Stop And Stare

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Total Drama in any way. All rights are reserved to Fresh Tv.

I walk slowly down the path to the coffee shop I go to on most Saturdays like this. The sun shone on the scorching sidewalk under my sandals. My sunglasses reflected the light of the sun. I loved just walking by myself with no geeks, no freaks, no delinquents, no bossy goody-two-shoes, no bookworms, no loudmouths, no sports dorks. And no Latino antagonists.

With my ponytail swaying behind my head, I find the right place. I walk into the door, the annoying bell ringing on the door when I walked in. I find a comfortable booth, the one I usually sat at. My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I pull it out and look at the text. It was from Zack, my new boyfriend.

hey, meet me at the movies in 20. gotta run, l8ter babe, the text said. Ugh, I had almost forgotten our movie date today! I needed to hurry and order. I grab the first waiter that passes by. "Sir! Um, can you, like, take my order? I'm kinda in a hurry here." I say as he comes over. Immediately I recognize something by how he looks.

"Yes, ma'am, what would you like to order?" he said in a monotone voice while staring blankly at me. He had a heavy Spanish accent and his eyes were a dazzling emerald green. I knew who it was. It couldn't be? I had heard he died two years ago right after the volcano accident.

"Uh, excuse me, miss? Would you like to order?" he said, clearly annoyed at me spacing out.

"Yeah, sorry. I want a mocha frappucino with a caramel drizzle and a shot of vanilla macchiato." I said professionally. If it was truly him, wouldn't he have recognized me by now? My hair was longer and maybe I looked older, but my voice hadn't changed at all and I didn't look that different. He looked at me intently, annoyance spreading quickly across his face.

"Anything else, ma'am?" he grunted, spitting out the words venomously. Had he recognized me, and now he was treating me as if I were just another annoying customer.

"Listen buddy, clean up your attitude. Its, like, really rude." I spat back. He narrowed his eyes at me and began to walk off. If he walked away now, I knew he wouldn't be back. I just needed to know his name.

"Hey, what's your name?" I ask him before we were in direct earshot of any of the other customers. He turned around, his emerald eyes blazing.

"Can't you read?" he said, gesturing to the shining nametag on his shirt. I almost didn't look, afraid that it would be him. But curiosity pulled my eyes in the direction of the nametag. I almost breathed out loud. The tag said Jose. It was not him. Wait, didn't Alejandro have an older brother named Jose? He did resemble his younger brother quite a lot.

"Oh. Do you have a younger brother?" I asked him sheepishly. Would he get suspicious that it was me? Or did he already know? Is that why he acted so hostile toward me? Guilt gripped me as it had so many times for the past two years. If this was his brother, how could I explain to him that I was the person who unintentionally killed his little brother?

"Yes, why?" he asked, his voice and his eyes getting softer, as if he was having a hard time remembering.

"What is his name?" I ask slowly, rubbing my arm awkwardly. Jose sighed.

"His name? It is Alejandro. He is in the hospital, but the doctors say he'll be out in a few weeks." said Jose, his eyes glued to the floor as he explained. His tone was not too optimistic. Wait, did he just say that Alejandro still is in the hospital? As in, he's still alive? I thought in my head.

Excitement gripped me. He was still alive!

"Did you ever watch that show Total Drama World Tour?" he asked weakly.

"Know it? I was on it." I reply, my hands flying up to my mouth as I realized what I had said. Surely if his brother watched it, he would know that I had kicked Alejandro and caused him to get trampled and burned.

"I knew it!" he shouted, pointing a finger at me. His eyes were furious and defiant. He knew exactly who I was. I visibly shrank down in my seat. "You burned and hurt Alejandro! He was in love with you. He told me everything that I never saw between you two. You were everything to him. And you sent him flying down a volcano just to be trampled and burned. Get out of the shop! You are no longer welcome." Jose shouted, the grip he held on his pen tightening visibly with each word.

I stood up, unable to respond. There was too big a lump in my throat. Was everything that he had just said true? Was I really everything to Alejandro? Did he really love me? It was too late now. Jose escorted me out of the door. To my surprise he followed me outside.

"Listen, you wanted me out so just go awa-" I was about to say, but was cut off when he grabbed me by the shoulder and took me a few feet away from the door and spoke to me in a hushed voice, as if there were anybody else listening.

"I really do not like you, but it doesn't matter what I say to Alejandro. The doctor told Alejandro in the heat of optimism that he would live and be out of the hospital. But then he took me outside and told me that Alejandro really only has a few weeks left, if even that. He said that it was a miracle that he had even made it this long. Alejandro heard us talking. He told me the one thing he wants to do before he dies is see you one more time." Jose said, tears brimming his eyes, while some were already rolling down my face. All of this was happening to Alejandro, and it is my fault, and he still wants to see me?

"But, why?" I said, choking out each word. "Why would he want to see me?"

"Chica, weren't you listening to a word I had just said? He cares about you, he loves you, no matter what you did!" he shouted, clearly sensitive about his brother.

"Where is his hospital at?" I ask, wanting to fulfill Alejandro's wishes. I also wanted to see him, too. I wanted to tell him so many things. But what would I tell him about Zack?

"Get in my car and I'll take you there," he said, grabbing my arm and dragging me across the parking lot. I picked up my feet until I got to his car. It was a silver sports car. It was nothing less than what I expected.

"Come on," Jose said, unlocking the car. I opened the door. The car was as fancy inside as it was outside. The car had silver leather on the inside with a very technologically advanced dashboard. I buckled my seatbelt and waited impatiently as he started the car.

"Uh, you have a nice car." I said, trying to make this less awkward.

"You're making this more awkward than it already was. Now be quiet until we get to the hospital." He grunted. He clearly did not like me at all.

The ride to the hospital was very quiet, not even the radio was on. His phone buzzed once in his pocket, but he ignored it and concentrated on the road, as if he was intent on getting the one thing his brother cared about to the hospital or he would die right then and there. Jose sighed once and let his expression slightly soften every few minutes, then returning to that same scowl that he had on his face the entire time.

After about fifteen minutes of total silence, we pulled up to a large white hospital with a medical cross at the top. It was huge. Where could one young teenager be dying in one of those many rooms?

"Here we are," Jose said as he stopped the car. We walked in the same way we had driven; in silence. But that didn't matter. I was going to see Alejandro, whose name had always pulled at my heartstrings for the past two years. I couldn't help but smile as we walked into the building.

Jose walked up to the counter where a lady dressed in white shot him a friendly and flirtatious smile. "What can I do for you, sir?" she said, raising her glasses from her eyes and looking at him. I groaned. We did not have time for this. Jose looked back at me disapprovingly.

"Can you get me the room of Alejandro Burromuerto, please?" he said. She lowered her glasses again and looked through her files, finding his name.

"Floor five room B2. Have a nice visit." The assistant said, raising her eyebrows as she smiled at him again weakly.

"Thank you." He said professionally, walking off and ignoring her flirtatious acts. As I walked past, I childishly stuck my tongue out at her for wasting our time and getting nothing in the end.

We entered the elevator and Jose punched in floor 5. We waited only a few short, still silent, moments before getting out. We were nearly running to room B2. He found the B section and so I followed. We walked along the empty halls, running into a nurse or custodian from time to time. Room B4. B3. B2.

As soon as I saw the numbers I began to feel nervous. What if he just wanted me to come so he could scream at me? What if he just asked Jose to tell me these things if he found me just so I would come here and he could yell at me? What if he wasn't dying at all and this was all a trick.

No.

This was no longer a strategic game I was playing with him. He genuinely wanted to see me again. He was really dying. But for some reason, I could still feel butterflies in my stomach. The only relationship I have ever had with Alejandro was either competitive or untrustworthy, only one semi-romantic one. I didn't think I could trust myself this one time to be kind and gentle with him.

Jose knocked on the door once. There was no reply, so he opened the door to the room. There was the soft noise of speaking, but that was coming from the small television hanging on the wall in front of a bed.

"Alejandro, hermano? Estas despierta?" Jose whispered, loud enough for Alejandro to hear in fast Spanish. There was no reply. The life support beeping told us he was still alive, and he seemed well. Jose walked over to the side of the bed and looked down. I still couldn't see Alejandro because he sunk down so far in the bed. Jose turned to face me.

"He's asleep. I'm going to wake him up." Jose said, looking back to the bed.

"No, we should really let him rest. I could visit him some other time, you know, I know where the hospital is now so we can just leave and come back later." I said quickly, still nervous about the whole thing. What if he died while I was here, right in front of me. I couldn't live with that.

"Chica, he only has a few days left. Can't you just give him his one wish before his time comes?" Jose said, his voice boiling up and getting angry again. I understood where he was coming from. I sigh and nod.

"Alejandro, tienes compania. Es la chica de Drama Total que te amo." He said, turning once again to me. He shook Alejandro lightly on the shoulder. I then worked up enough courage to walk over and face him.

I walked over and I gasped internally at what I saw. His skin was a pale-ish yellow color, much lighter than his usual skin tone. It looked ugly on him. It must have been from all of the surgery. There were many patches of pink flesh on his skin, too, showing where his burns were the worst. His arms and legs were broken, each pointing in a different awkward direction. His eyes were closed but I could tell that if I could see them, I would see pain. He had very short hair, at least compared to what he did have.

Alejandro coughed violently before rubbing his eyes halfway open.

"A-Alejandro? Its me, Heather, from Total Drama, remember?" I whispered. I wasn't sure if he'd forgotten by now, after everything that had happened.

"How could I forget?" he said. I expected his tone to be hostile like his brother's, but he sounded pleased and gentle. His eyes were filled with pain, but he tried to hide it under a mask of joy. I didn't buy it.

"You're hurting because of me. You are dying because of me. Why on earth would you want to see me?" I asked, closing my eyes so I wouldn't have to look at his scarred face and painful eyes any longer. I had to choke out each word.

"Heather, at first, I thought that you were like those others on the show, stubborn, but could be easily manipulated after time. But I've realized that you are not like that. And that's why I fell in love with you. You know what you're doing and you are beautiful. You look just the same as you did two years ago." He said. He was also clearly having a hard time talking to me, but I expected that it was always hard for him to speak.

"You could have any girl in the world. Why me?" I said, opening my eyes again. He was looking strait at me. No matter how hurt he would ever get, or how weak, his eyes would never lose that sparkling emerald color that they held.

He chuckled, "Didn't I just explain that to you? The fact that you came here with Jose today also tells me that you do truly care about me as I do for you. Face it Heather, we were meant to be together, and you know it. It doesn't matter what happened two years ago, as long as you're right beside me." He ended in a whisper. I couldn't stop myself from objecting. It was just a habit around him, no matter how weak and gentle he seemed.

"But you're dying and I already have a boyfriend, Alejandro!" I shouted at him. I immediately covered my mouth as I said these things. Tears stung my eyes. His eyes looked hurt and bewildered.

"What? You...You have a boyfriend?" he whispered, clearly hurt that he was not the only man in my life. He wanted desperately to be, I could tell by the pain spreading across his facial features.

"I'm sorry," I choked out. But I knew it was too late for sorry. "We met a year after Total Drama ended. He was so nice and he was cute. But it was only a replacement for the love I felt for you." I said. I tried to make it better, less harsh for Alejandro to hear. I put my hand on his cheek, but he slapped it away almost immediately.

"Stop lying to me! I know you no longer care for me. You only came here out of pity that you robbed me of the million and heard that I was dying." He screamed. His words stung worse than a thousand slaps to the hand.

"How can you say that? I knew you would be jealous when I told you about Zack, but how can you possibly say that I don't care about you?" I yelled back with the same amount of anger and heartbreak as he did. How could he say that to me, after everything? I knew he wouldn't take this well, and I knew that I should have not come at all.

"Jealous? God, help the man who is with you right now. Why even bother coming to see me, if you knew what I wanted and you already have a boyfriend? Why can't you just for once play fair?" he said, pointing a broken finger at me.

"This isn't a game, Alejandro, we are done with that! I do love you, why can't you get that through your thick skull! Zack was just a distraction for the pain and guilt I felt after hurting you so badly. I had heard rumors that you were dead, and Zack was the only reason that I didn't kill myself right then and there! I didn't want it to happen like that. It was just in the heat of the moment and I wanted the million more than love then. But I lost the million and you, and now you only have, what, a week left? How am I not playing fair? How, when life likes to do this to me?" I said, burying my hands in my face to hide my tears from him. The only sound in the room was the television and the beeping of the life support machine. I heard a faint sigh.

"Heather, I..." I heard Alejandro sigh, then trail off in his sentence. I look up to see his eyes closed.

"He fell to sleep on his meds. Its time to go." Jose whispered, walking slowly to the door. Tears flooded my eyes. I look down at Alejandro again. He looked so peaceful and innocent, the crease in his forehead gone. I put one finger on his face. He felt cold.

"I'm sorry, Alejandro. I will miss you and I love you." I whisper, knowing that this would most likely be the last time I would see him again. I look down at him and see his lips curl upwards slightly, into a small smile. Then I had known that some part of him had heard me.

(A/N: This is a Alejandro and Heather story that I came up with a few weeks ago and started writing just a few days ago. I love this show a ton, and this is my favorite couple since Duncan and Courtney broke up. It is based off of the song "Stop and Stare" by OneRepublic, which is my favorite band. Listen to the song while reading this to get a better feel of what is happening. Heather sure has problems with her relationships, huh? Just go to Alejandro already and don't make a big fuss out of it! My first fanfic, a twoshot, comments please, but don't flame.)