A/N: Thank you to Kitkatkatester for the favorite :D

Enjoy!

Several days inched Jo closer to her event. Jogging every morning and afternoon, she felt a buzz she never had before as she witnessed the start of the Games from an inside view. Athletes came and went, chattering with excitement or keeling over exhausted.

She and Sky didn't reconnect after the time at the restaurant. She had no reason to, really. Sky probably wanted to focus on her event or events, whenever that/those was happening, and what was there to connect over?

Nothing.

Nothing… and everything.

Jo wouldn't admit it, though.

At one point she was obligated to join a recording of a team interview for TV that had her sitting in the back row in her Team Canada regalia while the captain yapped at the interviewer, a well known Canadian sports journalist. It amused her to see her teammates that were less used to cameras shoved in their faces squirming uncomfortably in their seats.

"Man, I can't wait til we get the real athletes in here! Like the football players! Or is it soccer, or do they play both here?"

A voice she hadn't let herself hear in years came from behind the large array of recording equipment in the room. Somehow she heard it loud and clear from where she sat.

"Cut!" the guy in charge yelled out. He turned towards the owner of the voice. "No talking during interviews, please, I know it's your first time on a big shoot, but keep it to yourself."

"Sha-whoops, my bad! Lightning got excited, director man, I'll be quiet!"

You've gotta be fucking kidding me.

"Let's start over on that last question," the director said with a sigh.

An agonizing twenty minutes later, Jo was finally able to get up and stretch her legs. She hadn't had the chance to after her morning run that day and was feeling a bit sore. This was not helped by the fact that he was in the same room as her.

"Okay, now we'll take five, then do individual interviews, no more than a few questions each. We'll bring you back in one by one."

Jo began to leave the room with the rest of her team, lagging behind as she waited for space to move off the small bleachers they were sat on.

"No way! That who I think it is?"

Jo felt her fists curl up instinctively.

"Oh I know that face anywhere!"

She hopped down off the bleachers and made for the room the rest of her teammates were heading towards.

She thought she'd escaped, but a strong hand on her shoulder proved otherwise. She wrenched it off. "Hands off the merchandise, Brightning, this shit was expensive!" she warned with a frown.

"Jo, my man! Or, wait, no, I remember, you're still not a guy, right?" Lightning smacked his own head. "Duh, you're sittin' with the girls team!" His bright white hair had grown up rather than out, still retaining that thunderstruck bleached tone all over. "Old habits die hard, sha-feel me?" He laughed.

At least one thing got through that thick skull. "Don't fucking act like we're suddenly cool," she snapped at him, pushing him to the point that he stumbled a little. "You never returned my texts after that stupid group therapy bullshit."

Lightning regained his footing quickly and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Hey, I'm just being friendly in front of sha-boss man over there. And I didn't text you 'cause you didn't come to my championship game like you said you would," he countered, crossing his arms.

"Oh please, you really expected me to fly to America for that? I was balls-deep in training for the biggest run of my life back then. And that was on top of school and shit like that. I didn't have the time or the money to go see your little game." Jo crossed her own arms. "That was what, last year? Two years ago? Still holding a grudge, huh, you were always good for that shit."

"Sha-whatever, I should've expected you to break ya promise anyway. You've stabbed my back so many times…I lost count after two!"

"You of all people know why I did those things, you brick-wall headed jock."

The two glared at each other intensely for several seconds.

Lightning was the first to burst out laughing again. "You haven't changed a bit! Always tryin' to one up me. If being a sha-lympian isn't enough for you, what will be?" He offered his hand for her to high five. "I missed your stubborn ass."

Jo hesitantly high fived him, leading to a brief handshake standoff that she opted out of, not in the best position to crush his hand with her iron grip when she most certainly could have. There were still people around.

"I've gotta get back to sha-working. I'd better hear from you before your event so I can sneak in and watch it live. I am not missing a chance to see you compete again," Lightning said with a final wave before jogging back to the main filming room.

"…sure, totally," Jo replied half-heartedly. She was confused by his behavior and completely oblivious to the fact that the entire exchange was recorded.

She turned and headed to where she would wait for her interview, lazily watching the TV that showed the recapped qualifying rounds for women's gymnastics in complete silence.

"Huh. Short stack made it to finals."