So... this is pretty much my first attempt to Orlando Bloom Fan fiction, but anyway, I hope you enjoy this :) FEEDBACK? Yes, please! :)

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### DISCLAIMER: I do not know or own any celebrities mentioned in this story.
All original characters, however, belong to me.

### TITLE: The way to your heart
### GENRE: Romance/Drama
### RATING: R for language and sexual content later on
### PAIRING: OB/f
### MAIN CHARACTERS: Orlando Bloom, André Schneider, the LotR actors, Vivien
Larkin, Patrisha "Trish" Bordon (probably more to come)
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>> Woke up this morning with my heart on fire
Thought I heard somebody calling
Now I know I've seen the light
Make it go on shining
I keep on searching for the way to your heart
Try to believe it's getting better
Babe take me all the way to your heart
All the way to your heart <<

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### Prologue ###

“Snowboarding?!,” I squeak, “You mean… both feet on one big ski, and no sticks?”

I must have had really funny expression on my face, because my friend burst out laughing. As I put another cookie in my mouth I crane my neck for a brief glance at the TV. East Enders would be on in about two minutes.

“Exactly,” Trish replies and snatches the packet of biscuits away from me.

“Hey!,” I shout and try to get it back, but without success. I would have to get up from the couch to get it, and right now I just can’t bother.

“So what do you think?,” she keeps at it.

I lean back with an audible sigh.

“I really dunno, Trish… I’ve got a lot on my plate right now…”

“Oh, stop lying!,” she cuts me short, rolling her eyes, “You don’t do anything the whole day but lie in bed with your laptop, and eat!”

“Excuse me!” I growl at her, “The fact that you have declared your solidarity with all the starving people in the Third World and run to the gym five times a day doesn’t automatically make me a bad person, aye?”

I fold my arms and pretend to examine my nails with great interest. Conversations like this one here just suck. Don’t get me wrong - I really do love Trish, she’s the best girlfriend you could wish for, but we’re as different as two people could possibly be, and that’s why we have these little fights all along the way. I cannot remember how many sermons I’ve heard about my chaotic, lazy lifestyle (chaotic may be true, but I strongly disagree with the “lazy”!), my easygoing attitude towards my studies (so what I never get anything done until the night before the absolute deadline? At least I get everything done!), my dislike towards going out (No, I do not suffer from claustrophobia and I’m not anti-social, I simply enjoy the company of a few people I know really well more than a crowded room full of strangers, with the music blaring!), and my behaviour when it comes to eating. My point of view is that you should eat what you want, how much you want and when you want - there are definitely enough women with eating disorders out there! But unfortunately Trish is in the stronger position. She owns the flat and she pays the water and the electricity, so I can’t really say anything, I guess. We usually get along quite well though. Every now and then she makes up just another dieting schedule for me, to which I will stick with for about a day or two to appease her, and then the whole thing’s forgotten about. Mostly by me.

The only thing I can probably rant about is the fact that I suffer from a G.B.F. – a gorgeous best friend. You cannot imagine how frustrating it is to meet people when Trish is around. She’s always the centre of attention, the one everybody wants to talk to, the one everybody looks at, the one everybody asks for her number. If I’m very lucky someone might accidentally glance at me every now and then, but it happens rather seldom. I get mad just by thinking of it, and yet I know I can’t blame Trish for being beautiful.


“C’mon, Viv! It’s been ages since we first said we wanted to go on holiday sometime in winter! It’s a shame we’ve never made it, but now the time’s just perfect! A whole week off Uni, no exams coming up, no coursework to do, no essays to write, nothing! We can go on a wonderful holiday at last, chill out together and check out all the hot guys on the ski slopes!”

“You mean you check out all the hot guys,” I interrupt sarcastically. “Sorry, but I just can’t see how I am supposed to chill out while sliding down a mountain on a piece of wood!”

“Snowboards aren’t made of wood!”

“Whatever! I dunno how you feel about this, but I kinda love my life, and I’d like to keep it for the next sixty or seventy years! You know damn well that I’m not even half as sporty as you are!”

“That’s only because you don’t ever get your fucking fat arse off the couch!”

My jaw crashes on the floor and my eyes open wide. I’m not quite sure if Trish has actually just said what I think she has, or if maybe my ears have deceived me. With all possible respect, but I am certainly not fat! I don’t look as starved as the world expects every woman to be, that’s true, but I’m far away from being fat! Maybe I’m slightly plump, maybe I could lose ten or fifteen pounds, maybe… well, let’s just say I’m curvy, okay? Real women have curves! After all, Marilyn Monroe was a size 16, too! So there!

“Shit, I’m sorry, Viv!”

I blink and come to the conclusion that Trish has actually called me fat, but I forgive her. I know she doesn’t mean it.

“Never mind…,” I mumble.

East Enders is on TV now, but unfortunately Trish doesn’t look like she’s going to give up anytime soon at all.

“Oh Viv, please! This is going to be so much fun! We do not necessarily have to go snowboarding every day, we can also go swimming…“

“Swimming?!”

One look at my terrified countenance and Trish switches gears.
“… Or go walking, or have a look at the shops in the city nearby!”

I sigh deeply and pull a face. It’s going from bad to worse. Me in a swimsuit? Only over my dead body! Go walking in the mountains? I’m sorry I forgot to mention that I was voted Miss Fitness three times in a row, ha ha! Go shopping? Just to be reminded in a subtle, nasty way that you can fuck off unless you’re a size 10? Dear Lord, what have I done to be punished like this? I guess I’ve sinned in any possible way if purgatory for me begins in this life already!

“Vi-hi-v!,” Trish whines like a little child now. Damn, she’s standing right in front of the telly, and no matter what I do, I cannot see neither past nor through her.


Another deep sigh.
“Alright, let’s just pretend I said yes – how much is this going to cost?”

“Argh!”
Trish rolls her eyes and runs her fingers through her golden hair.

“Sorry!,” I mumble, raising my hands, “It’s not my fault that my mum married a Scotsman! I guess greed is passed on from parent to child.”

“Oh Viv, don’t act as if you can’t afford it!”

“But I can’t!”

“Of course you can!”

“Says who? A spoiled little brat called Patrisha Bordon, whose father is a manager and whose mother is a lawyer? I’m sorry, but my parents come from the working class!”

“Okay, okay. I’m really sorry that I wasted your time! Please forgive me!”

Trish’s voice suddenly holds bitter disappointment that goes right underneath my skin. She gives a sign of refusal and turns around to leave the room.

“I said how much is this going to cost?!” I yell.

She stops and faces me again.
“Why would you want to know anyway?”

“Maybe because I’m considering going on holiday with you?”

“Is it April Fool’s day already?”

“Very funny!”
I shut off the TV to give her all of my attention, and get up from the couch.
“How much Trish?”

“About 500.”

“500 what? Cows? Apples? Pounds?”

“Euros. I thought of going to Austria. It would be a hundred Euros for the flight, fifty for the train ride, a hundred and fifty for the guesthouse, fifty for the ski pass and a hundred and fifty for the boots and snowboard we’d have to rent.”

“Hm…”
I think about this for a moment or two. It doesn’t sound that bad. Not yet.
“Don’t we have to buy any food?”

“Nope, it’s all inclusive.”

“So we definitely won’t need more than 500 Euros, which is about… 750 pounds?”

“Nope.”

I can see a tiny spark of hope in Trish’s eyes, and I pray to God she won’t look at me the way she always does when – uh uh, too late.

“I’m going to be in debt until the end of my damned life!,” I mutter.

“I lo-oo-ove you, Viv!”

Trish jumps at me and wraps her arms around me tight. I have to admit that her attempt to squash me really isn’t bad.

“Yeah, I know…” I reply, unable to prevent a grin from sneaking onto my face.

“You won’t regret it!”

Er, well, I doubt that for some reason…!

“So when do we have to leave?”

“In five hours.”

“What?!”

Oh fuck. I cannot believe what I’ve just done to myself.

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### Chapter One ###

“Don’t stand on your snowboard like a broomstick, Viv! Bend your knees and spread your arms a little to keep your balance. Look, it’s really easy!”

Trish moves her board into a better position to start up, gets up and shifts her weight in a way that enables her to take direction, then she flashes me a big smile and glides down the slope in perfect elegance.

I’m glad I can’t see my own face as I gape at her. I’m sure I look like Freddie Kruger’s sis or Frankenstein’s bride. It doesn’t happen very often that I ask myself whether or not Trish is stupid, but right now I really wonder if she’s just naïve or if she’s mocking me. Absolutely everything is really easy if you’re good at it, whereas the very same thing is a nightmare to someone else.

We’ve been on the slopes for three hours now, and I’m feeling absolutely miserable. There isn’t even a square centimeter anywhere on my body which isn’t bruised, not one bone that isn’t aching, and my bum is sore because I just can’t stop falling down every two feet. In spite of the slogan on the packaging, my pink ski suit isn’t waterproof, but soaking wet, and it makes me look like nine months pregnant. Besides, I really don’t know what made me buy a pink suit. I detest pink! I’m allergic to it! I guess I only took it because it was so cheap. And my sunglasses, which look more like huge diving goggles, surely aren’t the latest craze either. My feet are killing me, oh, and by the way, I’m bloody freezing!

“Come oooooooon!,” Trish shouts from about a hundred meters further down the slope. I pull a face and move a little closer to the edge of the precipice I am supposed to glide down. Within a second my pulse triples and I’ve got a lump in my throat that is probably the size of a basketball. How on earth can I possibly make it to the bottom in one piece? Dear God, I need a miracle! Quickly! I’m beginning to regret lying to Trish about my snowboarding experiences. I told her I’d learned it a long time ago, and that it wouldn’t take me long to pick it up again. The truth is: I didn’t even know what a snowboard looks like until this morning - I’ve never ever even been skiing!

I bet snowboarding originally was some maniac fool’s desperate attempt to kill himself.
Shit, do I really have to do this?

“Vi-ii-iv! Are you planning to stay overnight up there?”

Oh dammit, I guess I do!

“Coming!” I answer, and in a burst of daring I jump up and let go.

Oh, how I wish I hadn’t!

Icy gusts lash into my face and tear at my hair as the snowboard rapidly picks up speed. No more than three or four seconds after I decided to risk my life in a losing game I’m racing down the hill at the speed of light, completely helpless. My heartbeat seems to wanna break my chest, and I can’t breathe. Faster and faster the landscape if flying past me, and I can’t do anything but…

SCREAM!

An unevenness on the slope suddenly throws me off my balance. I instinctively wave my arms around wildly in an attempt to regain it, but I know it’s a lost battle. If Scream 4 will ever be made, I’ll be a shoe-in for the lead role!

And then suddenly I feel weightless, I’m flying, and for some reason my board is above my head, the sky has turned white and the earth is blue…

A splitting pain hits my back, and I hear the sound of wood being crushed. It takes me a second to realise that I’ve crash-landed. I fall head over heels five or six times and swallow an awful lot of snow, then I hit the ground hard, but before even a silent groan can arise from my lips, darkness closes in quickly.

~

I have no idea how long I’ve been imprisoned by unconsciousness, but to be honest: I fucking don’t care, and I wish I had stayed in it! I’m in pain from my scalp right down to the tip of my toe, snow seems to be everywhere underneath my clothes, piercing my skin like millions of needles, and I taste a warm, metallic liquid in the corner of my mouth – blood.

“Are you okay?” I hear a man’s voice that seems to come from far away. The next moment I feel a hand on my shoulder. Even a gentle touch like this causes me pain, and I groan loudly. Whoever he is, he takes his hand away immediately.

“Maybe we should call an ambulance,” a second voice suggests. In spite of the pain I’m beginning to wonder where the hell I am and who’s with me. I open my eyes, but the first and only thing I see is stars.

“Oh shit!” I whisper and quickly close them again.

“Hey, can you hear me?” the first voice wants to know.

“Uh huh...” I whimper and then try to open my eyes again after a moment or two. At first everything is a great blur, but then the outlines sharpen slowly but surely, and I’m looking into the faces of two young men, a blond and blue-eyed guy and his friend with chocolate brown eyes and dark curls.

“Do you want me to call an ambulance?” the blond guy, the second voice, asks me.

“Don’t worry, I think I’m okay,” I groan, “I only fear my last brain cell has just died.”

Believe me, I wasn’t trying to be funny at that very moment, but the two guys start laughing and, strangely enough, I notice how I allow myself a short grin.

“Well, the fall looked a lot worse. Can you sit up?”

I carefully try to move my limbs, and miraculously I’m able to do so without too much pain. So I nod my head and breathe in deeply, reach out for the blond guy’s hand and he pulls me up.

“Good God, you look half-dead! his friend exclaims.

“Oh? I didn’t expect to be in such a good condition!” I mutter and take a look around as they start laughing again. The snow around me is all churned up, and the broken pieces of one of the signs that mark the slopes lie a few feet away from me.

“Did I break that?,” I ask, incredulously.

“Yeah, you crashed –”

“My goodness, Viv, that was spectacular!”

Trish suddenly appears out of nowhere, slows down and sits down beside me.
“What a fantastic stunt! Have you ever thought of becoming a stuntwoman?”

“Shut up, Trish!,” I hiss, glaring at her, “I actually got hurt!”

“Oh!” Her amused countenance rapidly changes to sincere concern.“Are you okay?”

“More or less, yeah.” I gingerly rub the back of my head.

“Her bones must be made of rubber…,” Blondie throws in.

“Or she’s got a reliable guardian angel,” his friend grins.

Trish glances at them briefly and gives a little laugh, and then she looks at me again with a skeptical look in her eyes.

“And you’re really sure you’ve ever had a snowboard under your feet before?,” she asks, warily.

“No, I haven’t,” I confess resignedly, “I lied to you about that.”

“There we are!”

“Whatever. This holiday was the most stupid idea you’ve ever had!,” I mutter gloomily, “Shame on you! And shame on me, too, because I was foolish enough to come with you!”

“Hey, don’t you try and fucking blame me for your inability to do any kind of sports, okay?!,” Trish snaps.

“Er…”
Before we can start just another fight, the dark-haired guy clears his throat.
“If there’s nothing else we can do we’ll leave you then.”

“Yeah sure,” Trish replies with a smile, “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome.”

They get started again and disappear fairly quickly.

“Where’s your board, Viv?,” Trish then asks with a sigh that makes it perfectly clear that she thinks I’m pretty much a loser.

“I don’t have a fucking idea,” I snap, “But I don’t care either!”

I have to dig deep into the snow until I get to the heavy boots with my feet inside them, still tied to the snowboard. I struggle with the binding for a minute or two, then I manage to wiggle out of it.

“What do you think you’re doing?,” Trish asks with a slightly hysteric undertone in her voice.

“I’m going to walk!” I reply calmly as I collect my instruments of torture.

“What?”

“I’m not going to endanger my life again!” I answer coolly, “You can go on without me. I’m just a weight around your neck anyway, spoiling the fun you wanted to have. You can meet me in the restaurant at the summit! And don’t you try to change my mind!”

My intention was to walk away proudly with my head up high, but the heavy boots and the ski suit force me to stamp away like an elephant. To make things worse, I suddenly find myself trapped in powdery snow that reaches up to my knees after having taken just a few steps, and I have to dig myself out in a humiliating way. Giving up would have been the easiest thing to do, but even I have got my pride, believe it or not. So I struggle on, not giving a damn about who sees, and somehow manage to stagger back onto the ski slope. For once in my damned life I’m lucky – the next chairlift is only a few hundred meters away. I hear Trish calling after me, but I pretend I can’t hear her.

Just go on, Trish. Do whatever you want, but don’t expect me to participate!

~

Two coffees, a piece of cake and a doughnut later I nearly feel alive again. I can feel my fingers and toes again, my suit is almost dry, and once I’d taken off those heavy boots my feet stopped aching.

Right now a strong wind is blowing outside, whirling up the powdery snow, and I’m really glad I’m in here. The thermometer is at fourteen degrees below zero, and the mere thought of having to go out there again makes me shiver. I’m only hoping Trish is alright, for the wind seems to be turning into a storm, and I’ve heard a lot of horrible stories about skiers being killed by avalanches.

“You only eat once a day, don’t you?,” I hear the familiar female voice behind me just a second later.

“Yep.” I grin as I turn around. Trish’s face is red from the cold, her hair is a bit messy and she seems to have brought all the snow from outside with her. But it’s not the only thing she has brought with her. The two guys who stopped to look if I was okay step up to the table and sit down opposite me while I move in a little to make some space for Trish.

“How are you?,” the dark-haired bloke asks me.

“I’m fine. Thanks again for helping me on the slope.”

“You’re welcome,” He smiles, “It’s good to see you’re okay.”

“Don’t worry, she’s quite tough, even though she doesn’t really look it,” Trish remarks with a grin.

“Gee, thanks!,” I mutter.

“Oh c’mon, don’t be such as softie, Viv!,” She laughs and pokes me, “You know what I mean, don’t you?”

It takes me quite a lot of self-control to neither sigh nor pull a face. There’s times when I’d give anything to spear Trish for trying to be funny at other people’s expense, but being bitchy seems to be the wrong thing right now, for I see a chance to talk to the two good-looking guys facing me. Therefore I put on a bright fake smile and just nod.

“I’m Orlando, by the way, and this is Atti,” he says.

“Orlando? Like Florida?,” I say, blinking.And guess what, it makes him laugh! Wow! The Gods must really love me today!

“Nope, Orlando like the novel by Virginia Woolf.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Her mother named her after the actress Vivien Leigh from Gone with the Wind, her favourite film,” Trish throws in, pointing at me. And I might be hallucinating, but I think she’s pushing me aside a little, “Thank God she wasn’t a Walt Disney fan, otherwise she might have called her Goofy or Donald!”

What did I just say about being funny at other people’s expense? The boys seem to find it really hilarious, though, and before I know what’s going on Trish has taken over my conversation with Orlando, and skillful as she is she manages to include Atti was well. So, I more or less sit there like an outcast, staring at the ceiling. It’s simply wonderful to have friends who are perfect at putting on a show like this, isn’t it? I’ve gotten used to it over the years though; that’s just the way it always goes, so I don’t blame her. If I were a man having to choose between me and Trish, I wouldn’t pick me either.

As they merrily chat away I look out the window. The wind has settled and the weather is getting better again. A group of kids on skis that are longer than the babes themselves are trying to glide down a small hill just outside the restaurant one after the other, but none of them makes it very far. After three or four meters every single one of them falls head over heels and slides downwards in a very grotesque, yet very funny, way and when they finally get where they were supposed to, they all look like little snowboys and snowgirls, and most of them have to recollect their skis and sticks. Watching this is so indescribably hilarious, and even though I certainly couldn’t do it better, I have to laugh quietly.

“Viv, are you coming on the slopes with me again?,” Trish asks after a while.

I look at her, terrified, and shake my head vehemently, “Oh no! God himself could not persuade me to do this!”

“Oh, come on! It would be much more fun if you tried again!”

Yeah, sure. And I’m the Queen of England, baby!

“Trish, if you wanna be entertained, go to the cinema! I’m not going to get hurt again just to amuse you!”

She glares at me, and for some reason I’ve got a feeling that she’d hoped to appear even more adorable if I embarrassed myself. Sorry girl, I’m your friend, but I ain’t your fool! If you wanna flirt, that’s fine, but don’t expect me to bend over backwards in order to make your light shine even brighter.

“Alright then, let’s go boys.” Her laughter is a little forced as she gets up. Surprisingly enough Orlando doesn’t move.

“I think I’m going to stay here just a wee bit longer,” he says, “My back’s starting to hurt again, so it’s better I don’t overdo it.”

Oh dear, I wish I had a camera with me to take a picture of Trish right now! The look on her face is just priceless!

“Well, are you coming, Atti?,” she asks in a strangled tone.

“Sure,” he answers, “See you later then, you two!”

They walk out the door together, and even though Trish doesn’t look back I can tell from the way she walks that she’s pissed off. I’m looking forward to a very emotional conversation tonight already. But hey, I didn’t do anything, did I?

“Your friend very much likes the sound of her own voice, doesn’t she?,” Orlando suddenly interrupts my thoughts.

“Yeah, she does,” I smile carefully, “I don’t know why she always puts on a show like that.”

“Neither do I. But she’d probably make an excellent actress.”

“I bet.”

“So what about you then?”

I blink and scratch my head, “What do you mean?”

“Tell me something about yourself.”

“About me?” I stammer, unsure if I heard him correctly.

I bet the look on my face right now is priceless as well. This must be some kind of strange daydream! Why would a guy like this gorgeous Orlando-bloke here want to know something about me, the plain, grounded, boring and terribly sarcastic Vivien Larkin?

“Yeah, about you. But only if you want to, of course.”

“Erm, sure,” I grin, “It’s just… I dunno, what would you like to know?”

“Anything.”

“Oh, don’t be too specific, please!”

Ah, he laughs again! Wonderful!

“Just tell me whatever you think I should know about you,” he says with an encouraging smile.

“Well… my name is Vivien Larkin, I was born July 10, 1980 and I am an only child. My mum’s from Bangor in Northern Ireland and works as a secretary, my dad’s Scottish and earns his living as a mechanic. I lived in Glasgow until I was fourteen, then we moved to Belfast. After having passed my A-levels I went to France as an au pair girl for a year, and then I moved to London to study literature, poetry and journalism.”

“Amen,” Orlando laughs.

I feel the blood rushing to my head and I bite my bottom lip. Great, I’ve bored him to death! Well done, Viv!

“So what would you like to do once you’re finished with your studies?” He leans in, resting his chin on his hand

Uh, he’s not bored? I sense some sort of progress regarding my communication skills here!

“I don’t really know… maybe work as a journalist for a newspaper or a magazine. I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”

To be honest, I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was fifteen, but I can’t very well tell him that, can I?

“Oh. Well, you’ve still got some time. Don’t rush or make any ill-considered decisions. It’s better to be sure about what you want at the age of thirty or so than having to live with a wrong decision for the rest of your life.”

“Mhm…” I sigh.

The thing is, I’m sick and tired of working for a goal I don’t know yet. I’ve had this problem ever since the day I realized I wasn’t going to be in school forever, and it’s the reason why I almost failed my A levels. It’s so much easier to study and revise when you know what you’re making an effort for. I’ve done a lot of things to find out what I want. I went to France to improve my French and to learn something about a foreign country. Secretly hoping to find enough inspiration to make up my mind, I read a whole library of philosophy and careers advice books, and I talked to a million people and I did half a dozen practical trainings, but none of these things really helped. Maybe it’s because I’ve already decided on my future, even though I know I have to give it up. I mean, let’s be realistic folks, there aren’t really that many writers who can actually live on the money they make by selling their books. If you’re damn lucky you might do a Joanne K. Rowling, but I think your chances of winning the national lottery are much higher in comparison.

“And what are you doing for snowboarding money?,” I ask.

He seems a little surprised.
“Well… I’m an actor,” he replies after a short pause.

“An actor?”

“Yep.”

“Hey, that’s… that’s cool. I did GCSE drama, you know? But I always had problems remembering my lines, that’s why I quit.”

“Not good…”

“Nope… so what kind of actor are you? TV? Theatre?”

I’m not quite sure, but I think he’s blushing a little…

“Well I… I shoot films. For the cinema.”

Uh huh! This is getting interesting! I’ve known a few guys who acted in theatres or as extras for East Enders, but I haven’t met a “real” actor yet.

“So… have I recently seen you on screen then?”

“Maybe… I don’t know.”

He moves the corners of his mouth slightly upwards and looks at me as if he were waiting for something. I rest my face in my hands and take a close look at him, thoroughly checking my memory database for the many faces I’ve seen, trying to match him with one of them. The longer I brood on it the more familiar he seems, but I just can’t remember where I’ve seen him before.

“I’m really sorry,” I laugh, somewhat embarrassed, “I think I know you from somewhere, but I just can’t remember.”

“What was the last film you saw in the cinema?”

“Uh…”
I scratch my head and try to remember.
“Some strange kind of fantasy fairytale… something about… a ring, I think… I’m not sure coz I fell asleep after half an hour or so, and I didn’t wake up until a couple of minutes before the end.”

He gives a laugh and this time he does blush.

“Did you find it that boring?”

“Erm… I dunno. I quite liked what I saw, I was just really tired coz I’d been at Uni all day. I wanted to go and see it again, but I was a bit short on money.”

“I see.”

“But why are you asking?”

He pauses again, as if he were carefully choosing his words.
“Because I was in that film. In that fantasy fairytale.”

Oh shit! This time it’s my turn to blush. Hell, I wish so hard I could take back what I’ve just said. I’m about as tactful as an elephant in a china shop. Where’s the next mouse hole for me to run and hide? Shit happens I guess, and if it doesn’t happen to me, then something must be terribly wrong.

“I’m… so sorry, I mean… it wasn’t all… that bad, I mean it was really good-“

“Hey, never mind,” he says with a laugh, “I’m not mad, don’t worry.”

Uh… maybe he’s not mad, but I can’t forgive myself this faux pas. I might as well have told him that I actually never wanted to see this fantasy flick – I’m not that much into wizards, dwarves, evil warlords or what-have-you. It was Trish who talked me into going with her with an admirable persistence, and I only gave in because I wanted to have peace after a crappy day. After all, the seats in the cinema are quite comfortable to sleep in.

Full recognition settles in at this point. “You were that blond elf, weren’t you?”

“Yep, that’s me,” he says with a grin. “Legolas.”

The name means nothing to me, but I blink and then take another good look at him. I compare the two faces in my mind, and yep, they match. It takes a while to notice the similarity. A blond wig and blue contact lenses combined with a good costume, can make quite a difference, but once you discover it it’s pretty obvious. “I see it now. But to be honest, you look better as yourself.” ...What did I just say? “I mean… “

“Thanks for the compliment, love,” he replies with a charming blush.

I take a deep breath and desperately search for something to do as an uncomfortable silence starts spreading. This is the point of no return. Either I quickly find a way to get out of this dead end or we’ll sit here in silence until Trish and Atti come back.

“Would you like another coffee?,” Orlando asks.

“Er… sure.”

“Okay, wait here, I’ll be right back.”

I nod my head and watch him head for the percolators in the self-service area. It takes him exactly one minute and twenty-two seconds to come back, and as he puts the cup in front of me, I can’t help but blush again.
“Thanks…”

“Oh, you’re welcome.”

We both carefully drink of our coffees, and our eyes meet across the table as we both look up. I blink, blush even more and quickly look away. I don’t want him to think I’m staring at him, even though I could do so for hours without getting bored.

“Can I ask you something, Vivien?”

“Sure.”

“Have you considered taking a snowboarding course?”

I shake my head, “No. I had enough difficulties raising the money for this holiday.”

“I see…” He looks at me thoughtfully. “Well, what if I taught you?”

“What do you mean?” I question, taking careful sips of the hot drink.

“I could try and teach you how to handle a snowboard. I haven’t done it before, but maybe it’ll work.”

I almost swallow my coffee the wrong way and look at him as if he were a one-eyed Martian with purple skin who spoke Chinese.

“You… want to teach me how to snowboard?”

“If you want me to…” He looks at me as if he’s unsure about my reaction.

I give him a confused look and shake my head. “Why would you do that?”

This question seems to catch him off guard, and when a tiny little thought suddenly flashes through my head I quickly push it out. Orlando certainly doesn’t fancy me or anything. He’s just trying to be nice.

“Just… for the fun of it,” he replies after a while, “I mean, you paid a lot of money for the board and the boots, didn’t you? It would be a pity if you didn’t experience the joy of flying down the hill.”

“I have flown down the hill already,” I mumble, and a second later we both laugh.

“So yes or no?”

I think about it for a few moments. I’m really not that keen to get back on the slopes, but he’s right about the money. It would be a big waste if I sat in the guesthouse all day until the end of the week. And hey, I don’t think I’ll ever have the pleasure of spending so much time in the company of such a good-looking guy ever again in my life! Therefore I finally agree.

“Great!,” he exclaims excitedly, “When do we start?”

How should I know? “Er… tomorrow?”

“Okay! It’ll be fun, you’ll see. You’ll glide down the black slope in perfect form by the end of the week!”

I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, sure,” I scoff, “And the earth is flat...”

“Oh, really?” Is his smarmy reply. “Well, I guess you never stop learning!”

My response is throwing the empty Styrofoam coffee cup at him.

~

“Jesus Christ Viv! Do you know how goddamn lucky you are?” Trish cries.

If she were a cartoon her jaw would have crashed to the ground with the sound of a gong. She’s staring at me with eyes as big as saucers, as if I’d just announced I was getting married to Bill Gates or something.

“Why?,” I ask, slightly confused, “I’d love to swap with you, believe me!”

“Are you crazy? He’s Orlando Bloom, for fuck’s sake!”

I wince at the siren-like sound of her voice, stop combing my hair in front of the mirror and face her.

“So what? He’s a human being just like you and me, quite a good-looking specimen I have to admit, but why the hell are you freaking out like some spot-faced, brace-wearing teenager? He’s gonna try and teach me how to get hurt in style, nothing more!”

“You really don’t understand what I’m talking about.”

Trish shakes her head disbelievingly and takes a few steps towards me. She cups my shoulders into her hands and looks straight into my eyes.

“Girl, he’s the hottest guy on the planet right now! Damn, he’s probably the most gorgeous bloke ever, and he offered to give you snowboarding lessons! Don’t you understand? This is your chance to grab him before anyone else might!”

Oh, yeah. I can already see the headlines in the papers: This is Orlando Bloom’s pig-faced, fat little girlfriend.

“Trish… it’s not like that,” I mumble.

“What do you mean?”

“I have no such intention as to making a move on him at all. All I want is to learn a little about snowboarding, so that this holiday isn’t a complete waste.”

He wouldn’t want me anyway, I add silently.

Trish gives a little laugh and just stares at me in shock for a minute or two, but then suddenly her face lights up as if she’d won the lottery.

“Does that mean you’re not interested in him?”

I’m just drooling all over the place when I see his face. “Nope.”

“So you wouldn’t mind if I tried to make him mine?”

Keep your ruddy hands off him, you damned seductress! You’ve broken too many hearts already.

“Not at all.”

Before I know what’s going on, Trish pulls me into her arms and gives me the most passionate hug ever, then looks at me with beaming eyes.

“Oh, I love you, Viv! You’re a gem!”

Know how many times have I heard that? “Merci.”

“Hey… what about Atti? He’s pretty hot, too…”

“Argh!...” I roll my eyes and sigh deeply. “Don’t you have anything else on your mind but getting laid?!”

“Not at the moment, no…”

Figures. “He’s not my type,” I mumble and then grab my toothbrush.

“What does that mean, huh? You haven’t had a good fuck ever since you got drunk at David’s party and went home with that American guy, and that was more than a year ago!”

“Excuse me!,” I hiss indignantly, “I’m not obliged to sleep with any man who comes my way just because your pussy is listed in every London city guide!”

“What the hell do you mean by that!?”

“You know damn well what I mean! There’s nothing wrong with having a one night stand every now and then, Trish, but I find you’re kicking over the traces a little too much lately!”

Her contemptuous laugh following my words hurts me, and I bite my bottom lip in order to restrain myself from crying. I wouldn’t want to do her such a huge favor. I’ve never had the courage to tell her what I think of her behavior towards men before, and I really didn’t mean to be rude or offensive. But the way she treats them as if they were nothing more than sex objects is just something I can’t stand, no matter if men or women do it, and as I said, in my humble opinion she’s broken way too many hearts already.

“My God, I never thought you were that prudish!,” she replies, shaking her head. “I’m really sorry if I destroy your beautiful illusions, but there isn’t anything like this ‘Boy and girl fall in love, get married and live happy ever after’- fairytale bullshit! The dating game is about meeting people, it’s about getting it on with someone you find attractive, and if you’re lucky some sort of relationship might develop there, and if it doesn’t, well, you’ve still had some fun! Let me tell you one thing, my dear: If you’re waiting for your perfect love to just walk into your life one day, then you’re waiting in vain! You cannot lock your heart away for ages, saying that as soon as Mister Right comes along you’ll be able to make him happy! You’ll fail miserably, I can tell you! Love is an art that needs to be learned just like any other art, and I don’t mean from books or film! That would be like someone who’s never ever painted a picture saying he’ll be able to compete with Picasso as soon as the perfect object comes along. Do you think it’ll work? I don’t think so.”

Trish pauses and tries to establish eye contact with me, but I avoid her. I can’t look at her now. I’m absolutely powerless in this situation and I think she knows.

“Viv, I know what this fucker Dylan did to you,” she then continues softly, “There is absolutely no doubt that he’s scum, but you’re not! Please, do yourself a favor and leave it behind at last! Get a life again! I know you think you’re fat, ugly and only get what you deserve, but it’s not true! You could be so wonderful if only you’d let yourself! Honestly! All you need is a makeover and a boost for your self-confidence and your self-esteem! I can’t do it for you, though. I can show you the way, but you’re the one who has to jump over your shadow and walk. You’re the one who has to make it happen. If you don’t want to… well, then I can’t help you. But please, don’t judge me according to your standards and beliefs. I accept them, because I’m not you and you’re not me, so I want you to accept the way I am, too. That’s what friendship’s about, you know?” She looks at me for a moment and when I don’t respond, she sighs. “Anyways, I’m going to bed.” She gets up, then gives me a mothering, caring smile, and gently pats my shoulder. “Goodnight,” she says as she leaves.

I think I sat there for about half an hour or so, barely breathing, not moving at all. Her words keep echoing in my head, and even though they’re pretty harsh I know that she’s absolutely right. There’s not a single thing I could argue about. The truth often hurts, and yet I’m glad I’ve got someone like Trish who throws it straight into my face from time to time. I guess I would have gone crazy a long time ago if she didn’t do it.

Finally I get up, take off my socks and shorts and then curl up in my bed like a dog in front of an open fire on a cold day. I stare into the darkness, silent tears coursing down my face, until weariness overtakes me. As I close my eyes and slowly fall asleep I can still hear Trish’s voice in my head.

I can show you the way, but you’re the one who has to jump over your shadow and walk.

So proud to have showed you the way to this site! (Yes, I know, you had been lurking on your own, but I literally fell in love with this fic!)
People will love Viv and probably hate Trish... the only sure fact is that I am really glad to see you here!

PS I have moved this to "The Lads" section, for it is an OB fic and this is going to be a long story (I hope!).

:love: Ursi

:yay: :yay: woo hoo...

This fic is wonderfull, really. I was laughing to dead with viv. She's great...
But to tell you the true i don't like trish at all caughbitchcought :lalala: anyway i just wanted to tell you that you hace a fan over here. :yay:

loves vera

Thank you for your nice review, Vera :) I'm very happy that you enjoy the story, and hopefully there'll be an update soon :)

@ Ursi
Thanks for moving the story here, if I'd made a bit of an effort I would have posted it here myself *blush*

Lovely story, but well, Trisha doesn't sound half as bad as everyone might think she is, that's my opinion.

Friends are different, plus this is kind of from only Vivien's POV so who knows? Great writing there!

You know, I quite like Trish too. That last thing she said was pretty smart and caring.

Thank you so much for reading this, Ryvyan and sxc_stylez! :) It's really interesting how different people see Trish. Keep your fingers crossed for me, maybe you'll have chaoter two soon then :)

### DISCLAIMER: I do not know or own any celebrities mentioned in this story.
All original characters, however, belong to me.

### TITLE: The way to your heart
### GENRE: Romance/Drama
### RATING: R for language and sexual content later on
### PAIRING: OB/f
### MAIN CHARACTERS: Orlando Bloom, André Schneider, the LotR actors, Vivien
Larkin, Patrisha "Trish" Bordon (probably more to come)
--------------------------------------------------------------

>> Woke up this morning with my heart on fire
Thought I heard somebody calling
Now I know I've seen the light
Make it go on shining
I keep on searching for the way to your heart
Try to believe it's getting better
Babe take me all the way to your heart
All the way to your heart <<

--------------------------------------------------------------

### Chapter Two [Part I]


I’m somewhere in the magic borderland between being asleep and waking up, where the darkness is comforting and serene, when suddenly a shrill and nerve-racking sound from far away approaches fast and starts to invade this peaceful place with an alarming persistence. I try to ignore it at first, hoping it’s just a nightmare I’m having, but it gets louder and louder with every moment that passes, and after no more than ten seconds it’s simply unbearable. I haven’t even opened my eyes yet, but I know it’s one of these horrible alarm clocks which are designed to make you jump out of bed at the very first beep because you just can’t stand the sound.

I growl like a grumpy old grizzly bear, pull the blanket over my head and bury my face deep in the huge, soft pillow of the bed, praying that the sound will go away again, but it just doesn’t. So, I finally groan loudly, slowly raise my left arm with a sigh and fumble for the nasty intruder for a moment or two without success, until I find it and shut it off.

Ah... silence. I turn over with a sleepy smile on my face, yawn, and then slowly begin to fall asleep again. But just when I’m about to re-enter my beloved borderland, someone shakes me by the shoulders.

“Good morning, Viv. Time to get up!” Trish shouts merrily.

Uttering all sorts of strange sounds, I pull a face that would get me a job in Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors for the rest of my life if it froze. “Argh...what time is it?”

“Seven-thirty,” she replies. “You need to get up now so that we’ll catch the ski bus at eight-thirty.”

Ski bus? What the hell is she talking about? All I know is that no sane person would ever get up at fucking seven-thirty on a Sunday morning!

“Go away!” I mumble, and a second later I squeak like a frightened guinea pig because Trish pulls away the blanket.
“You’re cruel, Trish!” I whimper and coil around the pillow as I begin to shiver. “Getting up so early violates the dignity of man.”

“Alright,” She counters me with a mischievous undertone in her voice that makes it clear that she’s up to something. “You don’t need to get up. If you wanna skip your snowboarding lessons with hottie Orlando Bloom so that I can spend the day with him, then that’s fine.”

“Huh?”
I rub my eyes to remove the sticky liquid that has glued my eyelids together, and give her a very tired and very confused look. “Orlando who?”

Trish’s left eyesbrow goes up right to her hairline, and she frowns.
“Orlando Bloom?” She repeats in an incredulous tone.

Suddenly my brain makes a lightning start and I see daylight. I remember where I am, what happened the day before and what madness I’ve committed myself into. Oh no...! On the one hand I haven’t got very far down the list of: ‘Things I wanna do before I die’ yet, you know, and therefore I’m not very keen to get a snowboard under my feet ever again, but on the other hand I hate people who break their promises, so I guess I can’t back down anymore. Well, since I’m here anyway I just have to try and make the best out of the situation. Maybe Orlando will have mercy on me as soon as he realizes that I’m about as sporty as the devil is a Catholic.

“Okay, okay, I’m up,” I yawn and stretch my limbs before I crawl out of bed and shuffle to the bathroom. I’m shocked when I look into the mirror and see a pale, puffy-faced ghost with huge bags under the eyes staring back at me. Running my fingers through my hair with a deep sigh, I decide not to look in any more mirrors until I can expect a better picture. Having a good long shower is probably the best thing to do now.

~

After a hurried breakfast – I lost time in the shower, just like I always do – me and Trish rush down the street to the bus stop as fast as we can. You cannot imagine how awkward it is to run when you wear a ski suit and heavy snowboard boots, and carry a snowboard! The bus is already there, and thank God for the fact that nice drivers who wait for people who are a bit late still exist. When we finally take our seats, I’m as exhausted as an athlete who’s just run a marathon, and while the bus passes the toll-house at the foot of the mountain and drives up the long and winding road leading up to the glacier, I lean my head against the window, close my eyes and doze off.

~

I might be physically awake as we get off the ski bus half an hour later and head for the restaurant to meet Atti and Orlando, but in my mind I’m still in bed. Surprisingly enough there are already quite a lot of people up here, even though it’s just past nine o’clock. For some reason the slopes appear to rise even more steeply this morning, and the mere thought of having to try and conquer them with a snowboard under my feet makes my heart rate triple. I’m lucky to some extent, however, because we had six inches of fresh-fallen snow over night, so at least it’s not going to hurt as badly as yesterday if I fall down every two feet– and I could bet my life on the fact that I will!

“Come on, hurry up!” Trish says. “We don’t wanna make them wait, do we?”

“Keep cool, Speedy Gonzales!” I yawn. “We’re right on time.”

We put the snowboards into the snow just outside the restaurant, then we enter the building. There’s no-one in here right now apart from us and the two boys who spot us as soon as we walk in.

“We’re over here!” Atti waves at us.

We cross the room and sit down and their table in the corner for a brief moment of rest before the madness is due to begin.

“Looking forward to get on the slopes?” Orlando asks me with a grin.

“I just can’t wait!” I mutter sarcastically.

“Oh, come on.” He gives a little laugh and pokes me. “You’ll be fine.”

My answer is pulling a face and rolling my eyes. It seems pointless to argue with him, first of all because I’m way too tired right now to win an argument, and secondly because I daresay I know myself much better than he does, and when I say I’m going to fail miserably, then I will. Period. Prove me wrong and I’ll eat a broomstick crosswise.

“Have you been on the black slope yesterday?” Trish asks Orlando.

“Yep. Very steep and difficult, but it’s great. Would be awesome to have a race down that hill.”

“Just try me.”

His left eyebrow goes up, and he flashes her a very amused grin. “You want to try and challenge me? You’re doomed to lose, girl!”

“Says who? You? Well, what about a bet then?” Trish returns.

“A bet?”

“Yeah. A bet who’s gonna win the race. The loser will have to to do something for the winner.” She pauses to allow a very suggestive grin to sneak onto her face. “Whatever it may be,” she then finishes the sentence, emphasizing every word.

Within a second there’s the very same suggestive grin on Orlando’s face. “Sounds good. Count me in.”

Should I comment on that? It’s probably better I don’t. I’m better than this. If they wanna play these silly games, then that’s none of my business. I should have known anyway that Trish would try something like that, considering the conversation we had last night. Why shouldn’t she? The only thing that confuses me is a tiny jealous voice within that suddenly appears out of nowhere, followed by a nasty little pain inside my chest that won’t let me breathe when I imagine Trish and Orlando being alone together.

I must have looked a bit pissed off, because suddenly Atti leans across the table and whispers into my ear.
“Looks like Elf boy has just reached puberty. You gotta know, he’s a a bit sex-starved after having spent eighteen months in the company of a king, the king’s envy, four hobbits, a queer wizard and a dwarf, so don’t blame him.”

I almost swallow the wrong way and burst out laughing. Tears of laughter fill my eyes and I hide my face behind my hands as my head begins to turn dark red because I forget to breathe. This is just too damn hilarious! I think I really like Atti! When the surroundings begin to fade away I breathe in deeply at last, wipe away the tears and keep chuckling for a moment or two, then I bite my bottom lip to force myself to calm down.

“What the hell did you just tell her, huh?” Orlando asks, lifting his eyebrow.

“Nothing,” Atti replies and flashes him a grin that almost splits his face in two, “Just making sure that I’ve got someone to share the bed with as well when you two get busy.”

“Uh huh... Watch your back, Viv!” Trish giggles.

I give a little laugh and nod, grinning. “I will.”

“So do you two just wanna go on then?” Orlando asks, looking at Trish and Atti. “Vivien and me are going to stay on the easy slope next to the ski tow this morning. Let’s say we’ll meet you in here at one o’clock for lunch?”

“Sure,” Atti agrees and takes Trish by the hand as he gets up. “Come on, let’s see if you can beat me on a snowboard!”

“Okay,” Trish grins, and then looks at me. “And you stay alive, do you hear me?”

I laugh nervously, “I’ll try my best.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her,” Orlando says with a smile and carefully puts his arms around me for a hug.

Oh. My. God.

Have you ever been caught completely off guard, ever been taken by surprise, been overwhelmed by a simple gesture like this? No? Well, neither have I, but I’m absolutely lost right now, noticing how a whole lot of contradictories overtake me. My heart seems to have stopped beating, but at the very same time it’s racing like the London Underground. I’ve frozen at his touch, but I can feel myself melting away. Dizziness sets in when I breathe in his scent, and yet my mind is wide awake. I’m glad I’m still sitting on the bench, because my knees have turned into jelly and wouldn’t be able to carry me. What is it that I have to remember whenever I think I’m about to faint?

Oh yeah. Keep breathing!

“Alright then, see you!” Trish winks at me before she walks out the door with Atti. For some reason I feel relieved when Orlando lets go again. It doesn’t seem right to have such a good-looking man holding me. He surely deserves something better.

“Are you alright?” Orlando asks me with a slightly concerned look on his face. “You look a bit pale.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m okay,” I reply with an insecure smile, “I’m just a wee bit nervous.”

“You don’t have to be. Even the clumsiest person can learn how to snowboard.”

“Gee, thanks!”

“You’re welcome. Well, let’s go then.”

We step outside and I take my board, then follow Orlando as he climbs up the hill – without his snowboard.
“Hey, where’s your board?”

He turns around with a grin.
“I don’t think I’ll need it this morning. My chief concern for the next couple of hours is teaching you how to use yours.”

Figures.
“Alright... but can’t I take the ski tow to get to the top of the hill?”

Orlando burst out laughing and friendlily pats my shoulder.
“How do you think you’ll be able to handle a ski tow when you’re still struggling with your board, love?”

I sigh and shake my head at my own stupidity. Hell yeah, he’s right. Have I mentioned that I’m World Champion at embarassing myself?
“Okay, I see your point,” I grin and then we go on.

When we finally get to the top of the hill, I’m already completely exhausted and pant like a granny who decided to walk up to the top of the Empire State building from the ground floor instead of taking the elevator. Orlando just flashes me an amused grin before he sits down in front of me to fasten the snowboard to my boots.

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head, still grinning. “Nothing.”

“Don’t nothing me!” I mutter. “I know what you’re thinking. But I can assure you that I do a lot of sports.”

“Do you?”

“Uh huh.”

“What kind of sport?”

“I exercise my fingers a lot when I work with my laptop every night,” I reply, blinking, “And at least five times a day I open my mouth, chew and swallow. So there!”

Orlando starts laughing. “Aye. Why didn’t you tell me you were voted Miss Fitness three times in a row?”

“Ah, I didn’t want you to think I’m a show-off.”

“Aaaaalright...”

We exchange amused looks, then he points at the snowboard fastened to my feet.
“So are you ready for this, Miss Fitness?”

“I’m game if you are, Elf boy.”

When suddenly a handfull of powdery snow ends up in my face I squeak loudly and spit it out. But before I get a chance to hit back, Orlando grabs me and starts rubbing snow into the collar of my ski suit. It’s bloody cold and he’s way to strong for me to have any chance to defend myself.

“Stop it!” I scream while trying to get him off me without success, “This is unwanted physical contact, I’m a woman and I’m handicapped! Stop it!”

“I want you to beg for mercy!” He replies with an evil grin on his face, holding up a huge snowball.

“Beg for mercy? Only over my dead - ”

I don’t even get to finish my sentence before he grabs me again, pulls me up and crams the snow underneath my ski suit. I whimper as it slowly moves down my spine. I can’t see anything, and the more I fight, the more snow gets underneath my clothes. So finally I surrender and hold still.

“Have mercy on me!” I pant. “Please!... I beg you! Stop it!”

In a split second the battle is over, and when no more attacks come after three or four seconds, I wipe away the snow in my face, blink, and carefully open one eye, then the other. Orlando’s face is just inches away from mine, and when I turn my head a little bit I can see his hand on my bum. Oh, damn this fluffy ski suit! The sexiest man alive has his hand on my arse, and I don’t feel a thing!

“Now you know what happens when you call me Elf boy,” he says with a mischievous grin.

I pull a face and stick my tongue out at him, trying to look angry, but just as I start speaking, I can’t help but laugh. “You’re such an idiot!”

He just smiles at me with a look in his eyes that I can’t put into words. It’s just then that I realise how close we are, and suddenly I feel as if I’ve just swallowed an anthill, and my pulse quadruples. I lose myself in his big brown eyes and shiver inside as thrills run up and down my spine. I can’t move, I can’t speak, I can’t breathe. All I can do is stare into his chocolate eyes while he’s killing me softly.

Kiss me! You don’t have to ask for permission, just kiss me!

But then he blinks, and suddenly the moment’s gone. He gets up and turns away for a brief moment before he points at my snowboard again.
“Alright,” he says with a slightly husky voice, “Snowboarding is neither as bad nor as difficult as it may seem. The most important thing is that you bend your knees. They’re like a shock absorber then, and nothing can throw you off your balance. When you glide down the hill, spread your arms a little, that’ll help you as well. And when I say bend your knees, I don’t want you to arch your back, okay? You have to stand upright and flex every single muscle that you have, but don’t tense up.”

“Aye aye, Sir!” I laugh and take a deep breath. “I suppose you’re going to descend again and wait for me at the bottom of the hill?”

“Exactly. Don’t worry, I’ve told you, it’s easy. Everyone can learn snowboarding.”

“I really hope so! I’ve just got one more question before we start.”

“What?”

“How on earth am I supposed to make it to the bottom in one piece?”

“On your snowboard, darlin’. On your snowboard.”

“I knew you would say that!”

He gives a little laugh and pats my shoulder. “Just remember what I’ve just told you.”

“...Which is an awful lot.”

“I know. But strangely enough quite a few people actually manage.”

“Well, give them an award...!”

He shakes his head, grinning. “Seems like I shouldn’t mess with your sarcasm, eh? Anyway, I’m going down again, wait until I give you a sign, then you start up and just glide down slowly, alright?”

“Yeah...”

Dear Lord, I know I haven’t been to church for years and I swear a lot, and therefore I cannot expect your help, but yet I need to ask you to stand by me in this hour of my doom. I promise I’ll be better if I get out of this alive. Thank you a lot, and Amen. Yours sincerely, Vivien.

~

Orlando was wrong when he told me that everyone could learn snowboarding. There’s always an exception to the rule, and in this case, the exception is me. In the hours that follow I spend more time on the ground, digging myself out of the snow, than actually gliding down the hill. Everytime I fall I panic and fear I could break my leg or my foot, even though Orlando keeps telling me that the binding will open before this could happen. I never get very far before I slump to the ground, again and again. Like a drunk and stoned cow on a ship on the high seas at wind force 12 I stand on my board and wave my arms around wildly in a desperate attempt to get further down the hill than just a few meters. Orlando is very patient and runs up to me whenever I lose control and almost crash into other beginners on the slope, but he is also very strict with me. He keeps correcting my posture and gives me one order after the next. But the worst thing is that snowboarding isn’t only difficult but also very exhausting. I’m not very fit, and therefore my reactions and movement start getting slower and clumsier the more time we spend on the slope, and after a while I can’t feel my hands and legs anymore. Four hours later I’ve been down the hill seven times with a lot of long breaks in-between. But the last time we went down I only fell once. Can you imagine how proud I am? I still can’t snowboard, not at all, but somehow I’m beginning to find a way to make it down the hill in one piece, and for that I am truly grateful.

I bet you can still hear my stomach rumble in Atlantis when we finally head for the restaurant at one o’clock. It seems like all the tourists decided to have lunch at the same time, and therefore it’s pretty crowded inside, and I doubt we’ll find a table. But we’re lucky. As we walk around to see if Atti and Trish are already here, a family is getting ready to leave, and as soon as they get up, Orlando and me grab the table. I sit down with a deep sigh and take off of my scarf, my hat and my gloves. It’s pretty hot in here, so I open the zipper of my ski suit and wiggle out of the upper part of it. Then I lean back with a contented smile.

“What are you smiling about?” Orlando asks.

I give a little laugh and stretch, “Nothing special. I’m just glad that I’m still alive.”

“Figures. But you actually did pretty well for an absolute beginner,” he replies.

“Thanks.”
I’m feeling really flattered, but secretly I wonder if he really means it or if he’s just being polite. After all, I’ve never been very sporty. Okay, it’s not entirely true. I used to swim a lot when I was younger, and I loved horse riding, too, but I haven’t done any of these things for years, and neither swimming nor horse riding is anything like snowboarding anyway.

“I found them!”
Suddenly I can hear Trish’s voice across the room, and when I look up I see her coming towards our table with Atti. Both of them have red faces and look slightly exhausted, so I guess they’ve been down the black slope many times.

“OB mate – lemme give you some... advice. Don’t... challenge... her!” Atti pants as he sits down beside me, “She’s so...damn fast, you... you won’t believe it!”

I have to laugh at this, because I can easily imagine how degrading it must have been for Atti to be beaten by Trish in probably every single race. He’s a man, after all. And besides, he looks funny when he’s out of breath.

“Well, unlike you I’ve got nothing to lose,” Orlando replies with a suggestive grin, looking at Trish out of the corners of his eyes. Trish winks at him and just smiles very self-satisfied. It really doesn’t take a scientist to analyse the chemistry that’s going on between them.

Atti sticks his tongue out at his friend, then he looks at me. “So how was your first snowboarding lesson, crash pilot?”

I exchange looks with Orlando, who’s definitely telling me not to say something I might regret.
“It was okay,” I compromise with a careful smile. “Now that I’ve been on the slopes they don’t need to use the snow-plough anymore.”

The three of them laugh out aloud, then Atti pats my shoulder.
“Still you’re very lucky because of the fresh-fallen snow. When I learned snowboarding a couple of years ago, I couldn’t sit down after the first day because my bum was so sore.”

“Oops!” I giggle.

“Oh yeah... and so I put a pillow in my pants for the rest of the week in order to prevent it from getting worse.”

“Seriously?” I chuckle.

“No,” he says, blinking, “But it’s not a bad idea, isn’t it?”

“Not at all.”
I’ve just spoken the words when my stomach rumbles loudly as if it were complaining about the fact that I haven’t eaten anything for more than five hours. Trish, Atti and Orlando look at me for a second, then they start laughing again.

“Is it possible that someone among us is hungry?” Trish asks, grinning.

Another loud rumbling sound. I blush and stroke my belly.
“I think I might have swallowed an ice bear somewhere on the slopes.”

“Well then, let’s get something to eat!” Atti says, “I’m bloody starving, too!”

Now that is something I definitely agree with. I wait until Atti has moved out, then I get up and head for the self-service area with him, sensing that Trish and Orlando are going to stick together like glue anyway.

“Hey, would you mind if I put my food on your tray?” I ask, tugging at Atti’s sleeve. “I’m still a wee bit shaky after four hours on the slopes, and I don’t want it to end up on the floor.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “No problem, just go ahead.”

“Thanks.”
I grab some napkins and knives, forks and spoons for us and then follow him as he starts walking around in the self-service area.

“What are you gonna have for lunch?” He questions me.

“Hm... not sure.”
I scratch my chin as I take a look at the menu. “What about you?”

“I’m gonna have some of those great Germknödel *¹ with vanilla sauce. You should try the goulash soup, it’s really good.”

“Uh uh... I’m not eating dead bodies.”

Atti stops and gives me a bit of a strange look, then he grins. “Oh... so you’re a member of the rabbit food association?”

“The what?”

“The rabbit food association.”
It takes me a moment or two until I understand what he’s talking about, then I stick my tongue out at him and poke him. “Yeah, just go on making fun of me.”

“Oh, I’d never make fun of a member of the rabbit food association!”

“Shut up!”

“Do you know how cruelly cereals are being murdered day by day? And how can you eat fruit and vegetables that have been killed by being harvested before they were fully grown? Don’t plants have feelings, too? What about their right to live?”

“Oh Atti, just quit it!”
I’m on the verge of collapse because I have to laugh so hard. The fact that Atti looks at me completely serious only makes it worse.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s only jealous because us vegetarians tend to live about twenty years longer than those meat eaters.”
Orlando suddenly steps up to me with his tray, followed by Trish, and flashes me a grin.

“Rabbit food association’s president speaking!” Atti teases, doing a little dance. No more than two seconds later he squeaks loudly and jumps around in quite a grotesque way. Turning around, I see Orlando holding a bowl with ice cubes, and obviously some of them have just made their way into Atti’s ski suit.

“Payback’s a bitch, I hope you know that, OB!” Att whines while shaking off his jacket.

“Uhhh, I’m so scared already!” Orlando grins and then orders French fries and a salad. I keep contemplating for another couple of minutes, then I decide to go for the same, and finally we’re all back at our table, and silence spreads as four voracious eaters wolf down their food. Okay, it’s actually only three, Trish is chewing on a raw carrot and taking sips of still table water. Model or not, sometimes I really wonder how she manages not to starve with the little food she eats.

Fifteen minutes later we’re all finished but Atti. He’s taking the time to eat his Germknödel*¹ with great relish

“Now come on, hurry up!” Orlando finally says to him, “I wanna get back on the slopes with Vivien.”

“Er...”
I grin and shake my head, “I think I’m finished for today. No argument! You go on with these two pros, and I’ll stay here, have a hot chocolate or two, and relax.”

It’s just when Trish’s face lits up that I realise what I’ve just said, or rather done. They’re gonna have their stupid race now, one of them is going to win, and then... no, I better don’t think about it.

“Are you sure? I mean, the more you practise, the better you’ll get,” Orlando says softly in an attempt to change my mind.

“Oh, just leave her if she doesn’t want to,” Trish interrupts with a bright smile, putting one hand possesively on his arm, “I think she really deserves a break.”

If looks could kill, Trish would have dropped dead right now. My stupidity is one thing, but the fact that she answers when he’s talking to me is a little too much in my humble opinion. But well... my bad, I was the one who said I wasn’t going on the slopes again. Silly me. I believe that you always get what you deserve. Nothing less, nothing more.

“Alright, I’m finished,” Atti says and puts his spoon down. “You’re really sure you don’t want to come, Vivien?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, let’s go then,” Trish says and gets up. They recollect their hats, gloves and scarfs, get dressed and then leave. Just before they walk out the door, Orlando looks over his shoulder again, and for a very brief moment he seems a little disappointed. But maybe it’s just me. You know, sometimes you see things that aren’t happening because you want to see them.

I lean back with a sigh and close my eyes for a moment. Exhaustion slowly but surely starts to settle in, and I’ve got a premonition that tomorrow morning I won’t be able to move because I’ll be all stiff and aching. Mais je ne regrette rien.*² I can’t forget the way Orlando looked at me on the slopes after our little fight. It was a moment completely suspended in time, so wonderful, so unreal, and yet it has happened. I really wonder why.

And now he’s on the slopes with Trish. Suddenly I’m feeling cold, and I swallow hard. Once again I can’t help the feeling that I wanna be someone else. Someone who’s smart, funny and beautiful. Someone like Trish. I wanna have silky golden hair, perfectly shaped, fourty inches long legs and huge green eyes to drown in. I wanna be able to grab a gorgeous bloke like Orlando.

But I’m not.
And I never will be.
When will you grow up, Vivien?

______________

Notes:

*¹ Germknödel: German/Austrian meal; a big yeast dumpling with plum mousse inside, served with hot vanilla sauce

*² Mais je ne regrette rien. (French) = But I don’t regret anything of it.

*does the little feedback dance* ;) :)

Great! I can't really wait to see what you have in store for the next part.
Vivien is really the kind of girl I so much adore, true to herself and so witty, I am sure that it won't take long to Orlando to fall in love with her and push that jelly fish of her friend aside!

Post more when you can dear!

Brilliant chapter!

:love:

score!!!! Pheeew, even if it was only chap two I had to speed up and read it.

And I'm so glad I did! I think this story is the very first good thing of my bloody monday girl! I like your style, and as Ursi said, Viv rocks!!!!

I'm sorry to tell you that you'll hear from me again girl, this story is too good! :bye: ;)2

love,
Mena

Aww, thank you so much for your feedback, Mena :) I really appreciate it, and I'm thrilled you like the story :) Keep an eye on this, the second part of chapter two will be here as soon as I get back home (I'm on holiday at the moment, writing this from an internet café), and chappy three is in the works :)

*hugs*
Jennifer

# TITLE: The Way To Your Heart

# AUTHOR: Darkchild
# EMAIL: Darkchild_Lacrima@gmx.de
# RATING: R for language, sexual content and some violence

# SUMMARY: Being sarcastic, chaotic and anything but a classic beauty, Vivien doesn't consider herself as a very special person. But there's something about her that makes Orlando wanna go all the way to her heart...

# DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I do not own him...*sigh* All original characters, however, belong to me.
I do realize that some of the storyline does not fit in with the known facts about OB, but since this is a fictional piece of writing, this shouldn't be too much of a problem, aye?



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Here it is - the second part of chapter two. :) Don't worry about whatever you read, I did it all on purpose. ;) And now enjoy :)

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### Chapter Two [Part 2]


I must have dozed off sometime after my second hot chocolate, because the next thing I remember is Orlando’s soft voice telling me to wake up as he gently shakes me by the shoulders. I growl and yawn loudly, and then I reluctantly lift my forehead off the table, rub my eyes and stretch clumsily. “What time is it?”

“Four thirty,” Orlando replies. “We’d better make our way down into the valley again before it gets dark. I’m not very keen to drive down that narrow road at night.”

I scratch my head and give him a slightly confused look. “What do you mean? Are you not going to take the ski bus?”

“Nope. Atti has got a car.”

“Oh, I see.” I pause and smile at him carefully. “Do you think he’d give Trish and me a ride if I say a pretty please?”

“That’s what he wanted to do anyway. Come on, they’re waiting for us.”

“Alright. Wait just a minute.”

I clean up the table and return my cup to where it belongs, then I collect my stuff and we leave. Orlando takes my snowboard and we walk across the huge car park. There wasn’t a single empty parking space in the morning, but now the only car that’s left is a dark blue Volkswagen with a license plate from Berlin. Atti and Trish sit in the front and are chatting so merrily they don’t even see us coming. Both of them jerk when Orlando knocks on the window to make Atti open the door.

“Can you give me the keys for a moment? I need to put Vivien’s snowboard into the roof rack.”

“There you are,” Atti replies and handles him the bunch of keys, “But next time don’t sneak up to me like that unless you want me to die from a heart attack!”

“You poor little fellow!” Orlando counters him with a cheeky grin that makes it perfectly clear he’s not sorry at all. “If you two had paid just a little attention you would have seen us approaching.”

He then opens the rack, puts my snowboard in and locks the box again before giving the keys back to Atti.

“Come on, get on in, or do you wanna stay overnight up here?” He then says to me.

I blush and pull my hat deeper into my face to hide my embarrassment as I make my way round the car and slide in onto the back seat. There isn’t much space in here, and the sight of Orlando trying to somehow get his lean 5’11 into the small car makes me giggle.

“Stop laughing!” He grins. “It’s not my fault that this car was built far small people.”

“I’m not small, I’m space-efficient,” I reply, blinking. Trish comments my statement with a loud, fake cough, but I pretend I can’t hear her, and so does Orlando.

“Good answer,” he smiles, and for a very brief moment I think I can see that look in his eyes again. I keep looking at him for a second or two until I feel I’m about to faint, so I quickly fasten the seatbelt and lean my head against the window as Atti starts the engine. The glass is freezing cold, but I guess that’s just what I need right now.

Keep cool, Vivien. Just cool down. And you better stop seeing things that aren’t there really quickly.

We drive down the long and winding road in silence for a little while. The radio’s playing songs that I have never heard, and everyone’s just looking out the window, save for Atti, who is keeping an eye on the road.

“So did you have your race?” I finally ask in a casual tone.

“Yep,” Trish answers and turns around in her seat to look at me with a self-satisfied grin that makes me wanna punch her. But I don’t. I never do. I just swallow my jealousy and put on a perfect fake smile.

“And who won?”

When Orlando raises his hand, I’m speechless for a moment or two. Don’t ask me why, but I’d just expected Trish to win for some reason. I mean, she beat Atti, and he certainly looks very fit.

“You?” I stammer.

“Was there any doubt?” He replies cockily, and I give a little laugh.

“No comment,” I return, blinking. Then I look out the window again and take in the beautiful sight of the valley as the winter sun goes down. The snow glitters and shines like millions of tiny sparkling diamonds, emitting a strange kind of white light that makes everything look surreal in a way. It’s more beautiful than anything I’ve seen so far, so peaceful and serene. After just a little while I begin to daydream with a big smile on my face. From that state of mind it doesn’t take much longer until I realize that sleepiness is about to overtake me again. I’m way too lazy to fight it right now, however, and so I finally doze off again.

~

“So are you two coming down to the pub or not?” Atti asks.

We’ve just found out that our hotels are pretty close to each other. Our pension is in Feichten, the only village consisting of more than twenty buildings in the whole valley, and the guys live in a hotel in Platz, which is only about two miles away. Sure, that’s quite a good reason to meet up off the slopes, but does it necessarily have to be tonight? I’m really tired, and apart from that I’m still trying to find a way to prevent Orlando and Trish from keeping their words regarding the bet.
I exchange looks with her and silently beg her to say no, but when she smiles and says “Sure” just a second later, I know that I shouldn’t even have bothered to ‘ask’.

“Okay, so see you there in half an hour!” Atti shouts as they drive off. I keep standing right in the middle of the street for a couple of seconds, leaning on my snowboard, and look after the car. Then I sigh and go inside with Trish.

“What’s up?” She asks as we climb up the stairs to our room.

“Nothing, I’m just tired,” I mumble without looking at her.

“Are you sure?”

She gives me a slightly concerned look while unlocking the door.

“Yeah.”

“Well...” The door is open now and Trish walks in before me. “I won’t force you to come down with me. If you don’t want to, stay here.”

Stay here? Certainly not! “No, it’s okay, don’t worry,” I sigh as I take off my snowboard boots. When their four kilograms fall off, I suddenly feel weightless, and grin. It’s actually very funny in a way - you don’t really notice just how heavy those things are until you take them off and feel the difference.

“What’s going on?” Trish questions when she sees my amused countenance.

“I believe I can fly” I sing and start dancing around the room, “I believe I can touch the sky...”

“Oh my God, stop it!” She laughs and puts her palms on her ears. “You’re a truly gifted woman in many aspects of life, Viv, but you definitely can not sing!”

“I know. I’m fully aware of the fact that I’ve got a voice like a rusty dustbin,” I giggle. “And I confess that I was kicked out of the school choir twice - but as long as artists like Spear Tittney *¹ get a record deal, there’s nothing and no-one on this goddamn planet that can keep me from singing!”

Trish burst out laughing and gasps for air so desperately that I’m a little afraid she might get suffocated by her own laughter. She keeps heehawing for quite a long time, then she comes staggering towards me and wraps one arm around my neck in order to somehow stay on her feet.
“You know,” she chuckles, panting, “One thing that I really love about you is your sense of humour, girl. You’re just too precious!”

“Why? Because I’m the incarnation of failure?” I reply, blinking. I just hope Trish won’t sense the tiny bitter undertone in my voice.

She doesn’t.

“No, because you’re self-confident enough to make fun of yourself.” Suddenly she becomes pretty serious and looks at me with a warm smile. “If something like that had happened to me I would have made sure that no-one was ever going to know because I’d be so ashamed. But you’re not. You stand up proudly, shout it out loud and just laugh about it. I really admire that. That’s what makes you so real. So wonderful.”

My jaw drops as if I was a cartoon, and I can’t believe my ears. She must be making fun of me! But she isn’t. If you wanna know if Trish is sincere or not, you just have to look her in the eyes, and I can see nothing but sheer honesty there right now.

I swallow and just stare at her. Never ever before has she said something like that to me, and I really don’t know why she’s done it now. There’s nothing I could say, so I just smile and bit my bottom lip in slight embarrassment.

“Thanks.”

“Not for this, girl,” Trish returns and gently pats my shoulder as she lets go of me, “So let’s get ready to meet the boys, alright?”

All of a sudden, the whole idea doesn’t seem so bad anymore. I nod and then start to wiggle out of my ski suit.

“Trish?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you... er... help me a bit with my hair and make up? I might be the one confident enough to make fun of myself, but when it comes to dressing up, you are the expert.”

She laughs and nods, smiling.

“Sure, I will. Off you go to the bathroom. I’ll be there in just a minute.”

~

Half an hour later we enter the pub. It’s pretty crowded inside, the air smells of smoke and some strange kind of music is blaring. As I put my jacket on the coat rack near the entrance, I crane my neck in an attempt to spot Atti and Orlando somewhere, but it’s impossible. I guess we just have to make our way round to see if they’re already here or not.

“Trish?”

I tug at my pullover and run my fingers through my hair. I’m not used to wear it open. It makes me feel nervous for some reason. I don’t think I’ve ever bitten on my bottom lip as often in the past few months as I did within the past two days.

“What?”
She looks absolutely stunning, of course. Her tight hipster jeans basically hug her slim figure, and so does her white polo neck sweater. We haven’t taken more than a few steps into the bar, and the people are already looking at us. Pardon. They’re looking at her.

“Do I look okay?”

Trish sighs and puts her arm around my shoulder.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you do, hon? Don’t be silly. And now come on, we need to find the boys.”

She starts walking around and I follow her, still not feeling entirely comfortable. I know just too well why I tend to avoid situations like this. She’s going to do all the talking anyway, and sure as hell she’s going to flirt as if her life depended on it. Maybe I should have stayed upstairs.

“There they are,” Trish then points out. The guys are sitting at a table out in the semi-circular shaped conservatory, which is completely made of multicoloured glass. Atti waves at us, and I wave back before me and Trish cross the room and sit down at the table.

“Hey,” Orlando says, looking at me.

“Hi,” I smile carefully as I sit down next to him.

“You look good,” he says, looking me up and down thoroughly. “You should always wear your hair open.”

Brushing a cheeky strand out of my face, he whispers into my ear, “It suits you.”

I think my heart skipped a beat at that very moment. Nobody has ever prepared me for this, and while one part of me is really flattered (...there’s that anthill in my stomach again), the other half of me starts panicking. I can feel myself tense up while I drown in his eyes and blush. I need to do something about this before my emotions tear me apart.

“Thanks,” I stammer as I get up, turning my head in Trish’s direction. “Would you like something to drink?”

She gives me a somewhat strange look, but then she nods. “Bacardi coke would be fine.”

“I’ll get it.”

I can feel Orlando’s eyes on me as I make my way through the crowd. I bet he’s wondering what he’s done wrong, and I wish I could tell him it’s not his fault, but I can’t even explain to myself why I’m overreacting like this. Something inside me just wouldn’t give way here, and I’ve got a feeling it’s better if I don’t try and find out what it was. You should let the ghosts from the subconscious part of your mind remain where they belong instead of encouraging them to start haunting you again.

Making my way to the bar turns out to be a real challenge, and getting the bartender to notice me among all the impatient people ain’t easy either, but finally it’s my turn and after repeating my order three times he finally seems to understand what I’m saying. It takes a moment or two, but then he hands me the Bacardi coke and a glass of orange juice, and I return to our table just in time to listen to a conversation between Trish and Orlando.

“...And since I missed most of the exams due to the photo shots in Saint Tropez and Cannes, I had to repeat them during the holidays. That’s why me and Viv didn’t make it out earlier.”

Oh great. I should have known that she’d try and impress him with her modelling career sooner or later, but I didn’t expect her to come up with it so soon. I decide to not comment on it and just hand her the drink before I sit down again.

“Thanks, hon.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So are we going to see these pictures anywhere?” Atti then asks, grinning.

Trish nods her head, eagerly and proudly. “Oh yes! They’re going to be in the March issue of the British Elle. I’m so excited!”

Uh yeah, me too.
I lift my eyebrows slightly upwards and just shake my head.

“What?” Trish questions me with a sharp undertone in her voice.

“N..n...nothing,” I stammer and grin sheepishly, “It’s just the mere thought of wearing a bikini while the thermometer is at ten degrees below zero that makes me shiver.”

Ain’t I a damn good liar? Sometimes I wonder how I got this good at pretending. I can fake it so real, I’m beyond fake. The three of them laugh, and I just flash them a grin as I take a sip of my orange juice.

As the hours pass, we talk about a million things. Well, let’s say, Trish and the boys do the talking and I just throw in a more or less constructive comment every now and then to pretend I’m participating in the conversation without actually having to pour my heart out to the guys like Trish does. I really wonder if she thinks this is a therapy session, because she tells Orlando and Atti basically anything you’d ever want to know about her (...or maybe not). Maybe it’s the alcohol - I’m not sure I counted correctly, but I think she had about five or six Bacardi cokes by now, so at least she’s got a good excuse for making a complete idiot of herself when her mind kicks in in the morning. Oh, and don’t tell me I’m a lousy friend by not telling her to stop. I think she’s old enough to behave herself (...or maybe not).

Finally, I excuse myself because I have to disappear for a second. I make my way out of the back door of the bar and descend the staircase down to the basement. It’s pretty chilly down here and the artificial light from the neon lamps at the ceiling makes me feel very uncomfortable. It reminds me of a hospital.

A cold, sterile hospital full of incompetent idiots called doctors who couldn’t do anything for us when we needed their help...

I shiver and shake my head in an attempt so fight off the nasty bits of memory that are trying to sneak up to me.

Don’t freak out, Vivien. Don’t act like some goddamn psycho. It’s been two and a half years. It’s gone.

But my legs take on a life of their own. I start running, rush into the Ladies’ restroom and slam the door behind me. As I lean against the cold hard wall with my eyes closed, my thunderstorm-like heartbeat echoes in my ear. I gasp for air, when suddenly I taste a salty liquid. When I open my eyes and look into the mirror on the opposite wall, I can see a woman crying. It takes me a while to realize that this is me.

God!...

I swallow hard and then force myself to calm down. I know everything’s alright. I know I’m not in a hospital, and I know that no-one’s dying. I’m just being paranoid.

Just stay sane, Vivien. It’s not as hard as it may seem.

I sigh deeply and let go of the wall, unsure if my legs will carry me. But they do. I’m a bit shaky, but I’m okay. As I take one deep breath after the next, I sprinkle my face with cool water and force myself to leave a blind spot on my life report once again. You wouldn’t believe how much you can willingly forget if only you want to.

I don’t really see or hear anything that goes on around me when I make my way back to the bar sometime later, and therefore I almost die of a heart attack when I suddenly bump into someone.
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry!” I mutter hastily and move on, but the person steps into my way and holds me back.

“Vivien?”

I look up and see Orlando’s face. His surprised countenance quickly changes to concern, and he carefully cups my shoulders.

“Good God, what happened to you? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!”

I can’t help but stare at him for a moment or two, then a whimpering sound escapes my mouth and in a burst of weakness I step forward, nestle against his chest and lay my head upon his shoulder. I can feel him tense up for a moment, but then he wraps his arms around me and gently strokes my back.

“Vivien... what’s wrong?” He whispers in my ear.

I close my eyes and begin to really relax at last as the warmth of his body melts away the ice that has taken hold of my insides, and his scent knocks out the last remains of the smell of hurt and pain that had appeared out of nowhere. He smells so sweet, yet very masculine... very, very good.

“Nothing,” I finally answer silently, “I’ve only remembered something unpleasant.”

He puts his index and middle finger under my chin and makes me look up to him.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

His dark eyes are full of sincere compassion and comfort, and I can hear a siren-like voice inside yelling at me to tell him, but I know I can’t. I haven’t properly dealt with it all myself yet, so how am I supposed to tell anyone?

“No, I’m okay,” I reply as composed as possible.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m fine, honestly.”

“Alright.”

He sure as hell doesn’t believe me, but he’s smart enough not to push, and so he gives me an encouraging smile and then plants a soft kiss on my forehead, what makes my heart stop for a brief moment.

“What... are you doing here anyway?” I question him, haltingly.

“I was looking for you,” he returns with a careful smile, “You’ve been gone a bit too long. I... I was worried something might have happened.”

I give a little laugh and give him a bit of an odd look.

“What could possibly happen to me here, in a pub, huh?”

“Er...”

Orlando bites his bottom lip and slowly begins to blush as I keep looking at him, waiting.
“I don’t know,” he then laughs, a little embarrassed, “You’re a crash pilot, after all… Will you forgive me that I was worried?”

“Mmmm.... I need to think about that very carefully,” I reply, blinking. He laughs and pokes me, and since I’m probably the most ticklish person on the planet, I squeak loudly.

“Orlando?”

“Yes, love?”

Love. Oh my God.

“You can let me go now.”

He gives me a slightly confused look, but then it dawns on him that he’s still holding me pretty tight. Seems like he forgot that for a moment, just like I did.

“What if I don’t want to?”

His voice is very soft, nothing more than a whisper, and when our eyes meet I think I’ll pass out any second. When I suddenly feel a delicious little pain inside my chest, I know that he’s just stolen my heart away for sure.

Thank God my mind kicks in at that very moment.

“Orlando, I want you to let me go!” I demand coolly and try to push him away. This time he obeys me and steps back.

“Sorry.”

I take a deep breath in order to regain control of myself before I look up and carefully smile at him to ease the sharpness of the words I’ve just spoken, then I open the door to the bar.

“So, are you coming in with me again, or what?”

“Yeah, sure.”

When we get back to our table, Atti greets us with a very suggestive grin.

“What the hell were you two doing, eh?”

I laugh and smack him gently, “Nothing you’re probably thinking of.”

Then I look over to Trish. She’s more or less lying on the table, snoring like a grizzly bear that suffers from asthma.

“What’s going on with her!?”

“Too much to drink, I’d say,” Atti grins and shrugs, “I told her it would be better if she stopped after seven Bacardi cokes, but she wouldn’t listen. Very well... my best wishes. I bet she’ll feel all stiff and aching tomorrow morning.”

Great. Was there any reason to get drunk tonight, Trish?

I sigh deeply and pull her off the table.

“Well, I think I’ll better get her upstairs then. She needs some rest.”

“Do you need help?” Orlando asks.

I stop for a moment, but then I nod my head.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll get her to our room all on my own.”

“I’ll take her.”

He lifts her up into his arms, just like a parent would carry a sleeping child from the car to the bedroom. She growls silently and mutters something terribly rude that I can’t understand, but she doesn’t wake up.

“Okay, let’s go,” Orlando says. “Atti, will you pay for the drinks and wait for me outside?”

“Sure, mate.”

“See you, Atti,” I smile and give him a quick hug, then I make my way towards the door, and Orlando follows me. We cross the street and enter the pension.

“This way.”

I beckon him to come with me as I climb up the stairs to the first floor and unlock the door to our room. It’s pretty messy since we turned it upside down while dressing up, but that doesn’t really matter right now, does it?

I pull back the blanket of Trish’s side of the bed, “Put her here.”

“Okay,” Orlando nods and carefully lays her down on the bed, then he stand up again and rubs his back.

“God... I never thought she’s that heavy...”

I give a little laugh while I kneel down and take off Trish’s shoes. “Then you’d better never try and carry me.”

“Mhm... so, is there anything else I can do?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

I get up again, still looking at Trish, then I turn my head in his direction.

“Thanks a lot for your help. I’m really sorry this evening didn’t turn out the way you planned.”

He frowns and slowly lifts one eyebrow, “How do you know what I’d planned for tonight?”

“Well…”
I shrug and scratch the back of my head, “You certainly didn’t wanna see me freak out, or carry my drunken friend to her bedroom, did you?”

He shakes his head, grinning.

“No, I didn’t. But well, life hardly ever turns out the way we plan, doesn’t it?”

Oh yeah. He’s definitely got a point there.

“I guess...”

I fold my arms and examine my nails for a moment or two, then look over to him again.

“May I ask you to leave then? I’m sure Atti’s waiting, and I need to get Trish ready for bed.”

“You’re really keen to get rid of me right now, aren’t you?”

Suddenly I can hear disappointment and a sense of bitterness in his voice, and I instinctively step back as he takes a step towards me.

“Vivien, did I do something wrong? If that’s the case, please, tell me!”

I vehemently shake my head, “No. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. I just need some time alone. I need to think.”

“Very well.”

He turns around and opens the door, ready to go.

“So see you tomorrow?”

“Er... dunno. I’ve got a feeling that Trish won’t go anywhere....”

“Uh, yeah... I completely forgot.”

“Maybe you and Atti could just stop here before you drive up to the glacier, let’s say eight-thirty, and we’ll just see if Trish and me come with you, or just me, or none of us?”

“That sounds reasonable. Alright. See you.”

He opens the door and walks out of the room. I can’t move for a second or two, but then I jump forward into the corridor.

“Orlando?”

He stops at the stairs without turning around.

“Yes?”

I swallow hard and doubt I’m able to speak a word now, but it seems my willpower is far greater than I’ve ever though.

“Goodnight.”

Slowly he looks over his shoulder and our eyes meet. I shudder when I get the feeling that he can see right through me, and obviously the things he sees worry him, because he looks very serious and sad in a way. I only hope he won’t find whatever he’s looking for. But after what seems like an eternity to me, he smiles carefully.

“Goodnight Vivien.”

________________________

Notes:

*¹ No offence meant to any Britney Spears fans! I do like her, she’s pretty and a good dancer, but she just can’t sing IMHO. Period. ;)

.oO(Oh feedback, where art thou?) :lol: :D ;)

:blink: :blink:

So... let's see if I got it.....

He likes her... come on, he does!!! He's such a sweetheart!!! :wub:
I just wonder why she's feeling so strange...

*hugs Viv* come on kid, something wrong? :cry:

and... I'm starting to like Trish... I mean, she's kinda a jerkette, but not that bad after all....

hi Mena :) I hope you enjoyed this :)

...you'll find out eventually... ;)

oh YES, there IS something wrong ;)

YAY! someone.likes her. at last! *lol* ^_^ :yay: :lmao:

Oh no! He likes her - it's as clear as the spring sun! and she rejects him?

VIV: what is your problem? It is Orlando, not any weirdo living next door!

*sighs*

The chapter was fine as usual, but I still don't like Trish... so waht? I know she'll do domething wrong with Orlando and hurt her best friend.

Now, I'll keep myself quiet and wait for m ore!

:love:

Yeah I think everyone has already said what I wanted to say. So I'll just say that I love this fic. It's great!

just keep breathing, Ursi... ;) :lmao:

thanks for your lovely feedback, sxc_stylez :) I really appreciate it. I'll try and update as soon as possible :)

Hey there everyone!

I just wanted to drop a line to those who might be waiting for an update of my OB fic "The way to your heart". I am really sorry for having to tell you this, but due to huge amounts of schoolwork and private issues, I won't be able to continue writing the story for I don't know how long. That means, I'm going to put it on a complete hiatus from now on, and I hope I can get back to it sometime in the future when my schedule is less hectic.

Sorry about that.

*hugs*
Jade

Aww, it's a pity, for this story is really amazing. But I understand what you mean. Good luck with all of your timings, and I really hope you'll pick this up again soon! :wub:

*takes a deep breath*

Ladies,...
I'm really sorry to have to tell you this... but after weeks and weeks in which I more or less didn't feel the smallest motivation as to continue my OB fic "The way to your heart", I've now decided to give it up for the time being. This is for several reasons. First of all, it's summer over here, and as hard as I may try, I just can't write snowboarding scenes when the temperature outside is at 30 degrees celsius in the shadows. It's impossible, at least for me. Furthermore, I've spent a lot of time building a website for one of my roleplay characters lately, and by doing that, the desire to continue writing the huge epic about this character, which I've begun to write almost 3 years ago, found its resurrection, and again, I'm as hooked as I was in the beginning. I just have to focus on this now - no, that's a lie, I want to focus on that, because I love the character, the story and anything connected to it - it's pretty much the story of my life, something like LotR must have been for Tolkien...

Anyway, I'm getting off topic...

I apologise to all of you who have been waiting for updates so patiently. But I really hope that you agree with me when I say that some bad, unmotivatedly written chapters certainly wouldn't be what you were hoping for, right? Just give me a couple of months, maybe until this winter when I'll certainly be snowboarding again, and you never know... the muse might return.

Jennifer a.k.a. Jade Sal-Solo

Folks, believe it or not - I'm baaaack! :) Now that winter's coming, my muse has stopped for a visit and convinced me to cintinue this little fic here. Does anyone remember Viv, Trish, Atti and of course, Orlando? Well then, read on, and tell me what you think! I know this is a rather short chapter, but I thought I better leave it like this before I write the next part.

HERE WE GO!!!
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# Chapter 3


There can be miracles, if only you believe in them. Trish was rolling drunk last night, and I would have bet my beloved laptop on the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere in the morning, but I was wrong. She’s unbearably surly and looks slightly grotty (I don’t wanna compare her to a zombie, that would be pretty nasty, wouldn’t it?), but after seven coffees and a cold shower she’s back on her feet, looking very determined to not let a hangover take hold of her. I wouldn’t say she’s too successful, but that doesn’t really bother me, because for the first time ever in my life I am able to draw a huge, bold X in my calendar to forever remind me of the day when I looked way more beautiful at seven thirty in the morning than Trish. Yay me!

So, after a half an hour drive, we’re back on the glacier, enthusiastic as ever (haha!). Trish doesn’t talk much as she changes in the car, and when both Atti and Orlando give me an amused look, it takes me a lot to suppress a chuckle. Yeah, yeah, I know it is mean to make fun of someone who’s suffering from a hangover, but hey, I didn’t tell Trish to booze until her last brain cell died, did I? Oops!... I guess it’s better I stop thinking this thought right here and now before I get too cynical. After all, this is about my friend.

It’s not quite as freezing cold today as it was yesterday, and the sun is shining brightly up in the cloudless blue sky. Again we had some inches of fresh-fallen snow over night, and therefore the slopes look unblemished and smooth in the early hours of the new day. They’re sparkling and glittering like the most precious jewellery you could ever think of, and, looking down into the vast valley, I find myself thinking that I really don’t want to spoil this beautiful landscape by ploughing through the powdery snow with my board.

“Looks amazing, doesn’t it?�
Orlando steps up to me with his snowboard and carefully smiles at me. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s still a bit unsure about how to behave towards me after what happened in the pub last night.

“Yes, it’s simply overwhelming,� I nod and plainly return the smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so beautiful before.�

“Neither have I.�
Orlando keeps his eyes on me as he speaks the words. His whole countenance is very serious, save for the corners of his mouth. For a brief moment they move slightly upwards as if he were smiling, but trying hard not to let it show, and there’s no way I could possibly break away from the mesmerizing look he gives me. He’s got me hypnotized all of a sudden, and I can feel a huge lump building up in my throat as my heart rate once again triples. I swallow hard when a thrill runs up and down my spine just a moment later. For a second or two I’m afraid that this moment might elope with the both of us, but fortunately my mind kicks in right there.

Dammit, Vivien! What are you thinking of again, you foolish little girl? He is talking about the valley!

“So, what are we gonna do today?� I ask in an attempt to regain control over myself. Surprisingly enough, my voice sounds fairly normal. I goddamn hate it when I’m completely lost just because of a man. I’ll never be at someone’s mercy again.

“Well, I thought we’d have one or two runs down the easy slope for warm up, and then I’m going to introduce you to the ski tow,� Orlando replies. “Maybe you can then join us after lunch on to another slope.�

“Another slope?!� I squeak, with eyes probably as big as saucers. “Er, I dunno whether or not you’ve noticed, but I’m still struggling with that nursery slope over there, so how in God’s name am I supposed to conquer a real mountain?!�

Orlando laughs and friendlily pats my shoulder, “I can’t tell you that just yet, Sparky, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.�

Sparky?!
“Yeah, and I’m the Queen of England,� I scoff.

“Very well then, Your Highness,� He grins and bows. “Let me suggest that you get your board and yourself ready so that we can start, because I really don’t wanna waste a second of your precious time, which you are generous enough to share with me.�

“Just shut up!� I stick my tongue out at him, then I turn around to do as he said. I fetch my board from the roof rack, put my snowboard boots on and wrap my scarf around my neck, then I put on my sunglasses and adjust my hat, and finally I make my way back to Orlando.
“Okay, I’m ready to rumble, Sir!� I shout and salute.

“Aye,� He nods, grinning, and then turns around to Atti, who is helping Trish to lace her boots.
“Atti, we’re off. See you two in the restaurant at one o’clock again?�

“Sure,� He shouts back and waves at us. Trish doesn’t seem too happy about the fact that Orlando is running off with me again, but I guess there’s no need to consider this, since she’s probably gonna be unhappy about absolutely everything today. Life sucks, especially when you’re hungover.

“Alright, let’s go then,� Orlando says, and so we make our way down the path that leads to the slope I’ve been sliding down the day before. It looks pretty steep, but once you get closer it’s not too bad anymore – that is, if you don’t have a snowboard under your feet. Maybe I’m getting a little old, but I just can’t remember how I managed to make it from the top of the hill to the bottom in once piece yesterday. Just at that very moment I remember something my grandma once told me.

We’re hardly ever afraid of something because it is difficult. Most of the time things actually only seem difficult because we’re afraid of them. Don’t brood too long on some things. Just do it.

I take a deep breath and slowly nod my head to myself.
Aye, momma Nell. I’ll just do it.

“So, when did you learn snowboarding?� I ask Orlando as I climb up the slope next to him.

“Uhm… about three years ago, I think, when I went to New Zealand,� he answers.

I stop and look at him, pretty much amazed. “You went to New Zealand? To the other end of the world?�

He gives a little laugh and nods his head, “Of course, love. The Lord of the Rings was filmed down there. I lived there more than almost a year.�

“Wow!�
I breathe out loudly and try my best not to gape at him, but I fail miserably. I’ve never left Europe, and I only know places like New Zealand from maps or from TV programmes.
“It must be wonderful there from what I’ve seen in the movie.�

“Yes, the countryside is breathtaking.�
Orlando leans on his snowboard and suddenly there’s a dreamy look on his face that makes him look much younger than he actually is. His eyes sparkle with excitement, but also with yearning as he flashes me a smile.
“You know, once I’d been there for a while I felt as if I’d left the real world and entered some enchanting fantasy reality,� he says with a wistful voice. “There’s so much space down there, you can’t even imagine it if you haven’t seen it. The vast expanse of the mountains, and the fields, and the woods… I felt small sometimes, seeing how powerful and creative nature can be. It makes your soul wanna take a ride on the wind and fly away. It’s - �
He suddenly breaks off and blushes a little.
“Sorry, I’m talking crap. I bet I sound like a real weirdo.�

“No.�
I shake my head and smile as we continue the ascend.
“You certainly don’t sound like a weirdo at all. So, did you become good friends with your fellow cast members then?�

“Oh yeah. We didn’t just act the Fellowship, we actually became all good mates during those eighteen months. When the shooting was over, we all went to Wellington and each one of us got the Elvish sign for ‘9’ as a tattoo to remind us of the fantastic times we had. Look!�
He pulls up his sleeve and shows me the tattoo. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?�

“Yes it is.�
I reach out for his arm and carefully touch his skin right there where the tattoo is.
“I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo,� I sigh, “But I never did.�

“Why not?�

I shrug and take my hand off his arm when I realise that it has taken on a life of its own and just started massaging his skin. “Dunno. I never found a motif that I wanted to have underneath my skin for the rest of my life.�

“Well, that’s defintely a good argument,� Orlando nods, pretending not to have noticed my haste to jerk my hand away. “You have to be sure it’s something you can easily identify with in every situation, coz it’s going to be with you forever.�

“Amen,� I laugh. “You’re a true poet, man. But come on now, I wanna learn some more about snowboarding. We can talk about God and the world later.�

“Your wish is my command,� he smiles and puts his board into the snow. “Sit down.�

“What, here?� I ask, a little confused. “I thought we were going all the way up the hill.�

“Nah, that’ll do for now.�
He takes my board as I sit down, and then fastens it to my feet.
“Okay, listen. Before I can take you on to another slope, you need to be able to run curves, because you can’t slide down the whole mountain without slowing down or changing your direction.�
He gets up and lifts his arms up until they’re parallel to the ground.
“Just imagine you’re riding a bike. Grab the imaginary steering wheel with your hands and turn your arms and upper part of your body into the direction where you want to go, that’s the most important movement to influence the movent of your snowboard. Then shift your weight in a way that allows your board’s edges to get more grip in the snow, okay?�

“Uh huh!...� I mutter, both eyebrows up at my hairline, “Could you maybe, er, demonstrate this? I’m not very good at putting abstract things like that into practice.�

Orlando nods.
“Sure. I have to admit that this is a little tricky, but if you watch carefully and do just what I tell you, you should be able to get it right.�

Hell yeah... can someone call my lawyer? I need to make my will before I’ll go off and break my neck.

Eeeeeee!!! I'm glad you and your lovely stories are back!
I had been missing it.
*pats Viv*
you're not going to die, hun. We're just up to chapter four! :yes:

:hug:
I don't have a clue where my muse has been hiding almost a year, but well. seems like she's back for good :)

chapter 4 is in the works :)

*stabs Jen's WB so it won't ever be back!*

Good to see that writing juices were back, because the chapter was a gem!

I agree with Mena: Viv. There's still time to die! As there's still a lot stroy to come! AYE?

:love:

yep ;) hmhmhm... you know, I could tease you really badly with a few lines of chapter 4 right now it I wanted to :tsk:

Seems like my muse and I are going to move in together ;) I know this is not too long either, but since I love evil cliff hangers, I thought I leave it where it is ;)

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# Chapter 4

I never thought it could be so easy.

Don’t get me wrong. This morning on the slopes was one of the most exhausting experiences I’ve gone through so far. My life expectancy has probably gone down at least ten years because of all the adrenaline shocks and panic attacks, caused by Orlando with everytime he forced me to go up that hill again and again. But his gentle brutality worked miracles. After the, I think, third time I’d slithered down the slope, I finally got my act together somehow and made a careful attempt to actually do what Orlando had instructed me to –

And I fell once.

I fell twice.

And a third time.

But when I suddenly noticed that the snowboard slowed down again as soon as I finished running the curve, I stopped throwing myself onto the ground automatically everytime I picked up speed.

And from that moment on, the whole thing suddenly started to work out rather well.

I’m not saying I’m the Queen of snowboard now. Hell no, there are still worlds between me and that. But the moment I realised I could actually handle and control the board beneath my feet was the moment I started having fun. I can’t remember how many million times I walked up that nursery slope this morning, but my skills improved with everytime I got to the bottom in one piece, whereas my fear slowly vanished. Once you’ve got it, snowboarding is incredible. It’s like riding on the wind.

When I felt fairly confident with running curves, Orlando introduces me to the ski tow. That wicked machine kept be busy for hours. I found it annoyingly difficult – and odd! – to use a lift that had originally been built for skiers, not snowboarders, but apparently millions of people have been doing this before me for ages, and therefore it had to work somehow. I decided to believe Orlando and concentrated on the hard task of staying on my board – without too much success at first. With the first pull of the tow, I’d fall to the ground in a wider range of grotesque movements and noises that you would ever imagine. I bet it looked quite entertaining. At the beginning I found it quite funny myself, but after a while I got frustrated. I was about to give up when three magic words suddenly re-entered my mind.

Bend your knees.

The next time I had a go I tried to relax and told myself to get the tension out of my system. There was absolutely no reason to put myself under any kind of pressure. I had nothing to lose, I had nothing to prove, and this was supposed to be fun, not stress. Still, I struggled fiercely to keep my balance when I tried again, but this time it was because I was making a serious effort, not this kind of ‘let’s see if it works with the first try, and if not, forget about it’-mentality I usually have about things like that. I succeeded for a moment – and then fell again. But I’d covered ten metres, which was a lot for me, and I felt motivated. So I tried again.

And this time it worked.

I began to rock several times because of unevennesses on the slope, and at one point I was frantically hopping along next to my board on my right foot while the ski tow kept dragging me uphill, desperately trying to get back on it after I’d slipped. Orlando, who was going up behind me, called out and told me to let go, but I grinded my teeth, made it back onto my board somehow and, with a greater amount of willpower than I ever thought I had, I managed to keep my balance and made it to the top.

Damn, I felt so incredibly proud!

“So, what’s it like to do something you said you could never do?� Orlando asks, grinning.

I wink at him and smile as I take off my hat and diving goggles, also known as sunglasses. “Pretty good,� I reply with a nod of my head. “It’s almost fun once you discover you’re not on a mission impossible.�

He laughs and gently rubs my back. “See? I told you so. You just have to have a little faith in you and your abilities, Viv.�

“Thanks, dad,� I giggle as I look down into the valley. We’ve just decided to rest for a moment, and this little hollow, surrounded by huge, old fir trees covered with snow, just seemed so inviting to both of us.

I lean back with a contented sigh, folding my arms behind my head. Over on the slope, other skiers and snowboarders rush past, but I quickly forget about them as I look over to Orlando. I know that men hate it when you call them cute, but he looks just so adorable with his beanie and boyish smile. And those eyes... holy shit, he should really wear a warning! I’m glad it’s so cold up here, otherwise I’d probably melt away.

“So, do you think you want to join the rest of us on to another slope after lunch?� he asks.

“Mhm..�
I pull a bit of a face and shrug.
“I’m not really sure...�

“Come on, Viv.�
Orlando gives me an encouraging smile and pats my shoulder.
“We won’t force you to ride the black slope or something. Just the blue ones. We’ll take it easy. It’s really not that hard. Actually, it should be easier because there’s a lot more space on the blue slopes than on this wee nursery hill.�


“I don’t know, Orlando...,� I mutter, hesitating. I’ve ris