Olympics AU!
"… and I—I know there won't be hard feelings—or rather, malicious feelings—I suppose it's a "hard" feeling regardless… ridiculous phrase… but James, you must know that I—"
"I won't be competing against you, Will."
"Pardon?"
"I'm not going into men's figure skating."
"Not going into—?" It was ridiculous. Unthinkable. Both Jem and Will had lived and breathed the ice since they were wobbling six-year-olds. Granted, Will's first love might have been books, but there just wasn't as much opportunity to preen in public in becoming a librarian.
"Not for me, Jem. Don't just drop your Olympic dreams because I also—"
"I'm not."
"What?"
Jem glanced at him then, and it was only in that moment that Will realized that Jem's attention had been half-elsewhere, looking out onto the neighboring rink, where that GIRL practiced. (Everybody knew that one by now, the one that had hit him over the head with the stupid office-sized water jug.)
She performed an exacting triple salchow. And looked so PLEASED about it. Will snorted. He never allowed that sort of thing until he'd finished an entire performance. And he never made it so saccharinely genuine.
"She skates like a duck."
"I LIKE ducks. And I like her. I'm doing pairs, Will. I've asked, and she's agreed to be my partner, so I'm going to skate with her…"
Don't be jealous. Don't be jealous. Don't be jealous. Will took a swig of his gatorade. As visceral as the thought was, it disturbed Will to realize that he wasn't simply envious of Tessa Gray, who was now guaranteed to monopolize all of his best friend's time, but of Jem who was going to be skating with the loveliest—
"… and then I'm going to marry her."
Will spit his gatorade.
He ruined his new sweatpants.
And he would have ruined Jem's too, but fellow had already waltzed off in the lady's direction.