"Dad's not coming. Can we go?"

Andi's eyes snapped over to her younger sister, who had a bored expression on her face as she twirled the straw around in her drink.

Andi straightened and shook her head. "Just give him 5 more minutes."

Nayvee scoffed but remained seated.

Andi furrowed her brows at her sister, "How's J-Troupe?" She asked, trying to release the tension.

Nayvee rolled her eyes, "Yeah...it's alright."

"That's good," Andi replied, trying to keep her tone light.

ANDI – BALLET DANCER
Right now, I'm sitting with Nayvee in Squeeze. Every month, our dad would meet up with us, but it's gotten to a point where he doesn't show up anymore.

Andi tried to smile, to reassure, even if her words felt more like a ritual now. "He's going to come."

But she saw it—the flash of disappointment across Nayvee's face, the way her expression pinched with both hurt and disbelief. Nayvee scoffed, pushing her drink away.

"You always say that."

Andi's eyes darted to her phone. Thirty minutes late. She forced a shrug. "I'm sure he's going to come," she said, pretending not to notice the ache in her own chest. "He must be in traffic."

"Or he just isn't coming," Nayvee muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be like that, Nayvee."

"Like what?" Nayvee snapped. "Dad isn't coming, Ann, get over it."

The words hit harder than Andi expected. Her gaze dropped to the table, her voice barely a whisper. "I know... I'm sorry."

Nayvee's eyes stayed steady, cold but not unfeeling. "He moved on from us a long time ago, Andi, we may as well do the same."

Andi watched as Nayvee stood up from her seat and grabbed her dance bag. "I'm late for rehearsals," she mumbled quietly. "I'll see you later."

Andi didn't respond as she watched her sister walk out of Squeeze. She sighed, burying her face into her hands, letting out a groan of frustration.

...

Andi waited for another 20 minutes until she realised she was going to be late for rehearsals. She walked into Studio A. "Hey, guys." Andi greeted, but then she froze in her spot when she noticed something was really wrong.

"Why is she smiling?" Andi spoke cautiously, pointing towards a smiling Emily.

Emily giggled, motioning Andi over with a sly grin. "We were just talking about Elite."

Andi's shoulders relaxed slightly, but she was still cautious as she walked closer. "What about Elite?" She asked, knowing she was going to dread the answer.

Emily leaned in, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, I was thinking we take a little road trip down to Elite, sneak into their studio, see what they're doing for regionals, come back and work on ours."

ANDI – BALLET DANCER
I think Emily is stupid. I know Elite is our main competitor, but it's just really dumb to sneak into their studio. It must be a blonde thing, you know, coming up with all these stupid ideas.

Riley stepped forward, hesitantly. "Oh... I-I... could—"

Emily cut her off sharply. "You didn't think you were invited, were you?"

Riley flinched, shaking her head. "No," she mumbled, retreating.

"Good." Emily sneered.

EMILY – DANCE CAPTAIN
Why would I want Riley to come? She's so negative about everything. She can stay here alone and learn her lesson.

RILEY – EMILY'S SISTER
I thought things with Emily would have been better by now. My relationship with Emily will not heal as fast as I thought it would.

"Soo," Emily drawled, scanning the group. "Who wants to come?"

Eldon's hand shot up like a rocket. "Oh! Me!" He started to approach, excitement radiating—until Emily held up a hand like a stop sign.

"Stop," she said, her voice cold. "Back."

ELDON – EMILY'S BOYFRIEND (IN HIS MIND)
I'm happy to go on this road trip with Emily. I'm going to pretend it's like a date.

EMILY – WANTS ELDON TO EXIST NO LONGER
I hope he doesn't think this is a date or anything.

"Okay, James? Andi? What about you two?" Emily turned, now addressing the pair.

James looked across at Andi, who met his gaze and slowly shook her head.

"Nah, I'm not interested," James said.

"Same here, Emily," Andi added quietly.

Emily huffed, clearly annoyed. "Alright. And Michelle doesn't want to go—"

"No, I'll go," came Michelle's voice, surprising the room.

"Really?" Emily asked, folding her arms.

Michelle nodded firmly. "Yeah, I'm interested in seeing the competition."

MICHELLE – CONTEMPORARY DANCER
I want to check out Elite's routine because spending more time with Emily and the rest of the team might bring me closer.

EMILY – PRETENDS TO BE NICE
I let Michelle come because I want people to think I'm being fair. But I'm not. This isn't a democracy. This is an Emily-ocracy.

...

Chris had asked Andi to tutor James in math, but it wasn't going well. James sat at the table in the lounge, staring down at his worksheet like it was a foreign language. Frustration simmered in the space between them.

"James, it isn't that hard. My little sister can do that, and she's 12," Andi groaned, letting her forehead drop against the table with a soft thud.

"Andi... Andi, stop doing that." James reached out to gently press his palm to her forehead, stopping the rhythmic tapping.

She sighed deeply and lifted her head. The tutoring session felt hopeless. Her attention drifted to the other side of the room, where Eldon sat surrounded by the E-Girls.

"James," she said suddenly, still watching the group.

"Mhm?" he murmured without looking.

"I think Emily is planning to do something to Michelle."

"What do you mean? Kill her?" James chuckled.

Andi narrowed her eyes. "No. Why would she let Michelle go with her? It doesn't make sense."

James closed his workbook with a sigh. "Well, what are you saying we should do?"

"Not me," Andi said, shaking her head. "You. Can you do me a favour?"

"You want a favour? Off me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes. Why else would I be asking?"

"I can do you a favour." He grinned.

"Can you go to Elite with Emily and Michelle? I don't want anything to happen to her."

Her eyes pleaded with him, and James hesitated only for a moment.

"I'll try to convince Emily to let me go, but I'll do it."

Relief washed over Andi. "Thank you." Impulsively, she reached across the table and grabbed James's hand, giving it a grateful squeeze.

"Look, I have to go. But text me, okay?" she added quickly, grabbing her school bag and rushing out before James could even react.

He stared after her, blinking.

JAMES – BREAKDANCER
Uh... Andi just grabbed... she just grabbed my hand.

...

Emily and her little spy crew had left to go spy on Elite, leaving the rest of the dancers with nothing to do. James had told Andi that Emily let him in on their secret spy mission, and she felt relieved, but now that meant her best friend was gone...well, two-thirds of her best friends.

"West", Andi yelled out as she skipped into Studio A. She spotted Daniel and West in a silent standoff.

She leapt onto West's back, West catching her effortlessly as he continued to stare at Daniel. "Whatcha doing?" Andi spoke as she glanced over at Daniel's annoyed face.

"He is in Studio A," West said with mock outrage, pointing accusingly at Daniel.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I booked the space."

"Daniel." West sighed dramatically. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel."

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," Andi echoed with a giggle.

WEST – HIP-HOP DANCER
I'm annoyed that Daniel is here because I thought I would have the studio to myself. You know, to work on becoming a better dancer. I walk in and see him. I mean, how would that make you feel?

"Okay, well, you should have booked the studio," Daniel said with a smirk. "I did."

Andi snickered as West mimicked Daniel's voice under his breath.

"Well, I thought I was going to be here alone," West whined.

"Come on, hang out with me," Andi coaxed.

"But I don't wanna hang out with you," West pouted.

Andi gasped, pretending to be offended. "Rude," she said, sliding down from his back. "I'm on Daniel's side now."

"Oh, so betray our friendship then?" West said, dramatically clutching his chest.

"Buy me a juice and I'll think about it," she teased.

"I will... Later, though." He snapped his fingers at her like a challenge.

"Whatever," Andi muttered, turning on her heel. "I know where your wallet is anyway!"

"There's $20 in there," West exclaimed as Andi walked over towards his cubicle and pulled out his wallet. "Sweet." She cheered when she pulled out the $20 note. "Thanks, dude."

As she walked down the halls of The Next Step, she was lost in thought until her phone pulled her away from her thoughts. She pulled it out of her hoodie, the screen lighting up with a name she didn't expect to see.

She froze mid-step, her expression dropping lower than the Titanic as she watched her phone continue to ring.

Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring

By the fifth ring, she exhaled slowly and powered off the phone. A part of her had hoped—really hoped—that maybe her dad wanted to talk. Maybe he had changed his mind. But deep down, she knew better. He hadn't shown up for her and Blake. He hadn't even tried.

And now?

Now, she just had to find a way to let go.

"I just need to move on."

very short chapter...

but like isn't this whole spy mission thing a two part in the series?

dk...haven't watched it since they ruined our lives with season 8 and 9.

We should of just ended it at season 3 or even season 6 that's when it was all good again.

I'm venting, anyways live, love Andi's trauma.