Courtney’s POV
“Up of down?” Tara asks, playing around with my hair.
“Um, down. With a couple strands pulled back.” Becky suggests.
“Should we tease it?”
“No. Court’s hair looks terrible when teased. Remember the fall dance?”
“Oh yeah. That was disastrous!”
I sigh and fall back on Becky’s bed. If I thought that my vrienden would stop the first-date image consulting with the outfit, I was wrong. They had already figured out which nail polish went best with my outfit, and whether to shape my nails round of square. Navy blue and round.
“This is going to take a while. Seeing as we’re the ones helping u with your image, I think Courtney should pop us another bag of popcorn.” Becky smirks and hands me the silver bowl.
“Fine fine.” I take the bowl out of her hand and walk out of the room.
Hopping down the steps, I hear voices coming from the kitchen.
“You hungry?” A male voice asks.
“Nah. I had avondmaal an uur ago.” Another voice answers.
I assume Becky’s brother has a friend over. Dylan’s a jaar older than us.
I approach the door frame that leads to the keuken-, keuken and stop dead in my tracks.
No.
No no no!
IMPOSSIBLE!
This CAN’T be happening!
He isn’t facing me, but he doesn’t need to. Green faux-hawk, black shirt, dark jeans and a slouched posture. He’s unmistakable.
Unnoticed, I race to the staircase and dash up the steps. In my haste, I stub my toe hard on a step. I cry out in pain.
“Huh? What was that?”
Footsteps! CRAP!
I scurry into Becky’s room and explain in a sharp whisper.
“DUNCAN’S HERE!”
Tara’s face creases in confusion “what?”
“Duncan! TDI Duncan!”
Their mouths gap open in unison. I hear footsteps on the stairs. So do they.
“Hide me!”
“Quick! Get in my closet!”
I scramble to the other side of the room and cram myself into her clothes closet. A sliver of light seeps in through the space between the double doors. I bite the inside of my cheeks to prevent myself from saying anything that might give me away. I hear their muffled conversation.
“Did u guys hear something?”
“Uhhh… no. Don’t think so. What’d it sound like?”
I try to send telepathic messages to Becky. Make them leeeave. Make them leeeave.
“I dunno. A yelp, I guess. I’m Duncan, door the way.”
His voice makes my hart-, hart beat furiously. I haven’t seen him in such a long time.
“Oh yeah. u were on a reality show, right?” Guess she didn’t get my message.
“Yeah. Total Drama Island last summer.” His voice sounds hoarser when he says this. I wonder if it has anything to do with me?
“Wasn’t your friend C-”
“NO! She wasn’t.” Becky interrupts her brother. Nice save.
My legs are cramping from standing in this awkward position. Hurry up, u guys!
“So, I think you’d better leave. We have, uh, stuff to do.” Message received.
I wonder if I could climb out of the window and down the side of the house…
“We’re going. Sheesh.”
I feel a tickle on my arm. My spine stiffens as my gaze shifts to the spot. The dim light is just enough to make out the outline of a creeping little-
SPIDER!!!
I shriek and thrash my arm around, hitting the closet door in the process.
“What the-?”
Despite Tara and Becky’s persuasion, the doors are opened wide, and find myself staring into his deep blue eyes.
Oh my...
Duncan’s POV
Huh?
What? How? She… and why?
Courtney stares at me, eyes wide, face blushed.
“Uh… H- hi Duncan.” She stutters. She doesn’t seem as surprised to see me.
“What are u doing in there? And how do u two know each- ohhhh.” Dylan nods understandingly.
‘W- well…” Courtney steps out of the closet. “I uh… went down to the keuken-, keuken and, um…” she swallows and bites her lip.
Now I realize why she was hiding. She was avoiding me.
“Ah. I get it now.” I smirk.
She hasn’t changed much since last summer, except for that she traded in her capris and dress overhemd, shirt for a blue sweater and jeans.
We stand wordlessly for a few seconds. Courtney finally breaks the silence.
“I should get going. My dad says I have to be home pagina early.” Liar.
She walks out into the hallway.
“Leaving so soon, Princess?”
Courtney stops, just long enough to clench her fists and tighten her jaw. She continues walking.
“Hey, how ‘bout I walk u home?” I grin “It’s too dark for girls like yourself to be walking home pagina door themselves.”
Courtney sneers. Man, have I ever missed pissing her off. “No thank you. I think I’d be in meer danger walking with u than I would be walking door myself.” She huffs and takes off down the stairs. I follow.
“Would u leave already? I’d rather u not know where I live.” Courtney snaps, irritated. Her breath is visible through the cold air.
I smile in a way that says no way. She’s not getting rid of me that quickly. I stuff my hands into my jean pockets. I should’ve brought my jacket.
“So, why exactly did u decide to avoid me earlier?” I have an idea, but I want to know for sure.
“I- I don’t know if u could call it avoiding-”
“You were hiding in a closet.”
She blushes at the memory “I guess… I didn’t want to talk to you, really. Because… I don’t know, it’d be weird.” It seems hard for her to admit, and I wonder why.
The cold wind blows hard. It turns her cheeks pink.
I missed her.
Missed her? Nah. I just missed annoying her.
Then why am I staring?
I don’t know. She’s hot and fun to bug. So what?
All girls are fun to bother. Courtney’s different.
Yeah. Controlling and bossy.
I like that about her.
It’s annoying.
So am I.
True.
“So,” she starts, tucking her hair behind an ear “what are u doing here, anyway?”
“My folks got tired of living in Toronto, so we moved.” I shrug.
Her eyes widen. “Oh, yeah? What, uh, school are u going to?”
I feel a smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Same one as you, Princess.”
Before she has a chance to respond, her cell phone starts ringing.
“Hello?” Her face beams.
“Oh, hey! … Yeah? … I’m good… oh- uh. Nothing much. Just the usual, you? … Sounds good! Hey, can u call me back in like, ten minutes? I’m walking home pagina right now… okay. Talk to u in a bit, bye.” She closes the phone.
“So, who was that?” I ask, bringing Courtney’s attention back to me.
“No one. u wouldn’t know- uh, her.” Something about her tone makes me raise an eyebrow in question.
“This is my house.” Courtney says, stopping in front of a large brick home. “See u at school. I guess.”
I walk with her to the front door.
“Bye, Duncan.” She strains a brief smile and turns to unlock the door.
Like I’d let her get away that easily.
“What?” I verplaats closer to Courtney. Our faces are less than an inch apart. “No good-night kiss?”
“Good night, Duncan!” She slams the door behind her, leaving me alone on the front step.
I grin to myself. I’m going to sleep well tonight.
“Up of down?” Tara asks, playing around with my hair.
“Um, down. With a couple strands pulled back.” Becky suggests.
“Should we tease it?”
“No. Court’s hair looks terrible when teased. Remember the fall dance?”
“Oh yeah. That was disastrous!”
I sigh and fall back on Becky’s bed. If I thought that my vrienden would stop the first-date image consulting with the outfit, I was wrong. They had already figured out which nail polish went best with my outfit, and whether to shape my nails round of square. Navy blue and round.
“This is going to take a while. Seeing as we’re the ones helping u with your image, I think Courtney should pop us another bag of popcorn.” Becky smirks and hands me the silver bowl.
“Fine fine.” I take the bowl out of her hand and walk out of the room.
Hopping down the steps, I hear voices coming from the kitchen.
“You hungry?” A male voice asks.
“Nah. I had avondmaal an uur ago.” Another voice answers.
I assume Becky’s brother has a friend over. Dylan’s a jaar older than us.
I approach the door frame that leads to the keuken-, keuken and stop dead in my tracks.
No.
No no no!
IMPOSSIBLE!
This CAN’T be happening!
He isn’t facing me, but he doesn’t need to. Green faux-hawk, black shirt, dark jeans and a slouched posture. He’s unmistakable.
Unnoticed, I race to the staircase and dash up the steps. In my haste, I stub my toe hard on a step. I cry out in pain.
“Huh? What was that?”
Footsteps! CRAP!
I scurry into Becky’s room and explain in a sharp whisper.
“DUNCAN’S HERE!”
Tara’s face creases in confusion “what?”
“Duncan! TDI Duncan!”
Their mouths gap open in unison. I hear footsteps on the stairs. So do they.
“Hide me!”
“Quick! Get in my closet!”
I scramble to the other side of the room and cram myself into her clothes closet. A sliver of light seeps in through the space between the double doors. I bite the inside of my cheeks to prevent myself from saying anything that might give me away. I hear their muffled conversation.
“Did u guys hear something?”
“Uhhh… no. Don’t think so. What’d it sound like?”
I try to send telepathic messages to Becky. Make them leeeave. Make them leeeave.
“I dunno. A yelp, I guess. I’m Duncan, door the way.”
His voice makes my hart-, hart beat furiously. I haven’t seen him in such a long time.
“Oh yeah. u were on a reality show, right?” Guess she didn’t get my message.
“Yeah. Total Drama Island last summer.” His voice sounds hoarser when he says this. I wonder if it has anything to do with me?
“Wasn’t your friend C-”
“NO! She wasn’t.” Becky interrupts her brother. Nice save.
My legs are cramping from standing in this awkward position. Hurry up, u guys!
“So, I think you’d better leave. We have, uh, stuff to do.” Message received.
I wonder if I could climb out of the window and down the side of the house…
“We’re going. Sheesh.”
I feel a tickle on my arm. My spine stiffens as my gaze shifts to the spot. The dim light is just enough to make out the outline of a creeping little-
SPIDER!!!
I shriek and thrash my arm around, hitting the closet door in the process.
“What the-?”
Despite Tara and Becky’s persuasion, the doors are opened wide, and find myself staring into his deep blue eyes.
Oh my...
Duncan’s POV
Huh?
What? How? She… and why?
Courtney stares at me, eyes wide, face blushed.
“Uh… H- hi Duncan.” She stutters. She doesn’t seem as surprised to see me.
“What are u doing in there? And how do u two know each- ohhhh.” Dylan nods understandingly.
‘W- well…” Courtney steps out of the closet. “I uh… went down to the keuken-, keuken and, um…” she swallows and bites her lip.
Now I realize why she was hiding. She was avoiding me.
“Ah. I get it now.” I smirk.
She hasn’t changed much since last summer, except for that she traded in her capris and dress overhemd, shirt for a blue sweater and jeans.
We stand wordlessly for a few seconds. Courtney finally breaks the silence.
“I should get going. My dad says I have to be home pagina early.” Liar.
She walks out into the hallway.
“Leaving so soon, Princess?”
Courtney stops, just long enough to clench her fists and tighten her jaw. She continues walking.
“Hey, how ‘bout I walk u home?” I grin “It’s too dark for girls like yourself to be walking home pagina door themselves.”
Courtney sneers. Man, have I ever missed pissing her off. “No thank you. I think I’d be in meer danger walking with u than I would be walking door myself.” She huffs and takes off down the stairs. I follow.
“Would u leave already? I’d rather u not know where I live.” Courtney snaps, irritated. Her breath is visible through the cold air.
I smile in a way that says no way. She’s not getting rid of me that quickly. I stuff my hands into my jean pockets. I should’ve brought my jacket.
“So, why exactly did u decide to avoid me earlier?” I have an idea, but I want to know for sure.
“I- I don’t know if u could call it avoiding-”
“You were hiding in a closet.”
She blushes at the memory “I guess… I didn’t want to talk to you, really. Because… I don’t know, it’d be weird.” It seems hard for her to admit, and I wonder why.
The cold wind blows hard. It turns her cheeks pink.
I missed her.
Missed her? Nah. I just missed annoying her.
Then why am I staring?
I don’t know. She’s hot and fun to bug. So what?
All girls are fun to bother. Courtney’s different.
Yeah. Controlling and bossy.
I like that about her.
It’s annoying.
So am I.
True.
“So,” she starts, tucking her hair behind an ear “what are u doing here, anyway?”
“My folks got tired of living in Toronto, so we moved.” I shrug.
Her eyes widen. “Oh, yeah? What, uh, school are u going to?”
I feel a smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Same one as you, Princess.”
Before she has a chance to respond, her cell phone starts ringing.
“Hello?” Her face beams.
“Oh, hey! … Yeah? … I’m good… oh- uh. Nothing much. Just the usual, you? … Sounds good! Hey, can u call me back in like, ten minutes? I’m walking home pagina right now… okay. Talk to u in a bit, bye.” She closes the phone.
“So, who was that?” I ask, bringing Courtney’s attention back to me.
“No one. u wouldn’t know- uh, her.” Something about her tone makes me raise an eyebrow in question.
“This is my house.” Courtney says, stopping in front of a large brick home. “See u at school. I guess.”
I walk with her to the front door.
“Bye, Duncan.” She strains a brief smile and turns to unlock the door.
Like I’d let her get away that easily.
“What?” I verplaats closer to Courtney. Our faces are less than an inch apart. “No good-night kiss?”
“Good night, Duncan!” She slams the door behind her, leaving me alone on the front step.
I grin to myself. I’m going to sleep well tonight.