Empire - The Next Step

the more the merrier

Becoming dance captain had always been Richelle's biggest ambition and almost everyone knew that, so when she finally got it Harper could not have been more excited about it. The two of them were gushing excitedly before Richelle was called into the office to discuss her new duties by Emily. Harper could not believe that she had finally had her dream come true but she was distracted from her happy thoughts when she heard her best friend's name in a conversation she wasn't involved in.

" Noah, shouldn't we take Richelle out for juices to celebrate or something? It seems like a big deal." This brought a smile to Harper's face because not many people were kind to Richelle as she could tend to be a little harsh a lot of the time. Hearing those words from Lola was a pleasant surprise, but her happiness was dampened when she heard Noah let out a hollow laugh.

"The only person Richelle hangs out with is Harper so if you wanna try it be my guest, but I don't think you'll have much look." The blonde averted her eyes at the mention of her name so neither of the two in conversation would notice she was listening in, but a small frown was brought to her face. Was she the reason that Noah and Richelle were no longer friends? They seemed perfectly fine the previous year but then when Harper stopped talking to Noah, it appeared Richelle had as well. She didn't want to be the reason Richelle only had one friend.

When Richelle came out of the office she dismissed everyone to go and take a five minute break so most of them headed down to neutral grounds. Harper waved goodbye to Richelle as she headed down to the locker room but she bumped into Lola on her way there.

"Oh hey Harper." The girl didn't respond but she smiled warmly at Lola to let her know she was listening. "I know that you and Richelle are really close, but do you think you'd be open to having another friend around? I just haven't managed to make many at the studio yet."

"Of course, the more the merrier. Although, Richelle might take a little more convincing. If I were you I'd start now and try to build up your reputation with her first, she's in the studio practising if you wanted to try now." The girl suggest helpfully and Lola gave her a quick nod of thanks as she rushed off to find Richelle. Harper did think Lola was a lovely girl, and she was eager for Richelle to have another friend after finding out it was pretty much her fault that she had none.

As the group filed back into the studio, Harper noticed Richelle was putting the bar away and wanted to ask her how things went with Lola.

"So, did anything interesting happen in your break?" Harper asked trying her best to be nonchalant. Richelle rolled her eyes and instantly knew that her best friend had been the one to send Lola. "Richelle just give her a chance. I was talking to her before and she really wants to be your friend." The shorter blonde remained unconvinced as she made her way into the centre of the room.

"No one except you wants to be my friend Harps, now go line up." Richelle said sternly making Harper release an exasperated sigh. Richelle had become so stubborn that she opposed anyone who threatened her in the slightest. All she wanted was for her to be happy and make some new friends, but that was never going to be an option unless Richelle loosened up a little. "Okay everyone, we're going to do some tumbling from the corner. I want one hundred percent effort."

Noah started off and although she hated to admit it, Harper was impressed along with everyone else in the room. Everyone got a little cheer when they went and when it was Harper's turn she knew she had to impress. Richelle was using this to place them in the dance and if she wanted a good line position then she needed to put her best foot forward. She decided to do a back walkover into a back handspring, then a side aerial and to finish off a double leg hold turn. Richelle seemed impressed enough so she was pleased with what she did and only hoped it was enough to get her a good place in the dance. Josh followed her but he clearly was trying to make a joke out of it by goofing off, Richelle was not pleased. She scolded him making Josh mutter something disrespectful under his breath but when Lola defended Richelle, Harper could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile on Richelle's face.

As the rehearsal ended, Harper was chatting eagerly to Richelle who complimented her on developing her acro so well but they were interrupted by Noah.

"Richelle could I talk to you for a second." Both girls exchanged a look of confusion and Richelle sent Harper a questioning look but she shrugged. Neither one of them had any clue what Noah wanted. The two of them waited for everyone else to leave the studio so they could talk by themselves. Richelle was actually feeling rather nervous since they hadn't spoke alone in such a long time, but he really seemed like he needed to get something off his chest. "I think I like Harper." Richelle was speechless. Noah had never been so outright with his feelings, especially to her.

"I thought you and Jacquie were, you know..." Richelle trailed off not quite being able to find the right words. Everyone was aware that there was something, albeit very subtle, going on between Noah and Jacquie. They always hung out together and they seemed to not be capable of going ten minutes without gazing longingly at each other.

"I don't know how I feel to be honest. On the one hand, there's Jacquie who's such an amazing, talented and beautiful girl who I can honestly see myself going somewhere with. But then there's Harper. Before you told me she like me I never even considered her in that light, but now whenever I talk to her or even think about her, I get butterflies." Richelle wasn't sure how to feel about Noah's confession. She herself had always thought that Noah and Harper would be the perfect fit, but those fantasies died when he indirectly rejected Harper.

"Noah, Harper's moved on. You made your choice last year." Richelle told him firmly, but deep down she was still hoping that Harper might feel differently. It had taken her a while to get over Noah, but maybe if she found out he felt the same way then she would have a change of heart.

"I know that but maybe if she knew how I felt then she might consider changing her mind." The brunette suggested which had been exactly what Richelle was thinking. Maybe they had a chance to get the two of them together, because the blonde knew that would make her best friend happy, even if Harper herself didn't know it yet.

"Well I'll think about it, but don't say anything to her yet. You still haven't sorted your feelings out and I don't want you to break her heart all over again." Richelle told him fiercely before she strutted out of studio one, but she had a point. If Noah led Harper on and then went ahead and chose Jacquie, she'd have to go through it all again. Richelle could not let that happen.