Chapter 28: Crowing a queen

There was a knock on her door "come in!" Lauren called from her ensuite bathroom. She was focusing on her eyeliner and she couldn't be bothered walking over to the door and opening it.

"Lo? Are you heading over soon? I thought we could head over together." A familiar voice called.

Lauren hurriedly finished her makeup and came out to the lounge "Leo? What are you doing here?" She asked Kaylie's brother.

"I thought you might want to watch the all-around together" Leo said tentatively.

Lauren smiled shyly. Over the past few weeks Leo had seemed different. When he'd joined them in London Lauren realised for the first time that Leo was quite easy on the eyes. She'd also realised how nice he was. For all that he was rich, smart and athletic; he was a genuinely down to earth person. He wasn't just Kaylie's older brother anymore. He was also really funny.

Normally when a boy asked her out (on the rare occasion she'd had time as an elite) she would act cocky and disinterested but she couldn't do that with Leo. Not after he'd been so supportive of her not making the team and being a coach. "I'd like that" she said quietly.

"Good" Leo smiled. "Hey I like that photo" he said, motioning to the picture of Lauren and Summer standing in front of Buckingham Palace "when was it taken?"

"After team finals. I wasn't feeling great so Summer took me out."

"Summer's good like that."

"Yes she is." Lauren smiled at the memory. Summer had managed to turn her from a total mess to being happy in little over an hour.

The tears came thickly and freely. Lauren knew in the back of her mind that she should be celebrating for her friends but all she could feel was this overwhelming sadness. She turned on her TV as she waited for Summer. Unsurprisingly it was a recap of the team final. Lauren, against her better judgment, didn't change the channel. It showed Kelly's beam routine and Lauren's stomach knotted. That could have been her. Had she made the team, she would have taken that spot in beam finals. And then they showed Kaylie's floor – the crazy mix of Jordin Sparks' 'No Air' and Superchick's 'Not Done Yet.' The mash up that Lauren had made by playing around on her laptop one afternoon after practice. She smiled at the memory of convincing Sasha that it was good for Kaylie and then, to everyone's surprise, it being a hit. Now Lauren couldn't even hear that music without wanting to hide in a corner.

There was a knock on her door. "Come in" Lauren said thickly. The door opened slowly to reveal Summer. Dressed in jeans and a white T-Shirt Summer still managed to look immaculate. Lauren looked down at her crumpled track suit surrounded by tissues, she was certain she looked like a trainwreck.

The first thing Summer did was switch off the TV "are you trying to torture yourself?" Lauren's blank look terrified Summer. Normally the girl was overly happy, angry or sad but she'd never seen her like this. She sat down and wrapped the girl in a tight hug and Lauren rested her head on Summer's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Summer."

"What on earth do you have to be sorry for?"

"I'm such a brat, I treat you like dirt, my friends like dirt and then you all forgive me. Now when they win I can't even be happy for them. What's wrong with me?" She started sobbing again. Much to her disgust. The old Lauren would not have cried, the old Lauren would have plastered on a fake smile and soldiered on regardless. Granted she would not have been seen dead being an assistant coach but whatever.

Summer bit her lip. She hadn't realised how sad Lauren actually was, she hid it so well and she was classy on the floor during the final. Very few people would have been able to walk out on live TV after losing their dream and support the girls who took her place. "Listen to me Lauren" Summer whispered "you are not a brat, you are a strong, determined, classy young lady who has been through more in eighteen years than many go through in a lifetime."

"No, Summer: I'm not. I just keep thinking of all the bad things I've done and then I think about how even though I was an awful person, I was a good gymnast but then I realise that I'm not even that. I suck and I don't care about anything anymore."

Summer gripped Lauren's shoulders and turned the younger woman to face her. "Lauren Tanner, would a horrible person sacrifice her happiness to support her friends, embarrass herself and jeapordise her career so a former teammate would have a chance of making nationals? No she wouldn't. And I think you know you're an amazing gymnast. But why don't we forget about gym for a bit. Come shopping with me? We can tour London a bit too."

"I don't really feel like it." Lauren sighed. Leaving the room seemed like too big an obstacle.

"I don't really care if you feel like it" Summer said "now what do you want to wear?" she opened Lauren's wardrobe and pulled out a navy blue dress and white cardigan.

Lauren rolled her eyes "you always did have good taste in clothes. I've been wanting to wear that for a while." She let a small smile escape her lips.

"Something we have in common" Summer joked quietly "come on, let's get away from this place for a bit."

Lauren smiled at the memory and motioned Leo out of the door. Together they took a taxi towards the stadium. Lauren grinned when Leo wrapped his hand around hers. Sometimes there were silver linings in the strangest of places.

XXX

"Welcome to the women's all-around Olympic final. You're with Tim, Elfi and Al and today we're crowing a new queen of gymnastics. Elfi, we had a bit of controversy going into this final – can you fill us in on that?"

"Certainly, well the first was that Olga Keranenev is not in today's final. She qualified in fourth position but because her teammates Ivanka or Evanka depending on which spelling you use Yesslinna and Anastasia Alexandrovna finished ahead of her she isn't in the all-around. That is because of the 2 per country rule which has led to a bit of an outcry. But don't worry folks you'll be seeing Olga in the vault, beam and floor finals so she's far from done."

"And what about over in the American camp?"

"Well America has had an interesting quad boys. Normally you can count on the Americans to be reliable and consistent but not the most artistic. Well not this time. We have some really talented girls but they've been up and down. And Payson Keeler and Emily Kmetko have been hailed as two of the most artistic gymnasts of their generation."

"But that's not the drama is it?"

"No Tim, the drama we're alluding to is about American coach Sasha Belov not using Kelly Parker on floor exercise during qualifying and so eliminating her from the all-around. That was strange because Kelly is the national champion and one of the best floor workers in the world. Although, admittedly probably the weakest on the team. She is also consistent. That meant that our all-arounders from the States are Payson Keeler and Rosa Reynolds. Both incredible gymnasts but both have had their ups and downs. Payson with injury and Rosa with nerves. Most people thought it would have been sensible to pull one of them in favour of Kelly to qualify all-around but we'll see if Sasha Belov's decision will pay off."

"Interesting. We're also looking at Genghi Cho and Xhe Chan from China. These two girls round out the top six after Payson, Ivanka, Olga and Rosa. And don't be fooled by their size, these girls are dynamite. So guys who's your pick for Olympic Champion?"

"Ivanka for me. She's been consistently acing routine after routine and she'll be hungry after all around silver last year. She'll be wanting to improve on that."

"Genghi for me. All around 2011 world champion and she has the highest difficulty of the bunch. No, excuse me, I'm looking at the chart in front of me: that's actually Payson Keeler with the highest difficulty. Well well, folks if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that this is going to be a tight race."

"The women are coming out now. Our top group's in the vault rotation, and this is going to be an impressive display for sure. We've got three Amanars, a Rudi and two DTY's: many countries would love to have just one gymnast who could do one of those vaults well."

XXX

Payson was up first. She was nervous. She was seldom nervous before vault: it was over so quickly. She felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. It was little Rosa. "You can do this Pay" the fifteen year old said. "You've been there for us, now you just have to be there for yourself. You deserve this."

Payson beamed. Her teammate must be feeling completely nervous but she was taking the time to encourage her. "Thanks Rosa. You can do this too." She gave her friend a brief hug and then went to the runway. She saluted the judges and let her mind go blank.

The whole crowd went silent during the vault. Sasha was astonished that this was happening. The girl who had fainted just six weeks ago at nationals, who wasn't even going to be doing the Amanar because of that, had just performed the best Amanar he'd ever seen. Her body was completely straight, legs locked together, toes pointed and the landing was stuck cold. Payson smiled at him, but she was in her zone: he wasn't going to disturb that, there was still a long way to go. He gave her a quick hug and then went to change the springboard for Rosa while her personal coach talked to her. Her Rudi was explosive as ever, the amount of height she got off the horse was incredible. The Russians and Chinese were certainly going to be freaking out now. Genghi's Amanar was not her best, but then an Amanar for a girl that short was impressive. Ivanka's was better and Anastasia and Xhe each did very good DTY's. Sasha glanced quickly at the scoreboard: Payson was in the lead with 16.3, Ivanka in second with 16.1, Rosa was close behind with a 15.9. He thought Rosa's score was a little low but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"Well I think that Payson Keeler might be making a statement that her first place at qualifying was no fluke like everyone was saying it was." Tim said.

"I think you're right Tim: this young woman has always been known for her mental toughness, even before that horrible injury in 2010. I can say with certainty that no one was expecting a vault like that from her today."

"I think you're right Elfie with one exception, Sasha Belov. He's being saying that Payson is capable of being the AA Champion all year. And even though she didn't win nationals or trials, she's been strong."

"Right now we've got Xhe up on bars. This girl is incredible. Watch her do this skill, a Nabeiva, incredible! Especially for such a short girl. That's going to bring in a huge score…and it does, a 16.0. Not as high as what we expect to see from Cho, Ivanka or Keeler but this kid's still in the race."

"Anastasia is a first year senior but she's been calm all competition which is excellent. She's really better on beam and floor but her bars are good too, but look at this double double dismount. That is about as good as she can do it. Now we've got her older teammate Ivanka, you're in for a treat here! Watch this mount, it's crazy and she's got perfect lines."

"Oh dear"

"That wasn't meant to happen, she overextended one of her handstands but she managed to muscle through it and here's the dismount. She's not going to be happy with that score."

"Wow, that's a lot of booing from the crowd."

"Yes, Anastasia got a 15.95 and Ivanka got a 16.3 even with her mistake. That's not what anyone was expecting. Do you think the coach is going to challenge Anastasia's score?"

"Honestly I don't think so, Ivanka is Russia's best shot at gold in this final and they probably don't want to mess with her head by protesting her teammate's score. That's hard on Anastasia though. But that's show biz, or gymnastics rather. And right now we've got Genghi Cho. This girl is incredible but the pressure of being the reigning all-around world champion is tough and she's been a bit under par this Olympics. As you can see from this routine her handstands aren't quite at the right angle and then there was that step on the dismount. But a 15.8 is still a good score. She's still in this as long as she does her best on beam and floor."

"And now we've got our two Americans. Rosa's up first, she's a power gymnast, albeit a fairly elegant one and as is often the case, her bars aren't as strong as her other three events. She just needs to survive this really."

"And she does, that was a hit routine. You saw Payson there cheering for her the whole time and giving her a big hug at the end. These girls are so close and you can tell Rosa's pleased with that score, a 15.2. Lowest bars score in the top group but she's got floor and beam to come."

"Now we've got Payson. Her story is really incredible. Two years ago she was tipped to be national champion then on her last event, bars she fell and broke her back. No one, and I mean no one, thought that she could come back. That is except herself. She had some very risky surgery and has battled a large growth spurt to get to the Olympic All-Around final. Watch how elegant she is on this event, she was never this elegant before but here she just glides with her long lines. And this is a double twisting double layout dismount, perfect!"

"And that's a 16.4, what she got in qualification. She's going to be happy with that. Keeler is our surprise leader halfway through; she's 0.3 ahead of Ivanka with Genghi in third, Anastasia in fourth and Rosa in fifth."

XXX

"Stretch over here girls." Sasha said to Payson and Rosa. He led them to a corner while the second group finished their beam rotation. He didn't want Rosa seeing the scoreboard under any circumstances. He knew that the halfway standings didn't mean anything but Rosa was in her first major senior international competition and she was capable of medalling. He didn't want her put off.

Rosa did some of her routine on the floor. "You know what?"

"Mmm" Payson said – completely focused.

"I'm having fun"

Payson grinned "good. Because that's what this is all about really, at the end of the day. We started doing this because it was fun."

"Exactly."

And Rosa was definitely having fun as she performed her beam routine: Sasha could tell. The girl's tumbling on the beam was sky high, her landings were perfect. And her score came in as a 16.0. She was only the second gymnast in the entire quad to reach a score of sixteen. Anastasia, who'd gone before her had posted a 16.1 but Rosa's floor was stronger. Sasha smiled, he knew Kaylie and Kelly would be very glad they didn't have to compete with Rosa in beam finals. And what was even better was that he was pretty sure Rosa wasn't done with gymnastics.

He led Payson through her stretches, keeping her focus on her routine and not on anything else. Beam was going to be the apparatus that determined who the Olympic champion was. If she could get through beam, no one could touch her on floor. But her beam had been wobbly in qualification and in training. He heard the crowd sigh, and realised that Xhe must have made a mistake.

"What was that?"

"No one's hurt, stay focused" Sasha told his gymnast calmly. He kept her stretching and going through her routine on the floor while Xhe finished and Gengi went up. Finally it was Pay's turn. "Ready?"

Payson nodded quietly. "Yes"

Sasha hugged her briefly. He didn't need to tell Payson how important this was, she knew. And she acted as though she was in training, as though there was no pressure on her at all. And she was smiling. Sasha nodded, no one could mark Payson's smile harshly. Finally she dismounted with her Patterson, with just a tiny hop on the landing. Rosa ran over and almost tackled Pay to the ground "that was amazing!"

"So were you! You're incredible Rosa, really."

Sasha glanced at the scoreboard. Payson had received a 15.9, the same as Ivanka. Xhe scored a 13.2: she'd fallen off the beam and Genghi had only got a 14.7; she must have had some issues. He felt sorry for the girls, but a part of him was relieved, which made him feel horrible. But it was now a four person race. And he intended that two of those medals would belong to the USA.

XXX

"And now, the final rotation. Things are tense out there. The two women from China had trouble on the beam and unless any of our top four have problems we are going to have an Olympic champion either from Russia or the United States. The only issue is who."

"Yes, we've got the two ladies from China. As you can see, although their dance is exquisite their tumbling is fairly low and not as dynamic as some we'll see later on."

"A 14.5 for Genghi and a 14.6 for Xhe. Not their best, but you know they came out and competed and they kept going after making mistakes. That takes courage."

"Yes it does, and all of our competitors today have a lot to be proud of. To get this far is a huge achievement."

"Now we've got Rosa Reynolds. Earlier in the year she was tipped to be the all-around champion. What do you guys think of that?"

"Well she's got a lot of competition but I think medalling is not out of the picture, she's in fourth at the moment but look at this floor routine. She's got huge power, it's almost like she's flying and the peppy choreography suits her. She's a happy fifteen year old who loves her sport and that's really coming out in her routine, it's a pleasure to watch."

"And huge smiles as she finishes and hugs her coach Nigel and then the national team coach, Sasha. Whether or not she medals, she's won a lot of fans! And the score is…15.4 that's huge! Six tenth higher than qualifying."

"And now we're in for something entirely different. Alexandrovna has been classically trained, look at that balletic style. Her tumbling isn't as high as Rosa's but the girl can dance: exquisite!"

"That gets her a 14.9, her difficulty is a bit lower than Rosa's. So Rosa Reynolds is sitting in first, Anastasia Alexandrovna in second with two gymnasts to go. Rosa's beaming, she's got a medal. The only question is which colour will it be?"

"Her teammate Yesslinna is on now. And as you can see she's got the same balletic style but she's got sass! And her tumbling is higher. I must say I like the 'dance of the sugarplum fairy' remix. It suits her personality well."

"Fantastic! The crowd is clapping along. This woman might be our new Olympic champion!"

"A 15.4…that puts her in the lead. But we've still got Keeler, and if you thought Payson's bars were amazing, you haven't seen anything yet!"

"She looks tired though, Payson has been having some difficulty, she had to do watered down routines at nationals this year and drop her second vault. Also, not making the beam finals was somewhat of a surprise but she can do this if she keeps her head together."

"This routine is amazing. She's got Rosa's power and Ivanka's grace. Her turns aren't quite as finessed as usual though and ooh, that was a hop on her landing. We haven't seen her do that in years. But all in all, a fantastic routine."

Payson walked over to Sasha and hugged him. "That was amazing Payson. You're incredible."

Payson shook her head "I could have done better. That was sloppy."

"One step on one landing does not a sloppy routine make you're amazing Pay." He hugged her tightly as they waited for the scores.

XXX

"How are you feeling?" Summer asked Lauren in the stands as they waited for the scores.

Lauren thought about it for a second. "Actually, I'm really happy. All of us dream about being All-Around champions but my bars were never good enough, and Payson deserves this more than anyone. She's come so far and done so much for us."

Leo put his arm around Lauren's shoulder "I want to tell you something" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Come closer"

Lauren obliged.

"You're incredible." Leo said before kissing her gently.

XXX

"Oh my gosh!" Payson squealed.

"What? Is the score up yet?" Sasha asked confused.

"No Lauren and Leo!" Rosa explained "they're kissing." And it was caught in the big screen.

Sasha laughed "sometimes I forget that you're both still teenagers." He was glad though, that Lauren was happy. That's all he wanted for all of his athletes, at the end of the day.

He glanced at the scoreboard and a huge cheer erupted in the stadium. "Um Payson, you might want to look at the score now."

Payson turned around and looked at the scoreboard. Her heart leapt to her mouth and tears sprung into her eyes, she couldn't help it. Then she started crying hard, big huge sobs. She buried her head in Sasha's chest.

All Around Final: Women's Artistic Gymnastics

1st Payson Keeler USA 65.000

2nd Ivanka Yesslinna 63.600

3rd Rosa Reynolds 62.500

After a couple of seconds she remembered where she was. She hugged Rosa and then she went to find Ivanka and hugged her tightly too. She and the Russian had become almost friends. Almost, well there was a healthy respect anyway. She hugged the rest of the finalists and then she, Rosa, and Ivanka went out to get changed for the medal ceremony. Her stomach was doing somersaults and the air felt like it was buzzing. She couldn't quite believe it. All those years of sacrifice, heartbreak and hard, hard work had paid off. Her dream had come true. There were big decisions to make about the future but they could wait. She was going to soak up the moment. She and Rosa got into their USA tracksuits and walked out again. Chariots of Fire playing in the background. And then the national anthem played for her for a second time and the tears fell again. She found her family in the crowds and mouthed 'I love you' and blew them a kiss. The cameras focused on the Keeler family and their faces showed on the big screen. Mark and Kim were crying and Becca looked like she might. She locked eyes with Sasha. This was his moment as much as it was hers and she would remember it forever.

A/N so Payson did it! Of course , and OLucky that scene with Lo and Summer was for you, I hope you liked it, thanks for your reviews! As always let me know what you thought xx