Maddie thought about what Abby had said. She needed to stand out. Maddie removed her blue clip and flipped it around so it was on the white side. That would draw attention.
Kevin walked on to the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, this week has been a rollercoaster. But we finally have a competition. First three up are Maddie, Jojo, and Brooke. They are dancing to Not About Angels by Birdy!"
Maddie gracefully walked onstage and sat in her starting position. She made sure she accented little details to make her seem sharp and light. Brooke and Jojo eventually joined. Jojo was a little wobbly on the turn, but managed to knock it out of the park in the end.
Brooke and Jojo finished the dance. Maddie walked back on at the very end to do a turn and posed like the other two girls. Alex was confused, but Abby knew exactly what was long on. Maddie was standing out.
The girls walked over to the middle of the stage. Kevin looked at the judges, seeing who the first critiquer would be. "Abby. Tell us what you think." Maddie smiled and so did Abby.
"I thought that the dance was perfect. Jojo, really make sure to straighten that leg on the turn." Jojo made a face. She was supposed to do that, have it bent. "Otherwise, good job. Just make sure of that one thing. Other than that, you are golden!"
Maddie smiled, but was a little disappointed. Abby didn't see her attempt to stand out? She quickly ran back to get dressed into the second costume. Meanwhile, Chloe paced nervously.
"What do you mean, you forgot that dance, Zack?" Chloe whispered. "If you do, you are going to be eliminated in a flash. Okay? You'll make me and yourself look bad."
"It's just the turn part!" Zack cried defensively. He put his hands up. "What is it? Double pirouette, six fouettes, an ala seconde, a float, five other fouettes, and then we continue the acro. Are you stretched, was I right?"
Chloe sighed and held her head in her hands. "I'm stretched, you are correct." She brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and stood at the edge of the stage, where Abby could see her. The whole audience was talking.
"Next we have an acro performance by our Powerhouse Duet. This is Chloe and Zack, dancing to the very popular song All of the Stars!" Chloe gracefully walked onstage to her beginning pose.
When Zack came on after Chloe's intro, it was a train wreck. Zack almost dropped her, and the two were both on different timings. Abby was nervous for the both of them. At the end, Chloe started to cry.
"Chloe, come here," Kevin cooed. She slowly walked over to him, tears brimming her eyes. She wiped a few off, and Zack gave her a hug. "My fault," he whispered.
Chloe nodded. "I know you are blaming yourself. Don't. It's mine, too." She bravely turned to the judges, holding her head high. Her bravery was only being pretended.
"Um, Richy?"
Richy gave them a weak smile. "I know you guys know that your timing was off with each other, so that is why Zack almost dropped you Chloe. But who was on the right timing? I thought the intro was absolute artistry, but hey. Things happen. I thought your technique was the best it has ever been though, if it makes you feel better."
Chloe smiled and Zack gave her another hug. "Thank you," Chloe said, happiness some-what in her voice. Zack walked off with her, and stopped her before they headed to the Green Room.
"See? My fault. I came on late." He smiled shyly. "You're a great dancer, always remember that, no matter what happens. You were one of the best dancers ever that I danced with."
"Thank you. I can say the same," Chloe said, happy with the compliment. "I just wish that those critiques didn't happen. I don't like it when people blame a mess-up solely on themselves, because they are very good, too."
"True."
They walked back to the Green Room, where they were enveloped in hugs. Chloe really wished Paige was there with her, because she always knew how to calm her down.
Meanwhile, Paige was wishing Chloe was there with her as she got ready to go onstage. "Paige, are you okay?" Kendall asked, her voice worried as she saw Paige freaking out.
"No! I don't want that to happen to us!" She was talking about the duet before them. Paige hated this feeling when she watched someone mess up badly, or in this case, two people.
"Okay! Taking a break from the lyrical, and heart-felt acro. We are having high-energy acro. This is Paige and Kendall with Boom Clap, and if you don't know this song, then you have been living under a rock."
Paige and Kendall walked onstage and waited for the music. Once it started, Kendall could not do a backbend. Her back was stiff, which was unusual for her. Why was it doing this?
She went as far as she could, and let Paige do the heavy work. It felt like her back was exploding with excruciating pain. It seared all through her back, and hurt a lot.
At the end, Kendall could barely walk.
"Okay, Rachelle?"
"Kendall, why didn't you do a backbend? I know you can, but why couldn't you?" Kendall gulped as she felt so many people stare at her, dying to know the answer to the question.
"My back hurts. When I tried to do it, I couldn't, then it felt like it was going to explode, almost. I felt like I was going to be humiliated, even my splits hurt and jumps."
Abby twisted her mouth. "Did you stretch your back at all? Did you even stretch?" Kendall glanced at Paige, who looked at her with the most worried expression.
"No."
"That's the reason. You went too fast, so."
Kendall nodded and stayed on, waiting for the other dancers to join. Maddie, Brooke, Jojo, Chloe, and Zack all walked on nervously. The two Hylands felt confident since they didn't get any critiques.
Abby stood up. She shook her head and picked up the head shots. "We have three people on the bottom tonight. It's very unfortunate that it was so early. Maddie, Brooke, and Paige, you are all safe."
Paige sighed in relief and practically skipped off stage. "Jojo, step forward, too please." Jojo smiled to herself. She was surely safe. She couldn't wait to hear those three words.
"Congratulations, you are safe!" Jojo smiled and giggled. She ran off, her hair flying behind her. That only meant one thing, though. "Chloe, Zack, Kendall. You are on the bottom today. Maybe if you do good in the group, you'll stay."
Chloe nodded, and walked off, disappointed. There was a chance she could stay. Her technique was good and the intro was wonderful. She just had to prove it in the group.
Then, it was Nia's turn as a guest. Nia had been so happy to get the call. Her solo was perfected all ready. Everyone, especially Abby, loved her performance. Proud was an understatement.
"We are picking back up in the competition," Kevin announced. "This is an acro duet. And let me tell you, it's adorable. It's Mackenzie and Tyler. This is Let Me In."
Tyler walked onstage and went into the backbend he started in. When Mackenzie came on, boom. She stole the show. Tyler was falling behind, way behind. His timing was off and everything.
Tyler knew he messed up bad and even yelled to himself at the end. Mackenzie felt great. Her dance went amazing for her, and Abby even laughed to herself at the end about how adorable Kenz was.
"Abby, your thoughts?" Kevin asked.
"Well, let's start with Mackenzie," Abby said. "You were amazing! I was laughing about how adorable you were, and couldn't take my eyes off of you. Tyler, do you want to know why? An eleven-year-old out danced you. She was amazing, you were not."
Tyler nodded. "Thank you for your honesty." He tried to be strong on the outside, but was crushed. He was embarrassed more than anything. Mackenzie, better than him? No way.
The two walked off as Kevin began to announce the next dance. "Now we are back to lyrical. Who has heard of the song Tee Shirt? Because that is the dance Sophia and Asia are dancing!"
Asia and Sophia were like glue when they danced. They were on sync and matched up so well. Everyone loved it, and Kristie Ray even surprised Asia by showing up. She was crying when she saw it.
Rachelle was the one to give them their critiques. She boasted about how much she loved the timing, technique, facials, connection, and performance. Everyone else basically got the same critiques.
After Mia's solo, Tyler, Mackenzie, Sophia, Asia, Autumn, and Lucas walked back on. "Only one person on the bottom, it's pretty easy to guess. Tyler." Tyler shrugged, but was confident he wouldn't leave.
The group dance changed everything though. Kendall, Chloe, and Zack were flawless. Maddie didn't stand out, but that was okay. She wasn't on the bottom anyways.
The four bottom dancers stood on the stage after the group. Abby stood up at her seat. "Okay, let's start off with the girls. You guys, this was a tough decision. But we decided to let you guys stay another week."
Chloe let out a shaky breath and ran off stage into Paige's arms. It was just the boys now. "Zack, come forward please." Zack took a tiny step forward and Tyler crossed his fingers.
"You are safe. That means Tyler, you are leaving us. Thank you so much, you are amazing." Tyler nodded and started to cry. Everyone came on and gave him a hug. Both Atwood boys were gone. It was heart-breaking.
After all, everyone was like family.
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sorry this is late at night! i hope you enjoyed and this is pretty long. were you surprised? and are you still confident that your favorite dancers are going to win? vote, comment, and answer the questions please!