New York

You exhale deeply as you walk through Central Park in New York City. It's a gorgeous day outside, so you figured you might as well take a walk while you're out here. Your parents are here on a business trip, but you get to soak up the side effects.

Which is why you have two giant bags slung over your shoulders, remainders of your NYC shopping spree. You sport an 'I heart NYC' baseball cap over your short hair.

You hum to yourself, then stop short at the sight of several frenzied teams tearing through the park. A troupe of girls pushes a baby carriage at supersonic speed.

"What the heck?" You pull out your phone, ready to record the fanatical scene. Through your camera screen, you see a body fall out of the girls' carriage. They don't notice and continue their rampage.

"I can't believe those girls hid a dead body in a baby carriage," you mutter to yourself as you jog over to inspect the causality.

He's white as hell, with brown hair parted down the middle- what a nerdy look. Even though it's a hot summer day, he's wearing layers of sweaters that reach down to his elbows, long jeans, and ratty sneakers.

All in all, not very attractive.

"Are you awake?" you reach down and gently push his shoulder. At least, you thought you were being gentle- the boy yelps and shouts.

"Sierra stop! Ahh!" he whimpers, his hands instinctively going to cover his head from your attacks.

You withdraw. "I'm not Sierra, whoever the hell she is."

The boy opens his eyes. They're robin's egg blue, which you identify immediately because there used to be a robin's nest on your front lawn. You observed it every day, which is beside the point at the moment.

"Uhh, I'm [Y/N]," you say. "I saw you fall out of a baby carriage, and... well, I'm confused."

"Ahaha!" The boy chuckles nervously and quickly gets to his feet. "My name's Cody. Thanks for waking me up, but I have a challenge to win. Even if that means going back to Sierra and the other girls..." The disgust is plastered all over his face.

"Cody... challenge? Sierra?" The pieces click together in your mind. "OMG, you're a contestant on Total Drama World Tour!"

"Don't tell me you're another superfan," Cody said, nervousness seeping into his voice. "I can't deal with another Sierra."

"No." You adjust your baseball cap. "My friend talks about this show a lot. I don't watch, though. Although..." You step aside. "I guess I'm keeping you from your challenge."

Cody chuckles nervously. "Yeah. We might be recorded right now, actually. That's how reality shows work, apparently. Honestly, I'm not sure how I got roped into a third season."

"Is it fun? If you tell me to, I might watch the first season..."

"No!" Cody shakes his head wildly. "I'm not portrayed in the best light. You don't need to see me like that." He laughs nervously. You've begun to notice this is a habit.

"Well, nice meeting you." You start to turn away, but Cody grabs you by your arm.

"Wait!"

The bag slips down your shoulder as you turn to look at him. "Yeah?"

Cody stares at you. His lips begin to move, and you notice a large gap between his front teeth. It's utterly adorable.

He says, "It's nice to meet someone sane for once. Do you want to, maybe, grab lunch?"

A red blush rises to your cheeks. You talk to a guy for three minutes and he wants to take you out? Still, Cody is cute, and you have to cut him some slack. He's spent too much time with the same few people, it must get irritating.

"Sure," you reply, smiling at him serenely. "Why not? But how are you going to get out of the show?"

"I don't know, but I'll find a way," Cody answers. "I'm actually very excellent with machinery. I'll stall our plane somehow."

"Cool." You wink at him. "There's a nice burger joint on 45th street. Meet you there tonight? At 6:30?"

"Sounds like a date," Cody answers. He grins, and for the first time there is no trace of nervousness in his expression.

Suddenly, you hear voices. Angry voices. "Cody!" "Codykins, my sweet baby!" "Cody where the [BEEP] are you?"

"That's my team," Cody whispers. "See ya, [Y/N]." He pushes you back and stumbles out of the bushes towards the girls.

"Thanks for abandoning me, guys," Cody says. You stick around long enough to see a tall girl with long puce hair wrap her arms around Cody. She's probably Sierra, the girl Cody mentioned. You smile, then walk back the way you came.

It's time to spend four hours preparing for a date with a cute stranger you met at the park.

You take a window seat on the right side of Burger Beth's, the burger place you mentioned to Cody. It's 6:27, and there's still no sign of him.

You've abandoned the baseball cap in favor of a blue headband. A white tank top hangs from your lanky frame the words "I'm with stupid" emblazoned on the front. On your feet are simple flipflops.

6:28. Of course, maybe he wasn't able to stop the flight. Maybe the Sierra girl followed him here. And if he got held up, I'd have no way of knowing. Or maybe he was suffering from a concussion when he asked me out. Or he realized how desperate he sounded. He's desperate, but he's also cute. Cute in a nerdy, geeky sort of way.

6:29. A waiter comes over and asks to serve you. "Not right now, please. I'm waiting for my date," you answer.

6:30 comes and goes. Now it's 6:33, and still no sign of Cody.

Suddenly, the doorbell chimes. A familiar brunette boy strolls in, his blue gaze scanning the crowd for you. When his eyes lock with yours, he bites his lip with excitement. Cody walks over and sits down across from you.

"Sorry I'm late," he says. "I had to take a couple detours to avoid my stalker."

"I figured," you answer, giggling. "Take a look at the menu, I think the waiter's getting impatient for me to order."

Your orders are processed, and the food is soon brought out. During the entire time, you and Cody are chatting it up.

"What was your least favorite part about Total Drama?" you ask.

"Okay, aside from the multiple humiliations on the show? The aftermath from season two," Cody tells you before taking a bite of his burger. "I sat with Tyler and Noah for an entire season and did nothing. Ugh, the aftermath was so boring!"

"At least you have season three to spice things up," you reply.

"You know, you have really pretty eyes," Cody says, smiling at you shyly. "And hair. And nose. And-"

"Thanks, Cody," you reply.

"Most of the time when I compliment a girl, they chase me away with a flyswatter," Cody admits.

"I don't know why," you say, leaning forward. "You're adorable!"

Cody swallows his burger chunk. "You're so much nicer than Gwen, [Y/N]. I mean, she'll always have a place in my heart, but you're all-around amazing!"

You blush harder. "OMG, stop, Cody. You're gonna make me faint!"

"I'll catch you if you fall," Cody promises, batting his eyelashes at you.

Under the table, your knees brush together. Cody locks your gaze for a moment. You start laughing, and he joins in. There's never a dull moment with Cody.

After you've paid via your dad's credit card, you and Cody head into a back alleyway. The only light is the soft stars twinkling overhead.

"I wish I could stay in New York," Cody tells you, holding your hand and staring up at the stars.

"Me too," you reply. "Maybe when you win the million, you can buy a penthouse here."

"I'll invite you to live with me," Cody says.

"I think you're cute, Cody, but we barely know each other. What if I'm a serial killer?" You rest your hands on his hips. He does the same.

You can't see his lips as he replies, "I'd trust a serial killer with my penthouse. Maybe not the smartest idea, but I have the insurance to pay for it."

You giggle. "I'm so glad I met you, Cody, no matter how short this romance may be."

"Me too," he says softly.

Your lips meet in the dark. For all his talk about never getting action, Cody is an excellent kisser. He leans into you, pinning you against the dark alley wall. It was hot. You run yours hands through his brown hair, and he does the same to your.

You and Cody are practically one and the same. Mirror reflections, the perfect pair. He bites your lip, and you follow suit and bite his.

Suddenly, it's not dark anymore. A blinding light shines in your eyes. You open your eyes to meet Cody's, just as confused as yours are.

You break from the kiss and see a helicopter shining a flashlight on you and Cody. A rugged man with a stubble and illustrious black hair stand on the rooftop with a microphone in hand.

"Alright, break it up!" The man yells.

"Aw man, Chris," Cody mutters. "I'm sorry, [Y/N]."

"It's okay," you whisper, squeezing his hand.

"You're due back on the plane, Cody," Chris shouts. "And your teammates won't be happy when they find out where you've snuck off to."

"Who says they have to know?" Cody shouts back. The helicopter blades create a torrent of wind that rustles his hair, making him look even hotter than he was before.

"Uh, the producers?" Chris snickers. Then he looks into a camera that's looking right at him. "How will Team Amazon react to Cody's secret romance? What will become of DJ's 'curse'? How does Alejandro manage to rival my beauty? None of these questions will be answered in the next episode of Total. Drama. WORLD TOURRRRRRRRRRR!" Chris spreads his arms wide.

"Does he always do that?"

"Yes," Cody sighs.

Chris stares down at you two. "Okay, so like, can you get your lover up here, Cody? We need them to sign some wavers about being on the show. No big deal."

"I guess. I totally want the world witnessing my best makeout session ever," you say.

"I feel ya, kid." Chris snickers. "This will be gold for ratings."

"So that's all that becomes of it," you say as you and Cody climb the fire escape to Chris. "I'm just a ratings booster."

"Once I win," Cody responds in between climbing, "I'll come back for you, and we'll start our own TV show."

"Aw, thanks, Cody," you say. You lean in to kiss him again.

"Ew, teenagers," Chris says.

After you sign the wavers, Chris whisks Cody off to certain doom. You see his small, round face in the helicopter window as he flies farther away from you and closer to destiny.

You stare up at the stars. In the patterns of the celestial gaseous balls, you can see Cody's sweet smile. Constellation Cody.

In that moment, you know everything will be alright.