After finding out the day following the vote for Noah to leave that he would actually be staying, things had already kicked into high gear. Knowing that they had to compete in the senior advanced division at regionals put everyone on edge. Michelle and Emily had finally started assigning dances and it was time for the contemporary number to be chosen.
Harper was not considered for the hip hop dance, not to her surprise, although she was one of the dancers chosen to compete for contemporary. The thing that worried Harper the most was that they were put in pairs. There was Ozzy and Kingston, Piper and Davis and herself and Richelle. Competing against Richelle was the worst thing that could have happened because they were best friends of course, but she also knew how amazingly talented Richelle was and it would be incredibly difficult to beat her.
"Alright guys, I want you to work on what you're gonna do for an hour and then it will be time to battle." Noah announced as he took a seat at the side of the room. Harper walked to a space with Richelle so they could start practicing, but neither one of them looked happy.
"Listen Harps, I love you but I want this more than anything." Richelle said in as sweet a tone as she could manage. Harper expected nothing less from her best friend, she knew Richelle far too well.
"And I do too, so let's just work on our choreo and no hard feelings?" Richelle looked pleasantly surprised and was glad that Harper was taking it well. Perhaps she underestimated her. "I think for my story I'm going to do about the struggle of trying to keep going when everything seems like it's against you and-" Richelle abruptly cut in before Harper could even finish.
"I don't think it needs a story. If you have good enough movement then it's not necessary." The shorter of the two blonde's explained. Harper expected nothing less really as Richelle had never been able to connect her feelings to dance and that was what held her back.
"Okay Rich, how about for today you do your thing and I'll do my thing?" Harper suggested impatiently. She really didn't want them to end up fighting over something so petty and if they stuck to themselves then it would hopefully prevent that from happening. The blonde nodded in agreement and the two of them continued practicing in silence.
As Harper practiced, her nerves began to kick in. She was no good in comparison to Richelle who had amazing tricks, impeccable technique, high jumps and flawless extensions. The blonde debated talking to Noah about it but as she glanced over to him, she remembered that he still hadn't apologised for brushing her off and not telling her what was going on the other day. She would have to do it alone.
"Okay guys, we'll have Ozzy and Kingston first, then Harper and Richelle and Piper and Davis to finish." Noah announced as they all made their way to the back of the room. Harper's vision wasn't even focused as she saw the blurry figured of Ozzy and Kingston moving across the dance floor. They were probably doing a great job but she was too nervous to even think about focusing on them. The worst part of it all was that whenever she was stressed Richelle was the one to calm her nerves, but this time she was all on her own.
"Alright next we have Harper and Richelle." Noah called after everyone had applauded for the two boys. Harper sent Richelle a small smile that the blonde returned, but she could tell that it wasn't genuine. When Richelle set her mind on something, she was always determined to achieve it.
Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest as the music to 'unsinkable' rung in her ears. Her forehead was laced in a sheet of sweat even before she had started dancing but despite all her nerves, Harper knew she had to give it her all. As she danced she felt all her fears and worried turn into energy and adrenaline, she was putting everything into her solo. Tricks, turns, leaps and above all, her heart and soul.
When everyone applauded the two of them, it was Piper and Davis' turn to take the floor. Both of them danced beautifully but the thing that really gave Piper and edge was that she did her aerial. Harper was so happy for her that she had finally gotten it after everything she had gone through.
"Great job everyone, you all did amazing but I think what we really need for this dance is not only great technique but also strong emotional connection." Noah told the six dancers as they all gathered around to hear his decision. "So the dancers I've decided on are, Kingston, Piper and Harper."
The remaining three looked distraught, particularly Richelle, but Harper was ecstatic. It was her first regionals dance and she could not have been more excited.
"Good job Harps, although it was already pretty clear you were gonna make it anyway." Richelle said, muttering the last part as she forced out a smile. Harper tilted her head in confusion looking like a lost puppy, what had Richelle meant by that? "Oh come on, Noah wouldn't vote against you. He's your boyfriend."
"He's the dance captain though, I'm sure his personal feelings don't interfere with big decisions for the team." Richelle only rolled her eyes in response. Harper was aware that her best friend was a very competitive person, but that had never come between them before. "Do you think I'm not good enough?" Harper asked, all her confidence instantly leaving her body. She had always had issues with self esteem and Richelle was always the one to help her with them, but apparently not this time.
"Of course not, all I'm saying is that Noah would never be the thing to get between you and a regionals dance." The shorter of the two reinforced her point snappily before grabbing her water bottle and walking out in the same direction that Ozzy had left. Harper was astounded. Richelle had never acted that way before, even in situations where Harper had come out on top and she hadn't, she was always supportive.
"Great job Harps." Noah exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, but it was not reciprocated. She looked as though she was lost in a trance. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." She replied in a small voice but Noah knew better than to believe that. Harper glanced up at him and saw he had a questionable expression on his face. "I don't wanna talk about it."
"Come on Harper, we tell each other everything." If Noah had said anything other than that, he might have saved himself but boy was he in for it now. Harper was generally good at keeping things to herself, but this had been bothering her for days. She finally exploded.
"Well I thought we told each other everything too Noah but clearly not because I basically had to force you to tell me about almost getting kicked off the team!" She burst out at him taking Noah completely by surprise. It was the first time that Harper had ever raised her voice at him and if Noah was being completely honest with himself, it was terrifying. He was utterly lost for words.
"I-I just thought..." he trailed off trying to think of the right words to finish his sentence, but Harper had already done so.
"You thought that I'd be angry? You thought I'd be scared? Of course I would, I've never been here without you. Whatever you thought I'd be, it doesn't matter what matters is you didn't have the guts to tell me anyway." She seethed at him as Michelle and Emily glanced nervously over through the window of their office.
Neither one of the studio heads had really seen Harper act that way towards Noah. She would feel angry inside at him, she would be distant and cold but she had never yelled at him. Not once.
"Harper I'm really sorry." Noah tried to think of something to say, but it didn't look like he could fix that one. He would have to let her cool off a little. Not only was she annoyed at him, but she was hurt by Richelle and stressed about the thought of not actually being good enough for the regionals dance. She had a lot going on inside her head and needed space to think about it alone.
"I just need to be alone." She said firmly, but in a much lower voice as it appeared she had only just realised she was shouting. Without waiting for his response, she marched out of the studio, ignoring the calls from Michelle and Emily on her way and headed straight for the locker room. Harper knew deep down that she was overreacting, but she couldn't help it. She was so angry at Noah for hiding it from her, and she couldn't believe what Richelle had said to her. It was all too much to handle.
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here's a second chapter bc i had felt bad for not updating!!! woweee, harper's getting angry. she is usually pretty calm but i really wanted to show how not having Richelle, her bff 4 life, to support her and actually having her be the one to make her feel bad about herself affected her. promise there won't be beef with them all for too much longer tho, i can't handle it. need the noah, richelle and harper dream team back together ASAP! but thank you so much for reading and oml we hit 3k!!! what in the world??? i honestly appreciate it so so much and i could not ask for more supportive and amazing readers, love u guys!!! hope you enjoyed despite it being basically all beef :)