A Crack in the Ice

Chapter 3

"Yurio...it's time to get up..." I heard Sarah say as I felt her shake me.
"Urgh...five more minutes," I mumbled.
"But assignments come out today!" she said with a slight whine.
I then sudden sat up. "O-oh! Right!"
Sarah slightly chuckled. "You're so cute when you wake up all flustered like this."
"Well it's not my fault you like to be ready an hour before we need to be at the rink," I mumbled.
"Well I actually let you sleep in a bit this morning, as it is a Saturday, after all."
"Wait...what time is it...?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"It's almost 8:30. We're meeting at the ice rink around 9:15, so you should probably get up," she said.
"Alright, alright, I'm up," I mumbled, sliding out of bed.
Sarah quickly pulled me back on the bed for a moment, and gave me a quick kiss. "I love you."
"Love you too," I said as I kissed back before getting back up.

About twenty minutes later, I was ready to go.
"Who's going to drive?" I asked, slipping my jacket on.
"I'll do it," Sarah said, grabbing the keys from the nightstand that was by our bed.
I nodded, and followed her out to the car.
"So, where do you think I'll be going this year?" Sarah asked as she backed out of our parking space.
"Hmm...I think we might be going to China this year," I said, taking a bite of the bagel I had grabbed from the kitchen. "We weren't there last year, so yeah."
"True," she said with a sigh. "I kinda want to go to Skate America, to be honest. I haven't actually shown you around where I grew up."
"Well...neither have I," I added.
"Point taken," she sighed.

About ten minutes later, we got to the rink, and it was a little past nine, and Yuri and Viktor were already there.
"Oh, good morning Sarah and Yurio," Viktor said with a smile.
"Morning," Sarah said as she set her duffle bag on a bench.
"So, Viktor, what are your plans going to be once the Grand Prix season starts?" I asked.
"We were actually thinking of traveling with you," Yuri said as he came off the ice.
Sarah smiled as she sat down to put on her ice skates. "Cool! I mean, they only give us two rooms at hotels, and Yurio and I use one, and Lilia and Yakov use the other...we'd have to figure something out, meaning that you might have to get your own rooms," Sarah mumbled.
"Actually, I don't really see a problem,"Viktor said. "The rooms usually have two beds, so you and Yurio can have one, and Yuri and I can use the other."
Yuri slightly blushed. "Viktor...are you sure that's a good idea?"
"...I'd be fine with it, as long as you keep everything PG-13 between the two of you," I grumbled under my breath.
Viktor nodded. "Of course. I can promise to do that."
"Ah, good morning Viktor, Sarah, Yuri, and Yuri," Yakov said as he walked in the building.
"Oh, good morning Coach Yakov," Viktor said with a smile.
"Are assignments out yet?" Sarah asked as she finished tying her second ice skate.
"Not yet," Yakov said, shaking his head. "They come out at noon."
"...meaning that I'll most likely see them before Lilith is even awake," Sarah mumbled.
"Anyways," Yakov said. "It's time for you to get on the ice. Lilia will be here soon, and I know she'll want you to do a run-down of both of your programs."
Sarah nodded, and made her way onto the ice. "Right. Hey, Yurio," she said, looking at me.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to work on my free skate for a bit, but when I go to do my short program, do you want to do a run-through with me?"
I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

===

I was in the middle of practicing On Love: Agape with Sarah, coming up on the quad toe loop triple lutz combo, the run-through being flawless.
Sarah then gave me a nod as we went in for the combo.
"Assignments are up!" Yuri called out from the side of the rink.
Not wanting to wait another second, Sarah skated over to the edge where Yuri was standing, and I followed her with a sigh.
"So where are we going this year?" Yakov asked as he walked over with Lilia.
"...looks like Skate America, Cup of China, finishing with the Rostelecom Cup," Viktor said, peeking at Yuri's phone from over his shoulder.
"And then the Grand Prix Final is in Vancouver, right?" I asked.
Lilia nodded. "Exactly. Now, we have about a month until your first competition, and Skate America is going to be in Lake Placid, which is in New York."
Viktor nodded. "Sounds nice. So, when do we leave for Lake Placid?"
"Well, we still need to buy tickets," Lilia said, "But, I was thinking that we should get to Lake Placid about a few days early, meaning that we would want to leave no later than October 25th, as we'll have at least one connecting flight."
Yakov nodded. "Alright. I'll get working on those tickets, then."
"Sounds good to me," I said with a nod.
"Oh," Yakov said, as if remembering something. "All flight costs for you and Sarah are covered by Lilia and myself. All you need to worry about is the actual coaching fees."
I smiled. "Thanks Yakov."
"Not a problem."
"Hold on...what did you say your cousin's name was, Sarah?" Yuri asked, looking up from his phone.
"...her name is Lilith. Why do you ask?" Sarah asked, crossing her arms.
"Hrm...looks like you'll be facing her at Skate America," Yuri mumbled under his breath.
"What?!" Sarah nearly screamed, snagging Yuri's phone from his hands.
"Ouch...try to be easy on the ears," I mumbled.
"...so she has Skate America, Skate Canada International, and Trophee de France..." Sarah mumbled under her breath.
I grumbled under my breath, and pulled out my phone, and opened YouTube. I was surprised when I saw that a 'Trending' was by this user called DemonSkater. The video was called 'Demons Preview', and it had almost three million views. I clicked on it, and a female was on the ice, skating to a routine to a song, which I assumed was 'Demons'.
"...hold on, is that Demons?" Sarah asked.
"I, uh, think so," I said, pausing the video.
"Who's the video by?"
"A user called DemonSkater."
"Give that to me," Sarah said, quickly giving Yuri his phone back, and took my phone instead. "...that's Lilith. Her free skate...it must be Demons...." she mumbled under her breath.
"...wow, she's pretty good," I heard Yuri say.
"Indeed she is," Viktor said.
I hit play on my phone, and watched the routine. The part that was recorded included triple salchow-double loop-triple flip, and a short sequence where she went low to the ice, and then came back up, going into a Y-spin, ankle hold form, and then it cut off.
"...wow, Lilith's gonna be some tight competition this year," Sarah mumbled under her breath, slightly shaking as she leaned on me.
"Sarah? Is something wrong?" I asked, slightly concerned.
"Hm...? Oh, it's nothing," she sighed. "Lilith usually never does this kind of thing, so I guess I'm kinda nervous as to why she did this..."
Lilia sighed. "Sarah, I don't want you to push yourself. Take the rest of the day off."
"Huh...? Are you sure about that, Lilia?" I asked.
She nodded. "Sarah's stressed out right now. Trust me, I can tell."
I sighed. "Alright. C'mon little princess. Let's go home."
With a nod, she got her skating gear off, and we eventually went home.