Author's Note: Hello again! To whoever is reading this, it looks like I'm updating early since I feel totally inspired, today most especially. It's safe to say that staying up all night getting chapter one done felt worth it, but let's see if I can catch up just fine with my updates. Just so you all know, this story, most notably the beginning but most especially this chapter (and maybe the next) is heavily based off of a dialogue my brother and I came up with, over a week ago as I speak, about Kate and Phoebe catching a bus and meeting an absolute stranger they've never come across before who gives an unusual first impression and seems to follow them quite a bit after that. That's where my OC steps in and I feel that this chapter is what will maybe give a push and drive this story forward (mostly because they're in a bus half the time). Well, enough of these puns of mine and back to the story... I hope you enjoy chapter two! And, I also hope that this OC is someone who will grow into you chapter by chapter and I promise, the dancers will be here soon. To all those who reviewed, Blizzard20 and Holly (guest), thank you so much! You just made my day even more special. I sure hope you'll like this one.
Cheers!
~ASianSuccessor2012
P.S. As always I own nothing but the OCs. Don't forget to leave me a review once you're done with this chapter; it would honestly mean a whole lot to me. Suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome, as usual. No flames are permitted. Thank you.
Chapter 2: An Accidental Meeting
Just a few blocks to the left away from the studio, a fully-packed bus stop with over a dozen bystanders awaiting the 9:11 bus was in sight of the two sisters gradually approaching it. As quickly as they knew they could have gone, knowing they could have shared a conversation the way they usually did, with the raindrops falling rapidly above the city downtown, both Kate and Phoebe decided to stay silent and tranquil as possible, especially since there was one thing that couldn't escape Kate's mind no matter how hard she tried to brush it off. The rain…the change…the new beginning…meant for her? This puzzle was definitely a challenging one to piece together, let alone comprehend. What was most incomprehensible to her was the fact that her apparently eccentric sister came up with this whole theory. Was it true? Or was it just another one of Phoebe's quirks that she had to put up with everyday? Either way, all the questions running through her mind were going linger for a long, long time to come…perhaps even during the next day's rehearsals if she could handle it, even if it meant over thinking and losing her focus. If the time was right, perhaps she would ask Phoebe what all this was about. If there was anyone who knew, it was her younger sister, the creator of the very theory.
Finally reaching the bus stop, Kate found herself leaning against the pole with the list of daily transit schedules, seeing that each of the benches were occupied, turning her eyes to the rain-filled sky, still in her ponderous mood since she and her sister stepped out of the studio. Phoebe, on the other hand, despite her prolonged tranquility, found herself in a chipper and eccentrically optimistic mood, her eyes and her face lit up and aglow, scanning and looking through the faces of the bystanders and passers by, feeling the need to bask in her surroundings. She, for one, was completely unlike her older sister. Without caring or paying the least attention to the numerous people bound to stare at her due to her unusual disposition, even her sister, she then decided to sit down in the middle of the sidewalk by the bus stop in her usual cross-legged position, shutting her eyes in the process, just on the brink of meditation.
Glancing at her watch once again, reading 9:09, Kate turned her eyes to the crowded bus stop, looking for her younger sister without noticing that she happened to be right next to her, sitting in her rather "infamous" yoga position, as Kate often referred to it to herself until she suddenly glanced down, Phoebe's appearance taking her by surprise and her eyes widening, then returning straight ahead as if nothing happened to save herself the embarrassment of her sister's behavior.
"Phoebe, what are you doing in the middle of the sidewalk?" Kate whispered in between clenched teeth, her eyes still turned away from Phoebe, "We talked about this, remember?"
Phoebe simply looked up at her older sister and smiled brightly though failing to meet her eyes.
"Oh, hello Kate," the younger woman beamed without any inch of embarrassment in her expression.
"Phoebe, you do realize that everyone else in the bus stop is staring, don't you?" Kate calmly chided tensely, her eyes quickly glancing down at Phoebe and her expression in an anxious smirk. Yet again, her remark was met with a contradictory chuckle of a reaction by Phoebe, who hadn't a care in the world of what the rest of the city thought about her perception of life and her lifestyle as a whole.
"Sister, sister dear," she laughed in a mock fancy accent, shaking her head at her sister's uptightness, "Does this really have to matter right now? What matters right now is that I'm as comfortable as I want to be. Don't you know what inner-peace is when you see it, Kate?"
Then, a stunned silence filled the corner, with Kate at a loss for words. At this moment, she knew that she had finally found the opportunity to ask Phoebe what her supposed theory of a new beginning meant, most especially, since she knew she was the only one who knew it. Then again, she didn't expect anything quite as sensible to stand to reason; after all, this was Phoebe she was talking about. No matter how wise her statement came out to be, in all reality, she knew how sincerely eccentric she was. If there were any good time to ask, what better time would there be than the present?
"Yes, Phoebe, of course I do," Kate replied more calmly, turning towards her sister and bending down to her level, "But this time, you're going to have to help me out."
To Phoebe, this was an absolute no-brainer. If her sister was in distress or in any sort of muddled confusion, she would be there to assist her in a heartbeat, mainly because she felt she already had an answer prepared. Maybe it was the only answer she knew.
"Yes, Kate, anytime," she chirped confidently, "Just take a seat right next to me and start meditating."
Yes, that was the very response that Kate expected out of her sister. To her, it seemed like the only possibility for a solution, but she knew very well that there was more to that. She knew better.
"Well, I don't think that's the case, Phoebe," Kate clarified with a light chuckle, "You see, I thought about what you said once we left the studio. In fact, I thought about everything you said."
"Everything?"
"Everything," she nodded, "In fact, I couldn't stop thinking about it ever since we got here."
"Mhmm…I see…" Phoebe found herself nodding as well, her eyes shifting, "Has it been troubling you?"
"Oh no, no, not at all," Kate replied defensively, hoping she did not offend her sister in any way, "As a matter of fact, I've been meaning to talk to you about it."
With that, Phoebe gave her sister a knowing smile. Deep down, she knew that Kate would somehow come through and appreciate one of her theories and perspectives one of these days, no matter how superficial they seemed in her point of view. Besides, she knew that she would have to believe her sometime. It so happened that that sometime was now.
"Fire away, Kate," she said simply, "The floor's all yours."
Now was definitely her chance to give it her best shot for an understanding.
"So, Phoebe, I've been thinking about what you said about the weather changing all of a sudden, about the rainfall that only started at the beginning of the week," she explained in all honesty, yet with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice, knowing the eccentricity of her sister, "What I'm trying to understand is what it has to do with me. What do you think this rainfall says about a change in my life? Because I can't think of anything else to settle this, it seems to me that you, Phoebe, are the only one who has all the answers."
By this time, Phoebe was beaming widely at her sister, feeling the rush of her self-esteem rising in hearing her last statement.
"Oh, you really do believe in me, don't you?" the younger of the siblings sighed cheerfully with a grin before reverting to her serious state of explanation,
"Well, if you must know, first of all, I don't think that this rainfall says something about a change in your life; I know it does; I sense it does."
Her remark was only met with yet another expression of befuddlement from Kate. That clearly did not justify anything she just said in her theory earlier; to Kate, which merely justified her sister's state of insanity that she knew she had to put up with once more.
"Phoebe, you know that doesn't tell me anything," Kate shook her head in slight annoyance, "And just how do you know that it has to do with me? I know, everything you said was really quite nice and came from your heart but I honestly don't think you're making any sense. A rainfall is just like any other day. It's just that, the way you said it made it seem like it meant something more than just one of your superficial philosophies. That's why I asked you about this."
At this time, Phoebe just listened to her older sister ramble her explanation and her response was simply a light chuckle and yet another knowing smirk. These were some of the very words she expected to hear out of Kate' words of questioning, reasoning and doubt. In fact, she was used to it. What she was most pleased to hear was the fact that Kate believed that even if it was superficial or could be sugarcoating the fact that she has endured a tidal wave of change; especially at The Next Step it meant something to her. That was as positive as the response could get.
"Maybe it does mean something, Kate," Phoebe spoke in a matter-of-factly manner, the smirk still etched on her lips, "Maybe it does."
Well, that was Phoebe as usual…treating a philosophy as if it made the most sense above all else. Dismissing that thought, Kate knew that it was just the way she was and how she perceived things, deciding to play along and continue asking her younger sister even more questions, just to keep adding onto this rather weird yet wonderful philosophy of a personal pathetic fallacy.
"Now just how do you know it means something, Phoebe? I'd most definitely want to know," she responded with an equally as sarcastic smirk towards her sister, still bending down to her level.
Seeing the sarcasm written all over her sister's face, Phoebe, in turn, decided that two could play at this game. If Kate was up for a challenge, so was she. The only thing is, they were the challengers up against each other.
"Oh, you'll see," Phoebe, replied plainly and nonchalantly with a chuckle under her breath, avoiding eye contact with her sister who was clearly unsatisfied with her reply.
"So, that's it then," she spoke with a tone of slight surprise but evident disapproval, "It really didn't mean anything, did it? Maybe it was just one of your intriguing mind games you were luring me into, wasn't it?"
Noticing the apparent disappointment in her sister's expression, Phoebe simply let off her laughter, placing her hand on her shoulder. Oh, how uptight Kate had always been. She simply couldn't take any of her younger sister's slight jokes at this time of night.
"My, my, Kate," the younger woman laughed much to her sister's seriousness, "You don't have to take everything so personally."
Once Kate's expression slackened, Phoebe too straightened out and simmered down, pushing her legs to stand up.
"Seriously though, Kate, I know you might think I'm being crazy right now, which I know you think I am, but I just have this feeling that something will come by and change your life. Not mine, Kate. Yours. Just hear me out just this once."
As much as she still didn't believe Phoebe for a second, being accustomed to her frequent states of insanity, she had no choice but to try her very best to agree with her philosophy. What if she was right? Only the future knew it this time. Maybe, since it came from her sister, she would have to let it settle down for the time being.
"Well, I guess we'll never know until it actually happens," she responded nonchalantly as the whirring engines of the bus screeched to a halt right before them.
"Trust me, sister dear, you'll know when you know," Phoebe called out to her as the bus's exhaust released its screeching sigh, the doors opening in the process.
As the two sisters, along with the dozens of passengers stepped into the bus, they immediately pulled out their bus fares from their pockets and inserted them into the coin slots accordingly, then finding their way to the first two front seats of the bus. Of course, being as polite as possible, Kate acknowledged the bus driver's presence just like any other passenger would do unlike Phoebe who took her greeting to another level with a bow and a "namaste," not only to the driver, but to all the other passengers who came by. Even as both sisters took their seats, waiting for everyone to enter, Phoebe continuously bowed and remarked her signature salutation to every group. Kate, on the other hand, who took the window seat, simply gazed out the window, an embarrassed smirk upon her face, wishing she could say that she had no idea who this strange young woman next to her was, although in reality, she couldn't make it known because Phoebe was still her sister. Nevertheless, she also did her very best not to make it known that Phoebe was her sister, even trying to ignore the awkward situation she was getting herself into. She hoped to herself, however, that whoever passed by her simply saw Phoebe as a friendly face in the crowd who was nothing short of enthusiastic and found the joy in greeting passers by and strangers. However, this wasn't entirely the case. She didn't seem to greet them as if they were entering a bus; she was greeting them as if they were leaving a yoga class. Kate could only wonder, would her sister ever learn? By the looks of it, the answer was crystal clear. No, she wouldn't.
Just as the doors of the bus closed and once the driver took off, knowing that this ride would take at least fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the traffic, Kate decided to take it easy and keep her eyes fixed upon the city's skyline as the raindrops and mist hazed her view while Phoebe busied herself with her own style of vocal choral warm-ups, much to the disturbance of the passengers next to her and behind her. As a matter of fact, these were no ordinary vocal warm-ups; she was preparing herself to sing an excerpt from "The Tibetan Mountain Throat Singing Trio," which she often brought up and sang in the midst of conflict, much to Kate's annoyance.
With that, Phoebe shut her eyes and sang the excerpt to herself, beginning softly, unaware of the passengers that were listening to her with expressions of confusion and disturbance evident on their faces every time she got louder to the point that her throat singing reached the eardrums of the bus driver, causing her to cringe at the sudden din and taking Kate by surprise, although she honestly wasn't surprised, still trying her best to ignore Phoebe's "singing." Kate was indeed aware of, having prior experience taking transit, that she was bound to bump into people with strange behaviors or perhaps, in lack of a better word, strange people. At this moment, she thought to herself that she wasn't just surrounded by strange people on board; she was related to one. Because she knew that Phoebe wouldn't be stopping her throat singing anytime soon, instead of stopping her, she cupped her fists upon her ears just like the rest of the passengers and had her eyes shut tight, shaking her head out of frustration.
On the other hand, some passengers also tried their best to ignore Phoebe's throat singing with the knowledge that she was completely unaware of her surroundings, but the bus driver couldn't take it anymore. No matter how hard he tried to brush off the sound of her voice, he found himself cringing at every screeched or high-pitched note or baritone groan he heard her release. At this point, he had it.
"Hey you," the elderly driver grunted as he turned his head to Phoebe as the stoplight went red, to no avail, failing to catch her attention, "Yes, you in the maroon! Will you stop that noise, it's getting in my nerves and I'm driving!"
No matter how loudly he yelled, Phoebe paid no attention to him or any of the other passengers simultaneously complaining as if their voices were merely the sound of howling wind and carried on with her throat singing. Kate, in turn, felt sickened and thoroughly irritated by the screams of the passengers combined and colliding with her sister's singing, cringing and clutching to herself as tightly as possible just so she wouldn't get involved with any part of the disruption. After all, she had nothing to do with it, except for the fact that the one who ignited the flaming sparklers through her song was her sister.
Suddenly, as the voices of complaint continued to grow, from the bus driver in the forefront to nearly every passenger of every row, Phoebe finally snapped out of frustration, immediately stopped singing and abruptly stood up, clinging onto the silver pole next to her for balance.
"Listen everyone! If you have anything against spreading the joy and sharing the beauty of cultural music, you might as well keep quiet and respect my taste of music or learn how to at least appreciate it for what it is, or you don't know what art is at all! Who's with me?!"
the young woman proclaimed with wholehearted conviction as if she were giving a campaign speech promoting revolution, of course, receiving no reply, most especially not from her sister, Kate, whose eyes remained downcast as if she paid no attention; although in reality, she listened to every word her younger sister spoke.
The bus driver, still awaiting the red light to revert to green, turned his eyes agitatedly towards Phoebe, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration towards her, completely ready to have his say.
"Now lady, I don't know if you're aware of this, but you should be the one showing some respect to all these passengers who paid good money to take their ride home in peace and quiet…something I can see that you don't understand," he chided irritably, his teeth grinding through his words and his voice elevating, loud enough for every passenger to hear, "So why don't you sit down and keep your mouth shut on all that tasteless racket that no one in this transit cares to hear about, you hear me?! Say one more word to me and I'll have you kicked out of this vehicle at the next sidewalk! Do you understand me?! 'Cause I honestly think you don't!"
Upon hearing the harsh words of the driver, Phoebe remained silent and at a loss for words, her lips slightly parted with a disgusted expression directed towards him as Kate's eyes widened in disgust and shock as well. Now, she didn't know who to scold, Phoebe for the disruption or the elderly and irritable bus driver. Either way, she didn't like any part of this situation; not at all.
Even the rest of the passengers were at a loss for words. It was one thing to have one of the passengers disrupt a bus ride, but it was even worse to have the bus driver himself call her out, only to cause even more of a stir and outright humiliation. A now entirely embarrassed Phoebe, her cheeks flushed and her eyes downcast, slowly backed way from the front of the bus and took her respective seat next to Kate who then gave her a wide-eyed stare of disapproval and a subtle head shake that clearly spoke the words, "look at what you did!" In return, Phoebe mouthed her sister a, "sorry; I had to speak my mind," in turn, receiving a single nod from Kate. With that, these sisters, as well as the rest of the passengers could dismiss this little scenario as a misadventure on transit and perhaps even forget about it along the way.
However, this little misadventure didn't seem to find its epilogue that easily. Right after Phoebe took her seat, another passenger who sat behind her and Kate stood up at the thump of his thick leather boots, grabbing hold of the board of Kate's and Phoebe's seats to support his stance.
"Sir, if I may say so myself, in all due respect, I believe you should keep your own personal opinions to yourself," a man in a faded chocolate-brown felt coat, wearing a gray porkpie hat and black dressed pants who was slightly older than both Phoebe and Kate, addressed the bus driver in a stern yet seemingly relaxed tone of voice as if he hadn't a care in the world, his expression leaving no inch or trace of annoyance, but carried an air of coolness and sarcasm within him, "If I didn't know any better, with the way you talked back to this perfectly decent and passionate lady, I suppose that people just like you have absolutely no respect or appreciation for the arts and culture. I guess that makes you, of all the people in this bus, an expert of artistic discrimination, don't you think?"
The bus driver, who kept his eyes on the road as he was driving, groaned out another pound of frustration and glanced up at the viewing mirror to face the carefree passenger, without having to turn his head. Who was he, a random stranger on the bus to tell him off for simply keeping order on the bus? How dare he talk back to him: a man who is focused on nothing but performing his tasks in a professional manner, according to him, of course. Just as he did with Phoebe, he was going to have to do the same with this man.
"You know what, Sir, you better get your butt back into your seat before I kick you off this bus!"
Still, the stranger was an unshakeable mass of conviction, who didn't care himself if he was humiliated in front of the entire bus, let alone, before the mercy of the bus driver.
"Well, if you say so," the manly passenger scoffed, "If you plan to kick me off this bus, you're gonna have to kick us both off this bus. And when I say us both, I mean, the lady and I."
Phoebe and Kate's eyes widened in utter shock and disgust at an instant at hearing his words. If this stranger knew what was good for him and the rest of the passengers, he wouldn't push on with a problem that was just about to end and reignite the flame once again by putting her on the spot. What made matters worse was that this man was not helping solve the problem at all; he was making a scene and an even bigger fool of himself in front of and among people he has never seen or heard of before.
"What, are you crazy?!" the driver exclaimed ruggedly, "You've got your own place to be and she's got hers. But if you insist, the nearest sidewalk is in this next block and I'd be more than happy to get rid of you two all at once that easy."
"At this point, Sir, I don't care where we are!" the passenger remarked, "Just as long as people who share the same point of view are stuck together, nothing else matters. 'Cause the next time you start talking trash about the arts, you'll be making a bigger fool of yourself than this lady ever was! So you think this woman was foolish? Yes, she surely was, but she'll never be as big a fool as you."
At his final statement, he dismissed his words with a smug grin, straight towards the back of the bus driver's head, in turn, turning towards Phoebe and Kate, who avoided his eye contact. As a result, the bus driver sighed gruffly and continued driving on, slowly turning his head towards the feisty passenger.
"Now look here…" he began, his eyes turning back to the steering wheel and the road, "if you ever think of causing any more trouble around here, don't you dare set your foot on my bus again, you hear?!"
"I've got no problem with that, Sir," the stranger huffed, his arms crossed with a sarcastic yet relaxed smirk planted across his face, sitting down on his respective seat and turning his eyes to a clearly confused Phoebe, who gave him a blank, clueless, gaping expression on her face.
"Now that it's all been taken cared of, Miss, what have you got to say for yourself?"
Phoebe, her expression remaining static, was still at a loss for words, her lips struggling to find its sound.
"I…erm…I…" she murmured, clearly uncomfortable with the stranger's gaze.
"Perhaps thanking me would suffice? In case you haven't noticed, I did all the work around here to help you out," he chuckled with a smile, his disposition coming off as conceited, brash and rather disrespectful, not to Phoebe, who seemed quite naïve, but to Kate, who refused to see her sister supposedly 'put in her place' by some stranger who thought himself as superior to everyone else by the manner that he carried his words and actions since the moment he started speaking to the bus driver. To her, this behavior was most certainly uncalled for.
"So what, hmm? Have you got something to say to me?"
"Well…I…ahh-" Phoebe stammered yet again uncomfortably only to be interrupted by her protective sister, Kate, who immediately shot the passenger behind them a cold and disapproving glare.
"-She most certainly does not have something to say to you, Sir!" Kate reprimanded severely, looking the stranger in the eye, "I believe you owe her an apology!"
"An apology?" he questioned confusedly, "Ma'am, if you must know, I was helping her out."
"Oh no, you were not," she insisted, still staring him down, "All you were doing was making a complete fool of yourself and on top of that, you not only embarrassed yourself but embarrassed her as well. You, of all people, ought to be ashamed of yourself."
Still, the stranger was not convinced by Kate's frustration. He simply felt what he was doing was right, all for the defense of cultural arts. Perhaps the way he delivered his message struck her as obnoxious and abrasive; perhaps it was she who was missing the point.
"Well, I'm sorry if I made it seem that way to you, Ma'am. This certainly was not my intention," he responded a little more gently and politely this time, lifting the porkpie hat off of his head, revealing a patch of clean-cut yet ruffled brunette hair upon his head, "I sure hope that this apology gets through to you."
No matter how his disposition suddenly seemed to shift, Kate remained skeptical of the man's genuine identity and personality. Maybe he wasn't as abrasive as he first came across. She decided then and there to give this man at least a little bit of a chance, hoping that every second of her decision was worth it.
"Now, just who do you think you are?" Kate questioned the man suspiciously, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked straight into his hazel eyes. With that kind of gaze being received, he knew he would have to reply as soon as possible; otherwise, this woman would keep her suspicions of him until the end of the bus ride. Of course, he didn't want that to happen.
"I'm just an honest, hardworking young-at-heart fellow who's just as passionate and appreciative of the arts as that lady sitting next to you is," he answered with an old-fashioned charisma he attempted to make as charming as possible, "And how about you, Ma'am? Who do you say you are?"
That was no question; Kate already knew what to say.
"In case you haven't noticed, Sir, I'm her sister," she answered confidently with a smirk directed straight towards him with a guilt-tripping gaze, causing him to feel rushes of a combination of embarrassment, shame and full-loaded awkwardness. Now he understood why this woman was particularly behaving so uptight while he gave his convicted and passionate speech.
"Well, I, ah, I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me Ma'am," the stranger said within a light chuckle, his cheeks slightly flushed out of embarrassment. Amused by the man's sudden politeness and recently revealed modesty, Kate had no other choice but to do so.
"Maybe I will," she sighed with a smile, turning her eyes to her younger sister, "But I'm not so sure if my sister will."
"Why do you think so?" he shrugged in confusion, simultaneously, with Phoebe choosing not to pay the slightest attention to him.
"Well, I don't think she's interested in making acquaintances with just anyone who addresses her as foolish," she raised her eyebrows at him once again with that guilt-tripping gaze that always seemed to catch him off-guard. After seeing that a second time, he knew that that look was something he couldn't erase off of his mind, even if he knew this would be the only time he would have a chance to talk to her.
"Oh, come on now, Ma'am, didn't she hear that I didn't mean any of that at all?" he groaned within a chuckle, "I only said that to appease the driver."
"Let me see if she thinks so…" she hummed through her words as she turned to her sister, "Phoebe, what do you think?"
Without any further response, seeing that Phoebe's eyes were shut tight yet relaxed and her legs slightly crossed, she knew exactly what was going on. She wasn't ignoring them; she was completely oblivious to what was happening around her; this entire time, she had been meditating. Kate then turned her eyes back to the stranger and dismissed her response with a shrug.
"No say, huh?"
Kate simply shook her head in response.
"Maybe she will in due time, once she finds out she won't be seeing me again," the man chuckled as he placed the porkpie hat back atop his head, "sometimes, the strangest things often happen on the bus, now don't they?"
"Oh, tell me about it…" Kate nodded in absolute agreement, "I didn't expect Phoebe to suddenly burst into song or to witness you making a scene at all; I just expected to take my ride home."
"So did I," he agreed, in turn, "Every week-night, I take this bus at about this time and I don't usually expect some kind of funny business to occur at any point in time…at least I didn't expect something to happen until today."
Yet again, Kate found herself nodding in agreement. Even more unusually so, she found herself caught in the middle of a pleasant conversation with a complete stranger she started off by reprimanding for his behavior. Things most certainly escalated quickly from here.
"That's true," she agreed once again, all the awkwardness melting away as she grew comfortable talking to the stranger. Even after a few minutes, she felt as if he wasn't that much of a stranger after all. If only she could have the chance to get to know this quirk of a man all the more with the little time she had left aboard the bus.
"Well, now that I know your sister's name after distinctly hearing you mention it, I thought you should know mine," he said with a genuine smile as he outstretched his hand to hers for a shake, "My name is Josh. Josh Morrow. And you are?"
Now Kate could clearly see that this man, Josh Morrow, was obviously trying to make an acquaintance with her, even if it meant this would be the only time they would ever meet. No matter how shortly time was running out, she felt the sudden need and urge to carry on this course of action before it would be too late.
"Kate," she replied, outstretching her hand to his for a handshake, "It's very nice to meet you, Josh Morrow."
"The pleasure is all mine, Kate."
As the two new-found acquaintances shared a smile, the bus's exhaust sounded and the bus suddenly came into a halt, the noise waking Phoebe up, returning her to her alertness as well as signaling to Kate that their stop was right here. It was such a shame that at this very moment, just as she was about to get to know this rather friendly stranger, it was her turn to get off the bus.
"Well, I suppose this is it," she sighed, still keeping the genuine smile on her face, "It's been nice knowing you throughout this very short time, Josh Morrow. Good night."
With that, she shared one last smile with the stranger and along with Phoebe, descended the steps of the bus neither looking nor turning back. Her newfound friend, Josh, in turn, gave her a smile-a rather sad one-as he watched the woman leave the bus, now with the uncertainty whether they would ever cross paths again. As uptight and overprotective as Kate seemed in the beginning when they first shared a conversation, as they continued to converse, he found her to be quite amiable and approachable unlike any stranger he had come across aboard a bus. However, he had to admit, her sister Phoebe was an eccentric one. As he sat quietly in his seat as the bus began to depart the last station, he began thinking about the short-lived friendship he had just made with Kate and perhaps, if they ever met again, if her sister would find it in her heart to forgive him too for his incomprehensibly abrasive behavior. His encounter with these ladies, most especially Kate, was something he knew would last in his mind for a long while. Who knew when he would ever have the chance to see them, or her, again?
Meanwhile, five minutes after he last saw the two sisters, his eyes slowly drooped, downcast on the floor, nearly falling into peaceful slumber when he spotted an opened beige leather wallet sprawled awkwardly with a twenty-dollar bill sticking out on the ground right under the seat before him. He regained his alertness and bent down to pick it up, his eyebrows furrowed in befuddlement and concern, knowing that whoever accidentally dropped this wallet would be awfully, beyond worried sick by the time he or she got home. He then opened the wallet to reveal some sort of I.D. card and without a moment's hesitation, read it in an audible whisper.
"Kate W…1625 West Hawthorne Drive…"
His eyes widened as he read the card. This I.D. and wallet belonged to Kate, the woman he had just recently made an acquaintance with and decided right on the spot that once the bus came to a complete stop, he would immediately find the address listed on the card and return the wallet to her as soon as possible without delay. Although most people would have taken one glance at a wallet and claim it as their own, he had a mindset of integrity attached to him that told him to do the right thing and return this vital piece of property. What motivated him all the more was the fact that bringing the wallet back would mean him meeting with Kate once again. Ever since she set foot off of the bus, he had a sudden longing to get to know her even more. It didn't look like anything would stop him now; not even the constant bantering and rambling of a bus driver would convince him to do otherwise.
Once the bus came to a full stop, he gathered his backpack and clutched his fist tightly on the wallet and without stopping to thank the bus driver, bolted out of the bus the first thing and made a mad dash up the hill, hoping that he would successfully locate the address on the I.D. and even more so, develop an acquaintance that would hopefully grow into a friendship with the wallet's owner, even if she was the one who first called him a fool.
Author's Note: Here it is…a completed chapter two. I hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. Yes, it was a pretty long chapter, I know, but this happens to be where the story actually begins. So, there you have it. Also, you got to meet the OC of this story, Josh Morrow and hopefully you liked him too. I have to admit, although he came off as a little bit of a fool, he really did have some pure intentions and he really is quite friendly. Since he's a new guy, I'd like to hear some suggestions from you for his character development or what you'd like to see from him, just because he will appear in this story a lot, and I mean, A LOT. After all, he IS Kate's OC and they'll be developing some feelings for each other over the course of the story. I'll bet you can guess who will have these feelings first. In case you were wondering, he will, at some point, develop his relationships with the rest of The Next Step dancers, but as always, not everyone will take him as he is. I wonder who will be the last to trust him…
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this loooong chapter and please don't forget to leave me a review. I'd really appreciate it very much.
Thank you all so much for your support for this story! 'Til the next update…
Cheers!
~ASianSuccessor2012
P.S. In case you were wondering about the address, I came up with it myself.