Post by Stian on Mar 2, 2018 2:41:39 GMT
2005 - MARCH TWELFTH ❆
ARÉNA DOUG-HARVEY ❆
MONTREAL, QUEBEC ❆
Aurora and Sebastian sat in the penalty box staring down at their skates. Their mothers had told them to wait in there while they talked to Coach Alina. ”I promise you haven't done anything wrong, honey,”his mother had told him, but it was difficult to feel like he was innocent of any wrongdoing while he sat in the penalty box.
“Your skate’s loose.” Sebastian picked Aurora's foot up and placed it on the bench between his legs while he tightened her laces and looped them together again.
“Thanks.” Aurora could feel the tension from their mothers’ conversation on the other side of the ice as well. Her coach’s voice started to rise and Aurora suddenly felt the cold of the rink and shivered. Without thinking, Sebastian put his arm around her shoulder.
As the conversation grew more intense, their voices carried across the ice pad.
“Well I’m their coach and I absolutely think they have what it takes to enter solo competition. Aurora is the most confident skater I've seen for her age and Sebastian has the best execution of any of these junior skaters.” Coach Alina swept a hand toward the locker room where the rest of her students were finishing their day.
Vera Vaillancourt slammed a fist into her palm.
“My daughter came home in tears last night because she thinks you're trying to split her and Sebastian up.”
“And Sebastian thinks he did something wrong - that him and Aurora aren't good enough for ice dancing anymore. When was the last time they actually trained jumps?” Paget Fournette added.
Alina’s face softened as she looked across the ice at the two children sitting in the box. “That's… that's not it at all. They've been unmatched in dance, to the point I'm surprised they're having fun competing still. They blow away everyone else in their age group. I believe they can be just as great in singles and they will enjoy the challenge.”
“So put them in a higher age group,” Paget argued, which drew a nod from Vera.
She placed a hand on the arm of each woman in front of her.
“That’s not the point. Just please let me coach them individually. Just one competition. If they don't like it, we can pretend it never happened.”
She raised her eyebrows. Reluctantly, the mothers agreed.
❆❆❆
2018 - THURSDAY MARCH FIRST ❆
CANAL STREET STATION ❆
NEW YORK, NEW YORK ❆
The speeding subway train forced cold, stale air onto the station platform and blew Sebastian's hair into his face. Not a single strand on Aurora’s head responded to the gust as there were no loose flyaways from her perfect, tight bun. The brakes never screeched the train to a halt though as the Six train flew right through the station, leaving the platform quiet on the Thursday evening. Sebastian's face twisted in confusion and he stopped in the middle of the platform, pointing at the now-empty center track.
“So some of these trains don't stop? What if we were on it? We would just miss our station?”
Aurora looked up at Sebastian and giggled.
“There are Express and Local trains. We just got off a local and that's an express. We'll just make sure to avoid the expresses and we'll be fine.”
Sebastian pitched his coffee cup into a nearby trash can and resumed walking toward the stairway to street level.
“Look at you, Miss New Yorker.” He needled her in the side with a finger and took her Starbucks cup, sipping her latte.
“Not Miss New Yorker. Not yet. I'm just… prepared.” As she always was, for everything. It was what Seb admired most about her.
How she managed to be prepared for any situation they found themselves in was a mystery to him. But when he made an impulsive, hasty decision like accepting wrestling contracts in New Jersey and moving them to Manhattan, she was somehow ready for that. He couldn't be more grateful as he handed her latte back.
As they made their way out of the subway and into their neighborhood with the miles of concrete over their heads, the weight of their first night in The Factory settled on him.
“You're going to be there, right?” he blurted out.
He knew she would be, but right now he needed to hear her say it. There had been moments he didn't ask and...
With one excited leap, Aurora was standing in front of Sebastian, stopping him in the middle of the sidewalk, stopping him in his tracks.
“I was going to wait, maybe until dinner, but…”
She jammed her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out two cards, nearly shoving them into Sebastian's face.
“They came in?” he asked.
“I've been waiting for the mailman every day this week. They came in this morning. The state of New Jersey officially recognizes us as each other's manager.”
Anyone else would have accepted this good news with a smile and a handshake, but Sebastian scooped Aurora up in a hug and buried his face in her neck; it was their default celebration of every small victory. He lowered her back to the ground and took her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, he exhaled.
“There are a lot of things my opponents may have over me in The Factory but there's one thing they won't - you.”
They held eye contact a beat longer than normal, neither noticing the rush of New Yorkers giving their side eyes to the couple stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. After a moment, Aurora put a hand on his chest and pushed him, motioning to continue walking.
“Your opponents don't have that much on you, Seb. You know Dijuanna made you a submission specialist beyond even her own skill.”
Sebastian couldn't argue against that.
“I've looked into the competition. I’ll be in there with an unskilled street fighter and a seasoned veteran - Jamie and Ryan. My submission skills are something I can lord over those two. Jamie is used to looking for that move or strike that will knock you out rather than trying to avoid getting locked up. And despite his years of experience, it seems like Ryan has put little to no work into applying or defending submission holds. To me, that says the second I put a hold on either of them, the match is over.”
Sebastian picked up a crushed, empty cigarette package from the ground and tossed it into a nearby garbage can.
“This match is going to be a case study in what wins out - the ground game or quickness. The one thing they both have over me is their speed and of course I can neutralize that if I can take them down. I don't have to be the fastest one in this match; I just have to be quick enough to get out of their way.”
Aurora nodded. She knew Seb liked to talk through his matches before he competed and could get on a roll while strategizing.
“That might be my biggest concern, in fact. I wouldn't be able to match power with Jamie, but if it comes down to it, I'll fare much better at that than Ryan will. Ryan is a marginally better wrestler than I am and Jamie has no experience in that at all, so I can more than hold my own against either of them when it comes to that. None of us are high-fliers, so I haven't got to worry about anyone crashing down on me…”
They rounded the corner onto Thomas Street. Aurora filled Sebastian's silence.
“Just remember, these two aren't just wrestlers. You'll be in the Factory ring with fighters. That's not who you are and we can't pretend you'll be able to compete with them that way. You understand submission holds better than either of them understand any part of their own strategies. Use that to your advantage, Seb. My suggestion - since your endurance and stamina aren't your strength - is to let them go after each other as much as possible, maybe let one land a knockout blow and then submit whoever is still standing.”
Sebastian took Aurora's arm and gave it a squeeze.
“Haven't even had your license a full day and you're already the best manager in the country.”
Aurora smiled.
“Like I said… prepared.”
Sebastian flashed his card over the building’s security card reader and the front door to their condo lobby unlocked. He held the door for her and followed her inside.
❆❆❆
2005 - APRIL TWENTY-EIGHTH ❆
PATIN QUÉBEC: ADOLESCENT COMPETITION ❆
QUÉBEC CITY, QUÉBEC ❆
Aurora was waiting for Sebastian in the tunnel as he skated off the ice. He didn't hear the whispers of the hundred spectators, he didn't want to feel his mother's hand on his arm, he didn't want to hear his coach apologize profusely; all he had was the taste of copper as blood filled his mouth from the hole his tooth used to occupy.
As he passed by, Aurora reached out and took his hand, leading him to a bench in the hallway. She pulled his hand away from his mouth and held his chin, wanting him to separate his lips so she could take a look. When he wouldn't, she couldn't help but crack a smile.
“I'm sorry you fell on your face, Seb.”
Her smile was infectious. It always was. The grin that spread on his face revealed the space in his smile.
“I'm sorry you can't stop on the ice and crashed into the boards, Rory.”
Tears welled in her eyelids as she recalled her own disastrous program from earlier that afternoon. She wiped them away quickly and looked Sebastian in the eye, determined.
“Let’s never skate alone again.”
“Ever. Only together from now on.”
Aurora held out her pinkie finger. He took it with his own.
“Only together.”
EPILOGUE
Dijuanna had given them few details about the promotion they would be calling home for the foreseeable future; only that their names were familiar to the owner, they would be signing exclusive contracts and it was in New Jersey. Because they'd need to break into the American market sooner or later to continue growing their collective brand, Sebastian and Aurora signed on with The Factory sight unseen.
Now their trainer had Sebastian pacing across his living room with his cell phone to his ear.
“If they wanted to take advantage of our names, don't you think they would have put us in the main event, Dee? Whatever you heard, I think you might be over-reacting.”
Aurora sat cross-legged atop the kitchen table, looking annoyed at Sebastian that she couldn't hear the other end of the conversation. He turned on the speakerphone and held it out so they could both listen in.
“... I've just heard some things about this place and I don't think it's for you anymore.”
“It's okay, Dee. We don’t need you at every show anymore. We had to move on eventually,” Aurora smiled and chirped.
Dijuanna audibly sighed on the other end of the line.
“This isn't Fredericton or Iqaluit, Miss Sky. This isn't the Canada’s Sweethearts Tour, believe me. You won't do well there. It's a more… extreme style of competition.”
Sebastian moved toward the window overlooking the busy streets of Tribeca. It'd be easy to imagine he was admiring the view, but he was actually studying Aurora’s reflection in the glass.
“Whatever it is, we’ll get through it. Just like the rest of our career, we’ll overcome the challenges The Factory throws at us… together.”
He saw Aurora's reflection nod and mouth the word “together” in sync with himself. That's all the confirmation he needed to ignore Dijuanna and know they were on the correct track.
You know you can't switch accounts without turning it off?
I feel cool
