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.
The day of the semifinals had arrived and on that morning, the members of A-Troupe were rehearsing onstage. Miss Kate stood before them with Michelle and Amanda by her side as the dancers rehearsed through their routine. East still couldn't believe that she and her teammates made it this far. At the start of Internationals, there were one hundred and sixty teams, and today, there were only four left — TNS, England, Sweden, and Italy. Honestly, she wondered if they could actually win the whole competition. But first, she had to focus on the semifinals, because TNS was going against England.
"Ready? Five, six, seven, eight," Miss Kate resumed counting the dancers down as they started their choreography again. "Hold on, stop one sec." Miss Kate began gesturing to Cierra. "Cierra, just push out. Yeah, yeah. That's a little bit better. Okay—"
"Your time is up!" The familiar voice belonging to Ella made East roll her eyes upon seeing the girl lead her team in with one of the Internationals board members.
"What?" Riley incredulously questioned, not believing a word Ella said. "No, she's just messing with us."
"No, no, no," the Internationals board member spoke up. "Your time is up. Please get off the stage."
East would've understood that their time was up, seeing as each team only got an hour to rehearse. But for the English team to just bring in one of the Internationals board members without coming to TNS first was a bit childish.
"You just don't look ready," Ella retorted as she led her team to the stage. "Do you know why?"
"Why?" An annoyed Riley questioned.
"Because you're not."
"Well, it's The Next Step's first time being at Internationals," East confidently spoke up as all eyes went on her, "and we've made it all the way to the semifinals round even with a few bumps in the road. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't your team only get through to the second round during your first time here?" While the English dancers looked either annoyed or embarrassed, the A-Troupers chuckled in amusement at their expressions, sending impressed glances toward East. East smiled nonchalantly with a shrug. "Just my opinion."
"Alright, guys," Miss Kate, though impressed at the curly-haired girl's remark, quickly spoke up, "clear the stage."
. . .
Like East said before, The Next Step had a few bumps during their time at Internationals. And right now, as the A-Troupers stood and/or sat in the Orange Blossom room, another bump occurred. West had a kebab and the results weren't pleasing.
