A/N: Song in parenthesis by The Faders.

I wanted to address the last scene in particular regarding Josee and Jacques' conversation because I saw someone question it and rightfully so. It was my intention for it to come across as strange. Even though Josee and Jacques are best friends, they are still friends of the opposite sex, and since Josee isn't very socially aware compared to Jacques, she doesn't really understand that conversations like that normally don't happen.

My intention was to emphasis that delicate discussions, such as sex, can be awkward between two best friends of the opposite sex, even though Jacques currently identifies as gay. Jacques does question himself a lot throughout the story, but he doesn't really identify as bisexual until MUCH later. But I can see where others might be conflicted on Jacques doubting his sexuality this early on in the story, but it's something he has frequently done. Also, something like sex is different for everyone, it's not a universal experience of the same exact feeling. It's a personal thing that people don't usually talk about.

Thank you for your reviews! Here's chapter 6, which will hopefully explain more about these topics and why exactly it will take so long for Jacques to realize he's bisexual, and that involves some prejudice/biphobia. Some of the language in the story as you'll soon see, with the way the characters talk, is meant to make you a little uncomfortable.

Chapter 6- A Chain of Dilemmas (No Sleep Tonight)

"Josée," her mother started, through gritted teeth. She slammed the house door open and pointed to it. "Get the hell inside. Right now." Josée knew better than to argue. She blinked back the tears threatening to form and walked inside. Josée's mother slammed the door shut at once behind them. "That was atrocious, Josée. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. That had to be one of the worst times you've skated."

"It... it wasn't my fault, maman... I didn't know that-"

"Nothing's ever your fault, is it?!" Josée's mother cut in shouting, her voice echoing throughout the house. Josée unconsciously rubbed the rabbit's foot in her pocket as her mother continued chastising her, which was a massive understatement: "It was an embarrassment. Shameful. Pathetic. And out of the goodness of my heart, I'm preparing you for the olympics, and this is how you repay me?"

Josée's eyes grew wide. "N-non! Maman, I didn't mean to-"

She gasped when her mother grabbed her forearm harshly, wincing at the harsh grip she had. Josée felt her heart stop in realization of where this was going. Her mother dragged her by the arm. "Maman, please! J-Je suis désolé... I'll do better! I'll be good, I'll be good!" But her mother did not listen. They stopped in front of that wretched small closet Josée despised. Her mother threw her inside and slammed the closet door shut. Josée heard the sound of a lock clicking. Josée frantically banged on the door. "S'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît!" She could already start to feel the walls closing in. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Maman, I'm sorry!" her voice cracked. "Let me out, please!"

"Stop crying, Josée! Are you a baby?!" Her mother began to mock callously. "You're pathetic!" Maman was right... "A pathetic, whiny baby!" Josée let the tears flow. Of course maman was right... how could she think it wasn't her fault? She was the one that was clumsy, she was... pathetic. "Because of your mistake, look what you've made me do!"

Josée whimpered, actually whimpered, and sat in the back of the closet with her knees drawn to her chest, closing her eyes. She tried to take some deep breaths, but her breath kept getting stuck between her teeth. Her breathing was getting more and more shallow. She buried her face in her knees and let out a muffled scream. Josée leaned her head back, trying to blink away tears as she attempted to breathe, but it was getting more and more difficult. It wouldn't be long until she passed out, Josée thought.

Josée hated the closet. But how else was she going to learn? It was cramped and dark, a terrible combination, for good reason. It had to toughen her up. But even after more than ten years, Josée never got used to the demons of the closet. She even tried holding bun-bun and rubbing her thumbs against it, but bun-bun could only do so much.

Josée caught herself chewing on the string holding bun-bun, something she hadn't done since she was very young. Once she caught herself, she slapped herself across the face.

What a baby.

Josée always had trouble breathing when she was upset or frustrated. Jacques' older sister Bernadette called them 'anxiety attacks' but Josée didn't like the psychology terminology she used since she was in university studying it. Besides, Josée's maman once said psychology was a sham and it was 'for the weak.' Still, Josée did appreciate the efforts of Jacques, his family, and sometimes Isaac trying to calm her down when she was frustrated. She would even welcome her boyfriend now, even though Claude wasn't at all aware of her... getting upset. She wished any of them would show up right now.

If there was a higher being, whatever it was, it was on Josée's side that night.

After spending at least thirty minutes in the closet, the door yanked open to reveal the disgruntled look of her mother. Josée stared up at her mother from the floor, her eyes wide with anticipation and fear. Her mother rolled her eyes at her daughter's position. "Oh get up. You look pitiful."

Josée obeyed immediately and stood up straight. "Wh-what-"

"Don't stammer," her mother ordered abruptly. Josée instantly quieted. "Someone's here to see you." Josée knew who it was with the way her mother muttered a series of swears about that 'lazy good-for-nothing partner' of hers. Josée followed her mother to the front to see that Jacques was there waiting with an unhappy expression. Josée's mother left and went to her room, presumably to do more business work.

Josée wiped off any traces of her tears. "Jacques, what are you doing here?"

"We broke up." Josée froze in disbelief as Jacques went on, visibly upset: "Nathaniel said his family is moving to New York, and... it was a last minute thing. He didn't have an idea about it. They're leaving tomorrow. He said he can't do a long-distance relationship, he said he was thinking about breaking up with me anyway, he-" Josée cut him off with wrapping her arms around his waist. Jacques returned the hug. "We've been together for almost a year."

"I'm sorry, Jacques," Josée said earnestly. "I'm really sorry."

When Jacques pulled away from her, he saw her unsettled expression, she was unusually shaken and staring down at the floor, like she was hiding something. He had an inkling that it didn't have to do with the recent revelation. "Josée, are you okay?" Josée accidentally sniffled a bit, revealing that she had been crying earlier. Jacques' frown deepened and gently lifted her head a little from her chin to reveal her eyes watering a bit. His tone changed to a sympathetic one instantly: "Oh chouchou, what's wrong?"

Josée shook her head. "It's nothing. You're the one that's upset. You and Nathaniel broke up, you must be-"

Jacques waved it off. "Never mind that, chouchou. What is it?" Josée stared down at her hands as her way of offering an explanation. His eyes drifted to her hands, which were slightly bruised. Jacques connected the dots and took a breath in, trying to keep his anger inside. "Your maman locked you inside the closet again, didn't she?" Josée nodded silently, sniffling again. Jacques brushed away the tear that managed to escape from her eye with his thumb. "She can't keep doing this to you, Josée."

Josée was ready to argue, "Jacques-"

"That evil, vile, wicked-"

"Jacques," Josée pressed desperately, hoping her mother wouldn't come up hearing what was being said. "You can't just say things like that, it's not true!"

Jacques bit back a sigh. He didn't find out about Josée's mother's way of punishing her daughter until a little over two years ago and swore him to secrecy. He couldn't always be there for Josée to protect her from her mother, and it pained him so. "Josée, you-"

"Is your sister working tonight?"

"Oui." Jacques knew why Josée was asking that question. "What are you going to tell your maman?"

"I'll tell her that you insist on working on this part from a routine again and that we're getting extra practice to make up for the last one." Jacques hummed to himself. Josée's mother would buy that. "I'm going to put my hoodie and glasses on."

"Do you have an extra pair of sunglasses?" Jacques called out. Of course she did. They were used to cameras in their faces, after all.

It didn't happen frequently. Josée's mother would kill her that she would step in such a seedy part of Montreal, and Jacques' mother would have a heart attack that two out of three of her children were there as well instead of one. The reasons why Josée and Jacques went there in the first place was because Bernadette worked there as a bartender, and no one would recognize them since they were out of their lush neighborhood, and that no one cared that they were figure skaters. Since both Josée and Jacques were underage, they did not care that no one cared about who they were as celebrities. Still, just in case, they were sunglasses and hoodies to disguise themselves.

Once they got inside the building, Josée and Jacques removed their sunglasses and sat down at the chatty bar.

"Hi, welcome to..." Bernadette stopped speaking upon realizing who sat in front of her. Josée and Jacques greeted her with knowing smiles. She swore that they batted their eyes as well. Bernadette rolled her eyes and groaned, "I'm going to have to see your IDs."

Josée and Jacques' smiles vanished. "Are you joking?" asked Jacques.

"I'm trying to cover your asses," Bernadette said, through a clenched smile in a hushed tone. "My boyfriend's parents who own the place are here, so just show me your IDs." Josée and Jacques exchanged a look before reaching into their pockets and handing over their IDs. Bernadette pretended to read them: "Thank you... Jocelyn and... Javier. What can I get you two today?" She handed the IDs back to them, which they put away.

"What do we usually get?" Jacques countered.

Bernadette glared at her little brother, but did pour the usual drinks they got. "Don't be cheeky. You're not getting that much." She handed both drinks over and scowled as they started to drink quickly. "With the way you both have been coming over recently, you're going to become full-blown alcoholics."

Jacques slammed the quarter-empty glass on the table. "Save your psychology nonsense for later."

Bernadette raised an eyebrow. "You realize I can cut you off at any time?"

"But I just got dumped a few hours ago," Jacques said, as he smirked. He added for good measure: "And Josée is sad. You should be giving us a discount." Josée gave her a mocking pout, making Jacques snicker and Bernadette sigh, because she did fall for that pout frequently.

"You have a tab from last week that you have yet to pay for," Bernadette reminded them. Then, she backtracked to her brother's first sentence. "You got dumped? I'm sure papa will be happy about that. I thought you'd be a blubbering mess."

"Why do you think I'm here?"

Bernadette turned to Josée to explain, "He's taking the 'papa' approach where he drinks his feelings away."

"I'm not drinking my feelings away," Jacques cut in defensively.

Bernadette ignored him and kept her eyes on his partner. "Alcoholism runs in the family, we just don't talk about it."

Josée frowned. "That doesn't sound too healthy," she said, as she took a long drink of her alcoholic beverage.

"And what about you, chouchou?" Bernadette said teasingly, grinning. Josée glared at her in disapproval. "Oh come on, I'm joking. What's wrong? Is Louise being a bitch again?"

"That's what I told her on the way here," Jacques added, taking a sip.

"My maman is not a bitch," Josée declared, her glare intensifying. "She's toughening me up. That's how parents are supposed to be. She's good at this stuff."

"Mussolini was good at that too," chirped Bernadette, earning an amused snort from Jacques. Josée did not feel the same way. Bernadette sighed and shrugged, heading for a bathroom break. This left Josée and Jacques by themselves at the bar. Their glasses were nearly done. They weren't intoxicated, per se, but perhaps a little tipsy.

"Josée, I think you've... had enough," Jacques hesitated, slowly taking the nearly finished beverage away from her. "Are you okay?"

The female ice dancer nodded slowly, her elbow propped against the table with her head in her hand. "Hmmm. Yes, I think so. I... I... almost wanted to make myself throw up in the closet, Jacjac," she admitted softly, like she was ashamed. But then, Jacques saw a twinkle in her eye, a victorious one. "But I didn't." She let out a tiny grin. "I'm happy."

In return, Jacques gave her a huge smile. "I'm so proud of you, Josée."

Josée waved it off and shook her head. "It's not a big deal."

"Oh but it is. Don't be so bashful, chouchou." Josée's grin turned into a genuine smile. She thought it was silly to be proud of something like this, but Jacques did mention that it was one step at a time. She remembered when Jacques' mother taught them about cooking and she had been nervous at first. But Josée and Jacques both wanted a healthier relationship with food, and interacting with it more while still being healthy was beneficial.

The tender moment was ruined when a new pair entered the bar. Despite the sunglasses covering their eyes, Josée and Jacques knew exactly who they were. Leo slammed his fist on the table once as a way of demanding service, earning an eye roll from Bernadette that returned from the restroom. Bernadette knew exactly what to get him and Liv, and wordlessly got their drinks, not without glaring at the two older ice dancers before walking away.

"We should go..." Jacques suggested to Josée in a whisper.

"Wait a second," Liv said, finally noticing her younger competitors. "Are you even... are you both even allowed to be in here?"

Josée and Jacques exchanged a worried look.

Liv scowled. That gave away their answer. "Whatever. We're not going to narc on you." She and Leo took a long drink while Jacques and Josée merely stared at them. Liv, in return, glared at them harshly. "Is there a problem?"

"Non! None. None at all," Jacques said right away.

"We're looking forward to you getting wiped out in the senior competition," Leo sneered at the teenagers. "Most of the top skaters in the world are going to be there, you know. This isn't a junior competition. Most of these people are in their early-to-mid twenties that will probably compete in the olympics in a few years."

"We're going to win that competition," Josée told him determinedly, for some reason letting his words hit her faster than usual. "And then we're going to the olympics and win."

Liv snorted mid-sip of her beverage, trying to keep it from going everywhere at what seemed like the absurdity of that statement. "Don't be stupid, Josée. You see, in junior competitions being 'cute' could pass. But in senior competitions, you have to be beautiful, elegant, regal. Let's face it; it's all the things that you're not."

Jacques' eyes flared at the older ice dancer when he saw Josée's jaw clench tightly. "Josée is beautiful," he declared confidently. "Inside and out. Something that you aren't."

But Liv knew that she was hitting a nerve when looking at the other female ice dancer, and kept on: "With that ugly nez crochu of yours, it's amazing how people can stand to look at you. Leo, isn't it amazing that a boy other than Jacques could stand to be around her?" Leo snickered at his female partner's taunts. Josée felt herself grow very, very hot. Her fists, along with her jaw, were now fully clenched up. Liv, however, didn't care. She really should've, though. "An ugly girl like you could never win the olympics."

Josée had enough. She abruptly stood up, walked in front of Liv, and socked the older ice dancer in the nose. The impact was so strong that Liv tumbled backward into Leo, sending them both crashing to the wall, catching the attention of the entire bar who gasped collectively. Jacques gasped and pulled Josée back before she could do any more damage. Liv groaned and clutched her bleeding nose in her hand, ushering Leo to go get a bunch of paper towels.

"Josée, why?!" Jacques pleaded desperately. "You just planted a target on our back!" Josée didn't care in the least.

Bernadette strolled in at once to see all the commotion. She facepalmed when she saw that of course her little brother and his partner was two of the involved parties. She reluctantly turned to them and said, "I need to ask you to leave. Now."

Before Jacques and Josée could, they stared at Liv who was still on the ground, holding her nose. They stared up at them with murder in their eyes. Josée, however, wasn't thinking of the potential consequences. "I hope you can afford another nose job, chienne," Josée snapped, spitting at them on the floor on her way out.

"You punched her?" Rachel asked Josée incredulously at lunch the next day after she went over the bar incident. Clara was there as well as Alice. "Wow! I didn't think you'd have it in you."

"Luckily reporters didn't see," Josée said casually, putting a light dressing on her salad.

Clara stared at Josée's bruised hand from yesterday. "Must have been a good punch. I bet it felt good, didn't it?"

Josée smirked. "Oh, you have no idea..." She took a bite of her salad, and her eyes lingered on her food. Her smirk slowly disappeared. "Jacques is mad at me over it," she confessed quietly. "We sort of had an argument on the way back."

"Why?"

"He says I planted a target on our backs," Josée explained, sighing. "The worst part... is that I'm starting to think he's right."

"Hm," Alice mused, throwing her tray away. "I'm starting to think he's right too."

"What do you mean?"

Alice laughed a little bit and put her hand on her shoulder. "Oh sweetie, you understand how it feels... I understand it too. We're the most talented ones in our year, probably out of the whole school, you definitely are in your department, even if it's only dance." Josée glared at the redhead, who backtracked. "Okay, okay. Sorry. But... you have to understand... that everyone's always going to be jealous and out to get you."

Josée blinked slowly, not understanding her friend's point. "...What?"

"Think about it," Alice stated, thus she proceeded to explain, "Everyone's so cutthroat and all, I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to poison us or something." She even let out a little giggle at the thought. "So, like, I'm always on the lookout. Someone's always looking to sabotage you."

Josée was absolutely bewildered. "I just stay in my own lane. What's your point?"

"I mean, yeah. You could stay in your own lane, but my point is... don't Leah and Larry sabotage people?"

"Leo and Liv," Josée corrected curtly. "And we steer clear of them. We don't need to sabotage anyone. Jacques and I win through hard work and determination."

Alice shrugged. "Suit yourself," she allowed. "But speaking of Jacques..." she allowed a smile. "He's available, now's your chance!"

Now Josée was really confused. "What? First of all, I'm dating Claude..."

"Well, yes, but - okay, I will never understand why you're dating Claude when Jacques is wonderful."

"And Claude is not?"

"He's... fine, I guess... but he's not Jacques."

Josée crossed her arms. "Alice, Jacques is gay." Then she paused doubtfully, remembering a conversation from a while ago, and whispered to herself: "He said he thinks."

"He thinks?" Clara asked incredulously. After listening to Alice's litany earlier about people being cutthroat, this was a lot more refreshing to listen to. Rachel and Alice stood up straighter in interest. "What do you mean?!"

The female ice dancer visibly winced. She wished she hadn't said anything; she hadn't realized she said that aloud. "I don't know. He... says that. He said that he thinks that he's gay, but then he says he's positive he is. I don't know much about this. He said he wanted to forget about it." She really, really, really wished she hadn't let that slip.

"It sounds like something he needs to deal with on his own," Rachel said. Then, she smiled when she saw her boyfriend, Viktor, walking over to her. She turned back to her friends. "I have to go now." She was positively glowing, and giggled as Viktor took her hand and they went up the stairs, presumably to one of the dance rooms.

Once they were out of earshot, Clara turned to Josée, "Can you believe that Rachel lost hers before you?"

Josée visibly groaned at the implication. "Not this again... Claude and I are taking our time, okay? He's like me... he... he doesn't like to rush into things, and neither do I." She would curse herself later for being sucked in such pettiness. Speaking of Claude, he had texted her that he was waiting for her at the library. She pocketed her phone and was ready to leave.

That was, until Alice remarked jokingly: "If it turns out Jacques likes girls, and if you don't ever kiss him, then I will."

Josée halted her steps in annoyance, and sat back down. "You're not entirely serious..."

"Do it then," Clara told Alice. "Since Josée is clearly not interested."

Suddenly, Alice's demeanor changed entirely and looked down at her tray, poking at her food. "...No, I can't do that. She said that he doesn't know, and I don't want to be the one that puts pressure on him."

"That hasn't stopped you before. You've been with guys who have been with guys," Clara pointed out.

Alice glared at her. "Not going to happen with Jacques."

"Wow," Clara said in total astonishment. "A gay guy might not be gay and likes girls and you turn him down?"

Josée really wished she hadn't opened up this conversation. It was all her fault.

"I mean, I think he definitely still likes guys," Alice said.

"Well he should pick a side already." For some reason, Clara's comment made Josée very uncomfortable.

"Maybe he doesn't have to pick a side?" Alice argued, and to prove her point: "I know a few girls in choir that are bisexual."

Clara frowned. "But those are girls. It's different for guys, I guess... I mean, most of them are pretty much gay. Who's ever heard of a guy who likes girls and guys? Also, I wouldn't date a guy who likes guys, I don't get how you do. That singer that my mom likes said he was bisexual at first but then he said he was gay, so..."

"You said so yourself, Clara," Alice told her cordially. "I've been with a few guys that like both."

Clara couldn't help but snort. "Alice, let's be honest. They probably just wanted to sleep with you because of knowing how available you are."

The silence between the three was loud.

Josée stepped in, turning to Clara after seeing Alice's hurt expression. "Why do you have to be so mean for?"

"I'm just being honest."

Alice abruptly stood up from the table, with tears in her eyes. "You know, it's just so funny when there are guys in choir that do the same thing, and they never get any hate for it! But me? Always. Jealously is an ugly trait, Clara."

"Please, it's not jealousy-"

"Also, there are times when I do say no. It's just something no one ever hears!" With that, Alice stormed off to the bathroom.

Clara looked helplessly to Josée, who closed her eyes in distress. The latter was less than pleased with the drama she managed to get herself into today. "I have no time to fix your problems. I'm meeting Claude in the library."

"Josée-"

"No, I mean it," Josée cut in, her patience wearing thin. "I already feel guilty enough gossiping with the two of you about my best friend, something that's my fault that I didn't try to stop, but I'm not going to continuously fix problems between you and your alleged best friend. That has nothing to do with me. Alice might not be the most socially aware person in the world, but she never intends to be harmful. But you do. I'm seriously tired of it. I promise that I'm not getting involved anymore."

Right now, she sounded entirely serious, and it was meant to be taken seriously. But little did Josée know, a few years from now, she would break her promise. Within the process of breaking of promise, she would learn something she never wished she knew, that would change her entirely, but it would somehow turn into one of the best things that could've ever happened her - but she wouldn't know that last part until many years from now.

Josée rose from her seat and grabbed her belongings. "And for the record," she stated, with one final glare: "Jacques could love whoever he wants." Then she left the cafeteria.

"Jacques, I don't understand why you're practicing," Lucas remarked in the dance room eating his lunch as Jacques practiced his turns. Rachel and Viktor were cuddled in the corner. Madame Lizette did have the dance room open during lunch, with the intent for people to practice, but only Jacques would use it for that. "You have better turns than the entire class, and that includes Josée."

Jacques landed gracefully and shook his head. "Non, that's not true."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I think you're trying to distract yourself because Nathaniel isn't here anymore."

"That's not why."

"That's definitely why," corrected Viktor, pelting Rachel with kisses, which she giggled at. "Sorry to hear. But hey, there are other gay theatre guys to fuck, I'm sure of it."

"Practically all of them are," Lucas pointed out.

Jacques shrugged. "They're not Nathaniel." He was about to continue, until he saw Viktor help Rachel off the floor with a devilish grin on his face. Jacques got a funny feeling in his stomach... not necessarily the good kind. Just as they were about to exit, Jacques interrupted his original train of thought. "Rachel, where are you going?" Rachel and Viktor exchanged a look and smirked. Jacques couldn't help but notice Rachel's looked more nervous.

"We're going to the bathroom," Rachel supplied.

Jacques couldn't believe his ears. "You aren't worried that you'll get in trouble?"

"I'll take care of her, don't worry." Although Jacques had been friends with Viktor for years, he's known from his past that Viktor wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person in the world. He did have a reputation of being with many girls.

Jacques eyed Rachel. "Just be careful."

Viktor snorted. "Why are you so protective?"

"Because Josée would kill him and you if anything happened to her," Lucas answered instead. Neither Jacques and Viktor disputed the point. Without saying goodbye, Viktor and Rachel left the dance room, leaving Lucas and Jacques alone. The latter went back to practicing his turns. "You've got let this go."

"My turns could always use more work."

"I'm not talking about your turns." Jacques stopped his turns to stare at Lucas, who faltered a bit. "I mean, that too... but I'm talking about the Nathaniel-"

Jacques rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. Champions must preserve." He paused thoughtfully, looking at the door. "Do you think Rachel and Viktor are a good couple?"

"Do you like him or something?"

"What? No!" Jacques snapped. "I mean, do you think Viktor is good for Rachel?"

Lucas shrugged. "Probably not. But Rachel is smart. She'll figure it out sooner or later."

"I'm... not so sure about that."

Claude frowned deeply at his girlfriend's persistent pen tapping. The librarian already had to shush them twice because of the 'consistent noise' despite the fact that there was a group of chattering theatre girls in ninth grade gossiping about god-knows-what that the librarian hadn't bothered to shut up. "Josée," he began worriedly, "Is everything okay?"

Josée sighed, unable to focus on their literature homework in front of them. "I'm fine, it's just... I was in the cafeteria earlier, and my friends were giving me a headache."

"They do that a lot it seems," Claude pointed out.

"It's so tiring," Josée agreed.

"You could stop being friends with them, mon chéri."

Josée smiled a little at the term of endearment. "Yes I could but they do have their moments when they're nice." There are a few that came to mind, but truthfully, Claude did have a point. Alice and Clara proved to be a handful to be friends with. To be fair, Josée knew she was like that with nearly everyone in their school but Jacques, Claude, and maybe Rachel on a good day, but sometimes even she proved to fall into the gossiping circle.

"Claude, can I ask you something?"

The oboist smirked. "You just did." Josée rolled her eyes, but there was a fondness to them. Claude chuckled a bit. "Okay, shoot." His smile faded as Josée's expression went from fondness to doubt and folded her arms. She briefly looked away from him, before hesitantly meeting his eyes, and dropped this bomb:

"Am I being a good girlfriend?"

Claude's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Wh-what?" he nearly squawked.

"I mean, I get why I wouldn't be, it's that, we've been going out for around a month, right? And... and I feel like because I have no experience in relationships that I'm sort of dragging you along, and that..." Josée was starting to ramble while hugging herself. "I feel like I could be doing more, I don't know. I don't understand how romance works-"

"Josée-"

"-and I never understood it!" Josée almost exclaimed. She wasn't shouting, but her voice was above regular speaking volume. Claude shrunk in his seat as people were starting to stare, however Josée went on: "Other people usually do things in relationships, and some progress faster than others, but I'm not too comfortable with certain things-"

"Quiet in the library!" The librarian hissed at the couple.

Josée muttered a quiet "sorry" and buried her face in her notes, unable to even look at her boyfriend. She whispered quieter this time, "I just... feel obligated to these things-"

"Obligated?" Claude managed to cut in, echoing her words in utter disbelief. He shook his head and smiled sadly at her. "Josée, you're a wonderful girlfriend. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I have no problem taking things slow with you." He hoped this would make her feel better, but her worried expression didn't change. "Where did this come from?"

Josée sighed and looked at him. "Rachel and Viktor have been going out for as long as we have, maybe shorter, and they've... well, I've heard-"

"I thought you were better than this, Josée," Claude interrupted, frowning. "That's all gossip. You hate gossip."

"Well, I know that... but still-" Josée's face faltered significantly. "I don't know. It just really had me thinking. I just like being around you, and I want to do this right."

Claude clicked his tongue. "It sounds like you need to get rid of those friends," he told her. "It'd be for your own good." He couldn't help but laugh a little at the situation. "Gosh, what would you do without me to tell you these things?" Josée felt stomach in her stomach shift and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be mean, Josée. I'm only telling you this because I care about you. You know that, right?"

Josée's smile grew a little stronger. "Right..." she said quietly, more to herself. "But I still would like to keep my friends, even if they are... tone-deaf sometimes."

Claude's expression was unreadable just for a second, but then he laughed uncomfortably. "I mean, yes, it's good to have friends. But we have each other, you know? And when you're boyfriend/girlfriend, that's all that really matters."

Josée's smiled faded after that. "I can't imagine getting rid of them, even if they drive me crazy. Especially Jacques, I've known him almost my whole life."

"Oh, I understand Jacques," Claude said gently. "You both were assigned to be ice dancing partners, so you had to become friends."

This statement bothered Josée. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't be so sensitive, Josée," Claude chuckled, patting her hand. Josée merely stared at him, waiting for an explanation. "I'm saying, would you and Jacques be friends if he wasn't going into ice dancing as well?"

Josée grew uneasy. "I..." She hesitated. She never really thought of this before. "I... I'd like to think we would be."

Claude gave her a half-shrug. "Okay. You can believe that, then."

Josée closed her notebook. "Um..." She didn't know what to say. She would have to ask Alice about this later if this was normal in relationships. But wait a second, Claude did say that her friends could be problematic, and he was certainly right about that. She cleared her throat and changed the topic: "I think we should go to the dance room."

"Why?"

"Even if you think my friends are problematic," Josée started off, "Rachel at least has brains. Maybe she could help us with the literature homework?" She already stood up and gathered her things. "I think it would be good."

Claude shrugged again and pushed his chair in. "Maybe you're right," he settled. They started to walk to the dance room, and on the way there, it was noticeably awkward than how it usually was. "Josée, you don't have to do what I say. It's just a suggestion. It's only because I-"

"...care about you, I know," Josée finished for him. Then, to her surprise and her boyfriend's, she stopped him in the middle of the halls and pecked him on the lips. "You just have to trust me, alright?"

Claude smirked goofily. "You just kissed me in public."

Josée couldn't help but roll her eyes and chuckle. "That's what you're focused on?"

"Oui."

Before Josée could enter the dance room, high-pitched laughter caught her and Claude's attention. They spotted Viktor holding Rachel's hand as she giggled in an uncharacteristic way, trying to hold in her laughter with her hand. Viktor pressed her against the wall and showered her with kisses, making Claude and Josée collectively wince.

Rachel pulled away when she caught Josée and Claude's eyeing them. "I'm going to get water, hold on. Go inside!" Viktor nuzzled against her, giving her one last kiss before departing to the dance room. She was about to walk over to the water fountain but was stopped by Josée and Claude. Rachel blinked for a few seconds, then burst into laughter once more. "Allo, Josée! Allo, Claude!"

Her eyes were wide and manic, nothing like Josée had seen before. There was that inkling feeling of knowing what it was, but Josée chose to ignore it for now. "Rachel, do you think you could help Claude and I with some literature homework? We're not understanding..." She saw Rachel's hand twitch slightly. An uneasy feeling filled Josée's stomach. No, no, no... Josée did her best to ignore the obvious signs. "There's this part that's really bothering us-"

"Totally! Sure!" Rachel cheered happily. "I probably did it before. I'm in Honors Literature. I am soooo smart, did you know that?"

Claude gave Josée a strange look. "Are you sure...?"

"Rachel," Josée began assertively, looking into her eyes, which were very dilated. Josée's heart sank into her stomach when she saw the final sign. "You have white powder under your nose." Rachel's upbeat demeanor seemingly vanished. Instead of giving a verbal response, she resorted to blinking rapidly. Josée didn't know exactly how to feel about this revelation, because she truly thought Rachel was smarter than this.

Apparently not.

...For some reason, this enraged her. It was probably the conversation she had with Claude, who was starting to sound more and more right with each passing day.

Josée rose her hand and slapped the girl in front of her. "I can't believe you," she spat. "You're in figure skating. You cannot afford a drug habit! This is so incredibly stupid of you! It's why I never wanted you to go out with Viktor in the first place! You..." Josée's mind drifted to someone else; the person who was probably responsible for introducing this to her. Without saying another word, she stormed into the dance room.

Claude desperately called out to her when he saw his girlfriend's eyes on Viktor, "Josée, please it's not-"

Josée whirled her body around to face her boyfriend. "Not now." Back to Viktor. "What the hell is your problem?" Lucas and Jacques, who had been chatting quietly, stood up to see what the commotion was about. "Are you trying to ruin her career!?"

Jacques stepped in, "Josée, what's the matter?"

Unfortunately for Jacques, her rage was about to be directed at him: "You allowed this to happen?! Do you realize what's going on?!"

"N-non!" Jacques exclaimed, his eyes wide. "What happened?"

"Your chouchou is being annoying, that's what," Viktor snapped, with an eye roll. "She's such a baby - hey what the fuck!"

"Josée!" Jacques gasped when Josée had spat in Viktor's face.

"You're going to ruin her, you moron," Josée sneered at Viktor. "She can't have a drug habit!"

Jacques couldn't believe his ears. "What?!"

"It was her choice, I didn't hold a gun to her head!" Viktor retorted to the female ice dancer.

Josée opened her mouth to say something, but Claude jumped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Josée, is any of this worth it?" he asked firmly. "Really. Ask yourself that. Is the stress of going through this worth it?"

Josée was going to say that yes, it absolutely was worth it. Rachel couldn't fall into that stupidity. She was one of the few intelligent people in dance, someone she found intellectually stimulating, someone that she liked very much. But then, Josée realized, her boyfriend just had to be right about this. She could feel Jacques' eyes on her - hell, she could feel everyone's eyes on her - anticipating what she would do next.

So she wouldn't disappoint them. Josée shrugged Claude's hands off her. She gave one last look to Viktor, and stated evenly: "You're going to ruin her life." And Josée stormed out again - she came to the realization she had been doing that a lot recently.

When Josée and Jacques had a private with Isaac, the way it would go would depend on the people present watching it. When it was just them, it was normally calm, productive, and pretty positive for the most part. However, on those occasions that Josée's mother would join to put her two cents in, it was hell for everyone around her. She had that miraculous effect on people. She truly had the gift of terrorization.

Today happened to be the example of the latter, which spelled out trouble. Jacques already knew Josée was in a foul mood from today's events. He knew that it wasn't just the Rachel dilemma, he suspected that Claude had something to do with her foul mood, as well as her friends. She had muttered a fair share of profanities under her breath as she put her skates on in the locker room. Jacques wanted to approach Josée on the matter, because she really was having a stressful week, but he didn't want to add more to her plate. Her biggest concern right now was impressing her maman.

It was not working at all.

"This is sloppy! There is no way they're ready for competition unless they want a participation medal!" Josée's mother snapped at the coach. "I mean, seriously? This is such garbage, Isaac, such... shit!"

Isaac was not having it. "Louise, would you stop yelling and swearing in front of my students?" He asked, with an exasperated sigh. "The faster we get this done the faster I get home to my husband and my bichon frise, and we can't do that if you keep screaming at my students."

Jacques barely back a snort of laughter, which did not go unnoticed by Josée's mother. "Stop laughing you brat!" Jacques' smile disappeared in a flash. Josée's mother turned back to their coach again. "Isaac, we pay you and the other choreographers good money to make this routine go right, and they're nothing but sloppy, I would do it myself if I wasn't so busy all the time."

"Speaking of busy," Isaac cut in, noticeably irritable. "Don't you have friends to see? Or business to take care of where... you have to be anywhere but here?"

Josée frowned deeply at her coach. He really shouldn't be fighting back against her. He was going to lose. It was going to be ugly for her later. Seconds later, like Josée expected, the two started to bicker. She felt Jacques' arms wrap around her shoulders in attempt to comfort her. Normally she would fight him for being affectionate in front of maman, but she was just too upset over these past few days to do so.

Jacques let go after a few seconds. "Can we get a water break please?" he asked, loud enough to stop Isaac and Josée's mom from arguing.

Isaac nodded. "Ten minutes."

Josée and Jacques got off the ice. Truthfully, Jacques was hoping that on the way there Josée would talk about what's been on her mind. It's often what they did whenever they got a water break. So on the way there, Jacques and Josée ignored - well, Josée tried to ignore - Josée's mother snapping at Isaac for letting them have a water break. Instead of Josée talking, she looked even more unsettled.

What they were about to see wasn't going to help.

"Elise?" Jacques asked, recognizing an ice dancer that was a year older than him sitting in the corner wheezing heavily while her partner was frantic searching for something in her bag - which was unusually full of red ants. "Are you okay?" The female ice dancer didn't answer, instead shaking her head rapidly and wheezing harsher.

Josée was alert instantly and rushed over. "What's going on?"

"I'm trying to find her epipen!" Elise's partner, Hugo, answered in a shriek. "She's allergic to red ants! And there were so many in her bag!" The epipen wasn't in there. "Call an ambulance!" Jacques didn't waste any time, yanking his locker open to dial 911. The ambulance would arrive in less than five minutes. Meanwhile, Josée went back to the rink to get more help. Hugo was hysterically crying to Jacques, who did his best to comfort him. "We were supposed to compete tomorrow in Sherbrooke."

Jacques' stomach shifted uncomfortably. He and Josée weren't competing in Sherbrooke.

But they knew a pair who was.

Josée returned to the locker room saying that the ambulance had arrived and that Isaac had flagged them down. Thirty seconds later, the ambulance arrived and immediately injected an epipen in Elise's upper thigh. After that, her breathing slowly turned to normal. Despite her breathing getting back to normal, the paramedics stated that they wanted to keep her under observation for a few hours in the hospital. Hugo had called Elise's parents and said they were going to meet them there. Josée and Jacques watched as they put Elise in the ambulance, Josée gripping onto Jacques' hand tightly in anticipation as one of the paramedics walked over to Isaac.

"Lucky her," he said. "A few minutes later and she would've been dead."

Josée and Jacques' stomachs dropped.

It was then Isaac realized Josée and Jacques were still there. "Jacques, Josée, go back in the locker room."

"Is Elise going to be okay?" Josée asked, ignoring her coach's orders.

"Most likely," Isaac replied. "But she and Hugo are definitely not going to be competing. Go back inside."

Josée felt Jacques gently grab her hand, she turned around, startled. "Come on, chouchou." As Jacques tried to bring her back inside, Josée's eyes lingered on the ambulance that was driving further away. "Elise will be okay," he said softly.

"I just don't understand." Josée shook her head in utter disbelief. "Ants? How did fire ants get into her bag?"

And that's when they heard it.

"How was I supposed to know she wouldn't have an epipen?" Liv whispered fiercely. "She should've been responsible and brought it!"

Josée and Jacques had yet to fully enter the locker room, but peeked to see that Liv and Leo were in an argument.

"That's not the point, Liv!" Leo looked less-than-impressed with Liv, which was a massive understatement. "Do you know what could happen to us? The shit we'd have to go through if this is traced back to us!"

"Please, we'll be fine! It's all a performance. Tomorrow, we'll smile and wish Elise the best when asked about it."

"We could get caught! This is attempted murder! We wanted to sabotage, not murder!"

...Oh.

Oh shit.

Josée and Jacques' eyes were wide with horror. Nausea enveloped their frames, and they resisted every urge they had not to throw up on the spot. Anything else said after that neither of them heard it. They had heard enough. While they weren't unfamiliar with Leo and Liv's tactics of sabotaging other teams to get ahead, this was something very, very different and frightening - this was a straight up crime. As if things couldn't get worse, Leo and Liv spotted them eavesdropping.

"Hey!" Liv shouted at them. Jacques and Josée's hearts were beating out of their chest. In a fury, Liv reached over and grabbed Josée's hand and yanked her over, ushering Jacques to try and stop her. "Whatever you two heard..." she began icily, fire in her eyes, "No you didn't." Truthfully, Josée and Jacques would give anything in the world to not hear what they just heard, but they couldn't. What was done was done. "If you say anything, to anyone, you're both next."

Josée and Jacques nodded very quickly.

Then, Liv smirked, venomously sweet. "I suggest you don't punch me in the face anymore, sweetie. After all, we all remember what happened when you both crossed a line?"

...They remembered it vividly.

Josée was eleven, and Jacques was thirteen. They were facing older ice dancers in a competition at their rink, and they had won. Leo and Liv hadn't competed, because they were too old since the age range was from eleven to seventeen, and both Leo and Liv were eighteen at this point. When they had gone down to the locker room after the competition, the other dancers have surrounded them. Leo and Liv just so happened to orchestrate the entire thing.

"Lock the door," Leo had said, and one of them did.

Josée and Jacques were both held down by the other dancers. Hands were over their mouths as they let out muffled screams that weren't going to be heard. Their eyes were pleading for mercy, and they were blinking back tears to prevent themselves from looking weak. Which, of course, Leo and Liv got a kick out of.

"Babies! Are you crying?" Leo had taunted menacingly.

"Remember your place!" Liv had snapped at the two. She was right above Josée's face, which had been stained with tears. Josée was unable to hold them back any longer. Liv had gotten a permanent marker and began to write on top of Josée's forehead. Leo did the same for Jacques with his own permanent marker. They both kicked and tried to scream, but it was no use. "The next time you do something like that, you're dead."

Then they spit in their faces. Once that was over, Josée and Jacques were left alone in the locker room, sniffling and trying not to break down in tears again. They had done a fairly good job of that, until they saw what was written on the other's forehead. Josée and Jacques ran to the closest mirror nearby. What they saw broke them down. Josée sunk to the ground and cried into Jacques' chest, while Jacques held her close while letting out tears of his own.

Silver.