Chapter 3- Revelations and Finally Hitting the Slopes

"Must I always be waiting, waiting on you? Must I always be playing, playing your fool? "

-Jack Johnson

I woke up that morning with a sore neck and a huge headache. I looked around trying to figure out where I was. I looked down and saw a boy lying on me that I did not recognize. I scanned the room and found people were passed out everywhere. Empty red plastic cups polluted the floor as well as ashes from cigarettes or whatever these people were smoking.

I slowly creepy out from under the mystery boy and adjusted my clothes. I prayed I didn't do anything with him in my sedated state. I looked at my watch and realized it was seven o clock in the morning. I realized as soon as I would get to the house my parents would kill me and not let me go anywhere. I muttered 'fuck' to myself and headed up the stairs to leave the house. I was surprised to find Ally sitting on a couch watching TV. Everyone upstairs seemed to have left.

"Leaving so soon? I was going to make pancakes," she said as a smile lit up her face.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I kind of lost track of time yesterday, and I, I should get home." I said meekly staring at my shoes.

"Oh, really? Well that's ok, I'm guessing you're going to the mountain today right?" she said getting up to the kitchen.

I pulled on my coat and replied, "Yeah, probably. Well maybe I'll see you there and we can hang out, or hit the slopes, whatever's good for you." I said in my friendliest tone. She seemed to respond to it.

"Oh that sounds great! Well at like 10 I'm going to maybe at 10:30 you can meet me in the lodge and we can hang out. How's that sound?" she said getting a carton of milk from the fridge.

"That sounds really good, I'll see you there ok?" I said walking to the door. Just before I closed it behind me, I said,

"And by the way Ally, thanks. Thanks, for um, being my friend."

She smiled warmly and replied "No problem." Then I left.

I got my board out from the front of the house and skated down the street trying to remember how to get to Main Street. After asking innocent bystanders, I finally found my way there. There were actually a lot of people outside, which was weird since it was a Saturday and I figured people were tired. I guess they wanted an early start for the slopes. I skated by the coffee shop from last night and smiled subconsciously to myself.

By the time I reach the chateau, house, whatever shit I was really out of breath. The trip itself took about 30 minutes. I ran up the steps and twisted the knob on the door praying it would be open. Luckily, it was and I stepped into the house and took off my coat. Surprisingly there was no one awake yet and I breathed a sigh of relief. I sat down on the couch and looked for a remote. Then I remembered that there was no TV, these people must live like nomads. I grunted in anger and threw a pillow across the room.

"Stupid house, so technologically inept….fucking place, so damn cold." I said muttering to myself quietly, apparently not quietly enough.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's all we could afford," said a voice behind me.

I turn around to find my mother standing there in her bathrobe. She's holding two cups of coffee I'm assuming the one of them is for me. I'm praying she doesn't realize I was gone the whole night. I wait for her to sit down and reprimand me for being "irresponsible" and "immature", but for some reason she doesn't. Instead, she sits down letting a huge sigh escape her lips.

"You know I wish just as much as you do that we weren't here. You know how I feel about your father's family," she says catching me off guard.

"I don't get why Dad always drags us along on his stupid expeditions. Does he think I enjoy this? This, the whole hanging out with the clan thing? I can't stand any of them!" I yell throwing my arms around to emphasize my point.

My mom laughs at me and shakes her head. Soon we're sitting in silence and I'm staring at the wall. Neither of us have much to say. I'm about to get up and take a shower when my mother says.

"Were you cold?" she asks looking at the ceiling.

I don't exactly get what she's saying so I say,

"Cold? What do you mean?"

She continues to stare and sighs once again.

"I said, were you cold. When you were out all night."

I look at her strangely and finally get off the couch. I walk towards the staircase, turn around, and say one more thing before heading up.

"No."

Later That Day

Right now, it's crazy around the chateau. We just finished 'breakfast' if that's what you would like to call that thing I just consumed. I was never a fan of my mom's cooking. Currently everyone is changing into their ski gear and I'm sitting on the couch waiting for them to hurry up. I look like an Eskimo with my ultra-thermal clothing but I won't be allowed to leave without appropriate clothing items. My life is one sad story after another.

Finally, after what seems to be an hour of waiting, everyone has their duds on and we're heading out the door. I struggle down the stairs with all the crap I've been forced to hold. My board, my cousin's ski's, and like four pairs of ski goggles. Meanwhile my mom is carrying her purse like it's some huge life burden we evil do'ers have placed on her. I dispense all the items I'm carrying in the truck of the car, walk over to the door, and jump in. Thankfully, my aunt, uncle, and cousin are in their gas-guzzling hummer and I don't have to make room for them.

I put my headphones on and listen to the radio for a while. After 10 minutes, I am bored of listening to the same rap song repeatedly and put on a CD. Despite my obvious depressing morning, I decide to play The Smiths, so Morrissey and I can wallow in our misery together. However, I doubt he would write about being stuck with his family for winter break. However silly, I doubt any of his love affairs can top the complete torture this imposes on me.

Before my favorite song, finishes my mom shakes me and tells me that have finally reached the mountain. I don't know whether I should be excited. The only way this will be any fun, is if I manage to sneak off and meet Ally. Which I will, how, I don't exactly know, but I will. I drag myself out of the car and grab my board and goggles before they can load anything else in my arms. My cousin will have to suffice by carrying her own crap. I was not put on this earth so serve a purpose as a pack mule, despite my mother's thoughts.

As we walk towards the ticket booths, I feel extremely embarrassed suddenly and don't know why. Then I remember sadly, that I have the most insane family to ever exist. It doesn't help they all feel a need to speak as if they are all deaf. I try to drown out their shouts by putting my hat firmly on my ears, but my attempts are wasted. I can still hear my father and uncle yelling about real estate as my mother talks insistently about the sale at Bloomingdales that weekend. My cousin is skipping along next to me, singing some song by some name-less pop star and I resist the urge to shove her head first into a pile of snow.

We wait on the line for our tickets for about 10 minutes and finally they are handed to us. I look around and I suddenly feel a little better. The mountains behind me are gorgeous, not to mention extremely narrow. I take in a breath of cold air and walk towards the lifts. Throngs of people are all over, waiting in line for a lift, zooming down the mountains at speeds, which should probably be against the law, other people sitting at tables sipping hot chocolate enjoying their normal lives. I wish I could take their place, instead of being stuck with my current group.

I place myself on line for the lift, ignoring my mother's requests to come with her to put on her skis. My board is already attached to my left foot and I'm dragging it along as the line moves. My mother is waving frantically because she thinks I don't understand her or something. She keeps pointing towards the lodge and mouthing 'come here'. I pretend to not understand her by making distressed movements with my hands and shaking my head frantically. She finally catches on that I'm doing this on purpose and rolls her eyes and stalks away.

Finally, it's my turn to go on the lift and I opt to go alone, instead of having to sit next to some weirdo, who feels like telling me their whole life story. Though this is amusing at times, I'm defiantly not in the mood. I close my eyes as the lifts begins going up the mountain and try to forget who I'm with and how much the week is going to suck. I think about getting on top of the mountain, rushing down the slope with the soft snow guiding my every move. I think about escaping my family and meeting up with Ally and her friends. I think about….Kevin, as much as I don't want to. Before I can finish imagining his face, I see I am already at the top of the mountain and am about to get off.

I jump of the chair surprised to feel the ground below me so slippery. I nearly fall, but catch my balance before I actually do. There are people all around me taking their first steps toward the edge of the mountain before they disappear down, faster than I can blink. I feel a sudden fear grip at my throat and I take in a deep gasp of air. I shake my head trying to shake out all of my fears, uncertainties, and stand towards the edge of the slope. It's a long way down, but there's nowhere else to go. I take another breath, and go over the edge, racing down the mountain faster than I anticipate. It takes a few seconds for me to gain control of the board, but when I do the feeling, I've been waiting for hits me.

The wind is cold on my face, the snow soft below my feet, and people around me a blur. At these few moments in time where I'm going at ungodly speeds down the mountain, I feel infinite. Every worry escapes my mind, and all I can think about is going faster. No one would ever guess what an adrenaline freak I am. It's time like these where I truly feel good. With no one telling me, what I'm doing wrong, or right. This is where no one can touch me, not even myself.

However, before I can truly enjoy myself, the lodge edges closer and closer and within 30 seconds, I'm at the bottom of the mountain. Disappointment floods me, and I slowly go lower and lower down the hill towards the door of the lodge. It's almost 10:30 and Ally is probably already in the lodge. I feel somewhat nervous as I strap off my board and put it on a wooden fence. I hope no one decides to take it. I quickly take of my goggles and attempt to fix my hair, which is completely ruined due to the wind.

I walk into the lodge, not feeling very confident and looked around for Ally. I catch a glimpse of myself in a window, and realize I don't look to horrible, just a little red for the cold. I spot Ally near the fire with about four people around her. None of them seem to notice me until Ally's eyes light up and she shouts,

"Kris! Hey you made it!"

I walk toward them slowly, and probably even redder than before.

"Uh, hey! Yeah, finally got away from my parents. I see you brought some friends," I say motioning towards the people next to her.

"Yeah! Well this is Jess who you met last night, James," she says looking at my with a stupid grin on her face. She probably knows something I don't, I'm not sure I want to find out.

"Anyways this is Jules, and Christian who you also met last night," she says and they all nod their heads in greeting.

"Yeah I remember you guys…" I say breezily as if I'm the coolest thing on earth. I probably look like a moron, since I'm so red, and it doesn't help that Christian just smiled at me.

"So did you guys hit the slopes yet, or are you just hanging out here?" I ask with a confused look on my face.

"We're just hanging out here for a while why don't you get yourself something to drink and join us." The girl name Jules pronounces. She seems nice, and I'm looking forward to talking to her.

"Um…where exactly is the food court?" I saw looking around the enormous lodge.

"Oh…it's—you know what I was gonna get more coffee anyway, I'll show you." Christian says. It's the first thing I've ever heard him say, and it just hit me how incredibly hot his voice is.

I blush deeply and wait for him to get up and lead the way. I turn around one last time before I get my drink and Ally gives me a knowing wink and smiles.

God, was I that obvious?

I run quickly to catch up with Christian and step into foot with him.

"So how long are you here for?" he asks looking at me with his dark brown eyes. I try not to blush but it happens anyway. Since when did I become 12 years old again?

"Oh….for about 2 weeks only. Then I have to go back to New York and go to my fabulous school once again." I say sarcastically, and then laugh at my self. It sounds a bit weirder than intended, but oh well.

Christian laughs as we walk up the stairs, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He doesn't think I'm a complete psycho….yet.

"Yeah, Lake Placid isn't exactly a place of excitement either. At least you live in a city, where you meet new people all the time. In this town, everyone knows each other and you know the same kids your whole life." Christian says sighing.

"I think it would be kind of nice knowing everyone. Nearly everyone I see is a stranger, and every time I switch schools, I have to make new friends. I haven't really known anyone longer than about 5 years." I say in attempts to make his probably boring life more interesting.

Christian smiles at me and leads to me the coffee stand. He orders a black coffee, no sugar and I can't help but make a face. Black coffee is so disgusting I don't understand how anyone can possibly drink it. I keep corporate America alive by constantly purchasing over-priced coffee at starbucks. I order a latte as Christian sips his coffee quietly. I pay the woman at the counter and Christian and I walk back towards the fire.

"How can you drink that stuff? It tastes horrible," I say pointing to Christian's coffee.

"I know it's disgusting, but it keeps me awake. I've gotten to the point where I can't function without a cup of this in the morning," he says laughing.

"I guess you can say the same with me, but I'm more of a latte person. Do they have any Starbucks around here?" I say sipping my latte.

"Nope, the closest one I can think of is probably 15 miles away." Christian says with a

'Sorry' look on his face.

Where have I seen that face before? Oh yeah, I remember. Before I can say his name in head, I ask Christian about James.

"I know this is going to sound really weird, but did something happen with me and James last night? I kinda drank a little too much, and I don't remember. God, I sound like such a whore right now. It was an accident though, I swear! If anything happened that is," I say wondering why I'm defending myself so much.

Christian laughs and says, "I doubt anything happened with you and James, cause he's going out with Jules, and if you did do anything, you don't need to explain it to me. You need to explain it to Jules; you know better yet let James do it."

He grins as we sit back down with the rest of the group. I feel quite stupid and embarrassed now and I figure any chance I had with Christian has now been diminished due to my lack of morals and/or class. Everyone greets us with smiles and Ally gives Christian the old raised eyebrow. He just smiles and drinks his coffee. I have no idea what this means, but I hope it's something good.

"So, while you guys were gone, we were discussing whether or not Chris and Ally have something going on," Jules says with a smile on her face.

Ally shoves Jules and rolls her eyes.

"Oh don't even try and deny it Ally, you want his goodies!" James tells Ally teasingly.

At this, we all erupt into laughter and Ally turns very red.

"Speak of the devil," mutters Jess and she stares towards the door.

We all turn around and see Chris enter and spot us. He soon is walking over, and James is humming the song "Goodies" as we all laugh, and Ally turns unusual shades of red. I've never seen her so embarrassed before and I have to admit it's funny.

"Hey guys, what's so funny?" Chris says as he sits beside Ally and looks at us with a confused expression.

"Nothing!" yells Jess, "we were just talking about that time James got to drunk he tried to hit on his sister…"

At this little comment, we all start laughing and I for one am deeply disturbed.

James tried to retaliate and yells, "That's such bullshit! That never happened!"

However, it's too late and by now, and everyone is mocking him. Ally takes a breath of relief now that the attention has been diverted from her.

As everyone begins to tell anecdotes about past parties, events, school I feel glad I decided to come to the party and meet new people. I start to think about Brooklyn, and suddenly miss my old friends. I start to miss Kevin too. No matter how much I try, I know I'll always miss him. That is unless I meet someone, someone better, someone I can trust. However, given my history with guys I can't imagine that happening. I try to tell myself to lighten up. Who knows maybe I'll meet someone here….maybe I already did.

I just have to finally, forget all of my fears, and just let things happen. This is what I tell myself as I look up to find Christian's eyes on mine. We stay this way for about 10 seconds before I finally look away blushing. I drag my eyes back towards him and he's still looking at me a grin slowly appearing on his face. God he was gorgeous, and despite myself, I can seem to look away. I sip my now cold latte and lean back into my chair raising my eyebrow at Christian. Are we flirting? I'm pretty sure we are. He tosses his hair out of his face and another smirk appears on his face. He seems to be saying, "I know you want me" or something of the sort.

If he only knew, how much I did at that very moment.

"Beautiful Day" by U2

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town

You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere

You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace

It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
Was a beautiful day

A/N: Well there goes Chappie 3! I hope you people liked it…it took me practically forever to get over my stupid writer's block. Nevertheless, you can thank my wonderful cold for ending it. I was so bored I wrote like 10 pages, yay! Anyways…it would be simply LOVELY if you would review my story! I promise I will do the same with yours. And despite as many times as I have proof-read this there is most likely going to be a couple mistakes….so yeah sorry about that. Grammar is not one of my stronger areas. So what do you guys think of the whole Christian ordeal eh? Well if you review my story, you get to find out what happens! (Eventually….when I do that is)

Love you all!

Kristina