the art of trust|| the next step [2]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 9

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 9

It was the next day, everyone had agreed to give Riley a chance to prove herself as a studio head. After all, everyone deserves a second chance.

Bethany didn't know how to feel about Noah outing their relationship as a cover up for his back. She understood he didn't want anyone to know but she wasn't ready for the the whole team to know they admitted their feelings to one another yet.

Ever since yesterday she had been doing everything in her power to try and avoid him. Right now, she was on the opposite side of the room to him, sat beside Henry whilst they waited for Riley to tell them the reason why she asked them to gather.

"Alright, guys." Riley called out as she walked into the studio, grabbing everyone's attention. "The next qualifier is coming up very soon and it's gonna be a small group competition, and we'll be holding auditions to pick five dancers. But, first, in order to bring the team more together I thought it would be a good idea to do some anonymous peer reviews." She shuffled the papers in her hands. "It's a great chance to see what you need to work on to become a stronger team-mate."

Bethany thought the peer reviews were a great idea, she would love to figure out what people thought about her and how she could improve.

"So, in each envelope is the name of the dancer you will be reviewing." Riley started to hand out envelopes to each of the dancers. "Now, I encourage you guys to give honest and constructive feedback. It's all anonymous, so don't worry about anyone finding out who wrote it."

"It kind of feels like homework." Sloane told her.

"What if it's negative?" Cassie pulled her sheet from the envelope.

"Look, just write the reviews, had them back to me, and then, I will give the feedback to you guys. Sound good?" Riley nodded as the rest of the group answered.

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Bethany stood at the counter at the juice bar getting a drink, she had her back turned to the door so she didn't see Noah entering and heading straight for her.

She jumped slightly when she felt him touch her shoulder but calmed down once she saw it was only him.

"Oh, hi." Bethany smiled slightly.

"Hey." Noah smiled. He expected her to say something more to him but instead Bethany turned her head to the person handing her the juice and walked away after thanking him.

She wasn't finished avoiding him just yet.

"Hey, hey, hey." Noah stopped her from walking away. "What's up, why've you been ignoring me?"

Bethany scoffed, was he being serious or was he genuinely confused as to why she wasn't speaking to him.

"I don't know, Noah.. maybe because you outed our relationship to the whole team to cover up the fact you've injured your back." Bethany suggested with slight sarcasm.

"I didn't think you would be bothered by that." Noah answered honestly.

"Well, I wouldn't have been if you weren't using me to cover your back injury." Bethany shrugged. "Felt like I was just a game in a cover up or something."