Gold (Yuzuru Hanyu)

15. Do you like what you see?

Monday

-OK, now calm down. Breathe! Just breathe.- Said Sarah's concerned voice.

-Calm down, and tell me what happened. Talk to me, use your words.-

It was 6 am. I hadn't slept the night before, didn't even try.  And now I found myself seated on Sarah's bed in her dorm room, having a huge meltdown. Sarah was sitting on her roommates bed, and the said roommate was in the bathroom, probably weirded out by the girl that came in sobbing at 6 am, on a Monday.

It's been 10 minutes since I've gotten here, and all I've managed to say was: "I don't know what to do". 

-Here's a tissue.- She handed me one. I took it and berried my red face into it, wiping tears and snot. I was disgusting.

-Talk to me Kin, please! It hurts me to see you like that.-

We stayed like that for some time, the air filled with nothing but my hushed sobs.

-Is it about him?- She asked carefully. 

I nodded.

-What happened?-

I shook my head, not being able to say anything, not even able to look at her.

-Look at me!- She demanded.

-Look up at me!- 

So I did. Slowly. I was gasping for air, trying to calm my breathing.

-What happened?!-

-I...I...I googled him.- More gasping. -He....he....he....he's got fans. He...he's like....like...The Beetles...He, he, tomorrow....he...the 7th....I...I...-

-Wait, wait, hold up. You're not making any sense right now. You need to start from the beginning. I don't know anything about him, I just know that you text him, that he's a figure  skater, he slept over shirtless, and you thought he was hot without it.-

Getting my breathing together, wiping my tears, and putting my messy hair up, I started to talk. 

Firstly I told her about yesterday. Our day at his ice rink. I told her about all the people I had met, and how out of the place I felt there.  Then I told her about the gold medals. The two consecutive Olympic gold medals. 

She was nodding, letting the information sink in. I could see that she was trying not to make faces.

I proceeded to tell her about the wall of fan art, and how much wonder and fear it brought me. Then, all the things he told me. Finally I got to the things I found out last night.  Alone with thousands of people who knew him way better than I could.

-He's a rock star of figure skating. He's like a god, I don't know.- I put my head into my hands.

-You should see the way he skates. It's, It's beautiful, he's out of this world. I was absolutely lost watching him. He like, I don't know, he's a completely different person on the ice, and people love it. People can sense just how incredible he is. They, like, call him the best figure skater there ever was, and I can see why.- I took a deep breath, now calm.

-He hold's 16 world records. He's like the face of Japan. I feel like if I were to buy a ticket to Japan, his face would be on it. They worship him in Japan, but not just there, everywhere, teenage girls are dying just to catch a glimpse of him.-

I stopped there, finally looking up at her. Sarah's, usually cheerful face was gloomy, her thick dark eyebrows glued together. 

-Say something!- I begged.