Chapter Text
No regrets
Chapter 1 Love and betrayal
A giant plane is flying in the night skies, the set of the hit reality tv show Total Drama was currently in its third season, this time it was bigger and badder than ever, for its setting it had been decided it would be a World Tour, where the contestants would travel the world competing in dangerous and insane challenges, all for the opportunity to win one Million dollars, the prize of a lifetime, and a life changing amount of money
At this exact moment we find ourselves in a pretty somber moment for the show, the plane had just departed Greece, where the day’s challenges had taken place however all this pain and confusion wasnt due to the grueling challenge they had just faced, and not due to Chef hatchet’s less than mediocre food
No my friends this somber mood was due to Love and Betrayal…… and at the center of this all was the pale artist goth Gwen, The bad boy punk Duncan, and the poor girl they had both stabbed in the back (and heart) Courtney
Its no secret that Gwen and Duncan had gotten along pretty well over the course of the show, at first they didn’t really interact much due to being on different teams, but as fate would have it they would discover many similarities between themselves after their teams dissolved and the competition reached its merge
They both shared a love of horror movies and seemed to have a similar sense of humor, not to mention they tended to steal glances at eachother here and there, both digging eachother’s style, there was only one problem…
Both Gwen and Duncan had their respective partners already, Gwen had started dating Trent who was arguably one of the most talented musicians in the show and seemed to be a kind and understanding person, as for Duncan he had started dating Courtney, the most outspoken and driven contestant of them all, many would say they were incompatible, but according to Duncan, he loved that fire that burned inside Courtney
But alas neither Gwen or Duncan seemed to be unhappy in their respective relationships, not until the second season started….
during Total Drama Action Gwen and Duncan had become even closer, causing a huge insecurity within Trent, he sadly had to witness his girlfriend slowly fall out of love with him and poor Trent didn't know how to cope with it, letting his team down and getting broken up with by Gwen
It sent him down a depressing spiral and sadly he left the season pretty quickly right after…
As for Courtney she had many issues with Duncan and had to witness from the Aftermath show how close her boyfriend kept getting closer to that weird goth girl, feeling powerless and insecure about it all…. Eventually she was able to join the competition, and really confront Duncan about it all, however her emotions made her act irrational and aggressive towards him, all culminating with her getting voted off the show once again
Things might've been rocky between them but Courtney had left the show still reassured that Duncan was head over heels for her regardless of all their fighting, to her it was just the way they communicated, their own little love language that only they spoke.
As it turned out however not everything was as solid as she had hoped, and it all came crumbling down
During this season she had finally given Gwen a chance and the benefit of the doubt over if she was attracted to Duncan, the two of them formed an unlikely friendship and confided in one another about typical things any teenage girl would talk about with their best friend, of course they were NOT like katie and sadie, but they did share a bond and for a moment Courtney felt like she could trust Gwen and let down her guard around her…. That was her biggest mistake.
During their final challenge in Greece Tyler was ordered by Alejandro to reveal a secret in front of everybody, and her worst nightmare became true, Gwen and Duncan had kissed.
“What!… how could you, i thought we were friends” she yelled as Sierra held her back “ i hate you i hate you!!!!!!” The poor broken hearted girl kept trying to break free of her teamate’s grasp to no avail.
The hurt she felt couldnt be put into words, it stabbed her and drove her insane, she felt humiliated, used, like her entire being meant nothing to the two people she cared about the most, at that moment all she wanted… hell all she needed was revenge, “Cody stay where you are” she turned back to look the author of her pain in the eye “you are so E-L-I-M-I-N-A-T-E-D”
At that moment however we finally make our way to whom this story is truly about, this hopeless young man... Cody
He stayed there standing for what felt like an eternity, hearing the words spoken by the clumsy athlete repeat in his mind over and over stabbing his heart each time
Because it was no secret Cody had a huge crush on Gwen this whole time, a crush that had made him act in ways nothing had in the past, he truly believed himself in love with her
“Duncan….? Duncan?!?!” this was all he could say as he looked at her in the crowd, however she wouldnt look him in the eye, her tearfilled gaze was still fixed on Courtney
Cody suddenly heard a voice beside him
“You called? Heh nice bikini” at that precise moment like a lightning strike Duncan ran up to the group with a smug grin standing right next to Cody
Without a second of hesitation the one they kept calling Geek and Nerd all throughout the show delivered a swift punch to Duncan’s face, not even turning to face him while doing so
*Punch*
The punk hit the floor almost immediately and right there was the Imposing Chef Hatchet to deliver another blow with a towel “SING IT!”
Cody stood there standing for a moment, the sadistic host of the show Chris Mclean had fired his arrow and signaled for the challenge to start, all he had to do was use his fake wings to reach a medal before tyler did, if he managed to do so he would win the challenge, but if he didnt his crush would be gone forever
With a million things running through his mind he only had one thing stick out, and it was the face Gwen was making, a face of pure despair, she might not last very long in this game, but if it were up to him it wasnt going to end this way.
Cody started to flap his fake wax wings with all the might his body could conjure, right now in this moment he would give it his all to at least save gwen one last time, to be able to speak to her and truly understand what was going on, he slowly started catching up to Tyler and even overcame him to snatch victory from the opposing team
“Amazons win” shouted chris giving a sly smile “which means the losers are heading back to the elimination room for the second time in a row”
“My cody!!!” Screamed Sierra while running towards him as he lay in the ground panting and feeling the pain from the fall all over his body only one thought remained “i did it”
“Sierra im ok, i just—— need some time to myself ill join you girls in the plane later”
As he said this Sierra was about to protest and grab Cody against his will to nurse him back to health and check him for any sort of injuries however before she could do any of that he turned to look at her with a serious demeanor “i need to do this please, i cant be around you right now….” Sierra saw how red his eyes were and that his hurt went deeper than just the physical…. That gothic wench will pay next time for hurting her man, but even so something else happened to the crazed stalker.
She understood for the first time that it was better to leave cody be for now, it seemed that whatever was going through his mind was beyond anything she could do at the moment, as unreasonable as she might seem Sierra didnt want to get cody in a worse mood, in the past he had lost his patience with her but he never looked as angry and broken as he did in this moment
“Cody bear, i understand youre very frustrated and need a second so i as your number 1 fan/future wife will grant you your space until you let off that steam that is clearly building inside you, ill just be knitting you a sweater to keep you warm and it tight when i cant “ as she declared this she walked back to her team and made her way back to the plane
Cody then stood up dusted himself off and even gave Tyler a hand up as well, since he had accidentally landed on him, Chef then approached the two contestants and gave them their clothes back and told them to meet him back in the plane
Once Cody had changed back to his regular outfit he walked back to first class with his head held low, the sun was starting to set and it seemed that they were about ready to leave Greece behind.
Interior first class cabin
His hand was hurting, he never thought he would have the guts or strength to do such a thing, but he did deep inside, maybe it was the sheer heartbreak he felt at that very moment, or perhaps something inside him snapped when he truly understood that Gwen would never see him the way he saw her
Cody sat at the first class bar by himself looking at his bloody slightly swollen hand, as he looked at it he started reminiscing about himself and Gwen, at this point in time they had known eachother for a while, he reflected on the way they interacted with one another, a part of him always knew that she wasnt interested in him, how could she be, a girl as beautiful and special as her could have any guy she wanted, and he was fine with it, specially if it was a standup guy like trent.
In the past during the first season he had tried to set them up and in a weird roundabout way it worked they did end up dating and he had thought he was ready to let her go, knowing that she was in good hands with a guy like Trent
Sadly it wasnt meant to be, many underlying issues out of his own control tore them apart before long and she found herself single again, Cody felt a small sliver of hope inside him, perhaps it wasnt meant to be with Trent but with him, maybe he could be there for her and show how useful he could be, he could try to be her friend and maybe one day her boyfriend if he stayed with her long enough she would definitely give him a shot right?
Well it was a rude awakening
“What was i thinking of course she wouldnt like me, ive been acting like a fool” cody muttered to himself, he understood at that moment how childish he had been, gwen didnt see him as a potential partner hell she probably didnt even see him as an equal, the way he had been acting quite frankly mustve caused her to cringe everytime they spoke to one another
He also took into account that he had barely ever interacted with girls back home and during the show he was constantly trying to exude false confidence in the hopes of fooling himself that he could be a so-called ladies man.
And then it happened, Duncan came into the picture, initially he never expected something like this to happen, he obviously knew they were friends, he had seen them interact during season 2 and how close they got to one another, but Cody chose to believe Gwen when she said that nothing would ever happen between her and Duncan, especially since the punk bad boy was dating Courtney….poor Courtney….
Cody looked towards a couple of seats away from his own where the CIT was crying her eyes out, she had been practically inconsolable since the challenge ended, Heather sat by her side trying her best to make her feel better
“I guess even Heather can feel pity for someone when they're going through heartbreak “ thought Cody to himself.
However seeing the scene in front of him made him realize something else, no matter what type of hurt he might be feeling right now it can't possibly compare to what Courtney is going through, after all she had fully put her trust on the wrong guy, maybe she thought that no matter how many fights her and Duncan got into he wouldn’t stoop so low as to cheat on her and truly break her heart
“I cant keep sitting here and feeling pity for myself, i have to always have this determination inside of me to keep moving forward” Cody fixed his gaze towards his fist once more as he said those words in his mind
“Compared to Courtney I haven't truly suffered what it means to have your heart broken, after all…. She was never my girlfriend… maybe not even my friend” those last words truly stung him
“I kept idolizing her, putting her on a pedestal…. Gwen is a person just like me, with flaws and strenghts, she's not perfect and neither am I…. Maybe i just never truly bothered to know her and i only saw what i wanted to see” with this realization fresh in his mind, Cody understood what needed to be done, from this moment on he had to grow up, and take his destiny into his own hands
Cody stood up from his seat at the bar and walked past Sierra who was muttering to herself about how many sweaters she would knit for all the hypothetical children she and Cody would have in the future, this made him shudder with discomfort, but that was a problem for later, at this moment he just made his way towards the one shunned amazonian sitting by herself at the end of the first class cabin, Gwen
“Is this seat taken?” Asked Cody giving a small yet forced smile “cody!…… i uh, oh god i dont even know what to say….. thanks for saving my butt today” answered Gwen, it was evident she also had so many things on her mind right now, but it seemed like Cody’s noble act today wasn't at the top of her priorities
“It's ok Gwen, I did what I had to do for us to win today…. I just came by to talk to you about something” Cody continued obviously a bit uncomfortable this seemed to be a painful thing for him to do but he had determination in his eyes, Gwen noticed this and got a bit nervous “uhm what do you want to talk about now, please don't tell me you're confessing to me right now, i really dont have it in me to be as tactful with your feelings as i wish i could be” the goth’s words seemed unnecessarily harsh but she had also been emotionally and physically drained from the days events
After hearing this Cody felt that same sharp pain he had been feeling all day, it seemed more than evident what he had been thinking was true…. Gwen didn't truly have space for him in her heart, his noble act almost an after thought, she was obviously way more worried about Duncan getting eliminated or what Courtney might think of her now, a part of him couldn't fault her for this it just gave him the last push he needed to say what he had to say
“Gwen im so sorry, i see now who you are, and who i am” Gwen gave a puzzled look at this “what do you mean Cod—“ she was then cut off by him “im sorry for being so creepy to you, for making you uncomfortable with my advances, sniffing your hair and all of that, it wasn't right…. I was being stupid, i didnt see you for you, i only saw a cute girl that i wanted to be my girlfriend, as if you were a prize to be won”
Gwen seemed a bit shocked at his words, her focus now totally on him “i dont want to be that guy anymore, i wanna be better than that, i wanna be able to be the type of person who isn't a joke, or the type that needs sierra to get far in this game” Cody stood up once again “ what i did today…. Was the last thing i did for you, starting now im playing this game the way its meant to be played… maybe someday we can be real friends instead of whatever i was doing before…” tears welled up in his eyes “ i hope you know what youre doing, but i know now that youre not perfect, you hurt courtney really bad, and i hope Duncan was worth it, because he's probably being eliminated as we speak” Cody started to walk away, doing his best to not let it break him…
Gwen just stood there for a moment…. Its true that Cody wasn't exactly her closest friend but the kid always felt like a constant when it came to her time on the show, like a creepy little brother who lusted after her, she didn't truly grasp why he took it so hard, it's not like they dated, but his infatuation came from a place that wasn't healthy for him, and he was trying to leave it behind now… and now she was truly without allies on her team….
Just as this settled into her mind she stood up and ran away “oh god Duncan no!” She thought to herself as she ran to the elimination chamber, Cody was right he was very likely getting voted off at this moment.
Elimination chamber
Chris Mclean stood in front of team Chris is really really really really hot reading off the votes, a stupid smug grin on his face as he reveled in the tension of today’s episode
“I must say you guys sure know how to make things spicy on this show, I mean Duncan leave some for the rest dawg, you just came back, who's next, heather???”
Duncan simply scoffed “whatever just get it over with mclean”
Alejandro was smiling that same devilish grin, possibly plotting his next move, he was by no means happy about today’s results, but he made sure to finally get rid of any type of opposition he might face on his team “oh please chris as if somebody as sophisticated and elegant as Heather would stoop so low” commented the exotic heart throb
“Woah dude you sure seem calm today are you sure things are gonna go your way?” The host seemed extra smug for some reason, but what on earth could he be up to?
As this was being said Gwen managed to sneak into the room and listen to the ceremony
“Please not Duncan, anything else but him leaving” and in a weird twist of fate gwen would get her wish but with unexpected consequences
“Well you all have reasons to be the one to take the drop tonight, seeing as Tyler totally blew it during the competition, and Duncan lost his first chance to make himself useful for the team, as for Alejandro, you also cost your team a medal today, not very suave huh?” Alejandro just rolled his eyes at the host’s attempt at humor
“What about me chris i sure hope i didnt let anyone down today, oh wait i got my medal right here hehehhe” Owen chimed in to make sure everyone else knew he did his best today
“Oh Owen no wonder you're the audience favorite” said Chris with a smile and a raised eyebrow “But tonight the one to take the drop of shame will be………..
…………..
………………………………………………….
This intern!” As he said so he shoved a poor intern out of the plane into the unknown causing the whole team to look on in shock
“As if I'm getting rid of Duncan when things are just getting good” Duncan looked back at his team and gave them a devilish laugh
“In fact ever since the kiss happened our ratings are through the roof, so only for this week you're safe bad boy” Gwen took a breath of relief finally feeling like her prayers were answered, at least now she wouldn't be left to fend for herself
“Not only that, theres a big surprise waiting for both teams when we arrive at our next destination” said Chris looking directly at the cameras now, what else could possibly happen now to introduce even more chaos?
“So make sure you tell your team about it ….. Gwen ehehe” Gwen simply emerged from behind the tiki statue and glared at Chris “great as if they even wanna listen to a word i say” the goth said rather defiantly although her mood improved when she saw her mohawked lover give her a wink
Interior first class cabin 1:40 am
The cabin had turned quiet with only the sound of the wind and the old airplane parts humming, but Cody was still awake, deep in thought, he knew he wanted to start improving, to develop that killer mentality to no longer be afraid, but how could he possibly lear how to do that, all his life hes just been avoiding conflict, trying to lay low and not call much attention to himself
He still felt the stinging pain of his fist, the proof that he had it in him, to rise above being a cowardly nerd, to actually fight back, that's the only reason he felt like he could do something to change things, and just right then he noticed the only other person awake at the moment.
Heather….. the queen bee herself, possibly the toughest girl he’d ever met, but not just in the physical aspect, but in her ruthlessness, her cleverness, how it came so natural to her to be in this enviroment, was she always like this? What makes a person behave the way she does?
Not that Cody wanted to be just like her, he just wanted to have that drive, that fire to compete and not back down, to always have an ace up his sleeve, and the first step to do so, was to take a leap of faith
Cody unbuckled himself and walked over to the queen bee, she was currently just looking out the window in a very regal way, very befitting of her title
Heather simply turned towards him, her once calm and serene expression turning into a petty scowl “what do you want nerd? Cant sleep cuz mommy Gwen rejected you again and got a new boy toy” she said such hurtful words with such ease, yet Cody didn't back down he knew this was his best shot right now
“Heather, i want to talk to you about something very important” Cody said this with a fire in his eyes, Heather could see that slight tinge of fear that remained ever so present in his gaze,that little twerp would barely even look her in the eye but right now was standing right in front of her trying his best to to not break eye contact
“This will be good~” whatever happens from here on out, this game will get a whole lot more interesting thought heather with a cunning smile.
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Well that was my first fanfiction ever and quite frankly im a bit nervous, this was an idea ive had for a bit and im gonna try my best to make this an enjoyable read for anybody who gives it a try
Ive always had a soft spot for total drama and i figured id give this a try since ive read many amazing fanfics over the years
As im still learning i want to apologize for any weirdness in my writing, im gwtting the hang of it but ill never stop trying to get better, if you want to give a review and let me know what you think or what i gotta do to improve please do im open to anything anyone says :)
Thank you so much for reading