This Is Me

Part 11

Sean sipped his coffee, keeping his focus locked on the TV screen. The awkward silence falling between them was almost deafening. It was made even worse by the fact that he was sitting so close to Mark. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but a part of him had missed Mark. Mark broke the eerie silence between them by asking him casually. "So, about this local competition. What are you thinking you'll do in your routine?" Sean stared into his mug, mumbling out. "The usual, I guess." Mark shifted a little on the seat next to him, telling him seriously. "Leave out the Axel jump." Sean huffed to himself sarcastically. He didn't think he could make that jump if he tried. Mark took his reaction differently though. His voice growing stern as he retorted. "I'm serious, Sean. We're trying to build your confidence up. Not shoot it down before Regionals. This is an order. Leave the big jumps out of your routine." 

Sean rolled his eyes, sneering into his mug of coffee. "I can't do a good routine without at least one or two good jumps. The others aren't worth as much in points." Mark flicked his ear with his fingers, causing Sean to wince and finally turn to glare at him. Mark's eyes weren't as stern as his words, when he told him. "Sean... It's a local competition. Don't waste your energy. Think of it as a warm up. Save your big jumps for the end of Nationals. All the other skaters will be doing the same thing. Save them for when the points truly matter. I'll leave out all big jumps in my routine too. We'll compete on the same level to be fair." Sean was slightly touched by Mark's gesture. It still didn't stop him from voicing his concerns though. "That is exactly why I should do the big jumps straight through. Imagine the points I could rack up in Nationals for big jumps! I'd be so far ahead that the others would start sweating and pushing themselves too hard to beat me."

Mark shook his head, bluntly telling him with a cold expression. "No, Sean. You haven't done these jumps in a long time. If you put them in and fail to make them, the penalty points will drown you. You'll only be hurting yourself. It's reckless and a rookie mistake. You know that." Sean turned his attention back to his coffee, grumbling out sourly. "I thought you had faith in me..." Mark put a comforting hand on his shoulder, answering in a much softer and loving voice. "I do have faith in you. But to do two routines in one day with big jumps throughout Regionals, Nationals, and into the Europeans? That is suicide. There is far too much room for error. Pace yourself." Sean took another sip of his coffee, grumbling out mostly to himself. "I don't have time to pace myself... I'm not getting any younger." Mark snorted, patting his shoulder lightly as he stated aloud. "Ya. Well, you won't get any older if you kill yourself trying to act like a reckless teenager."

Sean chuckled softly, taking a long sip of his coffee. The TV started showing past clips from the last years World Championships, while an announcer introduced this years famous competing skaters. Sean watched Quentin's routine with cold eyes. Knowing now that the bastard had been sabotaging his competition left a sour taste in his mouth. The announcer then flipped to a clip of Rasputin. He was preforming Quentin's old routine in a warm up. Sean lowered his mug away from his lips to watch him closely. He had better form than Quentin and wasn't shy about showing sex appeal in the routine. Sean clenched his teeth, he'd be a hard person to beat. Beside him, Mark casually stated aloud. "He's good, but he's overconfident. I'll bet that he buckles in the Europeans." Sean raised an eyebrow, disagreeing lightly. "I wouldn't bet on it, Mark. He's the prime choice to win this year. He looks smug enough to handle the pressure."

Mark snorted, replying self-assured. "Rasputin has never competed in this league. The pressure from seniors competitions is nothing to the big leagues. He's young, sure. But he'll be going up against seasoned skaters that know how to play the system. He'll get restless to prove himself and they'll make him buckle from the pressure." Sean rolled his eyes, replying dryly. "They said the same thing about you and I, when we got out of seniors." Mark waved a dismissive hand, nonchalantly blurting out. "Oh, they didn't know what they were talking about then." Sean shook his head with a smirk. They had become the old men now. It was rough to think about how much time had changed in so short of time. The next skater flashed across the screen and Mark jerked upright to get a better look. The clip showed a Swedish man hydro blading across the ice, while the announcer told the viewers. "Probably the most surprising entrant this year is the Swedish star, Felix Kjellberg. After hearing rumors that Ireland's lucky charm, Sean Mcloughlin, might return. Felix dusted off his retirement to give his career one more ride."