dancing on thin ice

Lost in a trance of some sort. Watching as the pair was finishing up they’re private ice time. A ping of jealousy washed over them. They were envious of the two, actually of any pair skaters. It was always something they wanted to do, it seemed fulfilling. They loved skating no matter what, but the single skater felt like they were growing out of it all.

Shaking their head, listening to their coach. “Syd. Focus please.”

“I am.” They sighed before going back to re doing the laces of their skates for the second time.

“Really what was the last thing I said.”

The coach was usually calm and collected, sometimes. Other times the skater and they’re coach would butt heads. However today, the coach was trying to go over their plans for this season with the skater. Syd was not paying attention at all.

When the skater couldn’t think of what she was saying the coach just sighed. “Sydney.”

“Layla.”

Layla just got quiet. Holding up her finger before taking out her phone. Declining the call from her skaters mother, she would rather sharpen skates than talk to that woman.

Syd decided they’re skates were tight enough. Standing up from the seat they were in. “Hey do you think I could get into pair skating?”

“Pair skating?”

“Yes.” They mumbled back before looking at the two skaters on the ice.

They looked a little familiar but they were having a bad day. As soon as they woke up they were getting into a fight with their mom. They had class today and they were desperately trying to find a job with no success. Didn’t help that both Layla and their mom told them a job was a bad idea. Today just wasn’t good.

“Anything is possible.” Layla shrugged a bit. She had faith in her skater, she also knew how aggressive the skater could be. “Your shit attitude might be an issue but I’m sure I can find you someone who can handle it.”

“Thanks for the confidence.” Syd rolled their eyes before handing off their guards to the coach.

Taking the guards from the skater, Layla was about to go on her little rant again. She knew that Syd didn’t want to listen. One of Layla's goals was to get Syd to the Olympics and on team USA. Before Layla could start Syd cut her off.

“I know, I know.” Rolling their eyes. “Focus on this season. If we get through the season I can place at nationals, then leading me to team USA the Olympics and other international competitions. I know, trust me I know. You and my mom have been drilling it into my head for the last three years.”

Layla sighed again, she sighed so much when dealing with Syd. As much as she cared for her skater, Sydney tended to be a ticking time bomb of stress at times.

“You won’t be in this one track forever, okay? I know it sucks, I know you want something different. We just have to get through this season okay, we take it-“

“One day at a time.” Looking back at the ice again. “I know.”

“Okay it might suck right now. But we’ll make your dreams a reality one day okay. Right now we just got to focus on your jumps.”

Layla let a smile grow as the skater groaned loudly. They were good at jumps, they were a truly exceptional skater. However last season they barely scraped their way to nationals. They still had a long way to go.

Pushing off the barrier, Syd started up in their warm up. Wondering why the pair didn’t get off the ice. When the two entered the rink the pair was already there with no coach. The more they looked at the two the more they were becoming recognizable. Working themselves up so they can finally take off their sweater. The rink was freezing, it always was. That didn’t stop them from always training without a sweater on. They’re short program was already mostly done up, meeting with their choreographer earlier in the day. Now they were transferring it to the ice, without the jumps.

Layla watched as Syd was clearly trying to remember the choreo. Tomorrow they would meet up with the choreographer again, he could show them the program again. Go over any changes Sydney wanted to make.

“Here you go.” A male voice spoke as he held a cup to the other coach. “The line in the drive through was hell.”

“I’ve told you so many times to just go inside. It takes like half the time.” Shaking her head in disbelief, he always made life harder than he needed to be. Sipping from the cup she grimaced. “You got it wrong.”

He got defensive. Huffing a bit as he shook his head. “No. You texted me the order, I read the order out to the barista. If it’s wrong it’s because you messed it up.”

A laugh erupted from the woman. A hand came up to cover her mouth while she went into a fit.

“You’d think after six years, you learn to catch on when I’m joking.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek as an apology.

“Sometimes I can’t tell…”

She smiled and shrugged “I know. Maybe one day, Wilbur sir you'll learn.” Glancing at the ice, catching Syd while they were going a move wrong. Trying her hardest not to make a critique. It was their first time doing it on ice and she didn’t want to discourage them. “It’s nice seeing your skaters back home again. Nice to see my kid again.”

Will nodded. Watching the two of them going over last year’s choreography. Not that needed to, it was just nice Practice to do something they knew. “They missed it. Stuck in Japan for two years for that program sucked.”

“Yeah you left like right after we got married.”

Will made a shushing noise as he brought his hand up to pat her face. “Not important.”

“I think it is.”

“Shh.”

Layla rolled her eyes before occupying herself with her coffee again. “How are they? She barely spoke to me this morning.”

“The two of them are just trying to get used to the time zones again. And she stayed up late dying her hair, regardless she’ll have to dye it back before the season starts.” Will watched the two of his skaters lean against the barrier, taking a small break. “Jupiter also talked about catching up with Syd. She’s just kind of on edge today.”

Nodding as she looked at the pair, they grew up in the two years they were away from home. It feels like it was longer, it felt like forever.

“It’s great they got to train abroad and stuff, they’ve gotten a lot better.”

“Only cost Lisa and I an arm and a leg.” He coughed a little when Layla smacked him in the chest. “I’m kidding, I’m very happy with their improvement. My skaters are getting much better. But to train with Aika tanaka, it was expensive.”

They spoke a little more about the two years that passed. Before there was some bad blood surrounding the whole situation. The couple had a lot of fights over this, it strained their marriage a lot. Now it was seemingly fine.

“Ever miss being a skater?” Layla asked before she was called out to her skater. “Sydney, your program or your jumps please. We’ll work on your layback tomorrow.”

The skater grumbled as they just turned up the volume on they’re earbuds. The jumps were their least favorite things about training as of right now.

Shaking his head before talking “I do not miss being yelled at by my coach.”

“Our coach.” Layla corrected him quickly.

“Our coach.” Echoing the words as he was next to yell out to his skaters. “Hey, Jasper. Do not let her fall please! We don’t need a repeat of last month. Jupiter your form-“

The girl called back just as Sydney was readjusting their earbud. Looking back at Layla, seeing Will standing next to her.

“Be like a feather. I know!” She waved off at the coach before she was being lifted into the air.

Frozen, just stuck. This has not been good day for Sydney. Just forgetting all things that were going on. Honestly they were just struggling lately. That being said they forgot their childhood best friend and her partner were coming back today. They had been back home for less than two days and already they were on the ice. A lot of thoughts were going through their head at once.

Why didn’t Jupiter talk to them while she was away?

Why didn’t Layla tell them the pair was back?

Things are going to be awkward.

Awkward wasn’t what they wanted right now. Things were already piling up too much. They didn’t need the stress of trying to reconnect with an old friend. Sure they messaged at times, they would exchange little remarks at competitions. However nothing of substance. Training got in the way a lot, the tunnel vision Jupiter had was bad. On Top of everything, social life just wasn’t important to the pair for a while.

Syd watched them. The money and hours of training poured into the last years paid off. They weren't perfect yet. To be a perfect figure skater was impossible. They were human but they were as consistent as they could be. Every extension is as straight as they could be. Trying to be as technical as they could. Lifts were always what they were lacking in. they were better with lifts, getting better at making it look like it effortless. Jasper lifted his partner over his head. Jupiter hooked their hand on their skate while their other rested on the males shoulder. The pair was angelic in a way. It made Syd want to be a pair skater even more.

“Good!” Will called out to the pair. “Take a quick break. Well start on the long program when you get back.”

The pair made their way off the ice. Sydney still hasn't moved. Thinking just a bit too much about everything. They didn't know if they were allowed to go after the other two. Looking at laya for permission. After the coach nodded they got off the ice. Struggling to get their guards back on before they ran out. Looking down both sides of the hall. Seeing Jasper standing over at one end refilling his water bottle. He glanced up and pointed down the other way. Syd brought their hand up to say thank you with a small wave.

Pushing open the door of the locker room. Jupiter was sitting on one of the benches. Checking her phone while she held a water bottle in the other. She didn't really know what to do. It had been years since they saw Sydney alone. It was scary. She wasn't expecting sunshine and rainbows. She was scared that Sydney hated her. She hated herself for shutting down a month after they had gotten overseas. She should have kept up contact with the one person she used to be so close to.

“You're back.” Syd said in the quiet locker room. Breaking the silence between them.

“I'm back.”

“How long.”

“A day or two.” she said back. “I'm not sure. If I'm not training I'm sleeping. Getting used to this time zone again.”

Standing up slowly, Jupiter was on thin ice. That's what she thought at least. She didn't know that all Sydney wanted was to have their best friend back. Things felt so off and empty for so long. To have her back, training at the same rink. Sydney was unbelievably excited.

“Are you just gonna stand there, are you gonna hug your best friend?”

Jupiter let a smile crack as just nodded. Putting the things she was holding down. The hug felt so nice, something they were both missing. Syd would deal with the conversation they needed to have later. All the two of them wanted right now was their bestfriend back. Maybe things would be the same as when they left. These two skaters grew and changed in the time that they were apart. However, they would forever be the same small kids who were so excited for skating. Deciding when they were young to get into it together. They'd forever be the two kids who picked out their first showcase costumes together and would be a handful at practice. It didn't matter that two years were gone. They'd make up for it due time.

Muffled words spoken into the shoulder of the taller skater. Sydney almost couldn't believe how different she looked in person. Sure she had seen pictures and would stalk her social media every few weeks but in person was a whole other story. Even seeing them in competitions, seeing them on ice so far away from them wasn't the same as seeing them up close.,

“You're so tall.”

She laughed in response. Jupiter pulled back from the hug, nodding, “yeah. My growth spurt really hit me like a truck. You're still as short as ever.”

“Shut up.”

Pushing Jupiter's shoulder, teasing was normal, the two did it to each other all the time. Shaking their head while they shrugged. If they were honest they wanted to be taller but they were working being okay with their height.

“It's good. If you grew you couldn't keep your nickname.”

“The little monster.”

“The little monster.” she repeated back. “I like it. You're a really great skater, sometimes I'd watch back your competition tapes to see your improvement.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. listen I might have let my mental health get the best of me. But I didn't stop supporting you. I always knew you'd make it nationals.”

They grimaced a bit. “I made it to nationals but I didn't place.”

“But you still made it to nationals. There's so many other skaters you beat to get there.” looking at their phone when it started buzzing. Rolling their eyes a little when it was will calling. “Plus we are still young. And fresh outta highschool okay, we have so many more years to win gold medals. It doesn't all have to be done before we turn nineteen.”

Putting her arm around the shorter, leading them out of the locker room. Every time they had a break, Jupiter would hide in the locker room, away from the others. It became a routine that Will would give them a call to tell them to come back. Stopping as they got back, having a little chit chat about Jupiter's hair.

“Show me your jump.” she started as she took off her guards again.

“Why?”

Layla and will watch them bicker a little bit. Back like when they were kids trying to get better but competing in different categories. It was nice seeing them together again, layla missed it. Will knew how much Jupiter was suffering without her best friend.

“No.” shaking their head again. “I'm not doing jumps today.”

“Yes you are.” layla interjected into the conversation. “You're doing your jumps today. You didn't think you were going to forget about that did you?”

Groaning as they handed layla the guards. Their face scrunched up as they went back on the ice. Jupiter was standing with the coaches since Jasper was still nowhere to be found yet. He probably didn't get the phone call since his phone is always on do not disturb.

“Let's go, I wanna see the toe loop.” she smiled at her friend.

Layla nodded and motioned with her head for Syd to start. So they did. Pushing off the barrier as they went to build up momentum. whenever they did jumps they got so caught up in their head. That's what led to them popping their jumps at nationals, it was a big thing they were too scared of honestly. Nerves were a bitch.

Forcing themselves to get over it and do the jump. Sighing in disappointment, they got the rotation but their landing wasn't as graceful as they had hoped. Shaking their head as Layla was trying to give them words of encouragement. Telling them they weren't amazing even if they felt otherwise.

“Your form was good.” a male voice spoke. Syd didn't remember Jasper well. They knew of him of course. But they never hung out with him or tried to get to know him. “Well until you touched the ice.”

“Shut up.” Jasper winced as his partner hit his chest. “You're not helping.”

“I'd rather be honest then you guys not wanting to hurt my feelings.” syd shook their head while pushed off the barrier again. “Its fine I know my jumps are shit,”

“I never said that.” the boy spoke again. Crossing his arms as he shrugged. “Just needs a little love and practice.”

“Bite me.”

“Glady.”

Again Jasper was hit. This time upside the head by his coach. Within the two years he was gone he really grew into his looks. And he is confident. He knew he was cute. So he'd flirt left and right, nothing ever came from it. He just liked flirting. Watching Sydney try their jumps again. They got better the more they did it. They're hand kept connecting with the ice. They'd rather have their hand on the ice instead of falling. Their rotation was looking nice and that was more than they could ask for. Stopping at the barrier again, waiting for more of Layla's false words. Telling them how great they were and how wonderful their jumps were coming.

“You need to stop touching the ice. I know you can land the jump. You're just scared.”

“Yeah no shit.”

Rolling their eyes while they dug their toe into the ice and rotated the ankle. Looking at Layla again as if they were waiting for something. They honestly just wanted to be done for the day but they knew that wasn't going to happen.

“You two back on the ice.” will pointed, taking Jasper's phone away. “Now.”

Sydney watched them. The pair handing off their guards before getting on the ice again. They were keeping their eyes on jasper. He was weirdly captivating, they hated it.

“No rest for the wicked.” shooting a smile to Sydney before he skated off with Jupiter

While Sydney had to train more today, the pair left after another hour. They needed to rest and change their sleep schedules to the time zone they lived in now. All figure skaters had very intense training, it just how it was. Running and the gym. Heading to the rink or the studio. It was very time consuming to be a professional figure skater. The only reason they were back was because will didn't want his skaters to be burnt out. It was a little too late for that. He was trying to go easier on them because honestly they were shells of the humans they one were.

Trying to focus on themselves was hard. Sydney needed to be better. They needed to be perfect. It was a lot. Tonight they knew they would end up sleeping in their car. They're mom was becoming too much again, it sucked. All they wanted was to be a pair skater. They wanted something more from their career. They'd never be allowed to, not right now. Not with their parents holding the money they needed for skating over their head.

Their parents paid for everything. What their parents wanted they got.

More specifically their mom.