Author's notes: Morning, everyone. Well I was certainly pleasantly surprised with the feedback, number of alerts and hits that my first chapter got. But more than that, I think we can all take a moment to appreciate how well-loved the Payson/Sasha shipping it. It occurred to me also that I should clarify I'm Australian and thus use British English so should anyone be confused about spelling... now you know. Also, points to anyone who picks up on the Macbeth parallel.
Payson and Kaylie stood together, observing Lauren and Sasha for the second time in as many days. This time they were standing by the uneven bars while they were meant to be swapping apparatuses in their rotation. Something had just clicked for Lauren and today she was landing the Tanner more consistently than she ever had before. The smile on her face was gleeful and smug, with just a hint of flirtation.
"What do you think it is?" Payson asked.
"Gee, I don't know. It might be that Emily's pregnant and Lauren has one less competitor to worry about, or it could be that we got yelled at yesterday, or it could be that she thinks she's the favourite," Kayley suggested sarcastically, "or maybe it's that she's gonna have a move named after her in the next code of points."
"True," Payson admitted, because, well, any of the things on Kaylie's list could make Lauren smile like that, "but I think… I mean, it probably isn't right, but it kind of looks like…" Payson trailed off, unable to finish the thought. It was fortunate (or perhaps, unfortunate) that at that moment Sasha turned away from Lauren as she looked down at him from the beam, eyes sliding over his body. Kaylie gasped, held her mouth in a perfect "O" for a moment before verbalising the thought.
"She likes him!" Kaylie whispered. Payson frowned, her own thoughts confirmed.
"I hope not," She began, "you know how Lo can be; she won't stop 'til she gets what she wants."
Kaylie tilted her head, considering their friend.
"I don't know, Pay, I think it'll pass. But hey," She tapped her companion on the arm, "it might be my turn next."
"Hey!" Payson cried out, indignant at her friend's mocking, but Kaylie had already jogged over to the vault with a cheeky smile. Payson looked back towards the beam, where Lauren successfully completed "the Tanner" for the fifth consecutive time. Sasha met Payson's gaze and smiled warmly at her. She smiled softly back before quickly stretching and taking to the bars.
Payson remembered the dream she'd had one morning after she fractured her spine. She remembered the way Lauren had obtusely repeated a rumour that Payson couldn't walk. She remembered the way that Sasha told her "You can do this", and the cruel sensation as she flew on the bars like a bird darting and dancing, diving and soaring across the sky. She remembered starting training after the surgery, the loss of her power moves, the devastation when she realised her body had grown. She remembered taking to the bars and falling as she threw herself at them awkwardly over and over, plunging down like a stone dropped in a well. She couldn't fly anymore, rather she pulled herself over the bars, struggling, drowning, muscles aching and heart ready to break. Sasha threw her a lifeline and she kicked and screamed and pushed it away until he dove in and saved her. He pulled her out and taught her how to fly again. As she flipped over and under and between the bars, she flew, eyes closed and heart open. She could feel the bars as if they were an extension of her limbs. She flew up, turned, and caught the bar again, using the momentum to then somersault like a canonball and roll in the air before landing on the ground. Payson opened her eyes and everything started to reappear as reality seeped back in; the smell of chalk and sweat, the sounds of yelling, equipment squeaking, feet sticking landings and slaps of flesh against mats as gymnasts were harshly reminded of their failures. Sasha was standing in front of her, considering her carefully. Neither spoke for a moment as Payson drifted somewhere between reality and dreamland, caught in the intensity of Sasha's gaze. Sasha took in her expression, considering the way she'd just performed her bars routine and the absolute clarity that seemed to surround her on the bars.
"Come on." He nodded at the doors. "We're going to the annex building this afternoon to keep working on that vault."
"Remember, it's all about the speed and strength. If you don't get the approach right..."
"I know." Payson blew a stray piece of hair from her face. She was sitting on the floor in the annex building at the beginning of the vault runway. Sasha paced as he dissected her vault.
"We need to work on building your lower body strength more specifically and-" Sasha was interrupted as the door opened and Lauren walked in.
"Sasha," She began, walking towards the pair, "can we go to lunch yet?" She stood, hands on hips, weight on one leg in her classic Lauren pose. Payson had known her long enough to recognise this was what she did when she wanted something, even if she didn't know she wanted it (flashbacks of being twelve years old, seeing young Lauren jut out one hip as Carter walked past, all eyes on Kaylie).
"Sure, Lauren." Sasha replied vaguely. "Payson, how about you come up to my office and we'll keep planning through lunch?"
"Okay." Payson replied. "Just give me a minute to put some clothes on and I'll see you up there."
As Lauren and Payson walked back to the main building, Lauren couldn't help herself.
"You know, if I didn't know what you guys were doing in there I'd think maybe you guys were back together."
Payson rolled her eyes. "Lauren, we were never together."
"Whatever. And 'I'll just put some clothes on'? What was that?" She teased. Payson laughed and shook her head, enjoying the warm sunshine on her skin. Things between Payson and Lauren had been somewhat strained since the Max debacle. Payson and Max were happily not-together together, which made Lauren roll her eyes at Payson finally finding a boy, only to put the relationship on the back burner. Although Lauren still stung from the rejection, she'd thrown herself into gymnastics and after clearing her conscience with Sasha, she'd kept working on "the Tanner" with proper coaching. If she could land it in a competition, no one would ever be able to deny that "the Bitch of the Beam" had earned her place.
Author's notes: Wow... 1000 words just isn't what it used to be. Anyway, as I warned last chapter, you can obviously see I'm procrastinating. I hope you all enjoy the fruits of my bad study habits although I'd really like to actually write a bigger chapter where something actually happens, but I'm not procrastinating quite that badly... yet. We'll see how it all works out. So yes, thank you for reading and thank you in case you review, add to an alert or add to a favourite and have a nice day.