Second Chance :: Nathan Chen

Chapter 15

Song: Surrender by Natalie Taylor 

Vincent's POV

I check my phone anxiously for about the 30th time in the last few minutes.

"What's up with you?" My sister Vivian asks.

"Nothing," I reply quickly.

"Really?" Vivian asks skeptically. "Now tell your sis what's bothering you."

"I told Kierra about moving to Utah, and I accidentally made the mistake of saying that I wanted to be the next 'Nathan Chen,' and now she's super pissed at me," I rant.

"Well did you call her?" Vivian asks. 

"No, I texted her," I reply. 

"Seriously Vincent? She's not going to take you seriously if all you do is text her," Vivian states rolling her eyes.

"Well, I don't know!" I burst. "Girls are confusing."

"Well call her," Vivian instructs glancing at my phone.

Pulling out my phone I dial Kierra's number.

It rings several times before going to voicemail.

"Hi, this is Kierra, looks like you missed me! Please leave a voicemail after the beep," The sound of Kierra's voice comes through the phone.

Chewing my lip I stare at Vivian. 

"Hi Kierra, um this is Vincent, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, and I hope to see you soon. Bye!" I say quickly hanging up.

"Oh Vincent, you need to go to man school."

Kierra's POV

"So we need to talk about this piece you're choreographing for this season. You are the champion out there, and the world is watching you now. With Mirai out now, you are the face of the United States-"

"And I got it," I say confidently even though I'm not.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing your program about?" Emily asks.

"Actually I was thinking about doing the short program for cancer awareness. You know maybe like a dark blue costume with the lung cancer ribbon?" I suggest.

"Kierra, I'm not sure that's a good idea." Emily states. 

"Why?" I ask in defiance. 

"You do realize that if you do that the media's going to eat you alive?" Emily states.

"Yes," I say firmly. "But I think it's important to show support for anyone else who may be having the same struggles as me."

"Brave, but Kierra I want you to know that it's not going to be easy," Emily states.

"Since when has anything ever been easy for me?"

Nathan's POV

"Nathan, this is Vincent Zhou my new student," Rafael introduces us.

"Hi," We both say at the same time.

A sly smirk appears on Vincent's face as my face turns red.

"I'll give you guys a chance to get to know each other, keep in mind that you guys will be roommates at competitions," Rafael states walking away.

"So, uh how was California?" I ask uncertainly.

"It was good," Vincent states taken aback.

"That's good," I reply awkwardly. 

 "How's Amber?" Vincent asks. 

"She's fine," I murmur. "She's training out of state so I haven't seen her in a while."

The truth is things with Amber aren't exactly 'happily ever after.' Our relationship has been a pretty big mess since we met Kierra. 

"So she's set to be the next U.S. Champion?" Vincent pushes.

"Um, yeah maybe, if uh um, you know Kierra doesn't pull any quads Amber will give her a run for her money," I stammer.

"Since when has Kierra not pulled a quad?" Vincent questions.

"I don't know, and I really don't care."

Kierra's POV

Slipping into the main rink, I pull off my blade covers and step onto the pristine ice. 

Life on the ice is lonely. 

It's you, the ice and your blades.

That's it. 

Turning on my phone I flip through songs eventually playing a random one. 

Thankfully, I have the first session of the day, and so there are no other skaters before me, meaning I have full control over what plays in the rink. 

Weird how a couple of days can change your life so much. 

Skating absentmindedly I listen to the sound of blades carving the ice. So perfect, so natural, so beautiful.

That's the beauty of ice. 

You click with it the second you first step on. 

At least that's what happened for me. 

Lost in my own world of thought I don't pay any attention to the door opening, or the sound of other blades on the ice.

"Oh, uh, could I, you know share the ice with you?" A voice asks.

Spinning around I meet a taller boy with chocolate brown eyes and a tad bit of facial hair beginning to grow.

"Uh, sure," I stammer taken aback.

In my 3 years of having the first session, I have yet to meet another skater. 

"Oh, I'm uh Alex, Alexander Taylor," He states. "And you are?"

"Kierra Yu," I reply quickly.

Smiling he silently skates away.

I watch him out of the corner of my eye as I set up for a triple-axel landing it perfectly. Smiling to myself I skate loosely flowing with the music.

"So you're the U.S. Champion," Alex yells, I barely hear him over the music.

"Yeah," I say shyly as I skate towards him. "And you're a skater?" I ask.

"I guess," He replies.

"I've never seen you before," I state casually.

"Yeah, actually I just came out of rehab," He states quickly, almost like he's embarrassed.

"For what?" I ask softly picking my words carefully.

"Anorexia," He whispers.

"And now you're back to skating?" I question on a happier note.

"Yeah, I guess, something like that," Alex replies uncertainly not making eye contact.

Reaching for his hand I hold it in both of mine. In comparison, our hands are much different. I have soft hands with skinny fingers where he has calloused muscular fingers.

"It'll be okay," I whisper trying not to make the situation awkward. Reaching up I peck him on the cheek at the same time he turns towards me.

Our lips crash in mid-air as I gently close my eyes.

"What the fuck?" A voice asks.

I turn towards the sound of the voice.

It's Coach Emily.

Shit, this got awkward.