Nochelle One Shots

PTSD

PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder

Noah's Pov
Richelle and I were in studio A. Emily was about to tell us what our duet would be about. It was for an upcoming competition; not a big one though.

"So," Emily began, eyeing us up sand down, "your duet won't be like a normal duet this time."

I cocked an eyebrow at her. What could she mean?

"This duet will really test your dance abilities. You need to show emotion. This isn't a happy dance or a fun tumbling show. This is a duet that will get The Next Step far if you can rise to the challenge."

"Of course we can," I stepped in, "but what's it about?"

Emily took a deep breath before saying, "Abuse. This duet will be about abuse. Domestic abuse. Noah, you will be 'abusing' Richelle in this duet. Richelle you're going to try to escape but eventually end up committing suicide."

Wow. I did not expect that. Neither did Richelle by the look on her face. She was awfully quiet.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but dances like these win over upbeat jazz ones. Just try your best okay? Daniel will teach you guys the choreography now."

*********

"Great job, Richelle," I said, panting heavily as we had just practised the duet perfectly by ourselves.

At first I was sceptical about this duet, but now I saw Emily's point. I was so glad that she chose Richelle and I to do this duet; we were the perfect match for it. Sure we hadn't spoken properly in a while, but we could still dance amazingly together.

My eyes trailed up at her as I took a swig of water from my bottle. She wasn't moving. Her back was stood facing me, almost as if it were telling me to leave. She had been as quiet as a mouse this whole time. Maybe she didn't like the duet?

"Richelle?" I asked, confusion evident on my face. "Richelle? You okay?"

I stood up, gently placing the bottle down on the wooden bench next to me. Slowly, I walked towards her. She was staring at something in the distance, but there was nothing there.

"Richelle," I said softly, gently placing my hand onto her arm.

That's when it happened. That's when she lost control.

Violently, she pushed me away, letting out cries for help and small whimpers, repeatedly murmuring, "no, no, no."

I was taken aback, stumbling slightly. What was wrong? She began to back into the corner of the room by the mirrors, clasping her hands as they battled each other. Her eyes were glued to the floor and her whole body was shaking.

I was shocked. I didn't know what to do. I didn't understand what was happening.

"Richelle," I began, trailing off at the end of her name as I slowly walked towards her.

She crouched into a ball, telling me to go away. She buried her head into her knees, but not before I could see the tears streaming down her face. What was happening? I heard soft whimpers coming from her mouth as she gently cried, "Please stop."

Slowly, I crouched down in front of her, not wanting to scare her.

"Richelle," I softly spoke, "it's me, Noah. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe, I promise."

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew that whatever it was, it was serious.

"Richelle," I softly whispered once more after she had silenced herself.

We sat there for a few minutes. I was crouching in front of her and she wasn't daring to look at me.

"Noah," a faint voice spoke, making my head shoot up to look at her.

"Yes, Richelle, it's me. Everything's okay. You're okay. You're okay."

Slowly, she brought her head out from her knees. Her gorgeous golden locks no longer covered her head as she stared up at me, looking broken. Her cheeks looked salty with tears and I looked down at her with sympathy.

"Noah," she quietly whimpered once again, the tears reappearing in her eyes.

"Shhh," I gently reached my arm out and softly touched her shoulder, rubbing it with my thumb, "it's okay."

She looked down at the floor as the tears began to flood down her cheeks. I couldn't hold it in any longer. Slowly, I curled my arms around her, pulling her head into my chest. My hand gently stroked her hair in comfort as she softly cried. I'd never seen her cry before.

After a few minutes, once she'd calmed down, I quietly spoke up, "What happened?"

It was there that she told me everything. She told me how she was constantly abused at home by her family and about how suicide was always on her mind. She opened up to me about her depression and anxiety. She told me that she didn't want to live anymore.

It was that day that we became friends again; best friends. I helped her with as much as I could: the cuts, the bruises, the constant sadness and worrying, the tears and most importantly, her happiness.

A/N so that was a pretty dark one shot but I hope you guys liked it ❤️