Hey everyone, it's been a while. Almost four years, since the last update, to be exact. For everyone who is still reading, thank you for your patience and I'm sorry for abandoning this story. I honestly feel terrible for keeping you waiting for this long. I posted the first ever chapter of this story back in 2015, life looked completely different back then. Fast-forward 9 years later and life has simply become busier and more stressful with more responsibilities, finding new interests, study life, work, social life and simply less time for things like writing, which I still absolutely love to do. To be honest, I lost a lot of motivation for this story since I kind of got a little lost on how I wanted to continue it, but lately I got this urge to write and after rewatching TNS after many years, I decided to continue this story. I remember I made a promise to finish this story and I want to keep my word to that promise. I can guarantee to you that you'll never have to wait for an update that long ever again. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the patience and thank you for the support for reading this story over the past decade. X
About the story, I re-read it a couple of times and I notice I made some errors like giving two characters identical names: Lily and Lilly, I didn't realize it at the time. It isn't common to have similar names, but I can understand that it can get confusing. So for future references; Lily (Singular L) is the name of the girl from J-Troupe, Thalia and Chloe had a chat with. And Lilly (with double L) is the teammate Emily encountered during the party in Boston, in the previous episode.
I recommend you guys to re-read the previous 3/4 chapters to refreshen your minds a bit. Without further ado, here is chapter 15! Enjoy!
CHAPTER 15
Despair. Sadness. Envy. Fear. Guilt. Regret. Grief. Hunter hasn't got a clue what to feel as he watches down on his mother's and father's beautifully decorated gravestones which was surrounded by tons of red, white, and yellow bouquets of flowers. It's odd how something so depressing and sad can yet look so bright and peaceful.
The funeral service finished about thirty minutes ago. It was a nice service which was held in their hometown, Madison, Wisconsin. It was held at cemetery close to the woods and not too far from Lake Mendota. It was small companied filled with family, close friends from both Hunter and their parents, Michelle and Beth also travelled from Toronto to attend the funeral. The service was nice as people lined up to say nice things and memorable anecdotes about Hunter's parents. Hunter and Hailey wrote a poem together which they both read out to all attendees. Despite the fun memories people shared with each other, the atmosphere was grim and sad like most funerals are. Besides the people who were speaking on the little stand it was very quiet despite the occasional sob and crying of some attendees. Hunter himself didn't even shed one tear throughout the entire service. He felt like he was 'obligated' to cry at his parent's funeral. But it's like he used up all his tears the past week and nothing was able to come out. He completely emptied out. Maybe that is how Hunter felt now: emptiness.
Minutes again went by, and Hunter was still standing in front of the gravestones. He just kept staring out graves and the flowers, it was like tunnel vision. He couldn't keep his eyes away from it. For him it felt like his parents are still present with him and he didn't want to leave since he is afraid it could be the last time to be with them. He kept watching, watching, and watching, until he got startled by someone's soft touch on his arm. He looked to his side and saw that it was his girlfriend Beth slowly stood next to him. Beth had been crying since she had lightly puffy eyes, but besides that she attempted giving Hunter a small, barely visible, smile.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She softly said. Hunter gave her a small smile back and looked back at the gravestone.
"I know, it's okay." Hunter said back. Beth gently leaned her head on Hunter's shoulder and Hunter embraced an arm around her. Beth led her attentions to the beautiful marble gravestones as well. The two stood there in silence as they watched the resting places.
"It was a nice service." Beth said. "It's nice to see how much your parents meant to all these people and how much positive impact they had on all your lives." Hunter chuckled softly.
"They were very kind people, Beth." Hunter said. "Hard work, determination and kindness towards others were their values."
"Sounds a lot like you. It's obvious where you got it from."
"I would say it describes you as well." Hunter said back with a small smile. "I told my parents about you, and they were very happy for me, and they were looking forward to meeting you. I'm sure they would've liked you very much." Beth smiled back as a tear rolled down from her cheek.
"I'm sure I would have liked them very much as well, Hunter." The couple stood there in silence again for a little while until Hunter broke the silence and looked Beth in the eyes.
"Beth, I know I haven't been that present since you've been here, but please know that I really appreciate it that both you and Michelle came from a long way to attend this funeral. From the bottom of my heart, I'm grateful that you could make it and have you by my side throughout all this."
"Hey, are you kidding? You don't need to all that. I know, Hunter. I know." Beth said in a comforting way. "Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you. I promise I'll always be there for you. No matter what." Beth embraced Hunter in a tight hug.
"I love you." Hunter said.
"I love you too." Beth said. A short moment later, both pulled away and Beth held Hunter's hand. "I want to let you know that most people are already on their way to your parent's house." Hunter slowly scanned the area behind him, and he noticed that Beth and he were the only ones left. He was so focused watching the graves that he didn't even notice that everyone left.
"I think I'll stay here for a little while."
"Do you want me to stay?" Beth asked. Hunter slightly shook his head.
"It's okay, Beth. I'll be fine." Hunter responded.
"Are you sure?" Beth asked. Hunter nodded with a smile.
"I'll be alright. Just go home and check on Robin and Hailey, I'll come later." Hunter reassured.
"Alright, text or call me whenever you need me, okay?" Beth reminded for a final time. Hunter nodded his head and gave Beth a peck on her forehead before she slowly left the graveyard. As the sound of her footsteps slowly faded away in the distance they suddenly reappeared and became louder by the second, the sounds of the steps kept building up until it suddenly became to a stop. The person stood next to Hunter 'admiring' the silence for some minutes as well before that person eventually broke it.
"You know what's crazy, we've seen each other for the first time in like four years, a couple of days ago, and we've hardly said a word or even shared a look to each other." The person said. "Never have I thought that the first opportunity to speak to my brother after such a long time is in front of our parent's graves."
"Yeah… I wasn't exactly in the mood for a chit chat, Lilly." Hunter responded to her little sister. Lilly reacted with a short, soft chuckle.
"Your girlfriend is pretty, you two seem cute together." Lilly said. "Not the type of girl I expected you would end up with, to be honest." Hunter turned his gaze towards his slightly shorter sister in confusion.
"What a damn great way to begin a conversation after such a long time." Hunter said sarcastically. "What do you mean by that anyways?" Lilly put her hands up in a way to tell him to calm down.
"Take it easy. I didn't mean anything by it." Lilly said. "All I meant is that I pictured you with a particular someone else." She said playfully as she attempted to have eye contact with smiling a little. "Someone who is also here in Madison at the moment… Michelle, maybe?" Hunter chuckled a little.
"Michelle and I are just friends, nothing more, obviously." Hunter said.
"I can tell that by now, obviously." Lilly said back in a mocking way. "It's just a surprise since you were so obsessed about her for a very long time."
"I was never obsessed about her."
"Come on Hunt, you don't need to lie to me." Lilly said. "We haven't seen each other in ages, but that doesn't mean I don't remember anything from our lives together."
"Fair enough." Hunter said. "Since you're that curious, Michelle and I dated for a little while, but it didn't really work out. But I'm very happy now with Beth, she's great!"
"As long as she makes you happy, I'm happy for you brother." She said with a smile as she softly tapped her brother's arm. Hunter smiled back and playfully punched his sister's arm. "It's obvious a lot has happened in your life since I left Madison. Nice things mostly, I presume? Moving to Canada, meeting new people, having a girlfriend, winning Nationals. I'm sure life must have been nice up until last week."
"It not all always sunshine, but I can't complain." Hunter said. "I went to Canada to pursuit one thing, but once I couldn't have it, I figured out there was so much achieve over there. All those things you just named are a great example of that. I'm sure living in New York City must be nice as well." Hunter said as he looked at Lilly. Lilly didn't respond and sadly stared down deeper and deeper at the gravestones of their parents.
"I hate it over there." Lilly softly said. "It's terrible, Hunter." Hunter was most definitely surprised by hearing that answer.
"What? Why? What happened?" He wondered. Lilly waited some second before she let out a deep breath before she started explaining.
"Imagine just being fifteen years old and leaving your hometown where you were raised your entire life in, leaving your friends, school, sibling, after school activities and basically everything else because your parent's send you to a preppy, fancy boarding school, hundreds of miles away. Fifteen years old, Hunter. A fifteen-year-old girl who never left the state of Wisconsin, suddenly in the world's biggest city, all by herself, without the support of any friends, her parents or her only sibling." Hunter noticed that Lilly slowly started folding her hands into fists. Hunter knew she would always do that when she got nervous or upset.
"Lilly, pl- "
"I'm not done Hunter." Lilly interrupted. "You know, the school itself wasn't that bad. It was big, the quality of the classes we're great. The dorms were nice, and I was taken well care of by the accompanists over there. But those damn kids. They made sure my life was a living hell. From day one, they noticed that I wasn't from around there. I was the odd one out. The strange midwestern girl from Wisconsin. I got called names, I was the target of pranks and a couple of times some girls even beat me up. I remember going to the school board and they wouldn't do shit. I remember calling mum and dad, once a week, crying on the phone, begging them do pick me and take me back home. All they said is that I shouldn't give up and be strong and that everything will turn out alright. So, all I basically had was myself. Not even one person stood up for while it all went down for two years straight. "
"Lilly, I'm-" Lilly interrupted Hunter by holding up her finger towards his face.
"Not. Done. Hunter." Lilly said again. "One day, I was collecting some books from my locker until a group of girls surrounded me and called me names again. Something triggered, adrenaline filled me up and I punched one of these popular preppy girls in the face, then I punched another one, both knocked out on the floor, the rest ran away. They both received a broken nose from it and I my gift was that I got expelled. Two days later mum and dad flew over to NYC. I was hoping that they would be proud of me for the fact that I faced my problems and that I stood up for myself. But no. They were so disappointed in me, Hunter, for ruining my own chances for great academic education. I will never forget the look on their face on that moment." She said as she took a sigh and looked down to the colorful flowers. "They wanted me to come back home, but there was something holding me back. I wanted to stay in NYC and make them proud. It wasn't easy but I convinced them to let me stay. By the time I got eighteen, I signed up for community college, found a studio apartment that I shared with someone, got a part time job and I started living a simple life in the city. It wasn't an enjoyable time, but it kept me busy, and every day was a learning journey for sure."
"Lilly… Wow… I can't imagine what you've been going through. I had no idea." Hunter said softly as he looked at the direction of her sister, who was still staring down as tears slowly started to form from her eyes.
"Of course, you had no idea, Hunter. I sent you dozens of mails and written you loads of cards. But not once did you reply. Not once. In four years!" Lilly said as the tears slowly started to roll down her face. "I love mum and dad a lot, Hunter. Even with all the stress the put me through the past years. I truly love them both from the bottom of my heart." Lilly stated as you pointed to the graves and looked Hunter in the eyes. "But they let me down. I couldn't count on them when I needed them the most." Lilly slowly formed her hand into a fist again without losing eye contact. "And now here are you, Hunter. My big brother, whom I love, very much. I love you, Hunter." Suddenly Lilly gave Hunter a strong push on his chest out of frustration and she burst into tears. "But you left me hanging as well! Why Hunter?" Lilly kept crying, pushing, and pushing Hunter on his chest, put he held his ground. He tried to calm his little sister down by grabbing her hands and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Lilly, I'm so sorry." Hunter apologized while still embracing Lilly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't there for you, when you needed me. I'm sorry for being a terrible brother… Please know that I love you and that I always had you in mind… It's just that-" Lilly abruptly pulled away from the hug, but she seemed calmed down.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be this dramatic. There is a lot going on today, obviously." Lilly said while slowly sobbing. "I just really missed you, Hunter. Not talking to you for so many years… It really upsets me."
"I totally understand it, Lilly. I'm so sorry." Hunter said. "I should've reached out to you throughout the years. I know that I messed it up. It was never my intention to neglect you. I can explain everything you what have happened in the past years."
"I'm not looking for any excuses, Hunter." Lilly said.
"But I'm trying to tell you that-."
"Listen Hunter, I'm sorry, this obviously isn't the right time and place to have this kind of conversation." Lilly said as she wiped away some tears with a tissue. "I just want to get one thing of my chest really quick, if that's alright with you." Hunter simply nodded. "It's so unbelievable hard to be in your shadow, Hunter. Everything seems going so easy for you, that I almost hate it. Mum and dad were always so invested in your dancing that they didn't even notice any of my talents at all. All I really wanted from them was to hear how proud they were of me… It's kind of funny you mentioned pursuing one thing in a different place. Last year I got invited to join an academy where they recognized my talent. It's in Boston, and I decided to go there. The entire year I worked on myself, my talent. I basically became a new person. That was my one pursuit, not being the person, I was in New York City. But once I achieved that in Boston, I figured why stop here. I still wanted, no wait, want, to make our parents proud. The only way I could truly to that is to find just one thing, I'm better at than you." Hunter was completely confused. He tried to process everything she said but he simply doesn't understand it.
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked his sister confused. Lilly looked at the grave for a final time before turning to Hunter again. Her eyes which were filled sadness seemed to be replaced with slight anger.
"I'll see you at Internationals, big brother." Lilly said softly. Right after she walked off and didn't look back. Hunter was speechless as he just realized what had happened moments ago. He didn't even know her little sister was a dancer. The first tear he shed that day was when he knew that he might have lost his sister as well. The sister who now sees him as the rival who will do anything in her power to make sure that she becomes victorious over him.
(-)
Kate decided to give the A-Troupe a couple of days off from team training, because the two co-captains, Hunter and Michelle, and Beth weren't available since they were attending the funeral of Hunter's parents. The studio was still open for dancers who still wanted to practice their duo and group routines, but it wasn't obligated. Most A-Troupe dancers were in the studio, although Riley wasn't one of them. She didn't feel like going despite some efforts of Giselle pushing her to come to the studio to practice their duet. Riley has been having a hard time with everything that has been happening during the recent times, especially the departure of her sister Emily to another studio and country and breaking up with her ex-boyfriend James. It's not only the fact that she misses them, but that she doesn't has an outlet where she verbally can express her thoughts and struggles. If she's lucky she can call Emily once a day, but since she's still settling in Boston and her (training)schedule is very busy, on some days those calls are limited to only texting. She doesn't take the phone calls with her sister for granted but it really doesn't feel the same as having a face-to-face conversation. Her situation with James hasn't got any better, the don't ignore each other anymore, but there still an awkward vibe running between both. They have a duo together and it although it is slightly but surely coming together, its simply isn't as good as their previous duo from Nationals. The spark is simply missing. They limit the conversations they're having with only dance talks, nothing else. Riley really wanted to break the ice many times to know how James is doing, she often had the urge just to call him and tell him that she misses him a lot, but she knows she can't do that and that it's for the best to currently keep their relationship strictly for only dancing. A couple of A-Troupe dancers, whom Riley was close to, noticed her change in behavior as well. She wasn't as social as she used to be, she skips daily post-training drinks at Culture Shock more often and she simply doesn't look as sharp during the group exercises likes she used to. It's like she's slowly losing her passion for dancing by the day.
Riley was doing a stroll in a nearby park, trying to clear her mind, with a cup of coffee in her hand and her earplugs plugged in as she was listening to a playlist with all her favorite songs. It as was the first time in a while that she decided to go outside to enjoy the nature instead of locking herself in her bedroom during the spare time she's gotten. After she walked for a little while she found a park bench and took a seat on it, she took out the ear plugs and admired the sounds and the looks of the park for some time, she often let out little smiles as she felt slight glimpses of relaxation glimpse through her body. That peace she shortly felt was disrupted by the sound of her ringtone. She looked at the screen before picking up and was shocked since she didn't expect this person to call her at all.
"Hello?'
"Hi Riley… Am I calling you at a convenient time?" The person responded.
"Yes, of course." Riley answered with slight confusion in her voice.
"Okay, great! I'm glad you picked up the phone. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person to talk to right now."
"I wouldn't really say that, but it's for sure surprising, Wyatt." Riley said. "So… Not to sound rude or anything, but why did you call me?"
"Emily has been telling me what's been going on between you and your boyfriend." Wyatt started. "I can't help but feel responsible for the things that are going down at the moment. It's been eating me alive for the past weeks that I haven't checked up on you on how you are doing, and I wanted to offer my sincere apology to you Riley." It was silent on the line for a moment.
"You're calling to apologize so you can feel better about yourself?" Riley wondered sarcastically.
"What? No! Of course not!" Wyatt said with quickly with panic in his voice. "You're my friend. I genuinely care about you and I'm truly sorry." It was silent for a little while on Riley's end of the line. "You know, I would lie if I would say that I wouldn't felt better if you forgave me though." Riley chuckled.
"You know I'm just messing with you, right?" Riley asked.
"I figured it out after a while." Wyatt said with a chuckle. "I guess I still know you that well."
"Well, if you still know me that well, you should've known by now that you don't need to apologize for anything that you did." Riley started. "It takes two people to kiss after all… And well, it already happened. So, it's alright, okay?" Riley could hear a relieved sigh on the other end of the line.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." Wyatt said. "You're great Riley."
"I appreciate you calling me. How is Boston going by the way?"
"Boston is alright, I guess. It's still the same old, big, boring city. Having Emily around makes it a lot better though." Wyatt said. "Speaking about Emily, she told me a lot of the drama that have occurred in your studio for the past year. I must say that it sounds hectic and all, but it's nothing compared to all the crap we have happening here in our studio."
"Nope, I refuse to believe that." Riley said in a jokingly manner. "There is no studio more chaotic than The Next Step. Everyone knows that."
"Oh, believe me. It is." Wyatt said. "I would love to tell you about it, but firstly, how are you doing?" Riley sighed. She doubted whether she should tell Wyatt everything that has been bothering her recently. She hasn't vented to anyone in a while, so she thought it wasn't a bad idea to confide to Wyatt.
"To be honest, I'm not doing great."
(-)
"Good job everyone! This dance is really getting along nicely!" Thalia said to the group J-Troupers as she and Chloe were finishing up their training for them.
"I must say that I'm proud of the progress you all are making. Keep practicing and we'll see you all after the weekend!" Chloe added. The youngsters of J-Troupe high-fived Chloe and Thalia and said their goodbyes to them as the made their way to exit the studio. As the two though everyone left, they suddenly noticed that one of the dancers was slowly collecting some gear into her bag. It was Lily. Chloe and Thalia silently looked at each other and nodded. They walked up to the younger teen while they remembered the last time, they encountered her.
"Hey Lily." Chloe said as she took a seat next to Lily. "We wanted to let you know that you did well as well this training session."
"Thank you." Lily said softly.
"Last time we noticed that you had something on your mind." Chloe added. Lily immediately looked away and just stared at the floor.
"We are slightly worried about you, Lily. We never saw you like that before." Thalia said as she slowly put her hand on Lily's shoulder. "You can always come talk to us whenever you want. We just want to ask you this once, and we promise that we'll let it rest unless it comes from your side of course. But are you okay and is there perhaps something you want to tell us?" Lily kept looking down and started twitching with her leg for a little while before she took a sigh.
"Well, there is something going on." Lily started sadly as she pulled out her phone and handed it to Chloe and Thalia who scrolled through the page. "Something happened at school last week and ever since people has been sending me nasty things on my socials." Both girls gasped when they saw the mean comments and DMs appear on the phone screen.
"Oh my gosh, Lily. This is terrible." Thalia said. "I'm speechless. Please tell me you told a teacher about all this." Lily shook her head.
"No, and there is no way in hell, I'm telling them." Lily said.
"I think that isn't a bad idea, Lily." Chloe added. "This has clearly escalated and I'm sure the right people at school can help you to make this stop." Lily shook her head again.
"No! I don't want that!" Lily said frustrated. "It will make things much worse than they already are. I want no outside involvement, at all!"
"Do your parents at least know?" Thalia said.
"No." Lily said sadly. "I don't want them to freak out, and knowing my parents, they'll probably will. If they know, they school knows. If the school interferes, I'm 99% sure that the people who are behind this will find out and make me life even more terrible. It's getting less by the day anyways and I'm sure it will fade away eventually." Chloe and Thalia looked at each other concerningly.
"Do you mind telling us what caused all this?" Thalia asked.
"Long story short, I've been talking to this boy at my school, and he asked me out on a date. Well, we kissed, and we did that before I knew that he was still dating his girlfriend. Someone spotted us and that person told the girlfriend. The girlfriend is kind of a big deal at our school, your typical popular mean prep girl, she dances at Elite. So, after she found out, she told everyone that I was attempting to steal her boyfriend and since then everyone has been commenting on my posts and sending me messages." Lily said sadly. A little while later Lily's phone vibrated and she looked at her screen, an almost no noticeable tear rolled down her cheek as she grabbed her bag and stood up. "Look, my mom messaged me and said she is waiting outside to pick me up. I appreciate you for listening to me but promise me to not tell a soul about this." She begged.
"Don't worry, we won't." Thalia said. "Please don't hesitate to come to us when we can do anything to help, alright."
"Thanks, I will. But I got this under control." Lily said as she hurried out of the studio as quick as possible.
"Poor girl." Chloe said sadly "I know she said that we shouldn't be involved with any of this, but I feel like there is some things that we can do to help her."
"We should help her, Chloe." Thalia agreed. "I simply have no clue how."
(-)
A couple of hours later, Hunter finally returned home. After the confrontation with his sister, he stayed by his parent's graves for a while before he finally decided to go home. As he wasn't in the mood to immediately face the lots of people in their home he went for a little detour and took a walk next to the nearby lake, where he again thought about his parents but mainly is trying to reflect what has been said by Lilly. He felt extremely guilty for causing all this pain to his sister, so he's been thinking about what the best way is to apologize to her and explain what happened over the course of these past years. It's been such a long time since the two have spoken with one and other, that Hunter has no clue how to encounter this situation with Lilly. Besides that, there is the fact that the two will meet again for Internationals in Miami. It didn't take Hunter too long to realize that she danced at Golden Stars Dance Academy, especially when Lilly mentioned that she moved to Boston to join a new academy. Hunter never knew that her sister was a dancer, so that made this all very confusing for him. But for now, all he wanted to do was clear the air between the two of them.
As Hunter walked up the patio of the house, he saw Michelle sitting on the bench, browsing on her phone. Hunter walked up to her and took a seat next to her. Michelle looked up next her and smiled as she noticed it was Hunter.
"Hey, there you are!" Michelle said. "People were getting worried about you."
"Oh, so you weren't worried about me?" Hunter asked jokingly. Michelle smiled back.
"Nah, I'm never really worried about you. I know that you always know what you're doing." Michelle said. "I know whenever something tragic happens, you rather be on your own for a while. Just like today, I assume."
"You really do know me well, huh." Hunter responded. Michelle chuckled.
"After like fifteen years, it would be weird if I didn't."
"Fair enough." Hunter said as he looked at Michelle with a smile. "Anyways, I wasn't entirely alone these past hours. I had a talk with Lilly."
"Hey, that's good! Despite the circumstances, I thought it was a little strange you two haven't talked to each other. I remember how close you two were before she went to New York." Michelle said. "I'm glad that you finally found the opportunity to at least have a chat with each other before she left." Hunter gave her a confused look.
"What, she left?" Hunter asked. Michelle looked back at him with a confused look.
"Yes, she left to the airport, like an hour ago." Michelle answered. "I thought she told." Hunter sighed and sadly shook his head.
"She didn't…" Hunter said sadly. "That conversation, Lilly and I had, it didn't go too well, to say the least. I was hoping to speak to her again this evening, trying to fix some stuff between us."
"I'm sorry to hear about, Hunt." Michelle said sadly as she gave her friend a comfortable hug from the side. "Do you want to talk about it?" Hunter shook his head.
"No, thanks Michelle." Hunter said. "I think I've dealt with enough sadness for today."
"I feel that." Michelle agreed. "It was getting a bit too intense for me inside."
"Is that why you're sitting outside?" Hunter asked. Michelle wondered.
"That and I was waiting and hoping that you'd run into me. I just wanted to talk to you, make sure you're doing okay." Michelle said. "So how are you really feeling?" Hunter took a moment to think about that question.
"I honestly have no idea how I'm feeling. I feel okay right now, but also not at the same time. It's weird." Hunter said. "It's weird being at my own house knowing that my parents won't ever step foot in it again. Never hearing my dad's annoying jokes in the kitchen, the first thing in the morning, never seeing my mom's sparkle in her eyes whenever we talk about dance. I'm going to miss them, Michelle." Hunter continued as tears started to form from his eyes. "You know what the hard part about all this is? It's the fact that we're back here in Madison, back in the neighborhood we both grew up in, back in the house I grew up in my entire life in and most of these times were happy, joyful, positive… Basically nothing bad happened when we were younger. But now, I'm afraid that whenever I come here, I will always be reminded of this one bad thing that happened and I that I can never experience the same feeling I had for Madison like I always had." Michelle laid her head on Hunter's shoulder and the two remained silent for a little while.
"Let's not think about it for now." Michelle said softly as she wiped some tears from Hunter's eyes and not breaking eye contact. "You have enough stuff that is keeping you busy now. What is about to happen Is simply about to happen. We have minimal control over that." Michelle said as she suddenly points towards the street. "You want to know what I think about whenever I look at the street?"
"Tell me."
"First thing that comes to mind is how we always used to play street hockey on the cul-de-sac. You, me, Lilly, Marlena with all the other kids in our neighborhood." Michelle said. Hunter chuckled.
"Those are some great memories." Hunter said with a little smirk. "You were terrible at it, though." Michelle chuckled.
"Yes, I was, wasn't I." Michelle said. "I couldn't skate for one bit, until your dad thought me. You have no idea what a flex it was to tell the other kids that I had a personal skate lesson from an NHL player. I can't speak for all the girls but I'm pretty sure every boy in this area looked up to your dad, they wanted to be a great hockey player just like him."
"Not going to lie, it is pretty cool." Hunter chuckled.
"Right!" Michelle said. "Hunter, believe me when I say that I can at least name one beautiful thing about every single square inch of this place which involved the both of us together. Despite all this, I will always remember the good memories we made here. It always puts a smile on my face, no matter what. Madison will always be my happy place. And I can imagine that you don't feel like that right now but trust me-" Michelle said as she looked Hunter in the eyes again. "These memories we made, will never change, they'll always be there, and they'll always be happy. You won't forget them." Hunter smiled at Michelle.
"Alright, I believe you. Thanks for that, really." Hunter said as Michelle smiled and faced the street again. "Enough about me, I want to hear about you now."
"What do you want to hear about me?" Michelle asked.
"Okay, do you remember that one conversation we had on your birthday, where you mentioned that you may wanted to move back to Madison?" Hunter asked.
"Didn't thought you remembered that." Michelle responded. "I might have overreacted for a bit since it was my first birthday away from home and homesickness kicked in like crazy. But to answer your question, I don't know. Coming back over here for some days, seeing my mom, familiar faces, and places again it surely brings back memories. I love this place with all my heart, and I wouldn't mind moving back here. But Toronto is great as well, it slowly starting to feel like a home as well with The Next Step and everything else around it. The future is unpredictable, so I'll wait and see. Maybe it won't be either of those places."
"Really, what other places did you have in mind?"
"I don't know, anywhere really. I would love to see different parts of the world. I never been to California or New York, but I would love to visit Europe and South-East Asia some day as well." Michelle said.
"Very solid options." Hunter smiled. "In less than two months we can scratch Miami from that list as well."
"I'm looking forward to it." Michelle said. "Anyways, Beth and I are driving back to Toronto later this evening. Which means we'll leave in a couple of hours. I don't know if there's anything you still want to do, with me or with Beth?"
"Yeah, about that. I was thinking about it, and I was wondering if I could come along with you guys?" Hunter asked.
"Are you sure about that, Hunt?" Michelle wondered. "You buried your parents just today. Don't you want to stay for a little while longer with your family?"
"Yes, I'm sure, if been feeling sad for a long time now and I don't want to feel like that anymore. I think it might be good for me to go back to Toronto to completely focus on dancing and spending more time with you guys. I'm sure my parents, especially my mom, would have wanted me to give everything for Internationals. As long as it's alright with you, of course."
"Yes, of course it's alright!" Michelle said. "What about Robbin and Hailey?"
"I know Robbin is going to stay here for a while with the rest of the family, to take care of some stuff. I don't know whether Hailey wants to stay here with her mom, but I could ask her if she wants to go back home as well." Hunter responded.
"Yeah, that sound like a good idea." Michelle said. "You should go talks things over with your family and maybe check up on Beth, she is probably wondering where you are. I think I'm quickly going to my mom's to say goodbye and I'll come back later."
"Sounds like a great plan." Hunter responded with a small smile. "Thank you, Michelle. For everything, really." The two friends both stood up and embraced each other with a long tight hug.
"Every time, Hunter."
(-)
"Kate, I need to speak to you, urgent!" Phoebe said in a panicked way as she hurried into the office of her sister and studio manager.
"Phoebe, what's going on?" Kate wondered worried as she looked up from laptop on her desk. Phoebe suddenly put down an envelope on the desk.
"That's what is going, a letter from the Internationals board." Phoebe said. "Read it out loud!" Still confused, Kate took out the letter from the envelope and read it out loud.
"Dear studio owners, as you might know, we strive to always improve the Internationals dance competition is as many areas as possible. Internationals are a great way to blend multiple styles and cultures of dance and in general. We, as a worldwide organization, believe it is important that our dancers are aware of the differences between the various cultures in the world. We want everyone to know that, despite these differences, we all are equal and have many similarities. That's why we have decided that one dancer from each studio will be sent to a one of the other 31 participating country's studios, where they'll watch, learn and breath the (dance)culture of that country for two weeks. You may decide who ever goes and the submission deadline is upcoming Friday. Three days after the deadline, the studios will know which dancer will be transferred to which country. Please know that all are obligated to participate in this program. Good luck with your preparations for Internationals. Dear regards, The Internationals Board." As Kate finished reading the letter she looked up towards Phoebe in shock. "This is really bad news, Phoebe."
"I know, Kate." Phoebe said as she scratched the back of her head. "We gave everyone a role for Internationals. This means we totally need to change some line-ups if the person we choose is in a duo or a group dance. Missing two weeks of practice with a group is basically a no-go" Kate sighed.
"This also means we have to disappoint a dancer since that person won't play a major part during Internationals." Kate mentioned. "We have a very tough decision to make."
"I know." Phoebe said. "We have until next week Friday, so let's take our time and think about it. Michelle comes back tomorrow, so maybe it's good to discuss this with at least one of the co-captains."
"That sounds like a good plan, Phoebe." Kate said. "Until we come to a decision, don't let anyone know about this, okay? I don't want to freak anyone out." Phoebe nodded.
"Don't worry, I won't." Phoebe said. "Let's talk about this later, if you don't mind, I gotta work on a choreo."
Kate nodded and thanked her sister, as Phoebe left, she rested her head on both her arms out in frustration.
(-)
Riley still was on the phone calling with Wyatt. She told him everything that was bothering her for the past weeks and Wyatt has been listening to her and giving her his thoughts on her problems. They've been on the call for a solid twenty minutes.
"I really appreciate you listening to me, Wyatt. It really did help me." Riley said over the phone.
"Of course, Riley. I'm glad to finally have spoken to you and clear the air." Wyatt said. "Honestly, don't hesitate to call me whenever you need a listening ear or if you simply want to have a chat."
"I will remember that, Wyatt, thanks! It's been good speaking to you as well." Riley said.
"That's great!" Wyatt said. "Anyways, there is something I need to tell you, but I can't really do it over the phone."
"What do you mean by that?" Riley wondered. "Why can't you do it over the phone?
"I just feel like it wouldn't be an appropriate way to have this conversation." Wyatt answered. "I know it's a still a long while from now, but is it possible we could have a chat in person in Miami, during Internationals?"
"You are lowkey freaking me out, Wyatt." Riley said slightly worried. "Are you okay? You're not going to die or something, are you?" Wyatt chuckled.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to die." Wyatt said. "I just feel like there is something that you should know."
"Okay, that's good." Riley said with a bit of relief in her voice. "I found it a bit strange you're bringing something up like this and not telling me until we see each other in like six weeks."
"I know, I just wanted to tell ask you that incase I won't talk or see you anymore."
"What? I will be talking to you, like we always did before the incident." Riley said. "And of course, I would like to see you during Internationals. You are really testing my patience though."
"I get that, and I thank you for that. I'm glad to hear those words coming from you." Wyatt said. "Anyways, I must go. I need to take care of some studio drama." Riley chuckled.
"You do that." Riley said. "Thanks again for listening and I'll consider that piece of advice you gave me."
"You got this, Riley." Wyatt said. "Thanks to you as well. Speak soon?"
"Speak soon." Riley confirmed. With that they ended the call. Riley held her phone down and stared at the screen for a while. She suddenly smiled while looking at it and put her phone in her pocket as she decided to walk off from the bench she was sitting on. This was the first time in over a week, she felt a glimpse of happiness. Having a genuine conversation with someone like Wyatt really worked out for her and the advice that she received really put her thoughts in a different daylight. She was still confused on what Wyatt wants to tell her in Miami, but she feels a lot better, nevertheless.
After Riley kept walking for some time, she found herself in front of a door of a house. Without any hesitation she rang on the doorbell and a couple of seconds later someone opened, and that person had a completely surprised look on his face.
"Riley, what are you doing here?"
"To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing here. Something in my head just told me come here. And now I'm here…" Riley said in a slightly rushed way as he looked the person deeply in the eyes. "Someone told me that I shouldn't ignore my own feelings, something I did for the past weeks, and it made me absolutely feel miserable. I'm not going to ignore this, so you must know, that I miss you, very much, James."
(-)
It was some hours past midnight and Michelle was currently driving on an almost empty freeway on her way to Toronto for some hours. Next to her sat Beth, on the passenger seat, silently staring through the window. The two haven't barely said a word to each other the entire ride. The two teammates even barely spoke for the entire period they were in Madison. Michelle really wanted to befriend or at least have a bit of a connection with Beth, but ever since the two of them became more serious, it seemed like Beth became more distant to Michelle. The past days also didn't have great factors to start a 'fun' small talk with Beth, so that wasn't a great option. She thought that maybe this ten-hour car ride would have been a great opportunity to get to know each other better, but so for no good.
Michelle quickly glanced in the rear-view mirror where she noticed Hunter, peacefully asleep on the backseat. It was obviously a very rough week for him. Michelle never saw him like this before and she was first a little worried of how he is going to deal with all this in the future. But she knew how strong Hunter was and that and that we would pull through this and succeed in whatever he has planned for his life. Michelle promised to herself that she wanted to be there for Hunter, every step of the way. She knew that things won't go as great all the time and she wanted to make sure that he knows that he can count on her whenever. Sleeping on Hunter's shoulder was Hailey. It was a hectic week for her as well. She and her mom thought it was for the best to go back to Toronto with Hunter to pick up regular life again. Going back to school, dance and seeing some friends would be a great distraction for her. Michelle returned her attention to the road and after driving for another multiple miles, the silence was slowly bothering her more and more by the minute.
"Beth?" Michelle asked while keeping her eyes on the road. Beth who was slightly startled by the disturbance of the silence in the car looked up to Beth.
"Yes, what's up?" Beth wondered.
"Don't you like me?" Michelle asked very straightforward to the brunette. Beth gave Michelle a surprised look.
"I do like you, Michelle." Beth said. "Why would you ask that."
"I don't know…" Michelle answered. "I just had that feeling. I feel like you don't want to talk to me, you sometimes give me these looks… I mean it says enough that we haven't said a word to each other while driving four hours."
"I know, it's just that I'm not really in the mood for having a chat at the moment." Beth said.
"I get that. It's not that I'm a chatterbox during these circumstances, but I have noticed this even before the accident of Hunter's parents." Michelle said softly. Beth was silent for some seconds, she then looked back to watch Hunter who was still deeply asleep and then took a deep sigh.
"Do you want to hear the truth?" Beth asked. Michelle quickly made eye contact and nodded. "I'm jealous of you." That was an answer Michelle didn't expect.
"Jealous, of me?" Michelle wondered. "Why?'
"You and Hunter know each other basically your whole lives You two know everything about each other. And he told me that you dated each other for a while." Beth blurted out. "He mentions you a lot, telling me how great and amazing you are all the time. Maybe I'm just paranoid because I had bad experiences with James dumping me for Riley, but every time he spends time with you, I always think that he's going to catch feelings for you again and leave me heartbroken all over again. I love Hunter, I love being with him and I know I can trust him, but there is this tiny, annoying, voice in my head that tells me I'm not good enough for Hunter. I wouldn't blame him, to be honest, I mean, you are a great friend to him, a great dancer and you are like so pretty." Beth immediately stopped talking as soon as she realized she started to rumble words. She turned slightly red and turned her face away from Michelle. "You must think I'm crazy now."
"No, of course not." Michelle said. "I don't think you're crazy, Beth. I'm sorry you had to carry that feeling with you, for I don't know how long. You should have told Hunter or someone else about it."
"I wanted to, but the timing wasn't very ideal with everything that has happened the past week."
"I understand, but please, don't bottle up those thoughts." Michelle said. "Beth, please believe me when I say that Hunter and I are totally platonic friends, no romantics involved between us. Yes, we had an history, but that is all in the past now. This may sound a bit weird as well, but I had a similar feeling when I found out Hunter just started dating you."
"Jealousy?"
"In a way, yes." Michelle said. "Hunter and I really started to reconnect after Nationals and when you came in the picture, I somehow thought that the two of us would hangout less and that you would eventually replace me. But that was all in my head. I realized that it was all in my head. In the end I always remembered that we'll always be great friends no matter what. And seeing Hunter being that happy around you is totally worth it. Believe me when I say that I haven't seen him as happier in Toronto than when he is with you. He always tells me what a great girl you, ever since that time you first spoke to him, gave him a muffin, and offered to help him with his exams. He really loves and cares about you, Beth. And I can totally see why he feels that way about you, especially after the past week."
"Wow, that is very sweet of you, Michelle. Thanks for that, that really made me feel better." Beth said with a small smile. "Hunter, told me you always knew what to say on the right moments." Michelle chuckled at that comment.
"I'm not so sure about that." Michelle said. "I don't really consider myself someone who knows what to say when under pressure. I'm not like an Emily, in that case."
"Well, I think you're capable of it." Beth said. "And you don't need to be like Emily, you are you, and you do things your own way." Michelle gave a small smile to Beth.
"I guess you're right." Michelle said. "Thanks, Beth."
"No problem, Michelle." Beth said. "I just must ask this for the sake of my own paranoia. But you don't have a thing for Hunter, do you?" Michelle knew exactly what to answer this question. She did have a crush on Hunter again since the evening of her birthday when they kissed, she was hoping that he would feel the same about her. When he started dating Beth, she thought it would be a temporarily fling but since it was clear that it was serious between them, she knew she had to let go of Hunter in that way. She knew it wouldn't be easy for her, but seeing Hunter this happy, even with someone else, was worth it.
"No, I don't have a thing for Hunter, Beth." Michelle calmly said. "I love Hunter, in a platonic way. You don't have to worry about anything. You two look great together so I'm very glad for him that he found someone like you." Beth smiled.
"Thank you." Beth said. "I'm glad Hunter has a great friend like you as well, it's obvious that you two look out for each other very well. I know how important you are for Hunter and I'm sure that he would've liked it if we two got along. I don't know if you ever want to hang out or do something with me outside of dance training?" Beth asked Michelle slightly nervous. "Just to be clear, it's not only because of Hunter. I genuinely want to get to know you better, as well, because you seem-, no, I know you're a great person." Beth quickly added. Michelle gave Beth an even wider smile than before.
"You know, you're pretty good with your words as well." Michelle chuckled. "Yeah, I would love to hang out with you, Beth."
"Great! I'm looking forward to it." Beth said. "I noticed there's a gas station, three miles away from here. What about we take a little break over there, load up on some snacks and drinks for us and the two behind us incase they wake up later."
"Sounds like a plan for me."
"Maybe I could take over the wheel from you, so you can have some rest as well?" Beth wondered.
"Yes, that would be nice. Thank you!" The two ladies smiled at each other before the continued the short drive to the tank station in a comfortable silence. Michelle looked in the rear-view mirror the check up on Hunter and Hailey again. She was surprised to see Hunter smiling, while Hailey was still sleeping on his shoulder. His eyes were half shut but Michelle noticed him giving her a wink through the mirror. Michelle smiled as well and gave her best friend a wink back through the mirror.
(-)
Lilly was back in Boston and only two hours after she landed, she found herself in an apartment of a teammate, who was having this major party. She was simply enjoying a cup of cheap beer while leaning on the wall to observe what's happening around here. She still had the funeral and the conversation with her brother, Hunter, earlier today, fresh in her mind. Right now, all she wanted to do was drink some beer, enjoy herself and forget everything what happened earlier today. After a while she noticed a blonde girl, she never saw before, getting bothered by an annoying guy named Scott, who wouldn't let her alone. The situation escalated quickly so Lilly decided to intervene. Before she even realized it, she knocked Scott down a little while later. She immediately turned around to the blonde the make sure she's okay.
"Hey, are you alright?" Lilly asked slightly worried. Before the blonde could answer, Wyatt, along with the others of the friend group, already came rushing to scene.
"Emily, are you okay? What the hell happened?" He asked with panic in his voice.
"Yes, I'm alright. Thanks to her." Emily said softly as she pointed towards Lilly.
"Lilly, you're back?" Wyatt asked confused as he noticed his rebellious teammate. The group was asking questions about Lilly's absence, but Lilly's attention was mostly on Emily. She noticed that Emily was looking over at her multiple times.
"But you were just gone for like three days." Ollie stated.
"I got the closure I need. I didn't want to stay there longer than needed, plus, I really missed you guys." Lilly simply answered.
"Well, it's great to have you back, Lilly." Wyatt said with a smile. "But what happened here?"
"Well, I saw this guy over here, bothering this cute blonde. So, when he didn't seem to stop anytime soon, I decided to take matters into my own hand… Or fists, to be correct." Lilly chuckled. She then gave her full attention back to Emily by giving her eye contact. "Are you sure you are, okay?"
"Yes, I am. Thanks again for your help." Lilly smiled.
"No problem" Lilly said with a smile. "Not sure if I heard it correctly, but you're Emily, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"Ah, so you must be the new dancer from Canada. Well, this was an interesting introduction. I'm Lilly, nice to meet you. I'm in the team as well." Lilly said as she shook Emily's hand. Emily squinted her eyes, since Lilly looks like someone she knows, but she simply couldn't lay a finger on it.
"Likewise, Lilly."
"Great! I better get going, I guess I'll see you guys at the studio soon. Great to see you guys again!" Before she left, she gave one final look to Emily with a smile. "Nice to meet you again, Emily." Lilly immediately left the apartment and decided to take a walk back home. As soon as she saw Emily, she knew who she was. She knew she used to be the dance captain at The Next Step, the exact same studio where here brother dances. Lilly realized that Emily could be a great part of her plan to get revenge on Hunter.
END CHAPTER 15
Thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! Remarks and feedback are appreciated, feel free to leave a comment or send me a PM. Chapter 16 is already in progress. I'll regularly leaves some updates on my profile page to keep you guys updated on when you can expect the next chapter. Thanks again for your support and I'll see you guys soon with another chapter!
x Blizzard20