A Different, Better Timeline

Will They, Won't They

Please see end notes for an update about the future of this fic.

The morning sun shone through the window as an alarm filled the cabin. Lindsay's eyes blinked open, and, for the third day in a row, she woke up in Courtney's arms. Smiling to herself, she reached to turn off the alarm and turned to face her friend.

"Court! Wake up!" Lindsay whispered, lightly shaking Courtney's shoulder. "It's challenge day!"

Courtney whined but opened her eyes, and Lindsay's smile grew. This was routine now, watching Courtney slowly and unenthusiastically stir awake before seemingly out of nowhere springing to full attention. "Can we not today?"

Giggling, Lindsay shook her head, "no. Sorry. I know it's annoying that we have to wake up, but it's a new day, and that's not annoying." She removed Courtney's arm from around her waist and stood. "Come on!"

"God. Fine." Wrapping her arms around her stomach, Courtney curled into herself. Lindsay frowned. In her limited experience, it had never taken Courtney this long to get out of bed. "I'm up."

"No, you're not. You're not even sitting." Lindsay squatted down and placed her hand on Courtney's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Swatting Lindsay's hand away, Courtney nodded, "yes. God. I'm fine." She slowly sat up, then winced. "I'm fine. Just extra tired this morning." Pushing herself up, she slipped on some sandals. She kept an arm around her stomach. "Thank you for waking me up. Good morning. I need to use the restroom. I'll see you at breakfast?"

"You're welcome! Good morning!" Lindsay waved a hand and tried to ignore Courtney's obvious discomfort. If she wanted to share, she would. "Yes, breakfast! Bye!"

"Bye." Returning the hand wave, Courtney left the cabin.

Once the door was closed between them, Lindsay started picking up around the sleeping area. She left the mattresses on the floor, but she folded the blankets and placed them on an empty bed with the pillows. Then, she pulled the blinds down over the windows so that Courtney could change when she got back.

She was putting off going back to the girls' cabin. She didn't want to see Heather yet, and she had no way of knowing if she was still in the cabin. Things had been rough between them since the last challenge, Heather only speaking to her in snide comments about her betrayal. And the glares... Lindsay hated how they sent shivers down her spine. Heather was scary.

Nothing was left for her to do to postpone leaving any longer, and she knew she needed to go before Duncan got there. She got Courtney during the nights, which she was incredibly grateful for, but he made it clear that the morning was their time. She didn't mind and completely understood; she just wished she didn't have to go back to her own cabin.

Opening the door, Lindsay came face to face with Duncan. She hadn't been quick enough. He was clearly displeased to see her, his gaze steely, so she plastered a smile onto her face. "Hi! Good morning, Duncan! I was totally just about to leave, so don't worry. Also Court went to the bathroom, but she should be back soon."

"Right. Okay." Duncan grabbed the door from her. "So, are you gonna let me come in?"

"Yeah! Yeah, you can come in. I mean, it's basically your cabin." Stepping to the side, Lindsay laughed. "I just sleep here. Which, again, thanks for letting me."

Duncan's annoyance was replaced with amusement, a small smirk on his lips. "Sure. You're welcome." He came in, and Lindsay went out. "Guess I'll see you later then."

Lindsay nodded, "totally! Probably at breakfast. Or the challenge." Duncan chuckled and began closing the door, but then she had an important thought. "Wait!" Raising his brow, he stopped the door. "Also I should probably tell you that Court looked like maybe she didn't feel very good. I dunno. She said she felt fine, but I don't think I believed her. Like, she was kinda tense and looked super uncomfy. Maybe just make sure she's okay?"