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"You should have just told him that we were here. Maybe we could have gotten seats where we didn't have to climb three flights of stairs."
"Well, don't get too comfortable. We're going down there right before he goes on."
Sori whines in annoyance as I inform her we won't get to stay here the entire event. We landed in Italy 2 days ago, and we went to watch the ladies' event and the pairs, but I didn't tell Nathan. He thinks we're still in Seoul and won't be here until his free skate.
"How are we going down there?" Sori asks. "We can't just waltz down there and be like 'Ah yes, I am Lee Hani so let us through, random Italian guard.'"
"Well shit, that was my whole plan!" I say sarcastically. "Romain and Mariah are going to let us in."
"Mariah Bell?"
"Yeah, and Romain Ponsart. They're good friends with Nathan."
"Look at you, making friends in the skating world," Sori teases, squeezing my cheek. I swat her hand away before pulling my phone out of my pocket.
To:Romain 🇫🇷
hey, what way should we go to get down there?
"Why the French flag?" Sori questions. "He skates for France," I explain. Romain responds almost immediately.
1 New Messages from Romain 🇫🇷
i'll send mariah up there to lead you down. i'll text you before she heads up. also, nathan is going to cry when he sees you - he's always talking about you.
I blush at the last line of Romain's text, trying to hide it before my younger sister notices. I see her look over, ready to throw out a sassy comment about it, but the announcement of the beginning of the competition interrupts her.
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Once Mikhail Kolyada finishes his program, I get a text from Romain, telling me that Mariah was on her way up to get us.
"Make sure you have all of your stuff, Sori. She's on her way."
Sori nods, checking her bag. I feel a tap on my shoulder, turning to see Mariah. "Hey, it's so nice to meet you," I say, standing up, bowing out of habit.
"Dumbass, they don't bow like we do," Sori sighs. I quickly straighten myself up. "Sorry," I mumble.
Mariah laughs. "It's fine! I would probably do the same if we bowed. Let's go so that you don't miss his program."
We follow Mariah down the stairs, the music from Alexei Bychenko's program echoing into the halls of the arena. "I'm so excited to see this reunion," the skater says as we get to the bottom of the stairs. "He could get first and you would still be the highlight of his day."
"Oh, no no no, I doubt that," I protest, laughing slightly. Sori pokes my cheek, "Look! She's blushing! How cute are you, Hani."
Sori's teasing causes me to blush more, making Mariah laugh. We come to the entrance near the kiss and cry, and she stops.
"We have to wait until he gets out on the ice before we go in," she explains. We nod, watching as Alexei gets his score. I spot Nathan, talking to Rafael as he waits to go on. He's given the okay, and skates out.
Mariah motions for us to go over to where Romain is standing. He sees us as we walk up. "Hey Hani, Sori," he smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
We quickly return the greeting before turning to watch Nathan. Sori grips my arm, muttering, "I'm nervous." It reminds me of what she did as he was about to skate at the Olympics. I place my hand over hers.
My heart is pounding as he sets up for his first jump. He jumps.
And he lands it. A nice, clean quad lutz + triple toe.
His next jump, a quad flip, is also clean. A little sloppy, but clean.
As he sets up his next jump, I remember it's a triple axel, something he hasn't always been consistent with. Sori must realize the same thing, "Oh hell no," she says.
Clean.
"Oh hell yes," I say.
He finishes, the crowd cheering. I don't have much time to cheer before Romain and Mariah guide us to a spot where Nathan won't be able to see us from the kiss and cry.
"He'll come this way after he gets his score," they explain to us. "He'll see you."
"Are you nervous?" Sori whispers. "For his score? No," I whisper back.
"No, to see him."
"Why would I be nervous to see him?" I ask, turning to face her.
"Because you looooove him."
"Lee Sori, I'm going to beat your ass," I threaten.
"Nathan Chen has earned in the short program...101.94. He is currently in first place."
Sori and I gasp, excited about his score. Nathan stands up, slowly making his way to where I stood. I notice Mariah pull out her phone, ready to record.
He's looking down as he walks, and I begin to think he won't see me until Rafael pokes his arm, looking directly at me. Nathan turns to look at his coach before following his gaze.
I smile as Nathan makes eye contact with me, his jaw dropping slightly in surprise.
