Author's Note: It may interest you to know that I only got into MIOBI after season two had ended, so I was able to watch all the episodes whenever I wanted, without having to wait. That said, I'm now finding it impossible to wait another week for the next episode!

#

"Yes ladies, good. Much better." Madame Viola praised. It was Friday afternoon, the final rehearsal before the recital. "Tell the story with your movements. Ballet is about making every movement as beautiful as possible." Their ballet mistress peppered her class with comments about their movements, correcting only small details. "Yes, I think you are very ready." After a few more run-throughs, she dismissed the class.

"Payson, will you stay behind for a moment, please?" Payson noticed several of the dancers in her class exchange looks at the request. The room cleared quickly, and soon they were alone.

"Now, I know that you are a gymnast, but I would think that dance has come to play a large part in your routines, am I correct?" Madame Viola questioned.

"On floor and beam, definitely." Payson agreed.

"I think, from what I have seen, that you understand better than many of my girls what dedication is. You want to be an Olympian."

Unsure of where the conversation was going, Payson just nodded. Madame Viola sighed.

"I know that gymnastics is your first love, but I am sure that somewhere in there is a dancer. I spoke to your coach earlier today." Payson raised her eyebrows, surprised. Sasha hadn't mentioned it to her. "We talked about the possibilities of you taking private lessons as well as classes to accelerate your learning. He advised me that in floor routines, many gymnasts do not take full advantage of their dance elements to raise their," She had to pause to remember the words, "degrees of difficulty."

Payson began to put together the pieces. Was her ballet teacher actually suggesting what Payson thought she was?

"I expect that Sasha will want to discuss this more fully with you, but he believes that if you take dance fully into your heart, you will outstrip the other gymnasts and exploit their weaknesses. It will be a lot of work in addition to your training. I believe you can do it, Payson. I can see that if you work with me, I can make you a very beautiful dancer."

"He didn't mention any of this to me." Was Payson's only response, her mind still working through the new information.

Madame Viola smiled slightly. "I think you have done something to him, Payson, without realising. Perhaps without him realising, too."

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Payson frowned, trying to find meaning in the French woman's words.

Madame Viola smiled again. "You will understand one day. Now I want you to discuss your schedule with him and let me know when is best for your lessons. I would also suggest investing in a pair of pointe shoes soon, so you can wear them in before we begin more serious work."

#

"I would be concerned if I were you." Lauren noted casually, in the way that only Lauren could. Max, who had just finished up on parallel bars, took a moment to catch his breath.

"What do you mean?" He asked when he had enough oxygen to spare.

"Payson and Sasha. Just look at them together." Across the gym, Payson was on beam, halted part of the way through her routine. She was in the centre of the beam, legs split perfectly. Sasha brushed his hand over her left foot to help her point it, then did the same to her right. He came in to the centre and stood in front of Payson, grazing her chin with his hand, apparently to help her elongate her neck.

"They're practically dripping sexual tension." Lauren pointed out.

Max shook his head. "No way. Sasha's our coach. He's just doing what a coach does."

Lauren made a sound of disbelief. "Please, have you ever seen another coach touch an athlete like that?" As if on cue, Sasha took Payson's hands into his own and guided them through the air. He stepped away, and the expression on Payson's face relaxed almost unperceivably.

"Maybe he isn't into her, but she's already kissed him once. I'm just saying." Lauren flounced away, leaving Max to observe the interactions between his girlfriend and their coach. It was a victory for Lauren. Surely Max would step up the romance between himself and Payson, which would leave Sasha totally available.

On the other side of the gym, Payson and Sasha were being watched by a second set of eyes. Despite her chastising Lauren, Kaylie had begun to think about her routines and, seeing Payson's new beam and vault, realised she was in danger of becoming complacent and falling behind. She seriously needed to talk to Sasha about upgrading her other routines. Her vaults were strong, but if she wanted to be a serious contender for the Olympics, she couldn't be thought of as a specialist. Things for Kaylie were evening out and she was coming back from her eating disorder well. With girls like Payson and Emily around, people often didn't mention the enormous amounts of natural talent Kaylie had for gymnastics. After all, she nailed an Amanar after only a few days of serious training after being out for six weeks. For a long time, Kaylie had used that natural talent to her advantage, but as she was working her way back up to the top, she could feel every twist was just a little harder than it was before. Sasha kept saying that it would take time and conditioning to get back to where she was, but Kaylie could feel in her bones that her gymnastics had changed. All she knew was that she wasn't Payson. Her body hadn't changed during her time out because she didn't have enough body fat. Her come back wasn't the same in any way. She couldn't redefine herself as a gymnast and come out on top. Although she tried to ignore it, Kaylie could feel her ceiling coming closer and closer, and once she hit it, there was no going back.