Wrong Time

Chapter Two: Returning

|James |

"The girls are due back today aren't they?" West asked as we all sat in Studio A. It's been a year since Riley and Emily took a break, Miss Kate made it known that their position was still here for when they were ready to come back
Our two alternates stood in for them while they were gone, but something tells me one of those alternates are going to be harder to put back in their place then the other
Our two alternates are Hunter and Beth. 
Hunter won't have any problem taking a back step, Beth seems to think she was filling in Riley's spot. So lord knows how that is going to go down.

"They are supposed to be, but I wouldn't blame them if they weren't. Their Mum was the one who introduced them to The Next Step, they may not come back" Eldon suggested, I hadn't even thought about that 

I've always known this place to consist of Riley and Emily. All the way from Baby ballet, J-Troupe to A-Troupe. This last year without them has been strange
Nobody wants that to become a reality 

"Have you both spoke about the Beth incident before Riley left?" Hunter asked making me shake my head
"she didn't pick up to any of my calls but i cannot blame her. She made it clear that it was over, considering the situation I wasn't going to make that worse for her" I explained 

Beth will always be my biggest regret, I don't think Riley will ever forgive me for it

"I'm glad that at least one of you came back. Just let Emily know this place will always be a home for her" I heard Miss Kate say making all us look up to see her walking into Studio A with Riley by her side 
She isn't the same Riley that left, she looks exhausted like she is one step away from caving in and nobody could ever blame her for feeling like that 
Her being back here right now was a bigger step then anyone would have expected. After all she only buried her mother an month ago 

"Right guys, Regionals is only a month away at this point. We have Riley back in action but Emily is not returning" Miss Kate explained
"So I think if we have Hunter step back so that we still have a fall back for the boys. Beth if you learn Emily's parts then Riley can just slot back into her part" Miss Kate continued
"Wouldn't it make more sense to keep it how it is? Riley could just be an alternate, after all she's been gone for over a year, she might not be able to keep up anymore" Beth shrugged earning a mixture of glares and looks of disgust from other people on A-Troupe
"Last time I checked Beth, you weren't dance captain" Michelle said 
"I was just saying" She muttered

"Hey Michelle, remember that piece we were working no before I left?" Riley said earning everyone's attention
"Yeah wh-" Michelle started
"Riles you don't need to prove anything" She said but Riley shook her head looking Beth up and down before grabbing a hold of Michelle making all of us leave the floor to allow them space

I couldn't help but smile seeing Riley instantly soften the moment she started dancing with Michelle, like she no longer had a care in the world, like everything was slowly falling into place for her again 
The moment the girls finished they both irrupted in laughter and engulfed into a tight hug

"Welcome back Riley" Miss Kate smiled the duo before turning back to all of us 
"We're going to have group practice for an hour and then James and Beth I want you working on the tie breaker. It needs a lot of work, if it isn't up to par soon I'll be looking elsewhere" Miss Kate explained
"Eldon and Michelle, I want you to work on your Solo's Eldon, can you also work with Riley on the lifts you both need to do in group" Miss Kate said offering them both a smile 

--

"If you can't focus Beth, we aren't going to get anywhere" I muttered watching her scrolling through her phone again
"Focussing doesn't look good on you James, what happened to just going with the flow?" Beth asked 
"That went out the window the moment that Miss Kate wanted to take this away from us" I explained
"She won't do that" Beth laughed but honestly, Miss Kate would 

"I'm going home, we'll pick it up tomorrow or something" She said grabbing her bag walking straight out the door while I groaned loud enough that I know she would have heard, but it's Beth she wouldn't care

"Seems like only one person in your duet wants it" A voice I don't think I would ever forget said making me open my eyes to see Riley stood in the doorway with a sympathetic smile on her lips 
A smile I do not deserve
"Yeah well looks like that Duet will be handed off soon - Beth won't even practice for more then 5 minutes before going on her phone" I mumbled
"So why is that stopping you from practicing James?" Riley asked stepping forward 
"Riley, you need two people for a duet" I answered earning a nod

"And you are on a team full of girls, one of them would gladly help you. All you have to do is ask" She said making me raise a brow turning around to look at her
" Would you?" I asked making her eyes widen instantly

"I only come here to get my bag James, I didn't-" She started looking around the room for the bag 

"Please Ri, I know I don't deserve it but I always did do my best when we were dancing" I said offering her a hopeful look, she looked down for a second before looking over at me

"She'll kill both of us if she found out" Riley mumbled
"Eh, let her take her best shot, please Ri" I asked taking a step towards her

"Just dance James, that is it?" She asked and I nodded
"Okay, I'll help" She said making me smile at her while she shook her head at me moving over to the side to get ready

This was my one shot to not completely screw this up