AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry about the late posting, I just couldn't get the Carter-Lauren dynamic right. They're an interesting pair. Anyway, there's a lot of Austin in this chapter and I'm still not sure how much Austin I want in this, so way in with your thoughts. This is a short chapter, but obviously there's a lot coming and ready to be posted.
I've received a fair few anon reviews, so thanks Lauren and anon, I hope you enjoy it and stick around.
Mangoskin93: Glad you liked it, I've always thought from the first episode Lauren has depth and I dislike how doesn't really show any character development with her. I really hope you keep reading and reviewing.
Iargyrop: glad it was worth a second look, I hope you keep reading.
Tuppence: Sorry about the spelling and the grammar but I'm glad you like it.
JTalley: Thanks, it's nice to get some constructive criticism, can I ask what, in particular, didn't you like about the plot? I'd love to improve.
Quinn James-Kassandra Petrova: I'm glad there's another Carter/Lauren fan out there, don't worry, Carter's not a douche he's just an inarticulate teenage boy.
Luv2Live: Thanks for the reviews, you're always so great with them and I really appreciate it. As for Sasha, let's just say blackmailing people prevents you from finding out if they're decent or not as you'll never know if they're being nice because you're blackmailing them or because they're nice. All I'll say is Sasha and Lauren have a long way to go before being friendly, but as you'll see from this chapter, they might end up allies.
Steve Tanner hadn't decided what he was going to do yet, but he knew that he now wished he'd followed his conservative political leanings up with actual gun ownership.
When the doorbell rang, therefore, he hauled it open and almost decked Austin Tucker on sight.
Austin questioned "Is Lauren here?" immediately.
"You need to leave, before I have you dragged off my property." Steve Tanner struggled to rein in his temper.
"She's really upset, huh?"
Steve slammed the door in his face, leaving Austin to wish just once that Carter had told him how to sneak into the Tanner house. Instead he was left to ring the doorbell again, and when that failed, pound on the door.
When he finally got a toe in, he literally put his foot in the door.
"I screwed up." He told Steve Tanner. "Me, but Lauren shouldn't be the one punished for it. So if she's upset, and I can make it better, I will."
"Or you make it worse. My daughter is worth so much more than you!"
"Yes" Austin stated, but he'd seen what Steve hadn't and that was Lauren, drawn by the commission, coming down the stairs with wet hair and wrapped in a fluffy dressing gown. It was the opposite of the glamorous Lauren he was used too. She looked like a half drowned rat and still visibly upset.
"What are you doing here?"
"I didn't get a chance to give you your birthday present." He reminded her. Material things always created a smile on Lauren Tanner's face.
Seizing the moment he moved past her father and took hold of Lauren's forearms so he could look her in the eye.
"It'll never happen again. I screwed up, it was completely my fault. I'm sorry." Austin insisted.
"It's fine." Lauren insisted, her teary eyes belittling the determination showed by her crossed arms and determined voice.
"No, it's not. Nothing about tonight is alright. Let me fix it."
Lauren was acutely aware of her father, arms crossed in an identical pose, glaring at Austin.
"Come upstairs. We can talk there."
Steve went to protest, but his daughter's jaw was set and she seized Austin's arm.
Upstairs, she made sure to close her door fully and then turn on her ipod dock before moving the discarded clothing piled on her couch to her bed. Austin helped and held up a delicate bra for Lauren's inspection.
"The night didn't exactly go as planned." She reminded him. He winced at that.
"I am sorry."
"I'm not upset at you." Lauren reiterated.
Austin sighed and sat down before beginning "Carter…"
"Unless he sent you over here to grovel I don't want to hear it." Lauren sat down herself, and pouted with her arms crossed. "Even if he did, that's pathetic."
She looked like a five-year old, which made Austin laugh. Lauren glared and he muffled it quickly.
"He did want to come, and he called you, many, many, times."
"I didn't want to talk to him."
"I convinced him to let me come. He agreed, mostly I think, because he's still very terrified of your father and thought he wouldn't let him past the front door."
Lauren looked around her room, but when it came down to it, there was only one thing she wanted to know. "What, exactly, did he want to tell me?"
Austin shrugged. "I would think he'd want to apologise."
"You're a guy." Lauren demanded "what is he thinking?"
"Well…" Austin informed her "this is, just a theory, but he seems to have an issue with me."
"Which is stupid." Lauren insisted. "you guys were becoming such good friends."
"Yeah, and so are you and I." Austin informed her.
"I just… I never thought Carter would be homophobic. Though I suppose he does have that whole, I grew up on a ranch, thing."
"Carter's not homophobic." Austin assured her. "Do you want to hear my theory?"
"Sure."
"He thinks I'm hitting on you." Austin summarised.
"What?" Lauren gaped. "Did he miss you very manly man of a boyfriend, living in the house? The loud sex you and your boyfriend have?"
Austin shrugged. "He did grow up on a ranch."
"So?"
"So, you know I'm the first gay guy he's actually been friends with, like properly, and, well, I'm Austin Tucker and he's a gymnast. I'm sure he's seen all the press of me with a model on my arm every day."
"So what? He thinks you're just pretending to be gay?"
"He gets this weird look whenever Ol and I kiss, like, oh yeah, I forgot about that."
"This is stupid."
"I'm saying." Austin informed her "that even though intellectually he knows I'm not a threat to your relationship, his alpha farm boy instincts are telling him to protect his girlfriend."
"That's still stupid."
"That's guy. I'm not much different when other people are on Olly, and you saw he wasn't exactly thrilled about the girls all over me tonight."
"But you guys are okay?"
"He'd prefer to be out."
"and you?" Lauren leant forward, curious.
"I like my life." Austin was honest. "and… the plan I have for it doesn't include losing all my endorsements and becoming the trail blazer for gay athletes in professional sport. Maybe before the Olympics, probably after so I don't have to deal with all the media crap. I'll will come out, but my career comes first. Olly knew that when he signed up."
"It still sucks though." Lauren was honest.
"We all make choices to win, Carter's still a baby. He doesn't get that yet."
"He's two years older than I am."
"It's about how close to making it you are. It's coming down to the wire for you. Carter should make the national team this year, and then he'll be up for a spot on worlds. He'll change, not in a bad way, but he will."
At her hesitant look, Austin insisted. "You and me, we're hardcore, do anything to make it, hardcore. It doesn't make us bad people, and Carter will get that."
"No regrets?" Lauren checked, she tucked herself up next to him.
Austin hesitated but Lauren's eyes demanded an answer. Considering she had become quite possibly the only person he could tell the whole truth too, he wasn't going to lie.
"There was a guy, who… well, he was… he was perfect, except he was out, and when I was with him, I was out. So I gave him up for my gymnastics. Left London and my cousin, and started travelling. Gym to gym, I never settled down until I came here."
"and you regret it?"
"I regret not being able to give him what he wanted, because I did love him." Austin made sure to stress. "but… I mean, I have Olly, and a pile of medals, and a career that's going to set me up to marry and provide for whatever guy I like. I can't regret that."
"I love Carter." Lauren stated, instead of commenting on the story. "I don't know what I'll do if he wants me to change."
"If he does, he doesn't deserve you." Austin kissed the top of her head. "Now, we need to rectify this birthday of yours."
Lauren chuckled "my birthdays have a history of not going well, drunk mother, high mother, missing mother, father with no idea how to throw a tween girl party… there were a few years of good sleep overs with the girls, dinners with my Dad, but then it was drunken parties, storm outs and Christian hoes all-over again."
"Christian hoes?"
"Summer." Lauren stated shortly.
"Well I think your Dad will throw me out at some point, but I can do a short sleepover" Austin offered. "What does that include, by the way, pillow fights? Painting each other's nails?"
Lauren made a face. "Wine and movies."
"Sounds brill." Austin replied, and then reached into his jacket pocket before pulling out a box and calling. "and Happy Birthday"
Lauren caught it easily and then unwrapped it uncovering a little blue box.
"Tiffany's?"
Austin shrugged.
"It's beautiful."
"Its gold plated silver. Not because I'm cheap but…"
"That's what an Olympic gold medal is made of." Lauren looked up from the necklace to smile at Austin.
"Now, I can't guarantee anything." Austin told her "but you've got what it takes. From an Olympian to a future Olympian… you can win."
After Lauren had fallen asleep beside him, Steve Tanner had walked in.
Austin had gone to move her to the bed but a look from her father had him backing off.
Downstairs, the man confronted the Olympian.
"Stay the hell away from my daughter." He insisted.
"Mr Tanner, with all due respect, I adore Lauren. She's smart and funny and I like it here. I'm not leaving."
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that, now, get out of my house."
"Right. Have a good night." Austin replied cheerfully and left with a wave and a grin.
Steve Tanner's anger had not decreased the next morning, when an Austin Tucker internet search brought up photographs of the night before involving not only his daughter but also several other girls. Austin Tucker enjoys the co-ed festivities of Boulder Colorado read the caption.
When Lauren came down, still looking less than content, Steve Tanner made up his mind. There was no way Austin Tucker would be staying in Boulder Colorado to enjoy anything, and if he could kick Carter Anderson out with him, well, all the better. Good for the Rock be damned, it was about time Sasha followed the parents' wishes a little more, and his daughter should be number one!
Lauren, for once, caught a ride to the gym with her father, Emily, and Chloe Kmetko. The ride was almost as awkward as driving with Carter would've been.
They'd exchanged awkward texts.
Aware of her father, they'd always kept written emotion out of them, so there was no Love Carter to inform Lauren of her contents of her boyfriend's head. Instead she got
Don't need a lift, catching a ride with Dad.
In return she got Of course. Lunch? We need to talk.
Those four words terrified her, but then again it was Carter, not the most astute relationship guy. Maybe he didn't mean anything by it, Lauren hoped. But because she'd come in with her father, she hadn't had time to talk to him, just exchange a look across the gym. Austin, far more brazen, had made sure to walk past and grin at her.
"Morning gorgeous."
She glared at him, in a look that mimicked but was far less severe than the one on her father's face. Unlike her father, however, Lauren broke quickly and grinned back.
"Lunch at twelve thirty." He stepped close to murmur to her.
"Get back to work." She'd answered, but nodded as well, letting him know she got the message.
Austin left them at a small café they frequented while he ducked into the farmers markets.
Lauren ordered salad with fish and a sparkling mineral water.
"I'm sorry." Carter said, as soon as the waitress had left them. "I was completely out of line."
"Yes." Lauren set down the cutlery she'd been fiddling with and looked him straight in the eye. "You were."
"I'm sorry." Carter repeated, but he knew it was pointless, Lauren Tanner didn't do apologies, either giving or receiving. Not genuinely.
"I just want to know why." Lauren voice wasn't particularly loud but it was sure and steady. Carter hated it. She didn't normally pull that with him, she pulled it with everyone else but him.
She didn't actually expect him to admit "I was jealous" though. She gaped.
"Are you serious? Of Austin?" Lauren gaped. Normally she found Carter's naivety adorable but this was ridiculous. "You get that he's gay. That the only way he'd get off with me would be by lying back and..."
Carter cut her off. " I know. I know, okay. I know he doesn't want you... sexually, I know I'm being stupid. I get it."
"Well I'm glad we got that out in the open." Lauren drawled and picked at her salad. It had feta cheese in it and she chose each piece carefully, savoring the heavy feeling on her tongue and the crunch of the croutons.
"It's just, you've known him a month."
"and?"
"You moved on from Kaylie and everyone so quickly." He stressed "and you were best friends for years. What's to stop you moving on with some guy who knows all about the right stuff like Austin. He gets culture, and fashion and buys you jewellery that you like, and you talk about France and Milan and the places you want to go…"
"He's my friend."
"I know, but what happens if the next Austin Tucker isn't gay, and he wants you, and he understands…"
Carter trailed off at the utter pissed off look on Lauren's face.
"I'm trying to apologise here Lo."
"Well apologise for completely misjudging me." Lauren snapped "I chose you. I love you, and I don't want Austin or an Austin-like guy, whatever." She unnecessarily touched her perfectly braided hair and scowled. "How could you think that?"
"I grew up on a ranch. My closest experience to culture is the minimum wage job I work making Pizza, I live off Austin's charity…"
"I knew all of this when I feel in love with you." Lauren stated "well, not the whole father kicking you out thing, but that you grew up on a ranch, and that you, you know, don't have a lot of money or whatever. I don't care. That's not why I wanted you, I wanted you because you were strong and sure, and you knew who you were and what you wanted. And you made jeans from Sears look good."
She paused. "I'm not, not sleeping with Austin because he's gay." Lauren insisted. "He could miraculously turn straight tomorrow and I still wouldn't want him. I chose you, remember!"
Carter didn't look convinced.
"Austin's the guy I call when I need advice."
"exactly."
Lauren wished she was sitting next to him so she could shove some sense into him. "Advice on boys, on clothing, on what to buy you for Christmas. He's my friend. That's it."
"He still gets you more than I do."
"He gets that I buy thousand dollar shoes, and read Vogue because he's the same. You get me because you love me."
Carter couldn't help the relieved smile that flashed up but he wasn't done.
"and what about when you win gold and I'm still training at the Rock, scraping together gym dues."
Lauren shrugged. "I don't know, exactly, but I'll still want you, always."
"Even if I grew up on a farm and don't notice your shoes?"
"Do you think I look hot?"
"Yes." Carter replied obviously.
"Then problem solved. I have Austin for shoe problems, as my boyfriend you have a whole different range of responsibilities all of which you have been fulfilling, completely."
Despite their positioning in the café Carter managed to pull Lauren close towards him and she relaxed into his broad chest immediately.
"You're all I've got, Lo." His voice rumbled against her.
"You're all I've got too."
"No, you've got Austin, who worships you, you're Dad, who wouldn't hate me half as much if he didn't love you so much, and you've got everyone at the Rock. They're your family, even if they're fighting. You're literally all I've got. My Dad and my brothers don't talk to me, most of the gym would see me thrown out, and there's only one other senior elite guy."
"Well I love you, and I'm not going to stop, so what's mine is yours, especially Austin. He likes you too you know, having another guy around."
"Austin's cool." Carter murmered, but he had other concerns though. "Are we okay?"
"I don't know?" Lauren asked. "Are we."
Carter nodded. "I'm sorry about your birthday." Carter admitted. "I'm really not setting up a good track record."
"I don't care." Lauren admitted. "I gave up on perfect birthdays a long time ago. Next year we're doing nothing but staying in and having lots of hot sex."
The waitress that was passing by almost fell over and turned to gape at Lauren, who smirked at her defiantly before turning her attention back to Carter who was smiling at her actions.
"What?"
He laughed and shook his head before reaching forward to kiss her cheek.
When Austin cautiously reappeared, arms full of groceries, he was more than relieved.
"So we're all good?" He confirmed, even as Carter and Lauren took some of the bags.
"Yeah, sorry you got caught up in this. Nothing to do with you." Carter insisted.
"Well alright then."
Carter caught Austin's arm, juggling groceries. "No seriously. You and Lauren, nothing going on. I respect that. You could kiss her in public for the cameras to see and I'd still respect that."
Austin and Lauren exchanged looks.
"Seriously?" Austin checked. "Because as useful as Lauren playing along is. If you're not fine with it, we wont do it."
"She's now your unofficial girlfriend." Carter assured, but then added "I mean, so long as she's okay with it."
Lauren laughed and half proving a point and half because he liked the guy, Carter threw an arm around Austin's shoulders.
In the Rock office Sasha Belov was trying to put together what, exactly, he should do. He thought about writing it down but that alone was a bad idea.
Austin Tucker was gay. The best known male gymnast ever, was gay. For a well-known gymnast not that much was actually known about Austin. He was born in the U.S. and raised in Texas until he was a teenager and moved to Britain where he lived with his cousin. His parents had never spoken to the media nor, Sasha discovered, attended the Olympics. He was photographed with a string of girls but never the same for long, and never confirmed a relationship. He was plastered across billboards everywhere and expertly managed by M.J. Martin who had ridden Austin up the endorsement ranks to become one of the top sports agents in the country. In every interview, Austin was charming and engaging to the point where you almost didn't notice just how much media avoidance he was pulling.
Jesus Sasha Belov thought. Austin Tucker is gay and Lauren Tanner knew about it.
That surprised him almost as much. Lauren Tanner had no problems manipulating and using people and he had to wonder just what she was getting out of this. It was obvious, of course, Austin was pretending to be her friend. Or maybe he really was her friend. Sasha threw down his pen in disgust. It really was far more drama than the coach liked. Far more drama than he wanted in his gym, but it looked like it would be unavoidable.
But Sasha Belov was not looking forward to Steve Tanner showing up in his office.
He knew he couldn't tell the man what he knew, but he also knew that Tanner was out for Austin's blood, Carter's too probably (and wasn't it now blatantly obvious that Lauren and Carter were, in fact, together.)
"We've been over this." He reminded the man. "I can't kick Carter and Austin out of the Rock without kicking Lauren out as well."
"But Carter and Austin have a history of this... manipulating girls."
"Are you aware of what happened last year?" Sasha questioned. "between Carter and Lauren?"
"I have... some idea."
"Then you'd be aware that this isn't Lauren's first offence either. To be honest I'm not sure the policy is working."
"It would be working if it were enforced."
"If it were enforced then over the last year then I suspect Carter, Lauren, Austin, Kaylie, Payson, Emily and Nicky Russo would all have been removed from this gym." Sasha shook his head. "the point of the policy isn't to punish them for dating, it's to stop them dating in the first place, and its clearly failing at that."
"Well I have a proposition." Tanner stated "one I plan to ask the parent's board to impose."
"and what is that?"
"I want to make this a girls only gym. That would remove the problem don't you think?"
It would actually Sasha thought. but it would also remove two chances of making the national team not to mention a quarter of the gyms members.
"Is that possible?" Sasha asked "practically? financially? Can the gym survive losing a quarter of its members."
Steve nodded. These were practical questions he'd considered.
"Practically, it's easy. A third of the boys here are over eighteen and aren't involved with the board at all. Another third are under twelve, actually, I don't mind if they stay, or the weekend tumblers kiddy classes. That's fine. There aren't enough full-time elites or potential elites to sway the boards opinion much at all."
"And financially?"
"It would be a hard loss." Steve admitted "The U of C training money has always been important."
"and there's a risk the U of C girls will go with them."
Steve nodded "and the loss of Austin Tucker will be noticed, but we survived without him before. We can do it again and I know it'll be an easy sell to every father in here."
"And what about the girls? How do you think they'll like it."
"They don't have to like it. They're teenagers. This is why the parents' board exists. I want to know, will you, and Kim Keeler, support the motion?"
Sasha's thoughts flittered over the tape, the knowledge that Lauren and Austin were, apparently, good friends and the gym in general.
"I think this is an issue between you and your daughter. I have no proof she's been seeing either boy romantically and to be honest" Sasha chose his words "while I'm not thrilled about the situation, I don't think removing the only friends she got right now will help."
Steve nodded, but his mind was already racing of ways to get this through the parents board without Sasha Belov's help. He should have known better. He was part of the problem.
So it's all coming to ahead and while Carter and Lauren might have made up, her birthday was just one more chink in the armour of Lauren Tanner. There are gym issues and personal issues and all of that needs to come out (perhaps literally) before nationals, and then there's the rest of the world to take on. Drop a line, tell me what you think, what do the Rock gymnasts need in their life?
There's a hundred thousand words practically ready to be posted, so please review and I'll keep revising.
XOXO
