Falling In

“Stells. Wake up,” somebody shook me.

“Leave me alone!” I groaned.

“Stella Grace, wake up,” they repeated and felt the pain on my right shoulder, making me jolt up.

“Ow!” I shouted.

“Oh shit! Sorry Stells. What happened?” the voice asked, and I glared towards it.

“What are you doing here, Jake?” I asked my brother.

“Deegan had to go to work, so he asked me to stay with you and drive you to the competition because I doubt that your shoulder’s gonna let you. He said something happened last night, and well, uhh… You and Ethan saw each other,” he said.

“You knew Ethan was coming?!” I shrieked.

“No, God, I swear no! He might be my bestfriend, but you’re my sister. I’ll always be on your side,” he smiled at me as he put a hand on my shoulder. He made sure that it wasn’t my right.

“Thanks,” I smiled at him.

“You think you can compete today?” he asked me.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Give me some Advil or Red Bull. I’ll be good to go,” I assured him.

“Why’d you fall anyways? That was an easy jump,” he said. “I saw the footage.”

I frowned. “Because your bestfriend’s face showed up.”

My brother shook his head at me. “Ethan always had that effect on you,” he teased.

“Leave me alone. I’m gonna go change and get this shitty day over with and I can go relax somewhere in the Caribbean,” I sighed.

“Hey Stella?” my brother called out. I turned back to him. “Take me to the Caribbean with you?” he smirked.

Oh brother.



“So, are you nervous yet?” the voice haunted me as I did my warm ups.

“You’re an ass, Versace,” I mumbled.

“It’s my job babe,” he winked at me. “Well, go let out your crazy side and I’ll take the most epic shots of you,” he winked before walking off. I wanted to rip my hair off because of that guy, and I was about to do just that.

I ended up throwing the best run of my life.

“We’re here right now with Stella Grace Descenzo that just threw one of the most epic runs that we’ve seen out of the X-Games and Olympics. So, Stella, we heard that you broke your Ulna yesterday and dislocated your shoulder form a session with the Frends Crew last night as you did you urban boarding. So, what got you to compete today?” the reporter asked me.

I just laughed. “Well, it no doubt hurts like hell. But I only compete once a year with my job and everything. And hey, you never know. Like today, I feel like it was probably the best run of my life and that totally makes up for the pain that I’m feeling right now,” I smiled at her.

“Now, if we may ask. What is it behind that determination, Stella? We’ve seen you since you were fifteen. You’ve been a good snowboarder, and last year you did a cameo in a movie with the Frends Crew and Louie Vito and even Torstein Horgmo, whom are huge names in the sport. So, what is it behind all this?”

I thought about it for a minute. “Well, snowboarding is just something that has always been there for me. I love snowboarding, I love the snow. I love doing all these crazy stuff. It’s the adrenaline rush and it’s awesome. I do get hurt a lot. I mean, I have to go through special security at the airport sometimes because of the screw in my ankle,” I chuckled. “But it’s all part of the sport. You work hard, you play hard.”

“You’ve gotten a lot of exposure in the past few years with your epic runs and tricks, but is there any chance that you’ll be going pro?” she asked me.

I smiled. “Well, if there are sponsors, then I’ll have to think about it. I also have a full time job as a photographer, and I’m gonna have to see how it goes,” I smiled.

“S, that’s out of the way. Now, people are asking. How are you and Jeremy Smith doing? For awhile last year, you guys were buzzing around with a relationship, but they recently announced that he’s with another girl, whom both seem to be present today.”

“Oh. Yeah, a lot of that was going around. Jeremy and I had just been good friends since we met at camp three years ago. It’s just been a rollercoaster ride, you know? We were better off as friends,” I smiled softly.

“Is there another guy in your life right now? Maybe that bestfriend of yours?” she nudged me. “They seem to be talking about you living with him.”

I laughed out loud. “Oh no. Deegan is like my brother. My lease for the apartment that I was renting ended already, and well we were supposed to move back into our old house back in Truckee, but they had some last minute stuff to take care of and my brother’s place is just a huge mess right now with guests and stuff so I asked if I could stay with Deegan for awhile,” I explained.

“Oh, that’s too bad. Deegan’s a cutie,” she winked at me making me laugh even more.

We bid each other goodbye as I went back to the tent where my brothers and friends were.

I was first engulfed in a hug by my idiotic brother, then my bestfriend who had the giddiest smile on his face.

“You’re a tough one, aren’t you?” he laughed. “I gotta go though, I had to rush here from work and I need to get back,” he said. I just stuck my tongue out at him. “Sorry. I’ll see you at home though,” he smiled and kissed my cheek before running off. I turned to face the girls that I haven’t seen in three years. Well, except for my cousin.

“Stella!!!” I heard squeals and I was engulfed in a hug from all corners possible.

“Guys! My arm! And I need oxygen!” I cried, pushing them off me.

“You broke something?” Diana asked me a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah, yesterday,” I frowned.

“And you competed?” Veronica asked with a disapproving look.

“Still the same old Stella I know,” Gillian smiled as she hugged me.

“Where have you been all this time girl?!” the rest of the girls engulfed me in hugs congratulating me and whatnot. After they had to go because they needed to drive to San Francisco to spend the day there for the rest of the weekend.

“Are you sure you cant go?” Veronica asked me.

“Yeah. I need to ice this thing,” I frowned. “And get a cast,” I laughed.

“Okay, but please don’t disappear on us again?” she asked, with a sympathetic smile.

I gave her a soft smile back. “I won’t,” I promised.

“Come down. We’ll be on our way back directly from San Francisco. It’ll be great to have you around, yes?”

“I’ll see,” I said to her.

“I told you,” Gerald laughed at me when they all left.

“Told me what?”

“Your good luck charm is here,” he stuck his tongue out at me.

“Please G. When I’m with you, I end up breaking something,” I huffed.

“Who said I was talking about myself?” he smirked as he eyed something behind me. I turned around and saw Ethan coming towards me with his camera around his heck and his board in his right arm.

“Not at all, Gerald,” I huffed. “This bitch right here broke my Ulna,” I mumbled.

“What are you talking about?” he asked once he approached us. “Oh and G, Jake wanted to see you,” told the guy.

“I’ll see you around Stella,” Gerald said as he kissed my cheek and ran off.

“Hey, you got to compete. That means I get to keep my boys,” he smiled.

“You are an idiot,” I mumbled as I walked away.

“Hey, where are you going rockstar?” he chased after me.

“I am going to go to my car and drive home and relax,” I said imagining it.

“You can’t seriously say you drove here with that shoulder, Stella Grace,” he said in a stern voice.

I thought about it. “You’re right. I rode here with my brother,” I huffed. “And I have to get to the hospital,” I mumbled. “Great, there goes my nap.”

“I’ll drive you,” he volunteered.

“I’d rather live,” I rolled my eyes at him as I grabbed my backpack off the chair, throwing it over my left shoulder and grabbed my board and started walking away.

I heard Ethan let out an exasperated sigh as I heard footsteps coming towards me. “Here, I’ll get that,” he said grabbing my backpack and swung it over his other shoulder, and grabbed my board. He now had a backpack on each shoulder and boards in each arm. I took out my phone from my pocket, and dialed my brother’s number.

“Hey Stella. I’m so sorry. I’m with Gerald right now, we had to get back to the house to finish the last minute things for the wirings. So, Ethan’s gonna drive you home, okay? Okay!” he said quickly before hanging up.

“What the hell was that?” I asked myself out loud.

“What the hell was what?” Ethan asked.

“Nothing, I guess you’re driving me home,” I mumbled and I followed him towards the parking lot.

“Stella Grace?” I heard a voice say.

Ethan and I turned around to see who it was, and I almost wanted to punch the guy. “Hey Jeremy,” I smiled sweetly.

“How have you been?” he asked me as he came up to me with Ana, and gave me a hug. “Congrats on that win, by the way,” he smiled as he held Ana’s hand.

“I’ve been great,” I smiled at him. “And thanks. How about you guys? You seem to be doing well,” I grinned.

“Yes, we are,” he said looking down at Ana. “So, is that your new boyfriend?” he asked looking beside me where Ethan was now standing with a protective stance.

“Ethan,” he introduced himself. Jeremy stuck his hand out for a handshake, but Ethan just stared at it and raised an eyebrow at him. Jeremy awkwardly retracted his hand awkwardly.

“Oh uhm. We have to go,” Ana said. “It’s good to see you again, Stella,” she smiled and pulled Jeremy away from us.

Ethan continued to lead me through the parking lot, and approached a black Ford F150, where he threw our boards to the back and put our backpacks in the backseats. He opened the door for me, and helped me get up without hurting myself. “I’m so short I need stairs to get up in these kinds of cars,” I mumbled, making Ethan laugh. He then closed the door and got on his side of the car. He started it and began driving out of the parking lot.

“So, you don’t seem mad that I disrespected that guy,” he pointed out.

“Please, I don’t care how you treat that guy,” I scoffed.

“Who was he?” he asked cautiously.

“I met him back in ’08. And yeah, he competes unprofessionally too,” I explained.

Stella Grace Descenzo ; June Of 2008

“Hey,” I heard somebody say before sitting next to me on the ice.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“It’s my first time seeing you here in Session 2. Are you new?” he asked.

I nodded at him. “Yup,” I nodded. “I was in session 1 last week for the photography videography program,” I said.

“Oh, that’s nice. Well, I’ll have to tell you a secret,” he whispered.

“What is it?” I laughed.

“Session 2’s the best,” he flashed his 100-watt smile at me.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“You know the Frends crew?” he asked.

“Frends Crew?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Yeap. Those guys over there. They’re probably around our age and they’re already sponsored. But they’re chill and they’re really good snowboarders,” he explained.

“Oh,” I nodded.

That was the day that I met Jeremy Smith, and the Frends Crew.

From that day on, Jeremy and I kept in contact, until last year.

“Oh.. So what happened?” Ethan asked as he merged into the hospital’s drive.

“That’s another story for another time,” I laughed.

He smirked at me as he got out of the car and helped me get down. He did all my paperwork for me, knowing that I could barely write because of my arm. We were sitting down to be called, when the effects of adrenaline had worn off and I could feel the pain that was shooting from my wrist up to my shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” Ethan asked in panic.

“No. It hurts,” I said honestly, closing my eyes. I felt him take my hand into his soft ones, as he squeezed it lightly.

“Hey, open your eyes,” he said softly as he turned my hand upside down, and held it in his as he rubbed the area from my wrist to my thumb, knowing that the gesture calms me down. I opened my eyes and they were met with his worried green ones. “Just relax. Take a breath,” he said. I did as he said, and kept my eyes on his. The pain subsided, yet I was still looking straight into his eyes. “If only I could stop you from doing all this crazy stuff,” he shook his head at me with a half smile.