Sequel: Something ›
Like I'm Gonna Lose You
Sjutton
Mattias’ POV- New Years Eve 2015
“Is it even safe?” I asked Lucy who climbed out of her window.
I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but her Uncle Nick’s house is a two-story house. Lucy’s room was on the second floor, and I was not about to fall to my death.
“Yes, Uncle Nick built this house. We’re safe, come on”
I sighed and climbed out of the window. I made my way to where she was sitting, and took a seat next to her.
“I figured we’d want some privacy”
I laughed and nodded. She looked up at the sky and let out a deep breath. I had met her family and friends. Her college roommates Stella and Maddy were incredibly nice, Stella was a little sad that the team had played in Columbus a week ago and Lucy failed to tell her. She told me I was invited to her apartment for dinner next time I was in town. Maddy told me next time I was in LA that she would cook me dinner. They were honestly really friendly, and incredibly smart. Maddy worked for the Dodgers, and Stella was getting her Doctorate at Ohio State.
“Do you miss it?” I asked her.
She turned to me and smiled.
“I love living in Nashville, but I grew up here. This was my home for almost 15 years. I miss it because of the memories I made, but I wouldn’t change anything”
I nodded and she hummed.
“What about you? At least im still in the same country”
I laughed and nodded.
“I go home every summer, but I do like it here” I said.
She nodded.
“You’re living your dream”
I nodded.
“I am living my dream” I admitted.
I dreamt of playing for an NHL team, any it didn’t matter how bad they sucked as long as I got to play hockey for a career.
“What about you? Are you living your dream?” I asked.
She looked at me and smiled.
“Honestly yes, I worked my butt off through Undergrad and Grad school to get to where I’m at”
I nodded.
“What about gymnastics?” I asked her.
I looked at her and saw she was looking at her hands. She wiggled her fingers and I looked at her face to see her eyes were glossing over. I was going to change the subject, but she blinked and smiled at her hands.
“My dad actually got me into gymnastics”
She nodded slowly still looking at her hands. I vaguely knew about her family, I know they passed away when she was 6 years old. She was the only survivor in that car accident.
“My life hasn’t exactly been the easiest. I usually don’t get what I want, and gymnastics was not the career path for me”
She smiled and looked at me. Her eyes were glossed over, but she wasn’t crying. In fact, her eyes were lit up.
“I was 6 years old when the Magnificent 7 won gold for the first time in American history. I wanted to be a part of that; you know help contribute to something your country would be proud of. I wasn’t the only one who wanted to be an Olympian though, as I grew older I realized that there are so many great gymnasts and only 6 make the Olympic team.”
She shook her head.
“I was eligible to go to the Olympic Trials, and they make all the gymnasts do all around. Angela and I placed in the top 10 and we were invited to the training camp. 6 make the team, but 2 made it right after trials. I was fighting for a spot with 7 girls, one being my cousin. That camp was brutal and on the last day… I got injured. They kept trying to add a twist to my vault routine and I landed it. Unfortunately my right knee paid the price. I landed it but I felt a snap”
She pushed her hair back.
“Angela and I did not make the Olympic team, I got injured and well Angela’s two specialties were something the US was doing really well on. Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin won gold in Floor and Bars so there’s that. I tore my MCL so I got to spend that summer in rehab and my freshman year I cheered for my teammates as they performed and competed”
She shivered a bit and she moved so she was sitting closer to me. I threw my arm around her shoulder and squeezed her.
“I knew that gymnastics would end the day I graduated from college. I’m not exactly Oksana Chusovitina”
I did not know who this woman was and she saw the confusion on my face.
“She’s basically a badass in gymnastics. She competed in the ‘92 Olympics and helped win gold for the Unified Team. She competed in the 2012 Olympics and looked in great shape”
She laughed as I looked at her.
“Wow” I said.
She nodded and hummed.
“Gymnastics at UCLA was nice though, and so was school. You met the girls, they definitely made my 4 years there memorable”
I nodded; her friends were all unique in their own way. They were well set on with their career choices, but they knew how to have fun.
“Sophomore year our team got a NCAA championship. I won two individual events, my specialty floor and vault. Angela defended her title on the uneven bars and placed second on floor”
She leaned against my shoulder and I looked around. I could clearly see the people who were still outside. The big question I had was if they could see us?
“We tried to get back to back wins for the team, but spoiler it didn’t happen. Little point deductions costed us the win, but 2nd place wasn’t that bad. I defended my vault title and chose not to do floor. Angela got 1st bars and didn’t medal on floor”
She let out a puff of air and waved at Mike who waved at us. I guess they could see us.
“That summer I got a chance to represent the US again. UCLA loaned me out to the National team and I helped them win the team event. The vault I got injured doing during the trials; I nailed the landing and got the title. They tried to get me to take the year off to try to make the Olympic team. I told them no, and I retired from Elite gymnastics and focused on my senior year. I loved gymnastics, but it wasn’t my main priority”
I nodded slowly and looked at her. She leaned on me as I rubbed her arm.
“Our Senior year I tried to focus on just vault since my classes were kind of killing me. Halfway through the year I thought to myself fuck it I’m already dying so I did my floor routine. We placed third in the team event but even then I thought we did really well. Angela injured her ankle walking in heels so she decided to focus on just bars. Bar routines don’t really require the use of legs until the very end on the dismount so she winged it. She became the first woman to get back-to-back wins in her college career. I defended my vault title and I got gold on floor”
She looked at me and I nodded slowly.
“Wow” I said.
She laughed.
“All nighters were normal in college”
I laughed and shook my head because she did a lot of all nighters during grad school as well. She was always yawning and drinking coffee.
“So you haven’t changed a bit” I said.
She smiled and shook her head.
“Not really”
I nodded and looked around. We were alone, and there were no distractions.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something” I said.
She turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sure you have caught on by now” I added making her laugh.
“A bit yea”
I nodded.
“I wanted to formally ask” I started.
People shouting that the New Year would arrive in a minute interrupted me. A whistle was heard and giggles followed.
“Lucy!”
Lucy laughed as I closed my eyes because even now we were getting interrupted. I felt her hand squeeze my knee as she moved closer to the edge.
“What?”
I opened my eyes to see Mike getting ready to toss something our way.
“Grapes?”
He nodded and tossed them up. Lucy caught them and thanked him. He gave us two thumbs up before disapearing.
“Where were you?”
“Would you be my girlfriend?” I asked her.
She smiled and nodded.
“Yes, it only took…a few times”
I nodded and she opened the ziplock bag.
“So, 12 grapes for you and 12 for me”
“What is the tradition that comes with this?” I asked as she handed me 12 grapes.
She smiled and held a grape. I opened my mouth and she placed it in my mouth.
“One for every month…for goodluck”
I nodded and the count down began. I fed her a grape and I laughed as both our cheeks began to fill up with grapes. With 5 seconds left she stopped putting grapes in her mouth and actually chewed her grapes.
“1! Happy New Years!”
I leaned in and gave her a kiss. She deepened it and I put my hand against her cheek. We pulled away when we realized catcalls were being directed at us. Lucy laughed as her Uncle signaled for us to come down.
“Eat your grapes!”
She nodded and shoved one in her mouth before getting up.
“I’m not going to die, right?” I asked as I went inside first.
I helped her inside and she laughed.
“No, he just wants to say Happy New Years. He could careless about the kissing part”
I nodded and she smiled as she pet her kitten that was awake due to the commotion and fireworks outside.
“You almost killed Filip the last time”
I laughed because I hoped she had not noticed.
“But atleast that is out of the way”
I nodded and she grabbed my hand.
“Come on now”
I followed her out of the room and closed the door.
“Eat your grapes”
I popped the last 5 into my mouth and was chewing on them when we got outside.
“Maybe next year I can get a New Years kiss like that”
A scoff was heard.
“You’re to young for a boyfriend”
Lucy laughed and I let go of her hand so she could hug her family. I was pulled into a hug by Lucy’s aunt.
“That was quite the kiss”
I felt my cheeks begin to heat up and Lucy laughed.
“Aunt Mel, let him be”
She pulled away and kissed my cheek.
“Alright, Picture time”
Lucy tucked herself next to me and I put my arm around her. Nathan laughed as he got behind us.
“Luce, in front of your boyfriend”
She moved in front of me and I laughed as Mike sat next to Maia on the floor.
“I should do this more often, I could get away with the mermaid pose”
Maia laughed and shoved him. He laughed and put an arm around her.
“We’ve got 10 seconds!”
Lucy moved.
“Where are Maddy and Stella?”
The two girls rushed inside and fixed their dresses. Stella sat down on the floor and Maddy squatterd.
“Wait!”
Rosa and her husband Matt rushed inside.
“Smile!”
The flash blinded everyone in the picture, but when I got my vision back I got to see how nice the picture turned out to be.
“Is it even safe?” I asked Lucy who climbed out of her window.
I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but her Uncle Nick’s house is a two-story house. Lucy’s room was on the second floor, and I was not about to fall to my death.
“Yes, Uncle Nick built this house. We’re safe, come on”
I sighed and climbed out of the window. I made my way to where she was sitting, and took a seat next to her.
“I figured we’d want some privacy”
I laughed and nodded. She looked up at the sky and let out a deep breath. I had met her family and friends. Her college roommates Stella and Maddy were incredibly nice, Stella was a little sad that the team had played in Columbus a week ago and Lucy failed to tell her. She told me I was invited to her apartment for dinner next time I was in town. Maddy told me next time I was in LA that she would cook me dinner. They were honestly really friendly, and incredibly smart. Maddy worked for the Dodgers, and Stella was getting her Doctorate at Ohio State.
“Do you miss it?” I asked her.
She turned to me and smiled.
“I love living in Nashville, but I grew up here. This was my home for almost 15 years. I miss it because of the memories I made, but I wouldn’t change anything”
I nodded and she hummed.
“What about you? At least im still in the same country”
I laughed and nodded.
“I go home every summer, but I do like it here” I said.
She nodded.
“You’re living your dream”
I nodded.
“I am living my dream” I admitted.
I dreamt of playing for an NHL team, any it didn’t matter how bad they sucked as long as I got to play hockey for a career.
“What about you? Are you living your dream?” I asked.
She looked at me and smiled.
“Honestly yes, I worked my butt off through Undergrad and Grad school to get to where I’m at”
I nodded.
“What about gymnastics?” I asked her.
I looked at her and saw she was looking at her hands. She wiggled her fingers and I looked at her face to see her eyes were glossing over. I was going to change the subject, but she blinked and smiled at her hands.
“My dad actually got me into gymnastics”
She nodded slowly still looking at her hands. I vaguely knew about her family, I know they passed away when she was 6 years old. She was the only survivor in that car accident.
“My life hasn’t exactly been the easiest. I usually don’t get what I want, and gymnastics was not the career path for me”
She smiled and looked at me. Her eyes were glossed over, but she wasn’t crying. In fact, her eyes were lit up.
“I was 6 years old when the Magnificent 7 won gold for the first time in American history. I wanted to be a part of that; you know help contribute to something your country would be proud of. I wasn’t the only one who wanted to be an Olympian though, as I grew older I realized that there are so many great gymnasts and only 6 make the Olympic team.”
She shook her head.
“I was eligible to go to the Olympic Trials, and they make all the gymnasts do all around. Angela and I placed in the top 10 and we were invited to the training camp. 6 make the team, but 2 made it right after trials. I was fighting for a spot with 7 girls, one being my cousin. That camp was brutal and on the last day… I got injured. They kept trying to add a twist to my vault routine and I landed it. Unfortunately my right knee paid the price. I landed it but I felt a snap”
She pushed her hair back.
“Angela and I did not make the Olympic team, I got injured and well Angela’s two specialties were something the US was doing really well on. Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin won gold in Floor and Bars so there’s that. I tore my MCL so I got to spend that summer in rehab and my freshman year I cheered for my teammates as they performed and competed”
She shivered a bit and she moved so she was sitting closer to me. I threw my arm around her shoulder and squeezed her.
“I knew that gymnastics would end the day I graduated from college. I’m not exactly Oksana Chusovitina”
I did not know who this woman was and she saw the confusion on my face.
“She’s basically a badass in gymnastics. She competed in the ‘92 Olympics and helped win gold for the Unified Team. She competed in the 2012 Olympics and looked in great shape”
She laughed as I looked at her.
“Wow” I said.
She nodded and hummed.
“Gymnastics at UCLA was nice though, and so was school. You met the girls, they definitely made my 4 years there memorable”
I nodded; her friends were all unique in their own way. They were well set on with their career choices, but they knew how to have fun.
“Sophomore year our team got a NCAA championship. I won two individual events, my specialty floor and vault. Angela defended her title on the uneven bars and placed second on floor”
She leaned against my shoulder and I looked around. I could clearly see the people who were still outside. The big question I had was if they could see us?
“We tried to get back to back wins for the team, but spoiler it didn’t happen. Little point deductions costed us the win, but 2nd place wasn’t that bad. I defended my vault title and chose not to do floor. Angela got 1st bars and didn’t medal on floor”
She let out a puff of air and waved at Mike who waved at us. I guess they could see us.
“That summer I got a chance to represent the US again. UCLA loaned me out to the National team and I helped them win the team event. The vault I got injured doing during the trials; I nailed the landing and got the title. They tried to get me to take the year off to try to make the Olympic team. I told them no, and I retired from Elite gymnastics and focused on my senior year. I loved gymnastics, but it wasn’t my main priority”
I nodded slowly and looked at her. She leaned on me as I rubbed her arm.
“Our Senior year I tried to focus on just vault since my classes were kind of killing me. Halfway through the year I thought to myself fuck it I’m already dying so I did my floor routine. We placed third in the team event but even then I thought we did really well. Angela injured her ankle walking in heels so she decided to focus on just bars. Bar routines don’t really require the use of legs until the very end on the dismount so she winged it. She became the first woman to get back-to-back wins in her college career. I defended my vault title and I got gold on floor”
She looked at me and I nodded slowly.
“Wow” I said.
She laughed.
“All nighters were normal in college”
I laughed and shook my head because she did a lot of all nighters during grad school as well. She was always yawning and drinking coffee.
“So you haven’t changed a bit” I said.
She smiled and shook her head.
“Not really”
I nodded and looked around. We were alone, and there were no distractions.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something” I said.
She turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sure you have caught on by now” I added making her laugh.
“A bit yea”
I nodded.
“I wanted to formally ask” I started.
People shouting that the New Year would arrive in a minute interrupted me. A whistle was heard and giggles followed.
“Lucy!”
Lucy laughed as I closed my eyes because even now we were getting interrupted. I felt her hand squeeze my knee as she moved closer to the edge.
“What?”
I opened my eyes to see Mike getting ready to toss something our way.
“Grapes?”
He nodded and tossed them up. Lucy caught them and thanked him. He gave us two thumbs up before disapearing.
“Where were you?”
“Would you be my girlfriend?” I asked her.
She smiled and nodded.
“Yes, it only took…a few times”
I nodded and she opened the ziplock bag.
“So, 12 grapes for you and 12 for me”
“What is the tradition that comes with this?” I asked as she handed me 12 grapes.
She smiled and held a grape. I opened my mouth and she placed it in my mouth.
“One for every month…for goodluck”
I nodded and the count down began. I fed her a grape and I laughed as both our cheeks began to fill up with grapes. With 5 seconds left she stopped putting grapes in her mouth and actually chewed her grapes.
“1! Happy New Years!”
I leaned in and gave her a kiss. She deepened it and I put my hand against her cheek. We pulled away when we realized catcalls were being directed at us. Lucy laughed as her Uncle signaled for us to come down.
“Eat your grapes!”
She nodded and shoved one in her mouth before getting up.
“I’m not going to die, right?” I asked as I went inside first.
I helped her inside and she laughed.
“No, he just wants to say Happy New Years. He could careless about the kissing part”
I nodded and she smiled as she pet her kitten that was awake due to the commotion and fireworks outside.
“You almost killed Filip the last time”
I laughed because I hoped she had not noticed.
“But atleast that is out of the way”
I nodded and she grabbed my hand.
“Come on now”
I followed her out of the room and closed the door.
“Eat your grapes”
I popped the last 5 into my mouth and was chewing on them when we got outside.
“Maybe next year I can get a New Years kiss like that”
A scoff was heard.
“You’re to young for a boyfriend”
Lucy laughed and I let go of her hand so she could hug her family. I was pulled into a hug by Lucy’s aunt.
“That was quite the kiss”
I felt my cheeks begin to heat up and Lucy laughed.
“Aunt Mel, let him be”
She pulled away and kissed my cheek.
“Alright, Picture time”
Lucy tucked herself next to me and I put my arm around her. Nathan laughed as he got behind us.
“Luce, in front of your boyfriend”
She moved in front of me and I laughed as Mike sat next to Maia on the floor.
“I should do this more often, I could get away with the mermaid pose”
Maia laughed and shoved him. He laughed and put an arm around her.
“We’ve got 10 seconds!”
Lucy moved.
“Where are Maddy and Stella?”
The two girls rushed inside and fixed their dresses. Stella sat down on the floor and Maddy squatterd.
“Wait!”
Rosa and her husband Matt rushed inside.
“Smile!”
The flash blinded everyone in the picture, but when I got my vision back I got to see how nice the picture turned out to be.
♠ ♠ ♠
Took my senior portrait today, it's happening guys! I'm graduating from college this June! I need to apply for commencement and graduation though! I'll do that tonight!