A/N: Song in parenthesis by The Foreigner... again. Sorry, I just really think it's fitting. Also, this chapter is a little more mature in terms of conversations regarding romance. It's not explicit, but it discusses and suggests mature themes.

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Chapter 5- A Multitude of Perspectives (I Want to Know What Love is)

A few months into tenth grade, Josée finally knew what to make of this. She and Claude weren't dating, per se - but she knew that he liked her, and to be honest, she was fond of him too in a way that was different from the few people she was fond of.

Throughout the summer they kept in contact. When she wasn't perfecting her footwork on the ice with Jacques, she would spend time on the phone talking to him about anything. Josée found that he was pretty intelligent and offered a lot of insight into things she hadn't thought of herself. It was nice to be intellectually challenged. Her mother was aware that Josée was talking to a boy, but she was mostly happy that the boy in question wasn't Jacques.

Also that she shouldn't be stupid with boys.

She had been to his house before. As a friend, though. She liked listening to him play the oboe. She liked that he showed in interest in her ice dancing, or at least pretended to be interested, she thought. Claude tried to reassure her many times that he actually enjoyed to hear her talk about her passion, finding it "cute." Josée had gone red from embarrassment, and she realized that this maybe wasn't just a friendship.

When Claude asked her out on an official date two days ago, Josée had said yes.

And it was, well... well it was lovely. It was interesting that Claude did have this different side to him. While most saw him as snooty and arrogant, Josée saw a dedicated performer that would do anything to achieve his dreams. Admittedly, snooty and arrogant was how Josée saw him at first. All it took was a simple conversation to realize otherwise. It was obvious that he understood her. She was similar in a sense. He was chivalrous. Admittedly, Josée felt she would be lying if she said he wasn't decent to look at.

Claude even walked her home. Josée wasn't sure about how this whole "dating" thing worked, but Alice told her that a gentleman always pays for the first date, and that he was supposed to walk you home. Alice said if he failed to do either of those things, she should drop him "like last month's shoes." But he didn't fail to do those things.

"Today was really nice," Josée said, and she meant it. She smiled at him. "I had a really fun time."

"Merci, so did I," Claude agreed, smiling back. He leaned in a little closer. Josée could see his eyes sparkling, and suddenly time stopped for a moment... not necessarily in a good way. Her heart beat fast... again, not necessarily in a good way. It was because she remembered the next part Alice said; there was supposed to be a kiss.

Josée had never had her first kiss. Although in ice dancing it was common for partners to kiss in performances - Liv and Leo would - Isaac said that Josée and Jacques would never have to do that because he didn't want them to cross a boundary they weren't comfortable with.

Not that she ever thought about kissing Jacques, of course.

...Oh, why was she thinking about Jacques? Claude was right there showing all the signs Alice talking about that he was about to kiss her!

Claude gently cupped Josée's face, lifting it slightly so she was at his height - she was a little shorter than him - and slowly closed the gap between their lips. Josée's eyes were open for a split second in surprise, but closed them as she tried to feel the kiss. The first thing Josée felt was that his lips were warm and moist. Then she felt Claude's hand gradually go from her face to her shoulder. She wondered if she was supposed to do the same and put her hand on his shoulder. From her cue, Claude put his hand on the back of her head to bring her closer into it. After what seemed like an eternity to Josée - what was really seven seconds - she pulled away to breathe, and assessed this.

Josée looked at him, she really looked at him and tried to assess the kiss that took place. Alice told her that she was supposed to feel like the earth was shattering... in a positive way. She was supposed to feel like there was a spark awakened in her. It was the feeling of losing your "kissing virginity" as she put it. She did not feel a "spark" per se, but she did want to know more. She did want to spend more time with him, but... it wasn't a "spark." She definitely liked it though, it felt nice in a sense where it was warm - but it wasn't a spark and she didn't get those "butterflies." Nonetheless, she was happy that Claude was with her.

Jacques and Nathaniel were passionately kissing on the latter's bed. His parents were out of town, and Nathaniel suggested in a "flirty manner" that he should stay the night. Jacques agreed, and texted his parents that he was staying over at a female dancer's house to go over a routine for them - a deliberate lie that he knew his parents would buy for two reasons. The first was that his mama knew that he wouldn't bed a girl, the second was that his papa hoped he would bed a girl. It was a win-win situation.

Jacques' back was against the bed while Nathaniel had crawled on top of him while their lips were intertwined. Jacques' hands were on Nathaniel's hips as the latter leaned in closer with his arms wrapped around Jacques' neck. God, Jacques' heart swelled. There was almost nothing more that he enjoyed in the world than kissing Nathaniel. The key word being almost. There was one specific thing in mind that enjoyed a bit more, but he brushed that aside in an instant. That's when Jacques knew he needed this.

They broke apart every few seconds to breathe, but then soon got to kissing again.

Just as Jacques started to kiss him back more, Nathaniel pulled away. "Jacques," he started off, with a serious look in his eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

Jacques' heart skipped a beat. He knew exactly what his boyfriend was referring to. They had talked about it many times but Jacques had been nervous about it; it was like that missing piece in a puzzle that he wondered all along. Because he knew that he was absolutely enthralled by Nathaniel, but he couldn't help but feel like he had something to prove to him. In order to prove that he loved him, he had to do this. Which Jacques knew was silly, because he knew that he loved him.

Stupid doubts. Obviously he loved him, and obviously this was the next step in their relationship. This had been on hold for too long, and his boyfriend knew it. There was this paranoia that Nathaniel could very well leave him tomorrow if this didn't happen, but the same thing could happen vice-versa. It felt like a double-edged sword, but when it came to something like this, it shouldn't have to be.

Jacques kissed him back, tenderly this time for a few seconds, then let go: "Oui."

Nathaniel slowly got off of him and nodded. "I'll go... um... get the-"

"Oui!" Jacques interrupted, blushing wildly. Nathaniel smiled at him, with stars in his eyes. Jacques smiled back.

The moment Josée got home, her mother was waiting for her with a disgruntled look. "So," she started off coldly. That nice feeling Josée felt immediately went away and she shut the door. "What did you do?" She was referring to the date.

Josée felt herself tense up. "Um, we just went out to dinner, maman..." She let out an uneasy smile. "It was nice. I think... I think we're dating."

She looked at her mother closely, waiting for her approval. Josée's smile disappeared when she saw her mother's expression. Her lips thinned into a fine line whenever she was thinking hard about something. After thirty seconds, Josée's mother rolled her eyes and groaned. "I don't see why you would go out with a boy when you have you're skating career to worry about. But..." She let out a sigh. "I knew this day would come. You're too innocent and would want to date a boy, but it's better than your partner."

She had spat the last part and mumbled something about Jacques being lazy, horrible, the usual things she'd say.

Josée grew oddly defensive. "Maman, Jacques is gay."

"Mm, okay sure," her mother remarked snidely. "Do not be stupid with boys, Josée," she warned once again. "The money I make goes into your skating, not for you to spread your legs for the first boy that shows an interest in you." Josée knew this was coming from a personal experience, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. She ought to have brought it up, but Josée did not want to be thrown in the cramped closet. "You have a reputation to uphold, and I will not hear about my daughter in the tabloids at fifteen for something so scandalous, so if you ever do something like that, I will set bun-bun on fire, do you understand?"

Really, really personal. This was serious. Josée knew her maman did not bluff. She nodded obediently and very quickly. "Of course, m-maman."

Josée's mother smiled approvingly at her daughter's timidness of her threat. She walked over slowly and tilted Josée's chin up aggressively. "That's wonderful, Josée," she said, in a faux-sweet tone, "You understand I only want what's best for you, non?"

Josée smiled weakly. "Of course." She always did, right? Mother knows best.

Her mother's smile - well, more like a smirk - grew wider. "And I am letting you date this boy. I could very well say no. It's a very nice thing for me to do."

It was true, Josée thought. "Yes, maman." Though she couldn't help but be a little annoyed.

Unfortunately, her mother saw right through it and sighed angrily. "Great, now I look like the bad guy, right? Even after I'm allowing you to date him."

Josée's eyes grew wide. "Non! Non... mama. I'm sorry." Mother did know best. She knew her very well to see through it. Her mother was silent, so Josée tried again: "Maman! I'm sorry. I... the press won't know I'm dating him. And I would never... never do anything like you said."

Just like that, her mother's smirk returned. "Good. You're very fragile and naive, Josée. It would really upset me if anything were to destroy your reputation and mine!" Her smirk disappeared. "Don't ever embarrass me," she hissed. "You will regret it."

Josée nodded again. "Right, maman. I'm sorry."

"Merde."

That French word that escaped Jacques' lips softly echoed throughout the room. It meant so much. He was cuddling in bed with Nathaniel, the covers over their waists with both of their shirts off in the darkness; other than the dim light beside them on the nightstand. Jacques had a gentle smile in content as he stared into his boyfriend's eyes, enjoying that Nathaniel was playing with his hair.

This was something serious. What they did was serious. It was wonderful, yes, and it did make things a little clearer, didn't it? Jacques wasn't too sure. But he knew that he liked this. He absolutely, without a doubt, liked this. Hell, he would go further to say he even loved this, even. Jacques had been with other guys before, but not like this, and they never lasted as long as he and Nathaniel were lasting.

"I love you," Jacques told his boyfriend earnestly, pressing his forehead against his.

Nathaniel gave him a soft peck on the lips. "I love you, too."

Jacques closed his eyes and smiled more.

The whispers drove her mad.

Josée couldn't get away from it today in dance class. There was nothing more in the world that she detested more than petty gossip - well, other than a medal less than gold. This sounds amusing because Josée did happen to be friends with Alice and Clara, who did nothing but gossip. Josée would tolerate it for a certain period of time before her patience would wear thin. So to hear about people being more closed off and gossipy than usual irked her and set her in a bad mood. Hell, even Jacques was involved with it. Josée couldn't help but roll her eyes; she thought he knew better.

Josée started to warmup and stretch, ignoring all the chattering in class before it started.

"Josée, I need help."

Unfortunately, Rachel had arrived with a desperate look on her face.

Josée stopped her turns and frowned at the blonde. "Rachel, I told you your fouetté turns are improving. You don't need my help."

"No, it's not about that, it's..." Rachel looked around to make sure no one else was listening, before leaning in to whisper: "I need your advice... about boys."

Josée couldn't believe her ears. "I'm sorry, you're asking me?"

Rachel laughed a little awkwardly. "Well, considering you and Claude had started going out..." Josée shouldn't have told her that, but let her continue: "I had my eyes on someone else too, but... I don't know if they would like me back."

"Rachel," Josée began honestly, "Unless that boy is gay, I'm pretty sure he would like you. You're naturally pretty."

It's also the reason why the figure skating community was starting to fall in love with Rachel. Josée didn't want to be mean, but her friend's skating was... solid... it wasn't show-stopping. What made Rachel so admired was that she was down-to-earth, brainy, and pretty - combined with the fact that others have heard about her story of being financially disadvantaged compared to other skaters. She was relatable. As awful as it sounds, these things often played a bigger role than the skating itself.

Rachel sighed wearily. "I don't know. He's very..." Josée caught Rachel eyeing the boy that she was staring at, and visibly winced. "...charming."

Josée's expression grew cold. "Viktor is not charming," she stated. "You know that he... uses right? Like the rest of them?"

This was very complicated thing that was pretty well known within the dance program at their school. It was likely their dance teachers knew, but looked the other direction. Unfortunately, many of the dancers would use uppers to stay active and alert throughout the day - some orally, some snorted - so they could dance better. Josée, Jacques, and Rachel were probably the only ones that didn't partake in the habit for few reasons. One was that they had to be smarter than that. The second happened to be was that they were likely to be drug-tested since they're going into a career for skating - something which surprised Josée about Rachel, because the blonde was so smart she could be anything she wanted. Still, Josée admired Rachel for sticking to her passion, even though she had the brain to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a rocket scientist.

However, Rachel wasn't smart enough to see that dating Viktor would be a terrible idea, and Josée told her so. "Specifically, the drug that-"

"Yes, I know Josée. The drug that killed my mom. Thank you," Rachel cut in, rolling her eyes. "That doesn't mean I can't find him attractive. We've been talking a lot lately..."

"Find who attractive?" Josée and Rachel turned around to see Jacques had arrived.

Rachel smiled. "Jacques! Maybe you can help."

Jacques blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Viktor. It's about Viktor. You're friends with him, right?"

Jacques winced a little. "Oui, but... he's ah... not exactly dating material." Josée wasn't really paying attention to the advice he was giving Rachel. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the other dancers looking at them while they whispered. Once they met Josée's eyes, they looked away. However, they kept on talking. There were several pieces of the conversation that she picked up from earlier today, but it was entirely too vague.

"...So just be careful, okay?" Jacques finished.

"Jacques," Josée interrupted, frowning as she leveled a glare with the girls. "Do you know what everyone's whispering about?"

Jacques' face faltered and grew uncomfortable. "Um, no... Josée. Don't worry about it."

Josée nearly gasped. "Are they talking about me?" she hissed fiercely in hushed tone.

Jacques' eyes grew wide. "N-non! Josée-"

"What did I do this time?" Josée cut in like Jacques hadn't answered her. "I tried being nicer this year. I've even given the ninth graders some tips that no one ever gave me when I was a ninth grader-"

"You never needed it, chouchou. You are the best," Jacques tried to reassure. Josée narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously; she knew that he was hiding something. Was he trying to spare her feelings? Thinking that she was some baby that couldn't handle it? "Josée, I mean it. It's not about you."

Josée crossed her arms. "Then who is it about?"

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because people were staring at me." Jacques bit his lower lip as his partner went on, "That means people are talking about you."

"Um..." Rachel interrupted the bickering between the ice dancers. "If it helps," she started, "I didn't hear anyone talk about you Josée."

Josée's patience was wearing thin. "Then who is it about?"

Rachel felt Jacques' threatening glare on her. "Someone in theatre..." she fibbed easily. Josée furrowed her brows in confusion. Rachel cleared her throat and gathered the courage to continue with the lie, "Yes! Someone in theatre... I think a twelfth grader... she's pregnant. I'm not... I'm not sure who it is, though."

Just as Josée thought. Some mindless, stupid, petty drama that wouldn't mean anything years from now. To be fair, she wasn't surprised that it was in the theatre department, they were practically known for drama. But still she shouldn't have been too surprised, in their performing arts school, when didn't they have drama? Admittedly, Josée didn't like to gossip with anyone except Jacques and maybe Rachel since she was relatively sane compared to everyone else.

Still, Josée couldn't help but think something seemed... off. The rest of dance class continued with the same whispers, and there was only so much Josée could take.

It went on and on.

All of it.

It continued to drive Josée mad.

Even though Rachel insisted that it had to do with a theatre girl getting pregnant, Josée didn't think it was that huge of a deal. It sounded surprising, but in their high school it was not. First off, there were very few things that made Josée blush wildly, but one of those few things that happened to be was how open some people were when it came to talking about sex. Alice happened to be one of them. It was nothing personal against Alice of course, but Josée didn't understood the culture behind it all. Alice told her it was all in good fun. Josée didn't understand how someone could have fun with all the risks, such as pregnancy, but it wasn't her life.

Besides, there were certain words that Josée made out that didn't seem to correlate with whatever the story was. While Josée was used to getting stared at, this was a little strange since it was in school. Whenever people did stare at her it was out of annoyance, but now it was out of curiosity, even. Admittedly, Josée felt like Rachel had lied to her to spare her feelings. After all, she had done that for Rachel a few times in the past.

During lunch, it only seemed to get worse. She spotted Clara and Rachel already sitting at their usual table and joined them. Clara merely stared at Josée while Rachel looked hesitant to even look at her. Josée couldn't take it anymore. "What is it?"

Clara blinked slowly at the ice dancer. "Like you don't - ow!" Rachel smiled awkwardly while Clara winced like Rachel had kicked her under the table.

"The girl in theatre that's pregnant," Rachel hissed, sending Clara a look.

She seemed to have caught on. "Oh right..." she said lamely, rolling her eyes. "Not surprised. She is in theatre. They're all sleeping with each other." Josée didn't reply and opted to take small bites of her lunch instead. As Clara and Rachel had a conversation for about five minutes, Alice had eventually arrived with a bright smile on her face.

"I'm going to try something new," she declared, taking her seat beside Clara.

Clara mock-gasped. "Monogamy?"

Josée frowned. Just because she didn't understand about the culture behind having sex doesn't mean she agreed with the shaming.

Alice scowled at her best friend. "You're evil. You know that?" Clara didn't answer. Alice went on, "I'm either going to dye my hair blonde or brown. It's the only way to get into the industry since we redheads are the minority." Josée slowly looked up from her food to stare at Alice, trying to process the stupidity of that statement. "It's awful."

The table stared at her.

Josée couldn't believe her ears. "Um, Alice," she began, still in utter disbelief. "I really don't think you're in the minority."

Alice's face lit up when she saw Josée. "Oh! Josée. Just the person I wanted to see." The redhead grinned at her. It made Josée uneasy. She nudged her with her shoulder. "So! What do you think of the news? It's pretty exciting, isn't it?" Clara and Rachel exchanged a wide-eyed look that alarmed Josée. "I mean... wow! And it's about time, too."

"She's talking about that theatre girl's pregnancy!" Rachel cut in, smiling and laughing awkwardly.

Alice's eyes grew wide. "There's a theatre girl that's pregnant?" Rachel and Clara glared at Alice. She laughed a bit. "I bet it's that bitch Wendy. That's what she gets for saying I sounded bad during those acting classes we take together." Josée didn't know exactly who Wendy was, nor did she care. "She can hardly sing."

Wait... wait a second. If Alice didn't know about this, then what was she talking about before?

"That is the news, Alice..." Clara said, through clenched teeth with a glare that could cut through glass. "That's it. The thing everyone's been talking about. The only thing."

Alice rolled her eyes in amusement, stared at Josée, and then back at Rachel and Clara. "Oh, so that's what you told her?" Josée froze in realization just for a moment. Then, she looked over to Rachel and Clara that looked very sheepish. "Come on, guys. You're keeping that a secret from her? It's her partner. I thought she'd be the first to know!" Josée's heart skipped a beat. So this wasn't about her, it was about Jacques. Wait... but what wouldn't Jacques tell her?

"Wh-what?" Josée stammered uneasily. "What do you mean?"

Then, Alice leaned in closer and said: "It's about Nathaniel and Jacques. The rumors are spreading like wildfire. You didn't hear? Jacques isn't a virgin anymore."

It took a several seconds for the words to sink in.

Josée... didn't know what to think of this rumor. It probably was a rumor. Jacques would tell her something like that, wouldn't he? Even if she didn't understand romance, Jacques would gush to her constantly about Nathaniel, even when she didn't care for it all. Sure, something like that was personal, but...

"I'm surprised he didn't tell you," Clara said honestly.

Exactly. She had a point. They were partners... they were best friends, they... they told each other everything, no?

"...He didn't," Josée admitted. Maybe this was one of those things that best friends of the opposite sex didn't tell each other? Josée was more bothered by this than she thought she would be. But there was the possibility of this being a rumor and that Jacques would tell her something like this if it were true.

Before anyone else could talk, someone else approached the table.

Rachel let out a smile. "Hi Viktor."

Viktor smirked. "Rachel! Happy to see you here." He didn't acknowledge the other girls at the table. His eyes were on her. "I was wondering if you'd like to sit with me today?"

Rachel's eyes gleamed with hope. "Really?" Josée could tell that the blonde was resisting the urge to squeal. Viktor held his hand out for Rachel to take, which she of course took. She giggled as they held hands and sat down at an empty table. Despite not liking Viktor, Josée allowed a tiny smile at her friend's obvious happiness. For a second she did forget about the Jacques rumor. Only for a second, however.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't!" Alice called out to the pair.

Clara raised an eyebrow. "What wouldn't you do?"

"Good point," Alice allowed, then turned to Josée. "How old is Jacques?"

"He turned seventeen in February," Josée answered. "Why?"

"Geez, what took him so long?" Alice asked in disbelief.

Josée didn't understand. "What?"

"Josée, don't be blind. Everyone's having sex."

The ice dancer crossed her arms. "I'm not having sex."

"Well..." began Clara, frowning. "That's just you. But you're dating Claude, so that'll change soon."

For some reason, Josée wasn't too sure on that. "I don't understand why it's a big deal. Don't I need that... thing that Alice talks about... in order to do it?"

Alice thought about it. "Well not always. Are you attracted to him? Like... would you mind doing things with him?" Josée felt heat rise on her cheeks; giving Alice her answer. Alice smiled and nodded. "Ooh, that's so cute!"

"I mean I could, but... I feel like I would have to feel that thing you always go on about."

"Ah, I see," Alice said knowingly, then: "You need the spark." She went onto explain further, "Your whole world is supposed to change. It feels like you're on fire... you get all googly eyed when that spark is ignited, you feel it in your bones and your stomach... god, it's so amazing."

"To be fair," Clara pointed out, "Alice feels that with every boy she comes into contact with."

"Oh shut up."

Speaking of the spark - that Josée was allegedly supposed to have with a significant other - Claude showed up at their table. Josée wasn't sure what exactly happened now. Claude had explained yesterday night over the phone that they were an item now, which she liked, but... she never had a boyfriend before, and she was utterly clueless. "Allo, Josée." Claude gave her a kiss on top of her head, which she smiled a little at. He politely greeted her other two friends. "What's going on?"

"We were just talking about se - ow!" Clara grabbed her leg that had now been kicked twice. "Oh wow... now you decide you don't want to talk about it? What a day."

Claude looked to Josée for an explanation, but she just sighed. "Nothing, um... Girl talk."

"Oh," was her... boyfriend's response. Josée realized that she would have to start getting used to calling him that.

"Congratulations to you both," Alice said sweetly. Josée felt Claude put an arm over her shoulders. This seemed like a normal couple-y thing to do. Josée couldn't help but look around to see if anyone was staring at her. "I'm sure the date was wonderful. I remember the last date I was on. It was terrible. This guy wasn't chivalrous at all, then he called me easy, so I spat on his shoes."

Claude blinked slowly while Josée facepalmed.

Clara's eyes twinkled - a rare occurrence. "So you're in orchestra and band right?" Claude grinned a little and nodded. "That's really cool. Most of the people in orchestra and band are the ugly ducklings. I never thought Josée would ever date a musician."

This caught Josée's attention. "Who would you expect me to date?"

"Ja - hey!" This time, Clara had kicked Alice under the table before she could answer. "Sheesh, I get it." Then she faced Claude. "Be nice to Josée," Alice warned lightly. "She's never had a boyfriend before, so she has absolutely no experience - oh stop glaring at me, Josée. I'm trying to help you."

Josée's face was bright red from embarrassment. Claude kissed her temple. This did not help her redness go away, but she appreciated the sentiment. "It's okay, there's nothing wrong with that," he reassured. Josée pressed her lips together but didn't say anything. She did feel her cheeks get less hot though. Truthfully, her mind was still on the whole 'Jacques-situation' more than her getting a new boyfriend. It bothered her more than it should. Then, Josée decided, that she would ask Jacques about the rumor later.

For the rest of lunch, Josée leaned into Claude's touch as they talked, because that's what girlfriends were supposed to do, right?

Josée wasn't going to ask right away. Although she considered herself to be a blunt person compared to others, this was something she just couldn't be blunt with. Besides, what would maman think if she was asking such a question? These things were personal. She didn't really care about Jacques' love life, all that mattered was that he knew how to carry her across the ice and to the gold. But when she heard that most of the school heard such a rumor way before her, coupled with the fact that Rachel and Clara tried to hide it peaked her curiosity, and she had to get to the bottom of it.

...She insisted that it had to do with their performances. Jacques couldn't get too attached, because what if something happened and he was left a blubbering mess unable to lift her, carry her, and twirl her around? Then what? They wouldn't be able to get gold, and her maman would take it out on her. It wouldn't even be her fault, it would be her stupid partner's fault.

On the other hand, Josée thought, this could very well happen to her now that she and Claude were dating. She liked to think that she wouldn't do such a thing of getting too romantically involved with someone, but her maman did show a level of concern when it came to her dating. Mother did know best. She contemplated whether or not she should continue this before it got too serious. But... maybe she wanted this to become serious? Maybe have something outside of ice dance-

Josée stopped that horrid thought immediately. She almost wanted to slap herself for thinking that anything or anyone could be worth more than ice dancing, worth more than gold. Guilt welled up in her; maman would be ashamed of her, and rightfully so. Her maman did warn her about ruining her reputation.

"Josée, are you alright?" Josée shook out of her thoughts in the locker room and stared at Jacques, who was watching her with concern. "You ah... you had been staring at your skates for two minutes without putting them on."

Josée blinked rapidly and put her skates on quickly. "Right, sorry. I'm just thinking about-"

"Your boyfriend?" Well, he wasn't partially wrong about that. Jacques gave her a teasing smile. "I told you that you-"

"Oh shut up," Josée said, but it was playful. "I'll... I'll tell you after practice, okay? We have a competition to win next week."

Jacques raised a curious eyebrow, wanting to press about it, but decided that she looked too uncomfortable to talk about it now. "Of course, chouchou."

Unfortunately when Josée and Jacques got to the rink, they saw the last two people that they ever wanted to see. Leo and Liv were practicing a routine, no doubt the one that was set up to go against Josée and Jacques for the Senior Competition next February, which the duo was finally eligible for this year. They did compete against Leo and Liv before nationally, and sadly took more losses up against them rather than wins, but it was usually by a few points. Josée remembered the hours spent in the closet due to failing to get gold. She did not mean to be a sore loser (at least, not yet) but she suspected politics played a big role in it. Because while Leo and Liv were probably the better skaters technically, their status as Canada's sweethearts in figure skating was at its peak and would always appeal to the judges.

Josée and Jacques, despite their ages, were still seen as "cute."

"Hello!?" Liv shouted, snapping her fingers in front of Josée's face. Josée nearly gasped and stared at Liv, who turned to Jacques. "Is your partner brain-dead or something?"

Josée, who had gotten lost in her thoughts again, finally remembered where she was and groaned. "I'm not brain-dead," she snapped.

"If you didn't hear us," Leo began icily, "We're practicing our routine. We don't want you bothering us."

"Well we need to practice too!" Josée growled angrily.

"Tough."

"Hold on," Jacques interjected, sarcasm oozing from his tone. "We can do this thing... called... splitting the rink. Josée and I get one side, and you both get the other?"

Leo and Liv seemed to think about it for a moment. Liv sighed irritably. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly, but then she smirked. "Maybe I'll accidentally skate so close to you that my blade will rip right through your shin."

Jacques' expression grew cold. "Don't. We're trying to stay..."

"...in your own lane," Leo cut in, rolling his eyes. "Yes. We get it. Sweet angelic ice dancers that don't want any trouble." Leo said the last part in a mocking condescending tone.

For the next thirty minutes, Josée and Jacques made sure to stay as far away as possible from Leo and Liv. When it came to sabotage, they didn't bluff. Josée and Jacques' paranoia grew considerably as time went to the point where they had trouble focusing on their own routine. They could feel Leo and Liv's judgmental eyes on them. Josée obviously knew that it was some mind game, they were clever like that, but she couldn't help the eerie feeling. She could only imagine what Jacques was feeling. She wanted to yell at him to suck it up, but that would only provide more entertainment to the older ice dancers.

"Jacques," Josée said quietly, after managing to get through their routine. "Do you want to go take a walk somewhere?" To say Jacques was surprised would be an understatement. It was very rare that Josée would cut practice short. "We can come back after they leave."

But Jacques did feel more relieved, so he wasn't going to complain. "O-Oui. Sure."

Josée took his hand and dragged him to the locker room. So Leo and Liv may have won for now, at least. But maybe this was the best time to ask, when they were alone walking somewhere. Sure, there was the risk of running into the paparazzi and the press, but it was snowing lightly outside and it was unlikely they'd be seen. Besides, there was a secluded place Josée knew where to go that none of them would find. There was a frozen lake ten minutes away from the rink with a small bench. Josée and Jacques would practice there if it wasn't too small, but would frequently go there to hide away from the paparazzi.

It was quiet and contemplative on the way there, not too awkward, but not as comfortable as silence could be between them, like it usually was. It's like Jacques knew that Josée knew something about him, and that there was a giant elephant in the room. It's just... Josée didn't know why something like this would bother her. She liked to separate his love life from his skating, because the latter was her business, not the former.

"Er..." Jacques spoke up, still walking. "How are you doing?"

Beat.

"I'm fine," Josée replied curtly, tucking a stray of hair behind her ear. "I'm just thinking about today and all, I've heard something interesting." She met his eyes, which were filled with guilt. Josée frowned, not because of the rumor itself, but because he looked so guilty about it. Why would he keep this from her? Hell, why would he act guilty in the first place? Josée cleared her throat. She promised that she wouldn't get to it right away. "You and Nathaniel are really happy together," she noted.

Jacques was visibly uncomfortable. "Oui." A pause, then: "Is that it? What did you hear, Josée?"

Josée hesitated. Now what? What could she possibly say? She was wondering why the hell she opened up this clearly awkward conversation. "Well, you know that these are just rumors. It's all petty. Most of them end up being untrue." Jacques nodded slowly, unsure of where she was going with this. "So I wouldn't be surprised if it was."

They arrived at the spot at the frozen lake. Josée brushed the snow off the bench and sat down with Jacques.

"It's probably not true," Josée mumbled, mainly to herself. "I think I would hear about it first..." she laughed nervously. "I mean, obviously I'd like to think-"

"Josée," Jacques cut in, frowning. Josée stopped rambling and stared at him. "Not to ah... stop your train of thought, but can you say it?" He knew what was coming. Jacques watched as Josée shook the snow that fell into her hair. She was even graceful doing something simple as that.

"I've heard that you and Nathaniel were..." Josée bit her lower lip, breaking eye contact with her partner. "...intimate."

The silence was loud.

"Uh..." Although Jacques expected this rumor to catch up with Josée, he did not expect her to actually say it. "I've heard that has been going around too. It starts with people in theatre, it always does."

Josée laughed a bit, a little less uncomfortable. "I agree. Leeches." Jacques gave her small awkward smile. They both stopped after a while when they realized what the context of the rumor was. "So, is it true?"

More silence followed.

"Chouchou, I don't get why you're so concerned about this. You've never cared about drama, relationships, and things like that-"

"I don't," Josée cut in, a bit too defensively. "But the whole school knows about the rumor but me, and I'm wondering why that is."

"For that reason," Jacques argued. "I didn't want you to stress over it."

Josée frowned. "That makes no sense at all. We're partners, we..." She let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't understand any of this."

"...Which is why I didn't want to tell you."

"You still didn't answer my question," Josée pointed out knowingly. She knew avoidance when she heard it, especially if it was from Jacques. "Is it true?"

"Okay, okay! Yes. There. It's true," Jacques finally answered. "I have. Happy now?"

Beat.

Josée's expression was unreadable. "Cool," she stated evenly.

Jacques blinked slowly. "Cool?"

"How else am I supposed to react?"

"Alright, now it's my turn."

Josée sat up a little straighter and looked at her partner curiously. "Your turn? This isn't twenty questions."

"You opened this up, chouchou," Jacques teased. "It's only fair. It's a best friends rule."

"It's a best friends rule," Josée retorted in a mocking tone, rolling her eyes. But it was playful. "There's hardly anything about me that you don't know."

"You and Claude have been comfortable lately."

Josée snorted and turned away. "That's different."

"How is it different?"

"We've only been together for two days!"

"Ah, but you've been talking for months!"

Josée sighed. "Still... I wouldn't say I'm in love or something. Alice talks about that a lot, love and romance... which I don't get. I'm just not ready for anything major or serious at the moment." Her eyes softened a bit. "But I get Claude, that's the thing. He's smart and all... sort of handsome too." Jacques shifted uncomfortably. "He's nice, and he understands that I have to put ice dancing first... he's the same way. It... It feels like having another friend, for some reason, or like some extension of a friendship. Our careers and passions come first, and most couples don't understand that. I think that's how we could work, because we don't need to be together twenty-four seven like others... but..." Josée ran a distressed hand through her hair. "According to Alice that's not how it's supposed to be."

Jacques hummed to himself. "Mm, I'm not too sure if she's right about that."

"What about you?" Josée countered. "Don't you love Nathaniel?"

For some reason, this took Jacques a little longer to answer than usual. "Oui. And I... And I realized that after we were... together." He paused, considering his words: "He said that I was definitely gay."

Josée frowned confusedly. "I thought you already knew that?"

"I did. It's just..." Jacques hesitated, "I was probably ah... thinking of something... but Nathaniel told me I was."

"Jacques," Josée started, "Do you think you're gay?"

"What do you mean? I must be. I've only been with men." Jacques was wondering why they were talking about this.

"I'm not denying that you like men," Josée told him. "I'm saying that you're saying Nathaniel is telling you these things, but shouldn't you be the one to decide that or not? I mean, Alice has been with boys that have dated boys and girls-"

"That's because they're in the closet," Jacques cut in, unusually cold as he echoed his boyfriend's words from months ago. "Since when do you listen to Alice for everything?"

Josée froze at the iciness of his tone. "I'm... I'm just saying. I don't know much about this stuff, we hardly talk about these things..."

"You're right, Josée. You don't know about this."

The female ice dancer looked down at the concrete below her feet. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

Jacques shook his head and sighed. "No, chouchou. I'm sorry. I think I'm gay. No, I'm positive that I'm gay."

Josée couldn't help but feel like he was hiding something, but chose not to address it. She remembered when Jacques came out to her when she was twelve, and she didn't think much of it. As long as he could carry her across the ice she couldn't care less about his love life. He had been so confident that he was gay then, but now he thought he was? And sure, later he said that he was positive that he was... but... oh hell, this was way too complicated. She knew he had to figure this out on his own.

Josée saw him have a slightly distressed look. Frowning, she scooted closer to Jacques and rested her head on his shoulder. "Jacques," she began, "No matter what you are, you know you're still my best friend, right?" She knew she ought to tell him that more often; guilt welled up inside of her.

In response, Jacques rested his cheek on top of her head. "Of course, chouchou."