Past

Harry became a member at Dynamic Gymnastics Elite (DGE) later than most. While most kids started at around the age of two or three, Harry started when he was eleven. For that reason, everyone knew everyone, and he knew practically no one.

Harry never really wanted to be a gymnast. Sure, gymnastics was fun, but he had other interests like cooking and playing the piano and film production. He ended up at DGE one day while walking home from school after stopping into the bakery next door for some chocolate covered strawberries to munch on for the trip. He remembers not being able to pull his eyes away from the window as he gazed at the gymnasts move powerfully and surprisingly graceful.

He liked to watch the way their muscles flexed. They expressed so many things he felt he could not find the words to say. Standing outside on that sidewalk, he wanted in more than anything in his entire life.

After hours on end of begging his mom to take him, Harry was enrolled in a Level 1 Beginner Class. The teacher was amazed at how quickly he mastered the basic skills--she praised his long hyper-extended legs and god given natural flexibility as she watched him jump high in the air. It was as if he wasn't afraid to hit the ground. He wasn't afraid to fall.

His sense of emotion and musicality contributed to his outstanding reputation around the gym. For a long while there was nothing but buzz around the "New Kid." Despite the long list of problems with his technical work, Harry began progressing quicker than any gymnast had at the gym before. Not long had passed before he found himself on the elite level 8 junior team--that's when things started getting a bit difficult.

Harry arrived at the gym early and already felt defeated and a little embarrassed. The problem perhaps wasn't him, but rather everyone's attention on him. Upon entering the room, groups of kids, most a few years older than him, began whispering amongst each other relentlessly. He could feel all of their eyes on him. They were probably wondering what he was even doing there and he sure as hell was wondering the same.

The gym was mostly filled as it got closer and closer to 3pm, and Harry wondered what their Coach had been saying while he was zoning out. He was hyper aware of his surroundings except for the words coming out of the Instructor's mouth. He hoped it wasn't anything important, but pushed the thought aside after a few seconds of contemplation since he thought wondering was probably just a waste of his time.

Coach Harper was drowning on about the history behind some tumbling move and Harry had already tuned him out. He hates to admit it, but he's not the best at focusing during training all the time. It really was quite the unhelpful habit he knew he needed to knip in the butt one of these days.

He was deep in thought, wondering about what his mother was planning on making for dinner when suddenly, the door swung open with a loud thud.

"Woops" he heard a quiet voice rumble from the doorway.

Harry turned his head to face the door just as a girl who looked around his age entered with Nike sweats over top her leotard and Beats headphones around her neck.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence Avery, lovely to have you back in training. Maybe don't come in late and interrupt next time, yeah?" Coach Harper probed, lifting an eyebrow.

The girl ducked her head down and gave a quick incoherent response before scurrying to the side of the room to set her things down.

Soon after, practice started with some stretching and a warm up before dispersing out to our various events . The returning students had all of the best spots working on the floor, while Harry found himself on the parallel bars besides the girl named Avery on beam. He watched as a tall 7th grader named Jason he recognized from school approached her with a gleam in his eyes.

"Hey Avery, how you doin baby," Jason whispered to Avery over his shoulder.

Harry turned his head around quickly so it didn't look like he was eavesdropping on them. That was seriously the last thing he needed.

"Don't call me that." Is all he could hear Avery respond.

"What's the matter?" Jason asked, cocking an eyebrow, a faint smirk smugly on his lips. "Not a fan of me?"

Harry peaked over his shoulder as Avery looked back up at Jason with a look of disdain and narrowed her eyes once more. "For a misogynist dick who thinks the world revolves around him? Yeah I'd say definitely not a fan."

Harry wasn't even sure what misogynist meant, however when Avery said it she sure sounded bad ass.

Jason's smirk faltered for a second, and Harry could see what he thought was a look of true hurt in his eyes, before it was replaced with a shallow, shaky chuckle.

"You don't know me, sweetheart."

"Don't call me sweetheart," Avery snapped, irritation obvious in her voice. She quickly did a backbend followed by a perfect back flip. Harry nearly swallowed his tongue.

"Why not, sweetheart?" Jason chucked mockingly.

Harry glanced around and noticed some of the other gymnasts becoming aware of the two.

"Why not?" Avery responded with a look of disbelief. "Because it's patronizing and a subtle way for you to express your dominance over me" She scolded. "Calling me it creates a false sense of intimacy whether or not I want to participate. I don't care to know you," she said forcefully, earning a round of oos from surrounding gymnasts.

Harry was intrigued. Who was this girl?

"What's going on back there?" their Coach asked, making Harry drop his eyes back down to the ground in an attempt to act natural. He focused on making sure his breathing was steady and nearly missed Jason storm out the side exit, slamming the door behind him.

Avery shrugged her shoulders lightly, resuming with a clean somersault like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

A little later in practice, Coach Harper had Avery demonstrate an opening tumbling pass and the beginning of a floor routine she had been working on despite looking like the youngest there. Her routine was almost as fiery as her personality, and she strutted across the floor as if there was no one watching. Harry could hardly tear his eyes away from her. He thought to himself, will I ever be as good? Will people watch me compete and wonder "Who is that? What's his name?"

Practice proceeded as usual and before Harry could register it, Coach Harper began giving him correction after correction. "Poorly aligned, Harry!" "Wobbly on your legs, Harry!" "Harry! Stop looking down at the ground, chin up!"

Harry felt like crying. Surely he wasn't the only gymnast in this room making mistakes, he thought. He could feel everyone's eyes on him once more, making him feel like he was messing up even more. Could he get anything right? He wanted so desperately to just leave.

"10 minute water break!!" Coach Harper directed, making Harry jump to his feet quickly and dash out the room to the nearest water fountain. He had a water bottle in the gym, but decided it was best to ditch in order to get some air and space from everyone. He contemplated calling his mom when a voice behind him shook him out of his thoughts.

"Harper's hard on you because she thinks you're good." Avery said before ducking her head down to take a sip of water at the fountain.

"Sorry?" Is all Harry could muster, feeling a bit intimidated.

"Coach Harper," she repeated. "She's calling you out in there because she thinks you're a good gymnast."

Harry ducked his head down, biting his lift softly. "Sure doesn't sound like it," he responded quietly.

"Ever heard of tough love?" Avery asked. "Cause that's Harper's speciality. She's hard, but only if she thinks you have potential to be great."

Harry nodded slowly, letting her words sink in for a second.

"I'm Avery by the way."

"Harry," he responded, putting out his hand.

"I know."

The rest of rehearsal went by fairly quickly. Coach Harper finally stopped correcting him since she was busy yelling at some kids near the vault who wouldn't stop talking.

After class, Avery had a long chat with Coach Harper about some sort of upcoming competition she had. Harry attempted to ease drop as best he could, but the gymnasts around him were chatting too loudly for him to follow.

His Mom was working late that evening so he was planning on walking home soon anyways. He remembered the 5 dollars she gave him sitting in his jacket pocket and decided he was going to buy his favorite strawberries from the Bakery next door.

Harry slipped on his hoodie over his head and gathered his things before leaving the gym. He stepped outside into the crisp evening air and let out a pent up sigh. He just wasn't sure if he belonged here.

"Wait up!" he heard a voice from behind him shout. Avery came rushing out, heaving her gym bag practically bigger than her over her shoulder.

"Is your Mom coming to get you?" she asked, sticking a piece of gum in her mouth.

Harry shook his head. "I live about a 15 minute walk away so I was gonna just go back by myself."

"Nonsense, let my big sister give you a ride. She's on her way anyways." Avery offered, smiling big as she pulled the hair band out of her ponytail. Harry watched as her hair fell around her face. "I was just about to get some donut holes from the Bakery next door if you wanna join," she said. "I don't mind sharing," she added shyly.

Harry beamed with excitement--it was like she read his mind. "No way, I was just about to go and get some strawberries too!"

She giggled, patting him on the back as they made their way to the shop. Both ordered their sweet treat of choice and took a seat while waiting for it to be ready.

"So what grade are you?" Harry asked.

"6th, how about you?"

"Same," he answered, watching her pull out another piece of gum and pop it in her mouth.

"Do you always chew this much gum?" Harry asked giggling.

"Only when I'm nervous," she answered. He nodded, trying to make sense of what that could mean. She's probably nervous about her competition he assumed.

"Who are they?" Harry asked, pointing to a picture of a group of people on Avery's lock screen.

Avery's mouth hung open. "You don't know who the Final Five are? Oh my god Harry,"

"Apparently not," Harry said, shrugging.

"They're the 2012 Summer Olympic Champions." Avery raved. "Gabby Douglas was the all-around individual gold medalist!"

Harry decided he liked the way Avery spoke. Her voice was smooth and she smelled like vanilla and brown sugar even after a long and grueling practice. How was that even possible?

"I met Aly Raisman last summer at Nationals, she signed my hat and told me she liked my french braid," she shared excitedly.

"That's pretty cool! Do you go to Nationals to watch every year?" Harry asked.

"I try! Sometimes we can't swing it, but I've gone to watch the past three years." Avery shared. "I mean that's always been my dream, to compete in the Olympics. Is that something you're aiming for?" 

Harry hesitated, scrunching his face. "Seriously? Oh God, I could never." Harry said, shaking his head.

"Why not? You're like a gymnastics prodigy!" Avery retorted. "No one has become an elite gymnast in such a short amount of time like you have."

Harry tried his hardest to hide his blush. "There's probably a reason for that given how terrible practice turned out, right?" He joked sarcastically. The two heard their orders being called and picked them up before exiting the shop.

"Have a little faith in yourself, will you?" Avery offered. "No one's going to believe in you if you don't believe in yourself."

Harry nodded, letting out a sigh and pouting a bit. "Okay. Well I guess I'll think about it."

"We all have to start somewhere, right?" Avery assured, patting Harry on the back. She had a look of genuine care on her face and incredibly kind eyes he couldn't stop thinking about even after he arrived home that evening.

Plopping down onto his bed, he reflected on his day. He wasn't sure when he'd run into Avery next, but he sure was excited to find out. She just might be his first friend at the gym, and that made him feel fuzzy inside.

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author's note: thank you so much for reading the second chapter guys! as you can see, the beginning of this book is going to alter between past and present time and perspectives of Harry and Avery along with it. There is SO much more in store so please consider adding Gold to your library! :) As always, leave comments about what you thought!