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.
Piper was right. As the new solo dance captain, East did want to start her journey right, and that meant making everyone feel comfortable and in the Christmas spirit — including Piper. And what better way to spread Christmas cheer than to do a secret Santa?
The members of A-Troupe had organized a group secret Santa at the end of November and now, it was time to unveil the gifts. Everyone sat on the benches with excitement brewing from their smiles while Finn dug through the bag filled with gifts. East wondered who her secret Santa was and what they had gotten her.
Finn had begun handing the gifts to the recipients. Upon getting her gift, East wondered what was in the box wrapped in red Christmas wrapping. It was pretty light and when she shook it, there wasn't much sound. She hoped her secret Santa wasn't pulling a prank on her and got her nothing. Oh, gosh, she better not have gotten Ozzy. By the time Finn was finished handing out the gifts, everyone had a present in their arms... Well, almost everyone.
"Uhm, Finn, is there one for me?" Piper asked the blonde boy.
"Uh, let me see," Finn said. He looked through the bag and even turned it upside down to empty it, but nothing fell through. East frowned in confusion. She swore she put Piper's name in the hat. "No, there's none left."
Piper grew a dismayed look. "Oh."
"Sorry, Piper, looks like we forgot you," Amy apologized.
East knew she put Piper's name in the hat. Someone got her, she knew that, but it looks like someone forgot and wasn't going to speak up. She felt bad for Piper. She had been stressed the whole morning and East thought this secret Santa would make this better, but it seemed like it wasn't.
"Well, then, we're not gonna open our presents," East spoke up, glancing at her teammates for backup. "Right, guys?"
"Yeah," Summer agreed. Everyone held their presents on their lap, while curiosity itched their skin. They wanted to open their presents and Piper could see this.
"It's... It's fine," she sighed. "You guys can open your gifts. Don't let me stop—"
"Ah!" Richelle cut Piper off with an excited squeal upon opening her gift. This caused everyone to follow her actions and open their gifts. Excitement rang around the room, but no one noticed Piper slipping away.
. . .
A card. All East got from her secret Santa was a decorative Christmas card. It was picking at her brain and filling her with perplexity, so much so that she had been reading the message inside it for the past fifteen minutes. West had approached his sister, noticing the look on her face and he decided to see what was up.
