A/N: Sooooo....the original meme for this chapter literally made no sense to me as to why it was the one that I picked so you get Race being a spaz. Although, what's new? But we love him for it. Things would be very boring if he wasn't there. Also, Kerri belongs to DaydreamShimmer. Evelyn/EJ belongs to E_J_Hawthorne. Hope I wrote your peeps right!! Also, anything that I mention that I don't own, I don't own so please don't sue.

I wake up to my phone vibrating on my dresser next to me. After work, I had literally come home and collapsed just because of how exhausting the day had been.

And really, I didn't want to do much else. Life's too tiring as it is.

I lazily reach my hand over and lightly slap at the side table until I find my phone. I answer it without even looking to see who's calling and say lazily,

"Hello?"

"Ahh, dote! You sound sleepy. Did I just wake you from your slumber?" Tanner's voice cuts through the phone speaker causing me to blanch and hold the phone away from my ear for a minute.

"Tanner...." I grumble softly as I roll over, fighting the sleep trying to overtake me.

"I'll take that as a yes. You're never this grumpy in person unless I've just woken you from a nap," he says. I silently lament the fact that he know me too well for my own good.

"Did you need something?" I ask softly.

"Are you dating one of those endearing little hockey boys from the States?" he asks me without much of second thought.

"What?!" I exclaim, now more awake than I have been throughout this entire conversation. I wipe at my forehead furiously while contemplating. "Tanner..." I say again.

"Well, are you? Don't hold out on me here, dote," he says and I sigh before playing with the ends of my shirt.

"No. I'm just getting to know them. You're always telling me I need more of a social life," I say as my phone starts vibrating against my ear. I pull it away to see Mush has sent me a text. A smile creeps onto my face as I open up my messaging app to text him back.

"You're texting him, aren't you? The one that saved you from those gangsters?" Tanner's voice teases from the other end of the phone.

"There were multiple of them that saved me, Tanner," I say as I text him back and start to move to get ready for the evening's events, "You need to be more specific."

"Ah, dote. You always were one to fantasize and get carried away by these sort of things," Tanner replies endearingly and I roll my eyes at the thought just as my phone vibrates again.

"We're just friends," I say, "And angering gangsters is a bit of a turnoff so I wouldn't really be inclined to date any of them if this happens on a regular basis."

"They're a bunch of hockey boys from the States. I'm sure they don't stray away from fights," Tanner offers up and I clench my fists in frustration, "But then again, I've only seen the bar fights in the movies so what do I know?" I let my fist go and relax at his reasoning. That really isn't much to go on.

"Mush would only fight if it meant protecting someone dear to him," I say and then realize what I've done.

"Aha! So there is one in particular that you have your eyes on! If I remember correctly, Mush is a very sweet one. The two of you would do well together," he says.

"I have my eyes on a wonderful friendship with him," I counter but Tanner merely chuckles.

"You say that now..." he replies and I bite my lip so I don't make a poor retort. I remember the text that Mush had sent me and I look it back up before replying. I hear Tanner sigh loudly over the phone. "You're still texting him..." he replies and I bite my lips in a bit of frustration. How can he predict what I'm doing so easily even over the phone?

"Tanner...listen I gotta go and get ready. I'll talk to you later but I'm glad you called," I say and I hear Tanner chuckle.

"Dote, are you going to the figure skating competition this evening?" he asks me gently and I feel myself tense up.

"Yeah, are you? How did you know I was going? There's usually multiple events going on at the Olympics at the same time," I answer.

"Well there's some figure skaters from the US competing and...." Tanner starts to explain, "Well, a dear friend of mine ran an article about the hockey team and figure skaters being friends and..."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about the Irish athletes?" I ask.

"Oh...well....we were. I just happened to see it and knew that you had spent some lovely time with Manhattan Fire and...." he trails off again, "Dote, are you going on a date?"

"No...it's not a date. It's a figure skating competition. Who would go to a figure skating competition as a date?" I ask incredulously.

'You would. You would go wherever he wanted as long as it meant that you got to spend some time with him," Tanner replies and I resist the urge to groan at the accuracy of his statements, "So, I suppose I'll see you tonight, then."

"Yes, probably. But from a distance. I'm going to be busy watching the figure skating," I reply. 

"Oh I'm sure you'll be watching the figure skating....if you call figure skating staring at the boy next to you," Tanner says with a chuckle.

"Whatever you say, Tanner," I say, "See you later."

"Bye, dote."

Thank goodness that's over with. I hope I never have to have that conversation again. At least he woke me up. I might have been late if he didn't. I move to find the clothes I wore to work again and I soon find a cute long blousey shirt with a pair of black leggings to wear. Slipping on some cute no tie sneakers, I shoot a text to Mush telling him that I'm leaving the apartment. He texts me back with the subway stop of where they are and says he'll meet me there.

Not gonna lie, my heart flutters a bit more than I would like to admit when I read that.

I hurry through the busy city streets and to my subway station. The whole ride to the subway station seems to take FOREVER. Normally it's not too bad but just because I'm going to see some friends, and a really cute guy, but FRIENDS....it's now taking ten times longer than normal. 

Considering my current situation, I think the bullet train in Tokyo would have felt slow too. On the inside, I'm really not the most patient person in the world. I fidget half out of nervousness and half out of excitement the whole ride there. It feels like forever when the train finally stops and I make a break for the door to the station. Hurrying up to the common area of the station where the tracks aren't located, I spot Mush looking in the crowd for me. Skittery and a few of the others are with him. It looks like Skittery is currently having an argument with some redhead guy. Mush brightens up when he notices me moving towards them.

"Hi!" he calls out.

"Hello," I reply before casting a slightly concerned, slightly wary glance at the bickering pair.

"They've been arguing about how to pronounce Djibouti for the last hour," Mush says nonchalantly before casually slinging an arm over my shoulders, "Now are you ready to see some figure skating?"

"Of course!! I always loved to watch figure skating when I was a kid," I say and Mush smiles sweetly at me and turns to the others. Kid Blink, who's among them, shouts to get their attention,

"HEY, YOU BUMMERS!! MOVE YOUR SORRY LITTLE REARS OUT THE DOOR!!!"

The whole subway station goes quiet and I resist the urge to hide my face in Mush's shirt. Kid Blink looks around suddenly nervous before giving a pilot nod to everyone. Mush and I simply stare at the group of boys.

"He did it!! Don't embarrass the gorgeous lady, Kid!" a boy who I don't know the name of calls out.

"Are they...." I trail off before Mush gently leads me to the door.

"Okay? I don't know...I ask myself that question everyday. Sometimes even about myself," he replies before pulling me out the door.

"Ummmm...." I start to say and a couple minutes later, the boys follow us out of the station. Mush leads me through the busy city and to a kiosk.

"You say the 'j'," Skittery is saying to that redheaded guy, "You always say the 'j'".

"Nah, you wouldn't say the 'j' because then it makes it way too hard to say," the redhead fires back.

"And I thought he was one of the more sane ones," Mush mutters under his breath.

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Albert. And don't you dare get him near Race or it'll be chaos like you've never believed," Mush replies, "It makes Davey about have a breakdown right on the spot."

"But I thought Davey was a part of the shipping couple," I comment.

"He is...just catch him without his other half and we'll be all good. Which unfortunately, she does pair figure skating so you'll probably see them together," Mush says giving a long sigh after he says that.

"What's wrong?" I ask. Mush is about to answer when that boy who had yelled at Kid Blink comes running up.

"Well hello hello hello...." he starts, "Who's this? You didn't tell me you were picking up cuties halfway across the world, Mush. Care to share?"

"Ummmm....."I say nervously, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. Mush's grip tightens on my shoulder.

"I just make em all speechless. Don't I, Mush?" the boy continues. I shift my weight again and Mush rubs my shoulder.

"She's just shy, Rome," Mush replies, "At least...I think she's not that into you." 

"I just met him," I say matter of factly, "And I've only known you for three days. I'm Selah."

"Selah? That's a pretty name," the boy says, "Just as pretty as your long hair and your gorgeous sweet face and...."

"And....we're gonna be late if we don't keep moving," Mush says with a bit more force than necessary. He leads me towards a security desk and pulls some kind of a pass out of his pocket.

"What's your name?" I ask as we keep moving.

"My name, gorgeous, is Romeo," Romeo introduces.

"A pleasure to meet you," I say.

"Oh the pleasure is all mine, beautiful," Romeo continues, "It's not often we get to interact with ladies as pretty as you."

"Thanks to Race, he now flirts with every lady," A guy with glasses on shouts out from the back.

"Who's that?" I ask Mush quietly.

"That's Specs....he's really smart like Davey but occasionally..." Mush starts before Specs keeps on shouting,

"He pretended to have a whole love confession with a statue the other day."

"What?!" Kid Blink shouts, "Who has a love confession with a statue?"

"Well I'm surprised Mush hasn't had a...." Romeo starts.

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHH...."Mush cuts him off and I turn to him.

"What's....?" I start but Mush nudges me further along.

"We gotta go. This is gettin way out of hand," he says, "And no, I have never confessed love to a statue. When I was in high school, I could be quite the flirt but I've never done something quite to that level."

"That's good," I say, "Romances with a statue are usually pretty one sided."

"Well that and I never really felt that it was all that personal," Mush replies and I chuckle at him.

"And for your information, the confession was very real. Gladys and I have been going strong ever since we met," Romeo says in a very sassy voice.

"Gladys? Do I really want to know?" I ask.

"Yes," Romeo says at the exact same time Mush says no.

"You don't want to know," Mush says, "It's just weird." He says before discussing something with the person at the security kiosk. He shows him his pass, explains who I am and after some deliberating, we're allowed to go in to the Olympic Village.

I look around at all of the different athletes hurrying from place to place and just the activity of the village in general.

"Wow!! This is amazing!! I've never been in the village before. Just to the stadium," I remark as I take it all in.

"All the magic happens in the stadium," Romeo says flirtatiously, "And if you go behind the bleachers....."

"HEY!!! WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE BLEACHERS STAYS BEHIND THE BLEACHERS!!" Kid Blink shouts from the back. Mush and I exchange looks and he pulls me in a silent plea to walk faster. I listen and glance over my shoulder to the boys with a raised eyebrow. I'm about to turn around when I hear Skittery's voice say,

"Ya know, I'm gonna ask book girl. She's smart and would know these things."

"Doesn't she have a real name or are you too stupid to know what it is?" Albert who Skittery is arguing with still asks him.

"I'm not stupid. I just think it suits her," Skittery responds.

"Well how would you know? Do you even know her?" Albert asks with a very accusing tone.

"I've met her and that's more than you've done, Glum and Dumb," Skittery snaps back.

"Hey....I'm not the one who's...." Albert whines.

"I don't wanna hear it. Race started it that one night when we went out to dinner back in New York and it's spread like a disease," Skittery complains. Kid Blink whirls around to shoot him finger guns.

"You can't forget about these!!" he calls out.

"Agggghhhhhh!" Skittery groans. His head goes right into his hands but he looks up long enough to catch Mush and I watching the whole scene play out with complete confusion. "Book girl!!! I have a question for you!!" he calls out before Mush and I can start walking away.

"It's not about Djibouti, is it?" I ask timidly. I watch as Skittery pales considerably. 

"HA!" Albert calls out, "She says it my way!!"

"Everybody says this way. I'm not really sure why it's that much of a contest," I say, "Skittery, how do you say it?"

"Da.."he attempts to say it before stopping and thinking for a moment.

"Hurry it up, Glum and Dumb. We ain't got all day," Albert taunts him. We're nearing the stadium as their argument continues and Crutchie, who I recognize from the day before is leaning up against the back of the building.

"Dajbouti...that's how I say it," Skittery responds after a moment, "See? Sounds normal."

"It's not how 'book girl' says it," Albert replies with a lot of sass.

"Would you two children stop whining and get in here? Jack's getting tired of trying to save seats in the premium seating for us. He needs to go talk to Kerri and Jojo," Crutchie calls out from the back of the building. We hurry into the building and I hear Crutchie mutter to Mush and I as we pass,

"Peasants, the whole lot of ya. Except for you, Miss Selah."

"How did you know my name?" I ask with a slight bit of surprise.

"Oh! You don't know? You're kind of a hot topic of discussion," Crutchie starts and Mush clears his throat in a not so subtle manner, "Because you're new and all and.."

He's cut off by some kind of loud shrieking from somewhere in the building.

"Run," Mush says quickly, pulling me under and behind the bleachers, "If we don't look at them, then maybe they're not there."

"Just don't let Romeo catch us or I don't think we're ever gonna hear the end of it," I whisper as Mush pulls me deeper into the shadows under the bleachers. We moves towards the very edge so that we can run if we get caught. A hand suddenly reaches around and grabs Mush's shoulder causing him to jump. I let out a tiny gasp and on impulse grab Mush's hand.

"Well hello there!" a tall boy with dark hair says with some kind of a scary looking gleam in his eyes.

"Run!" Mush says and I do. I sprint right out from under the bleachers and run straight into Crutchie, who's talking to Romeo.

"Whoa sweetheart," Romeo says suavely, "Usually the ladies crash into me and not Crutchie." Crutchie gently catches me and pats my arm.

"They found you," Crutchie says matter of factly.

"They found us," I reply and Romeo, now noticing where I had run out from, gets a huge smirk on his face.

"Do ya wanna talk about what happened under the bleachers?" he asks mischievously and it takes all of my willpower not to run from him too.

"No," I say. Crutchie and I step apart and I notice him contemplating something.

"You know, I've actually met you three times...." he says after a moment, "Once with the gangsters, yesterday at the restaurant and now here. And you're a hot topic of conversation so...."

"I'm not sure where to be pleased or frightened," I reply before looking timidly for Mush, "Should I go check on him and make sure he's okay?"

"It's a trap so I wouldn't," Crutchie replies just as Skittery finds his way back down to us.

"They found you?" he asks, "Thought you were better at blending in than that, book girl. You blend in with the bookshelves pretty well."

"Thank you?" I ask as I cross my arms to think that over.

"And yet, you're still calling her 'book girl'. Seriously, Skits, don't you know her real name?" Albert says, casually slinging an arm over his shoulder.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Skittery says moodily.

"What IS your real name?" Albert asks.

"Selah," I say, "And Mush told me you're Albert, right?"

"That's me," he says, "I'm more....relaxed than most of these..." he pauses as if looking for the right word. "Idi....I mean delightful people," he says when he starts to get looks from some of the others before turning back to me and mouthing "Idiots". I chuckle and Skittery looks at me with a very accusatory glare.

"What's so funny?" he asks. I never get to answer because a loud shout rings out from above the bleachers, one with a really bad Russian accent.

"Who's...?" I start but trail off.

"Selah, meet Jack Kelly, Kerri and Jojo's coach and the respective dad of this cult...I mean family," Crutchie says.

"Ahh...I think I've heard about him," I say. Jack starts shouting in the Russian accent again but no one must understand it because all of us exchange confused glances.

"What'd ya say?" Romeo shouts back and Jack just rolls his eyes and looks like he's muttering before calling out in a New York accent that sounds much more natural coming from him,

"Get up here. The competition's starting soon." The boys hurry up to him.

"Wait, but what about Mush?" I ask but Crutchie pulls me up to the bleachers.

"He'll live. Trust me. Mush can take care of himself," he responds.

"Aww, Coach. I'm glad you put so much faith in me," I hear Mush say. He moves Romeo, who I didn't realize how close he's sitting to me, over a bit so that he can sit next to me.

"You survived," I say happily, "Are we safe?"

"Well...." Mush starts but there's more shrieking.

"This is the most adorable thing I've seen!!!!" A female voice cries out.

"I take it that's a no," I reply but before Mush can answer an announcer starts introducing a figure skater. I watch as a pretty young girl skates out onto the ice. After she is announced, she starts to skate to a some pop song that I don't recognize. I notice Mush mouthing the words and bopping his head along to the beat. As we watch, I suddenly feel a frantic tapping on my shoulder and turn around to see two people staring at us with very wide eyes.

"So, when's the wedding?" the girl of the pair asks excitedly.

"Ummm....do I know you? And we're not together in that way," I say gesturing between Mush and I. 

"Oh not yet," the guy sitting next to her says, "But just give it time."

"Davey!! Evelyn!!" Mush says before gently slinging an arm over my shoulder, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"The pleasure is all ours," Davey replies, "Watching this ship sail is absolutely fascinating."

Mush tucks me under his arm and gently rests his hand across my shoulder.

"I think that the figure skating competition is interesting. Evelyn, how do you think Kerri's going to do tonight?" he asks, trying to change the topic off of us and onto something more.....more......I can't even think of the word I want because my brain is STILL trying to compensate with Mush's hand and arm on and across my shoulder and the fact that Evelyn and Davey are two very interesting individuals. Not in a bad way though. You need people like these two to keep life interesting.

I turn my attention back to the graceful figure skater as she glides across the ice. The skirt of her dress rises and falls with her jumps and twirls with her spins. The small piece in her hair glistens under the bright lights as she moves this way and that way.

"So, what's your name and how'd you meet this cinnamon roll of a child?" Evelyn asks excitedly.

"I'm Selah. And Mush and some of the other boys came running into the library that I intern at," I explain.

"Aww...Selah and Mush are such cute names for a couple," Evelyn replies, "Y'all are so cute already. Don't worry. I've been trying my best not to let the other boys corrupt him but you know how these things go."

"I actually don't," I say shyly. Before our conversation, I hear the name Kerri Blackburn be announced over the speakers and the entire rest of the group starts to cheer loudly. A girl with dark hair skates out onto the rink and starts warming up as the group around me goes absolutely wild.

"YOU GO, BLACKBIRD!!" A boy with blonde curly hair shouts as Kerri skates around on the ice, still warming up.

"Who's that?" I ask no one in particular.

"That is the half cat, half pixie being we call Racetrack Higgins. He and I are each other's....half of the brain I guess. We're twins," Evelyn answers me and I raise a slightly confused eyebrow. "He think he's Kerri's biggest fan....emphasis on the thinks," she continues. I turn back to the ice rink just as Kerri poses to start her routine. Mush pulls me closer into his side and I hear another squeal from the two people behind us.

"I'm confused," I say to no one in particular.

"You'll learn someday soon, my young apprentice," Evelyn says from behind me, "You will learn."

Music begins to play as Kerri begins to perform her routine. Her body moves gracefully as she spins and does some jumps that look very complicated. I watch, completely enamored by what she's doing. Ever since I was a child, figure skating has always fascinated me. I watch as she performs several complex pieces of choreography right in a row.

"What's this program?" I ask Mush quietly and he thinks for a minute.

"I think this is their short program....it usually happens towards the end of the first week," he says softly as we continue to watch Kerri skate around the ice, "And that was a beautiful landing of a double axel." Kerri elegantly places her foot back down on the ice as she continues on with the routine, moving gracefully in time with the music playing behind her. A few seconds later she pulls off another axel as Mush refers to it, landing on the ice with perfect timing. She performs a jump that looks as though she jumps from her toes which has her spinning in the air for a few seconds before she drops back down to the ice, only wobbling just the tiniest bit before continuing on.

I watch as her simple skirt twirls around her as she performs a spin before turning it into yet another jump that sends her twirling through the air. She skates around the ice for a couple seconds after she lands it, still looking as elegant as ever. Pulling off another jump that has all the grace and beauty of a pirouette, Kerri lands it, once again wobbling just a tiny bit before moving forward.

"She's amazing," I whisper softly, "I wish I could skate like that." Mush hears me and a soft smile spreads across his features. Kerri looks as though she's about to jump backwards before she twirls herself around in midair several times. She sticks the landing and skates to the center of the rink where she performs a beautiful spin. It's so hard to tell which way she's actually moving just because of how well she handles the spin. She finishes with her arms raised and a smile on her face as the music fades away.

The group all around me bursts into applause as Kerri exits the rink. I clap loudly too. Figure skating and just really ice skating in general is something that always impresses me because it's something that I know I would struggle to do personally.

The rest of the competitors pale in comparison to Kerri. I still watch completely impressed by all of the choreography and just the beauty and grace of it all...both of which I would never be able to have while on an ice rink.

"Hey, are you a night owl?" Mush asks me all of a sudden.

"I mean...yeah. I'm not a social night owl but I am a night owl," I reply with a shrug, "Why?"

"You just seem really into this and it's kind of given me an idea," Mush answers.

"I do enjoy it, but...." I say as the competition begins to end, "I've never actually set foot on the ice before." Mush's eyes light up when I say that.

"This makes my idea even better," he replies.

"What IS your idea?" I ask him and he merely smirks at me.

"You'll find out later," he says as the competition comes to an end, "Just keep your phone by you."

The ride home is completely lost on me as all I can think about is Mush and what his big plans could be for the future.

A/N: Hey!!!! Guess who's back with an update?? I'm sorry it's been so long. Life's been kinda hectic and I've been working on some stuff behind the scenes and school and work are hectic enough to keep me from writing.

Anyways, I hope this was worth the wait. The next chapter is going to be ADORABLE. I'm super excited about it. Guesses as to what Mush's idea might be?

Hoping to get back around to ya know writing Newsies things and just doing updates in general but life happens.

Also, I had to do some research and some of the timing for this competition may be a little fudged since it happens at the end of the first week in the real world. The competition that Kerri participates in is the Short Free Skate for Women. It's only like 2 minutes long at the most... maybe two and a half. I did reference some jumps and things but if ya wanna learn more info on how figure skating competitions work in general, I have the websites readily available to share. I tried to do some research based on what happened at the 2018 Olympics but, once again, I may have had to fudge things to make them work.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed it and that it was a fun chapter. It was a very fun chapter to write and this book is only going to get more fun the further we go along.

Stay safe, have a great week and hopefully, I'll put something out in the near future (if not, my semester's done May 15th and then I should be good to write A LOT.)

See you around, friends.

-Aisling