A/N: I loved writing this chapter!

"JJ?"

Lifting her head from where she'd been resting it against the wall of the plane, JJ turned to Simone, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Yeah?"

"What's it like to compete at Worlds?" Simone asked softly.

They were cruising through the air over the Atlantic Ocean, enroute to Antwerp, Belgium. The plane was quiet inside; after the meal service, most people had settled in to try and get some rest.

Across the aisle, McKayla was sleeping while Kyla watched a movie on her screen. On the other side of the plane, Aimee and Nick were talking softly, while Jenny (Kyla's coach), Artur (McKayla's coach), and the remaining USA staff (including Marta) were in various stages of sleep or relaxation.

"Worlds is... incredible. At Worlds, you truly compete against the best in the world, because most federations send their best athletes, whereas at the Olympics, they might not be able to send someone. It's just an awesome atmosphere, because you know the crowd has bought the tickets out of a genuine interest in the sport, and everyone's excited... and at the end of it, if you can say you're World Champion, that's pretty amazing," JJ said with a smile.

"You're World beam champion, right?" Simone asked.

"Currently. I'd like to defend that title, but you never know who's going to come out guns absolutely blazing"

"And McKayla is the vault champion"

JJ nodded. "What are your favourite events?"

"Vault and floor," Simone replied instantly. "I'd like to win world titles on them one day... and maybe beam too," she said with a glint in her eye.

"Watch it, I'll push you off," JJ joked, but Simone immediately looked taken aback.

"Sorry... something Aly and I always say to each other. I forget other people say normal stuff to each other," she chuckled. Simone relaxed, breaking into a grin.

"I always forget you two are really good friends. What was that like, going to the Olympics with your best friend?"

"Uh, amazing?" JJ giggled. "We were roommates in the village, and shared the podium three times in our third year competing together, like it was just honestly so awesome"

The conversation fell into a lull for a few moments before Simone spoke up again.

"Aly's the one that gives you heaps about your boyfriend, right?"

JJ grinned. "You've been chatting to McKayla I see"

Simone laughed.

"But yes, Aly does give me loads of crap about him. All in good nature. She was doing it for ages before we even got together, it's like second nature for her now. If she doesn't find some way to tease me, I wonder if she's feeling alright"

Simone giggled. "It must be so nice to have a boyfriend and be able to balance all that with all your training. Like, I'm not really fussed about boys right now, I've got bigger things to do, like getting to 2016, but yeah, it must be nice"

"It is, and it isn't at times. Will and I were best friends for years before we got together, and I mean years as in we've been friends since elementary school. So he's known me through this entire process, and the training and long hours and the weeks at camp are nothing new to him, which is good. But, I always feel guilty when I haven't seen him for ages, more than I used to when we were just friends, because I feel like he expects to see me more now? I don't know," JJ shrugged. "It's weird, but it's good, if you get what I mean"

Simone nodded. "My younger sister is starting to get all boy crazy and I'm like 'Adria, they're not worth the time!'"

JJ laughed. "I used to think that. That boys were just big, sweaty, and useless. But Will's a sweetheart"

"My brothers are big and sweaty, but they come to all my meets, so they're not that useless," Simone giggled.

JJ had to laugh. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Five. There's Ashley and Tevin, who I don't see as often because they grew up with my dad's sister, and then Adria, Ron Jr, and Adam. But Ron and Adam are grown up and don't live at home anymore. Even so, they come to all my competitions," Simone explained.

JJ frowned. "You said Ashley and Tevin lived with your dad's sister?"

"Oh! I forget to fully explain that," Simone grinned. "Ashley, Tevin, Adria and I are all adopted. Apparently my birth mom had a lot of problems and couldn't take care of us properly. So my grandad – her dad – and his wife adopted me and Adria, while our older siblings went to live with our aunt"

"Wow, ok," JJ said in surprise.

"Yeah. That's been my life ever since. They're Mom and Dad, they've given us a completely normal life, and that's just how it's always been for me, so I don't really make a big deal of it"

"That's good," JJ affirmed.

"What about you, what's your family like?" Simone asked.

"Well, I have an older brother, Jason, who also lives out of home. He doesn't come to all my meets, but he did come to the Olympics last summer, which was really good. And... I have a sister, Rosaline, but she passed away eight years ago," JJ said softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Simone said sincerely.

JJ shrugged. "It's ok, it was a long time ago. Besides me and my brother, it's just my parents. You've probably seen my dad on the elite meet coverage, because he's nuts and jumps around like a maniac when he gets excited, which is ALL. THE. TIME"

Simone laughed. "Actually, I think NBC had a side by side of your dad and Aly's parents in London"

JJ had to laugh as well. "Oh god, I need to find that and show it to him"

"What about your mom?"

"My mom is super supportive as well, but she contains it better than my dad. She's the crier. He was the one cheering and hugging and high fiving when I won gold in London, and my mom was the one who cried and called me that night to tell me how proud she was of me. They're a complete contrast to each other and it's good because that way I'm not overloaded with just one type of supporter," JJ chuckled.

"My parents are pretty calm. That might change in Belgium though, since it's my first big meet," Simone said.

"You know, you don't sound nervous about Worlds at all. Not that that's a bad thing!"

Simone shook her head. "I'm not really that nervous. I just like doing gymnastics, I have fun doing it, so I'm looking forward to doing it here"

JJ grinned, clearly impressed.

"Girl, you'll make it all the way to Rio with that attitude"