Losing the Light [h.s.]

07

The night before his first performance, Harry is nervous. In the morning to come, he will have to hurry out to the Olympic rink for the first time. At home, it seemed like he wasn't nervous at all. But now that they are in the actual area, his nerves have caught up to him. Marlee is here, though, and she's good at soaking up his anxiety and making him feel better. She knows for sure that Matthew has worked very hard with Harry to get his routines perfectly cleaned up.

Harry knows each step down to the breaths he takes between counts. Still, he doesn't feel ready to be judged. He doesn't feel ready to have so many people watching him. Harry has been so skittish lately that Marlee is beginning to get slightly annoyed.

"Marlee?" he says in the dark.

"Mm?" she mumbles from the bed next to his. She doesn't bother rolling over to look at him. This should just be a quick question or something.

"I'm nervous," he says lowly.

"I know, but you shouldn't be," Marlee says monotonously. "You're ready. You know it, and I know it. Try to go back to sleep."

"I can't go back to sleep when I haven't slept at all."

"Then go to sleep." Marlee squeezes her eyes shut, trying to will some of her sleepiness over to Harry.

"But I want to talk to you," he says sadly.

"Harry."

"What?" he says, a little defensively.

Marlee sighs, figuring that since she can't sleep either, she can just as well not-sleep in Harry's bed--to, you know, be there for him. She pushes back the sheets, taking the few steps over to Harry. Harry scoots over, allowing her to lay next to him. He props himself up on his elbow, looking at her as she looks at the ceiling.

"What if something happens?" he asks, laying his head down next to hers.

She turns her head to the left to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno, what if something goes wrong with the routine?"

"You're going to do great." She glances at the clock--2:45am. "You need some sleep for tomorrow, Harry. Champions need to be well-rested," she says lightly.

Harry laughs a little. Marlee rolls over, facing away from him. Marlee doesn't protest when she feels Harry's arm snake around her waist to pull her closer. She smiles to herself, letting her eyes drift closed as she takes his hand in hers.

"Goodnight, Mars."

-

"Hey, wake up."

His voice makes Marlee jump a little. For a moment she looks at him in surprise, but then it turns to a glare.

"I'm not the Olympic athlete," she groans. She had never been much of a morning person.

Harry puts a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, you said you wanted to come with me to practice. Plus, I'd like to make my bed, but you're in it." he chuckles, pulling on her arm.

"I said I wanted to come before you woke me up at three in the morning. I don't want to get up now."

"Okay, okay. Fine," he says, rolling his eyes. "I'll come back for you later then."

Marlee lays back down. "Seeya," she says.

"Guess I won't be making my bed," Harry chuckles as he heads out the door.

-

Harry's routine is perfect. He does everything Matthew went over that morning. He finishes his show with a bow, and he skates off the ice to where Marlee and his family are waiting to hear his score. They all smile and give him a thumbs up, but they hold their real praise for when the score is read.

Harry manages to place higher than expected. A full 98 points are awarded to him, which is not bad at all, and for his second event he scores higher than that by a lot.

"I knew he was a star the first time I met him," Matthew says proudly to Harry's parents. "I could see it in him, plain as day."

On the the third day of competition, there's a weird feeling hanging over them all. They can tell by the looks they've exchanged that they're all feeling it, but they can't quite find a name for it.

Harry wakes up with a dull feeling of anxiety in his stomach. He would much rather stay in the hotel and do nothing over performing today.

Marlee combs back her hair into a ponytail after getting dressed. She offers to get Harry some breakfast, but he shakes his head and says he's not hungry.

They all say goodbye and good luck when it's Harry's turn to perform, and the family settles in for a good show. Harry heads out to the entrance of the rink with Matthew, listening to him run through some last-minute tips.

"Good luck," Matthew nods at him.

"Thanks," Harry says, putting on his show-face. He heads into the center of the ice, listening for the start of the music.

From the box, Marlee watches Harry as he does a series of jumps and spins, a y-spin, holding his foot up behind him, and a turn that will lead up to what used to be the dreaded quadruple axel. But Marlee rests assured knowing that Matthew and Harry have worked it out and added a different move.

Harry's jaw tightens, and she can see that he is focused on something new. He picks up the pace of his steps, just like the buildup to the axel. To her surprise, he's really going to do it. Harry seems to be doing it right, though before he hadn't gotten enough speed to lift high enough for four rotations.

He is doing everything perfectly but she can't help but feel nervous for what's to come next. What if he messes up? It will for sure lower his score, but it could also seriously hurt him.

Marlee turns to Anne. "This isn't what he's supposed to do," she says. Her voice sounds anxious. Much more than she had thought it would.

"He's alright, dear," she says, giving her a comforting look. Marlee can see in her face that she knows that something could happen, too. Marlee wants to believe what she said, that he would be alright, but--

That's when the unthinkable happens.