Payson's ears were ringing with Lauren's shouts as she backed out of the room, but it wasn't her volume that shocked Payson the most. It was the accusation: Somebody killed my Olympic dreams today. The only thing you were worried about is that I was going to kick your but on beam. You messed up your double illusion so you decided this was the way you were going to bring me down.
How could Lauren think that? How could she think that Payson was like her, willing to expose her darkest secrets and use dirty tricks to make sure she came out on top? Payson was better than that…wasn't she?
Tears burned in her eyes as she ran down the hall. Lauren's shouts were echoing off the walls, filling Payson's head until it was all she could hear, and she needed silence. She needed just a second to get herself together. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to let the tears fall.
Bursting through the doors, into the bright sunlight, Payson stopped in her tracks.
He stood just a few feet away, his forehead creased into a frown, his bright blue eyes filled with concern. Seeing him there was like coming home; so familiar it made her heart ache, and so, so welcome. She hadn't realized until just that moment how much she needed to see him.
"Sasha," Payson breathed. His eyes met hers and he opened his arms. She didn't hesitate to go into them, hugging him just as tightly as he hugged her. She finally let the tears fall. They came in torrents, burning a trail down her cheeks and soaking Sasha's shirt.
"Shh," he whispered, his breath warm against the shell of her ear. His arms flexed, squeezing her tightly, and his fingers rubbed back and forth, right over her scars. "Payson, it will be okay."
She wasn't sure she believed him, but he'd never lied to her before.
"Doesn't she understand why I did it?" Payson cried into his chest. Even though Sasha wasn't moving, he froze. It was like a shudder went through him that left perfect stillness in its wake.
"Payson, what are you talking about?" Sasha asked, pulling back just enough that he could look into her eyes. Payson frowned, her hands fisting in the fabric of his shirt, afraid to let go.
"Lauren…why are you here?" Payson asked. She assumed that Sasha knew about Lauren's condition, why else would he show up at the OTC, but now she wasn't so sure.
"Coach McIntyre thought you girls might need some support, he called me earlier this afternoon. Who got cut?" Sasha asked. Payson's heart sank. He didn't know about Lauren's condition, or about what Payson did.
"Kelly," Payson said, easing herself into admitting she'd ruined Lauren's career. She saw the lines around Sasha's eyes relax. "And Lauren, by default."
"Lauren?" Sasha asked, his eyes clouded with confusion. Payson sighed and let go of him, taking a few steps back.
"Come on, we have a lot to talk about," she said. She turned back towards the dorms, leading the way up to the room she shared with Lauren.
#
Payson sat on her bed, legs crossed, facing Sasha. He mirrored her position exactly. Their knees touched. Anyone who walked in would probably find the situation highly inappropriate, but Payson didn't care and apparently neither did Sasha. He didn't once balk at the idea of sitting on her bed, or holding her hand in both of his as she spoke.
She spilled the entire story to him through a river of tears; Lauren passing out time after time, urging her to see a doctor and Lauren's continued reluctance, finding out Lauren leaked the tape, and then finally being unable to let Lauren perform.
"Payson," he finally said when she was done. Hi thumb brushed across the back of her hand, back and forth, so soothingly it made her eyes heavy. "I want to talk about what happened with Lauren today, but I need to tell you something first."
"What is it?" Payson asked. He looked down at their hands, refusing to meet her eyes.
"I knew, about Lauren and the video. She told me at Worlds and I just…I couldn't tell you. If you could have seen yourself, Payson you were so happy. Truly happy for the first time since you broke your back and I couldn't take that away from you. Then I figured it would be best coming from Lauren…"
"Sasha, stop talking," Payson ordered. Sasha's eyes snapped up to hers. Payson could feel the anger simmering in her blood, making her skin tingle; another person in her life lied to her. Did they think she couldn't handle the truth? But as angry as she was, it really didn't matter. She wasn't going to push Sasha away for doing what he thought was best, not when Lauren was pushing her away for doing the same thing.
"You're not mad?" Sasha asked, frowning at her skeptically. She snorted.
"Oh, I'm mad, but we have bigger issues right now," she said. A slow smile bloomed across Sasha's face. Sasha reached forward and grabbed Payson by the face, pulling her forward and planting his lips against her forehead.
"I missed you, Payson Keeler," he whispered against her skin. Payson laughed for what felt like the first time in weeks. She kept laughing until her stomach hurt and she couldn't breathe, and Sasha joined her. The stress of weeks at the OTC, of being afraid of losing her dream, was finally releasing itself. It was like a weight lifting off her shoulders.
"I missed you too," she gasped when she could finally speak again. Sasha pressed his forehead to hers, one hand cupping the back of her neck, the other covering her knee.
"You did the right thing, stepping in for Lauren," he whispered. "I know she thinks you were wrong, and I know she's going to make you feel horrible about it, but you did exactly what I would have done. You might have saved her life today."
"I just kept seeing my fall and thinking how horrible it would be for her if something like that happened. I thought if I told Coach Mac he could get her to a doctor, I never thought he'd take her off the team," Payson said.
"That's because I never kicked you out of the Rock. What happened to Lauren is different, Pay, there's just not enough time for her to recover fully for London. We're only a hundred days away," Sasha reminded her. Payson's heart started to race at the thought of being in London so soon.
"Knowing that doesn't make me feel any better," Payson muttered. Sasha laughed softly, his breath warm across her face.
"I know. It will take time, for both of you, but just know that Mr. Tanner will thank you for saving his daughter's life, and that I will always think you did the right thing."
Silence hung in the air between them, their foreheads still pressed together. Payson couldn't help but think about how right it felt to be there with him, to be touching him. All she had to do was tilt her head the slightest bit and…
"Do you think…" she started. She fell silent again, too afraid to voice her thoughts. The hand at the back of her neck slid forward and up to trace the line of her jaw before cupping her cheek. She shivered.
"Do I think what?" Sasha urged.
"Do you think, in a hundred and one days, we could…hang out?" Payson asked, wincing at how lame the words sounded. Sasha pulled his forehead away from hers and smiled, mischief twinkling in his eyes.
"Payson Keeler, are you asking me out on a date?" He teased. She felt heat rising in her cheeks.
"No," she insisted.
"Damn," Sasha said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "I would have said yes." Payson frowned, not quite understanding what he meant. Then it dawned on her; Sasha liked her. The feelings she had for him weren't one sided at all, and once the Olympics were over, he would be free to express them. They both would.
Testing her theory, she leaned forward slowly. Their lips brushed, just barely touching. Payson smiled against his lips, pressing forward a little more urgently. She could feel Sasha holding back, letting her take the lead. Hesitantly, she traced the seam of his lips with her tongue. They parted at the contact and his tongue flicked out to meet hers.
He pulled away far too soon for Payson's liking.
"One hundred and one days," he whispered, leaning forward to brush his lips against hers one last time. She grinned, tracing her fingers over the stubble covers his cheek.
"One hundred and one days."
A/N: So, a few things. First, did anyone else sort of hope that it was Sasha standing outside instead of Rigo? I mean don't get me wrong, I actually really like Rigo, but when they didn't show him right away and Payson looked sort of surprised, I thought for a second it might be Sasha. So that's where this came from. Second, I know that the Olympics last more than a day so 101 days isn't technically right, but I liked it, so deal.
Finally, I'm not 100% sure I love this, so let me know what you think! ;) Also, I know I owe you guys a chapter of Right Now and I'm working on it, I swear.