Secrets

Chapter 18

Richelle's POV

Noah ran off the stage, wrapping his arms around me and lifting my small frame up, spinning me around as he hugged me tightly. "Good job!" I told him happily as he placed me back on my feet. Noah had just won the first round of Nationals for us! We're moving onto small groups now. Riley and Emily smiled over at us happily, as the team congratulated Noah on his win.
"Alright alright, guys listen up." Riley spoke, getting our attention. "Small groups compete tonight, I still have to check the time we're competing though. Anyone in the small group, Richelle, Piper, and Amy, will need to be backstage completely ready half an hour before you're on. I'll text Richelle the time. You guys can go, have fun. If you aren't back to watch the girls compete though, just know duets start tomorrow at 11." She said. Everyone nodded, and the team dispersed. Once we were away from my sisters, I smiled up at Noah, placing my hands on his cheeks.
"Congratulations baby." I told him, reaching up on my tiptoes to give him a long, passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist as we pulled away, myself falling back on my flat feet.
"Thank you. You're gonna kill it too." He smiled. I smiled back at him, and after a while he gave me a confused look. "What?" He asked.
"We have a few hours..." I trailed off, running my fingers down his chest slowly. He raised his eyebrows at me, smirking. "Let's celebrate." I finished, before his lips smashed against mine.

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Riley's POV

I stood backstage with my sisters, Noah, Henry, Amy, and Piper. We were watching Joanne Chapmans perform their small group, waiting for them to finish and us to be called onstage. Most of the rest of A troupe sat in the crowd, because backstage was really tight. As the performers finished their dance, the audience erupted in applause. Myself, Emily, and the other dancers clapped politely, watching our competitors exit the stage. I heard a phone ring, and saw Emily hastily pull her phone from her pocket. She answered it, a FaceTime video opening. "Hi mommy!" Brianna said happily.
"Hey, how's my favourite niece?" I asked, moving so both Emily and I could be seen through the phones camera.
"Good! Where's Aunty Richelle?" Brianna questioned, smiling.
"You're just in time to watch her compete." Emily told her daughter.
"Brianna what are you doing with my phone?" I heard Hunter say in the background, before appearing in the video. "Emily, hey sweetheart. How's it going?" He asked, noticing his wife on the video chat.
"Good, I-" Em started, before we heard the announcement.
"Could The Next Step Dance Studio please take the stage." The announcer called. Richelle, Piper, and Amy all ran on, getting in their starting positions.
"Look. Aunty Richelle's gonna dance now." Emily said, flipping the camera so my niece and brother-in-law could watch. Issues by Julia Micheals started playing, and we all watched silently for a minute as they started dancing. As the dance progressed, the girls did a bunch of jumps, and turns, and tricks that had the audience cheering loudly. As the song got closer to the ending, all 3 girls did aerials in sync. As they landed the last one, I watched Amy's ankle buckle, as pain suddenly filled her face. She pushed it away, joining the other girls in the end pose. The audience cheered, before Joanne Chapmans was called back on stage. I stared at Amy silently, like I knew Emily, Henry, and Noah were. Amy gripped Richelle's shoulder tightly, holding herself up as Piper and Richelle looked at her worriedly. The next few minutes were a blur. The announcer came on the speakers, announcing we had won. The audience cheered, as Piper and Richelle helped Amy limp off the stage. As soon as they were all backstage, Amy fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Emily hung up the FaceTime call with her daughter, turning to tend to the dancer.
"Amy! What's wrong?!" Henry asked, pulling her crying form into his arms.
"I think I may have sprained my ankle."