Fiona's face rested silently and comfortably on her pillow. The sun had yet to even rise that day, but her plans for the day had put an end to any thoughts about sleeping in late when her alarm clock went off. She was seriously thinking about tossing the damn thing out the window at that moment.
Her eyes opened and looked at the time seeing that it was only about five thirty in the morning. Van and his family were leaving early in the day about around six thirty, seven o'clock. Fiona figured that it would be best for her to get up early so she could be ready in time with a few minutes to spare.
Fiona could only imagine what Van was like at that moment, because it was very common knowledge to everyone that he was anything but a morning person. More than likely one of his parents had to force him out of his bed in order to get him up. This only made Fiona laugh at the thought as she slowly got out of bed but she couldn't blame Van if he did put up a fight to get up because it was taking all of her self-control not to fall back asleep as well.
She sleepily walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of fresh clothed to wear before she walked into the hall and towards the bathroom where she planned to take a nice warm shower in order to wake her up for a while.
Fiona walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later a little more awake yet still very tired which was proven by the fact that she couldn't stop yawning. 'Whose bright idea was it to leave this early in the morning?' Fiona asked herself as she made a few last minute packing before she walked to the kitchen to get something to eat.
"Ahhh, nothing like the early morning to get started on this soon to be wonderful vacation," said Dan while stretching to the morning air as he packed as many suitcases as he could into their car. He was used to getting up that early in the morning but it wasn't the same for the other occupants of the house.
Van, his mother, and even his sister Maria who had been at college for a few years, were all walking corpses since all of them were deprived of their beautiful sleep that they depended so greatly on.
"Couldn't we have just of left a few hours later, rather than at six o'clock in the freaking morning," complained Van as he collapsed onto the couch in their living room with a loud yawn.
"Where would the fun be in that?" asked Dan as he walked into the house with a broad smile on his face. "Why leave in the day and get their later when we can leave in the early morning and enjoy the fresh morning air. Where is your sense of adventure Van?" asked Dan as he took a seat beside Van.
"I think I already packed it away," said Van resting his head back and he closed his eyes. Hoping to catch a few moments of rest before his father decided to say that they were leaving. 'Oh well, maybe I can catch a few winks on the way there,' thought Van with a loud yawn.
"Are we going to be leaving any time soon?" asked Maria as she walked into the room with a tired look on her face although she tried her best in order to mask it. Maria was in a college a good distance away from there, so it was hard for her to come around every once in a while to visit. But she somehow managed it this time and was really looking forward to a vacation with her family as well as Fiona.
Although Maria had been away for a long time, the few times that she was at home she had seen Fiona and the two had a nice sisterly friendship. The past few times she has also been wondering if maybe something was going on between Fiona and Van but she doubted it because Van was with Amy much to her displeasure. She figured that Van and Fiona would make an adorable couple but she just couldn't for the life of her figure out why Van stayed with the always-nagging Amy.
Although Maria was the oldest child in the family, she knew that it was Van that was going to inherit the company, which she had known about for many years but kept it silent because her father wanted to be the one to tell Van all about it. She didn't think too much of it though. She was happy with how her life was as it is. Sure, she would still be inheriting part of the company but she felt that Van might make a better leader than her when he decided to grow up a bit, and see behind Amy's manipulation of him. She always voiced her complaints to Van but he never seemed to listen to her about them.
"It will be a few more minutes, then we are going to pick Fiona up and then we will be off towards the lovely mountain resort that I have had planned out for the past few months," said Dan happily but he was cut off when the doorbell rang. 'I wonder who that could be at this time in the morning, Fiona knows we are going to be picking her up,' thought Dan as he got up but Maria was already walking towards the door.
"Hello," said Maria with a smile as she opened the door but that dropped almost as quickly as it had appeared when she realized that it was Amy at the door. "Hello Amy, what are you doing here?" asked Maria in a monotonous voice.
"Isn't it obvious, I am here for the trip," said Amy with a bright smile that Maria found positively annoying. Behind Amy were at the least four suitcases filled with thing that Maria wanted to know nothing about.
Now Maria was annoyed. "You do know that this is a family vacation don't you?" asked Maria but Amy just seemed to ignore her while she was looking around for Van. Maria turned around and called out to Van. "Van, you did mention to her that this was a family vacation didn't you?" asked Maria making and emphasis on the word family hoping that he got her point.
"Yeah, about five hundred times. She continued to ask and I keep telling her the exact same thing every time," Van called back before soft snores were heard from the living room meaning that he was about it fall back asleep or make them think he was so that they wouldn't ask him anymore questions.
Maria let off a sigh knowing that Amy only did this hoping that they would just allow her to come along if she came by at the last few moments making them try to feel bad for her and let her come along, but they didn't have that sort of sympathy towards her. "Even though you have already been told, I will tell you again. This is a family vacation," said Maria getting very annoyed.
"But I am sure that me and Van will eventually get married so doesn't that count as being part of the family?" asked Amy trying to put on her nicest face that she usually used and ended up getting whatever she wanted from those people. Too bad for her, Maria wasn't as stupid as most others in falling for that sort of thing.
'Marry my ass. Not if I have anything to say about it,' thought Maria forcing a smile on her face. "Unfortunately, no, it doesn't," said Maria hoping beyond hope that she would get the idea.
"But I already have all of my stuff packed and here. So can I please come with you?" begged Amy as she once again placed on her so called pleading face but once again it failed to change Maria's mind.
"No, we will just have to get someone to drive you back to your house since it seems that your driver doesn't want to stick around," said Maria watching without amusement as a limo started to pull away from their house. Maria knew why she didn't drive herself as well; it was an attempt to force them to take her. If she had her own car then they would easily tell her to go home. Have someone take her and then drive off would mean she would have no way home so they might take her. 'Fat chance,' thought an annoyed Maria.
Amy pouted with a fake expression of hurt on her face. 'Pity tends to be a good thing to use,' she thought to herself, but it failed when Maria turned towards Van with the same look on her face.
"Van! Why don't you take your girlfriend back to her house and then pick up the last things we need before we head down there," yelled Maria before walking away leaving Amy standing at the door looking annoyed. If there was one thing that Maria was fully aware of, it was that Van didn't want anyone to know of his friendship with Fiona. She knew it was because of Amy that he did it because it was common information that the two of them hated each other.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Van while walking down the hall towards the door. He was still very tired, letting of a long and loud yawn every few seconds. He thought it would be a wonder if he didn't fall asleep before he got to the door. He did manage it however.
The drive to Amy's house, or rather mansion, was a really quiet one. Well it was quiet on Van's part, however his girlfriend was going on and on about how unfair all of this was for her. She also had many other things to complain about as well, most of it Van didn't even feel like hearing. However, it was composed of Fiona, certain teachers at school that she didn't like, and then it was back to Fiona. Van couldn't take much more.
Van found it as a great relief when the view of her estate came up. Van had one plan, drop her off and get the hell out of there before her father noticed. More than likely, he would find a way to let her come along but then that would mean that Fiona couldn't come and Van was looking forward to Fiona coming.
"Van, are you sure that I can't come with you? I can do many things for you if you do allow me to come," said Amy in as sexy a voice as she could while Van rolled his eyes, but it went unnoticed by Amy.
"Yes, I am sure. I have told you this so many times. So please understand this time," begged Van while preparing to leave. It failed when Amy started to talk the things that he didn't really want to hear at that moment.
"Wait, Van. My father wanted to talk to you about something," said Amy quickly but she didn't hear the loud groan that escaped Van's throat and the increase of how nervous he was getting at that moment.
"I am sorry but I am in a hurry. This will have to wait until I come back," said Van in a hurry. He was about to go before Amy gave him a quick kiss. Recently, her kisses didn't seem to have the same effect as they once did on Van. There was something about them that felt wrong. Van ignored this feeling however and backed away from the house while Amy was yelling at him to hurry back from his vacation.
Fiona was really starting to get bored. As it was, Van and his family were at least fifteen to thirty minutes later then they said that they were going to come by to pick her up. She was beginning to wonder why she woke up so early if they were going to be so late. She knew they were going to pick her up but something must be stalling them somehow.
The long awaited knock on the door came and she rushed to it to find Van standing there slightly out of breath but he had a smile nonetheless on his face at the sight of Fiona.
"Sorry if I am a little late. We had a little situation dealing with Amy because she appeared at our house all of a sudden trying to come along with us," said Van with a slightly nervous smile on his face. Seeing the sad look on Fiona's face Van continued. "We dealt with it though. I just took her back to her house and then came right here to pick you up. So we are in a bit of a hurry, so grab your things and well will be off," said Van walking past her to grab her larger suitcase while Fiona grabbed a smaller one. "Awfully light? Not packing much?" asked Van lifting the light bag.
"I just packed what I would need and nothing more. My parents also gave me a bit of money in case I would need something and then I could buy it," said Fiona with a smile while she threw her bag into the trunk of his car before hopping into the passenger seat.
Van was in the car before she even realized it and then they were off on a vacation that she felt that she would never forget. There was something in the back of her mind telling her that something strange was going to happen but yet she paid no attention to it.
It wasn't long before the two of them were outside of Van's house where his family was ready and waiting for the two of them to get there so they could be off immediately.
"About time that you got back Van. I suspect that Amy held you up for a little bit after you dropped her off at her house," said Dan with a smile as he grabbed Fiona's luggage out of the truck and placed it in the back of their almost completely full car. If it wasn't for the fact that the car they were using had a huge trunk, then it was almost a certain that not everything would fit in there but they were lucky.
"Now, if everyone is ready then lets get going because I want to get back to sleep," announced Van making everyone laugh as they piled into the very spacious car. Van almost immediately tried to fall asleep as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.
Fiona took her seat and stared out of the window as Dan pulled out of the driveway before taking off down the street. The houses went sweeping by them but they slowly started to become fewer and fewer as they were nearing the edge of the town and into the countryside.
The scenery was beautiful, it may have been getting colder outside from the change in altitude but the trees had turned beautiful shades of orange and yellow as the leaves scattered across the ground.
Fiona felt like following Van in trying to get some sleep but for some strange reason, she was unable to. She was tired before they left but now she felt wide awake. She guessed it was because of anticipation though. Just to see the beautiful snow was like a dream come true and she just couldn't wait to get there.
"How far away is this place?" asked Fiona quietly to Dan who appeared to be the only other person awake at that moment except for Fiona. Both Maria and Van's mother had fallen back asleep at some point as well. Van was long since asleep since they had left the house.
"It is quite a bit away from here. I would say that we will be the by the late afternoon. It will all be worth it in the end though. You should go to sleep for now. We have a long day ahead of us," he said while keeping his eyes on the rode ahead of him.
Although Fiona didn't even feel the least bit sleepy, she at least gave it a try. Maybe she was more tired than she thought she was because a few minutes later she was fast asleep like the rest of them.
Fiona had no idea how long she had been asleep but it all ended when she was gently shaken a little by van. She didn't really want to get up but he was insistent. "Come on, get up Fiona," said Van as Fiona finally cracked her eyes open a little.
"What time is it? How long have I been asleep?" asked Fiona looking out the car to see that the sun had already risen in the sky. She felt very tired still but she did eventually manage to wake up.
"It is probably about nine in the morning right now. We just stopped for a little while to pick something up to eat. I was told to wake you up so that you could get something to eat as well," said Van with a smile as he stepped back to allow her to step out of the car.
Fiona got a good look at the place that they had stopped at. It might have been out in the middle of nowhere but it was still a very nice looking restaurant that appeared to still get a good amount of customers despite its location.
"We come here almost every time that my family goes traveling. Really good food if you ask me. You should try it yourself though if you want to really see how good it is," he said as he walked ahead and into the diner with Fiona following after him shortly after.
Van's entire family was already waiting inside to be seated by the time that Fiona had walked in. She was lucky that they wouldn't have to wait a long time to be seated because she was getting very hungry by the smells that were coming from the place. She looked around and saw the one thing Van would probably go crazy for, an all you can eat buffet.
"Ah Dan, so good to finally see you again. It has been far too long since you and your family has stopped by here," said an important person off to the side that Fiona could only guess was the manager. The manager looked in the direction and noticed Fiona standing with him. "I see you also have another in your party this time," he said with a friendly smile.
"Yeah Bob. We are taking her with us on our vacation because she is a good friend of Van's," said Dan indicating towards Fiona. "She is a very nice young lady so no need to worry about her misbehaving," said Dan.
"I don't have any doubts about that is she is on the good side of most of your family. Wait a minute, I thought that Van's girlfriend had him on such a tight leash that he wasn't even allowed to look at the opposite sex," he said making the entire family and even Fiona laughed except for Van because almost everyone knew that what he said was true.
"What she doesn't know can't hurt her and I could really not care less, I may be going out with her but she doesn't rule my life," said Van with a huff as he walked right past them all before they could take any more shots at him.
"Anyways, it is so good to finally be able to see you again after all this time. Go ahead and take a seat and get eating. This time it is all on me so feel free to eat to your hearts content," he said as he moved aside to let them sit down. He then whispered into Dan's ear, "I like this one a lot better than that other one. Why couldn't Van be with her?" he asked with a laugh.
Dan just chuckled a little and shrugged his shoulders because he didn't know why Van stayed with his girlfriend in the first place. He would be glad if Van did get together with Fiona though. She was the type of woman that he would love to have for a daughter in law in the future. That was really Van's decision though. He could always hope that in some way it would end up happening.
Their breakfast seemed to be fun and full of laughter. Most of the laughter was also directed towards Van much to his disappointment. Everyone seemed to like teasing him about Amy and it was starting to get on his nerves a great deal.
"That's it!" he yelled as he got up out of anger and walked out to get some fresh air to clear his head a bit. Fiona just watched him go and she felt kind of sorry for him. He was in it for his family and they were the ones that were teasing him about it. She really couldn't blame him but they didn't even know the whole truth about all that was going on.
Fiona waited a few moments before she got up and walked out of the doors after Van. She found him behind the restaurant sitting on a rock overlooking the beautiful scenery that was below them since the restaurant was on the side of a rather low cliff but just high enough to see over the trees.
"You ok Van?" asked Fiona as she sat down on the large rock right next to him. The temperature outside was very nice even though it was in the middle of winter but it felt like it was dropping very rapidly.
A light breeze came out of nowhere and blew some of Fiona hair freely off to the side. Van seemed to be enraptured by the sight but he quickly shook it off before turning to face the direction of the beautiful scenery. "I am fine. I was just a little annoyed with what they were doing. I know they don't like her but it is still annoying to hear them talking like that," he admitted with a sad frown.
"Why don't you just tell them the truth about what is going on? Your father is a businessman, he might be able to think of something to do for this sort of situation," said Fiona quietly but just loud enough for Van to hear.
"I can't tell them! They might just blow this more out of portion than is actually necessary. It isn't really that big of a deal anyways. I will find a way out of this on my own," said Van in the stubborn sort of way that he was used to using when he talked about the subject.
"It is a big deal Van! It is ruining your life by continuing to follow by it. If you don't want any help then I won't push the subject, but I really think that you should talk to them about it. This is right for you to have to go through this. You should be able to live your own life and not one that is forced upon you," said Fiona sadly as she stood up and prepared to walk back into the restaurant.
"Fiona," said Van making her stop to listen. "I thank you for your advice but I do feel that I need to solve this by myself. If it gets too out of control then maybe I will but it isn't that far yet. Thanks for the concern though," he said standing up and walking ahead of Fiona before she could actually move again.
For a while after that the trips was made in complete silence with the only sounds being of Van arguing with his hand held game that he was playing to pass the time. other than that it was perfectly quiet. Maria was reading a book and their mother was trying to get some more sleep. Van's father just plain wasn't saying anything since he was driving the car.
Fiona looked out of the window to see that it was fogging up a bit because of the cold air. She was getting happy with this because she thought that it might just snow at any moment. Her thoughts were proved when a moment later, despite the speed of the car, she saw a few snowflakes start to fall.
"Can you please stop the car real quick?" Fiona asked Dan quickly with plenty of excitement in her voice. It was the first time she saw snow and she wanted to be out there at that moment.
Dan didn't even have to ask why because he had seen it as well. he was well aware about Fiona never seeing snow from his son Van. This was new to Fiona so he wanted to make her happy by being a good host. "Of course," he said with a smile.
The car came to a quick stop and before anyone could say anything she jumped out of the car as the amount of snowflakes started to come down in even larger amounts than they had been just a second before. It was like nature knew Fiona's plea.
Van stepped out of the car with a smile on his face when he saw what Fiona was so happy about. He had been in snow a few times but he never got that tired of seeing it fall for the first time that season, or at least for him. "So what do you think Fiona? Is it everything that you thought it would be?" he asked as everyone took their leads and got out of the car as well.
"It is cold but also wonderful. I feel so great just being able to be out in it," she said with a smile that could light up a room. She could not think of a time that she could possibly be happier than this for a very long time. Ok, there was one that she wished for that would definitely make her happy but it was something that could not happen.
"It will be even better than this when we reach the cabin that we will be staying in. The snow has already fallen in a pretty good amount down there so there will be plenty for you to see when we get there," said Dan walking up to his son and Fiona.
"I can't wait, I would really like to see that very much," said Fiona looking up at the sky as a number of snowflakes came down and landed on her face. The coldness and wetness on her face felt good at that moment.
All good things had to come to an end though. She knew that if they wanted to get there as soon as possible that they would have to get to driving again, tearing her away from the lovely snow that was falling around her or at least for the time being.
Soon they were all in the car once again and it was silent as the car continued to drive down the road slowly because the snow was really starting to come down a bit and they needed to drive slowly to avoid slipping and crashing. Fiona had every bit of faith in Dan's driving so she wasn't all that nervous about it all.
"Beautiful," muttered Fiona many tiring hours later when the view of the beautiful snow filled mountain came into view. That was where they were staying. That is where she was planning to have one of the best vacations of her life. She felt that nothing could make things go wrong this time around. It was just Van's family and herself. No Amy meant that it would be even better.
A rather cozy looking cabin came into view soon enough. It was all by itself with one the snow covered trees surrounding it but Fiona was well aware that there was a lodge a mile or two away from there accord to something that Dan said along the way.
The car came to a stop right in front of the cabin and everyone got out of it and went inside leaving the baggage out for at least that one moment. It wasn't like they were going to just leave them there for the whole vacation.
The inside was beautifully decorated with a nice fire already started for the cold night that was sure to come. The cabin was a wooden one and was rather large. It had several rooms, enough so that everyone would be able to have their own and no one would have to share.
The rooms inside the house by themselves were very comfortable as well. It was very decorated since it only had a bed and a dresser with a lamp on it but the room was very roomy and the bed was probably more comfortable than her bed. Fiona had to wonder if she would have a problem separating from the place when it was time to leave.
"So what do you think Fiona? It is nice isn't it? Kind of makes me wonder what other things that they own that I still don't know about," said Van with a smirk as he stood in the doorframe with Fiona's suitcase right behind him. He then quietly walked into the room carrying Fiona's suitcase until he put it by her dresser. "Here you go, all of your stuff. You're going to need it for tomorrow. We can do many things like skiing, snowboarding, anything that has to do with snow. I also heard that the lodge has a nice heated indoor pool for the heck of it. Neat thing to have in the winter time," said Van with a smile on his face.
It was only then that Fiona realized something that she hadn't thought about when she decided to come on this trip. "Um Van, I um... I don't... I don't really know... how to do anything like snowboarding and skiing," she admitted with a slight blush of embarrassment although she wasn't really sure as to why.
Van looked at her for a second with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Don't know how to huh?" he asked as a wicked grin spread across his face. He had a great idea on what to do.
"I am so going to kill you Van," Fiona yelled as she plummeted down the rather small slope that Van so graciously pushed her into. He had been teaching her all day and now he decided to pull this on her. She had one thought on her mind when it came to Van then, pain.
Van was laughing his head off. He had this sort of thing planned all day. teach her a little and then pull this sort of stunt that he knew he would regret later. He didn't care because he thought it was funny as hell.
Van laughing stopped all of a sudden as he noticed Fiona do a face plant into the dirt. He quickly rushed over to her on his snowboard and noticed that her face was planted into the ground while her butt was sticking straight up in the air. "Now that is an attractive position," he said with a laugh since he knew she was just fine.
Van quickly sat up because she knew what he was talking about. Her face was so red at that moment that she could have easily have been mistaken for a tomato. "That was not funny!" she yelled at him making him back off a little.
Van was slightly nervous but he approached her with an outstretched hand. "Then I am very sorry for doing that to you," he said with a sincere face waiting for her to take his hand so he could help her onto her feet. He then noticed the gleam in her eyes and knew he made a mistake. He was correct when a moment later she grabbed his hand and pulled it so hard that he went flying face first into the snow like she had a minute ago. He quickly dug himself out and stood up. "Ok, I guess I deserved that," he muttered as he once again held out his hand to help Fiona up and luckily this time she took it peacefully.
Fiona slowly got back onto her feet with Van's help but unfortunately she lost her balance and fell forward into Van's hard chest. She blushed before she quickly backed away at the same time as Van. He appeared to have the same expression on his face. "Sorry," she muttered.
"No problem. Maybe we should head over to the lodge, get something to drink such as hot cocoa," suggested Van trying to get off the subject of what just happened. His mind and his heart were starting to betray him. He could tell that his feelings for Fiona were becoming deeper but he refused to accept it. He knew that if he did it would only cause pain to so many people. He hoped to never figure any of these feelings out but it was getting harder and harder.
"Um, yeah," said Fiona as she walked a little ahead of Van. She didn't show it too much but she felt very comfortable when she accidentally fell into Van. She loved him but it was wrong and she knew it that was why she pulled away fast it was to avoid doing anything that should not have happened.
The lodge had a warm feeling to it. Many other people that were also on vacation were scattered all around the place. It was possibly more beautiful yet less comfortable then the cabin that they were staying in.
A warm blazing fire stood right in front of the couch that Van and Fiona were currently sitting on while drinking the hot cocoa. Neither of them seemed to be talking to the other. It was an uneasy silence but it gave them both a little time to be able to think.
'Come on, you know you liked the feeling of her in your arms,' his mind seemed to be taunting him by saying things like that. 'You need to admit the truth to yourself or else it is going to end up driving you insane. Admit it you love her, you love her, you love her,' it kept on taunting him.
'No I am not in love with her! Got that? No, I am not!' Van yelled to his mind in an attempt to deny what he knew was starting to become very close to the truth and that was something that he was hoped beyond anything would not happen because it would end up hurting both Fiona and Amy. He did not want anyone to get hurt which was the worst problem out of all of this. He couldn't help the growl that escaped his throat at the thought of it all.
Fiona heard the growl that escaped Van's throat and turned her head so that she looked at him. "Is something wrong Van?" she asked and Van turned towards her with a questioning look on his face. "Well I just heard you growl and I was wondering if something was wrong," she said quietly.
Van felt like slapping himself for growling out loud. "Um, no. I was just thinking about something but nothing is wrong," he lied although there really was something seriously wrong at that moment.
Fiona just knew that he was lying. He wasn't the type of person that was very good at it in the first place. "Ok then, if you don't want to tell me then you don't have to," Fiona said sadly.
'Figures,' Van said mentally. 'I guess she just knows me better than anyone else I know because of how good of friends we are,' he thought with a sigh. She knew him just like he knew her, another thing that was driving him nuts. They were too close to each other and not just physically but on an emotional basis at times. The bad thing was that he didn't mind having it a lot of the time.
"I am going to head back. Are you going to stay here or would you like to come with me?" asked Van while standing up and stretching a bit. He looked to Fiona for an answer and she just shook her head. "Ok then, be careful," he said before slowly walking away in case she changed her mind. When he saw that she didn't he walked a little faster and soon Fiona was left behind.
Night soon came and while everyone was fast asleep, Van found himself wide- awake and just staring at the wooden ceiling. He mind was a mess; he was starting to get frustrated with the smallest of things. Needless to say, he knew he wouldn't get any sleep that night.
Van threw back the covers and stood up. He needed to get out and do something at that moment. He had an idea of what to do so he quickly grabbed the supplies that he would need and then took off out of his room.
He was about to reach the door when a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Where are you going Van?" came his sister Maria's voice causing Van to jump a little but he calmed down and showed her what he was holding. "I see that we had the same idea," she said with a smile as she showed what she had. "Come on, I want to talk anyways," Maria said before walking out with Van.
After a small yet cold walk they reached the location they were going for, the lodge. There were still a few lights lit up because of the few people that were still up, it wasn't that late at night but just late enough for most to be asleep.
Van and Maria walked into the pool area of the lodge. There were maybe one or two other people in the pool but it was relatively silent in there. The first thing Van did was set his stuff down and went into a locker room to change into his bathing suit. He walked out a minute later and immediately jumped right into the pool.
Maria came out a few minutes after that and did just the same as Van. The two of them just seemed to swim around the pools for a few minutes before either of them spoke. "I just don't get it," said Maria with a sigh.
"Don't get what?" asked Van as he stopped his swimming to look at his sister. He had a feeling that this was what it was that she wanted to talk to him about. He was very curious as to what it was as well.
"Amy," Maria stated simply making Van groan a little bit. "I remember once a few years ago just before you started to go out with Amy you mentioned the type of woman that you wanted. Yet Amy seems to go against all that you had wanted at the time. I just don't see why you go out with her when you are unhappy about it," said Maria not even looking at Van.
"Who ever said I was unhappy? My life is going along just fine right now," said Van swimming a little on his back while just staring up at the ceiling like he had done in his room not all that long ago.
"Nobody has to say anything to know that you are not too happy when you are with her. It seems that you are more happy to be with your other friends," said Maria leaning against the side of the pool watching her brother who had a look like he wasn't paying attention but she knew that he was.
"I really don't feel like talking about this subject. It is just more complicated than you can probably understand. My life is more complicated than you can understand as well," he knew if she kept this up that he would probably end up telling her all about what was going on with his life. When they were younger he used to always confide in her, and it just seemed natural to do so but he did not want to this time.
"I can tell that if you could, you would probably be out of that relationship. So what is the problem Van? Why is it that you are in that relationship when it is clear that you heart isn't and is possibly elsewhere?" asked Maria in a solemn tone.
Van knew he was going to regret what he was going to say but he knew he couldn't keep this inside for too long. "It is because sometimes I feel trapped. My heart is anyplace but in the relationship I have with her. You were right, I am not as happy as I thought I would be when I first started to go out with her. When it first started I didn't have the same problems that I have now. Things just got harder from since then," he admitted quietly but he knew that Maria ad heard it.
Maria was starting to feel like she knew what was going on at that time. "You mean you can't get out of it?" asked Maria to see what his response to it would be. She wasn't prepared for what she heard though.
"I do care for Amy just not the way that she wants. I can never care for anyone the way I used to because of the fact that I am forced to stay with her," said Van before diving under the water and away from any more questions. He didn't want to tell her but he knew that it would soon be an inevitable thing to do.
"Forced to?" asked Maria in shock to herself since Van was still underwater. 'I guess I see it now. Why he left a number of his friends in that time and why it is that his friendship with Fiona is such a big secret. Van was pretty much forced to do those type of things because of Amy and I have no doubt that her father had something to do with it at the time,' thought Maria waiting for her brother to surface.
Van surfaced a few moments later and spoke before Maria had a chance to talk. "Moms health has been hung over my head for years by Hiltz. He knows of ways that can hurt her health badly and the only way I can stop him from doing such a things is to remain with Amy. She makes demands and I had to follow them or bad things would end up happening to our mother," said Van slowly as he floated on the top of the water.
"I thought that something like that was the reason. Van this is very serious. You should tell mom or dad about this," said Maria with urgency in her voice. She knew what Van was going to say though.
"I can't Maria, that is one of the problems as well. I need to figure out what to do myself. Fiona told me to do the exact same thing early. I can't do that yet, if things take a turn for the worse then I will but until then I beg you not to talk about this to either mom or dad," begged Van as he swam to the side in order to climb.
Maria heard the begging in his voice. It was his life to live. He would suffer if he didn't do anything but she knew that it would be wise to follow by his wishes. "Ok, I won't tell them, but only because I feel that it is your duty to tell them yourself. How many people know about this exactly?" she asked curious as to how many had been told before her.
"Three people; Fiona, Irvine, and Moonbay. I told Fiona the day that she first came here when she was over at our house," said Van because he knew that Maria was sure to remember that event. "When Irvine first came here he overheard Fiona and me talking and a few weeks ago, Moonbay forced it out of Fiona. Since I told you what you've wanted to know for a long time, I am heading back now. Remember not to tell anyone about this Maria," he said while drying himself off and walking to the locker room to get changed.
Maria was starting to feel bad for all of the teasing that she had done to him because Amy. Now she just felt bad for him because his life was being molded to another person's selfish desires. Although Van had said that Hiltz was the one that was doing the blackmailing, Maria had a suspicion that Amy had something to do with it as well.
Van didn't really go back to the cabin at all the rest of the night. He seemed to just walk aimlessly for a while and once in a while go back into the lodge to warm up so he didn't freeze to death.
It was now nearly five in the morning. Van stood by a small cliff on about a mile from the cabin. There wasn't as much snow in the area for some reason so her felt safer there. Truth be told he came here the previous morning as well because he couldn't get back to sleep when he woke up. The position had an excellent view of the sunrise. It would still be a while before it came up though.
Van just sat there staring at the dark sky. He intended to maybe wake Fiona up so that she could come out and see it as well. He knew that she would just love to see it. his only task was to try and wake her up as well.
With that thought in mind, Van stood up from his recent sitting position and started to walk in the direction of the cabin. He figured that he could get there, wake Fiona up and get back before the sun rose with a good amount of time to spare.
It only took a few minutes before he walked into the cabin. Maria had come back and fallen asleep a while ago and now everyone that was staying there was asleep, except for Van.
Van walked quietly up the stairs until he was in front of Fiona's room. Van hesitated for a second before he lightly pushed the door open and walked into the room. He saw Fiona sleeping peacefully and it killed him to want to wake her up but he knew that she wouldn't care as long as she got to see what he wanted to show her. It was one of those types of things that they just seemed to know about each other that always ended up being right. Very carefully he reached over and shook Fiona lightly yet hard enough to wake her up.
Fiona's eyes slowly opened why it was someone was waking her up. It didn't even look like the sun was even up yet. "W-what's going on?" she asked since she wasn't fully aware what was going on around her since she was still mostly asleep at that moment.
"Fiona, wake up. I want to show you something," said Van before he walked towards the door of the room. He stopped suddenly and turned around to see Fiona slightly sitting up with tired eyes. "I am sorry if I woke you up but I thought you might want to see this. So get dressed in your snow stuff and meet me outside," he said with a kind smile before he once again turned around and walked out of the door.
Fiona was completely baffled. Not because Van had woken her up well maybe it was in a way but because he was actually awake at the extremely early time in the morning it wasn't even six yet. Usually he would end up sleeping till almost twelve unless a person forcefully pulled him out of the bed. But here he was up before Fiona. She couldn't quite figure out what was going on. All that Fiona did was tiredly put on her stuff and followed after Van.
When Fiona walked outside Van could tell that she was still tired. He knew that she would get over it soon when he showed her what he wanted to show her. "Good, you decided to come," he said before grabbing her hand and lightly pulling her off in the direction that he came from earlier.
By the time that Van arrived by his little spot, he knew that it would only be a matter of minutes before the sun rose. "Please sit down, it will still be a few minutes before it happens," said Van letting go of Fiona's hand and he sat down on the rock.
Fiona didn't know what to say but she sat down anyways. She just sat there for minutes not knowing why Van had gotten her up. She had finally had it with not knowing and decided to speak up. "Van, what is this about?" she asked in a soft voice making Van turn towards her.
"Just look forward and you will see exactly what I am talking about," said Van making Fiona turn her head and view the sight that was just starting to become displayed before their eyes.
The sun came up in the horizon just beyond the mountains. Its rays of light shown over the icy ground below. Everything seemed to come to life as the light reflected off of the ice causing the ground to seem to sparkle right before them.
Fiona found the sight more beautiful than anything that she had ever seen in her life. She also found it very hard to speak or to turn away from the sight either. She then felt Van's hand over hers. She didn't know if it was intentional or not but she didn't say anything. All that she did was turn to look at Van who was staring off into the horizon.
Van felt Fiona's stare on him and he turned to look at her. It was then that he noticed that their hands were together. He didn't even realize that he had done that but for some reason his hand was refusing to let go of hers. The sight he saw in her seemed greater than that of the sunrise. The sun shone onto her face causing it to glow just like the icy ground below in the suns light. He couldn't tear his eyes away from this sight before him.
Fiona found that she couldn't take her eyes off of Van as well. His stares made her nervous but it also sent a warm feeling into her stomach. Her body acted on its own accord at that moment. She couldn't stop as she moved up towards Van. To make it worse he was doing the same thing. She knew that if they didn't stop then both of them might do something that they might later regret but she couldn't stop or say anything.
For what seemed like eternity although it had only been a minute or two, the inevitable happened, their lips came together in a small but sensual kiss. They couldn't pull away and it only deepened. They seemed to be like that until they were forced to break apart for air.
Fiona was speechless and scared. "I'm sorry. T-that shouldn't have happened," she stuttered before she stood up and pretty much ran as fast as she could in order to get away before anything else could happen that could end up ruining her friendship with Van.
Van just sat there not knowing what to do. He knew that he shouldn't have done that because he was with Amy but his body told him how right it felt. He was becoming even more scared of what this all meant.
For a great deal of the rest of the trip, the two of them seemed to try and avoid each other at any costs. After the incident they were too afraid to speak to each other because they didn't want to do anything to ruin their friendship but just by doing that it was starting to become worse.
Christmas came and went and that day was the closest they actually got to talking but it was only about what sort of things they got with the rest of the Flyheight family. It was quiet after that up until New Years Eve.
The tension could pretty much be cut with a knife and almost everyone had noticed that something was going on between the two of them. They were all confused but they didn't talk about it.
Van was getting very aggravated with the silence that had gone on between the two of them for the past week. The next day they would be heading home and he wanted to talk to her and try to have a good time with what little time they had left.
With that thought in mind he stood up quickly and walked off in an attempt to salvage what was left of their friendship. He didn't want anything to change between them so he was becoming desperate.
He saw Fiona but as soon as she saw him, she tried to change the direction in which she was going to avoid him. "Fiona! Wait!" yelled Van catching her attention as she reluctantly stopped. "This needs to stop Fiona," said Van sadly when he caught up to her.
"What does, our friendship?" she said looking down at the floor. If she knew that this sort of thing would happen between the two of them then she would have never of gone out with him that morning to see what he wanted to show her. "Does our friendship have to end all because of some mistake that we both made," she asked angry at the both of them but angrier at herself for letting what happened happen.
Van felt a pain in his heart when he heard Fiona's words about it being a mistake. He was unsure as to why the pain was there. He ignored it for that moment so they he could continue. "No, I don't want things to change between us Fiona. You are my best friend. Can't we go on like that never happened?" he practically begged. There it was again, the pain that he felt earlier.
Fiona just smiled at that idea. Although she didn't admit it, that was her first kiss and she wanted it but it pained her to think that even though it was with the person that she had fallen in love with, he was with someone else. She also didn't want to think about what would happen to their friendship because of something that she reluctantly had to admit shouldn't have happened. "Yes, I would like that very much. It was just a mistake, so we should just forget about it," she said with a smile but she knew that it was fake smile. 'It wasn't a mistake for me though,' she thought sadly but kept up a smile.
"Ok then," said Van and then she just walked off with a smile still on her face. 'A mistake?' he asked himself and then suddenly everything became very clear to him as to why he had been hurt when those words were spoken. He reluctantly admitted the truth. 'I don't want it to be a mistake. I can't believe I am saying this but I can't deny it anymore, I am in love with Fiona. What the hell am I going to do?' he asked himself sadly.
Her eyes opened and looked at the time seeing that it was only about five thirty in the morning. Van and his family were leaving early in the day about around six thirty, seven o'clock. Fiona figured that it would be best for her to get up early so she could be ready in time with a few minutes to spare.
Fiona could only imagine what Van was like at that moment, because it was very common knowledge to everyone that he was anything but a morning person. More than likely one of his parents had to force him out of his bed in order to get him up. This only made Fiona laugh at the thought as she slowly got out of bed but she couldn't blame Van if he did put up a fight to get up because it was taking all of her self-control not to fall back asleep as well.
She sleepily walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of fresh clothed to wear before she walked into the hall and towards the bathroom where she planned to take a nice warm shower in order to wake her up for a while.
Fiona walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later a little more awake yet still very tired which was proven by the fact that she couldn't stop yawning. 'Whose bright idea was it to leave this early in the morning?' Fiona asked herself as she made a few last minute packing before she walked to the kitchen to get something to eat.
"Ahhh, nothing like the early morning to get started on this soon to be wonderful vacation," said Dan while stretching to the morning air as he packed as many suitcases as he could into their car. He was used to getting up that early in the morning but it wasn't the same for the other occupants of the house.
Van, his mother, and even his sister Maria who had been at college for a few years, were all walking corpses since all of them were deprived of their beautiful sleep that they depended so greatly on.
"Couldn't we have just of left a few hours later, rather than at six o'clock in the freaking morning," complained Van as he collapsed onto the couch in their living room with a loud yawn.
"Where would the fun be in that?" asked Dan as he walked into the house with a broad smile on his face. "Why leave in the day and get their later when we can leave in the early morning and enjoy the fresh morning air. Where is your sense of adventure Van?" asked Dan as he took a seat beside Van.
"I think I already packed it away," said Van resting his head back and he closed his eyes. Hoping to catch a few moments of rest before his father decided to say that they were leaving. 'Oh well, maybe I can catch a few winks on the way there,' thought Van with a loud yawn.
"Are we going to be leaving any time soon?" asked Maria as she walked into the room with a tired look on her face although she tried her best in order to mask it. Maria was in a college a good distance away from there, so it was hard for her to come around every once in a while to visit. But she somehow managed it this time and was really looking forward to a vacation with her family as well as Fiona.
Although Maria had been away for a long time, the few times that she was at home she had seen Fiona and the two had a nice sisterly friendship. The past few times she has also been wondering if maybe something was going on between Fiona and Van but she doubted it because Van was with Amy much to her displeasure. She figured that Van and Fiona would make an adorable couple but she just couldn't for the life of her figure out why Van stayed with the always-nagging Amy.
Although Maria was the oldest child in the family, she knew that it was Van that was going to inherit the company, which she had known about for many years but kept it silent because her father wanted to be the one to tell Van all about it. She didn't think too much of it though. She was happy with how her life was as it is. Sure, she would still be inheriting part of the company but she felt that Van might make a better leader than her when he decided to grow up a bit, and see behind Amy's manipulation of him. She always voiced her complaints to Van but he never seemed to listen to her about them.
"It will be a few more minutes, then we are going to pick Fiona up and then we will be off towards the lovely mountain resort that I have had planned out for the past few months," said Dan happily but he was cut off when the doorbell rang. 'I wonder who that could be at this time in the morning, Fiona knows we are going to be picking her up,' thought Dan as he got up but Maria was already walking towards the door.
"Hello," said Maria with a smile as she opened the door but that dropped almost as quickly as it had appeared when she realized that it was Amy at the door. "Hello Amy, what are you doing here?" asked Maria in a monotonous voice.
"Isn't it obvious, I am here for the trip," said Amy with a bright smile that Maria found positively annoying. Behind Amy were at the least four suitcases filled with thing that Maria wanted to know nothing about.
Now Maria was annoyed. "You do know that this is a family vacation don't you?" asked Maria but Amy just seemed to ignore her while she was looking around for Van. Maria turned around and called out to Van. "Van, you did mention to her that this was a family vacation didn't you?" asked Maria making and emphasis on the word family hoping that he got her point.
"Yeah, about five hundred times. She continued to ask and I keep telling her the exact same thing every time," Van called back before soft snores were heard from the living room meaning that he was about it fall back asleep or make them think he was so that they wouldn't ask him anymore questions.
Maria let off a sigh knowing that Amy only did this hoping that they would just allow her to come along if she came by at the last few moments making them try to feel bad for her and let her come along, but they didn't have that sort of sympathy towards her. "Even though you have already been told, I will tell you again. This is a family vacation," said Maria getting very annoyed.
"But I am sure that me and Van will eventually get married so doesn't that count as being part of the family?" asked Amy trying to put on her nicest face that she usually used and ended up getting whatever she wanted from those people. Too bad for her, Maria wasn't as stupid as most others in falling for that sort of thing.
'Marry my ass. Not if I have anything to say about it,' thought Maria forcing a smile on her face. "Unfortunately, no, it doesn't," said Maria hoping beyond hope that she would get the idea.
"But I already have all of my stuff packed and here. So can I please come with you?" begged Amy as she once again placed on her so called pleading face but once again it failed to change Maria's mind.
"No, we will just have to get someone to drive you back to your house since it seems that your driver doesn't want to stick around," said Maria watching without amusement as a limo started to pull away from their house. Maria knew why she didn't drive herself as well; it was an attempt to force them to take her. If she had her own car then they would easily tell her to go home. Have someone take her and then drive off would mean she would have no way home so they might take her. 'Fat chance,' thought an annoyed Maria.
Amy pouted with a fake expression of hurt on her face. 'Pity tends to be a good thing to use,' she thought to herself, but it failed when Maria turned towards Van with the same look on her face.
"Van! Why don't you take your girlfriend back to her house and then pick up the last things we need before we head down there," yelled Maria before walking away leaving Amy standing at the door looking annoyed. If there was one thing that Maria was fully aware of, it was that Van didn't want anyone to know of his friendship with Fiona. She knew it was because of Amy that he did it because it was common information that the two of them hated each other.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Van while walking down the hall towards the door. He was still very tired, letting of a long and loud yawn every few seconds. He thought it would be a wonder if he didn't fall asleep before he got to the door. He did manage it however.
The drive to Amy's house, or rather mansion, was a really quiet one. Well it was quiet on Van's part, however his girlfriend was going on and on about how unfair all of this was for her. She also had many other things to complain about as well, most of it Van didn't even feel like hearing. However, it was composed of Fiona, certain teachers at school that she didn't like, and then it was back to Fiona. Van couldn't take much more.
Van found it as a great relief when the view of her estate came up. Van had one plan, drop her off and get the hell out of there before her father noticed. More than likely, he would find a way to let her come along but then that would mean that Fiona couldn't come and Van was looking forward to Fiona coming.
"Van, are you sure that I can't come with you? I can do many things for you if you do allow me to come," said Amy in as sexy a voice as she could while Van rolled his eyes, but it went unnoticed by Amy.
"Yes, I am sure. I have told you this so many times. So please understand this time," begged Van while preparing to leave. It failed when Amy started to talk the things that he didn't really want to hear at that moment.
"Wait, Van. My father wanted to talk to you about something," said Amy quickly but she didn't hear the loud groan that escaped Van's throat and the increase of how nervous he was getting at that moment.
"I am sorry but I am in a hurry. This will have to wait until I come back," said Van in a hurry. He was about to go before Amy gave him a quick kiss. Recently, her kisses didn't seem to have the same effect as they once did on Van. There was something about them that felt wrong. Van ignored this feeling however and backed away from the house while Amy was yelling at him to hurry back from his vacation.
Fiona was really starting to get bored. As it was, Van and his family were at least fifteen to thirty minutes later then they said that they were going to come by to pick her up. She was beginning to wonder why she woke up so early if they were going to be so late. She knew they were going to pick her up but something must be stalling them somehow.
The long awaited knock on the door came and she rushed to it to find Van standing there slightly out of breath but he had a smile nonetheless on his face at the sight of Fiona.
"Sorry if I am a little late. We had a little situation dealing with Amy because she appeared at our house all of a sudden trying to come along with us," said Van with a slightly nervous smile on his face. Seeing the sad look on Fiona's face Van continued. "We dealt with it though. I just took her back to her house and then came right here to pick you up. So we are in a bit of a hurry, so grab your things and well will be off," said Van walking past her to grab her larger suitcase while Fiona grabbed a smaller one. "Awfully light? Not packing much?" asked Van lifting the light bag.
"I just packed what I would need and nothing more. My parents also gave me a bit of money in case I would need something and then I could buy it," said Fiona with a smile while she threw her bag into the trunk of his car before hopping into the passenger seat.
Van was in the car before she even realized it and then they were off on a vacation that she felt that she would never forget. There was something in the back of her mind telling her that something strange was going to happen but yet she paid no attention to it.
It wasn't long before the two of them were outside of Van's house where his family was ready and waiting for the two of them to get there so they could be off immediately.
"About time that you got back Van. I suspect that Amy held you up for a little bit after you dropped her off at her house," said Dan with a smile as he grabbed Fiona's luggage out of the truck and placed it in the back of their almost completely full car. If it wasn't for the fact that the car they were using had a huge trunk, then it was almost a certain that not everything would fit in there but they were lucky.
"Now, if everyone is ready then lets get going because I want to get back to sleep," announced Van making everyone laugh as they piled into the very spacious car. Van almost immediately tried to fall asleep as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.
Fiona took her seat and stared out of the window as Dan pulled out of the driveway before taking off down the street. The houses went sweeping by them but they slowly started to become fewer and fewer as they were nearing the edge of the town and into the countryside.
The scenery was beautiful, it may have been getting colder outside from the change in altitude but the trees had turned beautiful shades of orange and yellow as the leaves scattered across the ground.
Fiona felt like following Van in trying to get some sleep but for some strange reason, she was unable to. She was tired before they left but now she felt wide awake. She guessed it was because of anticipation though. Just to see the beautiful snow was like a dream come true and she just couldn't wait to get there.
"How far away is this place?" asked Fiona quietly to Dan who appeared to be the only other person awake at that moment except for Fiona. Both Maria and Van's mother had fallen back asleep at some point as well. Van was long since asleep since they had left the house.
"It is quite a bit away from here. I would say that we will be the by the late afternoon. It will all be worth it in the end though. You should go to sleep for now. We have a long day ahead of us," he said while keeping his eyes on the rode ahead of him.
Although Fiona didn't even feel the least bit sleepy, she at least gave it a try. Maybe she was more tired than she thought she was because a few minutes later she was fast asleep like the rest of them.
Fiona had no idea how long she had been asleep but it all ended when she was gently shaken a little by van. She didn't really want to get up but he was insistent. "Come on, get up Fiona," said Van as Fiona finally cracked her eyes open a little.
"What time is it? How long have I been asleep?" asked Fiona looking out the car to see that the sun had already risen in the sky. She felt very tired still but she did eventually manage to wake up.
"It is probably about nine in the morning right now. We just stopped for a little while to pick something up to eat. I was told to wake you up so that you could get something to eat as well," said Van with a smile as he stepped back to allow her to step out of the car.
Fiona got a good look at the place that they had stopped at. It might have been out in the middle of nowhere but it was still a very nice looking restaurant that appeared to still get a good amount of customers despite its location.
"We come here almost every time that my family goes traveling. Really good food if you ask me. You should try it yourself though if you want to really see how good it is," he said as he walked ahead and into the diner with Fiona following after him shortly after.
Van's entire family was already waiting inside to be seated by the time that Fiona had walked in. She was lucky that they wouldn't have to wait a long time to be seated because she was getting very hungry by the smells that were coming from the place. She looked around and saw the one thing Van would probably go crazy for, an all you can eat buffet.
"Ah Dan, so good to finally see you again. It has been far too long since you and your family has stopped by here," said an important person off to the side that Fiona could only guess was the manager. The manager looked in the direction and noticed Fiona standing with him. "I see you also have another in your party this time," he said with a friendly smile.
"Yeah Bob. We are taking her with us on our vacation because she is a good friend of Van's," said Dan indicating towards Fiona. "She is a very nice young lady so no need to worry about her misbehaving," said Dan.
"I don't have any doubts about that is she is on the good side of most of your family. Wait a minute, I thought that Van's girlfriend had him on such a tight leash that he wasn't even allowed to look at the opposite sex," he said making the entire family and even Fiona laughed except for Van because almost everyone knew that what he said was true.
"What she doesn't know can't hurt her and I could really not care less, I may be going out with her but she doesn't rule my life," said Van with a huff as he walked right past them all before they could take any more shots at him.
"Anyways, it is so good to finally be able to see you again after all this time. Go ahead and take a seat and get eating. This time it is all on me so feel free to eat to your hearts content," he said as he moved aside to let them sit down. He then whispered into Dan's ear, "I like this one a lot better than that other one. Why couldn't Van be with her?" he asked with a laugh.
Dan just chuckled a little and shrugged his shoulders because he didn't know why Van stayed with his girlfriend in the first place. He would be glad if Van did get together with Fiona though. She was the type of woman that he would love to have for a daughter in law in the future. That was really Van's decision though. He could always hope that in some way it would end up happening.
Their breakfast seemed to be fun and full of laughter. Most of the laughter was also directed towards Van much to his disappointment. Everyone seemed to like teasing him about Amy and it was starting to get on his nerves a great deal.
"That's it!" he yelled as he got up out of anger and walked out to get some fresh air to clear his head a bit. Fiona just watched him go and she felt kind of sorry for him. He was in it for his family and they were the ones that were teasing him about it. She really couldn't blame him but they didn't even know the whole truth about all that was going on.
Fiona waited a few moments before she got up and walked out of the doors after Van. She found him behind the restaurant sitting on a rock overlooking the beautiful scenery that was below them since the restaurant was on the side of a rather low cliff but just high enough to see over the trees.
"You ok Van?" asked Fiona as she sat down on the large rock right next to him. The temperature outside was very nice even though it was in the middle of winter but it felt like it was dropping very rapidly.
A light breeze came out of nowhere and blew some of Fiona hair freely off to the side. Van seemed to be enraptured by the sight but he quickly shook it off before turning to face the direction of the beautiful scenery. "I am fine. I was just a little annoyed with what they were doing. I know they don't like her but it is still annoying to hear them talking like that," he admitted with a sad frown.
"Why don't you just tell them the truth about what is going on? Your father is a businessman, he might be able to think of something to do for this sort of situation," said Fiona quietly but just loud enough for Van to hear.
"I can't tell them! They might just blow this more out of portion than is actually necessary. It isn't really that big of a deal anyways. I will find a way out of this on my own," said Van in the stubborn sort of way that he was used to using when he talked about the subject.
"It is a big deal Van! It is ruining your life by continuing to follow by it. If you don't want any help then I won't push the subject, but I really think that you should talk to them about it. This is right for you to have to go through this. You should be able to live your own life and not one that is forced upon you," said Fiona sadly as she stood up and prepared to walk back into the restaurant.
"Fiona," said Van making her stop to listen. "I thank you for your advice but I do feel that I need to solve this by myself. If it gets too out of control then maybe I will but it isn't that far yet. Thanks for the concern though," he said standing up and walking ahead of Fiona before she could actually move again.
For a while after that the trips was made in complete silence with the only sounds being of Van arguing with his hand held game that he was playing to pass the time. other than that it was perfectly quiet. Maria was reading a book and their mother was trying to get some more sleep. Van's father just plain wasn't saying anything since he was driving the car.
Fiona looked out of the window to see that it was fogging up a bit because of the cold air. She was getting happy with this because she thought that it might just snow at any moment. Her thoughts were proved when a moment later, despite the speed of the car, she saw a few snowflakes start to fall.
"Can you please stop the car real quick?" Fiona asked Dan quickly with plenty of excitement in her voice. It was the first time she saw snow and she wanted to be out there at that moment.
Dan didn't even have to ask why because he had seen it as well. he was well aware about Fiona never seeing snow from his son Van. This was new to Fiona so he wanted to make her happy by being a good host. "Of course," he said with a smile.
The car came to a quick stop and before anyone could say anything she jumped out of the car as the amount of snowflakes started to come down in even larger amounts than they had been just a second before. It was like nature knew Fiona's plea.
Van stepped out of the car with a smile on his face when he saw what Fiona was so happy about. He had been in snow a few times but he never got that tired of seeing it fall for the first time that season, or at least for him. "So what do you think Fiona? Is it everything that you thought it would be?" he asked as everyone took their leads and got out of the car as well.
"It is cold but also wonderful. I feel so great just being able to be out in it," she said with a smile that could light up a room. She could not think of a time that she could possibly be happier than this for a very long time. Ok, there was one that she wished for that would definitely make her happy but it was something that could not happen.
"It will be even better than this when we reach the cabin that we will be staying in. The snow has already fallen in a pretty good amount down there so there will be plenty for you to see when we get there," said Dan walking up to his son and Fiona.
"I can't wait, I would really like to see that very much," said Fiona looking up at the sky as a number of snowflakes came down and landed on her face. The coldness and wetness on her face felt good at that moment.
All good things had to come to an end though. She knew that if they wanted to get there as soon as possible that they would have to get to driving again, tearing her away from the lovely snow that was falling around her or at least for the time being.
Soon they were all in the car once again and it was silent as the car continued to drive down the road slowly because the snow was really starting to come down a bit and they needed to drive slowly to avoid slipping and crashing. Fiona had every bit of faith in Dan's driving so she wasn't all that nervous about it all.
"Beautiful," muttered Fiona many tiring hours later when the view of the beautiful snow filled mountain came into view. That was where they were staying. That is where she was planning to have one of the best vacations of her life. She felt that nothing could make things go wrong this time around. It was just Van's family and herself. No Amy meant that it would be even better.
A rather cozy looking cabin came into view soon enough. It was all by itself with one the snow covered trees surrounding it but Fiona was well aware that there was a lodge a mile or two away from there accord to something that Dan said along the way.
The car came to a stop right in front of the cabin and everyone got out of it and went inside leaving the baggage out for at least that one moment. It wasn't like they were going to just leave them there for the whole vacation.
The inside was beautifully decorated with a nice fire already started for the cold night that was sure to come. The cabin was a wooden one and was rather large. It had several rooms, enough so that everyone would be able to have their own and no one would have to share.
The rooms inside the house by themselves were very comfortable as well. It was very decorated since it only had a bed and a dresser with a lamp on it but the room was very roomy and the bed was probably more comfortable than her bed. Fiona had to wonder if she would have a problem separating from the place when it was time to leave.
"So what do you think Fiona? It is nice isn't it? Kind of makes me wonder what other things that they own that I still don't know about," said Van with a smirk as he stood in the doorframe with Fiona's suitcase right behind him. He then quietly walked into the room carrying Fiona's suitcase until he put it by her dresser. "Here you go, all of your stuff. You're going to need it for tomorrow. We can do many things like skiing, snowboarding, anything that has to do with snow. I also heard that the lodge has a nice heated indoor pool for the heck of it. Neat thing to have in the winter time," said Van with a smile on his face.
It was only then that Fiona realized something that she hadn't thought about when she decided to come on this trip. "Um Van, I um... I don't... I don't really know... how to do anything like snowboarding and skiing," she admitted with a slight blush of embarrassment although she wasn't really sure as to why.
Van looked at her for a second with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Don't know how to huh?" he asked as a wicked grin spread across his face. He had a great idea on what to do.
"I am so going to kill you Van," Fiona yelled as she plummeted down the rather small slope that Van so graciously pushed her into. He had been teaching her all day and now he decided to pull this on her. She had one thought on her mind when it came to Van then, pain.
Van was laughing his head off. He had this sort of thing planned all day. teach her a little and then pull this sort of stunt that he knew he would regret later. He didn't care because he thought it was funny as hell.
Van laughing stopped all of a sudden as he noticed Fiona do a face plant into the dirt. He quickly rushed over to her on his snowboard and noticed that her face was planted into the ground while her butt was sticking straight up in the air. "Now that is an attractive position," he said with a laugh since he knew she was just fine.
Van quickly sat up because she knew what he was talking about. Her face was so red at that moment that she could have easily have been mistaken for a tomato. "That was not funny!" she yelled at him making him back off a little.
Van was slightly nervous but he approached her with an outstretched hand. "Then I am very sorry for doing that to you," he said with a sincere face waiting for her to take his hand so he could help her onto her feet. He then noticed the gleam in her eyes and knew he made a mistake. He was correct when a moment later she grabbed his hand and pulled it so hard that he went flying face first into the snow like she had a minute ago. He quickly dug himself out and stood up. "Ok, I guess I deserved that," he muttered as he once again held out his hand to help Fiona up and luckily this time she took it peacefully.
Fiona slowly got back onto her feet with Van's help but unfortunately she lost her balance and fell forward into Van's hard chest. She blushed before she quickly backed away at the same time as Van. He appeared to have the same expression on his face. "Sorry," she muttered.
"No problem. Maybe we should head over to the lodge, get something to drink such as hot cocoa," suggested Van trying to get off the subject of what just happened. His mind and his heart were starting to betray him. He could tell that his feelings for Fiona were becoming deeper but he refused to accept it. He knew that if he did it would only cause pain to so many people. He hoped to never figure any of these feelings out but it was getting harder and harder.
"Um, yeah," said Fiona as she walked a little ahead of Van. She didn't show it too much but she felt very comfortable when she accidentally fell into Van. She loved him but it was wrong and she knew it that was why she pulled away fast it was to avoid doing anything that should not have happened.
The lodge had a warm feeling to it. Many other people that were also on vacation were scattered all around the place. It was possibly more beautiful yet less comfortable then the cabin that they were staying in.
A warm blazing fire stood right in front of the couch that Van and Fiona were currently sitting on while drinking the hot cocoa. Neither of them seemed to be talking to the other. It was an uneasy silence but it gave them both a little time to be able to think.
'Come on, you know you liked the feeling of her in your arms,' his mind seemed to be taunting him by saying things like that. 'You need to admit the truth to yourself or else it is going to end up driving you insane. Admit it you love her, you love her, you love her,' it kept on taunting him.
'No I am not in love with her! Got that? No, I am not!' Van yelled to his mind in an attempt to deny what he knew was starting to become very close to the truth and that was something that he was hoped beyond anything would not happen because it would end up hurting both Fiona and Amy. He did not want anyone to get hurt which was the worst problem out of all of this. He couldn't help the growl that escaped his throat at the thought of it all.
Fiona heard the growl that escaped Van's throat and turned her head so that she looked at him. "Is something wrong Van?" she asked and Van turned towards her with a questioning look on his face. "Well I just heard you growl and I was wondering if something was wrong," she said quietly.
Van felt like slapping himself for growling out loud. "Um, no. I was just thinking about something but nothing is wrong," he lied although there really was something seriously wrong at that moment.
Fiona just knew that he was lying. He wasn't the type of person that was very good at it in the first place. "Ok then, if you don't want to tell me then you don't have to," Fiona said sadly.
'Figures,' Van said mentally. 'I guess she just knows me better than anyone else I know because of how good of friends we are,' he thought with a sigh. She knew him just like he knew her, another thing that was driving him nuts. They were too close to each other and not just physically but on an emotional basis at times. The bad thing was that he didn't mind having it a lot of the time.
"I am going to head back. Are you going to stay here or would you like to come with me?" asked Van while standing up and stretching a bit. He looked to Fiona for an answer and she just shook her head. "Ok then, be careful," he said before slowly walking away in case she changed her mind. When he saw that she didn't he walked a little faster and soon Fiona was left behind.
Night soon came and while everyone was fast asleep, Van found himself wide- awake and just staring at the wooden ceiling. He mind was a mess; he was starting to get frustrated with the smallest of things. Needless to say, he knew he wouldn't get any sleep that night.
Van threw back the covers and stood up. He needed to get out and do something at that moment. He had an idea of what to do so he quickly grabbed the supplies that he would need and then took off out of his room.
He was about to reach the door when a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Where are you going Van?" came his sister Maria's voice causing Van to jump a little but he calmed down and showed her what he was holding. "I see that we had the same idea," she said with a smile as she showed what she had. "Come on, I want to talk anyways," Maria said before walking out with Van.
After a small yet cold walk they reached the location they were going for, the lodge. There were still a few lights lit up because of the few people that were still up, it wasn't that late at night but just late enough for most to be asleep.
Van and Maria walked into the pool area of the lodge. There were maybe one or two other people in the pool but it was relatively silent in there. The first thing Van did was set his stuff down and went into a locker room to change into his bathing suit. He walked out a minute later and immediately jumped right into the pool.
Maria came out a few minutes after that and did just the same as Van. The two of them just seemed to swim around the pools for a few minutes before either of them spoke. "I just don't get it," said Maria with a sigh.
"Don't get what?" asked Van as he stopped his swimming to look at his sister. He had a feeling that this was what it was that she wanted to talk to him about. He was very curious as to what it was as well.
"Amy," Maria stated simply making Van groan a little bit. "I remember once a few years ago just before you started to go out with Amy you mentioned the type of woman that you wanted. Yet Amy seems to go against all that you had wanted at the time. I just don't see why you go out with her when you are unhappy about it," said Maria not even looking at Van.
"Who ever said I was unhappy? My life is going along just fine right now," said Van swimming a little on his back while just staring up at the ceiling like he had done in his room not all that long ago.
"Nobody has to say anything to know that you are not too happy when you are with her. It seems that you are more happy to be with your other friends," said Maria leaning against the side of the pool watching her brother who had a look like he wasn't paying attention but she knew that he was.
"I really don't feel like talking about this subject. It is just more complicated than you can probably understand. My life is more complicated than you can understand as well," he knew if she kept this up that he would probably end up telling her all about what was going on with his life. When they were younger he used to always confide in her, and it just seemed natural to do so but he did not want to this time.
"I can tell that if you could, you would probably be out of that relationship. So what is the problem Van? Why is it that you are in that relationship when it is clear that you heart isn't and is possibly elsewhere?" asked Maria in a solemn tone.
Van knew he was going to regret what he was going to say but he knew he couldn't keep this inside for too long. "It is because sometimes I feel trapped. My heart is anyplace but in the relationship I have with her. You were right, I am not as happy as I thought I would be when I first started to go out with her. When it first started I didn't have the same problems that I have now. Things just got harder from since then," he admitted quietly but he knew that Maria ad heard it.
Maria was starting to feel like she knew what was going on at that time. "You mean you can't get out of it?" asked Maria to see what his response to it would be. She wasn't prepared for what she heard though.
"I do care for Amy just not the way that she wants. I can never care for anyone the way I used to because of the fact that I am forced to stay with her," said Van before diving under the water and away from any more questions. He didn't want to tell her but he knew that it would soon be an inevitable thing to do.
"Forced to?" asked Maria in shock to herself since Van was still underwater. 'I guess I see it now. Why he left a number of his friends in that time and why it is that his friendship with Fiona is such a big secret. Van was pretty much forced to do those type of things because of Amy and I have no doubt that her father had something to do with it at the time,' thought Maria waiting for her brother to surface.
Van surfaced a few moments later and spoke before Maria had a chance to talk. "Moms health has been hung over my head for years by Hiltz. He knows of ways that can hurt her health badly and the only way I can stop him from doing such a things is to remain with Amy. She makes demands and I had to follow them or bad things would end up happening to our mother," said Van slowly as he floated on the top of the water.
"I thought that something like that was the reason. Van this is very serious. You should tell mom or dad about this," said Maria with urgency in her voice. She knew what Van was going to say though.
"I can't Maria, that is one of the problems as well. I need to figure out what to do myself. Fiona told me to do the exact same thing early. I can't do that yet, if things take a turn for the worse then I will but until then I beg you not to talk about this to either mom or dad," begged Van as he swam to the side in order to climb.
Maria heard the begging in his voice. It was his life to live. He would suffer if he didn't do anything but she knew that it would be wise to follow by his wishes. "Ok, I won't tell them, but only because I feel that it is your duty to tell them yourself. How many people know about this exactly?" she asked curious as to how many had been told before her.
"Three people; Fiona, Irvine, and Moonbay. I told Fiona the day that she first came here when she was over at our house," said Van because he knew that Maria was sure to remember that event. "When Irvine first came here he overheard Fiona and me talking and a few weeks ago, Moonbay forced it out of Fiona. Since I told you what you've wanted to know for a long time, I am heading back now. Remember not to tell anyone about this Maria," he said while drying himself off and walking to the locker room to get changed.
Maria was starting to feel bad for all of the teasing that she had done to him because Amy. Now she just felt bad for him because his life was being molded to another person's selfish desires. Although Van had said that Hiltz was the one that was doing the blackmailing, Maria had a suspicion that Amy had something to do with it as well.
Van didn't really go back to the cabin at all the rest of the night. He seemed to just walk aimlessly for a while and once in a while go back into the lodge to warm up so he didn't freeze to death.
It was now nearly five in the morning. Van stood by a small cliff on about a mile from the cabin. There wasn't as much snow in the area for some reason so her felt safer there. Truth be told he came here the previous morning as well because he couldn't get back to sleep when he woke up. The position had an excellent view of the sunrise. It would still be a while before it came up though.
Van just sat there staring at the dark sky. He intended to maybe wake Fiona up so that she could come out and see it as well. He knew that she would just love to see it. his only task was to try and wake her up as well.
With that thought in mind, Van stood up from his recent sitting position and started to walk in the direction of the cabin. He figured that he could get there, wake Fiona up and get back before the sun rose with a good amount of time to spare.
It only took a few minutes before he walked into the cabin. Maria had come back and fallen asleep a while ago and now everyone that was staying there was asleep, except for Van.
Van walked quietly up the stairs until he was in front of Fiona's room. Van hesitated for a second before he lightly pushed the door open and walked into the room. He saw Fiona sleeping peacefully and it killed him to want to wake her up but he knew that she wouldn't care as long as she got to see what he wanted to show her. It was one of those types of things that they just seemed to know about each other that always ended up being right. Very carefully he reached over and shook Fiona lightly yet hard enough to wake her up.
Fiona's eyes slowly opened why it was someone was waking her up. It didn't even look like the sun was even up yet. "W-what's going on?" she asked since she wasn't fully aware what was going on around her since she was still mostly asleep at that moment.
"Fiona, wake up. I want to show you something," said Van before he walked towards the door of the room. He stopped suddenly and turned around to see Fiona slightly sitting up with tired eyes. "I am sorry if I woke you up but I thought you might want to see this. So get dressed in your snow stuff and meet me outside," he said with a kind smile before he once again turned around and walked out of the door.
Fiona was completely baffled. Not because Van had woken her up well maybe it was in a way but because he was actually awake at the extremely early time in the morning it wasn't even six yet. Usually he would end up sleeping till almost twelve unless a person forcefully pulled him out of the bed. But here he was up before Fiona. She couldn't quite figure out what was going on. All that Fiona did was tiredly put on her stuff and followed after Van.
When Fiona walked outside Van could tell that she was still tired. He knew that she would get over it soon when he showed her what he wanted to show her. "Good, you decided to come," he said before grabbing her hand and lightly pulling her off in the direction that he came from earlier.
By the time that Van arrived by his little spot, he knew that it would only be a matter of minutes before the sun rose. "Please sit down, it will still be a few minutes before it happens," said Van letting go of Fiona's hand and he sat down on the rock.
Fiona didn't know what to say but she sat down anyways. She just sat there for minutes not knowing why Van had gotten her up. She had finally had it with not knowing and decided to speak up. "Van, what is this about?" she asked in a soft voice making Van turn towards her.
"Just look forward and you will see exactly what I am talking about," said Van making Fiona turn her head and view the sight that was just starting to become displayed before their eyes.
The sun came up in the horizon just beyond the mountains. Its rays of light shown over the icy ground below. Everything seemed to come to life as the light reflected off of the ice causing the ground to seem to sparkle right before them.
Fiona found the sight more beautiful than anything that she had ever seen in her life. She also found it very hard to speak or to turn away from the sight either. She then felt Van's hand over hers. She didn't know if it was intentional or not but she didn't say anything. All that she did was turn to look at Van who was staring off into the horizon.
Van felt Fiona's stare on him and he turned to look at her. It was then that he noticed that their hands were together. He didn't even realize that he had done that but for some reason his hand was refusing to let go of hers. The sight he saw in her seemed greater than that of the sunrise. The sun shone onto her face causing it to glow just like the icy ground below in the suns light. He couldn't tear his eyes away from this sight before him.
Fiona found that she couldn't take her eyes off of Van as well. His stares made her nervous but it also sent a warm feeling into her stomach. Her body acted on its own accord at that moment. She couldn't stop as she moved up towards Van. To make it worse he was doing the same thing. She knew that if they didn't stop then both of them might do something that they might later regret but she couldn't stop or say anything.
For what seemed like eternity although it had only been a minute or two, the inevitable happened, their lips came together in a small but sensual kiss. They couldn't pull away and it only deepened. They seemed to be like that until they were forced to break apart for air.
Fiona was speechless and scared. "I'm sorry. T-that shouldn't have happened," she stuttered before she stood up and pretty much ran as fast as she could in order to get away before anything else could happen that could end up ruining her friendship with Van.
Van just sat there not knowing what to do. He knew that he shouldn't have done that because he was with Amy but his body told him how right it felt. He was becoming even more scared of what this all meant.
For a great deal of the rest of the trip, the two of them seemed to try and avoid each other at any costs. After the incident they were too afraid to speak to each other because they didn't want to do anything to ruin their friendship but just by doing that it was starting to become worse.
Christmas came and went and that day was the closest they actually got to talking but it was only about what sort of things they got with the rest of the Flyheight family. It was quiet after that up until New Years Eve.
The tension could pretty much be cut with a knife and almost everyone had noticed that something was going on between the two of them. They were all confused but they didn't talk about it.
Van was getting very aggravated with the silence that had gone on between the two of them for the past week. The next day they would be heading home and he wanted to talk to her and try to have a good time with what little time they had left.
With that thought in mind he stood up quickly and walked off in an attempt to salvage what was left of their friendship. He didn't want anything to change between them so he was becoming desperate.
He saw Fiona but as soon as she saw him, she tried to change the direction in which she was going to avoid him. "Fiona! Wait!" yelled Van catching her attention as she reluctantly stopped. "This needs to stop Fiona," said Van sadly when he caught up to her.
"What does, our friendship?" she said looking down at the floor. If she knew that this sort of thing would happen between the two of them then she would have never of gone out with him that morning to see what he wanted to show her. "Does our friendship have to end all because of some mistake that we both made," she asked angry at the both of them but angrier at herself for letting what happened happen.
Van felt a pain in his heart when he heard Fiona's words about it being a mistake. He was unsure as to why the pain was there. He ignored it for that moment so they he could continue. "No, I don't want things to change between us Fiona. You are my best friend. Can't we go on like that never happened?" he practically begged. There it was again, the pain that he felt earlier.
Fiona just smiled at that idea. Although she didn't admit it, that was her first kiss and she wanted it but it pained her to think that even though it was with the person that she had fallen in love with, he was with someone else. She also didn't want to think about what would happen to their friendship because of something that she reluctantly had to admit shouldn't have happened. "Yes, I would like that very much. It was just a mistake, so we should just forget about it," she said with a smile but she knew that it was fake smile. 'It wasn't a mistake for me though,' she thought sadly but kept up a smile.
"Ok then," said Van and then she just walked off with a smile still on her face. 'A mistake?' he asked himself and then suddenly everything became very clear to him as to why he had been hurt when those words were spoken. He reluctantly admitted the truth. 'I don't want it to be a mistake. I can't believe I am saying this but I can't deny it anymore, I am in love with Fiona. What the hell am I going to do?' he asked himself sadly.