Empire - The Next Step

party time at tns

After rehearsals had finished, everyone was a buzz about prom. It was all they could talk about. Harper was more than ecstatic to be going with Noah and she couldn't wait to see everyone in their new dresses and tuxedos. It would definitely be a night to remember.

Everyone went home early so they would have time to get ready and be back at the studio by seven o'clock. Harper and Michelle helped each other get ready and by the time they were all dolled up, both girls looked amazing.

"You look beautiful Michelle." Harper gushed over her sister as she stood in her bright pink dress all ready for the prom.

"So do you Harper, I can't believe how much you've grown up. And I can't believe you're going with Noah." Harper couldn't believe it either. After so many years of hiding her feelings for Noah, she was finally able to show them and it was great feeling. He made her feel so special and Harper knew that he would do anything for her.

"I can't believe it either to be honest." The younger of the two sisters replied before they heard the alarm go off which meant that it was time to set off for the studio.

"Ready?" The older blonde asked the younger as they linked arms and walked out to Michelle's car. Noah had offered to pick Harper up but she said he could just meet her at the entrance to the building and they could go in together. When they arrived at the prom, Harper noticed Noah standing outside leaning against the wall with a beautiful white corsage in his grip.

He glanced up when he heard the car doors shut and was completely awestruck. Harper always looked amazing, but she was absolutely stunning in her dress and with her makeup and hair for prom done. He watched her bid a brief goodbye to Michelle who headed straight inside with Emily, her date, and the girl made her way over.

"Hey, you look great." She said casually as she admired how handsome he looked in his suit. He thankfully had listened to her and bought at dark green tie to match Harper's dress. Noah was silent for a moment which made Harper look up at him in concern, watching how he stared at her. "What?"

"You look beautiful." Noah replied wearing a completely awestruck expression. He always thought Harper looked gorgeous but she was on another level that night.

"Thank you." Harper replied in a slightly less casual tone, she was shocked at how sincere Noah had been. She thought she looked around average but apparently he disagreed. The brunette offered his hand for the girl to link with her own and the two of them made their way into studio one.

The studio was decorated beautifully with large balloons filling every corner, a huge refreshments and snacks table in the office and a large space kept clear for dancing and mingling. Harper's eyes were instantly drawn to the large DJ booth which, for reasons unknown to her, was being run by Eldon.

"Why is Eldon the DJ?" Noah asked with a hint of amusement tracing his tone as Harper also stifled a laugh. The girl shrugged and the two of them went off to get pictures from the photographer. The pair were happy with all their photos so they decided to go and get drinks before they properly mingled and danced with everyone, but on the way their Harper noticed something. Richelle and Jacquie were wearing the exact same dress.

"I'll be back in one minute, I can see someone going home with a black eye if this isn't addressed." Harper muttered to Noah who followed her line of sight towards the two girls and nodded understandingly. If there was one thing negative about Jacquie and Richelle it was that they were both extremely competitive, sometimes too competitive. Harper approached the two who were about to get into a large quarrel in front of everyone and swiftly dragged them out into the locker room.

"Harps, we can handle this." Richelle seethed with her eyes narrowed in slits at Jacquie. The brunette nodded which was odd because the two of them never agreed on anything.

"Are you kidding? You guys were about to have a huge fight in front of everyone." Harper argued back and managed to silence both of them with her sharp tone. "Now, there is a spare box of decorations in studio A and there should be some stuff you can add to your dresses to make them look different, please just go and do something. No one can handle your drama tonight." Both were shocked to hear Harper so stern, she was usually one of the quieter members of the team. They muttered out a small 'okay' and left sulkily to studio A.

Harper sighed and rejoined the prom where she saw everyone was having a great time. Noah was dancing next to Henry and Summer so she made her way over.

"Did you sort it out for them?" Noah asked as he handed Harper her drink. She nodded and sighed in exasperation about the two girls. She loved them both but when Jacquie and Richelle got competitive, it was as if the whole world stopped. "Well let's dance to take your mind off it." The two of them joined the others on the dance floor and began to dance together until they felt a presence beside them. Noah and Harper both looked to the left to see Eldon with a disapproving look on his face.

"That's a little bit close for my liking." He said as he created a wedge between the couple. Harper rolled her eyes as if she almost expected this behaviour, it would have been even worst if James was also there.

"Weren't you the one who wanted us to get together anyway?" Noah asked with a raised eyebrow as he glanced in amusement at Harper.

"Hey don't take that tone with me young man. Now I like you Noah, but what I don't like is seeing you too close to my baby sister." Harper was sure of it, Eldon had gone insane. She wasn't sure if he was aware but they weren't actually related.

"Eldon, you're not my actual broth-" the blonde held his hand up in Harper's face to cut her off mid sentence.

"Now I hope this does not continue to be an issue." He told Noah sternly as he lent closer and closer to the boy. Noah didn't look intimidated in the slightest as he was, at this age, taller and much more muscular than Eldon although he did look concerned for his health. Eldon gave the pair one last sharp look before he walked backwards to his DJ booth without taking his eyes off them.

"He is one weird dude." Noah commented as they watched him return to the music and Harper wondered to herself how he had been playing the music away from the booth. She brushed off the thought as it was Eldon so it would probably be something odd anyway and returned to dancing with Noah.

It was an amazing feeling to be dancing with him. After liking him for so long, and then struggling with his liking for the several different girls he had been with previously, it was great to finally be settled and content. Harper also felt that having Noah by her side made her more confident in herself, he brought out a side to her that she didn't even know she had.

The remainder of prom night was spent being danced away by everyone in A troupe, B troupe and J troupe. They weren't competing, fighting or experiencing any sort of drama, they were just living.

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a/n: thank you for reading this chapter, i hope you all enjoyed! i didn't want to do too much on the prom episode because it wasn't all too pivotal but i did want to include it because there were some cute noah and harper moments :)