Whatever it Takes

Going Back

He rode silently in his Mercedes, the stereo off as music was often bland nowadays, and the streets that were once so bright; were murky. He drove along the familiar streets until he reached the place he used to call home; The Next Step. Taking in a deep breath Eldon, finally got out of the car and trudged his was into the studio. Once he arrived in studio A, he felt overwhelmed as all the memories of their dance went through him and he began to feel weak again but that alone didn't hurt him as much as seeing all his friends with love and life. Emily and Hunter had married and were expecting their first child. James and Riley were also married and had a little boy named Eldon James or EJ, with another girl on the way, and now Riley co-owned the studio with Kate. West and Thalia, were engaged and in love. Cierra, Noah and Giselle had promising dance careers by touring with this renowned company, while Max and Amanda were newlyweds. Everyone had moved on and yet he couldn't, he fell apart that day and nothing ever fixed him, but he hoped soon he would find the mastermind behind his Michelle's death but watching all of them felt like he was being stabbed. Riley noticed him once he walked in, she handed EJ to her husband and walked over and hugged him. "How are you doing"? She asked, but everyone knew the answer. From Eldons red brimmed eyes, to the messy outfit; they saw a broken man fighting. She patted him on the back and guided him to the others. They all offered hugs and condolences, as they were all here to remember the great friend they had. Eventually through the silence, Emily questioned the whereabouts of Michelle's parents as they had tried to contact them but there was no response. Eldon sighed, knowing he would have to bear even more bad news to this occasion.

"Michelle's parents, well they couldn't deal with it." Eldon explained, "her dad fell into depression and I had enrolled him in a rehab centre for his alcohol issue that developed but he committed suicide not long after." Everyone was shocked. Eldon then began to explain how her mom jetted off somewhere after they had spread Michelle's ashes in the ocean so she could be free, and no one knew where she was. They all looked at him, he had to deal with so much pain in his life yet he kept moving, but little did they know he had a goal. Miss Kate came up to him next and hugged him, she had watch him grow from a happy little boy to this man who was lost. She herself couldn't deal with Michelle's lost, it was like losing a child and she went to hide for a month. She whispered words of reassurance into his ear and she left to go talk to the others. Eldon sat in front of the memorial display they had about her, it held all three team photos and one of them together, after their duet. Tears began to form again as he quickly wiped them away, he had missed her and she had missed so much. They had a life planned and now he didn't know where it would stand. James saw his friends sunken back and went up to him, putting his arm around Eldon's shoulders.

"Hey man." James greeted, Eldon just nodded in acknowledgement. "Look I know it's been hard on you, but Michelle wouldn't want this. She would want you to be happy living life for both of you." Eldon just turned to him, his face contorted in anger.

"How would you know"? He provoked, "she's not here, she's not here to watch you guys get married and have kids. She's not here to be getting married and to have the 3 kids she wanted." Eldon growled. James put his hands up in defeat and patted his shoulder, he knew that what Eldon was feeling would be how he would feel if he lost Riley. After cooling down, Eldon continued, "Anyways, I might be able to have a life soon, I managed to get footage from that stadium from 2014 and other reports to build a case to prove someone set it up." James just smiled, he knew that Eldon thought someone did this but there was a chance that it was just some wrong set up, and he knew Eldon would have to see it for himself before he moved on.

"That's great man, look I'll see you at the station tomorrow." James stated before taking a very sleepy EJ, Riley hugged Eldon and the family left. He then walked over to his former teammates and thanked them before leaving himself, he needed to get back home and back to his life. He walked into the dim house before he greeted the framed picture of Michelle as per usual, it was them together on the stage at regionals; they were happy, they were together. He smiled gently before drinking a peach grape juice and headed back to his room, it was sparse like most of the house as it contained a bed, night stand and desk. On his night stand stood another framed photo this time of them sitting together in Hildagos, smiling. Beside it was a small bottle of her favourite perfume, he loved her scent and couldn't bear to be without it. It took him months before he bought it but once he wafted it he only broke down again. As months progressed he got used to the smell, as it was a comfort to him now instead of a memory. He splashed a bit into the pillow before getting in the shower and getting ready for another restless and lonely night. He settled into bed and began to drift clutching the pillow to the right strongly. He dreamt of her again this time, she was healthy and smiling. They were together again and this only strengthened his desire to fight for her and take away the life that took hers.