Crash

Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat

Penelope wasn't sure how many alarms she slept through, but it wasn't until she heard a unwavering, hammering knocking on her front door that she finally dragged herself out of bed and towards the source. 

"Alright!" she grumbled, stumbling down the stairs as she brushed her hair out of her eyes with her fingers. "I'm coming! Fucks sake."

As Penelope threw open her front door, her face dropped. Jasper, her long term dance partner, was stood on the doorstep, his expression dark. His eyes scanned her up and down before he sighed, leaning against the frame. 

"Hello, Nell," he said, his voice bemused. "Rough night?"

Penelope clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes growing wide. "Oh my god...oh my god Jasper I am so sorry. I promise I didn't forget rehearsal, I just fell asleep-"

"Hey," Jasper said quickly, giving her a familiar smile. "It's fine. It's only 11:30. 

That only made her feel worse. "Oh my god..." she wailed. "Jane is gonna kill me. I promised her I'd be on time today."

"Well, if you stopped feeling sorry for yourself and actually got ready, that could help."

Penelope rolled her eyes, but stepped aside to let him in. "Give me ten minutes," she promised, hurrying up the stairs as he perused towards the studio. 

"See you in twenty, then," Jasper said, his voice oozing sarcasm. 

"You're a dick!" she called back, pulling her hair into a ponytail and shrugging on a T-shirt. 

"I know!"

****************

Just as she'd promised, Penelope walked through the studio doors ten minutes later, her hair up and her clothes changed. Her hair still had the faint, distinctive smell of chlorine, but she hoped that Jasper simply wouldn't notice. She didn't fancy a morning of questioning about where she'd been, or more importantly, who she'd been there with. 

Jasper was sitting against the wall when she walked in, scraping back his curly blond hair. He gave her a cheeky grin when he saw her, pointing to the clock. "I am impressed," he mused. "Almost on time for once."

Penelope gave him a look, grabbing onto the bar and stretching her toes. Her body felt looser than normal, like some of the stress she'd been holding onto had been let go. "Funny. What do you wanna start with?"

Jasper got to his feet, stretching his arms above his head. "You wanna do the lift we practiced a few days ago? For the Nationals routine."

Tightening her ponytail, Penelope nodded. Jasper chose the background music before coming over to stand behind her, his hands resting on her waist. After a count, he lifted her so that she was balancing above his head, lying flat on the palms of his hands. Talking through it, he began to turn, taking it slowly as to not make a wrong move and drop her. On the ice, it would be different, faster and less controlled, but for now it was better to take things with hesitation. Perfect the move now, on the studio mat where a fall means a bruised rib not a broken bone, and it will be easier on the ice later. 

On the last turn, Penelope felt something shift. Jasper's hand slipped to the right and before she could adjust, she felt herself falling, tumbling towards the mat. She cried out as Jasper did his best to break her fall, but the impact was still enough to wind her. 

"Shit," Jasper cursed, putting his arm behind her back and helping her sit up. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

Penelope winced, but she waved it off. "I'm fine, Jas. It's okay. Its been two weeks and we still cant do that fucking lift. We're not even on ice yet."

He sat down on the mat next to her, sighing. The sun was shining through the studio window, casting a warm glow over the room. It would have been peaceful if Penelope wasn't feeling the pressure of the competition looming over her. 

She and Jasper had been dancing together for years. They'd started off with ballet when they were young, but had eventually transitioned to figure skating. It had been the hardest thing she'd ever done, but it was worth it. The challenge had been exciting, but now they were only a few weeks away from competition and they weren't even close to being ready. Their routine wasn't even ice ready, and if that first lift of the day had proven anything, it was that they probably weren't going to be any time soon. 

Jasper reached over and nudged her. "It'll be okay. Promise. We still have 3 months."

Penelope pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "I have location filming in two weeks. That means I'll be gone for at least ten days."

He shrugged, like he had not a care in the world. "We'll work around it."

"How do you not worry about this stuff? We have 3 months, Jas, that's it. If we don't nail this at Nationals, we won't even come close to qualifying for the Olympics. You know that."

"You do all the worrying for me. My job is to make sure you don't stress yourself to death."

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "You're doing a shitty job."

"Shut up," he grumbled. "I'm trying to be nice."

Jasper reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist, pulling her to her feet. Her side still hurt, but not as much, and the stinging pain under her ribs was almost gone. They did the lift five more times, finally getting it on the last go.

Jasper punched the air as he put her down, pulling her into an ecstatic hug. "Yes!" he laughed, twirling in a circle.

"Put me down!" she shrieked, but even she was laughing. It felt good to finally land something they'd been working on for weeks.

Jasper obliged, but he was frowning at her, making her stomach sink. "Nell," he asked, "why do you smell like the swimming pool at a Butlins?"

Her heart began to beat faster. "Butlins?" she teased, trying to pass the question off with a nervous laugh.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "It's a British thing."

"Oh? Maybe we should go next time we go to England."

"Don't change the subject! Come on, tell me. I thought you went to that F1 dinner last night."

"I did."

"Right. You know you're a shit lier."

Her mind was whirring, trying to see a route out. Jasper was still staring her down, and she knew it would be a hard morning. Jasper knew her in a way that most people didn't. They had a level of mutual trust that meant they knew what the other was thinking before they said it. When something was wrong or troubling her, Jasper could tell with just one look. Normally it was a good thing, helping her to stay above water when she felt like she was drowning, but today it was a pain.

"I'm not lying!"

"Right. Whatever."

"Don't be a dick. You wanna do the routine with the lift?"

Jasper didn't move. He put on the breaks, crossing his arms. "I'm not moving until you tell me the truth."

"I hate you," she grumbled, but she knew better than to argue. Jasper could hold a grudge better than anyone else she knew, and there was no benefit to them arguing all morning. She figured she could tell him a sliver of the truth, and leave the rest to herself. "I left the dinner party early with some friends. We went swimming, and that's why I was late this morning. I fell asleep when I got back in and forgot to get ready. Figured you'd be pissed off if I told you."

"Sounds like you had fun."

"I did. Happy now?"

"Hm. What friends did you go with? Can't picture Logan and Charlotte abandoning work early."

"Honestly, I don't even remember. Think I met them at the party, some of the drivers and a couple of mechanics."

Jasper gave her a knowing smile, but he dropped the hunt. "About time you actually had some fun. You work too much."

The two of them took their positions, waiting for the track to start. "I know," she sighed. "Don't drop me this time."

"I won't," he said sincerely. "I promise."