i felt it in my chest as she looked at me,
i knew we were bound to be together.
East North goes through the ups and downs of what it really means to be an A-Trouper, while dealing with her own drama.
（ 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 ）
（ 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!�...
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THIRD PERSON'S POV.
This was it. The last day of Regionals and The Next Step's last chance of regaining that Regionals title. The lonesome Regionals stage held East who had been standing there for the past few minutes, taking in the empty arena before it became filled with a screaming audience. She had a lot of mixed feelings. She was excited and happy about getting another chance to compete, but she was also nervous and anxious about the outcomes.
"Hey," a voice pulled her out of her thoughts. It belonged to Noah, who came from the wings and approached his co-captain. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, just need a place to think," East informed him. "A lot is riding on today and the stage has always been my safe place."
"You nervous?"
"Yeah. I thought we had it in the bag the first time and somehow, someway, something went wrong. Who knows what will happen this time."
"East, the team's ready for anything. We've seen everyone progress this year and we've seen each other do the same. We've got this. Whatever they throw at us, we'll fight back."
A small smile grew on East. "You're right. You're right. Sorry, I'm just anxious. See this is why we're such a great team. One of us has to be calm when the other is panicking or things go haywire."
"I don't think that's true," Noah said with a nervous chuckle.
"Yes, it is. Honestly, Noah, I have no idea what I would do without you. I'd be lost which is why I'm so glad I'm doing this dance captaincy with you."
"Yeah... Yeah, me too," Noah agreed, though he didn't hold a smile on his face. Instead, he looked worried.
"You okay?" East asked in concern.
"Yeah, it's just... I've been meaning to tell you something."
"You know you can tell me anything."
"Okay, uhm..." Noah took a deep breath and cleared his throat. East was starting to get worried about what he needed to say because he seemed nervous. As usual, when Noah was nervous, nothing went right. "I'm, uh... Wow, this is harder than I thought—"
"Spit it out, Noah," the curly-haired dancer urged.
"I'm leaving The Next Step," Noah finally said. East's eyes widened in shock. Those were the last words she thought she'd hear Noah utter. Those were the last words she thought he'd say. "Please say something."
"You're leaving?" East softly repeated. She didn't know what she was feeling. She was shocked, hurt, confused... Her mind was fighting all these emotions but the one thing she didn't want to do was break down.
