Post by veronasage on Mar 26, 2006 15:06:34 GMT -5
Authors Note: Chapter six was kind of tough to write. I'm suffering from a bit of writer's block, but no worries that won't stop me from finishing this story. Thanks again for all your support, it's what keeps me going. Hope you like it!
Chapter 6
“It’s really happening isn’t it?” It really was. Danni was moving out. Now that coach had decided to take her on as one of his athletes the training center offered her a room to stay in… and it was not mine.
“Apolo would you relax.”
“Honestly tell me… do you really want to move out?”
“Apolo you and I have been living together for almost a month and a half. Aren’t you tired of me yet?” No. I don’t think that’s possible. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“You’re pouting again.”
“I’m not pouting…I’m just…disappointed with your decision is all.” I sat on the couch, arms crossed, watching Danni put away her clothes in her duffle bag.
“Oh my God Apolo my room is down this hallway. Not even ten steps away. You are such a drama queen.” Ok, ok, she’s right. Her room was only down the hallway but I can’t help my reactions. I’ve grown quite fond of Danni, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed about that .2 second peck on the lips.
“Look who’s talking. At least I didn’t throw a tantrum when Shani beat me at darts, unlike somebody.” Danni glared at me and continued packing.
“Well… he cheated.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. None of us could ever play a game without one of us getting extremely pissed in the end. We’re not sore losers, we just don’t like losing to each other. But the truth is, I enjoy watching Danni get mad. She’s quite adorable. She looked around the room one more time before she zipped up her bag. “Guess that’s it. Oh dear Apolo…” She cupped my face with her soft hands. “Try not to cry when I’m gone.” I was not laughing. She smirked as she gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Farewell dearest. It’ll be too long before I will see you again…Dinner in twenty!” I looked on with a heavy heart as she walked out the front door.
Ok, so she had me in the palm of her hand. I was freaking out because she was moving a couple doors down from me. But maybe this would be for the better. Maybe this way I could try to forget that I care for her so much, or how much joy I get whenever she smiles.
It was quiet, too quiet. The room seemed devoid of life without her. But remember what she said Apolo. Skating first. Without her, maybe you can finally concentrate.
After she moved out we didn’t see much of each other unless it was to eat. She now mostly practiced with the other female skaters. Danni and I threw ourselves into training to prepare for championships that were coming up quickly. I was lifting leg weights one day when Danni came running in, as soon as she caught sight of me she pulled my ear phones out of my ears and for some reason I got really worried. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She was completely out of breath.
“Apolo…”
“What?”
“Wait…let me breath…” Jesus what the hell is going on?
“Did something happen, are you hurt?”
“Oh no, it’s nothing like that.” Was she trying to give me a panic attack?
“Coach just told me that I got a wild card entry to championships.” Why am I not surprised? Relief swept through me. I could feel myself smiling as I saw the sheer joy in Danni’s eyes.
“Didn’t you know that already?”
“Well I knew I was technically ‘on’ the team but a spot in championships was never guaranteed. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but now that it’s official…wow! Coach said if I could place myself in the top five qualifying positions I could be on the U.S. team for World Championships and the World Cup!” I pulled her into a hug and I felt her arms go around me as well.
“Congratulations Danni… if anyone deserved it, it’s definitely you.” I heard her mumble a thank you seeing as her face was flat against my chest. She looked up at me and continued to hold me close.
“None of this would’ve been possible without you. I don’t know how many times I can possibly say thank you. It’ll never be enough.”
“No thank you’s needed. Just try and kick some ass when you race. I think you owe me at least that much, I mean I had to live with you for an entire month.” Her jaw dropped and she pinched my side. She was about to walk away when I grabbed both of her hands again. I was overcome with an extremely strange emotion, something that I had never really felt before until now.
I pushed Danni’s hair back and gave her a kiss on her forehead. I lingered there a little bit longer than I needed, trying to soak up the moment as much as I could. I looked back down and found Danni smiling. “I’m proud of you Danni.” A look of understanding came into her eyes as she nodded her head and walked away.
“This is really happening isn’t it?” I looked to the side and saw Danni looking out on the ice.
“Yeah it is.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.” I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.
“You’ll be fine. Just skate like you’ve been skating at Colorado and you have this in the bag.”
“Easy for you to say Olympic gold medalist.” I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously. It’s not that bad. Just think of it as skating against the girls. The people you train with everyday. Trust me, this is nothing like an international event.”
“That’s very comforting.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“You want me to lie?”
“Yes.” I laughed. Audience members were already making there way into the bleachers, the buzz and excitement of the competition was already running through my veins. This is the feeling. This is what it’s all about. I blew out a breath and closed my eyes. “You nervous too?”
“Danni, I may be an Olympic gold medalist, but I’m still very human. You know as much as I do nothing is guaranteed once you’re on the ice, not even for me.” The announcers voice blasted through the stereos as he told the audience that the women’s events would be first. It was then I heard coach’s voice.
“Alright gang this is it. Ladies… go into the warm up room, heats will be taking place in exactly thirty minutes.” I decided to walk Danni into the warm up room and comfort her before her first major competition. Once we entered the room she sat on the ground and stretched out. I was silent as I helped her, pushing her upper body to the ground. After about ten minutes she made her way to the bicycle. As she sat I could feel eyes on me. I turned my head and noticed Allison looking at us. I felt kind of bad, we had grown very distant, but I smiled at her anyways.
“Good luck Allison.” She gave me a slight smile and put on her ear phones. I drew my attention back on Danni. She had her eyes closed breathing slowly. I lifted her chin and made her look at me as I put my hands on her shoulders. “I’ll be leaving you to it then.” She nodded her head slowly. She didn’t seem there, she was off, “Hey, Danni…You are going to do great today.” There was no real reaction.
Come on Apolo, she needs something.
“Danni…I believe in you.” It looked like something clicked inside of her. There was a moment of clarity as she looked at me and a look of awe came over her face. That’s what she needed, someone, anyone, to just believe. “You are going to be okay.” She nodded her head and I held onto her hand giving her a tight squeeze before I let go. I walked towards the exit and looked back one more time to see her listening to her music, now completely focused. I wasn’t too worried about Danni. I was more worried about myself than her. I was completely confident that she would blow the competition out of the water, she had no real major competitors in the U.S.
I soon found myself in the locker room sitting on one of the many benches. Time to focus on you now Apolo, you know Danni is going to kick ass, but are you, time to focus. I drew a long breath trying my best to mentally prepare for my upcoming races. The other skaters were milling around and I tried my best to block them out.
Okay Apolo, every step you take from here on out, is going to be the ones that’ll take you closer to Torino. I’ll be fine…I’m going to do great…I’m going to do great. It was then I slowly tied a bandana around my head.
Authors Note: How was it? Well you know the drill by now. Feedback por favor! Much Love!!
Chapter 6
“It’s really happening isn’t it?” It really was. Danni was moving out. Now that coach had decided to take her on as one of his athletes the training center offered her a room to stay in… and it was not mine.
“Apolo would you relax.”
“Honestly tell me… do you really want to move out?”
“Apolo you and I have been living together for almost a month and a half. Aren’t you tired of me yet?” No. I don’t think that’s possible. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“You’re pouting again.”
“I’m not pouting…I’m just…disappointed with your decision is all.” I sat on the couch, arms crossed, watching Danni put away her clothes in her duffle bag.
“Oh my God Apolo my room is down this hallway. Not even ten steps away. You are such a drama queen.” Ok, ok, she’s right. Her room was only down the hallway but I can’t help my reactions. I’ve grown quite fond of Danni, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed about that .2 second peck on the lips.
“Look who’s talking. At least I didn’t throw a tantrum when Shani beat me at darts, unlike somebody.” Danni glared at me and continued packing.
“Well… he cheated.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. None of us could ever play a game without one of us getting extremely pissed in the end. We’re not sore losers, we just don’t like losing to each other. But the truth is, I enjoy watching Danni get mad. She’s quite adorable. She looked around the room one more time before she zipped up her bag. “Guess that’s it. Oh dear Apolo…” She cupped my face with her soft hands. “Try not to cry when I’m gone.” I was not laughing. She smirked as she gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Farewell dearest. It’ll be too long before I will see you again…Dinner in twenty!” I looked on with a heavy heart as she walked out the front door.
Ok, so she had me in the palm of her hand. I was freaking out because she was moving a couple doors down from me. But maybe this would be for the better. Maybe this way I could try to forget that I care for her so much, or how much joy I get whenever she smiles.
It was quiet, too quiet. The room seemed devoid of life without her. But remember what she said Apolo. Skating first. Without her, maybe you can finally concentrate.
After she moved out we didn’t see much of each other unless it was to eat. She now mostly practiced with the other female skaters. Danni and I threw ourselves into training to prepare for championships that were coming up quickly. I was lifting leg weights one day when Danni came running in, as soon as she caught sight of me she pulled my ear phones out of my ears and for some reason I got really worried. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She was completely out of breath.
“Apolo…”
“What?”
“Wait…let me breath…” Jesus what the hell is going on?
“Did something happen, are you hurt?”
“Oh no, it’s nothing like that.” Was she trying to give me a panic attack?
“Coach just told me that I got a wild card entry to championships.” Why am I not surprised? Relief swept through me. I could feel myself smiling as I saw the sheer joy in Danni’s eyes.
“Didn’t you know that already?”
“Well I knew I was technically ‘on’ the team but a spot in championships was never guaranteed. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but now that it’s official…wow! Coach said if I could place myself in the top five qualifying positions I could be on the U.S. team for World Championships and the World Cup!” I pulled her into a hug and I felt her arms go around me as well.
“Congratulations Danni… if anyone deserved it, it’s definitely you.” I heard her mumble a thank you seeing as her face was flat against my chest. She looked up at me and continued to hold me close.
“None of this would’ve been possible without you. I don’t know how many times I can possibly say thank you. It’ll never be enough.”
“No thank you’s needed. Just try and kick some ass when you race. I think you owe me at least that much, I mean I had to live with you for an entire month.” Her jaw dropped and she pinched my side. She was about to walk away when I grabbed both of her hands again. I was overcome with an extremely strange emotion, something that I had never really felt before until now.
I pushed Danni’s hair back and gave her a kiss on her forehead. I lingered there a little bit longer than I needed, trying to soak up the moment as much as I could. I looked back down and found Danni smiling. “I’m proud of you Danni.” A look of understanding came into her eyes as she nodded her head and walked away.
“This is really happening isn’t it?” I looked to the side and saw Danni looking out on the ice.
“Yeah it is.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.” I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.
“You’ll be fine. Just skate like you’ve been skating at Colorado and you have this in the bag.”
“Easy for you to say Olympic gold medalist.” I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously. It’s not that bad. Just think of it as skating against the girls. The people you train with everyday. Trust me, this is nothing like an international event.”
“That’s very comforting.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“You want me to lie?”
“Yes.” I laughed. Audience members were already making there way into the bleachers, the buzz and excitement of the competition was already running through my veins. This is the feeling. This is what it’s all about. I blew out a breath and closed my eyes. “You nervous too?”
“Danni, I may be an Olympic gold medalist, but I’m still very human. You know as much as I do nothing is guaranteed once you’re on the ice, not even for me.” The announcers voice blasted through the stereos as he told the audience that the women’s events would be first. It was then I heard coach’s voice.
“Alright gang this is it. Ladies… go into the warm up room, heats will be taking place in exactly thirty minutes.” I decided to walk Danni into the warm up room and comfort her before her first major competition. Once we entered the room she sat on the ground and stretched out. I was silent as I helped her, pushing her upper body to the ground. After about ten minutes she made her way to the bicycle. As she sat I could feel eyes on me. I turned my head and noticed Allison looking at us. I felt kind of bad, we had grown very distant, but I smiled at her anyways.
“Good luck Allison.” She gave me a slight smile and put on her ear phones. I drew my attention back on Danni. She had her eyes closed breathing slowly. I lifted her chin and made her look at me as I put my hands on her shoulders. “I’ll be leaving you to it then.” She nodded her head slowly. She didn’t seem there, she was off, “Hey, Danni…You are going to do great today.” There was no real reaction.
Come on Apolo, she needs something.
“Danni…I believe in you.” It looked like something clicked inside of her. There was a moment of clarity as she looked at me and a look of awe came over her face. That’s what she needed, someone, anyone, to just believe. “You are going to be okay.” She nodded her head and I held onto her hand giving her a tight squeeze before I let go. I walked towards the exit and looked back one more time to see her listening to her music, now completely focused. I wasn’t too worried about Danni. I was more worried about myself than her. I was completely confident that she would blow the competition out of the water, she had no real major competitors in the U.S.
I soon found myself in the locker room sitting on one of the many benches. Time to focus on you now Apolo, you know Danni is going to kick ass, but are you, time to focus. I drew a long breath trying my best to mentally prepare for my upcoming races. The other skaters were milling around and I tried my best to block them out.
Okay Apolo, every step you take from here on out, is going to be the ones that’ll take you closer to Torino. I’ll be fine…I’m going to do great…I’m going to do great. It was then I slowly tied a bandana around my head.
Authors Note: How was it? Well you know the drill by now. Feedback por favor! Much Love!!
