HEARTBURST,, The Next Step

[3.16] it's my party

❝I've never liked someone the way I like you before❞

‧₊˚✩

"If you guys don't shut up, I'm sending you to Sweden myself, second class," Maxie hissed at the two boys who'd just dropped a table, causing a loud clatter to ricochet off the walls of the studio.

Eldon and James stood like dogs with their legs between their tails, terrified of the tone of voice Maxie held with them.

To make more sense of the strange scene, for the past three hours, Maxie and Miss Kate had all of A-Troupe setting up the studios in preparation for Amanda's return to the studio. The girl had just spent the last almost six weeks in Sweden on the Internationals exchange programme, and they were finally getting her back.

After calling Giselle and Thalia over to help the boys set up the snacks table without causing it to collapse again, Maxie made her way over to where West, Riley and Ella were standing in the middle of the room, surveying the careful attention to detail Max had put into the welcome party.

"How's it looking?" She asked the three, leaning into West's side as he extended an arm out to offer her a side hug.

"Perfect, as usual," West grinned down at his girlfriend.

Riley seemed incredibly impressed with how transformed the studio looked, "Yeah, your hard work really paid off, Max."

"She made us all stay up 'till midnight last night on a zoom call planning out how the studio should look and who should set up what," Riley deadpanned, hints of tiredness prevalent, "Also didn't help when Amanda snapped the groupchat this morning saying her flight had gotten in two hours early, so Maxie forced us all into the studio at six am on the dot."

"I was up 'till three, so I don't know why everyone else is so tired," Maxie explained, full of energy, "Has anyone seen my Lucozade?"

"I just got here," Ella shrugged, "Didn't join the zoom, either. Look, I don't know this Amanda girl, do I?" She tried to reason with the cameraman's disappointed face.

"And everyone that's bumped into her this morning?" Maxie asked. She'd had to send 'actors' out to distract the returning dancer after learning of her early departure and landing, to spare them time to finish preparations.

West nodded, "She hasn't got a clue, I personally did a great performance."

"And who's she with, now?" Maxie followed up, still not at ease until she was certain the surprise was done properly.

"Cierra," Riley determined with a kind smile, turning to look her friend in the eye, "Look, Max, you've done amazingly, okay? Just... trust us to pull it off, please."

West smiled hesitantly, "I'm pretty sure I know why Maxie's stressed. Internationals is in a few days and she's convinced that..."

"If I can't pull this off, how am I supposed to pull of a win at Internationals?" She explained in a completely separate confessional, almost as if her boyfriend had somehow read her mind. "The whole team is counting on me, and not just for this party. I have to make sure things are perfect."

Without warning, Cierra burst through the doors of the studio, just in time for the last of the decor to be put into place.

"Did she fall for it?" Maxie rushed to greet her teammate, disregarding the frantic manner in which she'd entered.