Skiing Time

Kenny was the last to finish unpacking his belongings, having carefully paced himself to outlast Claire but mainly Kennedy. As soon as he was sure both Thomas twins had headed downstairs, the teen stole off, heading across the hallway and immediately checking in on Mindy. "Hey, how you doing in here? You aren't...making a shank or something yet, are you?"

"Please, Kenny," Mindy pulled her head from her dresser, looking back at her friend with a half-hearted smirk, "I'd use an ice sickle; the evidence would melt away. No **** weapon."

"That bad, huh?" Mindy silently tossed her eyes, "I'm sorry. I really tried to convince Claire to switch rooms, but she wouldn't take the bait,"

Mindy stood up, kicking the bottom drawer shut, "Seriously? She's literally the only person in the world who loves Kennedy. Why would she say no?"

"Well," Kenny let out an anxious chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck, "I think she told me that she liked spending time with me even though I was unpopular," A teasing grin instantly grew on Mindy's face and she gave her eyebrows a few quick bumps, "No, no, don't even say anything. That's not the main reason, the big one; you're going to love,"

"I'm already pretty much loving the idea that you're winning the sweetest airhead," Mindy giggled, leaning against the edge of the bed, "Go on, hit me with it."

"She mainly wants to keep you and Kennedy together because --" Kenny stifled a laugh, "Because she wants you and Kennedy to become best friends."

"What?!" Kenny threw his head back, laughing while Mindy physically cringed, "Oh God, gross....ugh, friends with that -- No. I'm sorry but fuck no. I'd sooner die. She acted like she didn't even know who I was already! We shared two classes! She cheated off my tests before!"

"Yeah, Kennedy's a real gem." Kenny sarcastically returned, "But if things get too rough sharing with her, let me know. You can still come crash in my room."

Mindy nodded, "Thanks, Ken," She sighed and shook her head, "God...best friends," She shivered again, "Not in my lifetime,"

The teen chuckled again, "C'mon, let's get downstairs and see what's going on," Mindy pushed off the edge of the bed, and the two friends headed out of the bedroom and back down to the first floor.

Rounding their way into the den, the rest of their friends had all gathered, and Brian stood at the center, "My dad made sure to put a large storage room on the lower floor for this exact purpose. This lodge was for the family, sure, but he knew eventually, we'd be bringing groups of friends over. So we have tons of skis, snowboards, and all the gear you'd need."

"Oh hell yeah, it's been too long since I've hit the slopes with a board," JJ grinned, "Whose down for getting their butts kicked in a race?"

"Ha!" Nicole loudly retorted, "You may think you're mister magic on those ice skates all day, but you've got nothing on me with a board. You'll be staring at my ass all day long,"

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?" Brian snickered, and Juliet shot him a glare,

Claire gave her hands a few quick claps, "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Kenzie, we have to ski! Remember how fun it was with mom and dad?!"

"That was mom two and eight years ago; I barely remember," Kennedy coldly retorted, and Claire immediately began to sulk. "Oh Jesus, don't have a cow; I'll fucking ski." Claire gave her sister a gleaming smile in response,

"So I take it...skiing is the move for this afternoon?" Kenny spoke up,

Juliet nodded, "That's the big plan so far, but Brian's promised there will be plenty of other things for us to do this week in and out of the lodge,"

"Totally, but you can't go to a ski lodge without a little skiing, right?" Brian chuckled,

"Yeah, well...uh...I think I might just...chill out a little instead. I don't really know how to ski," Avery awkwardly pipped up, "I'll still come out and watch you guys, though,"

"Oh, if that's an option, maybe I'll do that as well," Anna quickly tacked on, "I've never gone either, and honestly, the whole idea of it scares me a little bit,"

"We can teach you guys; it's really not as hard as you think. And it's easy to control yourself once you know the proper method," Brian offered, giving the others a look of support,

"Yeah, it's not too hard. I picked it up pretty fast, Ave. So did Mindy," Avery gave Kenny a thankful but reserved gaze of silence in return, "But chilling out is fine too," Avery let out an exhale,

"Anna, stick with us," Juliet added at the same time, "I've done this a few times, and seeing as Nicole and JJ are planning on racing, we can show you how to do this whole thing with no problem."

"Thanks, Julie," Anna tucked some hair behind her ear, admittedly intimidated by being surrounded by three cheerleaders, one of which with the reputation of the meanest girl in school. Still, she couldn't fight off her better nature, "I really...appreciate it."

"Of course! We don't spend nearly enough time together," Juliet warmly replied,

"So I guess we're settled then," Brian turned and gave the group a wave to follow, "C'mon, let's gear up and get out there. Night comes faster than you think!"

The group made its way out of the den, heading through the kitchen area and through a door leading to a set of stairs into the finished basement. Mindy, however, began to linger behind the group, and Kenny almost instantly caught onto his friend's action. He took a few lazy steps letting himself fall to the back until only he and Mindy were left in the hallway. He turned to her with a raised brow, and Mindy sheepishly looked away, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing..." Mindy's voice couldn't have sounded more guilty,

"That's exactly what it looks like actually," Kenny crossed his arms, "You are coming outside with us, right?" Mindy rolled her lips and let her eyes dance along the floor and walls wherever Kenny wasn't in view, "Mindy," Kenny leaned in, eyeing the girl, "Even Avery, who hates this crap, is coming out too. You can't just duck away,"

Mindy let out a whine, "Oh come on; I'm bunking with Kennedy, which means I'm not gonna have any time to write this week unless I find clear moments!" The girl began to plead, "You guys go out, and I can hang in here and get some work done. Come on, pleaseeeee,"

He couldn't be too surprised; he knew Mindy wasn't about the outdoors on a normal day; throw in a big group with a high school bully, and she was gonna fight tooth and nail for this. Even so, the idea of leaving her inside alone all day on the trip that was supposed to be all about making some final lasting memories with friends didn't exactly sit right. "What? Don't want to hang out with us already? Aren't JJ and I fun anymore?"

"You know I have no problem with you and JJ, but...come on, Ken, you know I don't fit in out there. I'm...the odd girl out. I'm way more comfortable doing this,"

"You're not the odd girl out, we all like you Mindy, and even if the rest of them didn't. You're my best friend." Kenny reached out, giving a tender squeeze on the shoulder, "I want you out there with me,"

Mindy dropped her head back and let out a long sigh, "You butthole, why did you have to say it like that," Kenny grinned, "Fine, give me like...thirty minutes? Tell them I'm just nauseous or something, and I went to lie down. That way, I get to do a little work, and then you still get your guilt trip victory,"

"Deal," Kenny agreed while stepping away, "I'll be back to bug you later,"

"You know you can think this is a cute, wholesome moment, but I hate you!" Mindy called out to him,

"Aw, I love you too," Kenny called back with ease while jogging down the steps into the basement.