Disclaimer: I do not own MIOBI.
A/N: Forget all about season 3! Imagine Sasha was the national team coach and the girls trained at the Rock instead of the USATC. There will still be some of the same new characters, like Jordan Randall and Colleen Evans, but Coach Mac doesn't exist. The women's Olympic team is: Kelly Parker, Kaylie Cruz, Payson Keeler, Lauren Tanner, and Jordan Randall. The men's Olympic team is: Nicky Russo, Carter Anderson, Austin Tucker, Max Spencer, and Aaron Brook (a new character that I may or may not use).
Payson Keeler stood on top of the podium, waving at the cheering crowds and clutching her gold medal with a smile on her face. To the casual observer, it appeared as though America's sweetheart was thrilled with her latest victory, but Payson's friends knew better. Her lips were pursed together and her eyes were dull. Even her hair looked stringy, as she hadn't taken the time to properly brush it before the competition started. In the stands, Kelly Parker and Kaylie Cruz glanced at each other worriedly. Payson was clearly going through the motions and trying to leave the arena as quickly as possible. Their friend was falling apart on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, and they had no idea why.
The blonde-haired beauty certainly had a successful Olympics. She would fly home from London with a gold medal in the All-Around as well as gold in the uneven bars, floor exercise, and in the team competition, silver on beam, and bronze on the vault. The commentators couldn't stop talking about her inspiring story: a miraculous recovery from what should have been a career-ending injury that somehow led her to the top of the podium at the Olympics. MJ Martin's phone was already ringing off the hook with offers for Payson to act in television shows and movies, interview with some of the most famous reporters in the world and even meet the queen of England.
There was no reason for Payson Keeler not to be ecstatic. But she wasn't. The Olympics were hard on every athlete. Sleeping in an unfamiliar bed in a foreign country was always difficult, not to mention the extreme stress of being at the most important competition in your life. A single millisecond, one misstep or wobbly landing could define whether you went home a winner or a loser.
Payson was different, though. She always quickly adjusted to wherever they traveled to compete, and unlike some of her teammates she never wilted under pressure. Enthusiastic crowds and flashing cameras seemed to inspire Payson to leap higher, run faster and stretch farther. Today, though, Payson had seemed off her game. The uneven bars final was Payson's last shot at a third gold medal, and she had barely clinched a victory thanks to a high start value and a number of uncharacteristic mistakes by Ivanka and Genji Cho, as well as a startling fall from Jordan Randall.
Most shocking was the fact that Payson seemed completely unfazed by her lackluster performance. American commentators, trying to remain positive, had noted that Payson was probably just tired from the effort that she had to expend over the past four days to almost completely sweep the medals. Anyone who knew Payson, however, could sense that something else was wrong, but only one person could say what it was.
Sasha Belov stood just to the side of the podium, shielded by Payson's shadow, wondering how he could possibly mend the heart that he had so carelessly broken.
A/N: So this first chapter was kind of angsty but I promise it will get better! Future chapters will include a lot more dialogue; I just wanted to set the scene with some basic info in this chapter. Let me know what you think!