Total Drama series 1. Chapter 1

"Well that's just great! My precious equipment is everywhere!"

"Oh yeah, poor junk. It's not like I just fell or anything. Besides, it won't take long to pick everything up if you—"

"Minion, I command you to clean this mess you've made!"

"The mess _I've_ made?!"

It was a non-episode day on Pahkitew Island. Due to the producers not wanting another Courtney lawsuit incident and to save money, they made Sunday and Monday designated days of rest for the contestants and film crew. For the islanders left after episode three, the day's activities included getting some extra sleep and healing from any injuries received while playing in one of Chris's cruel challenges. However, Max and Scarlett were spending their day-off arguing about yet another invention catastrophe.

Max's newest scheme was to create a spy robot whose sole purpose was to keep a closer eye on the opposing team. Being the brains, he naturally found it appropriate to send Scarlett out to retrieve electronic parts from the scrap pile that had been on the island since episode one. Though Max was certain that Scarlett was an adequate assistant, he did wish she wasn't such a klutz. While carrying the heap of possible bot parts back to their secret meeting spot in the woods, Scarlett fumbled over her own feet and fell, causing the junky fragments to scatter all over the ground in almost every direction. Though it was clearly the fault of Scarlett, Max was now having to deal with his exaggerating minion, with whom he was losing patience.

Scarlett, now fuming due to their argument, had a different interpretation. After being awaken no later than nine in the morning, Scarlett was forced by Max to basically go dumpster-diving. She would have told Max off at first if it weren't for the fact that a spying robot did sound like a useful tool to have. So for what felt like hours, she rummaged through the rusted, moldy, feces-smelling junk until she found enough electrical wires, miniature camera parts, and metals that would be decent enough to create Max's first ideal invention. Unfortunately for Scarlett, Max still expected her to do all the labor, making her carry an almost two-foot high pile of scraps in her arms. Though Scarlett was tall, the pile's height impaired her vision enough for her to not see a root protruding out of the ground. When she realized her foot caught the root, her face was already against the soft earth. Luckily, the only injury she gained was two small scrapes on her palm equivalent to paper-cuts, but instead of showing concern; unluckily, Max immediately began to accuse her of being clumsy and was now ordering her to clean-up the mess _herself_.

"There's no need for that tone," Max sternly scolded. If his various Saturday morning cartoon marathons taught him anything, it was that a villain must always be in control and strict so their sidekick can identify and learn from their mistakes. He knew Scarlett was probably lashing out due to her embarrassment of falling in front of him (his mother said women could be quite sensitive about such things), but that didn't mean she could be excused from facing the reality of her actions.

"My tone? Oh, so you're my Dad now?" Scarlett was now sitting up and dusting dirt off her skirt. She could barely look at Max without scowling up at him. How dare he talk down to her! She knew he had issues making friends, but that didn't mean he had a right to be so demeaning towards her.

"Are you sassing me? Oh, that is it! I'll give you one more chance. Apologize at once and clean up this mess, or I won't let you assist me with my great invention."

"Apologize to you?!" Scarlett gritted her teeth in frustration. She shot up from the ground, and purposely leaned over Max to tower over him. "Well, until _you_ apologize to _me_, _you_ can clean up this crap yourself!" With a low growl, she stomped off in the opposite direction, kicking away some of the fallen materials as she passed.

Max, dumbfounded by Scarlett's outburst, soon collected his senses and let out a deep shy. While picking up the scraps, he shook his head in dismay. It's times like these that reminded him how hard it was being an evil genius. _Poor, delusional sidekick. She's just having a woman-moment. She'll be back apologizing once she's cooled down. _


	2. Chapter 2

Trudging through the forest, Scarlett's blood was still boiling over the argument that just occurred. Max's last comment still echoed in her ears:

Apologize? The nerve of that…purple-haired numbskull. Scarlett took a break from her trek, leaning against a nearby tree. Seething, she closed her eyes and attempted to mediate. Whispering to herself, she began with breathing exercises.

"Breathe in." Scarlett gulped in the cool morning air, letting it reside for five seconds in her lungs.

"Breathe out." She slowly allowed the trapped air to escape through her nostrils.

"Breathe in." Deep gulp of air.

"Breathe out." Slow release of air.

"Breathe in." Gulp in.

"Breathe out." Slow release.

_GROOOWL!_ Scarlett reopened her eyes, surprised by the sound coming from inside her. After a few seconds, she concluded exactly what her stomach was communicating: she was starving. She realized she forgot to at least ask Jasmine if she had more berries from her last scavenger hunt with Samey. Surveying the area, she calculated that she was at least three miles northeast from her team's treehouse. Not feeling like walking so far for a few berries, Scarlett decided to find some food on her own. Recalling all she had read about Canadian forest plants, she examined every bush and tree in hopes of finding something edible.

Within moments, Scarlett found something to her liking. Though nuts weren't her favorite snack, she was pleased to have discovered a _Juglans nigra_, or black hazelnut tree. The fact that the treat was plentiful made Scarlett's stomach grumble louder in anticipation. Standing on her tiptoes, she began to stretch her arms toawrd the branches. Shockingly, Scarlett's long arm could barely reach the branches bearing hazelnuts. She was preparing to climb it when she noticed a thicket of _Toxicodendron vernix_, or poison sumac, had decided wrap itself along the trunk. Determined to quiet her stomach, she began hopping up to obtain her prize.

On her third hop, she suddenly felt weightless. Not only had she defied gravity, but Scarlett was now eye-level to some of the highest branches on the tree. Feeling uncomfortably tall, she glanced down to see two large, freckled arms around her waist, a shoulder which she was now seated on, and a mass of unruly, red hair.

"Rodney?" Scarlett's guess was confirmed when she heard a giddy laugh.

"H-hi, Scarlett," Rodney cooed gently.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"M-me, uh, you help. Nuts far, but now you get can."

Scarlett noticed his vocal tones matched the one he normally communicated towards Jasmine and Amy. Based on that observation, she hypothesized Rodney was infatuated with her, resulting in why he suddenly had a need to help her. Though she was unsure what had triggered such a love-prone individual to suddenly fall for her, she was neither disgusted nor upset by it. After all, now she was able to fulfill her hunger.

With her new height advantage, Scarlett was able to pick hazelnuts until she was unable to cradle anymore in her forearm. Once that point was reached, she gestured for Rodney to return her to the forest floor. With both strength and care, he hoisted her off his shoulder and onto the ground, his shining eyes never once glancing off her.

"Um, well. Thank you, Rodney." Scarlett smiled politely before walking off towards a distant cluster of boulders. There, she sat down ready to feast. Placing the harvested hazelnuts beside her, she tried her best to crack away the shell using the solid rock. Unfortunately, the strongest part of her body had always been her brain; having effective upper body strength was always challenging for her.

"Please, uh, me you help." Rodney, who was still gawking at Scarlett, propped himself on a rock next to her. He took three hazelnuts in his right hand and squeezed them in his fist until a small crack was heard. He opened his palm in front of Scarlett, which held the three hazelnuts with the majority of their shells shed. Scarlett could hardly believe it. He just cracked them as if they were nothing! Even though the shells were rough, his palms didn't even display any signs of redness due to skin irritation. She plucked one of the nuts out of his palm and examined his efforts closely.

"Incredible," Scarlett commented as she plopped the nut into her mouth. Rodney's goofy grin grew wider, exposing the gap in his front teeth. He continued to crush more of the nuts for Scarlett as she ate. After her sixth nut, Rodney's own stomach growled loudly enough for her to hear. She decided that she might as well be gracious towards her human nutcracker.

"You know, you can have some too." She offered some of the cracked nuts that Rodney had laid in her lap back to him.

Rodney looked at the offering in surprise at first. After a minute, a hearty giggle of excitement escaped his lips. With a mouth full of nuts, he thanked her. Though Scarlett could see some of the nuts fly out of his mouth as he munched, she couldn't help but smile down on him. Rodney was clearly a simpleton, but at least he was useful to her. More importantly, he was appreciative of her offer, unlike that so-called evil genius Max. She did all the work for Max. In fact, how would he even survive in this game without her support? If only there was a way to make Max see how valuable she was…

Suddenly, a brilliant idea was birthed from the crevices of Scarlett's mind. Grinning down at Rodney, she asked sweetly, "So, Rodney…when we're done eating, want to walk me back to the treehouse?"

Rodney nearly choked on his snack due to the unexpected change in Scarlett's voice. "Uh, duh…um, yeah!"

Scarlett smirked down at him and gingerly stroked his hair, which caused him to shiver and blush a deep pink. "Wonderful."


	3. Chapter 3

After gathering the vital pieces Scarlett carelessly left scattered in the woods, Max was hunched over on his bed deciding what traits to equip his robotic spy with. While examining each piece, into his brain ideas slowly flooded, which he verbally debated about to himself.

"Now do I want my spy-bot to have a higher quality lens or stealth mode? If I design the robot with a bigger lens, I will be able to capture more footage per frame and have a higher potential to gain blackmail-worthy film. Hmm…but a bigger lens means a bigger robot, which will make it harder to hide in the shadows. Then again, their sorry-excuse-for-a-dwelling is a cave. Caves are usually dark even in the day, meaning it'll be easier to discretely hide my device. Once again, darkness proves to benefit EVIL."

"Who are you talking to?"

Startled, Max jumped up enough to bump his head on the bunk frame above. Rubbing the stinging spot on his head, he glared up at Topher.

"No one, imbecile! I am merely thinking aloud. It helps me unleash my inner EVIL as all. I doubt an inferior like you would understand."

Topher placed his hand on his chest while releasing a gasp of surprise. "I-Inferior? I'll have you know there's nothing inferior about me. Just look at me. Perfectly quaffed hair, white teeth, classy cashmere sweater." He looked Max up and down with a smirk. "Besides, I wouldn't be calling me inferior, Pajama boy."

"P-Pajamas!" Max leapt onto his feet and balled his fists. "Listen here, fanboy! What I am wearing is an all-purpose cotton ensemble that is the standard of comfort, style, and flexibly for any modern evil genius. _These_ are nowhere close to my pajamas."

"Yeah, whatever," Topher muttered, rolling his eyes. He directed his eyes out towards the forest, resulting in him raising his eyebrow and letting out a low giggle. "Aw, man, looks like Rodney's fallen for another teammate. First Jasmine, then Amy, and now Scarlett!"

"SCARLETT?" Max darted towards the treehouse's balcony and looked out into the woods. His jaw almost dropped when he saw Rodney escorting Scarlett out of the woods, holding aside branches and helping her avoid thorns and muck as they walked. What was Scarlett doing with him, especially since Max knew Scarlett thought he was a simpleton?

"Oh man, he makes some great TV. Damn, if only the camera crew were around. This is gold!" Topher held his hands a few inches from his face and pretended to make a TV frame with his fingers.

"Don't be ridiculous. Obviously, she got lost in the woods, and Rodney merely helped her back."

Topher turned to Max with a sly grin. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you _jealous_?"

Max let out a noise that was a mixture of shock and disgust. "J-Jealous! Why would I be jealous?"

"Well," Topher explained, "you two do hang out an awful lot. It was only a matter of time before Cupid struck his bow." He giggled through his pearly teeth. "She is your _girl_, after all."

"She's not my girl! She's my assistant; there's a difference!" Max felt himself blush red in frustration and embarrassment.

"Aw man! A love triangle! This is exactly what this season needs! Oh my gosh, Chris would be so thrilled to hear this. If I tell him, I bet he'll finally see my worth and give me a chance to co-host!" Before Max could protest, Topher climbed down the ladder and sprinted towards the other end of the island where Chris's cabin was located.

Max decided to not waste his time chasing after Topher and returned his attention to Scarlett and Rodney. They were now on the Floating Salmon's campground, sitting on the stumps by the campfire area Jasmine had crafted. Rodney seemed to be talking non-stop while Scarlett nodded and listened.

_She's probably being polite in exchange for his help. I might as well save her from his boring conversation._ Max descended the ladder and sauntered over towards the two redheads. He forced a friendly smile as Rodney and Scarlett noticed him.

"There you are! I was wondering when you were coming back, minion. Where have you been all this time?"

"Well, I got hungry while in the woods, and while getting hazelnuts, I ran into Rodney. He was kind enough to _help me_ out when I was in dire—"

"Good, good. Anyway, I'll have you know I have an idea of how the invention will be constructed."

"That's good, Max," Scarlett replied. She then turned to Rodney, who clearly was confused by Max's claim. "Oh, how rude. Rodney, Max is attempting to construct an invention to use against the other team. According to him, it could be a convenient tool that would aid us in our desire to advance in the upcoming challenges."

Rodney blinked, still looking a bit confused. Scarlett, forgetting how much of a simpleton he was, rephrased her statement:

"Max is making something to help us win."

"OOOH!" Rodney said after a few seconds of processing.

Max couldn't help but brag. "Indeed, it will be an invention only an intellectual like myself could construct." He continued to monologue about the wondrous of his genius to Rodney, who half-listened mainly due to his unawareness of what Max was talking about. So absorbed in his own vanity, Max didn't even notice Scarlett rolling her eyes in annoyance.

After a few minutes, Max turned to Scarlett again. "Anyway, my minion and I best be off. We have quite a few tasks to accomplish if my plan is to go into motion. Come along, Scarlett. Time is—"

"Actually," Scarlett interrupted, "I need help adjusting the frame of my bunk bed. The end is crooked, and it cramps my legs. Rodney told me he does work like that all the time at home, and he's going to help me."

"Wh-what?" Max was too surprised by Scarlett disobeying his order yet again today to say anything else.

"Pretty thing build for lady pretty," Rodney gushed shyly, looking directly at Scarlett with shining eyes and blushing cheeks.

"Aw, you're so sweet." She stood up, and patted Rodney's head lovingly. Taking his gigantic hand in hers, she smiled sweetly at Rodney, purposely having her back towards Max. "I'm pretty sure I saw a hammer in the junk pile. You can use it for the bed. Come along, Rodney."

Without hesitation, Rodney shot up and followed Scarlett back into the woods.

Just before they reached the clearing, Scarlett looked over her shoulder and smirked at Max. "Good luck with your invention," she called with a hint of wickedness in her voice.

Within moments, a confused and somewhat hurt Max saw the two become nothing more than silhouettes in the wooded distance.


	4. Chapter 4

Scarlett couldn't be more proud of herself. In ten minutes, she was able to make the always chattering Max stunned silent with her campfire performance. Plus she not only avoided dealing with one of Max's annoying projects, but was able to keep Rodney completely oblivious to Scarlett's intentions with him. She couldn't help from smiling at her craftiness, especially as she began to imagine what Max must be doing back at the team's campground.

_He's probably moping around, trying to construct that silly robot,_ Scarlett predicted. _Not knowing an electrical wire from a rubber band, he's beginning to understand how much of a help I truly am, and how little he can accomplish in my absence. I guarantee it won't be long until he comes crawling back, begging for my aid. _

"You smile pretty," Rodney suddenly cooed, bringing Scarlett out of her daydream.

"Oh. Well, thank you," Scarlett politely replied. She was still getting used to receiving Rodney's almost gibberish compliments. It wasn't like she had never been complimented; it had to do with Rodney giving her several compliments every other minute that threw her off. As Scarlett looked about, she was able to spot the junk pile ahead through a clearing in the woods. Though she was sick of smelling its fumes, at least she was going there because that was what she desired, not Max. Since they were so close, she found it an appropriate time to give Rodney some instructions.

"In order to properly fix my bed, do you have any idea of what type of tools you need?"

Rodney nodded confidently, shining a smile that exposed his gapped teeth. "My dad makes my brothers and I build and repair stuff all the time. The shed roof, the lawn mower, the truck me and two of my other brothers share, the backyard fence, the kitchen cabinets…"

"You've worked on all those things?"

"Yup; I work with my hands a lot."

"You must be one heck of a handyman then," Scarlett honestly stated. Scarlett assumed he did physical labor often due to the size of his muscles and his general physique, but never thought he was so experienced in both traditional building and electric mechanics. She was actually impressed, and felt lucky to have such a talented pawn to use to her advantage.

Rodney blushed a deep pink and returned to his bashful babbling. "Well…um…you thank lots, Scarlett. Hehehe." He tightly squeezed for a moment Scarlett's hand that had been in his the whole walk, which caused Scarlett to wince at the feeling of her fingers being crushed.

Finally reaching the junk pile, Scarlett removed her aching hand from Rodney's overexcited grip and pointed to the western side of the pile.

"Now, approximately six feet upward in this area, I noticed a rusted toolbox earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if tools were left inside. If there isn't, at least we'll something to put any tools we—"

Before Scarlett had even finished her instructions, Rodney scrambled up the side of the junk pile and began to search frantically. As he bustled and dug through the heap, tin cans and food wrappers tumbled towards where Scarlett was standing in wait. She was surprised with how focused he had become. The fact that Rodney was so fixated on completing Scarlett's task flattered her. Never had she had a person display such loyalty towards her on their own free will. In a weird way, watching the redheaded buffoon tunnel through the garbage like a mole gave her joy.

"Found it!" Rodney stood up, some dust and dirt now on his overalls, and waved the toolbox in his hands. Balancing himself with each step, he cautiously made it back down to Scarlett.

"Excellent work, Rodney." Scarlett opened the toolbox presented to her, finding a rusted screwdriver and miniature hammer encased inside.

Rodney must have noticed her gleeful smiling and took credit for its existence because he leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise. He had kissed her so softly, she at first mistook it like a single gust of warm wind. So absorbed in the lucky find, she had to reassure herself that what had touched her cheek was indeed Rodney's lips. No extreme emotion overcame her. She was neither angry, disgusted, nor excited. If anything, she was curious.

"Why'd you do that?" She calmly asked while looking up at Rodney.

"I-I'm sorry! You…so cute and happy with find! I couldn't help…Sorry, sorry!" Rodney was trembling now, which Scarlett guessed had to do with him frightened of how she'd react. Sure, he was a few inches taller than Scarlett and no doubt much stronger. She didn't see what reason he had to be scared of her, yet refused to cure his phobia of her just now since his fear gave her more power over him. Instead, she gently stroked his forearm and shushed him, causing Rodney to cease shaking and babbling nervously.

"It's okay; I'm not mad. " Scarlett continued to stroke his arm kindly since the action put him in such a calming state. "But next time, maybe just ask first."

Rodney nodded, flashing her a relieved smile. "Y-yes, miss."

"Good boy. Now, how about you try and find some nails or screws for the bed."

"R-right!" With that, a blushing Rodney returned to scavenging through the discarded junk.

Scarlett quietly watched while holding onto the toolbox Rodney fetched for her. However, she did glance away for a second when she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore she saw something purple flash between the trees.


	5. Chapter 5

Never had Max run as fast as he was now. Even as thorns scratched his exposed skin and his shoes took unfortunate steps in a thick mud puddle, Max's legs carried him all the way back to the campground. As swiftly as he ran through the forest, he climbed up to the team's treehouse and collapsed onto his hardly cushioned bed.

Naturally, Max thought it beneficial to follow behind Rodney and Scarlett. After all, what good was an evil genius if he was unaware of all the affairs of his sidekick? However, Max never expected Scarlett to have a romantic affair. Stealthily, he crouched behind bushes and crawled through decaying logs, making sure to keep at least three yards behind them as well as a close eye on his two ginger targets. Once he caught up with the pair and found an appropriately-sized bush to hide in, he saw Rodney clumsily descend from the junk pile with some rusted box in hand. Just as Max was ready to watch Scarlett become hysterically angry at Rodney, she smiled at the old box that he placed in her palms and opened. Unable to see what in the box made Scarlett express such a smile, Max decided to leave his bushy hideout and conceal himself as much as he could behind a cluster of thin tree trunks. However, just as he positioned himself in his new hiding spot, Rodney suddenly leaned down toward Scarlett with puckered lips and drooping eyelids. Though Max did see Rodney kiss Scarlett, he was confused as to where the kiss was received. Thanks to his point of view of choice, it appeared to him that Rodney had kissed her lips, making it all the more shocking to him that Scarlett never even reacted.

To Max, it was like she _wanted_ to be kissed.

As he scrunched into a ball with his pillow against his face, his mind buzzed as he tried to analyze what he had just witnessed. _I swear Scarlett thought Rodney was disgusting. But then why would she allow his lips to touch hers, especially after he was rolling in garbage? And what gives him the right to kiss my minion? As if that overalled, pea-brained caveman was good enough for someone like her! _

Max's train of thought paused for a moment as he felt his stomach gurgle and clench from within. A hollow pain and an unexplained heaviness in his chest struck his consciousness. _What is coming over me? _He sat himself up and rubbed his own belly clockwise like his mother would, hoping to subdue the sudden physical ailment. As he attempted to calm his belly, he continued to think furiously.

_What if that kiss was only a type of alliance? I wouldn't be surprised. Scarlett has been unusually irrational today. Clearly, she isn't thinking straight. Nevertheless, how dare she try to form an alliance without my consent or knowledge…and with HIM of all the people on this accursed island? Stupid Scarlett. Idiotic, unorganized, pompous…_

Still rubbing his stomach, he suddenly noticed wet marks on his shirt. Desiring to find the cause, he automatically began searching for any trace of leak. Nothing could be found from the bunk itself. Suddenly, his vision was fogging up. As he wiped his right eye, more water stains appeared on his shirt.

_Am I…I'm crying?_

So consumed in thought, Max hadn't' noticed that his newfound distain for Rodney and increasing anger for Scarlett made him cry. The evil genius had become so emotional that his body decided tears were an appropriate solution to relieve Max's inner stress. Using the edge of his shirt, Max wiped his tears frantically while trying to regain his evil composure.

"Evil doesn't cry," Max coached himself, "especially not over a silly girl kissing a moron. Toughen up!" Though he gave himself a convincing pep talk, tears still formed in the corners of his eyes, only to race down his cheeks. Worst of all, his stomach began to tighten more, heightening the level of his discomfort.

_This doesn't feel like the tummy-wonkies, _he thought. _What the devil is going on? C-Could I really be losing my villainous edge over a sidekick?_

Suddenly, Topher's words echoed through his mind:

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you _jealous_?"

Max tried to shake Topher's teasing voice out of his mind. He refused to believe it. Him? Jealous of Rodney for becoming so close with Scarlett? It was laughable, the joke of the century. Max himself would have chuckled aloud if it wasn't for the clenching pain in his chest.

Besides, to be jealous of Rodney would mean he had a type of crush on Scarlett, which to Max had to be impossible. After all, Max had gone this long without ever having romantic feelings for someone. Back at home, the only girls that he associated himself with were his mother and the moms of the children he babysat. Outside of them, he barely conversed with other females (and people in general) unless it was solely for the purpose of school or gaining something for himself.

Scarlett can't be any different from all those other girls he's known…can she?

Sure, she always listened to his schemes and his monologues describing how wondrously evil he was. Also, Scarlett was the one on the island he actually enjoyed spending time with on a daily basis, even if she was clumsy sometimes and a grouch in the morning. Plus, he'd be lying to himself if he didn't think she was cute for a girl, even though he didn't get why she always wore her hair in a giant bun.

Max ceased rubbing his belly, seeing the method ineffective because his stomach continued to ache. He glanced toward the balcony, listening to the light summer wind and the echo of a few birds in the distance. He wished his mind was peaceful like the weather outside; instead, he felt he was trapped in a never-ending storm complete with every destructive natural disaster ever to graze the planet.

"Pull yourself together," Max whispered to himself as he laid his head down on his tear-soaked pillow. "She's just a minion. Besides, evil doesn't get jealous."


End file.

Total Drama series, Drama, Romance