Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Well you’re a punky jerk who’s gonna end up dead by 40!” Courtney barked out, face screwed up in anger. The rest of the cast were watching in shock, some giggling. 

“She’s got you there.” Noah quipped sarcastically. Owen snickered, and Duncan rolled his eyes,

“Rather be a punky jerk than an obsessive control freak, princess!” He spat back, glaring at her. Courtney teemed with rage, stuttering as she thought of a rebuttal,

“Well- you- I-“ She groaned, storming out past him. Duncan laughed in disbelief,

“Oh, no, we’re not done here!” The camera guy rotated the camera to look at one of the other groups sitting in economy, leaving the rest of Duncan and Courtney’s argument off-screen.

Duncan grabbed Courtney’s hand, pulling her into the confessional booth. The brunette giggled, a full 180 turn from her previous attitude towards him, shutting the door behind her,

“Missed me?” She teased, smirking. Duncan rolled his eyes, placing his hands on Courtney’s waist, 

“You know it, princess,” He responded, kissing her quickly. Courtney sighed, breaking away,

“I hate having to sneak around like this, I just wanna be your girlfriend without having to pretend to hate you!” She complained, sitting on the closed toilet desolately, her brown eyes downcast. Duncan frowned, sitting beside her, 

“Chris is a nutjob, babe. Hey, at least I’m here, right? If we didn’t agree to this whole ‘love triangle’ crap, I’d be back in juvie by now.” He reasoned, leaning his head on Courtney’s shoulder. Courtney went silent, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. Duncan leaned back, eyeing her carefully, “Hey, what’s up? You’re not quiet like… ever.” He joked weakly. Courtney bit her lip, shaking her head,

“It’s nothing, it’s stupid.” She brushed it off. 

“I’m stupid, you still listen to me.” Duncan responded. Courtney chuckled weakly, eyes watering. Duncan’s face fell, morphing into worry in mere seconds, “Hey, princess, woah, what’s wrong? He asked, voice gentle in a way that only Courtney was familiar with. Tears began flowing down her face freely, and she sighed, 

“I’m just… god, I don’t know, scared? I guess?” She mutters, sniffling, “Like, I know the love triangle’s staged; you told me, gwen told me, even Chris told me, but… what if you end up actually falling for Gwen?” She hiccups, hiding her face in her knees. Duncan places an arm around her shoulder, and Courtney falls into him. He wraps another arm around her, 

“Woah, princess,” He begins gently, “I’m not gonna fall for Gwen. She’s like a sister to me, I’d never think of her like that.” He promises. When Courtney doesn't stop sobbing, Duncan continues, “Courtney, you’re the most amazing, smart, and beautiful girl I’ve ever met. You infuriate and drive me crazy in the best way possible. I promise, Gwen’s got nothing on you.” He finishes, carefully lifting Courtney’s face. Her brown eyes are red and puffy, but scrunch up in a smile before long. She leans forward again, hugging Duncan tight. The taller chuckles, leaning against the wall as his hand absent-mindedly ran through Courtney’s hair. She shifted about, tilting her head to look at him, 

“You realise I’m never gonna let you forget that you said all that, right?” Duncan sighs affectionately,

“Yeah, I know…” Courtney giggles, pressing a kiss to Duncan’s cheek and grinning as his cheeks flushed. He hummed happily, melting down and leaning his head into Courtney’s neck. The brunette laughed; if Duncan’s reactions were anything to go off of, Courtney didn’t need to worry about him cheating for real anytime soon.