A/N: Woot, a fast update!
What can I say, I just had the ideas floating around in my head so I decided to update again.
"See you tomorrow, Elise," Brodi smiled calmly, nodding at the blonde bombshell. "Sleep well."
"You too," said Elise quietly, forcing a grin as she slipped inside her suite. Hailey wasn't in yet, she noticed, and it was nearly midnight.
Probably sleeping over with Kaori or something, Elise pondered, undoing the zipper and slipping out of her pencil black skirt, stepping into a pair of flannel pajama pants.
Taking a look in the mirror, Elise smeared away the trace of brown liner that had smudged underneath her eyes, making a vague attempt to beautify herself to look much less exhausted than she actually was.
Sliding into the crisp bed sheets of her four-poster, Elise sighed deeply and tried to relax. Her mind raced with replays of the night she'd just experienced, and she felt a dull pain in her chest. The rhythmic ticking of the analog alarm clock next to her bed didn't help her restlessness one bit.
Finally giving up on sleep, Elise rolled out of bed and shoved her feet into a pair of wooly slippers, grabbing her key ring and exiting the room to go back to the only person she knew could help.
Eddie slurped at his fudge pop, eyeing Elise carefully. She only suggested the duo indulge in such high-cal snacks when she was terribly upset. The lack of coordination of her baby blue tank top and crimson colored PJ pants was a sign of distress, too.
Reaching for a second popsicle, Elise sighed. "Today wasn't quite how I planned it," she said.
"How so?" inquired Eddie quietly, still studying her unchanging, stiff features.
"It was just," she paused, searching for words. "A letdown I guess."
"Is Brodi... Gay or something?" Eddie furrowed his brow in thought.
Elise laughed dryly. "I'd quite prefer that alternative, thanks."
Leaning back in his armchair, Eddie yawned, and waited. He'd been through these situations way to many times to know that Elise only spoke when she completely felt like it, and didn't fancy being forced to spill the beans.
"He says he likes our friendship. A lot. That I actually understand his deep spiritual urges and he doesn't want a relationship to ruin that," Elise sniffled, showing signs of weakness for the first time that night. "That's so dumb... isn't it?"
Eddie passed the fudge pops and a box of Kleenex her way. "Yeah, Ellie, well anybody who doesn't want to be with you is either blind or dumb. I think Brodi's the latter, obviously."
Nodding, Elise blew her nose into a tissue. "It's just so... Urgh. If I had known a new guy friend was all I would be getting out of this, I wouldn't have spend all my goddamn free time and money buying those bullshit Buddhism books. And to think, I gave up meat for a week! URGH."
"It's okay, I'm sure he'll still be your friend if you eat dead baby cows," Eddie assured, patting Elise's upper back.
Blowing her nose into a tissue, Elise shuddered. "I guess."
"Hey hey, don't be so caught up on Brodi. He could never put as much passion into a woman as he could into those weird prayer rituals!" said Eddie, smiling hopefully.
Elise's lips twitched upward. "Thanks."
"Anytime," Eddie replied, picking up the TV changer and flicking on the set. "Now let's watch some dirty cartoons, Adult Swim is on. And I got subtitles."
Early the next morning, practically at the crack of dawn, practice was just starting up. Marisol pulled her long, honey blonde mane of hair into a ponytail and inhaled deeply, the cold mountain air chilling her lungs. "Maybe France will be a little warmer, chica," she commented.
Seeiah nodded. "Yeah. And I'm getting sick and fuckin' tired of these goddamn chinks everywhere."
Luckily, Mac and Kaori were out of earshot, stretching together 15 yards away by the top of the slope.
"Last year in France is when Jean Paul and I got together," Marisol mused, pulling out a small makeup compact and checking her face for blemishes. "He's taking me to the fanciest restaurant in town to celebrate!"
"Is that producer Kiera coming too? Y'know, make this an official three-way relationship or what?" said Seeiah sarcastically.
Marisol dabbed coverup on her cheek, scowling. "Jean is not cheating on me! Will you drop it?" she snapped. "Honestly! Sometimes you can be such a grump."
"Whatever you say." Seeiah raised her eyebrows from behind the large purple Channel shades resting on her face, coordinating perfectly with her grape-colored overcoat. "If that little shit was here practicing with us instead of suspended like a little fuck, I'd set him straight," she grumbled, looking the other way.
Brodi watched as Luther sauntered by, peacefully munching on a hotdog. "It seems quiet today. We're all... Getting along," he said quietly, as if saying such a thing too loud would jinx it.
"I think it's just too damn early in the morning," replied Elise, being careful not to make eye contact with him.
"That and Zoe's not here to rile everyone up," said Mac.
Kaori nodded, smiling. "And Psymon's missing!"
"... Looks like Moby, too," Elise added, scanning the area. "And Hailey."
Eddie frowned. "I wonder what they're all doing."
"Probably all a bit hung over. Now that I think of it, I saw the lot sneaking back in at about 2, drunk as skunks," said Brodi, chuckling slightly.
"I guess I'll try Hailey, see is she's just sleeping in," said Eddie, pulling the shiny silver cell phone out of his pocket. No Answer.
"Alright, everybody here?" Rahzel asked the boarders as he strode out of a mini-van, arriving not a minute late to supervise morning practice.
Brodi began, "Actually, a few boarders never showed up-"
"Ah fuck them, get to work," Rahzel waved off Brodi, turning on his heel towards the announcer's booth.
Elise shrugged, bending down to strap her feet into the freshly waxed board. "Whaddya say Eddie, take the high route through all the jumps?"
Nodding in agreement, Eddie dropped his own board and stepped into the bindings. With a click, his boots snapped into place. "Yeah, like usual."
Moby drove the rental mini-van down the smoothly paved roads, making a sharp left to pull into the hotel parking lot. Himself, Zoe, Psymon and Hailey all clamored out of the van, stomachs full after having gotten a spot of breakfast at McDonald's, as agreed upon the night before. Three of them headed for the hotel entrance, but Psymon lagged behind.
"Hey Hailey, a word?" asked Psymon, one eyebrow cocked. The brunette shrugged, turning around to join him at the back bumper of the sedan. Zoe looked back questioningly, but Moby pulled her along, glad to finally have Psymon out of their way for a little while.
"Yeah?" asked Hailey, leaning against the mini-van and jamming her hands into the pockets of her pants. Psymon pulled out a pack of Marb 27s and a cheap yellow lighter.
"You were twirling your hair an awful lot. I figured you need one," said Psymon simply, pulling out two cigarettes and offering Hailey one. She accepted it along with the lighter.
Lighting up, she replied while holding the cigarette between her teeth, "Right you are. Thanks."
Psymon simply nodded, taking back the lighter.
Being the only two smokers on the circuit, Hailey and Psymon often snuck out together at night to light one up in the parking lot. Sometimes she'd even hang out in Psy's room, smoking out his window when Elise was around in their room. It was almost routine now.
"Does Zoe know we spend so much time together?" Hailey asked casually, flicking her ash into the snow bank next to them.
Psymon drew in on his cigarette, shaking his head. "It's best not to mention it. We're not even 'together', so what the hell's the difference?" he said.
Hailey gazed out into the distance, thinking this over while continually taking a drag. She glanced down at her wristwatch, almost noon.
"Think we should catch the last bit of practice?" Hailey suggested.
Psymon laughed loudly, tossing aside his cigarette butt. "That's cute," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Damn, woman, I almost forgot how slow you smoke."
Hailey raised her eyebrows and took a long drag. "Virgin lungs, my friend. Only been smoking 3 months."
"I bet these are the worst 3 months your wallet's ever seen," said Psymon, laughing loudly.
Nodding in agreement, Hailey quickly finished up and tossed the butt aside. She followed in Psymon's wake as he made his way inside, black combat boots forming new tracks in the snow beside Hailey's sneaker prints.
JP had spent most of the morning lounging around the empty lobby. Since the small hotel was booked for SSX riders only and everybody was at practice, he pretty much had the place to himself.
Hearing a van advancing up the driveway, JP peered out the window. Seeing 4 riders he wasn't exactly on friendly terms with step out into the open, the Frenchman sneered and headed up a flight of stairs to his room. Locking the door, he opened the shades to let in some light. And that's when he saw them.
Hailey Thomas and Psymon Stark sat on the back bumper of the mini-van, smoking contraband cigarettes. He watched as Hailey took a deep drag, laughing out loud at something Psymon said.
Bingo.
Lips curling into a smug grin, JP pulled out his cellphone.
I knew having this phone would come in handy sometime, he thought, using the camera feature to zoom in and take a snapshot of the two riders.
Having gotten all he needed, JP tugged the blinds shut once more and flopped down on his bed, reaching for the remote. He wasn't about to go rat them out to Rahzel.
Not yet, anyway.
A/N: Oooh la la, drama!
Review for me, as always it's appreciated. Fanks :D