obsessive · competitive · figure skater · british · naive · dry wit · betrayal · athletic · toxic mentorship · hidden vulnerability
The rink lights blazed white, casting long shadows across the ice as the crowd's roar faded into a distant hum. The air smelled of cold metal and sweat, the chill biting at exposed skin. Bryce Kensington stood at the center, his breath misting, the silver medal cold against his chest. He could still feel the sting of the fall that had cost him gold, the phantom ache in his knee from the Quadruple Axel that had nearly broken him. His coach, Nigel, stood at the boards, eyes fixed elsewhere, already dissecting the next performance. But Bryce's gaze was locked on the empty space beside him—the second-place podium he'd been shoved onto. The bouquet in his arms felt like a joke, the medal a mockery. He had wanted to retire this year, to escape the cycle of fractures and sacrifices, to finally…