DISCLAIMER: I do not own Total Drama, or else the couples would be crazy.

I thought that there needed to be more Noah and Gwen stories, so I came up with the most unoriginal plot I could and went for it! Heheh, try to enjoy, this is my first story on here.

Singing, dancing, groups of people chattering and sampling drinks together…

Oh, how it sickened Gwen. The party boomed around her. Everybody was happy. She should be happy, but as her pale face laid against the stinging cold table in a dismal manner, it was quite apparent she wasn't. Some people brushed by her without even caring, others were more caring and invited her to dance. Gwen wanted to puke a bit when a busty, bubbly blonde asked her to sing karaoke with her. She turned down all offers. She wanted to be alone. Why she even came to the party is beyond her. It was the last party of the season. The party Owen had promised, and judging by everybody's reactions to it, it was a damn good one.

It was a damn annoying one, that's what it was.

It stung that she lost. Gwen was happy for Owen, sure, but it sure as hell ate at her nerves slightly. Gwen wasn't a sore loser, and she was very happy for the big guy. Though, everybody gets this feeling when they lose, and everybody agrees it isn't pleasant. That wasn't the only thing eating at her, though. Her recent break-up with Trent stung at her heart too. She thought that they had something, but it was short-lived, and so was her happiness.

"Ah, enjoying the party I see." A monotonous voice remarked. "Good, enjoy the celebration of your loss."

Gwen let out a threatening growl at the remark. As if that helped the feeling in the pit of her stomach any. Slowly Gwen rose from her depressing pose, laying against the frigid table to face the person who spoke such rude words. Her teal hair was more unkempt than usual, covering her onyx eyes. Gwen seethed a little more than usual when she saw the speaker. He was scrawny. He was confident. Worst of all, he was the most sarcastic motherfucker on the island.

"Oh… Noah…" Gwen growled. "Did you finally decide to hiding in the corner when you go to parties? Oh, how surprising! I'll keep an eye out for the apocalypse!"

Slowly, a smirk found its way onto Noah's lips.

"Nice…" Noah complimented in the most insincere manner. "Where do you get your 'witty' remarks? I really must know."

"Believe me, Noah, I am in no mood." Gwen replied with a huff. "What convinced you to come over here and insult me anyways?"

"Oh, I was here the whole time really. From the time you stomped through the room and plopped down into your current position. I was just sitting here reading…" Noah informed, flipping a page as he spoke. "It's so interesting watching you grumble to yourself, really, so please return to your depressed state."

"I'd like to, but there's somebody here who won't stop talking to me. I'm sure you can imagine how annoying that could be!" Gwen quipped.

Noah waved, as if dismissing the conversation, and the look on his face became a lot more concentrated. Noah continued to be engrossed in whatever he was reading. Gwen stared at Noah for a short while before turning to lay down again, but she wondered why he would even be here. Noah didn't care for people. It was apparent that he was more accepting of their presence than she was, but it was obvious he didn't like them.

Then again, Gwen was here, and she wasn't in the best of moods. Trent flirting with the blonde mentioned before didn't help. Why should she question the bookworm's presence?

"Shame…" Noah muttered. Gwen decided to just try and ignore him. "Lindsay is such a step down from you…"

"Could you just shut it?" Gwen asked. "You aren't making me feel better."

Noah looked up from his book, smirk forming again.

"I didn't intend to."

When Gwen glared at him, Noah rolled his eyes playfully.

"Oh come on, I just complimented you, whether I intended to or not." Said Noah, no longer reading his book. "You're a lot smarter than she, but then again, she's about as engaging as a dead slug."

"I don't know if I should thank you, or glare some more." Gwen said, yet she couldn't help smiling.

"Please don't, your dark stare hurts my soul." Noah replied dryly. "Oh, I hope I didn't make you feel better. Whoops."

"Oh please, the day you actually cheer somebody up is the day I put on a pink miniskirt." She said, quickly turning her small smile into a frown again. Noah raised an eyebrow. He obviously didn't care about her feelings... well, Noah didn't care about anything.

"I'd say I failed, but I could never admit that. I am perfection. Look at me." Noah said, pointing to himself. Gwen raised an eyebrow at this and sat up a bit straighter. What was it Noah said?

"What?" Gwen asked. "Noah failing something besides physical activity? Oh do go on, this I must hear about…"

"Well, I just happened to see some girl sulking at a party where some of her friends were…" Noah began, picking his book back up and his eyes began skimming a page. "It intrigued me a bit, I guess, because even you, as a pathetic Goth, happened to be a lot happier than this on the show."

"My depressed state… intrigued you?" Gwen asked. "You're really confusing me, Noah."

"I'm not done." Noah informed, shooting a quick glance at Gwen. "I noticed your quick wit on the show and decided to test it in person. Of course, you being all touchy, it was a lot dryer than what I thought it would be."

"Thanks." Gwen groaned insincerely. Noah put his book down once again and shook his head.

"Oh Gwen, you are the most interesting book." Noah finally said, looking away as he spoke. "On the outside you're… dark… mysterious… angry looking? I don't know. Your eyes do look very tranquil most of the time, but one would think you're dangerous from your attire. Yet, as you displayed on the show, you're more than that. You're an artist. You're intelligent. You're a competitor, and one that had the will to win, might I add, unlike me."

"What…?" Gwen asked, confused by what Noah was saying. Before she could speak, Noah shot her another glare. Gwen translated it into a "Hush, I'm still talking" glance.

"You look like this person who would hate everybody on the outside. Somebody who was probably pushed around a lot. You still care though… not that I care about anybody anymore… but you have shown a lot of personality outside of your appearance. At first, I thought I could predict who you were. After a while, I was wrong, and that is when I deemed you interesting." Noah continued. Gwen tilted her head a bit in confusion. Noah was saying this. Noah, the one who cared for nobody but himself and got his kicks by insulting anybody he could. His face finally turned towards Gwen, his dark brown eyes meeting her onyx ones.

"In conclusion, I'd like for you to stop returning to that predictable state." Noah finally added. "Continue to bewilder me. I'd like to read you a lot more, Gwen. Thank you."

And with that, Noah stood up and began walking away from the table. Gwen followed his movements, hanging on the words he just said. Suddenly, she felt a lot better, like she was worth something. When Noah sat in his corner, reading the same book from before, Gwen felt alone again. People danced on, people sang and people drank, but he read his book silently in the corner. He had deemed her interesting, kind, intelligent… and she definitely didn't think herself to be any of that.

Finally, Gwen stood up and slowly walked towards where Noah was sitting. She pushed the book away from his face with her fingers, but his eyes stubbornly followed the pages. Gwen rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Noah."

"Yes?" He replied, his voice monotonous and uncaring once again.

"Thanks. I mean it this time." She said. "You're different too, I can see it. Beneath that sarcasm and cynicism… there's somebody else… not that I don't like the sarcasm."

"Oh, I ensure you honey, there isn't. Thank god." He chuckled. Much to Noah's surprise, Gwen wrapped him in an embrace. Her head rested on his bony shoulder, and her arms wrapped around his frail body tightly. Noah groaned and rolled his eyes once again.

"And we return to the cliché movie moments, where the boy wins the girl's heart. Oh how I hope not." He said, completely ruining the moment. Gwen laughed a bit, refusing to let go until he hugged back.

And slowly, and much to his own surprise, he did.