Disclaimer: I don't (sadly) own Make It or Break It. If only I did…

A/N: Check the bottom for my apology!

With his white knuckles still clenching the wheel as he grew closer and closer to his destination, Leo's memories became more and more painful to recall. The two most heart-breaking moments of his life played in his mind, despite his best efforts to maintain focus and control.

Flashback

"Kaylie, for the last time, I will not help you pick out something to wear to the party tonight! Go ask mom if you're that desperate!" Leo Cruz groaned in frustration as he sprawled face-down across his little sister's giant bed. It was the kind of bed that could swallow a girl like Kaylie: It was much too big for her slim form to hold a candle to. Come to think of it, her bed sounded an awful lot like her ego.

"It's called being a good big brother, Leo!" Kaylie pleaded. "Big brothers help little sisters with problems all the time! Ron and Ginny Weasley, Luke and Leia Skywalker-"

"Actually," Leo interjected, "Leia was older than Luke, so therefore your point is flawed." He sat up with a smirk and took in his sister's frustrated face. Seeing her so ready to snap made his smirk grow even larger, something that Kaylie didn't overlook.

Winging a yellow babydoll top at his head, Kaylie groaned in defeat. "Fine," she said dejectedly, "you don't have to help me." Leo was surprised by these words, but he adopted a look of triumph anyway. Kaylie, however, wasn't finished. "You don't have to help me, BUT I get to tell Payson that you like her!"

There was no mistaking it for anything other than an attempt to solicit help; it was pure speculation and had no basis behind it. However, Leo jumped off of the bed like it had suddenly burst into flames. "What?" he practically shouted. "How do you know—Um, I mean, what are you talking about?" It was a pathetic attempt to cover up his slip, but he prayed fervently that it had gone over Kaylie's head. However, his sister was brighter than he gave her credit for, and she pounced onto his mistake like a panther.

"Oh, my gosh! You totally do like her!" Kaylie squealed. "But what about Emily? Don't you like her, too?"

Leo sighed. There was no way to avoid it now, the truth was bound to come out sometime or another. "Emily's a nice girl," he began. "She's pretty and cool and everything, but… It just wouldn't work out. Even if she wasn't with that pizza guy, I don't think anything would ever come from our relationship but awkwardness for you to deal with."

Kaylie sat on her bed, staring up at her brother with big brown eyes that Leo could never say no to, no matter how hard he tried. He knew now that she was going to exploit that fact, and sank onto her bed beside her. As soon as Kaylie opened her mouth, the onslaught began.

"How long have you liked Payson? Why did you never tell me? Why haven't you told her? What are you going to do? Do you know that she'll be at the party tonight? Are you going to tell her then? What about the 'no dating' rule? Are you—"

"Kaylie, enough!" Leo barked, tired of the tirade being rained down upon him. As his sister turned to him, eyes visibly hurt from his angry interjection, he sighed and began to answer the many questions that had been foisted upon him.

"I'm going to try to answer your questions in order, but since you asked at least five of them without giving me any time to respond, I don't think I remember all of them." With a deep breath and closed eyes, Leo began to speak again. "I've liked Payson since… Well, probably since the day I met her. I told you how I met her, right?"

Kaylie nodded in affirmation, giving Leo the go-ahead to continue. "When I saw her RBH layout step-out, I was impressed. She was a great athlete, even back then. But when I talked to her, I saw the passion that she had for gymnastics. There was a fire in her eyes when she spoke about winning and being the best. Her dedication was evident from the start. It was admirable and something that drew me to her, some sort of a characteristic that pulled me in. I'm not sure why it did, but all I know is that I couldn't fight it."

"Sounds like you've got it bad, bro," Kaylie remarked. Leo sprawled himself out across her bed and, burying his head in her comforter to stifle the sound as much as possible, groaned with all of the pain of a broken heart. Unfortunately, his ever-observant sibling heard the noise and understood the meaning behind it. "You love her, don't you?" Kaylie Cruz asked quietly.

A single nod was the response she got, one small sign of acknowledgment from someone who had spent years fighting and hiding his feelings. Kaylie sighed and leaned back against her brother's spread-eagle form. "You know you need to tell her, right?" she queried, though it was more of an order than a question. Leo nodded again, reluctant to lift his head and have to look his sister in the eyes. Kaylie sighed again. "Then you'll tell her tonight, at the send-off party."

Now Leo was forced to look at her. "What?" he asked, somewhat in shock. "Are you crazy? I have no clue what to say to her! There's no way I'll be able to say anything that she'll even want to listen to! I can't just come out and say, 'Payson, I've loved you since you were 12, will you please be my girlfriend?'! I… I just can't do it, Kay. I can't." The dejected look upon his face said everything to his younger sister: her strong yet sweet, masculine yet romantic, dorky yet suave older brother was completely in love with her best friend, yet he had absolutely no idea how to reveal it.

Kaylie sighed yet again (she seemed to be doing that a lot lately when Leo was involved) and began to speak. "Leo, I know you're not the most knowledgeable guy when it comes to girls, so I'll help you out here. Honestly, you don't have to say something incredibly romantic to sweep a girl off her feet, especially when you're talking about Payson. Pay would so much rather just hear the truth about your feelings than have you try to make it all girly and flowery. So just ask to speak with her tonight at the party, find a quiet spot to talk, and explain your feelings for her. Even if she doesn't feel quite the same way, Payson will still appreciate the honesty."

"But that's just it," Leo interjected. "What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she just wants to be friends, or worse, doesn't want to speak to me anymore? I'd rather just be a friend for her and see her with someone else than be someone she avoids for the rest of her life."

"Well, my brother," Kaylie responded, "you must summon up the courage to take that chance." Leo stared at his seemingly all-knowing sister in awe. It must have shown on his face, however, for Kaylie began to smirk and shooed him out of her room so she could get ready for the party.

Several hours later found Leo Cruz standing in the living room dressed in a dark green polo shirt that complimented both his eyes and his muscles, a pair of dark Hollister jeans, and brown leather sandals. His nervous hands kept a firm grip on his Perrier water, while his eyes darted to the door at every chime of the doorbell. He wasn't on doorman duty tonight, which was both a relief and an annoyance. He wanted to be the first person Payson Keeler saw, and the last she said goodbye to. However, at least this way he didn't have to fake-smile at people like Nicky Russo, whose ego and moodiness had both only increased throughout the years.

Almost an hour went by before Leo finally caught his first glimpse of Payson for the evening. She looked stunning in a pale pink dress and her blonde hair in a braid. He was instantly reminded of the fairy-tale princess Rapunzel, and Leo was made even more determined to be her Prince Charming.

However, his father had other ideas. Leo was practically dragged around the room by Alex Cruz, standing awkwardly as Alex bragged about his son's academic achievements while keeping a sharp eye out for another flash of that fairy-tale figure. He was finally released when his father began chatting with Coach Beloff about travel arrangements and itineraries for the girls while they were in Boston. As soon as he was granted his freedom, he began his search for the elusive Payson Keeler.

After checking the back porch, Kaylie's bedroom, and even asking Mr. and Mrs. Keeler if they knew her location, Leo was stumped as to where Payson could have gone. He was considering giving up when he saw a lithe blond girl sweep past the side hallway and duck into the seating area located there. Leo followed in her tracks across the large living room and almost entered the seating area until he realized he heard voices. One was unmistakably Payson's, and the other was somewhat gruff, obviously male. Poking his head around the corner to identify the mystery competitor, he saw the spiky hair and trademark scowl of Nicky Russo.

Leo's heart sank as he pulled his head back around the corner. He was losing hope rapidly, but he decided to listen to part of their conversation as to determine whether it was just teammate, pre-Nationals encouragement or something entirely different. Unfortunately for Leo, it wasn't the first of the two most likely options.

"We'll just compare gold medals at Nationals," he heard the ever-arrogant Russo announce. "And I expect at least one dance at the party afterwards. Maybe even a slow one."

Leo's blood boiled. How dare Nicky Russo make a move on Payson! He was seething with anger now, but as he heard the sounds of someone leaving the sitting area, he was forced to make a hasty retreat to a hiding spot out of sight. A conveniently placed recess in the wall provided the perfect cover, however it still allowed him to see the unbearably smug face of his rival and, a minute later, the blissful smile being radiated by Payson.

This much was clear: Payson liked Russo more than she liked Leo. It didn't matter why, or how much, Leo just knew he had lost. Yet again, Leo Cruz loses to Nicky Russo. Only this time, it wasn't on the floor of The Rock or some similar gym: this time, it was for a prize worth competing for. However, the realization that the girl he was completely infatuated with didn't return his feelings was enough to effectively break the competitive spirit that Leo had always possessed.

From that moment, Leo had sworn to himself that he would be whatever Payson needed, not what he wanted to be for her. Whether that was a big brother or a friend to talk to, he would be there. Since Payson's accident, the most frequent role he had played was that of a shoulder to cry on. It hadn't been all that easy, however, since he had wanted to cry himself most of the time.

Flashback

Of course Leo had been at Nationals: what kind of older brother stays home for the biggest two days of his sister's career? So he had been there to witness the literal downfall of one of gymnastics' biggest powers, Payson Keeler. It had literally been the most horrifying moment of his life. Watching one of the worst possible scenarios for a gymnast play out in front of him and befall a friend was the most gut-wrenching thing he could imagine.

As he watched Payson fall back down to earth along with her Olympic-sized dreams, he felt trapped in a nightmare: completely helpless and damn pissed off about it. When the sound of her spine's impact against the mats reached her parents, they did exactly what Leo wanted to do and raced to the competition floor. He couldn't believe this was happening: he knew the risks of gymnastics and had known of the tragic accidents that befell other competitors, but never before had anyone he knew been injured to this extent. Now, seeing the body of the girl he was fairly certain he loved crumpled unconscious after a terrible fall, Leo wished that gymnastics was much less dangerous.

Of course, wishing for something after the fact didn't do much good. It was a sign of how helpless Leo felt that he would actually sink to something like wishing, but he was desperate. It was all he could do to restrain himself, to keep from hurdling over the barrier and running to Payson's side. He watched hopelessly as Payson was wheeled out of the arena on a stretcher.

Leo watched the rest of the competition without much real interest. He was able to focus on Kaylie's routine, mostly because he knew he would be asked about it any flaws or faults he saw in it later on. As the National Team was announced and his sister was awarded her gold medal, all Leo could think about was how much Payson deserved to be on that stand as well.

He fled the arena as soon as possible, but his flight was diverted by a group of reporters asking him about his sister's victory and other Kaylie-related questions. Distracted to the point of confusion, he stared duly into the sea of microphones positioned around him. Luckily, Leo was rescued by the voice of Emily Kmetko. She called him over, apologizing to the reporters while telling them that they had some "important things to discuss."

Leo gratefully followed Emily away from the media frenzy. It was evident that she had nothing crucial to discuss with him, however she was content to babble on about making the team and asking him about stupid things like college and his future. Shouldn't she be concerned that one of her teammates was at this very moment lying in a hospital bed with her future questionable at best?

Once again, Leo was saved from answering too many questions by an unexpected arrival. That Pizza Shack guy, Damon, showed up and gave Leo a clearly unfriendly look. Leo quickly excused himself and left Emily to her own devices. He was ready to head to the hospital straightaway; however, as he caught sight of Kaylie and Lauren waiting for Emily to join them, he realized that they most likely intended to visit Payson as well. There would be no way to explain his presence in Payson's hospital room. Disappointed beyond belief, Leo was forced to wait even longer before his visit.

One of the worst things about waiting, however, was the time that he had to think about what to say. Leo very well couldn't walk into the room and announce his love to Payson: she was probably still in shock as it was. Gymnastics was obviously off-limits, and the subject of Kaylie would undoubtedly lead to crying on the part of Payson. There was one thing that Leo was absolutely certain of: there was no way he could handle tears.

After two hours of waiting, Leo steeled his resolve and departed his hotel room for the hospital. He pushed all thoughts of the upcoming encounter out of his mind and exited his cab in front of Boston General with pure determination etched onto his face. He had come to a conclusion: he would tell Payson that he was there for her, throughout this and even beyond it. Friend, boyfriend; he would go to any extent to be someone that she could rely on and trust.

He approached the information desk and asked for a visitor pass for Payson Keeler's room. When he had been granted one, he strode to the elevator and punched in the floor number, failing to notice the little line of print in the top left corner reading "Pass number 2 for room 308."

Rounding the corner of the hallway where room 308 was located, Leo's hopes were at an all-time high. However, as he entered the room where the broken gymnast lay, his hopes crashed through the floor. What was that saying, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall?" Well, his expectations and dreams had swollen to gigantic proportions before being shattered by the sight of none other than Nicky Russo sitting on Payson's bed and talking to the girl of Leo's dreams.

With tears welling in his eyes, Leo backed out of the room and completed an about-face so quickly that his head spun. He sprinted down the hall, not bothering with the elevator this time. He took the stairs two at a time, continuing his brisk pace down the main hallway and exiting through the double doors, pausing only to drop his visitor pass back at the desk. He ran all of the way back to the hotel, not bothering with cabs this time either. The running gave him time to think, and time to make a decision: there was absolutely no way he would ever have anything to do with Nicky Russo ever again. Russo had taken enough from Leo already; there was no need for Leo Cruz to associate with him anymore.

Choked up with emotion and with his eyes tearing, Leo arrived at his destination. The ride across Boulder had taken no longer than usual, but his memories made the travel feel like years. Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he unfastened his seatbelt and exited his car. He approached the front door of the mansion that rivaled his own, and rang the doorbell. When the person he was there to collect opened the door, Leo shouted his request before the door was slammed in his face. "I need help. Payson's in trouble."

A/N: I'm soooo sorry! I've been extremely busy with: spring musical, Memorial Day in DC, and so much more. Please take this as my apology!