forum Apaixonar: The act of falling in love.//OxO//Romance//CLOSED

Started March 29, 2019 by @croccin-champagne

tune

"Congratulations t' our losers." Babe said, waving to the team that had come in second. "Y'all don' have t' put up with me much longer. Now the rest o' y'all, hurry up an' get goin'."

"What, we have to do that again?" Kevin whined, leaning against the edge.
"Seriously, though, how long are you planning on making us do these?" Henry asked, between catching his breath.

((I thought so))

Babe snorted, but turned away. "Water break, back in five or ya forfeit." She said, skating over to the exit from the rink t talk to Kai. She'd almost forgotten that they weren't used to the drills, and they might need a couple more breaks than usual.

Henry sighed in relief, grabbing his water before skating over to Babe and Kai. "So, how do you like watching your sister torment us?"

"It's hilarious." Kai said, turning his bright grin on Henry. "Her accent gets all thick when she does the coach thing, and she gets all mean."

"I don' get mean." Babe said, plopping down in a seat. She had her phone in hand again, occasionally rolling her eyes at whoever she was texting. "It's criticism. I'm helpin' 'em learn."

"She means, she's always mean. Coaching just gives her an excuse to be loud and mean." He grinned back at Kai, careful not to make eye contact with Babe.

"Okay, rude." Babe looked up from her phone at Henry, making a face. "If I was mean, I wouldn'ta given you losers a break.My coach didn'."

"I dunno, Babe." Kai said, not as scared as Henry to make eye contact with his sister. He was obviously messing with her. "You can be pretty mean when you wanna be."

Henry nodded sympathetically. "Really, Kai, I can't imagine how hard it is for you. Do you ever feel like she's placed impossible expectations on you? And like she's always yelling at you, telling you what to do?" He snuck a glance at Babe, watching for her reaction and trying to hid his smile.

"All the time." Kai said solemnly, hanging his head like he was upset.

Babe rolled her eyes, standing up and tucking her phone away. "They ain't impossible expectations, ya big baby. You can always do better, and I'm helpin' with that. Take a look at your skatin' already, and you'll see. You finish that flashlight, Kai?"

Henry cocked his head. "Wow. I can actually really, really hear the accent. Does she talk like that at home, or just when she's excited? It's so weird…" He watched her, playing curious and tilting his head.

"She talks like that all the time." Kai said, digging around his pocket and pulling out the flashlight. He clicked it on, a very strong and bright beam of light shining up. "It gets even thicker when she's excited, angry, or feeling super strong emotions though. To the point where even the rest of us, who have literally the same accent, can't understand her."

Henry whistled, impressed with the flashlight. "That's awesome." He nudged Babe with his knee, sitting down next to them. "That accent though, I can't decide if it's annoying or adorable."

"Say tha' again." Babe challenged, sticking her tongue out. "And I'll make the drills even harder. Y'all're doin' basics now, how would you like t' go full pro."

"Thanks." Kai said, giving Henry a bright smile before looking at his sister. "Please don't kill them with your insane drills, Babe."

Henry sighed. "Yes ma'am. None of us want to die today." He stood and skated back out to the center of the rink, lining up with the other three as they waited for whatever kind of torture Babe would dream up next.

Babe skated back out after a moment of talking quietly with her brother, and studied the line-up. "I'm splittin' ya up again, into new pairs. You'll compete the same drill, but no one's out this time around."

Huh. Henry thought for a minute, trying to figure out what she was planning. The boys partnered up, skating off to start the drill with smooth, precise strokes.

Babe did the same thing she had last time, calling out instructions and corrections in her thick accent. If someone had payed attention, they might've even noticed the compliments worked in.

And turn and push and turn and stop. His brain was on autopilot, hearing and accepting each correction. Henry stopped smoothly, panting for breath. The boys lined up again, all breathing hard. "How'd we do, coach?"

"Not bad." Babe said, nodding. There was a spark of something like pride in her eyes though. "For first timers, y'all are doin' pretty decent. Need another break, or ya good for the next elim. round?"

"Break, please!" It was a unanimous, and the boys split apart to sit down and get more water. Henry skated back over to Kai, sitting down and grabbing his water bottle.

Babe didn't head back to her brother, instead doing a couple laps around the rink. Once done, she headed to the setup for the drill, a small grin on her face as she began the familiar exercise.

Kai grinned up at Henry, waggling his eyebrows. "I'm surprised you're still her friend. This isn't a side a lot of people get the misfortune of seeing."

Henry laughed. "We're in the same first class. She isn't so terrible, just… Intense. Very focused. And, she has an awfully talented family." He nudged Kai with his leg, loosing his skate laces.