A Crack in the Ice

Chapter 26

Sarah sighed as she stood next to me, waiting for her turn. "Damn...Lilith has gotten good at her Short Program," she said as Lilith went in for a Flying Sit Spin, which was towards the end of her program.
I nodded. "Yeah. I guess you're kind of glad she's first, at least between the two of you, yeah?"
Sarah nodded as she tapped her skate on the ground. "You can say that again. I'm also glad that I'm not right after her. She pulled fifth, and that's not too bad. I'm also glad I didn't pull to go last. I wouldn't be able to do my Free Skate first."
I nodded. "Point taken."
Sarah only sighed as she turned her attention back to the ice. Lilith was just going into her final move, which was her combo spin, and finished in her signature pose for the program, a position that was cowering in fear, and the crowd cheered for her.
I only sighed as she went over to the Kiss and Cry, where Leo was waiting for her.
However, what Sarah did slightly shocked me.
"You did great out there Lilith!" she called out.
Lilith looked at her, and gave her a smile and a nod. "I'm sure you'll do great too!"
Sarah sighed, and turned her attention to the screen that hung over the ice. "...not bad," she mumbled. "A 69.79."
I nodded. "That is pretty good. I'm sure you'll do better, though."
Sarah nodded. "I'm sure I will..."

About ten minutes later, Sarah was taking to the ice for her Short Program.
I bit my lip. I was genuinely worried about Sarah's performance.
The music started, and everything was going smoothly. She had her Flying Sit Spin and Y-Spin flawless, yet I noticed something was off when she started her step sequence.
"Hey, what in the world is she doing out there?" Lilith suddenly asked from behind me.
I sighed. "Beats me, it's not what we had planned..."
Lilith was then silent for a moment as she watched Sarah exit her step sequence, getting ready to go in for her Quad Toe Loop-Triple Lutz combo, but the way she took off was...wrong. "...holy shit. I think I see what she's-"
Before she could finish her sentence, I literally stumbled backwards, toally and utterly surprised by what I saw Sarah do. Instead of a Quad Toe Loop-Triple Lutz combo, she did a Quad Salchow-Triple Toe Loop, followed by a Quad Toe Loop.
"...no freaking way," Lilith said in a whisper shout. "She...she reverted it to your original choreography!"
"...I...how did she...?" I said, at a complete loss for words.
The crowd was going wild. People obviously recognized that it was what it was.
However, as soon as she finished her Quad Toe Loop, the crowd went dead silent.
I could tell that Sarah was surprised by the sudden change of sound level, as she slightly stumbled, but stayed upright on her skates.
The crowd then remained silent as she finished her performance. The crowd then erupted into cheers.
I then ran over to where Sarah would come off the ice, and stood there, waiting for her. I had no idea how to explain the look I probably had on my face. I had so many mixed emotions.
She then began to skate over to me, tears in her eyes.
"I-I did it, Yurio!!" she cried out.
I nodded. "That you did!"
She was about to slow down so she could get out of the rink, but I had a surprise in store for her.
Before she had any time to react, I practically threw myself at her, and gave her a kiss as we landed on the ice. At the same time, the cheering stopped as everyone caught their breath.
Sarah's face was red when we broke from the kiss. "Wh-what was that for...?"
I smiled as I tucked some hair behind her ear. "That performance surprised me, so I wanted to surprise you."
"Y-Yurio..." she mumbled.
I silently chuckled. "Come on. Let's go to the Kiss and Cry to see what you got," I said as I helped her up.
She nodded. "R-right."
With that, we went over to the Kiss and Cry.

Viktor was already there, waiting for us.
"So, you decided to do what I did with Yuri, huh?"
I sighed. "Honestly, I wasn't trying to copy you."
Viktor shrugged. "I never said you were. Anyways, that was an amazing performance out there, Sarah."
She smiled. "Thanks, Viktor."
"I'm honestly surprised you were able to pull off two Quads in one performance," I said, gently rubbing her shoulder.
Sarah sighed. "I am going to sleep so well tonight...I can just tell."
I smiled, knowing that it was going to be a great night. "Yeah. I'm sure I will too."
Before we could way anything else, Sarah's score came up on the screen.
"...holy shit...that's a new record!" she cried out.
I looked at it. She got a 71.70. I knew for sure that it was a new record.
"That was nothing short of amazing," Lilith suddenly said from behind.
Sarah and I turned to look at her.
"Thanks," Sarah said with a smile.
Lilith nodded. "Of course. I mean, yoy surprised everyone here with that. You deserve the score that you got. But, don't think thst just because you did so well here doesn't mean that I can't come back and win this. That's exactly what I plan on doing."
Sarah sneered at her cousin. "I'd like to see you try. You know you can't beat me, no matter how hard you try."
Lilith snickered. "Oh? Then how do explain the fact that I beat you at Skate America?"
Sarah growled. "Whatever."
I then spoke up. "Girls, please stop arguing. Sarah, why don't we head back to the hotel room and clean up? I think we shouls all go out to dinner to celebrate this."
Viktor nodded. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."
Sarah sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll do that. I'll be ready to go in no less than two hours. Got it?"
I nodded. "Got it."
Sarah then stood up. "I'm going to head back now. Just come up and whatever when you want to."
I nodded. "Of course. I'll probably be up in a few minutes. I have something that I need to talk to Viktor about. I should be no more than five or ten minutes."
Sarah nodded. "Got it."

I was nervous. It was no understatement to say that I had thousands of scenarios playing through my head for possible reasons that she might say no. I doubted she would, but I couldn't help but worry. I was going to propose to her no matter what. Even if she said no, I'd go,away from it knowing that I tried. I just hoped that it wouldn't come down to that.