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Dedication: Claynyss for the awesome cover! Thank you!

Recap:

"Thank you for making this day one I will never forget," I whispered.

He turned to me, a drunk smile on his lips. "Just wait for tonight."

I rolled my eyes. I should have known he would say something like that.

As I sat back, watching the T.V, I found myself smiling.

Today had been perfect.

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"Are you ready for this?"

"Yes."

"No matter what happens, we will work it out."

"I know. Good luck."

"Good luck to you, too," Hayden smiles, leaning forward and giving me a warm, strong hug.

He tried to step back but I grip him a little harder, before finally releasing him, having needed that little moment more of reassurance.

Today is the swim competition that the scouts are coming to. I'm hopeful I can get into the University of Sydney with my grades and swimming times. A scholarship isn't entirely necessary for me. I'm more nervous for Hayden, although he is one of the best swimmers I've seen.

With a fist-bump, we part ways. Hayden jams his earphones in and I can hear his music blaring from where I am standing. I do a few warm up stretches, trying to bring myself into focus.

Mia walks over to me and places a hand on my shoulder. I meet her eyes and she sends me a small smile.

"Good luck."

"Thanks Mia, good luck to you as well," I reply leaning in giving her a brief hug, surprising us both.

We continue our warm up and it isn't long before they are calling us out. As I walk, I give Harvey and Caitlyn a big grin to show that I am fine, before going over to the bench to get myself organised. As Principal Mathers begins his speech, I shrug out of my jacket and slide my goggles and cap on.

My eyes searched the crowd, landing on two men sitting side by side, wearing suits, clipboards in their hands. I look away quickly, trying to not think about it too much.

It feels like seconds later when my age group is getting called. With my legs feeling stiff, I walk to the mounting blocks and climb up, my fingers twitching in anticipation.

I close my eyes and inhale the strong, chlorine scent that is lingering in the air. I let myself listen to the chatter of crowd, the gentle sound of the water lapping the wall where the mounting blocks are and the sounds of footsteps walking on the cold concrete.

My time is up.

Once I am in the water, I feel my nerves fuel me into moving harder and faster. The cold water, the limited sound when I am beneath the surface and the energy I feel pouring out of me is reassuring in more ways than one. Every time I swim, I realise how much I love it.

As I sit on the bench, a few races later, my wet hair falling limply down my shoulders, I watch Mia. Me, Hayden and Mia had all gone exceptionally well so far, placing first in every race. It was then I realised, it was probably us three that the scouts were watching.

Hayden came over to me, collapsing beside me, offering me a smile. "Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"Did you see who's here?" he asks me, looking annoyed.

"Who?"

He nods his head. I look up to see Taylor standing there, talking to some guy I don't know. He isn't competing against us today, but of course he is here to watch.

I roll my eyes. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Guess who came with him."

I quirk an eyebrow, scanning the seats behind him, to see Carrie. Her eyes meet mine and she gives me a deliberate wave. For some reason, I wave back, before looking at Hayden.

"Great, everyone is here."

There's no doubt in my mind, now that her and Ashton are finished, she's back to dating Taylor.

"Lucky we've been kicking ass."

I grin. "Damn right we have."

After the swimming comp had finished, I am standing with Hayden, towelling off, when I hear the distinct sound of leather shoes hitting the cement, heading our direction. I peer up to see the two men in suits approaching us. I straighten, ready to warn Hayden, but he is already watching them.

"Hello," the man on the right greets. "I'm Michael Fletcher, you must be Grace."

After shaking his hand, he introduces himself to Hayden.

"I'm from the University of Sydney. This is Roger Anderson, from the University of Melbourne."

After politely introducing ourselves and shaking his hand, I step back, feeling my heart beat start to pick up.

"We are very impressed with what we saw today," Michael beams. "I am going to recommend you both for a scholarship, although we only give out one per school. However, even though we only offer one scholarship, we can still place you into a short list program. Is this something you would both be interested in?"

"Definitely," both Hayden and I chorus at the same time.

After exchanging small talk about the weather and how well everyone was swimming at the competition today, they left us to go speak to Mia. I was right—she is the third person.

Hayden lets out a whoosh of air. "Wow."

"I know. That's amazing," I reply, attempting to calm myself down and being unsuccessful. "There's a good chance we're going to be together next year."

"Good," he murmurs, drawing me to him, wrapping his arms around me securely. "Because wherever I go, I want you there with me."

***

"Wow, that's fantastic!" mum beams.

I feel most parents would usually be an emotional mess at the discussion of moving over ten hours way to attend university, but my mother could not be happier for me. It's not like we see each other a lot now, anyway.

"I don't want to do a gap year in case I lose any of my swimming skills. I want to move to Sydney as soon as I can."

"Well, we can make sure things are organised so that when you graduate, you can be moved and ready by either next January or February," she explains matter-of-factly. "Will you and Hayden be living somewhere together or living on campus?"

"I'm not sure, we haven't really discussed it," I tell her. "Moving out together is a pretty big commitment and Sydney is a massive place. If we split up, it would be pretty hard to be there on my own. But on-campus is really crappy."

"That's something you need to discuss with him," she replies with a warm smile. "Whatever you two decide will be fine. Can you set the table?"

I let out a sigh at the dreaded dinner I have to endure through tonight. Mum is bringing Justin over so that we can get to know each other. I know that Carrie will be coming. She wouldn't pass up the chance to come snoop inside my house.

"If Carrie is coming, I should invite Hayden for emotional support."

"That might be a bit odd, don't you think? Considering their history."

A sullen look appears on my face as I robotically move around the table, preparing for our guests. She has a point, I suppose. I don't like the thought of having to face Carrie, without my rock by my side.

After we set the table and clean up a few things, mum pulls me towards her, gripping my shoulders.

"How are you going?" she asks, her eyes searching mine. "You doing okay with everything?"

"I'm fine, honestly. I still have some nightmares about someone strangling me, but I think that's normal after what happened. I'm honestly excited to keep going and see what my future has in store for me."

"That's a good way to look at things," she agrees with a smile. "You've started preparing for the court, right? You will have to tell them everything."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be okay. Mia is going to back me up with a statement as well."

"As soon as I know the court dates, I'll take time off and be there for you. I don't want you to have to go through anything alone."

"I won't be alone, I know Hayden and Harvey will always be there for me. It would be really great though if you could be, too."

"I will," she promises, before holding me to her chest, hugging me.

All too-soon, the doorbell is ringing. With a reluctant sigh, I get to my feet and trot to the door.

"Hi," I politely greet Justin.

"Hello Grace," he greets, his dark eyes meeting mine. "You know Carrie, right?"

Carrie steps out from behind him, giving me a coy smile. I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yeah, we've met."

I step back, letting the two enter. Justin goes straight into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Carrie.

"Look, things are too messed up for us to be friends, but let's try and get along. I don't want any mention of Ashton throughout dinner and I will respect that you and Hayden are together. I don't want any more trouble. Okay?"

"That sounds like a fair deal," I agree with a nod. "Let's make the best of a bad situation."

"Sounds good to me," she chirp. "Nice house, by the way."

"Thanks. The dining room is through here."

I lead her into the dining room, where she puts down her bag. She looks around, a blank expression on her face.

"So, Grace," Justin begins as he helps mum bring out the food. "You spoke to some scouts? That's great!"

"Yeah, they might be recommending me for a scholarship at UOS."

"That's where you want to go, yes?"

"It is," I nod, taking a seat.

"Me too, what a coincidence," Carrie smirks and I completely ignore her comment, moving my glass of water closer to my plate, so I have an excuse to not respond.

"That's good news!" he smiles and I smile back, feeling a little of my tension ebb away.

Carrie made no further snide comments and stuck to her word about being civil. The dinner wasn't going as disastrous as I thought it would.

As mum sat down, we began to pile up the food onto our plate. I can feel mum looking between me and Carrie.

"What?" I ask her, feeling self-conscious.

"I don't get it," she mutters, glancing between the two of us. "I really don't think you look that alike."

I look up, meeting the deep brown eyes of Carrie, to see her grinning at me. I can't help but grin back.

It's about time someone said that.

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Sorry that this was a bit of a filler chapter, but it is important for the story progression. I know exactly how it's going to end, it's just getting there, without dragging out anything or skipping over details that is hard! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thoughts on the scouts? Carrie? Dinner? I want to know what everyone is thinking.

And yaaaaaaay for CN1 hitting 1M views! This is the first story of mine to it 1M views since my long hiatus soooo thank you very much for reading, voting, commenting and supporting me! I really appreciate it, more than you can imagine. Here is a photo of me celebrating 1M! ❤️❤️❤️

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