Author's Note on the bottom

"When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable."
― Jess C. Scott, The Intern

Chapter 6:

"You guys kissed?! Where was I when this all happened?" Bridgette questioned.

"Making out with Geoff, as usual. But listen, I need you to support me. I still don't know how I feel about the whole thing."

"Was he good?" the blonde smirked.

"I don't know. I guess. Bridgette, help. Ugh…" Courtney collapsed back on Bridgette's bed.

"Oh my gosh… Courtney."

"Yeah?" she wined.

"That was your first kiss wasn't it?" Bridgette pestered. Courtney rolled into one of the pillows on the bed and began to wine. "Wasn't it?!" Courtney rolled onto her back and looked at her friend.

"Okay, yes, it was. Are you happy now?" She lifted a hand to her temple and started to rub it. "All of this is giving me a headache."

"You want me to go get you an aspirin or something?" Bridgette asked.

"No thanks. I think I'm going to head out now. Thanks for letting me stay for the night though."

"Anything for a friend. Drive safe!"

Duncan was sitting on his bed with a notebook and a pen. His curtains had finally been pulled apart to reveal a bright and beautiful mid-morning setting. The clothes and other miscellaneous object had been put away into their proper places. Everything was clean and smelt of artificial lemons. Overall, the room looked almost unrecognizable, except for the fact of the large skull carving. His house was empty. Blake had gone to the skate park with friends and his dad was working. It was peaceful though, and Duncan was enjoying the alone time, even though Courtney was the only thing on his mind.

"Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways. Your hair of golden brown and attitude… No, that's not good," he crumpled up the notebook paper and threw it towards the trash bin. "Let me compare thee to a summer's day. Bright and warm. Cheerful and, hmm, pretty? No, no, no!" he crossed out the statement. He tapped his pen in thought against the notebook as he glanced out the window. Shaking his head he glanced at the pile of crumpled paper around his trash bin.

"What am I even thinking? I can't write poetry, or rip off that shaking spears guy. Hmm… What if I just write a letter? Yeah, I'll write her a letter and leave it in her locker. I hope that's not coming off too strong… Nah!" He lifted his pen and began writing.

Courtney,

You are a princess…

He continued his train of thought and wrote so passionately that he didn't notice his father or brother come home. Duncan's hand had cramped up really badly at one point. Holding his hand, he journeyed to the fridge for an ice pack and some food.

"Hey D!"

"Hey Blake, what's going on? How was the skate park?" Duncan asked his brother.

Blake shrugged, "Fine I guess. I hurt my leg trying a new trick and wanted to get the ice pack"

"I'll get it for you bro," Duncan reached into the freezer and grabbed the last ice pack to give to his brother.

"Thanks D!" Blake took the ice pack and left. Duncan positioned himself in front of the fridge and tried to find something to eat.

"Duncan," A voice commanded. Duncan closed the refrigerator door and turned to see his father.

"Uh, hey dad."

"Don't 'hey' me. Where were you last night?"

"I-I was at a party." He tried to stay calm and collected but Duncan hated the way his father spoke down to him.

"A party you say. Were you drinking? Doing drugs? Dealing?"

"No I wasn't-I didn't. I was at Geoff's house. He was having a party but I didn't really do anything."

"Well, what were you doing, you had to be doing something."

"I-I was talking to this girl, uh, Courtney."

"Courtney, eh? Sounds like trouble."

"No, no. She's a straight a student. She's in the Colorguard at school. I've seen her a lot because our practices overlap and we end up sharing the stadium sometimes." Duncan became nervous about how his dad would react.

"As long as that's the truth, you're off the hook. But you need to be home before midnight now. Okay?"

"Okay." Duncan grabbed a water bottle and trekked up to his room to finish up his letter to Courtney.

…And that's why I think you're amazing.

From Your Ogre,

Duncan

"We love the things we love for what they are."
― Robert Frost

Hi everyone. After a very long time I am back! This was the first chapter I've written for any of my stories in a while, but it felt amazing to get back into the swing of things. If you read any of my other fics Shocked will be uploaded next and then I'm going to completely finish Total Drama: Beyond. I don't care if no body reads it anymore, I made a promise to myself that I would finish it because of all the past effort I put into it.

Thanks for supporting me and for reading. Don't forget to leave me a review because it let's me know if people are still enjoying this!

~Issamel Rise