Fanfic: I'm Here To Help (Sacramone/ OC, USWGT, PG, 2/?)
Title: I’m Here To Help
Rating: PG
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
The next day wasn't as bad as before, she managed to keep herself falling, but she still found herself short from getting top marks... or runner up... she nearly missed placing at all. It ended with Team Finals Vault, she should've been able to wipe the competition with it, but she didn't. She looked to her far left and saw the gymnastics team from LSU and found Nathan's UCLA team at the top spot. She faintly smiled at the LSU gymnasts and almost fully smiled towards Nathan, despite the sinking feeling she felt. As they all moved from their spots, she found a flurry of smiles directed at her; most of them were from her teammates, but a few of them were from her teammates.
"What are you all doing here?" She looked in disbelief at her younger friends: Shawn, Nastia, Samantha, Bridget and Chellsie, all of them had smiles on their faces.
"Why wouldn't we be here? You said that you were hanging up the leotard," Nastia started, only to have Chellsie continue.
"But then we found out you were still competing and we decided to get our butts over here."
"Don't you guys have classes? Do your parents even know you're all here?" Alicia questioned her friends, wondering how they managed to arrive in Lincoln with their school schedules as well with their parents' consent. As much as she was glad for their appearance, she didn't want to know that they were in trouble because of her.
"Okay, dude, duh we have classes but we managed to find out you were still competing so we all called each other up and flew over here. And, all our parents know-do you honestly think Nastia and Shawn can just appear here without permission?" Samantha immediately answered, cutting off the older gymnast. Alicia bit her lower lip and quietly laughed as she saw the glares from the mentioned women sent toward Samantha.
"Anyways, you did awesome, and I swear that you totally got ripped off by that UCLA girl," Bridget said as moved the attention from Samantha.
"Yeah, but her vault was still amazing," Shawn unknowingly answered, only to receive glares from the others, except for Alicia, who chuckled. She bit her lower lip and realized what she said.
"Yeah, Nathan's vault was amazing, so it's no surprise that her team won, right?" Alicia asked as she turned to look for the UCLA team. She saw the bright smile on Nathan's face as well as the wide grins on the rest of the Bruins team. She was happy for them, that they won and that they had an excellent teammate, but it still hurt her to know that she nearly missed placing. When she turned back to her friends, she saw their concerned looks on their faces. Her face, in turn, pulled into confusion as she said, "What?"
"Are you okay, Alicia?" Nastia placed her hand on the older woman's shoulder, noting the odd look Alicia had when she looked at the UCLA team. She also sensed the sadness in Alicia's voice as she spoke.
"I'm okay-I'm okay Nast," Alicia faintly smiled. She knew her friends weren't convinced, but she really had nothing else to say.
"Hey Sacramone, you did awesome today!" The six young women turned to find the UCLA gymnast approach them, with a bright smile on her face, alone. Alicia looked up at the taller woman and quietly said a word of thanks.
"Thanks, you completely wiped us out of here." Nathan sheepishly smiled and shook her head. "You were great though."
"Thanks, but you still did awesome. A few of the other gymnasts, from other colleges, are gonna head out right now for a bit to a restaurant and chill out, do you want to come?" Alicia glanced back to her friends before she looked back up at Nathan. She solemnly shook her head and bit her lower lip.
"Thanks, but I have..." Nathan looked past the other gymnast and saw the rest of the Olympic Team before a smile crossed her lips.
"No problem, it's all good. It's nice to see you all." The five other gymnasts smiled at the other woman and nodded in reply. They watched as Nathan turned back to Alicia and place a hand on their former captain's shoulder. "I should get going; I'll see you tomorrow at Event Finals."
"I'll see you later," Alicia whispered back as she hugged the other gymnast.
"Of course, stay cool, okay?" Nathan whispered back, knowing Alicia would be the only one to hear her. She pulled back far enough to kiss the shorter gymnast's temple before pulling away completely. She took one last glance at the other gymnasts before saying goodbye and departing.
"She seems really cool," Bridget said as she watched the taller woman exit the gymnasium.
"Yeah... she is. Come on; let's go back to the hotel and catch up, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Alicia deeply breathed as she turned to her friends with a forced smile on her face. She wanted to leave the gymnasium, everything seemed to go downhill; she needed to unwind.
***
The six young women stayed in Shawn and Nastia's room for the remainder of the afternoon, watching occasional episodes of Gossip Girl, and catching up with each others' lives. There were laughs, but a few tears were shed during their reminiscing.
"I'm glad for this, you know?" Alicia said as she looked at her friends across the beds, smiles on their faces.
"I missed this, I missed you all," Shawn added as she turned to all of her friends. Alicia smiled and nodded as she picked at the comforter they sat upon. Her sudden quiet demeanour wasn't lost to her once teammates and now friends; it wasn't like Alicia to remain quiet for so long, unless something bothered her.
"Hey Ace, is there an ice cream parlour around?" The sound of Nastia's voice pulled Alicia out of whatever reverie she was in. The older woman glanced at the blonde and saw a knowing look on her face which made her nod.
"Yeah, it's not that far from here."
"Good, let's go get some ice cream," Nastia stated as she moved from the bed, waiting for her friend to follow her. "We'll be right back." Alicia slowly followed her out of the room as they made their way down the hallway to the elevator of the hotel. Once they entered an elevator car, sure that it was only them, Nastia looked at the brunette whose expression made evident that she was in another world.
"It sucks, you know." Nastia turned to her friend and saw the silent tear that ran down her face.
"What does?" was all she could say as she wiped the tear away.
"I'm feeling like a weak gymnast and the NCAA is completely kicking my ass," Alicia quietly said as she gripped the railing of the elevator, her gaze directed to the floor. She felt a sinking feeling within her and she hated it. She didn't feel the arm Nastia wrapped around her shoulders for comfort; it felt numb.
"You aren't weak, Alicia, your body's beat up tremendously. Besides, you can't win everything," Nastia replied back, suddenly feeling her friend freeze against her. The silence hovered in the elevator and it bothered her, she felt so helpless.
"It's not about the winning anymore, Nast. I go out there and compete and it's okay that... I'm not doing well, but it seriously sucks that I'm being pushed to the side so easily. I-I just don't-I hate feeling so..."
"Washed up?" Nastia quietly suggested as she saw Alicia nod.
"I wanted to give gymnastics one last go before I officially retire, but it's not going my way. Some people are so hung up when I fall because of the Olympics and I've gotten over it-" The words that came from Alicia's mouth abruptly stopped. She remembered the day before when Lindsay openly insulted her, using Beijing as support, and the want to punch her out was strong. Then, the recollection of her at the bar came to her mind. Everything seemed to go against her and it made her feel sicker.
The elevator bell tolled and the doors opened. Alicia immediately exited with Nastia following behind her, worry written all over her face. She briskly walked through the lobby and ended up walking into another person. She muttered a word of apology, but found a hand wrapped around her wrist.
"Slow down, where's the fire at?" Alicia tensed at the sound of the familiar voice. Was it a sign?
"N-Nathan," The name barely slipped through Alicia's lips as she looked up at the taller woman. Here she was once again, when she felt like dirt. She saw the suddenly concerned look on Nathan's face and realized she must have pulled some kind of expression without knowing it. She felt the hold on her wrist tighten and she knew she should be talking; however, she didn't speak when the hold on her wrist turned into a hold on her hand.
"Nathanial, hurry your butt!" Nathan looked down at their clasped hands and slowly dragged her thumb along the palm of Alicia's hand. She glanced at the shorter woman and saw her gaze directed at the ink inside her hand.
"Coming!" Nathan called out as she gently squeezed Alicia's hand before letting her go and turning to Nastia with a small smile on her face. She patted them both on the shoulder before running off to the elevator where most of her friends were.
Alicia deeply sighed and balled her hands into fists as she shut her eyes, turning away. She started to walk out of the hotel without a second thought. Nastia looked back to where Nathan disappeared to and wondered what the exchange between the two was about. She furrowed her brow and turned back to look at Alicia, only to realize she was already halfway out the door.
"Alicia!" she cried out as she ran after the older woman.
***
The two returned to the hotel with a small carton of vanilla ice cream in tow, but the earlier low moods remained. Alicia stayed silent throughout the small walk and remained so when they returned to the hotel room. The others picked up on the mood, but decided not to push on it, knowing Alicia would eventually voice her troubles. They ended up quietly watching Grey's Anatomy, though the heavy mood lingered on everyone's mind.
During a later episode, Nastia noticed as Alicia pulled out her cellphone and glanced at her left palm before sending a text. She furrowed her brow and watched as Alicia speedily typed in a text and put her phone away, only to have it ringing a few moments later.
"Hey, I've got to take this, I'll be right back," Alicia stated as she stood up and left the hotel room without another word.