Kick, Push

Competition Day: +1

Slumping against the back of his room's door, Zayn exhales a deep breath.

From the second he woke up, until about fifteen minutes ago, he had pretty much only been at the event course. It was life's cruel way of making up for all the time he had avoided it like the plague since arriving.

Before today, he didn't have to deal with too much exposure from outlets and the press, the brunt of it all coming from when he was chosen for Great Britain's team almost a year and a half ago. There were more official interviews when he technically qualified, but with his unrivaled championship record, no one expected for him to not advance to The Games, so even those were relatively standard in content and quantity. Today that all changed. By the end of the day, he'd sat down with at least fifteen sources. The number could've been higher, but he stopped counting after the fifth. Everyone, from every corner of the world, wanted to talk to the crowd favourite.

It started when he showed up to watch the women's street competition in the morning. He couldn't even make it to the athlete's section without being asked for a few quick quotes on how he was feeling about tomorrow, the skater switching the conversation to his support for female participation in the sport instead.

Including skateboarding in the Olympics for the first time that year was huge for the sport and its image - women specifically. Skating was always seen from the male perspective, but the women were just as sick, and Zayn hoped that by having the world watch a competition they're not used to seeing, the negative stigma behind skaters would lower, while simultaneously proving that women can shred just has hard as men.

After the medal ceremony, the place was a mess. Yet even in the midst of it all, there were still interviewers who wanted to schedule a time to talk to the male skater later in the afternoon. Lucky for Zayn, he had Camden to take care of all the requests. And he's more than happy that he did, because he's sure the frenzied asks would've caused him to lose it.

When the coast is clear and the park's died down from the craziness of the morning, Zayn and Camden return to practice for hours on end. Somehow, they manage to squeeze in the scheduled interviews during breaks. Zayn's not sure how they turn out, considering how focused he is on the park in front of him, but he doesn't care, they all give him a smile at the end, so he couldn't have done too poorly.

To Zayn's dismay, interviewers aren't the only thing he's got to tend to instead of practice. Since it's the eve of the competition, he and Camden are forced to sit through a formal meeting with the program director and judges. The only thing that gets him through it is seeing that the rest of the skaters he's more than familiar with from the pro circuit, are just as bored as he is. They all know the rules and codes, just let us all practice.

When he's granted just that, Zayn goes hard. Every time he finishes a run simulation, he focuses on his breathing and makes sure to drink loads of water. He's plugged in the whole time, but when he's not kicking his board into the air, he's switching the songs, not able to get through a full one out of a manic impulse to need to keep things moving, always moving. Thank god he wasn't a nail biter, otherwise they'd surely all be gone by now.

Throughout it all, Niall and Louis stay nearby, skating around the outskirts of the course so as to stay out of the competing athlete's way, but still within reach if Zayn needs something only his two best friends can provide. Any time Zayn looks over, he sees Harry and Liam chatting away, doing the same as the other two: making their presence known, but just far enough away that Zayn isn't bombarded. It's his medal to win, but the skater's grateful he has such an understanding support group, even if Louis does push the boundaries of his humour from time to time.

Eventually Camden pulls him off the course, says that he doesn't think Zayn could be any more prepared, and to get some well deserved rest. And Zayn agrees - or his soul does. His brain's fighting it, and the disconnect makes him want to bang his board against the rail as they're waiting for their car to take them back to the Village.