Empire - The Next Step

don't do it to yourself

Harper was running herself through some exercises en pointe to ensure she continued to develop as a dancer. She felt that she had really improved over the past few weeks and she loved to continue to get better and progress without the added stress of A Troupe. Staying in B Troupe was definitely a good call for her. As she went into relevés, she heard footsteps approaching and as the person let out a loud sigh she instantly knew who it was.

"What's up Noah?" She asked making the boy jump out of surprise. He hadn't even realised anyone was in the rehearsal room until he looked up and saw Harper. Noah instantly took his hands away from his back which he had been gently rubbing to try and ease the pain, but it was too late to try and hide it. "Is something wrong with your back?"

"No of course not, what would even make you think that?" Noah opposed her assumption, his voice becoming more high pitched with every word which was a telltale sign her was nervous. Harper raised her eyebrow at him suspiciously, he had never lied to her before so why would he start now?

"So why don't you show me your layout? Surely if there's nothing wrong with it then that should be no trouble whatsoever." Harper challenged him as she crossed her arms and leaned casually against the ballet bar. A look of apprehension found its way onto Noah's dace but he tried to mask it by scoffing. As the brunette boy went to prepare for his tumbling, even bending down made him wince in pain so Harper stepped in. "Noah stop. Clearly something's wrong." He faced her with a sigh and knew that there was no escaping it. He had to come clean.

"I've just been pushing myself a lot lately and I've had some pretty bad pain in my back. But I know my body and I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Noah was putting on a brave face, but Harper knew him and she knew how proud he could be. He was so in denial about being weak that he was about to put himself in a really bad position. "You can't tell anyone about this Harper, I'm serious. The qualifier is right around the corner and I've worked so hard for it."

"Noah, just think for a second. You could seriously injure yourself if you dance at that qualifier, I've seen how intense the trio is."She reasoned with him but judging how Noah had dealt with situations in the past, he would not be willing to just give up. He looked at war with himself, as though he was having a debate inside his mind about whether to follow his heart and dance or follow what Harper had suggested and come clean.

"I can't lose this qualifier dance. You have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Not Michelle, Riley or even Richelle." Noah nervously awaited her answer, his eyes scanned every single one of her features in anticipation. She was the one who now looked at war with herself because either way things would end badly. If she kept the secret for Noah then she would keep him as her best friend but he could also potentially get really badly hurt. On the other hand, if she told everyone then it would give Noah's back time to heal as he would be taken off the qualifier trio but he would probably never speak to her again.

"I won't tell anyone, but you have to be positive that you can dance without pushing it too much." She finally agreed and Noah's entire body visibly relaxed. As he nodded eagerly he completely enveloped his best friend in a tight embrace. In that moment, Harper had decided that she was going to confess her feelings to Noah. She instantly began to chew the inside of her cheek out of nervousness but she knew that it was now or never. "Um Noah can I tell you something? It's kinda been bothering me for a while and I just need to get it off my chest.

"Yeah of course, you can tell me anything." Harper felt her palms begin to sweat nervously as she hurriedly wiped them on her leggings to try and dry them off. The blonde opened her mouth to speak and just about got out an 'I' before Richelle and Piper interrupted. She cursed herself for once again leaving it too late to tell him. If she had just said it a few moments earlier then he would know how she felt. The two girls mentioned something about Riley wanting to see them about their trio but she really wasn't paying much attention. She was too busy considering what might have happened if she had just told Noah. "Hey Harper, can we talk later?" Noah asked snapping the girl back to reality. She looked at him with a disappointed expression but nodded anyway and left the rehearsal room passing Riley on her way out.

The blonde was headed towards Java Junction which had replaced Hidalgo's as the restaurant in the building, but something stopped her on the way. She could hear a beautiful song playing in studio A and when she went to see who was dancing but was surprised to see her sister. Michelle and Harper had both been badly affected by their parents divorce the previous year and for the older sister, it seriously affected her dancing. She had gone from Miss National soloist to an alternate for internationals in the space of months so it was very refreshing for Harper to watch her dance at her old level.

The blonde's performance was breathtaking, each and every movement flowed beautifully into the next. More than anything, Michelle looked happy when she was dancing. Last year she always seemed to have things running through her mind, but what Harper was watching was a clear mind with no worries. When she finished dancing, Michelle had the widest smile on her glowing face as she turned to face her younger sister.

"Michelle that was beautiful." Harper gushed as her sister breathed out a word of thanks as she cooled herself down. The two sisters sat beside each other on the blocks beside the dance floor and stayed silent for a moment, not in an awkward way. It was peaceful. "Could I ask you something?" The younger blurted out suddenly.

"Of course, anything." Michelle responded as she directed her full attention to Harper who looked nothing short of distressed.

"I keep trying to tell Noah how I feel, but I can never seem to get it out in time. Things just keep getting in the way." Michelle smiled fondly at her sister as she placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"You just have to keep trying. It's never going to get easier and the same butterflies will always be there, but getting it out will make you feel better I promise." Harper understood what Michelle was saying, but she couldn't see how she would manage to build up her courage and tell Noah. Michelle made it sound so easy, but it was one of the most difficult things Harper had ever struggled with.