A Christmas Pinn

Chapter 2

Finn:

Spending Christmas Eve with PIper wouldn't be that bad. I could sure think of a lot of people I wouldn't want to be in this situation with. However, she looked as though she was thinking the exact opposite. 

She was sat in the middle of the studio. She looked stress as she stretched out her legs and took in some deep breaths. 

"Piper, are you alright?" I asked. 

"No. I just wanted to go home." 

"Don't worry. I'm sure Nick will be back on time."

"And what if he's not?" I didn't know whether she was just playing devil's advocate or she truly believed he wasn't going to make it on time. 

"Then you're spending Christmas Eve with me." I smiled. She didn't look amused. 

She began to shiver. "Does the emergency power not cover heating?" She asked. 

I shrugged my shoulders. It was beginning to feel cold. Maybe it's because we stopped dancing. I got up and walked to the cubbies, taking the only two jackets that were there, hers and mine. 

"Wear your jacket, it'll keep you warm." 

"Thanks," she said. She took her big red puffer coat and zipped it up. I liked how her coat and dance bag were the same red her leggings and leotard. It made her look fashionably coordinated. 

I put on on my navy blue jacket. "Do you think any of the other places in the building will have power?" I asked. 

She looked at me confused. "That's not how it works." I dismissed her comment. 

"It's worth a shot." I opened the door that led to the hallways of The Next Step and to the stairs that would take us to The Next Steep. 

"Nick said we shouldn't leave the studio." 

"Nick said we shouldn't leave the building." Or at least that's what I think I heard. I pushed open another door. 

"There's no harm in leaving. We're just exploring a bit." I said the word exploring as though to entice her in this wonderful adventure. She still didn't look too happy. All the hallways were pitch black and it was nearly impossible to see a thing. And once we entered The Next Steep, that was just as dark as well. 

"See, I told you," she said.

We heard a voice come from the dark. "Sorry, we're closed." We both jumped in fright until we realized it was just the barista. 

I smiled as him kindly. "No worries, we were just checking if the lights were out for you guys as well." 

"Yeah. They're out as well." The barista seemed a little more friendly now. "If you guys want. I have these two drinks lying around that aren't quite cold yet."

Piper was about to deny the offer, when I said, "Yes, please." I walked over to the counter trying not to trip over any of the chairs, eventually finding my way. I brought a bill out of my pocket. 

"Don't worry about it. It's Christmas after all." 

"Thanks." 

"I'm going to lock up the cafe, so if you guys don't mind just staying in your studio for the most part." 

Piper nodded. I took our drinks and left the cafe. 

She looked at me in confusion. "How?" 

"You just got to have the Christmas spirit, Pipes." She didn't react. Clearly, she needed a bit of Christmas 

"So what do you want to do now?" She asked. 

"We could just wait in studio A," I suggested. The drinks would help keep us warm and I still believed that Nick would be back soon. 

I then thought of something else. "You said you and your family play games at Christmas?" She nodded. 

"I actually have a bunch of those kinds of games in my car." She looked at me in shock. 

"Why do you have those games in your car?" 

"For family road trips and stuff. And you never know when you're going to be stuck in a dark building with a cute girl at Christmas Eve." I nearly bit my tongue. Did I just call her cute? 

She took a moment to process what I said before agreeing. We turned the other direction and walked downstairs to the main entrance of the building. She pushed the door, but it didn't move. She pulled the door and it still didn't move. I tried helping her and still, the door didn't move. 

"Why is the door locked?" 

"The barista must have thought we were still with Nick." She looked as though she was ready to cry. 

"Nick took the key with him, right?" 

"Probably."

"Okay." Her breathing quickened and she began to pace the little area we were in. "So we just have to wait until Nick comes back. Which might take another hour and it's already..." She glanced at her watch. "7:45. But that's fine. That's okay. We just need to stay ca-" Her rapid back and forth pacing lead her to trip on something. Maybe a shoelace or a piece of loose carpeting. She fell flat on her side. I helped her up. 

"Ow!" She sounded as though she was in pain. 

"Are you alright?" She shook her head. I propped her up onto the stool that was conveniently placed outside the door. 

I looked at her ankle. "That definitely looks like you twisted it or something." 

She sighed rolling back her head. "Just great."