𝖑𝖎𝖋𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊 [nochelle & richola]

five.

i'm chatting with tate and jacquie, just after emily has announced a-troupe, when my phone buzzes.

noah✨| 3:12pm
made a troupe yet?

richelle♥️| 3:14pm
yes!!!

noah✨| 3:15pm
well done babe, any drama yet lol?

richelle♥️| 3:16pm
don't even get me started 😨

noah✨| 3:16pm
spill the tea ☕️

richelle♥️| 3:17pm
don't say that ever again. but dinner tonight and i'll spill everything?

noah✨| 3:17pm
picking u up at 7 <3

i smile to myself, but jacquie must notice.

"who're you smirking about?" she giggles.

"uhhhh..." i probably shouldn't tell her i'm going to dinner with her ex.

"uhhh?"

"my mum is, um, buying me, uh, a, um, new dress," i bumble.

"you're lying, i know it," jacquie tells me.

should i tell her? "okay fine, i'm going on a date tonight."

"oooh," jacquie exclaims, "with who?"

"a boy from school," i tell her. that's only partially a lie, noah does go to my school.

"what's his name?" jacquie asks.

"ummm, johnny." i say, and thankfully emily dismisses us and i rush off, getting the first bus home and bolting upstairs.

as soon as i'm in my room i'm stripping and jumping straight in the shower, rushing everything. once i'm done in the shower i dry myself and prep my face, while flicking through my closet deciding what to wear. i finally choose a short red dress, paired with silver heels.

then i do my makeup and straighten my hair. once i finish i check the time. 6:47pm. noah will be here soon. i scroll through instagram aimlessly until the doorbell rings. i answer it to see noah smiling at me.

"hey," he smirks.

"hiya," i giggle, verging on flirting.

"you look gorgeous."

"i could say the same about you," i smile.

"are you ready to leave?" noah asks me.

"yep," i reply.

noah takes my hand and threads his fingers through mine, and he leads me to his car.

we drive to a small restaurant on the edge of the city. it's a small italian place, it's really nice. we sit down and order and talk about different things.

"so what's the a-troupe drama?" noah laughs, "who made the team?"

"well, kenzie and summer lost their spots," i begin, "and a new girl tate took one of them. she's really good."

"what about the other two spots?"

"two unexpected individuals, firstly lily, as in lily who tried to take over our studio," i tell him.

"really? emily let her on the team?" noah sounds surprised.

"yeah, i was really shocked, but her dancing's changed a lot. she did like a contemporary solo with actual emotion and none of that childish shit. she didn't even wink once!"

"wow..."

"you'll never guess who showed up and got a spot though," i say and roll my eyes, already annoyed just thinking about her.

"who?" noah asks intrigued.

"lola!"

noah raises his eyebrows, "have you talked to her?"

"no, i'm going to tomorrow," i say, "i'm pissed off though. she leaves without saying goodbye when the team needed her, doesn't even reply to my texts, basically disappears for four months, then shows up expecting her spot back?! and to top it all off, she made the team! what if she just leaves again?! how can we trust her?!"

"hey, richelle, calm down," noah soothes, "forget about her for tonight, let's just focus on us?"

i take a deep breath, "yeah, yeah, good idea. sorry."

"it's okay," he smiles softly.

"so how's things with you?" i ask.

"good, i'm going away soon for a week or two on this musical theatre training course in new york," he tells me proudly, "you had to send in a video audition with a monologue, a song and a dance, and they told me i've got a place, so it's really exciting."

"wow noah, that sounds amazing," i say, but there's a pang of something in my gut. i'm not sure what it is. maybe it's that i'll miss him when he's gone, or maybe i wish i was going on to do more with him.

the rest of the night passes well, and before i know it i'm back on my doorstep, noah's arms engulfing me. i'm emotional for some reason.

"what's wrong?" noah asks softly.

"i don't know. it's just overwhelming seeing you move on to do all these amazing things. we've been dancing together for so long, and now you're going off. i'm gonna miss you not being at the studio."

"you know the next step will always be my home, and i'll be back after two weeks."

i wipe a stray tear from my cheek and look up at noah. i take in all his features. i look into his eyes and some strong urge comes over me and i want to kiss him so badly.

so i wrap my arms round his neck, pull myself closer to him, stand up on my toes, and connect my lips with his. and he kisses back, which is rather surprising. noah is actually kissing me. i'm kissing noah and he's kissing me. on my doorstep. this is cliché. i love it.

i pull away after a few moments. "sorry, i didn't mean to-"

"it's okay. actually it was amazing. wow."

"you liked it?" i ask.

noah smiles, "i loved it."