𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐓 𝐔𝐏 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 (𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞.)

SIX. make peace not war

THIRD PERSON'S POV.

In Studio A, the song Be Free Tonight was heard blasting through the speakers as the newest members of A-Troupe performed for the first time together. East still couldn't believe that she, a fourteen-year-old girl, made it onto A-Troupe, aka, the Internationals team. She knew there were going to be some problems, yes, but she wasn't going to let those get in the way of becoming a great dancer and proving to everyone that, despite her age, she was just as good as them.

As the fourteen dancers posed for the end of their routine, the minute the music stopped, everyone dispersed into small groups. East stood by a corner with Noah, feeling the tension in the air. East noticed that Cierra, Sam, Shantel, and Max were always sticking together. It was weird having four former Elite members on the team, but they had to come together soon.

Later in the day, A-Troupe was rehearsing a dance for Phoebe without James and Riley, because they had to be somewhere else. The tensions were still high, but it looked like Phoebe didn't notice.

"Alright, five, six, seven, eight," Phoebe counted them down and the dancers began performing the section of their choreography, while Phoebe counted counting for them,

As they finished and lined up to pose, East posed between Noah and Sam. Sure, they looked like a team, but East knew that they didn't feel like a team yet.

"This has been bothering me all of rehearsal," Cierra spoke from where she and the rest of the former Elite members stood. "Something's not right here. Clearly, there are two separate teams, we're not a family yet and there's no way we can win at Internationals like that."

"Well, what do you have in mind?" Giselle asked.

"Well, I don't know. Duets?"

"I like that," Phoebe agreed. "That is a great idea, Cierra. Okay, West, Noah, East, and Giselle, you guys pick one Elite dancer to pair up with. Okay?"

Shantel intimidated East, so that was a no. Max seemed pretty closed off, but Cierra and Sam seemed nice. Seeing that Noah was approaching Cierra, East decided to approach Sam.

"Hey, Sam, right?" East asked with a smile, although she already knew his name. This was just a way to try to not awkwardly start a conversation.

"Yeah, and you're East?" Sam inquired and East gave a nod. So far Sam seemed like a decent person, so maybe this could be fun.

. . .

Remember when East said working with Sam would be fun? Yeah, well, for the last ten minutes, 'fun' had just been sitting on the floor of Studio A in complete awkward silence.

"So..." East finally spoke, deciding to be the person to break the silence, "Sam. That's a cool name. What's it short for?"

"Uh, Samuel," Sam replied.

"Cool." After another beat of silence, East asked another question. "What does Samuel mean?"

"It means 'His name is God'. What does East mean?"

"Oh, it means... 'east'."

"Cool."

Again, silence filled the room, which annoyed East and prompted her to carry on the conversation. "Uhm, what was it like at Elite?"

"It was okay sometimes," Sam answered.

"Really? With Lucien, I can't imagine how it's okay."

The two chuckled at that and Sam continued, "You've got a point, but besides him, it was okay. I've gotta admit though, I don't miss it that much."

"How come?"

"Everyone there sometimes got so focused on bringing down The Next Step that it just became annoying and toxic, especially after Amanda left. But here, you guys don't plot or scheme; you dance because you love it. It's freeing here."

"Well, I'm glad you're starting to enjoy The Next Step," East said. "There's never a dull moment here."

"Hey, I have an idea," Sam began, gaining East's attention. "For our duet, why don't we base off the rivalry TNS and Elite had?"

"That's not such a bad idea," East agreed and the two of them stood up. "Why don't we start on each side of the room, doing completely different styles..."

"And then we come together and dance in harmony."

East and Sam shared a high-five, with the former saying, "I knew I liked you."

. . .

It didn't take long for East and Sam to choreograph a duet. They bounced ideas off of each other and had the same plan in mind. So when Phoebe came after an hour to see their duet, they were ready for her.

"You guys ready?" Phoebe asked them.

"We were born ready," Sam said and East gave a nod.

"Great. I was born surrounded by gazelles."

East and Sam shared concerned looks, but neither of them believed Phoebe and they got into position.

As the music to Open Up began, they started their dance with each of them on opposite sides of the room while facing each other. Whereas East was doing her jazz choreo, Sam did his funk choreo. The two slowly began moving to the center of the room and as East did chaînés turns and Sam a layout, they met up in the middle and went into their jazz-funk choreography. Now, as East and Sam did a little rock step, they were in sync and danced the same style. As their duet came to an end, they finished it off by doing a jump rock and posing.

East and Sam shared a high-five as they quietly panted, while Phoebe applauded for the two dancers.

"That was amazing, you guys," Phoebe complimented them. "Now you are connected with one mind." East and Sam chuckled at that. "You may go enjoy the rest of your afternoon. I'll see you tomorrow."

. . .

sorry if this was a bit dull but we finally met sam !!

please don't be a ghost reader :(
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