To Catch Your Fall | Heathoah

39. The Piece

Noah

I've kept myself busy since yesterday evening. Anything to avoid talking to Heath again. Thankfully, we didn't assign him to the small-group dance, so there hasn't been anytime where I was forced to be near him.

If I so much as see him again, I know I'll break. I shouldn't be surprised that I messed up this friendship too. I'm pretty much a specialist at that at this point.

Why Richelle has stuck around me this long, I'll never know. On a good note though and speaking of her. She, and a few of the other members of the DanceMania team, have just arrived!

As I wrap my arms around her and pick her off the ground in a hug, it's the calmest I've felt all this week. 

"Hey! Let go of me, idiot." She giggles, whacking at my arm. With a sigh, I do so and put her back down on the wooden floor of the wings. 

"Sorry, I'm just happy to see you." I smile mournfully at her.

"I'm happy to see you two. There is so much I need to tell you about! But, maybe let me keep my lungs in tact so I can do so?" She punches my arm, and I hold it is mock pain.

"Noted. And would one of those things be a certain girl I've been hearing a lot about?" I change my lips to a smirk. 

She turns around to where I'm looking at and I can see her blush a little when both of us see Piper talking to Maya.

"Maybe." To the shock of both of us, she winks at me. Okay, this definitely must be serious!

"Well, then we have-"

When I go to continue on our little banter, some raised voices cut across the crowd. Richelle positions herself in the direction of them, a scoff escaping her by being interrupted.

Me though, I'm not at all surprised.

If we weren't in public, I think Emily or Michelle would have swung at the other. (Michelle more than Emily. She's always been more of a fighter.)

When I was told by her that her girlfriend was also coming to see us perform, I was far from trilled.

Why does she always seem to to show up when Emily is even the smallest bit of happy for once? I didn't even know she had arrived yet. 

Richelle rolls her eyes at the two, then flicks her attention back to Piper.

"Alright, I'd rather not be here when she comes over. So, I'm going to talk to Piper for a bit. Catch up later?" She rests a hand on my arm and walks back off.

Great. Now these two are even interfering in my talks with my best-friend. I'm so fucking sick of this!

Emily lets out an annoyed noise and heads over to me. 

"I seriously can't with her" She whines to me, crossing her arms. "Acting like I invited Richelle here."

"You can send her my way then if you want. Since I'm the one that did." I make idle talk, mostly focusing on the group that's on stage. She waves me off.

"No, don't bother. I'm here to get our team the win at Nationals. Not deal with the problems she still has with Richelle."

"That mean you're over it too then?" I ask, maybe a bit too hopefully.

Emily doesn't respond, acting like she has been entirely watching the performance this past minute. 

"Okay, seriously though. What is your problem with Richelle? What happened between you two?"

"Nothing happened." She mumbles, digging her nails into her arms. "We've just drifted apart over-

"Oh bullshit! you two were completely fine through the entire runup to Regionals last year. Then during the competition you started acting like she killed your mother or something.

"You two were like sisters. Ever since we were kids. She even told me that herself. So why have you-"

For some reason, that is unknown to me for a moment, this is what sets her off. Emily stomps on the spot and spins around to face me. Now, all her attention is on this conversation.

"Sisters?! That is what she fucking told you?!" She screams at me.

Then, at that moment, she finally reveals a huge piece of the puzzle that been bugging me all year."

"Tell me, Noah. How many girls have you seen kiss their own sister?!"