Author's notes: this takes place immediately following the TDWT finale. The Playa de Losers the former contestants were staying at prior to the Hawaii challenge was on another island that was not covered in molten rock.
…..
Heather was in a hotel room, not wanting to deal with any of the other contestants over her financially meaningless victory. I can't believe I went through all that shit and have nothing to show for it, Heather thought.
All the former contestants would be staying in Hawaii for a while. Alejandro and Ezekiel were at a hospital getting skin grafts for burns sustained from their lava baths. Seirra was also at the same hospital, finally getting treatment for the injuries she got from being blown up in Drumheller. Chris wasn't planning to send them back until the injured got better. Heather was planning to enjoy this time in Paradise once she was done mopping over the loss of one million dollars.
Heather was interrupted from her melancholy by a knock on her door. Heather wasn't entirely sure she should answer it, but decided to anyway. She opened the door and saw Cody, DJ and Harold standing in front of her holding packets of paper. "What the hell do you want?" Heather asked angrily.
"This was all Cody's idea," DJ said as he began backing away, letting his lack of a backbone dictate his actions once again.
"Calm down DJ," Cody said as he grabbed DJ's shirt and dragged him into the hotel room. Harold followed along. "To answer your question Heather," Cody began, "I've talked Harold and DJ into helping me give you a little token for your victory. I know it's not worth a million dollars, but I think you'll like it anyway. One, two, three, four," Cody said, signaling Harold and Cody to start singing from their sheets. Cody began singing first
Try to be best,
'Cause you're only a girl
And a girl's gotta learn to take it
Heather didn't know this at the time, but she was being treated to a slightly altered version of 'You're the best around' by Joe Esposito. Cody stopped as Harold began the next verse.
Try to believe
Though the going gets rough
That you gotta hang tough to make it
They certainly weren't the best singers in the world, but Heather found herself appreciating the gesture more than she thought she would. Harold paused as DJ handled the next part.
History repeats itself
Try and you'll succeed
All three joined in now.
Never doubt that you're the one
And you can have your dreams!
You're the best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You're the Best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You're the Best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you dow-ow-ow-ow-own
Heather was enjoying this immensely. She had taken some crap on the boat ride to the hotel about how she had gone through a whole season of torture and challenges for no monetary gain, and now she was being serenaded about her own superiority. They all stopped as Cody handled the next part of the song.
Fight 'til the end
Cause your life will depend
On the strength that you have inside you
He stopped as Harold took over.
Ah you gotta be proud
starin' out in the cloud
When the odds in the game defy you
He tagged out with DJ for the next bit.
Try your best to win them all
and one day time will tell
They all started singing again.
when you're the one that's standing there
you'll reach the final bell!
You're the best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You're the Best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You're the Best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you dow-ow-ow-ho-how-ho-own
They stopped and Cody took over.
Fight 'til you drop
never stop
can't give up
Til you reach the top
Harold stepped in now.
you're the best in town
Listen to that sound
A little bit of all you got
Can never bring you down
He stopped as DJ finished the song
You're the best!
Around!
Nothing's gonna ever keep you down
You're the Best!
Around!
Heather started clapping (and not in one of those ironic 80's claps) for the performance she had just received. "Thank you so much for that," Heather said without any hint of snark or venom. "This was probably some kind of joke to you, but you've really brightened up my day."
"This wasn't a joke Heather," Harold said. "You've chilled out a bit since season 1 and your acts of villainy have become more few and far between. Well, I've had fun here, but I've got to go. Bye."
Harold turned around and exited the room at a quick pace. "Where's he got to be that's so damn important?" Heather asked.
"Anywhere that's not here," Cody answered. "He's in kind of a tough spot. He doesn't think you're pure evil but if word of that got back to Leshawna, things would get awkward between the two of them. And they started going out recently, so he doesn't want to rock the boat yet. I'm lucky that I was able to convince him to go along with this."
"Which brings me to my next question," Heather continued. "Why did you want to do this for me? DJ I can understand: he's too nice for his own good. But after I arranged your defeat in Hawaii, how could you want to do anything nice for me?"
"Because I meant what I said earlier about you being the good guy," Cody said. "You defeated Alejandro, who spent like the whole season flying under everyone's radar while arranging eliminations. Look what he did to DJ: using his phobia over the animal curse to build up his confidence only to tear it down for like no reason."
"Which reminds me DJ," Heather interrupted. "Did that ever get dealt with or are you still the unwilling harbinger of death for all that is cute and fluffy?"
"It's been a while since the last time I sent an animal to the ICU, so I think so," DJ answered. "Speaking of the curse, I'm sorry I picked Alejandro over you in Newfoundland. It's just…. You came on so strong about asking for an alliance and then he casually comes by and says I'm not cursed anymore. Plus, Al's past was a blank slate compared to your history of untrustworthy actions. So I sided with him and look how that worked out for me. If I could back and choose again, I'd choose you."
"Thanks DJ," Heather said, a feeling of gratitude swelling inside her. She briefly felt the urge to hug DJ for his kind words, but was distracted from doing so by Cody.
"That's what I'm talking about," Cody spoke up. "You're not as irredeemably evil as so many people seem to think you are. You haven't been up to as many nasty tricks as you were in season 1. Plus, you kind of offered Courtney a shoulder to cry on after she found out about Gwen and Duncan, as well as offer Sierra that headdress to cover up her explosion-induced baldness. Do these sound like the things a heartless monster would do? I don't think so."
"Thanks Cody," Heather said as she fought back tears of gratitude. She politely but insistently asked them to leave and they did so after saying goodbye. Now that she was alone with her feelings, she stopped holding back let her tears from earlier flow. It was only a few tears as opposed to a full on crying fit so it didn't take long.
Heather was practically ecstatic: after months of fans and tabloids demonizing her into the virtual daughter of the devil, she just been given a heartwarming token of 'I don't think you're that bad'. It was even made even better by the fact that it had been given by a group of guys.
Ever since Heather had returned to the real world after the end of TDA, she had gone from practically every guy wanting to go out with her to being a social pariah. And now she had just had a guy extend an olive branch in her direction.
Maybe I should make the most of this and ask him out, Heather thought. She then gave herself a slap across the face. What the hell am I thinking? He may be the first guy… scratch that, the first person in I don't-know-how-long to be nice to me with no ulterior motives, but he's still a geeky twerp.
But if looks are so important, I should have gone against my better judgment and succumbed to my temptations with Alejandro, another part of her mind countered. She began debating with herself the pros and cons of asking him out. This went on for quite some time. Eventually, Heather's reasons for going out with him (his niceness, the fact she hadn't been on a date in months, etc.) outweighed the one (his appearance which left much to be desired).
Heather placed her hands together in a praying manner. "Higher powers of all that is trendy and fashionable," Heather began, "please forgive me for what I am about to do."
…..
Author's notes: If you are wondering why Heather is so focused on Cody when DJ and Harold were there as well, that's because the song was all Cody's idea and they just helped. Also, it's the direction I want this story to go.
I would like to thank some people who helped with this story. The first is That Nixon Guy, who wrote his own CodyxHeather story over a year ago (that has been deleted) that won me over to this pairing. The second is Baconsandwichman, who gave me some suggestions for future chapters. I also took some topics from a conversation between Cody and Heather in the first chapter of his story, Total Drama Luxury Tour, and added to the in this story. The third is 100tenmillion, who gave me the idea for title.