All That Still Matters

Now that things were back to normal, or at least things were headed back that way, Daphne wanted to get back on track for the competition, which was only five days away. She knew she was behind schedule, having had a setback with her fighting with Louie and Piper, but she was determined to work hard and be ready for competition.

She walked into Piper's room without announcement, thanks to Piper, who had asked the hotel for an extra key to her room so she could give one to Daphne. "Come on, Piper, up and at 'em!" she called out, wanting to head to the top of the hill to get a few runs in with Piper, to see how well she was with her tricks right now. "Oh shit!" she cried when she saw a naked Piper in bed, trying to cover herself up with the sheet, as the man next to her simply lied back in bed, laughing at the situation.

Once again, Daphne thought the man, who was the same one Piper had been with before, looked familiar, but she wasn't about to do a double take to try to place his face while he was lying naked in bed. Instead, she turned right back around, walking out of the room, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Daph," Piper said, walking out of her room a few minutes later, a robe wrapped around her. "Ever heard of knocking?" she joked.

"Ever heard of putting a sign on the door? God, Piper, that was not what I wanted to see this early in the morning! And, who is that guy? I've seen him somewhere before," she told her.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked, ignoring her question.

"Well, I came to get my coach so we could head up to the mountain and practice, but apparently she's too busy. God, Piper, it's before nine in the morning! And, you're having sex already? What is wrong with you?' she asked, shaking her head.

"Shut up!" Piper told her. "Give me fifteen minutes to shower and get dressed, and I'll head up with you," she said, walking back inside her room. As promised, she walked back out into the hallway fifteen minutes later to see Daphne texting on her phone. "What's Louie up to?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Probably sleeping," Daphne laughed.

"Then who are you texting?" Piper asked.

"Mase," Daphne replied. "We're having lunch today. Kind of my way to make up for him watching out for Louie when he was drunk out of his mind. I invited Scotty, too, but he's skipping out for some interview or something," she added.

"Scotty skip out on a free meal? That doesn't sound like him. The celebrity status he's getting by being in the Olympics must be getting to his head," Piper joked, pulling her hat further down on her head, making sure to cover her ears.

Daphne smiled at her, continuing the trek up the hill. "Okay," she said when they finally reached the top. "What's the game plan?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What run should I do for competition?" she asked. "Should I start off difficult right off the bat? Or should I do a safe run first?"

"Daph, you're good enough to do your difficult run first. But, really, it's all up to how comfortable you're feeling with it. I have faith in you, and I know you can stomp the run, but do you think you can?" Piper asked her.

Daphne took a deep breath before answering. "I think I can do it," she said.

"Okay, let's see it then," Piper smiled at her.

***

"I offer to buy you lunch, and you choose McDonalds?" Daphne asked Mason as they sat down to lunch.

"Well, if they would have had Taco Bell here, I would have eaten that, but they don't. So, I have to settle for McDonalds," he shrugged his shoulders, popping a fry in his mouth. "How's your day gone so far?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"It's been an interesting day, for sure," Daphne replied.

"What happened?"

"Well, to start off, I walked into Piper's room…" she trailed off, remembering she was talking to Mason and knowing he wouldn't want to hear about Piper's escapades in the bed.

"And what?" Mason asked. Daphne shook her head, but he continued badgering her. "C'mon, tell me!"

"You're not going to like it," she warned him.

"So," he replied. "C'mon, spill."

"Fine," Daphne sighed, knowing this was a bad idea. "I walked into Piper's room to see her in bed with some guy," she said, and she saw an immediate change in Mason's attitude. "See!" she cried. "That's why I didn't want to say anything," she pointed at him.

"It's fine. We're broken up. She can sleep with whoever she wants," he said, shoving the Big Mac in his mouth so he didn't have to talk anymore.

"Speaking of you two breaking up," Daphne began, and Mason rolled his eyes. "Piper finally told me what happened with you guys, why you two broke up," she told him.

"Okay," Mason said slowly. "And, you're bringing this up…why?"

"I want to hear your side of things," Daphne stated.

"What?" Mason questioned.

"She told me her version. I want to hear yours."

"Daph," Mason began.

"Please," Daphne begged. "Just tell me your side."

"What'd she tell you?" Mason asked.

"That she suffocated you and you pushed her away," Daphne answered. "So my question is why? Why'd you push her away? Was she really that suffocating?" She had promised Piper that she'd back off of her about her relationship with Mason, but she hadn't promised Mason, and she was still going to try to get them together, even if she had just found another guy in Piper's bed that morning.

"No," Mason sighed. "It was me."

"What?" Daphne questioned. "I'm so confused."

"I wasn't good enough for her. I never was," Mason said simply, and Daphne tilted her head to the side, giving him a curious look, wanting him to continue. "Piper is this amazing girl who deserved so much better than me. She always has. And, when I injured my shoulder, it made me realize just how much more she deserved. So, when she started trying to help me, I tried pushing her away. I wanted her to have someone better. I pushed her away because I thought I was disappointing her. I couldn’t be the person that she thought I was, the person she wanted me to be," he said, letting out everything he had been keeping to himself since he and Piper had broken up.

"That's bullshit, Mase, and you know it. Tell me the truth," Daphne demanded.

"That is the truth!" Mason claimed.

"Tell me the whole truth!"

"She had so much faith in me. She pushed me during rehab, telling me that I was going to come back and be awesome. She had too much faith in me. I was bound to disappoint her. There was no way around that."

"So, you tell her she's suffocating and pushed her away?" Daphne questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I know it sounds stupid, and maybe it was. But, it got us both out of that relationship that was bound to end in disaster anyways," Mason shrugged.

"No, it got you out of a relationship with the person you love, leaving both of you miserable," Daphne told him.

"Daph, aren't you getting sick of this yet? Worrying so much about a nonexistent relationship? Isn't that what got you and Louie in trouble in the first place?" Mason questioned.

"You two still love each other. You've both admitted it."

"Wait, Piper said that?" Mason asked, a hopeful look on his face. "She said she still loves me?"

"Look at you, you're like a lovesick teenager," Daphne laughed. "You two belong with each other."

"She's moved on," Mason said. "You said yourself you caught her in bed with another guy this morning."

"So?" Daphne said. "Just show her that you're better than this guy. I'm telling you, you two will get back together. Don't give up hope. I'll make sure it happens," she promised.