At 12:30, they were sitting in the ski lodge cafeteria. It was warm and Laney thought she could stay there forever. She was sitting between Brian and Ashley, who was giggling at AJ. Brian pretended that he didn't notice them. Laney had a plate of fries in front of her, but Brian was eating half of them.
"Mmm...I never noticed how good these were!" he gushed, with a mouthful. Laney smiled lightly. She was still upset about the whole Ashley and Brian thing...
Nick listened to KC talking about the cafeteria food at her school. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. She had the palest skin he'd ever seen. She talked on and on, Nick soon drowned out her voice. He'd only known her for a little more than a day, but he found himself falling in love with her. Every once in a while, she'd look up at him and blush. Then she'd continue babbling on. She's so cute, Nick thought. He noticed how she talked with her hands a lot.
"What's Nick's problem?" Brian whispered to Laney. She looked up at Nick. He was staring at KC, with a tiny smile on his face. Oh no, not another one, Laney thought. Why did it seem like she was the ugly duckling?
"What do you mean? A lot of guys stare at KC. It's no big deal" Laney mumbled. Brian shrugged and stuffed another fry in his mouth.
"It's not like Nick to stare at something for so long. He's been doing it for the last half hour!" he whispered. Laney started to get annoyed.
"Well, maybe she's got something gross on her face that he can't peel his eyes off from disgust or something" Laney said. Brian chuckled.
"I don't see anything gross on her face. Oh geez Laney! It's bothering me! Excuse me" he said, standing up. He walked over to nick. He said something to him that Laney didn't hear. Nick rolled his eyes and stood up. Brian and him walked away from the table. Brian talked first. Nick licked his lips and looked at the ground. Then he said something and brian rolled his eyes this time. He put one hand on Nick's shoulder and talked again. Nick stepped back and looked at the table. Then he roughly grabbed Brian's hand off his shoulder and stomped off out of the cafeteria. KC stood up to go after him but Brian told her to stay put. He walked back to the table and huffed.
"Well! I didn't expect that" he mumbled. Laney couldn't help it, she had to find out what happened.
"What did you say to him?" she asked, pushing her fries in front of Brian. He gritted his teeth, thinking.
"I asked him why he was staring at KC like that. He said he didn't know what I was talking about. Then I told him, and I quote, 'Well, the whole table, including KC, have taken notice of it'. Then he spazed on me. This week hasn't been good in the friendship department, now has it!" Brian exclaimed. Laney started biting her nails and Brian looked away. She dropped her hand from her mouth, feeling embarrassed.
"Sorry. It's a bad habit of mine" she replied. Brian waved his hand at her.
"Ah, don't worry about it" he said smiling. He grabbed Laney's wrist and looked at her watch.
"It's already 1:30. I think we'd better get back on the hills" he said. He stood up and slipped his gloves out.
"Hey Kev!" he yelled. Kevin looked up. "We're headin' out now. Same groups? Minus Nick of course" Brian asked. Kevin shook his head.
"No. I don't trust you with two girls. KC can come with me and Howie. AJ and Ashley can go with you and Laney" he ordered. Brian nodded and smiled at Laney. She knew exactly why. It was about Ashley. AJ and Ashley stood up, so did Laney. Brian handed Laney her coat. She put it on without a word. AJ and Ashley were already walking towards the door. Brian rushed up and walked beside Ashley, leaving Laney to walk alone. She looked back at Kevin. He was staring at Brian leaving, glaring at him.
The lift they went on was only a 3-seater. Laney expected Brian to sit with her. But instead, he joined Ashley and AJ in the chair in front of them. Laney felt like Brian had tore her heart right out of her chest. She positioned herself in the middle of the seat, feeling depressed. All Laney wanted to do was go up to her room and cry. She rode to the top of the hill where AJ, Ashley and Brian were waiting.
"I'm going back to the lodge now. I feel sick" Laney lied. Ashley protested, so did AJ. Brian was silent.
After skiing down the hill alone, she took her skis and walked into the lodge. She signed back in, explaining how she "felt sick". Laney dropped her stuff off in her room and wandered down to the Living Room with a magazine. She curled up on the patted chair in front of the fire place. She tried to concentrate, but her thoughts returned to the lift. The feeling of utter rejection returned and tears began rolling down her face. She broke into sobs and ran from the room. She was running blindly down the hall when she bumped into somebody. She fell to the ground and closed her eyes.
"Oh man! I'm sorry. I --" a voice apologized. When she looked up at her fellow colissionist, he stopped talking.
"What's wrong?" a boy around her age asked. He had light brown hair and captivating blue eyes. Laney almost lost herself in them.
"It's just upset about what someone did to me?" she replied. The boy helped her up and started at her intensely.
"Was it those Backstreet Boys? Geez, big-headed jerks" he growled. Laney bit her lip.
"They're not big-headed jerks. Well...not all of them..." she replied, thinking of Brian. The boy took her arm and led her back into the Living Room.
"My name is Jason Robinson" he explained, sticking out his hand. Laney smiled and shook his hand.
"I'm Laney Finch" she said, as they sat down on the couch. Jason smiled.
"Nice name." Laney blushed. "Thanks" she said quietly. Jason leaned back against the couch.
"Now tell me what this big-headed jerk did to you" he replied.
