beyondtheblonde | California girls, we're undeniable

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emmett forrest

California girls, we're undeniable

Elle Woods loves her life. With the stress of finals rolling off her back, she's officially halfway through law school. She has a wonderful boyfriend, the sweetest dog anyone could ever ask for, the greatest friends, a fun job that helps her make enough to stay afloat. Sure, she has to grapple with student loans for the first time ever, but everything seems to be working out anyway.

And today she has a bright, clear, winter day, frigid but sunny, and she's dragged Emmett out to the slopes, so it's basically perfect. Okay, so she's not sure where Kagura came from because some of her friends swear it's always been there but she's heard other people say otherwise, but she's never been out this way before herself. Whether it's a landmark or a mystery, it's still got a pretty nice beginner's slope, and it's time Emmett learned how to ski.

"I'm the one from Malibu," she points out as they approach the slope. "Shouldn't you be the one teaching me?"

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Emmett is fairly certain that he's going to die. It's bad enough that no one actually knows where Kagura came from, whether it's been here all along and he just didn't know about it or if it appeared out of nowhere, fully operational, as appears to be the case. It could be the most normal place in the world and he'd still be a little worried about how this is going to go, when he's never so much as put on a pair of skis before today. Chances are, this is going to end in disaster.

Still, he trusts Elle to make sure it doesn't go too badly, which is a considerable step above how he'd feel if he were doing this on his own, except without her, there's no chance he'd have even been interested in something like this. It isn't as if he's doing this just to humor her, but he knows himself, and as has been the case with many things since Elle Woods came into his life, he knows this isn't something he'd have sought out otherwise. For the same reason, no matter how disastrous this winds up being, he's sure he'll enjoy it anyway.

"You're the one whose family went on ski trips," he counters with a skeptical, vaguely amused look, no bite behind his words. They come from different worlds. If he weren't okay with that, he wouldn't still be with her. "They don't exactly have a lot of slopes in the greater Boston area."

"Big Bear is seriously only, like, an hour from home," Elle says, wagging a finger at him. "It's not like we took a private jet to the Alps every Christmas." She can't help smirking, though, comfortable in the back and forth between them. "I mean, we did go a couple times, but not by private jet." If she can't make fun of her own privileged background, who can? It wouldn't be fun to be stuck up about it. Besides, those days are a year behind her and counting. She may be the same spoiled wealthy girl as far as her upbringing goes, but living on wages from a part-time Pilates gig while paying for textbooks, never mind tuition, has put things in a whole new light.

"Okay, are you ready for this?"

"Probably about as ready as I'll ever be," Emmett says. Of course, that isn't saying much, but it's not like just standing around here is going to change that. He'll be just as much a beginner. If anything, he'd probably be that much more nervous for all the anticipation. They might as well get this over with; it's the only way to progress past the disaster phase into the hopefully able to stay upright for more than a few seconds phase. He grins at Elle anyway. She's the only person who could have gotten him to do something like this, the only person with whom it'll be fun even if he falls on his ass right away. "So, yeah, I'd say so."

"Alright, right this way," Elle says, rocking forward on her heels, grin bright. Crooking a gloved finger at him, she starts forward, heading for the slopes. "You'll be fine, I promise. I won't let you fall. Well, not too bad." Everyone falls. That's just part and parcel of the whole experience. She still does from time to time and that's okay. As long as they stick to the easy trail, though, he shouldn't get too far.

Edited 2015-01-01 07:25 (UTC)

"That's promising," Emmett says dryly, though he's more teasing than anything else. He isn't worried enough not to follow along with her, letting her lead the way towards the slopes. Falling at least once is bound to be inevitable for anyone starting out, and probably a lot of people with experience, too. He's just a little late to the game, and really hoping to avoid any catastrophes. "Just as long as we can start off simple."

"Of course," Elle says, squeezing his hand. "Come on, let's find a bench and get you in some skis." It's something that needs to be done closer to the top of the slopes for safety reasons. Any further away and she's going to wind up breaking her promise fast. "Over this way. It's kinda shaky at first, so we'll start with something, like, less slope-y? Closer to flat, but not, like, super flat or it'll be tougher to move. But you'll get the hang of it in no time. I think I was, like, five when I learned? Something like that. So if I could, you can!"

"Less slope-y definitely sounds like a good place to start," Emmett says, laughing. One thing he does know about all of this is that she's right that it will be too difficult if it's too flat — that much is just common sense — but even just from getting a cursory glance today, some of these slopes look more than a little daunting, nothing he's even close to ready for. Starting small is the only way he's bound to have any success here at all. That, and help from Elle, whom he knows from experience is nothing if not encouraging. "And how did you do when you were five?"

Even the way Elle trudges through the snow is cheerful, undaunted by the thick powder as she makes her way up the path. "Terribly," she says, flashing a grin at him. She may be great at putting a positive spin on things, but that doesn't mean sugarcoating them totally or lying to him. "I was so bad! I fell over, like, every five steps. But it's all about practice. I haven't gone skiing in sooo long, but I used to be pretty good!" She wasn't going to win awards or anything, but it was a lot of fun. Of course, now she's not sure she could ever show her face in Vale again, even with things settled between her and Warner. Maybe she'd better stick to Big Bear or the Alps.

"As long as you remember enough to tell me what to do, I think we're in good shape," Emmett says, shaking his head. That much, at least, isn't something he thinks will actually be a concern. It's probably a bit like riding a bike, the sort of thing that, once a person has learned, they don't really forget, even if it takes a while to come back to them. He doesn't know what it would be like to try that for the first time as an adult, though, just like he doesn't know how this is going to go. If he goes into it with his expectations low, though, he thinks it'll be all the more enjoyable, and at least he doesn't have to worry about embarrassing himself in front of Elle. "I still can barely believe there's a ski lodge here at all."

"Oh, my gosh, I know," Elle says, glancing reflexively back at the main building. "This girl in Torts says she comes out every year, but then other people are like, this wasn't even here two months ago or whatever, so, like, it's just so weird, right? But this snow is great." It may be mass-generated, not real, but it's got a good weight to it and she thinks they'll be okay going down the hill on it. Well, when they get to the going-down-a-hill part. She isn't about to rush Emmett. "And it's a nice change of scenery for sure."

"Yeah, I have to say, it really is," Emmett says, surprised though he is to admit as much. It's not like he's used to taking a lot of vacations, or needing to get away for a while; neither his financial situation nor his schedule allowed for it. Here, though, if only because he has the encouragement, it's nice to have a break, to get out of the city, even if it's not by very much. It is kind of a a limiting setting, to say the least, much as it's not exactly a terrible place to be stuck, either. "Though, I don't know. Maybe I should hold off on saying as much until I see how terribly this goes."

Elle laughs, giving his arm a gentle push. "It is not going to go terribly," she says. "Okay, just remember that falling is part of learning. And the snow is super soft. It's not like you're gonna roll down the hill or off a cliff, you just might get... a little tangled in the skis. Come on, over here."

She picks up the pace for the last few feet to the bench, setting her skis at her feet before plopping down and patting the seat beside her.

"Okay, a little tangled should be fine," Emmett says, taking a seat beside Elle, where she's gestured to the bench. "And you're not going to laugh too hard?" If she does, he'll probably deserve it. It's not like it would be the first time, anyway. That they have an ease with each other that makes occasionally gently poking fun alright is one of the things he likes best about their relationship. Then again, he can't really say there's anything that he doesn't like, so that point is probably moot.

Elle arches an eyebrow at him, smiling, and shakes his head. "Only a little bit," she promises, and leans over to kiss him. She can't say she won't laugh at all, of course. It totally depends on the circumstances. For the most part, though, she can't really laugh at him for trying something new. It's a hard thing to do and anyone taking a chance deserves tons of support — especially when it's Emmett and an outdoor activity, honestly. "You have my word."

"Good enough," Emmett says, grinning against her mouth as he leans in to kiss her again, one hand resting briefly against her cheek. He's pretty sure that some laughter is going to be called for, anyway, so there's no way he could hold it against her if that does happen. Easing back again a moment later — if he stays too close, he's just going to want to keep kissing her — he nods. "Okay, skis, or you're never going to get that chance to laugh at me."

"Skis!" Elle exclaims, clapping her hands together. "Okay, so you've got to step into them and get them fastened good and tight, okay?" She pops up from her seat, demonstrating this for him. It's been ages since she last went skiing and she's never had to explain it to someone before, but it's coming back to her pretty readily. "You wanna make sure, like, seriously. Otherwise, if you trip, you could really hurt yourself. It's like with ice skating."

Emmett doesn't have a whole lot of experience with ice skating, either, but he sees what she's getting at even so. It's kind of just logical, and when he's pretty sure he's going to have a difficult enough time with this as it is, he really doesn't want to take any chances and risk any accidents being worse than they already will be. "Alright, good and tight," he says, leaning over so he can start to fasten them as she's instructed. "Like this?"

"Perfect," Elle says, leaning forward just enough to examine his handiwork. "How are you feeling? Balance okay? With this, as with any sport, the best thing you can do to maintain your balance is to engage your core. If you start to feel unsteady, you just suck in here, really tighten that back. Cool?" When she's showing someone how to do something like this, it's hard not to slip into pilates class mode, admittedly, but she really just wants to teach him the best she can. This part, she thinks, might even be more fun than the actual skiing. "So to move forward, we're just gonna keep the feet parallel and push off with the poles."

"I think my balance is okay," Emmett says, shifting his weight the slightest bit as if to test that. It seems like kind of a lot to take in, but Elle really is a good teacher, even if it has been a while since she's gone skiing, and he thinks that more than anything might work in his favor. As long as he can remember everything she's told him, maybe this won't go too terribly. If nothing else, though, it'll be something they can laugh about later. He doesn't want to take himself so seriously that that won't be the case. "I'm not falling over yet, but I'm also not going downhill yet."

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California girls, we're undeniable

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