A/N- Here's Chapter 6! Just want to point out that I've never snowboarded lol so if anything I say is off that's why. My only knowledge comes from some confusing research. I'm also not a snowboarding instructor obvs so who knows how you teach that. And as always, thank you for the reviews! Your ideas have been noted lol and will be showing up later on in the story! Anyway, enjoy! Bethany x
Chapter 6- Leaning Curves
I wait, somewhat anxiously, at the bottom of the slopes. My head twists every few minutes to the direction of the boot room, watching the propped open door. My heart jumps into my throat every time someone passes through, my mind assuming it's him.
Why am I so nervous? I'm agreeing to enter the competition which he should be pleased about.
When he first asked me about partnering up, I wasn't sure. It seems like I've taken on a stupid amount of responsibilities this winter. Exams, this stupid thing with Peter, trying to keep a healthy relationship with my friends, and now learning a new sport? It felt overwhelming, and I knew it was stupid to say yes to him. But I couldn't get that pit in my stomach to dissipate every time I thought of spending time with him.
"Who you looking for?" Lynn asks, and my head twists back around.
"Huh?" I reply unconsciously, "Oh, uh, no one."
I watch as Mar and Will head off with their intermediate group, waving at them as they pass.
Reluctantly looking back to Lynn. I find her looking pretty unconvinced. "Sure." Seeming to have dropped it, I can't help but take a quick glance at the door. Empty.
"So," she begins again. I brush off invisible dirt on the back of my trousers, trying to play off my glance. As naturally as I can muster, I look into her pixie face. "How's it going with Peter?" Humour underlines her tone.
"Oh, great!" I exclaim, plastering a smile on my face. "You know, picking up where we left off!"
She twists her helmet between her palms, nodding her smiling head. "I just find it odd…"
I cut her off, "I know you think something else is going on-" which she's completely right- "and I get where you lot are coming from." I keep my eye contact steady, needing to come across genuine. Peter's right. If I tell Lynn, she'll tell Mar, then Mar will tell Christina, Christina will tell Will and so on. Lynn would be the least likely of our group to spill, but especially in this instance, I can't say it won't happen. And I can't have it getting back to Al. "But I didn't tell you guys how I was feeling because I knew how you'd all react." She listens intently, but I don't know if there's anything I can say to quell her suspicion. "And it's not like we're 100% or anything; I'm still testing the waters."
"Tris, it's just weird, okay?" She responds, somewhat softly. "You two are completely different people than you were back in year 10. It's just hard to get our heads around you wanting to get back with him."
I shrug, "Maybe that's why we'll work now."
She watches me, but I don't watch her, not when Four walks behind her and addresses the group. "To the lifts."
Lynn walks past me, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Don't think I've dropped this."
She goes to catch up with Uriah. I trudge after them, unsure what to do. Maybe I should tell her?
"Get a move on, Tris!" Four shouts from the turnstiles.
Doing as he says, I catch up with the group, pushing my pathetic issues to the back of my mind.
...
When the lesson's over, I make some lame excuse as to why I need to speak to Four.
"I have a few questions about my stance."
Uri's face scrunches, "Your stance? There's nothing wrong with it."
I know there isn't. "There is. I can feel myself being off centre when we're dodging the trees."
Uri smirks, causing me to hold my breath. "Well, I guess I wouldn't have picked up on it- seeming as I'm always in front of you."
I laugh, shaking my head, "You're only in front so I can keep an eye on what you're doing." There's been one too many incidences in the past where I've been tripped up or pushed whilst going down the slopes.
"Maybe it is best you talk to Four about your stance. I remember a few times throughout the years when you've fallen over." He ruffles my already unruly hair, "Better nip it in the bud now." I hit his hand away, then try to pat down his mess.
"Come on, Uri," Lynn interrupts. "I need to take these boots off; my socks are in the wrong position and I'm sure I've got a blister on my toe."
She pulls him away, saying they'll meet me in the dining hall.
I turn almost immediately, and see Four speaking to Peter and Edward a few metres ahead. I walk over slowly, hoping they'll be done by the time I get there. The boy's heads start nodding, then they start walking towards the lodge. When Peter walks past me, he raises his eyebrows.
"Sweet gesture, but I've got to see Bud about the Maths work."
"Weird of you to assume I'm waiting for you." I point over to Four, who is now starting to walk away. "Better catch up with him before he disappears."
I catch his face drop as I walk past him. I can't resist grinning. "Four!" I shout.
He pauses in his stride, turning around. His open coat flaps in the wind, revealing a somewhat tight black top. He looks at me, then behind me, then back. "Did I miss something funny?"
I awkwardly huff out a laugh, which doesn't help my case. "Oh, uh, no! I was just coming to talk to you about the competition."
He nods encouragingly. His silence and intense stare makes me unnecessarily nervous.
"I want to compete, with you."
"Great," he says pretty unenthusiastically, "meet me out here after your lesson."
My already fading smile drops off my face. "Sure, okay."
He gives me one last curt nod, then walks towards the boot room. I hang back, disappointment seeping in. What was I expecting him to do? Jump for joy? It's like I don't know him at all.
Pushing away my disappointment, I reach into my inner coat pocket, pulling out the phone I shouldn't have on me. 12:00. If I miss lunch I could go do a few more circuits.
As I make up my mind, Christina and Al's beginner group make their way towards me. I see that Chris is at the front, going a lot faster than the rest of the group. I start to grin, seeing the lack of control she holds over herself. My smile soon disappears when she suddenly loses her footing, and makes a beeline towards me. There's no time for me to react, so I just brace for her impact.
It comes hard and fast. Her elbow hits my jaw as, I expect, she tries to shield her own face. She grabs onto me with the arm that didn't jab me, and we fall together, hitting the compact ground.
"Oh my god, Tris-" she gasps out between laughs, "I'm so sorry!"
I push myself into a sitting position, shutting my eyes as my jaw begins to throb. "What is Lauren even teaching you, Christina?"
"Not a lot, apparently." Lauren says, looking down on us. She extends her hand and I grab it, pulling myself up. Chris gets up by herself. "If I had more free time, I'd work on Christina one on one."
I laugh, turning to Chris. "Didn't realise you were that bad."
"I'm not!" She exclaims.
The rest of their group start to head inside. Lauren leaves, but I hold onto Christina. "Skip lunch, I'll show you how to slow down." She looks unconvinced. "Come on!" I push, "You'll be thankful when you're not a bowling ball."
"Fine!" She sighs dramatically, and starts to head for the lifts.
"Wrong way…" She turns, brows raised. I point to the green slopes. "Back to basics."
...
"We'll start with the basics," Four says from the ground, securing the bindings on my feet. We're at the top of the flattest green slope. It's odd, not using the slopes for over 10 years, then being on it twice in one day. "The first thing you'll need to learn is how to slow down." Ironic.
He looks up at me when he's finished with the bindings. His gaze moves down my face, coming to rest on my jaw. My hand goes to the red mark. I had looked at it just before coming out here. It's not huge, but from the force of Christina's elbow, I know it'll bruise badly in the next few days.
He stands up, then moves my hand out of the way. He studies it for a second. "You hurt yourself?"
"I'm about to do a lot more damage." I joke back, ignoring the concern.
"You'll be fine." His concern vanishes as he comes to stand in front of me, just where the gradual slope begins. "This is going to be a learning curve, not having separate control of your feet." It already feels odd. He grabs onto my forearms, and I subconsciously grab his back. My palms don't reach the full way around his padded sleeves. "You'll have two positions when snowboarding. First is having all of your weight on your heels." He brings me forward, and I lean back to stop myself from sliding down the hill. My board digs into the snow. "Good," he praises. "That's the easy one." He pulls my arms forward, and I feel my control disappear. I squeeze his arms, feeling the board slip out from under me. He stops it quickly, putting a foot on the board. I look up at him when I trust that he won't let go. He's grinning.
I narrow my eyes. "What's so funny?"
His eyes shine as he shrugs, "Nothing." I feel his arms squeeze mine. "Now, you need to dig your board into the snow to slow down. The same as before, but lean forward."
I nod, looking down at my caged feet. I hold onto him tightly as he removes his feet. He moves back slightly, allowing me space to tip forward. When I feel the board moving, going against my instincts, I put my weight on the balls of my feet. The board stops moving. I smile, happy with myself.
I look back up to Four, and see him nodding. "Think you could have a go by yourself?"
My confidence disappears as he starts to remove his hands. "I don't know-"
He takes advantage of a weak spot in my grip, removing his hands quickly. I start sliding immediately, having put my board back on the ground without thinking.
"Dig your heels in!"
My mind panics, and instead of just letting go and having him be my bumper, I do what he says, and over estimate how far I need to lean back. I hit the floor hard. Luckily, the fresh snow on the ground helps somewhat cushion my fall.
I stay on the floor, looking up at the dark sky. The sun has fully set now. The green slopes are only just illuminated by a few flood lights in the near distance. I didn't expect this to be so hard.
Four comes into view, a hand out. I grab it and he pulls me up. "Shouldn't I be learning how to get up by myself?"
"I'll teach you that tomorrow," he replies. "Let's head in."
...
"You think I'll pick it up soon?"
He nods, standing at the bottom of the stairs in the lobby. "It took me a few months to get my head wrapped around it."
"And what were you? 4?" He smiles slightly, raising a brow. I laugh. "Don't tell me that's how you got your name."
He shakes his head."You'd never guess."
"Really?" It's unusual, being nicknamed after a number. I'm sure he's right, I don't even know where I'd start with guessing.
"Right, well, I leave you to it."
My brows pull together. "Are you not meeting everyone downstairs?" We're picking Secret Santas tonight. We all agreed to meet in the lounge downstairs, it's the only place big and comfy enough to house us all. Shauna had said that she invited Four.
"Everyone?"
"Yes?" I say slowly, "You know? Zeke and Shauna? Uriah, Lynn and everyone else?"
When I start naming my friends past Zeke and Shauna, he makes a face. "Not my scene."
I roll my eyes, "How would you know?"
He narrows his eyes, "Why'd you care so much if I come or not?"
"I don't." I shoot back. I pray my cheeks don't betray me. "But I'm sure Shauna will be disappointed if you don't show."
I turn around, and start heading down the other set of stairs. I hear him groan behind me, then his footsteps as he follows me down. I suppress my smile.
"I'm leaving as soon as names are picked." He states. I nod, not believing him one bit. Shauna and Zeke won't let him do that.
"You can do whatever you like, Four."
I push open the doors, and see the room packed.
"This was a mistake." I just about hear Four mumble under his breath.
A stupid amount of eyes shift to us as we walk in. Most of the class is here, and a handful of students from other schools. I ignore them, walking towards my friends. They, too, are staring at us as we walk towards them.
"What?" I question, becoming uncomfortable with the attention.
They all mumble something on the lines on 'nothing' as I sit down. I squish Christina and Will together on the love seat.
I see Four head towards Zeke, sitting on the floor by the fireplace.
"What was that?" Christina hisses, jabbing me in the side with her finger.
I grab it, bending it back. She gasps, pulling it away. "Ow?" She says incredulously.
"Don't be putting your finger in places they're not wanted."
She looks at me funnily, then laughs. "That sounds weird." She stops laughing, and then turns serious, "Stop distracting me! Answer my question." I see Will's head pop out from behind Chris.
"You had a question?"
"Don't play dumb, Tris." She chastises. "Why are you hanging around with Four?"
Oh. It only hits me now that I had forgotten to tell them about the competition. No wonder why they were all looking at us weird when we walked in.
I'm about to explain to Christina, when Shauna stands up, a skiing helmet in her hands. "Everyone ready to pick?"
"I'll tell you later." I say to a disappointed Christina. Shauna makes her way around the room, starting with Uri. When she gets to me, there's only a few names left in the helmet. I don't bother taking my time, unlike Christina, who spent a good 20 seconds going over her choices. I pick the one in the middle, then lean back, facing Chris and Will so they don't see. I open it up, Zeke's name staring back at me.
I move closer to Christina. "Who'd you get?"
Without thought, Chris shows me her paper. Mar. She leans into me, checking mine.
"You girls are defeating the point." Will berates.
We shrug in unison, then laugh at each other when we realise. "We're not going to ask anyone else, Will, don't worry." Chris ruffles his hair as if he were some sort of dog. He lets her, unable to keep Christina from doing anything she wants to him. It's how their relationship works; Will's very passive, whilst Christina is, well, not.
Christina jumps up, which in turn makes me fall into the sofa. She grabs me quickly, yanking me up. I see Mar jump up like she's been sent some telepathic message.
"Where are we going?" I ask Chris as she drags me through the room.
"To discuss your social life." She states. I groan, already over the conversation. I look behind, and see Mar grabbing an unenthusiastic looking Lynn. My eyes pass Fours as I look away from the girls. He's still sat by the fireplace, even though the names have been picked. He seems weirdly relaxed for someone who isn't a fan of crowded spaces.
"Get a move on, Tris!" Chris yells as she yanks on my arm.
"Okay, okay!" I laugh, trying to match her speed as she drags me out of the room.