We're Alright (Dance Moms Fan Fiction)

Chapter 12

Paige’s POV

            For the first time, in a long time, I felt relaxed. Which I usually wouldn’t feel on the way to the competition, but right then I did. Everything just felt right. It was another crowded bus ride full of laughs and smiles, but most importantly, no drama. I knew all of the secrets. I was enlisted into the “secret society”. I had my best friend back. Yes, even though Abby was yelling at us from the front seat and Christi and my mom were still exchanging small digs, everything felt peaceful.

The only thing I was the tiniest bit confused about was Josh. Chloe told me the night before that he was coming for Kendall, but he wasn’t sitting with her. He was sitting in the very back across from mine and Chloe’s seat. 

“Hey Chlo?” I whispered below my breath.

“Ya?” Chloe reciprocated.

“Why isn’t Kendall sitting with Josh again?”

“They still want to keep everything quiet.”

“Why? I thought they were worried about me.”

“They are.”

“But, I already know.”

“Ya, but they’re also worried about their parents.” Chloe stated, matter-of-factly.

“Because of the age difference?”

“Ya, that’s why. What is it? Three years? Four years? Jill and Kelly would flip.”

“Well maybe if they talked to them together…”

“I don’t know Paige. That’s just what I’ve been told.” Chloe exclaimed, while fiddling with her iPhone. She chose the window seat, as always, and angled her phone in just the right way where I couldn’t see the screen first-hand, or through the reflection of the window. She’s been doing that a lot lately.

“So who are you texting? Does Chloe have herself a boyfriend?” I asked, poking her jokingly, to hide the actual questioning in my voice.

“Nope, just a school friend.” Chloe said, locking her phone. Her screensaver was a selfie of the two of us that we took in Central Park, last time we were in New York City. Our hair was blowing in each other’s faces and standing up straight, but we thought, at the time, that it gave us a cool, windblown affect. That was until after we took the picture and realized how much of a mess we looked like. Chloe looks a lot more different in that picture, younger. Now, she sometimes looks older than me, or at least more mature. How did that happen? I thought I was supposed to be the oldest.

“If you did have a boyfriend, you would tell me, right?”

“Of course I would Paige. Now can we stop acting like a bunch of melodramatic, gossipy tweens and watch a movie or something? We still have, like two hours before we even reach the hotel.” There it was again. Chloe sounded like the older, wiser friend and I sounded like the lost, ridiculous one, who was two years younger.

I nodded my head slightly and pulled out my laptop. “Let’s see, I have Nicholas Sparks, Hunger Games, The Help, The One Direction Movie…”

“Surprise me.” I nodded, once again and continued to scroll through my movies until I landed on Pitch Perfect. I needed a good laugh at this point. Any peacefulness that I once had was gone. After one hour and fifty-two minutes the credits started to roll down my computer screen and we were pulling into the hotel parking lot. Abby didn’t even give us time to drop our things off in our rooms.