Of Angels and Phantoms

Chapter 17- The things she doesn't tell

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"Man...what the hell happened between you two?"

"We...we argued," I sighed, shaking my head. "I was too...rash."

"Yeah. You've got guts, arguing with Princess Warrior," Javi shook his head, sighing. "How long has it been?"

"About...2 weeks?"

"She's still not talking to you?"

I shook my head. "June...still angry with me." I sighed in regret, looking down dejectedly.

"Must've been pretty serious. June hardly stays pissed for more than a week," Javi frowned, crossing his arms. "What did you say to her?"

"I asked her...if she still loved figure skating."

"And?"

"I..." I bit my lip, shaking my head. "I'm horrible."

Javi looked at me silently, waiting for me to continue.

"I told her...she didn't try hard enough."

He stared at me darkly, narrowing his eyes. "You told her that she's not trying hard enough."

I nodded. "I wanted to help...help June go competition again."

Javi looked at me without speaking a single word. He let out a sigh, his eyes softening.

"You didn't know better, anyway..."

"Didn't know..?"

"I...I fell out with Adam because he said that. He said the same thing to June last year."

What? Adam did-

"Last year, when June just refused to get on the ice, Adam tried to make her skate. And he let it slip."

"That June...didn't try hard enough?"

Javi nodded, pursing his lips. "They got into a huge argument and Adam shouted at her...and I punched him. Then we started fighting...until Coach stopped us."

"Eh..." I muttered in slight astonishment, trying to picture it in my head. "You punched..."

"Yeah...I was mad as hell and I saw June crying...then I snapped. We weren't training together then already, but we still used the same rink...so it was really awkward until he moved away."

"No wonder Adam and you..." I hesitated for a while, looking at Javi carefully. "Don't talk."

"It's quite complicated, so it's hard to explain," Javi shook his head, leaning against the wall. "I used to have a crush on June too, so it made me dislike Adam, I guess. I was really jealous of him."

"E-eh?!"

Javi chuckled and whacked my head lightly. "It's okay, I got over her. I'm not going to fight with you for her, bro."

"N-no..." I blushed, shaking my head defensively. "I don't like June...that way..." I muttered, my voice getting softer with every word.

"Don't give me that crap, Yuzu. You're obvious as hell. Why would you even get mad at her if you didn't like her?"

"Huh? She said she was going to California..."

"California?" Javi frowned, narrowing his eyes.

"College..."

"Yeah, I mean. Would you get mad at her if she wasn't leaving you? To go where Adam lives?"

I flushed and shook my head, but I didn't have a single word against Javi. He sighed and patted my head pityingly.

"Boys?"

"Yeah, Coach?" Javi chirped, spinning around. "Got something for us?"

Coach looked at me hesitantly, glancing at Javi for a moment. "You know, about June..."

"Their 'cold war'?" Javi pointed at me. Coach blinked in surprise.

"How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"The entire Cricket knows, Pops."

Coach rolled his eyes and sat beside us, crossing his arms. "So, tell me. What's going on between you two?"

I glanced at Javi, and he gave me an expectant look. "Alright..." I sighed, repeating the entire story again.

Coach kept a serious face throughout as I explained, only letting out a quiet sigh after I had finished my piece.

"I told him a bit about last year, too." Javi mumbled, looking at Coach. "So he...knows what went wrong."

Coach nodded. "Yuzuru, I..." He sighed, looking at me quietly. "It could have been my fault for asking for your help on this."

"No, Coach! It's my fault... not Coach's." I shook my head. "I was too harsh on June too."

"She's trying really hard, just that she doesn't show or tell. She's trying harder than any of you can imagine," Coach continued, crossing his arms. "I only found out a couple of weeks back, too..."

"Eh?" I asked, confused.

"It'll be easier if you boys saw for yourself instead..." Coach glanced at his watch, checking the time. "Go home and rest up. If you wake up early, come over to the rink."

"How early?"

"5, 6am..." Coach shrugged. "Up to you."

I stared at Coach in disbelief. "Does June train so early?"

"Who would've thought, right?" Coach chuckled slightly, getting up. "Go see for yourself if you want to."

--- ---

"God, it's cold..." I rubbed my hands together, trying to warm myself up as I quickly ran across the road when the lights turned green. The sky was completely dark and not a single soul was in sight, and it would have been completely silent if not for the numbing wind howling. As I opened the side gate, I heard a rustling sound.

Huh?

I turned around, but there was nothing. Must be my imagination...

How on Earth can anyone be up at this ungodly hour? I slipped into the centre, running towards the club lobby where the heater was on. I sighed in pleasure as the warmth of the lobby heated my body up. The lights were all switched on but nobody was around. Slowly opening the door to the skating centre, I felt the icy air hitting my face again. The door creaked open and I quietly crept in, closing the door behind me.

4.35am. Am I too early? She doesn't seem to be around... I slipped through the office corridor towards the skating rink, and I knew immediately that I had company. The sharp crackling of ice. The sound of the blades sweeping across the paved ice.

I was greeted with a triple lutz as I quietly made it to the benches, hiding in the corner. June was completely immersed in her practice, not noticing her intruder. I watched in amazement as she gracefully transitioned from element to element, undisturbed by anything else.

How on Earth...I stared dazedly. My words were the biggest insult I could inflict on her. Not trying hard enough...

"Oomph!" She yelped, snapping me out of my daze. She fell flat on the ice after wiping out a triple axel, cringing in pain. I squinted, noticing a slight red. Her elbow was bleeding.

"June!" I quickly got up and ran towards her in panic. She looked up in confusion, her face turning from a look of disbelief into annoyance.

"Are you alright? Do you need-" She cut me off before I could finish, glaring at me coldly.

"What are you doing here?"

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