Disclaimer: I don't own Make it or break it. There would be a lot more than 3 seasons if I did!

Author's Note: There's a few things I'd like to say. Firstly, this will be a largely Lauren-centred story. It is AU as of mid-season 2 finale, post-world's team selection. Secondly, this first chapter is more to set up directly what happened after the selections were made. The rest of the chapters will have much more interactions between the characters and story advancement. Thirdly, I wanted to give a nod to Lizagirl. Her story, All in on a backroom bet, is why I persisted with this story. I had the idea for it long ago, when I first watched season 2, but it was reading her story that made me want to continue with mine.

With regards to the AU-ness, I have altered some of the story from the show as well in terms of timings to make it more realistic. It won't make much difference to the story but in case you wanted to know, the only major changes are as follows. Payson broke her back in the 2009 nationals, when Kaylie became the national champion. None of them got selected onto the World's Team that year, even though Kaylie was the national Champ. Payson subsequently had her surgery and began to retrain. In the 2010 nationals, Kaylie won again, with Kelly in as number 2 and Lauren as number 3. Payson wasn't selected. The world's trial results that we see on the show are the results we had in 2010 and this story takes place from then.

Please do tell me if this is as dull as ditch water, or if you just plain hate it. I personally am not as satisfied with this chapter as I am with most of my others, but I'm hoping because it's more of a prologue than actually a chapter 1. It's pretty much setting the story up to be told than telling the start of it. But please let me know what you think of it.

Rose Petals

Prologue

'Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose'

~ Gertrude Stein ~

The Rock should have had celebrations in full swing. Last year, Kaylie hadn't made it on the team despite being the national champ. This year, four members of their gym had been selected onto the World's team, two of them medalling. When had something like this ever happened before? Sasha should have been hailed a hero (or at least a genius) in the gymnastics world. Lauren knew that instead of the festivities, there would be only minimal excitement at best, probably with a dose of that horrible heavy feeling that had permeated the announcement of the world's team.

Of the four female elite gymnasts, Kaylie was in hospital. Lauren couldn't honestly say that she was too shocked about it. She'd seen the cracks from the pressure and scrutiny, the weight loss and the exhaustion. She'd mentioned it once or twice but what was the point of beating your head against a bitchy, smug, condescending wall?

Emily was in jail – maybe not literally anymore, but she had definitely been arrested and the outcome was awaited for. And even if Lauren had made jokes about something like this happening with such a tacky and cheap background, it was still a surprise, if not a shock.

Payson was the only one likely to be in the gym and actually practising, despite it being post-trials. Of all of the crazy outcomes, this one had been the least of a surprise. It was clear to even a partially sighted person that she had been improving in leaps and bounds over the past few months– pun intended. She had the focus and dedication to make it despite the minor blip that a broken back caused. She also had the sole attention of a very dedicated coach who ensured that she reached her potential and even if Lauren resented being essentially ignored by said coach, she had a begrudging respect for Payson and she was genuinely glad for her that she had made it to the World's Team. It didn't hurt that she wasn't a massive All Around threat anymore.

And as for Lauren? She was slowly waking up with sunlight blinding her eyes, her muscles and back screaming in pain and resentment for having slept in her car. Of all her plans and half-baked ideas, this had probably been one of her dumbest but she couldn't bring herself to care or worry. The feeling of being unable to breathe hadn't let up yet and maybe if she got some sort of closure, she might be able to take a deep breath in and not constantly feel like she would black out.

Following the announcement of the world's team, she had waited for her father to be distracted before grabbing her car keys and getting away. She had stopped only long enough to tell Sasha that she needed a few days for personal reasons and even he couldn't deny her that, after her meltdown before her bars routine.

North Carolina was miles away but with the blood rushing to her head louder than her thumping heart, she'd decided that visiting her dead mother was more important than anything else. It might have been just an excuse to get away from the mess her life had become, gymnastics excepted. It had led Lauren to drive down the highway considerably above the speed limit. Six or seven hours in found her adrenaline waning. After finding herself nodding off and her car swerving, Lauren had decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to catch some shuteye. After all, she might be upset but she was damned if she was suicidal and there was no way in hell that she would give up her hard earned spot on the world's team because of a stupid injury. She passed several motels but they had all been seedy and she had seen far too many horror flicks to be quite comfortable sleeping in a motel on a deserted road where nobody could hear her scream. Far safer to sleep inside her car, she'd decided, even if her muscles were now protesting against the idea.

Ignoring the hungry growl of her stomach, she switched on her Sat Nav and felt her lips forming a full-blown pout. Still over a thousand miles away and it looked like it would take at least 16 hours to get there. She drummed her fingers on the dashboard but there wasn't much she could do. Glaring resentfully at the map, she took a deep breath in. She had never been one to call it quits and she wasn't about to start with her mother's death. She peeled away back onto the highway, fiddling with the radio to find a music channel that didn't annoy her and started gunning down the road.

3 hours down, she found a diner that didn't make her flinch as much as the others had. She'd switched her phone on, which was immediately inundated with missed calls and text messages from her father. Still no reply from Carter and she sighed. She thought about texting her father back to let him know she was okay but she decided to leave it till after she'd seen her mother's grave. She'd call him when she was on the way back – that would temper his anger a little bit, right? She ordered a diet soda and a salad dubiously. It didn't look like the healthiest thing she had ever eaten but if she wanted a chance of reaching Shelby that night, she didn't think she'd be stopping for food and definitely not for the quality she was used to. She managed to eat it all without gagging (too much) and was back on the roads, periodically watching the miles and the hours count down. She stopped for gas and breaks and tried to rely on diet soda , fruits and the occasional healthy snack to get her the rest of the way. It had passed middle of the night and was nearly dawn before she managed to actually reach Shelby. She decided to spend the remainder of the night at the first 5 star hotel she came across and was practically asleep before her head had even hit the ridiculously soft pillow on the ridiculously comfortable queen sized bed, which was the reason why she hadn't actually woken up until well into the afternoon, she decided.

It was further evidence of her last minute plans and lack of forethought. She had zero idea of which cemetery her mother would be buried in and no matter how much she tried to recall, none of the names sounded familiar. She took a stab and went to Sunset Cemetery first, based purely on the fact that it sounded the prettiest.

It seemed like luck was on her side finally. She walked in the direction that had been pointed out to her, glancing at the names all around her until she came to her mother's. It was...just like all the other gravestones. Pretty, touching but nothing that screamed at what she'd done in her life or who she'd been or left behind. Lauren didn't know what to make of that.

She'd thought that if she'd get here, she'd get some sort of closure but she didn't know what to do. Was she meant to cry or talk to her mother? Touch the stone maybe?

God, it hit Lauren all at once. This wasn't just a gravestone; this was where her mother was buried. Because her mother was dead and was never, ever coming back. She'd never get a chance to show her mom the awesome things she could do on the beam or complain about how tacky Emily was. Would never get to tell her about how much she loved and missed Carter or how much she loved and missed Kaylie, and without realising when or how, she found herself on her knees, sniffling and blinking back tears and unable to form a coherent thought or sentence.

'Lauren? Is that you? Lauren Tanner?'

She turned around and found a man staring at her. He was kind of cute but it didn't take long for Lauren to realise that she was alone in a big cemetery where nobody could hear her scream and that this guy looked vaguely familiar. Oh god, he could be a stalker and she could die before she got the chance to beat Kaylie on the beam and she was kneeling on the ground so she couldn't even fight back properly and she didn't have her pepper spray with her.

'It is you, isn't it?' He asked, stepping towards her.

Fight or flight reflex kicked in and Lauren decided to go with both. She relied purely on instinct, forming a fist and punching him hard in the face as she struggled to get up, ready to run away because no way was she denying in North freakin' Carolina of all places!

He grabbed her before she'd taken more than a couple of steps.