Brave

Beginning and End

|Hunter's P O V|
I shut the door and I face Eldon,
There's no going back, this is it, this is the moment I've been wanting to happen for months, I finally have the courage to tell him. I look at the floor trying to figure how to put what I'm about to say, I should just be completely honest and just put myself out there, I can end this guessing game right now.
"Eldon, please don't hurt me if this freaks you out, but... Eldon I like you... as more than just friends, and I think you like me back too, at least I hope you do. I just want to know, do you like me back Eldon?"
I stand here, my heart on the line, waiting for him to say something, anything. Eldon just stands there, silent. I feel my heart slowly start to break, about a minute has passed and Eldon is still standing there, frozen.
It's clear this was just a stupid prank on me, "I get it, sorry man." I say to Eldon and turn away, I open the door and leave the room ashamed, I can't believe Michelle did this to me, I can't believe she would be so cruel.
Things are never going to go back to normal between me and Eldon, dance is going to me the most awkward thing ever now because of Michelle.
I walk into the studio and I conveniently spot Michelle, I put my bag by the bench and I go up to her, clearly angry and hurt. There were a few other people here, Amanda, Chloe, West... but I just ignore them.
I try to keep my voice down, but I can't contain my feelings.
"Way to go Michelle. Was that your idea of a cruel joke? I don't know what I did to you that made you want to humiliate me like that, but from now on, just you stay the fuck away from me and get out of my personal life."
I grab my stuff and walk out into the hall, I can't face Eldon or Michelle in rehearsal today, it'll be too hard. I walk past Studio D, that stupid room, I keep walking, even though I hear footsteps, it's probably just Michelle, that backstabbing bit-
"Hunter, can you stop for a second and talk to me? Please?"
Is that...
I turn around and Eldon is looking at me, I don't know what to do, leave, or stay. What if this is just another stupid joke.
"Hunter, come into Studio D please, I need to talk to you." Eldon says, his blue eyes filling with waves.
I can't help but feel bad for him, but I feel betrayed too.
"Please, just trust me." Eldon's eyes linger on me for a few seconds then he walks into Studio D.
I stand out here for a second. Should I just go in? I've already made a joke out of myself, things can't get much worse. I might as well hear what he has to say.
I walk into Studio D and Eldon shuts the door.
"Look Hunter, I really do like you, I was just kind of shocked and I couldn't believe it was real, I couldn't believe you were actually saying you liked me, so I froze. Just please give me another chance to make this right."
I can tell what he's saying is real, genuine, nobody can lie that well.
"Okay." I say, not wanting to tell too much, not wanting to let any more feelings out that might leave me even more heartbroken.
Eldon walks up to me, I stand still, he gets closer and closer, invading my personal space, but in a good way.
I can feel his minty breath, I can feel him hovering over me, after what felt like a lifetime, finally he kisses me.
I feel the sparks,
I feel the hurt go away,
but I still have this lingering thought that there might be cameras or something, or this might be a part of a joke.
I push those feelings aside, determined to relax and enjoy what's happening right now. I'm kissing Eldon, Eldon is kissing me, this is my first kiss...
Eldon's hands are firmly placed on my shoulders and I have one hand on his perfectly carved face,
Eldon's lips are soft pushing and moving against mine, I feel tingles all over my body and I feel relaxed, I actually feel relaxed.
Eldon lets go of my shoulders and breaks the kiss, he smiles, a goofy, bright smile.
"I really like you." Eldon blurts out.
"I really like you too Eldon." I say back.
"We should head to rehearsal." Eldon suggests, still smiling.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." I smile back,
Eldon puts his hand on the doorknob, "Can we keep this a secret for now?" Eldon says, I quickly nod, "Yeah of course, it's no problem."
Eldon opens the door, we walk down the hallway into Studio A, we keep our distance, not wanting to be too obvious.
I make sure nobody is looking and I mouth the word sorry to Michelle, she smiles and nods.
Emily leads us into stretches, I keep thinking about that kiss, and Eldon, and just how perfect my life is at this very moment.

|Michelle's P O V|
I forgive Hunter for getting angry, I don't know what happened between them that made him angry, but I think they've made it up and hopefully are together now. I stretch out my legs, things are the way they're supposed to be right now, me and Emily are together, Hunter and Eldon are together, everything just seems to be falling into place. I look over at Eldon and he smiles at me, giving me a discreet thumbs up. I knew it, they did end up getting together. I can't wait to tell Emily later. Maybe we can go on a double date some time, it'll look like a group thing, and nobody will suspect it's a double date. Even if they do suspect, I can pretend to be on a date Eldon and Emily can pretend to be on a date with Hunter, it'll be perfect. I definitely should suggest that to them later.
We start going through our finals choreography, we're working on the group part first, then Eldon and I will work on our duet.
We go through the choreography for the next two hours, like usual.
Rehearsal ends and everyone starts to leave. I go to get my bag, I open it to put my water bottle inside, when I see a piece of folded paper and an envelope... those were not in there before.
Hesitantly I pull them out of my bag and I anxiously wait until everyone is gone to unfold the paper,

Dear Michelle,
You better quit The Next Step by tomorrow, or else this picture will be shown to everyone, and we wouldn't want that, would we? Just quit without a word about this, and your friends secret will be safe with me.

I open the envelope and I see a picture of Eldon and Hunter kissing. That must have been from earlier today...
Someone must have taken a picture of them kissing and somehow managed to get them printed out during break, probably from that stupid shop down the street. I angrily shove the pictures and the note deep into my bag. This is bad, really, really bad.
I have to quit, I have to quit The Next Step, I don't have any other choice, I can't let this monster reveal Eldon and Hunter's secret.
I look over at Miss Kate's office, I guess I should tell her I'm quitting, make it official. What should I say though? Maybe I should just say that I don't feel like dance is right for me anymore, yeah that works. I feel awful leaving the team with only ten members, Daniel just quit, and now I'm quitting as well, god I feel so guilty, but this is the right choice, the only choice.
I take a deep breathe and build up the courage to knock on Miss Kate's door.
"Hey Michelle, what's up?" Miss Kate gives me a warm smile, inviting me into her office. I take a few steps inside.
"Umm, I don't really know how to put this, but, but I don't feel as if dance is the right thing for me anymore, and I just need to move on. So I'm leaving The Next Step, I'm sorry."
My eyes start to water, I can't believe this is it, this is the end of my dance career.
"It's so sad to hear this, but I wish you well. The Next Step will always be here for you if you ever consider coming back. Thank you for telling me, you will be missed Michelle." Miss Kate gives me a goodbye hug, I walk out of her office for the last time, I take one last look and walk around Studio A. So this is it.
I bring myself to leave the studio, tears rolling down my cheeks. Who would do this to me? What did I do to make someone want me gone so badly?
I walk out of The Next Step for the last time, hurt, angry and confused.
I don't bother talking to anyone from the studio that night, not Hunter, not Eldon, not even Emily, I just need time to process this and to heal.