Empire - The Next Step

date or no date?

Harper smoothed down her baby blue dress that she had changed into after rehearsals for about the seventeenth time. She was nervous no, more than nervous for her date with Noah. It was her first date with anyone which already made it nerve wracking, but the fact that they were finally going on a date after liking each other for such a long time added even more pressure. Harper had hoped to have a little pep talk with Richelle but Amy had informed her that her best friend had gone home early to get blow off steam about Summer getting the front centre line position.

She cautiously glanced up at the clock in the locker room which said that she had about three minutes before it was eight o' clock, so with one last smoothing down of her dress Harper made her way over to studio A. She expected to see Noah there but instead it was Henry, she really hoped he hadn't bailed on her.

"Hello Harper." Henry said as he stood watching her, still as a statue. It was starting to get a little strange. She smiled at him and glanced around to see if Noah was hiding somewhere but it didn't appear that way. "Please take a look inside the box." Henry instructed her as he flicked open the lid to a dark wooden box he had been holding.

Harper unsurely stepped forward and took a small slip of paper out of the box that had a message on it. It read:

'Hint to find your next clue: where did we first meet?'

The girl sent Henry a questioning look but he remained silent as though he was a robot being controlled by someone. Harper really thought hard and finally figured out that this was part of the date. Noah must have organised a sort of scavenger hunt for her and she couldn't have been more thankful for that. Searching for things hidden in clues was one of her favourite things to do as she was always watching those detective shows on TV.

She pondered it for a minute then something clicked. The two of them had first met by the door to the car park. They were twelve years old and it was her first day of J Troupe. She remembered it like it was yesterday because Noah had said if she got nervous he would help her out. He was the first friend she ever made at the studio. Harper thanked Henry, who remained stationary, and rushed down the stairs to the foyer in the building where the entrance or exit to the studio was. She couldn't see anyone until Finn popped out from behind a door holding a box identical to Henry's. The next clue read:

'Think back to our first dance together."

She again thought about it and realised that he had meant in studio B, which was now just one of the rehearsal rooms that wasn't in use much. Harper, who was beginning to get more and more excited, rushed to the room and saw Kingston was in there holding a box. She got through all the clues rapidly as they took her to every which corner of the studio. From the old studio b she went to studio one, shakes and ladders, one of the hallways and finally the stairs which led up to the studio.

When she arrived at the stairs, all four of the boys who had been giving her clues all night stood at the bottom of the stairs. They all stood behind a small table which held another wooden box which was white this time. She had a feeling the scavenger hunt was coming to an end. The final message read:

'If you should so desire, return to the starting place to reignite the fire."

Harper didn't even have to think about it to know that was studio A. She smiled at all the boys who finally smiled back and were happy to see her happy and then rushed up the stairs and along the corridor to studio A. She pushed the door open and saw that it looked completely different to how it had before when Henry was in there. In the centre of the room there was a decorated table set up for two people and Noah stood in front of it holding his guitar. Harper couldn't fight the smile that made its way onto her face as Noah began walking towards her as he plucked the strings to one of the songs he wrote when they were in J Troupe called 'lifeline'.

"That was amazing, I remember when you first wrote that song back in J Troupe." Harper gushed reminiscently as she took the seat Noah had offered her. The boy smiled at her with a sparkle in his eyes and they both turned their attention toward Henry, Finn, Kingston and Ozzy who had all changed into outfits that looked like they were french waiters.

"I know you've always wanted to go to Thailand so I asked the guys, mainly Henry don't worry, to make some Thai food for us." Harper was thankful that Henry took the lead on cooking but she couldn't quite comprehend how much thought Noah had put into this date.

She chuckled as Ozzy and Kingston argued over which song they should put on for their date but when they noticed Noah's glare, they quickly  switched on the first one they could find. Luckily, it was one that matched the mood. Henry and Finn walked in holding plates in their hands and they presented some really nice looking meals. The four boys did a sort of bow slash curtsy before they all walked back into Michelle and Emily's office and nonchalantly pretended not to be watching.

"Sorry about them. I asked Henry for some help and then they all wanted to be a part of it and I just couldn't get rid of them." Noah said apologetically as they two of them began eating.

"Don't worry about it, they made it...interesting." She honestly could not put in to words how thoughtful this date was. Noah had really put a lot of effort in and Harper was really pleasantly surprised. "But honestly Noah, this date was everything I could have asked for."

"Well it's not over yet." He said once they had finished the food and he stood up quickly from the table and offered his hand to Harper. She looked at him in confusion but then realised he was asking her to dance. She gently placed her smaller hand in Noah's and stood up from the table as the song switched to 'empire part 2'. It had always been one of Harper's favourites. Harper leaned her head against Noah's shoulder as they swayed in time with the music. She had never been so close to anyone before. Of course she had partnered with people before, but that was much different and far less intimate.

"Harper, you look beautiful tonight. I must be the luckiest guy in the world or something." He joked, but that was exactly how Harper felt.

"Are you kidding? I'm the lucky one, I can't believe you did all this in a day." She said in disbelief. Noah was not exactly known for his organisational skills so putting the whole date together must have taken a lot of hard work from him.

"I'd do anything for you." He said softly making Harper's stomach quiver with the same flutters she had experienced ever since having feelings for Noah. She looked up to meet his eyes which glanced down at her lips for a split second then met her bright green shining eyes once again. Noah slowly leaned in and closed the space between them two of them. For a first kiss, it was short and sweet but absolutely perfect to Harper, she couldn't imagine it happening any differently.

The two of them heard hollers from the office and saw Henry thwack Ozzy and Kingston on the back of their heads because they ruined the moment. They didn't mind too much as the pair laughed it off and continued dancing. For a first date, it definitely wasn't what Harper had expected and she honestly didn't think Noah would have put so much effort into it. Coming out of the date, she realised she had underestimated him and it ended up being more than she could have ever hoped for.

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a/n: MY HEART🥺 they finally went on a date! i hope you all enjoyed that as it was quite a special chapter so please vote and/or comment if you liked it. thank you so much for reading :)