Would you dare to play?

Chapter 6

Chloe walked into studio A to grab her things, she was supposed to have been meeting a few of the girls at the mall and she was already really late. Baby ballet had gone over time and she had only just managed to escape. Looking up she saw something definitely out of the ordinary, West over at the ballet bars. Strange? Strange because ballet was the complete opposite to what he usually danced too. And that made it even more intriguing to watch. After a few, quite amusing, minutes Chloe placed her bag down and headed over to help. "Almost." She smiled, that soft friendly and warm smile that rarely seemed to leave her face. West glanced over at her, shocked that he was being watched. Although when he realized it was Chloe a smile spread across his face and the look of shock vanished almost at once. He watched her with admiration as she leant against the bar, watching him. "Just thought I'd give it a go.. Although I do find hip hop a lot more um what's the word.. fun?" he let out a small laugh turning himself to face her. West soon realized he was staring, although some weird force was willing him to not look away. As if the slightest blink would make her disappear as if she really was from a fairytale. He had always admired her beauty, he had just never said it out loud. The way she smiled, laughed.. how she talked and danced. How when she looked at him he felt as if he could. Chloe bit her lip and glanced down when she realized why he was looking at her the way he was. It wasn't that she minded, she actually enjoyed his attention. It made her feel whole. It was more because she knew that with all this drama going on right now,, any chance she had at telling west how she felt seemed highly impossible. At that moment West glanced away, mumbling beneath his breath what sounded almost like an apology. She smiled and thought fast, wanting to stop this from getting awkward.. or well even more awkward. "Let me teach you some simple techniques and then how about you teach me one of them fancy tricks of yours?" West nodded eagerly, not even caring about learning ballet but caring about getting to spend an evening with such an amazing girl. "Deal." Chloe's smile didn't once fade, it only seemed to get brighter as the evening progressed.

Giselle, Riley and Amanda all sighed simultaneously when Michelle excused herself and left. They all wanted one thing and that was to help her forget him. Though every time they tried it was as if she preferred to be alone. So this time they just let her go. Amanda looked around, catching the sight of someone very familiar out the corner of her eye. Lucien. She looked over at Riley and Giselle, attempting to keep calm as she realized why he was here. She hadn't updated or been to elite practices in almost a few weeks now and honestly she wasn't planning on starting now. "Riles, Ellie I think we should head back to the studio now.. We don't want to be late!" she spoke in a rushed tone, trying to get them out of here as soon as possible. Attempting to avoid an awkward encounter with their arch enemy. Giselle and Riley glanced at each other with a slight raise of an eyebrow. The confusion plastered on their faces were clearly noticeable. With a slight shrug the girls nodded and headed towards the exit, their arms loaded with many bags from various stores. "Umm actually I need to use the bathroom really quick." Amanda shrugged in an apologetic sort of way trying to convince them she would be out very shortly. As the brunette and ginger vanished from sight, Amanda rushed over to Lucien. In a mix of anger, confusion and annoyed. She looked down as he approached him, keeping her eyes on the ground to avoid being caught the best she could. "What are you doing here?! You could of got me caught" Amanda sighed in a sign of frustration, knowing truthfully why he was really here. "Key word Amanda is could. As in it was a possibility but you didn't so no need to worry. And why I'm here you ask.. Well you see we haven't heard from you in quite some time now and we need to bring you home. You have a week to destroy The Next Step or don't bother returning to Elite." Lucien said in a matter of fact tone, before turning on his heel and storming away. Amanda shook her head, made sure she had her bags and headed towards the carpark. Hurrying to catch Riley and Ellie. If they think the drama is anywhere near done.. well they're definitely in for a nasty nationals shock.

Michelle sighed in relief when practice was over for the night. She needed some quiet time to collect her thoughts and find a way to quit being such an emotional mess. She had been to the mall with Riley, Giselle and Amanda earlier but that hadn't quite done the trick. So she had made up an excuse to leave, not wanting to bring everyone else down too. Now she was just enjoying the time she had alone. It was as if lately everyone was peering over her shoulder just expecting her to break every time Eldon or Emily entered. Not anymore, Michelle thought to herself. From now on she was going to stop caring about what he did and focus more on herself. He didn't matter anymore. He was just a faded memory. She began to dance, spinning and flipping. Letting out all her emotions. Clearing her mind, free of all the heartache and the worries. A clean slate.

Daniel headed up from culture shock, he needed to grab his things from his cubby before going home for the night. Ever since Eldon won the solo, Daniel had purposely pushed himself further and further away from his teammates. He couldn't help but feel under-appreciated, it was as if all his hard work had gone to waste and he hated not being number 1. It was just one of those feelings he couldn't shake. He grabbed his bag and began to make his way outside when he heard music coming from studio B. He instantly knew who it was, she had been staying late for the past few weeks now. Doing nothing but dance for hours on end. How did he know? He may have been watching her a couple of times. Absolutely amazed by her style, technique and emotion that shone through. The female solo round at nationals will be a breeze with Michelle taking the spot. Again he stood in the doorway, watching the final moments of her routine as the sing came to a finish. Instead of leaving like usual, Daniel stepped inside the Studio B just as the young blonde sank to the floor in an emotional mess. Quietly he sat down beside her, staring at the opposite wall not knowing what to say. "Hi" he murmured softly, glancing at her slightly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and smiled slightly, "Hey Daniel. Did you want the studio?" She began to get up, not wanting to keep him from practicing. Daniel immediately grabbed her arm. Firm but gentle at the same time. He gently pulled her back down to the ground, draping his arm around her shoulders. "Michelle you can't keep pushing everyone away. Let someone in. Let me in." Michelle turned to look at him, focusing her undivided attention on him and the words he was saying.

Amanda walked into culture shock not long after practice was over for the day, she had to speak hunter. He was the only one who could always make her smile, no matter what. She saw him sitting off in a corner drinking a juice. While scrolling through his phone. She stood and watched him for a moment. Not being able to believe that she was actually his and he was actually hers. She was amazed and still in utter shock. The young brunette walked towards him, still completely captivated by how shocked she was to actually be with someone like him. It was a rare opportunity, one she never hoped to lose. Amanda slowly took a seat across of him, "Hey" she said softly. Almost immediately he looked up and their eyes made contact, a smile crossed his face and she felt herself blush. At a quick attempt to hide it, she called over a waitress ordering herself a drink. "I did see that." Hunter chuckled with a slight shake of his head as he reached over, taking her hand in his. She bit her lip, nervously looking down as the pink in her cheek brightened into an almost beetroot color. The effect he had on her was so powerful she couldn't help it. Hunter smiled at her, genuinely as he found himself enjoying the presence of the girl across from him. All the thoughts of Emily were actually fading as he admired what he was missing out on right in front of him. "You know what sweetheart? Let's get out of here. It's time I took you out on a real date."

Eldon sighed his head resting in his hands as he leant on his desk. His homework discarded across his bedroom floor and his phone grasped tightly in his hand. "How does everyone expect me to fix this if she won't even look at me!" He mumbled to himself actually beginning to get frustrated. Frustrated at Emily for kissing him, at Michelle for avoiding him, at everyone else for being mad at him and most of all frustrated at himself for even thinking he could actually be happy with someone for longer than a few weeks. It was all getting to much to handle. Quietly sneaking out his room and down the stairs into the kitchen, he opened his parents' liquor cabinet. He was mostly avoiding his brothers as his parents were rarely home these days anyhow. Eldon never drank. Well except for the occasional times where he had let himself have a glass like on Christmas for example. Other than that he avoided the stuff. He had seen what the effects were that it had on people and he was in no rush to follow in their crazy, oblivious footsteps. Hesitating for a split second, he reached into the cabinet and pulled out whatever bottle he first came into contact with. Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he lifted the bottle to his lips. Taking a big gulp, before sneaking back to his room. His arms loaded with various bottles and cans. A new Eldon. New and more improved, he thought to himself locking his door as he took another mouthful of the alcohol in his hand.