Sitting in a bus for four hours isn’t the most fun thing in the world. My class was going to a ski resort and it wasn’t close to school. I was sitting by my best friend in the whole universe, Mandy. She was sweet and rarely ever lost her temper. She had perfect wavy blonde hair, large almond colored eyes, a dimple smile, and freckles on her nose. I was in junior high and it was my last year at that school, as well as everyone else in my grade. After that year, I would be going to a private high school and so would Mandy, but no one else. I was listening to music and Mandy was flirting with guys, as usual. She was very popular and almost everyone wanted to go out with her. My plain dark brown-haired and green-eyed self rested against the back of the chair. I was listening to music and I closed my eyes. Then, I felt a kick on the back of my chair. “Hey, stop it!” I yelled.

I turned around and saw Aidan. He was a very popular guy. The dark-brown hair, which was even darker than mine, and blue eyes just made all the girls go after him. Although, he wasn’t always this popular, I still remember in fourth grade where he was a loser and we had to play a dancing game. It had to be boy-girl. He stood in a corner with his mussed up hair and was all alone. My best friend was a guy then, and he was my partner. Some other girl took my friend and I was alone. I had to dance with the loser, Aidan. He cracked his crooked smile that many girls went for. I smiled back, just for sarcasm. “Paige, don’t you have a short circuit. Just a small kick-” he kicked my chair again, “-and your fuse just goes off!”

His friends laughed with him. I glared at him and turned back. For a split second though, I saw sadness in his eyes. I returned to my music and heard Mandy yelling at them. Finally, we arrived and I got out of the bus and stretched a bit. Then, I went to my snowboard and put on my boots. We took a group photo and trudged across the parking lot to the resort. We received our lift tickets and Mandy and I went off onto a lift. Mandy had been snowboarding almost all her life, while I hade only snowboarded for three years, but I was pretty good. On the lift, Mandy said, “Wow, I think Aidan likes you. I’m serious Paige! He was totally flirting with you on the bus, but he didn’t know your personality well enough. You take things too seriously, but maybe that’s what he likes.”

I looked over at Mandy and she was being serious. “Look, Mandy, we don’t even get along well. There’s no way that he likes me. He was staring at you the whole time!”

We both laughed and we went down the slopes. Mandy smiled at me and said that I was getting pretty good. I was happy that someone actually accepted me. I was never really close with her before, but now I was and more accepted. When people made of me, she always stood up for me. She was my idol. I wanted to be just like her. When we went to the lodge to get some hot chocolate, we met up with Aidan and his group of friends. I continued sipping my hot chocolate when Mandy went to meet up with them. I couldn’t believe the news she had for me when she returned to our table. The guys were picking up their stuff from the table and moving to ours. I whispered to her, “What did you do?”

She smiled, “Paige, calm down. I just invited them to sit with us and then we could go out snowboarding together. Besides, you need a slope more challenging. Anyway, I want to sit on a ski lift with Brian.”

I agreed because she liked Brian. The guys moved over and Aidan took a seat next to me. I scooted a bit closer to Mandy and finished my drink. I tossed the cup in the trash and told her, “I guess I’ll go to the slopes alone. Unless you want to come, but I’ll go now.”

Mandy looked at me and her eyes were pleading me to stay. I grabbed my jacket and went outside. I picked up my snowboard and when I was about to leave, I heard Aidan. “Paige, wait up!”

I turned around and he was pushing his snowboard along while following me. I sighed and proceeded to the machine so I could put my lift ticket in and go. “No, seriously, Paige, wait.”

I looked behind me and there was Mandy and them coming too. I had a sigh of relief. He wasn’t following me. Mandy was smiling though. “Let’s go to a harder course, um, let’s see. I don’t have a map.”

No one had a map so Brian guessed. “Well, I heard there’s an intermediate slope if you take the bunny lift and then where the lift lets off there’s a slope there.”

I thought he was wrong, so I spoke up. “No, not quite, that’s the advanced slope. The one you’re talking about is all the way down there.”

He shook his head. Why wouldn’t anyone believe me? Aidan was quiet the whole time. He spoke up and said, “Well, let’s just go with your idea Brian. Either way, we’re going on a slope and besides, it’s getting pretty cloudy, so let’s hurry.”

We pushed along the snow and got on the ski lift. I sat with Mandy. Then, we got off that lift and went through the gates to the “intermediate” slope. I saw a warning sign once I entered and Aidan entered right after me. Then, the machines of the lift gate broke. The man, working the lift, had turned it off. “Come on you two; hurry up, the sky’s getting cloudy up there. I suggest you move it.”

I looked at Mandy and she said, “We’ll meet you guys back at the lodge.”

She was leaving me with Aidan! I didn’t even like this guy. “Well, there’s no turning back. We might as well just go. You coming with me, Paige?”

I had no choice but to get on the lift with him. We sat there in an awkward silence. As we continued higher and higher, I saw many warning signs. I began to shiver. I always shiver when I am afraid. “You okay there?” he asked with a tone of concern, “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m not cold.”

“Then why are you shaking?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to tell him that I was afraid. My vision was a bit blurred by all the fog. I felt his hand brush my arm. “Hey, it’s okay. I know you’re scared, but I’ve been in this kind of weather before. Don’t worry about it.”

He was very sweet and nice about it, but something made me skeptical of this ploy. “What’s your deal?” I asked him, “Why are you being so nice?”

This time it was his turn not to answer. We arrived at the top and the sky was a bleak gray. I could barely even see in front of me. I heard the person in charge of the lift say, “Okay, that’s the last two. I’m coming down now.”

Aidan started snowboarding down and he said to me, “It’s smooth. Come to your left.”

I said to him, “I’ll be fine.”

“Look, you don’t need to hide your fright, but once you’re not sure of where you’re going, just shout my name, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I shouldn’t have been moody like that because he’d been in this kind of weather, right? I started snowboarding down and it was smooth. Then I lost track of where Aidan was. The fog was becoming thicker and thicker. I needed to shout his name, but I resisted. I continued to my left and I heard my near me. “Paige,” he shouted, “where are you?”

“Over here!”

“The fog is really thick, um, well, let’s see…”

I found his shoulder and rested my hand on it. I saw his eyes. He was very close to me. I retreated back a few steps. “Paige, glad you found me. Well, this here a vertical drop. So, then we can go to our left, I guess. I think there’s a ramp there or something, but we can go around it.”

I said in barely a whisper as a cold wind blew across us, “Aidan, do you have any idea what time it is?”

“No.”

I was deathly afraid now. We couldn’t see anything in front of us. I didn’t like him and he didn’t like me. We were stuck on top of a mountain with no one there, together. I had no idea what time it was and I couldn’t see even one foot ahead of me. This sucked. He held my wrist and we slid down a few steps. Then we stopped. His cold glove was gripping my wrist tighter. “Aidan, what’s wrong?” I asked.

His breathing was a bit heavier and he does that when he’s afraid. “The drop has a bit more slope, but it’s still deep. I can’t see any further, but telling from that, the snow must be pretty thick. We can’t call ski patrol or anything. You want to try snowboarding down blind?”

I didn’t know how to answer. His voice was shaky and all I said was, “Sure.”

He looked over and this time took my hand and pulled me close to him. Then he let go and went down first. I went down after and I tripped in the thick of the snow. I rolled down and bumped into Aidan. He started laughing, “Well, it seems you’ve found me.”

“Aidan, now is not the time to make jokes! I am so scared! I deathly afraid! I-I-I don’t know what’s going to happen. So please, be serious with me.”

I heard him unbuckle his snowboard and he said to me. “Unbuckle your board, it’ll be easier.”

I did as he told me to and he said, “The fog’s too thick to see anything. If we slide down, we might hit a tree. All we can do is sit here and wait.”

He moved up to where I was sitting and I felt his shoulder against mine. The icy air blew across our faces and we sat there waiting. “You know, I still remember that time in fourth grade, when I was a complete loser, you danced with me. I loved how you were so nice and open. Although, I ruined it for you, we both failed that course. Then, when I became popular, your best friend left, sixth grade. Mandy became friends with you because she was new here.”

“Aidan, I thought I was the only one who remembered that one stupid week in fourth grade. How do you remember my best friend and when I became friends with Mandy? Aidan, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. I’ve never been okay. My life has always not been okay. My father left my mother when I was young and my mother died. I live with my aunt and uncle who don’t even care for me because I’m not their child, I’m their nephew. I was a complete loser. I never had a bit of warmth deep inside of me. Will you be my light?”

Before I could say anything, Aidan put his arms around me. I didn’t even notice him put his snowboard in the snow. I felt his tears against my shoulder. He had always been hurt and I’ve never helped him. Slowly, I released from his grip and put the snowboard on the side of me. I put my arms around him and he rested his head on my shoulder. He said, “I’ve always loved going to school. I could get away from my family and…”

His voice trailed off. “And what?” I asked him.

“And I would be able to see your face. I never told anyone that I liked you. I let others think what they wanted to think. You were always my star. I picked you out of the sky.”

I looked into his crystalline blue eyes and I saw my reflection in them. “I fell in love with your sparkling green eyes and your brown hair always was beautiful. I never would have dreamed of getting stuck with you on a ski trip. I was always trying to give you signs that I liked you, but you never understood them. Also, when you said that you remembered the dance week in fourth grade, my heart fluttered. Only if you had liked me, you would’ve remembered that. If you had liked me, you would remember everything we had ever said to each other. If you like me, then you will always remember this.”

He was too close to my face. I could see my own tears in his eyes. His lips brushed mine and our eyes closed. Our hands were in a lock. Time and space stopped. This moment was preserved. Everything that we had done together for all the past years went through my mind. Aidan was right about me liking him. Love was blind. I was blind. Was I in love? We both pulled back. The fog was thicker than ever and I couldn’t even see his eyes or face anymore. My face felt frozen in a thicket of ice. Although I couldn’t see anything, from the kiss, I knew he was telling the truth. I knew that he was deeply in love with me. I knew that I liked him too.

A bright light disrupted my thoughts. It was ski patrol. “Are you two okay?”

We nodded our heads and he motioned for us to get on. We picked up our boards and got on the back of the snowmobile. The man drove us back to the lodge and Mandy came rushing out. “Paige! You’re okay!”

Her eyes were tearstained and so were mine. She walked me inside and bought me some hot chocolate. I drank it and rush of warmth went through me. I looked over at Aidan and he was laughing with his friends. Our eyes made contact for a moment and I looked back at the table. I told Mandy what happened and she smiled. “I knew it” was all she said.

Aidan didn’t tell his friends, but he just said that we set aside our differences. That trip changed my life drastically. I didn’t judge people from what they acted like on the outside and I didn’t take people as seriously. Surprisingly fate wanted us to be together. During college, I saw someone pretty familiar walking on the school courtyard. The dark brown hair and crystalline blue eyes certainly sparked something in my mind. I hadn’t thought about him ever since I went to the all-girls high school. Someone had told me that he passed away by being hit by a car. Pretty cliché, but I believed it. I swore to never love anyone else and there he was walking right by me. He took one glance at me and looked back at me again. “Paige?” he asked.

I knew it was him at that moment. I threw my books to the side and hugged him. I was crying, tears flowing from my eyes. He smiled and we both knew that we were meant for each other. We knew that fate had played a part in this.

A/N: I based this on a story that actually happened to me. Well, it was funnier than this. This was a different form (romance), but I was stuck on a mountain with a friend and we slid down on our butts. Hope you enjoyed this!