Been awhile since I've stopped by this site. Some people reading may know me from several years ago, but most of you probably have no idea. But let's not worry about that. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this brief piece.

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"And when exactly were you planning on telling me this?"

"I told you, it… It just came up!"

"Riiiiiiight…"

It was a quiet evening at Camp Wawanakwa. The air was cool, and hundreds of twinkling stars lit up the cloudless night sky. For the moment there was no competitions or crazy challenges, and the campers were enjoying the peace and quiet.

Well, most of them anyways.

Outside the infamous mess hall, two of the participants stood. There was clearly tension in the air, contrasting the otherwise calm night. Gwen and Trent, 2 campers who had seemed to initially have a fondness for each other, were currently in a small argument.

"Gwen, I swear I thought I was done with her! Honest!"

Trent was flustered as he tried to piece together a satisfying explanation. It wasn't going to be easy… For you see, earlier that day, Trent had been contacted by someone from home: His ex-girlfriend whom had broken up with him a short time before Total Drama Island had begun.

However, it seemed like she had regretted her decision; the call he got was her wanting him back. Seeing him with Gwen likely sparked something in her.

Now, while some guys would have said "Forget you" and moved on, Trent still harbored feelings for this girl. Feelings he had tried to bury. Gwen had helped immensely with that. In fact, he was nearly over her…

Nearly.

Now of course, the argument. When Trent mentioned this, it set off something in Gwen. She was now convinced that had just been used by Trent to make his old girlfriend jealous. Meanwhile, Trent was attempting to convince her that his intentions had been earnest… But that he cared about this other girl more.

"You know, it's funny… Of all the people on this island, I think CODY has been the most honest with me," Gwen snapped. "He's annoying, but at least I know he's actually interested in ME!"

"I told you, this wasn't some big plan! I…" Trent sighed. They had been arguing in circles for about 10 minutes now. "Look, Gwen… That time we spent together wasn't meaningless to me. In fact, I was almost over her before this,"

"Almost, hm?" Gwen folded her arms, her glare never faltering.

"…Yeah…" Trent looked down. "Look, I was together with her for years… And the breakup was, well… Kind of shaky,"

"Shaky?"

"I mean… It's not like she just dumped me. We had been fighting a lot, there was a lot of tension…"

"So basically it was more of a 'take a break' thing?"

"Well, at the time I didn't think of it that way…"

Gwen sighed, her arms falling. Her look softened a bit.

Gwen wasn't sure what to think. She wanted to believe that it had all been a ruse, that she was just being used… But the more she looked at Trent, the more she began to realize that he was being sincere.

And in a way, that was more difficult for her. She couldn't hate Trent for it. The fact that those moments were real, that he DID care about her and was STILL giving her up for this other girl…

"…You still care about her that much then?"

Trent sighed again.

"Look, this isn't easy for me… But yes, I do,"

"…Then I won't stop you,"

"Gwen, please," Trent walked up to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Look, there's no reason we still can't spend time together," He assured her. "I mean, we're still friends right?"

Gwen looked at him, forcing a smile. He was right, after all… And it wasn't like they had started to get in a real relationship yet.

"…Right,"

The pair silently hugged, holding each other for a moment. Once they separated, they looked at each other again.

"Anyways… I'm gonna head back to the cabin. See you later?"

"Yeah, I'll see you," Gwen forced another smile before the two parted ways.

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Gwen left the scene holding back tears. While she wasn't devastated, she was still somewhat heartbroken.

"Trent cared… Just not quite enough,"

In time, she'd get over it… He was still a good friend, and she had other things to worry about. Chris's devious mind was likely already at work designing the next challenge. Hell, he probably caught that conversation on camera.

She also wondered how the others would respond once they found out about this. Heather would likely start harassing her about it, Leshawna would start hounding Trent (Even if Gwen would ask her not to)…

And of course, Cody…

Gwen sighed. She had been thinking about Cody a lot lately. She couldn't really tell how she felt about him. On one hand, he was extremely annoying and at times creepy. But there was some odd charm to it; she was, in a small way, flattered that someone was so interested in her.

Although, she did wonder sometimes whether or not that macho-man persona was how he really was... It seemed fake. Gwen hadn't seen him much in the past couple days; maybe he was working on a new one?

She smirked at this thought. Though she had to wonder what he was really like...

Still, once he finds out about what happened with Trent, he'll no doubt start trying to "win her" again.

"…And I feel like I should apologize and… No, no… 'Feel like I should' makes it sound forced…"

Gwen stopped when she heard a nearby voice.

"Maybe… 'I'm sorry for the way I treated- No, now it sounds like I hit her or something…"

Was… Was that Cody?

The voice was coming from a clump of trees nearby. Curious, Gwen silently made her way towards it. The talking continued.

"Look, I… I WANT to apologize for how I've been… No, I haven't been bothering her lately so that doesn't quite work…"

Gwen closed in, carefully avoiding stepping on any branches or leaves on the ground. She finally got close enough to see as she hid herself behind one of the wider trees.

Cody was standing in a small clearing, standing in front of a tree stump. He was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. He seemed very anxious and frustrated.

"Ugh… Come ON!" He hit his head a few times as he cried out. "Think, Cody! There must be something that sounds good…"

From what she could gather, he seemed to be trying to rehearse something.

"Alright…" Cody took a breath as he turned to the stump. "Gwen, I'm sorry for acting like such a…" He paused. "God damn it, like such a… Augh!" He threw his arms up and resumed pacing. "What should I say? Like such a dick? A tool? An asshole?"

…An apology.

Cody was rehearsing an apology. For her.

"Come on Cody, you can do this… Gwen deserves a solid, sincere apology. No more trying to impress, no more flirting, no more machismo… Just a regular guy apologizing to a lady for his behavior," Cody continued rambling to himself.

Gwen had never seen this side of Cody before. There was no trace of that annoying "Casanova" from before.

She couldn't help but smile as she watched. To think, he was doing this for her…

It was… Sweet, to say the least.

"'Alright, maybe… No, that's just cheesy…" Cody leaned against a tree with one hand. "…Ah, what's the point? Even if I did come up with something good, she'll probably just think I'm trying to make her feel bad

for me or something. Like, get a pity date or something…" He shook his head. "Man, I screwed up bad…"

As Gwen continued to listen, something in her stirred. It may have been due to the drama with Trent, but Gwen began to feel something strange as she continued to watch Cody.

It was the same feeling she had when she first started developing feelings for Trent…

Cody sighed. "Hell, she hasn't tried talking with me for days… I mean, I've been trying to avoid her until I can think of something meaningful, but still…" He kicked the a nearby rock. "Face it Cody… She just doesn't care about you,"

"No!"

Cody cried out in surprise, jumping several feet in the air when someone else spoke. He frantically looked around for the source of the noise.

All the color left his face when he noticed Gwen.

"G-g-g-gwen… Wh-what… what are…"

Now his face turned bright red. He quickly turned away.

"H-how long?"

"…I've been standing her for the last couple of minutes,"

Cody screamed inwardly as he tried to cover his embarrassment.

Then he heard something he'd never thought he'd hear; Gwen started laughing.

"Cody, relax. I'm…" She tried to find words. "Well… I'm touched to say the least,"

Cody turned around a bit, unable to avoid looking at her.

"I mean, I'm not even upset about that anymore…" Gwen continued as she walked over to the stump he had been talking at.

Cody's brain finally took control as he found words.

"N…Not upset? But I mean… I've been trying to think of something for a couple days now…"

"And I appreciate that… Really," Gwen smiled (Another action Cody only dreamed he'd make her do). "But… It's not that big of a deal,"

"No, it is a big deal… I should be treating you with more respect," Cody began pacing again, now confident enough to speak more clearly. "It's just… Knowing I'm on camera, it does something to me. I want to make people notice me…"

"So you try to be as loud and flashy as you can?"

"…Well, I…"

Gwen shook her head. "Cody, Cody… Why didn't you just say something like this sooner?"

"Well, I agreed to help set you up with Trent… I would've felt guilty butting in while you got to know him more. But by now I imagine you've really hit it off," He smiled.

His smile dropped when he saw Gwen's grim face.

"…Don't tell me," Gwen sighed softly.

"Look, some stuff happened tonight that I don't want to talk about… Let's just say we're still good friends, but… That's all we're going to be,"

"Oh no, Gwen…" The goth held a hand up.

"It's alright, I'm fine…" She sighed again. "Just… I want to try and forget it,"

"Well look, if you need someone,"

"I said I'm fine!" Gwen raised her voice a bit, causing Cody to flinch. She paused. "I'm sorry, it just happened a little while ago…" She looked at him for a moment. "But enough about that… What about you?"

"…Me?"

"Yes," Gwen gestured to him. "This is you, then?

"…Huh?"

"I mean, this attitude. This personality. Not that over-the-top stuff you pull in front of the cameras. This is the real you…"

Cody was silent, blushing again as he looked down.

"Romance expert Cody…" Gwen smirked. "You're just a big shy softy, aren't you,"

"Gwen, please…" Cody felt more embarrassment wash over him as she laughed.

"No, it's not you… I'm just surprised is all. Pleasantly…" She rose.

"Pleasantly?" Cody echoed.

"Yeah, of course! You're so much more, well… Mature I guess. You're not freaking out, you're not scrambling to get next to me, or smell my hair…"

"Oh come on, that was ONE time…" Cody pointed out as he stepped forward.

"Once is enough for something like that," Gwen smirked. "I still smell pretty?"

Cody sighed deeply, a flustered look on his face.

Suddenly, he started to laugh.

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me…" He managed to say as his laughter continued. Pretty soon Gwen was joining in the laughter as the tension and drama in the air dissolved.

Gwen was relieved. This was what she needed after what had just happened with Trent. Cody was acting like himself, and she loved it. He just seemed more natural. A little goofy, awkward, and…

The two stopped laughing when they noticed they were now a few inches apart.

…Cute.

They pair said nothing as they looked at each other for a long while. Strange thoughts began creeping into both of their heads.

The tension returned to the air… But it felt different this time.

"Hey Gwen…?"

"Hm?"

"I… I don't want to sound like I'm trying to take advantage of the situation, but… Now that you and Trent aren't going to be together… Um…"

The two moved closer together. Gwen said nothing for a moment as she simply gazed into Cody's eyes. In those emerald pools she saw a sincere, caring soul. One that had been trying to get her attention for awhile now as it battled a darker, far less mature side.

And whether it was because of that, because of the emotional roller coaster she had just had with Trent, or just because she was curious, Gwen spoke three words as she suddenly put her hands on Cody.

"…What the hell?"

With that, she pulled him in and the pair locked lips. It was not particularly passionate or suggestive, but the air was electric with emotion. Cody nearly passed out from either shock or ecstasy as all the drama from the day drifted from Gwen's mind.

Except one thing…

After a few seconds, Gwen pulled away a short distance. Cody's face was frozen in astonishment as he tried to understand what just happened.

"And by the way… Apology accepted,"

The two kissed once more. Cody, now over his shock, embraced Gwen in his arms.

This would be the first of many kisses for this new couple… But that is a story for another day.
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Well, hope you enjoyed. This was my first piece in a loooooong time, and may be the only one for now, so it may not be all that great...