What Happened?

What Happened?

Summary: After Trent's elimination, he can't help but reflect on his entire relationship with Gwen, and how it all went horribly wrong.

Timeline: Right after Trent's elimination in 3:10 to Crazytown.

Rating: PG, for mild language.

Romance: Nothing except flashbacks of Trent and Gwen's finest moments together.

Enjoy!

"GWEN!" Trent cried in agony. But his request was denied by the large man carrying him, and he was thrown roughly into the Lame-o-Sine.

"3:10 to Crazytown; Trent is now aboard!" Chris declared. And with that, the Limo sped off into the night…

Why … Why? Why did this have to happen now?

As I leaned back against the bumpy, torn leather seat of the broken-down old Limo I was stuck in, I buried my face in my hands, barely able to contain myself as I tried to contemplate what had just happened.

I still just can't understand. They voted me off! Me! The team captain! Their leader! Why the hell would they do that?

I mean, I seriously thought that maybe Pretty Boy Justin would get the boot this time around. All that guy does is manipulate Lindsay and Beth with his "charms", and take off his shirt all the time. He never works or helps out in the challenges! For God's sake he totally lost both halves of today's challenge! He refused to do the 100-foot jump onto the horse, the only member of our team to do so; and he completely surrendered in the second challenge. To Harold! Just because he didn't want the rope to leave a little scratch on his "absolutely perfect" body!

I am getting tired of that stupid, egotistical narcissist!

But, of course, when it came down to me and Owen, I had a feeling my time was up. That guy's pretty cool, and everyone likes him. I guess he deserves to stay more than me, but still…

Sigh…Maybe this didn't have to do with performance. Maybe it involved something else…

Wait…could it? It couldn't be … No…

It's funny, but I can't help thinking that Gwen had something to do with this.

Gwen…

Even though we're technically broken up, I still feel like we have the strongest relationship ever. It seems like just yesterday when I first saw her, as beautiful as an angel (albeit a Gothic one), on the Dock when I first came to the island at the beginning of this show. I smiled at her, but of course, she didn't return it.

And then, of course, we were sharing old stories and discussing our favorite movies in the Awake-a-Thon…and even the sight of Owen naked couldn't ruin that time we spent together.

And then, I'll never forget the day we shared a canoe on the way back to camp, courtesy of Cody. That guy was awesome for that, and still is.

As Gwen looked away from the smiling Cody, she put on her life jacket and buckled the straps into place. Besides her, Trent casually pushed the canoe through the sand and into the water. She and Trent both jumped in and grabbed a paddle each. As Trent fumbled briefly with his life jacket, Gwen gave another brief glance in Cody's direction. The tech-geek was already having a pleasant conversation with the two girls in his canoe, although Lindsay didn't seem to understand his description of the computer program he had once hacked through at school.

Gwen returned to her own canoe partner, who was now rowing his paddle steadily and giving the canoe a good pace. She joined in, rowing in unison with Trent.

"So…That quicksand thing was pretty scary, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah." Trent replied. "I never actually thought that Chris would stoop that low. But that was pretty funny when I actually thought I was shrinking." Trent laughed.

"You got that right; 'I'm shrinking, I'm shrinking!'" Gwen imitated, sharing another laugh with Trent.

"Ha-ha! Yeah…I guess I was having what you would call 'A Lindsay Moment'."

Gwen burst out in laughter at the new joke. "Oh, yeah! After all, it doesn't get much dumber than that! Except for when the real Lindsay had her own Lindsay Moment right after that!"

"Tell me about it! Priceless!"

They continued to share a good laugh until a large mass suddenly swept right past them, the resulting wake causing their canoe to rise and fall suddenly, nearly capsizing it.

"Whoa!"

"What the…"

They both looked and saw that the mass was a huge pile of red canoes, all with the members of the other team inside. Behind it, in the water, was DJ, swimming as fast as he could and pushing the multiple canoes through the water.

"DJ! DJ! DJ!" The Bass were cheering.

The two Gophers watched, stunned as it flew through the water, then right onto the beach with a crash.

"The Bass are the winners!" Chris loudly declared.

As the Bass celebrated their sudden victory, Gwen and Trent were still completely stunned.

"OK … what the heck was that?" Gwen asked in disbelief.

Trent could only shrug.

Yeah … that was a short time, but it was still great. I still remember her laugh. She was always so cute when she laughed … and her smile…

And then, there was the time we spent together on the Dock of Shame, later that night.

Gwen and Trent, having survived the unusual elimination that night, sat at the end of the Dock, with their legs dangling over the edge. Their toes barely trailed over the surface of the lake.

"…and remember that one guy from the first day? 'I think I see a bird'!"

"Heh, yeah … I still cannot believe that guy doesn't even know the meaning of 'What's up?' Some guys … Whatever happened to him, anyway? Has he already been voted off?"

"Uh, I'm not too sure. I don't really keep track of who's who on that other team…except for Duncan. Really, how can you forget a guy like that?"

"Yeah … he was pretty tough to stay awake through that Awake-a-Thon."

"But you still beat him."

"By thirty seconds. And then there was the dodgeball game. He just suddenly made a comeback and won that challenge for his team."

"Eh, I guess our winning streak had to come to an end sooner or later."

"True."

"So … why did you join this show?" Trent asked a question that he figured had already been thrown around multiple times.

"Ugh. My little brother, Joseph, dared me to."

"Dared you to?"

"Yeah. We're always daring each other to do the craziest things; it's just something that goes around for no apparent reason. So, when he sees the commercial asking for auditions, and I was sitting next to him, he just couldn't resist. I was thinking, 'No … way.' But he said, 'You have to, sis! You're not a chicken, are ya?' And, even though that is the most childish thing to say, it still got to me. And besides that, I gave the idea some thought, and figured, 'As long as it gives me something to do this summer, why not?' So, I sent in my audition tape. But I never, ever, in my whole life, thought that I would actually get it. So now, here I am, on this island with a bunch of people who are mainly losers."

Trent raised an eyebrow.

Gwen quickly realized her mistake, and immediately added, "Except for you." She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder to drive the point home. Trent seemed to forgive her, and put his arm around her shoulder as well.

They both looked out over the lake spread out before them, with the bright full moon casting a beautiful, white glow on the water. It almost seemed like a path that led from the horizon right up to the two teens.

Trent sighed and smiled. "You know, when you get past all of the deadly creatures that live in that lake, and all of the pollution in it, this lake is pretty beautiful."

"Yeah … I guess it is."

Gwen stretched out and yawned for a moment before she slowly leaned over, resting her head on Trent's shoulder. She put her other arm around him as well. Trent looked down at her and smiled, then returned his gaze to the spectacle of nature before them.

That was the good times. Of course, nothing could beat our first kiss after I got her key for her in that later challenge. You know, with all of the good times we had, I still don't know when we officially hooked up.

But, as all relationships are, ours had its fair share of speed bumps. As a matter of fact, the first real problem came before we even became a couple. All thanks to that no-good … that no-good witch Heather. I just remember how Gwen wasn't necessarily mad at me after that (with good reason), but she just wanted to avoid me altogether. But I was persistent, and I guess that did the trick. And even if her war with Heather continued, it had no effect in our relationship for a long time.

My leaving her buried alive, obviously, was another one. But, despite her continuing to hold that against me, she eventually understood my explanation about how it wasn't even my fault. After I told her about the mime that scared me off, and how Chris was undoubtedly the one who put it there at that moment, she decided that maybe it wasn't my fault after all. I knew that one would work, since any chance that came to blame it all on Chris was there, I'd take it.

After that, our relationship was just fine. The competition, the insults from others (Duncan), and all of those other distractions had nothing against us. Like I said, we probably had the strongest relationship in the world.

But then Heather came back into the picture.

Looking back, I don't know what the hell I was thinking? Listen to Heather? While she's trying to say all kinds of crap about your girlfriend? I honestly don't know why I believed her even for a second! I mean, I must have been out of my mind! And the kiss sure didn't help. But at least it didn't have any other effect, either. Of course, after my long, hateful rant on her in the Confessional, I just tried to shrug it all off. Forget it ever happened. At that time, I was thinking, "No one else had seen it; it won't matter!"

Yeah, right.

I should've done something to defend my case before the Bonfire came up. I underestimated that LeShawna. I mean, I know that she and Gwen are good friends, but I lost quite a bit of respect for her after she deliberately and recklessly assumed that I was 100% guilty, and wasn't framed at all, and needed to be voted off immediately! And her little "apology" afterwards didn't really help, either. At least I was able to set the record straight, even if it meant me still having to leave. I made up with Gwen, and she was cool with it.

And that was it. You know the rest, all caught on camera in the finale. After that, it seemed that, once again, nothing could get in the way of our relationship. No Heather, no mimes, nothing. Not even the news that we'd have to go through a whole new season of this show. At least we'd be together for that season. Yep, nothing at all.

Except, maybe, myself.

I have absolutely no regrets about my decision. When I found out that Gwen and I were on opposite teams, I knew that I wanted to help her out. I knew that I had scored points with her by saving her necklace instead of the egg in the second challenge. So I figured that if I kept doing the same thing, I'd score more and more points with her, and make her love me only even more, even if we're on opposite teams.

But boy, was I ever wrong.

It's one of those ironic facts; in the long run, it seems like I was the one who brought it all crashing down. On most occassions, I realized when I messed up. I would either mentally or physically slap myself, and get on with it. But the strange thing is that even when I knew I was screwing up big time, I just couldn't stop doing whatever it was I was doing. It almost became like a habit.

It was kind of like a rise-and-fall, rise-and-fall situation. We hit our hard points, such as in the acting challenge, but we made up for it soon after, like in the beach challenge (even despite Owen's intrusion). Heck, after we made up that night, I thought it was going smoothly. But then, as I was just casually walking out of the shower, I saw Gwen. Almost instantly, I didn't really care that I was wearing only a towel; the look on her face made me freeze in my tracks. It wasn't good.

And then, just like that, all in thirty seconds, it ended.

You know, now that I look back at it, I still refuse to admit that it was all entirely my fault. I know who caused all this. Who made Gwen lose her trust in me, and made her all freaked out at my nine obsession in the first place:

Duncan.

That guy has always been trouble. I've seen him hit on Gwen in the past, but with the second season it only got even worse. I mean, seeing them hanging out so much, and talking and laughing and smiling …And they'd always exclude me from their conversations. Whenever I tried to fit in, it either felt totally awkward, or they'd indirectly kick me out. Even when Gwen scolded him for his pranks every now and then, they still seemed really close. And, of course, when the first person she picked for her team was Duncan, I was about ready to hit the roof. The torture continued right into the next few challenges; the acting challenge, the beach challenge, and right into tonight.

He was the reason. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have worried so much about having to keep me and Gwen's relationship intact. I probably wouldn't have bothered throwing challenges for her, as long as I knew that she could be loyal to me! But she wasn't! Even when she knew that we had something, she was responding to his flirts! Probably all because of his "Tough Guy" personality! "Oh, me a big macho man! I've been arrested! I'm just so hunky!" He's almost worse than Justin!

I angrily slammed my fist into the seat.

It's all his fault! He was hitting on her! And last time I checked, he and Courtney were hooked up! So he knew that he shouldn't be hitting on Gwen, because he already had a girlfriend! He was cheating on her! He's committing the sin, and I get punished for it! That…that dirty two-timer! That goddamn criminal! He caused all this! It's his fault! That stupid prick can burn in hell for all I care!

Then, it happened. No longer to contain myself, I broke down sobbing. I slowly sank into the back seat, letting the tears stream down my face. What good did it do now? I was eliminated, and it was all over. It did no good to curse out all those who dared try to mess with our relationship; it did no good to reflect on all the time we spent together, both good and bad. It did no good at all to even think about any of this.

As the Limo turned a sharp right and pulled into the garage of a large, elegant mansion, I buried my face in my hands again. Again, it felt like just yesterday when she came into my life forever, and today when she left it. Through the sniffling and the crying, I openly asked myself the unanswerable question:

"What happened?"