Foreign Ground (Yuzuru Hanyu)

4. He Blushed, I'm Sure Of It

"I hear her coming."

"Who is her?"

"My friend, she brought me here."

"She shouldn't see this?"

"She likes Nathan better."

"You don't?"

"I liked your skate more."

"Thank you."

Lilis noticed the guy physically blush. She felt the need to point it out, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Her body and mind were frozen for a long time now. Probably since the moment the figure skater spoke to her. Instead of pointing out the redness in his face, she felt her own cheeks acquiring the same color.

"I go now." He spoke, like that was what he was supposed to do, but not necessarily what he wanted to do.

"You go now." The girl simply repeated, staring the taller guy straight into his eyes, trying to read something he wasn't sayings.

"I..." got stuck in his throat, and after eyeing her from above, with a dumbfounded expression, he turned around and in big strides moved far away from her. 'Forever' Lilis thought.

................ ......... ......

"D'fuck is wrong with you?" Clara's elbow nudged Lilis in her stomach, and all Clara got as an answer was a stare.

Lilis was never going to admit to what happened, not to Clara, and not to herself. She had to be honest with herself. Did that really happen?

The blonde girl tried to trace her memory, from the moment she came in contact with the shiny accessory, to the moment she gave it back to its owner, but the whole train of action seemed somewhat impossible.

As Clara rambled about how she got kicked out of the backstage, Lilis put everything that happened chronologically.

First: She went into the men's bathroom, which seemed wrong enough, already.

Second: She found a bracelet and out of reflex put it in her own pocket.

Third: She fell in love with that Japanese skater, and she wasn't even going to deny that. At the practice, she was intrigued. At the short program, she was head over heels. Still, he was distant, like on a movie screen, and Lilis looked at it that way. She fell in love with that figure skater, like she fell in love with Rembrandt's painting in a gallery in Dresden. That was it.

Fourth: The figure skater spoke to her and she gave him back the bracelet she was shamelessly carrying around on her wrist.

At this point, Lilis wasn't sure if Rembrandt really was dead. Maybe she could meet the painter she fell in love with, just like she met the skater she took something away from.

Lilis was sure. She never even went to that bathroom, she never found that bracelet of connection, and she never gave it back to its owner. But the owner was superstitious, and he definitely performed badly due to the bracelet missing that day. And Lilis definitely fell in love with that Japanese skater named Yuzuru.

So what could she make of that. Was the whole thing necessarily true? Only because she was sure of what she felt? Or because she was sure of what she saw? She was sure he was taller than her, not by a lot, but most people were taller than her. And she was sure his black hair was stuck to his forehead, because of the practice she watched before that.

But most of all, she was sure her face went red as soon as his showed the same color.

He blushed. Lilis was sure of it. But what was she supposed to make of it?

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? I'm telling you, I almost saw Nathan!"

"Ah?"

"Did anything happen?" Clara asked, now with concern present in her voice.

"I'm not sure." Lilis sighed.

"Mind talking to me? We're going to be stuck in the same room for at least tomorrow."

"We've only got that much left?!"

"A bit more than that."

"I'll tell you, but only to make it true."

"What do you mean."

"It just feels unreal, that's all."

Clara listened, now serious.

"I spoke to Yuzuru when you were gone. I gave him back something of his that I found in the men's bathroom the other day. And he blushed, I'm sure of it."

.................. ........... ........

"You're sure of it?" 

"I'm sure of it."

"That guy over there?" Clara pointed to the guy Lilis spoke to yesterday. He was on the ice, warming up for his program.

"That guy." Lilis confirmed, nodding along. 

Clara was still suspicious, since Lilis told her everything that occurred yesterday, she still couldn't accept it all in one take.

"Are you absolutely sure?" She asked once again. By this point, Lilis wasn't sure of anything anymore, but she mindlessly nodded anyways. 

"Okay then... I guess you spoke with Hanyu... The most secretive person in the entire sport..." Clara said, somewhat bitterly. Lilis, focused on only one silhouette in the arena, wasn't even listening to her friend anymore.

'He has to win' Lilis thought, 'He's got the bracelet now, I'm not guilty anymore. He's got to win now.'

She rooted, but Hanyu didn't win.

Lilis cried once again, but Hanyu didn't win.

Lilis fell in love, all over again, but Hanyu didn't win. Chen won, and Lilis was happy alongside her friend and was happy for her national flag to be raised as the winner. Still, deep down, Lilis was hurt and confused. 

That beautiful piece deserved to win, and that silhouette deserved the world. Hanyu deserved to be on the top. Lilis felt that in her heart and mind. 

The scowl on the skater's face hurt her. Lilis wanted to poke him right in between his eyebrows and correct the frown forming there.

Now she had to know. How come he didn't win? He had the bracelet, he had the determination, he wasn't afraid this time around. How come he didn't win? Lilis had to know so she stared him right in the eye, asking to ask him that question.