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Chapter Text

A well-used dance floor was silent in the early hours of the morning. Breaking it was the click of a speaker, connecting to the phone next to it.

As “We Built This City” began to play from it, a group of young dancers started to celebrate together. It was their first time all back there in a month.

Ever since the win at Regionals, the studio was at an all new high. Something like this had never happened before. Two back to back Regionals wins?!

With that, A-Troupe had been training more than ever over their break.

Such as their two Dance Captains. Heath and Izzy high fived as the younger dancer moved off the floor, leaving the green-clad boy to himself.

Over the break, the two of them had spent a couple weeks at New York, visiting Izzy’s brother and the rest of Step Inside. Heath had loved catching up with his old, and even some new, friends and seeing how hard they worked on their show was really inspiring.

Izzy joined him again on the floor, now with Pete and Jett in tow.

With him finally making up with Kenzie, the two of them had spent most of their days together over the past month. Kenzie was still on her own break from Freya’s tour and had been around the studio a lot. While Pete was over the moon to be dancing with his friends in The Next Step again, his mind couldn’t help but go back to what Kenzie had told him only a few days prior.

As for Jett, she had spent her time on break with her own girlfriend. Referring to Ariana as that still made her feel giddy inside. She had waited so long to confess her feelings, and now that she had, it was like a dream. Now with Nationals coming up, she hoped more than anything that they could do the duet.

Speaking of which, she twirled her girlfriend around as she came onto the floor with Olive. Ariana had her own plans for Nationals. She really wanted to do the duet with Jett too, but she also wished to do whatever solo was happening. After winning Internationals Soloist it was something she didn’t want to miss out on.

Olive however was content with whatever came her way. She was going to fight to get into featured dances, but she learned from Regionals not to push herself too far.

The two twirled together, soon joined by their other best-friend’s boyfriend. Anthony did not have the best time on the run-up to Regionals. He had confessed to Adele why that was though and he was ready to put it into the back of his mind. Nationals was his entire focus this time.

One of his new friends went beside him with a smile. Something the team were still getting used to seeing. Asher was overjoyed to have beaten Eldon at Regionals and he knew now he didn’t need to compare himself to him. He’d been hanging out with the team much more since then and was starting to feel like part of it.

As he went into an aerial, a brunette with her hair hung free copied him. Grace had let go of everything she had done in the past. The team had forgiven her, and she had done the same with herself. Now it was time for Nationals and competing out there with the people she knew were her friends.

One of which spun her around by the hands, beaming at her. Winnie knew she had what it took now to be on A-Troupe. I mean, she had done the female solo! If she was able to do that, the only place to go was up.

Hitting the beats of the song with her, Ebby took the floor. All the drama with friendships and such on the run-up to Regionals was behind her. Last Nationals, she had done the solo, and she needed to get back there. Which started with her growing her online platforms. With her new-found confidence, she had become more active on Hyped-In, doing videos on dance, fashion and more. This had gained her quite the following.

And lastly came Jason. He had done all the designs and costumes for Regionals, and because of that, he had started to take commissions online. It certainly kept him busy, and he was creating a steady income. As-well as strayed his mind away from Heath. His boyfriend was finally back now though, and he couldn’t wait to dance with him!

Every one of them struck a pose as the song ended. Claps filled the air causing them to look in the direction they were coming from. What met them was the sight of their Studio-Head…along with his new colleagues.

The rest of the team didn’t know Emily or Michelle outside their reputations and the latter’s visits over the past few months. Heath had been on B-Troupe though when they were running the place and he was certain they’d do just as good of a job now as they did back then.

“Welcome back everyone.” Nick told them. “Now, I’m sure all of you are excited to get started on our work for Nationals.

This got him a loud cheer from the team.

“But first, I’d like to welcome back the two lovely ladies here: Emily and Michelle!”

Now this received a round of applause from the teenagers. It was evident they were happy to have the two of them back. Emily playfully rolled her eyes at this, while Michelle held her heart in warmth.

“They now own part of the studio and will be running it alongside me. I’ll let them speak for themselves though.”

Emily thanked him and came closer to the team, heels clicking on the ground. Her sharp gaze caused a few of them to shiver. Michelle just watched this fondly though. She knew the effect her girlfriend had on people.

“I’ll say this now, I’m not one to beat around the bush. So, let’s get to it.” She started. “Lovely to meet all of you. I saw all of you dance at Regionals and I know you have what it takes to reach the very top again. But don’t let this win get to your heads.”

All of them listened to her with rapt attention. Emily knew what she was talking about and it was smart to listen to her.

“Nationals is one of the hardest competitions you’ll ever go to. I don’t need to remind those of you that were there last time about that.” She indicated to Izzy and Jett who stood next to one-another.

“Exactly.” Michelle joined in, coming next to her. “Over 60 teams are going to be going against you. Not to mention those who actively try to take you down.”

To herself, that meant Elite. Some of them agreed with that. But a good few of their minds went to Ross Street and what they pulled at Regionals.

“We need all of you to be focused and ready to give 110 percent for this team. It’s going to be many months of hard-work, but we know you all have what it takes.”

“Are you sure you mean that though?”

All three adults’ attention was stolen by Jett. They hadn’t expected any of them to speak up just yet, and much less her.

But, as they were talking, Jett’s mind just couldn’t help latching onto the thought.

“What do you mean?” Asked Michelle.

“It’s just, we all know how much the studio needs to win this year. So…” Jett took in a breath. “Be honest, are you going to be submitting all our names to try and do that, or…are we doing The Challenge again?”

All of A-Troupe held their breath as she voiced this.

None of them wanted to think about it. But they couldn’t lie and say it hadn’t been jabbing at them in a corner of their heads. The only time A-Troupe hadn’t held auditions for an entirely new Nationals team was when people such as Richelle and Piper were still on the team. Even then, they went to DanceMania instead.

Winnie in particular was far from looking forward to hearing whether they were doing it or not. B-Troupe were meant to go to Nationals the previous year, until half of them got cut during The Challenge. It led to so many issues, not just her own.

Were they really going to go for that again?

For a slow moment, the three adults had a conversation just with looks. Emily was the one in the end to address them again.

“Yes, we are.”

And so, the first bombshell of the season had been dropped.

All of them inspected their friends around them. This was the first team to ever win the same competition in a row. But it may not be the one that continues that legacy.

~~~

The news of there being Nationals auditions had naturally shaken up the studio.

Jason was already hearing some of the members of B and J-Troupe talking about it. He didn’t want to dwell on what could happen though. So, he headed down to the new café under the studio with Heath to cool off.

(His boyfriend had explained to him that each one never stayed open for more than a few months.)

“Honestly, I think I like this one more.” He said, hand ruffling through a bunch of fabrics in one of the baskets.

Heath just made a noise in response. When Jason turned his attention back to him, he found the older boy was staring down one of the dolls on the shelves.

La Tutu’s was much quieter and less colourful than Spin to Win. While that place had neon lights, games and greasy food, this was more of a classic, homey café. However, it did sell several trinkets which you could find in a large row of shelves at one of the walls. This included fidget toys, keychains, and even little clothing for the dolls they also sold. They were just a small bit of merch of the mascot on the café’s sign.

With his love of fashion, Jason much preferred La Tutus, and planned to purchase one of the dolls when he had the time. For now, he thanked the barista for their drinks and baked good before finding a table with his partner.

“Are you afraid of dolls or something?”

“No!” Heath chirped, face going red. “I just don’t like how they’re…all over the place.” As he said this, his eyes went to each of the little creatures around the room.

Jason shook his head at him. It was kind of adorable to him.

“Anyway, what are you planning to wear tonight?” He asked.

Despite them telling the team the dreaded news, they still wanted to celebrate the Regionals win. Meaning they would be holding a party in studio-a later on.

Some thought it was just a way to lighten the blow. Jason himself was excited for it.

“What? Wanna match with your date?” Heath smirked, threading their fingers together.

“Who said I was going with you?” Jason teased.

The brunette giggled at him. Then he leaned forward and gave him a pec on the lips. Even something as small as that still felt incredible to Jason.

“So, I’ll wear a green waistcoat then?”

“I know you’ll look good in it.”

“Such a flirt.” Heath squeezed his hand. “Speaking of clothing, how are your commissions going? You said you were working on a dress, right?”

“Yep, this woman that’s in her 40s or so. Very sweet. She wanted a mix of a mushroom aesthetic with an orange pallet. Kind of cottage core vibes. It’s been fun working on it.

“What about you? Talked to your old friends since coming back from New York.”

“Oh yeah.” Heath replied, pulling out his phone. “They’ve been sending me pics and such of their rehearsals. I think you’d love the costumes for it!”

As soon as Jason saw them, he was elected to agree. None of them were finished just yet, but the designers clearly knew what they were doing.

He was content to listen to Heath ramble on about his time their again and all the new friends he had made. It was rare he saw him this stress-free.

~~~

Back in studio-a, some of the current team had been tasked with setting up some decorations. Asher was on top of a ladder, attempting to pin a banner to the top of one of the windows while Anthony guided him from below.

“To the right! No! too much! A bit more! Wait-“

“Anthony, I swear!” Asher called down to him.

They’d be at this for almost 10 minutes, and Anthony couldn’t decide where exactly he wanted the banner to be.

“I’m trying to make it look right. It can’t be sloppy.”

“God” He sighed. “Why do I have to do this anyway?”

“Cause you’re the tallest!” Winnie answered from where she was setting up the food table. She had gone down to La Tutus and now had a plate of muffins.

“Pretty sure that’s Grace.” He pointed to the girl next to her.

As soon as he said that, her head shot up at him, eyes wide.

“Do not go there!”

Okay, clearly something has happened there.

“So, uh…is this a common thing you guys do around here?” He asked, trying to change the subject.

“Oh yeah.” Anthony answered. “There’s usually a few of these each year. Only just realising now I’m the only one of us four that was at the Open house.”

“Oh no. I was there.” Asher told him.

“Wait really?”

“Only for a few minutes. Mostly just to tell Eldon I was auditioning…along with some other choice words.”

Anthony chuckled at this, and Asher joined in it with him.

Thankfully his friend finally thought the position of the decoration was good enough. Asher was quick to come off the ladder after that.

At that moment, the small group was joined by Ebby, camera in her hand.

“And here we have some of our A-Troupers, hard at work to make our party look the best it can be!” She spoke with a cheerful, booming voice and a tooth-rotting smile.

With so many people attending the celebration, Ebby thought it would be a good idea to make a vlog out of it.

Was it to build up her channel even more? Yes.

But she had brought up the idea to Emily about how this could help bring in more dancers, which they could always use the revenue from. She had said it was fine and good initiative on her part, so Ebby was more than happy to help.

“And this over here is Winnie, bringing us some delicious snacks.”

The red-head was a bit startled as the attention was pointed at her. But she put on a quick smile and waved at the camera.

Truthfully, even though she was helping set up, all she could think of was The Challenge. It was like a looming force, wrapping its hands around her ankles and ready to pull her under at any moment.

What if she got cut again? She had tried so hard to finally make it onto A-Troupe and had been able to do her solo. Would the universe be so cruel as to take that away?

~~~

Now the party was in full swing. If the Open House for Regionals had been packed, then this room was stuffed and ready to burst. Jett guessed that is something that would happen with people realising their win streak wasn’t breaking this time.

“There’s a lot of people here.” She said to Ariana, who’s hand she was holding.

It still was amazing being able to do so and know what it meant. Sure, a few people there had given them some looks for it, but nobody had bothered them. Plus, Jett didn’t recognise any of them, so they weren’t from the studio.

“Why? Is somebody worried?” Ariana teased, winking at her.

“Oh please.” Jett grinned. “I’m tough enough to beat any of these people at the auditions.”

To prove her point, she lifted one of her arms. Over the past year, she’d been going to the gym more and had evidently bulked up. Her bicep flexed under her hockey jersey.

It was meant to be a bit of a joke, but the way Arina stared and clearly blushed was an appreciated bonus nonetheless.

“Put it away Jett, I think she might pass out.” Adele said, coming over to them.

Ariana let out a noise of objection, but Jett just kissed her cheek.

“How are you by the way?” She asked Adele, hugging her.

Her friend returned it, though only with one arm.

Jett noted she must’ve left her prosthetic at home. This wasn’t anything new. She knew it tended to get a bit itchy and uncomfortable if her friend wore it too long.

“Kinda nervous honestly.” Adele laughed. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad I have another chance to get back onto A-Troupe. But…”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Ariana had gotten over being a disaster and now had an arm around Adele’s shoulders. “You’ve been working so hard this year, and I’ve seen you improve in B-Troupe.”

“Yep, we both know you got it this time.” Jett assured her. “Olive agrees too…wherever she is.” She tried looking for their other friend, but it was too crowded.

“Oh, she’s near the door with Winnie.” Adele pointed behind her. “Just talked to her before I came over here. Thanks by the way.”

“Lucky them.” Jett sighed. “They have the easy escape from this sardine can.”

Watching over the crowd of young dancers were the studio’s owners.

Michelle had a cup in hand and passed one to Emily, who had her arms crossed and was observing the scene like a hawk.

“Great turnout today.” Nick told them, thanking Michelle for the chocolate muffin she passed his way.

“It’s kind of my thing.” Emily shrugged, ego in check. “Starting to think we need to shut those doors though.”

“This is just an example of your skill.” Michelle bumped her shoulder.

Just like that, the glare on Emily’s face disappeared and she looked at her girlfriend softly. The only person to make her act like this.

Nick shook his head at their blatant flirting. He didn’t regret selling part of the studio to them. But he didn’t expect them to be so lovey-dovey.

That was his mistake.

When they eventually paid attention to the crowd again, Emily cocked her head to the side. Nick followed her line of sight and saw her looking at a girl he didn’t recognise.

“You know here?” He asked.

She wasn’t that tall, make a little bit more than Ariana. Though that may have been due to the platform boots on her feet. A natural tan lined her skin, which most of was covered by a denim jacket and some black ripped jeans. Her brunette hair was tied back in an easy ponytail too.

“I feel like I do.” Emily answered. “I just don’t know from where.”

Said girl had been in the middle of a conversation with Izzy, who was more than happy to fulfil their role as Dance Captain and answer her questions about the studio.

She had just left to get another drink, when Pete filled her earlier spot.

“Pete, my man!” Izzy said. The two went in for a bro-hug, as if they hadn’t seen each-other that morning. “How have you been? Haven’t seen you all evening.”

“I’m good.” Pete chuckled. “Was just talking with Anthony and Asher. What about you? Seen anyone who’s thinking of joining?”

“Oh yeah, I was just talking to a girl there. Said she’s thinking of auditioning for the team. Whenever those are happening anyway. I haven’t actually talked to Nick, Emily or Michelle about scheduling yet.” They rubbed their neck.

Pete nodded at their words, but Izzy couldn’t help noticing the way his features changed as they mentioned The Challenge.

“You nervous about it too?” They asked.

“No, it’s not that. Its…”

Okay, this made them curious. They gave Pete a look, prompting him to continue.

Shaking himself off, he lifted his head.

“Can I tell you about something?”

~~~

Several hours later, most people had left. Only a select few that didn’t go to the studio were still around. A-Troupe themselves were sat near the tables, which were almost barren at this point. Heath was ordering chinese for them though so they’d have something proper to eat after only picking at baked good all day.

“You wanted chicken balls, right Iz?” He asked to make sure.

Before his fellow Dance Captain could answer, all attention turned to the person walking through the doors.

Immediately, they all stiffened. Some of their tired, happy expressions shifted into something you look like after burning yourself with a cup of coffee.

“What are you doing here?” Asked Ebby, teeth gritted.

Niall looked amongst them without any of his usual cockiness or taunts. He held his arm in his hand, face going around until it landed on Emily.

“I was wondering if I could talk to one of the Studio-Heads.”

His voice was low. There would’ve been no way anyone would’ve heard him if he had come in only an hour earlier.

“This outta be good.” Asher rolled his eyes from where he was lying on a bean bag. Anthony was next to him and pressed to his side.

“What do you want?” Emily asked quickly.

She really had no time for this kid. She had dealt with people like him enough.

It took him a moment to continue. But the impatience etched on her face caused him to speed up.

“So…you’re holding auditions.” Niall started.

As soon as they heard this, most of them scoffed, and some of them actually laughed in disbelief.

Was he seriously thinking of coming back? Thinking they’d let him come back after everything he did?!

All watched as Emily sorted him out.

“We are.” The older woman replied. She came closer to him, making Niall cower back a little. “And we’re opening them up to any dancer that wants to attend.”

“Oh, that’s good th-“

“Anyone aside from people from your team.”

He looked as if he had been expecting this. That small spark of hope she had given him for that split second vanished.

“Don’t ever think you’ll be welcome here. We’re trying to win Nationals. I’m not going to deal with your childish games.”

Emily knew better than anyone about dealing with new teams trying to take you down at Nationals. She had to go undercover just to take down Elite!

If Amanda hadn’t stepped up for them in the finals, TNS would’ve never gone to Internationals at all. They weren’t going to go through that again. Not on her watch.

This conversation was done. Niall knew that.

He began to head back out. But as he neared the doorways, he looked back. What he saw was a united team. None of them trilled to see him.

This is what he had caused. He shouldn’t expect to be welcomed back with open arms.

As he left though, it made the team think about what this might mean.

They had defeated Ross Street at Regionals. But was that truly the end of their rivals?

Chapter Text

Nationals auditions were only a few hours away.

Since Izzy and Heath were the Dance Captains, their spots were secure. But Izzy knew how much winning this competition again would mean for the studio. If they wanted to do it, they needed the strongest team with them. They had no doubt the current team could do it, but it didn’t hurt to see what else was out there.

Plus, what Pete told them still weighed on their mind.

At the present, they were going over the choreo for the first round with Michelle. Emily and Heath were off in studio-1, going over the names of who had signed up. Michelle had always been more on the choreography side of running the studio anyway, and Izzy was happy to help her dwindle down the number of dancers.

Which they were certain this number would do.

“And if we just let them do their own thing for the last counts of 8, I think it will give us a better vantage point on how they choreograph themselves.” Michelle said, finishing off what they had been working on for the last hour.

“Yeah, I think that’s perfect.” Izzy agreed. “This is gonna be tough. Honestly a bit glad I don’t have to audition.” They laughed.

“Ah don’t be.” Michelle waved them off. “I know this is my first time properly working with you, Izzy. But I’ve visited here enough to see how much you’ve improved. You’ve really stepped up as Dance captain.”

Hearing these compliments, Izzy couldn’t stop the blush rushing on their semi-dark complexion. Michelle was known as a legend around the Next Step. While their team had the legacy of being the first one to defend their Regionals title, Michelle was part of the one that won Internationals for the first time!

Knowing that they were impressing her with their leadership skills, well…it was much more than just a good feeling.

“Thank you, Michelle.” They pushed one of their curls behind their ear.

“No problem, Izzy.” She flashed that sweet smile at her, teeth almost flashing. “Are you alright going over this just a few more times by yourself, though? We have a meeting coming up soon and I just need to make sure the timeslot is good.”

“Oh yeah, you got it. Go!” Izzy waved her off.

Even though the auditions were going to be one of the most important events of this year, a sense of giddiness build up in their chest.

They didn’t think about what Michelle’s meeting might be about. Just that they were doing a great job as co-Dance Captain.

~~~

Off in studio-1, Emily was sat back in her office with the aid of Heath.

On the runup to Regionals a couple years ago, money had been quite tight. And with them not using studio-1’s office much since TNS East and West merged, it felt like their best bet just selling the room to whatever juice-bar was next-door.

Meaning the room had gotten smaller due to whoever bought it naturally breaking down the wall that separated the office from the bar and then creating a new one to connect the office with the rest of the space.

(Hence why one of studio-1’s walls had changed to just a blank slab of bricks for so long.)

After defending their title though, and with Nick being as…well off as he is, he was able to splurge the funds to gets the office back! He felt as if they would need it, seeing as now three of them would be running the place. Plus, he found out the bar never even used it again after Shakes and Ladders shut down…

“I swear there were only half this amount of people at my own Nationals auditions.” Emily said, flipping to the next page of people who had signed up.

“Yeah well, we’re Internationals champions again, and actually going to Regionals this time. Makes sense a lot of people would want to be on the team.”

This did make sense. Emily was more focused on how Heaths said it though.

He barely looked up from what he was doing as he spoke, and his tone was a bit distant. She had worked with him in the past before, even if those last few months of her previous run as Studio-Head was a nightmare. Back then he had been quite driven and pumped up for anything that came, and she quite admired that about him. She knew it had been years since then and people could change.

But he just seemed distracted the whole time they were going over everything.

If it was something serious, she wanted to help. If not, then he shouldn’t be thinking about that. They needed both their Dance Captains to be on their a-game!

Never being one to let things simmer, she went to ask him about it. However, the younger man was saved by a knock on the door.

“We’re a bit busy at the moment.” She sighed, not even looking to see who it was.

“So am I. Meaning I’d appreciate if you could let me know if studio-1 is still good for me to use later on.” An all too familiar voice replied.

Heath’s eyes widened not expecting to hear it. As for Emily, a warm beam cracked open on her face and she swivelled around.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my mini me?” She said, standing up.

Richelle playfully rolled her eyes at this. Shocking Heath, she accepted the hug Emily gave her, something she only reserved for a few people. (He didn’t know if he was more surprised at that, or the fact Emily was the one that initiated it!)

The shorter girl turned her attention to him for a moment. They’d only seen each-other a couple weeks ago, but he was always happy to see his old friends again.

“Hey Heath. How’s our Dance Captain doing? Carrying on my legacy?”

“You mean for the job you had for like less than a week?”

If it was anyone else, (aside from Noah and Jacquie), they’d be terrified to talk to Richelle like that. But her and Heath were kind of similar. And both appreciated the way they could banter with each-other.

She stuck her tongue out at him, looking more like she was 13 rather than 20.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

~~~

“Wait! So, you’re gonna be holding auditions here for Step Inside?”

Richelle was down at La Tutus at this point.

Just like Heath, she held the opinion that the dolls were a bit creepy. However, she was a horror-movie nut and had already bought a few because of it. (She was currently contemplating putting them around Noah’s room.)

Kenzie and Pete were sat in-front of her. Her friend had already known she was visiting, just not for what. Seeing as she was also in town, they knew they’d had to meet-up before either headed off again.

“Yep. Our winter run is over now, and a few of our dancers went off to other opportunities. Thankfully none of our leads. Just some of the backup dancers and singers, set and costume designers, and lighting crew.”

She didn’t say it, but Kenzie knew what she was thinking.

Everyone going their separate ways after the first Step Inside had hurt Richelle in a way she hadn’t imagined. None of them had expected to ever recreate that magic. But now they were able to do it for a living. And she knew now that nobody was leaving.

She didn’t think she could go through that type of heartbreak again.

“Still sounds like a lot though.” Pete said.

“Ah, that’s what today is for. Noah and Cleo were already able to find more backup singers, and he has a friend from high school who is great at the technical parts. We’ll obviously have to hire a few more. But we’re looking good.”

“On that note.” Kenzie chimed in. “Are you doing this on your own or-“

As soon as she said this, a body slammed into the seat beside her blonde friend. Both her and Pete jumped at this, while Richelle just sat there.

“Nice of you to join us, Jacquie.”

“I’m sorry, okay! Traffic was a nightmare. Oh, hi Kenzie!”

Her old friend accepted the hug that came her way when Jacquie noticed her, still trying to process that she was actually there.

“Oh, um…hi.. This is Pete by the way.”

“The boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”

Pete shook her hand as she held it out. He locked eyes with the two other girls who just shook their heads.

“As I was saying.” The brunette finally took a seat, brushing off her star-designed jacket. “Sorry I’m late. I swear people were not this bad at driving when I lived here.”

“Didn’t you two come together?” Kenzie replied.

“Nope.” Richelle laughed. “I left her at the hotel.”

Jacquie rolled her eyes at this, slightly huffing.

“Because someone wasn’t patient enough to wait until I found this jacket.”

“I was patient for the first 20 minutes!” Richelle retorted. “Maybe you would’ve found it quicker if you actually cleaned up the floor.

“I have a system. You know that!”

“A system as well-run as Jurassic Park”

Pete’s eyes bounced between the two of them as they bickered. It was like a kitten watching a tennis match.

Kenzie could see some things had not changed at all since their own time on A-Troupe.

After a few minutes, the two finally stopped, and got back to the matter at hand.

“Anyway.” Richelle breathed. “You thinking of signing up then, Pete? Or are you trying out for the Nationals team?”

Hearing this, the younger boy tensed a bit.

He looked over to Kenzie and it seemed the two had a conversation without even talking. Richelle knew what that was like, though she never had it with her own boyfriend.

Clearly there was something going on with him.

Pete sighed and turned back to the two Step Inside dancers.

“Actually, Kenzie told me there was a spot open on Freya’s tour, and she’s gonna be holding auditions pretty soon.”

~~~

“What do you say his plan was? I mean, he didn’t actually think we were going to let him audition, right?” said Ariana.

Most of the team had been rehearsing together all day to prepare for The Challenge. If they wanted to defend their spots, they had to go all out. As they had learned though, especially Olive, they shouldn’t overwork themselves. Meaning they were spending the rest of their time before then relaxing at the park.

Jett had knicked a few baked goods from Pete. (She said this as if he didn’t always bring in a basket of them for the team to help themselves with.) And were now relaxing on the grass. It was unusually sunny for January, and they were making the most of it.

“I do not even care at this point.” Replied Ebby. She had a lemon-square in hand and took a bite out of it. “He is out of my mind.”

She made a gesture as if she was physically throwing him away. A few of them giggled at that. It was nice seeing their friend not worrying about Niall anymore.

Ebby knew her worth, always had, and she was getting back to who she was.

“That team should just mean nothing to-“

She cut herself off though as she looked at Jett.

The hip-hop dancer was curled in on herself, Ariana’s arm wrapped around her. She had already been in that position, but now it was more to protect herself rather than just being comfortable.

Since Regionals, she hadn’t brought up Xander once. And so, neither did any of them. It was bound to be a touchy subject and none of them could relate.

Sure, Grace and Ariana had hurt the team in their own ways. But this was someone Jett had been best-friends with since she was a kid! If it took her some time to forgive her now-girlfriend for what she did after only knowing her a couple months, Ariana wasn’t sure if her and Xander would ever be the same again.

Not that he deserved it in her eyes. It wasn’t as if he had even apologised.

She went to ask about him, but Jett shook herself off and put on a fake smile. Every single one of them could tell it wasn’t true.

But, if indulging in the conversation she started about the hockey game that Wednesday would help her, then they could at-least do that.

~~~

The auditions were about to begin in only a few minutes. Soon studio-a would have all types of dancers flocking in. Those already on the team were stretching, trying to not act like nervous wrecks. Izzy wasn’t even dancing today, but even they could feel their heart pound as they observed the current team with Heath.

Or 9 members of it anyway. They could see Heath looking around for Pete, but Izzy had a feeling they knew why he was later than the rest.

Taking in a breath, they waited for what he was going to do when they caught sight of his red t-shirt coming in through those large double-doors.

“Hey guys! Can I talk to you all about something a sec?”

This got everyone’s attention and they faced him. Heath frowned at this, and it hurt Izzy seeing him like this, knowing what was to come.

Ever since Pete told them...They’ve been proud but knew it was gonna hurt.

“So, I uh…god this is hard to say.”

“What’s up, Pete?” Asked Jett.

Tears had begun to brim in the tall boy’s eyes, and Izzy could feel them start in their own too. This part was always the worst.

“I’ve loved dancing with you all. Every single moment of it. From Nationals, Internationals, and back to Regionals. It’s been one of the best things I could’ve ever asked for. The team may have changed, but each new person that’s joined has felt like family too.” He managed to get out.

With each line he spoke, it became more clear what he was trying to say.

Izzy could see the tears begin to fall on many faces, especially Heath and Jett’s.

“And I will remember all of that for as long as I live! But…now I think…I know, it’s time for me to move on. Kenzie told me that Freya is going to be holding auditions for her new tour and I’m going to take part in it.”

As soon as he said that the team squashed him in a hug.

Cheers and tears were swapped between them all. It was such a bittersweet moment. You could tell all of them were sad to see him go, but also so proud for putting himself out there and knowing it was time for him to leave.

Sweet Pete. It had been his nickname ever since he joined The Next Step, and it would always reign true. None of them thought they would ever meet a kinder person than him. They didn’t know what the studio would be like without him.

The last ones to separate from was his quartet. Each of them looked a mess but none cared. To them, it wasn’t just like losing a friend, it was like losing a brother.

“I love you guys, so much.” He sobbed.

All they could do as he pulled away was nod. He knew they felt it too. They always would. Even if he was gone, the love between the four could cross wherever he went.

And with him gone, the crowd of dancers wishing to claim his open spot began to pour in. Heath and Izzy had to wipe their faces, needing to look professional.

This was it, the fight for the Nationals team. With each minute that went by, it became more real that Pete wouldn’t be a part of it.

They recognised a few of the people coming in, but it was a bit difficult to focus, much less see, with the tears still threatening to fall.

Members of B-troupe, J-troupe, former ones of L’Equipe Etoile, and so much more were dotted around the place. Adele came in with a competitive vibe around her, but it slightly fell when she saw the state of Jett. Izzy couldn’t hear her over everyone in the room, but they guessed Jett was telling her about Pete.

This noise immediately dropped as somebody clapped their hands.

All eyes in the room went to its centre. In it stood their Studio-Heads.

“Welcome to The Challenge!”

Chapter Text

“This is how things are going to work.” Nick began.

Every single dancer was holding their breaths as he addressed them. This was a good sign in his eyes. He didn’t know how many of them had been to something like this before, but he hoped they would take it seriously.

“We’re going to divide you into groups of six. These will be who you’re dancing with or the choreography round. Which Michelle here is going to show you all.”

After directing this to his co-worker, he began to list off the groups. With how many people were there, this went on for a good few minutes, and most people were with those they didn’t even know.

Once that was done, it was Michelle’s turn to lead.

“Alright you all.” She clapped her hands. “I’m only going to be showing you once, so get it down. You’ll be doing 4 counts of 8, and we’re gonna go-“

And then she was off.

Nick could tell by the looks on the dancers faces that this was going to be tough to learn off. That was just what they were looking for.

He knew Michelle would do good at her job, and she was displaying that perfectly.

“And then you’ll do your own thing.” Michelle finished off. “Alright then, you’ll have 30 minutes to learn that. So, get to it!”

Several whispers of how short the time was went around, but those who were on the Regionals team got straight to work. There wasn’t time to waste.

The Challenge had just begun!

~~~

Despite not being in the same group, most dancers had started working with their friends. It was more comfortable, and they could help one-another learn.

Leading to the power-quartet working quickly through the dance. All of them had been to Internationals, and the events of Regionals had given them a work ethic that meant they got it down in only half the time they needed. Ariana could tell Adele wanted this more than anything and was pushing herself hard.

Olive wasn’t far behind. Having run through the routine several times now. Not to a worrying degree though.

She wished she could say the same about her girlfriend.

Jett clearly knew the dance and was keeping up with them. However, Ariana could see the distraction on her face.

It wasn’t difficult to pick up on what was on her mind.

Doing her act as her partner, she took Jett’s hand in hers. The older girl looked up and question but just got a kiss in the cheek in return. Jett giggled at this.

“What was that for?” She asked.

“You looked like you needed it.” Ariana shrugged. “Now, Michelle said we could do what we wanted for the last 8 counts. How do you feel about doing a lift?”

This did the trick.

A beam burst on Jett’s face and she immediately began talking about ideas for it.

Ariana knew it wasn’t a permanent fix. But if she could just get Jett to enjoy herself or the auditions, that would be enough for now.

~~~

With the dancers working on the choreography, Heath decided he would get the Studio-Heads and Izzy some drinks from La Tutus. He liked to think it was just out of the goodness of his heart.

Really, it was just a distraction.

At the start of this year, he had thought Pete would be here with then, ready to defend their title at Nationals. But now he was off potentially dancing for Freya.

Things were changing, and he didn’t know if he was unsettled by that because people were leaving again…

…or because he was still here.

That train of thought crashed before he could even get to his first stop.

Richelle come up beside him at the counter, ordering a few things for herself and Jacquie. He noted her checking the dietary warnings for the treats and then smiling once she found she could eat them.

“Oh, hey Heath. How are the auditions going?” she asked as she waited.

“They’re alright.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Michelle’s just shown them the choreo and I think they’re a bit scared.”

“That’s Michelle for you.” The blonde giggled. 

Heath nodded and his mind began to trail again.

For some reason, it went back to his time in New York. Hanging out with his friends, seeing the work they were putting in, how magnificent that stage was…

It kind of reminded him of the plays he read.

“When are your ones happening by the way?” He found himself asking.

“In a few hours. I’m excited to see whoever shows up!”

~~~

Emily was walking around the edges of studio-a, clipboard in hand. She couldn’t help the excitement building up inside her as she watched the dancers get ready.

It still didn’t seem real that she was running the studio again, and this time also owning it! Not to mention she was doing it with her girlfriend.

This was her first major decision back in the job, and she was going to make it count.

Coming back to the space near the cubbies, she found Heath coming back, drinks in-hand and Richelle behind him.

“Hello again, Richele. Didn’t think you’d be in.” She said, thanking Heath for the coffee when he handed it to her.

“Just wanted to come in a sec to see the talent.” The former a-trouper told her. “Anyone catching your eye so far?”

“Not in the way you’d expect.”

At that moment, that same girl popped into her sight.

Just like at the party, her hair was back in a ponytail. But now she had a red tank-top on and a pair of designed, black leggings. She went to an illusion as she finished off the choreography, telling her she had some tricks up her sleeve.

“Did she do something?” Heath asked?

“No, I just feel like I know her from-“

Her question was surprisingly answered by Richelle cutting her off.

“Tate?” She called out.

Said girl looked up as her name was apparently said. Emily watched on in confusion as Tate beamed at Richelle before rushing over to her.

“Richelle! I didn’t think you would be here! Do you work here now or?”

“No” Richelle chuckled. “Just running some auditions for Step Inside. I didn’t think I’d see you here either. Does Noah know about this?”

When she said that, something of realisation washed over Tate’s face.

“I completely forgot to tell him.” She gasped. “I uh...I’ll text him after.”

“Well, I won’t keep you then. Good luck!”

Taking in a breath to calm herself down, Tate gave Richelle a quick hug before rushing back to her spot on the floor.

Emily’s gaze went back and forth between the pair, trying to make any sense of it all.

“How do you know her then?” She asked.

“She’s Noah’s cousin.”

It clicked in her mind as Richelle provided this information.

Emily hadn’t seen much of Noah’s relatives. (For good reason, but that was a different story.) But she remembered one of his aunts and his cousin coming to a few of the showcases they put on when she was still on A-Troupe.

If Tate was anything like him, she had her hopes up.

While this was going on, a few of the current A-Troupe boys were working on their own piece together. They had the first two counts down, but were trying to get through the third. Two of them were anyway.

Anthony watched Asher as he went through it with ease. He finished it off with an extension, still turning during it.

“How have you gotten it down already?” He asked.

As if he only realised now that he knew the choreography, Asher’s eyes grew large. Reaching a hand back, he rubbed his neck.

“Old habits die hard I guess.”

While he wasn’t pushing and criticising himself so hard anymore, the muscle memory of not letting himself rest until his dancing was perfect was still there.

“It’s alright.” Anthony shrugged. “Wish I was able to learn it that quick.”

“That’s why I’m helping.” Asher winked.

“Good” Jason sighed. “Because I keep falling out of this turn.”

The three got back to work, now much more determined. Anthony threw a smile behind Asher’s back as he led them through it.

Comparing him now to the auditions for Regionals…It was good to see him happy.

~~~

The half-an-hour was up. This was when the fun began.

Izzy stood off to the side with their “co-workers”, ready to see what these people had to bring. “Rewind” started playing from the speakers as their first group took the floor.

They had watched some old videos Miss Kate had put on tape from her time there as Studio-Owner. One of those being the other Nationals auditions several years ago. It was cool to them that they were using the same song that they did back then. As if it was showing how this new generation was now holding that torch.

One by one the groups showed them if they had learned the dance or not. It was one of the longest auditions Izzy had ever been at, and this was only the first round! The studio’s new reputation really was proceeding it.

In those groups, they could only catch a few flashes of mistakes, and none of them were major. You could tell all these dancers were experienced.

B-Troupers and J-Troupers had greatly improved. Ex-L’Equipe Etoile dancers were proving why they’d been at Internationals. And, despite what she said to Niall, Emily had allowed some of Ross Street to audition. In her words, she didn’t see why the rest should be punished for Niall, Remy, Xander and Eldon’s stupidity.

Izzy felt a bit nervous watching some of them dance again. They had beaten their team at Regionals, but Eldon had made the right choice putting them on Ross Street. They…weren’t sure if some of their current team was better than them.

“You all did incredible out there.” Michelle told them once the final group had performed. “Please all stay here as we decide the 20 people who will be going on to the final round.”

Leaving them behind, Izzy wasn’t sure how exactly they would be able to do the job Michelle had just described!

~~~

“I don’t think I’ve seen Adele dance that good before!”

“Yes! And Ebby! I know some things went down between her and Ross Street at Regionals but she was bringing it!”

“Both were amazing, but what about…”

Whoever Emily started talking about was lost to Heath.

All his Studio-Heads and Izzy seemed so excited to talk about who should go through to the next round. Him though…

It was now or never.

“And then there’s-“

“Actually guys. Can I talk to you about something a sec?”

He cut all of them off, ending the rambling.

Michelle and Nick just appeared confused by the interruption, while Emily was hoping this was important. Izzy however was concerned. Their frown burned deep into Heath’s mind, almost making him second guess what he was about to do.

“We don’t really have a lot of time, Heath.” Emily began. “We need to decide the 20 dancers who might be on A-Troupe alongside you two.”

“Make it 21.”

There, he’d done it.

He’d been thinking about ever since he came back form New York. But he hadn’t realised it until he’d seen Richelle again.

The disbelief dug deeper inside Michelle and Nick. Emily’s professional attitude dwindled. And Izzy…

Just like how it had been only a few hours ago with Pete, tears were welling up in their eyes. They knew what was coming.

Heath kind of hated himself for causing them to feel this way.

“I uh…I’m so grateful for all the years I spent at this studio, and how much it’s taught me. From J-Troupe, to B-Troupe, and then A-Troupe. And all the competitions and experiences that came with it.

“But that’s the thing. I’ve been to DanceMania, Nationals, Internationals and then Regionals. I’ve seen everything that Absolute Dance could offer me. If I stay here, I know I’m going to…”

“Become stagnant.” Michelle offered him. She said it as if she had had a conversation similar to this before.

“Yeah, that’s it. If I want to grow as I dancer, I know I can’t stay here. Richelle’s holding auditions later today as you know, and I want to take part.”

He had thought Pete’s fairwell had drained all the tears from him. But now he could barely finish off his own goodbye without sobbing.

Izzy wrapped their arms around him tightly, very much in a similar state. He was happy they were the first person he told, but he also knew they might be the hardest person he had to do so with.

When he made it onto A-Troupe for DanceMania, he felt as if he didn’t fit in and nobody wanted to be his friend. They all knew each-other so well already, and he was just an alternate. But then the power had gone off that day, and he’d met his best-friend.

Him and Izzy had gone through so much together during both their times at the studio. From being on separate troupes, to them welcoming him back without any question. To them reaching the peak and working together as Co-Captains.

He was going to miss every single second of it.

Nick came close as they were embraced, resting a hand on his shoulder.

We’re all going to miss you, Heath. But just know that we support your decision and I’m certain you will make it onto Step Inside.”

He gave Nick a teary nod, thankful for his words. Emily and Michelle joined in on this, wishing him luck and also hugging him. (Well, Michelle did at-least.)

Heading out the door, he squeezed Izzy’s hand, barely able to let go.

“If I make it, I won’t be heading off for another couple weeks. So, uh…I’ll still be around for a little bit.

“And I promise I’ll come visit.”

~~~

All the auditionees had been waiting nervously as the decision was made. Those that had already been on the team saw Heath had headed off and wondered what he was about. Both Anthony and Asher had asked Jason about it, but he was as in the dark about whatever that was as the rest of them.

He didn’t have long to think about it anyway, as the Studio-Heads soon came back in, Izzy walking behind as they wiped their face.

“Alright everyone, listen up!” Emily said. “Due to some changes, we are now going to be putting 21 of you ahead to the next round.”

Dread rushed through Jason as he heard this.

He could tell something had happened in that office with Heath. But his boyfriend hadn’t given him any clues as to what that was.

“We’ll explain why that is later.” Emily continued on before any of them could ask any questions. “For now, those that have made it through are…”

“Izzy has their automatic spot being the Dance Captain.” Nick pointed out. “And the other 21 dancers are…”

Jason’s heart felt like it might burst as Nick began to call out the names. He was certain most of the room were in a similar state..

“Ebby, Ariana, Jonah, Lena, Monique, Adele, Olive, Jett, Brad, Jan, Hayley, Asher, Jason, Tate, Jules, Grace, Winnie, Oliver, Charlotte, Joan, and…Anthony.”

Chapter Text

Stretching out his legs, Heath anticipated how this was going to turn out.

He’d auditioned for A-Troupe three times during his time at the studio. But this would be his first time doing it for a professional team!

To say he was anxious would be an understatement.

Studio-1 wasn’t as full as studio-a was at that moment, but there was still a large number of dancers in there. Most of them were people Heath didn’t know, but he vaguely recognised a few of them. He didn’t know from where though.

Those near the door parted when the two older women strutted in. Richelle now had her hair up in a ponytail. A signature look for her when she was dancing. And had changed into a black crop-top and designer leggings.

Jacquie wardrobe was a bit similar. She’d changed from her star-patterned jacket and acid-washed blue jeans to a teal crop-top with matching leggings. Just by looking at them, Heath had a feeling they’d also be dancing that day.

“Alright everyone, gather around!” Richelle clapped her hands loudly, grabbing all of their attention. Seemed like she still knew how to be noticed. “Welcome to the auditions for Step Inside! We’ve got a good turnout today.”

Her eyes trailed over to Heath for a moment and she smiled softly.

“We’re not going to waste any time. So, let’s get right to it.”

“There are going to be two rounds.” Jacquie piped up. Heath noted the clipboard in her hands. “First will be freestyle solos. This will give us a chance to see what styles your prominent at and what you could bring to the company.”

“And if you make it through from there, you will be assigned a duet with somebody else. It’s important to us that you are able to work well with other people.”

Heath nodded as he took in this information. Okay, he could do this. It wasn’t too different to any of the auditions he had been at before.

He would just have to bring his best and hope that was enough.

“We’re going to go in order of your numbers that you were given. Meaning, first up will be...” Richelle started off.

Looking down, Heath thought about the number 10 on his chest. He wouldn’t be first up, but he wouldn’t have long to wait.

This was where it was all going to begin.

~~~

With the first round of the A-Troupe auditions over, they had been given an hour before they’d have to head back to studio-a. This meant that practically all of them had headed down to La Tutus.

The power quartet themselves had taken up a booth. Adela and Olive were talking about how they think they had done so far. While Jett was slightly lying down, leaning on Ariana, who was playing with her hair.

“Uh, I’d love to have a donut, but I know I’d probably throw it up if I danced after eating it.” Jett groaned, making her girlfriend laugh.

“You say, as if you didn’t keep eating fries when Chas Chas was still here.”

“Fries are different. They’re healthy…ish.”

“How are fries of all things healthy?” Ariana giggled.

“They’re made out of potatoes, aren’t they?”

She had that goofy grin on her face that let Ariana know she was joking. Playfully rolling her eyes, she gave her a peck on the lips, spreading her joy.

It died almost as soon as she caught the boy coming over to their booth.

Quickly, she wrapped her arms around Jett. The older girls stared at her for a moment before she saw what Ariana was looking at. Sitting up quickly she prepared herself for whatever Xander had to say when she stopped in-front of them.

“What do you want?” She asked, bluntly.

This wasn’t her first time seeing him since Regionals. She had bumped into him a few times and he had tried talking to her then. But she had no time for him.

“To talk.” He sighed. “Look Jett, I’m-“

“Nope” She turned away from him, taking a sip of her iced-tea.

“But Jett-“

“But nothing!”

Her drink was now finished and she was ready to get out of here.

She pulled Ariana up by her hand, who followed her lead. Though Jett had to shake off a brain freeze for a few seconds. Best not to drink something that cold so fast again.

“I’ve an audition to get back to. So, if you don’t mind.”

Bumping his shoulder she headed out of the place, Ariana’s hand in hers.

Adela and Olive must’ve noticed them leaving and were on their heels. Jett was glad to have the three with her for this.

These were her true friends. Not that Ross Street traitor.

He was dead to her, and she was not going to let someone like him mess with her chances at A-Troupe!

~~~

The second round wasn’t going to start for another 15 minutes or so, but most of the current team had come back early to work on their solos.

Ebby was currently with Jason in one of the corners of studio-a. He had appeared a bit off after the list of the 21 dancers went out. But he’d gone to talk to Heath about it at the start of break and was now doing much better.

“You two worked it out then?” She asked, stretching out her arms.

“Yeah.” Jason breathed. “Obviously, I’m sad to see him leave the team. But I’m so proud of him for putting himself out there and going after his dream.”

The way he said it made Ebby melt a bit inside.

She knew the two boys had only been dating for a month, but she really could see them lasting. Some couples aren’t able to do long distance, but she had fate in them.

“That’s really sweet of you.”

“Is it? Feels kind of base level to support your partner.”

This though…

It made her think of something else.

Jason said in so nonchalantly, like it was a no brainer and maybe it should be. But Ebby had never felt that way with the people she had dated.

All Remy cared about when they were together was winning, to the point he used her to do so. Every other part of her didn’t matter to him, and she was starting to realise that. Anytime she talked about anything outside of her routines, he barely paid attention or tried to change the subject back to dance.

If they had stayed together and she had the opportunity to go professional like Heath was doing, but Remy be even close to as supportive as Jason?

She already knew the answer to that.

Stopping this boulder of thoughts from rolling was the sound of her phone. She gave Jason an apologetic look and went to answer it.

When she saw it was Pascale that was calling her, all thoughts of Remy left her mind.

~~~

He had done what he could, and it had felt like a strong solo. It might have even been one of his best! But Heath wasn’t sure if that was enough for a professional company.

His hands felt sweaty as he wrung them around when Richelle and Jacquie came back in with their decision. Richelle had her typical stoic face on, not telling anyone what she was thinking. Jacquie wasn’t much better.

“Alright, we’ve made our decision. 12 of you are going to go on to the duet round.” Richelle told them.

“And these include.” Jacquie began to read out the list in her hands. “Numbers 1, 3, 4…”

Several more numbers were called, and Heath’s nerves grew with each one that wasn’t his.

“Number 10.”

That was when he let himself breath.

You’ve done it! You’ve made it through to the next round!

He wanted to feel excited about that, but he was more relieved than anything.

The rest of the numbers were called with him barely paying attention to them. Those that had not made it left, disappointed, out the door. What had once been a group of over 30 people had been dwindled down to just 12!

“Congratulations to all of you that made it.” Richelle said. “This is the most important part of these auditions. We’re going to put you into six duets, and you will each do the choreography that we’re about to show you.”

And without giving them another second, they burst into the choreography. It startled some of them, but Heath just watched in awe, trying to remember the routine. “No Problems” was playing from the speaker they had brought in, and it matched the energy the two were giving off well. Just as they were doing to each-other.

It finished off with the pair facing each-other, barely breathing despite the amount of tricks they just pulled off.

“Naturally you can change some parts to suit yourself and your partner’s skills, but make sure to keep the core of it.” Richelle was telling them as Jacquie went to grab the list of the duets they had chosen.

“And with that, our duets will be…Number 1 with Number 10.

Oh, you’re up first.

While Jacquie was calling out the rest, one of the girls came over to him. He was a little taller than her, but not by much. Black, wavey hair rested on her shoulders, falling over a maroon tank-top with spaghetti straps. Bicycle shorts hugged her shaped legs. Overall, she was kept together and confident.

He shook her hand as she held it out, a smirk on her face.

“I’m Gabi. Ready to get to it?”

~~~

As for A-Troupe, those that were still left were giving their all in the freestyle round!

The sounds of “Control” followed behind them as each dancer showed the Studio-Heads and Izzy what they had to offer. Adele cheered loud for her friends as they did just so. Just from watching Ariana and Olive pieces, she knew they were safe.

And then it was her own turn. She was more than nervous, but this is what she had been training for ever since she got kicked off the Regionals team.

When that had happened, it had felt like her world was ending.

Had Ariana and Grace been right to make her the alternate? Was her disability always going to make people see her as less? Were they right to?!

But no.

Each turn, kick, trick, it was to prove they had been wrong not keeping her.

And when it was done, she knew she had given it her all. It was in the hands of the Studio-Heads now. With that, she joined her friends at the sides, wishing Jett good luck as she went on up after her.

As the song reached a section with a ton of beats, Jett hit every single one of them! She was doing just as incredible as she always did.

And yet, Adele couldn’t help but notice the way her face was scrunched up. Not in pain. But as if she wasn’t entirely in the room.

She knew that encounter with Xander must’ve shaken her up a bit. After Ariana had made her the alternate for Regionals, she hadn’t even been able to look at her for months! How would someone who’s best-friend full-on sabotaged them feel?

Still, she hoped that Jett could finish her performance. Xander didn’t deserve to take this away form her too.

When she backed up a bit, Adele smiled at what she knew was coming. Over the break, the power quartet had all been working on their acro. This included tumbling. Something which Jett had not known but was now able to do several flips!

Adele was certain this would impress their judges.

That was…until Jett put her hands down to boost herself up again.

The distraction in her mind must’ve been bigger than her friends thought, and she didn’t place herself right. That first flip went just fine, but when she braced her hands to land on them and prepare for the next one…

A sickening crunch filled the room!

Immediately the music was cut off. Majority of people gasped, but Adele couldn’t hear them much over the groans of pain that were coming from Jett.

Her ears began ringing as she saw her friend on the ground, a broken arm held in her other. Ariana rushed over without her even realising, and she thought she heard Emily says he was going to call an ambulance.

It all happened so fast.

One minute Jett was giving it her all at the audition.

And the next…

No…this wasn’t…this wasn’t how this was supposed to go!

They were all meant to improve and make that Nationals team. Together!

How could the universe do this? And tp Jett of all people?!

Jett, who hadn’t done anything to hurt anyone!

For as long as Adele knew her, she had always been the shoulder you could cry on, or the person to boost you up and make you laugh when you needed to. She was like an excitable puppy. Extremely high energy but meaning well.

And still, all she ever got in return was screwed over!

Adele was confident she would make the Nationals team.

But was it even worth it if Jett couldn’t?

~~~

“Why are you stressing so much about this? Asked Gabi.

The two of them had done their duet, along with everyone else, and were now waiting for Richelle and Jacquie to return with the results.

Heath had gotten on well with the other girl. She was a bit like Richelle, though a bit more willing to listen to you before lashing out. They had been able to bounce both ideas and wit off each-other, and Heath was hoping that they could keep in contact after. That was, if one, or both, of them didn’t make it.

“Cause this is my first professional audition, and I don’t exactly know what the standard for these things are. For all I know, I did terribly!”

“Okay, well, I have been to a few of these, and I can tell you that you were one of the best in the room.” She reassured him.

He didn’t comment on it though. It was nice that Gabi thought that about him, but she may have just been kind.

In the end, only Richelle and Jacquie’s opinions would get him in this company.

And when he saw them, it was as if the many shades of blue that made up the walls of the small space were actually cold to the touch. Goosebumps rose on his arms and he held his hands together behind his back.

“We’ve gone over your duets, and we are confident that we’ve made the right choice on which six of you we will be bringing with us.” Said Jacquie.

“Without any delays. Those will be…” Richelle started. “Gabi”

Heath was at-least able to smile and pat his new friend on the back as she went over to the two other girls. Even if he didn’t make it in, he was happy Gabi could.

“Becca”

A shorter, brunette girl went up next. Her and gabi beamed at each-other and the older girl gave her a short hug. Gabi had told Heath while they were working together that Becca was her little sister.

“Josh”

Becca’s duet partner went up beside her. His hair was black and swept to the side, and a pair of matching glasses covered his face.

“Camille”

Gabi had also told him that Camille had been her best-friend ever since they were young. She had wavy blonde hair that rested at her shoulders and seemed a bit quieter than the rest. Though she was evidently excited by the beaming smile that had sported on her face.

Another boy was called that Heath didn’t recognise at all. Which meant there was only one spot left.

His felt as if his knuckles would break from how tightly he was gripping his hands together. This was everything to him. If he didn’t get it…he didn’t know what he’d do.

“And last but not least is…Heath!”

It was as if the sun met the room when Richelle called his name.

Something ignited in his chest. He didn’t know what words to describe it but…he almost felt like crying.

For a few moments, all he could do was stare at his old friend as she waited for him to come over.

You did it! You actually made it in!

It was like winning Regionals all over again.

He wasn’t certain what the future held, but this win meant anything was open to him.

This was his first step out there. Cause now he was in the wide, open world!

And as he joined his new team, while the rest left, he couldn’t wait for it!

~~~

There was a sombre mood in studio-a as the Studio-Heads and Izzy came back in. To the newcomers in the studio, Jett’s accident was just something that could happen in dance. This wasn’t anything they weren’t expecting.

But to the others, it shadowed any anticipation for the Nationals team. Heck, some of the auditionees weren’t even there anymore.

Ariana had gone off in the ambulance with Jett and Izzy had told her they’d send her a text of the team list after the announcement was made.

They had been certain a lot of people weren’t exactly looking forward to waiting around as they slowly called out who made the team. So, they’d been able to convince the Nick, Emily and Michelle just to post the list on the wall. Though, they thought they would’ve just done it anyway if they hadn’t asked.

A few select words were said by Michelle to the dancers, before the list was stuck to the wall. Many of the dancers rushed up to read it, but Izzy could see their friends were just waiting behind. Not eager to see what had been written.

It took a couple minutes for one of them to gather the courage, and that was Ebby. She didn’t exactly want to do it, btu somebody had to tell the others if they had made it or not. And when she finally reached that piece of paper, what she read was:

A-Troupe:

Izzy

Anthony

Ebby

Ariana

Adele

Olive

Grace

Winnie

Asher

Jason

Tate

Jonah

Chapter Text

Only a day had passed since the A-Troupe auditions, and barely any members of the new team had stayed at the studio after the announcements.

Now though, all of them were back in Studio-A and dancing together for the first time. “The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty” played behind them as each performed a solo.

Those like Tate and Jonah were taking in every feeling that came from being a new member of the team. Returning ones like Adele were finding it hard to be excited though. This was the group that was going to Nationals, but so much had happened in that space between Regionals and now.

Ariana herself was just going through the motions as she moved with the group. An aerial, an illusion, she just threw them out without much thought.

Just before yesterday, she had been hoping to do the Nationals duet with Jett. But then her girlfriend had broken her arm and wasn’t even on A-Troupe anymore.

Ever since she joined this studio, Jett had been the one person she could always count to be on her side. How was she supposed to get to Nationals without her?

As the new team stood in line, striking a pose, she had never felt further away from A-Troupe than she did at that moment.

It wasn’t as if she was hiding it well either. Izzy could see it all on her face, and they didn’t blame her. They themself had never been one for dating, so they couldn’t entirely imagine what their friend was going through.

Still, they were also close with Jett and thought they might be able to help Ariana later. Not by magically finding a way to heal Jett immediately. But they knew they could at-least be someone that she could talk to.

For now, their attention was drawn back to Emily and Michelle as their two new Studio-Heads walked into the room.

“Everyone, listen up!” Michelle clapped her hands together. “Today is our first day preparing for Nationals, and we hope that this will be the team that get’s there.”

She shared a look with Emily as she said this.

Izzy was all too aware of what that was about.

The Next Step was quite famous for losing dancers and changing up their team on the runup to competitions. Especially the larger ones. They were honestly lucky that nothing like that had happened at Regionals.

“And we want to get right to it.” Emily continued. “Meaning we’re going to be holding our solo auditions later on today.”

Izzy couldn’t help clenching their teeth as they heard this.

At Regionals, they didn’t even get to try-out for the solos as it was exclusively for boys and girls. They didn’t have hopes that it had gotten any better.

Once again, the two girls gazed at one-another. But this time, Izzy was not sure as to what that was about.

Most likely, they were just flirting.

“Just like at Regionals, there is going to be two solo rounds.”

The Dance Captain just nodded as they heard this, arms crossed.

“However…”

Michelle now held a smile on her face. Her eyes locked onto Izzy’s, and they furrowed their eyebrows.

What was that about?

“This time, both rounds are going to be gender neutral!”

As soon as she said this, Izzy wanted to jump around the room. They kept their cool though, as they didn’t want to seem unprofessional.

You’re actually going to get a chance to do the solo this time? And not just 1, but 2 opportunities?!

Nails dug into their palms as Emily and Michelle went on. They could feel the eyes of their friends on them and the support pouring through them.

“Giselle can be quite persuasive.” Said Emily with a prideful smile as a way of explanation for this new development. “And with that, we’re going to take names of who wants to audition.”

“So, if you do, raise your-“

Michelle didn’t get to finish before Izzy had fired theirs in the air. The Studio-Head giggled and scribbled down their name.

After them came Asher, Winnie, Ebby, Adele, Jason, Jonah and Tate. Most of these were to be expected. Asher and Winnie would want to continue defending their team in the solos, and the newbies would want any chance to shine.

However, there was one person Izzy was shocked to not see.

Once again, their gaze travelled over to Ariana.

Last time, the blonde hadn’t auditioned in support of Izzy. But now that the Dance Captain was able to audition, they thought she’d jump at the chance to win a Nationals solo just like she had done at Internationals. 

This situation with Jett was clearly affecting her more than anyone anticipated, and Izzy knew they had to do something about it.

~~~

When she was still on B-Troupe, Winnie believed she did a good job at welcoming new members and showing them around the studio. With A-Troupe having 3 different members now, she thought it would be a good idea to give them a tour.

Jonah had also been on B-Troupe for a while, but he never saw places such as the Locker-Room or the A-Troupe Showers. Plus, Tate was entirely new to the studio and could do with being shown where everything was.

Adele, obviously, had already been on the team before. But she tagged along as she wanted to get to know her teammates better.  

“So, this is the A-Troupe Lockers.” Winnie said, hands out wide as if she was showing off a stadium, rather than a small room for teenagers. “Heath, Pete and…Jett’s lockers are free now. So, take your pick.”

Jonah and Tate quickly went to grab one of them, while Adele waited a bit behind.

She knew Winnie hadn’t been the closest with Jett, but she had sometimes hung-out with the power-quartet since she was close with Olive and Jett injuring herself was hurting her too. Reaching a handout, she gave her arm a soft squeeze, which Winnie seemed to appreciate. Then she went to open the last locker.

It turned out to be Pete’s old locker, which shocked her a bit. Looking over, she found that Tate had chosen Jett’s.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” It was Jonah that spoke up about it.

“What?” Tate asked. “Just because the girl that had this locker broke her arm, it doesn’t mean that I will.”

“I think he means because…” Adele tapped on the number.

‘13’ was printed in bold black on the metal. Winnie remembered the amount of jokes Jett had received on the run-up to Regionals about the bad luck she must get.

Maybe they weren’t wrong…

“Exactly why I chose it.” Tate told them.

Each of them just gave her perplexed looks.

What did she mean?

“Oh, I’m aware it’s a bad omen, but I don’t believe in those kind of things. Well, kinda. Okay, I sort of do, but it draws me to them more.”

“So, you see them as good luck instead of bad luck?” Adele prompted.

“Exactly!”

Right…

There was worse good-luck charms out there Winnie guessed. She’d just never heard of someone intentionally going after bad omens.

“You own a black cat then or something?” Jonah teased.

“Nope, that’s more of my cousin’s thing.”

None of them really knew what to do with that.

Winnie just decided to change the topic.

“How are you guys feeling about the auditions then?”

“Oh, I can’t wait to do one of the solos.” Jonah responded.

The older girl frowned as she was told this.

“I mean, we still have to audition for them first.”

“That’s just a formality to me.” He shrugged. “I know I’ve got one of them.”

She bit her tongue and just turned back to Adele.

“Someone’s cocky.” The green-clad girl whispered.

Winnie nodded subtly at this.

It was good that Jonah wasn’t worrying about his skills or anything. But each of them had seen what a cocky/egotistical dancer could mean for the team.

Winnie hoped this wasn’t another case of that.

~~~

With the solo auditions only that evening, Asher wanted to book Studio-A for an hour. Just so he could get a sense of how he’d use the space later on.

He was on his way to the Office, when he noted the three Studio-Heads were in there. This was a bit unusual, as one of them tended to be off teaching a class or working on some choreography. (The latter fell more one Michelle’s shoulders.)

They looked at him expectantly when he knocked on the door.

“Hello, Asher. What can we do for you?” Asked Nick.

“I was just wondering if I could book Studio-A for an hour?”

Emily reached into a drawn and pulled out a sheet when he said this.

“That’s our timetable for the day.” She handed it to him. “Please decide the time quick as we’re going to be a bit busy for awhile today.”

He ended up deciding on working from 2 till 3.

As he handed the list back though, he couldn’t help wondering what required them to all be there.

“What’s going on by the-“

Now he was interrupted by a knock.

The adults noted who was at the door and began making themselves more presentable. Asher guessed this was who they were waiting for.

He couldn’t say he recognised either of the people at the door.

They seemed to be a bit older than him, maybe around Richelle’s age. Neither of them were particularly tall. Though that may have just been due to how tall he was himself. The women’s features were soft and pale, and red-hair fall down her back in curls. The man next to her had a dark complexion and a stocky build.

He didn’t seem as familiar with the other adults as his friend did.

Asher had no clue what the meeting was about, but he hoped it didn’t cause any more issues for the studio.

~~~

With her not signing up to do a solo, Ariana had just been walking around the building most of the day. She’d decided she should be more productive after an hour of doing so and was now in the hall outside Jett’s hotel room.

While her injury wasn’t life-threatening, the doctors had said it was best if she stayed a night just in case. (Ariana wasn’t sure if it was a requirement, or just because one of the people that made the decision was Jett’s mom.)

The older girl smiled as she came in. There was a hockey match on the tv that she had been engrossed in before that.

“How you feeling?” Ariana asked, sitting next to her bed. She was careful to grab the right hand as she did so.

Jett just cocked her head to the side in response.

Ariana knew she should’ve expecting this. Even if Jett had helped her with her own emotional issues since they met, it was rare she ever talked about her own. She’d rather just keep them bottled up until she blew up in a burst of rage.

She’d been getting better at stopping that lately, but stuff like this tended to be something that she didn’t like discussing.

“How was your first rehearsal?” Jett asked.

“It was alright.” Ariana responded.

She could tell Jett was going to tell her that she didn’t have to hide how it was just because she didn’t make the team. And she stopped her.

“Really! Not much happened aside from Emily and Michelle telling us that they’re holding auditions for solos later. They’re gender neutral again by the way.”

“Izzy much be ecstatic then.” For the first time since all this happened, a genuine look of joy washed over Jett. “Shouldn’t you be working on your own audition though?”

“Oh, I’m…not auditioning.”

Ariana was picking at the paint on her nails.

It was one of her tells. Anytime she was feeling awkward or hiding something, she could never make eye contact.

“Why not?”

She couldn’t answer that. In her head, the decision made sense at the time, but she was aware what Jett was going to say about it.

“Ari, you can’t-“

“Why not?” She cut in. “You didn’t even get an offer to audition too just because the universe decided to be cruel and break your arm! Why should I get the opportunity when you don’t?”

“Ari” Jett’s voice was lower this time.

Moving her hand out of hers, she cupped her face

Their faces moved close together and Jett kissed her softly. The anger simmering in Ariana’s chest dwindled a little at this.

Jett just had that effect on her. Anytime she was feeling anytime like despair, rage or jealous, she knew how to calm her down.

When they pulled away after a minute, Jett didn’t let go.

A sombre, but soothing, expression covered her face as she looked at her girlfriend.

“Don’t give up something like this just because of me.

“Does is suck I injured myself and now don’t get to go to Nationals? Yeah, a lot. But that doesn’t mean you don’t.

“So, you better go back to Emily and Michelle and tell them that you’re gonna fight for one of those solos! Cause, I know you’ll kick butt doing it, just like at Internationals. And I’ll make sure I’m right there to watch it when you’re on that stage.”

~~~

Even with Jonah being cocky over his own audition, Winnie thought it would be good if they worked on their pieces together. The four of them were in Studio-1 at this point.

From watching what Jonah had made, she could see he had a bit of a point, but she knew her own solo, as-well as the others, were on the same level as it.

She herself was working on it with Tate. Their styles were a bit different. Hers had a lot of jazz elements, while Tate was more of an acrobatic. She had some tricks up her sleeve and Winnie could see her representing them at Nationals.

“Why did you decide to join the studio by the way?” She couldn’t help but ask.

Tate finished off the extension she was holding before answering.

“Oh, I was only ever a rec dancer before I came here, cause I was just focusing on school and some of my other hobbies. But I wanted to try competing since I’m getting older and it would help me get recognised.  My cousin went here for a good few years and I already knew how great the studio was from him.”

“Same one that likes cats or?”

“Yeah, that’s him.” Tate giggled.

Winnie gave her a once over after finding out this info.

She hadn’t noticed this till now, but Tate did remind her of someone. The natural tan, hooked nose and green eyes. Plus, she had just referred to the person as ‘he’.

“Sorry, but are you related to Noah?”

“Good guess” Tate replied, telling her she was correct.

Tate knew a few cases of dancers having older relatives start dancing before them and feeling like they couldn’t measure up to them. But she never felt that.

She knew she was good. Even if she had never gone to a serious competition, she’d been training for years and wouldn’t have gotten into A-Troupe if she hadn’t.

Noah had also been as supportive as always when she told him she was auditioning, which helped.

Tate was her own person. She wasn’t going to compare herself to the former-Dance Captain.

 She had come here to compete at Nationals and that was her full focus!

~~~

With the meeting running a bit longer than anticipated, Michelle had said she’d head to Studio-A to start running the solo auditions.

All those that had signed up were stretching when she came in. However, before anything could commence, a blonde ball rushed into the room behind her.

“Is it too late to join?” Ariana asked.

“Not at all.” Michelle told her. She had to laugh a little at this.

These kids really did have a ton of energy.

She was happy to see Ariana here. Her solo at International had gotten The Next Step to the finals and she was a bit disappointed when she didn’t initially sign-up.

Arian thanked her and joined the others, receiving a pat on the back from Winnie.

“Let’s get started then. First up is Asher.”

As this was occurring, off in the Office, Emily and Nick were ironing out the details of their meeting. They’d been there for over an hour, but they couldn’t rush these kind of things. Especially people willing to rent some of their space.

Emily had known Clara ever since she was little. It still made her jump at times whenever she remembered Giselle’s little sister was now in her twenties. Even more-so at this point as she sat across from her, discussing their agreement.

“One last thing then. When would you and Isaac want to start setting up?”

“It will take at-least a week to set up all the furniture. But we’re willing to get started this weekend if that works?”

Clara tried to appear confident as Emily wrote down each detail.

It had been many years since she was last in this building. She had left Lost and Found Music Studios originally to focus on her mental health. But by the time she was ready to come back, the place had shut down.

Revenue for it wasn’t able to keep up. Singers had tried attracting new students by posting their work online. But it just hadn’t been enough. It didn’t help that most people in the original location’s area were more interested in dancing than singing.

However, around a year after shutting down, Mr.T had opened up a new branch of it in New York. This new building was much more successful and it quickly was filled to the brim with singers. Some of the students of the old location were even hired as teachers there. Such as Clara herself after she turned 18.

It led to several more locations being opened up in different states. And now, a few years later, Mr.T was hoping they’d be able to start working from their old home again.

He himself wouldn’t be there, as he was still running the centre of the company in New York, but Clara and Isaac were two of his most trusted workers and he wished to promote them to Studio-Heads in their new location.

All they needed was to sort out the details with the present owners of the building.

It turned out to be more about timetables and how they’d bring in rent than actually finding a space in the end. Which shocked Clara.

Apparently, some of the old rooms at TNS were just sitting around, unused. Such as the Lounge and the Rehearsal Room. Kate had renovated a few of the rooms they had after they originally won Internationals. But after losing Regionals, and her then creating Studio-1 and the Locker-Room out of Lost and Found, the dancers found those places better to either practice or just relax.

It wasn’t the same space that their home used to be, but the open space of what Emily and Nick were providing them seemed decent enough to start up in.

“Alright, I think that’s everything finally sorted then. All we need from you two then is to just sign here.” Nick said, passing them over the last form.

Clara thanked him for it and the pen he gave her after.

Taking in a breath, she read it over one final time.

She looked sideways at Isaac once finished with that as she got ready to sign it, who fired her one of his signature reassuring smiles.

It still didn’t seem real that she was going to be running a Lost and Found of her own. Her time here before had been far from perfect, but she knew she was ready, and the place would be 10 times better than it was back then.

Clara wasn’t that timid, closed-off girl she once was anymore.

And so, she began to sign the agreement.

~~~

Heath wasn’t sure as to why he was here. It wasn’t that he was complaining to be seeing the studio again, even if he had only been gone a day. He just wished Izzy had given him more information when they asked him to meet them in Studio-A.

Nearing the double-doors of the room, he almost bumped into Pete.

“Hey man, what you are doing here?!” He asked.

The two of them hugged soon after that. Heath had already told Pete that he’d also left the Next Step, as-well as how his audition had gone. Pete’s own was still not for another week or so, but he had been rooting for him strongly.

Pete’s large arms were comforting around him as he gave him that brotherly embrace.

“Izzy asked if I could come in for a bit.” Pete explained.

The brunette frowned as he heard this.

“Same with me.”

“Hm, well this should be interesting.” Pete chuckled. “Seeing as Izzy is involved.”

Heath grinned at that, unable to disagree.

The two began reading into the designated spot. And when they got there, they found much more than just Izzy inside.

All of A-Troupe stood before them, as-well as Jett, Kenzie, and the Studio-Heads. The lights were turned low, and Izzy held a cake in their hands.

“What’s going on?” Heath had to ask.

“You didn’t think we were going to let you two go without a send-off, did you?” Said Jett.

Even in her current state, both boys could tell she wasn’t hiding anything under her wit. Her arm was broken and under a sling, and yet she appeared more upset that both of her friends were leaving.

Arina, stood next to her girlfriend, too the cake from Izzy as they handed it to her. Slowly, they came up to the boys. As they rested a hand on one of their arms, they could feel the tears begin to prickle in their eyes.

“Guys, I uh…this is hard to say.” They chuckle, wiping an eye. “Even since B-Troupe found out we had a chance to go to Nationals, I knew it was the start of something special. We weren’t the team that had won Regionals, but I was certain we were the one that was going to start a new generation at the studio. And we did!”

All of their friends watched on as their Dance Captain spoke. Not a single face was dry, and they wouldn’t be for the rest of the night.

“Pete, you’re like the big brother that all of us needed. I may be the Dance Captain, but when it comes to supporting the team, that is where you shine. And don’t tell Ozzy this, but you’re my favourite brother.”

Both them and Pete laughed at this.

“And Heath, I don’t know if I could’ve made it this far without you. If any of us could really. You were on A-Troupe when we first met, but I always considered you a part of our team. Even when we were B-Troupe. I mean, you are ‘The heart of the team’.”

Heath wrapped his arms around them as they said this, both chuckling and sobbing through the inside-joke.

“So, you two go out there and show everyone else in the world what we already know about you. And know that we’ll be watching every performance. No matter what city or what time. You’re going, but…our bond will never be gone.”

That was when the dams entirely burst.

Tears and hug got passed around as the team huddled around the two men. That was what they were now. Both joined the studio when they were only teenagers. They were grown now, and ready to take on the world.

Every person gifted them their embrace. Heath was thanked for his time as their Dance Captain and sent off with a kiss from Jason. Pete squeezed his friends hard, before Kenzie took his hand, leading him over to the table to cut the cake.

A-Troupe was changing, but none of these relationships they had built would.

It wasn’t the end of this group’s book.

It was just turning to the next chapter.

Chapter Text

The two solos for Nationals had been decided. But they wouldn’t be announcing who was chosen until the duet was also sorted out.

Which was what Nick had planned for the day.

“Hello everyone.” He said to the team, interrupting the warmup that Izzy was leading.

The Dance Captain noted the clipboard in his hands and his overall presence. They knew it must have been important and herded the team together.

Thanking Izzy for it, Nick got straight to business.

“With the solos out of the way, we think it would be best if we also decided who will be doing the duet.”

With none of them knowing who had the solos, they all focused intensely on him. If they hadn’t, this was a second chance to be featured at Nationals.

“So, please pair up and have something to present at the end of the day. We haven’t discussed any potential pairs so far. Meaning it’s all fair game.”

He left them on that note.

Half of their Regionals duet was now gone, but he had hope that these dancers could pull together something just as strong. Plus, they did have both parts of their Internationals duet back on the team!

As soon as he was gone, people began to choose their partners.

Unsurprisingly, Anthony went over to Adele. Ariana watched as the rest talked over who they should be with and ideas for the dance.

After her talk with Jett the other days she was feeling a bit better about making the team and trying out for dances. Causing her to notice the other boy who would know just how she felt.

She’d been hoping to do this duet with Jett, but circumstances had changed. And the same thing had happened to Jason.

Arian wasn’t that confident they could win this. They didn’t talk that much. But she thought both could cheer the other up.

“Hey, Jason.” She tapped him on the shoulder.

The taller boy seemed a bit startled as she brought him out of his thoughts. He cocked his head to the side, prompting her to continue.

“Want to work together?”

~~~

Asher was meant to be working with Izzy at the moment, but there had been a small issue with B-Troupe’s schedule and they had to help Michelle with it.

He didn’t mind it too much. It was Izzy’s job after all, and they already had the basis of the duet down.

He’d elected to get them some drinks for when they came back. But, as he was walking through the halls, he could here a noise coming from…somewhere.

It sounded like singing. Maybe someone was dancing in one of the other studios? That wasn’t uncommon. For Studio-A and Studio-1 anyway.

As he followed the source, he found himself going near the rehearsal room though. This confused him even more. Nobody used this space. If it wasn’t because Studio-!-1 was better, it was also due to him not being sure if it was maintained anymore.

He shuddered as his arm bumped into the slide-door, thinking it was a cobweb. But no, the place actually appeared…clean.

Had they actually been keeping an eye on these abandoned rooms?

Sliding it open, the singing became louder as it met his ears.

It wasn’t loud, seeing as the person he found inside was just fidgeting with the microphone in their hand. Their eyes flicked up to his as the door hit the wall and they smiled.

“Asher, hey!”

Ever since Regionals, the blonde had been feeling better about himself and less like he had to put up a cold front. He’d grown much closer with the team and had let the happiness of being on it soaked into his skin.

They had beaten Eldon. His older, (yet childish), brother wouldn’t tear him down and make him want to slam his head into a wall anymore.

And yet, his entire demeanour fell as he realised who was in here.

“Matthew?” He sighed.

What is this guy doing here?

The older boy put the microphone off to the side for the moment and came closer.

“I heard you were on A-Troupe now, but I didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon. How are you?” He asked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

“Fine” He crossed his arms. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, just checking out the place. Seeing what it will be like going here.”

This…just confused Asher even more.

What did Matthew mean? For as long as he knew him, he’d never cared once about dance. So, why would he be thinking about joining the studio?

“You thinking of joining B-Troupe or something.”

“Ah, no. Dancing will forever be just my sister’s thing.” Matthew chuckled. “No, I’m auditioning for Lost and Found this weekend.”

Okay, that made more sense. He did remember Matthew preferred music much more than dance.

But…it still didn’t help much.

“Didn’t that place close down years ago?”

“Well, yes. But they’re opening up a new branch here soon.” The singer explained. “Didn’t your Studio-Heads mention this to you?”

“No…they uh…didn’t think to mention it.”

He said this all through gritted teeth.

It wasn’t that he minded Lost and Found coming back. He wasn’t the biggest fan of music, but it’s not like they were going to disturb A-Troupe. Especially since it seemed they were just taking up a few unused rooms.

No, his issue was that this thorn in his side might be her regularly if he made it in!

Even if he wasn’t as stuck up as he used to be, he was still going to find Matthew irritating. He was just so loud and obnoxious. Had been so ever since they were kids. It got worse when they grew older and he became a bit of a fuckboy too.

It also didn’t help that their older siblings used to date. Back then, they were always made to hang-out whenever the two families spent time together.

He liked his calm and quiet and to let people in on his own terms. But Matthew was like a wrecking ball to all those plans for his social life.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? They weren’t even going to be practicing in the same place. So, if he tried, it might be easy to just avoid him.

He doubted that would work as soon as he said it.

Taking in a breath, he had to ask.

“Does Emily know you’re here?”

Matthew turned his head to the side, that annoying smirk on his face.

“Not yet. Thought I’d pay big sis a visit when I’m done here.”

~~~

As for Anthony and Adele, they’d decided to stop down at La Tutus while on break. Just as always, their duet was coming along swimmingly. It was as if no time had passed at all since they were on A-Troupe together that first time.

“For you.” Said Anthony, handing his girlfriend her green-tea.

“Such a gentleman.” She smiled.

He took the seat opposite her and began nibbling at his muffin as they talked. Going form ideas for tehri duet, to plans for the weekend.

It had been a bit since they went on a proper date and Anthony was thinking of what they could do.  

“So, I have to ask.” Adele prompted after a minute.

“Hm?”

“We’re going to Nationals now, and I know you know that Joanne Chapaman won their own Regionals. Meaning we’ll be going against them.”

He’d known this was coming.

Ever since he had found out the news that his old studio would be at Njatioanls too, it was only a matter of time before Adele brought it up.

Taking in a breath, he answered her.

“I’ll be alright.”

She gave him a look, telling him she didn’t believe him for a second.

“Really.” He chuckled. His hand fell over her own, lacing the fingers together. “On the runup to Regionals, I let all this get to my head, and that didn’t do anyone any good. Especially for myself. But now you know about it, and you’re also back on the team. Which, I’m very happy about by the way.”

That made her giggle a bit.

“It will be awkward seeing him there.” He didn’t need to ay the name. She knew who he was talking about. “But all I want to focus on is dancing.”

It wasn’t him being defensive like before. Acting as if everything was fine, even though eh was spiralling.

Anthony truly meant this. Nationals was something he was really looking forward to A new goal to work towards and to show his growth.

People like Theo were just a small obstacle in his way of that.

~~~

With her being new to the studio, Tate wasn’t as close to her teammates as they were with each-other. She would’ve been fine working with any of them for the duet, but in the end she decided to go with Jonah. This was also his first competition with A-Troupe and it could be a way for them to show their skill, as-well as grow close.

That was her mindset when asking him. But now…

Their choreography was good. She herself focused more on acro, which was similar to Jonah’s own style. And if it was anyone else, she had no doubt she’d get the duet.

But Jonah was just a bit…bossy. She understood him being excited about this audition and she was glad he was driven. But it was like her ideas for it meant nothing to him.

“And I think after I lift you, we can do a bit of tumbling.” To show his point, he flipped backwards a few times

Tate nodded at the impressive move, but it wasn’t working with her.

“I’m not sure about that.” She said, hands on hips. “It seems bit choppy coming straight after the lift.”

“Nah, I think its perfect.” He ignored her critique.

Just like every other time.

Rolling her eyes, Tate focused on the two people strolling in.

She gave a wave in greeting to Winnie and Olive. She’d already known the two were working together and she hoped their duet was going better than this one.

“Yeah, I think that’s good.” Jonah same over next to her. “I’m gonna grab a drink. Want anything?” He turned his head to the other two, possibly just noticing the. “Or you?”

Tate told him she was good, while Olive asked for a peach refresher.

The three girls watched him go, and Tate let her body slump as soon as she was certain he was gone.

“So, you two working well together?” Asked Winnie.

The acro dancer just let out a tired laugh.

“Oh, come on. I’m sure he’s not that bad.” Olive joined in.

“If you call working with an egomaniac ‘good’, then sure.”

“He’s probably just nervous. You know how some people get.” Olive suggested, holding out a hand. “Plus, he is a bit cute”

Tate grimaced as she heard this, and Winnie’s eyes grew.

“If you say so.” Tate mumbled.

As she got back to her stretching, the other two couldn’t help where their minds went.

They left her on her own and headed off out the door.

“I’m noticing a bit of tension there.” Said Winnie.

“Yep, but what kind?” Olive winked.

The taller girl smirked down at her.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

~~~

Since Nick was working on the duets, Emily had been sorting out some of the paperwork for Nationals, as-well as the studio. Such as their hotel, team list, and some recreational teams wanting to rent Studio-1 for a day or two.

She’d gone down to La Tutus to get a coffee and scone. But when she came back to her office, she found someone in her seat.

“Uh no, get up!” She said immediately.

Her brother playfully rolled his eyes but knew to listen to her. He stood off to the side of her desk, while Emily took her seat back.

“Hello to you too, Em.” He chuckled.

“Hey, Matty.” She replied, setting her coffee down.

Now she let herself relax and focus on the fact that he was there. He gave her a small hug, and she returned it. He was in the small pool of people that she allowed do such a thing to her.

She really was happy to see him. With her moving out a few years ago and then leaving the city entirely for her and Michelle’s tour, she didn’t see her younger brother as often as before.

So, when he told her he was auditioning for Lost and Found a few days ago, she was more certain of their decision to let Clara and Isaac rent the space.

“Nice office.” He told her, head moving around the space.

“Thanks. Almost forgot you’ve barely been in the studio before.”

“Like I’ve said, dance is your and Riley’s thing.” He grinned at her, resting back on the wooden furniture with his hands.

“Oh, I’m aware. Dad was so happy when you never developed an interest. Finally, he had someone to help him out with his business.”

“Just for me to turn out to be just as interested in the arts as you two. Only in a different area.” He chuckled.

She laughed along with him, ignoring the swirling in her stomach

Despite his attitude about it, Emily couldn’t miss the strain his smile held too.

Just like her own whenever it came to talking about their father…

Not wanting to think about that, she straightened herself up.

“So, when are the auditions anyway?”

~~~

It was the end of the day, and Nick was ready to see what the dancers had prepared. Emily and Michelle stood with him as they’d also be announcing who got the solos along with the duet.

First up was Izzy and Asher. Izzy had been improving in other styles aside from hip-hop since their Internationals win and was keeping up well with Asher’s own contemporary moves as they danced to “Believe”. It wasn’t as impressive as some of the others they were yet to see. But it was a good duet nonetheless.

Ariana and Jason brought them an acro/contemporary dance to “Go for Broke. The fact they hadn’t danced this close together before was a bit obvious throughout the routine, but their choreography was strong.

As always, Anthony and Adele’s chemistry poured outwards and they worked together. Nick had known the two would impress him, but it was nice seeing them dance together again. “Back for You” also fitted the dance perfectly.

In contrast to this, Winnie and Olive acro/jazz routine to “Could Have Been Me” was fun and funky. There was a lot of energy in it and the two worked well together.

Tate and Jonah on the other hand…They couldn’t have been further apart. Nick knew both of them were new and still getting used to be being on the team, but he hoped they could pull it together better in the future.

And last was Grace and Ebby. Like Winnie and Olive’s, their piece was centred around jazz and acro. “Feeling Good” played behind them. Their chemistry was evident and Nick was happy to see how well Grace had fit back into the team. He knew she had friends here now and was glad to see how much she had grown.

Now though, it was up to him to decide which pair would be dancing for them.

Izzy watched on with the rest of their team as Nick quietly discussed their dances with his co-workers. In every other decision so far, they had been a part of it. For this, they were just in the dark as the others.

They’d hoped more than anything that they had gotten one of the solos. They didn’t know if an opportunity like this would arise again!

Their fingers were crossed hard as the three adults turned back to them. The decision was made, and Izzy didn’t know if they would like it or not.

“Alright everyone. We’ve made our choices for the solos and duet.” Michelle told them.

“Please know that you all did incredible today and I’m proud of how much effort you all put in.” Nick added on. 

“In the end, our decision for the solos though are going to be…Ariana and Izzy!”

The Dance Captain immediately began buzzing where they stood.

They had done it! They were going to be one of the solos at Nationals!

This was a childhood dream of theirs and it was finally coming true!

Ariana came up next to them, they two squeezing each-other in excitement. Izzy was happy for the both of them really. After Ariana chose to not audition at first because of what happened to Jett, she deserved this.

“And for the duet we have…Adele and Anthony.” Michelle finished off.

The blonde detached from their side at that, ready to congratulate her best-friend.

Izzy cheered for the pair too. They knew the two and what it took to get them through to the small-group round.

And as for that…

“Remember, if you weren’t picked for any dances so far, the small group has not been assigned yet. So, practice hard and get ready for when those auditions happen.” Michelle reminded them.

Tate sighed as the team split apart, those that were chosen going down to La Tutus to grab some food and drink to celebrate.

She had known when doing the duet that’s he wasn’t going to be picked. But it hurt even more now that she hadn’t gotten a solo either.

“Tough break.” Winnie said as she came over to her. “We’ll just have to give it our all for the small group then.”

“Yeah.” Tate breathed. “At-least there’s still a chance to be featured.”

She’d left her old studio in the hopes of being part of a competitive team. She couldn’t afford to not be on that stage.

“Maybe you could work with Jonah again for it?” olive suggested.

“Please no!” Tate replied. “Today was difficult enough. I want to actually be picked for the small group and you could tell we have no chemistry.”

“Oh, uh…really?”

At her tone of voice, Tate turned to the two girls.

Their eyes were passing back and forth, as if they were having a silent conversation.

What was going on here?

“Are you two good?” She asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Winnie started. “It’s just, we thought the tension between you two may have been...”

“Something more?” Olive finished.

It took a few seconds for Tate to understand what they were getting at.

And when she did, she burst out laughing.

Her teammates jumped a little at this, now as confused as she had just been.

“You two though I liked Jonah or something?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” Winnie held up her hands. “You know how some dancers get when there is tension between them.”

“Yeah well…”

She took a step forward, resting a hand on the red-head’s shoulder.

“I’m afraid I’m a bit too much of a lesbian for that.”

Chapter Text

There was only one more chance for those that hadn’t been chosen yet to be in a featured routine. Thankfully, Izzy, Ariana, Adlee and Anthony weren’t auditioning for the small group as they were happy with what they already had and didn’t want to take this opportunity away from the others.

They had been told that the three Studio-Heads would be coming together to make their decision. Asher was just hoping it would be his group in the end that they did pick. He’d been the male solo at Regionals. And now might not even be in any dances aside from the finale’s routine.

Even then, he could be made an alternate and wouldn’t even get to do that dance.

A lot was riding on this and all of them knew it. He worked hard with Winnie as they tried to come up with some unison sections. She was in the same mindset as him. Which Asher was more than glad for.

He could see that every one of the people in the room were gunning to be chosen. But he had fate that his group would be the one that came out on top.

And it wasn’t only him.

While Asher and Winnie were fighting to keep up their reputations as the Regionals soloists, Olive was here to show she shouldn’t have been cut from the trio. Ebby did a fantastic job in her spot, but she wasn’t going to let the rug be pulled from beneath her once again.

Plus, the fact that Ebby was in the small group going against them was giving her a bit of extra fire.

She bumped her first with Tate as they finished off some tumbling. Each of them could tell the new girl wanted this as much as the rest of them.

They all had a stake in this, and it would be a fight to see.

~~~

“I'm sorry if I seem uninterested
Or I'm not listenin' or I'm indifferent
Truly, I ain't got no business here
But since my friends are here
I just came to kick it”

Izzy sighed as they stumbled out of the turn they were attempting to pull off. With the rest of the team audition for the small group, they thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on their solo.

So many ideas were rushing through their mind, and they wanted to put them all into their dance. But they were finding a bit difficult to do so.

Guess the nerves are getting to me.

This would be their first time doing a solo at a competition this important. They just wanted it to be…perfect.

After thinking it over for a moment, it seemed like a good idea to get a second opinion on what they had come up with so far. Walking over to the bench, they picked up their phone and began scrolling through their contact.

It didn’t take long to find him.

Izzy – Hey Heath. Are you free to come to the studio right now? I could need…

They backspaced all of it.

Oh…right. He’s not here…

Next they tapped on Pete’s name but realised the same soon enough too.

Then it happened with Jett, and Izzy wasn’t sure if it was best for her to come back to the studio just yet with her arm.

Taking in a breath, they sat down for a moment.

It had hurt more than anything when each of them left The Next Step. Those three had become some of their closest friends. Their own little family.

But it hadn’t really sunk in until then that they wouldn’t all be dancing together on a competitive team once again….

Things were different now. They may still be Dance Captain and have one of the Nationals solos, but there wasn’t many that they could celebrate that with.

What they could do was just try working on the solo themselves.

And so, wiping their eyes, they got back to it.

~~~

Winnie’s group now had the base for their routine finished off. There were still some things to work on, but she was starting to feel confident about their chances.

They’d decided to take a 15-minute break, leading her to go down to La Tutus to get an iced coffee. Her phone was in her other hand, texting away to a few of her old friends that didn’t go to the studio anymore.

Even if some of them had not made the Nationals team the previous year, she was glad that the old B-Troupe’s group chat was still thriving. She was responding to a pic Ethan had sent of himself and Gui on a walk, when Hayley came over.

“Um, hey Winnie.” She gave a small wave.

“Oh, hi Hayley. How are you?” She asked her ex-teammate.

She was a bit surprised Hayley had stuck around as long as she had. She’d been with her on B-Troupe since the Nationals auditions last year and the younger girl had auditioned for A-Troupe many times now.

But she’d give her points for her resilience.

Michelle came through the door not long after. The blonde gave Winnie a short nod and the A-Trouper threw back a tight-lipped smile.

“I’m good. Was just wondering if you knew any good sites or such to check for small competitions? We haven’t gone to many this year since the…Niall situation, and I think B-Troupe are getting a bit bored.”

Their Studio-Head must have heard this and began to walk over.

Winnie had no doubt that Emily most likely had a notebook of competitions she was hoping to send the dancers to. But, if she could help, she wanted to.

“Oh yeah sure! I think I have a-“

She began rummaging through her bag and soon found the small notebook she kept in there. It wasn’t used much anymore, as she was no longer on B-Troupe, but she liked to keep it around as a memento.

“Here we are.” She said, handing it to Hayley. “There are a few lists in there of companies that hold small competitions throughout the year, as-well at the info to contact them. There should also still be a good amount of space to add some more if you find any.”

“Wow! This is perfect.” Hayley beamed at her. “Thank you so much, Winnie.”

“No problem.” The red-head returned her beaming expression.

The younger dancer turned on her heel, most likely ready to start reading.

Michelle, who had just been standing ether, gave Winnie another nod of acknowledgement.  Winnie found this a bit odd but didn’t say anything.

She had a small group rehearsal to get back to anyway.

~~~

As for the other small group, they’d also gone on break. Grace wasn’t sure as to where Jason and Jonah had gone, but she’d grabbed a drink with Ebby and the two were now talking to Pascale in one of the booths.

“I’m telling you! Right down the middle.”

She was reciting a story from her morning ballet class.

Apparently one of the guys there ripped his leggings during it. Grace didn’t know whether to feel more sorry for him or for Pascale having to witness that.

It got a good laugh out of Ebby though, who was shaking the phone as she covered her mouth with her other hand.

“Oh, I feel bad for laughing.” She wheezed.

“Trust me, all of u already did.” Pascale giggled.

Another voice called out in the background. Pascale turned to look at it and pouted when she picked up on what the other person was saying.

“Je suis désolée, guys. I have to head back to class.”

“Awe, that sucks.” Ebby pouts. “Talk later then?”

“See you then!”

Pascale logged off, waving goodbye to btoh. Grace had barely noticed it though.

All her focus was on Ebby.

She’d been seeing more signs of it lately but hadn’t known how to bring it up. Heck, she wasn’t even sure if Ebby was…

Well, maybe it was time to do something about it.

~~~

“Come on Ethan. Pick up.” Izzy grunted.

They tapped their fingers to their arm as the phone rang. Soon it went to voicemail once again. Breathing out their nose, they put the phone away.

Did none of their friends have time to talk to them anymore?

On the other side of the room, Winnie could see something was going on with her Dance Captain. She was meant to be going over the final touches of the small group, but she was sure the others would understand her stepping out for just a second.

Patting down her leggings, she went over.

“Why so glum, chum?” The red head asked, taking a seat beside her friend at the bench.

Izzy shot her a tired smile. Their fingers were tapping at their legs, thinking about what to say.

“It’s just…I knew Pete and |Heath leaving the team was going to hurt and things would be different. Then there’s also the fact Jett broke her arm, so she’s not here either. But all of that is really only starting to sink in now.”

They curled up into a ball, wrapping their arms around their legs.

At that moment, they didn’t remind Winnie of the Dance Captain they now were. No, for just a second, Izzy was just like when they first joined the studio. A 15 year old who was full of energy in a small (…er) package.

They had been the youngest in the team, and despite how much they had grown, and was now one of the oldest, Winnie would never forget how much B-Troupe had looked out for them during their own runup to Nationals.

It made the older girl feel a surge of protection over them like back then. Without thinking, she brought them in close by the shoulder.

Izzy jolted a little at this, btu sunk into it softly.

“Want to watch over our small group to take your mind off it?”

She knew she couldn’t make this issue go away. Even if Izzy’s friends weren’t…dead, they could still grieve the place they had in the studio and their life. Attempting to speed that up or just rip them out of that process entirely wouldn’t do them any good.

It was the same for her when her old friends left too.

But she could give Izzy an outlet.

They were still for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

And so, she took their hand and brought them over to the others.

Not forcefully. In a way that let the speckled dancer go at their own pace, while Winnie nudged them on.

With both their focus on the small group, neither of them noticed the older woman watching the exchange from her office.

Emily let out a hum as she saw the slight uplift in Izzy’s mood. She made sure to save this memory in her mind for later.

~~~

Off in Studio-1, the other group were going over their own routine a few last times before they’d have to head to the auditions.

Grace was feeling a bit confident that they would win, but part of her mind still kept going back to her earlier exchange with Pascale.

If what she thought was happening is actually happening, she wanted to help her friend any ways he could. But she couldn’t start on that if Ebby didn’t confirm a few things first.

Luckily for her, there was someone in that room that may be able to help her.

After a few more minutes, Anthony came into the room, telling them that the auditions were about to start. They all began heading their way at that.

Along the short journey, Grace stopped Jason for a moment.

“Hey, um…Jason. Can I ask you something?”

“Oh, sure?” He crossed his arms, looking perplexed.

The two of them didn’t talk often. Sure, they were friends, but they had closer ones on the team than one-another.

“I was just wondering how you knew you were…”

Grace came at a blank at that.

It only just occurred to her that she didn’t think Jason had ever labelled himself. Maybe he was just one of those people that didn’t use them.

“Pan?” He eventually prompted, answering her inner question.

“Uh, yeah, that.” She wrung her hands together.

“Why? Do you…”

His eyes trailed over to where Ebby and Jonah were walking ahead of that. Leaning down a little, he lowered his voice.

“Do you think you might be, or?”

“No! This uh…this isn’t about me. It’s about a friend.”

“Oh, in that case.”

He straightened back up, voice returning to regular. Grace’s eyes widened at the change in his tone.

“I can’t really help you with that. If this person you’re thinking of is queer, then they’ll tell you in their own time. There’s not much you can do about that. Though…I guess you could leave small hints that you’d support them.”

He shrugged and continued on his way behind the others.

Grace thought about what he said, eyes on his frame.

She guessed it was true. She couldn’t and shouldn’t force Ebby to come out to her if she did have a crush on Pascale, like she thought she did.

But she could let her know she would support her.

~~~

“Off with your head
Dance til you're dead
Heads will roll
Heads will roll
Heads will roll
On the floor”

As for said girl, she was a nervous wreck as she watched Emily, Michelle and Nick discuss which routine was better.

Ebby’s group had done more of an acro-based routine to “Heads Will Roll”, which showed off their best tricks and was sure to impress the judges.

But she knew the others’ one, while being less dynamic and more focused on contemporary/jazz, had a stronger storyline. To the song “Creep”.

It was anybody’s game.

Ebby just hoped it was one she would win. She had been made the alternate at Internationals due to Remy. She couldn’t afford to not be in any featured dances.

Or…even worse…

She noted Michelle nodding at what her girlfriend was saying. At that, the three adults turned back to the dancers.

“Both of the dances were incredible, and we can tell you put a lot of effort and rive into each one.” The blonde started.

“But the one we’ve chosen will be…” Emily said. “Winnie, Olive, Asher and Tate.”

The 4 of them began to celebrate loudly at this news…

…But Ebby’s ears rang, and the wind was taken off her.

She hadn’t been chosen…The other dancers had bested her once again, and now…she wasn’t going to be in any of the select dances for Regionals…

She looked at the other three, each having a different reaction.

Jonah was only there for a few seconds before storming off.

Grace appeared dejected, and lowered her gaze to the wooden floor she’d just been performing on.

And Jason…

His face was like how Ebby imagined her own to be as the two locked eyes.

Both of them knew what this meant.

Not only would the only chance of dancing at Regionals be the final routine now.

But there was a good chance they would be the alternates…

Chapter Text

“Now that I'm alone again
I'm starting to remember
Hanging on myself
Here on my own
I've see that I never been better”

Izzy was just going through the motions. Attempting to pull this solo together.

The choreography was good. They’d spent almost every minute to spare working on it. But they also knew it was lacklustre.

Their brain wouldn’t let them focus on anything else but the people who weren’t even there. As the Dance Captain of A-Troupe, Izzy was aware they needed to do better and tried to each day.

And yet…it was like trying to snatch onto water.

That attention on their dancing fell from them, and so did their body.

Stumbling once again, they let themself fall down. A deep sigh escaped from their mouth. Speckled eyes travelled over the cold, bare ceiling of Studio-1.

You can’t keep going on like this. You’re supposed to be better!

Izzy’s head knew that. So did the notes they’d left daily in the Dance Captain Diary.

Even still, their heart hid deep in their chest. Somehow interrupting their work at every corner but also sinking further away from being part of it.

~~~

Just like only a couple weeks ago, Emily came back to her office after getting some scones and coffee, to find it already occupied.

“Do I need to restrain you from taking my chair or something?” She said.

Matty smirked as she said this but got up from where he was sitting.

“I’m just getting comfortable.”

“Yeah, well, there’s other seats in here for that.”

He took one of the colourful ones she pointed at and sat back down.

As his older sister began picking at her food, he was on the other side of the desk. His eyes trailed around the small office and the studio behind them, where the small group were now going through their dance for Regionals.

“How’s Lost and Found going then?” Emily asked. “Congrats again for getting in by the way. Not that I had any doubts.”

“Thank, Em.” He smiled.

Even if he did enjoy annoying her, it was nice having her approval.

“I’m really liking it so far. It helps that everyone else there is new, and some of them are pretty cool. I’ve been talking to this one called Leif.”

“They also a singer?” Emily prompted.

“Nah” Matty shook his head. “More into electric string instruments than singing, but they’re really good at it. Clara and Isaac have given us the first two weeks to come up with a song. Not anything magnificent, I think that would be asking too much. But we’ve decided to work together on it.”

“Well, it’s good to know you’re keeping out of trouble.”

“And when have I ever done such a thing.” Matty smirked..

“May I bring up your high school years?”

“Pish posh.” He waved her off. “I’m 18 now and graduated. I’ll admit I could be…a-lot back then. But you know I’ve matured.”

Emily made a noise of agreement, but also weariness.

“I’d like to say you have, and I will if you manage to not hook-up with most of the guys there.” She teased.

“That was only when I was like…16!”

“And thank whoever up there for that.”

Matty bit the inside of his cheek and turned his attention back to the practice that was going on in the other room.

Like he has said, he has no interest in dance. Sure, he’d go to competitions to support his ssiters, but if they hadn’t been doing it, he’d never have gone near the art.

He could commemorate the dancers at The Next Step for their hard-work though. As a singer and songwriter, he spelt hours himself harnessing his craft. Especially now that he had less than a week at this point to finish his and Leif’s song. He could tell this team wanted that trophy and would do whatever it took to get it.

Especially Asher.

His eyes went to him naturally. Matty had known him for years at this point. He was aware that the two spent so much time together when they were younger just because their older siblings were dating. But he never minded the younger boy’s company. Even if…

“Asher still doesn’t like me though.”

Emily furrowed her eyebrows at that, probably confused by where that came from. She herself looked through the window and saw what he was watching. She let out an “ah” and tore off a piece of her scone.

“I wouldn’t take it personally. It’s only been this year that he seems to be making friends. It’s actually been…kind of nice seeing him not comparing himself much to Eldon anymore.”

“Hm, if that’s the case than I’m even more certain he doesn’t like me. Seeing as he looked like he wanted to die when I told him I was joining Lost and Found.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic.” Emily rolled her eyes.

Matty just gave her a look at that, not saying anything.

“Okay, I heard it too.”

~~~

He still couldn’t believe it! There were 4 featured dances at Nationals, and he hadn’t been chosen for any of them!

Jonah had thought that him finally making it onto A-Troupe would mean things were looking up and he’d be recognised for his talents. All he’d gotten so far is pushed into the likely pool of people for alternates.

Him? An alternate? It was absurd!

He’d been putting so many hours into The Next Step for years now, just for them to put him on A-Troupe and then not let him dance.

Things had been anything but up so far this year, and there had to be something he could do about that.

He finished off a butterfly jump as someone joined him in the space of Studio-1.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know anyone was using the space.” Said Grace.

Jonah gave her a once over.

Her fingers were joined together, some of which she was currently cracking. For someone that had duped the studio last year, she wasn’t doing that good at acting like she wasn’t a nervous wreck at the moment.

“It’s fine.” He mumbled.

He was thinking about what move he could brush up on next, when she kept talking.

“Things have been a bit crazy lately, huh?”

“I suppose.”

That was a bit of an understatement. But he wasn’t going to let her see how much he had been thinking about the small group.

“Do you…think they’ll be deciding the alternates soon?”

“Oh, maybe? I’m not too worried about it though?”

See? He was completely calm.

Grace would have no clue how much he was dreading when they would pick who wouldn’t be dancing at Nationals.

“Yeah, yeah! Me neither!” She giggled.

A mask of confidence washed over her face as she said this.

If Jonah wasn’t worried that he would be an alternate, then she couldn’t let him know that she was!

Time to tap into a little of her old self.

“Oh really?” He smirked, crossing his arms.

“Yep. I’m certain I won’t be picked. They’ll definitely want me in that final dance. Can’t say the same for you though.”

“You sound so sure about it for someone so wrong.” He retorted.

“I’m not wrong though.” She said, copying his stance.

“I see. Willing to make that a bet then?”

Grace had to think his over for a moment.

She was already in so deep in this façade, she might as-well go the full way. Plus, she doubted anything Jonah wanted could be that bad.

“Fine then.” She replied. “If I’m not made an alternate, but you are, then you…”

She thought about what she wanted for a minute.

Suddenly a bright idea popped into her mind. Rummaging in the bag she still had slung over her elbow; she produced a skirt.

“You have to wear this skirt, along with some others for a full month at the studio. And I get to choose each one.”

“Fine then.” Jonah agreed, much faster than she expected. “But, if you’re made and alternate and I’m not, which will happen. Then you…have to take over all the classes I’m meant to teach B and J-Troupe for the next month.”

“Deal!” Grace said, holding out a hand.

Jonah took it, that smirk still on his face, and gave it a firm shake.

“Have fun dealing with those monsters when you lose.”  

~~~

Izzy had just been writing away in the Dance Captain Diary, when they felt the familiar presence rushing over to them.

“Hey Izzy!” Said Winnie. “Are you busy at the moment?”

“Uh…no. Not really.”

They quickly put the diary back into their satchel.

While Kenzie had had the mindset of everyone being able to write in the diary, Emily was less than happy to learn about this when she became Studio-Head again.

Some of the appeal of the Dance Captain Diary was how it was a secret. You had to earn your way into being a part of it. But now people wanted to share every bit of knowledge they had held in it.

And by what both Izzy and Emily had seen when they told her about this, half of it was…less than helpful.

Izzy agreed with the older woman. They lived for mysteries, and as much as they looked up to Kenzie and her time as Dance Captain, this felt like a foolish decision on her part. (Though, they guessed she wasn’t DC when she made it.)

This lead to A-Troupe now all being convinced that the diary was destroyed. Thanks to Emily throwing a random green journal into the trash compactor outside one day when a few of them were helping her clean up around the studio. She had acted like she hadn’t known it was the diary and gave a 10/10 performance in Izzy’s opinion of being distraught over what she had done.

Thankfully Winnie didn’t think anything of them shoving it away.

Instead, she took a hold of their wrist and propped them up on their feet. Izzy jolted a bit at this, not expecting it. They barely got anytime to think before the older girl was dragging them out of La Tutus. (They made sure to grab their iced-coffee though.)

“Where are we going?” They yelped.

“You’ll see!”

Well…they did say they liked mysteries.

On the other side of the room that the two had just left, Asher was thanking the barista for his iced-tea.

Turning around, he had to hold in a groan as he saw who was behind him.

“Oh, hey Asher.” Said Matty. “Didn’t know you’d be here.”

“You mean the café that the dancers always go to?”

The older boy chuckled at this, as if Asher was joking.

He stopped when he saw the monotone face he tended to wear.

“Right, uh…what have you been up to?” He scratched the back of his neck.

“I’ve been rehearsing our small group for Regionals. Which I need to get back to. So, if you don’t mind.”

Without giving Matty more than a second to process this, he headed on his way. Ignoring how said boy’s eyes stayed on him.

What did he want?

The two of their families hadn’t been interlocked for year now. There was no point of them talking.

All Asher could come up with was it being some way for Matty to mock him. Just like guys like him did when he was still in school.

He wasn’t going to entertain that ever again.

~~~

Off at the local mall, Jason and Ebby had been walking around for a few hours. They had no classes left at the studio that day, so they’d decided to just hang-out and go to their usual clothes stores.

That was what Ebby had had in mind anyway. But she couldn’t help noticing that Jason wasn’t all too into it.

The usually calm and bubbly boy’s face had held a frown for almost the entire time there. As if he was contemplating something.

It was when they were grabbing some food in the court that she asked.

“Okay, you’ve been looking like you stepped on a piece of gum for the past several hours. What’s up?”

Jason gazed up at her from where he was stirring around his ramen.

“Hm, oh it’s…uh, nothing.”

“Yeah, like I’d believe that.” She playfully rolled her eyes. “Spill.”

The taller boy let out a breath, dropping his fork into his bowl.

He knew he wasn’t going to get out of this.

“I’m just thinking about the small group.”

Ah. That made sense.

It wasn’t as if it had been far from Ebby’s mind either.

“I know I’m still kind of new to the studio. But, in my first coemption here I got to do the duet, and with the guy I had been crushing on since…honestly as soon as I met him.”

There was a small smile on Jason face now as he spoke

He’d never told Ebby how long he had liked Heath before they go together. As she thought about it, she believed what he was saying. It was hard not to notice how he looked at Heath back then.

“But now he’s off on Broadway, as part of a highly successful musical, and I’m here, not in any dances, and probably an alternate.”

“Oh Jason…”

She wrapped a hand around one of his, giving it a squeeze.

While she hadn’t been feeling the best about potentially being an alternate, she hadn’t known he’d been feeling like this.

He always seemed so content in his life and who he was.

But she should know by now not to trust who people appeared to be on the surface.

“I just can’t help feeling like I’m failing him.”

“You’re not.” Ebby assured him. “I know it hurts not being picked for any of the featured dances. But we still made A-Troupe again, right? There was so many people fighting for a spot on the Nationals team, and we made the top 12.”

“I…hadn’t thought of it like that.”

He brought a few of the noodles into his mouth. Ebby wasn’t sure if the face he made was him thinking or a grimace.

“Yeah, I guess…I did do that.”

His voice was still almost as sullen as before. But Ebby could catch a hint of pride shining through.

They had done it. They had made the Nationals team. Not many people in the studio or even the city could say that.

And you know what? Ebby was proud of herself for it!           

“Thanks, Ebby.” He said, voice a bit croaky.

“It’s never a problem.” She gave him another squeeze. “Now, how about you finish off your food and we go out to shop some more to cheer you up. I saw you eyeing some fo that fabric earlier at one of the windows.”

Jason nodded at this. However, she was now certain his jaw was tight.

“I will thank this country for having friends like you in it. But your Canadians’ ramen is a disgrace!”

~~~

“Winnie! Where are we going?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Not particularly. You know I like being prepared before going somewhere I don’t know!” Izzy reminded her.

“Oh, right. Well, here we are anyway.”

She released her hold over Izzy’s eyes. The younger dancer blinked a few times as the light hit their eyes, before looking around.

They were in what looked to be an alleyway. The space was a bit wide and covered with a stone roof. It was mostly grey, but Izzy caught on to some graffiti on the walls, showing off several characters, as-well as the stalls along them.

“Where are we?” They asked.

“Oh, this is kind of a nerdy market that I found a few weeks ago. They sell a lot of stickers, fanart, and even some custom figures in some halls. I found it online when I was looking for more Legions of Lazers merch.

“Plus, I found some-“

Izzy had spotted it before she could finish.

“Is that The Magnus Archives?” They shrieked, pointing at one of the stalls.

“Uh huh.” Winnie nodded.

She knew how much they were into the podfic. Barely a day of rehearsal could go by before that them and Heath weren’t ranting to each-other about a new episode. And Winnie was also aware your best bet at getting anything to represent your love for it was custom merch.  

Izzy turned back to her sharply. Winnie could see something in their eyes that hadn’t been there in a while.

Excitement.

“You’ve been stressing a lot lately over being Dance Captain and with the others leaving. And I thought I could help take your mind off it.”

The speckled person bit their lip as they heard this.

Winnie let out a small gasp as she found their arms around her.

“Thanks, Winnie.”

~~~

The rest of the small group had gone home at this point, but Asher had wanted to stay back to go over it a few more times.

For whatever reason, he had been a bit unsettled all day. He wasn’t sure as to why that was. Not much had happened outside of his rehearsal and that talk with Matty.

He wouldn’t have been surprised if that boy was the reason his mood had soured.

Fricking Star. Always ruining things.

To make matters worse, he noticed the blonde strolling in as he was turning. He tried to pay him no attention. But as he moved, his presence got too big to act as if it wasn’t there.

“Did I do something?” Matty blurted out.

Asher frowned at him, not sure what he meant.

“Huh?”

“You’ve just been acting like you’re annoyed with me since I got here.”

The younger boy let out a huff.

He didn’t have time for this.

“It’s nothing, Matthew.”

“Uh huh. And that’s why you’ve hated me since we were young.” Matty crossed his arms at him.

Asher’s frown deepened. What was he on about?

“I don’t hate you, Matty.”

Sure, he was a bit loud and annoying. Asher didn’t hate him though.

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“What do you want from me?” Asher held up his arms to his sides. “We’re not even going to the same classes here.”

“I want to know why you’ve been cold to me for so long.”

Matty took a step closer to him, going to the middle of Studio-A.

Asher had to look up at him at this. He was tall enough himself. And yet, the older boy was still almost a foot above him.

He didn’t answer this question. Choosing to keep his mouth shut. Like he had gotten used to at home.

“Is it cause I’m gay or something?”

“What?” Asher scoffed at him. “You know I don’t agree with that bullshit that my family speaks.”

“You sure? Cause you started acting like this as soon as we went to middle school. I know we weren’t the closest when we were forced to hang-out, but you got even worse after I came out back then.”

He really had not time for this.

He was supposed to be working on his dance for Regionals. Not talking to this boy that he had barely seen since Emily and Eldon split up!

Instead of responding, he went over to the cubbies. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Just like earlier, he left Matty behind him.

Not another word was spoken.

Matty might think it’s because of a disdain Asher had towards him.

Truthfully…

…Asher wasn’t sure how to answer his question.

~~~

The morning after, all of A-Troupe were gathered in Studio-A. They had thought today would just be another one of recreational classes and the select dancers going over their Regionals routines.

But the Studio-Heads had asked them all to come in for a meeting.

Ebby had a strong feeling she knew what it was about and had tried to quiet the voices in her head as she waited for the adults to join them. Her eyes caught Jason’s for a moment, who appeared just as shaken up as her.

They were torn apart as they heard the sound of Emily’s heels.

“Dancers! Gather around.” She instructed.

The yellow-clad girl shook herself off and prepared to listen.

“As you all know, the featured dances for Regionals have been decided by now.” Emily started off.

“Thank you all so much for the work we’ve seen you put into them so far.” Michelle continued. “But another big decision needs to be made.”

“In order to have our best chance at Nationals, we need to have our alternates. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how bad things can get without them.”

The older women stopped at that for a moment. All of them knew what she was thinking off. Ebby even caught the way her hand went over her knee for a split second.

It was Michelle’s’ hands on her arm that broke her out of it.

“Right, um…So, auditions for them will be held tomorrow. Here we have the list of those that we wish to see take part in that.”

Ebby gulped as she braced herself.

Here it comes.

“So, we have…” Michelle read out. “Jonah, Grace, Jason, and…”

Ebby was barely able to pass her friend a sign of sympathy before the last name was spoken.

“Tate.”

Chapter Text

In Studio-A, four of the dancers were stretching. None of them wanted to be there. And yet, this might be the most important thing they could do for the entire run-up to Nationals.

When she had been chosen for the small group, Tate had been beyond happy. This was her first competition with The Next Step, and she was going to be in one of the featured dancers. And now there was a chance she wouldn’t be in the final one. It was as if they pulled the rug from under her.

Each of them were doing things differently. Jonah was evidently frustrated as he got ready. Grace appeared determined, but still nervous. And Jason…she couldn’t really read him.

She herself had her leg in a hold beside her head when Michelle walked in. Immediately they all stopped what they were doing and paid attention to her.

Unlike the pink jackets and white pantsuits that she tended to wear, she was now in a tank-top and leggings of a similar palette. Tate was certain this meant she was going to be dancing herself that day.

“Okay guys. Thank you all for coming in today. I’m aware this isn’t easy and you probably don’t want to be here. But having alternates is important and I just hope you give it your all today.” She said.

Tate dug her nails into her palms, nerves setting in. She caught Jonah also clenching his jaw.

“So, how we’re going to decide this is that I’m going to show you a piece of choreography that I’ve come up with. You’ll get an hour to learn it. And then I’ll watch and make my decision from there.”

Okay, choreography. Tate was good at that. And she’d been going here for a few weeks now, so she was getting a sense of Michelle’s own style.

With the others, they got into position behind the older woman as she started to move.

It was fast. Quite fast. As in, Tate didn’t dare blink in case she missed anything.

Only after what couldn’t have been more than 20 seconds, it was over.

“And that’s that.” Michelle turned back to them. “Like I said, I’m giving you an hour to go over this. Make the most of it. And…good luck.”

By the time she was back in her office, Tate had already started going over what she’d shown them.

For a moment, the quartet watched each-other, sizing one-another up.

This was a competition now. And Tate intended to be on-top.

~~~

Off in Studio-A, Anthony and Adele had booked the room for their duet.

Adele was still so excited about the fact they had gotten it. She would’ve been fine just being on A-Troupe again. But getting to do the Nationals duet, with her boyfriend no less, made it all that better.

Rolling out her shoulders, she listened on as Anthony talked to her.

“This is going to be great! I can feel it.” He beamed at her.

“Me too.” She returned it, happy eh was feeling the same. “How do you want to go about this? Any ideas?”

“Yes actually>” Her boyfriend held up a finger and went over to his bag.

To no surprise, he came back up with yellow notebook. Adele giggled as he flipped through the pages, going to the last one he had written in.

“I was thinking we could start on opposite sides of the room, and then come to the middle by dancing?”

“Oh yeah. I like that.”

Truthfully, she’d love any idea he came up with. But this one was quite good.

She wasn’t sure he thought the same though. Anthony had a frown on his face and was running a finger down his page.

“Actually, maybe not. I’m not really…feeling it anymore.”

“Oh, okay.” Adele shrugged.

Anthony’s eyes darted around his notebook, looking for something.

“Oh wait! I was thinking we could start with me lifting you?” He suggested.

“Want to hold me already?” Adele teased. “But, yeah. I’d be up for-

“Hm, no. I don’t really like that one either now.”

“Ouch.” She mumbled. “Uh, alright then.”

That was…odd. Right?

Her eyebrows furrowed as she waited for Anthony to read out another idea.

“What about opening up with both of us on the floor?”

“That could work. Do you want-“

“Nah, it’s not that good. Oh, what if-“

And so it went.

Each time that Anthony found something that Adele was willing to try out, he’d second guess it and move on to something else.

It got to a point that she was up for anything if it meant they’d get to work.

Adele wasn’t sure as to what was going on with her partner. All she knew was that this was going to be a long rehearsal.

~~~

“Do you think this looks good?”

Ariana was working on her solo in Studio-B.

Barely anyone really used the space anymore. Studio A and 1 were just better quality. To the point it was mostly just a storage space now.

But Ariana had wanted to rehearse and nowhere else was free.

“I think you could hold your leg a bit longer in the extension, but aside from that, I like it.” Said Jett.

She’d naturally been happy for her girlfriend when she heard the news that she’d gotten one of the solos. So, when Ariana told her she was going to start choreographing it, she’d wanted to tag along.

Ariana did as she suggested and let it go with a content sigh.

“Yeah, that’s much better. And what if-“

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by “The Search”.

Jett took her phone out of her pocket, throwing her girlfriend an apologetic smile. The blonde watched on as she talked to whoever was on the other end for a few minutes, head cocked to the side like a puppy.

Once it was done, Jett clicked the button to hang-up.

“Sorry, babe. I have to go. That was my mom. She got called in to help at the hospital and she couldn’t find someone that quick to look after Bobby.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Ariana was a bit disappointed that she had to leave. She knew how important Jett’s family was to her though.

“Say hi to Bobby for me.” She waved after her.

Jett chuckled and blew a kiss back to her.

~~~

Those at the auditions had only another 40 minutes left.

Jason had been stressing about it almost since he first heard them call out his name. This is exactly what he had been ranting to Ebby about. And it had come true. Well…at-least he knew she was safe from this.

As he went to go through it once again, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Sighing, he brought it out.

Heath is requesting a facetime.

He stared at the notification for almost a minute. Not answering.

In the end, he pressed the decline button and got back to work.

He hadn’t told his boyfriend about what was going on. While his talk with Ebby had soothed him at the time, it hadn’t stopped his worries from coming true.

He’d call Heath back once everything was over.

Jason couldn’t deal with disappointing him before then. 

~~~

By this point, Adele could feel her eyes start to droop as she stood there. The two of them had barely done any more than a few turns. And somehow, she felt more tired now than she had after any full day of rehearsals.

“No, not that. Maybe we could-“

Okay, this was getting too much. She needed to end this.

“Anthony, please stop!” She yelped.        

The boy jumped a little at the sudden shout.

Okay, did not mean to be that loud.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“What do you mean?” He replied, playing innocent.

“You’ve been second guessing every idea you’ve come up with.”

Needing to sit down, she went over to one of the benches at the side. She took a seat on it and patted the spot next to her.

Anthony twiddled his thumbs and came over.

“I’m sorry.” He started.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. But why are you doing it?”

“It’s just…” he scratched the back of his neck.

Instead of the expression of distress he had been displaying since they got here, a small smile washed over his face.

“Our Internationals duet was amazing. It was one of my favourite dances I think I’ve ever done.”

“Mine too.”

She took his hand in hers. They squeezed together, the two thinking back to that day in Studio-A.

It wasn’t just the duet that got them into the semi-finals. It had also been the start of their relationship.

“And when I found out that you made A-Troupe again and that we were going to be doing the duet, I just wanted to make this one just as incredible.”

Oh, now she got it.

Trust her boyfriend to be stressing about something like that.

Adele bit her gum affectionately, coming closer.

He really is an adorable mess.

“Anthony.” She traced a thumb over the back of his hand, making him shiver slightly. “You don’t need to worry. It will be just as good as back then. Maybe even better

“I’m certain of that. I mean...it’s us. If I’m doing this with you, I know anything we create will wow those judges.”

A blush washed over Anthony’s face, while his lips stretched out wide. Fingers dug into fingers, passing the love they felt for each-other to their partner.

“But we won’t be able to do that if we don’t actually get anything done.” She reiterated.

“Hm, you’re right.” He chuckled.

“Aren’t I always?” She smirked.

Leaning forward, she gave him a peck on the lips. Anthony kissed her back after she pulled away, this one lasting a little longer.

The two of them just gazed at each-other for a minute. Thankful for the other being in their life.

A lot had changed since Internationals. Instead of being scared of it this time, Adele was ready for it. And she couldn’t wait to see how Nationals would be.

“If you’re still finding it a bit hard to decide what ideas you like though, how about we get a second pair of eyes? I’m sure Emily and Michelle know someone that could help.”

Anthony nodded at this after thinking about it for a moment.

“Sounds good to me.”

~~~

The auditions were coming up soon.

Each of them now knew the choreography and were confident they could show it off to Michelle. That still did nothing to settle them.

Tate was currently sat down, trying to catch er breath. Jason was in a similar state, the taller boy only a couple feet away from her.

“Nervous?” She couldn’t help but ask. Jason gave her a look at this, making her hold up her hands. “Not trying to psyche you out. I’m the same.”

“Oh right. Then yeah.” He breathed.

Tate didn’t talk to him often, but she did note the change in his usual demeanour that day. He tended to hold himself a lot higher, (he kind of had to with his height), and was energetic with anyone.

It was a bit odd seeing him like this.

She shook her head as she thought about it.

“You shouldn’t be.” She told him. “I know he doesn’t go here anymore, but I started watching this studio at competitions since Noah was on the team. But I just ended up really liking the routines and kept at it. So, I saw your duet with Heath at Regionals. And I loved it!”

“Oh wait, really?” He smiled.

“I think part of that is because it was obviously queer.” She tilted her head. “But yeah, your chemistry and energy was insane.”

“Well, so was your duet for the team.” He told her. “I knew you’d be on the team after I saw your solo.”

“Awe, thanks man.” She gave his arm a light punch.

The two laughed together a little.

They needed the feeling after the stress of the past hour.

It was cut short unfortunately.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tate caught Jonah and Grace stop as Michelle strolled back into the room.

She stood before them, hands on her hips.

“Let’s get to it.”.

~~~

Back in Studio-B, Ariana had been going over her routine for a little while now and was thinking of taking a break.

As she was contemplating stopping down at La Tutus, her girlfriend came back around the corner. Ariana was surprised to see her. Until she caught sight of the boy following behind his older sister.

“Hey there.” Said the blonde, unable to hold in her giddiness.

“Hi.” Jett winked. “Bobby here wanted to come in and see your solo.”

“Oh really?” She directed this at the young boy.

Since her and Jett started dating, she’d been over at her house quite often. Resulting in her spending a fair amount of time with her little brother.

She was the youngest person in her own family, and it felt nice being kind of like an older sister to him.

“Uh huh. I like seeing you flip.” Bobby nodded happily.

“In that case.”

“Did I catch your attention?
You look like you lost your breath, huh
When I circle the room
You an owl, you gon' twist your head”

The sounds of “Looking At Me” eventually faded out of the room. Ariana’s hand rested on the floor as she tried to catch her breath. Jett and Bobby clapped hard for her, the older girl letting out a few “woohs”.

“That looked fun!” Bobby said.

“It is, but also very tiring.” Ariana panted.

“And yet you make it look effortless.”

Araina was a bit startled as Jett kissed her. But she was quick to return in. She could feel the smirk on her girlfriend’s skin as it pressed against her.

“Ew” Bobby yelped.

“Yeah Jett.” Ariana pulled away teasingly. “I’m all sweaty.”

“Yeah yeah.” Jett waved her off.

“I want to do that by the way.” The young boy interrupted.

The two of them went silent for a second, not sure how to respond to that.

“Sorry bud, but she’s taken.” Jett rested her hand on her brother’s shoulder.

“Ew, no! Not kiss Ari! I want to do all the flips like her.”

Ah. That made more sense.

“It took me a long time to do that. So, maybe in a few years.” Ariana told him.

“But I could start training, right?” He looked up at Jett.

She gazed over to her girlfriend, eyes a bit wide at this revelation.

Jett had never thought Bobby would want to take up dance himself. She knew he liked coming along to some of her rehearsals and competition. But she wasn’t aware as to how much it actually interested him.

A sense of pride welled up in her chest. She reached down and ruffled his black bowl of hair.

“You’d have to ask mom first. But I’m sure Nick, Emily and Michelle would be happy to have a new member at baby ballet.”

~~~

In Studio-A, the four A-Troupers stood in a line. Some of them were holding their breath, while others were cracking their fingers.

They’d done all they could do. None of them had messed up their audition. Which just meant they had no idea who would be chosen.

Joining Michelle by now was Emily and Nick. The other woman had her clipboard in hand, which most likely contained their choices and reasoning. Tate didn’t even want to think about what they said.

“You all did incredible today.” Michelle said. “Even if you are picked, you should feel proud about how quickly you learned and perfected the choreo.”

“In the end, we have to make a choice though.” Nick chimed in. “And those will be…”

It was as if there was a phone that was getting a million notifications in Tate’s chest. She was tempted to fan at it to clam it down.

Michelle’s eyes passed among them. The younger girl almost shied away as they landed on her.

This is it! They’ve chosen you! We’re done…

“Grace and Jonah.”