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Saturday mornings, when the rest of campus was still sleeping off hangovers from Friday night tailgates and parties, Atem found himself in a small ballet studio at the edge of campus. It was cozy and a bit on the older side, with wood floors that had been refinished time and time again. The mirrors that lined the walls were beginning to tarnish around the edges, the reflection in the corners cloudy. A portable speaker sat on a rickety wooden chair in the corner of the dance floor, the most modern thing in the room by far.
Atem shrugged off his bag as he entered, left his shoes by the door, and padded across the smooth floors to drop his things under the barre at the far wall. He pulled a pair of leggings and a tank top out of his bag and made his way down the hall to change. By the time he returned to the main studio, he was no longer alone.
“Happy Saturday!” Anzu chirped, already in her tights and leotard with a pale pink skirt tied about her waist. She must have worn her ballet attire underneath her sweats.
“Thank the gods,” agreed Atem, starting to begin his warm-up stretches alongside his friend. It had been a long week; between multiple exams, alternating early and late practices, and trying to fit in time to relax, Atem was exhausted. If only he hadn’t stayed out so late at the game…
“I heard you had an interesting night last night,” Anzu side-eyed him, playful grin on her lips. “Learned a thing or two about yourself, perhaps?”
Atem, who was slowly stretching his inner thighs, almost slipped and crashed into a full split. He caught himself on the barre, barely avoiding his doom. “Hell- warn a guy will you?” Atem griped. His face was flush from embarrassment at both the fall and his friend’s comment. “How could you possibly know about that, you weren’t even at the game!”
“Oh, a little blonde birdie texted me last night. A drunk text, for sure, but still counts!” Anzu’s grin could now only be described as shit-eating. She effortlessly threw her leg up onto the barre and leaned into her stretch. “I know you saw Yugi get in his first fight last night. I didn’t know a split lip and a missing tooth was what did it for you, but hey, to each their own.”
Jou may have just gotten cleared to return to play, but Atem was seriously considering dislocating his friend’s other knee for spreading around that little bit of gossip. As if the wingman didn’t have his own awkward crush-slash-rivalry to worry about.
“He didn’t lose any teeth, let’s get that straight right now,” Atem replied, refusing to meet Anzu’s very amused gaze. The memory of Yugi, standing shirtless in the locker room with his bloodied lip came unbidden to the forefront of Atem’s mind, and he felt the ever-present flush on his cheeks creep further down his neck. Fuck. It was just so. Rugged. Such a contrast to the graceful elegance his friend had once embodied as a figure skater. It made his stomach flip pleasantly, and his cheeks warm. But that wasn’t the point right now.
Atem shook his head, trying to focus on saving what was left of his dignity. “It was just surprising, that’s all. If you’d have seen it, you would have been just as shocked. We all skated together for years! Neither of us would have ever bet that Yugi would even so much as yell at a competitor, let alone punch them.” He laid himself out on the floor to stretch his low back, huffing.
Anzu just shrugged, swapping out one leg on the barre for the other. “I think the newfound confidence is good for him. And you’re right, I probably wouldn’t have expected a fight either. But the difference here is that I’m not turned on by it. That part seems to be exclusive to you.”
All she got in response was a pathetic whine that floated up from the floor of the studio.
“Not even trying to deny it, huh? You really are down bad.” Anzu squatted down next to Atem where he lay facedown on the floor, spiky ponytail sticking up towards the ceiling. She patted his shoulder consolingly. “It’s okay, Atem. You’re not the first person to fall for a hockey player. And you won’t be the last. But I am gonna get you shorts that say ‘Certified Puck Bunny’ across the ass.”
“-liked him before he started playing…” muttered Atem, nose pressed against the floorboards. He breathed out a long-suffering sigh before turning over. “I’m too tired to practice today…”
“No you aren’t, you’re just distracted.” Atem raised an eyebrow, and Anzu caught sight of the darkness under his eyes. “Okay, maybe you’re a little tired,” she amended. “But doing something physical will help take your mind off last night, and then after you can come up with a solution on how to approach everything!” She offered Atem a hand as she stood, this time with a much less teasing, more kind smile.
Taking her hand, Atem let himself be pulled to his feet. As always, his best friend was spot on with her advice, as much as she might tease him. They both took their positions at the barre. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
Anzu rolled her shoulders. “Figured we could just go through some basic positions, then finish with a few combos? Nothing crazy, we’ve both had a lot of ice time this week.”
Atem was all for that plan. He let himself settle into his body, focusing on the feeling of his core holding him steady and muscles flexing as he and Anzu started a series of pliés; first the demi plié, then after a few minutes moving into the grands.
There was no sound in the studio but the softness of their breathing and shifting of bare feet on the floor as they moved, Atem a near- perfect mirror of Anzu. Unlike her, he had only recently started ballet as an adjunct to his normal training routine. She was more classically trained, having started in dance first at a very young age before making the jump to competitive figure skating.
Time seemed to flow slow and easy around them as they practiced, all thought of the night’s previous events settling in the recesses of Atem’s mind. This had indeed been what he’d needed, and after an hour, he found himself pleasantly aching and sweating lightly as he came out of his last petit allegro. He silently watched Anzu carry herself effortlessly through a Saut de Basque, and clapped lightly when she finished her final step. “Lovely as always. I’ll never understand why you never pursued dance professionally.” Even dancing in demi pointe, she moved with effortless grace and skill.
But Anzu just shrugged at his comment. “Same reason Yugi left figure skating. It just wasn’t the right fit. But I’m glad I have you to practice with now! I did miss having company in the studio.” She made her way over to where Atem had been watching from the barre, and grabbed her water bottle while checking her phone. “It’s just past ten, wanna get a smoothie or something? I need to procrastinate just a little bit more before I have to study.”
Atem grinned, starting to pack up his own belongings. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t enable poor time management?” Just as he finished speaking, his stomach growled audibly. “Also, I’m starving. Lead the way.”
As they pulled on their shoes and exited the studio, Atem felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw a new message from Honda. Which was odd, because he fully expected the wingman to be dead asleep out after a night of celebrating their quarter finals victory. Curious, Atem opened the message to reveal a link.
From Honda – 10:04am
a fan filmed the fight, thought u might wanna save it for purposes hehe
[https://www.instagram.com/reel/CH87Jw65/?jhfeo=kjrkbf]
Atem knew what was on the end of that link. He clicked it anyway.
He also saved it. But that was nobody’s business but his own.