Aftermath has been canceled, so all the money used on that second-rate show will go to more important things, that is, me,” everyone groaned or they pouted at such a statement while Chris pointed to himself, “and whatever was left over was used for the program. Third and related to the previous point, we have changed some pre-established challenges and have added new cities and countries to our travel list,” Chris could see how several of the contestants gave each other worried glances, which made him smile widely.
“And fourth, but not least, I must tell you that originally I had suggested musical challenges this season,” his smile was replaced by a sad face, “but to my regret, one of the producers decided, wickedly and senselessly, to scrap my brilliant and bright idea at the last minute.”
The last point was answered with snorts and gasps of relief from the contestants, especially Duncan. The only person to react differently was Courtney, who instead angrily berated the despondent host. "This can not be! Why this last minute change!? Reality singing shows are supposed to be in fashion!”
“I wish I knew, Court, unfortunately I can't do anything,” his downcast face returned to its usual cheerfulness, “but fortunately your suffering at the hands of the new challenges will be consolation enough,” the sadistic host smiled wickedly as he rubbed his hands.
An intern got off the bus carrying a briefcase in both hands, stopping next to Chris. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Sierra, could you come closer for a moment?”
“Of course Chris,” the crazy fan quickly approached, “what do you need?”
The intern opened the briefcase, from which Chris took out a syringe containing a blue liquid. Without saying a word, he stuck the pointed object into her right arm.
The girl's instant reaction was to fall to the ground and convulse, foaming at the mouth, nose and ears, to the horror of her fellow contestants, while Chris and the intern watched in apathetic boredom.
A minute later, Sierra jumped up, completely in perfect condition. He removed the foam that was still on his face with a handkerchief that the intern gave him.
“What… was… that?” Heather managed to formulate, with some difficulty pronouncing the words.
“According to what her family told us, Sierra suffers from obsessive-compulsive infatuation syndrome, so they gave us these prescription vaccines to treat her during the trip”, he pointed his finger at Cody, “since it seems like you're the object of his affection, you'll take care of that!” In line with what Chris said, the intern handed him the briefcase.
“B-but when am I supposed to inject these things?” the geek asked with justified fear.
“When she starts chasing you madly, which I think will be within 10 or 15 days,” he replied without much interest, “so said and done, all aboard!”
With nothing else to do, the contestants obeyed, while several interns began to move Owen's body with considerable difficulty.
“Looks like I have a chance now, eh, Pasty?” Duncan said to Gwen as he boarded the plane first. “We'll see,” the gothic girl behind him replied with amusement, much to the chagrin of the CIT.
After showing the various interiors of the plane, showing the confessional, kicking out Ezekiel in the process and finally taking off, Chris led the young people back to the first class entrance.
“Alright people, as you know, I'm a generous person,” again there were collective groans as we heard the host glorify himself, much to Chris's delight, “so for the remainder of the trip to our destination, I will allow you to stay in first class.”
This time, the response from the group of teenagers was to cheer and applaud. The host ran to the side and motioned with his arm for them to enter the first class, which was happily obeyed by everyone.
“Every second, we're getting closer to adventure…and further from mama.” DJ sat down sadly in his chair.
“Don't worry DJ, it won't be that bad.” Beth tried to console him. “By the way, why are you suddenly so attached to her? I-I'm not saying it's a bad thing,” he waved his hands nervously, “but I don't remember you even mentioning her in Wawanakwa.”
“The guilt over my illegal alliance with the chef made me realize that I didn't take his lessons about honesty and working on yourself to succeed in life as seriously as I should, so I make sure to keep that in mind. And what better way to do it than to be around or constantly thinking about her.” DJ said with a beaming smile on his face.
“Suuure…”
While the farmer and the animal lover continued talking, Harold did the same with Leshawna. “And that's the history of aviation,” when he finished his long and meaningless monologue, he noticed that Leshawna had her eyes set elsewhere. “Leshawna, did you even pay attention to anything I said?”
“Of course, honey. My ears are completely focused on you.” Harold turned his head in the direction of what the big girl was seeing.
“And what part of the world would you like to visit?” Bridgette asked the Hispanic boy. They were both sitting by the bar.
“The truth is that I would like to return to my beloved Spain. As the son of a diplomat, I've already visited much of the world, so returning home, even just to film an episode of a reality show, wouldn't be bad at all."
“That's so cute,” Lindsay joined the conversation, sitting next to Alejandro, “even if your country is a place full of pain.”
Harold looked at the cameraman. “He's obviously trying to make me jealous.”
A good distance away from the trio, Tyler watched disheartened as his girlfriend entertained herself talking to the new boy. Geoff walked past her, noticing her mood. “What's up dude?”
“I'm supposed to be Linds' boyfriend, but she still doesn't remember my name, and on top of that she keeps talking to the Spanish guy.”
“Don't worry bro,” Geoff tried to reassure him as he placed his hand on her shoulder, “I'm sure she'll remember you eventually. Just because he's talking to the new guy doesn't mean anything's going on between them.”
“Do you really think so?” the athlete asked more animatedly.
"Of course! Besides, it’s not like the new guy is going to flirt with her in front of you.”
As if on command, Alejandro began to do exactly that. “Tell me, señorita, what is your secret to staying so beautiful all the time?”
“Oh Alexander, the answer is so obvious: lipstick, eyeliner, curling iron, comb…”
While Lindsay continued listing the beauty products, the Spaniard focused his attention on the surfer girl, “And Bridgette, what's your secret?”
The question took her by surprise. "I? Well, I…uh…I don't wear makeup, I prefer natural beauty.”
“Really?” Alejandro leaned closer to her ear, “to tell the truth, that makes you more beautiful than Lindsay.”
The surfer blushed at the comment and let out a small giggle.
Geoff and Tyler now looked worried at the Spaniard. “Did you say?” asked the boy of red.
While the duo and trio continued with their business, Justin watched from one of the couches.
(Booth confessional).
“That Spaniard is an idiot if he thinks he will replace me as the prettiest boy on Total Drama.”
“I think he already did.” Chef said without taking his eyes off the sky.
“Chef, you're supposed to be attracted to me!”
“Sorry, second-rate pretty boy, your powers don't affect me anymore.”
“Argh, never mind!”
(End of confessional).
Heather, sitting at the other end of the bar, was also watching Alejandro interact with the two girls, before turning to her own glass. “Dorks”, she murmured.
Sitting around the rectangular table, Courtney and Duncan were discussing the recent events.
“There's no way they canceled the musical challenges!” The brunette exclaimed.
“Yes, it is a great tragedy”, the criminal responded dully, turning his head in the direction of the fish tank in front of him (which for some reason did not have fish).
“I should call my lawyers to fix this nonsense. What do you think Duncan?”
“Any decision you make will be the right one.”
When Courtney was about to add something else, she noticed Duncan looking at the fish tank, deep in thought.
For a moment he considered getting her attention the traditional way, whether by snapping his fingers, pretending to cough, or simply talking to him, but he thought twice and gave up. As she looked at her boyfriend, she realized something. She had noticed it before, but at the time she didn't think much of it.
Since they got back together about a month ago, in the few meetings they had, Duncan behaved...different. He was more withdrawn, even indifferent, at least when he interacted with her; during the meeting and subsequent trip to the airport he was still acting just as jovial with Gwen, DJ and the rest of his friends and co-stars.
Noticing this discrepancy in Duncan's interactions sent a shiver through his body. Had I done something wrong in the last few days? Did you still resent her for everything that happened from the second season onwards?
She was aware that his behavior was less than...stellar during Action, and how that played a role in Duncan deciding to vote against him. And in retaliation she broke up with him, although later they would get back together. Then came all the conflicts, arguments and separation again in the following months.
While she handled his return professionally, at least in front of Duncan, his family, and the cameras, deep down it felt like a miracle granted by God himself. And she was determined to preserve it at all costs.
Taking advantage of the month-long gap between the announcement of the new season and the first day of filming, he took several quick anger management courses, abandoned the whole scripture thing with changes to make Duncan perfect, and much more. Heck, I even buy self-help books and guides for relationship problems (“How to Interact with Your Boyfriend After Treating Him Like Shit on a Reality Show, Breaking Up and Coming Back Multiple Times, and Other Relationship Problems by Stephenie Meyer” was a surprisingly good read coming from someone like her, especially considering the atrocity known as Twilight).
But judging by Duncan's reaction, it probably didn't work.
“Duncan?” Asked with uncertainty in his voice, as he gently rested his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder.
His actions took him out of his thoughts. "Eh?"
"Are you okay? Something happens?" Concern was audible in his voice.
“I…yes, of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't it be? We both made it into this season, and Geoff and the rest can compete with us too, which is fantastic!”
His attempt to reassure her was of little use.
“Duncan”, she spent a few seconds looking at what to add next, “if something happens you can tell me. I know lately we haven't…”
“Princess”, he rose from his seat, “everything is fine. I just need some time alone, okay?” He patted her on the back reluctantly and left first class.
Courtney watches her boyfriend leave, her eyes remaining on him until he finally disappears from her field of vision. Looked at the table. Tears were beginning to flood her eyes.
Then someone approached him.
“Courtney.”
She immediately jumped in shock, before turning to see who had called her.
“Alejandro”, she replied suspiciously.
The Spaniard took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him, with a chivalrous smile. "Please excuse me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The brunette thought for a moment whether or not to accept the role. I finally grab it, albeit a little roughly.
"What do you want? Weren’t you with Bridgette and Lindsay?” She snapped at him as she wiped the water from her eyes.
“That's how it was, but we ran out of topics to talk about, so I thought I'd meet the rest of you”, he sat next to him, “and as I passed by here I couldn't help but come across this sad scene.”
“Seriously, what do you want?” He raised his voice a little.
The Spaniard raised his hands in surrender. “I'm just trying to help a lady, especially if it is a fellow Hispanic woman.”
Courtney stared at him, before leaning her head on the table. "Please go."
Putting on a worried face, Alejandro continued with his chatter. “Look, I know I'm new to this show and we don't know each other, and it would certainly be disrespectful of me to get involved in other people's relationship problems, but I can't ignore that you're clearly going through a problem.” Seeing that Courtney didn't react, he placed his hand on her shoulder, “I know, I know, we're in a competition and all, and God forbid, eventually we will have to confront each other, but that is no reason not to help those who need it.”
A long silence followed. It was clear that he achieved nothing, so Alejandro got up from his seat. Before he left, he turned to look at Courtney once more. “If you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you.”
After several hours of flying, and despite moving to economy class so that no one would bother her, her notebook was still blank.
He put the tip of the pencil in his mouth. “Maybe I could draw the plane crashing over the studio, with Chris and Chef falling out of the sky in flames. Hmm, no, too kinky, even for me.”
His thoughts were interrupted by Cody.
“Hey Gwen, how are you?” He sat by your side. “I see you are drawing.”
“Hey, uh…hello Cody,” Gwen responded awkwardly, with a forced smile. "I'm good, thank you for asking." He looked at his notebook again, “if you call having a blank notebook drawing. And you, what have you been doing so far on your trip?”
“Oh, you know, training my muscles to deal with Chris's challenges,” he struck a pose, while Gwen had to focus all her willpower on not laughing at her friend's statement, “do you want to see them?”
“Look Cody, right now I would like to b…”
“There you are Cody.” The superfan appears behind the pale girl. “I was looking for you everywhere.” He turned to look at Gwen. “Please excuse me, but I have to talk to Cody.”
The purple-haired girl grabbed the geek by the neck and took him back the way he had come.
“See you Gwen”, Cody said goodbye, which was reciprocated by the goth. After both of them finally left, he returned to his work.
“Hey, Sierra, where are you taking me?”
“Where we can talk alone.”
When they finally entered the economical dining room, Sierra let go.
“And what did you want to talk to me about?”
“I wanted to propose an alliance to you.” Sierra said bluntly.
“An…alliance…with me?” Cody certainly wasn't expecting that.
“Let's get right to the point: I'm new, I clearly have no relationship with any of you, and therefore no one will think twice about kicking me out if we lose a challenge.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “And analyzing all the options, you are the best card in the deck for an alliance.”
"But because I?"
“Because you're nice and low-profile enough to stay under the radar.”
“Well”, he put his hand to his chin, “you're right.”
“And in exchange for your vote, I will help you win over Gwen.”
“I guess it's a boo wait! That?" Sierra smiled inwardly at Cody's reaction.
“Are you seriously going to help me win over G…!?” Sierra lunged at Cody and covered his mouth tightly. After a minute of silence, and checking to make sure Gwen wasn't coming any closer, Sierra slowly loosened her grip. Cody spoke again, but this time in a whisper. “Are you seriously going to help me win over Gwen? But didn't Chris say that I was the object of your affection?” That last question caught Sierra off guard, but only briefly.
“Since you are my favorite contestant, technically he is right, obviously I am going to show you more affection than the others. But since I have my vaccines prescribed, I won't go crazy over you, am I clear?” He waved his hand to dismiss it, but that only had the opposite effect.
“Yes…”
“Besides, I'm the president of the Gwody Fan Club, so I have every reason to help you with Gwen.” He extended his hand to her. "Deal?"
Cody stared at Sierra's hand for several seconds, but finally shook her own. "Deal."
“Perfect, let's go to the bar for a drink.” She turned around and left, while Cody slowly followed her, not entirely convinced of what he had just done.
(Booth confessional).
“Yes, I made an alliance with Sierra, she says she will help me win over Gwen and that she won't go crazy over me. But the whole thing about his…condition…scares me.”
“You're right to be scared by that girl", Chef said.
Cody looked at the ground for a few seconds before composing himself. “I think I better be careful.”
“Yipee!” His screech was heard throughout the plane.
“If you scream like that again, I'll throw you off this plane, I don't care what Chris says!” Chef yelled angrily at Sierra.
"Ups, I'm sorry." He focused his attention on the camera. “As I said, I can't believe it, I actually managed to form my first alliance! And on top of that with Cody! This is like a dream come true!” His face turns serious. “I really like Cody, but because my parents gave me the means to treat my syndrome, I won't lose sight of what really matters: the million dollars.”
“You are equal to all women, you know that?”
Sierra ignored him. “Obviously, me and Cody alone are not enough, so more people will be needed in the alliance.” He puts on a thoughtful gesture. “If our future team includes some of the more useless or unsociable players, like Katie, Sadie or Eva, it should be easy to include them under our control. As for helping him win over Gwen, I obviously lied, but he doesn't have to know that.” He winked at the camera and left.
“Fangirls, no one understands you.”
(End of confessional).
After finishing his glass of champagne, Alejandro headed to one of the folding chairs to rest a little, but someone stood in his way.
“Alexandro, right?”
“Alejandro,” he corrected him, then looked him up and down, “you're Tyler, right?”
“Yes, this…I…well…” He stood at attention and exhaled. "Please follow me."
Tyler pulling him away from his break was certainly irritating, but he still complied. "Of course."
The athlete took him back to the bar, where Lindsay, Geoff and Bridgette were, the latter two arguing.
“We're just friends, okay? He may be a little flirty, but…” He watched Tyler and Alejandro approach. "I can not believe it."
“Is something wrong, my friends?” Alejandro asked calmly, although he had already realized what the problem was.
“It's okay, Alejandro.” Bridgette spoke before Geoff or Tyler. “It's just that some people can't see us interact with other men.” I glare at Geoff.
Ignoring Bridgette's comment, Geoff spoke. “Bro, it's not okay for you to flirt with Tyler's girl, especially in front of her!”
“Geoff, I repeat, he is not interested in us!”
“Who is Tyler?”
“Linds, it's me!” Tyler exclaimed, desperate.
“Noah, it's not okay to lie, do you want to be just like Heather?” He pointed his finger accusingly, which made Tyler shut up.
As he watched both couples argue, an idea came to mind.
“I can't believe what I've caused”, he covered his face with his hand, “and all because I wasn't considerate enough! I’m so ashamed of myself.”
The quartet stopped what they were doing and looked at the Spaniard.
“Alejandro, please don't exaggerate too.” Bridgette tried to approach the Hispanic boy, but he walked away.
“No, Bridge, he's right! What I have done is not befitting a gentleman, much less a man!” He dropped to the ground, still hiding his face. “A real man wouldn't flirt with another man's lady, that's just not right!”
The performance surprised both Geoff and Tyler. “Look man, nothing's wrong, okay? “We all make mistakes,” the athlete tried to reassure him.
“Yeah, dude, I may have exaggerated a little,” Geoff added.
Bridgette looked triumphantly at her boyfriend acknowledging his mistake.
"Really?" The Spaniard uncovered his face, while making a face of hopeful disbelief.
“Definitely,” Bridgette blurted out.
“Yeah man, you really didn’t do anything wrong, we were the ones who were wrong,” Tyler added.
This was the time to take the initiative.
“Amigos”, he rose and straightened, “I thank you with all my heart that you are willing to be so lenient with me after my inconsideration toward you. Please accept my sincere apologies for any trouble or offense I have caused you, I was never aware of how my actions could affect others. I know we are in a competition, but I would really like to meet you and be your friend.” He extended his hand to them. “How about we put aside my terrible actions and start again?”
Geoff's response was immediate. “Of course, dude!” I shake his hand tightly. “I also apologize for my overreaction.” Tyler followed him. “Yeah, man, me too.”
“I'm happy for us,” he said with a smile that conveyed peace of mind to his mates. “I would like to continue chatting, but you must excuse me. I need to rest a little before reaching our destination. And I think it would be good for you too, don't you think?
Everyone nodded.
Bridgette took her boyfriend's arm and led him away from the group. “Geoff, just because Alejandro apologized for what he did doesn't mean I forgive you.”
“Oh, come on baby.”
“We will continue this discussion at another time.”
It was Lindsay's turn to say goodbye. “See you later, Alessandro, Noah.” He greeted them before turning around and leaving.
Tyler moaned again, before following his girlfriend.
Now with no one to interrupt him, he went to the couches, quite satisfied with his results.
“Just a little more work,” he thought, “and those two will also fall under my control.”
A serpentine smile formed on his lips.
The cargo hold was huge, really huge. Quite dark, full of boxes, suitcases and containers, it seemed like a maze in which it would be very easy to get lost.
That made it an ideal place to talk without being disturbed.
“I'm here, I guess you wanted to talk to me about strategy?” Eva got straight to the point.
“I wanted to talk to you about strat…” Noah's eyes widened, surprised that Eva had anticipated the topic of the conversation.
"Any problem?"
“Uhhh…no, no problem.” Noah regained his composure and acted as if nothing had happened. "Please take a seat." He points to a suitcase for him to sit down. She rejected it.
"As you like." The sarcastic brunette sat on a large metal container, which had a sticker that said “danger”.
“So, we don't know how the teams will be formed. It could be like in the first season, where Chris, Chef, the producers or whoever had already decided. Or as in the second, we will be chosen by team captains. Or maybe something completely new. Anyway, I think the most logical thing would be that as soon as we reach our destination we stay together at all times, don't you think?”
Noah was speechless, impressed that his athletic friend had anticipated and thought through all of this. Even so, he managed to compose himself again. “Yes, that would be a good first step. The second…"
“It would be to form an alliance with some of our teammates, regardless of how the teams are chosen.”
"…exact. We should analyze from now on who we could add. I propose Owen.”
“That human-shaped meatball? I don’t think it will be very useful to us.”
“Maybe not physically, but his stomach and his vote do. In case you had forgotten, he somehow managed to win the first season. Plus, he’s Izzy’s boyfriend, she’ll surely want him with us.”
“Speaking of that nutcase, where is she?”
Noah pointed his finger behind him.
Eva looked out and saw the orange-haired girl sleeping in a dog's position on top of a large puddle of saliva, coming from Owen (taped to the wall). For some reason, she hadn't noticed his snoring until he saw said disgusting scene.
Turned his attention back to Noah. “I guess I’ll just have to accept it.”
"Wise choice."
“Well, you're not going to like it, but I propose Duncan. That criminal has skill.”
“You're right, I don't like him, but you're also right about him being skilled. The problem will be convincing him to join us.”
“I will be able to persuade him.” The girl immediately flexed her arms to emphasize her point. Noah smiled; the thought of Duncan joining his alliance in terror and begging for mercy was quite comforting.
“Can you think of anyone else who is worth it? Because no one else comes to mind to me.
The question snapped Noah out of his happy imagination. “If it weren't for our past conflicts, I would say Justin. His ability to charm the ladies would come in handy.”
Eva looked at the floor, embarrassed. "Yes, you're right. Any other?"
“No, no one else at all. That would be all."
“And if by some chance of fate or some trick of Heather's we end up separated, what do we do?”
For the third time, Noah was stunned; not only was Eva proving to be smarter than he had given her credit for, but he himself had not considered that possibility.
“To be honest, I didn't think about it. In that case, I suppose we would have no choice but to form alliances at the discretion of each one with the teammates we have, and resist until the merger. From there, the three of us and our allies should dominate until the inevitable and tragic moment comes of stab us in the back.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Anything else you think needs to be talked about?” Noah was already getting tired of Eva catching him off guard.
“Now that you mention it, what about the new ones? "They don't give me a good feeling."
“I agree. Sierra seems like one of those obsessive fans with no social life but with a lot of free time, surely she has dedicated it entirely to us, and that includes viewing and creating web pages, making ships and crazy theories, going through our trash, and…” Noah shuddered at the mere idea. “…write fanfics.”
“And the Spanish, Mexican guy, whatever?”
“If I learned anything from growing up in the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant part of Canada, it is that Hispanics and Catholics are bad news who deserve all our hate and discrimination. I just hope he doesn't have the same magic with girls as Justin." I stare at Eva. “Anything else to consider?”
“No, I think that's it.”
“Okay, when our adorable and eccentric couple wakes up I'll tell them everything. You can go now." He detached himself from the container and headed towards the first class, but Eva stopped him.
“Noah, are you… are you okay?”
For Eva to show concern for anyone, even if it was one of her few friends on the show (and possibly one of her few friends in general), was a rare thing to see. It certainly surprised the Indian boy, but not to the point of him freezing for the fourth time.
“Yes, I feel fine, I appreciate the concern. Does my forehead look worse than normal?”
“Of course not, but you went blank, three times, in a span of two minutes.”
“Ah, that. No offense, iron woman, but I didn't expect such strategic thinking and foresight to come from you, considering your anger issues, and that you're not one to think. You really surprised me.”
Those words were a stab against his chest. To hide it, he let out a small giggle, while placing his right arm behind his head. “You're not wrong, under other circumstances I wouldn't have done it, but being with you taught me some things, you know?” As soon as he finished speaking, a silly but endearing smile appeared on his face.
“It makes me happy to know that I've helped someone move up their skill tree. Keep it up, and you could master all of Total Drama.”
And with that, Noah left.
Eva stayed where she was, grateful that Noah didn't see her as her face contorted into a pained expression.
Yes, Noah was right, she wasn't the type to think things through, and her anger issues didn't help either. She recognized it herself.
But even so, having he friend think that about her still hurt.
“Did you draw something?” Just as he had hoped, he managed to scare Gwen.
“Do you want to kill me?” She asked amused, but hyperventilating, as she placed her hand on her chest.
“I'm pretty sure Courtney would enjoy that outcome.” His response earned him a small playful punch on the shoulder.
“Shut up, or I will make sure you share my fate.” He wielded his pencil as if it were a knife and pointed it at the criminal's neck.
Duncan put his hands in the air and adopted a mocking voice, “oh no, please don't kill me, I beg you, mercy.”
Playing along, Gwen pretended to make a long cut on his neck.
“Oh no, I bleed! Noooaaaaghhh…”
They both burst into laughter.
When they had finally calmed down, Gwen gave him her notebook.
Duncan raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Nothing?"
Gwen's smile disappeared. “Don't even tell me.” He takes his notebook again.
“If you want, I can help inspire you. “How about I throw Heather or Chris off the plane?”
“If you want, I can help inspire you. “How about I throw Heather or Chris off the plane?”
“A tempting offer, but I don't want you to be sent to jail for that.”
With Gwen focused on her notebook, silence reigned in the room, until Duncan decided to break it.
“And how have things been going between you and Trent?”
Now it was Gwen's turn to raise her eyebrows. “Went well… Why the interest?”
“Come on Gwen, do you really think I didn't notice? I saw how you looked away when his gaze passed over you. And since we went up to this pigsty you have been avoiding him like he was a plague.”
Immediately, Gwen covered her face with her notebook, full of shame. “I'm bad at being subtle, right?”
"Absolutely." Duncan sat next to him. "But what is the problem? Didn't they agree to remain friends?”
Gwen adjusted herself to face him. To her surprise, Duncan was serious, something very unusual for him. “Yes, we did, but…” The words choked in his throat. On the one hand, she wanted to spit it all out, but on the other, she thought it was better to keep it to herself. “Duncan, I appreciate your concern, I really do, but this is something I can handle on my own, okay?”
Duncan didn't seem convinced, but agreed not to press. “It's okay, you don't want to talk about this, I understand. Sorry to bother you." He stood up and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Gwen told him as she grabbed his wrist tightly. Immediately regretted it.
Duncan turned to look at her. He could see that her face was pleading for him to listen to her, even though she said otherwise.
“Gwen, you can tell me anything, okay? “I am not going to judge or criticize you.”
To avoid looking at him, she lowered her head.
"It's my fault."
"What?"
“It's my fault." He continued looking at the ground. “It's my fault Trent lost his mind, and then he became a shallow idiot afterwards.”
“You know as well as I do that that's not true.”
“I would like to believe it, but if so many claim it it must be true.”
“There are miserable people who have nothing better to do in their free time than to also make others feel miserable. Just ignore them."
His reaction was instantaneous.
“Just ignore them?” He looked at Duncan with fury in his eyes. “Just ignore them!?” He stood up from his seat suddenly. “Just ignore all the messages and letters they sent me, calling me a whore, unfaithful, inconsiderate and a heartbreaker!?”
By this point, I was screaming into the air.
“Ignore that they have thrown stones and bricks at my house, with death threats or calling for me to commit suicide!?”
As she continued to ramble, Duncan watched intently and impassively. He knew what he had to do next.
“Ignoring that they accuse me of being responsible for you and Courtney breaking up…” By the time she realized what had happened, she was leaning against Duncan's chest, surrounded in a warm embrace.
“Duncan?”
“You can't let what those people tell you affect you.” He turned her head away so he could look at her in front of him while holding her shoulders, “I know it's difficult, but I also know that you can overcome this, because you are not one of those who bow so easily to what others think of you. When you were eliminated in Action, did you just shut up and let them talk lies and nonsense about you?”
"…No."
"This is no different. If you let them see that their actions bother you, not only will you give them the satisfaction of having won, but they will continue and increase.”
As Duncan spoke, Gwen looked at him in shock, almost not paying attention to what he was saying. While Duncan had already shown to have a soft side, it was almost always for Courtney. This was the first time he had such a deep conversation with his green mohawk friend.
“…if you think he has become a jerk and a narcissist, you need to make him see reason. And if he doesn't, too bad for him, because it means he's not worth your time.” Released his grip on Gwen. “Besides, you had nothing to do with my breakup with Courtney, understand? That was totally our business.” He scratched the back of his neck before continuing with a smile. "So when we get to wherever we're traveling, you're going to go show all those time-wasting idiots, who can't break you, who can't make you miserable, that you're better than they'll ever be in their lives pathetic lives, allright?”
Gwen nodded in response, strengthened by his words of encouragement.
“Thank you, Duncan. I really appreciate it.” Looked into her bright blue eyes. “Courtney is lucky to have you.”
Duncan's smile almost cracked.
“Yes, she is lucky.”
The room fell silent again.
“How about we stop acting like bland protagonists in a romantic movie, and instead go into the cargo hold and put ink bombs in some suitcases?” As he said that, he took out a small bomb from his back pocket and showed it to Gwen.
A mischievous smile emerged on Gwen's face. "I'm in."
They both headed to the warehouse through the rear emergency exit.
Unbeknownst to them, behind the entrance to economy class and leaning against the wall, Courtney had watched and listened to them.
“You call this alone time, right, Duncan?”
Normally, Courtney would be seething with anger, but this time that wasn't the case. Instead, a wave of sadness washed over her.
Watching Duncan comfort Gwen made her question her relationship with the bad boy. When was the last time you had an intimate moment like this or similar with each other? “When we got our tattoos…”
As if on instinct, I check where his tattoo used to be located. “Of course, I took it off after that argument…”
She looked back, his expression steady, to where Duncan and Gwen used to be. “That goth bitch thinks she can take it from me, she thinks he'll notice her, but she's wrong. He came back to me because he loves me, not her..."
The steadiness on his face began to crack. "…true?" Two other feelings were added to the sadness: helplessness and fear.
Doubts invaded his mind. “Is he attracted to her? Why didn't he want to talk to me, but with Gwen? Are they going out behind my back?” The last assumption startled her.
“On the other hand, despite being alone (or at least that's what they thought), they didn't do anything high-level. They didn't kiss, they didn't touch each other in inappropriate places, nothing.”
She began to feel great pain in his chest, and his legs began to weaken.
“But it's...pretty obvious, isn't it? He...lost interest in me..."
This last thought made his eyes water again.
Fell back against the wall and sat on the floor.
“No, he wouldn't be able to do it,” a tear came out of his eye, “If he wasn't interested in me,” another tear fell, “he wouldn't have come back to me,” and another, “If he doesn't love me anymore, he would tell me, right?” Despite her best efforts, she burst into tears as she curled up in the fetal position.
“Courtney! Courtney, wake up, come on! We are almost there!"
Those screams, along with a small shake from the person calling her, was enough to wake her up.
As soon as he opened his eyes, she saw a blurry shape, whose primary colors were light blue and yellow.
“Courtney, you finally woke up! We're about to land...Court, are you okay? Something happened?"
“Brid-Bridgette? W-where are we?” I take a quick look around the room.
“In economy class. Come, let me help you.” Carefully, the surfer helped her friend to her feet.
Still somewhat sleepy, Courtney let out a yawn before stretching a little. Then he noticed Bridgette. "Thank you."
"It doesn't matter." She gave it a few seconds before asking again. “Court, are you okay? Something happened? “Why were you sleeping here?”
“Y-yes, I'm fine. Why you ask?"
“Your face is red, were you crying or…”
"NO!" At his sudden startle, he immediately cleared his throat and acted as if nothing had happened. “Wh-I mean, of course I wasn't crying. It's just that I fell asleep, and it's so hot in here. After all, it's a sleazy room for losers, right? Ha ha…"
Bridgette wasn't fooled. I take Courtney to sit on the bench by the entrance.
“Court, listen, I know we've had our differences, especially because of what happened in Action, but I'm your friend, okay? You can tell me anything, I'm not going to judge you. Does this have to do with Duncan?”
Faced with this invitation from her friend to open up and talk about the problem that was plaguing her, Courtney accepted. He adjusted himself to face her with determination, let out a small sigh and spoke.
“Well, I…”
“Are you seriously going to tell him that you were crying like a little girl because Duncan comforted Gwen about her stupid goth girl problems? Do you really want Bridgette to know how pathetic you are?" The determination on his face disappeared.
“Also, she claims to be your friend, but what did she do when you asked for help from the witnesses who saw your unjust elimination at the hands of Harold? She ignored you, because wasting time with that idiot Geoff was more important than helping you.”
A snap of fingers brought her back to reality. "Cut, are you there?"
"Uh, w-what happened?"
“You were about to speak and suddenly you went blank. Seriously, what's wrong with you?"
“Uh, this…I…I…” Bridgette eagerly awaited his response.
“And in case you had forgotten, she is also a friend of Gwen's, she would probably dismiss what you saw as irrational jealousy on your part.”
“…I…I just had an argument with Duncan, nothing out of the ordinary. You know men can be quite difficult to deal with, especially someone like him.” She tried to sound like it was no big deal, but Bridgette wasn't buying it.
“Aha, and what was that discussion about?”
“Well… it was about… about… about his horrible mohawk! I think it's horrible, so I suggested he cut it, but he refused. He said it was very important to his bad boy identity or something. I tried to convince him of the benefits of cutting it, but he didn't listen. You can imagine the rest."
“And I guess during that “argument” he said something inappropriate that made you cry, am I right?”
“Bridge, I told you”, he paused for emphasis, “I wasn't crying, what's so hard to understand?”
Bridgette was getting tired of her friend denying the truth over and over again. “Court, I beg you, don't lie to me. I just want to help you, but if you don't tell me what happened, I can't do it.”
“Bridgette”, the Type A stood up from the stool, “I appreciate you worrying about me, but I assure you, I'm fine, okay?”
“She's hard as a rock.” Seeing that he wasn't going to get her to talk, he had no choice but to accept defeat, so Bridgette stood up too. “Okay, if you say you're fine I'll believe you. It is possible that Alejandro misinterpreted what he saw and…"
“What does Alejandro have to do with this?”
“He told me he saw you crying in first class after a conversation with Duncan. Since you didn't want to talk to him about what happened, he asked me to check that you were okay.”
"How nice of him."
“I know, he is a gentleman. Geoff and Duncan could learn a little from him, don't you think?” Both girls laughed lightly at his comment.
The loudspeaker began to play. “Attention losers, we are about to reach our first destination: Egypt!”
“Come on, you heard it. The rest are probably gathering in the dining room.”
“I'm coming after you.” As Courtney followed her friend, she couldn't help but think about what Bridgette said.
“Did Alejandro ask Bridgette to check if I was okay? Maybe it's not so bad after all. Either way, it's still too early to jump to conclusions about him, but maybe he's a good fit for an alliance.”
As Bridgette predicted, all the contestants (except Owen and Izzy) were gathered in the dining room.
Bridgette went to Geoff, who was chatting with Tyler, Alejandro and Lindsay.
Courtney scanned the room for her own boyfriend, until she saw him...chatting with Gwen.
“Great, I don't know why I expected anything else.” Immediately went towards them.
“And then he jumped off the waterfall, and…oh, hi Courtney, are you okay?” Gwen asked the newcomer as soon as she saw her.
She put on a forced smile. “Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking.”
“Were you crying?” The gothic girl added.
“She, crying? Not even if his family was hit by a train.” Duncan was quicker than his girlfriend to respond.
That comment certainly hurt, but I wasn't going to let him notice it. “Ha ha, very funny Duncan,” she placed herself between him and the goth, “but to answer the question, no, I wasn't crying. It was simply too hot in economy class."
“And what were you doing there? Duncan asked.
“Devising and thinking about strategies, alliances, etc., obviously. Unlike you, who I imagine were wasting your time with her.”
“What if he was “wasting time” with her? You can’t make m…” Before he could finish, the plane landed roughly, knocking everyone to the ground.
“Ouch!”
“Ay!”
“Uf!”
“Alright people, we have arrived! Prepare to go down.”
Meanwhile, Chef entered from the elimination room and stood next to the exit.
“Come on worms, we don't have all day!” Open the door. “Come out, come out, come out!”
Everyone lined up. Courtney stood behind Duncan and Gwen. As the contestants walked out the door, she began to cheer herself up. "Alright, whatever awaits us there, it won't stop me. I'll win this season and keep Duncan out of Gwen's clutches. To the victory!”
Then she jumped.