Disclaimer: Don't own, yeah yeah…
A/N: So I've been a bit fixated on this story recently, just because I think it's more fun to be a bit AU once in a while. This chapter is mainly in flashback form in order to show why Leo was so worried about Payson. I also changed the last line of Chapter 3 a tad, so you might want to re-read it.
The silver sports car barreled down the streets of Boulder, just barely maintaining a legal speed. The emotionally conflicted and generally distraught driver was at fault for this, but Leo Cruz just couldn't contain his emotions anymore. After bottling them up for years, they were finally breaking free and bursting to the surface.
Payson. It all went back to Payson. A world-class athlete, an amazing person, a beautiful yet real and humble girl. And the one thing that had always prevented this attraction to her from becoming anything more: the fact that she was his little sister's best friend.
Of course, there was also the combination of the Rock's "no dating" policy and the nagging feeling he'd always had that the only way Payson Keeler thought of him was as a friend. Still, as he looked back on all of the times where he could have made his move, he shook his head in regret. Missed opportunities haunted him as he drove, flashbacks playing through his mind as if on a loop.
Flashback
The gym was quiet, far quieter than it had ever been during normal training hours. The serenity of the now-empty floor was just what Leo needed. Everyone was gone, affording him the alone time he so desperately craved. With his father pushing him harder than ever to excel in his gymnastics as much as he did in school, the sport Leo had once loved was quickly losing appeal. Add in the constant screaming of the coaches, the bitter political maneuverings of the Rock Board, the constant teasing he received from other boys at his high school that played "manly" sports like football and hockey, and his very own little sister showing him up for the title of "best gymnast in the Cruz family," and he was almost ready to give up on gymnastics altogether.
Attempting to clear his head, he walked toward the pommel horse to try a new routine. Well, it wasn't really his routine, more like what he would create if he was given the power to plan his own routines. Unfortunately, Marty Walsh and his coaching staff were the only ones who could make decisions like that, therefore Leo's "dream routines" would always stay just that: a dream.
Stepping over to the chalk bucket next to the horse, Leo slipped on his grips and began to chalk up. At the same time, he saw a tall brunette woman enter the gym with a slight blonde girl following close behind her. The girl wasn't exactly young, she looked only about 3 years younger than his 15 years, but 12 was awfully old to begin gymnastics.
Just then, Marty Walsh himself strode out of the office and shook the woman's hand, introducing himself to both the mother and her potential gymnast. With a dismissive gesture, Marty told the girl to go explore the gym, but not to perform any routines without him watching. She must already be a gymnast, Leo thought, but if she's already at another gym, why would she come here?
Forgetting all about his intentions to do a routine, he let his eyes follow the girl as she walked around the women's side of the gym. As he watched, she approached the floor and shed the zip-up jacket she had been wearing. Taking a look at Marty's office, presumably to ensure that she was still under the radar of the two adults, she stepped onto the floor and took a deep, calming breath. Leo stared, captivated, as the girl ran across the floor and performed a round-off back handspring layout step-out, landing with no issue and gracefully saluting the imaginary judges.
Leo began to clap out of habit, not very loudly but enough for the girl to hear it and become startled. She whipped her head around, blonde hair flying behind her. "Who's there?" she called with mostly bravery and a bit of fear in her tone.
Stepping forward, Leo bought himself into her line of sight. "Hi," he began, slightly embarrassed, "your pass was… umm… really good."
"Thank you," the girl responded, "but who are you and what are you doing here?"
"My name's Leo Cruz, and I train here." He answered. "Now, who are YOU and what are YOU doing here?"
The girl smiled slightly and said, "Ok, I guess it's only fair you get to ask the same question. I'm Payson Keeler and, if all goes according to plan, I'll be training here soon." She looked up at the office where Marty was deep in conversation with the woman who had entered with Payson and added, "I think they're just talking about the money and contract and everything. I should be able to start training sometime next week."
Leo heard the excitement in her voice and said, "That's great. The Rock's a really great club, and I think you'll have fun here."
"Fun?" Payson repeated in disbelief. She laughed and replied, "Fun isn't exactly on my 'to-do list' for here at the Rock."
Curious, Leo queried, "Well, what's on the list?"
She shot him a look of confusion and responded, "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to win. I want to be the best, so I have to train under the best. Marty Walsh is the best coach in gymnastics right now, and I think he can eventually help me win Olympic gold."
Leo laughed and muttered under his breath, "You definitely don't sound like Kaylie."
Payson heard this comment and inquired, "Who's Kaylie?"
"My sister," Leo explained. "She's about your age, and she trains here, too. She's just not as, ah… focused as you are."
The girl was intrigued and asked Leo more questions about Kaylie and the other girls who trained at the Rock. Leo obliged and answered everything she asked, telling her about his sister and her best friend Lauren, who also trained there, the D. of the gymnasts in her age bracket, and their specialties. "Kaylie's best area is floor, and Lauren's is beam." Leo finished.
Payson nodded slowly, digesting the information. As she opened her mouth to make a comment or ask another question, however, Marty appeared from the office with Payson's mother right behind him. "Cruz!" Marty yelled in surprise. "What are you still doing here? Training ended almost an hour ago!"
Leo held up the grips he was still holding in his hands and said, "Just practicing some stuff on the horse, coach. I stayed after to do it because Nicky Russo and Carter Anderson were on it practically all day. I couldn't rotate in during training, so I'm doing it now."
"The last time I checked, Leo, the pommel horse wasn't on the women's side of the gym, was it?" Marty countered. He looked to Payson, who had just finished zippering up her jacket in an attempt to ward off suspicion about her floor routine. Marty said, "I suppose you've met Payson Keeler, haven't you?" When Leo nodded, his coach continued, "Good. You can introduce her to your sister and Tanner when Payson starts training here next week. In the meantime, either get back to practicing or go home."
Leo nodded once more and turned to finally perform his pommel horse routine, and then stopped. He turned back to Payson and said, "Guess I'll see you next week, then." When she affirmed this, Leo resumed walking back to his side of the gym with only two glances back at her, and he could have sworn he saw her looking back at him during one of them. He pushed the thought out of his mind and mounted the apparatus, practicing for another hour before finally leaving the gym. He was glad, however, that Payson hadn't come during the normal hours of the gym, because his focus was constantly interrupted by the thought of her.
A chance first encounter was all that it had taken to shake up the mind of the normally-unshakable Leo Cruz. Of all days to stay late, he did so on the day that Payson Keeler just so happened to come into the gym. He interpreted it as a sign, although he kept that to himself. He did quite a bit of that where Payson was concerned, especially when his sister was around.
Flashback
Kaylie's 13th birthday party was just like any other party she had ever had: a sleepover. This particular party, however, was significant in the fact that it was the first one that Payson was invited to. After an introduction from Leo brought Payson into Kaylie and Lauren's world, the three had become fast friends. Leo's sister and her best friend enjoyed having someone else to trade gym gossip, pick out leotards, and select music with. Payson seemed a bit more restrained about the friendship, possibly due to the knowledge that one day these two girls might pose a threat to her Olympic dream, but she apparently enjoyed the company of Kaylie and Lauren because she had accepted the invitation to the party.
As the doorbell rang, Leo skidded down the hallway to answer it before his parents yelled for him to do it. He was determined to prove that he could be trusted not to ruin Kaylie's "celebration of her passage into her teenage years," as this would allow him to actually stay in the house during the party. Although he normally hated Kaylie's parties, he had a feeling he wouldn't mind this one quite as much. All of his sister's friends beside Payson had already gathered and were currently giggling in the living room, so the automatic assumption Leo had was that the person on the other side of the door was Keeler herself.
After smoothing out his hair with his hand, Leo opened the front door with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, the smile was wasted on the grumpy face of Nicky Russo instead of the pleasant one he was hoping to see. Russo had a scowl like no other, one that was seen so often on his face that it seemed to be a permanent part of his expression. Leo had forgotten that Kaylie invited Nicky, and he wanted to kick himself for it.
"Hey, Russo," Leo casually spoke in an attempt to diffuse the tension that Nicky's arrival had caused. Wanting to be rid of the "Boy Wonder" of the Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Center as quickly as he could, Leo said, "Kaylie's in the family room with everyone else. You can head back if you want, it's the second door to the right."
"Thanks, Cruz," Nicky mumbled back. He walked through the doorway and then hesitated, turning around to face Leo. "Is Payson here yet?" came the question that had apparently caused Nicky to double back.
Leo felt a pang of… anger? Jealousy? Something altogether unfamiliar to him shot through him. Why was Nicky Russo interested in whether or not Payson had arrived? It wasn't like either of them could be bothered to take time out of their intensive practice schedules and talk to each other, so what did Russo care? Resisting the urge to punch "Golden Boy" for even hinting that he could be interested in the one person Leo had ever had feelings for, Leo replied sharply, "No, she's not."
Nicky showed no sign of noticing the thinly veiled anger in Leo's tone, simply responding, "Ok" and walking off to the family room.
Leo regained his calm and sat on the bench in the entryway. About ten minutes after Russo had arrived, the doorbell rang again. Smiling once more, he opened the door to find… Carter Anderson. Disappointed, he pointed Carter in the right direction and sat back on his bench.
When the doorbell rang yet again no more than five minutes after Carter joined the party, Leo answered the door reluctantly. The rather hopeless look on his face was noticed by the person on the other side.
"Wow Leo, don't look so happy," Payson quipped. Looking up at the sound of her voice, Leo's face brightened when he saw her.
"Very funny, Keeler," he replied, amused. "Playing doorman for a party full of pre-teens doesn't really appeal to a sophisticated teenager such as myself."
Payson laughed and responded, "Who are you kidding, Leo? You know you'd love nothing more than to do this as a living! Just think, all of the fun anticipating the arrival of someone you really want to see… And getting paid for it! It wouldn't be a bad fall-back if gymnastics doesn't work out." She didn't know how close to the mark she had hit.
Leo knew, however, but he was determined to play it off with his usual humor. "Are you insinuating that I anticipate seeing my sister's friends? Because if so, you really don't know me that well, Payson."
Looking thoughtful, Payson replied, "Maybe it's true that I don't know you that well, but I wouldn't be opposed to changing that." She meant it in the most platonic way possible, but even understanding that couldn't calm the strange flutter that had passed through him when she had said it.
"I think we should change that," Leo agreed. "Maybe we should ha—" His sentence was interrupted by the shrieks of glee that originated from down the hallway and grew louder as Kaylie approached at a run. She flung her arms around her friend and dragged her down the hallway toward the party, babbling on about some stupid movie they were all going to watch.
Payson glanced back over her shoulder, looking regretful at the abrupt end to her conversation with Leo. Somehow, her regret gave him hope and courage, and, as his sister ushered everyone into the family room and popping in the worst chick flick of the century, Leo found enough confidence to sit beside Payson.
Unfortunately for Leo, however, Nicky Russo chose to sit on the opposite side of Payson. This seating arrangement seemed, at least to Leo Cruz, to be a sign that being close to Payson was not going to be as easy as he hoped it would be.
With knuckles white on the steering wheel, Leo tried to focus on the road ahead of him. The difficulty, however, lay in keeping his thoughts off of Payson. It wasn't easy, as she wasn't someone you could forget easily. Leo knew that from all of the nights he had spent without sleep, attempting to keep the memory of the Nationals send-off party out of his head. That night had been one of the most heart-breaking moments of his life.
A/N: So this chapter got really long… I guess I just really get into writing flashbacks! I took some liberties in this chapter, considering that we never see these moments in the show. I'm not too sure on the skill set that 12 year old gymnasts have, I tried to do research on it, but 12 year olds are on a bunch of different levels. Hopefully a RBH layout step-out makes sense, and if not, I apologize. I also apologize for the ending; I just wanted to finish the chapter in a place that will keep you guys guessing why Leo was so heartbroken, and a place that will allow me to pick up with next two flashbacks in the next chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon! Review and let me know what you think! =)
