The snow crunched under the steps of the ginger girl. Why she agreed to this was still a mystery to her, but she couldn't back out now. Here she was, back in the familiar mountains, on a path with led to the exact same place that was the source of her nightmares.

Valerie dragged behind Emily and her new boyfriend, Matt, with her face pulled into a scowl. Her bleached eyebrows were furrowed closely together, almost touching the other, and her lips where turned downwards into a frown. Her brown eyes were narrowed as she stared ahead while she focused on not slipping on any hidden ice.

A day before Emily came barging in her home with a whole list of things for her to pack since she knew that Val would have no intention of doing anything. Valerie was already debating on just kicking her friend out the window or door, whichever was the closest, after the first two hours of her being there. After smoking a whole box of cigarettes though, Val was able to tolerate Emily for the remaining hours of the day. The two even had a take away as a dinner. Together, in the same room. At the same table. If that's not what Emily thought of as progress then she didn't know what else would be.

Today Valerie woke up with the worst migrane she ever had before and the thought of just fleeing the country came to her mind. If she dissapeared then there would be nothing they could do, nothing that Emily could do. Although Valerie doubted that she could stay hidden for long since her friend would be able to track her down better than the FBI would.

Her slightly calm day then turned into her worst nightmare when she heard someone ring her doorbell. With the slowest steps ever, accompanied with the most uninterested face, she opened the door too reveal a grinning Emily and her old friend, Matt. Not having any choice Valerie went to go grab her things and after slipping on her leather jacket with the fur collar she followed the two towards her death wish.

"How much longer?" Valerie groaned as she tugged at the backpack straps on her shoulders.

The three of them just left the cable car station and Valerie already had enough. The constant chatter from the black haired girl didn't help her mood either.

Emily laughed at the complaints of the ginger girl, not like she wasn't complaining either. "We just got out of the cable car, Val! Although, seriously, why couldn't they have built the lodge right where the cable car ends?"

Val gave her a look and rolled her eyes, quickly taking in the scenery. It still gave her the creeps even after a whole year.

Matt closed the small gate after the two girls and picked up the bags that the two of them brought. "I don't think it would've been, like, as pretty, you know?"

"And where's the bell boy when you need one?" Emily exclaimed before starting to trudge through the white snow again with her boyfriend following.

Valerie stood still for a second, looking around as if someone or something was going to jump out any second. She felt her body fill with fear before quickly clearing her throat and catching up with the two. She still hasn't forgotten

The path was leading straight through the small wooden structure that Valerie knew well. Back when everything was still all well, they once played hide and seek around the lodge and this was the hiding spot that Valerie chose as her own. It didn't last very long since she was quickly found by Mike who then proceeded to tease her about how bad of a hiding spot that was.

The thought almost made her smile but she continued to keep a poker face.

"Brr, getting chills!" Emily stated after the small silence.

"Obviously, it's freezing." Valerie replied from the back with a raise of her eyebrow.

Matt took a few quicker steps to catch up to his girlfriend, hoping to comfort her. "We're almost there--"

"No, I mean... getting kinda creeped out." The black haired girl corrected herself.

"Oh." The boy huffed out but nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah."

Valerie had to agree with that. The hair on her neck was probably standing up and she constantly felt like she was being watched but that must be her mind playing tricks on her. As long as she doesn't see anything then she's fine, if she does she's booking it. The old stories she heard were also not helping the case, ever since the trio arrived to the forest and saw the sign "Blackwood pines", Valerie's mind refreshed all the myths and legends she heard about.

"Gonna be weird seeing everyone up here again." Emily continued talking and Valerie was already scolding herself for not wearing some earplugs or something.

The ginger girl hugged her arms around her body in hopes of keeping herself warm. "I already saw you two, that was enough for me."

"Oh, don't be like that, Val! The others missed you too!" Emily looked back at the uninterested girl who kept staring at her as if she was waiting for her executioner.

"Yeah, well, I didn't." Valerie muttered under her breath. "This feels more like a postponed funeral than a party."

Matt shook his head in agreement as they continued their way through the small wooden tunnel. "It definitely won't be like a regular party. I mean what do you think--"

"ARGH!"

Valerie jumped a foot in the air as she clutched at her racing heart, not without letting out a scream of terror. Her eyes scanned the area until they landed on a familiar grinning face. Emily and Matt also seemed shaken up from the scare but the ginger looked like she saw a ghost.

"What the fuck!" Valerie yelled in anger as she glared at him.

Mike doubled over, laughing hysterically at the horror etched onto the faces of the three. Valerie continued to stare daggers at him. The fact that she was paranoid of the forest, more like what was hidden in the trees, didn't help her anxiety.

"You guys!" Mike chuckled out hitting his knee in the process, but he couldn't finish his sentence due to laughing once again.

Emily stepped a foot closer and shouted at him in a scolding matter. "Michael!"

The brown haired boy finally stopped laughing but still had a smile on his face, as if he was proud of himself. "You really should've seen your faces right there--"

"Dude, I almost clocked you just now."

"And, Val, please! The way you screamed was award worthy!" Mike laughed out once again before swinging an arm around the ginger girls shoulder and ruffling her hair, completely ignoring the fact that she was probably plotting his murder. "Still the same ol' jumpy Val."

Valerie stood there with an even bigger scowl on her face than before. Sure it was just a prank, and she was probably going to forget about it in an hour, but she was still fuming. Her brown eyes threw knives, daggers, swords and anything sharp towards the prankster, disregarding the arm still around her shoulder.

"Michael, you're a jerk." Emily rolled her eyes at her ex.

"Come on guys, we're all friends here, right? No need for violence. Just a little harmless fun!" He answered, holding his hands up in surrender.

Valerie gave him a murderous glance. "Oh, I will show you violence--"

"We're out in the woods! It's spooky! Come on, let's get into the spirit of things!" Mike continued, ignoring Valerie's sentence.

Valerie scoffed and looked away. The spirit of things, huh? What spirits, the spirits of death? She didn't hate Mike but that insensitive sentence made her dislike him a little bit more. She was not the only one who had the same thought as Emily crossed her arms and her face was now home to a large frown.

"The spirit of things? Seriously? What's wrong with you?" The short haired girl asked in disbelief.

Mike looked around and waved his hand in the air unbothered. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood, Em. Don't be like that!"

"Like what?" Emily raised her eyebrows challenging him to finish the sentence.

"The way you're being. You always get like this."

Valerie pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. All this chitter-chatter was already making her head hurt even more and they haven't even made it to the lodge.

"Okay, can you two please stop arguing like an old married, more like divorced, couple? I do not want to be here, like at all, and you two are not helping the case! Mike, stop being an ass and Em, stop being so... Em! Emily, do you want me to run straight back home?" Both of them went silent and Emily quickly shook her head at Valerie's threat. "Alright, then just shut up!"

A small silence followed as Valerie gave all of them long stares. Matt, who had nothing to do with the argument looked like he just wanted to hide away into a hole while the other two friends looked like Val had kicked them.

"Ehm, yeah, like Val said." Matt started after clearing his throat. "Michael, I'm just gonna lay it out, otherwise this whole weekend is going to suck ass for everyone. Um, this is super awkward and we all know it--"

Valerie let out a 'tsk" under her breath. "No shit, Sherlock."

"Let's just acknowledge it now and move on, okay?" The boy finished his very important speech.

"Matt--" Emily started but the other boy quickly cut her off.

Mike scratched the back of his neck as he nodded along to what Matt was saying. "I hear you, man. I get it, I don't want to make this weird."

"Cool." Matt replied. "So we're good?"

"All good."

Valerie and Emily looked back and forth between the two with raised eyebrows. The ginger felt the corners of her lips turn up in the slightest at the for some reason hilarious scene infront of her. The two boys continued to have a stare down until Emily butted in.

"You guys gonna make out now?" The black haired girl asked with a mocking tone to her voice.

Mike snickered as he replied with his own high pitched tone and weird movements. "Oh my God, totally, we're so gonna make out!"

The three of them stared at hun for second unimpressed and Mike let out a sigh.

"Uh, no, seriously, I'm gonna check on the cable car back down the trail. Josh texted me that Jess is there." Mike said as he then turned to the ginger girl standing with her arms crossed with a cheeky grin on his face. "Val, you wanna come with?"

The ginger girls head snapped in the direction that her name came from. Her eyes scanned the boys face for any source of mischief or insincerity but she couldn't find any.

"Uh..."

"Go ahead, Val!" Emily cut in for the girl and motioned with her hands to follow the brown haired boy.

Valerie groaned and adjusted the bag on her back before sulking after her old friend. Why did everyone want to socialize with her out of everyone so much.

Matt quickly stopped her from walking as he yelled after her. "Do you want me to take your bag? I'm already the luggage carrier so a bag wouldn't hurt."

"No, it's fine. Atleast I have my stuff incase I run away from you lot." Valerie replied with a tight lipped smile.

"See ya!" Mike exclaimed throwing his arms up into the air while walking down back the same way that the trio came from.

Valerie stared for a second before continuing to walk along the path covered in snow. The only amusement she had was trying to step into the footsteps from when she walked up in the opposite direction.

Why was it that she was the only one who seemed genuinely affected by what happened last year. Nobody else she has met with seemed to be sulking or looked miserable other than herself. Hell, Mike was joking about and Emily and Matt just didn't seem to care enough.

Now once again, here she was, stomping around in the snow as the sun was setting down. The usually dark and creepy forest was tainted with a golden hue and the snow sparkled as the light hit its surface. Valerie wrote a song about this place, but that was long forgotten.

The ginger girl stuffed her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket in hopes of keeping them warm. She had plenty of layers on but the wind still sent a chill down her spine.

"So, how have you been?" Mike asked trying to break the silence.

Valerie let out a bitter laugh. "How do you think."

"Yeah, sorry, don't answer that. Forget I even asked." He said, embarrassment lacing his voice. "You know, it has been like 9 months since I saw you."

"More like twelve." The girl replied as she stared digging around for a cigarette.

Mike mocked a thoughtful expression before snapping his fingers. "No, no, I think it was nine! Remember, we met once in the store."

Valerie looked at him as if he just grew a second head, not understanding where he got that from. Meanwhile she quickly lit the cigarette that she finally found laying in her jeans pocket and took a drag from it. Then realisation passed along her face.

"We didn't meet, you just simply saw me."

"I even said hello! Twice!" Mike reminded her.

Valerie continued walking ahead, not sparing a glance at the taller boy beside her. "Yeah, well, I didn't see you."

"You didn't see me or did you just not want to see me?" He asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Probably the latter." Valerie answered but now she couldn't help the small smirk that placed itself along her lips.

"I knew it!"

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence this time as they walked past the many trees. Suddenly a twig snapped behind a bigger rock and Valerie immediatey snapped her head towards the sound. She stared at the spot for what seemed like hours until she decided that it was nothing.

The two were almost back at the cable car station when Mike glanced around and in typical male fashion, decided he needed to go do his buisness. Valerie, a tad bit grossed out, told him to catch up and she will go look for Jess.

The girl continued walking down the lane and finally saw the building that she was looking for. Valerie debated on just hopping onto the cable car and going back home, but she didn't want to be alone in these mountains. The one thing she swore to never do was go on her own when the sun was down.

Little did she now what would happen in the next ten hours until dawn.

As she dragged her martens boots clad feet along the white surface she saw a head covered in blonde hair. Once she got closer she saw Jess sitting there with a book and her phone by her side, not yet seeing the other girl striding towards her.

Valerie, not exactly knowing what she should do, simply leaned against the wall and continued smoking in silence. She wondered how long it would take for the blonde to notice her being there. The answer was: not long.

"Val!" Jess' slightly annoying voice filled the gingers ears.

Valerie pulled her lips into a strained smile as she did a salute to the other girl. "Jess."

"Oh, I haven't seen you in so long! How are you?" She asked with a smile of her own, which for some reason didn't seem so genuine.

"Like shit." Valerie deadpanned, blowing the smoke from her lungs back out into the air.

Jess let out a chuckle and patted the seat next to her, as if inviting the ginger to sit beside her. "Still the same, sometimes too honest, Val!"

Valerie hesitantly walked towards the wooden bench, not before hitting her boots against the ledge of the platform to shake the snow off. The girl slowly made her way over and sat down, but kept a small distance from the blonde.

"Did you see Mike?" She asked and looked around eagerly. "Josh said that he will meet me here and help me with my things."

Ah, of course. Valerie sensed that she wasn't too welcomed by Jess, now she knew that she was only waiting for Mike alone. The ginger knew that her old friend had a silly crush on the boy when he was still with Emily, but being a normal friend she actually kept it a secret and didn't make her look like a fool infront of everyone like she, Jess herself, made of Hannah.

"My sincere apologies that I am not who you expected to see." Valerie scoffed as she finally stopped smoking and stomped on the small remaining pieces of the cigarette. "We were coming to meet you together but he had to do his "man business"."

"You two came together?" The blondes eye twitched as she kept a fake smile on her face.

"Yeah, I had nothing else better to do." The ginger shrugged as she stared into the forest. "Atleast I still have some time before I am surrounded by everyone."

"Of course." The blonde chuckled as she then picked up her phone.

Valerie continued to just sit there in silence and observe her surroundings. She just wanted to go home ever since she left her house. She was about to stand up so she could walk around until she saw the figure of Mike crouching in the shadows with a snowball in his hands. He locked eyes with the ginger who shook her head as if to say "if you hit me, I will murder you" but he put a finger to his lips and motioned to Jess.

Valerie watched as he stood up tall and then suddenly threw the ball of snow towards Jess. The pile of snow hit the wall next to her and the girl jumped in fright before seeing the source of the threat.

"Oh, you did not just do that!" She exclaimed as she stood up.

The ginger girl rolled her eyes and zoned out on the conversation that was happening infront of her. She continued sitting there as the two started having a snowball fight. Valerie had grown a small distaste for romance in the year she spent alone and seeing how Jess' eyes were filled with admiration she couldn't help but gag.

She was picking at her jeans when a sudden stinging sensation covered the left side of her face. Valerie gasped as she looked up only to see Mike laughing on the ground. The ginger gave him a glare as she stood up and began marching towards him with the intention to literally smother him with snow until he suffocated.

"Come on, Val, we're heading back!" Mike said with his infamous smirk.

Jess glanced at the girl who suddenly got all the attention and scoffed before trudging through the snow towards the lodge.

Mike and Valerie followed as they continued their way up the same path that the ginger was walking for the third time. Her mind was still full of vengeance as she scanned her surroundings carefully. The boy would not get away with that snow ball attack which still had the left side of her face throbbing from the cold and red.

They walked past the wooden tunnel and Valerie could already see the entrance to the lodge from there. She could just turn around and run, nobody would notice, but again, it was already dark.

Valerie looked around and saw a big pile of snow and with revenge being the only thing in her thoughts she grabbed a large handful of it. She had a large amount of snow in her grasp, that she even had to balance with both her elbows together. The ginger quickly snuk up behind the boy and luckily she was on a higher slump of snow so she dumped the pile in her arms straight onto his head.

"What the hell!" Mike exclaimed as he was blinded by the snow attack.

Valerie gave him a whack on the shoulder. "Payback, bitch."

"You're not getting out of this so easily! Come back here!" The boy laughed out as he started chasing the girl who took off sprinting.

Valerie's boots hit the ground every step as she ran towards the stairs of her nightmares. Her tempo slowed down once she realised where she was actually headed. She could hear the voices of her old friends inside and her stomach churned. The ginger girl didn't want to go inside and right now she was ready to just book it right back home even though she was terrified.

As she stood there in worry while all the old, not so good, memories flashed infront of her eyes, Mike stalked up behind her and dumped a small amount of snow down the back of her neck.

"Holy shit!" She yelled out in surprise as the freezing snow slid down her back.

Mike patted her on the head as he walked up to the doors. "Payback, bitch."

Valerie glared at him once again and huffed as she tried to get the snow out from under her shirt. Jess rolled her eyes and walked in after Mike who already made his presence known with a loud greeting.

"For fucks sake." Valerie groaned as she mustered up the courage to go inside.

Although she immediately wished she didn't when all eyes turned to her and either gaped at her or grinned. She was already hearing the surprised voices chanting her name as if she had forgotten it and they were trying to make her remember. All Valerie could do was stand there awkwardly and look at everyone who was staring at her.

Valerie never wanted to dig her grave more than now.