Of Angels and Phantoms

Chapter 12-Answer

"I can't believe it. You beat Chiddy."

"Yes, I did. I did," Javier grinned proudly and shook his head in slight disbelief as well.

"You did it." I smiled and thumped him on the back, chuckling. Javier shouted in delight, suddenly overwhelmed with happiness.

"I DID IT, JUNNY!" He shouted in excitement and lifted me up, swinging me around as I laughed and screamed for him to stop.

"You finally broke your gold medal drought, eh!"

"It's been three whole years since I won a title outside of Spain..." Javier sighed happily as he put me down, smiling like a young boy given an ice cream sundae. "Since Merano Cup."

Patrick emerged from the dressing room to the stands, beside us. "Hey, champ!" He greeted Javier with a huge grin and gave him a hug, congratulating him.

"Patrick! Great skate, man!"

"You asshole, beating me on home ground eh!" Patrick joked before he turned to me. "How's my kid doing?"

"I'm 18, you ass."

Patrick chuckled and picked me up, squeezing me tightly. "Still so light, like a child though!"

"Jesus Christ," I sighed and struggled half-heartedly, pushing Patrick away. "You guys need to stop this picking-up thing." I picked up my duffel bag and zipped it up, slinging it across my back. "I'm going back to join Yuzuru, okay? I'll see you later for the celebration."

"Yuzuru came too?" Patrick asked in surprise. "I didn't see him yesterday!"

"Coach had an extra ticket so we brought him along..." Javier explained to Patrick and went on with their conversation as I slipped away, back to the seats beside Yuzuru.

"Welcome back," Yuzuru smiled, putting his book away. "How's Javi?"

"Ecstatic. You should've seen his face," I sat down, peering over at his book. "What're you reading?"

"Eh..." Yuzuru shifted awkwardly, hesitantly showing it to me. "Manga."

"Seriously..." I sighed, shaking my head. "I bet you didn't even touch the books I lent you."

"But it's all in English!" He protested, wrinkling his nose. "Not like you'd have read any of the ones I passed to you!"

"Hey! That's a false accusation," I retorted, smirking at him. "I did, okay. Blue Flames."

"Eh?" His face showed genuine surprise, turning slightly pink. He continued to stare speechlessly at me.

"Not that I could understand much, though...There was so much kanji without furigana...and I'm still stuck at the third chapter..."

He looked at me thoughtfully for a while. "So...you read...about me?" He asked quietly, in a hesitant tone.

"Y-yeah...Coach said that it was your book, so I read it," I explained, becoming slightly flustered myself. I felt my voice getting louder. "I mean, I-...I just wanted to get to know you better, and-" I felt my cheeks burning and let out an exasperated sigh.

Yuzuru broke into a beaming smile and started to chuckle. "No, no... I just-" He stopped and smiled at me happily, his eyes crinkling up. "I'm so happy. My friend read my book."

I stared at him confusedly, unable to comprehend his sudden burst of delight. "Um...okay. Yeah." I muttered awkwardly, glancing away.

"I'm really happy. I can't believe you made an effort to read it." He rambled excitedly, looking at me with twinkling eyes. "June, you're awesome. You really are."