Post by Britchick1980 on Oct 4, 2007 10:40:53 GMT -5
Title - Apolo & Julianne - What Happened Next? Part 2
Author - Britchick1980
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - This story is a complete and utter figment of my imagination. I have never met either Apolo Anton Ohno or Julianne Hough and the occurrences in this story have been completely fabricated.
Note - Please note that this is my first attempt at writing fiction so please be kind! Any constructive criticism is most welcome because it is the only way in which I will be able to develop my writing skills. Also, please remember that I am British and therefore there will be some disparity in spelling etc.
What Happened Next? (Part 2)
I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. 6.30am the alarm should be going off any second. It had done so at this time for the last fourteen years. I was so used to it that I was often awake before it even sounded. Except today was different. There was no training to get up for. No gym to attend. No John to meet.
Today was the first day of the rest of my life.
As I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed my head pounded vibrantly from the celebratory champagne making me wince. Aww man, this is exactly why you don't usually drink, I thought to myself, your hangovers are nasty. I had reasoned with myself last night that a night of over-indulgence wouldn't kill me. I had the gold medal to celebrate which I had won that day ... not to mention my retirement from speed skating, but now I was begging to differ. The pain definitely was not worth the party!
As I stood up to stagger towards the shower I noticed the letter on the coffee table where I had left it yesterday morning. The letter inviting me to appear on the Grande Finale series of Dancing With the Stars with Julianne Hough! Julianne! Even thinking about her brought a sharp pain to my heart. Beautiful, delicate, innocent Julianne! Soft skin, azure eyes, hair like golden silk! Julianne who danced and sung like an angel. Suddenly I snapped back to reality. Well she had made her decision, she chose him... and now I was making mine. I would not be joining the series, not now, not ever. With that, I picked up the letter, scrumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the trash.
After showering and dressing in faded jeans and a black T-shirt, I headed into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. I had just grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge when the phone rang.
“Morning bro, I thought you’d be up early. Old habits die hard huh?”
It was Shani Davis, fellow Olympic speed skater and one of the best mates a guy could ask for. I have a lot of time for Shani, but not today. Today I could do without his endless positivitey.
“Hey Man, what can I say? It’s in my blood.”
“Well, since you are up and about, how about a celebratory breakfast? I didn’t get the chance to catch up with you last night and my training doesn’t start until 10am today so I’m free.”
I really didn’t need this now. I just wanted to be alone to wallow in my own self pity. I racked my brain for an excuse but it came up with nothing. “Sounds good man. How about Jax’s in fifteen?”
“I’ll be there. See you in fifteen Ohno.”
I put down the receiver, threw on a jacket and headed out the door to breakfast with Shani.
The diner was noisy and hot air blasted my face as I walked through the door. I spotted Shani immediately sat in the corner hunched over a newspaper studying it intently drinking a glass of orange. I ordered myself the same and then made my way over to him.
“Hey man, how’s things?” I said as I neared his table.
“Well, if it isn’t the golden boy huh?” Shani stood up and embroiled me in a back-slapping hug. “Congratulations man!”
“Thanks” I sighed as I removed my jacket and sat down to study the food menu.
“What’s wrong Ohno?” Shani said whilst studying my face. “You should be smiling like a fool after your gold yesterday but instead you just seem well ….. tired! Retirement blues already?”
I looked up at Shani “I’m fine man. Just too much champagne and too late a night, that’s all!”
“Are you sure that is all it is Apolo?” Oh geeze, he only ever called me Apolo when he was about the get all serious on me. Now is not the time!
“I only ask because I ran into Yuki yesterday” Shani says whilst avoiding my eyes. “He told me about the offer from ABC to appear with Julianne in their Grand Finale series.”
The statement hung in the air like a lead balloon. Shani knows the history, Shani knows that I was in love with Julianne and Shani knows me well enough to understand that a combination of these two things, coupled with ABC’s offer is something that would un-nerve and upset me despite the victory of yesterday.
I know what’s coming next, I thought, the run-for-your-life speech. The save- yourself- the- heartache speech. The get-the-hell-outta-dodge speech. Shani was there through it all, he had seen my pain, he saw my devastation when she had left and now he was going to advise me to move on. He would have agreed with my disposal of the letter that morning. I was stronger than he thought.
“I think you should do it man!” Shani said simply.
“What?” I stared at him incredulously.
“I think you should do it man” he repeated. “Look, I know that over the past three years I have always told you to forget about her and move on but clearly you can’t so I think you should do it. Join the production, dance with Julianne, say what you need to say and do anything you need to do to get over it. On ‘Friends’ I believe they call it ‘Closure’. You need closure man.”
I stared at Shani. “Have you gone completely mad?” I snapped. “This is Julianne we are talking about. Remember her? Stole my heart in an instant, broke my heart in an instant and didn’t even have the courtesy to forewarn me about it let alone explain. She told me she loved me and then just disappeared into the night and I had to find out about her marriage to ‘him’ through some glossy wedding photos in some ridiculous trashy entertainment magazine and now you think I have unresolved issues. Too d**n right I have unresolved issues … hundreds of them.”
As I stopped talking I realized that, in fact, I had been shouting and now the whole diner was staring at me. Collecting my jacket I quickly threw some money on the table and headed out of the door. As the cold air hit me I began to run. I picked up the pace until I could feel my thigh muscles beginning to burn. I had no idea where I was going I just needed to run. I needed to feel the burning of my muscles. I had learnt from past experience that only this could subdue the burning in my heart. As I wove my way through a group of shoppers I felt my eyes prickle with tears. Oh Julianne, why did you do it? You said you loved me but you left, why? As the tears began to course down my face I picked up the pace in an attempt to convince passers by on the street that they were not tears but beads of sweat.
After running for 20 minutes or so I felt the burning in my heart fade. I slowed my pace to a slow jog and eventually stopped at the gates of a park. At the entrance of the park was a bench which I seized as my own. Sitting down I buried my head in my hands and let out a long jagged breath. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth Apolo. In through the nose and out through the mouth. I sat in this state of meditation for what must have been a further 10 minutes or so before being interrupted by a slap on the back of my head. Opening my eyes I saw a very knackered Shani doubled over beside the bench breathing heavily.
“What the hell happened man?” he said in between attempts at trying to get his breath back
I was able to speak with a clear head now thanks to my exertions and meditations. “I’m sorry Shani, I kinda lost it back there …. too many emotions within such a short space of time.”
Shani sighed and sat down next to me. “I know that it is not what you want to hear Apolo, but I really do think doing this show would be a good idea. You clearly have a lot of questions that you still need answering, maybe this might be the perfect opportunity to help you get those answers.”
As I looked up at him I saw that familiar twinkle in his eyes that reminded me that he meant well. “I don’t know Shani, I just don’t know. I want these questions answered but I don’t know if I can bear to see her again.”
Shani leant towards me and recited the old adage used many times by both of our parents “If something is worth having then it is worth fighting for.” He smiles at me. “I’m not saying that it is going to be easy Apolo but you need these questions answering to be able to move with your life and in order to do that you need to do something which I know is painful for you, you have to see Julianne.”
“But I’m fine Shani, really. I’m over it, I’ve moved on.”
“No you haven’t Apolo. I know you have been working very hard over the past three years to prove to us all that you are totally fine but I certainly don’t buy it and neither does your father. You haven’t so much as looked at another woman since Julianne, and now that you have retired and have more time on your hands I fear that it is only going to get worse. Three lost years Apolo, three years. You need to sort this out, start moving forward and having fun.”
I sighed. He was right of course. I had poured everything into my training in an attempt to forget her but now reality was catching up with me. Everything he had said was whizzing around in my mind at a hundred miles per hour, my brain desperately trying to process the information. The only thing I knew to be correct was than Shani was right. This did need sorting. In the past when my instincts had deserted me I had trusted his. Maybe I should again.
“Think of this as a challenge” he said trying to convince me further. “The prize is relief from the pain you are suffering … the challenge is facing Julianne.”
I sat in thought for a few seconds, he was playing on my competitive spirit I knew that much, he knows that I never back away from a challenge so he was proposing ABC’s offer to me as one. d**n him, he knows me too well! I stood up, looked him dead in the eyes and smiled “challenge accepted.”
Author note - If you like it let me know & I will continue to write. Thanks
Author - Britchick1980
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - This story is a complete and utter figment of my imagination. I have never met either Apolo Anton Ohno or Julianne Hough and the occurrences in this story have been completely fabricated.
Note - Please note that this is my first attempt at writing fiction so please be kind! Any constructive criticism is most welcome because it is the only way in which I will be able to develop my writing skills. Also, please remember that I am British and therefore there will be some disparity in spelling etc.
What Happened Next? (Part 2)
I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. 6.30am the alarm should be going off any second. It had done so at this time for the last fourteen years. I was so used to it that I was often awake before it even sounded. Except today was different. There was no training to get up for. No gym to attend. No John to meet.
Today was the first day of the rest of my life.
As I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed my head pounded vibrantly from the celebratory champagne making me wince. Aww man, this is exactly why you don't usually drink, I thought to myself, your hangovers are nasty. I had reasoned with myself last night that a night of over-indulgence wouldn't kill me. I had the gold medal to celebrate which I had won that day ... not to mention my retirement from speed skating, but now I was begging to differ. The pain definitely was not worth the party!
As I stood up to stagger towards the shower I noticed the letter on the coffee table where I had left it yesterday morning. The letter inviting me to appear on the Grande Finale series of Dancing With the Stars with Julianne Hough! Julianne! Even thinking about her brought a sharp pain to my heart. Beautiful, delicate, innocent Julianne! Soft skin, azure eyes, hair like golden silk! Julianne who danced and sung like an angel. Suddenly I snapped back to reality. Well she had made her decision, she chose him... and now I was making mine. I would not be joining the series, not now, not ever. With that, I picked up the letter, scrumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the trash.
After showering and dressing in faded jeans and a black T-shirt, I headed into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. I had just grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge when the phone rang.
“Morning bro, I thought you’d be up early. Old habits die hard huh?”
It was Shani Davis, fellow Olympic speed skater and one of the best mates a guy could ask for. I have a lot of time for Shani, but not today. Today I could do without his endless positivitey.
“Hey Man, what can I say? It’s in my blood.”
“Well, since you are up and about, how about a celebratory breakfast? I didn’t get the chance to catch up with you last night and my training doesn’t start until 10am today so I’m free.”
I really didn’t need this now. I just wanted to be alone to wallow in my own self pity. I racked my brain for an excuse but it came up with nothing. “Sounds good man. How about Jax’s in fifteen?”
“I’ll be there. See you in fifteen Ohno.”
I put down the receiver, threw on a jacket and headed out the door to breakfast with Shani.
The diner was noisy and hot air blasted my face as I walked through the door. I spotted Shani immediately sat in the corner hunched over a newspaper studying it intently drinking a glass of orange. I ordered myself the same and then made my way over to him.
“Hey man, how’s things?” I said as I neared his table.
“Well, if it isn’t the golden boy huh?” Shani stood up and embroiled me in a back-slapping hug. “Congratulations man!”
“Thanks” I sighed as I removed my jacket and sat down to study the food menu.
“What’s wrong Ohno?” Shani said whilst studying my face. “You should be smiling like a fool after your gold yesterday but instead you just seem well ….. tired! Retirement blues already?”
I looked up at Shani “I’m fine man. Just too much champagne and too late a night, that’s all!”
“Are you sure that is all it is Apolo?” Oh geeze, he only ever called me Apolo when he was about the get all serious on me. Now is not the time!
“I only ask because I ran into Yuki yesterday” Shani says whilst avoiding my eyes. “He told me about the offer from ABC to appear with Julianne in their Grand Finale series.”
The statement hung in the air like a lead balloon. Shani knows the history, Shani knows that I was in love with Julianne and Shani knows me well enough to understand that a combination of these two things, coupled with ABC’s offer is something that would un-nerve and upset me despite the victory of yesterday.
I know what’s coming next, I thought, the run-for-your-life speech. The save- yourself- the- heartache speech. The get-the-hell-outta-dodge speech. Shani was there through it all, he had seen my pain, he saw my devastation when she had left and now he was going to advise me to move on. He would have agreed with my disposal of the letter that morning. I was stronger than he thought.
“I think you should do it man!” Shani said simply.
“What?” I stared at him incredulously.
“I think you should do it man” he repeated. “Look, I know that over the past three years I have always told you to forget about her and move on but clearly you can’t so I think you should do it. Join the production, dance with Julianne, say what you need to say and do anything you need to do to get over it. On ‘Friends’ I believe they call it ‘Closure’. You need closure man.”
I stared at Shani. “Have you gone completely mad?” I snapped. “This is Julianne we are talking about. Remember her? Stole my heart in an instant, broke my heart in an instant and didn’t even have the courtesy to forewarn me about it let alone explain. She told me she loved me and then just disappeared into the night and I had to find out about her marriage to ‘him’ through some glossy wedding photos in some ridiculous trashy entertainment magazine and now you think I have unresolved issues. Too d**n right I have unresolved issues … hundreds of them.”
As I stopped talking I realized that, in fact, I had been shouting and now the whole diner was staring at me. Collecting my jacket I quickly threw some money on the table and headed out of the door. As the cold air hit me I began to run. I picked up the pace until I could feel my thigh muscles beginning to burn. I had no idea where I was going I just needed to run. I needed to feel the burning of my muscles. I had learnt from past experience that only this could subdue the burning in my heart. As I wove my way through a group of shoppers I felt my eyes prickle with tears. Oh Julianne, why did you do it? You said you loved me but you left, why? As the tears began to course down my face I picked up the pace in an attempt to convince passers by on the street that they were not tears but beads of sweat.
After running for 20 minutes or so I felt the burning in my heart fade. I slowed my pace to a slow jog and eventually stopped at the gates of a park. At the entrance of the park was a bench which I seized as my own. Sitting down I buried my head in my hands and let out a long jagged breath. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth Apolo. In through the nose and out through the mouth. I sat in this state of meditation for what must have been a further 10 minutes or so before being interrupted by a slap on the back of my head. Opening my eyes I saw a very knackered Shani doubled over beside the bench breathing heavily.
“What the hell happened man?” he said in between attempts at trying to get his breath back
I was able to speak with a clear head now thanks to my exertions and meditations. “I’m sorry Shani, I kinda lost it back there …. too many emotions within such a short space of time.”
Shani sighed and sat down next to me. “I know that it is not what you want to hear Apolo, but I really do think doing this show would be a good idea. You clearly have a lot of questions that you still need answering, maybe this might be the perfect opportunity to help you get those answers.”
As I looked up at him I saw that familiar twinkle in his eyes that reminded me that he meant well. “I don’t know Shani, I just don’t know. I want these questions answered but I don’t know if I can bear to see her again.”
Shani leant towards me and recited the old adage used many times by both of our parents “If something is worth having then it is worth fighting for.” He smiles at me. “I’m not saying that it is going to be easy Apolo but you need these questions answering to be able to move with your life and in order to do that you need to do something which I know is painful for you, you have to see Julianne.”
“But I’m fine Shani, really. I’m over it, I’ve moved on.”
“No you haven’t Apolo. I know you have been working very hard over the past three years to prove to us all that you are totally fine but I certainly don’t buy it and neither does your father. You haven’t so much as looked at another woman since Julianne, and now that you have retired and have more time on your hands I fear that it is only going to get worse. Three lost years Apolo, three years. You need to sort this out, start moving forward and having fun.”
I sighed. He was right of course. I had poured everything into my training in an attempt to forget her but now reality was catching up with me. Everything he had said was whizzing around in my mind at a hundred miles per hour, my brain desperately trying to process the information. The only thing I knew to be correct was than Shani was right. This did need sorting. In the past when my instincts had deserted me I had trusted his. Maybe I should again.
“Think of this as a challenge” he said trying to convince me further. “The prize is relief from the pain you are suffering … the challenge is facing Julianne.”
I sat in thought for a few seconds, he was playing on my competitive spirit I knew that much, he knows that I never back away from a challenge so he was proposing ABC’s offer to me as one. d**n him, he knows me too well! I stood up, looked him dead in the eyes and smiled “challenge accepted.”
Author note - If you like it let me know & I will continue to write. Thanks
You describe Apolo so well. Continue please. 
