The Next Step Season 8

3 - Sleeping Beauty

Summer looked around at the room she had decorated and smiled, feeling accomplished. She had dragged the extra sofas from the lounge down to the basement, so the room was encircled by them. All the rugs, blankets and cushions she could find were collected on the floor and draped over the seats. She then finished it off by hanging fairy lights from the ceiling.

The rest of the team had headed home to collect their things before they were to come over to Summer's house. It was the first time that the team had hung out overnight altogether so they were all pretty excited.

Summer heard a knock on the front door and answered it to find Heath, Ozzy and who she was fairly sure was Richelle, but right now she just looked like a pile of bags and blankets.
"We made a bet on the car ride over. I lost, so I had to carry the stuff from the top of the street." Richelle said as she proceeded to drop the contents of her arms on the floor. Heath and Ozzy were in hysterics as they fist bumped and Richelle rolled her eyes. The two boys were still often at each other's throats, but were always able to find common ground when it came to teasing Richelle. Much to her dismay, she was an easy target as she would rise to bait very quickly.

They headed downstairs just as Piper and Finn arrived. Summer was completely unsurprised to see Finn strolling up in a white t-shirt and grey joggers, and no bags of his own in sight. Over one shoulder he carried Piper's bag, and the other arm was hanging around her shoulders.
"I hope you don't mind Summer, but I figured you'd have enough blankets that I didn't need one." Finn said.
"I did tell him to bring his stuff but by the time he came to pick me up, he'd already forgotten." Piper said apologetically to Summer.
"Don't worry, I have plenty for all of us, follow me downstairs."

Over the next hour, the rest of the team arrived. Kingston and Lily were surprisingly calm (who knew how long that would last) and Kenzie was quickly everyone's favourite guest as she arrived with two bags filled with snacks.

When Amy and Henry arrived, she was on his back and they were both giggling uncontrollably. Summer couldn't help but feel a twang of jealousy. She thought she was over Henry, but seeing the two of them so happy together stirred something up inside of her.

A lump caught in her throat and she made an excuse to leave before hurrying to the bathroom and shutting the door. She managed to hold the tears until she got there, but as soon as the door was locked, she slid down to the floor and broke down immediately. All the emotions she'd been pushing down ever since their breakup came exploding out.

After what felt like only a couple of seconds, she heard a light knock on the door. Summer abruptly wiped her eyes and called out, "Just a minute."
"Summer," Richelle's voice said softly. "You've been gone nearly 10 minutes, please let me in."

Summer hesitated before unlocking the door, and Richelle slid through the gap before closing it behind her.
"I've brought makeup so no-one downstairs ever has to know you're upset." Richelle said simply.
"Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?" Summer asked, confused.
"I think I know what's wrong. And besides, if you want to talk about it, you will when you're ready." And with that, she began cleaning up Summer's face and touching up the makeup.

"There," Richelle said after a couple of minutes of silence. "You're all done. Now let's go and order some pizza so we have an excuse for being up here." Summer followed Richelle out of the bathroom and was quietly grateful for what she just did for her.

*

Downstairs, the troupe had decided to play truth or dare.
"I think the others have gone to get food, but we can start without them." Lily said. "I'll start." She looked around the room to try and find her first victim. "Piper. Truth or dare?"

"Truth. Dares are way too scary for my liking." Piper laughed.
"When did you first fall for Finn?" Piper blushed and buried her face in Finn's shoulder.
"Damn, you guys really are determined to embarrass me. I don't know, I knew when he went out with Amy because I was jealous. But honestly I think it all changed for me at prom. That's when I saw just how much he cared about me." This was followed by lots of aws and fake sick noises - A-troupe really was immature at times.
"Oh really now? Interesting." Finn smirked.
"Oh shut up." Piper playfully shoved his arm. "My turn. Heath, truth or dare."
"Truth, for sure, I don't wanna be made to do something embarrassing."
"What's the worst thing you've ever done?"

"Well it's a bad one. And for the record I still feel bad about it to this day. But back in J-troupe I tripped Oswald up during a solo so that I'd get to go to a competition instead of him."
"Hey! I remember that! You were pretty sneaky about it though, no-one believed me that it was your fault." Ozzy replied.

Richelle and Summer walked down the stairs with confused looks on their faces.
"What's going on down here?"
"Ah Richelle, great timing. Truth or dare?" Heath asked. Richelle knew the answer to this question straight away; Emily had always taught her it was much safer to pick dare.
"Dare. Always."
"Hold on, I've got one," Kenzie interjected. "Richelle, I dare you to kiss the boy you find most attractive." This was followed by lots of oooos.

"Oh, come on, no." Richelle said shaking her head.
"You picked dare. You gotta do it." Lily said, thriving on the drama.
"Alright, alright." she said as she approached Heath and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "But don't read too much into that, I just had to pick someone."
"Oh, come on, Richelle, you know you want me." Heath winked at her, causing laughter to float around the room.
"You, shut it." Richelle teased, pushing his head lightly before taking her space in the circle between Summer and Ozzy.

She smiled at Ozzy as she sat down, but he looked tense and didn't return the enthusiasm. Richelle just brushed it off - everyone was worried with Nationals auditions coming up, so she assumed that was the problem.

After a few more rounds, the pizzas arrived and the team settled down to watch a film. The girls all curled up together with the blankets, whilst the boys fought over the final slices of pizza and who got to be in charge of the remote.

About halfway through the film, Piper felt a tightness in her chest. She just couldn't focus on what they were watching, as thoughts of her future dance career were plaguing her mind. Her breathing began to speed up and she was subconsciously clenching her fists. Careful not to wake the sleeping Amy leaning against her shoulder, Piper slipped away upstairs.

She barely made it to the nearest toilet before she threw up in it, coughing and spluttering. Tears streamed down her face as her skin became itchy. She started to claw her fingernails at her arms, desperate to escape her own body, to get away from this feeling. It was then that she started hyperventilating, and she darted outside.

Her trembling fingers managed to find the right buttons to make a phone call.
"Hello?"
"James," she said. "I really need you to pick me up. I don't know what to do, I don't know what's happening to me. Please, please, come and get me."
"Pipes, slow down. Text me the address, I'm on my way."

James arrived about 10 minutes later to find Piper sat on the curb outside, tugging at her hair and still crying uncontrollably. He put his arms around her shoulders and led her into the car.

Piper just about mustered the ability to text Finn: Sorry, I wasn't feeling well and had to go home. Have fun x. She didn't want him to see this side of her. Whatever happened just then, she was ashamed, and was determined to keep it to herself.

*

Finn got Piper's text and was worried. He knew her well and thought it was odd for her to leave without saying goodbye. He texted back: Are you okay? Do you need me to bring you anything? Xx. But she simply responded saying she was fine and that he should just have a nice night, so he brushed it off and decided to let her rest. He would check in on her again in the morning.

As the night went on, more and more of them were dropping off to sleep, all lying in various positions on the sofas and the floor. Richelle was lying next to Ozzy and he couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked.

She then abruptly turned over in her sleep and ended up curled on her side with her head resting on his chest. Ozzy could barely breathe. Richelle had become one of his best friends, but that had only made his feelings for her grow into something more real. He knew he should be over his crush by now but the more he got to know her, the more he fell for her.

But he was never going to let her know that.

He closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep too, comforted by Richelle being right there with him.