James's POV
"How's Anna doing?" I asked Riley. We were currently sorting through costumes in the costume closet, but I was wondering about my little girl. I miss her so much.
"She's alright, I think she's settling in fine. She misses you though." Riley answered, opening a box containing the costumes for Nationals this year.
"I miss her too." I sighed. Riley sighed as well, standing up from where she had previously been kneeling on the floor.
"I missed you." She whispered, looking at me with tears in her eyes.
"I missed you too, so much." I responded. Riley ran over to me, hugging me tight. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her as close as possible to me. Maybe a day apart isn't a lot for most people, but Riley and I have lived together for almost 5 years. We've spent everyday together, being apart was hard. Riley pulled away from the hug, connecting her lips to mine. I kissed her softly for a minute, before we pulled away.
"We're done with all the costumes in here, we should tell Kate." Riley announced.
"Okay, but most people are here. We're gonna get mobbed, they're gonna ask us a million questions. What're we gonna tell them?" I asked, deciding we should discuss this now.
"I don't know. I really don't. Maybe the truth, but I don't want people to judge us or Anna. We could lie, but I don't know what we would say. I don't know." Riley rambled.
"We'll say the truth, they'll find out anyways. They're our friends, they won't judge us. And if they do, they aren't real friends." I told her. Riley nodded.
"Okay." She agreed. She took a breath, looking over at me nervously.
"It'll be fine." I said, grabbing her hand and walking out of the closet. We walked towards studio A, the blaring music getting louder and louder. I heard shouts of encouragement, chatter, laughing. The loud noise of people landing jumps or flips. I realized quickly that it was all of our friends fooling around, not a choreographed number. I heard someone shout, a voice I recognized as West's.
"Go West!" Another voice shouted. Michelle. I felt a pull on my arm, and looked back to Riley hesitating.
"Alright?" I asked her gently. She nodded, turning towards me.
"Yeah, she was just my best friend, that's all. I didn't realize how much I missed hanging out with her. Or how nervous I am." She responded, before beginning to walk again. We stopped just outside the doors of studio A, giving each other a glance, before nodding, and pushing the doors open. Everyone's heads turned to see who had come through the doorway, however, after spotting us, they all froze. It was the same reaction we'd got from Kate, wide eyes, open mouths, faces full of shock. I glanced at Riley, who was standing slightly behind me, looking nervous. She never liked being the centre of attention. I think that was one of many reasons why she kept Anna a secret. I looked at all our old friends, staring at us in shock. Eldon, West, Michelle, Giselle, Hunter, and Thalia. Stephanie, who was standing in the corner beside Emily didn't look shocked to see us, more so just surprised we were here, and Emily didn't look even the slightest bit surprised, she was the one who told us to get these jobs though. I swallowed the lump in my throat, as the music ended and we stood in silence. A silence so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Finally though, someone spoke, breaking the silence.
"Holy crap." Eldon muttered.