Freefall ✓

37 | snowflakes

"What if I fall?

Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"

—erin hanson

▬▬▬ ♫ : ▬▬▬

Wings - Birdy

(idk if you listen to the songs i include in some chaps but this one, at least, is a MUST)

▬▬▬ ✦ ▬▬▬

AUDREY

Early sunlight rippled over the breakfast lounge tables as I blew on my Darjeeling tea, waiting for Syd and Melanie to finish picking their breakfast from the buffet. You know, I didn't expect this resort to be up to the standard of a five-star hotel, but life throws surprises at you sometimes. The variety of their breakfast buffet offer alone was enough to stupefy Ego from Ratatouille himself. 

We'd arrived at the Stowe Mountain Resort yesterday, in the late hours of the night. Originally, we had three booked rooms: one for the guys, another for me and Syd, and the latter for Melanie and her friend. 

However, now that there were only five of us, someone would have to stay alone. And I figured that might as well be me, when I volunteered last night. 

I never minded being alone — I was at ease alone. Besides, from what it seemed (by the way they kept inundating each other with conversation) the cousins had been apart for a long time and had only this much of it left to be together. While, conversely, I was to see Syd every day for the rest of this year.

"Are you sure? Cause I'd be absolutely perfect by myself, I don't mind a bit—" Melanie was the most reluctant to accept my proposition.

"No, no. You two go in together. I'll be fine. It's only two nights anyway— no big deal."

It took them some time, but we finally all agreed upon it. "Well, you know you can always come in if you get bored or anything. We'll be together for most of the time anyway," Syd concluded before we parted ways and headed off to sleep.

I was still prying my eyes open from the early morning wakening, when Syd and Melanie finally walked up to our table, their plates full. The male side of our squad was probably still at the post-alarm snoozing stage right now.

Must be nice, I thought to myself, enviously.

"Why did we have to get up so early again?" I couldn't help myself from complaining, my head a heavy globe atop my hand.

"To make the most of the day and have more time to ski," Syd replied gladly, through a sip of her coffee. 

We'd sorted out all of the renting-of-equipment fuss the night before, so all that was left now was to slide into the ski boots, push myself off a slope and die.

No, but actually. I was only now realizing how terrifying the whole situation was. I've never ever stepped into a ski binding in my life before. And, surrounding me, were people that have, and were actually expecting me to.

Like, what?

"What's the matter?" Melanie read through my tense expression, her sweet tone cutting through my thoughts.

I huffed, stuffing a generous bite of the cinnamon roll from my plate into my mouth. "I've never skied before!" I spoke full-mouthed.

"Oh, but that's okay—" she began to answer when the guys showed up, and not in a particularly shy way either.