EA Big owns all characters and places mentioned in this story.
Chapter 1: Catching up
Mac stared up at the ceiling of the lounge in the chalet. His headphones thumped loudly as he contently listened to his debut album that he released last season, the same debut album that went double platinum. He laid back relaxed on the soft leather couch as the fireplace danced light around the walls and ceiling. Then she walked in. Mac looked away from the door as Kaori came into the lounge. It had been two years since their break up, when she caught him with Allegra. He never did admit to her that he was wrong, he also never admitted to her that he still wished he had been man enough to admit at the time that he screwed up. They were at least talking again, if only a little. They called each other friends, but they didn't communicate like they used to.
"Hey." Kaori said softly with a wave. Mac nodded, trying not to act too happy to see her. Every time they were alone he wanted to talk to her about that night, but it had been two years, what was the point of bringing it up? He didn't know what to say so he just kept acting cool. He internally confessed that it drove him crazy when she had her little time with Psymon, but he never could bring himself to say it out loud, he had grown up and matured a lot, but not that much yet. He wished he could have what she had with Psymon. Though their relationship didn't work out, the break up was very smooth and tension-free, and they had grown into very good friends. He remembered the night at the bar when Psymon and he spoke briefly on that topic, Psymon simply said that they rushed into it too fast and that he should have given her time to get over Mac. Mac thanked Psymon for that news, but at times wished he never heard that… it gave him hope when he knew he shouldn't be even thinking about that. Mac was a different person now. He was a young man now, not the wise-cracking teen he once was. He still was a fun-loving party animal, but he had changed. His confidence still boomed, but it was a different type of confidence. He was secure with himself more now, instead of constantly needing to hit on the ladies. He was growing into a man that could admit his mistakes, to an extent anyways. His new attitude and outlook was good for him, he became a fan favorite very quickly with his new personality; and without the constant distraction of women, he was able to work on his music and get his album made. Mac had also become more down to earth, he didn't forget his roots. He could have walked away from the SSX circuit once his album exploded onto the hip hop scene, but he never forgot where he came from. He often looked back at the jerk he used to be and was ashamed of it, but this was his life now, and he had to accept it. Kaori sat in an armchair and opened her diary, writing in it contently. Kaori was still the same darling she always was, popular with the fans, well liked amongst her peers, and admired by the rookies of the SSX circuit that she mentored. She looked down at the photograph she had taped inside the diary. It was a picture taken with Psymon in a mall photo booth. She poked the picture with a smile and kept writing. At times she still wished things had worked out with Psymon, but when she lost that relationship she acquired an even better one with him as a friend. She stopped dating people in the SSX circuit after that, so she was often available. She would date the odd movie star or musician here and there, but nothing too steady. She looked over at Mac, who laid back with his eyes closed. She still had trouble trusting him, and often still felt uneasy being alone with him, it had been two years, but after some things it's just hard to feel completely comfortable around someone. She overlooked a lot of things, yeah they dated, he had seen her naked, she had trusted him with secrets no one else knew, all that could be overlooked, she just wished that someday he would be man enough to admit he was wrong. She wished even if it was only one time that he would stop saying it was Allegra's fault and acknowledge he was also to blame, she just had difficulty still being around someone who hurt her so bad and tried to say it wasn't his fault. She shrugged it off, it had been two years, why bring up the past? She had no romantic desire left for him, but she missed trusting him. She missed the nights she used to be able to just confide in him, talk about important stuff, talk about unimportant stuff, just being able to talk. She called him her friend, but they usually made little more than "How are you? Fine." conversation. She sighed as she kept writing, she had other friends she could trust now so she just kept telling herself to let it go, besides, it didn't look like Mac ever gave it a second thought.
Nate read a magazine in the lounge
of a chalet a little ways up the first peak. He was fidgety, he
didn't know what to do with himself. It was Thursday night, every
Thursday night he used to bring Griff up to this chalet with their
Xbox and play games until the sun rose… but that was then. He heard
the front door open and slam closed and young voices laughing. He
lowered the magazine and looked up over the brim. Griff and some new
boarders his own age had come in after cutting up the peak. They were
walking to the next lounge and Griff looked in the doorway as he
walked by. Nate nodded to him, Griff hesitated, looked at his
friends, who weren't paying attention, and then nodded back to
Nate. Once the teen was out of sight, Nate brought his magazine back
up to eye level. He fought back a tear that tried to form in his eye.
He knew these days would come at some point, he just wished not so
soon. Griff was fourteen now, he had new friends and really didn't
need to be following Nate around any more. He heard the teens making
cat calls and howls from the next lounge. He again lowered his
magazine to see Allegra walking into the lounge with a frustrated
look on her face. Allegra sat next to Nate and turned on the
television.
"Man, you have got
to talk to Griff, he's become a little prick." Nate faked a
chuckle.
"Like he would
listen to me." Allegra nodded. She felt of sorry for Nate,
he seemed to be taking Griff growing up not as easily as he let on.
Once more teens joined the circuit, Griff had more or less shut out
all his old friends, but for some reason he shut out Nate the most.
She felt it was unfair for Nate, he had been like a big brother to
Griff for years and now he was being punished for it. Nate dropped
the magazine once his eyes dried and he put his arm around Allegra.
They had grown into good friends, relying on one another as they
dealt with Griff's mutation from youngster to teenager. They shared
the odd romantic moment, and they both knew once they were ready for
it they would hook up, so cuddling up in front of a movie wasn't
odd behaviour for them. Allegra was still nineteen, which Nate
claimed made him uneasy at times, so he was waiting for her. They
would often joke that once she was twenty things would get very
freaky very fast. Nineteen and twenty-seven wasn't a bad age gap,
but Nate kept telling her he would just feel better once the 'teen'
was off her age. She respected that, it made her feel good that he
was serious about her, not many people were. She also had grown up a
lot over the last two years. She dropped the Avril Lavigne lookalike
persona and had become a very beautiful young woman, allowing herself
to be feminine enough for the magazines to splash her face all over
their covers, but just tough enough to still kick the guys' asses.
Both their careers had been going well in the past year. With the
untimely deaths of four superstars, and the departure of Moby last
season, a lot of top spots were left vacant and the pair quickly took
advantage. Allegra had come out of her shell both on and off the
peaks, and many were calling her the next Elise, to which she would
assure them she wouldn't be the next Elise, but the first Allegra.
"Stop having sex in
there!" they heard one of the teens shout from the next lounge,
followed by a chorus of juvenile laughter. They pair rolled their
eyes, missing their little Griff.
"2:31am"
her watch glowed with bright green numbers. She zipped her coat up a
little more as her breath fogged in front of her. She looked up peak
two to see Brody zooming down towards her. Finally he slid to a stop
beside her, and she gave him a demeaning look. "Dude, I beat you by
almost two minutes. You're not going soft on me are ya?" Brody
took off his goggles and gave her a challenging look. Zoe laughed and
shoved his shoulder, followed quickly by a quick peck. They had
hooked up not long after the peak three incident, and had been going
strong for two years now. Brody was hesitant at first when he asked
out Zoe, but after receiving Psymon's blessing, he had never been
happier with this beautiful woman.
"I was nervous, not
my fault." he laughed. Zoe shook her head with a smile.
"Sure, what could
YOU possibly be nervous about?" Brody raised an eyebrow and reached
into his pocket.
"Well, I WAS going
to do this at the peak but you just had to start racing me." He
pulled out a small box. Zoe's eyes doubled in size as she realized what
would be awaiting inside. Brody popped the box open, and as
predicted, a silver ring holding a diamond row stared up at her.
"Zoe, you make me really happy. You challenge me to be a better
person, and all in all I think you're awesome." Zoe looked up
from the ring at Brody. "Marry me?" Zoe let it sink in, they HAD
been together for two years but she never thought Brody would ever
ask this of her. She stared back down at the ring and grinned ear to
ear then nodded.
"Yes… yes!" She
held out her hand as he slid the ring on her finger and then she
threw her arms around him.
Psymon glided down the peak gingerly,
just killing some time. He was heading back to his lodge. Psymon's
mind was frequently wandering a lot these days. He thought now and
again about his less than successful relationship with Kaori, but
they were even closer friends so that was fine. He thought a lot
about Moby for some reason. Last season Moby claimed he had enough
and left SSX once his contract expired and he started his own
snowboarding circuit, the X-treme Carving League. The XCL was doing
pretty well, but it still was getting trounced in popularity against
SSX. He thought mostly about Zoe and Brody though. His mind was
heavily pre-occupied since that afternoon when Brody told Psymon he
was going to propose to her. He was happy for them, she was sincerely
happy with Brody and Brody was good to her, he just missed having her
around as much. As the months turned into years, Zoe obviously spent
more time and attention on Brody, leaving Psymon feeling pushed aside
more often than not. They still got along, but it ate at him every day
how they just weren't the same. He slid up to his lodge and unbuckled
his boots. He
tossed his board against the side of the lodge and walked up the
stairs. He came in to find Zoe standing in the front hall, smiling
ear to ear.
"Guess what?" she squealed. Psymon smiled,
assuming she had said yes.
"Well, judging by
that ice rink on a certain finger, you're about to tell me I'm
gonna have a brother in law?" Zoe looked down at her ring and
blushed.
"Brody asked me to
marry him!" Psymon held out his arms and she jumped into a hug.
"So… what did ya
say?" Psymon smiled down at her and she shoved him playfully. "I'm
happy for you guys, he's a good man."
Okay, so I've covered what's happened over two years. A lot of the mentioned stuff won't directly apply to this story, but it will leave me some openings if I ever make another... ah covering my butt, a useful skill. Hope you guys are liking this so far, keep reading.
