Songs For Us [English Version]

Eleven. I like you so much. What do I do?

Behind the blue curtain, seating in a bench watching her legs shake, was Dalia. It wasn't a panic attack, but she was breathless. Her head replayed a million times the final scores for the ladies, and the list with the six skaters participating in the Final.

Dalia Rodriguez. 26 points. 5th skater qualified to the GPF2016 in Marseille.

In her head, the moment she stepped at the top of the podium was a blur. The dream turned into reality.

~

She shivered inside her hoodie, and frowned. She was wearing her white Spain jacket as well, but her body still felt too cold.

In her cold hands, she held her phone. Phone calls and texts from friends in Spain, Javi, skater friends -Misha, Denis, Gaby-, her aunt, the skating club...

I should be used to it, she told herself, but her eyes kept going back to the screen. She already would've smashed the black device against a wall if it wasn't because she had things she treasured there. Photos with her idols and friends, Yuzu's contact info...

"When she should call me, she doesn't" Dalia sighed, putting her phone in her pocket.

She'd watch the men Free alone, but it didn't matter. Sometimes, getting entirely lost in someone else's performance was a great medicine. Excited, she jumped in her seat when the second group gathered by the rink entrance -the atmosphere changing inmediatly.

"I like your Free program a lot, Nam" she had told the Canadian earlier when she managed to slip in the waiting room after the press conference.

"Mine too?" Nathan butted in.

"But mine's your favorite. Yes?" That was Yuzuru, with the same expression of a kid looking for compliments Nathan had. When she blinked, three boys were standing in front of her.

She was in trouble. She was trying to motivate Nam, and now three anxious guys were staring at her.

"The sun, the moon and the stars. All beautiful and distinct. Each of you can do magnificent things out there. And yeah, I like your programs, even more if I see you enjoying it"

They nodded, smiling.

"But, I'm the sun"

Holy mother of...

Thirty minutes later, the last 'good fortune hug' -because a gold medalist's hug brought luck (Nathan said) -still made her look down at her jacket. In two days, Yuzuru had hugged her more than twice, she was never taking it off.

After the warm up, Mikhail Kolyada -a Russian with a gentle smile- started his routine. There was something about his step sequences Dalia really enjoyed, the attention to details, his expression. And to her, that broken expression a skater always wore when they knew they didn't do their best, was the cruelest thing to see.

Nam skated after a Canadian Dalia had met hours ago. Following one painful fall, Nam's smile broke her heart. It was the inconsistency caused by his current problem making an appearance: puberty. But he kept going, smiling, his charisma earned the crowd. He bowed and snorted when he somehow found Dalia -fists above her head- in the middle of the crowd. You owed me the full experience, remember? I'll treasure this, thank you.

When the next skater, Keiji Tanaka was announced, the stands turned into a sea of Japan flags. He did a very pretty 4S2T, guarantying himself a space in the podium and making Dalia fangirl quietly in her seat. Perhaps it was true, she had a weakness for team Japan, like Gilian always said.