A/N: Credits to Mary Griffin. I know, I know... I'm super late with this update. It's finals week, and, well it's pretty draining.
Chapter 12- Trial and Error (Knock on Wood)
They were going to do it.
They were going to compete in the olympics in Vancouver. The now eighteen-year-old Josée and twenty-year-old Jacques had worked insanely hard for the olympic trials to qualify for the 2010 olympics. It did help that their World Championship scores were among one of the highest, but it was especially impressive that they had those scores at their ages - like it has been said, most people qualified and placed high for the olympics in their mid-to-late twenties.
Older ice dancers had raised their eyebrows upon seeing these were "kids" that were barely out of high school that managed to do so well. Josée and Jacques' high standings right away despite not competing in the 2006 olympics was noted in the ISU. The older olympians weren't too surprised, they supposed - because Josée and Jacques did happen to make the World Championships with high scores, but a lot of it was out of shock because Canada, like it was said before, had taken over the figure skating world.
Despite popular belief, there isn't just one ice dancing team representing their country, there could be two or even three. There was one other team also from Canada that did exceptionally well - in fact, just as well as Josée and Jacques. After getting silver in the 2006 olympics, they were hoping for a win in the 2010 olympics, but more on that later.
Josée and Jacques exited the rink and were greeted by several cameras and reporters that started to shout questions at them.
"Josée! Jacques! How do you feel about competing in the 2010 olympics?!"
It was Josée that answered first, with a winning smile: "We're beyond excited!" Jacques beamed from beside her. "Jacques and I would just love to thank ISU for their decision!"
"We're so thankful to be apart of Team Canada!" Jacques added cheerfully, matching his partner's smile. "It is an honor to represent our country."
"How do you feel about Leonardo and Olivia also competing in the olympics, since they're considered your rivals?" ...There it was. Josée and Jacques weren't surprised in the least upon being asked this question, it was expected since the media did a very good job pitting them against each other.
But of course, Josée answered with a huge smile on her face, "We wish them good luck. They're very good skaters."
"Oui, very good skaters," Jacques chimed in.
It's not like the media knew what happened behind the scenes, anyway.
"So Josée," one reporter began close by with a grin, "How do you feel about Peggy Fleming's wonderful comment about you?"
Josée's smile faded only a little, more so out of confusion of the question. "I'm sorry what?" Even Jacques' smiled faded, as well. "The Peggy Fleming said something about me?" Oh god, oh god, oh god... Josée could feel oxygen being drained out of her system... the Peggy Fleming?! One of the most revolutionary figure skaters?! The reporters chuckled a little over her excitement, which made Josée blush; she had lost her composure for a second there. But they didn't understand... this was Peggy Fleming. She could even feel Jacques' excitement from right next to her!
The reporter pulled out her phone. "Oui. We have a video if you'd like to see?"
"Yes," Josée said, far too quickly.
The reporter played the video. There she was, being interviewed. "So what do you think of these skaters for the 2010 olympics? Any of them grab your attention?"
"All of them are just magnificent," Peggy had said, "I saw that ice dancing team from the 2006 olympics that got silver, which isn't surprising, they're great. But this time, I really have my eye on that other ice dancing team from Canada, they're exceptionally good, especially the girl. She's young, quick on her feet, and has that natural way of moving across the ice."
"Oui, her name is Josée Boyet. She's only eighteen."
"Only eighteen? I thought she was older than that! Well, that's just incredible. Many years I've been waiting for a young teenage skater to show that much grace and poise, I can definitely see her breaking records soon. She's a very promising skater, I expect her to make so much good in skating."
And then, the video ended. The reporter kept her grin up after seeing Josée's expression of delight, "Thoughts?"
"I'm... I'm..." Josée began to stutter, unable to hide her smile - it was genuine, raw, and real. She was bright red and avoided the reporter's eyes. "...I'm so honored."
Josée gripped Jacques' hand tightly and squeezed; it was the only way she could let out how excited she was without making a scene, because really, she wanted to jump up and down and scream - Peggy Fleming thought she was good. The Peggy Fleming. She said she was promising and that she could make so much good in skating... God, the video replayed in Josée's mind over and over again, like a broken record.
Jacques squeezed his hand back at her, smiling brightly at his partner, but then turned to the press: "We should be going. A lot of training to do!" Josée smiled adoringly at the press and waved with her free hand as she and Jacques walked away.
Peggy Fleming.
Peggy Fleming.
"Chouchou, are you okay?" Jacques asked knowingly, once they got away from the crowd. Josée didn't answer, still replaying the video in her mind. He chuckled at her obvious excitement. "Josée?"
Josée let go of his hand and looked at Jacques with stars in her eyes. "Did that really just happen?"
"I'm so proud of you!"
"Pinch me, Jacques, just pinch me because I must be dreaming - ow!" Josée yelped, rubbing her arm where Jacques had pinched. She slapped Jacques' arm lightly while he giggled. She leveled a glare with him. "I didn't mean literally!" But she was smiling. Shortly after, Jacques' parents had arrived, along with Josée's mother.
"'Allo, darlings! I'm so proud of you both!" Fleur squealed happily. Hector grinned just a bit at their accomplishment. Josée's mother, however, appeared neutral. Josée and Jacques smiled back as Fleur went on: "We were thinking that we could celebrate with lunch at our house?" Hector looked ready to argue but Fleur stepped on his foot. "What do you think?"
Jacques nodded. "Oui, maman." Josée was beaming brightly from the news before that she wasn't paying attention. Jacques gently nudged her. "Chouchou?" Josée blinked a lot and nodded quickly.
"Magnifique!" Fleur cheered.
Josée and Jacques stayed on the sofa in the latter's home talking among one another in French while Fleur was in the kitchen along with Josée's mother. Out of the corner of Jacques' eye, he could see his father highly annoyed at the appearance of Josée's mother - which was understandable. Though his father held as glass of punch, Jacques wouldn't be surprised at all if he spiked his own in order to deal with Josée's mother - Jacques would do the same, but Josée would get most likely get frustrated with them.
Josée couldn't be more glad that her high school years were behind her. She occasionally saw Rachel at the rink and engaged in small talk, but it was nothing like how they used to be. Clara and Claude had become a couple, and from what Josée has heard, they had broken up a month before she graduated. Alice, like she promised, had dropped out of high school and had allegedly moved to the States, presumably California or New York. Josée considered dropping out of high school as well, since it would give her more time to work with Jacques to get to the olympics, but decided against it - also, her mother disproved. But that didn't stop Josée from cutting last period once in a while to get to the rink.
"Lunch is ready!" Fleur announced to everyone. "Everyone take a plate!"
As they all went to the kitchen to get their food, Josée's mother hissed into her daughter's ear, "Do not get the junk at the end, watch your figure." Josée nodded obediently as her mother went on, "Every piece of food you put on your plate, you're adding on the pounds." Josée nodded again and put a light dressing on the salad she had. "That salad should be enough for you to have. Actually I think you should remove a little-"
"For fuck's sake Louise just let her have some damn cake." Josée's eyes went wide in alarm while Jacques barely held back his laughter.
"Don't tell me how to raise my daughter, Hector!" Josée's mother shrieked.
Hector rolled his eyes and took a long drink from his glass. Josée bit her lip hesitantly as she said, "Um... It's okay, Hector... it's... I'm not that hungry, anyway." She smiled a little bit as if to prove that she was okay.
Hector went to the table with his food and shrugged. "Go take more than salad at least, Josée." She glared at the girl's mother. "After all, you aren't a rabbit. I went to medical school, we learn about these things and know what's healthy." Josée looked expectantly to her mother, who just shrugged and said it was fine, before mumbling very quietly about how they were going to get silver if she added more food to her plate. Josée added just a bit more, enough for her mother not to yell at her, at least.
Once everybody settled down at the table, it was noticeably awkward after that outburst from Josée's mother.
"So..." Fleur mused, laughing uneasily. "I'm sure that you two will have to train really hard for the olympics."
Josée chuckled a bit. "Oui. We'll have to train a lot more because most of the teams for the olympics are much older and have competed before."
"Well age hasn't stopped us in competitions," Jacques remarked confidently. "We have usually taken the gold!"
"Usually," cut in Josée's mother bitterly, leveling a glare at her daughter. "There was that time you brought home bronze from the Grand Prix." Josée looked down at her food; she remembered that very well. All that school that she missed just to bring home bronze. Not only had they lost to Leo and Liv, but they had lost to an American team.
"Oui... it was abysmal, and..." And? Josée didn't know what else to say.
"Bronze is the medal of failure," Josée's mother stated coldly. Everyone merely stared at her in silence, the uncomfortable tension rising between all five of them. Josée's mother, however, seemed less than bothered by what she said. She didn't notice the annoyed looks from Jacques' parents, but she did notice her daughter's distraught attitude.
"Oh yes, because I'm sure you never received bronze in your life."
"What did you just say?"
Jacques paled at an instant, giving a nervous glance at Josée beside him who had gone deathly white staring back at him - along with everyone else. This told him he had to choose his next words very carefully. Jacques averted his eyes away and to his plate, as he said: "Don't yell at Josée because you couldn't - ow!" Josée had kicked him harshly under the table and continued to glare. It was so aggressive that the table nearly shook from the recoil.
"Couldn't what, Jacques?"
Jacques glared at Josée's mother. "Nothing."
"That's what I thought."
More uneasy silence followed after that exchange.
"Child services stopped by the Martel family the other day," Josée's mother remarked out of the blue.
Josée and Jacques' heads snapped up in alarm in realization.
Alice's family.
"Martel... that name sounds familiar," Fleur mused. "There's a TV producer named Robert Martel."
"Oui. He got arrested for... things," Hector put mildly.
Josée and Jacques were fully aware of what those things were, and felt sick to their stomachs.
"Just say that he got arrested for crimes against children," Josée's mother put bluntly.
Fleur bit her lower lip and glanced over to Josée and Jacques. "Maybe this isn't the right time to have this conversation..."
"Is their daughter okay?" Jacques blurted out. Josée said nothing and stared down at her plate. She knew that Jacques wasn't referring to Alice, but to her youngest sister. Still, Josée couldn't help but wonder if Alice was notified, or if she was okay.
"Well she's in some home now, probably," Hector grumbled, then stabbed his food with his fork. "TV producers are the scum of the earth."
More silence followed.
Fleur made the unfortunate mistake of trying to start up another conversation with Josée and Jacques. "Both of you were swarmed with reporters earlier, oui? What kind of questions did they ask?"
At the mention of this, Josée's eyes lit up excitedly at what occurred not too long ago. "Oh, it was wonderful! You wouldn't believe what they told us, well... me, but..." She looked at her mother, her eyes full of hope, "Mama, Peggy Fleming said I was a good skater! The Peggy Fleming. They showed us a video and asked for me opinion on it!"
Fleur's mother gasped excitedly while Jacques and his father both had proud smiles. "That's so amazing, dear! Isn't she a really good skater?"
"She's one of the best!" Josée proclaimed happily, briefly turning away from her mother to answer Fleur. God, she wanted to jump up and down just thinking about it. Josée turned back to her mother - who's eyebrows shot up. Josée let out a little squeal. "Isn't it wonderful maman?"
Josée's mother, who bore a look of shock seconds ago, now had an unreadable expression. She looked away from her daughter to focus on picking at her food, that she started to stab it. Josée waited expectantly at what her mother would say was surely a positive thing.
She did not.
Instead, Josée's mother snorted and rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to celebrate what you were supposed to do?"
Time stood still for a moment. Josée broke eye contact with her mother and stared at her plate in disdain; suddenly she truly wasn't hungry anymore. Suddenly the thought of eating food made her sick. Suddenly Josée wanted leave; it just didn't make sense. It was Peggy Fleming, it had to be a big deal, so why was maman dismissing it?
"Well I'm very proud of you Josée," Fleur cut in warmly. "It's a marvelous accomplishment. I'm sure not many people have been complimented by her."
Josée's mother waved it off. "That's simply not true." Josée nervously glanced over to Jacques, who's jaw was clenched tightly; she could feel his anger from beside her as her mother went on cluelessly, "Many prestigious figure skaters are supposed to take note of the younger skaters, I'm sure it was just a publicity stunt." Josée heard Jacques take a sharp inhale from his nose and his leg start to bounce on the floor. He was going to lose it on her. "It's a shame though, they're probably taking pity on my daughter-"
SLAM!
The sound of silverware being thrown on the table startled everyone. They all turned to the person who caused that sudden outburst.
Hector had stood there and cleared his throat loudly, which was clear who caused that. "Hold on just a minute!" He glared at Josée's mother menacingly. "Now I've been trying forget that you were here by drinking the pain away-"
"Hector..." Fleur pleaded, but went ignored.
"But it's damn well near impossible with the way you spout all this nonsense about your kid who did a great thing!" Hector continued angrily, "It's disgraceful." Josée stared down at her lap, unable to even look at her mother's probably furious expression.
"Hector, you think hockey is a good sport. Your opinion on figure skating doesn't matter," Josée's mother quipped calmly, as if she hadn't been shouted at. "What's the point in celebrating? And besides, you're one to talk..."
"If you don't show that you're proud of Josée then you'll lose your kid forever," Hector snapped, his eyes getting dark. Fleur looked utterly destroyed. "In case you forgot, this family knows what that's like."
"Please, that will never happen-"
"LOUISE WOULD YOU STOP IT?!" Jacques shouted, standing up so fast that his chair toppled over. He couldn't contain himself any longer. Fleur looked mortified, Josée looked just about ready to pass out, Hector was full of pride, and Josée's mother remained seemingly neutral, but her eyes widened just a bit in shock. Jacques took an even breath in as he said assertively, "Josée was complimented by Peggy Fleming, one of the best figure skaters in the world... Josée and I are going to the olympics... what more could you possibly want from us?! What more could you want from her-"
"Jacjac, please..." Josée begged quietly, but Jacques refused to listen.
"You are a mean and awful woman and I hope you get what's coming to you!"
Josée's mother stood up at once and grabbed her daughter's arm, dragging her to the front door. "We're leaving now. Thank you for lunch-" she muttered a fair share of swears under her breath before sneering at Jacques and his father, "...clearly there are no manners in this family."
"Oh do you want to talk about manners?!" Hector snapped, "You'll curse out other parents at the rink-"
"Screw you! How the hell would you know? You're not there!"
"Maman p-please..."
"You don't get to talk! You're the one that caused all of this!" Josée's mother slammed the door without saying goodbye, leaving the family by themselves. Fleur sighed into her hands while Hector closed his eyes in distress. Jacques just shook his head at the whole ordeal, went upstairs to his room, and slammed the door.
"Disgusting behavior, Josée! Absolutely disgraceful!" Josée's mother admonished on the way to their house, over and over. Josée felt her eyes well up with tears; it just wouldn't stop - she went on and on about it, like a broken record - and all Josée wanted to do was sleep throughout the rest of the day - it was only near two pm and it was ruined. Once they got to their house, her mother aggressively pushed her inside. Josée was incredibly startled; it was very rare that her mother would get physical with her.
"M-maman, I'm sorry! I don't understand!" Josée pressed desperately, "I thought Peggy Fleming was good! It was a good accomplishment. I don't get why you're upset!" She genuinely didn't understand; why was her mother so upset? "She likes me."
"Josée, don't be so silly. She doesn't like you!" Josée's mother yelled, "You're full of mistakes! They just needed a teenager to give false hopes to!"
Josée wasn't sure about whether or not that was true. She felt her tears stream down her cheeks. "But... but..."
SMACK!
The ice dancer stopped crying at once, her despair was suddenly replaced with shock by the action - her mother, out of blue, had raised her hand and slapped her daughter across the face as hard as she could, and it was hard. It was very, very rare that she would resort to hitting her. In that moment, even her mother looked a little alarmed.
Nonetheless, Josée's mother returned back to her former state, which was anger. "Now look at what you made me do, Josée. Are you questioning your mother?" she sneered menacingly. She saw how the tears started to work up again, possibly because the adrenaline was wearing off and Josée felt the painful sting. "How old are you, Josée?" She even laughed at her. "Eighteen years old, yet here you are crying like a little baby. You know what then..." Josée's mother had a sudden idea, grabbing her daughter's arm again and hauled her over to the closet. "This is where babies should go."
Once Josée realized what was going on, her eyes widened in fear. "No, no, no! Maman, I'm sorry!" Her mother threw her in the closet and slammed the door behind her. Josée was almost positive that it was suffocating her; all the air was sucked out and she couldn't breathe. She banged frantically on the door, "Let me out, please! I'll be good, I'm sorry! I promise, please!"
"Only babies beg," Josée's mother stated coldly from outside, "...you little morceau de merde."
Josée didn't know how long she was in that closet for. She had lost track of time and passed out from exhaustion and trying to get herself to breathe, but like always, it managed to get caught between her teeth. Struggling to breathe turned into hyperventilation, and that's when she had panicked herself to fainting. She wouldn't have woken up if it wasn't for some shouting she barely heard outside the closet. It was muffled, but Josée could catch bits and pieces from it.
"No! I want to hand it to her! She forgot her jacket!"
"Stay out of the way, you insolent boy!"
"Where is she?"
Josée was far too tired to answer. Luckily, she didn't have to. The closet door was thrown open. "Josée?"
Jacques.
It was Jacques.
Josée opened her eyes sleepily to see Jacques staring down at her. "Oh chouchou, are you..." he trailed off when he saw the side of Josée's face which was still red. Jacques connected the dots and felt his blood start to boil. Josée had realized that he had figured it out and winced.
Jacques stood up and turned around to come face-to-face with Josée's mother. "You hurt her."
Josée's mother scowled. "Please, it was a light slap in the face-"
Jacques didn't know how much he could take. He had snapped earlier at lunch, but he didn't know if he quite had the energy to yell at her again. "You know Louise," he started off sharply. "I figured out why you're so upset with Josée. I think you're jealous!"
Josée's eyes snapped open in alarm. "Jacques, stop it!"
"I am no such thing!" Josée's mother snapped. "I never made such clumsy mistakes like she did..."
"But you never made it to the olympics!" Jacques yelled frustratedly, he decided that he did in fact have the energy. It was like lunch all over again. "And you didn't get a compliment from a famous skater! So you're jealous and taking it out on Josée, who has been nothing but an angel!"
Josée's mother looked ready to kill him; but instead of that, she merely smiled down at her daughter. "Josée... is this how you're going to let your partner talk to your mother?" Josée looked back and forth between her partner and her mother and winced; why did it always have to come down to this? "Josée!"
The female ice dancer stood up straight, getting up from the floor. "Of course I won't!" She turned to Jacques with a frown, her eyes desperate. "Jacques, please leave it alone!"
But Jacques did not, he kept his eyes on Josée's mother. "Maman wanted me to apologize, but I refuse!" He's been waiting for this for years. "You hurt Josée!" Josée's mother turned to her daughter, who bit her lip nervously and was avoiding her eyes.
Josée's mother straightened up. "You know what, Josée?" She held her hands up in mock defeat. "I am so utterly disgusted by you and your partner's behavior, that I need to go somewhere... to get away from here. I'm due for a vacation, anyway."
Josée gasped. "Maman, please, he didn't mean-"
"Shut up, Josée. I'm going to pack my things." Then, Josée's mother grinned. "Now I'm starting to realize why your father left you." Satisfied with Josée frozen in place in astonishment, Josée's mother walked upstairs presumably to go pack.
Jacques looked at his partner worriedly. "Josée..."
"You just couldn't leave it alone, could you?!" Josée shrieked furiously. "No, you just had to get into our business, as usual! Like you and your papa did at lunch-"
"Chouchou, your maman locked you in a closet!"
"Because over something that was beyond my control!" Josée finished; she could feel her tears returning. On instinct when they fell, Jacques tried to wipe them away with his thumbs, but Josée smacked his hands before he could do so. "Now she hates me..."
Jacques sighed deeply. "But..."
Before he could go on, Josée's mother returned with a suitcase, like promised. Josée watched fearfully as her mother merely grinned again as she said, "I should be back on Monday. Try not to burn the house down." She let out a sigh. "It's a shame that you hate your mother so much, Josée."
"Maman, I could never-"
Josée's mother hummed a bit to herself. "Mm, I'm not so sure about that. Maybe think about what you've done while you're gone and the burden you placed on me as well as everyone else around you."
That being said, she exited the house. Jacques' eyes shifted from the direction Josée's mother left to Josée herself, his heart sinking once he saw his partner stood there in absolute disbelief - she looked as though she had been punched in the stomach. "Chouchou, you are not a burden. Do you understand? She's wrong."
Josée shook her head, defeated. "Maman's never wrong."
"Non, Josée... she's wrong this time." Jacques wiped her tears away with his thumbs, and this time, she let him. "You have to know that, oui? She's wrong. Look..." Jacques paused momentarily, "How about we go back to my house and you can stay for dinner? You shouldn't eat all alone..."
He was right, that much Josée knew. Jacques was always right when it came to her health. About her maman, however, Josée would need a lot longer to think about that.
"Okay."
The moment that Jacques walked in his house with a shaken Josée by his side, Hector and Fleur stopped what they were doing to look. In Fleur's case she was cooking, and in Hector's case he was reading one of his medical journals. Josée stared down at her shoes, avoiding the eyes of Jacques' parents, who wanted an explanation.
"Josée's mother left for the weekend," Jacques spoke up for his partner, "I was wondering if Josée could stay for dinner."
Fleur's concerned eyes shifted from her son to Josée. "Of course. She could stay over for the weekend too, if she'd like."
Josée's eyes snapped up to meet Fleur's. "Oh no, it's okay... I'll be fine, I can-"
"She can sleep in Gabrielle's old room," Hector chimed in.
Josée decided it was best not to argue, after all she had slept over at Jacques' house before. It wasn't exactly common that Josée would sleepover at Jacques' house, it happened a lot more when she was much younger couldn't handle being in the house by herself and her mother had gone away for business.
Jacques guided Josée to the sofa, where they sat as Jacques flipped through the TV channels. Jacques gave Josée a nervous glance, she looked like she was trying especially hard to watch the television screen and distract herself from her long day. God, he wanted her to talk about it. But like he's learned in the past, he couldn't force her.
It looked like Fleur had the same thoughts, the way she looked back and forth between her cooking and Josée's troubled expression. "Boys," she cut in, referring to her husband and her son, "I was wondering if both of you could go uh... shopping for me." Jacques and his father exchanged a look, while Josée looked bewildered.
"I thought you had all the ingredients for dinner?" Hector questioned.
Fleur shook her head at her husband who had not caught on. "I still need baguettes." She briefly shot a glance at Josée quick enough for the female ice dancer not to notice, but slow enough that her husband would understand.
Hector nodded once. "Alright. Come on, son."
"But I thought we had enough baguettes?" Jacques commented cluelessly.
"You could never have enough baguettes," Hector corrected. "Now let's go." Jacques looked over to Josée worriedly.
"I'll take care of her, don't worry," Fleur reassured Jacques. "Go." After that, there was no more questions. Jacques and his father left to go shopping, leaving Fleur and Josée in the house by themselves. Josée awkwardly sat on the sofa, contemplating something as she bit her lip, before rising from her seat to join Fleur in the kitchen.
"Fleur, are you sure it's okay that I stay here?" Josée asked doubtfully.
Instead of being given a direct answer, Fleur held up a wooden spoon with a little bit of sauce on it. "Here, taste," Fleur offered to Josée. The ice dancer furrowed her brows, but allowed Fleur to feed her the sample of her sauce. Her cooking was always good. Josée savored the taste and let the sauce melt in her mouth. "And don't worry, of course you could stay."
Josée appeared hesitant. "Okay..."
She was still doubtful. It was easy to tell.
"Are you alright?" Fleur asked Josée. Almost instantly, Josée nodded her head, trying to appear confident. Fleur's lips thinned and raised a knowing eyebrow. Josée froze, contemplated, and slowly started to shake her head. Fleur stopped stirring the sauce. It would be able to sit for some time. She put the spoon down and put an arm around the ice dancer's shoulders and guided her to the sofa. "Did something happen today with your maman?" she pressed. Josée nodded, more hesitantly this time. She stared down at her hands, ashamed. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Josée drew her knees to her chest, staring down at her feet. "He always makes her mad..." She couldn't bring herself to look at Fleur. "Always. Now she's left because of me."
"Oh honey..." her voice was always dripping in concern. Josée never knew what to make of it and was ashamed of the fact, because she knew that Fleur would never be mean to her. She was so good to her, but still, even after so many years there was a small part of her that was skeptical; her mother said no one was to be trusted. "Your mother she... she just has trouble accessing her emotions properly." It was a very, very mild way of putting it. "No one got hurt, right?"
There was a noticeable pause.
"No..." Josée heard Fleur's sigh of relief. She felt her stomach ache and her head started to hurt thinking about today. And when she met Fleur's eyes, it's like the older woman knew there was more to the story. It's like she knew about the closet, and the screaming, and everything her mother did to ensure that she was the best ice dancer. But Josée wouldn't dare say it aloud, instead she said, her voice cracking: "I just want it to stop." This was not the plan. She sounded so vulnerable.
Of course Fleur picked up on it immediately. She scooted a little closer to Josée and gently enveloped her arms around Josee's now-shaking frame. "It's okay..." Josée buried her face in the crook of Fleur's neck and hiccuped. "I know, I know..." She began to rub the sobbing girl's back. "Shh, I know..."
This happened once in a while. Not Josée's maman lashing out - that was all too common - but Jacques' mother would comfort her when her own mother wouldn't. Josée's mother was the one doing this right; she was strict, tough, firm, and was raising a future gold medalist olympic skater. But Jacques' mother was too soft, too nice, and too warm. Yet even with these thoughts in mind, Josée loved the feeling of affection - but she hated that she craved it, it felt like a weakness, and where there's weakness, people attack it. But there were days were it was all too much, and she did seek the comfort. Jacques' mom was always happy to help, if not Jacques himself.
Josée pulled away after some time, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry." Her face went red with embarrassment. "I'm eighteen yet I act like a child."
"Dear, you don't need to be sorry about getting upset," Fleur tried to reassure, "It's perfectly normal for anyone to be upset. Crying is natural. It's healthy, even!" Josée blinked at her in confusion. Fleur smiled and patted her hand. "How about after dinner you and I go back to your house to get some of your clothes for the weekend? We can talk, just us girls." Fleur winked at her. "Even Jacques could get tiresome, I presume." Josée smiled appreciatively at that. "There's that smile."
"Merci, Fleur."
Fleur waved it off. "It's no problem, sweetheart."
The next day, Josée and Jacques arrived thirty minutes early at the rink for a lesson with Isaac. They went to the locker room to change. Once Josée was dressed, she was about to go out to warm-up before she got a tug on her sleeve. It was Jacques, holding up a small granola bar for her to eat. She rolled her eyes. "Jacques-"
"I'm sorry, Josée," Jacques said, without sounding sorry at all. He held the granola bar out. "My maman insisted. She said you look too thin lately."
Josée scowled but took the granola bar anyway. "Your maman is too soft and fussy," she remarked, taking a bite out of the granola bar.
"Your maman is too hard and mean," Jacques quipped back without missing a beat. Josée glared at him coldly. "Oh come on, Josée. You know how I feel about your maman. Also, this will probably be the last time you'll stay over at my house."
Josée read in-between the lines of that last sentence based on what he's been talking about this past week. "You're getting the apartment," she remarked, it wasn't a question.
Jacques smiled and nodded. "I should be moving in a week. That way I'll have free time to train."
"Right, of course." Josée paused, then: "I would move in your apartment, but... maman says that's unprofessional, even though we would be able to function better and well... she wanted me to live with her for a while." Jacques unfortunately figured that. Her mother would do anything to keep her under her control. "But I'm glad you've found one."
Jacques didn't get the chance to answer as a familiar face entered the locker room. "Allo, Rachel," he greeted cordially. "How are-"
"Can we talk?" Rachel asked, well - it almost sounded like she was begging. Josée and Jacques exchanged a curious look, before nodding. Rachel let out a scornful sigh. "I've been absolutely lost lately, and I miss all of my friends. I used to have Viktor, but.. obviously he was more than a friend." Rachel looked down. "Viktor and I broke up."
Jacques' eyes grew wide. "After three years?"
"Had he ever mentioned anything to you?" Rachel asked.
"...No, I can't say that he has."
Rachel clicked her tongue once and sat across from them. "I miss you guys, especially you, Josée..." Josée's stomach felt a little funny, but ignored it as Rachel went on: "I miss talking like we used to. I miss us going over skating. I miss us talking about stupid things people do because they don't use their brains, I..." she let out a little smile, "I miss collectively shitting on all the dance girls."
Josée couldn't help but smile at that. She was noticeably quiet throughout the whole exchange. Again, although she and Rachel had made small talk over little things, like skating, it was nothing like it used to be. There was a time where Josée adored Rachel, held her dear to her heart. But since that night, the night that revealed everything over something Rachel refused to tell her, that had changed.
Josée was far too busy perfecting her footwork on the ice for friends, Jacques didn't feel the same way.
But maybe, Josée thought, maybe she could have a friend again. If she could easily forgive Alice over the incident, then she should definitely forgive Rachel. Besides, Josée could never bring herself to dislike Rachel, let alone hate. There were very few people that Josée could say that about in her life. She loved watching her grow from skating, she loved how she worked hard, and she admired her confidence. Though she did not agree with some of Rachel's approaches to the ISU, she admired her courage. She couldn't quite place her finger on it about Rachel, but she knew she was dear to her heart - it was all too complicated.
Yes.
She's forgiven Rachel, and... well it's quite possible she had already forgiven her, but nonetheless...
"They were really bad ballet dancers," Josée agreed amusedly. Then she turned serious. "I'm sorry about Viktor. And I think... I think..." Josée hesitated only for a moment. Was she making a big mistake by allowing Rachel back into her life? Josée figured time would only tell. "I think it's possible we can be friends again."
"I thought you said you had no time for friends..."
"Zip it, Jacques."
Jacques immediately quieted.
Rachel's eyes lit up so excitedly it made Josée smile widely. "Really?"
Josée nodded eagerly. "Oui. Oh-" She was caught off-guard with the blonde launching herself to hug Josée. The female ice dancer awkwardly wrapped her arms around Rachel for only a few seconds, before Rachel pulled back, with stars in her eyes. "Glad we figured that out. Do you want to get lunch with us later?"
"I would, but I have to work."
"Work?" Jacques and Josée said at the same time, confused.
Rachel rolled her eyes fondly. "Oui. Work. I work at Timmies."
Jacques let out a horrified, high-pitched gasp. "You work... in customer service?!" Even Josée looked mildly disturbed.
"Not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth," Rachel remarked, laughing a little.
"Okay, why does the spoon have to be silver? Can't it be gold?"
"It's an expression, Josée."
"Yes, I know that, but it doesn't make sense!" After Rachel waved goodbye and left, Josée and Jacques were ready to go to the rink. When they tried to step out of the locker room, however, they were greeted by an ugly presence that they were way too used to.
Rachel is redeemable, Leo and Liv are not.
"Oh would you look at that..." Liv began to muse to her partner, "...it turns out they're actually serious about being in the olympics, after all."
"Oui," Josée said confidently, not missing a beat. "And we're going to win it, too."
Leo scowled. "Don't be stupid. It would be a miracle if you even made bronze."
"You guys are considered babies compared to the rest of the figure skaters that are competing," Liv stated. "You should just give up now, honestly. This isn't like a senior competition. The olympics is only once every four years... You won't win. It's ultra competitive."
"We're the ones everyone has an eye on," Jacques pointed out.
"Exactly," Liv agreed, smirking. "And..." she broke off into laughter, "The other teams don't like that." Josée and Jacques let her words sink in. Their expressions said it all, and Liv was relishing in the moment. "If you think we sabotage everyone, then wait until you get to the olympics! I would start learning to save yourselves."
Josée shook her head adamantly. "No. We would never sink that low. It speaks a lot about how insecure they are in their own field."
Leo shrugged. "Whatever. You'll regret it." Then they went to the lockers without another word.
Jacques nervously glanced over to Josée who looked suddenly less confident, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Chouchou?"
She shook her head again. "Come on... we have to go practice."
Josée and Jacques knew their good days and bad days, and how the good usually outweighed the bad. On the ice they did have the tendency to be hard on themselves, which would come as a surprise to their fans since they seemed so confident and upbeat in front of the cameras. It was like others had said about them, that they were much different from how they were in real life. In case Josée and Jacques' egos did get too big, then Isaac would remind them in a non-demeaning way - unlike Josée's mother - on the things that they could work on better.
Sometimes there were disagreements on routines, and Josée and/or Jacques would be allowed to make their argument on what they felt would be good for a specific routine, despite people assuming that the choreographers and coaches were the ones that had complete control. While in the end, they did have the final say, the performers opinions were usually heard and considered.
Today, however, was a different day.
Everyone there unanimously agreed this was Josée and Jacques' best performance.
Suddenly Josée and Jacques forgot about all their problems from the past few days the moment they dazzled on the ice. Josée forgot about the closet, she forgot about her mother, she forgot about all the stupid drama lately that she swore to get away from. She and Jacques forgot about Leo and Liv's threats, because really, they couldn't be more wrong about ice dancing. Jacques didn't think about Josée's problems, because he was with her right now - she was safe. And she knew that she was safe with him. Jacques forgot about his own problems and confusion.
This was a euphoria that no one else could ever feel or take away from them, it was their time to shine. When Josée and Jacques were on the ice with each other, everything negative melted away - it was bliss, it was wonderful, it was...
Perfect?
Josée and Jacques landed in a final pose, looking expectantly at Isaac at the other choreographers for the verdict.
With tears of awe in his eyes, Isaac said: "You're going to knock it out of the park at the olympics."
...Yes.
Perfect.