Valentine Countdown Ch.7

Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama Island

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"… Welcome back to Valentine Countdown!"

Chris said as he walked to the side of the camera to show the Playa as he coughed to clear his throat. Chef rolled his eyes as he continued to speak.

"We have gone through 5 days of this one week reunion! And the ratings have gone off the scale! Over what? Our little know-it-all Noah, and the little tech-geek Cody! However, they weren't the only reason for this show's awesome ratings! New couples have been blooming all over the place, and drama has been leaking out of every corner!

In the last episode of Valentine Countdown, things were cooling off between Cody and Noah. Well, so it seemed, until Noah had a little knowledge showdown with Justin! Huh, wish there were a fight, but I wouldn't want Justin's face being ruined. However, it's because of the odd outcome (Noah THANKING Justin for some unknown reason) that causes some doubt  to cloud Cody's mind. He ACTUALLY thought NOAH was starting to have a crush on JUSTIN!!"

At this, both Chris and Chef burst with laughter. They couldn't help it. The very thought of Noah and Justin was too much for words. They composed themselves quickly and continued.

"In his self-consciousness, he decided to take help from both Duncan and Tyler, helping him feign coolness and confidence in attempt to make Noah jealous. Unfortunately, the plan didn't go to well, especially since Noah apparently wanted to tell Cody his feelings anyway! Burn, Cody! Real burn!! With Noah practically on the verge of exploding, what's gonna happen now?"

"Heh heh heh…" sniggered Chef, looking at the contents of a video camera.

"Even Chef can't get enough of the humorous goodness here! He's taking a peek at the last couple of days and he's excited to see what the ending results are of this show! As are you all! Who get's with who? Who's STILL with who? And who will STAY with who!? Find out on the 6th day-

… Of VALEN-…-TINE… COUNTDOWN!!"

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CONFESSION CAM

Trent: "Noah's still sleeping, but while he does so, I'm gonna talk to Cody. Something happened alright. Noah didn't speak a word to me last night. No matter what I did!"

Noah: "He-Who-I-Refuse-To-Name was a good actor, I'll give him that. I can't trust anyone anymore… Not even Trent, which is a shame. He, of all people, seemed to have really understood me…"

Ezekiel: "What has been going on around here, eh? Noah was a friend of mine since Total Drama Island. What's been eating him lately? I'm out of the loop, eh, granted I've been with Lindsay and Beth a lot lately…"

DJ: "Something's wrong, dude. Bunny can sense it. He's shivering like a snake!" *Bunny squeaks and hides* "Oh, sorry, Bunny!"

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Noah sat down in a pool chair outside, reading his book just as he usually did when he needed to be away from the world. And now, he felt he wanted to disappear from the world altogether. He didn't know what it was, but only one word came to mind: depression. Not that he hadn't been depressed before, he usually grew out of it without any drastic measures being taken. But for some reason, it seemed to have been taking longer…

He was angry.

No, he was furious. At 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name', at Justin, Chris, Chef… And himself…

Justin because he's Justin, and because their fight the previous day was what caused Noah to grow the guts to tell Cody his feelings… At Chris for bringing them back to this place together, knowing how much they all despised each other (Him, Heather, and Eva, anyway. Everyone else seemed on good terms).  And Chef. For cooking horrible excuses for 'food' while he suffered through this hell.

And at himself for being so foolish.

How could he have come to trust him? Them? How…? Wasn't his barrier strong enough? He was always pushing people away from him. What changed? Nothing. That was his conclusion. He just became weak again. The world around him was still cruel and made of lies. He hated it. He let himself slip and fall to break and crumble, and now he'll only get stepped on when he goes home to those horrible people he called 'family'.

What did he ever do to deserve what he got? His family was horrible, his friends were horrible, and he tried everyday to earn respect (which school-wise, he did), and yet everything turned his life to hell. He tried to ignore it. He pushed it all aside every time. Yet still, his life hadn't changed. How were some people able to be happy and yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't? People just couldn't leave him alone or be nice to him.

That's why he was the way he was. It was because like others, his life sucked, but it never showed any sign of letting up on him like it had so many others…

It was all good until last night… At the very least, life had been… bearable…

How could he have fallen for such a cheap trick? How could Co- er- 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name' trick him with a false personality? It was so unsettling… He prided himself on his perception. What went wrong…?

And worse, all those friendships he'd been beginning to make: Trent, DJ, and even Harold to an extent… And those he'd already had: Izzy, Eva, and Ezekiel… What could he do? How could he trust anyone? Anyone…?

He sighed. He was really close with Izzy, Eva, and Ezekiel… More than anyone, actually… Although they were all considered 'strange', they were all good people at heart. He couldn't imagine any of the three of them being fakers and lying to him… Trent, too… Trent, the first person he'd ever told about his horrible life at home, actually sympathized with him. Not that he was all into pity, but he wanted to think that Trent wasn't throwing pity at him…

He sighed, closing the book and looking up at the sky. It was bright, but the clouds shaded the sun enough for him to look at the nice blue of the sky. He frowned. Blue reminded him of 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name's eyes. He tore them away and sat up, looking around with a blank expression. No one was really doing anything productive.

He couldn't take being around anyone anymore. His anger was building again as he looked at everyone happily enjoying the events of the upcoming Valentine's Day tomorrow. It made him sick. Courtney and Duncan, Geoff and Bridgette, even Katie and DJ. He decided to go back to his room.

Walking back into the building, he didn't realize that a pair of dark, thin eyes were staring at him.

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Trent knocked on Owen and Cody's door. No answer. They were probably still sleeping, but it was an emergency. Noah woke up before him and he needed to talk to Cody before the boy did anything more to mess things up. He knocked harder, and a grumpy groan was heard from the other side of the door, before it opened, causing Trent to jump back a couple feet.

Cody looked awful.

His hair looked mated down and gross, and his clothes looked like they'd been wet, and his skin was pale. Almost as though he'd died and returned. Trent stepped closer, clearing his throat.

"What… Are you okay…?" asked Trent, and Cody stared blankly, as though not hearing him. Trent was about to ask again, but Cody finally spoke.

"It's over"

With that, the door closed again. His voice was so hoarse it sent Trent chills down his spine. Scratching the back of his head, he looked around to see if anyone was watching, and opened the door to see Cody back on his bed, which had been drenched. He walked over to the lifeless boy and grabbed a chair to sit next to him. Something was wrong. This wasn't the Cody he knew. He wanted to know why.

"Did something happen?" Trent asked, concern for the boy clear in his voice. Cody groaned, and he took that as a yes. "Was it Noah?"

No answer. He also took that as a yes.

"What happened?" he asked. "Cody, man, you gotta tell me"

"It doesn't matter" he heard Cody mutter through his pillow. Trent narrowed his eyes.

"Look, man, just talk to me. I'm your friend. Something's bothering you and I want to help" he said.

"I don't want your help" Cody snapped, his head turning to look at Trent. "Every time I ask someone for help, I end up screwing up. I've had enough already. I can't trust myself, or anyone else to help me get a girl OR a guy!"

Trent leaned back, aghast that Cody would speak to someone in such a way. It startled him, and Cody looked so furious.

… And yet, so broken…

"I'm tired of listening to everyone!" he said, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "It's only gotten me into trouble…! I really liked Noah!! I LOVED HIM!!"

His eyes were filled with anguish and desperation. Trent was stunned, unable to take his eyes away from Cody's no matter how much he wanted to. There was so much depression in his eyes.

"BUT NOW NOAH HATES ME AND IT'S OVER!!"

With that as his final word, he turned away from Trent and faced the wall, curling up into a ball and holding his pillow tight in frustration. Trent was speechless, and Cody's screams of despair only broke him down. Noah hated him…? Why? What happened between them?

Knowing that Cody wouldn't be saying anything more to him, he got up and slowly walked out, closing the door behind him. He knew it. Something DID happen, but what could have been so bad for Noah to HATE him? He had to find out, and Noah was the only one he'd find out from.

As thought on cue, the elevator doors that Trent was headed for had opened, and Noah walked through them holding his book and looking down. He noticed Trent, but said nothing as Trent approached him.

"Noah, I need to talk to you" said Trent, but Noah just walked straight passed him, causing Trent to stare at his retreating back for a couple seconds before following. "Hey, did something happen between you and Cody-?"

SLAM!!

Trent stood there, outside his room door stunned. He noticed that Noah had quickly shut the door the minute Cody's name had come up. Was Cody right? Did Noah hate him now?

But why?

Remembering that this was also his room, Trent opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Noah on his bed reading. Noah didn't move or show any indication that someone entered, and Trent walked to him.

"Noah?" he asked. No answer. "Noah, talk to me"

Noah had still refused to answer or even acknowledge that Trent had been there. Getting annoyed, Trent had finally started getting serious.

"Noah, I'm trying to help! The least you could do is help me!" Trent said firmly, and Noah chuckled.

"Ha ha, good one…" he muttered, reading his book still. Trent raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me" snapped Noah. "Cody? Who's that? I don't know anyone of that name"

"The guy living a couple doors down? The guy who's been chasing after you FOREVER? The guy who's crying tears of frustration because he thinks you hate him?" said Trent, trying to get a response out of Noah. He got one, but he didn't like it. Noah started laughing.

"Ha ha, that's good. He's a better actor than I thought!" he said, still refusing to look at Trent. Trent was appalled. His friend was in agony over this person who he thought of as a good guy, but he wasn't even batting an eye.

"What are you talking about?" asked Trent, almost disgusted at Noah's behavior. "Aren't you worried about him?"

"Sorry, I don't act. Not as well as he does anyway" replied Noah, leaning his head on his shoulder to read. Trent was getting REALLY irritated over this.

"WHAT are you talking about!? He's my friend, and your's! Why are you acting so cold!?" started Trent. He was tired of Noah's attitude. "I'm trying to be nice and help you, but you're being a jerk!!"

That hit a nerve. Noah slammed his book shut and stood to take him on, the two of them glaring daggers at each other as he did so.

"If you're so worried why don't YOU do something about it?" Noah snapped angrily. He didn't need to be lectured by someone who was defending a liar. "I don't sympathize with liars, and if you're gonna defend trash like him then YOU'RE no better!! Why should I care if he cries?! I'M the one who was hurt last night!! But THAT doesn't seem to matter to YOU, does it!?"

Trent's eyes widened. NOAH was the one hurt last night? What was going on?

"This is complete crap!! I can't believe you are just as much a faker as HE is!! And I fell into your trap! BOTH OF YOU!!" Noah shouted, fury and rage burning through his veins as he stormed out of the room, throwing his book into the wall with a loud 'BAM!'.  

"YOU CAN ALL GO TO HELL!!"

And that was the last thing Trent heard. He stood there, speechless once again. What just happened…? He was fighting with Noah, but what over? What was Noah so angry with Cody about? He didn't know…

And now Noah was mad at him, too…

He sighed, rubbing his head, not noticing Beth come by the door to check. She immediately left, and Trent decided to take a nap due to the enormous headache he was growing.

He didn't notice Heather walk passed the open door and look at Trent lying down, stress written all over his face. It was faint, but if one looked close enough, they could almost see a look of regret and guilt. Almost as though she were about to do something. She sighed lightly, before narrowing her eyes. She had to do this. No matter what happened. She had to find it.

Her entire life was at stake here, and she had to pull this plan off.

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CONFESSION CAM

Beth: "I heard shouting and yelling… But Noah looked really angry and Trent looked way too upset to talk to at the moment"

Ezekiel: "Beth said Noah and Trent were fighting. Noah in a fight? I've never even heard the guy raise his voice, eh!"

Gwen: "I heard about the fight Noah and Trent had, and I'm not happy. That know-it-all better watch his step from here on"

Eva: "Whatever's going on, better fix itself soon, or I'm gonna fix it myself" *cracks her knuckles* "And you won't like it when I wanna fix something"

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Noah had been downstairs while everyone finally came down for dinner. Trent wasn't around, though. Still upstairs doing who knows what. Not that Noah really cared anymore. Trent was a liar just as much as… 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name'…

Yet, even 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name' had come down from his room, getting attention from Gwen, LeShawna, Katie, and Sadie. He must've worried them so much that they didn't go looking for Trent and figured he'd come down later. He snapped at them all and told them to leave him alone. Noah chuckled on the inside. He wasn't acting like a goody boy anymore at least. Just showing his true colors, which wasn't a bother to Noah at all. He grabbed his plate and found a lonely spot near a couple of bushes in dim light. Sure fit his mood right now…

While it was a little satisfying to see 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name' in pain, he couldn't get this feeling that it hurt him as well…

How could it not? It took a while for Noah to come to terms with his feelings towards him, and now the boy had to push them aside. He hated liars, and what he hated most was that the boy he'd come to love was nothing but a false personality. He hated how he'd so easily fallen for him when he wasn't even real… He sighed, looking around as no one seemed to have noticed him sitting alone in the dark. They were all happy. He hated the sight. It made him feel worse about the events that followed the other day…

He was so tired. Because of his confession to 'He-Who-He Refuses-To-Name' the other day, which was most likely caught on camera, the 'AH' tribe and the rest of the people he knew at home would torture him, despite how he had hated the guy now… His life was slowly turning to shreds now…

It'd been a while since dinner started, and to end the nice meal, a loud shriek echoed through the Playa.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!</i>

Almost everyone jumped, as Lindsay came out of the building in a rush and screamed.

"The rooms are ruined!!" she screamed, and everyone's eyes widened. They all went inside to see if what she'd said was true.

Indeed, as dumb as the blonde girl normally was, she wasn't a liar. Every room in the Playa Des Losers was now torn to shreds. Every piece of furniture was out of place and people's clothes were all over the floor. Someone had ransacked everyone's rooms. Everyone on the first floor stayed back to clean up their rooms as the others took the elevator up to their floors, and gasped at the sight. It hadn't been just the first floor. All three floors were a huge mess.

"What in the world…?" Beth breathed out, running into her room.

Noah was shocked. What in the world would cause a person to ruin everyone's room like this? He walked into his room to find Trent asleep on his bed, and his stomach began to boil. He and Trent weren't on good terms anymore, and he looked around to find thing to put away, but…

He looked around and his eyes widened. Their room wasn't even touched. Everything in their room was perfectly fine. Nothing was out of place. Something didn't seem right. However, as he was thinking this, the rest of the contestants had arrived to the top floor to check on their friends, and immediately noticed the mess. Trent had woken up around this time due to the commotion.

"What? Why's your room still in tact!?" shrieked an angered Courtney.

Trent looked at her with a blank expression, and everyone gathered around, checking to see if Courtney had been telling the truth. Indeed, she had been. Eva pointed accusingly at Trent.

"You must've done it! I didn't see you at dinner!" said Eva, angrily. Everyone looked at each other and agreed on it, but Trent, just waking up, had been confused.

"What? What did I do? I was asleep!" Trent replied, defensively.

"Hey, you all KNOW Trent!" Gwen said defensively. "He would never do this!"

"Then who do YOU think did it, goth girl!?" snapped Courtney. Her room was a mess, there may have been belongings missing and she didn't want excuses. She just wanted to know who did it.

"Hey, let's all just take it easy" said DJ. "Maybe this is just some prank Chris is pulling on us to cause drama for the show"

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"Why didn't WE think of that!?" shouted Chris, and Chef shrugged.

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"Then WHY would Noah and Trent's room be all clean and tidy!?" shouted Courtney.

"Yo, Princess, take a chill pill. It's just a little mess" spoke Duncan, smirking at her. However, she was less than pleased with this little remark.

"Little? LITTLE!? Valentine's Day is TOMORROW and it's all ruined!!" said Courtney.

"I don't wanna believe that it was Trent, though… " spoke up Bridgette. Trent was still confused, but he knew that he didn't do anything.

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CONFESSION CAM

Trent: "Umm… I'm confused. What happened?"

LeShawna: "I refused to believe Trent had something to do with our rooms getting messed up! That boy was sweeter than sweet little Harold…" *pauses with wide eyes* "…You didn't hear that"

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"Hey, I have a thought" said Geoff, and Courtney rolled her eyes. "Gwen is Trent's girlfriend"

Duncan scoffed.

"Thanks for stating the obvious. What's your point?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, why would Trent trash his girlfriend's room? I know I wouldn't do that to Bridgette!" said Geoff, and Bridgette smiled.

"Really?" she asked, looking at him with a blush.

"Of course I wouldn't!" he said, and the leaned in and started making out again. Everyone rolled their eyes by now, but had to admit Geoff had a point. Gwen was Trent's girlfriend, and they couldn't imagine him messing up everyone's rooms if Gwen's was also ruined.

"Then who…?" started Sadie.

"Maybe it was a ghost!!" said Izzy, climbing onto Owen's shoulders. "It's probably a scary ghost that can go through walls and fly and is probably deadly pale with empty eye sockets and dried blood running down his skin and looked as though he hadn't eaten for months! Covered in loads of bugs-!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!"

"What the hell?" Duncan asked, looking at Lindsay. "Why'd you scream?"

Lindsay blinked.

"Huh? That wasn't me!" she said. "That was Odie, Kathie, and Sandy!"

They all looked at Katie and Sadie, who had been holding each other tightly, then at Owen with raised eyebrows. Duncan sniggered, and Courtney shook her head irritably.

"You're scared of ghosts?" asked Duncan to the three of them.

"No!" Katie and Sadie said. "BUGS!!"

Everyone sighed or rolled their eyes. They all turned their attention to Owen.

"And you?" Duncan asked.

"NO EATING FOR MONTHS!!!" he shouted, and Izzy fell off his back with laughter as some of the contestants stared at him or face palmed themselves. Gwen then looked at Noah, who was staring at Owen with a disapproving look, and a thought struck her.

"Hey, I didn't see YOU at dinner, either!" said Gwen, and everyone turned their attention to Noah. Lindsay and Beth gasped.

"We didn't see Norah either!!" said Lindsay, and Noah frowned at the name, thinking that would be the name should their mother have another female child.

Everyone stared at him suspiciously, and while Noah wanted to defend himself, he looked at Trent, who stared at him with surprise. While they had a fight recently, he couldn't help but take one look at Trent's face and feel maybe he was wrong. Then he looked at 'He-Who-He-Refuses-To-Name' and saw a look of surprise in his eyes too.

It hurt to look into their eyes. It was agonizing. He trusted them both. He liked them both. Trent was his friend, and him… He loved… He struggled to think his name due to how angry he was...

…Cody…

He didn't have to forgive Cody, because he didn't deserve it, but when he thought rationally, he knew why Trent defended Cody earlier. Cody gave up his chances for a girl he liked to help Trent out… Of course. That sealed his friendship with Cody, and he must've felt he owed it to the guy. Noah couldn't complain about that.

Cody and Trent were friends. Trent and Noah were friends, too. Cody and Noah didn't have to be anything. However, according to the situation from earlier, Trent and Noah were still on shaky grounds with each other. He sighed. Well, as much as he didn't want the crap from everyone for it, he decided he might as well be nice and take the blame off Trent's shoulders. He wanted his friend back. Despite how long it'd take. He needed ONE person who he knew would be perfectly honest with him after all…

"… It was me…" Noah said, and some people gasped. He closed his eyes without any sign of emotion. "I was angry… Trent didn't do anything"

He hated looking at Cody right now. Cody must've been so ashamed of him, but why did it matter so much!? Cody lied to him!! Cody didn't love him! No wonder why Cody never told Noah face-to-face. He didn't love him or even like him! How is it that he still cared about what Cody thought…? Why should he? Cody hurt him… He tried to hide the coming tears, and it was hard work, but he pretended to wipe his nose as he wiped his eye quickly.

However, the tear hadn't been unnoticed by Trent, who was upset with Noah at first. The minute he heard Noah confess that he had ruined everyone's rooms had caused it to fade. The tear caused him to question. Everyone glared at Noah angrily. Everyone except for Trent, Cody, Harold, Ezekiel, Eva, and Izzy, who stared in shock instead.

There was one more person who stared at Noah in shock, though… And with the sight of the small tear he wiped away and knowing what had been going on recently, she couldn't take it and finally spoke up.

"Alright, alright!! Ugh, this is so stupid…" spoke Heather. Everyone looked at her questionably. "It wasn't Noah who messed up the rooms! It was me!"

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CONFESSION CAM

Heather: "Yeah, that's right! I confessed! I've been sneaking around other's doors and trying to find ways into their rooms! So sue me!"

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Everyone's faces just dropped from shock.

"What?" asked LeShawna. "While I'd usually believe that story, we SAW you at dinner!"

"I went back into the building just before dinner started and came back later" she said, irritably and crossing her arms. "I was looking for something important"

At this, everyone stared at her suspiciously, except for Noah, who'd been confused. Why was Heather confessing her crime? She's NEVER done that before!! At least, not until the punishment was done already!

"What…?" started Gwen with disbelief. "What could you have been looking for that required you to ransack ALL of our ROOMS except their's!?"

However, Heather didn't want to answer. It didn't matter, though, because Justin did for her.

"This" he said, pulling a small picture out from his pocket, her face filling up with horror. "Found it the day of the welcome back party (Chapter 2)"

He gave it back to her, and she snatched it back before anyone could look at it. Everyone looked at him with curiosity. He crossed his arms.

"A picture of her… younger days…" he said, looking as though guilty that he hadn't given it back to her sooner. Harold was still confused about something.

"Wait a minute, if you were looking for whatever that is, why'd you skip their room?" he asked, pointing to Noah and Trent, and she frowned.

"I wasn't gonna have enough time to put the rooms back together, and needed to blame someone. Trent's nap was the perfect timing for it, so I left it alone so you'd blame him instead" she said, crossing her arms and facing away from everyone.

"But Noah was about to take the blame…" Cody said with an upset look, before glancing at Noah, who looked at him emotionally. He looked at the ground, feeling guilty himself for what he'd done to Noah the night before… Heather rolled her eyes.

"I just pitied the loser. After all, this whole experience has been harsh and all about him since we've gotten here!" she said. "Even that little incident last night at the pool-"

She stopped herself as she looked at Noah, who's face became angered as he thought of it. However, everyone else's faces were filled with confusion. Cody, however, had looked at the ground in shame, while Owen smirked.

"Ooohh, I know what she's talking about" he said coolly. Everyone looked at him either skeptically or with surprise.

"You do?" asked Noah and Cody together, Noah glaring at Cody.

"Yeah, you two got it ~on~ last night in the pool, didn't you?" he said, smirking and nudging Cody.

Everyone's faces instantly filled with horror or disgust at Owen's accusation and they all looked at Noah or Cody, whose faces were redder than that of cherries. Noah rubbed his temples in order to keep himself calm and avoid killing either Cody or Owen while Cody covered his face in his hands. Even when they're not even friends anymore Cody still had his ways of humiliating Noah…!

"NO YOU FOOL!!" shouted Heather, kicking him. "Don't you people know ANYTHING around here!?"

The confused or blank stares that they each gave her answered her question and she rolled her eyes in irritation. She sighed, before continuing.

"Know-it-all here finally confessed his feelings to Tech-geek" she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but at this, Katie, Sadie, Lindsay, and Beth had all squealed in delight, nearly breaking everyone's eardrums.

"You DID!?" Katie asked, as the girls all crowded around Noah, asking him questions while he only turned redder, though Cody couldn't tell if it were out of embarrassment or rage. However, Heather wasn't finished.

"Ex-CUSE me!! I'm TALKING here!!" she screamed, causing the girls to flinch. "He confessed, but SOMEONE decided to be stupid!"

Trent immediately caught her gaze hitting Cody, and he, Gwen, and LeShawna looked at him. Cody had turned red in embarrassment and wished everyone would stop staring at him (And for Noah to stop glaring at him).

"Cody? What'd you do?!" asked Trent, hoping that this time, Cody would actually answer him. Cody looked away, knowing Noah wouldn't believe or like what really happened. However, Heather didn't seem to mind telling everyone one bit.

"After know-it-all's stupid argument with Justin, he thought Noah had a crush for Justin" she stated as-matter-of-factly. This caused Trent and Gwen's faces to falter as they looked at him. Justin frowned, not wanting to be part of this argument. "So he decided to get a confidence and 'get your crush jealous' lesson from the criminal and the wannabe jock over there"

She pointed to Duncan and Tyler, who glared at her for the names she gave them, ignoring the glares that Gwen, Trent, and LeShawna gave them and Cody. Heather continued.

"So then they met by the juice bar and he started acting like a jerk, acting as though THAT was who he really was to impress him" she said, coughing and pretending to gag. "What-EVER, you'll NEVER be anything near cool no matter how much of a beast you act!"

Noah listened to Heather's story, and stared at Cody the entire time, not able to comprehend at first, despite how simple the explanation had been…  He couldn't believe it. Cody was always the Cody he fell in love with, just trying to impress him… He didn't know whether to be angrier or… flattered…

"Cody…" started Trent, approaching the boy, but Cody wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Alright, alright, that's enough, eh"

At the sudden outburst, everyone jumped and looked at Ezekiel, who spoke. He grabbed Noah and Cody and pulled them aside, shooing everyone away.

"These two need to talk and I'm sure you all know that! Let's go, eh! Outta here! Downstairs and back to dinner!" said Ezekiel, watching to make sure everyone left. They'd all been too confused to argue.

While Gwen and Trent wanted to stay, Cody nodded, telling them that Ezekiel was right. However, Trent took one last look at Noah before his turn came to take the elevator downstairs. Noah's expression was hazy, and unreadable. Praying for a happy ending, the rest of them steeped in and looked nervously at Ezekiel, hoping he can somehow find a way to fix this mess.

Noah didn't move. Cody kept taking awkward glances at him, trying to meet his eyes, but the other wouldn't budge. Ezekiel turned to the two of them and sighed, holding Noah on the shoulders and making him look at him.

"Noah, dude, I'm your friend, eh… So as your friend, I'm gonna ask you to wait in your room for a bit. And don't lock the door to avoid this cuz Trent's got a key, eh" he said, and Noah looked at Cody briefly before walking into his and Trent's room without saying anything. Ezekiel turned to Cody.

"… What? More advice…? I'm tired already, Ezekiel…" said Cody, looking at the floor in embarrassment. Ezekiel didn't tear his gaze away from him. Just because Cody asked him to doesn't mean he'd oblige. Noah was his friend, and while Ezekiel wanted to punch Cody in the face, he held it back in order to calmly talk to him.

"Look, I'm the only guy you haven't taken advice from, and frankly you should've came to me first, eh" he snapped, startling Cody, as Cody had never heard Ezekiel speak so harshly. "If you love Noah, you should've told him from the beginning. Granted, not exactly shove it in his face, but every way you went at it was wrong, eh"

Cody was shocked, hearing this from someone who had been sexist before and had gotten nearly all the girl contestants who were residing with them at the Playa now to hate him. Ezekiel continued.

"Look, Noah was my first ever friend, eh. We're both intelligent, and we both stayed here the longest with Eva when you were on that island competing. The last thing I want to see is what I just saw tonight.  If you love him as much as I believe you do, then tell him,eh. Right here, right now"

Ezekiel took a breath, and Cody was speechless as his tone became softer.

"I know Noah, eh… And the one thing he needs is honesty, Cody… You were his friend before, so you should know just as much as I do why he needs it…"

As he said that, Noah's words from last night echoed in his head.

I was humiliated on TV before, and I've been humiliated now, but at the very least I thought it wouldn't matter cuz I thought you loved me and I loved you…

A tear ran down Cody's cheek. He was so ashamed with himself… He had been so busy trying to get Noah's attention, he didn't think about what Noah wanted or needed. He was a boy who's love became obsession in the time that they'd been apart, and it hurt that he'd done such a thing to Noah… He was so busy asking for help on what he should do, he didn't think of Noah at all…

He'd embarrassed Noah in front of the world. What Noah needed was for someone to be there when no one else would be. Someone who'd understand his trials and tribulations… What Noah wanted was honesty, and commitment…

… He was so stupid…

"Be yourself, eh"

At that, Cody looked at Ezekiel again.

"That's my advice, eh. Be the man Noah fell for. I know he's in love with you- the REAL you- and that's the only reason I'm allowing you to do this even with all you've done that's hurt him…"

Cody's heart sank at that.

"… Not because I think you're right for him, but because he thinks you are. Because he knows you are…" he finished. "Don't disappoint me, eh"

With that, Ezekiel walked into the elevator, and as they closed, he gave Cody a smile of encouragement. Cody stood there for a couple of minutes, getting himself together, before looking at the door to Noah and Trent's room, walking in…

And the clock rang midnight.

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CONFESSION CAM

Heather: "You know, telling on those two gave me all the attention in the world! Everyone was asking me questions after we all came downstairs! It's about time, too! I feel like I've gotten any screen time in this show!"

LeShawna: "I gotta say I was surprised with the outcome of this! HEATHER and JUSTIN being NICE!?"

Gwen: "Heather actually did something… good…? I may have lost my mind"

Courtney: "I'm glad we're allowed to go home the morning after tomorrow. This drama is starting to drive me mad"

Harold: "I wonder what's happening up there…"

Bridgette: "I hope Ezekiel can fix all this…"

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"And THAT'S the end of today's episode, everyone! Sorry, it's midnight and the official end of Day 6!! All questions are pretty much answered!… Well, not one- Will NOAH and CODY actually get TOGETHER!? Who knows, my friends! Who knows…? Find out tomorrow, on Valentine's Day- the FINAL CHAPTER-!!

…Of VALEN-…-TINE… COUNTDOWN!!!"