i felt it in my chest as she looked at me,
i knew we were bound to be together.
East North goes through the ups and downs of what it really means to be an A-Trouper, while dealing with her own drama.
（ 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 ）
（ 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!�...
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THIRD PERSON'S POV.
Once Fairy had shown the rest of the damage, she had given Piper a list of people she needed to reignite their love of dance. It took a lot of work, but with some motivation and some help from Finn, she managed to complete the list. Well, almost completed it. She had one more person to attend to.
Piper headed back to Studio 1 and, sure enough, she found East filing some documents for Miss Angela. East's heart was devoted to dance, so Piper hoped she would be able to reignite the girl's love for it.
"Hey, East!" Piper greeted upon entering the room.
"Piper?" East threw the girl a confused look. "What are you doing here? Did James buttdail you again?"
"No, I'm here for you. I need you to come to Studio A with me."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because Miss Angela will bring on the consequences and it's better to not think about what those consequences are," East explained. "Why do you need me there?"
Piper sighed and took a seat before East. "Look, I don't have a lot of time to explain," she began. "I'm trying to get everyone to come back to dance for their love and passion for it. We're all gathering in Studio A for a mini dance Christmas party, and you should be there."
"Sounds cheesy. I'll pass."
Piper frowned. It wasn't like East to give up so easily when it came to fighting for dance. She had a big heart for the art, and seeing her not care at all made Piper wonder how damaged her dance soul was. She needed to bring it back quickly.
"Alfie's going to demolish The Next Step and turn it into a hotel," Piper revealed. East's eyes widened at the news. She wasn't in the loop with all The Next Step drama, so this was big news. "I'm getting everyone in A-Troupe, and all the old A-Troupe members to join together against this plan. Are you in?"
"Old A-Troupe members? So, Richelle's gonna be there?" East asked.
"Will that convince you to come?" Piper jumped at the opportunity. East rolled her and turned her focus back on the papers in front of her. "Worth a shot. Look, the East I know would do anything to dance, no matter the consequences. She's a fighter."
"Clearly, you don't know me that well then, because this East knows what will happen if she agrees to this plan. I can't screw this thing with Miss Angela up."
"Why? Because she'll fire you? East, you're miserable."
"Maybe, but that's not it. If I make a tiny slip, Richelle's gonna get kicked out."
"Why does she punish Richelle and not you?"
The curly-haired girl shrugged. "I don't know. The woman's crazy."
"Come on, East. You know why," Piper urged.
East sighed. "I can't screw this up for Richelle. I've already hurt her enough."
"She's just as miserable as you are on B-Troupe, and you and I both know she doesn't deserve to dance on B-Troupe. You'd be saving her from a lot of misery if you helped, think about it that way."
With that being said, Piper left East with much to think about. She just hoped that she could convince East because Piper didn't know how this would work without the heart of A-Troupe.
. . .
The closer East got to the doors of Studio A, the more her heartbeat synced with the music blasting from the studio with the sound of joyous laughter. She recognized the song and it caused her to quicken her footsteps. She entered Studio A and was met with the view of A-Troupers, old and current, dancing together to Coming Home with nothing but happiness in their moves. It had been a long time since this happened in Studio A.
East was adamant to go along with Piper's plan. It had a lot of risks which all lead back to Miss Angela, but Piper was right. East was passionate about dance so if there was an obstacle in her way, she would always find or think of some way to continue to dance. She just needed to be reminded about it, and thankfully, Piper came along.
East joined her former teammates in the big dance. They weren't even trying to get in sync or focus on one specific style. They were all just dancing because they were happy to feel their love and passion for it, and were happy to be with each other. Soon enough, A-Troupe dancers always managed to get into sync with their dance moves, and an impromptu routine was created.
East was pulled out of the dance number and to the side by someone she didn't expect. Richelle held let go of her wrist, looking quite hesitant but also excited.
"You came," the blonde noted with a smile.
"Yeah." East nodded. "Sometimes the heart wants what it wants, and it really wanted to dance again."
"Then what was stopping you?"
"You," the curly-haired dancer revealed, causing Richelle to grow confused. "Miss Angela threatened to pull you out of the studio if I joined B-Troupe or did one measly dance move."
"You stopped dancing to protect me?" Richelle repeated in shock. She couldn't picture East North without dance, so this was truly a surprise. "East, you love dance."
"Yeah, but there are some things I love more."
There was a split moment where Richelle had hope lingering over the fact that maybe East was talking about her, and that mutual feeling was shared with East who had faith that maybe Richelle would finally realize that the girl who fell for her was still falling hard. Neither of them said anything as they were pulled back to the joyous celebrations.
Maybe in another life, East and Richelle would finally find the confidence to express their true love for one another.
. . .
merry christmas eve :)
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