Her Sister's Boyfriend

32

Not proof read.

James's POV:

I held Riley's hand tightly as we walked back over towards the team. Sweden were now doing their duet on stage and from what I could see, it was supposedly really good and most definitely a beautiful dance but I'm pretty sure mine and Ri's is going to be performed so much more better than theirs. 

"Um, why are you in Thalia and Eldon's duet costumes?" Steph asks us both, eyebrow raised and arms crossed over her chest with her shoulders raised for whatever reason. She's not even the one whose going on stage so she really shouldn't be that stressed out right now. I look down at Riley and she squeezes my hand lightly but doesn't exactly look at me as she, instead, looks at Miss Kate.

"James and I have a duet, remember?" she tells them simply. Michelle begins to say something, accusing her of still being pregnant but stumbles over her words as Ri glares at her hard.

"I'm what? Huh? James and I have a duet and it's much better than any of yours combined so we are going to perform it-"

"You're an alternate though," Emily suddenly chimes in. She looks at me and rolls her eyes, folding her arms as if she could even dance right now. I don't see the point in her being mad at us because she did cheat herself anyways by kissing Michelle which I found out by West. She probably wasn't even intending on telling me but at least Riley and I were. We knew we would have to say something and we were going to but got caught before we could even establish anything official. We broke up. we're not together anymore so there's no point in her walking around and begging for sympathy when she did wrong herself. "Kate, you can't let them perform after everything they've done to ruin the team!" she complains.

"Okay, seriously? Are you kidding me right now?" Thalia comments, now also making her view points on this entire situation clear. 

"She's pregnant. She's going to dance and then end up killing her baby and then she'll start blaming it on everyone else the way she always does and make herself the victim. I'll be the one put to blame-"

"Okay, how does that even make any sense at all?" I say, unlinking my hand with Ri's and instead placing one on her back and the other on her right shoulder.

"Exactly. It's my child, not yours. And I never ever put you to blame," Riley sighs. "Look, you can put any combination of two dancers together and tell them to perform an Internationals wining duet but I can guarantee you that mine and James's will no doubt come out on top and deep down, I know that each and every one of you know that."

Sweden's dance was slowly coming to the end as their dance moves began to soften and the music was fading. Ri looks up at me and shakes her head, biting her lip and I notice how tears were in her eyes as well. I guess it's not easy for her just as much as it isn't for me or for Emily. All we want to do is show everyone that we're serious about each other, that we're crazy about each other without having a fight or an argument about it. Why can't they just see how in love we are the way other people do?

"Why don't we have a vote then?" Giselle suggests. I sigh angrily at the same time as Riley does.

"A vote about what?! James and I have a perfect duet already choreographed. What are you voting for? No one else has a duet and we do. You all want to win internationals, don't you?" A few people nod at Ri's question as she lets out a small shaky breath. "Then let us perform. There's nothing to vote against."

"Ri, you're pregnant though?" Cierra says although it comes out more as a question.

"No," she breathes. "I'm not." She shakes her head and places a hand over her stomach but before she can even get the chance to elaborate, Emily points fingers and immediately jumps to the quickest conclusion she could find.

"So you lied?"

"No-"

"She didn't lie," I cut off. "She got an abortion and you know why? It's because-"

"James," she whispers, shaking her head at me. I look down at her as a tear rolls down her cheek. "Don't." I lick my bottom lip. "There's no point in-"

"There is a point, Ri." I look back up to face the team. "She got an abortion not only because she wasn't ready for it but because she knew this would happen. She knew you'd have it out for her. All of you. Emily, Steph, Michelle. Especially you," I point at my ex-girlfriend. "She got an abortion because she didn't feel ready. Not only to be a mother but because she wouldn't have been ready to face you. To face your petty disapprovals and disagreements. She thought about you as much as she thought about us three and by that I mean Riley, me and our baby. Did you hear that? She thought her own baby would be better off not living because of the extreme guilt she'd feel as your sister. And she is your sister. You can't call a relation off because it's never going to work." I hesitate as Sweden's dance finish and there's a few comments said about the duet with cheers from the crowd. "The point isn't about whether what we did was right or wrong. The point is that we have a duet. That's all. It's nothing too major. Just a duet that could give us the title of Internationals champions, so let us go on there and do it," I say. I exchange a few looks with everyone including Thalia who was still sat there, scrunching up her face at certain moments because of the pain although I'm guessing it wasn't too bad. And then I look at Miss Kate.

"It's your decision," she tells us. I look down at Riley at the same time as we're called on stage and then without even bothering to say another word, she clasps her hand with mine, a look of inevitable frustration across her face and then she nods at me before we both go on stage and get into our places. I don't know what everyone on A-Troupe is thinking right now, nor do I know what Ri's thinking or feeling. But what I do know is that we have got to make this dance count. Even if things with Emily aren't quite resolved right now, we just have to perform this the best way we can. We have come way too far, including with the drama, for it all to mean nothing.