After changing out of their dance clothes, and boycotting the remainder of the day's rehearsals, Kingston, Ozzy and Henry sat in Neutral Grounds, in silence. The entirety of TNS West had walked out and got changed, refusing to dance until Michelle removed Jacquie from their team. Sure Jacquie was a great dancer, but she wasn't a great person. No way did she deserve to have made it onto TNS West.
For one, Jacquie had made it clear recently that she didn't even think TNS West were good dancers, so why had she even bothered to audition for them? Secondly, everyone knew how badly she had treated Richelle so why would they all want to have a bully on their team? Finally, she wasn't even on the team for any good reason, it was purely just to irritate Richelle and Noah, so what was the point?
Noah sat by himself but he was quite near the boys, feeling incredibly guilty for what had happened. He occasionally looked over at them, but their disappointed expressions weren't very welcoming. He honestly didn't know what to do next...
Kingston had tried to think of ways they could get Jacquie off TNS West, but Michelle had told them she couldn't really do anything until she had spoken to Miss Kate. She knew that Jacquie would only get her lawyer parents involved if Michelle did anything drastic, so Henry didn't think it was even worth thinking about. He knew when Jacquie wanted something, she got it.
At the very back of the room, practically in the doorway, Richelle was talking to someone over the phone. Ozzy was watching her and waiting for her to finish so he could ask if she was okay. She had looked distraught when Michelle had announced Jacquie as the winner of the audition, but now she appeared slightly calmer.
Unluckily for them all, in walked Jacquie with a smug smile on her face. She went straight to the bar to order and clicked her fingers to get Heather's attention, even though she was clearly busy serving someone else. She tried to ignore Jacquie and stay positive, but the other customer frowned and probably wondered why Heather wasn't reacting. Jacquie questioned why this random woman was frowning at her and stared back at her intimidatingly, until she eventually told Heather she'd changed her mind, and walked away. Jacquie took her place immediately, showing no remorse, "Just a water."
Heather kept a straight face as she waited for some manners, but after three seconds of silence, she figured it wasn't going to happen. The boys all looked at her to see how she was going to handle this. Heather looked around the room and got the attention of one of her co-workers, "Adam, can you serve?"
Adam looked confused because usually Heather preferred working behind the counter, but his feet needed a break so he agreed nonetheless. Jacquie looked offended as he walked over and took Heather's place, as she took his tray from him and started clearing tables, without so much as an acknowledgement to Jacquie.
She went over to the boys table firstly and pretended to clean up, "I refused to serve her. She's so irritating."
Henry looked back at the bar, then back at Heather with a satisfied look on his face, "It's what she deserves."
With an oddly nervous look about him, Noah eventually got the courage to stand up and talk to the boys. He slowly walked over, "Is it okay if I join you?"
Kingston chuckled, he had been waiting for Noah to ask, "Course it is." He moved his bag from one of the seats and encouraged Noah to sit, which surprised him, because he really thought that the boys would hold this whole incident against him.
"I'm really sorry about this mess," Noah insisted as he sat, but Ozzy shrugged it off. They all knew this wasn't Noah's fault, even if he had initially contributed to it. He had nothing to do with how Jacquie chose to behave. They weren't even a couple anymore.
Heather took Ozzy's plate from in front of him, and put it on the tray, as she told Noah, "Yeah, don't worry." Noah smiled at her, attempting to look happy but he was still hung up about it all. Heather rubbed his shoulder comfortingly then told them all she needed to get back to work.
The boys all said goodbye, which only made Jacquie aware that their conversation was now over. She headed over, nonchalantly, sitting down next to Henry as if nothing had happened. She sipped from her water and smiled at the boys teasingly.
Without a word leaving their lips, Kingston, Ozzy and Henry got their stuff together and left their table, heading to another that had just been vacated. It wasn't even clean, but Jacquie wasn't on it, so it was perfect. Noah got up to go as well, but Jacquie slammed her hand on the table loudly. It made him flinch, and made the boys look back at him.
"Noah. Come on." Henry told him, but Jacquie was glaring at him, her hand still clenched on the table. He couldn't move.
Richelle finished her phone call and hovered where she was, unsure what was going on. Ozzy looked at her and shrugged, because he didn't get how or why Noah was practically paralysed. Richelle went over to the new table that Kingston had already sat at and put her bag down, not taking her eyes off Noah. Ozzy and Henry slowly continued walked to it as well, realising Noah probably wasn't going to join them.
Noah gulped and felt himself sinking into the seat, without his mind even debating it. Jacquie's hand un-clenched and she innocently took another sip of water, eyes still locked on her ex-boyfriend.
"Who were you on the phone to?" Ozzy asked Richelle, but she was pre-occupied still staring at Noah and Jacquie. She knew something wasn't right.
She blinked a couple of times, "Uh, someone I used to know..." She looked at the boys, "Does Noah seem a little weird to you?"
Henry chuckled, "He's always been weird."
Richelle smiled but she wasn't convinced. She could hear Ozzy asking her another question but she wasn't really listening. She was now watching Jacquie as she stared at him without saying anything, making Noah paranoid and on edge as though it were fun for her.
Instinctively, she got up and shook off any kind of fear or anxiety Jacquie previously gave her. She slid onto the seat next to Noah, which took them both by surprise. Noah warily looked at Richelle, knowing this was a bad idea and not wanting her to get hurt, but she didn't seem fazed in the slightest. Richelle smiled as if nothing was wrong and told Jacquie, "I need to speak with Noah about the team."
She chuckled smugly, "I am on the team, shouldn't you tell me too?"
Richelle looked at her blankly and blinked, "No."
Jacquie rolled her eyes but was in no mood for Richelle's attitude, so walked off towards Heather at the till, again. Noah let out a sigh of relief as soon as she turned her back on him, but was astonished Jacquie hadn't fought against Richelle.
"How did you do that?" Noah asked her, wanting to know what kind of secret power Richelle had. He knew that if he had spoken to Jacquie like that, he'd be... Well... He wouldn't be safe.
Richelle shrugged, knowing full well she was now a lot stronger than what she was a few weeks ago when Jacquie first started to terrorise her. She watched her, now leant against the counter, aimlessly scrolling through social media on her phone, and felt disgusted just looking at her. She explained to Noah, "She needs a firm hand. If you show her you're not afraid of her, she doesn't bother to try. She wouldn't risk her pride."
Noah nodded slowly, looking down, and tried to remember this. He knew he hadn't been himself lately, and it wasn't fair that he kept feeling like this. Richelle poked him in his shoulder, "So, what's up with you?"
Noah looked up at her and remembered how close they used to be. Although they'd aged, Richelle's J-Troupe image was all he could see, and he regretted how much they'd drifted. Richelle was still pretty much the same girl she'd always been, just now she allowed herself to have friends and have fun. Noah knew he'd changed though, and not completely for the better.
But that was it... They used to be close. They weren't anymore.
"Nothing. I'm fine."
Richelle raised her eyebrows, "Liar." Noah shook his head and shrugged, messing with a loose thread on the sleeve of his top. "Tell me!" She pleaded, and watched him gulp back down the words that would explain everything, stopping himself from being embarrassed by what he'd have to tell her.
Just in time to give him an excuse, Kate then walked into Neutral Grounds and was looking around, recognising the faces of the people she needed to speak with. She listed them, "Kingston, Ozzy, Henry..." She spotted Richelle and Noah sitting together, "You two as well. My office now please.
Jacquie did not want to miss an opportunity to know what drama was occurring and stood up straight, speed walking over to Kate and waving to get her attention, "Miss Kate, me too?"
Kate put her hands on her waist and slowly looked Jacquie up and down, "Yes. You too."
Oblivious to the fact this wasn't anything special, Jacquie smirked at everyone as though she'd just been picked for a solo, and headed for studio A. It was Michelle's office, but Kate still considered it hers.
Kingston shook his head, knowing studio A was their studio, and they should not let Jacquie just walk in as though she belonged there. He started speed walking after her which made Kate turn on her heels and head back upstairs also.
Ozzy and Henry knew it was probably important if Kate wanted them, so started packing their stuff away, as did Richelle and Noah, then they all followed in Kate's footsteps. Ozzy led the way, wanting to show Richelle that he could be mature and a leader, with Noah slowly trailing behind them all. Richelle looked behind her shoulder at him and gave a reassuring smile, but he didn't respond.
"Noah, come on." She motivated and poked him playfully in his stomach but he immediately winced and tightly closed his eyes. Richelle slowed her steps down, not taking her eyes off Noah who seemed to be in pain. She knew she wasn't so strong she could have injured him just from a poke, so this was definitely something deeper. She quickly tried to think of an excuse to say to Henry and Ozzy as Noah put his bag down on the floor and leaned on the wall, covering his face. "Wait there." Richelle ordered him, and ran to catch up with Ozzy, explaining how she just needed to speak to Noah before they saw Jacquie again. Ozzy questioned it, but knew that Richelle probably knew what she was doing. He let her go and Henry promised to cover for them until they got to studio A. "Thank you." Richelle jogged back to where she had left Noah, and slowly approached him.
He looked to the side, saw her, and shook his head, "Go to studio A." He tried to act normal.
"What's wrong?"
He shrugged, "Nothing."
Richelle raised her voice slightly, in frustration, "You winced! Have you hurt yourself or something?"
Noah shook his head instantly, "I did abs yesterday at the gym... They're just sore."
Richelle crossed her arms, "You do abs on a Friday. Yesterday was your rest day."
How did she know his gym schedule?!
"After how you danced last season with an injury and made it worse, i'm not going to let you potentially do it again."
Noah protested, "I'm not injured!"He sighed and put both hands desperately on his head, but Richelle knew he was holding something back. She walked up to him, but he didn't flinch like he did when Jacquie approached him, and lightly gripped the hem of his shirt. Noah could feel his heart beat quickening but he kept his eyes on Richelle, so he'd stay relatively calm.
She lifted up his shirt a little and saw a huge purple bruise across him. She inhaled sharply through her nose, in shock, and looked at his face. He looked embarrassed, but Richelle didn't understand why because it wasn't like he could have done this by accident! It definitely wasn't an everyday bruise they got from dancing.
She had to find out what this was.
*i've recently uploaded the trailer for this story to my youtube channel, so if you want to see a video version of everything that has happened so far, go check it out! 😋*