Songs For Us [English Version]

Fifteen. The second before you fall.

Thursday, December 8th, 2016. Marseille.

Exhausted but incapable of falling asleep, she simply existed there, resting her head against the table, eyes watching the clock ticking painfully slow. And then -she was not sure how- she found herself surrounded.

At her left, Javier was cheerfully talking with Maia and Alex Shibutani, and in front of her, a sleepy Shoma Uno was about pass out on his food.

Shoma caught her looking at him and he rubbed his eyes, slightly embarrassed -like a cute little child with untidy curly hair and a tired pout on his lips.

"I... sleep little" he said in English, slowly pronouncing every word.

"I didn't sleep" Dalia replied, and they shared a tired sigh. "Wait, but you compete today!"

"Daiyobu-desu (A/N: It's fine)"

She shook her head.

"No, it's not fine! How will you do your best if you're tired?"

"I can do it, Daria-san"

Another sleepy person sat at their table, next to her and they froze.

"Ohāyo" Yuzuru mumbled, giving her the same groggy smile Shoma had on.

These two, I swear to god. They're impossible.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty is finally here" Javi said.

At the Hotel dining place, every skater -junior and senior- was preparing for competition, next to their coaches. Clearly, her table was an exception.

Later, the pattern became obvious. Javier had his friends looking after her, more than that, he seemed to be using them to keep Dalia's anxiousness under control.

"Javier Fernandez, come here for a second" She dragged him far from everyone. "What are you doing?"

The skater raised his eyebrows, but his eyes betrayed him. She sighed.

"Javi, it's- you don't have to do this."

The male was an overprotective big brother, even more when he suspected something was wrong -and he was quite perceptive.

"Do what?" he inquired smirking, but using an innocent tone. She looked down and Javier pulled her close to him to peck her forehead gently. "You've come so far little one, I believe in you."

Incapable of talking due to the lump in her chest, she nodded. Javier didn't know what happened, maybe he was just overprotective, but his words were something she really needed to hear.

The girl jumped away like a scared rabbit when a camera flashed in their direction, but when she saw the photographer, a smile spread across her face.

"Laura!"

"Dalia!"

///

She was smiling, but he couldn't put Gilian's words -who he knew because him and Dalia were thick as thieves ever since they were all kids- out of his mind.

"She had a panic attack in the morning, please take care of her when I can't stay around."

Was it because it was her first GPF? Watching her practice with that dead look in her eyes, he could only compare: the last time he saw her like that, it had something to do with a certain 5'6ft Russian woman, coffee addicted and just a temperamental as the girl laughing at Laura's crappy jokes (the charming one in the Fernandez family, wasn't his sister, clearly).