Just Friends

This is my first story on wattpad so please don't be too mean!

I realise that this bit isn't all that interesting and that nothing much happens here… It's more of an introductory thing, but please stick with me until later! (:

Hope you like it!

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The weather was perfect for skiing - clear, blue skies and the sun was on our backs - although there wasn’t nearly enough snow on most of the slopes, so it was a bit on the icy side. But otherwise, it seemed to be a flawless day.

We were staying in a ski resort in France with some family friends. We, being my two brothers, my dad and myself, and the family friends being my dad’s colleagues’ families and then any friends which the children had brought with them. So not complicated at all. Please note the sarcasm.

There's me, my twin brother, Marcus, and then we have an elder brother called Lucas: he is almost two years older, so it isn’t too much of an age-gap to cause any distress. Although, sometimes, I wonder if mum had hoped one of us twins wouldn’t make it through childbirth. An 11 month gap wasn’t all that much to start with, and then add another living, breathing, crying baby on top of the surprise one you’d been expecting… Well I guess you see my point.

We were real tight since mum and dad’s divorce. We’d been about five or six at the time and we hadn’t seen it coming (duh - who would at that age?) but afterwards I’ve been thinking about it, and it can't have come as too much of a shock. Even when Dad had been on the scene it must have been difficult: one starts crying, and the other two would join in with the music, one was hungry, surprise, surprise, so were the other two. Mum had almost raised “triplets” on her own.

Now imagine when on top of working late nights in the office, then staying in the pubs even later than before, a new woman is thrown into the equation. Well, of course dad left us: as the three screaming sticky children and the worked down wife competing against this intriguing woman, we didn't stand a chance. Some glamorous receptionist from his office, I believe she was. I never really found out though, as I  never got to meet her - that picture was over pretty soon. But the damage had been done.

So now dad lived in a flat in the city centre so that he could get to work easily. He still paid for our schools and helped us with paying the bills and all, as we were still his children, but he hadn't fought for the custody for any of us. His only request had been that he wanted to see us at least once a year or twice a year. A couple times a year. That’s not a lot. But it’s something I guess. So he usually takes us skiing for a week or two in the ski season, and then for a month in the summer. And it’s not as though it’s not fun or anything. I usually have a great time, and I’m pretty sure that the other two do as well. 

We kids were divided into three age groups as such. There were the younger ones – who were oh-so-annoying –, the “teens”, so the age group I was in, and then the elder teens who were already living on there own etc but came down on holiday with us anyway (or in other words, because they can't to afford to go by themselves). Luckily there weren’t that many of the younger category, as they would always stick to the rest of us like glue and won’t stop bugging you about the smallest things.

 There were quite a few teens, most of whom I knew from school. Although I didn’t really “know” them as such. I mean their basic information I obviously knew: names, and then which clique they belonged to. But most of them I didn’t really know at all, other than those small separating facts.

I’d also invited a friend to stay with us for the week – Vi (Verity actually but she absolutely hates the name and says she’ll change it to something smart and sophisticated the minute she turns eighteen. Whether or not that’s a good idea I can’t say for sure, because she has weird opinions and personally I think it’s a nice name which happens to suit her. But I’ll never say that to her face – unless I want my lights punched out. Besides, I think her parents are starting to regret naming her that anyway. I heard something about her grandmother choosing the name and them having to comply because it was family tradition that the elders choose the name of the first child if it’s a girl. If you ask me, which no one has, I think Nana Ellen just wanted to choose the name, and needed a valid excuse!).

But Vi can only make it on Wednesday because of a family gathering or something in her home country. So I’m on my own until then. Can I just point out that it’s Friday, and that the day has barely begun??

But what I usually love about these family-friend-work-trips is that most of the people forget about the cliques on latest the second day. So I mess about with people who won’t even acknowledge my existence at school: we’ll be crying from laughter and doubling over from hysteria together for a week, then after half-term it’s back to the same old routine at school.

Although for a week, maximum two, we’ll give the “s’up nod” whenever we see each other in the hallways. That’s only the guys and me. Never the girls. But I never did really hang about with them anyway. I probably should have mentioned that. I did now though. Another thing, which is pretty obvious if you consider all the facts – I’m not a girly girl. I never have been and probably never will be. I can be pretty flirtatious when I’m hyper active or just in a random “up” mood.  You know the teen life – up, down, up, down, down, down, shooooting up and then randomly crashing down with no warning.

So, there shouldn’t really be any problems with this trip, should there? But you see, one thing has changed. A new guy joined the work team. And he has a daughter. Sarah. Who attends our school. Who doesn’t know how much fun we usually have on our trips together, even though we’re from different cliques. So guess what she did. She asked her daddy if she could bring a friend along. OK, no biggie, everyone usually has that one friend they always bring. So her daddy obliged. But then she didn’t know whom to bring with her, as her friends all became jealous of each other. So she asked, begged with her puppy-dog-eyes if she could bring her four bestest friends with her. And of course, as she’s an only child anyway, she got exactly that what she wanted (after a lot of pleading, tears and tantrums I hear from my sources – but still, her parents gave in). So now, we have five girls who have never come on this trip before, who are all in the same clique and who only care about three things. Them, their looks and what guys think about their looks. Excellent. Just. Excellent.

But I’m hoping that they could integrate into the system pretty quick. Although even if they don’t I won’t be completely on my own anyway. I have Vi, and then quite a few of the guys who I hang with are actually here. At school I have my one girl friend – Vi - and then I just hang out with the guys. Not the guys who Sarah and her lot crush on, but the nice normal guys. And OK, yeah, they play WAY to much X-box and PS3 but they’re cool to hang around, and have pretty funny jokes – even though a lot of the time they’re sexist or just plain perverted… But you ignore these: or you see the funny side and laugh along which is what I tend to do.  I wasn’t always just hanging out with the guys though. Last year, the last year in middle school, was totally different. I would never be seen with a guy ever. But then, now this year in high school, it’s almost the complete opposite. But I don’t know what I’d do without Vi, I need a girls night out sometimes, and who on earth would I go shopping with, gossip with, watch chick flicks with and fawn over hot guys with, if I didn’t have her? Also she is the most loyal companion. Ever. I would trust her with my life – but maybe not my facebook!

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So this could potentially be my summer project… Yes, I do realise that I talk about skiing - lets just say this won't be a short story, although I'm afraid my chapters will be for now… (;

So what do you all think? Fan, vote, comment if you enjoyed it :D