Read the author's note at the end of the story for more information on how I came up with this story.

The words in italics are what Payson wrote in her diary, and the normal words are just Payson narrating the story. There will probably be one or two chapters for this one diary entry. Then Payson will make another entry in her diary about another event in her life.

The Diary of Payson Keeler

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Dear Diary,

This is the dumbest thing I've ever done

Bar none.

No doubt about it.

This maybe the dumbest thing anyone has ever done in the history of the universe.

Actually, there's no 'maybe' to it.

As I lay in my bed right now, it's 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. And no, getting up this early on a Sunday is not the dumb thing I did. Although, it is pretty damn stupid.

I kissed my gymnastics coach yesterday. Yes, I kissed Sasha. It was a huge mistake. Now I've ruined everything between us. Sasha was the one person in the gymnastics world, aside from Nicky Russo, that really and truly believed I could make a come back.

But, even though that was a terrible career move, kissing Sasha is not the dumb thing I am referring to. No, what I did was even worse.

Before you judge me-

What am I thinking? You're a book. You can't judge me.

Anyway, rather than ramble on for hours like I could, I'll get to the point.

Right now, this very second, Austin Tucker is laying beside me.

In nothing but his boxers.

While I'm wearing his faded t-shirt with Team USA written across it.

Yup. This was incredibly stupid.

And I wasn't even drunk.

...

"Payson!" I heard Sasha shout at me as I sprinted to the door of the Rock. Had he ran after me, I would have stopped. I would have listened patiently while me practically scolded me for having normal, teenage feelings. Then I would have apologized repeatedly, saying I didn't know what came over me, it'll never happen again, etc.

But Sasha just let me run out.

So I kept going. I ran past the park where Lauren, Kaylie, and I used to practice our cartwheels and round offs when we were young and naive and had no clue about the heartaches this stupid sport had in store for us. Ahh, the good ole' days.

I ran past the ice cream shop that I ate my first banana split at with my mother after I broke my back. If only I could go back in time and tell that fragile girl just how lucky she was. She could have a normal life. A boyfriend. Real friends. A great education. But no, she, I, whatever, just had to return to this sport. The sport that has broken me in more ways than one way more times than I care to recount.

I paused for a moment when I reached my old high school. I saw the area of benches behind the school, where Ike and I had fought on Valentine's Day. I felt a lump start to grew in my throat as I thought of all the mean, albeit true, things I said to my first friend at school. I sighed sadly and started running again.

By the time I reached the local diner, I could barely breathe. I figured I had ran, at a complete sprint, at the very least four miles. I slowed myself to a complete stop and reached into my pocket to pull out my cell phone.

Then I realized I had my leotard on.

Meaning no pockets.

Which meant no phone. Or money.

Therefore, I couldn't call my mommy to come get me.

The one night, out of all the thousands of other ones in my life, I needed her more than anyone in the world, I couldn't even call my mom. I sat down slowly on the curb and buried my head in my knees, shielding my face from the chilly Colorado air. Then I could no longer swallow the lump that had been building up in my throat since Sasha pushed me away from him. Sitting there, on the curb at the Boulder Diner, I, the great Payson Keeler, broke down into tears.

Then the worst possible thing that could have happened did.

"Keeler?" I heard a familiar voice say from behind me.

I raised my head from between my legs, not even bothering to wipe away my tears. When I turned around, I saw Austin Tucker standing a about two feet away from me, a chesty and leggy blond clinging to his arm. (Note to self: Never, ever sleep with a guy who had a different date than you that same night. Even better note: STAY AWAY FROM AUSTIN TUCKER! Rules to live by.)

I sniffed a little, debating whether or not I should speak to him. Then I made the first of many wrong choices that night. Unless you count kissing Sasha. Then it would be the second bad decision of the evening. "Austin," I said, my voice quivering a little."

He turned to his date and said, "Char, why don't you go on home? I'll go you tomorrow. I think Miss Keeler could use a friend right now."

"But Austin," she whined. I couldn't help but cringe. Desperate much? "You promised we would spend the whole night together." The girl, Char, pushed her body into his side, and I could tell it took every ounce of will power Austin Tucker possessed (Who knew he had any?) to shake his head.

"Not tonight. Maybe next Saturday night," he said. The girl glared at me, looking as though the only thing stopping her from kicking my ass was the fact that I would pummel her to a pulp. Maybe being muscular had its advantages outside the gym, too. Then she glared at Austin and stormed off with a huff.

"You didn't have to do that," I told him, sniffling a little bit from all the crying I had just been doing.

Austin flashed me that grin of his before he plopped down right beside me on the curb. "I know, but I want to."

"Why?" I asked him, genuinely confused.

Stilling grinning, Austin nudged my shoulder with his. "Because I find you very intriguing, Payson Keeler."

I turned away from him, trying to hide the blush that was quickly making my cheeks turn a pinkish color. "There's nothing intriguing about me. It's all gymnastics all the time with me. Or at least it used to be," I told him, still looking away from him toward the parking lot. I saw Char back her convertible onto the road. As she was driving by us, I noticed that she made an obscene hand gesture at me.

"That's what I like about you. You're not like the other girls. You'd rather wear a leo than a skirt. Which, just so you know, is attracting a lot of attention right now," he said, pointing to the enterance to the diner where four boys that I vaguely recognized from high school were pointing and staring at me.

I sighed. "Why do people see leos and gymnastics in general as sexy?"

"Because I'm the face of gymnastics," he told me, somehow making that gorgeous grin on his face even brighter. I laughed a little, and, for that one moment, Austin made me forget all about Sasha and that stupid kiss.

"How do you do it?" I asked him in awe.

"What?"

"How do you make yourself so laid back? You're the best male gymnast in the country, yet you act like the biggest slacker on Earth. I know you train just as hard as I do, but you still have a life outside of the gym. I want to know how you balance it," I told him honestly.

Austin Tucker stood up, still giving me that grin that sent butterflies through my stomach. He leaned down and offered me his hand. "Keeler, you're about to get the ride of your life."

"What do you mean?" I asked him nervously as I laid my hand in his.

"We're going to get on Lolita, and you're going to loosen up a little," he told me with a wink.

I laughed. "You want me to go on the back of your motorcycle in a leo?"

Austin just pulled me to my feet and, still holding onto my hand, he led me behind the diner where I saw his motorcycle. Or, as Kaylie called it, his "ego-cycle." On top of Lolita was his gym bag. Austin dropped my hand once we got to the bike. Then he started rummaging through the bag.

After a few seconds, Austin pulled out a black pair of sweat pants and a matching sweat shirt. He tossed them to me. "Put these on. They'll be kind of long, but they'll keep you warm."

I quickly got dressed, not even bothering to mention that I had seen him leave the gym, covered in sweat, at least twice this week wearing the exact clothes that I was putting over my head.

"Thanks," I told him with a small smile.

Austin's only response was to climb onto Lolita. He handed me the spare helmet that was hanging on the handle bars. Without even pausing to think about what I was about to do, I pulled the helmet over my head and climbed on behind him. Austin put on his helmet and turned to look at me.

"Hold on tight, okay? I don't want to have Sasha yell at me for letting you go flying off the back of my bike," Austin said. He had said the words jokingly, not trying to hurt me in any way, but I felt the good mood Austin Tucker had put me in come crashing down at the mention of my coach.

Luckily for me, we were flying through the streets of Boulder before my tears started to fall.

This is just a little idea a got while reading the amazing story "The Heart of a Champion" by mind-the-apostrophe. Although, this story has nothing to do with that one, I felt the need to give credit.

I plan on updating as I do my other stories. If you've never read my other stories, you should know that I don't update consistently. Sometimes I'll update 5 times a week, twice a day, or even just once a month. It just depends.

And just so you guys know, I'm going to start calling Payson/Austin Paystin. They need a couple name for people to type into the search on the site to find stories about them. So if anyone else has a Payson/Austin story, put the name 'Paystin' in the description for your story.

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