When new girl Michelle joins A-troupe, everything changes. What'll happen now that Emily's throne is up for grabs? With love comes scandal, sex and secrecy, and with these dancers, there's always a price to pay.
The Next Step TV show reimagined as...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Walking into studio A alongside Michelle and West, I feel powerful. We walk over to join the rest of the dancers in warming up, Emily gives me a suspicious look and approaches me.
"What's all that about? Are you besties with Michelle now?" She ridicules me.
I scoff at her immature assumptions.
"No, we were just talking, we're allowed to be friends Em, just because I'm your sister, doesn't mean you get to control who I'm friends with," I affirm, sassily delivering each word.
I never normally stand up to my sister, but I like the way it makes me feel, today is the first day of the season where I've been able to confidently walk into the studio, and I'm not going to let anyone- not even Emily- take that away from me.
I strut over and stand next to James, his face is filled with a shocked expression when he realises that I'm approaching him.
I pull my leg up to stretch it and casually tell him, "I believe you."
He shakes his head, amusement and wonder in his eyes.
"Believe me about what?" He asks, puzzled.
I laugh at his stupidity, "I know it wasn't you that drugged me, I know it was Stephanie. Michelle and West told me everything, and now the four of us are going to take her down," I answer him with a cheeky grin.
I wish I could capture this moment, James is actually speechless. For as long as I've known him, he's always had a snide comment up his sleeve, but not now, not this time. A few moments pass and he begins to laugh.
"Yes! Riley! I'm so glad you finally believe me, you have no idea how good it feels to finally have this weight lifted from my shoulders!" He exclaims excitedly, lifting me up into a tight hug and spinning me around in the air.
It's taken me by surprise, but I like it. As he puts me back down to my feet, I smile up at him.
"I'm sorry, I know that was probably too soon," he mumbled lowly, clearly thinking he crossed the imaginary line of our strained relationship. I smile up at him and laugh,
"Don't worry, no lines have been crossed, I owe you an apology James, sorry for not believing you, and thank you for looking after me this past week, even if I haven't always shown it, I've been grateful to have you around, I just didn't want to admit it to myself." Our eyes lock and we stare at each other, revelling in the first happy exchange we've had all week.
Our moment is interrupted with the clap of Kate's hands.
"Okay dancers, Emily will be auditioning you guys for the line placements today. Remember, this indicates the hierarchy of dancers' ability in the studio, so make sure to bring your best to your freestyle, as dance captain, we trust that Emily will make the right decisions, good luck," she tells us.
