Fanfic: I'm Here To Help (Sacramone/ OC, USWGT, PG/ light R, 4/?)
Title: I’m Here To Help
Rating: PG/ light R (mild swearing)
Pairing: Sacramone/ OC
Fandom: USWGT
Notes: I do not own ANYONE, except for the OC, Lindsay and Riley (of whom you will encounter later).
Summary: She’s there to help, but she doesn’t know what to do with it.
1. Blue Bears With A Punch
2. Washed Up
3. Why Do You Care?
She didn’t know what to do. That was a lie, she did, but she really didn’t want to do that. What was that? Well, that was something she refused to ever acknowledge because that move could possibly make or break their “relationship”.
She glanced through the windshield, hands resting on the wheel, as she looked at Alicia who sat on the hood of the rental car. The entire drive remained as a relatively silent with the occasional sigh or blurt of pessimism; either from the Brown gymnast. They returned back to the barren lot and as soon as they arrived, an hour ago, Alicia stepped out and leant against the hood of the car, staring off at the city. Nathan sat in her seat, unsure if she should approach the other woman; their entire verbal fight finally sunk into her.
“I decided to try gymnastics one last time, but then you completely wipe the mats with me! I wanted to have a great final run, but then you decided to play Houdini and ruin it for me!” That didn’t hurt Nathan because it was out of anger and anyone would say anything when they’re angry. Then again, when anyone was angry, all inhibitions are gone and all truth is revealed.
“You didn’t mean to show up out of nowhere and blow me out of the water? Bullshit, I bet you totally planned this out! Holy shit man! I’m trying to do my best here and I want to be remembered for something more than falling during the Olympics, but you… you show up and screwed things up!” The strong venom beneath the words started to hit Nathan as she recollected that part of the conversation. She buried herself deeper into the seat and sighed, covering her face with her hand as she remembered the rest of the conversation. The sound of broken sobs and the feeling of tears soak through her shirt; everything started to open her eyes. She knew she was dealing with a heavy-hearted gymnast, but now she saw that she dealing with a broken woman.
“What the hell did I get myself into now?” Nathan murmured to herself as she tried to figure out where to go from there. She wanted to help Alicia as much as she could, but she didn’t want to be so self-involved to the point that she couldn’t get out… if she needed to get out.
Pour some sugar on me, ooh, in the name of love
Pour some sugar on me, c’mon fire me up
Pour your sugar on me, oh, I can’t get enough
I’m hot, sticky sweet from my head to my feet yeah
Nathan glanced to the passenger seat and saw Alicia’s phone sitting there. She smirked at the ringtone and reached for the phone, looking out the windshield only to turn and find Alicia at another end of the barren lot, sitting on the gravel ground with her knees pulled up to her chest. Without a second thought, she looked at the display and answered the phone.
“Hello? Alicia’s cellphone, Nathan… answering.” There was a silence, but a few faint voices in the background. “Hello?”
“Hey, N-Nathan, is Alicia around?” Nathan turned to where Alicia sat and saw her completely detached from the world around her.
“Sort of, but she’s kind of busy. Can I take a message?”
“U-Um, I was just calling to see if she was okay, she never came back.” Nathan smacked her forehead and realized she forgot to ask Alicia if she had other plans, but it seemed irrelevant at the moment considering they were already at the barren lot.
“Oh, um, where are you? I’m taking Alicia back to the hotel soon and I don’t know where her room is,” Nathan replied back as she glanced at her watch.
“Room 305.”
“Okay, thanks, she’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, bye.” Nathan hung the phone up and tossed it back onto the passenger seat. She dejectedly sighed and opened the door, heading over to Alicia. She knelt down in front of the other woman and placed her hands on Alicia’s knees. She could feel the pain emanate in the air and it only made her wish that she could drive it away and release the young woman from it.
“Alicia, we should go now.” No reply, Alicia looked up at Nathan with bloodshot and blank eyes. Nathan felt her heart break at the sight and it deeply saddened her. Without another word, she moved to Alicia’s side and pulled the other woman against her, slowly rubbing the woman’s arm. She heard shaky breaths and felt Alicia’s face bury against her neck, hot tears sliding down. Leaving didn’t seem to be an option, only staying and letting the young woman release her pain was.
***
“Okay, didn’t Nathan say she’d be back soon?” The five American gymnasts stood, all sat around in Nastia and Shawn’s room, except for one. Samantha began to pace relentlessly around the small area, worried about her best friend. Everyone else watched her, waiting for her to bore some kind of hole through the floor and fall right through.
“Sam, calm down, they might’ve hit traffic or something,” Bridget stated, her eyes following the blonde in front of her.
“Traffic, at this hour?” Samantha squeaked as she turned around to face the brunette, her face expressing her disbelief. “It’s almost midnight!”
“Okay, Sam, calm down, we’re all worried here,” Chellsie said as she looked over at the evidently worried blonde. She could see Samantha ready to reply back when there was a quiet collection of thuds against the door. Everyone looked at the door and no one moved. Nastia sighed in exasperation as she moved from the bed and headed for the door, carefully opening it. She opened the door all the way when she saw it was Alicia… in Nathan’s arms. Nathan looked exhausted beyond comprehension and the fact that she was carrying Alicia, who was asleep, seemed incredible; what was giving her the strength to continue on?
“Sorry, I met a few speed bumps since you called,” Nathan stated as she slowly made her way into the room, watching as the others leapt from the bed and stood away from them. She passed them and laid Alicia onto one of the beds, only to find herself ready to collapse. Everyone watched as she turned, ready to leave and Samantha was ready to pounce on the woman, but someone else captured Nathan’s attention first.
“Come with me,” Shawn quietly said as she approached the taller woman, grabbing her hand and leading her to the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. The other four looked at each other with furrowed brows and confusion as to what just happened.
“What was that?” Bridget whispered, only to gain shrugs from her friends.
As soon as Nathan and Shawn entered the bathroom, Shawn released the taller woman’s hand, letting her go. Nathan groaned and walked over to the vanity, leaning against it with her hands propped against the edge of the countertop. She looked over to the door and saw Shawn leaning back against it with her arms crossed in front of her. The look of confusion, frustration and determination coloured the young woman’s eyes and Nathan knew that words could possibly be the least of her worries.
“Say it, just… say it,” Nathan whispered as she waited for the flurry of questions to come from the other gymnast, but only found silence, a short silence.
“Who are you?” Three words, only three words came from Shawn’s mouth, but they seemed to convey so much more meaning behind them; the sound of nervousness, confusion and bitterness were laced within each syllable. Nathan nodded and drew a quiet breath before she cleared her throat.
“I am Nathanial Taylor Mackenzie, I’m 23 years old and I go to UCLA,” Nathan simply answered, but because of Shawn’s tone, she knew that her answer wasn’t sufficient enough. She lowered her head and pulled herself onto the vanity, sitting on top of it. “That’s not what you want to hear, though, is it?” She heard Shawn sigh and saw a deadpanned look appear on her face.
“You’re a smart one. So let’s try that again… please,” Shawn uttered flatly as she looked up at the older woman. Nathan released a half-hearted chuckle and leaned back against the wall.
“I’m only here to help her, Shawn. I don’t know her, she doesn’t know me, but she needed help even if she didn’t want it. What else do you want to know?” Shawn smirked and shook her head as she looked down to the floor only to look passively back up at Nathan.
“You…? I don’t-you’re damned right she doesn’t know you! Helping someone never comes free, especially since she is Alicia Sacramone. I’m sure that didn’t go to your head.” Nathan blankly stared at Shawn. Who knew America’s Sweetheart was like so? When the words sunk into Nathan’s mind, she scoffed and laughed at Shawn’s naïveté.
“You think I don’t know that? Of course helping someone is never free, so please don’t start telling me that I don’t know what I’m doing. So what if she’s Alicia Sacramone, I could care less if she was Candice Parker, or Serena Williams; Alicia needed help!” Nathan shot back, only to realize her strong tone which made her sigh.
“You just said it, if it’s not free, what are you doing?” Shawn ran a hand through her hair and moved away from the door, walking over to the wall across from Nathan. Her gaze remained fixed at the other woman as she spoke; her tone inflicting accusation, “You have an angle. It’s not like she couldn’t've turned to any one of us!”
“Angle? Angle?! You think I have some kind of angle in all this? For crying out loud, I only want what’s best for Alicia! If you think I’m trying to get something out of helping Alicia, something for myself, sure, the only thing I want out of this is for her to be happy. I’m one of the damn peer counsellors at UCLA, so I do this every day!” Nathan paused, collecting herself as she realized her voice grow louder before she continued. “I don’t know why she turned to me when she had you all, but the only logical answer I have for that in my eyes is that she didn’t want to be seen as weak in front you all. She was your captain, wasn’t she? She was supposed to be the strong one and the one who held all of you up when you were all breaking, but I don’t think she wants to be seen as the one breaking. She probably thinks that what she’s going through, you guys wouldn’t get it and I offered her insight that probably gave her a reason to talk to me and not you.” The bathroom echoed every word; the walls sounded each sentence into Shawn. The unfiltered explanation drew her mind back to Alicia’s earlier words from the hallway; the desperation laced into her voice. It was almost too much for Shawn to hear, or bear. Alicia was the strong and capable sister and captain that everyone turned to and the idea of her being less than was conceivable, but the thought that it was reason enough not to talk to them was unfathomable.
“She… she feels like that?” Shawn whispered in a raspy voice as thoughts began to fly through her mind, reasons that Alicia would turn to someone else instead of them becoming clear. “But… it’s Ace…” Nathan moved from the counter and knelt in front of Shawn, taking her hands into her own as she looked at her. She saw the understanding in the Iowan’s eyes and knew she cleared some things, for now.
“She loves you guys, always know that. She wants what’s best for you and I want what’s best for her. Please understand that, I’m not trying to undermine anyone, I’m only here to help. She’ll talk to you guys eventually, but if she’s comfortable with talking to me for now, will you not question it? If you’re wondering if I’ll tell anyone, that’s just against my contract and my conscience.” Shawn looked down at the woman in front of her and turned to the ceiling, unsure of how to reply to what was said. She squeezed the hands that held her own and pulled them away, wrapping her arms around Nathan’s neck.
“I don’t trust you 100 percent. If you are using her in any freaking way, you will have an entire team ready to hunt you down,” Shawn whispered, assuring the older woman that hell would break loose if they ever found out she was using Alicia to her advantage. Nathan chuckled and pulled away, looking at Shawn with a half-smile on her face.
“I’ll have to prove that I’m trustworthy, I know that and I wouldn’t doubt for a second you’d hunt me down. I’m just glad she has friends like you,” Nathan whispered back as she stood back up onto her feet. She leant back against the counter and saw the confused look that appeared on Shawn’s face. “What?”
“Don’t you have another competition tomorrow?” Nathan loudly groaned and rubbed her face with her hands.
“Yes and it’s well past midnight… great.” Shawn quietly laughed and headed for the door, opening it and leading Nathan out.
Rating: PG/ light R (mild swearing)
Pairing: Sacramone/ OC
Fandom: USWGT
Notes: I do not own ANYONE, except for the OC, Lindsay and Riley (of whom you will encounter later).
Summary: She’s there to help, but she doesn’t know what to do with it.
1. Blue Bears With A Punch
2. Washed Up
3. Why Do You Care?
She didn’t know what to do. That was a lie, she did, but she really didn’t want to do that. What was that? Well, that was something she refused to ever acknowledge because that move could possibly make or break their “relationship”.
She glanced through the windshield, hands resting on the wheel, as she looked at Alicia who sat on the hood of the rental car. The entire drive remained as a relatively silent with the occasional sigh or blurt of pessimism; either from the Brown gymnast. They returned back to the barren lot and as soon as they arrived, an hour ago, Alicia stepped out and leant against the hood of the car, staring off at the city. Nathan sat in her seat, unsure if she should approach the other woman; their entire verbal fight finally sunk into her.
“I decided to try gymnastics one last time, but then you completely wipe the mats with me! I wanted to have a great final run, but then you decided to play Houdini and ruin it for me!” That didn’t hurt Nathan because it was out of anger and anyone would say anything when they’re angry. Then again, when anyone was angry, all inhibitions are gone and all truth is revealed.
“You didn’t mean to show up out of nowhere and blow me out of the water? Bullshit, I bet you totally planned this out! Holy shit man! I’m trying to do my best here and I want to be remembered for something more than falling during the Olympics, but you… you show up and screwed things up!” The strong venom beneath the words started to hit Nathan as she recollected that part of the conversation. She buried herself deeper into the seat and sighed, covering her face with her hand as she remembered the rest of the conversation. The sound of broken sobs and the feeling of tears soak through her shirt; everything started to open her eyes. She knew she was dealing with a heavy-hearted gymnast, but now she saw that she dealing with a broken woman.
“What the hell did I get myself into now?” Nathan murmured to herself as she tried to figure out where to go from there. She wanted to help Alicia as much as she could, but she didn’t want to be so self-involved to the point that she couldn’t get out… if she needed to get out.
Pour some sugar on me, ooh, in the name of love
Pour some sugar on me, c’mon fire me up
Pour your sugar on me, oh, I can’t get enough
I’m hot, sticky sweet from my head to my feet yeah
Nathan glanced to the passenger seat and saw Alicia’s phone sitting there. She smirked at the ringtone and reached for the phone, looking out the windshield only to turn and find Alicia at another end of the barren lot, sitting on the gravel ground with her knees pulled up to her chest. Without a second thought, she looked at the display and answered the phone.
“Hello? Alicia’s cellphone, Nathan… answering.” There was a silence, but a few faint voices in the background. “Hello?”
“Hey, N-Nathan, is Alicia around?” Nathan turned to where Alicia sat and saw her completely detached from the world around her.
“Sort of, but she’s kind of busy. Can I take a message?”
“U-Um, I was just calling to see if she was okay, she never came back.” Nathan smacked her forehead and realized she forgot to ask Alicia if she had other plans, but it seemed irrelevant at the moment considering they were already at the barren lot.
“Oh, um, where are you? I’m taking Alicia back to the hotel soon and I don’t know where her room is,” Nathan replied back as she glanced at her watch.
“Room 305.”
“Okay, thanks, she’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, bye.” Nathan hung the phone up and tossed it back onto the passenger seat. She dejectedly sighed and opened the door, heading over to Alicia. She knelt down in front of the other woman and placed her hands on Alicia’s knees. She could feel the pain emanate in the air and it only made her wish that she could drive it away and release the young woman from it.
“Alicia, we should go now.” No reply, Alicia looked up at Nathan with bloodshot and blank eyes. Nathan felt her heart break at the sight and it deeply saddened her. Without another word, she moved to Alicia’s side and pulled the other woman against her, slowly rubbing the woman’s arm. She heard shaky breaths and felt Alicia’s face bury against her neck, hot tears sliding down. Leaving didn’t seem to be an option, only staying and letting the young woman release her pain was.
***
“Okay, didn’t Nathan say she’d be back soon?” The five American gymnasts stood, all sat around in Nastia and Shawn’s room, except for one. Samantha began to pace relentlessly around the small area, worried about her best friend. Everyone else watched her, waiting for her to bore some kind of hole through the floor and fall right through.
“Sam, calm down, they might’ve hit traffic or something,” Bridget stated, her eyes following the blonde in front of her.
“Traffic, at this hour?” Samantha squeaked as she turned around to face the brunette, her face expressing her disbelief. “It’s almost midnight!”
“Okay, Sam, calm down, we’re all worried here,” Chellsie said as she looked over at the evidently worried blonde. She could see Samantha ready to reply back when there was a quiet collection of thuds against the door. Everyone looked at the door and no one moved. Nastia sighed in exasperation as she moved from the bed and headed for the door, carefully opening it. She opened the door all the way when she saw it was Alicia… in Nathan’s arms. Nathan looked exhausted beyond comprehension and the fact that she was carrying Alicia, who was asleep, seemed incredible; what was giving her the strength to continue on?
“Sorry, I met a few speed bumps since you called,” Nathan stated as she slowly made her way into the room, watching as the others leapt from the bed and stood away from them. She passed them and laid Alicia onto one of the beds, only to find herself ready to collapse. Everyone watched as she turned, ready to leave and Samantha was ready to pounce on the woman, but someone else captured Nathan’s attention first.
“Come with me,” Shawn quietly said as she approached the taller woman, grabbing her hand and leading her to the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. The other four looked at each other with furrowed brows and confusion as to what just happened.
“What was that?” Bridget whispered, only to gain shrugs from her friends.
As soon as Nathan and Shawn entered the bathroom, Shawn released the taller woman’s hand, letting her go. Nathan groaned and walked over to the vanity, leaning against it with her hands propped against the edge of the countertop. She looked over to the door and saw Shawn leaning back against it with her arms crossed in front of her. The look of confusion, frustration and determination coloured the young woman’s eyes and Nathan knew that words could possibly be the least of her worries.
“Say it, just… say it,” Nathan whispered as she waited for the flurry of questions to come from the other gymnast, but only found silence, a short silence.
“Who are you?” Three words, only three words came from Shawn’s mouth, but they seemed to convey so much more meaning behind them; the sound of nervousness, confusion and bitterness were laced within each syllable. Nathan nodded and drew a quiet breath before she cleared her throat.
“I am Nathanial Taylor Mackenzie, I’m 23 years old and I go to UCLA,” Nathan simply answered, but because of Shawn’s tone, she knew that her answer wasn’t sufficient enough. She lowered her head and pulled herself onto the vanity, sitting on top of it. “That’s not what you want to hear, though, is it?” She heard Shawn sigh and saw a deadpanned look appear on her face.
“You’re a smart one. So let’s try that again… please,” Shawn uttered flatly as she looked up at the older woman. Nathan released a half-hearted chuckle and leaned back against the wall.
“I’m only here to help her, Shawn. I don’t know her, she doesn’t know me, but she needed help even if she didn’t want it. What else do you want to know?” Shawn smirked and shook her head as she looked down to the floor only to look passively back up at Nathan.
“You…? I don’t-you’re damned right she doesn’t know you! Helping someone never comes free, especially since she is Alicia Sacramone. I’m sure that didn’t go to your head.” Nathan blankly stared at Shawn. Who knew America’s Sweetheart was like so? When the words sunk into Nathan’s mind, she scoffed and laughed at Shawn’s naïveté.
“You think I don’t know that? Of course helping someone is never free, so please don’t start telling me that I don’t know what I’m doing. So what if she’s Alicia Sacramone, I could care less if she was Candice Parker, or Serena Williams; Alicia needed help!” Nathan shot back, only to realize her strong tone which made her sigh.
“You just said it, if it’s not free, what are you doing?” Shawn ran a hand through her hair and moved away from the door, walking over to the wall across from Nathan. Her gaze remained fixed at the other woman as she spoke; her tone inflicting accusation, “You have an angle. It’s not like she couldn’t've turned to any one of us!”
“Angle? Angle?! You think I have some kind of angle in all this? For crying out loud, I only want what’s best for Alicia! If you think I’m trying to get something out of helping Alicia, something for myself, sure, the only thing I want out of this is for her to be happy. I’m one of the damn peer counsellors at UCLA, so I do this every day!” Nathan paused, collecting herself as she realized her voice grow louder before she continued. “I don’t know why she turned to me when she had you all, but the only logical answer I have for that in my eyes is that she didn’t want to be seen as weak in front you all. She was your captain, wasn’t she? She was supposed to be the strong one and the one who held all of you up when you were all breaking, but I don’t think she wants to be seen as the one breaking. She probably thinks that what she’s going through, you guys wouldn’t get it and I offered her insight that probably gave her a reason to talk to me and not you.” The bathroom echoed every word; the walls sounded each sentence into Shawn. The unfiltered explanation drew her mind back to Alicia’s earlier words from the hallway; the desperation laced into her voice. It was almost too much for Shawn to hear, or bear. Alicia was the strong and capable sister and captain that everyone turned to and the idea of her being less than was conceivable, but the thought that it was reason enough not to talk to them was unfathomable.
“She… she feels like that?” Shawn whispered in a raspy voice as thoughts began to fly through her mind, reasons that Alicia would turn to someone else instead of them becoming clear. “But… it’s Ace…” Nathan moved from the counter and knelt in front of Shawn, taking her hands into her own as she looked at her. She saw the understanding in the Iowan’s eyes and knew she cleared some things, for now.
“She loves you guys, always know that. She wants what’s best for you and I want what’s best for her. Please understand that, I’m not trying to undermine anyone, I’m only here to help. She’ll talk to you guys eventually, but if she’s comfortable with talking to me for now, will you not question it? If you’re wondering if I’ll tell anyone, that’s just against my contract and my conscience.” Shawn looked down at the woman in front of her and turned to the ceiling, unsure of how to reply to what was said. She squeezed the hands that held her own and pulled them away, wrapping her arms around Nathan’s neck.
“I don’t trust you 100 percent. If you are using her in any freaking way, you will have an entire team ready to hunt you down,” Shawn whispered, assuring the older woman that hell would break loose if they ever found out she was using Alicia to her advantage. Nathan chuckled and pulled away, looking at Shawn with a half-smile on her face.
“I’ll have to prove that I’m trustworthy, I know that and I wouldn’t doubt for a second you’d hunt me down. I’m just glad she has friends like you,” Nathan whispered back as she stood back up onto her feet. She leant back against the counter and saw the confused look that appeared on Shawn’s face. “What?”
“Don’t you have another competition tomorrow?” Nathan loudly groaned and rubbed her face with her hands.
“Yes and it’s well past midnight… great.” Shawn quietly laughed and headed for the door, opening it and leading Nathan out.