Slippery Slope:

A course of action likely to lead to something bad or disastrous.

"Hey kiddo," Gina said with her usual cheer, sliding into the bus seat next to Jake. "How's it going?"
Jake looked at her with tired eyes and shrugged. "I don't know what to do. Mum still doesn't know. Dad took her out to Olio e Piu last night. I don't know how he can look at her and pretend everything's fine."
Gina leaned over and enveloped him in a hug. "Jake, can you do me a favour? Forget about them this weekend. All this negative energy is messing up my chakras. So until we get back to Brooklyn, I don't want to hear about it any more."
Jake quickly removed himself from her embrace to give her a confused look. He knew Gina always had his best intentions at heart, but her methods were seriously questionable. Of course he wanted to forget about his parents' failing marriage; but how was he supposed to just let her mum set herself up to get hurt? He looked relieved as he saw Marie and her friends approaching. "You better go," he said pointedly.
Gina nodded and stood up. It made her furious that Jake, his mum and Nana were such wonderful people yet were stuck with Roger. She bent down and placed a kiss on the top of his head. "I love you. Everything will be okay."
"Love you too, goose," he said quietly as she went to go sit next to Boyle.
He plastered a smile on his face as Marie took Gina's place and gave him a kiss that was far too wet for his liking.
"You excited to go skiing?"
"Hell yeah," he said, his usual competitiveness kicking in.
"Don't get too cocky," she smirked, "Gerry's the only one who's ever been able to beat my time. If you're up for it though," she said, nuzzling his ear, "I know a bunch of backcountry trails where no one can find us."
"That. Sounds. Perfect," he whispered back. "Hey, you know what would make this bus ride more tolerable?"
"I'm not having bathroom sex with you."
Jake spluttered. Sure, they'd been pretty handsy, but they had never discussed sex. Although she'd made it clear she wasn't a virgin, most of the action had admittedly been with their clothes on. She hadn't brought it up, and like the gentleman he was, Jake had never pressured her. "Uh, I was just going to suggest that we start karaoke."
"Ooh," exclaimed one of Marie's friends excitedly.
"I know," Marie said, pulling out her iPhone XS Max and quickly putting on a song.

Is this the real life

Is this just fantasy

Marie began to sing, Jake and her friends joining in immediately. The whole bus followed suit soon after - except for Amy and some of the teachers. Wait, Jake thought as he caught Amy in the corner of his eye. Gina's sitting with Boyle, and Rosa's got a seat by herself, who the hell is sitting next to Amy? The mystery woman had blonde hair and was talking pretty animatedly to Amy. They clearly know each other very well, Jake deduced. But it's definitely not someone from our school, although she's around our age. Jake shrugged off the thought as he brought his attention back to singing, hearing a few groans at the front from the teachers. It was going to be a long bus ride.

Jake was dozing off with Marie's head on his shoulder when he was shaken gently.
"Hey," Amy said, eyes betraying mild panic. "Did you tell one of the teachers about our bet?"
"No, of course not," Jake said groggily. "Why would you think that?"
"Because they're all making bets!"
"Oh really?" Jake chuckled, still half asleep. "Bet they're betting on me."
"That's not how it works," Amy said, voice edged in frustration. "Fix this. But no, obviously they're not betting on you. I've been their star pupil since first grade. You're just some three-year-old in a sixteen year old's body"
"Okay, okay," Jake said, "No need to feed the hand that bites you."
"Bite the hand that feeds you. You really think the teachers are betting on you?" she scoffed.
"Do you want my help or not," Jake retorted, already untangling himself from Marie to avoid waking her up. As they approached the front of the bus, Jake noticed Amy's friend had shuffled over next to Rosa, to give room for Amy and Jake to sit together. The two looked very uncomfortable with each other, and clearly were trying do their best to just ignore the situation. "Hey, who's your friend?" he whispered.
"Oh, that's Kylie. She's been my neighbour since we were born at the same hospital 2 minutes apart. But she goes to Preston High School. She came because apparently she set up a date for me. Now hush."
Jake did as she said and listened closely to the teachers. They really were betting on them. "I reckon Jake's gonna win," CJ argued. "I see myself in him. I bet $100."
"That's because the pair of you are never growing up," Dozerman snorted. "My money's on Amy. Her methods of efficiency are second to none. I'll match your $100."
"I think Peralta will surprise us. I'm putting $50 on him," Jeffords said.
"$50 on Amy. This'll be easy money," added Kevin. "What's your bet, Raymond?"
"I am not engaging in such childish behaviours, Kevin, and quite frankly, I'm surprised."
Wuntch cackled, an awful, grating sound. "What's the matter, Holt? Worried that neither of your students will pass the year? Things certainly aren't looking promising in mathematics. I'd bet $100 that Jake won't pass my class."
There was silence for several minutes. Jake looked at Amy questioningly. "Holt and Wuntch have been feuding since any of us started school," she explained quietly. "We're not sure why."
"I'll pay to see you put your money where your mouth is. Jake may be an overgrown child," Holt said. "But he has talent, and discipline can be learned. You should probably stop bragging that you're just an incompetent teacher, because I'll match your $100 to say that Jake will get a solid grade in mathematics, and I'll bet an additional $50 that he gets better chemistry results than Amy."
Jake didn't hear the rest of their bickering, because he suddenly noticed Amy glaring at him. The phrase, if looks could kill, came to mind.
"I'm sorry we haven't found the traitor yet."
Amy gave a harsh laugh. "Maybe because it's you. I can't believe it! I've spent years trying to get him to be my mentor, and you just show up out of nowhere with your juvenile ways and he can't help but rescue you. You stole my rabbi," she said accusingly. Jake thought she might have been on the verge of tears.
"I didn't mean to. You think I want Holt breathing down my neck? Trust me, it's the last thing I want." he replied defensively. She seemed genuinely heartbroken and it made Jake feel guilty, and he didn't know what to do. He sprang for the first idea that came to mind. "Look, if you want to call the bet off -"
"Absolutely not. I have to prove what a huge mistake everyone's making."
"Cool cool cool cool, no doubt no doubt no doubt. Well, I better head back then, I think Marie's waking up."
Jake stood up quickly from his seat, and then sat back down quickly. He leaned down to whisper in Amy's ear. "I know who did it."
Amy spun around to look at where Jake was gesturing to. Moving his head repeatedly from the teachers to his phone was the Vulture, the grin on his face clearly indicating that he was up to no good.
"Ugh, of course it's him!" Amy exclaimed, and Jake was relieved to no longer be the primary target of her frustration. "But what can we do?"
"Oh, we'll get him back." Jake said determinedly. "He stole a legally binding document, now he has to pay."
Amy looked like she was about to lecture him on legally binding documents, but no words came out. Instead, she just nodded.
"I'm going to go talk to Marie, maybe we can replace the shampoo in his room with hair removal gel."
"Okay," Amy said, looking back over at Holt.
"I'm going to go," Jake confirmed. He was pretty sure Amy needed some time to process what had just happened, and he needed to prepare himself to have Holt watching his every move. As he walked back to Marie, he could faintly hear Kylie compassionately listening to Amy's complaints.


"Yes, I can ask the chef to make you chicken nuggets," Marie chuckled.
"Great, because I'm starved." Jake pouted. "We've had a big day." First the long bus ride, then unpacking and sorting out rooms - fortunately, it wasn't classed as an official school excursion, so students could pick mixed rooms if they chose. They'd all hit the slopes then. Boyle and Gina had clocked out instantly at the blue runs; Boyle due to his lack of athleticism, Gina due to a lack of attention. Kylie supervised from the sidelines as Amy and her younger brother David practised some snowboarding moves on the half pipe. Come on, we can't watch them all day, Marie had protested. Eventually Marie had dropped her own friends off at the black runs, leaving her and Jake to explore some of the safer off-piste runs as a couple. Marie had been holding back all day, but it was quite the miracle that Jake hadn't fallen over or crashed into any obstacles.

Marie was in the middle of her creme brulee when Gerry rang. Of course, Jake was having an assortment of fairy bread and chocolate crackles. "Oh good, Gerry's got the shampoo for us. He said Mr. Pembroke is currently down for an appointment at the spa, so he won't be back for at least an hour."
"Fantastic. You finish your dessert while I go to the bathroom. I'll meet you outside," Jake instructed. In truth, he slipped around to the other side of the dining table - where Amy was conveniently having her date with Gabe. He hid himself behind the large white pillar, eavesdropping. He wondered what he could do to get his attention - finally, it flew into his mind.
"Thanks for coming all this way," Amy sighed. She frowned and began swatting the air as a mini paper aeroplane landed in her hair. "I'm sorry -" swat! "I haven't been able to find any time," swat! "between my studies," swat! swat! "the Chemistry project, and the stenographer's club. OKAY, WHAT THE HELL?"
"Oh, hello, Amy" Jake interrupted. "Hi there, I'm Mr. Peralta, Amy's teacher."
"That's not true," Amy groaned. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be working with Principal Holt?"
"I'm on a date," Jake gloated, nudging his chin in the direction of his table. "She wants me to help choose her shampoo," he said, with a meaningful look in his eye.
"Well, she appears to be leaving."
"You should choose raspberry," Gabe supplied obliviously.
"Worth it, have a good night." Jake sprinted to the bathroom door before Marie could notice he was missing.
"You ready?" Marie asked as she rounded the corner.
"Yep, let's go," Jake replied, trying to hide that he was out of breath.
The next morning, The Vulture would wonder how it had lost all its feathers. A loud screeching could be heard echoing through the halls. Amy would whisper to Jake, "Aren't vultures supposed to be bald, anyway?"


"Wakey wakey, handsome Jakey," Marie said, peering over Jake.
"Ugh," Jake groaned, before the smell of bacon hit him. "Ooh, did you order breakfast in bed?"
"I sure did, so you need to get up," she demanded, pulling the curtains wide open.
"Mmm," Jake moaned as he stuffed a piece of french toast loaded with scrambled eggs, bacon, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and maple syrup into his mouth.
"So, I was thinking that we could just relax today - go get some massages, visit the sauna..." Jake said hopefully.
"Oh no, we don't have time for that. Amy said something about beating your ass on the slopes, so we're all going out to the backcountry today. Now hurry up."
"Five more minutes," Jake pleaded. Five minutes turned to be ten, and Marie had to get him back up with a hand job.

"Hey, has anyone seen the Vulture today?" Gina asked casually.
"Why, are you tapping that ass?" Rosa said bluntly. "'Cause it's kinda hot."
"Ew," Amy and Jake said in unison.
"You didn't bring Gabe?" Jake whispered, once Marie was out of earshot, involved in a conversation with her friends.
"I, uh, forgot to ask him for his number," Amy admitted.
"I swear she doesn't even try," Kylie whined. Jake choked back on laughter, receiving a glare from Amy.
"Michelle was asking about that time you had that roller chair fire extinguisher derby," interrupted Marie. She was getting tired of how little Jake tried to converse with her friends, a few of her friends had made complaints.
"What possible excuse could you have had for that?" Amy grumbled, trying to divert the conversation away from her failed date.
"It was science," Jake argued.
"In what way?" Amy rolled her eyes.
"Come on, we better get to the start of the trail before it gets too covered up in snow," Marie said impatiently.
The others quickly scrambled to follow her.
"Are you snowboarding today?" Jake asked.
"No, thought I'd beat you on skis today," Amy quipped.
"Not a chance, Santiago."

"How the hell have you beaten me on every single run?" Jake panted, as he came third behind Marie and Amy, again.
"It's just simple physics Jake." Amy shrugged.
"Plus, Amy and I have been skiing a lot more than you," Marie added. The two had spent some time waiting for Jake on the previous runs and struck up a conversation, discussing their snow experiences. Marie had been overseas a lot more than Amy, who had only been to Cuba a handful of times, but they still found themselves with things in common.
Of course, Jake still wasn't deterred. "I'm going to run circles around you all on this slope!"
"Good, because this is by far the hardest one - and my favourite. I wasn't sure if you guys were ready, but I think we've had enough practice."
"Hmm, he might actually win this one," Rosa commented as Jake was the first one to round the corner.
"Nana taught us to never give up," Gina said proudly.
"That's my Jakey!" Boyle chanted.
Marie and Amy were quick on Jake's heels, and soon the three were again, too far ahead to be seen by the others. The first jump came up, and obstacles were Jake's weak spot - he really didn't have the finesse to manoeuvre them - which gave Marie and Amy time to catch up. Determined to not lose again, Jake made another signature impulse decision. Waiting until he was just beside the others, he quickly pulled into a parallel stop. He had no intention of stopping though - instead he aimed to create the biggest spray of snow as he could from his skis, and it worked.
"Jake!" growled the two women, as they had to slow down to be able to see their way through. "You do not want to start foul play."
Jake just laughed as he sped ahead. He wove through the next obstacle - a series of trees that were various sizes. He felt quite confident as he saw no one was following him, and they were already halfway down. Next were some tree stumps and ditches that he completed with ease.
"Shit," he muttered as he whipped his head around and he saw a very furious Amy and Marie chasing after him.
He was able to just catch the sign telling him there was a cliff jump, and he was narrowly able to prepare himself. He felt a rush of exhilaration as he fell through the air, bending his knees to absorb the impact from landing. He stumbled slightly on his skis, but was able to recover his balance. He glanced back again to see where his pursuers were.

Everything went black.

Everything hurts. No - just his head. And his ankle. And his arm. And his back. Yeah, everything hurts.
"Jake?" He heard a panicked voice call. No, two voices. Talking to each other. Marie... and Amy? Ugh, why is everything hurting?
"What do we do?"
"Fuck, it was such a high jump."
"He's still breathing."
Jake opened his eyes to his girlfriend and Amy leaning over him. "What" he struggled to get the words out as pain shot throughout his chest. "happened?"
"You tell us. I'm surprised you didn't make the jump, the earlier ones were much harder," Marie prompted.
"But I did make the jump," Jake protested, through bouts of pain.
"That doesn't make any sens-" Amy argued. "Wait. You remember making the first jump, but not the second."
"If there were two jumps, why wasn't that on the sign?"
"It was on the sign, Jake. You mustn't have been paying attention."
"Marie, is this really a time to tell me I told you so?"
"Can you save the squabbles for later? We need to call an ambulance. He might have a concussion, and God only knows what's been broken," Amy said, her natural leadership skills kicking in and leaving no room for arguments. "Do you know how to check for injuries?"
Marie quickly shook her head.
"Okay, so you call emergency services, and stop anyone else if they come down."
Marie instantly complied.
"Right, now to see how bad your injuries are," Amy said, turning to Jake. "Can you sit up, but stretch out the leg that hurts?"
With many cries of pain, and much assistance from Amy, Jake was eventually in a sitting position, right leg outstretched. "Oh my God, Amy, it hurts so bad," he cried. "What if I get to the hospital and they have to replace my whole leg? And a concussion? Am I going to die?"
"No," Amy sighed. "Unlike in my dreams, you probably aren't going to die."
"How could someone be so mean to a wounded soldier? Where did you even become qualified to do first aid?"
"I was in cadets in middle school." Amy placed her hands on either side of his elbow. "Any pain?"
"No."
She repeated the process along both arms, and then checked his back. Jake found that the pain in those areas had mostly subsided.
"Sorry, this is going to be slightly uncomfortable," Amy apologised.
Jake raised an eyebrow, as Amy placed her hands around the top of his left thigh, right next to his groin. "Never encountered the male body before?" Jake teased, noticing her flustered face.
Amy quickly pulled her hands back, pretending to make a painful twisting motion around his family jewels. Jake visibly paled, matching Amy's red face.
"Just tell me where it hurts," Amy grumbled, as she began to feel for any fractures down his left leg. She made it all the way down his right leg, when Jake cried out as she reached his ankle.
"Just as I suspected. You have a sprained ankle, but I don't think anything's broken," she said calmly, pulling off her jacket. Jake watched as she stuffed some nearby snow and ice in it and wrapped it around his ankle. Luckily, it was a sunny day, so she didn't feel the loss of the layer.
"So will the doctors have to replace my leg?"
"No."
"Will I still get a cast?"
"Maybe, Jake."
"Will you sign it for me?"
"Yes, Jake."
The medic team arrived in a helicopter then, followed by Rosa, Boyle, Gina, Kylie and Marie's friends.
"What happened?" they all asked in unison.
"Jake missed the jump. I checked for injuries, I think he's just sprained his right ankle." Amy told the lead medic, after Boyle and Gina were able to calm down.
"I'm coming with him!" Boyle declared as he saw the other medics carrying him to the helicopter, making a dash for the vehicle.
"That crazy. Marie should ride with him," Amy decided. "She's his girlfriend."
"I'm family, I'm riding too." Gina demanded. "Plus, I've always wanted to ride in a helicopter. But of course, my primary concern is being supportive."
Boyle's face fell when he realised he didn't have an excuse. "We'll see you later," he sulked. "Look after him."


"It's okay Boyle, really. The doctor said it was just a Grade 1 sprain, I should be back to normal in 2-4 weeks."
"Really, Jake? I'm glad you're okay, but are you really going to turn down my signature hot chocolate?"
"Oh, no, of course not." He sighed and leaned back into the couch.
"So where's Marie at?" Boyle asked as he put the kettle on.
"She's filling out some paperwork to help out her father, since the injury happened on their premises. Obviously there's not going be a lawsuit, but they just want to be careful."
Boyle nodded as he placed the mug of hot chocolate in front of Jake. "Doubling it is the secret," he winked.
Jake drank it gratefully.

"Hey, you still need to sign my cast," Jake told Amy on the bus that night as she was about to walk past to sit with the others.
Amy nodded, pulling out her personal sharpie. "I hope you get better soon. Can't have it interfering with our chemistry project."
"Thank you," Jake said earnestly. "and thank you for... back on the slope. Even after I pulled that nasty stunt. The paramedics told me that if you hadn't thought so quickly on your feet, the situation could have been much worse."
Amy gave him a genuine smile, momentarily making him forget about his pain. "You're welcome, Jake."


Author's Note

Phew, this was a big chapter. By far my longest chapter, and only two lines of song lyrics.

Wondering if I have any readers who have also read the Vampire Academy books? It is one of my favourite YA series, and if you have read them, you might have noticed some parallels with some scenes in Frostbite.

Bad news (or maybe good): Next chapter is going to be a Valentine's Day chapter. I'm going to try and have it out on Valentine's Day (obviously), but I'm a little behind schedule - so it might be a little condensed.
(Definitely) good news: We're coming towards the end of the second school term - both in the story, and for those who are still in school irl. Stay tuned, because there's a lot of stuff about to happen. I'm trying to have the timeline of this story somewhat line up with real life, to make it easier to follow.