A/N:
Hi!
Oh, wow. Long time no see. (:
What has it been? Eight months?
I got all wrapped up in school and just abandoned this whole story altogether. Lots of things have been happening: my close friend has been have problems with her TWO boyfriends that don't know about each other, and I've gotten my heart broken (which is partly why I stopped writing), and my friend is "forcing" me to go out with his cousin.
So I've been really delayed, but I think I grew up a little.
Very, very sorry about leaving you all hanging for months and months!
Its summer now, so I'll get back on writing.
I was looking at the story, because I had forgotten most of it, and I realized by writing skills weren't so great. xD The plot stunk, and . . . it was just kinda bad. Also, I'm not into TDI anymore, so this is the final chapter. Sorry. :(
I don't know, I'm taking continued TDI stories into serious consideration.
Disclaimer; Duh. I don't own anything, 'cept for the plot (I guess.)
--
After walking for about twenty minutes, Courtney broke into a furious run to find camp, but she stopped short and landed on her knees. Obviously she wasn't going to get into the campsite anytime soon. Her panting slowed as she regained her stamina. "Stupid Heather. Stupid Duncan. Stupid, stupid forest!" Courtney screamed out into the air. She stood up, wobbly in her knees. Courtney tried to figure out what time it was. Ten pm? Eleven, maybe twelve?
After taking two more steps forward, she fell flat on her face. "Ow! Ew! Gross!" She lifted her head and spat out the dirt and tiny insects that had entered her mouth. She looked back to see what had tripped her. She glared at the small tree rot. "Stupid tree!" Courtney pushed herself up, only to fall back down. Her ankle had given out.
"Ow," she repeated, turned over on her bottom, and pulled her injured leg closer. There was a large cut on the side of her ankle. "Ah, c'mon!" she cried out angrily and tried to stand up again. Fail. She landed right back on her behind.
"I hate life! Hate it, hate it, hate it! I hate everything in this stupid, snob-infested, bad boy filled life!" she muttered as she dragged herself to an appropriate place. Courtney took a seat on the tree trunk, dug her face into her palms and slowly began to sob.
--
Bridgette looked at her teammate's empty bunk. No Courtney. Bridgette sighed and cocked her head. Where could she be? She's always in here before ten o'clock. I bet she's in trouble. Maybe Duncan knows . . . I'll just go ask.
When Bridgette got to the boys' cabin, they were having a burping contest. "Brrrrrp," Trent burped right as Bridgette entered the cabin.
"Ew, gross!" Bridgette grabbed her nose, closing the cabin door. The boys in the cabin laughed and Trent apologized. She looked around the cabin and saw Duncan sitting on his bunk, with a forced smile on his face. "Duncan!"
"Hey, babe!" Geoff stepped in front of her, with his arms spread out for a hug. "Whatcha up to?"
"Nothing, Geoff," Bridgette said, slightly irritated. She pushed past him to get closer to Duncan, who was staring up at her, wide-eyed. Geoff's shoulder slumped as he glared at Duncan.
She's probably going to tell me Courtney never wants me to see me again, Duncan thought, and his eyebrows narrowed. "What?"
"Do you know where Courtney is?" Bridgette asked.
"What?" Duncan stood up and asked, dumbfounded.
"Sorry, I thought you would know," Bridgette shrugged, stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and looked away, "I haven't seen her since this morning. She's been gone, and I'm getting worried about her."
"What?" Duncan repeated, still dumbfounded.
Bridgette glowered at him and snapped, "Duncan!"
"Oh, sorry. I saw her . . . few hours ago. In the forest, then she just ran off," Duncan thought back to the harsh scene. He shook his head and tried to forget it. "Whatever, if she's still there she can help herself. I ain't helping her!" He lied down on his bunk, with his arms tucked behind his head.
Bridgette noticed the slight concerned tone in his voice. "Whatever. I know you care, but you're not going to do anything about. I'm going to find her," she turned on her heel to walk out of the cabin. All of the boys had been listening.
Yeah, you go do that . . . unless you don't find her . . . and she gets hurt . . . attacked by wild animals . . . and she'll never return . . . her beautiful, uptight self . . . "Bridgette!"
Bridgette turned back from the doorway. "Yes?" A smirk spread across her face.
Duncan stood up and approached her. He lowered his voice to a whisper, so the boys couldn't hear, "Lets go find my princess."
--
Boredom overcame Courtney as she sit on the tree trunk, alone. "I wish Duncan was here . . ." she was too shocked to believe what she said, that she almost didn't know the shaded figure in the darkness. She blinked repeatedly. "Who-who's there!?"
"Hello there, Courtney!" Courtney was tackled by a small female. Izzy.
"Izzy? What are you doing out here?" Courtney sat up on the dirty ground of the forest.
Izzy towered over Courtney and laughed, hard and said, "Psh, I always came out to the forest out night to practice my mating calls."
"What?"
"Mating calls for the beaver. I made beaver friends a while back and little Izzy Jr. wants me to teach her how to preform the mating call of the beaver. Its so fun, check it out! Trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk. See? Its so much fun, you do it!"
Izzy helped Courtney up, and Courtney responded, "I'm too tired to do some mating call. I'm dying inside."
"You're dying?" Izzy gaped and she broke into a story, "My uncle Borris was dying inside! Something about a depressive disorder? Ooh, it was so bad! We took him to the hospital, which was really clean! Did you know hospitals are clean!? I thought it would be really nasty, because of all the sick people, but--"
"IZZY, SHUT UP!" Courtney screamed. "I meant I was dying, emotionally. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm dead already in that department."
"Dead? Really? Why?"
"Heather. Izzy can you get me back to camp?"
"Sure I can! Once I'm done with practicing my beaver mating calls. I'll be done in a few hours. Sit, sit." Izzy stepped forward and rounded her fingers in a circle, then preformed a little dance. "Trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk, trrtk!"
Courtney stepped back, slightly twitched and made a run for it. She did the best she could with her injured ankle, so she was limping, more than running. Anything to get away from that crazy teen.
--
"WHAT!?" Duncan cried as Izzy continued her mating call.
Izzy nodded. "Her last words, 'I'm dying' or something like that."
Duncan nostrils flared as he grabbed a hold of Izzy's shirt. "Something like that? I want exact words!"
Izzy's eye's widened and she squirmed away from Duncan's grasp and Bridgette's glower. She spoke in her casual, nonchalant voice, "Whoa, buck-a-roo. Calm down! She said Heather did something? I don't know, but she was cut pretty bad. Maybe Heather slit her throat! Courtney went away, a few minutes ago. Just like how dogs go away before they die? Yeah, Courtney's dead."
Duncan tried his best to erase the thought of Courtney being dead from his mind, but it kept creeping back in. The thought of his favorite girl, lying limp on the ground, lifeless, killed him inside. "S-she's not dead! I know she's not! Where? Where did she go?"
"Um, that way?" Izzy pointed in the opposite direction of Courtney's location. "Maybe that way, or hey, maybe over there!"
Slap!
Two gasps, one red cheek, and one opened hand.
"Duncan!" Bridgette murmured. "You . . ."
Duncan ignored Bridgette and kept his focus on Izzy, "Tell me, EXACTLY WHERE! Or I'm going to do more than slap you!" Along with his treat, he pulled his hand back further.
Izzy's jaw quivered as the furious, annoyed boy towered over her. She took a few steps back, "There! There!" She pointed, hoping for her life she was right.
Duncan turned towards the direction Izzy pointed out, then turned back to Izzy, "If you're wrong, you're dead."
"Duncan!" Bridgette fumed. "You cannot say things like that to a girl!"
"I can if my princess is in trouble," he glared at her, and she flinched. She had a feeling if she said anything more, then Duncan would strike her too. So instead of arguing, she followed behind Duncan.
--
"My hair is a mess, I'm lost, I'm dirty, I lost Duncan, I'm starving," Courtney listed a few things from her 'Bad Day' list. Now, Courtney was sitting against a tree trunk. She lied her head on her shoulder and decided to just try and go to sleep for the night.
--
No Courtney? What if she really is dead? a wave of sadness flooded Duncan.
"Look, Duncan!" Bridgette pointed to a creature in a tree. "I think it might be Courtney!"
"Courtney!?" Duncan responded automatically, and saw a shaking figure in a tree. "That's a beaver, stupid."
Bridgette glared at him. "Don't call me names! If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even have known Courtney was missing!"
"You better shut up, surfer-chick!"
"Why don't you, ogre?"
Duncan made his open palms into fists. "That's Courtney's-"
Something tackled Duncan so hard that he almost fell over. "Why you!" Duncan looked down to find someone hiding their crying face in his shirt. "Core-Courtney!?" Duncan lifted Courtney's chin so he could make sure it was his princess. His eyes filled with joyful tears as he wrapped his arms around her and spun her around. "Oh, Princess! I thought you were dead!"
"Duncan," Courtney smiled into Duncan's shoulder as the tears crawled down her cheeks, "I'm sorry."
Duncan set Courtney done on her feet. He brushed his fingers through her tangled hair. "Its okay, Princess. You don't need to apologize. And I swear, Heather kissed me! I hate that bitch!"
Courtney giggled and nodded. "Love you, Duncan."
"Love you, too, Courtney," Duncan hesitated before saying Courtney's name. He didn't want to annoy.
"Duncan?" Courtney kissed Duncan's neck.
"Hm?"
"Call me Princess."