Tenacious Sky

The meet came faster than I expected. Before I knew it, we were loading up the bus and leaving for the next city over. Leo got his pass approved and rode with us. Luckily, Easton found out too late and couldn't get a pass. If Easton tagged along, I couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't fight with Leo the entire time. But surprisingly, Leo wasn't the only other student who came with us. The bus ride was only a few hours before we arrived at the hotel. After the rooms were divvied up, Coach Race huddled us in the lobby.

"Alright guys. Go set your things in your rooms then meet back here for dinner," Coach Race said before releasing us. My original room was with Sawyer and Dawson. As soon as we were released, Leo got a different room before finding Sawyer.

"Hey, Sky normally has night terrors so he can stay in my room since I'm used to it," Leo gave his excuse. Sawyer agreed before Leo took my bag up to our room. There was only one bed again. Leo noticed where my eyes went.

"At this point, it makes no sense to get separate beds," he explained. I nodded in agreement before stretching. My bind felt tight today. I went to the bathroom to loosen it a bit before going back to the room. Leo was waiting on the bed. I could see the worry in his eyes, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded and we met everyone in the lobby. The bus took us to a nearby restaurant where a long table already filled with food waited for us. Almost immediately, Leo started filling a plate before setting it down in front of me. I couldn't help the small smile that graced my face as I started eating. The conversations were loud and boisterous, but I wasn't really in the mood. I was excited about our first meet, but I was also extremely nervous. It would be my first time competing with guys, and I wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Eat something," Leo said quietly to me. I gave him a small smile before I began eating. Everyone was loud and talking excitedly with each other, but I just ate quietly. Of course, Leo noticed almost immediately.

asked softly. I sighed as I picked at my

held my hand under the table and

to the next match," he explained simply. Leo's simplistic view on everything sounded easy. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel with the promise to meet up to go to the arena in the morning. After a goodnight pep talk from Coach Race, we retired to our rooms. As soon as the door closed behind us, I took the binding off from around my chest. I

said as he held his arms out for me. I caved and sat in front of him as

nothing I can do about it unless I want to announce to the whole world

laid down as Leo

I'll do okay tomorrow?" I asked softly. I

made it all the way here. The only thing you can do is your best, and that's good enough," he assured me. Oddly enough, his words were comforting. I respected it more that he didn't immediately

said before quickly falling asleep.

***

got to the arena, I was immediately in awe. The arena was huge. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The huge space