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...
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"And then he just started screaming in my face about how he was going to go and sleep with Stephanie!" I unload the last part of the story of James and me to Giselle, as we walk down the grassy path leading to the studio.
Her face is filled with confusion, and a little bit of, humour? What the hell is funny about all of this?
"You know Riley, I think you might have a little thing for James," Giselle tells me jokingly as she wiggles her eyebrows at me, laughing in sync with each time that they go up and down.
I have a thing for James? Please, I could never, I would never have feelings for someone as frustratingly annoying as James.
I look across me to see Giselle attempting to not laugh at my expense, but a small giggle escapes her mouth as she looks at my face, I'm assuming I look like someone's just slapped me, but I just can't believe Giselle thinks I like James.
"I do not like him! He's just so infuriating, like one minute he's all lovey dovey chasing me around the beach and kissing me, and the next minute he's shouting in my face about how much he basically hates me!" I rant at Giselle, it feels unusual because normally I never get this angry, but lately, I've just been on this rollercoaster of emotions, and all of them somehow link back to James.
"All I'm saying is that if you didn't care, you wouldn't be so annoyed about it, just give him a chance to explain himself for what he said to you yesterday, I'm sure he just got caught up in the heat of the moment, it's not like he would actually ever go back to Stephanie," Giselle says, rolling her eyes at Stephanie's name.
At least someone understands how I feel about her.
That's another reason why I love Giselle, she's always been there for me, unlike Tiffany or Stephanie, or even my own sister, Giselle always gives me the advice I need to boost me up and feel confident again.
I look over at her and stop walking for a second, pulling her into a hug, and she hugs me right back, comforting me as I relive everything that's happened in the last few weeks.
"Look, if you ever need me, I'll probably be at the studio, I've been going there at every spare minute lately, practicing my technique so I can rejoin A-troupe next season, so if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here," Giselle tells me as she releases me from the hug, holding my shoulders firmly with her hands so that I'll look her in the eye, ensuring that I understand the sincerity in her words.
I nod at her and a small smile creeps up from my lips, I'm so glad to call her a friend, and lately, she's acting like more of a big sister to me than Emily has been.
"Thank you," I tell her, allowing my face to show how grateful I am for her kind words.
•••••
"And finally, Riley, you will be partnered with James for the duet," miss Kate tells me, looking me directly in the eye to gauge my reaction.
Seriously? I really don't want to do a duet with James, especially after how horrible he was to me yesterday, I would rather be paired with anyone else on the team, even Emily- even though she hates me right now, I'd rather have her yell at me for the rest of the week than hear James' cocky jokes.
