Author's Note: Sequel! Here it is…Enjoy! If you haven't read Another Twisted Family Reunion, I would recommend reading it first because you may get confused at times.

Disclaimer: I do not own Make It or Break It.


She would never have thought. To her, it's almost like a dream that she knows is unreal and she knows she's about to wake up from. Except this isn't a dream.

The former Bad Boy and the ever-focused girl… has an unusual ring to it. It's amazing how nine years ago, when the most focused gymnast at the time encountered the most egotistical, self-centered gymnast, all she could do was roll her eyes and describe him as "treating gymnastics like a joke and only caring about partying and hanging out with celebrities." That same girl was also the only Rock gymnast who didn't give two shits when the famous Bad Boy of Gymnastics came to train at her gym. That same boy is also the one man to ever capture her heart this much. The irony is almost unreal. But opposites attract, right? It still doesn't seem real. The ever-focused former gymnast is in love with the once egotistical, self-centered former gymnast who happens to be her best friend.

"Did you get it, yet?" Michael Tucker says through the phone to his son.

Austin shakes his head, even though they can't see each other. "No, but I'm going to get it as soon as possible. Between the Rock and Payson it's so hard to find time to even try," he says, gently smoothing his hand on the hair of Payson, who is resting her head on his lap, sleeping.

"Funny, not too long ago we'd only be hearing about your life revolving around the Rock and partying."

As if. At least from six months, he would never ever have told his parents about his bad boy ways. Never. "Correction. My life did revolve around the Rock and partying, but you guys would only be hearing about the Rock," Austin says, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. That's in the past now," Michael notes, almost out of relief. At least now when he calls his son, he knows he's not partying. For once, he feels like he truly knows his son. That deserves a sigh of relief. "Anyway, if you're really serious about this, Son, then you need to hurry up. Things change."

"I am serious about this, Dad. I haven't been more serious about anything in my entire life; the rest of it is kind of riding on this."

"Good for you, Austin. I have to go. I'm taking your mom out to dinner. Your sister is out on a date, so we have the house to ourselves."

Austin lifts an eyebrow. Even though he promised to back off his sister's case, he is still going to have that brotherly instinct. "A date? With who?"

"Some guy named David from her work… he seems nice. He brought her flowers and your mother flowers, too."

"Oh… he's one of those guys. I really hope his intentions are nicer than his kissing ass abilities," he pauses, "Well, you and Mom should go have fun tonight. Thanks again for the advice, Dad."

"No problem, Son, I'll talk to you later. Good luck."

Ending their conversation, Austin looks down just to marvel at the woman he loves and the woman that is somehow his. He sometimes stays up wondering how he got so lucky. He looks up to watch the cartoon that is on, and not too long after, he feels a shift on his lap. Austin glances back down to find Payson looking up at him, smiling. "Hi," she says.

"Hey, I thought you were asleep."

"No, not really. I was more of watching Spongebob kick Sandy's butt in karate or as they would say, kar-a-te," she says, making him laugh. "How was your conversation with your dad?" Payson asks as she yawns.

"It was good, sleepyhead. You know, just simple father-son talk."

"That's nice and don't worry. I wasn't really paying attention. Your convo will be left confidential. Anyway, I'm really happy about how far you've come with your family. I'm proud of you, Tucker," Payson says in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes.

"Most of all…I'm happy about how far we've come— you and I."

Payson nods, thinking of their anniversary that was last week. "Six months."

"Six months," he repeats.

She lifts her head and turns to her boyfriend. "Six months we've been dating and I haven't killed you, yet. Or at least given you a good 'ol Payson-slap… That's gotta be a good sign," Payson says. She places her head back on his lap.

"Six months I haven't called myself a bad boy or lived a double life. Oh yeah, that's a good sign."

Payson smiles to herself because it almost seems impossible how much things have changed since six months ago. They're both at a better place.

Changing her thought process back to the television, she asks randomly, "How old is Spongebob supposed to be anyway?"

"I heard he's supposed to be like 19 or 21. Then, I heard he's suppose to be like 30."

Payson looks up at him with the same smirk on her face as when she catches him saying something embarrassing. Austin shrugs. "I looked it up when I was little."

"Yeah right… Spongebob probably wasn't even invented when you were little, as well as simple Internet."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he says, "Woah! How old do you think I am?"

"Old enough. Someone is going to be thirty soon."

"Not that soon. I'm only like three and a half years older than you."

"No, more like 3 and three quarters," she corrects, yawning. That's something they both love about their relationship. They can be playful one minute and serious the next. They also tease each other all the time, but they both know it's just out of love. Though, being best friends definitely has a lot to do with it.

Looking at his watch, he notices it's already late and him and Payson have work early in the morning. "It's late and you're way too tired, Pay, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable with you driving back home. Plus it's raining. Why don't you just sleep over?"

"Honey, I'm fine. I'll just make a coffee and I'll be home safe and sound. I promise" Seeing the worry on Austin's face that she absolutely hates, she succumbs without him even saying a word. "Okay, fine. If it'll make you happy then I'll stay."

Sighing, he says, "I just worry. When it comes to you, the slightest little things freak me out. You know I can't risk losing you."

She grins. He cares for her more than he realizes. "I'll sleep over as long as you behave yourself," she warns.

Austin groans when he leans down to give her a kiss. "I can't promise that."

Pushing him away, she gets up and says, "Austin, I'm serious."

He gets up, too, as he starts to become more serious. "And I'm just kidding. I would never force you into anything; you know that," Austin reminds, giving her a kiss to make her see that he's serious.

That's one of the things she loves him for, but sometimes it's hard for her not to think of the worst in that sense.

"I didn't bring any clothes," she comments, laughing.

Walking to his bedroom, he pulls out a tee shirt and brings it back out to show her. "I think there's a tee shirt with your name on it," he replies, pulling the shirt up to eye level. "You can drive back home in the morning to change, but you're certainly not driving back tonight. I'll even make you breakfast tomorrow morning if you want."

Was it possible for a heart to physically warm up from being so in love with a person? If it is, she's sure her heart is about to catch on fire. It's the simple things like this that remind her of how much she loves him. "Excuse me while I add that to the list of reasons why I shouldn't stay over," she jokes. "You take such good care of me, though. I love you for that," Payson says before leaning in for a kiss.

"Ditto," he whispers in that extremely sexy voice he does sometimes.

"Alright, let's finish up this paperwork. I'm getting tired." And she had to ask him something important, too. She knows it's going to require a lot of convincing and begging.

While finishing the stack of Rock paperwork, they come across an Elite gymnast, "Hm… Dana Cunningham. I think she's a shoe-in for Nationals this year."

"You think she can do it?" Austin asks.

"God, I hope. I think she's really something special."

He nods. "That's because she's a specialist, which means she only excels at one apparatus. And if she really wants to make it all the way, she really needs to excel more at that one apparatus to cover up for her not-so-amazing other ones."

"I think she excels at all of them, obviously beam is her strong point, which I think is good enough for now."

"Eh, not enough to be calling herself 'Queen of the Beam' everyday, and in regards to the other ones, she's mediocre at them. It frustrates me because I know it's all in the head. It's not that her body can't do it; it's something else."

"Like Lauren would ever give her crown to anyone else. They remind me so much of each other. I always hoped Lauren could come in and talk to her one day, but I kind of have to remember that not everyone's life revolves around gymnastics anymore like ours still do. Which reminds me, you're going to her wedding, right? It's next month."

"I'm not sure."

Turning her position to face him, she frowns. "Why not? You and Jake get along really well. We've known them for years, and Lauren is making me a bridesmaid," she pauses, "Oh… it's because of Kaylie, isn't it?"

"Well, I haven't seen her since…"

"You know what, Austin? It really does wonders to a girl's ego when her boyfriend who she's head-over-heels in love with avoids seeing his ex, and purposely won't go somewhere that she really wanted him to come to just because his ex will be there. Austin, if you're not over her, I don't understand why I'm even here right now."

Austin frowns, "Is that what you think?" He would do anything to erase that nonsense notion out of Payson's mind. He wishes Payson could understand that his feelings for her were much bigger than his frustration toward Kaylie and her husband.

Payson shakes her head. "No," she admits, "but I do think you need closure."

"Maybe one day," he says, switching the rest of the papers to the done pile. "That's enough paperwork for one night. Time to get you to bed."

She turns his face with her hand so he's looking at her. Staring into his eyes, she says almost in a vulnerable manner, "Promise me you'll get closure one day." Austin really doesn't want to, but if it's what Payson wants then who is he to disagree?

"Fine."

"Thank you," she says, getting up to go to Austin's bedroom. When she changes into his shirt, she smiles as she thinks of a brilliant idea.

She walks back into the kitchen area, loosely decked out in his shirt that was much longer on her. Payson does her best attempt at copying one of those Victoria Secret models on the runway but much slower to add a bit of sexiness that she knows she doesn't have. "Oh Austin…" Her words linger in her mouth in a painfully teasing way for Austin.

He looks back to find his girlfriend walking slowly to him in his tee shirt, trying her best to appear sexy. What she doesn't know is that none of that is necessary (even though he does love it); she's already sexy in her own way, which he loves. "God, Payson, why do you do this to me?"

"I didn't do anything, honey. I'm just walking in your tee shirt and who knows what else… maybe nothing else."

If she only knew what she was doing to him really. Other guys would call her a tease, but other guys don't know that she never does things like this. It's all in a playful manner, but sometimes she wonders if that's what type of women he prefers. It's obviously the type that he used to hook up with before they started dating.

She busts out into a laughing fit quicker than that little show for Austin lasted. That was more of a Lauren Tanner type thing, not Payson Keeler. "I hope you have a good memory because you're never going to see something like that again. Besides, I probably looked ridiculous," she says whilst still laughing.

"No, no you didn't. I enjoyed it and it was adorable, Pay. But you know you don't need to do that type of stuff. You're already naturally sexy."

"…Yeah right. You're supposed to say that; you're my boyfriend. And just so you know, there is a lot more than just skin under here before you begin to spur up some of your perverted thoughts."

Oh, he's spurring up some thoughts; that's for sure. It's only natural. "If you're still not sure about your sexiness, we can have another one of those sexy lessons again. I think I still have the perfumes," he teases.

She laughs. He will never stop talking about that. "If I hear of that day ever again… I swear…"Payson warns as she looks at a text message she just received.

Before Austin can even reply, Payson is laughing even harder at the text message she just received. "Aww… Megan texted me saying she just saw your girlfriend from kindergarten! Your first one…how sweet."

"Hmm… it must be Candace or was it Jessica?"

"Austin, you don't know the name of your first girlfriend? That's supposed to be a monumental memory."

"I've had so many that I can't even keep track," he pauses, "Nope, it was Jessica definitely. I remember because I bought her this gift for Valentine's Day that was at least like five bucks, and five bucks is a really big deal for a kindergartener. And by the way, is it me or does it seem like my little sister is stealing my own best friend away from me?"

"No, it must be just you," she says, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "because you are still and will always be my best friend," she says as she kisses his cheek.

"Promise?" he asks, setting her down on his lap. He lifts up his pinky finger.

"Promise," Payson assures as she links their fingers together.

"Good. That's what I like to hear."

Payson bites her lip, her conscious telling her to ask Austin already. She begins saying, "Alright, I need to ask you a favor."

"Whatever you need," he automatically answers.

"Okay, well, my mom and dad kind of put together this family week in Minnesota similar to your reunion thing, except this one is going to just be the four of us and a lot more laid back." Getting to the point, she asks, "So, I was wondering… Can you maybe come with me? It's totally fine if you can't, although I would really love it if you came."

"When is it and how long?"

"For a week in two weeks," she winces while saying this because she knows she's giving him such late notice.

"Babe, I would love to but there is just way too much that I have to do here in Boulder." There were a lot more reasons than that, though.

"But I checked the schedule for the Rock and there is absolutely nothing major enough going on that can keep you from coming."

"Payson, parents are going to start pulling their children out of the Rock if the head coaches keep taking these trips."

"Hey, lets not forget… I didn't even want to go to Texas in the first place. You forced me."

Seeing how worked up about this she's getting, Austin points out, "Wait a minute. What happened to it being totally being fine if I couldn't go?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd actually say no…"

He sighs. "Look, Payson, even if there isn't much to do at the Rock that week, I still have a lot of other stuff to do." Austin knows his father would go on his usual 'I told you so' rants if he didn't get what he needs to get soon. It's way too important.

Payson pouts and does her best puppy-dog face like the one Austin did when he was trying to get her to come to Texas with him. "Please, Austin. I followed you to Texas. Why can't you be there for me when I need to visit my family?" she asks similar to the way a five year old asks when she wants her parents to buy her something.

"Because you actually get along with your family, so you don't need me. And plus, when I went to Texas I really did need you!"

"Fine whatever. Don't come." she says, removing herself from his lap. "Besides, the last I remember… I recall the men in Minnesota to be very… welcoming. I'm sure they can keep me company," she says, trying to trick Austin into going.

"Alright, why do you even need me to come?"

"Well, first, my mom suggested it. She and my dad really want to see you again. They haven't seen you since before we started dating. I think they can tell we're getting more serious than they thought we ever would. And second, I really want you there with me." She really feels that they've gotten to a stage in their relationship that he should be able to visit her parents with her even if it's in another state.

Austin raises an eyebrow. What did she mean by that? "Than they thought we actually would?"

"You know what I mean. I don't think anyone expected you to settle down like this."

"This is exactly why I don't want to go. I don't know what your parents are expecting of me."

"Austin… my parents have met you multiple times before. There's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, as your best friend. Not your boyfriend. Payson, what if your parents decide that I'm not good enough for you?" he asks, looking down.

She takes a seat next to him again, a more serious tone controlling her voice. "Is that what your worried about? That my parents aren't going to like you? Austin, they are going to love you. They're going to see how good you are to me and how much we love each other and they're going to love you for that. That's all that matters. Also, you're no more the guy that they last heard of; you've changed, Austin, and they're going to see that. I promise." It sounds bad, but he really finds that hard to believe. Once a reputation is there, it's kind of hard to break in a week. "I think it'll be good if you came. I really want you to get to know my parents a bit more. Austin, you mean a lot to me, but family means a lot to me too. I really need you to understand that."

He nods. "I do," he pauses, "And fine. I'm doing this because I love you and I want your parents to see that and know that I have good intentions."

"They will," she says, giving him a kiss. "Thank you so much, Austin."

Smiling, she says, "I really can't wait to see Becca and my parents again and have you there to experience it all with me. This is going to be so amazing. Thank you."

Austin puts an arm around her as she rests on his chest. Seeing how excited she is, Austin knows there is no way that he could have said no. Family is too important to Payson, and if he ever wants to be part of that one day, he's going to have to have to make more of an effort even if it scares the crap out of him. Him going to Minnesota with her is going to make her happy. And Payson's happiness is way too important to him to mess it up.

Now that he thinks about it, it might be a brilliant idea. Who says he couldn't get what he needed in Minnesota? It actually might be better to get it there than here, and he'll have more help. It's still going to scare him to death to meet her parents as her boyfriend, but this might be a good plan.

Well, looks like it's time to meet the Keelers.


Author's Note: The Keelers!- a family we actually knew prior to the story... Things are going to be different, though. Obviously the visit is going to be a lot less perfect as Payson thought. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Please Review and tell me what you think!