Time To Reconnect

1.

Riley

"Em, how many times do I have to say that I'm not coming back for it" I said to my sister as I sat in my living room that morning, I heard her sigh over the phone before I knew he usual plea would be coming soon
"Come on Riles, do you not think that you'll regret not coming in the long run?" She asked but I shook my head

Don't get me wrong, A-Troupe was one of the best parts of my life but sometimes.. Things from the past need to stay in the past
Without A-Troupe, I would have never accomplished all I had but also without A-Troupe I may not have had to struggle with the things I've struggled with 

Through all the competitions, I struggled with keeping myself a float, I took any loss, any poor score out on myself physically and mentally
Then we had the drama, whether it be The Next Step fighting with another studio or it be all the Drama with my relationship with James

When I moved away that was it, I scored a line through it all and I was not going back

"come on Riley, they are our family" Emily whispered making me sigh
I looked over at the coffee table to see one of the few photo's I had with the entire team after regionals.. It felt like a lifetime ago
We aren't those kids anymore

"I'm sorry Emily" i said but before she could object, I ended the call heading over to turn to pick up the photo

Everything with A-Troupe happened so fast, it's almost as if it never happened. Like in the blink of an eye it was all over with
We are the same teenagers in this photo. Things got toxic, things got complicated
To a degree that none of us started with 

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I knew that today all that would be over social media would be everyone meeting up. Now I thought long and hard about going, I really did.. To the point I almost convinced myself too but knowing what I was like back then
I wasn't prepared to fall back into that hole

"Good morning Riley, how are you today?" Josh asked as I walked into the staff room to make myself coffee
"Hey, how was the showcase last night?" I asked making him smile 

While distancing myself from everyone in A-Troupe, I found a small studio outside of the city. Maybe an hour away, I teach baby ballet, some Preteen classes and help with their competitive team
"They all killed it. You would have been proud" He smiled making me chuckle
"Are you ready for competition season to start again?" Josh asked as I took a seat next to him at the table

"Are any of us ever ready for that?" I laughed making him nod in agreement
Josh and I have been close ever since I moved here. He sort of took me under his wing while I didn't know anyone and since then, we've just become a known pair at the studio 

"Your Sister called by the way" He said making me roll my eyes
"Let me guess, reunion?" I asked making him nod
"How come you aren't going Riley? Wouldn't you want to see all your old friends?" He asked and I sighed

Wanting to see them wasn't the problem, it wasn't even slightly the issue

"It's not that. When I was competing, the environment was pretty dire, it pushed me over the edges at times. So when I moved out here I vowed I wouldn't go back" I said making him nod
"I get that, but you sister seemed quite hell bent on you going" He said 

"That's Em for you" I chuckled

I looked over at the clock to see that my Baby ballet class was due to start any minute, being late is still not something I would do 
that much of Riley hasn't changed 

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