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“You’re gonna watch me right?”
Harvard stood in front of his changing room, phone up to his ear as he chatted with Carl. He tried his best to not let the tiny bit of worry he was feeling seep into his voice as he talked, chuckling a little at the end of his sentence.
“I’m like three minutes away, so you don’t need to worry,” he sighed in relief; they’re not surprised Carl picked up on their nervousness, it was his specialty. “Any specific spot I get to sit at, or do I just go wherever?”
“Sorry, your name isn’t on the VIP list,” he teased. It can be though, once I ask you out. “You’re just gonna have to find a spot like the normal people.
“A shame, I hoped if I told them I was president of the Harvard Marks fan club they’d let me get better seats to see my idol,” Carl shot back, Harvard stifling a laugh as his manager started to approach him.
“Marks, you’re on in 5. Get off your phone and get your skates on; your partner is waiting,” he barked, turning around to walk away as Harvard rolled his eyes at him.
“You heard him, I’ll talk to you after. Wish me luck?”
“You don’t need luck, now get off your phone Marks,” he snickered at his remark, Harvard hanging up as they shook their head in faux disappointment. He unlocked the door behind him, putting his phone on top of the dresser in there before relocking the door.
Their partner–they're pretty sure her name was Alanna– was sitting alone in their shared prep room. Her neutral expression turned into a small smile when they arrived in the doorway, and she stood up to greet them, fixing her skirt.
“You ready to kill it out there?” She already has her skates on, the guards stopping them from getting messed up, as she moved closer to them. Her tone stayed calm, though they could pick out the hidden enthusiasm and excitement to perform. They couldn’t really blame her; to their knowledge this was her first time in a semi-big competition, and her first time in a duo, so they could understand how she felt. If anything, her eagerness made them wanna try harder to win–not like he wasn’t going to try hard to win in the first place, but still.
“Yeah, let’s do our best out there, okay?” They raised their hand for a fistbump, Alanna immediately moving her hand to react.
“Okay!”
“I swear, I didn't mean for this to happen! I-I–”
“Hey, calm down! You’re getting yourself worked up, breathe.”
My performance…
“The ambulance is on its way, how’s he doing?”
“We’re trying to stop the bleeding, we need something else to cover the gash.”
I–I can still…
“There’s a towel over here, it should be big enough.”
“Then get over here with it!”
I need to get back up, there’s still time left on the clock. I can still-
He pushed himself back up, the world slightly spinning around him as cold hands grabbed him, gently helping him to his knees. Muffled words of reassurance came from their mouth, Harvard squinting as he stared at the person’s face. Searing pain hit his back as something or someone put pressure on it.
“-vard,” he couldn’t make out the rest of what he said, but it was obvious he was talking to him. Opening his mouth to respond, he quickly closed it, suddenly being hit by a drowsy spell.
“ ‘m tired.” His eyes started to close, his vision going dark for what felt like hours only to be woken up again by the same person.
“HEY! Hey, stay with me, okay?” Carl cupped his face, pinching his cheek to make sure he was awake. It only added to the pain he felt, a whine escaping his lips as he tried to escape his hands. He wanted out of here, away from the stuffy judges who worried more about the bad PR than his well being and the bright lights he was forced to look at.
“I wanna go home,” the words came out slowly, speaking feeling like a foreign concept in his brain for some reason.
“I know you do, but you gotta wait a little longer.” Pressure was applied to his back, Harvard hissing in pain as more tears formed under his eyes.
“Tell me something.”
“..huh?”
“I don’t know, talk to me about anything. Your performance, other experiences, I don’t mind,” Carl shrugged, sparing a few glances behind Harvard. He kept his head in his hands, so he couldn’t see what he was so focused on, but he trusted it wasn’t anything bad, so he nodded.
What was there to talk about? His mind keeps screaming about the pain, it hurts, it burns, someone HELP HIM.
“I-,” he froze up, choosing his next words, “..was planning on asking you out after the show,” he let the words carefully spill out, breaking eye contact with the ginger in front of him. “I didn’t really have a plan for when and where we would go but I was gonna walk up to you after it all and, you know, ask you if you wanted to go out on a date.”
“Oh…” Part of him didn’t want to see Carl’s reaction to his confession, but he couldn’t decipher the tone in his voice and it was making him antsy. Did he misinterpret the signs Carl sent his way, and this whole time he was just being friendly?
“Well, when this is all over, I’d love to go out with you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! I–uh– I was kinda…hoping you’d ask,” his tone became more bashful, his cheeks turning red. Harvard felt his face get a little hot at the confession, wincing as the ringing in his ears became more prominent, a faint siren being drowned out.
“Oh,” was all he could muster out before his vision blurred, eyelids suddenly getting heavy. His head lolled forward out of Carl’s hold, his eyes closing to sleep before snapping back open. The chatter around him made his head hurt even more to follow, and the stinging pain from his back hasn’t disappeared just yet. He let out a small whine, leaning his head down on Carl’s shoulder.
“Did I lose?” He slurred out, slightly muffled by the fluff on Carl’s jacket. A small hiss escaped his lips as the thing on his back shifted, resisting the urge to rip off whatever it was. He doesn’t even know why it’s there, his head was in too much pain to recall what had happened, so it doesn’t seem like it’s important.
“That’s not important, okay? Don’t worry too much about it.” An obvious deflection, but it was enough to soothe him at the moment. Carl probably remembers what happened, so he would’ve told him if he had lost or not.
The sound of a siren became more prominent, some of the other people around him murmuring as they started to shuffle away from him. Carl stayed with him, looking up to speak to whoever was behind him.
“Bleeding from his back…cut…her skates…I think…concussion…hit the ice…” His voice went in and out for Harvard, sleep trying to drag him back for the third time today. He tried his best to fight it off for Carl to no avail, the edges of his vision darkening, before his entire vision was black.