Your smile - The Next Step

apparently, blondes don't have more fun

Harper assumed that after the team had won regionals and she and Michelle had made up everything would go back to normal, but boy was she wrong. Miss Kate had decided to give A troupe a week off from rehearsals after their win so they could rest before diving into nationals preparations. This was fine, but life for Harper at the studio in that one week was slowly getting stranger and stranger.

Noah had been off with her since the week had started. He wasn't rude to her by any standards, he would just ramble a lot more than usual and he often made up weird excuses to avoid her. When she had asked him to go to the mall with her on the Tuesday night because they didn't have any dance classes, he said he couldn't because he ate too much of his Nona's pie. Harper knew this had to be a lie because his Nona only made that pie for family gatherings and the last one of those was just after Christmas the previous year. Something just wasn't adding up.

Along with all the Noah drama, there was another big surprise in store for Harper. She entered the studio on a Saturday morning for J troupe's ten o'clock ballet class but noticed that Gabby and Noah were talking to someone she didn't recognise. As she managed to get a closer look, Harper noticed that the person was a small blonde girl around her age. With a slightly confused frown, she made her way over.

"Oh hey Harper!" Gabby greeted her cheerfully as Noah instantly muttered something about needing to speak to Chad before rushing off. Harper's eyes followed him sadly. She had no idea what she could have done to upset him but clearly there was something wrong. "This is Richelle, she's new to J troupe." These words snapped her back into the conversation as she looked at the new girl.

"I'm Harper, it's nice to meet you." She smiled offering a small wave. Harper was trying to be as friendly as possible, but it was difficult when the new girl looked so intimidating. Despite the fact that she was on the shorter side, Richelle had a confident stance and unwavering eyes that made her feel like she was worth less than a piece of gum on the sidewalk.

"Richelle." The girl replied sharply as she held a hand out for Harper to shake. She wasn't sure she'd ever met someone so intense. Reluctantly, she shook her hand but Richelle's grip was so tight that it actually managed to make Harper's hand turn white for a brief moment. Without another word, the new girl strutted off to her bag putting her hoodie away and leaving Harper alone with Gabby.

"Did I say something to her that I don't know about?" The brunette opposite her shrugged with a pitiful smile before she also went to remove her warm ups as class was about to begin. Harper briefly glanced back to Noah. It was in times like these that she would rely on him for help, but it appeared that he had no problem at all with Richelle. They were chatting away as though they'd known each other for years. Harper instantly felt something that she'd never felt before, but couldn't quite place it.

"Okay J troupe, take your places on the barre please." Kate called as she entered the room and everyone filed into their places. Harper moved to her spot beside Noah but Richelle had already filled it. The shorter blonde looked back and sent Harper a sickly sweet smile that she knew could not have been genuine, so she took the place beside Chad instead. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a hassle in the middle of class.

As Kate guided them through their ballet class, Harper continued to glance over at the barre in front and couldn't fight the jealousy that brewed inside her. She didn't know why she was jealous, Noah was allowed to have other friends. She convinced herself that it was only because Richelle had been so rude but something deep down told her it was more than that.

"Alright good job everyone! Now remember your afternoon classes are cancelled because we're having the party for A troupe so I'll see you all later." Kate dismissed them before walking briskly back to her office. An excited buzz filled the room as everyone began to chatter about the party later. It was to celebrate the big win at regionals but being honest, Harper didn't really feel like celebrating. It was strange how her mood could deflate so quickly in the space of an hour, but she hadn't felt so alone at the studio since she first got there. Noah was avoiding her at all costs and the new girl already had some sort of vendetta against her.

She walked over to her cubby alone, too exasperated to even try talking to Noah, and began to pack away her things. Her mom was already in the parking lot with Michelle in the car who had just gone to the mall with her. Some sense of relief washed over Harper as she approached the car. It was nice having somewhere to go knowing that no one would ignore her or be unkind.

"Hey Harps, are you excited for the party later?" Michelle asked from the front of the car as Harper sunk down in her seat and played with the strap of her bag attentively so she could try and take her mind off things.

"Yeah super excited." She lied through her teeth as she avoided Michelle's eye contact through the rear-view mirror. The older blonde frowned a little at her sister's distant attitude and exchanged a concerned look with their mother but decided to try and ignore it. Harper didn't always enjoy venting her feelings and Michelle knew that if she pushed her into talking about what was on her mind, there was a good chance she'd only make things worse.

"What dress are you gonna wear?" Michelle tried again desperately hoping that Harper would engage in the conversation rather than mope in the backseat. Her green eyes flickered up and Michelle could see how sad she looked, but Harper smiled a little as she went on to answer.

"Maybe the purple one?" She suggested and Michelle nodded eagerly with a bright beam.

"Definitely, you'll look great!" The rest of the car ride was pretty much silent despite a few words exchanged between Michelle and their mom. As soon as the quiet consumed them, all her despondent feelings returned and she couldn't seem to focus on anything else.

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a/n: i felt bad for leaving you for so long so here's another chapter :D. i hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you thought! also would anyone like to know the original name i thought of before i chose harper? ik it's random i was just thinking about it earlier and was like man it would've been crazy if i went with that name instead.

anyway, i think i'm too emotionally invested in harper at this point bc i genuinely can't read noah x oc books anymore bc it feels like he's cheating on her 😭 someone send help! but i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it'll be the last of season 1 ;) and thank you so much for reading!! :)