Before The Rest Of Our Lives

Kenneth Clark slung his backpack over his shoulder, grabbed a second duffel bag sitting on the ground, and brought his deep brown eyes up, looking towards the peak of Kaster Mountain. He let out a little shiver, feeling the cool air nip around him, wondering how cold it would get by the time they reached the peak. The teen glanced over his shoulder and smirked as he watched a short, slim Asian girl stumble towards him with two oversized packs and a filled backpack on her back, "How's that working for you, Mindy?" Kenny teased the girl as he walked over, easily taking a bag from her hand.

"Not fucking well, that's why you're here; you're the muscle," Mindy grinned back, causing Kenny to let out a hearty laugh. Mindy Long was Kenny's best friend in the world; they grew up on the same street, only a few houses away from one another, and became nearly inseparable as soon as they met. Over the years, Mindy began to develop feelings for her friend, but she never found the strength to let him know, and Kenny was never able to decipher her occasional flirting as anything but playful teasing. Nowadays, Mindy had reluctantly put those feelings aside and decided that if she wasn't going to have Kenny as a boyfriend, then as a best friend was more than sufficient.

Mindy reached a hand up quickly fixed her hair, and tugged down on her shirt, briefly showing off her ample C-Cup breasts that were usually hidden by her baggy clothes. Kenny looked back towards the snowy path leading up the side of the mountain, "Brian said that we'd all be meeting up at the tram station; I wonder if the others are up there already,"

"I'd say so," Climbing out from the back seat of his car, was Avery. With short dirty blonde hair that was left pretty messy, and his blue eyes were hidden behind thick-framed glasses, Avery had no real muscle tone at all; the shorter lanky kid was clearly a geek, but more than that, he was a loner. Avery was selective in his friends, only a handful, and Kenny knew that JJ and Brian weren't two of them. He didn't dislike the pair, but Avery wasn't much of a people person, and being left alone was just fine to him. Of course, that also treated him to the same issue that Kenny suffered from, being utterly alone when it came to girls. Nevertheless, Mindy and Kenny spent a good portion of the previous week convincing their friend to join them on this trip, and proof of his change in personality, Brian was all so accepting of the add-on, even if he didn't know him. "All these cars down here, I think we're the last ones to get here,"

"You're probably right," Kenny agreed while motioning his head for the pair to follow him, "Let's not keep them waiting," The trio quickly climbed the snow-covered steps that led up the side of the mountain, and after a few short minutes they reached a small metal building that had a large tramcar hanging on a set of climbing wire sitting off on the side. Gathered around were a group of five familiar-looking teenagers who all quickly took note of the trio and moved to meet them.

In the front, leading the group, was Brian White, their wealthy friend who was hosting the whole trip. The teen had become friends with Kenny after a somewhat rocky start, tormenting Kenny during their younger days but soon finding common ground when paired up for a school project. Brian expressed his regret to Kenny for the way he had treated him in the past, and over the last couple of years, the two had hung out many times at Brian's house or ski lodge.

With short blonde hair, a muscular build, and bright blue eyes, Brian was also a well-known player, bouncing from girl to girl without much care. At least, that's who he used to be before a self-reflective change in the last year; he actively seemed to be trying to undo years of damaged image and become a man worthy of having a group of friends to stand with him. To Kenny's knowledge, Brian had never been in a serious relationship, but from what he told Kenny, he had set his sights on the beautiful and innocent Anna Ross. However, he had since been able to find the right way to approach the girl who had only recently come back on the market. "About time, we were getting worried!" He joked out,

Just behind him was Anna Ross, with long platinum blonde hair complemented by a pair of light green eyes and a girlish figure. She was stunning. She had joined the group of friends thanks to Nicole, who was the reason the group pulled together at all. Anna had just gotten out of her first and only relationship with their friend Eric Roosevelt, the latter having moved away a few months ago. The pair weren't happy with the end of their relationship; Anna was only recently coming out of her depressive slump. She had to give thanks to Nicole for twisting her arm to join this trip; now that she was here, it was already improving her mood.

The blonde girl lifted her hand and gave the trio a quick wave before lowering it and following Nicole with her eyes as the girl marched up past Brian and pulled Mindy into a quick hug, "Fuck yes, you three made it!" She cheered as she walked over and quickly did the same to Avery and finally Kenny. Nicole Moore was by far the most outgoing person in the group; while not always mature for her age, she always tried to be kind to each of the teens, enjoying the fun that came with having a little group of mismatched misfits.

Kenny let out a small chuckle and patted Nicole on the back as she squeezed him tight, her large breasts squishing up against his chest. "Nice hair, Nikki," Kenny remarked as she pulled away. Nicole let out a wide smile and thanked him. The girl had always been a fan of trying to stand out, and one of her favorite ways was dyeing her hair in different colors all the time. It seemed in preparation for this trip, she chose to go with a blazing red color, which, if Kenny was being honest, seemed to match her personality quite well. With a pair of icy blue eyes and her large breasts, she was a lustful sight for any man, and she knew it, being known to tease and mess with guys, seemingly doing a coin flip if she'd eventually end up in bed with them or leaving them with a pair of painful blue balls.

"Thanks," Nicole gleamed back before returning to a position right next to an older, taller, skinnier teen. The one in question was Devin Harris, Nicole's long-time fling and, as of two months ago, her first-ever official boyfriend. With a guitar case hanging from his back, a set of curly black hair, and deep, dark brown eyes, Devin certainly had a different sense of style than the other guys in the group, fully following Nicole in a rocker, rebellious style. Nicole reached over and grabbed the teen's wrist, presenting him, "Avery, Mindy, this is Devin!"

Devin lifted a hand and gave the pair a quick, semi-awkward wave, "Sup guys, despite this weird meet and greet she's pulling, Nikki is, in fact, my girlfriend, not my mother." He said with a short chuckle. Avery and Mindy joined in with a tension-breaking laugh, helping the teen relax. At a year older, Devin didn't recognize too many faces in the group; truthfully, he only knew Nicole and Kenny, and this was only due to Kenny's presence at a few of his band's shows and after-parties, though that was months ago now when Nicole clearly dragged him out to one in lieu of Anna. Since then, he had briefly met Mindy and Anna, but the rest were very much strangers.

"Great, you're all finally here. Can we please go now!" The fifth and final member of their group exclaimed in a shrill cry before following up with clattering teeth. Kenny grinned and let out a laugh; of course, the one complaining would be his cousin, Juliet, or simply Julie. While most of the group was admittedly a pair of misfits, Juliet was the clear odd one out. A popular cheerleader, Juliet knew just about everyone at school as a friend; adding to her natural beauty, Kenny often wondered how they were part of the same bloodline.

With perfectly kept long curly black hair, beautiful light blue eyes, clean pale skin, respectable medium-sized breasts, and one hell of an ass, Juliet caught just about every guy's attention, namely Brian. The blonde teen had flirted, charmed, and all but begged her for a date over the years to no avail, making him do his best to drop his little fixation; thankfully, Anna helped with that. Juliet knew what kind of guy Brian was and knew she'd never settle for someone like him. If she were being honest, she'd actually want a guy closer to Kenny or, in short, the exact opposite of everything she knew Brian White to be.

"A little cold, Julie?" The teen asked as he pulled off his coat. Juliet's eyes lit up slightly as Kenny approached her and easily tossed his coat around the girl's back, "Come on, let's get to the tram, guys before one of us freezes."

"Couldn't agree more," Brian agreed as he turned, leading the group into the tram station and into the tramcar. It only took the group a short ten-minute ride and another twenty-minute walk before they reached the White family's massive Lodge. Brian pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and allowed his friends to rush inside out of the cold while hitting the lights, letting the place light up like a Christmas tree on the lone mountainside.

As the group entered, Anna began wandering around the hallway, peering into the connecting dining and kitchen room, as well as the large den. The blonde girl had never seen a lodge with this level of amenities; she felt like a fool, thinking that they'd be mostly roughing it with a simple log cabin. Clearly, she was underestimating the money and desire for comfort that the White family had. "My god, now I need to see my room," Anna said with a soft giggle,

“Hold on, before you start exploring everyone, come over here.” Brian called out, bringing everyone to the den, “Now, this place really wasn’t built for a group of eight; it’s only got four bedrooms. We’re gonna have to pair up, so do we have any volunteers?” The den was silent as the friends looked at one another. Brian let out a chuckle, "Obviously, we could just keep it simple, but we could also make this some fun! Let's get crazy, mix it up; we're all friends, so let's just leave it to chance!”

Brian reached over to a notepad, and just as he began to write a name, Juliet snatched it right out of his hand, “Absolutely not!”

"What? It's a fun idea, and besides, it's not like we're going to be all sitting in our rooms all day; it's just when we go to bed." Brian argued his point happily against the brunette,

"The idea isn't a bad one, but I am not trusting you of all people to do it fairly; I'll be in charge of that." Juliet reached out, stealing the pen from Brian's other hand, and began to jot down the names,

“Couldn’t we just split up Avery and Brian, Kenny and Mindy, Nikki and Me, and you with Anna?” Devin interjected

“No, that really is boring," Juliet looked up with a little smile, "Besides, we all know each other here, but we all don't know each other. This is a good way for us to become closer."

"Except that you do know some of us game here expecting to be with certain people," Devin easily reminded the others with a light chuckle,

“I’m up for a random roomie,” Nicole dryly said, her tone catching the group off guard but none more than Devin, who found her glaring over at him. The change in her mood was glowingly apparent and seemingly out of the blue.

“Really?" Brian asked in genuine surprise, "I was going to put you and Devin in the same room regardless of what happened,”

“No, put our names in,” Nicole firmly demanded as she crossed her arms. The entire group paused for a moment, completely blown away from what happened to the happy Nicole at the base of the mountain to the one standing before them in the lodge. "Come on," She on a smile, "It'll be fucking fun." Her voice couldn't be more in a , plucky tone.

“Uh, okay…” Juliet said a bit awkwardly as she scribbled down the names before ripping the paper into separate pieces. She picked up an empty candy bowl and dropped the papers while mixing them up, “Alright, guys, pick your girl.” She said with a smirk,

“Wait, we are doing cross-bunking no matter what?” Kenny asked with a scoffing shake of his head,

“Yep.” Juliet grinned back. “Because we're all just looking for love, right?" The brunette teased with a short laugh, "Just kidding, but yes, I know all the girls here; you know all the guys. Let's see if we can make some closer friendships."

Kenny glanced ever so quickly to Anna, his stomach fluttering at the idea of picking the newly single blonde, and gulped. With a silent prayer, he reached into the bowl, pulling out a slip of paper; he read it over and tensed a bit, “Nikki looks like we're bunking.” Initially, Kenny would have been a bit relieved knowing that he was bunking with Devin's girlfriend since it would make things less awkward. He'd have bet the redhead would probably never be in the room unless she and Devin were together, but the fact that she insisted on not being in a room with him and his loose friendship with Devin made Kenny very uncertain.

Nicole nodded back to Kenny, and before the teen could even think of expressing a change in roommates, Juliet jumped back into action. Stepping back into the spotlight, she called out to her host, “Alright, Brian, you’re up...”

Brian let out a smile, “You're pretty excited about this, huh?” He replied as he picked out a piece, “Anna, guess it’s me and you.” He called over to the girl, turning the paper to show his pick,

Juliet immediately let out an exhale of relief, happy fate was on her side, “O-oh, okay,” Anna said with a little uncertain smile,

“Devin...your turn, only two ladies left; which one are you with?” Juliet sarcastically said while shaking the bowl in front of him,

Devin let out a small, weak laugh. Clearly, he was a bit distraught about Nicole before reaching in and picking out a name, “Uh, Mindy.” He said while holding it up. Mindy gave him a small smile and nodded,

“And that means Avery, you are stuck with me all week; I hope you don't mind,” Juliet said with a warm, friendly smile towards the teen,

"Uh, yeah, sure, if that's not going to bother you," Avery sounded almost apologetic but, overall, not very phased over the result,

“Okay, so now we got our roommates, let's divide the rooms. I'm thinking for ease here, Anna and I can share a single, so we have separate beds," Brian suggested, causing Anna to relax and Juliet to admittedly feel slightly surprised at his denial of a single bed, "Devin, Mindy figure you two could do the same to keep it less awkward. Meaning, Julie, you and Avery can take the Master, and Ken, you and Nikki can take the Queen. Sorry, last room there was,"

"Works for me," Nicole muttered back, her eye glaring towards Devin as she spoke,

Brian raised a brow and cleared his throat, “Okay...uh, Come on, I’ll show you to our rooms,”

Brian led the group up the stairs to the second floor; the top of the lodge was divided into four large quadrants, and each section held one of the four bedrooms. Closest to the stairs were the two single rooms, clearly set up for guests. Inside were a pair of single beds directly across from each other against either wall. Midway up the hallway of the second floor were two bathrooms, one complete with shower and bath and one a half-bathroom with only a toilet and sink. Then, just after, Directly across from one another, were two large double doors, one leading into the master bedroom with a king-sized bed and the other leading to a slightly smaller but just as grand queen bed. Thrown off by Nicole's sudden change and the fact that they were all tossed into random roommates, the group silently divided themselves to explore their area for the weekend, as well as unpack and prepare for the first day of their vacation.

Long time no see, guys; it's been some time since I've been on the site and able to write anything; life very easily gets in the way these days, so I'm sorry to have kept you all wondering and waiting on my stories. I do want to say that, for the moment, I am pausing my other threads while I start this one to get back into the swing of things. This is a story I've wanted to and tried to tell a few times, and it feels like this is my chance to make that happen finally. So I hope you guys enjoy it. It's going to be a slow burn story, focused more on the forming or relationships between the pairs rather than any swapping or high sex focus, similar to how I was writing TF. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated, even if it's just a like, so I know you guys are enjoying the story. It'll start at the lodge location before they head back into Greenwall, where more characters will be seen and involved. Anyway, that's it; I hope you guys enjoy and I'll talk to you in the next chapter!