Duncan heaved a sigh as he watched Courtney sashay away from him. He had just been brought back into the game, despite quitting in the first episode of the season. You can imagine how disgruntled he was. To make matters worse, his girlfriend greeted him by complaining over how he "deserted" her. Sure, she said she missed him soon after, but it was hard to ignore the fact that she was more focused on herself rather than how he felt.

I'm sure Princess really did miss me. The delinquent thought as he strolled to the cargo hold of the plane, his hands shoved in his pockets. She probably missed having me to bark orders at.

Leaning against a crate, Duncan slowly sank to the ground, then dug out his knife. With a sigh, he began carving into the wooden box. "Yupp, it's good to be back," he grumbled.

The delinquent wasn't alone for long. He had been followed. "Duncan?"

"G-Gwen!" Duncan exclaimed, springing to his feet. "H-Hey! Uh..." He cleared his throat, resuming his earlier position of leaning against a crate. "How did you find me here?"

"It was simple, really," the goth girl replied, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall. "You grumble a lot, y'know. You left a nice trail of grumbles to follow."

His bright blue eyes scanned Gwen. "W-Why are you here?"

"I, um, I saw that you, uh, looked kinda ticked. I just wanted to see if you were okay," Gwen said, rubbing her arm. "Of course, if you wanna be alone, I can..."

"No! No, you're fine! You're fine!"

Gwen was a little taken aback over Duncan's behavior. He seemed unusually excited around her. They were good friends, so perhaps he just missed her during their time apart. Though, she thought he'd be more excited to see Courtney, but from the angry expression he had on his face through most of their conversation, he didn't seem the least bit excited. That both intrigued and concerned her. "So, you wanna talk?" Gwen asked, taking a step toward him.

Duncan sighed. "I may as well tell someone," he said, sitting back on the ground. "You're the only one who really listens to me, anyway."

"Doesn't Courtney listen?" Gwen inquired as she occupied the empty spot beside him.

"Psh, are you kidding? She can barely hear what I have to say over her constant nagging. I can barely even hear myself think." Duncan held up his hand, using it as a puppet. "All I hear is, 'Blah blah, Duncan! Blah blah, CIT! Blah blah, lawyers!'"

Gwen laughed into her pale hands. "Sounds like Courtney alright!"

"Well, after listening to that for three seasons, I caught on pretty fast."

The goth girl scooted closer to Duncan, smirking as she playfully nudged him. "Alright, now tell me what's on your mind. I'm all ears."

"Okay, here goes," he sighed. "Courtney...she's changed. She's not that fun girl I broke into Chef's tent with, or got heart shaped tattoos with. All she's focused on now is her lawyers, or winning. I don't even feel like she loves me for, well, me. The girl gave me a freakin' contract of our relationship, and how I had to go by every little thing she had listed! What kind of sane person does that?!"

Gwen frowned as Duncan buried his face in his hands. She wanted to speak, but she thought it best to let him continue.

"Man, I feel like I'm trapped in a never ending nightmare with her, and it won't stop!" He turned to Gwen, eyes pleading for some sort of guidance. "I don't know what to do, Gwen. I just don't know."

It certainly was a difficult situation. They had been together for a couple of years now. Despite their rocky moments, Duncan and Courtney still managed to stay together. But, were they together for the right reasons? "Do you still love her?"

Duncan opened his mouth to speak, but it quickly shut. He sighed, hanging his head. "I...I'm not even sure anymore."

"Well, there's your answer."

"What do you mean?"

"Duncan, isn't obvious? If you can't even say whether or not you love her, then it's time to break up with her. End this. You stand up to her, and you tell her exactly what's bothering you. Put her in her place." She reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. It's the last thing she'll expect."

"Psh, yeah, since she acts like she wears the pants in this relationship," Duncan retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Now it's your turn to wear the pants," Gwen said softly, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Show her who's boss."

Duncan took in Gwen's words like a sponge. She was right. No more being a victim. It was time to let Courtney know that she wasn't the boss of him. He was going to live his life the way he wanted to. As he lifted his head to face Gwen, he also realized that he wanted to live his life with someone else too. "Y'know, I really missed you." With a soft smile, Duncan laid his hand over hers.

"Y-You did?" Gwen stammered, her cheeks rosy with blush. She felt her hand tingle the moment Duncan's hand touched hers.

"That whole 'thinking of you while running away from the cops' comment wasn't aimed at Courtney, y'know." Duncan reached out, gently cupping her chin. "I meant you."

The goth girl gasped. She bit her lower lip, scooting away from him. "D-Duncan, I can't do that to her. I just can't."

"So..." He frowned, rubbing his neck. "You don't feel the same?"

"No, it's not that! A-Actually, I do." Gwen giggled nervously. "I've been crushing on you for a long time. I mean, I've never had a guy who actually enjoyed watching Blood Bath II: Summer Camp Reign of Terror with me, or Alien Chunks. Trent hated those movies. I can be myself around you. As sweet as Trent was, I didn't feel like I could really express myself around him." She sighed. "It was a crappy feeling."

"Sounds like you really know how I feel." The delinquent brought Gwen's hands into his own, giving them a light squeeze. "Gwen, I really like you..."

"I know!" Gwen groaned. She gazed at their hands before tugging her own out of his grasp. "But it just can't work between us! If Courtney found out, she'd kill me! We're actually becoming good friends!"

"Then I'll end things with her." The delinquent shrugged. "I wanna give this a try, Gwen. You're the only girl who understands me, and I see that now. I don't wanna screw up this opportunity. Just give us a chance. I won't go cuckoo over you like Trent did. I won't hurt you. I swear."

Gwen studied Duncan's face, gazing into his eyes. It was rare to see the juvenile delinquent with such a serious, yet, emotional expression. His look was tugging at her heart strings, and she yearned for him even more. Biting her lip, she glanced at his lips. "I really do like you, Duncan..."

"Then say you'll go out with me." Duncan held her shoulders. "I'll end it all with Courtney, and then we can be together. She can't get mad at you if I'm not her boyfriend anymore."

"...Oh screw it!" Cupping his face, Gwen leaned in, planting her lips on Duncan's. Her body tingled as she felt Duncan's hands roam to her hips, pulling her closer to him. As she straddled his lap, Duncan ran a hand up and down her back, then let it rest on her bottom. Feeling his tongue slip into her mouth, Gwen pulled away, placing a hand on his chest. "Not so fast." The goth girl smirked. "Let's not rush things."

"Uh, I must've gotten carried away." Duncan panted lightly, a sheepish grin on his face. "I can't help it, though. I'm crazy excited right now. I'm crazy about you."

"Hopefully not 'Trent' crazy." Climbing off him, Gwen rose from the floor to adjust her hair. "We can continue with this another time. For now, you need to break up with Courtney before she finds out about this. I think she already distrusts me. I don't wanna give her more reason to."

"I hear ya, babe," Duncan said as he stood, straightening out his shirt. "Wish me luck." Peering over his shoulder, the delinquent winked as he walked out of the room.

Gwen sighed, smiling to herself as she slowly shook her head. She felt a great need to gush over the first kiss she experienced with her crush within the confessional, but deep down, she knew she had to keep it to herself. After all, they weren't officially together yet. Some ugly business had to be dealt with first. If the wrong person heard about what occurred between them, things could get even more ugly.

Silently, Gwen shadowed Duncan as he approached Courtney in the first class section, who was sitting alone by a window. Gwen observed the couple's every move. First, Duncan approached Courtney with a serious expression. Next, she could see Duncan raising his voice at Courtney, the former CIT flinching. The delinquent's face then softened as the frown on Courtney's face slowly formed into a crestfallen one. It looked as if Duncan were about to say something more before Courtney sprinted toward the confessional, her hands covering her face. As Courtney raced past her, Gwen concealed herself within the shadows. She peeked out once the coast was clear, only to see Duncan sink into a chair, a rather desolate look on his face.

"Duncan?" Gwen asked as she slowly approached him.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Duncan sighed. "It's over with, and I feel like crap because of it."

"It had to be done, Duncan. There was no wrong in what you did. You were upfront and honest with her." Gwen leaned down, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It would've been unfair to the both of you if you kept this going."

Duncan gazed at Gwen for a moment before letting out another sigh. "I'm not gonna hear the end of this as long as I'm here, and neither will you. Y'know that, right?"

"Yes, I know," Gwen sighed. "I guess this show's called 'Total Drama' for a reason."

"Hey..." He squeezed her hand. "At least we're dealing with this crap together."

"Yeah," the goth girl replied, smiling softly. "I guess we are."

The goth girl and the juvenile delinquent shared an endearing smile. However, their moment couldn't last long as they heard footsteps approaching. They were forced to pull apart.

Heather stepped into the room, pausing as she spotted the two. With her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes as she glanced between them. Her dark eyes then scanned their clothing. "Eww, keep away! Your bad fashion sense may be contagious!" She said as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

The pair watched as the Queen Bee stomped out of the room. They turned to face each other with a shrug. Duncan and Gwen knew trouble was heading their way, but they also knew that no matter what drama they would have to face, they would face it together.

NOTES

Though I'm a massive Gwuncan fan, I'm really not a fan of how their relationship played out in TDWT. Duncan cheated on Courtney, and that was not cool. Even if she was mean to him, no one deserves that kind of treatment. Though he still cheats on Courtney here, he at least has the mindset of wanting to break up with her. In TDWT, we don't even know if he planned on breaking up with Courtney, or wanted to stay with her while also being with Gwen behind her back. I wanted to make it more clear here. As much as I don't like the idea of someone cheating on their significant other, I also know that this is Total DRAMA. I had to keep the drama in somehow. I guess either way, the idea of Duncan cheating on Courtney will never go smoothly, no matter how it's written out. It would've been best if he had just broken up with her the moment he came back into the game. But for my story, I can see him being conflicted. While he does still care about Courtney, he also is developing stronger feelings for Gwen. He has to choose one over the other, and after his talk with Gwen, he realizes that he wants her. Gwen's been the one to appreciate him the most for who he is, and doesn't try to change him to suit her needs.

These are not my characters.

Duncan, Gwen, Courtney, Sierra, & Heather/Total Drama World Tour © Fresh TV