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.
Yesterday, East was supposed to be at another qualifier, dancing her heart out with her teammates beside her. Instead, that didn't happen. And now, today during rehearsals she found herself still disheartened by the team being pulled from the qualifier. She was on the floor, Piper and Richelle beside her, but she wasn't listening to their conversation. She was still upset about not competing.
"Listen up, A-Troupe." Grabbing everyone's attention was Riley who stepped onto the dance floor, standing before the dancers. East rose from the floor as she and her teammates gathered together. "Now, I know that not all of you agreed with my decision to pull us from the last qualifier."
"Did the Geminis even end up going to the second qualifier?" Amanda asked.
"They did. And they won."
"So you were right, Riley," Piper said.
East wouldn't have agreed with that, because things could've been different if The Next Step competed in the qualifier. They could've won, but they'd never know. East decided to keep this thought to herself, knowing that there was already enough tension in the air.
"Yes. But that's in the past and we need to focus on the future which is the third qualifier," Riley explained.
"So what kind of competition are they having next qualifier?" Henry asked.
"Duets."
"How are you going to decide who gets to compete?" Michelle inquired.
"Are we gonna have to audition again?" Kai spoke up.
"Well, now that you mention that, I know all of you are tired of auditioning for the qualifier spots, so I've decided to simplify things," River informed them. "You've all voted for the top five dancers from the last set of auditions, so we're gonna go with the number one and two dancers which means Alfie and Noah will be performing the duet." Everyone applauded the two dancers. East was satisfied with the choice and hopefully, this would allow Noah to redeem himself after the first qualifier. "Now, remember only one team from this qualifier will make it to Regionals, so you absolutely have to win. Good luck."
. . .
Bopping her head to the music in her headphones, East made her way into the lounge, hoping to find someone to talk to. Fortunately for her, she found Noah who sat on the couch. His back was faced to her and a smirk grew on her as an idea popped in her head.
East tiptoed behind the couch and rose her hands above his back. Counting down in her head, East shook her hands on Noah's back. "Boo!" In response, Noah let out a shriek, his back tensing while his face grimaced. East let out a chuckle as she approached Noah's side. "Oh, man, Noah, you are so fun to scare."
