Come Back, Em...

Chapter 1

Emily's POV

“The Next Step!”

As soon as the announcer said that, I was overwhelmed, proud, excited… just everything. Everyone deserved this so much! We’re going to Internationals! Standing at the side of the stage was… upsetting, but it was also amazing. I got a perfect view of all my teammates, running and hugging each other. But I was specifically looking at Hunter, who was doing his signature “head slide” across the stage. Then everything rushed back to me. I loved Hunter. But the thing is, I still do. What I regret the most from this past year was not telling him Amanda’s plan. I broke up with him for the team, maybe, but what about our happiness? He deserves to know why I broke up with him; he out of all people really, truly deserves to know. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw West approaching me. Earlier, he asked me on a date, and I said yes. Why did I?! I know for sure that I don’t like him, he’s just an awesome friend, so why did I? Maybe I just didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore…

 “Hey,” he exclaimed, then kissed me right on the lips!

“Uh, ya. Congrats. You guys deserve it so much!” I managed to get out, still shocked from the kiss.

“You’re part of this team too, without you, we could’ve never gotten here!”

 He gave me one more smile, and then went back to the stage, chanting “The Next Step” with the fellow guys. Every guy except for Hunter, that is. For a spilt second we made eye contact, then we both quickly looked away. Was he looking at me this whole time? Please tell me he didn’t see West kiss me… what am I going to do now? As everyone joined in with the chant, Hunter and I made eye contact again, except this time I could see that he was clearly hurt; unhappy. We just continued making eye contact, until they finally called my teammates off stage. In all the chaos, my sister, Riley, ran up to hug me, followed by Michelle, and soon everyone was forming a group hug around my crutches and me. I needed to talk to Hunter, but I couldn’t now. Everyone was celebrating, and so should I. I worked hard to get here, and I deserve to have a fun too. After all Riley and I had to go threw this past year with the whole Amanda drama finally paid off; I should be happy! After finally letting go of me, we all walked back to the dressing room, still chanting “The Next Step”. I walked slowly behind, well, I kind of had to with my injured knee.

 While everyone was still getting changed, West sat down on the mahogany sofa next to me.

 “So, how about that date? I was thinking th-,” West started, but I knew that I had to interrupt him.

“West, you’re awesome, and you make me happy. But I can’t go on a date with you, I’m sorry,” I responded, ignoring his gaze for as long as I can; I didn’t want the guilt to get to me. After finally presenting myself as a nicer and new Emily, I didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore, but at the same time, it was time that I also cared about my own happiness.

He looked confused and dazed, so he was basically looking like himself; I hope that’s a good sign.

Before he could continue, I spoke up. I had to think fast. I didn’t want to tell him that I still had feelings for Hunter; I wasn’t even sure about my feelings for him. So, I decided to say,

“The thing is,” I looked up and saw Chloe talking to Michelle, “Chloe… ya, Chloe has a crush on you, I really don’t think that it’ll be fair to her if I go on a date with you. It was nice of you to ask though, really.”