Figuring it Out

S E V E N | S H A D O W

Shadow: When a player covers an opponent one-on-one everywhere on the ice in order to limit their effectiveness.

Xavier walked into the restaurant knowing that he was late. Although he had dropped off Rosaura early yesterday, he had trouble sleeping. After twisting and turning, he gave up on sleep and turned to reading the pile of history books he always kept near his bed. In the early morning hours, he had woken up from under the pile of books exhausted.

Making his way through the restaurant, Xavier looked to see where Reese was sitting. He had promised him lunch from a bet he lost not too long ago. To his utter surprise, Reese wasn't alone but sitting with a guy with ash-blond hair. The guy turned around and Xavier was surprised to see that it was Rosaura's partner—Val.

Xavier gingerly approached the group and sat down. It felt as if the two ice dancers were following him. He had seen Rosaura yesterday at his parent's house and now Val was sitting here with Reese.

Reese gave Xavier a smile and they did a quick handshake. Xavier waited for the Reese to make the introductions even though he already knew the man.

"This is Valentine Semenov," Reese introduced him.

Xavier didn't bother introducing himself because he was sure that Val knew his name after his coach had called him out at their practice two weeks earlier.

"I wasn't expecting you here today." Val said, eyebrows raised. He didn't look like the friendliest guy on the planet.

"I'm probably more surprised than you are." Xavier retorted quickly.

Reese looked between the two of them in a confused manner. "I'm not following, do you guys have some bad blood?"

It was Val who smiled at Reese to diffuse the apparent attention. "Nah, we've just seen each other in the passing."

Xavier was saved from interrupting when their waiter arrived. They quickly placed their orders before starring at one another again. Xavier hated this. Normally, there was never an awkward moment between him and Reese. They were close friends, going all the way back to peewee hockey and now in the OHL.

"I was at the game last night," Val began. "You guys were good."

Reese took the complained with a smile. "Thanks man, but did you see Xavier's last-minute goal?"

Val nodded before making eye-contact with Xavier. "It was pretty sweet man. One of the sickest goals I've seen in a while."

"Thank you." Xavier mumbled formally. "So how did the two of you meet?" he asked.

"At the gym." Reese replied.

Ah, that made sense. Reese took his health and fitness very seriously. If he wasn't at home, he was probably at the gym. Reese also loved making friends at the gym.

"How are you settling in?" Xavier asked Val politely.

"Pretty well." He answered. "My family lives in Toronto, so it's not too far away but for Rosaura it sucks. Her parents live in British Columbia and this is the first time she's living alone. I'll be honest, I'm worried about her not fitting in."

Xavier nearly snorted at the irony, but he could see that Val truly was worried. It made him question the relationship between the two of them even more. Were they friends or something more?

"Don't worry too much about her." Xavier said, clearly surprising Val. "She's become quite good friends with my sister Brea. I'm sure she'll fit in fine"

It was the truth. Brea was one of the popular girls in her school. Although she tried hiding most of her personal life from Xavier, he found out her shenanigans one way or another. His sister was loyal—almost to a fault. Once she took someone under their wings, it was nearly impossible for them to be free of her nest.

"That's good." Val said in a soft tone.

The rest of the lunch went by surprisingly well. Xavier learned more about Val and how his mother, who was originally from Russia had first gotten him into ice-dancing. Val hated it towards the beginning, but it had slowly grown to love it. The three of them clicked surprisingly well and when lunch was done, he and Val exchanged numbers with the promise of hanging out once again.

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Xavier stood awkwardly at the edge of the rink waiting for practice to finish. He could see Val and Rosaura working on their routine with the scrutiny of their coaches. He was amazed to see how expressive they were with their feelings. They truly put on an enjoyable show for everyone.

"Good, that's all." He heard the male coach say before he headed of the ice.

The female coach saw him and nodded, and she made her way off the ice as well. Xavier waited, and Rosaura stepped of the ice. She looked quite surprised to see him.

"Getting quite closer to actually stepping on the ice, aren't we?" she said in a teasing tone. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her skin had a soft blush from the exercise.

She looked like an ice princess—without the costume of course.

"Somehow I don't think I'll do as good and you and Val." he replied with a smile of his own.

"Nah, I think we can get you to do a couple of twizzles if we wanted." She glanced at him head to toe. "Of course, your body is more muscular than preferred but we could manage it."

Xavier did not entertain the idea of going on the ice for even a second. He knew things would not end well if he did. "I think I'll take my chances and stay on the sidelines."

Rosaura snorted. "A coward's way out, are you stalking me?"

Val knew she was joking but he was taken aback by how much more carefree she seemed. Her posture was relaxed, and she wasn't as tense as she had been in the car.

"As much as I would love to flatter you, I'm actually here for Val."

"Val?" Surprised clearly etched her voice.

Val came up behind her, placing his guards on his skates. "As much as it's hard to believe Rosaura, I do have friends."

Rosaura looked stunned and a little bit embarrassed. She had clearly though Xavier was waiting for her instead of Val.

"We were just going to hang out at my place, you could always join us," he offered.

She shook her head vigorously. "That's kind of you, but no thanks. Now that I remembered, I had an errand to run, so I really must go."

Without saying another word, she left Val and Xavier at the edge of the ice. Xavier watched her go. It was apparent that she had been lying but both him and Val let it slide. It was clear she wasn't completely comfortable hanging out with him yet, but Xavier hoped one day, she would be. 

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter! What do you think of Val and Xavier's start of friendship? Is anyone watching the Olympics? Comment below. I'm watching figure skating currently.