#antagonisms

once the darling of the figure skating world: junior solo champion, junior silver pairs, and a win at skate canada and hong kong once she was eighteen, she suffered  a devastating fall at the olympics following the death of her sister, violet. her ankle was shattered, and that was a death sentence for most skaters.

her pairs partner and former lover, raine jones, wasn’t particularly enthused either. he’d have to find someone else to pair with for the next olympic push and he’d been training with clover for most of their lives. 

some, however, were happy about the fall. one less skater on the ice meant one less person to compete against come regionals in helena. so clover left, she moved to missoula to work with a physical therapist  and thought she’d never see the ice again except in her dreams.

two years pass away from the blackrock team, everyone has all but forgotten clover oxendine and clover oxendine has been working as a waitress at a run down diner when she gets a particularly interesting patron.

“you skate anymore?” sam mehta asks over his third slice of pie. of course, she knew he’d recognize her. he was one of the best when she was skating in juniors; it’d been all over the forums when he became a coach. 

“no.” and clover feels almost bullish for throwing that back in his face. “bum ankle. bum life. i’m too old to catch any glory, why waste the money?”

sam snorts. “i’d have thought you’d miss it.” he sighs and pulls out a wad of bills. “you know, raine jones has a new partner.”

“and?” she watches his movements closely. 

“and, it’s some asshole out of waco. pampered princess, can’t take direction to save her life.” he holds out the bills to clover with an earnest glance. 

clover eyes the bills, but takes them after  a moment.  “why should i care?”

sam rises with some effort and blows air through his  nose. “because i hate having her around the rink. she’s a nuisance. but to knock them out of first place, i need a new pair.  diego’s crew won’t go  lightly.”

clover pauses in counting the money and looks at him, craning her neck to see his full height. “i won’t compete as a pair.”

sam’s expression doesn’t change. “you’ll lose as a solo. nat and lola have that side locked up. the only pair that can rival raine is the one i make; there’s no way teddy and milo can catch up, or laurel and romeo. it’s just you.”

she leans back out of sam’s sphere of personal contact for a moment and shoves the cash in her apron, sucking on her teeth as she thinks. “i haven’t trained in two years.”

sam waits  patiently though the hesitance, but he grins when she accepts.  “you’ve got me, and mar.”

her brows draw together. “didn’t mar– sorr,y but didn’t she quit when her pairs partner like– you know– died?”

his jaw goes slack. “she’s back in it. just as a choreographer. she’ll keep you in top shape.”

thoughts swirl around her head as she comes to terms with the decision she’s made. the rink, the ice– she’d get to lace up skates again. 

“i’ll see you back in blackrock in a week,” sam said, a light smile on his face.

“wait-!” clover reaches out a hand to grab his wrist. “you didn’t  tell me who my partner will be.”

sam stands, his stance  relaxed. “i thought that was obvious. it’s evan.”

clover’s eyes go wide in surprise. the golden goose, thought to be missing for years. the youngest person to ever snag a solo gold medal.

she can’t stop her voice from rising. 

“EVAN CZARNECKI?!”