Welcome to Ski Day, Cullen Style! I finally figured out, after posting Chapter 4, that I actually have to put my comments in the word document. Don't yell at me, this is my first fan fiction ever.
This is what you get from the weird Colorado girl.
I don't update that much. Maybe once a week? I envy those people who update like crazy, three times a day or something insane like that. Haha, not me. I'd like to think my chapters are long. They're really not, but you know. We can pretend.
A lot of this is adapted from my own ski experience, for example Alice's pants, taken directly from when I accidentally brought my mom's pants to the mountain. Of course, I actually had to ski in them. Although, I accept any suggestions at all, particularly if you're a skier.
Comments are lovely. ^^
-------
If nothing else, this was going to be interesting.
It was Emmett's idea, of course. It seemed that anything odd we decided to do as a family always came straight from Emmett's rather odd, yet especially creative mind. This was certainly no exception. Yes, I, along with the rest of my family, had been bored. But I hadn't imagined I'd be sandwiched between Bella and Rosalie in the backseat of a black Volvo XC90—bought specially for the occasion—driving all too slowly towards the looming goal. Crystal Mountain.
Yes, my family of vampires had decided that planning a nice family outing to Washington State's largest ski mountain would be an excellent way to spend a Saturday. Never mind that Emmett was the only one of us who had ever done anything like this, and that was back in the early twenties. He insisted that our vampire instinct would kick in just like it did in any other situation. We wouldn't even need instruction. We'd just drop Renesmee off at the Blacks' house early in the morning and be on our merry way. Bella had protested against that one, saying she'd be fine staying home, but ultimately Emmett and Jasper had managed to convince her to come. Even Esme had protested against her staying home, saying we hadn't done enough as a family lately, and that seemed to sway her. My Bella is a sucker for guilt trips.
Once they had Bella convinced, everyone else commended Emmett for his fantastic idea and headed over to the nearest Ski City, myself included. Carlisle had gone a step further and purchased the SUV, informing us that only Emmett's Jeep was even nearly safe enough for the icy mountain roads and there was no possible way that all eight of us could fit in that thing. Personally, I was used to running up mountains, but in such close proximity to humans, we obviously couldn't do that.
I surveyed my family's minds. There were various levels of excitement, ranging from Emmett and Alice, who were both purely thrilled, to Rosalie, who was grumbling, as usual. Emmett comes up with such stupid ideas sometimes. He'd better teach me at least a little. Snowboarding. It was obvious, despite her mental tone that she was far more excited about this than she was letting me know, mainly because it was Emmett's idea.
Briefly, I glanced at Bella. Her beautiful face looked absolutely terrified. I rolled my eyes. As outrageous as it sounded, Emmett was right about the instincts kicking in. Bella had yet to experience that process. Her anxiety was understandable but completely uncalled for. Still, I could sympathize. Perhaps I could relax with her in the lodge while the others went skiing. We wouldn't be in their way, at least. A party of eight looked suspiciously large anyways. It would probably be better for everyone involved if the two of us hung back.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than Alice's voice rang clear in my head. You're coming with us, Edward. End of conversation.
I glared at the back of her head. "Easy for you to say," I growled, too low for anyone but her and Bella to hear.
Come on. This'll be fun. You're not a bad skier, she informed me.
"Really," I muttered.
You'll want to see Rosalie's various reactions as the day progresses. I'll be very put off if you don't come with us.
I couldn't really argue with her. Rosalie was incredibly hilarious when she was frustrated. That at least would be amusing. Sighing, I pushed the thoughts of the cozy lodge out of my head. Alice turned around and grinned at me. You won't regret this. I promise.
"Whatever, Alice," I said, but she just laughed as she turned back around and focused her attention on the trail map in Emmett's lap again.
I couldn't help watching as the two of them pored over the network of trails, each of them marked in green, blue, or black. Emmett's finger circled an area lined in mostly blue and black, and Alice nodded in assent. Then she pointed to another area shaded in gray. "We'll head there after lunch."
"They'll be ready?" Emmett asked her.
"Of course," she replied.
Jasper leaned over her shoulder, glancing at the area she pointed at. "That'll be interesting," he remarked. "We'll see how Bella handles that."
Instantly, Bella stopped going out the window and leaned over the seat back, glancing at the grey part of the mountain on the map. Her eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding. We're going to Powder Bowl?" I recognized the name from one of the many Crystal Mountain commercials that populated the football games Emmett so loved—apparently Powder Bowl was the most challenging terrain on the mountain. I raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
"You'll love it, Bella," Alice assured her. "It'll be great. Aren't you excited?"
Bella gave her a look of pure evil, shifting her focus to Emmett. "Can't we just do that one?" she asked, tracing a long green run that sloped from the lift servicing the bowl down to the base of the mountain. "I think I can stomach that one."
"Aw, c'mon, Bella," Emmett punched her playfully. "What fun is that?"
"I think it looks like fun," she said. "At least I won't die."
"You're a little more durable than that," Emmett laughed. "Besides, if you fall down the mountain, he'll catch you." He gestured towards where I sat, watching the conversation with amusement.
Bella seemed to relax a little. "Promise?" she asked, her orange eyes begging me to do something about the situation.
"I promise," I told her sincerely. "Anyways, you're not going to fall down the mountain. You're far too perfect for that."
I missed the way her cheeks used to flush pink whenever I complimented her in front of the others. Now she just smiled awkwardly, her face retaining its bright, pale color as she slid back into the seat behind me. I wrapped my arm around her, feeling her body beneath my fingers, and I found myself lost within her face again as Alice and Emmett chattered on.
Carlisle brought me out of my little paradise—or as close to paradise as one can get in a Volvo XC90—by announcing, "We're almost here, kids!"
Rosalie rolled her eyes as she shifted beside me. I'd almost forgotten she was there. "Finally," she muttered.
Emmett deftly folded up the map and tucked it in the pocket of his hoodie. He turned around in his seat. "Excited?" he asked Rosalie, a grin spread across his face.
"Hardly," she muttered. Emmett frowned. "Do you remember anything at all about skiing?" she asked in a harsh tone.
He shrugged. "A little. But that doesn't matter, because we're riding, baby!"
Emmett had somehow managed to convince Rosalie and Jasper to try snowboarding with him. I'd managed to forget this fact, and I realized that, since Emmett was off skis, none of us really had any clue what we were doing.
Bella shot me a panicked look, and I reassured her, "Don't worry. Trust me, teaching yourself to ski will be easier than it sounds." It was a true statement.
"Hell yeah it will be!" Emmett announced as Carlisle smoothly pulled the car into the parking space a bundled-up officer in an orange vest pointed out. That's a huge bunch, he thought for a second. Ah, well. More money for the mountain, more for me. He returned to the next car, pointing out the spot next to ours.
"Everybody out!" Carlisle announced. He couldn't have told Emmett sooner. Instantly, his door swung open, nearly hitting the car next to ours. Careful, Emmett! I heard Esme protest mentally, but it was too late. Alice and Jasper hopped out after him, and I filed out behind Rosalie. We all stood at the back of the car as Emmett opened the trunk door.
It literally looked like Ski City's entire sale bin had been emptied into our trunk. What had been some nicely folded piles had turned into a conglomeration of coats, pants, skis, boards, and gloves, all randomly scattered across the huge trunk. "Dig in," Emmett laughed, grabbing a gigantic pair of pants and proceeding to put them on.
I let the rest of my family proceed, each grabbing articles of clothing that appeared to be theirs. I glanced up at the sky, which was covered in a layer of clouds. Alice had said that there would be no sun at all today, so we were safe, but all of us made sure most of our skin was covered anyways. Rosalie and Esme had gone so far as to purchase balaclavas, odd headwear that slightly resembled stereotypical ninja masks, which did effectively cover their entire faces. Most of the rest of us had neck gators or a scarf for the same purpose.
I began digging through the remainder of the clothing pile when I heard a small, familiar voice from the side of the car. "Um, help?" I swung my head around the car to see Alice quite literally being eaten by a pair of snow pants. The waist of the pants came past her neck. "I don't believe these are mine," she grinned, stating the obvious.
I ducked just in time to miss the pair of XXS snow pants that sailed through the air where my head had been seconds before. Alice caught them, letting go of the first pair as they fell around her ankles. "Give me my pants," Rosalie growled from behind me. Alice laughed as she tossed the larger pair past me into Rosalie's waiting hands. The blond vampire scowled and stalked off. Alice grinned at me as she stuck one small leg into the pants. "Told you," she said. I chuckled and continued extracting my clothes from the trunk.
Most of my family had decided to purchase Spyder gear – beside me, Jasper pulled on a sleek gray jacket with a huge black widow spider embroidered in silver stretching across the back, and Rosalie's jacket was dark burgundy, with an equally large spider sewn in black. Esme and I had been the only exceptions. She wore a sleek black jacket she'd apparently purchased in Germany. As I pulled on my own pants, I looked once again at my old Columbia jacket, the one I'd worn on the day I first saw Bella. Whoever said vampires aren't sentimental lied.
The hard plastic ski boots were incredibly uncomfortable, but even more annoying was the ski goggles Carlisle had insisted we wore. As soon as I pulled them down around my eyes, my vision detected the microscopic layer of orange and every single scratch in the plastic surface. I grimaced, pushing the goggles back up on my head, over the black fleece hat I wore. "Seriously?" I asked Carlisle, who was busy adjusting his boots. He looked up and nodded. "Edward, the sun reflecting up on the snow hurts skier's eyes," he said. Human charade, Edward. It's not that horrible. "I bought some anti-fog cloth. It should help." He tossed a plastic packet at me. I ripped it open with a flick of my fingers and examined the cloth it contained. "Thanks," I said, wiping the goggles with the cloth. It was a little better, but only fractionally. It would have to do.
Emmett began unloading all of the skis and boards from the trunk, leaning them against the side of the car. I noticed that his boots looked far more comfortable. He caught my gaze. "Benefits of being a boarder, bro," he smirked, finishing up and closing the trunk. He pulled his black gloves on and loosened his gray helmet. Rosalie came to stand beside him, moving quite gracefully despite the layers of clothing.
Alice was a different story. She slid around the side of the car, zipping up her black and purple jacket and awkwardly walking towards us, exponentially slower than usual. She glared at Emmett. "How am I supposed to walk in these things?" She gestured toward the silver plastic boots on her feet and glanced down at his shoes. "Why do your shoes get to be so normal?"
Emmett just laughed and patted her on the head quite vigorously with his fist. I noticed she was wearing a rather large black helmet—better than nothing, but still not enough protection from Emmett. "I offered to buy you a snowboard, but no, you said you would die before you snowboarded."
"It's true," Alice shrugged. "I'd rather not affiliate myself with those who sit on their butts all day rather than actually enjoying the mountain." Plus, when would I ever take your advice? she added mentally. I chuckled. Emmett shot me an amused glance.
"Ooh, that stings," Emmett laughed. "Have it your way, sis. I've got the comfy shoes." Alice scowled, grabbing the shortest pair of skis—a rather attractive pair of Dynastar Contacts—and tossing them effortlessly over her shoulder. The rest of the family filed through after shoving gloves and hats on. I noticed Emmett's snowboard was decorated with skeletons, and I raised an eyebrow. He grinned at me, and I couldn't help laughing.
Emmett and Jasper led the way, with Esme, Rosalie, and Carlisle not far behind. Alice waited with me while Bella clicked her blue Atomic skis together and wrapped her poles around the tips, and the three of us headed at a slower pace to the bus stop. Emmett greeted Alice by punching her, probably a bit too hard—that kid sure isn't nice to his little sister, thought one sixty-two-year-old woman standing near us.
The bus pulled in and everybody loaded. Instantly I was hit by the smell of rubber and human sweat, and like the rest of my family I cringed instinctively. We were all glad, humans included, when the bus opened its doors and deposited us on a sidewalk that lead to a colorful, crowded world unlike anything I'd ever seen before.