Unforgivable
Summary: "I believe in second chances but, after your betrayals, Daniel, I don't think you deserve one." A Giselle/Daniel one-shot.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Next Step nor its characters. I only own this story.
The doors to the building in which the Next Step studio resided swung open and Giselle walked out, wearing her hard-earned A-Troupe jacket over her dancewear. She briskly descended the small flight of steps, grasping tightly onto the strap of her duffel bag that was hanging over her shoulder, and proceeded down the sidewalk. A cool gust of wind hit her, which she found quite refreshing, especially after such a brutal competition against Elite.
The redhead never thought, in her wildest dreams, would she ever have to compete against a dancer from Elite to rightfully earn a spot on the dance team representing Canada at Internationals. She also never imagined that the dancer whom she would be battling would be Daniel, her best friend and a former dance member of A-Troupe. However, after being betrayed by him over and over again, Giselle believed the term 'former' could also apply to both titles that she knew Daniel by.
As she walked further away from her second home, Giselle reflected on her relationship with Daniel. For as long as she could remember, they were the best of friends. As he trained to make his professional dance career a reality, she was his instructor. More importantly, she was his biggest cheerleader. She wanted to see him go far in the dance world. What she did not want to see, however, was him turn his back on her and the Next Step. His betrayal of the Next Step was a knife through her back, but his betraying of her was a knife through her heart, and Giselle could not see herself looking at Daniel the same way again.
"Giselle!"
Giselle did not need to turn her head to figure out the identity of the individual who had called out to her. She could easily recognize his voice after over a decade of friendship with him and wanted nothing more than to get as far away from that voice and its owner as much as possible.
"Giselle, please stop!"
Rather than cease her movements, the A-Troupe's acclaimed acrobatic dancer continued her brisk walk, but was forced to come to a sudden halt when Elite's newest dancer popped up in front of her. She closed her eyes and sighed, annoyed by her path being blocked by the one person who had caused her so much heartache. "What do you want, Daniel?"
"Giselle, please," Daniel begged. "Let's just talk, okay?"
"We talked earlier," said Giselle with a frown. "The talk was brief, but we talked. I have nothing further to say, especially to a traitor." She then took advantage of the stunned look on Daniel's face to walk around him and continue her journey down the sidewalk, silently praying that Daniel would not go after her.
Unfortunately, her prayers went unanswered.
"Look," said Daniel as he hurried forward to catch up with Giselle, "I know you're upset with me for leaving the Next Step."
"'Upset?" Giselle repeated, the anger evident in her voice. "I was heartbroken, Daniel. You left us for Superstar Dance Academy just when we needed you the most. We needed you for our Nationals team."
"Superstar Dance Academy offered me the male solo at Nationals," Daniel explained. "You have to understand why I accepted it."
"Because Miss Kate wouldn't give you the same at the Next Step," said Giselle as she continued to stare ahead at the people walking in front of her and not on her unwanted companion next to her. "And, instead of accepting that fact and remaining a vital part of A-Troupe, you waltzed off to another studio who would give you that opportunity."
"You know I worked hard for that male solo, Giselle," said Daniel. "You know I wanted it more than anything else in this world."
"I'm not saying you didn't," said Giselle. "I know you worked hard and I know you wanted that solo very badly, but Eldon won in the end. He was clearly A-Troupe's best shot at making it past the male solo round at Nationals and, because of him, we did."
"I was there, Giselle," said Daniel through gritted teeth. "I was there when he beat me."
Giselle sighed. "I'm not saying you aren't a great dancer, Daniel. You are, you really are. If you had that solo instead of Eldon, I know that you would have taken us past the male solo round at Nationals too. But it wasn't my choice to make."
"No one else in A-Troupe had faith in my abilities," said Daniel. "I was clearly not needed and that's why I left."
"But we did need you, Daniel," said Giselle. "We may not have needed you as our male soloist at Nationals or a member of the small group, but we still needed you as part of A-Troupe and the Nationals team. You were just as important to A-Troupe as all of the other dancers were. It's such a shame that you couldn't see that."
"Yet, the Next Step still won Nationals without me," said Daniel. "Clearly, you didn't need me that much after all."
"Daniel, we won because we worked together as a team," Giselle explained. "A team that you could have been part of if you weren't so selfish and put the team first rather than betray us because you couldn't get your way."
"I wasn't the only one who betrayed you," Daniel pointed out. "Word around the dance floor is that Amanda from Elite tried to bring the Next Step down from the inside."
"Believe me, I haven't forgotten," said Giselle. "Yes, Amanda did betray us but, unlike you, she came back to us. If it weren't for her, we would have never been able to compete in the finals against Life of Dance. When she stepped in as our alternate, she was doing it for us, for the team, not for her own glory in the spotlight."
Daniel remained silent, appearing to have realized that Giselle was right.
"She proved her loyalty to the Next Step dance family," Giselle continued, "while yours vanished into thin air, reappeared in support of Superstar Dance Academy, vanished again, and then just happened to reappear in support of Elite."
"I didn't have another choice," Daniel explained desperately. "I bombed my Julliard audition and Superstar Dance Academy wouldn't take me back after I failed to take them past the first round at Nationals. I had no studio to dance at. When Lucien met up with me and offered me a place in Elite, what else could I do?"
"You could have come home to us," Giselle pointed out as though the answer was obvious. "If you learned from your mistake and apologized to everyone, there would have been a good chance that we would have taken you back. But instead of learning from your mistake, you made another one by going to Elite."
"You're making me seem like the bad guy here," said Daniel with an annoyed look on his face.
"You betrayed us, Daniel, you betrayed us twice!" Giselle reminded him coldly. "You spat on us when you turned your back on us and walked out of the doors of the Next Step and through the doors of both Superstar Dance Academy and Elite. Explain to me how your actions do not make you the bad guy here?"
"Superstar Dance Academy and Elite gave me what I wanted," Daniel explained. "They gave me chances to shine on stage and further my dance career."
"So did the Next Step," said Giselle angrily. "Your position in A-Troupe gave you those same chances to shine on stage and grow as a dancer and, on top of that, you had the unconditional love and support of your dance family, two things I would bet all my life savings on that neither Superstar Dance Academy nor Elite would ever give you. But I guess they weren't good enough for you."
Daniel looked hurt. "Giselle - "
"Save it," Giselle interrupted coldheartedly. "You're not the same Daniel that I used to know."
"That Daniel still exists," Daniel insisted. "All I ask is for another chance to prove that."
"That's something I can't give you," said Giselle solemnly with a shake of her head. "I believe in second chances but, after your betrayals, Daniel, I don't think you deserve one."
Daniel gently reached for her right hand. "Giselle, please -".
"Enough is enough, Daniel," said Giselle firmly as she pulled her hand out of his reach. "I'm tired of you watching you walk away from everything that life has blessed you with."
"I wouldn't say everything," said Daniel sheepishly.
"Oh, really?" said Giselle, "For starters, you walked away from your prestigious position in A-Troupe, a position that a dancer will go to any lengths to earn."
Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but he refrained from doing so when Giselle held up her hand to warn him not to interrupt her.
"You walked away from the Next Step studio," Giselle continued, her eyes becoming misty, "which has been your home away from home ever since you could walk."
Daniel closed his mouth as Giselle's words hit him like a sack of potatoes. Sure, they were harsh, yet they were true, and Giselle was making sure that he heard them loud and clear.
"You walked away from your dance family, who would love nothing more than to compete alongside you and see you succeed in the dance world."
Daniel stood there shamefully as he took in everything that Giselle was throwing at him. The manner in which she opened her mouth and bit her lip shortly afterwards seemed to indicate that she still had more to get off of her chest.
"Worst of all, you walked away from your best friend," said Giselle as a tear escaped and slid down her pale cheek, "who spent countless hours teaching you everything she knows about dance because she was head over heels in love with you and wanted to see you grow as a dancer."
Daniel's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates upon hearing Giselle's confession. The astonishment written all over his face seemed to also convey a silent question that Giselle had no problem interpreting and answering immediately.
"Yes, Daniel, you had my love," said Giselle, "but, like everything else you walked away from, it just wasn't good enough for you."
Daniel gulped to hold back a sob that was threatening to come out. "That's not true."
"A word of advice before I get out of your hair," said Giselle. "Never give up on your dreams, but remember that there will always be someone out there who's better that you. And you know how I know that?"
Daniel raised his tear-filled eyes to look up at her.
"Because I just proved it today," said Giselle.
Daniel nodded silently and closed his eyes in a failed attempt to keep his tears from falling.
"Best of luck, Daniel," said Giselle softly. "I don't know what the future has in store for you, but I can guarantee that I won't be in it."
With one last glance at the man she once knew, Giselle gripped onto the strap of her duffel bag tightly and resumed her walk down the sidewalk. She could feel Daniel's eyes on her as she turned her back on him and the memories that they shared prior to his betrayal. As much as it had hurt her to completely distance herself from him, the man she once loved more than life itself, she knew that it was for the best. She had let her love for the Daniel whom she thought she knew blind her and prevent her from seeing the real Daniel, the Daniel who cared about himself above everyone and everything else in his life.
A second chance, Giselle unfortunately realized, would never change that.
And that concludes my Giselle/Daniel one-shot! Questions? Comments?
Please Review! Reviews are greatly appreciated! =D
~TeenQueen661