Disclaimer: I dont own the Total Drama series or any of its characters or storylines. We good?

Created for a competition on DA, so it may be a little rushed...

Two years since the final season had ended. Two years since he had seen her face, with all its many expressions, every one of them beautiful. Two years since he'd kissed her, hugged her, touched her.

Two years of absolute hell.

Living without her was something he thought could be easy. Something he thought he could do in his sleep. After all, he didn't need her anymore. He had a new girl, a new woman to be with. No more anger spurts, or hormonal attacks. No more fighting over the phone long into the night.

He was wrong. Not having her in his life was like someone had stolen his main air supply. He was grasping on to the small memories of her to keep him alive, like they were tiny air pockets.

They weren't enough though. No memory was like having her in front of him again. He could recall all the kisses between them that he wanted, none of them would be like the real feeling of her lips on his. None of them would stand up to them.

It was crazy to call her again, he knows it was. Stupid even. He could tell she wanted to hang up the phone the second she heard his voice. He begged her to stay on, pleaded with her, leaving all his pride on the other end of the line.

"Please, just once. I want to see you just once, even if it means I never see you again. Please Courtney, just come" He could hear a sigh on the other end. He wouldn't really blame her if she said no, god knows he probably wouldn't accept a visit if he were her.

"Fine, I'll come" As soon as she raised his spirits, she dashed them down again. "But Duncan, don't expect anything to change, because it probably won't" He had nodded and muttered an 'okay'. It's not like he had been expecting her to be happy to hear from him.

The next day, he sat in a small café waiting for her, placing himself on a small table in the corner. A painting hung above him, a girl backed up against the wall, knees hugged to her chest. Her eyes were mournful and her stance was depressing. Duncan looked away, not being able to bear the sadness of the artwork, or the model.

A bell above the door rang as it opened. Duncan looked up, to see her walking through the door. She looked around the café and her eyes met his. He could see her face drop, as if she was hoping he wouldn't be here, and she could just go home and pretend like he never called.

She walked over to the table he was sitting at, and sat on the chair across from him. They both sat silent for a few minutes, soaking up the awkwardness. Duncan was the first to speak, clearing his throat before he began.

"So Courtney, how's it been?" Courtney looked up at him, a small glare on her face. Duncan mentally slapped himself-what a stupid question to ask. Silence overtook them once more, only being broken by the arrival of the waiter.

"Can I get you two anything?" he asked, already impatiently tapping a pen on his notepad. Yeah, you look real manly in that apron, mate thought Duncan, fighting back a sneer.

"I'll get a coffee, black" said Duncan.

"Same here" said Courtney, facing away from Duncan and the waiter. The waiter raised his eyebrows, before walking back to the counter. Duncan turned to Courtney.

"You know, I really do care about you, and I only want to see-" Courtney cut him off.

"Duncan, don't. Please, just…don't" Her voice sounded hurt, and Duncan wanted nothing so badly than to just comfort her. Courtney's hand was resting on the table next to the sugar container. He reached out his, to place in on top of hers, but she retracted her hand quickly. His face fell.

"I am so sorry, Princess" Her face scrunched up at the sound of her old nickname, and she nodded slowly.

"I know" she replied. The waiter came back with their coffees and placed them on the table in front of them. Duncan took a sip of his. Courtney stared at hers, before lifting the mug to her lips.

The two drank their coffee's in silence, Duncan staring at Courtney the whole time. She would sometimes look up, but she quickly looked away every time their eyes met. It was killing Duncan inside, little bit by little bit. He told himself it was worth it just to see her again.

Courtney finished her glass first, carefully putting the cup back on the saucer.

"While this has been…lovely," she said, trying to choose the right words "I have to go now, prior engagements and all…." Courtney stood up, and swung her bag over her shoulder. Just as she was leaving, Duncan called out to her.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. She could see the eagerness in his eyes, and against all her better judgement, she nodded.

In her car, she tried her hardest to hold back her tears until she reached her flat. She always knew it was stupid of her to trust him in the first place, yet here she was, letting him slowly back in again.

Courtney's father had left her and her mother when she was six years old. She watched, first hand, as her father slowly tore her mother's heart apart, leaving her for a younger, prettier version of herself. Her mother had never been the same again, always on edge, forever with a new guy, and drinking the nights away while trying to find some peace of mind.

Watching her mother fall apart over the years, Courtney vowed to never fall in love with a guy, or trust anyone in a way that could send you down a spiralling path. Over her high school years, she didn't once have a boyfriend, and never kept her friends close in anyway. Sure, it meant she was slightly lonely, but at least she knew she was safe from ever having her heart broken.

Then, on a stupid TV show in a crummy island, she met him. Of all the people to let into her life, it was him. He was incredibly rude, badass, and narcissistic, but also charming, sweet, and incredibly good looking. Courtney trusted Duncan in a way that she trusted no one else. She tried to keep him close to her, desperate not to lose the closest connection she had with anyone.

When Duncan ended up doing just what she expected a guy to do, Courtney was devastated. She gathered everything he had given to her, every photograph, every single reminder of him, and burnt them in her back yard. The photos of his smiling face seemed to smirk evilly at her as the flames consumed them.

Lying in her bed that night, Courtney made a decision to tell Duncan that they couldn't meet each other again. No matter how much she missed him, the pain of being in his presence was just too much to bear.

He was in the café before her the next morning, sitting at the same table, looking at a newspaper Courtney knew he wasn't reading. She took a deep breath, before walking over to him, ignoring the way his face lit up when he saw her.

"Duncan, I can't do this anymore, I can't keep meeting you here" Duncan's face immediately fell as her words hit home. He was so close, so very close to her again, she couldn't be going.

"Courtney, please don't do this" he said, his voice sad. He didn't want to lose her again, even if he didn't really have her this time.

"I have to, I can't keep doing this. We can't just pretend like the past two years never happened Duncan, that we never broke up. Because we did, and it hurt. It hurt a lot" Courtney tried to keep her voice steady, but she could hear it shaking slightly. She wouldn't cry, not in public.

"I'll still wait here for you…just in case you change your mind. I'll always be waiting for you" Duncan looked dejected in his stance on the chair, along with his soulful eyes looking into hers-Courtney was remained of a small, pathetic puppy. And that she was kicking it, over and over. She turned on her heel and walked out the door, refusing to look back.

The next morning, Courtney stayed in bed until two in the afternoon, thinking about Duncan sitting all alone in the café, just waiting for her to chime the bell on the door. She groaned as she got out of bed, and spent the rest of the day sitting in front of the TV, watching crappy chick flicks while trying to convince herself she could get through this.

The morning after that, she pre-occupied herself with anything and everything she could think of to get her mind of Duncan. She cleaned her whole house from top to bottom, threw out all her old clothes from her wardrobe, wrote up study notes for the coming semester of college, bought much needed groceries, washed and hung out all her dirty clothes, and painted her finger and toe nails a bright purple. Everything she did reminded her of him. It wasn't fair.

She woke up at six the next morning, and moaned, because she knew that she would be driving down to the café to see him.

Yet, when she was taking a shower, she felt slightly happy that she wouldn't be missing another one of their meetings.

Duncan was sitting at the same table, pretending to read the same newspaper. Courtney sat down on the seat across from him. She tried to ignore his smile as she looked through the small menu on the table. The waiter came, and they both ordered the same coffee's again. Duncan broke the silence that Courtney had been enjoying.

"You came back" he said happily. She looked up at him, her face devoid of all expression.

"What I said earlier still stands. It doesn't mean anything is going to change"

(She swore she could see his old smirk out of the corner of her eye when she was drinking her coffee)

After a week, Courtney smiled at Duncan after he told a joke about one of his old friends. It was a small smile, and only lasted about two seconds, but it filled Duncan with euphoria that kept him up half the night.

Two weeks later, he could reach out for her hand, and she wouldn't pull away. Courtney smiled more often too, once having that big grin that Duncan missed so much stretch from ear to ear. The conversations flowed smoothly, and occasionally, she would let out a small giggle. He always did love her laughs.

One day, when it was raining and Courtney had forgotten her umbrella, Duncan walked her out to her car with his. He opened the door for her (just like any polite gentleman would) and she smiled back at him.

"Thanks, Duncan" she said. She then did something that surprised both him and her. Courtney stepped on her tiptoes and pecked him lightly on the lips. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Duncan wrapped one of his arms around her, and pulled her into a deep kiss.

When they both pulled away, they stood standing close to each other for a few moments, noses barely touching, their breath intermingling in the air.

"This still doesn't change anything you know" Courtney whispered against his lips. He pulled back to see a smirk on her face, not unlike to the one he often donned. Duncan grinned back at her, and watched her as she stepped into her car.

Tomorrow, he thought, tomorrow he'd ask her out. See if the two of them could start off where they so horribly left off.

And maybe, just maybe, there was a small chance that she just might say yes

~fin~

I really dont feel like saying much about this one...

R&R!