When the competitive side of either Noah or Richelle comes out, you know you're in trouble. Neither will stop until they win.
It can be hard to deal with at times, for Emily and Michelle when they're constantly arguing out of pure competitiveness with one another. It's crazy to all of their teammates how they can be so competitive at dance, yet have the sweetest relationship anywhere else. It's a wonder how they don't get sick of each other.
They've been dating since Noah's last year on J-troupe, and it's gone well since. From Richelle being 13 and Noah being 14, to now being 17 and 18.
It's not just that. He's insanely good looking, he has an amazing voice, he's an incredible dancer, and to top it all of he has the best personality.
It's the same for Noah, really. He loves her for her, how she looks, how she dances, how she acts. She's always been the same little firecracker running around the studio, and he can't help but let his heart melt when he sees her playful, soft side come out at dance.
Today, however, is not one of those days for his heart to melt. Last night, the two got into an argument and it hasn't quite diffused yet. It wasn't really a stupid one either, and recently moving in with each other didn't exactly help, they might be young but it seemed like a good idea and the right time, but as they only have one bed, Noah had to sleep on the couch, making his mood this particular morning worse than usual. And he is far from a morning person.
For them, an argument is a competition. So arguing for a long time isn't good for either of them.
Now that everyone is in rehersal, it's starting to get really annoying. Each one is trying to outshine the other, trying to go 'more full out' than the other, and when the other puts up their game the other does the exact same, yet somehow better.
By the end, they aren't even doing the dance. Just showing off. Everyone stands back and watches as they one up each other, being dangerously close a dance battle, but it soon turns into just that.
They're never usually like this, normally when they compete at the studio like this it's a joke. But everyone can tell this is serious.
Noah does some flips to where she is, and then just stands as tall and as wide as he can do intimidate her. They're in a corner, and Richelle just feels completely defeated. She feels completely alone.
"You win." She whispers before running out of the room in tears, not even knowing why she's crying.
Everyone stands in shock for a moment, unable to fathom what just happened. Richelle started crying.
After the shock subsides, Noah walks out of the room and goes to the locker room, assuming that's where she went. And he was right.
Sat on the couch is the blonde he once fell in love with, crying her eyes out while curled up in a ball. A sense of guilt immediately comes over Noah. This is his fault.
It's his fault she's crying.
"Baby? You ok?" He asks gently, standing awkwardly at the locker room door. She shakes her head and looks up, crying slightly harder when she sees him no where near her, "Clearly you're not." He sighs, walking closer to her.
After 15 years of knowing each other, he still doesn't know how to handle her emotions at times.
"Why would you ask if you're just going to make a judgement for yourself? That's like asking me if a food you already know you hate is good, you know it's not." She states quietly, trying to keep back the whimper caught in her throat for as long as possible.
"Because it's the human thing to do." He whispers, sitting down next to her, "Come on, tell me what's wrong."
"I twisted my ankle." She mumbles in the most unconvincing way.
Noah frowns and puts his arm around her, rubbing small circles into her shoulder, "Can I have the truth please? I promise I'll try and help you, that's what I'm here for bb."
"It's just- when you had me in that corner.. I felt so alone..." She says quietly. Noah knows exactly what she means, yet her sentence doesn't sound finished.
"Keep going, I'm listening." He gives her a verbal nudge, one she's kind of glad she did.
Her bottle has finally burst, after almost a year and a half. She's just glad Noah's the one to help her through it.
"All the time people are telling me I need to be nicer and not be so strict about dance, but how can I do that when I'm dating someone like you? Someone whose super competitive with me, but the best dancer on the team. I'm done with trying to make myself look like a better dancer than you, because I'm not and I never will be." She cries, shrugging his hand off her shoulder half way through.
"So it's all my fault?" He asks, slightly shocked at the outburst. He expected something, but not this. Not at all this.
"I mean.. a little.. yeah." She says, instantly regretting it when he gets up with a sigh.
"Well then, if I'm upsetting you and stressing you out, I don't think it's best for us to be together." A silent tear runs down his cheek. He hates to do this, he really loves her, but he can't be hindering her.
Richelle stays silent, completely shocked. She didn't mean it that way, well she kinda did, but not to this extent. Never in a million years did she think this relationship would come to an end. All of her teen years were spent on this relationship, and she loved it, but now it's all just gone to waste. Just like that.
"You're not the same person I fell in love with Noah." She mumbles, looking up. She feels completely numb, she doesn't even know what she's saying. "The Noah I fell in love with wouldn't give up so easily, and he definitely wouldn't end a relationship with me so easily, nor would he dance battle me to the point of tears."
"And the Richelle I fell in love with didn't care about what others thought, she didn't have to be nice at dance. She got through the day by being strict, and it worked for everyone around her. You've changed too Rich, not just me. But I still love you, more than anything." He sighs before getting up and walking out of the room.
They're over, they're really over.
