Adopted by Zerkaa

• Ski Lodge •

HIYA! SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN AGES BUT I SUDDENLY GOT THE URGE TO WRITE FOR THIS BOOK SO IGNORE THE MASSIVE TIME JUMP LOL
(Mia is now 17 btw and she has pink hair now lol)

Enjoy!

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Mia's POV
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The sun lifts over the peaks of the mountains and my eyes follow the soft ridges of the snow-capped heights in the distance through the navy curtains in my bedroom. I blink away the blurriness left from sleep and let out a happy sigh as the warmth from the duvet envelops me like a burrito. Something about being close to snow and friends and family in the lodge makes me feel happy and have a sense of belonging. When Josh and Freya informed me about this trip, I was a little anxious because I have no clue how to ski or snowboard, or even walk in those clunky ski boots.

It's been two days since the Sidemen, me, Freya, Talia, and Faith have gotten here. The flight from the UK to Switzerland was only an hour and a half, but the drive from the aiport to the lodge was about four hours in the rented van Ethan had sorted. Now that Ethan's an actual dad, it strikes me how much he's always seemed like the kind of person with paternal characteristics even before Faith had little Olive. Meeting Faith has changed Ethan, but I'd say it was for the better. He genuinly seems a lot happier now and it makes me happy. He deserves it.

I check my phone for the time and see that it's six am. The boys wanted to hit the slopes at eight and attack the fresh early snow from last night. Last night I said that I would go with them, but I'm on the fence about it. Going out so early into the cold isn't what's bothering me; It's the fact that I still have no clue how to ski or even where to begin. I've never been to Switzerand let alone near so much fresh snow and I have no clue how to handle the trip. Everyone else seems to know what's going on, although that's only natural as they've been taking group trips every year for god knows how long.

The first two days that we spent here at the lodge were spent food shopping, renting ski and snowboarding equipment, and checking out the local village. The village is cute- all wooden houses with decks and snow-capped roofs, little shops with treats, warm pastries, and hot chocolates, and an ice skating rink overlooking the mountains. Josh promised we'd all go ice skating at some point during the trip.

I get out of bed and pad to the bathroom where my fluffy robe hangs. As I'm not sure about going skiing today, I refrain from getting ready and instead, walk out of my room and into the kitchen. I don't expect anyone to be up, but when I go into the kitchen, the smell of pancakes hit my nose and Talia and Simon stand by the kitchen island, talking, laughing, and cutting up fruit. I feel like I'm interrupting something, but Talia soon catches me and smiles, beckoning me over.

"Good morning," she grins, her face makeup free. "Simon's made his famous family pancakes and we need a second opinion"

"Gladly," I reply.

I sit at the table with Talia as Simon continues to cook, flipping the perfectly round golden pancakes into the air. Simon may not know how to cook very well, but the one thing he can always nail, is his family's sacred pancake recipie. I think he'd be disowned if he ever burnt one, by the sounds of how serious the recipie is in his family.

Talia looks cute in her heart shape printed pajamas, her split dyed hair gathered into a bun piled on the top of her head. She sits cross-legged on her chair as she lathers her pancake in jam and raspberries with a dollop of peanut butter on the side. I go for the jar of nutella on my right, and feel my mouth water when I see the chocolate glide easily over the warm pancake, melting beautifully. I dust some icing sugar over the top, grab a handful of chopped banana and strawberries and start eating, suddenly hungrier than ever before.