Your smile - The Next Step

practice makes perfect

Harper was sat beside Michelle in studio B as they both warmed up together. She wanted to make sure her older sister was okay with everything that was going on, but also she wanted to slip in what James and Riley had asked her to mention.

"So, are you nervous to audition for the solo part?" Harper asked nonchalantly as she stretched out her legs in a lunge.

"A little, but I don't really mind if I don't get it." The blonde replied with a bashful smile. Harper couldn't believe what she was hearing, how could Michelle not want the featured solo in the regionals dance? There must have been something going on.

"Is everything okay? You seem a little bit distracted."

"I'm fine, I've just got a lot on my mind. A Troupe is a lot tougher than I expected." Harper still wasn't buying her excuses. There had to be something more than just A Troupe drama.

"Michelle, you can tell me." Harper insisted as she could really tell something was bothering her sister. With a sigh Michelle continued.

"Just all this drama with Emily, it's exhausting. I don't even know what I did wrong." Michelle explained with a sigh. "It's not even just me either, she yells as everyone."

"Well wouldn't it be better if someone else was dance captain?" She suggested trying desperately not to make it obvious that she was implying Michelle should try and take her position, but unfortunately her elder sister knew Harper all too well. Michelle frowned at Harper, instantly realising who had put those ideas in her head.

"You didn't happen to bump into anyone from A Troupe did you?" As soon as Harper glanced down bashfully, Michelle had her answer. "Harps, James and Riley don't know what they're talking about, I can't take over as dance captain."

"But you know how good you'd be. You were a great dance captain at the old studio and it seems like the team really needs you." Harper argued her point back and although Michelle looked guilty, she didn't seem to be convinced.

"Emily won dance captain and that's the way it is. Can we drop it now?" Harper huffed but nodded anyway. She didn't understand why Michelle wouldn't want to take over as dance captain. Of course it was risky and a little drastic, but James and Riley seemed so serious about it that the situation had to be bad. Michelle could be the solution to their problems but she wasn't hearing anything her sister had to say. "Anyway, do you wanna get a juice with me?"

"I can't, Noah and I have duet rehearsals."

"Oh right, how's that going?" Michelle asked with a small smile. She could see that Harper and Noah really were great friends and she was glad she'd found someone to make her life at the studio a little better. Noah actually reminded Michelle a lot of Eldon. He was a great dancer of course, but she could also see that Harper made him a little nervous so he'd often ramble just like Eldon.

"It's okay I guess, I'm just nervous for the competition."

"Come on, you'll be great." She reassured her with a smile. Harper wasn't so sure.

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"Good you guys, just remember to keep the chemistry all the way through." Kate critiqued them as she ran Harper and Noah through their duet. It was a lyrical piece so it involved quite a lot of partner work and it was vital that they remained connected. Their dance followed a girl, played by Harper, who was suffering a great loss but Noah acted as her guardian angel to pull her out of her sorrow. "That's better, now Noah remember to really hold her tight in that lift."

The studio head restarted the piece of music and let them run through it once more full-out. If Harper was being honest, she did feel a little nervous dancing with Noah. It was her first boy-girl duet so that must have been the reason she was feeling that way, but it was still exciting to have the opportunity. She didn't compete much at her old studio as she was never old enough to go to regionals or nationals when Michelle went, she only did a few small competitions. Noah was a great partner though so she was sure it would go well.

As they were dancing, Harper noticed Chris come in from the office and the A Troupe dancers followed as it was time for their rehearsal. She instantly felt a wave of anxiety rush over her, she wasn't used to being watched by so many people unless it was onstage. The music eventually faded out and there was a round of applause from the older dancers but they all looked a slightly confused.

"Who is that?" One girl with dark brown hair asked as she stood beside two other girls with their arms folded. They looked particularly intimidating so Harper could only assume they were the E-girls she'd heard so much about.

"This is Harper, my little sister." Michelle told them all and a few people nodded as they began to notice the similarities between the two sisters. Although they didn't look identical, it was clear they were related.

"Wow Michelle I didn't even know you had a sister." A blonde boy commented as Michelle glanced down bashfully. Harper raised an eyebrow at this, clearly there was something going on there. She hadn't seen her sister blush so much since she had a crush on a guy named Hunter from their studio back in Madison. "Your duet looks great guys." The boy complimented making Noah and Harper smile nervously. It felt extremely intimidating being in a room with the whole of A Troupe.

"Well you guys are done for the day, remember the competition starts at nine on Sunday so you'll have to be here early." Kate told them and the two nodded before heading out. She could here the A Troupers gushing about how sweet and little they were making her chuckle a little as she walked with Noah down to squeezed to wait for Michelle.

"Does it bother you at all that Michelle didn't mention you to the other A Troupers?" Noah asked out of the blue.

"Not really." She answered suspiciously quickly. Truth be told, it did bother her. She always felt like she had to live up to Michelle's standards and Michelle not even bothering to tell anyone that she had a sister just reinforced the fact that Harper would always be in Michelle's shadow and nothing was going to change that.

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a/n: i hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! thank you so much for reading. so from here on there will be a little bit more sibling drama between michelle and harper (its tns we need some drama) and obvs there will be richelle drama when she comes along but that won't be just yet.

i actually don't know when richelle joined the studio but she isn't seen in j troupe at all in season 1 (though it's often implied she's been there as long as noah) so i'm having her come in season 2 like in the show. also, can we just appreciate how iconic the e-girls were. "this isn't a democracy, it's an emily-ocracy" (i love her)

i will be trying to upload more frequently (so sorry for the wait on this one) but i hope everyone enjoyed :)