The ride was long. Too, excruciatingly long. And the bus was hot. So hot, in fact, that Iko lost her usual poise and took off her jacket and hat and draped them unceremoniously on the small armrest between her and Cinder- much to Cinder's discomfort.

"Can you move that?" she asked, in the irritable voice that had overtaken nearly all of them.

Iko shifted in her cramped seat, sighing as she grabbed her things and stuffed them onto the floor at her feet. "Sorry," she muttered apologetically.

Her usual chipper voice had diminished slightly.

"How much longer?" Cress wondered aloud

Scarlet turned to look at them from her seat beside Winter, where her forehead had been pressed against the window. "Too long," she said, settling back against the window with a small thud.

"I don't mind this," Carswell said with a good-natured smile. "Gives us time to bond, and mingle, you know?" he added with a suggestive wink.

But they were all so tired that even Iko didn't humor him.

Cinder followed her friend's gaze and realized why- Liam, the boy she had encountered earlier, was sitting a few seats away from their group, reading a book.

"Cute and smart," Iko murmured, earning a look from Cinder.

"What?" she asked.

Cinder just shook her head. How was it, that Iko was so attuned to who liked who, and everyone around them, but so oblivious to her own thoughts and feelings?

She let out an exasperated sigh at it all, earning a concerned glance from Kai, which she pretended to ignore.

He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the bus halted to a stop, the screeching of the breaks making them all flinch.

Winter gazed out of the window, her warm breath making small puffs in the somewhat grimy glass. Her hands were splayed, framing the mountain between her fingers as her bright eyes took in the scenery.

A second later she felt a light tug at one of her curls, and she turned around to see Jacin waiting for her. "C'mon, Trouble," he said. "Everyone else is already off the bus."

Winter realized that she had been taking in the view of the mountain for far longer than she had originally thought. "Oh, okay," she said, pulling her hat over her wild, dark hair before following him out to join their friends.

The rather bitter chill, accentuated by the flurries of snow gently falling from the gray clouds above, was a stark contrast from the stiflingly warm bus. Winter looked at all of her friends, who were chatting amiably, their breath visible in puffs that resembled mist.

"Anyway, enough talk," Carswell said after awhile, "though I'm sure you all love the alluring sound of my voice," he added with a wink, earning an eye roll from both Cinder and Scarlet. "When can we actually get on the slopes?"

Reading from the itinerary, it was Cress who spoke up. "Well right now, we have a few hours to get settled into the lodge and have lunch. Then we can actually start skiing."

Winter caught a slight tremor of worry in her roommate's voice, and so she sent an encouraging smile her way. "Right," she said. "I guess we should head inside then?"

There were a few nods of agreement, and they all headed into the lodge.

Wolf spent far too long unpacking his things. His hotel room was smaller than his dorm, but he was still sharing with Kai. Not that he minded. Kai kept things impeccably neat, though Wolf sometimes thought that made him look bad- even when his things were only slightly messy, it looked like a disaster in comparison.

But he was dreading actually skiing, so he took the time to carefully put away his clothes and immaculately arrange the rest of his belongings.

Even Iko was done unpacking before him, and before he knew it they were all waiting in the lobby, and Kai had finally managed to drag Wolf down to meet them.

Everyone was more warmly dressed than before, having piled on layers of sweaters and jackets against the winter weather outside.

"We should make a plan," Cinder said, right before they were about to head out.

"I think that we should have a meeting place. You know, if one of us gets lost or something..." Wolf offered, sounding somewhat quiet.

Carswell barked out a laugh at that. "A meeting place?" he shook his head.

"I think that's a good idea," Cress said softly, which somehow got Carswell to stop laughing and...

If Wolf wasn't mistaken, he looked almost guilty.

Cinder spread out a rather crinkled trail map on a low table a few feet away from them, prompting everyone to shift closer to see it clearly.

They began to talk about logistics, Kai and Scarlet both pitching in with suggestions as to where this meeting place should be, but all Wolf could think about was her flaming red hair...

Which would probably be the same color as his face once Wolf actually attempted to ski and utterly failed.

"Well?" she said to him suddenly, expectantly, and Wolf cleared his throat and gave a stiff nod, hoping it would suffice.

Alright, then it's settled," Cinder said, folding up the map and tucking it into her pocket. "If that's all, I guess we're ready to go."

Wolf nodded once more, before realizing- Stars, he had no clue where on earth the meeting place was.

Cress was shaking, and not from the cold. She was on a ski lift with Carswell and trying not to think about how close they were. She had been meaning to go with Iko or Winter, but that had not been possible amongst the frenzy that was the lift line.

She busied herself with looking at the mountain below them, though watching everyone glide smoothly down the slopes was only more of a reminder of how stupid she would probably look.

Her cheeks heated up at that thought, and she prayed to all the stars that Carswell wouldn't notice.

"Hey, you okay?" he said suddenly, prompting Cress to tear her gaze away from the skiers.

"Yeah," she said, nodding, but her voice came out far too quietly.

"Listen..." Carswell paused for a brief moment before continuing. "I know it's probably frightening, but trust me, you'll be fine."

Cress couldn't imagine Carswell, who always exuded confidence to be afraid of anything. But she swallowed hard and nodded.

"Besides, we won't take you on any of the hard stuff," Carswell added, "only someone as talented as me could handle them," he added, and Cress managed a laugh.

Cinder would probably challenge him on that, but Cress didn't say anything.

That was when the dreaded moment occurred. The lift was nearing the top, and Cress wished it would just slow down. The ride hadn't been nearly as excruciating as she had thought.

She carefully stepped off with Carswell, teetering a little as she glided towards where their friends were waiting, and blushing furiously as he put a hand on her arm to steady her.

Her heart was thudding, and she looked up at him, but already he was chatting with the others, winking at Iko as he tugged on one of her braids.

Cress shook off the disappointment and instead turned it into determination. Determination, as they all came to a consensus to start on a green slope, heedless to Carswell's complaining.

"If anyone takes a wrong turn," Cinder said, "just find the meeting place. But we'll try not to get separated."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Iko said with an enthusiastic salute.

And with that, they all began to make their way to the slope.

Liam most certainly did not expect to see her of all people. Iko. That insufferable blue-haired girl from the bus, out on the slopes, taking pictures and talking to her camera as she skied, with little regard for the people around her.

At least, that was what it looked like to Liam. But she was actually a good skier, he realized with frustration. Despite her distractions, she was able to navigate with ease.

He hadn't realized he was scowling right at her until she met his gaze and glared back.

It was only a green slope, and a virtually empty one at that, but Jacin was worried out of his mind. He stayed close to Winter, offering her guidance, but every time she slipped, even just a little, his heart skipped a beat.

He was an okay skier; not really fond of the sport, which meant his skill was lacking.

Unlike his roommate, it seemed, who was doing flips on his snowboard and going around trees just for fun, and Cinder, who was outdoing him just to spite him, much to Kai's amusement. But if Jacin hadn't been mistaken he saw a twinge of jealousy there.

Scarlet was zipping past all of them, a blur of red jacket and red hair whipping in the wind.

Jacin looked for Wolf, who seemed to have a tendency to be near her, but he could not seem to find him. He shrugged it off, remembering earlier that Wolf was a very good skier, and so they didn't have anything to worry about.

And so he turned his attention back to Winter, who was laughing and seemed to be getting the hang of it. The sight of her having so much fun, eyes sparkling, almost made Jacin smile.

Almost.

He decided it was alright to leave her for a bit and pick up the pace since both she and Cress were going far too slow for his taste. So he assured himself that everything would be fine, and sped up a little to catch up with Kai.

Cress felt like she was actually starting to have control and not feel like she could tumble down the mountain at any moment, when she saw two girls zip past her, lightning fast.

So fast, in fact, that she could not see their faces. Only that they were getting dangerously close to Winter.

"Look out!" Cress called, so that either of them might stop.

But her voice was soft and evidently they hadn't heard her.

Not as they continued to barrel towards Winter.

Not as they collided with her, sending her into a tree.

There was a sickening thud, and Winter did not make a sound, save for a cry that was soft, muffled by her scarf.

Cress skied over as fast as she could, almost falling over herself, but- "Winter?"

Her friend did not stir. She was lying in the snow, head turned away so Cress could not see her face. But she did not risk turning her head.

"Winter!" she said again, an edge of panic to her voice.

That was when she finally thought to look for the girls who had hit her. They were already too far down to make out their faces, but...

But that ribbon of dyed auburn hair was unmistakable.

Levana.

Liam had hoped not to interact with any of Iko's so-called friends. But there were two girls- one of them a petite blonde calling for help, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Um, everything alright?" he asked, mentally kicking himself as he skied over to her.

"No," the girl replied. She sniffed before continuing. "This girl- Levana- she- and now she's not getting up and-" She gestured towards the other girl, who was lying still in the snow.

Well, crap, Kinney thought.

"Where are your friends?" he asked, before realizing how harsh that probably sounded and offering what he hoped was an apologetic smile.

"They're..." she trailed off, something akin to a smile appearing as she looked past Liam.

He turned to see a very distraught looking group of people- Iko among them- speeding towards them.

A blond boy practically shoved his way to the front, an almost murderous look in his eyes as he said, "what the hell happened?"

Iko was not used to seeing Jacin with so much... emotion.

She looked at Winter and felt the panic rise in her chest, but now...

Now was not the time to worry. Or think about stupid Liam.

She quickly called for help, and a moment later they were carefully placing Winter onto a stretcher while Iko and her friends all watched helplessly.

"She's going to be alright, right?" Jacin asked fiercely.

There was not a straight answer. The officials asked them all a few questions in turn, and then informed them that they were going to have to take Winter to the hospital.

"We're all going, too," Iko said firmly.

"Of course," Scarlet agreed with a nod.

And so they all quickly headed back to the lodge to change out of their thick parkas and snow pants, and then they raced to the hospital as fast as they could.