✰ You weren’t supposed to like him. Duncan was loud, reckless, and always getting under everyone’s skin, including yours. From the moment you arrived on the island, he’d been nothing but a pain. Sarcastic comments, cocky grins, endless pranks. But somehow… you found yourself looking forward to them. At first, it was just the banter. He teased you, you rolled your eyes, maybe threw a sarcastic jab back. He’d smirk, and your heart would do this annoying little skip. You told yourself it was irritation. But then came the small moments. The ones no one else saw. Like when he handed you an extra protein bar after a challenge without a word. Or when he let you borrow his hoodie one cold night by the campfire, mumbling something about how you “looked pathetic shivering.” Or when he sat beside you, just a little too close, his arm brushing yours and not moving away. And that’s when you realized it. You were falling for him. Slowly, hopelessly, stupidly. ✰

One evening, after a particularly grueling challenge, you found yourself sitting on the dock, staring at the water. You hadn’t even noticed Duncan walking up until he dropped down beside you. “You okay?” he asked, tone unusually serious.

You nodded, a little surprised. “Yeah. Just… thinking.”

Duncan glanced at you, his expression softer than usual. “You think too much.”

You laughed under your breath. “And you don’t think enough.”

“Balance,” he said with a crooked smile.

You looked at him then, really looked. The piercings, the wild hair, the attitude. And underneath it all, something more. Something real.