Chapter 12: CHAPTER 11

When the workin' day is done

Oh girls, they wanna have fun

- Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper

In the following days and weeks, Ellie and Quinn gradually began to spend more time with each other. They quickly developed a routine of getting up around 8am, when the sun had already risen, to eat breakfast together and chat about the upcoming day. On weekends, they would get up a bit later and eat together with their parents before either going out or up to their rooms. Quinn still worked in the restaurant most nights and went skiing with her friends at least twice a week but Ellie did not mind that at all.

After a day of not being together, they had even more to talk about. But even on the fourth day in a row of sitting in Quinn's room with tea and cookies they never ran out of things to talk about. It was quite funny how well they clicked now that they both made an effort.

Ellie found that she grew to actually really like Quinn. The other girl was shyer than Ellie had first expected but got very energetic when she talked about things she was passionate about. She often used her hands to emphasize what she was talking about, moving her slim fingers to match the words that came out of her mouth. She was also a really funny person, always had a funny story or anecdote to tell that would have Ellie wheezing and crying with laughter. Quinn herself had the best laugh Ellie had ever heard, a mixture of quiet breathing and loud squealing that always made Ellie laugh as well. When she laughed, Quinn would throw her head back and cover her mouth with her hand.

She assured Ellie that she did not do it because she was embarrassed of her laugh but out of habit. Still, Ellie noticed that Quinn did not laugh like this around the adults, probably because she was not as familiar with Ellie's parents.

It was weird that not even a month ago, they considered one another enemies and now Ellie looked forward to every minute she could spend with the blonde-haired girl. They often took walks around Frostfields or went over to Lone Pine. There was not much to do in the small town behind the mountains either but Quinn showed Ellie around, they went to the cinema a couple of times and spent hours in the library, going through all kinds of books together. They went to the small museum that was in Lone Pine, quietly wandering through the deserted rooms on a Tuesday morning. Generally, when the house was peaceful and quiet during the week, they would sit on the couch, watch movies all day and consume tons of popcorn and, of course, tea.

Quinn had a liking for the weirdest of tea flavors. She did not stop at green tea or lemon-ginger tea, oh no! Some of her favorites included strawberry tea, tomato mint, caramel nougat, cucumber citrus and pineapple vanilla. Ellie began making fun of her in a friendly way when Quinn headed straight for the tea shop in Lone Pine, only to choose yet another flavor she had never tried before. Most of the times, the ones she took where either samples that never got made into a 'regular' product or the shelf was full of bags because nobody wanted that specific tea. When Quinn asked her if she wanted to try, Ellie often took a cup, too, but she found that most of the time, the flavors were a little too 'special' for her liking.

Sometimes, Ellie would prepare a cup of tea for Quinn to drink after her work shift. She went straight to bed most of the times and even told Ellie not to wait up for her but some days she texted Ellie that she would be coming home a little earlier. Those nights, the two girls went upstairs with their teas and quietly whispered while sitting on Quinn's bed while their parents where already sleeping. It were the times at which their talks got more personal than ever during the day. Maybe it was the atmosphere surrounding it, the thrill of not being able to be too loud and the darkness that made it seem like they were the only two people in the world. Or in the house, at least.

Quinn also asked Ellie to go skiing together a couple more times and Ellie did want to but something always seemed to thwart their plans. At first it was the weather, because Ellie did not want her first time skiing to take place during a snow storm, then they made other plans with Quinn's friends (who Ellie now really liked to hang out with, just not as much as she did with Quinn alone) and then Pasta threw up in the middle of the night again and had to be brought to the vet in Lone Pine the next morning.

At the beginning of March, Ellie's last month in Frostfields, she received a text from Jodie that she was back now and that if Ellie wanted, she could come over on Sunday to help bake something for when the café opened on Monday. Of course, Ellie agreed, even though the prospect of working at the café everyday as she had done in a month prior seemed less attractive now that she got along with Quinn so well. Speaking of which, when the latter heard where Ellie was going, she shyly asked her if she could come with her, kneading her hands the whole time. And who was Ellie to say no to her?

Back in February, Quinn's suggestions maybe would have felt like an intrusion to her, like she was invading her safe space but now she felt like she wanted Quinn to share this with her. And Jodie did not object to it when Ellie asked her if she would be okay with someone else joining them. They turned up at the café together on Sunday around 11am and Jodie greeted both of them with a warm hug. When she hugged Ellie, a little longer than she had done with Quinn, she whispered an amazed 'what happened?' in her ear, winking at her when she let go.

"Do you know how to bake?" She said to Quinn as the girls where taking their jackets off.

"A little," Quinn replied, "but Ellie is probably a lot better than me, though."

"Don't worry, we've all been there. You and Ellie can make some cookies together if you'd like, those are pretty easy. And Ellie has become a pro at making them."

"Only because you taught me," Ellie replied, blushing at the unexpected compliment. As they were talking, a tall black woman suddenly came out of the kitchen. Her hands were full of flour and she brushed back her curly black hair with the back of her hand.

"I think I could use a little help back there," she said and then noticed the two unknown girls, "oh, hey there!"

The woman walked up to the small group and stood beside Jodie who put an arm around her waist. That was Jodie's girlfriend, obviously. It was nice to finally see them together since Ellie had never actually met Liana before.

"These are Ellie and Quinn," Jodie introduced them, "girls, meet Liana, my beautiful girlfriend."

"Fiancée," Liana corrected her with a smile, "remember, I proposed to you a week ago. Nice to meet you, girls. I would shake your hands but as you can see, they're quite dirty."

"You got engaged?" Ellie asked enthusiastically, "Congratulations!"

Quinn next to her nodded in support and smiled at the two women but Ellie noticed that she looked a little uncomfortable. 'We just kind of stopped going there after we found out the owner was a lesbian'.

"Thank you!" Both women beamed at the support, "We don't know when the wedding will be but you'll be invited, of course!"

"I'll make sure to come."

"Great! And now let's go into the kitchen, we've got lots of work waiting for us!"

It was not long until all four of them had flour all over their hands and clothes, despite the aprons that Jodie handed out. Ellie and Quinn took to making the cookies while Jodie made butter tarts and Liana made some brownies. They talked a lot and Ellie noticed how Quinn, who had seemed a little timid and reserved at first, became more talkative and smilier with time. After an hour, she helped decorating a cake with Jodie, grinning like a child the whole time, her tongue between her teeth in concentration and her blonde hair held back messily by a hair tie.

Later, Quinn had to leave the café because she had to work at the restaurant. Ellie accompanied her to the door and held the door open for her. Quinn did not regularly work on Sundays but today Fiona had told her about two huge birthday reservations and had asked for help.

"Don't wait up for me, it's probably going to get late tonight," she said to Ellie, zipping up her jacket to keep the cold out, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright," Ellie nodded, "I'm probably going to stay here for a little while. Have fun."

"Will do. By the way, I was planning on skiing tomorrow, just you and me," Quinn suggested with a smile, "what do you say?"

"Sounds good to me," Ellie returned the smile and waited for Quinn to reach the driveway before she closed the door and returned to the kitchen. Jodie awaited her, a cheeky smile on her lips.

"So, do you want to tell me what happed between the two of you while I was gone?"

"What do you mean?" Ellie asked innocently while grinning to herself.

"When I left, you couldn't stand each other and you complained about her all day. And now you're a heart and a soul."

"Are you together?" Liana, who of course did not know the situation like Jodie did and also did not know much neither about Quinn nor about Ellie, asked.

"No, we're just friends," Ellie shook her head, "and Quinn has a boyfriend."

She paused for a moment.

"Besides, I'm not even into her."

"Either way, you seemed to get along really well," Jodie said, "I'm glad you were able to overcome your differences. It's nice seeing you with friends your age."

"You sound like my mom," Ellie grumbled with a chuckle and Jodie laughed.

"Yeah, maybe I do... Gosh, I'm getting old."

The next morning, Ellie was awoken by Quinn who placed Pasta on the mattress next to her and made him lick her hands until she opened her eyes.

"Good morning," Quinn smiled, "ready for the mountains?"

"I was born ready," Ellie quickly got out of bed but then hesitated, "what clothes should I wear?"

"I asked Lillian to borrow me some of her clothes," Quinn said, "she's a bit taller than you, I think, but it'll fit alright. Come on, they're in my room."

Ellie sleepily followed Quinn across the tiny hallway and into the second bedroom where Quinn showed her the skiing clothes she had got from Lillian. The outfit consisted of simple base layers in grey; a long sleeved shirt and pants that went down to the calves. Furthermore, there was a purple fleece jumper and finally a black ski jacket black ski trousers. Quinn pulled some rainbow colored knee high ski socks from her closet to complete the outfit.

"For shoes, I think you might fit into my mom's shoes, they're down in the basement — she has ridiculously small feet."

"Hey, my feet aren't small!" Ellie protested jokingly. Quinn just glanced down at her feet and then raised her eyebrows in the same joking manner. Ellie gathered the clothes Quinn provided for her and then looked at the base layers questioningly.

"Am I supposed to wear underwear under this or not?"

Quinn laughed and nodded.

"Of course you'll want to wear pants and a bra underneath," she chuckled, "an undershirt is optional. I'd recommend wearing one if you get cold easily."

"Alright."

Ellie dressed up as quickly as she could in her room and then went downstairs to eat breakfast. To her surprise, all the adults except for Janet were still there, sitting at the dining table and talking over a map. Quinn was not yet there.

"Good morning," Ellie said and went into the kitchen to make herself a bowl of cereal. When she sat down at the table, she glanced at the paper's her dad had laying in front of him. He was sitting next to Philip, the spot usually reserved for Quinn, most likely because they were working on the paper's together. From her spot opposite of him (and because of his bad writing), Ellie could not make out any of the words on the pages that were scribbled on from top to bottom.

"How come you're still here?" She asked, digging into her breakfast, "I thought you would be long gone by the time I came downstairs."

"We've decided to stay in today as well as the next days to organize our findings and attempt to order the chaos," replied, much to Ellie's amusement. Her dad could be quite chaotic, especially when it came to his work and it seemed like Philip was not much different. Maybe it was the fate of geniuses to not be able to keep their room and office clean.

Philip took a look at Ellie's clothing and smiled at her.

"I see you've changed your mind about skiing," she said friendly, "how did Quinn manage to persuade you?"

"Well, she made it clear that she wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer," Ellie said half-jokingly, which made Philip laugh.

"Yeah, that's my daughter," he replied proudly, "fierce and relentless. Make sure to tell her to go easy on you, one sprained ankle is enough for this winter."

"Already have."

In that moment, Quinn came down the stairs and joined them, apologizing to Ellie for the wait and then began to gobble down some toast while standing.

"Why don't you sit down?" Her dad asked her, pulling out the chair next to him.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," Quinn grinned at him, "we ought to get going before the lifts are all clogged up."

Philip nodded and turned back to work on the paper's with Dan but then seemed to remember something and turned back around to Quinn.

"Before I forget to tell you," he began, "Dan and I are planning on taking a short trip north to the Silver Mountains to take some photographs out there. Helen said she wanted to come, too, and maybe mom will be able to get a few days off and join us. What about you two? Interested in being in the wild?"

"Do you know the date yet?" Quinn asked.

"Probably around the end of March; let me say the 21st. And we'll be back on Sunday evening."

That was exactly one week before Ellie and her parents were set to leave Frostfields again. Time really flew.

"Sorry, I have to work those days."

"No problem, dear; we'll make sure to take lots of pictures to show you."

"Thanks."

"I'm staying here, too," Ellie said when she noticed her dad looking at her with anticipation clear on his face, "I'm sorry, dad."

"No problem," Dan shrugged and busied himself with his papers again, "have fun skiing today, sweetie."

"Will do," Quinn chimed in for Ellie and walked over, took a look at her empty cereal bowl and then motioned to the door that led to the basement, "shall we?"

"Yup."

A little while later, Ellie stumbled through the snow next to Quinn, being careful not to trip and fall. The skiing clothes were tight on her, Lillian's black jacket probably way more tight fitting than it was intended. She had to loosen the elastic band of the trousers around the waist as far as it would go and they were a bit too long for her but that did not matter because of the boots. The boots! Ellie had never worn skiing shoes before and they were completely different from regular ones. They were not uncomfortable or too tight but hard as rocks and made it impossible to walk normally. It was more of a wobble, really.

Of course, Quinn still walked like she was born for this. No wonder, she had been doing nothing else but this every day for the past 18 years. Ellie was glad that the blonde haired girl made sure to walk slowly and waited for Ellie. She had also offered to carry Ellie's skis for her (on the condition that Ellie would take her poles, which Ellie gladly accepted). The skis and poles she would be using were Lillian's old ones that she did not need anymore since she outgrew them and switched to snowboarding. They were a little bit too short for Ellie — at least that's what Quinn had said — but the blonde girl had also assured her that for a beginner, shorter skis were the better option. Quinn had adjusted the ski bindings to the boots in the basement, while Ellie stood and stared in amazement.

The lift that would move them up the mountain was right at the bottom of the right Pine Twin and Quinn stopped in front of the small hut next to it.

"You got to put your skis on," she said, "it's a chairlift, so we'll ride it in our skis. And clutch your poles tightly, you wouldn't want them falling out."

She helped Ellie to position her feet in the bindings correctly, then she did the same with her own skis. Ellie quickly pulled the loops attached to the handled of the poles over her gloved hands and let Quinn show her how to hold them correctly, then she took a few wobbly steps towards the hut. It was very slow and very exhausting to walk with the skis connected to her feet.

"You can just push yourself forward with the poles; here, look," Quinn showed Ellie what she meant and slowly but now more confidently, the two girls made their way towards the hut.

Next to it, a bull-wheel acted as the end of the chair lift and Ellie could see the carriers arriving, being pulled on a steel cable. There was a small group of people in front of Ellie and Quinn, getting ready to hop on the chairlift. Ellie watched intently as the guys showed their tickets though the window to the elderly man sitting inside the hut next to where the carriers arrived.

"I don't have a ticket," Ellie whispered to Quinn, already panicking a little. Where would she get a ticket now? Behind her, other people were already arriving!

"Relax, you don't need one," Quinn chuckled, "I know Mister Russell — that's the guys who works here — and he lets us kids from Frostfields use the lift for free."

"Okay..." Ellie sighed and forced herself to relax. The men in front of them now formed pairs and the first two slid forward, past a first red line that was spray-painted on the snow-covered ground, until the tips of their skis touched a second line. A carrier slowly came down the last few feet, turning around the bullet-wheel, swooping past the remaining two guys that waited behind the first line and then getting closer to the two guys from behind.

They looked over their shoulder as the carrier approached, sat down right on time and closed the safety bar as they were carried up the mountain.

"I'll ask him to slow it down a little for you," Quinn said to Ellie who merely nodded and continued watching as the other two men mounted the chairlift. Then it was her turn. Quinn talked to Mister Russel briefly and the man agreed to slow down the lift for Ellie. The latter hesitated when she reached the first line and let one carrier pass until she slowly inched forward next to Quinn. As the next carrier approached slowly, Quinn put one hand under Ellie's arm to help her and then sat down.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought," Ellie said with relief when their feet left the ground.

"It's always scary at first," Quinn said and closed the safety bar, "careful with your skis. You can put your feet on the bar down there, just make sure to take them off before we arrive."

The carrier was small and the footrest was in the middle so the two girls sat with their knees closely pressed together. Ellie took in her sublime surroundings in amazement; eyes huge and mouth a little bit open. They were moving a dozen feet or more over the snowy ground, trees passing by them on both sides. Some people drove down the mountain beneath them on skis or snowboards and Ellie leant forward to take a closer look at the mountain below her feet.

"If you move too much, we'll fall down," Quinn said dryly, chuckling at Ellie's shocked face, "I'm sorry, that was a joke. Those things are really safe. We can sway from side to side though."

She leaned to the right, onto Ellie, pushing her right as well in that motion and then immediately sat up and leaned left, causing the carrier to sway a little.

"Oh my god, stop that, do you want to kill me?" Ellie burst out, her hands gripping the safety bar on instinct and letting go of the poles. Luckily, they did not fall, all thanks to the loops that were safely secured around Ellie's wrists.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said sincerely, "that was a bit much for your first ride, wasn't it? I won't do it again, I promise."

"Thank you."

Ellie relaxed back into her seat and went back to observing the landscape. Still, she could not help but miss the way Quinn had pressed against her when they were bantering.

If Ellie had been afraid of getting on the lift, she was absolutely terrified of getting off of it. As the mountain top came closer, she could not concentrate on the landscape anymore, instead eying the tip of the mountain as it came close and closer.

"When we're on top, I'm going to open the safety bar and help you get off, okay?" Quinn informed her, "You just got to get out of the way quickly — you can use the poles to gain a little speed, it's very flat up there."

Ellie nodded and anxiously stared upwards. As they approached the top, she could make out a second hut even smaller than the one at the bottom of the mountain but otherwise very similar.

When they were already pretty close, Quinn motioned for Ellie to take her feet off of the foot rest and then slowly opened the safety bar. She put her hand under Ellie's arm again and then gave a little push when it was time to get off that helped Ellie safely leave the lift. But now, the carrier was dangerously close to hitting her in the back of the knees again and Ellie desperately dug her poles into the snow to pull herself forward. It worked — maybe a little too well.

She began to glide forward across the relatively flat top of the mountain, out of the reach of the carrier. Now the ground began to slope down slowly on all sides and Ellie noticed how she gained more and more speed. Compared to how Quinn practically flew down the mountains, this was nothing but she did not even know how to stop!

"Woah!" Ellie yelled shakily and did the only thing she could think of to stop: she plopped down and purposefully fell on her side. As soon as she did so, a numb pain bloomed where she had fell on the snow. It was harder than it looked! But when she sat up and turned around to look at Quinn who made her way over to Ellie with a worried look on her face, Ellie could not help but laugh.

"Did you see that?" She cackled, "Maybe you should've taught me how to stop first!"

At that point, Quinn could not hold her giggles in anymore either and almost doubled over from laughing. When they had calmed down enough to be able to stand, Quinn helped Ellie up and then pointed towards where the ski runs started.

"Now, what way would you like to go? We can either go down to Lone Pine and then change to the right Pine Twin or stay on this one and go down over there. The third run leads down to the middle station between them but that one is very steep so I wouldn't recommend it for beginners."

"What's the better option?"

"This one is more difficult. But because of that, there are more people on the other twin. It's up to you, really."

"Then I think I want to go down to Lone Pine. People are easier to deal with than nature."

"Funny, for me it's the other way around," Quinn chuckled, "before we start skiing, I better teach you how to turn and stop, how to fall properly and how to get up."

"Okay, I'm ready!"

Ellie assumed a position she knew from posters and television, her skis parallel and arms pressed tightly to her body. When the skis started to glide on the snow again, she quickly dug the poles into the ground.

"Well, that was a beginning," Quinn said, "but for beginners, it's a little bit too dangerous. Have you ever heard of 'pizza'?"

"The food?"

"No, silly, the skiing technique. Once you're good at skiing, you can position the skis parallel but for beginners, we use the pizza technique. Just point the tips together to make a triangle, like that."

Ellie eagerly copied Quinn's movements, the boards under her feet awkwardly clanking together.

"The wider the slice of pizza, the slower you go until you stop completely. But be careful not to cross the tips, that will make you lose control and fall."

"Oh no, we don't want that."

"Then, if you do fall, try to fall upwards. That way, you can get up easier and the risk for injuries is lower."

Ellie nodded, taking in all the new information eagerly.

"For getting up after a fall, you'll want to position yourself with your head up and your feet down the mountain — sideways as well — and then push yourself up. You can also use the poles to help. We can try that at the top of the ski run."

Quinn pulled down her goggles, which had previously been sitting on top of her helmet and Ellie copied her. After waiting for their eyes to adjust to the yellow glass, Quinn led the way to the right run and sat down in the snow, motioning for Ellie to do the same. The practiced getting up a couple of times, from the most impossible of positions: lying with the head pointed downwards, lying with the skies crossed or wide open in opposite directions (Ellie's ankles and knees did not thank her for this) and with only one ski in case one should fall off during a fall. After also practicing how to put on the ski on the rail, Quinn deemed them ready to go. Carefully, very carefully, Ellie sled down the mountain behind Quinn, making sure not to get too close (Quinn had advised against that) and always making sure to keep her pizza position.

By the time they arrived at the bottom of the mountain at the chairlift in Lone Pine, ready to mount the second one of the Pine Twins, she was already feeling a little more secure and confident on her unexperienced feet. And getting on the chairlift for a second time was also not as scary. Quinn pointed out a few things in the landscape to her as they were slowly moving upwards, showing her where she had taken the nasty fall that had resulted in her sprained ankle and also the spot where Collin had fallen face first into a snowdrift next to the rail last year.

The rail started out great, it was not as steep and therefore easier as the other one, even though there were indeed a lot more people (in comparison, at least). Ellie quickly gained confidence skiing behind Quinn when suddenly, the girl in front of her came slowed down some more and turned her head to yell:

"Careful, it's icy over here!"

Ellie readied herself for what was to come. Maybe it was because Quinn had not seemed fazed at all or maybe because Ellie did not yet know what 'ice' in the context of skiing really meant but either way, she lost control over her skis and fell again. Luckily, she fell upwards but her feet lost contact with the ground and one ski fell off her foot, sliding over the ice and down the hill.

"Shit!" Ellie swore as soon as she sat up and saw her ski was now at least 20 feet below her.

"Stay there, I'll get it!" Quinn dove down the mountain in one swift movement and Ellie watched as she seemed to fly across the snow with soft turns. Her tall body moving like it was made for this, skis parallel under her, almost touching each other, the hair that stuck out under her helmet flying in the wind. She came to an abrupt stop by turning sideways right under the spot where the ski had come to a stop and a cloud of snow whirled up where the edges of her skis dug into the ground. She grabbed the ski, stood up straight and waved at Ellie, who could see the smile on Quinn's face even from her position at the top of the run.

It was at this moment that Ellie realized it.

Fuck.

She was falling for Quinn head over heels.