The sight of my twin sister competing both warmed my heart and sent ice cold daggers into my whole body.

We had been together their whole lives, never once did I think that she would not want to stand by my side. I knew she had watched him skate, and she knew I would be there to watch her, but this time it was different. We would no longer be in the coaches box, no longer hovering waiting for the other to leave the rink to hug their twin. This time they would finally each be their own person.

Earlier the twins had agreed to go to a club with Emil if anything it was just a chance for me to distract myself from the empty space I felt by my side. After we all finished their competitions the 4 of them, Emil, Sara, Mila and myself. Emil had heard about a little club near the hotel we all had rooms at and had chosen that as tonight's destination, which was usually how it went, Emil would find some unique place and we would all follow.

The short walk only held silence from the two of us. Emil did all the talking, talking about the people he saw who came to see the performances today, virtually everything on his mind. His nonstop talking almost distracted me from my current situation, but it never really left.

Usually, during these outings, we would all stay close together and next to the bar, the girls sometimes dragging us dancing to try and celebrate a win or cheer up after a loss. This time though there was a certain separation between the siblings that they all could feel. This void brought Mila and Emil to split us up as soon as we all entered the small but crowded club. Our two groups ended up on opposite ends of the long bar, and while this was not a large club it was big enough to have two bartenders, and it was almost as if we were in completely separate clubs.

Emil was a good friend. Despite us being opponents on the ice we have always been able to connect and he was always willing to talk and we soon became friends after connecting through the sport. He did his best to distract me with conversation, talking balustrade the music, the different drinks, anything that came to his mind.

Suddenly he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from my drink at the bar. A song came on with a since smooth beat and ok lyrics, a rarity in a club like this, and he grinned slightly down at me.

"'I don't care if you are going to be mopey. I want you to enjoy this. Just one dance ok? It will be fun!" We made our way onto the floor with the many other people there and began to dance. We simply moved to the music, smiling and laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation we were in, a crowded club in a place unknown to us, with our friends separated from us and we were simply dancing and having fun. The world seemed to melt away for a bit and I finally felt at peace for a bit.

I saw my sister having fun across the room with Mila, they were hanging out with a group they had met while we were separated, two guys and two girls, similar to how our group used to be. I felt a pang in my chest as the song ended I ducked away from Emil and headed for the door.

Emil caught up to me once we had made it outside and grabbed my arm yet again.

"Hey buddy, you need to talk about what you are thinking!" I turned and met his eyes, seeing genuine concern from a friend. "I know it must be hard to let her go, but you can't hold onto her forever. I know little about siblings, and even less about romance-"

"Wait! Hold up there! Where did romance come from? This is nothing like that! I don't even like girls, much le-" the bright red color that had appeared when he had started this conversation was not gone from my face. I instantly shut up, turned back towards the way I was walking on the sidewalk, and headed towards the hotel quickening my pace. 'Shit. Shit shit shit. Now what is he going to do?' I probably just lost the only friend I had left.

"Mickey? where are you going? Honestly, you don't think I of all people would care about that? If you do, you are a complete idiot after all!" He grabbed my arm again, forcing me to turn back to him. "I couldn't care less about who or what you liked! I am worried about my friend, not some guy I drag around because it is convenient!" He looked me straight in the eyes and I felt tears in my eyes stinging me and clouding my vision.

"I just feel like I am trying too hard! I held on too tight to my sister, and now look! I should have thought about how she might want a life of her own!" I looked down and away we sat on a bench in the small park we were passing. "I just cause problems to everyone." I practically spit the words out of my mouth, not even letting myself look at the person who was trying so hard to find a way to help me.

"For god's sake! If you were that much of a problem do you think I would be sitting here trying to pull your head out of the mud? Jeez! Michele! You are such a pain!" I looked up at the younger skater and wiped my face. He grinned at me and suddenly stood up. "Come on! We have to try the noodle place down the street! I heard some of the others talk about it tasting great!" He pulled me up and dragged me down the street while I cleaned my face off with the athletic jacket I was wearing. We ate so much we could barely stand, and made our way back to the hotel. We said goodnight where the hallway split in opposite directions.

I looked back at him as he walked away and smiled. Finally, I had a real friend, and I was determined to preserve this friendship.

ok! Chapter one done! A bit short I know, I'm just having some problems kicking off the story, but things should be getting longer and better soon!

thanks so much for reading, and please if you have anything you think I should fix then tell me!