Hopelessly Devoted ☆ Pierre Gasly

XLV

"We're going to start the competition," Sam mentioned Juliette. "You can do your own round." She showed a smile.

"I'm fine," Juliette mouthed, she wasn't planning on speed skating.

The second to last race was led after thirty minutes. Juliette whistled on her fingers when Delilah and Liam had skated a decent race. Delilah clapped in her hands and slid towards the group. "Well done, pals!"

"This was so cool," Delilah breathed and gasped for air. "The speed, the airflow... wow!"

"Were you on speed or something?" Liam asked Delilah. "You were fast, Jesus Christ."

"I'm so surprised how fast everyone is. We should start an own speed skating team," Peter smirked. "Lars, Delilah, Jonah, Caro..."

"That makes us only one left," Harry said and rubbed his hands. "Juliette, show us what you got."

Delilah nodded excitedly.

Juliette awkwardly laughed. "No, no, I'm good. I suck at this." She snapped her knuckles and pressed a fake smile on her face.

"Dude, you won't fail. I mean, look at me. I am the worst speed skater," Peter smirked. "Go on, do it. It is fun. We won't laugh,"

"Ah, come on, Julie! It is so much fun!" Delilah exclaimed. "It's an experience."

I can't say no. Shall I just fail like I was supposed to seven years ago? Juliette took a deep breath. "Fine," she mumbled, only to please her team. Cheers filled the hall. She wanted her team to be happy.

"Alrighty, you will race against me," Harry mentioned. "I won't be hard on you, I will push you to your best. I can see you have potential." He showed a smile.

Juliette's breathing speeded up to short, heavy breaths. Her heart rate started to rise. Push you to your best... She pressed on her knuckle, it hurt, but it needed to crack.

"Don't be nervous, it's all fine."

She slowly nodded and made a bun in her hair. "Fifteen?" Juliette put on the hood from her hoodie and made sure everything sat tight against her body. Harry frowned. "Hundred metres..." Juliette added and stretched her muscles.

"She's going full for it," Delilah said, impressed and took a huge sip of the water.

"Don't overdo it," Harry warned her. "But sure. You need glasses?" He could see Juliette was planning on doing something.

"Merci," Juliette said when she got a pair of glasses. She stepped on the ice, it doesn't feel right. She grabbed her hand and squeezed hard in if. Everything around her began to play in slow motion; laughs, voices, her own breath and ever her blinks. She skated to the start, prepping herself. What I do for these people...

Harry was standing next to her, looking at his colleague Sam. "Ready!" Sam yelled.

They both were standing on the right lines, crushing their ice skates in the ice for more grip.

"Set!"

Juliette took a deep breath; the cold air entered her lungs. She squatted through her knees, getting into the correct position. Her position was deeper and more controlled than the others, something that stood out. She cracked both of her thumbs and lowered her eyebrows. Now or never.

"Go!"

The two people pushed themselves away and ran over the ice to create speed and more grip. The first part of the 1500 metres was a long straight, so they both had enough time to develop much momentum for the first turn.