Nochelle - Our Stories

T R I C K OR T R E A T

~Season 3~

"Boo!" Richelle laughed, jumping out from behind her best friend's black leather couch, her newly brown hair sweeped back into a high pony with loose curls falling over her shoulders. Her usual dance attire had been swapped out for the same cat costume she had been wearing each October 31st for the past 3 years.

"Shhhhii..." Noah jumped back, closing his eyes whilst clutching his chest in shock. "Why do I fall for this every year! And how did you get in my room?!" He groaned, an annoyed tone lacing his speech as his hand dragged down his face to reveal a smile of admiration, mirroring Richelle's accomplished grin.

"1. I don't have a clue, it literally happens every. Single. Year. And 2. Your mum let me in, obviously, you know Franci loves me!" The smaller girl retorted, hand-springing over the sofa to where Noah had entered. His room was much bigger than hers, having room for his double bed, en-suite, walk-in wardrobe and entire seating area - it was more like a studio apartment than anything else. Even though her family were pretty well-off, she still had to share a room (and bathroom) with Michelle, the queen of being unnecessarily messy. Noah's house was quiet, he had privacy, a personal space, no screaming kids everywhere—she envied that.

"I'll never understand why you like Halloween so much." Noah continued, dropping his dance bag next to the door before coming face to face with Richelle, towering over her—this didn't give him any authority though, she would forever dominate their conversations in that sense—especially on Halloween.

"It's the best day to scare people, everything's all spooky, plus, this is definitely the last year we can get away with free candy, so you better suit up." She looked him up and down, still clad in his joggers and baseball tee.

"Fine." Noah surrendered, "As long as we can bring King and your little brother and sister, we will definitely get way more chocolate."

"Do you really think I'd come around here without them already fully dressed waiting downstairs with your brother?" Richelle stated plainly, folding her arms over her chest.

"I guess not." Noah chuckled, making his way towards his closet, Richelle following close behind, keen to assess his outfit choice— very closely, she had already gone through the costume drama at home with the toddlers.

The truth was, Richelle actually had a really big family — not that anyone at the studio knew. Her mum had had her older sister Michelle as a teen, and Richelle four years later. Their biological dad had never really stayed in the picture, but it didn't matter, it just made them stronger. Their mum finally remarried and they moved to Toronto, the girls starting at The Next Step.  Her mum and step-dad went onto have two more children; Richelle's sister, then brother, who were way younger than the teens at 4 and 2.

Richelle's parents now worked at a multinational tech conglomerate, her new dad being able to get her mum a better job. Subsequently, their parents busy schedule got in the way a lot of the time, and Franci often helped out with the youngest three, being self-employed. So, unsurprisingly Richelle and Noah got close, both at dance and school.

As Halloween rolled around, her parents were in New York attending some big corporate meeting, leaving Michelle in charge, and Richelle to handle their siblings during Internationals rehearsals. Safe to say, the house was always busy, and the studio was the older two's safe space away from the chaos, even with their different Troupe schedules. So, naturally, not many people really knew about their home life, not even about the sister thing. Nobody needed to know about their life back in Madison, their parental situation, or their siblings. You can't expose your flaws and weaknesses in the dance world, no matter how much you trust your friends—that's one thing the girls agreed on.