“You’ve got this, Cel.”
The girl’s eyes fluttered open from her prone state, and used her hands to push herself up onto her knees. Her gaze moved to the uneven bars above her, and she bit her lip in frustration.
“You can do it,” her coach, Quinton, complimented again.
Though Celine looked helpless on the mat below the uneven bars, Quinton knew better than to go help her. When she was frustrated, she didn’t want anyone to touch her or help her until she had calmed down.
Celine took in a deep breath and stood up, limping on her hurt ankle. She stood under the taller bar and stared up at it, hearing Quinton make his way towards the mat, placing his hands on her waist, ready to hoist her up.
“Ready?” he asked, eyeing her, concerned.
“Ready,” she confirmed, and put pressure on bother her ankles as she bent her knees, ready to jump.
Letting a whimper slip from her mouth from the pain, she found herself in the air and gripping the bar in seconds. Quinton quickly sprinted back to his previous place, watching her intently as she spun around a few times, and did a final flip to transition to the lower bar.
As she reached out to grab the lower bar, only the tips of her fingers brushed the bar and she found herself falling face down towards the mat.
She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the blow to the face, but it never came. Instead, a pair of warm arms reached out and prevented her fall. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips and her chest rose and fell as she calmed down a bit.
“Thank you,” she whispered, feeling the fabric of his shirt against her cheek. Opening her eyes, she was faced with a green shirt. Fingering it, she said, “Say, Quinton, weren’t you wearing a black shirt?”
No answer.
Her heart racing at the thought of a random man holding her the way he was, she looked up and said, “Quinton!?”
“I haven’t got a clue as to who you’re talking about,” the boy smiled down at her, and Celine’s blue eyes widened.
“Liam!” she exclaimed, as he put her down, but winced as weight was put on her left ankle. The smile wiped off his face and was replaced with a look of concern as he picked her up bridal style again, looking down at her left, bare ankle.
“What’ve you done?” he questioned, as he carried her off the mat and towards the locker room, where he placed her down on a bench.
“I landed incorrectly,” she said, as Liam knelt in front of her and held her bare foot in his hands, examining it.
“First off, nice nail polish,” he said, the bright blue paint preventing him from ignoring it.
“Thanks,” Celine laughed, “It’s supposed to match my leotard.”
Liam looked up from examining her hurt ankle, taking in her clothing. She wore a blue, sleeveless leotard, and her brown hair was pulled into a tight bun.
“Have you cut your hair?” he questioned, seeing the bun was smaller than the one he was used to seeing at camp.
“Yeah, and so have you,” she smiled, running her fingers over the buzzed hair.
“Oi, it’s growing back,” he laughed.
“I’ve missed you,” she sighed, moving her hand from the top of his head to his cheek, then to his stubbly jaw. “Haven’t shaved, I see.”
“I got lazy,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand for her to take.
She stood up on her right foot, making sure not to put any weight on her left foot. With a sigh of content, she wrapped her arms around his torso, buring her face into his green t-shirt. He responded by hugging her waist to his, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
“How’s about you go get changed and we spend the rest of the day together?” he asked, his warm breath hitting her skin.
“What about Quinton?” she asked, and clarified, “My coach.”
“I told him to go home,” Liam smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “Now go get changed. I’ll be waiting.”
She smiled back at him, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips before hopping with one foot over to the locker room, where she took a quick shower and changed into a pair of dark jeans, a grey tank top, and a white, long sleeved blouse. After drying her hair with the hair drier the rest of her gymnastics team shared, she hopped over to the nearest bench and pulled on her socks, reaching for her white converse.
“Liam!” she called, after finding difficulty in putting on her left shoe.
“Yes, love?” he yelled back.
“I need some help in here!” she yelled, and he was there in a matter of seconds, a concerned look upon his face, “I can’t put on my shoe.”
“Hmm,” he said, knealing in front of her again, and taking the shoe from her hands. “Let’s see, Cinderella, does the shoe fit?”
“I hope so, my prince,” she joked.
He loosened the laces and slowly pulled it over her swollen ankle, through some wincing and such from Celine.
“Sorry, Celine,” he said, not liking to see her hurt, “I think you’ve broken something.”
“Again?” she groaned, face palming, “Whatever. I’ll go to the doctor’s tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?”
“Because I’m spending the day with you, aren’t I?” she questioned, earning a smile from him.
“Very true, now off we go,” he said, turning his back to her and crouching, motioning for her to climb on.
♣♧♣
“Where’re we going?” she said, after Liam had walked a few miles with her still on his back, “Aren’t I heavy for you?”
“Not one bit,” he replied, “You’re as light as a feather. Now patience, child, we’re almost there.”
“Alright, then.”
He walked a bit more, before reaching a forest-type area.
“This would be stop one,” he said, putting her down carefully, making sure not to put her down on the wrong foot.
A horse carriage appeared, the kind that Celine had only seen in Times Square. Liam held the door open for her as she carefully sat inside, and he sat next to her, closing the door.
“I’ve always loved New York City,” he said, intertwining fingers with Celine’s, “It’s just the feel of a big city that makes me all hyped up and such.”
“My college campus is in the city,” Celine said, as she noticed a breaking in the forest, “My friends prefer campuses like UCLA or USC, but I wanted to go to NYU because, well, for one I live here, and - oh my goodness.”
Her eyes widened at the view, the horse carriage coming to a stop at this patio-type area. From there, there was a view of the New Jersey skyline just a small piece of ocean away.
Liam stepped out of the carriage and held out his arms for Celine to jump into. She jumped out of the carriage and into his arms, landing quite awkwardly, one of his arms linked under her left leg and the other wrapped around her waist. She struggled to grab a hold around his neck as they both laughed, and he spun around, stopping only to gaze at the skyline.
He shifted her in his arms, holding the back of her thighs so that they were face to face and at eye level.
“Beautiful, innit?” Celine said, as they stared at the skyline, their cheeks pressed together.
“Maybe,” Liam said, as she looked at him, “But not as beautiful as you.”
And as she smiled, blushing, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
A/N: And there you have it! Liam and Celine!
The part about him catching her awkwardly is captured in the sidebar.
I thought that picture was adorable, okay.
Anyways.
Next Sunday, you lot get to choose who you want as an epilogue next!
Louis and Jenny
Harry and Kate
Zayn and Penny!
Voting closes next Sunday afternoon!
Thank you for reading! xx