Friendzoned in London

Moving Mountains

"There's just one thing I haven't quite worked out," Nathalie admitted to me, wiping her tears away with her mittens, "I don't think I can make it back down." She began chewing at her bottom lip, anxiously peering over the side of the mountain. 

"Lucky for you," I gestured over to where I got off the ski lift, "I brought some extra supplies." stuck in the snow were two pairs of ski equipment. 

Nathalie jumped back suddenly, "Oh no! I can't ski, Brenden." 

"That's why I'm gonna teach you," I smirked as I handed her a pair of goggles to put over her eyes. 

I clipped Nathalie into her skis and could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest, "You're going to be fine," I assured her, "Now, just try sliding back and forth to get a feel for it." I was lucky that Nathalie hadn't picked a very tall hill to get off at, otherwise teaching her how to go down the mountain would've been awfully difficult. She slid across the snow for a moment, before having an absolute panic attack. 

She flopped herself down on the snow and began to cry all over again, "I can't do this," she tossed her ski poles to the side and began to hyperventilate. 

I slid closer to her and sat down across from her, "Hey, I'm not going to let anything happen to  you, okay?" She wouldn't meet eyes with me, so I took my hand to her chin, "Nathalie," I waited until her gaze met mine, "your doubt in yourself creates these mountains, but you have the power to get over them." She took in a deep breath and began to nod, "What do you say, we face this mountain together?" I got back up onto my feet and held out my hand for Nathalie.

She was hesitant at first, but she eventually grasped my hand and I pulled her to her feet. I continued lecturing her on how to move her body, how to use the ski poles, and most importantly, how to stop. We were up on the hill for almost an hour before she felt comfortable enough to go down, "I'll be right behind you," I called out to Nathalie as she adjusted her skis uncertainly. I watched as she gripped onto her poles tightly, pausing to look back at me for a moment. I gave her a reassuring nod, then she pushed off and began soaring down the mountain. 

My face lit up as I saw her growing more and more distant. Soon, I took off after her. I glided through the snow, keeping my eyes on Nathalie. I noticed her every bend and curve, applying all the techniques that I had taught her and I felt proud. Nathalie was a natural, it must run somewhere in our blood. 

Quickly we reached the bottom, and she slid over to me right away, "I can't believe I just did that!" She let out a little scream of excitement and wrapped her arms around my neck, "Can we go again?" She quickly pulled back from the hug to ask. I laughed and gave her a nod and we headed back towards the ski lift. 

"You know," she elbowed me as the two of us were seated on the lift, "having you as a brother may not be so bad after all." 

I gave her a cheeky grin, "You're not so bad yourself, sis," I elbowed her back. 

The two of us rode the slopes until the sun was just beginning to set. As our ski trip came to a close, it was time for Nathalie to face another mountain. As we removed our ski gear in the lodge, my dad and Sam approached us cautiously. The four of us stood awkwardly around each other, waiting for someone to say something.

After a brief moment of silence, Nathalie began to  speak first, "You aren't my father," she said bluntly to my dad. She crossed her arms over her chest, and I was beginning to think this conversation was not going to go over well. Nathalie's mom sighed deeply, while my dad slowly nodded along to Nathalie's words.

"You aren't my father," she began again, "but maybe some day I could call you dad." 

Nathalie gave us all a weak smile and we all crowded in to give her a cheesy, happily-ever-after hug, which she managed to groan her way out of. As we packed up our things and headed back to the car, I was very proud of Nathalie for moving two mountains that day. It made me think of all the mountains I would have to move when I got back home. I still had to face finals, graduation, and the two girls who had friendzoned me.