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.
East tried pinching herself awake from the nightmare before her, but she knew this wasn't a terrible dream. Lucien really was an Absolute Dance judge and now, The Next Step's chances at winning Internationals were slipping away before the final round even started.
"You cannot be here," Miss Kate angrily informed Lucien. "You need to leave right now!"
"Fine. I'm gonna go check out my judge's table," Lucien smugly said as he headed off the stage, leaving the A-Troupers and their studio head in much frustration.
"Rehearse. Use the time," Miss Kate advised everyone as she hurried to the wings. "I'll be right back."
. . .
A miracle hit The Next Step right in time. A video was sent to Giselle by, shockingly, Daniel of all people which showed one of Lucien's infamous speeches about taking down The Next Step. With the video proof, Miss Kate was able to convince the Internationals board to take Lucien off the judge's board and have him removed from the premises. Now with Lucien gone, the A-Troupers were able to go ahead and focus their full attention on performing their routine to the best of their potential.
After going through much rehearsal, The Next Step's A-Troupers were scattered on their prop platform which was circus themed, while the dancers were dressed in their matching themed costumes. East's costume was a yellow dress styled identically to the rest of the girls. The curtains of the Internationals stage rose as Empire filled the room and the A-Troupers began the start of the routine. The concept of their routine was that everyone was puppets while West was the puppeteer, controlling them all. This was probably East's favorite routine, especially because her brother was the key aspect of it because he really deserved it.
The dancers eventually got off of their prop and onto the stage where they continued their choreography. Honestly, as East danced, she felt like she was on top of the world like this was a dream. It was a dream of hers since she started at The Next Step, yet that was what she always thought it would be — a dream. But now, East was living her dream and making it a reality. She was dancing on the Internationals stage, having the time of her life with her friends and her brother. She proved over and over again that she was a great dancer and she was good enough to be called an A-Trouper and to dance on the Internationals stage. She wouldn't want to trade this moment for anything else.
As the dance came to a close, East and her teammates made their way onto the prop platform before they froze in their positions, while West froze in his position center stage. The audience went wild, responding with cheers, applauds, and a standing ovation. The dancers got off the platform and went up to the front of the stage. Standing in a line, hand-in-hand, they took their bows. East's smile failed to leave as she and her teammates waved to the audience before heading into the wings. Hopefully, their best was enough to beat Sweden.
