What Are We Payne?

Chapter 2: Routine

JESS'S POV

I walked up the three flights of stairs to get up to the gym; I opened the door and saw the peaceful gym. No one was here yet I loved being able to get here early now that I'd finished school. I'm planning to go to university next year but I'm going to take a year off to focus on my training so that I can compete this year. I put my things in my locker and I quickly checked my phone, I had one new text from Liam. We couldn't call each other very often because of the time difference but we always made the effort to text each other whenever we could. I read the text, 'Watch the today show tomorrow morning, I miss you Jess! Xx Liam.' I smiled and wondered why I needed to watch the today show? I replied to Liam's text before shoving my belongings into my locker. 'Hello Jess,' my coach Nedal greeted me. It was the last day of February today; I was making my debut for Australia in two weeks time. I was so nervous; this competition would be the first time I will be competing without Liam sitting in the audience cheering me on. But I would confront that when it became an issue. Amie, Amber and Ashleigh showed up together half an hour after I begun to warm up. The three of them were really nice to me; I had known them for a year now and we had become really close friends. The girls are massive One Direction fans too, they totally freaked out when I told them where I was from and that I had met the boys twice. The girls are huge Directioners but they each have one boy that has a special spot in their heart. It's the weirdest thing their personalities without a doubt reflect the boy that they cherish. Amber absolutely loves Niall; she has beautiful blue eyes and laughs at everything. And I swear Amie has so much in common with Harry it's not even funny; Amie is the youngest of the four of us and is a massive flirt. Lastly, there's the funny and adorable Ashleigh, she reminds me so much of Louis. It makes me miss the boys that much more! But I can't complain, Liam and I have kept in contact and stayed really great friends and that was more than I ever could've asked for.

Training went well; I've been working all four apparatus really hard because my coach Nedal thinks I've got a better chance of making the Olympic Team as an all rounder. Amber was also working all four apparatus however Amie and Ashleigh were working as specialists. Amie is training for Bars and Vault whereas Ashleigh is working hard on her Beam and Floor. I got home and started making dinner, it was 8:15 and I knew my mom would be home soon. I made mom a full meal before making up a small dinner for myself. I didn't each much, I haven't been lately; I'm still not happy with my appearance, or my performance at training. About two years ago my body changed on me, as a child I was always thin and skinny, even as a teenager. But when I hit 16 I began to bulk up, gaining a lot more muscle mass. But I didn't like it at all; I wanted to stay that thin girl that I was. At first I barely changed my eating habits; at first I just ate healthier. But it became addicting, the chasing what I wish I was, perfect. I started to restrict myself more and more, so I could be that super thin girl. 

After dinner mom came home, I greeted her before making my way to my room, I was so tired. I'm always so tired. Cold, Hungry and tired. 

-The next day-

I woke up early and grabbed my phone before rushing to the TV; I turned it on and jumped on the couch. 'Don't change the channel Directioners, we'll be right back with massive 1D news,' Carl Stephanovic said from the TV. I smiled just in time I thought while I waited for the Today Show to come back. The ad break seemed to drag on forever; I wanted to know what was happening with the boys, but more than anything I'd wished that Liam had told me himself. Finally, the show returned, I sat in shock as they announced that the boys were coming to Australia. I quickly texted Liam; 'How could you keep this from me?  I'm so excited to see you Liam! I've missed you! xx Jess'. I smiled at the thought of finally seeing him again, it had been so long and I missed my best friend so much.  I began to get ready for the day; I was going to head down to the gym soon for training. Today was going to be a good day I thought to myself.

When I got to gymnastics Amber, Ashleigh and Amie were already there. The three of them were sitting on the floor stretching, they squealed and ran towards me once they saw that I was there. We started chatting about how excited we were and arranged to buy tickets so we could all go to the concert together.

After training I got to my locker just as my phone started to ring, I saw his caller ID and I squealed with delight. 'Hey Jess,' Liam said. I grabbed my things out of my locker and headed for the door. 'Hi Liam,' I replied trudging down the stairs. 'So we have to catch up when we get to Melbourne,' Liam said cheerfully, I made my way up to the tram stop. 'Yeah about that,' I said struggling to juggle my phone on my shoulder as I searched for my wallet in my large county road bag. 'What?' Liam asked worriedly.

'Well I have a favor to ask,' I said sighing after finally pulling my wallet out of my bag. 'Anything for you,' Liam replied, my heart pounded in my chest after hearing him say that, even after all of this apart. 

'My friends are massive fans, are we able to get front row tickets and backstage passes?' I asked, hoping Liam would say yes.

'Fine,' he groaned, I smiled as I still struggled to juggle my phone while buying my ticket. I spotted a spare seat and took it. 'How many tickets do you need?' Liam asked.

'Four,' I replied with an excited squeal. 'Thanks so much for calling me Liam, I miss you so much!' I said with a sigh.

 'I miss you too Jess,' Liam said.

'Well I'd better let you get back to being famous Mr. Payne,' I said with a smirk, Liam laughed from the other end of the line. 'I'll see you soon love,' Liam said before hanging up.

As soon as I got home I jumped on my laptop and logged onto Skype, I waited for the girls to come online. Finally, I got the chance to call the three of them, it dialed and after no time all three of them picked up. Ash, Amie and Amber smiled back at me; before I told them the good news I turned down the volume on my laptop because I knew there was going to be a fair bit of screaming involved. 'I talked to Liam and we have front row tickets and backstage passes for their Melbourne concert,' I said with excitement. I watched as one by one the girls faces changed from shock to elation. The girls began screaming with delight; at least I thought they were screaming, but I wasn't going to turn my sound on to find out.  I laughed at their reactions, they were so excited. After they had calmed down we had a rational conversation and chatted about what was coming up in a week. Australia Vs Japan, the four of us were competing in Sydney. We were so excited because this would be the first time we would be competing together. We are leaving for Sydney on Tuesday, we have podium training on Wednesday and Thursday then we will be competing on Friday and Sunday. It's going to be a huge couple of weeks, I'm so tired, I hope that my body will hold out on me.