golden girl (b.t.c.)

chapter sixty-eight

"how's your elbow feeling?" lola asked.
eliana gingerly moved it back and forth. "i should be okay. i just need to get through this." she took a few deep breaths. lola pulled her into a hug. "you're gonna be fine."
"girls?" peter poked his head into the room. "it's almost time to go."
eliana started to hyperventilate, and she broke down. "i can't do it."
peter rushed over and kneeled down in front of her. "yes, you can. eliana, love, you are the strongest person i know. you have to go out there and show those károlyis that you are still a three time world champion. because you are. it doesn't matter if you have the nabieva or not. you are the best gymnast in the world, eliana dempsey, and you're going to act like it." he pointed his finger at her chest, and she laughed a little. "okay."
he smiled and stood up, then spoke to both eliana and lola. "alright, ladies. time to make our first appearance."

ben scrambled to grab his phone as soon as he came off stage from rehearsals.
"...and of course, reigning bars, floor, and all around world champion eliana dempsey, here she is with coach peter carlisle and fellow national team member lola sanchez. eliana's had a rough couple of months, just returning to chicago in february from a few months on tour with the broadway show newsies. she dislocated her elbow in mid february, and it was uncertain whether she'd be able to compete today, but here she is, and i'm sure with a new bar routine that will wow the judges."
ben watched as the camera followed eliana to floor, her first event.
"eliana is usually a ray of sunshine on the mats, but she looks uncharacteristically nervous today."

eliana reached up to the back of her neck and unhooked her necklace, glancing at the tiny letter on the chain before placing it in her bag.
"you good?" lola gave her a side armed hug.
"i'm not used to being nervous." she sighed. "that stopped a long time ago, and it's back again."
"it wears off after a couple minutes." lola said. "just do what you always do."
"i know." she looked to the necklace that was just visible inside her bag. "i hope he's watching."
"i'm sure he is."
"he had rehearsal today, so i don't know."
"knowing ben, he'll probably turn it on as soon as he has a break."
eliana laughed. "yeah."
"that boy is obsessed with you." lola said.
"looks like, with the help of miss lola sanchez, eliana's signature smile is back."
the cameras came a little closer to the two of them, but peter shooed them away.
"wave to your boyfriend later." he said.

ben shook his head when he heard what peter said as he waved the cameraman away.
"where's m3?" the choreographer yelled. "who's in the m3 track? is that ben? ben? we're rehearsing!"
"shit." ben tossed his phone onto one of the set pieces and ran out onto stage.
"sorry, i-"
"something important?" he raised an eyebrow.
"um, yeah, sort of." ben's cheeks went red.
"care to share?"
"my girlfriend's competing right now, she's on espn. since i couldn't make it in person, i, um, i wanted to watch."
"competing in what?"
"she's a gymnast."
neil snorted. "a gymnast? she's not just a gymnast, ben."
the director furrowed his eyebrows.
"she's the best gymnast in the world." neil went on. "eliana dempsey."
"yeah, um, what he said." ben nodded.
"what competition is it?"
"nationals. it just started."
the director looked around for a minute. "alright, take a seat, everyone." he turned back to the sound booth. "tech, can we get espn up on the set?"

eliana held her arm up for peter to wrap it in tape before she went on for her bars routine, the last of the day.

ben bit his lip when the camera panned over to his girlfriend as she sprayed the bars and chalked her hands.
"here she is, the champion herself. as we said previously, she dislocated her elbow while training a new skill on this apparatus in february. she does have a new dismount, and a few new skills, as well as her signature shaposhnikova connection. let's see what the princess of the bars has in store for us today."
she jumped up to the high bar and immediately felt a shooting pain through her arm, but ignored it. as she caught her shaposhnikova, tears sprang to her eyes, but she licked her lips and kept going. she flew off of the high bar and stuck her landing, then saluted the judges, her eyes still watering. peter lifted her off the mats, and she whispered in his ear. "keep the cameras away. i don't want him to see me cry."
peter stood in front of her while she took her grips off and tears streamed down her face. she grabbed a towel and wiped her face off, then put on a smile and turned around just in time for her score to be announced.
"15.9 for eliana dempsey, and that was just a stunner of a routine. she didn't quite hit a few of those handstands, and struggled through that last release, but ultimately, that score speaks for itself."
eliana smiled and put on her jacket and sweatpants to get ready for the awards ceremony.

"wait, did she win?" jessica asked.
"yeah, she usually does." ben smiled.
"you look so proud." she giggled.

the cameras stayed on eliana while she got dressed, then carefully took her necklace out and put it back on.
"there she is, getting ready to accept yet another gold medal. what is that on her necklace, a letter?"
ben smirked and held back a laugh.
"oh, how sweet. a b, for her boyfriend, ben cook, who i believe is currently in a new show on broadway. very talented couple, those two."
the guys in the cast whistled, and jessica cooed. "that's so cute! did you get her that?"
"anniversary-slash-going-away gift." he said.
"third place, lola sanchez. second place, cally federline, just returned to competition. and finally, first place, eliana dempsey."
everyone in the theatre cheered.

eliana stepped up onto the podium and waved to the crowd, then bent down to have the medal placed around her neck. she turned to the camera, then winked and blew a little kiss.