Venue 6: Mac in the Middle
"HA! You guys better catch up! I'm already up to the start of Snow Jam!"
"You keep yapping and you're gonna regret it!"
"Come on, people..."
The race among Kaori, Hiro, Moby, Zoe, Viggo, Jurgen, and Marisol started about 6 minutes ago with Kaori in front of the pack, her energy making her taunt at her companions as she raced across the gap between R&B and Snow Jam. As she went pass the starting gates of the run, which weren't active since the next event wasn't to start there until tomorrow, she jumped off the small hill to the start of the track, performing a backflip with a mute trick. She landed perfectly, looking behind her to be rewarded of the view of her opponents just coming out of the foliage of trees behind her. She smiled.
"I hope they don't give up on me... That wouldn't be so much fun if they did..."
Kaori focused herself on the ramp in the middle of the opening straightaway... and thought.
(A nice place to perform a Rodeo 900 Can-Can...)
She approached it, running fast... but something caught her attention from her side... literally.
CRASH!
Someone ran into her, sending both boarders tumbling over the ramp and onto the snow below. The mixture of limbs slid down for about 10 seconds before Kaori found the will to break herself away from whoever was so rude to bum rush her...
"Hey!" she yelled. "You mind watching where you're going next time? That was way too rude."
"Excuuuuuse me... I just didn't... huh? Kaori?"
"Mac...?"
Kaori completely forgot her race and sat in front of Mac, who was face- planted into the snow. He rose up onto his knees, brushing the fresh powder from his hooded shirt and pants before looking at his long-time friend.
"Long time, no see, huh?" he asked her. Kaori smiled and nodded.
"Yeah... it has. I'm surprised I didn't notice you coming."
Mac shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I was... preoccupied."
Kaori gave an interested look. "Preoccupied? With what exactly?"
This caused Mac to twist him mouth a bit. He wasn't expecting Kaori to ask that...
"Well?" the Japanese teen asked. Luckily, someone answered for Mac... in a way.
"Hey, Mackie! You okay? You didn't kill yourself, did you?"
Kaori looked up behind Mac to see Allegra pull up next to the two. A new thought appeared in her mind.
(What's up with her? She's Mac's new riding partner or something?)
Allegra grinned at Kaori for a brief second before helping Mac up and then her. "What's up, girl. I heard that you totally thrashed Happiness a few minutes ago."
"Yeah, I did..." Kaori let out while letting out a nervous giggle while rubbing the back of her helmet. She just now took the time to notice how good she boarded. If there was no avalanche, she doubted that she would have done that...
"So... how ya feel?" Mac asked. Kaori gave a rather twisted look.
"I should be asking you that. I mean... just last night you run out away from Hiro and me and now here I see you, almost 11 in the morning, and Allegra's with you. It seems as if you're the one who needs to answer that, but it seems as if you're back to normal..."
Kaori trailed off, finding out that Mac didn't wince or get aggravated once she mentioned 'Hiro' in his presence. Also... she found herself thinking about him for a bit. Ironic that they already we're being labeled as a couple just by being seen eating dinner together... It was just a nice thing Hiro did for her... but now that she thought about it... Hiro DID take the initiative a lot... She smirked to herself. How come she didn't feel the same way she... apparently felt for Mac? It couldn't be because she spent more time with the kid from New York than she did the Japanese air-pilot... or could it...?
"Yo! Earth to Kaori!" Allegra yelled suddenly, snapping Kaori out of her thoughts. "Are you sure Mac didn't knock a screw loose when you crashed into him?"
Kaori shook her head clean then replied with, "Yeah... I'm sure..."
"Kaori!"
Hiro now approached the group, looking only at Kaori. As soon as he motioned to check out Kaori, Kaori stopped him with her next words.
"Uh... Hiro...? Can you give me some... you know... time to Mac, Allegra, and myself?" she asked. Hiro was a bit stunned from this sudden request... but thought better of it and only nodded.
"Okay... If you need me..."
"I know. M-Comm," Kaori quickly responded and with that Hiro raced off... but not before looking at Mac in a bit of a cautious way... Mac only stared back with a blank face and let him go. With that, Kaori sighed.
"Where are you guys heading?" she asked. "I'd like to... you know... see what you two are up to."
Mac twisted his face once again, this time getting a worried look from Kaori. He suddenly found himself in a predicament. He couldn't let Kaori know about what happened between him and Allegra last night... or at Ruthless Ridge. He could somehow feel something bad happening if she found out... Then again, he never exactly knew if Kaori WOULD take it the wrong way. At the moment... he couldn't remember him and Kaori acting anything more than being friends... but still...
"We were going to meet Griff and Marty at the bottom of this track," Allegra answered for him. "Wanna come?"
"Yeah... sounds good..."
----- ------
"Yo! Elise! Brodi! 'Bout time I found you guys!"
Eddie just rode up towards the huge quarter pipe 1/3rd the way down Peak 2's Style Mile where Brodi and Elise were practicing at. He wasn't exactly bummed about coming up in 5th place at Ruthless Ridge earlier. He was just happy he beat out the Peak 2 boss, Nate. That in itself was good for him. Brodi, who was standing in front of the slope and eying Elise's altered performance, took his eyes to Eddie.
"Hey, there," the surfer greeted. "Long time, no see... How are the world's events treating you?"
Eddie shrugged. "Nothing worth blowing a gasket over..." He then looked up to where Elise was just coming down from nailing a bid trick move and yelled, "Hey! You think you've gotten too good for practice?"
"No way, Eddie," Elise answered while stopping and looking at her. "Because of this stuff I managed to get better than I was before. Brodi's techniques actually work."
Eddie grew wide-eyed. "You're kidding... You, the legendary Elise Riggs, actually learning from Brodi, let alone anyone?? The world's coming to an end..."
"Oh stop acting all surprised..." she responded flatly, "What's next on your agenda, anyway?"
Eddie paused... then.... "Going up to Peak 3 to compete at the Big Air event... I'm taking Psymon DOWN..."
"...at Much-2-Much??" Brodi asked. "Good luck..."
Eddie rolled his eyes. "You guys coming? If you're too scared to take on Psymon, then you at least watch..." he said jokingly. He knew Elise was going to respond to that. She never backed down from a challenge... and this wasn't an exception.
"Okay, Eddie-boy. You want a partner to take down that freak? You got one. Let's go."
---- ----
Somehow Kaori managed to speak to Allegra and Mac while riding through the last parts of the Snow jam course. It appeared that Mac was okay once Allegra cheered him up and now that he wasn't blowing up and putting his expectations too high, she felt relieved for him.
"...so that's about it," Mac finished as the three of them reached the bottom of the track. "It's no big deal really."
"Okay, as long as you're fine..." Kaori informed him. "So, where's-"
"HEY!!! HERE'S THE NEW COUPLE NOW!!"
Kaori jumped from the young voice of newbie Griff Simmons, along with Marty as they walked over to them, boards in hand.
(Couple?) Kaori repeated. (Who?)
Griff looked at Mac and Allegra really quickly while saying in a hyper tone, "When's the marriage, huh? I wanna know!"
(Oh, crap...) Mac thought as he instantly whapped Griff hard on the head. "I got no idea what you're talking about."
"Owww! That hurt! Geez... if you're so shy about you and Allegra being together, then why don't you just-"
"Excuse me?" Kaori asked while giving Mac a bit of a nasty/surprised look. "Mac and Allegra? Since when?"
"Since this morning," Griff replied quickly. "After the kiss those two shared, everyone on the mountain is talking about it! I'm surprised you're just finding out!"
(Darn that brat...) Mac thought to himself, totally hating the look Kaori was giving him. (...but Kaori shouldn't be that upset... I think... I mean... she doesn't like me like that, does she?)
Mac soon got his answer. First it was Marty, who gave a frown at him for obvious reasons... but Kaori's next words were the clincher.
"Mac..." Kaori said in a low, calm tone. "Looks like you've got some explaining to do..."
----- ----
End of Venue
"HA! You guys better catch up! I'm already up to the start of Snow Jam!"
"You keep yapping and you're gonna regret it!"
"Come on, people..."
The race among Kaori, Hiro, Moby, Zoe, Viggo, Jurgen, and Marisol started about 6 minutes ago with Kaori in front of the pack, her energy making her taunt at her companions as she raced across the gap between R&B and Snow Jam. As she went pass the starting gates of the run, which weren't active since the next event wasn't to start there until tomorrow, she jumped off the small hill to the start of the track, performing a backflip with a mute trick. She landed perfectly, looking behind her to be rewarded of the view of her opponents just coming out of the foliage of trees behind her. She smiled.
"I hope they don't give up on me... That wouldn't be so much fun if they did..."
Kaori focused herself on the ramp in the middle of the opening straightaway... and thought.
(A nice place to perform a Rodeo 900 Can-Can...)
She approached it, running fast... but something caught her attention from her side... literally.
CRASH!
Someone ran into her, sending both boarders tumbling over the ramp and onto the snow below. The mixture of limbs slid down for about 10 seconds before Kaori found the will to break herself away from whoever was so rude to bum rush her...
"Hey!" she yelled. "You mind watching where you're going next time? That was way too rude."
"Excuuuuuse me... I just didn't... huh? Kaori?"
"Mac...?"
Kaori completely forgot her race and sat in front of Mac, who was face- planted into the snow. He rose up onto his knees, brushing the fresh powder from his hooded shirt and pants before looking at his long-time friend.
"Long time, no see, huh?" he asked her. Kaori smiled and nodded.
"Yeah... it has. I'm surprised I didn't notice you coming."
Mac shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I was... preoccupied."
Kaori gave an interested look. "Preoccupied? With what exactly?"
This caused Mac to twist him mouth a bit. He wasn't expecting Kaori to ask that...
"Well?" the Japanese teen asked. Luckily, someone answered for Mac... in a way.
"Hey, Mackie! You okay? You didn't kill yourself, did you?"
Kaori looked up behind Mac to see Allegra pull up next to the two. A new thought appeared in her mind.
(What's up with her? She's Mac's new riding partner or something?)
Allegra grinned at Kaori for a brief second before helping Mac up and then her. "What's up, girl. I heard that you totally thrashed Happiness a few minutes ago."
"Yeah, I did..." Kaori let out while letting out a nervous giggle while rubbing the back of her helmet. She just now took the time to notice how good she boarded. If there was no avalanche, she doubted that she would have done that...
"So... how ya feel?" Mac asked. Kaori gave a rather twisted look.
"I should be asking you that. I mean... just last night you run out away from Hiro and me and now here I see you, almost 11 in the morning, and Allegra's with you. It seems as if you're the one who needs to answer that, but it seems as if you're back to normal..."
Kaori trailed off, finding out that Mac didn't wince or get aggravated once she mentioned 'Hiro' in his presence. Also... she found herself thinking about him for a bit. Ironic that they already we're being labeled as a couple just by being seen eating dinner together... It was just a nice thing Hiro did for her... but now that she thought about it... Hiro DID take the initiative a lot... She smirked to herself. How come she didn't feel the same way she... apparently felt for Mac? It couldn't be because she spent more time with the kid from New York than she did the Japanese air-pilot... or could it...?
"Yo! Earth to Kaori!" Allegra yelled suddenly, snapping Kaori out of her thoughts. "Are you sure Mac didn't knock a screw loose when you crashed into him?"
Kaori shook her head clean then replied with, "Yeah... I'm sure..."
"Kaori!"
Hiro now approached the group, looking only at Kaori. As soon as he motioned to check out Kaori, Kaori stopped him with her next words.
"Uh... Hiro...? Can you give me some... you know... time to Mac, Allegra, and myself?" she asked. Hiro was a bit stunned from this sudden request... but thought better of it and only nodded.
"Okay... If you need me..."
"I know. M-Comm," Kaori quickly responded and with that Hiro raced off... but not before looking at Mac in a bit of a cautious way... Mac only stared back with a blank face and let him go. With that, Kaori sighed.
"Where are you guys heading?" she asked. "I'd like to... you know... see what you two are up to."
Mac twisted his face once again, this time getting a worried look from Kaori. He suddenly found himself in a predicament. He couldn't let Kaori know about what happened between him and Allegra last night... or at Ruthless Ridge. He could somehow feel something bad happening if she found out... Then again, he never exactly knew if Kaori WOULD take it the wrong way. At the moment... he couldn't remember him and Kaori acting anything more than being friends... but still...
"We were going to meet Griff and Marty at the bottom of this track," Allegra answered for him. "Wanna come?"
"Yeah... sounds good..."
----- ------
"Yo! Elise! Brodi! 'Bout time I found you guys!"
Eddie just rode up towards the huge quarter pipe 1/3rd the way down Peak 2's Style Mile where Brodi and Elise were practicing at. He wasn't exactly bummed about coming up in 5th place at Ruthless Ridge earlier. He was just happy he beat out the Peak 2 boss, Nate. That in itself was good for him. Brodi, who was standing in front of the slope and eying Elise's altered performance, took his eyes to Eddie.
"Hey, there," the surfer greeted. "Long time, no see... How are the world's events treating you?"
Eddie shrugged. "Nothing worth blowing a gasket over..." He then looked up to where Elise was just coming down from nailing a bid trick move and yelled, "Hey! You think you've gotten too good for practice?"
"No way, Eddie," Elise answered while stopping and looking at her. "Because of this stuff I managed to get better than I was before. Brodi's techniques actually work."
Eddie grew wide-eyed. "You're kidding... You, the legendary Elise Riggs, actually learning from Brodi, let alone anyone?? The world's coming to an end..."
"Oh stop acting all surprised..." she responded flatly, "What's next on your agenda, anyway?"
Eddie paused... then.... "Going up to Peak 3 to compete at the Big Air event... I'm taking Psymon DOWN..."
"...at Much-2-Much??" Brodi asked. "Good luck..."
Eddie rolled his eyes. "You guys coming? If you're too scared to take on Psymon, then you at least watch..." he said jokingly. He knew Elise was going to respond to that. She never backed down from a challenge... and this wasn't an exception.
"Okay, Eddie-boy. You want a partner to take down that freak? You got one. Let's go."
---- ----
Somehow Kaori managed to speak to Allegra and Mac while riding through the last parts of the Snow jam course. It appeared that Mac was okay once Allegra cheered him up and now that he wasn't blowing up and putting his expectations too high, she felt relieved for him.
"...so that's about it," Mac finished as the three of them reached the bottom of the track. "It's no big deal really."
"Okay, as long as you're fine..." Kaori informed him. "So, where's-"
"HEY!!! HERE'S THE NEW COUPLE NOW!!"
Kaori jumped from the young voice of newbie Griff Simmons, along with Marty as they walked over to them, boards in hand.
(Couple?) Kaori repeated. (Who?)
Griff looked at Mac and Allegra really quickly while saying in a hyper tone, "When's the marriage, huh? I wanna know!"
(Oh, crap...) Mac thought as he instantly whapped Griff hard on the head. "I got no idea what you're talking about."
"Owww! That hurt! Geez... if you're so shy about you and Allegra being together, then why don't you just-"
"Excuse me?" Kaori asked while giving Mac a bit of a nasty/surprised look. "Mac and Allegra? Since when?"
"Since this morning," Griff replied quickly. "After the kiss those two shared, everyone on the mountain is talking about it! I'm surprised you're just finding out!"
(Darn that brat...) Mac thought to himself, totally hating the look Kaori was giving him. (...but Kaori shouldn't be that upset... I think... I mean... she doesn't like me like that, does she?)
Mac soon got his answer. First it was Marty, who gave a frown at him for obvious reasons... but Kaori's next words were the clincher.
"Mac..." Kaori said in a low, calm tone. "Looks like you've got some explaining to do..."
----- ----
End of Venue