All That Still Matters

Mason couldn't help but laugh at Daphne's reaction to seeing him in the Olympic Village, not that he could really blame her. He wasn't competing in the Olympics, so it must have been a shock to see him standing there at the moment. "I decided to come and watch," he shrugged his shoulders.

"You're not going to Europe to compete in anything?" Daphne inquired.

Mason shook his head. "Both my coach and my sponsors decided I needed to take some time off," he explained. "So, pretty much, what they're trying to say is I'm terrible right now, and they don't want me competing when I'm like this," he added.

"Mase, you've got to stop being so hard on yourself," Louie told him.

"So, what are you guys up to?" Mason ignored Louie's comment, looking between Daphne, Louie, and Scotty.

"Just getting some food," Scotty replied. "Care to join us?"

"Nah, I just ate," Mason replied. "Where's Piper?" he suddenly asked, and Daphne couldn't help but smile at the fact that Mason brought up Piper's whereabouts.

"I don't actually know," Daphne replied. "I guess Louie asked her to come with us, and she said no."

"Yeah, she didn't really say why," Louie added.

"Oh," Mason said, and Daphne shot a look towards Louie as she noticed Mason's change in demeanor.

***

Louie walked towards the top of the mountain, seeing Daphne already at the top, just staring out at the landscape. She had finished her interview a little while ago and had called Louie afterwards, asking him if he felt like joining her on a few runs. He knew by the tone in her voice that the interview hadn't gone perfectly, but he hadn't badgered her anymore about it, figuring she would tell him all about it when he met her at the mountain.

"Hey," he called out, and Daphne spun her head around to look at him. He saw that she still wore a frown on her face, and he tried to think what exactly could have happened in the interview to put her in such a bad mood. "How'd the interview go?" he asked.

"Terribly," Daphne stated. "He kept bringing up all this stuff that'd I'd rather keep hidden away. Like Katrina and how she's been talking all this trash about me and how she's going to blow me away here at the Olympics and how I'm reacting to all of it. And then he brought up how she has so much more experience on the pipe than I do and asked me what makes me think that I could beat her," Daphne told him.

"And, did you tell him that you'll beat her because you've got the best coach and the best group of friends that will be cheering you on?" Louie asked with a smile.

"What if I'm not good enough?" Daphne mumbled, looking down at the snow that crunched beneath her feet.

"Where's this coming from, Daph?" Louie questioned. "Where's my girlfriend? The fearless one? The one that's going to kick Katrina's ass?"

"I think she was left in Salt Lake City," Daphne replied with a laugh.

"Well, we need to find her and bring her back," Louie told her. "Come on, let's hit the pipe. You're going to do that Double Crippler and show me just why exactly they decided to bring you here. You're going to show me that you deserve to be here. Because you're good enough to be here. You're better than Kat. You just need that confidence back," he told her.

"Thanks," Daphne smiled, kissing Louie. "What would I do without you here?"

"Be bored out of your mind," Louie smiled. "Now come on, I want to see that Double Crippler," he told her, putting his hand on her lower back and guiding her over to her snowboard.

An hour and a half later, Daphne had finally gotten the Double Crippler down, and she and Louie were headed back towards their hotel, wanting to just relax for the night. They had planned on getting some food on the way back and taking it to Louie's room, wanting to just relax in there, away from the crowded areas of Vancouver. They had just gotten their food when they heard a voice say, "Well, well, well, look what we have here. Some poser who actually thinks she's got a shot at the podium."

Daphne didn't even need to turn around to recognize the voice of Katrina, but she slowly turned her head to see Kat standing there. She opened her mouth to respond, but Louie beat her to the punch. "Well, well, well, look what we've got here. Some bitch who doesn't know when she's not wanted around," Louie mocked.

"Oh, look who's got the comebacks now," Katrina said sarcastically. "You know, I have to admit, I'm shocked to see the two of you here together right now. I never would have thought that you two would last. I'm surprised Louie hasn't hooked up with Piper yet. Those two always seemed awfully close," she said, trying to stir up some drama.

"Louie and I are happy together."

"And, what does Piper think about that? Maybe she's trying to think of a plan to steal him away from you. She can't seem to get a man of her own."

"Don't talk about Piper like that," Louie ordered.

"Oh look, isn't that sweet? He's standing up for her!" Katrina cooed. "And, you don't think anything's going on between the two of them."

"For your information, Piper was going out with someone for a long time before they just broke up," Daphne said, immediately regretting the words as soon as she said them. Louie looked over at her, wide-eyed, knowing it wasn't a wise decision to say something about Piper and Mason to Katrina of all people, but it was too late.

"Oh, really?" Katrina said, obviously not believing her. "And, who is this mystery guy?"

"It doesn't matter," Daphne told her.

"Because you're lying. No guy's dumb enough to actually date her," Katrina told them.

Daphne looked at Louie, wondering what she should say. She wanted to defend her cousin, but at the same time, she knew if she told Katrina that Mason was the person that Piper was dating, it could cause more harm than good.

"I was dating her," they heard Mason say from behind them, and Daphne spun around, her jaw dropping.

"You would be stupid enough to date Piper, wouldn't you?" Katrina questioned.

"I was stupid enough to date you, wasn't I?" Mason responded, as Louie laughed at the comeback.

"But, you and your little girlfriend broke up?" Katrina asked, feigning sympathy. "Awww, why? Wouldn't she put out for you?"

"You don’t need to know the reasons why we broke up," Mason said through gritted teeth, getting more and more frustrated with Katrina with every passing moment.

"Well, it must be something good then," Katrina smirked.

"Katrina, get the hell away from us. None of us want you around," Louie told her.

"Whatever, I'll see you guys later," she said with fake enthusiasm as she took off in the other direction.

"Mase," Daphne began, and he looked over at her. "Why did you and Piper break up? She never would tell me the whole story. She just came to practice one day and said you two had broken up, and she hasn’t been the same since, but she won't tell me everything."

"It was a long time coming, Daph," Mason told her.

"What was the breaking point, though? I mean, I know you guys argued, but Louie and I argue, too. Why all of a sudden did you two break up?" Daphne asked.

"We're just two different people. We wanted two different things."

"That's not true!" Daphne exclaimed, not liking his answer. "I know you guys still love each other, even if you want to pretend like you don't."

"I never said I don't love her," Mason admitted.

"So, why aren't you guys together right now?" Daphne practically yelled at him.

"Because it looks like she's already moved on," Mason said as Daphne and Louie both turned their heads around to see what Mason was looking at. Daphne's jaw dropped and Louie's eyes went wide as they saw Piper standing there, her hand on Scotty's upper arm, the two of them openly flirting with each other.