Your smile - The Next Step

doubts all around

Attending rehearsals the next few days after the competition just put Harper in a bad mood. Of course it was fine not to place in a competition, it happened all the time, but she couldn't help but feel like she let everyone down. Kate, Noah, the entire studio. It was all her fault.

She sat in squeezed alone as J Troupe class was cancelled but Michelle was at rehearsals and they had to wait for each other to get a ride home. Harper was still angry with Michelle. She had completely snapped at her and didn't even have the decency to apologise. Sure, they both said things in the spur of the moment and they had argued in the past, but never as badly as this.

She absent-mindedly swirled the vibrant juice in her cup and watched it hypnotically, she felt like diving in and drowning in there. She didn't feel like drinking any more of it as Michelle ad recommended it because it was apparently Eldon's favourite, but it made her want to vomit. Out of the corner of her eye, Harper noticed a figure take the seat opposite her so she glanced up to see Eldon. She hadn't spoken to him before and the only time she'd ever really seen him was when herself and Noah were rehearsing in the studio so she had no idea why he was sitting with her. He looked really stressed about something as his knee bounced up and down rapidly and his head was in his hands as though something was playing on his mind.

"Is something wrong?" She asked timidly placing her drink down on the table. The blonde boy snapped his head up as though he hadn't even realised she was sitting there making Harper jump a little, but then Eldon just sighed. He seemed really defeated.

"Yeah but I won't bother you with my personal drama, you probably have enough to worry about." He said dismissively but Harper could tell he was in distress and she couldn't just sit there and watch him beat himself up about whatever was going on.

"I don't mind." She told him softly with a smile so Eldon decided to explain to the twelve year old sat before him what was going on.

"I just feel like a lousy boyfriend. I mean, I liked Emily for so long but now that I'm actually dating her I just don't think we connect." He told her as he rubbed his temples. Harper was a little shocked as she'd heard from Noah, and pretty much everyone else at the studio, about his severe obsession with Emily. He continues with a sigh, "but now I feel like I have a stronger connection with Michelle, like everything I felt for Emily was just some stupid crush from when we were kids."

"So you're dating Emily, but you like my sister?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Harper almost felt guilty for giving Michelle such a hard time about liking Eldon. Of course it was still wrong as she was going to act on her feelings while he was in a relationship, but it turned out that he didn't even care about his relationship.

"Well I don't know her that well, but Emily seems like a...passionate person?" Harper guessed as she tried to find the right word to describe her judging on what she'd heard. Eldon chuckled a little and nodded in agreement. "And I don't think it's fair on her if you're together but you don't have the same feelings as she does? You also deserve to be with someone who makes you really happy."

"So you think I should break up with Emily?"

"I'm not saying you definitely should, but it's not fair on her or you if you're not both one hundred percent invested in the relationship and clearly you're not." She paused after that being pleasantly surprised at her advice, she didn't really know if it would work but it was the best she could come up with. A thought popped into her mind about how defensive Emily could be so she quickly added, "but go about it delicately. You don't wanna break her heart either."

"You give pretty good relationship advice for a twelve year old." He noticed her smile a little, but it didn't seem very sincere. "So what's up with you? Looking pretty glum for someone drinking a peach-grape juice."

"I'm fine although I am regretting getting this juice it's probably the most nauseating thing I've ever had." She said making Eldon gasp in offence. Clearly it was his personal favourite.

"I'm going to look past the disrespect to the greatest juice in squeezed for minute, but I can tell something's wrong." As he looked at her face he could tell she was harbouring some deep feelings. She had the same 'upset-face' as Michelle with the slightly pouted bottom lip and the glossy eyes.

"I just feel like I let everyone down after losing at that duet competition." She confessed and even just saying it out loud felt like weights lifted off her shoulders. She didn't really like to cause a fuss by talking to everyone about her problems, but it made her feel better already. "I can't even look at Noah in rehearsals without feeling guilty and every time Miss Kate talks to me all I can think of is how I disappointed her."

"Harper, there's always gonna be a time in your life when you don't come in first place, or you don't do as well at something as you thought you would. That's no reason to beat yourself up. From what Kate told all of A Troupe, she was more proud than she ever had been of a J Troupe number at a competition." It made Harper feel a little better that Kate wasn't just pretending not to be disappointed. At first she believed it was an act so herself and Noah wouldn't feel guilty, but hearing that she told the whole of A Troupe how proud she was of them made her feel a million times better. "I saw your duet as well and it was pretty insane for someone so young, I don't think I could have done a piece that difficult when I was in J Troupe."

"Thanks, you're not so bad at giving advice yourself." She complimented him with a chuckle. This was probably the nicest that anyone in A Troupe had been to her and she couldn't have been more grateful to Eldon for helping her feel a little better.

"Just don't give up and keep believing in yourself, we all do." He said before grabbing his juice and heading out. Harper was still feeling a little down, but after everything he'd just said to her it was impossible not to be slightly uplifted. She noticed as she watched Eldon leave that Noah had come in and he took the same seat that was just vacated.

"Why were you talking to Eldon?" He inquired curiously as he glanced over at Harper noticing that she looked a little happier than she had for the past few days.

"We just gave each other a little advice, and it surprisingly helped." She admitted and he looked impressed. People often overlooked Eldon as he, similarly to Noah, was often quite goofy and immature but clearly there was more to him than they thought. "Oh never let him give you advice on juices though, try that." She told him in reference to the juice she had abandoned. Noah sipped it and instantly gagged as he spat it back into the cup and threw it into the trashcan.

"I think that is the most disgusting drink in existence." He commented dramatically after washing it down with some water. Harper chuckled at his reaction to the juice, but just seeing Noah brought back all her feelings of self-doubt and disappointment. He noticed her expression fall and knew he had to do something to make her feel better, "Harper you know nobody blamed you for us losing right? I mean, we were both in that duet."

"I know, I'm just disappointed."

"Well soon you'll feel better, especially by going to see your all time favourite musical Wicked!" Harper could have screamed. She loved Wicked and she hadn't seen it at the theatre since she was seven because it was always sold or they'd have to go and watch something else because everyone was sick of see singing 'Defying Gravity' around the house.

"Are you serious?" She asked just the check he wasn't messing with her. When he nodded Harper leapt out of her chair and threw her arms around him. "That's amazing, Noah you're the best friend I could ask for!"

"So are you excited?"

"Yes are you kidding how could I not be excited it's Wicked! Thank you so much for this." She honestly didn't thin she'd ever have another friend quite like Noah. He seemed to always be there for her when she needed him and there he was again to save the day.

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a/n:  okay but noah taking her to her fav show to make her feel better🥺 i cannot cope get yourself a guy like him. but i hope everyone enjoyed, i really wanted this book to show her relationships with the earlier characters because they basically formed who she is in the first book so hopefully that's starting to come across now! thank you so much for reading :)