flying • james and riley

| chapter twenty four |

she never loved to slow dance

RIGHT NOW, RAELYNN WAS TEACHING ALFIE some hip-hop dance moves. After watching his trio with Latroy and Henry, she knew that he was a fast learner. The two were choreographing a dance to the song 'Stay' by Zedd and Alessia Cara. There were some parts they freestyled it and some that they did together, following the steps in sync.

"That was awesome!" grinned Raelynn as she pumped her fists into the air once Alfie helped her up. The male smiled fondly, loosely wrapping an arm her exposed waist. "You're getting good at this." she smiled, turning in his arms and snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her level, their foreheads pressed together. It was risky for them to show affection to one another in the studio, but after that dance, Raelynn felt her love for Alfie grow.

"Let's go on a date," he spoke up, taking the brunette by surprise. Raelynn took a step back, raising her brows in wonder.

"Like an actual date?" Alfie nodded. Raelynn smiled sadly. "We can't, Alfie. It's too risky."

"If we are caught, we'll just say we were hanging out as friends." Raelynn bit her lip, contemplating the idea.

"Okay, fine." Alfie grinned broadly, hugging the brunette and spinning her in his arms. Raelynn giggled at the rush of air that whipped past her face before Alfie placed her down on the ground. The two gazed into each other's eyes, and as they were about to lean in, they heard footsteps from outside. They quickly parted away, taking a few steps back and clearing their throats as Amy and Latroy entered the studio.

"Oh, hey, guys." Amy greeted them, smiling brilliantly. Raelynn flashed her a smile back with Alfie waving at the two. "Do you need the studio?"

"No," Raelynn replied. "We just finished." The teens nodded and warmed up while the secretive couple walked away, grabbing their bags and heading to the juice shop. As they were walking down, they bumped into a hyper Piper.

"Oh! Raelynn!" The said dancer turned around to see her James' sister.

"What's up?" she smiled softly at the teen.

"I was wondering if I could borrow you for a second?" Raelynn and Alfie shared a glance before the latter shrugged and took her bags, telling her he'd meet her downstairs.

"So, what's this about?" Raelynn asked as the two stepped into the lounge of the Next Step. She spotted a camera on the table as she went to sit on the couch. Piper lifted the camera up, grinning gleefully,

"Well, I have to make a documentary about my family for a school project, so I decided to do it about my dance family," Piper explained, fixing the camera slightly before looking at the woman she thought of like an older sister. "Is that alright?"

"Of course." Raelynn ran a hand through her hair before turning slightly and facing the camera with a blinding smile.

"Okay, then." Piper started up the camera, smiling into it before turning it around and facing Raelynn. "This is Raelynn, our dance captain and the best dancer on the team." The brunette chuckled at the compliment, smiling it off. "So, what's it like being our dance captain?"

"Well, it's amazing, actually. I get to teach and learn from young dancers such as yourself," she answered with Piper's eyes sparkling with joy.

"What about James and Riley?" Piper asked, not afraid to talk about the polygamous couple. It was no secret to the world that James, Riley and Raelynn were dating each other. However, no one knew that their relationship was falling apart. "With James halfway around the world and Riley so busy with work as the studio head, do you not miss them?"

"Of course I do," Raelynn responded honestly. "They're always on my mind." Lie. Alfie was always on her mind. She craved for his love more so than James and Riley, but if only she knew what her heart truly desired.

"Do you ever feel lonely?" That question took her by surprise. Did she feel lonely? Sure she didn't have James and Riley anymore, but she had Alfie and for her, Alfie was enough, right?

"I guess?" Raelynn answered hesitantly, unsure about it. "I mean, I do miss them, but I understand, we all have a ton of work to do." she exhaled deeply, finding herself admitting the things she usually kept inside of her. "Sometimes, it doesn't really feel like we're together, you know?" Piper smiled sympathetically at the obviously saddened girl.

"It'll be alright." Raelynn thanked the younger dancer, and the two wrapped it up after a few minutes. They moved off of the love topic and moved onto her experience in dance.

"So, what was that about?" Alfie asked once Raelynn entered the juice bar and sat at the table the male was sitting at.

"Piper's making a school documentary about the Next Step." she explained, thanking him once he handed her her favourite juice, apple. "She was asking questions about what it was like to be the dance captain." she purposely left out the questions about her love life, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

"Alfieee!" sang Piper as she stood at the door of the juice shop. The two chuckled once they saw her skipping over to them. "Can I borrow you for a sec?" Alfie smiled softly and nodded, the two leaving the shop. The brunette went on her phone, scrolling through the multiple emails she was getting from other studios about joining theirs for free.

"Hey," Hearing the sweet voice of her girlfriend, Raelynn looked up and saw the gentle smile she fell in love with.

"Hi." she breathed, the two staring into each other's eyes.

"Can I sit?" Raelynn nodded, motioning for her to take Alfie's seat since he wouldn't be coming back anymore. The two sat in an awkward silence, neither knew what to say to the other. It had been a while since either of them talked a decent conversation. "So, um, how've you been?" asked Riley, breaking the silence that suffocated them both.

"I've been alright." And just like that, the silence returned, squeezing at their necks. "You?"

"Same." Riley licked her lips, clenching her hands into fists. She inhaled deeply, the words of their boyfriend filling her head. Be confident. The two had talked about their distancing relationship with Raelynn; they could feel her pulling away. If only they had realised that it was their actions that were causing her to act like this. "I miss you,"

Raelynn looked taken back. "W-what?" Riley gulped, biting down on her lip as she felt her heart race.

"I miss you, Raelynn," she repeated, calming her speedy heartbeat with deep breaths. "I miss talking to you and being around you." The brunette felt her heart swell, the fondness slowly returning as she gazed at her lover, well, one of her lovers. Raelynn reached over for her girlfriend's hands, squeezing them reassurance. Riley slowly looked up, meeting the green eyes that drove her wild. Hope began to blossom in her chest, only for it to be crushed by the sound of Alfie's voice.

"Hey, Riley." he greeted, smiling at the studio head while Raelynn retracted her hands. "You ready to go?" Alfie asked, glancing at Raelynn, who nodded, her eyes bright.

"Yup." she stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Bye," she said apologetically, avoiding the talk that both knew would fix everything. Alfie and Raelynn walked out of the shop with the latter zoning out Alfie's talking. The brunette felt weird right now - conflicted even. Who did she love?