It won't keep us apart

Chapter 10: Traitor

Richelle's POV

That moment yesterday in the locker room, who knows what might have happened if I stayed there any longer. Deep down I felt something twinge in my gut. A sense of longing. Noah and I only became friends again, but I feel like there's more to it. I just can't place my finger on it.

I can't risk anything too intimate, especially the fact that I'm with Elliot. He wouldn't be too happy if he found out I went behind his back.

Elliot and I have been together for almost two months now. Ever since he sent me flowers, I got in touch with him and we've been together from then on. I know that no one else really liked him, but I see something different in him that nobody else can see. That's why I really like him. He has the competitive edge that I have. We're both amazing dancers. Most importantly, we have that passion for dance, which is why we are so good together.

I've recently arrived at the studio for today's rehearsal. As usual, I get here half an hour early. My eyes flicker to the pile of neatly folded clothes on my shelf inside my locker. My locker's looking tidy now. I smile to myself in approval. That's something I've managed to do today. Now, back to thinking...

Lily comes into the locker room. I greet her with a smile.

"You're Richelle, aren't you?" she stops before me.

"Yes, that's me. So... Lily, I was wondering whether you need an assistant. Like a dance captain assistant," I suggest with a voice full of hope.

She narrows her eyes at me. "And why do you think I need one?"

"I guess if you need extra help to decide on things, I'll be here as your assistant."

I grit my teeth nervously. I almost can't believe what's coming out of my mouth. This is for the team as much as I like it or not. I don't want to do this. To take sides with Miss Angela's daughter, it's a huge risk. Everyone else won't like it, but they'll see what I've got planned out eventually.

Sometimes in order to do the right thing, you have to do the wrong thing – a little something I learned from Lola.

Lily appears in deep thought for a while. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and she's biting her lip.

She finally sighs, "Okay. Richelle, you're now my assistant."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Thank you," I grin, happy that I managed to complete the first task – getting Lily to trust me.

Instead, Lily shrugs like it was nothing. "Well, we better get going to rehearsal and tell everybody else that you're my assistant."

Jacquie's POV

The mirrors reflect its cleanliness under the studio lights. All of us are scattered across the room. Some speaking amongst each other in small groups, their voices mingle with other sounds in the background. Others are making conversation as they stretch for today's rehearsal. At the moment, I'm listening to Noah talk.

"You know what? I spoke to Richelle yesterday about what she'll do about Miss Angela, and she told me she doesn't know yet. I reckon she's probably got something planned by now," he continues.

I absently nod in agreement. Our dance-zilla better get moving, otherwise we'd be stuck with Miss Angela for a while. 

"Maybe she will do something to put Miss Angela off from ever coming back or..."

Noah stands still for a few seconds, his muscular arms crossed over his chest.

"She might plan a protest for us to do," he finally says.

Really? I roll my eyes at him.

"I don't think any of those ideas would work," I state.

He looks at me with confusion written all over his face. "What is it Jacquie?"

I tap my foot on the floor. "You tell me."

Noah sighs, clearly frustrated. "You're the one giving me the attitude."

"Why wouldn't I? You've been talking an awful lot about Richelle lately," I narrow my eyes at him accusingly.

Noah's eyes flicker to something behind me, and his eyes light up. "Richelle!"

I turn around as Richelle gives a small smile in acknowledgement to Noah's greeting. 

Turns out Richelle took Lily with her into Studio A. Why are they together? I thought she was supposed to be helping us, not her.

"Alright everyone. Gather up, I've got an announcement to make," Lily orders.

I reluctantly follow the other dancers to Lily and Richelle.

"Okay guys, as of today, Richelle is my assistant. So, if you need to get a message to me when I'm not here or something like that, Richelle's the one you should talk to."

Richelle simply smiles.

"Richelle, since we've recently started this dance season, I think you should tell me some more about the other dancers."

"Will do," she replies, and then begins walking towards me.

She stands right before my face and looks me up and down.

"You're first up, so I wonder what I should say about you?" Richelle sneers.

Noah's POV

What was she thinking? Taking sides with Miss Angela's daughter? I storm out of Studio A because rehearsals just finished.

In the locker room, I see her at her locker. I go up to her, and she shuts her locker door to face me.

"Richelle, what were you thinking?" I growl. 

Richelle has a puzzled expression on her face and gives me a look of confusion.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't even try to deny it," I say, glaring at her.

"Noah, I-" she begins.

This is too much for me to handle. "You were trying to tear us apart!" I snap.

She takes a step back from me, taken aback from my abrupt outburst.

"You're a traitor," I huff.

Her eyes are full of hurt tears, but that doesn't matter to me at all.

Fuming, I turn away from Richelle and walk out.

I truly thought we had a chance to be good friends again, but she ruined it for us. Personally, I think humiliating each dancer in front of the whole team, is something that will put you on the wrong side. That's what Richelle has done. She chose to destroy us and is now stuck with the enemy. We've lost one member to our side, so what can we do? Richelle was meant to help us, not break us.

It wasn't worth rebuilding our friendship if she's the one who tears it down. 

I'm so done with this. 

A/N: This chapter was quite heated at the end. Things have gone downhill for Noah and Richelle. Was this a good choice for the team?

I added a little Richelliot to this because I felt that I should toy with the storyline and alter it to something different...

I took a while to write this because I've been busy the last couple of days, but now I'm done and you just finished reading this chapter!