"Will The Next Step please take the stage," The announcer calls
I look over at Michelle but she looks straight ahead.
Here goes nothing then.
I take my position on stage and the crowd goes silent, the calm before the storm. The music plays and I take a deep breath.
My heart or my future, those decisions don't matter when I'm dancing. They all go away but now something is different.
When I'm dancing I look deep inside myself but there's nothing there. All the guilt from Michelle and my past is all just coming back to me.
The chemistry between Michelle and I is missing entirely. We'd be lucky even to even go through this round. You can't dance if you don't have a connection with your partner.
It's ironic that this duet is about connections.
During the dance I glance over the side stage and see Riley. If I can't do this for the team or for myself, then I'll do it for her.
The new girl in town. My anchor from whatever problems I have in my life.
Dance has always been my happiness but from whatever happened with Michelle and her father, it doesn't feel the same for me. I wake up everyday trying to figure out my priorities.
Work, money, school.
Dance is just an option for me.
But Riley is the one keeping me dancing so I'm doing this for her. She has filled the empty void and now when I look inside myself, I see her.
We focus completely on the music and the way the movements feel in my body. At the end of the dance, the crowd stands up and I know that we have nailed it.
We take a few minutes break to see who is going through to the next round which is the small groups.
After all the hard work Miss Kate and everyone has done to get the team back on track to Regionals, it would be such a shame to lose this early and have to wait for another dance season again.
When I get back to side stage, I don't hug Riley first, I want to save the best for last. As I get pats on the back by the boys and hugs from the girls I finally make my way to Riley.
"Hey," She smiles, "You did great out there,"
I nod and pull her close to me, "I couldn't have done it without you,"
"Without me?" She asks in surprise, "James, you were the one dancing, not me,"
I shake my head, "Well, I was actually dancing for you,"
Riley looks down shyly, "I- I don't know what to say," I lift her chin up gently, so she can see my face but she looks over my shoulder, "James, look,"
I look behind me to the score board. My smile drops, even after all we did it still wasn't good enough.
We are not going to the next round.
***
A/N: Thank you to all the support you guys are giving for the book, I really appreciate it! ❤️❤️
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There's a Reason We Belong
Fanfiction"Why do you dance?" "I dance because it makes me happy" The new girl in town and the boy with a past have been brought together with a connection that both of them can't explain. It's a connection that isn't separated by land or sea. But there's a r...
