HEARTBURST,, The Next Step

[3.11] sweet spot

❝You're with me for life, now. No going back.❞

‧₊˚✩

  It had been a couple of days since Ella had made her arrival and things were going great, for the most part. Maxie had shown her around some parts of the city, whilst Riley had been spending a lot of time with her during studio hours, and a lot of time after rehearsal, too. It's not that Maxie was jealous, though she'd never admit it if she were, she just thought it was weird how close the two girls had become, especially without the involvement of herself.

  A new day called for another group rehearsal, with all thirteen dancers, bar Michelle, who was still helping her mum move down to Madison, and Amanda, who had just flown over to Sweden as per Miss Kate's request for the exchange programme. 

  As soon as the number came to an end, applause sounded from the proud studio head, "Great job, you guys!" She repeated the same four words she did after every rehearsal, almost like clockwork, "Take five, grab some water, catch your breath and we're gonna do it again, alright?"

  "Look what just came in the mail," Phoebe bounced into the room, her face a picture of excitement and childlike joy as she held a familiar green envelope in her hands, "It's from Internationals."

  Sharing the same sense of joy, Kate rushed forward to grab it from her, however, her plans were foiled as her sister quickly snatched it out of reach, giving Kate a stern look as she refused, "No, it's my turn, you opened it last time."

  "So?" Kate snapped, confused as to why Phoebe was becoming territorial over a simple letter.

  Giselle, who was standing closest to the two adults, sighed, obviously having had enough of their bickering, "Okay, I'll read it," She smiled, gently removing it from Phoebe's grasp as she slipped the envelope open and read aloud, "Any round that ends in a tie will be decided by a duet battle. So, who do you think our duet will be?"

  "Well," West smirked, taking a step forward as he began, "You know, West and I got a pretty good duet going on, so, you know, I think we can make it work," He told the group, trying his best to conceal the laughter threatening to emerge at his own joke.

  "West and you?" Giselle repeated confusedly, whilst Maxie just shook her head with a small grin, slightly amused at her boyfriend's antics.

  "West and I," The boy repeated with a smile.

  Elvita furrowed her brows as she looked over at Noah, who seemed just as confused, "West, a duet takes two people, it doesn't make sense."

  Giselle, still perplexed as to what West was trying to get at, tried to keep the group focused, "Okay, maybe West's got a point, sort of. How about you and Maxie take the duet, it'd probably come out better if your girlfriend was involved, don't you think?"

  "You know what?" West began dramatically, pointing a finger at Giselle as he did so, "You're so right, I can't believe I didn't even think of it," He broke out into a grin, placing his arm around Maxie's shoulders as she just chuckled at his nonsense behaviour.

  "I think Maxie and West will be perfect for the duet," Giselle explained with a smile, "They've been dating for a while now and their chemistry is unmatched. And although James and Riley were our duet for Nationals, their relationship was very hit and miss, and so was their routine, we can't afford to have that again."