"you don't understand. i need this. i need to win. without the gold, i am worthless."
when luna bakken, scandinavian's sweetheart, crosses paths with nathan chen, america's quad king, everything seems to change
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ONE || something good can work
Luna Bakken trained her entire life for the chance to compete in the Olympics. Starting at age six, she practiced almost every day. Although, at the time, she felt miserable; she knew that she was setting herself up for victory someday. Through countless training sessions and hard work, she caught the attention of the Norwegian public earning her the nickname "The Scandinavian sweetheart," and a spot to compete in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
To her, it felt like she went from being nobody to somebody overnight. After one brilliant run in the FIS Freestyle World Championships, Luna Bakken became a household name. With her almost white hair and beautiful blue eyes, she became a role model for the young girls and a hopeless crush for the boys. Her coach, Aksel, basked in the praise and attention that his bright star had begun to receive.
Sponsors came rolling in like waves, Luna's follower count on every social media platform skyrocketed, television broadcasts constantly stated the fact that she was the best athlete in the entire country of Norway. To Aksel, this meant that after coaching Luna for nearly ten years, his work was beginning to payoff. Their work was beginning to payoff.
However, Luna did not see it that way.
In her mind, her work had yet to begun.
Before she could begin to believe that she was indeed the Scandinavian sweetheart, she had to prove to herself that she deserved the title, that she deserved to be in Pyeongchang. The only way to do that is to win gold.
Other athletes were hungry for the gold mainly for the fame and validation that accompanied it while with Luna, she just didn't want to be a disappointment to herself and her country.
"Luna, are you listening to me?"
The blonde girl torn her eyes away from the view outside the car window and turned her head toward her coach, her eyebrows raised. "Yes, Aksel?"
"We are almost to the hotel, so I want to lie down some ground rules," he explained. "One, do not pig out on any form of sweets. Two, you will be asleep by eleven at the latest to make sure you are well rested. Finally, three, do not go anywhere without informing me first even if you just want coffee down the street. I will drive you in the car."
Aksel rented a car for their sixteen day stay in Pyeongchang in case Luna wished to travel throughout the city. The thought of her taking the bus or walking made his stomach churn. Due to the sickness that was plaguing multiple countries during the winter months, he was terrified she would become sick before her competition even begun.
Luna had no problem with following any of the rules her coach created for her. She did not have an outgoing personality, so staying up past eleven and traveling throughout Korea wasn't something she was planning to do.
