We eventually make it to the ski resort, the cold air seeping into the bus making me regret not wearing a heavier jacket.
"It's freezing," I groan, rubbing my arms with my hands as I curl into the bus seat.
"Here, take this, I don't need it," Matt extends me his fur lined jacket, and I don't hesitate to grab it from him.
I make eye contact with Chase while doing so, his eyes flicking down to the jacket in my hands before turning away.
After waiting a few minutes for the front of the bus to unload, it's eventually our turn to get off and go inside.
The five of us get our room keys, me taking one of Matt's, and go to find our rooms.
"We ski in pairs, so we should decide who's skiing with who," Ethan says, and I nod.
I'm not sure who Chase is going to ski with, considering I'm going with Matt and Blaire is with Ethan, but that's something he's gonna have to figure out. Why do I feel bad?
As we make our way to the elevators, a group of three girls approach us, heading straight for Matt.
"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to be my ski partner? I've been trying to find one and you look... perfect," she says, batting her eyelashes at him.
Please say no, please say no.
"Yeah, of course, babe. Meet me in the lobby in 15," he says to her, sending her off with a wink.
We all get on the elevator, and I smack Matt in the arm.
"What the fuck, Matt! You're supposed to be my partner," I say, and he shrugs.
"Sorry, Del, but when a hot girl asks, you don't decline," he says, and I whine throwing my head back.
"Who am I supposed to go with now?" I say, and Matt shoots Ethan a look.
"Well, there is someone else in this very elevator without a partner..." he says, and I want to slap him in the face.
This is his second betrayal of the day.
"Chase, would you be Delaneys partner?" Matt says, and I keep my gaze on the ground.
He's definetly going to say no, which will only just embarrass me more. Can I really blame him, though?
"I would love nothing more than to be Delaneys partner," he says through sarcasm and a tight lipped smile.
"Well it's settled then! Let's all meet downstairs in 15, yeah?" Matt says as the elevator doors open, the five of us heading to our rooms.
Once Matt and I are inside, I don't hesitate to yell at him.
"First the bus, and now this! You know I can't be around him, Matt! Why did you do that?" I say, my hands in the air.
"Because you might not see it right now, Delaney, but you two need each other. I don't know what's holding you back, but me, Blaire, and Ethan will make sure the two of you are holding hands and skipping into the sunset by the end of the weekend," he says, and I throw my head back.
"I already told you I can't be with him!" I say, and he shakes his head.
"See that's not enough, though, because it's clear to me and anyone with eyes that you two want to be together. You need to put aside whatever is holding you back and learn to live in the moment, Delaney. Now hurry up and get ready, I'll be downstairs looking for my partner," he says, grabbing his skis and walking out the door.
Why does he make it sound so easy, living in the moment? Did I make the wrong choice, breaking this thing off with me and Chase?
I decide to stop thinking for once, grab my skis and head downstairs.
The rest of them are there waiting, Matt's attention captured by the girl from earlier, Blaire and Ethan ready to go outside.
I hesitantly make my way over to Chase, who looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here.
"Ready?" I say, and he looks at me and shrugs.
"Yeah, let's go," he says, his tone cold and I find myself wishing I could take it all back.
"Um, I don't really know what I'm doing here," I say to him as we walk, my skis in my hands.
"That's pretty obvious," he spits, and I realize he isn't talking about skiing.
"I meant skiing, Chase," I say with a frown.
"Whatever, let's just get to the lift," he says, walking faster with me behind him.
I roll my eyes and keep walking, my feet lost in the snow as we push towards the ski lift.
Ethan and Blaire go first, then Matt and his new friend, Chase and I going last.
The lift is small, so the two of us are close together with the bar on our laps.
"Have you ever done this before?" I ask, trying to make conversation to minimize the tension, but also hoping he can give me some tips.
"Yeah, like I said me and the guys do this every year," he says, his voice monotone and his eyes forward.
"Do you think you could give me some tips?"
"Now you're all ears? Interesting," he says, and my frown deepens.
"Look, Chase, I know I didn't handle this the best way possible, but it is what it is. Can you tell me what to do here or not?" I say, really regretting what I said to him on the bus.
If I had known he would act colder than the snow, I would've worded some things differently, explained myself more.
"We get to the top of the mountain, you jump off and ski. That's pretty much it," he says, and I nod, silence taking over the space between us.
"I believe you, you know," I say, deciding I should at least give him that much.
"What?"
"I believe what you said, that you didn't kiss Mackenzie," I clarify, and his eyes meet mine.
"I'm glad to hear that, but it doesn't really matter if you're done with this anyway," he says, and I turn my gaze to the back of Matt's head.
"I don't want to be, I just don't think there's any way for this to work," I say, and he scoffs.
"How can you say that when you aren't even willing to try it?" He says, and I don't know what to say back.
He's right, and I'm starting to realize that I've been an idiot.
"It's not that easy-" I say, but he cuts me off as the ski lift slows down.
"It's time to jump, Delaney," he says, his words meaning multiple things in my mind as his hand grabs mine and we throw ourselves off the lift.
***
I think it's pretty safe to say that skiing is not my specialty. I spent more time on my ass than I did on my feet, and I slowed Chase down tremendously.
The rest of the group had been waiting at the bottom for thirty minutes, that's how terrible I was.
I told Chase to go on without me, but he wouldn't, which I appreciated but felt bad for.
He shouldn't have to wait for me.
The five of us head to the sauna after skiing for a few hours, my body numb from both the cold and constantly falling.
"God, this is amazing," Blaire says, the steam in the room working efficiently to defrost my skin.
The rest of us hum in agreement, closing our eyes and letting the steam relax us.
We spend about 15 minutes in there, because that's all we were permitted, before separating and heading up to our hotel rooms.
"Do you want me to... excuse myself for a few hours? Because I can find something to do if you're expecting company," I say to Matt after he closes the door, and he shakes his head.
"Nah, I'm riding solo tonight. That girl turned out to be extremely annoying," he says, and I laugh under my breath.
"Sorry to hear that," I say, and he shrugs.
"Eh, you're much better company anyway," he says, and I slap my hand over my heart.
"Wow, that's just the nicest thing I've ever heard," he laughs before walking over to the mini fridge.
"No alc, how depressing," he whines, causing me laugh again.
"It's a high school trip, Matt, why would there be alcohol?" I say and he shrugs again, saying how every year he prays that there will be a slip up in his room, the workers forgetting to get rid of the alcohol.
"It's way too early to sleep right now, I think we need to go explore," he says, and my interest is piqued.
"Where would we even go?" I ask, and he pauses to think before getting his phone out.
He taps the screen a few times before holding it up to his ear, talking to someone.
"Yo, you guys down for the adventure tonight?" He says, and I furrow my brows.
"Yeah, the five of us, I'll call Chase next," he says, the voice on the other end of the phone probably belonging to Ethan.
"Bet, meet downstairs in 15?" He pulls the phone away from his ear and slips it into his pocket before turning and looking at me.
"Put your shoes back on, we're going on an adventure," his voice is very giddy, and it makes me a little skeptical about where we're going.
"Where are we going?" I ask, but he shakes his head.
"You'll see, now get ready while I call Chase," he says, and I nod, walking to the door and getting my shoes back on.
We walk downstairs and are met by the rest of the group in the lobby, the boys looking excited while me and Blaire stand there confused.
"Does anyone want to tell us where we're going?" Blaire asks, and they all shake their heads.
Matt leads the group, his jacket on my body keeping me warm as we step outside.
"You and Matt got pretty close," Chase speaks, his steps falling in line with mine as the rest of the group walks ahead of us.
"Yeah, I talked to him a lot the past week," I say, hoping it doesn't make him upset.
"About me?" He asks, and I contemplate lying.
"About us," I say, and he frowns.
"You could've just talked to me, we could've figured it out together," he says, and I shake my head.
"There's nothing to figure out," I say, and it's him who shakes his head this time.
"That's a lie and you know it."
It is a lie, he's right about that. There's a lot to figure out, I'm just scared to do it.
"I can't do this right now," I say, shaking my head and speeding up to catch up to Blaire.
Chase stays behind us, and we eventually end up at an opening in the woods.
"You brought us to the woods?" I ask, and the three of them nod.
"Flashlights out, it's about to get dark," Matt says, and take my phone out to light the ground in front of me.
Chase and I end up next to each other again, Matt leading us. A loud and high pitched howl suddenly breaks the quiet, and I jump at the sound.
"Are the wolves out here?!" I whisper-shout, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand.
"A few here and there," Matt says back, and I freeze.
"Oh, so you guys brought us out here to die, got it," I say, Chase stopping with me before pulling me forward.
"Don't be so dramatic, we've never had an issue with them before," he says, and I shake my head.
"Yeah, well trouble seems to follow me so I'm not as confident as you," I say, and he doesn't get a chance to respond before Matt does.
"Come on Del, you know I won't let anything get you," he says, and I swear I see Chase roll his eyes.
"I think a wolf would beat you any day, Matt, but thanks for that," I say, and he laughs.
"Don't doubt me, I could take these wolves out in less than five minutes."
I laugh at his statement, which is ridiculous, until suddenly a huge shadow appears before us.
"We made it!" Matt shouts, and I almost want to cover his mouth with my hand, until I shine my light upwards and see what's in front of us.
A huge treehouse, two stories by the looks of it.
"Holy shit, this is so cool!" Blaire says, and I nod in agreement as I take it in.
"Did you guys build this?" I ask, and Matt snorts.
"Yeah right. We stumbled upon it freshman year, we've come out here every year since," he says, and we all walk forward and into the house.
We spend an hour in there, messing around and talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
When we all decide it's time to go back, I walk out of the house first, Matt coming out behind me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
We walk back in silence, Blaire and Ethan huddled together and Chase behind us.
Matt's embrace is comforting because of the cold, but I can't stop wishing it was Chases arm around me instead of his.
I push the thought out of my mind and keep walking, until we eventually meet an opening in the woods and make our way back to the hotel.
"Goodnight, guys, see you in the morning," I say to everyone, giving Blaire a hug goodnight and a discreet wink.
She laughs at my behavior, but sends me one back as she makes her way to her room with Ethan.
Chase parts ways with us as well, Matt and I heading to our room.
Once we're inside, I take off my shoes and throw his jacket on the ground before choosing the bed closest to the wall and pulling the blankets down.
"Fuck!" I hear Matt yell, and jump three feet off the ground at the volume of his voice.
"Jesus Christ, what Matt!" I say as I turn around and see him running away from his bed and jumping on mine.
"There's a spider on my bed! There's a spider on my bed!" He screeches, writhing around like a child.
I roll my eyes and walk towards his bed, seeing a spider the size of a dime crawling around. I walk to the bathroom and grab toilet paper, going back to grab the spider and flush it down the toilet before walking back into the room.
"There, it's gone, now get off my bed," I say, but he makes no effort to move.
"Fuck that, where there's one there's a ton. I'm not sleeping in that bed," he says, and my eyes widen.
"Well I'm not sleeping in that bed!" I say back, and he shrugs.
"I guess we're sleeping together then," he says, and I throw my head back.
"You can't be serious," I say, and he smiles in response while pulling off his shirt.
"Oh but I am, Delaney. I'm not sleeping with the spiders, and I don't think you want to either. So it's either the floor, or you bite the bullet and come cuddle with me," he says, and I roll my eyes.
"There will be no cuddling, Matt. You're lucky I'm even letting you in my bed," I say, and he pouts.
"Come on, I love cuddling!" He says, and I shake my head.
"Go cuddle with the spiders then," I answer, and he shudders.
"Fine, no cuddling."
"Do you really need to strip down?" I ask, watching as he stands and takes his pants off.
"I can't sleep in anything other than boxers, sorry babe," he says, and I roll my eyes. "You're the first girl who's ever complained about it, I'm hurt."
"Just stick to your side of the bed, I'm going to get changed," I say, watching as he gets comfortable.
I grab my bag and head for the bathroom, grabbing a tank top and shutting the door.
I take my clothes off, throw on the tank top and decide to skip the shorts, because the ones Blaire packed for me are practically underwear anyway.
I walk back into the room and shut the lights off, climbing into the bed and getting comfortable.
"Wow, they really sex-proofed this headboard," I hear Matt say, and turn to see him messing with the cushioned headboard.
"I will not hesitate to put you back in bed with those spiders, Matt," I say back, shaking my head at his childish statement.
"What! I'm just saying, it would a shame to waste such a great headboard... besides, we're definitely the first hot people this room has seen in a while, it would be rude to let it down," he says, and I scoff.
"Okay, get out," I say back, my mouth in a straight line as he lets out a cackle.
"Alright, fine, fine," he says, rolling over.
I shut my eyes and try to fall asleep, but Chases words from the ski lift won't leave my mind.
It's time to jump, Delaney.
***
I wake up to the sound of knocking, and groan before rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
I feel Matt's arms wrapped around me, his legs on top of mine.
The knocking sounds again, and I figure it's a maid because who else would be knocking this early.
"We don't want breakfast, thank you!" I say, but the knocking doesn't stop.
"For fucks sake," I mutter, crawling out from under Matt's body and walking over to the door.
I swing it open, and then remember what I'm wearing.
Relived that it isn't a maid as I had suspected it to be, I relax a little before I realize who is actually standing in front of me.
Chase's eyes rake up and down my figure, which is only covered in a tight tank top and cheeky underwear.
"Sorry, I thought you were a maid-" I talk, but Chase pushes past me into the room.
His eyes take in the one bed that is made, the other a mess with Matt's shirtless body sticking out of it.
This looks very bad.
"Did you two sleep together?" Chase says, his tone angry.
"Yes."
"No."
Matt and I speak at the same time, and I shoot him a glare over my shoulder but his closed eyes don't receive the message.
"This is a joke, right? Someone please tell me this is a fucking joke," Chase spits, his anger enough to make Matt's eyes open.
"Morning, man," he says, and I cover my face with my hands.
"We didn't sleep together, Chase," I say, but he shakes his head.
"Sure looks like it to me," he spits, and I can't blame him.
It really does look like it.
"I mean we did, but not-" he doesn't let me finish before speaking.
"We don't work, though, right? We can't work because of your situation? What the fuck makes Matt work better than me, huh?" He yells, his finger pointing in the direction of Matt.
"Woah, dude, chill out. We didn't have sex, we just slept together," Matt says, but his words don't do anything to calm Chase down.
"And what the fuck does that even mean?" He says, his tone venomous.
"There was a spider!" I yell, and then realize how stupid that sounds.
I sigh, rubbing my face with my hands before speaking again.
"There was a spider in that bed, so Matt didn't want to sleep in it. I didn't want to sleep with the spiders either, so I let him get in my bed. It was totally innocent, Chase," I say, his anger radiating off him in waves.
"She's telling the truth, man, you know I'd never do that to you," Matt says, and I look back at Chase to find him a little more relaxed.
"I came here to wake you up because Ethan and Blaire want to hit the slopes early. Be downstairs in 15," he mutters before turning around and walking out the door.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, turning to face Matt.
"Well that could've gone worse," he says, and I shake my head.
"It could've gone better, too," I say, and he shrugs.
"Have you guys talked yet? Like really talked, both of you?" He asks, and I shake my head.
"Not since the bus, no," I say, and he just nods suspiciously, getting dressed and walking out the door.
"Let's go, they're waiting!" He calls from the hallway, and I get ready as quickly as possible before following in his direction.
Hopefully today I spend more time on my feet.