Noah's Cologne Ch.3

Disclaimer: Don’t own Total Drama Island

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Justin was looking around, making sure no one would notice him. Today was exactly one day after the fight over Noah began, and somehow, Duncan and Cody were already reaching out to him. If he was going to stay within reach of Noah’s love, he had to act now. Although he was hoping no one would notice him, it was actually pretty hard with Katie and Sadie looking for him to stare at. However, with a couple of swift moves, he was able to do it. He was actually looking for a certain CIT, who had been pouting in the dining room while eating some ice cream. She had noticed him as he walked over to her and sat down.

“Justin? W-What’re you doing here?” She asked, trying to hide that she’d been eating an entire carton of ice cream.

“Upset about Duncan?” he asked, and she stared at him. She wasn’t exactly used to hearing his voice. However as shocked as she was, she glared at him and turned away from him to hide her face.

“Me? Upset about DUNCAN!?” spat Courtney. “Absurd! Why would I be upset that the delinquent had liked someone before me? Why would I be upset that he liked a GUY before me? Why would I be… upset?”

He saw a flicker of something in her eyes that looked like sadness, and knew that he could get his plan to work as long as he said the right things. He cleared his throat and caught her attention as he patted her back…

“You know… There is a way for you to get him back…” said Justin, and her eyes widened.

“How?” she asked.

“I just need to know something…” he said, looking into her eyes. “How badly do you want him back?”

She stared at him for a second, then thought… How badly did she want Duncan back? Duncan… The guy who taught her to loosen up. To have fun… Even if he was rude, obnoxious, and a juvenile delinquent, he was… important to Courtney… He taught her things. He helped her. He cared about her… Or so she thought… But the way he flirted with her, the things he said to her, she couldn’t shake off the fact that something for her had been inside of him somewhere. She just had to get it back. And she was willing to do anything. Anything.

“I’d do anything…” she said, trying to hide her desperation.

“Anything?” her eyes filled with determination.

“Anything”

With that, Justin knew. This was going to be easier than he thought.

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The two of them had then taken the elevator to the third floor of the building they resided in for the competition. As soon as Justin explained his plan to Courtney, she had been a little hesitant at first, knowing that it was a little on the playing dirty thing, but her thoughts of Duncan only brought her determination back. They continued down the hallway to find the room they were looking for.

Beth’s room.

As Justin knocked lightly on the door, they hadn’t heard anything other than a small ‘I’m coming’ from the other side. As the door slowly opened, they were met with the presence of the short, bulky, brace-faced girl wearing her usual glasses, ponytail, and green and pink attire. She stared at the two outside of her room in shock, cleaned her glasses, placed them back on her face and was still shocked. Apparently, the two had been those that she had been least expecting to come to her room at this time.

“Hello, Beth” greeted Courtney, kindly. “We’d like to talk to you”

Beth could have fainted right there. Two popular people were going to TALK to her! Did she die and go to heaven or something? Was her head playing tricks on her? Before she could think anymore, Courtney brushed past her into her room, and Beth followed as Justin walked in as well. Find a place to sit, Courtney cleared her throat to start their meeting.

“Beth… You are aware of the little conflict between Justin, Cody, and Duncan, right?”

“Yeth” she replied, the braces affecting her speech.

“Well, you know that Cody and Duncan have a good chance of being chosen by Noah, right?” she asked. Beth had nodded. Of course, Cody was her friend, so she wasn’t that surprised.

“Whath’s the problem?” she asked.

“Look, we have a favor to ask of you…”

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Noah had decided to sit next to Leshawna and Trent today in the refreshment bar. It was still pretty early and Cody hadn’t gotten up, yet. However, Duncan had been sprawled on one of the chairs near the pool, and Noah couldn’t help but stare at him when he thought about yesterday’s talk in the closet… When he thought about it, he’d have never thought Duncan could make him feel… like someone understood him. He told Duncan things he didn’t even tell Cody, who’d been his friend longer than Duncan had.

Duncan caught Noah looking his way, and waved lightly at him, causing the boy to feel the heat rushing to his cheeks again. He turned back to his book, which he’d been trying to read, but kept getting distracted. With his sudden movement to turn back to his book, LeShawna and Trent looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then noticed Duncan.

“Hey, Noah? What’s up, man?” asked Trent.

“Is Duncan bothering you? Do we need to get something through that thick skull of his?” asked LeShawna, punching her fist into her hand.

Noah looked at her and shook his head violently, which shocked the both of them. Noah was known to do weird things, but this was strange behavior for the lazy know-it-all. They could both tell THAT much. Then LeShawna had noticed a red tint on Noah’s cheek, which must’ve meant something considering how dark the boy’s skin was. She looked back at Duncan and grinned.

“Boy, are you falling for Duncan?” she asked, knowingly, and smirked when Noah grew redder.

“You’re falling for Duncan?” asked Trent, surprised by the sudden news. LeShawna laughed.

“Dude, I don’t know what he did, but it must’ve been BIG!” she said, and Noah looked at her with WIDE eyes.

“N-NO! Nothing like that!” he stuttered. Noah stopped and realized that he, of all people, was STUTTERING! Something was definitely wrong with him. Probably the love disease called ‘Duncan’.

“Well, whatever it was, it’s definitely giving Cody competition” noted Trent, seeing as Noah’s actions about Duncan are more serious than his reactions about Cody.

“Of COURSE! Cody needs competition!”

They all jumped as Izzy had stepped over from behind the counter of the refreshment bar. She was wearing her usual outfit and had a camera with her, which brought questionable looks onto everyone’s faces. Noticing this, she laughed.

“This is for when something else happens to Noah! I won’t miss it this time!” she said, proudly.

“You didn’t miss anything” said Noah.

“Uh, excuse me?” started LeShawna. “I SWEAR we all must’ve missed something between you and Duncan”

Izzy’s eyes nearly popped out of her sockets and her jaw nearly touched the floor.

“You and DUNCAN!? What happened!? Tell me!!” she said, grabbing Noah’s collar. Noah stared at her with wide eyes at her sudden reaction and couldn’t hide his blush.

“W-We were just TALKING!” he shouted, and Izzy let go of his collar.

“Darn! So THAT’S what I missed yesterday! … And THAT’S where you were when I was looking for you!” said Izzy, snapping at her dense nature.

“Hey, Noah. Cody’s over there” noted Trent, pointing to the tech-geek near the building’s entrance. He looked like he’d woken up not too long ago and just got cleaned up.

“Okay, so my plan for Duncan is unnecessary now… So let’s just make you start with Cody now since Justin’s nowhere to be found! Go on!” shouted Izzy, pulling Noah into the refreshment bar to get out of the pool area the dry way as to not get his clothes wet.

As they neared the tech-geek, who’d been watching them curiously, Izzy pushed Noah, who’d still been holding his book into the other boy’s arms. Both of them blushing furiously, Noah stood back up while Cody grinned hesitantly while scratching his neck. They looked at each other kindly, and as Cody was about to start a conversation, the unthinkable happened…

Just as Justin, Beth, and Courtney walked outside of the building, Eva walked past the two geeks, accidentally pushing Cody into Noah, who’d been unprepared for the sudden action and fell backwards as Cody fell on top of him…

Cody stared into Noah’s eyes. Everyone who’d been watching nearly lost their eyes to them nearly leaving their sockets. Cody’s knees had been on both sides of Noah’s waist, and with the fall, Cody’s hands rested right on top of Noah’s arms. Noah’s book had been a few inches away from the fallen two, and with the closeness of their faces, the two boys were frozen.

Neither of them noticed Duncan’s peeved expression, Justin’s dropped jaw, or Izzy taking pictures with a creepiest grin that she’s ever mustered on her face. However, Cody’s breath was blowing on top of Noah’s face, which Noah noted smelled like strawberries…

…His favorite…

The boys had stayed in that position for what seemed like ages, not sure what to say or do… Their faces were so close that just one little movement would’ve brought their lips together, and they both knew that. However, somehow, neither of them seemed to mind. In fact, Noah’s face had turned red AGAIN from the closeness. Somehow, this was different from when Noah had been with Duncan, but he could tell why…

When he looked into Cody’s eyes, however… He knew… Cody’s eyes were full of innocence. They were full of concern for the fact that he’d fallen on top on Noah… Duncan’s eyes in the janitor’s closet had been full of something else… Yes, there was a hint of caring in them, yet… Duncan’s eyes… They seemed so dark and mysterious, while Cody’s eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and completely shine with the emotions he felt, letting Noah know that he was worried about Noah being okay or not from the fall…

He wasn’t sure, but Noah could’ve sworn that Cody had tried to lean in on Noah’s face, before he had been pulled back by Trent in order to help them up. Noah had been dazed as LeShawna picked him up and shook him, hoping to get a reaction out of him. Finally snapping out of it, Noah looked around to see everyone staring at him with worried expressions, and noticed Duncan and Justin glaring at Cody again. Apparently, they, too, must’ve noticed Cody trying to lean in…

Finally picking up his book and standing fully on his own, Noah had walked into the building and out of everyone’s eyesight. Everyone had looked at each other, while those who had bet on Cody in the previously mentioned bet had smirked in victory. They were completely sure that Noah would choose Cody now…

However, with this, Justin had been glowering darkly. Once again, one of the other two had made a move on Noah, while he was still two steps behind. However, when he looked at Courtney and Beth, he smirked evilly. It didn’t matter that the other two were ahead of him when it came to Noah’s choice. He knew that had his plan worked, Noah would be as good as his…

…And with Courtney and Beth on his side, there was no way he could fail…

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Noah had walked up to his room, still trying to get the blush off his face. However, the smell of strawberries that was Cody’s breath was still stuck in his mind, and only making his face darker. As he stepped out of the elevator to his floor, he noticed a note stuck underneath his doorway, and walked over to pick it up…

‘Please meet me in the pool at midnight’

There was no name. The pool? What kind of place was that to meet someone? He pushed the thoughts aside as he tried to think of who he could’ve gotten this note from. Cody definitely had the opportunity to drop this here, as he’d woken up pretty late in the day, but midnight? It seemed like something Duncan would do to get Noah alone... Where he could get wet… Noah had to fight the blush again as he pushed the thought aside. He couldn’t imagine that Justin had dropped this here…

Well, he’d just have to find out, wouldn’t he? What could it hurt? He’s already going through hell, right?

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Cody had gone to his room to avoid getting killed by Duncan, who had been REALLY peeved about the little scene earlier today… Hours had gone by since then, and Cody was constantly looking outside his window to check if Noah had come back outside. However, much to his disappointment, the boy had not been anywhere in the from of the five star resort that they all resided in…

He couldn’t help but think back to what it felt like being on top of Noah like that… It felt really… right! Being that close to Noah… It made Cody tingle with excitement! It was bad that he was thinking this about his FRIEND Noah, yet, couldn’t help it. Sure, Noah was oddly filled with sarcasm and very cynical, but Cody had known of his family. Granted, Noah hadn’t TOLD him about it. It’s just that Cody brought his laptop with him and read the Total Drama Island Website to see that there were biographies of each camper (although he HIGHLY disagreed with his own biography).

It must’ve been hard… Cody knew that much… Not only did Noah have to deal with his parents all the time, but all of his OLDER brothers and sisters as well! He couldn’t imagine that it was easy, or Noah wouldn’t be the person that he was now… Truthfully, when Cody thought of Noah, he thought of someone who was strong and enduring. Even if Noah lived in such a family, he must not have gotten much attention. Hell, as spoiled as Cody was by his parents, he couldn’t imagine what it’d be like had he had brothers and sisters of his own that could’ve taken the attention away from him…

Yet, Noah was still trying to live well, obviously. He’s taken opportunities, like when Cody watched his audition tape on the website and found out that he was class president. And he auditioned for this show! He was definitely not one to turn down things THAT easily. It was like he was TRYING to be recognized by his family… And someone who was that strong was definitely rare to find in this world. Cody liked girls, but he’d never met anyone like Noah, who endured so much in his life…

Then Cody started thinking… Noah must’ve been a really passionate person to be trying so hard… The thought of being with such a passionate person… Of having that passion directed towards himself… Cody couldn’t help but smile and stare off into space. Had anyone been looking at him, they’d have KNOWN he was definitely on Cloud nine right now…

Suddenly, the time had gone by so fast with this train of thought that he hadn’t realized it was 11:58 at night… And to bring him out of his thoughts, there had been a knock on his room door. Curious as to who would come here at this time of night, he opened his door with eyes filled of curiosity to see a friend of his’ standing in his doorway.

Beth.

“Hey, Beth! What’s up?” he greeted kindly.

“I wasth just bored… Can I watch TV wisth you?” she asked, politely.

“Sure. Not a problem!” he said, letting her into the room.

…He had no idea of the girl’s intentions…

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Duncan had been ANGRY! Cody had practically straddled the boy he liked, and was in NO way remorseful! There would be blood! There would be pain! There would be-

His thoughts had been interrupted when a knock had sounded upon his room door, and although angered, he stood to see who it had been. Opening his door, he looked to find someone unexpected in his doorway.

“Hey, Duncan…” said Courtney.

“Uh, hey, Princess” he replied, awkwardly.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

At first, Duncan hesitated. Why would Courtney want to talk with him? Sure, they were on… okay terms when on the island, but… Ever since the whole Noah thing started, they hadn’t really talked. However, he did miss fighting with her, and wouldn’t mind being friends still if she accepted that, so he let her step into his room, closing the door behind him…

…But as perceptive as he was, he couldn’t tell that something devious was about to do down tonight…

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It was 11:58 P.M., and Noah had been sitting with his feet in the pool. It had been warmed for nighttime purposes, and with no one else being around, he grew nervous. He started thinking that maybe the note was just some kind of prank to tease him for the whole thing that was happening right now…. However, he didn’t notice the God-like figure walking behind him until two arms wrapped around his neck. He jumped at the contact, and turned his head around to see none other than…

…Justin…

His eyes widened, and he tried to pry the other’s arms away from him, but Justin’s grip had been strong for a model like he was. Justin smiled at him, which Noah wasn’t affected by, and was not only panicking from surprise, but confusion.

“What’s the matter?” Justin whispered into Noah’s ear, making him shiver.

“W-What are you doing?!” he nearly shouted, finally getting Justin’s arms off of him…

…But causing him to fall into the pool… With this, Justin jumped in after him, and pulled him up for air. Noah coughed for a few minutes, but realized that the taller teen had been carrying him bridal style and started struggling. Getting tired of Noah’s persistence, he dropped Noah’s legs, grabbed both of his wrists and pinned him against the concrete that was the pool’s edge. Noah, who might as well have been hyperventilating, couldn’t help but stare into Justin’s gorgeous eyes…

“What’s the matter?” asked Justin again, leaning AWFULLY close to Noah, and practically towering over the dark-skinned boy…

“…I-I…You…” Noah stuttered.

He couldn’t blame himself for doing so, either. Not this time. Justin had caught him off-guard, and in seconds, pinned him against the wall! Maybe Noah SHOULD start working out or something. Not to sound like Ezekiel, but he had the strength of the average teenage girl!

“I what?” asked Justin. Finally composing himself and processing the situation, Noah gulped and spoke.

“You… What’re you doing…?” he said slowly, as to avoid stuttering.

“Only what Duncan and Cody have been doing this entire time… Is there something wrong with that?” he asked. “Is there something wrong with making a move?”

“B-But we’ve never even talked to each other!” noted Noah, VERY uncomfortable with Justin’s behavior.

“So? Neither have you and Duncan…” Justin argued.

“But still…” Noah said, looking away. “… Why…?”

“Why what?”

“Why… Why would you like me?” asked Noah. “We’re… complete opposites and-!”

“And that’s exactly why, Noah…” said Justin, causing Noah to lose his voice. “When I first arrived here… Everyone just… automatically judged me. They loved me, when they didn’t even know me…”

Noah felt as though Justin was rubbing it in his face. When Noah arrived to the island, no one said much to him. Duncan had been the only one to say anything to greet him. Not that it was the greatest of greetings, but still…A downhearted look was coming into Noah’s eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hide it… Justin saw it, though.

“I’m not trying to show off, because it’s not that great, Noah…” he started, but Noah argued this.

“Not that great? People notice you! The recognize you! How can you say that’s not great!?” he asked, glaring daggers at Justin. “People like you can get what you want with one smile! No effort needed whatsoever because you got everything with your birth! You don’t work as hard as others need to… As hard as I need to…”

Justin stared at him sympathetically… Seeing Noah like this hurt him… It hurt him terribly…

“Yes… But my looks are the only thing people see of me…” said Justin, getting Noah to look at him again, even though his eyes were growing watery. “When people see me, they automatically think that I’m cool… They don’t ask me who I am, or what I am like. They feel they don’t need to… They think that just because I look good, that makes me a cool guy…”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Noah asked sarcastically, not knowing where he was going with this…

“Yes. When people don’t see the real you… It is that bad… People will assume things of you, and that’s what they’ll expect of you… and when you’re not who they think you are…” he paused, looking deep into Noah’s eyes. “… Then they say things… Hurtful things… Like ‘wow, those good looks were wasted’…”

Noah’s eyes widened. Well, he knew how hearing things like that felt… He knew it must’ve been harder for someone like Justin, who practically LIVED off of his looks… Justin continued.

“… Or some people will not even be listening to me when I talk to them… Because they’d be blinded by how good I look… Noah, people don’t see who I am. They just see what they see, and never look underneath. That’s just how humans are…” said Justin…

Noah stared into his eyes… It was true… People did that to him, too. His family, especially… Humans will always assume things. Never taking the chance to really see what the inside of things are…

“But you, Noah…” he started, causing Noah to lose his train of thought. “…You weren’t blinded… All of the guys thought I was a cool guy… But you were the one who looked away when I had arrived… You were the one who didn’t try to be my friend because of my looks… You saw me as another guy…”

He was at a loss of words now… He was in a pool, pinned to the wall by someone with the looks of a God, and was being complimented by that God… What was Noah suppose to say? What was he suppose to do? He didn’t know… However, Justin wasn’t finished talking, yet, and his next few words shocked Noah…

“Duncan and Cody don’t deserve you, Noah…”

He stared at the taller boy with wide eyes. What did he mean by that?

“They really don’t…”

What was he saying!? Was there something Noah was missing!?

“W-What do you mea-?”started Noah, but his words were muffled.

Justin was kissing him. And he took full advantage of Noah speaking, as he stuck his tongue into Noah’s open mouth, exploring it. Noah’s eyes could’ve popped out of his head with how big they got from this sudden action. Justin was definitely full of surprises! And yet, Noah couldn’t pull away! Granted, he didn’t have much room to do anything to stop. He was frozen in his spot. He could barely breath! He wasn’t even reacting to how shocked he was from this! Suddenly, Justin left Noah’s mouth and started planting light kisses down Noah’s cheek and down the side of his neck, which caused Noah’s chest to tighten, for him to shut his eyes, and make him bite his lip to keep from moaning…

Then the images of Duncan and Cody flashed through his mind, and his eyes shot open as he pushed Justin off of him, which was made much easier due to him being off-guard. Justin watched as he quickly pulled himself out of the water and took a few steps back from the pool, stuttering and breathing heavily.

“Y-You… tell me that Duncan and Cody don’t deserve me!? And then you do THAT!?” he shouted, practically shaking from the shock and what seemed like anger coursing through his veins.

“They don’t, Noah!” Justin argued. “Go see for yourself what they’re doing! Why they’re not out here looking for you!”

“You have NO business telling me who’s right for me and who’s NOT!” shouted Noah. “At least the both of them had enough brains to keep from doing what YOU were about to do!”

“Well, why wouldn’t they!?” asked Justin. “They must not really love you if they’re avoiding any contact with you!”

“THAT is NOT what love is!!” Noah shouted back. “They wouldn’t do anything to hurt me! They wouldn‘t! I trust them!”

Noah had no clue as to what he was saying anymore. The words were just flying out of his mouth. Yet, they all sounded accurate. But he couldn’t just let Justin say these things about the people who came to understand him the most. He couldn’t. Because he knew Justin was wrong.

“Then where ARE they, Noah!? I actually DO care about you, but where are THEY!?” he shouted. Noah was tired of hearing this.

“You want me to prove it, don’t you? That they do feel the way they say about me!” he shouted. “Well, fine! I’ll show you! I’ll show you!”

With that, he ran inside the building towards the elevator and pressed the button that led to the one who’s room was closest to the ground floor. Duncan’s. As he was doing this, he couldn’t see the smirk on Justin’s face, which could only mean that something terrible was about to befall our favorite know-it-all…

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Duncan and Courtney had been fighting in his room. Again. Apparently, the first thing out of Courtney’s mouth was that Noah didn’t deserve Duncan, and that Noah didn’t want Duncan, and of course, Duncan wasn’t going to take that sitting down. He had been arguing with her this entire time about it. And she was STILL going on, only making Duncan feel worse…

“Look, Duncan… I’m just trying to help you!” said Courtney.

“By what? Telling me what to do? Like you ALWAYS have?!” he shouted.

“I’m just saying that this fight over Noah is pointless! What are the chances that he’s going to choose you?” she argued.

“What’re you saying? I got you to like me, didn’t I!? That’s what it is, isn’t it!?” he shouted, making her flinch. “You’re just jealous that I like someone else, and that he actually likes me back!”

With this, neither of the two had noticed Noah arriving and standing right outside the door to hear everything that was happening between the two. However, what he heard next could’ve caused him to break into tiny pieces…

“Look, this is just like any other challenge we’ve had on that stupid island! And like those challenges, I’m gonna win! And Noah will be in my arms by the end of this game, you’ll see it! I‘ll beat Cody and Justin, and laugh it up in YOUR face when I win Noah as my prize!”

Noah stood there. Listening to all those things that were just said. Challenge? Win? Game?… Prize…? Was that all Noah was to Duncan? A prize? Just a trophy to be awarded after winning a game…? An inanimate object that could be thrown away…?

Noah stumbled away from the door. The two had finally silenced themselves. Yet, even if they had continued talking, Noah wouldn’t have heard them. The words Duncan had just spoke were still replaying in his mind… over and over and over… He couldn’t believe it… The boy who trapped him in a closet all just to talk with him. The one who told him he should try new things… The one who excited him… Just thought of him as a prize…

He ran as fast as he could from the door, and headed towards the elevator. There was still one person to count on. He wouldn’t let Justin know that he was right. Maybe he was right about Duncan, but there was no doubt on Noah’s mind that he was wrong about Cody. No doubt whatsoever.

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Cody had been sitting on his bed, watching TV quietly with Beth since midnight… However, after a while, the girl had grown tired and fell asleep on Cody’s shoulder, exhausted. Awkward and hesitant at first, he held her shoulder and leaned his head on hers. As a friend would do in that situation. He and Beth were like brother and sister, so he didn’t mind things like this… And besides, when he held her shoulder… he thought about what it’d be like had Noah been with him like this… and the thought brought a smile to his face.

However, while it brought a smile to his face, someone else’s face was filled with shock, and this person went unnoticed by the two.

Noah had been that person… And saying that he was heartbroken would be an understatement. It wasn’t like he knew Cody wouldn’t do that for any other person, but… He also knew the Beth had once had a little crush on the boy he had liked as well…

He was destroyed. Lifeless. He staggered out of there as fast as he could and ran towards the elevator. Once inside, his panting grew so heavy that he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He sunk to the ground, hugged his knees and cried. He believed in them. Both of them… He actually believed that they had both loved him… He couldn’t feel anything. His entire soul had gone numb… The tears flowed down his cheeks like waterfalls, and he didn’t even notice the elevator doors open…

With Justin walking in. Noticing the boy’s broken form, he knelt down and touched his shoulder, causing Noah to jump and notice the handsome teen staring at him with eyes filled with concern. He thought about Justin’s previous words…

I actually DO care about you, but where are THEY!?

He jumped forward into Justin’s arms, crying his heart out. Letting every sorrow he had spill onto Justin’s shirt… He couldn’t believe them… He couldn’t believe they’d do that… Justin really WAS the only one who cared about him… He believe THAT now… Nothing else…

With his crying, Noah didn’t notice the smirk on Justin’s face.

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“Can you help us break Cody and Duncan’s chances at getting Noah?” Courtney asked politely. This shocked Beth to the highest degree. What were they asking of her?!

“What!? Why?” asked Beth.

“Because it’s for their own good! There’s no way that Duncan has a chance with Noah!” said Courtney.

“Is thisth because YOU still like Duncan?” asked Beth, narrowing her eyes.

“Even if I didn’t, he still doesn’t have a chance!” said Courtney.

“But Cody doesth! Why are we ruining HIS chancthes?” asked Beth.

“Beth, think about it. Justin likes Noah, too, and who would you choose between the two?” asked Courtney. Beth looked at Justin, who smiled at her, causing her to melt on the inside.

“…Justin” she replied dreamily.

“So wouldn’t you WANT to do Cody a favor by saving him the trouble?” asked Courtney.

Beth had snapped out of the Justin trance, but… Couldn’t help but see Courtney’s logic. If it was a choice between Justin and Cody, Cody would surely lose. She figured she could at least be a good friend and help him by doing this… She sighed.

“…Fine… What’sth the plan…?” she said.

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Confession Cam

Noah: *Still crying* “Those… Those… I can’t believe them…” *Sobs*

Justin: “It DID hurt for me to do that to Noah… But it was the only way for him to be mine. I had to take Duncan and Cody out of the picture somehow, and that’s exactly what I did!”

Duncan: “Courtney really ticked me off tonight! What? Was she doubting my feelings for Noah!? She of all people have NO right in telling ME something like that! I really DO care about Noah! And I‘ve got a pretty good shot at getting him now!”

Cody: “I think I should just tell Noah how I feel about him already… His looks, his personality, everything about him is just driving me crazy! Plus, I think he really digs me! We’ve gotten along really well these past few days! We’re so gonna be together by tomorrow!”

Beth: “I feel kinda bad… Maybe I sthhouldn’t have done this… Even if it would help Cody, what if Noah did like Cody a little? Wouldn’t he be hurt…?”

Courtney: “I don’t feel anything! I didn’t do anything wrong! I was helping Duncan by doing this!… Right…? He didn’t have a chance with Noah, right? So not even Noah should feel bad!” *She looked at the camera hesitantly* “… right…?”

Izzy: “I don’t know why… But I, like, SO feel like something big happened again, and that I MISSED it!! ARGH! That. Is. IT! I am SO stalking Noah from now on!!”

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…TBC…