"You look like you're having trouble with that step sequence" Yuzu points out
"Yeah, I've never been the best with learning choreography," I tell him
"You just have to feel the music. Be one with the rhythm" He tells me, "By the way, what song did you choose?"
"Ave Maria. It's a religious song" I tell him
"Then you want to move like you're dancing a waltz. Skate like you're an ice dancer" he says
I'm pretty sure Kurt didn't understand a word Yuzu was saying considering it was in Japanese, but I guess he caught "Ice dancing" somewhere in his sentence.
"Ice dance...huh...?" Kurt says with an idea forming in his head
And with that said, Yuzuru is on the ice with us, learning my step sequence.
"Man I haven't done ice dance since I was like 15", I said,"I'm pretty the last dance I did was the Argentine Tango"
"I was never good with pairs to be honest" Yuzu answers back
Contrary to him, I was actually pretty good at ice dance. I'm just not the most coordinated partner...
After going through the footwork and learning how to pair it, the two of us are in full on waltz mode.
Twizzle, double bracket...
We glide across the ice as a pair, and not be narcissistic or anything but I think we'd put Tessa and Scott to shame.
We got through the sequence a few more times until I'm comfortable enough to do it alone.
I feel the wind in my hair as I'm skating down the ice, pretending that I'm Juliet and Yuzu is my Romeo, guiding me across the marble ballroom floors.
Then we pair up and do it again just for kicks.
Clap clap clap
Turning around, we find Javi, Coach, and Kurt clapping as we finish the final steps.
"If I was mistaken, I would've given you the gold medal over Tessa and Scott" Coach says
Can he read minds or something?
"I never knew you guys could work together so well," Javi says humorously, "Maybe you should quit singles and move to ice dance"
We laugh at his response and Yuzu leaves me to finish my choreography with Kurt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9:30 p.m
I've been at the rink for almost the whole day.
"Alright chica, let's see this short program" Javi shouts from the control room where the music system sits.
Yuzu, Coach, and Kurt are standing on the sidelines of the rink, ready to watch the first run through of my short program.
I skate to the middle of the ice, then take a deep breath, and pose, waiting for the music to start.
Less than a second later the soft sounds to Schubert's, Ave Maria fill the rink.
Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tuae, Jesus
Ave Maria
Soon, the step sequence comes up.
A suck in a breath and prepare to give it my all, pretending Yuzu is right beside me.
He's holding my waist, pulling me closer each time we turn
Twizzle, double bracket....
Success!
The last jump of the program comes up. Kurt and I decided to put it here because I'll get a 10% bonus for doing a jump after the halfway mark. It's the combo; triple lutz, triple loop, double loop.
As I power to the other side of the rink, Yuzu's smile catches my eye.
And suddenly I get this feeling in my stomach that just tells me I need to land this lutz combo.
I dig my pic into the ice and I'm off into the air.
One
Two
Three
Triple loop
One
Two
Three
Double loop
One
Two
.....huh?
I did it!
Wow that's the first time in forever.
I skate the final steps and then enter my final spin; a layback.
I end my performance with my right leg tucked behind my left and both hands over my head like a ballerina.
By the end of my program, I'm out of breath and I feel my lungs burning.
Slowly, the sound of clapping fills the rink, and the guys are cheering me on.
"That's the best performance I've seen from you since the Olympics!" Coach says
Wow, actually?
"I think this new short can beat your old world record from Sochi" He adds
I feel a smile creep up on my face as I skate over to the guys and hug each of them.
But for some unknown reason, my hug with Yuzu seems to last longer.
And I can imagine myself staying in his arms forever.
A/N: This chapter was kinda pure filler tbh