Chapter 9
The next day the girls were nervous but Payson had this calming aura she seemed to be exuding, before Denver arrived she called all the girls together.
"Okay this is it, this is one of the first meets before things with the NGO start to get bigger, you can do this, I've seen your routines they're perfect and don't let them psych you out, trust me they're not as scary as you think" says Payson as she looks at Kelly.
"Agreed, you know what you need to do, go out there and let it rip, you can do this" smiles Kelly.
They all put their hands in the middle, "rock on" they yelled and as they said that Marty and the Denver girls walked into the gym.
Sasha greeted Marty, "hey" he nods shaking his hand.
"Sasha, so I hear you've snapped Payson up as a coach, how's she doing?" he asks.
"She's brilliant a natural at it" smiles Sasha.
"She always was" nods Marty.
"Yeah actually you probably haven't heard yet but I've got another new coach too" smiles Sasha.
"Really who?" asks Marty.
"Me, hey Marty" smiles Kelly.
Marty turns and his mouth drops open as he's greeted by an identical look of glee and mischievousness on both Payson and Kelly's faces.
"But I heard you were in New York" stutters Marty.
"I was then I came here and I realised I didn't want to leave, sorry Marty but I couldn't just abandon Payson" smiles Kelly.
"Well this was not what I was expecting that's for sure, not bad Sasha" nods Marty.
"Can you go gather the girls to get ready?" asks Sasha.
"Sure thing" nods Kelly as she and Payson turn and walk away.
"I am a little scared now, you have Payson and Kelly and they're friends, oh god yes I'm scared, Kelly can be vicious when she wants to be" shivers Marty.
"Yeah I think Payson's mellowed her out a bit, unfortunately she's caught some of Kelly's scariness" admits Sasha.
"I am so glad they're coaches and not gymnasts or I'd be terrified" says Marty as he watches them.
"Me too Marty, believe me" agrees Sasha.
The meet begins and everything goes well, the rock girls dominate on everything and come away with the highest scores and as the overall winning club.
After celebrations Sasha found Payson sat on the mat of the bars.
"Where's Kelly?" he asks.
"Gone home" replies Payson.
"And what are you doing?" asks Sasha.
"Thinking" says Payson.
"About?" prods Sasha.
"This place has so many memories attached, good and bad ones, I mean when I stood here four years ago I was trying to avoid being psyched out by Kelly and wanted nothing more than to beat her and now I live with her, or the fact I broke my back on bars yet I won a gold medal in them, or how on the vault I first started having back problems again and yet I stuck a one footed landing that helped us win gold at Worlds, it's so weird how each of those events was balanced out later in my life, I mean I used to think Lauren was so ridiculous with her sizzle and I mocked her for it on that beam but it's on that same beam I got in touch with mine, I yelled at Emily outside when she told me she was pregnant yet she came back and everything's okay and I gave Kaylie such a hard time about Carter on the floor but that's also were I broke that rule, it feels like most of the big events in my life can all be traced back to this gym" sighs Payson.
Sasha sits next to her, "that's normal Payson, you've lived and breathed gymnastics and so have your friends it makes sense that a lot of memories are tied to this place" he says.
"I guess but does that make me a bit sad?" she asks.
"No Payson that is not a word I have ever thought of to describe you, it shows your commitment and your perseverance, it shows you where your home is" he smiles.
"It is, the rock is my home, I love it here, but it got better after you arrived" smiles Payson.
"Yes this had most definitely been an experience for me, oh the things I've learnt" he chuckles.
"Probably more than you ever wanted to know, working with a bunch of teenagers will do that to you" laughs Payson.
"Yes, and I'm still learning now, you and the others and this club taught me so much, I never saw half of this coming when I agreed to Steve Tanner's offer" chuckles Sasha.
"If you'd known I'm sure you'd have ignored me and gotten into your car and driven like the wind" giggles Payson.
"No, I wouldn't have, I knew from the minute you ran after me that I couldn't leave, why is it always you who reminds me why this place is so special?" he asks.
"Because I'm just that good and this place isn't nearly as special unless you're in it Sasha, Marty was good coach and despite the whole him and Mrs Cruz thing I know he's a good man, when Beals was bullying Emily he tried to stand up for her and it cost him the team, but I never realised how much this place needed you until you got here" replies Payson.
"Well despite that I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have functioned without you, the others and some of the parents, your mother for one, Summer was good but she made things a little too organised for my taste" chuckles Sasha.
"Yeah I never got her, I mean I still cannot believe you let her give that abstinence talk, seriously did she really think that would work. Though she did grow on me when Darby was here, but there is only so much religion one can take and it comes off Summer in waves, and it's just not me" says Payson.
"Me either, she and I disagreed regularly on it, I'm still not entirely sure why I let her do it either" admits Sasha.
"And she said she loves Lauren but she gave that talk knowing what Lauren had done with Carter so it was kind of like she shoving it in Lauren's face which was kind of harsh but then again maybe Lauren needed some harshness, I understand why she did the things she did but it makes her hard to trust, even now after everything I don't think I'll ever fully trust her, there's just to many black marks, taking Marty to Denver, moving Emily's mat for the vault, sleeping with Carter, sabotaging Emily in France by giving her a one way ticket instead of a round trip, sending that picture to Ellen, showing me the pictures of her in her underwear that Max took of her, psyching me out by rubbing the fact she and Max were going off to be alone the night before Worlds and just little things she did, comments and the like she knew just where to dig at someone" sighs Payson.
"But there have got to be moments where you wiped the smug smirk off of her face?" asks Sasha.
"Well, I did get to do that when Darby had us switch routines, I got to say I rocked Lauren's routine, and maybe when Max came to me at Worlds and told me he loved me, even if a few weeks later he broke up with me which I then found out was because he was bisexual and had kissed Austin, the same night Lauren tried to sleep with him and I told him I loved him, god now I think about it that was quite possibly the most eventful night I've ever had before a competition" admits Payson.
"Yes I heard that you blew everyone away and to think when we started I could hardly get you to smile and your mother had to drag you to that fashion show while the other girls were so excited and you begged me not to make you do it, and that was Max's lose but do you regret it now?" asks Sasha.
"No, if I hadn't then I wouldn't have gotten Rigo, and yes I remember but that was before, that was the old Payson, not the new one, guess that whole ballet story came true I broke my back and I thought my life was over but instead I became a whole new person, a better person, a better gymnast" smiles Payson.
"Yes, even if you fought me tooth and nail to begin with, refusing to try any of it" chuckles Sasha.
"Well I'm glad you didn't give up on me" smiles Payson.
"That is not something I would ever do, you had far to much talent to waste away, of all the girls yours was the name I was most familiar with when I came here, when the great Payson Keeler asked me to stay how could I have said no" he says.
Payson looks away blushing slightly.
"You are great Payson, you pulled off a one footed landing on a vault with an injured ankle, and if that doesn't convince people then your return as an artistic gymnast does" he smiles.
"I should've listened to you about the NGO, I shouldn't have listen to Ellen Beals and I should've told you that the others were going to her behind your back, you helped us and stuck by us and you didn't deserve that, I wish I'd listened to Emily" sighs Payson.
"You wanted your dream back, I understand why you did it Payson, even if I do wish you'd put your faith in me sooner, but as I said everything worked out eventually" he soothes.
"I know part of me wishes I could go back and tell myself, about my back, about the artistic gymnastics, about trusting you, about turning off that bloody camera or getting the footage myself or knowing what Lauren would do, about Kaylie, about Emily all of it, but at the same time I know it had to happen or else I might not be here now" sighs Payson.
"No you might not, there will always be bumps in the road Payson but the thing you need to do is get back up and keep going and if anyone can do that Payson it is you, you inspire everyone, you inspire me" he says echoing the last words she'd said before she'd kissed him in this gym not twenty feet from where they were now sat together.
She looks at him and he can see she's thinking about it as well.
"Anyway you should probably get home or Kelly will come and get you" he says breaking the moment.
She snaps back to the moment, "yeah" nods Payson standing up and stretching.
"I'll see you both on Monday" he says also standing up.
"Bye Sasha and thanks for you know listening to me rant, I probably should stop doing that" says Payson.
"Anytime" he smiles.
She grabs her bag and walks out of the gym.
A/N So here you go the first big Payson and Sasha heart to heart. Hehe. Also thank you to everyone whose reviewed please people give me feedback I live for it, please drop me a review you don't even need an account. :)
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