tns oneshots

anxiety - james & piper

Set when Piper gets home after being picked on by Miss Angela (S6:E2)

James' POV:

For the past few days, I've been back home, since Riley went on a "sister only" vacation with Emily. I'm currently prepping some chicken for dinner tonight for me and my younger sister Piper, as my parents will be at a work dinner. And to my disappointment, Piper is not a fan of shawarmas. 

I hear the door open, and I'm confused, because I never remembered a troupe rehearsals ending this early. "Piper?" I say, but there's no response. I hear the sound of a jacket being chucked on the floor, a person stomping up the stairs and a bedroom door being slammed. Looking over outside at the pouring rain, I feel slightly confused. Surely she would ask me to come pick her up, and say a simple hello to me, instead of just rushing up to her room?

"Piper? Pipesqueak," I call as I make way up the staircase, and knock on the door of her room. 

I hear two words. Two quiet, broken words. "Go away."

"No. I'm not going away," I want to say to her, but instead I just ignore her instructions and open the door, and my mouth drops as I see her. My baby sister, my Piper, she looks so... helpless. She's sitting cross legged on her bed, smudged mascara running down her face, her hair soaking wet, and I could see the fear in her chestnut pupils as she looked at me.

"Pipes," I instantly rush over to her, reaching my arm out, but I watch as she backs away. "What's up, you look down." After saying that, I instantly curse at myself in my head, thinking "Wow James, do you think she doesn't know she's upset?"

"You know I would've been more than happy to give you a ride back, you didn't need to walk in this weather."

"Look...James, please, ju...just leave me alone." She stammers, tears cascading down her face.

"If I just left you alone I wouldn't be being very good big brother, would I?" I respond, before trying to put my arm around her, while saying "come on Piper, tell me-,"

"Leave me alone James!" She screams, standing up from the bed. I stand there in shock, before nodding, then begin to walk towards the door.

Does she even trust me?

Piper's POV:

"Leave me alone James!" I scream, regretting the words the second they leave my mouth. What have I done? He's been nothing but kind to me, and how do I repay him? By shouting at him.

"No, no, no James, I'm so sorry, please, just-," I cry whilst rushing over to him. He pulls me into a hug and whispers "It's ok." I sob into his warm chest, which provides a little bit of comfort, but doesn't stop the tears from running down my face.

"Sit down." He says to me, patting my bed. I sit down there, and he sits down beside me.

"Tell me what's wrong." He says softly. "I'm worried about you Piper. Take your time to explain whatever needs to be explained, and please trust me. All I want to do is help you."

He places his arm around my shoulder, and this time I lean onto his, and he run his palm down my back. For the first time since Miss Angela came, I feel... safe. He was right. I could trust him.

"Well," I begin, wiping away a tear. "It's really stupid, I probably shouldn- ,"

"No." James replies. "Tell me Pipes. I'm not leaving till you do."

I take a deep breath, and place my head against his chest, which makes my voice quieter, like I'm not really admitting what I'm feeling. "Kate fired Emily and Michelle after they let Richelle dance on an injury. She brought in this new studio head, Miss Angela. She was so unfair and I just couldn't take it, so I stood up to her, about how bias she was to this completely average dancer called Lily. Then I found out she's Miss Angela's daughter, and I was benched. And then-,"

"Shh, Pipes, its ok, slow down. Breathe." I look up at his face, tears blinding my vision.

"James, we both know how useless I am. Miss Angela found out that I'm horrible at acro, and she made me do aerials while the rest of a troupe held planks until I landed one. I could see how frustrated they were with me, and the whole time Miss Angela was just ridiculing me!"

"Hey, hey Piper," he places his hand on the side of my head, and I end up looking into his chestnut eyes, my eyes. "Look at me. You are not useless, and people like Miss Angela shouldn't make you feel like this. And I know how genuine and amazing some of your friends are, and they wouldn't think that of you."

"I don't think anyone would want to be friends with me after that." I say to him.

"Really? Even if some people in your troupe were a bit annoyed, what about the people who are always there for you? Noah? Henry? Amy?"

"But that doesn't change the fact that I can't do an aerial James. A fucking aerial! I have an international winning, bangers and mashup champion of a brother to live up to. Someone who can do all these tricks like tumbling and flips, whilst I can't even do an aerial. Everyone loves you James, your so cool and easy going, and most people think I only made a troupe in the first place because all the people choosing know you as a good dancer. But I'm just not as good as you and I will never ever..." I feel my panic attack coming along, and James also notices. He pulls me into a long hug, holding me tight as I cry into him. We stay still and quiet for a few minutes, the only thing I hear is James murmuring "It'll all be okay," towards me.

"Pipes," he says, and I look up at him. "Maybe the next step isn't the best environment for you. And that's okay. You're an amazing dancer, and you shouldn't give it up because of once terrible studio head."

"But-,"

"No ifs no buts. Come on, grab some nice pjs, and I'll get a warm bath ready for you."

I smile at him. He really knows how to calm me down. I put on a bathrobe and grab a fluffy onesie and head into the bathroom, where James' filled up a bubbling bath with my favourite pink bath bombs, and a candle lit by the window.

"I'll leave you to it then," He says as he sees me, before giving me one final hug. "And don't even worry about it, okay? It'll all work out in the end. I promise."

I giggle slightly as he says his signature line, before my brother opens the door to leave the bathroom. But I still had one more thing to tell him.

"James," I begin, and he looks back at me. "I love you."

He smiles. "I love you more Pipesqeak."

I really do love him.

my fav siblings <3

also i'm abt to start watching s9 of tns! lemme know ur thoughts on ep 1 in the comments xx