The Next Step Oneshots

8. Brotherly and Sisterly Bonds - Pinn & Jiley

She had brought her boyfriend to her brother and essentially sister in law's apartment, as per their request. She'd hesitated at first, not knowing how her brother would react to her dating. But she couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes he gave her, so here they were, outside the door of the apartment.

She takes a deep breath, and he squeezes her hand, knowing that she'd been nervous all day.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

She presses the doorbell, and they're greeted instantly by Riley. They're both swept into a hug, as her brother also makes an appearance.

"Hey, Pipesqueak. Hey Finn. Come in. We prepared some movie snacks, so all we have to do is pick a movie."

Her brother ruffles her hair, which is down and flowing down her back for once. She tugs at her boyfriend's arm, and they all settle on the couch; popcorn, soda, chocolate, and chips in front of them.

"Let's watch A Quiet Place." Her brother suggests

She's about to refuse, being a person who'd always hated horror movies. But then she remembers that her boyfriend loved watching horror movies. So she reluctantly agrees, resigning herself to hiding in his hoodie if it got too bad.

--

Another jumpscare happens, and she startles, burying her face into her fiancé's chest. She hears her sister scream, and looks up at her. And there Piper was, crying into Finn's hoodie, him stroking her back.

She looks into her fiancés eyes, knowing that he'll understand, and he nods.

"Piper, want to go into my room and chill? James and Finn can finish the movie without us."

Her sister nods, and she leads her gently into her room. There, she can help her relax, and tease her about her boyfriend a bit. After Piper calms down, she pokes her in the side.

"So. Is Finn your new pillow then?"

"Rileyyyyy." Her sister whines.

"I'm kidding, Pipes. But really, you have to tell me everything about your first date. You still haven't told me what happened! I can't believe my baby sister's grown up so much."

She ruffles her sister's hair, which is in complete disarray from James' ruffling already. Piper runs a hand through her tangles, and begins to talk.

"It was amazing."

She listens as her sister rambles on and on about the wonderful date, and she can't help but think back to when her and her fiancé had first started dating. She supposes it was destined that they, the worriers, would be with people with the 'don't even worry about it' attitude. The saying "opposites attract" really was true in their cases.

They talk for a long time, comparing their dates and experiences with their boys. An hour passes, and neither of them notice.

--

He had just finished the movie with his sister's boyfriend, and honestly, Finn reminded him of himself. He was equally as goofy, and had a similar attitude to himself. But Finn had a huge heart, and he could tell that he would do anything for Piper. He gestures towards the room door, and they both know then and there, that a prank would be occurring.

Planning to sneak in and scare the girls, he presses an ear to the door, motioning for the other boy to do the same.

"I bet Finn and I have better lifts."

He hears his sister mention. Slightly offended, he bursts into the room, a mock angry look on his face.

"Nuh uh, Pipes. Riles and I obviously have better lifts. We're an international winning duet. There's no way you can beat us."

Everyone laughs as his anger, which spurs him even more.

"You don't believe me? Fine. We'll have a trick off."

"You're on"

His sister and her boyfriend chorus. He sees his fiancé roll her eyes in the corner, a knowing smile on her face. He yanks her to her feet.

"We're going to do an arch back"

"Well we're going to do a high bird into a throw*"

His sister retaliates, and he's shocked. He'd only seen Richelle and Max do that before. And they were the most technically advanced dancers he'd ever met. There was no way his sister could do that.

--

He'd practised that specific lift with Piper so many times in studio a, Richelle watching the two, making sure that they were doing it properly. At this point, he could do it in his sleep, and he knew his girlfriend could too.

"Ready, pipes?"

"Definitely." His beautiful girlfriend agrees.

They watch James and Riley perform their signature arch back. It didn't matter that neither of them had danced in a while. Their chemistry and their lift was always going to be beautiful. But he knew that while they had been the best of the best during their time, the dance world had progressed so far since then. The calibre of dance had been raised so much, and Richelle and Noah were doing even crazier lifts outside of the studio.

"Take that."

James and Riley come down from their lift, the man smirking, and the woman rolling her eyes next to him. The huge smile on Riley's face however, gave everything away.

"Ready, Pipes?"

"Absolutely."

She steps back, nodding at him. She runs at him, and he launches her into the air, holding her up as she gets into position. Then, he bends his knees, and throws her into the air, her switching her legs as she flies. They hear the gasps of the couple behind them, as he lowers her to the floor.

"Told you so, his girlfriend smirks, pretending to flip her hair.

He laughs at her dramatics, and pulls her to his side. She leans in, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"We concede, we concede."

James' raises his hands in the surrender motion, and they high five. Riley however, brings them back to reality.

"Finn, I think you have to go. It's getting kinda late. Pipes, you're staying overnight, right?"

--

She bids goodbye to her boyfriend, finally settling down on the couch with her favourite person in the world. Her brother wraps an arm around her, and they sit there in peace.

"I'm glad you didn't kill him. I really do like him, you know."

"Oh I know. And I know he really likes you back. I asked him. And I did do my job as your overprotective brother. You just weren't there."

"JAMES!"

She smacks him on the chest lightly, and he laughs. She rolls her eyes, and settles back down. Even if they fought, or pretended they didn't like each other, it would always be Piper and James. James and Piper. Sister and brother against the world.

--

*Richelle and Max, Abyss, 2:27