Strictly Mysterious

Chapter 5

~ 3rd March 2020 ~

Another day, another strictly professionals tour promo day. Due to the commotion of looking for Katya yesterday, not everyone got their pictures taken. Both the producers and the dancers felt iffy about carrying on as normal when someone they loved so much was no where to be found. But at the end of the day, they can't just cancel the tour. Although, if it was financially possible, all they wanted to do was postpone the dates until Katya came back home.

Luba and Nadiya walk into the green room together, their arms linked. Luba had spent the night on Nadiya's sofa - the blonde dancer was too worried about her friend to let her be alone. As soon as they walk in, they catch eyes with Neil. His eyes were red and he seemed really worn out; he clearly hadn't slept well, but absolutely no one had. Him and Katya may have separated, but he still cared about her. Regardless of their personal situation, Katya was still a wonderful part of their strictly family, and everyone was worried.

Neil pulls up an extra seat to his table, so that Nadiya and Luba could sit with him. Right now, they were his rock, and he was their's; All three of them were keeping each other sane. Particularly Luba, both Neil and Nadiya couldn't help but notice that she was probably taking this the hardest out of anyone.

"Did you phone Katya's mum..?" Nadiya asks, her emotion completely flat.
"Yeah.." Neil replies. "She's completely losing it, bless her.. "

There was a lot of silence. Typically, you couldn't shut anyone up - everyone was so full of light and were never at loss for conversation. But it seemed impossible to talk about anything but Katya, and it was such a somber conversation to have. Neil went the bed praying for his phone to ring with Katya's caller ID; Nadiya wished on the stars thats she'd turn up safe and Luba just wanted the past two months to have never happened. But when they all woke up.. none of it had come true. Katya's still gone.

In that moment, another dancer, Graziano Di Prima, walks over to their table. Even he looked like he hadn't slept a wink. This was weighing very heavy on everyone's hearts; no one could shake the idea out of their heads that Katya was in danger. The strictly family knew her better than anyone, and it was becoming more and more apparent to them that Katya hadn't just left on her own accord - leaving several, much scarier, scenarios whizzing through their minds.

"Hey guys.." Graz says, putting a comforting hand on Neil's shoulder.
"Heya Mate." Neil responds.
"Look, I know that this is hard on everyone but.. if there's anything I can do.."

Cutting Graz off, Luba whimpers. She'd spent the whole of yesterday and this morning crying on and off - it was like she couldn't stop herself. Wanting to do what he could to make this easier, Graziano sits himself next to Luba and wraps his arms around her. He was such a lovely man, but he knew that it would take more than a hug to help Luba. With how broken she seems, it might only be Katya coming home that would do any good.

"Have you gone to the police?" Graziano asks.
"We went to the station yesterday.." Nadiya explains. "We don't have much hope though.. they made it pretty clear she wasn't a priority case for them."
"What?!" Graz exclaims. "But no one's seen her for ages.." he protests.
Neil sighs. "There was a note in Katya's flat.. something about getting out of someone's hair. The police seem to think that means she's gone somewhere off her own free will."

Graz wanted to shout - how on earth could they think that? How dare they think that? Everyone was losing their minds over Katya and they have the audacity to not prioritise finding her? To be truthful, the only thing preventing from screaming and causing a fuss was the crying Luba in his arms. Looking at her, Graz knew that causing any more chaos would only upset her more, and he cares about her too much to do that.

"Graziano..?" Their producer, Katie, calls. She sighs when she sees him comforting Luba. "I'm sorry to pull you away but we need you for some photos.." she says, sympathetically.

Graz gives Luba a quick peck on the cheek. "It'll be okay Luba.." he whispers before walking over to Katie.

Taking over Graziano's role, Neil budges up to Luba and allows her to cower into him. The mood between everyone was just so low. Normally, when anyone was sad or feeling down, everyone else would laugh and joke until their spirits were lifted. But, in this scenario, everyone was sad; everyone was feeling down. There wasn't anyone happy enough to bring the mood up. So it just stayed miserable.

"It won't.." Luba says quietly.
"Won't what?" Nadiya asks.
"Be okay."

A silent tear rolls down Neil's cheek. He knows that Luba's just scared, that she's only being pessimistic because she's so sad. But he'd be lying if he claimed he wasn't terrified of Luba being right. What if Katya really isn't okay? The police aren't even helping them.. granted, she might be a name in their database. But what's the point if they aren't actively looking for her?

"I'm not having this.." Neil says, his eyes beginning to fill with rage. "The police have NO right to tell us that Katya isn't important!"
"Neil.. getting angry won't help her." Nadiya rationalises.

He stands up abruptly, letting go of Luba and beginning to pace up and down the room. The sudden lack of contact makes Luba cry even more, she just misses Katya so much, and no one understands the turmoil she's going through.

"It's alright darling, come here.." Nadiya says, taking Luba by the hand. "Neil, we all want Katya to be found. But do you honestly think that shouting and making a scene will do any good?" She adds firmly.
Neil sighs. He knows she's right. "I.. I'm sorry." He apologises, sitting back down. "But we can't do nothing."
"What do you suggest we do..? We've already searched her flat."
"I don't know where to start but... what if we look for her?" Neil says. "If the police won't try finding for her, why can't we?"

Nadiya thinks for a moment. She looks down at Luba, and she just looks completely crushed. Chances are, she wouldn't be able to handle it. With that being said, Neil does have a point; If they leave it to the police entirely, it might be too late before Katya's found. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to do some digging themselves? At the very least, they'll at least have the peace of mind that something is being done about it - more than can be said for them at the moment.

"Okay.. okay, I'm in." Nadiya agrees. "But.. I don't know if you should." She says, looking over to Luba.
"What..?" Luba questions.
"I don't mean it nastily sweetheart.. I'm just worried. If you're sure that you can mentally cope with looking for her, then you're welcome to help. But there's no judgement if you think it would break you even more.."

Luba doesn't know what to say. In a way, she doesn't want to look for Katya, but that's only because she'd rather deny that she's even missing in the first place. As much as she hates to admit it, Nadiya always talks alot of sense, and it's a genuine concern that searching for Katya might only upset Luba more. Although, there was this overwhelming feeling that she couldn't say no. And no matter how much she wanted to, she simply couldn't ignore it.

"No.. no, I'm okay. I mean, I'm not but.. I want to help." Luba says.
"Okay.." Neil sighs, the cogs in his head spinning frantically. "Looks like us three are Katya's new search party.."

Nadiya keeps her eyes fixed firmly on Luba, unable to fully believe that she's as up to helping as she claims to be.