Epee - Weapon with full body target area
Piste - Where the match takes place.
Grantaire had his iPod blaring music into his ears to keep himself from starting to panic. He loved to fence, but this was the first competition his friends insisted upon coming to see. They swore it was a big deal. Well, maybe it was. Grantaire had made his way to the Junior Olympics, and he had survived until the final day of competition. He hadn't minded Enjolras there, because he kept him focused and calm when the amount of people crowded into the room got to be too much. As they pulled up to the arena, Enjolras put his hand on Grantaire's knee. He squeezed it tightly. "Ready?" Grantaire pulled out one of his earbuds.
"No." Grantaire grumbled. "Why are they coming again?"
"They want to support you." Enjolras rubbed Grantaire's cheek. "And I might have threatened them all that they had to behave."
Grantaire smiled and put his earbud back in. He pulled the hood of his hoodie up before they got out of the car. Combeferre and Courfeyrac are the first to walk up to Enjolras' car.
"R! BIG DAY TODAY!" Courfeyrac yells loud enough that R can hear it over his music. Combeferre elbows him in the side before Enjolras or Grantaire can get to him. "I mean, good luck today."
Grantaire nods as he pulls his bag of gear out of the trunk. "That outfit doesn't look comfortable at all." Combeferre notes.
"You get used to it," R replies. It really can be annoying with the knickers, knee socks, and layer of canvas he'll have to put on inside. Right now he only has the bottom half of his gear on. The rest will wait until the last moment, because sometimes the tightness of it makes him feel like he is choking.
The parking lot is starting to fill up as they wait for the rest of their friends. Grantaire sits down on the side walk and starts to stretch his legs out. Soon he is joined by Jehan, who gently hugs him and hands him a piece of paper. "For good luck." Grantaire opened the paper and smiled. Of course, he writes me a poem about fencing. R smiled at Jehan, who was now sitting next to him, as he tucked the note into the pocket of his hoodie.
"Thank you." Grantaire went back to stretching.
"Here comes Eponine, Cosette, and Marius," Jehan warned him. R was thankful for the warnings.
Grantaire looked up briefly to see Enjolras keeping an eye on him and smiling. R knew Enjolras was proud of him. I just hope my nerves don't get the best of me today. Feuilly and Joly were the next to arrive. Grantaire took one look at Joly and warned, "If I hear anything about how bad I can get hurt today, I'll kill you, okay?" Grantaire grinned and went back to his stretching.
"He is a little – tense – today, isn't he?" Joly asked Enjolras.
"No shit, Joly. He is in the final round of competition today." Eponine answered for Enjolras. Grantaire and Jehan giggled.
Grantaire stood up and grabbed his bag. "Since we are all here, let's go in."
All of the Amis were used to the drunk Grantaire. The one that picked away at Enjolras' speeches and ideals. The one that swore to believe in nothing. The one who saw the beauty in places there wasn't. The one who was just a little off center of being normal. The only two that had ever seen him fence were Enjolras and Jehan. They knew the change that happened when he hit the competition floor. The group followed Grantaire to the spot that they could sit in the stands to watch the matches. With it being the final round only three pistes were going to be used. Thankfully for Grantaire's nerves, epee was one of the first competitions to begin.
He looked up at his friends in the stands. They were all smiling at him. He looked over at Enjolras standing next to him. "Breathe, R." He gently kissed him, and Grantaire felt himself relax a little. "You need to get your stuff on and warm up."
"Je sais." Grantaire pulled off his hoodie. He heard Courfeyrac start to giggle at the suspenders that were part of his knickers. By the time Grantaire looked up, both Cosette and Eponine had both slapped Courfeyrac in the back of the head. He made a mental
note to thank them later.
Enjolras helped Grantaire get his plastron situated correctly. Grantaire slipped into his jacket, pulling the electric cord that would hook into his epee with his sword hand, and then working it through the opening in his glove. He fastened the jacket up, leaving the bit around the neck undone until he had to do it since it always felt too tight on his neck. Grantaire went out to a vacant piste to warm up. There were only a hand full of competitors here today.
When he started his warm up, he could hear the muffled reactions of his friends since he had to leave his iPod in his bag. Grantaire caught himself smiling at their positive reactions.
As the competition progressed, the Amis saw just how focused Grantaire became on the piste. A few of them even commenting how he seems more like Enjolras today than his normal self, which earned the owners of that thought a glare from both Enjolras and Grantaire.
"So, if R wins this match, he wins the entire thing?" Feuilly asked.
"Yes," Jehan replied simply as he was busy writing something in one of Grantaire's sketchbooks.
"What does he have to do again?" Courfeyrac was still confused.
"We've been here all day, and you still haven't figured it out?" Cosette teased.
"He has to score 15 points by the end of three rounds or have the most at the end of three rounds, to put it simply," Marius answered.
Grantaire and his opponent were called to the center of the piste. Enjolras gave him one last kiss before Grantaire pulled his mask down. Everyone had picked up that this was their little ritual before every match, and Enjolras always stayed down on the floor next to the piste. Grantaire walked to the center and shook his opponent's hand. He retreated to the start line, saluted the referee, saluted his opponent and then assumed his stance.
None of them could get over how sure Grantaire was once a match began. He was quick and precise with his attacks. Sometimes he would hold back and study his opponent's methods. It was impressive to watch. At the end of the first three minutes, Grantaire was in the lead four to two. He went back to Enjolras, who whispered to him. No one could tell what he was saying, but they could see how focused Grantaire was on it. Soon the minute was over, and after saluting, the match began again. The second round was a rough one, ending with Grantaire being behind one point. When the bell sounded the end of three minutes, he pulled his mask off, and you couldn't miss the frustration on his face. Enjolras was right there talking to him and refocusing him. The Amis cheered his name, which brought a smile to Grantaire's face. Enjolras gently kissed him before he replaced his mask.
All of the Amis were sitting on the edge of their seats. Grantaire quickly tied the match back up at twelve to twelve. Then it went back and forth. Poor Courfeyrac was a mess with wondering what would happen. Joly kept worrying about Grantaire getting hurt. Jehan told them all not to worry. Marius, Cosette and Eponine were all holding hands. Feuilly and Combeferre kept softly cheering, "R, R, R!" Fourteen to Fourteen.
Even from in the stands, they could hear Enjolras call out, "You can do this, R." The bell sounded for the end of the third round.
"GAH!" Courfeyrac and Combeferre both let out in a large sigh. "What now?"
"Sudden death. 1 minute or first point wins." Jehan calmly answered.
"How are you calm, Jehan?" Joly asked.
"I've seen him under pressure. Just watch." Jehan smiled. They all looked at Jehan like he was insane being this calm.
The referee called Grantaire and his opponent back to their positions. Grantaire adjusted the grip on his weapon and sank down a little deeper into his stance. As soon as he got the go ahead to go, he attacked with a quick burst that almost looked like a run instead of a lunge that left him behind his opponent, and a buzzer signaling a hit. The referee held up Grantaire's hand, declaring him the winner.
"What was that?" Combeferre stuttered.
"A fleche." Jehan grinned. "Told you all not to worry."
The Amis cheered their friend on. Grantaire tore off his mask and ran to Enjolras, who picked him up and spun him around. None of them had ever seen Grantaire this happy. All of them were glad they came out to see this. They all ran down out of the stands and surrounded Grantaire. For once, he allowed him all to hug him tightly. "Thanks for coming," he whispered from the center of the hug.