Knowing what kind of challenges Cody was going to follow, he kind of took advantage of the three days without challenges to train in peace. It's not that he's addicted to sports or that he wants to be so muscular that Rambo would drool, no, it's more that he hates staying idle. It's a kind of habit he picked up from studying at university and then later in his work; even his sports routine ended up becoming a need to keep busy.
In short, that's why he isolated himself from the others to take care of his physical fitness, and also to spend time with the most temperamental young woman in the camp.
"Hey Eva"
Since the athlete was standing in front of the girls' cabin, all eyes turned to them to find out what the male with the mohawk could want with Eva, who continued to lift her weights while staring at Cody without any emotion in her eyes.
"What do you want?" she asks in a muffled voice.
"Well, you told me that if I proved myself worthy, you would agree to lend me your dumbbells, so I came to see if the offer still stands."
"Hmm, you're not fragile like the others, but I don't think you're worthy of her beauty," she said, lifting the dumbbells to her smiling face. "But since you insist... here's the deal: you'll come with me during my workout, and if you survive, I'll lend you my dumbbells."
"Very well, I accept!" he replied with a big smile. "When do we start?"
"Now try to follow!"
That's when they started a race around the island with the two of them neck and neck, well, sort of, don't be fooled, Cody is in excellent physical condition but he's not a professional athlete who trains every day with the idea of participating in the Olympic Games, no, that's Eva who runs without losing her rhythm and barely sweating.
The rest of Eva's sports routine was quite long: sit-ups, bench presses, push-ups, running in the sand, swimming while working on their lung capacity by diving to a certain point.
By avoiding the sharks.
Cody and Eva continued their routine under the astonished gaze of the other competitors who could not imagine keeping up with the two athletic beasts.
"Glad Eva's with us," said Geoff, who could only swallow when he saw the brunette lift her body with one hand while casting a fierce look at Cody doing the same.
"And we Cody," said Noah, who felt a little jealous of the looks his teammate was getting from the women on the island. Well, it wasn't on Justin's level, but still!
"Of course I'm delighted," laughs Izzy, with a dreamy look at the sculpted chest of the brunette who is now only wearing his swim shorts.
"Girl, be a little dignified," Leshawna said with an amused smile towards the candied orange peel.
"What, I'm enjoying the view with dignity," she replied, laughing.
"Don't you have anything better to do than watch those two?" Gwen asks, arms crossed and a frown directed towards Izzy for some obscure reason.
"Why? I find it even more exciting than TV," said Noah, noting the latest bets. "Okay Owen, you're betting a bag of chips on Cody, right?"
While the others continue to discuss, Eva and Cody look at each other in the same way as two rivals almost reaching the finish line, neither wants to give in despite it being just a friendly challenge, neither wants to let go even though their bodies, sore from the day of sport, are screaming stop, neither can stop smiling.
"nNNNN So we're going to crack soon?!" said the brunette with a look bright with defiance towards Anderson who snickered despite the tension in his body.
"In your dreams! NNNNNN!"
In the end, the one who collapsed was the former programmer, with a long groan of exhaustion, lying in the sand with his eyes fixed on the cloudless blue sky. Cody breathes softly while cursing his physical weakness; an outstretched hand pulls him from his bad thoughts. Slightly lost, he grasps the offered limb, only to be helped back to his feet by the Carp Amazon, who gives him a big smile.
"Not bad for a rookie, you didn't give up, so you're worthy, if you need anything come see me" she said respectfully because it was the first time someone had followed her and especially tried to do better than her in sports.
"Thank you, Eva," said the brunette, taking a deep breath. "But don't think it's over." This surprised the brunette a little, and she felt a tingling sensation when Anderson gave her a mocking smile. "I want to keep training with you so that one day I can be your equal."
"Bah! Men and their egos, very well, but don't be disappointed once I show you the gap between us!"
It was an interesting day for Cody; he figured out what to do if he was ever free, but most importantly, he made a friend.
~CAM~Eva~
"When my father won a gold medal at the Olympic Games, I was so proud of him, that's why I train every day so he can be proud of me too," the tall woman explained, a touch of sadness in her voice. "Unfortunately, because I put in so much effort, it's not easy for me to make friends... but Cody doesn't seem like the other wimps, at least with him I feel less alone."
T~T
Feeling a little numb from her efforts the day before, Cody decided that today she was going to do something that had been itching at her since she arrived at camp.
Armed with a garbage bag and a wooden pickaxe, Anderson got up at dawn with the firm intention of cleaning this beach, partly because he refuses to swim with garbage, and also because he wants to at least do his mother proud.
His parents are not ordinary people; his father, Adam Anderson, is the CEO of Hephai Corps, a company specializing in medical robotics research. Whether it be artificial organs or a prosthesis that can replace a hand, everything is done in his father's company. His mother is not to be outdone, being at the head of One Day , one of the most influential environmental organizations in Canada.
As he continues his task, he thinks about what his mother will think of him upon his return. Winning will always be his ultimate goal, but Cody doesn't want to cheat or manipulate others to win challenges. Eliminating Duncan to prevent him from corrupting Courtey and Gwen remains a noble objective in his own opinion. In short, he will do everything he can to make his parents proud of him.
"Cody ?"
Looking up from the bare feet in front of him, he looks at the curious face of a surfer well known for accidentally injuring people, which is why he takes a small step back while smiling at her.
"Hey Bridge...what are you...stupid question, you're a surfer and the sea is right there," he said with a small, embarrassed laugh that made the blonde laugh.
"Yeah...even if there are no waves I love the ocean too much" she said, looking at the blue of the water with admiration.
"Hmm, you know, thinking about it, I've never surfed, what's it like?"
The smile Bridgette had at that moment was even more blinding than the sun, then she started babbling about how surfing is so awesome that everyone should try it at least once in their life.
Without really knowing why, Cody is standing on a surfboard placed on the sand with a very happy Bridgette standing on hers to explain the basics of this wonderful sport to him.
"The most important thing is knowing how to get up, you have to do it as quickly as possible while keeping your balance!" she explains, pretending to swim, then in a few seconds she's standing up, making the brunette blink. "Go on, your turn!"
(...how can I resist those eyes?) thinks Anderson, who tries to copy her movements, then slips on the spot and lands on his back on the ground. "Ouch!"
"I think I missed..." grumbles the young man, straightening up amid the cute giggles of the blonde.
"Don't worry, I wasn't very good at it at first either."
"Oh, so I can become as skilled as you?"
"Hmm..." she continues to smile while looking away.
"Hey, I feel a little insulted here," said Cody with a slight frown.
"Okay, let's start again"
"Bridge !"
The day continued in this way, one teaching the other how to surf and not fall headfirst into the sand. It was during one of the blonde's long explanations on how to ride a wave that the brunette realized that it was pleasant to relax and enjoy a little sun; it was quite the opposite of his future life.
He works from morning till night, while in his free time he spends at the gym.
It's a depressing thought, and it must show on his face because the blonde with green eyes is approaching him with a worried look.
"Is everything alright, Cody?" she asks, approaching the boy sitting facing the sea.
"Huh? Oh yes, it's fine..." he assures her without looking at her. Without saying a word, she sits down beside him, observing the melancholic expression on his face. Then he sighs heavily. "Actually... I just realized that this is the first time in my life I've had a good time with friends..."
"What? You don't have any friends at home?"
"No," he said with a bitter smile. "To tell you the truth, high school is my first experience of school; until now I had a private tutor."
"Your parents didn't want you to go to school?"
"It wasn't malicious, I was often sick and I was also very shy at the time," he admits with an awkward smile. "Well, I say that, but even today it's not easy to talk to others."
"I think you're doing well, everyone appreciates you after what you did for Courtney," she assures him, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
"Thank you, Bridge..." he smiled before relaxing on the sand with her. "And you? Tell me how it's going."
"Hmm, our team hasn't found its rhythm yet, Courtney and Duncan keep bickering and...hmm, it's a bit awkward."
"I'm a tomb," he promised, proudly patting his left pectoral muscle, which made the surfer laugh and let out a slight sigh while rubbing her arm.
"It's Geoff, he's been sending me messages ever since we arrived... well, you know, he likes me," she confesses, blushing slightly.
"And it's awkward because you don't think you feel the same way?"
"Yes, he's not a bad person, and I'm sure it would be nice to go out with him, but for now I don't think it's a good idea."
(Since in season two you got eliminated because of your marathon of kissing, yes it's not a good idea) he thinks.
"Hey, I'm no love expert, but you're right to be clear about it now; if the guy only has a little crush, it won't hurt him and at least he can move on to something else."
"I think so too, but I'm just afraid he won't understand since he is..."
"Absent-minded?"
"Yes, that's it."
The two shared a laugh, and once they'd calmed down, they simply drifted into silence, watching the sun set over the water, casting a golden light on the sea. Cody felt like he was living a romantic scene from the movies, but he couldn't imagine a woman like Bridgette being interested in a weird guy like him, not like he... who was he kidding? She was so beautiful and radiant; anyone would be happy to have her by their side.
Because of these strange thoughts, the brunette felt his face heating up; taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up under the curious gaze of the blonde.
"You know, I'm not the best at surfing, but I bet I can swim faster than you!"
"Ah! You've just made a serious mistake!"
T~T
~CAM~Bridgette~
"It was nice spending time with Cody, to be honest I didn't know what to think of him. From what I saw, he's usually quite reserved, but once he's away from others," the young woman breathes in, a more timid smile on her face. "He's really a kind and fun person...actually I...no, it's not the right time."
T~T
On his last day of rest, Cody weighed the pros and cons of what he should do; resting seemed like a good idea given that the timeline is not a sure thing, the future is constantly being written and rewritten, so he cannot count on Gwen to win the challenge.
He cannot put himself in the foreground again, no, this time he must remain in the shadows.
Having finished his reflections, the young man took his mp3 player, letting himself be lulled by Wing Of Liberty while making his solitary run through the woods. During his run, he sorted through the changes made in this timeline and also the major differences with the old one. The attitude of others towards him leaves him once again perplexed. The men seem to appreciate him in a silent and manly way, except for Harold and Duncan. The first to express that he thinks Cody is nothing more than a Casanova. For the delinquent, there is no specific reason, but he imagines that their haircuts set them apart.
Finally, not that he's trying to understand this guy.
Continuing to run, he thinks about his relationship with Gwen. He really doesn't know what to think. The young woman and Trent talked together; he saw it. So why isn't anything happening? Even he knows how to read the signs of a romantic moment. On another subject, the goth girl seems much more at ease in his presence than before. They talk about mundane things, but always with a smile. It gives him the impression that he has managed to repair the things he broke in his first life. After Total Drama World Tour, he felt betrayed by Gwen's decision to choose Duncan, even if it meant hurting Courtney and him in the process.
But what right does he have to impose this on the young woman? She owed him nothing, and just because he loved her doesn't mean she should feel responsible for loving someone else, especially since in her eyes he was just a little brother.
His greatest shame to date is having believed that Gwen belonged to him simply because he thought he had her.
"LET !"
Suddenly opening his eyes, Anderson stopped with all his might to avoid knocking over...the object of his thoughts, sitting on a log, a sketchbook pressed against his chest to protect it from the impact, eyes wide open, the two campers looked into each other's eyes for several seconds before Cody approached her with a face red with embarrassment.
"Sorry, I... didn't mean to scare you..." he said between breaths and a hand wiping his sweaty forehead.
"Good heavens! And I thought I was finally alone!" she exclaimed angrily, then with a long sigh she finally looked at the intruder with a raised eyebrow. "Tell me you're not following me?"
"No, I promise it's just a coincidence," he breathes, taking his player out of his pocket to turn off the music.
"Wait..." grabbing one of the earphones and putting it near her ear, the goth girl displays a stunned expression before breaking into an excited smile. "You're listening to DragonForce?!"
"Uh...yes, you know?" he hesitates to ask because it's really strange to see Gwen so happy; in his memories she seemed to complain about everything.
"Do I know them?! Along with Metallica, they're my favorite bands! Do you have any other songs about them?"
Don't ask Cody how he ended up discussing Heavy Metal with Gwen, each sharing their opinion on all the songs they listen to. The blue-haired girl explained to him how much this music helps her cope with high school, between the bland cheerleaders and the boring classes. In fact, Gwen started talking about her life, her friends, even her family.
It was as if they were old friends.
The few rays of sunlight piercing the branches of the trees above began to illuminate her blue-black hair, giving the impression that a halo surrounded her, but instead of being amazed, Cody just felt warm inside; those old feelings rose gently along his heart to tickle him as if to say, " I'm still here." The tenderness he feels is surely shown in his smile because Gwen looks at him with slightly shifty eyes.
"Um...do I have something on my face?" she asks with a shy smile, adding to that her fingers sweeping her hair behind her ear the young woman seemed just more beautiful in a second.
"No, I was just thinking it's nice," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck, although it was kind the young woman seemed almost disappointed by his answer.
"Ah yeah, that's... nice ." It's surely his imagination, but the brunette swears he saw a little pout on that face.
"You know, I never thought I'd find myself one day on an island to earn a hundred thousand dollars," he said, laughing a little at his first reaction when he was accepted.
"Same here, normally I should be chained to a tree to prevent the destruction of a forest," she says with a smile that grows as she sees Cody turn towards her with wide eyes.
"Wow, respect," he laughed, extending his fist, a gesture to which she replied, "You're really an amazing girl, you know."
"Thank you," she blushed, looking at her interlocutor with curious eyes. "So, if this wasn't where you saw yourself, what was your vision of the future?"
"Hmm...honestly?" he wonders, reminiscing. "I wanted to program video games, it's a childhood dream I know, but that's what motivated me to learn coding. I spent sleepless nights and sometimes I felt like the numbers were glued to my retina, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it."
"It's all a dream," she said after a minute, while looking at her sketchbook.
"And you? Do you want to become an illustrator?"
"Well," she hesitated slightly, knowing that everything she said would be heard by the audience, then she finally sighed while stroking her notebook. "My mother is a stylist, one of the best in the world. I've watched her design dresses and coats since I was little; she's even the one who taught me how to draw."
"That's nice."
"Yes, to be honest, those are my best memories with her," she admits with a sad smile.
"Did something happen?"
"...I've grown up," she said with a shrug. "When I was little, I wanted to be like her, strong and determined to succeed, then one day I realized that all I was doing was imitating her and becoming just a copy of my mother...not that it's a bad thing, but when I realized it, I felt like I'd been lying to myself my whole life."
He didn't say anything, just letting her vent.
"Just before high school, I talked to her about it, you know, to see if she could help me understand where I'd gone wrong... but for her, it had become normal that I resembled her, so in her eyes, there was no problem!" she grunted, the last word, looking at the papers above them. "Really! I told her I was afraid I wouldn't have my own personality, and she thinks that's normal!"
Having never experienced anything similar, Cody chose to do the only thing possible for him at this stage, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. The contact naturally surprised her, but she didn't pull away at all, and it might be her imagination, but it almost seemed as if she was delighted with his initiative.
"After that we had a fight. I told her she just wanted a clone of herself, and she thinks I'm just having a classic teenage crisis...typical," she said, sighing as she reached the end. "That's how I started looking for a new style, and also what I really want to draw. For now, I'm still finding my way, but believe me, I'll find it."
"...humf, you're really amazing," he said with a wider smile, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't change."
"I was counting on it," she laughed with a warm smile that made him blush.
~CAM~Gwen~
"It was nice talking to Cody today. Well, the guy always gives off this vibe of being a quiet guy who's hiding secrets, but really..." the goth girl smiled at the camera, a finger twirling her blue and black hair. "I think he's mostly just a nice guy who's not used to other people. Anyway, I'm glad we got closer...for the team!"
~CAM~Cody~
"I didn't think I'd spend the day with Gwen," said the brunette, arms crossed and an awkward smile on his lips. "Besides, I didn't think I'd see her laugh. She always seems like she doesn't care about anything, but I think she doesn't like opening up to everyone for no reason...yeah, I think she's shy."
T~T
Cody's peaceful night was interrupted by Chris's horrible honking, causing him to fall out of bed.
Lying on the floor with his limbs spread, Anderson stares grumpily at the ceiling under the sympathetic gaze of his bunkmate Trent.
"What do you think he's going to do to us today?"
"Who knows, we've only been here a few days but I'm already expecting the worst," replied the time traveler with a frown.
Cody gets up, cracking his neck and sighing heavily, because tonight will be one of the longest challenges of Total Drama.