The Next Step Oneshots

6. Baby Photos - Heathizzy

She knew this was a terrible idea to bring her boyfriend home with her. But this definitely was not what she anticipated. She had expected his rivalry and competitiveness between her brother to rise up again, yet it seemed that they had managed to look past their differences and became bros. This was far worse than what she prepared for.

"Look at this picture. This was at a local hip hop competition and she tried to get me to dance with her too. But I couldn't just enter myself into her solo. So she made me dance with her but in the audience."

Her brother flips through the dreaded photo album. The album that she swore would never see the light of day ever since she discovered all the embarrassing photos that were in it.

Her boyfriend grabs the picture from her brother's hands, and coos.

"Iz, you were so cute as a kid."

She stares at the photo. It's not flattering at all. Her hair's frizzy, and her curls untameable. She's in an awfully pink costume, and she's making an ugly face at the camera. How anyone found it cute, she didn't know.

Snatching the photo, she tucks it away on the coffee table.

"Ozzyyyy, please stop showing Heath these terrible photos."

"But Iz- they're so cute. And Heath likes seeing them too, right?"

"C'mon Iz" Her boyfriend beckons her to join them.

"They're super cute, and I want to know more about you as a child. You have to tell me everything."

She sighs, and flops down on the couch, resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulders. Her brother shoots her a knowing look, and hands her the photo album.

"You two enjoy. I'm going out to meet Richelle."

She smirks. This would be revenge for him teasing her. If there was anything Ozzy hated, it was his little sister teasing him about his infatuation with his so called 'Love of his life'.

"You mean your little Riri, huh Ozzy?"

"Shut up, Iz." She smirks as he leaves the room.

--

They lie in silence for a bit, before he decides to speak up.

"I'm sorry if the photos made you uncomfortable." He turns towards her and apologises, grabbing her hand.

"It's fine", she reassures her boyfriend

"It's just that those photos are kinda embarrassing. I didn't really want people to see them, that's all."

"Oh. Well I think they're all so cute. You were adorable as a kid, you know. Frizzy hair and all."

"Why thank you."

She flips her hair Jokingly. Inwardly, she thinks that her brother's girlfriend, Richelle, had rubbed off on her way too much. Izzy before the next step would've never flipped her hair like that.

"So, do you want to explain to me this picture?"

He holds up a cute photo of six year old her standing on the beach. She's in a cute swimsuit, but for some reason, she's still got sneakers on, despite being in the wet sand. The shoes are mostly destroyed, but she wears them proudly anyway.

"Those were my favourite hip hop shoes. My parents took Ozzy and I to the beach after a competition, and I refused to take them off. They got ruined that day, and my mom swears I cried for days until they bought new shoes."

He laughs at the silly story, and she laughs with him.

"So, do you want to go to the beach next week?" He jokingly invites her.

"Sure. Should I bring shoes or no?" She plays along.

"Yep. Gotta recreate that photo, no?"

They both laugh so hard, that he almost drops his phone, which lay in his hoodie pocket.

--

She glances at the phone, and suddenly has an Idea.

"So, now that you've seen my baby photos, you gotta repay me."

"How?"

He asks, earnestly. She thinks it's adorable how eager he is to make it up to her, even though she was honestly fine with the photos now.

"Show me baby photos of you. I know you probably have some on that phone of yours, don't try deny it."

She makes a grab at the phone as he swipes it away last second.

"Fine." He relents.

He opens his phone, and scrolls to the beginning of his camera roll. There, hundreds and thousands of photos of baby Heathcliff sit, most of them where he's smiling at the camera, two front teeth missing.

"Awww, you think I was cute as a kid? But you're definitely the cuter one." She coos at the adorable pictures.

"Nahh, you were cuter. And you still are." He argues.

They both argue, and look through more photos. An hour passes, and then another, and then another hour. They only stop to sip at the hot chocolate and eat the chips her mom had placed in front of them on the coffee table. Neither knew when she had done it, nor how she had almost squealed at her daughter's adorable relationship.

--

He comes home from visiting Richelle at her apartment with Noah. They had watched a movie, and just chilled on the couch for a while, enjoying each other's company. But she had rehearsals with the dance company in an hour, and she wanted to arrive early.

He understands. He knows that despite having solidified her place in the company, she would never stop being the hard worker she was. So he leaves her to it, and decides to go back home.

He enters the doorway to find the pair sitting on the couch, the photo album fallen to the floor, forgotten. They're kissing, and he cringes. He may support their relationship, but seeing his sister, in his own home, making out with someone who was once his sworn enemy, was just too weird for him.

"Ahem." He clears his throat.

They break apart. Heathcliff looks sheepish, but his sister glares at him defiantly.

"What is it, Ozzy?" She crosses her arms.

"Just because I accept you two, doesn't mean that you have to have PDA in front of me, okay. And what if mom or dad came in."

"You don't want to see PDA between us, then don't look. Simple. And mom and dad went out earlier. Now shoo."

He rolls his eyes, but ultimately, he can't wait to get out of the room. It was just too weird for him to stay around.

--

After her brother leaves the room, she turns to her boyfriend, ready to get back to what they were doing before they were interrupted.

"Now, where were we?"

He kisses her on the cheek.

"We were saying that you were the cuter one as a baby."

"Nuh uh, you were. End of story."

"No you."

"No YOU!"

Her brother just listens in from his room, sighing. He guesses it was inevitable that this would happen. He just wishes that he didn't have to hear his sister flirt with her boyfriend while he was trying to study.