6x25

The next morning, the team was up bright and early to eat breakfast at the hotel before they had to leave for the convention center. After loading his plate with eggs, bacon, and toast, Finn found a table with Henry, Kingston, and Ozzy. He kept an eye out for Piper as he ate, but she had yet to make an appearance. As Henry recounted the finals from last year's Regionals to Kingston and Ozzy, Finn focused in on his friends' conversation.

"What even happened to the Geminis?" Kingston asked, "Nobody's said anything about them since the Qualifier video."

"I heard they lost a dancer," Finn said, recalling something he had heard months ago before even coming to The Next Step.

"It's easy enough to replace them though," Ozzy pointed out.

"They're still competing, just in the Intermediate Division," Henry told them, "They would've been our competition if Noah hadn't turned 18."

"We could've taken them," Kingston said confidently before taking a big bite of his potatoes.

"Hells yeah," Henry agreed. He pushed his empty plate away from him and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms. "There's no way I would've lost to them the second year in a row."

"What happens at Nationals though?" Finn asked curiously, "Are there two age divisions there too?"

Henry shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've never been to Nationals."

"There's gotta be two age divisions," Ozzy reasoned, "Either that, or two teams from each region, but what would be the point of having two age divisions at Regionals if they don't at Nationals?"

Ozzy had a point, and the other boys voiced their agreement. As their discussion of the competition died off, Summer slid into the empty seat next to Henry, smiling at them all as she sat down. "Good morning," she said though her usual cheerfulness was subdued in the early morning hour.

The boys greeted her as Henry smiled softly at her. "How did everyone sleep last night?" Summer asked as she picked up her spoon and twirled it around her bowl of cereal.

"Fine," Kingston told her.

"Great," Ozzy said.

"We totally didn't stay up until 2 playing Legions of Lasers," Finn lied.

Summer raised her eyebrows, shooting Henry an amused look as he simply nodded to emphasize Finn's lie. "Good to know." She took a bite of her cereal then told them, "Well, I slept great. Emily thinks this hotel is too cheap, but those beds are so comfortable."

"They are pretty comfortable," Finn agreed. His mattress last night had felt like sleeping on a ridiculously soft marshmallow. It had been amazing – even better than his mattress at home.

"I wouldn't know," Kingston grumbled into his potatoes, "Since I had to sleep on the couch."

"I told you to fight Noah for the bed. You barely even tried," Ozzy said, shaking his head at him in disappointment.

"Oh yeah, like I was just gonna tell our dance captain to sleep on the couch instead."

"He wouldn't have cared," Henry interjected, "Dude can fall asleep literally anywhere. He's weird like that."

"Does anyone else think he's got eyes in the back of his head?" Ozzy asked.

The others murmured their agreement as Summer said contemplatively, "He does always seem to know what's going on behind him."

"Exactly! It's creepy!"

"How late did you guys stay up, Summer?" Finn asked her after finishing off his second piece of bacon.

"Not very actually. We were all pretty tired after yesterday."

"Dude, I had so much energy last night," Kingston interjected, sharing a look with Ozzy. The two of them had spent a good twenty minutes hopping on the beds like children after getting to their room the night before.

Summer smiled slightly at that before turning her gaze back to Finn. "I'm actually a little worried about Piper though. She barely said anything last night."

"That doesn't sound like Pipes," Henry said with a frown while Finn's eyebrows furrowed at this new information. Henry was right. That didn't sound like Piper. She'd been so excited for Regionals on the bus ride to the competition yesterday morning.

Of course, yesterday hadn't exactly gone the way any of them had planned, least of all Piper.

"She was probably still shaken about what happened yesterday," Finn mused. He recalled how quiet she had been on the bus ride to the hotel the night before and the look on her face when they'd been talking in the lobby before going up to their rooms. It had been the same look she'd had that day they'd been working on their duet in Studio One- like she was too trapped in her own head to really see what was going on around her.

"Do you think she'll be okay for the finals today?" Ozzy asked, his voice concerned.

Kingston seemed less concerned, however, as he said, "If she chokes today, we're done for."

Finn shot an irritated look at his friend as Ozzy muttered reproachfully, "Dude, come on."

Before Finn could come to Piper's defense, Henry beat him to it. "She's not going to choke. She's one of the best dancers on the team."

"We could have lost the whole competition because of her," Kingston pointed out as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "She messed up an aerial. Seriously?"

"So what?" Finn snapped, "She made a mistake. It could have happened to any one of us."

"Yeah, it was an accident. She'll get her aerial today. We'll be fine," Summer added, clearly trying to keep the peace between them all.

Finn shot her a grateful look, glad that Summer and Henry were coming to Piper's defense as well. He'd seen Piper's distress first-hand after the contemporary routine yesterday. She was clearly beating herself up enough as it was. She didn't need Kingston or any of their other teammates adding any more salt to the wound.

Kingston sighed and leaned back in his chair, holding his hands up as if in surrender. "Okay, okay. I was just saying, jeez..."

"Hi guys," a quiet voice behind Finn said.

He tensed as Piper took the empty seat between him and Summer and prayed to God above that she hadn't heard what Kingston had said.

"Morning Piper," Kingston and Ozzy said together, but they had both stiffened.

She simply glanced at them, her gaze lingering on Kingston a moment too long before turning to her breakfast. Finn couldn't help noticing that her plate was relatively empty, filled only with a biscuit and a small packet of strawberry jam. Was that really all she was planning on eating? An uneasy feeling was growing in his stomach as he glanced at her. He had really wanted to believe that he had helped her feel better about what had happened yesterday, but he was starting to think otherwise.

An awkward silence had settled around the table as Piper picked at her biscuit without looking at anyone. Summer was staring at Piper's plate, a small frown on her face. When she lifted her gaze to meet Finn's, he wondered if she had noticed Piper's lack of appetite too.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Henry pushed his chair back from the table and announced, "I'm gonna get seconds."

"I'll go with you," Kingston said quickly, and they both stood. Ozzy simply picked up his plate and followed them as Summer called after them to not to eat too much lest they get sick onstage later.

Once the other boys were gone, Summer turned to Piper, giving her a gentle smile. "You okay this morning, Piper?"

She simply nodded, plastering a smile on her face that Finn didn't believe for a second. "Yep, fine. Why?"

Summer shrugged, appearing casual as she said, "No reason. You just seemed really quiet last night. That's all."

"Yeah," Piper murmured, her gaze fixed on her biscuit, which she'd only taken a few small bites of. "It was just a long day yesterday."

Piper wasn't a difficult person to read. She wore her emotions on her face, and it was easy to tell when something was bothering her. Finn wasn't at all convinced by her assurance that she was fine because the look in her eye told him otherwise, but he wasn't sure how much good prying at the breakfast table would do. Even more concerned by the lack of food on her plate, he said instead, "They've got this really awesome waffle maker over by the coffee, Pipes. You can even put sprinkles in it. You should go check it out."

Piper glanced at him but then shook her head, much to his disappointment. He had really thought that would work. She loved waffles. "No thanks. I'm not that hungry."

"They have an awesome fruit bar," Summer piped up. "I think I'm going to go get some. You want to come with me?"

Piper reluctantly glanced over to the table lined with fruit before sighing and giving in. "Sure."

Together, they stood and began to walk over to the fruit. Summer caught Finn's eye as they went and gave him a tight smile. He watched them go, a frown on his face as he watched Piper reluctantly pile some strawberries and pineapple onto her plate.

Last night, he had felt pretty confident that she would be okay today. He had been so sure that moving on to the finals would ease all of her regret over what had happened in the contemporary dance, but she seemed even more distressed this morning than she had when they'd gone to bed last night.

He was worried about her. Really worried.

-----

Each of the teams competing in the finals had an hour to rehearse onstage before the finals that afternoon. The Next Step arrived at the convention center after breakfast and had thirty minutes to kill before their allotted time on stage. Finn's mind had been racing with ways he could cheer Piper up after watching her pick at her meager breakfast, but the second they arrived at the convention center, she disappeared, and he didn't see her again until the team was gathering onstage to rehearse.

The rehearsal had gone well overall. Piper hadn't fallen out of her aerial, but she was wobbly in her landing, and Finn could tell it had shaken her. When their rehearsal time was up, Piper disappeared again, and before he could go after her, Michelle pulled him aside with Kingston and Ozzy for an interview with Chuck Anderson. In his excitement about meeting the legendary SNR anchor host, Finn momentarily forgot that he was worrying about Piper, especially after getting to talk with Chuck briefly about a potential future at SNR Network- something he hadn't considered a possibility until now.

As the team finished eating lunch, Michelle approached the boys' table, glancing around frantically. "Finn, have you seen Piper?" she asked.

Finn shook his head. "No, I don't know where she went." He had seen her eating with the other girls earlier, but now he realized his best friend was nowhere to be seen. He had never noticed her leave.

Michelle sighed heavily as she looked back to him. "Can you go find her? We need to start getting ready soon."

He nodded, already picking up his trash and standing. "Sure thing."

Michelle smiled in relief and thanked him before hurrying over to the girls' table. Finn wasted no time in beginning his search for Piper. There were only ten minutes until they were supposed to be backstage to get ready for the finals, but the convention center was huge. He had no idea where she would have gone, so he sent her a quick text asking where she was and picked up his pace.

After five minutes had passed, he had somehow gone down the same hallway twice and had yet to hear anything from Piper. Sighing in frustration, he decided to call her instead. "Come on, Pipes, pick up..."

As the other line rang in his ear, he thought of the bus ride to the convention center that morning. He'd left the seat next to him open so she could sit by him, but instead, she had retreated to the back of the bus and sat by herself. She had seemed really pale during their rehearsal that morning.

It seemed like this competition was getting to be too much for Piper, and that thought killed him inside. He had spent the last month assuring her that competing in the Senior Advanced Division wouldn't be a big deal and that she had nothing to worry about, but look what had happened.

This is not how he'd wanted Regionals to go.

When Piper didn't answer her phone, Finn's worry increased ten-fold. Would she have been desperate enough to get away from the competition that she would leave the convention center without telling anyone?

God, if she did something stupid like that, and something happened to her, Finn would never forgive himself. His best friend was spiraling, and he had spent an hour freaking out over Chuck Anderson. What kind of friend was he if he let a TV anchorman take precedence when Piper needed him the most?

Before his worry could turn to panic, Finn rounded another corner to find Piper at the end of the hallway. She was practicing her aerial.

Finn had never been so relieved to see her as he called out, "There you are! I've been looking all over for you."

Piper didn't seem to hear him or notice him approaching her as she set herself then flipped through the air again. She landed on her feet, hardly even wobbling, and Finn gave a tight smile as he told her, "That looked good."

Piper tensed at the sound of his voice and turned to look up at him. Her eyes were red like she'd been crying, and she clenched her fists, shaking her head as she said in a strained voice, "No, it was a weak landing. The judges are going to notice that."

When Piper had fallen out of her aerial during the contemporary routine and proceeded to stumble through the remainder of the dance, an intense sinking feeling had surged through Finn. His first thought hadn't even been of losing Regionals. It had just been of concern for his best friend. He was experiencing a very similar feeling right now.

Finn watched with a frown as she flipped into another aerial. This time, she did stumble when she landed, and he caught her arm before she could fall completely. As soon as she caught her balance, she wrenched her arm out of his grasp and immediately turned to go again.

She was obsessed with getting this perfect.

"Piper, how long have you been at this?"

"I don't know," she responded dismissively, gaze determined as she went to go again.

She was going to wear herself out before they even performed if she kept this up. Finn cut in before she could launch herself into another aerial. "We're supposed to be backstage getting ready right now. We've gotta go."

Piper looked at him with wide eyes. "Already? We just ate lunch."

"Yeah, but the finals start in an hour."

She glanced around, almost as if momentarily dazed, then nodded stiffly and turned to pick up her phone, which was sitting abandoned on the bench behind her. She checked the time as if she didn't quite believe him then sighed and gestured in the general direction of the stage. "Okay, fine, let's go."

They set off in silence, hurrying to their team's designated area backstage. Piper glanced at her phone again as they went then told him awkwardly, "Um, I'm sorry I never responded. My phone was on silent."

Finn simply shrugged. Now that he had found her, that was the last thing on his mind. "No big deal."

She kept her gaze down as they walked through the hallways together, and Finn had accepted that she probably wasn't in the mood to talk, so he kept quiet for once. With the finals approaching so soon, they both needed to get in the competition mindset anyway. He was surprised, then, when she told him quietly a few moments later, "I asked Emily and Michelle to change the choreo."

His gaze jerked to her in surprise. "What?"

"I was going to do a fouetté instead of my aerial, but they said no. I figured after yesterday..." She trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished. Even still, Finn had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

In the couple of months he'd been friends with Piper, he had seen her nervous. He'd seen her upset and hurt and everything in between. But he'd never seen her like this before, and it was killing him inside. He hated Miss Angela for doing this to her because it was Miss Angela's fault. Piper had told him how she'd almost quit dance during those couple of weeks where she had disappeared at the beginning of the season.

It was no coincidence that Piper had messed up her aerial after Miss Angela had psyched her out before the contemporary dance. Miss Angela had known exactly what she was doing.

Finn stopped walking to face her, serious as he'd ever been as he told her, "Piper, I've seen you land that aerial in rehearsal. Miss Angela got in your head yesterday. That's it. You can do this."

"Nobody else thinks so," she muttered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and keeping her gaze down.

"That's not true."

"I heard Kingston this morning, Finn," Piper snapped, her broken gaze finally meeting his, and his heart ached as her voice cracked.

He would kill Kingston for making her doubt herself.

"Then you also heard the rest of us telling him he was wrong," Finn reasoned, fighting to keep his voice level. She bit her lip hard, and he added, "Michelle and Emily would have let you change the choreo if they didn't believe you could do this. You can't think about what happened yesterday. You've got to remember all the times you nailed it instead."

She chewed on her bottom lip as she took in his words, and Finn tilted his head to the side as he added, "Don't make me break out Fruity Moons again. I'll do it, Pipes. I really will." He was joking, trying to cheer her up again, but he would absolutely sing that stupid song as many times as he needed to just to bring a smile to her face again.

She slowly turned her gaze to him, and the corners of her lips twitched the slightest bit as she said dryly, "You mean you weren't singing for all of your adoring fangirls in the lobby?"

"Nah. Only you."

A soft smile finally spread across her face, and he felt a surge of triumph deep in his heart. If she was smiling and joking again, that had to be a good sign, right?

He held his hand out to her the same way he had the day before and said, "Come on. If we don't get backstage soon, Emily will probably murder us."

"She wouldn't expect anything different from you," Piper replied, but she took his hand, holding onto it tightly as he pulled her down the hall.

Finn rolled his eyes but knew he couldn't argue with that. Punctuality wasn't exactly a strength of his.

He countered her comment with, "Have you ever been late for anything in your life?"

"Not until I started hanging around you."

"Oh, ha ha," he stated dryly, but she was at ease enough to genuinely laugh at him, and that was all he cared about.

When they finally arrived backstage, it was to find their team running around in a frenzy as they got ready for their performance. A weight seemed to lift off of Michelle's shoulders as she ushered them over and ordered them to get ready before running off to find Emily.