White Lines

Black and Blue

Noctis stood at the side waiting to enter the ring. Anxiety seemed to make his heart pound in his ears with a ferocity way beyond what he was used to.

Once everyone was quiet, Noctis was given the go ahead to take his place on the ice. The music started and so did he, his blades cutting thin crevices into the ice.

Three jumps and two spins to get the silver, one stumble and I will be pushed down to bronze. He thought.

He pushed off of the ice, twisting his body to spiral down onto the cold stage. He landed clean.

He raced through the music, backward and forward, landing his next jump cleaner than the first.

His first spin went through smoothly, he hooked his finger through the back of the blade and pulled it up to the back of his head, spinning with expert precision.

Everything went smoothly, until the final jump. Noctis pushed off of the ice the same as the last two times and did everything the same as before. This time, though, his blade hit the ice and turned, causing him to slam into the ground. He grunted loud enough for Leah (who was standing on the sidelines) to hear. He lay on the ice for a second on his back, taking in everything that had happened. He looked over and saw Leah practically leaning over the wall of the ring and raised his hand up to where everyone could see, holding up his thumb as a sign he wasn't hurt. He grit his teeth as he pulled himself off of the ice, disqualified on his last performance.

Leah walked beside him, her emerald eyes shone in the dim lighted hallway.
"Noctis, what happened?" She asked.

He glanced stiffly down at her, still not making a sound. Leah looked back down and they walked in silence to where he could sit down and take off his skates.

"Uhm, Leah?" He asked.

"Yeah? What is it?" She said.

"I think you are more graceful on the ice than I am. " he said.

That defiantly was not what he wanted to tell her. The only problem was that he hadn't even really convinced himself of what he wanted to say.