It's my 10th story spectacular! *blows noisemaker* And for this landmark occasion, I decided to do something big. Something bold.

My first slash fanfic. *dramatic music* Well, I didn't do this just because it's my 10th fanfic. Believe it or not, June is LGBT Pride month, so I'm showing my support.

I apologize if it's not very good slash, but c'mon, my PARENTS read this stuff. I have to be careful.

I dedicate this story to all my friends that are members of the LGBT community. I'm not naming any names, but you know who you are. I support you guys in every decision you make. :-)

Special thanks to Konpeki Rei for betaing. I know it was hard, dude, you being straight and all, but I'm forever grateful for your help.

I don't own Total Drama. I do, however, own my (first- ever!) OC Sophie in this story.

Three months. That's how long it took for Total Drama to come back and find me again. A measly three months since Total Drama World Tour ended.

Of course, this competition isn't for money. And Chris won't be torturing me every step of the way.

But it is a contest. That much hasn't changed. I could still die, as well.

OK, you got me. Only my in- game character could die. I highly doubt that Noah will actually kill me. Still, you never know. There are secrets that boy has, ones he'll never tell, and it fascinates me. That's why I was so excited to find out that he lived a mere 45 minutes away from me. We could hang out and play video games. Complain about the hell that was Total Drama. Become friends.

I pull up in front of the house that I've been told is the correct address. Playthings of all kinds- balls, jump ropes, chalk, a toboggan- are scattered across the lawn. Rain patters down softly onto the asphalt driveway. I walk up the front steps and ring the doorbell.

It's answered by a face I haven't seen since Heather kicked Alejandro in the nuts. I smile. "Hey. Long time no see."

"Likewise," Noah replies, with just the slightest bit of enthusiasm. Good old Noah. Still as sarcastic and monotone as ever. "Thanks for coming, Cody."

I step inside the abode. It's a bit messy in the front hall, but my old teammate/ competitor brushes it off with a "sorry it's not clean." I tell him it's fine. A familiar scent fills the air.

"Do I smell cookies?" I salivate.

A woman appears in a doorway. "Oh, you must be Cody. Yes, those are indeed chocolate- chip cookies you're smelling. Would you care for any?"

"Thanks!" I answer. I head into the kitchen and grab one of the desserts off of a cooling rack. The snack is warm and pleasant in my mouth. "Hmm, these are really good, Mrs. Mikari."

"Oh, I'm not the one you should be complimenting, sweetie. Noah made them," she gushes.

"Mooooom," Noah whines from behind me. I can hear the eye roll in his voice.

I face him. "You bake cookies? What, have you been hanging out with DJ?" I tease. But inside my head, I'm thinking he made these for me?

"Shut up. They're slice and bake, anyway," the teenage boy mumbles back. Unless I'm mistaken, his cheeks are the tiniest bit redder.

"Well, regardless of who- or how- they were made, they're still some fine cookies," I offer. Noah turns just slightly more blushed.

"Look, I have my PlayLocation 3 set up to play Super Road Attackers IV up in my room. You coming or not?" he growls.

"Heck yeah!" I fist pump above my head and follow him upstairs.

Unlike the first two rooms we pass, which either have bunk beds or two singles, Noah's room is occupied by only him. He brags about this as we enter.

"One of the perks of being the oldest. Well, that lives here, anyway."

Besides the bed, the only furniture in the room is a bookshelf and a TV with several gaming consoles hooked up to it.

Yeah, seems like it would be Noah's room.

"Where are your brothers, anyway?" I ask. I know that Noah is the third oldest among seven kids, and that two have already left the house.

"Danny and Mike are at softball practice, and Michela is at the mall. Only Sophie is still here, and I think she's taking a nap," he explains. He lets out a deep breath. "It's about as calm as it ever gets around here. Be thankful."

I plop down in a bean bag chair in front of the TV. "It's no problem," I say, picking up a controller. "I'm an only child, remember? Seeing a full house like this is kinda cool."

Noah rolls his eyes again. "You wouldn't be saying that if you had to deal with them every day." He gets down next to me and presses the START button.

I notice that he's sitting near me. Not too close, but only a few inches separate the two of us. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I don't mind. In fact, I'm debating scooching even closer.

Huh? Why would I do that? It would creep Noah out, dude. Don't be like Sierra. I brush my thoughts aside and focus on the game.

About an hour passes without interruption. Then the door creaks open.

"Noah! Will you play with me?" cries a young girl's voice.

Noah groans. "Sophie, not now. I have a friend over."

Friend. Noah thinks of me as a friend. That's good, right? Then why do I feel upset?

Sophie appears in the room, a small female with dark brown pigtails. "Oh yeah, that guy from the TV show!" she exclaims. She leans down in my face so that our eyes are level. Her pupils are the same chocolate color as her older brother's. It's a nice color, I decide mentally.

The child- if I had to guess, I'd say she'd be about 9 years old- breaks into a humongous smile that makes me wonder for a second if she could possibly be related to the Canadian- Indian boy I know in any way. "You're right, Noah!" she laughs cheerily. "He IS cute!"

Noah lunges for her but misses. "Sophie! I never said that!"

"Yeah you did!" she giggles.

"Did you?" I ask warily. Inwardly, though, I'm doing backflips.

He shakes his head. "I said that you reminded me of our Golden Lab. Dumb and loyal." He shoots daggers at his sibling. "I guess she thought I meant cute as well."

"But look at her! Goooo- ldyyyy!" she calls, and a large dog lumbers into the room. She lands on top of me and starts licking my face.

"See, she likes you! And you look a lot alike, too," Sophie adds, gesturing to the canine's blue eyes and slightly gapped teeth.

"Huh, I guess we do," I admit. They do have one fine- looking pooch. Of course, that's only because she bears a resemblance to yours truly.

Sophie and Goldy scamper up on top of Noah's bed, saying that they'll watch us play. The human girl is quiet for the first few rounds, but then she pipes up.

"Didn't you have a fangirl?" she asks me.

Noah throws her a glance behind his shoulder. "Don't talk about Stalkerlicious in front of me. You know that all I want to do to that girl is too violent to be mentioned in a T- rated fanfic."

I open my mouth just a tad in shock. He must really hate Sierra if he's willing to break the fourth wall. And why does he hate Sierra in the first place? It's not like she did anything to him...

"And you made it into the finals, right?" she adds after saying "sorry" to her brother.

I study her carefully. "How do you know so much about me? I thought Noah said that his younger relatives- like, his cousins and siblings- weren't allowed to watch Total Drama."

My friend looks over to me. "You remember that?"

I blush a little. "I remember a lot of things. Like that you tease your dog with an invisible ball."

"And she hates it when you do!" Sophie pouts from her perch, petting Goldy comfortingly.

But Noah doesn't notice. He just gives a small smile, something that- for reasons I can't comprehend- sends chills up my spine. Weird. But damn, does he look good when he grins...

I shake my head, dispelling any thoughts about how good- looking Noah is. Cuz I shouldn't be thinking that, that's just stupid. "Seriously, how do you know, Sophie?"

She bites her lip and looks to the ceiling. "Oh, one of my friends watches it, and she told me about what was going on." I nod and turn back to my game. Noah frowns for a minute before returning.

Another 15 minutes or so pass. Sophie gets up off the bed and stretches. "I have a TV show I wanna watch soon, so I'm leaving. Bye, Noah! Bye, Cody!" she squeals. "C'mon, Goldy!" she calls from the door. The Golden Labrador follows her out into the hallway.

Noah sighs. "Finally, some peace."

I shrug. "I didn't mind. She's a sweet kid." My stomach growls.

He eyes me. "Hungry?" he asks, reaching for something underneath his bed. He pulls out a bowl filled with...

"Barbecue potato chips and candy!" I cheer, diving into the snacks. "My favorites!" I shovel food down my throat before realizing what Noah's done- he's gotten me my all- time beloved treats. "How did you..." I begin, but he cuts me off.

"You're not the only one who remembers stuff," he quips sarcastically.

I swallow. "That's... really nice of you. Thanks." I offer him the bowl, and he takes a cherry lollipop.

Cherry, huh... arguably the sweetest flavor in history...

Why am I thinking about this?

Cody, you have a brain. You've been thinking about this for the past three months, ever since you stopped seeing Noah on a daily basis. Do the math, genius.

…I'm not. I'm not I'm not I'm not. (If you're confused, I'm arguing with my conscious at this point. Funnily enough, my conscious sounds like Noah.)

I'm not saying you are. I'm just saying you partially are.

Wait, what am I even arguing about?

*sigh* I'm going now, honey. I'll be back once you wise up.

I'm really starting to lose it. Thanks, Chris. Your show has turned me into a psychopath. Like Izzy. Fantastic.

I brush away my thoughts and eat, eventually filling my stomach to the point of explosion and then gaming with my buddy for another two straight hours. Our conversation we have during this period is the occasional taunt and tease, but mostly reflection on our days as contestants.

Noah lays down his controller. "I need a drink. You thirsty?" I nod and get out of the bean bag chair.

I notice something as we pass the living room. "Hey, look. Sophie feel asleep."

Her brother glances over. "Wanna see something somewhat remotely cool?" he inquires. Going up to his sister, he leans over her. "She talks in her sleep- and she talks about the last thing she was doing right before going to bed. I bet if we listen, we'll get the entire plot for her show."

I smirk. "That's actually pretty awesome," I say. "Pretty silly, too."

He begins to whisper in her ear. "Sophie, what did you do today?"

Sure enough, she begins to mumble a response. "I... did something wrong."

Noah frowns. "What did you do?"

That's when I see a corner of something brown underneath a blanket. I pull it out. A book, and it's been bookmarked. Curious, I flipped to the last read page.

Cody comes over in two days. Yippee. And I was just starting to forget the torture I went through.

It's hand- written. I wonder by who?

"I read... his book," Sophie snores.

"What book?"

"Noah's book. I know..."

Then again, it's Cody. The person I hated the least. In fact, I guess I kind of like his company. He's not a complete asshole. No, instead he's caring and funny. A really nice guy.

"What do you know?" Noah asks slightly angrily.

"I know... Noah has a secret," is the young girl's reply.

What? Can't a dude think another dude is nice? Is that suddenly a crime? Geez, you kiss a boy's ear ONCE on national television and everybody thinks you're gay. Honestly people, I WAS ASLEEP.

Noah's been shocked into silence. Sophie keeps babbling on. "I read it in his journal. Noah's secret."

OK, this is stupid. You're a journal. You can't tell anybody anything as an inanimate object. So maybe I'll tell you the truth.

Cody may have been asleep, but I wasn't.

"Noah has a friend..."

So, yeah, I'm gay. Big whoop. So is half the football team, if recent statistics are anything to go by.

"Noah likes... his friend..."

And Cody... I feel really stupid writing this... I like Cody. In "that" way. Which is a totally stupid method of saying so, in my opinion.

"Noah likes Cody."

What, still too complex for your simple little head? In layman's terms, then.

I have a crush on Cody.

Get over it.

Everything's a blur. Noah shouting at his sister, Sophie waking up and apologizing for taking his stuff, the journal falling from my hand...

Noah kissed me on purpose.

Noah is gay.

Noah likes me.

Noah likes ME.

NOAH LIKES ME.

… WHAT THE HELL?

Noah suddenly remembers that I'm in the room with them, and looks at me with eyes begging for forgiveness. "Cody... please... I know how this must feel..."

I'm struggling to remain calm. I begin to back away from the couch.

"Cody... don't... I'm sorry..."

I run out of the room, the hall, and the front door. I slump down against the vinyl siding at the bottom of the porch stairs. It's not raining anymore, but it's still cold. I'm shivering from both the frost and my discovery.

I hear the door squeak open, and someone climb down beside me. I don't have to look to know who it is.

"...I wouldn't blame you if you left."

I curl my knees up to my chest.

Noah sighs. "Probably a bit surprising to find out that your friend wants to be more than friends. Even more so when he's the same sex."

I give a feeble nod. "But I'll admit it, it explains a lot. Like how you always call people 'honey' and why your hair is so smooth."

He points his finger at me. "Now don't stereotype, that's just wrong."

I chuckle. I'm not crying. In fact, the feeling spreading through my body isn't dread, but hope.

"Actually, this explains a lot about me too," I offer.

Noah looks puzzled, something that rarely happens. "How so?"

"Well, I've been thinking about myself a fair bit ever since the show ended. I've been getting these weird feelings for a long time. Ones for Gwen, and ones for somebody else. I just tried ignoring the other feelings by going overboard with Gwen."

He snorts. "Yeah, like we didn't know you had a crush on Gwen before."

I glare at him. "True, but I didn't like her as much as I liked someone else. I just didn't want to admit that I liked the other person. It felt... wrong. It was wrong, or at least I thought so."

"So who is this mysterious person you like besides Gwen?" Noah asks in a surprisingly unsarcastic voice.

I take in a deep breath. "You."

"...Wait. What?"

I stare at the dark storm clouds above. "I'm bisexual. I liked Gwen, and I liked- no, I still like- you."

That little voice inside my head- the one that sounds like Noah- voices his opinions on the situation during our silence. Great, you've figured it out. See you later, Einstein, cuz the rest is up to you.

"So you aren't creeped my crush on you?" Noah questions flatly.

"As long as you aren't creeped out by my crush on you," I counter.

And together we break out laughing. We're guffawing and chuckling at the top of our lungs for a good four minutes. When we start to regain composure, Noah wraps his arm around my back and places his hand on my right arm. I snuggle into his embrace and lay my head on his shoulder.

It feels wonderful.

Together we sit like this, but suddenly I get an idea. I lift my head off of Noah. He looks at me intensely. The same thought is running through both our brains, I can tell. Thunder rolls in the distance.

We inch our way closer and closer. His eyes begin to shut, but not completely. I caress his cheek gingerly.

Only an inch separates us. I can hear Noah's heartbeat.

"I'm nervous," he whispers. "I never thought I would get this far."

I'm amazed by this revelation. I never thought it could even be possible that Noah was afraid of something.

"I'm scared, too. We don't have to if you don't want to," I say softly.

"But I do want to," he admits.

"So do I."

He gives me his trademark smirk. "Then why don't we?"

And he closes the distance.

It's a paradox to me- fitting, I suppose, as it's coming from this handsome riddle wrapped in mystery inside a sweater vest. Gentle, but forceful. Inexperienced, but skillful. It feels so wrong, and it feels so right...

I kiss him back, matching his passion, finally releasing all the denial of my sexuality in this one moment.

Rain begins to fall, but we don't stop. We just keep going until we're oxygen- deprived. I gasp for air. We're both soaked to the skin.

"We should probably get inside," Noah comments dryly, as if nothing has happened.

I gape at him. "We should probably tell our parents," I respond.

He rolls his eyes. "Honey, we have plenty of time to that. But if you catch pneumonia it's only because you waited too long to dry your ass off."

I grin widely. "Same old Noah. Sarcastic no matter what's going on."

He leans back against the house. "But that's what you like about me, right?" He reaches over and grabs my hand. "So what do you say? Want to stay for dinner? I could reintroduce you to my parents, boyfriend."

Boyfriend. I'm Noah's boyfriend. All this time, I thought I wanted to be Gwen's boyfriend, but this is a million times better. No more rejecting who I am. I'm bisexual and flipping proud of it.

I squeeze his palm. "Yeah." Then I mull over his words. "So we are telling our parents then? Your folks aren't homophobic, are they?" I ask worriedly.

His condescending expression has returned. "No, it's not like I have a lesbian aunt that we still see every major holiday. Why, are yours? Will they be upset that there may never be a Mrs. Cody Emmett Jameson Anderson?" he adds, showing that he has at least one iota of concern for me.

I shrug. "They won't kick me out of the house, but I bet they'll ask me if I'm totally positive. Maybe try to convince me I was just 'experimenting.' But, yeah, they should be OK with it for the most part." I tug his arm as I stand up. "C'mon, boyfriend, let's have our first dinner date," I say jokingly. Noah laughs.

Together we go inside the house.

. . .

Unbeknownst to the two boys outside, a girl was watching them from the living room window, filming their conversation- and kiss- with a video camera.

Sophie turned to her laptop, where a video chat with another female is in session. The girl on- screen was older than Noah's little sister, with bright green eyes and curly red hair.

"You getting this?" asked Sophie.

"Yes, yes, YES!" exclaimed Izzy. "NoCo is real! Man, I can't wait to tell all the fansites!"

Sophie gave a huge smile. "And those DVDs of all three seasons?"

"Yours to keep. You've earned them, kid. Thanks for all your work."

"It's been a pleasure doing buisness with you, Miss Acru. Give Owen my best," Sophie said as a farewell.

"Likewise, Miss Mikari, likewise. Tell your brother I said hi," Izzy answered. The redhead ended the chat.

Sophie leaned back. Her brother gets the boy of his dreams, and she gets to watch him on TV behind her parents' backs. Everybody's happy.

Except Sierra.

The End

I'm not sure if I should go "d'awww" or "oh snap, Izzy's back." I'm curious, though, to know what your reactions are. So leave a comment! Flames just fuel the spark between Noah and Cody, though, so consider yourself warned. Until next time, allons- y!